Work Text:
When Xisuma gave Etho his next mission, he had to stare for a moment because he thought the man was lying.
X didn’t take it back, however, and Etho resorted to laughing awkwardly. “Uhh… X? Sorry, but I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
Unfortunately, X was very serious. It’s evident in his apologetic expression, but he doesn’t seem very sorry to give Etho this mission. “I know, it sounds bad-“
“You’re asking me to go to Coruscant to get intel from a random informant. Coruscant. From someone who could be setting us up!”
X winces on his behalf, well aware of how insane this sounds. That makes Etho feel a little better. At least he knows that he’s asking something huge of him.
Etho never considered himself famous within the Rebellion. Famous sounds condescending, like his importance is measured by how aware the Empire is of his existence.
Famous is a bad word. But he does know that he’s very well known. Enough to be targeted by a Sith specifically, at least.
X wants him to go to Coruscant: one of the most Empire-infested planets in the galaxy. And he wants him to only bring one person with him for backup.
“…Do you want the bad news now?”
Etho sighs. X just loves to mess with him, doesn’t he? “Lay it on me.”
“Bdubs went with False on a stakeout. He can’t be your partner.”
He groans, letting Xisuma know that he’s very displeased with the arrangement. First, he has to willingly walk into a potential trap, and now he can’t have his go-to partner in crime? It’s like X wants him to have a breakdown right here, right now!
He won’t, of course. He has the dignity to hold it in until he’s alone. But X is making it hard to keep it together.
“Let me know when you find a partner, but please, at least find someone before morning,” X pleads. “This is sensitive information, potentially regarding some sort of weapon that the Empire has created. If it is, we need to know about it.”
X doesn’t give him the room to agree or disagree. He simply walks out and leaves Etho alone with his stress.
Great. Now to find someone that’ll go along with X’s crazy demands.
Etho’s walking along the hallway to go bug Cub when he’s forced to remember he knows someone crazier than X’s proposal.
“Scar, you stinky, smelly man! You are short and tiny and I am tall and awesome! You suck!”
Etho follows the voice, having forgotten his original target. He doubts he’d convince Cub to go on the mission with him, but maybe someone who loves chaos would be willing to come.
He learned a lot about Joel the other night. He might be able to use that to his advantage.
Etho breaks out into a run when he sees Joel and Scar about to enter their dormitory. He startles them with the sound of the boots, efficiently freezing them both in the doorway. That’s perfect!
Now, the thing about him is that he isn’t in anyone’s crew. He’s closer to certain people than others when it comes to these kinds of things.
False and Bdubs were some of his closest friends even before the Empire rose and there was a need for a Rebellion. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know Scar, Joel, and Cub. But he wasn’t as close to them as he was to the others.
It won’t change his mind right now. But he does need to keep in mind that he had one of his first proper conversations with Joel just last week.
“Joel!” Etho shouts as he runs up to them. He nods to acknowledge Scar. “Joel, if I ask you to agree to something without knowing what it is, will you say yes?”
Joel actually considers it for a moment before shaking his head. “No, but what’s up?”
“Eh, it was worth a try,” Etho says to lighten the tension, but Scar’s tense, and Joel doesn’t look away.
He looks different from the night Etho found him doing repairs on Bdubs’ ship. For one, he doesn’t have bags under his eyes and isn’t on the verge of throwing something out the window. It’s nice to see him not so frustrated.
It’s a bit amusing to see him in broad daylight. Well, not exactly daylight, but not at ungodly hours of the night when neither of them has slept a wink.
Joel’s a bit taken off guard by him, clearly. They haven’t seen each other since that night but it isn’t like they were avoiding each other either. It’s just unfortunate that they haven’t been able to properly meet since.
Etho glances at Scar. His empty holster is hanging off of his belt, his eyes calculating. X didn’t necessarily say the mission was secret, but he knows his friend would probably prefer to keep it quiet.
Plus, ever since Grian was cleared from bed rest and was able to get back on duty with his crew, Scar’s been on edge. It turns out that believing your friend to be dead only to suddenly find out he’s alive and not being able to see him every day is hard for him! Etho would rather not make Scar feel like something bad is going to happen to Joel.
“Can I talk to you about something real quick?” He says to cut through the silence, then realizes, wait. If he agrees, this will not be quick. “Never mind, this might take a while.”
Joel cocks his head, but a small smile replaces his initial confusion. “Sure, I’m not doing anything tonight.”
Etho leads him away from Scar. He’s shocked that he’s a bit excited and unsurprised that he’s a little nervous.
When he finishes telling Joel what Xisuma told him, he had the same reaction that Etho did.
“No offense to your skill or anything…” That makes Etho feel great as Joel drums his fingers against his arms. “But how come he put you on this mission when you’re still high-profile?”
“I asked the same exact question and X didn’t seem to have an answer. I’m not going to pester him more, clearly this is important,” Etho tries, but Joel doesn’t seem convinced.
That’s something Etho noticed during their night on the ship. Joel wasn’t intimidated by him, not even when Etho tried to intimidate him. Joel resorted to kicking him at some point. He isn’t going to say yes just because it’s Etho asking.
That means he really has to try here.
“When the sun rises, will you join me?”
He expected Joel to hesitate as he considered the offer. But he bounces back with a response right away. “Why do you want me on this mission? I’m sure you have a lot of other people you could ask.”
Truthfully, Etho does. But he doesn’t think they would agree to such a thing.
“No one else would be willing to do this.”
Joel hums thoughtfully. “See, I don’t actually think the mission is that dangerous.”
Etho adjusts the mask over his face to give his hands something to do. Joel’s favorite pastime must be throwing curveballs at him. “Did I explain it right?”
“No, I understand the mission. But the job itself isn’t the dangerous part. It’s you.”
Well… yeah.
Ever since the whole Getting captured on enemy territory, revealing Jedi within the Rebellion, and outing himself as a Rebel thing, Etho’s high on the Empire’s list of known rebels.
He’s always been on that theoretical list, being involved with the Rebellion since pretty much the very beginning. He sort of screwed himself with their latest stunt, though.
Joel knows that, too. He knows that just being around Etho at a sensitive time puts him in danger.
This isn’t a conversation he would be having with Bdubs. Bdubs would jump into whatever he drags him into and Etho would do the same.
Etho smiles under his mask. He likes this challenge.
“Do you want me to be honest with you?”
Joel shrugs. He has no reason to stand there and let Etho be patronizing.
“You’re trying to convince me to go on a mission to Coruscant with the third most-wanted Rebel in the Rebellion,” Joel chuckles. “You’re going to have to do a lot more than be honest.”
That makes Etho pause for a second. “Wait. Third most-wanted?”
“Etho, please,” Joel scoffs. “We have two Jedi in our midst and none of us mean nearly the same as they do.”
Yeah, that’s fair. Etho clears his throat, effectively cutting Joel off. When did they even switch topics?
“I want you on this mission because you’re hard to predict. That’s deadly to the Empire, should it come to that.”
Joel looks at him, going over Etho’s words as if trying to decide whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. Etho lets him decide on his own.
“Everyone knows how you work, Etho,” Joel says after a beat. “You calculate every move before you make it. You devise a plan. I don’t think that I’m the right person for your job.”
“You just come in swinging.” Etho takes a step away from him if only to give him space to think. “I think we may need that for this job.”
Joel bites at his lip, for once taking the time to think before he makes a rash decision. Etho feels his hands sweaty as he watches Joel.
He just… went up to Joel when that wasn’t his original plan. It was instinctive, and Etho rarely does that. Joel’s going to be just fine, so long as he agrees.
“You suspect it might come down to a fight?” Joel asks.
“I trust you to make the call to start shooting your blaster should things get out of hand. I don’t know what to suspect, quite frankly. It’s a loaded mission.”
Joel nods. Etho’s getting through to him and now he has to keep him.
“How long did X give you to find someone?”
Etho doesn’t see how that’s relevant, but he answers anyway. “Until the morning.”
Joel chuckles. Everyone in the Rebellion knows X has a track record for unfeasible deadlines. “Ah, so X did that fun little thing where he gives us no time to complete an impossible task. I love it when he does that.”
“Hey, isn’t that what happened just last week with your ship’s shields-“
“I’ll do it!” Joel interrupts, gluing the grin onto Etho’s face. Joel can’t see it, but he smiles back at him as if he can. “I’ll go with you on the mission. But if I die, you’re the one breaking the news to my team.”
Etho’s fine with that, but he knows it won’t come to that. Not if he has anything to say about it.