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Chapter Text

"KANAAAAAN!"

Sabine tossed her head back and laughed. "Ooooh, she's mad."

"Yeah, I know!" Kanan glared at her.  "But she wouldn't be if someone had just told me where the can of protector paint was!"

Sabine shrugged, a sly grin tugging at her lips. "How am I supposed to know where it is?"

"YOU STEAL ALL THE PAINT - " Kanan squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled sharply. He started pacing the length of the room. "It's fine, it's fine, it's fine! I'll just talk to her. She's reasonable. We'll be fine - "

" KANAN ANTHONY JARRUS! "

"Oh kriff -" Swearing, Kanan grabbed Ezra's arm and yanked him towards the nearest exit. As the door closed behind them, Chopper and Sabine high fived and started laughing. 

So they had hidden the paint… Of course they did, Ezra thought miserably.

But despite all the terror Ezra was feeling, he looked up to Kanan and asked him the most vital question."Your middle name is Anthony?"

"I don't have a middle name," Kanan snapped, towing Ezra through a hallway.

Ezra stumbled, barely catching himself. "But then why did she call - " 

"Just start running!" Kanan ordered. "Unless you want to get caught, too."

"I - "

"DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTING AWAY EITHER, BRIDGER! YOU TWO BETTER GET YOUR SORRY BOTTOMS OVER HERE THIS MINUTE OR I WILL - "

Ezra shuddered, jogging to catch up to Kanan. "No thanks."

"That's what I thought." Kanan paused in front of the kitchen door. Ezra straightened as he recognized Kanan's planning face. "Now," Kanan began, "She's super mad, but we might be able to - "

The door slid open. Kanan swore and jumped back. Ezra felt his stomach drop as Hera stepped through the doorway, arms crossed and face dangerously cool. "Going somewhere, boys?" she asked evenly.

Kanan smiled sheepishly. "Okay, I know it looks bad - "

"Looks bad? Looks bad?" Hera barked out a laugh. "Oh, that's how you describe the blaster burns all over my cargo bay?"

Kanan winced and raised his hands in surrender. "Ezra wanted to learn how to shoot a blaster, and he might have missed a few targets - " 

"Which is when you realized how stupid an idea that was!" Hera stabbed her finger into Kanan's chest. "And don't pin this on Ezra!" 

"I wasn't - " Kanan started to protest, but Hera cut him off.

"You should have known better, and you should have prepared for the fact Ezra would miss and hit my walls!" Hera glanced at him. "No offense, Ezra."

He smiled weakly, just grateful he wasn't a target of her anger (yet). "None taken." 

"Okay, yes," Kanan sighed. "It's really bad, but - "

"But what?" Hera swept her arms out. "You thought I wouldn't notice?" 

"Kind of, yeah - "

She reared back and slugged Kanan's shoulder. "Well, guess what? I did."

"Ow!" Kanan stepped and rubbed his arm. "Did you really have to punch that hard?"

"Oh, don't worry, I can punch harder." She . "I'm starting to think that your nightmare last night was actually about me , and that's why you were so scared to talk about it, because oooooh, let me tell you, you sure are pushing my patience -  "

"Patience?" Kanan scoffed. "Wow, I couldn't have guessed you were being patient right now." 

Hera's eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips. Shrinking back, Ezra pressed his back against the wall. He was still getting to know Hera, but whenever his mom had put her hands on her hips like that, she meant business. And considering the way Kanan wilted and looked like he'd just been slapped, Ezra assumed it was the same with Hera.

"Don't. Push. It," she growled.

Kanan's shoulders slumped. "Okay. I'm sorry. Yes, that was a stupid decision on my part, but I was going to clean it up." He sighed. "I just couldn't find the protector pain - "

"Couldn't - ?" Hera let out a sharp laugh. "We have an artist on this ship!"

"I'm pretty sure Sabine hid it from me," Kanan mumbled. 

"Of course she did." Hera rubbed her temples. "Why, why, why did I move all the paint back within Sabine's reach…?"

"Don't ask me, it wasn't my stupid decision."

Hera glared. "I will punch you again."

"Trust me, I know." He smiled, a bit more confidently. "How about if you find the paint, I'll go clean it up. Deal?"

Hera squinted at him, but finally nodded. "Fine. Deal." 

Ezra took this distraction as his moment to escape. Stepping lightly out of Hera's eyesight, he slid towards the door - 

His jacket collar jerked into his throat. Coughing uncontrollably, he was unable to stop a a strong hand from yanking him backwards. Ezra reached back to pry off whoever's hand it was, ready to fight… but then he looked up.

Hera raised an eyebrow.

He smiled as innocently as he could. "Oh. Hi, Hera."

"Don't think you're getting away." She shoved him towards Kanan. "I know you wanted to learn, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you still made the mess. So you get to help Kanan."

It was useless to argue. He could see the fire in her eyes. There was no escape. "Understood," Ezra mumbled. 

"Good. Now, I'll go track down the paint. You two go find brushes. Clear?"

"Clear," they muttered.

Hera waved them off, already grabbing a datapad and tapping on it. It wasn't until the door closed behind her that Kanan let out a long breath. "Whew. That wasn't too bad."

"That wasn't too bad?" Ezra repeated in horror. He'd never seen Hera so angry! But somehow, that wasn't 'too bad'? Then what did 'too bad' look like?! "How wasn't that too bad?"

Kanan just laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Kid, welcome to Day Two of being cabin sick on the Ghost." He elbowed Ezra. "It's a lot of fun, isn't it?"

"Uh…" 

Flashes of memories ran through his mind.

Sabine plummeting him to pieces.

Zeb tackling him any time they interacted.

Chopper cussing off Ezra's ears every chance he got.

Hera yelling at anyone in her path.

Kanan making stupid decisions.

…All in the last hour.

"Yeah," he murmured. "Super fun."

Kanan sighed as he kicked open the broken closet door. "I know, I know. It's rough. But hey, we'll be landing soon, and then everyone will start being nicer to each other." He paused as a thoughtful look came over his face. "Well, hopefully."

Hopefully? Ezra thought. But he kept his mouth shut. Living on the Ghost was a hundred times better than living on the streets. He would just have to hope everyone would cheer up when they touched down. 

"Alright, kid." Kanan tossed Ezra a brush. "Let's get to work."

He smiled and nodded, following Kanan through the halls. But for some reason, he couldn't quite keep up. Something was dragging his feet down, something felt heavy in the air, something wasn't right…

"You coming?" Kanan asked, looking back at him with a worried expression.

"Huh? Y-yeah." Ezra shook off… whatever that was as he clutched the brush. He hadn't realized he'd stopped walking. Did it have something to do with the way his stomach churned, how it felt like someone was breathing down his neck?

It was probably nothing. It had to be nothing. 

He couldn't be afraid - he wasn't afraid. He had to be helpful. He could do this. "I'm coming."

Luckily, Kanan was talkative today, so a moment didn't pass where Ezra wasn't focused on a conversation. Slowly, the pounding of his heart faded away. He was able to relax as he patched up the walls, teasing and laughing with Kanan. 

But the dark feeling still trailed after him…

It's nothing, he thought stubbornly. It's fine.

It'll go away…

***

The caf machine hummed as it stirred up the ingredients. Hera closed her eyes and rested her head on the wall. She wished this stupid migraine would go away already. Yes, it had been another long, long day of breaking up fights. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to go crawl into bed right now. Yes, she was afraid that the next person who talked to her would get punched in the face.

But she still had work to do.

And having a headache just wasn't going to cut it.

The caf machine trilled cheerily. Hera pulled her mug out and sighed as soothing swirls of steam rose up from it.

Yep, she needed this. It had been awhile since she'd been able to enjoy a mug of caf in peace. Scratch that, it had been a long time since she'd been able to do anything in peace. 

Annoyance stirred in her stomach, not for the first time today. But this time, she allowed herself a moment to simmer in it. She cared for her crew very, very much. But for the love of everything good in the galaxy, could they stop bickering for just one minute? That was all she asked for. One minute to recover her sanity. Just one. 

But here she was, unable to count how many yelling matches she'd had to break up while Kanan conveniently disappeared to go meditate… 

"Who knew spending two days in hyperspace would be so troublesome?" she muttered. 

To her great relief, no one answered her. 

Leaning against the counter, she took her time. The warmth of the cup seeped through her gloves into her stiff fingers. She savored every creamy sip. She really should get a move on. The caf would start to cool soon and she had a lot of work to do. But she found she didn't really care. 

Hera needed a minute before she got back to reality and the long night ahead.

Several minutes later, she realized what she was doing as she sipped her caf. A smile tugged at her lips. Hera was listening to the crew's snores drifting in through the open kitchen door.

You big softie. She hadn't even noticed she'd left it open. It was simply a habit at this point. With all of her crewmates' regular nightmares, she left it open so she could hear if someone was trying to sneak past her. It wasn't good to face those things alone, but her crew was stubborn, and sometimes it took being caught in the act to get them to open up.

A pang of bitterness echoed in her heart. Even years later, it still left a sour taste in her mouth when she thought about her father. About how many years she'd spent hiding things from her father. Crying herself to sleep at night, too afraid to go talk to him… no kid deserved to go through that. Hera wanted everyone to know they were welcome to come talk to her if they ever needed it.

Speaking of nightmares…

Hera sat her caf down and tilted her head, listening. No creaking boards betrayed another late night art project by Sabine. No scuttling of Chopper preparing another prank. Zeb's snores were too long and loud to be fake, and she didn't hear any of Ezra's featherlight footsteps.

And she didn't hear the hum of a holocron. 

Frowning, she took a step forward… then stopped. No, she shouldn't. If Kanan had fallen asleep meditating, the last thing she should do is accidentally wake him up. But if he was having another nightmare, shouldn't she be there?

Ugh. Hera snatched up her cup, furious at her indecision. 

Come on, Syndulla, get a grip. What was with her lately? She was a Captain, a leader. She always knew what decision to make. 

But as she paced the floor, Hera found that simply wasn't true anymore.

Who are you now?

Hera's teeth grit together at the sound of her father's voice echoing in her ears.

Now that it's all gone… what are you? 

Are you just a faker?

A liar?

"Shut. Up!" She ground out, but her father's voice continued to whisper at the back of her mind. Not knowing what else to do, she gulped down a massive drink. Fire flushed down her throat and she coughed. Stars, that hurt. But it helped snap her back to her usual calm. Hera shoved her last of her father's criticism away. 

I know who I am.

Bringing the mug up with considerable more control, she tilted it and watched the cream and caf swirl together. About five days ago, Kanan had suddenly decided he preferred to meditate rather than sleep. He had yet to bring it up, but Hera knew he was having nightmares again. However, he still wouldn't admit he was struggling with them again. Which was fine. He could talk when he was ready. 

But shouldn't she be there if he was having a nightmare?

Hera finished her caf and tossed the cup in the sink. No, she finally decided. If Kanan needed help, he would come find her. Grabbing her datapad, she sat down and sighed, ready to crunch numbers…

"Hera?"

She jumped, reaching for her blaster out of habit. A relieved breath rushed out of her as a small figure stepped out of the shadows. Hera relaxed.

"Oh, Ezra. You're awake." 

"Are you okay?" 

She nodded. "You just scared me."

"Sorry." He squinted and rubbed his eyes. He must have just gotten up. Though she probably could have known just by how half of his hair was standing straight up in the air. She smiled. Even Sabine's bedhead wasn't as bad as Ezra's.

He frowned. "What?"

"Nothing." She smoothed out her expression as she set down the datapad. "Do you need something?"

"I - I had a bad feeling."

Hera nodded without missing a beat. Living with a Jedi for five years helped her get used to vague descriptions. "Was it a nightmare?"

"No, I just woke up and everything felt really yucky." He looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet. "I-I'm not sure…"

Hera patted the seat next to her. "It's okay. Why don't we figure it out?"

Ezra smiled and nodded. Sliding into the seat next to her, he leaned his arms on the table. "I thought it was a nightmare, but it… it didn't feel like my emotions."
She sorted through all of Kanan's fun (not really) experiences. "Like you were feeling someone else's emotions?"

Ezra nodded. "I don't know why it woke me up." He sighed, his head dropping to the table. "This is so new to me, Hera."
"I know, and that's okay," she soothed. "I'm still not very good at Jedi stuff either."

"But you're not a Jedi. I am - well, I'm trying to be. Shouldn't it…" he paused, raising his head cautiously. His eyes flicked to her nervously.

She nodded at him to continue.

"Shouldn't it be more natural for me?" he asked. 

"Not really. You're learning something new. It's going to be hard at first." She chuckled. "I still remember my first time flying. Do you know how well it went?"

Ezra perked up. "Really good, right?"

"Well… I managed to confuse the Imperials who were shooting us." A grin slid on her face. "But I also nearly shot and ran over my friends."

Ezra's eyebrows shot up into his long hair. "But you're such a good pilot!"

"I wasn't at first." Hera sighed. "Unfortunately, not knowing something is going to be the least of your problems, Ezra. You're gonna fail a lot, okay? It's not going to be pretty. Just don't beat yourself up about it. You've got a lot of time to learn, and a great teacher to help you."

"Okay." He nodded, a new brightness in his eyes. "I understand."

She playfully elbowed him. "You probably don't, but thanks for the positivity." 

Ezra smiled briefly but another look of confusion crossed his face. "But you just told me what it's like, how do I not understand?"

"You usually don't understand things completely until you go through them," Hera said as patiently as she could, bracing for the barrage of questions about to come. 

"Okay, but - "

Yeah, I can't do this right now.

"I think it's time for bed," she cut in quickly, before he could get another question out.

Ezra pouted. "Awww."

"You can ask me all your questions tomorrow, when my brain is functioning better. Or, better yet, when Kanan's awake." She patted his back. "Until then, sleep well." 

"Fiiine." He slid out of his seat and sulked to the door. Hera had to bite her lip to keep a laugh from escaping. Oh boy, if he was this grumpy now, he was going to be a menace as a teenager.

Ezra suddenly turned around and she scrambled to compose herself. 

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. Just… thanks," he said quietly.

She smiled. "Of course. Goodnight, Ezra."

"Night." He disappeared into the hallway.

Hera leaned back, taking a moment to appreciate the warmth spreading in her chest. Ezra had only joined the crew about a month ago, but he was already warming up to everyone, months earlier than Sabine had. 

She frowned. Honestly, that girl still was still in her shell. Was she still struggling with something Hera didn't know about? Hera would need to talk to her again… And Zeb was being distant again. Kanan's nightmares, what were they about? Chop still needed some repairs... She really should go talk to Sabine...

***

"Two o'clock."

Hera jerked up to see Chopper sitting in front of her. Where had he come from? "What?"

"It's two o'clock."

"Oh." Hera glanced down at the datapad. Sure enough, the clock at the top of the screen said 2 o'clock. She quickly brushed off her surprise. "Well, it's not the first time I've pulled an all-nighter, Chop, you know that. Here, go grab me another cup of caf, will you?"

"No caf!" Chopper shouted. "You need sleep!"

"Be quiet, you're gonna wake everyone up!" She hissed, glancing at the door uneasily. 

"They can suck it. And they won't care. They will help you feel better." 

She glared at him. "Chop, I'm fine. "

"Tomorrow won't be." Chopper focused his optics on her. "Unless you get sleep."

"I said I'm fine. Besides, these numbers need to be accurate before the mission, otherwise we're done for." Hera tapped the datapad. The details of the mission seemed permanently etched into her eyeballs. She knew the report backwards and forwards. 

The Empire was trading explosives with a local pirate gang. They were going to use the explosives on some rowdy farmers on Lothal. They were refusing to bow down, so the Empire was going to make sure they never stood up again. 

"We're going to be stealing dangerous explosives, Chop. And after Kanan and Ezra wrecked my cargo bay, we have to be extra careful. We need to know exactly how to transport them in the Ghost or we'll all blow up! Temperature, space, packaging - "

Chopper slammed his metal hands on the table. "You! Need! SLEEP!"

"No, I don't," she growled. "Now go plug in, Chop. The last thing we need is for you to shut down in the middle of battle."

"Heist. You mean heist."

"Yes, well, same thing," she said quickly.

"You know things aren't going to go to plan."

Hera squashed the bitterness rising in her stomach. She wasn't actually upset at Chopper, she was just tired and it had been a long, long two days. But she still felt annoyed at Chopper, even though his statement was true. It felt… like a failure on her part.

 "They never do," she said sharply.

"Then calculations are worthless." Chopper waved his hand towards her datapad. "The way you help crew most is by getting sleep. Well rested leader equals better chance of success." Chopper whirred. "Problem solved."

"I - " Hera closed her eyes, feeling pain crease her forehead. "That's not how it works."

"Yes, it is." Chopper's spark projector flew out of his chest, blue streaks of electricity snapping through the air. "Don't make me shock you!"

"Chopper!" 

"I will!" 

"Chopper, don't you dare!" Hera kicked him away. He screeched as she pushed him onto his side. Hera winced at the loud bang that followed his crash. 

"Chop, will you calm down!"

"YOU CALM DOWN!" he fired back.

Hera sighed. "Just - just let me do a few more, okay? Just to be sure."

Chopper grumbled, pushing himself up. "You're killing yourself."

"I'm not. It's one night. It's not the end of the world." Hera picked up her datapad and started typing again. 

"It's about what Cham said, isn't it?"

Hera froze.

Chopper's voice melted into her father's voice, sharp and critical.

You aren't a leader.

You're a liar.

A fake.

The blue light of the screen blurred and her hands trembled. She tried to suck in a steadying breath but instead a raw gasp left her lips. Chopper rolled towards her, no doubt to help and to comfort her, but Hera turned away.

"Chop, just…" Her voice cracked. "Just go plug in."

Chopper gave a disgruntled sigh, but he still left. 

She sighed. Tonight had really tried her patience. The past week had. Hera wasn't sure what to do. She was getting burnt out… that was the right word, right? Hera honestly didn't know. She'd never felt like this before. But that wasn't going to stop her. She may not understand her emotions, but she would not be daunted by this task.

Squaring her shoulders, Hera tapped furiously on the datapad. She had to get these numbers figured out before they landed. Their whole mission depended on it. They had spent two torturous days in hyperspace to get the info for this mission, they could not afford to waste it. 

But the pounding in her head grew, threatening to drown everything else out. Hera clutched the datapad in her hands, trying to read the numbers, but it was like her father was right here scolding her, his harsh voice cutting right into her heart - Are you just a faker? A liar - what was she doing, she was going to lead her crew right into a trap and then - then - 

No. 

Hera swiped her hand across her eyes, sniffing. 

She knew who she was.

She was Hera Syndulla, captain of this ship and leader of her crew.

And they were going to complete this mission.

She'd figure it out. She always did.

She always did.

Chapter Text

- Two Hours Earlier -

Chopper groaned as Hera began the briefing again.

"Remember, this is supposed to be a stealth mission," Hera repeated for the hundredth time. "Don't engage any of the Imperials or pirates unless absolutely necessary. Try not be seen by anybody - " 

Sabine let out a dramatic sigh. Did Hera not trust her? "Relax, Hera, we've got it under control." She slid her helmet on, rolling her eyes. "It's not like this is our first mission." 

Sliding past Hera to the open ramp, Ezra grinned as he inched closer to the world outside. "Yeah, Hera! It's not even my first stealth mission. We'll be fine - "

"Nu-uh." Hera grabbed his collar, dragging him back. "You're staying here."

"What?! But I can help!" 

Hera smiled. "You're right, you can help me." She glared, pointing at the Ghost. "Here. On the Ghost." 

Ezra stuck his lip out, pouting. Sabine felt kind of bad for the kid, but at the same time, she was glad he was staying here. He was shorter than all of them. He'd just slow them down, get himself killed. Better he stayed here.  

Zeb snapped his Bo-Rifle into place. "Sorry, kid. Maybe next time."

That only seemed to make Ezra angrier. "If this is about what happened on Stygeon Prime, I promise I won't freeze up again! I'll do better - " 

"This isn't about Stygeon Prime." Kanan's voice was firm as he slid down the ladder, geared up and ready to go. Sabine noted that not only did Kanan have his blaster, but also his lightsaber hooked to his belt. That wasn't something you saw often. "But it also doesn't help your case at all. Stay here, Ezra. We'll be back soon."
"But - "

"This is non-negotiable," Hera cut in. Sabine winced at her I'm-dead-serious tone, which she had far too many memories of. Ezra wasn't winning this one. "You'll stay here on the Ghost, while Zeb, Kanan, and Sabine secure the explosives. Now, once you're inside - "

"We know, Hera," the entire crew droned. 

She crossed her arms, lekku twitching. "Well, fine then."

"Sorry, love. You're doing great." Kanan leaned down and kissed Hera. 

Sabine made a gagging noise. Disgusting. 

She spotted Ezra doing the same thing, face twisting as if he tasted something sour. "Gross," Ezra muttered.

"I know, right?" Sabine shuddered as Kanan kissed Hera again. "There are children here, you know!"

"Yeah, get a room, you two!" Ezra called. 

Hera shot them an annoyed look before grabbing Kanan's shirt and dragging him into another kiss. 

Ezra and Sabine groaned. 

"So gross," they both whispered, then looked in surprise at each other.

Ezra shot her a grin. Sabine felt a small smile play on her lips. Okay, maybe the kid wasn't all too bad. 

Chopper shouted an expletive as Kanan and Hera finished making out and Zeb sulked outside. Sabine chuckled and patted the astromech's head. "Good luck to you, too, Chop. Don't be too hard on the kid, will you?"

Chopper made a disgruntled sound as Ezra smirked beside her.

"Aw, Sabine, do you care about me?" he asked.

"No, giving you a hard time is my job. I need a piece of you still alive in order to make fun of you." She punched his shoulder. "See ya soon, lothrat."

He rubbed his shoulder, still smiling. "Thanks. Don't die out there."

"Eh, I think I'll be fine." Sabine descended the ramp after Kanan, stepping out into the grass. Kothal was just a dot in the distance, the Imperial Outpost sitting in the center of the small town. She understanded they needed to be discreet, but couldn't Hera have dropped them a little closer? Her legs were already aching.

"Good luck," Hera said, standing at the top of the ramp. "And remember - "

"It's a stealth mission! We know!" they shouted. Hera rolled her eyes, slamming the ramp shut before Ezra could dart out after them. 

The group began walking through the dark field. The first touches of light were melding into the darkness, the rising sun painting the edges of the hazy indigo sky a misty light gray. Sabine wished she had a camera to take a picture, so she could later capture it forever in swirling paints. 

But her art would have to wait. The Ghost's engines powered up and with a wave from Hera and a rude gesture from Chopper, they lifted off the ground.

Sabine huffed as the Ghost took off, sailing off into the sky. "What does she think, we're twelve?"

Zeb gave her a scrutinizing look. "Um. You are twelve." 

"Well, I'm really mature for my age!" she protested.

Both of them snorted. 

"She's just a bit worried," Kanan said as the sky lightened into a foggy white, the first soft rays of sunshine arcing across the valley. "But I agree, I think we'll be fine. In and out in no time."

"Yeah," Sabine agreed. "After all, what's the worst that can happen?"

***

Sabine slammed the stormtrooper's head into the closing door. The stupid buckethead managed to shove off of the wall and into her, knocking her back. Sabine was forced to let go and dance back out of reach. The door shut harmlessly behind him as he stood straight, nearly twice her height. 

"Come on, little girl. Let's end this." The buckethead swung his fist at her. Sabine easily ducked underneath it, aiming a kick at his ankle. He skipped back before it could land, another punch flying at her face. Raising her arm, she blocked it, the strike bounced harmlessly off her vambrace. Sabine lunged forward, letting a flurry of thrusts off into his side.

He stumbled back, grunting. That was all she needed. Sabine leaped forward, slamming a fist into his chest. Gasping for air, the guard fell to his knees. She landed the finishing kick to his head and he went limp.

Sabine massaged her wrist, taking a moment to catch her breath. Kark, most bucketheads didn't know how to even throw a punch right, but that one knew how to fight. Kind of. Still really undignified. But still annoying.

Zeb's head peeked around the corner. "What was that?!" he hissed.

"There was a guard, he saw you!" She gestured at the unconscious buckethead next to her. "I took him out! You're welcome!"

"You're supposed to be on lookout!" Kanan spat, his head appearing next to Zeb's.

"I am! He saw you!" Sabine grabbed the buckethead's arm, trying to heave him towards the closet door. "Zeb, come help me!"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud…" Zeb stalked over, lifting the idiot with just one hand. He heaved the buckethead into the closet. 

"Okay, I've got it!" Kanan announced. They hurried over to the panel where Kanan was slicing into the Imp's system. Data scrolled by faster than Sabine could read, but somehow Kanan understood it all. "Kriff! They've already started the exchange. But it looks like the pirate is trying to bargain for more, so that buys us a couple of minutes."

"Where?" Sabine asked, already pulling up the base plans on her vambrace. From here, they'd be able to chart their path (and their escape for when things inevitably went wrong).

"Spectre-1, come in. You missed your check-in." Hera's stern but worried voice crackled over the comms.

Kanan clicked on the panel. "Just a second, Spectre-2. Spectre-5, I think it's in the - "

"Hey you! What are you doing?" 

Zeb whipped around, raising a Bo-Rifle. Three stormtroopers raced towards them, shouting some long list of threats and codes. Kanan caught his arm, hissing "No! That's too loud!" 

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Zeb exclaimed.

"This!" Sabine sprinted forward, sliding in between one of the guards' legs. She bounced up behind him, kicking his knee. There was a crack and he gave a muffled scream. As he fell, she spun around, unsheathing her vibroknife. She sliced the next guard's arm before he could shoot her, causing him to drop his blaster. Sabine grabbed his arm, shoving herself up into the air so they were eye-to-eye. 

"Hey," she said and slammed the hilt of the vibroknife into his face. 

He toppled over, a crack in his visor. She skidded back as the last guard sprinted towards her. Sabine tensed, ready to fight, but then Zeb's fist smashed into the guard's head. He dropped like a sack of rocks.

"Good job, kid," Zeb rumbled. 

"Don't call me kid." Sabine grabbed one of the guards and started yanking him towards the closet. "Besides, let's just hope Spectre-2 didn't hear that."

"Don't you mean the Empire?"

"No, I mean - "

Kanan winced as Hera squawked over the comms.

"Spectre-1, what was that? I swear, if you're dead-"

"We're fine," Kanan said soothingly, waving them on. Sabine dragged a guard over to the closet. "Just ran into some trouble. We've got it under control now."

Sabine opened the closet, jumping as she saw another slumped over body in there. She'd almost forgotten about that guy.

"Oh, really?" Hera snapped. It was like she could see them stuffing bodies into closets.

"Yes, really!" Kanan shot back, but his eyes darted back to Zeb and Sabine as they piled in the bodies. 

"I'm pretty sure that was fighting I heard - " Hera yelled as Sabine shoved the last unconscious guard in the closet. One almost fell out, but Zeb caught them before they hit the ground. He tossed them back in, their armor making a loud CLANG as they landed. Sabine winced. Hopefully no one had heard that.

"Well, Captain, " Kanan growled, "I'm not sure it's really my fault if I didn't know there'd be more patrols! What do you mean, you covered that in the briefing? I have no memory of that - what did you just call me?! Oh, Ezra's listening in, so you can't - oh, oh , I see. Well then - " Kanan shouted something in another language into the comms. Zeb slapped a hand across Sabine's face before she could laugh at the translation.

Hera sighed. "Dear, may I remind you that this is a stealth mission? Maybe you shouldn't be yelling, huh?" 

"Hey, the Empire doesn't know we're here. We're fine - " Kanan was cut off as shouts echoed down the hall. On instinct, Sabine turned around, blasting the three stormtroopers racing towards them. Her shots echoed through the empty metal hallways, followed by three loud crashes as the bucketheads fell.

They all froze, holding their breaths. 

"Maybe no one heard that?" Zeb whispered as they crouched, tensing.

After three seconds of holding their breaths, Sabine relaxed, letting her hands drop. "I think we're clear."

"HEY! YOU!" A blaster bolt whizzed by Kanan's ear. Stormtroopers poured into the hallway, blasters brandished.

"Nope! Not clear! Not clear!" Zeb shouted, firing a round. Sabine whipped around to shoot some bucketheads, but Kanan yanked her around the corner.

"Wha - hey! I was gonna shoot them!" she cried, stumbling.

"Well, now you get to run from them! And yes, Spectre-2, there's been a change of plans!" Kanan shouted into his comm as they sprinted down the hallway. Sabine rolled her eyes, turning on her heel at the last second to fire. She dropped at least five of the stormtroopers before she skidded around another corner for cover. Take that , Kanan. 

"What kind of change?" Hera snapped. Even through the blaster smoke clogging the air, Sabine saw Kanan wince. Sabine didn't even try to hold back her laugh. Hera never pulled out that voice unless she was really pissed. 

Two bucketheads ran in front of them, trying to block off their escape. Kanan blasted both of them. "You're in trooouble," Sabine sang as he lowered his smoking blaster.

Kanan sent a scathing glare at her, one that could melt durasteel. Good thing she was wearing beskar. "Relax, Spectre-2," he ground out. "I've got it under control."

Zeb cursed as alarms started blaring, bathing the hallway in red. 

"Well, mostly," Kanan corrected.

"Define mostly!" Sabine said as they turned into a hallway, just to run into another squad of bucketheads. "Kriff, how many stormtroopers are in this karking facility?!"

"This was supposed to be a stealth mission - " Hera scolded through comms, but Sabine didn't hear the rest of it. A trooper swung his blaster at her face. She ducked, sweeping his legs out from under him. With a shout, he tumbled to the ground, taking two others with them.

Sabine stood, blasting three more troopers. They just kept coming! Maybe if she chucked an explosive down the hallway, she could clear out a good number of them…

"Hera, you're not making this any easier!" Kanan cried. Sabine yelped as his hand slammed into her back, shoving her to the ground. A loud BOOM rocked the room as Kanan shielded her body with his. 

She wriggled out of his protective grasp, popping her head out enough to see the hallway behind them smoking. "Hey! I was gonna do that!" 

"Then be faster next time." Kanan stood and reached to help her up, but she smacked his hands away. It was sweet, but she wasn't in the mood to be babied today. 

"I'm fine, Mr. Heroic, thanks," she spat, standing.

Kanan rolled his eyes, turning to help Zeb. "Clearly," he muttered.

She stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. So what if she had her helmet on and he couldn't see it? Revenge was meant to be petty. And kriff, sometimes did it feel good .

"It's gettin' kind of tight in here!" Zeb shouted as he plowed through four stormtroopers, tossing them like ragdolls. 

"I know, I'm working on it!" Kanan shouted, turning to the left hallway. Sabine nearly ran into him as he skidded to a stop, freezing as a squad of bucketheads raced towards them. He quickly waved them down another hallway. Seconds later, the air was filled with blaster fire from all directions.

"Not very well!" Sabine chimed in, tossing two explosives behind them. They ducked around a corner just in time to see the flames shoot by in beautiful twisting colors.

"Kid - " Kanan growled.

"Don't call me kid." She jabbed her blaster at him. "Now get to work, fearless leader. We're right back where we started. What do we do now?"

Zeb peered back through the hallway, quickly yanking his head back. A red laser screeched past them. "Now might not be the best time for planning!"

"Kriff, how are there even more of them?" They'd had to have already taken down at least twenty bucketheads in the past two minutes. A new record, one she'd normally be proud of, but she was starting to feel the exhaustion burning in her muscles. Stormtroopers might be incompetent idiots who couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, but they were still idiots with blasters.

"I guess the Empire was expecting us." Kanan shot the door panel, and it exploded into fiery sparks. The door slammed shut. "That buys us a few minutes."

"To prepare for our deaths?" Zeb rumbled.

Kanan pointed at the vent shaft over their heads. "No. New plan. Spectre-5, you're going in the vents."

"I think you mean I'm staying right here." Sabine stepped back, swallowing as she saw the dark vent grate. The last thing she needed was to go into that nightmarish place.

"We need someone to go get the explosives! Our path's cut off and we aren't losing these guys anytime soon. We need you to get them while we keep them distracted."

"Uh-uh." Sabine shook her head fervently. "I'll stay here and help you guys. You can go get in there!" 

"Guys!" Zeb shouted as sparks shot through the metal. The bucketheads were cutting through the door. "We're running out of time!"

 "You know I can't fit in there! You have to go." Kanan glared at her. "That's an order."

"But- what, HEY!" Sabine kicked the air as Zeb plucked her off the ground, lifting her up to the grate. "T-this is Ezra's job, not mine!" 

"Well, Ezra's not here right now." Kanan swore as the door split open. "Just go!"

Despite her thrashing, she found herself being stuffed into the small crushing metal tube of horror. Zeb was reaching up to replace the grate before she could even blink. "W-wait, how am I even supposed to get the explosives to the Ghost if I'm in the vents?!" she cried helplessly, panic closing in on every side.

There was a shout and something crashed into the cover from the outside, shaking the whole vent. Sabine gripped onto the sides of the wall as blaster fire began. Kanan shouted "Figure it out!" before he disappeared.

Thanks a lot, she thought bitterly as the battle raged outside. Kark, why'd Kanan give this job to her?! It wasn't that she was claustrophobic or anything (her? Scared of anything? Ha! ) but… this particular place didn't exactly hold excellent memories for her. Wincing as something thudded behind her and the vent creaked, Sabine held back a curse. It wasn't too late. She could still get the kriff out of there. 

But… she kind of had to do it now, though, didn't she? Otherwise Kanan would know something was up, and then she'd get cornered by Hera later and be forced to sit down for a… a talk.  

Sabine shuddered. Yeah, no, she'd rather die up here, thanks.

A small voice sounding like Kanan shouted at her. She rolled her eyes. Oh, and the mission would fail too, I guess, she thought miserably. Plus Ezra would never let me live it down.

With all those reasons pressing on her shoulders, Sabine swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. She could do this. She could kriffing do this. She was a Mandalorian, for kark's sake. 

She took a deep breath, focusing on the cold metal under her fingertips. Focus, focus, gotta focus…

Carefully, she shifted her elbows underneath her, enough to start crawling backwards. The little square of light disappeared quickly, replaced by nothing but her echoing breathing and the rattling air conditioning. The sounds of the firefight were gone, so she hoped that it meant that the bucketheads were soundly beaten. Those two idiots better not be dead. 

Her foot hit the air. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw four different tunnels leading different ways, including down. 

It's okay. It's not a twenty foot drop like last time. There's no explosions or fire. You're fine. There is literally no way you could die right now.

…Except if someone found you.

Or set off an explosion. 

Or if there is a fifty foot drop down there…

OR -

Sabine smacked the side of her helmet. "Shut it," she muttered, before twisting around in order to shimmy towards the drop headfirst. Turning on her night vision, she peered down despite the pounding of her heart. It was only a ten foot drop, and it looked like it took her to a lower level. Scanning the other pathways in front of her and constructing a mental map in her mind, she chose a direction to take.

Now the hard part. Sabine had made bigger jumps before, but she still felt her sweaty fingers slide against the cool metal as she crouched. 

Taking a steadying breath, she tensed. Come on, you baby. Just do it.

No one is here to stab you in the back this time.

Sabine jumped, her chest hitting the edge of the next vent and knocking the breath out of her. Her armor clanged against the metal as her feet dangled in empty air. Maybe it was just stuffy in her helmet, but she could have sworn she smelt some smoke. 

Sabine scrambled for a hand hold, dragging the rest of her up onto the tunnel. She breathed hard, ignoring the flicker of fire in the corner of her eye.

It was just her stupid imagination.

Time was warped up here - it could have been twenty minutes or five - but eventually after lots and lots of crawling, Sabine peered down into the right room. Boxes and boxes of explosives lay open beneath her. She grinned, her aching knees and elbows sighing in relief. She went to shove the latch open, but a voice suddenly cut through the air and she froze.

"You can't be serious! With that price… well, I might as well go dig myself a grave right now! I'm supposed to be the swindler here!"

Kriff, kriff, kriff, kriff! There were still people in there! Sabine slid back, trying to see anyone. All she saw were the boots of what looked like an Imperial officer and the head of a Weequay, who was animatedly waving his hands around.

"This is our last offer," the Imperial officer said sharply, his tone suggesting he was very done with life.

I feel ya, Sabine thought as she slid her helmet off. She pressed her head to the floor, trying to count the guards along the wall. 

"My good sir!" The pirate continued. "This won't even feed me, much less the rest of my crew! Did you see them? They're huge!"

"They're Uganaunts," the officer sighed.

"Yes! Have you ever tried to feed one? Their baby's ravenous appetites put rancors to shame! Try feeding three full grown adults!"

Sliding her helmet back on, Sabine grabbed a smoke bomb. Then she gently pushed the vent grate away, sighing in relief when it didn't squeak. She unholstered her blaster with her other hand and pressed the smoke bomb button.

This was a terrible idea.

But she'd rather die in a blaze of glory than in a haunted vent.

"Mr. Ohnaka…" the Imperial sighed.

Sabine dropped the smoke bomb. They all jumped as smoke shot out of it, quickly filling the whole room. Shouts and shots echoed. Sabine grinned as she soundlessly slid out of the vent. So far, so good.

Dancing between the thrashing figures, she watched the Imperial officer curse. "Don't shoot, you imbecile, do you want us all to DIE?"

Sabine placed two charges on each box. There was no way she was getting them out of here on her own. And if she couldn't get the explosives out of here, she could at least blow this place sky high. 

"Excuse me, milady." A hand grabbed her blaster, and she looked up into the Weequay's eyes. He grinned. "Those are my explosives."

"Correction. They're your death sentence." She yanked her hand back. He stumbled, and she kicked his legs out from underneath him. The pirate crashed to the ground as she leaped to her feet, setting the bomb's timer. Someone had opened the door and the smoke was thinning out, and she could now see figures moving around. Which meant they could see her.

The smart thing to do was to leap back up into the vents and scramble away before they caught her. But she needed to distract them from seeing the explosives she set, so they didn't disable them.

So…

"Come and get me, you di'kute! " Sabine sprinted for the beam of light, leaving confused shouts in her wake. Someone tried to grab her arm, but she just blasted them in the face. Bursting out into the hallway full of light, Sabine downed the guards at the door before they knew what hit them. "Too slow!" she called into the room. 

A second later, bumbling stormtroopers stumbled out after her. She saluted them, then broke into a run. Blasterfire pinged off the walls as she rounded a corner.

She keyed her comm. "Spectre-1! Still alive?"

"Now is not a good time, Spectre-5!" Kanan's voice crackled through the comm, the sound of fighting making it hard to decipher his words. His annoyance, however, was not lost. "Did you get the explosives?"

"No - "

"Then why are you calling me?"

She yelped as a blaster bolt rocketed past her head, scarily close for a stormtrooper. Glancing back, she swore. Two Twi'lek men were sprinting behind her, shouting in Huttese. Karking pirates.

"Well, the good news is that you don't have to worry about the explosives anymore!"

"How is that good news?"

"The bad news is that we need to get out of here." She checked the timer she set on her vambrace. Five minutes until the bombs went off. "Like, now. "

"Spectre-5, what did you do?!"

"You told me to figure it out! I figured it out! Now start running! Spectre-2, I really hope you can do a pickup!"

Hera's voice crackled over the comms. "Affirmative. I'll be there soon."

Sabine twisted around and shot the blue Twi'lek. Kanan, however, did not seem to care that she was hard at work. "Spectre-5, what's going on?" he demanded.

"Aren't you a little busy at the moment?" A blaster bolt grazed her arm as she hit the second Twi'lek man.

"We need those explosives! We were going to save them to use on another mission!"

Oh. That explained a lot. But wait, Sabine hadn't known that. Had Hera and Kanan left out details about the mission again? Irked by the withheld information, she let out a flurry of expletives right into the comm. Just to piss off Kanan. "Well, that's not happening anymore!" she growled. "Unless you'd like to get blown up, too."

Kanan cursed. "Sabine - "

"Ohsorryyou'rebreakingupcan'thearyouseeyouatthehangerokaybye!" Sabine switched off her comms, crashing through some confused stormtroopers. More footsteps pounded behind her as she raced through another hallway and into the hanger.

Kanan and Zeb appeared seconds later, lasers streaking every which way around them.

"Where's Spectre-2?" Sabine cried as they sprinted for the edge of the hangar bay. It was eerily empty. There were no TIEs in the hangar, only the troopers on their heels.

"Spectre-2!" Kanan shouted into his comm. "We need a pick-up!"

There was no answer except static. Sabine swore. "Comms are jammed!" 

They skidded to a stop at the edge of the hanger, the ground looming below. Sabine's foot slipped, but before she could even cry out, Zeb grabbed the back of her shirt. He yanked her back to her feet.

"Thanks," she panted, staring at the sky. "Where's the Ghost?"

"Karabast!" Zeb shouted. Sabine followed his gaze to where at least twelve TIEs descended on a familiar starship, chasing her away from the Imp's Complex. Not good.

"You are surrounded!" A voice called out behind them. "Surrender now, or be destroyed!"

"Karabast," Zeb muttered.

"It's fine, we can still - " Kanan began.

"I sure hope you're not planning to leave already, Jedi." 

Sabine felt every muscle tense. 

The chilling voice had silenced all noise in the room. She knew exactly who it belonged to, but a small part of her hoped it wasn't him. But Kanan and Zeb turned, faces set in seriousness and she couldn't deny it anymore. Sabine faced the Inquisitor stalking through the ranks of Imperials, who parted like water to let him through. He grinned maliciously at them. "We still have so much to discuss."

Sabine swallowed. The last time they'd gone up against this guy they'd all almost died. And that wasn't an exaggeration. She glanced at Kanan, waiting to see his reaction.

Kanan shifted, tensing. Then he grabbed the two pieces of his lightsaber, snapping them into place. The blade hummed to life, its blue light flowing over the waiting Imperials and pirates. Sabine swallowed, raising her blasters, trying to figure out a plan…

"It's over," the Inquisitor drawled, as if reading her thoughts. "There won't be any escape this time." He ignited his lightsaber, the deep red spilling over the ground. 

Sabine's vambrace beeped. 

A sigh of relief escaped her. Finally, some good luck. What she was going to do next was crazy, but it might just get them out alive.

"Actually," she said. "We're not out of the game quite yet."

The walls behind the Imperials exploded outwards.

Chapter Text

If Sabine died this way, at least she could say she went down in style.

Multicolored flames engulfed the hanger. A shockwave snapped through the air seconds later, crashing into Sabine. She scrambled to stay upright, panting as heat pounded against her.

"Look at the color!" she gasped. Sure, it wasn't ideal to still be stuck in here when the explosives went off, but hey, at least the fire looked pretty. The initial explosion had died down, revealing hangar walls scorched to the frame. Flickers of violet rang in tandem with the orange flames as Imperials stumbled to their feet. 

Kanan grunted as waves of sparks rushed past them. "I'd rather admire it from far away," he snapped. "How do we get out of here?"

"Well, there's really only one way to go from here." Sabine shoved down her anxiety as she snatched the grappling hook off her belt. "Kanan, do you think you can do Force-y stuff?" she shouted over the roar of the fire. Imperials were scattering as smoke slunk through the hanger, plunging it into an inky darkness. Which was exactly when she realized Kanan was not standing beside her. "Kanan?!" she cried, stepping farther into the hanger. Her heart pounded– no, no, no…  

"Kid, get back here!" Zeb lunged for her, but Sabine dodged easily. Sprinting forward, she called for her friend.

"Spectre-1?" Smoke filtered through her helmet, staining her nose with the scent of ash. Darkness engulfed her on every side. Her fingers trembled. Nope, nope, not panicking. It's just a little fire . Shaking her head, she shoved farther through the hangar. She had to be strong to find Kanan. "Kanan! Where are you?"

Zeb's distant shouts were nothing but warbled echoes, her fractured breathing drowning out his panic with her own. Sliding a blaster out of its holster, she peered into the spiraling smoke. Where—?

Two red blades cut through the darkness. She skipped back, ducking as the Inquisitor and Kanan burst through the thick wall of ash. The Jedi hunter lunged. Kanan met him with a parry of his own. Orange sparks flashed as the red and blue lightsabers smashed against the other. 

Sabine glared at the Inquisitor's back as he swung at Kanan again. Oh no, this guy was not killing Kanan. Not today. 

"Heya, ugly! Eat this!" She fired her blaster, just barely missing the Inquisitor's head. He twisted around, yellow eyes mere slits as they latched onto her. Sabine huffed a chuckle, knees a bit weak. Well, that wasn't good.

With light footsteps, Kanan thrust his lightsaber towards the Inquisitor. The hunter hissed, breaking eye contact with Sabine in order to block. She let out a small sigh of relief at that. 

 "Letting children do your dirty work, I see?" He snarled, slashing his saber in elegantly dangerous arcs. "Why, that's–AUGH!" 

The Inquisitor staggered back, arm smoking. Sabine lowered her blaster, grinning in triumph. So fast he was almost a blur, Kanan smacked the saber out the hunter's hands and pushed him into the billowing smoke. 

Sabine let out a whoop. "Did you see that? I totally got him!"

"Yep, good job!" Kanan shoved her shoulder down as twin red blades skimmed the air above them. "Time to go!"

Racing through the inky fumes, Kanan led the way to Zeb's booming voice. "Sabine? Kanan? Where are you?"

"We're here, Zeb!" Kanan's arm shot out in front of Sabine. She crashed into it, her toes scuffing the edge of the hangar. Her heart sputtered.

The Lasat's lumbering frame slipped into view, still cloaked by the smoke pooling out of the hangar. "Please tell me we have a plan!"

Kanan glanced at her. Sabine huffed, shoving Kanan's arm down. "Of course I do. Who do you think you're talking about?" She holstered her blaster. "Zeb, think you can climb the wall?"

"I'm sorry, what –"

"Gonna take that as a yes!" Sabine cocked the grappling hook. "Kanan and I will use the grappling hook, since we don't have handy-dandy claws like you to slow our fall."

Zeb glanced at Kanan. "Is she seriously saying we jump?"

"We don't have much of a choice!" Kanan shouted, the Inquisitor's lightsaber lighting up the smoke beside them. "Jump!" Kanan ordered.

The silver ledge of the hanger slipped away under her feet. Wind screamed by, in tune with her pounding heart. Desperately twisting in the air, she watched the slick gray metal streak by her. Oh, this had better work. Sabine aimed her grappling hook… and fired.

The hook shot through the base wall and the wire snapped taunt. She jerked to a stop, shoulders nearly yanked from their sockets. Her feet brushed nothing but empty air as she clung to the grappling hook, the only thing keeping her from falling to a truly nasty doom.

Zeb screeched to a stop just above her, claws sparking as they tore through the metal. Kanan gracefully caught the wire and slid down next to her. 

"Hey," Kanan greeted. "What's hanging?"

Sabine groaned. "Really? Now?" 

"Come on, you loved it," he teased, planting his feet on the wall. "Now hand me one of those grenades."

She tossed it to him and Kanan chucked it into the hangar above. The Inquisitor tossed it aside without a glance, his glare still trained on them. Fury seethed in his sneer.

"That's not good!" Zeb shouted. "What do we do now?" 

"Don't look at me!" she cried.

"What? This was your plan!" Zeb cried.

"I didn't think this far ahead!" Sabine craned her neck to look behind them, growling at the painfully empty skies. "Where the kark is Hera?!"

"Sabine, look out!" Kanan shouted.

The warning came too late. Sabine looked up in time to see the red blade slice through the grappling hook's wire and drag across her side. She screamed as gravity claimed her.

***

Ezra was going to die.

Hera yanked the yoke up. The floor disappeared underneath Ezra's feet and he cried out. Metal slammed into his back, forcing all air out of his lungs. Ezra coughed as they shot through the clouds. "Hera!"

"Hang on!" Hera shouted, wrenching the steering to the side. Green cannonfire tore through the air as Hera swung the ship around. Now in her sights, she struck the TIE-fighter with a well-aimed shot. The Ghost streaked back down through the swarm of TIEs, falling in tandem with the flaming ship. "Chop! Where did these TIEs come from?" 

Chopper gave an annoyed whoop-whoop , crashing back down to the ground. Ezra staggered as the floor swelled underneath his feet, scattered tools sliding past him. Sparks spun through the sky as Hera's lekku swung in time with her ship's movements.

"Well, find out now!" Hera grunted as three TIEs sliced by. The floor buckled underneath the heavy fire. She smashed buttons on the dashboard, brow creased in concentration. "Alright, Ezra, time to put those lessons to practice!" 

Ezra's heart stopped. "What?!" He clung onto a chair as they lurched to the side, mouth dry. "But–" 

"Ezra!" Hera snapped. He immediately shut up at Hera's no argument glare. "Get going!"

He swallowed, shakily rising to his feet. "Okay, okay." Ezra stumbled as the Ghost tilted again and sent him crashing into Chopper. "Sorry, Chop!"

"Ezra!" Hera shouted. 

"Right, right!" He scrambled out of the cockpit, flipping his comm on so he could still hear Hera. Ezra scaled the ladder to the turret seat, plopping into the worn leather chair.

"I'm here!" Ezra called. 

"Alright," Hera said, "I've got the guns up here and Chopper's got the Phantom. We can take these guys down if we work together. Ready?" 

Ezra swallowed as Chopper beeped an affirmative. "Y-yeah." 

Hera's voice dipped into soothing tones. "It's alright, Ezra. Just do what we practiced, okay?" 

"Okay." TIEs swarmed outside like black bugs, cannon fire arcing through the sky in every direction. His eyes could barely track anything at all. This is not at ALL what we practiced , Ezra thought miserably. 

A TIE flew directly in his sights. Ezra punched the controls, watching his cannonfire streak towards the ship. It dodged his shots, swooping by easily. It dropped fire and the Ghost shuddered.

"Sorry!" he squeaked, tugging the controls to the side to aim at another TIE streaking by. He squeezed the triggers. "Come on, come on, come on–" 

"Ezra, breathe," Hera ordered. 

He nodded, sucking in a breath. "I can do this," he muttered, firing again.

A bolt struck the TIE's wing. The wing exploded into flames and it dipped out of view. He let out a whoop, grinning ear from ear.

"Good job!" Hera praised. "Ten more to go!" 

His victorious spirit faded. Ten? He swallowed as he shot at another TIE, who just flitted by and rained down cannonfire. "Um, Hera—" 

"Focus!" Hera ordered as the other TIEs swooped around for another pass. Chopper crowed as a TIE spiraled out of view.. "Nice one, Chop! Nine more!" An explosion blew past. "Make that eight." 

"W-why are we counting them?" Ezra asked as the Ghost swooped down. His stomach twisted as he lined up another shot. 

"In order to properly fight in the skies, you need to be aware of your enemies at all times. That includes how many there are and where they are," Hera explained as Ezra smashed the cannon button. He watched the TIE go down in flames. "And seven! Consider this a lesson on the fly." 

Ezra groaned. "Seriously?" 

Hera chuckled. "Oh, stars, I didn't mean—that was completely unintentional." 

Chopper let out a cheer as another TIE exploded in the sky. Six , Ezra counted mentally in his mind as he lined up another shot. "You sounded like Kanan," he teased. 

Hera laughed sharply, the comms crackling a bit at the sudden sound. "Oh dear. I think that's what we should be really worried about." 

Ezra snorted. He opened his mouth for another quip when the Ghost suddenly jerked to the side and his shot went wide. 

"Hera!" he cried. "I almost had him!"

"I can't stay still all the time, Ezra. You need to track the targets even when something unpredictable happens," Hera said as the Ghost skimmed over the top of a mountain range. "Ready?" 

Ezra's eyes widened as he realized what Hera was about to do. "Wait–!"

"Here we go!" The Ghost spun down into the mountains. Rocks shot back his viewport as the Ghost zig-zagged through the formations. Ezra nearly toppled off his seat through the relentless sharp jerks. He clung to the controls, pulling himself back up.

"Hera!" he cried, hands shaking as he tried to track any of the TIEs, but everything kept moving and changing and–

" Focus ," Hera ordered, her voice firm through the comms. "I can't shoot anymore, I need to focus on flying. And I need Chopper to come help me unjam comms– yes , Chop, come on . I need to contact Kanan. You can do this, Ezra, I know you can. I'm counting on you."

Ezra swallowed, dragging the controls to face the TIEs full on. However, he could barely make out the black ships through the mountains flying by. "Hera–"

"How many TIEs are there, Ezra?" Hera asked. 

Ezra swallowed thickly. "I…" Think, think, think. He honed in on the gap behind them. "Umm…"

"Focus," Hera chided again and Ezra squeezed the controls, heart thudding. 

Come on, Ezra. He tried to shove the fear aside and focused on the TIEs weaving through the mountains behind them. One, two, three–wait, did I already count that one? Um… four, five–wait, no, I can't—

"Ezra," Hera said softly. "Breathe."

Had he not been breathing? He sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, okay." He grit his teeth. Calm. Calm. Just like Hera. She was always calm. How did she do it? Ezra didn't know. What was he supposed to do…?

A memory of Kanan flickered through his mind. Kanan, reaching out, palm flat, eyes shut, breathing even. Kanan was always calm when he did that. Maybe Ezra could try that. 

Peeling his hand off the controls, Ezra held it afloat in front of him, palm facing the TIEs. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in and out as evenly as he could manage. Focus. Focus. Focus. He could do this. Be calm…

The drumming of his heart gave way to six separate beats, all thudding along at different speeds. Although his eyes were closed, Ezra could almost see the six TIEs flying behind them, each of the different pilots glowing softly in a different color.

Um, 'kay. That's weird . "Uh, Hera?" Ezra opened his mouth to tell her what was going on, but decided against it. Right now, she was counting on him to get rid of these guys. He could tell her about it later. "I think there's six." Then he kind-of saw a TIE crash into a mountain. One of the glows snuffed out. "Actually, five," he amended.

"Good job, Ezra," Hera said, voice bright. Ezra smiled, insides glowing from the praise. "Now, think you can take a few of them out?" 

"I'm on it!" He opened his eyes and grabbed the controls again. It was much easier to see each individual ship now, like there were five different threads connecting him to each ship. Even though he was only looking at one TIE, he could still kind-of see the others' glow.

No wonder Kanan got so calm when he did that. It made everything clearer. 

Ezra smashed the button, grinning when he hit a TIE. "Four left!" he called. Chopper grumbled and Hera gave a cheer. 

"Nice job!" Hera shouted. The Ghost took a particularly jerky turn, but Ezra still nailed a TIE right in the center.

"Three!" Ezra's heart pounded again, but not in panic. This was… not fun , but exciting . His veins sung with thrill as he aimed and shot again. He missed the TIE, but his shot threw the pilot off balance enough that they crashed into a mountainside. Ezra let out a whoop. He was doing it. He was actually doing it, and he was doing it well . "Two more!" 

The air hummed with what he could only describe as warmth. Ezra tilted his head as he lined up another shot. The sudden rush of warmth definitely wasn't coming from the TIE pilots. Though they "glowed," they were still cloaked in gray fog. This felt… much different. Clearer. Genuine. Safe…

Carefully, Ezra tapped the new string extending behind him. He hadn't realized it'd been there before. However, when he touched it, it sang with happiness and pride. Hera. Ezra was feeling Hera.

Ezra grinned, bouncing a little in his seat as he realized he made Hera happy . Now Ezra could see why everyone always fought over who got to be in the turret seat. Making Hera happy… that just felt amazing.

"Good job, Ezra! We're about to reach the end of the mountain range. Think you can take them both down by then?" Hera asked.

"On it!" Fueled with a new fire, Ezra let fly a flurry of shots. One hit a TIE fighter and it fell away as the Ghost burst out into open air again. Now free of the complex flying, the last TIE let out a barrage of fire. Ezra yelped as several shots struck the Ghost and it wobbled in the air. 

Ezra glared at the pilot. "Not cool!" he shouted, smashing the fire button. Cannonfire hit the TIE and it exploded. Ezra sunk into his seat, triumph ringing through his chest. He did it.

The victory quickly fell away as Hera let out a flurry of curses in another language. "Hera?" he asked, sliding out of his seat. Ezra raced to the front of the ship, nearly crashing into the wall as the ship tanked to the right dangerously. "Hera!" he cried as he burst into the cockpit. "What happened?" 

"That TIE fighter knocked the shields systems out!" Hera groaned, wrenching the yoke to the side as the Ghost dipped again. "Kriff!"

"Will the ship be okay?" he asked.

"We'll be fine, but we need to get out of here soon." Hera brought the ship back around. "Come on, we need to go pick up the others." 

Ezra's stomach twisted. He'd nearly forgotten about the others calling for a pick up before this. "Do you think they're okay?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Hera sighed, pressing the long distance comm button. All that came through was static. "Come on, Chop, I need comms fixed!" 

Chop gave an annoyed series of beeps, pounding on the computer he was plugged into. Ezra slid into the copilot seat, wringing his hands nervously. Something didn't feel right…

Ezra felt his breath catch as the smoking base slid into view. Hera swore, slamming the comms button. "Spectre-1! Spectre-1, come in!" she cried. "Spectre-4, Spectre-5! What happened? " Hera growled, slamming her hand against the comms. "Chopper!" 

Working on it! Chopper shouted.

"Hera–" 

"They're fine," Hera said, jaw tight. Hera's soft, bubbly warmth was dipping into writhing worry. Ezra swallowed, chills running up his arms as he sat forward. This felt bad. Really bad .

That was when he saw it. Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb were hanging off the side of the base wall. The Inquisitor stood on the ledge and raised his saber. Hera let out a cry, the Ghost streaking forward faster. But it wasn't fast enough.

The lightsaber sliced through the wire keeping Sabine afloat, then tore through her side.

And she fell.

***

SNAP!

Sabine's side screamed and her vision went white. Fire and debris arced down beside her as she desperately grasped for anything. Sabine came up with nothing but biting wind ripping across her skin. Falling like slow-mo through her visor, her own panicked breath rattling inside her helmet as she shot down towards the ground. Tumbling helplessly through the smoke filled air, she plummeted closer, closer, closer to the ground. Sabine squeezed her eyes shut. No, no, not again—

An arm snagged around her waist. Sabine yelped as she jerked to a sharp stop in the air. Her side burned as she blinked through her watering eyes. There was no one there, but there was a very firm something holding her in place. She was… floating. She was karking floating. Sabine's feet swung back and forth as she struggled for balance, still a good thirty feet in the air. 

Kanan hung onto the broken wire with one hand, the other outstretched to her. Zeb clung to the wall beside him, panickedly shouting down to her. 

"Sabine? Are you okay?" Zeb cried.

"Y-yeah," she responded, fiercely ignoring the fact her entire right side was on fire. It was fine. Mostly. As long as she didn't think about how she could still plummet down to her death, she was good. No, she was going to focus on how cool Kanan looked being all Jedi-y up there. Yeah, she could stay calm. Probably.

The Inquisitor's lightsaber finished its arc, spinning up to where the hunter was still standing on the ledge. Fear clawed at her chest, a hand flying to her side. She really did not want to lose her head, okay, nope , not today. 

"Kanan!" she cried as the Inquisitor stared down at her, yellow eyes slicing through the smoke. Her skin crawled. "He's gonna attack again!" Sabine yelped as she fell a little bit lower to the ground, just barely jerking to a stop. 

"I know!" Kanan called back, arm trembling. His forehead glinted with sweat in the firelight. "Hang… on!" 

Her stomach writhed as she jerked down a bit more. Sabine clutched her side, chest heaving with uneven breaths. Calm, calm, calm, cool Jedi, calm, calm, calm. Scrambling to grip onto whatever was keeping her from falling, her hands grasped nothing but thin air. It felt so real, like Kanan was right there . Sabine clung onto that thought. Kanan wouldn't drop her. 

She inched down towards the ground as the Inquisitor slowly spun his lightsaber, as if considering something. Her heart leapt into her throat. Kanan wouldn't drop her, but she knew there was no way they'd be able to take another hit like that. 

The Inquisitor raised his arm and Sabine braced. 

A roar of an engine tore through the air. The Ghost streaked above them, a volley of cannon fire crashing around the Inquisitor. The hunter disappeared from sight, lightsaber and all. The knot in Sabine's chest unwound while Zeb pumped a fist into the sky.

"Take that, you bogan!" Zeb roared as the Ghost zipped by.

Sabine went to shout a cheer herself, but it was cut off as she jerked upwards. Sabine thrust her arms out, desperately searching for balance as she slowly inched up towards her friends. Kanan's brow was furrowed in concentration as she drifted closer. Almost. Her heart hammered as she drew nearer. Almost. The ground loomed below. Almost there.  

She grabbed Kanan's outstretched hand. The hold keeping her afloat released. Sabine dropped downwards, but Kanan's hand gripped hers firmly. She hung midair, side burning as gravity tugged on her. Despite it all, she smiled at the Jedi. "Thanks," she panted.

Kanan nodded, hoisting her upwards. She shakily clung onto the wire as he shifted an arm around her middle. "Always," Kanan sighed, "Just please, never do that again."

"Agreed," Zeb rumbled, sending her a relieved smile. 

She allowed a brief smile to cross her face. It was cut off as a screech of metal filled the air. The wire swung dangerously and Sabine nearly lost her grip as the wall shuddered. 

"Karabast!" Zeb swore, green eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Kanan glanced at her. "Sabine?"

"The base's integrity was already compromised. Hera's attack must have broken it completely," she explained as the wall shifted again. The shrill scream of splitting metal crashed through the air, reverberating through her bones.

"What do we do?" Zeb asked.

Sabine just clung onto Kanan, turning her visor to look pointedly up at him. I'm too tired to think , she thought. There was no way she could come up with a miraculous plan in this state.

Luckily, Kanan seemed to already have a plan. "Hang on!" His grip tightened around Sabine. Then, to her absolute horror, he let go of the wire.

They plummeted towards the ground, Sabine's scream torn away by the wind. The rough wind whipped past them as his hand shot out towards the ground. A moment later, an invisible force thrust them back. They were still falling, but no longer at breakneck speeds. However, Sabine's chest constricted as she panted, the dizzying distance beneath them petrifying. 

Kanan's in control, Kanan's in control, Kanan's in control , she chanted to herself. The ground slipped closer and Sabine finally gave up. She squeezed her eyes shut, clinging to Kanan. A breeze shuffled by and her feet softly touched the ground. Sabine sagged into Kanan, gasping for air.

His hand rested firmly on her shoulder. "You good, Sabine?"

"Y–yeah," she panted, head spinning. It's fine, it's fine. You're fine. Kanan saved you again. "Yeah, I'm fine."

It was a pretty terrible lie, but he still patted her shoulder. "It's okay, I got you," he said. The gentleness jerked away as a ripping sound shot through the air. He jerked around, shouting up the wall. "Spectre-4! Just jump! I'll catch you!"

Sabine stepped away, gaping up at the wall to the hangar. The entire top of the base was drenched in smoke and flames, the hangar nonexistent through the ash. She squinted, honing in on a purple figure above them. The base was sagging, the structure groaning as the metal gave in to the heat.

"Zeb!" she cried, heart freezing. "JUMP!"

The Imperial base buckled. Zeb threw himself away from the wall, arcing through the air. Her throat constricted as he screamed. 

"Kanan!" she shouted as he thrust his hands out, face scrunching in concentration. 

Zeb slowed. His scream tapered off as he drifted to the ground, the base behind him bursting with flames. Zeb hit the ground, stumbling slightly at the impact, but whole and intact. 

Kanan bent over, hands on his knees as he panted, sweat dripping down his brow. She put a steadying hand on his arm, attempting to ignore her skittering pulse. Zeb's fine. Kanan's fine. We're okay.

A thundering groan sliced through the air. The base tilted towards them, the wires connecting the wall to the frame starting to snap. Fire and debris rained down as smoke rolled through the crystal blue air.

"Run!" Kanan cried. Sabine didn't have to be told twice. She turned and raced through the smoldering grasses. Her side screamed as she cursed the heat that scorched her back. The roar of the collapsing base crowded her brain as they sprinted out of its shadow… and just in time. The wall crashed into the ground, only feet behind them. Smoke crashed down around them, sparks raining over their sore limbs.

Sabine slowed to a stop, ribs throbbing as she turned to watch the burning base. It… looked great… but holy kark , did her side hurt…

Kanan put an arm around her shoulders as Sabine swayed. "Easy," he instructed. She sighed but didn't argue. A smaller explosion echoed in the flaming remains of the base as the pirate Weequay raced away, a case of credits tucked under his arm. Three Ugnanunts trailing after him, squealing angrily. "I hope we don't have to deal with that guy anytime soon," Kanan muttered.

"Yeah, he was a jerk," she said, shifting to take weight off her side. Sabine could go step into the destroyed base and her side would still be in more pain. Pain coursed through every muscle and she leaned into Kanan. "Ugh, that sucked."

"Hang in there, kiddo," Zeb rumbled, waving as a familiar gray ship slid back into view. "We'll get you fixed up soon."

Sabine let out a sigh of relief. "Good, because I'm really tired."

They met the Ghost in the middle of its landing cycle, Sabine panting heavily. Kanan supported her weight as she wrapped her arms around him, leaning against him. The ramp opened to show Ezra in the cargo bay and he grinned when he saw them. Then, his eyes shifted behind them and his eyes widened.

"Kanan, look out !" He shouted.

Kanan snatched his lightsaber off his belt, igniting it just in time to meet the Inquisitor's. The hunter grinned, yellow eyes lighting up. "Ready to die?" he hissed, pointed teeth glinting in the blood-red light.

Kanan shoved his blade forward and pushed Sabine away. "Get on the ship!" he ordered.

"Wait-!" Sabine called, stumbling as her side flared with pain. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, pulling her towards the ship. She thrashed against it. "Zeb, let go! We gotta go help him!" 

"Don't worry, I'll give that Inquisitor a piece of my mind for both of us," Zeb snarled, grabbing his Bo-Rifle off his back. "You go inside." Sabine found herself being shoved into Ezra's arms. "Kid, you got her?"

"Uh-huh," Ezra said, nodding shakily. His gaze was locked on the battle only feet away from them. Lightsabers flashed dangerously as Zeb lumbered away, snapping his Bo-Rifle into staff position.

"Ezra, I know this is scary, but this is a really bad time for a panic attack," Sabine moaned. She gripped Ezra's shoulders, trying to bring him back and also trying not to pass out. The wound was pulsing up and down with fiery needles and kriff it hurt. 

He shuddered and tore his eyes away. "S-sorry. I-I got you." Ezra slid his arm around Sabine and helped her hobble up the ramp. She paused at the top, sliding her blasters out of her holsters. Sabine shoved one into Ezra's hand.

  "Give him dar'yaim," Sabine growled. Ezra nodded, jaw set. 

As one, they let out a volley of blasterfire. The Inquisitor blocked their shots, but it allowed Kanan a chance to swipe upwards. The Inquisitor staggered back, shoulder smoking as Kanan lowered his lightsaber. "That enough for you?" he growled.

"Not nearly," the Inquisitor shot back, swinging his lightsaber again. Kanan stumbled back, the strike knocking him off balance. The Inquisitor was racing forward, about to hit–

Sabine fired–once, twice, three times–and finally struck the hunter in the side. He screamed, bending over.

"Payback," she growled, lowering her blaster. She allowed Ezra to drag her inside as Kanan and Zeb raced up the ramp behind them. The Ghost began to lift off.

The Inquisitor's yellow eyes burned into them even once the ramp closed.

Everyone slid to the ground, panting hard. "Everyone okay?" Kanan asked, running a hand through his wild hair.

A series of halfhearted groans answered him. Kanan sighed. "Yeah. That's about what I figured." 

***

Hera sprinted towards the cargo bay. Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she nearly ran into Chopper. All she could see was Sabine falling, Kanan fighting the Inquisitor, and… 

"Oh, they better all be in one piece," she growled as she neared her destination. Angry voices drifted out of the room.

"Sabine, don't even try to say you're fine–"

"But I am!" 

"Kid, you just got sliced through the stomach with a kriffing lightsaber –" 

"It was a light graze!" Sabine exclaimed. "It didn't even go that deep!"

Hera burst into the room, nearly tumbling over the railing. "What's going on? Is everyone okay?" she demanded, sweat trailing down her neck.

"Yes–" Sabine shouted.

"No, Sabine is not!" Kanan interrupted, glaring at the girl. He was kneeling beside her, bandages in hand as she shimmied away. "Will you stop moving? "

"I will hold you down!" Zeb threatened. 

"I'll help!" Ezra piped up, blue eyes narrowed adorably at his friend.

"I hate you all," she drawled.

Hera slid down the ladder, hurrying over to the crowd of people. She winced as she saw the nasty slice across her side. That was definitely a lightsaber burn. "Come on, Sabine, we need to get you fixed up." 

The Ghost shuddered out of hyperspace then. Ezra, still not used to traveling on a ship, fell on his face as the floor swayed. Kanan sent Hera a concerned look. "We're out of hyperspace? Already?"

"The Imps got a hit in the hyperdrive. This is as far as we can go until it's fixed. Zeb and Ezra, I need you to work on it. Kanan and I will take care of Sabine." She knelt next to Sabine, fixing the girl with a stern look. "Right?" 

Sabine crossed her arms, glaring at the ground. "Fine," she grumbled. Hera could see the crease of pain in her brow, though. She quickly set to work spraying bacta on the wound.

"Chopper!" she shouted over Zeb and Ezra's bickering as they left the room.  "I need you to find coordinates for our next jump! I don't want to stay here too long." 

The orange droid beeped a cheerful answer. "You already did? Really?" She spared a glance back at him. "Where?" 

Chopper cackled and Kanan groaned. "I don't think we're going to like the answer."

Kanan helped Sabine sit up enough to allow Hera to wind bandaged around the wound. Chopper chattered happily in her ear.

Well , he whirred, we obviously can't go anywhere with Imperial occupation, plus there's a pirate turf war happening two systems over.

"Right," Hera agreed, slowly. Chopper sounded way too happy about this.

Right, so that ruled out that sector… And look, those moons aren't habitable for organics!  

Dread settled in Hera's stomach as she instinctively mapped out the basics of Chopper's explanation. Although he wasn't giving specific names, she was getting a pretty good idea of where everything was… and just how far away from Lothal he was talking about… 

And people went missing in that space port all the time, surely you don't want to take the kids there… Chopper gleefully said.

"I'm not a kid," Sabine growled, wincing as Hera tied off the bandages.

"That's good enough, until we can move you to a bed and grab the real medkit." Hera squeezed Sabine's shoulder, then turned to Chopper, panic welling in her chest. "Chopper. What are you saying?"

You know what I'm saying! Chopper cackled as Zeb and Ezra walked in. 

"Hey, Hera, we found the problem with the hyperdrive but we can't find the toolbox. Do you know where–oh, what are you planning now?" Zeb growled, swiping a kick at Chopper. The droid dodged it and electrocuted the Lasat.

Oh, Force, Hera thought as the three boys descended into a fight. She could practically hear fate laughing at her. I can't do this.

"Hera?" Kanan pressed a hand to her back, brow pinching in concern. "What's wrong?"

She swallowed. "The… only safe planet is…" she swallowed. "It's two weeks away."

Silence.

Stunned, stunned silence.

Ezra and Zeb were frozen mid-punch, jaws slack and eyes wide. Kanan's mouth opened and closed as Sabine turned to glare at Chopper.

Hera clutched her medpack, fingers going numb. They were all tired and angry. Keeping them all bottled up was just a recipe for disaster. Just look at the past two days! That had only been forty-eight hours and they'd all almost murdered each other. 

But if there were no other safe planets to land on… then…

Zeb and Ezra looked at each other, faces going pale. Sabine stared at Hera with horror and disbelief. Kanan just closed his eyes like he wanted to disappear.

Because two weeks stuck inside this tiny little ship with six people.

Two.

Kriffing.

Weeks.

Chopper let out a shrill laugh.

Well, we're screwed!

Chapter Text

The Star Destroyer, to put it nicely, was in a state of utter chaos.

Screams echoed from stars-knows-where as officers scrambled to contain the chaos on the planet below. Mouse droids scuttled around underfoot, screeching as they raced from task to task. Ensigns raced through the halls in a flurry of datapads and hats. The medbay was a mess of injured and terrified stormtroopers. And Kallus?

He was, to say the least, pissed.

The Ghost crew had gotten away again. All thanks to that ridiculous Inquisitor and his horrible battle tactics. If Kallus had been there, all of this could have been prevented. But no, he had to be a good boy and do what he was told. And now, not only did he have to clean up the Inquisitor's mess, but also deal with these children. Stars, this was ridiculous. Didn't Kallus have better things to do with his life?

So, in short, his day was off to a great start.

Kallus rubbed his forehead as another fight broke out on the bridge. This was pure insanity. They were an Empire, for stars' sake! What were they doing, stabbing each other like a bunch of brand-new cadets? Were these idiots born yesterday?

Ignoring the officer getting lightsabered beside him, Kallus waved down a ensign.

"Ensign!" he barked.

She dutifully paused her current task and stood at attention, a curious look on her face. "Yes, sir?"

Thank goodness, someone who hadn't lost their entire mind. He didn't know what he would do if she was freaking out like the rest of the ship. Kallus handed her his datapad. "I want you to go down to Intelligence and give them this. It holds an algorithm that will chart out all the possible systems on every hyperspace route coming to and from Lothal. It will help us narrow down our search for the Ghost crew."

The ensign raised an eyebrow as she accepted the datapad. "Wow, every system? That's a lot of planets."

"Are you doubting my abilities, ensign?" Kallus snapped.

"Not at all. Impressed, actually." The ensign hummed, tapping her chin in thought. "Oh, by the way, I have news from the medbay. They've taken count of our casualties from the attack."

Dread hung heavy in his stomach. Oh, stars. "How many have we lost?"

"Well, let's just say the few survivors we have are going to be out of commission for several weeks." She winced. "We're going to need reinforcements if we're going to continue activity as normal."

"What?" Kallus exclaimed. "How?"

"Well, we did just lose our second largest base on Lothal, sir." She handed him another datapad, numbers scrolling up and down the screen. "I've already done the grunt work of compiling the data for your use, since, you know, it's my job. You're welcome. Anyway, the numbers of supplies and replacement soldiers we need should be listed there."

Kallus' heart froze. "These… I can't possibly request this from my superiors! We are already on thin enough ice as it is!"

The ensign shrugged. "Well, guess we'll have to make do, then."

"But–"

"Oh, speaking of which, there's a breakout happening in the Imperial Academy. Thought you should know, since, y'know, you're the boss."

"Wha–"

" Anyway, I guess the cadets heard about what happened today and decided they were done with helping–and I quote–'a corrupted and useless Empire.' So, that's fun." She snorted. "Teenagers, amiright?"

Kallus had no words.

He stood there, speechless as the ship burned to the ground around him. 

Eventually, the ensign peeked around him. "Hey, um, not to stress you out or anything, buuuuuut there's a growing pile of dead bodies behind you. Should we be worried?"

Kallus kicked her out of the bridge.

***

People got hurt. 

Ezra knew this, he'd seen it happen so many times before–so why did he feel so shocked? Of course someone would get hurt eventually. They were fighting toe-to-toe with the strongest power in the galaxy, for kark's sake! Their luck wouldn't last forever.

Yet, something in him had been shaken. Seeing Sabine like that (curled up in pain, trying to be brave, but he could somehow feel the burning in her side, like he had been the one who was just cut) felt so surreal. After all, she was so strong . Ezra had been so sure, ever since he had joined the crew, that nothing could bring her down.

Then he saw her fall.

If Sabine wasn't so indestructible… then…

"Aaaand done." Zeb sighed, wiping some sweat from his forehead. "You good down there, kid?" 

"Yeah." Ezra crawled out from between the pieces of machinery, clutching his tools to his chest. Maybe it would stop his hands from shaking.

Zeb, thankfully, didn't notice. He just cuffed the back of Ezra's head with a grin. "Good work, kid."

"Don't call me kid," Ezra grumbled.

"Sure, kid." Zeb reached for the toolbox. "Alright… we just have to replace the power cells, then the Ghost'll be good as new!"

"Finally," Ezra moaned. "You work slow enough."

Silence.

Huh. That was weird. Usually Zeb fired sarcasm right back at him. Ezra turned cautiously. "Zeb? Is… everything okay back there?"

Zeb just groaned a soft  "Oh, karabast."

"Zeb?" Ezra slid closer, peering into the toolbox. And his heart dropped at the painfully empty spot where the power cells should have been. "Are you kidding me? Please don't tell me they're missing, too!" 

"You think I want this to be any harder than it already has been?!" Zeb snarled, his body going rigid with fury.

The air crackled with cold lightning. Goosebumps shot up Ezra's arms as his heart jumped into his throat. He took an instinctual step back, pulse hammering and head pounding. Already, he was mapping out the exits, the best way to get there, what to–

No.

Be calm.

Despite the vice wrapped around his chest, Ezra sucked in a breath. He didn't need to run or to fight, because he wasn't on the streets anymore. No, he was on the Ghost, and he knew Zeb wasn't going to hurt him (...not seriously, at least.) 

Still, Ezra still couldn't shake the wariness that tingled in his fingertips. He inched away, staring at the ground. "Sorry…" he mumbled.

There was silence for a moment, then his roomate let out a frustrated breath. "S'fine. I shouldn't have snapped. Let's… let's just find those stupid power cells." 

Ezra nodded and followed Zeb out of the engine room. And if Ezra took an extra second to shake off the lingering cold, no one had to know.

***

It took a good ten minutes of rooting through every drawer and cabinet in the Ghost before they found the power cells. Ezra sighed as he pulled them out of the Phantom's compartment. "Thank goodness," he muttered, stuffing them into his jacket. Enough had already gone wrong today. 

"Zeb!" Ezra stomped out of the Phantom and towards the engine room. "I found them!" 

"Good job, kid." Zeb dusted off his hands as he entered the engine room. "Let's get them installed, eh?"

"Yep." Ezra didn't look at Zeb as he tossed him some power cells. He knelt by a fried circuit and pried out the dead power cell. With nimble movements, he replaced the empty space with the new power cell.

As Ezra moved onto the next circut, he shuddered as bitter cold air swept over him. The silence was suffocating, yet charged with a million different emotions. It was confusing and overwhelming, and Ezra's head began to spun. He blinked harshly, shoving the nasuea away. He was fine. He was fine. He just had to…

"Hey, kid."

Ezra yelped. He jumped and fumbled with the power cell before spinning around to face Zeb. "What?" he shouted, his skin crawling.

Zeb raised his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He pointed at the power cell in Ezra's hand. "You need some help?"

"What? No, I got it." Ezra shook his head. "You can go ahead and finish your batch."

"I already did." Zeb's brows pulled together, and wow, did concern look weird on Zeb. Especially since it was directed at Ezra. "You've been over there for quite awhile. Do you need help?"

Ezra blinked. Then blinked again. Had he been standing here that long? "U-um, it's fine. I'll finish, don't worry." Ezra spun around, ready to put the stupid power cell where it belonged. But his head was spinning as he turned too quickly, and soon the power cell was spinning across the room.

"...oops." Ezra felt heat crawl up his neck, shame flush against his skin. "S-sorry…"

"It's fine, kid." Zeb bent down and picked it up, before elbowing Ezra out of the way. "Here, let me in."

"Okay." Ezra bit his lip as Zeb clicked the power cell in, stomach dropping. He had one job, and he blew it. Great. He was a failure now, too. This day was truly just awful…

"Well, that's done." Zeb stepped back, letting out a long breath. "Do you think we'll be lucky enough to not get any more chores?"

Ezra shrugged, forcing an answer out of his throat that was rapidly closing. "Dunno."

Zeb turned around, lips pursed. "Kid… if you're worried about…" he gestured at the power cells now in the machinery. "Don't worry about it. Happens to everyone."

But I'm not supposed to be everyone, Ezra thought. I'm supposed to be a Jedi.

"Yeah," Ezra said. "Sure."

He stood, ready to escape this nightmare, when a hand closed around his shoulder. Ezra froze, heart slamming against his ribcage.

"Hey." Zeb ducked into Ezra's line of vision. Though the line of his shoulders was indimitating, there was a gentleness in his eyes that caught Ezra off guard. "Sabine will be fine, kid. She's seen far worse, trust me. She'll pull through."

Ezra wrung his hands. "But she–"

"Like I said, she's had worse. And there's no one better to help her than Kanan and Hera." Zeb patted his shoulder. "She'll be okay."

How do you know that? That's what everyone says before they're gone. And if Sabine's not okay, then how could I possibly be? She's so strong, and I'm not. If she can get hurt, what kind of Jedi can I be?

"I…" Ezra's throat was closing, panic was rising, and he…

"It'll be okay, kid. It always is." Zeb straightened, his eyes gleaming. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we go wait for Sabine? Then you can see she'll be fine." 

Ezra bit his lip. Fear and panic still clawed at him, and he still doubted Zeb's confident declaration… but warmth radiated from the Lasat, causing the room to feel safe and comfortable. Zeb believed what he meant, and he really wanted Ezra to feel better.

He… cared.

Huh.

"Okay," Ezra finally said. "Okay." 

Zeb clapped his back, grinning. "Good choice, kid."

Ezra couldn't help but smile back.

***

Two Years Ago… After a particularly nasty mission…

"You said you could land the ship." 

"I did." 

"Hera. This is a crash." 

"Kanan Jarrus, you did not just say that word to me!"

"I dunno," Zeb mused, "I think it could've been worse." 

Hera cut a glare in Zeb's direction. Wisely, he darted into the smoking ship, mumbling something about repairs.

Kanan sighed, running a hand down his face. This day was just getting worse and worse… "Sweetheart, you know I love you–"

"–so think carefully about the next words out of your mouth–"

"–but our job went south, we lost the cargo and our credits, and now we have an entire hanger of lowlifes angry at us. Plus our ship is–" 

"-- just a little roughed up , thank you very much!" Hera's lip curled, her brows drawn together like knives. "And it's not our ship. It's my ship." Her finger stabbed his chest. "Got it?"

Kanan's jaw worked. Logically, Kanan knew Hera didn't mean it. He knew her, which meant he knew how she hid her fear behind anger. But that didn't stop it from hurting .

"Someone's in a great mood today," Kanan snapped. Red painted the edges of his vision. "Considering I helped you get your precious ship." 

Her green eyes flashed. "One more word, Jarrus." Hera's voice dropped dangerously low. " One. More. Word. " 

It wasn't fair to Hera. She didn't deserve his anger, not here and now. But the words spilled out anyway. 

"Whatever," Kanan growled. "I'm too tired to deal with this right now." 

"You're too tired? You're too tired?" Fury sizzled in her gaze. "I'm sorry, did you just outmaneuver an entire swarm of TIE fighters? Did you manage to land the ship somewhere safe? Did you get us all here alive?"

"That's not–" Kanan began.

"You're welcome, by the way!"

"Well." Kanan ground his teeth. "When you said 'I can make it,' I figured there'd be a little less damage. Not…" Kanan gestured at the Ghost , which was sagging sadly into the floor. "this."

"First of all, I said I could make a very exciting landing. And I did ," Hera scoffed. "Anyone else would've completely shredded the ship and the hangar. What more do you want from me?" 

Kanan threw his hands into the air. "You know what? Fine, fine, fine! You win! Happy now?"

Hera huffed and crossed her arms. "What, going to play victim now? That won't work on me… Caleb."  

The hanger stilled. Kanan bristled, fingernails digging into his palms. Hera didn't back down, simply standing firm and furious. 

"Hera," he managed to grit out. "Please." 

"No. You're not getting away from this." Hera's hands balled into fists. "I know you don't want to fight the Empire like I do. And guess what? That's fine. I get it. You're not the only one who fought in the Clone Wars." 

"You didn't see–" 

"But I did ." Hera's shoulders hiked upwards, the tension in her coiling like a snake readying a strike. "I lost my home, my brother, my mother –! But I haven't let it stop me! I've overcome it to get to where I'm standing today."

Kanan flinched back at the word mother. The face of his master flashed before him. "Hera…" he croaked.

But she ran over his weak pleading like a cruiser. "And before you say it, I know I still have a long way to go. But at least I'm trying!" She smacked his chest. "Come on! I've seen you fight! You've done the impossible so many times! What's so different about this?"

"I don't want to get involved in another war, okay?" Kanan stepped forward, towering over her. "I don't want to–I can't –lose you, and if we joined them–"

"If we joined those rebels, we wouldn't be here right now!" Hera shoved his shoulder, causing him to stumble back. "I don't want to join another war either, Kanan! But we can't do this alone. We almost died out there today. We were outnumbered, outgunned, outmanned, but if we had–" 

"Don't even start–" 

"If we had allies, information, a system to rely on–" 

"We'll just get led into the same thing that killed everyone the first time around! Hera, think about what you're saying!" 

"I am!" Hera cried. "I have, Kanan! And I know you have, too! We can't do this on our own. What, are the four of us going to take down the Empire alone? Do you know how insane that sounds?" 

Kanan sputtered, grasping for straws. She was winning and they both knew it. But Kanan needed her to understand. They couldn't just join another rebel cell willy-nilly. They had to be careful. For everyone's sake… "We don't have to take down the Empire! We just need to survive."  

"And do what?" Hera waved her hand around. "Hide in the shadows? Let the Empire trample countless worlds? Wait for someone else to save the day? Come on, Kanan. I know you better than that. You want to help." 

Kanan ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, yes. You're right. I do want to help. But there are more ways to help than to join some random organization we don't even know." 

"But we could have known them! They could have helped us!" Hera's voice was slipping into tones of desperation, the Force around her tingling with heartache. This fight wasn't just about doing the right thing. It was personal. 

For both of them.

"We don't know that." Kanan knew it was a weak argument. But kriff it, it was all he had.

"Yeah, maybe we don't. But we almost died today, Kanan. You, me, Zeb, Chopper… but if we had someone to watch our backs, to help us–"

Kanan scoffed. "Them? Help us? We must have not seen the same people, because those so-called 'rebels' sure looked sketchy to me." 

"Says the fugitive." 

"And you're just proving my point. You're too trusting." 

Hera pursed her lips. Her fingers twitched. "And maybe you're not trusting enough." 

Kanan felt his anger simmer, his heart squeezing painfully. Pleading broke through his voice, hoarse and desperate. "Hera."  

Her own face crumbled, tears collecting in her eyes. "Kanan. You know I'm not going to stand by quietly when my crew–my family –almost dies from something completely preventable." 

"You're right, it was preventable. And if we had joined them, maybe this disaster could have been avoided. But what other problems would it have caused?" Kanan sighed, reaching forward and taking her hand. "I understand what you're saying, Hera, I really do. But… I'm not ready. We're not ready. If we're going to fight, we need to find people we can trust . And so far? I don't think we've met anyone we can trust." 

Hera closed her eyes, brow pinching as Kanan ran his thumb over her knuckles. Her lekku trembled as she stood stock still. "...okay," she finally whispered. "Okay. You're right." 

Kanan let out a sigh of relief. Thank the Force. He opened his mouth to apologize for shouting, but Hera opened her eyes. The soft green shone with resolve. "But when we do meet those people… you have to promise me that you will trust them." Her fingers tightened around his hand. "Please."

A heartbeat. Then Kanan pulled her into a hug. "That, I can do." Kanan wrapped his arms around her, pressing a hand to her back. "I promise." 

"Good." She rested her cheek on his chest, a shaky breath escaping her. "Love… you really scared me."

"Do you mean almost dying or our fight?"

Hera punched his arm.

"Haha… yeah, I deserved that." Kanan cupped the back of her neck and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You scared me, too," he whispered.

"Yeah," she murmured.

They were silent for a minute, the hangar revolving around them. The Ghost still lay in shambles, but… it was okay. Just for a minute.

Except it still wasn't. Something felt… wrong. Off. Even though the dust was settling, there was a puzzle piece missing. Something wasn't right…

Hera pulled back, eyes pinched. "Do you feel it, too?" She whispered.

"I do." Kanan sighed. "Did we forget something important?"

"I don't think so… " Hera bit her lip. "Ugh. This is going to bother me forever now."

"Yeah. But for now, let's… let's just get your ship fixed." He sighed as a chunk of the hangar ceiling fell down. "And pay off whoever's in charge of this place."

"Fine with me." Hera unclasped the case clipped to her belt. "I think we have enough in our emergency savings to bribe people to stay quiet. And to pay for everything we destroyed." 

"So you do admit it was a crash." 

Hera punched his shoulder. "Get to work, Jarrus." 

"Aye-aye, captain." Kanan saluted her as she disappeared into the hangar. "Good luck convincing everyone about your not-a-crash !"

She flicked a rude gesture over her shoulder.

Well, at least some things never changed.

Kanan ducked inside the Ghost, wincing as the damage met his eyes. The walls were sparking and smoke clung to the insides like glue. He coughed, waving past the fumes.

"Zeb! Where are you?" He called, rummaging through their makeshift closet. "And where are the tools?"

"I got 'em!" Zeb's shout echoed through the ship, ringing in tandem with the shuddering of the ship. "I think the spares are under the rags."

Kanan lifted the pile of greasy rags. "Got them. Thanks, Zeb!" Hefting the spare tools up, he left the closet, blinking away the sting in his eyes. He set to work on keeping the Ghost alive long enough to get them somewhere safer.

What a day it had been. Kanan felt exhausted, inside and out. The argument with Hera didn't help, either. It hadn't been one of their worst ones, but it definitely wasn't one of their best ones, either. He would have to make it up to her with dinner sometime. 

Kanan frowned as he pulled off a panel off the Ghost. Something hummed in the air, putting his nerves on edge. He'd been feeling off all day, like something was nagging at the back of his mind since he woke up. But he just couldn't figure it out. That probably contributed to his short fuse today. Something was bothering him, and he couldn't figure it out. Neither could Hera, which was never a good sign.

What's missing? Kanan thought. We're good. We have a ship, a family, a mission… what else is there?

Why don't I feel complete?

The uneasy feeling remained. And it grew. As Kanan chipped away at the Ghost's repairs, it grew and grew, until it was roaring like a storm in his ears.

"How's it going?" Zeb asked, lumbering out of the Ghost.

"I think we can limp to our next stop." Kanan gently knocked on a loose panel. "Barely."

"Agreed," Zeb huffed, pulling Kanan to his feet. "I don't know what else to do on the inside. You know Hera's the real wizard at this stuff. Especially at her ship."

"Yes, I do know." Kanan sighed, brushing some dust off his sweater. "It would be nice to have another mechanic on the ship…"

As he said it, the air practically sang with recognition. Kanan blinked as the chime quickly faded. What was that?

Zeb didn't seem to notice, as he just snorted. "Yeah, well, it ain't going to be me." He glanced to the side. "Hey, Hera's back!" 

Kanan turned, ready to wave to his wife. But he never got the chance.

Pain exploded through the Force, so powerful it nearly knocked him off his feet. Kanan swallowed back the nausea, black spots dancing in his vision. "What the–" 

A yelp snapped him back to the present. Kanan stumbled as the ground shuddered, the Ghost sliding a few feet to the right.

"Kanan!" Hera scrambled to her feet. "What's happening?"

"I–I'm not sure." A whine, sharp as a knife, laced through his head. Kanan growled and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Something's wrong." Someone's in pain.

"No kidding." Hera grabbed his elbow as the hangar tilted. Tools went flying and crates were rolling. "Get inside the ship!"

Zeb raced inside as Hera tugged at Kanan's arm. He stepped forward, ready to get inside and away from this disaster—

His head practically split with hot-white pain. Kanan fell to one knee, clutching his head. He was faintly aware of Hera kneeling beside him, shouting something. But all he knew was the pain, hot white and the fear, fear, fear…

Help me.

Kanan opened his eyes as the connection clicked into his mind.

Help me , the plea echoed again through the Force. Help me…

"Hera," Kanan croaked, grasping her hand. The pain ebbed away, but it was still there, at the back of his mind, tugging him away from the Ghost. "We need to help her." 

A couple years ago, Hera might have questioned him and demanded answers he didn't have. But now, she only nodded. "I'll get the Ghost ready to fly." Ships zipped by, desperate to escape the hangar, quickly falling in space. This place was going down–they had minutes at most. "Tell me when you're ready to go."

Kanan nodded, squeezing her hand. They shot to their feet. Kanan waved Zeb over and they raced further into the hangar.

Flames and metal raged everywhere: the stars glittered beyond the chaos, but Kanan didn't pay attention to it all. He raced forward, following the thread connecting him to the injured being. Zeb was hot on his feet, following his sharp, sudden turns without a word.

Kanan knew exactly where she was. And though he knew with a certainty he had never met her, he knew he needed to.

They skidded to a stop as they entered another section of the hangar. It was engulfed with fire, the ceiling buckling and the vents on the ground. There was no signs of life.

"Kanan!" Zeb shouted, but Kanan didn't hear him. He immediately zoned in on a collapsed vent in the middle of the room.

There.

Kanan sprinted forward, vaulting over a heap of flaming wreckage. Zeb shouted something, but he let it fall to a soft drone. Kanan raced to the vent, heat beating on his skin as sweat dripped down his back. Smoke clogged his every breath, but it paled in comparison to the pain he felt through the bond.

Kanan knelt down. To his horror, he saw a small, gloved hand beneath the heap of twisted metal. He reached down, ready to pull the metal off of her. The metal burned his hands, but he ignored it, shifting to lift it up–

"Auugh!"

The strangled sob made Kanan pause. The hand curled into a fist, shaking violently.

"Hey!" Kanan shouted over the raging fire. "Listen, I know it's going to hurt, but I need to get this off of you! Just hang in there–" 

"No…" A soft protest, Kanan barely heard it, he more felt it through the Force. "It… it got me…" 

Kanan focused on the bond, honing in on the source of her pain. There, at the center of it, was in her stomach. Where something was… stabbing through it! Kriff.

"Kanan!" Zeb came up behind him, panting. "We gotta go! This whole place is coming down!" 

"Not without her!" Kanan knelt down, peering through the darkness underneath the metal. Underneath, he saw a glint of gold. Armor. "She got impaled by the vent. We have to move it off of her, but without tearing her in half." Kanan followed the silhouette of the form, reaching behind him. In a flash, he twisted the halves of his lightsaber together. "I need you to be ready to get it up. I'm going to cut off part of it, so we won't aggravate her wound." 

"Got it," Zeb said, falling into a ready stance.

Kanan bent down, reaching forward. He brushed a shoulder, which winced away from him. "Hey, hey," he said, dropping into soothing tones. "It's okay, I'm here to help. But I need to know where the metal got you. Okay?" 

There was no answer, just a shuddering breath. Kanan felt panic spur through him– was he too late? –when the shoulder twitched. A hand snaked up and grabbed his wrist. She tugged his arm down, through the maze of metal, until he was brushing something cold and wet. Blood .

Kanan shoved past the nausea and wrapped his hand around the metal. He had to focus. Carefully, he dragged his fingertips around the metal, feeling how bit it was. It was small enough that he could cut it without injuring her.

"Okay," Kanan said. "I got it. I need you to stay really still for me, okay? I'll get you out." He glanced at Zeb. "Ready?"

Zeb gave a sharp nod. Kanan turned back and angled his lightsaber at just the right place, relying more on the Force than his own sight. He had to do this just right, so he wouldn't cut her or that the metal would come crashing down on her. 

Finally, the Force sang. Now.

He took a deep breath and ignited the lightsaber. 

The beam sliced the metal, and the minute the vent above began to give, Zeb yanked it up and off the being.

And Kanan sucked in a breath at the sight.

She was a kid. A kriffing kid . For how steady her hand had been, he had expected a war-worn adult. Not a small, vulnerable, impaled kid, shaking in terror. The visor of her helmet tilted towards him sluggishly, fire flicking across her silver and gold armor.

"Who are you?" she croaked.

"I'm Kanan," he said. He reached forward, but paused as the girl flinched away. "I'm here to help. Can I pick you up?"

She gave a shaky nod. Kanan easily scooped her up–Force, she was so light– and jogged towards Zeb. She groaned in pain, but Kanan just held her tighter. 

"Hang in there," he murmered, half paying attention to Zeb comming Hera for a pickup. "It'll be okay." Blood was steadily leaking through her jumpsuit. "I got you." Please, Force…

The moment The Ghost swung into the burning hangar, Kanan sprinted for it. The ramp dropped open and they leapt onto it. As the ramp closed, the groan of a structure collapsing met their ears.

"Hera, go !" Kanan shouted.

The Ghost groaned in complaint, but Hera still pushed it forward. They shot away from the destroyed hangar just in time to hear the KABOOM that shook the ship. Kanan tightened his grip on the girl as the Ghost shuddered into hyperspace.

"Zeb, medkit," he snapped, lowering the girl to the ground. Zeb raced away as Kanan slid the girl's helmet off. It came away easily, revealing two hazel eyes and a braid of bright magenta hair. "Hey, it's okay. We got you." Kanan set the helmet to the side as the girl coughed. "Just breathe, help's on the way." He squeezed her hand, his heart breaking as she squeezed back. "I got you, I got you."

The pounding of feet entered the room. Hera crashed to her knees beside him as Zeb set the medkit down, open and ready to go. "Hey, sweetheart," she murmured, hands already flying: cutting away the fabric around the wound in clean strokes, then pulling out the necessary supplies. "This is gonna hurt, but I promise, it will help. Can you be brave for me?"

The girl nodded, face pinching as Hera set her hands around the piece of metal. Kanan gripped the girl's hand, reaching out to guide her face away from Hera. He sent comforting waves of reassurance through the Force, brushing the hair back from her sweaty face. Burns littered her arms, but Kanan focused on her spirit, pulsing all too quietly.

"Hey, I didn't get your name," Kanan said. "I'm Kanan. What's your name?" 

"Sabine," she grunted. Her face scrunched, eyes closing as Hera got to work. "Wh–who are you? Why…" Why help me?

"Because you needed it," Kanan said, squeezing her hand. "And that's all that matters."

She squeezed back, so shakily. And though he'd only known her for a minute, Kanan prayed to the Force that no matter what happened next, that Sabine would live.

She had to live.

She had to…

***

Present Day…

Sabine back arced as she let out a strangled cry. Kanan winced, heart breaking as he ran a gentle hand through her hair. "Hey, hey, I got you. Come on, Sabine, you got this." He grimaced at her iron-clad grip on his other hand, but said nothing about it. They just needed to get through this. "Just breathe, Hera's almost done."

Sabine cracked open her eyes to glare at him. "You're… kriffing… stupid!"

"Yeah, I know. I get called that on a daily basis." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hera applying bandages to the wound. Thank the Force this was almost over. He wasn't sure his heart could take much more. "But we're almost there. Just hang on…"

Sabine muttered something indecipherable, her face screwing up in pain. Logically, Kanan knew that she would be fine. After all, her presence in the Force was still burning bright. Still, it killed Kanan to see her in this much pain. His heart broke a little bit every time she let out a scream.

Finally, after what seemed forever, Hera sat back. "There," she sighed. Sabine immediately sagged into the mattress, chest heaving. "You're lucky it wasn't any deeper." 

Sabine grumbled something that sounded a lot like several cuss words smashed together.

Kanan chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know it sucks. But maybe you'll finally learn your lesson about running headfirst into danger."

Sabine merely leveled an unimpressed look at him. "Not until you stop being so self-sacrificial," she grumbled.

Kanan would have rolled his eyes and cracked another joke, but it was hard when her words were wobbly and her brow was soaked in sweat. Kanan couldn't help but hurt for Sabine. He'd had his fair share of lightsaber burns, and he knew how much they hurt.

"You got me there." Kanan leaned back to help Hera pack up the medkit. "But hey, you're past the worst part." And thank goodness for that, he thought, remembering the last time he'd treated a stomach injury. His stomach still churned just thinking about that, even two years later.

"Whatever," Sabine huffed, but he saw her wilt in relief.

Hera picked up the medkit, an exhausted smile on her face. She leaned over the bed, gently pressing a kiss to Sabine's forehead. "Get some rest, sweetheart. The pain meds will kick in soon, but if you need anything–"

"I know," Sabine said. She rolled her eyes. "Come get you if I need help, I know. I'm fine, Hera." 

Hera shook her head, shooting Kanan a she's your problem now look before she left the room.

"I'm fine," Sabine said, before Kanan could even turn around to look at her. 

"Yeah, so you've said." Kanan raised an eyebrow. "And you don't want your sketchbook."

Sabine glared daggers at him.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Kanan grabbed her sketchbook out of a drawer. "Charachol or marker?"

"Markers," Sabine grumbled.

Kanan handed her the sketchbook and markers, then knelt down beside her. Sabine's bottom bunk could only be used as a table, so they'd moved her mattress from the top bunk down to the floor. That way, she didn't have to climb the ladder with a hurt side. Normally, Kanan would be more worried that they didn't have the mattress bolted down, just in case of a surprise fight, but… well. They weren't going to have any of those for a couple of weeks.

Kanan shook his head, banishing the thoughts of their imprisonment. He could deal with that later. Right now, he needed to be here for Sabine. 

Kanan helped her sit up, propping her up on the tower of pillows they'd managed to collect. "You good? You're not hurting too much?"

"Yeah," Sabine said, uncapping a pink marker. She pointedly did not look at him.

Kanan sighed. "Sabine, you know I'm not going to make you talk, but if something is bothering you–"

"Nothing is bothering me," Sabine grumbled. She furiously pounded the marker tip, trying to get ink to come through.

"Sabine," Kanan said.

Sabine paused. Then she sighed, leaning back in the pillows. "It's stupid," she mumbled. Her hand came up to rest on her stomach. "It happened two years ago."

Kanan placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're allowed to still feel angry or upset about what happened, Sabine. Two years isn't that long."

"It feels like a long time," Sabine mumbled.

"I know. But it's really not." Kanan sighed. "And I know that today brought up a lot of unwelcome memories for all of us. You're not any less for feeling something, Sabine."

"Yeah. I know." Sabine bit her lip, sinking into the pillow. 

"But?" Kanan prompted.

"Nothing." Sabine looked away. "Can you grab a blanket?"

Kanan knew deflection when he saw it. "Sabine–"
Her knuckles went white as she clutched her notebook. "Kanan. Please."

He sighed. "Okay." Kanan grabbed a blanket from her bed and handed it to her. "But… just don't keep it bottled up, okay?"

"I won't." Sabine threw the blanket over her legs. "That's what art is for."

"Sabine–"

"It was a joke, Kanan." She rolled her eyes. "I just… need to be alone right now, okay?"

"Alright." Kanan accepted the dismissal for what it was. "Feel better, Sabine."

As Kanan walked out the door, he heard her barely audible "Thanks."

He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. This day was just getting worse and worse…

Two steps out of Sabine's room, he crashed into Hera. "Wha–"

"Shhh!"

"What–" Kanan frowned. "Why do you have a holocam?"

"Shhhh!" Hera raised the holocam, snapping a picture with a grin. "Shut up and look," she whispered.

Kanan followed gaze. On the floor, across the hallway, there were two distinct lumps…

He inched closer to Hera, ducking his head so he could whisper in her ear. "Did they–?" 

"Yeah." The edges of her eyes crinkled as her lips lifted in a soft smile. "They were waiting."

Zeb was slumped against the wall, head lolling back as he snored softly. Ezra was curled into his side, head on Zeb's shoulder. Both of their faces were peaceful.

Kanan slid an arm around Hera's waist, pressing a kiss to her head. She sighed, leaning against him. "We have good kids," she whispered.

He nodded, watching Ezra and Zeb slumber. "Yeah." He pulled Hera closer, his chest filling with warmth. "We do."

Everything was falling apart… but their family was okay. Well, mostly okay. They were trying at least. And that? That was enough.

That was enough.