Chapter Text
"Define "modified'."
Kallus held the small blaster to inspect more closely. At first glance, he couldn't see anything out of place. Squinting, he spotted a tiny grey patch near the base of the barrel where it had been soldered. Sabine tapped the spot.
"Nipped out the power core, and fiddled with some wires while I was in there. It's got a charge at ten-per-minute, quicker than the regular six-" Kallus nodded, impressed. "-and the shots are pretty soft. They just give you a jolt. Maybe some tingling, loss of feeling in your extremities...unlikely though."
"What? You didn't mention that!"
Sabine grinned at Ezra. "Then don't get hit. That's the point, right?"
The neophyte Padawan glanced behind him. "Er-master?"
Kanan looked on with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"
Ezra's shoulders slumped, as help was clearly not forthcoming from that corner. "Oh-fine. But you guys are enjoying this way too much."
"I can't imagine why you'd have that impression, Jabba." Kallus said. Eza shot him a sour look, sliding one foot back for balance as he ignited his lightsaber. Sabine snickered and walked to the far end of the cargo hold. Kanan settled on the platform to watch.
They started slow, as Kallus got a feel for the challenge. Ezra was a small target, and fast. Kallus couldn't keep up with his leg. He remained largely in the background, allowing Sabine the run of the hold to stalk their target. She had similar speed, and much more grace to her movements than the still occasionally clumsy boy. Sabine had a bright gleam in her eye as they unbalanced Ezra in the wake of a furious salvo. Even so, the boy's Force abilities gave him slight insight into their next moves, and the 'saber gave him versatility in offense and defense. He recovered quickly.
Not to mention, Ezra was a quick study-and he had no shortage of teachers. Certainly, he had his Jedi training with Kanan, but as Sabine pursued him across the floor, Kallus noted other elements in his technique. There was Hera's approach, strewing canisters behind him as he used the environment to his advantage. Kallus saw the shadow of Zeb when Ezra seized a chance for an offensive attack that had Sabine leaping back before she could complete a successful maneuver. And (he noted with a surge of pride) a familiar technique in which the padawan spun, twisting his body and 'saber in a complex movement that had him body-checking Sabine into the path of Kallus' blasts. The young woman successfully evaded them, but left herself open to Ezra completing the move, flicking his wrist to slice one of her blasters in two.
Ezra had been watching the last time he and Zeb sparred. And here was the same move he had used, adjusted for a 'saber on the fly.
Sabine swore and quickly backtracked. Ezra pursued. The destruction of the second blaster would drop her from the exercise. She leapt on the teetering pile of the ship's rubbish, just barely keeping her balance and ahold of the gun when Ezra attempted to Force-pull it from her grip. He circled, keeping both of them in view as he diverted their shots and looked for a good spot to follow her up.
Ezra's eyes flicked to one of the few flat surfaces. Sabine twisted for a split-second to nod at Kallus.
She jumped at the same time as Ezra, throwing the blaster. Startled, he swiped out with the 'saber as he landed awkwardly. Sabine's sudden movement had destabilized the stack, and he was watching her rather than noticing where Kallus was shooting. The garbage below him, already swaying, collapsed from the blasts, and the padawan went down with it.
Kallus jogged over to the mess. Ezra was already recovering, but it was too late. Kallus tapped his head with the barrel. On the other side of the rubble, Sabine jumped up waving the lightsaber in victory.
"Ha! Yes!" She exulted, then coughed, embarrassed.
Kanan clapped from the sidelines. "Well done, and thanks you two. That was a good play. Ezra-"
"Yeah, yeah." Ezra coughed, accepting Kallus' hand up. "Let's go over how I screwed up."
"And what you did right-"
"But mostly how he screwed up." Kallus heard the amused voice come from behind, as arms wrapped around him and a chin perched on his head. Well-accustomed to his lover's easy displays of affection, he merely gripped the arms in turn. Ezra turned away, rolling his eyes like the immature teen he was. Sabine quirked her lips into a smile before going to collect the blaster halves.
"Don't hoard him away, Zeb, I want another go before lunch!" She called over her shoulder.
The ex-agent looked forward to the next round, but there were other matters to attend to at the moment. "Did you two come to an agreement with the commander?"
He felt the heavy sigh roll through Zeb. "Not exactly. I wanted to come talk to you about that."
Kallus frowned up at him. "About...what, exactly?"
---
"Where will we find you?"
Zeb glanced up from packing. "Eh, I'll work that out after it's done. Dunno how long the Elders are going to want me to stick around after, so no point in tryin' to pick a safe spot now." He picked up a squashed-looking medkit. "D'you reckon this is still good?"
Kallus eyed the stains. "Not if the patches were punctured. Why did the commander turn down your request?"
"Loads of reasons, thought it wasn't his call by the end. It was those pesky representatives they've got these days. "Don't have the manpower." "It's too risky." "Not in our best interests." Bah. Idiots."
Kallus carefully folded another tunic, as opposed to the lump of cloth Zeb had in one fist. "You would think they would be more generous with those ships, seeing as it was this crew that procured them in the first place."
"Hmph. Y'd think."
"Do you have to go alone?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah." The Lasat said in the same subdued tone. "Could maybe bring Kanan or Sabine along, but this is unsanctioned. Don't want too many of us being away if they call the Ghost in. And, well." He shook his head. "I'm not risking you to one of our people that might not have their head on straight. So I'll go in on the Spectre, meet up with Hera's contacts, and get the right people escorted through to hand 'em off to the Elders."
Kallus understood. That didn't make saying goodbye any easier.
---
"Hey."
Kallus blinked, and looked at Kanan. The Jedi gave him a smile, thankfully devoid of pity despite the fact he had been caught staring at the wall.
"We're docking on the Feedeek Space Station tomorrow morning. Do you want to go on the supply run, or stick to the ship?"
"How far are we from Empire occupied space?"
"Pretty far. Plenty of things to watch out for, but any Imperials that might be around will be in small numbers, easy to avoid."
"Then I think I'll take you up on that supply run." Kallus grimaced. "It's pathetic to be languishing about after a few hours."
"It's not-your feelings don't make you pathetic, Kallus."
"...right."
---
Kallus slept poorly that night.
---
Kanan and Sabine were waiting together when Kallus walked up to them the next morning. "Are you coming along with the party?"
She nodded. "I've got a few things to pick up, and some rumours to follow up on. A man that caused me and a friend trouble a while back might be on this station-"
"No calling attention to ourselves if you can help it!" Kanan said as he began disembarking.
"Of course. No need for attention if it's done right." She continued in an undertone.
Kallus smiled despite himself. "So who is this man that managed to catch your ire?" He followed Sabine down the ramp.
"Long story..."