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It was supposed to be an easy mission. A simple grab-and-go from the empire’s supply on a different planet. Sabine was getting ready to set up her explosives around the base as Ezra and Kanan fought the stormtroopers. Zeb was busy loading up the Ghost with the supplies they were “borrowing”.
Unfortunately, their intel was slightly wrong. There were way more stormtroopers than they anticipated. Ezra, having gotten better at using his lightsaber, was effectively deflecting their blasts. He felt a bit of pride in himself for doing so well. Despite their incorrect intel, they were all doing well with the mission. Most of the supplies were loaded up, Sabine’s explosives were set and ready, and they were just trying to find an opening so they could escape.
Suddenly, the two Jedi felt a creeping cold. They both turned to look at each other, alarmed and questioning. Moments later, the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother stepped out of the shadows. Ezra could immediately feel Kanan’s worry at seeing the two of them. Ezra had the pleasure of meeting both of the inquisitors recently and was only slightly less scared than before, feeling more comfortable at having his master by his side this time.
The Seventh Sister’s attention locked on Ezra. “Nice to see you again, pretty boy,” she smirked. Ezra could feel Kanan’s shock and disgust through the force of her words. It bothered Ezra as well, but he could brush it off, for now.
“The feeling isn't mutual.” Ezra quipped back.
Her smirk widened as her focus switched to Kanan. “And you must be his master. That title won’t last too much longer, though.”
Kanan scowled but didn’t respond as the Fifth brother lunged at him with his saber. He ignited his own saber just in time to deflect his opponent’s strike.
Unlike her partner, Ezra watched as the Seventh Sister circled him slowly, not yet engaging in a fight. He eyed her warily as she continued to gaze at him uncomfortably. After an agonizing wait, she finally ignited her double-bladed saber and coated herself in a blood red light. Ezra reciprocated the act, and they jumped toward each other until their weapons clashed.
Ezra grunted as the inquisitor bore down on his saber. His arms trembled at the effort of holding her back, and their height difference wasn't helping him. They continuously broke apart and reconnected their sabers for some time. Ezra was only vaguely aware of his master’s own battle happening only a few feet away.
Suddenly, Ezra’s comm beeped, “Spectre 2 to Spectre 6, we are ready for pickup. Get back to the ship.” He quickly glanced at Kanan. Their eyes met briefly, and they nodded to each other.
Ezra’s focus shifted back to his battle with the Sister. She growled in his face as he tried to find a way to get away from the fight and retreat with his master. Ezra expected her to begin throwing harsher attacks at him to limit his chances of escape. What he didn’t expect was to be flung across the room and away from the inquisitor by a powerful burst of the Force.
He was in the air for what felt like forever. When he did make contact with something, it was multiple hard, metal crates lying about. His head snapped back and slammed into the crates. Pain bloomed across his temple as he squinted his eyes shut. He felt a pounding headache come on as he blinked to refocus his eyes on his surroundings.
Through his discomfort, he saw Kanan finally break away from the Fifth brother enough to end the battle. He watched as Kanan ran towards him and pulled him to his feet with a harsh tug. He assumed his master hadn't noticed the pain that had slipped through their bond. Ezra mentally sighed in relief, waiting and wanting to get back to the Ghost as fast as possible to sleep off his headache.
He and Kanan began running toward where the Ghost was waiting for them nearby. Ezra stumbled repeatedly as they ran, the world around him in a constant haze. Thankfully, his adrenaline was covering most of his headache and discomfort. After what felt like an eternity of running, he saw the Ghost in the distance. Sabine and Zeb were on the ramp, shooting off any remaining stormtroopers. The Jedi climbed onto the ramp and inside the ship as Hera closed the ramp.
Both he and Kanan collapsed to the floor, panting and trying to regain their breath. Ezra curled up and hid his face in his knees to help ease the throbbing in his head. The lights seemed too bright as he squeezed his eyes shut. Kanan noticed Ezra’s position and sent a questioning, 'Are you okay?' in the Force.
Ezra lifted his head to make eye contact with his master. 'Yeah. Just have a headache.'
Kanan nodded at his response and slowly brought himself to his feet. “Come on, Hera wants us to meet in the common room.” He reached out to Ezra and helped pull him to his feet. He swayed slightly as a dizzy spell hit him. Kanan didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he brushed it off.
Ezra slowly trailed behind Kanan as they walked through the ship, his head still pounding and foggy. As they reached the common room, where the rest of the crew was, he dropped onto the couch.
He couldn’t remember how long Hera had been talking; his pain was the only thing he was focused on. Her voice seemed too loud for some reason as he tried to rapidly blink his eyes to get rid of the blur.
“-zra? Ezra, did you hear me?” He snapped his head up at the voice and saw Hera glaring down at him, a hint of concern in her features.
He blinked slowly. “Huh?” In the corner of his eye, he saw Kanan and Hera glance at each other, but he couldn’t read their expression. He then felt Kanan tug at his side of their bond through the Force out of concern. Ezra would’ve answered if he could focus on it.
Hera’s expression softened slightly. “I asked what happened back there.”
He looked down at his lap, trying to remember. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He briefly remembered the inquisitors being there. “Uh, there were inquisitors, I think.”
Zeb, who hadn’t noticed Ezra’s condition, scoffed. “What do you mean ‘you think’?”
Ezra glanced at Zeb, “No. Yeah, there were inquisitors.” He gazed at the rest of the crew. “Can I just go to bed? ‘m kinda tired.”
Kanan furrowed his eyebrows, “You sure you’re okay?”
Ezra nodded immediately. “Yeah”
Kanan sighed, “Go ahead, kid.”
He watched as Ezra slowly stood up and walked out the door to his room.
“Okay, what’s wrong with him?” Sabine gestured towards where Ezra had just walked.
Kanan crossed his arms in thought. “I don’t know. He said he had a headache earlier. I’m gonna go check on him.” He saw Hera nod as he walked to Ezra and Zeb’s shared room. He entered the bedroom and saw Ezra curled up on his bunk, facing the wall with the lights off. He turned on the lights and walked over to the bed. “Ezra? What’s going on?”
Ezra whined as the lights turned on, too bright even though his eyes were closed. “I’m fine.”
Kanan was unconvinced. “You said you had a headache. When did it start?”
Ezra thought for a moment and mumbled, “Uh…I don’t know. Don’t remember.” He was still not facing Kanan, having not moved yet.
Kanan frowned. His voice softened. “Ezra, sit up and face me real quick, okay?” Ezra groaned but slowly complied. His eyes were still shut. “I need you to open your eyes for me.”
He did, and Kanan noticed his eyes were dilated, not adjusting to the light at all. Ezra felt a spike of concern through the Force. “Ezra, did you hit your head?”
He blinked slowly and answered, “I think so.” He watched as Kanan’s eyes widened, and he reached for his comm.
“Hera, I need you to come to Ezra’s room with a medkit.” Kanan put his hand on Ezra’s hair, trying to find where he may have been hit. When he did find a lump, Ezra groaned at the pain. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
Seconds later, Hera burst through the doors with a medkit. Her face held worry and concern as she walked over to the bunk. “What’s wrong? Is he hurt?”
Kanan nodded. “He said he hit his head. I think he has a concussion.” Hera immediately took action. She, too, noticed Ezra’s dilated pupils and grabbed the painkillers.
“Ezra, honey, I need you to take these. They’ll help, I promise.” Ezra took a moment to register her words and nodded. She handed him the pills and some water. He took them with little difficulty and moved to lie back down on his bed.
Kanan stopped him. “Hey, we gotta get you to the medbay, okay?”
Ezra shook his head. “Medbay’s too bright.”
“I know, but we need to make sure you’re okay, bud.” Kanan carefully reached to help Ezra to his feet. But he quickly decided against that after seeing him sway. He instead picked Ezra up and into his arms. Ezra reacted instantly, curling up against his master. Hera’s expression softened at the pair and led them to the medbay.
Ezra didn’t remember much of the walk to the medbay. He briefly saw Sabine and Zeb look at him with worry as he passed them. He felt himself being set down on the cot and whined at the lack of warmth from Kanan’s hold.
He saw Hera step in front of him. “Ezra, can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?” She smiled encouragingly at him.
His eyes moved to look at the hand she held up. Eyes squinted as he tried to concentrate and focus his gaze. “...Two?”
Silence.
Hera’s face dropped. “No, hon. It was three. Do you remember what planet we are on?”
Ezra closed his eyes in thought. He knew the answer, but he couldn’t find it. Why couldn’t he remember? He lightly shook his head in shame. “I don’t know. ‘M sorry.”
He watched Hera shake her head. “No, it’s ok. You don’t need to apologize.”
He could vaguely feel a wave of comfort from Kanan through the Force. All he wanted to do was sleep.
Kanan spoke up. “Hera, what can we do to help him?”
She turned to him. “It seems his concussion is pretty bad. All we can really do is monitor him until he heals.” Her gaze drifted back over to Ezra, sympathy and concern in her eyes. He saw Kanan immediately move to pull up a chair and sit at his bedside.
Ezra had lain back down on the cot. His eyes dropped from exhaustion.
“It’s ok, kid, you can sleep now.” He turned his head to look at Kanan, who was smiling softly. He complied immediately. Eyes fluttering close as sleep overtook him.
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Ezra woke up to lights blinding him. He groaned, blinking as he tried to understand his surroundings. He began to lift himself, but instantly felt a sharp wave of dizziness hit him, as a duller headache settled in his head. Instead, he turned his head and found a sleeping Kanan in a chair next to him. He nudged their bond, and Kanan leaped up, eyes scanning over Ezra.
His shoulders sagged in relief. “Ezra! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” Words tumbled out of Kanan’s mouth in concern.
Ezra took a moment to mentally check himself over. “Um… a bit dizzy, and I have a headache. How long was I out?”
Kanan nodded, “You slept for a while, kid. Close to 10 hours, I would say. Are you up to seeing the rest of the crew? They’re pretty worried about you.”
Ezra smiled softly. “Sure, just make sure Chopper doesn’t zap me.” Kanan chuckled; the tension in his shoulders left slightly as he called in the crew. Moments later, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper burst through the medbay door, worry painted on all their faces.
Hera stepped up first. “How are you feeling, honey?”
“Still have a headache and a bit dizzy at times.”
Hera and the crew nodded in relief; the tension in the room eased slightly. “No missions for you for a bit.” Sabine smiled at him.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He lightly chuckled as Chopper warbled out his poorly hidden concern.