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galactic-pirates · 1 year

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Liveblog of episode 5 of Ahsoka. In which I have many feelings.

Ahhhh I’m so glad Huyang found Sabine’s helmet I was worried about that haha. His “I told them to stay together” and yup and because of that we doubly all saw this coming. I feel really bad for him as he might think both Sabine and Ahsoka are dead and obviously Huyang survived Order 66 (and is so much older as well). He has seen generations of Jedi from helping to craft their first lightsaber. He will have seen them die, most of them far younger than anyone would hope. If only they stayed together, there is safety in numbers. But Order 66 split the Jedi across the Galaxy - took them away from each other - and they fell one by one. Oh it hurts.

I find it interesting that Anakin is still wearing his “almost but not quite Sith” outfit he had in the third movie. I mean it was also his Clone Wars outfit. It was how Ahsoka knew him but it’s not the outfit he was put in for the replacement end scene in Return of the Jedi which was the stereotypical Jedi robes (identical to Obi-Wan).

I gasped with the “I won’t fight you” line as that’s what Ahsoka said to him in Malachor. “I’ve heard that before” - yes! And I remember when. Can you imagine that fight from his POV as suddenly a stormtrooper just yanks Ahsoka through a portal that came out of nowhere and boom she is gone.

Senator Organa!!!! I am screaming. Oh I love love love love that!!! Yay Leia covering for them. Oh that is so awesome! I know, I know, I am easily pleased but yay I am smiling so hard.

I love that Hera didn’t dismiss Jacen. She got Chopper to check, there was nothing, but she still listened and followed Jacen in listening. Did she know it was the force or was she just showing him respect? He might be a kid but he’s still a person. OMG OMG OMG they mentioned Kanan!!! Jacen has abilities - yes! Baby Jedi and I love that Carson is just like “whelp ok Jedi weirdness have to roll with it” and immediately snapped to it. I wonder why Hera didn’t taken Jacen in the Ghost. I mean if he can hear the fight, might she not think he could sense it and find it? Also leaving him alone on a planet, even with Chopper, seems risky.

Oh wow live action Clone Wars and baby Ahsoka. Oooooh and they remembered to give her a green lightsaber. So sad all those hurt and dead troopers :( I know Ahsoka is a baby Jedi but that is still a lot to put a kid through. Star Wars doesn’t seem to care about that though. I mean Padme was Queen/leader of her planet as a teen.

I’m not sure if that Clone Wars was a memory/flashback or not. The Anakin that talked to Ahsoka about war, said that he had to train her to be a solider. There seemed to be Anakin’s usual attempt to connect but then a failure with the joke “teaching isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” to lighten the mood but Ahsoka wasn’t there yet. He then got defensive and grumpy “what do you want from me?” because really Anakin chafes under orders but can’t exist without them. He needs to be told what to do. It feels very realistic like this might actually have happened. Right up until the “what if I want to stop fighting?” “Then you’ll die” as they aren’t in the middle of the battle exactly. Yes it’s close but there is the injured men behind the frontline, there’s the Walkers etc. I don’t know my gut feeling says Clone Wars Anakin would have let Ahsoka step back from the battlefield. He didn’t want to lose her, he wanted her to stay a Jedi, and in those times that meant the war, but would he have made her fight if her head wasn’t there? He absolutely didn’t want her to die. Is this part of the tunnel vision that Anakin saw no other options but the lie of hiding his marriage? Staying a Jedi, fighting the war, and the fight was all there was? That shot with the smoke and then flash Vader, flash Anakin, sure was something. Stunning and impactful.

I wonder did Hera hear the lightsabers? Did Jacen somehow share that with her? “You do things your way because you care. This is why people like you” - I put on another tag that it must be hard to stop being a rebel, as that was years of living to conscience not the rule of law/government authority. So the New Republic is leagues better than the Empire but it’s still an organisation operating to the Greater Good, and people will get lost/hurt in the shuffle. Hera always understood the cost of the mission but she was also free to choose the priority based on conscience. She did right by the Rebellion but she also did right by her family. This wasn’t a case where she had to choose, as it didn’t hurt the New Republic to come help Ahsoka and Sabine.

I hope Huyang put Sabine’s helmet in her old room on the Ghost. Reunion for Sabine and her helmet in the finale.

Oh blink and you miss it live action Rex. Siege of Mandalore explains the Ahsoka face paint clone, also the Mando enemy and not separatists droids. Also her now blue lightsabers which I had thought was just the light not showing right in the smoke. I also had initially thought it was a Bounty Hunter as it was the same battle, and it looked like there was a blue twi’lek in the earlier one. I had thought perhaps that was Aayla Secura but she had what looked like a blaster rather than a lightsaber.

I’m not sure what Anakin is trying to teach Ahsoka here. These flashbacks, not flashbacks? back to the war. It’s like Ahsoka is saying Baylan was right, she is a soldier, a bringer of death - and the battlefield scenarios support that - and also Anakin is saying she is a fighter. But then it’s there is more to the legacy? And she has learned nothing? and he’s going all Sith eyes. I am confused. Man Anakin striding forward and the flash to Vader, the show is really bringing it with the artistry. Wow she disarmed him. A true reflection of her skill? Or was the point to make her choose life rather than death? Anakin’s eyes are back to normal. “There’s hope for you yet” and he’s gone.

I wonder… so much about Ahsoka. So much about any Jedi post-Order 66 is the trauma of survival. Being stuck alive but dead in so many ways, of having lost a lot of what made them who they are, of not being allowed to be themselves. Having to hide their abilities, beliefs, deny their history etc. it’s like Ahsoka died on that Venator and she has been a Ghost ever since. Ha! I kinda just got that with the whole Ghost + Spectre thing. I mean also haunting the Empire, elusive and hard to catch but yeah the enemy they thought they had buried - the Jedi.

I read a meta. I think it was probably Gffa but it might have been someone else, wondering if Ahsoka only took Sabine as her padawan because she wasn’t force-sensitive. She could teach lightsaber techniques and not have to worry about the call to the dark side. Sabine could have emotions and it wouldn’t be Anakin. Now I’m not 100% sure if I buy that completely but it’s a plausible read. Ahsoka definitely feels stuck. So the whole “I choose to live” thing isn’t just a way out of this “world between worlds” force-willed safety net, it’s also potentially a release of the death and the chance for a new beginning? Maybe that was the point of the Clone Wars flashbacks, to face where it started and to say “I don’t live here anymore”.

Impressive job making the orange make-up waterproof. Ahsoka looked different without the headdress. Jacen playing with Chopper is so pure and I love that he ran over to give Ahsoka a hug. Sad though that he’s not been in her ship before, indicates they aren’t hugely close. But I love how indulgent and warm Hera and Ahsoka looked as Huyang answered Jacen’s questions. I still love that Ahsoka can sense force echoes like Cal Kestis can.

Chopper’s “uhoh” was awesome. And naturally Hera is like ugh politics, Sabine is family and my priority. Hera knows what it could cost her Ahsoka going after Sabine but it’s a price she will willingly pay. It’s not just her career, it’s her place in the world, it’s the ability to be part of things and keep making a difference. But what difference can she make if she sacrifices her integrity? Hera is so awesome. Never losing sight of that when arguably so many others (like perhaps Mon Mothma) has.

Small things I do love seeing Ahsoka’s ship next to the Ghost. I am still unnaturally happy everytime the Ghost is on screen.

I love Carson bullshitting to protect Hera. I mean he was a fun character in Mando season 1-2 but has really come into his own. I love characters who show loyalty like that. Awwww man Hera and Jacen, my heart can’t take it it’s so sweet “just like the stories you told me”. Ezra has never met him but I super adore that Jacen knows all about him.

Haha going in the whales mouth. I feel like there’s a reference here. Jonah? I mean chasing the white whale of Thrawn I guess. I’m not sure I like Ahsoka being so zen about “better than going nowhere” given Sabine’s in danger. But I guess even Ezra couldn’t tell them where to go, he just got to them to take Thrawn’s ship along for the ride. I love how the purgills just went around the fleet. Proof they only hit ships accidentally maybe? It’s a shame Hera and the Ghost isn’t going but a leap into the unknown like that would be crazy with Jacen so fair and I guess someone has to fill out the paperwork.

Wow what an episode. Shame Sabine didn’t appear but I think that would have been too much. There was a lot here without the third plot line and my usual complaint is that they rush stuff, so the delving into the Clone Wars flashback/memory things and giving them the time and weight they deserved was good. The sheer artistry.

I still don’t agree with some of the story points like the ridiculous ancient map (as how can they know that’s related to Thrawn and Ezra’s location?), or Sabine as a non-force sensitive Jedi? (Seriously it makes no sense) but I can’t deny this show has been made with an obvious real love for the franchise. I have a real love for Star Wars too so it’s great to see.

#ahsoka spoilers #star wars: ahsoka

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calebdumes · 3 years

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Kanan Lives AU where he's a nervous wreck during Jacen's birth and the rest of the Ghost family has to talk him down. Bonus for Zeb and Sabine ALSO being nervous wrecks but trying their best to hide it (Ezra is super chill, mostly because he knows fuck all about childbirth). Chopper attempts to murder Kanan for causing the problem in the first place.

I'm sorry this is so short but I hope it's what you wanted!

fandom: star wars rebels

relationship: kanan jarrus/hera syndulla, kanan & ghost crew

rating: g

word count: 763

The smell of bacta was overpowering, filling Kanan's nose with its cloyingly sweet yet unnervingly sharp scent. Hazy memories of heat and burning metal flashed across his mind causing the scars on his back to itch uncomfortably. He ground his teeth against the sensation, leaning heavily on his cane as he paced the length of the waiting room. His emotions were raging a relentless war in his mind, his control slipping with each frenzied step. He should be in there with Hera, not out here waiting. What if something happened? What if something went wrong and he wasn't there to help?

Kanan turned on his heel, a low growl slipping from his lips. His cane echoed off the cold stone walls with an uneven tempo.

“Would you stop that?” Sabine snapped, her irritation a violent flair in the Force.

Kanan tilted his head in her direction. “Stop what?” his voice sounded strained with anxiety to his ears.

“The pacing.” she replied. “It's not going to make this happen any sooner so just...sit down.”

He shrugged her off, unwilling to sit still. If he stopped moving then he would be left thinking and he was already doing too much of that.

“She's got a point there chief.” Zeb's voice was low and even but Kanan could sense his underlying worry. It wasn't nearly as elevated as Kanan's but it pulsed with a sickly light, twisting Kanan's stomach into knots. “There's nothing you can do but wait.”

“I don't see what the big deal is,” came Ezra's voice from behind him. “Hera's just having a baby, what could possibly go wrong?”

Something dense flew past Kanan's head, a wash of cool air brushing across his skin followed by a thump and a grunt of pain from Ezra.

“Ow!” Ezra grumbled. “What was that for?

“She's just having a baby?” Sabine let out a poisonous hiss. “She's just having a baby?”

“Well she is isn't she? It's not like, super serious or anything.”

“You're kidding right? Please tell me you're kidding?”

Chopper, deciding to break his murderous silence jumped into their squabbling with a withering grumble that loosely translated to Hera wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for Kanan and his inability to keep it in his pants.

His muscles tensed as Chopper rolled closer, the droid’s manipulator arms clicking menacingly. Kanan threw up a Force barrier between him and Chopper, just as a precaution. It wouldn’t be the first time the droid had tried to attack him for getting Hera pregnant and he doubted it would be the last, even after their child was born.

“Kanan,” Zeb said, his voice right next to Kanan's ear, causing him to jump. “You need to sit down or I'm gonna ask that med droid to give you some sedatives.”

“I'm fine.” Kanan grumbled, letting Zeb guide him into a chair. He sat with his shoulders pushed back and his hands tight around his cane.

“Right.” Zeb chuckled. “Sure you are.”

“I should be in there. I should be with Hera.”

“Doc said to wait out here.”

“I know what he said.” Kanan snapped. “It doesn't mean I agree with it. What if something goes wrong?”

“Then the doc will take care of it.” He felt Zeb shrug. “It’s his job.”

The rational part of his brain knew this but the rational part of his brain wasn’t in control at the moment. His worry and anxiety was clouding everything. Until he was by Hera’s side, he didn’t think his rational mind would be calling the shots anytime soon.

“It’s going to be fine.” Sabine said, breaking off from her argument with Ezra.

“Yeah,” Ezra agreed. “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.”

“I don't like waiting.” Kanan admitted as he felt a tendril of calm flow from the bond he shared with Ezra, some of his worry dissipating. He gave them all a weak smile, letting his shoulders relax.

Of course that was when the medbay doors swished open and all the emotions contained inside came spilling out. Already struggling with his own metal state, Kanan flinched from the onslaught of pain and suffering from the injured rebels housed inside.

“Master Jarrus?” he heard the doctor say over the flood of emotions sloshing around in his worn mind. Kanan stood, his knees buckling.

“What's wrong,” Kanan breathed, his heart freezing in his chest. “What happened?”

The swirl of darkness that had taken hold of him suddenly dissipated in a wash of golden light with the doctor's response.

"Would you like to meet your son?"

#angualupin #kanera #kanan jarrus #garazeb orrelios #sabine wren #ezra bridger #star wars rebel #swr fan fic #swr fanfic #star wars #shleby writes #shleby promps

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canuckianhawkbi · 4 years

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SW Rebels headcanons for Pride

disclaimer: these are all just fun ideas I had and aren’t meant to be based in ““fact”” (except Kanera and Kalluzeb obvs) this list is mostly the Spectres and a handful of supporting cast. enjoy!

Kanan Jarrus: Spectre 1 is the only straight member of the Ghost crew. he was a Jedi padawan, which had to have been like going to catholic school (romantic attachment, physical or emotional = The Dark Side™) explaining why he immediately went lightsaber-over-heels for Hera

Hera Syndulla: imo bisexuality is the cultural norm on Ryloth, but between Hera’s Rebellion-first workaholic attitude and her “straight-passing” relationship with Kanan, nobody realizes Spectre 2′s lekku swing both ways

C1-10P: Chopper is a droid, but he and AP-5 are obviously a couple. after a young Jacen saw his uncles Zeb and Kallus affectionately cuddling he set up a cute but hilarious ceremony in which Hera not only led Chop down the “aisle” to the Ghost’s cockpit (Jacen himself following behind as ring-bearer) but also officiated bc she’s ship’s captain, and captains can do such things. the droids were Mr. and Mr. Spectre 3 ever after

Zeb Orrelios: Spectre 4 isn’t usually romanic in public, but he’s a big purple fuzzball for Alexsandr, and a damn sappy drunk

Sabine Wren: before she was Spectre 5, Sabine and Ketsu had a very casual, mostly platonic relationship when it was just the two of them on the Shadow Caster day in and day out, saving each other’s lives on multiple jobs; this only made things more complicated when they had their falling out. Ahsoka privately speculates on why Sabine wants to find Ezra so badly, but politely keeps her opinions to herself

Ezra Bridger: Spectre 6 grew up under the Empire’s (homophobic) reign, and was orphaned at a young age, so he’s never had a serious think about his sexual identity. the show makes it obvious he had the hots for Sabine right away, but that sure doesn’t mean he has to be straight. Jai Kell secretly liked Ezra’s long hair, and thought he was pretty

supporting cast beneath the cut!

Alexsandr Kallus: see Zeb. Kallus had to hide his sexuality from the Empire or risk being demoted out of the ISB, so taking on the role of Fulcrum and eventually defecting to the Alliance was very liberating for him

AP-5: see Chopper. their “rings” were made from the casings of a pair of restraining bolts; AP-5 argued that the metaphor was dubious, at best

Ketsu Onyo: see Sabine. Ketsu isn’t very good at expressing her feelings, so she definitely had the “I’m a lesbiab” conversation with Sabine (S: “take your time” K: “GIRLS!”

Captain Rex: the Kaminoans genetically reduced the Fett clones’ sex drives as much as they could without impacting their capacity for aggression; Rex is ace

Ahsoka Tano: it is entirely possible that Ahsoka could be bi canonically. ironically, even though she grew into adulthood without the Jedi, she became less interested in the idea of romance as she got older imo

Fenn Rau: Rau only ever had one partner, and his commitment to the Protectors and Skull Squadron caused a strain on their relationship, especially at the outbreak of the Clone Wars, which ended the relationship. Rau’s romantic history is a closely guarded secret, though he did confide in Rex once when the captain caught his fellow warrior drinking alone on Rau’s former anniversary

Ursa and Alrich Wren: before Ursa married Alrich and officially became matriarch of Clan Wren, she had a handful of favourite servants of various genders at Wren Stronghold. before he met Ursa, Alrich took a liking to a particular male model at art school, but had no idea why (the poor man thinks he’s straight)

Mart Mattin and Jun Sato: Sato is really Mart’s adoptive father, who married his late biological father long after Mart’s mother died. Mart refers to Sato as his “uncle” for fear that the well-known Rebel commander might come under even greater threat from the Empire if the truth got out. Mart is privately jealous of Sabine, mistakenly thinking that she and Ezra are a couple

the first time Cikatro Vizago and Hondo Ohnaka met was at a bar while they were both very intoxicated, and woke up the next morning with no memory of the night before. Hondo doesn’t like labels or commitment, and Vizago thinks he’s straight, so neither of them have ever talked about it since

the only things Grand Admiral Thrawn loves are art and strategy; he much prefers dominating the galaxy to dominating in the bedroom

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tigereyes45 · 4 years

Conversation

Hera: Alright who put a lock on Choppers legs?

Sabine: Wasn't me. Ezra?

Ezra: I literally just got back! It was probably Zeb!

Zeb: Hey now we all know if I have an issue with the tin can I have other methods of dealing with him.

Hera: And I told YOU that if you used those methods again you would be stuck fixing him.

Jacen: *hiding behind the open door and whispering to Ahsoka* It was me. Chopper stole my blaster, so I made sure he couldn't move anymore.

#Star wars #swr #sw #star wars rebels #zeb #sabine wren #ezra bridger #hera syndulla #jacen syndulla #sabine #hera #ahsoka tano #ahsoka #chopper #C1-10P #c110p

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gondalsqueen · 7 years

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Chapters: 15/17 Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Ketsu Onyo/Sabine Wren, Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios Characters: Hera Syndulla, C1-10P | Chopper, Original Characters, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus, CT-7567 | Rex, Mart Mattin, Wedge Antilles, Ketsu Onyo, Jacen Syndulla, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Ackbar (Star Wars), Lando Calrissian, Jan Dodonna Additional Tags: Pregnancy, vague mentions of abortion, future character death in the background, Season/Series 04, Established Relationship, Oral Sex, Chair Sex, Table Sex, sex during pregnancy, chapter 2 has lots of sex, Secrets, the best pilot in the galaxy, flying combat, character injury, canon torture, flight of the defender, rebel assault, Jedi Night, Major character death - Freeform, Grief, Morning Sickness, Counseling, Masturbation, Dreams, Traditions, Space family, Inappropriate bets, Lothal, Shopping, down time, Space Combat, Battle of Scarif, Rogue One - Freeform, hammerhead corvette!, Yavin 4, Stardust - Freeform, Alderaan, Death Star, labor, Childbirth, domestic life, Lothwolves, Dogfight - Freeform, Hoth, did i mention babies yet?, Babies!, One baby, Work/Life Balance, Advice, Bounty Hunters, Capture, this story has it all apparently, Return of the Jedi, Second Death Star, Existential Anxiety, parenting, Breakups, wine and cheesecake, wine and cheesecake needs its own tag, battle of endor, Battle for Coruscant, forces of destiny: an imperial feast, The New Republic - Freeform

... “LANDO CALRISSIAN?!” “Hera, shh!” “You want to tell me how in the seven hells LANDO CALRISSIAN ended up leading this attack, Gial?”

“You weren’t here.”

“I was coming, and you knew it!”

“And yet.”

“No, don’t feed me that ‘your dedication to the Alliance’ crap, Gial, you of all people—” “—General Syndulla, if you’ll step into the briefing room with me…” She glowered at him. Gial Ackbar nodded his head towards the room—please. “Oh, all right, fine.” Hera sighed in exasperation and let him hold the door for her. Old school Ackbar, still. “Calrissian is NOT leading the attack,” Ackbar told her as soon as the door shut. “Good.” “I am.” Hera considered. “They gave you all the cruisers?” “Yes.” She considered some more. “All right, that’s fair.”

“I’m so very glad you think so,” he told her dryly. “But if you seriously think I’m taking orders from Calrissian—” “If I tell you to, you will.” Karabast. He knew her too well. “Yes, of course I will.”

“Lando Calrissian is leading Gold, Red, Gray, and Green squadrons, and he will spearhead the run on the Death Star’s reactor.”

Hera tried not to feel cheated. Again. “He’s a good pilot, huh?”

“Yes, he is. And he has the Millenium Falcon, which is a good ship. But I want you to look at something, since you missed the briefing.” He dialed up the plans for the half-completed battle station on the table display. “Here is the run.” A dotted blue line. “Here is the target.” A green circle. “Do you see this?” “That shaft is big enough to fit two freighters, side-by-side.” “Yes.” “That target is the size of a corvette.” “Yes.” “So...we get people in there and it’s not hard.” “As you see.” “Hmm.” “We have given you a command, General. In the field, as ever.” “I’m interested.” The blue and green disappeared, and a new green spot lit the entrance to the tunnel. “This is where we begin the run on the Death Star’s reactor. If we can’t get pilots in there and keep them protected once they enter, we can’t complete the mission.” Oh. Hera tried not to grin. “You want me to guard the entrance.” “You and four squadrons. Can you do it?”

She considered. Shooting down TIE fighters was her specialty. It would be difficult not to miss any in a pitched battle, a real challenge, but she could do it. Shooting them down while staying in one area and not getting blown to bits, herself… Now that was a worthy task. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s good.” “We finally get to attack a Death Star.” “I can’t believe they named it the same thing again.” “This from a galactic empire that decided ‘Death Star’ was a good name in the first place.” “Yes, I suppose that puts it into perspective.” “Don’t you have a transport called ‘Phantom 2?’” “Let’s not quibble, Gial.”

...

Hera saw Rex off at the flight deck. “You be careful,” she told him. “Watch out for those kids, and don’t let them do anything dumb.” He hugged her so hard she thought her ribs would crack. “All I have to do is hide behind some trees, General. You keep up the fancy fighting, okay?” “Born for it.” “Yeah.” He grinned, a wry thing. “Me, too.”

Rex boarded the Tydirium and Hera watched, waiting for it to leave. “General Syndulla!” a voice called from behind her. “Hey, Hera!” Lando, of all people. “Calrissian, how did we get so lucky as to end up with you?”

He ignored her tone, as ever. “Eh, you know how it is. I’ve got some good business interests, some good friends…”

“No. Friends, you?”

“I’m as surprised as you are! Speaking of friends—” he clapped her on the shoulder— “I was sorry to hear about Kanan.” Hera blinked. That had been five years ago.Then, putting on his particular brand of smarmy sympathy, he asked her, “How has your sex life recovered?” It was so unexpected, and so Lando, that she burst out laughing. “Classified!” she told him. “And you will never have the clearance.” “Ah, well, a man can dream.”

He’d changed, but not that much. It hadn’t been a pick-up line, though—just a joke to make her feel better, something naughty and unexpected amidst a long list of sincerity and platitudes. The Tydirium’s engines hummed to life and they watched it take off, Lando uncharacteristically silent as it went.

“Your friends are in there?” Hera asked. “They are.” “Mine too.”

…

Space battles typically didn’t last long. One side blew the other up (or EVERYBODY blew up), and then it was done. Endor was the longest combat flight of Hera’s life.

The Alliance fleet jumped into...a LOT of Star Destroyers. And the Death Star itself, looming as large as a moon. She’d forgotten how big those thing were. Get in fast, she thought. Finish this job before they can scramble all of their forces. “All wings, report in,” she called. “Phoenix Squadron, standing by.”

“Orange Squadron, standing by.” “Blue Squadron, standing by.” “Yellow Squadron, standing by.”

“Phoenix and Orange,” she called. “We’re going to beeline for that Death Star. Blue, Yellow, you’re flanking. Keep Imperial fighters off all squadrons and keep us moving.”

“Copy, Phoenix Leader.”

“Commence run.” Even now alarms were sounding in all those Star Destroyers, on-duty pilots donning helmets and climbing into their fighters, the rest scrambling into their gear. They wouldn’t encounter the onslaught of TIEs for a few minutes, though. She muted the comm. “Chop, what do you read on that thing?”

He grumbled a negative.

Hera frowned. “You have NO readings? Not even static from interference?”

Nothing. That didn’t make any sense. “You’re sure you would be able to tell if they were jamming us?” Unless the Empire had invented some completely new method of scrambling signals, he could tell. Unless they... Of course they’d invented a new method. She unmuted the comm, but Lando’s voice was already calling, “Break off the attack! That shield is still up.”

“You heard him!” Hera called. “About face!” She pulled the Ghost up sharp, watching in relief as the fighters behind her followed suit. She muted the comm again. “Great, Chop. Now what?”

Ackbar’s voice, “We have enemy ships in sector 47!” Oh. That was what. “Do we have a plan for getting that shield down, or is this just for fun?” Hera asked. “Han will have that shield down. Fly pretty, Phoenix Leader.” Fly pretty. He had some nerve. But Rex was on the strike team too, after all, and she remembered throwing fighters at a blockade, trusting her own people to take care of the planetary defenses. Okay, Hera. Keep your pilots alive and buy them time to work down there. “All right, you heard him. Engage those TIE fighters. Chase them away from the cruisers. Stick with your wingman and force them to fight two-on-two. Make your skill count.” A chorus of “yes, sirs” sounded over the comm. She knew every one of those voices. “May the Force be with you,” Ackbar said. Oh, it will, Hera thought. Then five TIEs came at her all at once, and she and Mart dove right into the middle of them, rendering them unable to shoot lest they be caught in their own crossfire. Wedge Antilles led Red Squadron by moments after they’d dispatched the group, howling like a krayt dragon and having way too much fun. Hera and Mart waited until the X-wings had passed, then caught the TIES that were chasing them. Some of them, anyway. Several of the remainder peeled off and came after Phoenix Squadron. Skill, not luck, Hera reminded herself. Skill, not luck. Take it slow and wait for your chance. Don’t make stupid mistakes. You’ve got a long time. Outfly them. And then it was nothing but the melding of instinct and analysis that was combat, flying in her zone, keeping an eye all around her, keeping the other eye on the shape of the battle as a whole.

Until the Death Star started blowing things up.

“Get the cruisers out of range!” Hera screamed into the command channel. All the other squadron leaders were saying the same thing, a cacophony of voices. The fighters could avoid fixed beams like that one, but the bigger ships were toast. “Home One, get out of there!”

“Break off the attack.” Even now, Ackbar sounded steady and measured.

“We won’t get another chance,” Lando argued. “Han will have that shield down, we’ve just got to give him more time.”

He was right. Fight now or lose...just like always. “Back the cruisers out of range; the fighters will engage,” she argued. That thing could blow up a planet, huh? Let them get frustrated trying to pick off fighters one by one. Meanwhile, she could bounce TIES off the surface of the big ships for a while.

Lando was thinking the same thing. “Move in as close as you can and engage those Star Destroyers at point-blank range!” Yeah, that would work.

“Hey, Gold Leader,” she said. “You want to stay and dance?” “I knew you couldn’t resist me forever, Phoenix Leader.”

“Yeah, yeah, you keep those delusions. You’re going to need them.” She shot two TIEs out of her way and sped towards the Star Destroyers. “You take the six Destroyers on the left, Gold Leader. We’ll take the six on the right.”

“Phoenix leader, I like your style.”

“I’ve picked up one!” Dek called, panic in his voice. “He’s got a lock on me.” “Serra, get on it!” Serra shot the threatening TIE out of the air without even slowing down. A moment later she caught an ion blast right in the fuel port and exploded before she could even call for help. “Stay alive!” Hera yelled. “Your only job right now is to keep each other alive until the shield goes down!” She flew a tight loop around the Star Destroyer’s communications tower and lost the TIE fighter on her tail when it cut the corner too close and crashed against the dish. Then she and Mart ran straight at each other, picking off the fighters on the other’s tail as they went. He wiggled his s-foils as he made the close pass over her, pilot-speak for “Hi, there.” She laughed, but all this was minutiae. They’d never take out all of the TIEs, and she hadn’t gotten in any good hits on the Destroyers. Then one of Green Squadron went down, crashing into the foredeck of a Venator class ship and sending it right into a Super Star Destroyer. Not the way she wanted to take those things out.

She lost four more in quick succession, good pilots, her pilots. That was enough to spook a team, turn their luck. “You’re doing great,” she told them, voice as soothing as she could make it. “We’re hanging in there.”

Ackbar made the call—Hera and the rest of her team were too busy to notice. “The shield is down. Commence attack on the Death Star’s main reactor.” Oh, thank the Force, she thought. “You heard the Admiral,” she called. “Same plan as before. Blue Squadron, Yellow Squadron, you’re on flank. Keep us steady on the sides. Phoenix, Orange, straight through the middle. Clear out a path for the strike team.” No more playing the long game. Now it was all about speed. “Wedge, 0.7!” she warned. Her voice was beginning to go hoarse. Well, at this point, both speed and stamina. Guess you’re thankful for those double-shift practices now, kids, she thought.

“I’m going in,” Lando called. His copilot added something and Lando translated: “Here goes nothing.” Then the Falcon disappeared breakneck speed into the half-finished maintenance tunnel, two X-wings following it in.

“Close the gap,” Hera yelled. Her people moved in but those blasted TIEs were too FAST, and four of them slipped by before she could get a lock on them. She took out the fifth and sixth without wasting a shot. “Gold Leader, you’ve got four hostiles on your tail!” “You guys taking a nap out there, Phoenix Leader?” “I believe your exact words were, ‘I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do,’ so just take them out!”

This was the hard part, though. They flew a pattern, one squad guarding the entrance while everybody else kept the ships off of them, but the entire Imperial fleet was headed her way now, and Hera could tell the difference between “poor odds” and “impossible.” She was losing people left and right, trying to coordinate whose shields were maintaining and whose were gone.

“Fly really, really fast in there, Gold Leader!”

Wedge was with him. That should help. “We aren’t exactly stopping for caf, Phoenix Leader!”

She moved so quickly the only thing she remembered about this part later was trying not to die. They heard nothing from the team in the reactor for five long minutes—five minutes was a death sentence in combat terms. Then:

“We got it!” Lando’s voice was pitched so high she barely recognized it. “Phoenix Leader, we got it! Get those fighters clear, we’re coming out!”

“You heard the man, go go go go go go go!” She was expecting to lose even more on the way out, but the Imperial pilots must have gotten a clue when the Rebels started running, and it was as if everyone together had agreed to make a break for it.

She didn’t see the explosion, though the light from its blast behind her nearly blinded her and the concussion knocked the Ghost head over heels. Hera went with the roll, using her ion engines to steer away from other ships until she’d ridden the shock wave out. When she looked back, she saw nothing but glowing particles and heard nothing but a collective, triumphant roar that had her wondering if her ears had gone as well as her voice. They’d done it. They’d done it.

She didn’t learn until later that both the Emperor and Vader had died with the Death Star.

…

They worked through fifteen hours, rounding up enemy combatants and patrolling the forest moon before pilots were allowed to take shifts. During that time they acquired a hundred and seven TIE fighters and a Star Destroyer, and Hera began to fantasize about flying one of those TIEs again. Then she came off duty, landing the Ghost just beyond the Ewok village and hitting the comm button before she’d gotten on the ground.

Sabine didn’t answer. She tried a second time and got a touseled-haired version of her friend with lines from the sheet still pressed into her face. “We won we won we did it!” she shouted as soon as the image appeared. Behind her, Chopper beeped a string of expletive-laden excitement.

“What? Hera! Are you okay?”

“Yes! We won!”

“Slow down. I can’t understand you. Are you all right? What do you need?”

Hera took a deep breath. “Is Jace asleep?”

“Yeah.” “Go wake him up.”

“...Okay, but you so owe me.”

Five minutes later Sabine reappeared with a mostly asleep Jacen, who perked up when he saw her. “Hi, Mama! Hi, Chopper!”

“Okay,” Sabine said. “Go ahead.” “We destroyed the Death Star,” she said calmly and slowly.

“YEAH! “Woo!” Jace and Sabine high-fived. “The Emperor and Vader are both gone.” “Gone?” Sabine asked.

Chopper tweeted a distinct ha-ha. “D-E-A-D.”

“Dead,” Jacen translated with a disturbing level of satisfaction.

Sabine clapped her hands over her mouth in delight. “The majority of the Imperial fleet destroyed or appropriated.” A small squeak from behind Sabine’s hands. “There’s still plenty of clean-up to do, but we’re expecting a formal surrender from most of the Moffs within hours. We won, you guys. The whole war. We won.” Jacen whooped. Sabine picked him up and twirled him around, then swung him into her arms and kept spinning. “We won! We won!”

She watched them flip out for a solid two minutes and wondered how much her son was going to learn about fireworks tonight. Then they calmed enough to talk to her and Jace turned an eager face to the holocam. “Mama, can you come home now?”

She winced, but only on the inside. “Not yet, love. We’ve got to finish making things safe.”

“Well, how long is it going to take to make things safe?” “I don’t know, baby. A few weeks? We’re close now.” Not safe—she wasn’t naive enough to think that they’d fixed everything—but this triumph was more than she’d expected to see within her lifetime. She’d take it, and offer it to a four-year-old as a win.

“Hey—” Sabine attempted to distract Jacen, “—your mom just beat the Emperor. You want to help celebrate?”

“Yeah!” Walk it back, Sabine, Hera thought. He’s going to be telling everyone that I beat the Emperor from here on out. In an instant she realized: With the Emperor gone, so was the galaxy-wide ban on Jedi.

“Hey, Hera,” Sabine grinned at her. “We’re going to break the news to Lothal. It’s not classified or anything, is it?”

“Certainly not! They probably already have a report.” “Okay, then. Talk to you in the morning. WE LOVE YOU!” “We love you! I love you, Mama!” Jace chorused, all smiles. She laughed. “I love you guys, too.” “Okay, bye! LOVE YOU BYE!” “Bye, buddy.”

Hera switched off the holo, put her face in her hands and thought, I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it. I’m really going to make a better galaxy for him.

Then the comm beeped again—Han Solo—and Chopper gave her a skeptical whistle.

“Of course I’m going to give him the ration bars. I just want to make him sweat for a while first. Here, watch this.”

…

“A few weeks,” she’d told them. Hera didn’t make it back to Lothal for four months. After Endor they rode on momentum, running through Onderon, Corellia, Duros, supporting dozens of worlds in their own rebellions. Mandalore liberated itself, which had been a long time coming, anyway. Hera provided the air support for Ryloth’s Resistance, wincing in embarrassment as her father demanded to know when she was going to bring that sweet baby to see him again—right as they flew in and strafed the AT-ATs that had his forces pinned down. Then they destroyed the remainder of the Imperial fleet at Akiva. She commed Lothal whenever she could, setting aside extra time on Jacen’s birthday. When he appeared in hologram that day he was distracted, running onto camera still talking at someone over his shoulder. “Say hi to your Mom,” Sabine’s voice advised. “Hi, Mama! I’m having a party.”

“Wow! Right now?” “No, tomorrow, but you should SEE the balloons Sabine’s doing. They have these things on the inside—”

Sabine’s face appeared, cutting Jacen off. “They’re safe,” she explained hastily. Then she gave him the “shh,” look.

“Who is invited to your party?”

“My friends from school.” Jacen had long been in school on Lothal at that point, happy and popular if often in trouble with his teachers. (“Jacen is outgoing and sweet, a good friend to all,” she recited his last report to herself. “He is ahead of his age group in all academic subjects. For next quarter, we will work on listening to his teachers and making good judgments about when to exercise caution.” She could have written it herself.) “They’re all bringing me presents,” he added. Ah, the important part. “Did you get my presents?” Hera asked.

“Yeah, but I liked the tooka game and the Luke Skywalker toy better than the clothes.”

“Fair enough. Luke still your favorite?”

“Ye-eah. Me and my friends, we’re going to play Jedi today, though.” “Lothal is crazy about its Jedi,” Sabine put in quickly. I didn’t tell him anything, her tone meant. “What are you learning in school?” Hera asked.

“I learned grav-ball!” Never anything about history or engineering or math. All games and friends. She didn’t really mind that—it was so different from her own early childhood. “Oh, and I learned a song for my music program. It’s about ‘hey, little lothcat.’” He launched into it and sang the whole thing to her. “I’ll record the performance for you,” Sabine promised.

“Thanks. Hey, Jacen Syndulla,” she said.

“What?” “You are five years old today. What’s your favorite color?”

“Green! Or yellow.” “Fair enough. What’s your favorite food?” “Ice cream with meiloorun sugar sauce on top.” “What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Watch Battle Droids and play fight with my friends. But we don’t get in trouble, Mama.” “If you say so. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A Jedi!” Kriff. Hera took a deep breath and told herself not to worry.

“Or a pilot or a teacher or an artist. Or maybe this guy who has a pet rancor and he goes around eating up bad guys with his rancor. And then he lets kids ride it, but it doesn’t eat them unless they’re mean.”

Whew. That was...somehow a less disturbing answer. What did her level of relief say about her parenting?

Jacen turned again and chattered with somebody off-screen. “Do I need to let you guys go?” Hera asked. “Yeah, I think so, for now,” Sabine told her. “The first cake blew u— Uhm, it didn’t turn out great. We’re going to buy a new one.” “I really will be back soon.”

“He’s happy, Hera. He misses you, and I am pissed off that I’m not in the fight on Mandalore right now, but we’re okay.” “Soon.”

“Jace, come back here and say goodbye to your mom!” “Bye, Mama!”

“Bye, love.”

After his holo disappeared she thought: I am just like my father. Then she put her head down and sobbed in guilt and self-pity. Chopper was rearranging some crates in the cargo bay, and she thought she had the cockpit to herself, so she didn’t pull herself together until she heard footsteps on the ladder. When Rex poked his head through the hatch she was still mopping her face guiltily.

“Hey— hey— General— There’s no cause for that; we’re the conquering heroes.” “I know.” “Today’s Jacen’s birthday, huh?”

She nodded, then burst out crying again in spite of herself. “I’m RUINING him, Rex.” “Hera, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” “I’m not even there. He knows I’m somewhere in danger. I can’t even bother to make his school performance.” “He’s, what? Four? I’m sure there will be other school performances. I doubt his life is ruined.”

But Hera shook her head. If he stayed on Lothal, he was happy and safe in a society that adored him. And without her. When she came back she’d scoop him up and they’d be off to whatever child-unfriendly outpost came next. “I don’t want to do to him what… I don’t want him to grow up to be like me.” “That’s because you’re an idiot, General.”

She wiped the handkerchief across her face angrily. “You unhappy with the galaxy?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Everything you’ve been through? You’re still out here fighting and believing in us, still happy to be alive? We should all grow up to be like you.” “That’s...incredibly nice, Rex, but you don’t really know me.”

“With all due respect, General, maybe YOU don’t really know you.” They took Coruscant the next week with so much support from its citizens that Hera was able to leave and await a new posting.

She returned to Jacen and Sabine as a General of the New Republic.

#hera syndulla #jacen syndulla #battle of endor #fanfiction #next season #foundation

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