#cal and zeb meet and team up between jfo and survivor

[kanerallels]

Ok. Here's an idea to help that writing tangle. Feel free not to do this if you would rather not.

Here's a line, can you give me five more? ;D

The utter stupidity of it all had her fingers twitching for the blaster at her hip, but SOMEONE had to be the level head in all of this.

This was so so sweet, thank you for sending this! And it TOTALLY WORKED because this sentence combined with an AU concept I'd been toying with and um. Let's just say there are more than five sentences lol, so here we are!

The utter stupidity of it all had her fingers twitching for the blaster at her hip, but SOMEONE had to be the level head in all of this.

Ignoring the slaver leering at her, Hera directed her attention to Kanan, who was glaring at the other man like he'd very much like to kick his teeth in. Reaching out, she caught hold of his arm, pulling his attention to her.

He met her gaze, the anger in his eyes fading just a little. Stay on track, Hera thought, willing him to remember. Don’t break our cover. Remember why we're here. It's not about how these people look at me, it's about helping someone who needs it.

She saw him give her a tiny nod before looking at the slaver. “Let's focus on our actual deal,” he said, his tone sharp. “You said you had a Lasat here?”

Turning his attention to Kanan, the slaver nodded. “We might just. Depends on what you’re willing to pay.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about payment,” Kanan said, letting his hand come to rest on the pouch hanging at his hip. It jingled just enough to draw the slaver’s attention, so he didn’t see the half-smile crossing Kanan’s face as he added, “You’ll get everything you deserve.”

Oh, boy. Hera cleared her throat pointedly. “If we could see him first?” she said.

His eyes gleaming with greed, the slaver nodded. “Aye. Anything you like.” Starting down the hallway, he added, “You can have his friend, too, if you pay a little extra.”

“His friend?” Hera exchanged a confused look with Kanan as they followed the man. The reports they’d heard hadn’t said anything about multiple survivors of the massacre on Lasan.

“Aye,” the slaver said. “Human male. Grabbed ‘em both together— they fought like fyrnocks, but numbers won out in the end. He’s a strong one, and with that red hair he’s quite the rare specimen.”

As they approached one of the nearby doors, Kanan said, “Then why are you offering him at a discounted price?”

“He’s trouble, putting it lightly,” the slaver said, keying a sequence into the pad next to the door. “Had to teach him how to behave, and as much fun as that is—” he let out an ugly laugh that made Hera’s skin crawl— “it takes too much time. But I’ll still be charging you. Here they are now.”

The door hissed open, and Hera had to choke back a gasp of horror.

The Lasat was there, chained to the wall by the arms. It was immediately clear that he’d been beaten badly— the area around one of his eyes was so swollen that he could barely open it. Blood, both dried and fresh, covered his arms and face, but his face was twisted in a defiant scowl as he regarded the trio.

Opposite him was a man the slaver had described. He looked equally battered, and while his expression was a little more calm, there was still a spark of rebellion as he studied both Kanan and Hera.

“As you can see, we needed to teach these two a lesson,” the slaver said. “Well, a couple lessons.”

He laughed, and Hera had to clench her teeth to avoid snapping a response, or shooting him in the face. You can’t save them all, she reminded herself. They only had a certain amount of credits, and if they were to save the Lasat… they might have to leave someone else behind.

“What exactly are you charging for him?” Kanan asked suddenly, and Hera shot him a sideways glance. 

One look told her something was off. He was eying the red-haired man with an impassive expression that read more as unease to her. Clearing her throat, she said, “Are you sure about this?”

“I am,” Kanan said. Turning, he met her eyes. “I think we could… have use for him. The same way as the Lasat. Or… like me.”

Wait. What? There was no way Kanan was implying… did we find another Jedi? Hera lifted a questioning eyebrow at him, and he gave her a tiny nod.Ah. Well, that changes things.

Turning to the slaver, she gave him an overly sweet smile. “Could you give my companion and I a moment alone? You can just leave us here.”

“I don’t think you should be alone with the merchandise,” the slaver said, and Hera’s stomach turned. Those are people, you complete—

The sound of Kanan pulling a small handful of credits from the pouch at his waist brought her attention back, and she watched as he casually tossed them up in the air. “Oh, I don’t think it would be a big deal. After all, there’s no way out other than the door. You can guard from out there.”

The slaver hesitated, then held out his hand. Kanan dropped the credits into his palm, and without another word the man pivoted and headed for the door. 

The minute it slid closed, Hera turned to Kanan. “Are you sure?” she said quietly.

“Positive,” Kanan said firmly.

Nodding slowly, Hera said, “Alright. Plan B?”

Kanan shook his head. “No way he buys that after the way I acted earlier.”

Rolling her eyes, Hera said, “I told you not to—”

“I know, you’re right. As usual,” Kanan said with a grimace. “I couldn’t stop myself, the guy’s a boot-licking karker, to put it likely.”

“Agreed.”

“So plan C?” Kanan offered.

“Hmm.” Hera tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We could. Or…”

Kanan sighed. “You’re about to say you want to do plan D, aren’t you?”

“You know me well, dear.”

“Hey.” For the first time, the Lasat spoke, his voice creaking from disuse. “What the KARK are you two talking about?”

As Hera exchanged a look with Kanan, the red-haired man spoke up. “They’re going to help us, Zeb.” He looked at Kanan, lifting his head in a challenging way. “Aren’t you?”

“We are,” Hera said. “But we’re going to need your help to pull it off. How do you feel about freeing every slave in this place, and taking out a few slavers along the way?”

The Lasat grinned, a vicious curl of his mouth. “Now you’re speaking my language. Where do we start?”