#zeb get your head together stop getting distracted

[sunatsubu]

Not pictured, Ezra ready to physically cut that UST with his lightsaber just so they can finish the damn mission already

[ramblingsofafanatic]

Frozen Moon 2: Electric Boogaloo

Summary: Kallus and Zeb get trapped on another ice planet.

Word Count: 1712

Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios 

Warnings: None.

Can also be read on AO3 here!

Another kriffing ice planet. Just their luck. At least this time there's no stand-off, they're friends now, good friends, and it means they can quicken up the process of finding shelter and getting that transmitter working. 

"Transmitter may be broken again, but at least no one's broken a leg this time" Zeb says as they get to the small outcropping they spotted a little ways from their crash site. Deep enough to protect from wind and falling snow, shallow enough to ensure there's no unwanted guests. Kallus gets to work laying out the emergency blanket for them, it will be better for them to not be sitting directly on the ground.

"Yes, but unbroken bones won't stay any warmer when that sun goes down, and I don't see any heat-radiating meteorites" Kallus says.

"Always a downer," Zeb says as he settles down against the wall.

"It's called being realistic," Kallus says as he crosses his arms.

“And your realism could use some lightening up."

"That's not- you know what? I'm not even going to bother." Kallus says.

"You give up so easily."

"You just don't know what to quit"

"Like that's a bad thing" Zeb says with an eye roll.

"I never said that." Kallus says evenly. He knows that if Zeb wasn't so persistent the two would probably not be friends, hell, if it wasn't for him Kallus would probably still be with the Empire. He doesn't want to admit it but it worries him sometimes - how much Zeb has changed his life - how important Zeb has become to him.  

Instead of talking further, Kallus turns to focus on fixing the transmitter. He's got it about halfway fixed when Zeb knocks his hands out of the way.

"Hey!"

"You're hands are shaking and turning a weird colour, stick em in your pockets before you lose em." Zeb explains. Kallus looks down at his own hands and decides not to argue. He pulls them closer to his face and blows on them, rubbing them together to create some friction heat before sticking them in his pockets. He's left with nothing to do now but sit there and shiver as he watches Zeb finish fixing and setting up the transmitter.

When Zeb is finished and leans back against the wall next to him, Kallus can feel the heat radiating off the lasat and briefly thinks about moving closer. He's thought about excuses to be close to Zeb for various reasons over the last couple of months but have never acted upon them. This will be another one of those times. 

They're friends, nothing more. Kallus is lucky to have that much, he can't possibly demand more. Demanding more would require Zeb to return his feelings, which is out of the realm of possibilities. 

He instead pulls his limbs as close as he can to his chest and hopes that someone is here to pick them up soon.

-

Zeb is content to sit and wait, but a couple hours go by and he's been having the same internal debate for at least half of that time. 

They're both obviously cold, and if Zeb could get over himself, he could suggest huddling for warmth. However, everytime he looks over to suggest it, he's distracted by Kallus' disheveled appearance. The human's eyes are half lidded and his face is red and blotchy similar to how it is after Kallus has had a few drinks. He has to keep scolding himself because they are very much in a life or death situation and now is not the time.

It all comes to a head when he notices Kallus stops shivering. Zeb was never explicitly taught anything about human health and physiology but he is fairly certain he remembers that shivering stopping while still being in the cold is Bad.

Guess now he has to get his head out of his ass or risk losing Kallus permanently. He'd rather do something and have Kallus possibly find out about his feelings and hate him then have Kallus die when he can do something to prevent it.

"Come here, you're cold" Zeb says. 

"No, I'm fine."

"You're very clearly not fine, c'mon sharing warmth should help the both of us." Zeb reasons.

"I couldn't ask-." Kallus says and Zeb is about ready to knock him over the head.

"You're not asking, I'm offering" Zeb says and when Kallus doesn't respond to that Zeb decides to just do something anyways - permission be damned.

So he slides the short distance to where Kallus is sitting and gets to work. He pulls Kallus' coat and drags the human into him so Kallus' back is resting against his front, before draping the coat over the two as a makeshift blanket. Kallus is too numb and too tired to fight it and that worries Zebs all the more. He sits there rubbing Kallus' arms under his coat and willing heat into the human's skin, he starts to panic as Kallus eventually falls asleep, until Kal starts shivering a few minutes after. He breathes a sigh of relief and keeps it up hoping that the Ghost crew can find their way back to them and soon.

Zeb is just falling asleep himself when Kallus starts to stir in his sleep. Zeb stiffens and is wide awake again and Kallus turns slightly to lay more fully on Zeb, his head finding its way under Zeb's chin. Zeb has to take a second to calm down as he tries to relax into both the new position and the feeling of Kallus' warm breath tickling his neck.

He does manage to fall asleep as well, and they both stay that way until Zeb's woken up by the sound of a ship.

Oh thank the Ashla. Finally.

Zeb shakes Kallus awake and has to stop himself from visibly reacting to Kallus' bleary eyed confusion. Zeb wishes he could see it again someday in a less dire situation.

-

Kallus wakes up briefly to the feeling of vibrations all over his body. He had started shivering again, but that's not what this is. It takes a second to realize Zeb is purring. He didn't even know that was something he did. He doesn't have long to dwell on it though before he's dragged back into unconsciousness.

The next time he wakes it's to Zeb shaking him. 

"Hm?" He hums, as he takes stock in what's happening. It takes a second but everything comes back to him and he's quick to separate himself from the lasat. He doesn't have time to be embarrassed though as he can now hear the incoming ship as well.

"I see someone's here" Kallus says, as he moves to stand, but apparently his legs are numb because he stumbles a bit before falling back on his ass.

"Yup, c'mon" Zeb says and reaches out to help Kallus to his feet. They cross the few feet to the entrance and peer out but it's still far too dark for Kallus to make anything out. 

Then lights break through the dark and he can see the Ghost approaching. It lands and Kallus for once, is happy to see Ezra. 

"Another frozen planet? Couldn't you guys crash somewhere warmer next time" Ezra says.

"We'll take your complaints under advisement." Kallus responds as they quicken to get up the ramp. The warm air stings, but it's better than being out in the cold any longer.

“Welcome back, hope there weren't too many issues.” Hera says over the comms. 

“Good to be back.” Zeb replies, “you need us or?” Zeb trails off. 

“We’re all good to go, get some rest,” Hera replies before the comm clips off. Zeb smiles before turning to head up and do just that.

“Did you do it?” Ezra asks before they get too far.

“Ezra,” Zeb growls in warning.

“So that’s a no,” Ezra says with a grin.

“Didn’t do what?” Kallus asks as he pauses on his way up the ladder.

“Nothing, ignore him.” Zeb says as he gestures for Kallus to continue before heading up after him. Ezra just laughs as the two of them head up. 

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Kallus says as they enter their room and he beelines for his bunk, climbing in and wrapping the blanket around himself. 

“Just Ezra being a prick, don’t worry about it,” Zebs says as he hops up onto the top bunk.

“What could you have possibly accomplished on that moon? There aren't many options on what Ezra could have expected you to do during the brief time the group was separated” Kallus continues.

“You’re not going to drop this are you?”

“I will if you really want me to, but I am curious,” He says and Kallus can hear Zeb’s sigh. Kallus decides to drop it as he settles in to enjoy the warmth of his bunk, well drop the topic from conversation, he can’t stop himself from running through the possibilities mentally. He’s drifting off when he hears a mumble from the bunk above him.

“Hm?” Kallus hums as he lifts his head to try and hear better if Zeb decides to repeat himself. 

“I like you, Ezra wanted to know if I told you since we were stranded together,” Zeb says. One part of Kallus hopes that this is what he thinks this is, there's another part that says that those hopes are impossible. As those two parts argue, there’s a last, smaller part that’s opening his mouth and giving Zeb a stupid reply.

“I thought friends were supposed to like each other”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Zeb says as he hops off the top bunk. 

“Alex.” He offers, and watches as Zeb’s face pinches in confusion and his ears twitch.

“My name, it’s Alexsandr, if we’re going to go any further, you should know my name” He explains. Zeb just smiles and leans down to kiss him and Kallus can’t find it in himself to argue. Instead he pulls the lasat down to join him on the bunk.

“Hera wants to know if- oh! I-” Ezra says as the door whooshes open. 

“Get out.” Zeb growls, and Ezra is quick to duck out before anything is thrown his way. Smart kid, Kallus thinks before distracting himself with more important matters.

[pretchatta]

swoon june day 30: reunion/finding each other

the last one! swoon june is now over but I have had so much fun doing these prompts, a huge thank you to @chaos-company for hosting this event!

I've saved the best 'til last. from the moment I read the prompt list I knew I would be finishing on this one - the prompt was too perfect not to. this is my take on how rebels should have ended!

rating: general; kanan jarrus/hera syndulla; 2.4k words

---

“You don’t understand what you’re asking me to do.” Ezra’s eyes were fixed on Kanan through the doorway, his mind working furiously.

“Yes, I do,” Ahsoka said calmly. “You can’t save–”

“We just have to hold back the flames long enough to pull him through the door!” Ezra interrupted. “I’ve been thinking about this for days – replaying this moment in my head – there is time!”

“Ezra–”

“I can do this!”

He stopped listening to Ahsoka. Closing his eyes, Ezra reached forwards with the Force, through the doorway to where Kanan stood. Both of his master’s arms were outstretched, one holding back the flames that were licking their way up the cracked fuel pod and the other holding back a desperate, frantic Hera. Ezra could feel the fire’s energy, the intensity of it, and was struck with the same awe he had been when he’d lived this night for the first time. Kanan was holding this inferno back one-handed. He, Ezra, would only be able to do that for a few seconds.

He got ready to pull.

Kanan turned to face away from the blaze and used all his strength to push Hera and the patrol transport out of harm’s way. That was Ezra’s moment. He braced himself to hold the flames back and pulled on Kanan, stumbling as the sudden intensity of the explosion his master had been restraining hit him. He felt Kanan come flying towards the doorway with more speed and less effort than he expected – Ahsoka was helping him.

A split second later Kanan’s body struck him and Ezra crumpled under the impact. He lost his focus, feeling the fireball expand unrestrained. Flames filled the doorway’s line of sight, but none came through.

“Kanan!” Hera’s broken cry still came through over the roar of the inferno, as well as another sound – was that a howling wolf? Then it all faded; the door had closed.

“Kanan?” Ezra groaned, winded.

He shoved Kanan off with a grunt and rolled over. Ahsoka came to stand beside him.

“Kanan?”

He hadn’t moved. Ezra grabbed his shoulders and shook, but the scarred eyes remained closed.

“Kanan! Wake up!”

Ezra felt Ahsoka’s hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t think we were supposed to do that,” she said. Her voice was the same calm, even tone it had been before, but there was a slight shakiness to it now.

“What do you mean? We saved him!”

“Use your senses, Ezra. What do you feel?”

For the first time, doubt spiked Ezra’s heart. He sat back on his heels and closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force to his master. He ignored the way the Force seemed closer in this place, and how strangely devoid of life it felt; he focused only on Kanan, and on the bright beacon that was his presence.

Except… It wasn’t as bright as it had been before. It wasn’t darker, exactly, but it was somehow… Less. Like it was missing something.

“What – what happened?” Ezra asked, starting to feel afraid. “What’s wrong with him?”

Ahsoka looked uncertain. “I don’t know.”

They were interrupted from saying anything further by a distant rumbling sound.

Ahsoka was immediately alert. “We can’t stay here. You opened the door to this world. Do you know how to close it?”

“Sabine will know,” Ezra replied. “We can do it together. They’ll be so happy to see you and Kanan.” He started moving around Kanan, getting his arms under his shoulders to lift him.

Ahsoka made no move to help. “I can’t go with you, and I don’t think Kanan should either.”

“What?” Ezra froze in surprise. “No, I can’t leave him. I can’t leave either of you after I just–”

“You’ll see us both again. But I have a feeling we should all return to the real world through the doorway we came through.” She bent to help him with Kanan. “I’ll help you put Kanan back into the wreckage of that explosion, and then I must return to Malachor.”

“Alright. I trust your feelings.” They picked up Kanan’s unconscious form between them and moved back towards the doorway. It started to open as they approached, onto the rubble that gleamed in the light of the two moons. “When I’m back, I’ll go straight to the factory to get him back. It’s only been a few days, and we didn’t see any stormtroopers checking the ruins. How will I find you?”

“Perhaps I can…”

They both turned to see a strange blue light coming from a distant doorway. In unison, they turned to each other and reached an unspoken understanding. Quickly yet gently Kanan was lowered to the ground beyond the doorway and to relative safety.

Then, Ezra and Ahsoka ran.

---

Hera was working on maintenance. That’s what she was telling herself. It didn’t matter that there hadn’t been anything wrong with the caf machine before she’d started; it was always playing up, there was bound to be some part of it that needed fixing. That it was a useful distraction from the grief that clawed at her insides and threatened to drown her from within was only a bonus. She wouldn’t take apart a perfectly functioning piece of machinery just to avoid being left alone with her thoughts. That was ridiculous.

She heard the sound of the Phantom’s engines outside and put down her tools. That would be Ezra and Zeb returning, and she was curious what they had been doing. As soon as they’d all returned to the Ghost from the incident at the Jedi Temple (or the area where the Temple had formerly stood) Ezra had been acting strange. He’d insisted on going on some mission that was vitally important but he’d refused to give anyone any details, including the only person he would allow to come with him.

As Hera stood up to leave the galley she realised she could hear the shuttle landing outside. That was strange – why wouldn’t Ezra dock with the Ghost? She gladly let the mystery of Ezra’s behaviour consume her thoughts as she walked down the ramp.

Outside, Ezra was emerging from the back hatch of the Phantom. He had a slightly dazed expression on his face, like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Behind him Zeb was following, holding something in his arms. That would explain the landing – it was often awkward to get cargo down the ladder.

Actually, was that cargo? It looked like–

Ezra stood aside to give her full view of what – or who – Zeb was holding. Hera gasped.

“Is that – is he –”

“He’s alive,” Ezra said.

Hera let out a strangled sob and ran forward. His name caught at the back of her throat, unable to come out. She reached Zeb but her hands hovered over the body in his arms, unsure of where to go – there were no visible injuries, not even burns. Half of her wanted to touch all of him at once, and the other half was scared that if she did, her hands would pass right through and he wouldn’t be real. Eventually they settled on his face, and a soft cry escaped her lips as her fingers brushed warm skin. Kanan was alive.

“He won’t wake up,” Ezra continued, and Hera could hear traces of a scared little boy in his voice. “And I don’t know why.”

“He’ll wake up.” She swallowed. “He has to wake up.” If she said it confidently enough; if they all believed it hard enough...

“What do we do with him?” Zeb asked.

Hera could feel the maelstrom of emotions building inside of her, but there was no time for that now. Her crew needed her. Kanan needed her.

“Take him to his bunk. There’s not much we can do for him right now – we can’t even get off Lothal. But he’ll be safe there.”

Zeb started walking, but Hera was unwilling to let go of Kanan. She ended up walking backwards, the three of them awkwardly manoeuvering through the Ghost until they reached Kanan’s bunk. As they passed Sabine’s room she heard the faint sound of music and the hiss of spray paints. She couldn’t wait to tell Sabine.

Hera only needed a little nudging from Zeb to move out of the way so that he could put Kanan down. She desperately wanted to go back to him, to lay down next to him and physically feel his body next to hers, warm and alive and here. But she held herself back, and when Ezra called to her from the corridor she went out to speak to him.

“Hera – about Lothal…” he began. “I have a plan.”

He gave her a serious look.

“I know how we can get rid of the Empire for good.”

---

Kanan woke up.

It took a few moments for him to register that there was anything wrong with that. He was lying in his own bunk, with the Ghost’s engines a quiet background hum and the distant sounds of other people coming from elsewhere in the ship. Then he moved his head slightly and felt the short stubble on his head and the air moving against the bare skin of his chin.

He was awake.

The last thing he remembered was the heat. The intense, searing heat of the burning fuel, and the light… it had been so bright. And he had seen it. For a few moments, he had seen. He could remember Ezra and Hera’s faces, the sight of them blissful and yet heart-wrenching at the same time. Ezra’s eyes had been wide with horror, and Hera’s beautiful face had been twisted in agony.

When the wolves had told him that he was going to die, he’d known it would hit his family hard. But he also knew how strong they were, Hera most of all, and how they would help each other through it. At least they would be alive to get through it, he had told himself. That was all that mattered to him.

So how was he alive too?

He sat up. He was still blind, that much was obvious. Whatever had allowed him to have those few moments of vision just before he’d let go of the flames had apparently been temporary. He ran a hand over his face; no burns, just the old scar over his eyes. Physically he felt fine. He felt around the bunk, feeling how the blanket over him was rumpled and folded back beside him, as though someone else had at one point been sleeping next to him. He swung his legs out to stand on the floor, and that was then he realised what was missing.

The Force was gone.

The vast web that connected him to the universe, the energy that constantly flowed around and through him, the extra senses that helped him to see without his eyes – it was all gone. How could that happen? Was it somehow related to his miraculous survival? Had he somehow given up his Force abilities in order to return to his family?

He wouldn’t find the answers by staying here. Carefully, he made his way to the door. He didn’t need the Force for this; the interior of the Ghost was as familiar to him as his own body. Out in the corridor he could tell that the sounds of people were coming from the cockpit, so that was where he directed himself.

He reached the end of the corridor through the crew quarters and stood before the door to the cockpit. Through it he could hear Ezra’s voice, though it sounded strange – tinny, as though coming from a hologram. He hit the door controls.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better family. I can’t wait to come home.”

He recognised the sound of static cutting out, as though a recording had been switched off, and Kanan remembered the other things the wolves had shown him. What would happen to his family after he was gone. What his sacrifice would allow to happen. They must have done it – Lothal was free, and Ezra was gone.

No-one seemed to have noticed his entrance; he assumed they were still recovering from Ezra’s message.

“Did I go a bit too hard on the self-sacrifice stuff?”

He heard the rustle of five heads turning towards him.

“Kanan!” Sabine’s overjoyed shout came from the co-pilot’s side of the cockpit, but he didn’t hear her move. Instead, he heard the familiar creak of the pilot’s chair and braced himself a moment before someone was throwing herself bodily into his arms.

He held her as tightly as she gripped him, her face pressed against his, their tears mingling on their cheeks. After a few moments, Kanan drew back enough to stroke a hand reverently over her cheek.

“You’re alive,” Hera whispered, her voice breaking as more tears began to flow.

“I’m alive,” he murmured back, doing his best to wipe them away with his thumb.

“And you’re okay!”

He could feel her cheeks forming a smile under his palm. “Well, I can’t see you any more.”

“What have I told you, love,” she said, but didn’t give him a chance to answer. Her hand cupped his face as she pulled him down for a kiss.

Their moment on the fuel pod didn't seem that long ago, yet the kiss was the sweetest Kanan could remember. He could have spent forever in that moment with Hera.

“Okay, that’s enough of that!” Sabine called, and Kanan heard the others finally moving towards him.

He felt Hera let go reluctantly, though she kept one hand on the small of his back as the rest of his family moved in for their reunions. Sabine wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, Zeb almost cracked his ribs with his crushing embrace, Rex gave him several slaps on the back with his and even Mart Mattin came in for a hug. Everyone was talking excitedly over each other, exclamations and questions filling the air, none of which Kanan knew how to answer.

One voice that caught his ear, however.

“At the end of his message, what Ezra said…” he heard Sabine say. “‘I’m counting on you’. Do you think he means to go after him?”

Kanan didn’t know who she was talking to, but he answered anyway.

“I think he does. And I think I know where you should start looking.”

[hrtiu]

I saw your post about wanting to write for rexsoka! I love your fics btw! I would like to request some fluff involving laughter and maybe teasing someone.

Thank you so much! Here’s what I got. It gets a little sad at the end, but hopefully it still counts?? Thank you for the prompt!

Rex knocked on the durasteel door frame, announcing his presence to the ladies chatting in the Ghost’s mess beyond.

“Ahem, Ahsoka? I could use your help with something.”

“Wait a second, you’re not going to steal her away for the rest of the day, are you?” Hera said from where she sat across from Ahsoka at the table. “She was my spymaster first.”

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” Rex said.

Ahsoka chuckled as she got to her feet, waving her hands in a placating manner. “Alright, alright. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of me to go around. I’ll be right back, Hera, and we can go over those bomber schematics you somehow managed to get your hands on.”

Hera eagerly agreed, waving goodbye before getting distracted by an irate Chopper beeping something about the hyperdrive and teenage boys.

“What is it?” Ahsoka asked as she walked by Rex’s side out into the dusty, organized chaos of Chopper Base. 

Rex scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Well, there’s this broadcasting beacon, see? We use it to communicate with other cells off-planet, but its motivator was damaged in a recent dust storm. I wanted to replace it but it’s really high up and hard to get to, and I figured since you’re here…”

Ahsoka stopped walking, placing a hand on her hip as her eyebrow markings rose into her headdress. “You want me to throw you?”

Rex flushed, turning away from her and shaking his head. “Never mind, it’s a stupid idea.”

“No, no, it’s just not something I ever expected you to ask me to do.”

“Well, I never really liked it, but if you could control the throw and land me on the maintenance platform I wouldn’t have to risk my neck on that sorry piece of scrap we call an extension ladder.”

“I knew it. For as much as you complained about Anakin throwing you around, you liked it when we did that.”

Rex rounded on her, unable to resist defending himself in the face of such slander. “I did not! It was terrifying, unnecessary, and demeaning!”

“But you want me to do it again. Just admit it, Rex. You’ve been missing excitement in your life,” Ahsoka said, that smug look she’d perfected in her teens on her face.

Rex couldn’t help but laugh. Since they’d been reunited she’d seemed so changed—so solemn and galaxy-weary. It was good to see her back to her cocky, impertinent self, if only for the moment.

“I’ve been missing you, that’s for sure.”

Ahsoka laughed, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. Rex could have sworn that her lekku shifted to a darker shade of blue, but that had to be his imagination.

“Alright then, where’s this maintenance platform you were talking about?”

Rex led her to the long metal pole several stories tall upon which the broadcasting beacon perched, and she waited while he went to get his repair tools. By the time he came back their little stunt had gained a small audience, Ezra, Zeb, and several pilots gathering round to witness Rex’s embarrassment.

“Now you’ll know what it feels like to be tossed about!” Zeb said, apparently still smarting from his turn as joopa bait.

“Is this even a proper use of the Force?” Ezra asked. “Isn’t it sort of… disrespectful?”

Ahsoka held her head high as she glided over to Rex, her more mature demeanor back now that she was in front of others. “The Force is a tool that is best used to help people. Nothing is beneath the Force, so long as it’s for a good purpose.”

“Hmmm, I guess that makes sense.”

Rex cinched his tool belt around his waist, a little alarmed that he had to loosen a notch further than he used to, then stood at the ready. He bent his knees and braced himself, glowering at Ahsoka as she noticed his nerves and smirked again.

“Ready?” she asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Ahsoka raised her hand out to Rex, then jerked it upwards. He flew into the air much faster than he’d envisaged, though just as he feared he’d overshoot the maintenance platform his velocity slowed. He breathed a sigh of relief as, from far below, Ahsoka landed him gently onto the platform.

“All good?” she shouted up at him from the ground.

He leaned over the edge and waved down at her. “Yep! I’ll just be a minute!”

He got to work replacing the motivator, his fingers working quickly from many years of experience holding the rusting AT-TE he called home together. The hot sun beat down on him and he wiped his brow, though he could do nothing about the sweat trickling down his back. Eventually he finished his repairs, taking out his transponder to double-check that the beacon was working before leaning back over the edge and waving to get Ahsoka’s attention.

“All done up here!” he yelled. “Care to lend a hand?”

Ahsoka looked up at him, blessedly alone now that their audience had grown tired of waiting, and waved back. “Just jump down. I’ll catch you!”

Rex had known this was coming, but he still wasn’t looking forward to it. He may have only lived 27 years, but his body was well into his middle age. It wasn’t quite as forgiving to him of dangerous stunts and constant misuse. 

Ahsoka kept waving from down below and Rex dismissed his fears. Ahsoka knew him and she wouldn’t let any harm come to him, even anything as minor as a twisted ankle or a sore knee. He gritted his teeth and took a leap of faith off the platform.

Air rushed past his ears and his beard flattened against his chin, but soon enough his fall slowed. By the time he reached the ground he was floating gently, his feet barely registering when they met solid ground in front of a grinning Ahsoka.

“Enjoy the ride?” she asked.

Rex laughed. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I guess.”

“See? You can trust me, Rexter.”

Rex’s grin grew at the old nickname. He’d never really liked it, truth be told. What young man with aspirations for martial greatness wanted such a silly nickname? But after not hearing for so long, and coming from the friend he’d thought long lost? He’d take it any day.

“I knew I could trust you, I just wasn’t looking forward to getting thrown around like a rag doll in front of my colleagues. I’m trying to look good in front of them, you know?” he said with a laugh.

Ahsoka started walking back to the Ghost, no doubt to resume her conversation with Hera. She looked back over her shoulder as she walked, her burgundy lips quirked upwards in a devious smile. “I don’t know, I like a man I can toss around.”

She turned her head back around and sauntered off, and Rex’s jaw dropped.

She couldn’t… she couldn’t have meant… Was she flirting with me?

He stared after her retreating form—he could swear her hips were swaying—his brain uncomprehending. They’d known each other for so long, and there was nobody he trusted like Ahsoka. And she was obviously beautiful, and funny, and kind. Was it possible…?

Rex looked down at his hands, the wrinkles and sunspots seeming deeper and darker than normal, the callouses thick and the scars numerous. No, she was just teasing. She was young and vibrant and had her whole life ahead of her, it wouldn’t make sense for her to waste it with an old soldier like Rex. Not to mention he didn’t even know what her stance on the Jedi’s rules was anymore. Any kind of romance might not be an option for her, which was probably why she was so comfortable making silly jokes. No chance they could be misconstrued. Right?

Rex made his way back to his quarters in a daze, his surroundings registering as hyper-realistic even as he barely noticed them. It really didn’t make any difference, since he and Ahsoka would continue as friends just as they’d always been, but now Rex’s interactions with her would be colored by this new knowledge. The knowledge that, if there ever was anyone for Rex, it would be her.

[whatapunk]

Sooo... I finally decided to start my Kanan/ex-girlfriend fic that I've been writing in my head for weeks. I haven't written fanfiction (or anything fun) in a very long time so this took some real motivation (and unconditional love for Kanan/Kanera).

It is set at the very beginning of Season 2, when the Spectres have joined Phoenix Crew and Kanan is looking for anything to distract him from the formalities of military life. "Anything" including his ex-girlfriend Rhia Denley, current member of Phoenix Crew. This fic will reflect the battle between my love for Kanera and my need to write about Kanan’s love life in general in the only way I see fitting: through a love triangle!

This is just a taste for the first bit, but I hope to keep going!

Title: Endings

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Relationship: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla; Kanan Jarrus/female OC

Rating: t for now, m in future chapters (I'm guessing) for language and some non-explicit intimacy

Word Count: 1688

Chapter 1

Everywhere people walked, trotted, and ran into and out of Kanan’s line of vision. They criss-crossed in every single direction, yet everyone managed to stay out of each other’s way for the most part. It was suffocating, Kanan thought. So many people, faces, ranks and titles. He’d only been working aboard the Liberator for a few standard weeks (long enough, in his opinion), but he’d already given up on trying to remember the ranking system, let alone the specific rank of each rebel. He’d taken to walking behind Hera any time they were aboard the vessel, and when she saluted someone, he, begrudgingly, did the same. Otherwise, he stayed aboard Ghost as often as he could.

Hera was in front of him now, and the kids- Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra- followed close by. Kanan felt bad; she’d been explaining what she wanted to do differently the next time they were on a similar “cargo-thieving” mission as the one they’d just returned from, and he’d all but started ignoring her. It was entirely his fault, he felt. He couldn’t hear himself think over all of the people in the bay and the intercom that seemed to always be seeking out someone.

Hera could sense that Kanan wasn’t really paying attention, but she was mostly talking to herself right now. She always felt better when she could explain things out loud, even if it was only to herself.

“Well I thought the mission went pretty well,” Ezra spoke up, shaking Hera out of her thoughts. Turns out one of them was listening.

“It’s not that it didn’t go well, Ezra,” Hera added, gently. “I’m just saying there’s always room for improvement.”

Several droids, each carrying a large crate, crossed in front of the Spectres, forcing Hera to stop abruptly and Kanan, who was so focused on watching everything else, bumped into her.

“This place is a madhouse. Why do we need to talk to Sato? Didn’t he just watch everything that just happened? Wasn’t he there?” Kanan said, letting more frustration than was warranted slip out. He frowned and Hera turned and matched the look.

“Kanan, it’s standard protocol to debrief with our commanding officer after…”

Kanan checked out at “protocol.” It seemed like these kinds of things were all Hera talked about these days. He hadn’t felt so restricted in years, nor had he felt like he had to compete for Hera’s attention (more than normal) in years. She was still talking when something caught Kanan’s eye and pulled his gaze and his feet to an abrupt stop.

A glimpse of red, he thought, the kind of which he hadn’t seen in years. Seven of them, to be exact.

A glimpse was all it was though. His eyes searched for where it had come from, but there were easily a hundred personnel in any given direction. Five stacks of crates rose and floated by, presumably carried by five people eclipsed on the other side of them. They formed a wall as they passed that effectively obstructed his view of the crowd of people in which he thought he spotted the red hair.

“Kanan?” Hera touched his arm, and his attention returned to her.

“What are you doing?” He glanced back over the sea of people, not ready to admit he hadn’t seen anything.

“I thought I saw....” Kanan trailed off, searching… searching…

“Who do you know in Phoenix Cell?” Hera asked, disbelief and a joking edge surrounding her words. That got Kanan to look at her, his usual smirk back on his face. Hera thought briefly how she hadn’t seen such a face lately, and then the thought was passed up by a million others.

“No one, that I know of,” he said, giving Hera a smile and walking back over to the others who waited, confused. Just as he was ready to get his mind back on the Spectres and whatever mundane, soul-crushing aspect of Phoenix Cell awaited him, there it was again- a flash of the most unique and memorable shade of red Kanan had ever seen. Only this time it wasn’t just a flash, and it was connected to the head and body of one of the people who had just set down one of the large stacks of crates. Kanan stared at the woman, mouth starting to fall open, and almost let her return to the crowd, lost, before he forced a single word onto his tongue.

“Rhia?!” *** Rhia Denley grunted as her arms lifted a crate over her head and locked it into the stack that rose before her. Bashi said something next to her that still wasn’t loud enough for her to hear it (she’d been telling him to speak up since she reported this morning).

“What, Bashi?” she snapped, and the Mythrol pursed his blue lips, hearing the edge in her voice.

“I was saying,” Bashi started, then remembered to amplify his voice even more, “all of the carrier droids have been checked out, so I could only get three of them. So you and I just need to move these two stacks to the drop zone on the other side of the bay where someone else’s droids will see them and grab them.” Rhia smiled, feeling guilty for snapping and also appreciative that he’d finally spoken loud enough for her to hear him.

“Gotcha. Sorry, Bash, you know this place is an echo chamber. I’m already old and hard of hearing,” she joked, giving him a punch in the arm. He smiled and nodded as he typed in directions on the last carrier droid next to them. The droid revved and began lifting the stack; only, it’s motor whined and sputtered, nearly collapsing and bringing the stack of crates tumbling. Before either Rhia or Bashi could react, the droid’s engines fully kicked in and its back thruster let out a gust of warm exhaust that sent a few bits of Rhia’s pinned-back hair flailing. She frowned, pushed the pieces behind her ears, and squatted, ready to lift her stack.

“Don’t forget,” she started, glancing sideways at Bashi who had started to bend forward to grab his crates, “lift with your knees.” She snapped upright, her stack in her arms and her legs feeling underprepared. She would have grabbed an anti-grav platform if she’d known she’d be in charge of the heavy-lifting. Bashi’s recent words floated through her mind at that thought; if droids were in short supply, everything else useful probably was too.

Rhia couldn’t really see where she was going but she was able to sneak her head out from the side of her stack and kept up with the droid in front of her. When she saw the yellow-outlined square appear under her feet, signalling a drop zone, she brought her stack to the floor again. Her legs felt shaky, reminding her she really should adhere to the volunteer fitness regimes more. She stood up and saw Bashi’s shaky stack show up right next to hers. Clearly, the Mythrol had struggled with the weight as well.

“Bashi, I think you and I had better hit the running machine more if the Rebellion gets any bigger.” He looked at her, confused. “There won’t be any droids left to save our legs,” she added, smiling. Bashi grinned, letting a quiet chuckle out, and began walking back into the crowd in the main part of the bay. Rhia began to follow when someone unfamiliar called her name, just her first name, and she looked back over her shoulder. 

“Rhia?!”

There stood a man with a small beard and ponytail, wearing green shoulder armor that extended down his right arm. He was several years older than the last time she had seen him, to be sure, but there was no doubt- the man was Kanan Jarrus.

“Kanan?” Rhia asked, just as stunned as he had been. Around them, organized chaos continued, monotonous calls came steadily over the intercom, and the group of rebels around Kanan all watched intently. However, the two of them only continued to stare. Finally, Rhia spoke first.

“You’re with Phoenix Crew?” she asked, clearly in some sort of disbelief. 

“Well… uh…” Kanan drew his hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess… We’re new,” he added, gesturing to the Spectres. Rhia’s eyes went to them as he introduced them.

“This is Zeb, Ezra, Sabine, and Hera my- uh, my pilot,” he stammered when he got to Hera, and Rhia could instantly tell why.

Hera frowned ever so slightly and gave Kanan a look out of the corner of her eye at the word “pilot.” Kanan was doing the stammering thing he did when he was pretending to know what he was doing. Clearly, he knew this woman and clearly she was having an affect on him. She didn’t want to be jealous and tried to remind herself that the only reason Kanan had stumbled over what to refer to her as was because of the boundaries surrounding their relationship- boundaries she’d been the one to set. Still, the sight and sound of him now reminded her of the moment they’d met for the first time, back on Gorse all those years ago, and, frankly, she didn’t like it. 

“It’s good to meet you,” Rhia said, politely, nodding to the crew. She waited for Kanan (or anyone, really) to speak again, but they stood together in more silence that was quickly becoming awkward. Rhia was trying to think of a quick way to end the encounter when a familiar blue face popped out of the crowd behind Kanan and the others.

“Captain Denley!” Bashi called, a datapad aloft in his hands. Rhia silently thanked him with her eyes for the rescue.

“Sorry, you’ll have to excuse me,” she said, giving a final nod and beginning to walk past them. On her way she paused and placed a soft hand on Kanan’s shoulder. She spoke quietly but not so quiet that it seemed intimate.

“We should catch up,” she said, smiling. And with that she continued past and back into the throng of the bustling service bay.

[warsamongstthestar-keen]

Chapter Thirty-Three

The crew looks at each other, Ezra sensing as panic seeps into the room. "Okay, well, we'll just have to get them out before they reach the planet."

Hera smiles at his enthusiasm, "That's easier said than done. There's no way the Ghost can get into the system without being seen."

Sabine looks at the Twi'lek, "I might have a plan for that."

*Later*

The Mandalorian snuck aboard an Imperial ship, successfully stealing a transport, with her normal flare.

The crew gather's in the cockpit, surrounding a hologram of the Grand Moff's ship.

"The transport you stole will get us close to the fleet over Mustafar. We know they have Kanan and Keen on Tarkin's Star Destroyer," Hera states.

Zeb rolls his eyes, grumbling, "And it's surrounded by a bunch of other Star Destroyers."

"Uh, lots more. We'll need a distraction to cover our entry," the Twi'lek turns her chair to face the girl, "Sabine?"

"Engine room's here–" she points at a place on the hologram. All the power for the ship. If we could get inside the docking bay, I could rig something, black 'em out. But our transport ship's not gonna fit in there."

"We need something small enough to get into that hangar bay," Hera sighs. "Too bad we blew up all the TIEs at that base."

"Well...uh," Ezra pipes up, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "there is one left. But it's not at the base."

Zeb's ears press flat against his head, glancing nervously at Hera, "Uh-uh. Uh-uh."

"Look, this is serious, Zeb. For Kanan and Keen."

The Lasat sighs deeply, "Fine."

"What's going on?" Hera demands, looking between the Padawan, Lasat and Mandalorian.

"The TIE we stole a while back, we, uh–we didn't exactly crash it."

The Twi'lek glares at him, "And by 'didn't exactly', you mean–"

"We didn't crash it," Ezra responds quickly, "We kept it."

"You all knew about this?" she demands. The other three rebels look down guiltily, not meeting her eyes. Hera sighs, "I should be angry. I should yell at you for disobeying a direct order. But right now, I'm just grateful we got it."

"Uh, there's a slight problem with it."

"What kind of problem?"

"Yeah, what kind of problem?" Zeb growls.

Ezra and Sabine lead the other two to the TIE fighter. It sits in the middle of a field, hidden behind a few peaks. The ship is covered from top to bottom in a rainbow of colours, all coming together to form a beautiful array of colour and design.

"Okay. Well, this is awful," the Lasat grumbles.

"What? It's some of my best work," Sabine shrugs.

"It'll have to do," Hera states, inspecting the paint job.

"I thought you were supposed to be the sane one. This whole plan is as crazy as those colours."

"Maybe you're right," the Twi'lek responds to the ranting Lasat. "Maybe this mission doesn't make military sense. But Kanan is family. Keen is family. And we've all lost enough family to the Empire. So rescuing them makes sense to me. I-I'm not ordering you-- any of you-- to come along. But you need to decide now. In or out?"

"I'm in," Ezra and Sabine chorus. Chopper agrees as well. The four turn to look at the Lasat.

"Karabast. I'm in. But what about that?" he nods to the TIE.

"Eh, no time to fix it. Besides, the Imperials will only scan it. By the time the Imperials see it–"

"It'll be too late," Sabine finishes for the captain.

*Tarkin's Cruiser*

Kanan presses back against the table. Electricity streams through his body, screams erupting from his throat. It cuts off abruptly, knocking him forward.

"Still protecting your precious crew," Darth Vader sneers, tired of torturing Keen, and since she passed out, he figured he might as well interrogate Kanan, "Quite admirable. But what I want to know is about the other rebels, code name, Fulcrum."

The Knight sighs, "I know nothing of a larger rebellion. And if I did, I'd rather give my life than tell you."

"So heroic. Just like your master. Tell me, Jedi, how did you survive Order 66, hmm? It was your Master Billaba who laid down her life for yours. Do you remember her last word to you, her last and final breath before she died? You do, don't you? You see it in your sleep. You hear her voice when you wake. Tell me, Jedi, what was her last word to you?"

Throughout the Sith Lord's spiel, the Knight had looked more and more distraught, "Run," he states, although it barely comes out as a whisper.

"And does your loyal and precious crew...know you ran as your Master fell, abandoned her and the Jedi Order...when they needed you most? What do you think your rebels would do...if they know their leader was a coward? You're even afraid of your own power. You don't have the courage to wear your full saber out in the open. Let me tell you something, Jedi. You're right to be afraid. You couldn't save your Master then, and you can't save your followers now."

"Keen knows. She knows it all. Just as I know what happened to her. What did you do to her?" he demands, his voice raising in volume.

"She was asked the questions I asked you. She refused to give straight answers. I did what had to be done. We didn't really need two Jedi to interrogate anyway. Why would we, when we have you."

The Knights head drops back down, against his metal restraint, the questioning continuing.

*Ghost Crew*

"I'll send in our transporter code as soon as we know they are there. Ezra?" Hera says, turning to face the kid.

"Well, here goes nothin'," he gulps. He shuts his eyes, delving into the Force, searching for the two recognizable Force signatures.

"So anything?" Zeb asks a few seconds later. The boy scrunches brow, doing his best to tune out the conversation happening over his head.

Hera's voice snaps through his concentration, "Ezra, are they there?"

The Padawan snaps his eyes open, gasping, "They're there. Kanan, Keen, they're alive!"

Smiles cross each Ghost members face. "Sending codes."

It's a tense few minutes of silence, until cutting through the comm's comes, "Transport Ship 63378 cleared for docking."

"They bought it," the Twi'lek declares, turning to the astromech "Chop, send in Sabine's present."

Chopper babbles at her, saluting. He quickly releases the TIE, remotely flying it to the Transport.

Hera smiles at the other crewmembers, whilst docking the ship. She once again turns to Chopper, "This shouldn't take long. Keep the engine running."

The droid responds in his grumbles, not sounding happy.

The rebels infiltrate the Cruiser a little too easily, finding the docking bay crowded with unconscious Stormtroopers.

"These guys will wake up soon," Sabine supplies.

"How soon?" Ezra questions.

"Too soon, I reckon," comes the Lasat's haughty response.

Ezra stops at an intersection in a corridor, turning both ways, his hand outstretched, and eyes clamped shut. He points to the right with surety, "Come on. This way," he calls. The commlink sparks to life and Chopper warns of Imperial reinforcements.

"Don't worry," Sabine brushes it off, "On a ship this big, it'll take 'em a while to find us."

The group rounds a corner, to meet three Stormtrooper's, blasters raised at them. "Drop your weapons! Hands up!"

"They found us," Ezra groans. He slices at them with his lightsaber, leading the crew through the nearby blast doors. He uses the Force to slam them shut, freezing the controls by stabbing his blade through them.

"Pretty clever, kid," the Mandalorian compliments, "So what's next?"

"Kanan and Keen are down that hall," the Padawan indicates to the blast doors, "I just cut off only way to get to them."

Hera glances around the corridor, spotting a vent, "Might be our only way, but it's not yours." The boy smiles up at her, racing for the vent, jumping down inside. "Let's go. Let's go," she encourages the other two rebels, leading them down the corridor.

[hungrywhovianjedi]

Twin Moons

Chapter Two of my first published Star Wars Fic read also on my AO3 and my FF.net read the rest here prologue chapter 1

premise:  Obi-Wan never took Luke to Tatooine in fact they overshot the force forsaken dustball completely and instead Luke grew up on the planet Lothal being trained to become a Jedi like his father before him. Ezra Bridger is an orphan loner who only makes an exception to his solitude for one boy. The boy who helped him out when he was seven, and that Ezra always seems to get into trouble.

"Luke!" Ben called, as the small blond boy dashed out of the little hut he had lived in for the last 14 years of his life, angry tears rolling down his cheeks. 

Ben knew the boy would be headstrong, and wouldn't want listen when his uncle told him that they would be leaving Lothal. He had put it off longer than he should have, the imperial presence on the planet was growing too strong. 

The flash of anger was something he would have expected from his father, but Luke had always been mild mannered, a shocking contrast to the wild and temperamental boy his father had been. 

He sighed, he knew, knew Luke would return, he was probably off to see the other boy. The one that Ben would almost have expected Luke to be. Ezra Bridger certainly had the arrogance that had been so characteristic of Anakin Skywalker, and it worried the old jedi with how close he had grown to his young charge. 

---------

Luke swiped the tears from his face as Ezra's tower came into view, and as always, he could see the dark haired boy lounging on the hillock leading to his "home" he never told Ben that Ezra didn't have parents, but that was what made him and Ezra so much alike. It was their secret two orphans who looked out for one another.

"Skywalker!" The boy waved, and Luke started running again. He knew the moment Ezra saw his face, because the wide grin turned into a furrowed brow, "what's wrong?"

Luke plopped into the long grass beside his friend, "Ben says we have to leave"

"You mean like move to a city?"

Blond hair spun with the force of Luke's head shake making a glittering halo, that momentarily distracted Ezra from what Luke was saying, "-my entire life is on Lothal and he just wants to leave!"

Ezra bolted upright then. Leave?! Luke leave Lothal? Leave him? Ezra wouldn't let grumpy old Ben Kenobi take his best friend from him. "You can't leave" Ezra said simply, "I won't let you starting now, you live with me Luke Skywalker"

Luke paused, "I can't live with you Ezra, Ben would be furious"

"What about you though? He didn't even ask you! Just waltzed in and told you to pack your bags!" Ezra looked more upset than even Luke had been to hear the news. It struck him that everyone else had left him, he didn't want Luke to leave him too. 

Luke sighed, picking at the grass, "I don't get a choice, I'm just a kid" 

Ezra growled, "that shouldn't matter, I'm two days older than you, and I make choices just fine on my own"

Luke was quiet, and Ezra almost got up and walked inside when a soft voice stopped him, "you could come with us, I'm sure Ben would let you"

He looked over at his friend, whose wide blue eyes were pleading, and sighed, "I don't think he would" he then got up and walked into his tower. Ezra didn't even look to see if Luke followed, he knew the blond was right behind him, they had reached the top and were looking out over the grasslands when the shadow crossed overhead. A large shadow that completely blocked out the sun. 

Luke looked up and a sense of dread filled him, even as Ezra grinned and ran inside. Something told him he wouldn't be leaving Lothal with Ben

------

Ben paced the length of the small hut, reaching out every so often to sense if Luke was safe, content to find him close enough that he could make out more than just a vague sense, and that was with the boys shielding. A skill that was more important now than it ever had been before the order fell. 

He couldn't ignore the sense of warning he received in the force, something was coming, and he didn't want Luke on this planet when it did. Especially since part of the warning was an ice cold shadow of someone he once knew better than he knew himself.

Ben stepped outside, and looked to the sky, the cold feeling of the dark side washing over him, as an Imperial Star Destroyer blocked out the sun. 

It was too late, he had come. 

----- 

Four speeders, six crates, like stealing candy from a baby. They had been planning this heist for days, and finally it was here. 

Kanan Jarrus walked through the market, taking notice of each crew member in position. They all knew the method and the call sign. A simple double tap to his hip and Sabine and Zeb would mobilize. They had done it a hundred times at least, but something felt off, an instinct that he hadn't used in more than ten years.

There were two presences he could feel, one was a low simmering in the force, while the other was a miniature sun. 

He looked around him, trying to spot where it was coming from but couldn't find any sign of anyone around him. Kanan shook his head. He couldn't afford to get distracted now. 

~~~~~~~~~

One thing Luke always loved was the way the wind whipped when he was riding on a speeder, with it he could almost forget why he was here with Ezra instead of home training with Ben like he usually was at this time of day. Almost, but the thought of leaving the only home he had was not a fond one, nor was it easy to shake. 

Lost in thought he almost missed as they approached Capital City. Ezra shot him a sly grin, and Luke inwardly groaned as Ezra spun the speeder out skidding to a stop behind a large rock formation. 

Luke groaned climbing off the back of the speeder bike noticing they literally had inches between them and the rock face. "One of these times your recklessness is going to have us splattered" he pointed out. 

Ezra simply grinned, "and you love it, Skywalker. now come on. I wanna see why a Star Destroyer came to Lothal, they probably got a new kind of trooper helmet i don't have yet"

"You know, Ben says that you're gonna get yourself in big trouble if you keep taunting the Empire"

Ezra's eyes rolled, "who cares what Ben thinks" he then promptly took off into the city. 

Luke sighed, and then took off after his friend, knowing he would get into way more trouble without him than with. 

It wasn't far into the city that Luke's theory was proven, before he got to Ezra he was walking between two imperial officers and he saw him snag the comm of one of their belts, he wandered away, and Luke quietly made his way around the officers and darted off after Ezra. 

He found him as he began calling a false alarm over the comm. He gave Ezra a stern look as the other boy smirked informing the Empire he had a code red emergency. 

Ezra grabbed his hand and dragged him back to where the jogan seller was trying to scrabble about to pick up his fruit. Ezra knelt to help him clean up the fruit, and then began stuffing his bag. Luke protested, but Ezra just winked at him and took off, leaping up onto a stall and to the roof. 

Luke scowled and helped the man clean up his fruit, before reaching into his pocket and dropping a small stack of credits into the jogan seller's hand "sorry about him" he said gently before getting up and following Ezra. 

The man with the jogans looked down at the credits, well above what the fruit the first boy took was worth and wondered out loud, "who were those boys?"

"You didn't have to steal those" Luke began, but Ezra held up his hand to silence him and waved him over. Ezra had a mischievous glint in his eye as look crouched beside him. 

"I didn't steal them, you bought them" Ezra held out a jogan "want one?" 

Luke rolled his eyes and took the fruit, "someday I won't be there to save you, you know."

Ezra smirked, "don't be so sure" then he looked down at the imperials arguing below about a false alarm, "almost feel bad for them...almost."

Luke was about to make a retort when he felt it. A soft humming in the force, one he always felt around Ezra and around Ben when he wasn't shielding, a force user… he looked at Ezra and saw the other boy tense up. 

Ezra turned at the same moment Luke did, Luke saw him first, a tall man with a ponytail. The force surrounded the man like a cloak, and he was turning around! Luke grabbed Ezra and pulled him flat to the rooftop, before the man could see them. 

"Do you hear that?" Ezra asked, then he noticed the grim set of Luke's mouth, "Luke?"

"Yeah, I hear it… Ez… I don't think we should be here" Luke could already hear Ben revving up one of his lectures.

Of course Ezra was already on to his next thing watching the man with the force cloak move around seeming to rally other people for something. 

Luke groaned, "Ezra, we need to go" he pulled on his friend.

Ezra patted his arm, "in a minute, something cool is going to happen, I feel it"

Luke continued to pull, "or maybe something bad!" No sooner than he said it that an explosion knocked the blonde boy back making him lose his grip on Ezra. 

He looked up in time to see Ezra grin and offer him his hand, "ready for an adventure, Skywalker?"

Luke again was faced with the question, how much trouble was he willing to be in? Then he looked up at the other boy, he would likely do whatever he was planning either way. At least Luke knew he could keep them out of too deep of trouble in most cases. Then there was the look he was getting from his friend, Ezra's eyes were pleading and despite his better judgment and Ben's teaching, Luke took Ezra's hand and together they took off along the rooftops.

As they came to the edge of a roof and saw the three speeders hauling crates from earlier, Luke knew there was no turning back, as Ezra turned to him, and with a grin said, "this is where the fun begins"

Luke tightened his belt, careful to keep his father's saber hidden under his shirt as he nodded, "okay, but this time? I'm driving"

~~~~

From the bridge of the Star Destroyer, a dark figure stood vigil, still not sure of his mission. There was an old jedi temple on this planet, that as of yet they still hadn't found. It was hardly something warranting his attention,  he would have gladly delegated it had the order not from the Emperor himself. 

His loud breathing was the only sound made as he looked down on Lothal, this was a waste of his time, but then he felt it, a bright flare in the force from the planet's surface stronger than any he had felt since the Clone War. The flare brought with it a familiarity that shocked him, bringing to his mind a ghost of another life, of a woman with curling dark hair and gentle eyes. 

"Padme" he breathed softly, low enough his voice modulator did not pick it up, a single tear rolling down his cheek being instantly sucked away by the systems of his suit. It wasn't possible. Padme had died, Palpatine had promised that his child had died, this force flare likely just mimicked her in the force, because as he reached out to the familiar shape of her force signature there were marked differences. 

No not Padme, this was younger, and much more powerful in the force, and there was something else, something he couldn't put his finger on.

"Lord Vader!"

He was pulled from pondering the new force presence by his commander's voice, "we are making our final descent to the planet's surface"

"Very good commander, prepare my shuttle" 

"Very well, My Lord"

With that Darth Vader turned and walked off the bridge. He would find the source of that presence he swore on everything he still cared about. He would find it.

[evabellasworld]

Alexsandr Kallus x OC

Ambush: Chapter 1

Masterlist: 1│2│3│4│5

Also on AO3

OC: Emma Tua

Tying her hair into a bun, Emma Tua grabbed her jacket hanging on the pilot's seat and rushed out of her ship. Oh dear, oh, dear! she said to herself, squeezing herself among the crowded hangar. She's going to be late, she said to herself. She's always late for briefings and meetings. The last to show up on every occasion.

As she walked into the briefing room, Mon Mothma, the leader of the Rebel Alliance, stared at her, making her uncomfortable. "Sorry I'm late, again," Emma uttered, scratching the back of her head. The red-haired senator from Chandrila sighed. "You're five minutes late, Private Tua," she crossed her arms.

Emma nodded as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeves of her jacket. "Anyways," she cleared her throat. "What's the mission?"

She pressed the button of the holotable, revealing a planet. "You and Captain Kallus will be going on a supply run on the planet Christophsis," briefed Mon, as she shows a bunch of supplies, all boxed up and arranged neatly. "Both of you will gather the supplies the Rebellion desperately needed and bring it to us. Am I clear?"

Emma raised one of her eyebrows. "That's it?" she scoffed. "Just get the supplies off Christophsis and bring it back to base?"

"Sounds like a piece of cake," she smirked.

"Don't overestimate yourself, Private," Kallus spoke, as he showed a fleet of Star Destroyers guarding the crystal planet. "Gathering the supplies will be easy but going through that blockade will be the difficult part."

Her smile disappeared as she saw the Imperial blockade over the planet, making her blinked twice. "Looks like I spoke too soon," she laughed nervously.

"Once we make it through the blockade, we both will land at Hangar Bay 6, where the supplies will be there with our informant," Kallus continued. "Then, we both will be on our way. If things go according to plan, the mission will be quick and smooth."

"Are you clear, Private?" Mon Mothma asked. Emma gave a nod. "Yes, sir."

As she dismissed both Kallus and Emma, they both made their way into the silver shuttle, where she found her son sitting outside, with his headphones on. "Hey Rocky," Emma tapped on his shoulder. Rocky glanced at his mother as he took out his headphones from his ears. "You called me?" the teenage boy spoke.

"I'll be away on a mission so you'll stay put with..."

"With Uncle Carter," he finished his sentence. "I know, Mom."

Emma grinned as he ruffled his jet black hair. "Be good, okay?" she winked, as she walked into the ship's cockpit and found Kallus seated on the co-pilot seat. "Are we good to go, Private?"

"Yup," she replied, as she sat down and warmed up the engine, placing both her hands on the steering. Pulling it up above the hangar bay, the shuttle flew out of the atmosphere of Yavin IV and was pulled into hyperspace. 

"We'll be there in Christophsis in two hours," Emma gave a reminder to the sandy-haired man. "Do you want a drink or something?"

Kallus shook his head. "I'm good," he said, glancing at the ship's window. "Thanks anyways, Private."

She let out a sigh as she got up from her seat and stretched her arms, heading towards the kitchen. She grabbed herself a cup and poured some water, taking a sip. Unlike some men she encountered in her life, she finds Kallus a little quiet. A little too quiet, perhaps. Emma laughed at herself as she thought about him. He kind of reminded of her late sister. Always focused on the task given to them and doesn't really interact much with strangers unless they have too.

Maybe I should get to know him better, she thought, placing her cup on the counter. Emma took a deep breath and returned to her pilot seat, taking a glimpse of Kallus. "So Alex," she began, hoping to break the awkward silence between them. "How are you adjusting to the Rebellion."

"It's alright," he shrugged, as he shifted his focus towards her. "I mean, it's a bit difficult adjusting to my new life but I had some help from Zeb and Maira."

"Maira Marago, eh?" she snickered, covering her mouth. "So how long have you both been together?"

"Well, we knew each other since we were six," he stroked his mutton chop beard. "We went to the same boarding school together."

"Looks like fate has brought you both together again," she commented, as she leaned against her chair and placed both hands behind her head. "You guys make a cute couple, you know."

Kallus let out a slight cough, with his eyes widened. "We grew up together under the same roof, Private," he cringed. "I can't imagine us going beyond that."

Emma burst into a peal of small laughter. "So you're basically available, huh?" she nudged, as she gave a wink. Kallus nodded, clearing his throat. "Yeah, sure."

His cheeks turned pink as he turned away from her, trying to focus on his task. Emma pushed strands of her brown hair behind her ear and straightened herself, taking a glimpse of his handsome face. "Besides Maira, don't you have other ladies in your life?"

"I don't have much time in life to find myself a lady," he sighed. "I find love a bit distracting."

She tried to contain her laughter as she slapped her knees. "That's a shame," she wiped her tears of amusement. "You have such a handsome face, you know."

Kallus tightened his lips as he felt his heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he felt like he met Emma before but where? He stroked his beard as he tried to recall the people he had met during his time as an ISB. He was sure that Emma used to serve the Empire as well but which department? Was she a politician? Was she an Imperial officer? He's not so sure. Emma doesn't really fit as those two departments, he thought. She's too talkative and laid-back to be one.

In a moment, their shuttle exited from hyperspace. Emma gasped as she saw a whole fleet of Star Destroyers blocking the planet of Christophsis. "That's a lot of ships," she stuttered, as she counted each ship with her fingers. "There's like six of them. Six, Alex."

"Don't worry, Emma," he assured. "I was told that this ship has a cloaking device. Am I correct?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, we do," she said, as she activated the ship's cloaking device, making the ship invisible to Imperial scanners. Her heart beats rapidly as she gazed the Destroyers, remembering the time she was assigned to the Repulse as an Imperial Technician. She crossed her fingers, hoping that their scanners don't detect them.

Entering the planet's atmosphere, Emma was in awe as she saw the surface of the planet, covered in large crystalline forest, reminding her of a fairy tale world that her aunt used to tell her when she was a child. "It's beautiful," she smiled, gazing at the crystal building. Kallus gave a frown to Emma, hearing the statement.

"Too bad it's under Imperial control," he sighed, as the ship landed at Hangar Bay 6. "Now come on, we have no time to waste."

Emma bobbed her head as he followed Kallus out of her ship, loading her blaster. As she stepped out of the ship, she saw a few crates all stacked up, ready to be picked up. "We take all of them, right?" she asked.

"Yes, Emma. We take all of them," he answered, as he observed the surroundings around him. It's pretty quiet here, he thought. Perhaps too quiet. Where is the informant? Wasn't he supposed to be here? He opened the lid of one of the crates, only to find it empty.

"Emma," he held his hand, making her stopped on her tracks.

"What is it, Alex?" she wondered. "What's wrong?"

"I think we walked into a trap," he stammered. Before Emma could say anything, dozens of stormtroopers ran into the hangar, surrounding both of them. Emma and Kallus pulled out their weapon, leaning against each other's back.

"Don't move, rebels," one of the troopers ordered.

[bifinmediasres]

So my husband's been playing Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and well my hand slipped:

4 ABY

Zeb and Alex sat in the kitchen of their home on Lira San enjoying a quiet cup of caffe before their children woke up for the day. Zeb watched his husband over the rim of his mug as he took one last large gulp. 

Swallowing he asked, "Anymore ships stopped in at the new transit hub that just got built you know of?"

Alex shook his head, "Not since that monstrosity from Latero came in the other day."

Zeb laughed gruffly, "That 'monstrosity' is a Lateron luxury yacht."

Alex drained his mug and shrugged, "It's ugly."

Zeb stood and took both of their mugs to the sink, "You're just hung up on freighters."

Alex crossed the room to join his husband, slowly wrapping his arms around Zeb's waist, "And whose fault is it that I'm so fond of a certain freighter? Hmm?"

Zeb leaned forward pressing their lips together and kissing him before grinning, "Hera's?"

Alex leaned back and swatted Zeb's chest playfully. He was about to say something else but a shrill cry rang through the house suddenly. 

Alex sighed, "Ziri's awake. I better go get him up before he drives his sister to distraction."

"Good thinking," Zeb smiled stroking his husband's cheek quickly, "I'll start on breakfast."

He watched his love turn and walk out of the kitchen before setting about preparing his children's meal. Just as he was finishing chopping up some fruit, there was a knock at the front door. It wasn't loud, but it was persistent, grabbing Zeb's attention. 

Wiping his hands he called, "Comin'! One minute!"

He entered the main room at the same time as Alex who was carrying Ziri, their year old son. Hearing the continued knocking Alex mused, "Who could that be? Ziri did you invite friends over?" Alex tickled the kit's stomach eliciting a chirping giggle. Zeb grinned at the kit before moving across the room to open the door.

"Hul-lo?" Zeb greeted the empty porch. He moved to look out the door and nearly fell as a droid darted through the doorway and between his feet. 

Alex instinctively stepped back and moved Ziri away from the droid despite the kit's insistent attempts to grab at it.

"No baby," Alex cautioned before turning to his spouse, "Garazeb? Where did this...BD unit I believe it is...come from?"

Zeb shrugged scratching his head as he watched the droid circle his mate and his child, all the while beeping frantically. At that moment their daughter entered the main room rubbing one eye and yawning. "Morning," she yawned. Addressing Zeb she beamed, "Papa I dressed me!" As if to emphasize this, the kit spun in a circle, holding the edge of her dress out in front of her. Before Zeb could do more than grin, she stopped spinning and caught sight of the droid, "Oooh! He's so cute! Dada can we keep him? He's just like Chop-Chop!"

Alex huffed from his spot where he was still being circled by the droid, "We most certainly are not. Chopper is bad enough when he's here."

Zeb laughed gruffly, "Aww c'mon! I bet Chop would like a little buddy." No sooner than Zeb had finished speaking, the droid stopped its investigation of Alex's feet and dashed back out the door Zeb had left open. 

The toddler immediately followed after giggling, "Wait for me!" 

Zeb just failed to grab her as she scampered past him. Looking back at Alex and Ziri he sighed, "I'll get her, one minute." Running out after her he yelled, "Lydal Wren Orrelios you get your behind back here!"

He needn't have yelled though. Both the kit and the droid had stopped just a few yards from the edge of the porch. The BD unit had begun spinning in circles again, this time emitting a patterned series of beeps. Lydal stood by watching and giggling. Both Zeb and Alex, still holding Ziri, watched from the porch for a few moments.

Suddenly a voice called out from down the dirt road, "There you are! I wondered where you'd gone!" 

The BD unit sped off to meet the owner of the voice, a human of average height and build from what Zeb could see, with reddish brown hair. When he'd come a bit closer the droid proceeded to scale his back where it settled hanging on to the poncho the man wore. 

"Comfy?" The man asked. The BD unit chirped in response. "Good," the man grinned. 

He turned to the kit and was about to address her when Zeb called out, "Lydal, come inside love."

This drew the man's attention up to the house. Raising an arm in greeting, he smiled at Zeb who'd stepped down from the porch, "Good morning! Could you possibly help me with something?" 

"Depends," Zeb responded skeptically as he scooped up his daughter, "What is it you need?"

The man nodded slowly, "I'm looking for someone. Mr. …?"

"Orrelios," Zeb supplied. 

"Captain!" Lydal chirped and both adults smiled.

"Once upon a time my little love," Zeb agreed rubbing her back continuing, "Both my mate and I, but we're retired now. We have a family," Zeb nodded to indicate Alex who was coming down the path to join them, but the man didn't seem to notice. 

"You were both captains?" The man asked clearly getting excited. Zeb nodded as the man continued, "Rebellion captains? Then you definitely know the person I'm looking for."

"Well if you give me a name I can try to help you out," Zeb answered as he turned and walked up the path to meet Alex and handed Lydal off to him.

The man followed and seemed about to respond until he stopped in his tracks, eyes glued on Alex. Zeb turned to look at him and then, taking in his expression, turned to Alex. To his surprise Alex appeared to be in a similar state of shock staring back at the man. Neither moved or spoke for several moments. 

Finally, Alex found his voice asking, "Cal? Is it really you?"

Cal smiled nodding, "Hey big brother. Long time huh?"

[ithappensoffstage]

Look, I'm a simple person--I see Alexsandr Kallus, I think, "he needs to be fucked really well."

I rewatched Rebels recently and decided since I write fanfic now--and spicy fanfic at that--I needed some spicy Rebels fanfic in my life.

~fic linked, or read it below~

Yavin IV was not a cold moon by any standards; certainly not by Zeb’s, whose mind strayed to Bahryn any moment someone--usually Ezra--complained about the jungle at night. Zeb welcomed that cool mist of the morning, the welcome reprieve to some of the strangling humidity. Occasionally before longer missions, Zeb would return to the Ghost just to reacclimate to its crisp, metallic air. Even though he spent more time in space than on the ground, Yavin had worked its way into his lungs.

Zeb thought of Kallus, of his smile every time the Ghost touched down on the landing pad, and rubbed his chest. Maybe it wasn’t Yavin after all.

Shaking himself, Zeb boarded the Ghost, dropped a small crate of provisions in the cargo bay, and made his way to his room. He hadn’t been on the Ghost in almost a week. Ezra, of course, had used that as an opportunity to take over their quarters almost entirely.  New posters lined the walls, droid parts and trophies form Imperials littered the floor, and crumpled clothes covered Zeb’s bunk. Zeb just sighed and pushed everything into an unsightly pile in the corner for Ezra to deal with later.

He was admiring a new poster Sabine had completed for the Alliance when he heard his door open. His ears flicked toward the sound, but he didn’t turn around.

“I had a feeling I would find you here.”

Warmth flowed through Zeb, reaching even his fingertips. He stretched his hand and inhaled evenly before facing the entrance.

Kallus stood in the doorway, arms tucked behind the small of his back and blocking some of the light Zeb had been letting into the room. His shadow wavered when he leaned against the doorframe.

“How did you even get in here? There’s no way Hera gave you the access codes.” Zeb almost smacked himself in the forehead after speaking. Instead, he half-shrugged, looked down, and waved his hand through the air aimlessly, continuing, “Not that I’m not happy to--well, it’s fine that you’re here. Uh. Good to see you.”

Kallus ignored Zeb’s fumbling and answered, voice even, “You left the cargo bay open.”

Zeb wanted to argue he had been too distracted by Kallus’ smile to lock up properly, but then Kallus smiled in real time, and Zeb found himself at a loss for words. He eyes traced Kallus’ outline. His Alliance uniform was less imposing, less sharp than his Imperial clothes, but he still cut an impressive figure. Leaning the way he was in the door, someone could almost mistake Kallus for a civilian if they didn’t know him. But Zeb knew him--saw the straight line of his shoulders, the strong set of his jaw, the way he favored his left leg to avoid putting weight on his injured knee.

“I have something for you.” Whatever it was glowed a muted yellow between his hands.

Crossing the room to reach Kallus, Zeb tried to ignore the tightness in his chest as the object became clearer. The meteorite was no longer warm, but it cast a soft light still, enough to illuminate the space between Zeb and Kallus.

“You kept it.”

“Of course.” Kallus said it like it was the simplest thing in the galaxy.

Zeb scratched the back of his neck, looking down. “Heh. Right.” A moment passed before he realized he was clutching the meteorite to his chest. He wasn’t even sure when he’d taken it. He uncurled his fingers and chuckled nervously as he held it back out to Kallus.

Kallus shook his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “No, no.” He covered Zeb’s hand--surely just to push the rock back to him, Zeb thought. “I’m trusting you to bring it back in one piece.” With a smirk, he added, “If you can manage.”

Zeb clicked his tongue. “I’m not sure you appreciate how hard it is to completely divert from every plan we’ve ever come up with each time we get a mission. Top military analysts can’t even predict our outcomes.” His shoulders bounced as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Kallus shook his head, mouth half-open, tongue sticking between his teeth. “Truly, I don’t know how you do it.”

Zeb felt Kallus’ breath on his neck. Even though he had actually held Kallus in his arms on Bahryn, Zeb felt this was the closest they had ever been.

“Kallus--”

Kallus made a noise in the back of his throat. “Alex, please, or--”

“Alexsandr. I know.” All at once Zeb felt a giddy lightness in his chest as well as a weight low in his stomach, a contradiction so absurd he wanted to laugh. Instead, he used his free hand to reach for Kallus--Alex’s--face. Zeb took Alex’s chin between his thumb and forefinger.

“Are you going to kiss me, Garazeb Orrelios?” Alex’s lips were parted; he inhaled deeply through his mouth.

“I’m thinkin’ about it,” Zeb said quietly.

Alex rolled his eyes and started to reply, but he never got a chance; Zeb kissed him, gently, but without trepidation. The sound Alex made was soft, tucked somewhere between a laugh and a sigh of relief, and he turned his head to the side, kissing Zeb with equal confidence. It wasn’t a particularly long kiss, and when Zeb pulled away, he kept his eyes closed just to make the moment last longer. He dropped his hands to his side. Alex placed the meteorite gently on a shelf. He touched Zeb’s face.

Zeb opened his eyes as he turned his face into Alex’s palm. A jolt ricocheted through his chest as Alex’s gaze met, and held, his. Alex moved his thumb across Zeb’s lips. “I think,” he murmured, “if you had kissed me on Bahryn, that I would have gone on the Ghost with you.”

“And to think I spent all that time saving your life instead.”

“I seem to recall that I was the one who saved your life.”

“Shut up,” Zeb growled fondly before kissing Alex again. This time, he did his best to leave Alex breathless, wrapping him in a tight embrace and kissing him like he intended to consume him. He bit his lips and soothed the spots with his tongue, tasting salt and fresh Meiloorun.

Alex fumbled blindly for the door controls--almost destroying the locking mechanism as he punched it closed--before returning Zeb’s passion in kind, his leg slotting between Zeb’s thighs and his fingers scrabbling to undo the zipper on Zeb’s combat suit. His body thrummed with desire; Zeb could feel it, they were pressed so close. Ears pressed flat and brow furrowed, Zeb kissed Alex harder, tacitly asking for him to be even closer.

Zeb’s shoulders hit the side of the top bunk before he even realized they had moved. He grunted, and Alex pulled away.

Nervous energy burned in Zeb’s chest. In some ways he was still waiting for Alex to walk away, and to take with him a part of Zeb that Zeb never expected to recover.

“I’m not going anywhere, Zeb,” Alex said softly. “So stop looking at me like that.”

Zeb huffed a laugh. “How d’you want me to look at you, then?” He smoothed his hands over Alex’s chest and bit his lip.

“Like you want me.”

“That,” Zeb promised, eyes half-lidded and voice low while he trailed his fingers along Kallus’ stomach, “I can do.”

Zeb dragged Alex into his bed. Alex had unzipped Zeb’s suit, but hadn’t gotten much further with it--which Zeb accepted full responsibility for. Zeb snorted when they both went for the neck of the suit. With his back against the mattress and Alex straddling him, Zeb was more exposed than he had ever been. His hand covering Alex’s, Zeb pulled his suit down to his hips. He bared his neck to Alex. Alex kissed his throat gently, trailing his tongue along his pulsepoint before nipping at Zeb’s jaw. Zeb shivered.

Alex flattened his hands against Zeb’s shoulders and then drew them down his chest, pausing sometimes to trace scars or muscles that caught his attention. When his hands reached Zeb’s hips, he kept his exploration above the suit, and pressed down leisurely on Zeb’s erection. Zeb grunted.

Tucking his knees to his chest, Zeb took matters into his own hands and pushed the suit the rest of the way off, even kicking it into Alex’s face for good measure. Alex pursed his lips. Zeb shrugged. “You were taking too long.”

Zeb was getting harder with each passing second. And Alex was still fully clothed.

Zeb reached for Alex’s jacket, but Alex leaned back and took it off himself, slowly, grinding his hips down against Zeb while he did so. Zeb made a half-strangled noise as his cock rubbed against the material on the inside of Alex’s thigh. He hooked his fingers under Alex’s waistband. “If you don’t take those off soon, I’m going to rip them off of you.”

“Though I would not mind that,” Alex conceded, “I unfortunately need them intact.” He shoved Zeb’s hands deeper, until Zeb was palming his cock. Alex hummed appreciatively and leaned into the touch. Zeb inhaled sharply.

Alex used Zeb’s shoulders as an anchor as Zeb pulled the last layers separating them off of Alex’s body, taking his time to slide his hands along his waist, his hips, the curve of his ass. The sounds Alex made when Zeb touched him were mesmerizing, and left Zeb lightheaded as he considered ways to elicit more of them. Their cocks slid together between them, Zeb fully hard and Alex well on his way, and they rutted haphazardly against each other, desperate for the feeling, leaning into the mounting heat and pressure.

Zeb lifted himself onto his elbow so he could kiss Alex again. It was messy--spit-slick, teeth and tongues clashing, panted breaths passing between mouths--and matched their clumsy thrusting. The urgency with which they wanted one another was more intoxicating than spicebrew.

Abruptly, Zeb found himself pressed flat to the mattress again. Alex climbed further up his body; and, all at once, Zeb understood his intentions. His pulse jumped like a rapid-fire turret.

“I want--”

Zeb’s mouth went dry. “I know.”

Alex dug into his jacket pocket before finally throwing it fully off the bunk. Zeb couldn’t see what he was holding, but then something slick and warm was dripping over his cock, and Alex took him in hand, and Zeb wanted to fall into that heat and never reemerge. His toes curled as Alex’s hand sped;  Zeb reached for Alex’s legs, pulling him into position and swallowing around a groan. His hands holding Alex’s straining thighs, Zeb gripped hard and spread Alex’s legs wide. He watched in awe, blood hot as the deserts of Tatooine, as his cock pressed into Alex. Alex hissed.

“Not all at once,” he breathed. He steadied himself with a hand on Zeb’s stomach, and Zeb kept his hands beneath Alex’s thighs, holding him in place.

“Can’t handle me, Captain?” Zeb purred, just to get a rise out of Alex. Alex scoffed, but the sound became a moan as Zeb rolled his hips, working Alex open some more.

When he could speak again, Alex groaned, “You are insufferable.” As payback for Zeb’s comment, Alex bore down on what length of Zeb’s cock he’d been able to take so far. Zeb inhaled like he’d been punched in the gut. He wasn’t even half in and was already overwhelmed. Alex was tight and knew how to move; Zeb was already ruined.

“I’m not in a hurry,” Zeb murmured, giving Alex’s thighs a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He blushed before continuing, “I just want to enjoy you.” Zeb felt like a fool as soon as he’d said it, and looked pointedly at the wall.

Alex tapped Zeb’s abdomen to bring his gaze back to him. “I have been… thinking of this for some time,” he confessed, causing Zeb’s eyebrows to raise in surprise. “And I certainly anticipated this being a… a notably large undertaking.” He emphasized his point by squeezing his thighs around Zeb, and Zeb would have laughed if he wasn’t so focused on not coming. As it was, he dug his fingernails into Alex’s skin, every muscle in his body alternating between tensing and shaking. “My point is --I would like to enjoy you, as well.”

Alex stretched and yielded noisily, offering steady noises of encouragement or warning. More than once, Zeb found himself biting back a whimper; the gradual shift of his cock into Alex’s tight, wet body had him edging dangerously close to climax. Both of them were breathing heavily by the time Zeb’s cock was entirely buried inside of Alex. Zeb had to cover his face in his hands, too overwhelmed to think of any other course of action, as Alex slowly began riding him, testing a pace, and finding a rhythm.

Zeb was almost immobile, content just watching the blush high on Alex’s cheeks, and the strands of hair falling into his face, and the sweat slicking his neck and chest.

“The goal is to move ,” Alex reminded Zeb--but the force of the comment was lost as Zeb growled, the sound emerging from low in his chest, and used both of his hands to grip Alex’s ass and hold him steady. Zeb raised himself to as much of a sitting position as the bunk allowed, pulling Alex with him.

Alex wrapped his arms around Zeb’s neck, and Zeb leaned in to bite at his ear and jaw. “Fuck me like you mean it,” he begged. Alex heaved a breathless sigh and reached for Zeb’s shoulders. Zeb thrust up into him fervidly, squeezing in time with each movement. Alex writhed on top of Zeb, jaw going slack. He let loose a litany of curses, some in languages Zeb couldn’t even identify, before releasing a shaky, “ Oh .”

Then, smiling wickedly, Alex tensed around Zeb, rolled his hips, and doubled his efforts, sliding nearly all the way off of Zeb before taking him completely back in. Zeb gripped the edge of the bunk above him and tried not to scream. But he let out a cry as he came, and grew only louder still as Alex continued to ride him through the orgasm.

Alex’s hands left Zeb’s shoulders to scratch at his back, digging in for purchase wherever he could. He pressed his temple to Zeb’s; gasping open-mouthed, Alex tried to kiss Zeb but could barely maintain it. When Alex began moaning quickly, repeatedly, in-between thrusts, Zeb knew he was nearing his end, too.

Zeb barely had to wrap his hand around Alex’s cock before Alex was coming, burying his head against Zeb’s chest as waves of pleasure enveloped him. Zeb felt each one in his own body.

“Come here,” Zeb urged. He turned them so he could press Alex into the mattress--pulling out of him as he did so--and kissed him hard. Alex returned it eagerly.

When they broke apart, Zeb chuckled.

“What?” Alex pushed Zeb’s shoulder good-naturedly.

"I was just thinking, if you had told me you could do that back on Bahryn, I would have joined the Empire on the spot."

Alex let out a quick bark of laughter that slowly became a fit, which Zeb swiftly joined. They continued laughing as they curled into one another, Alex's head tucked neatly against Zeb's chest and under his chin.

They stayed like that in silence for a while, simply breathing each other in. Eventually, Alex retrieved a towel for the both of them, and then a blanket.

Zeb opened his arms as Alex climbed back into the bunk. He closed them around Alex’s body and pressed his own chest to Alex’s back, humming contentedly.  “You’ll stay?”

Alex snuggled closer to Zeb. “Of course. The whole night, if you’ll have me.”

“I think I just did.”

Alex snorted and pressed his lips together in a bemused smirk. “Be quiet, and let me sleep.”

Zeb conceded happily. His body ached pleasantly, heavy and loose and warm. Alex’s steady breathing was white noise to Zeb, drowning out the Ghost’s groaning and the Rebel ships docking and departing. One persistent beep, however, kept cutting through the peace, and Zeb’s ears flicked toward it even though his focus was elsewhere.

“You know, you do actually have to get some sleep, since you have a mission tomorrow.” Alex’s voice was muffled by Zeb’s fur.

“It’s just the ship.”

“Mm.” Alex turned in Zeb’s arms until his face was pressed against Zeb’s collar. Zeb grinned, almost giddy with delight to hold him so close.

The beep grew louder, more persistent. Zeb growled.

Alex yawned and pressed a single, soothing kiss to Zeb’s neck. “Just ignore it. It’s louder sleeping on base.”

“I’m trying, it’s just--well, it sounds an awful lot like--” Zeb scrambled out of his bunk so suddenly he nearly sent Alex crashing to the floor.

Alex recovered with all the dignity Zeb expected of him; sliding his shoulders up the side of the bunk, he crossed his arms, rolled his neck, and exhaled tiredly through his nose. His eyes were still closed as he scraped his hands down his face. “What. Could possibly --”

Zeb sent him a pointed glare. “It’s Chopper.”

Zeb’s clothes were much easier to gather than Alex’s, and he was dressed and jamming the door before Alex was even half-covered. It was a pity to lose that part of the view, though. Zeb was about to say as much when he heard from the hall, “--can’t really blame her, Chopp, since your diagnostics last time were--ow!”

“Oh, good, Ezra as well,” came Alex’s voice from behind Zeb.

Another voice, long-suffering but fond, sounded from outside Zeb’s dor. “Behave, you two!”

Zeb sighed. “And Hera.”

“ Karabast. ”

Eyes wide, Zeb turned, his stomach lurching. Alex was muttering to himself as he pulled his jacket on, completely oblivious to Zeb’s attention and, Zeb realized, what he had said. When he finished zipping up his jacket, Alex threw his hands in the air and looked around.

“What next?”

Chopper slammed into the door. He let out a series of frustrated beeps and whirrs when the door remained closed.

Ezra knocked impatiently. “Zeb? Are you in there? Open the door, sleemo; I need something for training.”

“I’m trying to sleep!”

“Why,” Ezra slammed the exterior control pad, “did you,” and again, “jam the door?”

“So little womprats like you would leave me alone!”

“Chopper’s going to open the door anyway so you might as well get up and help us.”

“Chopper, I will rip the dome off your rusty body and use it for target practice!”

Alex came to Zeb’s side. He slid his hand across Zeb’s shoulder, leaning into his space, and whispered, “They are your family, Zeb.”

“And?” Zeb puffed out his cheeks.

“ And .” Alex kissed the corner of Zeb’s mouth. “That means the less secrets, the better. If that is what you want."

Zeb threaded his fingers in Alex’s hair, marveling at the way the light danced in his eyes. Their mouths met in a lingering kiss, one Zeb felt even after it was over and he was opening the door to his quarters.

Zeb expected Ezra and Chopper at his door, Hera in the cockpit. But when he and Alex faced the hall, all three of them were there--along with Sabine and Kanan. If not for Alex’s hand on his back, Zeb would have turned right back around.

The silence stretched until Kanan requested someone tell him what was going on. Sabine smiled wryly as Hera explained, “Well, Zeb and Captain Kallus stopped dancing around each other.”

“Nobody was dancing.” Zeb sneered, all too aware of the blush high on his cheeks.

Kanan smiled. “Good news. Captain Kallus, expect everyone to give you some variation of a ‘don’t break his heart’ speech when we get back. Everyone, let’s just focus on getting the Ghost ready for now.”

“You would think for a crew so clearly prepared, less missions would go awry.” Alex crossed his arms, a smirk playing on his lips.

“You’d think for a crew with regular habits, they wouldn’t break them the one time it’s inconvenient,” Zeb corrected.

Laughing, Hera pointed in the general direction of the cargo hold. “The plan changed. We were asked to offload these supplies tonight--another crew got back early. They’re taking them for us so we don’t have to make that extra stop on the way out. I thought that was the best thing to happen tonight, but I’m really, really living for the look on your face right now.”

Zeb frowned. “Thanks, Hera.” He looked at Alex, who was having an odd staring match with Ezra, and said, “We’ll be on our way.”

“You’re really going to get speeches, you know,” Zeb warned when they were out of earshot. Alex laughed brightly.

“I would not expect anything less.”

Zeb took the ladder down first and watched--stomach flipping pleasantly--as Alex descended. Their arms brushed as Zeb walked Alex back out to the base, Sabine and Ezra following with the cargo they were offloading. They stopped when they reached the edge of the ramp.

“Don’t,” Zeb grumbled, but Alex was already craning his neck to kiss Zeb’s cheek. Sabine wolf-whistled from the cargo access bay while Ezra feigned like he was vomiting.

“Hasn’t he smelled you?” Ezra called.

“Shut up!” Zeb glared.

“Among other things,” Alex added simultaneously, just for Zeb’s ears.

Not to be outdone, Zeb chuckled and added, “We’ll have to try some more of those things when I get back.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

Despite Ezra’s loud and continuous complaints that he needed Zeb’s help with the cargo, Zeb watched Alex until he was inside the base. By then, Ezra had come to wait by his side.

“You seem happy.” It was a remark devoid of sarcasm or humor; it was simply a fact, one that Ezra wanted to make clear he understood.

Zeb unfolded his arms and looked down at Ezra.

“I am.”

[reneeofthestars]

Inktober 2019

Day 14: Overgrown

Click ‘keep reading’ for a short piece with Hera, Zeb, and Leia!

As much as Hera agreed with the Princess’s decision that the area around their base on Yavin 4 had to be fully inspected, she was very opposed to the Princess actually coming on the recon mission, and said as much. 

Princess Leia wouldn’t hear of it. “I told my father I would ensure the security of the base. If the Massassi Temple is going to become our main base of operations, we need to be sure we don’t get any nasty local surprises.”

“Like those krykna spiders at Chopper Base,” Zeb had agreed with a shudder, prepping his bo-rifle. 

“Exactly.” When Hera still hadn’t been convinced, Leia had given her a smile. “I excelled at my pathfinding expeditions, Captain. I’m not afraid of some wilderness. I won’t be a hinderance.” The finality in her voice - and the young woman’s inherent higher rank - left Hera no choice but to agree. 

And so, they’d spent the better part of the last four days scouting the perimeter of the Massassi Temple. They came across a few clusters of miniature howler lizards that scurried away from them, and Zeb kept his distance from the purple jumping spiders, but they didn’t come across anything larger than a docile herd of mawgax that watched them pass with beady black eyes. 

Hera had to admit, she hadn’t expected the Princess to fair so well out in the jungle. But the human was dressed in a practical jumpsuit, and wasn’t afraid of getting dirty. She had pointed out a narrow animal path that eventually led them to a freshwater stream. Hera fastened a locator beacon on one of the rock outcroppings by the water so she could send a team back out here. After all, a Rebellion needed water to keep going.

On the fifth day of their exploring, Zeb was in front, using his bo-rifle to clear a space through some particularly dense foliage. Hera was behind him, finishing a check-in call with Senator Mon Mothma. The Senator was glad there seemed to be no immediate danger to the base, and had informed Hera that they were to report back to the temple as soon as they could, as a mission had come up for Phoenix Squadron. 

Hera was so preoccupied with wondering what the mission would entail that it took her a moment to realize the Princess was not right behind her. 

“Zeb, wait,” she ordered. The Lasat stopped as Hera spun around, ready to call out for the Princess, when she spotted her.

Leia was frozen several meters back, turned to face east, away from any direction they’d scouted. She was leaning forward, her gaze intense, a hand on the blaster at her hip as she stared into the thicket. 

“Your Highness?” Hera asked quietly, slipping her own blaster from its holster and moving to Leia’s side. 

“Something’s out there,” Leia breathed, not taking her eyes from the jungle. 

Hera carefully raised her blaster. “Did you see something?”

“No - maybe.” She sounded distracted. "I feel... cold. Come on.” 

And without another word, she stepped deeper into the jungle. 

“Uh, Hera?” Zeb sounded bewildered. 

“Your Highness, wait!”

But she didn’t stop. With a groan, Hera gestured to Zeb and took off after Leia. 

As they walked, Hera realized the jungle was different here. No wonder it had unnerved the Princess. The air hung still here, almost musty. There were fewer animal sounds; whereas the avian creatures had cooed and cawed constantly close to the base, here they were mostly silent, and there was no movement in the underbrush. And it was cooler here. The leafy canopy overhead wove together tightly, blocking out most of the sunlight, leaving the forest floor drenched in shadow. Hera, Leia, and Zeb didn’t lower their weapons.

After what seemed like forever, Leia stopped, staring up at something. As Hera crept forward, the shadows shifted, and she saw what had caught Leia’s attention.

It was a large grey stone statue of a humanoid in bulky armor, grasping a massive sword. It had clearly been carved with excruciating detail, but time and the elements had taken a toll. One of the spikes coming off its shoulder pad had broken off, as had the figure’s beard and one side of the sword’s crossguard. Any detail on the armor and tunic had long since worn away, and what had probably been a chiseled, angular face had become smooth and blunted.

Vines twisted and draped over the statue, creeping up its legs and sword, hanging off its broad shoulders and arms. Soft moss lay on the statue’s flatter surfaces like an extra layer of armor. Against the backdrop of the jungle, it looked like some sort of forest sentry.

“Who’s he?” Zeb asked out loud, stepping up to the statue. It stood a few inches taller than him. “Looks like a warrior.”

Leia circled the statue, inspecting it. “We’ve found a few other icons of this figure around the Massassi Temple. If the records are right, this is Naga Sadow. He was an ancient Sith that enslaved the Massassi people. They saw him as a god.” 

“Sith?” Zeb repeated sharply. He looked to Hera. “Like that Zabrak? Like Vader?”

“I think so,” Hera answered slowly. “But according to legend, there used to be a species called the Sith. Which one was he?” she asked Leia, nodding to the statue.

“Both, I think.” She frowned. “There are so many stories, and the records from that time aren’t very detailed. We really don’t know much about it.”

“What’s that there?” Zeb pointed behind the statue.

At first, Hera didn’t know what he was talking about. She took a few steps to the side, and an opening appeared in what she had taken for a small hill. Now, she saw an ancient structure overgrown with foliage, a dark opening in the center of it, like a gash. Moss-covered steps led downward into the earth.

Hera peered at it uncertainly. “We scanned a lot of ruins on the planet when we first scouted it. Probably just another small temple, or a warehouse.”

“Or a tomb,” Leia muttered distractedly. 

Hera glanced at her. “What makes you say that?”

Leia blinked rapidly. “I - just a thought. I’ve seen some tombs that have stairs leading down like that. Then again, I’ve seen wine cellars do that, too. We don’t know what it is.” She drew herself upright. “We should check it out.”

Zeb shuddered, his grip on his bo-rifle tightening. “All due respect, Princess, this place gives me the creeps. We should head back to base.”

“Zeb’s right,” Hera said, putting a hand on Leia’s arm. Shivers crawled down Hera’s lekku. “I have a bad feeling about this place. And we have no idea what could be inside. A predator, old poisoned air, traps. And if we disturb the structure and it caves in, no one will be able to find us. It’s too risky.”

Leia looked like she wanted to argue, but then the young woman took a breath and nodded. “You’re right, Captain Syndulla. Mon Mothma is waiting.” She paused, her gaze sweeping the effigy and structure. “I’d like to leave a locator beacon, so I can return with a team to investigate this ruin. There might be something inside we can use.” 

“Of course.” They had enough beacons to spare, so Hera activated it and placed it at the statue’s feet. “Good eye, finding this. When we have the personnel to spare, we can get a team together.”

“Leave that to me,” Leia said, already walking. “Like I said, I intend to lead the team back.”

“Your duties might prevent that from happening, Your Highness,” Hera reminded her gently.

“We’ll see,” was all she said. 

As she and Zeb followed the Princess back, Hera noticed Zeb kept looking over his shoulder, and held his bo-rifle ready. “You okay?”

“Eh, sure. It just feels like it’s watching us,” Zeb grumbled. “This place seems like something more up Kanan and Ezra’s alley. Anytime I get this kind of feeling, it’s normally a sign I should sit it out and let them handle it.”

Hera didn’t disagree, and they followed the Princess back into the livelier part of the jungle. She knew she was just imagining it after Zeb’s comment, but it certainly did feel like the statue’s eyes watched them leave.

[anathtsurugi]

So I’m pretty sure I’ve broken a rather sizeable chunk of the Kalluzeb fandom with the most recent chapter of The Colder the Winter. As such, I decided to take a little break from mind breaking and write something a little more...pleasurable, as it were. I’d hoped to have this done for May 4th, but it didn’t quite materialize in time, so here we are now. The last time I wrote something hardcore for the boys was back during Inexorable and, let’s face it, that wasn’t exactly a fun scenario, so we’ll be having a lot more fun this time around. ;D

Once again, we have @jellysharkbat‘s lovely head canons to thank for this one (several of them at once, in point of fact), as well as @tench’s beautiful and appetizing artwork. So let’s see how it all comes together. ;-)

"Y'know, someday I'd like to meet the human who defeated a member of the Honor Guard. 'Cuz I don't think he's here right now."

 Kallus snarled in annoyance at his opponent through their crossed staffs, although the noise was completely at odds with the smirk that lit his face. "Well, perhaps he's looking for a bit more of a challenge," he suggested before sliding smoothly out of the deadlock and spinning around to land a hit to the back of Zeb's legs.

 The Lasat grunted at the mild sting of the ex-Imperial's electrostaff, but the look on his face as he spun to face him was all elation – elation and invitation.

 "You like it hard? Is that what I'm hearin' from you, Agent Kallus?" he challenged, licking his lips before delivering several quick, thrusting blows with his bo-rifle. Kallus neatly avoided all but the last, the final thrust slipping between his defense and catching him in the side. Several wolf whistles sounded from the ever-growing crowd that had gathered to watch their little sparring match.

Relishing the small zap of pain from the bo-rifle, Kallus tangled his own weapon with Zeb's, keeping them pressed tightly together. With an inviting leer of his own, he leaned across the two weapons, inhaling the heady, musky scent coming off his partner's body. "So hard, Captain Orrelios. Think you're up to the task? Or shall I look elsewhere?"

 "Oh, you're not gonna find harder than right here in front of you. Promise you that," Zeb breathed against his skin.

 "We still talking about fighting here?" Kanan's teasing voice came from somewhere beyond their immediate vicinity.

 "Course, Kanan," Zeb called over Kallus' shoulder. "Don't know what you're talkin' about."

 "Oh, I'll just bet you don't," Kallus grunted back, demanding the Lasat's attention with a sudden jerk of their tangled weapons, pulling his body as flush against his own as could be managed in the lock. With the sudden contact, he felt something low in his body twitch in enthusiasm.

 "Sorry. Did you want somethin', love?" Zeb teased him, his breathing heavy with exertion and hunger.

 "I will have those eyes on no one but me right now, Garazeb," he insisted, moving his body subtly against his lover's before pulling back from him yet again. Zeb's eyes tracked every motion with aching need. He looked at him both as a warrior appreciating his opponent's artistry of movement and as a male, fiercely desiring what he saw. Sometimes their sparring was just that – fighting. An honest exchange of blows and sweat. Other times, like now, it was a dance – thinly veiled foreplay that promised the exchange of more than just sweat.

 Oh, we are going to kriff so hard in just a few minutes here; I don't care who knows it.

 While Kallus himself was distracted by the bulge and ripple of hard muscle beneath Zeb's luscious purple fur, the Lasat was clearly more distracted by him. He was so focused on the appreciation of each individual muscle, he failed to see the move they came together to create and made the mistake of just rushing him, ready to take him with brute force.

 But Kallus caught him at the last possible moment, tangling their weapons once again. Only this time, it was a hold that gave him a distinct advantage in leverage. It wouldn't take any more than the proper application of strength to have his love beneath him. Leaning across that infinitesimal space between them, he hissed a single command into the Lasat's excitedly twitching ear.

 "Na lithir'a."

 Zeb shuddered with desire at the filthy words uttered in his mother tongue. Kallus never passed up a chance to practice his Lasana, even to the extent of using it in their dirty talk.

 "Val Ashla," the former guardsman near-whimpered, little resisting when Kallus forced him down, pressing him down onto his back. Then he was on top of him, leaning down over him, nothing but the press of their weapons separating them as he pressed his lips to the Lasat's.

 Kallus couldn't say how long they remained like that, lips locked in that desperate kiss, but he'd nearly managed to forget there was anyone else present by the time he pulled back for a quick gulp of air.

 "Yield?" he breathed against Zeb's lips, subtly grinding against him.

 "Only if yielding gets you outta those clothes faster," he returned, hands releasing his bo-rifle and dropping down to trace along Kallus' hips.

 "Come on! Get a room, you two!" Ezra's voice reached them from out of the still cheering crowd.

 "Well...if we must," Kallus teased, nibbling playfully at the corner of Zeb's mouth before climbing to his feet, collapsing his electrostaff into its carrying configuration. Then he offered the Lasat a hand up.

 "Oh, we must," Zeb said as he took the offered hand, gaze still just as fixed, just as thirsty.

 Kallus had to stand on tiptoe to whisper in Zeb's ear from this vantage point, but it was worth it to feel the shiver move through him when he whispered, "Let's go for a swim," in that ear, taking the sensitive flesh in his mouth and biting down insistently before pulling away. He didn't wait for Zeb's response before turning and sauntering away from the training ground. Kriffing sauntering, he thought as he moved, feeling his face flush. He wasn't normally like this, but...well...Zeb had that effect on him.

 He heard the Lasat clumsily collapse his own weapon before following after him. Once they were out of earshot of the base, Zeb was grumbling in his ear, "Y'know, someday I might just rip your clothes off and kriff you in front a' the whole Rebel Alliance."

 "Careful," Kallus started with a shiver as they walked. "I may let you. I hope there's nothing you're not prepared for your colleagues to see."

 "Nothin' to be ashamed of here," the Lasat boasted, reaching out to trace a single claw through the ex-agent's much longer hair, drawing yet another pleased shiver from him. "I'd honestly be happy if you'd let me. The only thing that'd bother anybody here is if we were gettin' in anyone's way."

 "Then I suppose the Empire was right about the rebels being a bunch of perverts and sexual deviants," Kallus said with a self-deprecating chuckle. That was something that was still taking some getting used to on his part; not having to keep his own preferences so carefully concealed, even from himself. He was only just getting to a point where he didn't flinch at the cheers and whistles he and Zeb sometimes got, still half-expecting to receive reactions of disgust at a human getting hot and heavy with a non-human.

 "Welcome to the party," Zeb said. "It's definitely better than bein' a stuffy, uptight Imperial and you know it."

 "I do," Kallus returned, taking the Lasat's hand in his as he came to a stop in the middle of the forest. When the former guardsman turned to look down at him in confusion, Kallus drew him down into a kiss. For a moment, they were only joined at the lips and the hands, but then Zeb groaned against him and lifted his much larger hands to cup Kallus' face, as if he meant to just drink him in then and there. Kallus groaned in kind as he gripped at Zeb's arms, fingers digging into his velvet-fine fur.

 He wasn't certain how long they stood like that, just kissing, tasting, touching, feeling, but the ex-Imperial couldn't manage to snap himself out of the daze of it until he heard the abrupt sound of ripping fabric.

 "Ooh, sorry," Zeb muttered awkwardly, and when Kallus looked down it was to find his shirt torn halfway down the front. But even as he shook his head, he laughed.

 "Really, Garazeb? Again?" he teased, removing the collapsed electrostaff and handing it to Zeb so he could pull the ruined shirt up over his head.

 "I forget my own strength sometimes...and...when you know what you want..." he said, voice trailing off into nothing as his eyes traced the newly revealed muscles of Kallus' chest. But when the Lasat reached for him, Kallus moved just beyond his reach.

 "Then perhaps I ought to remove the rest of the clothing...before it gets destroyed," he said, eyeing his lover pointedly as he traced a hand along his belt.

 "Yeah...probably..." Zeb agreed in obvious distraction, gaze fixed unerringly on that hand.

 "But," he interrupted himself, to the Lasat's clear frustration, turning and starting to walk away, "we should also probably get to the lake first. Otherwise I'm quite certain I'll find myself ravished against the nearest tree."

 Zeb groaned as he began to stumble after him yet again. "You're takin' your life in your hands, y'know. Teasin' me."

 "Oh, this isn't teasing, ni alitha. Not merely, anyway. It's very calculated, and I can guarantee it will maximize pleasure for both parties."

 "Kriffin' schemer. We'll see how much a' that big brain's left to scheme when I've got you screamin' my name."

 "We shall indeed."

So...wanna see some more? ;-)

[pretchatta]

swoon june day 5: old couple

(the text version has the prompts for days 5 & 16 swapped, but I'm following the text list)

rating: general; kanan jarrus/hera syndulla; 700 words

---

Hera was far from stressed, but as the swirling streaks of hyperspace resolved back into stars and the blue-green circle of Lothal appeared in her viewport she felt a wash of calm relaxing her whole body.

She was home.

She’d only been gone a few days but it still felt good to be back. With very practised motions – she could probably do this with her eyes closed now – she re-entered the atmosphere and steered the Ghost to the edge of Capital City. There, not far from where Ezra’s old tower still stood, was a modest house with its own hangar. They didn’t need much, but space to park her ship was just as important as space to house her family.

Hera had been flying along this exact path for twenty-five years now. She probably could do it with her eyes closed. Experimentally she tried, her hands guiding the ship through the open doors to her usual landing spot. She was feeling smug right up until a crunch and a shudder told her she’d hit something.

Her eyes flew open immediately and she corrected her course. Checking the live diagnostics for damage she was relieved to see there was none, bar some superficial scratches. She tried not to feel too guilty as she set the Ghost down; according to the positional data she’d been flying perfectly. She hoped no-one had seen; she didn’t need any comments about getting too old to be flying solo. Her joints weren’t that stiff.

Her heart sped up when she next looked out of the viewport. A man had stepped out into the hangar, a tall man whose long silver hair was tied at the nape of his neck and whose face was turned towards the Ghost. Seeing that lined face, with the scar across his unseeing eyes and the silver beard to match his hair, was what truly made this feel like coming home. She felt a rush of warmth and hurried out to greet him.

“Welcome home,” Kanan called as she crossed the space between them to accept the hug offered by his outstretched arms. Forty years since they first met, and her head still fit perfectly under his chin.

“Was everything okay on your trip?” he asked as they separated. “I thought I heard something when you were coming in.”

Hera sighed. Of course he heard. "I scraped the hangar doors coming in."

"You?" It really was incredible how a blind man could have perfected such a look of insolent incredulity. She rolled her eyes knowing that even if he couldn’t see it, he would feel her exasperation.

"Well, it was inevitable since you didn't open them properly for me!"

"Oh, there we go, I knew there was a way this would somehow be my fault."

"And you were right, dear." Her smile was mirrored on his face as she took his hand.

“So how was your trip?” he asked as they walked back to the house together.

“I don’t really want to talk about galactic politics and the First Order on family dinner night. Speaking of…”

He smiled as he answered her implied question. “Dinner’s almost ready. Ezra was getting impatient just before you arrived, so I asked Jacen to distract him with a quick saber training session.”

“Did you–”

“Yes.”

“And not–”

“Of course!”

“Good.” Before she’d left, Hera had been working on repairing some of Chopper’s components in the large room that doubled as a workshop and training ground. Of course Kanan had cleared her tools away properly, but she still needed to check.

“So we’d better get to feeding these kids then,” she said as they entered the house from the hangar.

Kanan chuckled. “I don’t think we can really call them ‘kids’ any more.”

“They’ll never stop being our kids.”

“I know, but I left Zeb and Sabine in charge of the kitchen so maybe keep that to yourself until after you’ve got some food.”

Hera laughed, and Kanan kissed her weathered cheek. Even with galactic politics being what they were, she couldn’t have asked for a better way to grow old, or a better person to do it with.

[veritascara]

The Signs

Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla Teen/3.5k words A childhood lesson she hoped she’d never need comes back to haunt Hera, and she isn’t sure how she feels about it.

Set during “Family Reunion – and Farewell.”

A/N: Okay, here's part three for you wonderful, patient people. Enjoy! Thanks again to @anoray and @uhura-ismylastname for being my extra eyes!

More stories for this series are now in progress. All stories in this series can be read together or as stand-alones.

Read on AO3 | Part 3 of Ad Astra

*******

“Hera.”

“Hera!”

A sharp voice calling her name yanked Hera out of her daydream and back to the present, and she winced when she saw the frustration on the face of the face of the woman in front of her, the way her blue lekku arched stiffly behind her back. “Sorry. I got . . . distracted.”

The woman, Isval, Hera remembered belatedly, closed her eyes and took a breath. After a moment her lekku dropped back to a neutral position, and she focused on Hera again, much to her chagrin. Picturing herself on another training flight was so much more enjoyable than this . . . lesson—although really, pretty much anything would be.

“Now I need you to tell me, what are the three signs?”

The signs? Oh kriff, what were they again? Hera looked away and dug her nails into her palms. Wait. “Umm, something about my palms. And, uh, pain, somewhere?” She bit her lip and chanced a glance back up at the woman.

Isval sighed. “Darkened palms. Stomach pain. And swollen lips. All three of those together are the signs. One or two don’t really matter, just keep watching. But if you have all three—and our bodies are made to tell us quickly—you need to find a midwife or doctor or a medical droid right away, so they can take care of it.”

“Okay . . .” Hera said hesitantly. She thought she had an idea what ‘take care of it’ meant, but she wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know. There was one other part that confused her, though. “But why would my lips get swollen?” she said, reaching up to her face.

“Not those lips,” Isval said, “those lips.” She pointed towards Hera’s crotch.

Hera’s eyes went round, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She could only imagine how dark green they must be.

Isval’s face softened. “Listen, kid. I’m sorry I have to be the one to talk to you about all this. I know it shouldn’t be me. But Ashla knows your father never will.”

Hera pressed her lips into a thin line and shot the woman an angry glare at the mention of her father. He’d come—to visit her before she went to flight school, he’d said—and she’d barely seen him. And she hadn’t seen him for four whole months before that.

But Isval ignored her and continued on. “There are things you have to know. Cham’s kept you safe so far, but you are almost thirteen summers, a Twi’lek, and a girl. The galaxy is a dangerous place for us, and you have to know how to protect yourself.”

“I can fight just fine.”

“Sometimes fighting isn’t enough.”

Hera felt another angry retort at the top of her tongue, but it died away when she read the weary expression on the woman’s face, the limp droop of her lekku. Somewhere, beneath the battle scars and fierce, sharpened teeth she saw a glimpse of a young girl who had suffered. A girl who maybe was trying to keep her from hurting the same way.

She held her tongue.

“Please, tell me again what the signs are,” Isval requested.

“Darkened palms.” Hera thought hard, feeling the need to recall them more acutely. “Stomach pain.” She automatically wrapped her arms around her middle. “Swollen . . . lips.”

“Good. Now once more.”

“Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips,” Hera said, this time more freely. For the first time in their long, awkward conversation, she realized Isval felt more like a friend.

Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips. She repeated the signs to herself once more, committing them to memory.

Not that she would ever need them.

*******

Hera walked quietly through the living quarters of the Ghost. Its rooms reverberated with an unnatural stillness, an emptiness she hadn’t felt in years, as if the ship herself was mourning Kanan’s loss. Or maybe the emptiness was just inside of her.

She was probably cracking up, falling apart. Now really wasn’t the time for that.

With a quick glance at the desolate common rooms behind her, Hera entered the medbay and shut the door.

It wasn’t much of a room—never had been. Really, it was just a small storage closet she’d converted years ago, recognizing the need to have more emergency equipment on hand, as the nature of their missions became increasingly more dangerous. They had been lucky they hadn’t used it more often over the past few years, although maybe that wasn’t luck at all. She’d lived with Jedi too long to believe in luck.

A deep cramp starting low in her belly worked its way across her midsection, wrapping around to her back.

No, luck didn’t exist at all.

Hera sighed and closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing and calm her emotions. She had to stop the tears before they threatened to fall again. Now really wasn’t the time for that either. She only had a few minutes, and she needed to do what she’d come for quickly.

Hera lifted the small, archaic triage droid off its shelf and set it down on the bench that counted for a bunk—she could barely have laid down flat on it, if she had needed to. It was a lost cause for anyone taller; they’d learned that the hard way once with Zeb.

Then she began digging around in the lower drawers for the test cartridge she needed. It took her a minute to remember its location, in the back of a drawer of miscellaneous things they never actually used—things like this.

She’d certainly hoped she’d never use it, but it was always better to be prepared. Pure paranoia had kept her from getting rid of it. And here she was, using it after all.

Hera sat down on the bench next to the machine. She shifted a couple times, trying to find a comfortable position that put less pressure on her puffy, aching labia. It was a lost cause, as she already knew. Her hands tremble as she inserted the cartridge and powered on the machine, waiting for the ancient thing to cycle through its self checks and praying that it functioned at all. The seconds ticked by painfully. If she took too long someone would come looking for her and their mission couldn’t wait and–

“Hello. Multispecies chorionic gonadotropin test inserted. Please apply blood sample.”

Hera sighed with relief at sound of the metallic ‘voice’ coming from the droid’s speaker, and removed her gloves one at a time. Like a magnet, her eyes were again drawn to her palms, as they had been every day for the past three days. Holding her hands up, she stared at the dark green skin there, rich and fertile like the equatorial forests of Ryloth.

She shook her head to clear it and looked away. Quickly, she grabbed the autolancet and pricked her finger, then fed a drop of blood into the cartridge.

“Please wait. Testing,” the machine droned.

Hera leaned back to rest her head against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. The hum of the Ghost’s air systems buzzed around her, vibrating through the hull of the ship. She didn’t know what she wanted the result of the test to be. But she was pretty sure she knew what it was going to say anyways.

Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips.

The machine clicked and spat out the test cartridge, the tiny indicator lights on its surface still blinking as it processed its results.

“Hurry. Please,” she whispered. The tiny room felt overly hot, the walls closing in around her. She was struck by a sudden need to run, to escape to somewhere, anywhere else—a feeling she thought she’d conquered long ago as a child.

“Test completed.”

Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips.

Hera held her breath, frozen in a singularity, her fate ready to swallow her up. Another deep cramp squeezed her abdomen.

“Chorionic gonadotropin level elevated. Pregnancy likely. Further medical testing and care recommended. Goodbye.”

A report spat out of the printer’s side, then without further elaboration, the droid shut itself off and went dark. Mechanically, Hera reached out and ripped the small piece of flimsi free. Maybe, just maybe, it said something different. But it was just the same—or essentially so. A meaningless number next to the test name, which she assumed to be her blood value. The normal range below that was far lower than her number. Not good. A couple lines of text printed below that were word-for-word the same as what the machine had told her already.

Pregnant.

Hera folded up the flimsi and stuffed it into her pocket.

Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips.

She stared at the bare gray door in front of her, longing for something, anything else to focus on. Why had she never told Sabine to paint this room? She dropped her head into her hands, as if shutting out the sights around her might change the outcome, change the situation. Which was what exactly?

Exactly what she’d allowed to happen.

If she blinked her eyes open, she’d see her palms in front of them; if she shifted, she’d feel the uncomfortable pressure on her nether regions; inevitably, the persistent cramping would return to haunt her; and now the printout in her pocket . . .

Kriff, she was pregnant, and she really didn’t know how to feel about that.

In another time, another life—one where Kanan was alive, where there was no war looming over the galaxy, she supposed the discovery would have been one of joy. Even now she longed to be able to grasp at that fleeting emotion and hold onto it with every fiber of her being. But Kanan  was  gone, and the galaxy  was at war—a war she’d been fighting in some way since she was seven years old. It had obliterated almost everyone she’d ever loved. What kind of life was that to bring a child into? A terrifying one.

Babies died in war. She knew that all too well.

Yet, she did not feel terror either. She simply felt nothing. A great, yawning emptiness consumed her from the inside out, and somewhere deep within that cavern was its source: a black hole that had taken up residence within her, its size infinitesimal, its mass infinite.

And now she had to do something about it—take care of it. Fifteen years on, Hera understood well the double meaning embedded in her father’s friend’s admonishment. She knew which meaning she might have embraced without hesitation even a couple years earlier, when her drive to save the galaxy and fight for the rebellion had still seemed so simple, so straightforward. But she also knew which meaning she would choose now, which path she had already chosen—on a night in Kanan’s arms in their camp, on a whole day spent on Yavin IV without visiting the medcenter, in a hundred tiny decisions in the two weeks since.

She had chosen, would choose to have his child. Kanan’s child. Nearly the only tangible thing he had left behind in the galaxy, certainly the most precious.

Hera wrapped her arms around her belly, as if that might stop the emptiness from growing even greater. It didn’t. A sudden wave of grief washed over her at what she had lost—her best friend, her partner, her lover, and now . . . her future child’s father.

And what a father Kanan would have been. She could picture without hesitation the joy, the excitement that would light up his sightless eyes at the knowledge of what they’d created. But she could also envision the anxiety, the uncertainty that would be on display there—the fear. Fear for her safety. Their lives were dangerous, and a pregnancy added so many more unknowns. What risks might she face carrying a human’s baby? She didn’t even know herself. Fear for the baby. What dangers had she already unknowingly subjected it to? But most of all, fear of her decisions. She knew without a doubt that Kanan would fear that she would refuse to bear his child at all, while he still wanted it desperately anyways. Her heart twisted knowing her own emotional distance to be the cause of that one. Why had she kept him at arm’s length so long? It had saved neither of them from pain or grief at multiple points. It had never really improved her focus on the rebellion. It had only hurt him and hindered–

A sudden beep from Hera’s comm cut off any further painful musings and startled her back to life.

“Hera, are you still on the ship?”

“Yeah, Zeb,” she croaked, trying her best to hide the roughness in her voice—probably failing. “Is everything in place?”

“Everything’s sorted down here. We’re bringing Pryce up now. Can you get Ezra and bring him with you? He followed you in a few minutes ago.”

“I’m on my way.”

Action was always easier than contemplation. Hera hopped down from the tiny bunk, tossed the triage droid back onto its crowded shelf, and pulled her gloves back on. But even when she left the room, neither her body nor her mind let her forget the changes within it. Instinctively, her movements became slower, more cautious than usual. Her pace lagged even more at the distant sound of Ezra’s voice echoing from the gun turret above.

“–but I’m afraid—not for me, but for my friends.”  

Another cramp, lighter this time, twisted Hera’s stomach into knots, and her hand drifted there without thinking, as much in response to what she now knew lay within as the discomfort. She listened to Ezra’s words and drew closer.

“They’ve fought so hard, given so much, and helped me understand why you stood up to the Empire and made the sacrifices you did.” As he continued on, she realized he was addressing his own parents, and she blinked back tears that threatened to encroach on her vision. Now wasn’t the time for that. But something in what he said resonated deeply with her fears, and with her hopes.

Hopes. She had hopes?

“I wish you could meet them, my new family.”

Hera smiled a little. She did have hope. Ezra embodied that hope. His parents had raised him from an infant to be a boy who loved, looked out for, connected with others, no matter his circumstances. She and Kanan had been privileged to raise him into the young man he was now, but his parents’ love had always been there, guiding and supporting him. And all of them had done so through a war, had given him everything they had, and not for nothing.

Painful as it may be, to raise a child regardless of the circumstances was to create hope.

“–I want you to know everything I have done and will do began with you.”

Hera’s smile grew and softened, and a blinking light flickered deep within her belly—a single, tiny star hanging alone in the vast blackness of Wild Space to guide her way. It illuminated the overwhelming darkness, filled the emptiness that had pervaded her being.

“Ezra,” she called up, her own voice still sounding shaky in her ears, “they’re bringing her up.”

Ezra startled at the sound and looked down. For a moment fear played across his features, but he climbed down the ladder quietly and put the data pad away on his bunk, while Hera waited in the corridor.

“Let’s go.” Ezra turned towards the lower ladder to leave, but Hera placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. She didn’t need the Force to read the measure of uncertainty in his steps, to feel the conflicts hiding deep inside. He had such strong faith and strength, it was easy to forget sometimes that he was still only eighteen.

“Ezra.” He stopped at her touch and turned towards her, and Hera met his eyes. “Whatever happens today, we’re all with you.”

“Thank you,” he replied, earnest and warm. He paused for a moment and glanced towards the cockpit, some memory of the past playing out in his mind. “You always believed in me, right from the start. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Hera.”

Hera wanted to protest, but another unanticipated wave of emotion crested over her, and she fought back tears to give him a watery smile. “Kanan would be proud of you,” she said.

Ezra stared at her, his gaze suddenly reminding her so much of Kanan’s—the way he’d always seen straight through her, whatever their situation. Then abruptly, Ezra threw his arms around her. The childlike gesture took Hera by surprise, but she welcomed his embrace all the same and pulled him close, basking in the warmth and physical contact she’d hardly known she’d needed. But no sooner had she relaxed into the hug when another cramp gripped her insides. Hera closed her eyes and fought the urge to stiffen against the mild pain.

“Kanan would be proud of you too,” Ezra whispered against her shoulder, squeezing her a little tighter. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she pulled back to wipe it away with her sleeve and regain control.

She took a deep breath to steady her emotions while Ezra waited, his steadying hand still on her shoulder. When had the child somehow become the parent? When had all the clear cut lines they’d once known blurred into oblivion? she wondered. Four years had passed in the blink of an eye. And this was what had become of the self-centered boy she’d once begged to warn the others of a deadly trap. This was the young padawan who had struggled so much with darkness after his cumulative losses. Now he was a shining light striving to set his homeworld free, ready to give everything he had so that others might live free of the darkness he’d grown up under. Of course Kanan would have been proud, but she was proud of him too, so very proud.

“May the Force be with us,” she said, once she trusted her voice again.

A half-smile appeared on Ezra’s face, and Hera watched his confidence bloom as he took her statement to heart. “It will be,” he said with assurance. “Come on. Can’t keep our guest waiting.” He cocked his head toward the ladder to the hold and climbed down before her, glancing up to watch her progress as she followed him down. Hera smiled a little at his sweet gesture and his gentleness with her after her emotional outburst. The poor kid had been taking care of her far too much lately. She’d have to make it up to him when this mission was over.

Hera followed Ezra down the Ghost’s ramp, and she stepped back to lean against it in the shadows, her mind wandering while he did his work. If she never saw Pryce again, it would be too soon, but she still derived no joy from the other woman’s fear. Her stomach churned again, whether from the cramps or from the memory of the awful day she’d spent as Pryce’s captive, she hardly knew. And she crossed her arms across her chest to keep from touching her belly, fearful of drawing attention to her discovery in front of anyone who might wish her harm.

A horrifying thought crossed her mind then. What if Pryce had known? Even worse: what if Thrawn had known?  Could they have known so soon? She didn’t know. But even in her pain-induced haze, Pryce’s twisted glee and Thrawn’s veiled threats against her future had etched themselves into her mind. Hera’s heart pounded, and she felt bile rising in her throat. She shot a look at the other woman, now groveling on the ground in front of a wolf, so easily cowed by a few minutes of pressure, and wished for a single moment that they didn’t need her—that they could simply end her.

But revenge wasn’t their way. It never was.

Hera shook her head and banished the dark thoughts from her mind. Whether they had somehow known or not, she was free now and safe. Well, as safe as she could be in the midst of a dangerous mission for an active rebellion in a galaxy preparing to go to war.

What was she going to do? The overwhelming impossibility of it all again threatened to overwhelm her. Making one choice necessarily led to another and another and another, all the choices piling up until they built an unscalable mountain to be conquered. No, not conquered, survived. But how could they do it?

The cramp eased, and Hera released a breath and closed her eyes. A remembered warmth settled itself on her right shoulder, and she lifted her hand to the spot where Kanan had so often laid his hand when coming into the cockpit to greet her, offering his reassurance even when she would have denied needing it.

I wish you were here, she thought. You’d know what to do.

No reply came into her mind, not that she expected one. This was her battle to fight. It was one of those days where she just had one small hope dangling in front of her, and she’d take it or die trying.

Darkened palms. Stomach pain. Swollen lips.

One choice made. Thousands more to go. She’d do her damned best to stay safe today, and deal with the others later.

For herself and the baby. And for Kanan.

[alizrak]

Finished watching Season 4 with my niece! (or how I had an existential crisis and came out the other side... kinda)

I finished watching Rebels Season 4 with my niece. Just like with season 1, 2 and 3, I made a compilation of her comments. I refreshed her mind a little about where we last we saw of the crew, at the battle in Atollon, and how Sabine's family helped the Rebels escape. "Oh, yeah! They escaped and then you told me Kallus became popular because of his hair, right?" YES. Yes, my child, you are right.

As it has been quite obvious, she's a big Kanera fan since the pilot itself. She was hooked from the start with the Space Family concept. Also, she's likes Sabezra but has told me is ok if they don't. Ahsoka is still her big fave in all Star Wars.

We finished the first half on December so I actually didn't know what to expect of the later half. My comments to her are inside parenthesis. Obviously, you will find SPOILERS AHEAD.

Hero's of Mandalore Part 1:

"Sabine looks like that part in Wonder Woman when she climbs out and is all like 'YEAH!'"

"I love the Darksaber. It looks so cool. Sabine has almost become an expert using it"

"Oh, Ezra is so funny! :D"

"Who's that?", [Bo-Katan explanation], "Oh, Sabine should give the Darksaber to her... [she refuses]... aw! Just take it! Sabine doesn't want it. Why won't anyone take it!?"

"[sighs] How is Kanan supposed to know where Hera's hologram is? He can't see. She's not really there so he can't sense her either"

"Kanan is getting flirty! Hehehe!"

[They attack the convoy] "WOOOOO! AWESOME! Sabine is going to kick your butts!"

"Hahahaha 'I'm with her', hahahah Oh, Ezra, you better give a good impression if you want him as your father-in-law"

"Kanan is so cool"

"They need to jump now! How is Ezra going to-... WOAH. WOW! Look at him! He has really really improved with the Force!"

"Oooh, Sabine's dad is an Artist too. That's why she is like that"

[Sabine warns her mother to run] "Oh no. Run. Do as she says! Don't stare! OH NO... OH NO."

"Oh no... Sabine's mother... and her brother... No. This is horrible...! D':" [covers her face and starts sobbing] ((Shitshitshit))

Heroes of Mandalore Part 2:

[Still sniffing covering her face] "Poor Sabine! :'("

"Wait...! [*gasp*] THEY ARE ALIVE!? THEY MADE ME SHED TEARS ON PURPOSE!!! HOW DARE THEY!?"

"Protect the parents!"

"Everyone is really angry with Sabine. I get it but it's not her fault"

"Wait... wait. What? They won't leave their armor? Can't they just, like, put it away during certain battles? Then put it back on? Or just not use it for this war? Is not like they are going to destroy their old armors forever! Just to win this one.... They won't? Really?? That's dumb"

"Oh my god, we have been over this! It's not her fault! You know, I wouldn't be surprised if someone actually just shoots her in the head thinking they will prevent another weapon from been made"

"HOW IS KANAN WATCHING SABINE'S PLAN ON THE SCREEN? HE HAS NO EYES! ARGHH!"

[when approaching the Star Destroyer] "Just make sure to come back to your wife!" ((You know Kanan and Hera aren't married)) "Eh, they might as well be, they have been together all these years and have almost adopted Ezra, that's enough for me"

"If Kanan and Hera had children, What would they look like? Like humans? Like Twi'lek? A combination of the two? Would it be "mestizaje*" (race-mixing in Spanish)?" ((Well, I told you before there was a female Twi'lek in Clone Wars who had children with a human, and the kids looked mostly like her. I guess it could be something like that... maybe they would take after Hera)).

[Sabine and Bo-Katan get struck by The Dutchess] "NO! NO! DONT KILL HER!"

[Sabine is ordered to improve the weapon] "No Sabine! Don't do it! *GASP* SHE BETRAYED THEM?.... AH! OH! HAHAHAHAH TAKE THAT! NOW IS YOUR TURN TO SUFFER!"

"Poor Ezra, his head almost got zapped. The Force told him to get the helmet off in time, but it seems like it still hurt"

"Sabine should kill him. But... ok, it's better if she doesn't fall into the Darkside"

"FINALLY! Bo-Katan is going to keep the Darksaber! GOOD! Sabine is free!"

In the Name of the Rebellion Part 1

"Are Zeb and the others over there in the new base?"

"This is sooo coooool! Just like the movies! [GASP] I think I saw like an R2D2!!"

"Where is Hera?? Kanan needs to say hello to his wifey!"

"Yep, she's got this!"

"ooh Kallus! You look nice! And he is GOOD now! I'm so happy for him!"

"Wait... Ezra is right, What about Lothal??"

[After Mon Mothma's talk with Ezra] "This is too complicated..."

[Kanan goes to speak with Hera "I don't have to see you to know you are not right"] "I still can't believe the voice of Kanan send me a message" ((NOTE: FPJ replied to a tweet I made about my niece still not being entirely over the fact that Kanan lost his eyes, he told me to let her know he could see better now than he ever could before. She was obviously sto learn he replied. ))

"NICE! Sabine and Ezra have excellent teamwork. That's good if they end up together"

"Hera needs to go back for the kids fast"

"Saw is taking them, heh, mom doesn't like that one bit"

In the Name of the Rebellion Part 2

* "They are looking for some clues... Clues about what again?"

"Oh... they found prisoners... wait! ARE THEY GOING TO RELEASE THEM JUST LIKE THAT? How can they know if they are good? What if they are actually got arrested doing something bad!? Criminals? Assassins? They shouldn't just go around releasing everyone."

"Woah, Ezra has improved a lot! He's learned well from Kanan! [*SQUEE*]"

"What's that singing?"

"Aw... Chopper feels so good to be praised. How cute!"

"[SCREAM] THE BLACK TROOPERS! KILL THEM!! FAST!"

"YEAH! Sneak around in the shadows! WOAH! EZRA IS AMAZING!"

"What's that?..." (( A kyber crystal, like the one Ezra uses on his lightsaber, but gigantic)) "Oh, this is not good. This could be a terrible weapon" (( Like... the deathstar?)) "Ah! You are right!! OOPS!"

"I just can't believe how great has Ezra become. Look at him using the Force like that"

"SAW! HE BETRAYED THEM!" [RAGE]

"Wait, he's... he is leaving them!! HE ACTUALLY LEFT THEM TRAPPED!"

"Yes Chopper! Call for mom to pick you all up!"

"Ezra should have killed the Death Trooper, it could be trouble later on"

"Oh come on, come on, you can make it!... *phew*... they might be stranded but alive... oh, here comes Hera! YAY! They are safe and sound"

The Occupation

"I feel sorry for Ezra, he only wants to help"

"He's there to stay. YES! I like how secure and confident he's now. He's more mature. I'm proud of him."

"Everything is so bad now..."

"uuuuh, they are going to a dark alley, hehehe, HEY YOU WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE!? HAHAHAHA"

[I wish I could see you] "Oh yeah, what does it matter if he can see everything so well with the Force and stuff... EXCEPT HIS BEAUTIFUL LOVING WIFE. Ugh, I don't know if they-... OH GOD THEY ARE GOING TO KISS YES YESSSS-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEB! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" [writhes] "FRUIT!!!", ((Fruit?)), "You know, like Fruit"... (( -_- that language...)) Note: Mission accomplished, Filoni. You even made my niece 'fake swear' in frustration. xD****

"Going to a bar is not a good idea..."

"Oh, look he's helping them! Is that... wait... I KNOW HIM, what was his name?" (( Jai Kell)) "YES!" ((From the Academy)) "YEAH! AMAZING! Oh they are all grown up"

"Hahahahaha, did Ezra grow up in the sewers?? Hahahaha, oh Zeb that's a good one... but I can't forgive you that you interrupted them!"

"WOAH Kanan gets more impressive as time goes, same as Ezra. I love it!"

"Ezra and Kanan can defend them... mostly. Just stay together or... NO, GO ABOVE, GO GO GO GO"

FLIGHT OF THE DEFENDER

"I love those cats, so cute!"

"Gotta make a distraction with kitties! Wait-... they are not going to shoot at them, right?"

"THRAWN. NO. NO. GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

"A bigger distraction with a wolf! That's a good idea! Wait-... is there something wrong with that wolf?

"What was that wolf? He's gone now. Was it an illusion? An hallucination? Is Ezra going crazy? Like that time with Maul in the desert? Is Ezra falling to the darkside again??"

"Hahahaha, Ezra is always so clumsy and funny"

"Shoot at Thrawn! You can end this!.... aww they missed..."

"they weren't using seat belts! Are they ok??"

"Can't Ezra use the Force to float the machine where they need to go?"

"Uh, another lothcat! Cats really love Ezra!"

"What a smart loth cat"

"He can control the wolf so he doesn't bite-.... What the- What? What did he do to Sabine? Oh god he killed her with his bad breath???"

"He's a friend? I don't-...I don't get it. Ok, he can help I guess"

"Dume? Is that a person?" (Don't you remember? Caleb Dume? That's was Kanan's original name) "Wait... so why would it go for Ezra if he wants Kanan? Why is he hiding himself from Kanan? From Sabine and the others? Is he planning something bad? Does he want the others to think Ezra is crazy? Is he an illusion? A Ghost? I don't understand"

KINDRED

"They came to Lothal to find Ezra. That's their destiny. They should already start a family and adopt him too so he can be a big brother. They need a normal life"

"An assassin... he looks dangerous"

"Don't shoot me! Shoot him! Hahahaha, yeah, they should blast him"

"He's too good! Ezra use the Force to squish him with those rocks!!"

"Yeah, Hera should take a break. She's been fighting non-stop and... oh-. Uh! UH! THEY ARE KISSING-! NOOOOOO!! WHY DO THEY KEEP DOING THIS TO US!??"

"YES! YEEESS YEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!! MOM AND DAD FINALLY KISSED"

"The wolves are back... oh no, they are going to think Ezra is losing his mind in the worst possible time...wait, they can see them? Why...? Are they real? But... like... what? Ok, ok! Just follow them!"

"They are good right? They are not going to attack them"

"There is no way out... They ARE going to eat them"

"They want Kanan. Yeah, he knows they are looking at him. But why him?? Can't the wolf talk more and explain?"

"This makes no sense. WHAT IS HAPPENING? How can they do that? Is that magic? The Force? Explain it to me, please!" ((They just can)) "I don't care about spoilers, just explain" ((I'm sorry, but we just don't know)) "But you know all this stuff! You already watch it!" ((Yeah, but how the wolves do what they do is still kind of a mystery... they just do it with the Force))

"This is all too confusing. Cool but confusing"

"They ended up all the way on the other side of the planet!?? Whaaaaaaaaa!?"

"Those paintings! Yes! Those are Jedi! What does the rest mean? Is it about Kanan too? Please tell me!" ((I can only assume it is. I can tell you they won't say anything else about them...)) "What?? Why not??"

"I don't understand!"

CRAWLER COMMANDEERS

"They are burning everything... they are contaminating. How horrible"

"Mon Mothma and the others are going to say no. How dare they. Hera has done all that stuff for them. How ungrateful"

"Is that what I sound like?, hahahahaha"

"This is creepy. Like a horror movie. Are there zombies in Star Wars?"

"Oh! It's that guy! Yeaaah, they totaaaally came to rescue you, suuuure"

"Kanan will show him! He can't beat a Jedi!... NOOO! DONT HURT HIM! NOT KANAN!!"

"Fight Zeb! You are the muscle!"

"Ventilation shaft. This is a job for Ezra~!"

"Hahaha, he thinks he's so grown up and he doesn't have to do it anymore"

"That... that was dark. Disturbing. Oh no. Ezra... is coming back to the darkside! If Kanan realizes he's going to be on big trouble!" ((Eh... no...)) "but he let him die in that horrible way" ((He was a slaver, remember)) "Yeah, but it would have been better if he just cut off his head... quicker, less pain"

REBEL ASSAULT

"Well, Thrawn warned him. It's his fault"

"Wait... they actually shot them down. Is she ok? She can't die, right?"

"Kanan! YOU NEED TO GO SAVE YOUR WIFE... WHY IS EVERYONE LEAVING?"

"She's wounded! She needs to get out of there"

"This is bad. This is all wrong."

[Kanan stops and turns around] "YES! It was about time you stopped and went for her! Ezra you need to go with him! DONT LET HIM GO ALONE!"

"No. Oh no. No. No. Poor Chopper. He had to leave her behind..."

"What's wrong with these wolves!! THEY DONT MAKE ANY SENSE! UGH!"

"He is not going to abandon her right?"

Ok, so that was the first half. I wrote it as soon as we finished that half of the season. During the weeks leading up to the second half I think I had made clear here on reddit about what I thought what would happen in the show. My main prediction was that Ezra and Kanan would somehow end up stranded in the UR (with or without Thrawn) and would be regarded as MIA/KIA by the Rebellion which would explain their absence in the OT. Even though the family was going to get separated, I thought it would be ok because Ezra and Kanan would have each other. The Ghost crew wouldn't be able to go look for them until the end of the war, some time after Endor, until they were free to seek them out. I even assumed Hera would have Kanan's child and they would happily reunite at the end. ...You can tell I got it right in the most painful way imaginable, at least for me.

After finishing the show by myself, I wasn't sure I would be even be able to show her Jedi Night... the very first episode coming back. Like... what the hell. It destroyed me. How was she going to handle Kanan's death? She didn't know or care about the Hero's Journey. In fact, back in Season 3 she had made it clear she didn't care what Yoda said about Luke being the last Jedi because she just wanted Kanan and Ezra to be ok and alive because they had suffered enough. Hell, the whole reason I decided I would show her Rebels was because it was so wholesome and she was going through a rough patch because the man she pretty much regarded as her father, abandoned her and her mom. She immediately latched onto the whole space adoptive family aspect in Rebels, specially to the father figure in Kanan.

When the finale was over I went over the first half of the s4 comments again and realized the focus she had on Kanan and his relationship with Ezra and Hera... and I just felt like I was spiraling down into a pit of regret. I kept telling myself "what have you done".

I waited a week or two after the finale to let myself grieve and try to be emotionally ready for her, but then... every time I tried to start showing her Jedi Night, something horrible happened: the father of a friend of hers died after a hospital complication and she was the only one who was able to go to the funeral to comfort her friend, and then the following week the Grandfather of her cousin also died from a heart-attack. Jedi Night was completely out of the question for a month. Then she went on vacation, then her mother was very sick so she had to stay at home for weeks, etc. I kept emotionally bracing myself for the day we had picked and having to cancel in the last minute for the worst painful reasons. I grew depressed. I almost gave up. But she kept reminding me we hadn't watch it and I just tried to smile and assure her we would.

So, we finally did. I recorded the audio so I could do the most exact translation/transcription I could.

JEDI NIGHT

[Kanan gives Ezra the lead] "Uhm... I'm not sure this is right. You are the adult, he's the kid" (Is because he would be in emotionally compromised) "Uh... yeah, he could lose control. Like Anakin did"

[Pryce tortures Hera] "THAT WITCH"

"THE KALIKORI!... so much for it... you will need to learn to let it go, Hera. Let go."

[Pryce continues to torture Hera] "THIS IS REALLY DISTURBING!"

"What is Kanan doing?" (Preparing) "Preparing for what?" (Because what he is going to do is pretty important) "Oh, yeah, he cuts his hair... we saw it on the trailer. Why is it important that he *cuts his hair*??" (It's a... symbol of change) "...aaand what kind of change? Is he not going to love Hera anymore?" (Wha-, No)

"PFFFT, [sarcastic] *I toootaaally like your change! Definitely cool! YEP!* xP", (Hey, he looks younger. He's actually younger than me), "How old is he?", (He should be... 32) "WHAT!!?"

"TIME TO FLY! There they go!"

"...but that change of hairstyle is not going to mean he is going to lose his cool to save Hera, right?"

[Thrawn and Tarkin talk] (Stardust is the Death Star project, from Krennic the bad guy in Rogue One, you remember?) "Oh! That's right!"

"... Kanan can still fall like what happened with Anakin with Padme..." (No, Anakin was very different to Kanan... Kanan knows how to let go) "Yeah... maybe"

"Wait... I know. He doesn't want Hera to like him anymore, that's why he did it, because Jedi can't marry" (keep watching)

"I still wonder how did he cut his hair with just the knife"

[Ezra, Sabine, May the Force be with you] "[big smile] He's so nice and cool. He trusts they will get the job done. He's like a proud dad"

"[GASP] THE KALIKORI IS THERE!"

"WHAT IS SHE DOING TO HERA!?" [drugging her to make her to tell truth] "HORRIBLE! GO TO HELL"

"HERA! NO! SHUT UP! She's going to see him! oh... ok.... Hehehehe"

"She's going to tell him she hates his hair... YEAH!!"

[Rukh starts chasing them] "I hate that guy"

"C'mon Kanan! SHOW HIM WHAT A JEDI CAN DO! [chants] *Kanan! Kanan! Kanan! Kanan!*.... NOO!!!! THROW HIM! THROW HIM! YESSSS!"

"Are they leaving without Sabine and Ezra?" (They are moving to meet in another place) "Oh that's right, they got the other ship"

[they start climbing the fuel depot] "That's dangerous..."

[Sabine shakes off the storm troopers] "This is very disturbing. Do you know how horrible must it be to fall from that height?" Note: Niece actually fell from the third floor of an apartment building and survived because she fell on a shrub a couple of years ago.

[They kiss] "YES! BUT HE IS A JEDI SO HE CANT! I MEAN YES! BUT NO! Ok, yes yes! BUT THEY SHOULDN'T! Ok, YES!" (What makes a Jedi is protecting others first... and to love and be able to let go)

"Oops they found them"

sigh.... here we go...

[fuel depot is shot] "[GASP] Get on, KANAN! GET ON! RETREAT! RETREAT!"

"KANAN, GET ON!! DON'T BE FOOLISH!"

[She gets up and attempts to leave the room] (SIT, you need to sit.) "I DONT WANT TO WATCH THIS"

[Kanan's eyes heal] "WHAT THE-!??" (The Force returned his sight.) "WHAT??"

[Kanan pushes the the ship away, gets engulfed in flames] "...."

[Rebels logo appears, credits roll] [she stares silence] "Is he really dead?" ([I nod])

"...I'm like... I can't... I can't think." (He saw Hera. Remember? 'We will see each other again, I promise.') "YEAH SHUT-" [storms off]

[falls to the ground]

[gives a long wail full of pain and rage]

[stays in the floor bawling]

[I lie down with her and hold her]

"HE DIED!" [sobs] "HE DIED! ...KANAN!" (He had to do what he had to do. Come... let's keep watching.) "No. I don't want to. I don't want to keep watching." (You need to see what's next.) "No. I don't." (Come on.) "No. I don't want anything else..." (My BF: Give her a moment)

[weeps in the floor for a couple of minutes more and then stays there lying face down in silence]

(Come, sweetie, get up) "...Is he truly dead??" (Yeah. He died... but remember, the Force... you become part of it... and technically his story is not truly over) "It's over! He's dead!" (Remember, everyone is connected to the Force... you need to see what happens) "[she slowly comes to sit and keep watching] I'm regretting watching this" (ok... just let me-) "I mean- DID YOU SEE EZRA'S FACE? HE-... [tears up again] He didn't-... he couldn't do anything about it! He was so confused and shocked... Sabine too! They were crying! Ezra was desperate! [sobs] KANAN COULD HAVE JUST GOTTEN INTO THE SHIP AND BLOCK IT FROM THERE! Why didn't he?? Just get on the ship and that's it... push themselves away to safety*... *why?"

(Ok, let's keep watching) "...ok..."

DUME

(See... all the fuel they had for the TIE defender factory was destroyed) "Can't they, like, bring more? Like a gas station?" (I don't know)

"Zeb is so happy. He doesn't know. He's going to see them crying..."

"He's gone..." [tears up]

"TURN IT OFF YES"

["You didn't prepared me for this"] [covers her face and sobs]

"Why are they so mean!? Leave him alone! It's not his fault! He just lost his DAD! I thought the wolves were his friends! They make no sense!"

"...and we were just talking about this at school..." (what?) "...about the character deaths in shows and movies that made us cry..." (Oh) "...did you cry? Did you cry when Kanan died?" (I teared up... I was sad too)

[Thrawn chews Pryce] "KARMA! YOU GONNA GET WHATS COMING TO YOU!"

[at the cave, while Hera grieves] "... oh, Kanan left his things there..."

[Ezra: "AAAH! WHAT HAPPENED!"] "Hehehehehe, oh Ezra..." [dries her tears]

["AH! That thing looked right at me!"] "Hehehehe...uh-oh it seems he's tracking them again"

["We take something from them"] "Nonononono, that's the darkside, don't go there. Kanan wouldn't have wanted that. That's wrong!"

[Dume wakes Ezra] "...could it be that Kanan became the wolf?" [I pause and quickly grab the Kanan Disney Infinity figurine where it shows his shoulder pad] (Check this out... look at the wolf's forehead) "[GASP!] It's him!"

* ["DUME"] "...ahm... that's... not exactly Kanan"

[Rukh becomes invisible] "How can't they see him?? He's still pretty obvious"

["He was wise, brave and he cared"] "Kanan loved him"

"What's that? Are they going to fight with... Rock-Paper-Scissors?? What???"

"Heh! He's all painted! Get him! Yeah! In the face!... ok, that's enough, enough, ENOUGH! Just don't let him go! Capture him!"

["Knowledge, Destruction"] "Yeah that's right... Ahsoka and that temple... that was bad"

"Why are the wolves so angry with Ezra? Can't they give him a break? Was that really Kanan? He didn't act like him at all! He wouldn't have done that to Ezra. He would have been kinder" (Well, is just a small part of Kanan. He needed to send that message... so a lil bit of Kanan was reaching through the force with his will...) "...UH?... what?...I don't understand"

(She made Kanan part of her family) "Like her husband?" (yep, you could say that. He's the triangle in the Kalikori) "How nice. That's good. They were like that already. I'm sure they even had to go undercover like that. Say they were married for some mission..."

"Chopper is her emotional support"

"Is like they forgot about Ezra until that last moment... how irresponsible"

[pouts] "I regret watching this episode because they didn't bring Kanan back. The people that make the shows can bring back characters. They can. That's what they do." (Sometimes...)

WOLVES AND A DOOR

* "hahaha, Chopper... what about me? CHOMP"

[dances with the sound of drums while the wolves run]

[wolves disappear] "Woah"

"That's the past. Voices of the past. All of that already happened, right?... is... is Kanan's voice ever going to show up again with new lines?" (He was the giant wolf's voice) "whaaa...? Really?"

"Now Ezra is the new leader" (Yep. That's why Kanan gave him the responsibility of the other mission too. He knew what would happen) "What?? How did he know? How do YOU know??" (All those voices in the beginning when he was meditating, remember? Those were visions of what would happen. He did that to save them) "... but the future is NOT written! He could have changed it! It is not set in stone!"

"Who's that guy?"

"You don't need our codes... hehehe... How does Ezra know it worked? That he's not lying and that he actually got affected by the trick?" (I don't know)

"The Emperor... this is bad. Really bad. I don't think Ezra is strong enough to defeat him"

[Hera feels Kanan's presence] "... oh Kanan... why..."

(That bird was always near Ahsoka) "Oh yeah... I kinda remember it. When she was walking down the tunnel I think I saw it too"

"How can they know all this? How are they getting to those conclusions? They are geniuses! I could have never guessed that..."

[Ezra lits up the mural] "Woah... that's going to attract attention"

"Get in! GET IN!"

WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS

"Is Ezra in *space*?" ((Not exactly))

[a pathway between all time and space, he controls the temple, controls the universe] "...uh... WHO? Ezra? He's not that powerful" ((Whoever opens that portal)) "Oh... so Ezra can do whatever he wants?? He should bring Kanan back" (( [pokerface] ))

"What are those voices??" ((They come from the different movies, different times, even from Rogue One... Kylo, Rey... Leia))

"Those are other portals! OOH!"

"THE BIRD! AHSOKA'S BIRD!"

"Is Ahsoka in that portal? Has Ahsoka come through these portals?"

[the portal shows Vader and Ahsoka] "AHSOKA!! WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE!?"

"oh my god, that's right... THIS IS-! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD, PLEASE DONT LET HER GET KILLED BY VADER, TELL ME THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE ILL KILL ANAKIN"

"HWAAAAAAAAAARH! [unintelligebly screams] SAVE HER!!"

[Ezra pulls hers] "WAH!!?? WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED THERE? DID HE JUST-"

[niece jumps off her seat] [SCREAMS] "HE JUST BROKE THROUGH TIME AND SPACE!"

[the minister gets Sabine beaten] "UUURGHH! I'LL KILL HIM!"

"She's fine! SHE'S AWAKE! OH MY GOD AHSOKA [hollering]"

"*'Ezra, what happened to your hair!?'* HAHAHAHAHA, oh this is going to be a shock for her"

"Ok, I'm very good about time travel... but has this been repeating over and over again in that portal until Ezra came by?" ((Is hard to tell exactly...)) "because if she was gone for all that time, it should be because of this, right?" ((Well, the only thing we actually knew about her is that... she was walking down a tunnel at the end of the Season 2, remember?)) "Yeah, that's where the Ahsoka Lives comes from"

"Coincidence?... I DONT THINK SO!"

"Kanan IS the wolf"

"Oh my god! LOOK! THAT'S HIM! Kanan is in the constellations here!"

[Ezra: "I can save Kanan just like I saved you!"] "NOOO! THIS IS NOT RIGHT! YOU CAN'T MESS WITH SPACE TIME!"

"[sobs]"

((That portal... the symbols are Sith)) "Oh, no, this is wrong..."

["I'm asking you to let go"] "Again... [sobs]"

"[sniffles] Ezra has suffered so much... why can't he be happy just once? At least he still has Hera and the others..." (( [sweating intensifies]))

"Why can't she come back with him-? What-?" ((It wasn't really Kanan in that portal... just an illusion so Ezra would reach out and bring in the Emperor, it had been a trap)) "[GLARES] I hate him"

"The Son closes the Portal... ok"

"EZRA HELP HER WITH THE FORCE DONT STAND THERE!"

"Where did she go!? Where is she?" ((Back from where she was taken from)) "That's why we saw her going down there!"

"RUN EZRA!"

"I love Zeb"

"CHOOOPPPPEEEEER! *CHOPPER! CHOPPER!*"

"He knows exactly what to do now... woah, MOTHER OF-... why are the paintings leaving??"

"What's happening? Ezra ended up all messed up. He used all his Ki." (([SNORTS]))

"Wait... was that.. WAS THAT KANAN? REPEAT IT! I NEED TO HEAR HIM! HIS SWEET VOICE!" [The Force will be with you, always] "Oh Kanan... [covers face and sobs]"

"W-why... what happened? HOW?"

"So nobody will be able to be a Jedi now... the temple is gone" ((Eh... I'm not sure. There's still Luke)) "Is not the same. The Temple was the test. The school"

"Goodbye Kanan"

FOOLS HOPE

"ohohoho, Kallus, you look good!"

"It's like a family reunion! Everyone's here! How nice!"

"Aaaww...Hondo is actually Ezra's only friend" ((Are you sure?)) "Yeah, the others are his family. Hera is his mom, Sabine his sister, Zeb and the others are uncles... But Hondo is his FRIEND. A real friend"

"Ezra is listening... just like Kanan taught him to"

"He's having visions!!"

"Oh wow, he didn't kill her??" ((You mean Thrawn and Pryce)) "YEAH" ((No, he said he would handle her when he came back)) "Good... she deserves what's coming to her"

"[GASP] AZADI, THAT TRAITOR, HOW DARE HE!"

"Uh-oh, what's happening... THEY ARE COMING! RUN! LEAVE! HIDE! NO DONT KILL THEM TOO, NO!" ((SIT DOWN))

"Hopefully they'll execute her!!"

"AND THAT UGLY GUY!"

"EZRA, SLICE THAT GUY LIKE SUSHI! GO GO GO, OH YEAH!"

[I've done this many times] "Hahahha he kept counting!"

"WOOOHOO! THAT'S MY SABINE! MY GIRL! YEAH! VICTORY!"

"... ok ALMOST VICTORY"

"Who lives? Who dies!? *YOU DECIDE!*"

"Sabine, what happened with your 'miracles'?"

"Traitor... go to hell. They were going to win!"

[It was part of our plan] "Wait... really? OH!"

"Can't Ezra make a Force field to shield himself?" ((No, he's not that strong with the Force))

"The Clones! They actually have good aim!"

[Where is your army now, Jedi?] [Ezra activates the lightsaber] "WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! DROP MIC, WALK OUT AND KILL EVERYONE"

[manical laugh] "YEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Is it Kanan and his friends? Or just his friends?" ((Oh, the wolves? Just the normal ones)) "The friends... ok"

"What are they going to do with her?"

FAMILY REUNION AND FAREWELL

"Oh... his parents... well, at least he still has his new family"

"What are they doing then with Pryce?"

"What's Zeb doing? Is that part of the plan?"

"What is the pig going to do?"

"A distraction? Are they that stupid? I can't believe they fell for that! They make them too dumb"

[This is highly irregular] "Oh finally, someone smarter..."

"Well, he was not that dumb... Azadi did well"

"A special mission? Uh..."

"GO WOLF! EAT HIM!"

[Leave Lothal and we might let your troops out] "[\snort**] What are you saying, Ezra? He's got you... of course, you'll need to surrender"

"Oh no...Just surrender! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING!!"

"He needs to go directly to Thrawn. Straight to him."

"Hera, don't-... I know you are worried but he needs to do this"

[Ezra signals Chopper] "wait... what's... what is he-..."

[Sabine notices and distracts the others] "... he knew exactly what was going to happen! HE LISTENED JUST LIKE HIS MASTER! HE LISTENED! I LOVE YOU EZRA! I LOVE YOU! YOU LISTENED FOR ONCE!"

"Think of what would Kanan want, Hera"

[Ezra gets taken to Thrawn] "Don't give him the pleasure to get angry. Just stay calm"

[Who deserves what is irrelevant. What matters is who has power] "...well, he's not wrong. That's how real life works" (( I... ಠ_ಠ ... *sigh* ))

"What are they going to do to Ezra? The Emperor is not really there?... wait- is he using labial????" ((...whaat??))

"How nice, the wolves are following them!"

"The pig reminds me of Oolong from Dragon Ball"

"What's wrong with you Hera? You usually take the lead when Kanan wasn't around... Sabine is doing everything now... why?"

[Palpatine offers what could be] "What... No don't go, this is a trap! Think like Kanan! THINK!"

"NO YOU ARE FALLING"

"THINK LIKE KANAN!"

[Kallus and Gregor arrive at the generators] "The Empire should really *really* recruit people with better aim. I mean... look at that. They can't hit anything" (([LAUGH])) "Having all that power and resources, can't they get better people? Train them better?" (([LAUGHS HARDER]))

[Open the door] "No! Think it through Ezra! ...This moment... this place is where you really want to live in!"

[Melch gets hit] "Oh no they are starting to kill everyone"

"Zeb flew! He's crazy! WOAH!"

[Gregor gets hit] "Wh-what? NO! NO WAY! NO WAY! That trooper was down already! That's not fair! It shouldn't count!"

"Since when bad guys are good? No, Ezra, he's tricking you, you know this"

[Go on, you deserve this] "Oooh, I feel weird about that...but... n-no! No Ezra! Think like Kanan! Think like Kanan!"

[Ezra destroys the temple] "[claps] TAKE THAT! And your good looks are gone too! UH HUH! You are not some saint in white!"

"[laughs] Samurai? Samurai!"

[Ezra gets... tassed?] "Ok, that doesn't make me laugh anymore"

"You can do it EZRA! SQUISH THEM"

"I love Zeb's legs. They can make him jump so far and can grab on to almost anything" ((...ok))

"I hate how they are killing everyone" ((But is just Gregor, Melch survived)) "That doesn't mean they aren't trying!!"

[Purrgils appear] "WOOOOOOAAAH! [starts dancing]"

"Seems like they are enjoying this a lot... destroying all the ships"

[Whatever happens now] "Yep! Both of you!"

[tentacles break into the Chimaera's bridge]"I love him! You can do it Ezra! You are the best! Kanan would be proud!"

"Oh no... he's not going to leave"

[I have to see this through to the end] "THEY ARE KILLING EVERYONE!!!"******

[Ezra jumps to hyperspace] "... [stares in shock]..."

"... my vocabulary doesn't allow me the kinds of words I want to say..."

"Uhm, was that the plan? HAHAHA, oh yeah..."

"Oh so Pryce will stay... ok, goodbyeeeee"

"Be careful with Ezra's lightsaber! That's all we got left of him!" (( Yeah, in fact, is the only one they have left. We don't know where Kanan's ended up. Last time we saw it, Pryce had it and showed it to Thrawn)) "Maybe she still had it. Or is in her office. Or in Thrawn's museum... gallery" ((That's on Thrawn's ship... I don't think it got there))

"Cheers and so long! Everything went well! Well, most of it anyway because they kept killing everyone... the end shouldn't mean *'QUICK, KILL EVERYBODY!'\*, no no no no..."

[If you are watching this recording-] "*-Then I'm already dead*"

So there you have it. SHE GOT INTENSE. As always she was really vocal when she did or didn't like something. Kanan's death was very difficult to get through and I can't imagine doing it if we had watched the show live. Had DUME kept playing in TV we would have missed more than half the episode because she would simply don't stand up from the ground and she would have understood less. I had to explain her most of the stuff with the wolves, DUME/Kanan, the portals... and I knew it because I followed Rebels Recon and every interview I could find from Filoni but how many children did actually get it on their own? In any case, the second bggest shock was Jacen. That was a bomb and I'm actually surprised she took such issue with the "

[I can't wait to come home] "He's alive, but what does that matter if THIS IS THE LAST EPISODE! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT! SO WHAT. There's nothing more! They are going to leave us hanging!!"

[Epilogue starts] ((Time passed)) "[frowns]... how much? How long?" ((years)) "[glares, eye twitches]" ((... like 5 to 6 years. The movies already happened. The ones with Luke, Leia and Han...)) "...WHERE IS EZRA!?"

"OOOH SABINE LOOKS AMAZING"

[Zeb took Kallus to Lira San] "That's nice"

"WHO IS HE???" [Jacen Syndulla] "....WHO DID YOU HAVE THAT BABY WITH, HERA!?" ((with Kanan! That's Kanan's son!!)) "[stares in disbelief]" ((Don't you believe me?)) "Ok, hold on... [stands up, goes to a corner and screams/laughs in confusion clawing at the wall]" ((what the-)) "IT JUST** *CAN'T* BE! HOW?? WHEN? They had just said I LOVE YOU and then he got killed! If Hera and Kanan hadn't said 'I love you' until just before he got killed, then how could they have done *it*!!?? IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE" ((Well, they were together before that!)) "[slightly disturbed] But without saying 'I love you'? how-....UGH, that would be weird... but... WHEN? AT WHAT TIME? We were watching them all the time! They never seemed to spent the night together!" ((They are not going to show that in a kids show! We assume she had gotten pregnant just before she left)) "THEN WHY DID KANAN DECIDE TO DIE IF HE WAS GOING TO BE A DAD! Why choose that path!? HIS SON NEEDS HIM! Hera needed him!" ((I'm not sure sure he knew)) "He knew! He could see the future! If he saw all that was going to happen then he knew!" ((She was likely going to get killed there. It was either her or him. He choose her to live. We- we haven't finished yet, we need to keep watching)) "I REFUSE! WHERE IS EZRA!? Where is he? WHE*RE IS* HE!?"**********

"Sabine! Where is he?"

[Ahsoka is waiting] "HELLO THERE" (( *SNORTS*))

[is time to bring him home] "So I guess they are going to make a movie of that, right?" ((A movie, a comic or a book.. maybe. Hopefully.)) "What... no. A movie! Not all kids read books or comics. We want to watch it!"

[credits rolls] "[smiles] Alright then... [stars laughing manically, rocking back and forth] IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! They couldn't have had a kid!"

((Remember that hashtag they used? #AhsokaLives? Well, now it is #WheresEzra)) "[desperate screaming]"

Bonus: I offhandedly mentioned her the Steve Blum's comment about Zeb going to Lira San to start a family with Kallus and she stared at me in disbelief and whispered "... oh my god...I never thought about it... they are perfect". xD

So there you have it. SHE GOT INTENSE. As always she was really vocal when she did or didn't like something. Kanan's death was very difficult to get through and I can't imagine doing it if we had watched the show live. Had DUME kept playing in TV we would have missed more than half the episode because she would simply don't stand up from the ground and she would have understood less. I had to explain her most of the stuff with the wolves, DUME/Kanan, the portals... and I knew it because I followed Rebels Recon and every interview I could find from Filoni but how many children did actually get it on their own? In any case, the second biggest shock was Jacen. That was a bomb and I'm actually surprised she took such issue with the "I Love You" problem. The implications actually unsettled her quite a lot. In any case, she is really angry about not knowing what happened to Ezra and when I told her about Resistance she didn't care because she wanted at least the story with Ahsoka and Sabine.

Well, it's over now. I'm still not completely over what happened and just trying to stay afloat waiting for any sign of the blueberries lost in space. I want to thank everyone for their kind comments. I hope this relatively small peek at what the target audience was thinking about the series has been a great experience for you guys too. Rewatching each season with my niece really put a lot of things in perspective. Right now she's coping by playing with me the Sims 3 with the whole cast I had done the other day. She wants me to stay put for any news on Sabine and Ahsoka sooo... night gathers and my watch begins. \SALUTES**

Submitted May 05, 2018 at 09:17PM via reddit https://ift.tt/2FQa0VG

[warsamongstthestar-keen]

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ezra is standing in the middle of a field. Zeb, Chopper, and Sabine are all shooting blasters at him. From outside of the circle, Kanan and Keen are observing.

"You've got the blocking down for the most part but you shouldn't just randomly deflect the energy any which way," Kanan says, and then he gestures to a Stormtrooper helmet, "You've yet to hit the target I gave you."

"'Yet' key word is 'yet,'" the Padawan says, deflecting another blaster bolt.

"Ugh, you're distracted, impatient."

"What's the rush, kid?" Keen asks.

"I don't want to miss Senator Trayvis' transmission."

Keen looks at him confusedly, "You don't even know if he'll transmit today."

"He's been on more frequencies lately, and I have a feeling. Today's the day!"

Kanan smiles at him sarcastically, "Well I have a feeling you're gonna get stunned if you don't stay in the moment. This moment."

Ar'iabel watches the boy focus back on the blasts. His eyes drift slowly shut. He waves his lightsaber, knocking every blast directly into the helmet, successfully knocking it from it's perch. As soon as the blasters stop, Ezra collapses.

Keen races over to him,leaning down over him, on his right, Kanan looming over his left. Quinara places a hand on his shoulder, his eyes slowly blinking open, "Ez, are you alright?"

"Did I get stunned?" he confusedly wonders.

"No, you deflected every blast at the target."

"I saw something."

Kanan's eyes widen, and she glances up at the other Jedi. "Saw?"

"You had a vision?"

Ezra looks between the two Jedi, "I saw Gall Trayvis. Kanan, he knew my parents! It was so real." He stands up, brushing his legs off. "You were there," he points to Sabine, "and you were there," he points to Zeb, "sneaking around in the dark. And Troopers were there. And Keen and Kanan were arguing about something."

"Sounds like a pretty average day," Sabine says.

"Except Senator Trayvis was there fighting side by side with us. And he knew my parents."

"Right. Look, Ezra, just because you want something to happen doesn't mean it will," Kanan says, walking for the Ghost.

"But it might!" he shouts. The Lasat bumps into the boy, almost knocking him over, "Ow! What are you doing?"

"Helping to hone your Jedi powers. Why didn't you see that coming?"

The Padwan seems to consider that for a moment, "Doesn't work like that." The Mandalorian comes up to is side, punching him in the shoulder, "Ow. Stop."

"Maybe if we keep trying," she chuckles.

"Ezra, hurry. He's on!" Hera yells across the field. The Padawan takes off running for the Ghost, bumping right into Zeb. Keen keeps pace with Kanan, "What do you think about this vision?"

"I fear he's putting too much hope in it, and it's gonna backfire."

"His emotions are definitely clouding his judgement, but I hope it doesn't turn out too badly."

"Yeah, here's hoping," he mutters the door to the common room sliding open.

Sabine strolls into the room taking a seat at the table. Zeb walks over, standing with his arms crossed behind Ezra. Kanan and Keen lean against the wall by the door.

"Citizens, Senator-in-Exile Gall Trayvis here."

"Right on time," Ezra cheers. Hera quickly shushes him, pointing at the hologram.

"...with a reminder that the Empire applies the term insurgent to anyone who dares defy their tyranny such as some very courageous souls on Lothal."

"He's talking about us! He said Lothal!"

"I know, here it comes."

"To those Rebels, I have a message. The sun may have set on the Old Republic but a new freedom can be won, if we are brave enough to fight for it today. See you soon, my friends."

The Senator finishes, the hologram snapping back to the Imperials. Hera quickly shuts the table off. "He's coming here to meet us."

"How do you know that?" Zeb inquires.

"My contact, Fulcrum, says the Senator hides coded messages in his transmissions. When the senator mentions a world, it's always the next one he visits."

"How come the Empire hasn't caught onto him yet?" Keen asks.

"Trayvis is too smart. You know, he pirates the Empire's own signal just like my folks used too." A bittersweet smile crosses Ezra's face, he's practically radiating enthusiasm.

"And the clues he puts in his messages, where to meet him, are obvious to the locals, but go right over the Empire's head. Watch," the Twi'lek says, starting up the hologram once again. "He said 'the Old Republic' and 'a new freedom.'"

"Well, everybody on Lothal knows the New Freedom mural. It's painted on the wall in- inside the Old Republic Senate building!" The boy says.

Sabine presses a button on the holotable, bringing up a hologram of the Senate building, "Hmm, been abandoned since the Empire built the Imperial complex. Good place for a friendly get together."

"Yeah, but when's this meeting?"

"Sunset today, pretty obvious, weren't you listening?" Keen asks the Lasat.

"Yeah, too obvious. We should have some insurance in case the Empire is more clever than we think."

Hera looks at Ezra, "You've got a friend inside the Imperial complex, right? So find out for sure."

The boy leaps to his feet, grabbing his cadet helmet, "I'll meet you at my...at my parents' house at 1700," he shouts, racing for the doorway.

"Ezra," Kanan calls, stopping the Padawan in his tracks," About your vision. Don't be too quick–"

"To take it literally? Kanan, I know it's right. You're always telling me to trust my feelings. Well I've never felt stronger about anything in my life," Ezra says, leaving the ship.

"Yeah," Keen mutters, "that's kinda what we're worried about."

(Beginning of Vision of Hope)