Star Wars Rebels AU (Title Will Change Once I Think Of A Better Name)

Prologue

Hera glanced in the direction of the crates. Hopefully it could wait a moment. She climbed back down and went up to Chopper and the child. The child became startled noticing the new visitor. He took a step back in fear.

Hera kneeled down and removed her hood, hoping to seem less intimidating. The boy tilted his head curious, but still remained at a distance.

"I don't want to hurt you," Hera told him. She remained where she was and put a hand on Chopper. "I just heard my droid making a commotion and wanted to know what was going on. That's all."

"That's your droid? He's not very nice," the boy replied nervously.

Hera let out a soft laugh. "He can be that way sometimes, but he won't hurt you. I promise. If you don't mind me asking, what did you want with him?"

The boy folded his arms and looked down. "I've just never seen a droid like that before, so I followed. . .Am I in trouble?"

"No, you're not in trouble," Hera replied warmly. "What's your name?"

The boy was silent.

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me. My name's Hera." She searched her bag and pulled out a meiloorun fruit. "Here, you look hungry."

The boy stood there and didn't take it.

"You don't have to take it, but I'm leaving it here, if you want it," Hera said. She placed the fruit down and stood up. "You better get home to your parents."

The boy looked down again and held back his tears. "My parents are gone."

Hera frowned and felt horrible for the boy. Before she could say anything, the boy took the fruit and ran off crying.

Chopper was the first to break the silence with a question for Hera.

Hera put her hood back on. "No, Chopper, I'm not getting any crazy ideas." She looked down and thought for a moment. "Let's just go get the Phantom, and continue our mission according to plan. We have about an hour until the Empire moves the crates. We have until then to steal them."

Hera and Chopper headed back into the direction of the Ghost. This time at a quicker pace. She was careful to avoid any unwanted attention as she sneaked through the streets. As she entered the market, she was even more careful. Yes, it was easy to remain hidden in a crowd like this, but it was also where the most Stormtroopers were.

The white clad troopers stood still at each one's assigned position. Though Hera couldn't see their eyes, she felt them staring at her. She had never been to Lothal before, the Imperials here had no reason to know her. Unless she was that wanted by the Empire now. . .

Her thoughts were interrupted by a child's screams. She turned a saw two Stormtrooper's pointing their blasters at a group of children and inspected their faces. They were the same group of children she saw earlier.

Hera was about to march right up to those Stormtroopers and stand up to them, but someone grabbed her arm and turned her around.

It was a Stormtrooper. They held a datapad up and showed her the image on it. It was the boy she met moments ago, and it read Ezra Bridger. That must've been his name.

"Have you seen this child?" the Stormtrooper asked her.

Hera glanced back and forth between the datapad and the Stormtrooper. "Uh, no I haven't," she replied. The Stormtrooper must have thought her to be convincing enough. He left and went to question others.

Hera let out a sigh of relief and turned her attention to the children. They were finally left alone and were now hiding in fear behind some crates.

Chopper continued along. "What a mess we've gotten ourselves into!"

Hera followed Chopper hesitantly. "I hope that boy is okay."

-

The mission went smoother than Hera could have hoped for. When she went back with the Phantom the amount of Stormtroopers that were guarding the crates was cut in half. Hera guessed it was to search for that child, Ezra. She had no idea what the Empire wanted with such a small child, but the Empire was cruel like that sometimes. She guessed that perhaps this Ezra was connected to someone important.

After stealing the crates, which she happened to steal two more than required, she took them to their destination. A small group of homes, if you'd even call them that, in the fields of Lothal. All the crates were filled with food for the people there. She didn't normally steal food, but she was glad to help out those people. But she still couldn't help but worry about this Ezra.

She didn't talk to Chopper about this. She knew he wouldn't really care. He was a droid after all. All Hera could think about was how that young boy might end up in the hands of the Empire, and she didn't do anything about it. Which was exactly why she needed to do something.

She docked the Phantom into the Ghost, and headed right for the ramp. She lowered it and began walking down.

"Where are you going?" Chopper questioned. He was at the top of the ramp staring at her.

Hera turned around. "I'm going to look for the boy and help him."

"Why?"

"Why? He needs help from someone! We don't know what the Empire has planned for him, and I doubt it's anything good. Stay if you want, but I'm going."

Chopper didn't move. He wanted to stay. Hera turned back towards the city and walked away.

-
Ezra inspected the piece of fruit in his hands. It seemed safe enough to eat, and that woman seemed trustworthy, but he had lost his appetite.

After his encounter with the woman and her droid, Ezra continued his day like he normally did, but this day was quickly becoming far from normal. While he sneaking through the streets, he saw some bucket heads questioning citizens, and they were asking about him! He saw his face on the datapad and dashed off to hide where he was now.

Ezra put the fruit down and folded his arms. Why did the Empire want him? Why right now? It had been a year and a half since his parents went missing. Was it possible that the Empire had taken them and for some reason they wanted him now too?

Ezra tucked his knees in and felt a wave of emotion. He felt lost and confused. He knew the Empire was bad. That was something he was sure about. But would he let himself be captured by the Empire, in hopes of seeing his parents again, even though they could be dead?

Ezra felt a tear run down his cheek. The thought of his parents being dead was too much to handle. They just had to be still out there.

He looked up and wiped a tear away as heard some chatter down the street. Ezra picked his bag up and hid behind a crate. Just his luck, the chatter was coming from Stormtroopers. He could only hope they wouldn't find him.

The Stormtroopers walked down the alleyway Ezra hid in. They kept their blasters up and searched behind every crate.

"I thought I saw a kid down here," one of them said.

The other nodded and turned on a light. "Let's keep looking. This is exactly where a Loth-Rat would be hiding."

Ezra had to think fast, he looked up. Maybe that was his only out. He closed his eyes and leaped.

It was the highest he had ever jumped in life, but it still wasn't enough to be free from the  troopers. He clung to the edge and tried to get up, but it was far from easy considering they kept sending blasts in his direction. He was almost to the top, but he was shot in the hand and Ezra came tumbling down.