The Littlest Warrior

Chapter 1 - Purged

The Littlest Warrior
Chapter 1
Purged

The planet Pyre. That was their destination. It was one of the furthest planets on the outer rim, so primitive it was undeveloped, most of the inhabitants were creatures low enough on the evolutionary chain to not pose a threat to anyone, but that didn't matter to the Empire. Fulcrum had given Hera and her team of rebels intel that they were sending troops there to investigate and gather supplies, anything that was unguarded was property of the Empire as far as they were concerned, with no other human or superior race calling it home meant that they could call dibs. The Ghost knew being in the middle of nowhere was without threat and would be a great chance for an attack on any Empire ship, protecting a vulnerable planet and having their helping of any supplies on board the ship, new property for the rebels and a win under their belt. The Ghost finally jumped from hyper space at the coordinates provided, however what appeared before them was not what they were hoping to find...

"We're in the right place, right?" Kanan looked out the cabin window.

Hera glanced at the readings on the display panel before her, "Yes, this should be the planet Pyre." She followed Kanan's gaze and they both shared a glance of dismay.

They were too late. The poor planet Pyre had fallen victim to the powerful fist of the Empire, like so many before it, and unfortunately, so many more to come. The planet looked dull, what should be green and lush with patches of blue water, were covered in clouds of smoke, the land dark and baren and burned. The rest of the Ghost crew made it up to the helm and looked out with their leader, sharing the same feelings of shock and chagrin.

"Ugh. Karabast...." Zeb let out a sigh and shook his head.

Sabine looked at Ezra, their eyes sharing the same sorrow, "Were we too late?"

Hera shook her head, "We should've been here before the Empire. We had intel from Fulcrum providing their time and day of arrival."

"They must've changed plans." Kanan spoke up. "Fulcrum must not have had enough time to alert us, they may have not even known."

A growl formed in Ezra's throat as he looked down at the decimation, "How could they do something so shameful...."

Sabine shot him a sympathetic glance, "How could they not? They're the Empire..."

"Come on." Hera began to push buttons. "This has now become a scouting and possible rescue mission, we need to search for the chance of any survivors. Kanan, Ezra, take Chopper and the Phoenix. Sabine I want you to run scans up here with me, Zeb stay on alert, who knows if the Empire is still out in this system somewhere." Everyone nodded and headed to their orders.

Ezra and Kanan and Chopper went down to the surface, breaking thru the clouds of smoke and ash from the smoldering debris, "Masks on. We have no idea how toxic the air may be, if we weren't sure if it was breathable before, it may be even less so now." He handed Ezra a respirator as he put on one of his own. "Get ready Chopp." Chopper whirred in acknowledgement. The ship landed and the trio set out. "Stay close Ezra, we don't know who or what is out there."

Ezra looked around at the destruction. "You really think anybody stayed behind?"

"Never know what the Empire is thinking." Kanan turned back to the ship. "Chopper, start scanning, see what you can pick up and let us know." Chopper whirred and raised his antenna.

Ezra was walking around, looking at the remains of the poor planet Pyre. "Looks like they uprooted the entire surface."

"No doubt trying to salvage anything of benefit, who knows what minerals, iron and ore they could mine here that would prove useful. By depleting the soil it also prevents any regrowth."

"Ugh!" Ezra growled. "I hate this! We couldn't stop it."

"I know."

"There is so much going on in the galaxy that we don't know about."

"I understand how you feel. You haven't been with us for very long, we've seen our share of turmoil and things like this. The years can harden you, I'm not surprised by their evil anymore. As Jedi we can't let the anger consume us, we have to focus that energy into other things."

"Like what."

"Like... Using what knowledge we get here to prevent this from happening again. Maybe we can save another planet?"

"A lot of help it does this one." Ezra muttered, turning to go in another direction.

Kanan sighed, knowing Ezra was only talking from hurt. "Keep your guard up, let me know if you find anything. Chopper will alert us of any discoveries."

"Copy." Ezra continued on. There was no sign of life anywhere, no green, no water, nothing. He carefully climbed up a hill of crumbling rocks and remnants of burnt trees. He looked around the valley below him. He could imagine it was once full of green grass and innocent animals. And now it was nothing but ash. He noticed an odd shape and walked down towards what he saw. It looked like a body, or at least it was once a body. Or bodies? He reached out, it must've been some sort of animal. No, two animals. Their burnt shape looked like some sort of Tooka. They were arched and huddled together. His heart hurt, even without the Force he could sense the fear that they must've felt as their imminent death approached them. As he touched one of the bodies it began to move, he recoiled back and it fell, crumbling and revealing something beneath it. The charred remains and skeleton of a smaller creature, it must've been their baby. They died in vain trying to protect their poor kit. Ezra stood up, his anger flowing thru him as he began to breathe in deep heavy pants of rage. "AH!" He growled at himself and kicked a clump of dead bushes, it dissolved into smoke and dust. He sat down feeling helpless, still breathing rapidly with angry frustration. "What is the point of this.... What can we find other than death? There is no hope left here..." Suddenly he felt something, he turned towards the direction of where his senses told him to go. He walked until he found a large hole in the ground surrounded by rocks that were only burnt on the outside. A few feet down inside was a small puddle of water, it was still somewhat blue, not filled with the toxic remains on the surface above it. Moss grew on the rocks, the only slight green thing Ezra had seen since they arrived. Without thinking, Ezra took his mask off. Thankfully even with all of the death and destruction the air was actually breathable. The water seemed to be moving and swirling slightly. The planet was in pain and yet this puddle seemed to glow with life. And hope. Ezra bent down and reached his hands into the water, picking up a handful and bringing it towards his face. "There's life..." He muttered to himself without realizing it. He closed his fists and the water fell back down into the pond. "There's hope...." He closed his eyes. "I promise you, I will get revenge for you. I will find those who did this to you and your home." He opened his eyes, full of focus and drive and rage. "And I will make them pay."

After some time of searching and scanning Kanan and Ezra returned to the Phoenix, "Anything?" Kanan asked Chopper, he only whirred and shook his head no. Kanan turned to Ezra, "What about you?" Ezra continued to walk, looking down and lost in thought. "Ezra?"

"Huh?" Ezra finally looked up tiredly, his eyes dull with despair.

"Did you find anything?" Kanan repeated.

Ezra sighed and shook his head, "Only what could've been."

Kanan grimaced sympathetically, "Well, there's nothing left here to report. We better head back to the Ghost, we can return to base and plan for our next mission."

Ezra nodded and followed them. He turned and glanced back, taking a deep breath. "I promise."

The Ghost jumped back into hyperspace as the crew met to go over their scans and findings.

"I'm sorry we arrived so late, just goes to show that even leads can end up leading nowhere." Hera signed. "Our scans didn't show anything else in the system. The Empire left after purging this world, the other planets were either not worth their time or had already been decimated."

"Makes me wonder how late here we actually were." Sabine spoke up. "This system doesn't have many planets, most of them are small. Pyre was the only one with any life signs, any other planet must've been eliminated with even less effort as this one was."

"So, what's the plan now?" Zeb asked.

"We'll plan to head back to base now, pick up any stops along the way, report our findings and prep for our next mission. In the meantime you should get some rest." Hera stood up to head back to the helm. Ezra stood up next and turned to briskly walk away. "Ezra?"

Kanan stepped up, "He needs time. I think this was the first time he saw something like this, the evil and power and greed of the Empire. He's been with us only half a cycle, I know he went thru a lot on Lothal but I'm sure it was never anything like this."

Hera nodded, "Sometimes I forget how young he is, still innocent."

Kanan smirked, "Hardly innocent."

Hera smirked back, "Not what I mean."

"I know." Kanan sighed. "It's my job to teach my Padawan not only how to be a Jedi, but how to survive in this universe. Traveling with us he will grow up faster than a normal kid would."

Hera nodded, "And it's our job to make sure he's prepared."

Kanan walked towards Ezra's room and knocked, "Hey, you in there?"

"Yeah." Ezra sighed quietly.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." He mumbled back.

The door slid open and Kanan walked in, "You ok?"

"Yeah." Ezra muttered and looked away.

Kanan sat down, "Look. Traveling with us, fighting, being a rebel, it's not all excitement and exploring. You will see a lot of horrible things, a lot of suffering, a lot of death."

"So I'm learning...."

"The path of a Jedi is filled with darkness, and it's our responsibility to be the light and not succumb to that darkness. It can definitely be easier said than done. I will protect you as long as I can and train you to learn everything I know. But we are still only human."

"And humans can only die."

"Hey... that's not all humans can do." Kanan tried to be sympathetic, he forgot how long it was since he was an 'innocent kid' as Hera put it, even worse, to be an emotional teenager.

"I know."

"We can be so much more. Humans can be powerful, protectors, heroes, warriors. We are not born to die. It may be our ultimate destiny to die, but what we do between birth and death is what defines us. We can be more than what we are destined to be. This war might seem bleak, but there is always hope." Kanan's words seemed to reach Ezra, he was silent. "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah, I, uh...." Ezra's voice and mind wandered off.

"What, what is it?" Kanan leaned forward. Ezra was focused, his eyes looked around almost as if he was looking for something, hearing something. "Ezra? Ezra."

"Huh?" Ezra finally snapped out of it. "Yeah, I, uhhh, ahem. I um, ahem, nothing." He cleared his throat and turned away. What was that, he thought he sensed something just now.

"You alright?"

"Ah, yeah." His voice was quiet, looking around. "I just, thought I felt something."

"What, in your throat?" Kanan joked back.

Ezra scoffed back sarcastically, "No." He put his hand on his chest. "In my heart."

Kanan looked at him suspiciously, "Well just be careful. I know you took your mask off while we were down on Pyre, even tho I told you not to."

"What?" Ezra whirled around, concerned about having been caught.

"You got lucky. But still, we don't know what was on that planet, it could've had harmful plants with toxic pollen unsafe for humans to breathe. It was burned to ash, smoke isn't wise to breathe no matter where you are."

"Hey, I obviously was able to find enough oxygen in the air to stay alive."

"Yeah but still. Who knows, the lack of oxygen may have killed off some brain cells."

"Hey! Cheap shot!" Ezra laughed back.

"Well I'll let you get some rest. If you do feel anything strange tho let me know."

"I will Kanan. Thanks for, well, for being there and talking."

Kanan nodded, "Anytime." He stood up and left the room, the door closing behind him.

Ezra leaned back and closed his eyes. He still couldn't shake the feeling inside of him. He could've sworn he felt something, something calling inside of him. He finally fell asleep.

Ezra was dreaming, a battle of thoughts in his own mind. Sweat dotted his face as he tossed and turned, mumbling in his sleep. His expression was strained, fighting his thoughts and the visions spiraling in his head. "No...." He groaned weakly. "Stop, don't hurt them... STOP!" He sat up, panting heavily and looking around the room as his eyes blinked away the nightmare. It took him several moments to finally catch his breath before letting out a sigh, dropping his shoulders. He looked down at the empty bunk below him, it must be morning. He tiredly slipped down out of bed and let out a yawn, stumbling towards the refresher. He washed up and looked at his face in the reflection. "Wow, I look like I didn't get any sleep at all." He was right. His complexion was pale and his eyes were dull. "What was I even dreaming about? I don't remember anymore." He let out a sigh. "Why am I still so tired? I was asleep for hours." He shook his head and growled to himself. "Don't be like this. Kanan's right, I need to get used to experiencing things like that, I can't let it shake me so much." He messed with his hair enough to make it look presentable, even tho it was somewhat sweaty and disheveled. "Maybe eating something will help me focus."

Ezra walked into the dining area where everyone else was already up and eating, "Well, well, well." Zeb looked up. "Rise and shine, better late than never."

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was that tired."

"You had a rough day, it's not surprising." Hera pushed a plate in front of him. "Some food will help you feel better."

"Yeah." Ezra nodded absentmindedly and took some fruit onto his plate.

Sabine glanced at him warily as she watched him pick at his food, "You sure you're ok?"

"Huh, what?" Ezra glanced up. "Yeah, fine, why?"

"Well, for one you aren't stuffing your face, I can see food on your plate and your hands aren't a blur in between."

Ezra smirked mildly, "Guess I'm still just tired." Kanan glared at him suspiciously.

"You slept for almost half a rotation and you're still tired?" Zeb joked. "You were tossing and turning and talking so much in your sleep, I should be the one still tired!"

"Sorry about that." Ezra sat back and pushed his plate away and stood up.

"Ezra, wait, where are you going? You haven't eaten."

"Sorry, I guess I'm just not that hungry." He walked out of the room, leaving them all to glance at each other in shock. Ezra ate like he had the appetite of a Hutt. Something wasn't right.

Kanan stood up, "I'll go check on him." He walked after Ezra, finding him in the cargo hold. "Hey. What's up kid, you ok?"

"Fine." Ezra muttered quickly, turning away.

"No, something's not fine. What's wrong."

"Nothing!" Ezra whined back without realizing the high pitched tone of his voice was giving away his mood and thoughts.

"Tell me what happened. I can help."

Ezra shook his head, "Just nightmares, bad dreams."

"What about?"

"I'm not sure." Ezra rubbed his head. "I can't really remember. Just, bad feelings. I almost feel like I could hear voices but I'm not sure whose. I could only feel pain, fear, suffering, anger, loss. It felt like I was on Pyre and I was feeling what the creatures felt as their home was destroyed."

Kanan sat down next to him, "I'm not surprised. As Jedi we have a much stronger connection to things. This is the first time you saw such genocide, I'm not suprised you're in shock."

"I feel almost like I can hear a voice inside me asking for help."

"It's probably just your conscience and guilt."

"Maybe." Ezra sighed and slumped back. "I just feel pretty crummy."

"Yeah you do look a mess." Kanan smirked, trying to lighten the mood. He messed with Ezra's bangs, causing him to smile with a bit of embarrassment. But when Kanan brushed Ezra's forehead he frowned, he could feel the heat radiating from off of his face. "Ezra, are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Ezra looked back up at his master with a weary smirk.

"You just...." Kanan pushed his hand against Ezra's forehead, Ezra was taken back with shock. "You feel pretty warm, you look pretty pale too. I don't think that's just exhaustion."

"But I feel fine, just kinda tired." Ezra pulled back.

"And you didn't want to eat."

Ezra shrugged, "Guess I just don't have the stomach for it yet after what happened."

Kanan made a face, still not convinced. When Ezra had first joined them he practically had to shove food down his throat just to get him to eat, he didn't feel like he deserved their food they worked hard to earn and he felt guilty to steal it from them for himself. He would starve until he passed out on missions or in Jedi training. After they finally convinced him that he didn't have to live by the rules of the street anymore, that being a part of their team entitled him to basic amenities like food and water, he finally opened up into the black hole stomach he grew from years of starvation. He ate like making up for lost time. For him to not want to eat was always an indication that something was wrong, like when he would get injured or was trying to hide something.

"Alright. Just go get some rest then, but you have to let me know what you're feeling, ok?"

"I will, I promise." Ezra stood up and walked back towards his room.

Kanan watched him go, he looked a little wobbly on his feet, and he didn't think it was just from a rough night's sleep. He reached out to feel Ezra with the Force, his entire body felt in disarray and out of alignment. He would need to keep his eye on his apprentice..... And he was right.

Kanan went to go check up on Ezra after Zeb told him that he seemed to be breathing strained in his sleep. Kanan went into his room, he could feel the unease in the air, Ezra was definitely sick with something. He put a hand on his face, it was even hotter now. Ezra didn't even wake at his master's touch, his nightmares were too deep. Kanan put his ear against Ezra's chest, his breathing was rapid but at least it was clear.

"Help." He moaned and groaned, his eyes twitching in his feverish dreaming. "I have to help...."

Kanan was still worried Ezra might have breathed in something toxic from the smoke back on Pyre, his current traumatized mindset of stress would have lowered his body's abilities to fight it. He put his fingers on Ezra's neck and frowned, feeling swollen lumps under his chin. His body was definitely fighting something, and it wasn't just his thoughts and emotions. He looked down at Ezra, his face flush and twisted with fear. He would have to tell Hera what was going on. Ezra had gotten sick once before a few weeks after first joining the crew on the Ghost, and it was a very difficult time for them all. He had hoped Ezra had learned a lesson about listening to his body and trusting his fellow teammates. But, perhaps it was a lesson to be learned the hard way, again. Ezra was not the easiest patient, and Kanan worried he was in for another similar event.