Cikatro Vizago stood in front of his ship, the Broken Horn, with his arms crossed over his wide chest. Hera walked towards him, hoping she looked more confident than she felt. Kanan lagged a few steps behind her.
"Where are my blaster rifles?" Vizago called.
Well...he knows. At least I don't have to break the news to him, Hera thought.
She waited until she'd covered a few more meters of the distance between herself and the leader of the Broken Horn Syndicate before answering. "In the cargo bay," she answered, jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of her ship. She stopped a short distance away from him, just to be on the safe side.
Kanan, however, kept going until he was standing less than an arm's length from the Devaronian.
"You sleemo," he growled, eyes blazing. "You sent us to Nar Shaddaa to deal with a bunch of slaver scum! We were almost captured!"
"Ah," Vizago said, "But you weren't captured."
"What?" Kanan demanded. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Vizago shrugged. "You handled the situation, didn't you? I have to make sure the people working for me can handle themselves."
Kanan took a step closer to Vizago, getting directly into his face. "Are you saying that you set this whole thing up deliberately?"
"Eh," Vizago said, shrugging again. "I don't like this guy you killed, you know? He thinks he's a tough guy, but he's just Nar Shaddaa scum. No class, no appreciation for business, always double-crossing Vizago. You did me a favor by getting rid of him. Two mynocks, one blaster."
"Are you kidding me?!" Kanan burst out, looking like he was ready to kill Vizago.
"Kanan..." Hera warned, watching Vizago's IG-RM bodyguard droids abandon their work loading the Broken Horn, and start to make their way over to their master.
"Back up, kid," Vizago said, poking a long fingernail at Kanan. His tone was edged with an unmistakable threat. "You wanted to be a part of the criminal underworld. This is how we do things. If you're smart and strong, you live. If you're dumb and weak, you die. Simple. I don't know how you did it, but you didn't die. So you live another day to commit crimes for Vizago."
Kanan scowled and stepped back from Vizago, finally noting the approach of the droids. "Don't call me kid," he spat, clearly irritated about having to break off his onslaught.
"Your problem is that you're too noble, kid. I can see it just by looking at you. This one," he said, pointing at Hera, "she has the guts to do what has to be done. You, not so much." He guffawed as if he'd just told a hilarious joke.
Hera ignored Vizago's comment- she was more concerned that his needling might motivate Kanan to do something truly stupid. For the moment, he was smart enough to stay still and keep his mouth shut under the watchful gaze of the IG-RM droids, but she doubted it would last if she didn't intervene.
"Aren't you worried about the Hutts?" she asked Vizago, attempting to redirect the conversation.
Vizago laughed again. "The Hutts? No, no. They kill my people; I kill theirs. We steal from each other. It's been going on so long that no one knows who owes who what anymore. But if they got a look at you or your ship, you might need to worry."
"The signature was masked."
"Well, then maybe you don't need to worry too much, either," Vizago said. His expression indicated that he could not have cared less. "You got my credits, too, I assume?"
"Those are our credits," Kanan muttered tersely.
"Well...you did me a favor, so I'll let you keep them," Vizago agreed. "I admit, I'd like to know how you got the drop on Revis and his boys, though. It seems like you two are going to work out better than I thought." He motioned to his droids to unload the blaster rifles from the Ghost.
"Glad you think so," Kanan snarled.
"I'd be willing to split those credits with you for some intel," Hera offered, avoiding Kanan's pointed glare of disapproval.
Vizago eyed her. "What kind of intel?"
"The Imperial kind," she said. Now it was time to see if this madness would pay off.
"Maybe I was wrong about you," Vizago said.
"Maybe. Or maybe I just want to do some damage to the Empire."
"You're wasting your time," Vizago announced. "Taking out a few Nar Shaddaa scum doesn't mean you're going to be able to do much to the Empire."
She shrugged. "Every little bit helps."
Vizago chuckled. "I feel that way about credits, and if you were smart, you would too. But it's fine if you're not too smart. More credits for Vizago."
"So? Do you know anything about Imperial activity on Lothal?" she asked.
"I know that the Empire did geological surveys and scans of the Westhills area, and what they found is causing them to buy up as much land as they can, as fast as they can. Landowners who won't sell are...evicted. Better to get the credits, if you ask me."
Hera and Kanan exchanged glances. "I thought Seinar Fleet Systems was building a facility there?" she asked.
"Not anymore. Not after they scanned the area," Vizago said.
"What did they find?" Kanan looked as if he knew the answer to his own question, but hoped to be wrong.
Vizago's crimson eyes were glowing with greed. "Kyber crystals. A lot of kyber crystals."
Hera would have to talk to Fulcrum about this. The Empire's interest in these crystals was worrisome, to say the least. "Do you know anything else about it?"
"Not at the moment, but I'm sure I will soon. For a price."
"Of course," Kanan grumbled.
"This is business! You want information, you earn it. Just like everyone else does," Vizago said, slapping Kanan on the shoulder. "I might give you more information if you tell me how the two of you managed to kill Revis."
Kanan glowered at Vizago, saying nothing.
Hera thought it best to break up the meeting while they were ahead, and preferably before Kanan did something rash. "Kanan, give Vizago his credits so we can be on our way."
Kanan reluctantly pulled the bag of credits from his pocket and removed half of its contents, scowling as he deposited the credits in Vizago's hand.
"Thank you," Vizago said, smiling broadly. "Not so much of a pleasure doing business with you... but I'm only here for the credits."
Kanan turned and stalked back towards the Ghost, passing Vizago's droids as they moved the crates of blaster rifles towards Vizago's ship.
"Let us know when you have something else for us," Hera said to Vizago. He inclined his horned head towards her in acknowledgment, and she turned to follow Kanan.
He'd made it to the common room by the time she caught up to him, and he was sitting at the table with a very sour look on his face.
"Well, that went better than I expected," she said brightly. "And we even got some interesting intel out of the deal. More kyber crystals. I'm hoping we can get a lead on what the Empire is doing with them..." Hera trailed off, looking at Kanan, who appeared not to have heard a word she'd just said.
She felt a sudden stab of guilt. She knew she'd been behaving abominably for the past two weeks, and she didn't blame him for drinking and dodging her. Hera's soul-searching had yielded one incontrovertible truth: she had strong feelings for Kanan. But she couldn't allow her feelings for him to derail the overall mission- the mission that she couldn't even tell him about. Vizago had been correct; Hera had the guts to do what needed to be done. But hurting her best friend and partner was an extremely unpleasant consequence, and she was feeling a tremendous amount of remorse.
"Kanan..." she said, intending to give him the explanation he deserved.
"I need to talk to you, Hera," he said, still not looking at her.
She was instantly wary, but she couldn't read his expression. Was he just angry about Vizago? Or was it something more personal? She didn't detect any imminent romantic declarations in his tone of voice, which was a good sign. She walked over to the bench and sat down next to him.
"Okay...talk," she said. "I'm listening."
"I'm leaving the Ghost," he said. "I'm going back to working alone."
She felt her mouth fall open, but nothing came out.
"Normally, I just pack up my stuff and leave without saying goodbye, but I can't do that to you." His tone was very matter-of-fact, as if he had already struggled with his decision, and had come to terms with it.
Hera opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, still unable to locate her voice. Even if she could have generated words, she couldn't think of a single thing to say.
Kanan finally raised his eyes to look at her, but he didn't say anything. His gaze, though warm, seemed distant. He was trying to detach himself from his life with her. How had she been so oblivious to it?
All at once, her voice returned, and it sounded rough to her earcones. "Why do you want to leave?" she demanded.
"I don't want to leave," he replied. "But after what happened on Nar Shaddaa...if anyone had seen what I did, or if we'd been captured by those sleemos...the Empire would kill you, Hera. They would kill you just for your association with a Jedi- but they would probably torture you first. I can't put you in that kind of danger."
"I told you, Kanan...You don't get to decide which risks I take," she said, immediately annoyed.
"I know. But I can take the risk completely out of the equation."
She scowled at him. "You can't protect me from the Empire. I don't need you to protect me. But I do need you to help me. I...I don't want you to leave."
Kanan looked at her for a long moment without saying anything. Then he said, "I know you don't."
"Then don't leave!" She was completely exasperated. He was an idiot. Why did she ask this idiot to live on her ship in the first place? Hera's chest felt tight, and there was a lump in her throat.
"I have to," Kanan said. This time, he sounded sad.
"You're an idiot, Kanan Jarrus," Hera snapped.
"That's true. I'm glad you're mad at me...I'd rather you be mad at me," he told her, standing up. "I'll go get my stuff."
"You're leaving now?!" Hera asked, stunned. "Right now?"
"Why drag it out? I'll hitch a ride to Capital City and get a transport to Garel."
"Let me at least give you a ride," she said softly, at a total loss. What else could she say?
"Thanks, but I'll be okay," Kanan said, not really sounding all that sure about it. He disappeared into the corridor and returned a minute later with a small bag in hand. He was already packed, she thought, and the realization made her heart ache.
"Can I at least walk you out?" Hera asked, her voice small. Kanan Jarrus had finally succeeded in making her lose her cool- in the worst possible way. She hardly knew what to think or feel.
He nodded, and she stood and followed him through the cargo bay and down the ramp. As she walked, she tried to pull a single coherent thought from the chaos in her mind and failed. When they reached the bottom, she looked up at him.
"Kanan...you don't have to leave."
"It's safer for you if I go," he said, his blue-green gaze steady. "You know that."
"I don't know that," she said defiantly. "And neither do you. Is this because of that vision you had? You said that those visions are hard to interpret."
"No. It's not the vision."
"The kiss, then."
He hesitated. "I'd be lying if I said that had nothing to do with it."
"I'm sorry. It was a mistake-"
"It wasn't a mistake."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, each wondering if the other would say something. Hera knew he was right, but she couldn't find the right words to make him understand all the things she was feeling, or how complicated the situation was for her. There were so many things she would have liked to tell him, but it was impossible.
His eyes searched hers- he was waiting for her to say all the things he must have known she was thinking at that moment. She stayed silent, and she regretted it.
He gave her a little nod as if he understood- but, really, it was probably just a nod of resignation. "It's mostly because of what I did on Nar Shadaa. You were right; I did it because of you. Because of the way I feel about you."
Once again, Hera's voice vanished. His words weren't surprising, but hearing them spoken aloud was an entirely different matter.
"There's more," he continued. "When I used the Force, something happened. Something I've never really experienced before. I felt such...rage about that sleemo touching you- threatening you. It was like I wasn't myself. I felt cold, brutal- incredibly powerful, too, but in a way that felt...wrong. It was the dark side. When I was a kid, they taught us that there were some emotions that could make us more susceptible, and the dark side more accessible- they were difficult to control, and that was one of the reasons why Jedi were forbidden to have relationships. Back then, I didn't really understand it. Now, though...well, things are different. And there's no one to ask, no one to help me. I don't know what else to do."
His voice cracked a little, and Hera felt his pain as keenly as her own. "We could figure it out together," she offered.
Kanan's lips curved into a small smile, and he reached out a hand and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "Thanks for the best time I've ever had," he said softly. Then he turned and strode away from her.
Hera stood there and watched him walk away until he disappeared. And then she stood there until the sky darkened and the stars came out. She stood there until she heard Chopper warbling and grumbling at the top of the ramp.
Kanan wasn't coming back.
She turned and looked up at Chopper, and after a moment, he emitted a sad sound. She walked up the ramp and placed her hand on his dome.
"Chop, will you keep me company tonight?" she asked the little droid.
He grumbled and chittered.
"I know you do," she said. "You're always here for me, buddy."
They went inside the ship together, already feeling the heavy weight of Kanan's absence, and hoping they could bear it.