Ezra shuffles between the crates, trying to find the medical supplies. It's only Hera, Ezra, Chopper, and little Jacen today. Though he's hardly beginning to tottle, he loves riding in the Ghost and being on the missions.
Since Jacen's birth, they've taken a lot less dangerous missions. They're usually just supply runs or of that nature. Everyone agrees that there's no need to endanger the small child, especially when the rebellion has grown so much in the past year. It helps that the Death Star has been destroyed, showing a weakness in the Empire.
Chopper grunts urgently, getting Ezra's attention. "Yes, Chop. I know that the crates are here. Hera said that the information was reliable." Ezra answers, looking down at the astromech. Chopper grunts something back, but Ezra ignores him. He wants to complete this mission as fast as possible.
"There," Ezra says, pointing across the room. "Now we just need a distraction to get rid of the stormtroopers."
But neither of them can come up with a plan. A loud bang gathers their attention and the stormtroopers'. Three people and a Wookie come bursting out of the door. "Luke, get the crates!"
"Got it!" The shortest one answers, running towards Ezra's crates.
"Hey!" Ezra shouts, running through the crossfire and beating his opponent to the crates. "I'll be taking this." He smirks before pulling it away.
"Hey!" Luke exclaims, chasing after Ezra. Chopper lets out a taunting laughing, following close behind Ezra. Suddenly, he slams into Ezra's legs. He lets out a confused grunt and looks up to see the Wookie blocking their path.
"Get out of my way!" Ezra yells, trying to move around the Wookie. But he just laughs, towering over him.
"Take it from him, Chewie!" Luke says, catching up to them.
"Stop them, Chop!" Ezra exclaims. Chopper jumps forward, trying to shock the Wookie. While he's distracted, Ezra begins to pull the crate towards the exit. Before he can get far, Luke hops in front of him.
"You're not going anywhere with that." He says, grabbing it. They both begin to tug at the crate, trying to pull it in different directions. Ezra knows that he can easily use the Force and push the kid away, but he's been working on solving his problems without the Force. He doesn't want to put a bigger target on his back and drag the team down.
"I need this. It's for something much bigger than us." Ezra says, trying not to give everything away. He doesn't want these strangers to know that they're for the Rebellion. After all, he doesn't know anything about them. They could be pirates or smugglers. He can't risk their safety for a crate of medical supplies.
"No. I need this crate. So just let go." Luke argues, trying to pull it away.
Then both of them suddenly freeze with chills running up their spines. They feel cold. They feel anger. They feel intense hate. They make eye contact, mirroring a similar fear. They both know that they're in a much bigger problem than losing a medical crate.
"Spectre-2, you need to get out of here." Ezra quickly says into his comlink.
"Spectre-6, what's happened? Are you okay?" Hera immediately asks. He watches as Luke takes the crate and bolts towards his exit.
"He's here, Spectre-2. You need to leave now!" Ezra urges as he rushes after Luke. The two of them catch the attention of Chewie and Chopper, who stop what they're doing and chase after them.
"Spectre-6, we will wait for you and Spectre-3."
"No. We have a ride. Leave now before it's too late." Ezra says as he follows Luke onto the ship. Though Chopper and Ezra are not a part of this crew, neither Luke nor Chewie say anything when they come aboard.
"Contact us when you make a safe landing, Spectre-6. Spectre-7 and I are heading back to base." Hera says. Ezra watches the Ghost take off, leaving the planet safely. Though he's still in danger, he feels like he can breathe a bit easier knowing they won't get hurt.
Chopper and Ezra carefully walk around the ship. Even though it's not the Ghost, he must admit that it is impressive. He notices that Luke and Chewie head toward the cockpit, leaving him and Chopper to their own devices.
"Vader. He's here." Luke pants as he reaches the cockpit. He doesn't mention that they've brought guests. He doesn't want to upset Han more than he already has. He's been having a hard day trying to keep up with the team. Something just seems off.
"What took you so long?" Han asks, looking back at Luke. Quickly, he punches in the coordinates and Leia helps out in the co-pilot seat. Before Luke can answer, Chewie enters and growls to Han. "What do you mean we have extra passengers?"
"Who did you two bring along?" Leia asks, glaring at them. She thinks that four is enough for the trouble they get into. She doesn't want to drag more people into their problems.
"Well, we couldn't just leave them behind for Vader to attack," Luke argues. Though he's never battled Vader person to person, he's seen enough of him in action. He watched Vader take down Ben and miraculously survived him when the Death Star blew.
"I'll need to see them once we get into hyperspace." She says, getting back to the task at hand. She just needs to worry about one thing at a time. Once they're in the air, everyone lets out a collective sigh. They've been in Vader's sights since they blew up the Death Star. Everywhere they go, it seems like he's right behind them.
"So, where are these stowaways? They're not stealing from me, are they?" Han asks as he rises from his seat. He doesn't have much to steal, but he wants to feel upset about something. He doesn't mind helping the rebellion, but he didn't sign up to cater to everyone's problems.
"I don't think so," Luke says as Leia and Han push past him. Luke is known for misjudging people. He never thinks that people might be ripping him off or stealing from him. He always thinks of them as friends before enemies. Which, if they weren't in the middle of a war, would be a good thing.
Chopper nudges Ezra, getting his attention as the crew finally make their appearance. "Who are you?" Han asks, placing his hands on his hips. Ezra notices the stranger's fingers resting just on the blaster. He doesn't blame them for being uneasy. In fact, he's uneasy about this situation as well.
But then he sees her. "Princess Leia." He breathes, walking towards her.
She keeps her head held high. Though she doesn't recognize him, she's not surprised that she knows her. It seems like everyone in the galaxy knows her. So she stays silent, waiting to see what else he has to say.
"I'm sure you don't remember me, but you helped us on Lothal." He says. Chopper lets out a soft grunt, recognizing her now. "We were all devasted to hear what happened to your planet. But, we were thankful to hear that you were alive. The rebellion has been grateful for your service."
Leia pauses, studying him. "You two are with the rebellion?" She asks.
"Yes. I'm Ezra Briger. And this is Chopper." He introduces, gesturing to the astromech. Chopper lets out a small fanfare, rolling forward.
C-3PO and R2-D2 come out from behind Luke. "C1-10P. My, it has been years." C-3PO says as R2D2 rolls towards Chopper. They both give each other a shove and leave it at that. They have a mutual understanding.
"You two have met?" Luke asks.
"Oh, yes. It was when we were working under Senator Bail Organa. It was many years ago though. Honesty, I'm surprised you rebels have survived this long. You were all very reckless." C-3PO says, making Chopper and Ezra laugh.
"Not much has changed. We're still pretty reckless." Ezra smiles. But as he looks at them, he doesn't recognize any of them, besides Leia. "I never caught your names."
"I'm Han Solo. And this is Chewie. And you're stowing away on our ship." He says, removing his hands from his hips to cross over his chest. Though the kid and the droid don't seem bad, he doesn't want them to get the impression that he likes them. The last time that happened, he joined the rebellion and now they won't leave him alone.
"Sorry. Chopper and I just needed to get out of there fast."
"You sensed it, too," Luke says, stepping forward. Ezra arches his eyebrows, still unsure who he was. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I think you might have the Force, like me."
Han begins laughing, shaking his head. "Kid, you must have hit your head coming back from that mission. Ezra doesn't have the Force. No one does. It's a bunch of fairytale bullshit."
Instead of tackling the Force conversation, Ezra changes the topic. "You're Luke Skywalker? But, you're just a kid?" He says, slightly laughing. "How did someone like you blow up the Death Star?"
"You know, lots of people have asked me and I still don't have a good answer for that." Luke chuckles, running his fingers through his hair. He knows that it's a great compliment to have done something so spectacular, but he's not so sure he likes all of the attention with it.
"Pure luck," Han smirks. "Plus, you had my help."
"Yes, we know. We couldn't have done it without you. We're all in your debt." Leia says, rolling her eyes. Ezra and the others can't help but chuckle under their breaths. Leia is supposed to be seen as this peaceful, honorable leader. It's nice to see that she has a personality.
"Well, we won't be landing for a while. You and Chopper are welcome to make yourselves at home." Luke says, making R2 beep in agreement.
"Thanks." Ezra smiles as Chopper immediately goes to the Dejarik table. He and R2 begin chatting as they take their places. C-3PO gasps as he scolds Chopper for his language, which of course only makes him talk more foul.
"Your droid sure has an attitude." Luke smiles, watching the droids with Ezra.
"He's not mine. He's my friend Hera's." Ezra answers. "And foul talk isn't the only bad trait he's gotten over the years. He's stubborn and very agitating. But, he can have his good days and he always gets the job done."
The two of them are quiet for a few moments. Neither one of them knows what to say. Ezra knows that Luke is curious about how he knew Darth Vader was there. He is also curious about how Luke knew. He knows there are other Jedi out there, but the only ones he's ever met were all from before the Empire.
Though he feels like he can trust this crew with his secret, he waits until he thinks that no one is listening but Luke. "You mentioned having the Force," Ezra says, bringing the topic back up.
"Yeah. I don't know much about it, but you were able to sense Vader, like me. I think you might be like me." Luke says, excitement evident in his voice.
"You're right. I've been training to be a Jedi for a long time now." Ezra nods. "Who's your master?" He asks, hoping to gain some idea how much training Luke has compared to him.
"My master?" Luke asks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"You know, who trained you?"
"Oh. Well, I haven't had a lot of training. I was learning under Ben Kenobi before he died." Luke explains. The loss of Ben is still kind of hard on him. Though he didn't know him very well, he has always had a connection to him. Even when he was young, he always felt a pull to be with him, to be near him.
"Master Kenobi?" Ezra asks, realizing that Luke had one of the greatest Jedis as his master. "Like, Obi-Wan?"
"You know him?"
"I met him one time. My master used to have a Holocron that had his last message on it. Then Darth Maul and I brought them together to reveal secrets we both wanted. In the end, it ended up being a trick and I had led Darth Maul straight to Master Kenobi." Ezra says, slightly blushing. He doesn't really like to talk about his irresponsible past.
"When was this?"
"It was a while ago," Ezra says, slightly frowning. "My master was still alive then."
"I'm sorry," Luke says, bowing his head in sympathy. "I know how hard it can be to lose someone. Who was your master?"
"Kanan Jarrus," Ezra says. At his name, Chopper turns away from his game and rolls to Ezra. He lets out a sad grunt, his little hand grabbing onto Ezra's. "Well, that's what he went by when I met him. His real name was Caleb Dume."
Unsure what to say, Luke stays quiet. It's clear that Kanan is still a tough subject for Ezra and Chopper. Thankfully, Ezra comes up with something to say. "But, we've been working hard to take care of Hera and Jacen. Right, Chop?"
Chopper perks up at their names, giving a few grunts. He gives a few playfully swings at Ezra then goes back to his game with R2 and C-3PO. Ezra looks back at Luke, hoping to move on. "So how long have you been training."
"Not long. I'm mostly training myself."
"Training yourself?" Ezra scoffs.
"Ben left me a few things to read and study and practice with." Luke shrugs. "But, if you have any tips, I'm willing to learn. I'm sure you have a lot more experience wielding a lightsaber than me."
Ezra smiles, pulling his out. He turns it on, the green light illuminating the room. Luke grins, the color quickly catching his attention. He pulls his lightsaber out, the blue light evening out with the green. "This was my father's."
"I made this one after I battled Darth Vader," Ezra says. "I used to have one that was part blaster, but it was destroyed. It used to be blue, like yours."
"I like green better." Luke chuckles, his eyes locked on the lightsaber. He feels out of his element. He thought that Ben was the only Jedi left, which then left Luke as the only one with some knowledge of Jedi. Everyone has been coming to him for advice. Ezra has just shown him that Luke is completely clueless. He didn't even know there were different colored lightsabers, besides red and blue.
Ezra lowers his saber, playfully pointing it at Luke. "Wanna spar?"
Luke grins, lowering his as well. "Sure."
Quickly, the two of their lightsabers clash. Luke has never trained with a partner. Though he knows he might lose multiple times to Ezra, he's excited to learn. He knows, well hopes, that Ezra would never internally kill him. He can now try out some new moves without the fear of losing a limb or his life.
"For someone with little training, you do pretty well." Ezra comments. It's clear that Luke has no idea what he's doing. His form is awful, but he does a decent job blocking Ezra's attacks. Ezra can feel how strong the Force is with him. If he ever does get into a deadly lightsaber battle, at least he will have the Force on his side. And that is a powerful asset.
Leia comes running out, fear in her eyes. "What are you two doing?" She exclaims.
"Just sparring," Luke says, quickly blocking Ezra. "Nothing for you to worry about, princess. I'm perfectly fine."
She crosses her arms across her chest. "I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about you two hitting something important. We both know that this ship can't take any more damage."
"Oh, come on, Leia. We're being careful. Just go back and help Han." Luke fires back as he goes on the offensive with Ezra. "We both know he needs you."
She lets out a sigh and turns around. Luke can't help but smile. He knows she was just curious about what was happening. She just didn't want anyone to think that she might be interested in lightsaber battles. After all, she is a princess. She's got a reputation to uphold.
Soon, the ship comes to a stop. Ezra and Chopper leave with the medical supplies. Leia had decided that their rebel cell needed them much more than hers. Ezra and Luke vowed to keep in touch. Luke needed more lessons. Plus, Ezra didn't mind having another Jedi around. They could make a great team together. Just like he and Kanan used to be.
~~~~~~~~~~
I know how Rebels ended, but I love the idea that Ezra came back when Jacen was just a little baby. Also, Luke and Ezra would make a great team. IF they were to ever meet up, they would raise hell wherever they went.