I HAVE MOTIVATION LETS GOOOOOOO
- - -
"You've got the blocking down for the most part," the Master began, as droid, Mandalorian, and lasat, fired their weapons at the padawan, "but you shouldn't just randomly deflect the energy any which way. You've yet to hit the target I gave you."
The boy rolled his eyes underneath his helmet, continuing to dodge and deflect the shots fired in his way,
"Yet. Key word is yet."
Kanan sighed, putting his hand on his temple before waving his arms and walking towards his padawan once the blasters stopped firing. The rest watched them closely, Sabine spinning her twin blasters and putting them in their designated holsters.
"You're distracted, impatient," Kanan told him, "what's your rush?"
Ezra sighed, opening the visor on his helmet so he could see Kanan better,
"I don't want to miss Senator Trayvis' transmission."
"You don't even know if he'll transmit today."
"He's been on more frequencies lately," Ezra turned to Kanan, "and, I have a feeling. Today's the day."
"Well," Kanan smirked, "I have a feeling you're gonna her stunned if you don't stay in the moment. This moment."
Ezra groaned, rolling his eyes once more as he ignited his lightsaber, flipping the visor back down. Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper began firing once again, all three of the enjoying it a little more then they should. Kanan shook his head as Ezra clumsily dodged the bolts, the helmet remaining on the rock untouched.
"You there!"
Ezra flipped the visor back open, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Senator you're in terrible danger."
"Put your saber down, boy. Now!"
"The Empire knows you're here."
"Stay close Senator."
Ezra continued deflecting the shots, the world around him becoming blurry.
"You want me to go in there?"
The boy's eyes rolled to the back of his head, a display of images in front of him. Himself and a cadet, Zare probably, being cornered by stormtroopers. His friends and... Senator Trayvis? Heading into the sewers?
"Your parents were very brave."
Ezra gasped, his eyes opening. He was no longer in the sewers, he was back in the fields where he was training. Kanan was standing over him, placing a hand on Ezra's shoulder as the boy sat up,
"Ugh... I got stunned didn't I?"
"No," Kanan responded, "you deflected every blast back at the target."
Ezra looked over to the helmet spinning on the ground, the scuff marks from blasters still smoking.
"I saw something..."
"Saw? You had a vision?" Kanan's eyes widened as he spoke.
"I saw Gall Trayvis. Kanan, he knew my parents!"
- - -
"It was so real..." Ezra mumbled as Kanan helped him to his feet, looking to Zeb and Sabine as he spoke, "you were there. And you were there. Sneaking around in the dark. Troopers were everywhere."
Sabine shrugged, "Sounds like a pretty average day."
"Except, Senator Trayvis was there, fighting side by side with us. And he said he knew my parents!"
Kanan watched the boy, sighing, "Right... look Ezra. Just because you want something to happen, doesn't mean it's going to."
"But it might!" He looked back to his master, only to receive a punch in the head from Zeb, "ow! What are you doing?"
The lasat laughed, "Helping you to hone your Jedi powers. Why didn't you see that coming?"
"Doesn't work that way."
Another punch in the back, this one from Sabine, "Ow, stop!"
She smirked, "Maybe if we keep trying?"
From the ramp of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla called to the boy,
"Ezra, hurry! He's on."
The boy smiled, running to the ramp, making sure to give Zeb a punch in the arm on the way.
His vision and now a transmission. This had to mean something.
"Started recording before he was on." Ky smirked from her spot on the couch, as Hera and Ezra sat next to her.
"Yes!" Ezra practically jumped onto his seat, as the twi'lek smiled softly at the two.
"I'll play back the entire message." The girl stated, pressing a few buttons on the holonet.
Minister Tua was on at the moment, but that wouldn't last long.
"The insurgents terrorizing our world will soon be brought to justice," she stated, as the rest of the crew joined them in the common room, "I have assurances-"
"Citizens, this is Senator-in-Exile Gall Trayvis." the hologram changed to his usual image as he spoke.
"Right on time!" Ezra smiled, watching in awe. Hera shushed him, she too enjoyed these transmissions.
Trayvis continued, "Coming to you 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."
Ezra's eyes and smile widened, "He's talking about us! He said Lothal."
"I know," the twi'lek stated, "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 transmission was cut, back to Imperial propaganda as usual. Ezra looked to Hera, shocked and amazed, as the twi'lek explained,
"He's coming here to meet us."
"Uh," Zeb rose a brow, "how do you know that?"
"My contact Fulcrum says the senator hides coded messages in his transmissions. When Trayvis mentions a world, it's always the next one he visits."
Kanan looked over to her, "How come the empire hasn't caught him?"
"Trayvis is too smart," Ezra replied, "you know he pirates the Empire's one signal... just like my folks used to."
"And the clues he puts in his messages are obvious to the locals, but go right over the Empire's head," Hera replied, pulling the transmission back up, "watch."
"The sun may have set on the Old Republic. But a new freedom can be won-"
"He said 'the Old Republic' and 'a new freedom'."
"Well," Ezra thought for a moment, "everyone on Lothal knows the New Freedom mural. It's painted on the wall inside the... Old Republic senate building!"
Ky looked over, quickly pulling up a hologram of the building Ezra spoke of,
"Been abandoned since the Empire built the Imperial Complex," she stated, "good place for a friendly get together."
Zeb rolled his eyes, "Yeah, but when is this meeting?"
"He worked 'sunset' and 'today' into his message," Ezra responded, "pretty obvious."
"Yeah," Kanan cut in, "too obvious. We should have some insurance in case the Empire is more clever than we think."
Hera turned to Ezra, "You've got a friend inside the Imperial Complex, right? So find out for sure."
"I'll meet you at my... at my parents house at 1700." Ezra nodded to her as he stood up and began heading out of the room, only to be grabbed by Kanan,
"Ezra," the man said sternly, as the boy turned back to his master, "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."
The door closed, leaving Kanan and Hera in the cockpit, the twi'lek looking to the Jedi with a raised brow,
"Vision?"
Nightfall had arrived, as troopers and walkers patrolled the complex. A cadet saluted today a squadron as he passed by, heading into the shadows without anyone noticing.
"Zare!" A voice called out to him, making him jump. He chuckled, opening the visor,
"You're a stealthy one Dev Morgan."
Ezra let out a small chuckle, "Yeah, that's me. Stealthy Dev Morgan..." He looked up to Zare, "hey, thanks for meeting me last minute, cadet. By the way, how's you get past the gate?"
"I've been promoted," Zare smiled, "got class there clearance now."
"Um, congratulations?"
"To both of us," The cadet replied, "new clerical and courier duties give me greater access to intel you can use."
Two stormtroopers walked by, Ezra ducked behind a crate as Zare watched them until they were out of sight,
"Unless I'm caught, in which case..."
"Yeah, let's not get you shot," Ezra responded, "what do you have?"
"Agent Kallus and every section commander have been in secret tactical meetings. He's gathering troops for a massive operation."
"Any idea what'd for?" Ezra asked.
"Something to do with the old Senate building," Zare answered, "but it might just be a drill, I'm not sure."
Ezra sighed, beginning to walk away, "It's no drill. I need to warn the others."
"Hey, one more thing," Zare said before Ezra could walk away, "I'm being transferred off world to the officers academy on Arkanis."
"There's something you should know."
"Don't tell me your gonna miss me Dev." Zare chuckled. Ezra smiled a little and shook his head,
"What? No... I mean, sure. But, look it's not that. My real name is not Dev."
"It's not your name..?"
"No, it's-"
"You there!" A voice said from behind Ezra, as the two were practically cornered by stormtroopers.
"Oh no, my vision!"
Ezra quickly put his visor down, "No time to explain!" He said as he shoved Zare to the ground, running off without another word.
"Cadet," one of the troopers stopped as Zare stood back up, "Are you alright?"
"Yes sir!" Zare straightened himself, "I caught that loth-rat selling black market goods."
"We'll get him."
Ezra ran through the streets of Lothal, the three troopers and Zare following behind him. The boy turned back with his saber, using the blaster function to knock out the two in the front. He quickly turned down an alleyway, only for it to be a dead end.
"This way!" the trooper said, as he and Zare turned the corner, only for Ezra to be gone. Zare smiled a little, as the trooper called it in,
"We were tracking an insurgent, but the search was inconclusive." He said, as Ezra watched the two walk away from the rooftop.
Minister Tua walked into the office, the blue glow of a holomap lighting the room, as Kallus sat behind it,
"Agent Kallus," she began, "you're certain this operation will solve our rebel problem? The Inquisitor says-"
Kallus cut her off, "I believe the Inquisitor has put too much emphasis on the capture of the Jedi. Our attention should be on the Rebels as a group. We catch my rebels, we catch his Jedi."
Ezra pulled out the keycard, sliding it through the slot on the door, Chopper waiting for him inside of his old home.
The boy looked around, "Where is everybody?"
Chopper beeped a response, pointing his metal arm down to the hidden basement. Ezra rose a brow, as he walked over to the opening, hearing the others talking,
"It's pretty old," Sabine said, "he said his parents used it to broadcast from."
Zeb sighed, "I don't get it. They weren't soldiers, just citizens. Why'd they risk it all?"
"They had hope," Hera stood up from where she was crouched by the old transmitter, "that they could do something to make the galaxy a better place for their son."
Sabine cleared her throat, as Ezra stood by the ladder in front of them, all attention being drawn to him.
"Cutting it a little close," Sabine stated, "I know you don't want to miss Trayvis' meeting."
"Neither does the Empire," Ezra responded, "and you were right Kanan. They know where the meeting is. Kallus has an operation planned, probably to capture Trayvis, or worse."
"The Imperials will have numbers." Zeb sighed, as Kanan crossed his arms,
"We'll have surprise."
"What gives you that idea?"
"I'm being optimistic."
The crew of the Ghost watched from afar, as the Mandalorian explained what they were dealing with,
"There's a dignitary shuttle and two protocol droids on the platform. Trayvis must already be inside. I'm not seeing any Imperial forces."
"Well, they've gotta be around," Ky pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars, checking the streets, "yeah, they're definitely around. Patrols everywhere, probably have the whole area locked down."
"We've gotta get Trayvis outta there before the Empire moves in."
"Wait," Hera cut him off, "why haven't they moved in?"
"They want us too," Kanan sighed, "it's a trap."
"So maybe we don't walk into it for once," Zeb suggested, "we don't even know for sure your precious Senator is in there."
"Yes we do," Ezra reminded him, "I saw it."
"If we can get up there without being seen," Kanan continued, "maybe we fly him out on his own ship."
"I know a way in," Ezra told them, "no one will see us."
The boy received unconvincing looks from Sabine and Zeb, as he smiled, "hey I survived alone against the Empire for eight years. Come on."
Kanan and Hera shared a look, as the crew followed the boy to his secret way in.
A droid rolled around what seemed to be a hatch of some kind, as Chopper rushed over, exchanging a few beeps with it, before opening the hatch and shoving it down the hole. Chopper beeped in celebration, as the crew caught up with him.
"Poor droid," Ky rolled her eyes, patting Chopper's dome, "did you really have to do that?" The droid beeped triumphantly, was Zeb looked down into the hatch.
"Ugh. This is a sewer pipe."
"Yes it is," Ezra replied, "and I can pretty much guarantee we're not gonna run into any stormtroopers down there." Ezra was first to climb down the ladder, followed by Hera and the rest, Sabine muttering something under her breath. Kanan was last to head down, pausing to look at Chopper,
"Okay Chop, stay here, just in case we need backup strat-" the droid beeped before Kanan could finish, nearly closing the hatch on Kanan, but the Jedi was quick to duck down inside, "hey!"
Ezra walked in front of the rest, leading the way through the sewers,
"Used to be too much water to walk down here, but since the Empire started rationing, pretty dry."
Zeb rolled his eyes, "Well it hasn't helped the smell."
"Speaking of which it does smell like you." Sabine muttered. Zeb looked over to her confused, as she responded, "I was talking to Ezra."
Ezra smirked, "Wait, you know what I smell like?"
Kanan cut them off before they could continue, "Can we focus? Please."
Reaching the ladder, the crew climbed up, watching the shuttle and the droids for a moment.
"What do you think?" Ezra looked to Kanan. He sighed, reaching his hand out,
"Better safe than sorry."
A thump came from the inside of the ship, as one droid looked to the other,
"What was that?"
"My sensors indicate it came from the ship. Better investigate."
As the droids walked into the shuttle, the crew headed towards the senate building, Kanan stopping for a second, looking to Sabine and Zeb, keeping a whisper tone as he spoke,
"Hold on. You two, up top."
Zeb looked to the Mandalorian, "Want a lift?" He asked, giving her a boost up to the top, then jumping up right behind her. The remaining four entered the building, one man and two droids standing by the mural.
"Hello," the man looked to them, "who's there?"
"Senator Trayvis," Ezra smiled a little, "we're friends."
"Welcome!" Trayvis smiled at them, "I was beginning to think no one on Lothal got my message."
"Senator you're in terrible danger," Hera told him, "the Empire knows you're here."
"That's impossible."
Two blasters fired, as the protocol droids next to Trayvis fell to the ground, five stormtroopers and Agent Kallus entering the building. Kanan and Ezra ignited their sabers, as Ky and Hera went to the Senator, keeping their blasters ready as the Rebels were surrounded completely.
"Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight. Padawan Jabba. Prisoner 07-03-05," the agent smirked, as Ky looked down for a moment, holding her breath as he continued, "and what is this? A twi'lek I've yet to meet. From your regalia I suspect you must be our talented pilot." Hera glared the agent down, keeping on arm in front of Trayvis and the other clutching her blaster, watching as Minister Tua walked in.
"Where is the lasat and the Mandalorian girl?" She spoke up, looking around for Zeb and Sabine.
Kallus looked to her, then back to the rebels, "If you won't talk, then my troopers will become a firing squad."
"You'd better do as he says. Trayvis muttered, as Ezra looked back to him,
"Don't worry Senator, our friends will be along."
From the beams above them, Sabine and Zeb held detonators in their hands, pressing them and tossing them down around their friends, creating smoke to give them an exit. Zeb jumped down, igniting his bo rifle and taking out troopers up close, while Sabine stayed at the beams and fired from above. Hera covered the Senator, firing at the troopers that came their way,
"Stay close Senator!"
Kanan and Ezra deflected a few blasts, as the boy looked back for a second, "Follow us!"
The crew and the senator ran out of the building, using the smoke to mask their escape, as Sabine jumped from beam to beam covering them. She jumped down, holding one more detonator in her hand, tossing it onto the ground as she followed her friends out of the building.
The explosive went off, as Zeb grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, laughing a little once they looked up.
"Was really hoping that shuttle would still be here." Hera spoke up, gesturing to the now empty landing platform.
A shuttle did come into view, an Imperial one,
"And that's not the ride we're looking for."
The Imperials from inside were recovering from the explosion, as Tua looked to Kallus,
"Agent Kallus! They must not escape!"
The agent stood up, stumbling to the exit, "They haven't, minister. They won't."
Sabine opened the sewer batch, as Trayvis looked down in disgust,
"You want me to go in there?"
"It's not so bad once you get used to the smell."
Zeb chuckled, "You never get used to the smell."
A blaster fired at them, as master and padawan reignited their blades,
"Go!"
Trayvis was first down the hatch, the rest of the crew following behind him, Sabine closing the door before Kallus or any others could follow behind.
"Get this open!" The man commanded, "I want triplets at every exit in the lower city!"
The crew ran through the sewers, wanting to get ahead of any Imperials that followed. Trayvis stopped short, leaning against the pipes for a moment, out of breath,
"Yes... I'm, I'm coming." He muttered, looking to Hera who had stopped.
The twi'lek looked to the others, "Ezra, wait up."
"Sorry Senator," the boy responded, "we just wanna her out of here as fast as we can."
"I am the one who should apologize my young friend," Trayvis told him, "I've been pursued, but never in such a place like this." Hera rose a brow, a little uncertain that he hadn't been in one of these situations before.
"Figured you'd be used to running from the Empire." Kanan cut in. Trayvis thought for a moment,
"Well, I, I've never come this close to capture before."
Stopping for a moment had led to the stormtroopers catching up, as they fired at the Rebels, splitting them up between the pipes. Hera, Ezra, and Trayvis on one end, and Kanan, Ky, Sabine, and Zeb on the other.
"We'll draw them away!" Kanan yelled to the others, firing at the troopers, "get Spectre 2 and Trayvis to the hatch!"
"Wait," Ezra replied, "how will you find us?"
"I can smell you, remember?" Sabine smirked underneath her helmet. Ezra opened his mouth to say something, but Hera grabbed his shoulder,
"Think of something clever to say later," she told him, "move!"
Two stormtroopers walked over to the droid rolling back and fourth near one of the hatches. One of the troopers knelt in front of him,
"Unit number C1-10P? Is this one of ours? I can barley read it's operating number."
The other trooper began to close off the hatch, as Chopper beeped at him in annoyance.
"This one's sealed shut." the trooper stated, ignoring the droid as he stood up. The other nodded, looking to Chopper,
"Insurgents are loose in the sewers. Sound the alarm if you see any rebel activity," he turned away, "onto the next one!"
Chopper grumbled to himself, as he began to saw away at the hatch.
Kanan and Sabine came to a stop, looking at the three possible directions they could go,
"Spectre 5, do you actually know where we're going?"
"Of course I do, sorta." She replied, using her wrist pad to figure out which way to go. She gestured to the direction they needed to go, right on time too, as the stormtroopers caught up.
Almost running the wrong way, Kanan yelled to the other two members of his team,
"Zeb, Ky! This way!"
Meanwhile, Trayvis had begun asking questions to the pilot and the Padawan, as Hera checked to make sure they were safe, but also paid attention to what he said,
"You're so well organized. To evade the Empire as you have, you must have quite a support system. Good funding, powerful allies."
"No, this is it," Ezra explained, "we're all there is."
"You can't be serious."
"I hoped we could learn from you Senator," Ezra looked back to him, "your transmissions have already helped keep us going."
"Just to know someone else is out there has meant a lot." Hera added in, as they arrived to the edge of the pipe, a large fan in front of them.
"Come on!" Ezra said, as he and Hera jumped down to the bottom. Trayvis looked down, falling off the pipe and onto the ground next to them, to be helped to his feet by the twi'lek. She looked over to the fan,
"How are we getting past this thing?"
Ezra thought for a moment, before looking to her, "We could try to cut its power." She nodded to him, gesturing for him to go ahead, turning back to Trayvis before following,
"Watch our backs, will ya?" She put her blaster out for him to grab. The man paused a moment, before taking it from her hand, nodding a little.
Seconds later, Trayvis spoke up,
"That's enough," he told them, pointing Hera's blaster at the two, "we're not going anywhere."
Ezra stood up, eyes wide, as he stared at the Senator. Hera watched the man closely, her hand on her hip as she glared him down.
"Woah... Senator..? What are you doing?"
"Put your saber down boy," Trayvis moved the blaster to Ezra, "now!"
Ezra felt his heart drop, "You're... you're with the Empire?"
"But all your transmissions," Hera stated, "those planets you visited. How did word not get out about you?"
"Because no one ever knew," he told them, "not even my own droids. Insurgents are not arrested, they're identified and watched. The troublesome ones have... accidents, after I'm gone."
"But you're not a traitor..." Ezra responded, still trying to believe what he wanted to believe, "you're a voice of freedom, a light in the darkness! Like my parents!"
"Parents..?" Trayvis pauses, "no one has spoken against the Empire on Lothal since... the Bridger transmissions. I remember them. The original voices of freedom. You're their son."
Ezra's heart began to race, he found himself breathless listening to Trayvis' words.
"Why..? Why?!"
"I joined the Empire," he continued, as Hera's expression softened when she looked to Ezra, but her glare returned as the Senator continued, "like your parents should have. For their lives. For you. Your parents were very brave. And very foolish. Where are they now?" He held the blaster at the two, Ezra unable to look at the Senator he once believed in, "I'll tell you my boy. They're gone!"
Ezra gasped, putting his head in his hands, his breath quickening. Were they really gone..? Hera looked to him, not standing for this any longer.
"There not gone, Trayvis."
He pointed the blaster at her as she began to walk towards him, "Stop right there."
"As long as we fight, all that they spoke out for lives on."
She didn't stop until she was inches away from the blaster, standing tall. She wasn't afraid of him.
"I said stop!"
He pulled the trigger, only for the blaster not to fire. He looked at it, confused, pulling the trigger a few times for nothing still to happen.
"What..? No!"
Hera grabbed her blaster, punching Trayvis hard, knocking him out. Ezra watched her in confusion, and also disappointment, as she explained,
"A true rebel would know if he's holding a charged blaster."
"You knew..."
"He's tried to get us to surrender," she explained, "he wasn't tired when he stopped, he was waiting for Kallus to catch up. And, he wanted our secrets." She placed her hand on Ezra's shoulder as the boy looked down, "I didn't want to believe it..."
Ezra looked back up to her for a moment, as footsteps could be heard in the distance. Both of them looked over to see the rest of the crew jumping down from the pipe, looking at the unconscious Trayvis in confusion,
"What happened to the Senator?"
"He was working for the Empire."
Sabine sighed, "Is there anybody on our side?"
"So, guess he stays here. What's our plan?"
"We were gonna stop the fan to get through."
Ky looked to her mother, "And what's gonna stop Kallus from following us?"
"We only stop it long enough for us to get past it," Kanan commanded, "cover me!"
The Jedi reached his hand out, as the rest got their blasters ready. Ezra looked to his master for a moment before igniting his saber, ready to protect him. The fan began to slow as the stormtroopers began firing at them.
"Move it Rebels!" Hera told them, as the fan came close to a stop. They followed her, Ezra remaining in front of Kanan for cover.
"Blast the Jedi!" Kallus yelled, as the squadron of troops focused their fire.
"Ezra, let's go!" Kanan yelled, the two of them running behind the fan. Ezra stopped for a moment, looking back to the Senator from the other side, furious.
The fan had sped up, as Kallus and the troops walked over to Trayvis, looking him over, turning away from him without a word.
Chopper grunted, complaining to himself as he continued to try and saw the hatch open. A blue blade came through it, as the droid jumped back, beeping something in annoyance. He grunted, seeing it was the Jedi and the crew coming back.
Kanan rolled his eyes, "Hey you're supposed to be glad to see us."
Once again the twin moons had risen, the night had come by the time the crew was walking back up the ramp of their home. Sabine placed her hand on Ky's shoulder, noticing the girl had been quiet since the encounter at the Old Republic building,
"I've already looked for anything under that prisoner number," She said softly, causing Ky to look over, "there's nothing."
She sighed, "Yeah... figured it would be something like that." She smiled her best at Sabine and Zeb, climbing up the ladder with them, leaving Ezra with Kanan and Hera.
Ezra sighed, stopping once he was aboard the ship,
"I didn't see it... I was so wrong."
Hera gently placed her hand on the boy's back,
"We all thought he was a good person."
Ezra nodded a little, looking to Kanan, "You always sat I should trust the force. I thought that's what I was doing."
"Your emotions clouded the vision. It takes-"
"Training and discipline?"
"To see things clearly, yes," he continued, "visions are difficult, almost impossible to interpret."
"What was the last vision you had?"
Kanan sighed, walking over to the ladder,
"I saw this bratty kid that constantly caused me trouble."
Ezra chuckled a little, "I guess you read that one wrong."
"Yeah," Kanan smiled a little as he headed up the ladder, "I guess so."
Hera looked out to the fields of Lothal, her and Ezra the only ones left on the ramp.
"You know, I wanted to believe in Trayvis as much as you did."
Ezra followed her down the ramp, sitting next to her, "Yeah... what's wrong with us?"
"We have hope," she simply told him, "hope that things can get better." She smiled a little, "And they will."
Rebellions are built on hope.
- - -
ASDFGHJKL IM SO HAPPY WITH HOW THIS CAME OUT
I JUST
I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH
AND THAT KY/KALLUS INTERACTION
AHHHHHHHHH
Fun fact: ky's prisoner number (07-03-05) is my birthday
Hope you enjoyed! 3 more this season!!!