Rebel Defenders: The Grand Admiral (Book 3 MCU/Star Wars crossover)

Empire State of Mind

Ezra bowed his head in disappointment. Despite his rank as Leuitenant both Sabine and Zeb overruled him on confronting Diamondback at the Harlem's Paradise club. Ezra adamantly argued his case citing his improved skills and capabilities. That without him Sabine would have still been trapped on a Star Destroyer with fully equipped Interdictor technology that would have been used to subdue multiple Rebel cells. The Star Destroyer now lay at the bottom of the Hudson River. Unfortunately Admiral Titus was rescued by one of his Stormtrooper Officers as Ezra and Sabine attempting to kidnap him and bring him to an escape pod.

Yet Sabine argued that Diamondback had well over a thousand hostages. Ezra's status as a Jedi Padawan could potentially upset Diamondback whose hatred of the Jedi as false heroes was well documented. Diamondback could potentially kill all the hostages out of spite. Zeb backed up this assessment and despite recently recovering from his injuries volunteered to help Luke. Ezra was forced to swallow his anger fueled by the whispers of the Sith Holocron. The Holocron demeaned and ridiculed Zeb and Sabine as weak and sentimental. The object praised Ezra as a true leader who valued victory over everything else.

Ezra knew that the hostages were courageous people and shouldn't be viewed as a hindrance to completing the mission. Ezra respected the hostages for standing up for Luke by wearing gray hoodies in solidarity for his mission and honoring the memory of Henry "Pop" Hunter Luke's mentor. It made him think of his teacher Kanan Jarrus. Ezra missed Kanan and he appreciated the love and respect Kanan showed him the past two years. Only when he thought of Kanan did he decide to go along with Zeb and Sabine's plan. Ezra was tasked with working with civilian officer Misty Knight in evacuating people escaping through the tunnels in Harlem's Paradise that lead to the junkyard.

"You're the one who started all of this when you tailed Luke in Pop's Barbershop. You wanted to recruit him to the Rebel cause but then you realized the barbershop could be useful for gathering information for the Rebel movement. You were there that night Dante, Shameek, and Chico attempted to the steal the credits used to pay for the illegal Mandalorian weapons. That's how you discovered these tunnels go towards Harlem's Paradise." Misty deduced

"Most civilian officers wouldn't have been able to figure all of that out." Ezra replied

"I'm not most civilian officers and you should consider yourself lucky. I lied to my fellow officers at the precinct to help you evacuate these people. That's the only reason I will not arrest you for treason. I believe in doing good but I also believe in law and order. Without that I'm no different than the criminals that have ruined Harlem."

"What's good about law and order if the people that abide by it don't use it to help people? The Empire has only used law and order for themselves while the people suffer. That's why I'm a Rebel." Ezra said

"You don't think I've suffered Ezra. I had a friend named Shay who worked at Harlem's Paradise. She was a bartender but Cottonmouth noticed her getting lots of tips at the bar from all the way up in the VIP section. One of the biggest tippers was an Imperial officer who liked to go the club during his off hours. Cottonmouth took him out in one punch and Shay was impressed. I told her Cottonmouth was bad news but she was impressed by how much he went out of his way to make her feel special. The previous Governor Ryder Azadi didn't bother pressing charges on Cottonmouth for his assault on an Imperial. He found it funny that the Imperial got decked right in the middle of the club."

"So is that where you got the idea to spy on Cottonmouth from the bar?" Ezra asked

"For someone so young you're very perceptive. Yes that's where I got the idea. Cottonmouth got very close to Shay. At one point she was the only girl in his private suite. They watched shows together and soon they became a couple. I think Cottonmouth was attracted to her singing along with her looks. Shay wanted Cottonmouth to leave the weapons trafficking business. Get engaged and build a life together solely focused on Harlem's Paradise.