The Hunt (Star Wars Rebels)

Tracking Hope

Kanan glanced up as Sabine and Zeb entered the cockpit of the Ghost. Hera was sitting in the pilot's seat nearby, eyes closed and breathing slowly.

"Any luck?" Kanan asked quietly, careful not to wake Hera.

"Well, we did find something. Should we wake Hera first?" Sabine asked.

"No, she's hardly slept for the last two days. Let her rest," Kanan said.

"You haven't slept either," Sabine pointed out.

"I'm a Jedi," Kanan told her. "It's different for us. What did you guys find?"

"Well, we were right about our guess that a Trandoshan took Ezra," Sabine began, "but the news doesn't get any better from there."

"We found out that Trandoshans usually take their captives to the moon Wasskah," Zeb continued. "Supposedly Wasskah has a bunch of islands that the Trandoshans use for hunting. If this Trandoshan took him there, he could be on any of the islands."

"But at least it's a start," Kanan said. They had a place to start their search. And one small bit of hope was better than no hope at all.

---

"So we just jump up, run, and hope that they won't shoot us?" Ezra asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Dogan snapped. "We need to sneak over to those thick branches back there. From there we need to be as quiet as possible and get away."

Roy, Dogan, and Ezra crawled in the direction of the thick trees and brambles with Roy in the lead. As soon as Ezra passed beyond the first branches, he heard a blaster fire.

"Ok, now we run!" Roy shouted. The trio scrambled to their feet and raced away.

"You missed!" growled a throaty voice. "Don't let them escape!" More blaster shots fired, and Ezra tripped over a branch. He landed on his injured arm and gasped as he felt a spike of pain.

"Get up!" Dogan shouted, grabbing Ezra and pulling him to his feet. He pulled Ezra through the bushes and farther from the danger. The burning in Ezra's arm had grown to an intense fire, and now reached from his fingertips to part of his chest. Everywhere else was throbbing painfully. His head was pounding, and his vision went slightly fuzzy. Ezra heard a blaster shot and Dogan's hand slipped out of his.

The world slowed down. Dogan fell to the ground and didn't get up again. Ezra dropped to his knees beside Dogan and turned him over. He was dead.

"There's nothing you can do for him!" Roy said, grabbing Ezra's hand. Ezra numbly climbed to his feet.

"Come on! Only a little father before they can't get to us anymore!" Roy urged. They reached the thickest tangle of branches yet. Just ahead was a short bush that had an opening at the base. Roy paused and glanced back. The forest had gone silent.

"I think we lost them," Roy said breathlessly. He noticed how pale Ezra was. "Hey, don't worry about Dogan. He's safer now. The Trandoshans will never be able to get through the branches at him unless they duck and leave behind their speeders. It wasn't your fault that Dogan died."

Ezra's eyes closed and he slumped over, unconscious. Roy grabbed his shoulders to keep him from falling. Ezra's skin was hot to the touch.

"Kid! Kid!" Roy called. He pulled off the bandages that covered Ezra's arm.

"Karabast! We had less time than I thought."