Sparks

Chapter Thirteen - The Found

The dumbstruck Lasat slowly landed on the ground. Erica fell down with him, out of breath and out of practice. The cool ground felt like it was swaying under her as she tried to steady herself. What will he do now that he knows what I am? The last time this happened...she died.

Taking a few deep breaths, Erica calmed herself. A few moments later she crawled to the ledge. "Are you okay?" She called down to Zeb, who was still trying to make sense of what happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Wh-" But Erica interrupted him before he could finish.

"Let's talk about it...on the ground." Not waiting for a reply, she got up and started for the ledge. When she reached the ledge, she jumped off and hit the ground. No point in hiding my abilities now.

Standing still, she sensed him and his confusion coming up behind her.

"You're...a Jedi?"

"You can't tell anyone. Ever. Please, if the Empire found out..." Erica shook her head. "I couldn't help it. It was instinct."

There was a pause.

"Thank you. Really I-"

Specter 4? Where are you? Zeb's commlink blasted with a woman's voice. Erica turned to face him as he answered.

"Down in the spaceport with some company. How's it going up there?"

Well, they haven't forgotten the last time we came here.

Shots sounded faintly with her voice and sounded louder in the starry sky.

Specter 6 is coming down with the Phantom. He's landing in Bay 11. And what do you mean by company?

"We met at the control center and she helped me get in. To make it even, I offered her a ride." He met Erica's wide eyes.

What? Erica's shoulders felt light again. Thank you, she mouthed to him.

Zeb nodded. The voice continued. We can do that. Get on board with Specter 6, we'll meet up in the sky, Sabine where are my-

The call cuts out. "Specter? Phantom? You guys seem to like ghosts."

"Actually that's the ship's name. The Ghost was made to avoid detection."

"Fitting. By the way, who's Specter 6?"

Zeb shook his head. "He's the kid. We ran into him Lothal a while back and he's been with us since." They're pretty close for a crew of aid workers if that's all that they do anyway.

A small ship flew down into the spaceport. "That's him. We should get to Bay 11." Zeb and Chopper started walking out of the Bay that they were in, but Erica paused for a moment. The Force seemed to cling to this Specter 6. The presence seemed...familiar.

Familiar enough to clench Erica's heart.

Everything seems familiar today. It's not him. He's gone. When will you accept it and move on?

Ignoring the heartache, Erica watched Chopper open the door. He beeped to them after the door opened, revealing a dark hallway. "He says that the port is on lockdown, and the bays are locked."

"Hopefully there are ports on the outside or we're really in trouble."

The trio went out into the darkness. As they moved along, Erica kept a hand on her pistol. She couldn't sense any life forms, but she couldn't use the Force to sense droids. Chopper stopped in front of a door. To the right of it was a ventilation shaft. "No ports. Great."

"But there's an air vent that leads into the bay." Both Zeb and Chopper were looking at her when he finished.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"It works, especially when you need to get into a cargo bay for supplies, of course." He chuckled.

Hmm.

"Alrighty then. See you on the other side."

She pulled off the metal cover and got inside. As Erica crawled through the cooler shaft, she heard Chopper make laughing noises. Muffled growling followed and a smile tugged at her lips. A few crawls forward and there was a turn to the left, ending at a vent. Erica kicked the vent cover off, sending it clattering to the ground.

Stepping out, she saw a small gray ship docked in the middle of the darkened bay. Stars shone above, the wind was still, and it was cool. The door opened and a figure walked out. It was a kid, with shaggy black hair, and blue eyes filled with shock that matched her own.

Everything stopped.

They stood unmoving and not speaking, just staring, trying to figure out if this was real. His mouth and eyes were wide.

The pull she felt earlier was dragging her to him. It had to be him. It had to be.

I thought about it, but I didn't think...that he was Force-sensitive...

No wonder he survived after all these years. Mom was right. She was actually right.

Her throat tightened, but she swallowed her pain down. There was a promise that she had to keep.

"Ezra?"

~<-*->~

A girl- no, woman- stood two meters away from him. Wearing a blue vest and brown boots, she was older and taller, an adult now. But she had the same face that resembled their mother, and her familiar eyes were filled with utter shock. She was somehow, alive. The last time Ezra saw her was when she was telling him to run, but he never saw the explosion; he heard it.

Was Erica actually alive?

"Erica?"