Star Wars Rebels: Hera & Kanan

Chapter Eleven

5.5 Months After AND

"This is a little forward, but I was wondering if you would show me your lightsaber?"

Hera was leaning against the doorway of Kanan's cabin, and he had his elbow propped against the top bunk and one foot hooked on the edge of the bottom bunk. They'd been having a boring discussion about the acquisition of supplies, capping off a run of far too many boring days in a row. She needed a little diversion.

One of Kanan's distinctive eyebrows shot up at her question, as did one corner of his mouth. His eyes were twinkling. "I'm really hoping that's a euphemism."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not, and you know it."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I do. But do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to make that joke?"

"I can imagine, and I'm not surprised," she said, wondering if it was possible for one's eyeballs to roll right out of one's head.

"That's because you get me."

"There's not that much to get." She gave him a sly smile that conveyed she was just giving him a hard time.

Kanan grinned. "Just for that, I don't know if I'll ever show you my lightsaber. Either one of them."

"Ugh, you're ridiculous," she grumbled, feeling a flash of genuine irritation. "Forget it."

He caught her arm as she turned to leave. "Hey- I'm kidding. I'd like to show it to you."

She stopped, enjoying the light touch of his hand on her arm more than a little- but he let go and turned towards his bunk, toeing open a drawer beneath the bottom bunk. Inside were the pieces of a disassembled lightsaber, and an odd but beautiful cube. He stooped to remove the pieces, assembling them as he straightened up.

"Here," he said, holding out the hilt to her.

She reached out and took it. It was lighter than she had expected. Holding it made her feel...powerful. "You made this yourself?"

"Yep. Each group of younglings was taken to a planet called Ilum, where we had to undergo a sort of trial to find our kyber crystal. And then we were taught how to build them by an old droid on a ship called The Crucible. You can turn it on- just, you know...don't point it at my face."

"I wouldn't do that," she said. "I like your face the way it is."

His eyes widened slightly at this comment, but she ignored his reaction. She was unwilling to give him the complete satisfaction of having gotten any kind of compliment out of her that wasn't strictly related to his work or skills. She adjusted the hilt of the saber so that turning it on wouldn't damage any faces or parts of her ship, and then she thumbed the switch.

A bright blue beam shot out from the hilt, and a sound halfway between a hum and a buzz filled the room. Her mouth fell open. "Oh. Wow," she murmured. "How do you fight with it without hurting yourself?"

"The principles are similar to sword fighting, but being able to access the Force helps, too. We got a lot of training with practice sabers before we were allowed to use the real thing."

"Can anyone use one, though?"

"Why, do you want one?"

"I mean..."

Kanan laughed. "There are lightsabers on the black market. They go for an insane amount of credits. But those lightsabers...they all belonged to Jedi, once. It's kind of...hard to think about. But I guess that might be where mine ends up, too, if something happens to me, or I lose it somehow. Some nerf herder will have it and think of it as some kind of prize or relic." He was perturbed for a moment, but the expression cleared as he looked at her. "It suits you," he said.