Not Even Death

In Legendary Places

"But Ahch To is a myth!" Ahsoka breathes. "It's just a  youngling's story."

"And what would a bird have to do with this planet anyway?" Zeb asks scratching his forehead.

I sit with my knees pulled up to my chest and squished into the semi-circular couch of the common area between Zeb and Sabine. Kanan is pacing the length of the room as Ahsoka sits calmly on a stool and Rex leans against the doorway in poorly masked confusion. Everyone's questions seem centered around the elusive "porg" Kanan saw last night and the planet he thinks holds the key to finding Ezra.

I can't lie; hearing that we finally have a lead in finding my little boy brings so much peace that I didn't realize I had lost. But... I can't quite wrap my head around how it felt to hear Kanan say that he saw the porg thing. With his eyes. Kanan could see.

I don't know if that makes me happy or heartbroken.

"Zeb has a point, " Sabine's voice sounds tired and strained from spending the night trekking across the Lothian plains. "Couldn't these birds just as easily be on another planet too? Maybe this was all for nothing."

Kanan stops pacing and turns his face towards the table, but he still doesn't see us. He won't see his own child when the time comes.

"Ahsoka, you're right, " he speaks, finally, "but all stories have origins. Ahch To is real, and it's infested with those birds."

Ahsoka's eyes widen. "You've been there, " but she didn't phrase it like a question.

Kanan nods. "Master Yoda sent Depa on a mission early in my weeks as a padawan to gather intel. He wanted to know if the ancients had ever succeeded in removing the shroud of darkness over the future."

"What's so special about this planet?" Rex finally seems to catch on.

"When Ahsoka and I were little, " Kanan begins, "there were stories and legends about the first Jedi who stumbled upon a planet where the force was perfectly in balance. The way the stories were handed down from generation to generation, it sounded like a utopia, but it's just a place.

"The planet holds the most ancient Jedi wisdom, documented in texts that date back thousands of generations, but the wisdom of Ahch To cannot be transcribed or physically leave the planet. It must be passed from disciple to disciple, or master to apprentice, by word of mouth and training. That's why there are no records of the planet, not even in the most secure holocrons mention its name."

"At least, the Empire can't touch it," Sabine sounds optimistic. "Do you think you could find it again?"

A smile spreads across Kanan's scruffy cheeks. "Of course."

*

The Ghost is packed and ready to go. We bid our farewells to Rex who will be handling Lothal's protection while we're gone and prepare for take-off. I can't seem to shake the little frustrations from my head even with the therapeutic task of pre-flight checklists. It's always soothed me before.

When everything checks out, I turn on the engines. I can feel the crew's anticipation as I guide the ship towards the sky until the soft blues of the planetary atmosphere gives way to the endless darkness of space. I input the coordinates from Kanan and put the Ghost into hyperdrive.

We're coming for you, Ezra.

The system Kanan remembers is in a sector of uncharted, unnamed space. It will take a few weeks to reach even with some extra power reroutes to the engines.

"Is this seat taken?"

I nearly jump out of the captain's seat. "Karavast, you scared me."

Kanan smiles wickedly as he takes the co-pilot's seat. "I figured."

With narrowed eyes, I sneak an obscene jester involving sticking my tongue in the blind man's direction.

"Whatever face you just made, not cool."

"But... how? You can't even see me!"

Kanan kicks back in the seat until he's almost parallel with the floor. "I don't have to see you with my eyes, love. I see you with my heart, through my connection to you and our connections with the force."

His smile fades for a brief moment. "I know that's not what we would choose, and I would trade anything to see our family instead of what the force wants... But it did let me see you."

Me? Kanan saw me? When...?

"You've never said anything about that before," I carefully choose my words.

Kanan's brown hair droops into his eyes as his head hangs low.

"I wasn't sure, you know? It was the last thing I remember before the fire took everything. I saw you and your perfect green eyes..." he pauses as if in thought. "But I wasn't sure, until last night. I thought it was just a dream or a delusion."

"Sounds like a hot dream," I smirk.

"Hera!" Kanan groans before laughter bursts at his seams.

Hi readers! I took a few liberties with the story of Ahch To because I don't often familiarize myself with the legends. I tried to keep this to a minimum, so this should be the only time.

Just in case you're wondering: I'm still really happy you're all still reading, and your votes and comments make me so happy!