Rebuilding (COMPLETE)

Episode 14 (1)

Kanan was vaguely aware he was on a Star Destroyer, but he didn't have a clue where the Destroyer was in the galaxy. Quite frankly, his brain was too fried to think of such a thing, or really to even think at all.

He got another break from the torture, and the Inquisitor insisted on talking. "Still protecting your precious crew," he noted, chuckling. "Quite admirable. But what I want to know is about the other rebels, code name Fulcrum."

Though he was a bit winded and still trying to catch his breath from screaming for so long, he spoke the truth. "I know nothing of a larger rebellion. And if I did, I'd rather give my life than tell you."

"So heroic. Just like your master."

Okay, that wasn't appreciated. The original Inquisitor never stooped that low, at least not in Kanan's limited experience.

"Tell me, Jedi," he went on, "how did you survive Order 66, hmm?" What's Order 66? he wondered, but the Inquisitor didn't give him time to figure it out. "It was your Master Billaba who laid down her life for yours. Do you remember her last word to you, her last and final breath before she died? You do, don't you? You see it in your sleep. You hear her voice when you wake."

Kanan didn't know how the Inquisitor knew so much, but the words were cutting into him like a scapel. Despite how much time had passed since that day, it was still very much an open wound in his memory, still traumatizing even after all this time.

"Tell me, Jedi," he said again, invading Kanan's space and speaking in his ear. "What was her last word to you?"

"'Run'," he answered, wishing he didn't hear her voice instead of his when the word came out of his mouth. It hadn't been a defeated confession as he had said it, but a desperate, fearful cry. It was the only time he had ever seen Depa afraid.

The Inquisitor knew full well he was in the Jedi's mind now. All he had to do was press the right buttons and everything would reveal itself. "And does your loyal and precious crew know that you ran as your master fell, abandoned her and the Jedi Order when they needed you most?"

Whatever rational he might have had for his actions in the past failed him. The Inquisitor didn't relent. "What do you think your rebels would do if they knew their leader was a coward? You're even afraid of your own power." He took Kanan's lightsaber and activated it, examining the blue blade before getting the feel of it. "You don't have the courage to wear your full saber out in the open. Let me tell you something, Jedi," he said, holding the tip of the blue lightsaber to Kanan's face. "You're right to be afraid. You couldn't save your master then, and you can't save your followers now."

The only thing that enabled Kanan to keep his resolve was the certain knowledge that he, in fact, wasn't the leader of the crew. Hera was the leader, she had always been the leader, and he trusted her to keep them safe much more than he trusted himself at the moment.

~

In the transport they had stolen from Lothal, Hera, Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper jumped out of hyperspace with Sabine's decorated TIE fighter. The Ghost had to be left on Lothal, as much as it pained Hera to leave her ship unattended. It would be worth it though, if this plan worked.

Adjusting some of the controls, Hera announced, "I'll send in our transponder codes as soon as we know Kanan is there. Ezra?"

"Well, here goes nothing," he decided, closing his eyes and focusing. If he couldn't feel Kanan through the Force on one of those Star Destroyers, this whole plan was shot. After a moment, he could vaguely feel Zeb getting impatient behind him. He blocked it out, though, just like Kanan had taught him. Even Hera was getting nervous, but he refused to lose his concentration.

He focused on Kanan, on all the memories he had with him. The one in particular that stood out was the last time Ezra had spoken to him, when Kanan had put himself between him and the Empire. Already it felt like so long ago, but Ezra could still remember what he felt like.

Kanan felt like home, just like his entire new family did. He felt secure and safe, he felt welcoming. Kanan was the one standing in front of him even when he had everything to lose. Ezra couldn't do the same, he couldn't protect him, but he could find him and get him back. He could make sure Kanan wasn't going to be abandoned, just like his family had never abandoned him.

So Ezra searched for home. In the midst of greedy, selfish, numb Imperials, he searched for his home. He found it in Tarkin's Star Destroyer, weak and hurt but alive. He found Kanan.

"He's there," he told the others. "He's alive!"

That was enough for Hera. "Sending codes."

A minute or so later, confirmation came from the Star Destroyer. "They bought it," Hera realized, narrowing her eyes. "Chop, send in Sabine's present."

The astromech obliged, plugging into the port behind Mom. The 'present', of course, was the TIE fighter, but it wasn't for the Empire's use, not by a long shot. Sabine had rigged it with as many EMP's as humanly possible. The paint job was going to attract attention, but not as much attention as what was coming next.

Since the ship had been rigged to autopilot into the Destroyer's hangar, Sabine knew exactly how much time it needed to get in position. As soon as it was stable and in the hangar, she triggered her present. It was very satisfying to watch all the lights on the ship go dark.

They didn't have time to enjoy it though. Hera landed the Ghost on the side of the Destroyer and the crew moved to infultrate the ship. "This shouldn't take long," she told Chopper. "Keep the engine running."

Chopper replied obediently as Mom followed the others out. Rolling to the front of the cockpit, he kept watch out of the front windshield. The sooner this was over, the better.

Thanks to Ezra's handy dandy lightsaber, they managed to cut their way into one of the hallways of the ship. When they all hopped through the hole in the wall, they noticed the stormtroopers laying on the ground unconscious. "These guys will wake up soon," Sabine warned.

"How soon?"

"Too soon, I'd reckon," Zeb grumbled, glancing around.

Ezra knew they had no time to lose. "Come on," he told them. "This way."

~

Back in the Ghost, Chopper was starting to wonder how long 'long' actually was. The other Star Destroyers were already sending shuttles to Tarkin's ship, and Chopper had a feeling more bucketheads were in there. They didn't notice the Ghost, thankfully, but the others were about to be in trouble.

Step one was to call Mom and warn her, which he did promptly. "Reinforcements already?" she confirmed, not sounding impressed. "That was fast."

Nothing else was said from her end, so Chopper assumed she and the others would figure it out. If Chopper was going to stay with the transport, there wasn't much he could do.

...not much, but there was something. He looked out the windshield again, gauging how desperate the situation was. After a minute or so, he decided it was dangerous enough. Turning around, he activated his antenna and made a call.

"This is Fulcrum, who is this?"

Chopper didn't spend long on an introduction, instead opting to outline the situation Mom and the others were in. They didn't have time to get into details such as how they ended up here. Fulcrum didn't bother to ask either.

"Chopper, I can help you and your crew," Fulcrum told him, "but I need you to do something for me. I have help ready and on the way, I just need you to jump to me and jump us back to your coordinates."

He didn't like the sound of leaving his team on the Star Destroyer, but Fulcrum insisted. "I need you to trust me. You won't be gone for long, but we have to do this now. If what you say is true, your team is running out of time. I'm sending you my coordinates, are you in?"

Of course he was in, but he was entitled to grumble as he did so. He took over the controls for the transport and copied Fulcrum's coordinates into the navicomputer. If Mom trusted Fulcrum, Chopper had to as well.

He just hoped this was going to work.