- the calm before the storm.

breaking ranks

It had been weeks since the crew had sent Ezra under cover in the Empire. Weeks of waiting, weeks of anxiety just hanging in the air around the Ghost, weeks of nothing happening.

Sabine, Zeb, and Lexie were staying hidden on a landing platform at the Empire HQ Ezra was in, waiting for Chopper who was getting information on if he had passed his first assessment. 

Kanan, Hera, and Echo, however, were still in the Ghost, waiting for updates. The cockpit had been quiet for a while as they waited for anything from the squad at the Empire. Finally, the sound of Sabine's voice came through the comm unit. 

"Spectre-5 to Ghost. Looks like the kid passed the first test. He's inside Imperial HQ." 

"Roger, Spectre-5," said Hera, "Ghost standing by." 

As soon as the comm unit was shut off, Kanan slumped back in his seat. "We've been standing by for weeks, I'm sick of this!" 

Hera raised an eyebrow at him. "You're worried about Ezra." A fake gagging sound came from one of the seats behind them. 

"I'm not worried about the kid," he huffed, ignoring Echo and crossing his arms. "I'm worried about the op." He sighed, "what were we thinking putting him undercover?"

"What were we thinking?" Hera and Echo both stared at him.

"This was your idea!" Hera pointed at him from the pilot seat, practically glaring at him. 

"He's just not ready." Kanan hit the arm of his seat in frustration. "What if he gets caught?"

"He hasn't gotten caught this far in," Echo said with a shrug. "Hate to say it but you gotta have some faith in him at this point."

"Do you?" Kanan raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh, no not really but I pretend to for your sake."

Kanan shook his head and turned his seat back to face the front window of the Ghost. "The moment he gets that decoder, Zeb yanks him out of there."

"Uh, that's the plan." Hera nodded. 

"I should've done this myself," Kanan muttered, causing Echo to let out a humorless laugh. 

"Yeah, sure, you'd make a great cadet."

------------

A few hours passed with no word from Zeb, Sabine, and Lexie. The three crew members in the Ghost gathered in the cockpit as they saw night begin to fall. It was then that a voice came through the comm unit again.

"Spectre-6 to Ghost," Lexie's voice crackled through, sounding slightly concerned but both Kanan and Echo's eyes lit up at the sound of her voice. Echo practically tripped over to get closer to Kanan and Hera sitting in the pilot and co-pilot seats to lean against Kanan's. "Something went wrong and Ezra didn't get the decoder and come out."

A moment of silence passed before Hera spoke. "Copy that, Spectre-6, give him one more day."

The communications link was cut off and Echo fell back into her seat dejectedly. 

"This decoder better be worth it." Said Kanan, running a hand over his face. 

"What's the alternative?" Hera looked over at him, "do you want that Kyber shipment or not? You know what the Empire could do with that crystal."

"Nothing good." Kanan replied. 

"So we give Ezra one more day." Hera said and stood up from her seat. "I'll see you guys in a few hours. Get some rest, be ready for tomorrow."

Kanan and Echo watched Hera leave before Echo hopped up and sat down in the pilot seat. 

"How long do you think till they come back?" She asked.