- the calm before the storm.

rebel resolve

"Hera, I'm so sorry," Jysell had apologized immediately upon meeting back with the Ghost crew. "There were gunships. We would've been there-"

Hera hadn't said anything. She hadn't accepted the apology or anything before wrapping her arms around Jysell's waist and putting her face into her shoulder. "Kanan is with the Empire."

Jys hesitantly put an arm around Hera's shoulders, and her lips brushed gently against the top of the twi'leks head. "I'm sorry, Her. I should've been there."

"You were our backup," it was Lexie who spoke up. "We lost a man because you weren't there like you were supposed to be."

"I was keeping more ships off your asses," Jys said, her voice automatically getting rough when she switched who she was talking to, "none of you would have made it out if we hadn't intercepted them."

"If you had been there, we would have all made it out!" Lexie yelled, taking a step toward Jysell.

Jys removed herself from Hera's grasp and went to face Lexie. "He is one man. You can get him back. The Empire can't count this as a win when you are still here."

"He's not expendable."

"I never said he was," Jys snapped back, glaring at Lexie. "What I'm saying is that you can get him back. He's not dead, right?"

"No-"

"Then you get him back. We may not have been there, but we gave the rest of you a chance to get out."

Lexie had glared up at her. She was pissed, she had been since Kanan had shut the door on her, and despite the truth in Jysell's words, she didn't want to hear it. Lexie wanted to be mad. But she could be mad at Kanan when they got him back.

Since then, Lexie had tried her best not to be angry at the others. She knew in the back of her mind that they didn't deserve her snapping at them, but in her fragile state of mind, they were more aggravating than usual. She shot down every rescue idea because it seemed improbable, stupid, and reckless.

"Lexie, I'm running out of ideas here," Echo sighed in frustration and stood up. "You haven't even given me anything good either, and you're shooting down everything."

"Because none of your ideas are going to work!" Lexie snapped, putting her face in her hands. She and Echo had been left aboard the Ghost to work on an extraction plan for Kanan. It hadn't gone well so far, with Echo coming up with things that in no world would work, the occasional probable plan, and Lexie saying no to all of them.

"That's cause I'm not a logistican!" Echo fired back.

"It's logistician." Lexie corrected, glaring at the younger girl through her fingers. "And, no, you're not being logical right now. You keep coming up with things that will kill all of us."

"Like you've been much help." Echo turned around, staring at the ceiling. She wanted to keep her eyes off Lexie. It would save her the embarrassment of crying in front of her. "You're not the only one he meant something to."

Lexie lifted her head from her hands. "I know that."

"You're not acting like it." Echo looked down, kicking at the dirty floor to distract herself. "He's my brother. I want him back too." She knew she sounded selfish for pulling the family card, but she didn't care.

"I know," Lexie repeated. "Ugh," she hit her head against the wall behind her. "I know. I'm sorry." She looked at Echo when no answer came. "Echo, I'm sorry," she said again, but it was a softer apology this time. "I'm not-"