Taking In An Orphan

Chapter 11

Hera made it to the rendezvous point for the mission at about 6 a.m. An hour later, Kanan, Sabine, and a very grumpy Lasat were ready to board Hondo’s ship. 

“Be careful. You know Hondo, anything could happen,” Hera said. “I’ll be ready in the air when you need me.” 

“Where are you going?” Ezra asked, looking up at Kanan. He didn’t want his friend to leave him, even if he got to stay with Hera. Kanan bent down to speak to Ezra. 

“We have a mission to go to. We’ll be back before you know it.” 

“I wanna come,” Ezra said.

“Maybe next time,” Hera said. “Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb need us here to pick them up when the mission goes bad.”

“If, Hera. Not when,” Kanan said. 

“When dealing with the empire, it’s definitely a ‘when’, love. Or that’s the way it’s always been for us,” Hera replied. Hera and Kanan shared a look that made Zeb and Sabine look away in embarrassment at witnessing this private moment. 

“Bye-bye, Kanan,” Ezra said and hugged him. 

“See you soon, bud.” Kanan returned the hug and ruffled the boy’s hair. 

“Bye S’bine.” Then Ezra said more shyly, “Bye Zeb.” 

“Good luck up here, kid.” Ezra looked at Zeb, shocked that he was talking to him. 

------

    When the crew left, Hera and Ezra occupied the cockpit. Hera sat in the pilot seat while Ezra sat in the co-pilot seat that was way too big for him. 

    Hera sat down and thought about her earlier call to Fulcrum about Ezra. She had only said that they had rescued an escaped rebel minor who was running from the empire. Hera hadn’t given any information of Ezra’s identity or age because she wanted to make sure Ezra’s current addition to the crew remained a secret. Though Ezra had just met them and was only with them for two days, she couldn’t imagine him not being here. She knew Kanan, Sabine, and even Zeb were starting to think the same way. 

While they were waiting, Ezra stared at all the controls in confusion. 

    “Um...Hera...how do you know what button to press?” 

    “Huh?” Hera asked, jostled from her thoughts. 

    “How do you know how to control the ship?” 

    “Well, I learned to fly back on my home planet of Ryloth. I started learning when I was a bit older than you. Would you like to learn how to fly? We have some time before we’ll be needed.” 

    “Ya!” 

    “Okay, come here.” Ezra got up and sat down on Hera’s lap as she started showing him how the different buttons worked and what she pressed to get it to go and stop. Ezra was fascinated by all of this and Hera was thrilled. 

    Hera had tried to teach Kanan and Zeb how to pilot, but they only learned the basis before they lost interest. And Sabine already knew how to fly a ship pretty well when she joined the crew. Now, Hera could teach Ezra all about her ship and he seemed thrilled at the attention and care from her. Hera had imagined one day teaching her children how to fly, and this might be as close as she came to having her own child. Hera started to regret her contact with Fulcrum when a transmission came in. 

    “Spectre two, we have the supplies and we’re being tailed by stormtroopers. We need a speedy pick up,” Kanan’s voice came over the transmission.