Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Thirty-One

Over the next few weeks, Keen does her best to leave the Ghost Crew alone, to let them come to her. She knows that the fact that she kept the major secrets from them can only cause more pain. It's clear that it will take a while for the trust to be re-earned. A few days after she was released from the med-wing, the Bad Batch had said their goodbyes to Keen, and promised to keep in touch. The Ghost Crew had had a few missions assigned to them, and Ari'abel had spent that time training her Padawan.

It was about a week after she was released from the med-bay that Ahsoka approached her. "Listen, Soka, I'm really sorry about not telling you about-"

"You were right not to tell us. It would have disillusioned the Rebellion. It's true that after meeting Vader I had my suspicions, and you simply confirmed it. As for the deal with Palpatine, I can easily forgive you. The others will come around, I know Rex already has. I think he actually has some questions."

"You might as well send him my way, looks like I'll be around here for a little while."

"You may have a mission sooner than you would think."

Keen reaches her hands up, rushing them through her close cut hair, sighing, before she shrugs. "You never know."

The Togruta smiles at her, walking down a corridor, most likely in search of Rex. Ari'abel smiles as well, going to walk down the opposite corridor, to find her Padawan, when she recognizes a presence behind her. "Ez?" she asks, without turning around, "Can I help you?"

"Well, I have this rescue mission. And I'm on point. While I may not trust you completely, we could use your help...please."

The Jedi turns to meet his eyes, "That's all the invitation I need, buddy. I'm there."

Keen takes a few minutes to find Leia, and invite her to come along as well, but she refuses, insisting that Keen and the Ghost Crew need time alone. The Jedi rolls her eyes, smiling slightly at the girl, setting off to find the Ghost. Stepping back aboard the ship, she gets a feeling of calm washing over her, sensing the presence's of the other crew members, it feels like home. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath of the stale air. Opening her eyes, they land right on Kanan's face.

He raises his eyebrow, "You've been gone a while."

"Wasn't sure you'd want me back. Not after all the secrets I kept from you."

A small smile crosses his face, "Hey, we all have secrets. Trusting you is one of the easiest things to happen in my life."

"As long as you're not all just taking me out into space to kill me."

"Don't give Chopper any ideas."

***

The trip goes by surprisingly quickly. Ari'abel spends most of the trip in the cockpit. Hera had immediately smiled when she entered, offering her the co-pilot seat. Most of the trip the two had sat in silence. "So, I've been meaning to ask, Keen. Why didn't you mention your deal with the Emperor earlier? You know no one would've been upset."

"I guess I just like to keep all my skeletons buried deep within the closet, I figure if I do that, maybe they won't come back to bite me in the *rse. Clearly I was wrong. I just didn't know how anyone would react. When I had planned on mentioning it, I just didn't think it was relevant."

The Twi'lek twists in her chair, facing the Jedi, "We've all got skeletons in our closets. Most of us don't want them coming out. I get it, and you're welcome on my ship anytime."

Keen smiles at her, turning back to facing the stars speeding past in front of her, and the planet nearing the viewscreen. The ship nears the landing bay, and the crew head back to the ramp. Pulling her mask over her face, she steps forward to follow them out. Hera turns, glancing at the Padawan,and says, "Ezra, I'm proud of you for taking the lead on this rescue mission."

"You would have done the same thing."

"You said these people were wanted by the Empire," Kanan comments. "Do you know why?"

"No, but I hear they're closing in. We better hurry."

"So where'd you hear about these refugees anyway?" Zeb asks.

"Huh? Oh, you know, one of our, uh, contacts. Speaking of, Chopper, you better let him know we're here."

Chopper pulls a transmitter out, attempting to establish contact with someone, but only receiving static in return. The droid grumbles about the lack of a response, waving the device around.

"There's no answer," the boy comments, looking a bit more nervous. "We better hurry."

The group of rebels move faster into the storage bay. The crew spies a group of Stormtroopers standing around a large crate, blasters poised and ready to open fire. "Looks like we might be a little late," Keen mutters.

The team leans out from the crate they're hiding behind, as an Imperial Officer snarls, "Drag those refugees out here."

One of the Stormtroopers bellows at the occupants of the crate, demanding they exit. From deep within the confines of the giant metal box, a short, squat Lasat, wearing a dress, and leaning heavily on a staff, steps out, with a taller deeper purple Lasat follows her. Zeb, upon his eyes landing on the two gasps, his eyes widening. Sounding shocked, he breathes, "My people. They're Lasat."