Star Wars rebels Abducted

Chapter 6: Contented Waiting

Disclaimer: Star Wars: Rebels belongs to Disney. And they're doing a thumping good job with it.

Electric blue eyes shot open, as though a loud noise had gone off. But when Ezra took in his surroundings, he quickly came to the conclusion that he was quite alone in his...room?

No, not room. This looks like a Star Destroyer cell... Damn it.

Ezra knew this was bound to happen. Imprisonment generally followed being captured. Ezra had been caught by the local police on Lothal long enough to know that there were several different types of security within areas of confinement: none, lax, some, lots, and tight. But knowing the Inquisitor's reputation and that the Empire knew his strategies, the young teen could tell this was a place of highest security: impossible.

He would have to resort to tactics similar to when he had first been aboard a Star Destroyer; confuse, worm away, make escape. Although that had only worked last time because they hadn't known of his full capabilities... and his crew had come back for him.

A small hole inside of Ezra's chest gave an uncomfortable pang. He knew they would be coming back for him, there was no doubting that. They'd been together for far to long to just give up without attempting at least one rescue. No, what made his chest hurt was that he had bonds like that. Just about two years ago, Ezra had been living on the streets of Lothal, stealing jogens to survive. Now he was part of something bigger than himself, and he actually had a cause to do stupid stuff like sacrifice himself for them. Yes it was stupid, but who wouldn't have? Under those circumstances, he doubted-

A new spike of worry pinged through Ezra. He hadn't actually found out whether or not Kanan and the others had made it out alive... Of course they did. I would've felt it if something happened to them... they're alive. Though he kept repeating the two simple words to himself, there was a small seed of doubt that refused to leave its position in Ezra's chest. He'd never really been that good of a Force user, and long distances weren't really his thing...

No. They're all alive and well. I just have to wait until they come for me.

Ezra sighed, all ready knowing this would be a boring wait. With that many Ties on them, Ezra was guessing it would take a couple of days for his friends to fix the Ghost, and maybe a couple more to find him. If he was, like he thought, aboard a Star Destroyer, then Ezra would bet his slingshot-which was currently missing- that the Inquisitor would keep the ship moving, as to make it more difficult for any rescue attempts.

Another jolt of worry followed the first. Last time he'd escaped because security had been lax, as they had no idea of his capabilities. Now, with the Inquisitor and Kallus having brought him in, Ezra knew this would be a hard rescue to pull of, no matter how experienced Kanan and the others were.

Ezra groaned. The Inquisitor... if his demeanor was any indication, the rest of his stay aboard the ship was almost guaranteed to be unpleasant. Well, any time you were captured was going to be unpleasant, but Ezra had a feeling that the Pau'an would make this time even more so.

Ezra shifted his position and sat up, taking in his surroundings fully.

He was in what looked to be a large, square metal box, with a single cut of metal standing in for a real bed. Unlike his previous capture, this room had no isolated stair section to hide behind. There were stairs, but unlike the last cell, they stretched all the way to the wall, touching the sides of the walls next to where he thought the door was. Guessing that the wall on the far side of the room held the door, Ezra moved over to the wall next to it, hoping to be able to take whatever guards might come on by surprise.

This movement, however, sent pain running through Ezra's left arm. Looking through the singed material of his jacket, Ezra saw that there was no real damage done to the skin, other than some light charring. He was guessing the small scab that was present was a result of him tearing the sensitive area open when he used the Force and stretched his hand violently. Other than that, however, there was no visible damage done.

Of course, there were rumpled areas of his clothes that were almost definitely permanently wrinkled, thanks to the Inquisitor using raw Force power to hurt him. Ezra couldn't remember if Kanan had said anything specifically any extra powers through the Sith route, but his mentor had briefly gone over the 'Dark' side of the Force.

"When you allow yourself to fall into the path of the Dark, there are... New powers. The Sith of old, of thousands of years ago and in the Clone Wars, would boast that they were stronger than the Jedi, more powerful, that the light was holding Jedi back from their true potential. They'd gain certain attributes that made them feared in battle, but, well... Ezra, there is far more to strength than just prowess in battle. Yes, the Dark side promises power, but by surrendering yourself to it, you sacrifice all that is good in you. Love, joy, bonds, family... true strength is keeping those attachments and overcoming any challenge with them, no matter what."

And with those words in mind, Ezra breathed outwards, calming his mind. The Way to the Dark was through fear and anger, and the way to keep it at bay was by being calm and collected. Never one to do as instructed, Ezra never the less followed his Master's advice and slowed his breathing, reaching out into the Force.

He trusted in his crew, that they would come and save him before the Inquisitor could break him. He trusted in the Force to give him the strength required to wait for them to do so. And Ezra trusted in his Master's teachings to guide him through whatever darkness was to come, and to pull him out of the trouble that would eventually arrive.