Star Wars Rebels: Just Hold On

Mustafar Information Facility

Ezra's POV

When the ship landed, I was forcefully escorted off of the ship and onto the planet's surface. The first thing I noticed was that it smelled horrible. Like a mixture of fire, ash, smoke, and death.

The next thing I noticed was the heat. It was so hot I almost felt like I was melting. After that I finally noticed my surroundings. We were on a metal platform floating above a river of lava. The sky was a giant ash cloud, and all around us was lava and black stone. Not exactly your prime vacation spot.

"Keep moving!" a stormtrooper shouted. I started walking again.

I was brought inside a large building. Imperial officers were working at a control panel, monitoring dozens of video screens.

"This is our new initiate. See that he is placed with the results of Operation 66," the Inquisitor told them.

"What, you're not staying?" I asked.

"Enjoy your ability to speak while you still can," the Inquisitor said as he turned and walked away.

"Here is your new uniform," an officer said while throwing an orange jumpsuit to me. I unrolled it. 66 was printed on it in bold letters.

"What's your guys' fascination with the number 66?" I asked.

"It is the number that brought about the death of the Jedi Order. I suggest you keep your mouth shut, or you may be joining your Jedi brethren shortly."

I decided not to press my point.

I was searched before we continued. They took my energy slingshot and communicator and then escorted me to a small chamber where I was left alone for a moment to change. I looked for an escape route, but there were none. I regretfully changed into the jumpsuit and went back out to the stormtroopers. They confiscated my old clothes and placed a metal band on my wrist.

I was thrown into a holding cell and left alone. There weren't any exhaust vents big enough for me to climb through, or anything else I could use to escape.

This was certainly the strangest cell I had ever seen. It looked like a hallway, except every cell was divided by ray shields. From what I could tell, all of the cells were empty. My cell had a single bed and a panel on the wall that looked like it slid away.

A few minutes later, the door to the cell on my right opened up. I could see through the ray shield, even if it turned everything red.

A girl in a jumpsuit similar to mine was pushed into the cell to my right. Her uniform said 67 instead of 66. Maybe the numbers were actually a labeling system for the prisoners. Which meant that there were exactly 67 prisoners here. If none of them died, the morbid part of my brain said.

The door closed, and 67 turned to look at me.

She was human. She had long hair which looked like it was probably black. I couldn't tell what her eye color was. She looked around my age.

"I thought for sure that I would be the newest inmate by a couple months at least," the girl said.

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning on coming here," I told her. "I doubt anyone would plan to come here."

"Speak for yourself," she said while glancing around her cell.

"You came here on purpose?" I asked in surprise.

"I'm here looking for my brother. He was brought here months ago. I've been working towards this moment for months."

"Older or younger brother?" I wondered.

"That's a bit personal, isn't it?" she pointed out.

"How about just your name then? I'm Ezra," I offered. She looked me up and down.

"Kimble," she finally told me.

"Can I call you Kim?"

"You wish."

"If we're going to be stuck together, we might as well be friends," I pointed out.

"I'm just here to find my brother and get out. I'm sorry you're here, but you're on your own," she told me harshly. She walked over to her bed and laid down. I shrugged and sat in my own bed.

If this was a prison for force users, there had to be a way to get out of here. And the rest of the crew was sure to realize I was missing and rescue me.