Star Wars Rebels: When Hope Is Lost

Chapter 4: Devastation

"Kanan! Hera! Zeb!" Sabine shouted as she ran back to her crewmates. "Chopper!"

She couldn't believe it. What had Ezra been thinking? Surely he knew that he was much more important than her. His Force-sensitivity and all. But of course he had to go and sacrifice himself for her. The idiot! Why, Ezra?

And now, apparently, there was more than one Inquisitor. There were two more! Sabine didn't know how she would break all of this to Kanan; he was going to be devastated. Though he was very quiet about his feelings, Sabine knew that Kanan thought of Ezra as his son. She could see it in the way Kanan talked to Ezra; the way he looked at his Padawan. It was a lovable, amused look that only Ezra could earn from Kanan. She didn't have to be Force-sensitive to know that those two had a strong bond.

She ran around the corner and screamed. The male Inquisitor stood right in front of her, holding his lightsaber in his hand. With him were two of the other Inquisitor's probe droids.

"Sabine!" She heard a nearby call, but it was too late. The Inquisitor's hand came down and the lightsaber hilt smashed right into her head, earning her darkness.

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"Sabine!" Kanan called again. No answer. He had heard her scream as he had come to go look for Ezra and her. They had been gone too long.

Kanan rounded the corner and saw one of the most horrible things of all: A dark figure, picking up Sabine's motionless body and slinging it over his shoulder. He could sense the powerful Force-signature surrounding the figure.... No. Not another one.

"Inquisitor," Kanan gasped.

The figure turned to him. "Jedi," it growled, smiling happily. "Another catch of the day. This means three."

Three? No no no.

"Yes," his enemy said, reading his thoughts. "We have the boy too."

Kanan quickly threw up his mental barriers that had fallen down for a second and ignited his lightsaber.
"Put her down!" He ordered the foe.

The new Inquisitor laughed. "Why should I, Jedi? Are you planning to strike a bargain?"

"I'm prepared to," Kanan replied, not knowing exactly what he was saying. His inner voice was screaming at him at the top of it's lungs: Don't do it! It's a trap!

But Kanan didn't care. He could withstand torture; Sabine and Ezra couldn't. No matter what they tried to make everyone believe, they were just kids. And Kanan wasn't going to let them withstand Imperial torture. Not if he had any say in the matter.

"How about this, then?" The Inquisitor suggested. "I give you the girl, and you and your crew leave. I'll even give you safe passage into hyperspace. But I keep the boy."

Kanan had been prepared to trade himself for the kids. But the Inquisitor's offer had shocked him. Just because Ezra's Force-sensitive.... That doesn't explain why he wants him so much.

"Well, Jedi? I don't have all day."

Kanan could see that he had no choice. It was the whole crew excluding Ezra, or perhaps none of them. He had to do what was best for the crew.

"Deal," he agreed.

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The Inquisitor had been true to his word. Kanan and the rest of the crew, including Sabine, had been allowed to leave the medical station freely and escape into hyperspace. Now, sitting aboard the Ghost, Kanan faced the angry stares of his fellow crew members.

"You left him?" Sabine shouted.

"Kanan, we need to go back for the kid!" Zeb protested.

Evem Chopper let out an angry beep.

"I know!" Kanan burst out, interrupting a upset Sabine. "I know I made a bad decision, alright? Even though it might have meant all of our lives, including mine, I still should have gone after him! And I hate myself for not trying! For not trying to rescue him, the boy I love like a son! What have I done?!" Then Kanan began to cry. He put his head in his hands.

The crew was shocked. They had never seen Kanan so upset. Then Hera stood up and put an arm around Kanan. Sabine wrapped him in a hug, and Chopper nudged his metal dome against the Jedi's knee. Zeb put a hand on Kanan's shoulder, and since everyone had their attention fixed on Kanan, the Lasat let a single tear slide down his cheek.