STAR WARS REBELS: NO ONE IS ALONE

Chapter 5

The ghost lifted off the ground and took off to the skies. Once in space, Hera pushed a few buttons and were in hyperspace.
Hera and Kaanan relaxed in the cockpit. Zeb and Chopper were playing space chess on the floor of the phantom. Ezra was watching Sabine paint on the wall in her room.
Tadashi was sitting at the table in the rec room. His hands were on his head; and sweat was slowly rolling down his face. Why didn't I try harder, he thought to himself. Why'd I give up on them? On Aunt Cass? On Hiro?
"Hey". Tadashi looked up to see Ahsoka standing in front of him. "You ok?", she asked as she sat down next to him. Her eyes were full of concern for her friend.
"Not really", he answered. "I keep thinking about Hiro."
He paused before continuing. "I shouldn't have left them. I should've stayed and defended them. They wouldn't be in this mess".
"Hey, hey", Ahsoka responded. "Don't put yourself down. There wouldn't have been anything you could've done. You would have been killed and then they would be worse off".
Tadashi took a deep breath. "I know", he said. "But still"......
Tadashi's mind began to wander into a pool of memories; memories of a better time and place.....

Tadashi looked both ways before walking out of the alleyway. He had to make this visit and didn't have much time. With empire looking for any and all force sensitive beings, it was harder to get around.
He knew this visit would make his day brighter than it already was. He had just learned that his to be master, Kit Fisto, had been killed by the emperor right before order 66. His guardian and teacher, Ahsoka, had dug up the information for him. Both had been hoping for a better result.
Tadashi walked up the steps of a cafe with a cat at the top. It was closed, but that didn't bother him. He knock gently on the door. In a few minutes a woman with brown hair, blue kind eyes, and a soft smile opened the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Tadashi!", she exclaimed joyfully as she pulled him in for a huge. "Come in come in", she said, closing the door.
Tadashi walked in, taking in the sweet smells of his aunt's baked goods. But cooking was not on his mind. "Where's Hiro?", the ten year old asked.
"Oh he's upstairs", she answered. "I'll go get him". She walked over to the stairs. "Hiro", she called up. "Someone's here to see you".
"I'll be right down", a high pitched voice yelled down. Tadashi had to smile. "How's Hiro doing?"
Aunt Cass walked over to the counter and began cutting up some vegetables. "He's been fine", she answered. Tadashi noticed she seemed to be holding something back.
"But?"
Aunt Cass stopped cutting for a moment. "Well....he's....."
Footsteps came from the stairs; not heavy, but still noisy. The same little voice from upstairs spoke again; only it sounded like it was coming closer. "Who's here Aunt...."
The voice never got to finish it's sentence, for it was replaced by a squealing delight. "Dashi!", the little boy said as he ran into his older brother's arms.
"Hiro!", Tadashi answered excitedly, spinning the giggling child. "I missed you knuckle head".
"I missed you too, ya nerd!", Hiro answered. Tadashi laughed and put Hiro down. "Wow, you've been growing", Tadashi replied. "Have you been finally eating Aunt Cass's veggies".
The little boy nodded; his hair bouncing up and down. "Yep", he answered. "They also help me with my specialness!"
Tadashi arched an eyebrow playfully. "What specialness, little bro?"
Hiro stretched his arms out as far as he could. "My specialness", he answered excitedly. "Just like you!"
Tadashi stared at his little brother. "What do you mean just like me?", he asked, giving Aunt Cass a small glance. She just kept cutting.
"Like I can lift stuff up and take things off the shelves without touching them. I can see things happening right before they really do.......oh Dashi, I'm just like you! I'm special!"
Tadashi stood up and looked at Aunt Cass. She had stopped cutting and her eyes were welling up with tears. Tadashi turned to face his brother, who was smiling so big you'd think he was the happiest kid in the world.
"Hiro", he said, sitting down and taking Hiro on his lap. "You've always been special. You're special because you're you. You love soccer. You can invent the most amazing things. And most importantly, you're my brother, and that's what makes you special to me".
Hiro just kept smiling. "Yeah, I know". He paused before continuing. "But do you know what this means?"
Tadashi rolled his eyes playfully. Oh well. He'll get it one day. "What?"
"This means I can go live with you!"
There was the sound of something dropping. Tadashi turned and saw Aunt Cass; her hands covering her face. Tadashi sensed her sadness; he could feel her heart breaking. I can't let him come, he thought to himself.
"Hiro", he began. "You.....you can't come live with me".
Hiro's face dropped. "Why not?"
Tadashi looked at Aunt Cass. "Because....because someone needs to protect Aunt Cass while I'm gone. If we're both gone, who's going to make sure Aunt Cass is safe?"
Hiro's face deepened with thought. He looked up at Tadashi. "But who's going to teach me how to use my specialness?", he asked.
"I will", Tadashi answered, smiling. "Whenever I come to visit I'll teach you everything I know about our specialness". Tadashi touched the tip of his little brother's nose.
This made Hiro smile and giggle. "Can we start now?"
Tadashi flashed a grin. "You bet".

"Alright group", Hera called on the ships com, breaking Tadashi from his thoughts. " we'll be out of hiper space in a few minutes so get ready".
Tadashi sighed. He had to get his brother back. He just hoped Hiro could forgive him for not being their when he needed him the most.
Ezra, Sabine, and Kaanan walked into the room. "Alright", Kaanan began. "We need a plan. First we need to figure out where the empire is keeping him. Then we need to figure out how to get into whatever facility he's in".
"Well the first part's easy", Tadashi answered. "We just have to make a connection with him".
"Maybe even talk with him", Sabine added.
"Sounds like a plan", Ahsoka decided. "Who would like to try?"
Tadashi wanted to, with all his heart, but fear stopped him. The fear of his brother's hatred for his decision all those years ago made his head sweat and his heart throb.
"I'll do it", Ezra pipped up. Ahsoka and Kaanan smiled proudly at the young learner. "Come here, Ezra", Ahsoka said. Ezra walked over to her obediently. "Now you must do exactly what I say to make this work, alright?"
Ezra nodded. "I'm ready".
"Sit down cross legged". Ezra did so as he faced Ahsoka. "Now what?"
"Just close your eyes and relax. Concentrate on the boy. Search for his feelings. The next steps will then come naturally".
Ezra concentrated deeply into the force. He felt as if he was zooming through the galaxy. As he tried to think of the kid that was just his age he felt everything in his mind settle. He could sense fear and sadness and hopelessness. "Hello?", he called out mentally. "Is anybody there?"

Hiro sat alone in his little prison cell. After the woman had tried to convince him to join the empire, she had him thrown back in the cell. Part of him felt relief to be away from her, but he was also scared pf what was going to happen to him this time. Would they spare him? Kill him?
Hiro curled himself up against the wall. He felt so alone, so broken, so....
"Hello?", a voice called out. Hiro sat up and looked around. No one else was in his cell, but the voice sounded close. "Is anybody there?", the voice said.
The voice....it sounded as if it was coming from his head. That must mean his message worked! Someone who had his specialness was trying to communicate with him!
Filled with a newfound hope, Hiro straightened up and took a deep breath. "Yes", he said. "I'm here. Who are you? Are you coming for me?"

"Yes", a voice answered excitedly. "I'm here. Who are you? Are you coming for me?"
"I've got something!", Ezra replied. Now everyone except Hera had gathered around Ezra to hear what was going on. He quickly responded. "My name is Ezra. Yes, my team and I are coming for you. We got your call for help and are on our way. We just need to know where you are".
There was a moment of silence before the voice came back. "I'm not sure. Right now I'm alone in a prison cell, but other than that I don't know".

"He says he doesn't know where he is".
The group sat in silence for a few minutes. "Ask him how he got there", Kaanan said.
"How did you get there?", Ezra asked.

"I was on a slave ship with a bunch of other people when they sorted us into groups to see who would be sold on the next planet", Hiro began. "I was put with about a hundred others to be on the market. But before we do we have to go through a 'cleaning' process to see how eligible we were. They took us in a large gray building for that. Last I remember, the building had a gate with a sign that said Imperial Use Only. There were lots of guards all over the place. Does that help with my location?"
"Yes it does!", the voice answered excitedly. "Don't worry. I know the place you're talking about. We'll be there as fast as we can".
"Ok", Hiro responded. Then a thought came in his head. "Wait. How do you know what planet I'm on?"
"I can sense the air around you", the voice said. "Under all that imperial junk is the sweet smell of lothal. I grew up there, so we should find you faster than any other search party in the galaxy".
Hiro breathed a sigh of relief; and hope. "Thank you", he said.
"Don't thank me yet buddy", the voice replied comically. "Just hang in there. We're coming". Then the voice was gone.