Final Blow (Star Wars Rebels)

Years

A ship drifted through space. At the moment everything was calm, but as the crew on board knew that could change in a moment's notice.

The ship was kindly referred to as the Ghost. It had been repaired only four and a half years prior, following a devastating attack by the empire. Docked in the back was a smaller shuttle dubbed the Phantom, which Hera Syndulla had tracked down at a ship yard where it was about to be melted down for scraps.

Kimble lay in her bed, gazing up at the ceiling. She had grown in the last five years. She was an experienced Jedi and fighter, although she had no lightsaber of her own. Instead she fought with a blaster and a metal staff. Her black hair was longer than it used to be and her violet eyes shone with experience.

Kimble heard a knock on her door. She sat up and stretched before turning towards the door.

"Come in," she called. The door opened and Ezra entered. He had changed in the last five years as well. His cybernetic lungs were completely self sustaining now, making it so he didn't have to rely on TK-14, or TK. He was taller too, almost as tall as Kanan. He was a master at using his custom made lightsaber and was an adept user of the force. Ezra and Kimble still shared a mental link. They could now effortlessly communicate mentally.

"You all right?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah," Kimble replied. "Just thinking about Conner and Kaz."

"I'm sure they're fine," Ezra assured her. She smiled.

"I know, they're safer than we are," she agreed. "After all, we are fighting the Empire."

"Speaking of fighting the Empire," Ezra began, "Hera and Kanan are having a briefing. I thought you might want to be there."

"Of course I do!" Kimble declared, standing and walked past Ezra.

"I knew you would," Ezra joked while playfully nudging Kimble's arm. "Always fighting the Empire."

"Someone's got to stand up for you," Kimble teased. The two of them entered the refurbished lounge. It was cleaner than it ever had been in the past. The storage closet had been mended from its previous exploded state and Sabine had decorated the walls with her signature graffiti.

"Here the lovebirds are now," Zeb joked as Kimble and Ezra entered. The rest of the crew was already there. Ever since Ezra and Kimble had to pose as boyfriend and girlfriend for an undercover mission, Zeb had teased them about it. Ezra always loudly stuttered his protests while Kimble would blush bright red. Today was no different.

"You can mess around later," Kanan said, cutting across Ezra's stuttering and Zeb's laughing. "We need to focus on the problem at hand."

"What's the deal this time?" Sabine asked.

"We received a worrying transmission from Conner and Kaz," Hera explained. "I had Chopper record it."

Chopper began playing a hologram. It was clearly Conner, but something was off. He was wearing a forced smile and was standing oddly. Stiffly would be a better word. The transmission made it so that nothing in Conner's surroundings was visible. Like the rest of the crew, he had grown over the last few years.

"Hey guys! It's good to see you again, even if I can't see you. Uh, I was wondering if you could . . . (at this point Conner glanced sideways) could come visit us sometime. Kaz has been acting kinda funny lately. Maybe you could knock some sense into him. Not with your lightsabers of course, (here Conner coughed and grinned awkwardly) just blasters, uh, words please. I'm kinda fond of old Kaz. He's starting to adjust really well. Kind of a nice change actually. I mean, he's been getting better ever since the incident. This is his fist major improvement. He wants to see Kimble. Uh, don't take long (Conner glanced to the side again and his eyes widened). No Kaz. Bad idea. Don't do it! You can't-"

The hologram froze, leaving Conner reaching for something that was out of view. The crew of the Ghost sat in silence. The transmission had ended on a sinister note.

"I agree," Zeb finally said, breaking the silence. "That was an oddly worrying message."

"What's the plan?" Ezra asked.

"We're going to pay Conner and Kaz a visit," Hera said. "It doesn't sound like there's any major problems at the moment, but something is definitely going on."

"When are we leaving?" Kimble asked.

"Right now," Kanan said.