Erstwhile

Stowaway

It was going to be an easy job, at least that's what Zeb had said. We'd received a report that on the outskirts of the sector was an abandoned Imperial compound full of medical supplies. Many of our men had been wounded during the battle with the Sith Lord and his battalion, and so it was hardly a question whether we were going or not.

Volunteers were sought after, and almost immediately, Commander Ashoka Tano raised her hand. I'd noticed that ever since the run in with the Unknown Sith Lord, she'd been acting strangely. She held her tongue, but she held her light sabers tighter.

"This mission will be good for her," Kanan told me when I expressed my concerns, "Whatever happened back there, this'll get her mind off of it."

My Master's words did little to comfort me. I didn't know why, but I had a bad feeling about this mission, and so when Ashoka declared that she'd go on her own, I spoke up.

"I'll go with you," I volunteered.

"There's no need, Ezra," Ashoka admonished, patting my shoulder, "I'll be back before you know it."

At the end of the meeting, it was decided that Ashoka would leave immediately on the Phantom, and no matter how hard I tried to shake it, that uneasy feeling didn't leave me. With Ashoka's words echoing through my mind, I made a desperate decision.

Even if Ashoka said that I didn't need to come, I wouldn't be able to rest until I knew she was home safe, for despite the casual front she put up, I could see right through it. I used to see it everyday when I looked in the mirror.

She was scared, and she was running.

I didn't pack much: mostly food, some extra socks, and my light saber, but nothing more. If I was going to stow away on the Phantom, I couldn't take so much that it looked like I was leaving.

As luck would have it, I got on the Phantom before Ashoka did, so I was able to find a comfortable spot to hide. As I sat in a storage closet, Kanan's words drifted through my mind. I knew that when he discovered I was gone, he'd be furious with me, but, thanks to my habit of being late, he wouldn't notice my absence immediately.

"It doesn't matter," I whispered to myself as I fiddled with my light saber's hilt, "By the time he guesses where I am, I'll be long gone."

Interrupting my musing, light footsteps echoed down the corridor. Ashoka's. Pressing myself against the wall, I held my breath.

This was the hard part. Commander Tano was very experienced with the Force, and I knew there was a possibility that she'd sense me before we even detached from the Ghost. I just had to hope that she was so focused on her mission that she wouldn't sense me until we had made the jump to hyperspace.

Outside the door, I heard her walk down the corridor and the rumbling of a droid following behind her. Risking a peek, I cracked open the closet and was able to watch as Ashoka took a seat at the helm. There were a few clicks as she started up the ship, and soon the Phantom was humming.

"Chopper, please put in the coordinates of the Imperial station," Ashoka ordered, and somewhere beyond my point of view, he did as she said. As Chopper worked on the coordinates, Ashoka released the latch holding us to the Ghost and eased us out into open space.

A few moments later, Chopper whistled, signaling the completion of his task, and Ashoka activated the hyperdrive. Tensing myself against the walls of the closet, I waited for the jolt that would mean we'd jumped into hyperspace. I was almost home free.

Interrupting my independent thoughts, the comm link on my arm beeped sharply and Kanan's voice began to fill the narrow closet.

"Ezra, where are you?" He asked, annoyance coating his voice, "You were supposed to meet me for training an hour ago."

Glancing at the door of the closet, expecting it to open any moment, I frantically slammed my fist against the comm link, hoping to turn it off or destroy it, though I wasn't sure which. Maybe both.

"Kanan, I've got to go," I whispered into the comm.

"Where are you going?" Kanan demanded, "Are--are you going with Ashoka?"

"I'll see you later, Kanan," I murmured before finally shutting off the comm. A split second later, my head slammed against the back of the closet, but through my pain, I smiled. Although Kanan had caught me, I'd still managed to get away.

Or almost.

"Ezra Bridger, you are a stubborn one, aren't you?" Commander Ashoka commented as she opened the storage closet door.

"Hey, Master Tano," I greeted sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head.