No Second Chances (Star Wars Rebels)

Chapter 1

Ezra's POV

"Are we almost there?" I asked, staring out the viewport of the Phantom.

"Not much farther now," Kanan replied. I sighed and went back to watching the green blur of trees below us.

When Hera had told the crew that Fulcrum had left supplies for them at an abandoned platform on one of Endor's moons, I had thought it sounded like an amazing adventure. I hadn't visited another planet yet. After a lot of begging, and some prodding from Hera, Kanan agreed to let me come. But now, with my only entertainment being watching the trees far below, I wasn't so sure that this was going to be a grand adventure.

"Think we'll run into any TIE fighters?" I asked.

"I doubt it, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a TIE or two patrolling the area," Kanan replied. He must have noticed my disappointed expression because he continued. "You should be glad that we probably won't run into the Empire. Not every mission has to be deadly. A day where we aren't about to die is a good day."

I didn't reply. Instead I watched the trees. The forested moon of Endor was a mystery to most of the Galaxy. The Empire had built a platform there once, but it was abandoned following an attack by "tiny furry ninja bears". That was the very same platform we were going to now.

"If you're bored, check the scanners," Kanan said. I turned my attention to them. The regular pulse revealed nothing new. No TIE fighters nearby, or any other type of fighter for that matter. Suddenly, a bright dot appeared on the scanner.

"I think we've got a TIE fighter on the scanners," I told Kanan. "Wait, there's two. Three, four, five . . . Kanan, I thought you said there probably weren't going to be any TIE fighters!"

"There weren't!" Kanan growled. A blaster shot connected with the Phantom and it shuddered dangerously. Kanan yanked the controls to the side.

"Go in the back and get a communicator to contact Hera with!" Kanan ordered.

"Can't you use the communicator in the console?" I asked.

"That shot that just connected? It damaged the communication system," he said. "Just contact Hera and tell her we need reinforcements!"

I ran to the back of the ship and fumbled for a communicator. It took a few moments to find one.

"Hera? Hera, come in!" I called into the communicator. After a moment a voice answered.

"Ezra?" Sabine asked. "What's going on?"

"TIE fighters!" I explained quickly. "Kanan says-"

At that moment the ship rolled to the side. I was caught off guard and fell sideways. My head hit one of the seats and everything faded into darkness.

---

I could hear birds chattering nearby. My head was aching and it felt like I was all one giant bruise. I slowly opened my eyes.

I was lying on the ground. Kanan was leaning against a tree nearby, eyes closed. We were in a forest, and the Phantom was nowhere in sight.

"Kanan?" I asked weakly. He blinked a few times and glanced in my direction, managing a weak smile.

"Hey kid," he said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"There were too many TIE fighters," he explained. "They managed to damage the Phantom so much that we crashed onto the surface of the moon. I managed to get you out of the wreckage."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, hopefully the rest of the crew can find us. Until then, we need to stay put and survive. No one has any idea what's in these forests, so we need to be careful."

"What do we have to work with?" I asked, sitting up. Kanan gently pushed me back down. As soon as his hand touched my left shoulder, it burned with an intense fire. Kanan offered a quiet apology and released me. I glanced at my arm and groaned.

My entire left side, including my arm, was blackened and burned. It was still functional, but it was painful. I assumed it had been burned in a powerful blast. What hurt more than my arm was the fact that my energy slingshot was destroyed. I had made that myself, and had had it as long as I could remember.

"Not much," Kanan replied. "The Phantom was beat up pretty badly. All of the communicators and equipment were destroyed. I have my blaster, but my lightsaber fell out of the Phantom during the crash. Ezra, I'm sorry . . . your lightsaber was destroyed. This was all I could salvage."

He handed me the mangled remains of my lightsaber. Bits of it had blown off and the metal was chipped. A hole in the side exposed the force crystal to the bright sunlight.

"It can still be fixed," Kanan told me. I sighed and nodded, clipping the ruined lightsaber to my belt. Kanan was right of course. But in the meantime I was weaponless, injured, and trapped on this moon with Kanan.