Star Wars Rebels: When Hope Is Lost

Chapter 27: Target

Kanan felt their bond, the connection he and Ezra had formed, become faint. Ezra drifted away from him slowly, until he was but a mere, faded presence in the Force. At first he was puzzled.

Then the panic came.

"He's gone!" He gasped suddenly. He was upright now, as the crazy pain had faded along with Ezra.

His crew turned to stare at him, worry–and confusion–striking their faces. They were still currently in hyperspace, about an hour away from their targets.

"Who's gone, love?" Hera asked gently.

"Ezra! I.... I can't feel him!" Alarm flared in his bright green-blue eyes. "I don't know where he is! I can't feel him!" He repeated.

"Calm down, Kanan. It'll be fine. We don't need you to track the Executor, Ahsoka got us their coordinates. They're currently orbiting Coruscant," Zeb said. He started signalling with his hands, sitting behind the Jedi. He's going crazy. Hera and Rex, hold him down. I'll sedate him. Hera glared at him, telling him to be quiet, and Zeb put his hands down, muttering in fluent Lasan.

"Coruscant?" Kanan asked, curiosity in his typically guarded expression.

"Yeah. I know that that's not a a good place for Jedi anymore and that you have bad memories there, but it's alright, Kanan. We gotta–"

"I know, I know. We have to get Ezra. But that's the problem! I can't sense him! Our bond is still there, but it's clouded. I can't reach him or mentally communicate to him. The Imperials did something to him, but I don't know exactly what. I'm assuming it's a drug of some kind." Kanan explained.

Sabine's hands clenched into fists. Zeb smashed his fists together, looking for a buckethead to beat up. Chopper whirred angrily. Rex leaned forward, concern etched on his face. Ahsoka stayed completely calm. Hera's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Kanan just wanted his Padawan back.

"It'll be alright, Kanan. At least we know where he is." Hera assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We're not that far away from him either."

"Yeah. But I still can't sense Dev either. And that worries me." Kanan turned to stare out the window. "What if we're too late, Hera?"

Nobody could answer his question.

They could only hope that he was wrong, that they wouldn't be too late to save Ezra–and Dev.

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The rebels were only an hour away.

One more hour, and Darth Vader would have them in his clutches. He could sense it, sense Kanan's growing despair and desperation. The Lothal rebel cell would be crushed in one fell swipe, and with their demise, Ezra's hope would die and he would capitulate all too quickly. After all, without a source of hope, where would he put his faith? There would only be one person that would be there for him, to take care of him, to give him a new place to call home. That would be him. Ezra's faith would have to go in him.

After all, how can you put your faith in someone else if everyone you cared about was dead?

But there was something he hadn't planned on in the rebels' rescue attempt. Actually, someone. Besides Jarrus and the other insurgents, he could feel that Ahsoka Tano was aboard the ship with them, preparing to rescue Ezra. How unfortunate. A pity she had to involve herself. Darth Vader might have spared her.