Freaks of the Force

Lost

Kanan absentmindedly turned the Jedi Holocron over in his hands, unseeing eyes staring at it. His thoughts were far from the Holocron. Instead they were on a young man who's death had been scarcely a week earlier.

"Kanan?" a female voice asked. Kanan glanced up. Hera was standing in the doorway of the room, hands behind her back and eyes concerned. She walked inside and sat on the bed beside Kanan.

"You're thinking about Ezra, aren't you?" Hera asked.

"I should have been quicker," Kanan said, looking away.

"There's nothing you could have done," Hera told him gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe if I had gone with him . . ."

"It's no use thinking about maybe. What happened happened, and you can't bring him back. Isn't that something Yoda said once?" Hera asked.

"He said 'Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force.'"

"Sounds like good advice," Hera replied.

"You want me to just . . . let him be dead?" Kanan asked in disbelief.

"I want you to let yourself heal," Hera told him, standing and leaving the room. Kanan closed his eyes.

"It's like a part of me is gone," he said softly. "And I'm afraid it won't ever come back."

---

I passed down the hallways like a shadow, constantly glancing over my shoulder. My heart was pounding in my chest as I crept through the silence.

The patrol had reported back with nothing new. Afterwards the meeting had been put on hold until the next day. That's when I decided that it was time to leave.

As I approached the entrance to the system of tunnels I slowed down. There was no way I wanted to blow my escape attempt by being too hasty.

The entrance to the tunnel appeared to be unguarded. I hurried forward, adrenaline surging through my veins. I was so close. The exit was literally right in front of me!

And then I was out in the moonlight.

I took a deep breath of night air, feeling more free than I had in a long time. I spread my wings to take flight.

"I'd come back inside if I were you," a voice said from behind. I turned. Kina was standing in the shadow of the tunnel entrance, arms folded.

"Maybe you would, but I won't," I told her.

"Trust me, I'm a lot nicer than the others," Kina went on. "If they caught you putting the rest of us in danger like this, they would have locked you in your room and never let you see the light of day again. But I'll just let you come inside quietly and forget this whole thing ever happened."

"I'll pass," I said, turning and jumping into the air. I only got a dozen feet in the air when I heard flapping wings and something tackled me from behind. I was dragged roughly to the ground and pinned there by an unseen force. No matter how I struggled, I couldn't get free.

"He's never going to understand," a voice said. I recognized it as Thalia's.

"We'll need to turn to other sources for motivation," an unfamiliar voice added.

"The collar?" Thalia asked.

"I think so," the unfamiliar voice said. "What do you think, Kina?"

There was a moment of silence. I couldn't imagine what Kina was thinking. Probably nothing good for me.

"The collar it is," the unfamiliar voice decided. Something pricked my arm and my vision went dark.

Some family.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I was on my bed. My cousins were nowhere to be seen.

I sat up, feeling cool metal around my neck. When I brushed my fingers along its surface I realized it was a metallic collar.

"Thanks a lot," I complained, standing and leaving my room. Kina was leaning against the wall, filing her nails.

"I told you the others would lock you up if they caught you," Kina told me without glancing up.

"What's the collar for?" I asked her.

"Each of the officers has a datapad. Your collar is connected to the datapad, and we can use it to shock you. Want a demonstration?"

"I'm good."

"We're going to raid the broadcasting tower in an hour. Since we have you under control now, you'll be coming with us."

"Make me."

"Look, Ezra, don't make this hard. If you behave yourself then one day you might be free to wander and do whatever you want. Until then just obey. Your first order is to help on this raid."

Kina turned and walked down the hall, not bothering to glance back over her shoulder. In moments I was left alone in the hall.