A Star Among Planets (Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction)

Chapter 94: Signal of Hope

    Halftail let out a groan as he slid his needle into his foreleg. He groaned as he watched the needle empty all of the contents of the syringe. He squeezed his eyes shut and swayed slightly as he thrust the needle from his foreleg, his mouth gaping open ever so slightly. He then sat back and thrust the needle aside, breathing heavily with his eyes shifting purposely away from it.

    He felt someone kneel beside him and grasp his shoulder. He looked up and sighed. "Halftail, you okay? Was that dose not right? I might not have done it right."

    "It's fine," Halftail reassured with a slight flick of his paw, sighing slightly when Kanan grasped his paw to steady it. He held Halftail tightly, pulling him close. "Just a side effect. It's nothing major."

    "Nothing major. Major would involve something like this, I would think. I really need to speak to Birchfoot about these side effects," Kanan muttered mostly to himself as he worked his fingers through Halftail's fur on his head as he tried to ease Halftail's side effects.

    Eventually Halftail relaxed and was able to focus on things in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief as Kanan helped him to his unsteady paws. "Are you going to be up to this mission? Because if not I can do it myself and you can wait here. It's not a big deal," reassured Kanan with his hand still placed on Halftail's shoulder.

    Halftail shrugged it off hotly. "I'm fine, Kanan. I don't know how many times we've been over this. It's the side effects, but I can handle this. Now, where's Ezra and Keen? They kept watch all night."

    There was a suddenly a hum of a transmission going off. Halftail twitched his ears as Kanan reluctantly left his side and went to the transmission. "Spector here."

    "Kanan, how are you and Ezra, Halftail, and Keen?"

    Kanan looked over to Halftail as he limped into view. "We're fine, Hera. Came into a little snag with their parents, but we'll tell you that when we get back. Do you need something?"

    "There are supplies that are going to be delivered to Lothal. We need you to make sure that they get to where they need to go. Can you do that?"

    Halftail dipped his head. "No problem. Spector out."

    The transmission fizzed out and died before Kanan turned back to Halftail. "One more time: are you sure that you can make this happen."

    "Without a doubt. I'm a Jedi. I can handle this, now let's go," he murmured as he strode from the tent, the hot Lothal air washing over him and making it a little difficult to breathe. He panted slightly and shook his head, striding forward, snorting as he saw Ezra and Keen sitting alone on the edge of the cliff. They appeared to be talking to each other softly, so Halftail couldn't hear.

    As he drew closer, he cleared his throat. They turned to him and Halftail dipped his head. "I'm afraid that we have a mission. I wish it wasn't so soon, but duty calls."

    "What do we need to do," asked Keen robotically.

    Kanan came over and extended Ezra's helmet toward him. "We're going to rescue some supplies that Lothal desperately needs. We just need to make sure the Empire doesn't stand in our way too much."

    "Now, Keen and I will stay further back while Kanan and Ezra stay by the new rebel. We don't want to be spotted, Keen, so don't fly too high," he told them all as he felt a slight change as half of his face went slack. He shook his head to clear it as he continued. "Anyway, are we ready?"

    Kanan then turned to them with his eyes narrowed. "Let's get going before we're missed too much," he told them as he turned to Ryder. "Are you sure you don't want to come to get back into the fight?"