Kanan paced the floor of the Ghost, covering the same area over and over. Hera was surprised that there wasn't a dent in the floor tracing his path.
"You worry too much," she told Kanan from her seat on the couch.
"I have to," he replied curtly. "Ezra doesn't worry enough."
"Is that one of your Jedi rules too?" she teased. Kanan didn't take the bait.
"Vigilance is," he replied instead. "Caution is."
"So what is rule number one?"
"Rule number one?" Kanan glanced over at her, stopping mid step.
"Yeah," Hera continued. "You were telling Ezra about rules, and you said something about rule number one. What is it?"
The door opened and Sabine rushed in. Her hair was a mess and dust coated her armor. Her eyes were wild as they fell on Hera and Kanan.
"Ezra's gone," she reported. Hera stood.
"What do you mean?" Kanan demanded.
"There was a disturbance in the market," Sabine panted. "Some sort of fight or something. They took Ezra."
"I knew he was trouble," Kanan growled.
"We'll have to find out what prison they're holding him in," Hera sighed, moving to leave the room.
"It wasn't imperials," Sabine interrupted. Kanan and Hera shared a glance.
"Wasn't imperials?" Hera repeated. "Then who was it?"
Sabine bent down over the console table and turned it on. The local imperial broadcast was playing, showing a hologram of an imperial officer.
"-the site of an ongoing search. We assure you that the Empire is in control and you will be protected from terrorists like these. Here is an image of the criminals."
The officer disappeared, replaced by two faces. One was Ezra. The other was a Duros in a wide brimmed hat and with a pair of tubes where his cheekbones should have been.
Hera leaned closer to the hologram. She couldn't be sure, but the Duros seemed incredibly familiar.
"Cad Bane," Kanan murmured. Hera's memories snapped back into place.
"The bounty hunter?" she asked as she remembered the first time she'd heard of him. Cad Bane was so skilled that he kidnapped force sensitive children and stole from Jedi Temples. They said he had been the cause of hundreds of Wookie captures. Stories said he had singlehandedly kidnapped the emperor, led a mass prison break, and assassinated dozens of senators.
The broadcast was still speaking in the background, unaware of what was going on because of it.
"We urge anybody with information to step forward at this time. Your safety is guaranteed. Help us bring these criminals to justice."
The broadcast flickered off.
---
Ezra trudged after Mijan through the crowded market streets of her home world. He had no idea what it was called, much less where in the galaxy it belonged. All he knew was that the sun was unbearable and the air incredibly dusty.
Mijan had replaced his electric wrist cuffs with a metal band around his neck. He was free at the moment, as long as he followed Mijan and stayed quiet.
They reached a large building with two guards posted in front. Mijan stepped inside first with Ezra close behind. He gasped at the sight in front of him.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mijan asked without a backward glance. "You'll have a chance to take it all in later."
The ceiling had a chandelier made with kyber crystals. They shone with a blue light which reflected off of countless mirrors. The amount of crystals would have been enough for her to purchase a whole planet.
The walls were painted with pictures of planets and systems. Ezra couldn't recognize most of them.
"Welcome to Mijan's Home of Curiosities," Mijan called. Ezra hurried to catch up with her as she opened a large door.
The next room was a long hall lit by ordinary lights. A dark blue carpet covered the floor and the walls were painted cream and gold. Large potted ferns lined the walls like sentries.
"Of course," she continued speaking as she walked, "that's not what I'm really known for. I'm paid for the shadier side of business."
She stopped walking and Ezra nearly bumped into her.
"Caleb!" she barked. A kid who had been poking through one of the ferns back up hastily. He bowed in Mijan's direction.
"Sorry, Mistress. I was attending to the flesh-eating ferns," he stammered, stumbling over his words as he rushed to say them. Ezra noticed bandages on both of Caleb's hands and backed away from the ferns.
"This is Ezra," Mijan explained. "He's new here. I expect you to show him how things are done here."
"Of course, Mistress. Right away."
"Did I ask you to waste my time?"
"No, Mistress."
"Then get started! I want him working by tomorrow."
Mijan turned and swept down the hall, closing the door behind her. Caleb and Ezra sized each other up.
Caleb was at least a year younger than Ezra was, and two inches shorter. His hair was bright blue and it looked like he had two antenna poking out of it. The tips of his fingers were oddly flattened.
"Half Rodian," Caleb explain in response to Ezra's stare, holding up a bandaged hand and wiggling his fingers as he did so. Something in his tone of voice had changed after Mijan left. "I'm not a kiss-up, no matter how it seems. You'll see a real one later. It'll make you sick."
"What is this place?" Ezra asked.
"Mijan's House of Curiosities, or Seal-the-Steal Warehouse, depending on who you are. Slavers who want to purchase things from others will bring them here. Then the slaves, the ones with the force at least, get the people to sign contracts and sell the stuff. Are you a force wielder?"
"I'm a Jedi. My friends will come rescue me."
"Forget it. The law here protects slavers. And that's if your friends can even find you."
YOU ARE READING
Rule #1
Fanfiction"If you're going to be a Jedi, you have to learn how to live by rules," Kanan admonished. Ezra groaned, throwing his arm across his eyes. "Rules, rules, rules," he complained. "That's all I ever hear." "These aren't just rules. They're a way of l...
