Ghosts

Chapter Three: Meeting with the Fleet

"Kanan, Hera, I'd like you to meet Kara Stone." Ezra proudly presented his friend, who offered Kanan a small smile. The Jedi didn't return it, and was eyeing the newcomer as Hera turned her seat around.

"Nice to meet you." Hera offered Kara her hand, and Ezra's friend shook it. "Nice job taking out those TIEs, by the way. That's no easy feat."

"Actually, it was Ezra who took them out." Kara told the Twi'ilek, who gave Ezra a suprised yet proud look. "I was only keeping us on course. Ezra used his Jedi magic and his lightsaber to keep us from getting blasted." Ezra felt Kanan's sharp gaze being aimed in his direction. He knew why, of course; Kanan preached to Ezra about how important it was to keep him being a Jedi secret. While Kara was a trusted friend to Ezra, she was a stranger to Kanan. His sharing of his abilities was definitely going to be cause for another lecture.

"How did you two meet?" Hera asked, breaking the tension between the two Jedi. "We lost Ezra during the supply run, and when he commed, he said he'd been knocked out for a while."

"Well, Ezra and I have actually known each other a while." Kara told the pilot. "We grew up together. We were pretty close friends when we were kids. I've been off the radar for the last few years, though. We were out of touch until today."

"Kara here singlehandedly took out a whole squadron of Stormtroopers that had me cornered today." Ezra added, and Kara's face reddened a bit. "I got hit by one of their shots, and before I blacked out she swooped in and saved me. She kept me at an abandoned residential building until I woke up and commed you guys."

"A whole squadron?" Kanan inquired, giving Kara a curious look. "How'd you manage that? The Stormtroopers today were pretty intense."

Ezra's eyes widened a bit at the question, and he realized he had been cut off by the TIEs before he'd had the chance to ask Kara about how she took out the squadron earlier that day. Before he could make up an answer, though, Kara spoke. "Knockout gas bombs." She told Kanan. "They're made with a special set of chemicals so the gas will pass through the ventilators in the helmets they wear."

"Knockout gas bombs?" Kanan asked, dragging out each word slowly. Ezra could tell he was suspicious. "Never heard about those."

"It's not used by the Empire." Kara responded without missing a beat, and Ezra was impressed. "I know an arms dealer on the black market who makes them for the right price. He doesn't really like to advertise them; the Empire wouldn't be happy if they found out he was engineering devices against them."

"I guess not." Kanan murmured, narrowing his eyes a bit. Hera noticed, and quickly changed the subject.

"So, Kara, is there somewhere we can drop you off?" The pilot asked, turning back to the navigation controls. "We have a meeting with the Rebel fleet, and you must be tired after that escape from Lothal."

"Actually, you wouldn't mind if I tagged along, would you?" Kara asked. Kanan responded before Hera could.

"It's a closed meeting." The Jedi told Kara, a bit of an edge to his voice. Hera turned her head, shooting him a look, before turning to Kara.

"I'm sure Commander Sato won't mind, especially after you helped us get Ezra away from the Empire today." Hera smiled at Kara, who beamed back. "Besides, we can drop you off wherever you need to be after. Doing it now would make us late." She added with a light chuckle.

Kanan leaned back against the cabin wall with a scowl, but Ezra paid him little heed. Though the raven-haired boy wouldn't admit it aloud, he was glad he didn't have to say goodbye to his friend just yet.

———

"We must face the facts." Commander Sato sighed. "Despite the efforts of the Ghost crew, we are in need of supplies. We lack weapons and medical supplies. Without them, we stand no chance of helping more planets, let alone gaining sympathizers. Ahsoka, how long until the next shipment to Lothal?"