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takadasaiko · 2 years

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Against the Odds (a Start Wars Rebels fic)

Summary: A high-tension deal with Saw Gerrera's faction turns dangerous when Kallus recognizes the Lasat from Onderon and the Lasat recognizes him. Set in S4.

FFN II AO3

---

Against the Odds

"Are we really considering this? After what he did?" Ezra demanded. "He was going to leave those prisoners to die!" His gaze swept the small crowd of rebels that was being read in on the potential mission and it settled on Hera. Saw Gerrera had reached out just weeks after two of their own had nearly been stranded on a ship with an unsteady Kyber crystal ready to blow. He needed something: a missing piece of intel that he believed one of their Fulcrum agents had gotten ahold of before his people had. And he was right. One of Kallus' newly-recruited officers within the Imperial Navy had transmitted the intelligence just that morning. They had what Gerrera wanted, and he had something they desperately needed.

"Destroying the satellite helped, but we're still trying to recoup the supplies that we lost when the Empire was intercepting our transmissions," Hera said after a long moment. "I don't like handing Gerrera our intel to handle the mission as he sees fit, but it won't do us a lot of good if we can't fuel our ships or replace our hyperdrives that were damaged in battle."

"Or restock medical supplies," Sabine offered with a quiet wince. "Have you seen the supply room since we got in? Bacta isn't cheap."

Hera turned her green gaze towards their former ISB Agent that had actually seen the intel they were all discussing in abstract. If he had an opinion about the matter - and Alexsandr Kallus always seemed to have an opinion about a matter - he was keeping a tight lid on it. She finally caught his gaze. "What do you think?" He frowned at that and she waved off the argument before it could make its way into the open. "I'm not asking you to break confidence on the details, I'm asking if it's worth the trade."

He took a long moment, light brown eyes focusing on something beyond her as he pursed his lips together. She could practically see him sorting through what he could say, what he couldn't say, and what he didn't want to say.

Kanan shifted at Hera's side. "You already gave your recommendation, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Ezra barked a short, disbelieving sound. "And what was that?"

Kallus gave one quick glance at closed doors where the matter was being discussed after he had debriefed them and pulled in a breath, decision made. "That we do it. I have no love for Saw Gerrera and certainly not for his methods, but Captain Syndulla's right, as is Sabine. We're running dangerously low on equipment and supplies that could make or break this rebellion before open war is even declared. We need this, and if that means we have to bend so that we don't break, it's what needs to be done."

"And what's stoppin' 'im from from takin' what we've got and givin' nothin' back?" Zeb grumbled.

"Us," Kallus answered. "I volunteered to accompany the intel and verify that it's securely transferred, but I made mention that it wouldn't hurt to have a Jedi along to make sure there are no… hidden agendas."

Kanan gave an amused snort at the phrasing, but followed it with a nod of agreement.

"You'll need a ship," Hera pointed out.

"And a captain," Kallus agreed with a quirked eyebrow.

"Wouldn't hurt to have a weapons expert along," Sabine offered.

"And some backup," Zeb added.

Ezra heaved a sigh. "I guess that means we're all going then."

"Oh, I only put in recommendations for those four and Chopper," Kallus answered, his tone sounding genuinely startled, but there was a glint of mischief in his eye as Ezra balked at the meaning behind the words. He was teasing him and Ezra was falling for it. Well, good to know that Kallus was finally feeling comfortable enough in his new position in the Rebellion to be willing to give as good as he usually received from the teen.

"Ezra," Hera called out, stopping him mid-grumble about bringing plenty to the team, "he's giving you a hard time."

Blue eyes blinked owlishly and turned back to where Kallus leaned back against the holo-console, the mischief finally making it into the way his lips quirked up in an amused smirk. The teen sputtered one more time before shock eased into a devilish smirk of his own as if he was already plotting payback. "So that's how it is, huh? Just you wait. The Ghost gets real small when it comes to payback."

"If you can catch me unawares."

"Oh I will."

Kallus chuckled at that. "Well, that will only be if we get the greenlight to go. Until then…"

The doors to the room slid open as the words left his lips and all eyes turned to Mon Mothma, the stress of the decision showing in every line on her face. "And you have it. I want everybody in this room ready to make the delivery in an hour's time."

And just like that, all the mirth washed out of the room. It was time to put the teasing aside. Anything could happen when a mission crossed with Saw Gerrera and they needed to be ready.

---

Once the coordinates came in for the exchange, it had been a mad rush to get off-planet and push the Ghost to its limits to reach the location on time. Everyone had their part to play and there was something comforting in the gang being back together, even if they'd added a former adversary. Sabine hadn't spent much time with Kallus since she and the others had returned from Mandalore, despite his quarters being in the same suite as the rest of theirs. It had been Hera's request, she'd found out, when the dust had settled on Yavin IV following the battle of Atollon and more than half their crew had left to help her family. Kallus had been a former ISB agent surrounded by the Rebels he'd both previously hunted and now wanted to help, and it had just made sense to help ease him into his new role amongst at least semi-friendly faces. That was the story Sabine had heard at any rate. She thought the fact that Hera had always been partial to picking up strays was probably closer to the truth. She hadn't had a lot of time to spend with the Fulcrum agent, but at least Hera, Zeb, and Rex all vouched for him.

"Hera says we're coming out of hyperspace," the Mandalorian announced as she walked through the main living space, startling Zeb out of his snoozing state in the chair opposite of Kallus, who glanced up from where he looked like he was adding a layer of security to the intel they were delivering. He ejected a disk from the datapad, confirming her suspicion, and she took an empty seat, studying him. "Did you ever run across Gerrera when you worked for the Empire?"

"On Onderon," Kallus answered, his voice measuredly casual. "Right out of the academy."

"Figured you must have with the way you react to him."

Zeb straightened a bit at that. "He ever get a good look atcha?"

"No," the former ISB agent answered darkly. "He sent his people to do his dirty work."

Interesting. Sabine tilted her head, the question working it's way up her throat as they snapped out of hyperspace.

"It's fine," Kallus assured Zeb as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. "It'll be a quick in and out. Bit like Tattoine."

Zeb snorted, his ears twitching. "Tattoine was only a quick in an' out 'cause I made it a quick in an' out."

"You act like I had nothing to do with that."

"Sure ya did. You got us inta the mess."

That finally elicited a bit more reaction from the ginger man and he turned to face Zeb fully in what sounded like an argument that had been rehashed again and again since the event. "It was a simple plan. Even you could have followed it."

"So what was your excuse?" Zeb snapped back.

Sabine felt her ears pop a little, signaling that they were easing into their descent. "Someday, I want to hear this story in full, but for now do we have everything ready?"

And just like that the spat was put aside. "As ready as we can ever be with Gerrera," Kallus murmured and, after a quick flick on his datapad, he handed it over. "A full list of the supplies he offered in exchange for the intel. I expect you'd like to look it over?"

She took the tablet and scrolled through. "This is… generous."

"So's the intel. We'll have to schedule an extraction for my Fulcrum agent after months spent cultivating him in what should have been a much better position."

His Fulcrum agent. That was something that she was still getting used to. "And it's still worth it?"

"We ain't gonna use it," Zeb huffed and Kallus shot him a questioning look. He shrugged. "Mighta overheard something 'bout a location for a new star destroyer." He turned his attention back to Sabine, ignoring the way Kallus looked like he was trying to look simultaneously upset that his intelligence had been compromised - though by an ally, so how compromised was it really? - and impressed that the always conspicuous Lasat had managed to eavesdrop on it. "The brass's gotten a bit skittish after Atollon. 'Fraid to take the Empire on face-to-face."

"I'd noticed," Sabine murmured, handing the datapad back as they touched ground. She stood and the three of them moved to meet Hera, Kanan, Ezra, and Copper at the door.

Saw Gerrera stood waiting as the ramp unfolded, a knowing smirk of a man that thought he was getting the winning end of the bargain plastered on his face. At her side, Sabine saw Ezra tense ever so slightly, and she couldn't help by remember the prisoners that Saw had left for dead after destabilizing the Kyber crystal. She reached out, her fingers brushing his, and she heard him loose a breath.

Hera took the lead with Kanan by her side, and Sabine knew he saw more than any of them could hope to. Kallus followed behind them, and finally the rest of them filed out. Saw wasn't alone. He was surrounded by several figures, both alien and Human, including a Lasat that stood tall enough to make Zeb look short. The Lasat's yellow eyes skimmed the crew as Hera greeted Saw, stopping on what appeared to be Kallus and he loosed a vicious growl like nothing Sabine had heard before. Zeb took a protective step forward and it was only then that she saw the defensive stance Kallus had fallen into. He and the Lasat knew each other. That couldn't be good.

"Something wrong?" Hera prodded, her sharp green gaze taking in the suddenly tense situation.

"Not a thing. Is there, Zoddik?" Saw answered, the last words pointed at the angry, towering Lasat.

"No," he answered, voice deep and dangerous. "We may proceed."

There was another tense moment, then another before the three key figures of the tension eased back. Kallus cleared his throat, and what Sabine could only assume was a mask of indifference falling into place as he strode forward, extending the data disk. "You'll find the coordinates our people uncovered on this disk. I expect you'll want to take a look as we load the cargo?"

"Agent Kallus," Saw murmured, but it was anything but a greeting. "I'd heard that Mon Mothma's group had tamed an ISB agent. I hadn't heard it was you."

"I defected," Kallus countered, his shoulders squaring a little more.

"And how are they liking you? The man who made his name in the massacre on Lasan?"

Sabine wouldn't have bet that Kallus could draw himself any taller, but she would have been wrong.

"You'll find everything we promised on that disk," Hera said tightly.

Saw hummed quietly and extended his hand out. One of his followers handed over a datapad that he used to check the disk. After a long, agonizing moment, he nodded. "We have a deal, Captain Syndulla."

"Fantastic," Hera grumbled, starting towards the cargo containers. "Sabine? Let's take a look."

Okay. Saw was playing nice. They just had to get the equipment and supplies onboard the Ghost and they could call this one a win.

Not that things were ever that easy.

—-

Kallus had planned for more than one wrinkle in the mission, despite the tight turnaround. The one thing he hadn't planned for was the face that quite literally haunted his nightmares. The Lasat was just as large as he remembered him being, which for years now he'd chalked up to his concussed memory and horizontal state, but no. There he was with Saw Gerrera and, in that moment, he wasn't sure if he should go for his blaster or cover.

Neither, as it turned out.

The job went on, as so many he'd seen in his short tenure working directly with and with the Rebels. Here were mortal enemies: on one side the Lasat that had so viciously murdered downed soldier with nothing that resembled honour and, on the other, the former ISB agent that had given the verbal order to use the disruptor rifles on the Lasat people. In the middle was the exchange of intelligence and goods, all with the ultimate goal of destroying the Empire. How strange that they were mostly on the same side now.

Kallus walked Gerrera through the protocols he had put into place for their protection, Gerrera's team's protection, and that of his informant, which was something he reminded Gerrera of multiple times. He was still in the field. He was one of them. Kallus wouldn't let the wide-eyed new recruit become another body laid out on the thankless ground, eyes staring unseeing beyond the distance as the war marched on around them, trampling a life too young to lose in its wake. He wouldn't let Onderon be repeated.

Once he was at least mostly convinced of Gerrera's sincerity he moved off to the side where the crew of the Ghost was loading supplies. He gave the Lasat - Zoddik, apparently - a wide berth as he moved to where Zeb was having no trouble loading the supplies. "Need a hand?"

"Need an' excuse?" the Lasat that he never would have thought he'd call friend asked bluntly, his green-yellow eyes shifting from Kallus to Zoddik.

Kallus scrunched his nose at the insinuation that he should be trying to patch up things up with a being that his only experience with had been near-death. "Let's not tempt fate," he grumbled, grabbing at the handle for the container sitting between him and Zeb.

"You may know 'im from Onderon, but every Lasat left knows you from Lasan." Sometimes he was reminded that Zeb was more perceptive than he often let on. The purple Lasat snagged the container and hauled it up onto his broad shoulder. "Someone's gotta be civilized first off."

"Why does it have to be me?" Kallus grumbled, hating how childish it sounded even as he did. This wasn't about this particular Lasat, he didn't think. This was about a bigger picture for Zeb, though if it was if Kallus had found a single Lasat he was fond of or if a single Lasat was fond of the ISB agent that had wiped out the Lasat race, he couldn't be sure. Why it mattered with so few left, he certainly did know, but somewhere in the last year, what mattered to Zeb had started to matter to Kallus. Dank ferrik. This was a terrible idea.

He turned, steadying himself for the inevitably awkward attempt at… something. Explanation? No. There was no explanation. Apology? Also no. Zeb was one thing, but he didn't know this Lesat. He didn't even know if he'd been on Lasan. All he knew was that he'd massacred his first unit without a care.

That, and that he was gone.

Kallus turned towards the Ghost to call after Zeb, prove that it was out of his hands, but his friend was hauling the crate inside. Kanan was exiting, though, and with an expression on his half-covered face that sent chills up Kallus' spine. Something was wrong and the Jedi had picked up on it.

Suddenly, Kanan turned as if looking directly at him. "Kallus!"

This was about to go bad. Kallus' gaze swept the area and finally came to rest on Zoddik. He had just emerged from the makeshift structure they had used to store the crates, a weapon in hand. Not just any weapon. A T-7 Ion Disruptor Rifle.

This was about to go very bad.

Kallus leapt into action as the Lasat aimed the weapon, the shot hitting close to where he'd be standing seconds before. The former Imperial agent dove, tucked, and rolled behind cover as another shot hit a short stack of crates waiting to be loaded and he watched them melt in horror, disintegrating atom by atom. Karabast. He was starting to get the gist of that word.

He jumped again, this time reaching for his own weapon and looking back at where the crew had come to inspect the noise. The two Jedi had lightsabers in hand, the Mandalorian brandishing weapons and ready to defend the ship. Hera shouted something in the distance as Zeb exited the Ghost. He gave a shout as Kallus dodged again, his foot slipping as he did. He used the momentum to pivot, leveling his own blaster to take two shots. The first connected with the illegal rifle even if the second went wide. Zoddik howled in frustration and aimed the weapon as Kallus ran out of easy cover. The Human leapt, the Lasat shot, and the world tilted dangerously, throwing him off-balance and he stumbled into the next set of crates rather than behind. He heard Zeb shout his name behind him and his hand went to his side instinctively. It came away bloody and pain spiked.

It was overwhelming. All encompassing. Kallus heard himself crying out, but it was like it had come from someone else. His knees buckled and he hit the permacrete hard. The world pulsed around him, but he barely noticed. All there was was pain and, in that horrifying and agonizing moment, he understood this was how they'd all died on Lasan. This is how he'd killed them.

—-

It had gone from not great to terrible in the time it had taken to load a crate into the Ghost. All hell had broken loose. Shots fired, lightsabers humming, but it wasn't until Zeb stepped back out onto the ramp that he saw the extent of the terrible.

Saw Gerrera was nowhere to be seen as the fighting broke out, but some of his people had stayed to defend the Lasat that appeared to be the instigator. Karabast. Maybe he had asked Kallus to tempt fate by talking with him. Speaking of…

His gaze swept over the suddenly violent scene just in time to see Kallus take a couple shots at Gerrera's Lasat ally. One hit the rifle in his hand and it sparked dangerously, but it was the first hard look Zeb had taken of the weapon. Dread slammed into him as the opposing Lasat raised the weapon and shot even as Kallus was jumping at his next stack of crates for cover and the beam, usually so focused, splintered, sending the dangerous red bolt of energy in several directions.

One of which was at Kallus.

The Human had hit his knees by the time that Zeb cleared a path - sending Gerrera's people scattering into the distance and leaving their destruction behind - and was bent forward with one arm wrapped around his middle and the other desperately trying to keep himself from falling face-first into the ground. Zeb reached forward and grimaced as the man he'd come to call friend flinched away from him. "Easy, Kallus," he coaxed, not even sure he could hear him through what he knew had to be excruciating pain. "Easy does it."

Kallus' arm buckled under him and Zeb caught him, easing him to the ground and taking a seat next to him as Hera moved to his opposite side to check the wound. Zeb swallowed hard, trying to find the words to tell her it didn't matter. There was a reason those guns were banned. Kallus was already dead, his body just hadn't caught up to that fact.

"…. something we can do," Ezra was saying. "How much time do we have?" There was a beat of silence as he waited for someone to answer him, but it wasn't until the teen nudged Zeb's shoulder that he realized the question was directed at him.

"I dunno. Hours at most. Probably less. Maybe a whole lot less." His voice was shaking as bad as Kallus was and he couldn't help but think back to the day Lasan had fallen. He'd heard the screams and he'd seen the aftermath, but the disruptors hadn't been used in the palace, so he hadn't seen first hand how long it took for the blast to work an organic lifeform apart atom by atom.

"Zeb, can you hold him?" Hera asked, pulling him out of the memories that threatened to drag him under. Kallus was curled as tight as he could get on his injured side, making it impossible for her to get a good look at him.

With a shaky breath of his own, Zeb reached for him and, as gently as he could, pulled Kallus half into his lap. He couldn't tell if the contact helped or hurt, but even as his back arched from the pain and he reached blindly to clamp one hand down over the wound - Zeb carefully pulling it away and holding it there - the position gave Hera the opportunity to pull his jacket back and lift his shirt to assess the damage.

"It was damaged when it fired," Sabine said from somewhere behind them and Zeb picked up on the slight tinny sound of a weapon being turned over and thoroughly examined by the Mandelorian. "The shot scattered."

"You think that'll make a difference?" Ezra asked.

"Maybe," Hera answered and Zeb risked a look at where Kallus had gone stiller than before. His chest wasn't heaving quite as hard to pull in air - though the sound he made every time he breathed in wasn't what the Lasat would call comforting - and his back rested against Zeb's bent knee. He'd either passed out or was damned close to it.

"Keep an eye out," Kanan instructed as he circled around to join them on the ground. Zeb finally let his gaze drift down to where Hera was examining the wound. Scorched and black, the freckled and pale skin was badly damaged. He could see the way the damage stretched out further than a blaster bolt should have, but if the damage was spreading, it was a whole lot slower than he would have expected. Maybe they'd gotten lucky with the shot Kallus had clipped the rifle with.

Kanan reached out and Kallus jolted back to consciousness with wide eyes staring up towards the sky as the Jedi laid his palms against the wound. "I know," he murmured softly. "I'm sorry."

"Hey," Zeb called and slowly that golden-brown gaze lulled towards him. "Don' worry 'bout them."

"Not," Kallus gasped out. "Hurts."

"I know," the Lasat murmured sadly and Kallus' eyes focused a little more on him.

"Sorry," he managed to croak out. "Never said… how sorry…"

"Yeah, well, say it when this is done."

That pulled a rough, mirthless chuckle from the injured man. "Both know how this ends," he managed.

"Thought you'd learned a bit more 'bout hope, huh?" Zeb groused and looked to Kanan.

"It's spreading, but slowly. Much slower than I'd always heard."

"Then there's a chance," Hera agreed. "C'mon. Let's get him back to base. Kallus? We need to move you."

If he was going to argue, he swallowed it instead and offered a sharp nod. Zeb shifted under him, positioning one arm to brace his shoulders and the other under his knees, Kallus' jaw tightening as he did. It wasn't until Zeb stood, lifting him up with him, that a strangled scream escaped him and he went suddenly limp in the Lasat's arms.

But he was still breathing, and with life there was hope. That's what his friends had taught him, and kriff it all they were going to let Kallus go that easily.

—-

Years later, when he thought about the order that had come down from his commanding officer that the Empire would make an example of the Lasat people, Kallus would have liked to say he pushed back. Hells, he wished he could say he hesitated more than a fraction of a moment. But he couldn't. He didn't.

After the dust had settled and the handful of survivors had been scattered to the corners of the galaxy, Kallus had been called before the Imperial Senate to give testimony. It was rare, especially by then, for a ranking officer - especially a member of the Imperial Security Bureau - to be forced to answer to an elected body for his action. He'd stood before them with his back straight, shoulders squared, and what he could only imagine was a look of utter self righteousness as he gave his version of the story. These senators knew nothing of war. Nothing of the savageness of the Empire's enemy. They hadn't been laid out, bleeding out, and only able to watch as one of them moved steadily through the men and women they served with, snuffing out lives one by one. Kallus had served his Empire on Lasan. He'd done his duty.

"Do you know what the weapons your men used do to an organic life form?" Senator Mon Mothma had asked him. "They were designed to bring down ships. They pull a person apart atom by atom, ignite every nerve ending and pain receptor before disintegrating the victim. Does that sound like a soldier's duty, Agent?"

He'd said yes, she'd voted to have him court marshaled, and he'd received accommodations for his part in the battle. As Kallus floated in and out and around consciousness, every nerve ending on fire as his body broke down atom by atom, he wondered if she would find any satisfaction in the way he would meet his end. No, he didn't think so. She was a better person than he was.

There were moments when he was more aware than others. It was difficult. The closer he drew to consciousness, the more he felt the pain, and he'd be out again at some point. It was exhausting and he was losing his will to fight for those few moments of awareness.

With a shuddering breath, Kallus broke the surface into consciousness, the memory he'd watched play out again in his mind nipping at his heels, a reminder of how he'd gotten there. It didn't matter that Gerrera's Lasat had murdered his unit or that Kallus had desperately tried to make amends for all the things he'd done in the name of duty. He was writhing in pain because of the pain he'd caused. It was as simple as that.

"Kallus?" His gaze lulled sluggishly to his left to find Zeb leaning over his prone form, worry etched into his features. "How ya feelin'?"

Kallus snorted a response, pain lacing through him as he did. His fingers flexed at his side, grabbing hold of thin sheets and he squeezed his eyes shut again as he tried to breathe through the pain.

"What'd you do?" Ezra demanded from what sounded like the door.

"Nothin'! He just woke up is all. I didn' mean to —"

"I'm alright," Kallus rasped, reaching a hand out clumsily and finding Zeb's arm just in time for another wave of pain to hit. His nails dug into purple fur, but the Lasat didn't flinch. He just let him hang on until the pain became semi bearable again and his grip loosened. "Sorry," he managed.

"Not worried 'bout that," Zeb answered and his palm brushed across Kallus' forehead. "Kid, any word from Kanan?"

"He's still meditating. He's looking for a way to help."

"Lot o' good it'll do if he waits," the Lasat grumbled and Kallus couldn't help but see how worried he looked. He wasn't sure if it was endearing or a sign he should be more worried than he was. Probably the latter, but he didn't have the energy for it.

Without warning, it was like a Wookie had taken a seat on his chest. His breath hitched and he felt his throat constrict. That was a bad sign. He hadn't thought the damage had spread quite that far yet. Whatever the reason, he found himself choking and gagging and desperately trying to pull enough air in to satisfy his lungs.

"Karabast!" Zeb growled even as Kallus managed to turn to his side, curling into himself as he wheezed air in and coughed it back out.

"That… does not sound good," Ezra managed from his place and Kallus couldn't find the breath to respond. As the pressure eased just a little he pulled his hand away from his lips and frowned at the spattered red against his palm. No, not good at all.

He tried to hide the evidence by curling his fingers against his palm, but Zeb cursed again, his growing agitation the signal that Kallus hadn't been quick enough. "Stay with him. Keep 'im wake if ya can," the Lasat snapped.

"Where are you going?" Ezra shouted after him.

"To get the only person that's got a chance of savin' 'im!"

Kallus shuddered against another fresh wave of pain as Ezra inched closer and hovered there. He couldn't say anything to ease the teen's worries. He didn't have the energy. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open as it was.

—-

There had been a growing buzz of fear that pushed on his senses since Kallus had gone down. It had built and grown in their little crew in a way that Kanan never could have believed just a few years before. Not for the then-ISB agent that had been hunting them down. Despite their hesitancy in trusting him when they had discovered that he was Fulcrum, Kallus had fought with them, bled with them, and he was one of theirs. If there was anything Kanan knew about this small group that he called family, it was that they protected their own, and Kallus had become one of their own. He wouldn't let fear overwhelm him. He wasn't ready to give up hope. Somewhere, somehow, the Force would show him how to save Kallus. It had to.

But it hadn't. Not yet. Kanan didn't know how long he'd been knelt in the solitude of his room, deep enough in a meditative state that buzzing fear had become distant. It had been, at least, until Garazeb Orelious threw the door open and barged inside, snapping him out of it without the answer that they all needed him to find. "Zeb, I told you to —"

"He's dying!" the Lasat snapped and Kanan loosed a breath threw his nose, trying to stay calm.

"I know. That's why I'm looking for a way to help him." Didn't he know that? Of course he did, but he was letting the panic override everything else.

"We're outta time," Zeb pressed.

Kanan let his sightless eyes flutter open. "Kallus is stubborn. He just has to hang on long enough to get him to Yavin IV. Part of the supplies was the bacta we've been needing. The tank —"

"He can't breathe, coughin' blood. 'e won't last till we get to base. It's eatin' 'im up, Kanan."

A quiet, frustrated sigh left him. "I haven't found—"

"Do what you did for me. After Lasan. I was 'alf dead 'n you saved me. So the same for him."

"It's not that easy, Zeb. I had no idea what I was doing when I saved your life. That's what I've been searching for: a way to replicate it."

"Just try. You ain't gonna hurt him worse, an' I'm bettin' you can save him. At least buy him time."

"How far to we have till Yavin?"

"'Bout ten hours."

Then he really didn't have a choice if Kallus was deteriorating that much.

Kanan unfolded from his place on the floor and followed his friend to the tiny med bay they had. Ezra was hovering nervously over Kallus, Sabine having joined, and Kanan reached out through the Force and nearly stumbled under the onslaught of pain, blunted only by the fact that Kallus seemed to be hovering close to unconsciousness again.

"What do you need from us?" Sabine asked quietly and Ezra moved out of the way so Kanan could take a seat next to the injured man's bedside.

"Quiet," he answered and reached out, one hand against Kallus' shoulder and the other against his arm. He could feel the pain, he could sense the struggle to breathe, and the overwhelming sense of drowning without any water in sight. He tried to open himself up to let the Force guide him, but between Kallus and their nervous crew mates all around, it was difficult. He needed a focal point.

Kanan pulled in a steadying breath, letting his mind drift back to the first time he'd met Zeb. Beaten and broken, the blast that had nearly killed him had left his fur matted in blood and bones shattered. He'd given up, and without understanding why, Kanan couldn't. He hadn't known him then and he didn't understand at the time that he would, eventually, become family. He had just allowed the Force to use him, and it had. It had used him as a conduit to knit the Lasat - one of so few that had escaped Lasan - back together.

And now it was doing the same for Kallus because they couldn't give up on him either.

The Jedi felt the Force move, a warmth in either hand and somewhere in the back of his mind he noted that Kallus' breathing was easing just a little. He fell into the focus as he sank into the chair next to the bedside and held on. He was going to be okay. Kanan wasn't sure how, but he was sure of it.

"Two hours out," Hera's voice over the comms broke through his trance and Kanan felt himself slump forward.

"Kanan?" Ezra's voice came from directly to his right and he reached a hand out blindly for him. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired," he answered.

"All of his vitals have stabilised," Sabine said. "They're up some and his breathing's better."

Kanan nodded tiredly. He knew. He still wasn't sure exactly how he'd done it, but maybe a little hope just went a long ways.

—

Kallus hated the feeling of swimming back towards consciousness. The disorientation, the equal chance between pain and danger. Sometimes both. His ISB training had taught him a handful of tricks to ensure any captors were unaware he was awake, but that didn't make it easy. Or particularly pleasant.

Something innate in him was ready for the pain this time, as if it had been there every time before, but it was muted. He laid there for a long moment, his breathing starting shallow, but deepening as memories filled in blank spaces and he became more aware of his surroundings. He flexed his fingers, feeling the sheets that were just a little thicker than in the Ghost's tiny medbay. As he let his eyes flutter open he found himself looking up, the stone ceiling high above him. Yavin IV, then. Somehow he'd survived long enough to get back.

Kallus shifted carefully, bracing for the pain to spike. His side was sore, the movement pulling on a still-healing wound, but nothing like it had been in his last memory. It didn't make sense, though. Even though they'd gotten him back and clearly had gotten him treatment with their renewed medical supplies, he didn't know of any medicine that would have stopped the spread of deterioration the disruptor rifle caused. Bacta tanks could do wonders, but he would have had to become a semi permanent resident in one to have done that, and the rebellion simply didn't have those resources. No, something else had happened that had saved his life. He just didn't know what.

He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision a bit more and turned to his left. His gaze fell on where Kanan Jarrus was sleeping on a bench against the wall, Hera leaned up against him, and vague memories started to tug into place like a dream that the mind wasn't sure if it was going to hold onto yet. There had been so much pain and then a strange sort of warmth. He couldn't grasp ahold of any of the details, but something told him it hadn't been medical science that had saved his life against all odds, but the same Jedi that he'd once hunted down for the Empire. Kanan had saved his life. He swallowed hard at the thought, the movement in his throat pulling a weak cough from him.

"Hey."

The voice from his right was soft and familiar, and Kallus looked over to find Zeb on the floor, a teen snoozing on either side as if he were an oversized pillow. The sight pulled a soft, amused snort from the injured man and a real, albeit small smile. Everything felt like it was working in slow motion. "Hey," he croaked back, happily surprised the words were audible at all.

"How ya feelin'?"

There was rustling at the sound of their quiet voices, but if any of the others actually woke, they didn't budge. Kallus shifted a bit again and took fresh stock. "Stiff and sore, but the fact I'm alive seems like a good sign." He paused his lips together. "How…?"

"Kanan," Zeb confirmed quietly. "Same way he saved my life once."

Kallus winced, but it wasn't from the physical pain. "After Lasan?"

The Lasat hummed an affirmative and carefully started untangling himself from Ezra and Sabine. The Mandalorian's eyes fluttered open and she eased over to where Zeb had been sitting, keeping the somehow-still-sleeping Ezra from falling sideways on the med room floor. She offered a tired smile before settling back in.

"You've been out for a few days," Zeb explained, moving to stand closer to the bed so that his voice was less likely to wake the others. He pulled a single chair over. It wasn't made for a being his size, but he took a seat so he was eye-level with Kallus. "We started in shifts when everyone was goin' through debrief over what happened, but at some point we just all ended up in here."

It was another sharp reminder of just how different this group of people were from those he'd worked with in the Empire. The people that had stood at attention when he walked by and had scurried to carry out his orders, but when it came down to it didn't give a damn if he made it out of a dangerous mission alive. For so long he'd told himself it didn't matter. He was doing his duty, no matter how ugly it got. He was serving what he'd determined to be a greater good. And he'd been utterly alone surrounded by a star destroyer's worth of people. Not anymore. Now, waking up from what - if he were honest - were the repercussions of his own actions years before during the atrocities he carried out in the name of duty, he was surrounded by people that didn't just care, but had fought for him to live.

"Hey?" Zeb called softly, pulling Kallus out of his thought. He leaned over him worriedly. "You okay?"

Kallus blinked, realizing that his eyes weren't blurring from the sleep he'd just come out of. A couple more rapid blinks cleared them and he turned towards Zeb and tried for a smile and a small nod. The Lasat didn't look convinced and Kallus cleared his throat, trying for a subject that was a little more practical rather than all of the emotional thoughts swirling around in his head regarding the show of loyalty from the people he still didn't feel he'd earned it from. "At least tell me we got what we went for."

"Yeah, we got it. Good thing too. You spent the first couple days back in a bacta tank."

That pulled a small frown from the injured man. "We didn't have that much to spare."

Zeb flashed a toothy grin. "Oh, Mon Mothma made sure of it. We ain't got the numbers to make him pay for what he did, but Mothma made him think we did."

Kallus snorted a soft laugh, the irony of the woman that would have seen him court marshalled a decade before now fighting for his life was not lost on him. Exhaustion tugged at him and he repositioned, trying to wake himself up a little more.

"Get some sleep, Kal. We'll be here," Zeb promised.

"You said after it was done," Kallus mumbled. They must have been flushing his system with meds. It was the only reason he was losing focus that quickly.

"What's that?"

His lids were too heavy. He reached a clumsy hand out. "I'm sorry."

"Nothin' to be sorry for. Just get some sleep."

"No." He forced his eyes open and looked over. "For what I did. For Lasan. I'm so sorry, Zeb."

He heard Zeb breathe out a sigh and the Lasat reached a large hand out to his shoulder. "You ain't that person anymore. Not n' a long time now. You're family now."

Kallus opened his to eyes and Zeb squeezed his shoulder gently. "Nope. You don't get to argue when the Spectres call you family."

"Wouldn't dare," Kallus answered and felt sleep pulling him under. Against the odds, he'd made it - they'd made it - and they'd live to fight another day. As long as they lived, there was hope.

---

End.

Notes: This idea slammed into me a while back and just wouldn't let go, so, being Whumptober, it felt like a perfect fit. And what is hurt without the comfort at the end? I just really love the idea of the entire Ghost team collectively adopting Kallus and him slowly wrapping his mind around that. I Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing this!

#whumptober2022 #no19 #knees buckling #fandom #star wars rebels #alexsandr kallus #zeb orrelios #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #ezra bridger #sabine wren

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softpadawan · 2 years

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Liveblogging Jedi Fallen Order pt. 2

In the time between this post and the last, I have learned that the Mantis is basically a luxury yacht. And you've got this filthy probably-smelly scrapper Jedi on board with no idea how hard it is to get oil stains out of potolli weave fabric. It's Pretty Woman set in the GFFA

Greez in the galley, making food, having a crisis LOLOLOL

Ah, we meet Merrin! I wasn't expecting such a thick accent (why did I think she would sound like Buffy Summers? And why is it that the Nightsisters have accents but the Nightbrothers don't?) 🤔

I'm actually surprised there's anyone left on Dathomir, but everyone forgets the Nightbrothers I guess.

Damn that looks like Maul's lair. Wait, is that a GRILL? Was Maul a BBQ fiend? Is that why he looks like a bottle of extra spicy Tex-Mex rib sauce? 🍖

NO NO CAL, DON'T TALK TO STRANGE OLD GUYS IN HOODS IN SPOOKY DARK PLACES. THE SAME THING WILL HAPPEN TO A KID NAMED EZRA IN ABOUT 11 YEARS AND THAT DIDN'T TURN OUT WELL EITHER

Greez calling Cal "weirdo" again hehehe

Cal used Push... IT WAS SUPER EFFECTIVE!

I like how Cal periodically runs his hand through his hair in idle moments. Yeah, dude, we know your hair is perfect 🙄

STUMBLING UPON SOME HIDEOUS GIANT RAT-THINGS EATING A DEAD STORMTROOPER, JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE GFFA LOL

Gather round, kids, time for another one of Greez's cockpit talks *sits crosslegged on the floor*

I hope Cal knows to keep his ankles together and clench his sphincter when diving feet-first into water

Perfect hair, even when wet (of course)

I don't know what the actual gameplay is like, but in this video, Cal has a new poncho every time he visits a new location. Are there tourist shops on Dathomir and Kashyyyk where they sell ponchos? Is Cal picking up a new one every time he goes somewhere? Is this a souvenir side quest?

HANG ON TO THOSE VINES, TARZAN

Cal performs the Zeb Orrelios Double-head Knock Maneuver™ on the Walker pilots LOLOL Maybe it's a Lasat move and Cal learned it from his Master. Bonus: "I can't believe that actually worked."

CAL CACKLING AS HE AND BD-1 TAKE CONTROL OF THE WALKER LOLOL I FEEL YOU MAN, I'D BE LAUGHING TOO

The fact that Cal didn't scream and shit himself when Saw Gerrera suddenly appears on his windshield is proof that this is pure fiction.

Cal: What are you guys doing? Saw: Pissing off the Empire. Wanna help? Cal, with approx. 47 current missions, shrugging: Sure why not

OH GOD THESE WALKERS DON'T HAVE AIRBAGS OR SEATBELTS OR ANYTHING AND WE'RE GOING DOWN, HOLD ONTO YOUR BUTT, BD

Annnnd this is how Cal gets roped into the rebellion!

Cal freeing Wookiee prisoners just like Ezra does 10 years later 🥲

YIKES that Purge Trooper sounds just a little bit too horny to see a Jedi 😳

Holyshit that special attack move is incredibly sexy, I love it when one dude just rolls across the back of another dude. Just bros being dudes fighting to the death

Oh fuck OH FUCK CAL WATCH OUT THERE'S A SECURITY DROID RIGHT BEHIND— *Cal gets lifted up and tossed like a candy wrapper* I swear it sounds like he grunts "OW DAMMIT" when he lands* Where are your Jedi instincts man? Lol

Cal awkwardly accepting thanks from the free Wookiees is so cute

I love it when he smiles. I am so in love with this guy it's embarrassing.

HOLY SHIT CAL DON'T GET SET ON FIRE, IF YOU LOSE YOU HAIR I WILL FORCE CHOKE THE EMPIRE MYSELF—

Boy, with all this ruckus Cal's causing on Kashyyyk, it's only a matter of time before Biggus Dickus hears of this.

Saw's speech is putting tears in my eyes, god stop it man

Is... is anybody going to put those fires out??

"I'm a very positive guy. I'm positive that if I die, I'll be very upset." I LOVE YOU GREEZ

Second Sister, in a haughty drawl: Cal Kest— Cal, if he were me: AUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH! Stop scr AUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH! Stop screaming I just— AUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!

I actually like Trilla more than I thought I would

Oh hohoho she's getting Cal pissed off, I like that. "What would Jaro Tapal say if he could see his Padawan now?" ...maybe I've been reading too much smutfic, but that sounds like a line straight out of a smutfic. Now I'm imagining Cal bound spread-eagle and [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted]

Cal, fiercely: I won't let anyone touch them [young Force sensitive children] DAD CAL WILL PROTECT EVERY KID IN THE GALAXY TRILLA DON'T TEST HIM

Cal sure does squeeze through a lot of tight spots. It's cute when BD hops off his back and onto his shoulder or arm

Are... are all Purge Troopers this horny about killing? Is it a requirement? "Must be this psychotic and horny to qualify"?

OH SHIT NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN CAL IF YOU LOSE YOUR FKKN SABER AGAIN I WILL COME THROUGH THIS SCREEN AND yessss remember Jaro's teachings! Good boy (I feel like I'm raising this kid lol)

Squeezing through passages yet again. This boy has more in common with Ezra than he'll ever know LMAO Kanan now has TWO duct-spelunking gremlins to deal with. Everyone say a prayer for Kanan Jarrus

"I don't care if they're a Jedi, a Wookiee or a Bogling, I'm going to destroy them!" Props to the stormtrooper for using a non-binary pronoun for Cal until he learns his preferred one LOL "We may be evil fascists, but we won't stand for misgendering our enemies!"

Cordova, I'm getting just a liiiiiittle bit sick and tired of your obsession with ancient artifacts. Your name henceforth will be Jedindiana Jones.

Ba-GONK? Really? A droid named Ba-Gonk? HAHAHAHA

OH SHIT HE'S LIGHTING MY BOY UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE WHAT NONONO

OH GOD WHERE'S BD IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO HIM I'M GONNA AAAAA CAL CALLING FOR HIS LITTLE BUDDY I'M SCARED AND FURIOUS

Cal muttering "these jerks" as he takes the restraining bolt off BD 😭

IS THAT THE HU Cal: Hey, I recognize this band. I RECOGNIZED THEM FIRST

Sorc Tormo, no relation to the Grandmaster of Sakaar I'm sure LOL Ooh what is this, a gladiator scene? Are we gonna see Cal in a loincloth? (wishful thinking)

OH HELL IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MUTANT CROCOFROGS FROM THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES, AND THIS ONE IS ON MIAMI BATH SALTS

This scene would have been 9000% better if Cal were in a loincloth and knee-high gladiator sandals, just saying

Annnd the Mantis arrives in time to save Cal! Hoo boy Cere, you got some splainin to do

Greez, having another crisis: This is fine. Everything's gonna be fine

Aww Greez waking Cal up again for a chat 🥺 Cal don't be mean, Greez just wants to know what's going on :( CAL SAY SOMETHING, GREEZ IS POURING HIS HEART OUT TO YOU "You two are the best thing that ever happened in my life" GAWD I'M WEEPING PAPA GREEZ

Sometimes a family is a crusty old pilot with a gambling addiction, a traumatized former Jedi, and a masterless Padawan with more scars than happy memories

"That's a game term." "I know what it is." 😂

"I'm busy. I gotta figure out what to cook next." Getting some STRONG Italian grandma vibes from Greez

Hoo boy ANOTHER horny Purge Trooper (wtf is he wielding? It looks heavy and cumbersome) Purge Trooper, orgasmically: YeeEEeess! FIGHT MEEE! Cal: Not until you buy me dinner

"Electrohammer Purge Trooper". Sounds like a mixed drink or a funky novelty dance from the late 90s.

Ninth Sister is going to make strawberry-ginger jelly outta Cal and spread him on her morning toast 😳

Cal's boots are gonna be so caked and crusty after sliding through 10km of Kashyykian mud, Greez is gonna have to hose him down before he lets him in the ship LOL

GIANT VENUS FLY TRAPS oh boy Cal narrowly escaping getting vored again

Hollllyyyy SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT GIANT BIRD IT'S THE SIZE OF A SHIP Cal: What is that thing? Is is a bird? Yes. Is it a plane? Also yes.

I love Cal's little baby Padawan voice (Why couldn't they have made FPJ's Kanan/Caleb sound like that? Instead we got a Padawan who has a 3 kids, a mortgage, and a receding hairline.)

Hurt Shyyyo bird uh oh! We need Dr Bridger here STAT!

Awww Cal has a way with animals, too. I'd love to see him and Ezra bonding over their connection to animals.

Kanan seeing his partner and his Padawan bring home yet another injured animal: YOU ARE RELEASING THIS ONE GO BACK INTO THE WILD, UNDERSTAND? NO MORE ANIMALS ON THIS SHIP Cal and Ezra: But Kaaaaayyyy...

I KNEW HE'D BE HOPPING A RIDE ON THAT BIRD SOONER OR LATER (🎵 I believed he could fly 🎶)

OMG when BD runs it's like a cockatiel puttering across the floor at 100 mph HAHAH I would die for that droid 😢

Ooh costume switch in this play. Cal looks fucking hot in the Inquisitor uniform

Aww Cere and Greez have dinner lunch ready when Cal comes in, I love seeing families eat in the GFFA

God this is the most uncomfortable dinner ever. Cloud City dinner with Vader doesn't even come close

GREEZ HAS BEEN SALTING HIS FOOD FOR A SOLID MINUTE JFC IT'S INEDIBLE NOW

Cal don't be an ass, Cere is pouring her heart out to you... I forget that he's just 18 sometimes 🙄

(I just found out that Debra Wilson is playing Cere, no wonder she was so familiar to me. Also I love her)

"This Cordova guy's really putting some wear and tear on my ship." SEND HIM A BILL, GREEZ, I'M SERIOUS

"Dathomir. The one place in the galaxy we don't want to see any closer... and the one place we're trying to get to, Mr Frodo."

Oh HELL dead Nightsisters, this is even worse than when Maul called them up from the grave in Rebels, these ones are still juicy

In a situation like this, you can only do one thing: THE MONSTER MASH

And this is where I've gotta call it a night. I hope my losing my mind has been entertaining

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tare-anime · 3 years

Text

SxF Chapter 52

(Beware spoilers)

Wow, once again I am amazed by Endo's way of story telling.

This chapter is bloody, just like he had promised, but I can still laughed at certain parts.

30 pages of full action packed chapter! (Now we know why he had been making short build up chapters before).

And of course, I swoon at Yor's badassery. So awesome.

Apparently, she had to face more than 11 elite assassins.

I'm glad McMahon came in time to help.

Annnndde.. love the "tired butler" vibes he showed there.

Martha, McMahon, and I believe Jeeves. All tired butler taking care of their masters. Lol.... 🤣

The action scene flow. Wow!

I love it. Endo really is a genius. Alternating between bloddy scenes with light hearted scenes? I could hear the clasical violin plays as the background music here 🤣 (please let it be like that when animated)

I love it how Yor showed her martial arts skills. She took lives, but still respecting said lives, despite their intention was to kill her.

One or two deadly shots to the target. (And Mc.Mahon stay closely behind to clean).

This knive plays??

Amazing. It kinda reminded me of Yelena Belova the black widow. Similar knive technique.

Then we saw Yor stab one head and continue the momentum by stabbing another head. Use the corpse as shield (while feeling sorry in doing so), slamming the heart with one palm punch, and plowing through enemies.

She got hit too, and I believe one or two ribs were broken there, yet she cried over jammed finger? 😅 oh my...

Ngl, I believe Yor (especially with McMahon's help) will be allright.

Thus my heart stopped when Zeb took the bullet for Olka. Lucky he wore that buletproof vest. Phew....

Welp, looks like Sniff Job got to live for one more chapter then.

I can't wait to read more!!

#spy x family #yor forger #chp 52 #spoiler #spoilers #mcmahon

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queen-susans-revenge · 2 years

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Star Wars Rebels season 3 recaps

"Zero Hour"

The two-part season finale opens with Thrawn getting the full Vader treatment as he disembarks an Imperial shuttle to the accompaniment of sinister theme music.

But you know what? This guy isn't Vader. He's not scary. He's allowed the Rebels to slip through his fingers time and time again, all the while smiling smugly as if to try and convince us that all his failures are intentional and in service of a grander plan. He hasn't even done anything particularly evil! Okay, he kinda executed that one factory saboteur, which was sad for that guy's family and all, but our heroes slaughter faceless mooks every single episode. I'm sure some of those Imperial guys have families too.

Point is, Thrawn has been framed as a scary threat, the narrative wants to treat him that way, but it's never been earned and at this point I'd call him a little bitch right to his face.

Kallus is similarly unimpressed with the Grand Admiral. He easily defeats (what seem like) high-security measures to eavesdrop on a conversation where Thrawn informs Governor Tarkin that the Phoenix Squadron, aided by several other rebel cells, is planning a coordinated attack on Lothal's TIE Defender factory. Thrawn means to use that opportunity to wipe them all out at once. No, Tarkin tells him, bring the leaders in alive.

Cut over to said Rebels. "She did it," Ezra marvels. "Hera really did it! Look at everyone. I can't believe they're all gonna help Lothal." Awww. See this does feel earned, because we have seen Hera working at the task of organizing a larger group for the entire season.

"It wasn't just Hera," Kanan remarks drily, and Ezra is quick to agree. "Oh, I know. You, too, Kanan. And Zeb and Sabine. Chopper...less so." Look here you little shit, you would be dead a dozen times over without Chopper. It was just last episode we saw Chopper make the choice between saving himself or following you on an excruciating and dangerous trek into the middle of the desert, and he followed you to literally the brink of death even though you were just being yanked around by Maul again. Chopper has shown you amazing loyalty. Maybe you could return a little bit of it sometimes.

Kanan points out that Ezra's own contributions have been significant, and Ezra thanks him for all the training. "Sometimes I wonder if I have anything left to teach you," Kanan admits. "My own Jedi training was limited."

"No. That can't be true," Ezra protests, and in a series as obsessed as Star Wars is with rhymes and echoes and callbacks and dyads, I truly think this is meant to stand as an intentional contrast to Luke's anguished "Noooooo! That's not true! That's impossible!" on Bespin. Ezra and Luke are "twinned" in a lot of ways, including their birthdays, as @gondalsqueen pointed out in the notes to last episode's fic chapter. And here they are both addressing their fathers with almost identical language, and opposite meanings. Luke means to reject a biological father whose influence on his life has been wholly pernicious; Ezra means to claim a non-biological father whose influence on his life has been wholly beneficial.

To make this clearer, Ezra goes on: "I don't mean about the Force. I mean about life, about being a good person. That's what you've taught me." Vader offers Luke power in the Force at the cost of everything he considers "good," and Luke rejects it. Whereas in this twinned-and-flipped moment, Kanan admits to Ezra that he will not be able to offer any further increases in power, and Ezra rejects THAT as his goal. So Luke and Ezra are honestly making the same choice, using the same language, but facing different directions as it were. (And Ezra didn't just get his hand chopped off, so this is altogether a more pleasant conversation for him.)

Back to Kallus, who tries to use his Fulcrum relay to warn the Rebels, only to find Thrawn lying in wait for him. The two spar, and Thrawn has the upper hand: "Your technique is good, but limited by your training in the Imperial Academy," he purrs. "Predictable."

"You talk too much," Kallus spits back, and gets a few licks in before he's beaten. Thrawn tells him he has the heart of a rebel and puts him into sexy, sexy bondage. I'm so serious there is no non-horny explanation for this:

That's fanservice, baby! Thrawn gloats that the interrupted transmission has given him the location of the base on Atollon—even though Kallus scrubbed the world from Imperial charts, Thrawn noticed it depicted "in the art of the ancient people of this sector," and now he knows where it is.

So Admiral Konstantin's fleet drops out of hyperspace over Atollon, and two Interdictors deploy gravity wells to keep the Rebel fleet from escaping to hyperspace. They're also jamming long-range transmissions.

Hera decides to send Kanan and Ezra in a small ship to punch through the blockade and call for reinforcements on the other side. They're fine with this plan until she informs them she'll be staying behind. "As Jedi you have the best chance to escape," she says flatly. "You're going....Chopper too. That's an order." See this kind of scene is fascinating, I could read a hundred fics excavating everyone's exact thoughts and emotions here.

I think the fact Hera's sending Chopper betrays an element to this that's not necessarily strategic, more about protecting her nearest and dearest. I think if Sabine were here she would've been sent too. But Zeb's not, because he's an adult and because there's a limit to how much self-deception Hera can do; if this mission doesn't work she's going to be dying alongside a lot of good friends and allies, and Zeb will be one of them. This is a Hail Mary play on her part so she's sending the Jedi, because they can literally bend fate and she's gonna need a lot of luck. And oh here take the droid, he's lucky too, quick just go let's not think about it too hard, maybe Hera just needs to know that the kids and her very oldest friend will be safe.

But Kanan pulls her aside to tell her, in private, that he can't leave Atollon without also warning the Bendu. Hera protests that they need to call for help: "That's what I'm doing," Kanan says, and Ezra strolls up to express some degree of incredulity.

"Who are you talking about?" Hera wants to know, and Kanan answers that she wouldn't believe him if he told her. Wait, he's never mentioned the Bendu to Hera? Oh I hate this! I hate this and let me tell you all the reasons why!

ONE. She would believe him. Of course she would, she knows the Force is real and that he's a Jedi and that Weird Mystic Shit can and does happen around him on a regular basis. So he found a big ol' Force-using critter out in the desert, that's not actually so hard to believe.

TWO. The big ol' Force-using critter out in the desert is a huge security issue! The two things we know about the Bendu are that it is powerful, and it is capricious. The people in charge of the base need to be warned to stay out of its territory, not to fire on it if it appears unexpectedly, that kind of thing. This is absolutely something that Hera very much needs to know about! The line shouldn't have been "Who are you talking about?" It should have been a skeptical "Wait, are you talking about that thing out in the desert you warned me to route patrols around?"

THREE. I hate the implications that their worlds are really so separate they barely communicate about literally huge stuff like this. This is awful! If Kanan didn't tell Hera about the Bendu, he must have stayed withdrawn and inwardly isolated not just for the gap between seasons but for pretty much this whole entire time since Malachor. Like the Bendu taught him to open up and reconnect, that was the big lesson in the pilot episode, and apparently he got somewhat better, yet not open and connected enough to recount basic, vital facts to his closest partner like the existence of the big ol' Force-using critter out in the desert that has become his spiritual guide. He doesn't even tell her now :(

But Atollon is about to come under orbital bombardment and Kanan thinks the polite, and maybe the strategic, thing to do is go inform the world-spirit or whatever he is. "I need you to trust me," he says, to which all Hera answers is "Don't keep me waiting long." SEE! She totally would have believed you!

So Ezra and Chopper are sent alone on the blockade-running mission, because Kanan's got hot-girl shit to do out in the desert. Hera takes the Ghost up, leading multiple squadrons of fighters to engage the Imperial destroyers and clear a path for Ezra. He's flying Maul's old ship, the Nightbrother, recovered last episode from Tatooine. "I hope Kanan's having better luck," Ezra remarks to Chopper as they watch Rebel ships exploding around them.

Kanan's not really having better luck. The Bendu's mad, actually, that Kanan has brought war to his world. "I am the one in the middle," Bendu proclaims. "I take no side...I am beyond your worrying and wars. I am unseen, unknowable, like a rock in the river."

"Look, I tried to live that way once," Kanan tells him. "Told myself the galaxy would go on with or without me. But when I saw innocents harmed, and knew I had the power to do something about it, I couldn't just let it burn down around me! Some things are worth fighting for!"

Back up in the space battle, the Rebels continue taking heavy losses. Sato evacuates his carrier and uses it for a suicide run to make that opening for Ezra. Thrawn is naturally prepared for such an eventuality, but seeing a command ship vulnerable, Admiral Konstantin defies Thrawn's order and takes the bait. "I will not be denied the glory of this kill! I've had enough of your 'games,' Grand Admiral!"

Honestly? He's right and he should say it. Thrawn's penchant for game playing makes him a bad leader. Konstantin is making a stupid move here, one that he will pay for with his life...but securing the loyalty of your troops is PART of strategy! Thrawn is partly responsible for Konstantin's mistake here even though it expressly violates his orders, because he's made his troops watch over and over as he lets rebels escape, and they're sick of it, and he has done nothing to inspire them with trust. So this failure IS on Thrawn, as much as it is on Konstantin. It doesn't help to have an all-knowing, all-seeing strategic genius for a leader if said genius allows the losses to mount for so long that he cannot control his forces when the crucial long-delayed moment for a sweeping victory comes.

Thrawn's been a terrible leader. He's lost destroyer after destroyer and is now simply unable to control his men. So Sato's suicide play works and he takes both Konstantin and himself out in the kind of cinematic explosion that actually can't happen in space—chemical reactions die swiftly in vacuum—but once again this is Star Wars and science doesn't know her.

And Ezra gets through. Hera pulls her remaining, battered forces back to base, and the Imperials pursue them to ground.

Back out in the middle of the desert, there's a strangely beautiful shot where Kanan and Bendu watch the "falling stars" streaking the sky. "You can feel it, can't you?" Kanan asks. "My friends are dying."

"Such is the fate of all living beings," the Bendu answers, and grows angry when Kanan accuses him of cowardice. "Perhaps it is the will of the Force that the Jedi and all your kind perish!" He vanishes in a huff.

Mon Mothma isn't any more helpful to Ezra. "I wish I could help you, Commander Bridger, but I can't. Doing so would play into Thrawn's hands, and he would wipe out all we've worked to build." Side note: Ezra's a Commander now? Pretty sure he was a Lieutenant last episode? Did he actually get promoted for going AWOL, stealing a fighter and getting it blown up on Tatooine? I guess he did come back with a sweet-ass ship to replace it, so maybe?

I honestly wish we'd spent a little more time with the question of who has what rank in the Rebellion, and what that means for Ezra and Kanan specifically, since Kanan's own master opposed the practice of Jedi taking military ranks. And I don't think Kanan has accepted one, has he? But Ezra's been keen on it, and clearly has been allowed to. I just really, really would've liked to hear some conversation between them about it.

Ezra's current conversation is a grim one. Mon Mothma thinks their predicament is hopeless. "It was too soon for open warfare against the Empire. I promise you, we will do our best to negotiate fair treatment for the prisoners." This is, as Ezra immediately points out, pretty cold comfort considering there are not likely to BE any prisoners. But she flashes deuces—or says "May the Force be with you," which is kind of the same thing—and ends the call. Dang, so much for being Hera's new bestie.

So Ezra turns to his final hope. Sabine's Mandalorians.

Part Two opens back on the base, where the Rebels are all depending on Sabine in a different way—they need that shield generator she and Zeb recovered from Geonosis to work. It does, holding off the Imperial bombardment...for a time.

With Sato and Konstantin both off the board, it really is Hera versus Thrawn now in terms of strategy. Her plan is to pull everyone inside that shield generator, hunker down, and hope that her kids save the day. And this is actually a pretty excellent strategy, because she has truly exceptional kids and she's done everything she can to set them up for success. And Thrawn as we've seen may be smart but inspires no loyalty at all and is barely in control of his forces.

Kallus, in particular, is still smoldering sexily in chains, just hanging out right there while Thrawn receives reports and delivers orders. Gosh if it were me I might not give the known double agent such wide-open access to all my war intel, but then I'm not a sTraTEgIc GeNiUS like Thrawn. Seriously somebody get this guy a copy of those old "rules for supervillains" that used to get passed around on, like, Geocities. You know, like "I will just shoot my enemies in the head immediately, instead of delivering a long monologue beforehand where I explain all my plans and then leaving them to be killed by an intricate trap." Thrawn needs to be told that a genuinely scary villain would not imprison the enemy spy on his bridge and share all his secrets just because he wants to gloat. That is not actually smart behavior. That is profoundly stupid behavior.

Yeah, I'm increasingly annoyed at Thrawn's whole character being all hype and no substance. This is the big season finale, and this guy's a damp squib. The scene where the bombardment commences is pretty neat though. Just visually, it's very striking. Annnnnd...juuuuuust as the shield is about to fail and everyone's about to get blown up...Thrawn orders a halt to the bombardment. Because of course he does. All right, I will grant that this decision is actually justified: Thrawn was ordered to bring the Rebel leadership in alive, and he can't do that by nuking the place from orbit. But seriously, isn't he tired of letting the Rebels escape yet? Because I'm getting tired of watching him do it.

There's a sweet bit where Hera anxiously checks in on Kanan as soon as the bombardment halts, knowing that he was caught outside the shield. He tries to laugh it off; she's enormously relieved, and tells him to "come home, love." Aww. In the war room, she tells everyone to expect a ground assault next. Rex suggests placing mines, and Hera orders him and Zeb to get it done.

Sabine's in some kind of war council when Ezra finds her on Krownest. He fills her in quickly on what's happened, and the Mandos tell him that they're in the middle of a civil war. But Sabine insists there must be something they can do, and announces that she'll go back with him, alone if necessary.

Her brother--who, in a lovely bit of visual storytelling, has let her paint some bits of his armor--objects to her "impossible mission." Sabine answers that her friends make the impossible possible. This is enough to provoke her mother the Countess into relenting, acknowledging that she owes the Rebels a debt. So Sabine gets "a few ships, and any warriors who are willing." They decide to focus on the remaining Interdictor.

Back on Atollon, the ground assault plays out with explosions and Walkers and pew-pews. A storm is gathering as Thrawn takes the field. Hera decides that if she dies it's gonna be in the sky, and orders her crew to make for the Ghost.

But they're nabbed by Thrawn's forces on the way. "And now, Captain Syndulla, I will accept your formal surrender," Thrawn says in his silky purr. Lightning is beginning to rage above them, and he catches Kanan's reaction: "Do you fear the storm, Master Jedi?"

"Yeah," Kanan says. "And you should, too." Then lightning literally comes down and strikes Thrawn in the head hahahaha this is so funny!

He's apparently fine, cause he was wearing a helmet. (Score one for Imperial armor?) "What Jedi devilry is this?" Thrawn hisses, but it's not. It's Bendu devilry.

"I AM THE BENDU!" The Bendu is no longer a big ol' critter but instead has turned into a big ol' storm with glowy eyes. "I BRING DEATH!"

"Told ya my friend was coming," Kanan says. Then the lightning starts frying literally everything. The Imperials run for cover and the Rebels run away. Thrawn tells his forces to "concentrate fire on the center of the storm" and it seems to actually work? The Bendu howls, something big and fiery streaks down to ground, and the lightning clears away.

But the distraction is good enough for the Rebels to get away in the Ghost. (The Bendu, living up to his self-proclaimed penchant for neutrality, tried to fry them too but the Ghost soaks one lightning strike and Hera evades the others.) And up in space, Sabine and Ezra lead a Mando team to land on the hull of the Interdictor and...shoot it until it explodes? I think they're actually targeting the "gravity well" part of it and that does the trick. I'm not super clear on how an Interdictor works and neither is anybody who made it up, but the important point here is that it blows up real pretty, and the Mandos mostly get away.

With Thrawn down on Atollon's surface, Arihnda Pryce makes what I consider to be the absolutely reasonable decision to have Kallus summarily thrown out an airlock. Unfortunately, Kallus is a badass and the two stormtroopers tasked with this job are not, so what she's actually done is hand him the perfect opportunity to escape. Arihnda, your only mistake was not sending about eight more stormtroopers. Kallus sends his coordinates, and the Ghost scoops up his escape pod as they all hie out for hyperspace.

Thrawn is left down on the surface, following up on where the Bendu landed. It's clearly hurt. "What manner of creature ARE you?" Thrawn asks, and the Bendu tells him: "One beyond your power to destroy."

To which Thrawn says "It would not seem so," and pulls a blaster. HAH! Okay, THAT is a respectable villain move.

The Bendu prophesies Thrawn's defeat: "Like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace." So Thrawn fires...into sudden nothingness. The Bendu has disappeared, leaving only a mocking laugh behind.

This wasn't the victory Thrawn wanted. But it's still a defeat for the Rebels. They've lost their base and suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of Sato and his cruiser. And Sabine can't stay, although Kallus will. Kanan finds Ezra to offer comfort: "I understand you feel defeated, but I've learned to see things differently. There's a future for us, one where we're all free. But it's up to us to make it happen."

Annnnnd...that's a wrap on season three. I left more thoughts about the series as a whole in the comments under the last chapters of Fade to Red—there's actually three of them, one for each half of the episode and one for the aftermath, tackling Hera's pregnancy. I am not up for a rewatch of season 4 at this time but I co-sign the timing @gondalsqueen worked out for it.

#star wars rebels #zero hour

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queen-susans-revenge · 2 years

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Star Wars Rebels season 3 recaps

"Warhead"

So as I finished this episode my main thought was how excited I was for the accompanying chapter of Fade to Red, because Hera and Kanan are offscreen for almost the whole ep. Sooooo much room for fic to play!

And then chapter 14 turns out to be a lovely, languid, playful (and very NSFW) episode that had me in tears again by the end of it, with the sweetness of it. With thinking once again about how they had that, dammit, they must have had that.

Here's my notes from watching the show:

We open on a pair of Star Destroyers releasing a bunch of odd looking capsules. They've got ignition and apparently hyperdrive? One lands, presumably by chance, on Atollon and releases what looks like a protocol droid. Apparently it is in fact a spy droid because it immediately becomes interested in the signs of Rebel activity around.

However, the hostile wildlife of Atollon in this case works to the rebels' advantage, as a pair of those clacky spider things (Wookieepedia tells me they're called krykna) ambush the droid.

Cut to Hera being the boss lady. "Hobbie, Wedge, let's go, move it! We're behind schedule, Phoenix Squadron!" They're off to do some kind of training exercise. Zeb's annoyed that he can't go too, but Hera informs him that as her chief of security—is that a promotion for Zeb? Nice—he needs to stay behind with the droids and guard the base.

"Carry on, Captain Orrelios," Sabine says cheerfully as she and the rest of the Spectres take off on the Ghost. I don't understand how ranks work here because Hera is clearly in charge of Zeb but I think she's the same rank?

And here's where I paused the ep and spent an hour falling down a rabbit hole on Google.

Okay so Hera is promoted to General in season four (offscreen, between episodes 8 and 9). Before that her rank is a little hazy, because as captain of her own ship she's an informal "captain" whether or not she's also a Captain in the military structure of the Rebel Alliance. In season two we saw her promoted to Phoenix Leader. Does that come with a rank? Well, Kanan made a big deal of calling her Captain Hera, laying stress on the title, and adding a salute.

So then I was like, all right, maybe she got another promotion offscreen and is now Captain First Class or something like that, I have no idea, is that a thing? So now I'm on the U.S. Navy's website looking up ranks and fun fact: the Navy doesn't have generals! The only rank above a Captain in the Navy is an Admiral.

The Rebel Alliance definitely has admirals, and most of the terms they use seem to be naval: the ships travel in fleets, etc. But the Army has generals, and they have captains too!

Back to Wookieepedia. WHAT kind of command structure are we dealing with here. Okay there is a category for Galactic Alliance ranks, but it needs some updating, it's almost empty and missing things like captains and generals. The military ranks page mixes Imperial and Alliance terms and doesn't have any kind of breakdown of command hierarchy, BUT I do spot a canonical reference to a "captain third class!"

So great, that's enough for a headcanon anyway. Hera is a Captain something class and Zeb is a lesser rank of captain, and now I can go back to watching the show although I really want to know whether Kanan and Ezra have ranks? I don't think so, because Rex keeps getting tripped up on what to call Kanan, and because these are our new Jedi who aren't making the same old mistakes. Kanan won't have forgotten what his master taught him:

[image id: a panel from the first issue of the Kanan comic book. Depa Billaba is shown saying, "I believe the Jedi order made a crucial error in taking military titles."]

But does Sabine have a rank? You guys don't wear uniforms or anything, how is anybody supposed to tell?

ANYway. Closing nine tabs, I return to the show.

"Did they seriously leave YOU in charge of this entire facility?" AP-5 sneers at Zeb. This droid is very good at sneering, and Chopper takes the chance to join in.

Zeb, understandably pissed, refuses the opportunity to conduct an inventory of the supply depot with AP-5. Chopper ain't interested either.

Zeb goes to the command center instead, where we see that he's not REALLY all alone on the base with the droids. There's like some dudes in helmets here too. See, those guys are wearing uniforms!

The dudes in helmets tell Zeb that they're picking up what looks like a meteor strike, and it's knocked out one of the perimeter sensors. So Zeb takes Chopper to go check it out, and finds the infiltrator droid: the spiders have left it in a disabled state. Since it doesn't have Imperial markings, he's not sure what it is. Over Chopper's objections he brings it back to the base.

Chopper gets a really cute moment where he gets to grumble-beep in the exact tones and cadence as: "I've got a baaaaaaad feeling about this."

Back aboard a Star Destroyer, Kallus is alerted that one of the infiltrator droids has dropped out of communication. He plays down the information and delays notifying command.

Back on Atollon, Zeb brings the disabled infiltrator to AP-5, who doesn't recognize it either but is able to reboot it. It's got some damage to its memory circuits and declares its designation "unknown," and then immediately proceeds to scan and inventory the entire munitions depot in a matter of seconds. "He's better at your job than YOU are!" Zeb crows.

AP-5 concludes that the newcomer is "a logistics droid," and claims it as an assistant. Chopper still doesn't like it though, and the feeling is mutual.

Zeb is called back to the command center for a priority message. It's Kallus (behind Fulcrum protocols), warning about the infiltrator droid. Zeb races back to the droids just in time to see the infiltrator go into full scary destroyer mode. "Designation, Imperial Infiltrator droid EXD-9. Assignment: Atollon. Target: Rebels."

Fight time! Zeb takes the brunt of the heat, but good ol' Chopper wades in bravely with his electroprod too. They manage to damage EXD-9 and it withdraws.

AP-5 wants to contact Captain Syndulla. (So definitely a captain! could still be a captain somethingth class though! I am really fighting the urge to go look up whether higher or lower is better here. It would be Captain First Class if she was at the top of a captaincy hierarchy, right?) But Zeb insists that everyone needs to track the droid and prevent it from returning with its data to the Empire. And to his credit, it's the right call.

They track the droid by its leaking fluids, but that trail ends with a dismembered astromech. EXD-9 cannibalized it for parts and has repaired itself. This scene is kinda spooky-cool.

Chopper can't pick up the signal of EXD-9's power core, so they conclude that it's still damaged and will be looking for more parts. Zeb gets the bright idea of using Chopper as bait to lure it out. AP-5 points out that Zeb should probably stop firing his bo rifle in a munitions depot, so they're going to have to rassle the thing instead.

Chopper does a really great job with his part of the plan, which I would like to point out required quite a lot of bravery. The "wrestling EXD-9" part of the plan turns out to be significantly dicier, but eventually they manage it and AP-5 is able to shut it down. The droids are forced to admit that Zeb's plan worked.

The last third of the episode is filled out with some business involving a failsafe timer/bomb embedded in EXD-9. Oh no, it's counting down! Chopper saves the day by...literally just spraying the countdown clock with some kind of ice spray that "freezes" it? Okay.

Then Zeb remembers Kallus warned him that if the droid stays out of communication for too long, the Imperials are gonna come looking for it. So he wants to wipe its memory and wake it back up, but AP-5 says any attempt to tamper with the memory will make the bomb go off. He also can't disarm the warhead, but conveniently, he CAN change the trigger mechanism. This all seems very fudged but the upshot is that the Rebels are able to make it so EXD-9 will still have all its data from Atollon, but blow up as soon as it connects to an Imperial network.

"Maybe even take some more of these droids with it," Zeb muses hopefully. "The Empire will never know which one it was!" Zeb, that's a HELL of an assumption to make.

Okay so this idea rests mostly on Zeb's wishful thinking, but AP-5 declares himself stunned by its brilliance. Chopper tries to register some objections but they're dismissed.

They restart EXD-9 with the frozen timer set to twenty seconds. (It's not going to "unfreeze" when the ice spray wears off?) EXD-9 goes back into protocol-droid mode and waddles amiably back to its ship...but it's got a long range transmitter! It'll be able to send its data back without returning to base! So Zeb has to shoot the transmitter, which he does, and then EXD-9 flies off. (It's not going to notice any funny business about that big red timer on its front chest?)

This all seems unconvincing, but everyone exchanges compliments and metaphorical high fives, and Zeb and AP-5 have earned a grudging respect for each other. I'm not convinced the tale of how Zeb and AP-5 earned a grudging respect for each other is a story that was really screaming out to be told, but sure.

Conveniently, Zeb's plan works insofar as the droid reports back to a Star Destroyer but then explodes before it can it transmit its data, dealing significant damage to the ship in the process. (It's also REALLY convenient that there are actually two Star Destroyers doing this infiltrator droid pod-drop thing, and Kallus happens to be in the other one.)

As it is, Kallus is impressed and turned on. The corner of his lips gives a tiny smirk as he watches the flames dance.

The Ghost returns to Atollon with the rest of the Spectres. Hera's not happy: "Okay, what happened that you called me back on day ONE of the exercise?"

Zeb's about to sheepishly confesses the hijinks when...another priority transmission cuts in. Fulcrum purrs about how well the brilliant counterintel mission went, unwittingly doing Zeb a solid in that moment.

But then we're back with Kallus in person. And he has to go report to Thrawn. "How did this happen, Agent Kallus?"

Kallus is smart enough not to attempt any misdirection here. "I suspect the rebels captured a unit in the field and reprogrammed it to self-destruct upon its return to base. Quite ingenious, really."

Thrawn is pleased, both with this answer and with the outcome of the infiltrator droid deployment mission in general. Despite the loss of a bunch of men and droids and maybe a Star Destroyer (how many of those things does the Empire HAVE?), Thrawn's now narrowed down the location of the Rebel base considerably. The droids were only targeting about a hundred different systems at a time, and now he knows it's got to be on one of them.

This is a good, effective scene for Thrawn, and a strong close to an episode that was otherwise stitched together out of plot holes and convenience.

#star wars rebels #warhead #fade to red

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