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Ezra was honestly getting tired of missions always going wrong.
It was just meant to be a supply run, go in, pick up some bacta for the rebellion, and get out before the Empire showed up. Things quickly took a turn for the worse, as they always seem to do for the Ghost Crew.
It all happened so quickly that Ezra wasn’t exactly sure what caused the troopers to show up, although he suspected it had something to do with the explosion(courtesy of Sabine).
Anyway, long story short Ezra was now captured on an imperial transport, separated from the rest of the Spectres and on his way up to the star destroyer that was hovering over the planet.
Ezra wasn’t nearly as afraid as he probably should be, but at this point in his career as a rebel he had been captured by the Empire more times than he could count.
And to be honest, they were really not the best at keeping track of their prisoners.
In addition the troops that had arrested him had no idea that he was a rebel at all, let alone a Jedi, as far as they were aware he was just some random civilian causing problems. Unfortunately they had taken his lightsaber when they searched him but couldn’t tell what it was, still, it would be a pain to get back.
He felt the transport ship rumble as it landed in the star destroyer’s hangar bay. Ezra sighed, annoyance prickling under his skin when the stormtrooper grabbed his shoulder and forced him to his feet as the back of the transport opened up.
Here we go again, he just hoped that the Ghost would be back to get him soon enough.
—————
Ezra’s cell was dark and quite barren, as all holding cells seemed to be. Seriously, the Empire should really invest in better interior design. The cell was cramped, again typical, with a vent in the back that was too small to fit into (he’d checked). Unlike a lot of the other cells that Ezra had been in, one of the walls was replaced with a laser gate, presumably to allow the troopers to keep an eye on the prisoners, but it had the unintended side effect of giving Ezra the ability to see the man in the cell across from him.
The man was human or at least near-human, mid thirties probably, with red hair and stubble dusting his chin, and absolutely covered in scars. Ezra wasn’t often star-struck by people but this man was just… really cool, aside from the poncho which looked kind of stupid. There also was a somewhat familiar sense in the Force surrounding the man that he couldn’t quite place but vaguely reminded him of Kanan.
The man looked Ezra up and down before meeting his eyes and raising a brow in question. “So, what are you in for?” The Padawan asked, trying to sound casual.
The man chuckled, shaking his head before responding, “Oh you know, the usual,” He said, a sardonic smile on his face, “These Imps are so sensitive about what you say nowadays.”
Ezra grinned back in return, maybe this won’t be so bad, the rebels might even gain a new ally. “Trust me, I know.”
The man looked Ezra over again before speaking, “Aren’t you a little young to be locked up?”
“Aren’t you a little old?” Ezra shot back as the man snorted, clearly amused by the teen’s antics. “Besides, I’m eighteen, that’s an adult.” The very much not eighteen year old lied.
“I’m sure.” The man said with a smirk, clearly disbelieving. “What’s your-“ He paused as a scuffling noise came from the vent in his cell, looking up to observe it before grinning. “You wanna get out of here kid?”
Ezra blinked for a moment, taken aback as he watched the man stand up. “Yes obviously, but, uh, what’s the plan?” He asked right before the grate covering the vent in the man’s cell fell off, revealing a small bipedal droid. The droid ran up to a panel at the edge of the laser gate and seemed to deliver some kind of shock, before Ezra could ask what was going on, the gate on the man’s cell disappeared.
“That’s the plan.” The man said as he stepped out of his now opened cell an easy grin on his face, the little droid jumping up to stand on his shoulders.
A moment later the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the halls, the man sighed as he got into a fighting stance. “BD, why don’t you work on getting my friend over here free while I deal with the troopers.” The droid, BD apparently, let out an affirming beep as he ran over to the control panel for Ezra’s cell.
“Wait! You don’t have any weapons!” Ezra called out, panicked, sure he could probably take on two troopers unarmed but he was a Jedi, this was just some random guy.
“Don’t worry about me kid.” The man responded, just as two stormtroopers rounded the corner. The man didn’t hesitate as he charged into one of them, ramming his shoulder into the chest plate, knocking him down and catching both of them off guard.
Without pause the man slammed the fallen trooper’s head to the ground, knocking him out before grabbing the blaster strapped to his hip and rounding on the second trooper.
The laser gate on Ezra’s cell disappeared right as the man shot the second trooper in the chest, the entire encounter taking at most only five seconds. “Holy force.” Ezra decided at that moment that he was definitely recruiting this man for the rebels.
“That was incredible!” The padawan said excitedly as he stepped out of his cell.
“Thanks kid.” The man said as he stood up straight, still catching his breath. “What’s your name?”
“Jabba the Hutt.” Ezra replied automatically before mentally hitting himself, this man had just broken him out of an Imperial holding cell and took down two stormtroopers unarmed, telling such an obvious lie probably wouldn’t endear him to the rebellion.
To his relief the man just laughed. “You’re a bit small for a Hutt, but that’s fair I guess. Well, Jabba, I’m Cal and this is BD-1.” Cal said gesturing to the small droid that had returned to his position on his shoulder as he began to walk down the hall.
Ezra rushed to catch up with him until he was walking beside Cal. “Just Cal?” He asked.
“For now.” The man responded and Ezra couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know how to use one of these?” Cal said as he handed Ezra the second stormtrooper’s blaster, still walking.
“Oh, yes! I do.” The padawan said, taking it as a good sign. “Where are we going?” Ezra asked, realizing that he had just been mindlessly following the older man, there was just something about him that made Ezra want to trust him.
“The Evidence Analysis Room, it’s where they would have taken our stuff after we got arrested.” And hopefully where they were keeping Ezra’s lightsaber. “I’ve been on enough star destroyers to know where it is.” Cal responded as he continued to walk.
“Well lead the way then.” Ezra said easily as he walked beside Cal, the Force seeming to hum contentedly around them.
—————
There weren’t as many stormtroopers as Ezra thought there ought to be if the Empire actually wanted to stop prisoners from escaping. Then again regular prisoners wouldn’t have been able to get past the laser gate. Either way it was surprisingly easy for him and Cal to make their way to the Evidence Room, only encountering a few troopers, who were quickly dealt with, on the way.
Cal stopped short in front of two heavy metal doors, “This is it.” He said as BD jumped up onto the control panel and began to splice it. “Be ready there are probably troopers inside.”
Ezra nodded sharply in acknowledgement, readying his blaster as the doors came flying open.
To reveal nothing but crates and shelves, no troopers in sight. “Huh.”
“That works too I suppose.” Cal said as he stepped into the room still checking for any threats, Ezra following close behind. “Alright go find your stuff”. Cal walked swiftly to one of the crates and began to search through it, seemingly already sure that it was the correct one.
Reaching out with the Force, Ezra honed in on his lightsaber, it was in one of the containers about midway up a rack on the opposite side of the room from where Cal was. Walking over, he quickly pulled the container out of the rack to find his lightsaber, his comm, and a few ration bars that he had had on him.
Quickly Ezra stuffed the comm and the ration bars into his pockets before reaching back in to do the same with his lightsaber. As trustworthy as the Force seemed to want him to think Cal was, Ezra still wasn’t sure how the man would react if he found out that he was a Jedi.
A tingling at the back of his neck told him that it was too late, Ezra turned around to see Cal staring at the saber in his hand, clear recognition shining in his eyes. Karabast.
“Where did you get that?” Cal asked, his voice filled with a tangled web of emotion that Ezra couldn’t decipher, grief and fear but also a small tendril of hope.
“It’s mine.” Ezra said in response as he got into a fighting stance, just in case Cal decided to attack but he held off on igniting his lightsaber.
Cal’s eyes seemed to widen even more at Ezra’s words. “It’s yours?” The question was quiet, almost uncertain, but it was accompanied by a pulse in the Force, an unfamiliar but undeniably Force-sensitive presence coming from Cal.
Ezra gaped at the man for a moment, his mouth hanging open, before quickly sending out a pulse of his own through the Force. “You’re a Jedi?!” Since Ahsoka had… disappeared, it was just him and Kanan as the last two Jedi, but now it seemed that they weren’t alone anymore.
“So are you.” Cal responded, a note of awe in his voice and Ezra realized that it was entirely possible that the man hadn’t known there were any other survivors.
“Ezra. My name is Ezra Bridger.” He said it quickly, impulsively because this man was a Jedi and he deserved to know who he was talking to.
“Cal Kestis.” Cal said in response, smiling brightly as he seemingly deemed Ezra trustworthy enough to know his full name. “You’re a Padawan right? Who’s your master?” Cal's voice carried a trembling hope.
“His name is Kanan Jarrus.” Ezra watched as Cal’s face fell slightly, the small bit of hope now squandered.
“I see.” Ezra raised an eyebrow, curious about the older Jedi’s reaction. “Sorry, I just thought that I might have known him.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Before Ezra could continue a radio that had been left of one of the tables came to life.
“Requesting additional support in Hanger Bay Four, there is an unidentified light freighter attempting to dock!” The voice crackled with radio static as Ezra felt a surge of triumph, the Ghost Crew had come to collect him.
—————
Luckily for the two Jedi, Hanger Bay Four was pretty close to the Evidence Analysis Room, unluckily for them the halls were also absolutely filled with stormtroopers, which did explain their earlier ease in escaping.
The troopers would probably have posed more of a threat if Cal wasn’t cutting down entire hordes of them with ease, using his double bladed orange lightsaber. Ezra fought alongside him, taking out any troopers still standing once Cal was done. Ezra knew the man was cool when he first saw him in the cell but he didn’t expect Cal to be this cool.
As they rounded the corner into Hanger Bay Four Ezra was met with an all too familiar sight. The Ghost was hovering above the ground with its ramp extended downward, Zeb and Sabine standing on it as they fired out at the swarms of stormtroopers surrounding the ship. “What in the Force is going on here?” He heard Cal mutter next to him as they took in the scene.
After just a moment the two of them rushed forward fighting their way through the troopers as they ran towards the ramp. Ezra watched as Zeb and Sabine’s movements faltered, their shock ringing out clearly in the Force at the sight of the second, unfamiliar Jedi with him, he shot them a bright grin in response.
As they neared the ship the crowd of troopers got thicker. “Jump!” Cal yelled to Ezra while lifting his lightsaber, the teen complying immediately.
Ezra used the Force to leap high in the air, over the heads of the troopers, as Cal threw his saber in a wide arc, cutting down a circle of Imperials that had been surrounding them. Ezra landed unsteadily on the edge of the ramp, almost tipping forward before Zeb grabbed his shoulder and dragged him further back. “Look what you’ve gotten us into this time.” The Lasat said teasingly as he shot out into the crowd. “Who’s your friend?”
“Thought he was just a fellow prisoner. Turns out he’s a Jedi.” Ezra retorted sarcastically as the ramp began to close. With a flying leap not unlike what Ezra had done Cal landed gracefully at the entrance of the Ghost just as the ramp closed as the ship began to pull out of the Hanger Bay.
—————
Once they had successfully made it to hyperspace Cal spoke. “You guys are efficient.” He said simply as he looked around the common room of the ship before turning to face the two Spectres, his eyes lingering on Zeb
“You’re a Jedi?” Sabine asked, taking off her helmet as she did so. Cal, pulling his eyes away from the Lasat to face her, nodded in response.
“I hear you’ve got two in your crew.” He tilted his head towards Ezra as he spoke.
Sabine opened her mouth to respond but in that moment Kanan and Hera walked into the room, and Cal froze as he stared at the blind Jedi.
Kanan in turn also tensed and turned to ‘look’ at Cal, his body rigid. Ezra felt dread pool in his stomach, had he miscalculated, was Cal an enemy after all? What other reason for the two older Jedi’s reactions could there be.
After a long, tense moment Cal spoke, his voice barely a whisper.
“Caleb?”
Who was Caleb? Hera seemed to know because she let out a quiet gasp and looked between the two Jedi with a new kind of understanding.
“Cal Kestis.” How did Kanan know his name already? Again Hera reacted, seemingly recognizing the name as she looked at Cal.
Ezra didn’t have much time to wonder before they rushed at each other, him, Zeb, and Sabine all reaching for their weapons before pausing as the two Jedi embraced each other, the Force singing in happiness.
“You’re alive! How are you alive!?” Kanan cried, gripping Cal’s shoulders tightly, as though afraid that if he let go the other man would disappear.
“How am I alive!? What about you?!” Cal responded as he pulled back to observing Kanan’s face, taking in all that he could, his eyes settling on the mask covering the top of the other man’s face. “And what happened to your eyes?”
“Maul, but that’s not-“
“Maul?! What d-“
Kanan moved his hands up to cup Cal’s head, running his fingers gently over his fellow Jedi’s face, mapping it out through touch. “You have a beard.” Kanan simply stated, his voice filled with awe and Ezra realized Cal wasn’t just a fellow Jedi survivor, but rather someone that Kanan had known well before the rise of the Empire.
“So do you.” Cal answered, his voice thick with emotion as the Force swirled contentedly around them, the rest of the Ghost Crew looking between the two Jedi.
“What happened? I thought the 13th Battalion’s Venator went down during the order.” Kanan said carefully as he finally pulled away, still keeping his hands loosely resting on Cal’s shoulders.
“It did, I was in an escape pod.” Cal’s eyes glossed over slightly as he recalled what Ezra knew was a dark memory for the man.
“Master Tapal, did he…?”
Kanan trailed off when he saw Cal shake his head, grief emanating off of the man through the Force. “He’s the reason I got out.” After a moment of silence. “You?”
“Master Bilaba died to buy me time to escape.” Ezra gasped quietly at Kanan’s words, the man never talked about his master.
After another heavy moment of silence passed, Cal spoke, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’m taller than you now.” His voice filled with a smug satisfaction, and it was true, Ezra realized, the redhead was taller, only slightly, but still taller.
“Oh kriff you, Cal.”
A coughing sound from next to Ezra drew everyone’s attention, turning to look he saw Sabine glancing between the two Jedi. “Not to interrupt, but Kanan, who is this?” She said, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, uh, this is Cal Kestis. We were in the same Initiate clan, which sort of makes him my… brother?” And then the yelling started.