Fulcrum.

We got Kanan back.

Really, we got lucky.

We beat the Inquisitor.

Well…I didn't. I got my butt handed to me. I got three saber locks. Kanan joked when we started that "Things actually start when you get to 10 saber locks." I got 3, then pushed, then nearly got my arm sliced off.

I didn't see the slice that nearly got me.

I glanced at Kanan, seeing what to do next, then I saw sparks and the Inquisitor's then I fell. Kanan thought I was dead. I thought I was about to die.

And now I'm in my bunk on the Ghost. I'm safe. Sabine's safe. Kanan and Hera are safe.

We're all safe.

I reach over and grab my lightsaber off my nightstand.

How'd Kanan think of blasting and fighting?

"Blast and Slash." I say quietly and activate the blade, then quickly deactivate it and pretend to fire.

Then I hear somebody laugh behind. I freak out and nearly fall out of bed scrambling to see Kanan smiling in the doorway. "Sorry kid. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok. Just wasn't expecting you." I say quietly.

"I could hear your thoughts on the other end of the ship. Reminds me that I never taught you mental shielding. I'll need to before we face somebody worse."

"Worse?" I ask.

What could be worse?

"There's always worse. Which reminds me of what the Inquisitor said before he jumped."

"Jumped? He fell. I saw it."

"No. He chose to fall. There's tons of things he could have done to get out of that spot. Some I could counter, some not." Kanan shakes his head while looking away.

Huh?

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter." Kanan waved his hand dismissively, then sat next to me on my bed.

"He said "You have no idea what you have unleashed here today. There are some things far more frightening than death.""

"Oh." I say.

What could that be?

"Yeah. It means that this probably was the easy part."

"Did he mention anyone?" I ask.

"No. But that's not what's important. He was right."

"What?" I say.

I don't believe him.

"He's right. Death is easier than what was facing him. He would have had to say that he got beat by 2 Jedi. Tarkin and his little buddy Kallus probably would have killed him right then."

"So he jumped."

"And proved he was a coward in the end. Just like the rest of them. Back in the days of the Order, we used to call them Sith."

"Sith?" I ask.

"Jedi that instead of striving for balance and valuing life, they feed off fear and want power. They are a Jedi's sworn enemy. They want us all dead."

"How have I never heard of them?"

"Well…" Kanan started, then stopped himself and ran his hand over his little beard. "Almost 30 years ago, we thought they were extinct. We hadn't seen or fought one for a millennia. The Jedi Order, that is. But one popped up then. And since then until the Purge, we had fought Sith, and their agents. They were behind the Clone Wars."

"Do you think that they are behind the Purge?" I ask.

That would make sense.

"That would be above my credit-grade kid. Personally, it wouldn't surprise me. We fought aside troopers the entire war. Then they turned on my master and I. And all the other Jedi. And…" Kanan said, voice cutting off at the end. "It was too coordinated to be just a random act. If I were a betting man—" He said, then sat up straight and turned around.

Hera.

"Hey. You okay?" She asked softly.

Oh no, they're all soft and sweet again. I hate it when they're like this.

"Yeah. Just filling the kid in on some details." Kanan answered.

"Of?" She asked wearily, quickly shooting her eyes at me.

"The purge. Jedi & Sith."

"Oh." She said simply then grabs my desk chair and sat next to him.

Kanan shook his head, then started again. "If I had to guess, which I don't like doing, but…I think that somewhere high up in the Empire's power structure, is a Sith or two pulling the strings."

"Wouldn't they be in power? Like, they can use the force and a lightsaber. They can finish anyone."

"Well, you just saw that's not true." Kanan smiled at me. "And here's the thing. The leader at the end of the Clone Wars is the Emperor."

Hera perked up. "No coup."

"Coup?" I ask.

"No power struggle. The same guy." Kanan explained. "But that's not the point I was getting at. I was going to say that you did well with the Inquisitor. You didn't back down. But you've got a long way to go. He caught you off guard."

He knows what happened.

"I was trying to see what to do next, then his saber was on me." I say nervously.

"WHAT?!" Hera jumped to her feet.

"He's okay now." Kanan said reassuringly to Hera, then turned back to me. "You'll get your legs and face tougher people. You got 3 locks in with a bad guy. Could be worse."

"A Sith, or however you say their stupid name." Hera frowned, still glaring at Kanan.

"I don't think he was full on Sith. He didn't use Sith powers. I've seen one full on Sith in action. And although I as a little older than Ezra, it was very different."

"How?" I ask.

Kanan turned to face me completely. "Listen closely. I'm not saying this in admiration. But it was like art. His name was Dooku and he used his lightsaber and force power in tandem. The Inquisitor was all saber. Brute force. Dooku was beautiful. Smooth. Just like the best Jedi."

"What about that force thing? The push?" I ask.

Kanan frowned at me, looking angry then pushes my desk clear across the room using the Force. "Not dark. Easy. I could do it in my sleep at your age. Don't forget you're very behind kid." Kanan said simply, then turned to Hera. "Does Ahsoka want us?"

"She asked me to tell everyone that we're about to jump from hyperspace and go to a rebel base. She would like to see you two, but no rush on that." She answered.

"Okay." Kanan said, rising off my bed.

"Hey! Move my desk back!" I hop up.

Kanan quickly turns back to me. "No. You do it."

"He can't do that. He'll put a hole in the wall." Hera said.

"I'll fix it. Let's go see what Ahsoka needs." Kanan reassures Hera.

"Is she a Jedi?" I ask.

I saw her lightsabers. That's the really weird thing. It's weird to see just one. But two?

"She used to be the padawan to one of the order's best Jedi. Outside of that…I don't know kid. Don't prod her."

"I'm not. I'm just—" I start, but Hera cuts me off.

"So you knew her?"

"No. I only saw her a couple of times. Since she was Skywalker's apprentice she was always involved in something important." He said, the last part very quietly.

He quickly takes the ladder up to the cockpit, and Hera and I follow. I barely get up there before we come out of hyperspace, and the reverse inertia nearly sends me back down the stairwell.

"A…asteroid field?" I hear Hera ask.

Ahsoka turned around in the pilot's chair and said "Yup. Polis Massa. Old planet that got ripped apart year ago. Perfect place to have a rebel base. All the regular hyperspace lanes just skip right around asteroid fields."

"So…we're going to this base..?" Kanan asked, sounding uneasy.

"Yes. As I said earlier, the protocol has changed. We're actually starting to do something positive, we need to build on the momentum created by your cell, along with others. So we're making a plan. Here, at Polis Massa."

"Kid, go put your desk back and grab your stuff." Kanan said.

"But—" I begin to argue, but Hera turns to face me.

"Ezra."

She's putting her foot down.

"Fine…" I grumble, then slide back down the ladder. And almost directly onto Sabine.

"Oops! Sorry…" I say, as she quickly jumped back.

"No problem. You're ok." She smiled.

"Yeah." I smile back.

"Did you face the Inquisitor? How'd you free Kanan?"

"Snuck thru the ducts. And yeah."

Her eyes went wide. "You faced him? How'd you do? Were you scared?"

"No, I did pretty good I think. Locked him up 3 times. Got a few strikes in. He almost got overwhelmed, but pushed me off onto another platform." I say, not really thinking.

Sabine beamed, then hugged me tightly. "Good job. Don't let it get to your head though. If you want to become as good as Kanan you'll probably have to train a lot harder."

Geez, everyone is one my case today about that. I did ok! I didn't die! That's a start isn't it?

"I know. But first we've got to go to this rebel base and see what the plan is."

Sabine tilted her head. "Base? Is that why we're out of hyperspace?"

"Yeah, it's—" I start, but am cut off but Kanan.

"KID STOP TALKING! WE'RE HERE!"

I hang my head, causing Sabine to giggle. When I look up, she's smiling at me. Unfortunately, she slips her helmet on and starts towards the airlock.

"Uhm, where are we?" Zeb asked behind me.

"No idea really. Some asteroid field."

Chopper chimed in with a series of beeps.

"Exactly. Really specific." Zeb said.

I ignore them and follow Sabine into the airlock, where Ahsoka, Hera and Kanan already are.

"Hiss…"

Whoa!

My eyes are assaulted by white, and I throw my hands up before I blink and try to see past all the white.

"Ahh. Fulcrum. There you are. Is this the Lothal cell?" A tall, thin woman asked, surrounded on either side by men with blasters.

"Yes. And they know my name. The Mustafar operation went smoothly." Ahsoka, Fulcrum whoever replied.

"Alright Master Tano. What about the other starships?"

"No indication of any trouble. But we haven't gotten the all clear yet."

The woman nodded, then turned her attention to Kanan. "I'm Mon Mothma. One of the organizers of the rebellion and Senator from Chandrila. You are?"

"Kanan Jarrus." Kanan bowed his head slightly, then stepped aside. "This is Hera, along with the rest of my crew."

"Hera Syndulla. Thank you for your hospitality in this time." Hera smiled while grasping the woman's hand.

"You're certainly welcome. It's the least we can do for the most well-known of our cells."

"Well known?" Sabine asked.

The lady's face turned stern. "I'm afraid you must remove your helmet while on the premises unless in combat training."

Sabine froze for a moment, then took her helmet off. "We're well known?" Sabine said shortly.

She's mad she had to take her helmet off. She never likes to unless she really knows the people she's with.

A few of the soldiers look taken aback by her.

Morons. Of course she's a girl. It's not a cute guy using a voice modifier.

"Yes. Your team's transmission was broadcast across the sector. Other cells broadcast it across the rest of the galaxy."

My voice went across the galaxy?

"Our suspicions were also confirmed. The two men use a lightsaber." Ahsoka jumped in.

"Jedi?" Mon Mothma asked us.

"No." Kanan answered shortly.

"Why not?"

"My training was cut short by Order 66. Ezra can use a lightsaber, but is lacking in any sort of refinement." Kanan replied.

"You fought off the Inquisitor though." Sabine piped up, sounding very happy.

"You did?" Mom Mothma asked, looking from Sabine, to Kanan and finally to me.

"I did. Ezra fought only briefly before the Inquisitor overpowered him and took him out of the fight."

Shoot. That's not what I told Sabine.

I got all excited to see her again and…Made myself look all good.

I dare to glance over at Sabine, and she's looking at the group in front of us with her jaw locked.

Dang it.

"Alright. We were planning on discussing tactics and formulating a plan tonight, but in light of these recent developments, I'll need to discuss it with the other Alliance Leaders before a plan can be made. These troops will show you to your accommodations." Mon Mothma said, then bowed and walked away, followed by a few troops.

"We'll go see where we're staying. Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, grab your stuff." Kanan asked us.

"Got it." I reply.

By the time I turn back around, Sabine is already telling Zeb to go ahead.

Uh oh.

When we both gets inside the ship she slaps the door control, causing the door to shut. "So you nearly overwhelmed the Inquisitor huh? YOU DID!" Sabine snapped, throwing her helmet to the side, causing it to bounce around.

"Sabine—" I start, but she throws a hand up and cuts me off.

"Doesn't sound like you did "good" against the Inquisitor! It sounds like you're a big fat liar!"

"I…I'm sorry. I was just excited to see you and—"

"Oh come on Ezra. You're sorry and were excited? Well I hope you're excited now!" She snaps at me, then starts marching off.

"Sabine…" I call after her.

"No kid! Some Boy Wonder you are…" She said, then disappeared deeper into the ship.

Well now I've done it.