Chapter One: Return

14 months after the Liberation of Kanan Jarrus over Mustafar…

The Capital City of Lothal was quiet, most of the residents having retreated indoors as the Empire searched for the ever elusive Spectre team; a group of Rebels who had been working throughout the system over the past couple of years. As of late however, the group seemed to be a bit…shorthanded.

During their rescue of their Jedi leader, Kanan Jarrus, they had lost a member of their team. Ezra Bridger; street-rat, thief, and Jedi Padawan. The boy had taken a strike from the Grand Inquisitor's rotating lightsaber and had fallen into the bowels of the Executrix, vanishing into the shadows cast by the massive engines. Ever since, they had been hitting the Empire harder and harder, humiliating the supposedly invincible Empire time and again with their brutal hit and run tactics.

However, Lothal had suffered from their attacks, the punishments for breaking curfew and speaking out against the Empire becoming…lethal. The Empire was on a witch hunt, one in which anyone who supported the Rebellion was a target.

Which brings us to the night cycle of Lothal. Minister Tua had contacted the Ghost crew via Old Joe, an Ithorian who owned a small cantina in the city and had often given the Ghost crew intel for their various jobs. She wanted the Rebels to get off Lothal. Sabine Wren; the Mandalorian demolitions expert; and Garazeb Orelios; the team's muscle; had both voted to cut the transmission and leave her to her own devices. However, Kanan and Ahsoka Tano had both sensed her terror through the Force, and had voted to save her. Sabine had changed her mind and voted to rescue the Minister, though only for the list she was offering in exchange for safe passage off Lothal. Ahsoka had decided to stay behind.

That had not gone to plan even a little bit. They had arrived on Lothal via a commercial transport shuttle and had carefully made their way through the city. They took quick note of the many Star Destroyers over the city, blotting out the night sky as they rumbled overhead. Once they neared the hangar where Minister Tua would be arriving, Kanan took it upon himself to attain a disguise. That disguise being a Stormtrooper Captain's armor. The plan immediately hit a pothole as the Minister arrived with company: ISB Agent Kallus, a constant thorn in the Rebel's sides.

As they were entering the hangar, Sabine caused a distraction, firing shots from her twin Westar-35 blaster pistols as Kanan shut the door, cutting off the Stormtroopers from Kallus and Tua. Unbeknownst to the Jedi and Mandalorian, they were being watch by two rather large individuals, one dressed in black, the other clad in deep blue armor, almost Mandalorian in design. Both individuals watched as the Minister ran into the shuttle, and met her end as the transport was engulf in an explosion. The blue armored man shook his head in resignation at the woman's death, while the man dressed in black simply watched emotionlessly as the Rebel began to flee the area.

The blue armored man's helmet comm came to life and the voice of an educated woman; maybe in her late teens, early twenties spoke. "Is that them?"

He nodded, blue eyes watching as the Rebels escaped via a commercial transport. "That's them. I'd recognize Kanan's goatee anywhere. I'll stick close to them, have the rest of the team ready. Just in case." The soldier cut off the comm and seemed to vanish into thin air, his armor becoming clearer than water before the shimmer silently moved across the rooftops, tailing the Rebels as they made their way through the city to a familiar safe house.

Later on, they made a plan to escape using a shuttle from the Imperial garrison, and that is where our tale begins…

Sabine Wren

Sabine groaned as she pushed the lid of the container off and crawled out, Hera right behind her. Kanan had pushed them in on a hover lift, using his Force powers to bluff his way past the guard before he had pushed them into the armory. No sooner had she stepped over the edge of the container, Zeb exploded from his own.

"AAAAAGH!" he yelled, his gravelly voice echoing through the base as the Mandalorian winced beneath her helmet.

Hera gave him a cross look as Sabine moved to stick her head out the door to keep an eye out. "Zeb, will you be quiet?"

"What? I need to breathe. Have you smelled me?" he rasped as he gasped for breath. Hera only shook her head in exasperation. Sabine couldn't help but remember the gripe that Ezra had made the very first day they had met about Zeb's body odor. She shook her head to keep the dark thoughts that had arrived after his death at bay.

Pushing away from the door, she forced a bit of amusement into her tone as she spoke. "Huh, it doesn't matter if you're loud. There's nobody around to hear you. This is a good plan."

Kanan pulled off the Stormtrooper helmet and grinned, though his eyes met hers and she knew he could feel how broken she really was. Damned Jedi. "Of course, it is. We came up with it."

After pulling Chopper out of the third crate, the Ghost crew quickly made their way through the empty base. Considering how many soldiers usually occupied the city, it was very strange how they weren't even seeing a technician. Sabine shook her head as discomfort set in. Something was very, very wrong.

That lasted right up until a pair of Troopers walked right into Zeb's chest. He promptly grabbed them by their helmets and smashed them together, cackling like a madman as they collapsed. The crew ran passed them, swiftly making their way to an exit that went right to the landing pad. Sabine kept watch as Chopper hacked the door, her pistols at the ready as her head swiveled left and right. A metallic hiss and the stomping of feet had her backing up fast as the door slid open and the crew ran through it.

They ran swiftly through the landing pad, the Tie fighters sitting in their stations silently.

Clank!

Sabine froze and snapped around, her pistols raised as she scanned the area. Nothing. Her brow furrowed as she looked back and forth, backing up slowly as she did. Still nothing.

"Sabine?"

She jumped as Zeb's large hand landed on her shoulder. She spun on the spot and slapped his hand away. "Don't do that!" she snapped as she glared at him from under her helmet.

"What are you doing?" the Lasat asked, eyebrow raised as he stared down at her.

Sabine scoffed in annoyance as she holstered her pistols. "I thought I heard something. Come on."

She brushed past him, shaking her head as she muttered about idiot Lasats. She heard Zeb loping behind her as they caught up with Kanan, Hera and Chopper as they peeked around the corner.

"There's a shuttle," Kanan said with a smug grin as he gestured to the Imperial Transport. "What'd I tell ya?"

Hera nodded in approval. "You did good."

With that, they started running for the shuttle, though Sabine didn't get more than a couple meters or so before she spotted something interesting. Moving to examine them, she grinned. "Hera, over here!"

The Twi'lek ran to the Mandalorian's side and grinned triumphantly as she beheld their prize. "Shield Generators!"

"Military grade!" Sabine grinned as she looked over the devices. She quickly pressed the button to active the gravity lift and started running with it, pushing it toward the shuttle.

"Zeb, Chopper, grab all we can carry," said Hera as she pushed her own toward the ship. "These might just help turn this day around. The fleet could sure use them." The droid and Lasat nodded before they ran to the generators, Zeb grabbing two while Chop active another two, pushing one and pulling the other as he chittered and honked. Kanan grabbed another and together they ran for the shuttle.

That was when it hit. Kanan froze on the spot, his body shuddering as he slowly turned around. Sabine stopped at the end of the shuttle ramp and drew her pistols, aiming at the black cloaked figure at the hangar door.

Snap-hiss!

A crimson blade ignited from the shadows of the man's cloak, illuminating his black armor and skull-like helm. In an instant, it felt as though ice was flooding through Sabine's body, causing her hands to shake insistently as she felt true terror in that instant. The Inquisitor's raspy breath echoed across the airfield, filling her head and making her heart race. This would be even more difficult than the last Inquisitor. Unlike the last one, this Inquisitor held a single bladed weapon, giving the warrior woman the impression that he was far more skilled than the one with the rotating double blades. He moved forward slowly as Kanan ignited his own weapon, the brilliant blue lighting up his face as it was set in a determined scowl. The troopers behind the Inquisitor moved to the right and took up positions next to the Imperial Walkers.

Kanan looked over his shoulder as they moved over, ignoring the black armored nightmare for a moment. "Hera, go! I'll cover you!"

"Kanan, look out!" the Twi'lek cried as the Inquisitor made a powerful swipe at Kanan, the goliath of a man pushing Kanan back with a single-handed strike. They began moving quickly, the Inquisitor blocking each of Kanan's strikes with ease, never grabbing his lightsaber with two hands, almost as though he was playing with the Jedi. Sabine ducked behind cover as the Stormtroopers opened fire, cursing Ezra once again for getting himself killed. If he were here, this fight would have been at least a little bit easier. Sabine popped from cover as she heard the sound of clashing sabers, her pistols spitting crimson bolts of energy toward the troopers.

She heard a thunk, and turned just in time to see the Inquisitor turn her way. She redirected her fire, only for the bastard to block every shot with short motions of his saber, his free hand coming up to clench in what looked like his hand was wrapping around someone's throat. And it was. A pressure wrapped around her neck, cutting off her supply of oxygen as she was lifted off the ground. Her pistols dropped from her hands as she clawed at her neck, desperately trying to release the pressure building up in her lungs. She could hear Zeb and Hera shouting, Chopper squealing in rage. She saw Kanan attack with renewed vigor, the Inquisitor again blocking every strike he made, deflecting every laser bolt fired at him with impossible ease. She heard Kanan cry out in pain as the Inquisitor slashed his pauldron, the force of the blow knocking the man back several feet as Sabine's vision began to go dark. Ezra…please help…

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw…something cutting down the Stormtroopers, but she couldn't tell if it was really there, or just an illusion brought on by oxygen deprivation. Then blessed air rushed into her lungs as something barreled into the Inquisitor, cutting his concentration as the black armored man hit the ground hard.

As she coughed and gasped for breath, her tear-filled rose to thank Kanan for the save. Except Kanan was laying on the ground not ten feet from her. Instead, her eyes locked onto a behemoth of a soldier clad in some form of heavy armor plating, the metal painted dark blue, the silver visor locked onto her for several moments before the warrior turned to the Inquisitor. It gave her time to examine the armor. The man himself stood about seven and a half feet tall, towering over Zeb by a foot or so. The armor itself looked almost Mandalorian, but different. There were no recognizable clan markings, nothing to identify him. The armor itself was smooth and rounded, made to be aerodynamic as well as protective. The helmet's visor wrapped around the head from temple to temple, the silver reflecting the night. His gauntlets were covered in blood, identifying him as the one who killed the troopers. What caught her eye was the sigil on his right shoulder plate. Her Phoenix, emblazoned in sky blue paint. What is that doing there?

"Y'know," the man started, his voice sounding slightly familiar as it echoed across the field. "It's not much of a fair fight if you're going against someone who doesn't have telekinesis or battle precognition."

The man sounded amused as he rolled his shoulders and popped his neck. The Inquisitor pushed himself to his feet as he rumbled, his voice sending chills through Sabine's bones as he spoke.

"The Force is strong with you. Tell me where the remaining Jedi can be found, and I will let you and your comrades live," the man said as he looked past the soldier to Sabine, who responded by turning her pistols to him, fear replaced by anger as she clenched her teeth.

The warrior scoffed as he threw his hand back, holding his hand toward them as a silver tube jumped to his hand. Kanan's lightsaber. It looked tiny in his hands, the blue blade igniting. He needed a very different lightsaber to fight effectively. "Mind if I borrow this? Thanks." He said with a grinning tone in his voice as he turned to the Inquisitor. "To answer your demand, just because I'm Force sensitive, doesn't mean I'm a Jedi. Nor does it mean I know where they are, if any are left."

"If you will not tell me, you will tell the Emperor." The Inquisitor growled.

The warrior shrugged nonchalantly. "If he weren't a murderous, traitorous psychopath, I'd consider having a nice long chat with him. But considering he allows for discrimination, torture and slavery…I think I'll settle for kicking his ass."

Without another word, the warrior exploded into motion, closing the distance between the two Force-Users in a mere moment, despite his size and heavy armor. Where Kanan had been pushed back at every turn, this soldier was knocking the Inquisitor back with every strike, his blows fast and heavy. He would lash out with his 'borrowed' lightsaber, forcing the Inquisitor to block, only for his fist or boot to knock the Inquisitor back. The two locked blades for a moment before Sabine heard 'Click-beep-hisssss'.

The warrior leapt back, thrusters in his armor pushing him through the air to land next to her as her eyes caught sight of a glowing blue orb.

KA-BOOM!

The glowing orb detonated, unleashing a maelstrom of purple-blue flame that made her artistic instinct go haywire. The Inquisitor was sent flying back, his robes in engulfed in purple-blue fire, his armor slagged.

"Let's go!" the warrior shouted. "That only pissed him off. Best to make tracks before he shakes himself out of it!"

The warrior grabbed Kanan off the ground and threw him over his shoulder, clipping the lightsaber to the Jedi's belt.

"Hey, I can walk!" Kanan snapped as the warrior ran for the shuttle.

"I know, but this is faster!"

Sabine had no argument. The man was obviously much stronger than all of them put together and much faster. Even with Kanan over his shoulder, he made it up the ramp and into the cargo bay before Hera; who had been standing at the top of the ramp; could even turn around. The man threw Kana into one of the seats before he pulled himself up into the cockpit. The ship began to lift off, but not before Sabine spotted the Inquisitor climbing back to his feet, sulfur yellow eyes burning with rage from the remains of his ruined helmet. Sabine raised her pistols and fired two shots, the red bolts of energy screaming toward the Inquisitor.

Bad idea, as with before, he deflected the rounds with two quick movements, and before she could move out of the way, the bolts collided with her chestplate and her helmet. Thankfully, the Mandalorian Iron held up, keeping her alive as the ship took off, the ramp closing slowly as they raced away from the Capital.

A strong, but gentle hand wrapped around Sabine's upper arm and lifted her up slowly, allowing her to get her feet under her as she shook her head to stop the ringing. Looking up, her black visor met the silver of the warrior's.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice hauntingly familiar.

She nodded silently. With a nod in return, he led her to her seat.

"Thanks for the hand back there." Kanan said as he held his shoulder. "If you hadn't shown up…"

"You would've died. I know. Reports say that Vader isn't one to let Jedi and their accomplices live." The warrior returned as he sat down a few seats away from Sabine.

Kanan stilled. "Vader?"

The warrior nodded. "Yup. Darth Vader. The Emperor's Right Hand. Supposedly a former Jedi Knight who went Dark Side at the end of the Clone Wars. My team has managed to dig up a few things about him, but not much else."

"Who are you anyways?" Zeb cut in, his bo-rifle resting on his knee.

The warrior looked at the Lasat in silence. After a few moments, he asked, "You mean you haven't figured it out?" He looked to each of them, the whole of the Ghost Crew staring at him in confusion. "My voice, my fighting style. The trick with the grenade? You didn't recognize any of that?"

They all shook their heads. His hand met his faceplate as he grumbled and shook his head. "Wow, I know I've been gone a while, but for you to forget me so easily…don't I feel important. Whelp, might as well get it over with."

With a light chuckle, his hands reached up to either side of his helmet. Sabine watched in confusion as he pressed something under his jaw and lifted. As his face was revealed, Sabine felt her heart stop. Tanned skin covered his face, a set of parallel scars running along his left cheek. Dark blue hair cut short covered his head as electric blue eyes regarded them, a light smile gracing his lips.

Ezra Bridger gave a wide smile, his eyes filled with emotion as he set his helmet to the side. "Hey guys. It's been a while."

Ezra Bridger

Hera didn't wait and practically threw herself across the aisle to wrap him in a tight hug. He immediately wrapped his armored arms around her to return it. He could feel her tears on his neck, just above were his body suit ended. He could hear her sobs as she tightened her grip around him.

"We thought we'd lost you." Hera whimpered into his neck.

Ezra shook his head. "You know me. I'm too lucky to die that easily."

He could see Zeb staring at him, his bo-rifle having fallen from senseless fingers. Kanan was staring with his mouth wide open, slumped against his seat as he gaped like a fish. And Sabine…she looked like she was going to cry, scream and try to murder him all at once. That's a Mandalorian for you.

"H…how is this possible?" Kanan asked. "I saw you fall into the engines."

Ezra gave a light chuckle as Hera pulled away from him a small bit. "Like I said. I got damn lucky. I've been stuck in another galaxy the last three years. And before you ask, let me explain." He cut off Zeb as the Lasat opened his mouth to call him out on the three years bit.

"Where I've been, humanity's first contact with alien life didn't go very well. They ended up in a very one-sided war with an alien coalition called the Covenant. That war lasted for thirty years before the Spartan known as the Master Chief managed to end it, along with the help of a few of the Covenant themselves. Since then, the remainder of the Covenant has been aiding the UEG or United Earth Government rebuild the worlds destroyed in the war. After a rather…tense few years after the AI Cortana went rogue, she gave Humanity and the Covenant access to massive amounts of data and technology left over by a race known as the Forerunners. Thanks to that tech, the UNSC was attempting to build a slipspace drive that would allow them to cross between galaxies within a few weeks. The first test…as partially successful. The drive opened up slipspace portals all over the universe, tearing the fabric of space-time. a bunch of stuff fell through. Old bones, pieces of tech and cultural stuff, and one street rat who had just about gone splat."

Ezra smirked lightly. "Unluckily for me, I still had all the momentum from my fall, so I ended up breaking most of my bones when I landed. The Office of Navel Intelligence, or ONI, wanted to use me as a lab rat to figure out if humans in this galaxy were the same as in the Milky Way. Luckily, Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood got to me first. He asked how I was, where I came from, what our galaxy was like, that kind of stuff. When he heard that the Empire was oppressing it's people, he offered me a deal: serve as a Spartan aboard the UNSC Infinity to help them put down the last of the Storm Covenant; a group of loyalists that still followed the ways of the old Covenant; and he'd help me get home with the promise of reinforcement in the form of a joint UNSC-Covenant fleet to help in our fight, provided my team and I made contact with the rebellion first."

Zeb raised his hand, causing Ezra to laugh. "What's up big guy?"

"What's an 'AI'?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

Ezra smirked. "Essentially, living, thinking computer programs. Damned useful on the battle field. Used to be, they only lasted about seven years before they went Rampant; which is were they pretty much think themselves to death. After Cortana snapped out of her 'take over the galaxy' vibe, she offered to give AI organic bodies so they could know what it's like to be alive. We have one back on the Prowler; Elizabeth. She's pretty much the little sister of the team."

Kanan spoke up. "So…there are more of you?"

"Spartans? Yeah, there are six of us." Ezra answered. "Once we're far enough from the city, I'll signal them and they'll come pick us up."

"Why didn't you help us?" Sabine's voice cut off any more questions.

Ezra turned to her, not at all surprised that her amber eyes were now very angry. "Orders," he replied. "I've had three years to learn how to be a soldier. Turns out I follow orders pretty well. Anyway, Captain Lasky gave the order to avoid contact unless you were in life threatening danger. Being attacked by Darth Vader qualifies. That and I've only been back in this galaxy a couple of months, getting a few things set up for the Fleet's arrival."

Sabine's eyes narrowed at him, a look that would have terrified him three years ago. Having fought Prometheans, Storm Covenant and the remnants of the Flood, that look no longer phased him.

"So what now, fearless leader?" she snarled as she crossed her arms. Ezra raised an eyebrow before he shook his head.

"For now, lets just focus on getting as far away from the city as possible. Once we're far enough away, I'll signal the Nightwing to meet up with us so we can get off Lothal without being noticed."

Hera nodded and rose from her seat, making her way to the ladder that lead to the cockpit. "Its good to have you back, Ezra."

He nodded, a light smile on his face. "Its good to be back."

He turned to Kanan. "You still have my lightsaber? I kinda miss that hunk of junk."

Kanan snorted. "Yeah, I still got it. Though I don't think it'll work for you anymore."

Ezra nodded. "I know. But the crystal should. I just need to make a new hilt and I'll be good to go. Though I could use a few more lessons. It has been a few years since I've held a lightsaber."

Kanan smiled and nodded in return. "I'll say. And considering you weren't exactly a blade-master before you…disappeared, you'll need a lot of training."

Ezra snorted as he stood, helmet held in his hands as he headed toward the cockpit. "Don't remind me."

Being as tall as he was, climbing the ladder was much easier than it would have been three years ago. He took a seat next to Hera in the co-pilot's seat as he connected the upgraded ARTEMIS system in his suit to the shuttle's comm system.

"What are you doing?" Hera asked as she looked at him with a raised brow.

"The ATS in my suit can be used to scramble comm signals. That way, I can contact my team without the Empire being able to listen in on use." Ezra said as he finished connecting and opened a channel.

"Spectre-1 to Nightwing, do you copy?" he inquired before he waited for a response. He looked over to Hera, who looked shocked at his call-sign. He shot her a grin. "Had to have more than my memories of you."

The comm crackled for a moment before a feminine voice came through. "This is Nightwing. Good to hear from you Ezra. You meet up with your team?"

"You know it, Liz," he responded. "They were about to get murdered by Darth Vader, so I stepped in. We're in an Imperial shuttle about five klicks outside Capital City. Sending rendezvous coordinates now." He said as he tapped holo-display on his gauntlet a few times.

There was a beep over the comms before a hum of approval came across the line. "Coordinates received. Be advised, increased Imperial activity in orbit, could be looking for you."

"Copy that. ETA to rendezvous, thirty minutes. Spectre-1 out." Ezra cut the line and tapped in the coordinates into the shuttle's console. "Head here, my team should be waiting."

"How did you get by the blockade?" Hera asked with a raised brow. Ezra shot her a wide grin.

"We have a very nice ship," was all he said as he stood and headed back down into the hold.

Hello again my people! This idea (along with like three others) popped into my head a little while back, so i started writing them up.

Before you ask, Ezra is a bit more mature now, since he's spent two-and-a-half-years as a Spartan, so if he seems to be not nearly as goofy as he was in Season Two of Star Wars Rebels, thats why.

He wears Raijin armor for those who are wondering. If you don't know what it looks like, just look it up on Google.

I own Nothing but the story and my OCs.

If you like, by all means, review and follow.

If you don't, well that's up to you. Just don't be mean about it.

THANK YOU FOR READING! I WILL SEE YOU LATER!