... well I... sigh. I'll just spit it out. sorry it's taken me so long to write/post the newest chapter. I feel so bad about it because I know the feeling of just waiting and waiting. (Been waiting on a particular story to update for 4 years now myself, but I'm not giving up on it) Anyway my reason is that my family went to a doctor to get our brains scanned in hopes to get help with our ADHD and improve our lives. (Actually, the proper term is ADD, but just in case you remembered that I had already said I had ADHD and got confused, I decided would say it this way first.) So we went, got scanned, then, BOOM! Life is changing rapidly. Turns out the reason why I can't focus on anything is because my brain has to much activity. My whole brain was practically lit up with activity! (PS if anyone wants more details just because you find this interesting, PM me and i will happily give more info as long as its not something I just can't give out. Anyway, to me its pretty interesting.) So in short I've had to change most aspects of my life, and its been really hard. We had to change what we eat, we had to start going to the gym, and we started taking some natural supplements. I had to quit working on school completely for awhile and just focus on improving my health, so I only recently started trying to do school a month ago. But even though its been hard, I'm so much more happier than I've been probably my entire life. I can remember things now that I've done in the past (the past as in, the past that started after all of this, the rest is still a blur) and don't have as many, to almost no memory gaps, I understand what people are talking about, and think more clearly. Its like the first part of my life never really happened and I'm just now beginning. I've still got a long way to go and I'm still struggling, but my life has never been better. So I hope you enjoy the story.

DISCLAIMER... I own nothing... except my kitty:)

Facade

Chapter 7

On Lothal with Agent Kallus...

"Sir, He got away."

Those four blasted words had been swirling in Agent Kallus's head for the past 2 hours as he silently fumed. How had the insufferable juvenile gotten away from a company of storm troopers! When the information was relayed through his com that the child had been spotted, he'd expected to have the boy brought in with little to no difficultly, since the boy's location was verified. So when the company of storm troopers who'd pursued the boy gave their report to the imperial agent of how the simple Loth-rat had evaded their grasp, Agent Kallus found their story amazingly and completely... unbelievable. Kallus had the mind to sentence the incompetent fools to their death, though the squad leader insisted that the entire story was true and the rest of his squad backed him up, it was still completely ludicrous.

Apparently, according to the troopers, he'd made his escape by an unidentified cargo ship manned by a small group of Rebels that had recently been seen striking, seemingly randomly, around Lothal. But this raised the question of how the child managed to catch a ride from these so called Rebels. Up until now the band of Rebels had not been seen in this sector of Lothal, and all the intel he'd gotten about the child suggested that the boy had no allies and did not venture often beyond this surrounding town.

Agent Kallus sighed heavily as he pondered this. It was possible the boy had aligned himself with these Rebel pests without the Empire's knowledge, but it was highly improbable. The child was said to be a loner, having supposedly refused all requests to join gangs and reportedly getting away unscathed from the groups without them getting a chance to try to "persuade" him further.

Kallus put out a B.O.L.O. with the description of the ship, so if it was sighted they could launch an Imperial craft to intercept the crew, and finally retrieve the boy to deliver him to the Inquisitor. The Agent's thoughts abruptly shifted from the child who he seemed to have underestimated, to the Rebel crew as he frowned. These Rebels were causing trouble as he recalled past reports of their attacks, though they were small, they were becoming an increasing problem, one that could not be ignored without consequences. They're a spark, and if that spark caught, the Empire would have to put out a fire. The Agent's frown deepened as he continued to think, these Rebels must be dealt with and what better time to deal with them then while requisitioning the troublesome package.

Suddenly, the com on his desk buzzed to life breaking him from his thoughts, "Sir, the Rebel ship has been sighted." Agent Kallus smiled, feeling pleased with the news that he would not feel the wrath of the Inquisitor for his failure, as he replied, "Send me the coordinates and prepare a ship, its time I picked up a "special package".

Back with the Ghost Crew...

The whole ship was quiet, everyone was on edge about still being in Lothal's orbit and about the... child in their care. There was always a chance of being captured, and even though the Ghost could scramble its signature, there had been more Imperials chasing after them than usual this time when they stole the crates. Therefore, it was highly probable the Imperials would be more vigilant of all ships they came across entering Lothal's atmosphere. It was strange to have been chased by so many storm troopers, the crates didn't contain anything momentous enough for the empire to have such a sizable force come after them during the heist. With all of the dangers apparent, tension weighed heavily on their minds, not to mention the touchy subject of their guest, but no one knew what to say or do to fix their predicament, so they all kept silent and continued their mission.

The Ghost crew was tasked with delivering each half of their cargo to two different parties; the plan originally had been to split up and deliver each cargo separately, but under their new and uncomfortable circumstances, the crew readily agreed that it would be in their best interest to deliver one at a time as a group. The choice of who to deliver to first was an obvious choice, so it was unspoken and unanimous as they sat in the cock pit and set the ships coordinates for Tarkintown to distribute food and other provisions to the people as they entered the atmosphere.

When they arrived just outside Tarkintown, Zeb and Sabine immediately went down to the cargo hold without a word to start unloading the crates and hand out the goods to the people, both aware of the risk of what might happen if someone was to stray onto the ship. Hera, on the other hand, went to check on Chopper and the injured youth, her concern and worry driving her to do so. Kanan helped Zeb and Sabine unload the crates for awhile. Soon, however, his agitation bubbled up to the surface at an alarming rate, making it futile to try to ignore. So he eventually found himself seeking Hera out, wanting to discuss with the Twi'lek about her unexpected, and possibly fatal, decision.

By the time Kanan had caught up to Hera in the med bay, she had already done a quick check over the young human and was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at the unconscious boy. Kanan stood in the door way for a moment when he saw her face, which had a strange look of sadness, compassion, and love as she brushed stray blue hairs away from the boy's ashen face. He inwardly sighed before he walked up to the fair, green-skinned pilot, for he recognized the look on her face. It was the same one she had when she met Zeb and Sabine, it was also the look she had given him when they first met.

"Hera, we need to talk." Kanan calmly announced, doing his best to ignore the child lying on the medical bed.

Hera leisurely glanced at him as she continued to run her slender fingers softly through the youngling's hair, she was a picture of serenity in all the chaos and he could feel his resolve faltering as she replied in an airy voice, "Ok, lets talk."

"You don't seriously think keeping him here is a good plan?" Kanan demanded in disbelief, gesturing with his hand before crossing his arm as if to make his point.

"No actually, I think its the Right plan." Hera replied, her voice kind, but strong as she continued to look at her patient. She knew this conversation was coming and she was prepared for whatever Kanan was going to say to convince her that this was something they should not do... and he was right. In the universe they live in, one can not simply do what she so desperately wanted to do. Which is one reason she wanted to do it anyway.

"He's marked, Hera, who knows what will happen! What if he's found out, they won't just be coming after him, they'll be after us, too!" He countered, doing his best to be logical about all of this.

"Kanan, look at him! He's helpless right now, a helpless child." Hera said in defense for the boy, as she stood up to look at Kanan.

"Hera, we can't-" Kanan tried to continue to dissuade the fiery captain, but she stopped him before he could finish.

"Kanan, see Him, not the mark he's been plagued with. What if it was Zeb or Sabine? We wouldn't abandon them! What if it was me?" Hera pressed, her eyes looking at his intensely, trying her best for him to understand how she felt about this. Even with the risks, Hera felt that this was important, and worth the danger and effort.

"Hera..." He sighed in defeat, closing his eyes as he breathed in a tired breath, releasing as much of the weight from his shoulders as he could. This was getting more and more difficult. Unknown to Hera, Kanan was having a hard time trying to muster up the nerve to get rid of the child. He wanted to argue further, that it was completely crazy to harbor an unknown kid, especially this one, but he couldn't bring himself to push the subject more as he saw the Twi'lek's face.

Kanan look gently at Hera, then gestured his head slightly at the door, signaling to follow. "Zeb and Sabine are probably about finished... we'll talk about what to do later," he said walking out; and though he was to some extent irritated, he couldn't help, but fondly think with warmth how she would take in every lost soul or person in need they came across, if she could.

Hera, knowing that discussing further now would get them nowhere and waste time, followed Kanan out the door, leaving Chopper, who had been surprisingly quiet, to watch, or in Kanan's mind, guard, the youth.

Just as Kanan had suspected, outside the ship Zeb and Sabine were already finished, but like always were surrounded with those who wished to express their relief and most of all, how grateful they are. Among those refugees, were children who scrambled around the two, either looking happily at Sabine's colorful armor in awe or much to Zeb's disdain, though Kanan thought he secretly enjoyed the attention, climbing all over Zeb with curious glee over his imposing size and strength.

Kanan managed a small smile at the sight while standing with Hera on the ramp. Helping the refugees always lifted the crew's spirits, especially helping the children. Feeling slightly guilty to tear the duo away from the fun, the man called them over, the previous thoughts of the strange boy leaving, if only briefly.

The two looked up when called and started to head over, Sabine was smiling as they walked over to the ship, while Zeb had a grumpy expression, though that was not unusual, but as always the young knight noticed the tiny look of disappointment of having to leave in both the Mandalorian's and Lasat's eyes. The Jedi was sure Hera saw it too.

Hera seeing that the rest of the crew would soon be on board turned to go to the cockpit for take off, but not without a quick glance at Kanan before leaving.

When the Mandalorian and Lasat stepped on to the ramp, (despite wanting to stay) they all prepared to leave, with the Empire always on the look out, the crew could never linger anywhere for long. Switching back to business, the Ghost headed to their next location to meet one of their regular... informants named Vizago. He was a Devaronian crime lord who was more snake than informant with the way his intel's price was always high. Despite him bleeding them drier than Tatooine, the information was pretty consistent... well, most of the time. There were a few occasions where he misinformed or forgot to mention a thing or two, thus resulting in things not going exactly as planned, as in... not... at... all.

Luckily, after they took off, it didn't take long for the Ghost to reach the secluded area Vizago picked as the latest meeting place. Even so, most of the crew spent their time before arriving cleaning their weapons or just in general preparing.

When they arrived at the destination, Vizago was already there waiting with the rest of his associates. One look around and you could tell it was a good location, it was out in a big valley in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by a few small mountains making it easy to hide the ship from the prying eyes of Storm Troopers.

"Well well, I see you've brought the items we've agreed on?" Vizago greeted them in his suave voice, his accent adding to the smooth way he talked as they unloaded the cargo, transferring it over to his men. The crew ignored his greeting, half of them groaning inwardly in annoyance. None of them particularly liked Vizago and just being in his presence was irritating, which is why they hated his small talk, it only prolonged their time with him.

"Ggrraah! Tell me ag'in why we hav' ta deal wit' him?" Zeb grumbled, his claws more or less digging in the crate he was pushing next to Sabine as they walked. Teeth shown against the sun as he growled, looking over with enmity at the crime lord, his ears lying flat on his head.

Zeb instantly stop glowering and looked at Sabine, ears flicking up in attention when she started speaking, her helmet making her voice slightly distorted. "Because, Zeb, Vizago is deep in the black market and pretty known in the crime world, well..." Sabine slightly scoffed, "Known enough. If he was too well known he'd be a risk to our operations."

Zeb quirked an eyebrow, "And your point is?" he asked, not getting where she was going with this.

"The point, Zeb," She started, as if it was obvious. "Is that his position allows him to get various bits of information necessary to our missions." Zeb sighed as she finished, not really relenting that she was right, but also not discussing it further even though it still annoyed him.

The Devaronian walked over to one of the crates and opened it, picking up one of the guns to inspect it while commenting, "Mmhh, in good condition." Hera then just happened to walk past and the horned alien's focus instantly went from the gun to her. His eyes followed the Twi'lek greedily, watching her lekku sway back and forth as he continued in a lower voice. "Such fine merchandise, very fine merchandise indeed."

As if out of nowhere Kanan appeared, blocking the Devaronian's sight of Hera with the same grim and no funny business look on his face that he usually greeted Vizago with and spoke, his voice not betraying the anger he felt inside. "I suggest we get this over with before we have some misunderstandings."

"Hahahahahaha! Always to the point, ay Kanan?" Vizago laughed, essentially ignoring his warning. Kanan's face was purposefully dry and detached from emotion as the crime lord crowed with amusement, though he did not continue trying to make after Hera.

Vizago continued to jabber on as they walked towards a rock currently used as a make shift table next to some speeder bikes. "Well then, straight to business, just how you like it." Vizago said, as the rest of the crew, (including a certain droid who decided that watching the kid was too boring and left the ship to see what was happening outside) leisurely surrounded Kanan, all waiting for the smuggler to hand over their much needed credits.

Vizago paused halfway through handing Kanan their pay, holding back the rest with a careless attitude, making the Jedi knight grow impatient. "Come on, all of it." Kanan urged, aggravated that the Devaronian was holding back and wasting their time.

Vizago smiled slightly as he set and slid the rest of the credits to the side of the makeshift table a distance from his and their reach before he started speaking. "You know I could, or I could-" The alien abruptly stopped and turned toward the sky as the sound of shuttles filled the air, shocking everyone into high alert as the space crafts flew above them, landing a small distance away in the clearing.

Surprise filled the crew and Vizago as they saw the three shuttles release the empire's so called foot soldiers know as the Storm Troopers for combat, but shock soon turned to anger for Vizago as he turned back to the crew yelling furiously at them, "You idiots! You were followed!" before he quickly ran to a speeder bike, leaving the rest of the credits and the Rebels to the Imperials as his fellow smugglers hurriedly grabbed as much of their stuff as they could while escaping.

Kanan breathed in heavily, moving his hand towards his blaster as the Troopers continued to march out of the ships. The Jedi had, as did the others in the crew, subconsciously started steeling themselves for action with the first trill of the shuttle, and were prepared to move in instant to retreat. Just when they thought the onslaught would start, it didn't; there was nothing but silence as they stood unmoving before the scene that lay in front of them. Instead of troopers and blaster fire charging at them, the imperials stood still at attention.

Taken aback, the Rebels stood fixed in their spots. As they stood in the frightning calm an authoritative voice rang out into air from the imperial detail, filling what surely would soon be a battlefield. The voice echoed into the breeze and slithered up their spines as it spoke. The adrenaline that thrummed throughout their veins turned cold when the voice said unexpected words that just made their list of problems a whole lot worse.

"Hand over the child now or we will be forced to eliminate you."

Hey, that is the end of the chapter. please leave a review and criticize my work:) Hope I to write more soon, but life is iffy and weird. This Empress singing out:)