Chapter Text
ONE I AND THUS, THE WIND CHANGES
─── ･ ｡ﾟ⟡ 🌑 ⟡ ˚｡ ･ ───
"HoloDiary Entry #1027
I had another dream last night. I was in an endless, black void. I couldn't see anything around me. Then I heard my parents' voices. They were calling out to me in desperation, and I tried running towards them. But no matter how far I ran, they only got further away. I could never reach them.
I don't know how to feel about them. The dreams. They're different every time.
Sometimes the scenery is different. It's either a pitch-black void or the plains of Lothal. Or even places I don't recognise, like the durasteel walls of a ship or the unfamiliar landscape of a distant planet. Sometimes my parents appear in various ways. Sometimes I just hear them. Or I can see them. Sometimes I just know that they're there, I can feel their presence, with no sign of them physically.
Other times it's my brother. I know within my heart that he's in danger. And I can't reach him in time before he falls into the darkness, just beyond my finger tips. I fear him slipping away to somewhere I cannot follow; taking half of my soul with him.
But the most frightening dream of all is when I'm falling. I'm falling non-stop down that same pitch dark void. And I hear the screams of my family all around me. Of my mum, and dad. And Ezra. Unfamiliar voices to, ones I've never heard before. Yet I feel like I know them somewhere in the back of my mind.
I'm falling, but they're all too far away to catch me, just like I'm never able to find them.
I have no idea what to make of these recurring dreams. But I hope to find out soon. For now, I must go. I have a feeling something big will happen today. I don't know how I know. But I just do. The wind has changed.
Milah Bridger, out."
- LOTHAL -
Wind. An intangible form that carries itself across the world in many guises. It can be light. The feather fingered ghost on the back of your neck, caressing your hair and whispering sweet things. Or it can be the raging anger that churned and churned. Ripping everything asunder and tearing at the fabric of the universe.
Hollow. Or full. It could carry the chiming laughter of hopeful children back to the palms of their parents. Yet it could also wave those dreams beyond the reach of desperately reaching hands.
Milah used to chase the wind. When she was young and full of naivete. Running through the fields of scratchy yellow grass, her brother at her heels. Those days had long since passed; that happiness a fleeting memory neither of them could recall anymore. That wind escaped her grasp, and remained outside of her reach.
She didn't bother chasing it anymore.
Ending the recording on the HoloDiary about her latest dream, she hung her head. The light in the old communications tower was dim, casting shards of soft sunlight across the durasteel floor.
The dreams came every other night. And the mornings after, like clockwork, were filled of her recording the events of said dreams. If not her dreams, then she's purging her thoughts of any other lingering fixations.
There were many to be found. Her head these days was a tangled spiral of crushed dreams, vivid memory and confusing premonitions. The holo-diary aided in sorting through the shambles.
She tucked the small device into the pocket of her oversized red aviator jacket and headed outside the abandoned imperial communications tower she called home. Her brother leaned against the balcony railing, overlooking Lothal. She settled beside him, and looked into the distance towards Capital City.
The existed in comfortable silence as she watched the gentle graze of the wing stir up the plains below.
"Another dream?" Ezra asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the mid-morning peace. She gave a short hum in reply. She never talked with him about the dreams. They were private and painful and she didn't want to burden her brother more than she already had. "What do you think they mean?" It was the same question he asked every time he attempted to get her to open up.
"I don't know." Milah gave the same reply she always gives. And the subject was left at.
An endless cycle they repeated over and over almost every week. To survive in their world, weakness wasn't to be shared. Even amongst family. Ezra had kept his own secrets in the past, so he afforded Milah the luxury of keeping her burdens to herself. No matter how much he could see the strain of her internal suffering.
The twins looked back out over the plains to Capital City in silence and stayed like that for a few minutes. Milah basked in the gentle warmth of sun over their heads and the phantom breeze sweeping through their hair.
The sun was blocked by an ominous shadow. The wind changed, bearing down upon them heavily.
The pair looked up to see the colossal triangular structure of an Imperial Star Destroyer hovering over the plains, heading towards the dome-like Imperial Base in the capital. Which was strange. It wasn't often that you'd see an Imperial Star Destroyer above a backwater Outer Rim planet like Lothal. Ezra took a small step back, bewildered. Then an angry look overcame his face. Similar resentment bubbles underneath Milah's skin at the sight.
The twins gave each other a look, understanding each other's thoughts right away. Curiosity and mischief went hand in hand when it came to the Bridgers. Built upon the dust and bones of their past. Any opportunity that presented itself to mess with Imperial operations was never missed.
A fact that would never change.
────
Milah leaned inconspicuously against a wall, observing the scene before her. Contempt and disgust twisted at her face as a couple of Imperial Officers surrounded an unfortunate merchant. Whilst she had her own reasons for hating the Empire, seeing them use fear and power to antagonise innocent people simply trying to make a living made her despise them even more.
Every single Imperial she ever had the displeasure of meeting were cold-hearted monsters who had no consideration for any of the galaxy's inhabitants. Abuse of power was their code of conduct; a choice weapon they wielded to shape the galaxy in their own image.
They were the reason she no longer had parents. It was their influence that left herself and her brother scraping at the bottom of the barrel for scraps just to make ends meet.
Sucking in a patient breath, she waited for Ezra to make his move. The breeze ruffled at her braided, dark hair, fluttering the strands across her face. Bright blue eyes glinted, then narrowed as the slimmer Imperial brought a Comm Device up to his mouth. "This is LRC-01, I am bringing in a citizen under the charge of treason."
The merchant must have said something the Officer didn't take kindly. Milah respected him for having that kind of courage. The kind of courage her parents—
She stopped the thoughts before they could spiral into darker territory. That kind of distraction could blow a whole in their plans if she let it fester out of control.
The Stormtroopers accompanying the officers grabbed the poor merchant and dragged him away whilst the citizens of Lothal watched on in horror. Nobody intervened. The fear of suffering the same fate to fresh in everyone's minds. "You can't do this!" The merchant cried out desperately.
Taking a bite out of the confiscated Yoguns, the larger Imperial spoke up, "Yeah? Well, who's going to stop us? You? You?" He pointed to the watching citizens. Milah's hand clenched at her biceps as she crossed her arms, taking in the scene. Her jaw tightened. as the officer pointed a meaty finger in her direction. "You?"
Her eyes narrowed, but she dragged her eyes away. She wanted the help, she really did. Her own desire to stick it to the Empire clung desperately at her like a second skin. However, Ezra was already carrying out his own plan, something a little less direct than outright disrespect.
"Hey mister, a spare yogun?" A boy with hair the same shade as hers asked meekly, head bowed. The vision of a Loth-Rat begging for food. Her lip quirked up in amusement at the sight. Her brother never begged.
"Move along Loth-Rat." The imperial ordered.
"Sorry, sorry, not looking for trouble." He turned and Milah watched his nimble fingers easily swipe the Comm from the belt of the taller officer.
Their lives on the street, learning the intricate skills needed to survive had turned Ezra into a gifted pickpocket. He almost never got caught. Almost. Sometimes, he got a bit too arrogat for his own good, bringing trouble down onto the siblings in his own hubris.
Ezra continued on his way, joining Milah against the wall. "But it sure has a way of finding us."
"You got that right." The twins slipped away into the shadows of a nearby alleyway, hidden from the Imperials
The boy smirked and brought the Comm up to his mouth. Putting his best imitation of an imperial accent, he spoke into it. "All officers to the main square, this is a code red emergency."
They watched with sly amusement as the officers quickly spat something at the merchant, shoved him to the floor and dumped the basket of Yoguns on his head. They hurried away towards the main square with the squad of Stormtroopers on their tail. The twins approached the merchant as Ezra continued to speak into the Comm. "Stay on high alert, I repeat, this is a code red."
"Thank you." The merchant said as he looked up at the two teenagers gratefully.
Milah always hated this next part. She knew it was necessary for her and Ezra to survive, which was her priority. However, stealing from merchants trying to make an honest living never sat right in her stomach.
Ezra crouched down to him, stuffing some yoguns into his backpack. "No, thank you." He replied to the unfortunate merchant. With a nimble agility he climbed up a nearby building, score acquired.
Milah clicked her tongue at his brashness, before crouching down and helped the poor being stand. "Sorry about that, we're just doing what we need to survive." The least she could do to make up for the theft was aplogise. If she had the credits to spare she would've offered a little compensation. But she didn't. The twins were flat broke, dictating the necessity for the theft in the first place.
The poor merchant was just another in a long line of unfortunate victims in the twins' hair-brained schemes.
Offering one last apologetic smile, she scarpered away, catching up to her brother who waited for her on a nearby roof. "Do we really have to do stuff like this?" She asked him whilst they made their way across to the other side of the building.
"It's the only way to get food to survive Milah, we've discussed this." Her brother reminded her. It was the same conversation they had every time they carried out their plans.
"I know, I know, I just don't like it." Milah mumbled to herself.
"I know, but sometimes we have to do stuff we don't like." Ezra said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "At least it's better than what the Imps would've done to him" Milah smiled softly at the reassurance, knowing he had a point.
That merchant would've faced a worse fate inside an imperial prison. The twins crouched by the ledge of the roof and looked down upon the road below them. Officers and troopers had converged on the street, loading some crates on the backs of speeder bikes. Their work was interrupted by the other two officers from before approaching.
"We have reached the location and are standing by." A stormtrooper announced.
"What's the emergency." The tall officer asked.
"Emergency?" A third, younger officer questioned.
"You called in a code red." The larger officer informed the younger one.
"I'm not sure what you mean. My orders were to get these crates to the Imperial Portal." The younger one explained, clear confusion marring his features. Milah quietly snickered with her brother as they watched the Imperials fumble in their puzzlement.
"Well get them loaded then." The tall one commanded, trying to recover from the intentional miscommunication.
The twins chuckled at the floundering officers. "I almost feel bad for them," Ezra spoke up quietly.
"Almost being the key word here." Milah replied. The sudden stillness of her brother startled her. He froze, as if something unseen had caught his attention. Milah sensed a shift within him, like something had crawled inside his soul and demanded his entire focus.
"That was weird, I..." Ezra stated, a perplexed expression on his face.
Milah turned to her brother, concerned by his abrupt shift in demeanour. "Ez? You okay there?"
"I-" Ezra started, but before he continued his attention shifted to somewhere further down the lane.
Milah turned to find the reason for her brother's strange behaviour.
That's when she felt something. Another change in the wind. It stirred itself into a frenzy, wrapping itself around a figure down the road. A man stood at the end of the lane, his back to them. Brown hair, pulled back into a small ponytail. He was clad in a green tunic, a pauldron over his shoulder, and grey breeches.
Milah squinted her eyes to get a closer look, but the man turned his head to the side, as if sensing a foreign gaze upon him.
A hand on the back of her head forced her to duck behind the edge of the roof. Just in time, before they could be caught spying. After a moment, when they deemed it safe, the twins cautiously looked back over to see the man walking down the lane. He stopped outside a small, dark doorway, where a purple skinned non-human species leaned inside, obscured by the shadows.
Despite Lothal being known for it's diversity - it's population an amalgamation of many different races from across the galaxy - Milah had never seen someone of this particular beings race before. She cycled through her known encyclopedia inside her head, all of the different planets and their inhabitants. But there was nothing that matched the description. Purple skin, tall, large, built from pure muscle with clawed feet. The leathery skin of his face was trimmed with a deeper violet fur and pointed ears. His appearance was almost cat-like, if said cat was on enhancements.
The human male hit the side of his leg twice, and his friend opened his eyes. Bright, luminous green eyes.
Then the man proceeded to walk down the lane, the non-human crossing behind him in an action that could be deemed as casual. But Milah knew a signal when she saw one. He stopped a few metres away, as if waiting for a cue.
The human man then stopped by a girl in bright, colourful Mandalorian armour. At least, Milah thought it was Mandalorian. The man hit the side of his blaster holster twice. The girl responded with three pats against her own holster. This entire situation was turning out to be strange, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to keep all three figures in her line of sight.
The inside of her gut tensed the longer she watched on, and a chill ran down her spine.
"Interesting." The twins commented simultaneously.
Milah's head tilted as the Mandalorian girl walked by a speeder. With a flick of her hand, she tossed something that attached to it, before continuing down another alley. Milah's ears picked up the faint beeping sound and immediately figured what it was. "Bomb." she stated.
"What?" Ezra questioned.
That was when the bomb exploded, destroying the speeder bike in a blaze of fire.
"I knew it." Milah called out, bringing a hand up to cover her face from the wave of heat. The sight of imperial property being blown to pieces stirred a morbid amusement within her. There was no sight more beautiful.
"Get those crates out of here," the younger officer ordered the Stormtroopers, as the other officers remained bewildered by the explosion, "keep them secure at all costs."
"All costs huh, I like the sound of that." Ezra said.
Milah recognised the impish look on his face. This was the opportunity they'd been waiting for. A chance to get back at the empire whilst potentially earning something for themselves at the same time. Whatever lay inside these crates was valuable. Something worth stealing and selling.
"You can say that again," she responded, "So what's the plan?"
Ezra looked back at her and winked, "the usual." Milah shook her head with a sigh.
The twins got up and headed to the other side of the roof to follow the action. A land speeder emerged from a corner, piloted by the human male. It blocked the speeder bikes the stormtroopers were using to transport the cargo.
"How's it going?" The man saluted the troopers. A powerful kick landed across the helmet of one trooper before he lifted his blaster, firing at the another.
A cold worry descended upon Milah upon seeing the man's combative skills. An inkling in her gut told her that this might not be the best situation to get themselves involved in.
Voicing her new concerns with her brother, she said, "Ezra, I don't think this is a good idea anymore, these guys seem like the type you don't mess with."
"Think about it Milah," Ezra responded, "Whatever is in these crates, must be valuable if the empire is trying to hang onto them. We steal it and sell whatever it is, it could set us up for a while. It's a win-win, we don't have to steal from innocent merchants, we get to mess with the Empire, and we have enough credits to last us for a while. We let these guys distract the imps whilst we get in and out. It'll be easy."
Milah turned back to the action. The purple non-human leapt in, taking out the Stormtroopers from behind. The logic behind Ezra's words was clear in her mind. Their survival was important. The most important sentiment they shared. But was it worth the risk? She debated with herself for a second before turning back to her brother, studying the conniving grin on his face.
"Whatever," She gave in shaking her head with a small smirk, answering with a relenting smirk. "Let's do it."
"We've gotten out of worse scraps." Ezra said confidently.
"Hmm, debatable." Milah elbowed him in the side.
"Oh, shut it." Her brother laughed, slapping her shoulder in retaliation before moving towards the action. After turning to watch she discovered the rest of the soldiers had been discarded by the two males. "Let's go." Ezra whispered.
Following her brother's tail, they swung down into the alley using a suspended wire, landing on the speeder bike the crates were attached to. She let out a small noise of complaint when the landing jolted her tailbone. Brushing it off, she hastily wrapped her arms around her brother's waist, eyes landing on the other two figures. "Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!" Ezra saluted them.
"For the record this was his idea!" Milah called out, pointing to her brother. Backing away on the speeder, they crashed into some unfortunate troopers on the way, Milah wobbling as she kept her balance. With a gleeful laugh, the twins sped off down the alley.
However, the two young street thieves were soon pursued, the strangers wasting no time in apprehending speeder bikes of their own.
As they were chased down another alley, the girl in the Mandalorian Armour jumped down onto the crates. Shock twisted at their features as they looked back. "Pretty gutsy moves kids." She drew a blaster and turned it on them, sending a gasp rippling through Milah. "If the big guy catches you, he'll end you." The girl stated ominously, and to their surprise she pointed the blaster down and shot the link between the two crates. The one crate floated away on the anti-gravity, taking the girl with it, leaving the twins with the remaining one. "Good luck!"
Milah turned back to her brother, whose eyes were fixed back on the road. "So, who do you think she meant as 'the big guy'? The guy who looks like their leader or the big purple guy. Cause that guy looks pretty strong. Saying that, I don't think I like the idea of either of them ending us!" She rambled on, the worry of what their pursuers would do to them if they were caught eating at her mind. She knew this wasn't a good idea. Yet Ezra had a startling habit of never listening.
"Milah, can you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate on driving here!" Ezra responded sharply.
"Alright Ez, just expressing my concerns."
"Don't call me that, I hate in when you call me that!"
"I thought you were concentrating on driving, so drive!" Milah gestured wildly in front of them, as they navigated down tight lanes. Ezra focused back on the road, trying to evade the two still chasing them. Wind stirred Milah's braid as they continued to bolt down the streets of Lothal, tearing up the uneasy peace that usually filled the markets. Whipping around a corner, they were cut off by more Stormtroopers.
"Now would be a good time to use that blaster of yours!" Ezra called back to his sister.
"You know it's only for emergencies!" Milah shot back, drawing the small blaster from her pocket anyway, ready to use.
"You don't think this is an emergency!" Ezra asked incredulously.
"I know it is, I'm just messing with you!" Milah aimed, trying to steady her arm as the movement from the speeder-bike broke her concentration. Before she could fire, two resounding blaster shots came from behind, taking out the troopers before she could. Whipping her head around, she eyes the blaster the older human male on their trail held. "Well apparently it isn't an emergency anymore" She hummed to herself.
"Who are these guys?" Ezra mused as he turned to look along with his sister.
"Hey, eyes on the road!" Milah ordered, turning back around to him. When both turned back around to face the road, a startled scream escaped both of them at the Lothalian citizens up ahead. Ezra maneuvered up and round the corner to avoid the people milling about, many of them also jumping out of the way of the incoming speeders.
They all emerged onto the main road leading outside of Capital City, another two Stormtroopers on their trail. With speeder-bikes of their own. Milah ducked against her brother's back when red blaster bolts zipped past them. "Not to say I told you so, Ezra, but I told you this wasn't a good idea." he grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah. Save it for when we're out of this."
Unfortunately, a stray blaster shot hit the bottom of the twins' bike.
"That's never good." Ezra commented wryly as the bike spasmed and sent them over the middle ledge onto the other side of the road. They narrowly avoided crashing into a couple of landspeeders coming their way, before re-centering themselves onto a clear stretch of road.
The sound of blaster fire behind her alerted her to the human male firing back at the Stormtrooper. Her head craned back around, catching his non-human friend pulling an unfamiliar weapon from his back. It extended out like a staff, electricity sparking at each end. Drawing back of the back on the speeder, he used the weapon to take out one of the Stormtroopers. The other speeder exploding caught her attention, smoke convering the road. Their two pursuers appeared from the haze unscathed, continuing to chase the twins and their cargo.
Dread steeped her gut as they caught up. Ezra noticed, revving the engine even more to speed ahead in his attempt to outrun them. Milah kept watch vigilantly and saw the man signal to his purple-skinned friend. He then released the crates and let the other take them.
"They're splitting up! It's just the leader chasing us now, at least I think he's their leader." She called out the information to her brother.
Catching enough momentum, he lifted the speeder up over the ledge. Milah watched in awe as he soared above them, landing a small distance in front of their speeder, coming to a pause. Ezra skidded harshly to a stop, avoiding a crash between them and the man. Tense silence blanketed the space between, as the three stared each other down.
"Who are you?" Ezra questioned as Milah laid her forehead on his back in defeat.
"I'm the guy who was stealing that crate." the man replied.
"Hey look, we stole this stuff, whatever it is, fair and square." Ezra folded his arms to stand his ground.
Milah looked back up towards the man "It's one crate, you have the others. Can't you just let us have this one at least?" She bargained.
The man seemed to consider a moment, faltering slghtly at the desperation in her voice. Yet he was unrelenting, refusing to let them escape with their bounty. "You made it pretty far. But I have plans for that crate." As the man spoke, the siblings noticed the TIE Fighter sailing in the sky behind the man, coming right towards them. "So, today's not your day."
"Well, the days not over." Ezra rebutted, before swerving to avoid the blaster shots coming from the TIE. Milah ducked into his back to avoid them as well.
"Oh great." She heard the guy sarcastically mutter as they drove away. He ran from the speeder as a blast hit it, rupturing it into scrap metal and flame. The man struggled to his feet and, as he drove away, Ezra shouted back, "Have a good one!"
"Sorry!" Milah called after, giving him an apologetic wave.
They soon came to the end of the road, hitting the yellow plains of grass they saw from their tower everyday. To their mounting pile of disastrous luck, another TIE Fighter was on their trail, blaster fire raining down on them.
"Whatever is in these crates must really be worth it." Ezra complained. They both ducked down as shots went over their heads. "Better be worth it."
"Yes, it better. And we better get out of it, or we're not going to live long enough to see what's inside them!" Milah retorted.
"Have some faith, Milah." Ezra called back to her.
A lucky shot hit the back of their speeder whilst the two were distracted, sending them careening off it and rolling into the grass. It scratched at her cheeks and her arms ached from landing so harshly. The twins quickly brought themselves back to their feet to see the TIE circling back their way. "Oh no no no-" Milah cried out, but before it could target them, it was shot out of the sky by another blast.
They turned, stunned, to where the blast came from. Another ship, visibly not Imperial make, hovered low over their position. The man from earlier was standing on the open landing ramp.
"Need a ride?" He called out to them. The screech of incoming ships alerted them to more TIE's about to rain blaster fire down on their location. Milah evaluated the situation, quickly concluding the most probable outcome where they didn't die. "Kids, do you have a better option?!"
The twins, silently communicating with their eyes, came to the same opinion. They didn't. Grabbing her brother's hand, they bolted towards the ship. She whipped around when Ezra wrenched his grip free, seeing him sprint for the crate. Frustration bubbled inside of her.
"Leave the crate, you'll never make it." the man shouted, voicing her thoughts.
"Keep going Milah." Ezra shouted. Her brother was a stubborn fool. Whenevr his mind had set itself on something, he'd see it through to the only outcome that benefited him. As reluctant as she was about continuing, she had faith he would make it. Leaping up, she grabbed onto the ramp and the man bent down to drag her up and onto the ship.
"Come on Ezra!" She shouted as soon as she found her footing. The ship was moving away and gaining slightly more altitude. Ezra sprinted for them, and part her feared he wouldn't make it. Something out of the ordinary happened. Milah watched her brother in awe as he jumped impossibly high, the crate landing on the ramp with a thud.
"Woah." The man breathed out. Milah didn't even realise she was holding her breath until he moved.
She'd seen her brother climb buildings with ease and jump from higher-than-normal heights with little problem. She could do the same. A gift from their years of navigating the streets and knowing which routes to take that would prevent capture.
But she'd never seen him jump so far before. Push the crate further, he pulled himself up onto the ramp. The man helped him bring the crate inside, Milah following them as the ramp closed behind. The siblings didn't realise at the time, but this was the moment their lives began to change.
────
As the ship flew off, the twins looked up to find themselves faced with the harsh stares of their three pursuers. The purple non-human with the luminous green eyes was especially intimidating to Milah, his form towering above the others, glare especially fierce. And despite not seeing the armoured girls face due to the helmet, her stance made her annoyance clear.
As the non-human opened the crate the twins brought onto the ship, Ezra gasped, rushing over to it, picking up one of the blasters inside. Milah joined his side, grabbing the blaster and examining it closely to figure out what make it was. From her knowledge it appeared to be an E-11 Blaster Rifle, the sleek barrel glimmering under the fluorescent ship light. An excited thrum stirred inside her chest.
"Oh, do you have any idea what these are worth on the black market?" Ezra questioned.
"Certainly a lot." Milah breathed, running her fingers along the cool metal, "these are no joke."
"I do know how much they're worth, actually." The human male replied.
The overbearing one leaned over from the other side of the crate, getting close to Ezra's face. "Don't get any ideas." He warned in a gravelly voice. Milah gulped nervously, trying not to wither under his domineering presence.
"They're ours." Ezra defended, taking the blaster back from Milah and holding it up in demonstration.
"If you hadn't gotten in our way..." The non-human grumbled, snatching the blaster away from Ezra.
"Too bad. I got to them first." Ezra attempted to match his threatening aura. Comically failing as his size easily weighed up to half the non-humans.
"We got to them first." Milah reminded her brother, taking hold of his shoulder as she glared up at the taller figure on the other side of the crate. Perhaps with both of them trying they could get him to back off. Her input remained as ineffective as her brother's.
The brown-haired man, who appeared by all manner to be the group's leader, intervened, pushing the three of them away from each other. "It's not who's first it's who's last." He then turned to his two colleagues, "Keep an eye on our friends here." Climbing up a ladder, he disappeared further into the ship, presumably to the cockpit. It left the twins uncomfortably alone with the intimidating non-human and the silent Mandalorian girl. Even from underneath her helmet, Milah could feel the heavy glare of eyes upon her. She attempted a friendly wave to alleviate her sense of unease.
"So..." Milah started, trying to diffuse the tension as the non-human put the lid back onto the crate and set it aside. Out of the twins' reach. "Nice to meet you both, despite the circumstances." The awkward rigidity in the room could be cut with a vibroblade.
Ezra, on the other hand, remained ignorant to the frosty atmosphere, jumping to sit upon the crate. Much to the non-human's chagrin. "Look, we were just doing the same thing you were. Stealing to survive."
"You have no idea what we were doing, you don't know us." He shoved Ezra in the stomach, and the boy jumped back off the crate, re-joining his sister's side.
"And I don't want to. I just want off this burner."
"Ezra." Milah hissed to her brother, "Maybe don't piss off the people who just saved our lives." She suggested. She adored her brother beyond all doubt. Sometimes she hated the way his runaway mouth would get them into even more trouble than they had a habit of finding.
The non-human stepped up to the twins and leaned down right into Ezra's personal space. "Please. Nothing would thrill me more than tossing you both out while in flight." Milah gulped nervously under his tangible menace.
An abrupt shift in the ships trajectory sent the inhabitants of the cargo bay sprawling across the floor. The dull aches from her tumble off the speeder-bike flared up once again, a wince escaping her. Looking up from her spot on the cold durasteel ground, she grimaced at seeing Ezra crushed under their new non-human ally.
Her brother groaned, "Get off, I can't breathe."
"I'm not that heavy in this gravity." The non-human grumbled as he picked himself up.
"Not the weight. Ugh, the smell." Ezra complained, and Milah watched as the non-human's face scrunched up into a harsh glower, the atmosphere turning a lot colder.
"You don't like the air quality in here, eh? Fine, I'll give you your own room." He grabbed Ezra by the leg and both twins cried out in protest. Milah reached out for her brother as he was dragged to a compact storage compartment.
"Let him go!" She cried out, grabbing the taller figure's shoulder as Ezra was chucked without mercy into the compartment.
The non-human turned around and growled at her, "You wanna get tossed in there to?"
Milah stepped back, hands whipping up in surrender, shaking her head slightly as her eyes widened. She sent an apologetic grimace to her brother inside the compartment. She felt awful, but she would rather skip out on being locked in a confined space. They never agreed with her.
"That's what I thought." The taller figure grumbled, as he sealed the compartment.
Milah stepped away cautiously, taking a hesitant seat on the orange booth in the common room, resting her arms on the black and white checked table. Whilst these people had saved their lives from the empire, they still remained strangers. Not to mention they had separated herself and Ezra. Trust was a hard-earned battle in their lives, one very few people won. She concluded the best course of action would be to not make these people any more irate than they already were.
She looked up as the Mandalorian girl started pacing, the non-human faithfully guarding the storage compartment, his arms crossed. Clearing her throat, garnering attention back to herself, she spoke up. "So uh, I'm Milah, what are you guys' names." A pair of luminous eyes and a darkened visor turned her way, sending a glacial shiver down her spine at their sternness. "But, uh you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."
The Mandalorian girl sighed, "I'm Sabine," She pointed to her tall, purple skinned friend, "That's Zeb. Nice to meet you as well, despite the current circumstances."
"Yeah," Milah nodded, a weight lifting off her shoulders from being afforded some answers, "nice to have some names for the faces, or, uh, helmet."
She couldn't tell how well-received her pitiful attempt at a joke was. The visor remained fixed upon her, and before Sabine could respond, the ship rattled. The faint reverberation of blaster fire seeped through the walls of the cargo hold.
A voice sounded over the intercom, the man from before asking, "Zeb, Sabine. Where are the kids?"
"Calm down chief, the girl's right in front of us and the boy's in..." Zeb opened up the compartment, revealing an unexpectedly empty space, "uh... here." He rubbed his head in confusion.
The three beings in the cargo bay looked up towards the top of the compartment, spotting an open vent. Milah chuckled a little to herself at the sight, Zeb and Sabine's heads whipping towards her in suspicion. She silenced herself, sending them her best imitation of an innocent smile, as the man talked through the intercom again. "Zeb, where is he?"
"Well, he is still in the ship."
Clattering up above them had all three craning their necks up to the ceiling of the cargo bay.
"Oh, he's in the ship alright." Sabine commented wryly as her eyes followed the rattling of Ezra's impulsive escape attempt.
Shaking her head, Milah let out a short, sigh of amusement at her brother' antics. If there was any set way to describe Ezra Bridger, it was creative. And impetuous. She suddenly found herself hurtling off balance, almost crashing to the ground again as the ship careened to one side. The faint sound of blaster fire still followed them.
Once she found her feet again, she watched as Zeb and Sabine ran towards the ladder. Zeb twisted back around, narrowing his fluorescent eyes and pointing a finger in warning. "Stay right here, or I'll end ya."
Milah raised her hands in mock surrender, giving him a false smile. As soon as the purple-skinned non-human was gone, Milah's eyes were scanning the cargo bay. Once again they fell on the crate of blasters tucked against the wall, that familiar excitement bubbling in her gut.
Stepping over and opening up the crate, she pulled one of the blasters, admiring the build with careful eyes. Testing the weight in her hands, she acquainted herself with the feel of it. The first thing she was ever taught about weapons, was to understand how to adjust it to your composition. Every weapon felt different to separate hands. A rifle in longer arms would sit far more comfortably than it would in hers.
A distant ache resonated inside her chest.
She had handled one of these only once, but ended up having to sell it for credits. Food was the more important resource at that time. However, she did have an abundance of blaster parts back at the tower, remnant she'd collected to try to build her own. Others she sold as scraps. Many attempts had been made to recreate the weapon, and she had worked through a lot of late nights, trying to figure out what was looking like an impossible task. All of her tries had resulted in failure.
Making a mental note of each component and how they were put together, she put the blaster back in the crate, before closing it back up. She wouldn't want the crew of this ship to think she was trying to steal from them again. It would be rude to do so after they so graciously saved her life.
The intercom buzzed to life again, an unknown female voice ringing through. The ship's pilot, Milah hazarded a guess. "Shields are holding for now, but you need to buy me time to calculate the jump to lightspeed." She ordered.
Eyes widening at what she heard, Milah blinked in disbelief as she figured out what the pilot's words meant. Lightspeed. She was in space. She had never been to space before. Had never had the means to leave Lothal at all. It explained the extra chill in the air inside the cargo bay, she noted. A shiver ran down her spine.
"Buying time now!" Kanan replied through the intercom. The ship continued to shake as it was hit from the outside by blaster bolts, the Empire not giving up their chase. She could hear echoes of those shots faintly from outside, and low voices bouncing off the walls inside the ship. The entire atmosphere was a hive of activity as the crew worked in tandem.
The unknown female's voice came through again. "Calculations complete, but we need an opening."
"Found one!" Sabine replied.
"Entering Hyperspace."
A moment later, something shifted, the entire ship jolting for only a second. She found herself off balance and almost falling flat on her back, using the crate to steady herself. The distance between herself and home was growing ever further, as the ship carried them through the stars.
She attempted to steady the anxiety rising in her gut.
────
Lothal. A backwater outer rim planet with an enviable industrial economy. And the latest planet to be hit with the rising insurgency that marred the galaxy. The Imperial Security Bureau had responded to many of these reports across the Empire, to varying degrees of success. Agent Kallus was no different from those other emissaries; sent out with the mission of apprehending and bringing to justice all those involved in this recent incident.
These - insurgents - had gained themselves a track record. Many hits carried out on imperial property had been carried out by this crew; thefts, destruction, general anarchy. The failures of the local Imperial militia in catching them had stacked up one too many incidents. Which warranted outside help. The reason he was called in.
He perched himself on a rooftop, posture straight and rigid, as was deemed appropriate of a Coruscant native. The posture of a proud man, someone who was secure in who they were and all they stood for. He scanned the streets below with sharp eyes, searching the scene of the crime as the Imperial Officer behind him informed him of the situation, "They knew our protocol and were waiting in position."
Kallus sighed, before turning back to give the officer his attention. "I've no doubt," he replied, "You're not the first on Lothal hit by this crew."
The other Officer let out a short breath, shoulders slumping, "That's a relief," He stated, before composing himself again, "I mean, I assume that's why you're here, Agent Kallus."
Agent Kallus removed his helmet. Light brown, almost blonde, slicked back hair and trimmed sideburns. Everything about his appearance was polished. The base expectation of someone of his rank.
He turned fully, fixing hazel eyes on the officer. "The Imperial Security Bureau pays attention to patterns. When the Empire's operations are targeted on an ongoing basis, it could signify something more than the theft of a few crates. It could signify the spark of rebellion." He explained, "Next time they make a move, we'll be waiting for them, to snuff out that spark before it catches fire."
If he had a single mission, it was to remove these rebels as a threat to the Empire.
He would succeed if it was the last thing he did.