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Hera sprinted down a hallway in the Imperial Dome on Lothal. The crew had been forced to split up after a run- in with a squad of stormtroopers. Now, Hera was trying to make her way back to the control center. The only problem was she had no idea where she was.
Hera hurtled down the hallway, blasting stormtroopers as they appeared. So far, she didn't appear to be getting any closer to the control center. Still running, Hera reached for the comm link on her belt.
"Come in, Specter Five!" she yelled, hoping Sabine had had better luck than she did. To her relief, Sabine's voice crackled over the comm.
"Hera! Thank goodness! Where are you?"
"Well, I was hoping you could tell me that," Hera panted, stopping to catch her breath. She opened a door to her right, sincerely hoping that she wouldn't find troopers on the other side. To her luck, there was only a deactivated medical droid and a bacta tank in the corner.
"Sabine, I think I'm in the medical wing-"
Hera was interrupted by shouts coming in her direction. She frantically closed the door to the hallway and ran to duck behind the bacta tank. She turned her comm link off and stayed as still as she could, listening hard. She heard the troopers' boots in the hallway... then mercifully, they passed. Hera let out a sigh of relief and turned her comm link back on, standing as she did so.
"Specter Two! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Specter Five, but I think I'd better stay put for now. A squad of troopers just ran past my new hiding spot, so I'll wait a few minutes before moving out. Try and find where I am. I'm definitely in the medical wing, or some branch of it. The room itself isn't very big, maybe meant for an intensive care patient...? I'll contact you when I'm ready to move."
"Hang tight, Hera, I'll try to get a fix on your location. Specter Five out."
Hera placed her comm link on a nearby table and examined her surroundings. It was definitely some form of intensive care unit; now that she was looking closer, Hera could see the extremely sensitive equipment that was tucked away in the opposite corner. Struck by a sudden thought, Hera turned back to face the bacta tank. It didn't appear to have an occupant, but then again the only light in the room was provided by a red emergency lamp on a desk. Best to make sure. Hera made her way to the wall, and felt across it until she found a light switch. She flicked it on, not really expecting anything.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden blinding light. But when her gaze fell on the bacta tank, she recoiled in shock, crying out.
It was Kanan.
His hair had grown out, there was stubble on his cheeks, and his torso was covered in scabs, but it was unmistakably him. Him, who had given his life to save her. She had watched him die, had seen him fall into the explosion. It couldn't be... no one could survive a blast like that, not even a Jedi. Yet here he was. Hera felt herself drawn towards the tank. She reached out a hand and touched the glass, still not believing what she was seeing. She was sure she imagined it, but she could have sworn she saw Kanan's hand twitch at her touch.
"This can't be real..." she whispered.
Suddenly, the Dome's intercom crackled, and a calm, quiet voice spoke. A voice Hera recognized.
"Oh I assure you, General Syndulla, it is very real. Unfortunately for you, it is also a trap."
Thrawn.
The door to the chamber was blasted open as a whole squadron of troopers stormed in the room. How had she not heard them? Hera only had time to blast a couple of stormtroopers before she was surrounded. Her back was to the bacta tank. She had no way out.
"Lower your blaster!" the commanding officer barked at her. Hera ignored him, keeping her blaster raised at the men across the room from her.
"Alright Thrawn, what do you want?" she shouted to the room at large.
"Why, my desires are quite simple, General Syndulla," Thrawn said from the intercom, sounding amused. "I want your imminent surrender."
"Oh, is that all?" Hera muttered under her breath. "How is Kanan here?" she asked.
"Your... friend... is quite resilient, General," Thrawn said. "When my men examined the wreckage of the fuel depot, they were amazed to discover your Jedi here badly burned, but very much alive. I suspect he somehow used the Force to shield himself from the blast. I placed him in this bacta tank, thinking there might someday be a use for him. I knew you, certainly, would not leave him in my clutches. And, just as I predicted, you walked right into my trap."
As much as Hera would love to believe that that really was Kanan in the tank, she couldn't. It was no doubt some imperial trick, meant to lure her into surrendering. Thrawn's next words confirmed her suspicions.
"If you surrender to me now, I will give you your precious Jedi, General Syndulla."
"Why should I trust you?" Hera retorted.
"Because, General," Thrawn sounded amused. "If you do not surrender, my men will kill you, and your Jedi."
At his words the stormtroopers raised their blasters, priming them to fire. Hera took a deep breath, and lowered her weapon. She stood tall and defiant, a rebel until the end.
"I guess you'll just have to kill me, then."
"Such a pity. Very well then, Captain, when you are ready, terminate the rebel and the Jedi in the tank. Farewell, General Syndulla. You were a most worthy opponent."
The intercom crackled as Thrawn's voice departed.
"You heard him!" the stormtrooper captain growled at his men. "Take aim! On my mark...Three!"
Hera closed her eyes, accepting this was how she met her end. She would remain strong, and show these men that she was proud of her service to the rebellion.
"Two!"
Hera though about her crew that she would never get to say goodbye to. Sabine was probably still checking maps, trying to find her a safe way to the command center. She thought about Kanan, and all of the good times they had had since they first met on Gorse. She wondered if that really was him in the tank behind her, but if it was, it hardly mattered now. They were both going to die.
"One!"
I'm sorry, Kanan...
"FIRE!"
But before a single trooper could fire, the bacta tank behind Hera exploded.
Hera was flung to the ground as the occupant of the tank launched himself forward, attacking the stormtroopers. Hera knew that body, all muscle and sinew, though it was covered with scars. She knew those punches, and the confident way the man threw them. She knew the way he could sense an attack before it was coming, and she recognized when he was about to use the Force to slam an opponent against the wall. But she didn't know for sure it was him until all of the foes lay unconscious at his feet, and he looked her in the eyes.
There was only one man in the entire galaxy with eyes that beautiful.
"Kanan," she breathed.
"Hera..." he responded in amazement. "I can see you..."
Hera got to her feet shakily. Kanan, the only person she would ever love, the man she thought she had lost forever, was standing across the room from her. And his eyes... No longer blind, Kanan's eyes were restored to their beautiful aqua-green blue, though the lightsaber scar still remained. His whole body was covered in scars and scabs, presumably from the explosion. The explosion where he had saved her.
Despite the longing of every fiber in her being, Hera restrained herself from running to him. It could still be an imperial trick, and Hera didn't know if she could take that kind of heartbreak again.
"Tell me something only the real Kanan Jarrus would know," Hera demanded.
Kanan thought for a moment before replying.
"You have a scar on the small of your back from falling debris on board the Forager."
Hera's hand flew to her back, to the spot he had mentioned. Their very first adventure... and when he had revealed himself to be a Jedi by saving her from a falling catwalk.
Kanan...
At this Hera could contain herself no longer. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He held her tight as she buried her face in him.
"I thought you were dead!" she sobbed into his bare chest.
"Shh, I'm right here," he comforted. "I'm not going anywhere."
It was Kanan. Kanan was alive. Hera could drown herself in his presence. Kanan, whom she had only told she loved once...
Hera looked up into Kanan's eyes. Kanan's beautiful, beautiful eyes.
"I love you," she whispered.
Kanan smiled. "You told me that already, remember?"
Hera shook her head. "Kanan, I should have told you so long ago. There are so many times I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. I was scared, so scared... I didn't grow up with a whole lot of love, so with you I just..."
She was interrupted by Kanan leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was gentle at first, but grew more passionate with the memory of all the kisses that never were. Hera kissed him back just as fiercely. She could taste the salt from her tears mingling with the bacta that was still on his skin.
Suddenly, Kanan pulled away, stumbling backwards into a table and crumpling to the floor. His hand flew to his abdomen, and he grimaced in pain. Hera ran to him, kneeling by his side.
"Wha-" she exclaimed, scanning him for injuries. Gently, she pried his hand away from his side. She gasped, seeing the blood oozing from his side.
He gave her a weak smile, though it looked like it pained him. "I guess I wasn't... done healing yet..." He coughed, straining to get the words out.
"Shh, don't talk," Hera ordered. "One of your scabs re-opened, that's all. Stay there and let me find some bandages." She stood up and began rummaging in the cabinets, searching for anything that could stop the bleeding.
"Trooper LN- 1587, report!"
Both Kanan and Hera glanced at the fallen trooper's comm link. Hera frantically gestured at Kanan, motioning for him to impersonate the trooper. Kanan grabbed the comm link.
"Everything is fine, Commander," he said in a strained voice.
"Trooper, are you injured? We'll send a squad right away!"
"You don't need to..." Kanan's attempt to use the Force to influence the commander was interrupted by a coughing fit.
"We're on our way!"
Kanan swore as the commander signed off.
"Hera..." Kana tried to say as Hera returned with bandages and antiseptic.
"Kanan Jarrus, don't you suggest for one second that I leave you here and save myself," Hera exclaimed fiercely as she busied herself with his side. "I am not losing you again."
"Yeah about that..." Kanan grimaced as she applied the antiseptic to his wound. "How exactly was I lost the first time?"
"You don't remember?"
"No, the last thing I remember was the kids showing up with our ride... then nothing."
She refused to meet his gaze. "It was Pryce." she murmured. "We were on top of the fuel pod, as you know, then she... she order an AT-AT to fire."
"She blew up her own fuel?"
"I guess she thought it was worth it to eliminate the Jedi. Anyway, you... you held back the blast. I tried to run to you, but... you pushed me back. Then you pushed the whole ship away, and..." she faltered, her hands shaking as she bandaged him. "You sacrificed yourself to save us."
"Man. I sound pretty heroic."
Hera would have punched him if he wasn't already wounded. As it was, she laughed, appreciating his attempt to lift her spirits. She finished bandaging his chest and helped him to his feet.
"Lean on me," she whispered, slipping a supportive arm around his side. Hera handed him a blaster she had pilfered from a fallen stormtrooper. "You can shoot."
Hera grabbed the comm link she had left on the table.
"Sabine? I'm ready for that exit now," Hera said. She looked up at Kanan right as he looked down at her. Hera smiled, still not quite believing he was really there. She reached for her comm link again.
"And I'm bringing a friend."