The Rebel agent known as Fulcrum listened to the recording on repeat, allowing himself to smile at the determination in young Ezra Bridger's voice. Thousands of millions of people had heard him speak across the Outer Rim, thanks to a daring mission the Ghost crew had taken on Lothal. He closed his eyes as the words filled his ship one more time:

"We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you. I'm not that old, but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this. See what the Empire has done to your lives, your families, and your freedom? It's only gonna get worse...unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught me. That's what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together. Because that's when we're strongest—as one."

It was an inspiring call to action, to be sure, but Fulcrum knew that the Spectres was in a tight spot at the moment. Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi by the sounds of the rumors, had been kidnapped and was being held captive at the moment, if his sources were correct. This didn't sit well with Fulcrum for a couple of reasons.

First of all, if the Spectres lost their resolve, their message wouldn't be acted upon. Their hope would die, and Fulcrum couldn't let that happen. Secondly, he was interested in Jarrus and wanted to meet him if possible. Fulcrum had known lots of Jedi from the Republic era back during the Clone War and he had met who Kanan Jarrus was. He wanted to speak with him, but he couldn't do that if he was dead.

So he had taken precautions. Fulcrum had anticipated that the crew would go after Jarrus and made the preparations necessary to reinforce them if requested. Doing what Rebel command ordered was one thing, but how he did it, that was another. They had told him to tell Captain Syndulla not to go after Jarrus. He had done that, but with some very specific wording, he had also given them a loophole. There was a time to play it safe and lay low, but this wasn't it.

His droid beeped from beside him and a call came through, from the Ghost, no less. Fulcrum activated his cloaking filters and accepted the call. An old astromech droid, coated in orange and white paint, appeared above his own blue one. "This is Fulcrum, who is this?" he asked. He knew full well who the droid belonged to, but it was a necessary precaution.

The orange astromech began explaining his situation and transmitted coordinates. As he did, light years away, the Ghost crew began their invasion of the ship their friend was being held prisoner in, and the Grand Inquisitor began preparing for what would be his last fight.

The Rebellion was growing. The Jedi were beginning to rise.