Hera was flying Sabine's TIE fighter with her and Zeb crowded behind the pilot's seat. There were at least three other fighters on them, but suddenly the fire stopped and an oddly-shaped TIE came into view beside them.

"We got your back," Ezra's voice said through the comm.

"Thanks, but without Chopper's transport, we're going nowhere fast," Sabine explained, briefly catching them up.

Hera didn't appreciate the jab at her droid, but something on the radar caught her eye before she could defend Chopper. "We've got TIE's incoming."

"How many?"

"Too many!"

Sure enough, a whole flock of TIE fighters was racing towards them, chasing them away from the Star Destroyers and Mustafar. Looking around, Zeb stated the obvious: "We're in a bit of a tight spot."

Sabine glared at the Lasat. "Yeah? well, these things weren't built for three."

"I meant out there! Not in here!"

"Trying to concentrate!" Hera reminded them, but it hardly made a difference. The bickering didn't affect the situation outside.

From the Inquisitorial TIE, Ezra had already accepted his fate. "I just want to say it was really nice getting to know all of you."

Kanan considered retorting, but out of nowhere, an Imperial transport ship jumped out of hyperspace. Their transport.

"Chopper! You came back," Zeb smiled, grinning as the droid grunted through the comlink.

But he didn't come alone. Before long, a whole fleet of ships followed behind him, including the Ghost! Hera's mind went into overdrive. The Rebellion came for them! She didn't know how or why, but she was sure Fulcrum had something to do with it. She owed him big time.

"Who...who is that?" Ezra asked as the other ships flew toward their pursuers.

"I don't know, but I think they're on our side," Kanan guessed, merging his TIE into the flow of Rebel traffic. Around them, the newcomers sprung into action. Their guns took out some of the TIEs and protected the Spectres as they diverged away from the Star Destroyers.

Hera started calling out instructions. "Kanan, Ezra, dock with Chopper's transport so we can make the jump to hyperspace."

Kanan obliged, extremely ready to be done with this whole mess. Like Hera, he flew under the transport and lined up the top of the tie with one of the hatches on the transport. As soon as they locked on, the transport jumped again, carrying the whole crew to safety.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Kanan opened the hatch and climbed up into the transport ship with Ezra. He turned to see Hera already out of her TIE and looking at him.

Smiling, he crawled out of the hatch to thank her. "I owe you all a great debt of gratitude," he said, resting both hands on Hera's shoulders before he teased her. "Even if what you did was rash and reckless."

She just shook her head and covered one of his hands with hers. "You're welcome, dear." She pulled him in tight for a hug, finally resting now that Kanan was safe again. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and she wondered how close she had gotten to losing him for good.

Of course, Chopper had to ruin the moment. He started complaining from behind Ezra, earning a look from Hera and Kanan. They were smiling though. Not even the grumpy astromech could spoil it completely.

Ezra could, though. He realized that while the Ghost was now docked with the transport as well, it hadn't been for the rescue. "If Chopper was in this transport ship, then who was flying the Ghost?"

To be honest, not even Hera knew. She exchanged glances with Kanan before they followed Chopper away from the hatches.

When Chopper led them through the halls of the transport, they were accompanied by guards who were waiting for them. Chopper turned around and a hologram of the same woman that owned the two mystery droids from a few months ago floated above the floor. "Hello, my friends. It's a pleasure to see you're still alive."

"I don't understand," Kanan said. "I've met you, once, I don't even know your name."

"Her name is Senator Padmé Amidala," Hera informed him.

Of course, Hera knows, Kanan thought. Crossing his arms, he went on. "And the crews of the blockade runners?"

"Members of other rebel cells," Padmé explained, and Hera moved to stand next to her projection.

Sabine smiled. "There are other cells," she affirmed, thinking back to the time she had almost met Fulcrum. Surely he was one of them, and this woman had to be too. How many more were there?

"We're a cell?" Ezra asked, then leaned back to Zeb. "Wait, did you know we were a cell?"

"Um...no."

"We weren't supposed to be. That way, if captured, we couldn't reveal intel to the Empire. That was the protocol."

A strong, deep voice came from behind Hera, and the Senator's image blinked and disappeared as he spoke, a slight grin splitting her face as she disappeared. "It's a little late for protocols. Thanks to you, we've all but thrown that out the window," a man said as he descended the ladder, his boots reaching the floor. Hera's crew walked up behind her to meet this stranger, but Kanan's eyes widened when he saw exactly who he was. This was no stranger.

"Fulcrum," Hera greeted the rebel, and as he turned, he looked down on them (he was fairly tall), and addressed them.

"You don't need to call me that now," he told them. "My name is Anakin Skywalker."

"Master Skywalker?" Kanan said, not quite realizing, or believing what was happening. Ezra peered at his belt, and sure enough, a lightsaber was hanging from his side too.

Anakin gave Kanan a small smile. "It's good to see you again, Padawan Dume," he greeted him. "Although I understand you go by Kanan Jarrus these days."

Kanan nodded, a little bit intimidated by the legendary presence before him. "I thought you were dead. I thought for sure, the Empire would have come after you."

"They did," Anakin assured him, "and they still are, but I'm doing my best to stay out of their reach, a lot like you and your crew."

Kanan smiled back, extremely glad, and relieved to be with another Jedi again. Hopefully, he would have more of a plan than he did. "This is Anakin Skywalker," he told his crew. "He was a Jedi Knight before Order 66, and one of the best generals in the Republic Army during the Clone War. This is Hera," he introduced, "who you already know, and this is Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra. You already met Chopper."

He nodded at each of them, but his eyes came to rest on the apprentice. "You were one of the reasons I wanted to meet your unit. We heard your message. You gave a lot of people hope in their darkest times, and we didn't want that hope to die."

Ezra, who didn't fully grasp the weight of the moment, but was still intimidated by the tall figure, blushed slightly. "What happens now, though?"

"That remains to be seen," Anakin answered. "Something new is beginning. It's just a matter of finding out exactly what kind of beginning we've gotten ourselves into. Before that, though, I'm assuming you want your ship back," he grinned, stepping out of the way. "Welcome home."

"My bunk does sound nice," Zeb noted, stretching. "After all the chaos we've been through, anyway."

"Don't delay on my account," the Jedi Knight insisted, watching him and most of the others retire to their ship. When Hera passed him, he added, "I apologize for flying the Ghost without permission, but we were a bit pressed for time. Not a scratch on her, though, I promise."

"That's a relief," Hera breathed out, smiling after the others. She thought for a moment before what he said registered. "I didn't know you were a pilot."

Anakin shrugged. "I don't fly as much as I used to. You can't exactly do all of this without some experience, though."

It was true, nearly every rebel had found themself at the controls of a starship at least once. Hera crossed her arms. "We'll have to compete sometime. I could use a challenge."

Against all of his instincts, Anakin spared her from multiple witty responses that popped into his head. Instead, he politely responded, "I might just take you up on that," and let the matter be. It would be much more fun to surprise her during the competition and let her believe he was an amateur for now.

Hera bought the act and saluted before walking off. "Fulcrum."

"Captain," he saluted back, and he watched her disappear behind the doors. Surely, she would spend the rest of the night inspecting to make sure Anakin wasn't hiding a dent that he had caused. Which he hadn't but he knew it didn't matter to a pilot like Hera.

He was also well aware that Kanan was still standing behind him. When the others had gone off to bed, he hadn't moved a muscle.

Skywalker had changed a little bit, but not enough that the ex-Padawan didn't recognize him. His hair was a lot longer now and the strands around his crown were pulled back into a tail. He was wearing armor instead of robes, and although it retained the darker shades he had worn during the Clone War and there were more colors now. That didn't change that he was still easily six feet tall and the scar over his eye was still visible, if not much more faded than it had been fifteen years ago.

Anakin glanced over his shoulder before turning to face him. "You have questions," he assumed, folding his hands behind his back.

"Hundreds," Kanan told him, "but I know now's not the time."

"It could be," he suggested, motioning towards a hallway behind them. "Fifteen years is a long time to wait. I won't make you wait any longer if you don't want to."

Stunned, Kanan didn't react right away. Anakin could imagine why, it wasn't often explanations were offered so quickly. Transparency wasn't necessarily a familiar ideal in Kanan's life, but Anakin was determined to act otherwise. He knew firsthand how frustrating it was to be left in the dark. Just because they were Jedi didn't mean they had to act as the Jedi Order used to.

With one last glance at the door, the others had gone behind, Kanan realized he did want to talk now. He wanted to spend time with another Jedi, one who was much more confident than him. He nodded, and Anakin invited him down the hall. The two Jedi began to walk together, and slowly the past came into the light.

~

Back on Lothal, Agent Kallus watched as the shuttle that had just landed extended its ramp to reveal none other than Grand Moff Tarkin. As he walked down with his hands behind his back, Kallus gave his report. "We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal. There are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire...as weak. Vulnerable."

Tarkin gave him a look but kept facing forward. "Not to worry, Agent Kallus," he assured him. "The Emperor has sent an alternative solution."

Alternative solution? Kallus wondered, but he only watched as Tarkin proceeded to stand at attention. He would have asked more, but he caught sight of another guest behind the Grand Moff. It didn't look like another officer, but it certainly unsettled Kallus.

What they did look like was royalty. Kallus began to wonder if the Emperor himself had come, but that wasn't the case. The Emperor wasn't female or an alien, as far as he knew. This person was a Mirialan unless Kallus was mistaken. She donned all black clothing, with a bit of armor covering the more vital areas. She wore a formal skirt and a sweeping cape to top it all off. Not to mention a black headdress to cover the top of her head, as per Mirialan custom.

Kallus didn't see how a Mirialan princess was going to help them, because that was all he thought this woman was. Still, he got an uneasy feeling as she followed Tarkin down the ramp, and they walked towards the hangar doors. He was considering asking the woman who she was, or perhaps introducing himself, but his eye caught the glint from metal on her hip, and he looked again as he followed her away from the shuttle.

He was glad he saw it, too. It would have been embarrassing if he had asked about it. The metal had been a lightsaber and a curved one at that. There were two, one on each side of her belt. This wasn't some foreign princess but the right hand of Emperor Dooku himself. Kallus had never met her before, but he knew her by name and reputation:

Darth Jadis

Author's Note: I'm considering making a discord for the Behind the Scenes of this book and the ones previous to it. I'm not sure I'm going to follow through with it yet, but if I did, do any of you have thoughts?