Star Wars Rebels fic: On the Edge of the Devil's Backbone (Chapter 3: Razor's Edge)

[bedlamsbard]

On the Edge of the Devil's Backbone (31531 words) by bedlamsbard
Chapters: 3/?
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Characters: Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, C1-10P | Chopper, Ezra Bridger, Cham Syndulla, Barriss Offee, Kallus | ISB-021, Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence
Summary:

Ten years after she vanished during an Imperial raid on a Twi'lek colony, Cham Syndulla sees his daughter Hera for the first time in a hologram -- now wearing the uniform of an Imperial agent and apparently working closely with a human Inquisitor. All Cham wants to do is to bring his long-missing child home to what remains of her family, but he soon finds that Hera Syndulla is only interested in two things: her duty to the Empire and her loyalty to her crew, a mismatched collection of outcasts brought together by Hera and her pet Inquisitor.

With Cham and the Rebel agent known as Fulcrum in pursuit, a new mission takes Hera and the crew of the Ghost to the planet Lothal, where a chance meeting with a Force-sensitive teenager awakens something long buried in the Inquisitor once known as Kanan Jarrus...and has dire consequences for Hera, their crew, the Empire, and the fledgling Rebel Alliance.

*

“Kanan’s going to be all right,” Zeb said as they made their way out of the cantina into the damp heat of the street. It was still light out, though the sun was starting to dip towards the horizon, and there were plenty of other pedestrians around them. No one looked twice at the Twi’lek and the Lasat. “He’s pretty tough, for a human.”

“I know,” Hera said, feeling her mouth tighten. “Why do you think I’m here instead of in the medbay with him?”

She felt Zeb’s gaze heavy on the back of her neck. “Why didn’t the shooter take a second shot, Hera?” he said after a moment.

“I don’t know. Maybe they thought he was already dead when he hit the ground.” Even saying the words made her hands clench into fists.

It wasn’t the first time a sniper had taken a shot at Kanan. An ISB sniper had done so six years ago, a warning to Hera from her handler of what would happen if Kanan left the Empire’s service. Kanan hadn’t been an Inquisitor then. He hadn’t even known yet that Hera was an Imperial agent.

It hurt to think about how young they had been then.

There had been other occasions since, but somehow this felt like that first time. Only last night the shot had actually struck home; that first time it had just been a warning, close enough to startle Kanan and terrify Hera.

“Zeb, do you ever think about your people?” Hera said in a sudden rush. She didn’t look at him, not wanting to see his reaction to the question.

There was a beat of hesitation before Zeb replied slowly, “Every day.”