Star Wars Rebels fic: On the Edge of the Devil's Backbone (Chapter 11: Crucible)

[bedlamsbard]

On the Edge of the Devil's Backbone (127411 words) by bedlamsbard
Chapters: 11/?
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.

*

“I just got off the comm with Naboo, and they said – what are you wearing?”

“Really?” Kanan said. “That’s what the ISB said? I thought we’d moved past this five years ago.”

“Not them, love,” Hera said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the doorframe to admire the view. For all that Kanan didn’t wear his blacks if he could help it, it was always a shock to see him in civilian clothes – gray trousers, tight green jumper, and the green-painted pauldron he had been strapping on when she came into his cabin. “Are you going out?”

“Yeah.” He leaned down to pick up his thigh holster and slide it onto his belt, putting a foot up on his meditation cushion to do up the straps. “There’s something I need to do.”

“Is now really the time, dear?”

“We’re either about to be really busy or off this planet, so yeah, I think now’s about the only time.”

Hera advanced further into the room, letting the door slide shut behind her. Kanan straightened up, his gaze going serious as she said, “This is about the boy, isn’t it?”