Star Wars Rebels fic: "The Starry Crown" (Chapter 1: Flares)

[bedlamsbard]

The Starry Crown (8825 words) by bedlamsbard
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Characters: Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, C1-10P | Chopper, Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex, Alexsandr Kallus, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

Months after Ezra Bridger vanished into the depths of the mysterious Jedi temple on Lothal, he reappears -- with Kanan Jarrus in tow. All Hera Syndulla and the other surviving members of the Ghost crew want is to retrieve their missing teammates, but a Jedi who can raise the dead is a prize too great for the Empire to pass up. Palpatine will do anything to get Ezra and the secrets he carries -- secrets that may allow the Emperor to control reality itself.

*

Wheels crunched across the rocky soil as Chopper came up behind her, along with footsteps that Hera identified as Sabine and Zeb. Hera sighed, trying to drag her mind back to the present, to a plan, to something that might do more than harry the Empire for a few lost credits or hours.

“Hera?” Sabine said, her voice uneasy.

Hera braced her shoulders and turned around, trying to make herself smile. The expression, half-formed, froze on her face at the sight of Sabine’s nervous look. She was holding a datapad to her chest; Zeb had one hand on her shoulder, gripping her hard enough that his claws were scoring lines through the faded paint on her armor.

“What is it?” Hera asked.

“I –” Sabine licked her lips, glanced at Chopper, and then looked at Hera again. “Do you remember the Imperial spy satellite I sliced into a while back? So we could keep an eye on the – on the temple up near the pole?”

Hera nodded. Their attempt to sabotage the dig site hadn’t done more than slow the Empire down for a few days; after that, the archaeological work on the site had only intensified, as had the guard on it. They hadn’t been able to get near it again.

Sabine swallowed, started to hold out the datapad, and then seemed to change her mind. “Chop?” she said.

Chopper warbled softly, sounding as confused and concerned as Hera had ever heard him, then activated his holoprojector. The image was grainy, but it was clearly the Jedi temple, or rather what was left of it; the Imperials had sliced off the top and part of the sides, leaving the interior exposed in a way that made Hera feel slightly uneasy, like she was seeing something that no one other than a Jedi was ever meant to see. The murals of the three figures and the circle of Loth-wolves had remained relatively untouched, which surprised Hera; she had thought that those would be the first parts of the Temple to be removed once the Imperials realized their importance.

“This was about half an hour ago,” Sabine said, her voice tight.

Comments

[cofax7]

Okay! ::settles down to wait::