Dedicated to eugenek28

     Over the next four years, the Galactic Empire grew stronger, its iron fist suffocating lush worlds and turning them into barren wastelands. But as the Empire grew, so did the Rebellion. Sparks lit fires across the galaxy, and despite the Empire's efforts to douse every last flame, they were unable to do so. Uprisings broke out on Aldhani, the Imperial Prison Complex on Narkina Five, and Ferrix. Through Clone Force 99 – who had been deemed the Bad Batch for their genetic enhancements, as well as their reluctance to follow orders – Captain Rex had introduced Jedi Knight Kyra Kryze-Kenobi to Captain Hera Syndulla, a Twi'lek with green skin who had escaped her homeworld of Ryloth when it was enslaved by the Empire.

     From then on, Kyra worked frequently with Hera and the rebel cell she had formed, which consisted of a former padawan who went into hiding after Order 66 and was a few years older than herself. After sensing his abilities, Kyra had asked after his real identity because she suspected that Kanan Jarrus was a pseudonym. He had reluctantly revealed that his real name was Caleb Dume, only telling her because they were one of the few younglings to escape the Jedi Purge, and he knew she would have figured it out sooner or later. Out of respect, she and Kanan addressed each other by their false identities when they worked together.

     Other members of the team consisted of a Force-sensitive boy named Ezra Bridger, as well as a tall, muscular Lasat with purple skin named Garazeb 'Zeb' Orrelios. A young Mandalorian named Sabine Wren and a cantankerous astromech with the designation of C1-10P, also known as Chopper, completed the group known as the Spectres. The crew lived and worked aboard Hera's heavily modified VCX-100 light freighter which, coincidentally, featured a docking slot that Kyra's own ship – the Phantom – could slip into. The gun turret on the back of the Phantom could act as another weapons system, providing extra firepower for Hera's light freighter, which she had named the Ghost for its ability to remain undetected by Imperial sensors.

     Kyra did not believe in coincidence; years of being led to her fate by the Force had disproved such things as luck and chance. After meeting Hera, Kyra realized that Senator Bail Organa had intentionally given her the Phantom, knowing Rex could easily bridge the gap between her and Syndulla. Because there were already six crew members aboard the Ghost, Hera – who was the same age as Kyra – allowed Kryze to stay in her room when Kenobi was working with the Spectres for an extended period of time. Aside from the four personal quarters that the Ghost offered, the light freighter also featured a gunner station beneath the cockpit, a dorsal gun turret that could rotate three hundred and sixty degrees, and eight cargo holds that were located throughout the ship and varied in size.

     Like most Corellian light freighters, the Ghost also came equipped with both port and starboard docking rings. Hera had added energy dampeners and static jammers to the engines, allowing the light freighter to slip past Imperial scanners. Occasionally, to evade the Empire herself, Kyra was forced to use pseudonyms during undercover missions. During Kyra's time in the Rebellion, Phantom became more of a description than a call sign. Thanks to her armor, only a handful of people knew what she looked like – most could only guess – and even fewer knew her real name. After leaving Alderaan, she had visited an armorer on Concordia and embraced her Mandalorian heritage – as well as the anonymity her armor offered – even though she had been cast out by Bo-Katan Kryze.

     Now, her helmet, antenna, cuirass, vambraces, and shoulder pads and pauldrons were black to represent justice, her right shoulder pauldron bearing the symbol of Clan Kryze in white. Her knee and shin guards, as well as her rangefinder were yellow for remembrance, while her boot covers were blue for reliability. Her helmet was emblazoned with the Alliance Starbird, the symbol of the Rebellion. She had borrowed a paint gun from Sabine, who also liked to customize her armor, as well as her hair. As of now, her normally dark locks were dyed orange and dark purple. Underneath her armor, Kyra wore a black ensemble consisting of a short-sleeved shirt, pants, fingerless gloves, and knee-high boots.

     Over the years, Kyra had stopped cutting her hair – though she continued to dye it – and her brown locks now fell halfway down her back. When she needed to put her helmet on, or was wearing her Alderaanian uniform, she braided her hair before coiling it on top of her head in a style Queen Breha Organa had helped her master. Now, Kyra found herself doing just that as she prepared to escort Imperial Minister Maketh Tua to the Capital City of Lothal, a planet featuring rocky mountain ranges and sprawling plains of wavy grass.

                                                                     ...

     Because Kyra was supposedly on Imperial business – she knew better – and because Senator Organa had assigned the mission to her, Kryze wore her Alderaanian uniform with her rank insignia pinned to her cape. Though the Empire suspected she was somehow connected to the Rebellion, they had no evidence to back their claims, which allowed Kyra to conduct Imperial business on Bail's behalf without having to worry about being arrested. Kyra – along with Minister Maketh Tua, C-3PO, R2-D2, and an Aqualish arms trader named Amda Wabo – boarded the commuter shuttle to Garel and immediately spotted the Spectres, who had already boarded the transport.

     Kyra sat on the port side of the ship, across from Tua and Wabo, who also had front row seats. When Wabo tried to converse with Tua, the minister sighed and asked for C-3PO to translate, not understanding a word the Aqualish was saying. As C-3PO – a gold protocol droid – shuffled to the minister's side, Kanan boarded the shuttle, just managing to beat the ramp as it closed. RX-24 – the pilot – asked his passengers to prepare for takeoff as the shuttle left Lothal behind and made the jump to lightspeed, traveling to Garel.

     When Wabo began his conversation with Minister Tua once more, C-3PO translated, "Amda Wabo is most honored you are joining him on Garel, Minister Tua. And, uh, if I might add a personal note—"

     Before C-3PO could finish, Ezra shoved Chopper and yelled, "Will you cut it out! You have plenty of room! Stop crowding me."

     In response, Chopper zapped Ezra with an arc of electricity, causing the boy to fall off his seat.

     "Kid, how 'bout you get that rust bucket under control?" Kanan asked as he got to his feet, quickly backing away from Chopper when the ill-tempered droid threatened to electrocute him.

     Ezra climbed back onto his chair and told Kanan to mind his business, yelping when Chopper zapped him again.

     When Kanan asked RX-24 if there was a rule against droids occupying the passenger area, the pilot sighed and nodded before informing Ezra that his astromech must proceed to the back of the craft. The boy – pretending to be infuriated – stated that if his droid had to stay in the back, so did the minister's droids.

     "Pilot, these two droids are with me," Kyra explained, playing along with the rebels' plan, "and I am on Imperial business."

     "Sorry, ma'am," RX-24 apologized as he turned to face forward once more, "but these are Imperial regulations."

     When C-3PO began to argue, Minister Tua interrupted him, "I can't risk an incident spoiling these negotiations. Go!"

     As C-3PO and R2-D2 moved to the back of the shuttle, Amda picked up where he had left off in his conversation with the Imperial. Sighing frustratedly, Tua apologized to the Aqualish and tried to explain that she did not understand what he was saying.

     With the perfect timing of a practiced veteran, Zeb leaned forward and said, "Hello. Excuse me. I couldn't help noticing your predicament. If it's of any help, my ward here is quite fluent."

     Sabine smiled sweetly, and placed a hand on her chest, "Oh, I would never presume. Though it would be good practice for my level five exams at the Imperial Academy. No, no. But I couldn't."

     Kyra barely suppressed a smile as Sabine batted her eyelashes at the minister, who apparently bought the young woman's sickly-sweet tone of voice.

     Tua arched an eyebrow as she asked, "You're a level five academy student? I was, too, once upon a time. Now, please ask Mr. Wabo where the shipment is being held."

     Sabine did just that, then told Minister Tua the shipment was being held in Bay 17. Kyra spoke fluent Aqualish herself, her status as an ambassador, captain, and rebel requiring her to speak many languages. Therefore, she knew that the shipment was actually being held in Bay 7. Shortly after, the commuter shuttle landed on Garel and the rebels and Imperials disembarked.

     As she walked down the ramp, Tua turned to Sabine and said, "My dear, you did great service to your Empire today. Now focus on those level fives."

     "Oh, I will, Minister. It's been such an honor. Thank you," Sabine replied, and Kyra could tell she was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

     Kyra, the two droids, Tua, and Wabo were accompanied by a squadron of stormtroopers as they made their way to Bay 17. When they reached the cargo bay, Minister Tua placed a hand on her hips and asked where her T-7 ion disruptor rifles were. Kyra knew the particular rifle of which Tua was speaking could short-circuit an entire ship and had been banned by the Galactic Senate. She did not know why they were illegal, but she assumed – and feared – that it was for a reason worse than disabling a vessel. When Wabo frantically pointed to the hangar's designation, C-3PO informed the minister that the cargo was in Bay 7.

     When Tua told C-3PO that Sabine had instructed her to go to Bay 17, the protocol droid replied, "In Aqualish, a translator can easily confuse seven with seventeen, if she is an amateur."

     Minister Tua shook her head in frustration and ordered R2-D2 to take her and the others to Bay 7. As the blue and white astromech did as he was told, he turned around a corner and collided with Chopper, who beeped angrily in Binary.

     Tua's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she muttered, "Wait. This is the Seeone droid that caused our translator to—To Bay Seven, double time!"

     Kyra cursed inwardly as the Imperials sprinted towards Bay 7, catching up with the Spectres as they loaded the stolen rifles into the Ghost. When the stormtroopers ordered the rebels to drop their weapons, Zeb raised his hands in surrender and slowly approached the troopers. Minister Tua ordered the rebels to relinquish the crates so her forces could search them, and Zeb happily obliged. As two of the nine stormtroopers moved towards the crate, Zeb grabbed them from behind and threw them at the other Imperials, leaving only one trooper standing. Going along with the plan, Kyra drew her blaster and charged at Zeb, allowing him to grab her by the waist.

     He took the blaster out of her hands and aimed it at her head, "Try to stop us and she dies!"

     Minister Tua turned bright red as she ordered her men to stand down, flustered by the sudden turn of events.

     "Don't you know who I am?" Kyra asked incredulously. "My father is Senator Bail Organa. I am an Imperial ambassador, a captain in the Alderaanian military, and a Princess of Alderaan."

     When she was acting on Bail's behalf, Kyra continued to use the moniker Krystal Organa, for she was less likely to be trusted by Imperials if she used her actual first name. The Empire was under the pretense that the woman known as Krystal had been orphaned during the Clone Wars and later adopted by the Royal Family of Alderaan. To her declaration, Zeb merely shrugged and backed away from the Imperials, taking Kyra with him as he boarded the Ghost. Ezra and Sabine continued to load the crates onto the light freighter as Kanan and Zeb covered the young rebels. C-3PO and R2-D2 also managed to board the Ghost before it took off, which was not part of the plan, but Kyra was glad they were out of Imperial hands.

     When the Spectres noticed their new friends, the protocol droid introduced himself and R2-D2 to the others.

     "I was translating for Minister Tua when we were attacked by thieves like, uh, you," C-3PO explained haltingly as Zeb scowled at him.

     When Kanan instructed Sabine to place restraining bolts on the two Imperial droids, Kyra vouched on their behalf, stating that her mechanical counterparts were trustworthy. When Kanan began to climb up to the cockpit, Zeb stopped the former Jedi and expressed his reluctance to sell the banned rifles to Cikatro Vizago, a crime lord on Lothal that the rebels occasionally worked for.

     "At least you got them out of Imperial circulation," Kyra replied. "When Sabine was translating, I heard Wabo say that they were shipping those Tee-Sevens as prototypes so the Empire could mass-produce them on Lothal."

     "See, Zeb? The perfect crime," Kanan added. "We steal weapons meant for the Empire and sell them for credits we desperately need to keep this bird flying."

     After telling Bail's droids to behave – with a pointed look at C-3PO – Kyra made her way up to the cockpit and hugged Hera, the pilot then making the jump to lightspeed. As Kyra settled into the co-pilot's seat, Ezra barged into the cockpit and told Hera that Zeb had locked him out of the room they shared.

     Hera raised a placating hand and replied in a calm tone, "I know, but maybe you could cut Zeb a little slack today."

     Ezra scoffed and retorted, "Oh, the way he cuts me slack?"

     Hera sighed and sat back in her seat as she asked, "Do you know what a Tee-Seven disruptor is, what it does to an organic being?"

     The boy shook his head, sitting in the seat behind Kyra as Hera answered her own question, "Well, Zeb knows. Because it's what the Imperials used on his people when they cleared his homeworld. Very few Lasats survived. And none remain on Lasan."

     Kyra closed her eyes as Ezra ran a hand through his hair and said, "I-I guess I could cut him a little slack."

     A small smile appeared on Hera's face, and in order to change the grim subject, Kyra asked, "So, how's the Jedi training with Kanan going?"

     Ezra laughed bitterly, "Jedi training? Never heard of it."

     Hera sighed and promised Ezra that she would talk to Kanan about his training as she brought the Ghost out of hyperspace above Lothal. After touching down in a clearing surrounded by one of the smaller mountain ranges, the Spectres gathered in the main cargo hold, preparing to meet with Vizago and sell the T-7 disruptors.

     When Sabine Wren suggested selling C-3PO and R2-D2 for extra credits, Kyra immediately said, "You can't sell these droids. Artoo and Threepio are working for me, not the Empire. Artoo was helping me make sure the Tee-Sevens never reached the Empire, as was Threepio, even if he didn't realize it. I can assure you that Senator Organa will pay handsomely for their return, as well as mine."

     "Why would the Senator pay for your return if you and the droids weren't actually kidnapped?" Ezra asked, still learning the ways of a rebellion.

     "The Empire doesn't know my kidnapping was planned," Kyra explained. "So, with my father paying for my return, it will look as though you demanded a ransom, supporting the idea that I was, indeed, kidnapped."

     As Ezra nodded, now understanding the situation, Zeb growled, "So, we're not selling the droids but we're selling the Tee-Sevens? We don't even know who Vizago's buyer is."

     "We know it's not the Empire and I already made a deal with Vizago. So let's get these crates off the boat," Kanan replied.

     "What do you need me to do?" Kyra asked, disappointed when Hera instructed her to stay on the Ghost and keep the engines running in case the rebels needed to make a quick exit.

     Kyra sighed and nodded, suddenly realizing that C-3PO was no longer in the cargo hold as the rebels began to unload the stolen crates. The color drained from her face as she sprinted through the ship, searching for the gold protocol droid.

     Kyra heard C-3PO's voice coming from inside the cockpit as he sent a distress call to the Empire, "—were abducted from the spaceport on Garel by criminals. I am sending our coordinates now."

     She ran into the cockpit and pulled C-3PO away from the console as she ended the transmission, but the droid had already shared their location with the Empire.

     "Blast!" Kyra cursed as she quickly climbed down the ladder and into the cargo hold, leaving Chopper in charge of the Ghost.

     She opened her mouth to warn the others, but the roar of an approaching ship interrupted her. As an Imperial freighter carrying two All-Terrain Defense Pod walkers – more simply known as AT-DPs – Cikatro Vizago fled with half of the shipment and did not bother to pay the rebels that he had just left to fend for themselves.

     When Kyra drew her blaster, Hera placed a hand on her arm and stopped her, "Get back on the ship. If you openly help us fight the Empire, any credibility you have as an Imperial ambassador will go down the drain. We need someone on the inside to keep us informed on the Empire's movements, what they're planning."

     When Kyra opened her mouth to argue, Hera Syndulla gave her the same stern look that Kenobi knew kept the other Spectres in line. Kyra reluctantly ran back into the ship and made her way to the cockpit, watching as the rebels prepared to fight the incoming enemy forces. The AT-DPs were dropped from the Imperial freighter, but Kanan quickly shot down the first walker, using one of the Empire's own T-7 disruptors against them. The second AT-DP opened fire before Kanan could disable it and sent Jarrus tumbling across the ground. Zeb helped Kanan to his feet as the rebels shot at the second walker and the Imperial freighter offloaded a squadron of stormtroopers.

     As the troopers were led into battle by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, Kyra checked to make sure that the Ghost was ready for takeoff. The rebels shot at the stormtroopers while Zeb fought Kallus, the opponents both wielding bo-rifles, which – supposedly – only the Honor Guard of Lasan were allowed to carry. Kyra watched as the rebels pushed a crate containing the disruptors towards the remaining AT-DP, before doing the same with another crate, except the second container was rolled towards the squadron of troopers. A moment later, both crates exploded and knocked everyone but Kallus and Zeb – who were beyond the blast radius – off their feet.

     The Imperial brought Zeb to his knees with the electrically charged tip of his bo-rifle, but before he could deliver the fatal blow, Ezra Bridger used the Force to send Kallus flying through the air. The agent tumbled across the dirt and came to an abrupt stop when he hit the base of the nearest mountain and slumped on the ground, unconscious. Kyra lowered the main ramp as Kanan helped Garazeb Orrelios to his feet and the Spectres boarded the Ghost, the rebels leaving Agent Kallus and the Imperials behind on Lothal. Shortly after, the Ghost rendezvoused and docked with Senator Organa's CR90 corvette – the Tantive IV – in an empty region of the Outer Rim.

     Onboard the Tantive IV, when Bail handed Kanan a stack of credits, the latter's eyes widened, "That's very generous, sir."

     "Well, I'm very fond of these droids," Bail replied, chuckling when Kyra arched an eyebrow. "And my daughter, I guess."

     Both Kyra and Kanan smirked as Jarrus said, "Then I'm glad we could return them."

     Bail smiled, "The smallest gesture of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope. Safe travels, my friend."

     Kanan Jarrus shook hands with Senator Bail Organa and Kyra, "Safe travels, Senator. Captain."

     "May the Force be with you, Kanan," Kyra replied, the Imperial ambassadors from Alderaan watching as the former Jedi boarded the Ghost.

     C-3PO, his circuits frayed from the ordeal, shuffled into the nearest room and shut down while R2-D2 and Kyra Kryze-Kenobi reported their findings on the Spectres.