Dedicated to SnipsT_42

     After successfully rescuing the Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka, the Spectres met with Commander Kyra Kryze-Kenobi and Captain Rex.

     "So, so, so...how much do you insist on paying me for this intel?" Hondo asked.

     Captain Hera Syndulla placed her hands on her hips, "Being rescued from that Imperial prison wasn't payment enough? What do you want?"

     "Ah, what good is a pirate without a ship?" Hondo answered with a question of his own. "You know, the Ghost is a very nice ship. I could probably—"

     "Forget it," the Spectres replied in unison.

     "I'm kidding, of course," Hondo assured them with a chuckle. "But I do need a ship. Nothing too fancy. Just something with a roomy cargo hold, hyperdrive, shields, weapons. I am a wanted man, after all. Very popular."

     "If your information is as good as you claim, then we have a deal," Kyra said.

     "I give to you the planet Yarma," the pirate declared with flourish as he pulled up a holomap. "And hidden in its cloudy heavens, Reklam Station, a secret Imperial salvage yard where thousands of Republic starfighters are being dismantled for scrap. My former friend, Terba, worked on the line there before he was arrested for trying to escape."

     "Y-wings?" Hera asked skeptically. "Kinda old. Can they fly?"

     "Those bombers may be old, but they were solid in combat operations," Rex stated. "If we could steal a squadron's worth..."

     "They would be key to building a strike fleet capable of our next objective, the destruction of the Empire's factory on Lothal," Kyra finished.

     "Then what are we waiting for?" Ezra Bridger asked. "Let's go get 'em."

     The padawan had grown in the last year – both physically and emotionally – but he still tended to be reckless, which is why Kyra told him they needed to confirm Hondo's intel and search the factory for defense systems first.

     "I trusted you with the last mission, Ezra, and your success has not gone unnoticed," Kyra said, deciding to trust the boy with an assignment of his own and see if he could handle the responsibility. "You will lead this mission as Lieutenant Commander."

     Hera placed a hand on Bridger's shoulder, "Congratulations, Ezra. Kanan would be proud."

     "Yeah? Well, he has a funny way of showing it considering he's never around," Ezra retorted as he stormed off.

     Hera frowned and locked eyes with Kyra, who nodded and went in search of Kanan Jarrus. She found the Jedi Knight meditating in the same spot she always found him, on the outskirts of Chopper Base.

     "I was hoping to see you at the briefing today," Kyra admitted as she sat beside Kanan, who now wore a mask to conceal his damaged eyes.

     "I hear Ezra's doing well," Kanan replied.

     "He has been stepping up, but..." Krya agreed, taking a deep breath when she faltered. "You know, he blames himself for what happened to you and Ahsoka."

     When Kanan told Kyra that he did not blame Bridger for his injuries, Kyra said, "I wish you would tell him that. After the Clone Wars ended, my father and I were separated for ten years, and it drove a wedge between us. I don't want the same thing to happen to you and Ezra."

     Before Kanan could reply, Kyra got to her feet and headed back to the heart of the base. Kyra watched as the Phantom flew away from Atollon, carrying Ezra, Sabine Wren – whose hair was now purple and white – Rex, Garazeb Orrelios, and Hondo to Reklam Station. That evening, when Ezra forgot to check in and give a status report on his mission, Kyra decided to contact the padawan.

     "Phantom to Spectre-Six, you missed check-in. Where are you?" she asked as Hera joined her.

     "Still in the Yarma System, Commander," Ezra answered, though he sounded distracted. "Yeah, getting some great recon. So busy. No time to talk. Bridger out."

     Kyra sighed as she turned to Hera, who said, "It sounds like Ezra's recon mission has turned into a recovery operation."

     Kyra suggested mobilizing the fleet, and both women headed to the Ghost, each surprised to find Kanan already sitting in the co-pilot's seat.

     Hera smiled as she said, "It's good to have you back."

     As the rebel fleet emerged from hyperspace, they found a dogfight ensuing between Imperial TIE fighters and the stolen Y-wings.

     As Kyra climbed into the gunner's seat beneath the cockpit, she said, "Ghost to bombers. Get your ships to the carrier. We'll cover you."

     "Copy, Ghost. We are glad to see you," Sabine replied as she flew her Y-wing into Phoenix Nest – a Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier – along with the other Spectres. "Ghost, we lost sight of the Phantom. Do you have eyes on it? Spectre-Six should be up here by now."

     "Ezra's not with you?" Kanan asked, and Sabine told him that Bridger was still on the station, which was currently falling out of the sky.

     Kyra traded places with Kanan and opened the docking hatch as he went to help his padawan, who was hanging onto Reklam Station for dear life. Hera held the Ghost in place, keeping the light freighter as close to the station as she could without spiraling out of control. After several nerve-racking moments, Kanan Jarrus informed the two rebel leaders that he had successfully pulled Ezra inside. When Ezra tried to defend his actions, Kyra cut him off and ordered the Phoenix Squadron to retreat once everyone was accounted for. Once they had returned to Chopper Base, Kyra marched off the Ghost, followed by an apologetic Ezra.

     "I'm sorry, okay? I messed up," he admitted, stopping in his tracks when Kyra finally turned to face him.

     "As a leader, you have a responsibility to the Phoenix Squadron," she said. "You nearly got your team and yourself killed. And—"

     "I know. Okay? The Phantom is gone," Ezra admitted, much to Kyra's dismay. "But we're back in one piece and we've got five new—Uh, or old bombers."

     "You disobeyed orders," Kyra stated as the other Spectres gathered around them. "I have no choice but to suspend your command."

     "You suspend him, you should suspend all of us," Garazeb Orrelios declared. "We went along with him."

     Kyra turned to the Lasat and replied, "Your loyalty is admirable, Zeb, but this was Ezra's mission, not yours."

     "At least we got the Y-wings," Sabine pitched in.

     "They're not for us. We have orders to deliver these bombers to General Dodonna's unit," Kyra explained. "They're part of a wider rebellion we're working to build. It's growing every day."

     "Well, I guess if we're going to defeat the Empire, we'll need all the help we can get," Sabine said.

                                                                   ...

     After a supply run to feed starving civilians on Teralov failed, the Phoenix Squadron gathered around the command center.

     "We lost the entire escort of A-wings. Six pilots and the transport's entire crew," Hera Syndulla informed the others quietly.

     "At this rate, there's not gonna be anyone left to fly for the Rebellion," Ezra said.

     "Fortunately, I've been working on a solution with the help of Fulcrum," Kyra replied, and when Ezra mentioned Ahsoka Tano's name hopefully, Kryze shook her head. "No. Fulcrum is a code name we give to our secret informants. It was Ahsoka's idea. There are other Fulcrum agents, but she was the first."

     Kyra activated the holoprojector, and the symbol of Fulcrum – which matched the unique markings on Ahsoka Tano's face and now adorned Kenobi's left shoulder pauldron – appeared as a man's distorted voice said, "I have information that may help you replace your stable of pilots. There are Imperial cadets at the Skystrike Academy who wish to defect to the rebels. I do not know their names but they will require some assistance to escape. I suggest you move quickly, before the Empire discovers their intentions. Fulcrum out."

     "This is enough to act on," Kyra decided before turning to Wren. "The mission is yours, Sabine. We've arranged to insert you into a squad of new cadets headed for Skystrike. Chopper will prepare fake credentials."

     "Wait, wait. Shouldn't I be the one to go in?" Ezra asked. "I've done this before, remember?"

     "Yeah, and I really was an Imperial cadet once. For years, remember?" Sabine countered.

     "The Empire knows you too well, Ezra. You'll be identified. Sabine is the least recognizable of all of us," Kyra added before addressing Wren once more. "Chopper, Ezra, and I will shadow you. We'll stay in communication while you're inside and be ready to help you escape. Zeb, Kanan, Hera, I need you to supervise the escort for the new relief mission to Teralov."

                                                                      ...

     As Sabine infiltrated the Skystrike Academy, Ezra and Kyra waited in a nearby system aboard a CR90 corvette. As the day ended without word from Sabine, Ezra began to nervously pace back and forth on the bridge of the ship.

     Kyra, who sat in the captain's chair, turned to Bridger and said, "Ezra, you need to calm down."

     "How can I be calm?" Ezra asked. "Sabine's stuck over there and there's nothing I can do."

     "That's right. There's nothing you can do," Kyra replied. "So nothing you're doing right now is going to help. Sit down."

     Ezra reluctantly did so as Kyra got up and crouched in front of him, "Ezra, part of a Jedi's wisdom comes from learning to accept when a situation is out of our control. Do you trust her?"

     "Of course, I trust her," Ezra immediately stated.

     "Good. Then trust she'll succeed," Kyra instructed, and a few moments later, her patience was rewarded.

     "Phantom, this is Spectre-Five," Sabine said. "If you're receiving this, lock onto my signal."

     "Ten-Four, Spectre-Five. We're on our way," Kyra replied as she ordered the pilots to head for the Skystrike Academy.

     They emerged from hyperspace in the middle of a simulated dogfight between the Imperial cadets. Four of the TIE fighters immediately broke away from the group and raced towards the corvette but were unable to dock with the vessel because the wings of their starfighters detached from the cockpit. One of the rogue TIE fighters was shot down, and as the other cadets targeted the corvette, Sabine told Kyra and Ezra to retreat. Kyra ignored Sabine's instructions and tried to recover the three remaining cockpits, but the Imperials had inflicted too much damage. Despite Ezra Bridger's objections, Kyra sighed and ordered Chopper to make the jump to lightspeed, leaving the stranded rebels behind.

     Once they had repaired what damage they could, the rebels went back for Sabine and the defectors. Kyra fired several rounds at the TIE fighter that was pursuing the bomber Sabine had stolen and ordered Wren to get to the docking port. Once the TIE bomber had coupled with the corvette, they raced through the upper atmosphere and made the jump to lightspeed, returning to the rebel base on Atollon with three new recruits.

     Once they had disembarked, Sabine said, "Commander Kenobi, allow me to present Lieutenants Wedge Antilles and Derek 'Hobbie' Klivian, formerly of the Galactic Empire."

     As Kyra shook their hands, Wedge said, "Commander, we heard you're looking for some good pilots."

     Kyra nodded, "Indeed, we are. Welcome to the Rebellion."

     She saluted the three rebels, and they returned her gesture before heading off to meet the others. When Sabine stayed behind, Kyra turned to the young Mandalorian and asked if she had anything else to report.

     Sabine nodded, "We wouldn't have been able to get out a second time if not for one Agent Kallus. He said you were to thank for his assistance in our escape. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

     Kyra smirked, and after a moment, she asked, "Remember that frozen moon you found me on after our mission to Geonosis went south? Well, I wasn't alone. Kallus was in the escape pod with me. I saved his life, and he saved mine. Neither of us would've made it off that moon if we hadn't set our differences aside and helped each other."

     "So, because you saved his life, he was able to save ours," Sabine Wren said, putting the pieces together. "You think he's had a change of heart?"

     Kyra Kryze-Kenobi shrugged, "Who knows? The Force works in mysterious ways."