Stowaway: A Star Wars Rebels Story

Escape Plan

(Credit to @Miriiart on DeviantArt)

I woke up with some pain in my left shoulder. I knew I would be sore after how fast I helped repair the Ghost last night, but did I pull a muscle? It's definitely possible. But the pain felt on and off. One second it hurt but the next it died down, like something was poking me. Hold on, something is poking me. I slowly turned my body towards the source and I looked up to see Ezra repeatedly poking my shoulder. "Really?" I croaked, and in response, he started laughing. "You gotta get up, Y/N," he said. "I know, I know. We have to get you home," I replied. Then it hit me. They would have flown away, but the cops came back to the ship. And on that ship were the materials we stole. I jumped out of my armchair, did my morning routine in record time, went downstairs, and turned on the news.

Right when I changed the channel, I saw in big red letters: "BREAKING NEWS: LOCAL AUTOBODY SHOP ROBBED LAST NIGHT" and this didn't surprise me, as I was the one who made the call as a diversion to get to the Ghost. But my nonchalant expression quickly turned to a terrified one when I saw something scrolling through the news ticker: Y/N L/N is a potential suspect. This was bad. That phase of the operation was by far the smoothest, so how could they prove it was me? Because I quit two days ago? The logic didn't add up. But if one thing was for certain, I couldn't deal with this here. Think, Y/N, think! How do you get out of the city? "You okay?" Hera asked me. "No, I'm not okay. I'm a potential suspect of robbery and I'm guaranteed to get arrested wherever they find me," I explained. "But I still haven't accomplished my other goal. Wait here." I speedwalked to my dad's office and found a pad of sticky notes. I know what I have to do. Taking two, I wrote a couple messages on each, then bounced upstairs to my bedroom and left one of the notes on my desk. Grabbing my keys, I ran back downstairs, opened my pantry, and tossed energy bars to everyone except Chopper. Looking at the crew's confused faces, I made my announcement. "Eat those. I'll explain everything on the way back to the Ghost."

Driving carefully was of the utmost importance. The police would be actively searching for me, so getting pulled over spelled doom. "So what's the plan?" Kanan asked. "We're going to play it by how many cops are surrounding the Ghost. Best case scenario we walk straight through, worst case we take the tall grass again. Whatever happens, everyone has to get onto the ship and get it ready to fly." A couple minutes later, I glanced over and saw six police cars arranged in a similar pattern to last night's unit. Four on the perimeter, one on each side. "Tall grass it is then," Zeb said, breaking the silence. Six cars wasn't ideal, but the odds were more favorable as the police force was spread thin. They were on high alert and searching the whole city instead of focusing their efforts here. Pulling my truck over, I got out and put the note and my keys on the front window. No turning back now. Chopper made some beeping noises at me, which I still couldn't understand. Moving discretely towards the Ghost, we stopped yet again just before it, staying out of sight. We waited there for the perfect opportunity, but it just didn't come. Getting impatient, I tapped Ezra's shoulder. He looked at me and I pointed to Kanan, who hadn't moved an inch in a bit. "Be patient," Ezra said quietly. After some more waiting, Kanan signaled Hera to open the ramp and for everyone to follow him. I trailed behind the crew, making sure they would get on board first. The ramp opened, catching the attention of the officers closest to it. "All units, there's movement here. Be cautious," I heard one say on his radio. They trained their guns at the ramp, thinking there was somebody inside the ship. I then heard slow footsteps behind us. Crouching down, I saw the officers from the opposite side of the Ghost rotating to the ramp. Kanan sensed what I was thinking, and mouthed the words "More are coming." Turning to Zeb and Sabine, he told them to go back into the tall grass and get ready to pounce on the officers at the ramp. Performing the same stunt was risky because while cops might not anticipate our plan, they won't be as afraid as they were last night. I had to improvise.

Wait. The cops are still looking for me, aren't they? Well then, let's get their attention. "Hey!" I said loudly, turning all the cops' heads towards me. "All units, I have a visual on the WOAH!" An officer shouted before getting tackled by Zeb. Sabine shot several stun rounds into the other cops before running into the ramp. "Hera, get the Ghost ready, we're getting out of here," she said upon seeing the cops guarding the perimeter running towards the ship. On command, the crew went for it, all except Chopper, who retreated to the tall grass. "You're under arrest for aggravated assault on an officer, stand down!" An officer shouted from the distance, running my way. "Come and get me!" I said, disappearing into the grass behind me. The officers ran right past the ramp and into the general area where I was standing. As if it were a played-out joke, I tripped over Chopper, catching everyone's attention. "I see him!" "Moving to engage!" "Ready your tasers!" Multiple officers were shouting orders and they seemed lost in their own confusion. Nobody knew who to listen to, so I took advantage of the chaos and threw Chopper out of the tall grass, giving him a free run to the ramp before I followed suit. Goodbye, Earth. I'll see you when you forget about me. Right as I boarded the Ghost, the ramp closed, and I stayed in the cargo bay. Feeling the ship's pressure rising as it was about to take off, I grabbed a nearby ladder for support. "The gravity is too strong here! Chopper, plug in and divert some power to the engines!" I heard Hera shout above me. The G-Force rose significantly, so I adjusted my grip to where my arms and legs were holding the bottom of the ladder. After a minute of feeling like my body would get ripped apart, the pressure gradually died down until I could stand upright again.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I climbed up the ladder and opened the door leading to the nose guns. I sat down and exhaled. I'm in space now. It's beautiful. All the stars look like grains of sand. Heh, there's Mars and it's moons. A lot of thoughts circulated in my head until someone's voice caught my attention. "Calculating the jump to hyperspace. Everybody, hang onto something," Hera said. I then saw the stars turn into lines, and then a blue glow. So this is how space travel works. Why can't they do this on my planet? Then, the endless blue tunnel I seemed to be in turned red. That doesn't look good. What is happening? Am I about to die? I started hyperventilating until Hera's seemingly muffled voice seeped into my panicked head. "Do any of you hear something in the ship?" "I'll go check it out," Sabine said from above. I calmed myself down and sat in silence, hoping I wouldn't be discovered. Sure enough, I was. "Well, well, well, look what we have here," she said coldly. "Trying to stow away on our ship, huh?" I chose to remain silent, I could have easily snapped back at her, but she was right. I did stow away. "Lothcat got your tongue? Hey Hera, you won't believe who we picked up," she called above to the cockpit. "Who?" Hera asked. "The kid who helped us repair the Ghost, he stowed away in the cargo hold." She dragged me out of the chair and led me down the ladder and into the cargo hold. I then heard rapid footsteps coming from above me, then clanging on the ladder as they descended toward my level. When they said 'the kid' they knew it was me. I saw some angry expressions from Kanan, Zeb, and of course, Sabine, who looked ready to kill me. Ezra, however, couldn't help but laugh. "Not too good at following the plan, huh?" Ezra quipped. "Now you know how I felt during my first time on the Ghost." "Harsh. I stuck my neck out to get you off world, and now you want to get rid of me? Real nice, you guys," I grumbled. "Please, nothing would thrill me more than tossing you out. In hyperspace," Zeb snarled. "Well, like it or not, he's staying here. Besides, he doesn't have anywhere to go," Ezra reasoned. Zeb sighed, knowing Y/N had to stay here for now. "Incoming transmission from Commander Sato. Looks like we're back in our galaxy. Everyone, up to the cockpit," Hera said over the intercom. "We'll deal with you later," Kanan said, breaking his silence. Another galaxy. I really am far from home.

Narrator's POV:

A middle-aged couple were fuming on their drive back from the airport. Fifty-six unread messages and twenty unanswered calls to their son. They had heard the news earlier today about him being a prime suspect in a robbery. In their eyes, he wasn't perfect, but more than good enough to pursue his dreams. The autobody shop was important to him. He liked helping people with their problems and getting his hands dirty. He was creative and had a unique flair that made him so likable. But never in their wildest dreams did they think he would turn to a life of crime, especially against someplace that meant so much to their son. Upon getting out of their car, they saw his truck parked in its usual spot on the driveway. Thinking nothing of it, the couple went inside and straight up to his room. The first thing they saw on his desk was his phone and a sticky note. The dad picked up the sticky note, and his angry expression turned into one of fear. He then read the note aloud to his wife: "I have gone away for a little bit. You won't find me. I'll be back soon. Love you, Y/N." They cried in silence the rest of the night, thinking they'd lost their son forever.