Chapter Text
Hera was trying to get the Ghost to fly level without compensation. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but they were low on fuel (Again!) and the ship was seriously overloaded. It also had a five man shuttle (also overloaded) docked with it.
Somehow, Kallus had gotten twenty-eight standard crates into his cargo hold, as well as seven large passengers in the cabin. They couldn't shift many things into the Ghost's hold either; they had just picked up supplies for the month.
AP5 came in. "Pardonme.Ihavethereport." His head had been dented in a...misunderstanding, and his speech module was malfunctioning.
Hera smiled at the rapid speech of the usually deliberate droid. "Proceed."
Instead of replying directly, he handed her a datapad with a list of everyone on the Ghost, and their current condition.
Hera Syndulla, unharmed
Sabine Wren, unharmed
Ezra Bridger, unharmed
Rex, unharmed
Mickle Storm, former stormtrooper, unharmed
Onmarri, lasat refugee, unharmed
Mahaleel, lasat refugee, exhausted
Leamanzarr, lasat refugee, minor bruises
Gartelan Ahsimba, lasat royalty, refugee, headache, minor face injury
Kargaman Ahsimba, lasat royalty, refugee, same as his sister
Chopper, slightly dented
Kanan Jarrus, exhausted
AP5, speech modulator broken
Graryyyr, wookie refugee, badly controlled asthma
Admena Lyste, former imperial communication officer, long scratch on arm, significant burns on arms and nose
Yeager Lyste, former imperial supply officer, dislocated elbow, dislocated ribs, assorted bruising
Garazeb Orrelios, close range blaster injury to upper leg, seriously burned leg
Alexsandr Kallus, arms and legs badly beaten
She did some counting in her head: sixteen. Eighteen, if she included the droids, but they wouldn't need beds. Or food.
Of the sixteen, four were seriously injured, and three more would probably be out of it for at least a day. There were also three defectors who needed supervision, and the six refugees Kallus had picked up could barely communicate in basic.
She rubbed her forehead; she needed someone she could actually talk to. She yelled for Ezra.
He came faster than she expected, but he was already talking. "Hera, Kanan says a Padawan should be honored to sleep on the floor so his master can have the bed."
Hera sighed. "I'll be surprised if any of us gets a full night's sleep anywhere. How's Zeb?"
Ezra shrugged. "He says he's good; all the rest of the lasats are asleep on top of him, so I was heading to bed."
Hera gestured to her instruments. "You can sleep after we get her flying level. You've got Rex, AP5, and that stormtrooper, and the sooner we can manage the better."
"This had better not turn into one of those trips where you turn the heater off." Ezra complained.
"It won't," Hera assured him, "As long as we stop wasting fuel."
Ezra shivered. "Leveling ship now!"
Admena had finally fallen asleep in Sabine's bed, after being brought up to date and rejecting Sabine's offer to make her hair blue to match her eyes. Technically, Sabine also had a top bunk, but right now it was full of paint and glitter. She slipped out to ask Hera about borrowing her bed, and nearly collided with the former stormtrooper. Admena and Yeager were pretty much stuck in bed, but he was running around the ship without a member of the crew in sight.
He grinned at her. "Rex said you n' the pilot like tea, so I brought you some."
"And where is Rex?"
Her distrust must have shown pretty clearly: he nodded slowly, the grin disappearing. "I was afraid it'd be this way. Can't say I blame you. Rex is with Ezra, an' I'm gonna be with 'em. I just didn't want it gettin' cold."
Sabine measured him for a moment; she saw what Rex had seen. "You must have been a terrible stormtrooper."
Mickle's grin came back as he handed her the tea. "I tried my best, ma'am."
Ezra didn't have Rex, AP5 and Mickle. He had Rex, AP5, Mickle, and Onmarri. The lasat had realized what they were doing, and uncurled herself from the pile to offer assistance. Since she was the only one who knew what was in the crates from New Lasan, it was extremely helpful.
Although, Ezra wished she would stop saying things like, "We leveled the ship so it it flies more stability."
Every time she did, AP5 would try to correct her, but he was just causing more confusion. It was enough to give any Jedi a headache.
At least it was working. Through a combination of 'force balance sensitivity,' Hera yelling through his comm, and an awful lot of common sense, they were bringing the Ghost back to an even keel. It was a lot of work; some of the crates even ended up in the Phantom.
The second Hera said: "And...Good!" Ezra flopped down on the floor; he had really missed Zeb's help.
Onmarri looked down at him. "I gotten you a blanket."
She returned with a quilt so big and heavy, Ezra decided it didn't matter if the heat went off. He fell asleep to the sound of Rex and Mickle deciding who took first watch.
Hera began another circuit of the ship: Kanan was somewhere halfway between peaceful sleep and unconsciousness in his bunk. Mickle was asleep above him, still in his stormtrooper gear, but he opened his eyes when she came in. "Need anythin'?" She shook her head, and he was out again.
She skipped her room; she would get Sabine up in an hour, and take the bed herself, but there was no reason to disturb her before then.
Admena was sniffling and making little whimpering noises, but didn't wake up when she turned the light on. She was hugging a pillow and covered in glitter and paint flecks that had drifted down from the top bunk when Sabine tried to clear it. Her hair was still pinned in the tight imperial style, so Hera let it down, being careful not to wake her. She would be alright until Sabine came to check on her.
Hera paused before opening Zeb's door. If any of the rooms were going to be trouble, it would be this one. She remembered when they had first picked Kallus up; other than clarifying what he needed to stay alive, he had asked for no other medicine.
Yeager began whispering as soon as she opened the door. "Shh, don't wake him up."
Hera looked at the man in the top bunk; there was no way he was asleep with a smirk like that on his face. "Oh, I won't wake him up. Kallus?"
He sighed. "Captain Syndulla, I believe we might require additional medical assistance."
Hera smiled. Having Yeager Lyste around was going to be useful after all. "I'll send Rex in a minute, and then both of you, get some actual sleep."
Yeager tried to salute. "That would be, ah, appreciated, Captain Syndulla."
As she left the room she heard Kallus explaining, "In case of injury, order acknowledged is completely sufficient."
The common room was not really big enough for the number of creatures asleep in it. Six lasats and a wookie; no wonder the balance had been off. Zeb opened his eyes as she tiptoed across the room. "I just got 'em all back to sleep. The twins are hurtin' pretty good, but it's their first real battle wounds, so the pride is helpin'."
Hera shook her head. "What about you?"
"Oh, I've had worse." He grinned when she looked at him skeptically. "Rex is takin' good care of me; says lasat kits make 'im nervous."
"He's still in the kitchen with Ezra?"
"Yeah, I think so." He yawned. "Good night."
Rex stood up when she entered the kitchen. "I thought you'd be in bed now."
Hera shrugged. "I'll take my turn soon. Where's Ezra?"
Rex chuckled. "Asleep in the cargo hold, wrapped up in a giant lasat blanket."
Won't Kanan be surprised, she thought. Then she addressed the current issue. "Well, there are two who aren't sleeping, because they 'might require' more medicine."
Rex poured her a mug. "I'll take care of it. Here, have some caff."
Hera gratefully sat down as Rex left with the med kit. She didn't usually drink caff, but this was one of those nights.