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That went – well, how she'd figured it would. Hera knows that both she and her father are very headstrong and driven (or maybe the word is 'stubborn'), and that as much as she'd been dreading it up to the moment her father answered her call, the conversation was only ever going to be brief and to the point. What she needed, what he could offer, and that was it. He'd made no room for pleasantries, didn't ask how she was – and she hadn't asked, either. She didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to hear it, what they had time for was what was in front of them. He gave her coordinates where they could safely meet, and one extra piece of tantalizing news – his own forces had recently managed to steal a TIE bomber.

The urge to ask more about that did rise in her throat, but she'd swallowed it down, instead finishing off the call with a curt, "We'll see you soon."

And now the light from the hologram is off once more, and Hera thinks wryly that what she's doing is a little like slamming her head into a mirror. It's the kind of thing she thinks when she's not actually looking at him.

But there's no time to waste feeling sullen over unasked questions or hurt feelings. She leaves her cabin, and makes her way back up to the cockpit, stopping only briefly in the galley to confirm to the rest of the crew that they are in fact heading to Ryloth, and when they can expect to get there. She recommends rest in the meantime, but doesn't wait to see if they listen – she has a jump to calculate, and probably a few diagnostics to run while they're in hyperspace.

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"I'd almost rather we didn't have bigger things to worry about," Kanan says, with a crooked grin.

He can hear the joke fall flat as he says it.

"But he does seem, from what I've heard, to put the job first. And I know you do. So . . . "

So it'll be fine.

"Is there anything I can do to take your mind off it?"

"Should my mind be off it?"

She does smile slightly back. "I feel more like I should be - preparing for it."

The crookedness of Kanan's smile fades before the actual smile does.

"We could ask Chopper to pretend to be your Dad."

Kanan absolutely cannot offer himself in this role. For one, he doesn't know Cham at all, not really.

For another, Chopper has a great natural talent for being an asshole.

"And you could practice?"

Edited 2021-01-23 01:50 (UTC)

Hera actually chuckles at that.

"Having him throw a few cartons at me might be not be bad practice."

Edited 2021-01-23 07:55 (UTC)

Kanan's quiet for a second, remembering all his training with Ezra that Chopper 'assisted' with.

" . . . Since the top of the ship or dangling from the ramp aren't an option -- shall we try the cargo bay?"

"Well now you've just taken the fun out of it."

Hera sighs. "No," she says, or really decides as she's saying it, "what we should all do is get some rest."

Which of course, she'd said earlier, and promptly ignored.

Edited 2021-01-23 21:01 (UTC)

"It's my calling," Kanan says, only a little dryly.

Then --

"Rest sounds good. Will you be able to get any, or are you going to lie in your bunk and stew?"

Kanan's never done that himself, of course, but he's heard stories!

(He has totally done this.)

She looks back at him, and answers, "I'm not making any promises..."

He huffs out something like a laugh.

"Me, either, honestly. But I can sit with you for a little, and we can talk. See if that keeps your mind from circling enough to let you fall asleep."

Or, you know, they could not do that. But --

A pause, and then -

"Do we have to talk?"

All Kanan hears in his head for a moment is white noise.

"No," he says quickly, once he's regained his ability to speak.

"No, we really don't."

Hera just shakes her head, and takes out her chronometer, setting an alarm.

"I have to be back up here before we drop out of hyperspace."

"Of course," Kanan says easily.

"I'm not about to forget."

Sure, he gets distracted sometimes, but . . .

"Well, now we won't have to worry."

She looks over the controls once more, double checking that all the settings appear normal, before rising from the pilot's chair. "Maybe I can ask Chopper to keep watch."

Edited 2021-01-24 18:25 (UTC)

He grins, because he can't help it.

Then, because he also can't help it --

"Maybe don't tell him why we're asking him to keep watch. I really don't feel like being electrocuted right now."

Edited 2021-01-24 18:27 (UTC)

She offers him her hand.

"I'm not sure how much we're getting past him, really."

"But there's no call to rub his face in it, right?"

It should be noted that Kanan is already heading out of the cockpit, pausing by the door to wait for her to join him.

"Do you want me waiting for you after you find him and give him his marching orders?"

"Oh, you're coming with me," she says, with a small smile. "I like the moral support."

He shakes his head, but his grin has already turned smug.

"Fine by me."

He'll follow her out. For the support.