Episode 13

                                    

                                          
With no idea where Kanan was and no way to find him, Hera turned to Fulcrum for help. She wasn't getting the help she wanted, though. "Kanan knew the risks going in. You're supposed to focus on your next objective."
                          
"But, Fulcrum, Kanan is our objective," Hera objected. "We can still find him."
                          
"I don't doubt that you can but doing so would be another risk, one I can't condone. It could cost you, your team, and the overall mission," Fulcrum explained. He sighed before going on. "There's something else, Hera. Ezra's transmission has attracted attention, not just from civilians but from the highest levels of the Empire."
                          
"It was Kanan's plan," Hera told him, looking away. "I guess it worked."
                          
That didn't surprise Fulcrum. He had a feeling the Jedi had a hand in the idea. Still, that wasn't what he was supposed to say. "You were supposed to be under the radar, unnoticed. Now-"
                          
Hera didn't let him finish. "Kanan wanted to inspire people. He wanted to give them hope."
                          
"And he did, but if you are caught, if Ezra gets caught, that hope will die. To protect your unit and Ezra, you should stop your search for Kanan and go into hiding."
                          
She nodded and sat down, expecting Fulcrum to end the call. He wasn't done yet though. "Hera."
                          
Looking up again, she caught a mischevious tone in the last thing he said: "The key word here is 'should'."
                          
Her eyes went wide as the call ended and she was given no chance to respond. 'Should'? To protect your unit and Ezra, you should stop your search for Kanan and go into hiding. That was what Fulcrum said, and probably what he had orders to say. He was right, that was what would preserve her crew and allow them to survive. 
                          
It was like Fulcrum knew. He knew Hera was desperate to get Kanan back and was considering going after him whether she had orders to or not. He didn't say that she should, but...
                          
Lightyears away, Fulcrum sat back in his seat and smiled. He anticipated-no, expected Hera to go after Spectre-1. After all the times he had gone against orders to rescue his own people? He'd be a hypocrite if he tried to stop her. 
                          
Still, chances of this going sideways, at least a little bit, were very high. Fulcrum couldn't 'allow' the Ghost crew to track down Kanan, but he could predict that they would disobey orders and act accordingly as to make sure they survived. 
                          
Fulcrum contemplated it. Doubtless Hera picked up on his true message, but she still might be resistant to go against protocol. Whatever she and her crew decided to do would take time. He just hoped it would take enough time for him to convince Rebel command to help them. 
                          
~
                          
Back in the common room, Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra were studying the radar scans. "Odds are they still have him at the Imperial Complex," Sabine told them.
                          
"If they do, we all know he's as good as gone," Zeb admitted dejectedly.
                          
Ezra didn't want to give up hope so easily. Standing up, he reached into the Force before declaring, "He's not gone, and he's not in the Imperial Complex."
                          
"How do you know that?"
                          
"I just know," he said stubbornly.
                          
Sabine shut off the projection. "We can't make a plan based on a feeling."
                          
Ezra turned around, refusing to back down. "Yes, we can! We do it all the time!"
                          
"Not this time," Hera decided, coming into the room. She still felt conflicted, but she had made up her mind. She couldn't take chances on orders, especially not when they came through Fulcrum.