"Mom? Dad?"
Ezra's voice echoed faintly throughout the Ghost, making its way down the central corridor of the freighter, and penetrating the doors to Sabine's cabin. Sabine currently sat on her bunk, cleaning one of her blaster pistols, but stopped when she heard Ezra speak to listen. It was probably rude to be eavesdropping, but in fairness he wasn't exactly being quiet. Judging from the direction his voice was coming from, Sabine guessed Ezra was in the common room. Or maybe the dorsal turret.
"I know what I have to do now, but I'm afraid; not for me, but for my friends. They've fought so hard, and given so much, and helped me to understand why you stood up to the Empire, and made the sacrifices you did," Ezra continued. "I wish you could meet them; my new family. I guess, in some way, you will be with us today, when we finish what you started. I want you to know that everything I've done and will do began with you."
Sabine felt a pang of sympathy constrict her heart. Ezra's parents had always been a... difficult subject for him. It'd been about a year since Ezra had learned that his parents had died in prison, but their absence from his childhood had always been a source of pain for him. Sabine subconsciously grimaced; she'd only recently made amends with her clan and rescued her father, but hearing Ezra's pain return brought Sabine back to the sleepless nights, the aching loneliness that had clawed at her heart like a hungry loth-cat in the first few weeks after escaping the Imperial Academy.
"Ezra? They're bringing her up."
Hera's voice startled Sabine as much as it must've startled Ezra. She'd been so focused on listening to Ezra that she hadn't heard Hera approach. She heard footsteps clamber down the ladder to the dorsal turret, the swish of automatic doors opening and closing, and then two pairs of footsteps headed towards the cockpit.
They're bringing Pryce up. Sabine still found herself surprised that the Empire's attack on the mountain city in which the rebels hid had failed in the end; that Ryder's gambit had also allowed the rebels to capture Pryce. There had been a few casualties, but it was a miracle that there hadn't been more. Sabine almost thanked the Force for keeping her family safe.
But then she remembered Kanan, and Sabine's words of thankfulness died out like a suffocated fire.
Sabine's grip tightened on her pistol, as the pain in her chest only grew. Kanan, the closest person to a father for her and Ezra, a brother for Zeb, the love of Hera's life, was dead. Obviously, everyone was still grieving. Hera kept a strong face as always, but it didn't take much to bring out the heartbroken woman hidden behind the General. Chopper was... Chopper, but Sabine knew that the droid did care, and was doing everything in his power to help Hera especially. Zeb was kind of taking care of everyone, like the big brother he was. Sabine tried to ignore the sadness that gutted her like a Rokarian dirt-fish from the inside, tried to tell herself that she'd spent her tears on the ride back from the fuel depot, and yet she'd cried herself to sleep more than once these past few nights. Surprisingly, Ezra seemed the least affected out of all of them, which was equally concerning. The first day after Kanan's sacrifice, Ezra had seemed lost, adrift like stardust expelled from a supernova's death. But the next day he was back at it, trying to save the Jedi Temple and Lothal.
I'll talk to him about that, Sabine thought, exiting her cabin and holstering her pistol. In the meantime, let's see what crazy plan Ezra has to free Lothal.
_It was possibly the worst plan Sabine had ever heard in her life, and Sabine had been involved in a lot of bad plans.
"So we're voluntarily being captured by the Empire, taking over the Imperial Complex, and trapping every Imperial on Lothal inside the Dome with us," Sabine summarized.
She stood in a circle alongside Hera, Zeb, Ezra, Chopper, Kallus, Ryder, Vizago, Mart, Hondo and his Ugnaught friend, having reviewed their plan. The group stood on a flat surface of stone partially encircled by the circular rock structures that were everywhere on Lothal. The platform lead out onto the grassy plains of Lothal on one side, and down a narrow pathway to the campsite hewn into the mountains on the other, where Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor were guarding Pryce. The Ghost, two Imperial gunships, and various crates of supplies formed a rough circle encompassing the group.
"That about sums it up, yeah. We'll launch the Dome to a high altitude over the ocean, and rig the reactor to explode," Ezra confirmed calmly, as if not comprehending how insane the plan was.
"It's a good plan Ezra, but I just don't know if it's a feasible one," Hera said.
"I'm with General Syndulla. The Imperial Complex is the most heavily-guarded Imperial installation on Lothal, and initiating Protocol 13 will call back all Imperial forces to the Dome," Kallus added. "It's a good plan in principle, but practically impossible in execution."
"We can say that it's a drill," Mart suggested.
"That might buy us a little more time, but it won't be long before they realize that something's up," Ketsu responded.
"Well, what if we used a high ranking officer, higher than Pryce? The Imps won't question someone like that, right?" Zeb asked.
That could work, Sabine realized.
Several heads turned to look at Zeb with mixtures of surprise and curiosity on their faces.
"That would work," Ryder started, "if there were any other higher-ups on Lothal. But with Thrawn gone, Pryce is the most powerful Imperial on the planet. No one else short of an Admiral could execute Protocol 13 without being challenged."
Ezra had that mischievous, goofy grin plastered on his face. The one that usually meant he had a crazy idea. Sabine couldn't help but smile; this was going to be good.
"I may know how to solve that problem," he started. "But in the meantime, let's keep this part of the plan under wraps from Pryce until we're in the Dome. The less she knows, the less she can do to stop us."
"I'll fill in the clones," Kallus said, exiting the circle.
"Alright. Ezra and Sabine will disguise as stormtroopers, along with Rex and Kallus. Hondo, Melch, Zeb, Ketsu, Ryder, and Gregor will pose as prisoners. Chopper and I will fly the gunships, while Wolffe, Vizago, and Mart stay here with the Ghost to pick us up," Hera delegated, her voice commanding and strong.
"Actually Hera, I think it may be best for you to stay here, and Mart or Wolffe can come with us," Ezra replied.
Sabine shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. What?
"And why is that?" Hera asked defensively, looking to Ezra with a perplexed expression.
"You're the best pilot among us, and we'll need a good pilot to pick us up for this to work. Besides, Wolffe's better on the ground than in the air."
Hera's suspicious expression faded from all but her eyes as she spoke. "Alright, I'll stay here with Mart and Vizago, and Wolffe can pose as another stormtrooper. Sabine can fly the gunship."
"Thank you," Ezra responded, before turning to the whole group. "You all know what you have to do. Gear up, get anything you need for the mission, and May the Force be with us."
The circle split of in various directions: Hera, Mart, and Vizago headed towards the Ghost, while Ketsu, Zeb, Ryder, Hondo, and Melch returned to the mountain city to prepare. Ezra remained stationary, his eyes focused intensely on the stone at his feet.
"Ezra?" Sabine spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder, "you okay?"
Ezra looked up, almost meeting Sabine's gaze, and worry clutched Sabine's heart. His eyes were filled with burden, as if he'd just seen someone die.
"What's wrong?" Sabine asked, more gently. She stepped over to face him directly.
When Ezra finally spoke, his voice was careful, almost afraid, as if carefully choosing his words.
"I know I can always count on you." It was almost a question, as if trying to confirm something he didn't quite know.
Of course. Without question. Sabine wanted to say it with determination, to banish whatever doubts Ezra was apparently having. But she stopped. In all of the time that Sabine had known Ezra, he'd never sounded so uncertain. Almost every word that came from his mouth was spoken with conviction; without any of the doubt that currently plagued him. If whatever was on Ezra's mind was making doubt something that he'd known for years, then it was serious.
"Alright, what are you up too?" Sabine asked, her voice sounding more demanding than she intended.
Ezra shook his head, failing miserably to assuage Sabine's concerns. "We should suit up. Gregor found some intact Scout trooper armor. I'll meet you at the camp in a sec." Ezra's voice was completely devoid of the aloofness that Sabine associated with him.
"Ezra please." Sabine's free hand found Ezra's shoulder. "You can tell me. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
Ezra met Sabine's eyes, heartbreak clear on his face. He wanted to tell her. Sabine could tell; Ezra desperately wanted to tell Sabine, about more than just whatever was on his mind. His lips parted slightly, and Sabine couldn't help but hold her breath.
"I need to talk to Mart." His voice was barely a whisper. A choked, broken whisper. Ezra freed himself from Sabine's arms, staring at the ground again, and briskly walked over to where Mart stood by the Ghost.
Sabine wanted to run after him. To stop him, help him, hug him, anything that would get rid of this pain that was clearly crushing Ezra. But she stopped again. Ezra was counting on Sabine, for more than she knew, and Sabine didn't want to give him reason to question that any more. So Sabine sighed heavily and started towards the mountain city, ignoring the weight of a planet that was crushing her chest.