Author Note: I started this back at the end of Season 1 if you can believe it, and so it's a bit dated. But I recently found it in my unfinished pile and decided to pull it up and start writing on it again so I'm posting it here.

Zeb shaded his eyes, squinting at the horizon in hopes of catching a glimpse of their destination. Nothing but more naked jagged rock stretched in front of him, the same behind when he turned his head to see if the Ghost was still visible.

"How far is it now?" He growled it out, nearly stumbling and having to look back at his feet.

"Still nearly three miles, almost the same as last time you asked." Sabine didn't sound annoyed, just resigned.

The Ghost had been badly damaged, the hyperdrive fried, the shields gone, life support barely operational. It would be easier to say what didn't need repairs than what did. They'd been able to set down on planet, but landing a good distance away from one of the few cities had been the only reason it was a landing at all instead of more of a crash. As it was, the only real option had been to go on foot to see if the city had enough supplies to even get them back off the ground.

No one had really wanted Kanan to go, not after everything. Hera had made an interesting sound when Ezra volunteered, somewhere between a laugh and a growl and he withdrew his suggestion. Ezra and Kanan were to try and get the Phantom up and running in time to pick up the supplies and avoid finding a transport. It wasn't guaranteed that they'd manage that, and Zeb had agreed to hike the distance. To his pleased surprise Sabine had volunteered too, pointing out that her helmet's navigation system would come in handy with the terrain.

The terrain was making the hike a great deal more difficult than the initial distance would suggest. Zeb would have been able to jog the miles over flat ground in next to no time, but the ground was rocky and uneven, great jagged rocks poking up and deep gouges into the land. It meant they were forced to climb over or go around and he was grateful Sabine could keep them from getting turned around as they picked their way carefully over a rubble pile. Zeb stepped down and had to catch his balance as the rock under him shifted, turning up scorch marks that were far too familiar.

"What did these poor sods do to deserve this kind of attention anyway?" He stepped around the rock, trying to find better footing.

"This wasn't the Empire's fault, not this time at least. Civil war from back during the days of the Republic. Half the planet decided the other half really needed to die, and the other side had the same opinion. There were multiple attempts at outside negotiation, but as long as they were keeping things in their own backyard no one really wanted to waste a lot of time and resources pointing out to them what a terrible idea it was. They didn't stop until the majority of the planet had been reduced to rubble, and even then it was mostly just because they ran out of weapons."

"Times like these I'm glad you paid attention in history classes." Zeb grinned at her, pausing in the shade of a large rock to catch his breath.

Sabine laughed, the sound always sounding strange from her helmet. "When they could afford it, they hired mercenaries. When they couldn't, they tried anyway. It was common knowledge on Mandalor not to contract with them or you'd end up cheated."

"Practical, I like that." Zeb grinned at her before they started on. The brief rest worried him a little, the sun was hot but the air itself was cool. It made walking tolerable, but the rocks didn't feel like they held much heat. Planets like this could have fairly extreme temperature swings in areas, it would be best to get to the city before sundown.

They saved their breath for the trek, picking their way slowly down a gorge and starting up the other side. Zeb gripped better, more suited to climbing, but his heavier weight kept knocking the more unsteady rocks free. Sabine had to rely more on balance, but she did less slipping and sliding. Zeb was grateful when they came to the top of the gorge again and squinting, he could see the faint smudge that likely signaled habitation on the horizon. They'd lose it as soon as the ground dipped, but as much as he trusted the instruments, it was nice to have visual conformation of their destination.

"We made it another mile." Sabine spoke before he could ask, and Zeb nodded.

"What you said before about them running out of weapons, think they'll try to barter for ours?"

"It's a possibility." Sabine stared out over the landscape, scanning and trying to map the best route before she moved again, heading to a little to the side of their eventual destination. Zeb followed, trusting her.

Neither of them were prepared when the ground started crumbling under them. Sabine stepped down onto a fairly stable looking rock and it started shifting like thousands had done under them earlier. It didn't stop, dropping down and out from under her as the rest of the nearby ground started moving. Zeb made a frantic grab, fingers almost closing on her outstretched hand and then she was gone. He scrambled backwards, instinct kicking in to get to more stable ground, slipping and stumbling as the ground under him almost seemed to flow. He lost his balance, panting harshly and scrambling before he realized the rocks weren't still moving. He picked himself up slowly, looking around.

"Sabine!" The only sound that met his yell was the small rattle of gravel shifting and falling. He checked to make sure his com link was still attached and intact, bringing it up. "Specter Five, come in." There was nothing and he shook the device a moment "Specter Five!"

This time a crackle of static answered him. "Sp… …ive. He.."

Zeb moved closer to the hole that had opened up in the ground, terrified of bringing down more unstable earth on top of her, but he needed to get closer. "Specter Five, I repeat. Can you hear me?" He gave one of the larger rocks a careful shove, but it seemed firmly wedged in and he clung to it, leaning out and looking down, trying to see through all the dust.

"Hear you." This time the static wasn't enough to cover up Sabine's voice over the com and Zeb breathed a careful sigh of relief. She was alive at least.

"Are you hurt?" He scraped his claws against the rock in annoyance, trying to will the visibility to come back faster and the dust to clear. It stubbornly hovered in the air, unaware of his ire.

"Yes." The reply was flat, and Zeb pulled the com away to curse before he brought it back to his mouth.

"How bad?"

"I don't know. My arm's trapped under a rock and there's pain when I try to pull free, but it could be something minor."

Zeb didn't like the sound of that, he'd worked with her long enough to know if it was something minor she'd probably not have mentioned it at all. "I'll come to you, quick as I can."

"Be careful, the last thing we need is both of us trapped."

"Not a chance." Zeb hoped he sounded more confident than he felt, Eventually the dust did clear enough to see that he wouldn't be getting down where she was. The drop was sheer, and he didn't trust what chunks of stone jutted out from the wall that had formed, they might be stable, they might come loose under his weight. He ended up circling halfway around the large hole before he found a path down that looked reasonably safe. It looked like a hollow space had opened up underground, a trap left over from the war maybe, or just natural weathering. He didn't know well enough to say, but the cavern had stayed there hidden until the first rock falling set off a chain reaction and the entire 'roof' collapsed.

It took him far too long before he spotted a flash of color amid all the grey, hurriedly picking his way over to the crumpled form and crouching to start clearing away the bigger rocks. Sabine had obviously done some of it one handed, but without leverage there wasn't much she could do.

"About time you got here." Her voice was strained, even with the helmet on, but he appreciated the attempt at humor.

"Thought I'd stop and have a picnic, you know how it is." He carefully cleaned dust away from her faceplate and then when she brought her free hand up to push at it he tugged the whole helmet off for her.

Sabine blinked up at him, lips quirked in a small smile. "I figured as much." Her skin was far too pale, her lips tight with pain and he brushed her hair back away from her eyes without thinking about it, mindful of his claws.

Neither of them wanted to mention the giant slab of rock pinning down her right shoulder, her arm hidden under it. Not just yet.