So for this story I thought aobut adding something like as soundtrack to add more emotion to the scenes, characters, and story in general. Every chapter will have one or two songs to go along with it in order to make it feel like a movie rather than just another story. The songs will be in brackets when they're to be played along with the story. They should all be on Spotify if you use that and hopefully YouTube.
("Finale" by Danny Elfman)
"Ezra. Ezra wake up, it's time to get ready".
He groaned as he rolled over in his cramp bunk. The blankets formed a cocoon around him while the soft mattress supported his weight. It was too early to do any of the preparation necessary for today's mission. In his head he started comparing his options; he could get up to prepare for another life-threatening mission or he could return to the sweet lands of the dream world. A smile crept up on his face while the memories of his dream came to mind.
Ezra's dream placed him in one of the many plains of Lothal, the winds blowing through his shortened dark blue hair. There was no smoke, no death or destruction, and no flags of the Empire hanging off of the buildings in the distance. He felt at peace for the first time in a long time. It wasn't particularly eventful, but it really didn't have to be at that time. A voice called his name from behind and he knew who it was. Ezra didn't turn or further acknowledge who it was since the voice simply let him know that it was there. A hand slid into his right palm feeling so soft…
Zap
"Agh!" Ezra yelled while the mild electric shock knocked him off of his top bunk. He fell to the floor of the Ghost with a resounding thud, pain slithering its way up his back stopping once it came to the base of his neck. His hand began to rub the exposed skin above his shoulders in an attempt to soothe the soreness that had come with his fall.
Blue eyes glared daggers at the orange and white droid who raised his mechanical hand in triumph. If he could then Ezra may dismantle the droid right there on the spot, if only its owner wasn't standing right beside it looking down upon him with an amused smile on her face.
"Well, thanks Chop" Hera said to the droid as it spoke its binary language in return. "Why don't you go check with Zeb to see if he needs a hand down in the cargo hold?" After a quick binary affirmative, the droid rolled out of the room without another sound. Hera then turned her attention back towards the still seething Ezra on the ground.
"I don't think that was very necessary, I was getting up" he said to her as she watched with a sympathetic expression.
"Mhmm, it sure looked like you were. You should get your things together, grab breakfast, and meet us in at the dejarik table. We'll finalize our objectives then". Ezra nodded in response to her command then watched her leave out the door towards the cockpit.
Knowing full well that his reprieve from normal life was over the young man of seventeen gathered his towel as well as a fresh set of under-clothing then made his way for the sonic shower down the hall. He tried in vain to wipe the last remnants of sleep from his eyes with his palms. It wasn't very often that he was able to sleep well anymore, and it was even more rare to have such a pleasant dream like that, which only made him more bitter about waking up. Showers had a tendency to soothe those sour feelings so at least that was something to look forward to.
The door to the small refresher slid open and Ezra dropped his things on the floor. He locked the door using a gesture from the Force then undressed from his signature orange jumpsuit and his dirty, stained, undershirt and shorts. He reached for the shower handle only to find that nothing came down. Turning the knob back to its original spot then trying again didn't help very much either. Growing irritated, Ezra banged the shower stall wall in response while whispering curses to himself.
"Shower doesn't work Ezra" Kanan called out from behind the now locked door. "Just another thing that needs repairs. Once we finish up today we'll go pick up a new pump to get it working. Until then we'll all have to wait".
"It's going to be one of those days" Ezra said in frustration. With as much angry force as he could, he tossed his fresh undergarments back on followed by his orange jumpsuit. He brushed his teeth with an angry vigor that could be felt by anyone, no matter their Force sensitivity or lack thereof. He scowled back to the room where he tossed his clothing haphazardly before finding his way to the small kitchenette.
A strong, crisp aroma called to him with every step he took towards the room. He could hear silverware clattering against a clay mug, which meant someone was making their strong morning brew. Ezra walked into the kitchen to see Sabine in her full armor mixing blue cream into the brown morning-drink she had every single morning - personally, it was too bitter for him, but he could see how it could wake someone up in the morning. Her long two shaded purple hair stood out among all of the dull gray colors of the room. She was definitely looking more attentive than he was this morning. Her face looked relaxed and her brown eyes bore nothing of the anger or annoyance that Ezra had within thirty minutes of being rudely awakened.
Sabine looked up as she heard his footsteps when he walked into the room. She took one look at him then grinned at his obviously foul look and mood. It wasn't very often that he looked this way; most of the time he was cheerful or a calming presence that she came to rely on. The past few years had taken them from one arrogant teenage boy and another moody, irritable teenage girl to a reliable team. They still had their moments for sure, but for the most part they had matured into a reliable partnership and an even better friendship.
"Good morning" she said a little too joyfully for his taste. "Did you have a rough night?"
"Not night, but morning" his stern voice said to her as he walked over to the refrigeration unit. His hands moved around the different liquids and foods in search of some mixed fruit bowl or at least blue milk for cereal. As he looked around he continued to explain his morning to Sabine who only smirked at his recounting of events.
Sabine took a long sip of her drink before speaking, "sounds like a pretty poor morning so far Ezra. If you're looking for the milk by the way I just finished it off for my caf".
Ezra closed the fridge harder than he meant to, but not before he grabbed a cup full of mixed orange, green, and yellow berries that had been coated in spices. His scowl only deepened as he looked at his far second choice for his morning meal.
"If only I could go back to my dream" he said quiet and more to himself than to Sabine. Ezra took his breakfast to the counter to her left to look for a spoon in one of the drawer. To his complete expectations there were no spoons only knives. Ezra's head dropped to the side in almost disbelief at the lack of luck.
"Dreams are almost always better than reality. It must've been pretty good if you want to go back to it so bad". Ezra didn't take the hint to tell explain what happened, which only made a point that he wasn't in his usual mood today. To be honest, it wasn't something she liked to see. He shouldn't be acting this way even though his reasons had so far been justified. "Tell me about it" she said hoping that it would at least help his foul mood.
"About what? You already know about my morning" Ezra replied as he speared a berry with the knife he was forced to use.
Sabine sat the cup on the counter and walked in front of Ezra with her hands placed firmly on her hips. The frown she wore could rival Ezra's although it was certainly for different reasons. She waited until he looked up at her with his still sour scowl.
"Don't give me an attitude Ezra. Everyone has bad mornings so you're not anything special in that regard. You can't let this ruin your day since it's just beginning and it's going to affect everyone else and that's not fair to them. Got it?"
Looking down at the speared berry on his knife he nodded. It didn't help his mood being berated like that, but she had a point. There was a mission today, acting like a spoilt child wasn't going to help anyone. He had to be mature and suck it up for now or at least keep it to himself. He wasn't fourteen anymore, now was the time to stop acting like it. There was a lot to prove to his friends at this point in time too. Being a brat wasn't a desirable trait for anybody to have.
"Good" she replied. "Now, tell me about why this dream of yours was so good".
Ezra finally stuck the orange berry in his mouth, relishing the sweet but tangy taste as the fruit burst. An empty stomach would more than likely be a high contributing factor to a bad day. He put down the knife on the counter besides his cup of fruit then took a moment to organize his thoughts.
"I'm used to my dreams being dark in theme. Most of the time they're all about something going wrong on a mission or reliving the most terrifying moments of my life. The other day I had one about the Inquisitors luring me into some base in space with you and Kanan as the bait. When I got there, they had already killed you both. Those are the most common…and the ones I hate most.
This last one though was nothing like that. In this one I was home on Lothal, but everything was exactly how I wanted it to be. I was in the plains near my house, the grass I stood in was all green. White clouds dotted the sky rather than the gray ones we see all the time. My home town was off in the distance, and I could feel people through the Force – they were all happy with their lives, content to be there. No Imperial insignias or banners were hanging from the buildings this time. Then I remember someone calling my name from behind me, I didn't even turn since I knew who it was. Their hand touched mine and –"
Hera's voice called out from the main room where they usually had their pre-mission briefings, "hey, are you two almost done? We need to get things started".
"Be right there!" Sabine yelled back. She reached past Ezra to grab her cup of caf then looked at him with squinting eyes, "don't think you're done with that dream. I want to know who it was that would want to touch those dirty hands".
"You'd be surprised" he replied as he grabbed the rest of his fruit and he could have sworn he saw her shiver as she flashed him a teasing smirk while she walked away. He followed her into the briefing area where the rest of the crew was already sitting. Noticing the empty seat next to his Jedi tutor Ezra walked over to the spot then planted himself. He stabbed another berry and happily took a bite while he waited for Hera to take her spot near the holotable as she usually did to brief them.
The twi'lek took her spot in front of the four other sitting crew member with Chopper at her side. Hera's finger danced over several buttons until a small map of an aircraft landing strip appeared in front of the crew along with a hologram of a new type of TIE-fighter beside it.
"This is the TIE defender, a new fighter that may be able to turn even the best rebel ships into scraps. It's better in every way than the typical fighters that we're used to. Faster, deadlier, and unknown in a lot of ways. Our mission is simple, get as much information we can on the ship then get out of there – that is it.
This airfield here is on Lothal out in the prairie. It's isolated for the most part, but we still need to use stealth to infiltrate. Our intel indicated that a strong Imperial presence will be at the base once we arrive so there's no point in having all of us go. For this one Ezra will take Chopper to be air dropped just outside the base where you two will download the specs for the ship so we can bring it back to the Rebellion. Kanan, Sabine, and Zeb will be dropped off after Ezra and Chopper on this hill that overlooks the base. I want you three to scout for any potential threats that could compromise the mission. I'll be ready to pick you all up at a moment's notice.
Any questions?"
"Why aren't I going with them?" Sabine asked almost immediately. "Ezra and I are almost always a team and always effective. I could have his back in case anything goes wrong as they usually tend to do".
Hera placed her hands on her hips much like Sabine had done when berating Ezra earlier. Her tone wasn't as reprimanding, but it did hold just as much authority, "your helmet can scan for heat signatures from a distance and I would rather have you, Kanan, and Zeb on overkill with recon than double our chances of being spotted at the base".
"But Hera – " Sabine tried again.
"I'm sorry Sabine, but the plan is set. You should all get yourselves ready" Hera said putting her foot down. She then made a swift exit to the cockpit to take them to their destination leaving the other Specters to prepare themselves for what should be an easy mission.
As the group was all about to head off in their own respective directions Ezra watched Sabine storm off to her room where the door slid shut almost immediately afterwards. Everyone looked on at the minor scene that had unfolded all puzzled at the actions of their Mandalorian friend.
"Sheesh, it's not a big deal. After all, I don't think that three people watching you are going to be enough. You need as much supervision as possible" Zeb said earning a glare from Ezra.
"Well you're about as stealthy as an explosion so it's no wonder you have to be stuck with the easy job. Besides, I have the skill to pull this off".
"I could be stealthy" Zeb replied haughtily, "but I would just rather be the muscle that takes out as many stormtroopers as possible. Save the grunt work for you since you can't fit into the vents anymore".
Before the argument could continue Kanan placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder. It was all the younger man needed to know that it was time to stop the banter and time to listen to what had to be said. Zeb walked back to the cargo hold where he was preparing in his own ways leaving the two Jedi alone.
"You should go talk to her" Kanan said. "Something's obviously upset her, and I don't think it's the mission".
"What makes you think she'd want to talk to me?"
"If you haven't noticed Ezra, you're as close to Sabine as anyone. You two have a good friendship and friends are there for each other. If her storming off was surprising to us then she's probably hiding something, something she may want to vent". Ezra thought about what Kanan had to say, and while that was good advice for the layperson it may not work for a certain, proud Mandalorian.
"It's up to you" Kanan said removing his hand from his student's shoulder. "If I were going to do it though then I would make it quick. You don't have a lot of time to spare". Then the Jedi Knight walked off into the cockpit to join Hera, his boots sounding off as they made contact with the metal floor of the Ghost.
A few years ago he may have let Sabine sit and stew over her emotions in her room by herself. He may have even used the situation to be suave then try to lay some smooth lines to her to play the part of the hunk that every girl could want. Now though, he wasn't as arrogant or cocky to try anything like that. Three years could mature a person quite a bit, and Ezra didn't want to be the annoyance that made her mood worse. Perhaps he could help brighten her mood as she did for him not too long ago. Like Kanan said, it's what friends do.
Trying to make his boots sound as loud as possible so he could signal his approach, Ezra made up his mind to talk to Sabine. Going into a fight with a busy mind made one much less effective to the point where it could be a danger to all involved. Sometimes talking would help alleviate such thoughts since meditating wouldn't help her as much as it helped someone with Force powers.
With soft hands Ezra knocked on the door only to have no response. He furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion since he knew that she was in her room. Did she not want to talk to him? If so then he would understand if she told him that she would want to be alone. It wasn't unusual to feel that way, he felt just like that when he found out about his parents after all.
His knuckle tapped again softly on the door, but this time he tried to talk to her as well, "Sabine, are you in there?" Again, nothing. He reached out with the Force to sense if she was in her room and she was. With his limited Force-empathy skill he could somewhat sense that there was a plethora of th"Iings running through her brain. He tried hard to focus on what they were, but his skill wasn't honed enough for him to make out anything specific.
"Alright. I just kinda, sorta, came by to see if something was…off. Maybe it was nothing, but it seemed like something was up. If you want to talk then I'll be in the hold until my drop off". His voice sounded confident, but inside Ezra felt hurt. He tried not to be, he tried to be strong, but being closed off from someone you care about doesn't feel pleasant in the slightest. His gut began to feel a little heavy as he walked away from the painted door of Sabine. It was an overreaction for sure, but it still felt…well, bad. She had just talked him out of a bad first half-hour of his day, but she wasn't willing to give him a chance to do the same. He may not have given her a good reason to want to talk to him though since the last time they had a heart to heart he had taken a jab at her during the darksaber training sessions. It felt a little satisfying to get in that last word, but it still wasn't fair of him. He probably wouldn't want to have a deep conversation with someone if they did that to him too.
Ezra hung his head lower as he got closer to the cargo hold. He stuffed his hands in his pockets in an attempt to keep them from fiddling with anything he passed. Hopefully he looked like he was deep in thought rather than trying to hide what he was feeling. Inside, he was reprimanding himself for being so open, so ready to share his problems to Sabine so quickly. It should've been something he handled internally rather than depending on someone to help him. Maybe then being ignored wouldn't sting, but then again it wasn't that he was ignored by just anyone…no, he was overreacting that's all.
He got to the hold once he had packed his things in a pack then put on his best façade for Zeb, and Chopper who had been there before him. They barely noticed his presence as they continued their tasks for what should be a quiet mission. He hoped beyond all hope that it was a quiet mission. Today wasn't a day for the dramatic or for the eventful in his eyes. He'd much rather get this over with then do something else, like going back to bed.
Ezra thought all about his dream life the rest of the way to the mission. He thought about what life would be like if there was no Empire or danger to the Galaxy. He pictured a life where he lived with his parents at his home in Lothal. It would be a peaceful one where they would take trips to the market for groceries, have a Lothal-cat to take care of, and maybe he would merge that family with the one he's with now.
"Specter-six, it's time" Hera's voice came through on his wrist-communicator. He opened his eyes, breaking his connection to his dream world. With one last deep breath Ezra stood at the edge of the Ghost's ramp with Chopper by his side. He gave the metal menace one spiteful look – not forgetting about earlier that morning – before taking steps towards the lowering ramp.
The ship landed with a heavy thud letting all inside know that the first drop off point had been reached. Chopper rolled out of the ship right on Ezra's heels and onto the dry, crisp grass of Lothal. The young Jedi could see the airbase only a lengthy walk away. Tightening his backpack's straps Ezra did one last check for his things then motioned for Chopper to follow him.
"Come on Chop" he said. "Let's hope this morning doesn't get any worse".