I do apologize for the wait on the sequel. Honestly, it was going to be put off for a while longer since I'm writing a couple other things too, but this is my most commented on story and I had the idea in my head anyways. Updates may be slow at first, so bear with me. This is the story I was looking forward to write and the first one got me here.

Mandalore, three years after the main events of 'A Phoenix Dies'

"Order, we must have order! Houses and clans be silent!" bellowed the meeting overseer to the assembly before him. Sabine was honestly surprised she had heard him over the cacophony surrounding the halfmoon room that sat the heads of the clans of Mandalore. After setting aside her painting to finish at a later time the twenty-two-year-old made her way to the meeting place her ancestors used to meet at in times of crisis. Her parents had asked her and her brother to help decide a course of action for their clan, possibly the others as well. Uniting the clans and houses may prove impossible, but at the very least she hoped that they would be able to form alliances that could take action on the current struggle.

One man who sat at the far end of the crescent of seats stood then banged his fist on the table, "allowing these attacks to continue is simply preposterous! All efforts at investigation have proven fruitless or full of dead ends and they persist because of our lack of unity. It's time that we pool our resources to combat these threats as one."

"Clan Saxon has been the main target for four of the six explosions on Mandalore. Don't paint this as a larger problem than that. Maybe the gods have finally given you recompense for collaborating with offworlders."

"And Clan Vizla is no better!" shouted a third armored woman from behind Sabine. The woman stood with fire in her eyes as they bore into the clan who once collaborated with the Sith and who overthrew Duchess Satine. Sabine turned her head towards the head of House Kryze who simply stood placid though it wouldn't astound her if the Duchess' sister's blood boiled.

"Silence!" the overseer hollered into his microphone which caused the noise to die down. Furious gazes were still held and accusatory stares continued to hang heavily over the air. "We are not here to place blame, but to seek answers. These attacks by the 'Shadow' have affected everyone in this room not just one clan or house. Remember that before you assault another warrior. Now, does anyone have anything to offer this assembly?"

"You know" her brother said leaning over to her, "for a group that was invited to be here together to seek answers we haven't done much."

Sabine scrunched her face like she had bitten something sour, "you expected something different? This is simply an excuse to throw dirt on one another. If we really wanted to learn about the attacks then we should have met with House Kryze to figure it out."

"Since we're the only two clans capable of holding our tongues then I'd say you're right" Tristan whispered back to her. "Speaking of" he said then motioned with his head. Sabine looked over to see the only person in the room who everyone could respect and possibly even like.

"House Kryze does" Bo-Katan said. No one looked away from Satine's sister who reached for a datapad from her nephew which he readily gave to her. "Since no other houses or clans are willing to work together we have compiled all of the information and evidence that has been obtained by the individual sects. From what we've been able to gather there have been over fifteen bombings at several different sites on Mandalore itself. Each time investigators found traces of nitrogen, cesium, and a type of alloy we aren't familiar with. These weapons are not made by amateurs. The bombs are made for maximum destruction and placed in high population areas."

"Were there any fragmentations in the bombs?" Ursa asked.

"Not that we found, which is perplexing to say the least. That was one of the reasons the assembly. None of what we've obtained has explained anything about the attacks other than the fact that they seem random and that they've been committed by this shadow figure who may or may not have followers. To be frank, we're completely in the dark."

Sabine waited until others started to speak then leaned over to whisper in her Mother's ear, "that alloy could be the key. One piece of misunderstood evidence could lead to plenty of the puzzle being revealed."

"You heard Lady Kryze" Ursa said back to her, "we haven't been able to determine what's in it. I don't think anyone would be willing to contribute their resources for the greater good. These clans are far too mistrusting and suspect of one another to help even if it means fighting a common threat."

"Perhaps we could figure something out" Sabine offered. Her Mother huffed at another argument that broke out between the clans then turned to face her daughter with full attention. "We know Lady Kryze enough to offer our resources to help. Another one or two houses should be more than enough to create networks that can find out what that alloy is."

"Yes that may work…" Ursa told her as she stared at the chair in front of them. The clan leader squinted her eyes and tapped her finger on her leg while she thought then turned back to Sabine when she made up her mind, "though I think there's a better way and it involves you. I will set up a meeting with Bo-Katan after this session, I need you to be there with me to help convince her."

She may have nodded in response to her Mother, but as Sabine sat back against her seat she felt uneasy. This was the first time in three years she felt comfortable enough to place herself in the presence of her people. In the wake of her incident she felt pathetic and lacked any self-confidence. That choice haunted her every day from sunrise to sunset and it never gave her a minute to breathe. Sobriety only made the feeling so much worse though Sabine told herself that living with that regret had to be better than finding solace in medication. Her family, perfect they may have been, weren't enough to make her comfortable with herself.

Now she was expected in the presence of the most respected woman on Mandalore, the woman who would no doubt become the head-of-state when the planet became peaceful once more. She wasn't worthy, she didn't deserve to be in Bo-Katan's presence. Their first meeting was nearly marred by Sabine's choice to name her weapon after the Duchess, and while she did make up for it she didn't deserve the honor. Whatever Ursa's plan was Sabine didn't feel like she should have a part in it. All of a sudden she wanted to return to her room where her paintings of her friends could keep her company.

A warm touch snapped Sabine from the troubling thoughts in her mind. Her brown eyes looked down to see her Mother's had resting on her own that were gripping the seat's armrests tight enough that they could snap. The touch reminded her of times when she had been a child growing up, it was Ursa's silent way of giving her all of the strength she would need. At times it could give her the power to take on all of the warriors her age that she trained with, now Sabine needed it to keep her from running away. Pathetic indeed.

. . .

As she expected, the 'Congress of Mandalore' had been an abysmal failure. Aside from Bo-Katan's divulgence of information there had been nothing gained from the session. On the contrary, several of the houses made oaths to never be in the same room as one another, so it was worse than before. While most of the delegations left the building her Mother had made her way to the ill-tempered head of House Kryze to set up a meeting, which the red-head agreed to at once. Further details weren't shared, but the two women from Clan Wren would be meeting with the unofficial leader of her people.

Dinnertime had passed far too quickly and she barely ate a thing. Anytime she picked up her fork Sabine's hand began to tremble while her conscience constantly berated her unworthiness. Pushing around her food should have been innocent enough, yet it just brought back memories of what she had done to her other family. It reminded her of how far she had fallen.

"Sabine, are you alright?" Ursa's voice said to her.

She looked at the elder woman sitting to her left. Ursa's brown eyes bore concern and it just made her feel worse. Her actual family had seen her broken nearly beyond repair, now anytime she lost herself in her thoughts they became worried that Sabine would spiral again. The first few weeks had seen plenty of that which meant she really couldn't blame them. However, each time they gave her that look guilt just came pouring into her along with the reminder of why she felt that way.

"I'm fine" she responded.

"You're a poor liar, my daughter" Ursa said with a sigh.

Sabine leaned back into her dark green chair then stared at the Kryze coat of arms that hung on the wall of Bo-Katan's longhouse. "I'm grateful that you asked me to come here with you, but I know that I shouldn't be right here right now. Being in the presence of others is much harder than it's ever been. To be honest, Mother I don't deserve to be anywhere but at home."

"You've been there for years and only left to walk around the lake. Staying there any longer will harm your health more than it already has. Having you home has made me truly appreciate you as a person, even with your…health problems. Regret is the first sign that you've matured and learned from what you did. The next step is to right those wrongs which involves you being out of your comfort zone."

"That means seeing people I can't face, Mother" Sabine told her.

Doors to the longhouse swung open revealing a fully armored Bo-Katan who sported a strong scowl. Ursa stood along with her daughter, but she whispered, "that will have to change very quickly." The two Wren women bowed, a gesture that was met by Bo and they sat down right afterwards.

"Thank you for agreeing to this meeting" Ursa stated thus beginning the conversation. "After today's missteps I was afraid that no progress would be made to find out who has been behind these attacks."

"Unfortunately, no progress has been made" Bo-Katan said firmly. Sabine watched her pull out the drawer in the coffee table that lay between the three seats then pulled out three shot glasses along with a bottle of liquor. "This is desperately needed after the disaster at the assembly. A hard drink seems only right" she said pouring them drinks.

Sabine stared at the mahogany-colored liquid suspiciously. No vices were allowed, that was her parent's rule and one she lived by. No drinks, death sticks, medication, or…comfort from men – a thought that made her want to throw up. She noticed an odd look from the head of House Kryze when she didn't throw the drink back like the other two, but she explained, "I mean no disrespect, but I've given an oath to not consume alcohol."

"That is rather strange, but I take no disrespect Sabine Wren" Bo said then tossed the drink back herself. "Excuse my indulgence, today just wasn't what I'd been hoping for. There was so much promise this morning only to fall so far. It seems my sister's irrational optimism has found me."

"There are worse things in the world, Lady Kryze" Ursa said leaning forward on her knees.

"I suppose there are" she agreed. "Your words are appreciated Lady Wren, but that clearly isn't the reason you came here. When we spoke earlier you told me that you had an idea on how to further investigate these attacks against Mandalore. I'm all ears to hear your proposition."

"During your time speaking to the clans of Mandalore you spoke of evidence that we could and couldn't determine. Knowing the components of the bombs are a beginning, but the alloy you spoke of is of critical importance. If we knew where it came from or what it was made out of then we could find out who is funding these terrorists, where their resources are coming from, and what their capabilities are. That alloy is the keystone that can solve it all."

"Seemingly rational logic. I can agree, though we lack the resources to look into it any further. We have no more facilities here on Mandalore that are capable of detecting what it's made of. Either they lack the funds, manpower, or were destroyed when the last Imperial traitors left into the depths of the galaxy. Those vile conspirators caused such destruction upon their leave that we have no choice but to put the rebuild efforts first, and we're only months into the project. It will take some time until we're able to reach the labs and will be longer until they're capable of taking on such a task."

Ursa nodded slowly, "I completely agree and understand. We must put the rebuild as our first priority. However, there is still a way that we can research the alloy without diverting funds." Listening to those words made Sabine incredibly uncomfortable.

Surely her Mother didn't bring her to this place simply to volunteer her to find out the composition of some metal. That would place so much pressure upon her shoulders; everyone would be looking to her for answers that Sabine wasn't ready to look for. Even if she thought herself capable of fulfilling that task there weren't enough materials in her home to help her. No, she couldn't do it, she wasn't good enough to try it. Sabine's breathing came quickly and short, the room began to spiral around her making her dizzy. Ursa couldn't be doing this, not now. She nearly tasted bile when Bo-Katan could her heard over her spiraling mind, "you mean to look for help?"

"I do" Ursa confirmed "but not from Mandalore."

Bo-Katan looked confused for a moment as she thought about the possible places that had both the capability and the willingness to help them. Sudden as a bee's sting it came to her, "you mean the New Republic?"

"No" Sabine breathed out.

"Indeed, Lady Kryze. Not only are they capable, but we've heard their promises to help those in need. Any systems who have been affected by the Empire's ruinous retreat and who have suffered under the Imperial yolk shall have assistance in their most immediate endeavor. It's what my family and I have heard from the nightly transmissions. From what I can tell, Prime Minister Mothma seems genuine in her extension of help."

This couldn't be happening, it had to be a dream! Sabine's gut told her where this meeting was headed, but she didn't want to believe it. This was so wrong; her Mother knew she wasn't ready for this.

"I would doubt that their hastily assembled Council of Governors would be willing to help us" Bo told her forthright. The woman leaned back in her chair then folded her arms over her chest to further digest the offer. "The Empire still has pockets of resistance that remain their top priority. There must be thousands of systems begging on their hands and knees to them in search of help. I doubt that we would even be able to speak to them. From what I've heard there are so many other systems who are far more chaotic than our own."

"Perhaps I should have been more specific. The Jedi Order is whom I wish to speak with as a matter of fact. Their reputation as miracle workers and problem solvers have reached even our ears on Krownest. No task seems too big even for them and this is an issue they can't simply push away. We three have worked with two of its members before and, forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but I believe you've met with the Grand Master himself, Lady Kryze."

"That is true. I've worked with several Jedi in the past who have given me reason to trust them. If I'm not mistaken, your daughter brought one of them with her on our mission to destroy the Empire's despicable weapon. Grand Master Kenobi on the other hand…we met during the Clone War under unfortunate circumstances, but I have a certain respect for him. No one can forget meeting someone during that time."

"Therefore, I propose that we contact them together. Both of us have connections within the Order that can serve us well during this investigation. We can pool together our efforts to solve this crime alongside the Jedi Knights they send us" Ursa said confidently leaning back in her seat.

Sabine nearly threw up on the spot from the anxiety welling in her stomach. Memories she could normally acknowledge held her heart in their unrelenting grip; yelling at Hera until the woman cried, Ezra's death and funeral, the drugs, having him come back to them only to find a broken home, Leia's conversation with her, Anakin's advice, and worst of all the look on Ezra's face when he found what she wanted him to find. She will never forget how it looked when she shattered his heart. How she could have a soul after that is beyond her, maybe she just didn't. There were times she let it all out, crying into her pillow when her heart crumpled under the anguish of losing her family. It killed her inside at night, gave her a break during most days, then suffocated her at night. It was all Sabine's fault, all of it.

Her eyes glazed over when she remembered her dream about life after the war. The Ghost crew were all celebrating and Ezra had been waiting just for her like he wouldn't be able to start without her. Nights would come when that dream teased her again of the life she wouldn't have a chance to live. The Empire was tumbling and she wouldn't be able to see it, she could never earn that privilege. Sabine knew that she could never live up to her actions, but somehow seeing what could have been standing right in front of her made her body heavy with agony. Seeing Ezra stand in front of her knowing what she had done had Sabine wishing she could take it back, take every second back.

"Well, Lady Wren" Bo-Katan said thoughtfully, "it wouldn't hurt to try. The Jedi may be more than likely to help us after seeing three familiar faces, so I am inclined to agree to your proposal. The New Republic itself may be too busy, but let's hope that old acquaintances are more receptive to our plight. This will not go over well with the other clans, but they had their chance to assist us. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I couldn't agree more, Lady Kryze" Ursa said with a sideways glance to her daughter. She looked on with a mournful look in her eyes when the familiar sight off Sabine's glazed over eyes and far off stare came to her. "Desperate measures indeed."

Sidenote: did anyone pick up on the fact that 'A Phoenix Dies' wasn't actually referring to Ezra, but Sabine and the Ghost Crew as a whole? I love double meanings so I use them a lot.