Ezra stepped out first. It was so bright out it was almost blinding. Looking at the world around him, all he could see was dense underbrush and tall trees. Scanning the perimeter to check if it was safe, he yelled down, "We're good. No Stormtroopers or hungry predators. Come on up."
"Are you sure?" Sabine yelled back. "Last time you said that we fell into a trap and got stranded in the middle of nowhere."
"This time I'm pretty sure it's not a trap," Ezra said grabbing Sabine's hand and helping pull her from the flaming wreckage. "But that doesn't mean it's safe." Looking at the sun, he figured they had about four hours until nightfall. "Who knows what predators live here. We should try to find shelter and we better do it fast. I like animals and all, but I'd rather not stick around to see what's on this planet that can kill me."
"Kill a Mandalorian? I'd like to them try," Sabine said with a smirk. "I saw a compound to the north during the crash. It'd take too long to get there now. Let's investigate it tomorrow, see if there's anything useful. For tonight, I think we should set up by the mountains. It should be stable, defensible and hopefully safe."
"Lead the way, Commander," Ezra said with a mock salute.
As they started their trek to the mountains, the two lovebirds started discussing their chances of rescue.
"They might think we're dead," Sabine said morosely. An avian creature was watching them from a tree to their right. It looked like an owl, but it was out in broad daylight and it's underside was bright blue.
"Maybe, but by now they've probably hacked into Imperial channels and found out about Batonn. The ship was never destroyed, so the Rebellion and the Empire might be looking for us," he said while trying to connect with the owl. He tried to imprint a sense of calm into it, as if to say that he was not a threat.
"Even if that's true, neither have any way of tracking us. At least anytime soon. The best we can hope for is that they follow our trajectory and the Rebellion finds us first," Sabine said, watching Ezra play with the owl. It was flying around their heads, and she could see Ezra try to get a lock on it. "But who knows how long that could take. Here try these," she said while handing him some berries. "He might like them and land. Plus, we can figure out if they're edible."
"We're probably gonna need more than a few berries to keep ourselves alive," Ezra said taking the berries. He held his hand upwards and the owl swooped down to take them. Ezra did it again and, after a while, it decided to land on his shoulder. "Look I made a friend," he said with a goofy smile, turning around to face her, walking backwards.
"Ezra, only you could be happy about being stranded on a deserted planet."
"Hey, you can't honestly tell me that you like how things have been lately. We've been on constant missions for the past two months, we've barely had time to even get a simple bacta treatment, and this is the first time we've been alone in who knows how long. This is as close to a vacation as we're gonna get."
She let out a small laugh. "Probably, but it'll all be worth it in the end to see the Empire crumble."
"But don't you want to spend more time with me," Ezra said with a mock pout. The owl punctuated this with a hoot and a flap of his wings.
He gave her a dumb smile then hit his head on a tree branch. Sabine couldn't help but let out a little giggle. "May wanna watch where you're going there, Bridger. How are you supposed to become a Jedi if you can't even see what's right in front of you."
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm very aware of my surroundings," he said with that same stupid smile, but there was something else too. For a split second something else crossed his face. It happened so fast no one could have noticed it. No one but her.
"Ezra…" she started, a concerned tone in her voice when suddenly, as he took a step, he tumbled downward. "Ezra!" She tried to grab him but as he fell the owl took off and hit her face, blindsiding her. She lost her balance and started falling down with him.
Tumbling down the hill, they got a few scratches from some broken twigs and rough foliage until they hit the ground with a thud. Ezra had cushioned Sabine's fall and they both let out a groan as her weight plowed on top of him.
"Oww…" he said looking up at her. She took his breath away. The light of the small sun illumated half of her face while the other half was wrapped in shadows. Her dark hair with streaks at purple at the end, her beautiful brown eyes lit up, she looked perfect. He was about to say so when…
"Bzzzzzzzz!" They both looked upwards. Apparently they had landed in a nest of some… things. They were small and white, with scales protecting their outer body. They had massive claws, and ferocious looking teeth. On their heads they had two antlers of varying length. And they were all looking right at them. As they were getting up they heard an ear splitting shriek.
"Run!!"
They broke out into a sprint. "Where are we going?" Ezra yelled.
"Keep heading towards the mountains!" Sabine replied. "Those things didn't look like they were made for climbing!" she said as she shot at the creatures with her blaster.
Ezra tried to force push them away, but more just took their place. There were dozens, maybe even hundreds of them chasing after them.
They were suprisingly nimble. It looked like they had four pairs of pointed feet that provided along their abdomen. A few tried to jump at them. Those that made it close we're cut open with a slash of Ezra's lightsaber.
Eventually, they made it to the base of the mountain, but the creatures weren't far behind. There was a small cliff, climbable, but that would take too long.
"Ezra!" Sabine yelled as they ran towards it.
"Right!" he said, gaining speed and getting ahead of Sabine. "Ready!"
Sabine took a leap forward just as the creatures were starting to claw at her ankles. Ezra closed his eyes and reached out with the force. As Sabine jumped he force pushed her higher, clearing the cliff. A moment later Ezra followed with a force enhanced jump.
The creatures tried to follow them, but whenever they started to climb they just fell back down onto their shells.
Ezra and Sabine were panting heavily. "Still, *gasp* happy we *gasp* landed here?"
"Heh, a little," Ezra said, followed by a smack to his shoulder. "You okay? Any bites from those Buzzers?"
"Buzzers?"
"From the sound they make."
"Ah. No, I'm good." They took a few minutes to catch their breaths before realizing the sun was starting to set.
"We need to find some shelter and fast. Who knows what predators could be out there at night," Ezra said.
"Look," Sabine said pointing up the mountain. "There's a cave up there. If it's empty then we've found our home for the night."
They climbed up and stopped at the mouth of the cave. Sabine signaled Ezra that he'd take the lead, and she'd follow behind. If there was anything there, then they'd try to kill it. If there were too many, then it'd be a long night.
Three, two, one. They went in. Ezra ignited his lightsaber so he could see. He took a tentative step inside. There were two small branching corridors. Ezra went down one and Sabine the other. Ezra's was a small, narrow hall that ended abruptly. Sabine's, though also empty, ended in a big circular chamber like room. She checked around, for some fur or any indication that something lived here.
They both met up back at the entrance of the cave. "Clear on my side," Sabine said.
"Mine too. Guess we found where we're staying tonight," Ezra responded. "I'll take first watch. You look like you could use some rest."
"Thanks, Ezra." She gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Goodnight," she said.
She went into the large circular room. She laid down her bag of supplies and used it as a makeshift pillow. She and Ezra both had small pack of what they had taken from the wreckage of the ship. Blankets, spare clothes, as much food as they could carry. She placed her blaster right next to her temporary bed(couldn't be too careful) and tried to sleep.
A few hours later, and everything was quiet. Ezra looked over the jungle and wondered what lived in there. There was a small section to his left where light was coming from, but it seemed natural. It was on their way to the compound, so he'd ask Sabine if they could make a short detour to investigate.
Speaking of Sabine, she was fast asleep inside. She couldn't say her situation was comfortable, but she had been through worse. She kept tossing and turning in her sleep. The ground under her rumbled. She started to stir. It ground shook again, and this time she woke up. She immediately grabbed her blaster, trying to figure out if something had crawled out a hole in the wall, but didn't see anything.
Suddenly the ground was shaking more, and more violently. Then it started to crack and break. A moment later, Sabine was falling.
From the mouth of the cave all Ezra could hear was Sabine's scream and he rushed back into the room, lightsaber drawn. He looked around but all he could find was a massive hole in the ground where his girlfriend was.
