My Heart is Yours:
D2/1 BBY, Mandalore
Sabine beamed at Ezra for knowing the proper Mando'a endearment to call her. She should have been surprised, but somehow she really wasn't. Ezra always had this habit of being more prepared than his laid back, sometimes goofy, personality let on. In his own way, he was actually VERY smart. He was so good at making friends, it couldn't really be a coincidence. When it came to dealing with people, he was certainly in a league of his own.
The sensation of having her fingers laced with his was doing funny things to her heartbeat and sending little flutters of awareness through her, and they were both wearing gloves. She couldn't imagine how much better it would be without them. And his eyes; they were melting her stuttering heart with how they looked at her. The love in them was so clear to see and it helped her forget, just for a moment, how WRONG the rest of her life was right now. Ezra, on the other hand, was RIGHT. Being with him felt right. She was actually thinking about moving closer to him and trying the whole kiss thing again when her father spoke and tore her out of her trance.
Sabine dropped Ezra's hand as she turned and faced her father with heat rapidly rising to her face. "Father!" Osik, he'd seen her practically throw herself at Ezra twice now. What must he think of her?
She didn't get a chance to find out at that moment, because something else took everyone's attention.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose in warning just as she felt herself attacked from behind, her helmet flying out from under her arm. She had no time to react as Bo-Katan shoved her up against a wall face first and held the blade in her gauntlet to her throat, breaking the skin. Bo-Katan growled at her as she shoved her harder. "You're a Mandalorian! Why would you create such an abomination? That THING is the weapon of a coward."
There was another clatter on the floor, like a second helmet being dropped, followed by the sudden easing of the pressure. Sabine turned around to find Bo-Katan had been pulled back by Ezra. With the Force. His face was a study of concentration and anger as he held her in an invisible hold and she struggled in his grip. Bo-Katan stopped moving after a moment as she realized fighting was futile.
"No blades," Ezra growled. He didn't mind the girls having it out, as he sensed this was something that needed to be cleared up, but he wasn't going to watch Sabine bleed. Kanan had almost stopped him, as he sensed what Ezra was going to do, but then thought better of it, and didn't interfere. He realized Sabine was Ezra's to take care of, now more than ever.
Ezra walked around Bo-Katan, holding her still with one hand held up and came to stand beside Sabine, but keeping his eyes pined to the Mandalorian leader's. "If you promise to play nice, I'll let you go."
Bo-Katan's green eyes blazed murder, but she nodded stiffly.
Ezra let her go.
Bo-Katan took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself down. She turned her attention back to Sabine. "Why?" Just one word, but the hurt and pain in her voice was readily apparent.
Sabine sighed and slumped back against the wall, grateful for Ezra's strong presence beside her, but she was careful to keep her eyes locked with Bo-Katan's. She needed her to see her remorse. "I was young. It was a challenge. And I was arrogant. But when I realized the Empire tested it, and actually planned to use it, I sabotaged the prototype and destroyed the plans. I thought that was the end of it, I swear to you."
"Then how is it back?" Bo-Katan accused. "How come half your Clan and a few of mine are blowing in the wind? My nephew was there. Who's going to tell his wife and children that their father isn't coming home?"
Sabine went deathly pale and she shook her head. "I don't know! I don't know. I don't know," she finished in a whisper. She felt Ezra lace his fingers with hers again and Sabine found the courage to stand straighter and face her mistakes. "But I swear I won't rest until I make it right again. This is my mess and I'm going to fix it."
"Not by yourself," Ezra said. "I'm with you to the end."
Sabine looked up at him and almost got lost in the sincerity and commitment she found in the blue depths of his eyes. She squeezed his fingers appreciatively. "Thank you, Ezra."
"I'm with you too," Kanan said firmly, quickly followed by Chopper's beep of support.
"As am I," added Fenn Rau. "I promised I would follow you, back on Atallon, and I meant it."
"I will always support you, Daughter," Alrich added.
Sabine smiled a shaky smile at everyone in turn as they lent their support, and then she turned questioning eyes back to Bo-Katan, seeing the conflicted look on her face.
Bo-Katan sighed. "I suppose I am as well. You do deserve the right to make things as right as you can, but this doesn't mean I won't forget what you've done." She turned and swiftly stalked off to the door that led to the cockpit, shoulders stiff.
The room as a whole kind of exhaled in relief that things were settled for the moment.
Ezra focused his gaze on the still bleeding cut on Sabine's neck just above the collar of her bodysuit. "She hurt you," he said softly, regretting that he hadn't acted sooner and stopped Bo-Katan before she'd even touched Sabine. But he'd been so lost in the feelings swirling through him as Sabine finally acknowledged his devotion. And then they'd been caught making googoo eyes at each other by her father and Ezra's embarrassment had soared through the roof, and Kanan had been laughing at him through their bond. Distraction wasn't a great excuse, but it was all he had.
Sabine reached up with her free hand reflexively, gloved fingers coming away red. She'd actually forgotten about the cut already, it not registering amongst all the emotional pain that kept her focus right now. "It's nothing, Ezra. I'll slap some bacta and a bandaid on it later."
Ezra touched her neck gently. "I wish I could fix it for you now, but Force Healing isn't in my bag of tricks."
Sabine laughed sadly at his equally sad attempt at lightening the mood. "It's okay, Ezra. We have much bigger things to worry about than a tiny cut."
"Like not getting fried to a crisp in our armour," Fenn said, only half joking.
Ezra raised a brow at that. "Okay, so this weapon only targets Mandalorian armour, right? So why not make your armour out of something different?"
Sabine snorted and dropped his hand, smacking his arm for saying something so stupid. "Ezra, the armour I wear is five hundred years old. I reforged it to my liking, but, the battles, the history, the blood, all lives within it. And the same goes for every Mandalorian."
"This armour is part of our identity," Alrich added, even though he rarely wore it, he did have his own set. "It makes us Mandalorians who we are."
"And now it's going to make us dead," Fenn scoffed.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Sabine said determinedly. "I AM going to fix this."
"I'm holding you to that," Bo-Katan said as she re-emerged from the cockpit and everyone felt the ship come in for a landing. She stopped in front of Ezra and Sabine. "We're landing at my camp, and they've been informed of what has transpired. There are several clans here, since we were actually planning an attack on the Imperial Saxons before I was informed by the late Countess Wren of your plan to free your father. This is your chance to prove yourself, Sabine Wren. DON'T disappointment me."
Sabine nodded, her eyes not leaving Bo-Katan's until the older female nodded towards the cargo bay, indicating Sabine should go first.
Sabine squared her shoulders, picked up her helmet, which she'd dropped when Bo-Katan body slammed her, and walked proudly to the cargo bay.
As the ramp lowered, she found herself flanked by Ezra, Kanan, Fenn, and Chopper. Ezra and Kanan both touched an arm on either side of her at the same time in the same show of support, and Sabine couldn't help but smile slightly at how alike they were now. She doubted they even realized it.
Taking a deep breath, she walked down the ramp with her heart family at her side, Bo-Katan and her father following behind.
As she was spotted by the crowd of about thirty that had come to greet the ship, blasters were drawn and immediately pointed at her.
"Sabine Wren."
"I know you built that weapon."
"You betrayed us all."
"You're a traitor to Mandalore."
She didn't know any of these people but their accusations cut her to the core. Ezra and Kanan drawing their lightsabres on either side of her and getting into a protective stance made the hurt just a little less. She glanced over and saw Fenn had his blasters drawn as well, ready to fight for her.
And then her father's voice came from above them from his position halfway up the ramp, and her breath caught on the rush of love she felt for him.
"Lower your weapons," Alrich called firmly. "Sabine did everything she could to stop this from happening. You must believe us. Any attack on my daughter is an attack on Clan Wren and an attack on the new Countess."
That seemed to shock the crowd slightly as their blasters lowered ever so slightly and they looked at each other in confusion. Attacking a Countess was NOT a good idea. And this one was protected by two Jedi. Which made it even more confusing, since Jedi were supposed to be the enemy.
The opposing sides stared at each other for a whole minute, no one making a move to DO anything, but no one actually backing down either.
Sabine couldn't take the tension anymore. She threw her helmet on the ground and almost screamed, "No!"
Ezra looked at her in shock, his fingers tightening restlessly on the hilt of his lightsabre. "Sabine! What are you doing?"
"I'm prepared to take responsibility for my actions." Ezra blinked and then nodded slightly in acceptance, but he didn't turn off his lightsabre. She didn't blame him.
She addressed the crowd, raising her voice so all could hear her, especially as it seemed that even more had joined the back of the gathering. (Hard to tell for sure, though, since she was so short.) "It's true. I designed the weapon as a loyal student at the Imperial Academy. The Empire is using my prototype. But, it's only functioning at a fraction of its capacity. At full power, it will destroy armies. So, you've got a choice to make. We can fight each other, or we can destroy this weapon once and for all!"
Bo-Katan had been watching the whole thing, not taking sides. She came to a decision as she'd seen what she'd needed to from the girl. She stepped forward and addressed the crowd as well, after exchanging a quick glance with Sabine. "I understand your anger. In many ways, I feel the same. But Sabine is right. Now is not the time for us to be divisive. She knows the most about this weapon and how to destroy it. We need her."
Bo-Katan stared down her own clan members, telling them silently to put their blasters away. As they did so, the members from the other clans followed their lead, the Jedi put their weapons away, and the tension left the air. With a murmur as people talked amongst themselves, the crowd dispersed, going back to their tasks for the evening or to their tents. She turned to Sabine and gave her a look that said everything was up to her now. "It's time for you to prove your loyalty. Not just to your family, but to all of Mandalore. Come with me and we will make plans." Her eyes swept over Sabine's little family and she raised an imperious brow until they all nodded meekly.
Bo-Katan turned on her heel and stalked to the large command tent in the center of the camp, followed by Fenn, who thought she just might be the fiercest, hottest female he'd ever encountered. Fenn was thinking he might be in love and how come it had taken so long for him to meet her?
Ezra and Sabine looked at each other and he shrugged with a bashful look as she raised a brow at him for questioning her in front of so many. He bent down and picked Sabine's helmet up for her. She shook her head at him as she accepted the offering of her own helmet and smiled at the blush that had taken over his entire face at the quick kiss she'd pressed to his cheek for being so dorkily sweet.
Ezra was left behind, staring at her confidently striding figure with his heart in his eyes as he held his hand to his cheek in awe. He startled when Kanan clapped him on the back. "I think It's safe to say that you two are dating now," he said, laughter in his voice.
Ezra gaped at Kanan and then was clapped on the back again by Alrich. "Congratulations, son. Don't make me wait too long for grandkids."
Ezra's jaw practically dropped to the ground as he stared after the two men who were laughing like lothloons as they followed in Sabine's footsteps.
Chopper bumped into the back of his legs, beeped something like, "Get a move on, meatbag," and rolled after the others.
Ezra startled out of his frozen position and ran after the older men. He caught up to Alrich. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding?"
Alrich just grinned and swept into the guarded tent like he belonged there.
Ezra turned to Kanan. "He was kidding, right?"
Kanan shrugged, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. "Probably not. Their clan is a little depleted right now. They have to grow their numbers somehow. And I believe it is quite common for their people to marry young and produce children early."
"Kanan!" Ezra said in shock that his Master was playing along as well.
Kanan just squeezed his shoulder, laughter practically taking over the entire bond, and ducked into the tent.
Ezra looked from one guard to the other, armoured in Bo-Katan's clan colours. "Was he kidding?"
They shrugged in tandem and one held the door open for him. Ezra shook his head at himself, eyes wide, and entered the massive tent. He walked over to where everyone else was gathered around Chopper, who was projecting the schematics of a Star Destroyer. He was basically in a daze over the concept of having kids sooner than later, so he didn't contribute to the conversations, but he did manage to more or less listen.
Alrich was speaking as Ezra stopped beside Kanan. "Saxon has worked hard to keep the weapon secret, so he likely has it aboard his Imperial Star Destroyer outside of Sundari. Needless to say, it will be very well guarded."
Sabine was next. "Once we get inside that ship, we'll need two teams. One to find the weapon and one to wipe out every shred of data on the Imperial computer systems." Ezra suppressed the urge to smile like a dork from listening to her voice. It was sweet and commanding at the same time. How she did that, he didn't know, but he sure was a sucker for it.
"This weapon. Is there any way it could be turned against the Empire?" Fenn asked Sabine.
"I've studied stormtrooper armour, and, while the thought has crossed my mind, that isn't our mission," she replied. "No. No, we have to destroy it."
Ezra and Kanan caught the hint of something in her voice that said a new idea was brewing at the back of her mind. Ezra wouldn't be surprised if Sabine did something completely unexpected during the mission. She was good at that; coming up with new ways to destroy things on the fly.
"If I can get to the weapon, I can make sure it's destroyed," Sabine finished with, radiating determination into the Force.
"I'll get you there," Bo-Katan said, just as determinedly.
"Ezra and I will take Chopper to the data core," Kanan volunteered for them. Ezra would rather be with Sabine's team, but he didn't oppose his Master.
"All right. Let's go over our infiltration plan." Sabine became more animated and hopeful as she talked about her plan and the schematics of the Star Destroyer and the most likely place the weapon would be located.
Ezra's attention divided as Fenn and Bo-Katan stepped away from the group and started talking quietly to each other. Ezra found it quite amusing that Fenn seemed to have fallen so hard for the woman. He'd caught him looking at Bo-Katan the same way Ezra looked at Sabine and Kanan looked at Hera. They were all just a bunch of lovesick fools, weren't they?
Ezra's attention returned wholly to Sabine and he couldn't help the small smile as he watched her animated face as she talked about attacking the enemy. She was so good at this, and really was a born leader. Ezra was more than happy to stand at her side and let her make the big decisions, protecting her back as necessary. He could lead when he had to, but he enjoyed watching Sabine take control of things more. When it came to her, Ezra was just happy to spend whatever time he could with her.
The meeting came to an end some fifteen minutes later and Bo-Katan invited them to dine with her clan for the evening meal. The attack on Saxon's Star Destroyer was scheduled to take place a few hours before dawn, so more forces could arrive, giving them about six hours to eat and rest.
Since the Wren camp and their ships were about an hour away, Sabine and company were invited to stay with Bo-Katan's camp. A spare tent was erected in minutes for them and five cots placed around the edges.
Sabine stripped off her armour plates, gloves, and boots, but left everything else on, and fell into the cot, exhausted from the long day, but too agitated to sleep. She stared up at the ceiling of the tent while she listened to the breathing of the men turn regular and deep. The lump in the darkness that was Fenn was the first to start snoring softly. Within minutes, her father joined in and they were snoring in harmony. Normally, it would have been either comical or annoying, depending on her mood, but tonight, Sabine was just numb.
She knew she was grateful to have her father back, but at the cost of losing her mother and brother just made it agonizingly bittersweet. If she had known this was how it was going to play out, would she have done it again? How do you choose between the father that you adore and the mother you respect but can't ever love again because of what she did to you? Not to mention her beloved baby brother. Tristan didn't deserve this. None of her clan did.
Her eyes started leaking tears, the tracks running down into her ears uncomfortably.
Hating herself right now, Sabine rose silently from her cot, grabbed her boots and ducked out of the tent. She shoved her feet into her boots and walked with crossed arms holding her together through the nearly silent camp. The guard at the perimeter wall peered at her but didn't say anything as she walked past him out into the desert and just kept walking. When the camp was just a speck in the distance, she sank to her knees in the sand and let the sorrow take over but held back the screams, not wanting to wake the camp that would hear her, even as far out as she was.
With her head bowed and her shoulders shaking with the force of her grief, her eyes closed and the sound and sight of the Duchess doing its evil work assaulted her mind, memories taking over from today and years ago.
