"That's your plan?! That's suicide!" Sabine yelled.
"Normally we would have the equipment and more information, but right now, we don't. I'm as big a fan of running in guns blazing as you are!" Ezra fired back. "But this is the most we can do with what we have!"
They had been arguing like this for the past half an hour. Armed with only the approximate location of the weapons depot and their wits, Ezra felt that they needed to act that night. Obviously, Sabine was completely against it.
"If we die, then we would've failed the Rebellion, Ezra! We can't afford to fail this mission! That's why we need to plan some more!" she bellowed.
"What more can we plan? We've covered all we can control. Everything else is in the hands of the Force and whatever other mystical power out there." Ezra replied, in a calmer voice. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Sabine. "We have to try right? If we don't do it as soon as possible, the Emperor will rise and destroy us."
She returned the embrace. A hug always helped them calm down when they got into a heated argument. Just relaxing in the presence of each other worked miracles for the soul and heart. "Shall we begin?" Ezra asked, breaking the intimate silence. Sabine pulled back and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
"Let's get 'em!" she replied, now more energetic and battle-ready. They got in the speeder and flew towards the weapons depot.
"Y'know, Ezra. I was just thinking..." she paused, trying to translate her thoughts into words. "If we do change the future and the Empire doesn't come into existence, does that mean we won't find each other?"
Ezra was taken slightly aback by her statement. He hadn't considered that when they were sent back. Aside from their younger selves never finding each other, what would happen to them? "I... I hadn't thought of that..." he softly admitted, stroking his chin. "Say, Sabine, what if we run into your younger self? Are we gonna mess something up with time or something?" he asked, concerned
Sabine wasn't all too worried. "If my memory's right, my younger self is away on Mandalore, getting scolded for painting again," she assured him. "We won't run into her here."
"But there can't be two Sabine's in the same time period, can there? " Ezra pointed out, running his hand through his hair. "And what's gonna happen to me when I'm born on Empire Day?!"
The Mandalorian piloting patted Ezra on the back. "Don't think too much of it, dear," she said. They finally reached the place, several clicks away from the warehouse. The anti-aircraft guns waited sat in front of them silently, waiting to blast any trespassing vehicles. "You know what to do." Sabine said, releasing her grip on the control yoke for Ezra to take over.
"May the Force Be with us." Ezra stated before he pushed the throttles up to full power. The speeder hurtled forward. This time, there was no warning from the ground, the guns turned and immediately started shooting at them. Ezra for his part was able to dodge most of them. As they approached the warehouse, Ezra turned and nodded to Sabine before jumping out the side.
He dived towards the ground, twisting and turning in mid air to avoid the torrent of laser fire flying towards him. He backflipped and landed on his hands and feet, projecting a Force wave out that knocked the clone troopers over. Ezra then picked up two of their rifles and started shooting back at them, relying on his Force-enhanced instincts to dodge any shots fired at him.
Sabine was not far behind, jumping out when the speeder was much lower. She landed on her feet, picked up a rifle, found some suitable cover and fired back. The speeder exploded as it hit the ground at high speed. After an intense firefight, the ten or so clone troopers laid on the ground motionless. Fortunately, the wounds Sabine and Ezra had sustained were not serious.
"Come on!" Ezra said, running towards the doors. "Alright, I think I can lift this up, cover me." He told her, tossing one of his rifles to her. Ezra then closed his eyes and concentrated, holding his hand up towards the door. Despite years of training and improvement under his master, Ezra still needed to focus completely when using the Force to lift objects. A grin spread across his face as the door started to move. "Sabine, I got it! I-" he stopped when he saw he saw her standing beside the door control panel, smirking at him. She ignored the upset look he was giving her and walked into the warehouse.
"Let's get what we need and get out of here!" she said. As they ran into the warehouse, a loud 'thud' sound filled the room, trapping them in a pitch black environment.
"Uh oh..." Ezra whispered, as the lights flashed on and they were faced with blaster rifles pointed at them from all directions.
"Drop those weapons, NOW!" a clone trooper ordered them. Ezra recognised the blue jaig eyes on his helmet.
"REX!" He said, almost gleefully, only to receive a rifle butt to the head. Even then, the Jedi sensed the momentary shock that the trooper felt.
"Drop those weapons, NOW! Or I'll have the two of you leave this place in body bags!" a deeper voice commanded as a man stepped forward. He looked roughly 30 years old, with cyan eyes, brown hair and a very stern expression. Ezra's eyes widened when he saw the small metal cylinder hanging from the man's belt. 'A Jedi Knight!' He exclaimed silently.
Ezra turned to Sabine and nodded. Slowly, the two of them squatted down and placed their weapons on the floor. Without warning, Ezra thrusted his hands out sideways, throwing the surrounding troopers back. "LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" He yelled, picking up a rifle in one hand and shooting at them. Sabine followed.
"Get them!" one of the troopers yelled before another firefight started.
Ezra turned and saw the Jedi had been knocked slightly back. Stretching out his free hand, he pulled with the Force until weapon flew from the belt and into his hand. "Thanks for that!" He quipped, dropping his gun and using the lightsaber to deflect the incoming laser shots.
Sabine grabbed hold of a hovering trolley, loaded with crates and started pushing it toward the entrance. Ezra, using his newly acquired weapon, covered her back. "Let's get out of here!" she yelled over the sound of blaster fire. They reached the blast doors without any serious injury.
"Comeoncomeoncomeon." Sabine mumbled as she hacked the door again. Finally, the door started to slide open. "Go! GO!" Sabine yelled, pushing their trolley out. Ezra delivered another Force wave toward their pursuers before following after her.
"AGH!" He cried out, feeling a surge of pain in his left leg. He collapsed on to the floor, just short of the exit.
"EZRA!" she cried, abandoning the trolley and running towards him. He shot her a look that she recognised all too well; the one that screamed "SABINE! Run!", the same one he had given her back on the Medical Station. But she wasn't going to let that happen again.
"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!" he yelled as the clone troopers pinned him down and handcuffed him. She was reluctant to abandon him like that.
There were simply too many soldiers for one to take on. Sure, she was Mandalorian, but she wasn't invincible. Sabine found herself in dilemma; leave her boyfriend or be gunned down by Clone troopers?
"Okay! Please, I surrender!" she yelled, dropping the rifle and holding her hands up in surrender. It hurt her Mandalorian principles and pride to say that last word.
"SABINE! What are you doing?!" Ezra bellowed back in disapproval.
"There are alternatives to violence, Ezra." she stated while the troopers handcuffed her.
"Jesse, escort these trespasses to the prison." Rex commanded one of the troopers standing beside him.
"Yes sir!" the trooper replied before ordering a small squad of men to accompany him. The two Rebels were led onto a nearby transport.
As the transport flew off, Rex couldn't help the discomfort and anxiety he felt that someone he had not seen before knew him by his nickname. Only his brothers, his General and former Commander Tano knew him by that. "Nicely handled, Rex." his General commended him.
"Not a problem, General Skywalker." He replied. "However, sir, I am perturbed. How does the guy with the blue hair know my nickname?"
Anakin Skywalker bent down to pick up his lightsaber, which had been dropped amidst the intense fight. "Well, he's clearly Force-sensitive. Maybe interrogation can help us learn more?" He suggested as they boarded their transport.
"I sure hope so." Rex said.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I need your opinions for the next part; do your want to see the Jedi Council's reaction to the break-in or would you rather stay with Ezra and Sabine. Do tell me in a comment, as well as your thoughts on this chapter! Anyway, thanks again and May The Force Be With You!
~Paul
