Chapter 11
The Phoenix fleet silently rode the vacuum of space. However, the situation is tense. The Ghost crew were standing in front of the med-bay doors. Sabine, in particular, was pacing back and forth in front of the doors.
"Hey, will you stop pacing?" Zeb asked.
"Well, you'd be pacing too if you were holding him too!" Sabine shot back, with visible sadness in her voice.
Kanan stepped up and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"He's going to make it." He assured. "Don't worry."
Ezra was about to say something, but he bit his lip. Just then, the doors slid open, and the Ghost crew poured into the bay.
"How is he?" Sabine asked.
The medics looked at each other, and then the main medic spoke up.
"Well, under his droids' instructions, we were able to stabilize him." He said.
He then revealed Felix's current state of body. His chest was connected to an average sized generator placed next to the bed. He had on a breath mask on his face, and he had thousands of wires connected to his chest from various computers. The Ghost crew was horrified by this sight.
"But this is only temporary." The medic said. "Unless we are able to find a legitimate way to cure him, he's not going anywhere."
"Thank you for your efforts." Hera said. "At least he's out of the woods."
Sabine resisted the urge to cry, and just bolted outside. Ezra went after her. Then the rest of the crew went out after. The medics returned to their work.
Ezra searched the entire ship, but he couldn't find Sabine anywhere. He turned around and saw the rest of the Ghost crew.
"Did you guys find her?" He asked.
"We looked everywhere." Rex replied. "There's no sign of her."
Ezra thought hard for a bit. Then, he had an idea. He then walked.
"Hey, where are you going?" Zeb called.
"I think I know where she might be!" Ezra called back.
Ezra, followed by the rest of the crew, then boarded the IcedShell. Upon entry, they immediately heard whimpering sounds. Kanan stepped forward, but Hera stopped him.
"Let Ezra do this." She said.
Ezra nodded, and carefully walked on. The Ghost crew waited patiently as Ezra walked into the corridors.
It wasn't difficult to find Sabine. Ezra found her the moment he entered the living room. Sabine was just sitting on the couch, covering her eyes with her hands. But visible water droplets dropped from her hands and dripped onto the floor.
"Hey." Ezra called.
Sabine looked up and saw Ezra. She began to wipe her eyes hastily.
"Oh, uh… hey, Ezra." She replied weakly.
Ezra sat down next to her. He then held her hand.
"Stop pretending." He said.
Sabine sighed deeply. This was one of the rare moments of her ever spilling her feelings to anyone. But, since she trusted Ezra, she decided to tell him. Wiping her eyes again, Sabine spoke.
"Felix and I've known each other for a while…" She admitted. "And y'know… I started developing this… well, infatuation… I think?"
"I think you call that love." Ezra teased.
Sabine paused at the word. This was true, but she's been denying any sense of it. Ketsu teased her about it, and while she brushed it off as just a tease, it was true.
"With that kind of explanation, it's not hard to decipher." Ezra added.
Sabine breathed in again, and then spoke.
"Now, the first love of my life is now connected to a bunch of machines with his life on a really line!" She mentioned, depressed. "How do I help him?"
Ezra thought. The only that came to his mind was the palladium that Felix constantly installed into him.
"I don't think we can…" He whispered.
"What do you mean?" Sabine asked.
Then, Ezra explained the Arc Reactor Felix had in the place of his heart. He went on to explain that the power source of the said Arc Reactor was slowly eating him away internally. Essentially telling her that even if they saved him, Felix's days are still numbered. Sabine then slouched down her seat.
"Then… there's no way we can help him?" She asked.
Ezra was about to answer, but then Bee walked in. He appeared to be holding something. Bee turned to the two young teens.
"Am I… interrupting something?" He asked.
"Uh, no." Ezra answered.
"What's that in your hand, Bee?" Sabine asked, getting up.
Bee looked at his hand, and then understood what she meant.
"This is Felix's destroyed Arc Reactor." Bee replied. "They were about to throw it out for spare parts, but R8 was able to salvage it. I was about to put this into his storage containers."
Sabine then sprang up and landed in front of Bee. She eyed the Arc Reactor suspiciously.
"Can I… take a look at it?" She asked.
Bee looked back and forth at Sabine and then the Arc Reactor. Then, without uttering a word, he handed Sabine the Arc Reactor. He then walked back to Felix's bedside. Sabine's mind was going a mile a second.
"What are you thinking…?" Ezra asked nervously.
Sabine smiled, and then she ran out. Ezra went after her, but tripped over some tools R8 dropped. The two teens ran out of the Iced Shell and into the Ghost.
Several hours have passed, and Sabine never emerged from her room. Kanan, Hera, Rex, Zeb, and Chopper was just in the living room, resting.
"How long has she been in there?" Kanan asked, handing Hera a warm drink.
"Several hours, I think?" Hera replied, sipping the drink.
Zeb and Rex turned back from their game of Dejarik, just in time to see Hera stand corrected. Sabine's door opened, and Sabine walked out, yawning loudly. Behind her, Ezra walked out as well, stretching. Chopper rolled up to them and said something condescending to them.
"Chopper!" Hera scolded. "Language!"
Chopper shrugged, and just rolled up next to Rex.
"It's just no good!" Sabine groaned, slouching down next to Hera. "I can't make heads or tails out of that thing!"
That thing was the Arc Reactor. She had taken it apart to further study its components, but putting it back together was when the problems presented themselves. The Reactor itself was no problem; the palladium was the problem. Sabine and Ezra had spent these past few hours just trying to figure out a different power source, but every element they've tried make the Reactor malfunction. The last element they've tried had finally given out the Reactor, which was a smoking heap of metal now.
"At this rate, we might never get Felix back on his feet." Ezra said.
Sabine choked up at the thought. She didn't want that. Hera pulled her in to her side to provide comfort.
"Keep at it." Kanan suggested. "A solution will present itself soon enough."
Just then, Bee and R8 walked in.
"Hello." Bee said.
"Hey, Bee." Rex called. "What are you here for?
"I'm just here to inform you that R8 has found something that might help your endeavors." Bee replied.
"Really?" Sabine asked hopefully.
R8 then rolled up and beeped eagerly. She then projected a holo-recording. She played it all the way up to a specific part.
"No way." Kanan replied after the recording was turned off. "No. Way."
"C'mon, Kanan!" Sabine pleaded. "This is for Felix!"
"Even if it is, no way!" Kanan said.
Kanan pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a lot going on already, and this was just icing on the cake.
"Kyber crystals are the rarest minerals in the galaxy!" Kanan explained. "You guys can't just expect to find it wandering out in the middle of nowhere!"
"If they exist, they are out there!" Sabine retorted. "Remember how Ezra got his?"
"That was a special condition!" Kanan shot back. "We can't just mine these things out of a rock!"
"Well… that's not entirely false." Bee added.
Everyone stopped when Bee said what he said.
"What do you mean?" Hera asked.
R8 beeped and booped. Bee spoke after that.
"Yes… as my partner so eloquently described…" He added, a bit annoyed. "We have been listening on private Imperial radio chatter for a working, and we have heard a bit about Kyber crystals."
"Have you tried tracing the signal of that transmission?" Rex asked.
"We have saved it, just in case." Bee replied. "We might be able to pinpoint its general broadcast origin, but it may take some time."
"I can help with that." Rex said, standing up. "Chopper, you help too!"
Chopper saluted, and rolled away with Rex, Bee, and R8. Hera took that as a signal for another adventure, so she went up to cockpit and began to set up. And on the way, she contacted Sato. Kanan left with Hera to the cockpit as well, followed by Sabine, Zeb and Ezra.
Bee, R8, Rex, and Chopper worked on the Iced Shell's transmission radio. They try to isolate the frequency of the specific transmission they were tracking. It took some time, but in the end, they finally got it. And with that result, Rex and Chopper rolled back to the Ghost. Bee and R8 stayed behind, as Felix wouldn't be happy that they left him for some joyride.
Rex and Chopper came to the cockpit.
"You guys got the location?" Hera asked.
"Yeah." Rex replied. "We pinpointed the origin of that transmission."
"Where's it from?" Zeb asked.
Chopper beeped as he plugged in and presented them the location.
"The Terrabe sector?" Ezra asked. "I don't know where that is."
"I do." Sabine replied. "It's in the Mid Rim. Heart of Imperial Territory."
"That just adds to the fun!" Hera smiled.
She then brought the Ghost to life, and grabbed the controls. And with that, the Ghost detached from the Phoenix flagship and flew away. And once they were far enough away, they jumped to hyperspace.