3-2-3281 11:04
I slip under Prime's attempt at a strike at my lightsaber, turn around him and feign a lethal blow to his neck before stopping and taking a step back, allowing our sparring to continue.
I need the reps again a real foe, so my killing blow doesn't mean anything other than a quick reset.
Prime scowls in frustration, wipes his forehead and resumes his assault on my defenses with a chop. I block the move, then redirect it so that I have an easy alley to poke Prime in the chest, then barely tap him with my dulled lightsaber, instantly causing him to wince.
"DAMMIT!" He yells in frustration, then deactivates the training saber and spins away from me. "I promise I'm trying! It's too easy for you."
"It's reps." I smile.
He's fighting above his weight class.
Prime nods, then his expression returns to exasperation. "But…I don't understand how anyone hits you though. Ever. You're in one spot, I move to attack and do something about it, but by the time I get there, you've hit me and moved!" He whips around and flips the hilt into a nook in the rocks outside my little enclosure that I built here in the back of the backyard.
"I've only been hit once." I shrug. "Actually, no. Twice."
"Head, hand. Yeah. Makes sense. And the head doesn't really count, you had barely done any training." Prime adds.
I nod, clipping my lightsaber to my belt. "I was a blinded gundark. Break?"
"Sure." He nods before together, we start back to the house.
Sabine must have moved to the range. Sof's playing her music, which is a lot more old fashioned than Sabine's. Sabine loves Core Drive, Sof is more of an orchestral girl, like the opera that performed at that wedding.
As we walk thru the house, Sof's head pops up from her hallway along with her music. "Ezra, can I have a snack? I'm hungry."
"Sure." I smile.
Even though we just had breakfast like three hours ago. A huge breakfast since we have Rex, Echo, Prime and Aiden over. And she's still hungry.
Prime chuckles as he pulls the door open, and for the familiar 'Pop!' of hands hitting protective gloves rapidly to drift up to our ears. 'Pop!' 'Pop Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop Pop!' 'Pop!'
When we reach the yard, I see Sabine, her arms blurs as Echo is seated on a rock, hands extended, allowing her to hit his pads as fast as she can.
It's not a bad workout. I tried it a few days ago, and I feel faster. When Sabine gets back to full strength, we'll be able to be each other's pad practice.
Prime and I join Rex, who is standing behind Sabine with a smirk on his face. "How's it going?" I ask rhetorically.
He's happy. Sabine's ahead of schedule. He and Echo weren't expecting her to be jogging around the property and doing very light strength training already. Rex wasn't thrilled she's focusing on strength instead of quickness and flexibility, hence hitting the pads.
"She's dipping her shoulders too much, but her knee bend is great, and her speed is superb."
'Pop!' 'Pop Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop!' 'Pop Pop!'
Sweat keeps pouring down Sabine's face, but she barely breaks form as she wipes her face, flicks her hands and then hits the pad across from her.
"Time." Echo says, then smiles. Sabine takes a heavy breath, then crouches down and closes her eyes.
"I was wearing out finally that time. Buirshika!" She says, then snatches up her water bottle. "I heard about my shoulders. I'll work on it."
Rex smiles, understanding. "Your hands are plenty fast, right where I think they should be."
"I'll ask Mom too. She's always been my baseline." Sabine gasps, then starts sucking down more water.
"I was thinking of adding in a little movement on my end. A fake punch here and there for evasion." Echo says to Rex.
Prime shrugs. "Core strength and evasion. Seems fine to me."
"Did you see Sof when you came thru the house?" Sabine asks me.
I nod. "Yeah, she's hungry again." Quickly, everyone starts to laugh, and Sabine beams.
"House, home. She'll be eating the foundation next."
"Probably her first big growth spurt coming." Rex smiles.
Echo shakes his head. "Not quite yet, she's nine. Kids hit their growth period in full force around 11, 12. I thought, right?" He turns to Sabine and I.
I think so, but I hit mine at 16/17. But I also had the malnourishment thing. Sabine's always been Sabine height to me. And girls are different from boys.
"I hit mine late. I was about 13." Sabine gestures, then moves to get more water, only for it to sputter back at her. "Aww damn. I'm out."
Echo takes the water without asking. "I'll get you a refill, then we can—" He says before being cut off by the sound of a ship engine causes us all to turn toward the massive roar.
The Millennium Falcon?! What the—Why?
I turn to Sabine as the Falcon gently sweeps around the property, heading for the landing area near the shooting range. "Did you hear—?"
"No. Nobody's heard anything." She answers me. "I have no clue."
"Let's go check it out." I turn to Prime. "Maybe this is good."
Prime gives me a skeptical look. "I'm not so sure about that. How can we be sure it's not a trap set by Vader?"
That would be a good trap. We know Vader was hunting Luke down or at least trying to. It'd be a move he'd make, to camouflage his intentions by flying in the Falcon.
I probe out, then shake my head and wave for Prime to follow. "No, I feel Luke and Leia. I'm feeling positive today."
"Hah!" Sabine laughs. "Maybe they come bearing gifts or came to say hi!"
I shrug as Prime and I jog down the gravel path down the yard, passing the shooting range just as the Falcon touches down. "Answering your question, if it is a trap, better we face it than anyone up there."
"Fair point." He nods, blaster pistol in his hand before gas emits from the Falcon and ramp extends out.
Four Force Signatures. Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie probably.
"Oh you've got to be…" I mutter under my breath as Lando Calrissian walks onto the ramp, spurring me into action. "Lando?"
"Ezra Bridger! A long time and many stars since I saw you last." He says warmly. "As well as a growth spurt. You're looking well."
Leia.
"Do we know him?" Prime asks, already looking skeptical.
"Yeah, met him on Lothal. Was pulling some hijinks when it turned into an Idiot's Array with a puffer pig." I roll my eyes and look to Leia. "Are you being held hostage?"
Leia suddenly laughs, then smiles. "Unfortunately, no. It's a long story. Do you mind if we stay here for a brief moment? Things have gotten…complicated."
Uh oh.
"Yeah." I nod. "Sure, but he—" I point to Lando. "Can't pull anything."
"Lando won't pull anything."
Luke.
Lando makes some smooth comment I block out, instead focusing on Prime's spirit soaring as we both smile at the sight of Luke Skywalker before I spot his right hand.
Uh oh.
"Your hand." I point out.
Leia simply answers. "Vader. Like I said, it's complicated." Chewie roars in agreement behind her, walking off the Falcon.
"Okay, tell R2 and Threepio to run diagnostics and checks on all major systems." Luke instructs Chewie, who turns back to the Falcon.
"Is this everyone? Where's Han?" Prime asks. Immediately. Leia's eyes find the dirt at her feet.
"Han, uhm, well he's been captured. Vader laid a trap for them where I had finally found a nice and quiet place to lay low. They gave him to a bounty hunter we've been keeping an eye on. Well, some of us have been." Lando says, then gives Luke a look. My eyes snap to Luke's belt, where a new, slender lightsaber is sitting where Anakin's should be.
Whoa.
"I'm sure you were doing something that brought Vader Lando." I roll my eyes, then wave for everyone to follow me before Leia falls into step beside me. "We were getting worried, nobody had heard from you outside of your deferment of power to Mon Mothma in months."
Leia frowns, as her eye level remain on the snow covered ground. "It's a long story. We've been on the run almost since Hoth fell."
"The whole time?" Prime asks, sounding shocked.
"Yes." Luke jumps in. "Been running thru a gambit of planets for a few reasons but we need a place to sit for a moment. And Leia thought this might be it."
Leia's concerned look doesn't leave her face before I smile. "Absolutely, that was kind of the point of moving up here after Jedha. We aren't really even hiding, just living while Sabine recovers."
"RECOVERS?" Lando, Luke and Leia all chant back at me, looking alarmed before Leia takes charge. "What happened?"
"You didn't hear?" Prime asks the group.
"No." Luke shakes his head. "We've been unplugged from everything, trying to get our act together. What happened?"
I feel Leia's eyes bore into my head unrelentingly before I sum the last few months up succinctly. "Pirates attacked in Keldabe, the capitol. Mand'alor asked us to intervene, not that he had to. At one point, we got separated as I attacked a ten foot tall lifeform in large metal armor that was butchering everyone in his path. Sabine pursued a sniper who took down a classmate of Sophie's only for him to pull a dirty trick on her—"
"filthy really" Prime jumps in.
"—leaving Sabine with a pretty good neck injury, broken arm and a long recovery." I finish.
"It was bad." Rex suddenly says, causing everyone to turn and see him standing at the foot of the firing range. "Senator."
"Rex." Leia smiles. "All this is true?"
Rex solemnly nods. "Ezra's underselling it. But it looks like you haven't had it so easy either Luke."
Luke jumps at the sound of his voice, then makes a jittery motion. "I'm fine, just working some things out. Sorry we didn't hear about Sabine."
"Yeah, we would have called ahead or seen if we could find a way to help." Lando adds behind him.
"There hasn't been much to do outside of her rehab, which we've had more than enough help with her parents along with Rex and Echo." I explain before Rex takes point and we start back up the mountain. "So where have you been?"
"Tatooine, Corellia, Nal Hutta, Nar Shaadaa, Takodana, all over the place." Lando comments.
"Tatooine?" I blurt out and spin to look at Luke, who gives me a small smile and gestures toward his lightsaber.
Where would he have learned about the process of how to create a new lightsaber? Master Kenobi? Where was he?
Tatooine.
"—think this would be a good time to take a break for some lunch, then we can resume afterward." Echo tells somebody, who I'm assuming is Sabine.
"No, I'm good to go now. But if Luke and Leia are here, then that'll be a—hi!" Sabine lights up once we reach the front yard and their little station.
Leia takes a few quick steps forward then stops. "We just heard. I'm so sorry we didn't before now. Are you…?"
"Oh dear." Is all Lando contributes to the conversation before Sabine spots him and gives him a withering look.
"You're running with Lando now?" Sabine asks Leia cynically.
"He's a friend of Han's." Leia defends him.
"Where is Han?" Echo asks beside Sabine.
Prime takes the opportunity to jump in. "Vader, of course. They said they'd explain here in a bit."
"We were about to have lunch. Come on in, shoes off at the door." Sabine smiles at everyone, grimacing at Lando.
I wave everyone in front of me, including Prime, who shakes his head and gestures for me to go first as everyone climbs the front steps and slides inside the house thru the side door.
"Sophie!" I hear Leia say happily, just before I spot Sof turn around, head in the fridge with an apple in her mouth.
She's hungry.
Sof makes a choking sound, then drops the apple into her hand and lights up. "Hi! Sorry, I was getting food. I'm hungry."
"Like always." Rex teases Sof, who blushes as the room laughs before moving to hug Leia.
"Everyone says there's nothing wrong with being hungry." Sophie comments, then moves to hug Luke.
"Absolutely nothing." Echo backs her up.
We really don't have all that much leftovers or sandwich materials, we weren't expecting guests until this coming weekend with Sabine's parents.
"I'm going to go see what we've got out back and start putting something together." I tell Sabine, who nods and smiles while leaning on the kitchen counter.
Breathe Ezra.
Vader got to Luke and has both he and Leia shaken. Han is who knows where, and they've been running since before Sabine got hurt nine months ago. Vader cut off Luke's hand like he did mine, except the opposite hand. I should probably get Maddie to start finding the footage of that fight. See where he went wrong, how it went, the whole thing.
Rolling my neck over to let it pop before I swing open the storage doors to check out our lunch options occupies me before I feel the Force tug behind me.
"Ezra?" Luke quietly speaks up in the doorway behind me.
I spin back and smile. "What's up Luke?"
"I, uhm, I was wondering something. Is your offer to help me still stand? Because well, I need your help." He asks humbly, then averts his eyes to the floor.
"Of course it still stands." I smile. "Technically it was Ahsoka, but yeah. Leia and the Rebellion have done a lot for Sabine and I. The least we can do is return the favor and help you. What do you have in mind?"
Luke's face breaks into a smile before he grabs his lightsaber and extends it to me. "Well, first off what do you think?" I take his lightsaber, then extend mine to him and start inspecting his new creation.
Thin body, utilitarian, definitely has some echoes of Master Kenobi's lightsaber…
"Take my lightsaber." I instruct Luke.
"Why?" He fires back.
I flick my eyes up at him. "It's how things were done with Ahsoka and your father. They taught me this, and I'm teaching you. Take it." Luke accepts my lightsaber, and I fully focus on his lightsaber for a moment before stepping out of the shed and activating it.
Green. Huh.
"Interesting. And you mediated on the crystal?" I ask, assuming the answer while tilting the blade.
Luke nods. "I meditated on everything. The main reason I was on Tatooine was to go thru the rest of old Ben's stuff. I found all the materials I needed to make that, instructions, everything,"
"Like he was planning on teaching you." I smile to myself.
There was a plan.
"Yeah." Luke nods. "but nothing on lightsaber forms, combat thoughts, that sort of thing. I know you gave me some stuff, but I lost in in the scrum and madness on Hoth. Would you happen to have another copy?"
That information probably ended up back in Vader's hands. Great. He has my playbook. I guess to some extent he always has, since he gave me a portion of it, but still.
I nod, then extend his lightsaber back to him. "Yeah, I have another copy. We'll get that sorted out. Here's my main question: Are you willing to listen and be taught? Because I have some ideas, but if you're narrow and closed minded I'll have you run up and down that mountain until you freeze." I point to the towering peaks above the house.
"I'll be sure to be open minded. What sort of thing are you thinking?"
"Bringing in Ahsoka, first off. You hurt her, you know that." I put it bluntly. "You're her master's son. She really wanted to help."
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I just thought that deferring was the best call." He says defensively.
I nod in understanding, then grab a few large pieces of tonitrky, already basted and waiting to be cooked before moving towards the back patio and my grill. "We couldn't make you train, but it was a blow to things."
"I didn't mean it."
"We know." I nod. "I'll comm everyone later and started herding the Loth-Cats."
Luke perks up a little bit. "Leia's been digging into some details about that planet, Lothal. Apparently that's where you're from?"
"Yup." I nod. "They're trying to draw me out to this day so that they can take me out."
Luke's pace picks up. "Well that makes sense becau—" before the door open to the sight of Sof holding some basic barbecue ingredients. "Oh, sorry."
"Excuse me Luke." Sophie slides right by him and sets her stuff on the countertop beside the grill. "Sabine wanted you inside to start explaining something about something?"
Luke nods, then smiles at Sof. "I'll get right on that!" then waves to me and darts inside, shutting the door behind him.
Not the best timing Sof, but that's okay.
"Thanks for the ingredients Sof." I smile and glance over at Sof as she flicks on the sink and washes her hands. In uncharacteristic fashion, Sophie maintains a neutral look on her face while rubbing the soap between her fingers, underneath her nails, then underneath the water before grabbing the towels and drying her hands off.
She's thinking.
I smile to defuse her nerves before they even start, then say "I know that look. Your sister has it Sof, I can read it."
"What look? I don't have a look." Sophie's voice pitches up defensively, causing me to laugh.
"Sof." I say simply, causing her to duck her head. "You know you can tell me anything."
I've always told her that she can always talk to me. Doesn't matter if it's about school, cooking, a friend being rude, boys, drinking, sex, whatever. I wish I had somebody to talk to, and it's too awkward to talk to your family about it. So why not have Sof talk to me?
"I don't like Lando." She says bluntly, with an ugly look on her face.
HAH!
I hang my head and beam to myself, causing Sof to tilt her head curiously. "And why's that?" I ask, unable to keep my laugh out of my voice.
"Uhh…he's too smooth?" She says, looking and sounding unsure of herself. "He just doesn't feel right to me, like Mommy and Daddy and you and Sabine have told me to look for."
Her instincts are going off.
I force myself to take a breath, but smile over at Sof. "You wanna know the truth?"
"Yeah?" Sof answers.
"That's good. Sabine and I bumped into him, and he's a criminal, to be blunt. It's good that you picked up that something's not right. That's really good Sof."
"The word that comes to my mind is sleazy." Sof replies earnestly. "Shady."
"Corrupt. You're right, he's a fast talker."
"So I'm right?" Sof questions herself.
I nod. "Your instincts are dead on. And everyone installed them. Sabine and I, your parents, Kanan and Hera, Ahsoka and Lux, Rex and Echo, everyone. They wanted you to see thru guys like him."
Sof blankly blinks, then asks "Then what should I do about it?"
"Act normal, keep working on your schoolwork with Aiden and enjoy yourself. If you don't want to be around Lando, say you have to do something else." I smile and start whipping up a quick rub for the tonitrky.
"Okay."
Sof takes a step to walk away before I call out her name. "Oh, and Sof?"
"yeah?" She turns back to glance at me.
"Keep an eye on him. Just in case. He is a smuggler."
Sophie seems to take this in for a moment, then smirks to herself and bounces back inside.