A little more than a week after the Spectres had spoken to Saw, Sabine was cleaning the tile floor in the mess hall after the Rebels' evening meal. She never realized how muddy the dining area really was until she was the one who had to mop it. The mud would never really be gone, but instead was pushed away to the surrounding dirt floor to be tracked in the next morning. She tried to make her job a little more bearable by making art on the dirty canvas of the tile, the mop her paintbrush. A few days ago, she had painted a giant Starbird under the tables, the streaks of soapy water reflecting light differently to make it visible.
Ezra worked alongside her, washing the tables and tidying up the dining area. He grew more frustrated as the day dragged on; something had to be wrong. Tossing down the rag on the next table, he spoke.
"Why hasn't Saw commed us?" he growled. "Where is he?"
"I don't know, Ezra," Sabine answered, her eyes fixed on the floor as she moved the mop in a jagged pattern. "It's been over a week. Something's up."
"He said he'd comm us, but I can't wait anymore!" Ezra aggressively began wiping down the next table.
"Let's just finish our shifts, and then we can talk to him."
Sabine stroked the final details of the Loth wolf she was painting. "There." She stood up straight and arched her back, surveying her work proudly.
Ezra came over next to Sabine and tilted his head. He admired the textures she made using murky water; the wolf's fur seemed to show each individual hair. Its eyes were set on him no matter where he stood.
"Hey, I like this one."
"I should probably clean it up," Sabine sighed. "I don't want to get in trouble." She dunked the mop back in the water bucket and wrung it out.
"Yeah, good point," Ezra agreed. He pursed his lips as he watched Sabine wash her art away, and half-turned as Zeb came up behind them.
"Has Saw contacted us yet?" the Lasat grunted.
"No," Sabine and Ezra said together.
"And where's Chopper?" asked Ezra.
"Over there." Zeb pointed behind him with his thumb.
They peered out into the main hangar toward the sound of Chopper whooping angrily, trying to pry one of the gravity locks off of the Ghost's landing gear. He banged his head against it several times in frustration as the three hurried over.
"Chop, those have been on her for a week," said Sabine, her arms crossed. "We're still not going anywhere. Now come on, let's go inside and to talk to Saw."
The astromech sighed and slowly rolled to the rest of the crew. They all headed into the Ghost and gathered in the lounge. Sabine activated the holotable and Saw appeared.
"Saw, what's going on?" asked Sabine. "Why haven't you called us?"
"You didn't get them?"
"What? Transmissions? How many did you send?"
"Three, right after we blew up a cargo ship after getting the data and a few supplies. We've been waiting for your response for four days, now."
Ezra shifted closer to Zeb. "Wow, he actually waited for something?" he whispered. Zeb suppressed a snicker.
Sabine waved her hand to hush them. "The Empire must have intercepted them. Was your ship moving when you sent them?"
Saw hesitated. "Yes, after the first two."
"It only takes two transmissions from two different places to locate our base!" Sabine raised her voice. "The Empire might know where we are!"
"You're sure you didn't get any of them?"
"Yeah," Ezra replied. "Chopper would've told us."
Chopper let out two low whirs, agreeing with him.
"Unbelievable," Sabine said under her breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose, disgusted by the whole situation. Now, on top of Hera and the baby, she had the whole Rebellion to worry about. She turned her attention back to Saw. "And you didn't think to come back to us?"
"Well, that's sort of the issue," Saw wheezed. "We had to go to the other side of the galaxy to get to the major cargo ship routes. And as you know, we weren't the only non-imperials there."
"Pirates," Ezra muttered. "You got tangled up in Pirate business, didn't you?"
"They robbed us of all of our credits and fuel canisters," Saw said angrily. "We barely escaped with the files."
"Oh, good," said Sabine, relieved. "Where are you now?"
"Right near the Ryloth system."
"You're not too far away," mused Ezra. "But maybe you want to get a little closer? Just so there's more of a chance of us getting them all?"
"No, Ezra," argued Sabine. "This has already taken too long."
"But don't we—"
"So do you want the files or not?" Saw interrupted.
"Yes," Sabine answered. "Chopper will give you the signal when we're ready to receive."
"Good." He nodded, then pressed a button on his wrist to end the transmission.
The Ghost crew struggled to stay awake until 2300, when the shift change happened. After a week of tedious and physically exhausting work, staying up past 2000 was a challenge. They took turns going to the mess to get cups of caf for themselves. Zeb and Sabine lay on the sectional in the lounge while Ezra was taking a nap in the corner.
"You ready?" asked Sabine drowsily, not opening her eyes.
Zeb grumbled and rolled his head over to the other side. "Yep."
Sabine held her wrist up and pried open an eye to check the time-tracker. "Only five more minutes." She dropped her hand heavily and closed her eyes again.
Chopper issued a few low beeps and swiveled his head around.
"Yes, Chop, we know," said Ezra, waking from his nap. "Leave our boots." He stood up and stretched. If only he had the constant energy of a droid.
A few minutes of silence passed. Sabine's time-tracker beeped, and they all struggled up from their resting positions.
"You have the chip?" asked Zeb.
"I do," she replied, holding it up.
"All right," Ezra declared. "Let's go."
Wearing only socks, they sprinted down the boarding ramp of the Ghost and across the hangar. Chopper's wheels squeaked the whole way, making the crew more tense. Sabine made a mental note to oil that wheel when they got back to the ship. Her thoughts went to Hera and her meticulous maintenance of him. They entered the passageways surrounding the command center and silently made their way toward it, stopping outside the door. Ezra carefully peeked around the corner to make sure they were safe.
"It's clear," he whispered.
"Let's make this quick," Sabine said. "Chopper, give the signal. Zeb, Ezra, you stand guard."
Something inside the droid's head started to whir. He rolled himself forward and stuck his manipulator into the astromech port, twisting it left and right a few times. The screen above it illuminated, showing four empty white bars. A piece of text flashed below them.
Insert chip.
Sabine guided the chip into the slot next to the screen until it automatically retracted it. The bars on the screen filled to the first marker, then paused. One by one, they got to the second, and the third, then the fourth as Saw's data downloaded.
This part always takes the longest, she thought. Thirty seconds later, the fifth marker filled. It took another ten seconds to clear the sixth, then the seventh...
She knew it shouldn't be taking this long. These files must be absolutely massive! She stared intensely at the bars, waiting for them to move.
At his post by the door, Zeb tried to tune out the electronic noises of the chip-burning. He listened closely for something he thought he heard in the corridor, but the beeps and rasps of the data download were all he could hear. He stilled himself and listened intently. Yes—a rhythmic sound echoing off the walls.
His eyes widened. Footsteps.
"Someone's coming!" he hissed.
"Kriff!" whispered Sabine. "Come on, come on, come on..." The indicator bars refused to move.
"Getting closer!" Zeb said through gritted teeth.
"Ezra, do something!" she ordered.
Ezra dashed to the door, hugging the wall by Zeb, hoping the person wouldn't sense the movement. He shut his eyes and reached out to the man through the Force. He concentrated for a while, holding his hand out in front of him. The footsteps drew closer... closer...
Sabine saw the Rebel trooper continue straight down the hall as Ezra lowered his hand. A sigh of relief escaped her. Finally, the bars reached the final marker. The console ejected the chip and she snatched it, tucking it in her belt pouch.
"Come on!" she urged, standing up. "Go, go, go, go!"
They ran silently back to the Ghost with the information. After making sure everybody got in, Zeb hit the controls to fold up the boarding ramp. He, Ezra, and Sabine all agreed to search the files tomorrow; it was time for a good, long sleep. At last, they were one step closer to bringing Hera home.
