Last chapter on Phantoms of the Past: Ahsoka enlisted the help of Sabine in regards to her repeating visions as well as a gift for Ezra. Maul's growing army and a new piece of his plan is revealed. Fulcrum contacted Phoenix squadron to inform them of rebel activity on Vorzyd V. The mercenaries from Thabeska were also found to have worked for Maul on Vorzyd V. The Ghost crew went to investigate but first decided on taking Ezra out for his first legal drink.


CH 11: Empire Day

The Ghost crew made their way through crowded evening streets of the upper city of Vorzyd V in search of a bar that wasn't too crowded but also wasn't so empty that they would draw attention. The city spanned the entire planet and the buildings were so tall that the upper city was entirely above the clouds. Even with the light pollution and starships flying above, the night sky was perfectly illuminated with the stars and no moon in sight. Vorzyd V, or Gamblers World as it was known, had no moon. The streets were lined with brightly lit casino entrances, clubs, and bars. Despite the seedy nature of the planet's industry, it was nothing but high class in the upper city. No crime, no graffiti, no civilians carrying weapons, or wearing armor. There were, however, numerous Imperial flags and stormtrooper patrols, likely all out for the illustrious Empire Day.

It made Sabine feel uneasy. Especially considering her current attire. The same outfit she had worn for the heist of Hosnian Prime. A simple dark brown leather jacket with a white shirt and black jeans.

"I still don't get why we couldn't bring weapons or armor." Sabine complained to Hera.

"Not this again." Hera sighed. "We're trying not to draw attention so we can just have one normal night." She raised her index finger and pointed at Sabine "Which means no armor, no weapons, and no graffiti."

"Art." Sabine corrected Hera.

"Fine. No Art." Hera relented then pointed at Zeb. "And no fighting" then pointed at Ezra who merely looked at Hera like an innocent Loth-Cat. "And no stealing."

"Yes, Hera." both Ezra and Zeb said in unison with resigned groans.

Sabine let Hera and Zeb take the lead, shouldering through people while Ezra fell back to walk next to her.

"Here." Ezra spoke as quietly as he could. He turned towards her as he walked and discreetly held out his open hand. In it was a shortened barrel CDEF blaster pistol. One of Sabine's many modified weapons that she had left in the Ghost weapons locker for anybody to use. The weapon packed more punch than a holdout blaster and was almost as small.

Sabine smiled at Ezra, her heart beating faster just at the gesture. She realized it was a strange reaction to most. But to her it meant a lot. Ezra knew how uncomfortable she was without weapons or armor, it was her way of life and so there he was trying to make her feel better.

"Keep it." Sabine replied. She pulled open her jacket revealing a pistol grip sticking out of an inside pocket. She had made two of those CDEF blasters and the one in her jacket was the second one. Ezra laughed and shook his head before quickly putting his blaster away.

"So why complain about not having weapons?" Ezra asked.

"Hera would be suspicious if I didn't complain." Sabine shrugged.

"Should I complain about not being able to steal then?" Ezra teemed with mischief as he showed her the contents of his right hand. Five hundred credits.

"What the-"

"Hey keep it down." Ezra interrupted her as he pocketed the money and took a quick glance at his surroundings. Likely checking to see if anybody noticed. Sabine did as well. Luckily, it didn't look like anybody was looking their way.

"Where did you even get that?" Sabine asked.

"Fifteen meters or so back." Ezra said pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "Old guy in the white suit."

Sabine looked behind her to see a well dressed human in a white suit talking to a woman. She was about to yell at Ezra for stealing from an innocent person until she saw that the suit was in fact an Imperial uniform.

"You have got to teach me how to do that." Sabine requested enthusiastically. The Imperial had no idea what hit him and wouldn't until they were a long way gone. She saw Ezra's eyes light up at her request. A sheepish grin grew on his face as if she had just told him everything he ever wanted to hear.

"Really?" He asked. "You want to learn?"

"Of course!"

"Alright," Ezra said. "I'll teach you a bit later tonight but only if you agree to teach me how to paint."

"Deal." Sabine quickly agreed.

Sabine smiled at the thought of teaching Ezra how to paint. It was going to be impossible, but at the very least it was an excuse to spend more time with him. Something she had found herself wanting more and more of since Kashyyyk. She told herself it was nothing and that she didn't know why, but deep in the back of her mind after what Ahsoka had told her, a part of Sabine knew that it was because she was truly happy when she was with Ezra and that maybe she was falling in love with him.

Sabine blissfully allowed herself to think of what things could have been like between her and Ezra had there been no war to fight and no terrifying visions of the future to worry about. She knew they never would have met, but she imagined that they would have anyway. Maybe the two could have something more than the complicated friendship they had, but for now she was more than willing to settle for teaching each other how to pickpocket and paint.

Sabine and Ezra followed Zeb and Hera into a bar they decided on.

Pickpocketing and painting later. Sabine said to herself pushing away the fantasies of a normal life, whatever a normal life could be for a Mandalorian and a Jedi. First I've gotta teach him how to drink like a Mandalorian.


Ahsoka nimbly glided through the empty back streets of Vorzyd V. What people she did see either didn't see her, cowered in fear, or begged for money. The streets were filthy, the air was rotten, and the only source of lights came from neon signs for bars, sketchy casinos, and dull street lamps.

The former Jedi had opted not to go with Ezra and the rest of the crew for drinks for a multitude of reasons. The first being that their profiles were still only known on Lothal and surrounding planets, Ahsoka however, had started hearing reports of Imperial bounties for her popping up across the entire galaxy ever since Malachor. She would only draw attention by going out in public with the others on such a populated planet. The second reason was simple, the merc from Thabeska gave up the location of one of the warehouses they were providing security for on Vorzyd which was where Ahsoka was headed to at that very moment. She was just around the corner from her destination and luckily hadn't encountered any trouble yet.

There was the occasional security patrol, Ahsoka suspected that most of the local planetary forces as well as the Imperials were more focused on the celebrations in the upper city.

The one thing that hadn't changed since the rise of the Empire, security for the wealthy came first. As much as this fact of life disturbed Ahsoka, she was more than happy to take advantage of it as a rebel.

Ahsoka made her way down the side of the street, tugging at the edge of her hood with both hands both to cover her face and to stave off the surprisingly bitter cold. She came to an intersection and rounded the corner. At the end of the street was a derelict building that looked more like it used to be slum housing rather than a warehouse. Nonetheless, it was the location that Ahsoka was given so she was going to investigate it regardless of the likelihood of a trap.

After making sure there weren't any lookouts, Ahsoka made her way down the street and towards the main entrance of the run-down building. There was a single door in the center which she approached carefully. She pressed the open button on the console next to the door and it simply slid open.

No lock? Definitely a trap. Ahsoka pulled a lightsaber to her right hand but left her other hand free. She couldn't sense anything inside the dark building but that didn't stop her from being cautious.

Slowly, Ahsoka walked inside revealing a mostly shelled out first floor. In front of her was a lift and on both sides most of the walls had been taken out to open the area up. Likely for storage as the Merc had said. There were a few turned over and empty crates dispersed across the floor but didn't appear to contain anything that would bear information for Ahsoka's investigation.

Ahsoka stepped into the lift and pressed the button for the second floor. The elevator shuddered to life indicating lack of maintenance and old age but did its job and brought her up to the second floor.

The second floor was equally empty and shelled out like the first floor. Only support beams were left in place to keep the building from collapsing while walls were removed. There were additionally a few more small crates as well as a familiar smell. It brought her back to all of her unpleasant excursions to the planet florrum, specifically in Hondo Ohnaka's compound. Ahsoka carefully walked towards one of the containers and knelt down beside it before opening it.

It was empty save for a thin red powder that permeated the air with a heavy odor. Spice.

Ahsoka scowled in disgust at the sight of the illicit drug that plagued the galaxy. Carefully she brushed her finger across the dust and ground it in between her index and thumb. One of the many things she had learned in Jedi training was how to identify all types of contraband ranging from exotic species to illegal drugs. The spice dust quickly kneaded into a small ball and made the skin on her finger go numb.

Polstine Spice. Ahsoka remarked in surprise. It was the most expensive and highly illegal strain of the drug. She was surprised that somebody as lowly as Maul had operations that high up on the drug chain. It also partially explained trying to take over the Fardi's smuggling operation and how Maul was able to fund the mercenaries.

Ahsoka knew there had to be more to it than that though. The spice explained the smuggling and the mercenaries but it didn't explain or even come close to why Maul was investigating the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. There were still too many questions.

Deciding to move on, Ahsoka went back to the lift and to the third and top floor of the building. The lift doors opened up revealing flickering lights in a hallway. The walls hadn't been taken out like the previous floors.

Ahsoka stepped out into the hallway. The sound of electricity cutting in and out on the lights was the only sound save for the crumbling concrete crunching under Ahsoka's boots. It was so quiet that she could hear her heart beat and the sound of her clothes on her skin. She took one step at a time until she made it to the first door. Unlike the entrance to the building, this door had magnetic locks installed. Ahsoka glanced down the hallway at the other doors which appeared to be equipped with similar locks as well.

With a flick of her thumb, Ahsoka activated the saber in her right hand. The white light and steady hum brought much needed comfort and relief to her ears and eyes. She pressed the end of the saber into the locking mechanism and slowly cut around it. The lock wasn't designed to resist lightsabers and was cut through with ease.

Once the locking mechanism was cut out, Ahsoka gave it a light nudge with the force making the entire cut area fall away from the door and onto the floor. Without the lock in place, the door slid open revealing a horrid sight.

The room inside was small, damp, and even darker than the hallway. A pile of rags that looked like they were supposed to be a makeshift bed sat in the far corner. There were occasional blood spatters dispersed across the floor and walls, and most disturbingly there was a camera in one of the upper corners of the wall.

Ahsoka turned to look at the inside of the door and checked the console on it. It was deactivated. Cameras, mag lock on the door, and no way to open or close it from the inside. Ahsoka's heart sank and a small ball of rage began to form in her chest. She quickly quelled it, pushing the anger as far back as she could as she moved onto the next room, broke the lock and checked the inside. It was the same. As was the next room, and the one after that. After the fourth room, Ahsoka gave up. The rage in her chest boiled up again, this time she couldn't push it back.

Maul was antagonizing her. She had enough experience and had heard enough stories about him that he was too calculating to have had his thugs leave all this evidence behind on accident. He did it on purpose, to show that he was not only one step ahead of her but gaining his power and money in the most despicable way possible. Drugs and slaves.

The only question was, where did all of the drugs and slaves go.


Hera, Ezra, and Sabine stood around a high top table talking amongst themselves while Zeb tried to flag down the bartender at the bar. It had been ten minutes and Ezra could see from across the room that the Lasat's patience was wearing thin, not that Zeb was ever known for outstanding patience in the first place.

Ezra watched their surroundings carefully. They stood at a table adjacent to the bar and close to the back exit of the building. The bar itself was not at all what Ezra had expected. It was crowded and music was playing at such a high level that it was impossible to overhear a conversation even a few feet away. Neon signs and holos glared across the walls and there were quite a few people dancing. Despite not even having a drink yet, Ezra was enjoying himself, everybody seemed happy.

"Alright kid!" Zeb came back to the high top table that Ezra, Sabine, and Hera all stood at. He set down a handful of drinks that his massive hands had carried with ease. A short glass of clear liquid for Sabine, she had told Ezra it was called Tihaar, a potent Mandalorian liquor that was triple distilled from fruits. Hera took an Adumari beer and Zeb handed Ezra a large glass with an amber liquid.

"Thanks...Uhh what is it?" Ezra eyed it cautiously, the glass was so large that Ezra was pretty sure it was bigger than his own head.

"It's Dor'ah! It's a Lasat drink. A real drink!"

"Oh, Zeb not this again!" Sabine complained after taking a sip of her own drink.

"What?" Zeb looked at her with his best version of innocent eyes.

"I think what Sabine is referring to, Zeb, is that you've had all of us try this drink before. Many times." Hera said.

"So?" Zeb shrugged.

"Hey who knows, maybe I'll like it." Ezra chimed in.

"Alright but don't say I didn't warn you." Sabine teased. Ezra looked at the drink apprehensively, took a deep breath, let it out, then pulled the large glass up to his mouth. The smell alone was so bitter that it almost made him put it down but he powered through and took a large gulp.

Despite swallowing as quickly as he could, the drink still burned in his throat and tasted so awful that he cringed and shook his head as a shiver went down his spine. It was without a doubt, the most repulsive thing he had ever consumed. Which for Ezra, a former homeless pickpocket and street urchin was saying quite a lot.

Sabine and Zeb both erupted in laughter at what Ezra could only assume was his reaction to the drink.

"That's awful how do you even enjoy that taste?" Ezra asked.

"It's not about the taste." Zeb answered. Ezra watched in shock and awe as Zeb quickly chugged his own drink in it's entirety. "It's about how it makes you feel. You gonna finish that?" He said pointing at Ezra's drink. Ezra relinquished his drink and pushed it across the table to Zeb who quickly drank half of it.

"Here." Sabine handed Ezra her drink. Ezra took it and apprehensively took a sip of it. In comparison to the Do'rah it wasn't nearly as bitter but was felt significantly stronger in alcohol content. It also had a familiar fruity flavor to it that reminded him of home.

"It's Jogan fruit." Sabine explained. The flavor made sense now, the Jogan was a fruit that use to grow on Lothal during his childhood. After years of the Empire destroying the agriculture with pollution though, the fruit had stopped growing on the planet. "You have the rest I'll get something else."

"I'll go with you." Hera said. "Be careful with that." Hera pointed at the drink as Ezra took a second and much deeper sip from it.

"He'll be fine. It's only sixty seven percent alcohol." Sabine said.

"Exactly." Ezra heard Hera say as the two women walked towards the bar. Ezra and Zeb both took another sip of their respective drinks then fell into an awkward silence. The two of them hadn't really had a chance to talk much even since Kashyyyk and before that hadn't talked since Malachor. Ezra had no idea what to say to Zeb, how to even begin to apologize for abandoning a friend who he had begun to look at as a brother and he wasn't comfortable pretending like it never happened either. Much to Ezra's relief, Zeb finally broke the silence.

"You alright, Ezra?" Zeb asked. Ezra immediately recognized the tone in Zeb's voice. Neither of them were particularly good at talking about feelings or personal matters. After years of living together and going through plenty of shocking and traumatic experiences, the two had inadvertently created their own secret language in recognizing when something was wrong and managing to talk about it. In this instance, Ezra knew that Zeb was referring to Empire Day.

"I guess." Ezra answered as the melancholy tone that the day always held over him came back to him. It was just a reminder, a slap in the face of everything the Empire had done to Ezra. They had imprisoned and killed his parents, destroyed his home, taken away numerous friends of his from the streets of Lothal, and over the past years had begun destroying his entire home planet.

Ezra felt a pang of pain and melancholy from Zeb as well as he reflected on his past.

I'm not the only one. The same thing happened to Zeb. Ezra realized, he looked up to see a look of agony in Zeb's face as an Empire logo came across the holo screens. Zeb's family had been killed by the Empire too, almost his entire species was killed, and his home entirely destroyed.

"How do you deal with it?" Ezra asked.

"It gets easier each year." Zeb explained. "And it helps to know I'm not alone." He said raising his glass to Ezra.

Ezra raised his glass as well. "To not being alone." The two clinked glasses then both downed the rest of their drinks.

"Not bad, Bridger." Ezra heard Sabine say as she and Hera both came back to the table with drinks in hand. Hera had somehow managed to finish her beer and carried a different colored one as well as a small flask shaped glass. Sabine had a glass of Tihaar in each hand. "I told you he could handle it, Hera." Sabine nudged Ezra with her shoulder looking up at him as she did, their eyes locked for only a brief moment and Ezra swore that he could see a sparkle of admiration in her eye. It was fleeting to the point that he brushed it off and said he was just imagining things. "He's just as tough as any Mando."

"Is that for me?" Ezra asked pointing at one of the fresh glasses of Tihaar that Sabine had brought.

"No, I've gotta catch up since you took my first drink. These are both for me" Sabine said with a teasing smirk. Ezra watched in awe as Sabine somehow managed to throw back the first drink as if it was a small shot and look graceful while doing it.

"Whoa." Ezra said before he could filter his response.

"What?" Sabine asked after setting down the empty glass.

"Uhh...nothing." Ezra said rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He had barely managed to catch himself before blurting out something stupid. What he really wanted to say was something about how beautiful she was no matter what she was doing whether it be fighting, painting, or evidently drinking as well.

"This one is for you, Ezra." Hera handed Ezra the glass flask that was about the size of his palm. "Sabine thought you might like it since you liked the Tahiir so much."

"Thanks, Sabine." Ezra looked at her and noticed her cheeks were flushed with a light pink color.

Must be the alcohol. Ezra guessed. In fact he felt a warmness coming up his neck and cheeks as well as a calm buzz in his head that made the rest of his body feel relaxed. The alcohol was definitely starting to take effect.

"So what's this?" Ezra inspected the flask carefully and read the label. It read 'Pretor Flats Spirits.'

Pretor Flats. Ezra recognized the name. It was one of the largest plains on Lothal. "This is from Lothal." Ezra remarked. Hastily, he unscrewed the top and took a sip of the liquor. It smelled sweet and didn't taste nearly as bitter as the other drinks but wasn't too sweet either. It was perfect.

"You like it?" Sabine asked. Ezra nodded his head in response.

"I love it." He answered taking another deeper sip from the drink and almost instantly feeling it's effects.

"Oh and it's fast acting so be careful." Hera warned Ezra. "Evidently people from Lothal don't like to wait to get drunk."

Ezra laughed and continued drinking albeit more slowly. Ezra and Zeb got the next round of drinks which, much to Ezra's surprise, was a stressful experience and took far too long. Regardless of the annoyance of getting drinks, the next hour was actually fun, and for a little while he didn't think of the Empire or Maul or his home. It was the first time on an Empire Day since his parents were taken away that Ezra Bridger was actually happy.

After finishing their third round of drinks. Hera and Sabine went to get the next and final round according to Hera much to the vocal disappointment of everybody else.

"Don't start any trouble while we're gone." Hera warned Zeb and Ezra before her and Sabine stepped away from the table.

"What could we possibly do to cause trouble in the time that they'll be gone?" Zeb asked.

"I don't know. Remember the time Hera sent us on a supply run in Lothal to get a Meiloorun?" Ezra reminded Zeb.

"We didn't cause that much trouble!" Zeb exclaimed.

"Zeb, we stole a TIE fighter, destroyed a farm stand, and attacked an Imperial troop convoy and all we got from it was a single Meiloorun."

"Hey keep it down, people don't need to overhear that." Zeb warned Ezra bringing a finger up to his lips to shush him.

"What are you kidding me? Nobody can hear us." Ezra swung his hands up as he spoke and lost his balance. He fell back and tried to regain his balance by stepping back but was too late. He stumbled back into somebody and heard something shatter at his feet.

Oh no. Ezra cursed at himself for being so sloppy, he didn't realize just how drunk he had gotten.

"Hey, stoopa." Ezra felt a large hand grab him by the shoulder and swing him around. Broken glass crunched under his boots as a livid alien face came into his sight. A tall man with broad shoulders, white hair and entirely white eyes was who was holding Ezra.

"Whoa, what are you?" Ezra said without thinking. The man's face contorted even further expressing disgust at Ezra's question.

Idiot. Why did I say that? Ezra blamed the alcohol.

"I'm an Arkanian you fool, and you made me drop my drink."

"Hey. He didn't mean to, it was an accident." Zeb said as he stepped next to Ezra.

"Back away from me, filth." The Arkanian said to Zeb. Ezra looked behind their angry new friend that there were four other people who looked the same. White hair and white eyes, all surprisingly large and muscular.

"I'm giving you one chance." Zeb growled. "Take your hand off the kid and go back to what you were doing."

"We don't take orders from you. Our people are the pinnacle of evolution. You are our inferiors." One of the other Arkanians said. Ezra rolled his eyes at the alien's bigotry and arrogance.

Guess it's not just the empire that's racist. Ezra wasn't in the mood for a fight but there were few things he hated as much as the Empire. Racists were one of them.

"Yeah well if your species is so evolved then how come you haven't evolved to not drop your drinks?" Ezra asked, he heard Zeb laughing next to him. The Arkanians did not enjoy Ezra's humor.

The leader then punched Ezra directly in the face knocking him back into the table. Ezra's vision went blank for a short moment then came back. He shook his head and tried to regain his senses. He heard a war cry that sounded like Zeb, then breaking glasses and tables. People being hit. Ezra turned around and saw the chaos that had unfolded at Zeb's hands in the mere seconds that he was out for the count. Two tables flipped over, an Arkanian already on the ground a few meters away amongst a pile of glass, chairs and people caught in the crossfire.

"Kid! You alright?" Zeb's face appeared directly in front of Ezra's line of sight.

"Yeah." Ezra answered.

"Good, I could use a hand here." Zeb said as three Arkanians grappled with Zeb trying to take him down and hit him. The leader charged at Ezra. Ezra ducked under the first punch then retaliated by hitting the arrogant idiot in the gut with a fist. The Arkanian doubled over but managed to push Ezra away before he could get in another hit.

"Zeb!" Ezra yelled as his comrade took two hits to the face while two Arkanians held his arms. Ezra sidestepped a drunken kick from his attacker and grabbed one of the people holding Zeb's arm. He brought up his cybernetic hand and punched the Arkanian as hard as he could. Under the strength of Ezra's arm, the Arkanian was thrown off of Zeb and down to the floor.

Zeb yelled again and with his free arm grabbed his attacker by the throat, lifting him off of the ground. "Kid watch out!" Ezra turned just in time to see Zeb throw the man he held into the leader who was once again charging Ezra. Both fell into the table that Ezra and Zeb had previously occupied knocking it over and causing the people near it to scatter.

Zeb quickly dealt the other remaining Arkanian holding his arm down. Ezra watched the thrown Arkanian stumble back to his feet and look at Ezra with a menacing glare.

"Really?" Ezra asked out loud. The Arkanian swung at Ezra and missed then instantly swung with surprising speed with his other hand hitting Ezra in the shoulder. Then a kick to the chest. Ezra fell back onto the floor then immediately saw the Arkanian come into his field of view, then his fist. Ezra rolled his head to the side just in time for the Arkanians fist to slam into the floor with a crack that sent a shiver up his spine.

The Arkanian screamed in pain and held his wounded hand to his chest. Ezra took advantage of his opponents distraction. He grabbed the Arkanian by the collar of his shirt and yanked him to the side. The Arkanian had only one good hand to try and balance himself and failed. Ezra rolled onto his feet then kicked the Arkanian in the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

"Nice one." Ezra heard Zeb say as the Lasat came to stand next to him and look down at the unconscious man.

"Thanks." Ezra replied. The two heard shuffling and groaning. They looked for the source of the sound and saw the leader of the Arkanians standing back up and looking at Ezra and Zeb with pure rage in his eyes. The kind of rage that said he wasn't going to give up despite the fact that all of his friends had.

The area of the bar had been cleared of bystanders at this point and Ezra was honestly surprised that security hadn't shown up yet. Ezra guessed that they were probably having trouble getting through the crowds and the fight had barely gone on for a minute at that point anyways.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Ezra sighed. Ezra and Zeb watched in amazement as the Arkanian knelt down and picked up a broken bottle.

"I'm going to kill you both." The Arkanian yelled. Ezra and Zeb looked at each other in confusion, unsure of whether or not the Arkanian actually believed that. Before either of them could decide a thick glass bottle hit the man in the side of the head with a heavy thud. The Arkanian's eyes lost focus and his body swayed then he fell sideways onto the floor.

Ezra looked at where the bottle had came from and saw Sabine and Hera. Hera still had two drinks in her hands while Sabine only had one. "I can't believe you started a bar fight without me!" She yelled.

"Nice throw." Ezra responded.

"Yeah well somebody had to save you two from getting stabbed with a broken bottle."

"We had it under control!" Zeb protested.

"I said not to start any trouble! We were only gone for two minutes!" Hera yelled at Ezra and Zeb.

"Hey, we didn't start it!" Ezra said raising his hands in innocence. Then he pointed the unconscious leader. "He hit me first."

"You did knock his drink out of his hand." Zeb said.

"Who's side are you on?!" Ezra yelled at Zeb.

"We'll argue this later!" Hera said dropping both of her drinks and pointed towards the front entrance of the bar. Local security was pushing through the crowd and towards them. "Out the back door!"


It had been nearly an hour and a half since the bar fight. The Ghost crew had ditched the security that was chasing them in a massive crowd of people waiting for fireworks in a magnificent park a few blocks away from the bar.

To draw less attention, they had also split up and agreed to meet up at the place Ezra currently was. He sat alone on the roof of a large pagoda they were supposed to rendezvous at. He watched the empty night sky in a listful daze. There were no starships or clouds marring his view. There would be fireworks soon and he hoped that they would be on their way back to the Ghost by the time they started. They were most likely going to be Empire themed. Reds and whites with symbols of the Empire emblazoned across the sky wasn't really something Ezra looked forward to seeing.

He couldn't go anywhere though. He was early to the rendezvous and the fireworks would present the best opportunity they had to leave the park unnoticed by security or Imperials.

"Hey." Ezra heard Sabine's voice from behind him. He watched as she easily climbed over the ledge and onto the roof of the pagoda. He tried and failed to stop himself from admiring her slender form when he noticed her watching his eyes.

Damnit Ezra, stop doing that. He lectured himself as Sabine sat next to him and let out a light sigh that made his heart melt. She sat so close to him that their hips and shoulders were touching. Her face was so close to his that he could see every color and detail in her irises.

She doesn't have feelings for you, never has. You don't need anything more than to be her friend. He repeated the words in his head over and over like a mantra. It didn't help.

"You sure know how to pick them." Sabine said breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Ezra asked, his concentration on trying not to focus on Sabine's proximity was broken.

Sabine chuckled at Ezra's confused expression and gestured in front of them with an open hand.

"The views." She said. "You've got a good eye for them."

"Oh…" Ezra looked back at the scene in front of him. The roof of the pagoda peaked just over the canopy of trees surrounding it. The park extended for quite some time, clearings and ponds and statues all dispersed among it and beyond the park were skyscrapers all with unique designs and reaching as high as they could. Beyond and between the skyscrapers and above them was the night sky with no moon, only the stars. "...Thanks." Ezra said upon realizing just how attractive the view was.

"Fireworks should be starting in a few minutes." Sabine said.

"Yeah." Ezra replied solemnly.

"Hey, cheer up I'm sure there will be some pretty cool stuff in there aside from Imperial flags and colors." Sabine said in an upbeat voice. Then she reached into her jacket and pulled out two flasks that Ezra immediately recognized. It was the Pretor Flats Spirits from Lothal.

"How'd you get this?" Ezra asked incredulously as he opened up the flask and took a sip from it.

"Swiped it from the bar once everybody started paying attention to you and Zeb taking on those Arkanians." Sabine shrugged. "I'm still pissed you got in a bar fight without me by the way."

"Hey it wasn't on purpose!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Oh sure." Sabine said playfully and took another swig of her drink. "You did it without me because you knew that I would show you up."

"No you wouldn't." Ezra protested.

"Ezra," Sabine made Ezra make eye contact with her before she continued speaking. She was so close he could feel her breath on his neck. All he could think of doing was leaning down and kissing her. To tell her that he loved her and always had. "I've been practicing hand to hand combat since I could walk. I could totally show you up in a bar fight." Sabine said after what felt like a year of being entranced by her.


"I could totally show you up in a bar fight." Sabine finally managed to get out after being stuck in what felt like a time loop. He was right there in front of her, inches away.

That's what you came up with? Talking yourself up? Smooth, Sabine. Sabine said before tearing her eyes away from Ezra's, his blue eyes that were her favorite color. Allowing herself some self pity, Sabine took a deep drink and finished off the flask. At the very least she had the benefit of the alcohol making her more self confident. That or just not caring as much about making a fool of herself in front of Ezra. She wasn't sure which one it was but she was sure that it helped.

"Fine." Ezra relented. "Maybe you could."

"That's more like it." Sabine teased with a little laugh. Without warning a high pitched whistling sound caught both of their attentions and alerted them to a firework shooting off into the sky. The first firework erupted with a deep boom and red tendrils of fire and sparks spouted out in different directions. The crowd in the park cheered and clapped. Five more fireworks quickly joined it all in different colors and then a massive single one came after.

It erupted with an astonishingly loud boom and ignited into the symbol of the Empire. Sabine instantly felt Ezra's spirits fall at the sight. Luckily though she knew what was coming next, and that it would put a smile on his face. Whoever was in charge of the fireworks really needed better security because Sabine, even while slightly drunk, had no problem sneaking around and making some major modifications to the fireworks. What she had done had taken an entire hour but luckily fireworks were even easier to work on than explosives so she was confident the results would be perfect.

The Imperial symbol faded then two more fireworks shot up in a line with equal distancing. At the same time, the fireworks erupted and both formed perfect symbols in the night sky. In two different colors, one in a burning orange and the other in a bright blue, the Phoenix symbol burned in the sky and held for a moment before slowly falling to the ground.

Sabine looked up at Ezra to see an awestruck look in his eyes.

"Told you it wouldn't all be Imperial stuff." She said. The widest smile she had ever seen came across his lips.

"Did you do this?" He asked.

"Happy birthday, Ezra Bridger." She said gently. She felt her heart beat in her chest increase ever so slightly at the look that he gave her. It made her feel like she was the only person in the galaxy.

"It's perfect." He said, she saw a look of uncertainty in his eyes then his cheeks blush as he fumbled over the next two words. "You're perfect."

Then her heart stopped, or felt like it did a backflip at least. Ezra did still have feelings for her. There was no questioning it for Sabine now. She fumbled for words trying to think of what to say but just ended up staring at him blankly as her mind ran a mile a minute.

"Uhh I mean-" Ezra started to backtrack.

Probably because I'm just blankly staring at him. Say something idiot! Sabine yelled at herself. More fireworks detonated above them snapping her out of her stupor. Sabine wasn't good with expressing emotions especially verbally.

Screw it. Sabine said. In a strange moment of pure confidence Sabine grabbed Ezra putting a hand on each side of his face and kissed him. He didn't react at first but then she felt his lips move as well to kiss her back. His hand wrapped around her back sending a shiver up her spine that put butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't explain how it felt other than that it felt right. As if it was everything she ever wanted or needed in one single moment.

After a few more seconds Sabine gently pulled away and opened her eyes. Ezra looked down at her with a stunned but happy look on his face.

"What was that for?" Ezra asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything! I really loved it. I've wanted to-"

"Shush." Sabine put her finger to his lips to get him to stop talking. It was adorable how nervous he was. She was too. Her body was shaking in fact, but she still had enough confidence to keep going, to finish what she started.

He is perfect. Sabine said to herself. She ran her finger along his jaw and back up until her hand was on the side of his head again. Gently she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I feel the same way about you." She whispered. Leaning in she gave him another single gentle kiss. She took her time on the second one and allowed herself to actually appreciate it without her heart beating at a dangerously high rate.

"Where are Ezra and Sabine? They should be here." Sabine heard Zeb's voice below them. She pulled away from Ezra instinctively. She really didn't want Hera or Zeb to see this or know about it. She wasn't even sure how she wanted to handle it or deal with it, explaining things to others would only complicate the process.

"We should go." Ezra whispered solemnly. She could tell he didn't want to go just as much as she did. Everything was perfect the way it was. If they left, they would have to talk about it, it would become something real, and real things could be broken or destroyed. Sabine just wanted to enjoy as much of the moment as humanly possible and never let it go. But Ezra was right, they had to go.

"Yeah." Sabine sighed, she ran her hand back down Ezra's cheek and felt his hand sadly sliding off of her back. Even though it wasn't cold, the spot where Ezra had previously touched now felt naked and exposed. She couldn't explain why but now it felt wrong without him holding her.

"Can we talk once we're back on the Ghost and alone?" Ezra asked. Sabine instantly nodded in response. She was glad that she didn't want this to go unspoken and undiscussed any longer than he did.

"Good." Ezra smiled then leaned in and kissed Sabine once more on the lips. He lingered for a second and Sabine let him. She wanted him too. She knew things would be incredibly complicated, that they may not work, that Ezra might not feel the same way about her the more he learned about her past, but Sabine knew one thing and she was sure that Ezra did too. Everything about that moment was perfect.


Hope you enjoyed Empire Day as much as I enjoyed writing it! I'd like to make a special shout out to my Beta Reader .awesome17 for taking so much time out of her life to edit, fix mistakes, and make suggestions for this story. I couldn't do it without her and I am so thankful for her help that has brought us this far in the story!