I flip thru the book and find myself at the same section that I keep ending up on.
Society.
Personal and societal betterment thru combat and battle against worthy opponents.
The HoloNet said the same thing, but I trust this book more.
It's an actual physical book.
Last time I had one in my hands I was flinging it away.
But that was a long time ago.
The HoloNet didn't really help me with the whole Jaig eyes thing. It wasn't even on there.
I eventually swallowed my pride and asked Sabine for help. Luckily her mom was also in the room and pulled a book out of their library.
I've been reading it off and on ever since.
It's got a lot more information than the Holonet, that's for sure.
Especially about the Clone Wars.
When I first started looking at the history section, consisting of the last 250 years, I was scanning mostly. Until I got into the Clone Wars section and saw a familiar name.
"Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano foiled the assassination attempt of Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala and foiled the plot, allowing the anti-corruption efforts on Mandalore to continue."
There's all sorts of information here. I've reread all of it multiple times to try and remember it all.
I found that Skywalker guy that apparently is her master.
I also found some guy named Obi-Wan Kenobi. But that part wasn't so good.
Apparently…near the conclusion of the war, things must have just gone completely insane.
Out of nowhere, the Death Watch that had risen in response to the pacifist government (apparently that DID happen) allied with two Zabrak Sith and captured the Duchess of Mandalore, a woman named Satine Kryze.
She's got to be related to Sabine's mom.
Same name. And there can't be THAT MANY Kryze families on Mandalore.
Sorry, got off track. They captured the Duchess, and Jedi Master Kenobi came to battle Death Watch and save the Duchess.
Unfortunately, he didn't succeed.
The battle for who would rule Mandalore seemed to rage on until the Empire came and declared martial law, annexing the planet in the name of its citizens.
The book was published a year after that, so really that's where it stopped.
I almost can't get enough of what's actually going on here.
Sabine said that there's a lot I don't know about, and I don't think she's been more right about anything.
There's so much going on, and this is just one planet.
I want to ask Sabine about all of this, but she's been working with her mom on her new armor.
It hasn't come in yet, but they've been looking thru tons of pieces of armor.
I've kept out of their way mostly. Watched cartoons with Sophie and fixed the Holocamera.
I don't know how, but Sophie tripped a little switch inside the thing that basically shuts it off and makes it unresponsive.
Her dad's been up in his massive workshop working on that ship Sabine and Hera were working on back on Polis Massa.
I don't know if they've worked on it since.
I put the book aside and sit up on my bed.
Ever since we got done with dinner (breaded bantha steaks) I've been up here reading.
I wonder what everyone is doing.
I get my wits about me and probe around with the Force.
…
Sabine's Dad is pacing back and forth upstairs.
Sabine's…super happy.
Her signature usually isn't so positive and bright.
Downstairs Mrs. Wren and Sophie are gathered around what I'm assuming is the Holoterminal.
Probably working on more reading stuff.
I focus my attention back on Sabine.
Why is she so happy?
…
I think she's moving. I don't know for sure though.
Usually it's obvious. Like a hallway or something.
Sabine's just…going around in random patterns.
I think.
I walk to my door and poke my head out to see that she's got her door half closed.
Her dad got mad at her for closing the door yesterday after we got back from the market. He was nice about it, but it was still awkward.
We trust you but we don't know what you're doing behind that door.
I understand…but technically she's an adult here on Mandalore.
She got that honor years ago.
Out of curiosity I walk towards Sabine's room and glance inside.
…
She's dancing!
She's going around in random directions and…dancing.
Making motions with her arms and everything.
I didn't know she danced at all.
I glance at her ears and see she's got wired coming from them.
Must be listening to music.
Suddenly, she turned around and looked thru the doorway.
I duck out of the way, but not fast enough.
I know she saw me.
Sabine pulled the wires out of her ears and opened the door more.
"Hey. Was I loud?" She smiled at me and asked.
"No. I just kinda peeked in and saw you dancing. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Did I ever show you my room?"
"No." I shake my head.
She waved me inside and opened her door with her foot.
I walk in and immediately two things jump out to me.
Wow. She was constantly painting when she lived at home too.
This…is not the Sabine I know.
There's a big Galactic Empire logo on the opposite side of the room. But it's colored in red, blue and purple.
The rest of the room is an off shade of gray, but it's covered in papers stuck to the wall with pins.
I laugh when I see her bedspread.
Pink.
"Don't laugh. I was a lot younger." She said defensively.
What part?
Oh.
I take a half step closer to the wall behind her bed.
Off to the right…Sabine painted a red outline of a heart. With four pictures inside.
Of the same guy.
One is of them a lot younger.
One is of them both in armor and smiling widely.
The last two…
They're both in the standard Imperial Cadet uniform.
In the one on the left they're both smiling.
Sabine's taller than him.
In the one of the right she's kissing his cheek.
I try to set my face right before Sabine jumped in front of me and the wall.
"Long time ago." She smiled a little too widely.
"I could tell." I say flatly.
She left a boyfriend behind.
Snap out of it Ezra.
You're supposed to be over her.
At least act like it.
"Do you like it?" She asked, moving slightly to completely obscure the heart mural.
"Yeah. Except for that." I say, pointing at the Empire insignia.
"Yeah…I was a believer. Unfortunately." She said, looking nervously at the ground.
…
"Here. Tell me if you like this." Sabine suddenly changed topics and put something in my hand.
It looks like it goes in my ear.
I slip it in my ear and hear a little click.
Then noise BLASTED into my ear and I jump out of my skin.
"Crap, sorry." Sabine said quickly, pressing a little tab quickly.
The noise quieted down into electronics sounds and an unfamiliar voice.
"You ever listened to Core Drive?" She asked me, smiling slightly.
I shake my head.
I never have time to listen to music.
I like it, but I've never really had a reason to.
Sounds stupid I know.
"I like it. It helps me focus on the paint."
"Really?" I ask.
This sounds like it's be really distracting.
It's almost senseless noise. With some singing breaking it up.
She nodded, then clicked the tab again, changing the song.
This one isn't nearly as electronic.
There's some to it, but it's mostly singing.
"C'mon. Dance." She told me then slipped an arm around my back.
Uhh…
I nervously copy her and look around.
This is just asking to get yelled at by her.
I can almost hear her yelling at me for holding her too low.
That'd look just great.
Sabine grabbed my hand and locked her fingers with mine, then started leading me around.
I try to go with her and be smooth at the same time.
Just as I think I've got the hold of it, she lets go of my waist and spins away.
Then spins right back and we fall back into the routine.
One, two. Back.
One, two. Back.
It's a little like my lightsaber footwork.
"Loosen up…c'mon. I'm not going to yell at you." Sabine said softly, looking up at me and squeezing my waist. "Please?"
I try loosening up and go with what I'm learning here on the fly plus my lightsaber footwork.
Before long, she's smiling. Even better, I sense her spin before she even started it.
She let out an excited giggle in the middle of it, and then latched back onto me.
"You're learning…" She smiled, moving a little faster.
"Trying." I say. "I've never danced before."
"Never? Not with any girls back on Lothal?"
"No." I shake my head.
Sabine's expression doesn't change, but I feel her sudden sadness.
"You're really good for your first time. You can move your hand a little though." She said quietly.
I take her hint and barely move my hand down to the small of her back.
"Better. Right?" She asked.
I shrug nervously.
Man she's close.
She let out a breath and laid her head on my chest.
"I'm not sure I believe you. You're too good for your first time."
"It's a little like my footwork when I lightsaber duel." I say.
I don't know what else it could be.
"Really?"
I nod.
"No, keep talking." She said, looking up but keeping her head on my chest
"Why?"
"Your chest vibrates and it's nice." She said, moving her hand down my back.
And onto my…
She's grabbing my butt.
Why Sabine. Why?
I laugh nervously. "Vibrates?"
"Keep talking." She replied simply, smiling up at me.
"Okay. Your family is really nice. Thanks for letting me stay here."
"No problem. They like you."
I don't know what to say to that.
"Keep. Talking." She let go of my hand briefly to smack me in the chest, then scooted closer.
Any closer and we'll be violating physics.
Two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time.
She's totally…
There's no room between us. And I'm trying to ignore the little tank top and shorts that she's wearing.
Thankfully she spins away from me, then I hear a knock.
Sabine darted back into my chest, then jumped back away and yanked the earphone right out of my ear.
OW!
It's her dad…
"Hey Daddy. We're dancing." She smiled at him.
"I saw that. Looks great."
"Thanks." Sabine smiled.
I…
I don't think I can talk.
"Would you mind if I borrowed him darling?" Her father asked with a smile.
"Yeah, sure!" Sabine replied, sliding her hands off me.
"I'll have him right back to you. Just want to look over the Holocamera with him for a second."
I nod and follow him out the door, trying to ignore Sabine behind me.
She's not happy.
"Grab that Holocamera son. I'll be right upstairs." Mr. Wren said, then pointing upstairs.
I nod and walk to my room.
My hands are shaking.
He's not happy.
Calm…calm down Ezra.
It's not like I was kissing her or anything.
But she was glued to me.
All I had to do was tilt my head down and I easily could have kissed her.
I grab the Holocamera and quickly make sure the thing isn't going to betray me, then start upstairs.
That'd be the last thing I need right now.
I let out a breath and open the door.
"Hey son. You get that thing figured out?" Mr. Wren asked me kindly.
"Yes sir. It was just a little switch that was the problem." I explain, extending the camera to him.
"Really? That was it huh…" he asked, inspecting the camera.
"Yup." I nod.
…
…
I watch as he takes a practice picture, then looks at it.
…
"Easy son. I'm not mad." He said calmly, still looking at the picture.
I nervously laugh.
"I'm serious!" He said.
I shrug as he puts the camera onto his desk, then stands up and takes it out of his pocket, putting the camera on top of some papers on his workbench next to the open box.
"How does that ship look?" I ask.
Small talk can't hurt.
I don't think it can.
"It looks great honestly. There isn't a ship like it in the galaxy. It'll take some time to get it ready for production, but it'll be out within a year." He answered, pulling up some diagrams on a projector.
He flipped thru a few of them, then closed it down.
"Son, would you mind if I ask you a few questions? My wife and I don't want to irritate Sabine more than we have to."
I try to hide my surprise and reply "Sure. I don't think she'd be too irritated though if you asked her."
Mr. Wren shook his head. "Have you seen her get mad?"
I nod.
"You know why then. And she's a lot more independent than the last time we saw her."
Oh.
I nod, not knowing what to say.
"So, you're both part of this rebel cell. It's five of you?"
"Yes sir." I reply.
"Jedi, Pilot, Bodyguard, Droid, you."
I nod.
…
"Should I be concerned about her safety? I don't want to prod too deeply, but Sabine wasn't very clear on what you all do to oppose the Empire."
"No…before we grouped up with the larger rebellion it was mostly raiding supply depots. Just being irritating since we can't do anything large scale."
"Define large scale."
"We can't…go take back Lothal. My home planet. Just anything that'd actually make a difference." I say, frustrated.
He nodded.
…
"I'm assuming that everyone on the crew gets along?" He asked.
I nod.
"We give each other a hard time, but it's all fun. We're a pretty close group." I say.
Mr. Wren smiled.
"That's good. Opposing the Empire is hard enough with people that you like I imagine."
"Exactly." I say, moving to the window closest to me.
It has a beautiful view of the city from here facing away from the market.
…
"I have to ask son. You and Sabine seem extremely close. Are you interested in her or dating?"
Here it is.
I shake my head. "No sir."
"Really? Interesting…"
"Does it look like it?" I ask him.
"It really does. Bringing you to meet us, small gestures, dancing. It looks too obvious." He said, smiling.
Trying to keep me loose.
I shrug.
"I gave up on that a long time ago when she made it plainly obvious that it's not that way." I say, unable to keep my voice calm.
"I wouldn't be so quick to say that son. She doesn't do the little things for a lot of people. And she does them for you."
I shrug again.
"When she said she wanted me to come sir, I thought she was mad at me. She just said we were going." I say.
To my surprise, he smiled.
"Ezra, my wife said this to me about her and I think she's dead on with it. She's got a long memory and a short fuse."
Okay.
"I'm afraid I don't understand that." I confess.
Mr. Wren smiled again. "She's probably not mad. When she does say something, it's because she cares and it's happened a few times. It might come out wrong, but it's because she cares too much. She used to do the same thing with Sophie."
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah, she used to help with Sophie when my wife and I were working full time. She did the same thing."
Huh.
"Any news on that ceremony?" I ask.
"Yes actually. It's going to be tomorrow night. You're welcome to come with us. I don't she'd let you skip it."
"I don't want to intrude though. And isn't this a Mandalorian only thing?" I ask.
He shook his head. "You're our guest. Won't be an issue at all."
Okay then.
"Thank you. I really appreciate that sir. It means a lot." I say.
"Our pleasure. It's the least we can do."
"Do you mind if I ask a question?" I ask him.
"Of course not son. What is it?" He asked, giving me his full attention.
"Why did you react so negatively to the poster? I don't understand."
"Oh. Well…" He sighed, then ran his hand thru his hair.
"When Sabine left, we had no warning. She just left for the academy one day and never came back. Everyone here freaked out. Searched around Keldabe for her, and all around the planet. No trace. So my wife and I burned a year of our retirement savings in an effort to find her with those posters."
Oh.
This was a bad idea.
"It was true misery Ezra. I don't know how else to describe it. Eventually my wife stopped crying at night, we settled into a new life, tried avoiding the gaping hole she left behind and those posters just became a bad memory."
"So when I knocked on the door with one—"
"It was like I was cutting deeper into that wound. It'd been over two years. There was no hope."
I nod.
Jeez I made a terrible first impression.
"And then there she was." I smile.
He nodded happily. "Part of me still doesn't believe it. Has she ever told you what made her leave?"
I shake my head.
"Hera, our pilot knows. I asked once and she said it's not my business. So I haven't pressed. Not my business." I say.
"Alright. What about your parents son? Neither of you have mentioned them." Mr. Wren asked me.
Oh.
What now?
If I lie, there's a good chance it gets exposed later.
And that'll look wonderful.
"Uhm... I don't know where they are. They disappeared when I was seven." I say, trying to keep my voice even.
It didn't really shake. So that's a plus.
…
"I'm sorry to hear that son. Have you tried looking for them?"
I nod. "Every place we've looked has been a dead end. That's what we did when I joined up with everyone. But we've kind of moved on to fighting the Empire."
If I find them, then great. I'm not expecting to.
I've been on my own for 9 years. The rest of my life isn't going to kill me.
"You don't sound very hopeful son."
I shrug. "I mean…they…one day they were going to the market. And they never came back. It's been more years since it's happened than how old I was then. I don't see the point in looking back at what won't change."
…
"That's why I appreciate your hospitality sir. I just kind of came and you've had no questions really."
To my surprise, Sabine's dad laughed.
"What do you call this then?" He asked.
I shrug.
He smiled, then his expression turned serious.
"Last thing Ezra. My wife and I…we're afraid Sabine isn't going to pass along our message to the rebel leadership. We'd like you to do that if she doesn't cooperate."
"I don't really know the leadership. I've met a couple of them once really." I tell him.
"But you can give it to the Jedi. He'll know what to do with it."
I nod.
"Son…I wasn't here last time the Mandalorian people had a voice in choosing their government. I was on Alderaan at architecture school. My wife…well did you read that book?" he asked me.
I nod. "It's fascinating."
"Then you sort of know what Death Watch is."
"She was in Death Watch?" I ask.
"She broke off and defected to the Republic after her sister was assassinated."
"The Duchess?" I ask.
He nodded. "My wife never told me much about it, but she said that a Jedi came to save her. That's how we know what Emperor Palpatine says about them is a lie. The Jedi are a force for good."
I nod and keep listening.
"Sorry, got sidetracked. My point is, there is a lot of people here that are willing to take back Mandalore and declare our independence. Most of us would like to overthrow the Emperor also, and we want to join the Rebellion. But that can't happen if Sabine or you don't deliver our message." He said, looking me dead in the eye and handing me a small disk.
"I'll deliver it. I promise." I tell him.
"Thank you. And if you and Sabine ever find yourself in a tight spot, get ahold of Lux. He'll make a cover story and you two can stay here until the heat dies down."
Oh wow.
"That means a lot sir. Thank you."
He nodded, and then started guiding me to the door.
"Do you need anything son?" He asked me.
"No. I'm fine." I shake my head.
"Alright then. See you tomorrow then."
"Night sir." I say, then slip into the stairwell.
…
Dang it.
Sabine's door is closed.
I guess no more dancing.
I slip into my room and collapse on my bed.
I'm exhausted.
I didn't have the guts to say what I wanted to say for half of our conversation.
I'll protect Sabine no matter what.
I hope he knows that already though.