To Raven J: One of the kidnappers was still alive and shot Mira, and Sabine is about one month pregnant as of this chapter.


Mandalore, Rebel Base "Phineas"

0.9 ABY

Day 337, 1549


Jacen had been in the world for only two hours, and already he had captured the hearts of eighteen… no, nineteen people. His royal blue eyes looked beautiful by any standard, and even at a hundred and twenty minutes old he had an unshakeable grin on his face, even when he was crying.

Hera held him close to her, as if afraid that he might disappear from her. She had gone through too much to lose him now. Raven looked on happily, and Kanan kissed Hera on the cheek.

"So, what's his name?" Sabine asked. She and Ezra had shown up late. Kanan and Hera looked at each other before they answered.

"Jacen," they answered in unison. Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were going to name him Caleb?" he asked, clearly confused. Sabine glared at him, while Hera laughed weakly and Kanan smiled.

"Next time," Hera said, slowly rocking Jacen back and forth. He gurgled in content and began to fall asleep, as small children do. Even as his eyes closed, he had a ridiculous grin on his face. Hera cooed, "Our little Spectre. Spectre Seven."

Everyone savored the moment for a little bit, before Raven got up. "I've got to go," he said, walking towards the door to give the Spectre family a bit of time together. Zeb leaned against the wall, smiling about the fact that there was an addition to the team now. At least Ezra had gained something in his life. He had taken his mother's loss hard, going through shock and denial within one day. He was angry for two weeks, liable to snap at anyone who so much looked at him wrong. Sabine had only gotten through to him after she managed to sit him down and then just talk to him for almost an hour. After that, he had started to fall into depression. He wasn't letting it get in the way of his service to the Rebellion, but something had to be done to prevent him from falling into blind servitude to the Rebellion. And it looked like Jacen would do the trick.

Eventually, Zeb left the room, along with Sabine and Ezra, to leave Hera and Kanan alone. Kanan watched them leave, then turned to Hera. She was looking down at Jacen, still rocking him back and forth. Kanan smiled at the sight, and seeing it reminded him of something.

"Happy Birthday, Hera," he whispered. Hera looked at him happily and kissed him.

"Best birthday I've ever had, Kanan," she responded.


Dantooine, Rebel Outpost "Tango"

0.9 ABY

Day 340, 1712


Ezra had a mad smile on his face as he sparred with Sabine, countering a Sonic Repulse with a quick Force Push. To an onlooker, it would look like they were in a battle to the death, but they were barely past a warm up. Sabine quickdrew a pistol and fired three times, more as a distancing tactic than anything else. Ezra was easily better at the close-range combat, so she had to get some space before she pushed an attack. Holdstering her pistols, she drew her vibroblade again and began a flurry of strikes, moving forward all the while. Ezra dashed forward too, bringing his lightsaber up and across his body to knock Sabine's weapon out of her hand. Just before they made contact, however, Sabine lashed a deployable cable around Ezra's leg and pulled it tight, sliding past Ezra and pulling him to the ground. Ezra yelped in surprise and pain. Moving as fast as she could, Sabine scrambled onto Ezra's back, wrapped her lower legs around his thighs, and put one arm around his neck, choking him with the inside of her elbow and putting that arms hand into the inside of the elbow on the other arm. She put that behind her head.

Then, to end the exercise, she gently kissed Ezra's neck.

Ezra used the Force to try and pry Sabine off of him. She held on too tightly to be forced off, like an adhesive.

"Concede," she told him.

"I'd rather not," Ezra responded, rolling over and standing up. Sabine just stayed on him, like a bug stuck to flypaper. After a minute of giving Sabine a piggyback ride, Ezra got an idea. He just fell backwards. Sabine let go and used Ezra as a base as he fell, pushing herself off of him and rolling backwards. Ezra hit the ground hard, and Sabine leapt onto him, one knee on either side of his core and pinning his arms to the ground. Ezra grabbed her left arm and trapped her leg with his foot, then thrust his hips upwards and used his elbow to hurl Sabine off of him. He rolled with her, landing in the same position but with his legs below hers. He pushed one leg down and slid his own inside of it. Then, he slid his other leg through and landed in the same that Sabine had had only fifteen seconds before. He wiped his brow.

"All right, I give up," Sabine said. "You win."

A leaf floated down onto the ground from one of the massive trees near the old Jedi Enclave. Instead of a sacred place for the Jedi, it had been repurposed as a Rebel outpost. The training courtyard was always full of people, so Ezra and Sabine tended to train just outside of the main entrance. Sabine stood up and dusted herself off. Ezra looked over towards the entrance, where Raven stood, making sure that they didn't go too crazy.

"Not sure the blades were a good idea," Raven called, beginning to walk over, "But the exercise will be good for it, as well as you."

"But what about later?" Ezra asked, somewhat worried to lose his sparring partner.

"Hey, just because I won't be able to see my feet doesn't mean I won't be able to kick your butt with them, Ezra," Sabine threatened jokingly. Raven chuckled. Ezra merely smiled.

"I genuinely don't know if that will be physically possible, Sabine," Raven responded. The wind whistled through the tall grass, creating a nice harmony of whistling that gave a beautiful ambience to the area. "Oh, Ezra, I forgot to tell you earlier- I'm the replacement for your… ah… lost squadmate."

"Wow, that seems really convenient," Sabine responded. "But we do need a medic."

"Yeah, next time you do a hyperdrive test, I'm coming with you," Raven said. All three laughed.


Coruscant, Orbit

1 ABY

Day 2, 1054


The Kanon's shields faltered for an instant, but it was already too late. Golan-llls had already targeted the poor, poor MC80, and now unerring turbolaser fire was hammering the ship. A Star Destroyer glided towards it, intent on adding it's own guns to the show. A Hammerhead corvette tried to stop it, but was cut down by TIE Bombers raking it with torpedoes.

Shara wove in between Tartan Patrol Cruisers like a madman, pulling barrel rolls and Immelmans like it was child's play. For the TIE Pilots behind her, it was hell: several of them had already rammed into Patrol Cruisers or fallen victim to X-Wings. One, however, scored a hit, rocking the ship.

Sabine spent most of the ride trying to keep fighters off of the back of the ship, spraying fire at the small targets. Ezra was in the copilot's seat, trying his best to help. Another Rebel cruiser took a hit to the side of it's fragile hull, tearing the ship in half. The Nebulon-B's halves floated away, presumably causing havoc among fighter pilots. The Rebels couldn't keep this up much longer, as they only had a couple Pelta gunships and three Nebulon-Bs, as well as one remaining MC80, the Undaunted. They had gotten into the Coruscant system by complete accident, as a result of a faulty navicomputer.

Three more Star Destroyers appeared right behind the remaining Rebel ships, but unexpectedly didn't fire. Several Victory Destroyers blocked off another escape route. Golan-llls would target the hyperdrives if they tried to go upwards or downwards, and they couldn't fight back as all ships were putting all power to shields.

Unexpectedly, all the Imperial ships stopped firing, and the Imp flagship, Eden's Grace, broadcasted on an open channel.

"You are beaten," the holo proclaimed. "Surrender, and we will give you the mercy of a quick death as well as a burial. Don't, and we will torture you before your execution, as well as leave your body to rot."

"As if they're actually going to do that," Shara muttered. Ezra nodded, then commed the Undaunted.

"Undaunted, this is Phoenix Two. What's our response?" he asked.

"Stall for time," the Admiral responded. "We need to calculate our hyperspace jumps, so we need some time. Do not respond."

"Copy," Ezra responded, repeating the instructions to the rest of the crew and flight squadron. He got a chorus of affirmatives in response. Shara killed the engines and Phoenix Flight Group B floated in space as TIE Fighters withdrew and regrouped.

"You have thirty seconds," the Eden's Grace broadcasted.

"Chit!" the Admiral, Tidin, responded. Frantically, the Rebel ships began to enter coordinates.

"Fifteen seconds….. Ten seconds…. Five, four, three, two, one, zero." Turbolaser began to rain down from the Star Destroyers.

"Sabine," Ezra said, seeing she had gone to the cockpit, "If we die here, I love you."

"I love you too," Sabine responded, her mind flashing to all the things that she hadn't done yet. Too bad they would stay undone.

The Eden's Grace's turbolaser fire was interrupted as a Keldabe-class rammed it, crushing the bridge easily. Two other Keldabes appeared, as well as several Aggressor Destroyers.

"Admiral Tidin, this is Manda'lor Bo-Katan Kryze. Get your ships out of here. We'll cover you," Manda'lor commanded. An Aggressors energy blast destroyed a major hardpoint on one ISD, opening the way for Pelta gunships to spray the bridge with fire. As the crippled Destroyer turned, the Alliance ships finalized their trajectories towards Nar Shaddaa and jumped.

Meanwhile, the Keldabe battleships effortlessly tore through ship after ship as Fang-class fighters outmaneuvered and destroyed TIE Fighters and Interceptors. The Imperials had numbers and better maneuvering on their side, but the Mandalorians had experience, better technology, and determination on their side. They flipped and barrel-rolled over their Imperial adversaries, mocking them and then readily diving on them for a kill. Malia hungrily dove on a TIE Interceptor and raked their ship with laser blasts, ignoring the TIE on her tail. The Interceptor careened out of control and blew up. Malia then pulled back on the control yoke and threw her fighter into an Immelman, landing behind her pursuer and blowing off one of the wings. No time to think, though, as her friend David was trying to shake a rather determined attacker. She flew upwards towards a Crusader gunship, then pursued her friend and his assailant along the hull of a Keldabe. As David nose-dove down past the engines, Malia fired and blew open the cockpit of the fighter, leaving it's unlucky pilot to suffer a spacer's execution/burial. Luckily, he didn't have to suffer long, as a TIE Bomber hit him while he floated.

Two TIEs on her tail, Malia wound her way around one of the few remaining ISDs and pulled a sharp turn across the bridge, making one TIE crash and the other get badly damaged. She pounced on her wounded prey, in the process destroying another TIE Fighter. First combat mission and she was already a fighter ace, otherwise known as an "Ace in a Day."

The last Star Destroyer had it's shields leeched, then bombers took out it's hangar, bridge, shield generator and all turbolaser batteries. Figuring that that was enough to put it out of the fight, the Mandalorian fleet left for friendlier territory, and not a moment too soon. Death Squadron showed up right after they left. Darth Vader had just enough time to see a Keldabe jump to hyperspace.


Nar Shaddaa, Orbit

1 ABY

Day 3, 1243


The Rebel Fleet had taken a beating in the accidental skirmish above Coruscant, losing two MC80 Battleships and seven Nebulon-Bs. Ezra, Sabine, and their team had barely made it out.

As of now, the ships orbited Nar Shaddaa, patching up hyperdrive leaks and critical damage. The Undaunted, a MC80, had it's hangar bay filled with damaged fighters. Among them was the Starhawk, which had gotten it's shields overloaded and one of the wings badly damaged. The hyperdrive was also gone for the moment, shorting out right as they reached the rendezvous. Nearby was the Ghost, which had somehow made it out with only a bit of carbon scoring on it. Now, Hera had Zeb and Kallus hard at work fixing it.

The Starhawk, thankfully, was built by Mandalorians. Therefore, it was one of the toughest ships in the galaxy, because it is impossible for Mandalorians to build a ship poorly. After the crew got the ship repainted, it would look good as new. Of course, that didn't mean Sabine wasn't wishing brutal and torturous death upon the poor sod that scratched the paint. She was still wishing dishonorable death and a permanent stay in Hell to them.

"Hey, Sabine, could you check something for me?" Ezra asked. Sabine nodded and walked over to him.

"What do you need?"

"Can you tell me what the hyperdrive is reading at right now?"

"Uhh… oof. Zero."

"Ahh… that's a problem…."

"Check if there's still fuel in it."

"All right…. Nope. That explains some of this, at least."

"Actually, all of it. Do we have any extra fuel for the hyperdrive?"

"No, I don't think so. I could ask Raven to go and search for some."

"Do that."

Ezra walked out the door, so Sabine sat down. Silently, she began to recite a poem she had heard once to her unborn baby.

"Nature's first green is gold…

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf: a flower

But only so an hour."


"Hey, Raven," Ezra said, Force-Jumping onto the wing of the Starhawk. "Can you hunt down some fuel for the hyperdrive?"

"Sure," Raven responded. "The carbon-scoring is almost removed. Kes is going to work on it in a few minutes, so do you want to tell him or should I leave a note?"

"I'll tell him."

Raven walked away confidently. Kes looked over and caught Ezra's eye. Ezra walked over to him. He was sitting on a crate.

"Hey, I sent Raven on a fuel hunt for the hyperdrive. Can you take care of the carbon scoring on the wing?" Ezra asked. Kes nodded and walked over to the ship, Ezra just behind him. There was a small ladder that led up to the wing, but Ezra didn't take this route. Instead, Ezra walked inside the ship, moving towards the engine room. As he entered, he saw Sabine sitting against the wall.

"Hey," she greeted, standing up easily. "You sent Raven?"

"Yeah. As I was going to get him, I noticed one of the guns might be a little damaged. Do you want to check it out?" Ezra responded.

"Yeah. You go turn off the weapon systems."

"The ship is deactivated. The guns won't fire."

"Okay. Let's figure out what's wrong."

What was wrong was quite serious: the front of the gun had partially melted. The gun would blow itself apart if someone did fire it, but the safety on the weapon had activated as soon as it had been hit.

The pilots at the other end of the hangar began screaming as a A-Wing exploded, beginning a chain reaction through the southern end.