Star Wars Rebels: Ultimatum Determinations (Short Story) Part One
Five years ago, Ezra Bridger committed an act that saved Lothal from Imperial Rule. In the supreme sacrifice he left with the Chimaera to points unknown. Now Sabine could not stand it any longer. A few of his and her closest allies, friends and even members of her Clan have been searching for the Wayward Jedi, but she was having problems with any of the Government Officials on Certain Worlds or that of the New Republic Military. To that end she was now on Corsecaunt to ask the New Republic to ask Leia Organa for help. Sabine was desperate and to find him, she was willing to even ask the one person she did not want to ask. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. Stepping down the Ramp of Ashoka's Ship, Sabine made her way into the Imperial Palace. Now home of the New Republic Government. She could not turn back now, it was all or nothing. This is the beginning of a much longer Story, one that will take place in the distant future.
Leia Organo Solo's Office:
Waiting outside the Office in the Reception Area, Sabine began to pace. She was hoping that Leia would aid her in convincing Luke Skywalker or someone with Clout to help in her and Ashoka's search for Ezra. When the White Haired Woman called Winter looked up from her Terminal, Sabine moved closer to the large desk. "Her Highness will see you now." Winter said, then stood and led Sabine Wren inside. The doors opened and then closed and Sabine noticed that three others besides Leia were in the room. A large Brown Wookie, a Roguish Human man and a Blond Haired Man. She knew that last was Luke Skywalker.
"Welcome Sabine, it has been a long time." Leia said as she gestured for Sabine to sit. "So what can I do for one of the Heroes of Lothal?" Leia asked somewhat knowing why Sabine Wren was here. Though she was keeping to her promise to not tell anyone about Ezra or that he was a Jedi. Not even her Brother, her Husband or Chewbacca.
"I want your help to find Ezra Bridger. He has been missing for about Five Years and I want him back." Sabine said then nodded to Leia, subtly giving the other the permission to tell those in the room the importance of Ezra Bridger. Not just to Sabine, but what he is.
"Generally that is something that the Missing Persons Department would handle. Not any of us." Han Solo stated, not understanding why Leia had asked not only him. But Luke to be here. He knew his Brother in Law was extremely busy. Attempting to locate Jedi and research how to train others to become Jedi. Even now Luke should be in the Archives searching for information.
"You do not understand Han." Leia said then looked over at Sabine who nodded again, closing her eyes and waiting for the other boot to drop. "Ezra Bridger is a Jedi." Leia informed them all and Luke immediately spoke.
"You knew about where a Possible Jedi was and never told me." Luke stammered out in shock as he stared first at Leia then over at Sabine. Wanting further details about Ezra and wanting them now. Leia shook her head.
"I couldn't tell you. I could not tell anyone. I promised him and Sabine that I would never tell anyone." Leia admitted, even now was reluctant to break that promise to Ezra. Though she did get permission from Sabine, it still felt wrong.
"Yes, Ezra is a Jedi and he was the only reason that we were victorious on Lothal against the Empire. Now I am here because I need high level clout against some Government Officials and New Republic Military. I want Ezra back." Sabine stated firmly. Leia suspected there was more then just friendship between Ezra and Sabine for the young Mandalorian would be so desperate to find him.
"Can you give us a minute to discuss this alone?" Leia asked as Sabine nodded and stood. Glancing over at her Husband Han and then over at Luke. She noticed that both watched the Young Woman walk towards the door and close it. Luke had a dreamy expression on his face and Leia recognized it from when he was on Bakura. When he had first seen Gaeriel Captison. Before she could subtly discourage him, Luke spoke.
"I think we should help her. I mean I should help her find Ezra Bridger." Luke said as he turned back towards Leia, no longer staring at the closed door. He still had that far away look on his face and Leia decided that she needed to be less subtle.
"Luke I have seen that look before. You had it when you first saw Gaeriel Captison." Leia said and Luke shook his head slightly.
"I do not know what you are talking about. I just think that If he is a fully trained Jedi, he could really be a valuable asset." Luke informed his sister. But his thoughts went back to the extremely beautiful Sabine Wren. Leia laid it down and hoped to discourage him, so that he did not get his hopes up.
"You do not have a chance with her, Luke. Sabine has set her heart set on Ezra and no one and I mean no one is going to dissuade her." Leia informed her brother and saw his eyebrows raise slightly. Han piped in, leaning against the nearby wall.
"I have to agree with Leia on that one, Kid. Mandalorains set their sights on someone and that is it. She is not after this Bridger because of friendship or anything like that. She has plans that involve Wedding Vows." Han added and Luke frowned visibly. Then closed his eyes, nodding slowly.
"Well I still think I should help her. The New Republic needs Jedi, trained Jedi. If I can help locate him, then I should." Luke stated firmly. Still imagining a few Jedi children with blonde hair and cooper eyes. He could still dream and hope. Out in the Reception Room Sabine waited to be summoned back inside for their decision. She had seen the looks that both Solo and Skywalker had subtly made towards her. She was used to those looks.
"You are going to be sadly disappointed, Skywalker." Sabine whispered to herself. "There is only one Jedi that I want and I am going to find him. I will either beat him for deserting me, take him to bed or take the Marriage Vows and then take him to bed. Probably all of those." She smiled with some excitement and then exhaled. She was losing her patience with this. She wanted to go and find her intended, not spend time debating whether to go or not. The White haired woman smiled at her.
"You may go back in." Winter said as Sabine opened the door and walked back inside. To her delight Skywalker was not really looking at her with that same stupid expression he had when she first entered. It was more somber and sedated. Sabine suspected that Leia had burst his soap bubble. Informing SKywalker, he had no chance with Sabine. Which he did not.
"It has been decided." Leia said as she smiled at Sabine. "Luke has agreed to go with you and help you find Ezra Bridger." Sabine smiled lightly and then nodded.
"Good. Whenever you are ready, I have a ship at the Civilian Landing Pad 12. There is one more thing, Skywalker. There is someone on board that you will not tell anyone that you have seen her. Is that understood." Sabine ordered and Luke nodded with curiosity. Wondering what other secrets that Sabine Wren had. With a small nod to Leia. Sabine walked out of the small office, heading back to Ashoka's Ship. Knowing that Skywalker would need a few minutes to get ready. To her continued frustration, Skywalker arrived leading an Astromech Droid.
"I thought Artoo might come in handy." Luke explained noticing Sabine's expression when she glared at the Droid.
"Fine whatever! Just as long as he forgets who is on this Ship afterwards." Sabine stated and Luke knew what that meant. She wanted the Droids memory wiped later so he would not divulge anything Artoo detected or seen. Starting up the ramp, Sabine turned back. "A couple issues before you step on board this ship, Skywalker! First, stop staring at my ass! I catch you staring again and I will gouge out your eyes!" She declared. "Second, stop looking at me with those daydreaming eyes of yours. Third, do not believe or think that with you along that you will wear me down and become interested in you. I am being serious, this is not some subtle encouragement for you to try harder. I have no personal interest in you. So if you cannot handle that! Then return to Leia and ask her to send Solo." Sabine then walked up the ramp. Luke winced and did not realize that he had been fondly gazing at her ass and to his continued embarrassment, she had caught him.
"Come on Artoo. Maybe this was a bad idea." Luke said to the droid and then walked up the ramp. Once inside the Red Ship, he stared but not at Sabine. Instead at the older Togruta that sat behind the Controls of the ship. "By the Force!" He gasped. "Ashoka Tano. I thought you were dead." His eyes widened with shock at seeing the one time Jedi. Ashoka smirked.
"Not yet and not anytime soon I hope." Ashoka said to Luke then looked fondly down at his Droid. "Hello again Artoo, it has been years." The Droid chirped and beeped happily, in reply. She then turned back to the controls. "All right, Sabine has spent years researching and gathering Sensor Data. She believes that when the Purgills dragged the Chimaera away. There are only a couple of systems that they could have re-entered normal space. We will start at Ivandor. That is the mostly likely location and the only one that we were unable to access the Imperial Records." She told Luke and he sat down in a daze. He had so many questions to ask Ashoka, he just hoped that he had time to ask them all.
Arriving at the first possible location was an Outpost, called Ivandor which was just outside the Outer Rim, Luke used Artoo to slice into the Central Computers at the Base. With the almost instant permission of the Commander of the Base. Before that Sabine and Ashoka had to submit a request to access old Imperial Records. Now it was a simple matter for Artoo to access the Computers and look for any sign of Ezra. After two hours, Artoo began to beep excitingly. "I think Artoo has found something." Luke said as Artoo began to spin his Computer Jack and an image came up on the Monitor. Six Months from the time Ezra had sacrificed himself. They watched as a dark haired young man, moved across the Imperial Landing Field and then paused. Staring up at the Video Surveillance Unit. The Man smiled, standing there for several minutes. After a few minutes, he walked up the Ramp of a Nearby Lambda Scout Shuttle, the smaller version of the Shuttle lifted off and streaked away. "He stole an Imperial Shuttle." Luke stated with admiration.
"Can Artoo bring the images closer? More on Ezra's right hand." Sabine asked and Artoo without getting orders from Luke did as she asked. "Now slow that down." She stated and the Images slowed. Ezra stood there and moved his right hand in front of his chest. Palm facing inward and three fingers pointed to his left side. After a second he closed his hand, pointed downward with two and then swirled his hand around. After that he pointed with one finger to the right and then flashed all five of his fingers. "That is Mandalorian Hand Signs. More importantly Wren Clan Hand signs. I taught him those." She said with awe, then smiled. Sabine had taught him several Mandalorian ways and customs. Including the Hand Signs.
"What does that mean?" Ashoka asked and Sabine turned towards the Togruta.
"He spelled out NYRATE. But they are also numbers. 18-47-2-74 and 11." Sabine told them and instantly Luke spoke.
"Those are Planetary Grid Quadrants. So he basically just told you where on Nyrate he will be." Luke said and Sabine nodded with excitement. Then frowned, Nyrate was quite a distance away. At least eight days in Hyperspace.
"Figures he would go out in the middle of nowhere." Sabine said in frustration, then anger. Ezra had stolen a Hyperspace Capable Vessel and instead of coming home, he had run off to some desolate World. Turning she stormed into one of the Cabins and locked the door. Luke watched her leave, careful not to look at her amazingly awesome ass while she walked. Concerned with her sudden departure, he was about to stand and ask her if she was alright. Ashoka noticed and placed a restraining hand on his left forearm.
"Leave her be. She is upset and wants to be alone." Ashoka stated and Luke sat completely in the seat. "Sabine needs to mourn alone. She has missed him so much that times like this she needs to be alone." She advised him and he fully did not understand. "Mandalorians do not like to show emotion, well she will with him. But not us." She then plotted the course and pulled the levers.
"Can I ask you a few questions about Jedi of the past?" Luke asked as the stars began to streak by the Viewport. Ashoka stood and knelt on the floor.
"Perhaps later, right now I want to Meditate. Maybe you should as well." Ashoka said in response and Luke nodded. Kneeling as well. Inside the Cabin, Sabine threw her helmet across the room in anger.
"He had a Fucking Ship and instead of coming home he runs off into the middle of nowhere!" Sabine ranted as she sat heavily on the small bed. Placing her hands over her eyes. Wondering why Ezra had not come back to her.
The Time did not go by quickly for any of them. Mainly due to the small confines of Ashoka's Ship and that Sabine spent most of her time alone. Arriving at Nyrate. Artoo was able to plot the exact location from the Coordinates and as the ship landed on a small island in the middle of the vast Ocean. Sabine was ready to burst from the ship and find her Ezra. To her dismay there was no sign of him. "Artoo has scanned the Island, there is no human life signs. But he did find a Cave nearby." Luke informed the two others and they fell in line behind the Droid as it led them to the Cave. Once inside Luke was confused at what he saw. The walls had pictographs all over every surface.
"By the Stars." Ashoka gasped as she stared at the images on the walls. Then turned wide eyed towards Luke and Sabine. Placing her hand on the wall. "This is an Ancient Jedi Temples. Ten or Twenty thousand years old. One of the first Jedi Temples ever used." She pointed at one of the Images and she marveled at what she was seeing. "How did Ezra ever find this place?" She asked. Sabine though did not care, all she wanted was to find Ezra.
"Who cares? Where is Ezra?" Sabine asked with frustration, normally she would be interested in the images and would have spent time studying them. But all she wanted was to find Ezra. Panning her Helmet light across the room, she stopped at a pile of dirty Speeder Trooper Armor and a Helmet on one of the Stone Alters "Hey the last time I saw Ezra he was wearing Speeder Trooper Armor. But that is a Stormtrooper Helmet" She stated walking towards what once was white, now it was coated with dust. Searching through the Helmet she found a small Data Chip that was wrapped in plastic sheeting. Holding it up, she moved towards Artoo. "Can you play this?" She asked the Droid, hoping it would contain where Ezra had gone. Inserting the Chip, Artoo chirped and beeped.
"I think he says that there is a password to be keyed in." Luke informed her, looking down at a Data Pad translating what Artoo had just said. Then pointed to a series of letters on Artoo's small holoscreen projector. Sabine smiled and tapped the one word that meant everything to him. Family. Immediately an image appeared and it was Ezra.
"If you are seeing this, I hope it is you My Family. I know I indicated that I would be here, but after two years I located what I was looking for. So I went to the next place that the Force has guided me to go. It is Malidon. I know I should wait for you to come and find me, but I need to continue my journey. I promise I will be on Malidon as long as it takes for you to come. I miss you all. Hope to see you soon on Malidon." Ezra said and then reached forward and the video Hologram ended. Sabine exhaled sharply and felt like hitting something.
"Shit! When I get my hands on him, I am going to beat him within an inch of his life!" Sabine stated. "Where and what the fuck is Malidon?" She asked, glancing over at Ashoka and Luke, they both shrugged. Not knowing. Then Artoo beeped and chirped again. Luke glanced down at the Data Pad that he had and translated what Artoo was saying.
"He knows where Malidon is. It seems that Ten Thousand years ago, someone changed the name from Malidon to Dantooine." Luke looked over at Sabine. "Oh, there also seems to be a Written Message on the Chip and the message is addressed to you." Sabine stepped over to the Droid and took the Chip. Wanting to read it, alone. Once back on the Ship while Ashoka and Luke plotted the Course to Dantooine. Sabine made her way into the Cabin and locked the door. Placing the Chip into a Data Reader. She held it in her shaking hands as the Message appeared before her.
"Hello Sabine, if you are reading this then you found the written Message I placed on this Chip. I had thought to dictate it like the other, but felt I needed to write it. To make sure that I do not lose my nerve and not tell you. I suspect that you already know this, I love you. Have been for years. Yes it started as a juvenile fascination with you, but as time went on I found myself loving you more and more. Probably you do not feel the same way. It is too much to hope that you would. I had planned on telling you so many times and especially right before the attack on the Imperial Dome. But I did not want my last memory of you rejecting me. May the Force be with you, because you are always in my heart. With deepest affection and love; Ezra." The message became blurry as Sabine felt tears run down her face, small puddles of wetness splashed onto the small screen and Sabine wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"He loves me." Sabine said smiling as she held the Reader to her chest and held it tightly to her. "He loves me." She repeated as she laid down, so desperately wanted to tell him that she loved him as well. Feeling slightly frustrated. The night before the Attack, she wanted to tell him how she felt. But could not bring herself to even admit it, to him or to herself. Then when he disappeared, she spent years regretting that she did not tell him. In moments she fell asleep. Meanwhile the Ship rose and departed for Dantooine. An hour later Sabine awoke and came out to find Artoo plugged into the Computer and began to Chirp again.
"Artoo found out something while you were in the Cabin." Ashoka said as she smiled at the Droid. "It seems that Six Months prior, someone stole a personal Headhunter Fighter from one of the Residents of Ivandor. There was no Security Surveillance and this is what confused the Investigators. The Fighter was returned about the same time that Ezra stole the Shuttle." She said to Sabine and that told them both what Ezra had done. Once he landed on Ivandor, he had borrowed the first Hyperdrive available ship that he could find. The Headhunter Fighter. Traveled to Nyrate, discovered the Hidden Ancient Temple and then returned to Ivandor to leave a message for Sabine and the others. Noticing that Luke had not caught on yet, Ashoka told him.
"Hey that is crafty. Though not very Jedi like behavior." Luke commented as he smiled. Sabine shook her head.
"No not Jedi like behavior at all. But for him that is typical." Sabine stated with admiration. Smiling happily that they were one step closer in finding him. "How long until we reach Dantooine?" She asked impatiently.
"Four days. Though once there we might have a problem. He did not leave any specific location this time, Dantooine is a very large Planet. A lot of desolate, isolated areas to search." Ashoka told Sabine and then returned to flying her Ship. Sabine was not concerned, knowing Ezra as well as she did. He would have left some method for her or the others to locate him.
With a sudden realization, Luke stopped from looking over at Sabine fondly. It was hard for him, she was just so beautiful, spirited and exactly what he believed he wanted from a significant other. She had warned him and he did not want to annoy or piss her off. So not to once again get caught, he stared out of the Viewport and hoped that someday he could meet someone like Sabine.
On Dantooine:
Stepping out of the Cave adjacent the Ancient Temple, Ezra knelt by the Fire Pit. Over the small flames a medium sized fish cooked. It had been almost three years since he set up a somewhat permanent home on Dantooine and he was starting to wonder if his friends slash family were even searching for him. He had solved the second part of the Pictographs and was tempted to continue to the next world. Leaving some type of clue so that the others would know where he went to. "No, I said I would wait so I will wait." Ezra smirked and gave a short laugh. "See kanan, I have learned patience." Stirring the coals of the fire, the fish began to give off a pleasant odor. It was almost cooked. The Sun began to set and when Ezra saw an approaching ship. He hoped that it was Hera's Ship the Ghost. As he shaded his eyes with his left hand, he noticed that the Ship was Red. Moving his right hand down to the Lightsaber that hung at his side. One of the first things he did when he arrived at Nyrate was to build himself a Lightsaber. Now he hoped that he did not have to use it. Watching as the Ship slowly descended towards the open plains a few hundred yards away.
To be continued.