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Complications
Damian smirked as Barriss groaned, scrubbing at her lightsaber handle.
"I can't believe you actually used my lightsaber," Barriss complained. "At the very least couldn't you have switched places?"
"Nope," Damian said. "Besides, you're overreacting. It's been two days. It's clean."
Barriss groaned. "I will never be able to look at this thing the same way."
Damian chuckled as Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb walked in. Zeb was grinning widely, Sabine was fuming, and Ezra looked exhausted and confused. Sabine stormed through the room and out the other side, and as soon as the door closed, Zeb began to laugh.
"What happened?" Damian asked.
"I don't know," Ezra said. "She's been mad at me ever since the mission. One minute she was telling me she would be there if I needed to talk to anyone about finding out for certain that my parents are dead, and the next thing I know, she's so mad at me she won't even talk to me."
"Really?" Damian asked. "What happened in between?"
"Well," Ezra said, thinking for a moment. "Nothing really. I went to the nose turret to be alone for a bit, Princess Leia Organa came to check on me, and then the princess and I walked into the briefing and suddenly Sabine was mad."
Damian grinned widely instantly, Zeb bursting out laughing, and Barriss smiled, finally putting her lightsaber away.
"What?" Ezra asked.
"It's nothing," Damian smiled. "But I think I know how to fix it."
"How?" Ezra asked.
"Ignor her back," Damian said.
"What?" Ezra asked. "Why?"
"That's actually not a bad idea," Zera said, walking into the room. "Sorry, couldn't help overhearing. Ignore Sabine back, and keep doing it, with the exception of emergencies or in a fight, until she stops ignoring you. Eventually, she'll crack."
"How would that work?" Ezra asked. "Are you trying to tell me to give her space?"
"Hardly," Damian snorted. "Trust me, kid. If you keep ignoring Sabine, eventually she'll have to do something about it. Oh, and Zera, think you could train with Ezra somewhere public for a bit? Test his lightsaber skills?"
Zera grinned. "Glad to."
"Good," Damian grinned. "This is going to be excellent."
"This is going to take a while," Damian sighed, glancing between Sabine and Ezra, neither of whom had said a word to each other in the last week of running missions.
Damian had caught Sabine watching Zera and Ezra training and having fun together, and fuming over it, on multiple occasions, but she was apparently even more stubborn than Ahsoka, because she had yet to break.
"I'm starting to think Ezra might need to act like you and almost die protecting Sabine for her to figure it out," Ahsoka murmured.
"Maybe," Damian smirked.
"This group call themselves the Protectors," Sabine was saying, talking about a Mandalorian clan in Concord Dawn, which they were considering as a possible new Hyperspace route. "They like to make up their own rules."
"Sounds familiar," Hera muttered to Kanan.
"So we go in with strength," Sato said. "Scout the system for defenses to see what we're up against."
"Or, why not try diplomacy," Kanan countered. "Why not ask for permission to use their system as a shortcut."
"Diplomacy!?" Sato scoffed. "Warriors like these only understand strength."
"He's got a point," Sabine said.
"But he's making a grave mistake," Damian said, stepping forward finally. "One I'm surprised you haven't called him out on yet, Sabine."
"What mistake?" Sato asked.
"We don't have the strength to take a Mandalorian system from the Protectors," Damian said. "No one steals from Mandalorians and lives to tell about it without paying dearly for it first. That one clan of Mandalorians making up the protectors is probably equal to a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, all fully loaded. We'd be slaughtered. Except the Wraith."
"I think even the Wraith might lose this fight," Hera said.
"You haven't seen what my ship can do when Shaeeah's pissed," Damian snorted. "Or when I'm in control and Ahsoka's on the gun."
"I'm pretty sure we saw that one once," Kanan said. "Not impressed."
Damian rolled his eyes. "The point is, we can't muscle our way through Concord Dawn. We'll have to try diplomacy."
"I agree with Damian and Kanan," Hera said. "We shouldn't make an enemy if we don't need to. If we get permission to fly through their space, the next step could be recruitment. To grow the Rebellion, we need friends like these Mandalorians. We could have our route, and a powerful ally as well."
"Don't hold your breath on that one, Hera," Damian said. "The Mandalorians haven't stayed out of the war this long because they're waiting for allies. They're either too concerned with Mandalorian matters, or they simply don't care. Either way, I doubt it'll be as easy as that to recruit the Protectors."
"I'll have to agree with Damian on that point," Sabine nodded.
"Okay, Captain Syndulla," Sato said. "The mission is yours."
"Mind if I tag along?" Sabine asked.
"I was hoping you would," Hera said, the two of them leaving the room.
"It's not going to go that well," Ahsoka said.
"No," Damian agreed. "We'll deal with it in person if we need to."
Ahsoka nodded and they left the room. Damian headed to the cargo bay and Proxy stepped out, randomly selecting a form to train him with, this time choosing Satele. Damian stared at her double-bladed lightsaber for a moment. It was a normal-length one, which he wasn't a fan of, but it had an elegant design that he liked, as opposed to his exceedingly plain design. Hers had a gently contoured grip, an intricate spiral design on the hilt, and the ends of the lightsaber were slightly wider than the shaft with three small fingers that stuck out on the sides from each projector, though which remained flush with the end of the projector.
Proxy lunged swiping at him and he extended both of his blades, beginning to fend Proxy off, but Stale was much, much too skilled for him, even as powerful as he had become. She was an acrobat, for one thing, making it difficult to predict her movements, and she was also fast. Finally, after nearly five minutes, a new record for him, proxy drove his lightsaber directly into Damian's chest, throwing him backward and ending the sparring match. Damian sighed, pushing himself up as the projection faded, leaving a plain-looking double-bladed lightsaber in place of Satele's. Damian sighed, healing his new burn, then stood, dusting himself off as Ezra walked in.
"Are you guys trying to get me to make Sabine jealous?" Ezra asked. "Is that what this whole, ignore Sabine thing has been about?"
"Yeah," Damian said. "You don't see it, and I'm not sure she's willing to accept it, but she likes you Ezra. It's why she was so mad at you. She got jealous when she thought you went to Princess Leia instead of her. And seeing you enjoying yourself with Zera, while ignoring her, has been wearing her down. Pretty soon, she'll snap and she'll either yell at you for not asking her out, or she'll just confess to you, and you can go from there."
"There's no way that will work," Ezra said.
"Not so," Zera said, walking over. "It's already starting to work. She's beginning to accept that she's jealous. After that, she'll be forced to accept why she's jealous, and then she'll do something about it. You just need to hold out a bit longer. And once she does do something about it, don't admit to it. Just tell her you thought she was mad and wanted to be away from you, so you stayed away. That's actually why we didn't tell you, is so that you wouldn't have to lie."
Ezra sighed. "It'll never work."
"Just stick it out a little longer," Damian said. "Besides, what other options do you have? Was your method of being nice working?"
Ezra sighed. "No. Fine. Just a little longer."
Damian and Zera both nodded just as a siren began to wail. They turned, sprinting up to the cockpit of the Wraith as Sabine's fighter reappeared.
"Sabine, what happened?" Kanan's voice asked over the radio. "We picked up a distress signal. Where's Here?"
"She was right behind me," Sabine said. "Kanan we never had a chance. These Mandalorians work for the Empire too."
Damian swore, then gasped as Hera's fighter reappeared, smoking, filled with blaster holes, and about one shot from exploding.
"Hera?" Kanan asked. "Hera?"
"Wraith moving to recover!" Damian said, Damian and Zera both sitting down and strapping in.
"Docking port secured!" Ezra's voice said over the intercom.
Damian disconnected from the command ship and gunned it, the Wraith streaking forward, then swinging around, catching Hera's ship with a magnet clamp and ferrying it back to the command ship's fighter dock. Once Hera's ship was secured, Damian returned to his docking port and he, Zera, and Damian ran to the medical wing where Hera would have been taken immediately. As they arrived, Kanan walked out of the room.
"She'll make it," Kanan said. "One more shot and that fighter would have exploded. It's a miracle she survived."
"Yeah," Damian said. "Come on. I'm going to need you for our mission."
"Our mission?" Kanan asked.
"An appropriate application of Force," Damian said.
Ezra snorted. "Force. Nice. I see what you did there."
Damian rolled his eyes as they walked into the command center. Sato turned to them, then sighed, seeing they weren't Sabine. "I'll take the second wave. We'll get you that shortcut."
Sato sighed and nodded. "First, I want to hear Sabine's report."
A hologram of a ship came on screen and Damian whistled.
"A Mandalorian Fighter," Damian nodded. "Beautiful piece of machinery. Fast, maneuverable, powerful. Everything you'd expect from the Mandalorians, short of Mandalorian Iron plating. Still not the Wraith, though."
"Fenn Rau, Protector of Concord Dawn," Sabine said, storming into the room. "That's who did this. That's who we're up against."
"Rex, that name sound familiar to you?" Kanan asked.
"It sure does," Rex nodded, pulling up a hologram of a Mandalorian fighter pilot, complete with the Mandalorian Iron armor. "Fenn Rau was a fighter pilot instructor for the Grand Army of the Republic. He also served at-"
"The Battle of Mygeeto," Kanan finished. "I know. I was there."
"That was a long time ago," Sato said.
"So I guess negotiating's been taken off the table?" Kanan asked.
"Yeah?" Sabine asked. "You want to negotiate? Let's negotiate. By destroying their ability to attack us. I tracked them from Concord Dawn's third moon. They must have a base there."
"If they scan our fleet approaching, their fighters will cut us to pieces," Sato said.
"As I said," Damian spoke up. "I'm leading the next wave. The Wraith can get in and out without anyone noticing. We're not going to be blowing up their ships, though."
"What then?" Sabine demanded.
"We're going to confiscate them," Damian said. "Or at least, a few of them. I'm going to be taking all of the Jedi with me, along with Sabine."
"I should think that's hardly necessary," Sato said.
"You're the one that wanted to go in with our strength," Damian said. "Well, the Jedi are the Rebellion's strength. We'll go in, steal their fighters, blow up any that remain, and then open the way for the fleet to move through the system. If necessary, we'll kill Fenn Rau."
The others all looked around at each other before nodding.
"Very well," Sato said. "You have my permission."
Damian nodded and the Jedi all headed to the Wraith with Sabine, Jek and Shaeeah meeting them at the door.
"There you two are," Damian smiled. "You're coming with us," Damian said. "We're going to steal some Mandalorian fighters."
"I've always wanted to try flying one of those," Shaeeah grinned.
They all entered the Wraith, R3 and Katie both joining them a few moments later, and detached from the command ship, Shaeeah activating the stealth tech before they jumped to Hyperspace.
"Alright Kanan, I'm going to say this one time," Damian said. "You're plan A. You have one chance and one chance only to convince Fenn Rau to work with us. If you fail, the rest of us will be stealing the fighters. Ezra, time to see if Shaeeah's piloting lessons have taught you anything. All you have to do is get off the ground and away from the moon."
Ezra nodded as they dropped out of Hyperspace. They all stared at Concord Dawn. The planet had been shattered, literally. Almost half the planet was a cloud of debris floating beside the remaining piece of the planet. Shaeeah flew to the third moon and found the base easily, hovering a short ways away while they surveyed the base from the cockpit.
"What are we up against?" Kanan asked from the back.
"Including the two ships on patrol, eight ships total," Sabine said.
"How are we planning to steal the two ships on patrol?" Ezra asked.
Damian smiled. "Well, six of us are Jedi who can jump a hundred feet into the air. However, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
"Imperial Shuttle inbound," Shaeeah reported.
They all watched as the shuttle flew down to the base and landed, an Imperial officer offloading a payment.
"Wish we could hear what they're saying," Kanan grumbled.
Katie turned, projecting a hologram of the two while plugged into the ship's surveillance systems.
"This arrangement is working to your benefit," Fenn Rau was saying. "I encountered a squadron of rebels."
"The rebel fleet?" the Imperial asked.
"Not an entire fleet, a couple fighters," Fenn Rau said. "But my men and I took care of them."
"If they return, make sure to contact us," the Imperial said.
Fenn Rau saluted half-heartedly and walked away, and Katie let the hologram disappear.
"Your ship has surveillance tech too?" Ezra asked.
"Of course," Damian said. "Every good smuggler needs to be able to eavesdrop on his competition to know what his competitors are being payed. And whether or not his partners are being payed to double-cross him."
Ahsoka snorted. "I don't know, it worked out pretty well the last time that happened."
"True," Damian said. "That is how I met you."
"Can we focus on the mission?" Kanan asked.
"Oh we are," Damian said. "R3, are the targets designated?"
R3 beeped.
"Good," Damian said as R3 projected a hologram of the base and its fighters, two more fighters displayed in the air over it.
A circle with one of their faces appeared on each fighter, Damian and Ahsoka being selected for the two on patrol, and Kanan not being chosen for a fighter.
"Doable," Damian nodded, swapping with Shaeeah to take the controls, flying low to the ground. "Okay. Shaeeah, Jek, Sabine, and Kanan will get off here. Barriss, Zera, and Ezra will all do a high-altitude drop close to their fighters. Then, Ahsoka and I will go after ours in the air if needed, or on the ground if they land. R3 and Katie will man the Wraith. If any of you get captured, blow your fighter first, if you can, and we'll steal the rest. Sabine, please stick to the plan."
"I will," Sabine nodded.
Damian nodded and turned back to the others. "Kanan, the moment your conversation goes south, we're stealing fighters and your time for diplomacy will be over."
Kanan nodded. "I'll tell you to take the ships if necessary."
Damian nodded and those he had chosen to walk left the ship before Damian flew up high over the base, the other three jumping out one by one as they passed over their chosen fighters. Then, by a massive stroke of luck, the other two fighters flew down and landed to refuel. Damian grinned widely, looking to Ahsoka, who nodded.
"R3, katie, the ship is yours," Damian said as he and Ahsoka both walked to the ramp and jumped, steering themselves with the Force and landing in the shadows just off the base, unnoticed.
However, just as they landed, Kanan suddenly leapt out of one of the tents, deflecting yellow blaster bolts.
"Now!" Damian said over his commlink.
He shot forward, launching a Mandalorian with the Force, and a moment later, all eight fighters lifted into the air. Damian shot along the ground, Kanan leaping onto the fighter, only for Rau to do the same. However, as he landed on the wing of it, Damian yanked his head with the Force, bouncing his forehead off of the fighter's hull and knocking him out just before the Wraith uncloaked in front of them. Kanan leapt into the ship with Rau and Damian shot up off of the moon alongside the Wraith, cheering as the fighter sped along. It was fast. As he reached space, he picked out Ezra's fighter easily, as it was flying backward and unsteadily. The Wraith flew over, locking onto it with its magnetic clamps just as Kanan signaled Damian's fighter.
"Rau called off reinforcements," Kanan said. "He's agreed to allow the rebels safe passage through the system and ordered the Empire be kept in the dark about all of this. We've got our shortcut."
"Only so long as we can keep Rau locked up," Damian said. "It's an alliance of necessity, not an alliance of trust. But, it'll work. Have R3 signal Sato."
"Already done," Kanan said, just as the fleet began to drop out of Hyperspace.
Damian grinned an he and the others flew their new toys back to the fleet.
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