I do not own Star Wars in any capacity.

Enjoy chapter 51!

Hera checked with Chopper to make sure they were on course before walking to Kanan's room to check in on him.

She found him in his bunk, laying back with his eyes closed. Hera was about to walk back out when Kanan said, "How's Ketsu?"

"Sabine," Hera corrected as she stepped back inside.

Kanan opened his eyes, giving her a small frown.

"Ketsu was just a cover name. Her real name is Sabine."

A ghost of a smile donned Kanan's face before he closed his eyes again. "How is she?"

Hera took a seat at the edge of his bunk. "She is a deeply hurt teenager. Far too young to have gone through what she has."

Kanan snorted, his eyes still closed. "Welcome to the club…" he said dryly.

Hera let out a small sigh. "She has no one."

"We already knew that."

Hera looked over at her partner. As if sensing her eyes on him, he opened his own to meet her gaze. "Kanan…" she said softly.

"I know," he replied. "And I'm okay with it. She can't be more than… fourteen? Maybe fifteen? She's hurt with nowhere to go." Kanan sighed. "Besides, she knows who I am. Although that's not so much a secret anymore, what with the Inquisitor actively hunting us…" he said bitterly.

"That's not your fault, Kanan."

"That's not my point. My point is that the Inquisitor thinks she's with us. If he finds her, he will torture her, thinking she can lead him to us. And I'm not about to let that happen."

Hera nodded solemnly. "So, it's decided."

Kanan nodded. "Yeah… Although she's going to need to get a serious attitude adjustment."

"She's a teenager, Kanan. It comes with a territory."

Kanan humphed. "As long as she doesn't take it out on Ezra."

"I'll talk to her about Ezra," Hera promised. "In the meantime, we should talk to the others about this decision."

Kanan nodded, standing up with a slight wince, adjusting his sling. "I'll talk to Ezra, then? You can take Chopper and Zeb?"

Hera nodded, also standing. "Works for me."

Walking out, Hera first went to Chopper in the cockpit. No doubt he was going to have issues with yet another 'organic' on board, but he would come around. He always did. Besides, she had seen Chopper and Sabine hanging out over the last week. Hera was almost certain that Sabine had spent more time with Chopper than anyone else on board. She didn't know which was more surprising: that Sabine enjoyed hanging out with Chopper, or that Chopper seemed to enjoy being around her.

So it shouldn't have been a shock that Chopper took their sudden addition to the crew relatively well. As long as she stays away from the Baby Jedi. Besides, it'll be good to have an organic with actual sense on board.

Stay away from Ezra. That seemed to be a running theme. "Do you know what happened?" Hera asked Chopper. All Kanan knew was that Sabine had done something to upset him and that Ezra didn't want to talk about it.

She upset him.

"Yes, I got that, but how?"

Chopper grumbled, turning his dome and projecting a holo of what had happened.

Hera hummed, pressing her lips together tightly. She knew Ezra's scars were a sensitive spot for him. It seemed that Sabine had lost patience with Ezra and overreacted. To Sabine's credit, she had no way of knowing how that comment would affect Ezra. Still, Hera would definitely have to talk to her about Ezra, because the last thing she wanted was for Ezra to feel unsafe on this ship.

Of course, first she had to talk to Zeb. She went to his room and knocked on the door. "Zeb, it's Hera. Could I speak to you a moment?"

There were a few heavy footsteps before the cabin door opened. "Hey, Hera. Come on in." He stepped aside, and Hera walked in. The door closed behind her and she turned to Zeb as he walked over to his bunk. "I wanted to talk to you about Sabine."

"Sabine?" Zeb asked with a frown, sitting down.

"Katsu's real name is Sabine. She gave us a fake name before."

"Ah. Alright then." Zeb sighed. "How is she? Gonna turn Kanan over to the Empire?"

Hera shook her head. "No. In fact, I think she should join our crew."

Zeb gazed at Hera evenly. Then he shrugged. "Fine by me."

Hera raised a brow. "That's it? No doubts or reservations?"

"You're the captain. It's really up to you. Besides, she's obviously a capable fighter. And it might be good for Ezra to have another kid round his age about."

Hera had to suppress a cringe at that. Not that Zeb was wrong, but Sabine obviously didn't have much patience for a pre-teen like Ezra. "We haven't extended her an official offer," Hera said. "But I wanted to make sure everyone else was on board first. So you're sure you're okay with it?"

"Yeah. Though it brings up the question of where she would sleep..."

That was a good point. While their current arrangement worked for the short term, Hera was going to want her bunk back. There was plenty she did that required privacy, even from Kanan. But there was no way she would ask Sabine to share a cabin with someone else. She was a teenager who needed her privacy as well.

Hera sighed. "We'll figure it out if it comes to that. Right now, Sabine is resting. I'll make her the offer after the drop."

"Well, again, you're the captain. And I like the kid. So I'm good with whatever you decide."

Hera smiled. "Alright. Thanks Zeb."

Kanan walked over to Ezra's cabin to find him fiddling with some sort of contraption. "What are you making there, kiddo?" Kanan asked.

Ezra paused and looked up at him. "Oh um… It's just a little thing for missions."

Kanan sat down next to him, looking over the contraption with a frown and trying to make sense out of it. It was small, like it would to be mounted on something like a gauntlet. It was opened up, and Ezra was fiddling with the energy gate. "Please don't tell me you're making some sort of wrist blaster…"

"Um…" Ezra's pressed his lips together. "Kind of?"

"What?! Ezra…!"

"It's not as strong as a blaster!" Ezra said. "Hera wouldn't give me power cells strong enough to even stun anything bigger than a lothcat."

Kanan relaxed a little at that. If he had been consulting Hera, then Kanan knew that she would make sure he wasn't doing anything too irresponsibly dangerous.

Ezra looked at Kanan's arm. "How's your shoulder?"

"Oh…" Kanan rubbed his fingers around the wound. "It's fine, buddy. It'll be good as new in a few days."

Ezra gazed intently at the wound for another moment before looking back down at his contraption, continuing to fiddle.

Kanan sighed. "Ezra, I'm fine…"

"It was the Inquisitor," Ezra said without looking up, his voice quaking.

"And I am fine." Kanan wrapped his good arm around Ezra's shoulders, and Ezra's hands went limp in his lap. "I… It was unexpected, but we all made it out alright."

"He could have killed you!" Ezra pulled away from Kanan, looking at him in earnest anger. "You had to face him alone and there was nothing I could do!"

"I was not alone, Ezra. And even if you had been there, there wasn't anything you could have done."

Ezra looked pained at that, a stab of hurt echoing over their bond. He looked back down at to his contraption, working on it with a deep frown.

"Ezra…" Kanan sighed, internally kicking himself. "I didn't mean it like that, and you know it."

"No, you're right," Ezra said tersely, not looking up from his work. "Even with all our new training, I'm nowhere close to being a useful fighter…"

"You're twelve," Kanan said. "There's plenty of time for you to learn."

Ezra glanced up at him. "How old were you when you fought in the Clone War?"

"Older than you," Kanan said firmly. "But that's besides the point. I was too young, even then. I shouldn't have been anywhere near a battlefield."

But now that Ezra brought it up, Kanan had to acknowledge his own feelings at the time. When he was at the Temple, he was dying to get on the battlefield. He wanted to get a piece of the action before the war ended. He was willing to go dangerous lengths to prove himself to his master, despite his young age.

Although he knew Ezra's motivations weren't quite the same, he understood the feeling of being left out. And Kanan knew that his own prolonged reluctance to accept his role as a Jedi had retarded Ezra's training. "I'm sorry I held you - held myself - back for so long. I just wish we had a real Jedi here to help us."

Ezra stopped his fiddling, looking up at Kanan. "But you are a real Jedi. You've always been a great Jedi."

Kanan gazed down at the ground. "Being a Jedi is about more than being a good person…"

"I know that, but all that other stuff about avoiding conflict, letting go of your emotions - whatever that means - not letting yourself be swept up in your passions… it doesn't make sense!" Ezra said emphatically. He pointed down to his contraption. "I like working on my projects, getting lost in the bits and pieces, finally solving a problem… And how can we not have emotions? That's just dumb. Besides, you and I tried pushing our emotions away and it just made you an alcoholic and me kriffing scared all the time."

"Ezra, language…" Kanan said, frowning slightly. Where was this coming from?"

"Like, I want to be a good Jedi, I really do, but I feel like I can't do anything right, you seem to think you suck as a Jedi even though you don't, and…" Ezra suddenly sagged with a small sigh. "I'm just scared. Because the Empire and the Inquisitor wants to kill us, and I'm still not good enough. I want to get better. I want to get stronger."

Kanan sighed, his heart feeling heavy. He hated that this was just a reality of their life. "Ezra, you are getting stronger. Every day. You've always been strong with the Force, and now you're learning to control it. And even besides the Force, look at what else you can do!" He indicated the contraption. "Your skills with electronics and lockpicking have played a key role in keeping our home and crew together."

Ezra stared down at his project, fiddling with his multitool. "I just want the Empire to go away."

Kanan gave a humorless chuckle, hugging Ezra tightly. "Yeah… You and me both, kiddo."

They sat there for a bit, Kanan refusing to let go until he could feel Ezra's agitation calm down. Then he slowly pulled away. "There's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Ketsu?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah… Couple things about her: First off, her name is Sabine. Ketsu was just a cover name."

"Okay," Ezra said, unfazed by the news.

"Second…" Kanan sighed, not sure how to put this.

But before he could say another word, Ezra gave a soft sigh. "I-Is she going to join us?" he asked.

Kanan slowly nodded. "Are you… okay with that?"

Ezra stared down at his little project, flicking one of the wires. "She was scared…"

Kanan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"W-When she was running from the Inquisitor, climbing up on the Ghost …" Ezra bit his lip. "She was terrified," he mumbled.

"Well, can you blame her?" Kanan said gently.

Ezra shook his head. "No, I mean…" He shivered. "I could feel it. And it was more than just the Inquisitor. It was something else too." He looked up at Kanan. "She's lonely. And… I think she'd be happier if she had family like us."

Kanan gave a small smile at that. "I imagine she would be. So you're sure you want her to stay?"

Ezra nodded, this time with a small smile. "Yeah. A-And I promise to give her more room."

"Probably a good idea, but Hera is also going to talk with her. There's no reason for her to have upset you like that."

"It was fine," Ezra insisted. "It was my fault anyway."

Kanan sincerely doubted that, but Ezra had been adamant on this point for days now. And the important thing was that he was comfortable with Sabine joining their crew. "Alright." He kissed Ezra's temple. "I'll come get you for dinner later."

When Sabine woke, she refused to leave the cabin. She didn't want to talk to or see anyone else right now. Instead, she pulled out a datapad and began to draw. She wasn't paying much attention to what she was drawing at first. She just needed to get these feelings, this annoying tickling sensation in the back of her head, on her sketchpad.

Then the phantom feeling of a hand on her throat, something hot radiating on her face, made her stop and actually look at what she was drawing. It was Kanan, facing her with his lightsaber at the ready. She had yet to draw his face beyond basic features, but she could picture it clearly in her mind: his teeth clenched, brow furrowed in anger, but his eyes slightly wide with worry. An aggressive expression given his defensive posture.

With a tired sigh, she tossed her datapad to the side, pulling her legs up and pressing her forehead to her knees. She had never gotten that close to death before. Sure, Ketsu had dug a vibroblade into her side, but it had been far from a mortal wound. And Ketsu hadn't actually been trying to kill her. Just incapacitate her to enable her own escape.

However, that Pau'an… He could have killed her easily. He tried to kill her, and if she had been on her own, there is no question in her mind that he would have done just that. Warrior or not, she knew now that she was no match against a Force user.

But Kanan had saved her. And got himself stabbed by a lasersword in the process. Even though he barely knew her. Even though she had tried to kidnap him and give him over to the Empire.

Kanan jumped in to save you because that's who he is. He doesn't stand by and watch other people being hurt.

Sabine scowled. The notion was absurd to her, but it did match the old stories she would hear about the Jedi. It was generally framed as being a weakness, the reason the Mandalorian culture of old had weakened and been shoved aside under the Duchess' reign.

And the reason they lost the Clone Wars.

Reports were mixed, but the official statement was that the Jedi had tried to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine in an attempt to take control of the Republic. The Jedi were wiped out and the Republic became the Empire as Palpatine consolidated power in an effort to restore order to the galaxy.

Growing up, Sabine often heard how the Jedi were foolish and weak. They might have had the potential for great power, but they had been unwilling to use it which made them nothing but a nuisance to progress. If they had not been so afraid of their own power, they wouldn't have been wiped into extinction.

Except they weren't extinct. At least, not completely. She was sitting on the ship with a survivor… who had just saved her life.

She scowled. She was overthinking this. Soon she would have her money, she'd get back to her shuttle and she could just wipe all of this from her memory.

No one deserves to be alone. And I'm telling you right now… that you're not.

Her eyes began to burn. "No," she growled, pressing her hands to her eyes. She was not going to cry again. What happened earlier with Hera had been humiliating enough.

Still, a part of her clung to those words despite her better judgement. It was a yearning for a sense of belonging. Mandalorians weren't supposed to be alone. They were supposed to have their clans, their family, their aliit. It had been devastating when her family turned on her, but even then she hadn't been completely alone. She had Ketsu. They were a perfect team.

Or so she thought…

The notion of letting anyone else that closer to her again, to look at another person and claim them as her own, made her want to kick someone's ass. There was no way she could open herself up like that again. She was certain it would shatter her.

A wave of nausea washed over her again. Every path ahead of her seemed bleak, filled with dark rocky obstacles. Her life had been completely turned upside down again.

If only she had never spotted Kanan in that space port.

There was a knock on her door. "Sabine? Can I come in?"

It was Hera. Sabine's stomach squirmed painfully at the thought of seeing her right now, but there was no use putting off the inevitable. She couldn't hide in this room - Hera's room - forever. So she sat up and forced her shoulders to relax. "Yeah, come in."

The door opened and Hera stepped inside. "I just finished the exchange with my contact." She held out a stack of credits.

Sabine nodded slowly, standing up and taking them from Hera. It was a good haul considering they had to split it multiple ways. About the same as she would make from a Dorn grade bounty.

"Kanan is warming up some food for us," Hera said, "But I wanted to speak with you privately about something before we have dinner."

Sabine pocketed the money before looking back at Hera. "I'm sorry about earlier."

Hera frowned. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"For…" Sabine shifted uneasily. "Falling apart like that. I'm not usually so sensitive."

"I have no doubt," Hera said, walking over and leaning back casually against the console. "That is partially what I wanted to talk to you about. Not specifically what happened in the loading dock, but what happened at the Imperial Base."

"Yeah… I imagine you're more than a little concerned that I'll turn Kanan in for the bounty now that I know he's a Jedi."

"Actually, no. I'm fairly confident that you won't."

Sabine frowned at that. Why would Hera believe that? Was this just because she had fallen apart earlier? "So you think now that I was weak and weepy that means I don't have the arpat to throw your lover to the Imperial wolves?"

It should have been interpreted as a threat. Hell, Sabine half-intended it to be one. But Hera remained remarkably calm and unswayed. "Well… Are you?"

Sabine's chest tightened, but forced her shoulders to stay relaxed as she huffed. "Even if I wanted to, I doubt I could. I'm good, but not so good I can take on a Jedi by myself."

"And you don't want to," Hera stated simply.

For a moment, she couldn't reply as a jolt of pain shot through Sabine's chest and all of her muscles tensed. Because Hera wasn't wrong. Sabine didn't want to turn Kanan in. Even for as much money as his bounty was worth… It just didn't feel right.

Despite the lack of a reply, Hera smiled. "I know you don't trust us. But I want to make you an offer."

Sabine blinked in disbelief. Was Hera actually going to…?

"I've spoken with the rest of my crew. There could be a place for you on this ship. That is… if want it."

She honestly had no idea how to respond to such a request. A part of her was already going through a list of why that was a terrible idea. She barely knew these people. She had only worked one job with them. They had no reason to trust her. They could kick her out at any moment…

But those thoughts were quiet under her desperate ache to belong somewhere. Hera was giving her the chance to be part of a team again. And when faced with the alternative - to go back to her dinky shuttle and fly off into the unknown alone - Sabine couldn't bring herself to outright reject the Twi'lek's offer.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," Hera added. "We're going to be making a few hyperspace jumps over the next couple days to make sure the Empire isn't track us. You can tell me then. I'm sorry to say we won't be able to go back for your shuttle, but if you do decide to leave, we can make sure you're secured with another viable means of transport."

It was an incredibly generous offer on her part. One that typical smugglers would have never offered her. It made the notion of walking away that much more unpalatable. But at this very moment, Sabine just couldn't make herself accept it. Not yet. "I'll think about it," she said quietly.

Hera nodded before gesturing towards the door. "Let's grab some dinner."

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