I do not own Star Wars in any capacity.

Enjoy chapter 56!

It was honestly remarkable. After almost everything had gone wrong, after getting help from two of the least reliable members of their crew… They still managed to hide the whole incident from Spectres One through Three.

When they got back from the market, she managed to slip past the other Spectres and put her bag in her room before joining the others in the galley for dinner. It smelled of something sweet and rich, and she realized that Kanan was making one of his curries. Hera was sitting at the table with a mug of what looked to be tea as Zeb helped set up the table.

Sabine was honestly shocked that Zeb and Ezra had covered for her. She had been doubtful about how convincing Ezra would be - particularly with Kanan and this apparent 'bond' they shared - but he had actually bought some parts at the market, and so covered up the incident by simply chattering excitedly. He was pacing back and forth between Kanan and Hera as he spoke, turning over one of the parts in his fingers. "It has a narrower frequency range, but an additional fine tune screw so I should be able to get it closer to the power signal…"

"Let me see it," Hera said, leaning forward and offering her hand.

Ezra placed the part in her palm as he continued to talk. "I'm actually surprised they were selling it for so cheap. When I looked on the holo they were pretty expensive but I guess that's because they have to take delivery into account. Still makes me wonder where they got it though, because it's not typical tech…"

Sabine tried not to roll her eyes too overtly. Ezra was ranting at this point. He had been like this ever since Jalath. She supposed it was a bit more excitement than he was used to. The kid was still practically vibrating from excitement. Sabine only hoped the others just saw it as excitement for his slingshot upgrade.

"Alright," Kanan said, putting down the cooking spoon. "Dinner's ready."

Everyone grabbed their plates and lined up to pour themselves out a helping. While Sabine always enjoyed Kanan's food, this wasn't her favorite. It was flavorful, but it didn't pack quite the punch she liked. Although maybe the original version was better. The first time he made this after she joined, it did not settle right with her stomach. Lothalian cream apparently didn't agree with her, so they've had to buy alternatives, which Sabine immensely appreciated.

They all sat down around the table in their usual seats. "What about you two?" Hera asked, looking at Zeb and Sabine. "Get anything interesting?"

"Just a couple jogan tarts," Zeb said easily. "Made fresh today."

"And you didn't bring us any?" Kanan asked in mock offense.

Ezra actually looked a bit guilty at the question. "Oh… I didn't think about that…" he mumbled.

"It's fine," Kanan assured with a smile. "There'll be more jogan tarts in the future."

And so just like that, the incident was tucked away, a secret shared between the three of them. Although Sabine knew it wouldn't remain a secret forever. Not with what she intended to do with the goods she had acquired.

It took her a bit longer to finalize a design. It was the culmination of dozens of sketches and a few observations she had made in the days that followed.

The final idea had struck Sabine while she was watching Kanan and Zeb in the loading dock. She had been sitting on the catwalk near the nose gun, her legs dangling over the edge as she sketched. Ezra was sitting right next to her, also watching the fighting below. She didn't want to work on her design while Ezra was right there, so instead she was practicing dynamic poses as she watched Kanan and Zeb move.

Their fighting styles were completely from one another. There were a few obviously reasons for this. Zeb was so much bigger than most humanoids, and as a digitigrade with prehensile feet, he had a huge range of motion that Kanan was simply not capable of. And of course, there was the fact that their weapons were nothing alike, each requiring their own style to wield.

But it was more than just these obvious details. Kanan was a much more defensive fighter than Zeb was. Even with his size difference, he was more than fast enough to be able to mount a successful offensive against Zeb, and yet he didn't. She was pretty sure it wasn't just Kanan going easy on Zeb. Quite the contrary. Kanan still won a good amount of the time despite almost never attacking first. Sabine didn't know if it was typical for a Jedi, but this defensive form practically defined Kanan's style. It encapsulated the art of misdirection and using his opponent's strength against him.

With his style of fighting, a full manica set would really aid in his combat. Particularly against the likes of the Inquisitor. Beskar could even block the power of a lightsaber. It's part of the reason she had decided to go ahead and check the validity of the Peddler's claims. After watching Kanan fight, after talking to him about mandalorian art and culture… She knew it would do him justice.

But she didn't want to just give it to him as is. It was currently an ugly mess with a terrible paint job. Sabine just hadn't yet settled on how she wanted to rejuvenate the armor.

In the loading dock below, Kanan was backed into a corner, his pale blue saber having been pushed to the side. With a giant grin, Zeb ran straight at him with the intent to hit Kanan with the end of his bo-rifle. But Kanan suddenly jumped straight into the air, flipping and diving downward with unnatural grace behind Zeb as the Lasat ran straight into the wall. Zeb turned to retaliate, but Kanan swiftly twisted his torso and pushed the tip of his saber to Zeb's neck. Kanan gave a breathy chuckle. "Good try."

With a chuckle of his own, Zeb retracted his bo-rifle, stepping back and rubbing his head. "Yeah, guess I got carried away. Just wasn't expecting you to jump up like a leaping blood spider. Can all humans do that?"

Kanan gave a huff as his saber retracted with a buzzing hiss. "No… I suppose I cheated a little on instinct. Used the Force to boost my jump…"

"Wait, we can do that?" Ezra asked. "How?"

"It's actually pretty simple," Kanan said as he pulled his lightsaber apart and secured the pieces on to his belt. "It's the same principle as Force pushing with your arms, except you're using your legs instead."

Ezra hummed thoughtfully while Zeb secured his bo-rifle onto his back. "So you did cheat. I woulda beat you if it weren't for the Force."

"Eh, maybe," Kanan said. "I still might have jumped out of the way, just not straight up into the air."

Sabine blinked at the description, thinking about the way he had flipped forward and practically dove back down to finish the fight. Almost like a…

She suddenly stood. "I'm going to go work on something," she said dismissively, running to the ladder to climb up to the cabins.

It took the rest of the afternoon to perfect her design. Then it took an additional day to get the colors right and actually paint the armor to her liking. As simple as her final design was, it just couldn't be blocks of color. She needed to add the right texture to give it that natural look. Otherwise it would just look strange on Kanan, given his personality and style.

She added a final coat to give it long lasting durability, then she just had to wait for it to dry. While she was pleased with her work and the results, it brought up a new slightly uncomfortable conundrum: how to offer this to Kanan?

What had started as a spur of the moment idea had turned into this vast undertaking. Now that her idea had coalesced into an actual physical object with a brand new paint job, she was finding herself more self-conscious than ever. Who knew if Kanan would even want to wear it. Jedi weren't exactly known for wearing armor.

Well, except during the Clone Wars. She remembers seeing some propaganda posters with famous Jedi generals like Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker wearing armor.

Sabine frowned. She wondered what Kanan had been doing during the Clone Wars. Her initial guess would be that he was at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but that couldn't be possible. The Temple had been wiped clear at the end of the war, transformed into the Emperor's palace. Kanan had been fourteen at the time… Sabine couldn't imagine evading a force like that and escaping Coruscant alive.

While Kanan wasn't shy about answering questions about himself, he was hardly forthcoming. Usually when she and Kanan spoke about anything personal, it was about Mandalore or Krownst. Now she wondered what Kanan's life had been like before the Jedi had been wiped out. Did he look at his Jedi superiors - clad in armor and surrounded by clone troopers - with awe and envy? Or had he been absorbed by other Jedi matters, like meditation and the Force? Sabine really had no context for what his childhood might have been like.

Sabine sighed, running her hand over the armor as it rest on her top bunk. Her mind was lingering on the fact that Kanan was a hunted man. He and Ezra were always going to be in danger so long as the Empire still ruled over the galaxy. Whatever Kanan's thoughts had once been about armor clad Jedi, there was no denying the pure practical matter of using such armor now. With people like the Inquisitor coming after Kanan, why not give him every means possible for him to protect himself?

It was this thought that finally spurred her to finally go speak to Kanan.

Kanan watched as Ezra went through the series. He had improved a lot in the last few months, thanks largely to Sabine's observation. Once they had properly modified the footwork needed for these drills, Ezra quickly got the hang of them. Not only was he mastering the forms at an impressive pace, his confidence had grown as well. It made Kanan incredibly proud… and a bit melancholy.

Ezra had transformed from a skittish submissive child constantly terrified of being punished into the eager and happy preteen excelling in his lessons. It filled Kanan with a joy he could hardly describe. He just wished Ezra wasn't…. so eager.

He finished the series and stood straight, retracting Kanan's lightsaber. He looked down at it with a small frown, like he was pondering something. Kanan could sense just the faintest whispers of doubt and apprehension. He stepped toward him. "What is it?"

Ezra glanced up at Kanan before looking back down at Kanan's lightsaber. "When… When do I get my own?"

Kanan's shoulders slumped slightly. He knew this question was coming. Maybe not this moment, but he knew it must have been on Ezra's mind. "When the time is right."

Ezra huffed at Kanan's non-answer. "When did you get yours?"

Kanan pressed his lips together, knowing Ezra was going to try and use this against him. "I was thirteen," he answered honestly.

As expected, Ezra perked up a bit at that. He was, after all, just a few months from turning thirteen himself. "How does it work?"

This was good. Focus on the facts, the rituals… "Most Initiates participate in an event called the Gathering in order to get their kyber crystal. They are brought to Ilum, and they undergo the temple's trial. If the Initiate passes, the temple reveals their crystal to them. After that, they had a master - Master Huyang - who helped them actually build their lightsabers."

"Them?" Ezra echoed. "What about you?"

"Oh, well… Between the war and other circumstances, I ended up going alone with my master. And the Crucible was still being repaired, so - "

"The Crucible?"

"The ship Master Huyang used to ferry the Initiates after they received their crystal. Before I passed my Initiate trials, the Crucible had been attacked by pirates. Rather than wait, my master decided just to bring me herself."

Ezra looked back down at Kanan's lightsaber, swaying from foot to foot. "So… you have to pass your Initiate trials first. Then you get a lightsaber?"

"Essentially yes…" Kanan said slowly. "Although in the Old Days, getting your kyber crystal was part of the Initiate trials."

"So… when can I do them?"

Kanan sighed. "It's going to be different for you, Ezra. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to do the trials like I did."

"Why not?" Ezra asked with an edge of impatience.

"Because you weren't raised like I was," Kanan said exasperatedly. "You didn't spend years and years memorizing the Jedi Code in all its iterations and the philosophical reasons behind all those iterations. You haven't been using a lightsaber every day since you were six. You aren't…!" Kanan waved his hands in front of him, tension rising up in his chest and shoulders as he tried to find the right words.

"... good enough?"

"No!" Kanan growled, unable to keep back his frustration and annoyance. "It's not you, it's just… this life," he finally said, feeling almost defeated. The fact of the matter was that no matter how hard Kanan tried to teach Ezra, he would just never be able to match up to his own teachings in the Temple. This life on the Ghost would never have the same Force presence as his home on Coruscant. And it hurt Kanan to know that Ezra would never get to experience the warmth of being absolutely bathed in the Light of the Force.

"What about this life?"

Kanan looked over to see Ezra looking at him warily, and he realized he had just been standing there in silence. He let out a soft sigh. "It's the Empire," Kanan said quietly. "The truth is your path to become a Jedi will never be typical. Not now." And neither will mine.

"Okay…" Ezra said slowly. "So my Initiate trials will be different?"

Truth be told, Kanan hadn't given anything like that much thought. While he wanted to train Ezra to be a Jedi, the thought of putting him through formal assessments made his stomach churn. "It's like the lightsaber forms. Just like we had to modify them, the whole process of being a Jedi… It has to change."

Ezra bit his lip, squirming in place. "Okay… Soooo when can I get a lightsaber?"

And they had come full circle. Kanan couldn't help but chuckle. "Not for a while. Sorry, kiddo. Honestly, I don't even know how you would go about getting a kyber crystal. No doubt Ilum is swarming with Imperials…"

Ezra huffed, clearly disappointed. Kanan couldn't blame him, but he was also being purposefully reticent on the matter. His holocron had a wealth of information, and it was possible it had information about an alternative location for Ezra to get his own kyber crystal. But Kanan didn't think Ezra was ready. Of course, he couldn't just say that, because Ezra would most certainly take it the wrong way no matter how it was worded. However, thinking back on his own trial on Ilum… He shuddered to think how a Jedi temple would decide to 'test' Ezra. While his padawan was lightyears more confident and well adjusted than he used to be, the thought of putting Ezra through an emotionally wrought trial like that just didn't feel right.

Kanan was in no rush. Ezra was still learning to use a saber. There was still time.

"Oh, hey Sabine."

Kanan turned to see Sabine walking towards them. "Hope I'm not interrupting," she said.

"No, we're done for the day," Kanan said.

Twisting Kanan's lightsaber apart, Ezra handed him the pieces before walking over to her. "What's up?"

"I… want to talk to Kanan."

He frowned at that. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just want to show you something."

Ezra looked mildly surprised as he glanced back at Kanan. Of course, Kanan had no idea what Sabine wanted to show him or why she was being cagey about it. He gave Ezra a small nod. "Go on. You should be working on your lessons anyway." Ezra twisted his face up in disgust at the notion, but he marched into the Ghost without complaint. Kanan chuckled and shook his head. It never failed to amuse him whenever Ezra had typical teenager reactions to the mundane.

Speaking of teenagers, he looked back at Sabine who seemed distracted. She was rubbing one of her arms and avoiding eye contact with him. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course I am," Sabine said shortly, glancing at him before looking back down. "I just…" She scowled as she turned back toward the Ghost. "Let me just show you."

His curiosity piqued, he followed her back into the Ghost and towards the cabins. Gently probing the Force, he verified that Sabine was alright. There weren't any particularly strong emotions emanating from her, which was promising. Just from her body language, she was just a bit nervous about something. It made him even more curious.

She led him to her cabin, opening the door and walking in. He walked in, his eyes immediately drawn to what looked to be freshly painted armor pieces resting on her upper bunk. "Where did you get those from?"

Sabine stiffened, her shoulders slightly hunched as she turned to face him. "I… acquired them."

Kanan's eyes narrowed at the strange emphasis. "Acquired?" he echoed.

Sabine cleared her throat. "Remember the other day when we went to the marketplace, and I said I didn't get anything…"

"Yeeeaaah…?"

"That was a lie. This is what I got. From a Deep Net seller."

"A Deep Net seller?!" What in blazes was Sabine doing buying contraband off the Deep Net behind their back?

"Yes," Sabine replied, her voice deliberately calm. "They said they were selling genuine Mandalorian armor. At first I ignored it but…" She bit her lip. "If it was real, I couldn't pass up the chance to reclaim lost beskar. It belongs to us, not some money grubbing peddlers trying to make a cred off our legacy."

Kanan was quiet for a moment, watching the fine tremor running through Sabine's body. He thought back to his earlier days, the days he spent wandering the galaxy alone in a drunken haze. Sometimes, for reasons beyond his understanding, he would end up on the Deep Net, scrolling through postings of Jedi paraphernalia. No lightsabers, as that was too dangerous to pawn even on the Deep Net. But other objects: Jedi robes, comlinks... even Padawan braids, their descriptions conveniently leaving out that they had to have come off of children.

"I understand," he said softly.

She looked up at him and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "I imagine you do…" She straightened. "But I didn't bring you in here for a pity party." She grabbed one of the armor pieces - the pauldron - and held it up for Kanan to see. The armor was painted dark green with a white worn-looking emblem on top of it.

Kanan recognized Sabine's style. "You repainted it," he stated.

"I did," Sabine said. "I may have reclaimed this armor, but I know it'll be impossible to determine whose family it came from. For all I know, it's from a clan that's been long wiped out." She took a deep breath before stepped closer to Kanan. "The only people allowed to wear beskar are Mandalorians and those they gift it to." She extended her arms offering the pauldron to him.

Kanan took it by reflex, gazing down at the three clawed symbol painted onto it. Then he fully processed what Sabine had said. "Wait, you're giving this to me? Sabine, I can't - !"

"I've watched you a lot over the last several months," Sabine interjected. "You're a protector. I used to just think you were just reckless on missions, but you use yourself as a target to protect other people. You're still reckless, but at least you're reckless with good reason."

He frowned at the description. He didn't consider himself to be reckless. At least, not anymore. It's true that he would use himself as a distraction to draw fire away from civilians but that was just part of the job.

"You care. Like, waaay more than you should," she went on. "You protect people, but more importantly, you protect your family." She looked down at the pauldron in Kanan's hands with a soft huff. "I have no need for that armor." She put a hand on one of her breastplates. "This is my beskar, passed down by my clan, reforged with my family. And while I had to reclaim this manica from the Deep Net… I want you to have it. If circumstances were different it would have just been melted down and used for foundlings. But since I'm not..."

She cut herself off, pressing her lips together into a fine line. Kanan understood. Maybe she had never said it allowed, but obviously she had been cut off from her clan. It was the only explanation for why she had been completely alone.

Sabine took a deep breath. "Beskar shouldn't be at rest. It's meant to be worn by a warrior. It will do more good being donned by you than gathering dust in some storage closet."

"I…" Kanan was honestly at a loss for words. He knew how powerful this kind of gesture was from a Mandalorian. They didn't gift their beskar lightly. "I don't know what to say."

She shrugged. "You don't have to say anything. Besides, with a red blade after you, I figure you could use all the help you could get."

Kanan gave a humorless chuckle, gently tracing his fingers over the white design. "Isn't this the symbol for House Viszla?"

"Don't think too much into it," Sabine said quickly. "While it is technically a stylization of my House's symbol, it's just a jai'galaar. Watching you flight, the way you move through the air… it reminded me of the way jai'galaars hunt. And I had to repaint this manica before giving it to you because before it was this really hideous shade of brown before."

Kanan gave a genuine laugh at that. Of course Sabine would be concerned by the armor's color. At least she didn't go over the top with this pauldron like she did with her own armor. "You did a beautiful job, as always. Thanks, Sabine."

Sabine smiled, her cheeks warming a little at the compliment. "You're welcome. I trust you'll use it well."

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