Garel:
Anakin, Sabine, Ezra and Chopper moved down the Ghost's ramp just as two other rebels turned away from Hera and started walking towards the hanger's exit. "You said you had another mission. What do you want me to do?" the kid asked.
"Actually, this one's for her." the Twi'lek replied while turning her attention to Sabine, said girl smirked and elbowed Ezra lightly as she moved past him. "There's a courier coming in who has secret information. I need you to pick him up and transport him to Havok outpost." the older woman explained.
"Sounds easy enough." the girl replied. "If it was easy, I'd send someone else. This information is important. We have to get it through. Keep a low profile." Hera addressed clearly.
"Don't worry. You can trust me. What's this courier look like?" the Mandalorian girl asked. "I don't know, but they'll respond to this code phrase." the Twi'lek answered before pressing a button on the datapad in her hand. A second later Sabine's wrist computer beeped before she raised her arm to see that the info was retrieved.
"Got it, come on Anakin." the girl called out after slipping her helmet on. "Hang on a sec." he replied before turning to Ezra. "I know what you're thinking, kid. And no, you're not coming with us. I haven't been on a mission with just her before and I'm not keen on a third wheel." he said before putting his own helmet on and turning around.
"But-" the Jedi started to protest before the ex-merc suddenly rounded on him. "I'm warning you, Ezra." he said darkly before turning around again. The teen could sense both girls were worried about his sudden aggression while Ezra was slightly terrified. Sabine gave him a concerned look while trailing a foot behind him, Chopper not far behind her.
"Are you alright?" she asked her boyfriend gently before he sighed. "I'm sorry... That incident on the medical station still haunts me a bit is all..." he trailed off as they kept walking.
The teenage girl walked up beside him before gently grabbing his hand and threading her finger through his mechanical ones. Even though he couldn't see it, the ex-merc knew she was giving him a soft smile.
After a few minutes of walking Sabine suddenly pulled her hand away as she stopped to look at a symbol spray painted on the wall to their right. The Mandalorian girl removed her helmet to get a better look. "What is it?" her boyfriend asked after he and the droid stopped moving.
"Nothing." she replied dismissively before putting her helmet back on and walking back over to them.
It was a few minutes later before the three of them found themselves in Hanger 22. A shuttle had just landed and its passengers were disembarking from the ship. Anakin did a quick look around and noticed there were lots of different species yet barely any Imperials.
"So how do we find the courier?" he asked his girlfriend. "The code phrase is, 'It's a long way to Alderaan.'" she replied.
"Maybe this guy?" he suggested while gesturing to a Rodian walking in their direction. "It's a long way to Alderaan." he said to the guy. "Uh, okay..." the man trailed off, clearly weirded out. "That was embarrassing." he mumbled.
Hours passed by as the two continued saying the phrase to different people only to either end up with strange looks directed at them or flat out being ignored. "Hanger 22 is now closed." a voice announced over the hanger's speakers before repeating it in different languages.
Feeling his legs wobble a bit from having been on his feet for hours, the ex-merc found a few crates near a shuttle before hopping up onto a tall one to sit down. "It's gonna be a long way back to the Ghost if we miss the courier." he said, stretching a bit.
"We couldn't have. Hera had confirmation he boarded the shuttle." she informed him. "Wait. It's a guy? Why didn't you say that earlier, could've saved some time by leaving the women alone." he said. "Are you sure you were saying the code phrase right?" she asked while looking at him over her shoulder.
"Yes, it's a long way to Alderaan." he replied before the crate he was sitting on started moving and warbling. "Whoa! What's up with his thing?" he asked in surprise before jumping off the droid as Sabine turned toward them.
"Wait a minute. That is the courier." she realized before walking over to them as it warbled again. "Talk about a low profile. He came in with the cargo payload. He's unit EG-86." she said while dropping to one knee in front of it. "Nice to meet you... EeeGee." the ex-merc greeted awkwardly.
"I don't get why they'd hide such important information in this binary box brain." he commented. "Well, would you suspect that thing of being a spy full of secrets?" she asked as he took another look at it before turning his attention back to her. "Probably not, no." he replied.
"That's too bad..." a voice said from above. The couple turned their head towards the direction of the voice just in time to see a woman jump off the shuttle beside them and land beside the stepladder leading into said shuttle. "Because I would." the girl said.
"Ketsu Onyo. I saw your mark, old friend." Sabine spat, her tone venomous. Anakin was a bit surprised by her tone. 'Never heard or sensed her this angry before.'
"Friend? That's a generous term considering what happened." Onyo said as she and Sabine suddenly took defensive stances before circling each other. "I know this is probably a dumb question, but do you two know each other?" the ex-merc asked.
"Something like that. Still a bounty hunter, I see." she replied to her boyfriend before addressing Onyo. "Tell me you don't miss it." the other girl shot back. "You were a bounty hunter? That would explain a lot." Anakin commented.
"I don't think Ketsu's here for a reunion." Sabine stated as she and the other girl stopped circling each other. "You know me well. I'm just here for the droid." the other Mandalorian replied before Chopper warbled.
"Pretty sure she means him, Chop. Not you." the ex-merc said while gesturing to the gonk droid. "So... how do you know her?" he asked his girlfriend. "She never told you how we broke out of the Imperial Academy?" Onyo asked.
"That was a long time ago. Before you got greedy and left me for dead." the other girl spat as Onyo chuckled coldly. "You'd have been better off dead than joining this band of rebels. I didn't believe it until I saw the Empire put a bounty on you." the bounty hunter replied.
"You gonna try to collect on it?" Sabine asked as her tone became more serious and hostile. "Haven't decided yet. Besides, I work for the Black Sun now, and I have another job to finish first." Onyo replied.
"I can't let you do that." Sabine said before she and Onyo started slowly reaching for their blasters. Anakin looked between them as the tension in the air thickened from their little standoff.
"Easy, girls. Let's not do anything-" he started to say slowly before being cut off by a stormtrooper.
"You there. Citizens, what's going on here? There's a curfew on this hangar. You need to leave immediately." the trooper with a white pauldron ordered as he and four others walked over to them.
"Don't interrupt us!" Onyo snapped before pulling out one of her blasters and shooting two of them. Anakin, Sabine and the droids quickly took cover behind the crates the droids had been in front of a moment ago while Onyo took cover behind a longer crate near Sabine.
Popping out over top of the crate, the ex-merc's girlfriend fired off a shot from one of her blasters that hit one of the troopers in the chest. "Nice shot. Haven't lost your touch." the bounty hunter surprisingly complimented before popping out of her own cover and shooting one herself.
"Good thing you haven't either." the other Mandalorian replied. "Okay, you two need to figure out this whole friend/enemy thing." Anakin said before blasting the remaining trooper with his DC-15A.
Unfortunately the Empire wasn't done as they noticed another squad of stormtroopers running towards them. "New plan. Chopper get this guy onto the shuttle." the ex-merc ordered while gesturing to the shuttle with a nod.
Chopper warbled before Anakin went back to shooting at the troopers to give them cover fire. A moment later he looked up to see the gonk droid at the top of the ramp before addressing his girlfriend. "Sabine, go! I'll cover you." he said.
The girl nodded before towards the ramp and quickly climbing up. Once she was in, the ex-merc followed her while dodging blasts as he climbed up the ramp. "Hang on." Sabine warned a few seconds later before the ship started to take off into the air.
Anakin kept firing down at the troops as they got further away before one bolt suddenly hit the shuttle beside his head. Luckily the ex-merc wasn't taken off-guard by almost getting shot in the head and quickly retaliated just before the shuttle door automatically closed. "Bastards." he mumbled.
Space, near Garel:
"Well... that was fun." Anakin said, breaking the silence as Sabine piloted the ship away from the planet. "Yeah, we were lucky to escape so easily." she replied. If he currently wasn't wearing his helmet, the ex-merc would've face palmed at her words.
"Sabine, you just jinxed us with those words." he groaned. Before she could reply a beeping sound suddenly came from the console as Chopper warbled. "Scanning a ship? Oh, no." she muttered just as her boyfriend sensed Onyo approaching from behind.
A few seconds later the ship suddenly shook a bit before slowing down. "Yep, that's Ketsu, all right." Sabine said. "Are the engines alright?" her boyfriend asked before she turned her head a bit to give him a nod.
"They're fine, but she knocked out our hyperdrive, which means I bet I know her next move." she replied before addressing the droids. "Lock yourselves down." she ordered as the ex-merc sat in the chair opposite of hers.
"Too late!" she exclaimed a few seconds later after the door was blasted off. Just as the couple held onto their respective chairs for dear life the gonk droid was almost immediately pulled towards the door. Fortunately the droid ended up on it's side and therefore got stuck in front of the door.
"Shit!" Anakin cursed as the vacuum of space won their little tug-o-war and he was pulled towards the door, luckily he hit the gonk droid instead of getting sucked out. The teen had no time to sigh in relief as he instead let out an 'Oof' a second later after his girlfriend crashed into him.
"Chopper!" the couple exclaimed in horror as said droid was sucked out through the opening above their heads.
"Anakin! The hatch!" she yelled over the sound. The ex-merc looked to his right to see a panel by the door before reaching out with his right hand to press the button that would seal the door.
Anakin's struggled to press the button while simultaneously trying to keep from dislodging himself. "Come on! Come on!" he growled to himself through gritted teeth. Fed up with struggling for so long he opted to dislodge himself before quickly pressing the button.
Both teens let out an 'Oof' after hitting the ground. The male groaned slightly as he stood up before dusting himself off. "I'm getting too big for this." he complained before helping his girlfriend stand.
"Next time I steal a ship, it'll be one with guns." she said, taking her helmet off and walking back to her seat as the ex-merc helped the droid stand.
After she maneuvered her ship to face the shuttle, Onyo tried contacting them. Sabine looked at the console before pressing a button and watching a hologram of her former friend appear.
"No hard feelings, Sabine. It's not personal, just business. And speaking of business, here's the deal... Toss out the power droid, and I'll let you live." the other woman said as Sabine crossed her arms.
"And if I refuse." she asked. "I'll blow up the shuttle and scoop my bounty from the debris." the bounty hunter threatened as Anakin stepped up behind his girlfriend. A moment after Onyo's threat the couple noticed Chopper landing on top of her ship.
"I don't believe it." Sabine muttered in surprise. "You better believe it. I'll do whatever it takes to complete my mission." the bounty hunter said, thinking Sabine was talking to her.
"No, I, I don't believe you can do it." she taunted with a smirk, trying to stall her former friend so Chopper could disable the turret. "Maybe that's true, but I've changed more than you realize. I have new loyalties now." Onyo said.
"Right. Finally part of Black Sun." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied with a small glare. "Just like we always dreamed. I got the best weapons, best ship, and I'm feared across the galaxy." the bounty hunter said.
"Ugh. I can't believe I wanted that. The Black Sun are slavers and assassins who don't care about anything but body counts and quotas. They'd kill you too, for a profit." Sabine replied.
"Speaking of which, your time is up. Now hand over the droid." Onyo demanded as Eeegee warbled in fear.
"You can't do it." Anakin's girlfriend taunted with a smirk. "I really wish it hadn't come to this, old friend." the bounty hunter replied with a hint of regret in her tone. A few seconds later they saw Chopper taunt the bounty hunter before Sabine started moving the shuttle forward.
"So long, old friend." she mocked while flying the shuttle over Onyo's.
Once they put some distance between them and the bounty hunter, Eeegee made it's way to the cargo hold before Sabine opened the cargo bay door for Chopper. "I'll hold her steady. Just get him inside." she said over the shuttle's comm.
A few seconds later Eeegee entered the main part of the shuttle while warbling frantically. "Where's Chopper? Calm down. What are you saying?" she asked with a frown before the droid warbled more slowly.
"What did he say?" the ex-merc asked her. "Chopper's been taken." she replied. "Shit." he cursed as she opened a channel with Onyo ship.
"All right, Ketsu. Let's make a trade." she said while flying the shuttle over to bounty hunter's ship. "I'll extend the docking ramp and get your little friend ready." Onyo replied. Once both ships were parallel of each other, Sabine pressed a few button on the console before she and her boyfriend walked over to the door.
"Stay here." the girl ordered Eeegee after opening the docking tube door. As the couple walked towards the other side, Anakin took his green saber out of its pouch before clipping it onto the back of his belt. 'Hopefully I won't have to use it.'
"Well, well. While I've changed, it seems you haven't changed at all." Onyo commented after the door opened and she and Chopper met them halfway. "You're not giving up the courier, are you?" she asked after looking past the couple.
"Nope. You're going to have to take him." Sabine challenged. "And this astromech... Not very smart, sticking your neck out for it." the bounty hunter replied, gesturing to the droid behind her before crossing her arms.
"Chopper's more than a droid. He's a rebel and a friend." the ex-merc's girlfriend said. "Oh, Sabine..." she trailed off with a sigh before removing her helmet.
"We were once friends. Tell you what. Give me the power droid, and I'll share my cut with you. Like the old days." she said while attempting to move past them. Onyo didn't get far as Anakin slammed his hand against the wall on his left to cut her off.
"Don't even think about it." he snarled. Clearly intimidated by not just his tone but also his height, the bounty hunter took a few steps back. "Who's this? Your boyfriend?" she asked her former friend while crossing her arms.
"Actually yes, he also happens to be Revan's descendant." Sabine replied, crossing her arms too as Anakin wrapped his mechanical arm around her waist.
"Plus I don't do things for just money anymore." she added. "That's right. Now there's 'the cause'. You really think your little rebel group can overthrow the Empire. Grow up, little sister. You can't be that foolish." Onyo chastised.
"Once we were like sisters. But... We only cared about ourselves." Sabine replied, regret in her tone. "It's called survival. You, of all people, should know you can't trust anyone." the bounty hunter said.
"I forgive you." the ex-merc's girlfriend said after a moment of silence. "For what?" Onyo asked. "For leaving me for dead. And I still trust you." replied simply. "And you're wrong." the bounty hunter said coldly.
"I met people who gave me a second chance in life, and that's what I'm giving you." Sabine replied sincerity in her tone.
Before Onyo could reply an Imperial officer's voice was heard over the shuttle's comm. "Imperial cruiser to Garel shuttle 63725. Your craft as been identified as stolen. Prepare to be boarded." the officer informed them.
"Looks like we're friends again." Sabine said with a smirk. "Don't have much of a choice." Ketsu replied, mirroring her smirk before Anakin threw his hands up. "I will never understand girls." he said before making his way back towards the shuttle.
"Hold position for docking. Hold position for docking. Attempt to flee, and you will be fired upon." the officer warned after the couple sat in the same chairs as earlier and Ketsu stood in-between them.
"Thanks to your little rust bucket, I've got no firepower. And as long as we're docked to this shuttle, we can't use the Shadow Caster's hyperdrive to escape." the bounty hunter said to her friend who was currently deep in thought.
"Chop, overload the hyperdrive on the shuttle." she ordered the droid before he rolled over to the droid port and plugged in. "What are you doing?" Ketsu asked as Chopper warbled. "Buying us time." the Anakin's girlfriend replied with a smirk before pressing a button on the console to contact them.
"Attention, Imperial vessel. Please be aware, our ships have suffered extensive damage... And are in danger of self-destruction." she told them. "Shuttle craft, you have two minutes to stabilize. Then we will be coming aboard." the officer replied a few seconds later.
"What can you do in two minutes?" the bounty hunter asked as Sabine stood up and walked over to Chopper. "Watch." she said to her friend before addressing Chopper. "Chopper, purge the reactor, then get over to the Shadow Caster and prepare to disengage the docking tube on my signal." she ordered.
"You're going to blow up the shuttle?" the bounty hunter questioned with a frown. "Which will get us the time we need to make our escape." the ex-merc's girlfriend replied. "I should have known. You always liked to make things go boom." Ketsu said with a smile.
"Something I learned from you. Still got the armory of explosives you used to carry?" she asked. "On my ship." her friend replied before they ran over to her ship. Once they were onboard she immediately pushed a large crate over to them before sliding the lid off to reveal a bunch of proximity bombs.
"That's a lot of explosives." Anakin commented. "Only friends I've ever needed." she said before handing two to Sabine. "Until today. Anakin and I will plant them on the shuttle to give the reactor an extra kick." she explained as the bounty hunter handed her two more and Anakin grabbed four himself.
"That's the Sabine I remember." her friend said with smile. "Now you get sentimental. Just get the Shadow Caster ready to fly. Come on, Anakin." the ex-merc's girlfriend said before the two made their way through the docking tube.
Once back inside the shuttle the couple started to plant their explosives on opposite sides of the console before they heard the officer's voice again. "Imperial cruiser to shuttle. We are reading a power surge on your vessel. Your reactor core is unstable. Contain the problem immediately." he ordered.
"It is looking pretty bad over here. I'd keep my distance if I were you." Sabine replied as she and her boyfriend finished placing their explosives. "Whichever one of you thieves is in charge, identify yourself." the officer ordered.
"You should probably talk to the captain." she replied while trying to reactivate the droid. "Hey, Captain. Wake up!" she said before managing to reactivate him. "Not take no for an answer!" the droid said before she grabbed it's head and turned it to face her.
"Your ship is under attack. You need to exercise emergency protocol." she said. "Under attack?" it asked, sounding confused. "See that Imperial cruiser out there? It's getting ready to destroy your shuttle for being stolen." she replied while pointing to the approaching Imperial light cruiser.
"Destroy my ship?" the droid panicked as it looked at the cruiser. "Time to go." Sabine said after standing up.
Anakin reached Ketsu's ship right as Ketsu entered the cargo hold. Both barely managed to keep from falling down as the cruiser opened fire on the shuttle. "Droid, release the docking tube, or we're all going to die." she barked to Chopper after jumping down the ladder.
Both Chopper and Eeegee warbled something to her. "What did they say?" Anakin asked her. "That Sabine is still on the shuttle." she replied before they both looked towards the shuttle to see his girlfriend lying on the ground unconscious. The ex-merc felt his heart skip a beat from fear before hopping over the droid and sprinting towards the shuttle.
"I got you, Angel." he said softly to his unconscious girlfriend while scooping her up into his arms. The Mandalorian girl started to regain consciousness as her boyfriend jogged through the docking tube.
Once they reached Ketsu's ship he set her down gently before addressing Chopper. "Get us out of here, Chop." he ordered before the droid warbled and plugged into the droid port beside the door.
A few seconds after making their way up the ladder and into the cockpit, the teens could feel the ship moving away from the direction they were supposed to be going. "It's too late. They've got us." Ketsu said. "Not for long." her friend replied with a smirk.
Once they were free of the tractor beam, the bounty hunter quickly got into the pilot chair before activating the hyperdrive.
"You okay?" the ex-merc asked his girlfriend as the ship moved through hyperspace. "I'm fine. Thank you" she assured with a smile before taking his helmet off and giving him a soft kiss.
Unidentified planet, Havok Outpost:
Once Ketsu landed the ship on the landing strip, she and the other made their way down the ramp and were instantly greeted by Artoo and two rebel soldiers. While the bounty hunter stayed with her ship, the couple and droids walked over to their allies.
Anakin smiled as Artoo rolled up to them and exchanged beeps with Eeegee. "You can report to Senator Organa that his intel has arrived safe and sound." Sabine said to the droid with a smile.
Chopper and Artoo then warbled and beeped someting to each other as Eeegee moved past them before the C1 droid waved one of his hands dismissively to the blue and white droid.
The ex-merc just shook his head at the orange droid before he, Sabine and said droid made their way back over to Ketsu. "Let's get you home." she said to the other teens before they walked into the ship
Garel:
After landing, the rebels and bounty hunter made their over to Hera. "Congratulations on a successful mission." she said to her friends with a smile before addressing Ketsu. "Thank you for helping our cause." the Twi'lek thanked.
"Well, it was mostly an accident. I'm not sure I'm ready for a full-on fight with the Empire just yet." the bounty hunter replied. "No one ever is." Hera said before giving her a nod then turning to head back to the ship.
"Could I have a moment with Ketsu?" Sabine asked her boyfriend a few seconds after Hera left. "Sure. I'll be over by the ship." he replied before heading in that direction. Once Ketsu made her way back towards her ship, the ex-merc walked back over to his girlfriend before they watched her start taking off.
"Think that's the last we've seen of her?" he asked. "No, and I'm glad." she replied with a smile as her friend's ship blasted off into space.
Finally updated. Sorry it took so long, I got sidetracked for a long time.