"Sabine!" cried Ezra, sprinting away from the Ghost. "Sabine!"
The rebels in the base turned their heads and stared at him running across the hangar. A few of them looked like they wanted to follow him.
He slowed himself to a stop as he scanned the mess hall. There was no sign of her; she must have moved on to the lounge. He picked up his pace again and turned right down a hallway.
In the lounge, there were many tables, most of which had a dozen people around them playing Sabacc or Dejarik. People of every race filled the large room, speaking in basic and languages he had never heard before. Ezra tried to filter out all the noise and people as he searched for colorful hair. He edged his way between the tables, squeezing past a cluster of Ithorians, and spotted a few empty ones near the back of the room. Sabine was wiping down one of them while talking to a man with slicked back blonde hair and a distinctive beard. Ezra hurried toward them.
"Sabine!" he yelled. He stopped himself against the table with his hands.
Sabine looked up at him, a little surprised. She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.
"We've got to go," urged Ezra. "Hera's in labor. We don't have much time."
Sabine stopped cleaning the table for a moment and felt a flood of worry, with just a hint of joy. She moved to run toward him, but stopped herself immediately.
"Wait," she said, "we're still grounded. What are we going to do?"
"We have to talk to Mothma." Ezra paused and panted. "Our plan will work if we leave now."
"Ezra, she's never going to let us go early. Not after what we did."
"It's worth a try," said Ezra as he grabbed Sabine's hand. "Come on!" He pulled her by the arm behind him, weaving between the crowd of people. They bolted for hangar bay five, where Zeb and Chopper were helping unload some crates from their recent supply shipment.
"What's the matter?" Zeb grunted after hoisting a heavy one up on a hovercart. "Is it time?" he said as a joke. Chopper emitted a series of rasps, which sounded somewhat like laughter.
"Yes, Hera's in labor," said Sabine almost frantically. "You need to come with us; we've got to talk to Senator Mothma."
Zeb's casual expression quickly changed to a surprised one. He glanced over at who looked to be his supervisor. She nodded, and he and Chopper followed them to the bridge, dodging people in the corridors.
When they reached the command center, Senator Mothma was speaking with two officers around the holotable. The motion of the crew abruptly stopping in the doorway caught her attention. She shifted her gaze to them, and the officers glanced over their shoulders.
"Yes?" she said. "We were just about finished."
They shuffled into the room and Ezra spoke.
"Senator Mothma, we've discovered that Hera—I mean, General Syndulla's in labor. Right now," he explained urgently.
"Oh, dear," she said under her breath. "How did you find this out?"
"I felt it," he said. "Through the Force. She's in pain... afraid..."
"Have you had any contact with her over the last four weeks?"
"No," said Sabine. "We think she's being held prisoner on the Chimaera, under the charge of Grand Admiral Thrawn."
Mothma cocked her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get this information?"
"We have imperial files Saw stole for us. We'll transmit them to you right away."
She nodded and turned back to Ezra.
"We have a plan for rescuing her, but it'll only work if we leave now," he said hesitantly. He took a deep breath. "We understand our wrongdoings, but we ask that you would lift our sentence early, if that's possible. Please."
Mothma sighed and paused for a long while. Sabine's pulse quickened and Zeb shifted his weight between his feet anxiously.
"Though it pains me to say, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to go early." She stood solemnly behind the holotable, her hands folded in her front. "Your crimes are too great."
There was another long silence. Sabine stepped forward.
"Thank you, Senator. We understand."
The crew walked out of the command center with heavy hearts. Zeb and Chopper headed back to hangar bay five and continued their chores for the day, while Ezra returned to the Ghost. Sabine retrieved her mop and entered an empty 'fresher she was to clean. She paused for a while, realizing that she would likely never see Hera again, or the baby. She leaned against the wall and slid her back down it, sitting at the base with her legs pulled up against her chest. All of her hope lost, she buried her face in her knees and wept.
"Paging Commander Bridger, Sabine, and Garazeb..."
Sabine lifted her head, her face damp with hot tears.
"Paging Commander Bridger, Sabine, and Garazeb..." the intercom speaker said again. "Please meet at Command immediately..."
She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and stood up, sniffling a few times. She left the mop in the corner of the 'fresher and strode sluggishly to the bridge. Ezra and Zeb and Chopper came on either side of her, all anxious to hear what Senator Mothma had to say. They entered the command center once more, where she awaited them.
"Yes?" said Ezra.
"Perhaps I was too hasty making my decision," Mothma began.
Sabine's heart jumped when she said this, and she discreetly wiped her eyes again.
"I have spoken with the council and we have come to an agreement," Mothma continued. "You will be allowed to leave early; your sentence is officially commuted. We will send a crew to your ship to remove the groundlocks at once."
The crew's faces lit up like never before; it was the best thing they had heard since Hera revealed she was pregnant. They paused for a while, grinning, overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude.
"Thank you, Senator," Ezra began. "I... I don't know what to say."
Mothma nodded. "You had best be on your way. I'll clear you and your squadron for takeoff."
Squadron? they all wondered. They thanked the senator again and headed for the main hangar, Chopper chirping and spinning his head wildly on the way.
When they stepped out of the hallway, they spotted a few dozen men standing outside of the Ghost, some of them lifting the groundlocks from her landing gear. They were dressed like they were about to be deployed for combat; all the pilots wore orange jumpsuits and a white life vest, and the others were armed to the teeth. Ezra recognized the same blonde-haired man Sabine was speaking with in the lounge; he looked to be leading the group. As they approached, the men stood at attention.
"Commander Bridger, Sabine, Zeb," the man began. "It's good to see you all."
"Kallus!" exclaimed Zeb. "It's been a while." He stepped forward, his arms open, and they leaned into a tight embrace. Kallus patted him twice on the back and he let go.
"I figured I'd come back from leave early to help save General Syndulla. It sounded like you needed it."
"You guessed right. We'd have been in a lot of trouble without it."
Kallus gestured to the other rebels. "These are the forces I've managed to gather for this mission. We're ready to leave when you are."
"We have to talk to Saw and Cham first. We'll fill you in on the plan on the way."
"Transmit the coordinates to us when you're ready." Kallus nodded, and he and the rebels dispersed, heading for their ships. The crew jogged into the Ghost and hurried up the ladder, preparing the console for the transmission. Saw appeared first on the hologram, followed by Cham and two of his men.
"You're early," wheezed Saw.
"We've been granted permission to leave two days before our sentence was supposed to lift," Sabine explained. "Hera's in labor as of about an hour ago."
"We had better move quickly," Cham said. "My fleet is ready, and we have the assets with us."
"We'll be bringing a few more forces," said Sabine. "About twenty fighters and a few light transports."
"Excellent. Transmitting the coordinates now." Saw reached to the side and pressed something on his ship's console. The Ghost's navicomputer flashed after a few seconds, and Sabine forwarded them to Kallus.
"Just received," Sabine replied.
A crackling came over the comms in the Ghost. "Base to Ghost, you are cleared for takeoff," a woman's voice said.
Ezra sat down at the controls and lifted the boarding ramp. Chopper stuck his manipulator into the astromech port and twisted it a few times, activating the ship's engines.
"Ghost, pulling away now," Sabine replied to both of them.
"I will see you in a few hours," said Cham. "Ryma'geeyi'tak allesh."
Ezra guided the Ghost out from under the base, followed by a mixed squadron of X-wings, B-wings, and A-wings. The rebels on the landing platforms saluted them as they soared into Yavin 4's upper atmosphere. Sabine punched in the coordinates, and the Ghost aligned herself with where they needed to go. Ezra put his hand on the lever and opened his mouth to speak.
"May the Force be with us all."
Saw and Cham left the transmission, and they made the jump to hyperspace.