Thanks to admoris3201 for the feedback! Thanks also to V for the future review, as he seems prone to commenting the day after I post.
admoris: That is a great idea, and I have inserted it into this chapter.
Shorter chapter than usual, but I have a feeling you guys are going to hate me for the ending...
Enjoy!
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Sabine gasped in horror as the Death Star's laser could be heard impacting Mandalore, but her horror was compounded by Ezra, who had fallen onto the ground. Kneeling beside him, she spied Cal near the front of the Mantis, sitting on the bench, holding his head in his hands. Reminded of what happened after Alderaan, Sabine shifted Ezra into her lap and grabbed her comm. "Spectre Five to Ghost, what just happened?"
She knew, but needed confirmation. Confirmation that Hera seemed loathe to give. "The Death Star attacked us. Narrowly avoided it."
Sabine scowled and worriedly checked on Ezra. "And how's Anakin?"
"Fine." His voice sounded sandpapery, but he was at least conscious. "Ahsoka?"
The former Jedi moaned. "Still here, Skyguy."
Even amid the horror, Sabine bit back a laugh. "Skyguy?" Somewhere near the cockpit, she could hear Rex laughing. "I'm calling you that for now on."
A moan was heard, and Sabine looked first to Ezra, then to Cal, who was struggling to sit up. Merrin, who also looked queasy, helped him. "Are you all right?"
Slowly, he nodded and slumped back in his seat. "Ezra?" He whispered quietly. Then he nodded. "It would be much worse for him."
Sabine frowned. "What do you mean?"
The Jedi leaned forward, wincing as he did so. "He…shares a bond with us. At the Temple, we were all taught how to close our bonds to limit pain."
Sabine leaned against a wall, moving Ezra up slightly closer. "That's why only Ezra was knocked out."
Cal nodded, then groaned. "Yeah. I don't know if he's had any lessons on closing a bond."
Sabine sighed. "He hasn't had a bond to close in a long time." She stared out the viewport, anger slowly coming back. "They destroyed my home."
"Careful with your feelings, Sabine." Cal cautioned. "Ezra has a bond to you too. Your anger, your fear, is only going to make things for him worse."
Sabine clenched her jaw and looked away. Then immediately looked back as Ezra groaned. "Ez?"
Slowly, he sat up and rested his head on Sabine's shoulder. "I hate that."
Sabine gave a wan smile and rested her head atop his. "You scared me."
Ezra closed his eyes, listening to the Force. There was…a hole around where Mandalore used to be, as if the Death Star had wiped out everything. Honing in on it, Ezra could still hear cries. Cries of pain, and cries of vengeance. "There's still Mandalorians out there."
Sabine's hand gripped his own. "Can you sense Mother?"
Krownest was untouched, as was the moon of Mandalore. What would become of it now that there was nothing to rotate, Ezra didn't know. Seeking out Countess Wren, he focused first on Krownest, then on the surrounding region. Finally, he opened his eyes. "I don't know."
Seeing Sabine's crestfallen look, he continued. "That doesn't mean anything. It just means she's not nearby. I can't pick her Force Essence light-years away like I can with you."
"So she might be alive."
Cal nodded and stood with Merrin's help. "I know a few Mandalorian warriors who weren't on the planet. I can see if they'll help."
The commons fell silent, and Ezra probed his bond with Sabine tentatively. It was a one-way bond, seeing as she wasn't Force Sensitive, but he could still read her emotions.
Currently, she was feeling anger, rage that would spiral out of control. Carefully, he took her hand. "Sabine…"
She stood. "We have to hit them. Now." She grabbed her comm. "Anakin. What was that mission you were telling Rex about? The one with Revan?"
The former Jedi sighed. "Sabine, that's not a mess you want to get into. Who Darth Revan was… he's a monster all to himself."
Sabine's free hand clenched into a fist. "So's the Empire. And I am not going to sit back and watch more worlds like Mandalore be destroyed!" She glanced at Ezra, who was watching her with concern, and spoke calmer. "What is the mission?"
Anakin was silent for a long moment. "We code-named it GL-537. Obi-Wan and I were discussing it right before the Siege of Mandalore. We knew the Sith could imbue an object with their spirit if their hatred was focused enough. But we also knew that Revan had been a force for the Light and the Dark. The idea was to find the mask of Revan and see if any of his spirit remained."
Sabine sat back down. "Where's the mask now?"
Anakin sounded uneasy. "Sabine, if we're actually doing this, I want Ezra, Rex and myself to go alone."
Sabine laughed. "You think I'm going to let my husband and Rex be alone with you?"
Now he sounded frustrated. "If we're actually going to find Darth Revan, then having non-Force users like Hera and yourself would only be a liability."
She scowled. "So why take Rex?"
"Rex was involved with the planning of the operation. He can also act unimpeded if something happened to Ezra, and I just don't think you can."
Sabine stared at the durasteel wall, a long forgotten memory entering her head:
"That or he's unravelling."
Sabine glared. "He's not unravelling."
"Are you sure?" Hera shifted. "You can't think clearly because of the way you feel about him. It's clouding your judgment."
Against her better judgment, she nodded. "Okay. We'll stop Krownest and switch ships. You, Rex and Ezra can take the Ghost."
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Ahsoka closed her eyes, feeling the Force. There was a hole around Mandalore, and the waves of memories it sent back. Capturing Maul, him begging for death. Watching Rex succumb to Clone Order 66, only for her to help him. Feeling Anakin's despair through their bond, feeling the death of first Master Windu, then the rest of the Jedi.
They emerged from hyperspace near a planet called Phindar, and Ahsoka and Sabine exited the Mantis, watching as Hera landed near them. As Ahsoka watched Anakin and Rex emerge, Sabine embraced Ezra fiercely. "Come back safe." She whispered. Letting go, she stared at Rex. "We'll be on frequency four if you need to contact us."
Rex nodded and slipped on his helmet. "We shouldn't be gone longer than a week." He glanced at Ahsoka. "Stay safe, Kid."
She chuckled. "I'm older than you, Captain."
Even under his helmet, she could see his grin. "Commander." He corrected. He turned to follow the others, then tilted his head to regard Ahsoka. "One more thing. I know of a few clones that would be an asset to us. One of them is on Nevarro."
Sabine sighed as the trio entered the Ghost, and turned to Ahsoka. "There's a Mandalorian ClanI know of on Nevarro. We should-we should go tell them what happened."
Ahsoka nodded and placed a hand on Sabine's back. "Sabine, I am so-"
The Mandalorian shook her head and placed her helmet on. "Let's go."
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Anakin lowered himself into the pilot seat and began typing coordinates. "I have an idea of where to start, but this may take some time." He glanced at Rex. "Longer than a week for sure, Commander."
While Rex looked sheepish, Ezra leaned forward, staring out the viewport as Sabine and Hera entered the Mantis. "What's your best guess on where the mask is?"
"Ixigul." Anakin sighed. "That's where we traced it. But there's no mention of that planet in any star charts."
Ezra almost collapsed into the copilots seat and stared at Anakin. "What did you just say?"
"Ixigul." Anakin scowled and stared at Ezra, who was holding his head. "Does that mean anything to you?"
Ezra overid Anakin's hyperspace coordinates and absently began typing his own, closing his eyes while he did so. Images were coming to him, images shrouded in darkness. Voices screamed out to him, but one voice in particular caught his attention. "Antai Valia Buti Atsvara"
"Ezra?" Rex grabbed his shoulder. "Kid, what did you just say?"
The voice was louder. "Atsvara"
Anakin froze in horror, thinking the words over in his mind. "It's the Sith language." He watched as the Ghost entered hyperspace. "I have a bad feeling about this."
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Chapter Notes!
I). That memory Sabine remembers is from Chapter 10 of For You Alone. Basically, Hera accused Sabine of the same thing as Anakin.
II). For those who know about recent Star Wars TV Shows, the Clan on Nevarro should ring a few bells. Don't expect to see any main characters from that show, as this is a full five years before that...
III). Ixigul in Star Wars canon has another name: Exegol. Insert as many fan theories as you want.
IV). Thanks to LingoJam for the Sith Language, as well as Mando'a, which I've employed in the past.
Ezra's Sith Translation:
Atsvara: Balance
Antai Valia Buti Atsvara: There will be balance
Question for everyone: In the Siege of Mandalore Arc, Anakin promotes Rex to Commander. But, in Rebels, he is only referred to as Captain. Why is that?
The obvious answer is that Rebels was made before the Siege of Mandalore, and they didn't know Rex would be promoted. But, that answer's no fun. If I had to guess, I'd say that Rex tries desperately to forget about the events around the Siege of Mandalore, so he disregards his promotion in favour of Captain. But, what do you guys think?
Thanks for reading!
Judge