I do not own Star Wars in any capacity.

Enjoy chapter 8!

After a decent night's sleep and a quick shower, Sabine was looking over the scan Chopper had taken of the Inquisitor's collar. Unfortunately, the entire collar was magnetically sealed. There was only a small window for a bioscan, and that was the only point where Chopper's scan had been able to penetrate and get a glimpse of the collar's innards. And even that small glimpse showed the electronics to be incredibly intricate.

There was a knock on her cabin door. "Come in," Sabine said.

The door opened and Hera stepped inside. "How's it going?"

Sabine sighed. "Slowly. The Empire poured a lot of resources in designing this collar. They really wanted to make sure it was next to impossible to tamper with."

"Well, Thirteen is a Force user with a lightsaber," Hera said flatly. "I imagine the Inquisitorious wanted to make sure someone with that much power couldn't break free."

"Honestly, it's a real work of art," Sabine said, looking over the schematic again. "The magnetic seal is a stroke of genius because not only can you not just cut the damn thing off, it's almost impossible to get a proper look at how the damn thing ticks."

Hera frowned, glancing at the datapad. "There's no way to cut the power to the seal?"

"Maybe…" Sabine said hesitantly. She blew up the schematic and pointed at one component. "I'm pretty sure this is a powercell. If I go in through the bioscanner and cut it out, that will theoretically shut off the collar."

"Theoretically?" Hera echoed.

"Look, this isn't much to go off on. Pretty much anything we do is going to be an educated guess."

Hera hummed thoughtfully, her arms crossed. "Well we have to at least try. We need our modulator back."

"I know, I know…" Sabine said with a sigh. "Still, this is going to be delicate work. How is this Inquisitor going to feel me hovering right next to him for a while?" She kept her voice light, but that was her bigger concern at the moment. The Inquisitor was standoffish to begin with. She trusted Kanan and Nara to protect her if need be, but she would really appreciate it if it didn't need to be.

"We'll play it by ear," Hera said. "We'll all be there if Thirteen or his daiima tries anything."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence…"

"Well, we can start by having Chopper trying to hack the collar first."

Sabine snorted. "He's not exactly known for being delicate."

Hera smiled. "That's fair. But we can wait another day if you want to spend more time going over the scan."

Sabine shook her head. "No. There wasn't much to go over to begin with. If I stare at it any longer, I'll probably start seeing things that aren't there."

"Alright… Kanan commed a few minutes ago. They're ready if you are."

Letting out a soft breath, Sabine nodded, grabbing her toolkit and following Hera down to the cargo bay. Chopper was waiting in front of the door grumbling discontentedly.

"Yeah, you and me both," Sabine said dryly.

Chopper turned and unlocked the cargo bay door, rolling in when the door opened. Sabine and Hera followed closely behind him. Nara was curled up on the estrade in the corner. Kanan was standing with his arms crossed in front of the Inquisitor, who was sitting on the cot. His daiima was still in tooka form, curled up by his feet.

It was interesting to her that the daiima wasn't just any ordinary tooka form. She specifically had the markings of a lothcat, a tooka subspecies endemic to Lothal. But the Inquisitor couldn't have been on Lothal for long. Perhaps she just saw a lothcat and happened to like the look of them?

Not that it was important. It was just a little strange.

The Inquisitor's back was stiff as he kept his eye on Sabine and her toolkit. He visibly swallowed, his jaw clenching. His knuckles were white as he clenched the edge of his cot tightly.

"Thirteen's ready for us to deactivate the beacon," Kanan said.

"I'm sorry, what's this us?" Sabine said as she grabbed a crate and pushed it over.

Kanan chuckled, his hand ticcing and slapping his thigh. "Fair enough. But we'll all be here if you need any assistance."

Or if the Inquisitor tries anything, Sabine silently finished for him. It did make her feel marginally safer considering she was about to get real close with a kid who had been literally trained to kill Jedi.

Sabine slowly sat down on the crate and opened her bag. "First thing I'm going to do is take out the bioscanner."

The Inquisitor didn't move. In fact, it was difficult to tell if he was even breathing. But his eyes were locked on her hands as she pulled out a micropoint. Sabine took a moment to look him over. It was strange to see someone so small so obviously filled with repressed anger and suspicion. A part of her that wanted to talk to him like the child he was, but she knew he probably wouldn't react well to that. "Can you lean your head back?"

Thirteen's breathing evened out as each of his breaths deepened. He wasn't hyperventilating, but he was obviously trying to keep his emotions under control. Sabine was finding that he was actually quite easy to read.

"Look, this will go easier if you just tilt your head back. If all goes well, I'll at least have this thing powered down in a few minutes."

The Inquisitor swallowed again, and Sabine couldn't help but wonder how uncomfortable the action must be with that tight piece of durasteel pressing against his throat. Then, with a barely discernible sigh, Thirteen leaned his head back.

Sabine took a deep breath to steady her hand before she leaned in. First, she traced a finger around the bioscanner. It was a black reflective oval embedded in the durasteel. She tested the edge of it with her fingernail, confirming that there was a small lip there to hook on to. Biting her lip, she carefully worked the micropoint underneath the edge and slowly started to work it out.

The Inquisitor's breathing was uneven and shuddered, but otherwise he didn't react or move as Sabine worked. He was staring up at the ceiling, his hands clenching and unclenching the cot.

Once Sabine managed to ease the bioscanner out, she gently put it to the side, making sure the wires stayed intact. Chances were, any attempt to sever the scanner directly would result in a feedback loop. If she wanted to avoid that, she had to go directly for the power source.

A fine tremor ran through Thirteen's body, making Sabine pause in her work. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"N-No…" he murmured.

Sabine gave a single nod and got back to work. Working the micropoint deeper into the collar, she maneuvered it around a couple components to get to the power cell. Once she had the tip pressed against it, Sabine checked the readout to confirm that this was in fact the power.

"Alright…" she said. "Now I just need to sever this connection…"

A staticky numbness suddenly swept up her arm, the muscles in her forearm tensing and locking. Sabine let out a cry and instinctually jumped back just as the pain started to hit.

Thirteen didn't have that luxury. His entire body seized, arcing violently and knocking the cot to the side. His rigid body fell to the ground, twitching like an insect's final grasp for life after being crushed.

Before anyone could make a move to help him, his daiima instantly swelled with a piercing cry, standing over Thirteen in the form of a nexu. Her spines were heckled as she snarled at Sabine, knocking her back onto the ground. Sabine's ears were ringing as she scrambled back from the beast.

Kanan and Nara tried to step closer to help, but the daiima turned to them and let out an angry hiss, her claws scraping to the durasteel floor. Beneath her, Thirteen's body had finally gone limp, his breathing ragged and bordering on whimpering as he panted.

"It was an accident," Nara said earnestly, lowering her body and pushing her ears back to be less threatening. "We didn't mean to hurt him…"

The daiima just continued to snarl, her double tail whipping through the air threateningly. She had crouched down so that Thirteen's body was almost completely obscured.

There was a hand on Sabine's shoulder, making her jump and snap her head over to see Hera kneeling next to her. "C'mon…" she said quietly.

Sabine's chest tightened as she shook her head and pulled away from Hera's grip. "No, I need to fix his collar…!"

"Right now, we need to leave," Hera said, keeping her voice underneath the chaos of Kanan and the daiima. Even so, she spoke quickly and with urgency. "His daiima is not going to let you anywhere near him, we need to give them space."

The captain didn't even wait for Sabine to respond as she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to her feet. The world swayed slightly, and she only stayed upright by leaning against Hera as she was led out of the cargo bay.

When they got out to the brighter loading dock where the atmosphere didn't seem quite as close, Sabine could help but gulp in a gasp of air. Her legs buckled and she slid to the ground, curling up and burying her head into her arms. Her strained breathing was suddenly very, very loud.

There was a warm hand on her back and a hard bit of durasteel on her knee. "... It wasn't your fault, Sabine."

She looked up to see Hera sitting just to her right and Chopper to her left. Chopper gave a small warble about stupid collars which made Sabine give a small smile. But it quickly faded as she remembered Thirteen's body jerking on the floor. "I was stupid. Clumsy. I shouldn't have - "

"We shouldn't have pushed you. You had almost nothing to go on, and we were impatient." Hera's regret was evident in her expression as she gave Sabine's shoulder a squeeze. "I'm sorry…"

Sabine turned back to the cargo bay door. It didn't feel right to just run away after she had literally electrocuted the kid. "Shouldn't we be helping?"

"Let Kanan and Nara handle it. The last thing we want to do is crowd him after what happened."

Sabine cringed at that. Hera was right, of course, but guilt still churned in her stomach like rotten butter.

"Kanan will comm if he needs any help," Hera assured.

"What are we even supposed to do with him?" Sabine suddenly asked.

There was a pause. "I beg your pardon?"

"Like, I get getting the collar off him. And I know he's just a kid who's been tortured and brainwashed by the Empire, but he's still brainwashed and working for the Empire. What are we supposed to do with him? We can't keep him locked up in the cargo bay forever. Besides, Kanan'd probably die of sleep deprivation…"

"I'm… talking to some people."

Sabine rolled her eyes. She meant Fulcrum. "And you think these people can help him?"

"I do," Hera said with conviction. "I've also been talking to Kanan. Once we get the beacon figured out… we have some options."

A part of Sabine was annoyed that Hera was hedging, but she was still overwhelmed, her body shaking with the last remnants of her adrenaline rush.

"C'mon," Hera said, grabbing Sabine by the arm and helping her up. "Let's get some of last night's stew into you. It'll help calm you down."

Sabine just nodded, feeling sick as she glanced back one last time at the cargo bay door. She just prayed that she hadn't completely screwed everything up.

Snarling and harsh voices mixed together incoherently. Anger and regret that weren't his own pounded the inside of his skull from two different directions, threatening to split his head in half. A familiar tingling pain was reverberating through Thirteen's body. He had to get up. Otherwise he could expect another punishing shock.

With a moan, he tried to roll on his side only to be stopped by a layer of warm fur right above him. The body was trembling with low rumbles as it growled in anger.

It was her. She was standing over him. Panic made Thirteen's heart skip a beat. What was she doing, confronting his master?! She knew what the consequences were…!

Thirteen automatically reached up for his collar and he felt… wires? He frowned. This wasn't right. Something was wrong.

Regret echoing in his head… What was this? It wasn't his Asset. It couldn't be his master…

"Alright… Now I just need to sever this connection…"

That Mandalorian… She did this to him. Keeping a protective hand over the loose parts of his collar, he pushed his other hand up against his Asset to push her away so he could sit up on his knees. Thirteen blinked through his tears to see Kanan and Nara looking down at him. His Asset was in her nexu form, her body stiff with tension and standing between Thirteen and their captors.

Thirteen managed to glare at them, his breathing shuddered. "Y-You…"

"It was an accident," Kanan said earnestly, one hand raised placatingly while the other was punching his leg repeatedly. His eyes slanted with an emotion Thirteen didn't quite recognize…

Regret. Thirteen was sensing the regret from Kanan. Thirteen shook his head in denial. It didn't make any sense. "Please…" he murmured.

He wasn't even sure what he was asking for, but Kanan and Nara both immediately took a couple steps back that made Thirteen breathe easier. He sat up a little straighter and took in a slow inhale. His fingers were trembling as he held the dangling piece of his collar. Afraid he would pull the component out, he forced himself to let go.

"I can put that back…" Kanan said softly, still punching himself on the leg in a manner that was anything but calming. "We don't want it to discharge again."

Thirteen could only stare at him. The words went into his ears, he recognized the shape of them but the meaning… it was completely lost. There was something wrong with him. He felt… unhinged. He couldn't stop shaking, and he was having trouble getting his mind to latch on to any coherent thought. He was weirdly preoccupied with Kanan's constant punching…

[Hey...]

Thirteen flinched and looked down. His Asset was sitting in front of him in a lizard monkey form. She was looking up at him with wide eyes as she gave a soft chirp. Her worry was sharp against his mind, dragging roughly against his shields. Very slowly she crawled up onto his lap. She raised her small clawed hands, and Thirteen could feel her fiddling with his collar. He could tell that she was replacing the dangling component, putting it all back together.

A tiny part of him wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. Just feel her against his chest, nestled in his arms… But then his hands burned, and he knew he had to stay perfectly still.

Once she was done, she quickly hopped down and shifted into a lothcat. She still put herself between Thirteen and the Jedi, her fur raised as she glared at him with a low angry moan.

Kanan had gotten on his knees as he gazed between the both of them. He had finally stopped punching himself, both his hands pressed down against his thighs. The lothwolf Asset was also low to the ground, her ears slanted downward. "We didn't know it was going to hurt you," Kanan said.

The Jedi's voice was quiet and gentle, and it grated on Thirteen's nerves. "I'm sure," he said with a scoff, rolling his eyes. He gripped his anger tightly, feeling it was the only thing keeping him together.

"If we wanted to hurt you, we would have done so days ago," Nara said, just as quiet. Her voice was bigger and more gravely than Kanan's, but it was still softer than it usually was.

Thirteen couldn't take it. "Stop…"

Kanan frowned slightly. "I don't know what…"

"Please just stop!" Thirteen yelled. He hit the side of his head. "This thing you're doing, these feelings, your kriffing… everything!"

Kanan's frown deepened. "Ezra, I promise. I'm not doing anything…"

Thirteen's head snapped up, the back of his head suddenly burning hot as his ears began to roar. The tremor that ran along his shoulders and down his arms began to shake harder. "H-How…?" he breathed.

Kanan shook his head. "Kid, you're not making any sense."

"How do you know that name?" Despite the increasing tumult inside of him, Thirteen somehow managed to keep his voice steady and even.

Kanan's eyes widened slightly, and Thirteen could sense his regret again as he shared a glance with Nara. Thirteen couldn't make sense of it because he was still reeling from the fact that they knew. But how? How was that possible? That name wasn't allowed, he didn't even let himself think it.

And then realization dawned on him. Just as it did, a wave of guilt and fear washed over him.

Thirteen spun in his spot as he glared down at his Asset. "You!" he snarled. "You told them?! Why?!"

She didn't answer. Of course she didn't. She was a tool. A weapon to use. Her ears were flat against her head as she hesitantly took a step towards him, trying to reach for him over their bond…

But all Thirteen felt was an all consuming burning rage. She gave him up to these Jedi. She told them what should never be known.

She reached a paw towards him, but Thirteen flinched back with a guttural hiss before smacking her head with the back of his hand. "You TRAITOR!"

There was a flurry of motion, a shout and a fierce growl as Thirteen found himself knocked backward. As his back hit the ground, he quickly used the momentum to flip backward and land in a crouch to face the enemy. Thirteen gasped as he felt a painful pull, and his breathing shuddered. His Asset was cowering away from him, having stepped back to the limit of their tether. Nara was standing over her, blocking his Asset from view as she bared her teeth at him.

Thirteen couldn't help the tremble that ran through his body as he took a step back. The wolf's eyes flashed with some sort of emotion… Frustration? Regret? Anger…

The nexu's eyes flashed as he stalked Thirteen, his teeth bared as he hissed with carnivorous hunger.

"N-No, I…!" Thirteen fell to his knees, putting his hands in front of him placatingly. Something hot and wet was falling down his face. "I-I'm sorry! P-Please, please!" His mind was hot and locked in a durasteel cage. His fear and desperation were bursting through the cracks, threatening to break free, but if that happened, Thirteen knew there was no going back.

He just didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore. There was no way he could kill the Jedi alone. But he had to try, right? Otherwise his master would rip him apart in body and soul, locking him away in those boxes forever and ever with no reprieve, not even a glance at his Asset…

But what did it matter? His Asset had abandoned him anyway. He was alone. He was going to break, and there was going to be nothing left.

With a strangled choke, he clutched at his chest and curled in on himself, pressing his forehead to the ground. There were soft plops as tears fell onto durasteel, the cage in his head dissolving to ash as his mind ripped asunder.

Eye See Thirteen ceased to be. He wasn't a weapon. He was nothing. And he couldn't serve the Empire if he was nothing.

There was something warm on his shoulder, and he flinched away with a small keen. Even knowing he was going to be punished, he still couldn't pull himself back together. It was hopeless. What was the point?

"We're not going to hurt you."

It was a different voice. Softer and deeper than his master's with a darker timber. It matched a presence that was gently brushing against the edges of his fractured mind. A sob bubbled out of him before he pressed his hands against his mouth, trying to muffle it.

"Shh…" The warmth on his shoulder was back, and this time he didn't bother to move away from it. "This isn't the end," the voice went on. "I know it feels like it… but you still have a life in front of you. You and your daiima."

His daiima. The Jedi word for his Asset. His other half…

[Ezra…?]

His head snapped up, and he saw her inches away from him. Her ears were still low, but she had a scaled paw raised towards him.

He quickly shook his head, retreating away from her. He couldn't do this. He was empty. He was nothing. She was… something detached, and he didn't deserve to see or touch it. He crawled backwards until his back hit durasteel, and he curled back up again. Twisting his fingers in his hair, he blocked out the world and retreated within himself.

She didn't know what to do. Ezra had completely shut down in a way she had never seen before. Even throughout all of their training on Arkanis and Nur, he had never completely cut her off. Not like this. She whimpered, walking over to him. [Please...] she begged. She couldn't stand to be alone like this. She just wanted him to be happy.

A large white muzzle was wrapped around her front and pulled her back. "I know it's hard…" Nara said. "But it might be better to leave him be for now. He needs to process this, and I don't want him lashing out at you again."

She understood Nara's intentions but she couldn't just leave him! It's not like he had hit her hard. He was hurting, suffering, there had to be something she could do!

But there wasn't. She wilted under the realization. Her very existence always just made things worse. She should just stay back. Stay away…

Nara gave her a small lick across her head, and she could cry. This wasn't fair. This kind of affection… it was something she had never had before. She had never earned this. Why did she get comfort while Ezra continued to suffer?

The Jedi's Asset pulled her in closer to her large warm body. "I know," she whispered. "Trust me… I know."

Kanan was still kneeling on the ground between Ezra and the two of them. He was only looking at Ezra, apparently not hearing their exchange. She could only stare at him, dumbfounded by the idea of someone else wanting to care for Ezra.

But what if this was a trick? A lie. What if he was going to hurt Ezra just like everyone else…?

"Shh…" Nara hushed, licking the top of her head again.

Kanan slowly inched closer to Ezra, once again putting a hand on his back. Ezra didn't have any outward reaction, his breathing still hitching with tears as he trembled uncontrollably. Kanan leaned in even closer, reaching out so that his hands were on both of Ezra's shoulders. "Thirt… Ezra. Ezra, look at me," Kanan said softly.

She shuddered against Nara. It was an order. While his resolve to stand defiant against the Jedi had been steadfast, she knew that it had all collapsed. He wasn't going to be able to resist. Very slowly, Ezra raised his head to look at Kanan, tears running down his flush face as he blinked slowly at him.

Kanan gave a strained smile. "Let's get you back to your cot so you can lay down. Okay?"

Normally, Ezra would have balked at being spoken to like a child. But now he just meekly nodded, his eyes going unfocused as he gazed down at the ground.

With a soft sigh, Kanan helped Ezra to his feet. Ezra was shaking so badly he could barely stand, so Kanan wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him. Ezra swallowed compulsively as Kanan helped him the few steps to the cot, stumbling onto it and curling back up into a tight ball.

Nara let out a low rumble as she nuzzled her nose against her neck. "Do you want to sleep closer to him?"

She let out a whimper. Of course, she always wanted to be with Ezra. Their entire life, she had never been able to just… be with him. Not the way Kanan and Nara were together. But she was a mistake. She was the reason Ezra had been sent to the Inquisitors in the first place.

And selfishly… She wanted to stay curled up against Nara. This soft warmth and open affection was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She felt like she was actually a sentient being rather than just an echo or a mirage that merely existed in Ezra's presence.

"We can stay close," Nara whispered, laying down fully on the ground. She was nestled between Nara's front paws, the both of them just a few feet from the cot.

Kanan looked over at them for a moment with an unreadable expression. Then he went over to the corner of the cargo bay and grabbed a blanket from the pile he and Nara usually slept on. She watched curiously as he carried it back over, walking straight towards Nara. She cowered away, taking a step back to put Nara's large body between herself and the Jedi.

He was out of view, but she heard his footsteps pause. Nara's chest rumbled slightly, and Kanan gave a soft sigh. When she peeked out from around Nara, she could see Kanan shaking the blanket out and placing it over Ezra. Ezra's back was to them, and all she could tell was that he was still trembling.

She couldn't help but let out a little whimper. She had no idea what to do. Ezra or his master always told her. Now that Ezra had completely cut her out… she was completely rudderless.

Nara shifted, using her muzzle to guide her back between her front legs. "Try to rest," she said quietly. "I know this is scary… but I promise he'll be okay. You both will."

It didn't seem real. None of this did. But there was a warm hum in her head, and Nara pulled her in to lean against her chest. She couldn't help but close her eyes and curl up against her chest. It was almost as nice as when Ezra would hold her.

She couldn't sleep. Not while Ezra was still awake. But she was able to doze, lose herself in the foreign feeling of safety.

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