Hey everyone. Long time no see. Sorry about that.
Firstly, sorry if you got an update notif for this and saw nothing. There were some formatting issues.
Secondly, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, read, followed, or simply enjoyed this story. It truly means a lot.
Thirdly, addressing the question of whether this story is abandoned. Unfortunately, yes, it conclusively is at this point. Sorry to disappoint after all this time. However, I'm happy to share my ideas and the general premise of where the AU would go. I owe that much to you all. Just a heads up, this is a long chapter/post:
Star Wars: The Broken and the Lost: Outline
- Overall, this was going to be a light Ezrabine fic, in case that wasn't obvious.
- The rest of the Liberation of Lothal would proceed pretty much as canon. I think all the people I wanted to kill off were dead by Chapter 6.
- Timeskip to the epilogue of Rebels, with Sabine visiting the mural before departing with Ahsoka. I was thinking about doing a chapter of the night before, with Sabine receiving a call from Ahsoka that she had finally found a lead on the whereabouts of 7th Fleet. It'd be pretty calm, probably establishing how Sabine has changed and what she's been up to during the years between Rebels finale and ROTJ.
- Several chapters devoted to The Adventures of Ahsoka and Sabine in Space™. I never really figured out what sort of trail/lead they would follow; maybe like a trail of Destroyer debris found by a New Republic mission? Purrgil stuff? Some lead obtained from The Magistrate in mando? Idk.
- Various ideas for the character moments and interactions during the Adventures in Space. How is Sabine different in this slightly-bleaker AU? Also lightsaber training, and Ahsoka kinda becomes Sabine's second adoptive mother figure.
- Sabine, prodigy overthinker that she is, has lots of questions. Ezra's a resourceful person, so why hasn't he tried to come back, or at least contact the Ghost crew? Why has it taken so long?
- Although she isn't the main focus of this story, I've tried thinking of ways for Ahsoka to have some character growth here (not much to go on when she's already wise as hell :) ). She sees a bit of herself in Sabine, and wants for the mandalorian to have a happier future than hers. Given how many people she's had to leave behind over time (Rex, Lux, Trace and Rafa, Obi-Wan, Anakin), she doesn't want for Sabine to be as lonely. Possibly some hints of Ahsoka x Bo Katan, because that's a solid ship.
- Finally, they find a planet, and Ahsoka faintly senses Ezra. A few derelict Star Destroyers are hanging in orbit, where the debris has formed rings. As for planet design, I was probably going to go with a jungle (wanted to steer clear from the "Ezra goes to the Chiss Ascendancy" route).
- They fly past the crash sites of several other Star Destroyers, including The Chimera (which appears more intact). A wide area surroundingThe Chimera is obscured by camouflage and tents, oddly enough. The foliage surrounding the destroyer is tinted red, and looks strangely warped.
- They land, and Ahsoka decides to stay with the ship. Meanwhile, Sabine scouts ahead to see if she can see under the tents from the ground, or find any trace of Ezra. Lo and behold, Ezra actually finds her during this scouting mission. Despite several attempts by Sabine, Ezra does not recognize her at all, nor does he have any recollection of meeting her. And that is the end of Part 1.
- note 1: this turn of events was foreshadowed when Ezra thinks in Ch6: "he knew who he was, and nothing could change that."
- note 2: Did I mention this would be an angsty Ezrabine fic?
- Part 2 opens right where we left off. Sabine is still trying to get through to Ezra. He isn't hostile, and personality-wise he's himself, but cautious and confused about how someone he'd never met before suddenly appeared on the planet. Oh, and he's wearing dark, protagonist-style clothing, with bits of stormtrooper armor thrown in. With no other choice, Sabine convinces Ezra to let her leave.
- Sabine makes it back to Ahsoka, at which point her previously well-maintained composure starts to break down. She is confused and rather shocked, as this was not how she'd hoped the reunion would be. Ahsoka does her best to comfort her. Meanwhile, after trying to find someone he thought had eavesdropped, Ezra returns to the village of survivors and confesses the encounter to an altar.
- Over a few days, Sabine continues meeting with Ezra in secret, so she can learn more about his situation, and he might hopefully remember her. All he, or any of the survivors, can remember is waking up outside the Destroyers, having been rescued by what they would come to revere as their Goddess. They retained their prior identities and names (yes, Ezra knows how to use The Force), but have no memory of anything prior to waking up.
- Sabine tells Ezra more about his life on Lothal, the Ghost crew, the Empire, etc. He's skeptical, but slowly trusts her word (typical gullible-yet-shady Ezra). Such information does help him fill in some blanks, such as his unexplainable connection to a piece of art salvaged from Chimera (Sabine's graffiti) and Kanan's lightsaber.
- note 1: the lightsaber was previously possessed by Pryce, and was likely on The Chimera during the Liberation of Lothal (in this AU, at least). Although he cannot remember why, he knows the saber is very important to him *angst sounds*).
- note 2: there could be some light moment where Sabine tries to convince Ezra the art is hers by comparing the style and technique, but Ezra still Doesn't Get Art™. Funny, but also sad because it's just like old times while also not.
- One of the things Sabine can't get Ezra to explain is what's going on with the Star Destroyer, or the red plant life. While she's spoken with Ezra, Ahsoka has used this time to observe the village, Chimera, and said plant life. She believes it's a form of terraforming, vaguely related to the practice of Force healing. The villagers have been used by their Goddess to repair The Chimera, which will soon be ready. She had also seen numerous human children in the village. However, she still can't figure out what the Goddess is, or why everyones memory was wiped (besides being used as labor)
- A few nights later, the two are debating what to do. Ahsoka wants to return to the New Republic and bring back reinforcements (and a medical droid), but Sabine is reluctant to leave Ezra behind, especially if he and the villagers leave on The Chimera before help arrives. At this time, someone emerges from the bushes: Thrawn. And that's maybe the end of part 2?
- note 1: yeah, it's kind of a sloppy entrance.
- Thrawn is clad in old Death Trooper armor, he's got that badass long hair like from the first thrawn book, and generally looks pretty worse for wear. Sabine and Ahsoka are initially distrustful, but Thrawn casts aside his (numerous) weapons and makes clear that he means no harm. The give him a seat and something to eat, so he explains what happened:
- When Thrawn came to, the Purrgil had released the 7th Fleet and left it to drift in deep space (the shattered windows had been sealed like on Grievous' ship in ROTS). Ezra was gone from the bridge, and security was working on capturing him.
- Several ships were pulled into the gravitational field of an unknown planet, while others broke down in space and formed those rings.
- Most of the escape pods were fried, and sensors had previously indicated that the planet's atmosphere was too turbulent for escape pods or Tie Fighters to breach alone. However, once The Chimera broke through the atmosphere, they started trying to evacuate. Ezra actually found and sent Thrawn and a few troopers down first, with some snarky comment about how disappointing it would be for a grand admiral to die in a purrgil accident.
- As the pod descended, Thrawn could see The Chimera suddenly wrapped in a strange energy, which slowed down the Destroyer's fall and lessened the damage of the crash. Only Chimera received this mercy.
- When Thrawn and his squad reached the crashsite after landing, he did indeed see the crew being healed by an unknown being using the same energy which saved Chimera. However, he noticed that when the Goddess touched their foreheads to awaken them, Ezra and the crew were… not themselves, so he decided to retreat.
- However, they were seen, and the being sent Ezra and the crew in pursuit. Thrawn's entire escort was killed, confirming Thrawn's caution. Since then, he had continued to observe from a distance, in an attempt to understand what the Goddess' goals were.
- Thrawn confirms that, given village activities, engine ignition tests, and several other observations Sabine doesn't want to hear about, The Chimera is days away from launching. Having infiltrated the ship a few times over the years, he notes that many spaces inside have been cleared and retrofitted with flight seats, and are covered in unknown runes.
- Ahsoka asks about the Goddess; it is unlike any being Thrawn has encountered, although the closest comparison might be to The Bendu in terms of power and mystery. It is rarely seen, and is primarily communicated with via an altar in the village.
- Over the years, Thrawn has noticed the terraforming of local plant life, and suspects it to be a symptom of the Goddess' effects on the environment. However, since this is a somewhat inefficient use of energy, he also suspects that the plantlife might be of sentimental value to the Goddess.
- Thrawn's hypothesis: the Goddess plans to relocate her followers elsewhere, most likely to perform an unknown ritual requiring a large number of live individuals.
- note 1: take this ritual stuff with a grain of salt: I never fully decided how this would all work, in terms of ultimate goals.
- Neither he nor Ahsoka know the nature of the Goddess' power or this ritual, but Ahsoka notes that the energy surrounding Ezra and the crew members she's seen feels familiar somehow. As she has tried to look deeper into the Force to identify why (similar to how she identified Zero the Hutt in TCW), memories emerge of Teth, Coruscant and, strangely enough, Mandalore.
- Now that Ahsoka mentions this, Sabine confesses a similar feeling, although none of the same memories. This feeling would have been described in prior chapters.
- When asked why he has not tried to flee alone, Thrawn replies that, as a warrior, it would be dishonorable to leave behind his own men. Furthermore, he owes Ezra for sparing him and for saving him from the crash. Even then, all Tie fighters and shuttles were scrapped to repair the Chimera, so escape was impossible.
- The three hatch a plan: Sabine will attempt one last time to reason with Ezra, and create a diversion to draw out as many of the villagers as possible. Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Thrawn will carefully infiltrate Chimera and plant detonators to sabotage the engines. Ahsoka is reluctant to leave Sabine to fend for herself, but the mandalorian insists that Ahsoka will be of more help to Thrawn when evading detection.
- They take turns taking watch overnight, and in the morning, they begin. Sabine walks right into the village, causing a stir and attracting some guards from Chimera, but Ezra gets them to back off. She asks Ezra to come home with her, back to Lothal to see if he can be cured.
- However, Ezra expresses his betrayal and disappointment, and states that the Goddess knows everything that happens on the planet. He, and everyone in the village, know of the plan to sabotage Chimera.
- Fighting breaks out, both in the village between Sabine (who manages to stun Ezra) and the former stormtroopers, and inside the ship between the stormtroopers versus Ahsoka and Thrawn. As villagers are slain, the energy Thrawn described begins drifting from their wounds like smoke.
- After many stormtroopers are taken down, the altar activates. Tendrils of energy congregate above it, from which emerges Mother Talzin.
- note 1: In Rebels, one of the loose ends I wasn't satisfied with was the debt Ezra and Maul owed to the Nightsisters for using their magic. Because Ezra escaped this debt by destroying the Nightsister altar on Dathomir, I figured it'd be interesting to explore what might happen if one of the last living Nightsisters were to hold him accountable for his end of the bargain.
- note 2: somewhere, I said this fic diverges slightly from established canon. I didn't specify it when the fic started because doing so would have been a dead giveaway, but the comic where (spoilers) Mother Talzin dies prior to the Siege of Mandalore is ignored in this AU.
- Hopefully the reveal of Talzin as the "main villain" is a surprising twist, but one that makes sense to you in hindsight. Hints to this reveal include the red foliage, the forehead touch thing, and the energy leaking from wounds (specifying the energy is green would have been a dead giveaway, but it is indeed green).
- Ahsoka recognized the Nightsister "aura" because of her interactions with Ventress and Maul (on the aforementioned planets), and Sabine recognized it because she was once possessed by Nightsisters on Dathomir.
- Somewhere in here, the ritual is more thoroughly explained.
- The Chimera would fly to Dathomir, at which point Mother Talzin would use the Waters of Life (the green liquid found only on the planet, which fueled their magic) to… do something. Whatever the result, this ritual would require the sacrifice of many lives to fuel it, Equivalent Exchange style, which is why Chimera was loaded with villagers and children. Ezra may have just been a powerful sacrifice, or possibly a navigator because that's a thing the Force can do.
- Ideas for what the ritual does (I couldn't decide):
- Resurrect the Nightsisters
- Just kinda create new nightsisters?
- Somehow reverse the events of TCW episode "Massacre", and somehow restore Dathomir and the Nightsisters.
- Summon Abeloth. Yeah (nightsisters powers were connected to the Brother and Sister of Mortis, so it's logical that the Mother might also be a source of power).
- The fighting continues. Ezra has regained consciousness, and he duels Sabine, while Ahsoka and Thrawn fend off villagers. Action, angst, blah blah blah. Maybe some sort of internal conflict, because by Nightsister tradition Ezra does owe Talzin for before, and Sabine knows all about tradition and honor. However, respecting those traditions means leaving behind her friend? Idk never worked out that conflict. Long story short, Talzin is eventually killed for real, and Ezra and the villagers collapse.
- First Ezra POV chapter in a while :). He wakes up back on Ahsoka's ship, with Sabine waiting for him to wake up. Joyful reunion part, kinda fluffy, maybe Ezra says something like "I knew I could count on you" before straight-up blacking out again. He's relatively okay, but pretty weak.
- The ending chapters would be pretty chill. Thrawn and the stormtroopers (and the kids) are left behind on the planet because Chimera was sabotaged, but Ahsoka promises to return with New Republic humanitarian aid and transports.
- The final chapter is probably Ezra's return to Lothal, reuniting with the Ghost crew. Hera hugs him, almost smacks him for the self-sacrifice thing, and generally reacts as one would expect she would. Ezra finally meets Jacen (who he sensed back in like Ch2), which is very bittersweet. Sabine shows him the progress of restoring the capital city, the clear skies and environmental restoration, and of course his cleaned off tower.
- Idk how to write romance well, so maybe Ezra and Sabine are just content being together again.
The End
And that's all, folks. I'm really sorry I can't finish this fully, but I hope that knowing where the story would go is somewhat satisfying.
Thank you again for reading, and may the force be with you.