Chapter 32
Several weeks had passed since Ezra started Mira's training and he is very impressed. Kanan, Hera, and Dawn camp outside the old radio tower that serves as the Bridger's home. Sabine insists they don't stay outside, but Kanan keeps reminding her that it's good to be out with nature. It's usually quiet enough to get focus, even when you're not training, except for the occasional starship passing the tower at low altitude. Mira never misses the chance to see a passing starship and even watches the spaceport as ships come and go.
When they aren't watching the ships Dawn and Mira practice their skills, sometimes even without instruction to. She can still barely lift a rock, but she's clearly making progress; her record is two inches from the ground while Dawn can manage up to six feet.
"She's a better student than I ever was," Ezra said one night after Mira and Dawn went to sleep.
"Shut up, Ez, you know that's not true," Sabine said as she held his right arm and rested her head on his shoulder.
They were sitting outside on the platform, staring at the stars. It was clear night, the stars were clearly visible spare a few further ones that were blocked out from Capital City's lights. The businesses were booming in the city and they were expanding the city limit. However, Governor Ryder made it clear to his people that they are not to do anything against the old tower. No constructions, no vandalism, etc. Everything is to remain how it is now and was in the past. However, many skyscrapers were nearing completion and that alone made Ezra smile most of the time.
"She is, though. More patient than I started out to be."
Sabine sighs and pulls herself closer to him, adjusting her position so her leg is lying over Ezra's. She wraps her left arm around his back and rests her right hand on his chest.
Ezra smiles and presses his forehead to Sabine's head, curling his now freed arm around her waist.
"I've been thinking about what you told me a few weeks ago," she began.
"What about?"
"About another kid. Maybe we could give it a shot pretty soon."
Ezra's heart skips a beat and he looks down at Sabine. She lifts her head and looks back at him.
"Well, um..."
Sabine raises an eyebrow at him, curiously.
"I don't know how to say anything without sounding like a creep," he says, making Sabine laugh.
She smacks his chest playfully, "You're not a creep, you're my husband."
They both smile at that.
"When do think is a good time?" Ezra asked.
"Well," Sabine began, thinking. "We are running out of Mira's favorite cereal so maybe we can send Kanan and Hera to get it and to bring Mira and Dawn with them."
"Perhaps. Great way to get them out of the house."
"Or... say we're going out for a bit and leave Hera in charge of Mira for a few hours... Take the Starbird and go somewhere private," Sabine said.
"We have been pretty quiet about it last time, though," Ezra reminded her.
"Well... y-yeah, but... Mira could always figure out what's going on. She is getting stronger with the Force, after all. Plus she's five years old and could always get a nightmare and walk into our room."
Ezra thinks about that for a moment. "Yeah, I suppose you have a point..."
"Don't forget Dawn or Kanan."
"I get it," Ezra says.
"We should probably wait a bit longer, now that I think about it," Sabine said.
"I agree. A little more time to think about it," Ezra says with a smile.
They look out into the field where Mira and Dawn are training by themselves, though Kanan is watching from their camp. Or... at least what could be considered watching since he's blind.
"It's getting a little late. Should we stop until tomorrow?" Ezra calls out to Kanan.
Kanan nods softly, "Wouldn't be a bad idea. Come on, Dawn. Let's get some rest."
"You, too, Mira," Sabine calls out.
"But do we have to go to sleep right now?" Mira calls back.
"Yes. It's getting late," Ezra replies.
"Okay... See you tomorrow, Dawn," Mira says before running to the base of the tower where the turbolift is.
She pops out of the lift on the platform Ezra and Sabine are on. "I'm here!" she says cheerfully.
"You're awfully cheerful right now... what are you up to?" Sabine asks Mira.
"Nothing," she giggles and runs into the main room.
"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," Ezra assures Sabine, who smiles and kisses him softly.
"I would expect you would, my dear," she says as she follows Mira into the tower.
Ezra smiles and looks back up to the stars, his smile quickly fading as he thinks about the Rebellion and their war with the Empire. He longs to go back and has no doubts that Sabine misses screwing up the Empire's plans.
After staring at the sky in thought for several minutes, he finally gets up and heads into the tower.
...
The next morning, Ezra wakes up to screaming from outside the tower. He jumps up and uses the Force to grab his lightsaber and rushes outside to see what's happening. He expects a fight, but instead, he finds Mira rolling in the tall grass, playing with some furry friends of theirs.
"Morning sleepy head," Sabine says. She walks up to him and hands him a mug of caf.
"Morning..." he says.
"Everything alright?" Sabine asks him, a worried expression forming on her face.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm alright," he replies, taking the mug and sipping on the hot beverage.
"You looked peaceful earlier this morning so I didn't want to wake you," Sabine said then. "Good dream for once?"
"Not really. Guess I've been more tired than usual."
"I think, you should take a break from training Mira and let Kanan do it," she suggests.
"Kanan never took a break from training me," Ezra protests. "I can't be any different. None of the Jedi he's told me about stopped training their padawans so why should I? Besides, Kanan is still one man. If the Empire showed up again and discovered us here, he won't be able to hold them off alone."
"Who ever said he'd be alone?" Sabine asks. "He's got you, me, and Hera with him. Not to mention the people here have re-established their government and defense forces."
Ezra sighs, "You're right... I guess I'm just..."
"Paranoid?"
"Yeah."
"You miss the fight, don't you?" she asks him then.
Ezra nods softly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to have a stable, peaceful life. It's just... the war is still raging. I want to be able to help them. I should be up there with the Rebellion."
Sabine takes his arm and leans her head on his shoulder.
"I know what you mean. I want to go help them, too. And we both know Hera wants to be up there with the Ghost. But with Dawn and Mira... We can't risk them losing us."
"I know," Ezra says with a sigh.
"Now... come inside with me," she says, a hint of seduction in her voice.
"Wait, what are you...?"
Sabine pulls him into the tower and locks the door, but not before calling down to Mira to stay down there with Kanan and Dawn.
...
"You need to focus, Mira," Kanan says calmly.
"I know, I'm trying," she whines.
"No, you're trying to play with the Loth cats," Kanan remarks.
"But we've been training for so long..." Mira complains.
"Such is the life of a padawan," Kanan says. "It gets tedious. Boring, even. But it's necessary if you're going to be a Jedi someday. And you want to be just like your dad, don't you?"
"Yeah!" she exclaims.
Kanan smiles. "Okay, watch this." He gets down on his knees and concentrates. Soon, all the loth cats nearby slowly gather around him and sit.
"Woah..." Mira gasps. "What are you doing?"
"I've reached out through the Force and called to them. If you keep a calm mind, and let go of your fear, you can do the same thing I'm doing. You can sometimes tell them to fight for you or call a distraction if needed. But you must never use it for wrongdoing, understand?"
"I understand."
"This skill gets difficult to master with larger creatures. Dangerous ones, even. Your father barely managed to pull this off under the stress of an attack," Kanan explains. "I know I could have done things different to train your father, but I didn't have the same resources as my master did. We had to do things the harder way."
"We're not going to bad places, are we?" Mira asks him.
"No, little one. We'll do what we can to train you before we do anything dangerous."
...
Later, around midday, everyone's gathering around a table eating lunch and Mira is talking about everything Kanan told her.
"You remember that cave Kanan told me about, dad?"
"Oh yeah," Ezra says. "It was terrifying! But because of that I was able to learn a valuable lesson. There's always a lesson to be taken out of difficult situations."
"How high can you lift a rock, Mira?" Sabine asks her.
"I can lift it just a bit higher now," she replies, her eyes shining with excitement.
"I'd like to see it," Ezra says.
"What are we waiting for?" Mira asks, about to get down from her chair.
"After lunch," Sabine says. "Finish eating and then you two can go outside to play."
"Sabine..." Ezra whines playfully.
"Oh no, mister," Sabine scolds. "Don't do that to me."
Ezra and Mira laugh, which quickly makes Sabine join in.
After they finish eating lunch, they head outside and Mira tries to show her father how high she can lift the rock, but when she tries, it doesn't work and her excitement fades.
"I don't understand what's happening..." she complains.
You're too excited," Ezra explains. "Calm your nerves. It's okay to be excited, but you must be able to concentrate. Remember that."
Mira closes her eyes and grows hopeful that it works. She starts to get a bit scared. She doesn't want to disappoint her father and fears that if she can't concentrate, then she'd fail him.
Ezra can sense her fear and speaks softly.
"Don't be afraid, Mira. You're afraid of failure, but there's no need to be. Let go of your fear... take some deep breaths and relax. Focus. Picture the rock in your mind."
She does as instructed and the rock shudders and slowly gets lifted off the ground...
But it doesn't stop rising.
Ezra and Sabine watch in astonishment as the rock, and many other objects in the field are lifted up and floating until they're just higher than Mira's head.
"Is it working...?" Mira asks.
"Open your eyes, Mira," Ezra says gently.
She opens her eyes and gasps as she sees what the others see: Rocks, dust, bits of grass and even a loth cat are floating in midair. The cat meows at Ezra in confusion and starts thrashing and flailing.
Mira laughs and the rocks and lothcat falls to the ground. The cat hisses in anger before running off into the tall grass.
"I DID IT!" Mira cries. She dances around her father chanting, "I DID IT! I DID IT!"
"You did it, kiddo," Ezra says, laughing and smiling. He scoops up his daughter and holds her close.
Sabine covers her smile with her fingers and walks up to them.
"That was incredible, Mira," she says. "I don't even think your father was capable of that when he was being trained."
"Hey!" Ezra protests, but she and Mira laugh.
They continue training and soon, Dawn and Kanan join them. Mira was able to recreate what she did in front of Kanan, which impressed him and Dawn.
"Wow, Mira! You're almost as good as me!"
"Dawn..." Kanan warned.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be mean..."
"No I get it," Mira says, smiling. "You've been training longer than me, anyway."
The two continue training for a few more hours before Kanan and Ezra decide to call it a day.
"But I'm having fun, dad..." Mira whines.
"That's fine, kiddo, but we've taught enough for today. You can still practice all you want," Ezra explains.
"YAY!" Mira cheers. She runs back out into the field and keeps practicing her skills with Dawn, trading words of wisdom that they've learned from their fathers.
Sabine takes Ezra's arm and smiles as they watch the two young girls.
"I wish this could last forever, Ezra," she says softly.
Ezra smiles. "Me too. But until the Empire is gone, we have to stay vigilant. We can't let them find Mira or Dawn."
"I know. But here is a good place for them."
"It is, isn't it," Ezra says.
A deep rumbling is heard and they look up at the sky to see a transport ship flying past the tower. Mira stops playing and looks up at the ship in awe, Dawn as well.
The ship heads towards the city and hovers above it while smaller craft unload its cargo.
"That must be the ship we're expecting," Sabine says. She grabs a bag and slings it over her shoulder. She kisses Ezra's cheek. "I'll be back before dark. I'm going to see if they've got Mira's cereal."
"Be safe. Don't forget, we're almost out of-" Ezra calls out.
"I know, I'll get it," she calls back.
"Where's Mom going?" Mira asks Ezra.
"She's just going to the market. She'll be back later. You want to go back inside or stay out here?"
"I wanna stay."
"Alright then. I will, too," Ezra says, smiling.
...
Later that night, Sabine comes home with her bag full of stuff. More food, more clothes, and some extra supplies to keep their armor and weapons in peak condition. She even got a little something extra just for herself, keeping it hidden from Ezra. Living with a Jedi makes hiding things more difficult, but she's learned how to keep even the nosiest Jedi out of her business.
"Welcome home, dear," Ezra says, kissing Sabine on the cheek. "Dinner is just about ready."
"Who's cooking it? I hope it's Mira," she teases, winking at Mira. She giggles.
"Haha, very funny you two," Ezra grumbles. "I'm not that bad of a cook."
"Oh I know," Sabine says. "It's always fun to mess with you."
Ezra smiles and sets the plates of food on their table and they eat. When they finish, Ezra offers to take care of the dishes and Mira runs up to Sabine.
"Can we do something with all your colors, mom?"
"Sure thing, sweetheart. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know... paint something?"
"Come with me. I just got something we can use," Sabine says. She takes her daughter's hand and leads her to her room where there's a small, white board resting on the desk.
"Let's see..." Sabine begins to think. "To start with a painting, you need some inspiration."
Mira's eyes light up and she looks up with a dreamy expression. "The stars with all the ships!"
"Then that's what we'll do," Sabine says with a smile. She gives a brush to Mira and together they start painting. Mira, of course, is getting paint all over the board and herself.
She starts to think Sabine will get mad that she's covered in paint, but Sabine only laughs. "Don't be afraid to get a little paint on yourself, sweetheart. You're doing great!"
Mira smiles and laughs and Ezra walks in then.
"What are you two doing now?" he asks.
"Painting the stars," Sabine says.
"Well it's hard to do that when you can't see them," he points out.
Mira gasps again. "Can we go outside?"
"Just on the platform, okay?" Sabine says.
Mira cheers and she takes the yet unfinished painting and stands on the platform outside. Sabine kisses Ezra and promises they'll get to bed soon before joining their daughter outside.
Mira's eyes shine as she looks up at the stars and she carefully starts putting in the white dots on the background of the painting.
"Maybe..." Sabine begins. "We should put a planet... right here." She puts a dot of a brownish paint on the black background.
"We can paint Lothal!" Mira suggests.
"Good idea," Sabine says.
They continue painting on the board and after another hour, Mira yawns and leans against her mother for support.
"Getting tired, kiddo?" Sabine asks.
"No..." Mira replies, yawning again right after.
Sabine laughs softly and carefully puts the painting board down next to them before picking up Mira.
"Let's get you to bed. We can finish painting tomorrow night," she says.
"Okay..." Mira mutters.
Sabine puts her to bed and then retrieves the painting from the platform. She looks it over and smiles.
What's supposed to be Lothal is just a brown blob against a black background covered in white spots of various shapes and sizes. It's still unfinished because they still need to add the starships.
Sabine feels arms wrap around her waist and she looks over her shoulder to see Ezra.
"It looks good so far," he says. "She's already better than what I could do."
"She's got your Jedi talents and my artistic skills, that's for sure," Sabine replies.
Ezra kisses her cheek. "Come on. Let's get to bed."
They head inside and get some sleep, enjoying each other's company.