5…4…3…2…
Tapping my phone screen once to pause my timer, I set it back down on the small table then start to the front of the class.
A small beep sounds throughout the room as all the probe droids rise in the air, causing the helmeted younglings to peer up at me. "Younglings…" I call out. A couple of them start shaking their head and mouthing something before I say "We have to leave it there for today."
Collectively, all the younglings groan and their body language collapses. "Great job today though, really great job. You're all better today than last week. And the week before that."
All of the younglings perk up a bit before I bow my head. "You guys know the drill. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you Master Bridger." The younglings respond in unison before obeying my request and start making their way towards the cubby.
Except for one.
I got her you goofball.
Casting my eye into the corner, where Ahsoka and her mystery guests are in the process of standing, I turn back to Mira and Jacen in the back of the room while Mira is reaching for Jacen's helmet.
"—to ya…just don't whack yourself with it." Jacen says as he takes the helmet off and gives it to her.
Mira giggles excitedly before—
Oh no.
Mira's whole head bounces back after bonking herself in the face with the helmet before her whole body seems to freeze up for an instant.
Mir—
Then she just blinks, stares down at the helmet and starts trying to put it on her own head. "I told you not to whack yourself…" Jacen groans as he leans over the mesh railing keeping Mira in her playpen.
"Or you could have just put it on her head." I reason with him as I walk up.
Jacen spins to me. "She takes everything off her head when I give it to her at home. She loves everybody's helmets and hats and stuff."
"But she always takes it off if you put it on her?"
"Yeah." He nods before leaning forward and helping Mira out. "This is too big for you."
Mira laughs at his comment, getting Jacen to make a face. "That wasn't funny."
"She thinks you're funny." I tell him.
Easy.
She giggles and laughs at Jacen a ton.
"Hey." I hear Cayle say, almost brusquely.
"Hi." I glance over to him briefly befo—"What?"
He's being serious.
"You don't check your phone."
"I'm teaching!" I counter to him.
The Council asked me to do it for the third consecutive week in a row. I'm starting to wonder if it's by popular demand.
Those younglings were so happy to see me today.
"And besides that, you were the last person I texted before I changed. Right before you went and got Ahsoka's guest remember?"
Dumbass.
Cayle huffs out a breath. "You need to check it more. In like a Code Whatever situation."
"There's a part of me that doesn't want to look at it too much more Cayle." I point out. "And I'm teaching. This isn't a Coded situation."
We're in the Temple. I'm with the Order's most precious assets.
Mira giggles again, and I glance back to see that she's now got the helmet on correctly. "Hey." I say to Jacen, and he turns to me. "Go put your stuff up."
Jacen nods raptly then slips away, eliciting words from Mira before Cayle sticks his phone out to me.
Yeah, blue message wall. Again, before I'm…
…
Hey, text me back now. Problem.
Ezra. Problem.
Mandalorian.
Dammit Ezra answer me
Curveball: Plot Twist: My Master knows Sabine's Mom
Ahsoka knows Sabine's MOM EZRA!
"Ahsoka knows Sabine's Mom…"
How?
"No she doesn't. How'd she phrase it?" I turn to Cayle as he slides his phone back into his robes.
"She didn't phrase it."
Didn't phrase it? Meaning she never said it?
I turn and look at the other easy option: Ahsoka's guests.
I kind of saw them come in, I figured that Ahsoka brought them in to observe me—
"Thank you though, for not using the Force. Ahsoka will explain the rest away—"
Blinking forcefully, I take a breath and glance across the room again.
But Sabine's Mom is in Chicago, back a-t Sabine's home I thought…
"Who's that?" Jacen asks, returning from putting his stuff away.
I'm pretty sure I know.
"Don't know buddy. Let's find out." I answer him, then bend over and scoop Mira up out of her playpen.
C'mon. Time to go find Daddy so you guys can go home…
Mira coos her appreciation as we take a few steps towards Ahsoka's delegation before they start towards the corridor and the hallways beyond.
"Better question is why is she here? Trouble?"
No.
"Not trouble." I tell Cayle.
"So you know."
Cayle.
"I might. I have a suspicion."
Cayle motions for me to carry on as we too walk towards the Main Hall. "Sabine felt homesick. So her Mom sent along a package, little taste of home thing."
"Oh." Cayle's tone flips. "That makes sense. Why's Sabine homesick? Did she tell her Mom to come?"
I don't think so…
The four of us continue walking behind Ahsoka's group.
There's two of them. Both in Mandalorian armor. One is taller than the other, one has an intricate design involving grey and gold while the other one…
There's paint all over it. There's definitely a style and individual pieces to it but—
The other one looks better I think.
"Ezra?" I hear Cayle say, snapping me out of it.
Stop it Ezra…
Ungluing my eyes from Sabine, I glance back over at Cayle. "Yeah?"
Cayle loudly groans before Jacen pipes up. "Didn't you hear what he said?"
"I—"
"Just play it chill…" Cayle speaks over me just as Ahsoka turns off into a combat training area that is used at the moment.
"You said you wanted to see it for yourself." Ahsoka turns to her compatriot.
The armored Mandalorian stays silent for an instant, then something to the other Mandalorian.
In Mando'a.
"What'd she say?" Cayle asks me quietly.
I shrug as discreetly as possible. "I don't know."
"Ezra, please line up on the line please." Ahsoka asks me kindly, motioning to the white line of demarcation between the normal space and the 'sparring' space.
I nod, unclip my lightsaber and pass it off to Cayle before handing Mira to Jacen and striding up to the line.
I don't know what kind of a test…
"Oh that's not fair. They're in armor." Cayle pipes up as the other, lither Mandalorian moves to line up beside me.
Not fair? You need a new word for this kind of mismatch.
I'm taller. I'm stronger. I'm twitchier. I'm just bigger, longer strides.
And I've got my Force abilities I can dip into.
The colorful Mandalorian eyes Cayle before a mechanical voice chimes in. "My armor is my skin, aru'e." (A/N: Aru'e = enemy)
"Be concerned with your own side, Jedi." The older, golden clad Mandalorian puts Cayle in his place.
Cayle raises his hands in apology before speaking. "My apologies."
"Last chance to say you upsold his athletic abilities." The Mandalorian says to Ahsoka.
Upsold?
Excuse me?!
I straighten up a touch and turn fully to the armored individual and simply stare them down for an instant before pointedly turning away.
I don't care who in the hell you are. Sabine, your Mom just ordered you a one way trip to getting your ass smoked in this race.
"Ready…" Ahsoka calls out. "Set…"
Go.
"Go!" Ahsoka drops her hand, signaling the start just before I spring into action.
Wall and back.
That's it, wall and—
Eight strides in, I dial back my intensity as I approach the wall.
She's already smoked. She's beaten.
I push off the wall and keep myself firmly in second gear on the return trip before visibly easing up the last few steps and taking a literal strut across the finish line.
One, two…
Sabine reaches the finish line, armor and body laboring from the effort before I give the ornate Mandalorian another glare.
You. Dared. Challenge me athletically.
You lost.
"I thought overconfidence was a trait Jedi were not supposed to have."
"He's not a Jedi yet." Ahsoka points out. "But he's every bit of what that file said.
They must have given her some version of a file on me.
"I still don't believe his 40 time."
The painted Mandalorian offers no support of the other's claims before Ahsoka smiles pleasantly. "Ezra."
"Master Tano." I bow my head.
Accepting the gesture with a smile, she turns to her guest. "May I introduce to you, the Countess Ursa Wren, Leader of House Wren."
The Mandalorian standing beside Ahsoka reaches up and removes their helmet, revealing a stern looking, brunette woman with her hair in multiple braids.
"It's an honor to meet you ma'am." I bow my head in her direction.
Have to play the part.
"Pleasure to finally meet you as well." She says stiffly before her expression seems to soften.
Why's she here?
"How fortunate you are to have such an invaluable athlete just fall into your lap." Mrs. Wren turns to Ahsoka.
"His special awareness testing is just as impressive."
It's not impressive. I broke the test.
The Force warned me of where everything was and what was coming. It was easy.
It really was.
Sensing the confusion in the room, Ahsoka turns to her apprentice, Jacen and I. "The Countess and I met years ago when their neighbors Kosovo and Serbia fought over Kosovo's independence. The fighting spilled over into neutral Mandalorian territory, and I was called in as a mediator."
"And didn't do much mediating." Mrs. Wren retorts.
"Sometimes you have to go straight for the aggressive negotiations." Ahsoka concedes. "Ezra?"
"Yes Master Tano."
"Can you take Countess Wren's guest up to the spires to get a view of the city? Give us a moment to talk?"
Sure.
I nod once, then motion for our guest to start towards the door. "Milady."
"What about us?" Jacen pipes up as Sabine starts toward the door.
"Your Dad is on his way." Ahsoka explains patiently just before I follow our guest out the door and down the hall.
…
…
Nothing.
…
…
Silently, I lead the way down a hall before turning and arriving at the elevator upstairs for the spires.
C'mon Sabine. Help me out here. Say something…
…
C'mon!
I know it's you. You know it's me.
The door chimes, signaling its arrival and we clamber inside before I hit a button to take us up.
…
…
"It's a nice view."
Oh that sounded lame.
Sabine makes a noncommittal noise before the rest of our ride proceeds in uncomfortable silence.
…
Awesome.
Finally, after what feels like forever the elevator reaches the top. Holding the door for her, I clamber out behind then hustle to catch up to her.
"This is the main atrium for all the spires on top of the temple. All you have to do is pick one and walk and you'll be there."
Sabine silently points to our left then begins walking, leaving me little choice but to catch up yet again.
…
Come on!
…
Together, we walk the length of the hallway, all the way up to the top of the spire and the automatic door that swishes open, revealing a small room with a couple of comfortable chairs in it but nothing else.
Chairs and a 180 degree view of downtown Los Angeles.
I sidle up to the window and glance outward before I hear the sound of gas emitting from something—
Whoa.
I spin back as suavely as I can in time to see Sabine tuck her hair back behind her ear, locate me and a wide smile to appear on her face. "Hey you."
"Hey." I chuckle back, and Sabine beams and laughs before doubling over.
"I love what you did with your hair…" She closes the gap between us and lightly fingers my messily spiked hair.
"The bosses like me to do something and not just roll out of my apartment to come here." I shrug.
'A messy appearance informs more than meets the eye.'
Thanks Master Qui-Gon.
Sabine's smile softens as she continues closing the gap, coming close enough for me to slip my arms around her.
I can't…but I want to.
"You should do it more. I'll do it. I'd love to do it. But you have to keep growing your hair out."
I groan and roll my eyes at her. "It's already so long…"
It's way longer than I usually keep it.
Only reason I haven't cut it is because of you, constantly with your fingers tangled up in my hair Sabine!
"I know. And I love it. The longer it gets the better you look…and you can't get much better than right now…"
I feel myself blush before Sabine's cheeks darken and her smile returns. "You…are so damn hot in your Jedi attire. It's not fair."
"Your armor looks good too."
Sabine smiles before setting her head on my collarbone, just like she did a few hours previous. "Did you know your Mom was here?"
"No." She quickly shakes her head. "After you left to come here I lounged around in your bed, thinking I was going to take a nap. Then she called me, told me to drive to a hotel. There she was, my armor case in tow and told me to hurry up and change, we had a meeting to get to. And now I'm here…"
"And now you're here." I nod.
Sabine nods, then gives me almost an anxious look. "Ahsoka and Mom were talking, and…they almost made it sound like you're a superhero."
"I'm a decent athlete. I think we've covered that." I joke.
"You just smoked me in a race. Granted, it wasn't fair but—"
"How was it not fair?"
"You have way longer legs than me. I should have gotten a head start to even the odds."
Sabine.
I quirk my head in her direction. "Or is it the suit of armor?"
You're carrying a lot of extra weight.
"It's not—" Sabine shoves me not so gently. "The armor. You di'kut. Don't you get all cocky on me now…Mom'll like that though. She doesn't like wallflowers."
"And I'm normally a wallflower?" I ask.
I'm no pushover out in the real world. In here, I just don't think about it.
No, but just now you were way more show-off-y and braggadocios than I've seen you. I liked it though…you should bring that out at parties."
I laugh at the idea, then smile at her. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
Sounds like a toxic mix waiting for a fight to break out. Leading to somebody wanting to punch me.
"It's a great idea." Sabine retorts, then gives me a squeeze.
"Jaicey will look too much into it."
"Eh." She shrugs. "She's already convinced that we're together."
She was before the semester even started.
"I hope you don't mind me being here. Mom did all the legwork."
"Yeah, how'd she get here?" I turn and ask.
Sabine hangs her head and sighs. "it's my fault, I fucked up. I was talking to her last weekend about everything, about how I met Kanan and Hera and everybody and accidentally said Ahsoka's name. Forgetting that Mom and a Jedi fought together when I was little."
"You didn't know it was her?"
Sabine shakes her head. "Didn't ask. It…apparently a lot of people died. It was tough."
"Oh."
Yeah…
"But yeah, apparently she contacted Ahsoka and got all of this set up. And she's already got dinner reservations for the three of us."
"She's already planned out the night?"
Sabine nods. "I told you, Mom really wants to meet you. And she's not as…cold as she seemed out there. That was…how do I describe this?" Sabine bites her lip and trails off. "You met Countess Wren, not my Mom. Mom should come out at dinner."
Hopefully.
Together we stand here in a comfortable silence before I glance down and see her helmet. My curiosity gets the bets of me and I reach for it before asking "May I…?"
Sabine glances at me, then the helmet, then extends it to me. "be careful."
"I will." I smirk as I take her helmet from her and inspect it.
Mostly a purple helmet, with a horn like design on both sides. The visor isn't like anything I've ever seen before.
"This doesn't look like what I was expecting." I admit to Sabine.
"You know how I told you about my Mom?" Sabine starts quietly. I nod, and Sabine straightens up. "The visor is a trademark of the Nite Owls."
"Night Owls?" I parrot her.
Sabine shakes her head. "The Nite Owls were a branch inside of Death Watch."
"I thought Death Watch were the bad guys. Just associated with your clan and house."
"It's—" Sabine stops herself. "It's messy. But Mom was on the wrong side of things when she was around my age. It's…a long story."
"Can I read about it?"
Sabine shakes her head. "I doubt the story is in possession by the Jedi. It's one of the more recent ugly chapters of Mandalorian history."
…
"I won't di into it then." I turn and smile at Sabine.
The Force surges with Sabine's relief before she visually relaxes and takes a step closer to me. "It's great seeing you."
"Great seeing you too." I pull her into a light hug. "A little earlier than I was expecting…"
Sabine giggles and curls closer into my hug. "And our dinner plans have changed."
But it's alright.
…
"Never thought I'd see a Jedi Temple though. This place is enormous Ezra."
"Yeah." I nod. "They need the space."
"How do they hide this place? Like, you can't see it from the outside. I had no clue where Mom and I's Uber was taking us."
"I don't know." I confess, then glance out the window. "Did the guards give you a hard time?"
"Just over me not taking off my helmet." She reports.
"Really?"
Sabine nods. "Mom told me to keep it on until we got into a more private setting. I figured this counts." A smile breaks out onto her face.
"Your mom's not some hardass is she? Any tips before we go back?"
"No." Sabine quickly shakes her head. "You be you and she'll love you. Dad loves you, they'll all love you…Do we have to go back already?"
"No." I answer. "I just thought you might want to."
Instead of standing up here, looking out all day.
"Ahsoka mostly just led us around before we found where you were training—oh! That reminds me!"
"Oh no." I joke and crack a smile.
Sabine laughs and returns my smile. "You never said anything that you were teaching. And use a lightsaber. And they love you Ezra."
"It's still a pretty new thing. This is like the third week of it. I don't even know if I'll keep doing it." I admit.
"But those kids love you—younglings, excuse me." She corrects herself.
"I'm not a teacher though. And they're good students."
I'm really just going off feel right now. And it's working.
Sabine looks like she understands before she asks. "You…She made it sound like you've been trained for a while."
Oh no.
"A little bit."
"And she told Mom that you had a little bit of Force sensitivity. Even though Dad said you didn't. Who…what's going on?"
"It's no big deal Sabine—"
"—don't tell me it's not a big deal. You—JJ's head would EXPLODE if he saw you today."
She saw me when I wasn't thinking. One of the younglings from class was having a hard day and needed a break and some pointers. So I gave her a break and demonstrated what she was doing wrong so she could fix it.
And she did.
"He can't know." I counter. "You can't tell him."
"I imagine that's in all those papers I signed." Sabine cracks.
I nod, serious. "I've worked a long time to get as good as I am with a lightsaber. And I'm still not very good."
"Sounds like Cayle is the next one to ascend to Jedi greatness. From what Ahsoka told Mom it sounds like he's close to some sort of Trials?"
Really?
"She said that?" I ask, and Sabine nods.
Interesting…
"Did you not know that?"
"No." I inform her. "That's interesting though."
If he's close to the Trials, then the Council must believe that he's getting close to being able to take on Padawan of his own.
But he's Cayle…
But Ahsoka is one of the wisest Masters we have. And she would know better than anyone. If she thinks there's little more Cayle can learn from her…
"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"
I don't know.
"A good thing. It'll just make his life a lot more complicated though." I joke. Sabine laughs, and a new smile crosses her face.
"Good, he needs something to occupy him and humble him a little bit."
"Why would you say that?" I counter. "Did he do something today?"
Sabine quickly shakes her head no. "No, he didn't do anything. But he was just…I don't know. Arrogant. Cocky. Smug, like he's superior or something."
Sounds kind of like me.
"He suffers from the sin of pride, like all of us." I smile at Sabine. "Even though he's a Jedi."
He really does get on her nerves though.
"You want that Temple Tour after all? I can do that if you want me to." I volunteer.
Sabine quickly nods, then slip her hand in with mine before pecking my check and tossing her helmet back on with a satisfying hissing sound.
"That sounds so awesome." I admit, causing laughter to emit from Sabine's helmet.