Well, my apologies for taking quite a bit of time getting this chapter out, but it really was fighting all the way. I just never could get the feeling that it all flowed to where it basically wrote itself. I wanted to get to the conclusion of this mission though by the time I ended this chapter. We've got a long way to go in order to get to the conclusion, but it was definitely time for this mission to end, and so here it is. Three complete re-writes later.

Chapter 13: Cross the Finish Line

Ezra and Sabine move through their cover in search of the weapon that had been used against the Rebellion and look to return home.

Ezra ducked, dodging a blaster bolt that instead sailed just over his head and harmlessly into a wall. "Really wish I had my lightsaber right about now," he complained as Sabine and he sprinted around a street corner. "And don't you think the explosion was a bit over the top?"

"I had to make sure the weapons were all destroyed," Sabine fired back. "And quit complaining! We're almost there!"

The two Rebels continued on their erratic path, hoping they could evade capture for just a bit longer. Sabine knew that they'd taken a big risk in continuing with their mission, but at the time she'd felt that the risk was worth it. However, she also knew that they couldn't keep running forever, and things were already becoming dire as she watched Ezra stumbling a bit as he tried to keep up with her. She just hoped the extraction portion of the plan would go more smoothly than the rest of this day had turned out.

The fates, however, seemed to be against them. After they made two more turns, they reached the extraction rendezvous point, but there was no extraction team in sight. "Did we make a wrong turn?" Ezra asked as he leaned against the closest wall. "Where are they?"

"No. They should be here," Sabine answered as she reached for her communicator and opened a channel. "This is Spectre five. We're at the extraction point. Where is our pick up?"

"We were forced to move," Came the reply from Gavyn. "That explosion at IA created some unwanted attention, and the Empire decided to start locking down the spaceports as a result of it."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Sabine asked as she grabbed Ezra's hand and dragged him with her down another alley to keep them moving.

"Find a spot to hole up," Gavyn instructed. "We were able to move the ship before the Empire locked it up, and we have an idea of where to take the ship that won't get locked up. We did leave an agent behind with a speeder. Once you're in a secure location, send us the coordinates, and they'll pick you up and bring you to us."

"Understood," Sabine grumbled. "Spectre five out."

"So, we're still on our own," Ezra recounted. "Any ideas on where to go?"

"No time to worry about that now," Sabine said before handing him one of her blasters. "Take this and let's keep moving. We don't want to get spotted again if we can help it."

Ezra went to follow after her, but nearly fell forward as he lost his balance yet again. His head was throbbing painfully at that point, and he had to fight the urge to vomit as Sabine reached out to help him.

"I've gotcha," she said while slipping one of his arms over her shoulder. Things were starting to look bleak, and she needed to find somewhere safe to rest quickly. Ezra simply wouldn't be able to go much longer in his condition.

Two days prior

Sabine woke up filled with frustration. She'd been trying to sleep by herself when they returned from dinner the night before, but nightmares had kept her from being able to sleep much at all. She tossed and turned most of the time, punched her pillow in frustration, and groaned at her plight until Ezra was awakened by it.

At first, she politely declined Ezra's offer to join her, but when she did finally manage to fall back asleep, it was once again flooded with a mixture of nightmares. Some were of not being able to move as a stranger had their way with her while others were similar but with faces of people she knew, and the last one was with Ezra. That turned out to be the last straw for her as Sabine still believed wholeheartedly that Ezra would never do such a thing to her, and she couldn't believe her mind would even concoct such a notion, be it a dream or otherwise. Ezra was her friend and he'd been there for her in her time of absolute need. Regardless of what others such as Gavyn might've thought, she just knew that Ezra would do the right thing regardless of his own desires.

And with that, she moved over to the couch to lay on the human pillow that was Ezra, almost to prove to herself that she was right about him as much as so she could get some actual sleep. Cuddling with him quickly allowed her to find sleep and the nightmares stayed away just as she'd hoped. However, by morning she was met with the inescapable fact that she hadn't been able to sleep on her own and that just wasn't going to do. She was a Mandalorian for crying out loud and she would not require someone else's assistance just to sleep through a night.

Her failure from that night left Sabine frustrated throughout the next day, and enough so that she had Ezra deliver the day's report on his own. Besides, just like with the other reports up to that point, they had yet to identify the weapon in question, and that only added to her frustrated state. The only addition to the report was that Sabine had begun the process of digging into some prototype weaponry. Still, nothing she'd gotten to work on yet was in the trial status or even close. She also believed that she was still being tested, but didn't mind it too much. She was confident it only revealed that she knew what she was talking about.

The "prototype" designs she'd been shown seemed like good ideas at first glance, but there always seemed to be a glaring issue to be found. She pointed out why each design she looked over would ultimately fail any field test, and then was assigned access to another design. The first few she dug into, the flaws were obvious, but after that, she actually had to pay attention to the finer details to discover why a failure would occur.

But the next day she ended up reviewing a weapon design that looked like it was well on its way to the building phase. Upon coming to that conclusion, she was then informed that she'd get to work on some of the more ready to test weapons. So, immediately after work, she delivered the updated file herself. She had to make it clear that she wasn't about to deal with Gavyn or his accusations, causing him to move over to "help" with another customer. He was still visibly upset but Sabine just didn't need anything more on her plate until after the mission.

Besides, Wini was also there, and that made the drop off much easier because she was acting normally. Sabine's best guess was that Wini either didn't know what was going on or perhaps that she was more like Sabine, keeping things strictly professional when it was necessary. The girls were able to keep the short conversation casual, allowing Sabine to make the drop before going on her way back toward the apartment.

That, however, was when things seemed to take a turn. Ezra hadn't been able to leave the factory as early as Sabine did, which was why they didn't travel to the drop point together. He'd told her that he'd meet Sabine back at the apartment, and was making his way back to the apartment when a feeling ran through him. It was a strong feeling that nearly caused him to stop in his tracks. It wasn't unfamiliar to him, and it was telling him that he was being watched. He managed to keep walking ahead, not wanting to give anything away, and went up to the next nearby vendor booth to get a better look around without looking like he was searching for who's eyes were on him.

He didn't see anyone right away, but the feeling continued to linger and questions began to cross his mind. Who was watching him? Why were they watching him? Had his cover somehow been blown? Glancing around still didn't reveal any familiar faces, and it also thankfully didn't reveal any bucketheads or Imperial officers. But that feeling was still hitting him hard. He wanted to contact Sabine but knew doing so might signal to the person watching him that he was onto them, and Ezra didn't want to let whoever was watching him escape.

So, after spending what felt like an acceptable amount of time at that vendor's booth, Ezra casually trekked around town, making certain that he didn't reveal where he was actually heading, but each time he made a stop to view something for sale or turned down a different road, he was still met with that same feeling. Eventually, though, Ezra ran out of real estate that he was familiar with. He couldn't continue one without putting himself at risk, but that left him with either giving away that he knew he was being watched or heading into the apartment.

Either way, it was a risk, and Ezra chose the less risky of his options by reluctantly walking into the apartment building. However, he wasn't about to go straight to their apartment either, and instead found a spot off to the side of the lobby where he could see the entrance and not be truly visible. Then, he sat and waited as random person after random person entered or exited the building. No one seemed to be looking for him, but the feeling he'd been experiencing was still just as strong as when he first felt it.

Not to be deterred, Ezra tried reaching out through the Force for anything or anyone out of place, but just as he'd experienced visually, he couldn't find anything. Everyone just seemed to be going about their business as usual, and Ezra eventually began to wonder if he might just be feeling paranoid. Still, he didn't move away from the lobby for another fifteen minutes, which was when he realized that he was the one attracting attention. The longer he stayed there, the more that people began to stare. Some were even whispering about what he was doing, and he knew that he couldn't stay there any longer.

Ezra then made his way over to the elevators, and it wasn't until the doors closed that the feeling finally began to subside. No one knew where he and Sabine had been staying but he was still uneasy up until he reached their apartment. When he was safely inside, he finally realized just how high his adrenaline level had been, and now safely inside, just how much energy it sapped from him. He breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the couch, sprawling out across it, but then he also realized that his roommate wasn't there yet. That brought a jolt of energy back to him in the form of immediate concern.

Ezra reached for his communicator and opened a channel to call out to his friend. "Ria, come in."

A few tedious seconds passed with him holding his breath until the comm channel eventually pinged open. "I'm here Dev," she said. "What's up?"

"How far are you from home?"

"Not far, why?"

"You know those weird feelings you sometimes get when you think you're being watched?"

"Yeah.."

"Well, that happened to me all the way back from the market."

"Did you see anyone?"

"No, but I still thought you should know about it."

"I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Sabine said before ending the call.

Ezra huffed as he glanced over to the chrono for the time. It was barely early evening and he already wanted to call it a night, but he had this nervous energy that likely wouldn't go away until Sabine safely returned. Even though according to her, that would only be a few minutes away, it felt like hours before she finally opened the door.

"I didn't see anything," she announced as she walked into the apartment. "But that doesn't mean that you're wrong."

"Do you think we might've been burned?" Ezra asked.

Sabine hummed as she considered the possibility. "I don't think so, but we still should be cautious. Just to be safe, I think we should stay in tonight and make sure we keep our eyes open tomorrow. If you see anything out of place, then we'll scrub the mission and call the extraction team in to pick us up."

"Okay," Ezra responded, agreeing with Sabine's opinion of what to do. Besides, a night in with Sabine would never be something he'd willingly turn down.

Dinner that night was as enjoyable as Ezra had hoped it would be. It also allowed him the opportunity to think about the two of them and how Sabine and he just seemed to mesh together so effortlessly in their assigned roles. He also absolutely loved that Sabine seemed to let her guard down around him over the last few days. She even chose to sit next to him on the couch while they watched a couple of programs on the holo. But all too soon, the time for bed came upon them.

Ezra once again offered to share the bed with Sabine, and while it was tempting, Sabine stuck to her decision to sleep on her own. So, she politely declined before turning to her bed, thinking it would be best for the both of them, but If she would have kept her eyes on Ezra, she'd have seen the small display of hurt on his face before he regained control of his emotions. But by the time Sabine did turn back around to wish him a good night, he was successfully hiding any disappointment.

Falling asleep was still a struggle for Sabine at first, but she leaned on her Mandalorian upbringing to push through. However, despite her efforts, it still wasn't a dreamless sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night after yet another nightmare. It caused her to spare a glance over to Ezra, remembering his kind offer, but that was as far as she allowed it to go. She was going to sleep on her own regardless of any struggle she'd have to go through to do it.

That morning, Sabine felt a little pride in herself at having held firm to her decision Then it was on to the next day, which seemed to go smoothly, and didn't seem to bring about anything indicating that their cover had been blown. Plus, working at the weapons factory on that day turned out to be the lucky charm for Sabine. With Ezra once again stuck on nothing other than standard Imperial blasters, Sabine's different level of cover and access finally paid dividends.

Cen assigned Sabine to work with Ruto and Hela on a couple of different prototypes. Sabine excitedly worked through the specs of each of the weapons, but confirmed that neither of them were the weapons she'd been looking for. But then, in the afternoon, she moved onto a fifth prototype that Tyla had been working on. She rifled through the weapon specifics, and found out its design was laid out as a double-pronged weapon that could act as a taser when in close combat, but also had long-range blast capability, which was what grabbed Sabine's attention.

This particular blaster rifle was designed to gobble up large amounts of blaster gas that would allow the weapon to disintegrate its target. She was almost certain that this was the weapon that had been used on the Rebels before. From there, she immediately dove into who designed it, the location of where the designs were, and how many blasters had been already been produced. Unfortunately, Sabine wasn't able to determine the total number, but she figured that perhaps Ezra's access to the production line might provide that information.

That evening, Sabine decided to go to the market with Ezra. She found it surprising that a part of her actually wanted to show Gavyn that nothing was going on between herself and Ezra, if only to ease the tensions between them, but Gavyn was once again a no show. Wini also wasn't her normal, chipper self like she'd been the last time they dropped off a mission report either. She barely paid Sabine any mind at all aside from some dirty looks, and wasn't nearly as friendly toward Ezra. Her attitude was noticeable enough that it made Sabine wonder if Gavyn might've said something, but she hoped not because nothing happened.

Because of that tension, Sabine wanted the mission to end sooner than later. She knew that Ezra and she would be fine, but she wasn't so sure about things between Gavyn and herself or Wini and Ezra. She hoped that Wini would be open to the truth before things might become irreparable, but she was beginning to believe that she'd already reached that point with Gavyn. He'd behaved a royal ass for the majority of this mission, let his emotions get the better of him, and what he said and tried to do during his private meeting with her was inexcusable.

Gavyn needed to accept that Sabine never had an interest in anything more than friendship, and his actions during this mission only bolstered her lack of desire for anything more. In fact, just being friends again was going to take some serious mending, otherwise, they would just have to go their separate ways.

But that also left the last remaining person of the quartet to tend with. Sabine was going to need some serious time to consider what was actually going on between Ezra and herself. Her newly discovered feelings for him had certainly complicated things, and she hadn't forgotten about Wini laying her claim of chasing after a potential romance with Ezra. She knew Wini really liked him and wasn't sure if she wanted to get in between that. Especially not when she wasn't completely certain of what she wanted. Ezra deserved more than such uncertainty. He deserved to be with someone who was fully invested in being with him, and at the moment, she was not that person. Perhaps after the mission, she would be able to determine what she wanted.

And speaking of the mission, Sabine had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, that she didn't even realize they were already approaching the apartment building. She almost expected Ezra to be trying to get her attention, but he seemed to be focused elsewhere. He was looking around and being strangely quiet.

"What is it?" Sabine asked.

"I think I'm being paranoid again," Ezra answered as his eyes continued to roam around them. "I was honestly expecting to have that same feeling as yesterday and not having it now has me more concerned than I was then."

"The feeling like you're being watched?" Sabine asked and received a confirming nod in return.

"I know it sounds strange," Ezra explained. "But I'd almost feel better if I did feel like we're being watched. At least then I'd think that whoever it is wouldn't potentially be moving onto their next step."

"Which would be…" Sabine prompted.

"I'm not sure," Ezra said as they reached the apartment building and walked inside. "And that's what has me concerned."

"I know what you mean," Sabine said, agreeing with Ezra's thoughts. She might not have found or seen anything to substantiate Ezra's belief that he'd been watched before, but she knew that it was better to follow your instinct and be careful rather than disregard it and be wrong. Besides, she had also come to understand that when it was a Jedi's intuition, more often than not it was dead on. She only wished that they had their armor and weapons.

Ezra kept his guard up until they reached the floor of their apartment. He was still a bit uneasy, but when the door slid open, this became one of the times where Ezra wished his feelings had been wrong.

"So nice of you to join us," an Arkanian said with a blaster pointing at Ezra's face from inside their apartment. "Please, do come in. We have some business to discuss."

Ezra's initial instinct was to use his Force abilities to get out of the mess, but when four other men stepped out of other nearby rooms surrounding them with blasters at the ready, he knew there was no point. In the current situation, they'd never escape with their lives, forcing them to comply. Reluctantly, Ezra raised his hands and followed their orders.

Sabine followed Ezra in and the rest of the goons joined them inside the apartment. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of how they could escape with their lives. She didn't know just how much trouble they were in, but she knew that it wasn't the Empire. However, that didn't help answer who these sleemo's were or what they wanted with either of them?

But it almost seemed as if one of them could read her mind. The Arkanian who appeared to be in charge gave her a look as he spoke up. "What's the matter beautiful? Don't you remember the joy ride your boyfriend got to enjoy at my expense?"

"You're the one who drugged me that night!" Sabine angrily shouted as she instantly lunged forward in a murderous flash. She almost got her hands on him before a couple of goons managed to grab her by the shoulders and slammed her down into a seated position on the apartment couch. She glared up at the Arkanian, only to find that he was smiling smugly at her with the knowledge that she couldn't get to him.

"I wouldn't call it drugging you," He taunted. "More like opening your eyes to new possibilities of pleasure."

"Pleasure for you maybe," Sabine growled back.

"You mean to tell me that your boyfriend here wasn't able to satisfy your every carnal craving that night? The Arkanian said mockingly as he gestured over to Ezra. "What a pity. Perhaps he shouldn't have interfered. Then you would have discovered what true pleasure feels like."

"She doesn't remember a thing from that night!" Ezra angrily added as he was forcefully seated next to Sabine.

"She would've remembered if you'd let her come home with me," The Arkanian gloated as he knelt in front of them both and dragged his fingers across Sabine's jaw. "And now you'll both wish that you hadn't disappointed her with your lack of sexual prowess. Because of you, she'll never get to experience true pleasure."

"Why in karking hell would I ever want to sleep with you?" Sabine spat in disgust.

The Arkanian fixated his eyes on her. "Because when I taste the goods first, I decide if they get to live a pleasure-filled life with me or if they get sent to be ravaged by paying customers over and over until they're too damaged to be a profit for my associates here. Even your boyfriend's lackluster abilities would be a pleasure cruise compared to what you're in for now."

Ezra had heard enough at that point and leapt up after the Arkanian, but the butt of a blaster to his temple immediately ended whatever he might've attempted. It was a violent blow to the head and Ezra had been so focused on the Arkanion that he didn't even see the attack coming. As soon as the blow struck, his body went completely limp and spun around slightly due to the force behind the strike. As he crashed onto the floor, the back of his head hit a small table with a loud crack that had Sabine visibly cringing.

Ezra's vision faded into complete darkness almost instantly, but he still fought to remain conscious even though it felt like a losing battle. He could barely struggle against them as he was unceremoniously picked him up off of the floor and deposited back onto the couch.

Sabine tried to jump down and check on Ezra, but she was still being held firmly in place on the couch by the two goons who'd stopped her earlier. She had little doubt that Ezra suffered a concussion by the way his head lolled after he landed and the glossy, confused look in his eyes she could see once he was returned to the couch. The only question was how serious it was.

She didn't have much time to look into how badly hurt he was, as the Arkanian suddenly stood from his kneeling position and the other men put Sabine into binders. They weren't focused on Ezra at that point, and that was when Sabine hand an idea of just how serious his concussed state was. As his head continued to loll back and forth, two men had to carry him after putting him in binders before they all left the apartment.

As they waited for the lift to take them back down, the Arkanian focused his attention onto Ezra, lifting the young Jedi's head by the chin to look him in the eyes. "I hope you clear the cobwebs before we arrive. I want to see the look on your face when you realize that your little girlfriend here will get ravished for the rest of her days. It will be a fitting punishment for getting involved in my affairs."

Everyone then rode down the lift in a single group, making things a little cramped inside, but the leader was being calculating, not willing to take any chances by dividing their numbers. Sabine still knew that she couldn't allow them to reach where ever it was that they were being taken or else they were both doomed, and with Ezra's current state, it was going to be incredibly difficult. They also had blasters still pointed at Ezra and herself. She was going to need some type of diversion to give them any chance.

As they made it out to the street, Ezra was beginning to regain his wits, but everything was still a little fuzzy. Still, he knew everything he needed to know at that moment. The same Arkanian who'd drugged Sabine was going to hurt her in ways he didn't want to fathom and that infuriated him so much that before he even realized what he was doing, his binders had snapped open and dropped to the ground, causing the group to stop and look at faulty restraints.

"I thought you had new equipment." The Arkanian huffed at his men.

"I did," one of the men responded as they bent down to pick up the restraints. He gave the binders a quick once over and then held them up to show them to the rest of the group. "I don't see anything wrong with them."

"Then how…" the Arkanian began to say before he suddenly paused and began grasping at his throat. It felt as though someone was choking him but he couldn't find anything around his neck. He immediately started to panic and looked to his crew for assistance, only to see that they were all experiencing the same thing he was. Somehow, all of them were choking on nothing, and to make matters worse, they all slowly began to lift off the ground.

Sabine almost couldn't believe what was happening before her very eyes. Had she not been around any Jedi, she'd have no idea what was happening to explain how their captors were suddenly floating just off their feet and gasping for air. Still, even she had to do a double at the sight before looking over to who was behind it, and what she saw there nearly sent chills up her spine. The first thing she noticed was the look on his face of pure rage. Ezra was more furious than she'd ever seen before, and she couldn't be sure, but swore his eyes didn't have that same beautiful blue that she'd never been able to duplicate before.

"You're not going to touch her!" He loudly growled as he stalked over to the Arkanian before glancing around at the rest of them. "None of you will ever touch her again. Or anyone else."

Sabine was almost frozen in awe as she continued to watch Ezra do things she'd never seen from him before. He'd never used the Force on so many people all at once before, or at least never successfully. She had to admit that it was impressive, but then she also noticed that bystanders were also taking notice, and whispers about wizardry or seeing a Jedi quickly became as discernable as the sleemo's desperate gasps for air.

They were all dying by Ezra's hands and they may have deserved such a fate, but Ezra had never been one to take an unarmed person's life before and Sabine knew this. So, she moved up to him and bumped his shoulder lightly, but he didn't respond. "Ezra," she spoke up in another attempt to get his attention. "You're killing them."

"They deserve it," he growled in response, not even turning to look at her. "They were going to kill me and do so much worse to you."

"I know, Ezra," Sabine said. "But we didn't come here for them, and you're drawing a lot of attention. We need to get out of here before…"

"Halt!" a Stormtrooper hollered as a group of them approached to investigate what had gotten everyone else's attention.

"He's a Jedi!" Another trooper said and they all raised their blasters. "Blast him!"

Knowing she had to do something drastic, Sabine shoved her shoulder hard into Ezra, forcing him to release the human traffickers just as the Stormtroopers opened fire. Ezra's actions had indeed attracted unwanted attention, and because of it, the success of their mission was compromised. From that point, escape was going to be their only objective.

When she got back up, Sabine noticed that Ezra seemed to be really out of sorts. He was still lying on the ground from her shoulder tackling him and clutching his head. "We have to go!" Sabine yelled at him as she turned to grab him with her arms still bound.

Ezra didn't verbally respond but did make his way back to his feet, following closely after Sabine. They ended up having to run for quite some time, but did eventually create enough distance duck into the extraction team's apartment without being seen. By the time they arrived, Sabine was panting as she'd not only been on the run, but also had to help with Ezra to ensure he didn't fall behind. It seemed like he struggled to help her out of her binders, and she hoped that they could lay low for a few minutes to catch their breath and regroup as she hacked her way into opening the extraction team's apartment door.

"I don't think the bucketheads got a good look at us," Sabine reasoned, locking the apartment door behind her. As soon as she caught her breath a little bit, she looked around and happily located the crate stowing her armor and blasters, and began to change out of her civilian attire. "And if we actually lost them, then we should still slip into the factory using my credentials, destroy the specs, find out how many weapons were built, and then blow them to hell."

"What about the person who came up with the designs?" Ezra asked. "Can't they just rebuild the plans from memory?"

"The extraction team will get Tyla and her boyfriend, Crix," Sabine answered. "I'll comm them before we head out."

"Sounds good," Ezra said as he went to gently rub the back of his head, but stopped when he felt something sticky, and pulled his hand down only to see red liquid staining his fingers.

Sabine saw it too and everything else suddenly became unimportant to her, instantly moving to investigate. "I didn't think you hit your head that hard, but I guess I should've known when you hit the table on your way down," she said, scolding herself for letting it go unnoticed for so long. "I didn't see any blood because of your dark hair."

Sabine grabbed Ezra by his head as she moved around behind him, and gently combed through Ezra's hair, looking for any open wounds. It didn't take long for her to find a decent sized gash around the base of his skull. Even though the bleeding had slowed, she was still quite concerned about Ezra's well-being. "Maybe you should sit back here while I go in to wipe those records." She suggested.

"Not a chance," Ezra said as he spun around to get Sabine where he could see her, and that turned out to be a mistake as it caused dizziness to overwhelm him.

Sabine was once again quick to react, helping him stay upright as he'd lost his equilibrium. She found that she was consumed with indecision, wanting to finish the mission, but also not wanting to risk leaving Ezra alone in case he happened to take a turn for the worse. Plus, the Empire was still on their trail. She had a decision to make. Go forward with scrubbing the mission or somehow convince Ezra to stay behind until she could destroy the weapons and design specs. There was also a third option which would allow the mission to be completed and keep Ezra at her side, but that would mean changing back into her civvies and she'd already been out of her armor for far too long. Besides, there was still a great risk around just marching into the factory without her armor and weapons for protection.

But perhaps if she found some way to camouflage herself, they could get into the factory without raising any suspicion until it was too late. She looked around the room for anything that might be suitable but found nothing of use, and she determined that she'd have to go outside to find something suitable. "You stay here, and I'll be right back," she said as she started for the door.

"I won't let you go to the factory alone Sabine," Ezra argued.

But Sabine was ready for his response, and gently pushed him to a chair, sitting him down. "Look Ezra, you have to admit that we can't go together with you in your condition and me looking the way I do." She explained. "The Empire is already on high alert, looking for a Jedi, and if they see someone in Mandalorian armor on top of that, we probably wouldn't even make it to the front door. Not to mention, you're already hurt, and I'm not going back into a hostile area without my armor. So, the only way we can have a chance at this is if I step out long enough to find a bag and a cloak from the market. Once I have those, I can use the bag to store my helmet and cover my armor with the cloak. That will give us the best chance to complete our mission."

"I just got a little dizzy is all, Sabine," Ezra continued to argue. "It's already passed and I feel fine now. So, let's just go and finish this, and then we can go home."

"You've only made it this far on adrenaline, Ezra," Sabine pointed out. "And that adrenaline is going to fade away any time now, which means the concussion symptoms are going to start really affecting what you can do. We can't take that risk, so just stay here and let me find a cloak and a bag. Then I promise I'll come right back."

Ezra didn't like it, but he knew that Sabine would keep her word. So, he gave up trying to convince her and allowed her to leave him behind. Ezra wouldn't admit it, but his head was already hurting quite a bit. He actually was almost thankful that Sabine wasn't there as he was not only still dizzy, but also was fighting back feeling like he was about to vomit. It was coming in waves at him that were quickly becoming difficult to ward off, but fight it off he did.

Ezra didn't even pay attention to how long Sabine was gone, but she did keep her word, returning with a cloak on and an empty bag slung over her shoulder. Not wanting to give himself away, Ezra remained seated until Sabine had put her helmet into the bag and walked over to him. She almost said something, but refrained and instead offered him a hand to help him up. Ezra didn't want to accept her help but knew better than to decline her offered help. There was no point in playing off that he was fine because she knew better already and it would just be a lie.

From there, Sabine led Ezra out of the building and toward the factory. Along the way, she didn't struggle so much with helping Ezra keep from keeling over or losing his balance, but it troubled her at how much help she had to give him. He didn't seem to realize it, but Ezra was really leaning a lot of his weight on her the farther they went. She already had to keep an arm wrapped securely around his lower back with his arm draped over her shoulders, but it was almost getting to the point where she'd be better off carrying him. Sabine might've said something, but their close positions also helped give off the appearance that they were just a loving couple walking together.

At one point, they even walked past a pair of stormtroopers, and Sabine couldn't be sure if he did it on purpose or not, but as they approached the bucketheads, Ezra dipped his head, resting his cheek on the top of Sabine's head. She didn't realize until they were in the clear, but she'd been holding her breath the entire time, thinking they were going to get caught. But the bucket heads didn't even give them a second glance in their direction. However, Ezra didn't lift his head back up once they were out of sight again and her concern for his wellbeing skyrocketed.

If they hadn't been so close to Imperial Arms, she would've turned around and just forgotten about the mission, but they were practically at the entrance. It wouldn't be much longer before the mission would be over and they could go home. So, she pushed onward, entering the factory without raising any suspicion or setting off any alarms. Anyone inside who saw them would think it was just Dev and Ria, the loving couple who worked there. From that point, Sabine wasted no time getting to her designated terminal, and inserted a spike that would expedite finding all of the files she needed to delete.

Once that was complete, they went down to the assembly line where Ezra had been working. Sabine had to scour through the build and sales records, but did eventually locate a single file regarding five of the prototype blasters in question. The file indicated where the weapons were stored inside a designated storage cabinet. She quickly found and confirmed that the blasters were there and set more than enough charges to ensure the weapons would be destroyed once they were safely away.

Sabine and Ezra ducked inside a small, unoccupied building, and she leaned them both up against a wall before sliding down into a seated position. She was nearly exhausted and Ezra was getting visibly worse after having to expend all of that energy running away from Imperials. Sabine also wondered if perhaps the concussive waves from her explosion might've had something to do with his steadily worsening condition. "Stay here," she said as she extricated herself from him. "I'm going to create a perimeter and then comm the extraction team."

Ezra didn't argue with her at all and Sabine wasn't sure if she was more happy or concerned by that fact, and gave him one last look before stepping out. From there, she darted across from the building and stood guard until she was confident they weren't likely to be spotted any time soon, and sent their coordinates for a pickup. However, when she returned to hide with Ezra, her concern spiked to the highest she could recall feeling toward him.

He was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball, and his hands were clutching the sides of his head. Sabine knelt beside him to check him over. "What's going on Ezra?" She asked. "Tell me if there's anything I can do to help you."

At first, his response just some incoherent mumbling, but his eyelids did crack open shortly after. "Sabine," he finally managed to say with noticeably slurred speech. That was also followed by a dopey grin on his face once his eyes met hers. "Did I fall asleep?"

"I don't know," Sabine answered as she focused on his pupils, noting how they were remaining dilated when she checked using her flashlight.

"Wanna share the bed again?" Ezra asked.

"I don't think we'll be going back to that bed," she replied, partially thrilled that he was trying to joke with her, all things considered, but it was still a precarious position they were in.

"I like sleeping with you more," was Ezra's next response, followed by a flinch of obvious pain in his head. "Headache is getting worse, but you smell better than Zeb."

"Don't worry, Ezra," Sabine said as she began to gently massage his scalp in an attempt to relieve some of Ezra's discomfort. "Our ride will be here soon and then we can go home."

"I'm tired," He said to her.

"You can't go to sleep, but you can rest until our ride gets here," Sabine replied as she moved to help Ezra lay his head on her lap and then continued trying to soothe him as best as she could.

Sabine allowed Ezra to rest for the next couple of hours, but also struggled with keeping him from falling asleep. That turned out to be quite the challenge as going to sleep seemed to be all he wanted to do, albeit with the caveat that she sleep next to him. He tried to use his head hurting as his justification, but that turned out to be the same exact argument Sabine used to explain why she couldn't let him go to sleep.

They continued with that type of banter until Sabine suddenly heard a speeder shutting down just outside the building. She couldn't be sure who it was and wasn't about to take any chances, aiming one of her blasters at the doorway. She even began to squeeze the trigger until realizing that it was Wini walking into the room.

Wini's eyes widened upon seeing the blaster pointed at her, raising her hands in surrender, but then she saw Ezra with his head lying on Sabine's lap. "Is he alright?" she asked.

"Pretty nasty concussion," Sabine answered, holstering her weapon. "He's complaining about a headache and got dizzy a few times too, but more recently, I also noticed his speech slurring."

"Then let's get him out of here so he can get some medical attention," Wini nearly growled as she knelt next to them and looked down at the still silent Jedi.

A/N: Well there it is, and yes, the weapon in question is what the Mandalorian. I wasn't sure if that weapon was used earlier than with Din or not, but I couldn't recall seeing it anywhere else. So, if that turned out to be the case, then I do apologize for missing it. We've officially ended the mission with this chapter and we're going to skip forward just a bit for the next installment. Hopefully, it will come to me a bit more smoothly than this last chapter did so that it won't take so long to complete.