(Ok I was originally intending to do Always Two There Are next but I felt this original episode arc should take place first. This chapter was originally shorter and I felt it ended too soon so I decided to extend it.)
"You knew!" accused Second Sister. She managed to track down Ahsoka Tano once the Ghost returned to the fleet after retrieving Rex. The Jedi was heading to the bridge onboard Commander Sato's new flagship which was just a Corellian CR-90 Corvette. It was a major step down compared to the old Phoenix Home which was a Pelta Class Frigate.
"Excuse me?" asked Ahsoka.
"That me and Rex knew each other and neglected to mention that. You were hoping what? That he'd talk me into joining the rebellion?" demanded Sister.
"Well you're here aren't you?" chuckled Ahsoka.
"There's no way you could have known what would have happened," Sister scoffed.
"You're right. I didn't know what would happen but I knew that you and Rex had some unfinished business. I just wanted to make sure it was settled before you left for good," explained Ahsoka.
"Oh don't act so innocent. You manipulated me," hissed Sister.
"I didn't make you do anything. You chose to go on that mission. Had I told you the truth, would you still have gone?" asked Ahsoka.
"Probably not," admitted Sister. At that point, she just wanted to get away from the rebellion. The last thing she wanted was to deal with anything involving her past. She hated anything involving Varra Kayne and finding Rex would have drudged up more of those memories.
"And why is that?" inquired Ahsoka. It was stupid question as the Togruta probably already knew the answer.
"Stop playing Yoda on me with this whole subtle 'trying to teach me' crap. I couldn't stand that ugly excuse for a Jawa even when I was a Padawan. If you think that I'm ever going to try and be a Jedi then you can spare yourself the trouble. As far as I'm concerned, the Jedi should have died out anyways even without the Empire. It just simply sped up the inevitable. Now stay away out of my business and my life you manipulative schutta!" snapped Sister.
Second Sister turned and stormed off. The gall of that Togruta. She claimed she wasn't a Jedi and yet she still acted like one of its Masters. Sister wasn't ever going to be a tool of the Sith or the Jedi. They stole enough from her.
She made her way back to the Ghost and headed to her closet that had been technically her room ever since she met the rebels on Lothal. To her surprise, Hera was waiting outside.
"Good you're back," the Twi'lek captain said.
"Whatever happened, I didn't do it," muttered Sister.
"What you didn't do is move your equipment out of the closet. A member of this crew sleeps in the crew quarters," remarked Hera.
"I'm fine where I'm at," protested Sister.
"We are undertaking more and more missions which means we'll need to take more supplies. We can't just leave them out in the middle of the hallway which means we'll need the closet back. The crew quarters are designed for two people in each room so you need to choose a roommate to bunk with," Hera stated.
"No thanks. I'll take the engine compartment," muttered Sister. She turned to leave, only for the Twi'lek to step right in front of her.
"Perhaps I'm not making myself clear. As happy as we are to have an extra lightsaber around here, you haven't exactly been the most pleasant of company," Hera added.
"Is there a point to any of this?" sighed an annoyed Sister.
"Actually there is. If you want to be a member of this crew, you need to start acting like one. I can't have you at odds with most of the crew so if you can't patch things up with them, you're going to half to leave the ship," said Hera.
"Excuse me?!" shouted Sister. "You're the one who just said I was a part of this crew when we rescued Rex."
"The Ghost is more than just a crew, it's a family. I trust each and every one onboard this ship not just with my life but also with carrying out missions," explained Hera.
"I killed the Grand Inquisitor and I saved all of you from Vader back on Lothal!" snapped Sister.
"You did save us but after you fled and left Sabine to fend off Vader by herself," Hera reminded. "That's not going to fly on this ship anymore. Your usefulness isn't in question but your loyalty to this crew is. So you are going to have to prove to everyone onboard that not only you are worth having around but they can trust you. If not then you'll have to transfer to another rebel cell. You can start by choosing a room to share."
"You know what? I don't need a place on this ship and I certainly don't need any of you!" hissed Sister before kicking the closet door open and storming inside.
"So how did our Inquisitor friend take the news?" Kanan asked as he joined Hera on the bridge.
"She could have scarred off a pack of gundarks," commented Hera.
"Glad I was too busy teaching Ezra then," chuckled Kanan.
"Look you're right that we can't just accept her into the crew but I feel like we might be doing this the wrong way," sighed Hera.
"Do you want her to pull another stunt like she did on Lothal?" asked Kanan.
"No and the truth is we can't afford that to happen again especially being part of a larger rebellion now," agreed Hera.
"But as much as she frustrates us all, we'll probably need her especially with this Third Sister after us," Kanan reminded her.
"All the more reason to get this behind us now before we run into any other Inquisitors," said Hera.
"Captain Syndulla this is Commander Sato," the rebel commander's voice came over the intercom.
"Go ahead Commander," answered Hera.
"We're picking up a distress signal nearby. It's an automated beacon for a cargo freighter requesting assistance," replied Sato.
Hera brought up a display showing the beacon's position relative to the fleet. It was far enough away that this ship wouldn't be able to detect the rebels but it was still too close for comfort. The Phoenix fleet was in its current position because it was just empty space that was far from the major trade routes which should mean they wouldn't run into anyone. That begged the question what in the Force was this cargo ship doing out here?
"That ship's a little off course unless the pilots wanted to get lost," commented Kanan.
"Whatever the reason they're out here, they require aide but we can't send one of our cruisers or fighters. The Empire can't know we're in this sector and if there are any survivors. ," explained Sato.
"But the Ghost is a just a cargo ship that wouldn't attract any attention," Kanan surmised.
"Preciously. We don't know the nature of their emergency so take your crew and investigate Captain. Render aide if possible," ordered Sato.
"Understood Commander. Ghost out," replied Hera before cutting off the transmission. She then activated the com to speak with the entire crew of the Ghost.
"Alright everyone we've picked up a distress signal from a cargo freighter nearby. We don't know what's wrong so be prepared for anything."
Second Sister was finishing grabbing her stuff and about to leave when Hera's voice came over the com about answering a distress call. She didn't have time to exit the ship before it detached from Commander Sato's flagship and sped off so the crew could play hero. This seemed to be a recurring theme for the past few months. Just when she seems like she was going to get away from this, something happens and she ends up on yet another mission with the crew. The problem was Sister wasn't trying hard enough to actually leave. Well if Hera and the others wanted to be ungrateful then leaving was going to be incredibly easy now.
"Moving rooms?" Ezra asked as Sister entered the commons room and promptly sat down. He must have noticed she had all her equipment.
"Moving ships," hissed Sister.
"I thought you just said you wanted to be a part of this ship a few hours ago," Ezra frowned.
"Well why you tell that to that ungrateful Twi'lek? I saved your necks how many times now and I still need to earn my place?!" snapped Sister.
"Ok could you maybe calm down for a minute and explain what's going on?" asked Ezra.
"What's going on is I'm going to find some rebel cell that actually appreciates someone that saves their skins," Sister replied.
"Uhh…I think I should go see what's going on," Ezra said before quickly leaving the room, leaving Second Sister to brood in the room by herself and realize she was only proving Hera right by lashing out like she just did.
Ezra breathed a sigh of relief after getting away from Second Sister. He might consider her a friend but sometimes she had a wicked temper. The fact that she still used the dark side might explain some of that but the fact was that the former Inquisitor lost her temper far too easily. When she got mad, Ezra didn't want to be anywhere near her.
He entered to the bridge to find Hera at the helm with Kanan as the co-pilot. Zeb and Sabine were seated with Chopper hooked into the navi-computer.
"Alright we're approaching the ship," Hera spoke. Chopper activated a holographic picture of the freighter based on sensor readings. The ship was definitely Kuati judging from its design but it was a mess. Multiple scorch marks all over the hull.
"Looks like the ship was attacked," Zeb commented.
"Pirates?" asked Ezra.
"Probably. The question is what are they doing all the way out here," replied Sabine.
"I'm not picking up any other ships in the area. If they were attacked by pirates, they're long gone," said Kanan.
"I'm taking us in closer," said Hera. Ezra could make out the ship as they got closer. It might have actually been a descent before pirates decided to use it for target practice.
"No life signs or heat emissions. The engines are cold," reported Kanan, looking over sensor readings.
"We're too late then," sighed Zeb.
"Kanan take Chopper, Sabine, and Ezra and scout the freighter for any clues. Maybe the ship's computer can give us a better idea of what happened," Hera said.
Ezra followed the others out of the bridge and through the crew quarters. They arrived in the airlock hallway to find Second Sister waiting for them, leaning against the wall.
"Well look who it is. Haven't left yet?" mocked Zeb.
"Excuse me?" frowned Sister.
"We all heard you shouting at Hera. It's a small ship," Sabine scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"You people rushed off to play hero before I could," grumbled Sister. "Since I don't have anything better to do, might as well join the fun."
"Right well while we're onboard, you can help us search the ship and figure out who you're bunking with," Kanan said.
"I just said I'm not staying," hissed Sister.
"Keep telling yourself that," quipped Ezra.
The ship was cold with life support at barely minimum safe levels. Ezra didn't need an oxygen mask to enter it but felt he probably should have taken a jacket. The lights were out so Chopper led the way into the ship, shining his light to illuminate the way ahead. Ezra kept his right hand clenching his lightsaber on his belt. The team brought their weapons onboard despite their being no life signs but it was better to be safe than sorry. This ship gave Ezra the creeps. There was no sign of the crew but also no sign of a struggle. No blaster scorch marks on the walls, no blood, nothing.
"I don't like this," commented Ezra.
Chopper chipped in that, for once, he actually agreed with the Padawan.
"This ship's been salvaged," Sabine said. She started pointed to different areas of the room. "That circuit board's been removed, wall plating over there and there is gone…"
"There's no way scavengers attacked this ship and picked it clean from the moment the beacon was activated. This happened a while ago," surmised Kanan.
"Then why did the beacon just start going off now?" asked Zeb.
"And where's the crew?" asked Ezra.
"Sabine and I will check the bridge. Zeb, take Ezra and Sister and check the cargo hold," stated Kanan.
"For your information, I am not bunking with you," Zeb informed the latest member of the crew as they split off from Sabine and Kanan.
"Don't worry. I'm not sharing a room with someone who sheds fur on the floor like a wild kath hound," Sister shot back.
"I don't shed!" protested Zeb.
Ezra was starting to think maybe pairing these two up wasn't Kanan's best idea.
"You're seriously putting those two together?" Sabine asked as she and Kanan entered the bridge. It was small compared to the Ghost's control room with only three seats. The ship might be able to haul more Cargo then the Ghost but was designed to be run by a smaller crew.
"They have to learn to work together at some point. Besides Ezra's with them to make sure they stay on task," shrugged the Jedi.
"Somehow I don't think any amount of Jedi training is going to help him with that," remarked Sabine as she took a seat at a console.
"Well I figured I'd kill two mynocks with one stone. He's got to learn more patience and he's going to need it," said Kanan.
"More like you didn't want to have to put up with the two of them and decided to let Ezra handle it instead of you," Sabine joked.
Kanan threw her an annoyed look as she got to work. He then tapped his com. "Spectre 6 do you read?" he asked.
"Yeah, the cargo's hold is empty. Still no sign of the crew," Ezra reported.
"Alright sweep the rest of the ship. Once Sabine's downloaded the sensor and com logs, we'll get out of here. Spectre 1 out," replied Kanan before ending the transmission.
"Nothing. The memory banks for both the sensor and coms are completely blank. In fact the only thing probably still working properly on this ship is the beacon," Sabine said.
"Any idea who or what set it off?" asked Kanan.
"Let me see if I can access it. No…nothing. This doesn't make any sense," frowned Sabine.
"Yeah. Something feels wrong," agreed Kanan.
"Yeah well there's not much else I can…wait a minute. Kanan we've got a problem," gulped Sabine.
"What is it?" demanded Kanan.
"The beacon just changed frequencies the moment I accessed it. It's still broadcasting but on a different channel," reported Sabine.
"Any idea why?" asked Kanan.
"A signal to let someone else know that somebody's onboard this ship," said a worried Sabine.
"It's a trap," realized Kanan. He activated his com and yelled, "Everyone back to the Ghost! This ship is a trap!"
"Kanan what's going on in there?" demanded Hera who heard the Jedi's transmission.
"This ship just sent out a signal the moment we tampered with the beacon," replied Kanan in an urgent tone.
"Letting somebody know their bait just snared someone," realized Hera.
"Yeah but who's they?" asked Sabine.
Hera got an answer as a ship suddenly appeared out of hyperspace. It was massive cylinder shaped vessel with a tall spire on the top of the ship and enough cannons to take on a Star Destroyer. It took Hera a moment to realize it was a Providence class destroyer. They were capital ships used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars.
"We've got company!" shouted Hera.
Chopper started screaming in binary, alerting the Twi'lek that he was picking up multiple fighters heading their way.
"Who?" asked Ezra as he rushed through the Ghost's airlock along with the rest of the away team.
"Don't know but they have a massive capital ship and multiple fighters. We need to leave now!" answered Hera.
"Detaching the ship now," reported Sabine as he hit the release on the docking clamps. Ezra's seen the procedure dozens of times so he knew something was wrong when the light was still green on the clamp controls. Sabine hit the release again but nothing happened.
"Something's wrong. The clamps are jammed," groaned Sabine.
"Ezra and I will detach it manually then," Kanan said. "Sabine, Zeb get to the cannons! Sister you take the Phantom gun controls!"
There was no argument, everyone quickly scrambled to their assignments as Ezra and Kanan started opening up the manual releases and pulling the levers. Only problem was the light was still green.
"I don't understand. Why can't we detach?" grumbled Ezra.
"Kanan you're not going to believe this. The cargo freighter has magnetic clamps locked down on the Ghost," reported Sabine who was probably in thedorsal turret by now.
"How come we never saw them before?" demanded Hera.
"They've must have been rigged to only activate once someone's docked," guessed Sabine.
"Try shooting them off," ordered Kanan.
"And don't hit the Ghost," added Sister.
Ezra and Kanan quickly rushed to the bridge where Hera was preparing the hyperdrive to jump the moment they were detached. Ezra gasped at the sight of the massive ship in the view screen. Now wonder Hera sounded so frightened on the com.
"That…is a big ship," gulped Ezra.
"So far it hasn't done anything and those fighters are staying out of weapons range for now but they've got us surrounded," Hera briefed the others as they took their seats.
"We need to leave now," Kanan commented as he took the co-pilot's seat.
"Just another few shots," reported Sabine. Once she blasted them free, they were going to run like…
The Ghost suddenly shook violently as the massive ship got larger and larger in the view screen.
"Uhh…that thing is getting bigger," gulped Ezra.
"We're caught in a tractor beam," said a worried Hera.
"What do we do?" asked Ezra.
The ship shook again though this time far less violent. "Alright I've destroyed the clamps. The other ship is away," reported Sabine.
"Too little too late Deathwatch," grumbled Sister.
"All of you hold you fire for now," ordered Hera. She turned to Chopper and said, "We're running a 34 rescue. Wait until we're close to the hangar's edge otherwise they'll detect you."
The droid nodded and quick sped off out of the bridge.
"What is a 34?" asked Ezra.
"Right now we need to see if there's a weak point in the hangar bay. We may have to blast our way out of this," said Hera, avoiding the question. Ezra wasn't as confident as the Ghost was pulled closer and closer to the wide opening on the massive ship's side hull. He felt like a fish getting dragged by a massive tentacle monster on some ocean world.
The Ghost slowly passed through an environmental shield into the hangar bay and gently landed itself on the floor.
"We need to start shooting," protested Sister.
"Not until we can find…" Hera protested. Her words got caught in her throat as a dozen turbolaser cannons dropped from the ceiling and aimed their gun ports directly at the Ghost. Anyone of those could blast the ship into a scrap heap with only a few shots.
"Oh Karabas," gulped Hera.
"Now do we do?" asked Ezra.
"I'm picking up a transmission, audio only," reported Kanan.
"Let's hear it," nodded Hera.
"Unidentified ship, by now you've realized you've walked into a trap. I have your ship dead to rights and can blast it into scrap with just a touch of a button. If you want to avoid that, you will exit your ship without any weapons. You'll move at least thirty meters away from your vessel and dropped to your knees and place your hands on top of your head. Any attempt to resist will…well you already know the answer to that," a male voice spoke from the com.
"We can't just surrender," protested Sister.
"By the way," the male voice continued. "There better at least be six of you exiting that ship because if there isn't, I will destroy it and then vent whoever did come out into space."
"Ah Karabas," grumbled Sister. Things must be really bad if even she was saying that.
"How does he know how many people are aboard?" asked a shocked Zeb.
"He must have had surveillance equipment onboard the freighter and assumed we'd leave at least one person behind on the bridge," surmised Hera.
"I know I must be sounding like a broken protocol droid but what do we do now?" asked Ezra.
"Kanan, Ezra, Sister, hide your lightsabers in the Ghost's smuggling compartment. If our new friends find them, they'll figure out who we are," Hera ordered. "After that you'll join the rest of us at the docking ramp. We're going to have to surrender."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" grimaced Sister. Ezra could understand his hesitation as he felt the exact same way. The whole crew of the Ghost minus Chopper was now out in the massive hangar bay, on their knees with their hands on their heads. They had no weapons and no chance of fighting back from the turbolasers pointed at them and the Ghost. The cannons weren't the only thing to worry about. Several fighters had entered hangar bay after the Ghost did and were now floating in the air, ready to fire. Then again, they didn't even need to get a shot off. Whoever's in control of this ship could simply shut off the environment shield and vent them all into the vacuum of space.
However the only thing that's happened so far was the Kuati freighter used at bait was pulled into the cargo bay via a tractor beam.
"Our host isn't giving us much choice," sighed Hera.
"What is taking them so long? Why are they just making us wait like this?" growled Zeb.
"Probably trying to intimidate us. Just keep to the cover story. We're just a crew of a friendly cargo ship who answered a distress signal while returning from a job," said Kanan.
"I hope that droid of yours knows what he's doing," grumbled Second Sister.
"Hey if anybody can get us of this mess, its Chopper," replied Sabine. The astromech exited the Ghost just before it entered hangar bay. Hopefully the droid found an airlock to sneak inside by now.
"And Commander Sato and Ahsoka will come looking for us if we don't report in soon so…" Ezra said, trying to find a silver lining.
The ship shook from a slight vibration and the black void of space outside the environmental shield was replaced with the oscillating blue mist of hyperspace. There's no way the Phoenix fleet would be find them now.
"…never mind," sighed a disappointed Ezra.
A door opened at the far end of the hangar. Dozens of humanoids marched inside. They were comprised of various species. Humans, Twi'leks, Fallen, Nikto, and Weequay just to name a few. They all looked rugged and they all looked about as friendly as a pack of gundarks. One in particular looked like he could rip the legs off a gundark with his bare hands. A massive Fallen at least seven feet tall and with muscles bigger then Ezra's head. All of them carried various blaster rifles and pistols but the large Fallen was carrying a massive Z-6 Rotary Blaster Cannon. Normally it took both hands to carry such a large weapon but he seemed to be easily holding it with just one arm.
"Pirates," hissed Zeb.
The Fallen motioned with his hand. Instantly, dozens of blaster rifles and pistols were aimed at the Ghost crew. Ezra maintained his calm, knowing if these guys really wanted to kill them they would have already done so. Two of the grunts broke off from the others and approached the rebels with binders on their wait belts. One by one, the rebels were padded down and had their hands shackled behind their backs. Ezra also noticed the perverts took extra time searching Hera, Sabine, and Second Sister. Thankfully the three women didn't try anything that would get them all killed though it took every ounce in his fiber not to try and intervene.
"Search the ship!" the large Fallen ordered. It seems he was the boss around here. Five pirates rushed towards the Ghost, disappearing up the ramp into the ship.
The Fallen then turned his attention to the Ghost crew. "Where's Narel?" he demanded.
"I'm sorry who?" asked a confused Hera.
"Don't play games with me. I know you're working for him!" the Fallen snapped. Great, a big guy with a short temper. Never a good combination.
"Look pal you must have us mistaken for someone else," Kanan tried to explain.
The Fallen aimed his large cannon at the Jedi. "Either you tell me where he is or I start killing you all one by one until someone does," he threatened.
The rebels had been in a lot of bad situations before but this just might be the worst. They were all disarmed, restrained, and had dozens of blasters ready to shoot the moment anyone tried something. Now either someone had to speak up and stall the large green hothead or bodies were going to drop.
"Xar!" a voice shouted. Everyone turned to see a human approaching with his own escort of pirates with him. He was rugged like the others with scares on his face and long wild brown hair that reminded Ezra of someone who got lost in a jungle for years. Whoever he was, the human wasn't the biggest thug in the room but he had an aurora of authority judging from everyone's reaction to him.
"How many times do I have to keep explaining to you not to shoot prisoners before you question them?" the human demanded.
"But it's so much fun," chuckled the Fallen or Xar as he had been called. The human glared at him then suddenly burst in laughter. The two fist-bumped like two friends who just told each other some joke.
"Ladies, gentleman…" the human spoke to the rebels before noticing Zeb. "…and whatever you are."
That got a snicker from the rest of the pirates. "You are now guests aboard the Scimitar. Since you've decided to join our merry band of honorable citizens, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Arden Thrain and I will be your captain for this flight. How long that will last has yet to be determined. In the meantime, I expect you to keep your arms and legs inside the ship at all times. My crew love having more options on what body parts they can remove from you should you get out of line," the human spoke as if some captain for a commercial shuttle.
That last joke got a laugh from the pirates.
"Allow me to go over the rules. Rule 1, my word is law. Rule 2, my word is gospel, Rule 3, my word is divine. Failure to recognize that will result in a punishment of my choosing. Rule 4, my XO here Xar Zorim has issues and may randomly decide to borrow a limb or two via scalpel. Don't worry, he always gives them back," Thrain chuckled. It was clear this just as much of a show for the pirates as it was for the rebels. Arden Thrain was showing off to his crew as well as threatening the Ghost crew.
"Now allow me to tell you a little story. There once was a schutta named Narel who drank our beer, ate our food, pretended to be one of us. Then that spineless son of a Hutt decided to sell us out to another friendly pirate band led by the biggest kriffer in the kriffing galaxy Grakus. My crew and I didn't take that very well. I mean if you're going to try and kill us, at least have the spine to stab us in the face. I mean at least Xar only tries to kill me once he gives me some advanced warning," explained Thrain.
That got a chuckle from Xar. These pirates had a very strange sense of humor.
"So we've been checking out those kriffers' hunting grounds and leaving little ships like that junk pile over there as bait to draw them out. Considering that you people are quite the distance from the nearest trade route, it begs the question why you people are out here in the first place? Considering how many marauders operate in this sector, you'd have to either very stupid to travel through it in a ship like yours or…you're scouts for somebody else," Thrain continued.
"Look we're just cargo haulers returning from a job," Hera spoke up, sticking to the cover story.
"From where?" scoffed Thrain.
"Takoba. We just delivered manufacturing parts from Chandel and were on our way to Gorse when we detected your distress signal. Please we don't want any trouble. Just take what you want and let us go," whimpered Hera, feigning fear. Ezra saw her enough times to know when she was faking it though deep down it probably wasn't a complete act. Ezra couldn't remember they were ever in a situation as bad as this.
"Oh we were already going to do that but thank you for your consent," chuckled Thrain. He walked back and forth in front of his prisoners, sizing them all up.
He stopped as Sabine, focusing on her armor. "That is some lovely armor. Mandalorian I believe. The only way you get them is either by taking it from a Mando's cold dead body or it's given to you," Thrain commented.
"I bought it at a junk shop on Manaan," Sabine spoke.
"Right," Thrain replied, clearly not believing her. He turned his attention to Zeb. "Ok you look like a Wookiee got into an argument with a washing machine that was loaded with purple dye."
"Do you always tell such stupid jokes?" grumbled Zeb. Hera and Kanan glared at him. The last thing they wanted was to get this guy mad then who knows what he'd do to them.
Thrain turned to his crew. "Do any of your kriffers know what that thing is?" he asked.
"Ugly that's what," replied Xar. The pirates burst into laughter.
"Ok that's one characteristic," Thrain spoke in complete dead-pan. "Any other ideas?"
"It stinks," a Nikto said. It was clear the pirates including the Captain were just having fun at this point.
"It's ugly and stinks. Now what species is ugly and stinks?" asked Thrain.
"Wait a second…that's a Lasat," a Twi'lek spoke.
Ezra could feel his stomach jumping into his throat. Zeb was the last known of his kind and had quite the bounty on his head. If the pirates were able to figure out who he was, they'd figure out who everyone else was.
"A what?" asked Xar.
"They rebelled against the Empire and were wiped out. I thought they were all dead," answered the Twi'lek.
"I guess I never got that memo," scoffed Zeb.
Thrain smiled, "So a Lasat and a Mandalorian. Quiet the odd traveling companions."
"I never said I was a Mandalorian," protested Sabine.
Thrain turned his attention to Second Sister. She glared back at him as he slowly circled around her, taking his time examining her. "And just who might you be?" he inquired.
"None of your business," growled Sister. That got some amused laughs from the other pirates.
"Is that one of your ex's," chuckled Xar.
"She certainly talks like one," Thrain laughed back. He looked at her longer as if trying to figure something out. "There's something about you but I can't figure out what it is," he muttered.
"You'll regret it if you do," Sister retorted.
"I like this one!" laughed Thrain.
A Weequay pirate emerged from the Ghost. "Anything?" Thrain asked.
"We've searched the ship and there's no one else onboard. We're conducting an inventory of their weapons and equipment now," reported the Weequay.
Thrain glanced at ship for a moment, contemplating something.
"So do we feed them to Tiny?" asked Xar. Ezra had a funny feeling Tiny wasn't a loth-cat.
"No. I want to know who they really are before we do anything else," answered Thrain, who was suddenly turning serious in tone.
"Look we told you we're just…" protested Kanan. Thrain drew a blaster pistol and fired a shot that bounced off the floor right next Kanan's right leg. Thankfully, Ezra's master took the hint and shut his mouth.
"I don't know if you're with Narel or not but you're certainly not a bunch of interstellar mailmen," Thrain said.
"Let me take a laser scalpel to their fingers. That'll loosen their lips," suggested Xar.
"No torture. For now just lock them up," ordered Thrain.
"On your feet you rank weeds!" Xar shouted at the Ghost crew. The pirates approached the rebels and forced them to their feet. Ezra found himself accosted and shoved towards the exit of the hangar. He wasn't sure what these thugs were planning to do with them but he had a feeling the crew were going to need Chopper to rescue them very soon.
(For anyone wondering why Sister suddenly seems so hostile with Sabine and Zeb is because they haven't got over their issues with each other. They may have smiled when Sister wanted to join in the last chapter but that was mostly because they thought Ezra hugging her was funny.)