The Protector of Concord Dawn

It has been a couple of weeks since the Ghost crew grabbed some Hammerheads for the Rebellion.

Aboard the Liberator is Sato, Hera, Errol, Sabine, Alaara and Rex, all around the holo-table in the command room as Kanan, Zeb and Ezra enter from their latest job.

"We got the supplies, but we were fortunate to get away. The Empire's making our travels around the Outer Rim tougher all the time." Kanan said.

"Yes. We need a new Hyperspace route in and out of the Lothal sector." Sato agreed with him.

"I may have a perfect shortcut. The system of Concord Dawn. It's a Mandalorian colony and not an Imperial territory yet." Sabine revealed, showing the location on the holo-table.

"Why not? They've grabbed up just about every other place." Ezra pointed out.

"I've heard of Concord Dawn. It's known for its elite warriors." Alaara said.

"They even trained clones during the war. The Empire would think twice about fighting with them." Rex added.

"The unknown factor is who they're loyal to. The Empire occupies Mandalore, which means that the Empire may already have their hands on the colony." Errol reasoned. This was already getting to be a touchy subject for him due to his Mandalorian heritage.

"Years before the Clone Wars broke out, the Mandalorians were already at war with each other. This group calls themselves the Protectors. They like to make up their own rules." Sabine explained.

"Sounds familiar." Hera muttered to Errol.

"So we go in with strength, scout the system for defenses to see what we're up against." Sato suggested.

"Or why not try diplomacy? Ask permission to use their system as a shortcut." Kanan argued.

"Diplomacy? Warriors like these only understand strength." Sato fired back, with Sabine nodding.

"He's got a point." She sided with him.

"Yeah. As much as I prefer to use diplomacy, it's useless with Mandalorians. It's not their way, my dad knows this better than most." Errol also sided with Sato, remembering what his dad told him about his encounters during the Clone Wars and when he learned of his heritage.

"But we shouldn't make an enemy if we don't need to. If we get permission to fly through their space, the next step could be recruitment. To grow the Rebellion, we need friends like these Mandalorians. We could have our route and a powerful ally as well." Hera argued.

"Very well, Captain Syndulla. The mission is yours." Sato caved in. Errol sighed through his nose and shook his head slightly, knowing well that may not go well.

"Okay if I tag along?" Sabine asked Hera as they walked out.

"I was hoping you'd ask." She accepted her request.

"Hmm. Looks like diplomacy won the day for once." Ezra commented.

"There was a time when it always won the day." Kanan replied.

As Hera, Sabine and some Rebel pilots flew to Concord Dawn in A-Wings, Errol waited for them to come back and the whole time he felt anxious that something might happen to them. In fact, the second that he heard of a distress signal, he immediately ran to the bridge, right before Kanan, Ezra and Zeb entered.

They all saw one A-Wing come out of Hyperspace. It was Sabine. Something definitely went wrong.

"Sabine, what happened? We picked up a distress signal. Where's Hera?" Errol asked over the comlink, distress clearly heard in his voice.

"She was right behind me. Errol, we didn't have a chance. These Mandalorians work for the Empire, too." Sabine explained, shaken up from what happened.

Right as she finished explaining, another A-Wing exited out of Hyperspace and it was damaged severely with smoke billowing and sparks flying around the ship. Everyone was shocked to see this, but not as much as Errol, who looked devastated and worried to no end.

"Hera! HERA!" He tried to get her to communicate but he didn't get a response.

"I see her. I see her, Errol. It's bad." Sabine told him, which made him a wreck as his eyes water.

"You've got to hurry. Please hurry!" Sabine said.

After they all got Hera onboard the ship, they immediately took her to the medbay. Kanan, Zeb and Ezra stood outside while Sabine paced back and forth. All of them were just so anxious. They then heard electronic humming from within the medbay stop and they entered, seeing a medical droid on one side of the medical berth an unconscious Hera is on and Errol on the other, sitting on a chair, holding Hera's hand softly.

"How is she?" Sabine immediately asked.

"Her vital signs have stabilized. She is going to make it. But she requires rest." The droid told them good news. Sabine looked at Errol, who's eyes were focused on Hera and he stroked her hand tenderly. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Errol. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left her." She said with guilt.

"It's not your fault. It's the Empire's." He told her. And he was right. They're the ones who got to the Protectors first.

"There was nothing you could've done, anyway. We're just glad you're both back in one piece. Commander Sato wants the details on what happened." Kanan then said to Sabine.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She replied.

"Okay." Kanan said as he walked out. Sabine looked down at Errol.

"Can you give me a second with her?" She asked for his permission. He nodded and then he kissed Hera on the forehead, whispering 'wake up soon' before walking out.

"I'm so sorry, Hera. They're going to answer for this." Sabine promised Hera. The two teens then walked through the ship to the command room where everyone else was, around the holo-table looking at a hologram of one of the ships that attacked Hera and Sabine.

"Fenn Rau, the Protector of Concord Dawn. That's who did this. That's who we're up against." Sabine stated.

"Rex, does that name sound familiar to you?" Kanan asked the resident clone.

"It sure does." He replied as he activated a hologram of a masked Mandalorian.

"Fenn Rau was a fighter pilot instructor for the Grand Army of the Republic. He also served…." Rex then explained.

"...at the Battle of Mygeeto. I know. I was there." Kanan finished off.

"That was a long time ago." Sato said.

"So I guess negotiating's been taken off the table?" Kanan asked.

"Yeah? You want to negotiate? Let's negotiate, by destroying their ability to attack us. I tracked them from Concord Dawn's third moon. They must have a base there." Sabine suggested.

"If they scan our fleet approaching, their fighters will cut us to pieces." Sato pointed out the biggest factor in all of this.

"Then I guess we'll have to hit 'em before they take off." Kanan stated.

"You think you can infiltrate their base?" Sato asked him.

"I believe I can." He answered.

"All of their fighters can be taken out and that would leave them at a disadvantage." Errol said.

"Hmm. It's risky, but I approve." Sato told everyone.

"Well, I don't. This is a solo mission, and I'm taking it. I'm already one man down. I won't risk anyone else." Kanan revealed, making Errol glare hard at him for his stupidity.

"Kanan! You don't go solo when dealing with Mandalorians, even if you're a Jedi. Just one Mandalorian can stand toe to toe with a Jedi." He tried to reason with the older Jedi.

"Errol's right, Kanan. You need us both on this mission." Sabine backed Errol up. Kanan just didn't listen and then he got stopped by Zeb and Ezra, who got in front of him.

"No way." Zeb told him.

"We're a team." Ezra crossed his arms.

"You can't go without us." Zeb backed up.

"Alright. I'll take Chopper." Kanan replied, making everyone look at him as though he was crazy, even Chopper felt the same way.

"But that's all. And this is not open for further discussion. Come on, Chopper." Kanan said with finality before walking out with the astromech.

"Fool." Errol muttered in frustration. He then looked at Sabine and they both knew exactly what to do.

They both managed to sneak aboard the Phantom which they knew Kanan was going to use to get to Concord Dawn and hid as Kanan detached from the Ghost and entered Hyperspace to get to his destination.

"Chopper, load up the intel Sabine gathered. We can pinpoint where their base is." Kanan said to the astromech, who replied back as both teens exited the hatch, fully decked out in their Mandalorian armour, including their helmets.

"What do you mean 'just ask her'?" Kanan questioned in confusion.

"He means I'm standing right behind you." Sabine answered, making Kanan turn around, seeing both teens with their arms crossed.

"Better jam those scanners." She then said.

"What are you two doing here?" Kanan questioned, not liking that they're with him.

"You must be pretty distracted not to have noticed us stowed away. So, what are you really up to?" Sabine asked him.

"*sighs* You heard Sato's orders. I'm gonna destroy those fighters before they take off." Kanan said, not revealing the truth.

"Kanan, don't you dare treat us as idiots. Tell us the truth." Errol snarled at him, feeling offended.

"Fine. I'm going to finish Hera's mission. We need to recruit the Mandalorians to join the Rebellion." Kanan confessed.

"The Protectors almost killed Hera. What are you thinking?" Sabine questioned his intelligence. Errol though, started to think this through about how Hera would feel about this, especially with himself.

"I'm thinking we can still offer them a chance to change. Everyone deserves a chance." Kanan reasoned.

"*scoffs* You know, this Jedi philosophy stuff doesn't work for everyone." Sabine fired back. Kanan held her by the shoulder.

"That's why we're at war." He reminded her. She shook her head and looked at Errol.

"Errol, back me up here." She said, wanting some help with her side of the argument.

"I can't believe I'm saying this. I actually agree with Kanan on this one." He confessed.

"What?! Why? I thought you'd be wanting revenge for what happened to Hera." She rounded on him.

"Look, I want payback. I really, really do, but it ain't something Hera would want. But I will beat some up as payback." He clarified.

They eventually entered the atmosphere of the moon where the Protectors were based, which was nothing but a desert. Chopper took over the shuttle and the three jumped out onto the desert ground and then Chopper flew off.

The three then climbed up some rocks and eventually found themselves above the Protectors base.

Sabine used her helmet's antenna to zoom in and take a look around the base and see how many ships they have and any other things they need to know.

"Well? What are we up against?" Kanan asked as he joined up with the two.

"Including the two starfighters on patrol? Eight ships in total. But they're spread out, so it's gonna take me and Errol a while to plant charges. I think I brought enough explosives." Sabine said as she looked for signature devices, making Errol and Kanan roll their eyes.

"You always bring enough explosives. Hopefully you won't have to use 'em. Now get down. They got company." Kanan retorted as the trio heard a ship approach. They all lay on their chests as an Imperial ship landed. Sabine used her antennae to get a closer look and she saw an Imperial Officer exiting and handing some crates as a Mandalorian walked up to him.

"Looks like the Empire bought their loyalty." Kanan said.

"See the Mandalorian accepting the credits? That's their leader, Fenn Rau." Sabine pointed out, both Jedi leaning in to look as best as possible.

"Here's the payment for the next rotation." The Officer told Rau.

"This arrangement is working to your benefit. I encountered a squadron of Rebels." Rau explained.

"The Rebel Fleet?" The Officer asked, taken aback.

"Not an entire fleet. A couple of fighters. But my men and I took care of them." Rau assured him, making Errol inwardly growl, he is so going to get a broken nose.

"If they return, be sure to contact us." The Officer told him, his response being a casual salute as he walked with a container in his hand.

"Looks like your negotiations aren't going to go well, Kanan." Errol mocked.

"Yeah, what's the plan? I mean, if diplomacy doesn't work." Sabine stated as Kanan gave them both a side glare.

"You give me a chance to recruit the Mandalorians. If that doesn't work out, then you get to blow up their fighters. We have a deal?" Kanan told them.

"*sighs* Fine. But not just the ships. Rau has to pay for what he did to Hera." Sabine replied.

"You leave Rau to me if Plan A doesn't work." Errol added as they crawled back.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Kanan muttered.

They made their way down to the base as the ship left. The three silently made their way, hiding in the shadows and as they progressed a bit further, they hid as two Mandalorians walked past.

"Two Rebels burned. The rest fled. He wants us to stay on guard." One of them said to the other. The trio then peeked around the corner to see the two walk away.

"Plant the bombs, but wait for my signal." Kanan whispered before they saw Rau enter one of the buildings.

"*sighs* Alright." Sabine agreed.

"Hey, I trust you two." Kanan assured the two before they split up.

The two teens were busy planting explosives all over the base, not being caught so far. They then hid behind crates when a ship landed. They sneaked up a couple of the ships and planted explosives and then moved on to some more as they avoided getting caught. But as they backed up, Sabin accidentally smacked her helmet on the ship, hurting her head.

"Quiet!" Errol hissed quietly.

"What was that?" A Mandalorian asked as he and another pulled their blasters out and looked where the sound came from and found nothing.

Errol and Sabine were hanging on the sides of the ship, upside down and then they got back on their feet. They hid as Sabine pressed on her gauntlet. She then checked and didn't see the Mandalorians, but the two heard blasters cocking. They're busted.

"How's it going boys?" Sabine asked as she and Errol stood up and faced the Mandalorians.

"Where did you steal that armour from, bounty hunter?" One of them asked Sabine. She and Errol got on top of a ship as they were surrounded by more of them.

"Bounty hunter? Not lately. I forged this armour with my family." Sabine corrected them all with seriousness.

"Family? That's a bold claim. What's your house?" A Mandalorian asked her.

"I'm Clan Wren, House Vizsla." Sabine revealed, much to the shock of them all. Some of them say how she's of Death Watch, a group of Mandalorians and that she's a traitor.

"My mother was, but I'm not. I came here to settle a score, and I invoke the code to seek justice through single combat." Sabine corrected them.

"No one has invoked the code since the Empire took over." One of the Mandalorians pointed out before she and Errol jumped off the ship and she holstered her blasters.

"Well, who's in charge here? The Empire or Mandalore?" Sabine asked. Though they didn't answer her as their attention was now on Errol, due to his armour standing out a lot.

"And who are you?" They asked him.

"I'm Errol Flynn, grandson of Bo-Katan of House and Clan Kryze." Errol revealed, shocking all of them, even Sabine at the news that Bo-Katan has a grandson.

"What's a child of Clan Kryze doing here?" One of them asked, much more hostile than before, bitter towards the fact that yet another clan was there at the base.

But Errol couldn't answer as both Kanan and Rau exited the building and saw what was going on.

"Sabine, Errol, I thought we had an agreement." Kanan told them.

"They started it." Sabine told him.

"Your house is an enemy to the Protectors. Call out your opponent for combat to the death." Rau explained to Sabine.

"I thought you'd never ask. I call out you, Fenn Rau. You're gonna pay for what you did to Hera." Sabine challenged him, taking her helmet off.

"Just like I said. You Rebels fight battles you can't win. I assume Hera is the pilot I shot to pieces earlier. I guess she didn't make it." Rau bragged, standing opposite Sabine. Errol growled as he took his helmet off.

"She's barely alive because of you, Mandalorian scum." He spat at Rau, who looked at him, noticing how he looked so much like a particular Jedi.

"Errol Flynn." He said, realizing who it was.

"How do you know me?" Errol questioned.

"I fought alongside your parents during the Siege of Mandalore." Rau answered. Errol narrowed his eyes as he stood by Kanan and put his helmet back on, wanting to honour the code like a Mandalorian.

"I got to admit this is an interesting development. One of you came here to befriend me, another to reveal himself to his people, and the other to kill me." Rau pointed out.

"We can't let you attack our fleet. But we'd rather leave here as friends." Kanan explained, looking at Sabine about the last point.

"He's already the enemy." She argued.

"Sabine, you know this isn't what Hera wanted. She didn't want to create enemies and she wouldn't want you to die." Kanan begged her. Errol was quiet as he knew that Kanan was right overall.

"I'm not planning on dying." She said, keeping her eyes on Rau.

"I'm afraid the only way you're getting out of here alive is if she kills me and that is not going to happen." Rau bragged, thinking he knew the outcome before it happened.

"What is it with you Mandalorians, never knowing how to solve anything except through the end of a blaster. Sabine, you do this, you're no better than him." Kanan was so fed up with these people and begged Sabine to not do this.

"You have to trust me." She replied.

"Sabine, you make this choice and, win or lose, the Empire is going to be all over this system and the fleet." Kanan tried once again.

"Kanan, just shut up, she knows what she's doing." Errol warned him, having a good idea what she'll do. Everyone was now silent as the standoff went on, Sabine and Rau having their hands hover over their holstered blasters.

Once they grabbed their blasters, Sabine fired both blasters before Rau could fire his and it flew out of his hand. She then kicked her helmet up in the air.

"There are alternatives to killing." She said with a smirk, putting the helmet on and activated the explosives, which destroyed all the ships and knocked a lot of the Mandalorians off their feet.

Both Jedi ignited their lightsabers and ran up to Sabine as a large amount of smoke hindered their sight.

"Come on!" Kanan told her as they got her up on her feet and they ran into the building, blocking laser blasts from the Mandalorians. Sabine helped by firing back and both Kanan and Errol flipped a table on its side for cover. The two Jedi shutting off their sabers and pulling out their blasters.

"Are you feeling better now? You got to blow stuff up." Kanan said to Sabine.

"I thought you'd be happy I didn't kill anyone." Sabine bragged.

"Less talking, more escaping please." Errol told them as they fired back, though the Mandalorians also flipped a table for cover.

"Actually, I'm thrilled." Kanan told Sabine, ignoring Errol.

"Well, here's the bad news, Rau's fighter is at the far end of the field, and I wasn't able to set the charges on it before they captured me and Errol." She revealed.

"You leave him to me." Errol told them.

"Alright. No killing anyone." Kanan said as he and Errol reignited their sabers and they all ran out, deflecting blaster bolts and both Kanan and Sabine kept themselves busy as Errol saw Rau run to his ship.

Errol snarled before he became a blur, bolting towards him as Rau got in, lifted off the ground and fired at Errol, though he avoided getting hit. He then jumped onto the ship as Rau flew off. Errol, with his quick thinking, held onto the thrusters and hit them with his lightsaber.

The ship then got out of control and Errol was able to climb his way to the cockpit and punch through the glass and punch Rau, hard on the nose, breaking it with blood pouring out and knocking him out.

"That's for Hera, you kriff." Errol said with self satisfaction. He then pulled Rau out of the ship as he saw the Phantom approach from behind Rau's ship. The Phantom then got in front and the back opened to show Kanan and Sabine already onboard.

"Errol!" Sabine called out to him. He Force Jumped onto the shuttle and landed on top of the unconscious Rau. The hatch closed as Errol got up and sat on one of the seats.

"I think you hit him too hard. He's out cold with a broken nose." Kanan scolded Errol as he checked his pulse and examined his nose.

"Actually, I don't think I hit him hard enough." Errol stated, taking his helmet off. Sabine looked at him before sitting next to him.

"Is it true? Your grandmother is Bo-Katan?" She asked as they exited the atmosphere.

"Yes. It's true. On my dad's side. She gave me my armour on my birthday. And I know you have a lot of questions about this, but I'd be more comfortable talking about it if my dad's comfortable talking about it as well." He told her. Sabine saw that he really didn't want to talk about it now, so she let it go and they all were quiet for a short while until Rau groaned, waking up.

"How do you feel?" Kanan asked him as he touched his nose and hissed in pain, looking at the blood on his glove.

"Like a prisoner." Rau said before his comlink started beeping.

"Better get that." Kanan said.

"Are you crazy? You can't let a prisoner receive outside communications." Sabine pointed out as she piloted the shuttle.

"Just answer it, Rau." Errol spat. Rau of course didn't want more injuries so he did as told.

"Sir, are you alright? We're marshalling our reserve starfighters for pursuit." A Mandalorian came through. Rau looked over at Kanan and Errol and knew that he had to comply with them.

"Stand down. There's no need." He replied.

"But sir, if the Empire finds out about your capture-"

"You're not gonna let that happen." Rau stopped him.

"And the Rebels?"

"Until I give the word, there is to be no mention of the Rebels. And their ships are to be granted safe passage through our system." Rau instructed.

"As you wish." The Mandalorian acknowledged his new orders.

They made it back to the Rebel Fleet and they had Rau's hands cuffed as they entered a ship with two Rebels walking up to them.

"Welcome to the Rebellion." Kanan said.

"Right now we are only friends because we have to be." Rau told him before he was escorted by the Rebels.

"What does that mean?" Sabine asked.

"Well, the Empire doesn't make a habit of rescuing people. The last thing Rau wants is Imperial ships all over his territory, and that's exactly what he'd get if they found out he was our prisoner." Kanan explained.

"Guys. Hera wants to see you." Ezra ran up to them. This was something that brighten their day.

They made their way to the medbay to see Hera, who blinked her eyes open and saw them, glad to see they're alright, especially Errol as she was told of what happened. Errol had to restrain himself from kissing and hugging her.

"I hear we're taking prisoners now." She said with a smile.

"I like to think of him more as a reluctant recruit." Kanan remarked. Sabine got next to Hera.

"It was better than the alternative. We're not at war with the Protectors. There was no need to take their lives if we didn't have to." Sabine explained, which impressed Hera.

"Hmm. Sabine, you're sounding more like a Jedi than a Mandalorian." She told the teen.

"Well, I guess I've just been raised right." Sabine said, looking over at Kanan with a smile. She then patted her hand, leaving with Kanan for Hera and Errol to spend time together.

"Hey, darling. How do you feel?" Errol asked softly, sitting next to Hera and holding her hand.

"Much better. I heard what you did to Rau. What have I told you about giving into anger?" She jokingly reprimanded him for breaking Rau's nose.

"Hey, he injured you, he deserved equal treatment." Errol retorted, making Hera laugh softly. Errol then looked at her with an expression that told her how much she means to him.

"You know, despite being banged up, you still look like a beautiful goddess." He charmingly stated, making his girlfriend blush.

"You are such a charmer." She said, lightly smacking his arm before they both leaned in to each other and shared a soft kiss, knowing that things are now alright for now.