Chapter 15

These are the different classes in Ezra's team:

Max (Female)= Medic

Jax (Male)= Engineer

Coren (Male)= Weapon specialist

Jill (Female)= Scout/Marksman

Ezra and his team were peeking over the top of a snowy hill, their ocular zoom helping them inspect the perimeter from a distance before approaching the structure. So far they didn't see anything, but snow. It would have been easy to figure something out of there were footprints, but that storm they passed covered everything in fresh snow. Ezra normally would have been freezing, but his Mandalorian armor and bodysuit were really working to keep him warm.

"Jill, is there anything on your scope?" Ezra asked.

"Negative, Al'verde," she replied.

"I want you to flank right. Check the perimeter on all sides," Ezra said.

"Yes sir," she said as she stood up and made her way to a taller hill on their right.

"Jax, are you picking up any active machines nearby?"

"I'm not seeing anything except a small speck. I'm monitoring it," he replied, tapping into a wrist terminal.

Ezra looked up at the sky, finally realizing it was getting darker by the minute. He looked over at Max who nodded, knowing what he was thinking.

"Alright, everyone activate night vision," Max said as she pressed a button on her helmet. Everybody activated their night vision on their helmets, not taking their eyes off the building.

"Everybody wait here," Ezra ordered, climbing over the hill and sliding down to the bottom. He heard somebody land next to him and he turned to see Max following him.

"I thought I said to stay back," Ezra said.

"Yeah well, it's not a good idea to go in enemy territory alone," she pointed out.

"You sound a lot like Sabine," he said then.

"Same house, same clan. It all runs in the family I guess," she said smiling, though nobody could see it through her helmet.

She could see why Sabine fell for this Jedi. He put himself before others all the time, he protects everybody as much as he can; He was pretty much everything someone would want in a person. Also, he was nothing like the ones she was told about in her history classes. She thought about a little bit and remembered those were the old times, and things could change. No, things have changed.

"I never thought I would be fighting next to a Jetii," she whispered. They had to keep their voices low to prevent any detection.

"Never thought I would be fighting with more Mandalorians," Ezra replied.

The two snuck closer to the building, and they suddenly stopped.

"Max, wait," he said, holding out his arm to stop her.

"What is it?" she asked.

Ezra closed his eyes and after a few moments reopened them.

"We need to slowly back up... now," he said slowly.

"What do you mean? I don't see anything," Jill said, watching them through her scope.

"Something's not right. They're here, but they're not alone...and neither are we," Ezra said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

"Definitely," he said. Max could tell he was tense, and didn't like the look of everything either.

They took a step back, then another. Pretty soon they were back at the base of the hill and made the mistake of turning their backs.

Ezra tackled Max to the ground just as a shot flew passed. They barely missed it, much to Ezra's relief. Under normal circumstances, Max would've been beating him for tackling her, but she saw the shot hit the snow.

"Jill, track that shot," Ezra ordered.

"Already on it," she replied. She saw something in a window and fired a stun round. She hit her target and grinned. "I got him. He's stunned."

"Good work," he said. He looked around and decided to bring everybody in. "Everybody, we need to breach."

"What?" they all asked.

"There's no cover for us out here. Jill, can you cover us from there?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I got your backs," she said, scanning the area and keeping tabs on friendlies.

"Coren, Jax, rendezvous with me and Max," Ezra ordered.

"On our way," Jax said.

Sabine was woken up by her daughter, lightly kicking again. It's never been any powerful kicks since she's only 3 months pregnant, but it was all a mystery to her.

She groaned, barely awake.

"What is it, ad'ika?" she spoke softly. She thought for a moment, remembering that Kanan said Ezra fought something, and the kicks stopped when he won. Sabine figured Ezra was probably fighting something again.

"Is daddy fighting something?" she asked, just to get a light kick in return.

"She's a kicker isn't she," Hera said. She decided to stick with Sabine in case she needed anything.

"Yeah. If she's kicking so much now, I wonder what everything would be like later," she replied.

"I think you're able to watch some live feed from his helmet," Hera offered.

"Thanks, but I'm not going to do that. I would be breaking his trust," she said.

Hera formed a sad smile. It seemed only yesterday when she first found her and Ezra. Things were easier then... or at least easier than they are now.

But that smile quickly turned to surprise. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and didn't know where it came from or why.

"I'll be right back," Hera said, walking to the door.

Kanan was just resting in his quarters when somebody knocked in his door. He knew exactly who it was and got up.

"Come in," he said.

Hera walked into the room, a pained expression on her face.

"Kanan, something doesn't feel right," she said, clutching her stomach again.

"What do you think it is?" Kanan asked.

"I don't know but it really hurts," she said.

"None of the Mandalorians are awake... we should take you to the Starbird medical bay. I'd hate to wake up our friends," Kanan suggested.

He helped Hera get to the Starbird, both very confused and scared. This was all very sudden, and Hera didn't eat anything weird. They made it to the medbay and the medical hologram was activated.

"Greetings. How may I be of assistance?" it asked.

"I don't know..." Hera gasped. "My stomach just started hurting a lot."

"I will run a quick medical scan. It will just take a moment," the hologram said.

After his scan was finished, his answer to their question surprised them both beyond belief.

"Haar'chak what is this?" Coren yelled over the blaster fire.

They stumbled into the building and took cover behind a wall. Imperial Mandalorians pinned them down with intense firepower.

"Well now we know what happened to your people!" Ezra called, poking over his cover and fired a few bolts at an Imperial. The guy ducked into cover, letting the bolts hit the wall or just fly over.

"These guys are really different than stormtroopers!"

"Well they might as well be them," Max yelled, shooting an Imperial Mandalorian.

There was a strange sound, and Ezra's eyes grew wide seeing a Mandalorian holding what he thought was a lightsaber.

"Where did they get a lightsaber?" he asked.

"That's not a lightsaber," Coren replied. "It's a charged vibrosword. We're going to have to stand clear of that blade, do not let him reach us!"

"Good to know," Ezra said. He knew what he would have to do if he did reach them, and so did all the others. They weren't as afraid of that sword since they have a Jedi fighting by their side, which still made their head buzz at the mere thought of it.

"Coren, can you try to pin him down?" Ezra called.

"I can try, but I need some cover to set something up!" he answered.

"How much time do you need?"

"About 2 minutes at least!"

Ezra ordered for everybody to cover Coren while he set up a small turret. About a minute and a half later, they heard something like a personal shield activate. Ezra peeked around his corner and frowned. The vibrosword guy had gotten his hands on a shield and was making his way towards them.

"Coren we could use that turret right about now!" Ezra called.

"I almost have it... almost... there!" he said just as the turret spun to life. He took aim at the vibrosword guy and started to gun him down, but that shield held strong. However, he was being pushed back again, buying everybody some time. After he set the targeting systems on the enemy, he started to set up another turret.

"He's pushed back behind cover, for now," Max called. They continued to cover Coren as he set up his second turret.

Two minutes later, the second turret was active and all the Imperial Mandalorians were either dead, wounded, or pinned down.

"Max!" Ezra called.

"Sir?"

"We should find your people while we still can," Ezra said. Then he turned to Jax and Coren. "Can you two hold them off here?"

They nodded, "With those two turrets here, we should be fine."

"Good. Jill, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, sir," she replied.

"Good, it seems they haven't discovered you," Max said.

"Yet. Haven't discovered me, yet," Jill corrected.

"Can you locate any other Mandalorians inside?" Ezra asked.

"Let me see..." she was silent for a few moments. "There's a large room on the East wing of the outpost. I read 24 heat signatures."

"Are you able to upload a waypoint to our HUD?" Max asked.

"Of course. Transmitting coordinates," she said as she pressed a button on her wrist comm.

"Alright, we got them. Thanks, Jill," Ezra said.

Max and Ezra both made their way to the room where the 24 missing warriors were held. But before he could open the door, a shot rang out and hit the control panel, permanently locking those 24 in the room.

"You're not getting them. We will not allow you to leave this place alive," the Mando with the vibrosword said.

Ezra just sighed. "How many times to you Imperials say we're not going to win? I mean seriously!"

Max stared at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"Every time I face the Imperials, they say the same exact thing and what do you know, we get away anyway," Ezra explained, obviously annoyed.

"But those are Imperial stormtroopers and officers. They aren't as..."

"I've faced Thrawn and Gar Saxon. They both said the same thing and obviously I escaped Thrawn. And as you all know, Saxon's dead. It's all an endless cycle, so might as well you drop your weapons and leave," Ezra said.

The Mandalorian growled as he pulled out his sword, "I don't know who you think you are, but you will die by my blade!"

Time seemed to slow down for everybody as the Mandalorian tried to slash at Ezra. He focused on the Force and pushed the guy into a wall. The guy looked up in shock.

"What?"

Ezra wasn't done there, however. Using the Force again, his lightsaber started to orbit around him before the armed Mando charged him again.

Just before his blade came down on Ezra, a flash of green and the hum of a lightsaber knocked the vibrosword out of the Imperial's hands and into the ceiling.

The Mando Imperial stared at Ezra, not very fearful, but more surprised.

"Jetii!" he growled. "ASH'AMUR!" (Jedi! DIE!)

He recovered his vibrosword and attempted a high strike at Ezra who easily blocked it. He maneuvered their blades so they were locked in an X fashion.

"Ni liser suvarir gar!" Ezra said, almost mocking the Mando. "You betrayed your people!" (I can understand you)

"I did not betray my people! They betrayed ME!" The Mando said as he broke the lock at once again attempted a high strike, locking the blades there.

"You were too scared to fight the Empire and fight for your people! I thought Mandalorians fight for themselves, without taking sides!" Ezra said.

"The Mandalore is part of the Empire!"

"Because you let it fall! You are nothing but a HUT'UUN!" Ezra yelled. (Hut'uun: Coward)

Calling a Mandalorian a coward is never a good idea, considering that it is the worst possible insult to them. The Mando yelled with fury, trying his hardest to kill Ezra, but when he tried to swipe at his head, Ezra ducked, spun a little as he did, and slashed the Mandalorian Imperial across the chest. A big, orange streak stretching from his right hip to his left shoulder. He didn't cut him completely in half, but enough where he was definitely dead.

"Ezra, we still need to get those warriors out of this room!" Max explained. She had been trying to repair the console without success.

"Is that door lightsaber proof?" Ezra asked.

"I don't think so," Max replied.

Ezra thrust his lightsaber blade into the door and began cutting through. As soon as there was an opening, he pulled the cut out portion of the door out and climbed into the room. All 24 Mandalorian warriors were indeed there, all awake, but all wounded.

"Jetii!" one of them exclaimed.

"Don't worry, he's with us," Max said.

"You're working with this Jedi?" another asked.

"I believe you remember Rebel Commander Ezra Bridger," Max said. Ezra took that as a cue to remove his helmet.

"Oh... Al'verde Bridger. We didn't know it was you," the first guy said. "I presume Ursa finally decided to do something."

"That's right. Can you walk?" Ezra asked.

"Only a few of us. Just a little more than half actually," the first guy said. "I don't believe we've officially met. I'm Al'verde Ransford. As you already know we're... well, trapped."

"Not anymore. The men that can still walk, are they able to help carry the others outside?" Ezra asked.

"I don't know, honestly. Is it just you two?" Ransford asked, talking about him and Max.

"No. Coren, Jax, and Jill are outside... Or more accurately, Coren and Jax are holding off the remaining Imperial super commandos and Jill is outside, keeping an eye on the perimeter," Ezra said.

"How'd you guys get here?"

"We each took a Balutar speeder here. They're hidden not too far from here, but considering how many of you are here, we might as well wait until morning to call in an aerial extraction," Max said.

"Well I guess we can wait. Nobody has life threatening injuries... thankfully," Ransford said.

Coren came through on the comms then.

"Al'verde Bridger. We need backup. They have taken out our turrets and we're pinned down," he said.

"I'm on my way," Ezra said. He turned to Max, "Stay here and watch them."

"Yes sir," she replied.

Ezra ran out of the room and snuck up behind the enemy Mandalorians. He grabbed his lightsaber and ignited the blade, drawing the attention of about 4 of the 8 Imperial Commandos.

"Tion'cuy?" One of them said, aiming his blaster at the green blade. (Who's that? *Often referred as 'Halt! Who goes there?'*)

Ezra stepped into the dim moonlight filtering through a hole in the ceiling and kept approaching the enemy, but slowly. He wanted to see what they would do first.

"Ke'mot!" they yelled. The other four Mandos turned their attention to Ezra for a moment, but that was long enough for Coren and Jax to take out two of them and wound a third. (Ke'mot= Halt)

"Haar'chak! Hold them back!"

One of the Mandos turned to help his ally hold back the advancing Wren warriors. The remaining three trained their blasters at Ezra, yelling for him to halt in their language.

"Maybe he doesn't understand us," one of them said.

"Ni suvarir gar perfectly," he said. (I understand you perfectly)

"A Mandalorian Jedi?" one asked.

"Nope. Just a Jedi that can speak Mandalorian... and happens to own the armor," he said.

They began to fire at him, but he easily deflected those shots right back at them until there was only one left.

"I'd surrender if I were you," Ezra said, pointing his lightsaber at the Mando.

"Never! Not to scum like you!" the Mando spat.

"Suit yourself," Ezra said just as the Mando fired his last shot. He angled his blade to deflect the bolt straight back to the wounded warrior. The bolt hit him straight in the chest, killing him instantly. Ezra deactivated his lightsaber and frowned.

"Gave you a chance to stay alive, but you chose that instead," he said.

Max walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Surrendering would have meant he would have had no honor... not that he had any anyway."

Ezra nodded grimly. "Jill, sitrep."

"Everything's all clear. No outward transmissions were detected so I think we're safe for now. That earlier suggestion that we stay here for the night doesn't sound like a bad idea, but that could change," she said. "Besides, we kinda have no choice but to stay here and wait for a medical evacuation."

"Good point," Ezra said. "I think you've been outside for far too long, Jill. Time to pack it up and get inside."

"You don't have to tell me twice," she said.

Ezra yawned a bit then. "Max... what time is it?"

She looked at her wrist comm, then up at the sky. "I'd say around 0010." (Or 2410[12:10])

"Alright..." he yawned a bit again.

"You seem tired, Al'verde," Max said.

"I'm fine..." Ezra said as he almost fell over, if it weren't for the wall he was standing next to.

"Commander, you need to go to sleep. In fact we all do," Max said, worried.

She wouldn't know what Sabine would do if Ezra was hurt during all this. Max made it her personal mission to protect him after he told her that him and Sabine were engaged.

"Are you sure? I mean we should have a guard set up..." Ezra began to protest, but Ransford stepped up.

"We've been sleeping since we got here. We'll let you know if something comes up," he said.

"Thank you," Ezra said.

He unpacked the bed roll and went to sleep as soon as he hit the small pillow. The very first thing he saw when he closed his eyes, was Sabine. She was standing in an open doorway, arms carrying a small bundle. She held out her arms and handed him a child. His child. In his arms, was the offspring of the Jedi and a Mandalorian... Mira.

And yes that was a dream for him, but that dream will soon become a reality. Just wait ;)

This chapter was a little shorter than the others, but it is still above my set minimum.

I hope this was alright. Feel free to send your reviews and if there's anything more you'd like to discuss about the story or anything at all, feel free to PM me if you can.

(BTW: ODST Ezra B. Your story suggestion with a crossover is planned to happen. When I'm still not sure, but I will write it.)