Okay, everyone. Here is chapter 22 of Brothers. Be sure to read and review.
Commander Sato's office
Ezra felt his nerves melt away as he stepped across the threshold into the Commander's office. Glancing around at the room, Ezra noted it was spartan in nature. No drawings of battleplans on the walls, or anything of note. The oval office wasn't even that large merely the size of Ezra's own room aboard the Shadow. To the rear of the room sat Sato at his desk, his head buried in the attached holo-terminal.
"I see you both, just take a seat, I'll be with you in a moment," the gruff acknowledgment of the superior officer seemed to add more tension in the room.
The subtle tapping of keys on his holo-terminal seemed to make the time drag on, Ezra resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sigh at the lack of stimulation. Sabine noticed her boyfriends wandering mind and gave his hand a quick squeeze to get him to pay attention. Commander Sato was known for having a short fuse and demoting officers and NCO's over the smallest of infractions.
When the holo-terminal shut down there was a tense moment of silence as Commander Sato glared before rising and walking around to the front of the desk. As he leaned up against the front of the desk still not breaking eye contact with the Jed'aii. Sato stayed in the same position just glaring, Sabine felt like she was about to explode with anxiety. She wasn't even that sure what Sato wanted to know. The previous meeting had purely been about why Ezra had broken out of the infirmary. But Sato's body language seemed to convey something more.
"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions Jedi, and I expect you to tell me the truth," Sato's words came out cold as the world Hoth.
"Well, that depend-" Ezra started,
"Fucking bullshit! It 'depends,' I want to know why everywhere I turn I seem to have been lied to my face about you and your brother," Sato said, his demeanor darkening.
"I ask the alliance leadership, and all I get is vague promises that you two are legit, but why would the Empire seem to want you two so badly as to send a fucking star destroyer and a whole troop of Shadow guards? And if your brother is to be believed some clone of himself?" Sato practically shouted at the Jed'aii.
"I can explain-" Ezra tried again,
"Oh, you fucking better you goddamned maggot! How the fuck does the Empire even have the ability to clone him? Are there more?" Sato said his face getting redder with each passing word.
"Well, you see, It's kind of a long story sir," Ezra started trying to find the right way to
"I have time," Came the cold response of the Commander.
"Well, it's one of those things. Umm, is this room perchance bugged?" Ezra asked, not really liking how he seemed to be recently telling everyone his past.
"No, I personally conduct a sweep every day," Sato replied, his anger cooling to his more stoic behavior. Finally, he would get some answers.
"Okay, here goes," Ezra said before taking a deep breath, "Galen and I were raised as Darth Vader's personal assassins. We know the alliance leadership because Galen was the one who gathered them in the first place. That's why they have the genetic material available to clone us,"
Ezra took a quick inhale, his eyes during the explanation had fallen to the floor unable to look the decorated war hero in the eyes.
"You really expect me to believe that line of bullshit?" Sato replied, his voice containing no anger just hopelessness.
"Sir?" Sabine asked,
"You didn't answer the last question," Sato asked with a mere whisper, "How many of those clones are there?"
"I don't know, probably if things all went well maybe a hundred," Ezra said looking up at the Commanders face, seeing the usually stoic man have a freakout as he realized not just what his rebel cell was against but the entirety of the rebel alliance.
"So it's impossible then? Not only do they have the empire's enforcer, but various other force users, and possibly one hundred clones of you and your brother?" Sato said, moving back behind his desk. Slumping with his weight against the chair. It seemed as if the entire galaxy rested upon his shoulders.
"Do you know why I joined the alliance?" Sato asked, all former bravado gone, before pulling a small holo-projector out of his pants pocket.
"No sir," Sabine and Ezra said in unison,
"I was once a simple lieutenant in the CIS when the clone wars ended I was declared a war criminal despite having never even seen a single battle," Sato said, before igniting the holo-projector showing a young woman in her early thirties.
"This was my sister, she harbored me after the war, that was what Mai did, always looking after her kid brother. The empire showed up one day while I was out and took her, I haven't seen her since. I swore vengeance on them for this," his voice now full of bitterness.
"With all due respect sir, there is still a way for us to win," Ezra said, hoping to lift the Commander's spirits.
"And how is that?" Sato asked looking up from the Holo-projection.
"Well, I received a mission from the force, that's why I escaped from the infirmary that night. It told me I need to go to Dathomir and there Sabine and I'll find some ally who might be able to help us," Ezra blurted out, internally cringing at forgetting to let Sabine in on this.
"Dathomir?" Sato asked, "What's there besides swamps and witches?"
"As I said, it was a mission given to me by the force," Ezra reiterated, trying to ignore the death glare Sabine was giving him.
"And do tell, what will you be retrieving there?" Sato said leaning forward in his chair trying to soak up as much detail as possible.
"I-I, I don't know, the force wasn't to clear on that," Ezra admitted hanging his in defeat, he had tried to gain more insight but had always come up empty.
"So you're asking me to send you, one of my best ground fighters, a ship, and an extract team for some 'mission' you received from your hokey space magic?" Sato said, the anger returning to his voice.
"With all due respect sir, me telling you is a formality. I'm following my mission regardless of your qualms with it," Ezra said meeting the gaze of the grizzled commander.
Sato stared at the Jed'aii, his face didn't betray him, but his emotions did. Ezra knew he had crossed a line.
"Maybe we should end this meeting now before people start losing their minds," Sabine said, trying to lower the tension.
"I think that would be best as well," Sato said, turning his chair to stare at the wall behind him as the Mando and Jed'aii left the room.
As soon as he heard the door close, Sato let his neutral expression drop. The apathy he had felt before retaking hold. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out the holo-projector.
"Well, Mai, what do you think I should have done," Sato asked the projection, almost wishing to hear his wise older sisters words of comfort.
Sabine's room on the Ghost
The Mandalorian had remained incredibly quiet on the couples walk back to the Ghost. Ezra could feel the waves of anger and resentment coming off her, it actually made him feel a little ill.
As soon as they stepped into the room, Sabine pointed at her desk chair and hissed out "Sit,"
Ezra willingly complied, sitting quietly as Sabine paced back and forth across the length of her tiny bunk room. Ezra for the life of him could only stand this for about five minutes as he tried to rise and get her to stop, grabbing her arm in the process.
"Let go of me," Sabine shot at him, Ezra practically leaped back into his seat. Sabine let out a breath as soon as he finished the movement.
"How long have you known of this 'mission'?" Sabine asked her voice forcefully even.
Ezra sighed as he prepared to explain himself, "Look, I never meant to keep this from you-"
"How long?" Sabine asked,
"About four weeks, I found out when I busted out of the infirmary when we got back from Corellia," Ezra admitted.
"And not once, in the previous four weeks, you thought to clue me into this 'mission' of yours?" Sabine asked her anger bubbling to the surface.
"Well, you see, I wanted to know more, what I told Sato is what I know," Ezra defended himself.
Sabine just leaned against the wall before sliding down and wrapping her arms around her knees. Looking up at the worried force user Sabine just sighed, "I'm not mad that you sprung this mission on me, in front of a superior officer no less. I'm angry because you didn't trust me and tell me in the first place when you found out about this mission,"
"I do trust you, but I really didn't want just to give you a location. To be honest, I don't even know what we are going to find there," Ezra said.
"Ezra, I'm your girlfriend, this is something you're supposed to tell me," Sabine scolded looking up at him.
Bringing his hands up to rub his eyes Ezra just sighed, "Alright, I'll do better in the future,"
"Thanks that means a lot," Sabine said smiling as she got up and kissed his cheek, "So when are we leaving?"
"Huh?" Ezra looked, the kiss seemed to derail his thought process.
"When are we leaving for Dathomir?" Sabine giggled at him, his confused expression being one she wished she had gotten a photo of.
"I was going to try a little bit more and see if I could figure out what we are there for, and give me some time to heal up, I have a feeling this is going in the direction of fighting instead of stealth, so maybe in a few days," Ezra said as he got up to leave.
"So what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Sabine asked.
"I was going to go train and then meditate for a while," Ezra said as he touched the door open switch.
"Okay, well, come grab me when you are ready for dinner, I liked having our time together, even if Choni wasn't too pleased to see you," Sabine said.
"Yeah, same here," Ezra admitted before leaving the doorway and heading out to find Proxy for a few bouts of lightsaber sparring.
Okay, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry about the odd timing/pacing, I lost my rough draft and notes, so I kind of just winged it on this one. Be sure to leave a review. Until next time,
Television1