Oh dear. Based on the comments, there are a few of you (mildly) concerned about the amount of hurt and tragedy yet to be written...
Do you really think I'd let you guys down in that department? :}
Disclaimer: Disney- hey chimongra, you wanna take over Rebels for a bit? chimongra- *heart attack*
'You worry about me?', seriously? Is that even a question? With all the stupid and dangerous things you do, who wouldn't?
Well, apparently this commander Morden. And, of course, like, the entirety of the Empire. Though their opinions didn't really matter much.
Sabine was so so relieved when she'd heard him curse in the vents- until, of course, she realized what such an event indicated. But if he hadn't done so, she most likely would have run right by him and they'd never find each other. From what it looked like Ezra'd been heading towards the elevator, so he must have either pieced together it was a trap or the Mandalorian commander had monologued and spilled his guts. The 'bad' guys tended to do that a lot.
Although with Hera's information describing him as a man of sharp intelligence and cold wit, Sabine couldn't see him- especially if he was a Mandalorian -simply telling all of his intentions and revealing all of his weapons and sources.
Her response to Ezra's obvious question was interrupted when her earpiece beeped once, and then a half-static voice filtered through-
"Spectre five, do you copy?!"
Hera?! How did she manage to get through the jamming? And, why was she actively comming Sabine when further contact wasn't part of the plan until they were escaping? Unless... her stomach dropped as the implications of the Twi'lek's communication swamped her.
"Spectre two, I'm here with six- what's going on?"
She heard blasters in the background. The pit of anxiety grew deeper, and Ezra's face paled significantly as he too realized what Hera comming them signified.
"Imperial troopers are swarming the Phantom and there are anti-air cannons aiming straight for us- where are you two?!" Her suspicions confirmed, Sabine glanced at the progress level the elevator showed- and they were only half-way down.
"We're way, way far away from the northern bay- and even if we weren't, the bucket-heads in here are all looking for us and Spectre six is injured."
"Wha- how badly?" There was Kanan, and Sabine could register the sounds of his lightsaber deflecting shots even as he was talking. Things must be really bad there if he had to pull out the blade while just outside the Phantom.
Come on stupid elevator, move faster!
"Just a few cracked ribs, but we probably won't be able to make it to you before-" Before they were overwhelmed. Before the anti-air cannons blew them to bits. "before things get really bad."
Sabine heard Chopper beeping fast and hurried- Chop, that's how they broke through, especially with all the slicing equipment he has -and she caught a few calculations that she reeeeaaly didn't like. They wouldn't last another minute waiting for her and Ezra to get there- and getting to the northern production lines would take much longer than that. She heard Hera curse- a rare occasion that heralded deep, deep doodoo.
The elevator was still going down.
"We'll find another way out- tell them to go!" Ezra exclaimed, and Sabine was confused for a moment as to why he knew the crew was in trouble. Of course, the obvious solution hit her like a ton of bricks- he can probably read me like an open book, like I can with him. So much for discretion.
Knowing it was pretty much the only way they could hope to all get out in one piece, Sabine went with the newly improvised plan- hoping and praying that this one wouldn't flop either. "Get out of there- we'll find someplace to rendezvous later where you guys won't be blown up!" She could hear Kanan protests, and then there was the faint 'twang's of Zeb's bo-rifle that told her he was backing up slowly into the ship. That could only mean he was being driven back- how many troopers are there?!
"Go!"
"Go to the front of the eastern bay- there are sewer tunnels, we'll meet up with you later and don't you dare think of dying!" Sabine could hear Hera's reluctance- but it was the only option they had. And it gave them a chance to catch their breath and tend to their wounds- oh god was anyone hurt? -before meeting up, without having to worry about the Empire jamming their signal. And the eastern bay was rather close- it was where Sabine'd come from, after all.
The earpiece fell mute, and she turned troubled but determined eyes to Ezra. He knew they were there. "Apparently they were hiding anti-air canons. They're going- and Hera's given us an escape route as well. Sewer tunnels, in front of the eastern bay." Ezra's eyes narrowed for a second, before he nodded.
"Those tunnels should be wide enough for us to go through- factories usually have wide ones. And it should lead either to a natural water source or to a trash complex; either way we'll be able to get a signal through once we're out." Sabine nodded, letting out a deep breath slowly. The crew wasn't in mortal danger now, they were safe, they were flying away... Now all she had to do was worry about herself and Ezra.
Which was honestly more work than one would expect.
The elevator slowed as it neared the ground floor, and Sabine tensed as she drew her pistols. They'd have to make their escape quick, especially now since Hera and the others were gone. The bucket-heads would either think all of the crew had escape or realize immediately that there were still two rebels in the compound- and based on her impression of their commander Morden, she didn't think they'd be going unnoticed. With Ezra injured- how dare they hurt him -progress wouldn't be as quick as it should have been, but that didn't matter. With both her skills and his Force powers, they'd be able to get out of there in a timely fashion... if, as she'd hoped before, their newest plan didn't flop.
"There's three bucket-heads further in the corridor; I don't think they know we're here." Sabine glanced at Ezra to see his eyes closed, and she was thankful for his foresight. The doors opened as the elevator ground to a halt, and the three troopers she'd been aware of were down in seconds- both her pistols and Ezra's hybrid made short work of the unsuspecting guards.
"Come on- Morden's probably getting the entire compound on us right now." She hurried him out, and they jogged back the way Sabine had come running down earlier, when she'd thought Ezra was in mortal danger. Now she knew they both were, and yet she was oddly calmer. She still wasn't calm- far from it. But she had him here now, and so help her nothing was going to hurt them.
Within reason.
But whatever sort of luck they'd had with their as of yet sparse encounters with the bucket-heads had apparently run out: in just the distance from the elevator to the mouth of the bay, the two had encountered three more units of buckets. Twice more Ezra had warned her mere moments before, but the third time even he was taken by surprise. Sabine had a nasty feeling it was because he was pushing himself. He'd steadily been turning paler, but he refused to slow down. If she'd had her way he'd be walking, but she didn't- and they had to make due with what they had.
"Right here-" Sabine palmed the keys to open the bay-
And nothing happened.
"Karabast! They've overridden the doors..." Both she and Ezra were experienced slicers, but doing such things meant spending time- a luxury they couldn't afford to waste. Grim-faced, Ezra produced one of his ever-present tools from his ever-hidden pockets and crouched down at the control system. Sabine raised her pistols, not ever having holstered them, and stood by his back. It was well she did, because a moment later he was warning her:
"Left side!"
And she was shooting again, placing herself between the four troopers and Ezra as he continued with the door, trusting her to cover him as the bucket-heads were taken down. This wasn't good; with the squads appearing as quickly as they had been, they would no doubt be swarming the areas around the production bays, hunting them down.
Although, if those bays were all overridden like this one, then the last place the bucket-heads would suspect them to be was in them, giving her and Ezra at least a semi-easy exit through the bay and into the sewers beyond. Sabine'd be able to blow the bombs once they were far enough away, so they'd at least escape having done some damage to the facility. But getting out came first- and as Ezra hissed in pain, Sabine realized that might be even harder than they thought.
"What's wrong?!"
"Nothing- just a little shock, I'm still in the system..."
Their conversation in the cockpit on maintenance day reappeared in her head even as her stomach lurched with nerves.
"Remember, you said you'd re-connect every wire that came my way and keep me safe from all the shocking conduits- you better live up to that, mister." Briefly, Ezra looked at her in shock, but then there was that cocky smile she was so used to seeing, distorted though it was by the paleness of his skin and the pain he was trying to conceal.
"A promise is a promise, o' Mighty Mando-" The console beeped with a green light, and the doors slid open- "-and a Bridger never forgets." Sabine grinned at him, knowing he saw it through her helmet, and she extended a hand to help him up from his crouched position. It did worry her slightly that he winced just getting on his feet, but knew this wasn't the time or place to force him to take everything gently. Both she and Hera would tend to that once they were safe on the Ghost.
They hurried inside, and Sabine closed the blast-doors as soon as they were inside. They'd be able to get a little respite if the bucket-heads still thought everything was normal and the bay was still sealed, giving them the time and peace to leave. They'd made it only half-way across the bay when that illusion shattered.
Ezra stiffened next to her, and half a second later there were bucket-heads everywhere, leaping out from machinery and half-finished vehicles as their blasters fired with a will of their own.
Sabine only just got the both of them behind cover in time, dragging Ezra behind the metal husk that she'd designated 'safe'. There were at least ten stormtroopers, probably more, and they'd been taken by surprise.
WHY did I turn my sensors off- no, why didn't I just think that this Morden guy would be smart enough to put back-up forces inside the bays?! He obviously knows our profiles, it wouldn't be a surprise to him if we were able to slice through his override. It was stupid on her part- incredibly so, actually. Especially if this guy was as smart as Ezra was telling her; she shouldn't have underestimated him.
And now there were a dozen bucket-heads firing behind cover at them, and Sabine couldn't use one of her miracles becau-
THE BOMBS.
She had a moment of unbridled horror as events played out. A stormtrooper shot his gun. There was a tight grip on her upper arm. The blast hit one of her carefully placed explosives, and then all hell broke loose as the room exploded around them.