I actually feel really bad about this- it's short, it's mean, and I'm probably not gonna be able to update for a week or so. Semester exams are coming straight at us, and pretty much everyone's freaking out about it. (Including me) But Christmas is coming! And that's always good, so yay Christmas!
Also ow my heart Ezra you poor little blueberry- I simultaneously hate and love the newest episode. TT^TT
Disclaimer: ONE MORE WEEK! ONE MORE WEEK! JUST ONE MORE UNTIL THE FORCE AWAKENS COMES OUT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH- see, this is the inside of my head- totally not professional in the slightest, therefore clearing me of any charges of ownership of this wondrous series.
"Are you sure you've got your comm on?" Hera asked for the umpteenth time, and Sabine resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes.
"It might not be my helmet, but I do know how to work a comm system."
"Just making sure," The Twi'lek reiterated her follow up, and Sabine shook her head good-naturedly. "And make sure you keep Ezra moving around as little as possible- I know he's anxious, but over-exerting himself will just make healing take longer."
"I got it Hera; you need to start heading out." Sabine cocked her head at Zeb, who'd poked his head out of the still attached Phantom.
Hera pursed her lips, the call of the mission and of keeping her crew healthy pulling her with equal force in opposite directions. Sabine could only sigh; it was nice to have someone looking out for her, but over-bearing kind of negated the warm and fuzzy feelings such an action brought.
"Well- Zeb, you and Kanan should be able to handle this, right? I can always stay behind just to make sure-"
"No no," Sabine shook her head, placing a hand on the Twi'lek's shoulder and pushing her slightly in the direction of the Phantom, "we've been through this- you're trying to take a notch out of Morden, right? That means you're gonna need as much man-power as you can possibly get. Ezra and I are only staying because you won't let us go, and you're leaving Chopper here to charge; that's half the crew out, you don't want to make that even more."
Hera frowned and looked back out the hall towards where Ezra was, still unconvinced. "But this is just a simple op, it's not like we'll be going up against him directly."
Sabine nodded. "Yeah- we thought the op with his factory was gonna be simple too, and look how that ended up." Hera hummed, taking Sabine's point but casting yet another eye in the direction of the still-grounded Padawan. Sabine once again resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, and instead maneuvered Hera closer to the door of the Phantom, trying to think of something to ease Hera's mind and allow her to help out Kanan and Zeb.
"Look- Ezra and I will be fine. We looked after each other on our own, in unfamiliar territory- I think we can do the same aboard the Ghost." Hera scrunched her nose, but nodded after a second, making Sabine smile.
"Alright, fine- but I want you to stay near that comm at all times, and to pull up my frequency at the first sign of anything, alright? We just got you two back, and I'd rather like to keep you in one piece." Sabine nodded her promise, and that apparently was enough to satisfy the pilot. Kanan stepped into the doorway of the Phantom right as Hera entered, maneuvering to the side slightly so they wouldn't collide as the Jedi locked eyes with Sabine and cocked his head in the direction of Ezra.
"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Or you yourself-" Sabine raised her eyebrows teasingly as Zeb cleared his throat from inside the excursion vessel, impatient to leave. Kanan wrinkled his nose, but just settled on a quick "Keep yourselves resting- we'll be back in a bit," before ducking back into the ship as the hatch closed. Sabine smirked as she stepped out of the hall, the Phantom vibrating the flooring slightly as it took off. Honestly, she would have thought Kanan and Hera would've known she and Ezra could take care of themselves- but being protective was what family was for, she guessed. Right now she was just glad they were going off on their mission, finally, instead of staying at 'home' and taking care of them.
Usually Sabine would have been absolutely begging Hera to let her go with them- but not this time. No, because if she did that, she knew that a certain someone would get bored rather quickly... and he did stupid things while bored. Around a soon-to-wake fresh and rejuvenated Chopper, Sabine could only imagine the horrors that Padawan and Machine could create in the time it would take them to get back from their secondary mission with Morden... No, it was better if she stayed behind as well, not only to keep an eye out for the unruly Ezra, but also to giver herself more time to heal before she got back into the swing of things.
Because yeah, she was antsy and itching to get back in the game and take out a few more bucketheads, but even she knew over-exerting herself now would land her with even more time lying in that bunk.
And now's the time to paint- finally.
Other than the companionship, warm beds and food, painting had been the number one activity she'd missed while stranded. The original mission had called for stealth, and so Sabine hadn't taken any paint sprayers- a fact that she'd sorely regretted later on. But now- now was the time she could finally get back to doing what she loved... and she had just the project in mind.
Although it has been revised a couple times... Sabine smiled softly as she thought of her newest addition to her 'masterpiece' that she had originally been planning to tease Kanan and Hera with. She'd planned to make it blatantly obvious and nothing more than a joke... but now, she was actually seriously considering using her permanent paints, as serious as her vision for the mural had turned out to be. Maybe I can get- her eyes widened and her breath stopped- that was perfect-
"And then the stars could- and the moon- and-and the-" She could feel her heartbeat increasing even now as she envisioned her new idea, different ideas for actually transferring what she could see into the real-world popping up in her head and quickly being rejected. This- this has to be permanent, no doubt about it, but I'll need to cancel out the smudging the preparatory residue will make- a thin coating should do, so I can just go ahead and get started-
"Hey, Sabine?"
"No time- emergency painting session!" Sabine darted past Ezra, who was peeking out from his bunkroom, and now following her with intrigued eyes.
"Emergency painting?" He called after her, but his question was lost on her- Sabine was gathering every single shade of paint she currently had with her, not sure of just what she'd need just yet, instead just following her gut and the general outline for what she had right now-
Greens, lots of those, but orange too, and blue- blues and blacks for the background, and silver- a pink maybe? Purple, and greys-"What are you doing?" Sabine turned around to see Ezra leaning against her open doorway, eyebrows drawn together as he saw her gather what looked like the entirety of her paint arsenal, and four separate sprayers.
"Painting- I just got the best idea and I'm not letting it get away from me, and it's going-" She turned around fully, frowning and lifting her chin to point it at Ezra. "You need to keep resting." It was almost comical how Ezra could groan without ever making a sound- but Sabine wouldn't relent here.
"I can move around, I just need to be careful-"
"And that's why I'm telling you to go rest." Ezra stuck out his tongue, to witch Sabine huffed at. "Besides- no one's gonna see this beauty till it's finished, including you. This is going to be a surprise for everyone- so shoo."
He smirked slightly, once again looking at the collection of paint containers she had in her arms and scattered around the floor. "I don't need to see it to know it's gonna be colorful, that's for sure." Sabine nodded, also looking down and re-assessing what she thought she might or might not need. She did need a lot...
"That's the standard for any piece I make- but shoo, shoo, and let me go work in piece. And get some rest!" Ezra rolled his eyes, trying to smother his smile but not quite succeeding, and threw back "You're starting to sound like Hera, you know," just before gingerly making it back to his bunk. Sabine was glad he was healing, but honestly. He hadn't really gotten the professional treatment she had, and he was still trying to get right back on his feet. It was a good thing she was just as stubborn as he was.
Now- scale? Scope? How much room is this thing gonna take? I'll need to proportion everyone right... The wall above the Dejarik board. There was currently nothing there now, and it was large enough to give her ample room to do what she wanted- and, of course, it was in plain view of everyone.
Sabine dropped everything, only picking out her prepper and a few of the basic colors- black, blue, silver, green and orange. She'd need to come back for more, that was absolute- but for right now, these would get her started out. And actually carry her on for a while, if she did things right.
Don't worry too much about that now- just get the idea in your head and out on that wall. Briskly making her way through the halls, Sabine sprang up atop the Dejarik board and deposited her paints there, happily noting that it didn't create too much of a strain for her to do so. She stood in a wide stance, knowing she didn't weigh nearly enough to cause any damage to the holographic board beneath her as she stared at the stretch of wall with which she was planning on laying her best piece yet.
Some stars there, and the main piece there... with him there, and his arm just so- yes, this is going to work. And it was perfectly spaced to work, as well. She honestly couldn't have asked for a better canvas for this particular picture... and the metal of the Ghost was so familiar a surface for her to use it might as well not even matter. This was going to be epic- and Sabine couldn't get the grin off her face as she finally started.
Ezra opened his eyes once again, straining his ears for any sound of Sabine's paints spraying. He focused and listened for a few minutes, and when he concluded there was nothing to be heard, closed his eyes once more. He focused and waded into the currents of the Force, stretching out and bumping up against that life signature that could only ever belong to Sabine. He couldn't pull together much from her signature, except that it was bright with excitement... and that he thought he could hear the paint cans spraying.
Is it just because my focus is letting me pull details from my surroundings? Kanan hadn't gone over anything like that before, leading Ezra to think that he might just be imagining things...
But he could hear them- no, not really hear them, maybe more like, feel their sounds, or the impact they made-
What is this? Ezra had been puzzling for a while now- half an hour, by his chronometer, just a few minutes after Sabine had presumably started. He'd considered comming Kanan just to inquire about it, but figured the Jedi wouldn't appreciate his mission being interrupted by a simple question that could easily be answered afterwards. Besides, Ezra wanted to figure this out on his own- he'd just opened up to Sabine, and so had she. Ezra didn't know just how to put a handle on that, and he wanted to explore this new territory on his own. He might have powerful bonds with the crew, but-
His eyes shot open.
Bonds- did I just- did we- Ezra focused again, narrowing his eyes and probing what he could feel from reality around him... and he found himself being pulled in two directions. Outside, most likely to wherever Kanan was... and a smaller, less active tug towards Sabine.
I made a bond with her.
They- they had a bond- Ezra sat up, keeping his eyes shut as he tried to visualize the currents sweeping around all of them... there was a definite connection there between him and the Mandalorian.
He couldn't feel anything from her, though- he just felt her presence there, sharp and distinct, as though there was a string attached to him and she was passively holding it.
I just- she- we-
We have a bond. She probably can't feel it... but we have a bond. That's... that's... Ezra didn't actually know a word that could describe the feeling being connected to someone he cared so much for brought him. He'd gone through it once with Kanan, in those few early days when he hadn't been sure what being bonded in the Force felt like, and now...
We have a bond... A real bond. It's there and it's...
Amazing, was the only word he could use. Totally and utterly...
Amazing.
That's one part done- I'll need purple now, Sabine glanced at the 'sketchings' of her piece, taking in the faint outlines in the washable paint she'd used first. She'd be using that to create the blueprints for her final version, which wouldn't be washable, so she could just rinse off the sketch lines when she had no more use for them. But now was not the time for that yet; she'd pulled everything together the way she wanted it, and now she had to breath life into it.
line there, to make his arm more visible... yes, she could do that. Nodding to herself, Sabine turned around and darted through the still-opening doors and slid to her room, pausing only to make sure she didn't move too fast for her recuperating body to manage. Other than that, Sabine let herself fly through the ship, urgent as her need was to finally get this piece onto it's canvas and out of her head.
I'll need to be sure to get their patterns right, she thought, recalling the intricate designs... really that all of them sported. Herself included- though maybe she'd be able to blur them together slightly, just get the color scheme? Although if she did that for herself, it might make the others look odd... No, she'd tough it out and draw her own armor like it was supposed to be. Maybe I can pull up a holo of the others to get the exact details- there should be a few around, I might be able to look in Chopper's databanks once he finishes charging... the astromech was bound to have at least one picture of the crew somewhere, most likely tripping or otherwise suffering the effects of his electro prodder.
Other than that the hard part is gonna be the top sky above it all... she had a basic outline, but it would really be the color that pulled it all through. So now I need to get the colors- ...aaaaaand probably answer the beeping comm next to her bunk.
Probably should have taken that with me, she mused, before grabbing onto it and quickly thumbing the answer key.
"Yeeeeeees?"
"Oh there you are," Hera's relieved voice filtered through, and Sabine felt guilty for making her worry, "why did it take you so long to pick up? Never mind- Morden isn't in the transport we thought he was." Sabine blinked, trying to pull her focus off her painting and instead onto what her captain was saying.
"Do you have a lead on where he is?"
"We think so- but it's going to take us more time to get there than we originally anticipated. Do you or Spectre 6 need-"
"Spectre two, we're literally sitting here pretty. We don't need anything, and you staying out longer won't make that big of a deal. Actually, I'd prefer if you stayed out a little longer; I have something that's not ready to be seen just quite yet."
There was silence over the line for a few seconds, in which Sabine picked out her purple and silver, hesitating on her pinks before grabbing them as well. Then: "Alright- but this will take us a significant amount of time to finish, so just be warned."
"Got it, got it... now go. And please, be careful-" Sabine turned serious for a moment, "-you do not want to underestimate Morden."
"Don't worry- we won't. Take care of yourselves."
The comm clicked off, and Sabine stared at it a moment more before attaching it on her belt and picking up a few more cans of paint. Hera had given her extra time and Sabine was going to use it- and try not to think too hard on what Morden might be able to do to the rest of her crew.
"We have a signal, Commander- tracing it now."
"Don't let it elude you, officer- this is one hunt where someone will pay, be it our target... or the faulty hunter."
"Yes, sir."
It'd been an hour or so- Ezra was still happily exploring his latest bond when something pinged outside his awareness. He frowned and opened his eyes, sitting up and trying to pinpoint what had pulled him from his activity.
Is Kanan back?
No- Ezra's head moved towards the door, his eyes narrowing as the feeling of wrong made his blood pump just a little faster. Something wasn't right.
Ezra swung his legs out to the side slowly, trying not to upset his back as he stood up. Kanan had taught him to listen to the Force, and right now it was changing it's passive tone to one humming with an unspoken threat- the Inquisitor?!
No... not the Inquisitor. This isn't... cold or dark, it's... danger. Something wasn't right out there, and it was making his radar ping.
Ezra stepped outside his room, the door swishing open quietly and leading him out into the empty hall. He was just about to call out to Sabine, but figured if there was a danger on the ship it would be better to stay quiet and hidden.
I still have to warn her- if something's going wrong we both need to be prepared, and get Kanan to come back if it's severe enough-
Something white flashed in his peripheral vision, there was a sudden and sharp pain on his temple, and Ezra knew no more.
That's one Spectre painted, now for the rest-
Sabine heard the door swish open behind her, and was already frowning before she even spoke. "You're not supposed to be up right now."
"It's only thanks to the miracle of bacta that I am."
MORDEN!
Sabine didn't know how or why but that was Morden's voice and he was behind her-
She dove off of the Dejarik table and behind the one side of the bench that would hide her from him and provide momentary cover, hands flying to her blasters- and finding nothing there. She just had her paint sprayers. Her weapons were in her cabin, stored until she next went outside the Ghost- because she'd never expected the threat to come inside.
I don't have any weapons, help is too far away to get here on time- I can't run, or else he'll get access to all the secrets we have, and I can't fight- Ezra. Where was Ezra. Not good, not good- unless he was still in his cabin and she just needed to stall to prevent Morden from finding him-
"You might think you have me beat," Sabine called out, licking her lips slightly and rubbing her abdomen, "but this is a fight you can't win and you know it." Oh how Sabine wished that were true... She tensed and drew into herself as the sound of something clattering to the floor and rolling replaced any response Morden might have made- for a second she thought Morden might actually be crazy enough to throw a bomb into the tiny space-
Sabine's scorched helmet came rolling across the floor, stopping just shy from the door to the eating galley.
"I have no quarrel with you, Ms. Wren- I merely want to talk to you for a bit."