Heh, heh... I think it's safe to say now that the holidays do NOT in fact give me unrestricted time to update... sorry, folks...
But now we're back in business, and I'm honestly very fond of this chapter- though I think this story may be ending soon. I have an idea, but that may or may not be followed up upon, and in all honesty, this story could finish now, properly- tell me what you guys think.
So, there's a bit more of Mandalorian culture introduced here. It's quite fascinating, and I recommend for all of you to look it up- but the main points addressed in this chapter are the Mandalorian Code (and Canons) of Honor, and the Manda. Seriously, go look them up- but basically the Code/Canons mentioned here basically say remain loyal to your clan, and the Manda is the Mandalorian afterlife.
Disclaimer: I've saved my ranting about the Force Awakens for the disclaimer so I can cleverly tie it in with the fact I don't own Star Wars- OMG IT WAS AWESOME AND I CRIED AND LAUGHED AND I'M SO IN LOVE WIH EVERYONE THERE. There. That's sufficient proof, I feel- trust me, if you haven't seen the movie, it is a rather good one. J.J. and Disney did a rather spectacular job.
"I merely want to talk to you for a bit."
Talk. Talk. With a Mandalorian, talking meant one of two things- a truce or an invitation. With an Imperial, talk meant surrender or a deal. With an Imperial Mandalorian...
He can't seriously think I'd ever consider negotiations, or an invitation.
But talking might give Ezra time, if he was indeed still unnoticed- and it would certainly buy her some to try and figure out how to get out of the situation. As it was, there weren't a whole lot of options- she only had her paint sprayers on her, and faced against an Imperial of Morden's caliber they were next to useless. Her communicator was on the Dejarik table behind her, and any move to retrieve it would be obvious to the Mandalorian, and probably countered immediately with deadly force. She needed to buy time... but that didn't mean she couldn't gather information while in the act of buying said time.
"I'll talk- if you tell me-" if you've found Ezra "-how you found my location."
She heard an amused snort. Not tense, not scared, not forced- he was at relative ease. So maybe he did simply want to talk... or maybe he was so confident in his ability to take her out he genuinely was comfortable.
"Please- it was obvious your rebel friends would attempt to destabilize my image and warnings after your destruction of my facility. A child could predict an attack on my transport, and a child could certainly plant false information to guarantee which target specifically would be hit. All that was left afterwards was to set up tracing equipment to track any transmissions that went out- after finding my supposed position vacant, any decently organized faction would call back to their base of operations." Sabine could've groaned, there. Hera's transmission- he tracked it here, probably started heading to the Ghost as soon as she commed. However, that might meant that the Spectres aboard the Phantom would realize what'd happened with the absence of Morden's presence elsewhere and come speeding back to the Ghost-
Time. She just needed to buy some more time, to get everything sorted out...
"Now then," Morden's voice wasn't hostile, wasn't smug, wasn't gloating- he was carefully neutral. "I will send my men out of your ship," Sabine interpreted the clacks of armor on the floor as several stormtroopers doing just that, "and the two of us can talk like civilized beings."
Oh yeah, you're completely civil with a blaster pointing at my face...
However, as Sabine slowly stood from behind the bench, she was actually surprised to see that Morden had his blaster (and other assorted weapons) holstered. His hands were crossed behind his back, and he did indeed look... civil. More so than the other Imperial officers Sabine'd run across, anyways. She crossed her own arms in front of her, staring him in the eyes and making no effort to conceal her disdain. He smiled, cold eyes neutral.
"Congratulations on the destruction of my base." Sabine blinked.
"What?"
"Congratulations- as small a group as you are, you still managed to near completely destroy all of my base, a feat we wouldn't deign to assume anyone without a small army could achieve. Your victory may have been at the hands of my loss, but I still recognize talent when I see it."
Sabine narrowed her eyes, still a bit thrown and confused. What are you supposed to do when an enemy compliments you? Do you thank them or just move on or ignore it- yeah, that sounds right.
"What do you want from me?"
Morden smiled again, raising his eyebrows at her obvious denial of his compliment but moving over it. Sort of. "The very talent you showed battling me, is what I want." I thought so- but is he really serious right now? Honestly, he should know better than to try and get me to work for him. But if she wanted more than a few seconds to try and pull some miracle (unfortunately, not the explosive kind) from her sleeves, a simple outright denial wouldn't do.
Of course, no matter what, she would always deny working for the Empire ever again.
"Are you offering me a job?" She curled her nose in disgust, thankfully not needing to conceal any part of her revulsion of the proposition.
Morden shrugged. "Not so much a job as... an upgrade. You already spend a good portion of your time fighting and risking your life, what are the negatives of doing the same thing under the Empire?"
Sabine curled her lips, but there was a small voice in the back of her head that was getting suspicious. Morden was smart enough to know a full-blown rebel wouldn't quit that easily... he was holding something back. "Oh, I don't know, the fact that working there by extension means condemning millions and billions of innocents to suffer-"
"Don't you already do that as well?" Morden was quick to interrupt, and Sabine drew back, smiling at the absurdity of what he'd said.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're helping the people-"
"Yes, I'm sure Mr. Tama and his family must thank you so much for the destruction of their workplace- they'd been there for how many generations, exactly?" Sabine hesitated, a small tendril of guilt curling in her stomach. But they'd had to destroy the mine- if it meant stopping the Imperials from manufacturing more supplies with which to- "And of course, that single mine isn't the only structure you've taken out. How many Tamas are there, Ms. Wren? How many families now homeless or jobless through your activities?"
She squared her shoulders. "I could ask you the same question- and I'll bet you're answer's a lot higher than mine."
Morden shrugged. "There will always be those unhappy with the regime of the government, and there will always be sacrifices that need to be made for the greater good. There are several billions of lives living contently under the Empire's governing, whereas your particular organization is viewed upon in without approval."
"By those who haven't been sold into slavery or worse, you mean. Everyone's too scared to stand or speak up for themselves, and those who aren't are made into examples- captured, tortured, deported or killed."
"True, the Empire doesn't yield to every petty farmer's outlandish demands like the soft Republic- but even they had plenty of suffering under their rule. The Separatists formed out of those unhappy citizens, and look how well their campaign did. Not a single trace of their organization left, the worlds under their protection now safe and cared for by the new Empire. Your rebels are the new Separatists- you go against the government simply because you are unhappy. Within a few years, the Rebellion, too, will be stomped out by those who are happy."
Sabine snorted, looking Morden up and down. "And why would you be telling me this? I don't believe a single word of it- but you obviously do, so why give me the warning?"
Morden's eyes flashed, and he leaned against the wall, completely casual. "Because you, Ms. Wren, are talented, and a Mandalorian on top of that. I don't want to see any such skilled members of our race extinguished like the Separatists- wiped from the Galaxy effortlessly, with all you've stood for, all your battles and conquests rendered meaningless. You're far, far better than that."
"So, you'd rather I waste my talents trying to direct your clueless bucket-heads to go against the people I fight for." Sabine snorted and shook her head, while Morden smiled ever so slightly at the jibe to his soldiers.
"They can be bumbling idiots," he surprised Sabine by acknowledging that, "but when they are amassed into an army of millions, with respectable commanders controlling their moves, they turn into a formidable force. Far more so than whatever scraps your organization manages to pull together, and far more organized- though you wouldn't know about that, would you."
It wasn't a question. It wasn't an inquiry, or an attempt to get information out of her- Morden was simply bringing it up that Sabine... didn't actually know anything about the rest of their forces. Or, indeed, if they had any forces beyond Hera's 'Fulcrum'... It made her pause and bite her lip. The Imperial noticed.
"I'm guessing you don't actually know anyone beyond this ship that fights alongside you as a security measure. It is effective, most definitely- if I were to try and pry for information out of you, you wouldn't be able to tell me anything about the topics I want to know. But it must make trusting these people very difficult."
No- I've already gone through this drama before. I'm not going to let him use that as leverage. "I trust my crew with my life- but I know from experience that the Empire cares for their members only as much as they're worth. None of you would die for another, and that's something that always has and always will disgust me about you."
Morden shrugged. "We wouldn't have to die for one another if there weren't rebels to fight against. But that's not the path I wish to guide you down."
"Guide me down? Ha! You think you're some, some mentor to me?" The very idea Sabine would ever allow him to teach her was ludicrous- and he was extremely arrogant if he automatically assumed that their differences in age meant he was her natural tutor.
"Tell me, how much of the Mandalorian culture do you remember? Quite a lot, I'd assume, as you've only left Mandalore a few years ago- but how much of that culture and those practices have you been able to pursue? How much have you lost from your home in order to conform to this... ship?"
Sabine stayed quiet for a second, looking at Morden and analyzing him. He genuinely seemed to care about the Mandalorian practices, and wasn't just using it as an advantage in the conversation. She wasn't quite sure whether or not to feel patronized at the question, though... but she was insulted at the hesitation to call the Ghost a full-blown ship.
"Individual little rituals? No, I don't practice those- but at least I'm staying loyal to my family. To my clan- you've just gone and sworn your allegiance to the bigger power, instead of proudly standing tall with your brethren. Who's sacrificing the greater parts of our Code of Honor?" Sabine raised her chin and challenged Morden, the four Canons of Honor- the pillars upholding their entire code, which all Mandalorians had been taught from birth -resonating and reverberating in her head.
Morden looked at the floor, shaking his head slightly. "Oh Ms. Wren. I have neither abandoned the Code nor my clan- it is you I wonder whether you stay true to your family or not."
Sabine bristled. "You fight for those who would destroy you and your clan- I fight with my family!" Sabine flung out a hand to point at her unfinished portrait on the wall. Morden just smiled softly at her.
"You and I both know they aren't your family, Ms. Wren." And suddenly, she didn't like the knowing look in his eyes at all. He's not talking about...
"They are my family- any one of us would fight and die for each other, and nothing you can say could ever get me to forget that."
Morden shook his head. "These rebels are not your family- they're the closest substitutes you could find. You haven't been able to search for your real family because you chose to ally with the rebellion." No one knows where they are, it'd be impossible for anyone to locate them- they're, they're hiding until they decide to reveal themselves. It's not our fault.
"Sabine," the use of her first name shocked her, "how long has it been since you've seen your family? Or any remnants of your clan?" There was sympathy in those icy eyes, and it threw Sabine off edge. Morden must have mistaken her silence as an invitation to go on, as he did just that. Sabine could've interrupted him, should have stood tall and remained proud, stopped him talking... but she didn't.
"You know you won't ever be able to find them with the resources you have now. You won't even hear a whisper of their existence until either you all are called into the Manda or you've completely eradicated the Empire- a task you've surely realized could never be accomplished in your lifetime. If you take up my offer, however..." he paused, clearly gauging her reaction before continuing. "I can help you to find them. To see them again. Don't you want to be with your parents again... with your brother...?"
Sabine swallowed thickly.
Is he doing okay? It's been so long since I've seen Kei... or mom and dad... I don't even have the faintest clue on if they're still alive or not...
"I'm not asking you to betray your crew, Sabine, and I ask no information from you. All I want is to prevent a fellow Mandalorian, one not afraid to use their talents, from fading into oblivion in a hopeless cause. I want to keep the Mandalorian name one to be displayed with pride... take the opportunity I'm giving to you to find your family and to ensure that the reputation of your clan is not one of cowardice or dishonor, instead one of loyalty and strength... let yourself become the mighty Mandalorian every member of our race was truly born to be."
"Mission accomplished, o' mighty Mandalorian."
"Unique miracles from the uniquely mighty Mando."
"A promise is a promise, o' Mighty Mando."
"Risk the wrath of the Mighty Mando? Never."
Ezra... Sabine blinked as the image of his eyes flashed before her own. Always full of hope, always determined, always smiling no matter the absurdity of the situation... What would he think, if he saw me consider Morden's offer? And her doubts erased themselves.
She stood tall, squaring her shoulders and looking at Morden with pride. "I don't need you to help me find my family, Morden. I put my trust- my faith, my hope, my belief -in the surrogate family I've made to help me find them. I'll never give up and force suffering onto billions and billions of innocents, just because it's easier to fulfil my own goals. I'm not that selfish- and no Mandalorian ever should be."
It was truly an ugly look that was morphed onto Morden's face, the one that her words had summoned. Honestly, Sabine wasn't too scared of it, though she was well within her limits to be. He was positively armed to the teeth, and she had nothing but two paint sprayers on her.
But the vent panel above Morden had moved.
"Just how arrogant are you to think that you can prevail against the might of the Empire, or even me? You are weak, outnumbered, outclassed, unsupported, weaponless... you may be Mandalorian, but you can't use the Jedi's proclaimed Force or any other special power to aid you, and yet you still deem yourself powerful enough to take on forces you can't even envision in your dreams."
Sabine smiled as the vent panel withdrew itself. "True, I can't use the Force- but I don't need to. I have someone who'll gladly use it for me."
Morden frowned at the same time Ezra's gloved hand darted from the open vent, fingers splayed wide. The Imperial's head snapped back to hit the wall with an audible 'bang', and Sabine darted forwards, raising her paint sprayer and quickly marking a stripe of green across his eyes. Morden cried out as the paint blinded him, that and the disorientation from his abrupt meeting with the wall making him stumble. The oddly shaped lightsaber dropped from the vent and Sabine caught it, swiftly aiming and firing at the quickly recovering Morden.
The stun-bolt hit right as Morden was drawing his blaster, making the Mandalorian jerk and spasm before falling onto his knees, groaning. Sabine hit him once more and he collapsed, clattering to the ground without another word. A few seconds of silence followed, where she kept wide eyes on the Imperial, unconvinced he was actually unconscious...
"D'you get him?" Came the call from the vents, leading Sabine to blink and smile slightly as she took in the situation.
"Yeah... he's out cold."
The both of them sighed in relief, and Sabine slumped down onto the floor, using the wall as a support and Morden in her sights. Well, she'd needed a miracle, and this time Ezra had only been to happy to deliver. She frowned.
"Do you need help?"
Usually he'd be out of the vents by now- her gaze snapped up to the open vents as he remained quiet for a few more seconds. He shouldn't have been moving around, not with his back still recuperating. Sabine realized she actually didn't know what'd happened to her companion; he wouldn't just be up in the vents for no reason.
"Well... no, hold on, I just need to... to get in the right position." There was a smattering of small noises from the vents as Ezra presumably did just that. Sabine, looking at Morden and assessing he wouldn't be up in a while yet, turned her focus to her partner's feet and lower torso as he slowly lowered himself from the ventilation system.
"It looks a lot worse than it is, trust me," he warned as he dropped from the ceiling, wobbling slightly as he hit the flooring. Sabine pursed her lips as he half-smiled at her, staring at the blood going down the left side of his face. "It's nothing, really- I just didn't see the bucket-heads til they hit me. Though they didn't have so much of an advantage when I woke up..."
Against her bidding, Sabine's lips twitched upwards. She pressed them together to try and keep the smile at bay, but the amused visage remained, making Ezra blink at her.
"What?"
She shook her head. "You're just... something special. You took out the stormtroopers?"
Ezra looked her up and down before responding, but then nodded. "Yeah... I think I came too quicker than they thought I would, because there weren't very many, and they weren't very prepared. If it tells you anything my lightsaber was within grabbing distance- though I guess my version of 'grabbing distance' is a little extended..." he quirked a smile for a second, but then shrugged. "We were outside the Ghost, and I think they were waiting for Morden to come out and join them, because they weren't paying any attention to me. A few more stormtroopers came out though," those must've been the ones Morden sent out when we first got started, "and they weren't really happy their buddies were out of it, but in the end they're just bucket-heads."
Sabine looked back at Morden, their talk echoing in her head.
"Yeah... I guess that's all they'll ever be." She snapped her gaze back to him. "Now sit down and don't even think of moving that back; I gotta find the med-kit so I can fix you up."
Ezra blinked, and then his eyes flicked over to the opposite wall. "Even with your unfinished painti-"
"CABIN!"