Disclaimer: I do not own or make profit from any content within the Star Wars universe. I merely write for the entertainment of myself and others. All things Star Wars belong (unfortunately) to Disney now.
CHAPTER FOUR:
Sabine was running, no time to think, dust, blaster bolts whining, "just run", smoke, Ezra's incoherent shouts. There it was. The Ghost. Never had a sight been more inviting. "keep running". A bolt got closer than Sabine would have wished, the plasma scorching her neck. She raised her eyes to the crew on the ramp, shouting, imploring her to run faster. Sabine looked into Ezra's wide eyes and at that moment saw him contort his face as though hit with a sledgehammer behind. She was confused. She felt something tingling in her back, rapidly getting warmer. "Why is Ezra running for me?" At that moment her knees gave out. "What? No I need to run… to Ezra… He knows what to do. Dammit Sabine, STAND UP!"… Failure... Failure to complete the mission in tact. Failure to her comrades. Failure to… "Ezra" She couldn't even muster the strength to say his name. She could feel a tear creeping out and tickling her cheek as it slowly rolled down, collecting dust on its way. A tear was all she had for him. "I'm sorry, Ezra… Forgive me." Sabine thought groggily as she closed her now heavy eyelids. Before submitting entirely to unconsciousness, she felt a pair of arms catch her. It was comfortable this way, letting someone else do the heavy lifting. The unknown arms felt secure, reassuring, promising to take her somewhere safe and never let go. Sabine gave in, breathing out deeply, and submitted herself to the unknown.
"EZRA!" Zeb was shouting in a shaky voice, "EZRA!, we can't waste time! She needs treatment NOW, you oblivious loth rat!" Ezra finally snapped out of his initial shock and looked in Kanan's direction. "Do you have any med supplies?" Ezra's question was ignored entirely as Kanan took full control and began giving orders. The others new better than to argue with the tone of voice Kanan now employed.
"Hera, go find the bandages and bacta syringes. Zeb, grab the stretcher and a survival blanket. Ezra, help me turn her sideways so chopper can scan her and evaluate the damage. Oh and make sure to keep her neck and back perfectly straight."
Ezra did as he was ordered. Through Sabine's clothing, He could see the charred flesh where the blaster left its mark. Unlike a normal projectile, a blaster bolt was a burst of gas, super-heated to plasma. It left grisly wounds on most organic matter by causing any moisture around the bolt to instantly boil. This, in combination with kinetic energy, could be more than lethal.
Kanan gingerly lifted Sabine's shirt until the hole surrounded by blackened flesh was visible. Ezra nearly vomited on the spot. "Just breathe. Inhale, exhale. It's not that difficult" He reminded himself. The wound made his own side ache. Even so, Ezra couldn't help himself from staring at it. Guilt washed over him as he noticed how the bolt entered, how the pressure built up inside from the boiling body fluids, and how it released, leaving burnt shreds of skin clinging to the opening. He couldn't tell how deep it went, and fervently hoped it hadn't damaged her lung. One thing Ezra liked about Sabine was the way her olive skin tone affected her presence. It was stern, yet simultaneously radiating warmth. Of course, he never translated those thoughts to words. Seeing her skin marred with such an atrocity had pushed Ezra near his breaking point. But he couldn't abandon her. For now, his strength allowed him to do as Kanan instructed. Kanan knew the best course of action. He trusted Kanan. With everything. Well… almost everything.
"If only we had a bacta tank." Hera thought as she filled a syringe with some of their precious supply of the healing liquid. In the days of the republic, bacta, along with other medical supplies had been easier to purchase or salvage. However, with the rise of an empire that cared nothing for its citizens, prices had shot astronomically high. An operational bacta tank could cost half the price of her beloved VCX-100 light freighter. Certainly not something one could simply buy spur of the moment. She grabbed a bottle of alcohol to sterilize Sabine's wound, and completed her rummaging when she found the gauze bandages. Hera walked hurriedly to where the rest of the crew was waiting, all huddled around Sabine's limp form, which was now lying on the stretcher. Even chopper had a concerned tone in his robotic chattering.
Hera handed the supplies to Ezra, knowing he would feel useless if he had nothing to do but watch. After a brief glance at the results of Chopper's scan, which did indeed show damage to Sabine's lung, she motioned to Ezra. "Hand me the alcohol."
"But Hera, this really isn't the time to-"
"It's to clean the damn wound, ok?" She spat, knowing what Ezra was thinking. He gave it up immediately, realizing how obvious her intentions were. Rolling her eyes, she applied a generous amount before soaking up its remains with a bandage. Zeb's stomach heaved when Hera inserted the needle to inject the bacta.
"The big guy can watch a blaster bolt rip a hole in someone's back, but cant stand the sight of a needle? Must have a story behind that." Kanan mused to himself. They all pitched in to assist Hara apply the bandages, which she wound around Sabine's slim structure. With a heart-rate monitor connected to Sabine's wrist, Ezra and Zeb gently lifted the stretcher and carried it to her cabin.
Sabine was now moderately stabilized, but she required more extensive treatment if she was to make a full and timely recovery. Despite Ezra's fear in light of all that happened, seeing her wrapped in a blanket and sleeping peacefully brought him comfort. He only hoped that she would quickly be back on her feet and back to her usual self, even if it meant her poking fun at him.
"Listen, love," Hera was saying to Kanan, "Someone really should keep watch over Sabine. She could start slipping away, and without more medical attention… we could lose her." Hera made sure to speak softly toward the end of her sentence. Everyone knew how Ezra felt about Sabine, and hearing them talk about her possible death would most likely upset him.
"I think Ezra would be up for it. I can sense him now, and quite frankly, I doubt he could sleep even if he tried."
"All right, now I know you're his master, but let me handle this one, love."
"You know you tempt me when you call me that..." Kanan muttered.
"I'm just worried. We've had crew members get captured, but coming this close to death…" Her sentence got caught in her mouth and remained unfinished.
"Hey, come here." Kanan wrapped his arms around Hera and held her tight for several long moments. She could get lost in one of those hugs. For a short time, Hera forgot all her stress and worry.
"You might want to talk with Ezra now." Kanan said with understanding in his voice as he let go rather reluctantly. "Maybe you should take give her some anesthetic to keep her out of pain until we can get her somewhere else, speaking of that, I have an idea for when you get back from the pep talk.
Hera found Ezra still in Sabine's cabin, and stood for a while in the entrance before speaking.
"You handling it alright?"
"What do you consider alright?" Ezra asked as Hera administered the injection.
"Physically, you look fine. You came out of shock pretty fast, you're alert, and you look like you're ready to stay up all night to look after Sabine. I'm just worried about what's going on inside. You wanna talk about anything?"
Ezra hesitated. "Well yes, I plan on staying up to look after her..." He drifted off. "I guess I have nothing to hide. I'm being pretty obvious anyway. I just… never even got to tell her how much I appreciate her… Now I might not get the chance." Ezra looked at the floor and then at Sabine before letting out a shaky sigh.
"I know it's tough. I know you're worried, we're all worried, but Sabine would never go down this easy. You'll get your chance Ezra. I promise."
"What if I already had my chance?" Ezra countered. "We could have talked it out any number of times."
"True, you could have, but saving a life links people together more securely than any teenage hormones."
"Ok, fine, but still."
"Do you remember that first mission you had with us? The trap? The rest of the crew was aboard the Imperial ship and you fought a battle inside your head. Do you remember what happened? You risked yourself to go and warn complete strangers that they were in danger. I had immense hope for you Ezra. Today out there, you surpassed my wildest dreams. You were downright crazy, but you laughed in the face of the odds stacked against you. You came through it bruised and with dirt on your face, but your colors were flying high." Hera paused for a breath. "I, this crew… Sabine… All of us couldn't be more proud of you… Don't let anyone tell you differently, Ezra bridger."
Ezra was stunned and his words seemed to be failing him. Maybe it was for the better, after all, it would be most awkward for him to simply agree.
"I have matters to discuss with Kanan now. If you aren't going to sleep, maybe a little music will help pass the time. There's a box of data cards under the console in the cockpit."
"Thanks, but I think better without music. Plus, I can pay better attention to Sabine's monitor and warn you guys if anything happens."
"Alright, but take care of yourself."
"Hey, it's me." Ezra gave Hera a grin and she smiled back with concern.
"That was some talk." Kanan said, impressed with the way Hera handled the situation.
"With all due respect, Master Jedi, sometimes even the Force isn't strong enough to open up the mind of a teenager."
"Well you most certainly just proved that." Kanan agreed with some hesitation.
"I recall you wanted to talk about something."
"Yes… It's about Fulcrum, and please hear me out before making objections… Why are you smiling like that, Hera? I thought Fulcrum was serious, not some inside joke."
"BECAUSE, Kanan, I believe our thoughts are on the same path right now."
"So you think he… or she, could save Sabine? After all, we can't put her in an Imperial medical facility. It would be outrageously dangerous."
"Again, we share a common belief. I'll contact Fulcrum now." Hera concluded as she headed for the cockpit. After she rounded the corner, she called back, "Maybe it's time the crew of the Ghost moved up into the big leagues. I'll ask if I can bring everyone along."
Kanan cocked his eyebrows. "Well it's about time. I was worried my beard would go gray before you finally let us in on your highly elusive source of intel."
"Not to worry. Fulcrum's not really into facial hair."
Notes: (at the end because it's a spoiler for the chapter you just read)
PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I know many of you may hate my guts, but I wanted Sabine's fate to be a mystery until this chapter. If I wrote something like: "CLIFFHANGER! xD teehee!" at the end of the last chapter, you would have known she was alive. I thought it would be better if I left it up to your imagination. (And as a guest pointed out, why the hell would I kill her when I labeled it as a Sabine/Ezra romance?)
Me when I wrote Hera's pep talk - "May I dare ask, my good man, but what the devil is this leakage that has spontaneously sprung forth from my eyes?" Well, I wish I could be that much of a Sir… Anyway, hope you liked it, and may the fuzzies be with you.
Also, thanks keys of fate for being a zealously awesome person. All of your PM's really got me motivated. (I almost typed PMS instead of PM's… that was almost a very awkward statement)
And to AzulaBlue92, I forgot to respond earlier because you have PM's turned off. Anyway, I'm not really sure what you like about my 'values', but uhh, thanks! * grins awkwardly and gives a double thumbs up *
"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Simple, the path is to faster updates: Review, favorite, and follow, you must." -Master Yoda (sort of)