"Knight to D3. Check." Sabine said with a smirk. Danny had reprogrammed the Dejarik board to play chess as well as Dejarik, and Sabine was ecstatic to learn a new strategy game. Not to mention, she was never one to back down from a challenge. Danny smirked at her move.
"Very impressive. You've forced me into taking your Knight with my Queen, leaving my King open to checkmate from your Bishop." Danny said as he scanned the board.
"I'm a fast learner." Sabine said with crossed arms and a smirk. Danny returned the smirk.
"Maybe so, but you've failed to recognise my trap." Danny told her as he took her Knight with his own Bishop, which was now in direct diagonal contact with her King.
"Checkmate." Danny said simply, grinning at Sabine's flabbergasted face.
"La-hoo, Ze-her." He added, spinning his finger with each syllable, earning an angry glare from Sabine.
"Nobody can be that good. You won 7 times! You have to be cheating." She said with crossed arms, earning an amused chuckle from Danny.
"Nope. I'm just better than you." Danny said with condescending grin, making Sabine glare at him more.
"You could at least go easy." She mumbled.
"Un cœur aimable de peu de valeur dans les échecs" Danny quoted with a grin. Sabine looked at him with an immensely confused face.
"What?" She asked, completely lost. Danny chuckled.
"Sorry. It was a French quote. It means 'a kind heart is of little value in chess' when translated." Danny explained. Sabine perked up at his explanation.
"You know other languages?" She asked. Danny nodded.
"How many?" She asked.
"Quite a few. Some from my homeworld, and some from across the galaxy. You?" Danny asked. Sabine nodded.
"I speak Mondo'a, Basic, Droidspeak, Rodian, Huttese, Ubese, Ewokese and Aqualish." Sabine listed. Danny looked impressed.
"Impressive. That makes 8 languages." Danny commented.
"What about you?" Sabine asked.
"I speak English, which is the same as Basic, French, Spanish, Esperanto, Latin, Greek, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese. That's just from my homeworld. From around the galaxy there's Droidspeak, Shyriiwook, Huttese, and Mando'a." Danny explained.
Sabine's jaw was hitting the ground.
"You speak all that?" She asked in surprise. Danny nodded.
"Yep." He said with a shrug.
"Mando'a included?" Sabine asked, now curious.
"[Indeed Sabine Wren. Is that a problem?]"Danny asked in Mando'a, shocking the young Mandolorian girl.
"[No it is not, just surprising.]" Sabine answered, also in Mando'a, earning a chuckle from Danny.
"Sorry." He said, returning to English/Basic. Sabine shrugged.
"Don't be. I've missed speaking in my mother tongue, now I have someone to speak to with it." She said with a small smile. Danny smiled back.
"Anytime you want to speak Mando'a, don't hesitate to ask." He told her. Sabine smiled gratefully.
"[Thank you Daniel Eidolon.]" She said in Mando'a, making them both chuckle. Before Danny could respond, Hera commed them.
"Shade, Spectre 5, we have to discuss the failed food drop. Report to the Command Ship's Bridge." Hera instructed through the com.
"Understood Spectre 2, we're on our way." Sabine responded. The two teens shared a look and nodded before heading to the command ship's bridge.
"These people are going to starve if we don't try again." Danny spoke up.
"I agree; we must finish this mission. If we try again with our 2 remaining transports, I know I can get at least one through." Hera said with determination. Everyone was on the command centre, discussing what to do about the failed food drop.
"We don't have much time. The people won't last another rotation without our help." Kanan reminded everyone.
"I agree we must try. But, our entire fleet is no match for that blockade." Commander Sato pointed out.
"There is an alternative. I've been in contact with an engineer, who has no love for the Empire, and claims to have built a prototype heavy assault starfighter; a Blockade Buster." Rex spoke up.
"That sounds fantastic. It could work wonders for our Fleet." Danny mused.
"What's the problem? Why not go get it?" Kanan asked, confused as to why they don't have the ship.
"Shipmaster Quarrie will only discuss his ship, in person, on the planet Shantipole." Rex explained grimly.
"Shantipole?! Every pilot in the galaxy knows it's a one way trip!" One of the pilots protested.
"Hera will go." Kanan announced.
"Kanan, no! I've got to lead the next run on the blockade!" Hera protested.
"If that fighter gives us a better chance to help these people, we have to get it." Kanan shot back.
"And no one else is volunteering to go, but I know you will." He added.
"What do you think of this Commander?" Danny asked, unsure of Kanan's plan. Commander Sato thought for a moment, but ultimately nodded in approval of the mission.
"I still don't know why you're here Danny; this meeting is for the higher-ups." Kanan pointed out, raising his eyebrow at the young Halfling.
"Being Commander Tano's apprentice, Daniel holds the rank of Major." Sato explained. Kanan looked at Danny with wide eyes, while Danny just gave him a mock salute and a cheeky grin.
"You mean this kid outranks me?!" Kanan exclaimed, earning a laugh from Danny.
"Don't worry Kanan. While I'm on the Ghost, I'll be sure to leave my ranking out of things." Danny told the older Jedi with a grin.
The Ghost crew, having arrived at Shantipole, were getting ready to deploy the Phantom to meet with Shipmaster Quarrie.
"Please can I come, Hera?!" Danny all but begged the Ghost's captain.
"Danny, you're still under ship arrest since the incident with the Inquisitors." Hera told him sternly.
"Oh come on! I resisted following Ezra when he answered Vizago's distress call!" Danny exclaimed.
"I stunned you…" Ezra pointed out, earning a glare from the Halfling. The look on Hera's face suggested that she wouldn't budge.
"It's been 2 weeks! And I was completely healed after 2 days!" Danny yelled desperately. Hera still wouldn't cave.
"I'll design a new gun for the Ghost." Danny bargained. Hera's lekku perked up at the tips at these words. She gave Danny an immensely calculative gaze. Eventually, she sighed.
"Fine." She mumbled.
"Yes!" Danny exclaimed in victory as he climbed the ladder to the Phantom, following Zeb and Sabine.
As Kanan approached Hera, she gave him a hard glare.
"I can't believe you volunteered me for this reckless mission." Hera practically scolded him.
"After what's happened now, the Fleet needs me more than ever!" She hissed. Kanan crossed his arms.
"True, the Fleet needs a solution, but one that neither you, nor Agent Kallus are able to see." He said cryptically.
"Oh God, Clockwork's corrupted Kanan." Danny mumbled with a facepalm, halfway up the ladder.
"We talking in riddles now?" Hera asked the Jedi with crossed arms, earning a sigh from Kanan.
"Fine, you want me to spell it out? We can't beat that blockade. Not without a better ship, with better fire power, and the best pilot at the controls." Kanan said sternly.
"Was that so hard? What is it you Jedi feel is so bad about telling it like it is?" Danny asked with a sigh. Kanan glared at him.
"I'm going, I'm going." Danny said defensively with roll of his eyes as he carried on up the ladder.
"Kanan, even if this ship turns out to be everything we hope it is, I still might not make it back in time." Hera warned.
"Then you better hurry." Kanan responded with a shrug. Hera scoffed and rolled her eyes as she went up the ladder and sat in the pilot's seat of the Phantom.
While the Phantom entered the atmosphere of Shantipole, Kanan turned the Ghost around to join the rest of the Rebel Fleet.
"Well, I did a little research on why it's so hard to land here." Hera mentioned to her passengers.
"And?" All three asked at the same time.
"The upper atmosphere is… tricky." She said after a pause.
"Tricky how?" Sabine asked with narrowed eyes.
"You can get through it, but your craft never seems to maintain its power…" Hera explained.
"What does that mean? I don't know what that means!" Zeb said in a raised voice.
"It means hold on!" Danny all but yelled.
"No power, no flying, just falling!" Sabine added, equally as loud.
"You could have mentioned this before I got on board!" Zeb yelled at Hera.
"You wouldn't have come!" Hera shot back.
The Phantom soared through the clouds, and Hera tried to avoid the constant lightning bolts, but eventually, they got hit and half the team fell off of their seats. The Phantom started plummeting at an almost 90 degree angle, but Hera saw the massive stone pillar that they were about to smash into, and quickly turned the ship. As a result of the sharp turn, the Phantom ended up upside down. Danny noticed his hair shooting up, along with Sabine's hair and Hera's lekku. She slowly steadied the Phantom, but had to make another quick turn, sending Danny right into Sabine. Danny quickly noticed the suggestive position he and Sabine were in and blushed heavily as he shot off of her. Sabine was also blushing in embarrassment. As they swerved through the air, for lack of a better term, Zeb noticed something sticking out of one of the pillars.
"Was that a ship? That was a ship!" he yelled, pointing at the pillar through the window.
"That was just your imagination!" Hera yelled back as she dodged another pillar.
"There! The landing field!" She yelled.
"Let's hope that's not your imagination!" Danny yelled at her sarcastically.
"Yeah Hera, was it!?" Zeb asked sarcastically.
"You better hope not!" Hera responded.
"Brace for landing!" She yelled quickly as they neared the platform. The Phantom crashed into the platform, skidding straight towards the other side. Hera tried to pull back on the brakes to make the ship stop, but it did little good. The Phantom skidded until it reached the very edge of the platform, half of it hanging over the edge.
"Ugh, am I dead? I don't smell dead." Zeb mumbled as he got up, rubbing his sore neck. As he stepped towards the controls, the Phantom started leaning forward over the edge a little more.
"Uh Zeb? You might wanna step back." Danny told the Lasat.
"Why?" Zeb asked as he took another step. The Phantom started creaking over the edge a bit more.
"Uh-oh!" Zeb exclaimed.
"Hera, open the hatch!" Danny all but screamed. Hera slammed her fist on the button on the control panel that would open the Phantom's ramp. Danny jumped out and grabbed the ramp of the ship.
"Kid, that's not gonna-!" Zeb was cut off when Danny started pulling on the Phantom. That kid was actually pulling the Phantom! Danny grunted as he pulled. He may be strong, but that doesn't mean it doesn't put strain on him. He fell back as he finally managed to pull the entire Phantom away from the edge.
"Oh god…" Danny mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his sore biceps.
"Danny! Are you OK?" Hera asked a she quickly ran over to him, looking him over like a concerned mother… again…
"I'm fine Hera." Danny assured her.
"Just a little sore. An hour and I'll be able to take on Vader again." He added, eliciting a chuckle from Sabine and Zeb.
"You just get weirder and weirder Kid." Zeb said with a grin as he helped Danny up.
"Well, at least there's never a dull day when I'm around." Danny responded, returning the grin.
"Heh, fair point." Zeb chuckled.
"Hey! Who are you?" A voice said from behind them. They all turned around and saw a short, fish-like humanoid alien.
"Shipmaster Quarrie I presume?" Danny asked. The Mon Calamari nodded in response.
"Captain Rex sent us." Hera told him.
"Aha! You're here about my ship!" he said with smile as his droid dragged away the Phantom with forklift-like vehicle.
"Well, any landing you can walk away from is a good one." Hera mused, brushing the dust off of her shoulders.
"After a good landing, you can still fly the ship." Quarrie said with a deadpanned expression.
"Yeah well, you know this is a terrible place for ships right?" Hera asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe so, but it's the perfect place to test them." Quarrie replied with a slight grin.
"He's right Hera. If it can fly here, it can fly anywhere." Danny mused as he looked at the sky.
"Exactly Young Man! Also, it's the last place the Empire would look." Quarrie added with a smile towards Danny.
"Come, let's get out of this wind." Quarrie said as he gestured for the Rebels to follow him. Hera and Sabine shared a small smile before the group followed the Mon Calamari to a hangar bay.
"And here she is!" Quarrie introduced as he led the gang into the hangar. Inside was a strange ship, it was rather wide, yet rather flat, and had what looked like 2 pilot stations on either side. Danny guessed one was for a pilot, one was for the weapons.
"Pardon the mess; I don't get many visitors… Most of them crash…" Quarrie muttered the last part.
"So, what do you call this ship?" Danny asked curiously.
"I call her the Blade Wing." Quarrie said proudly as the group approached the ship.
"Eh… That's a ship? Is it upside down?" Zeb asked in confusion.
"It looks like it's been through a garbage masher." Sabine commented.
"It looks OK to me. The shape might not be very aerodynamic, but that's not really a problem in space. It could also do with a better paint job. Maybe a bit more black." Danny commented as he examined the ship.
"This is one of my most advanced designs! Fast, agile, a narrow attack profile, and it packs a punch." Quarrie stated proudly, puffing his chest in pride.
"And it is aerodynamic." He added, sending a slight glare to Danny, who shrugged.
"You're the expert, not me." Danny said.
"Darn right." Quarrie hot back with a huff, making Danny roll his eyes.
"What kind of weapons does it have exactly?" Hera asked curiously.
"High intensity blasters, ion cannons, and proton torpedoes!" Quarrie listed happily as he showed off his work.
"Great! I can't wait to test it out!" Hera said, slightly giddy.
"The Fleet could really use this, if it's everything you say it is." Danny commented to Quarrie. Quarries smile dropped.
"It is, but what makes you think she's yours just for the taking?" Quarrie asked with a huff as he exited the hangar.
"I take it he just gave us a resounding 'no,' right?" Danny asked.
"Right." Sabine muttered in response as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"So we came here for nothing, brilliant." Danny groaned with a facepalm.
"Can't believe that old carp isn't going to let you fly his ship." Zeb growled as Hera and Danny worked on the Phantom's engines.
"He's probably been out of the water for too long." Danny grumbled, just as frustrated as Zeb.
"Took the words right out of my mouth Kid." Zeb said with slight grin.
"We can't fix the Phantom." Hera spoke up.
"Not with the parts we have on board at least." Danny added as he inspected the engines a little more.
"And more good news; our com system is fried. We can't contact the Ghost." Sabine delivered as she walked out of the Phantom.
"So we're stuck here… Perfect." Hera said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"I've been in worse situations, trust me. We can get through this." Danny assured the crestfallen Twi'lek. She smiled at him gratefully, yet sadly as she took in what he said.
As they tried to work on the Phantom, Quarrie approached, pushing an anti-grav panel towards them with a few engine parts collected on it.
"I noticed your aft stabiliser's cracked. What else you need?" He asked as he and the astromech droid next to him stopped.
"A power bus relay and flux converter." Hera answered gratefully.
"Some plasma conduits would be great too." Danny added. Quarrie nodded.
"BG will get you sorted." He said, gesturing to the droid next to him, who rolled over to Hera.
"Thank you." Hera said gratefully. Quarrie nodded and headed back towards his workshop, but Hera wasn't done talking.
"Look, if I don't fly your ship, who will?" She asked him. Quarrie stopped and looked at her.
"I've waited a long time for the right pilot, I can wait longer." He said simply with narrowed eyes as he continued to his workshop, leaving Hera to her thoughts.
"You know, you didn't have to drag us out here. You could have just transmitted the plans to Rex." Hera said as she, Quarrie, and Danny worked on the Phantom's engines.
"Would have saved us a whole lot of time and energy." Danny added with a slight frown to Quarrie, who ignored it.
"Why would I hand over my ship to just any pilot?" Quarrie asked Hera as he grabbed a wrench and continued with one of the engines.
"Hera's not just 'any pilot' Quarrie." Danny said as he placed the wrench he was using down and switched to a smaller one.
"Would 'any pilot' risk coming to this… this… death trap?" Hera asked Quarrie.
"Perhaps not… So why did you?" Quarrie asked Hera with curious, narrowed eyes.
"Danny…" Hera started, but Danny stopped her.
"No worries. Just finished anyway." Danny said with a shrug as he placed the tools he was using down and walked away.
"Holler if you need me!" he called out to the older Twi'lek as the distance between them increased.
Danny continued walking and found Sabine sitting at the edge of the landing platform, her legs dangling as she stared into the distance.
"Bored?" Danny asked her as he approached her. She gave a huge sigh.
"Very. I wish I had some paint." She practically whined.
"I've been wanting to paint my blasters." She added in murmur.
"That actually sounds like a good idea." Danny said as he sat beside her.
"You mind doing mine?" he asked her. Sabine chuckled.
"Sure. I'll do your lightsabers too." She joked.
"Nobody. Touches. The sabers." Danny hissed playfully with a deranged look. Sabine laughed more at his humour.
"Not so bored anymore?" He asked her. Sabine smiled slightly and nodded.
"Not so much. Still bored, but less." She responded, eliciting a chuckle from the Halfling.
"I could take you for a flight?" Danny offered. Sabine looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"You're not trying to use your powers to try and woo me are you?" She asked suspiciously. Danny facepalmed.
"No, but I can see how you would come to that conclusion." He said as his hand travelled down his face.
"Good. I don't need 2 infatuated boys after me." Sabine said with crossed arms. Danny chuckled.
"I noticed Ezra's terrible attempts." Danny said with a chuckle. Sabine couldn't help chuckling as well.
"Should have seen him when we first met. He offered to be 'my artistic inspiration' and such." Sabine said, laughing at the memory.
"Can't really blame him." Danny said, chuckling. Sabine looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Meaning?" She asked in confusion. Danny shrugged.
"He was 14 at the time. Just entered puberty. And, not to flirt or anything, you are a very attractive girl Sabine." Danny answered honestly, earning a slight blush from Sabine.
"And not just in terms of beauty. You're strong, creative, and intelligent. I would be lying if I said you're not my type. But…" Danny trailed off.
"I still love Sam." He finished with a forlorn gaze into the distance. Sabine looked at him with sympathy.
"Ellie's mother?" Sabine asked. Danny nodded. He had told her all about Danielle, and how she started going by Ellie.
"Anyway…" He said as he stood up and stretched.
"With my messed up love life, you can be 100% certain that you won't get any flirting from me, unless it's teasing of course." Danny said with a slight grin, earning an amused eye roll from Sabine.
"So, flight?" Danny asked as he held out his hand. She looked at it for a second before shaking her head.
"I'm good. Thanks though." She responded. Danny shrugged.
"Suit yourself." He said as he let himself fall backwards over the edge of the landing platform. Sabine watched as he plummeted and then soared across the top of the fog that was covering the planet's surface, doing loops, spinning, and other tricks. Sabine just watched; completely unaware of her cheeks turning slightly red as she watched Danny fly.
Danny finished his flight and landed outside the hangar, greeted by Hera in the Blade-Wing.
"Hey, what's going on?" He asked in confusion.
"Hera managed to convince Quarrie to let her fly the Blade-wing." Zeb said simply. Danny grinned at the Mon Calamari.
"She broke you huh?" He asked. Quarrie rolled his eyes as Hera powered up the Blade-wing.
"You're lucky to have her as your pilot." Zeb told the shipmaster.
"How many times have you flown it?" Sabine asked.
"Me? I don't fly; too dangerous. But, theoretically, it should fly!" Quarrie said with a wide grin.
"Theoretically?!" Zeb and Sabine practically screamed.
"Should?!" Danny added, just as loud. Quarrie let out a loud laugh.
"Better to be down here, wishing I was up there than the other way around!" He exclaimed with deranged grin.
"Great, another Friutloop." Danny said with a facepalm.
"If that ship crashes, I'll toss you over the ship and see how well you fly!" Zeb growled to the shipmaster as Sabine held him back.
"You'll have to beat me to it." Danny added in a hiss as the Blade-wing took off.
The ship flew straight for a few milliseconds, but then started plummeting into the fog below.
"HERA!" The remaining Ghost crew members shouted as they ran to the cliff. As they reached the edge, the Blade-wing shot up, the cockpit twisting so that the body was perpendicular to its belly, and two wings unfolded, giving the ship the shape of a cross. Danny, Zeb and Sabine were cheering for Hera's skill on the new ship.
"Let's see what this beast can do." Hera said over the com and hit the acceleration drive. The engines ignited brighter and shot up.
"Definetely not a freighter." Danny joked with a wide grin.
"Took the words out of my mouth Danny." Hera responded with a grin as she soared through and around the stone pillars.
Hera sped the ship right past the observation tower, where everyone else was spectating her use of the unique ship.
"Masterful." Quarrie muttered in amazement.
"You said it. And you were right; it is aerodynamic, very much so." Danny admitted in amazement.
"Told ya!" Quarrie said with a puff of his chest.
"Commencing weapons test." Hera told them over the com. She flew towards a pillar that had a ship sticking out and pressed the buttons on the handles. The two cannons at the edges of the wings shot at the ship with red beams. The beams collided with the abandoned ship, denting it.
"I was kinda hoping your ship would pack more of a punch, Quarrie." Hera commed to Quarrie.
"Did you pull you pull the lever on the tight?" Quarrie asked her with a grin. Danny wasn't sure he liked said grin.
"No…" Hera said carefully.
"Try again." Quarrie told her. Hera did a loop with the ship so that she was headed straight for the abandoned ship again and pulled the lever Quarrie mention. This time, the cannons on all four corners of the cross shaped ship lit up and shot a red beam at an angle. The 4 red beams collided right in front of the Blade-wing, and shot forward, thicker and stronger. It collided with the downed ship and full on obliterated it.
"I told you!" Quarrie exclaimed triumphantly, doing a victory dance.
"Wow…" Danny said in awe.
"You can say that again." Sabine agreed.
The group ran over to the landing platform to meet with Hera as she landed the ship. The wings on the side of the Blade-wing folded in and the ship landed horizontally as Hera jumped out.
"Nicely done Hera!" Danny complemented with a wide smile that Hera returned.
"Thanks Danny. Though it has fire power, the targeting system could use some work." Hera pointed out.
"I've got some ideas." Sabine said, walking forward.
"Same here. I could probably incorporate my ecto-plasm into the cannons." Danny mused as he inspected the ship.
"Oh no you don't. That's my ship Young Ones. What do you think you're doing?" He asked, glaring at Sabine and Danny.
"Never get between a Mandolorian and weapons package." Sabine told him sternly, returning his glare
"Same thing with a Halfling." Danny said, also glaring, his forest green eyes flashing a deep blue. Quarrie shuddered at the looks he was getting. He about to backchat, but BG approached, beeping and gesturing to the Phantom, which had a beeping sound coming from it.
"It's Kanan, he'll want to hear about our success." Hera announced as she took the Blade-wing helmet off and handed it to Zeb.
While Hera spoke to Kanan, the others helped Quarrie move some equipment around. Danny and Zeb placed some heavy crates down by a group of others, while Sabine ran a diagnostic. The crates were light as a feather to Danny, but Zeb sighed in relief while Danny just hummed under his breath as he placed three crates on top of each other down.
"How are doing that?!" Zeb exclaimed. Danny gave him a deadpanned look.
"Did you forget that I can carry the Phantom?" he asked. Zeb looked away in embarrassment.
"Yes…" He mumbled, earning a chuckle from the Halfling
"We need to get moving, the 2nd battle is about to commence." Hera informned the group as she walked out of the Phantom.
"Well, we have a problem." Sabine reported as she walked over from the Blade-wing.
"Shocker." Danny sarcastically.
"The energy drain from the multi-cannon firing system killed the hyper drive." Sabine told them.
"In Basic please." Zeb groaned.
"Come on Zeb that was obvious." Danny said to the Lasay
"Oh, really? What did she mean?" Zeb sneered. Danny gave him a blunt look.
"The weapons used to much power and fried the Hyper Drive." He deadpanned.
"Exactly. The weapons work but we have no light speed." Sabine answered. Zeb grumbled under his breath at Sabine conforming Danny's words.
"Well that has been a problem." Quarrie thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head.
"It's been a problem?" Danny repeated the Ship Master's words in frustration.
"You mean you knew about this?" Hera snapped at the Mon Calamari.
"Well, what do you expect for a prototype?" Quarrie shot back.
"There are all sorts of adjustments that need to be made. For instance, I agree with Shiny Eyes here; I don't even like this paint job so much." Quarrie said, gesturing to Danny and then the ship. Zeb and Danny growled; they were sick of Quarrie not giving them important information beforehand. Zeb tossed the crate he was holding aside and grabbed the Ship Master by his collar.
"Come here Fish Face, I'm gonna see if you can fly." He growled as he looked the terrified Mon Calamari dead in the eye.
"Save a few scales for me." Danny hissed, his eyes glowing blue again.
"Hang on, hang on you 2. Let's just calm down. There must be a way to solve this." Hera said softly. Reluctantly, Zeb dropped Quarrie. Key word: dropped. The Mon Calamari slammed into crate that was on the ground. The angry Lasat gave Quarrie one last glare before he walked off. Danny begrudgingly let the glow im his eyes drop as the irises turned from a glowing dark blue to a plain dark green. He huffed as Hera and Sabine looked deep in thought. Quarrie, still a little shaken by Zeb, sat up and tried to regain himself, rubbing his sore head.
"It's a shame I had BG install that other hyperdrive on The Phantom." Quarrie said with groan.
"You what!" Hera exclaimed as she turned her attention the the Ship Master.
"I don't like seeing a ship that can't fly; during the repairs, I upgraded it because without a hyperdrive you can't fly far." Quarrie explained, pointing to BG, who was on top of The Phantom.
"You beautiful, crazy, Mon Calamari! That's the answer to all our problems!" Hera screamed in delight as she pulled Quarrie into a bear hug.
"Wait, I get it!" Danny suddenly exclaimed in realisation. Zeb and Sabine just looked as confused as Quarrie.
"Wait, what? What's the answer?" Quarrie asked in confusion. Hera and Danny shared a look before nodding.
Danny was piloting the Phantom, with Zeb and Quarrie in the passenger seats, and BG in the astromech port that was installed into the Phantom with the new hyperdrive. Sabine and Hera were in the Blade-wing, Hera in the cockpit, and Sabine at the weapons panel on the other side of the unusual ship. They had magnetically locked the Blade-wing to the underside iof the Phantom, allowing them to easily jump into Hyperspace with both ships. Now, it was just a matter of joining the battle before things got too ugly for the Phoenix Squadron.
"You're surprisingly good at piloting a ship, Shade." Hera mused as they neared their destination.
"When will you realise there's nothing I can't accomplish?" Danny joked back.
"Really Danny? I never figured you'd be the arrogant type." Sabine teased over the comlink they were using.
"Yeah, I know, girls like a man who's humble. I'll keep that in mind for you, Spectre 5." Danny teased back with a grin. Not that Sabine could see it, but she felt herself blushing at the hidden implications nonetheless, and shut up. She should have seen that coming; Danny did say that he'd teasingly flirt with her now and then. Since she knew it wasn't a boyish crush like with Ezra, she didn't feel the need to scoff and roll her eyes. No, this seemed different for some reason.
"Hey, if you kids are done flirting, we're arriving!" Zeb announced, a little frustrated.
As they were seconds away from leaving Hyperspace, they heard Kanan over the com.
"I'm going to swing around and try from another direction." He said, not knowing that Danny and the others could hear him.
"Stay on course Ghost; I'll knock that cruiser out of your way." Hera instructed, shocking the Jedi.
"Decoupling Blade-wing, now!" Danny announced as he released the magnetic lock, letting the Blade-wing fly.
"Say hello to Kallus for me." Zeb said with a grin as the Blade-wing soared into battle
"Oh, we will… if there's anything left of him." Sabine responded with her own grin. As he watched the battle, Danny wished that he could fly out there in a fighter, or even on his own, just so he could help. Last time they tried this, they lost Phoenix Leader. He hated not being able to help, but the Phantom wasn't made for heavy battle, and there was no airlock, so he couldn't go out and fly by himself. That, and he didn't know if he can survive being in space. He doesn't need to breath as much as humans, but his body might not like being in the cold vacuum of space.
"You boys better give me some room." Hera spoke up over the com.
"You heard the captain." Kanan acknowledged as the rebel ships all dispersed to make space for the Blade-wing.
"Sabine we're only going to have one shot at this." Hera said, making it clear that they could not afford to miss.
"Then it's a good thing you trust me." Sabine replied.
Danny was really nervous. He didn't want to lose more friends in this fight, and was praying to any kind of deity that existed in this universe that Hera and Sabine would succeed. He watched as the Blade-wing dodged fire from the Imperial Cruiser and he felt Sabine and Hera's nervousness as well. They got closer, and he heard Hera signal Sabine to fire. They both pressed the weapons buttons on their respective consoles and the four red beams shot again, combing into one long one that completely obliterated the Cruiser. Danny felt such a wave of relief when the Ghost got through the conflict. His nerves had calmed, and he had a wide grin on his face as Quarrie cheered at the success of his ship. The Blade-wing reattached to the Phantom, and the entire squadron left the area, leaving Agent Kallus with a very angry scowl on his face.
Hera, Sabine, Danny, and Commander Sato were standing by the airlock of the Ghost, which was attached to the Command Ship, waiting for the rest of the Ghost crew and Quarrie. It didn't and take long for said people to approach.
"It seems Senator Organa has found a ship works that is sympathetic to our cause, and willing to manufacture more of these B-Wings in secret." Commander Sato said to Quarrie; quick and concise as usual.
"Project Shantipole will continue, under my supervision of course. There are many adjustments that are needed to be made." Quarrie said sternly. Sato nodded in agreement.
"Quarrie, thanks to you, and your ship, we helped many people today." Hera said to the Ship Master with a grateful smile.
"I just hammered it together young pilot." Quarrie said dismissively.
"You made it soar." He added with a smile as he and BG left.
"Indeed." Sato spoke up.
"Your heroics are unparalleled Captain Syndulla. That is why I agree with Kanan and Major Eidolon's recommendation." He said with a small grin.
"Major?" Sabine asked in shock. Danny smirked at her showed her the badge he had hidden under his shoulder pad; a white square with 3 circles. This badge marks him as a Major in Rebel Command.
"What have you two done now?" Hera asked Kanan and Danny with a slight glare.
"Just listen to the Commander." Kanan responded with a sly grin.
"That's an order, Captain." Danny added, matching the grin. Hera rolled her eyes and turned to Sato.
"You are to be promoted to Phoenix Leader; our pilots will benefit greatly from your expertise." The Commander said, giving Hera a salute. Danny followed, then Sabine, and everyone else in the room.
"Good job, Captain Hera." Kanan said, giving a quick 2 fingered salute. Hera couldn't help the smile that made its way onto her face as she gave everyone her own salute.
That night, Sabine was sitting at the Dejarik board, deep in thought about her conversation with Danny at the cliff on Shantipole. He called her beautiful, in more than terms of physical attractiveness. When she remembered him saying that she was his type, she couldn't stop the blush that made it's way to her cheeks. Luckily, Danny needed to sleep now, so while he was in her room, taking his weekly six hours, she was able to muse about in her head, undisturbed. Until…
"Sabine, you ok?" hera asked as she walked into the living room.
"Yeah, yeah… it's nothing." Sabine mumbled, not really convincingly. Hera raised her eyebrow and sat next to Sabine, an expectant look on her face. She usually wouldn't press an issue with the Mandolorian girl, but she felt something different about this. Something she thought Sabine had to let out.
"I'm not getting out of this, am i?" Sabine asked in deadpan tone. The overly sweer smile on Hera's face suggested that she was right. Sighing, Sabine conceded.
"it's Danny." She confessed. Hera raised her eyebrow again, displaying that she needed more information.
"We talked at the cliff on Shantipole. He offered to tke me for a flight and I asked him if he was flirting." Hera facepalmed. Both at Danny's idiocy, and Sabine being hung up on it.
"He wasn't." Sabine added, seeing her friend's reaction.
"OK, then what's wrong?" Hera asked in confusion. Sabine sighed again.
"Firstly, let me just say that I'm aware that I have features that men find appealing." She said. Hera nodded in agreement. Even she knew that.|
"But the problem, the only thing any guy has ever seen the first time they meet me is a pretty girl to ogle at. Danny was… different." She said after a pause.
"Different how?" Hera asked curiously. Sabine blushed as she remembered the conversation again.
"He said that not only am I beautiful, but I'm also strong, creative and intelligent, and that I'm his type." She explained.
"But?" Hera asked. She could see that 'but' coming a mile away.
"He's still in love with his lover that died, the mother of his child." Sabine said, wincing a bit. She'd never lost someone THAT close to her before, and could only imagine the pain he was going through.
"I get that, but I don't see what's wrong with you right now." Hera spoke up. Sabine shifted, a bit uncomfortable. She didn't like talking about her problems, and usually dealt with them herself, but this was something she had NO experience with.
"When I think back to the conversation, him calling me beautiful, creative and everything, I feel weird. No guy's words have ever affected me like this. I don't know what it is." Sabine said with a slightly annoyed frown. Hera looked at Sabine incredulously before she let out a laugh. She was careful not to let it get too loud, so she managed to leave it a giggle.
"Something funny?" Sabine asked with a light glare.
"Sabine, it's obvious what's going on." Hera said with a grin. Sabine gave her an expecting glare.
"What you're feeling is an attraction to Danny." Hera explained. Sabine looked at her with wide eyes.
"Think about it." Hera spoke up before Sabine could retort.
"Danny's a nice guy, he's a Force-user, he has a knack for mechanics like you do, and he loves weapons just as much as you. Frankly, I'm not surprised. He seems to be right up your alley." She said. Sabine wanted to deny it, but couldn't deny that Hera was making sense, but she didn't like the fact that anyone could have this kind of effect on her.
"Tell me, what do you think of Danny?" Hera asked, striving to prove her point. Sabine thought about the young Halfling, trying to think of things that would attract her attention.
"Well, he is handsome, with the hair and eyes, he's smart, his powers are fascinating, he has so much in common with me, he speaks Mando'a and…" Sabine stopped her list, shifting uncomfortably again.
"He… he does have a well built body… I saw his muscles when he was in the medical bay… they could turn any woman's eyes…" She mumbled, her face red as an apple. Hera couldn't help the giggle that left her lips.
"And, he understands how you feel about what you went through with your family, only on a much larger scale." Hera whispered the last part. Both women wince a little at the mention of the terrible tragedy Danny went through, but they both knew Hera was right.
"Maybe… he can understand me…" Sabine thought, a glimmer of hope in her heart.
"What you do is up to you. Just know that matters of the heart are NEVER easy, and will be here if you need me, K?" Hera asked with a gentle smile. Sabine smiled gratefully and nodded as Hera left the young Mandolorian to her thoughts.
A/N: OK, I wasn't sure at first, but I've ultimately decided that I WILL make this story a Danny x Sabine pairing. It will take a while for anything to happen, since Danny will be reluctant to find new love, and Sabine isn't exactly eager to put herself out there. But it WILL happen, I promise.
Also, let me just say that I'm sorry for the erratic uploads of my stories. I will be putting up a pole for you all to decide which story I focus on, and I won't update any other story until that one is done. Please be sure to vote!
Lastly, thank you for being patient with me. Don't expect too many uploads, as I'm still doing exams, but I took the day off of studying to finish this chapter for you all as a thanks. Once I have a LOT of free time, I will be sure to udate more often. Thanks a ton guys! I love you all!
BTW, this chapter is the longest in the story yet! 6800 words! =O