The Past and Future.
The Princess.
Chapter Eleven.
Ezra's POV.
It's been three days since our group discovered Valerie's force sensitivity. She was serious about not having any of the others in the base know except for some of the main staff in the Medbay who she told herself. Ahsoka likewise had to inform her superiors, but Commander Sato acknowledged the importance of keeping force sensitives a secret. As it turns out, the tremor we felt in the force was Valerie healing the rebel who wasn't supposed to have made it. This would've made people suspicious if it weren't for Vanel's help,. He was the medic that overheard our conversation while we were in the medbay. Both Vanel and Ahsoka said that the report exaggerated the soldier's condition, but he still would've died if it weren't for the bacta retrieved by yours truly and my beautiful Mandalorian partner.
Unfortunately, Kanan and Rex covered for our absence so they could focus on making my life a living hell. They just took to calling it "advanced training" instead. Which was just extremely difficult physical and force related torture. I had to run the entire base once when I woke up, and once before I got to sleep. After the morning run Rex had me doing more advanced blaster practice. Sometimes with other rebels who were practicing on their own too. After that was sparring with Rex or Echo, whose leg finally got a decent cybernetic replacement. They'd also have me spar with some of the other rebels every so often too, and it turns there are a few skilled fighters on the base outside of just our group. Once sparring is finished it's a break for lunch, and most of the time that means lunch with Sabine or the others in our group. After lunch Kanan has us continuing my lightsaber training before eventually moving on to connecting with, and also using, the Force. Our training lasts until supper, after which is training with Sabine. I mean, it's a given now that we're officially a team after all. Normally we switch between sparring or fighter pilot sims. Apparently surviving a swarm of TIE's with only minor damage wasn't good enough for some people. A bright side of our trip to Lothal was that the parts and credits we brought back actually covered for most of the damage to my fighter.
Speaking of sparring, that's exactly what I'm in the middle of doing in our private training room.
Sabine throws a light jab at my jaw which I leaned back to avoid.
She capitalizes with a lightning fast left side kick.
I take the hit and grab her leg with my right arm.
Taking advantage of the situation I step forward to set her off balance before throwing a left handed long fist.
She dodges to the right. Putting her even more off balance.
I let out a faint smirk before faking a left knee.
She reacts quickly, dodging left and attempting to rebalance.
She staggers backwards but remains standing. Albeit while favoring her chest after that hit she took.
Ha. Going blow for blow with a Mandalorian now that's some good hand to hand combat skills.
I kept up my guard and eyed her cautiously as she steadily advanced towards me. Waiting for me to strike.
When she gets close enough I attempt to throw a low right hook aimed at her side.
She catches me with a quick spin, delivering a hard right elbow to my face.
As I stagger back she follows up with another lightning fast left side kick. Making me to fall backwards onto the floor.
I even hit the mat hard enough to bounce.
I lay there for a second groaning.
"Ugh, damn it. You hit a lot harder when you're pissed, Sabine." I groan out as I raise myself up into a kneel.
"Hey, that's what happens when you land a good hit on me. I start taking you seriously." Sabine says with a teasing smirk.
She offers me a hand, which I accept gratefully.
"Great kick though, especially combined with that feint. Guess our training together isn't going to waste after all." She adds matter-of-factly
"Well I would've done better if you didn't have sixteen more years of combat experience over me." I say clutching my own chest and working my jaw carefully.
"I wasn't trained since I was two, Ezra. I began training when I was eight." Sabine corrected flatly with a roll of her eyes.
"That's still at least eight more years than I have! Even with the training I'm getting from you, Kanan, and Rex it'll still be a long time before we can spar without you needing to hold back on me." I point out in mock-exasperation, smiling.
Sabine, meanwhile, walks to the back of the small training room to grab a coolant patch.
While the room itself is not really small by any measure it's still mostly used only by our group. There's actually an entire Training Floor a couple levels down that most of the other rebels use. Which means we get this room almost entirely to ourselves.
Sabine tosses me the coolant patch which I catch before sliding it over my still aching chest.
"But seriously. Did you have to put me down in so easily?" I ask sardonically.
"You showed that you could put up a decent fight. I was just showing you how far you still have to go before you can even be considered a challenge for most Mandalorians." Sabine replies while grabbing a water bottle resembling her typical brightly colored art scheme.
"Ya, but we're fighting the Empire, and last I checked Stormtroopers aren't most Mandalorians." I joked.
"Careful, Ezra. That sort of thinking has gotten a lot of people killed." Sabine says seriously before taking a drink from her water bottle.
"Alright, alright, fine. So then what's next on our schedule for today?" I ask while watching Sabine's toned body stretch out.
"Combat practice if you don't stop staring in the next five seconds." Sabine says while trying to hide a smile by taking another drink of water.
"Hey, it's a great view. It'd be criminal of me to miss out on the opportunity to admire it." I flirtingly tease back.
"Haha." Sabine laughs at me shaking her head a little. "Is that all there is to this attraction? Beauty?"
"No, no, not at all!" I say hurriedly. Slightly panicking. It'd still be criminal not to admit she's gorgeous though.
"You're smart, an incredible pilot, a skilled fighter, a great artist, and just one of the best people I've ever known." I say as quickly as I could. Barely even realizing what I even said before I said it.
"Vor'e ner cabur." (Thanks my protector.) Sabine says smiling. I smile back.
"Ba'gedet'ye ner cabur." (You're welcome my protector.)
"Well if you two are done flirting than I have something to say." Kanan says with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Ni narir nayc mirdir kaysh emuurir nayc suvarir." (I do not think he enjoys not understanding.) I say with a smirk.
"Ni aalar ceta par kaysh." (I feel sorry for him.) Sabine says shaking her head sadly holding back a grin.
"Very funny. There's going to be a meeting here in three days. A meeting which both of your are going to attend, so you get that afternoon off. One of the higher-ups in the Rebel Alliance is going to be arriving for a tour of our newest base, so absolutely no goofing off." Kanan says annoyed by our antics.
"Tion'ad?" I ask him.
"I can't understand Mandalorian Ezra." Kanan says frowning.
"Sorry, forgot to switch back to basic, so who's coming?" I clarify after hearing Sabine's laugh from beside me.
"Someone important. However that's all I can tell you for now. You'll need to wait until they arrive in three days in order to find out." Kanan says before turning to leave the training room.
I can hear him mumble something about "lovesick teenagers" as he leaves.
"Hey, I take offense to that!" I say indignantly.
Sabine narrows her gaze at him as well.
"I just finished having my ass handed to me by a Mandalorian, and we've both been sticking to the, "advanced training regimen" you and everyone else put us on without complaint. You can't blame us for trying to enjoy ourselves while we train." I said unhappily.
"Yeah, Ezra's actually getting to be a somewhat decent challenge for me. So what if we're each others cabur?" Sabine says.
"Cabur?" Kanan asked clearly confused by the sudden change to Mando'a.
"Protector. I'm Sabine's protector and she's my protector." I translate for Kanan.
"It's a Mando'ade way of thinking." Sabine states smiling at me before frowning at Kanan again.
"Well it can be a risk when your in a fight regardless. If you get distracted and lose focus because the other person got injured then both of you could die, or worse. There's a reason Jedi are taught not to let their emotions control them." Kanan says shaking his head sadly.
"I know you think it's a distraction, Kanan, but do you honestly think that us not. . . feeling this way would change anything?" I ask seriously.
"No. However, I still think it's risky to have the two of you on the same team if you can't properly control your emotions. You're not ready for missions like your last one on Lothal. At least not yet. Especially given by your apparent history with-"
"Don't say their name, Kanan." I interrupt, a deadly serious frown on my face.
"-a gang." Kanan says, frowning concernedly.
He might not like how I reacted to Valerie, or the fact that I still won't tell him what happened that's so horrible, but he doesn't need to know. No one does. Not yet.
"And how does that have anything to do with us?" Sabine asks unhappily.
"Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere because you two won't change your minds on this." Kanan says sighing.
"Hhhh. Just be ready for the meeting. It starts at one o'clock standard time three days from now." Kanan says before leaving through the automatic door.
"What's his problem?" Sabine asks unhappily.
"It's probably the fact that Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments." I say sighing.
"Attachments?" Sabine asks.
"Jedi aren't supposed to form attachments so that emotions don't cloud our judgement. Emotions like fear. For fear is the path to the Dark Side of the Force. Fear of losing power; Fear of losing something valuable or precious; Fear of losing someone close to you, or someone that you care about. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. That is the path to the Dark Side." I recite, recalling Kanan's talks on the Dark Side of the Force.
"So you can't feel emotions without fear of falling to the Dark Side like the Inquisitors?" Sabine asks in realization.
"That's how I understand it, but the Jedi back then were raised to believe any emotion controlling you was bad. Most were brought to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when they were just infants in order to become the peacekeepers and protectors of the Galaxy." I smiled slightly. "Jedi dedicated their lives to the Order and the Force because it was the only life they ever really knew. They didn't really have much of a choice from the day they were born. Yet now that they're almost all gone the galaxy needs them more than ever."
"Wow, Ezra, that was surprisingly deep of you to say." Sabine pauses for a few seconds before she narrows her eyes and leans in concernedly.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Ezra?" She says forcefully while her eyes are just inches from mine.
I can't help but laugh before asking, "How about we grabs some snacks and watch some holo before I hurt myself then?" I suggest while walking out of the training room towards the cafeteria.
"Sounds good to me. I was actually worried you hit your head too hard back there." Sabine says happily by my side.
The three days later.
Beep! Beep! Bee- My hand clumsily pushes one of the alarm's buttons.
Groaning awake I roll myself out of bed but my leg gets caught in my sheets. After laying on the floor for a few seconds I slowly pick myself off the ground and slowly shake away any remaining grogginess.
Beep! Beep! Bee- "Gah!" The alarm going off again jolts me wide awake as I quickly make sure to properly turn it off this time.
Now wide awake I throw on my jumpsuit and walk out of my room to start on my morning lap of the base.
Starting on my current floor I descend towards the bottom floor before working my way back up. After passing a couple of people either getting ready for the day or ending their night shift I finally made it back to my room.
Panting, but not really tired or all that sweaty, I enter my room's bathroom to take a shower before continuing the day.
After redressing, my stomach growls faintly and I decide now is as good a time as any to head for the cafeteria.
On my way there I passed two twi'lek soldiers in the hall. One of them had an obvious hangover while the other seemed to just be paranoid for some strange reason. I decide it's not my problem before continuing on my way. Which is probably for the best because after I rounded a corner I heard vomiting and the sound of a rodian yelling out in surprise.
Nearing the cafeteria I pass through the entrance just before a nearby group of pilots talking about their day's flight simulations bump into me.
Finally reaching my destination I grab a cup of caf before walking to the cafeteria counter where I'm greeted by a familiar face.
"Morning, Ezra! Want the usual or something different?" The chef asks from his station as he continues cooking something else. He's not only the closest one to the counter but he's also the best chef in the base. He takes orders for the other chefs all while doing his own work and whatever else has his attention. He makes a really good omelet too.
"You know, I'm feeling pretty good today. Surprise me?" I say smiling.
"Ha! Sure thing, Ezra. I'll put something together for you no problem."
Knowing my breakfast is gonna be made quickly I look for a spot in the surprisingly crowded cafeteria. Though that's mostly because it's either still being expanded, renovated, or just plainly occupied. I do manage to find a place right beside a certain blue haired, and colorfully armored, Mandalorian girl though.
"Morning Sabine." I say smiling as I sit down next to her.
"Morning Ezra." Sabine greets before taking a bite of her breakfast.
"So what do you got there?" I ask eyeing her breakfast.
"Just some waffles and malrun fruit chunks." Sabine says simply before taking a bite.
"Well what do you want to do with our free time after breakfast? Speaking of." I say swiping a piece of malrun.
"Hey, get your own." Sabine says slapping my thieving hand.
"What? Why get my own when I can just steal one or two from you instead." I smirk while I reach out for another piece.
"No." Sabine says simply before quickly poking my hand with her fork.
"Ow." I reflectively exclaim in shock as I pull my hand back. "Note to self: don't try to steal Mando'ade food."
"You better believe it." Sabine says while pointing her fork at me with a feigned scowl on her face.
"So what'd you do this time, Ezra?" Zed asks as he sets his own plate of waffles down and sits across from us next to a male human soldier sporting a huge bruise on his forehead.
"He was stealing my food." Sabine state matter-of-factly states before taking yet another bite of her waffles.
"I'm gonna get my food. It's probably done by now anyways." I say while getting up to avoid any of Zeb's teasing.
"Yeah, no need to steal your mate's food Ezra." Zeb says smiling.
I rush off to grab my food. Barely noticing the soldier sitting next to Zeb bobbing his head faintly.
"Thanks, chef." I say grabbing my plate of fresh eggs and meat strips. "And could I get a bowl of malrun fruit chunks, please?"
He smiles and opens a small cooler and pulls out a bowl.
"No problem." He smiles as he quickly opens a nearby cooler and pulls out a small bowl of malrun fruit chunks. "Here you go."
I give him a nod of thanks before grabbing the bowl.
Heading back to the table I see Zeb with hands raised in surrender and a nervous look on his face.
Setting my plate down I glance at Sabine and notice her face is an interesting shade of red.
"So, what happened while I was gone?" I ask, sliding the bowl of malrun fruit between Sabine and I.
"Uhhh. Sabine here was just educating me on things I shouldn't say either to or near her. Ever." Zeb says slowly, receiving a firm nod from Sabine in response.
"Uhhh." I glance between Zeb and Sabine before letting it go. "Well I guess you can tell me what Zeb said that was so wrong later."
I say looking at Sabine who just focuses on her food.
"Or Zeb can."
"Uh huh." I glance between Zeb and Sabine for a few seconds before letting it go.
"I guess you can tell me what Zeb said that was so wrong later." I say looking at Sabine who just focuses on her food. "Or Zeb can."
"Nope." Zeb says finishing off his food and getting up. "See you both at the meeting."
"Okay?" I say frowning.
Sabine grabs a piece of malrun.
"So what was that all about?" I ask, taking a bite of my egg.
"Nothing important." Sabine says finishing off her food.
"Thanks for the fruit." She grabs the bowl and walks to the kitchen.
"Your welcome." I say happily.
"Hey get back here with my fruit." I say realizing she took the bowl.
"Nope." She says hips swaying and emptying the bowl quickly.
"Darn. I wanted that fruit." I say unhappily.
"That's the price of having a girlfriend kid." Kanan say sitting down across from me with Hera.
"Oh so Hera steals your food too? And she's not my girlfriend we're caburs." I ask smirking.
Kanan scowls at me while Hera merely smiles.
"No." Kanan says digging into his omelet.
"Oh that's right cause your married." I say polishing off my food.
"Seriously kid would you lay off or I am going start doing the same thing to you and Sabine." Kanan says unhappily.
"Meh. At least we can admit what we are to each other." I say shrugging.
"Or I could just get Sato to switch where you guys are for missions." Hera says smiling.
"You wouldn't." I say staring at her unhappily.
"Of course I can." Hera says still smiling. "But I won't because you two are a good team."
I smile as I grab my tray and walk back to the kitchen.
"Thanks for the meat and eggs. They were delicious as always." I say to Chef as I drop off my empty tray. "And the fruit!"
"No problem, Ezra!" He shouted back happily.
After that I left the cafeteria and pass some of the other rebels on the way to my next destination.
I head to blaster practice.
"Ezra, good to see you up and awake this morning." Rex says stepping over to me with Echo once I enter the room used for shooting practice.
"We'll be practicing with the E-11 today. It's the standard imperial blaster and an admittedly decent weapon. Also, Echo wants to take a look at your lightsaber. See if he can make it more lethal." Rex explains as he tosses me a salvaged E-11.
"Alright, but try not to break it, please." I urge while I hand Echo my light saber.
"I won't break it kid. Believe it or not but I do know what I'm doing when it comes to weapons." Echo says inspecting it. "Even thrown together ones at that. I'll be just over there." He says gesturing towards a weapon's table and workbench at the back-right of the room.
"Okay." I say watching him walk over to workbench and begin inspecting it.
"So what are we shooting at today?" I ask as we walk over to the range.
"You are going to be working on moving targets." Rex says activating the holographic range.
"Alright then." I say aiming the blaster down range.
After lunch.
"Okay, finally ready for this whole VIP Meeting thing." I say to myself as I leave my room and walk over towards Sabine's. "Sabine, you ready?"
"Yeah, just a second." She says through her door. Having finally got her armor resized she no longer needs any help getting it on.
Not that I really minded.
The door opens and we walk down the hall.
"So what do you think this meeting is about?" I ask as we reach the elevator.
"Don't know but hopefully we can find out what we are going to be doing next." Sabine says looking semi annoyed.
"I know what you mean. I'm not a fan of waiting around either." I say as we reach the ground floor.
"I just want to be able to blow up something." Sabine says smiling.
"Like a supply ship?" I ask smiling too.
"Yes. Now that was an explosion!" Sabine says excitedly.
"Jeez like a kid at christmas." I say smiling happily.
"Christmas?" Sabine asks sounding confused.
"Oh I guess you guys never heard of it cause you weren't raised on Lothal." I say rubbing my chin in thought. "It's a holiday in the colder months just before the end of the year. Family's get together and exchange presents and enjoy a meal together. The whole planet basically shuts down for a day. It's a time to get together with your loved ones. Haven't really experienced it for long time. But people were always more generous around that time."
"That sounds like a fun time." Sabine says smiling. "So you really haven't celebrated this holiday in a long time then?"
"Yeah but I never really had anyone to celebrate it with so I wasn't to worried about it." I say shrugging we reach the meeting room and show the soldiers guarding the room our ID's and they let us in. We walk in and immediately see Kanan, Hera, Rex, Echo, and Zeb waiting across the room.
"There's the others." Sabine says and we head over to them.
"Nice to see you two on time together for once." Kanan says smiling.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask frowning as we approach them.
"Well you two do tend to be a bit more behind when you come together." Zeb says with a strange look on his face.
"Zeb what did we talk about at breakfast this morning?" Sabine asks glaring at him.
His eyes widen a bit before he shuts up and looks forward to the platform in the front of the room.
"Okay, what did you do to Zeb, Sabine?" Hera asks pointedly.
"Just reminded him about certain things that he should not talk about to Ezra and I." Sabine says diplomatically.
"More like threatened to end me." Zeb grumbles.
"What do you know about this Ezra?" Hera asks looking at me.
"You know just as much as I do." I say shrugging.
"You weren't there?" Kanan asks eyeing me.
"Nope I was getting my breakfast." I say smirk spreading across my face. "But Sabine was about as red as a strawberry when I got back."
"Just drop it Ezra." Sabine says giving me a half hearted glare.
"I will but I will not be getting them to stop." I say pointing to Kanan and Zeb.
"I'll handle Kanan and we don't need to handle Zeb. He knows not to." Sabine says smiling manically.
"So Zeb what exactly did you say to Sabine to make her so mad?" Kanan asks elbowing him.
"Oh I just mentioned that they were more then friendly as of late." Zeb says waving his hand and walking off slightly.
Kanan just leans back in thought.
"Your attention please." A soldier at the front of the room asks above the chatter of the people here. I look out on the crowd and see that it's mostly the higher up staff on the base, the people in charge of area's and people.
"Introducing Princess Leia Organa, Senator of Alderaan." The soldier announces before stepping off to allow a young women to step up onto the stand. Wearing a white dress and brunette hair styled up in buns. She had an air of regality about her. In response, the higher ranking staff respectively clap in applause.
I feel out in the force and smile.
She's nervous.
"Our current place and fight is within the shadows of the Empire. Our group is small but we have had far reaching effects." She motions to someone off stage and they start a recording.
My voice!
"We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you. I'm not that old but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this. See what the Empire has done to your lives, to your families, to your freedom, and it's only going to get worse unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice, but we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's my parents taught me, that's what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together! Because that's when we're strongest, as one!" The recording cuts out.
"That was from one of our most prominent cells as of late. This broadcast has successfully circulated across the entire Galaxy despite the Empire's best efforts. With others rallying and doing the same themselves." Leia says with a proud and confident smile.
Murmurs of agreement start throughout the room.
My voice was heard across the galaxy?
"Unfortunately, we are still far from ready to face the Empire. Until that time comes we must continue doing our best to survive and do what we can for those desperately in need. Yet there is hope. We have finally established a central base of operations. A place where we can gather and build our strength, a safe haven for our smaller ships to harbor for repairs, and a place for the brave who have fought and lost to rest." Leia stops for a moment, takes a deep breath, and presses on. "Yet we can not allow ourselves to act like terrorists which some have already become. We can not target the people we are trying to save, or destroy their homes. I know none of this is easy, and what I'm about to say may be even more difficult to accept, but we must wait and continue hoping for democracy to succeed. There are still many in the Imperial Senate even now who are working together to push for change as well."
I frown.
"If we take up open arms against the Empire then there's no going back. We will only plunge the Galaxy into yet another violent war with a fate we can't be certain of."
I feel some of the officers and staff becoming bitter with Princess's speech. Although they appear to be doing their best to restrain themselves despite their own discontent. Sabine is just openly projecting her annoyance right beside me.
"Starting a war must be our very last resort. Otherwise we might end up no better than what we wish to change." Leia looks out briefly to the many gathered faces and sees a few openly disapproving faces with even more tightly reserved expressions. She stops at me for a second before continuing. "I know the Empire doesn't care about talking. Instead they oppress the people and remove those who don't fall in line. All in order to get what they want. We must not allow ourselves to become like that. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors and know that you aren't alone in your struggles."
With that she steps back to allow a another man to step forward and start talking but I tune him out.
The Empire won't talk, big surprise there, but does that really mean we have to start shooting right away? We've fought only when we had to, and never against the people. Killing only when we're left with no other option. That's what the Jedi would do, right?
"You may all return to duty. Thank you for attending." An officer later announced from up on the stand. Though I can't remember what he was actually officer of.
"She's not wrong you know." Kanan says quietly. "But she's not exactly right either."
"The Empire won't stop to talk, and we've seen just a fraction of what they can and will do. We're here because we've already been forced to fight." Sabine declares firmly
"But if we just start fighting without thought, or at least trying some other way, we would lose before we even started."
If we had just attacked the doctor back at the hospital on Lothal then we wouldn't have gained the support of that nurse on the promise that we keep his family safe. Wouldn't open conflict jeopardize everyone we were trying to help in the first place?
"But what about when Kanan was captured? Talking wouldn't have worked there." Sabine said as she turned to me expectantly.
"You're right, it wouldn't have worked." I agree calmly.
"Ezra, you just said-"
I raise a hand to stop her before she continued further. "Talking in that particular case wouldn't have helped, I know. But what would've happened back at the hospital if we just barged in and starting raiding the place? Would we have found the supplies as fast? Would we have even gotten to the Bacta before things got too dangerous? Sure, the Empire won't just quietly lay down and give in, but I think what the senator was trying to say is that if we just start fights without good reason then we'd only make things worse without doing any real good. If not peacefully, we have to at least try non-lethal methods first. Because if we start causing unnecessary death and destruction then the Empire will only use that to further invalidate our cause. We must also always be open to making peace with our enemies. Even if for no other reason than preventing needless violence. Tiskala solus gaan par naak, a'tiskala haar ashi gaad par akaan. (Ready one hand for peace, but ready the other hand for war.)" I finish smiling.
A small smile appears on Sabine's face. "Bid ibac tion'jor be ner cabur. (So that's why you are my cabur.)"
Hera, Kanan, Rex, Echo, and Zeb look us confused.
"What just happened?" Zeb asks looking clueless.
"Right, you guys don't speak Mando'a." I say shaking my head.
"We do." Rex says gesturing to himself and Echo.
"Damn impressive line kid." Echo says smiling.
"Anyone want to let the rest of it in on this line?" Kanan asks sounding annoyed.
"Haha. We did this to him yesterday too." Sabine says happily.
"Rex?" Hera asked while smiling mirthfully.
"He said something that was a cross between a Jedi ideology and a Mando'ade ideology. I'll leave the rest to your imagination." Rex says smiling and giving me a thumbs up.
"Bid me'copaani jii?" I ask smiling at Sabine.
Kanan throws his hands up in frustration and walks away followed by Zeb and Hera.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do Sabine." Hera says walking out the door with a wave.
"I think we should enjoy our afternoon off and do something new." Sabine says thinking aloud.
"There is a new mission for you two tomorrow so rest up today." Rex says before he and Echo leave.
"So want to go for a walk on the surface?" I ask glancing at the door.
"Sounds like fun to me." Sabine says smiling.
We head for the door and Coric walks in.
"So what are you two up to this afternoon?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. "The horizontal shuffle?"
I stop stunned and scared.
Sabine looks at him confused then at me. "What's he talking about?"
"Coric." I say evenly.
"Yeah?" He asks smiling.
"Do you want to die? Cause that's what will happen if I tell her what you meant." I say watching realization spread across his face.
"Ezra?" Sabine asks sounding annoyed.
"I'll be going now. But I also need you to come to the medbay tomorrow for a check up. Apparently someone here skipped the whole go over what's happened to you in the past thing." Coric says heading for the exit.
"Coric!" Sabine exclaims now sounding angry.
"Ask your boy toy there what it means." Coric says ducking out of the room barely holding his laughter in.
"Coric!" I shout watching the door close.
"So what does the horizontal shuffle mean?"
I'm gonna kill Coric.
"Ezra?" Sabine asks waving a hand in my face. "Are you gonna answer me?"
"Let's just go for a nice walk." I say heading for the door.
"Not until you tell me what he meant." Sabine says stubbornly crossing her arms.
"I would rather you not kill him or me so no." I say smiling nervously.
The door opens to reveal the princess Leia Organa.
"Mr. Bridger, Ms. Wren." She greets us respectfully. "May I speak with the both of you for a moment?
I glance at Sabine who eyes me unhappily.
I shrug.
"Sure."
"Good." Leia turns to the guards escorting her.
"You can leave me for the moment. I'll be safe here." The guards giver her a salute before leaving through the door.
"I was informed that we owe the discovery of this base to the both of you. I just wanted to properly thank the both of you for what you accomplished here. There are others out there struggling to even make decent hideouts. This is more than many could've ever hoped for."
"You're welcome Princess." Is Sabine's curt reply.
I glance at her confused then turn my attention back to the princess.
"It was nothing. Even though I still think we should have kept Hondo here in a cell." I say frowning at the memory.
"Hondo?" Leia asks confused.
"The pirate who traded his freedom for this base. Ezra has a bad history with him back on his world which almost got him killed." Sabine explains to Princess Leia quickly.
"I see. Well what is done is done." Leia says smiling again at me. "You two are an infiltration team correct?"
"Yeah." I say wondering where she was going with this.
"I also wanted to propose a mission to the both of you, but I wanted to know if you'd be willing beforehand." Leia admits with an air of formality.
"And what would this mission entail?" Sabine asks.
"Nothing dangerous I hope. Just information gathering from a group of sympathizers within the senate." Leia explains.
"Where?" I ask.
"Coruscant."
Sabine and I both frown at the mention of the planet.
"Are you serious? The last time Sabine and I went near that planet was to rescue one of our own. And we almost died." I say disbelieving.
"That was you?" Leia asks frowning.
"That raided a base on one of the moons of Coruscant. Yeah. Our cell plus Wolfe, Coric, and Rex." Sabine says smiling.
"Don't forget the AT-TE." I say pointing at her. "Too bad that blew up."
"Agreed but otherwise let's not forget the haraan goten'd ge'tal kal! (Hell birthed red blade.)" Sabine says voice raising as she reaches the end of her sentence.
"I'm sorry I don't understand that last part." Leia says apologetically.
"Kaysh liser naasad mhi. (He can not hurt us.)" I say comfortingly hugging her.
"Meg meh val belair gar? (What if they get you?)"
"Val liser naasad bid munit bid gar ner cabur. (They can not as long as you are my protector.)" I say quietly with one last squeeze and let go.
"The red blades. You in the Senate would probably know them as Inquisitors sent to hunt down the last of the surviving Jedi and the various threats to the Empire. We encountered one on that moon and barely escaped with our lives." I said carefully. My tone getting softer as I remembered that particular encounter.
"They are threat to everything we do. Kanan managed to eliminate the head Inquisitor when we broke him out of the star destroyer above Mustafar. They are something that you can not talk to. The last time I tried that I almost lost my head." I say placing a hand on my scars.
"I see. I had hoped they were only rumors, but I can't say I'm surprised." Leia says quietly.
"They aren't Sith but still very dangerous." Sabine says looking down. "The red blades are a worthy enemy as the Jedi were once to my people and we don't say that easily."
"I will take this into consideration then." Leia says turning and heading for the door. "Thank you for your time, and please, do not hesitate to ask for help if you need it. The Rebellion owes you both a great favor."
The door opens and she leaves.
"Let's go." I say quietly heading for the door.
"Just one thing." Sabine says smiling slightly.
I stop and raise an eyebrow at her.
"What's horizontal shuffle?"
I'm gonna kill him slowly.
A/N I apologize for the delay both my Beta and I have had issues with work leading to both of us not having much or any time to edit slash write.