Hey all! I'm finally back!
And to celebrate me finally feeling ready to update, I've decided to post 2 chapters this time!
It took a while for me to get this to the point where I liked it, and honestly, part of me feels like there's a lot which still could be improved.
While I do feel that more could still be done better, I also believe that if I worked on every single minor thing here, it would take me years to finish this story.
So, in the end, I decided to put it up first, and come back to it one day lol.
As always, concrit is more than welcome. Hope you enjoy!
Rows and rows of denizens piled on top of each other, trying to push their way through the busy streets of Corellia. It was a mess to say the least, a mess which was only further highlighted by the three bright moons soaring high in the sky. The moons didn't just serve as a means of illumination for the many citizens. It also served as a sign that the day was turning into night, a natural shifting of the time.
Like most planets, the industrious lives of the citizens did not quiet down during the night. It merely picked up again, moving into the next cycle of labour. But among the crowds of people rushing through to get to work, a lone helmeted figure could be seen going against the flow, leaving her work instead of going into it.
Unlike everyone else, this person's work was done for the day. She worked on contract, doing odd jobs here and there for the Black Sun, one of the leading Crime Syndicates in the area. Despite her apprehensions about basically working as criminals for other criminals, the job did pay well, and it gave her comforts which others could only be envious of.
One of those conveniences just so happens to be her own place. A modestly sized building lined with various conveniences which could keep her satisfied for weeks on end. It was her home for now, a temporary place to rest and come back to while she was away on jobs.
Pressing her palm against the cold steel, the doors slid open for her, allowing her to enter her home. With tired grace, she tossed her bags over to the side, ignoring the sound it made as it cluttered against the ever growing pile of garbage. Dragging herself over to what seemed to be her bed room, she collapsed onto it, burying her face into one of the pillows and allowing her eyes to slowly drift shut.
In her weary mood, she had forgotten to remove her helmet, a fact which she had only just now realised due to the warmth growing on her face. Groaning, she brought her hands to her head, loosening the grip of her helmet and pulling it off.
Her eyes lingered over the headpiece as it rolled on her bed, unknowingly comparing it to the one she left behind.
Armour was an important part of her culture, but her helmet was something which would always pop back into her mind. It was like a mask for her, a representation of who she was, and what person she would be.
With a new helmet came a new name. She once called herself Sabine Wren, the exiled Mandalorian working for the Empire. But now, she was Ria Talla, gun for hire for the Black Sun.
She did their bidding, doing whatever it was they asked of her. But she didn't just do anything. Like most people, she had boundaries. Although her boundaries were a little more tighter than that of her peers.
Sabine wouldn't just go after anyone, there had to be a good reason for it. She would only go after those who posed too much of a threat to the regular folk. If they were going to hurt more people alive then dead, then Sabine saw no issue with getting rid of them. And working with the Black Sun meant that there would always be scum better off dead than alive.
She had made a good life for herself. Whatever she needed she bought, and whatever she wanted… Well, there wasn't much for her to want. But at least she had made a name for herself, almost always coming back with another success under her belt. Her last job was also supposed to be another one of those successes.
Unfortunately, it went a little bit differently than she would have liked.
The job which Sabine failed required her to eliminate some sort of caretaker. What intel she received about her target mentioned that this caretaker was more of a kidnapper than a saint. He would snatch children from their homes, selling them off to god knows where and enjoying the profits on his own. Of course, Black Sun had their own nefarious reasons for wanting him out of the way. But in Sabine's books, this was an obvious scumbag ripe for her to take out. Thinking about it now, it might have been a little bit too obvious.
When Sabine got there, she found out the real reason why they wanted her to kill him. He wasn't kidnapping any children. He was protecting them. He wasn't a scumbag, he was a genuinely good person.
So Sabine let him go, doing her best to erase any proof that he was even there.
When she reported back to her bosses, they seemed livid that she had let such a high value target go. But Sabine talked her way out of it, convincing them that the intel was faulty. There was never any kidnapper in the area, and they eventually believed her.
Or so Sabine thought.
Before she could even let her eyes close, sudden furious rapping pulled her out of her slumber. Sabine had no intention of answering it. Only choosing to wrap her pillows around her head and push herself even deeper into the bed. But whoever was knocking on her doors was persistent, and it was only getting louder.
"I know you're in there Ria! Get out of there before you lose a door!"
Sabine groaned into her pillows. She recognised the voice, and it irked her. Of all the people she had to deal with, why did it have to be this one? Dragging herself out of her covers, she stomped towards the noise, swinging her doors open in a furious rage.
"What." She deadpanned.
Staring back at her was a tall red Twi'lek. Her lips curled up into sly glee as her eyes met Sabine's.
"Slept okay Ria?" She asked, taking notice of her ruffled hair.
Sabine's glare sharpened. "What do you want Mera?" She demanded a second time.
"Can't I visit an old friend?" Mera said, pushing past Sabine without waiting for her response. "Force, it smells in here," She remarked, bringing her fingers to her nose. "When was the last time you aired this place out?"
"Maybe I want it this stuffy," Sabine replied, crossing her arms. "Keeps people like you out,"
"Har, har," Mera dryly laughed. She walked around the place as if it were her own, kicking at the pieces of trash on the floor. "Well, unfortunately for you," She said, turning around. "This is not one of the times you can just kick me out,"
Narrowing her eyes, Sabine watched as Mera made herself comfortable on her couch. "And why is that?"
Mera smiled innocently at Sabine. "Probably because you messed up on your last job, Ria," She replied with a shake of her head. "It was such a simple job Ria, get the target, bring him in alive or dead, maybe nab a few extra children for some extra credits. How could you screw that up?"
"I didn't," Sabine snapped. "The intel was faulty,"
"So you say," Mera pushed herself up.
"Are you trying to say something Mera?"
"I'm saying that I don't believe you," Mera responded with a flick of her head. "And neither does everyone else,"
"Why should I care what anyone else believes? It's their word against mine, and I've done more for the Ruling Council than they've ever asked for. They're not going to believe the words of any of their third rate hunters over mine," Sabine defended.
"Normally, you would be right about that. But not this time," Mera replied. "The Ruling Council has been… replaced,"
"Replaced?" Sabine repeated incredulously. "By who?"
"Crimson Dawn," Mera said with a dark smile. "They've taken over, and they're here to stay"
Sabine took a step back, the name sent shivers down her spine. "You're bluffing," Sabine reasoned, but even she couldn't find any fault in Mera's statement.
"You would like that wouldn't you? But no, unlike the other times where I feed you and Ketsu false intel, lying here wouldn't do me much good,"
"Doesn't make much of a difference," Sabine replied quickly. "It's still your words against mine, and I have a much better record than you do thanks to all the jobs I've completed,"
"Normally, you would be right," Mera said, still smiling at Sabine. "But this time, I'm not the one ratting you out to our bosses. They found out themselves, Ria, and they want an explanation, from you,"
Sabine went silent for a moment, fear gripping her mind. She had intentionally failed jobs before, but she was never caught for it. And now, the worst of the worst had somehow found out, and there was no way she was going to sit idly by and take the punishment. "Well, what are they going to do about it?" Sabine said as she shoved Mera away.
"Just the usual," Mera simply replied. "Find a person to blame. I guess that just so happens to be you,"
"And what makes you think I'll follow suit?" Sabine snapped. "We both know I can take you. Armed or unarmed, you don't stand a chance against me. I'll be gone before you even know it, then you'll be the one in trouble,"
"Oh no… what am I ever going to do?" Mera replied, feigning distress. "If only I had thought of something earlier to keep you from leaving," She reached behind her and tossed something over to Sabine. "Oh wait, I did,"
Sabine watched as the small piece of metal slide on over to her. She felt herself freeze as she realised what it was. Or rather, she realised who it belonged to.
It was Ketsu's family crest, the one thing she never let leave her side.
"What. Did. You. Do," Sabine asked slowly.
Mera replied with another innocent smile. "Why don't you find out yourself?" She said, reaching behind her again as she tossed over a pair of cuffs.
Sabine eyed the cuffs and metal crest on the floor, understanding that there was really only one option. "You're trash sniffing scum, I hope you know that," She bit back, pocketing the crest and putting the cuffs on herself.
"Maybe," Mera said, approaching her. "But I'm not the one in cuffs,"
Sabine couldn't escape. There was nothing she could do to get out of the mess she had put herself in without hurting Ketsu in turn. Like it or not, she was going to have to pay for her screw up. It was her choice to let those kids go, and now, they want her to compensate them for it.
She allowed herself to be dragged on by Mera, who seemed to enjoy pulling her about. Sabine had absolutely no idea where they were headed, but she knew that wherever it was Mera was dragging her off to, it wasn't going to be good.
"You're awfully quiet back there," Mera said as she pulled Sabine out of her thoughts.
Sabine flashed a sarcastic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't realise I had to make casual chit chat with the person who put me in these blood restricting cuffs,"
"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Ria," Mera said with a shake of her head. "It's just business, nothing personal,"
"It's always personal with you, Mera," Sabine sharply replied. "You've been trying to get me and Ketsu out of the Black Sun ever since the beginning. It didn't matter what we did, you always had issues with us. You complained when we finished jobs earlier than you, you complained when we finished jobs later than you. Regardless of what we did, there was always something you had to say. So don't tell me it's not personal, because I know it is,"
A small smirk crept its way up Mera's lips. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy seeing you like this," She pulled at Sabine's cuffs. "But I wouldn't say I wanted you out. It was more about me not liking the way you always acted," She said, lightly tapping Sabine's cheeks and earning herself a glare of annoyance. "You always acted like you were better than us, never working together to complete those tougher jobs, but suddenly doing them fine on your own and taking all the credit for it,"
Mera tugged Sabine closer, fiddling her hands over the pair of cuffs on her hands.
"Well, I'm not very social," Sabine defended.
"I figured as much," Mera replied as she loosened the tight grip the cuffs had on Sabine's wrist. They were still firmly restraining her arms, but it was no longer as uncomfortable. "Better?"
Sabine moved her arms a bit. "I guess," She replied, surprised that Mera was giving her a bit of respite.
"See? Told you, it's not personal," Mera continued pulling Sabine on to their destination.
"Personal or not, it doesn't change anything," Sabine bit back icily. "You still have Ketsu, and you're still dragging me over to my death. There's no way Crimson Dawn lets me off lightly for failing their jobs,"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Ria. They might just be more willing to give you a second chance than you thought,"
Shaking her head, Sabine let out a long sigh. She would love to believe what Mera was saying, but it was more likely that the inverse was true.
"Where are you even taking me anyways? We're nowhere near any of the Black Sun's hideouts,"
"Oh we're not going anywhere that grimy, not anymore," Mera said with a strut in her step. "Let's just say that Crimson Dawn is a little bit more refined than what we're used to," She pointed her finger to a tall structure in the distance.
Sabine squinted her eyes at it, initially thinking it was a tall building. But upon closer inspection, she realised that it was no building.
"What is that?" Sabine asked, engrossed by the sheer size of what she saw.
"That… is the First Light. One of the finest vessels in the galaxy, and also the base of operations of Crimson Dawn," Mera turned to Sabine. "That's where we're going,"
The First Light looked even more extravagant on the inside. Shiny white walls, smooth porcelain floors, it was a decadent showcase of fortune. Even the lift which Sabine rode on felt different. It wasn't shaky or unsteady like in some of the older buildings on the planet. It simply exuded elegance, as if it was designed purely for comfort, and not just for the convenience of it.
Eventually, Sabine felt the lift come to a halt, and the doors soon slid open. Mera roughly shoved Sabine out, causing her to tumble onto the floor, right into the hands of Ketsu who hurriedly went over to pick her up.
"You didn't have to do that Mera," Ketsu chastised as she released Sabine from her cuffs.
Mera shrugged her shoulders. "Gotta make it look good for the boss,"
Lifting her head, Sabine took this opportunity to look around her. The room was obviously a little more special than the ones she had just come in from. It wasn't any bigger, but it just felt more high class and showy in its theme.
Various pieces of artefacts decorated the walls, all held in multiple locked glass chambers. A large table was plopped right down in the middle of the room, flanked by leathery coated seats. Sabine didn't know much about such high culture, but just one look and she could tell that the decorations didn't come cheap.
A door from the side suddenly slid open, and in walked a somewhat unassuming woman who had a sharp look on her face. She wore a large cape over her jumpsuit whose coattails swayed as she made her way towards them.
"Mera," She said finally, focusing on the red-skinned Twi'lek behind them. "So these are the ones you have been telling me about?"
"Yes," Mera replied with a short bow. "This is Ria Talla. She together with Ketsu Onyo, were responsible for the previous job with those kids,"
She looked the two of them up and down, a look of passive disinterest forming on her face.
"Doesn't look like much to me," She stated unimpressed. "Why were they ever given such a high profile task?"
"Their record was the best in the Black Sun," Mera answered. "Never failed a single important task, well, that is until now,"
The woman let out a short huff, before turning to look at Mera. "You can leave now," She said. "I will deal with these two personally,"
"Not a problem," Mera said before turning to wink at the two "Good luck,"
Once Mera left and the doors slid shut, the woman turned her back and sat at one of the leather seats. "Please," She beckoned her hands to Sabine and Ketsu. "Take a seat,"
Looking at each other, the two Mandalorians eventually picked themselves up and sat across from her. They fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze, feeling as if she was staring daggers into their skin.
Casually lounging in her seat, the woman reached across the table, pouring herself a glass of some clear liquor and sipping it slowly. She kept her eyes on both Sabine and Ketsu, subtly scowling at them as she drank.
"What do you want," Sabine spat out, fed up with the woman's meagre attempts at intimidation.
The woman's eyes snapped towards the testy Mandalorian, narrowing them slightly before finishing up the rest of her drink. "I thought you knew," She said finally, placing her cup back on the table. "Were you not given the details of your job?,"
"You want kids," Sabine replied blankly.
"I want you to do your job,"
"The job was to kidnap some children, and to kill their guardian," Sabine growled. "I thought that even the syndicate had standards,"
"Standards?" The woman frowned. "Unlike you, I don't have that kind of luxury. I don't get to choose which jobs I complete. Either I finish them as expected, or lose my life and someone else does the job anyway. The results are the same regardless. All I have to worry about is making sure that I'm on the receiving end of the rewards,"
"Anything to make sure that your pockets are lined, and your life is comfortable right?" Sabine spat.
"I didn't come here to discuss ethics with you," The woman snapped. "I'm here, because you made a mistake, and now I have to answer for it. Those kids were important, very important. And you lost them. Someone needs to pay for this loss," She focused her eyes on Sabine, now daring her to respond.
"If you want someone to pay, then you leave Ketsu out of this," Sabine replied confidently, standing up. "The plan was my idea, I let those kids go. Ketsu had nothing to do with this,"
"The price is seven lives," The woman replied simply. "Seven lives for seven children. Still think you can take it on yourself?"
Doubt flashed across Sabine's eyes. Seven lives for seven children? Did she have to kill seven other people just to cover the cost of her failures? Could she even do it?
"Whatever it is you need us to do, we'll do it," Ketsu piped up, signalling to Sabine to sit back down. "I'll share the blame with Ria, no need for her to kill seven people on her own,"
Chuckling, the woman leaned back. "Kill?" She laughed. "I don't want you to kill people. Those kids are worth more than the deaths of seven strangers. But I like your determination, girl. Ketsu, was it?"
She nodded.
"You remind me very much of myself. Someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to get whatever she wants. You don't get to reach such a high position without dropping a few bodies,"
"I think taking out your rivals is kind of expected in this business," Ketsu replied.
The woman smiled. "You don't get to where I am by only taking out rivals. You have to take out those who stand in your way. Even if it's someone who has been by your side this whole time," She turned to Sabine.
"I'll do whatever it is you need me to be," Ketsu continued without hesitation. "But I'm not turning on my partner,"
"Admirable, but not practical. Thankfully, I couldn't care less what you think. As long I get what I'm delivered, I don't care how you do it,"
"What do you need?" Ketsu asked.
"Compensation," The woman said, pressing a button at the side of the table. "In the form of him," Flickering to life, the blue image of none other than Ezra Bridger flashed onto the screen.
Immediately Sabine stood right back up, a gut reaction to seeing his face once again.
"Seems like your friend here is quite familiar with our substitute,"
Sabine didn't even hear the woman's statements. Eyes locked instead on Ezra's face. Why was she being shown his face? Did Crimson Dawn want him for something? If so, what? And more importantly, why?
"What do you want with him?" Sabine asked in a threatening tone.
"My client wants the seven children," The woman replied. "But he should be more than enough to serve as a substitute for his plans,"
"What does your client want with a former Inquisitor?" Sabine demanded. "Does your client want someone proficient in the Force? Is that why he asked for those children?"
The woman narrowed her eyes, her patience already ran thin. "Sit," She ordered, gesturing to the guards behind who very roughly shoved Sabine back down. "You don't have the right to ask these questions of me," She stated bluntly. "What my clients do with those kids or the former Inquisitor is none of my business, and it sure as hell is not any of your business either,"
"Then why?" Sabine nervously asked. "Why me?"
"I thought we went over this already?" The woman replied, irritated. "You failed a job, this is the price you'll have to pay because of it,"
Silently, Sabine let out a sigh of relief. Thankful that her secret had not been found out.
"I'm not doing it," Sabine eventually replied, crossing her arms.
"Ria!" Ketsu protested.
"I suspected as much. The standards that you hold yourself at are a pain to deal with. Thankfully, I have other ways of convincing you," The woman snapped her fingers, and the guards immediately responded by grabbing Ketsu.
"Hey!" She screamed, struggling in their grasp.
"It's fine if you don't want to take this job. I'll just find someone else. In the meantime, I'm going to need some kind of recuperation to cover for your loss. I think Ketsu's head should be more than enough for that,"
"Ketsu!" Sabine shouted out, but was only kicked back down into her seat.
"I can find you other jobs, Ria," The woman stood up, pointing her blaster at Sabine. "There's plenty to do in the Crimson Dawn. But I need to show you the cost of having this luxury of choice,"
"Ria!" Ketsu called out helplessly once more. Her arms and legs were being held firmly at her sides by one guard, while the other one was already approaching her with a large knife.
"If you won't take this job, I'll take your friend's life. Your choice Ria, at the end of the day, someone's doing this job for me,"
Sabine stared frozen at the sight before her. She didn't want to have to choose between Ezra or Ketsu. Both were important to her, and both were people she did not want to lose.
At the lack of her reaction, the woman turned to her guards, signalling to them. "Take all the time you need to think about it, Ria. I'm just going to put Ketsu out of her misery while you do so," The guard raised his knife, ready to bring it down upon Ketsu's neck.
"Wait!" Sabine shouted, narrowly stopping the blade just inches from her skin. "I'll do it!" She decided.
WIth another signal, the guards released Ketsu, allowing her to drop to the ground.
"Great!" The woman rejoiced. "You'll use one of our ships. All the information you need will be there. I don't expect you to fail again, considering I'm also sending you to meet with one of my most trusted smugglers on Nar Shaddaa. But if you do, I won't give you the opportunity to choose. I'll just take both of your heads,"
Sabine glared at her, momentarily flashing a glance towards Ketsu. "What are you going to do with him?"
"I believe I told you already," The woman replied, pouring herself another drink. "It's none of your business,"
Narrowing her eyes at her, Sabine hastily made her way towards Ketsu, carefully picking her up and moving towards the exit.
"Oh wait, one more thing," The woman fetched a small metal object from under the table. "I can't simply let you leave without making an example out of you, Ria. After all, your actions must have consequences,"
The two guards suddenly pushed Ketsu out of the way, moving to grab Sabine by her side. She tried to struggle out of their grasp, but they were too strong. They dragged her over to the table, pushing her right hand out and holding it firmly on the surface.
"Let this serve as a reminder of your failure, Ria. As someone once did to me, I will now do to you. This mark means that you now belong to me. Remember the pain, familiarise yourself with it. Think about it every time you plan to purposely fail me again," The woman pushed the object into Sabine's palm, and it suddenly flared up as the heat gathered at its tip.
The pain seared her skin, and Sabine tried to wrest out of their grasp. But it was no use, she was being held firmly to the table. Eventually after what seemed like hours, they released her from their grip, her skin smoking as her flesh burned.
"Now leave, I won't be so merciful next time, Ria Talla," The guards shoved Sabine towards Ketsu, who stopped her from falling to the floor.
Ketsu quickly helped to pick Sabine up, trying to hold her still as she was reeling from the pain. Her affliction was only further compounded by a rush of thoughts in her mind. Like it or not, she was going to be meeting Ezra again. And it was going to be up to her how happy that reunion was going to be.
The burn wound on Sabine's palm stung. It was still fresh, so fresh she could still feel the scorching heat of the metal. Under the light of their borrowed ship, the burn pattern became clearer for Sabine to see. The four letters stood out to her, spelling out the name of the person she just met.
Qi'ra.
It was sickening, to think that her name was now burnt on her. A mark of ownership, a mark that meant she had a debt to pay. The sound of Ketsu walking behind her shook Sabine out of her thoughts. With a bacta patch in one hand, and a cleaning kit in the other, she helped swab the area surrounding the burn on Sabine's wound.
"What kind of sick person does this?" Sabine whispered distantly.
Ketsu ignored her complaints, gently dabbing the wound with some clean cloth.
"It's such a disgusting thing to do, marking your name on someone just because they didn't do what you wanted,"
Slightly gritting her teeth, Ketsu continued with her silence, tearing open the patch and pressing it into Sabine's hand.
"We should go, we can't do this, it's not right. He's just an innocent bystander caught in the- OW!" Sabine suddenly screamed as Ketsu jabbed her thumb onto the wound.
"What the hell?" Sabine demanded, snatching her hand away as she stood over Ketsu.
"I should be asking you that question," Ketsu whispered indignantly. She lifted her head, the hints of a glare forming on her face.
Sabine narrowed her eyes at her, rubbing the sore spot on her palm. "What's gotten into you?"
"What's gotten into me?" Ketsu jolted upright, nearly crashing her face into Sabine's. "You're the one trying to get us killed! You let that man go on purpose, letting all those kids go free in the process. Because of you, we ended up failing that job and I almost got killed because of it!" She shouted, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. "And now, all you want to do is make things worse by suggesting that we try to weasel out of the only chance to make up for your mistake. And worse of all, you think I'm the crazy one?"
Glaring back at her, Sabine jabbed a finger at Ketsu's chest. "You're not seriously thinking we should do this job are you? We can't just kidnap someone just because it will save our lives,"
"You mean you can't kidnap someone," Ketsu bit back. "Or is it because this certain someone is more special than you let on?"
The look in Ketsu's eyes was something Sabine did not like. "What are you trying to say?" She asked carefully.
"I'm saying if it were any other guy, we wouldn't be arguing. You know him, I know, you know him. I've been to your place Sabine, I've seen that holo. I know who this guy is,"
Sabine wanted to deny it, say something against what Ketsu was accusing her of. But she couldn't. There was nothing she could say to go against any of this.
"We have to take this job," Ketsu continued. "If we don't, we die. And I'm not giving my life to someone I never even met,"
"We could just run," Sabine said quietly. "If we lay low, they won't even find us. We don't have to hurt anyone just for our own benefit,"
"Lay low where Sabine? The Empire is after us, your clan is after us, our own people are after us. If we run from this, then Crimson Dawn and the entire criminal underworld will be after us! We can't hide anymore, Sabine. We've played all our cards, and we came up with nothing,"
Sabine shrunk under Ketsu's glare. She was right, there was nothing more she could do. Running was just another optimistic dream at this point.
"We could ask the Rebellion for help," Sabine realised. "They hate the Empire as much as we do, I'm sure we can offer them something in return,"
"Yea, that's gonna work out well. An ex-Imperial now turned bounty hunter for the Crimson Dawn who's also gunning for one of their own? I'm sure they will welcome us with open arms," Ketsu brushed past Sabine, plopping herself down on the pilot's seat.
"We have to at least try,"
"And warn them of what we actually want to do? No. You've got us into enough trouble as is already, you don't get to make the decisions now,"
Sabine shuffled over to Ketsu, placing a hand over her arm. "Ketsu, I know you're scared, but we can't do this. If we do, we become no better than them,"
But Ketsu simply shrugged off Sabine. "We're already no better than them," She stated bluntly. "Remember? We're the best of the best. There's no one who came back from more successful jobs than us, did you really think all we did was deliver boxes to strangers?"
Sabine nearly flinched at her words. The realisation hit her hard. She had been acting as if there were no consequences to her actions, and in a way there wasn't. All along, the only people she had hurt were strangers, and she never once felt the reality of her actions. Not until now at least.
Without a word to say, Sabine slumped over the chair next to Ketsu. Her lips parted several times, as if the thoughts in her mind were halfway forming into words. But they all disappeared before they could even leave her mouth.
"We have to do this," Ketsu insisted. She cast a look of pity over to Sabine, knowing how hard this was for her, before turning her head back to the datapad in her hand. "You just relax, I'll take care of everything. I promise, he won't feel a thing,"
There was no relief to be taken from Ketsu's words. Not that Sabine wanted any. She was about to be doing the one thing she never wanted to do again. She was about to betray Ezra's trust once more, and it made her sick just to think about it.
As the ship lifted from the hangar, Sabine let the blue streaks of hyperspace distract from her emotions. The colours reminded her of simpler times, happier times. She daydreamed about painting again, a past time she had sworn away. And as she slowly dozed off, she let only the memories of Ezra fill her mind.
She was going to find a way out of this. There was no way she was letting Ezra down. Not again.
Thanks for reading! Now on the chapter 2!
