Chapter 7

Ezra POV

The Countess began the trial by saying, "Sabine Wren! You stand accused of bringing shame and dishonor to your clan. You attacked the Empire and then fled, leaving your people to deal with the consequences. You brought pain upon your own family while you hid. This is not only dishonorable, but cowardly. There is no greater crime in the eyes of Mandalorians. And so, with that said, I sentence you-"

Everything came to a pause in Ezra's mind, and he said, "Wait!"

All fell quiet in the room, and all of the helmeted gazes fell on Ezra, who suddenly realized that he had interrupted the Countess in her own home, which probably wasn't the best idea.

"Ezra Kryze," Countess Wren quietly hissed out. "You had better have good reason for interrupting me."

Ezra looked over at Sabine, who seemed to have shrunken inwards with fear. He hesitantly opened up to her in the Force, just for one small moment, and he felt her sheer terror. She'd been in dangerous situations before, but facing her family, her clan, her mother, was different. No doubt she had thought that she could handle this before she came here, but now that she stood before her mother she had frozen up.

Some part of Ezra thought, I've finished my mission here. I brought Sabine Wren home. I should just stay silent and let this play out, then go home. It isn't my place to speak here. But looking at Sabine, seeming helpless before the unforgiving words of her family, utterly surrounded and alone, he knew that he couldn't do that to her. No Mandalorian should ever fight alone. Besides, she was his friend, odd as it still seemed. She'd come here with him, helped him on Beyrov. In the short time they'd known each other, they'd fought side by side and saved each other's lives. He couldn't let her fight this battle alone.

Stepping forward, he said, "I beg your pardon, Countess, but Sabine here hasn't been able to make her case yet. She deserves a chance to defend herself."

They redirected their gaze back at Sabine, who looked up at them but seemed unable to form any words. Ezra walked forward and stood next to her, leaning in to mutter, "Sabine. You need to say something. I'm trying to help you here, but you need to speak. I'd do it for you, but I… I honestly don't know everything that happened or why."

Sabine looked back at him with fearful eyes and whispered, "I can't, Ezra. I don't know what to say. I just… I feel frozen. What do I tell them?"

"The truth," Ezra told her.

He kept his hands on her shoulders and made sure that she looked only at him, wanting to distract her from the hostile environment around her that was making her so nervous. She stared back at him for another moment before she nodded with determination and took a deep, calming breath. Ezra stepped back but did not return to stand by the throne, instead standing behind Sabine, hoping that his presence would calm her somehow.

Sabine POV

Taking slow, even breaths to calm herself, Sabine stepped forward to address her mother, looking her in the eyes and ignoring the way that her instincts screamed at her, warning of danger.

She expected to see Ezra step forward again to stand by her mother, but he didn't move from where he stood behind her, which comforted her somewhat. With him by her side, even if he couldn't speak, she no longer felt so alone, and that thought gave her strength.

"I was a student in the Mandalorian Imperial Academy," Sabine began, "but I eventually realized that they were trying to indoctrinate us against our own people. They were training us to be loyal to the Empire rather than Mandalore. They wanted us to turn on our own people!"

Sabine met her mother's stern gaze evenly, not backing down, and continued, "I was given honor and prestige by the Empire when they realized that I had skills that could serve them. I proved to be a master at building weapons of mass destruction, and they gave me an… an assignment." Sabine choked up at the end there, remembering her assignment. She'd thought that it was just a challenge, and she'd been eager to meet it, but it had quickly turned into a nightmare.

She looked back nervously at Ezra as she prepared to continue her explanation. This would be the hardest part. All of them, even Ezra, would probably hate her after this, but if she was going to die, she at least wanted to die for the right thing.

Closing her eyes, she just managed to get out the next part of the story. "The Empire… challenged me to build a weapon more powerful, more devastating than anything they had ever seen before. I thought they would use it to help Mandalore, so I did it. I built a weapon… that could target certain kinds of armor and superheated it, incinerating the wearer from inside their own protection. And they used it. They turned it against beskar armor and used it to cripple Mandalore."

At this, Sabine could hear shuffling all around her, but she didn't need to open her eyes to see the horrified faces on the Mandalorians all around her. She didn't want to see them, looking at her like she was a monster. She knew she was, and she saw that expression every time she looked in a mirror.

Finally, she ended the story, struggling to keep her voice even. "So I had to do something. I snuck into the Imperial Academy on Mandalore and I sabotaged my prototype, destroying it and all my research. Destroyed a big part of the city, too. But I did it to save everyone, to save Mandalore. I'm sorry for the pain I brought you, but I did it to save you all from a much worse fate, and I left to keep even worse punishment from falling on you all. I… I'm sorry."

At the end of all this, Sabine slumped down in defeat, still not looking at their faces. In her speech, she had let out years of bottled up resentment, pain, and emotion, and now she was spent. She didn't know what they'd do with her now, nor did she care. They had every right to hate her for what she did, and it was quite likely that they would still kill her, but she was glad that she'd told someone what had really happened. Not even her family on the Ghost had known the full truth of her story, but it felt good to finally let it all out.

Hearing Ezra's footsteps approach behind her, she stayed frozen, expecting any outcome. She doubted she would care right now if he simply stabbed her and was done with a whole lot of trouble for all Mandalorians. At this point, that was what she expected.

She turned around to look Ezra in the eyes, wanting to meet her death standing tall, but she was surprised as he instead pulled her in for a tight hug. Sabine did not reciprocate the hug and simply tensed up. Some part of it felt nice, but then she realized that Ezra was hugging her in front of her entire clan, who may all still want to kill her. Not to mention, and she blushed to think about it, such an action committed with her, a young, single female in Mandalorian culture, could almost be mistaken as him making a move on her.

Seeming to realize the same thing, he quickly pulled away, also blushing slightly, and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder instead, saying, "Thank you for saving us, Sabine Wren."

There was a pause, then, one by one, all of the other Mandalorian clan members left their places lined up against the walls and came forward. They each stepped towards Sabine and silently placed a hand on a piece of her armor as they walked by, the Mandalorian practice for acceptance.

Against all of her expectations, her clan were now welcoming her back. Through it all, Sabine stayed frozen in shock, not entirely sure how to respond, but luckily she wasn't supposed to move throughout this process.

Tristan stepped towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder plate before he pulled her into a hug. It was different from Ezra's, but still felt nice.

As he pulled away, the final person approached Sabine: her mother. Ursa Wren walked down the steps of her throne, appearing more tentative than the others had, and stopped in front of Sabine. She reached out with a shaking hand and touched Sabine's shoulder plate, then brought her hand to rest on the back of Sabine's head and pulled her in so that their foreheads touched, both of them closing their eyes.

This was a practice that Sabine had almost forgotten about, the Keldabe kiss. With an armored helmet, it could be used to attack as a headbutt, but when done gently like her mother was doing it now, it was a sign of love and trust.

The surrounding Mandalorians let them have their moment, not interrupting, and Ursa whispered, "Oh, Sabine. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what you'd done for us."

Trying to keep tears from leaving her eyes, Sabine responded, "I know, mom. It's okay. I'm here now."

Ezra POV

During the touching reunion of Sabine and her mother, Ezra leaned over to Tristan and said, "I don't think you need to tell Governor Saxon about this. Maybe just quietly remove Sabine from the list of Dar'manda, and we'll call that good."

Tristan smiled back at him and responded, "As you say, Captain."

Ezra grinned in response. He hadn't known Tristan very well before, certainly nothing beyond a professional capacity, but he appreciated the younger man's flexibility, his lack of dedication to the Empire and their current Governor.

Clearing his throat after another moment, Ezra tried to draw the group's attention back to him. As Countess Wren and Sabine turned to face him, they had matching looks of gratitude on their faces, which Ezra tried not to feel too proud of.

"This scene is very touching, and I hope you all take the opportunity to reconnect," Ezra said, "but if our business here is concluded, I think I should warn you that if Sabine wants to go back to her rebel friends, we'll need to leave soon. I need to be on my way, but I'm willing to give her a ride back to the rebel base before I do."

While his words were true, and Ezra did indeed want to return to his clan and officially finish his mission, he would be sad to see Sabine go. He'd grown rather fond of her company over the past few days, and he would be sorry to say goodbye, perhaps for the last time, but he had to keep his responsibilities in mind.

Sabine looked down sadly, then turned to her mother and pressed a private comm device into her hand. She then turned to address her clan and said, "Thank you all for being willing to accept me again. I will always be there for you, but the mission I started seven years ago is far from over. I need to return to the Rebellion, to continue my fight against the Empire."

Ursa held onto her daughter for another moment, then sighed and released her. "Of course you couldn't stop fighting. You are one of us, daughter. I only ask that you return to your clan at the end of all this."

Sabine looked down and said, "I will try. If I do not, I will ensure that I die proudly fighting our oppressors." She pressed the device more firmly into her mother's hand and told her, "We can stay in contact with this. If you ever need me here, I will be there as soon as I can."

Ursa looked down at the device, then said, "Everyone please leave. You too, Tristan. Before she goes, I need to speak to my daughter privately."

After she had finished making her request, everyone immediately began to walk out of the room, including Ezra.

He went to his ship and prepared for takeoff as he waited for Sabine to arrive. Really, he just used the work to distract himself from his hesitance to leave Sabine behind, as he would once he'd brought her back to the rebel base.

Unfortunately, the ship was already prepared to fly, so he used his time simply doing extra, unnecessary maintenance. Using supplies given to him by the dock workers and refusing any help, he polished the hull, topped off the fuel, and ran several diagnostics on his weapons systems. All these tasks were done to distract him, but nothing he did helped him to stop worrying that he'd never see Sabine again.

Sabine POV

Meanwhile, back inside the throne room, after everyone left, Ursa quickly began fussing over her daughter. "First, Sabine, I need to know that you've been alright all these years. You weren't all alone? Were you starving? Oh, you were starving, weren't you? I knew it. You should've come home! Or maybe you hunted your own food? You did, didn't you? Oh, Sabine, I couldn't be prouder-"

Sabine cut her off before she could continue. "Mom! I was fine. I took care of myself for a little while, but then I was found by some people. They took me in, made me one of their family."

Ursa's eyes narrowed with suspicion and perhaps a little jealousy. "Oh? So you had… another family? As in… new parents?"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "Mother, calm down. I had a new father and mother figure, but they never made me love you and Father any less." She saw her mother gain a guilty look and start to speak, but Sabine swiftly told her, "And I already know that the Empire took Father away. Ezra told me."

Ursa let out a deep breath. "It's not been easy, Sabine," she said. "That's what I need to know next. When is all this going to be over? Mandalore wants to rise up against the Empire, but we can't fight them alone. What are your… rebel friends doing?"

Sabine sighed. "Honestly? I'm not sure how much we can do or how much we've already accomplished, but we are hurting them. It could still be years before we manage to really do something, though."

Looking her over, Ursa then said, "That's a long time, Sabine, and I hope I don't need to remind you that you're nearing twenty years of age now. I ask this because… Well, our people usually marry at sixteen."

Sabine tensed up and said, "You're not saying… I'm a bit busy, Mother. Besides, I haven't met anyone yet, and there's no way I'm doing one of those arranged marriages like you and Father had."

"We learned to love each other in time, and we were a perfect compliment to one another," Ursa defended, "But what do you mean you haven't met anyone? What about Kryze?"

Sabine paused for a moment, then realized what her mother was saying and blushed. "What? Ezra? But he's… I barely know him!"

"Let me be clear," Ursa said sternly. "As far as your father or I were ever concerned, there wasn't one young man on Mandalore or anywhere else in the galaxy worthy of eventually marrying our daughter. I still held onto that belief when you left, and every day since then. Until today, when Ezra Kryze stood up for you during your trial. He knew my reputation, knew that he was surrounded by overwhelming numbers in my own house, yet he still stood up to my authority to protect you. No one has ever done that. He certainly didn't have to. And I don't know what you saw, but to me it was clear that you two were comfortable with one another."

Sabine once again tried to deny her mother's claims, but Ursa spoke over her and continued. "I knew his mother well. Bo-Katan Kryze. You haven't been told much about her, but she was a good friend and a powerful warrior. She led the Nite Owls against Maul long before the Siege of Mandalore, and her son is only just barely younger than you, born in the same year. Now answer me this, and don't you dare lie to me. What do you think of him?"

Sabine thought it over, and she realized that she did actually care for him. He was a capable warrior, at least as good as her. He seemed trustworthy and loyal, and her mother was right that he had stood up for her when she most needed him. Even before today, he had rushed to her aid several times on Beyrov and nearly died while ensuring that she walked away from that base without a single scratch. Not to mention, his bright blue eyes that the artist in her simply couldn't get enough of, and the lean, chiseled body she'd seen when he'd removed his shirt in front of her, which she'd certainly appreciated.

Gulping down the lump in her throat, Sabine admitted, "I… might like him? I'm not sure."

"Work on that," her mother encouraged.

"But what if he doesn't feel the same?" Sabine asked. Having an even worse thought, she asked, "He's my age? What if he's already married?"

Ursa just shook her head and said, "You'll have to ask him yourself. But Sabine, there's a spark between you two. What it is may not be clear yet, but don't let it fade away. And don't wait too long. Your father and I spent a long time learning to love each other, and every time I think of him now I wish that we'd learned sooner, given ourselves more time to enjoy having each other in our lives."

Sabine nodded in response. She knew that earlier in her life, her mother had progressively gotten happier as her marriage went on. Now, having lost her husband, her mother had become more depressed.

Sabine never wanted to feel so lost as that, but she wasn't sure what she had with Ezra, but now her mother had convinced her that perhaps it would be worth exploring, at the very least.