Chapter 14

Sabine POV

Back at Chopper Base on Atollon, Sabine walked into the command center wearing a grumpy expression on her face and let out a yell as she kicked the nearest rock, sending it flying off the cliff edge.

Hera, leaning over a hologram, looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "So… I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that something's upsetting you," she said.

Sabine folded her arms across her chest in anger and said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Hera returned her gaze to her hologram, wanting to resume her planning, and responded, "Well we both know that's not true, because if it were, you wouldn't be in here, so you're going to tell me what's going on with you, even though-"

"It's Ezra!" Sabine huffed out angrily.

Hera rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy. What'd he do now? Did he go after Maul again?"

"Worse," Sabine stated, "because at least that would make some sort of sense. He's trying to… leave again."

Hera finally tore her gaze away from her hologram and sighed sadly at Sabine, saying, "Look, Sabine. I'm sorry, but if he says that he's got to go, then I'm sure that he has other places he needs to be. Not wants, needs. Look at me and Kanan. No matter what we feel for each other, our responsibilities come first."

Shortly after Ezra had left Atollon the first time a couple months ago, Hera had found Sabine failing to paint, indicating that she was deeply distracted, and Sabine had told her about her… confused feelings towards Ezra. Luckily, Hera had some experience in dealing with such feelings and had been able to comfort her, but neither of them wanted Sabine to go through that depressed phase again.

"I just don't get why he comes here for a day, barely talks to me and focuses on business and how he's trying to protect me, then just wants to take off again. I'm worried… What if he doesn't like spending time with me?" Sabine asked wearily. She was tired of worrying about this, about how Ezra might not like her in the way that she liked him. She thought that she might like-like him, yet she couldn't even tell if he really considered her to be a friend. Perhaps his old habits simply made it impossible for him to really enjoy her company, yet she trusted him in ways unlike anything she had with even the people in either of her two families.

That was another thing that had been bugging her. "On Dathomir yesterday, I heard him say that Maul killed his mother," Sabine said.

"That's terrible," Hera responded sympathetically.

Sabine just shook her head. "But for some reason, I always assumed that his mother was alive before I heard that. He said that she gave him the jaig eyes on his helmet, and my mother said that she 'knew' her, but I guess that I just assumed that she was still alive before. That was stupid of me. Mandalorians don't typically have a long life expectancy. He's leaving again, and I still barely know him."

Hearing that, Hera remained silent for a moment before she sighed out, "Sabine, I think Ezra's path is already determined, and now you need to find out what you're going to do. But after you decide, just know that we'll be here for you whenever you need us, and I know you'll do the same."

Sabine paused and hesitantly asked, "Are you… telling me to go with him?"

"I'm telling you to do what you think is right, Sabine," Hera responded. "I trust your moral compass, and I know that you'll make the right decision here. The Rebellion can use you, but if your people are anything like you, I imagine that they'll be at war with the Empire long before we are. Maybe… you can help them, then bring them back with you to help us."

Sabine huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It really sounds like you're telling me to go with him. What if you guys need me while I'm gone? If I'm in the middle of a war, I won't be able to rush back to help you."

Hera stepped forward and placed her hands on Sabine's shoulders. "We always need you, Sabine, but we're not your only family anymore. Maybe your other one needs you more right now. Or, who knows? Maybe you need them more than us right now."

She then hugged Sabine tightly for a few seconds before she turned back to her hologram. "Now, I need to get back to work. Make your choice, because Ezra plans to leave today. When you've chosen, Ezra is currently about one kilometer west, training with Kanan."

Sabine stayed frozen for another moment, then turned to exit the command center. As she walked away, she turned back to Hera and said, "Thanks, Hera. For everything."

Ezra POV

While Kanan used his lightsaber in their spar, Ezra used a long knife and his personal combat energy shield. Kanan's weapon gave him the advantage of reach, but Ezra had more options with his own choice of weapons.

However, Kanan had one other advantage, one that gave him a significant edge.

Groaning as he climbed back to his feet, Ezra complained, "Using the Force is totally cheating."

Kanan directed his blade at Ezra with one hand, his other arm tucked behind his back as he used Form II, whatever that meant. "I'm not doing anything you can't do, Ezra," Kanan said. "If you used the Force yourself, you could make yourself stronger, faster, more agile. You're choosing to lose."

"First of all, using the Force is tiring. Second, I'm fighting with all the skill of the strongest warriors in the galaxy, so I think I'll just stick with what I know," Ezra said as he got himself back in a defensive position.

Kanan swung at Ezra with his lightsaber, forcing him to deflect it with his shield. "Well, first, your ability to use the Force will increase with practice, just like any skill you've learned to apply in combat, and thankfully you seem to be a good learner," Kanan argued back. "And second, you're not fighting like the strongest warriors in the galaxy, you're fighting like a Mandalorian, meaning you're holding back."

Ezra frowned and asked, "How is it that you can insult my entire race and compliment me in the same sentence?"

While Ezra was distracted, Kanan feinted with his lightsaber before he spun around and tripped Ezra by sweeping his legs out from under him by sticking out one of his own long legs and using the Force to increase the speed of his movement, once more sending Ezra tumbling to the ground.

Ezra once more let out a grunt as his helmeted face made contact with the ground, and then he heard Sabine's voice call out, "You know, you're not the first Mandalorian that Kanan has put in their place despite all our training. While you've got your vambraces, I advise you to use them."

Ezra looked up as Sabine approached him and offered him a hand. After a moment's hesitation in which he looked up at her beautiful, smiling face, temporarily becoming distracted by it, he took her proffered hand and she pulled him to his feet.

He dusted himself off as he said, "Well, this is supposed to be training without all my toys, as your Jetii friend insisted. Otherwise I think that this would be going very differently."

Sabine smiled at him and reached down into a satchel hanging at her side. "Well, maybe this will even it up a little," she said as she pulled a small metallic item from inside the bag.

Ezra looked down at what she was offering to him, and he tensed in sudden trepidation. The item she was offering him was the Darksaber hilt.

He quickly reached up and closed her hand around it, adamantly saying, "No."

Sabine's smile fell as he denied her offering, and she asked, "What? Why not?"

Ezra shook his head. "That weapon… You know what it means. And it's not a gift to be given."

Intrigued, Kanan walked forward and asked, "What is it?" He took the Darksaber from Sabine and held it up in his hand. "Hmm. A lightsaber, but not like any I'm familiar with."

"That's because this is the Darksaber," Ezra explained. "An ancient weapon that dates back to Tarre Vizsla, the first and only recorded Mandalorian ever inducted into your Jedi Order. After his death, it was kept in the Jedi Temple until members of his clan stole it back and used it to lead Mandalore and strike down its enemies. Ever since that time, it has been the ultimate symbol of Mandalorian power and leadership, which is why… Maul had it."

Ezra turned to face Sabine, and she grimaced as she admitted, "Yeah, I took it from Dathomir. So what? We couldn't have left it back in that old cave."

"You can't just pick it up, Sabine."

"Clearly, I can," Sabine argued, looking to Kanan for support, but he remained focused on the workmanship of the Darksaber's hilt.

"I didn't know that the Mandalorians made a kind of lightsaber," the Jedi admitted.

"We didn't," Ezra said, glaring at the weapon with anger. "This thing is one of a kind. But that's not the point. You can't just pick it up and suddenly own it. It must be won from the previous wielder."

"Well, technically you defeated me while I was using it on Dathomir," Sabine said as she took it back from Kanan.

Panicked at what she was insinuating, Ezra growled, "I didn't beat you! You weren't even really in there, and Maul incapacitated the spirit. The Darksaber isn't mine, and that's the end of it!"

Both Sabine and Kanan were shocked at his sudden outburst, but Ezra couldn't find it in himself to really care. He had no intentions of ever wielding that blade.

Ezra took a deep breath to calm himself and turned to face Kanan. "Thank you for the spar, Master Jedi, but I think it's time that I got going. I have a war to prepare for."

Ezra began to walk off, too upset to even give them a proper farewell, but Sabine suddenly called out, "Wait!" and Ezra immediately stopped and turned back to face her.

Sabine stepped over to Kanan and said, "Kanan, I… I'm going with him."

Ezra's eyes widened beneath his helmet at her claim. He hadn't expected her to want to go with him, but he knew that that was what he had heard her say. Looking down at where Sabine had now clipped the Darksaber to her belt, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted her to, despite how much he enjoyed her presence. He didn't enjoy the idea of going anywhere with that cursed blade, but he also couldn't bring himself to protest Sabine's desire to accompany him.

To his further surprise, Kanan just smiled at Sabine and said, "I figured you would." He then turned to face Ezra and requested, "Take care of her."

"She doesn't need me to, but I will," Ezra instantly responded, and Sabine smiled at him before she moved in to embrace Kanan tightly. Ezra gave them their emotional moment, then Sabine pulled back after a few seconds and walked over to Ezra.

As she passed by him, she placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly said, "I'm going to grab my gear from the base, then I'll meet you at your ship."

Ezra nodded in acceptance, and she began to run back towards the rebel base. Ezra turned back to face Kanan and said, "I'm sure this won't be easy for you, but I'll take care of her."

Kanan folded his arms across his chest, saying, "If what I can feel coming from both of you is any indication, I think you'll take care of each other. For what lies ahead of you, you'll have to work together and trust one another, but both of you are too proud to admit it when you need help. You'll have to rely on the Force to know when you need each other. Trust what it tells you, Ezra Kryze."

Ezra stared at him for a second, then asked, "Did all of the Jedi talk like this? Because I have no idea what you just said."

"There's something else, Ezra," Kanan continued, moving on and ignoring Ezra's question.

"If it's something about how I can't rely on my vambraces, I think I'll-"

"You're scared of the Darksaber," Kanan cut him off, his comment effectively silencing him.

After a moment of silence, Ezra opened his mouth to deny it, but Kanan held up a hand and continued, "I know that I don't know your story, no matter what feelings I sense from you, but I can tell that you have great fear, anger, and sadness inside you, Ezra. If nothing else, please practice on controlling those emotions while you're gone. You have no idea what they could do to you if you don't get them under control. You're very powerful, and the stronger you are, the worse it could be if those emotions get away from you."

Once again, Ezra found himself confused by the meaning of Kanan's words, so he simply responded, "Er, alright. I'll do that. I guess… Goodbye for now, Kanan Jarrus." And with that, Ezra began to walk back to his ship, feeling the blind Jedi's piercing gaze on his back the entire time he was leaving.