AN: This is the beginning of the Rebels timeline. Ezra and Sabine are at their canon ages.
IMPORTANT: This chapter was not up to my own writing standards. There are way too many grammatical and structural mistakes due to me trying to rush it. It should be a lot better now. Added some new ideas too. Edited 10/23/23.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars Rebels or any related material.
Spark of Rebellion
Sabine and Ezra were walking down the streets of Capital City doing what teenagers did best: being lazy and wasting time. The two were bored out of their minds while looking for something to do. Since they returned from the temple, the two have been taking it easy. While they haven't slacked off in their training, they stopped raiding shipments in the city, not wanting to attract any extra unwanted attention. Their experiences at the temple showed them that they were far from ready to face the larger Empire head on. They did everything in their power to keep the garrison on Lothal from calling for reinforcements, but unfortunately for them, the other insurgent group continued their attacks. The pair knew that it was only a matter of time before reinforcements arrived.
Sabine noticed a large Imperial shipment out of the corner of her visor. Three speeders were prepared to leave with two crates attached to each one.
"Ezra, do you see that over there?"
"The crates? I thought we agreed to stop our raids!"
Sabine would have normally agreed, but she caught a glimpse of the contents inside one of the crates before a trooper nearby put the lid back on. Ezra felt her excitement rise through their bond before sighing in realization. He moved their conversation into their minds so they wouldn't attract any eavesdroppers.
"Of course. Well-"
"Guns. Mine. I want them. All of them."
"But-"
"Oh, Ezra~!" Sabine cooed, a bit too sweetly for his liking.
For some strange reason, Ezra suddenly wanted to steal some guns.
The pair were now on a rooftop next to the shipment, ready to make their move. However, as Sabine was about to jump off the roof, they both felt a presence in the Force. They turned to see a man with a short ponytail standing in the middle of the street. He was wearing way too much green, even for Sabine's tastes. They made sure their signatures were still hidden before they continued watching him. The man turned around before stopping next to a Lasat leaning on a nearby doorway with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He then tapped his leg twice before walking up to a cloaked figure, tapping his leg twice again. Both the Lasat and the cloaked figure moved to reposition. Interesting, Sabine thought to herself. She watched as the cloaked figure tossed a detonator onto one of the empty speeders nearby before walking off. Ezra felt excitement rolling off her in waves. Deciding to find out what she found so intriguing, he turned his attention to her target. He saw a speeder go up in flames before rolling his eyes. Of course. I should have known. The pair watched as the speeders took off before being blocked by the same green-clothed man from before, now in a larger landspeeder. The man jumped out and kicked the first pilot off of his own speeder while pulling out his pistol, proceeding to shoot the second pilot. A few stormtroopers arrived to reinforce the third pilot, but they were all taken out by the Lasat, who finally emerged from his hiding spot. Sabine, seeing the perfect opportunity, jumped onto the speeder with the weapons crate attached. Ezra followed shortly behind, landing on the crates. He looked at the green-clothed man, saluting him as Sabine took off. "Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!"
The cloaked figure saw the pair taking off with the speeder as they passed him. He jumped on behind Ezra before saying, "Pretty bold move, kid."
Ezra turned around and looked at the figure, annoyed, before responding, "Who are you calling kid? We're the same size!" Because of their rigorous training and constant food supply from raiding, Ezra now stood at a respectable 5'6" while Sabine was not far behind at 5'5". His foe was only about an inch taller than he was, so he didn't appreciate the taunt. He immediately tackled the cloaked boy and sent a right hook at his head, before recoiling his hand and yelling, "OW! Do you have a metal head or something?"
Sabine just kept driving, rolling her eyes. Boys. She then noticed that they were being chased by a couple speeders with crates attached, being driven by the Lasat and green-clothed man from before. She also spotted a few specs in the sky, using her rangefinder to zoom in on them. "TIEs inbound, Ezra! I'm speeding up!" Ezra called back, "The speeders are gaining on us, Sabine. Can you go any faster?"
The cloaked boy froze on the spot, quietly muttering, "Sabine?"
Both teens heard him with their Force-amplified hearing. Ezra decided to use this to his advantage, jumping over the boy and ripping off his cloak. Sabine turned around at the sound of the stranger calling her name, just to see Ezra unveil a boy fully clad in gray and yellow Mandalorian armor, the signature colors of Clan Wren. However, she spotted a stripe of purple running down the side of each arm. Sabine recognized that color instantly, the same color she used on her jetpack years ago. "T-Tristan?"
Ezra glanced at Sabine for a moment before turning to look at Tristan. "Tristan? As in, Sabine's brother Tristan?"
The now revealed Tristan quickly regained his senses. "We can talk later. We need to get out of here, now!" He then talked into his helmet. "Spectre-5 to Ghost, we need a pickup. We're on the large highway leading out of the city. Spectre-1, Spectre-4, these two are not our enemies. I'll explain when we get out of here."
The shocked teens quickly regained focus when they heard a modified Corellian VCX-100 freighter fly over them, opening its cargo bay in front of them. Sabine heard Tristan yell, "Drive the speeder in! We have no time to unload!" She then heard two speeders pull up beside her before the three drove into the ship's cargo bay. The green-clothed man immediately ran off towards the cockpit as the ship took off, leaving the three teens to look at each other awkwardly while the Lasat looked at them in confusion. "So, uh, what's going on here, Tristan?"
Before anyone could respond, Sabine walked up to him, slowly taking his helmet off with her trembling hands. She placed it on the ground before wrapping him in a tight hug, tears streaming down her face inside her helmet. Tristan gently took it off before hugging her back, just as tightly. The room was silent, save for Sabine's quiet sniffles. Ezra looked at the siblings with a genuine smile, knowing how much Sabine loved her family, especially her little brother. He couldn't help but shed a tear seeing the two reunite. However, he was brought back to reality by a female voice broadcasting from the PA system: "Shields are holding for now, but you need to buy me time to calculate the jump to lightspeed." He could see that the siblings were still coming to terms with their surprise reunion, so he decided to help out. "Hey! Big, purple, and smelly! Where's the nearest turret?"
The Lasat was still looking at the siblings, deep in thought, so he responded without thinking, "Up the ladder, down the hall, to the right." As he finally processed Ezra's words, he turned towards the boy's voice and shouted, "HEY!" But the boy was already gone.
Ezra closed his eyes, letting the Force guide his shots. He knew how to operate the turret. Sabine had one at the back of her shuttle. However, this was his first time using one outside of practice. Ezra felt his hands move the controls upward before pressing the trigger. After hearing an explosion, his hands moved again, this time down and to the left, before he fired again. A second explosion followed as he slowly opened his eyes, smiling at his work. Not bad for my first time. He heard the PA system turn on, the same female voice from earlier speaking into it. "Nice shooting, Tristan." A voice revealed itself behind him as he whirled around. However, the Lasat picked him up by the collar before he could do anything. "That wasn't Tristan, Hera. That was one of the new guys." He heard a sigh over the PA. "Well, we need to talk to the new guys and Tristan anyway. Bring him to the common room." Then it clicked off. The Lasat, now identified as Zeb, just sighed and released Ezra from his grip. As Ezra got up, he decided to introduce himself, not wanting to be on the warrior's bad side.. "So…your name is Zeb, huh?"
Zeb grunted out a quick "Yeah, so what?"
"My name is Ezra. Nice to meet you, Zeb."
Zeb actually grinned a little in surprise at the response, motioning for him to follow. "Come on. Hera wants us in the common room."
As Ezra was following along, he mentally contacted Sabine.
"Hey, Sabine. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Elated, actually!"
"I'm glad you two were able to find each other again. I know how much he means to you."
"Thanks!"
"This Hera person wants to talk to us and Tristan. I bet you both heard her already, but she wants us in the common room."
"We're already on our way. Cya there, Ezra."
Ezra could feel genuine joy pouring out from her through their bond. As much as he was truly happy for Sabine, he couldn't help but feel slightly down, knowing he had no family to reunite with. Before his thoughts could spiral further, he felt Sabine send him a feeling of comfort through their bond. He smiled to himself, a warm feeling emanating from his heart, knowing that no matter what, as long as he had Sabine by his side, he would be okay.
The moment Ezra walked into the common room, he could feel Sabine's slender arms wrap around him. He heard her whisper into his ear, "Are you okay?"
He smiled and whispered back as he returned the hug, the same warm feeling he felt earlier resurfacing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for earlier, 'Bine. You caring means the world to me." Sabine's heart fluttered momentarily at his words. The last time she heard him use that nickname was at the Jedi temple. She decided that she liked the nickname, as long as Ezra was the one to use it. Anyone else would receive a black eye and maybe a few broken ribs. Trying to hide her blush from him, she walked back to the couch, plopping down onto it next to Tristan. Tristan noticed her blush, but he filed it away for later, hoping to use it as teasing material down the line. Sabine gestured at Ezra for him to come sit with her. As he walked over to the couch, he was in his own little world. What is going on? What was that feeling earlier? It felt good. Was it because of Sabine?
The sound of the door leading to the cockpit opening interrupted his self-reflection, revealing the green-clothed man from before, along with a green-skinned female Twi'lek dressed from head to toe in flight gear, one hand on her hip while the other adjusted the goggles above her head. She gestured at Tristan before asking him, "So, Tristan, who are these two "not our enemies," as you put it?"
Tristan grinned sheepishly at her while pointing at Ezra. "I don't know who he is," before putting that same hand on Sabine's shoulder. "But Sabine here is my sister."
The room was silent as the three older members of the Ghost crew looked at Tristan, eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Their heads then turned on a dime, now taking a good look at Sabine. Their heads swiveled back and forth between the two at what felt like a few hundred times a second before Ezra burst out laughing. Tristan turned to Ezra, asking with a small hint of annoyance, "What's so funny?"
Ezra took a second to calm down, but both Tristan and Sabine could see he was struggling to hold it in. He was able to get out, "You should see the look on their faces!" before laughing his way onto the floor. The siblings took a look around at the adult's faces before following Ezra to the floor in hysterics. The adults slowly regained their composure, annoyed looks on their faces as they waited for the kids to calm down. Eventually, the laughter quieted down as the three teens sat back down on the couch, a few leftover giggles surfacing once in a while. Hera walked over to the couch while introducing herself. "Welcome aboard the Ghost, you two. My name is Hera. The handsome guy behind me is Kanan, while the Lasat next to you guys is Zeb."
Ezra suddenly had an intrusive thought, having to share it with Sabine. "Now I know why that Kanan guy wears so much green."
Hera noticed Ezra and Sabine giggling to each other like gossiping schoolgirls. "Care to share what you find so amusing?"
As Ezra repeated his previous statement out loud, Zeb fell backwards, howling with laughter through the doorway he was leaning on while Tristan collapsed onto the couch holding his sides with one hand while hitting the cushions with his other. They both stopped for a second to look at Kanan before relapsing into another fit of giggles. Hera looked back at Kanan with an eyebrow raised. He immediately looked down and away from her, a large blush forming on his cheeks. She just shook her head in amusement as she turned her attention back to the jokester, currently sharing a mischievous grin with Sabine. She just sighed, "Whatever you're thinking, I don't want to hear it. So, would you like to introduce yourself, uh…?"
"Ezra. Ezra Bridger."
Tristan looked at him curiously. "What were you doing with Sabine?"
Ezra looked at Sabine. "Should we tell them?"
"Leave out anything with the Force. I can tell Tristan in private later. He already knows I'm Force-sensitive."
He gave her a slight nod before looking at Tristan. "We've been surviving together for the past four years on Lothal. I found her near her ship, looking lost and alone. I asked her what had happened, and she told me the gist of the story, which I'm sure you know. She didn't have anywhere to go, so she decided to stay with me. We've been raiding Imperial shipments ever since, although we cut it back recently. We both felt like we, along with your group, were drawing too much attention. We didn't want the Empire to send reinforcements to Lothal. That would make all our lives much harder."
Tristan's eyes were practically burning with questions, and Ezra realized he must have wanted to know if Ezra knew about Sabine's powers. Ezra shot him a look that said, I'll tell you later. Tristan nodded before responding, "We've heard about you guys. A duo wreaking havoc, one of which was Mandalorian. I didn't think too much of it, as a lot of our kind become bounty hunters or mercenaries." He looked apologetically at Sabine. "Had I known it was you, I would have tried to reach out. I'm sorry."
Sabine just hugged him before responding, "There's nothing to be sorry about. You didn't know it was me. Plus, we have each other now." She then whispered to him, "I'll tell you everything later," before letting go of Tristan and turning around and asking Hera, "So what's the plan? What do we do now?"
Hera thought for a moment before replying, "We'll drop you off on Lothal before wrapping up our mission. I'm sure Ezra's parents are worried sick by now."
Ezra looked down sadly while Sabine put a hand on his shoulder in show of support. "I don't have parents. They were taken by the Empire 7 years ago. I was surviving on the streets on my own before Sabine arrived. She is all I have."
Sabine squeezed his shoulder before asking him mentally, "Are you okay, Ez?"
Ezra noticed her use of a new nickname. He didn't know if it was intentional or not, but he decided to play her game, looking at her face for any reactions. "I'll be fine, 'Bine. Thanks, as always, for being there for me." He saw a small smile form on her face before she responded.
"Always. You already know I will always have your back."
At that moment, Ezra decided to use that nickname in their minds or whenever they were alone. He was still too embarrassed to use it in the presence of other people.
Sabine thought to herself for a moment before asking him another question. "Do you want to go with these guys? They seem like good people, and my brother is with them. If he can trust them, so will I, and you know I don't trust easily. Plus, we were bored out of our minds anyway, and we can stick it to the Empire more with them around!"
Ezra smiled at her before nodding and turning back to Hera. "Do you think we can come with you? We have nothing better to do, and I'm sure you could use the extra help."
Hera smiled at the two, knowing her space family might just get a little bigger today. "Of course. Do you guys need to pick up anything important before we go?"
The pair thought for a moment before replying in unison, "The shuttle!"
Tristan looked at Sabine in surprise. "You still have that thing?"
Sabine just grinned at him mischievously. "You haven't seen anything yet."
The Ghost approached Capital City for the second time that day. As the freighter reached the coordinates Ezra provided, the small squad looked out of the cockpit in awe at the refurbished communications tower. It had a landing pad at the top containing an Aka'jor class shuttle that was retrofitted to the max with weapons. Tristan looked at Sabine in utter disbelief, remembering how the shuttle looked the last time he had seen it. "What did you do to it?"
"A couple laser cannons here, a few missiles there. Not as much as I wanted."
Tristan's expression slowly morphed from disbelief to excitement, no doubt thinking about the endless possibilities of adding more weapons to the already stacked ship.
Ezra noticed a couple turrets on the balcony that weren't there before. Wait, when did those get there? He thought for a moment before asking aloud with a knowing smile, "Sabine, do you happen to know where those turrets on the balcony came from?"
Sabine looked away from him with a blush on her face while whistling innocently, giving him his answer. Tristan came to her aid by responding, "Hey, I completely approve of her decision. Who knows when you would need to fight off attackers? Plus, more guns are better." Ezra could tell Tristan was grasping at straws, but he had learned his lesson by now to not get in between a Mandalorian and his weapon. He just sighed in defeat.
"Crazy Mandalorians and their crazy weapon obsession. Gonna be the death of me one day," he muttered, loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear.
"We know," chorused the three adults. Hera then noticed someone missing. "Speaking of crazy, has anyone seen Chopper?"
"Who's Chopper?"
"Hera's cross-wired psychopathic astromech droid," Kanan responded dryly.
Sabine and Ezra slowly turned to Hera, who was sporting a sheepish smile on her face.
In the Cargo Room
C1-10P, also known as Chopper, was currently trying to open the weapons crate the group stole earlier when the PA came on: "Chop, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You know we need to sell those for credits." The PA then went silent for a moment before the droid's master spoke in a way-too-sweet tone. "You know, I heard our two new recruits were looking for spare parts. Anything specific you guys are looking for?"
Two new voices chorused through the PA excitedly: "Power cells!"
The droid knew he was doomed. Panicked binary was heard throughout the cargo room as the crew watched the astromech freak out through the security system with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Sabine made her way up to the landing platform, waiting for the Ghost to circle around. She thought to herself, Luckily, Ez and I decided to add a docking port underneath our ship. Force instincts are the best. Wait, when did I start calling it 'our' ship? And when did I start calling him 'Ez'? She blushed at the thought before a voice came on through her communicator. "Sabine, the Ghost is in position. Ready to dock?"
She pushed her thoughts aside for a moment and focused. "I'm on my way."
While docking the ship to the side of the Ghost, Sabine's mind couldn't help but wander back to Ezra, pink slowly crawling up her face. She was brought back to reality again, this time by the loud sound of the docking clamp being activated. I can think about that later. We have a mission to complete.
Hera and Kanan went to who knows where with the weapons crates, leaving Zeb to "babysit the children." The Lasat was grumbling at every given opportunity. He and Sabine grabbed their crates, pushing them towards Tarkintown while Sabine asked him questions about said town along the way. Tristan took the opportunity to get a word in with Ezra. They both grabbed their crates as Tristan asked, "So, based on the way you looked at me earlier on the ship, you know about Sabine's powers?"
Ezra looked at him glumly. "I do. She told me about how she found out about it, and why she had to leave. For something most would consider a gift, it took everything away from her."
Tristan nodded, equally depressed. "She was my role model. She was so good at everything when we were younger. I trained as hard as I could to catch up to her, but now I realize why I never could. After she left, our family never recovered. Those four years really didn't feel like living at all. Both of my parents knew that she had no choice, yet that didn't make us feel any better. Our family was torn apart by the Empire. That is why I fight." He paused for a moment before asking Ezra another question. "Why do you fight the Empire?"
"They took my family away. Every day, I can see the impact they have on my home. People are hurting, and the Empire uses the resources of the people they hurt for their own benefit. Sabine and I have been doing as much as we could in giving back to the people, but I fear it's not enough."
Tristan nodded as the two approached their crewmates, giving the contents of their crates to people who needed it more. As the four headed back to the Ghost, Tristan motioned the other two teens to come with him to his room. "Come in. I have something I want to show you."
He started digging through his belongings while Sabine and Ezra plopped down onto his bunk next to each other. "Finally. Found it!" Tristan exclaimed happily, pulling an object out of a drawer. Ezra heard Sabine gasp in surprise as he looked at the item. "What is it?"
Sabine could barely get any words out. "I-it's my old jetpack. I asked Ketsu to give it to him when he arrived at the academy." She then turned to Tristan. "Y-you still have it?"
Tristan grinned at her. "Of course. And I want to give it back to you."
Sabine looked at him in shock. "What about you?"
Tristan smirked as he turned around and pointed at his back, showing off his own jetpack. "The academy gave me my own a year in. You're not the only Wren prodigy, you know."
Sabine noticed the purple line that went down the sides of his own jetpack, the same design as hers. He noticed the direction of her gaze. "You like it?"
Sabine teared up as she asked, "D-did you actually…?"
"I painted it on both my jetpack and the sides of my arms to always have something to remember you by. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it too obvious, but I added as much as I c-OOF!" Sabine had jumped off the bunk and tackled him into a hug, her tears dropping onto his armor.
"You're my favorite brother, you know?"
"I'm your only brother."
She huffed at him. "Di'kut."
The three were pulled from their own little world when Zeb knocked on the door. "Hey, kids! Hera and her fanboy want you in the common room for a meeting! Don't be late!" They could hear him cackling at his own joke as he walked away from their room.
Ezra was currently in the co-pilot seat of the Ghost next to Hera, thinking about their plan. The crew had decided to save a group of Wookies from being sent to a slave labor camp. The Ghost was docked with an Imperial transport ship that supposedly contained the prisoners. Ezra stayed on the Ghost in case the bucketheads decided to storm the freighter. Suddenly, he felt the Force call out to him in warning. "Something's coming."
Hera barely had time to acknowledge his warning before an Imperial Star Destroyer emerged from hyperspace. Ezra immediately went into action. "Kriff! Comms are jammed! I think I have a plan. I'm going to Sabine's shuttle. I have a method to contact her, and she can warn the rest about the trap. Do you think you can get the Ghost out of an EMP missile's radius in a couple seconds?"
"Of course. This ship is fast en…Wait did you say EMP missile?"
"We can discuss that later. Gotta go!"
As Ezra made his way to the shuttle, he contacted Sabine mentally.
"'Bine, it's a trap! Get out of there! An ISD just showed up out of nowhere. I have a plan, but all of you have to get to the Ghost before I can do anything."
"Got it. That means we don't know where the Wookies are. Can you buy me enough time to find it in their database?"
"I should be able to. We might need to restock our missiles after this though."
"Aww, I'm gonna miss the art show. Alright, I'm gonna get to work. May the Force be with you, Ez. Force, that sounds so cheesy."
Ezra chuckled before responding, "You too. Cya later, 'Bine."
Ezra cut the mental link as he hopped into the pilot seat of the shuttle. He felt the Ghost release the docking clamps, mentally thanking Hera for the perfect timing, as he got to work.
In the Transport
"Kanan, Zeb! It's a trap!"
The two looked at Sabine, asking, "How do you know?"
"No time to explain, just know that Ezra told me. Apparently, there's a Star Destroyer outside as well. I need to go find Tristan. I know he knows the plan but we don't know where the Wookies are anymore. Tristan and Chopper should be able to get their location from the database."
Kanan nodded at her before responding, "Artificial gravity disappears in a minute, and it will be off for two. Go. Zeb, you're with me."
Sabine nodded before taking off towards Tristan.
"Tristan!"
"Sabine! What are you doing here? I thought you were with the others."
"Change of plans. It's a trap, Ezra told me. Can you and Chopper find the location the Wookies are being taken to before blowing this place up?"
Tristan nodded at her while Chopper plugged into the system. Sabine called to him over her shoulder, "I'll keep watch. Ezra is updating me on what's going on outside. Apparently, we're being pulled by a tractor beam into the hangar."
Tristan looked at her in surprise. "How do you do that?"
"Focus, we'll tell you later."
"Don't need to, Chopper got it already. Let's go."
*Happy Chopper noises*
The siblings and the psychopathic droid met with Kanan and Zeb before heading back to the Ghost together. Just as they arrived at the port, they turned around to see an ISB agent they hadn't seen before. All except Tristan, who shouted, "We have to go. NOW!"
As the five rebels hurried into the Ghost, Kanan shouted to Hera, "We're all in, release the clamps!" They felt the Ghost break away from the transport before flying at full power away from the ISD. Kanan then turned to Tristan, asking, "Who was that?"
"That was an ISB agent. Agent Kallus. He's one of their best. Those guys deal with any insurgents. I assume this is what Sabine and Ezra were talking about when they mentioned Imperial reinforcements. The Empire is starting to see us as a real threat. Luckily, we all made it out." He released a sigh of relief. However, just as they thought they were safe, they felt a jolt pass through the ship. They could hear Hera shout, "They got us with a tractor beam!" The crew scrambled to the cockpit. Just as they arrived, they saw a single missile being fired into the hangar, before an electric pulse spread out in a large radius (Think of the Malevolence ion cannon, but instead of a circle moving in one direction it expands outward spherically from the point of impact). They saw the tractor beam flicker before it disengaged, and many of the turrets around the ship deactivated. Any TIE fighters close to the hangar were instantly disabled, and the engines of the ISD began to shut down. Hera and Sabine knew what was going on, but the rest of the crew just watched in awe as a single missile disabled an entire Star Destroyer. Hera noticed that they were now out of range of the signal jammer, so she immediately contacted Ezra. "Ezra, I know you mentioned an EMP missile, but what exactly did you just do?"
The rest of the crew looked at her with wide eyes and asked, "EMP missile?"
Sabine smirked and chuckled at them, drawing their attention to her. "We have an EMP missile launcher installed to the top of the shuttle. Ezra and I studied layouts of the ISD from the files I got from a friend at the Imperial Academy. We noticed that if we fired an EMP missile directly into the hangar bay, it could disable most of the vital systems on the ship and allow us to escape."
Ezra continued through the communicator, "The EMP radius reaches the main reactor, as well as the tractor beam, hangar bay, the ion weapon control room, and any laser batteries within its range. Unfortunately, it doesn't reach the main computer or the shield generators, so while it can't chase us or attack us, we can't damage it either. However, it's perfect for getting us out of here. Unfortunately, there were TIEs far enough from the blast that haven't been deactivated, so I can't dock safely. We need to jump separately. Where do we go?"
Hera looked at that shuttle in shock. "That little thing has a hyperdrive?" They all turned to look at Sabine, who had an innocent smile on her face, her hands clasped behind her back. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ezra spoke again. "Hello? Anyone there? Don't tell me the EMP hit you guys too." That snapped everyone out of their trance as Chopper gave Ezra the coordinates in Binary. "I don't understand Binary, what's he saying?"
Sabine spoke up, "The Spice Mines of Kessel." She noticed the hesitant looks on the other's faces. "That's where they're taking the Wookies. If we don't do anything, they'll die there within months."
Hera sighed. "She's right. We need to save them. They've saved many of my people before."
Zeb chimed in, "Same here. I owe those hairy beasts."
Kanan and Tristan just nodded in agreement, and Chopper rolled up to Sabine and hugged her leg with his claws. Sabine looked at Hera in confusion. "What does that mean?"
Hera looked just as confused. "I have no idea. But he wants to go to Kessel. I guess we're all in. We'll meet you in orbit, Ezra. We can come up with a plan then." She pulled down a lever, sending the Ghost hurtling through hyperspace, Sabine's Aka'jor class shuttle not far behind.
Imperial Star Destroyer
"Sir, there was a breach in security in our database."
"What did they obtain, Trooper?"
"The location the Wookie slaves are being shipped to, sir."
Kallus looked out of the bridge, a sinister smile slowly surfacing on his face. "We will be waiting."
Kessel Orbit
After docking with the Ghost, Ezra met the rest of the crew in the common room. They were already planning, but no one looked confident in what they had. "So, what's the plan so far?"
Kanan looked at him with a hesitant smile before speaking, "Hera's going to drop us off, and we have someone sneak in and unshackle the Wookies. We hide in a container crate before she picks us back up."
Ezra thought for a moment. "How about we have Sabine take the shuttle and cover Hera in case the Imps have aerial support? I can be the one to sneak in behind the Imps. I had to survive on my own for three years before Sabine joined me on Lothal, so I have the skills to remain hidden. Chopper can help Hera defend the ship."
Everyone liked the idea. Well, except for a certain droid.
*Angry Chopper noises*
"What do you mean you want to go with Sabine?" Hera asked, clearly confused.
*Excited Chopper noises*
Everyone who knew Binary face-palmed. Ezra and Zeb looked around, confused. "What did he say?"
"He wants to go with Sabine so he can try out those weapons. I'm telling you Hera, that droid needs an attitude adjustment," said Kanan, a trace of fear in his voice.
Hera just sighed. "Fine, you can go with her. But only blow up stuff when I tell you to, okay?"
*Defiant Chopper noises*
Hera turned to Sabine, who was now standing next to Ezra, with an evil grin. "So, do you two still need spare parts? I heard Chopper over here has some perfectly functional power cells."
Two more evil grins appeared in the room as all three slowly turned towards the now frightened astromech.
*Scared Chopper noises*
The droid somehow managed to squeak before flying all the way to the shuttle, afraid for his life.
Of course things had to go wrong. They always do. The original plan worked flawlessly, but they didn't account for an Imperial transport landing with a squad of stormtroopers and Kallus leading them. The crew on the ground were pinned behind some storage crates alongside the Wookies. Sabine was too busy dealing with the TIE fighters to help them, and Hera couldn't maintain her position without Chopper helping her man the guns.
"Go! Lead the TIEs away and give yourself maneuvering room!" Kanan shouted into his handheld comm.
"I am not leaving you behind!"
"No you're not. We're running a 22 pickup."
Tristan just looked at him weirdly through his helmet. "Seriously?"
"You have a better option?"
"Jump in the pit and get it over with?" Zeb tacked on.
"Alright, I'll be back. Make sure you're ready."
"22 pickup? Care to let me in on the secret?" Ezra asked, a bit annoyed at their secrecy.
Kanan hopped over the boxes while calmly walking forward, dodging laser bolts as they flew past his head. "Kid, I'm about to let everyone in on the secret." He then pulled out two halves of his lightsaber from his belt and put them together. He ignited it, revealing a blue blade, and twirled it around before getting into his ready stance. Kallus called out to his men to hold their fire, disbelief written all over his face. The whole group behind the Jedi gasped in awe at the sight. Ezra thought to himself, that's why I felt his presence back on Lothal. It all makes sense now. Kallus said something unknown to his wrist comm before commanding his troops, "All troopers, focus your fire on…on the Jedi!"
As Kanan was deflecting away most of the bolts, he shouted, "Time to go!"
Zeb motioned to the rest of the Wookies as he helped the injured one move. "Everyone, get to the containers!"
Ezra noticed one of the injured Wookies looking reluctant to leave. He then remembered seeing the young Wookie child run off earlier, and he put the two together. He contacted Sabine mentally.
"Hey, 'Bine! When you finish off those TIEs, do you think you could help pick up a Wookie? The kid ran off to the far side of the mine with a stormtrooper on his tail. Also, Kanan's a Jedi. Figures."
"Oh, that's coo-WHAT?" Wait, focus. I'll get the kid. Get the rest of them to safety!"
Ezra nodded mentally before cutting the link. As he was about to turn and run, he noticed a glint at the top of a radio tower nearby. He felt a warning in the Force and shouted, "Kanan, watch out!", but it was too late. On top of the radio tower, a stormtrooper with a sniper fired on the Jedi while he was too busy dealing with the troops on the ground. Luckily for Kanan, the sniper missed any vital spots, hitting him in his right shoulder. However, the shot pierced through his shoulder plate. "Aghh!" His lightsaber deactivated and flew out of his hand as he fell to the ground, holding his smoking shoulder. Ezra sighed. He knew he would have to reveal his secret. He and Sabine had tried to stay off the radar as much as possible, but he would never sacrifice another's life to ensure his own safety. He mentally contacted Sabine again.
"'Bine, can you make a quick detour? I need you to take out that radio tower. There's a sniper up there and he hit Kanan in the shoulder. It looks pretty bad. He'll make it, but he can't make it out on his own. I have to reveal my secret."
"On it. Have fun with those bucketheads, Ez! Heh."
As Ezra called Kanan's lightsaber to him, he saw a missile fly directly towards the tower before it went down in flames. I knew I could always count on her. He then calmly walked out in front of Kanan, activating the blade. He heard Kanan yelling in confusion, "What are you doing, Ezra? Get out of here?"
"I'm not leaving anyone behind. That's not the Jedi way. You should know."
"W-what?"
Ezra just smirked at Kanan. "I have my own secrets too, you know. I'll cover you. Get to the container."
Kanan nodded as the two slowly made their way back to the container. Ezra was able to knock out a few stormtroopers with their own bolts, but there were still too many. He called out behind him, "Tristan! Mind shooting back? Could use a little help here!"
Tristan turned to see Ezra wieldling Kanan's lightsaber flawlessly. Words failed him. "Y-y-you a-ar-"
"Just shoot back! We can talk later." Ezra then looked up to see the Ghost incoming. "Zeb, Hera's coming. Get them in now!"
That shook Zeb out of his stupor as he muttered, "Kids these days." He then shouted, "Get in you furballs, now!" As the group got into the container with the Wookies and closed the door, Ezra deactivated the lightsaber and tossed it back to Kanan before breathing a sigh of relief. They felt the container jolt as they heard over their comms, "Magnetic seal locked." Zeb groaned, "I hate this part." Ezra, realizing the job's not done, told Hera, "Sabine's going to the far side of the mine to pick up a Wookie child that ran away. We should meet her there so she can dock before we leave."
"Acknowledged. Sabine, I'm on my way. You doing fine over there?"
"Relax, there was only one buckethead, Hera. I have the ship ready to dock for when you arrive."
Sabine's shuttle quickly docked with the Ghost before the ship turned into the upper atmosphere, leaving Kessel in its wake.
Ezra felt a pang in his heart. He was glad that the Wookie child reunited with his father, but he knew the same could not be said for himself. A few tears leaked out of his eyes as he thought about his own family. Sabine picked up on his feelings of sorrow through their bond. She quietly left the group before walking up to him and wrapping him in a tight hug. "It's okay, Ez. It's in the past. I'll make sure you are never alone again. I promise." Ezra just clung tighter to her, muttering quiet "Thank you's" under his breath. They heard the rest of the crew approach them, but neither of them cared, staying in their tight embrace. They then heard Hera say, "You know, Ezra, she's right. We'll make sure you're never alone again. You saved a lot of lives today, including Kanan's. You are more than welcome to stay with us, if you would like. You too, Sabine. I don't know your story, but I won't be the one that splits you and your brother apart again. Welcome to the crew, Spectre-6, Spectre-7."
Both turned to her and nodded with wide smiles on their faces before Kanan spoke up, still holding his injured shoulder. "Speaking of saving my life, Ezra, you're obviously Force-sensitive, yet I never felt your presence. Care to explain?"
Ezra grinned at him sheepishly, saying, "It's a long story. Let's go to the common room. You'll need to sit down for this. Also someone might want to get Kanan a bacta patch."
The whole crew was staring at Sabine and Ezra in a mix of awe and disbelief. Kanan was the first to recover, summarizing what they had just all heard. "So…you're telling me, that not only are you both Force-sensitive, but you have a special kind of bond with each other I've never even heard of, which led to Sabine having a vision of Lothal and finding you, you were trained a by the Sabered Hand to hide your Force signature before convincing him to train you in combat, went into a Jedi temple, met Grandmaster Yoda through the Force, AND received kyber crystals from the temple?"
The pair just smiled at Kanan awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. Kanan then continued, "Your bond. Master Yoda said that you two are a dyad in the Force? I've never heard of the term. I've heard of very special and powerful bonds, but they were all in old legends at the Temple. Did Master Yoda tell you anything else?"
"He said that we are able to communicate with each other across any distance, and that we will always be connected. He said we had more abilities, but we would have to discover them on our own. I bet he doesn't know everything either, probably because of how rare it is," Sabine answered.
"That ability sounds both very convenient and very inconvenient," Kanan mentioned.
The pair looked away from each other and blushed, both remembering the incident from a few years ago. Ezra gathered himself before responding, "Yeah, we know. We use our bond all the time during raids. It's how I told Sabine that it was a trap when you guys were on that transport."
Kanan pondered on that for a moment before moving on. "You said that you received kyber crystals from the temple. May I see them?"
Sabine removed her helmet before the teens each removed a pendant from their neck. They carried the kyber crystals with them everywhere they went to make sure the crystals wouldn't get lost. Kanan looked at the crystals in shock, not going unnoticed by the others in the room. Hera, now curious about the crystals, asked Kanan, "What's so surprising, dear?"
"Those colors. They are extremely rare for any Force-wielder. Most Jedi would either receive a green or blue crystal, depending on their traits. I have only ever met one Jedi with a purple lightsaber, and I have never seen any with an orange one. It seems the two of you are truly special."
Hera then remembered something important. "Is this why the two of you were looking for spare parts?"
The teens nodded before Sabine responded, "We tried looking for some in Capital City, but lightsaber parts are not easy to come by this far out in the Outer Rim."
Kanan smiled at the duo before responding, "I may have a few spare parts lying around. Take a look in my room to see if anything is useful to you."
Tristan then tacked on, "Sabine, I have some spare beskar in my room for my armor, and we know the location of a small forge in a deserted sector of Lothal. Not Mandalorian, but it's good enough to melt down beskar to repair my armor. We could stop by there in your shuttle at some point to forge any pieces you might want to add. I think that it would be perfect, seeing that you are the first Mandalorian Jedi since Tarre Vizsla."
Sabine nodded at him with a wide smile on her face as she and Ezra made their way to Kanan's room. However, just as they reached it, they heard Hera ask, "Sabine, does that shuttle have a name?" The two looked at each other slowly before looking back at Hera, both shaking their heads in embarrassment. Hera just deadpanned. "You're telling me, after adding all those weapon upgrades, all those interior changes, and even a kriffing hyperdrive to it you never decided to give your ship a name?"
"Uhhhhhh…"
"What about the Cavalry?" Tristan piped up before expanding, "That ship has more weapons than the Ghost and the Phantom combined. It disabled an Imperial Star Destroyer in its first fight and took out an entire squadron of TIEs in its second. That ship saved our asses more than once in the span of less than a day. It's the embodiment of heavy reinforcements."
Sabine thought about it, a grin slowly appearing on her face. "I like it. The Cavalry. Sounds scary. Sounds Mandalorian. Hehehe…" She then pulled Ezra along while yelling back to Tristan, "Tell me when we get to Lothal so we can go in the Cavalry! We're gonna look for parts. Cya later!" The door shut behind her. Hera smiled before turning towards the cockpit. "I'll get us into hyperspace back to Lothal. Kanan, you should probably go help them out, you too Tristan. Chopper, Zeb, I need you two to help me with repairs once I get the ship into hyperspace. A couple of the turrets were damaged earlier."
*Disobedient Chopper noises*
"You know, Chopper, now that I know what the kids need spare parts for, I can't seem to help but notice you have too much energy for your own good. You wouldn't mind finally giving away a couple power cells, would you now?"
The Ghost was currently parked at the bottom of the tower while the Cavalry was sitting on the landing pad. Ezra had taken the Phantom to look for some small missing pieces in the city, while Sabine was still tinkering away inside the tower. The rest of the crew were lounging around in the common room. As Chopper rolled into the room, Zeb finally lost his patience. "What's taking those two so long? It's been weeks since they started working on those things. What could they possibly be making that would take this long?"
Tristan didn't mind at all. Neither did Hera, to be honest, and Kanan had enough patience from his Jedi training. "Hey, my sister let us use all the weapons they had lying around in the tower to upgrade the Ghost and the Phantom, so I don't mind waiting. I still don't know how those two managed to get so many powerful laser cannons."
"Probably the Force," Zeb replied, not understanding how it worked.
"Well, anyways, we now have two of those bad boys at the front of the ship now. They also had some spare homing missile complements that me and Tristan attached to the Phantom. We could probably take out a cruiser now between the Ghost and the Cavalry, " Hera replied, still not believing what she had seen a few weeks back.
Flashback
After Tristan and Sabine took the Cavalry to the forge, the rest of the crew landed at the tower. Ezra revealed to them a secret door at the bottom of the tower that contained months of supplies of both food and weapons. He just casually said, "Feel free to take anything from here and add it to the Ghost. I know Tristan is going to have a field day with this one."
"Are you sure? This is a lot of weaponry."
"Exactly. We can't use it all, as much as Sabine would like to. I already asked her, and she's okay with it, as long as she gets to test the guns out first. Pretty fair price if you ask me."
Hera just shook her head. She already had one crazy teenage Mando to deal with, but now she had two. Sibling teenage Mandos at that. She looked at Kanan, who clearly had the same thought on his mind.
End Flashback
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the Phantom docking. At the same time, Sabine appeared in the hallway, an excited smile plastered on her face. In her hand was a lightsaber hilt that looked vaguely familiar to Kanan. Tristan noticed that the stabilizing ring and emitter were shaped to look like the centerpiece of the Clan Wren insignia, both made from beskar covered in a shiny gold finish. A beskar-forged starbird was wrapped around the hilt, still in its natural silver color, while the empty spaces the symbol left were covered by a dark gray rubber coating. The bottom was capped off by a shiny cone-shaped piece with lines running down and across, forming a grenade-like pattern. Sabine handed the saber to Kanan to let him inspect it, just as Ezra walked into the room. Sabine looked over in his hand to see what looked like two hilts connected by two pylons at the top and bottom before noticing a small barrel protrude from one end. She asked him mentally, "Did you manage to add a blaster to yours?"
He chuckled before responding, "Well, you never let me use yours. How else am I gonna fight from range?" She rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Kanan. Kanan turned to Ezra before motioning for the saber as well. As he inspected Ezra's saber, he mentioned, "It's different, but I feel like it suits you perfectly. What does the second handle do?"
Ezra responded with a grin. "It doubles as a blaster. Sabine never lets me use hers so I decided to make my own." That got a chuckle out of the rest of the crew before Kanan gave it back to him, motioning to him to ignite it. It revealed a rich orange color as he waved it around a bit, getting a proper feel for it. As he turned it off, Kanan turned his attention back to Sabine's saber.
"This is a beautiful lightsaber, Sabine. I'm curious, what does each piece mean?"
"I shaped the top to look like the Clan Wren symbol. The shape worked perfectly, and it's a fitting way to represent my clan. The cap at the bottom is shaped similarly to the one on Master Beq's lightsaber. I wanted to give a nod to him as well, Since he got us started on our journey. Finally, the symbol on the hilt is a starbird, my new symbol. It represents everything I am as a Mandalorian Jedi rebel. Everything we are as a group. A spark of rebellion, ignited by a phoenix rising from the ashes. We, the Jedi, are that phoenix. Master Beq always told us stories about the Jedi and how they were viewed by the galaxy before they were wiped out. The Jedi may never recover from the purge, but we can still rise above the tragedy and be the galaxy's symbol of hope. A shining beacon of light ignited by a spark, in a galaxy filled with darkness. Before today, Ezra and I avoided confrontation with the Empire to save our own skins. However, after what we went through today, I've changed my mind, and I have no doubt that he has as well. The people we helped on Lothal, the Wookies we saved, it made me feel alive. Really alive. I feel like I can make a difference now. I can no longer sit on the sidelines as I watch people suffer when I have the ability to do something about it. Every time I ignite my lightsaber, I want to be reminded of the reasons we fight. That we can be the spark that ignites a light in the darkness. That we can make a difference."
The room was stunned into silence. The crew was slowly digesting Sabine's words, as they resonated with every member deeply. Zeb was the first to speak up. "Now I understand why you took so long. This isn't just a weapon for you. It represents everything you believe in, as well as everything you stand for. You poured your heart and soul into that weapon, and we can all feel it. We understand your drive, and we all feel the same way."
Hera continued, "We all have been hurt by the Empire. We know how you feel, and we will support you all the way."
The rest of the crew nodded in agreement. Tristan was looking at his older sister in pride and admiration. Ezra didn't need to say anything. He and Sabine shared a look, and he gave her a genuine smile and nodded, affirming his belief in her. Sabine felt touched at the gesture, her heart fluttering in her chest. However, before she got too caught up in her thoughts, Kanan smiled at her, handing the lightsaber back to her. "Go ahead, light it up."
Sabine nodded before igniting the saber, revealing a royal amethyst blade. The crew stared in awe at the blade as it lit up the room, knowing what it signified: a spark, a symbol of hope, a symbol of change. Years later, the crew would look back at this moment as the moment that changed all their lives. For better or worse, only time would tell.
AN: I tried to focus less on the stuff that happened in the episode and more on the stuff that I changed. This story is Sabezra-centric, so there won't be many other POVs unless they're essential to the story.
The pair finally meet the Ghost crew. And guess who shows up? It's Tristan. For those that read my AN in Prologue I, this is what I meant. Tristan will be involved a lot in the future, as he is part of the Ghost crew. I originally wanted to expand on his story in this chapter, but I'll focus on that when Ketsu reappears.
Kanan won't be an official Master to the two. He will be more like a guide. He can teach them, but he respects their skills and treats them as equals. At this point, he is much stronger than the two in the Force, but Sabine is a marginally better duelist than he is. He's rusty while she's been training non-stop on Lothal. Ezra isn't far behind, but he spent more of his time honing his Force abilities. Ezra will follow in Kanan's footsteps whereas Sabine is much more of a fighter.
They finally got their lightsabers built. I went with Ezra's original design because honestly it's amazing. It fits his needs perfectly as a rebel, as using a lightsaber all the time isn't practical or smart. I wanted Sabine's saber to be a little more special, as she is an artist by nature. Tell me what you think of the design!
