Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars Rebels or any related material.

Edited 11/14/2023 for AO3 posting. Formatting mostly.

Fire Across the Galaxy

Two stormtroopers, one in surprisingly colorful armor, were currently patrolling the perimeter of an Imperial airfield, conversing with each other.

"Did you hear? Apparently, the rebels here attacked a cruiser in orbit, but they just left it alone after a few minutes. I don't know about you, but it sounds suspicious to me," the colorful one asked.

"Relax. I think all that color on your armor is messing with your brain. Oooh, maybe you got rebel disease!"

"Shut up, Noah."

As the two continued to bicker, a voice called out to them from behind, "Miss me, bucketheads?"

They turned around to see a female Mandalorian with a Lothalian sunset paint job on her armor looking at them with one hand on her hip and the other on a spray canister. One trooper raised his blaster at her while the other looked at her with what seemed like awe, as far as she could tell through their plastoid helmets.

"It's her!"

"Thanks for the paint job!"

Sabine looked at the trooper, clearly confused, until she noticed his colorful set of armor, chuckling out loud at the coincidence. She heard Ezra mentally ask her, "What's so funny, 'Bine? It's just a couple of bucketheads."

"It's the one with the colorful armor! HAHA! We can't stop running into this dude!"

She heard him chuckle through their bond as he responded, "Okay, I'll admit, that's pretty funny. You think you could get on with the distraction though? Zeb's starting to get annoyed, and he's taking out on me."

"Aww, poor Ez'ika, can't deal with the big purple guy without me?"

"Just get on with it!"

"Fine, fine. Have fun, Ez!"

She cut the link as she refocused on the two troopers in front of her, turning her attention to the one with colorful armor and feigning confusion. "Umm, aren't you supposed to shoot at me? Isn't that kind of your job?"

The trooper snapped out of his awed trance. "Huh? Oh, right. Blast that rebel scum!"

Using her Force-aided mobility, she jumped on top of the nearest building, avoiding any shots coming her way as she continued to sprint across the roof. None of the troopers noticed her subtly place detonators around the airfield. Sabine looked back at the colored trooper while ducking a laser bolt. "How did the Empire let you keep that anyway?" She then leaped off the building and rolled onto a crate as the plain stormtrooper commed into his helmet,

"We have an intruder on the north side, Sector 9. The artist is back. Sound the alarm."

Once the troopers vacated the area in pursuit of Sabine, Ezra, along with Tristan and Zeb, began sneaking through the base, attempting to hijack the Imperial Freighter docked there. Ezra's eyes were practically glued to Sabine as she acrobatically avoided all the stormtrooper's shots while the trio arrived at the ship's lift. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Tristan when the Mando pulled him by his arm onto the lift. "Stop ogling my sister and focus on the mission. You have plenty of time for that later."

"But she's so hot when she does that!" the young Jedi complained.

Tristan sighed in regret as he mumbled, "You two are going to be the death of me." Ezra and Zeb then rushed into the cockpit and began the startup sequence for the ship as Tristan waited on the lift for his sister. Once the freighter was in the air, Ezra mentally contacted his girlfriend, "'Bine, ship's in the air. Time to get going!"

"Already? But this is so fun!"

"You can have more fun blowing up the base when you get on."

"You know what, you're right. I'm on my way."

Ezra felt her cut the connection, thinking to himself, "So, to get Sabine to do something I want, I just have to appease her with explosives?", forgetting momentarily that he was still thinking through their bond. He suddenly felt her reconnect with him, mentally sending him a way-too-sweet smile that sent a chill down his spine. Did I say that in the bond? Oh, Force, I am so dead.

"Ezra Bridger…"

"Y-yes, 'Bine?"

"Do you like sleeping in the common room? Because I can easily arr-"

"No, no! I'm sorry, 'Bine! I promise to never use explosives to make you do something! I swear!"

Ezra felt the fear and tension ebb away from his body when Sabine's "smile of doom" gradually morphed into a small but sweet one. He felt her pet his head as she spoke, "That's a good boy, Ez. I'll be up in a moment, but in the meantime, enjoy the show!" Sabine cut the connection again, leaving Ezra to look out the window of the freighter, just in time to see the airfield go up in flames. As the explosion slowly dwindled, Ezra realized something. How did I feel her pet my head? She was at the lift, and I was here in the cockpit. I guess I'll have to ask her when she gets up here. The door to the cockpit opened right on cue as Sabine walked in with Tristan. Zeb turned back to the siblings and was the first to speak.

"Heh, that was one of your better demo jobs, Sabine."

Sabine smiled at the Lasat warrior in gratitude before turning to her boyfriend, who had a thoughtful look on his face. She asked, "What's up, Ez?"

His piercing electric blue eyes turned their focus to her own as he asked back, "How did you touch me earlier, just before you blew the base up?"

Sabine looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean? I don't remember touching you."

Ezra's face scrunched up more in thought, replying, "I felt you pet my head earlier. I don't know how, but it definitely was you. I want to test it out before we get back." He turned to Tristan, asking, "Can you take over the controls?"

Tristan shrugged. "Sure thing. I'll comm you when we arrive."

Ezra nodded in satisfaction and looked back to his girlfriend. "I'll go to the back of the ship, you can stay here. Try focusing on me through our bond, and I'll do the same."

Sabine nodded as he turned around and headed towards the back of the ship, getting into a meditative position. He cleared all other thoughts from his mind, solely focusing on his bond with Sabine. Once he felt her, he slowly reached out his right hand, feeling it connect with someone else's, one that felt familiar to him. He slowly opened his eyes to see himself in the cockpit of the ship, holding hands with his girlfriend. She was looking back at him in awe and curiosity. "I see the back of the ship, Ez! I can feel your hand, too. Woah, this is kind of trippy." She then experimented, taking her other hand and brushing it along his cheek. He slowly reached up for her hand and grabbed it gently.

"I see the cockpit. Both Tristan and Zeb. And I can feel you too, my favorite pair of hands." Sabine blushed slightly, causing a small smirk to appear on Ezra's face before it morphed back into curiosity. "Can those two see me?"

Sabine turned around and asked, "Tristan, Zeb, can you see Ezra?"

The Lasat swiveled his chair around and looked down at her strangely. "No, I only see you, holding both your hands out weirdly. What are you doing?"

"I'm touching Ezra somehow. It must be something with our Force bond. It lets us feel each other across time and space and see where the other is." She then turned back to Ezra. "I remember Master Yoda saying something about always being connected. I thought he meant our ability to speak to each other mentally, but maybe he was talking about this."

The young Jedi looked thoughtful. "You're probably right, 'Bine. I can feel everything you're feeling. Heh, imagine how awkward this would be if we weren't already together."

Sabine giggled at the thought. "That would have probably forced us together anyways." She then took a peek at Ezra's more concealed feelings. "Wow, Ez'ika, I didn't know you're so naughty!" she sang out teasingly.

Ezra's face was set aflame, miserably failing to form a response. "N-n-no! I-I," He was interrupted by more giggling.

"Relax, Ez. You know I have similar thoughts. We're teens, after all. It's normal." The Mando girl was so distracted by her teasing of Ezra that she failed to remember she was in a room with other occupants, both of whom looked thoroughly annoyed.

"As much as I would like to hear about what my sister wants to do to her boyfriend… Oh wait, I don't," Tristan deadpanned, continuing, "We just arrived at the Ghost, so if you and your 'naughty' boyfriend could, you know, undo your space magic-"

"TRISTAN!" Sabine's face now matched Ezra's in brightness.

The Spectres were in the common room looking at a hologram of Mustafar. Hera addressed the rest of the group. "The transport you stole will get us close to the fleet over Mustafar. We know they have Kanan on Tarkin's Star Destroyer."

Zeb narrowed his eyes at the diagram, looking at the Imperial fleet. "And it's surrounded by a bunch of other Star Destroyers."

Sharing the Lasat's worries, Hera replied, "Uh, lots more. We'll need a distraction to cover our entry. Sabine?"

The Mando girl pulled up a diagram of Tarkin's destroyer while explaining, "I could modify one of our existing EMP missiles and turn it into a remote detonator. That would allow me to increase its range as well so it could disable the whole destroyer. You already know that it needs to be sent into the main hangar. Unfortunately, that transport won't fit in there, and the Cavalry will get shot down the moment it gets scanned."

"We need something small enough to get into that hangar bay." Hera sighed in lament. "Too bad we blew up all the TIEs at the base."

The room suddenly went strangely quiet as Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb looked at Hera with sheepish expressions. Ezra was the first to break the silence. "Well, uh, there is one left. But it's not at the base."

Zeb looked at Ezra panickedly, shaking his head quickly and motioning for Ezra to stop." Uh-uh. Uh-uh."

The young Jedi shot him a stern look, replying, "Look, this is serious, Zeb. For Kanan."

The Lasat sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Hera looked at the two in suspicion, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. "What's going on?"

"The TIE we stole a while back, we, uh… We didn't exactly crash it."

"And by 'didn't exactly,' you mean…"

"We didn't crash it. We kept it. Hidden."

Hera looked pissed. "You all knew about this?"

Tristan piped up, "Uh, I had no idea."

The Twi'lek glared at him. "Not helping." She then turned her attention back to the others with a slightly softer expression. "I should be angry. I should yell at you for disobeying a direct order. But right now, I'm just grateful we got it."

Hesitantly, Ezra brought up, "Uh, there's a slight problem with it."

Hera just looked tiredly at the boy. "What kind of problem?"

Standing up and crossing his arms, Zeb added, "Yeah, what kind of problem?"

Tristan turned to look at her sister and her boyfriend, who both had small guilty smiles on their faces as they shrugged in unison.

Flashback, a week after Ezra's birthday

The recently formed couple were currently in their room, snuggled up to each other on the bottom bunk, Ezra lying down with Sabine curled on his chest. They were getting ready to turn in for the night when Ezra suddenly thought of something. "'Bine, I never got you anything after you gave me that picture."

Sabine responded gently, "Ez, it was a birthday present. I didn't and still don't expect anything in return."

Ezra still looked frustrated. "I know. But I want to get you something. You've done so much for me already and I want to give back."

The Mando girl gently smiled, quickly pecking him quickly on the lips before replying, "You've done just as much for me, Ez. You saved me from loneliness when I was forced to leave home. You saved me from going down a darker and more depressing path. Your love is more than enough for me. I don't need anything else."

Overwhelmed by emotion, Ezra tilted his head up and mashed his lips to hers, pouring everything he felt at the moment into it. "Force, how did I get so lucky?"

"I'm the lucky one, Ez. You deserve my love."

His face flushed in embarrassment, but he didn't want to end their kiss. "Sorry, 'Bine! I didn't mean to say that in our bond."

"It's okay, Ez, I'm still getting used to it myself."

After their first kiss in the nose gun, the two completely dropped their mental barriers around each other, allowing each other access to all their thoughts. They were still able to shield their thoughts and emotions when they wanted to, but both liked being able to feel the other's love and affection radiating off each other. It was a learning curve for the both of them, having to shield only their normal everyday thoughts and not everything else, while still shielding everything from outsiders, but they both felt that it was worth it.

Having finally ended their extended liplock, Ezra laid back onto the bunk while Sabine relaxed into him. Suddenly, an idea popped into the boy's mind. "I got the perfect gift, 'Bine!"

Sabine drowsily replied, "Show me tomorrow, Ez. Too tired. Sleep."

"Alright. Sweet dreams, 'Bine."

"Night, Ez."

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost, 'Bine. I'm landing now."

Hera had given the two permission to take the Phantom on a trip, as Tristan was currently "practicing" his piloting skills with the Cavalry. The couple knew he just wanted to play around with the weapons systems, but they didn't mind. For some strange reason, Ezra told Sabine to bring her art tools. Her thoughts wandered to what Ezra could possibly give her as he took her hand in his and led her out of the Phantom, a blindfold currently wrapped around her eyes. A few moments later, she felt him stop in front of her. "Okay, 'Bine, take it off."

Once she unwrapped the cloth from behind her head and her eyes readjusted to the light levels, she could make out a distinctly familiar-looking shape. "Ez, is that a TIE?"

The young Jedi grinned at her. "It's the one me and Zeb stole a while back. You can use it as your new canvas. Don't tell anyone though, Hera would tear me apart limb by limb."

She smiled giddily at him and glomped him, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "You're the best boyfriend ever, Ez."

She then hastily unwrapped herself from him and sprinted back into the Phantom, preparing herself for her next masterpiece.

End Flashback

As the crew made their way to the TIE, Tristan deadpanned at Ezra. "So, you're telling me, you let my sister paint this thing as a one week anniversary gift?"

The couple blushed slightly at the comment, but the bright smiles on their faces never faded. The pair then stopped and looked up, leaving the rest of the group to follow their sightline. The crew quite clearly had mixed reactions as they set their eyes upon the TIE.

"Okay. Well, this is awful," Zeb complained.

Tristan glared at the Lasat. "Hey! Don't diss my sister's work like that!" He then grinned cheekily. "Only I can do that."

Sabine scowled at the two. "What? It's some of my best work!"

However, Hera interrupted the inevitable fight before it started. "It'll have to do."

Zeb looked at Hera in slight shock. "I thought you were supposed to be the sane one. This whole plan is as crazy as those colors."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe this mission doesn't make military sense. But Kanan is family, and we've all lost enough family to the Empire. And I'm not ready to lose this one. I'm not ordering any of you to come along. But you need to decide now. In, or out?"

The three teens responded immediately, "I'm in."

Both droids beeped affirmatively in rare agreement, giving the crew their answer.

Zeb sighed, "Karabast. I'm in." He then pointed at the TIE. "But what about that?"

Hera shrugged. "Eh, no time to fix it. Besides, the Imperials will only scan it. By the time the Imperials see it…"

"It'll be too late," Sabine finished with a smirk.

"I'll send in our transponder code as soon as we know Kanan is there," Hera addressed the crew. Their stolen Imperial Freighter had just exited hyperspace in front of the Imperial fleet stationed in orbit above Mustafar. Hera then turned to look at their primary Force user. "Ezra?"

Ezra called back to Sabine, "Help me out, 'Bine. It'll be much faster than if I do it alone." The Mando girl nodded and put her hand on his shoulder as he closed his eyes and extended his hand out. They searched room after room in Tarkin's destroyer with the Force, looking for any sign of Kanan's Force signature. Eventually, they felt a familiar signature, simultaneously opening their eyes. "He's there. He's alive!"

Hera let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, turning back towards the console and flipped a couple switches, inwardly relieved at the news. "Sending codes."

They heard a response come through the ship's comms momentarily afterwards. "Transport Ship 63378 cleared for docking."

The crew breathed a small sigh of relief as Hera ordered, "They bought it. Chop, send in Sabine's present."

The astromech beeped in acknowledgement, releasing the TIE from the docking clamp and letting it follow the other TIEs into the Star Destroyer's main hangar. After watching the TIE fly into the ship with its fellow fighters, Sabine pressed a button on her wrist controls, detonating the EMP. The crew watched in satisfaction as a large purple sphere of electricity expanded outwards from inside the ship, disabling it in its entirety. Tristan grinned widely as he complimented excitedly, "Now, that's art, Sabine."

The Mando girl smiled in agreement. "That blast should have taken out any troopers nearby, but they won't be down for long. We better hurry."

Hera nodded and proceeded to dock the freighter on the side of the Star Destroyer while addressing the droids as the rest of the crew got ready to disembark. "Twix, you're coming with us in case something goes wrong. You know that ship better than anyone here. Chop, this shouldn't take long. Keep the engine running."

Both droids beeped affirmatively as Twix caught up with and rolled alongside the rest of the crew. When they reached the exit of the freighter, Ezra and Sabine each cut a half circle in the wall and Force pushed the resulting piece into the opposite wall, allowing the crew to infiltrate the destroyer. Sabine pointed out at a downed trooper, "That's not good. These guys will wake up sooner than I originally thought."

"How soon?" Ezra asked.

"Too soon, I reckon," Zeb grunted out.

Tristan snorted, "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Ezra wasted no more time as he directed the rest of the crew, "Come on! This way." The Spectres continued to run down the hallways of the destroyer when Hera received a transmission from Chopper on her comlink. The droid was beeping frantically about Imperial reinforcements coming from the other destroyers.

"Reinforcements already? That was fast."

"Don't worry. On a ship this big, it'll take 'em a while to find us," Tristan reassured.

However, as they turned the corner, they ran into a small squad of troopers. "Drop your weapons! Hands up!"

Ezra took out his lightsaber and quipped back to Tristan, "They found us," shooting a blast and knocking out one of the troopers. The Spectres turned back around to where they came from, only to find another squad waiting for them.

"It's the rebels! This way!"

They were forced to flee through the last hallway, leaving Hera no choice but to hit the control pad on the wall, closing the blast door behind them. Thinking quickly, Ezra stabbed his saber through the door, ruining the mechanism and welding the moving pieces together. "Good thinking, Ez. What do we do now?" He heard Sabine ask in his mind. He was about to mentally respond, but quickly regained his senses when Hera parroted the same question out loud.

"Okay, what now?"

Ezra replied, "Kanan was down that hall. I just cut off our only way to get to him."

Sabine quickly thought of a potential solution. She turned to her droid and asked, "Twix, where's the nearest scomp link access port?"

The astromech beeped out an answer, signaling for the crew to follow him. After running down a couple different hallways, they approached what looked to be a small database room, having minimal guards. Sabine and Tristan easily took them out with their WESTAR-35s while the rest of the group moved in to secure the room. Sabine then asked, "Twix, can you see if you can find a path from here to Kanan?"

The droid got to work as the rest of the crew discussed their new plan. "Okay, Sabine, Ezra, if Twix finds a route you two take him with you and get Kanan out. Me, Tristan, and Zeb will try to secure a path back to the freighter and Chopper." Just as Hera finished laying out the plan, Twix beeped out affirmatively. The Twi'lek sighed in relief. "Great, let's get moving. Good luck, you two."

The couple nodded as the group split up, each attending to their own objectives.

After navigating through a couple squads of bucketheads, the couple and their droid had finally reached the detention level. Feeling their friend's Force signature emanating from one of the rooms, Sabine opened the door to the room and Ezra walked in, spotting his friend on a torture rack. He was inwardly fuming, but he knew better than to let his anger surface now. To try and ease his own tension, he decided to joke, "At least this time you didn't get knocked out, Kanan."

The older Jedi had a sheepish look on his face. "Uhh… I actually knocked myself out trying to save Tristan back at the tower."

The younger Jedi just face-palmed as Sabine walked to the room with Twix at her side. Kanan nodded to her before looking down at the astromech and asking, "Who's your new friend?"

Sabine smiled happily. "He's Twix. He was a big help in saving us when we were looking for your whereabouts. He's officially my droid now, as well as Spectre-8."

Kanan put a look of mock hurt on his face. "Wow, you guys sure decided to replace me quickly."

Ezra retorted, "At least he doesn't get knocked out every other mission. Come on, let's get out of here."

As the two helped Kanan out of his restraints, he conveyed his gratitude to them. "You guys shouldn't have come here, but I'm glad you did. Thank you." The pair nodded in acknowledgement as they continued out of the room.

Just as the four exited the detention level, they received a comm from Hera. "Spectre-6, we won't be able to make it back to the freighter. The troopers from earlier are starting to wake up. Spectre-5 might have an alternative plan. Try to meet us at the main hangar bay."

"Understood, Spectre-2. We completed the objective and are on our way out," Sabine replied. She then turned to her droid, asking, "Twix, what's the fastest way to the hangar bay?"

The astromech took off and turned a corner, leaving the rest to catch up with him. However, when they reached the main reactor room, they ran into a problem. A Pau'an problem with a double bladed crimson lightsaber held out in front of him. A squad of stormtroopers then appeared behind them, preventing their escape. Ezra stood in front of Kanan and Twix facing the Grand Inquisitor while Sabine guarded their rear, facing the troopers. They both drew their lightsabers and Sabine unholstered one of her WESTAR-35s in her off hand. Once she spotted Kanan's lightsaber on the Inquisitor's belt, she mentally communicated her plan to Ezra. "Try to hold him off for as long as you can. I'll deal with the squad. If Kanan can get his lightsaber back, I'll take off and attack from above."

"Got it. I might have to leave Kanan open for a second for him to get it. Can you tell him the plan when I have the Inquisitor turned around?"

"Alright. Love you, Ez."

"Love you too, 'Bine."

Ezra then leaped over the Inquisitor towards the reactor control panel, drawing the Inquisitor's attention away from the group. Sabine whispered to Kanan, "Ezra's distracting the Inquisitor so you can get your lightsaber back. Once you get it, I'll attack from above."

The older Jedi nodded in acknowledgement. "Got it. What about Twix?"

Sabine spoke to her droid as she continued to deflect shots. "You up for shooting some bucketheads, buddy?"

The astromech beeped excitedly as he grabbed Sabine's second WESTAR-35 from her right holster and took off with his rocket boosters. Kanan watched the droid immediately take out a couple bucketheads in awe. "That is one feisty astromech. Perfectly fits you."

"I know, right? I love him so much already, and it hasn't even been two days."

Ezra was holding his own quite well against the Inquisitor, as the young Jedi knew how the Pau'an fought from their last encounter on Stygeon. He used thoughts of seeing Kanan on the torture rack to fuel anger into his strikes, slowly pushing the Inquisitor closer to the older Jedi. The Inquisitor quickly parried his stab, allowing him to twirl his blade and strike from above, forcing the Inquisitor to block high. Now was his opportunity. He shouted, "Kanan, now!" The older Jedi nodded affirmatively and grabbed the lightsaber from the Inquisitor's belt with the Force, but after it flew into his hand, his expression morphed into one of fear as he shouted,

"Ezra, watch out!"

Ezra had slightly let his guard down when he looked at Kanan, which was all the Inquisitor needed. The Pau'an kicked Ezra in the chest while moving his blade in a circular motion, clipping the boy's cheek while disarming him and pushing him to the ground simultaneously. "Ahh!"

As the Inquisitor walked towards Ezra, he gloated to Kanan, "Watch now, as your charge dies in front of you, just as Master Billaba once did. And you will be powerless to stop it, just like you were before."

Sabine was only slightly paying attention to the commotion behind her once she activated her jetpack, but when Kanan shouted Ezra's name, she turned her full attention to the fight, letting Twix take out the last of the squad. Her heart stopped as the Inquisitor swung his blade down at her love. "NO!" She could see the blade slowly closing the gap between it and Ezra, her mind working in slow motion as she looked on in horror. Out of pure instinct and desperation, she reached out to their bond, her still ignited blade disappearing from her hand and reappearing in Ezra's outstretched one, just in the nick of time.

"What?" The Inquisitor looked on in shock as a royal amethyst blade appeared out of thin air to block his strike. Ezra sighed in relief, refocusing on the man in front of him. "Thanks, 'Bine."

Using the Inquisitor's momentary surprise, Ezra slowly stood up, adding his off hand to his grip and channeling his negative emotions into the saberlock, gradually overpowering the Inquisitor. He then released their lock by front flipping over Pau'an and back towards Kanan, who by now was at his side. The younger Jedi was slightly out of breath and had a fresh scar on his cheek, but was otherwise doing alright. However, before he could leap back into the action, Kanan extended his hand out to stop him.

"Take a break, Ezra. I can tell you're wearing out, even if it's only slightly. As you just experienced, one minor mistake can cost you dearly. I'll take it from here." Kanan then slowly walked up to the Inquisitor, calling Ezra's lightsaber to his left hand in the process.

Ezra looked on in concern. "Are you sure, Kanan? You're still recovering from, you know..." The younger Jedi didn't feel comfortable mentioning the torture out loud, knowing that Kanan had just recently experienced it. However, the older Jedi didn't even flinch. Kanan turned his head back slightly, pure determination filling his eyes to the brim.

"I got this. Trust me."

Ezra nodded as Sabine landed next to him. He retracted the blade and handed her saber back to her before she pulled him into a death grip, her whole body still slightly trembling. "Please, Ezra, don't do that to me, ever again."

Ezra pulled back slightly and looked at his girlfriend with sad eyes while wrapping his own arms around her. "You know I can't promise that, 'Bine, as much as I would like to."

Before their conversation could continue any further, Twix landed in front of them and told them to pay attention to the fight. They both turned their heads to see Kanan slowly overpower the Grand Inquisitor, who was now standing at the edge of the platform with a fearful expression on his face.

Kanan turned back to the Inquisitor the moment he saw Sabine touch down next to her boyfriend. "That was a mistake."

The Inquisitor just looked at him with a smirk on his face. "How? Your meat shields are still alive, after all."

Kanan opted to remain silent as he ignited both blades and charged at the Inquisitor in a blue and orange whirlwind. The older Jedi struck low, forcing the Inquisitor to jump over him. He then deactivated the orange saber and turned around to blast the Inquisitor, forcing the Pau'an to stand still and deflect the shots, allowing the Jedi to once again close the gap. When he was close enough, he reignited the orange blade and leaped into the air, striking down at the Pau'an with both blades. The Inquisitor raised his own blade horizontally to block the strike, one crimson blade perpendicularly matching each of the Jedi's. However, Kanan's momentum allowed him to continue to press the saberlock, pushing the Inquisitor against the reactor consoles. He then retracted the orange blade again and shot at the Inquisitor from point blank, forcing the Pau'an to flip backwards into the middle of the consoles. Knowing he was in a terrible position, the Inquisitor attempted to strike back at the Jedi, but Kanan was ready. He met the crimson blade with his own blue one each time, eventually forcing the Inquisitor to backflip again, this time out of the consoles. The Jedi continued to blast his way to the Pau'an, knowing that the shots from Ezra's lightsaber could not be deflected, only dispersed. His opponent was trapped against the edge of the platform on the verge of defeat, so he took the opportunity to speak. While reactivating the orange blade, he said, "You were right. I was a coward. But now I know there's something much stronger than fear, far stronger. The Force." The now frightened Pau'an quickly centered his blade and let it free spin, attempting to ward off the incoming attack. However, Kanan had a different idea. "Let me show you how strong it is." He then stuck both lightsabers inside of the Inquisitor's circular hilt and sliced outwards, sending each half of the Pau'an's saber flying into the reactor below. The explosion rocked the entire ship, nearly forcing the older Jedi off his feet and sending the Inquisitor over the side, now only hanging on by his fingertips. After regaining his balance, Kanan calmly walked over to the Inquisitor and crossed his blades at the Pau'an's neck. However, the dark side warrior defiantly looked back into the Jedi's eyes, leaving the Jedi with a chilling remark.

"You have no idea what you've unleashed here today. There are some things far more frightening than death." The Pau'an then Force pushed himself off the ledge, Kanan watching him meet his fiery demise.

"Please tell me you recorded that fight, Twix!"

The astromech beeped affirmatively, eliciting a dome pat out of Sabine. "Thanks, buddy. We can watch that later. The ship's 'bout to blow. Let's get out of here!"

The three met up with Kanan before taking off towards the main hangar bay. While they were en route, they received a transmission from Hera. "Sabine, we're in the TIE. Where are you?"

"We're already on our way. Just go!"

"We are not leaving without you guys."

Kanan then spoke into his own comlink as they continued to run. "Will you just listen to her? Don't worry, I've got them."

Ezra groaned. "I bet you'll find some way to knock yourself out before we get out of here."

"Hey!"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "Boys. I'll take care of them both. Just get out of here."

The three heard a TIE engine start up in the background of the transmission as Kanan spoke, "We'll find a way out. Trust me."

When the four made it to the main hangar, there was only one TIE left. "The Inquisitor's TIE." Kanan pointed out.

The teens chorused, "We know he's not gonna use it."

The older Jedi just sighed. "And I thought Chopper was bad. Let's go."

With the three of them in the TIE as well as Twix, it was a tight fit. Sabine and Ezra were squished together towards the back of the fighter while Twix occupied most of the square footage. Kanan looked back at the pair as he took the TIE out of the hangar. "You kids okay back there?"

Ezra responded densely, "Yeah. We've been closer before."

The older Jedi's eyes widened comically. "Wait, WHAT?"

"No, no! NOT that kind of close!" Ezra replied panickedly.

"Then what kind of close?!"

"Snuggling close!"

"Wait, Sabine snuggles? HAHAHA!"

Sabine's face flushed red from both anger and embarrassment. However, just as she was about to go off on Ezra, Hera's voice popped through Kanan's comlink.

"Will you two just shut up? We could use a little help over here! There's an army of TIEs behind us!"

Kanan calmed himself down from his fit of laughter as he navigated his TIE towards the much larger group of TIEs. "Where's Chopper?"

"Who knows? That rust bucket abandoned us."

The older Jedi face-palmed before turning his attention back to the massively unfavorable dogfight. "I assume you guys are in the flying bullseye?"

He heard Zeb shout through the comlink, "See? That's what I told you!"

Sabine huffed indignantly, "I will not tolerate this slander to my art!"

They then heard a snort through the transmission. "Whatever you say, Princess Snuggles."

"TRISTAN!"

Before the quality of their comms could deteriorate any further, their stolen Imperial Freighter came back out of hyperspace with the Ghost and three CR-90 corvettes in tow.

"Karabast, that malfunctioning scrap heap actually came back!"

Ezra looked at the other vessels curiously. "Who are those guys?"

Kanan just responded nonchalantly, "As long as they're on our side, I couldn't care less right now."

The small fleet cut off the army of TIEs from the two containing the Spectres as they circled around, taking many of them out.

"Kanan, dock with Chopper's transport so we can make the jump into hyperspace."

All the Spectres breathed a massive sigh of relief when the TIEs were secured to the ship, glad to see the streaks of blue and white zip past them. Once they all climbed out of the TIEs, Kanan and Hera met in the middle of the room. He put his hands on her shoulders while thanking the group. "I owe you all a great debt of gratitude, even if what you did was rash and reckless."

Ezra snorted behind him. "Wonder who we learned that from." Everyone chuckled at that as Kanan and Hera embraced tightly. Just as they were about to go further, Chopper rolled into the room, heading towards Twix. The two started butting domes immediately, leaving the crew to sigh in exasperation. Suddenly, Ezra noticed, "If Chopper was in this transport ship, then who was flying the Ghost?"

That got the Spectres curious, but as they were about to leave to inspect, Sabine coughed into her fist, drawing everyone's attention to her. She then glared at everyone, especially Tristan and Ezra. "Not. A. Word."

The two teens gulped and the rest slightly shivered until Sabine's expression changed. She smiled sweetly and walked out of the room, dragging a flailing Ezra out with her.

When they made their way to the Ghost, they were met by soldiers with large, circular helmets that flared out towards the back. They all lined up with their hands behind their backs along the side of the hallway as Chopper rolled by them with Twix on his six. The crew followed their droids curiously, wondering what the two were up to. But before they got too far, Chopper turned around and played a holo-transmission from a man sporting a mustache and a goatee.

"Hello, my friend. It is good to see you again."

Kanan looked at the man in confusion. "I don't understand. I met you once, for a few moments. I don't even know your name."

Hera, knowing the man, responded first. "His name is Senator Bail Organa."

Kanan turned his attention from Hera back to the now identified Senator Organa. "And the crews of the blockade runners?"

"Members of other rebel cells."

Sabine spoke aloud to herself in wonder. "There are other cells."

Tristan just nodded along, confirming his longtime suspicions (He was the one complaining about Fulcrum's identity this time around, Sabine hasn't been around long enough to care).

Hera then continued where Senator Organa left off. "We weren't supposed to meet. That way if captured, we couldn't reveal the other rebels to the Empire. That was the protocol."

"The protocol has changed."

Everyone turned their attention to the female Togruta who was climbing down the ladder. She had orange skin along with long, blue and white stripped lekku. Sabine noticed the two lightsabers clipped to her belt and began to think, Is that who I think it is?

Ezra could feel the anticipation and hope rolling off Sabine. "What's gotten you so excited?"

"That person might be her."

"Who?"

Before Sabine could respond, Hera revealed out loud, "Fulcrum."

"Ahsoka. My name is Ahsoka Tano."

"Wait, isn't she dead? Uh, Sabine?"

Sabine hesitantly walked up to the Togrutan as she said, "I thought you were dead."

Ahsoka looked at the Mando girl in confusion. "I think I know who you are, but we've never met before."

Said girl flushed slightly in embarrassment as she introduced herself. "Sorry. My name's Sabine Wren. It's an honor to finally meet you."

Ahsoka nodded in acknowledgement as the teenage boy with deep blue eyes and fresh twin scars on his cheek walked up beside Sabine. Ahsoka looked more closely at the boy and noticed the lightsaber on his belt. "Then you must be Ezra Bridger. Nice to meet you." She then paused for a moment before turning her head towards Sabine, who was looking at her with a somewhat awed expression. "How do you know who I am? I don't exactly advertise my identity to everyone. Most people probably think I'm dead, like you did."

Sabine smiled slightly in remembrance of her old master. "Master Kelleran Beq trained us for a short period when we were growing up together on Lothal. When Ezra figured out that I wasn't quite as comfortable with one blade as I was with two, he asked about dual wielders at the Temple. Master Beq brought up two people: Pong Krell and you. Neither of us liked Krell for what he did on Umbara, so I chose to follow in your footsteps, even if we didn't know of your fate at the time. Master Beq told us as much as he could remember about you. He told us that your ship never made it back to Coruscant with Maul, so we assumed the worst."

Ahsoka's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of Kelleran Beq. "It's good to know that others survived the purge." She then turned to Kanan before continuing. "Including you, Kanan. However, we can talk about that later."

The older Jedi had been paying attention to the conversation with high levels of interest. However, he understood that Ahsoka didn't want to reveal too much in front of everyone. He nodded, but still had one question on his mind. "Why are you here?"

"Because of you three. That message Sabine sent out instilled hope in a lot of people, and you three represent that hope. We didn't want that hope to be extinguished. Her speech was powerful as well as relatable, resulting in a lot of new people sympathizing with her while also wanting to take up arms with her. She is already a beacon of hope in this galaxy, one that we cannot let die, no matter the cost."

Agent Kallus watched as the Lambda class shuttle landed in the Imperial Complex on Lothal. He stood at attention as Tarkin walked out. "We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal. There are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire as weak, vulnerable."

"Not to worry, Agent Kallus. The Empire has sent an alternative solution." Just then, Kallus heard mechanical breathing emanating from the shuttle. He turned towards the sound to see a tall figure covered from head to toe in a black suit walking out of the shuttle. He shivered slightly as the man passed him. Poor rebels, they don't know what they're up against.

AN: For those wondering, a scomp link is the thing astromechs use to access computers. It's the same thing that Echo has on his mechanical arm, for those who didn't get it.

This chapter has some of my best and worst writing. I had a hard time following the script of the episode, but I think I did fine when I went off-script. I think I will do that more. I'll adhere to the gist of the episode, but I'll probably end up modifying the dialogue or changing it entirely depending on the situation.

Oh, yeah, spoiler warning for those who haven't watched it yet, but there's a debate about whether making Sabine Force-sensitive was a good idea in the Ahsoka series. I personally think it's fine, and there were some signs that were already leading towards it. Her ability to wield the darksaber somewhat competently with like a week or two of training is a pretty insane feat. Obviously Kanan was holding back when training her, but she still managed to overpower him, and she defeated Saxon without much effort. In the Season 1 finale at the beginning, she does some shit I've only seen Force-sensitives do. Granted, it's animation so movements are exaggerated, but it's still impressive. Like when she did a double backflip 15 fucking feet in the air off the head of a stormtrooper? No way she's not at least Force-touched. When Huyang said her Force abilities were the worst he's ever seen, he's comparing her to other Force-sensitives. Sabine may not have been fully Force-sensitive, but she could have been in the upper echelons of Force-touched people, which from my understanding, were granted some increased agility and physical buffs, but they couldn't feel the Force or interact with it, so the Jedi didn't take them in. Sabine probably had a midichlorian count slightly below the minimum for Jedi, which is why it took her so long to achieve any Force abilities. It might be a stretch, but it's not completely unreasonable like some people think.

Anyway, rant over. Season 2 starts next chapter. I got some stuff cooked up, so the story will start ramping up around mid Season 2 through to the end. c:

Edit: Thank you Spectre6 for pointing out that massive flaw. I completely agree with your assessment regarding Sabine's behavior. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I'm new to this stuff so it might take me a while to separate the version of the character in my head from the actual character. Your other point has already been addressed a couple times in this story, but I'll explain it in the next chapter's AN in case you don't see this. Thanks again.