Epilogue: Old faces and new beginnings
The existence of a larger rebellion had been a surprise for the Ghost crew, but a welcomed one. Last
time they believed in something like that was when they met Gall Trayvis, only to find out that the guy was actually working for the Empire.
The flotilla that rescued them belonged to the 'Phoenix' cell, as Ahsoka explained. In the brief voyage toward their base of operations, the Togruta explained that she had created the Fulcrum initiative. She might have been the one communicating directly with Hera, but there were other 'Fulcrum' agents across the galaxy, informants coordinating the various cells.
Ezra didn't take too long in noticing that Ahsoka had two lightsabers hanging from her belt. He was surprised to discover that the blades were just pure white. Ahsoka had explained briefly how she was a Padawan during the Clone Wars, but left the Jedi Order a few months before the end of the war and the rise of the Empire.
After around two hours of travel into hyperspace, the flotilla came out of the tunnel, and the sensor indicated the presence of another CR90 corvette and a heavily modified Pelta-class frigate.
"Here we are." Ahsoka said while they were in the cockpit. Jaral had already recovered Jinx's processor.
Then Ahsoka pushed the button of the comlink.
"Phoenix Home, this is Ahsoka Tano aboard the Ghost. Requesting permission to dock."
"Permission granted. Welcome home, commander Tano."
The Ghost detached from the Gozanti, which had now been taken over by the squad of four soldiers that had greeted the Specters back on the Ghost, and headed to connect its airlock with the frigate's.
"Follow me." Ahsoka graciously said to the Specters and leading them toward the door for Phoenix Home.
With Ahsoka at their head, the Ghost crew walked around in the white hallways of the frigate, heading toward the command bridge.
Wherever they went, they would find a soldier or two that let them pass with a salute.
Jaral and Ezra quickly noticed that their armors, with their unusual design and bright colors, were attracting the gazes of pretty much everybody.
"You know." Ezra murmured to Sabine and Jaral standing on his sides. "I kinda forgot that these armors are quite unique in the galaxy."
Sabine chuckled. "Yeah, trust me, the first time I saw you guys I had that same gaze."
"Good thing you had your helmet on, then." Jaral mocked her. "Because it could've been even more awkward."
After a few minutes walking, Ahsoka led them all into the command bridge, which was probably the biggest room on the ship.
At the center of it stood a pretty big holo-table, military design, and there was a gangplank running along the glass viewpoint, which had a semicircular shape, manned by a few pilots sit at the consoles and a couple of officers busy at the communication panels.
Around the holo-table was a middle-aged man with black short hair, narrow eyes and a tan skin. He was wearing an orange military uniform, with some pads of armor covering his neck and shoulders and was standing straight up, in a perfect military fashion. That was definitely a soldier to the bone.
"I'm glad to see you being back safe and sound, Commander Tano." the man said in a calm tone.
Ahsoka reached the holo-table, and while the Specters stopped on the opposite side, she walked next to the officer.
"Thank you, Commander Sato." she kindly replied, then she waved a hand toward the Specters. "Allow me to introduce the Ghost crew."
"My pleasure." the man slightly nodded and spoke with a polite voice. "I'm Jun Sato, commander of the Phoenix Cell."
Then he turned his head toward the various consoles.
"Lieutenant Tanis, would you mind come here and present yourself?" Sato said to one of the officers with a somewhat affectionate tone.
The officer removed the headset from his hears and turned around.
"My apologies, commander." he turned around, revealing blonde, wavy hairs and dark-green eyes. His face seemed to have been well-finished once, and while he did put some effort in maintaining a certain level of hygiene, it probably wasn't easy while living on the run on that ship.
He was a young man. He seemed around 18 or 19.
"I'm lieutenant Darvos Tanis." the man said with a gentle smile and took a quick look at the Specters. "It's good to meet you...all."
His tone hesitated when he saw Ezra and Jaral. Everybody thought he was simply impressed by the armors, but then started to realize that the siblings had eyes wide open and their mouths too were half-open in surprise.
Ezra huffed in amusement. "Darvos, is that really you?" He asked, barely containing his excitement and moving toward Darvos.
The young man climbed down the two small steps separating the gangplank from the holo-table and answered with a wide smile, reaching Ezra's hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Ezra! What are you...What is this? And aren't you supposed to be 15, now?! How can you be this big?" Darvos asked in rapid sequence.
The boy shrugged his head with a bit of embarrassment. "It's...kind of a long story. But I'm sure that someone here will be very happy to catch you up to speed." he said while turning to look at Jaral with a devilish and joking grin.
The girl, in turn, had just been standing there, unable to form any phrase.
As Ezra stepped aside to let the two look at each other, Darvos nervously grabbed the datapad he had in his hands.
"Hi, Jaral." he said meekly, attempting to sound friendly.
Jaral's expression finally loosened up and revealed a pretty big emotion.
"Hi, Darvos." she said, not moving from her spot but giving him a gentle smile.
They stood like that for a couple of seconds. Everyone was looking at them in confusion, except for Ezra, who was about to snigger his ass out.
"I take you three know each other?" Sato asked to break the awkward atmosphere.
It was Ezra who answered. "We used to hang out with this Core-boy around…" he stopped to do a quick calculation in his mind. "...it should be three years by now."
Both Darvos and Jaral finally broke their eye contact and focused back on everyone else in the room.
"Commander Sato, I already told you about Ezra and Jaral Bridger, though I never told you their names. They are the ones who helped me escape from my family on Lothal." Darvos explained.
"You escaped from your family?" Kanan couldn't help but ask.
"They deserved it, Kanan." Ezra defended his old friend. "His father is a captain in the Imperial Navy stationed on Lothal and her mother is a civil servant, but a fanatical loyalist nonetheless."
Darvos assumed a far more proud expression. "When I met Jaral and Ezra, they were still street rats in the suburbs. They helped me see what the Empire was doing to the populations of the Outer Rim. And I decided that I didn't want anything to do with it. So I ran away."
"We helped him forge a new chain code and put him on a shuttle to Garel." Jaral finished explaining. "After that, we never heard of him again."
Darvos tilted his head in excuse. "I'm sorry Jaral. I...couldn't reach you after I joined the Phoenix."
"That doesn't matter." Jaral said in a soft tone. "I'm just glad you're alive and well."
"Thanks."
"Then I guess it's thanks to you two if we found one of our most capable officers." Sato added with a faint smile, waving his hand toward Darvos.
"Right...Lieutenant?" Ezra said with admiration. Darvos answered with an amused shrug. "I always said you were a smart-ass." the boy gave Darvos a gentle pat on the shoulder. "But it's good to see you again."
Darvos quickly nodded. "All right, let's continue the reunion after the briefing, all right?" and he went on Sato's free side, tapping his datapad. Ezra went back next to Jaral.
"What did you find out?" Sato asked his lieutenant.
"The imperial communications confirm that Tarkin has escaped the Sovereign and is headed back to Lothal. However, it seems that our agents are spreading the news about Mustafar quite efficiently. Our network of supporters in the Lothal sector is steadily growing."
"That is excellent news. Thank you, lieutenant." Ahsoka said.
Darvos nodded and put his hands behind his back.
"Gentlemen," Sato said to the Specters as a group. "your actions against the Empire in the last few months have certainly drew attention of many who sympathize with our cause, and I wish to personally express my congratulations for this and many other successes.
"However, Tarkin will not take lightly the destruction of his own ship, not to mention your act of defiance in itself. If you wish to lay low for a while, we will be more than happy to host you with the fleet, although I sincerely hope that you might consider the idea to join us."
"That's a generous offer, commander. Thank you." Hera said with a respectful bow of her head. "And we owe you our lives, so I guess we'll stick around. Repay our debt."
"Very well, captain Syndulla." he replied. Then turned on his left. "Lieutenant Tanis, would you like to show our guests the way around the ship?"
"At once, sir." Darvos said, standing at attention. Then he slid the datapad into one of his bigger pockets of his trousers and motioned the others to follow him toward the door.
Darvos showed the Specters the crew quarters, the common room of the ship and also gave them a quick tour of the hangar from a gangplank. There were a total of 7 A-wing fighters in it, though Darvos pointed out that one of them still lacked a pilot. Jaral actually considered the idea to apply.
It took them around 40 minutes to finish the tour in front of the airlock leading to the Ghost. Of course, the Specters were still not part of the cell, so there was only so much they were allowed to see. They weren't allowed to know where the armory or other sensible areas were.
"That was all, for now." the young man declared with his usual courtesy. "If you ever need something, feel free to come back aboard."
"Thank you, lieutenant." Kanan said.
"Please, the Bridgers' friends are my friends as well, just call me Darvos."
Kanan shrugged with a smile. "Ok, Darvos." then he walked into the corridor.
Everyone else nodded respectfully to him before going away. Only Ezra and Jaral decided to stay and talk. Their armors had been already disabled and were going around in their civilian clothes.
"Say, Darvos," Ezra started. "I know you hated your parents, but I never thought you'd just join a planetary rebellion. What happened to you?"
"It's kind of a long story," Darvos said. "but to make it quick: I arrived on Garel, survived for a few days in the streets with the same tricks you showed me, then I ran into some rebels from this cell and helped them flee from the Empire. They were so impressed that they presented me to Sato, and I actually liked to stick it to the Empire, so I stayed."
"Unbelievable…" Ezra chuckled. "That's the exact same way we ended up joining the Ghost."
"Yeah. If you wanted to say 'screw you' to your parents, I'd say you nailed it." Jaral commented.
They laughed briefly. Then Jaral and Darvos hesitated to look at each other.
Ezra put a hand on his sister's shoulder and talked to Darvos. "You know, I don't think we'll be going anywhere soon. Sis, why don't you update Darvos on our last adventures?"
Jaral gave Ezra a venomous gaze and stuttered. "Well...if you don't mind...I guess we can…"
Darvos gave her a warm smile. "That would be great." he said gently.
Ezra put up a smirk and pushed Jaral forward. She resisted the impulse to slap him and turned to face the lieutenant.
"I know a place where we can talk all we want." he said meekly.
"Then I leave you guys." Ezra said quickly and turned toward the airlock, waving his hand in a goodbye that Darvos returned.
Ezra was smiling like he never did recently. Then he noticed that, waiting for him at the door was Sabine, who most likely had listened to the whole conversation, because she looked at him with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
As Darvos and Jaral walked away, Sabine leaned forward, her arms crossed, and asked.
"All right, what's going on there?"
"Do you really need me to tell you?" Ezra chuckled.
"No, I just want to be sure." she answered, going back leaning against the door.
"That guy was the last boyfriend Jaral ever had. And I assure you that she never forgot about him." he whispered.
Sabine chuckled. "I think everyone could tell that. But something tells me that the lieutenant was pretty eager to see her again, too."
"Of course he did." Ezra said mocking a scold. "My sister is a perfect being. Which reminds me that when he left, she cried for a week. I still want to punch him in the gut for that."
"Easy now, he's an officer, we don't want to start a war with these guys too."
The two laughed at the joke for a brief moment, and they stayed there, until the laughter died down.
"Shall we go in?" he invited her, opening the door.
They both left Phoenix Home and walked toward the quarters on the Ghost. They didn't speak.
Ezra realized that this was the moment he had to keep up his promise, since the family was back together.
Before they opened the door to the quarters, Ezra decided that the corridor of the air lock would be perfect. There was no one there, so he gently grabbed Sabine's wrist, compelling her to stop and turn her head.
"You know, I just reminded that I promised to tell you a certain thing." he started.
The girl turned around to face him completely. "Yes?"
Ezra could feel that she was as nervous as him. Probably she already knew what this was about.
Ezra suddenly felt his chest becoming very heavy. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and decided that he would just blurt it out.
"Sabine, I love you."
He said that with clarity. No stuttering, no hesitation, as he looked her right in the eye with the most serious face.
The girl was caught off-guard for a second, then chuckled.
"Not mincing words, I like it." she said, closing her eyes.
Ezra could felt like his heart was trying to get out of his chest for a moment. Then she opened her eyes again.
"Here is my answer."
In a moment, Sabine closed the gap between them and pushed her lips against his. Then she threw her arms over his neck.
Ezra's eyes widened, as he didn't expect it to happen that fast. But he quickly came around to it and closed his eyes, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her even closer.
His entire body felt like he was jolted by electricity before a melting sensation numbed his mind completely. The kiss lasted just a couple of seconds, but they intended to savor every single moment of it.
They broke lip contact.
"I love you too, Ezra Bridger." she whispered.
"You just made me the happiest man in the galaxy." he said.
They pulled in for another kiss, this time longer, deeper, as long as their lungs could take it.
Ezra even went so far as to gently push her against the wall and increase the pressure on her lips.
As they stopped to take a breath, Sabine whispered "Wren."
"What?" Ezra asked, confused.
"I just realized I never told you my family name. I'm Sabine Wren."
"Well, hello again, miss Wren." and got back to kissing her.
They went on like that for minutes. Every time they felt compelled to kiss each other again like an addiction. As if they were in a fight, they pulled, pressed and pushed each other, as if to assert their intentions even more, until they both decided that they had had enough, for the moment.
Their foreheads touched while they kept hugging.
"So, how do we want to handle this?" Sabine asked.
"What do you mean?" he whispered.
"Well...you know...should we tell it to the others? Or do you want some time to figure it out?"
"What's there to figure it out? I love you, and that's not changing. I don't feel uncomfortable in telling each other, but if you don't want to go public yet, I respect that."
Sabine sighed. "How did I get a man this perfect?" she joked.
"Don't joke. You're the perfect one here, and I'll do everything to make you feel comfortable." he laughed. "Though, you know we won't be able to hide it from Jaral, right?" he joked.
"Oh, Manda, you're right. Hey, she's not looking at us with your bond, right?"
The sudden thought actually struck a nerve in Ezra.
"I-I don't...no, she can't see what I am doing, but I'm afraid she might feel that right now I feel too happy."
Sabine facepalmed. Now this was embarrassing, but Ezra cupped her cheek with a hand and made her look at him once again.
"Besides, she has tried to put us together for months. So if the bond makes her embarrassed it's totally her fault."
"That is also true."
"Sabine, as I said, I want this to work and I will do everything. But I'm not pressuring you. If you feel uneasy with me..."
"Ezra, we may have known each other for just a year, yet I trust you more than anyone else I've ever met. You have been there for me whenever I needed help, we trained together...with you I feel like I can be myself. So never fear about making me uneasy. Nervous, a lot, but never uneasy."
"Good," he smiled. "Because I can't think of anything else to persuade you."
She grinned. "I can think of a couple things." and she threw herself at him another time, pushing him to sit on the floor.
Darvos and Jaral walked through the hallway of the crew's quarters, until they reached the end of the hallway.
"In here." he said, opening a door.
Jaral followed him and quickly realized that it was a private cabin, with a single bed, a desk and chair, a chest at the bottom end of the bed and a very few commodities, but still way better than what she saw in the dormitories of the crew.
"Is this your own cabin?" she asked in surprise.
"Well, there are benefits from being 'one of the most capable officers' of a small fleet." he said with a hint of pride.
"Does your benefits include something to drink in here? Because I could really use it."
"Say no more."
He crouched in front of the desk, only to reveal that part of it hid a small cooling unit.
He took out two bottles and handed one to Jaral.
"Where did you even find this?" she asked laughing referring to the bottle.
"Sometimes, when we attack imperial shipments, we also find the supplies for the officers." Darvos explained happily.
"Well, I wish we were that lucky on the Ghost."
Darvos invited her to seat on the chair, to which she obliged, while he sat on the edge of his bed.
For the next hour, Jaral explained the many things that she never had a chance to explain him for the three months Darvos hanged out with the Bridgers. She told him about her and Ezra's modified bodies, about their father, their armors, and also told him what happened since they joined the Ghost in this last year.
Darvos didn't actually know if he wanted to believe everything. Yet, he knew he could only rely on her word in regard to her armor, since he had never heard about or seen anything like that.
"I knew you and Ezra were tough guys, but I didn't expect all of this." he commented at the end of the story.
"Well, since we're gonna stay around for a while, maybe you'll see us in action. Or better yet, you can come and train with us. Speaking of which, do you know how to use a blaster? Last time I checked you weren't very keen on the idea of using weapons." Jaral said as she took the last sip of liquid at the bottom of the bottle.
"You'd be surprised." he replied with a confident smirk.
"Oh, really?" she narrowed her eyes.
There was moment of silence.
"So, you really cut your ties with your family? No more contacts?" Jaral asked.
Darvos sighed silently. "Yes. Not like they cared. From what I know, my parents didn't even bother to denounce my disappearance."
"Maybe they didn't want the authorities to think you might join a rebel cell…"
"You don't know them as well as I. My parents are only interested in politics, climbing the social ladder and create a dynasty in the Empire. To them I was never a son, just...a tool." he started to ramble.
"The only time they fought over me was to decide which career I should take. I was only expected to obey, to become the perfect servant of the Empire…" he furrowed his brows. "...and then I met you." he now raised his head and looked at Jaral, who was giving him a compassionate look.
"You taught me that I could be something else, to decide my own fate, and you made me see the real face of the Empire. It's because of you, and your brother, that I found the strength to flee."
Jaral set down her empty bottle, brought the chair nearer the lieutenant and gently put a hand on his, still gripping his bottle.
"I missed you too, Darvos." she said gently.
Darvos looked up to her, those amber eyes that he had seen again and again in his mind in the last three years. But then he looked away in shame.
"Don't say that, please. I don't deserve your forgiveness."
Jaral didn't say anything. She simply shifted from the chair to the bed, sitting next to Darvos and quietly embraced him, pushing his head onto her shoulder and shushed.
"You don't need forgiveness, because I never blamed you."
"But I abandoned you. I ran away and left you alone to take care for you and Ezra. I left the only friends I had on Lothal to fend for themselves."
Jaral brought his head to face her, holding his face with her hands.
"You know that there was no other way. Ezra was 12 and would have never been able to board with us, and now you also know that we had our father's inheritance to protect. There was nothing you could do."
Darvos seemed a little less disheartened.
"Darv…" Jaral called him. "You are one of the bravest persons I have ever met. You abandoned everything you had and risked your life because you felt that the world you lived wasn't fair, and decided that you were going to fight it. I mean, look where you stand now." she gave a gaze around the room, indicating the ship and the Rebellion at large.
Darvos sighed, and a faint expression of relief marked his face. "Thank you, Jaral."
The girl gently smiled again, before lowering her gaze and bringing a hand close to one of his own.
Darvos gently grabbed it.
His face now seemed to lit up a bit with a ray of hope.
"And what about us, Darvos?" Jaral murmured. "Did we cut all ties?"
Darvos looked at her, slid out his hand and brought it to caress her cheek.
"I've never stopped thinking about you, Jaral."
The girl narrowed her eyes. "Good, you were worrying me with all that dejection."
Darvos chuckled.
"I still can't bring to forgive myself for abandoning you, but...if you want, maybe we can try and...start over?"
"I'd love to." she whispered.
Their eyes locked onto each other. Words were now unnecessary. Their heads moved automatically and their lips met. Last time they did this was three years before, and Force knows how much they both had dreamed of reenacting it.
It lasted a few seconds. Few, precious moment where their worries about everything melted away as they simply enjoyed each other company once again.
Jaral knew she had never felt so good since a long time, and hopefully, this time wouldn't be the last.
Finally they separated, only Darvos' hand was still holding on her cheek.
"I better get back to the Ghost, now." she said.
"And I should get back to work." he candidly replied.
They both stood up. Jaral was the first to head to the door.
"See you around, lieutenant." she ended their reunion with a mocking salute. She could feel Darvos' gaze looking at her go away.
Jaral headed straight toward the airlock, fruitlessly trying to remove the grin of happiness on her face.
Luckily, the Ghost was still there and she entered the corridor leading up to the ladder of the dorsal turret.
"Look who's finally back." Kanan's voice called her from the cockpit, where he was sitting with Hera. They were looking at her with a grinning expression.
Jaral rolled her eyes and decided to satisfy them, going to sit on one of the passenger's seat.
"Guess I wasn't that subtle about that."
"Girl, we could figure it since the briefing room. Though Ezra confirmed it." Hera commented.
"Ugh...I should really teach that kid the concept of privacy…" Jaral joked.
"So how did it go?" Kanan asked.
Now more than ever, Jaral felt as if she was talking to her parents. It actually felt good, discussing sentiments with someone. Not worrying about the conflict with the Empire for a bit.
"Better than I'd dream of. We...decided to start over again."
Hera turned the chair and touched Jaral on the knee. "We're really glad for you, dear."
Kanan smiled, although Jaral could see that there was some tension in the air.
"What were you guys talking about?" the girl worried a little.
Hera could clearly feel the concern in her voice, but there was no way that she would let a discussion between her and Kanan spoil Jaral's mood.
"Nothing of concern, right now, Jaral, I promise. Don't fret right now, I can't remember a moment where you had such a radiant face." she said with her motherly tone.
"And it's been a long day." Kanan added. "Why don't you go rest a little and we keep the problems for tomorrow?"
Jaral decided that, all in all, she was in too good of a mood to ruin it with whatever problem was arising.
As Hera mentioned, moments like this had been pretty rare not only in the last year, but in her whole life, and Jaral wanted to keep it rolling for a bit.
The girl smiled and stood up, heading toward the quarters.
When she opened the door of her room, she was baffled by what she saw.
Ezra and Sabine were sitting at the edge of the bottom bunk, and they were clearly waiting for her.
Sabine immediately motioned for her to enter and lock the door. Jaral complied almost mindlessly, as her eyes were locked on the tiny detail that the two teens in front of her were silently holding hands together.
Her eyes wide in surprise, she pointed a finger and whispered.
"Did you guys…"
They both nodded with a satisfied smirk and Jaral almost squeaked in excitement.
"Just for the record, this is totally your fault, sis…" Ezra joked.
"Shut up and let me enjoy the moment, you buzzkill." she took a moment to absorb the new information completely, then widen her arms and headed toward them, grabbing them both in a strong hug.
"Now I'm officially in hyperspace."
The teens smirked, though they could barely move. Even if her body seemed pretty slim, Jaral was a full-grown Legionnaire and she was way stronger than her appearance suggested.
She left them go after a few seconds and stood back up.
"Now tell me everything I missed in the last hour." she said quickly.
Sabine made a hesitant chuckle. "We just kissed, Jaral, that's pretty basic."
"Sabine, Sabine, Sabine…" the elder girl narrowed her eyes. "Your first kiss is absolutely nothing ordinary, but don't worry, you'll give me the details later…"
"Jaral…" Ezra rolled his eyes.
"Actually, we wanted to talk with you." Sabine added.
"Oh, really?" Jaral seemed seriously surprised.
"Yeah. Apparently Sabine isn't sure that we should make our relationship public yet. We are telling you because we know that you would find out anyway...in less than a discreet manner." Ezra explained.
"Just leave it to your big sister, you dummies." she said solemnly, putting a hand over her heart.
"You know, it sounds weird that you still call yourself 'big sister' for both of us." the boy scratched his cheek with a pointer while saying that.
"You'll get around to it." Jaral took place on the other side of the bed, leaning over it and folding her legs over the mattress. Sabine did the same, so that Ezra could look at her sister without impediment.
There they spent a few hours like that. Talking about love and giggles. Neither of them could tell at that moment, but it was about to become a very important habit in the future.
These three teenagers never had anything like a normal life and instead had to fight every day to survive, witnessing death and destruction when not inflicting it. And it was taking a toll, even if they all had an incredible willpower and so far their friendship had managed to ease the burden.
For them, these little moments, these mirages of a normal life, like normal teens should have, were about to become even rarer. For Ahsoka was right: that day marked a new beginning. The beginning of their fight in the Rebellion. A path of war, marked by blood, pain and inevitable losses.