Here is the first of 2 epilogues to get you excited for the 3rd part.
Hope you enjoy!
There was a clear line drawn in the sand.
On one side stood the uncertain Rebellion. Eyes filled with fear and bodies shaking as they struggled to even get back to their feet.
While on the other side stood the Mandalorians. Their cold steel gazes piercing through the unsteady members of the Rebellion.
Invader and invaded stayed stubbornly at their sides, watching and waiting for the other to make their move.
At the forefront of the Rebellion stood Ezra. He was by no means their leader, but he was the only one with a weapon. Which meant that by default, he was the only one who could even put up a fight.
Ezra kept his eyes plastered on the two Wrens which stood in front of him. Ursa and Tristan, mother and brother of Sabine. He didn't need the Force to feel their hatred. Their eyes did all the talking.
Sharp glares and heated glowering were the only things in their expressions. And all of it was directed towards Sabine.
"What do you want with us," Ezra asked loud enough for all to hear. The Rebellion was being challenged, and he was not so willing to back down.
"To help you," Ursa repeated. "To form an alliance to defeat the Empire," Her face remained as stoic as before, eyes calculating each and every move.
"An alliance?" Ezra said incredulously. He gestured around him, pointing at the broken up pieces of the Rebellion. "You did all this to us, and you expect an alliance?"
Ezra's voice was as brave as ever. His protests sounded like a rallying cry, reigniting the confidence of the tattered Rebellion to rise up against this unknown threat.
"Who are you people?" Hera's voice sudden;y said from behind Ezra. She hadn't come out unscathed, but no attack was going to stop her from fighting back.
"We are Mandalorians," Ursa said proudly, and her people mimicked her movements, standing at attention at the mention of their people.
"Mandalorians?" Hera raised an eyebrow. "There are no more Mandalorians. The Empire made sure of that,"
"My people don't fall so easily," Ursa replied, directing a sharp look towards Hera. "No mere weapon can simply wipe us out. Not even one made specifically to destroy us,"
Sabine flinched as she felt Tristan's eyes fall on her.
"Mandalorian or not, it doesn't explain what you've done to us," Hera continued, standing beside Ezra.
"Noone got hurt," Ursa explained almost nonchalantly. "I ordered my people to only target your non critical infrastructure, and to not directly attack you. You're no good to us dead,"
"That doesn't mean you have to attack us," Ezra bit back. "Hurt or not, sending your ships to destroy our base is an act of aggression. And if you're telling the truth, then it was an unnecessary one,"
"Believe me, it was extremely necessary," Ursa reiterated. Her eyes slowly drifted towards Sabine. "And it's because of her,"
Sabine tried to meet her mother's glare head on. But just a mere glance of it caused it to sting, and she immediately turned her head away.
"Why us?" Ezra continued asking.
Ursa returned her gaze back to him. "Because the intelligence we received about your group is extremely promising,"
"Intelligence?" Ezra asked, glancing at Tristan.
"We're a guild of spies Ezra," Tristan explained, gesturing to the people beside him. "We deal in information. It's how we've survived for so long,"
"You have spies across the galaxy don't you?" Ezra concluded. "You and Mera, who else have you infiltrated?"
"Everyone," Ursa replied this time. "We have eyes and ears everywhere. We know and see everything,"
"That's impressive," Ezra praised. "But that just makes it seem even less believable that you want to form an alliance with us,"
This time Ursa didn't respond. She took a step back, gesturing her hand to Tristan once again.
"The only reason why we decided to reveal ourselves to you, is because you passed the test," Tristan replied.
"What test," Hera asked, more curious than Ezra was about the situation.
"You know it well," Tristan replied. "You all know it well. It's the one problem that you have been facing for the past few months,"
Ezra's and Hera's eyes widened in tandem as they looked at each other. "The munitions," They said at the same time.
"More specifically, the food shortage," Tristan explained. "I introduced a bug into your supplies as a test, to see how you would react. I monitored and reported your status to mother, and I have to say, the results are astounding,"
"You have exceeded every metric," Ursa continued. "Not only did you somehow pull through by trading your munitions for food rations, but you again somehow managed to deal with the Emperor's fist himself despite nearly disarming yourselves. That is a feat which proves you are not just capable warriors, but warriors who are worthy of our help,"
"So you want to help us overthrow the Empire," Ezra surmised.
Ursa nodded.
"And you're just going to do it for free?"
"Nothing comes for free in this galaxy," Tristan explained. "You will be helping us with two things,"
"Number one. Once the Empire has been overthrown, you will help us in reclaiming Mandalore,"
"Mandalore?" Hera asked.
"It is our home. The birthplace of our culture. And now the Empire has its slimy hands all over it. We want it back,"
"And I'm guessing you want us to take back the rest of its territories too?" Ezra asked.
"No. We Mandalorians are more than capable of standing on our own two feet. Help us with our home planet, and we'll take it from there," Tristan replied.
"What else?"
"We want her," Ursa said, pointing her finger directly at Sabine.
The moment Ezra caught wind of Ursa's intention, he immediately drew his lightsaber. He brought himself in between Sabine and Ursa, blocking the Wren elder from her goal.
"Never," Ezra growled, his eyes shining brightly in anger.
Ursa held back a shiver from the sudden increase in tension. As cold blooded as she may be, she was still inexperienced in feeling the pressures of the Dark Side. And Ezra wasn't doing anything to hold his anger back.
"Your reports did not tell me anything about his relationship with Sabine," Ursa turned to chide Tristan at his lack of detail.
"She only arrived a few days ago, mother," Tristan explained. "I knew Ezra had a close friend in the Empire. I just did not expect it to be her,"
Rolling her eyes, Ursa accepted her son's explanation, at least for now, before returning her attention back to Ezra.
"I can see that you value your friends greatly," She said. "But she's not worth this level of loyalty. She left you once, she will do it again. It's in her blood. If she can do it to her own people and her own family, why wouldn't she do it to you?"
"It doesn't matter," Ezra snapped. "You're not getting her,"
Ezra's defiance rubbed Ursa the wrong way. Immediately, she gestured to her people, and they all quickly pointed their blasters towards Ezra.
"You may be a skilled Inquisitor, but not even you can handle an entire army,"
Ezra adjusted his grip on his saber. "Wanna bet?"
The tension which was already at an all time high grew several degrees in magnitude. For a moment, it seemed like Ursa was willing to bet her men against Ezra. But instead, her face relaxed.
"You're right," She said, lowering her hand. "You may survive, but your people won't," Ursa raised her hand again, only this time, the blasters weren't pointed at Ezra. They were pointed at Hera, and at every single Rebel in the vicinity.
"I've raised the stakes. Your move," Ursa taunted.
"What about father?" Sabine suddenly pushed past Ezra, finally finding the courage to face her past. "He got captured, didn't he?"
Ursa remained silent, eyes still firmly locked on Sabine.
"I heard about what happened. He's imprisoned on Mandalore, isn't he? The Empire may not be aware of your intention to rebel, but father's capture makes it so your hands are tied," Sabine narrowed her eyes, prepared to play her trump card.
"You can't openly rebel without the Rebellion. Or is the matriarch of Clan Wren so willing to let one of her own die?"
"Alrich will be rescued once we deliver you to clan Kryze," Ursa replied, somehow managing to keep her cool. "With the added firepower from Bo-Katan, and the additional manpower from the Rebellion, rescuing him will be much easier,"
"Rescuing a high profile Imperial prisoner was not part of the deal," Ezra chimed in. "If we become allies, we're only allies to take down the Empire,"
"Rescuing Alrich helps us to defeat the Empire,"
"Or is it just a way for you to get your husband back?"
Ursa narrowed her eyes. "We're allies, when you give something, you should expect it to be repaid,"
"Then let me give you something," Ezra proposed. "We'll rescue Alrich. In exchange, Sabine stays,"
The proposal seemed extremely logical to Ursa, and it very much showed on her face.
"Tristan," Ursa called out. "Your reports mentioned his strategic mind. Is it comparable to that of Clan Kryze's strength?"
Tristan opened his mouth to answer, but Ursa quickly stopped him.
"Think with your mind, not your heart," Ursa advised.
Huffing to himself, Tristan took a few more moments to think, before giving his answer.
"It can," Tristan finally replied. "He's beaten the Empire's unfavourable odds more times than I can count. If anyone can devise a plan to rescue father, it's him,"
"Very well then. It looks like my son has vouched for you, and so, you and your people will live another day," Ursa ordered her men to stand down, and a sigh of relief was breathed across the board.
"But the value of your proposal still pales in comparison to mine," Ursa finished.
"Rescuing your own husband is not valuable enough to you?" Sabine countered.
"What will you rescue him with?" Ursa quickly snapped her head in Sabine's direction. "Your blasters and ships are less harmful than a pile of rocks. Our resources will be wagered in this bet. Not yours,"
"Then what do you want?" Hera asked.
"Your allegiance," Ursa simply replied. "We're no longer just allies. Our goal remains the same, but you do not stand on equal ground as us. Whatever we say goes, and you have no right to argue,"
Light murmurs and whispers could be heard amongst the Rebellion. They would basically be a vassal state, forced to heed the commands of their invaders. A small group of them intended to voice their concerns, but Ezra beat them to the punch.
"As long as we're not used as sacrifices, we'll do what you ask," Ezra agreed without hesitation.
Looks of disbelief were now shared not just amongst the members of the Rebellion present, but even Hera and Sabine. Ezra had just agreed to something he had no authority to agree to. But there was no one in the area who could stop him.
"What can you tell us about Alrich's imprisonment?" Hera eventually asked.
"We know he's on Sundari," Tristan replied. "But we're not able to break him out,"
"Why?"
"The prison is under the command of someone quite tricky. He's smarter than most Imperials, uses unconventional tactics to turn the unfavourable around. We've tried to rescue father many times, but it's almost as if he understands us better than we do ourselves,"
Ezra went quiet for a moment as an odd sense of deja vu filled his mind.
"What do you know about him?" Hera asked.
"He's not human, but he climbed the ranks of the Empire faster than anyone I've ever heard of. The Emperor looks at him favourably, provides him with more resources than some of the most senior members of Imperial high command. And he has an uncanny interest in Mandalorian culture,"
"Is he also the project leader of the TIE Defender program?"
"Yea," Tristan turned to face Ezra. "How did you know that?"
"You know this commander don't you?" Ursa asked.
A cold bead of sweat ran down Ezra's forehead as he nodded.
"It's Thrawn isn't it?" Ezra did not want to know the answer, but kept his gaze plastered on Tristan. His expression only dropped when he nodded, confirming his worst fears.
"Thrawn?" Sabine exclaimed. It was a name which even she knew of. She turned Ezra to face her. "You know Thrawn?"
Ezra chuckled darkly, the irony of the situation only making him laugh.
"I know him a lot better than most," He finally said, still chuckling pitifully to himself.
"He was my mentor after all,"