As Ketsu had expected, Sabine was furious. Her actions had led to Sabine's emotion being ramped up to the extreme. An eternity of pent up anger was suddenly being released all at once, and Ketsu was the only target in her sights.

With rage being the only thing in her eyes, Sabine wasted no time in getting physical.

For the second time, Sabine held Ketsu up against the wall. Her fists pulled at Ketsu's clothing, wrinkling what was already worn out fabric. The neck of her shirt constricted so tightly around Ketsu's neck that she nearly couldn't speak.

"Sabine…." Ketsu managed to cough out, pleading for some kind of mercy.

But Ketsu's strained pleas fell on deaf ears. Sabine had no intention of letting her rage dissipate. She was going to make absolutely sure that Ketsu knew of her disapproval.

Sabine's anger manifested into a hard punch, one aimed directly at Ketsu's gut. Gulps of air sputtered out from Ketsu's lips, making her lose what precious little air she had. It was already a painful experience, but her punishment was far from over.

Blow after blow landed against Ketsu's stomach. Her pained expression seemingly only egging Sabine on. Each successive hit led to Sabine's grip becoming looser and looser until eventually they both collapsed onto the ground.

However Sabine did not let it end there. She climbed atop Ketsu, redirecting her target almost exclusively to Ketsu's face.

"You couldn't just let it go could you?" Sabine shouted, deciding to give words to her anger. "All this time, you were thinking of taking revenge on me just because Qi'ra found out I did the right thing?"

"Sabine, you know I wouldn't do that!" Ketsu protested, barely able to keep Sabine at bay. Her stomach was already bruised, and now her face was starting to swell up. She tried to cover her head with her arms, but the sheer force of Sabine's punches proved to be too much to bear.

"Ezra would have found a way somehow! Even if your information was nothing but a bag of lies, he would have found some way to get us what we want!"

Left, right, left, right. Sabine's anger was on full display. Her hits landed again and again against Ketsu's arms, creating sores and dark spots until Ketsu had enough.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted. Ketsu pushed her hands out suddenly and held Sabine still. "I'm sorry Sabine," Ketsu repeated again. Blood trickled down her lips. A stray punch somehow managing to punch through her defences.

But the wounded Ketsu got no sympathy from Sabine.

"Sorry isn't enough," She spat, pushing herself off. There was no more satisfaction to be gained from beating someone who wasn't even going to defend herself. As such, her focus shifted away from Ketsu and onto Ezra who was bound to a pole. His shut eyes told her that he was still unconscious. Still blissfully unaware of the situation they were in.

"Give me something sharp," Sabine demanded from Ketsu.

"What?"

Sabine turned. "I'm going to cut Ezra free and get out of here,"

"Sabine, don't be crazy," Ketsu exclaimed. "You're not going to get Ezra any closer to safety if you do that,"

"You better listen to Ketsu, Ria," Mera suddenly appeared from behind.

In a flash, Sabine returned her attention back to Ezra. Only to find that he was no longer just simply bound to a pole.

He was not bound to a pole with a blaster aimed directly at his head.

"It's your head which Qi'ra's going to have once she finds out you've failed to bring your target back alive," Mera explained. "I'm just here to check in on your progress. If the target dies by the time we've arrived, that's not on me,"

Sabine froze once again. The fear of losing Ezra held her in a vice.

"Where are you taking us?" Sabine asked tersely, trying to buy time to think up a plan.

Chuckling, Mera pulled her blaster away from Ezra, but she still kept it dangerously close to him. "I think you know where," She said as she settled in the seat right next to Ezra. "I've already set the ship's hyperdrive to take us to the First Light. We should be there in about a few hours," Mera's eyes wandered towards Sabine and Ketsu.

"I'm guessing that you're not going to stop trying to break your friend out?" Mera asked.

Sabine gripped her fist, letting her defiance show on her face instead of replying.

"Figures," Mera said with a sigh. "If that's the case, I think I'm going to have to move you to the brig for the rest of our trip. Can't risk having you steal the target from under my nose. The big boss won't be happy to see me coming back empty handed,"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "Is that all you're good for? Making scumbags like Qi'ra happy?"

"Qi'ra's not the one I'm worried about," Mera replied as she watched the two of them enter the brig. "It's who she works for that makes me scared,"

Sabine stared at Mera with interested eyes. She hadn't known that Qi'ra had someone to report to. Her curiosity must have gotten Mera's attention, because she flashed a sympathetic smile at her.

"Don't worry. You'll meet him too. He's extremely interested to see the ones who has been causing him so much trouble,"

True to Mera's words, it only took them a few hours to arrive at the First Light.

Save for a few vengeful glares, Sabine kept any and all interactions with Ketsu extremely brief. She had every intention of letting her rot in the corner of Mera's dingy ship. Her lonesome figure gave Sabine some reprieve from the situation she was in. But it did not make it feel any better.

Ezra was still captured. And now she was as close as ever to losing him for good.

"Have you two killed each other yet?" Mera peeked her head through the hatch of the brig.

Sabine rolled her eyes, doing her best to pretend Mera wasn't there.

"C'mon now. Time to meet Qi'ra," Mera urged. "I wouldn't want to keep her waiting if I were you,"

But Sabine remained stubborn in her efforts. Refusing to even move a muscle.

"Well, if you don't want to come out, I could just leave you there and take Ezra to Qi'ra myself. Who knows what's going to happen to him, or to you," Mera said as she started closing the hatch once again.

"Fine," Sabine finally relented with a sigh. She tried to ignore Mera's smug smirk as she climbed up the rails.

"Are you coming?" Sabine turned to Ketsu.

Lifting her head, Ketsu seemed surprised that Sabine was willing to give her the time of day. But the look in her eyes told her all she needed to know.

"You got to stop taking everything so personally, Sabine," Mera said as she pulled Sabine out. "Ketsu's just doing what anyone would do in her situation. Can't blame her for just wanting to survive,"

"I didn't ask you," Sabine snapped, turning back to Ketsu to glare at her as she climbed out.

But Ketsu simply reacted with a tired roll of her eyes, a response which would have caused Sabine to resort to even more physical action, had it not been for Mera.

"Alright, that's enough out of the two of you," Mera quickly stepped in between the both of them. "The two of you are going to stop arguing like children. I don't want you making a fool out of yourselves when you meet Qi'ra and her boss,"

Sabine crossed her arms. "Worried that we'll make you look bad Mera?"

"No. I'm just worried that you'll get yourselves killed," Mera said, her voice suddenly becoming more serious. "If you think Qi'ra's dangerous, wait till you see who she works for. One wrong word, and you'll find yourselves dead in a ditch,"

Mera was making it seem like what she was saying was no laughing matter. And the heavy look on her face only told her how important it was to listen at least this one time.

"Where's Ezra?" Sabine asked, deciding that ignoring Ketsu was her best option for now.

Sighing, Mera pointed to the hover cart behind her. The still unconscious body of Ezra was laid flat on it. It looked like he had not moved in hours, and that was enough to set off alarm bells in Sabine's mind.

"Did you do something to him?" Sabine accused.

"Tranq dart," Mera explained simply. "Can't have him waking up when I take him to the holding cells. I'll tell Qi'ra that you captured him without my help. That should settle your debt with her, or at least buy you some time from her murderous threats,"

"You're letting us take credit for him?" Ketsu raised an eyebrow.

Mera shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want your blood on my hands," She turned to Sabine. "I told you. It's nothing personal,"

"And what if we don't make it to Qi'ra? What if we steal a ship and get out of here?" Sabine threatened, a last ditch effort to get something out of this.

But Mera simply chuckled to herself. "You're welcome to try. I find it hard to believe that you two would be able to steal a ship right under the noses of so many Crimson Dawn goons,"

Sighing, Ketsu was the first to surrender herself to their situation.

"You coming?" She asked mockingly as she stepped off the ship.

With a roll of her eyes, Sabine reluctantly followed.

Sabine and Ketsu were familiar enough with the layout of the First Light to navigate through it on their own. They may have only been here once before, but it wasn't so intricate that it needed multiple visits to commit to memory.

Their familiarity of the ship however did not come with a sense of comfort. There was a strange feeling of dread in the air, an odd sense of foreboding which seemed to be affecting more than just the two of them.

The crew around them seemed more scared. Fearful of something, or perhaps someone.

Eventually, the pair arrived at a familiar doorway. The one which started all of this trouble. Qi'ra was just a single button press away, but neither of them dared to open that door.

"I'm sorry," Ketsu said suddenly, breaking the silence between them.

Sabine rolled her eyes. "I don't want to hear it," She snapped. No amount of apologies could make up for what she had done.

"I know you don't," Ketsu replied. "But if you want a shot at rescuing Ezra, you'll at least hear me out,"

Sabine nearly shouted. Was Ketsu really asking her to trust her again? After what she did? Not a chance. She would have to be an idiot to even consider hearing her out after everything. But the look in Ketsu's eyes made her convictions waver. It was one which gave Sabine hope. Hope that maybe Ketsu did actually want to right her wrongs.

"I shouldn't have done what I did without talking to you about it first." Ketsu continued, taking Sabine's silence as permission. "I know how important he is to you, and I wouldn't want something like this to happen to someone I care this much about," Ketsu was basically begging for forgiveness at that point, and Sabine was more than willing to give it to her if it meant that she could get Ezra back.

"Why should I trust you?" Sabine decided to ask. She needed some way to convince herself this wasn't another trap.

"There's no good reason," Ketsu admitted. "But I can tell you that the only way to get out of here with Ezra is if we work together,"

Crossing her arms, Sabine let out a long sigh before replying. "Fine," She said simply, sighing to herself once more as she shook her head. "If we're being honest, you're not the only person to blame for this situation," Sabine confessed. A miserable expression on her face. "I put us in this situation in the first place because I was too naive. Trying to do good while being a part of the criminal syndicate leads to too many problems,"

"I put us in unnecessary trouble. And you almost died because of it,"

"Guess we're both all kinds of messed up," Ketsu joked, and Sabine reciprocated her humour with a wry chuckle of her own.

"So," Sabine let out a breath. "What's your plan?"

"We need to get Qi'ra off our back. The last time she saw us, she saw a couple of failures. She's going to keep her eye on us until we fix that,"

"Which means we have to show her that we've delivered Ezra as she requested," Sabine concluded.

Ketsu nodded. "I'll tell Qi'ra that I've taken the lead between the two of us now. You followed my orders, and because of that, we successfully managed to kidnap Ezra,"

"It's a good plan," Sabine smiled. "Though I'm not sure how I feel about letting you play out your power fantasy,"

"Trust me. This is not how I wanted that fantasy to play out,"

Momentarily sharing a laugh, Sabine and Ketsu eventually put their game face on and opened the doors.

The moment Sabine and Ketsu stepped into the room, they immediately froze. The sense of dread which they had felt initially intensified a thousand times over.

Something was off in the room, and it had something to do with the people standing at the other end of it.

"Looks like you delivered," Qi'ra's voice cut through the air in a way which made it sound different.

She was on edge, nervous about something. And that something seemed to be the figure which was sitting in her chair.

"It- It's because I'm calling the shots now," Ketsu said, finally finding her voice.

A look of approval flashed across Qi'ra's face. "I'm not going to say I told you so. But at least you did the right thing,"

The figure in the shadows shifted a bit, beckoning to Qi'ra to lower her head. He whispered something to her, before standing up and revealing himself. "I was told that you were the ones who denied me my prize in the first place," He said as he approached the two of them.

Ketsu's body stiffened at his voice. It had a calming tone to it. No different from a friend inviting you over to their house. But his words did not reflect the friendly nature in his voice. Every syllable which left his lips dripped with underlying intentions. An ulterior motive which Ketsu dared not find out about.

"I… we were," She admitted. "But that was because I was foolish before. I let Ria lead when I should have been the one in charge instead,"

The man nodded slowly. His golden eyes glowing against his red skin. "I admire those who can take charge when necessary. Your proactiveness means that you will always have a place here,"

"T-thank you,"

"But you," The man's eyes snapped towards Sabine, causing her to flinch under his gaze. "You are nothing but a hindrance to my plans!"

Sabine suddenly felt herself being lifted up by her neck.

"I care not for those who dare stand against me!"

Initially Sabine tried to wrestle herself out of his grip. But as her hands moved to her neck, she found only her skin.

The man was not anywhere close to Sabine. His hands weren't even in range to lift her up.

This man, whoever he was, was using the Force.

"Let her go!" Ketsu demanded. She reached behind her for her blaster, but found nothing. All she could do was watch helplessly as Sabine's life was choked away from her.

"Lord Maul," Qi'ra suddenly said.

The man turned to glare at her, insulted that he had been interrupted.

"She has repaid her debt," Qi'ra continued. "Killing her will not be a good thing to show to the rest of our people. Especially Ketsu,"

Qi'ra's words seemed to quell Maul's anger. He pulled Sabine close to him, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Consider yourself saved, for now," He said before throwing Sabine into Ketsu. "Send the former Inquisitor here. I want to speak with him,"

"I'm afraid that's not possible at this moment," Qi'ra explained calmly. "Mera has sedated him to prevent further complications. He should be awake in a while,"

"In the meantime, might I suggest we discuss the findings of your latest mission?" Qi'ra suggested.

Maul settled back in his seat, his face relaxing as he let out a breath. "I suppose you will need to know about the superweapon I found. You and Crimson Dawn have a big part to play in ensuring the destruction of the Empire," He then turned to Sabine and Ketsu, almost forgetting their presence.

"Leave us," He ordered, and the both of them hastily obliged.

Sabine and Ketsu could not get out of there quicker. They turned to look at each other, an expression of disbelief plastered on their faces. Was a superweapon capable of destroying the Empire really in the grasp of Crimson Dawn of all people?

"You heard the same thing as I did right?" Sabine asked, wanting to confirm the facts.

"Did he say he's found a superweapon which can destroy the Empire?" Ketsu nearly screamed. "There's no way something like that exists!"

More than anything, Sabine hoped that Ketsu was right. But something about that guy told her otherwise.

Touching a hand to her chin, Sabine recalled the name Qi'ra used. Maul. The name sounded so familiar. Even the face which the name belonged to looked familiar.

"Have you heard of this Maul guy?" Sabine asked.

"You haven't?" Ketsu replied, looking surprised. "Sabine, he's the guy who took over Mandalore during the Clone Wars! He killed the previous Mand'alor and started a civil war between our people which only ended when the Republic stepped in,"

Sabine's memory about her people's history returned to her. "You mean that Maul is the same Maul from Death Watch? What is he even doing here?"

Ketsu nodded. "Doesn't look like it's anything good," She replied. "Sabine, we're in way over our heads here,"

"We're not leaving without Ezra," Sabine stated firmly, already guessing what Ketsu was getting at.

"I know," Ketsu replied, surprising Sabine. "If it really is Maul in there, then he's not just going to take the Empire down. He's going to replace it. And if the stories about him in the Clone Wars are true, then he's going to be much much worse,"

Sabine nodded in agreement. "We'll have to find Mera then. If we want any chance of getting out of here and warning everyone else, it will be with her and her ship,"

"Do you think she'll even bother to listen to us? After all that's happened?"

"She might," Sabine replied. "Like she said. It's not personal,"

Finding Mera wasn't too hard for Sabine and Ketsu. As one of the most trusted hunters working for Qi'ra, she was given the sensitive task of guarding Ezra and ensuring that he did not get away before Maul could see him.

"Well, looks like the two of you managed to survive your first meeting with Maul," Mera congratulated sarcastically as she saw Sabine and Ketsu approaching her.

"We need to talk," Sabine said, ignoring Mera's usual attitude.

Rolling her eyes, Mera let out an annoyed sigh. "Ria, Ria. You know I'm not going to let you in to talk to your friend right? Can't risk you doing something to get him out. Maul and Qi'ra would kill me if they found out I was the reason why he's gone missing,"

"It's not about that," Ketsu explained. "Not entirely,"

"We just need your help," Sabine continued. "And your ship. We're getting out of this place,"

Mera tapped her chin thoughtfully, seemingly curious about the sudden open nature of Sabine. "And let me guess. This escape of yours will also involve taking the former Inquisitor?" Mera let out a half hearted chuckle. "Why bother asking if you already know what the answer's going to be?"

"You don't know the whole story, Mera," Ketsu started.

"Oh I think I do. The two of you have been as wishy-washy about working for the syndicates as can be," Mera placed a hand on her hips, no longer bothering to hide her annoyance. "If you didn't want to live a life of crime, maybe don't join a Crime syndicate next time,"

"It's not just that, Mera," Sabine tried to explain. "There's something that you need to know about Qi'ra and Maul,"

Mera frowned impatiently, but decided to listen anyway. "Enlighten me,"

"What do you know about Crimson Dawn?"

"A lot more than you think, Ria," Mera replied. "I knew they were going to take over the Black Sun. I knew that their leader was that red skinned creep you just met. And I knew that you two weren't going to take kindly to their ways despite their ethics being more or less the same with the Black Sun,"

"Well, did you know that they were planning to overthrow the Empire and take over the galaxy?"

"And that they have found a superweapon which will help them do it?" Ketsu added.

"What?" Mera asked incredulously.

"Maul and Qi'ra were discussing it right before we left the room," Sabine explained. "That's the reason why we're only seeing Maul now. He was out looking for this weapon, and he only came back the moment he found it,"

As Sabine finished her explanation, she noticed that Mera's focus was no longer on her. Mera seemed to be lost in her mind, no longer concerned with keeping Sabine and Ketsu away from Ezra.

"You're lying," Mera said uncharacteristically. She narrowed her eyes at Sabine, trying to spot hints of a lie being told. But when she turned her gaze to Ketsu, all she saw only confirmed Sabine's statements.

"I heard it too," Ketsu replied. "And trust me. We Mandalorians do not want Maul running the galaxy over the Empire,"

Mera returned back to her thoughts. A look of concern flashing across her face as she paced around in distress. "They weren't supposed to find it. Not yet,"

Sabine and Ketsu turned to each other. "What do you mean, not yet?"

Realising that she had said that aloud, Mera quickly snapped her head back, returning her focus to where she was now.

"If what you're telling me is true, we're going to need to do a lot more than just escape with Ezra," Mera said with a cross of her arms. "That superweapon cannot be allowed to be into the hands of Crimson Dawn. We have to make sure that they do not get control of it,"

"I just want to get Ezra," Sabine reiterated. But Mera remained firm in her point.

"You don't understand. If Maul and Crimson Dawn get control of that weapon, it's all over for us. Your rebellion, the Empire, it won't matter. Nothing in the entire galaxy can stand against them,"

"You know about this weapon?" Ketsu asked. Mera seemed to be speaking from experience.

"I do," Mera answered, but didn't bother explaining further. "I'll help you get Ezra out. But you'll also have to help me make sure that Crimson Dawn doesn't even get a chance to use that weapon,"

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Easy. By asking the Empire," Mera replied simply.

"You want to call the Empire on us?" Sabine nearly shouted.

"They'll provide a good distraction," Mera explained. "We're going to need it if you want to leave with Ezra. Maul's extremely invested in him. He's not going to just let him go without doing anything about it,"

"Fine," Sabine agreed with a groan. Getting caught in the crossfire that was Crimson Dawn and the Empire was not something she looked forward to.

"We'll also need to contact the Spectres," Ketsu reminded. "They're looking for us now, and we wouldn't want them to accidentally stumble upon both Crimson Dawn and the Empire once we've escaped,"

"Good point. You go with Mera then. Contact Hera while she leaks our location to the Empire," Sabine suggested. "I'll get Ezra, make sure he's ready to move,"

"Take this," Mera passed a set of keys and Ezra's lightsaber to Sabine. "Make sure sleeping beauty is ready to leave once I give the signal. We can't stay long once the Empire comes by,"

Sabine pocketed the objects and nodded.

"Oh, and before I forget," Mera said, placing a firm hand on Sabine's shoulder. "If we're going to work together, I want us to be completely open with each other,"

"What do you mean?"

Mera smiled an uncanny smile at Sabine before replying. "I'm going to need you to tell me who you really are Sabine,"

It took a moment for Sabine to figure out what Mera was actually asking. She had been so used to hearing her actual name that she had forgotten she was supposed to be in hiding. But once it clicked, Sabine's expression morphed into one of fear. The consequences of being found out shook her to her bones, and Mera observed every second of her reaction.

"Don't be so surprised that I found out," Mera said. "Ketsu's been using your real name ever since we caught your friend," She shrugged at Sabine, who seemed mortified that her identity had been revealed.

"I just want to know who I'll be working with," Mera finished, trying to clarify her intentions.

"All you need to know is that there are a lot of people who want me gone," Sabine explained.

"There's a lot of people who want Ria gone too you know," Mera replied, still not satisfied.

"I couldn't care less if the syndicate has people who want me dead," Sabine snapped. "But the people I'm talking about are a little more personal to me. People who are a little bit too close to home,"

Surprisingly, Mera seemed to understand. "I'm guessing you're a Mandalorian like Ketsu?"

Sabine nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to be a Wren now would you?"

Sabine's blood ran cold. "What would it mean to you if I said yes?" She replied, trying to avoid answering.

But Sabine's reluctance told Mera all she needed to know. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all," She said, suddenly dismissing the topic. "Well then. Let's get started with the plan now shall we?"

Shaking off the chills from Mera, Sabine wasted no time in unlocking and entering Ezra's cell. Whatever formula Mera had used to knock Ezra out must have been pretty potent, because he was still out cold when she saw him again.

With a forlorn smile, Sabine knelt down to Ezra's level. She ran a hand gently across his cheek. The emotions which she had buried in the previous year was slowly bubbling up to the surface. She let her imaginations run wild. The fantasy of a life with him playing repeatedly in her head.

"I hope you know how sorry I am Ezra," Sabine whispered. "I really didn't mean to get you hurt so many times,"

Sabine could already see Ezra's eyes twitching under his eyelids. A sign that he was stirring. But she didn't pull her hand away from him. Instead she continued gently coaxing him awake. Caressing his cheeks lightly to make him aware she was near.

"Sabine?" Ezra groaned. He still had a piercing headache, although Sabine being here did do wonders in nursing it.

"I need you to wake up Ezra," Sabine tried to say as gently as possible, although the urgency in her voice was doing the exact opposite.

Pushing himself up, Ezra started massaging his head. "I had the weirdest dream," He began. "We were fighting the Inquisitors, and then we won, but on our way back to the Ghost, Hera stunned me with some stun baton," Ezra shook his head. "But this Hera was red,"

Sabine couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes from the most Ezra sentence she had heard him say.

"That wasn't a dream," She explained.

"You mean Hera has red skin now?"

"What? No. I mean the part where you get knocked out by a red skinned Twi'lek,"

Ezra snapped his head towards Sabine. "You mean…"

Sabine nodded. Already knowing what he was going to ask. "Crimson Dawn found you, and we're now on their ship,"

Ezra groaned to himself. Probably more than fed up with dealing with all of the plots and schemes against him and the Rebellion.

"I hope you'll believe me when I say I didn't plan for this to happen," Sabine tried to say as sincerely as possible. But it seems all her worries about being rejected and rebuked by Ezra once again were for naught.

"I know," Ezra smiled. "Call me naive, but I think if you wanted to kidnap me, you wouldn't have waited until after you met my parents,"

Sabine let out a wry laugh, one which died down as the image of Ezra's parents popped up in her head. "Oh man, I don't even want to be there when you tell them about what's happened. Your mom's going to hate me even more,"

"I think most of their anger will still be directed at me," Ezra joked, hoping to cheer Sabine up. Although his efforts were immediately stopped by the glare Sabine gave him.

"So. what's the plan?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"How do you even know I have a plan?"

"Well, I don't think you would come in here and rub my cheeks if you didn't have a plan,"

"I wasn't-" Sabine felt her face heat up. He was awake for that?

"I just wanted to wake you up, ok?" Sabine explained. "Ketsu and Mera's going to cause a distraction. In the meantime, I'm supposed to get you ready to move," She poked a finger at Ezra's leg. "This thing working or am I going to have to carry you,"

"Well, I really would like to see you carry me,"

"Ezra…" Sabine said dangerously.

Before their conversation could go any further, the door suddenly opened behind them.

"You! What are you doing with the prisoner?" It was one of Qi'ra's goons. And from the looks of it, he seemed to be here for Ezra.

"I… I was told to check on him!" Sabine quickly responded as she stood up. "Maul.. I mean Lord Maul and Qi'ra wanted him to be awake when they saw him,"

The man furrowed his brow, but decided that Sabine's explanation was acceptable. He reached for Ezra's elbow, and he obediently complied.

"Where are you taking him?" Sabine asked.

"To see Lord Maul," He simply replied. "He wants to see the prisoner now,"

"Oh, uhhh," Sabine tried to think of anything to delay the meeting. "Maybe I can bring him there? There's still a few things I need to check up on before he's ready to meet Lord Maul,"

The man narrowed his eyes at Sabine. "Orders are orders. You know that,"

"Let me help you on this one," Ezra said with a wave of his hands. "You will take me and Sabine to see this Maul person,"

The man blinked for a moment. "I… I will take you and Sabine to see this Maul person?"

"Yes, you will take us to see him,"

The man blinked again, before repeating Ezra's statement. "I will take you and Sabine to see him,"

Satisfied, Ezra flashed a smile to Sabine.

"Wait, why are we going to see Maul?" Sabine asked. "We should just go and meet up with Ketsu,"

"I'm feeling something strange about him," Ezra explained, touching a hand to his chin. "I've heard of his name before, but him being here doesn't make any sense. I need to know what his goals are,"

"Is he not an Inquisitor? I saw him use the Force,"

If Ezra was concerned about Sabine experiencing his power first hand, he did not show it.

"Do you have my lightsaber?" Ezra asked.

Sabine grabbed Ezra's weapon from behind her and passed it to Ezra. "You sure about this?"

"Positive. We need to know as much as we can about him before we even try to go against him," Turning to the man who came for them, Ezra and Sabine followed as he led them back to Qi'ra and Maul.

Ketsu released a breath she didn't know she was holding as she sent her transmission. She had chosen to send a message instead of contacting the Spectres directly, given that they probably would not have bothered to even listen to suspect number one in Ezra's disappearance.

"The Spectres should know where we are now, and how we plan to escape," Ketsu announced as she turned to Mera. "How's things on your side?"

"Should be done in a while," Mera replied as she fiddled with the console. "Imperial transmissions take some time to be decoded. I'm just waiting to see what their response will be,"

Nodding to Mera, Ketsu took a moment to relax. Her situation had been anything but a breeze. From nearly being killed, to fighting Inquisitors, she just needed a break.

But a break was not something Ketsu could get right now. Her mind was acting in overdrive, focusing on Mera's words to Sabine. Something about it seemed off to Ketsu, but she dreaded asking for the answer.

"What do you know about the Wrens?"

"Excuse me?"

Ketsu turned to face Mera. "You asked Sabine if she was a Wren. You wouldn't have asked that if you didn't know anything about them before,"

"I've heard a few things," Mera explained, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. "But I don't know more than what the average person does,"

"The average person doesn't know anything about the Wrens," Ketsu narrowed her eyes. "Unless you understand how important they are,"

Mera's lips twitched for a moment, but she maintained her neutral expression.

"You seem to already have the answer," She finally said. "Why don't you say what you actually want to say?"

Ketsu's fists curled into tight balls. The evidence was practically right in front of her. But what would be the cost for coming to such a conclusion?

"Are… are you with them?"

Mera's expression did not change, but that in itself was an answer.

"What do you think?"

The tension in the room was palpable. To anyone else, it would have sounded like Mera was speaking nonsense. But Ketsu understood that nonsense. She understood it so well that it scared her.

Before Ketsu could linger further on Mera's words, the console behind her beeped, signalling that the transmission had been accepted.

"Looks like the Empire knows where to find us now," Mera announced, reverting back to normalcy.

Ketsu swallowed a lump in her throat. Whatever her decision about this, she would have to make it later.

"How many of them are coming?"

Mera's eyes scanned the console. Her brows furrowed as she reread the data twice over.

"This can't be right," She muttered. "Based on this, they're only sending one Star Destroyer,"

"Just one?" Ketsu arched her eyebrow.

"Yea," Mera replied. "The ship's name is… the Executor,"

Thanks for reading! This chapter felt a little weird to write, but I think it came out ok in the end.

Once again, concrit is welcome!