Oh my friends... Hondo's head! I need a refreshment, and I think I hear Mira crying! Don't worry! Uncle Hondo will be right back! I'm coming Mira!
Interlude II
"Sabine, he can only apologize so many times..."
It's all the young girl could do to keep from falling face first into the snowdrift as she completed the fifth lap around her family's lake. But to do so would only invite more pain, and so she grit her teeth and ran as expected to the firing line and her waiting family. Her mother, peering down her nose at her, handed Sabine a blaster. Then she began the count. "Three, two, one-"
The young Sabine squeezes the trigger, and it hits the target - but it's not a bullseye.
"Failure," Ursa said and snatched the blaster back. "Another lap!"
"Wait," her father said. "Assess her," he ordered. A Clan Wren medic approached with a scanner. Sabine took the precious few moments to catch as much breath as possible. "Well?"
"Her vitals are within acceptable limits," the medic said, and then nodded at Ursa.
"She's dead on her feet," Alrich protested, bundling himself further in his coat against the freezing temperatures of Krownest. "She's covered ten miles already."
"Very well. Sabine Wren. One hundred pushups, now!" her mother ordered. Immediately Sabine dropped to the snow covered ground and did her best to push through the pain. It was a struggle, but Sabine thinks she can manage.
"Ursa," Sabine's father protested. "She's never missed."
"I care not if she can hit a giant circle," her mother said. "Will she face only unarmored enemies? Or enemies with soft hides? No. Precise shots, kill shots, those are what I expect. Those will keep her alive. And she won't always have the benefit of a full night's rest! How many is that, Tristan?"
"Uh," Sabine's little brother stuttered as he, too, fought to keep himself warm against the cold. "Fifty?"
"You're getting cold, my boy. Very well, on the ground with you, too. And you'd better keep up with your sister!"
The four-year-old nodded and dropped to the ground beside his sister. "One, two, three..."
Sabine gritted her teeth. Her body was wrecked, but she ignored the pain. All she could see was the tiny circle representing the center of the target. Had she squeezed the trigger just a bit more lightly, she'd of hit it!
"One hundred," Alrich said.
"On your feet, Sabine," Ursa said and watched as her daughter obeyed without hesitation. She looked her over, taking in her daughter's fatigued state. "Another lap. Forty minutes. Go."
It was a few precious more minutes than Sabine had gotten last time. But she would have to push herself even harder this time. Mandalorians didn't run on nice and easy tracks like those cake eaters in the Core Worlds. Their tracks was the wilderness. Uneven ground with steep hills and deep ravines. But she knew the path well and knew she'd beat the forty minutes. And this time, this time, her aim would be true.
She would not fail.
Sabine continued to stare at the blank wall with her paint applicator in hand. But she still couldn't get the image out of her head. The creature's claws at Ezra's neck, fyrnocks they are called. There wasn't a lot she was happy with her mother about, but she trained her children well and at the moment that mattered, most both of her blasters had found their mark.
She led Ezra back on the Ghost and then lifted her weapons to fire, only to hear a dry click. Empty, both of them. Her eyes widened in fear. She had lost count! She had lost count! Immediately Sabine swapped in fresh power cells and was shooting again in moments, but the reality of how close she'd come to losing Ezra hit her harder than ever. She had lost count. With the fyrnock's maw at his throat, she had just one shot left in each of her weapons. And if she didn't hit its most sensitive and vital areas. If her shots were off by even an inch?
Sabine set down her paint applicator and sat back down on her bunk. She curled herself into a ball and did her best to keep the memories of her most recent nightmare at bay. Memories of her home on Krownest helped, but only for a while. She was coming to dread falling asleep, and the persistent nightmare that waited for her there.
Ezra's body, cold and lifeless. The creature's mouth filled with blood. And her crying as she squeezed the trigger again and again, only for no blaster bolts to shoot out. Empty. As empty as his dead eyes staring back up at her.
When Sabine emerged the next day, she passed by the cargo hold and saw that Ezra was already at work. The anti-grav's of their latest cargo haul were at the bare minimum. In order to keep the crate from scraping the deck, Ezra had to lift as hard as he could. Meanwhile, Zeb looked on, a smile on his face as he watched the young teen struggle. There had to be at least twenty crates.
"How many times?" Sabine asked.
"Oh, just the second time." Zeb said. "Think I'll give the Kid a break afterward. Don't want to tire him out too much."
"No," Sabine said, her voice firm. "He keeps going."
Zeb looked at Sabine like she had grown a second head. "He's been at it for two hours."
"Sabine?" Hera spoke, coming from behind.
"Hera," Zeb said and looked at her for help. "I'm all for teaching the Kid a lesson but-"
"No." Sabine repeated and then checked the time. "He doesn't stop until noon."
"That's five hour girl," Zeb proclaimed. He looked to Hera for help. "Hera?"
But the Twi'lek captain sighed. "It's Sabine's call. She's in charge of Ezra's disciplinary action."
"Yeah, but, bounds of reason. The Kid will be no use on a mission if he's dead on his feet." The Lasat sighed. "And he's been benched for a week. How long will this 'disciplinary action' go on for?"
Hera shook her head. "That's up for Sabine to decide."
"Precise shots, kill shots. Those are what I expect. Those will keep her alive. And she won't always have the benefit of a full night's rest!"
"Make it six hours," Sabine said and turned from the spectacle. "And no sneaking him extra rations. Or you'll be down there in the pit with him."
Sabine walked away. She would stop by the ship's galley and eat something light. And then she would leave the ship and everyone inside behind. Lothal's plains were a far cry from the mountains of Krownest. But Sabine would make the best of it. She covered a punishing eighteen miles in two hours yesterday. She wouldn't stop until she hit at least a full twenty. And then she'd search for something even harder.
Maybe then she'd get the thoughts of her own near failure out of her head. Though she doubted it.
"Headed out again?" Kanan asked when she entered the galley.
"Yup," Sabine said.
"Uh, huh? And what will my apprentice be doing today? Scrubbing down the whole ship? I'll admit the Ghost has never been shinier."
"He's good at cleaning things."
"Or maybe that's because when he had cleaned the hull, you had Zeb make him repeat it five more times."
"Someone needs to teach him some discipline."
Kanan flinched, but Sabine made no apology. What use was a Master who never made time to instruct his student?
"Sabine, he can only apologize so many times." Kanan said and sidestepped her criticism of his training of the Kid. "And this isn't Mandalore, either. We have jobs to do and a fight to win against the Empire. Ezra can be trusted." Kanan stopped and observed her for a moment. "Only he's not the only one you're punishing."
"I'm headed out," Sabine told him. "I'll be back at sunset."
Kanan continued to watch her, study her, and decided. "Wear a tracker."
"Excuse me?" Sabine balked.
"That's an order, Spectre."
An uncomfortable silence filled the rest of the meal. But Sabine did as was told and took the kriffin' tracker with her.
Ezra was sweating buckets. And here he thought scrubbing down the exterior of the Phantom five times over was bad!
"Not done yet," Zeb said from his perch on the platform. "It's not quite right."
"It hasn't been quite right the past ten times!" Ezra yelled. "Kriff! You make the Imperial Academy look like a cakewalk!"
"Well, I should hope so! What's the use of fighting bucketheads if they can catch you?" Zeb said with a grin.
"I didn't sign up for a sports-holo montage! And I need a drink! I'm seeing dots!"
Zeb hesitated a moment, mulling it over. Then nodded. "Yeah. Don't want you passing out. Not when there's still some much more reorganizing to get through!"
As Ezra staggered his way from the cargo bay, he kept his eyes out, searching for a flash of blue and orange streaked hair. He knew Sabine was around, but every time he tried looking for her, she seemed to find a place to be elsewhere. Either off the ship, on a mission with one of the others, or most times, he'd pass her room and see the door locked.
It was enough to give him a complex.
"Heard you almost passed out," Hera said when she found him guzzling down a gallon of water. "Zeb putting you to it today?"
"Yeah," Ezra said after he finished drinking. "Only it's not really Zeb who's in charge of my... punishment."
"How you figure?" Hera said.
"Well, for one thing, if it was just Waffle Face, he'd have given up. Or you or Kanan would've put an end to it and had me back in the fight." Ezra sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "This isn't just about punishment. This is fear. Fear mixed with guilt."
Hera sighed and slid into the chair next to him. "I see that your meditation's been paying off."
"Yeah," Ezra snorted. "The Professor actually had something useful to share."
"She doesn't hate you. And Mandalorians tend to be a little... Extreme when it comes to these sorts of things. Ancestors know what her parents must've been like."
"I can fix this," Ezra said.
Hera looked at him and raised a very dubious eyebrow.
"I have a plan. I just need a day is all. Just me and her. No interruptions."
Hera only looked more dubious. "This sounds an awful lot like, well, a date. You're not asking her out on a date, are you, Ezra? Because I shouldn't need to tell you how bad that would go."
"No date. And if she doesn't like what I have planned, then we'll just head back to the Ghost. Oh, we'll need the Phantom for this."
"You're not qualified to fly," Hera said.
"Sabine is. Please Hera. Let me do this and we can start healing." Ezra took another gulp of water as Hera thought it over. He knew she wanted to get things back to normal. And if his hunch about Sabine blaming herself, though he did not know why she would, then his plan should help her too. Besides. Hera must be going nuts with all the angst.
"Tomorrow then." Hera said, and then tilted her head. "Will you need anything else?"
Ezra smiled. "Nope. I'm already on top of that."
Hera didn't look so sure but nodded, deciding that Ezra had at least earned a chance to make things right.
"Take some water with you," Hera instructed before Ezra headed back to the cargo bay for more 'reorganizing.' "The last thing we need is for you to end up passing out and knocking your head against a steel bulkhead."
Ezra couldn't agree more. He made a detour when he left the galley. Now that he had a time, he had a call to make. Sneaking into his cabin, he picked up his comlink and dialed in frequency to Old Jho's Pit Stop.
"Hey Jho, it's Ezra..."
It was late by the time Ezra turned in that night. The first half of his day filled with lifting and hauling crates without the aid of a repulsor. The few breaks he had he made used to call in some overdue favors still owed him by the inhabitants of Lothal. The rest of the day's 'disciplinary action' wasn't observed by Zeb but by Kanan of all people.
"What?" Ezra asked when he saw his Master waiting for him. "Time for Zeb's flee bath? I draw the line at washing him."
Kanan rolled his eyes and gave a heavy sigh of exasperation. "You've spent the first half of the day hauling crates. Time to work on some other muscles." Kanan stepped aside and patted one of of the crates Ezra had been pushing around. Ezra looked at Kanan with a question. "You have ten minutes to lift the crate with the Force. You must life it five times and then gently return it to the deck without damaging it."
"We've - I've never done anything like this before," Ezra stated. He looked at the crate and knew it weighed at least 20 kilos. Not a problem for his arms and legs, but the Force?
"If you don't make the time, it's outside, and you'll be running. A lot. After which we'll come back in and try again."
Despite dozens of tries, Ezra may have wiggled the heavy crate twice total that entire afternoon. He asked Kanan for advice, but his 'master' said that now wasn't the time for instruction. After five hours of alternating between trying to lift that crate and running mile after mile, Kanan called it quits. But not before reminding Ezra that it was his turn to cook dinner again. By the time he'd finally gotten to bed, Ezra was hoping for a solid six hours. Eight would be glorious, but he doubted he'd be so fortunate.
Well, when he awoke, he found he had slept eight hours. The other thing he noticed was he was dripping wet, as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at him. A second bucket of water was thrown at him, confirming his suspicions.
"Kriff! I'm awake, I'm awake!"
He looked around for his attacker, only to find Sabine standing in the middle of his cabin with two empty buckets at her side. A moment passed as the two teens felt one another's gaze. Then Sabine cleared her throat and crossed her arms over herself.
"You got twenty minutes," Sabine said quietly. "Shower, fresh clothes, and something to eat. Then meet me at the Phantom."
He watched them as Sabine picked up the buckets and departed. It was only then did he realize Hera had come through. He had his chance! And he wasn't about to lose it! When Sabine arrived at the Phantom in fifteen minutes, she found Ezra already inside and starting a diagnostic. His hair was damp from the shower, but he had clean clothes and was munching on a slapped together ham sandwich. "There's one for you too," Ezra said between a mouthful, ensuring he didn't get criticized for speaking with his mouth full.
Sabine hadn't expected to meet the twenty-minute deadline she'd imposed, but the Kid stepped up and completed it with five minutes to spare. Which meant that whatever he had planned for today was on. Wordlessly Sabine took the sandwich and then took a seat at the Phantom's controls.
"This better be on the level," she told him as the Phantom detached from the Ghost. "Or you'll be walking back to the Ghost."
She glanced back to see his reaction and found that Ezra played it cool and shrugged. "I thought we could use a break."
He saw her back straighten at the implication that he wasn't the only having a physically tough week. Or discipling or whatever pretty word Hera decided on. Ultimately, he considered the week a living hell. And he suspected as hard as Sabine was making it for him, she was pushing herself just as hard.
The rest of the flight went by in relative silence. As they neared Ezra's spot, he spoke up. "Ease back on the throttle. A few ground rules when we get there."
Sabine rolled her eyes but did as instructed and set the Phantom into a hover. She then looked over her shoulder at the boy sitting in the jump seat. "Ground rules?" Sabine said.
"We need to be very careful, and make sure there aren't any Imps around. Once we're certain we'll set down. While we're there, you'll be pleasant to my friends."
"Your friends?" Sabine said, not expecting to hear that from the Kid.
"Well, friends of my parents," Ezra elaborated. "I couldn't have prepared this without them."
"Prepared what?" Sabine asked.
"And lastly. We scrub the Phantom's trip out here before returning to the Ghost. This stays between us."
"Can I at least get a hint?" Sabine persisted.
Ezra had a mischievous glint in his eye. "It's like we talked about that first day. Remember? Neither of us are good at following direction."
Figuring that was the most she'd get out of him, Sabine did as she was instructed and made a long, slow loop around the perimeter of Ezra's coordinates. When she was confident there were no Imperials lurking around, she turned the Phantom to the coordinates. It wasn't long before she saw the rock formation and the landspeeder parked just inside the formation's crags. She recalled Ezra saying something about friends.
"Set it down there," Ezra said as he joined her at the front of the shuttle.
"Okay," Sabine said once she set down the Phantom on a relatively flat bit of ground. "Now what?"
"Now? Big smiles," Ezra said. He opened the shuttle's rear door and walked out into the daylight with Sabine walking slowly behind.
"Ezra!" a voice called out.
"Mister Sumar!" Ezra replied and greeted an older man hiding behind a boulder. "And Missus Sumar!"
Sabine watched as the two exchanged hugs with Ezra. The three exchanged pleasantries for about half a minute before Ezra turned and gestured to Sabine.
"Mister and Missus Sumar, please meet my friend and partner in crime, Sabine. She's also known as the Artist around these parts." Ezra added with a wink.
"The Artist?" Missus Sumar said and held a hand to her chest. "Ezra told us he was bringing someone important, but I had no idea!"
Sabine was equally taken aback. "You know my work?"
"Know it? We love it!" Missus Sumar answered. "There wasn't much left of our farm, but we found a stone you had painted one of your famous Starbirds on. It's back at the camp. A reminder that no matter how bad things can get, there's always hope."
"What happened to your farm?" Sabine asked, though she had a sinking suspicion.
"We refused to sell. So the Empire took it." Mister Sumar said. "They took us too but, well, young Ezra here saved us."
"You were in the Imperial prisoner transport!" Sabine said in understanding.
The Sumars nodded. "And if not for Ezra here, well? We try not to think about that."
Sabine nodded, understanding all too well. And while it was nice to meet folks like this, appreciators of her art no less! She doubted Ezra dragged her all the way out here to be fawned over. Ezra saw the cogs in her mind turning and looked at Mister Sumar.
"Did Jho get you everything?"
"Yes," Mister Sumar said with a nod, and led the others toward a large cave that Sabine had missed in her initial assessment of the place. For such a large cave, it was easy to miss. "The supplies are in the speeder still. We weren't sure where you would wish to accomplish your masterpiece."
"Masterpiece?" Sabine asked, her tone becoming ever more curious. What was Ezra up to?
"Well," Mister Sumar said. "We'll let you decide on its value when you're done."
"When I'm done?" Sabine said, and it was then she saw the landspeeder. A landspeeder hauling several crates of - paint? "What's with all the paint?"
"This," Ezra said and led her to the large cave.
Sabine's mouth dropped when she saw what was inside.
The stolen TIE fighter! The one he and Zeb had crashed!
Apparently not.
"We've been through a lot recently," Ezra said, his voice smaller than it had been before, and Sabine realized then that he was nervous. "And you've done a lot for me. And so I wanted to do something for you. Do you like it?"
"I don't know," Sabine said, her tone slipping into a tease. She turned her head to Ezra and smiled. "It's hard to get a good look at it with it in that cave."
And then the Kid surprised her. He took her hand and led her aboard the TIE. Mister and Missus Sumar stood back, holding each other in their arms and smiling fondly at the two teenagers. They had done so much for this world. It was wonderful to see them get the chance to be their own age for once.
"Can you fly it?" Sabine asked as she watched Ezra settle into the pilot's chair.
"We didn't have a lot of time," Ezra explained. "But I watched Zeb and we sort of figured out how to fly it together."
With no other seat, Sabine stood beside Ezra and watched as the Kid turned on the fighter's engines and then guided it out of the mouth of the cave. "And here we go," Ezra said, and winked. With a howl Ezra pulled back on the stick and the TIE fighter shot in to the sky.
"Manda! Ezra!" Sabine yelled out in surprise, but her eyes were glittering with excitement.
If Kanan saw them now...
She bursted into laughter. Ezra glanced at her curiously. She smiled and shared her thought and watched as he too bursted into laughter. Ezra made a few low and slow passes over the rock formation and from their low altitude Sabine smiled and waved at the Sumars who were looking up and waving back.
"Okay, Paintball," Ezra said and slid out of the seat. He took her wrist, guided her into the chair.
"I don't know," Sabine said. "I've only ever done this in a simulator."
Still with a few more words of encouragement, Sabine shook her head and took control of the TIE. Fifteen minutes later and she was doing some low passes of her own. She really wanted to rocket out of here and head into space, but without the proper equipment and the Imperial ships overhead. They wouldn't last long. Still, it was a joy to just fly a few circles above the golden plains. It filled her with a sense of freedom, something that she hadn't felt for some time.
And she was going to get the chance to paint this thing too!
"Thank you, Ezra," Sabine said and looked up at the boy standing beside her. "This... This is just?"
"I know," Ezra said. He smiled, and then looked back through the viewport of the canopy. "How about down there?" he said and pointed to a large circular spot in the center of the rocks. "Plenty of room."
Together, the two teens figured out how to safely land the fighter, and right at the exact spot Ezra had picked. With their feet back on the ground, Ezra joined the two Sumars and worked on getting the paint supplies placed ready for Sabine's use. The Artist herself spent the better part of thirty minutes walking around the TIE. She'd seen so many of the fighters in her life, destroyed her share of them too. But she had never flown one until now, and now she would get to paint it too!
No way could she tell Hera or Kanan or anyone. This would have to stay strictly between her and Ezra. Sabine took a moment to think that over. She knew Ezra was trying to make up for what happened and boy was he succeeding! But... They needed to talk. Really talk. But that could wait until later.
"Well, that's all of it," Mister Sumar said as he and Ezra finished carrying the last of the crates of painting supplies over to the TIE. "You sure you'll be okay here on your own?"
Ezra nodded and reached out a hand to shake Mister Sumar's. "We'll be fine. Thank you. We really needed this today."
"Well, we packed you two a lunch," Missus Sumar said. "We don't have a lot at our camp but, we don't want you to starve!"
Sabine joined Ezra and smiled at the Sumars. "Thank you. And if you need supplies, please let us know. We can arrange a shipment for you to take to your camp."
"We'll talk about it with the others," Mister Sumar said. "Now take care of yourselves. And keep sticking it to the Empire."
The two Spectres waved at the elderly couple and watched as they left in their rickety old landspeeder. A fitting picture as it disappeared over the horizon of Lothal's picturesque plains. And then Sabine watched as Ezra nervously placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know we have to talk. Or rather you are gonna read my the riot act."
He wasn't wrong, Sabine knew.
"But today? I'm going to put on some music and if you're okay with it, just watch?"
Sabine nodded and began her search through the crates of painting supplies, paying particular attention to the different colors she had available. Saying she was impressed wouldn't begin to cover it!
There had to be hundreds of credits worth of supplies here! How did Ezra pay for this? How did he arrange for the exact type of paints she would need for this project to be brought was out here? And the Sumars! It was amazing how quickly some people could make an impression on you.
And Ezra had risked everything to save them, defied a direct order from Kanan and dragged Zeb along with him. There was definitely a story there, but it could wait. Ezra was right. Talking could wait. She was going to just put all other thoughts aside and live in the moment.
Presently she heard Ezra put on some pleasant music. It wasn't music she'd paint to before, but it was similar. And as the music played and she painted, Ezra talked.
Small stuff. Little tidbits about his life on Lothal and experiences as a street rat. He even brought up a story about how he earned his first TIE fighter helmet. It was then that Sabine learned that she and the others had inadvertently run into Ezra before!
"It was just another freighter being chased by a TIE. I thought little of it until it blasted the TIE apart and watched it crash nearby where I was walking. The pilot was fine and kept calling himself Baron something or another. Convinced him I was there to help him."
"Of course," Sabine said with a smirk.
"He caught on eventually, so I jumped out of the TIE's cockpit and saw him struggling to climb out with his blaster, so I tested a theory. I aimed my slingshot just so and didn't pull it back full force. Then let loose and watched as the yellow electric orb arced through the air and then down right into the opened remains of the crashed cockpit. I dropped back in, saw him knocked out, and swiped the helmet."
Sabine smiled and could just imagine Ezra being cheeky enough to pull something like that. Also? Props to the slingshot. Gravity can work on those orbs it shoots, and in the right circumstances can be pretty useful. "When was this?"
"About a month before we ran into each other. I only saw the freighter out of the corner of my eye during my hike. But I'm pretty certain now it was the Ghost."
"The timing works out," Sabine said. They hadn't been pulling jobs too long on Lothal at that point. But she was painting Starbirds wherever they went. And so her reputation as the Artist was born, go figure. "Not too long before that, I did one of my most famous solo missions."
"Oh?" Ezra asked and listened eagerly.
"Probably why the Empire got so wrapped up with the Starbird emblem. It was a small TIE fighter airstrip close to the Capital. I must've grafittied a half dozen TIEs before the bucketheads finally caught me. By then, of course, it was too late. Every TIE was destroyed when I hit the trigger. A crowd had gathered outside, and they were cheering."
"Explosive paint," Ezra said with a smile and then turned thoughtful. "Did Mandalorians ever use those instead of flamethrowers?"
"I see someone has been doing some extra research," Sabine hummed.
"Kanan's been drilling me on lightsaber forms, and I'm getting better at deflecting blaster bolts. There's only so many forms Kanan knows, two out of six or seven. And none helps with guys wielding a red lightsaber determined to kill you."
Sabine paused in her work, thinking things through. "I heard stories growing up. Stories of not of Jedi, but a different kind of Force user. An evil one with red skin who would swing a red blade. Actually took over Mandalore at one point supposedly. No Mandalorian could beat him. It took a Jedi to."
"So then there's more of them. And they must use this Dark Side, whatever that is." Ezra sighed and hugged his knees to hist chest. "And he wants me."
Sabine had nearly finished with her work and was pleased, and while the last details were often the most crucial, she found herself wrapped up more and more in Ezra's stories. And his situation with the Dark Sider. "As powerful as this new guy may be, he definitely doesn't sound like the guy I heard of growing up. Tell me the whole thing. Everything he and Kanan did. Everything he and Kanan said to each other."
As Ezra spoke, the more alarmed Sabine grew of his situation. What he did at the abandoned base was reckless, but that was something he could learn from. But with this guy after them and wanting Ezra as his Apprentice? It was almost too much for Sabine to believe. The thought of Ezra switching sides? She didn't know his history, but he hates the Empire as much as anyone.
And this Force stuff was way over her head. But the Empire could get people to switch sides. Good people. People who think they are doing a morally questionable thing, but that was okay so long as it was for the right reason. The ends justify the means.
It was a very common trait with a lot of Imperials Sabine had run into.
"Well, we'll think of something," Sabine said and then looked over her shoulder at Ezra. "So long as you stop pulling these dumb stunts."
Sabine had enjoyed their day together. And Zeb was right, Ezra had done everything asked of him all week.
"You were in danger," Ezra protested.
"And it will only get more dangerous," Sabine said. "I don't need a knight in shining armor, Ezra. I need a teammate who will watch my back. Same way Zeb and Kanan do, and how me and Hera survived what happened on that asteroid. That's the only way this works."
She waited as Ezra had grown quiet. She looked at him, watching the boy consider her words. He knew he messed up. And he spent all week paying for it. But what conclusion would he come to? Would he give the right answer, or would it be back to running laps around the lake as her mother made her?
Running and running in the knee deep snow. The true lesson had never been about hitting a bullseye or even the physical conditioning, though both had certainly helped her throughout life.
No. It was about keeping your head. No matter how tired or desperate or just how much you wanted to collapse and never get back up. If there was anything she could give her mother credit for, it was lessons like those. And something she needed an understanding from Ezra about.
"I know I messed up," Ezra said at long last. "I'll do better, going forward. Looking before I leap and keep the showing off to a minimum."
It wasn't precisely what Sabine was hoping for. She had hoped he'd have picked up her hint about not needing a knight in shining armor and extrapolate from that. But she supposed it would have to do.
"And you need to stop punishing yourself and feeling guilty over what happened," Ezra added, his words catching Sabine off guard. "I made the call to leap and not look. That's my thing to work on. From what I hear from Hera, you did everything right that day."
Sabine sighed and couldn't help but notice how Ezra sounded so much like Kanan just then. How eerily similar the words the two Jedi had now said to her.
"You're right," Sabine said and gave a long-winded sigh. She put the last touches on the TIE and smiled.
"I am?" Ezra asked.
Sabine turned to her friend and smiled and nodded.
She wouldn't be able to not dwell on just how close she came to losing him. Not yet. Losing track of how much ammo and it nearly kept her from saving Ezra? That scared her. So there'd definitely be more punishing runs in the future, but if Ezra was going to be serious about making changes for himself, then she'd have to promise to do the same.
Besides, today was a good day, and a step in the right direction. Instead of nightmares, hopefully she'll have a dream about today's happy memories. She wanted to see this new yell paintjob of hers in flight. She imagined it would be hilarious to watch. But it was getting late.
As the two began packing up, Sabine glanced at Ezra thoughtfully. Something occurring to her.
"You're good with that blaster. But when are you going to get your own lightsaber? If you and Kanan run into that guy again, maybe working together, you could beat him?"
"I don't know," Ezra said. "Sometimes I don't think I'm that good of a Jedi, to be honest. I won't cut my arm off with the thing, but it takes years to get that good. If there was a quick and easy shortcut, that'd at least be something. But according to Kanan, it takes years of practice and experience. I don't have either."
"So then don't be that kind of Jedi," Sabine said as she closed up the rear hatch to the Phantom and began to prep its engines.
"What do you mean?" Ezra asked.
"Kanan talks about a Jedi Order that isn't around right now. They were powerful fighters with thousands of years of knowledge to draw on. You and Kanan don't have that. You'll have to figure something else out." Sabine smiled. "And you will."
Ezra nodded and Sabine could see that this wasn't the first time he'd felt this way. Though it may be the first time anyone had said to him it was okay not to be a traditional Jedi. She certainly wasn't a traditional Mandalorian!
Feeling at ease with herself for the first time since what happened, Sabine felt like a page had been turned. She had her family back.
"So not knowing this Fulcrum person. It's really driving you nuts?"
She also had the guy she could talk to about stuff like this!
"Where do I even begin?" Sabine mused.
Ezra smiled as he listened to Sabine vent.
Today had been nothing short of perfect and he would have to thank Old Jho and the Sumars the first chance he got. From the sounds of it, Sabine wouldn't mind spending some more time with the Lothal locals herself.
He thought back on what Sabine had made him promise. To look before he leaped. He would do his best to keep that promise, but she was still a blind spot for him. In a way, none of the others were. And Ezra didn't see that changing soon.
And besides, despite what the others may say or think. One day, he wouldn't always be the "Kid." If he could just get them to stop seeing himself like that, then maybe Sabine might give them a shot?
Ezra shook his head. Today had been a good day. Whatever else may happen going forward, he'd have today as a happy memory to hold on to in his heart.
"Just so we're clear. It's just you, me, and Zeb who know about the TIE?" Sabine asked and looked back over her shoulder at him.
Beautiful.
"I promised Zeb I'd keep the TIE between me and him. But I also knew how badly you'd have wanted to paint the thing. So I may have crossed my fingers when I made him that promise."
Sabine grinned.
"But no telling Hera and Kanan, right?"
"Or Chopper!" Ezra reminded. "Last thing that menace needs is good blackmail material!"
The two teens laughed as the Phantom raced the sunset on its way back home.
She also had the guy she could talk to about stuff like this!
Note from Saranac: Hi all, don't worry Hondo is just a little preoccupied with Mira. Babysitting duty. He'll be back soon.
In the meantime this was our second Interlude chapter (or in between episode chapters). It always bugged me how not only we never got to see the TIE getting painted but we jump from Ezra doing something so foolish in the previous episode then cutting to Sabine smiling fondly at him and Kanan training at the start of the Empire Day episode. Maybe just a line a from Kanan about not throwing himself into a pit of fyrnocks would've been appropriate? This chapter covered a lot of ground and was about reestablishing the friendship/not-a-relationship that Ezra almost wrecked in the previous episode. I know everyone has their own takes with how the TIE got painted, for me this is mine and the timing for it felt appropriate. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, adding bits of Sabine's early childhood as well as including the Sumars. It's such a nice break from transcribing the episodes. Some episodes I have to stick close to the plot, others allow me some more latitude. And as eager as you are all for some major deviations, none of you are more eager than I am! So allow me to tell you WHEN.
As part of a men's/teen's mental health group I can't tell you the amount of stories I hear from people new to romance and dating that they don't understand how things went wrong. And all too often its because they make the same mistakes Ezra does.
And SO I have something very special and very realistic planned for what will ultimately lead to Sabine and Ezra getting together. Something that is as true to us people here in real life as it is in the fantasy world of Star Wars. Something that likely should've happened in canon, but for whatever reason the writers decided not to go there. For context you will begin to see this deviation not too far into Season 2. That doesn't mean Sabine and Ezra will necessarily start a relationship... But will there be smooches? A gentleman never tells! To my knowledge this 'path' has never been tried anywhere in Ezra/Sabine.
All that said I just wanted to thank you all again for your comments, they are encouraging and very thought provoking. I've invested more into my writing by getting ProWritingAid, it's basically a godsend program when it comes to editing. Particularly useful when doing this project solo and updating weekly. Speaking of, the reason why this is getting posted Friday is by this time tomorrow I'll be spending the next two weeks traveling. I don't think I'll get a chapter up on the 21st, but I will have one up on the 28th. Which of course will be our Empire Day chapter (Ezra's Birthday!).
As I write this I'm already running late with the packing! Thank you again for continuing with my story and your feedback. As always it is most appreciated. Wishing you all the best, have yourselves a merry and wonderful holiday season. Here he is...
Aw! Young Mira, how precious you are! Do you like spending time with Hondo? Yes You Do! Yes You Do! Does Uncle Hondo tell good stories? Who tells good stories?
"Uncle Hundo gud story!"
... This is the most beautiful moment of Uncle Hondo's life! My heart has grown ten sizes just now! Oh wait until Mando Girl hears this! Who tells the
best stories? Who tells?
"Uncle Hundo!"