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"Spectre 1, in position."
"Spectre 2 and Spectre 3, on standby at Rendevous."
"Spectre 4, in position, ready to kick some bucket heads."
A small silence fell over the comms, as Sabine stepped out of a shaded alley next to the marketplace, her eyes scanning the area for potential threats. "Spectre 5, in position. Looks all clear from here."
"Spectre 6, ready as I'll ever be."
"Alright everyone, the convoy should be passing through here in a few minutes. Remember, no one moves until I give the signal. Yes, that means you." A small amount of nervous laughter came over the comms before silence returned, leaving the noise of the bustling marketplace to fill the void.
Another day on Lothal, another supply raid against a lazy Empire. Sabine had done dozens of missions like this before, why shouldn't this one be any different? Because of Ezra, that's why.
Ever since that kid had the audacity to try and hijack a weapon shipment, one Sabine and her team were already in the process of hijacking no less, he had somehow managed to stick around and prove to be an... interesting addition to the crew. Things aboard The Ghost would go 'missing', Kanan would find him hiding in frankly ridiculous spots, usually with one of said 'missing' items, not to mention how much he and Zeb would antagonize each other both on and off the ship... The promise of helping on one of these missions was apparently one of the few things that actually got him to behave, for the most part anyway.
Hopefully Kanan could steer that kid in a right direction, because despite all the bad habits Ezra might have had, everyone else did see some potential in him, Kanan most of all. Sabine guessed that was probably the old man's inner Jedi at play, but she also got the sense of some kind of responsibility in there too. As to what would actually happen with the kid, only time would tell.
Before she could blend in with the nearby crowd to avoid a patrolling stormtrooper, Sabine was interrupted by the feeling of a cold, metallic object poking her in the back. Before she could reach for her blasters or turn around, the object pushed further into her back and a hand was placed on her shoulder, effectively locking her in place. "Don't move, keep your hands down and stay quiet. That's a custom SL-25 blaster pistol pointed at your spine, at this range it will go through your beskar."
The voice sounded somewhat muffled, through what Sabine could only assume was some kind of mask meant to hide their identity, but at such a close proximity she could definitely hear a distinct accent, even though it couldn't be placed. If there was a quick and quiet way of this sudden situation, she needed to find it fast. Thankfully her comms were broadcasting whatever she said, so hopefully the rest of the team would pick up that she was in distress. "So, what are you after, credits?"
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the figure shake their head. "No, I don't want credits."
"...Then what are you after? Because if you want my gear, that's the one thing I'm not giving you."
"I have my own weapons, I already mentioned the custom blaster, remember? No, I don't want either of those. I want off this planet."
"And if you don't want my things or credits to buy a ticket off-world, you're holding me at gunpoint why, exactly?"
The blaster jabbed into Sabine's back. "Please don't play dumb, you're just insulting the both of us. I've seen your crew around here, grabbing Imperial shipments then hightailing it out of the city. You don't come back here, and it's too far to the next spaceport for the speeders you take, so you've got to have some kind of ship to move it all."
"Interesting theory you have there."
"I've seen enough to put the pieces together. I don't mind what you're doing, but I want out of here before things go bad."
Sabine raised an eyebrow at the statement, even though the gesture couldn't be seen under her helmet. "How do you mean?" The question was met with another jab from the blaster.
"I thought I said don't play dumb. Look, you cause enough trouble around here, eventually the Empire's going to crack down on this place. I don't want to be here when they do, I get the feeling you don't either."
"And you thought pointing a blaster at me would get you a ticket outta here? I hope you've got something better than that for your plan, because me as a hostage won't get you very far."
"I do, as a matter of fact." The figure reached into one of Sabine's blaster holsters and took the blaster out from it, which caused a growl of protest. The hand locking her shoulder in place disappeared, before a small bag was hooked on the open holster. "You take that, I'll take this. Now we both have something we'll want returned."
"Hey, you better give that back."
"You follow through for me, I will. I promise. Now, if that's not enough... I also have a spare crate of gear that I'd be willing to part with, as compensation for you and the rest of your team."
"... Keep talking."
"A few blasters, grapple gear, those kind of things. They're used, but decent quality. Originally planned on selling the stuff to get a ticket out of here, but they've got my face on record in the spaceport, so it's not an option. That leaves you."
Kanan popped up over the comms, a whisper in his voice that indicated he was hiding nearby. "Sabine, I'm on the roof behind them. The convoy's going to be here in a minute, so we need to wrap this up fast. If you want me to step in, say: Not what I was hoping for."
The figure backed away from Sabine, allowing her to turn around and see them. They were wearing dirty fatigues of some kind, as well as a poncho that covered their torso and wrapped around their head. As suspected, the face had been concealed with a mask, as well as speeder goggles to hide their eyes. "So, what happens now?"
"Once you and your team are finished, send me coordinates for your pickup point. We'll trade and talk specifics."
"And just how do I do that?"
"Check the bag, among my things there should be a holocommunicator and a thermal detonator, use the second frequency on the holo to contact me."
"And the thermal detonator?"
"You're about to hit an Imp convoy, aren't you?" With that, the figure dashed down the alleyway and out of sight, to which Sabine gave a slight smirk as she checked the bag and found both the communicator and the detonator, along with a data pad, some fresh food and cooking ingredients.
Kanan jumped down from the rooftop and landed next to Sabine, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you alright?" Sabine nodded and Kanan removed his hand with a soft pat. "Good. Hera, you pick up enough of that?"
"Mhmm, loud and clear. Any idea how we should handle this, Kanan?"
He pursed his lips together, then rested a hand under his chin. "...Well, they seemed sincere. If they do have some extra gear for us, we might be able to get some use out of it, or trade it with Vizago for something extra. Either way, if something does go wrong, we have the numbers and team advantage."
Sabine huffed beneath her helmet. "Alright, if you say so."
Zeb suddenly interrupted the conversation. "Hey, hate to break it up but the convoy's arriving. We ready?"
Without skipping a beat, Sabine pulled out her remaining blaster and rolled her shoulders. "Absolutely."
Sana bolted down the tight alleyways and side streets as she made her way back home, once again leaving everything she had built up there to hopefully find greener pastures. As she reached the final stretch and could see the front door, an explosion went off in the distance behind her, which was followed by the echoes of blaster bolts. At least she'd be able to get out of the city easily enough, most of the troopers would be directed to the battle in the marketplace.
She almost punched the door button and slipped inside, shut the door behind her, then leaned back against a wall and let out a deep breath. After a second of composure, Sana made a beeline for two gear containers, then opened the one with her family crest on it. Inside was most of her armor and gear, left completely untouched for months. She shifted some of it to make extra room, before she got up and started loading whatever was deemed necessary to take with her. There wasn't exactly much to store, since anything she really wanted to keep was still in there, but she had picked up a few curios and data pads that she figured might as well come with. Anything else that was getting left behind... Well, at least the new tenant wouldn't complain about amenities.
Once she was satisfied that there wasn't anything else to take, Sana closed the container and opened the second, unmarked one to double check the gear she was offering. As she thought, none of it had been moved since it was first packed, all items were in good condition and there was hopefully enough to strike a proper deal with that Mando and the rest of the group. She swiftly closed the container then hauled both of them outside and onto a speeder parked close by, one that she had taken a practice to leaving there... just in case.
Sana took the long way out of the city, to be as far away from the inevitable chaos as possible. Thankfully for her, emergency checkpoints out of the city hadn't been established yet, so she wasn't stopped or flagged down for identification. She took the speeder well past city limits, before resting on top of a hill a few klicks outside the entrance she came out of, waiting for the message she hoped would come. After what felt like an eternity, her spare holocommunicator sprang to life. It was straight to the point, coordinates of the meeting point and a message: 20 minutes or we're gone. Sana stashed her communicator and kicked the speeder into gear, tearing it down the hill towards the open fields and the meet.
Sabine paced back and forth in front of the Ghost's cargo ramp, counting down the seconds before they would have to leave. Beside her was Zeb, keeping one eye on the horizon and the other on her, making sure that if they had to leave, he would get her on board before they did. With two minutes before the deadline, Sabine sighed, took off her helmet and gave a disappointed look to Zeb. he put his arm on her shoulder and nodded solemnly, before they started to head back to the ship.
As the pair stepped onto the cargo ramp, Zeb turned his head, having heard the sound of a speeder roaring toward them in the distance. Sabine heard it too, she stepped back down off the ramp and put her helmet back on, then walked out to scan the horizon. Sure enough, a trail of dust was spotted to the west, with their mysterious figure at the helm of a speeder going full tilt kicking the trail up. Zeb practically charged up the ramp and shouted to anyone in earshot, which was everybody. "They're here!"
As the rest of the crew made their way to the ramp, the figure pulled up close by and pulled two containers off of the speeder. Sabine moved to close the gap, placing a hand on her hip and giving a stiff nod. "So, that our gear?"
They nodded back, taking a moment to inspect the Ghost and Sabine. "The unmarked one is, other one's my personal effects. Interesting ship, looks like it's seen better days."
Hera and the rest of the crew approached from behind Sabine, a welcoming yet somehow suspicious look on the captain's face. "She's fine, just hasn't been given a fresh coat of paint in a while. I'm the captain, Hera, so if you want on the ship you'll be answering to me. Firstly, I have some questions. Who are you and why do you want to leave Lothal?"
Sana sat the containers down, then took off her mask and goggles, revealing brunette hair and pale blue eyes, her accent now clearly audible but still unable to be placed by Sabine. "My name is Sana. If you and your crew are going to continue doing hit and runs on the Empire, then I don't want to be on this planet when they start cracking down on the people. I almost got arrested when something similar happened on the last planet I was hiding on."
"Okay then, next question. Why are you hiding from the Empire? As much as I hate them, not everyone they're after are good people."
"They put a bounty on my head, for the everly vague crime of 'Treason'. Truth be told, it's guilt by association, of the anti-Empire sentiment variety. That's why I'm asking you, instead of taking a shuttle from the city spaceport."
Hera gave a concerned look at Sana. "I see. If we agree, where would we be taking you?"
Sana sighed at the question, shaking her head. "Honestly? I'm not sure. Somewhere with as lax an Empire as possible, I suppose."
"Right... Well, I suppose we can work out more details once we're underway, because we're out of time. Grab whatever you're taking and leave the speeder, we have a schedule and a weight limit to keep."
Sana nodded and picked her containers back up, before following Hera and the rest of the crew over to the cargo ramp. As she stepped on board and the ramp closed behind her, she was stopped by Sabine. "Let me guess..." Sabine nodded firmly. "Alright, alright, I did promise." Sana put the containers down in a corner and slowly reached behind her poncho, gently pulling out Sabine's second blaster. "No hard feelings?"
Sabine gave a sigh of relief and took it from Sana's hands, before she walked off, returned after a short word with Hera, minus her helmet and plus a now slightly lighter bag. "I used that detonator you had... also Hera took the meiloorun fruit. "
Sana gave an understanding nod. "Well so long as nothing else is missing, I think I'll live. Nice blaster by the way, a WESTAR-35, right?"
Sabine tilted her head, then nodded in conformation. "Yeah, you know much about weapons?"
"Ehh, maybe too much. You can blame my father for that, personally I wanted to learn how to cook."
"Let me guess, your dad's a Mando, tried to teach you his ways?" Sabine asked sarcastically.
"Not really. He... was a weapon designer for the Empire. He did try to teach me about his work, not sure how much I wanted to learn though. From what I heard they found someone better, replaced him and... got rid of any competition. Before you ask, he was also charged with treason."
"Ah. I'm... sorry to hear that." Sana nodded glumly and Sabine rubbed the back of her head, before she decided to shift the topic away from being steered into an awkward hole that, frankly, neither of them would want to talk about. "So, I've never heard of an SL-25. Since you've seen mine, maybe you can show me yours? Uhh, your blaster, that is."
Sana let out a short but sharp snort before she composed herself, then pulled out her blaster from it's holster and held it by the barrel. "You're right, you haven't heard of it. I used an old DC-15s pistol to make the base design, then figured it needed a new designation once I started butchering the thing with tweaks and modifications."
Sabine gently held the blaster, her eyes briefly widened at the information. "Wait, that's what it's based on? Just what did you do to this thing?"
"You sure you wanna know?" Sabine nodded. "Well, if you insist..."
By the time Sana realized that the Ghost had taken off, it was already about to land again. She had barely moved from the spot where Sabine had stopped her in the cargo bay, showing the Mandalorian the inner workings of her custom blaster. All the while, Kanan had kept a sharp but silent eye on their new 'guest' from the exit ladder, to further determine if they could become a problem.
As the ship began to land, he was joined by Zeb and Ezra, with interested yet questioning looks on their faces. "So, Kanan," Zeb spoke up, patting Kanan's shoulder. "whadya make of her? Think she's gonna be trouble before we drop her off?"
Kanan made an unsure face, before shaking his head. "I'm not quite sure, something about her feels... odd, like she's keeping something close to her chest. But from just what I've seen? No, I don't think so."
"I hope not, we're gonna have enough problems with Vizago soon enough."
"I'm sure we can work something out with him, but in the meantime..." Kanan turned to Ezra, who was watching Sana with a narrowed focus. "Ezra, if you're thinking about what I think you are, don't."
Ezra looked up at Kanan with a sheepish smile, waving his hand nonchalantly. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"Right... Just, don't. Please." Ezra nodded at him and he gave a sigh as the cargo ramp began to open. "Alright, let's see what kind of mood Vizago's in today."
The rest of the crew joined Sabine and Sana at the cargo ramp, before everyone, minus Chopper, disembarked with several crates. Waiting for them outside was Vizago, who had a charmed yet expectant look on his face. "Ah, good to see you're on time for once."
Kanan stepped forward with one of the crates. "Good to see your intel was solid, for once."
"Ah, so he does have a sense of humor. However, I cannot help but notice you are missing a crate."
"It got destroyed, stray thermal detonator."
"A shame. Regardless, the deal was for four crates, not three."
Hera frowned, then crossed her arms. "You can't just pay us for the ones we got?"
Vizago sighed and shook his head. "Sadly not. The person who wants these requested four, and they're an all or nothing type."
In the background, Sana watched the attempted negotiations with Sabine and Ezra at her sides. Seeing that things weren't going anywhere, she let out a huff and turned back to the ship. "If you'll excuse me for a moment..."
Sabine and Ezra raised their eyebrows at the comment, before they followed her to the ramp. She came back out before they could go inside, lugging the spare crate of gear behind her. The pair exchanged glances as she casually walked past them up to Vizago, Hera and Kanan, then dumped the crate in front of the Devoronian's feet. "Will this do?"
Vizago looked at the crate, then at Sana. "And you are?"
"A concerned third party. Now, will this do?"
He knelt down, opened the crate and inspected various pieces inside. "Hmm, interesting models... Good condition, spare parts... Not bad. I might be interested with these... my client might not."
Sana grabbed Vizago by the collar and pulled him up to head height, to which Hera, Sabine and Kanan instinctively reached for their blasters. "Then perhaps you should make them interested. Either way, they get something out of it, these people get paid and we all walk away... moderately happy."
Vizago let out something approximate to a growl, then hung his head in defeat. "...Alright, fine. I suppose we have a deal."
"Good. Now, don't let my first impression dissuade you from doing business with the others here, I'm just a bystander having one of those off days, you know?"
Vizago grunted in acknowledgement, then found his footing as Sana let him go, which prompted everyone else to take their hands off their blasters. He pulled out a bag of credits and handed it to Kanan, then closed up the offered crate and picked it up, before he turned to stare down Sana. "May we never cross paths again, stranger."
"Likewise." Sana and Vizago turned and walked away from each other, before Kanan and the rest of the crew followed her back to the ship with a mix of confusion, slight anger and relief on their faces. She sat down on her personal cargo crate, then looked up at everyone. "I'm guessing you want an explanation?
Hera put her hands on her hips, clearly not happy with the situation. "That would certainly be appreciated..."
"Well, since you were having problems with your deal, I thought I could step in and help. Now, I get that the crate was technically supposed to be yours, but I'm guessing that you would've most likely used it in a trade of some sorts anyway?" Kanan nodded at her. "Right. If we want to get technical though, neither of us had actually made our deal official beforehand, since we hadn't worked out my end of it yet or shaken on it."
Kanan was about to retort, but he was cut off by Hera. "You are... correct, technically. But that does leave you in a difficult situation, since you no longer have anything to make a deal with. That is, unless you're sitting on some credits you neglected to mention earlier."
Sana shook her head, then put a hand on her chin in a thinking pose. "What if... Hmm. Okay, hear me out. What if, hypothetically, I work with you and your crew on your next big job, trade a favor for a favor?"
"That... might work, but I'll need to talk with the crew first, this needs to be a group decision."
"Of course, take your time."
The group moved over to the ramp for some privacy, before they huddled around each other. Hera let out a breath, then spoke up. "Alright, so... should we do this?"
Zeb shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms, leaning back on the wall. "I dunno. Sure she's been a little bit of help, but don't forget she held up Sabine to kick this whole mess off in the first place."
Sabine nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, gonna have to give minus points for that. Still, from what I learned talking to her, she seems like an okay person. Also, she knows how to make weapons and how to cook, so it's two vs one all up. I say let her stay, for now at least."
Hera turned to face Ezra, who shrugged as well. "Hey, if it means I'm not the new guy anymore, then sure. She can't be worse than Zeb's snoring..."
"What was that?" Zeb interjected.
"...Nothing?"
"That's what I thought. Okay, it's two for yes, one for no. Kanan?"
Kanan stroked his chin thoughtfully, then smirked. "Well... She can't be worse than Ezra."
Ezra slapped Kanan's shoulder in retaliation. "Hey, not cool!"
"It's a yes from me, but don't worry Zeb, I'll make sure to keep an eye on her."
Zeb nodded appreciatively at the statement and Hera put her hands together. "Okay, with my vote of yes as well, that's a majority in favor. Since I'm guessing there'll be objections as to who she bunks with, we'll keep her confined to sleeping in the cargo bay. Sound good to everyone?" Everyone nodded. "Alright then."
Sana stood up as the group gathered back around her, a look of tempered anticipation on her face. "So, you've got a verdict?"
Hera nodded and crossed her arms. "You can stay with us until we finish our next mission, but as a precaution you'll be sleeping in the cargo bay. We'll provide you with a spare sleeping cot and food, but if you want anything else you'll be expected to pull some weight around here between now and then."
"Well, not the worst terms I've heard. I accept, Captain." Sana gave a small smile and extended her hand out, to which Hera took it and gave it a shake, effectively sealing the deal.
Once the Ghost had gotten underway again, Sana was given a brief, supervised tour of the ship by Kanan, labelling all the amenities she would have access to during her stay. While she was allowed to roam the ship for the most part, crew cabins were off limits unless permitted to enter and accompanied by their occupant. Furthermore, under no circumstances was she allowed to access the cockpit or the turret sections. Sana couldn't fault them for their wariness, she did hold one of them at gunpoint, then could've ruined their deal with Vizago as well. Though she did appreciate how accommodating they had been despite all of that, and she planned on paying them back in full at the first opportunity, they deserved at least something for the trouble she'd given.
But before anything else happened, she just wanted some sleep. It had been a fairly eventful day, which seemed to be a shared sentiment as everyone else wanted to get some shut eye too, or at least discuss things behind closed doors. And so Sana had set herself up in the cargo bay as well as possible, being mindful not to take up more space than needed. Despite being in a foreign environment, amongst wary providers no less, she managed to find the hum of the ship's engines oddly soothing, and promptly fell asleep in her cot.
Several hours later, the lone, skulking figure of Ezra Bridger worked his way through almost pitch black corridors of the ship, making the most effort possible to not create noise. Being forced to take a more oblique route, so as to not alert anyone by opening and closing doors, he slowly but surely made his way into the cargo bay, where Sana was soundly asleep.
Ezra crept up to the corner of the bay where she had taken residence, then paused to take stock of where everything was. After making a mental note, he moved over to the container she kept, marked with the insignia that he didn't recognize. Ezra then put his hands on the lid and slowly opened it, making doubly sure not to wake her up.
What he found inside was... interesting, to say the least. Several data pads and other trinkets were stacked in one half, which seemed like recent additions to being in storage, as they were not covered in any dust, unlike everything else. A very unique looking blaster rifle was tucked in the side, along with what was assumed to be spare parts and ammunition for it. The second half of the container was almost completely dedicated to storing a set of heavy armor, which warranted further inspection. It was bulky, somewhat faded and maroon in color, and while a few spots were empty, most of the armor was still there, including a helmet that looked similar to the one Sabine had...
She was a Mando. Ezra's eyes widened upon realization and darted back and forth from the woman who was still sound asleep next to him, and the container. Before shutting the case, he noticed a holoprojector and swiftly took it, with any luck he might be able to find out if they had any ulterior motives for wanting to stay onboard. Without a noise, he backed away from Sana and retreated to where he had come from, then eventually made his way into the ship galley, away from any potential prying eyes.
From what Ezra could tell by inspecting it, the holoprojector was fairly old, and had only one message recorded on it. After double checking that the coast was clear, he activated the projector and played the message.
As the message started, an old man, older than Kanan anyway, appeared. He was dressed in a full set of Mandalorian armor, not unlike the one that was stored in Sana's container, with a helmet tucked under his arm, which beared an identical insignia to the one on said container. "My dearest daughter, " Ezra nervously looked around, hoping that the volume wasn't too loud for anyone to hear. "I am glad that you have decided to pursue your own personal goals, and that you wish to see more of the universe than this frankly now wasteland of a planet. Far too many of us these days have stopped looking outward for our future, but it's good to see you have not become one of them."
"I am so proud that you are trying to make something for yourself, to be more than what I had taught you to be. Just know that whatever you do, good or bad, you will always be my daughter, and that I love you. Which is..." The man let out a deep sigh, as a solemn, sorrowful look crept onto his face. "Which is why it pains me so much to say this next part. Effective immediately, you are hereby... exiled from Clan Terrik, never to return under penalty of death. I am... so sorry Sana. There are no words that can possibly heal or describe what you might be feeling after hearing this, but all I can offer are heartfelt apologies. You might not understand now, but in the future I hope you realize that this was for the best... for all of us. Regardless of what happens to you, I doubt we will ever see each other again. Goodbye, Sana... kote at gar, dral meshurok."
The messaged stopped. Ezra looked up, only to be met with the barrel of a blaster. Behind it was Sana, her grip on it firm, her face a mix of anger and sadness. Behind Sana was Chopper, making noises and flailing his various appendages around in a manner that essentially said 'busted', the little snitch. "Give. It. Back." Sana snarled at Ezra, who could only stand dumbfounded, locked in place by the surprise of getting caught, and fear of the blaster pointed at his face. "Give it back!" He panicked and stepped backwards into the nearby wall, knocked over a food tray that had been left out and effectively cornered himself. "Give it back, etyc ge'hutuun!"
The apparent commotion woke everyone else up, who were quick to approach the galley and ascertain the situation, weapons drawn. Kanan stepped forward, sporting a concerned yet disappointed look, his lightsaber in one hand and blaster in the other. "Hey break it up, break it up! What's going on here?"
"She's a Mando!/He stole from me!" They both blurted out at the same time, before Sana gave Ezra a look, more intimidating than the last one.
"You- What? Okay... Sana, you go first."
Sana growled at Ezra, then pointed at him accusedly. "He stole something from my personal storage, I only found out because the droid woke me up and showed me!"
Kanan looked at Chopper, then at Ezra and just sighed. "Ezra... what did I say?"
"I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to see if she was hiding anything! And she was!"
Hera put her hands on her hips, then shook her head. "Ezra, give whatever you took back, then go with Kanan. Sana... we need to have a talk."
As Ezra was shunted off to have a stern talking to by Kanan and Zeb, Sana was sat down in the galley alongside Sabine and Hera. She twiddled with the holoprojector in her hands, before she looked Hera in the eyes. "So... I take it you have some more questions?"
Hera simply nodded. "Who are you, really?"
"It might surprise you, but I haven't actually lied about anything I've said, I just... left out a few details."
"I'm sure you did."
"My name is actually Sana, and yes I'm a Mandalorian... As little as that means nowadays."
Sabine tilted her head, suspicions confirmed. "Yeah, I thought you might've been. Where are you from?"
"Mandalore. Clan Terrik, House Kast. Though that doesn't really matter anymore... they're all gone."
"...The Empire?"
Sana sighed, then nodded. "Clan Terrik made weapons for the Empire, a way to keep them off our backs, so to speak. From what I managed to find out, Saxon made an arrangement with the Empire to get rid of us, so his clan could make weapons for them instead. The few that weren't outright killed, were forced to either work for Saxon or sent to Imperial labor camps."
"I'm... so sorry..." Sabine held out her hand in a gesture of comfort, to which Sana took it without hesitation.
Hera gave the pair a moment of silence, before she spoke up again to ask more questions. "So... the recording. You were exiled?"
Sana nodded again, a small mix of a glum look and a smile on her face as she stared at the projector. "My father Waj, one of the clan leaders, sent me a message while I was visiting Naboo, restocking and sampling some of the local foods."
"Did you know why?"
"No, not at first. At first I was just... angry, at one point I was almost tempted to go back and confront him, out of spite. Eventually I calmed down and realized he did it to save my life, but that was only after I found out the clan was gone."
"He did it so you couldn't come back, even if you wanted to."
"Yeah... Part of me hates him for doing it, but at least I now understand why... even if it still hurts."
Hera extended her hand out to Sana's shoulder, a knowing and soft smile on her face as the Mandalorian accepted the gesture. "It's never easy losing family, we've all been through it. It's a piece of what keeps us together, a sort of bond to make sure that we never fall apart again."
Sana gave a small smile back, her eyes red as they threatened to water. "Aliit ori'shya tal'din. Look, I know it's not a great time to ask but, do you... have room for one more in this group of yours?"
"Ask me again after you've made up with Ezra and we've finished that next mission, that way all of us have a better idea of who you really are."
Sana paused, then nodded once more. "Deal."
At the same time, Ezra was attempting to reason with Kanan, who still had a disappointed look on his face. Attempting being the objective word. "I know this looks bad, okay? You don't need to lecture me about what I did."
"Apparently I do need to lecture you Ezra, because you keep doing it."
"Hey, I stopped stealing stuff for at least a week before this! Besides, I had a feeling that she was hiding something, you even said so yourself!"
"You... aren't wrong, I did say that. But I also said for you to not steal anything. There are better ways to find out about someone than taking their stuff, Ezra."
"Look, I already said I'm sorry, alright?"
"Yeah, to me, not her. That means you still have an apology to give." Ezra crossed his arms and huffed at him. "Look, I get it, Sana's a stranger in our home and you don't trust her. But doing things like this won't help, if anything it just makes you harder to trust. It goes both ways, Ezra."
Ezra uncrossed his arms, then looked up at Kanan with a softened expression. "...You're right. Okay, I'll go apologize, but you better have my back in case she pulls her blaster out again, Zeb."
Zeb chuckled and shrugged. "Ehh, no promises. Might be tempted to just watch you two try and kill each other."
Kanan started ushering the two out of the cargo bay. "Alright alright, that's enough you two. Let's get back up there, Things should've cooled down by now."
Sabine and Hera had left the galley by the time Ezra returned, they along with Zeb and Kanan were waiting outside for him and Sana to apologize with each other. Letting out a deep breath, he walked in awkwardly to find her disassembling her blaster, much to his relief. "Uhh, hey."
"Hey." She put the parts down and stood up, then moved to close the gap between them. "I believe we have something to say to each other."
Ezra rubbed the back of his head, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess we do... I'll go first?" She nodded and put her hands on her hips. "Okay, I'm... sorry that I stole from you."
"Alright... I'm sorry I pointed my blaster at you and called you a dirty thief."
Ezra raised an eyebrow. "Wait, that's what you called me?"
Sana chuckled softly and nodded. "Yeah... Though to be fair, you did steal from me. And I was kind of angry."
"Well, can you promise not to point your blaster at me again? The Imps do that enough already."
"That depends, can you promise not so touch my stuff again?" She said with a friendly smirk.
Ezra saw the smirk and smiled back, then held out his hand. "I think I can manage."
She took the hand and shook it firmly. "Alright then. Nice to meet you, Ezra."
"Welcome aboard, Sana."