Chapter 42

                                    

                                          
The cruisers came out of hyperspace over Concordia. It was a quiet and uncomfortable aurora around the ship with Emily and Anna, and Ezra had sensed it. Once the gunships landed on the base, they stepped out. Ezra noticed Emily was mad and frustrated and Anna felt sad and uneasy. 





                          
As they walked off the gunship Ezra spoke to them. "Alright, what's going on between you two? What happened back there?" He asked. Emily turned to face him. "Jobin was there. I went to pursuit him and I ordered the kid to stay with the group but she didn't listen. When She had her blasters aimed at Jobin she froze. I told you kid, you can't freeze up like that in battle. We could have ended it right there." Emily said getting mad. 




                          
"Emily I'm sorry. It's just what he said made what might have happened to you the last time you saw him and I was just..." Anna explained herself but Emily cut her off and got in her face. "Afraid. You're apart of Clan Bridger you can't be afraid in battle! When you have an opportunity, you take it or there won't be any second chances! Did or did I not say that before we left for the mission?!" Emily said raising her voice. "Y-Yes..." Anna said being intimidated by her. "And you not only disobeyed my orders, you had a chance to rid the galaxy of the most dangerous rebel and you froze! We can't and don't freeze up on things that our enemies say! What kind of Mandalorian that's apart of this Clan does that! You need to understand these things or you'll end up dead!" Emily said in an angry tone while aggressively poking Anna on the shoulder








                          
"Emily! Ease up." Ezra said placing a hand on her shoulder backing her up. Emily let out a heavy sigh and brushed his hand off. "I'll be in the medical bay if you need me." She said and stormed off.







                          
Anna looked down feeling sad and guilty about what happened. Ezra placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's not you she's mad at." He said. "It sure did seem that way. What if she's right? What kind of Mandalorian am I to just freeze up by someone saying a few bad things. What was I thinking." Anna said. "Anna, we all make mistakes in battle. The only best things to come out of those mistakes is to learn from them. That's what Emily's trying to do. You never heard about what happened to her the last time she met Jobin did you?" Ezra said and Anna shook her head no. 





                          
"Few months ago, Emily and her partner/best friend went on a mission that I assigned them to. They completed their mission but they were captured. They both endured so much torture to keep our secrets safe from the rebels. Jobin was the one torturing them. Emily had to watch her best friend, whom she come to love more than a best friend, get brutally tortured right in front of her eyes. And after the torture, she thought he was gonna die in her arms in the cell she was in. Ever since then, she been trying to atone with what she thinks is her fault." Ezra explained.








                          
"I never knew that. I can't imagine what that was like to her." Anna said. "Hey, believe me when I say that everything that she said to you wasn't all out of anger. What you saw is her version of her tough love for everyone. She's the most over protective person in the army. She says stuff like that because she doesn't want to see other people go through what she went through." Ezra told her. Anna looked up at him and slightly smiled but then it faded. "So the medical bay is where Alex is? How long as he been there?" She asked. "Months. He hasn't woken up since he came back. Emily's there everyday by his bed side just waiting." Ezra answered.











                          
Emily sat in the chair she always sat in next to Alex's bed who was still in a coma. Emily kinda felt bad for how she treated Anna. She was new to the Clan and she didn't deserve that. She saved Emily's life and she returns the favor by acting mean to her and snapping at her. More guilt washed over Emily as she put a hand on her face and a few tears went down her face as she tried to hold back her sobs.







                          
"Uh...Emily?" A voice called out. Emily turned around and saw Anna at the doorway. "Hey, kid." She said as she wiped away some tears. "Look, I just wanna say sorry again for not listening to you and for freezing up during the mission. I know now why you want him dead so badly." Anna said. Emily couldn't believe it. Anna was still apologizing and she barely did anything wrong. She did nothing wrong.








                          
"No. I'm the one that needs to apologize. I shouldn't have snapped like that. I just don't want anyone else hurt because of Jobin. I also got mad because you kinda reminded me of, well, me in many ways. Do you know what it's like to see people get hurt or die?" Emily asked. Anna was silent for a moment then spoke up. "I do. When I was young my parents were killed brutally. I was put into a nice foster family that I consider a family as well. After a few years they were killed by some criminals and all I had was my older foster brother to look out for me. Then five years ago, some stormtroopers were taking people away out of there homes. My older foster brother tried to protect me but he was beaten and killed right in front of me. I was sent to an Imperial rehabilitation camp and forced into labor for three years. I was found by a group of Mandalorian freedom fighters and they took me in. After some training I was ready to be apart of a Clan and that's how I found Clan Bridger." Anna explained as some tears went down her face.








                          
Her story made Emily's heart soften and felt even more bad. The new girl who tried to always keep a smile on her face, had a hard life growing. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I came from a abusive family, well my father mostly. My mother died a long time ago. I never had a normal life before Clan Bridger only that my father would abuse me mostly everyday until I was old enough to leave and join other Mandalorians in their fight against the Empire." Emily told her. "I'm sorry you had to go through that too. Looks like we've both been through a lot. I can't imagine what kind of anger you feel for the Rebellion, but I know for now on that I'll be better at what I do for now on so I could help you out too." Anna said.







                          
Emily smiled for the first time in a while at her. She got up from her chair and walked towards Anna. Then she wrapped her arms around her in an embrace. Anna was surprised but hugged back. Anna could hear some soft sobs from Emily and she pat her on the back gently. They parted and Emily wiped more tears from her eyes. "You know kid. If you still want, I can still teach you some things." Emily said. Anna's eyes widened. "You mean that?" She asked a little excited. "Yeah sure. Let's go." Emily said. Anna smiled and they both walked out of the medical bay.