Star Wars Rebels: Teenage Response

Failure

Sabine anxiously tapped her feet on the floor as she sat in the cargo hold of the Shadow Caster. In was rather early, but her day had already been completely ruined. The last location they had to search proved unfruitful...Ezra was nowhere to be found. No clues, no leads...nothing.
We've failed. I failed you, Ezra.
She was frustrated...there was nothing to go off of, now. Ezra had completely disappeared...the last thing she saw of him was him telling her to go without him. She regretted that now...but why did he want to be alone? She understood that he was unhappy...but the possibility of Ezra leaving by choice was hurtful.
Fenn Rau might've been correct.
But if it was true, where would he have gone? Back home, to Lothal? Ezra was capable of flying a ship now...he wouldn't have needed someone to act as a pilot.
Rook and Ezra disappeared at the same time...I thought she had kidnapped him...but...
The possibilities hurt. She didn't want to think about it...but she knew it was going to be hard not to be considerate.
What am I going to tell the others?
They were returning to Atollon, with nothing more to do. Sabine was going to have to look into the eyes of her comrades and tell them she had failed. Failure of this kind was...unfamiliar to her, given her previous bounty hunting experience.
"Where did we go so wrong, Ketsu?" Sabine asked as the latter slid down the ladders from the cockpit to sit with her. "We used to look for people all the time...it was how we made a living. The only difference here is that we are saving our target instead of...well, killing them"
Ketsu sighed. When she completed contracts, she at least had a decent lead to go off of. Evidence was plentiful, and it was always easy to bribe or interrogate certain individuals for more information. But where could she get information useful in this situation?
"I dunno what to tell you, really" She told her. "But...I wouldn't exactly blame ourselves. I doubt anyone could find Ezra in this situation...there's hardly any trace"
If only Rook hadn't destroyed his comlink...we'd have gotten a straight location to him.
Why couldn't she find him? WHY? The Inquisitors made it so easy...how did they do it?
Wait, Kanan said it was something to do with the Force. About...sensing them.
It may seem she'd need to discuss this with Kanan. Surely, Kanan would've developed a bond or "scent" for Ezra too. However, it was possible that being blinded somehow tampered with his use of the Force. Being blind must be quite disruptive.
And I can't use my bond with him, because I can't even use the Force.
"This is it, isn't it?" Sabine muttered. "He's gone...we're not gonna see him again"
The last thing he saw in me was me breaking his heart.
She didn't know how else to proceed in that situation, however...did he expect her to just break up with Ketsu and move on with him? She wasn't willing to do that.
"Rook must've taken him for a reason" Ketsu said. "Why would some Mandalorian be interested in a kid with a lightsaber? If she was with the Empire, wouldn't she have alerted them to your base by now?"
It was weird. Nothing seemed to add up. All they knew, was that Deathwatch was somehow involved. All previous Deathwatch bases known to the Protectors were desolate...how did Fenn Rau not already know this?
He might be as clueless as we are.
Or maybe he was hiding something.
Could certainly do with a miracle right now...just have Ezra fall from the roof before me. Or have him be on Atollon by the time we get there...or have all this just be a really bad dream.
But Sabine knew her fortune had never been that bright.

The Shadow Caster made its landing on Atollon, where Kanan was waiting for them. He had already been told by Ketsu that they had no luck, and he was disappointed. His Padawan was gone, and the holocron taken with him. He was worried...but he didn't blame Sabine. She had little to go off of.
"God, Kanan...I'm so sorry" Sabine said in defeat as she approached him shamefully while rubbing her arm "We tried every place...there wasn't a single trace"
Kanan nodded and touched her arm comfortingly.
"Don't blame yourself Sabine" He said to her softly. "This isn't your fault...you've done all you can"
"We really did try every location given by the Protectors" Ketsu told him. "But it's like Ezra just vanished out of thin air. I have no idea where he could be...and that's saying something, me being a bounty hunter"
The Jedi sighed...things hadn't quite been the same without Ezra. While they performed their regular duties, there was a great feeling of worry. Ezra truly had made his place among the Spectres. As Sabine had put it when Ezra first met them, they were like family.
"You did what you could, girls" He assured them. "At least you're back, Sabine...you've been gone for weeks"
Sabine smiled faintly and hugged him. She missed them too. Though, she was expecting a full house when she arrived, not just Kanan.
"So, where are the others?" She asked. "Away on a mission or something?"
Kanan nodded and confirmed. The Ghost, along with Zeb, Hera and Chopper, were busy with the delivery of supplies to a Rebel base working separately from the ones of Atollon. They were all apart of Sato's fleet, however...but the extra base was necessary, in case Rook Kast really was working with the Empire and compromised the base on Atollon.
"Do you think Sato will want a report?" Sabine wondered. "I mean, this was technically an assignment set by him"
Though the official mission was to locate Rook Kast and discover her allegiances...not to find Ezra and bring him home. But regardless, finding Rook would also be finding Ezra. Hopefully.
"He just might" Kanan said. "Do you want to do that now? We can catch up later"
Sabine nodded, and before heading, she was stopped by Ketsu.
"Sabine, I can keep looking for Ezra" Ketsu told her. "I've got contacts and stuff...I might be able to dig something up and find him"
Although Ketsu didn't quite share all the Spectres concern for Ezra...she did care about Sabine, and she hated seeing her sad. If finding Ezra put a smile on her face, settled some concerns...and even earned herself a little something-something from Sabine, she'd do what she could.
"I swear, this kid is more trouble than he's worth" She thought. "Sometimes"
"You'd do that?" Sabine said with some surprise. "I mean, I get that you and Ezra aren't exactly the best of friends...but..."
It would be better than no one looking for Ezra. Sabine was needed here, and couldn't keep looking for leads that may get her nowhere. But Ketsu wasn't a rebel...
"I can't make any promises, it's a big Galaxy" Ketsu went on. "But if I find something...might be worth doing, right?"
"If you find anything, or any leads...no matter how small..." Sabine began, taking hold of her arms. "You tell me, okay?"
Ketsu nodded, and then Sabine kissed her. She'd really appreciate any help Ketsu could offer...any hope was better than none.
"Thank you" Sabine whispered as their lips pulled apart. "Heh, we've certainly seen a lot of each other these last few weeks. Hope you can survive without me"
Ketsu chucked and then made her leave, after sharing a hug with her girlfriend. Sabine stood with Kanan as the Shadow Caster flew from sight. The two then began walking to the ship's together.
"So...what needs my attention?" Sabine asked.
She was sure the Rebels missed her expertise with weapons and explosives.