Star Wars Rebels - Lost

Chapter Three: Rendezvous and Tie Fighter Attack

Sabine opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them and yawning, her mind trying to work out where she was. In front of her, she saw the vastness of space, stretching past the window at speed. She was aboard a ship, in its cockpit by the looks of things. A glance to her left revealed a familiar face, Ahsoka. The togruta's hands were clamped around the flight sticks, and her eyes were distant as she focused on flying. She hadn't noticed Sabine's consciousness. The Mandalorian yawned loudly, both out of exhaustion and also because she wanted to get Ahsoka's attention. Her friend turned and gave a small smile, nodding in greeting. Sabine nodded, and turned her attention back to the window.
"When did I fall asleep?" she asked, struggling to remember leaving Lothal.
"Not long ago, couple of hours, if that. Pretty much as soon as we took off, you were gone" Ahsoka answered. A slight blush appeared on Sabine's face, she was in the presence of a true veteran, and whether she felt like they were on equal footing now or not, falling asleep almost immediately had not been her plan. Still, it had been the first uninterrupted nap she'd had in weeks.
"That's the first time I've been able to sleep in...a while" she commented in passing, Ahsoka nodded with understanding.
"Without the dreams?" the togruta asked, and Sabine replied with a nod. Ahsoka could tell that her friend was wondering why this was, and immediately thought of a possible answer.
"Perhaps now that we are acknowledging these visions, our path will be shown to us in a different light" she stated, speaking in a mysterious tone, typical of her character.

Silence filled the cabin for a few moments, and Sabine glanced backwards to see a welcome machine behind her. She slowly stood up and moved over to the machine, carelessly pouring some coffee into a metal cup and taking a sip with satisfaction. With a curious look, she then turned back to Ahsoka.
"Where are we going?" she asked, still having no idea in the slightest as to how they were supposed to find Ezra.
"We're heading to Thyferra, the rebel fleet is assembling there in preparation for an operation on Jakku. Hopefully we can find someone who's willing to help us, because, in complete honesty, even I'm not completely sure where to start" Ahsoka explained in response. Such simple honesty caught Sabine a little off guard. She supposed that Ahsoka was still a normal person, but she had always been a mentor figure so to see her unsure was an odd feeling. Perhaps this mission was impossible after all. The Mandalorian shook her head, inwardly admonishing herself. She would not lose hope, not at such an early stage. Yes, they were a little unsure at the moment, but they would find the way, they always did. For now, Sabine had a whole new question on her mind.
"Do you know what the business with Jakku is? I still get Alliance intelligence reports but they've sent me next to nothing about it" she asked.
"I can't be sure, but I believe it's another operation on the scale of Endor. Rebel squadrons have been busy in the past few months, clearing up after Operation Cinder. If you ask me, I reckon this is the counter-attack" Ahsoka answered, causing Sabine to raise her eyelids.
"The end for the Empire?" she questioned, causing Ahsoka to laugh out loud.
"Oh, I doubt it" the togruta said with a chuckle. Sabine frowned, what was so funny about that?
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"If there's one thing I've learnt in life, it's that evil always returns. Yes, it will carry a different form, but after fighting Separatists for years and then being rewarded for our fight with a tyrannical 'empire', you realise that the fight will never stop" Ahsoka explained, growing grim and serious.

Sabine lowered her head and stayed quiet, she didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like Ahsoka was right. From the day she was born, Sabine had been raised to fight. Of course, that was nothing strange for a Mandalorian, but was that necessarily a good thing? She enjoyed a fight as much as any warrior of Mandalore, and relished any opportunity to show off her abilities, but even the heat of battle didn't compare to the feeling she got when she was painting. Inwardly, she wondered if losing its warrior traditions would be such a bad thing for Mandalore, after all, how much death had they caused in the past? She shook her head and leant back in her chair, trying to enjoy the trip, despite her deep thoughts.