The Artist and the Jedi - Sabezra Oneshots

Nightmares (Sabine)

Set in season four shortly after 'Heroes of Mandalore':

Summary – Following the events on Mandalore, Sabine suffers from nightmares about how she'd helped the Empire in the past, and finds herself in need of someone to cheer her up...

Families can be tough. They consist of the people who raised you, and those who grew up alongside you. In most cases, you spend the majority of your youth surrounded by family, whether by choice or not. No family is perfect, they're the people who you are close to, regardless of choice. Nobody understood this more than Sabine Wren. She had pitied Ezra when she found out that he'd lost his parents at such a young age, but in a way, the fate that had befallen her was even worse. Her family still lived, and for many years they shamed her after she abandoned the imperial academy. For such a long time, her heart had felt torn between two opposites. Her biological family supported the Empire because they had to in order to survive, whereas her new family on the Ghost openly opposed the imperials. It seemed as if these two lifestyles could never possibly fit together, and for years Sabine felt like she'd one day have to choose. But instead, she found herself graced with a miracle. With some heavy persuasion, her mother, Ursa Wren, came to terms with Sabine's choices and even accepted her back into the household. Together, they began the fight against the Empire on Mandalore, speaking out against Clan Saxon. It was tough, going against such a powerful regime, but it was the right thing to do. The conflict continued, leading up to here and now, where Sabine had helped strike a major attack against the Empire on Mandalore. The resistance had not only rescued her father, Alrich Wren, from certain execution, but had also managed to destroy the 'Duchess', the abomination that had haunted Sabine's guilt for many years now. It was a good day, to be sure, but the Mandalorian artist still found herself resting uneasily.

It felt a little strange being back on the Ghost again. Granted, Sabine had only been absent from it for a short while, but it was still a strange feeling to stand in her colourful cabin once again. So much seemed to have changed, with the darksaber now in possession of Bo Katan, Sabine was free to help Ezra in his mission to save Lothal. That plucky Jedi apprentice had helped her no end, and now it was her turn to return the favour, and prove her friendship to him. But before all of that, she needed to get some rest. It had been a long and difficult couple of weeks, with sleep being a luxury that nobody had time for her. These were her first free hours in a while, and she intended to make the most of them.

Stood in the middle of her cabin, Sabine carefully removed each of the beskar armour plates from her bodysuit, placing them down caringly on a shelf nearby. Only she could comprehend how much that armour meant to her, and she always treated it with the respect and honour that it deserved. Her helmet, which was currently slung beneath her arm, was placed next to the beskar plates in pride of place, and Sabine couldn't help but smile at the design. The colours had changed so many times, but she felt really happy with this latest pattern. The mixture of red and grey, with the purple decals in the centre, really made for a striking set piece. An unexpected and wide yawn reminded her of just how tired she was, and she tore her attention away from the design on her helmet. Brushing down her black bodysuit, she slowly removed each of her boots in turn, placing them near her cabin door. She wiggled her toes on the cold metal floor and smiled a little, at this point she didn't mind sleeping barefoot. With one final and laboured movement, she swung herself onto the bed and adjusted her duvet so that it fit snugly over her body, leaving only the upper portion of her face showing. A single arm reached out to a nearby switch, and with a flick of her finger, the room was filled with darkness as the lamps above her turned off. Lights out.

With fluttered eyelids, Sabine opened her eyes and frowned in confusion. She was outside, laid down flat in a field of white stone. This place seemed so familiar, but in the heat of the moment, she could not quite place it. Slowly, she pulled herself up and glanced around. All around her, as far as the eye could see, was a sea of desolate white rock. And then it hit her. She knew exactly where she was, and a lump formed in her throat when she tried to say it aloud. Mandalore. The name pulsed through her thoughts, and instantly she heard a whoosh of wind from behind her. A part of her subconscious found itself scared to turn around, but she did so nonetheless and immediately recoiled with a gasp. The ground in front of her was covered in ash, littered with the corpses of hundreds of Mandalorian warriors. Burnt armour was scattered everywhere, and in an instant Sabine knew why. The Duchess, that abomination, her abomination. She heard a noise to her right, and turned to see her mother crawling across the ground, a pained expression imprinted on her face. Ursa's armour was singed, and with a single hand she reached towards Sabine.
"Why? Why did you do this?" she uttered, her voice broken with defeat. Sabine collapsed to her knees, the tears rolling down her face as her mother died in front of her. And then the voices began. She heard her brother, Tristan, telling her what a disappointment she was. Her father added that she had doomed Mandalore, and killed them all. She even caught a hint of Kanan's voice, saying that she was a monster for causing all of this. And in her helplessness, Sabine screamed out in anguish...