The Artist and the Jedi - Sabezra Oneshots

A Walk in the Woods

Set during season two.

Summary – The Ghost Crew embark on a mission on Morda to disrupt an imperial fuel depot. When the mission takes a turn for the worst and the spectres get separated, how will Ezra and Sabine survive the perils of this forest world?

In the words of another, think of a bright centre to the universe and imagine you are as far away from it as possible. That would leave you on the planet Morda, so far off the beaten track that the track was no longer visible. It was a hot, forested world, with such a high humidity that it was impossible to think clearly. Why it was of any importance whatsoever was a mystery to Ezra; all he knew was that the crew's latest mission had brought them there. One of the many reasons why the Phoenix fleet was being beaten at every turn was the fact that the Empire had access to so many more fuel depots. Every time the rebels had to refuel, they were forced to do at shady independent contractors which were becoming all the more rare under imperial rule. And so Commander Sato had tasked the spectres with eliminating one such imperial depot on Morda. If they could acquire some of the fuel stores for the fleet then that would be a bonus, but the so-called 'primary objective' was to destroy the entire depot so that the bucket heads could no longer use it. Despite being with Phoenix Squadron for several weeks now, Ezra doubted he'd ever get used to all of this military terminology.

With the Ghost safely in orbit under the watchful eye of Chopper, the rest of the crew set off aboard the Phantom. They flew down into the planet's atmosphere, and in the passenger bay Hera reminded them of the plan.
"So the important thing here is that we have the element of surprise. Chopper has masked the Ghost's signature, and I've done the same with the Phantom, meaning that the imps have no idea that we're coming. Sato has left the plan of attack down to me, and I say that a fast frontal incursion will allow us to take the depot before anyone knows we're there. How does that sound?" the Twi-Lek relayed, glancing around the bay as she finished.
"Honestly...risky. You want us to march right into the line of fire, we're not soldiers, Hera. You really want to risk the kids' lives with an invasion like this?" Kanan responded, causing Ezra to pipe up in protest.
"Hey! The 'kid' can take care of himself" he argued, causing Sabine to smile and roll her eyes a little.
"Look, love. Sato hasn't been able to get a reconnaissance team in to scout the depot, we don't know its layout so we can't make a fancy plan. A quick and brutal attack is the easiest and fastest way to get this done" Hera replied, and Kanan couldn't help but sigh.
"When did reconnaissance teams and commanders start to mean so much? Anybody else remember when we were just a family? Making our way around the galaxy? We're not soldiers..." the Jedi repeated.
"Yeah...I remember that when we were on our own you got captured and tortured! This is the plan...now stick to it" Hera stated harshly, pulling a glare that scared the kriff out of Ezra even though he wasn't the one in trouble.
"Uh guys...don't mean to alarm you, but something is targeting us" Sabine called back from the cockpit, having been left to pilot the Phantom while Hera completed her briefing. The crew hushed to a tense silence, listening to the steady beeping of the scanners as something locked on to them.
"That...doesn't sound good" Zeb commented gruffly, stating the obvious. The crew shared a worried look, and then the fireworks began.

A volley of red laser bolts fired up from the forest below them, either narrowly missing the ship or deflecting off the shields. The Phantom shook violently with every hit, and Sabine gritted her teeth as she wrestled with the controls.
"Imperial anti-air batteries...they've locked on, I can't shake them" the Mandalorian reported, the determination clear in her voice. Hera widened her eyes, trying to pull herself up towards the cockpit. The Twi-Lek knew she would stand a better chance of flying them out of this mess. But before Hera could reach the cockpit, the ship took a larger hit, one that breached their shields. They turned around just in time to see the rear docking ramp get blown open in a fiery explosion. Zeb was immediately pulled out by the air current, disappearing down into the trees below. Kanan fell a seconds later, and Hera shouted after him. Ezra quickly grabbed onto an over-head rail, preventing himself from falling, but Hera was not so lucky. A few moments passed, and the Twi-Lek found herself dragged out of the Phantom, leaving only Ezra and Sabine left.
"Kriff! Sabine, they're all gone!" the padawan shouted back, forced to use every muscle in his hands to retain his grip. But the Mandalorian didn't hear him, having been knocked out by the impact of enemy fire she now rested unconscious in the pilot's seat. With an intense force pulling him downwards, Ezra desperately held on, trying his best to reach the cockpit.
"Sabine? Are you alright?!" he asked in panic. A glance backwards confirmed his fears, he could see the tops of the trees behind them so they were definitely losing altitude. The padawan kept a hold of the rail above him with one hand, closing his eyes and holding the other hand forwards. Reaching out with the force, he slowly lifted the ship's flight sticks, desperately trying to prevent them from crashing. He phased out the sounds of trees cracking outside as the Phantom collided with them, focusing completely on the flight sticks. With a deep breath, he succeeded, lifting the Phantom back into the air and levelling it out. He opened his eyes and let go of the safety rail, moving towards the back of the passenger bay and swiftly pressing a button to close the emergency blast shields over the rear entrance. With a quick movement, Ezra then ran to check on Sabine, wincing a little at the head wound that she'd suffered during the attack. Her eyes remained closed, but she seemed to be breathing normally.
"I'll just take the reins a second..." Ezra muttered to himself, positioning himself in front of Sabine and wrapping his hands around the flight-sticks. He had prevented them from crashing, but a brief look at the on-screen readout proved that the ship was rapidly losing fuel. One way or another, they would soon reach the ground, and he'd prefer it if they landed normally. This mission had definitely not gone to plan...