Unbalanced

eavesdropping

  It always made Sabine nervous when she woke up alone and cold in the middle of the night due to Ezra's lack of presence. Him being gone brought back unpleasant memories. The lies the spirits of the night sisters told her, the fear she felt for Ezra when he came back broken from Malacor, the fear she felt for him when she noticed the dark side influence him.

  What scared her the most was when he distances himself from her. 'That's never a good sign.' Rising from bed she starts looking around the private area of the stronghold. She looked around for nearly an hour before deciding to see if he'll answer a comm hail. 'This is probably a better option than waking mother and forcing a search at three forty-seven in the morning.'

  "Sabine, what are you doing up? You and the baby need rest." It was odd that her mother was the one to greet her. She was known amongst the family for sleeping like a log. Turning to face her, she sees Ursa is in her full armor plate and has her blasters fully charged fueled up and the safeties been clicked off. "Is something wrong mother? We're not under attack, are we?"

  "No. Well, not yet at least. I overheard your father and Ezra speaking earlier. He keeps getting visions of being killed on the lake by two inquisitors that have some kind of connection to him. One around my age, the other no more than a child. I don't understand how he could be bested by any inquisitor, paired up or not. He's simply too much for any of them to handle, or at least we think so."

  Alrich came running down the hall, apparently looking for the two of them. "Ah, finally found you. We've just picked up on the scanners one inquisition ship. It's landed on the opposite side of the lake. Two life forms have been detected on board."

  Both Alrich and Ursa's comms suddenly burst to life with lights and a beeping sound. Alrich answers first. "Yes, report." The soldier on the other end of the line seemed nervous. "Sir, the two inquisitors have just left their ship and are making way for the lake. What are your orders?" Alrich's response was immediate. "As long as there here we all will be deferring to Ezra's judgment."

  There he sat, on the cold, unforgiving ground of krownest.  currently the only one with any real authority over the Wren clan of mandalor. He'd been meditating, then sharing his concerns over not just his fate and destiny. But the fate and destiny of the entire clan.

  The force had stopped responding to his attempts at connection. "So my fate is mine to make, is it, or are these my final moments of life. Never knowing my only child, leaving the baby to an uncertain future. With an uncertain amount of family going to survive.

  He felt a familiar presence in the force. One of the three he was bound to. 'Kanan, right in time master.' He knew he was around an hour away now. That fact didn't matter, he could delay going to the lake. 'Those two aren't strong enough to take on and out the entire clan. They won't come here.' The beginnings of the plan where starting to take shape. "Delay confronting them, talk with them for as long as possible, fight for as long as possible. Wait for Kanan's arrival, then, win the day and party the next night away."

  "Already planning the after-party eh, brother?" Tristan's voice provided a nice reprieve from the grave matters the next hour or so will bring with it. "Trying to plan out my own survival. Do you think I do everything without a plan?" The look he got from him was just a bit too much like his sisters when she called bantha shit.

  "Okay, I might wing most things. But a lightsaber battle isn't something to take lightly. When I faced Maul on Tatooine, I hadn't gone in without a plan. I started the battle with illusions, his brother, his old master even his mother. All of these people where important figures in his life. I showed him how i would kill them."

  "So that's how you're going in with those two. So you know that much about them? We all thought that you had only met each one once in a fight."

  "Ya know Tristan, the way you hold conversations, you should be a detective. It's always a give and take with you. To answer your question, no, I know next to nothing of those two."

  "If that's true how are the illusions going to be as effective?" He couldn't help but want to thank Tristan. 'You might not know it brother, but you're being more helpful than you've ever been to me right now.'

  "Simple, I can make an illusion of myself. Allow them to fight it. They'll wear themselves out fighting it. Then, when that happens I'll swoop in and finish them in their weakened state. Just like the ancient Lords of old. Marka Ragnos would be proud."

  Checking the clock on his wrist comm he finds he's running out of time. He can also sense the two inquisitors inching closer to the opposing side of the lake. "Well, Tristan, it's time to start the show."

  Tristan wasn't sure what to expect from dark side illusions. He'd never even heard of half of the things Sabine knows about. Much less all of this sith lord stuff. What he did know is that faster than lighting an apparent copy of Ezra burst into existence right above the inquisitors. Slashing, spinning, thrusting, reposting, throwing them with the force, shooting lightning and even trying to crush them with the force as well. The battle raged on for what seemed like moments.

  "Tristan, how much, time, has passed." The labored breathing and stunted words of his brother brought his attention to him for only a moment then this the time it's self. "Fifteen minutes, wait, fifteen minutes, really, wow."

Dropping the illusion he lets out a deep breath. "Tristan, may I see your hand for a moment?" He didn't really know why Ezra wanted to see his hand, but he probably had some reason behind it. Tristan told himself. "Uh, sure, I guess." Extending his hand out Ezra immediately latches on. An odd feeling came over Tristan. He felt weak, drained even. "Hey, man, what are ya doin'..." His question went unfinished as he passed out and hit the floor.

  "Sorry about that Tristan. But I need the energy more than you do now." Walking out onto the lake he felt not just the eyes of the clan on him, but the two inquisitors as well. "Come on, Kanan, fifteen minutes. Get here so we can end this." He told himself as he crossed the lake to come to a standstill at its center.