Bring Him Home

Chapter 6

           Sabine stepped down the ramp and her heart jumped.

     He was there. He was alive.

     The Mandalorian burst into a full-on run, an ear-to-ear smile plastered across her face.

   "Ezra!!"

   He didn't say anything, merely opening his arms. Sabine took this as an invitation, throwing her own arms around his torso once she reached him.

  Then... he turned to dust.

    "What? No... no no no!!"

     Sabine's eyes welled up with tears as she caught handfuls of the dust, the rest blowing away in the wind. The world around her grew dark and a menacing voice began to speak.

    "You failed... he was counting on you and you let him down."

   "No!! I didn't give up!! I... I did so much!!", she shouted in retort.

    "Your failure was his demise. He shouldn't have trusted you."

   "No... NO!!!"

    Sabine bolted awake, immediately feeling Ahsoka's hand grab her shoulder.

     "Sabine!! Are you okay?!"

      She was shaking, sweating bullets, and out of breath. She could see the cockpit around her as well as the blue swirls of hyperspace. No Ezra, no darkness... no voice. She looked over and saw Ahsoka staring at her with visible concern.

     "I... I'm fine... just had a nightmare."

           "It must've been bad. You screamed 'No' when you woke up."

    Sabine sighed and rubbed her forehead. "That... that was out loud, huh?"

     "Mind if I ask what exactly your nightmare was?"

    "I... I don't... I don't think I wanna talk about it", the Mandalorian groaned, "I'd rather just forget it."

       Ahsoka's mouth tightened. "I understand", she said before looking at the console, "Looks like we're almost to Felucia. You'd better be ready. Someone's been tracking us since we left Nevarro."

     "And you're only telling me this now?!"

   "Didn't narrow down the tracking signal until you fell asleep, and I didn't wanna wake you."

    Sabine finally caught her breath and laid back in her seat. "Well, now I'm kinda wishing you did."

    They were in hyperspace for almost another hour, and when they reentered normal space over Felucia, the scanners lit up when whomever was following them exited as well.

   "Unknown ship, identify yourself and state your business", Ahsoka spoke firmly into the comlink.

    "This is the Voice of Onderon", a modulated male voice responded, "And I mean no harm. I merely request a parlay."

       Sabine scratched her chin. "This is awfully suspicious. You don't usually pick up a tail from a galactic armpit unless they want to either kill or rob you."

   "I will admit that you have more experience than me in that regard", Ahsoka conceded, "But I can sense that whomever is piloting that ship is showing some semblance of sincerity. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious."

       Ahsoka moved the ship into position so that the mysterious pilot could dock with them. Once the ships were connected, the women got up and stood in front of the airlock, both of them keeping their hands near their weapons. The doors hissed open and a man stepped through, a hood over his head.

     "It's been a long time", he said in an obviously modified voice.
   
    The former Jedi's eyebrow quirked. Something about this man felt... familiar.

    "Do I know you?"

     He lowered his hood and removed his mask, causing Ahsoka's eyes to light up.

     "I believe you do", he spoke in his normal voice.

     Even with an ever-growing amount of grey in his hair, Ahsoka could recognize him anywhere.

   "Lux Bonteri. It... it has been a long time."

  He stepped closer, having to look up because Ahsoka had gotten ever-so-slightly taller than him.

     Then, he hugged her.

   "I'm glad you're still alive."

    Ahsoka smiled and hugged him back.

     "You, too."

    The former Senator pulled back and smiled at her.

    Meanwhile, Sabine was watching this apparent reunion of old friends, feeling a slight tinge of jealously. She pushed that aside and cleared her throat in a "I'm still here" sort of way.

   Ahsoka snapped out of her love-induced trance and took her arms off of Lux.

   "Oh Force... Lux, this is Sabine. Sabine, this is Lux Bonteri. We... we knew each other during the Clone Wars."

    "Pleasure", Lux said courteously as he extended his arm to Sabine. She shook his hand. "Likewise. Now why did you follow us?"

   "I'll admit, I am curious about that myself."

    Lux chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "I... I saw you in the cantina on Nevarro. I overheard you say you were looking for someone and... I thought I could help."

     "And so you decided to follow us like some crazy stalker instead of just coming up and asking us?", Sabine quipped, "I guess different people have different ways of being helpful."

     Ahsoka let out a slight laugh. "He never was the best at figuring out how to tackle tough situations. I seem to recall a certain incident on Carlac where his poor decision-making skills became obvious."

   "Is this just Roast Lux Day or do you accept my offer for help?", the Onderonian asked exasperatedly.

    Sabine and Ahsoka shared a look of consideration. The former knew the latter was going to say 'yes', so she just nodded.

   "I think we have an affirmative consensus", Ahsoka responses, "Welcome to the team."

    Lux smiled.

    "So, who are we looking for?"