#they have no problem with how Dume runs things until it bites them in the ass

[queerandfulloftears]

thinking about how the toa are cops in canon again...

[fireynovacat]

When I See You Again (I'll Tell You All About It)

A/N: Whoo-hoo! This is probably my longest fic ever and the first one for the Life-Link Universe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Anyway, there are some hints at what happened, but the next fic will be about Ezra and Dume. Sorry, I can’t figure out how to do cuts and the formatting’s probably awful. Enjoy! ~Five Days Post-Endor~ In some ways Sabine did miss the Ghost, she hadn’t been back much since she decided to stay on Lothal. She had returned for the final battle, the final push against the Empire. In some ways the warrior couldn’t process the Empire being defeated. It had been in power for almost all her life and she couldn’t remember a time before it. She stretched and shut off the holo-map, she had her next steps planned out. Now she had to tell everybody, it was time to bring Ezra home. She slipped from her old room out into the familiar hall, automatically her feet took her to the galley. Hera was sitting at the table, sipping caf from reading through reports, Zeb was moving around the kitchen cooking, Alex was sitting in the old woven chair reading something, probably a report, and Rex was holding Jacen and telling him a story. Sabine couldn’t help but smile when she heard the tail end of it, “...and your older brother, being the Jedi he is, convinced the old clankers to fight the Empire.” This resulted in a quite giggle from the child. “There ya are!” Zeb said, turning around with bowls of thick stew balanced on a tray. He set it down on the table and Hera smiled and set her work aside, “Thank you, Zeb.” Everybody took a bowl and settled down to eat. A few bites in, she announced, “I’m going to find Ezra. I’ve narrowed down some planets and areas based on hyperspace lanes and trajectories. I think if we work in teams we-” “Sabine!” Hera interrupted harshly, “It’s useless! Ezra is dead!” “Actually we don’t know that,” Alex chimed in from over his soup bowl, “Ezra is quite resourceful and a survivor.” “No,” and now the Twi’lek looked a combination of sad, hurt, and angry, “he was dying from the moment Kanan died.” Silence reigned for a few heartbeats while they processed the revelation. “Hera, what do you mean?” Sabine had rarely seen Zeb this quiet and subdued. “Ezra and Kanan shared a Life-Link. I-I don’t know much, Kanan told me most of what he knew about them.” She looked up from her lap, “You know that Force Sensitives can’t be alone, right? Well, a Life-Link is very grounding and beneficial to the Linkmates, but it’s also dangerous. Linkmates become dependant on each other for that grounding they need, they’re stronger, but it comes at a cost. T-they can’t be grounded by anybody else, if one dies…” the pilot fiddled with her sleeves, “the other one follows shortly afterward.” Sabine sat in shock, before her rage and grief boiled back to the surface. She slammed her hands down and everybody jumped, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Why did you all keep this from us?” She nearly screamed, “You let us all hold on to false hope! This was vital information and you didn’t tell us!” “Sabine, I’m sorry. I thought -” Hera began. “You thought. Oh, you thought keeping this from us was a good thing! You let Ezra do all that Force stuff, knowing that IT WAS ACTIVELY KILLING HIM!” Jacen was now pressed firmly against Rex with a distressed look on his face. Hera stood up and left the room at practically a run. They sat in pained silence for what felt like eternity, until finally Rex broke the silence, “Ezra knew he was dying, that’s the only thing that makes sense. Except for his last message, he didn’t say a final goodbye. He said he couldn’t wait to come back. That doesn’t sound like somebody about to die.” It was a tiny sliver of hope, but she was willing to cling to that. ~One year Post-Endor~ Sabine was surprised when she received the call from Hera she was half tempted to decline the call. However, she steeled herself and flicked on the comm. She didn’t talk, but Hera started in, “I want to invite you on a rescue mission.” The Mandalorian raised an eyebrow, but let Hera continue. “One of our informants disappeared, leaving only a distress signal. I want,” she sighed, “I want you to come help us find them. I know you’re angry at me and you have every right to be, but I want to do this. To try and fix this.” Sabine was silent for a minute and she thought it through. “I’ll come if Zeb, Alex, and Rex come along.” Hera looked relieved and happy, “I’m sending you the coordinates to roundevue with the Ghost and the Starcatcher. I’ll see you soon.” The connection was cut and Sabine was left with her thoughts. A rescue mission for a Rebellion Informant. Odd, weren’t most of those recalled? There were still some small pockets of the Imperial forces, but not enough to warrant an informant. Unless there was something else going on. There must be something that Hera wasn’t telling her or Hera didn’t even know. If somebody was deep undercover they must be after a big problem. She threw her extra supplies into her bag and hit the button to take the elevator to the bottom of the old comm tower. The Starbird stood ready for her and in a few minutes she was in space again. The roundevue was in orbit over Naboo. Sabine docked with the Starcatcher frigate and exited her ship. A soldier was waiting for her, “Commander Wren, follow me, please. Admiral Syndulla is waiting for you.” Sabine raised an eyebrow, but followed the man anyway. ‘You couldn’t come meet me yourself, Hera?’ She was mildly miffed Hera hadn’t come for her, but she supposed they were still on thin ice. When they arrived in the war room Hera was already looking at a layout map of some building, Zeb was talking in a low voice with Alex, and Rex was standing across the holotable from Hera keeping the projection under a scrutinizing gaze. ---------- The lack of resistance was unexpected. Not that Sabine was actually complaining, she just thought there would be more if this agent was so deeply undercover there would be more soldiers. She turned down the hallway and came to a stop at a door. She opened up the panel and rewired the lock. The door slid open with a quiet *woosh* and she stepped in. There was no need to adjust to the darkness, her helmet automatically did that for her. Sabine stopped short on the threshold of the cell. Understating it? Unexpected. In actual terms? Completely and utterly shocking. The figure in the cell was sitting on the bench, leaning against the wall. He was dressed in a tattered uniform an obvious blaster wound to his left side. But, Sabine would recognize that face and blue hair anywhere. Ezra Bridger was alive. Sabine flicked on her comm, nearly breathless, “I found the informant. I need help, he’s injured.” “On my way.” Zeb’s reply was short and punctuated. The Mandalorian rushed forward, “Ezra? Ezra can you hear me?” She reached out to check his pulse and he jumped a little at her touch. Blue eyes locked on to her hazily. “What?!” Both flinched at Zeb’s sudden voice. “That can’t be Ezra!” “Zeb, we don’t have time. Grab him!” Suddenly, the wall to her right wavered and a huge white Loth-wolf leapt through. It locked on to Ezra and shoved past Sabine to gently nuzzle him. “What is that doing here?” Zeb asked. The white-furred beast turned to stare at them and then moved back, allowing Zeb to step forward and scoop Ezra up. The human groaned quietly, but otherwise didn’t protest. They turned and charged out of the cell. “Hera, fire up. We’re coming in hot!” The Imperials stood no chance, as the wolf tossed them like rag dolls. They rushed past Rex and Kallus up into the Ghost. “Hera, go!” The ship shuddered as they barreled through the defenses and out into space. Zeb laid Ezra out on the floor of the bay. He had two blaster wounds; one to the gut and one to his left shin. The Loth-wolf crouched down to gently press its nose against Ezra’s scarred cheek. Alex dropped into a crouch. He pulled out the scissors and cut away the fabric from around wounds. “I don’t know how much longer he’ll last. He might die.” The comm came back online, “We’re docking.” ----------------- Ezra considered going back to sleep. Hera was trying to drill Dume, which was hilarious considering that Dume couldn’t fully verbalize. ‘Haha, stop laughing and YOU try.’ Ezra groaned and pushed himself up, ignoring the dull ache in his abdominal region and his left leg. The ache meant that he was nearly healed , but the faint pain might last a little while longer. “Ugh, well, I blew my cover, but whatever.” It took less then a second for Hera to swing around. “Ezra! How are you alive? Where is Kanan?!” Ezra yelped in surprise and as the world winked out around him and the Ghost’s galley burst into view all he could think was, ‘Kriff it. I thought I finally had control over that.’ He was sitting on the table and a young kid with green hair had stopped eating a bowl of ice cream to stare at him. “Erm, hello?” The kid stared at him for a moment and then replied with, “So, you’re Ezra?” “Yes, I am.” “Could you get off the table? You can have some ice cream.” Ezra grinned and slipped of the table before grabbing a spoon and taking the offered ice cream. “You seem pretty relaxed about me appearing out of nowhere. What’s your name?” The boy, who appeared about six, shrugged. “You are supposed to be dead and I’m Jacen.” “Fair point, kid.” -------------- “Toolld youuu.” The wolf grumbled. “I didn’t think you meant jump in that way.” --------------- They had moved to the Ghost’s main cargo hold to talk. Ezra was sitting on one of the crates with a blanket wrapped around him and nibbling on a ration bar. The huge Loth-wolf sat right behind him resting it's large head on top of Ezra's. He was leaning back against the beast’s chest and the end of it’s tail resting in his lap. “Why can't we talk in the galley?” Hera asked. Ezra gave a small grin, “Because Achal here is being clingy again. Do you honestly think he would fit?” The wolf huffed almost annoyed and swatted it's fluffy tail against Ezra's side. Ezra snickered, “You have more questions.” Hera took a deep breathe, “How are you alive? You should be dead.” Ezra raised an eyebrow, “The shooting or Kanan dying? Because those are two different questions.” Hera rushed in barely after he finished, “You should have been dead for five years now. How are you alive? *If you're alive then where is Kanan?*” Sabine could see the tiny finch. It was small, but otherwise Ezra looked unaffected. “After the purgill dropped out of hyperspace I was dying. Achal found me and created a Link to save my life. Kanan is gone Hera and he can't come back. And before you ask, apparently being Linked to a Force Wolf means teleporting and quicker healing.” The young man grinned at them, “Blame him.” He said gesturing up at the wolf. Achal rolled his eyes and snorted. Ezra was lying and Sabine knew this. That's not how Links worked. Which meant that either Kanan was alive or Kanan and Achal were the same thing. She wasn't going to address that openly, Ezra wouldn't lie without reason. Then Rex chimed in, “What was your reasoning for not telling us you were alive?” Ezra turned his head to look at the veteran, which was hilarious since the wolf's head turned with his. “Long story short? Palpatine knew who I was and was out to get me. I couldn't come back until he was gone or that Sith would have come for you. I did it to protect you.” This did not soothe Hera, “You didn't think to contact us? At least let us know you were alive?” The Twi’lek nearly shouted and the Lothal native pulled back in surprise with a slight look of shame. Achal growled and lifted his left leg and placed the paw in front of Ezra, so that he was nearly tucked under the wolf. “Hey! I'm fine!” He said, trying to free himself. “I'm sorry, but I couldn't risk anybody knowing I was alive, but I'm here now, aren't I?” Sabine smiled, “It's good to have you back.” Ezra grinned, “Let's go back to Lothal, I haven't been home in a while.” Sure, there were new adjustments to be made, but one of their own was home; and that, made everything a little better.