291Welcome back everyone! Thanks so much for your patience and commitment. I wanted to say that I'm bumping up the rating to 'T' for language and mild violence, so fair warning on that.
I started this fic three and a half years ago and 100k+ words later, it is almost at completion. There's just one to two more chapters after this, then probably an epilogue, and then we're done! Honestly, I can't thank you guys enough for sticking around and sending me messages and reviews. I appreciate them so very much!
This chapter has 12,000 words and is 28 pages long. It went through nine drafts so it's kind of a monster of a chapter XD
Also, there's a Xena reference hidden in this chapter so let me know if you spot it ;)
Without further ado,
May the manda be with you.
The New Mand'alor: Chapter 20: One Last Secret
"There are no secrets that time does not reveal."
- Jean Racine
The sharp scent of carbon scoring hung on Ursa's clothes. The barrels of her blasters were still hot from where they hung on her hips, burning through the leather until it warmed her skin.
But there were more immediate problems.
The cold barrel of a gun poked into Ursa's back. She stiffened against it. "Viceroy," she spat, the word felt horrible and sour coming out of her mouth. "What is it you want from me?"
"What I've always wanted," Saxon cooed. His grin was nothing short of maniacal. "Your cooperation. Nothing more; nothing less."
"You've had my cooperation for years," Ursa snapped. "I've given you Krownest's supplies, its warriors-even my own son. What more can I offer you?"
"Your son is a plaything. A pawn." Saxon stalked closer and Ursa raised her chin higher. "It's Sabine Wren that I want. Your blasted daughter will bring ruin on Sundari unless we stop her, and I need your help to do that."
"How?"
"She trusts you. You're her mother. After she takes the Royal Palace, you will approach her throne and beg for forgiveness. She pardons you for your past misdeeds, and you join their ranks. You will then report Sabine's plans to myself via holo-transmission and we'll have flushed her out within the week."
Ursa couldn't help the disbelieving snort that left her lips.
Saxon glared. "Something amusing, Countess?"
"You're trying to play the long game, Viceroy. Sabine is through with waiting. She will have captured Sundari by sundown and you and your men will either be dead or prisoners of war."
Saxon stared at her until Ursa grew uncomfortable under his gaze. "You seem oddly confident in your wayward daughter, who, if I remember correctly, you were cursing just hours ago."
"Your plan won't work," Ursa deflected. "She won't let me near her long enough to even have an audience with her. That much I know."
"Then what would you suggest?"
Ursa pursed her lips and hated herself for what she said next. "Sabine cares. Too much, sometimes. She cares about these people and she's haunted by the destruction her creation caused." Ursa took a deep breath that rattled in her chest. "I propose you use the Ordo warriors we still have captured as-"
"Bait?" Saxon guessed. His eyes were alight with morbid pleasure.
Ursa's stomach wrenched. "No. As an example. Hang them up on stakes in the Palace Square. A mass execution. Sabine will undoubtedly be making some sort of speech soon to address the people and the execution of the Ordos will be enough to distract her. Worse case scenario, it will throw her off her game. Best, it will make her reckless and she will attempt something foolish in response. You can outsmart her from there."
Saxon grinned in the most predatory way. He rubbed his hands together. "That's much more entertaining, Countess. You would suggest makeshift crosses for the Ordos?"
"Of course. You can't have a crucifixion without crosses."
Saxon made a sound of approval and motioned to his guards. The barrel of the gun was removed from her back and she let out a sigh of relief.
"You've bought yourself time, Countess," Saxon said. He shot her a warning glare. "For now. Remember, the moment you lack your usefulness, I will not hesitate to get rid of you. You are only here-you have only ever been here-because of your connection to Sabine. Do not forget that."
Resentment bubbled up in Ursa but she kept her face impassive. "Understood." Once he turned away, she let her brows pinch together. It's only ever been about Sabine, she thought. For the both of us.
Ursa knew Sabine would never understand what she suggested be done to the Ordos. She would never forgive her, either, if she found out it was Ursa who suggested the Ordos execution.
"Traitor," came a weak voice.
Ursa's head snapped around to see a crumpled form in the shadows. It was that Ordo child-the successor to the Ordo throne. Jaxon. Frankly, she was surprised he was still alive. Saxon had left a fist-sized blaster wound in his abdomen that oozed blood with every exhale.
"I'd save your breath if I were you, child," Ursa said, a trace of sympathy in her voice. He was too young for war.
"Sabine would hate you for this," Jaxon wheezed.
Ursa gritted her teeth, sympathy gone. She kneeled next to him and grabbed his shirt for emphasis. "You don't know anything about the costs of war," she seethed. "Or love. All of this is for Sabine. All of it."
Something indescribable flitted in Jaxon's expression. It took Ursa a hard second before she realized it was pity of all things.
Jaxon shook his head helplessly. "May the gods have mercy on your soul."
"That's your first lesson," Ursa hissed. She stood up, regaining control of her emotions. Slowly, evenly, she pressed her foot down against Jaxon's wound. He inhaled sharply, eyes bugging. "There are no gods in love or war."
Ursa forced her foot down further, watching the panic light up in Jaxon's eyes. She stepped back and turned on her heel. Everything was for Sabine. Everything she had done; the people she'd crossed, the morals she betrayed, the family members she'd lied to, the loyalty she'd pledged to the Empire… It had all been for Sabine.
Nothing was more important than bringing her home. Nothing.
"Take this one with the other wounded," Ursa said to one of her nearby guards. She cast another disgusted look at Jaxon. "Drag him if you have to. I have a feeling he won't be walking anytime soon."
The guard moved to cooperate, and Jaxon's gasps of pain could have been music to Ursa's ears.
In the past hour, Sundari had become a warzone. Smoke stained the sky like ink against parchment. Fires raged everywhere Ezra looked; the soot stinging his eyes and leaving streaks on his clothes. The snow turned to the color of mud and sloshed underfoot, soaking his boots.
Next to him, Arc was fairing no better. Her cape was in tatters; barely hanging on by a few seams. Her hair was caked with dried sweat and her face was a mask of blood and dirt. Yet still, she marched on. There was steel in Arc's eyes and a gritty resolve to her steps.
Ezra glanced around him. Arc had insisted in only bringing six of her best warriors. We don't want a bloodbath, Ezra, she had insisted. I suggest a strike team. Six of the most dangerous assassins from here to the Caladon Sector. We go in, get the Ordos, and get out.
Arc didn't even have to tell him that the six warriors among them were the best of the best; Ezra could see that for himself.
There was chilling ease in the way that they handled their weapons. The sniper's hands danced over his rifle, cleaning the barrel and adjusting the scope with the practiced casualness of a trained hand. Ezra spotted two warriors that he remembered Sabine classifying as "duel warriors." Elitists in hand-to-hand combat. A fourth warrior brandished a wickedly sharp sword on her hip and kept a hand on the hilt of it at all times. The fifth was a demolitions expert. Ezra recognized the detonators lining the man's belt. The sixth appeared to be the hacker of the group. He kept a tactical backpack tight on his shoulders and wiring ran from the pouches of the backpack to a glided earpiece nestled firmly in the man's ear, which he continued to touch and whisper commands into it.
Arc must have noticed his looking at the warriors because she cleared her throat.
Ezra glanced over questioningly.
"Rude to stare," she muttered.
Ezra laughed a little. But when Arc shot him a disapproving glare, he swallowed back his amusement. She wasn't kidding.
The hacker stopped suddenly, squinting at the hologram projected from his wrist.
"Dex?" Arc called. "What is it?"
"Nothing," the hacker said and continued walking. "The jammers are just messing with the routine underground scans I've been conducting. There really was no way Saxon could have found the tunnels' entrance on his own."
"Ursa helped him," Arc confirmed and picked her way over a fallen beam. "She's the only person outside of our men that had access to a map. Which is why she won't know about this entrance."
Arc stopped at an abandoned warehouse shoved up in between two apartments. Rust spread up the rotting metal like ivy and the door was barely hanging on by its hinges.
"This is the secret entrance you were talking about?" Ezra questioned. "It looks like it's about to fall apart."
"That's the point, Ezra." Arc went through the door, and Ezra and the strike team followed in behind them.
Inside the warehouse was no better. Every step sent up a cloud of dust and abandoned tarps lay haphazardly on the floor. Ezra peeked under a few of the tarps but only found old furniture long molded over.
"Bo-Katan bought up a bunch of convicted places like this about a decade ago," Arc explained. Her voice echoed off the metal walls. "Just in case something like this happened. Opening up the abandoned tunnels wasn't enough; she needed alternate entrances or exits in case of a quick escape. That's also why she didn't put any of these entrances on the maps."
"So Ursa will definitely have no idea this place even exists," Ezra finished.
"Yeah." Arc approached one of the brick walls and slid her hand along the pattern. She waved for Dex and he quickly took out a piece of machinery from his backpack. He scanned the wall in a wash of blue light. One specific brick glowed brighter than the rest of them and Arc approached it. She pressed it, and the brick slid all the way in.
Ezra jumped back in surprise as a trapdoor released only a few feet away, revealing a spiraling staircase that disappeared in darkness. A rush of cool underground air flooded Ezra's face.
Arc looked at him and arched a brow. "Jedi's first," she said. Her voice was thick with sarcasm and even a little venom.
Yeah, Ezra thought, his stomach twisting in guilt. I deserved that.
So he ignited his lightsaber as a makeshift flashlight and descended down the staircase. The railing was slick against his hand from what Ezra could only assume was water vapor. The air got colder the lower he descended, chilling him to the bone and making every breath freeze in his lungs.
And the further he descended, the more he felt like he was sinking into his own grave.
It was a miracle Sabine made it to the Royal Palace without fainting.
The tender scab from her blaster wound had broken on the ride back to the palace, making each of Sabine's breaths labored.
Sabine stumbled off of the speeder and up the steps, feeling blood spreading against her skin uncomfortably. She put a hand on the wound and it came back sticky and washed in red.
Her men were guarding the steps and they rushed to help her, all but carrying her inside the palace where Luc met them.
Luc spat a curse and grabbed her from the guards. He shoved her down on one of the chairs in a long-abandoned waiting room.
"By the gods," he swore as he rolled out a long bandage. "I told you, I told you that you were in no position to move with that wound and what did you do-no, stop moving. You did exactly that. Arms up."
Sabine did so and winced when Luc took off the bloodied bandages. He worked in silence for a few moments until Sabine said, "So?"
He glanced up at her and continued working. "So what?"
"Aren't you gonna ask what happened?"
"Manda. Fine, what happened?"
"I stopped Arc from killing Ezra."
Luc pulled the bandage a little tighter than necessary and Sabine's breath caught. "Good for him."
Sabine rolled her eyes. "Well, what happened here while I was gone?"
"We took the upper stories. The rest of the Imperials surrendered once they realized they're outnumbered and we put them in the palace's holding cells until they could be sentenced." Luc narrowed his eyes in concentration. "The rest of our warriors are doing routine checks of the floors. Once they deem it safe to enter, we can start setting up so you can give your speech."
Just the mention of her speech sent a string of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Public speaking was not her strong suit. Not in the slightest. But Arc, Bo-Katan, Fenn Rau, and even Kor had all insisted that one last blow-out speech to rally the other Mandalorian worlds was a necessity. And true, speaking in front of large crowds had become her new normal ever since becoming the Mand'alor. But this was different. This speech would be broadcasted over every radio, holo-projector, and comm link in every planet in a dozen solar systems. Every Mandalorian would know the name Sabine Wren; and not as an extension of the Duchess Massacre.
"Listen very carefully, Sabine," Luc said as he finished bandaging her. "If you break the scab again, it might not scab back over and I'll have to give you stitches. Do you want stitches?"
Sabine rolled her eyes and went to stand but Luc stopped her with a hand. "No, don't move. Do you want stitches?"
"No, Luc."
"Then don't strain yourself unless it's life or death. You twist too far one way or try to run and you'll start bleeding again."
"Can I go now?"
Sabine didn't really give him a chance to respond because she pushed past him, wincing with every step. She limped over to one of her personal guards. He stood at attention.
"Have we received a transmission from Arc Wren or Commander Bridger yet?" she asked.
"We received a confirmation that the General and the Commander made it safely to the hidden entrance," the guard answered. "However, we lost their signal the moment they entered the tunnels."
Sabine fought down the panic that fluttered in her stomach and responded with reason. "Saxon probably put jammers in the tunnels. Let me know the moment we retain contact with them."
"Yes, Mand'alor."
Sabine turned away and let the mask of confidence fall away. She uttered a whispered prayer to the manda to keep Arc and Ezra safe. "Keep them safe," she murmured under her breath, directed at some unknown deity.
"Please."
Ezra thumped his comm link with a hand, only to have the static blare even louder.
"Saxon's running interference," Arc said from behind him. "Comms won't be up and running until we get out of the tunnels."
Ezra turned his comm off with a huff and clipped it back to his belt. "That means we can't signal Sabine when we've liberated the Ordos. She'll be worried."
"She'll be fine," Arc countered with an edge to her voice.
Ezra simply lifted his lightsaber higher and decided not to press it.
The staircase obviously hadn't been used in many years. It shook and rattled with each step and Arc would whisper-yell at them to stop every few steps until the staircase stopped shaking. They picked their way down the steps more carefully after that.
Ezra released a pent-up breath once they reached the bottom and he saw his relief reflected on the faces of the others around him.
"What now?" Ezra asked and swung his lightsaber around to light up the dark tunnel. The potent smell of freshly tilled earth was thick in the air. It reminded Ezra of the days as a child when he would help his father on the farm back on Lothal. The earthy smell that hung in the air had hung to his dad's clothes everyday when he came home.
"Ezra," Arc muttered and motioned him away from the group. Once they were out of earshot, she said, "I need your help. I only knew of the entrance from what Bo-Katan told me but I don't know where to go from here." She shifted her weight, clearly uncomfortable. "I need you to use the Force to direct us to where the command center is."
Ezra fought not to show surprise on his face. Not just at her asking for his help, but for her knowing enough about the Force and the Jedi that she knew he could sense the life-force of the other people in the tunnels and direct them to them.
She traveled with Jedi for a few years, Ezra reminded himself. Of course she knows about the Force.
"Alright," Ezra said, and closed his eyes. He stretched his consciousness thin. His mind immediately wandered to Sabine. Her life-force glowed a bright, bright color. It brought light to every corner of his mind and he had to physically tear his mind's eye off of her.
He limited his vision to just the tunnels. He could see Arc in the Force. Her life-force was almost as bright as Sabine's, but it was an angry-bright. White-hot with anger. There was a storm of emotions broiling just beneath the surface of skin and it gave Ezra the impression that if he were to stick her with a needle, all of those emotions would burst out like a balloon.
"Anything, yet?" Arc asked, impatience edging her voice.
Ezra turned back to his task. "Right." He focused again. "This way." He pointed his lightsaber to his left, revealing a thin tunnel barely big enough to fit a single person.
"We'll have to go one by one," Arc said grimly. "Let's hope we don't get ambushed."
"And if we did?"
Arc glanced at him. "Fish in a barrel, Ezra."
Ezra steeled his nerves and followed Arc into the tunnel. The rest of the strike team followed behind them. Dinae, the woman with the steel sword on her hip, brought up the rear.
Ezra had never thought of himself as struggling with claustrophobia. Tight spaces didn't bother him. Or, at least, they hadn't before. But with only inches of space as they quietly walked the tunnel Ezra found panic start to rise in him. He felt his breaths grow shallow and he reached out to the rocky wall to steady himself.
Arc shot him a questioning look, face washed in the green light from his lightsaber. "You okay?"
"I just need a second," Ezra whispered. He felt dizzy all of the sudden.
"Manda, don't tell me you get claustrophobic!"
"I-" Ezra suddenly froze. "Get down!" He extinguished his lightsaber and dropped low to the ground. The others followed suit. Just in time to see a part of the rock slide away to reveal a hidden door.
"I want crosses erected immediately," Gar Saxon ordered. He emerged from the hidden doorway, flanked by five other guards. "And keep a close eye on the Countess while I'm preoccupied. Wouldn't want her wandering off."
Ezra felt Arc stiffen in front of him. Countess, Ezra thought. He must mean Ursa. Ezra could practically see Arc's life-force grow bright with a murderous anger. He reached for her hand and pinched it as gently as he could. Breathe, he thought to her, even though she wouldn't be able to see his thoughts. Not like Sabine could.
And speaking of the devil herself, Ursa rounded the corner after Saxon's squad of guards. One hung back and told her, "The Viceroy has ordered I accompany you."
"Brilliant," Ursa said. Her back was to them but Ezra could imagine the eye-roll.
The guard nodded but stopped suddenly. His helmet tilted to look past Ursa, and Ezra's entire body seized up. They were found.
"Hey-" the guard said and lurched towards them. He only got one step before Arc burst forward, faster than Ezra thought possible, and grabbed the front and back of the man's helmet and gave it a sharp twist. There was a horrible snap of bones and the man collapsed to the floor.
Arc was on Ursa just as quick, a hand over her mouth as they fell into the open doorway and disappeared.
Ezra fought nausea as he quickly stepped over the dead guard's body and followed Arc.
He was dimly aware of the strike team following behind them, and someone dragging the dead guard after them. All of his concern was on what was about to be the second murder of the night.
"Ursa fucking Wren," Arc spat. She had her pistol pressed underneath Ursa's jaw and her other arm effectively pinning her against the wall. "Keep on squirming and every ugly piece of you will be a stain on the wall."
Ezra took a wild look around to confirm they were alone and found the tunnel completely empty. He thought it was odd, but took it as a small blessing.
"Arc," he hissed.
She turned to look at him, eyes a little wild. "Oh, come on, Ezra," she said. There was a feral edge to her voice. "Don't pretend you wouldn't enjoy it after everything she's done to Sabine."
Part of Ezra wanted to give in to the emotion that was something close to hatred burning inside him. Ursa had hurt Sabine worse than any other person had. But the lessons instilled in him by Kanan rang in his head until he forced himself to swallow back his anger.
He didn't say anything, but put his hand on Arc's shoulder. Her wild energy seemed to drain from her and she slowly removed her pistol from Ursa's neck. It hovered a few inches away now.
"You gave our location away to Saxon," Arc said, more measured this time. "It would be in your best interest to try and explain yourself before I get trigger happy."
"Saxon promised me Sabine would be safe if I assisted him," Ursa said breathlessly. Her eyes darted to the gun. "But he betrayed me. He never intended to spare her."
"Surprise, you trusted the homicidal maniac with a god complex and he stabbed you in the back." Arc turned to Ezra and her finger inched closer to the trigger. "Ez, how much do you think Sabine will actually miss this hag?"
There was a light bouncing in Arc's eyes as she looked at him. Not quite mischievous but no longer as savage. Ezra decided to play along.
"Not much, honestly," he said and looked Ursa over with an unimpressed glance. "Unless Ursa proves that she's worth something to us."
Arc's finger was on the trigger now. "I was thinking target practice. You?"
"I was hoping for a songbird. You think she can sing?"
Arc grinned wolfishly. "Maybe." She pushed the pistol against Ursa's jugular and watched as she sucked in a shuddered gasp. "Sing, songbird. Where are the Ordos?"
Something flashed in Ursa's eyes. Whether it was guilt, or fear, Ezra couldn't place.
"I'll take you to them," Ursa gasped out. "It's the only way you'll find them. We can-"she made a choking sound "-bypass the guards. I'll… show you…"
Arc released Ursa and let her hack and cough. Arc turned to Ezra and he saw a murderous rage flit in her eyes. Ezra felt the Force prod him, and he let Arc's emotions wash over him through the Force. That anger, that rage, the seas of emotions that roiled and heaved inches below her skin… Ezra got a taste of it and he suddenly realized why Arc referred to her anger as a drug. It was intoxicating. Ezra could get high off of it.
But just like that, the slight bridge between them was broken and he watched Arc visibly reign back in her anger, only enough to speak in clipped words.
"Keep me from killing her," was all she said.
Ezra swallowed hard and followed behind Arc as she grabbed Ursa by the back of her shirt and dragged her along. "You're gonna show us where the Ordos are," Arc ordered. "And then you're gonna think of a damn-good apology to give Sabine when we dump you at her feet."
Ursa helped them dodge small patrols of guards along the way. It was agonizingly slow work. Arc's leg bounced with impatience everytime they had to stop as a small patrol slipped by. However, the further they went, the less Imps there were. To the point where Ezra stopped Arc to ask what was going on.
"I don't know," Arc said. "Maybe they've gone to the surface?"
It was a weak answer and they both knew it. Why Saxon would willingly abandon something as fortified and defensible as the tunnels, neither of them knew. Ursa claimed not to know either and with a spur of annoyance, mentioned that Saxon might have told her if they hadn't abducted them.
Arc looked like she was going to say something sarcastic back when Ursa stopped in front of her. "They're in there," Ursa said grimly.
Ezra frowned. They were stopped outside a… supply room? Sure, it was large, but it could only hold maybe a hundred people? The Ordos were a clan of a thousand or so.
Ezra looked to Arc and saw his own confusion on her face, and she removed the blaster from Ursa's back to tap the control panel. The automatic door complied and slid open.
The first thing Ezra noticed was the smell. The smell of sweat, blood, and plasma exhaust hit Ezra square in the face. Strong enough to make him shy away.
The second thing Ezra noticed were the bodies.
"I give you Clan Ordo," Ursa said.
Arc blanched.
There were so many of them. They littered the supply room- some mutilated beyond recognition. The smell of blood was thick in the air and the stench made Ezra's throat close up.
"What happened?" Ezra stuttered. He hesitantly stepped forward but his stomach twisted horribly. He fought the urge to be sick.
"Saxon happened," Ursa said grimly. "Here's your precious Ordos, niece. The Viceroy slaughtered them like animals."
"And I wonder who helped them," Ezra snapped.
Ursa shot him a well-placed glare that reminded him shockingly of Sabine.
Arc ignored them. She didn't respond, just kept staring at the bodies piled upon bodies. "I…"
"You did this," Ezra spat. Anger swelled inside him like a balloon. He gestured with his lightsaber hilt at Ursa and Ursa stiffened, eyes tracking the business end of his saber. "You did this. The Ordos were slaughtered because of you!"
"Saxon killed the Ordos, not me," Ursa growled through clenched teeth. "Remember who the real enemy is."
"I'm looking at her. Besides, don't act like you didn't fire a few rounds when you took the tunnels."
"Shut up," Arc suddenly spat. "Both of you." She stepped into the room and took a grim look around. She turned back to face them. "This isn't everyone."
Ezra frowned and took a step back from Ursa. He surveyed the room again, eyes scanning the lifeless bodies. She was right, of course. Even if the dead bodies had been piled on top of each other, there still wouldn't be enough room to hold all of Clan Ordo.
Arc's intense gaze snapped to Ursa. "Where are the rest of the Ordos?"
Ursa paled every so slightly. "Ah-"
"... Arc?" came a weak voice from the room.
Ezra's eyes widened. He knew that voice! It was-
"Jaxon?" Arc exclaimed. She charged into the room, side-stepping the unmoving bodies and Ezra followed quickly behind her.
Jaxon was propped up against one of the walls, hands trembling from where he was trying to tie the bandage that wrapped his waist.
Arc cursed and dropped on her knees to help him with the bandage. "What are you doing in here?"
"They put me with the dead," Jaxon muttered. He winced as Arc worked. "Said I wasn't too far behind."
Arc frowned. "Don't say that."
Ezra mustered the strength to move and went to Jaxon's other side.
"Hey, Ez!" Jaxon said weakly, smiling lopsidedly.
Ezra gave him a half-hearted grin and felt his chest squeeze painfully. "Hey, man."
Arc didn't say anything, just unwrapped and rewrapped the bloody wound in Jaxon's side. Judging by the way her mouth was set in a grim line, it wasn't good.
"Arc…?" Ezra said hesitantly.
Her eyes darted up to meet his and he saw worry flash in their depths. "He needs medical attention. Like, now."
Ezra sucked in a breath and helped Jaxon to his feet, freezing when Jaxon began to hack and wheeze. Blood trickled from a corner of Jaxon's mouth.
"S'fine," Jaxon mumbled and wiped the blood with the back of his hand. "You need to go to the rest of the Ordos. They need you more than I do."
"Stop that," Arc scolded. Her eyes darted along his body and she chewed the inside of her cheek. "We can't risk moving you." She cast another glance at the wounded Ordos. Upon closer inspection, Ezra realized not all of them were dead-just severely wounded. For some, the only tellings that they were alive was the slight moving of their chests. "These people need a medic. We can't afford to move anyone now but I need someone to stay behind and tend to the living. Once the battle is over, I'll send reinforcements here."
One of the combat elitists from Arc's strike team stepped forward. He was already rolling up his sleeves. "I'll do it. I trained as a medic before I was Death Watch."
"Good," Arc said. She turned back to Jaxon. "Now, what were you saying just a second ago? The rest of the Ordos? You know where they are?"
"Yeah." Jaxon's gaze drifted to Ursa, who still stood at the doorway. His gaze hardened. "Ask her."
Ezra followed Jaxon's gaze and watched something dangerously close to guilt flash across Ursa's features. "Ursa…" Ezra warned.
"I had to," she blurted. "I needed leverage against Saxon."
"She sentenced the living Ordos to execution," Jaxon deadpanned. "They're stringing up crosses in the Royal Palace's courtyard as we speak."
"Ursa," Arc said. Her voice was dangerously low. Low enough that even Ezra flinched. "You just let Saxon plan to crucify the Ordos? That's a criminal's death. There's nothing honorable about it."
"Let?" Jaxon barked out in a laugh. "No, she suggested it. Saxon was going to use the Ordos as leverage with Sabine before Ursa suggested making an example of them."
The silence that stretched out between them so thick and so tense that Ezra could almost see it.
And then Arc swore hard enough that Ezra's ears would have flushed red if he hadn't been thinking something similar.
Arc reached Ursa in two easy strides. Ursa was trying frantically to back up but Arc grabbed Ursa by the neck and shoved her against the doorframe.
"Is that true?" Arc hissed.
Ursa swallowed underneath Arc's hand. "Yes."
Ezra winced when Arc shoved Ursa's body against the doorframe again and the sound rang out.
"Those Ordos were under my protection," Arc whispered, voice laced with a panic that made Ezra's stomach turn. "People are going to die, Ursa."
Ezra couldn't see any remorse in Ursa's eyes. Just fury as she twisted in Arc's grip. "I did you a favor," Ursa hissed. "I knew Sabine being the hopeless romantic that she is would send her soldiers back into the tunnels. Send you. It would have been a bloodbath. That's why I sent Saxon out of the tunnels. He's exposed in the courtyard and in clear view of Sabine. Her men could lay waste to them in seconds."
"At the expense of the Ordos," Arc said, her voice growing higher with each passing second. "They'd be caught in the crossfire."
"Sometimes war is sacrifice."
"Do not lecture me about sacrifice," Arc snarled. "Just… Just don't."
Ursa was stiff in Arc's hold, fury radiating off her in waves. "I know you might not think so, but everything I have done is for Sabine. Even this. I don't expect you to understand it."
"You're right," Arc said. Her hand was already reaching for her pistol. "I don't."
Ezra lurched forward to stop her but Ursa beat him to it, eyes widened with realization. "Wait," she sputtered, "I can help you save the rest of the Ordos. I've memorized the guard patrols and I can get close to Saxon. You need me."
Arc grinned wolfishly. "I'm kinda willing to bet I don't. Call me a sucker but I've always had a soft spot for gambling-"
Ezra grabbed Arc's wrist before she could take the pistol out of its holster. "Just wait," he said slowly. "She's right. We'd be going in blind without her."
Defiance flared up in Arc's expression and for a second, Ezra thought she might try to argue. But she finally set her jaw and shoved her pistol back into its holster.
"You're gonna lead us past Saxon's patrols," Arc said slowly. "Then you are going to draw Saxon and his men away while we free the Ordos."
Ursa frowned. She went to speak but Arc cut her off.
"I know it's not a good plan," Arc growled. "We'll develop it on the way. But you will be our man on the inside. And I swear if you try to doublecross us I will make you regret it." Arc leaned closer, lip curling over bared teeth. "You forget; I care about Sabine too. I will do anything it takes to keep her safe. Even if it means keeping her safe from you."
Ursa was still as stiff as a board. "You've always been one for semantics," Ursa said, almost bored. She slipped out from under Arc and led the way out of the tunnel.
Arc glanced at Ezra, and he saw rage flash in her gaze. "Keep me-"
"-from killing her," Ezra finished. "I know."
Arc nodded sharply to what was left of the strike team, motioning for them to follow, and said goodbye to Jaxon. Ezra echoed her, and watched as Jaxon gave them a weak smile. "Par kote bal ijaat be Mand'alor," Jaxon said.
Ezra murmured the saying back and followed Arc out.
It was slow work, dodging patrols and disabling the security cameras as they went. True to her word, Ursa steered them clear of Saxon's men.
Ezra kept close to Arc as they went. He was afraid if he strayed too far, Arc would start reaching for her pistol again.
Ursa suddenly held up a hand to stop them. The strike team came to a halt.
"This tunnel opens up to the farside of the plaza," Ursa murmured. "Once we're aboveground, I'll go to Saxon and tell him there's a platoon of Sabine's men heading this way, and he will withdraw most of his men from the crosses. The rest will most likely be poised next to the crosses, ready to shoot the Ordos themselves if they see Sabine." Ursa glanced from Ezra to Arc. "You'll have to take care of those."
Arc nodded curtly and her eyes landed on the strike team's sharpshooter. "Vras. You'll find a building or something-something high-to get a good vantage point. You take out as many of Saxon's guys as you can."
"Saxon has snipers posted around as well," Ursa added. "I can point them out if needed."
Arc pressed a button on her gauntlet and a holographic map sprung to life. "Point."
Ursa did, and red dots showed up on the map.
"Dinae," Arc said to the lady with the sword. And then she turned to the combat elitist. "Brithe. You two will be in charge of knocking out those snipers. Dex, you're staying here to hack into Saxon's comms when I give the word. I want a full system crash. They shouldn't be able to communicate with each other whatsoever."
Kota, the demolitions expert, piped up. "What about me?"
"You're going with Ursa. Find some Imp armor and go as her guard. You're going to be setting explosives around the area that Ursa will bring Saxon's men. Once you get to safety, light it up. I want as many as Saxon's people disposed of as possible."
Kota nodded sharply.
Ezra glanced at Arc. "That just leaves you and me."
She nodded. "We'll take the Ordos off of the crosses together. I'll need a Jedi to cover my back while I'm working."
There was a hint of scorn in her voice. Just a reminder that she still wasn't okay with what had happened. It sent uneasiness twisting at his stomach.
"Right," he muttered.
Arc glanced around at somber expressions. "This is where we part," she said. "May the manda be with you all."
One by one, everyone began to slip away from the group until it was just Ezra and Arc left.
Arc glanced at him before turning to do the same. "You ready?"
"No, actually," he said quickly. "Just… in case something happens, I don't want there to be any bad blood between us."
"There's not," Arc said in a vain attempt to keep her voice light. She wouldn't look at him. "We're fine."
"Arc," Ezra sighed. He tried to put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off.
"It's fine, okay? I get it. You and my cousin have both been lying to me for the past six months that we've been practically living together. It's fine."
"Arc!" Ezra protested as she walked away. "Arc, c'mon!"
Footsteps sounded from up ahead and Arc whirled around, shoving him back the way they came. "Move, move, move!"
Ezra and Arc moved as quickly and quietly as possible, trying door after door along the tunnel. Each one was locked and passcode protected.
Ezra went to one door after the other, panic building as the footsteps grew closer. A lot of footsteps. Ezra counted what had to be at least ten people- enough that Arc and Ezra couldn't take them without risking one of the guards alerting Saxon.
Kriff, he swore in his head, kriff, kriff, kriff. He finally found a door that wasn't passcode-protected, but instead protected by a simple locking mechanism. Ezra had cracked many of these back on his Loth-rat days on Lothal.
He messed with the wires, eyebrows crossed in concentration, as Arc continued to go from door to door. Finally, there was a PING and the door slid open.
"Arc, here!" Ezra called and slid into the room. Arc sprinted in and Ezra closed it at the last second. They waited, breaths held and chests tight, for the footsteps of the patrol to pass. They waited a moment, until the footsteps had faded away.
"I think they're gone," Arc muttered. "Open the door."
Ezra pressed the button, but nothing happened. He pressed it again.
"Ezra…"
"I didn't do anything, I swear!"
"You locked us inside, shabiir!"
"Don't call me names in Mando'a, you know I don't understand you!"
Arc slapped her hands to her face and dragged them down. "I swear I knew-I knew- something like this would happen."
Ezra huffed and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. "It's fine. I'll just cut us out."
Arc wedged herself between him and the door. "Wait. You can't. If someone sees the lightsaber cuts they'll know we're here and alert Saxon. Ursa's cover will be blown. Are you sure you can't just… do whatever you did to get us in?"
Ezra's sword arm fell back to his side. "I, uh… I don't know. I can look again but I think I triggered some kind of safety measure. It's sealed shut."
"Well, try again. I'll call Dex. Get him to try and unlock us from wherever he's at."
Ezra glanced at the panel and set to work again. Maybe if he had his full lockpicking kit with him he could manage it. But with only his hands…
He glanced at Arc as she talked into the comm. The comm crackled back with Dex asking questions; what room were they in, what did the lock look like, etc. Arc replied with sharp answers, voice tight with irritation. Ezra shrinked into himself. Arc's life-force was expanding like a balloon, overtaking every corner of the room.
"Arc can you please calm down," Ezra mumbled and massaged his forehead. "Your anger is giving me a headache."
Arc's gaze snapped to him, and then she glanced back at the communicator in her hand as Dex spoke again. "Yeah," Arc said, "Alright. You have six minutes or we're busting out and dealing with the consequences."
Ezra closed his eyes but that only made him more aware of Arc's sizzling light-force. "Arc," he groaned.
"Sorry if my aura is bothering you, oh great Jedi," Arc snapped. "But if you haven't noticed, I'm not having the best day."
"I find that having some sort of release is an excellent way to deal with pent-up emotions," Ezra said in a monotone. The pain behind his eyes was growing as Arc felt another stab of frustration. "I recommend talking about your feelings."
"So you're a Jedi and a therapist?"
"I'm everything but a good lock-picker, apparently," Ezra retorted.
Instead of growing angrier, Arc blinked and let out a bark of laughter. Ezra watched in amazement as her frustration seemed to ebb as she slid to the ground. They sat in silence for a long moment, listening to the sounds of footsteps coming and going.
"What are you thinking about?" Ezra asked quietly.
Arc looked at him. "Sabine. I wish there was more I could do to protect her from people like Ursa."
Ezra studied the scuffs on the toes of his boots. "Ursa exploited Sabine's empathy. She knew holding the Ordo's mass execution would be a massive blow to her."
"Sabine feels responsible for each of their lives."
"She cares."
Arc eyed him for a moment. "She cares about you too. Regardless of my misgivings of Jedi, I'd have to be blind to see that."
Ezra felt heat warming his face and he looked away. He felt silly. After everything he and Sabine had gone through, to say Sabine cared about him seemed like an abysmal understatement. Yet still, to have an outside source acknowledge it seemed to give validation to every thought he'd ever had towards Sabine.
"It's nice…" Ezra's voice was almost inaudible. "Being cared about."
"Sabine mentioned you were an orphan," Arc replied. Her voice was just as quiet. "I lost my parents to the Empire too. Experiencing that kind of loss makes you value any human connection after that." Silence stretched between them. Ezra could sense Arc's mind turning, processing. "I think that's why losing Coren so soon after was detrimental to my…" she spun her hand, gesturing vaguely to herself. "Mental health." She frowned. "Emotional health?"
Ezra perked up. He had never heard that name before. "Coren was the boy you…?"
"He was one of the Jedi I traveled with. He cared for me like Sabine cares about you." Arc's brows pinched together as she studied a random spot on the floor.
"I've experienced loss," Ezra said softly, "But I don't know what I would do if I lost Sabine." Even the thought of it was like someone dragging his very soul out of his body. Taking her away was as bad as wrenching his soul from his bones. The separation would kill him.
"When you lose the one person who tethers you to the world," Arc said just as quiet, "suddenly there are no boundaries. There are no moral lines you can't cross. So you cross them all."
Ezra swallowed hard. Who was he to judge Arc's temper? Or her hatred for Jedis? Would that same hatred not consume Ezra if someone were to steal Sabine from him?
"Everyone you've cared about has left you in one way or another," Ezra said suddenly. "And then Sabine came back, and now because of my secret you question if everything you experienced with her before was legitimate."
Arc looked at him but said nothing. Her eyes were so sad to belong to someone so young.
"Sabine cares about you," he continued. "You're the last bit of blood family she has. She only ever lied to protect me, but she valued your wisdom and insight every step of the way."
Arc laughed a little at the 'wisdom' part and ducked her head. "Thanks, Ezra."
"And you've built a little family of your own, Arc. You have Luc-as annoying as he is- and Kor. Now you have me and Sabine. We're not going anywhere."
There was a sudden pressure from Ezra's headspace. Like a spiritual urging to open his mind's eye. A breeze suddenly ruffled Arc and Ezra's hair, even though they were in a closed room.
"The Jedi believe that death is not the end," Ezra said quickly. He couldn't help the grin forming on his face. "Our souls are eternal. Coren's spirit has simply moved to the next stage of life." Ezra closed his eyes as the Force presence grew stronger. "In fact, I think Coren is here right now."
Arc lurched forward and grabbed his arm. "Can you see him?"
Ezra stretched his consciousness to each four corners of the small room. He could sense Arc's life-force ever bright next to him, his own life-force, and a third energy source. It was faint, but definitely there.
"I can't seem him in the natural sense, but I can feel him," Ezra said. "He's listening. Do you want to tell him something?"
He opened his eyes to look at Arc. Her eyes were wide, as if a thousand thoughts were flashing through her mind. She opened her mouth, but no words came. Suddenly, a single tear ran down her face.
Arc's hand jumped up to catch it. "Why am I crying," she muttered. She put a trembling hand against her mouth. "Okay, umm… Coren?" She glanced at Ezra and he gave her a reassuring nod. She heaved a deep sigh. "Thank you. For being in my life. I never got to tell you that. Every part of me is better because I met you."
The third energy grew brighter. An acknowledgment.
"Did he hear me?" Arc asked.
"I think he did," Ezra said. "I really do."
There was a sudden crackling from Arc's comm and they both jumped. She quickly pressed the communicator's button and Dex's voice came to life. "Just got the door unlocked," he said, and the door slid open in response. "Main comms will be down in two minutes. So you have that long to get to the plaza. Good luck."
Ezra went to leave, but noticed Arc hesitating behind him. There was panic in her eyes as she looked at him. "I can't leave him again," she said in a strangled whisper.
Ezra strode back into the room and smiled at where Coren's spirit seemed to hover. He couldn't see him, but could sense his spirit in the corner of the room. Ezra felt only happiness from him.
"He's never been gone. He's been with you the whole time. If you want to talk to him, all you have to do is speak."
"It's that easy?"
"It's that easy."
Arc hesitated, but followed Ezra out slowly. She stopped at the door and said something in mando'a that Ezra didn't get. They left the room together, and the third presence stayed with them the entire time.
Sabine rifled through her notecards, muttering under her breath. She could feel Luc's eyes on her, watching as she paced the abandoned bedroom back and forth.
Finally, he groaned. "Sabine, you gotta relax. You're making me anxious. And I'm not even the one giving a speech that's going to be broadcasted across thousands of planets."
"Thank you for reminding me, Luc," Sabine said through clenched teeth. Her grip on her notecards tightened in a vain attempt to settle the panic bubbling up in her chest. She had never been afraid of public speaking… but it hadn't exactly been her forté either.
"You're going to do fine." Luc stood up from where he sat on the tile floor and stretched. "You've made dozens of speeches in the past six months. What's one more?"
Sabine twisted her lips and didn't answer. She went back to scanning her notecards again. The abandoned bedroom had once been a guest room to house diplomats and senators when visiting Sundari. Luc insisted it was the safest place for her to be while her warriors set up the speech. Sabine thought it was a bit overkill, but Luc wasn't taking any chances. She could tell by her personal guard that stood at attention just outside the door.
There was a sudden buzzing from Luc's comm and he lifted it to his ear, listening to a message Sabine couldn't hear. He relaxed ever so slightly. "Got it." He glanced at Sabine. "They're ready for you."
Sabine's stomach flipped and she sucked in a shallow breath. She nodded once.
Luc listened to the rest of the message and a frown slowly formed on his face.
"What?" Sabine said.
He held up a hand for silence and listened harder. A tendon in his jaw bunched, making the triangular scar on his cheek bounce.
Sabine edged closer. "What is it?"
Luc slowly lowered the comm link. He swore soft and low through his teeth.
"Luc, what?"
"Go outside. Out on the balcony. It's…" His lips tightened into a thin line. "Just go see for yourself."
Sabine whirled around, punching the button on the door frame and the automatic door slid open. She ran past her personal guard, sprinting down the corridor until it opened up to the balcony. The same balcony overlooking the Royal Plaza. The same balcony that she was supposed to give her speech on.
And down below, there were hundreds of stakes being erected in the plaza. Sabine recognized the tell-tale white armor of Saxon's mens hammering the planks in. And as they strung the first person up, Sabine realized with a drop of her stomach what the stakes were.
Crosses.
Sabine clasped a hand over her mouth. Whether it was to smother a scream or force back the bile gathering in her throat, she didn't know.
"Sabine…" Luc's sympathetic voice was soft behind her.
"Get Arc on the line," Sabine whispered, her voice hoarse.
"We lost communication with her when they went underground," he protested. "We can't-"
"Get Arc on the line now!"
Luc bowed swiftly and backed away. Sabine turned back to the balcony and gripped the metal railing with white knuckles. It was Clan Ordo up on those crosses. Sabine was sure.
This action-it was out of spite. It was a slap in the face. She knew-she knew-it was to throw her off-guard and get her to make a foolish, heat-of-the-moment decision. She knew it was.
Which was why Sabine used every ounce of self control to keep herself from flinging herself off the balcony.
Footsteps sounded from behind her.
"We still can't get Arc over the comms," Luc said breathlessly. "What do you want to do?"
He left what they were both thinking up in the air. We can't fire on Saxon's men in the plaza without risking hitting the Ordos. We can't charge the plaza because Saxon might shoot the Ordos himself. We don't know where Arc and Ezra are and the speech has to be delivered in less than ten minutes.
Sabine picked up the comm link from her belt and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly, and pressed a button. "Arc? Arc I need you to answer right now."
There was no answer, and Luc was looking at her with enough sympathy to make her sick. She whirled away and leaned heavily against the railing.
"Arc," she said into the comms. "I need you."
There was the crackling sound of static. And then, finally-
"What's up, Greenbean."
Ezra and Arc made it to the tunnel that would open up to the plaza just as Dex took down the comms. There was a confirmed BEEP from Arc's gauntlet, and she grinned. "Let's go."
The tunnel was one of the lesser-used maintenance ones, so it had an old-fashioned wooden door held by rusty hinges. Arc kicked it down with a flamboyant flair that Ezra had become accustomed to and went to firing.
Ezra walked out behind her, just in time to catch a blast aimed for Arc with his lightsaber.
The courtyard spanned out before them. The snow had been muddied and now sloshed underfoot, staining Ezra's pants legs. The crosses rose by the hundreds across the courtyard, and seeing it made Ezra's stomach drop down to his feet.
Saxon's goons were approaching them, their white armor was now a stark contrast against the muddy gray of the snow. Ezra readied his lightsaber and Arc tightened her grip on her pistols. Suddenly, Arc's comm went off.
"Uh…" Ezra said. "Arc? You've got a call incoming."
Arc went to unhook the comm off her belt with a hand and the Imps chose that movement to attack.
Arc shoved her comm in her mouth and held it between her teeth as she shot with her dual pistols. The comm crackled, "Arc? I need you."
"What's up, Greenbean." Arc mumbled around the metal of her comm. She fired off a few shots from both pistols. "Kinda busy at the moment."
Ezra shoved three of the Imps away with the force and slashed away another one's blast.
Ezra heard Sabine sigh from relief on the other side of the transmission. "I'm glad you're okay. How's Ezra?"
"I'm good!" Ezra shouted. He blocked another shot with his blade.
"Yeah, we bonded," Arc said. She bit the comm in between her teeth and fired off another round of shots before taking the comm into her hand. "You need to make your speech. We'll take care of this."
Sabine's voice was shaky. "Okay."
"You got this. And don't worry about the Ordos, we have it under control."
"Alright. Stay safe, both of you. See you soon."
Arc pocketed her comm and turned to Ezra, suddenly laser-focused. "I lied. We definitely don't have this under control."
Ezra ducked as a barrage of shots rained down and he rolled to hide behind a ridge of rock. Arc, however, remained standing. She aimed her pistols, one eye closed as she aimed.
Ezra flinched. "You're insane," he hissed.
"You get scared way too easily." Arc dismissed and fired off a round of shots. Her arms lowered back to her side. "It's safe to come out now."
"Honestly, it's a miracle you've made it this far in life."
Arc shoved her pistols in their holsters. "A miracle would be surviving the next few minutes until my warriors arrive to help us take the Ordos off the crosses."
"Challenge accepted. I'll cover you while you work on the crosses." Ezra turned, not waiting to see if she complied. More Imps were coming.
"Looks like it's just you and me against the world, Ez," Arc said as she untied the nearest Ordo. "I have the sneaking suspicion this is going to become a regular sort of thing."
"The overthrowing an imperialist regime thing or untying unconscious bodies from crosses?"
A shot whizzed by, nearly taking off Arc's head. She yelped. "Do your damn job, Ezra!"
He caught the next one with his blade. "You're avoiding the question!"
Arc grunted under the weight of the Orodo as he collapsed over her shoulder. "The overthrowing local governments thing. I think we could be quite good at staging coups. I know a few places that could use one or two."
Ezra was about to reply when a sharp buzzing filled Ezra's and Arc's comms. They both stiffened.
"She's starting," Ezra said breathlessly.
"Hello, Children of Mandalore. My name is Sabine Wren."
Sabine gripped the metal railing with both hands. She cast a furtive glance at Luc, who nodded supportingly. "I've been known as a lot of things throughout my lifetime," she continued. "I've answered to traitor, to insurgent. To rebel. You may have known my name only by the bounty attached to it. But today I come to you, not as a rebel or a fugitive of the Empire, but as a Mandalorian."
Sabine paused to take a slow breath. "Mandalorians as a whole have had a history more diverse and divisive than any other nation in the galaxy. No nation, or country, or people, or race has torn itself apart like we have. Duchess Satine's efforts to bring us together, however valiant, fell short and gave birth to a new age of chaos that was exploited by people like the outsider Darth Maul, and dictators like Gar Saxon.
"Mandalorians are not the peace-loving pacifists that Duchess Satine Kryze envisioned. Nor are we the battle-hungry warriors Pre Vizsla dreamed. We were never meant to reside at either end of the spectrum. But today marks the beginning of a new age: the age of balance. We must look forward to the future, yet remember our past. And Mandalore cannot truly grow in the shadows of the Empire."
Sabine took another deep breath, and this one rattled in her chest. "I am here today to formally stake my claim as the next sole ruler of Mandalore, and to announce that all houses under Mandalorian jurisdiction will sever all trading routes and ties with the Galactic Empire. Mandalore has formally withdrew from the Imperial Galactic Coalition and will once again be an independent nation."
Sabine scanned the plaza below, but once she saw the Ordos on the crosses, her stomach flipped. She focused on the smoke-stained horizon instead and steadied herself. "If Mandalore's bloody history has taught us anything," she continued, "it is that while there is a time for peace, there is also a time for war. Mandalore has sat in peace until its become fat off of it-allowing men like Gar Saxon to profit off of our misery. Saxon sells us as slaves to our own mines. He taxes us on the very basis of our birthrights.
"Now is the time for war."
Ezra's arms shook as he drew his lightsaber up again. There was someone else's blood on his face, on his clothes. He could smell it; thick and metallic and clogging his nose with every shaky inhale. Arc worked furiously behind him, untying another Ordo. Her clothes were stained with blood too. But not from fighting, like his were. Her's were from trying to save the last Ordo she'd removed from a cross.
Another row of Imps approached closer, hesitant, edging around the mounds of dead ones that laid at their feet. Ezra pointed his saber at them, nerves buzzing with adrenaline. "C'mon then! You can join them!"
"War is built into our blood."
Sabine's speech was being projected from every comm; from Ezra's to Arc's to the dead Imps at Ezra's feet to the live one's approaching them.
"It's hammered into our armor," Sabine continued. "War resides in every Mandalorian's bones, and a warrior lies in the deepest parts of every Mandalorian's soul."
Ezra launched forward with a roar as the Imps all fired at once. "The Siege of Mandalore is upon us and the reign of Mand'alor the Free begins today.
"Today, I am no longer defined by my past misdeeds.
"Our names do not define us. Whatever you were yesterday, you choose what you wish to be today. Yesterday, you were a slave. Today, you are free."
Ezra trembled. The bodies of the Imperials lay unmoving around him. His lightsaber slowly drooped to his side.
"Yesterday, I was Sabine Wren, traitor to the Empire. But today, I am War.
"Today, I am Death."
Arc heaved the Ordo warrior off of the cross. She tried to set him down gently, but her arms were trembling so much that the warrior slipped from her grip. Arc followed him, collapsing to the ground.
Her hands were slick with Ordo blood, leaving red handprints in the snow. Arc fought against gravity to stand, only to have Ezra catch her and slowly ease her back to the ground.
"Get off of me," Arc gasped, "We have to get the rest of them-"
"Arc, look up."
She did. Hundreds of her warriors were descending from the skies and landing in the courtyard. Some battled Imperials while the rest worked furiously to untie the Ordos from the crosses.
Arc sat down in the cold snow, not minding the fact that it began to soak through her pants. Ezra sat down next to her and dropped his saber in the snow. The hilt was red with blood, as were his hands. Arc heaved for breath and together they watched the battle before them.
"We've won," Ezra said in awe.
The pessimist in Arc wanted to tell him that they hadn't won until Gar Saxon's head was in a basket, but she didn't have the nerve to disappoint Ezra. His optimism was something to be admired, even if inopportune at times.
He glanced over at her, and shot her a crooked smile. "You can rest now, Arc."
Arc laid down on her back in the snow, and watched as snowflakes and ash rained from the sky. It was strangely hypnotizing-watching the snowflakes and ash dance together before falling to the earth.
"Something's off," Arc said suddenly, surprising both her and Ezra.
"What do you mean?" He asked, and propped himself up on an elbow.
"I can't stop thinking about why Ursa was willing to help Saxon even after he betrayed her. She's not an idiot-she knew he couldn't be trusted. And she still gave him strategic advice in a military operation anyway."
Ezra turned back to the scene before them. "Yeah, that didn't sit right with me either."
"As disgustingly brutal as it is, it gave us a strategic advantage over Saxon," Arc said. "He abandoned the tunnels, his one defendable stronghold, because of her." Arc paused and frowned. "It doesn't make sense why she did it. In no way did it benefit her personally. Ursa wouldn't go out of her way unless she had something to gain by it. It doesn't make sense."
"Well, that part's easy," Ezra said. "She did have something to gain by it."
"But what?"
"What does Ursa want?"
Ezra seemed to have asked it in a rhetorical sense; like he wasn't really expecting her to know an answer. But Arc sat straight up. Because she did know what Ursa wanted more than anything.
Sabine.
"By the manda," Arc whispered and quickly stood up.
Things began to click in Arc's mind, like why Ursa had taken so long to lead them to the Ordos, or why she had suggested to execute the Ordos in the first place. By the gods, Arc thought, horrified. She's planned this. She meant for this to happen.
"Arc…?" Ezra said hesitantly.
"I need a minute," Arc said and promptly stood. She felt like she was gonna be sick. By the manda. By the gods. Ursa fucking Wren I'm going to kill you.
Ursa assisted with the battle as convincingly as she could without sticking her neck out too far. When Arc's reinforcements showed up, it became clear that Saxon's men were overwhelmed.
Ursa couldn't help a twinge of satisfaction as she watched the Imperials run away with their tails between their legs. One stray Imperial foolishly darted into the tunnels, and Ursa smirked and set off after him.
The Imperial had somehow managed to dodge the patrols that flooded the hallways and Ursa darted after him, enjoying this game of cat and mouse. She was taking her time tailing after him; she'd wait until she'd herded him down a tunnel with a dead end before she would pounce.
But as she was running, she passed the living quarters section of the tunnels. Ursa slowed in front of a room with the words Mand'alor the Free engraved into the panel.
This is Sabine's room, Ursa realized. The thought of chasing after the Imperial quickly grew unappetizing, and she pressed a button on the control panel next to the door. It slid open. How sloppy, Ursa scolded Sabine in her mind. Leaving your door unlocked.
Ursa froze when she realized she wasn't alone in the dim room. Too late, the door slid shut behind her. "Sabine…?" she said hesitantly.
"Close."
Ursa relaxed. "Niece," she sneered. "Snooping around, are we?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Ursa peered into the darkness. The shadows clung to Arc's frame, so Ursa could only make out her silhouette and the flash of something metallic on her belt. A case lay opened between Arc and Ursa, and Ursa could see little trinkets nestled in the velvet.
"You know," Arc said slowly. Her voice lacked any semblance of emotion. "I finally figured you out. I couldn't put my finger on it earlier, but I understand now." Arc stepped out of the shadows, and Ursa staggered back in surprise and disgust. She was coated with blood. "You didn't tell Saxon to string up the Ordos to expose him and give us the advantage. You did it because you knew Sabine would step down from her speech."
Ursa's breath caught in her throat and she struggled to keep her face impassive. "I've no idea what you speak of, niece."
"She almost did. I had to lie to her and tell her I would take care of the Ordos. It's only because of me that she gave her speech."
Ursa forgot herself. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step forward. "You-"
Arc lurched forward, towering over her. Daring her to make the first move.
Ursa regained control of herself and forced herself to relax. "Of course you did."
"You really thought," Arc hissed, "that you could scare her back into your arms? That she would ever willingly come back to you?"
"Know your place, child," Ursa snapped. "Everything I've done is for Sabine. Everything I will ever do is for Sabine. If you think today's display was grizzly; that's only a glimmer of the lengths I would be willing to go for Sabine. I would do what I did today a thousand times over if it meant she were spared from the evils of this world."
"The only evil she's been exposed to in this world is you," Arc exclaimed, her voice shrill. "People died today because of you, Ursa! You gave up our location to Saxon and because of you, hundreds of innocent Mandalorians were slaughtered. And if that wasn't enough, you string up the survivors on crosses to suffer the death of a petty criminal! You insult the Ordo's honors by not even giving them a warrior's death. How many more will suffer by your hand in the name of Sabine?"
"As many as it takes!" Ursa shrieked. Her hands itched to grab, grope for something. For some semblance of control. Her daughter was slipping through her fingers and the loss of control was enough to drive her mad.
Something snapped in Arc's expression. Ursa watched as the emotion drained out of her face and she stalked forward, until Ursa was backed into a wall. "What are you-"
A burning blade sprung into existence in Arc's hand. Ursa had only a split second to realize that the blade was a golden lightsaber-a Jedi's weapon-before she was met with the blade in her gut.
Arc drove the lightsaber deep, her face a mask of impassivity, even as Ursa scrabbled for a hold on Arc's clothes.
Ursa fought to speak, but the words continued to catch in her throat. The blinding, white-hot pain made the edges of her vision go red. But she held onto her consciousness to hold Arc's horribly emotionless gaze.
"The galaxy will never be a safe place with you in it," Arc whispered. She edged the humming blade deeper into Ursa's stomach. "Sabine will never be safe."
Despite the situation, Ursa couldn't help the maniacal smile that spread across her face. And then in pure delirium and irony, a bubble of laughter escaped her lips. "Hypocrite," Ursa hissed between clenched teeth. "You and I are more alike than you think. How is your killing me in the name of Sabine any different from what I've done?"
Arc flinched. Ursa had punctured a nerve. But still, Arc used a flash of anger to hide her hesitance. She angled the blade in Ursa's abdomen at a higher angle and Ursa gasped. "Another few inches upwards," Arc hissed, "and I'll have punctured internal organs. You'll be dead before you hit the ground.
Ursa smiled again, lips peeling back as darkness edged her vision. It was time she played her last hand. "If you kill me," she whispered, her voice nearly inaudible. "You'll never find out where Sabine's father is hidden."
Arc froze. Her free hand clutched Ursa's shoulder. "You told her her father was dead."
"Oh, he's alive. But you'll never find him without me." Ursa's smile grew chilly. "Do you want to hurt Sabine even more? Imagine her surprise when she finds out that you killed not only one parent but the chance of her ever finding the other? You'll have made the girl an orphan. Someone in your own image."
Ursa saw the hesitation flash across Arc's eyes, just before the black spots in her vision grew wider and wider. Arc quickly extinguished the blade and Ursa crumpled in a heap that Arc caught in her arms.
Ursa could no longer see-her consciousness was fading away fast- but she could feel Arc's hands busying across the wound in her stomach and hear the curses Arc spat every other word. Finally, she shouted for a medic.
There were more voices. Footsteps. Someone pressing cold hands against the wound. And then, Ursa could neither hear nor feel.
She just was.
Ursa expected a surge of satisfaction. She had gotten the last laugh. Even in her dying moments, she still had Arc wrapped around her finger.
But Ursa felt only emptiness.
Ursa had often referred to secrets as currency. Work to obtain them, let them build up, and then let them slip from between your fingers one at a time. You'd be surprised at what a well-placed secret can do for you, Tristan, she had said.
But maybe she was wrong. Because she had so many secrets stored inside of her and there was only one that was of any importance; the one secret that she had never been able to let slip.
The day that Ursa approached Sabine in the courtroom; it was the first time they'd seen each other in five years; that had been the closest Ursa had ever gotten to sharing that secret.
I'm sorry.
Two simple words, yet Ursa had never been able to bring herself to say it. She'd never apologized to anyone in her life. Ever. But sending Sabine away was the worst mistake she had ever made, and in her efforts to bring Sabine back, she'd only drove her farther away.
Ursa had been so tunnel-focused on retrieving Sabine that she'd lost sight of Sabine herself. When she had realized it, it had been far too late to turn back.
"I'm sorry," Ursa whispered, now desperate. One last secret to whisper to the wind. But again, she was too late.
She was five years too late.