Partners in Crime | STAR WARS Rebels

9 | the marketplace

It had been a couple months since our escape from the Black Sun. Ezra and I had carried out our punishments, and everyone was speaking to each other again. I had a long talk with Hera about everything, even Castriel. She listened, and gave me some advice. Hera assured me that my feelings and confusions were valid, however I should be on my guard. The Empire is not immune to deceitfulness and they will use all sorts of trickery. I am thankful to have her as a captain.

But now it had been a while and the whole crew was getting antsy. We were ready for something new. And our food supply was running low. I wondered how Castriel was doing. Was he alright? Had Kallus hurt him?

One morning, I was barely out of bed when Hera came in my room and asked me, "Could you and Ezra do the shopping for this week? And wear disguises when you go into the city, its crawling with stormtroopers."

I nodded, slipping on my boots and stumbling into the washroom. Hera left and I quickly brushed my teeth. Ezra came in my room as I was walking out.

"Oh, good you're up." He muttered. Ezra's blue eyes showed anticipation for a new adventure. I sympathized with him. "Here." He handed me a long blue cloak. "No one will recognize us in these." Ezra draped a similar brown one over his shoulders.

I laughed. It was way too small for him. The bottom of the cloak barely reached his knees.

"Well, I guess it's a poncho!" Ezra shrugged, trying to adjust it to look normal.

"Do you ever stop talking?" I sighed and came closer to him. I fixed his hood and found the wooden clasp that connected both sides like a jacket. I attached the clasp to the button and let my hand linger just for a moment.

I turned away but Ezra quickly grabbed my hand.

"Sabine?" Ezra whispered. I glanced at him, studying him for a bit. Damn, how was he so handsome?

"Come on," I said, tangling my fingers in his. "We have to go shopping." He beamed and followed me outside of the Ghost.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Ezra Bridger. Sometimes there was something inside me that wanted to kiss him, and other times I wanted to slap him. Either way, we had to be careful. Especially around other crew members. I didn't want our relationship to get in the way of our missions.

---

Lothal's Market Square was bustling with vendors early in the morning. The sun was just rising as we entered the city. So far we only noticed five or six troopers around. And our cloaks were perfect. No one suspected a thing.

"What did Hera say we need?" Ezra asked me.

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed. Hera's name was on the watchlist and we couldn't associate anything with her. "Imported fruit, Meloorin seeds, Bantha meat, and Shroomchips." I checked off my fingers.

"Sounds good."

We kept walking with our heads down. The markets were beginning to open but there was a crowd of people waiting to go in. Ezra and I stood at the back. I tried to look over the Neimoidian in front of me. All I saw was more villagers.

Ezra tapped a woman next to him. "What is going on? Why aren't they letting people in?"

"Security checkpoint," she replied. "Apparently there was a report of some rebel activity nearby. The stormtroopers are asking all sorts of questions."

Rebel activity? Was the rest of the crew going through another mission without us? Is that why they sent us out to get groceries so early in the morning?

I glanced at Ezra and he looked as confused as I did. "If anyone asks you're my younger brother," I told him.

"No way!" Ezra protested. He took my hand. "I'm your boyfriend. Remember what you told the Rodian?"

I rolled my eyes and observed the woman we were talking to. Now she was stealing glances at us and whispering to one of her friends. We couldn't stay here. There wasn't a chance we'd make it through the checkpoint.

"We need to go, now." I whispered in Ezra's ear. We turned away from the market and snuck around the back of an abandoned store. I peered through a dark alleyway at some stormtroopers hitting a young child. I gasped and shut my eyes. My memories of the Imperial Academy came up and I could barely breathe. I thought of the four prisoners and the Star Destroyer and Castriel.

I leaned against the wall and took off my hood. A tear crept down my cheek.

Show no sign of pain.

No. I couldn't believe I was crying in front of Ezra. I had to remain strong.

"Sabine?" Ezra gently wiped the tear off my face with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

I looked at the boy in front of me. I searched his face. He was so worried, he really cared about me.

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a big hug. I cared about him too, and I didn't want him to worry about me.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "I just don't want to get taken again."

"I know," Ezra breathed, hugging me back. "We won't. I promise. I'll make sure of it."

---

"Spectre 1? Spectre 2? What's going on? We're having trouble down here," Ezra called into his com link.

"Spectre 6? We landed nearby to get some fuel. What's the problem?" Kanan's voice came loud and clear. I winced at his confidence; hoping they would be alright.

"Get out of there! Troopers are saying that they've gotten a report of rebel activity in the area. They're blocking citizens from the market place," I report.

Ezra and I gave each other worried glances as we listened to our crew shuffling and running around. Kanan was yelling and Hera sounded scared. Even Chopper's obnoxious beeping seemed frantic.

Finally, after a minute or two, Kanan shouted back to us. "Spectre 5 and Spectre 6, get what you can and the meet us at the rendezvous. Quickly!"

I watched Ezra's shoulders slump a little. The rendezvous. That meant we were going back to Ezra's old house.

Before I could realize what was going on, Ezra began walking out of the city to the grassy fields. "Hey, wait up," I yelled after him. He didn't even look back at me or stop. He just kept walking as he stared down at his feet. "Ezraa!" I groan, catching up to him. "What are you doing? We have to get the food!"

"I have some portions stored up in my basement, that should keep us going for awhile," Ezra said solemnly.

Ughh. I hate when he gets like this. All angsty and emotional. Now I had to be the reasonable one. We were good partners together, we knew how to take turns without necessarily speaking out loud. Maybe that was why Kanan was always pairing us together.

The hot wind whipped through the fields making the yellow grass look like golden waves. It made me feel creative and want to paint something about it. Ezra's house stood out like a beacon up ahead. The metal structure was unkept, rust was wearing down the railings. But it was a home.

I knew it was hard for Ezra to come back here once in awhile. It reminded him of a time when he was so alone. So when we reached the door, I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and comforted him.

"Everything will be alright, Ezra," I said. "We'll see the crew soon and you'll never have to be alone again."

Ezra removed his hood and smiled at me. "Thank you, Sabine." He punched in the security code and the door opened with a screeching protest.