While Edrio, the Tognath mercenary that was flying the U-Wing, kept the ship on course. Saw came down from the cockpit and looked at the silent group in the hold that was staring at him.
"The words you are looking for are' thank you'." he said jolly.
"We are thankful for the rescue, Saw, I'm just annoyed that the mission failed." Jaral replied.
"What are talking about? We turned the worst scenario into the best." Saw replied enthusiastically.
"The 'best scenario' would've been hack into that relay so we could stay one step ahead of the Empire. Now they will just rebuild it and we will be back to square one."
"We still dealt a blow to the Empire. That's all that matters." Saw replied.
Jaral shook her head. "To the Empire, this was even less than a mosquito bite. We cannot win a war of attrition, as of now."
"Think however you want it, Grand Marshall, but I stand to my actions." the man dismissed the conversation.
The tension between the two was clear as day. Jaral didn't hide her frown, while Saw seemed to avoid her gaze.
In the last few weeks, Rebel Command had received multiple reports about the rather 'extreme' measures that Saw and his partisans were adopting. Torture of imperial prisoners, complete disregard for collateral damage against civilians...all actions that only helped the Imperial propaganda by giving them some true news to spread, for once, about the cruelty of the 'rebel terrorists'.
Neither Jaral nor Mon Mothma appreciated all of that, not just because it lowered popular support for the Alliance, but because it undermined the very foundation of the rebel cause: to create a galaxy where the atrocities of the Empire would not be carried out anymore.
"But, considering that I just saved you..." Saw took the risk to talk again. "would you be willing to help me in return?"
"You need our help?" Ezra asked.
"That depends." Jaral interjected. "What are you up to?"
Saw's mouth turned into a grin. "You remember Geonosis?"
"Of course I do. I had all of my sources, including MI6, look into this possible super-weapon of the Empire, but so far nothing."
"Eh, apparently they didn't dig deep enough." Saw replied and went to turn on a hologram.
"Hold it, you're telling me that you have a lead?" Jaral asked cautiously.
Ezra, Sabine and Chopper got closer to listen.
The hologram of a space station appeared.
"This is Faos Station." Saw explained. "I've recently acquired intel on a secret imperial cargo being loaded aboard a civilian freighter there."
"And you want to infiltrate this freighter?" the woman asked.
Saw tried to made an innocent smile. "I heard you three and your droid are good at infiltrating imperial bases."
Ezra and Sabine seemed very much in favor. "Come on, sis. We do owe him one." Ezra said.
Jaral rolled eyes in their direction as well, for a moment. In end, she sighed. "All right, just because you saved us."
Saw chuckled and talked to Edrio. "We might still make rebels out of them."
The Tognath laughed inside his breathing system that made his voice robotic.
Saw returned to the cockpit while Jaral retired to a corner of the cargo bay to kneel down and meditate.
"I take there is a problem between them?" Sabine whispered to Ezra.
"All I know is that big sis doesn't like Saw's methods. But I don't know the specifics." he answered.
Sabine gave a worried gaze toward Jaral, who was definitely struggling to find inner peace, and sighed. "I hope we don't get into the crossfire."
Ezra chuckled. "Right? As if that of the stormtroopers wasn't enough."
Sabine smirked and lightly punched him on the arm and the two bantered a while to pass the time that separated them from the destination.
------------------------
A little more than an hour and a half later, the U-Wing finally reached the station. Sabine and Ezra were already watching out of the viewport, while Jaral was sitting in the corner. She was done meditating, and, after she sent a message to Yavin, she was simply waiting patiently, while reading her holo-book.
"Are you...sure we're at the right place?" Sabine asked Saw. "This looks like a civilian cargo facility. I don't see any sign of the Empire at all."
"That's what they want everyone to believe." Saw said with a bit of disgust. "Hiding it in plain sight." Then talked to Edrio. "Take us in. Merchant platform."
The alien answered positively and brought the fighter toward said platform. Taking a peek outside, Sabine noticed a pretty important detail.
"Lots of droid down there...hey, Chop, come here." she took out her sprayer with a grin. "You're gonna need a new paint-job."
The main cargo platform was, indeed, filled with astromech and inventory droids with a yellow chassis and black motives.
As her usual, Sabine finished pretty quickly. When Chopper said that she was embarrassing him, she simply replied that she kinda liked that version more than the orange one.
Edrio left the group of rebels into the merchant platform, where they kept going on their own toward the cargo bay that Saw believed was waiting for the imperial cargo. Luckily for them, they found it immediately.
"There, that's our freighter." Saw exclaimed, then jogged toward an abandoned container. "And here's our way on board." he commented, then jumped toward the edge of the roof, lifting himself with his arms. Ezra and Jaral simply had to jump. Their muscles were enough to land directly on top of the container, Sabine used her jetpack.
When they were all inside the container, Chopper hooked up to the carriage and transported it aboard the big freighter just in time before it escaped.
After Chopper gave the 'all-clear' signal, the group of rebels opened one of the container doors and Saw informed Edrio that he had activated the tracker so he could easily follow them in hyperspace.
Meanwhile, the siblings used their omni-tools to scanner the hold they were in, but Jinx couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary.
Only the siblings heard something.
"Sis, do you hear that?" Ezra asked, wanting to be sure he wasn't crazy.
"Yes...it sounds like...singing." Jaral said, fascinated.
Sabine looked at them confused. "I don't hear anything, guys."
Saw, on the other hand, was looking for a possible cargo manifest while explaining. "This containers are loaded with high-quality construction compounds. Materials used to build the Imperial Navy."
"These materials could have come from Corellia, or any other planet with shipyards." Sabine noted.
"There are more holds to search." Saw insisted.
"Just wait a second." Jaral interrupted them with a lifted hand, the stepped next to her brother. "Ezra, focus on the singing for a moment." she whispered.
The brother complied and they closed their eyes, searching again for that sound, until the finally found it again.
"Doesn't sound...familiar?" Jaral asked.
"Perhaps...yeah, it does." Ezra said after paying a deeper attention. "But I can't put my finger on it."
"Then let's proceed, for now. We might find something more." concluded Jaral.
Thus, they left the hold and started to walk into the corridors. Jaral insisted on being at the point, because the scanners in her suit would warn them if they were about to find trouble, but Ezra pretty much forced her to stay in the middle, so she wouldn't be the one at risk, while he went forward.
Pretty much a few meters after they left the cargo, Ezra stopped the group before they reached a crossroad. The scanner was picking up something, and when he peeked over, he was two stormtroopers patrolling the corridor. Lucky for him, they were going to the other direction, at that moment.
"Stormtroopers aboard a civilian freighter?" Ezra commented to Saw. "Maybe you are up to something."
"They're guarding something." Saw whispered.
Ezra peeked over again. After seeing that the guards were still looking at the wrong direction, he motioned the other and they sprinted as quietly as possible forward, surpassing the crossroad.
As they reached a socket, Saw suggested that Chopper used it to find the cargo manifest, and both the droid and the AI came through.
"There is an imperial military shuttle in Hold 12." Jinx said.
"Ok, this ship is more than it seems." Jaral conceded. "Find out where we are going."
"Apparently, this ship is headed toward Tonnis Sector."
The guys looked baffled. "That's only empty space out there." Sabine noted. "No planets or stations."
Saw exclaimed triumphant. "Ah! The perfect hiding place."
"Or just a rendezvous point." Ezra pointed out.
Chopper and Jinx kept searching through the circuits and the AI spoke again.
"Ezra, Jaral, it looks like Cargo Bay 17 is classified as a restricted area."
"So that's where we go next." Jaral declared.
After dodging a few other patrols, the group reached the door, but Ezra noted that barging in would alert the whole ship. Thus, they used Chopper to have three of the guards at the door check out, have the droid send a spark against one of them and attract them outside, where the siblings and Saw ambushed them.
"Keep watch, Chopper." Sabine instructed while the others carried the bodies of the passed out troopers on their shoulders.
The door closed again. The three rebels put down the bodies when Sabine found the container that was supposed to carry the important cargo.
"Find out what they're hiding." Saw said a bit impatiently.
Sabine quickly violated the electronic lock and opened the door. What she saw, made her whisper "Oh, no."
Inside the container, all jammed into a tight space, were a group of prisoners, from various alien species and only one human female.
"Who are you?" an Aqualish asked.
"It's ok, we're not gonna hurt you." Sabine reassured them while removing her helmet.
Jaral and Ezra dematerialized their helmets as well and encouraged them to come out.
"Your intel came through." Ezra said to Saw. "We can free this people."
"My intel wasn't about prisoners!" Saw replied angrily. "The Empire has prisoners all over the galaxy!"
"We can still help them, Saw." Jaral intervened. "And maybe, they can help us, as well." she headed toward the group of prisoners while Ezra and Sabine started to put the bodies of the guards into the container.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." Jaral said in a calm tone. "Do you know anything about the secret cargo on this ship?"
An Ishi Tib answered. "Nothing about any cargo. But I heard the guards talking about the Jedha system, if there is any secret cargo, it probably came from there."
"Thank you. Who are you, exactly?"
"Name is Mich Matt. Was a supervising tech on Coruscant's central power generator. Empire tried to hire me away for some secret project, but I didn't want to leave my family." he sighed. "So they just took me."
"Power technician, hmm?" Saw asked in a bit of a provocative way.
Sabine and Ezra were done and approached as well.
"Everyone here is a reactor mechanic or power specialist of some kind." Matt explained.
Sabine hummed. "Doesn't make sense. The Empire wouldn't have all of this security just to guard a few techs."
Saw immediately agreed. "Yeah! There must be something else."
Jaral and Ezra looked at each other, exchanging thoughts.
Eventually, Jaral spoke up. "We believe you, Saw. But we still have to save these prisoners."
"Use that shuttle your droid found."
"No, it will be guarded." Ezra objected.
"No, he's right." Jaral said, surprising everyone that she and Saw finally agreed on something. "The shuttle is our only option."
"Can't we have them use the escape pods?" Sabine suggested. "We can sabotage the hyperdrive and, when we drop out of hyperspace, they can fly away."
"If we leave into empty space, we're dooming them to a slow and very unpleasant death." Jaral replied, and the two teens had to concede that.
"Here's what we'll do..." she started, but then Chopper entered into the hold, waving his handlers and warbling that there were other two guards coming to check.
Immediately, the rebels pushed the prisoners back into the container while they hid away.
The two guards entered just in time to spot the last of the prisoners and they ran to check on them, searching for their comrades. Before they could harm the prisoners, though, Ezra and Sabine jumped out from the sides, surrounding them. There was a short stall before, from above, Saw and Jaral stunned them.
When the two jumped down, Jaral could finish explaining her plan.
"Me and Chopper will get to Hold 12. There will be plenty of containers behind which we can hide the prisoners. Chopper will guard them, while I deal with the guards and secure the shuttle. I'll wait for you guys just in case. Meanwhile, you guys do what Sabine suggested."
"Well, if it's your plan, it will work." Ezra quipped, though he really meant it. "Let's go."
----------------------------
Saw, Sabine and Ezra rushed toward the engine room, avoiding another couple of guards, but then, Ezra heard that song again.
"Wait..." he whispered to the others.
"Dear, the engine room is this way." Sabine urged him.
"There's something in here. I think we should check out." Ezra insisted.
"Can you get us in?" Saw asked Sabine.
"That's why I'm here, right?" she quipped and headed for the control panel of the door.
When it opened, however, they found themselves in front of the back of a Death Trooper.
The black-armored giant turned around, probably asking who was there, but his voice was scrambled by the helmet.
It was a fortune that he was looking the wrong direction, because that give time to react to Saw, who gunned him down as soon as the soldier turned. Of course there were other five of them inside the room.
Ezra stepped forward and activated hi directional shield, protecting his companions from a couple of bolts incoming and allowing Sabine to throw two smoke grenades in the room.
Soon, the Death Troopers were unable to see, while Ezra and Sabine had their thermal visors.
The teens used the cover of the smoke to take out the Troopers one-by-one. The remaining two started to pull back, but Saw still gunned down one of them before the last one, which apparently was the commanding officer, managed to escape.
"One of them got away." Sabine said urgently.
"Forget him," said Saw. "we found it!"
In the middle of the room there was a giant block of carbonite with its blocks. Sabine powered it down and the block started to melt away with a blinding light.
Once the three got used to the illumination again, Ezra barred his eyes.
"What the...it can't be."
"Yup, it's a kyber crystal." Sabine commented.
A green crystal of enormous dimensions was being held by the repulsor lifters of the block in a slow, rotatory movement.
"One this big is very likely unstable, put the weapons away." Sabine explained.
After complying, Ezra commented. "That's why the singing sounded familiar. I heard something similar when I found my own crystal for my lightsaber...but what does the Empire want to do with this?"
Sabine hummed in thought. "These crystals store and amplify energy. But aside of your lightsaber, I can't think of other uses."
"Wait..." Ezra called Jaral on the comlink. "Sis, can you talk?"
"For now. We're heading toward the hangar, but we're almost there. Are you in the engine room?"
"No, we found out what the Empire was actually guarding. It's a kyber crystal."
"What?! Where it is."
"In a secret hold, apparently. And it's big, this is definitely something more than a lightsaber."
"They're not trying to weaponize it, right?" Jaral asked discomforted.
"That's it!" Saw exclaimed when he heard that sentence. "That's why the Empire brought those technicians. They are trying to weaponize this thing."
"All right, we need to hurry up to the engine room." Ezra said, but Saw opposed.
"No! We need this cargo to arrive at its destination. We need to find out what the Empire's building!"
"We can't take the chance that the Empire will get back this crystal." Sabine objected.
Saw conceded. "You're right about that too."
"You stay here and guard this thing." Ezra said, then returned to the comlink. "Sis, we're heading for the engine room, now."
"Roger. We're about to enter the hangar. Call me later."
The teens thus sprinted out, all the more rushing because the Death Trooper had certainly sent out the alarm to the rest of the ship, even if there was no sound blaring in the hallways.
They reached the door. Ezra ignited his lightsaber, ready to strike down the guards that were most likely behind it, while Sabine opened it.
As expected, there were two stormtroopers guarding the door. Ezra quickly cut their blasters with a single 'V' movement of the saber, then lifted them with the Force and slammed them on the floor, knocking them out. Then he made a gesture to let Sabine pass.
"Ladies first." he quipped.
"Always adorable." she quickly replied. "Okay, there's the hyperdrive override."
They rushed to the console, removing their helmets in the process.
"Prepping to drop the ship out of hyperspace. In 3...2..."
Ezra felt a tingle directing him at the door. However, the moment he turned, all went black.
--------------------------------
The news of the kyber crystal was pestering Jaral's mind, but right now, the woman had to stay focused on the present, or she was going to die.
A reminder came when she avoided for a very close call a Death Trooper that was rushing to the Hold of the kyber crystal with a squad of 4 stormtroopers.
Luckily for her, they didn't even bother to check their surroundings, so they could proceed toward Hold 12, where Jaral finally saw a Lambda-class shuttle. And, as she hoped, the bay was loaded with containers and crates of every kind, one particularly tall was right on their left and it would be perfect to keep the prisoners hidden while she dealt with the two sentinels guarding the ship.
The woman motioned for Chopper to reach her at the top of the formation and she knelt down.
"Ok, Chop. Time to make me proud and be a hero, all right?" she whispered.
The astromech replied with eager enthusiasm.
"Take these people behind there and keep them safe. Once I eliminate the guards, bring them over."
Chopper warbled an affirmative.
"All right, people, follow the droid." she concluded before becoming invisible, surprising everybody.
Jaral stepped into the threshold and entered the cargo hold, keeping a low profile as she slowly sneaked toward the shuttle, always making sure that she was out of the potential field of view of the guards. Lucky thing that the shuttle was already pointed toward the force field that separated the room from void space, and the helmets of the stormtroopers notoriously blinded them on the sides.
She finally reached a position behind them. She deactivated the invisibility cloak.
"Hello there." she whispered.
The troopers turned behind them, scared by the sudden voice.
Jaral used the Force to pull the weapons out of their hands. One of the troopers reacted quickly, throwing a punch toward her. Jaral quickly dodged it and counterattacked with a punch in his gut. When the guy bent forward for the pain, she kneed him on the helmet, making him fly on the ground.
The second trooper used those few seconds to retake his blaster rifle and aim it at the woman, but she easily dodged the only bolt that came out of it.
Jaral threw a chop-hit on the trooper's wrist, making him lose his grip, then used the same hand she hit him with to grab his forearm and sling him toward her shoulder. The trooper stumbled backward and Jaral used that opportunity to throw a well-placed straight punch, knocking him out cold.
After taking a breather, the young Marshall turned around and scanned the ship for lifeforms. She didn't detect anything, so she called Chopper.
"All clear, Chop. Bring them here."
The astromech replied positively and, a few seconds later, the group arrived.
"Everybody, into the passenger room. Chopper, keep the engines warm." then she put a finger on the side of the helmet. "Ezra, Sabine, the prisoners are on the shuttle, are you ready?" she asked, but no answer came. "Guys?" she repeated.
Then she focused on the Force bond and noticed that Ezra's side was...asleep. And she was pretty sure that her brother wouldn't take a nap in moment like that.
"Chopper, close the ramp." she ordered through the comlink. Chopper was confused. "Just do that, and stand ready to leave. I'll go get them." and she sprinted away.
Following the bond, she understood that Ezra was still in the engine room and she dashed toward there.
Fate had it, that, at one turn, she found herself in front of the last stormtroopers of the ship, led by the Death Trooper she saw before.
The imperials pointed their guns and fired, but Jaral managed to activate her directional shield just in time. Following the flow into the Force, she waited a couple of volleys while she used her right arm to channel a big shock-wave into her hand. Once that was ready, she twisted her upper body, recalled the shield and pushed the arm forward.
The troopers were thrown back by a strong blow of wind and slammed into each other. Only the Death Trooper remained partially awake, so Jaral used a stun shot from her omni-tool to knock her out.
The woman kept going and finally reached the engine room, only to find out the sinister spectacle of the kyber crystal throwing green lightnings left and right and she had to refrain from entering the room. She managed to get a glimpse of the other rebels, on the opposite side of the room, hidden behind one of the reactors. Saw was giving Ezra his lightsaber before leaving from the door nearest to them.
"Ezra, Sabine!" she called them, and they finally turned toward her.
"Jari, did you get the shuttle?" Sabine asked hopefully.
"I did, what happened here?"
"Saw has turned the crystal into a time bomb, we need to leave immediately!" Ezra replied.
"All right, head to Hold 12, the shuttle is already waiting for us." Jaral ordered.
"Don't have to tell us twice." Sabine exclaimed.
As her two siblings exited from the same door as Saw, who was heading toward the hatch where Edrio had attached the U-Wing, Jaral went back on her trail, passed among the group of still unconscious troopers and then crossed paths with Sabine and Ezra.
Ezra, who caught a glimpse of the troopers, had to ask. "You took them down by yourself?"
"Of course." Jaral replied.
"Good to see the desk job hasn't gotten you weaker." Sabine quipped.
"Wait, are we out of hyperspace?" the Marshall remembered.
"Yes, in the Tonnis Sector, but there is only a Star Destroyer that is probably sending a boarding party." Sabine replied.
"I already told Chopper to alert Hera and jam their communications." Ezra noted.
"Good job, lil' bro." his sister approved.
The three finally entered into the Hold and rushed toward the transport. Jaral went aboard for last, to check if there was someone else trying to stop them, but that wasn't the case.
Sabine sat at the pilot chair and lifted the transport and headed away from the Star Destroyer, which was sending a couple of gunships.
"Scanners are picking up a massive energy reading." Ezra alerted.
Sabine thus turned the ship around, now heading toward the Destroyer.
"What are you doing?" Ezra asked.
"No time to get into hyperspace, I'm putting that Destroyer between us and the crystal." she declared.
"Then open up the throttle." Jaral exclaimed, and Sabine complied.
The shuttle passed the Star Destroyer exactly when the scanners detected that the crystal had finally detonated, consuming the transport and pretty much the entire Star Destroyer.
"All power to the shields. Hang on!" Sabine announced.
A massive green wave of energy slammed into the shuttle, making it shake violently, but it was definitely less powerful at that distance and with the Star Destroyer that had already absorbed the majority of the energy.
When the earthquake finally finished, the three rebels groaned, sat back on their seats and removed their helmets.
Chopper warbled a very bad news.
"Great, the engines are fried." Sabine repeated sarcastically. "We're not going anywhere soon."
Ezra, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, gave a depressed gaze to the viewport. But just then, the Ghost appeared from hyperspace.
"Or maybe we are." he commented optimistically.
A few moments later, the siblings were contacted on their omni-tools, the only instruments left to communicate.
"Can you guys go anywhere without blowing something up?" the voice of Zeb asked.
The siblings instinctively laughed at that, while Sabine facepalmed.
----------------------------------
After recovering the rebels and the prisoners, who also announced they wanted to enlist in the Rebellion as they now wanted to stop the Empire, the Ghost set course for Yavin.
The teens discussed with Kanan about the kyber crystal they found.
"Saw seemed convinced the Empire was trying to weaponize it." Sabine said. "Is it even possible?"
Kanan mumbled. "On that scale? I don't know."
"What if Saw was right?" Ezra said grimly. "And the Empire is on the verge of winning a war that we're not even ready to start?"
Jaral, too, was very worried about the last developments. She was watching the hold beneath her while leaning on the handrail with her elbows.
"I need to get on the Constantinople." she simply said. "Ask Hera to dock once she's done down there." and she retired into the common room.
The others gave her a confused gaze, but Ezra clearly felt the conflict inside of her, so he followed her after a few minutes.
He found her playing against Jinx in a match of Dejarik, though her mind was clearly elsewhere.
He just went and sat next to her on the couch.
Jaral took a deep breath and sighed. "A super-weapon. Great...just so kriffing great..." she said on the verge of boiling over.
"Jari..." Ezra said tenderly.
She sank her face into her palms. "What next? They're going to recreate the clone army and swarm the galaxy? Will this super-weapon be capable of destroying planets?!" she asked exasperated.
"Hey, you will find a solution." he encouraged her, but she wasn't convinced.
"What solution, Ezra? What am I supposed to do against such power?" she asked grimly.
Ezra took a silent breath and reformulated his thoughts. "I'm sorry. I wanted to say that we will find a solution. You're not alone, sis."
He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in so her head went to rest on his shoulder and he rested his cheek on her hairs.
Jaral answered by hugging him with all the strength she had, seeking comfort into the other side of her soul, who never stopped sending her positive waves to contrast all the tiredness, all the stress that she had accumulated in the last few months and were only being exacerbated by the events of the last day.
And then, she started sulking.
Ezra wasn't flinching. He straight-out absorbed all of her anxiety and dealt with it for her. From an outside perspective, Jaral could look like a stoic, unbreakable person, almost a perfect being (and to Ezra and many others, she was), but her brother knew very well that, beneath that figure of calmness, patience and incredible talent there was still a 20-year-old young woman who had been living her whole life with the responsibility of taking care of everybody else around her, and now that burden had reached a scale that Ezra couldn't even fathom.
And seeing her break down sparked something new in him. One of Ezra's greatest priorities in his life had always been to support his sister, to become strong so she could ease up her burden. Now, however, things were changing. Her responsibilities were about long-term strategies, not just surviving to live another day and fighting enemies on the field.
Ezra decided at that moment, that perhaps it was time he started to work to earn the promotion that everybody else proposed him. He had to take some of the responsibility off her shoulders, be closer to her in her work. The last two months they had spent way less time together, and he realized that.
"Sis, I decided something." he whispered.
She sniffed and recomposed herself. "What?"
"If you are still thinking about promoting me to Commander, I am ready."
Jaral struggled a bit to liberate herself from the hug and look at him with her surprised eyes, who were still watery.
She passed a sleeve to clean them.
"You...Are you sure?" she asked.
There was no hesitation in Ezra's eyes. "I am. I want to support you in every way I can. You don't have to take everything on your shoulders."
Jaral looked at him, searching for his emotions into their bond. Whatever she found, though, definitely convinced her that he wasn't joking and a smile finally reappeared on her face.
"I can always count on you." she said.
"Always." he reassured her with a large smile as well. "Now why don't you rest a little?" he proposed her.
Jaral made a wily grin. "I don't know, will you sing me that lullaby?" she teased him.
He snorted a laugh. "You know I'm nowhere as good as you."
The sister simply tucked her legs onto the sofa as well and went back to lean her head on his shoulder. "You should practice. Didn't you promise Sabine that you will raise warriors?"
"How is a lullaby supposed to help me?" Ezra asked, unable to stop chuckling.
"Oh, you will understand when you will have to deal with a little one who won't stop cry until you calm him down."
He didn't need the Force to tell him what she was telling. "You're not talking about me, right?" he asked nonetheless with a grin and she chuckled as well.
But in the end, Ezra consented. Maybe he didn't remember all the words, but he managed to improvise and his voice resulted melodic enough that Jaral went to sleep a minute into the song.
Ezra let her slip onto his lap, until Sabine came in, leaning against the threshold and looking at the two of them with an affectionate grin and her arms tucked on her chest.
"How long have you been listening?" he asked feigning to be offended.
Sabine shrugged. "I heard pretty much everything." then she went to take a blanket to put it on the sleeping woman.
Once they were done tucking her, and Ezra clearly had no intention of stop stroking her hair gently, Sabine sat next to him.
"I already said it, but I really envy your relationship." she said with a smile.
"Haven't you tried with Tristan?" Ezra asked nonchalantly.
Sabine shrugged. "Oh, I had the chance to mend our rapport, but I doubt we could ever reach your levels. After all, I don't have the power to read my brother's mind."
Ezra gave another loving gaze to his sister, who was now sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face, while he took his wife with his free arm and pulled her in as well.
They stopped talking. They simply enjoyed that moment of peace, the likes of which promised to be even rarer in the future.