“That’s it! You’re the inspiration I’ve been looking for, my next masterpiece.” “Really?” Ezra said, his eyes widening with excitement. Zeb scoffed. “You know she’s talking to the TIE fighter, right?” Sabine ignored them both as she circled the TIE, studying it critically. “I can definitely do something with this,” she murmured, lost in thought. “This is going to be absolutely amazing.” “As long as Kanan and Hera don’t catch us,” Zeb muttered. “Can I watch you work?” Ezra asked hopefully, and Sabine glanced at him. For a moment, Ezra was sure she would say no, and his heart dropped. “Eh, why not?” she said, shrugging. “Just don’t get in my way. And I don’t take constructive criticism from people who wear solid orange.” “What’s wrong with orange?” Ezra protested as Zeb cackled with amusement. “Nothing, as long as it’s not the only color.” “Well, I happen to think I look great,” Ezra said, puffing out his chest and ignoring Zeb’s snickers. He didn’t really mind, especially if Sabine was going to let him watch her work.

“What are you getting at?” Sabine folded her arms, frowning. “I want you to come work with us,” Hera told her. “You would get a free place to live, credits when we can afford it, and you’d be able to make a difference.” “And blow up bucket heads,” Zeb added, smirking. Sabine hesitated. The idea of joining this crew was…good. Better than she wanted to admit, especially after everything that happened with Ketsu. But that didn’t make it perfect. She glanced at the final member of the crew, who hadn’t spoken yet. “How do you feel about this?” Kanan shrugged, looking perfectly at ease. “If you want to stay, you should. Besides, Hera says she’s got a good feeling about you. And I trust Hera.” There was no way he was telling the truth. Not after she’d found out he was a Jedi and almost sold him out to the Empire for the credits only days earlier. This had to be a ploy, a trick of some kind. But she was almost desperate enough to believe it. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay.”

“How are we out of eggs AGAIN?” Zeb growled. Hera shrugged, not looking up from her datapad. “We have two teenagers on the ship, in case you hadn’t noticed. Ezra’s definitely going through another growth spurt.” Zeb snickered. “If he ends up taller than Sabine, she’s gonna lose it.” That brought out a brief smile from Hera, which was more than he’d hoped for. She’d been stressed lately, with the various parts of the Rebellion she was in charge of now, and worrying about both Kanan and Ezra.  After their return from Malachor, everything had been different. Ezra had been angrier and sadder, more likely to lash out. Kanan had just been…quiet. He wasn’t the same man Zeb had first met, and none of it was right. Frankly, Zeb would be glad when things got back to normal. Until they did, he and Sabine had a quiet deal to do whatever they could to help. “I’ll do a supply run with Rex later,” he said, closing the fridge. “Check in with AP-5 to see if there’s anything else we need,” Hera told him. Grimacing, Zeb said, “I’d rather fight the entire Empire for the eggs. Especially if Chopper’s there. Those two get along way too well.” “True,” Hera agreed, amusement flickering across her face. Zeb just wished he could find a way to keep the smile there. She’d been one of his best friends for just as long as Kanan. If he could just knock their heads together and make them see sense, he would. Unfortunately, that didn’t usually work. So he’d just keep doing his best where he could.