Happy new year everyone! May 2021 blow 2020 sky high and into a 1,000,000,000 pieces 😂 And without further adu, I give to you, The Past, The Present, And The Future - part 4

"Mal Shrivus"

Eyes intent on the mystery man above them Ezra didn't realize Sabine had fallen. But he did hear her say something, and he turned to his left and asked "Who?" Then he saw her crumpled in a ball on the ground, defeated before the fight even began. "Sabine!" He quickly bent on one knee and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The cold seeped through every part of her, and as soon as Ezra touched her, he felt what she was feeling so acutely; fear.

Kanan ignited his lightsaber and took a step forward. He had an idea of who this man was, and why Sabine clearly feared him. He knew he had to distract Shrivus and hopefully kill him before he said anything. He wanted to know the truth, but he wanted it from Sabines mouth, not this man. Inwardly, Kanan sighed. 'If only Sabine would just tell us these things, then none of this would need to happen,' he thought. Then he thought of the secrets he was keeping and shrugged. He looked up and spoke to the man.

"Mal Shrivus, we've come for the crates. Surrender now in peace or die in battle." Mal Shrivus laughed, a shallow, scratchy laugh.

"Surrender? To what? You, your Lasat, and two broken love birds? I don't think so." Zeb elbowed Kanan and Kanan muttered "Shut up." He felt the great Lasat laughing beside him and rolled his sightless eyes.

Mal Shrivus continued, "What's in these crates will help stop rebels and renegades like yourselves. You people, who try to destroy the Empire, must be stopped! And we have Sabine Wren to thank for creating a weapon that can do just that." He gestured toward a storm trooper with a small red cape. He spoke, "Shock Commander, stun." The commander saluted, and 20 other troopers stood and surrounded the Ghost crew.

Meanwhile, Ezra was still on the ground trying to help Sabine. "Come on Sabine, we need you. Whoever this guy is, he doesn't look all that tough. We can take him. But I can't do it without you." He gently squeezed her shoulders. "I need you, Sabine."

Sabine turned her head and looked up at Ezra, grateful for her helmet covering her tear-stained face. She wished he was serious. But she knew, after today, everything would change. She heard Shrivus mention 'Shock Commander' and inwardly knew what was going to happen. She reached out and brushed Ezra's face. The sound of charging Shock 4's filled the air. She knew she had to say something. "Whatever you hear today, Ezra, whatever he says, it's-" Before she could finish, a large blue-ish web seemed to appear on them. Ezra felt a brief moment of intense pain, then blissful blackness.

***

"...errrg," Zeb muttered, shaking his head to clear it. For a moment, he forgot where he was, and went to scratch his knee. He frowned when his arm couldn't reach, and turned to look. That's when he saw the chains and remembered. He turned his head back forward and saw his capturer, Sabine handcuffed and on her knees at his side. "Karabast," he swore. He looked to his left and saw Kanan and Ezra in chains beside him. All three were awake and looked at him now. Ezra turned away and nodded towards one of the Shock storm troopers.

"At least we know that these really are the right crates." Kanan slowly turned him, and Ezra didn't need to see his face to see the scathing look his master sent his way. He grinned sheepishly, and shrugged his shoulders. As he did so, he felt something digging into his side. And suddenly, he had an idea.

Mal Shrivus nodded, not noticing the slight expression change on Ezra's face. "Yes young Jedi, you are right. Every case here is filled to the brim with Shock 4's; enough to equip a whole clan of Mandalorians." He nudged Sabine with his knee. She didn't react, just kept her head down, avoiding Shrivus and her friends. Shrivus turned back to the men.

"But, that's not why I've gathered you together today. I've kept you alive for one purpose, and one purpose alone; to reveal to you the true Sabine Wren." He dramatically yanked her helmet off.

If he was expecting gasps or shock, he was sadly disappointed. The Jedi - Lasat group flickered their eyes from Shrivus to Sabine, then back at Shrivus. Zeb sneezed, but other than that, there was no reaction. Shrivus frowned, then shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak, when Ezra beat him to it.

"Strange, old, and stupid Imperial man, we already know the true Sabine. She is a Mandalorian, a fighter for peace and justice. A good person, someone you can always trust to have your back. She is reliable and smart and brave, someone who will never betray her friends." He glanced her way, saw how she seemed to shrink back at his every word, lowering her head even further. He changed his wording slightly, "And she would never betray her family."

Shrivus couldn't believe how well this boy had just set the stage for his story. He laughed, his shallow, pathetic laugh, and grinned like a cat. "Well, Jedi, I would like to tell you a story. A story, about a young lady, about weapons, and deception. About-"

"Aw, but it's not my bedtime yet." Zeb's deep voice cut off Mal Shrivus, who glared back at him. Shrivus flicked his angry eyes to the nearest trooper. "Shut him up." The trooper saluted and roughly gagged Zeb, slapping and punching him as the Lasat fought him. The troopers tied a rope around his head to hold the gag in place, then nodded to Shrivus. He nodded back, towards the Jedi, and they were gagged as well.

Peeved, the skinny man peered at the three friends. "Are we done interrupting? Mal Shrivus does not like interruptions." The Jedi made no response, which was, of course, the purpose of the gags. Shrivus grunted, satisfied, and starting pacing in front of them.

"Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. As you have probably figured out, I was a top ranking instructor at the Imperial Training Academy. The other instructors and I noticed Sabine almost as soon as she joined. We could see she had the potential to become one of the Empires greatest students. We were very proud of her, I'll have you know. It was as you said, boy, she was reliable and extremely smart." He stoped pacing and placed a hand on Sabines shoulder. "And, most importantly, she was completely loyal to her Emperor." He patted her shoulder like a dog and continued pacing. Watching closely, Ezra could see tears running silently down her face. He glared at Shrivus, hating him for the pain he was causing the girl he loved, and swearing vengeance on him.

Shrivus continued pacing. "As a young cadet, we saw the great potential Sabine possessed. We placed her with multiple different constructing groups, in several different IC rooms, and every time she came out with amazing results.

"Now, we had one blueprint that we had tried to turn into reality multiple times, with little success. I talked it over with my other instructors, and we decided to give it to Sabine. We paired her with two other Mandalorians and put them to work."

Realization dawned on Ezra. "The Shock 4," he said under his breath. Mal Shrivus heard and nodded approval. "Yes. The Shock 4, though it wasn't named such then. As we kept an eye on them, we watched as their little group of three excelled where all others had failed. Their team chemistry was unlike any other we had at the academy. Within a matter of weeks, they had a testable prototype." He paused and his eyes alighted on Sabine. He strode over to her and bent on one knee.

Ezra watched with blinding furry as Shrivus reached out and wiped one of her tears away, cuping her head in his hand. "You were one of the greatest inventors we'd ever had," he murmured. Hearing a low noise he turned his head and saw Ezra, glaring black death at him. He smiled, wiping his hands. "Jealousy does not become you, Jedi." Ezra spat back, "As you touching Sabine does not become You." Shrivus shrugged, as if it was no big deal to him. He continued walking, back in his story.

"Anyway, Sabine and her Mando team had made the impossible, possible. In a matter of months they had given us four prototypes, each doing better than the last. All that was left was one final modification, and it would be complete." Here his face clouded over.

"But then we heard news that there was a mole in the academy. One of our beloved trainees was feeding you rebels information. And it had to be stopped. So we began conducting investigations, including interrogating every cadet, sometimes more than once. This slowed production down greatly. We didn't hear from Sabine for many months.

"But, with little else to do, her and her little team continued working, and sure enough, we received word that the fifth prototype was ready. We called them to the testing grounds, the three of them, and me and my three storm troopers." Shrivus turned to look at Sabine.

"Now, here I have a confession to make, my sweet." Sabine, for the first time in a while, moved her head up an inch, looking up at him with murderous confusion in her eyes. Shrivus smiled at her.

"When we had all arrived, I'm afraid I told young Sabine here that her Mandalorian friend and creation partner Keedo was the rebel defector. And as such, she had to die. I told Sabine she must test the weapon on her. All three Mandalorians were shocked. Sabine and Batcko tried to defend Keedo, and Keedo also denied being the defector, but I was adamant. I had to see how far Sabine would go to obey and to be loyal to her Empire. I had each of my troopers grab a Mandalorian. One dragged Keedo forward and placed her a little ways in front of Sabine. We shoved the little scum into a kneeling position. Do you remember?" He aimed his last question at Sabine. Her head was bowed low, a salty puddle growing in front of her. Her shoulders shook, but no sound came out. Shrivus frowned, then shrugged. The best was yet to come.

"Anyway, Keedo knelt in front of Sabine. Sabine had the Shock 4 strapped to her wrist. I told her to use it on Keedo. She refused. So I pulled my gun and aimed it at Batcko." He laughed harshly. "I told your little Sabine that if she didn't test the weapon on Keedo, I would kill Keedo And Batcko. I reinforced the fact that Keedo was a traitor. And Sabine, with her pathetic good heart, pulled the trigger, sacrificing Keedo's life for Batcko's, proving that the Shock 4 was 100% ready for battle."

"Now, there is another, tiny detail." Sabine sobbed silently beside him, shaking her head back and forth in a futile attempt to stem the evil mans flow of words.

"Oh, yes," he said to her evilly. "See, Keedo wasn't actually the defector." Sabine suddenly froze. She slowly looked up at him, horror in her eyes. He smiled.

"I wonder, do you remember your last conversation with her? She had just gotten back from an interrogation when you and Batcko said you were ready to test the weapon. As you walked to the testing grounds, she kept trying to tell you something very important to her. But, the great Sabine had no time for friends. She just kept shushing her friend, going over final details of the Shock 4 with Batcko." Shrivus knelt and pulled on her ear. Sabine was in so much shock she couldn't think straight.

"What Keedo was trying to say, was that she had overheard some, shall we say, confidential, Imperial plans. All she wanted to do was tell you, her friend, but you denied her. When I told you she was the defector and deserved to die, that wasn't the whole truth.

"The truth was that what she had heard could've ruined us, and we needed her dead. And we also had a weapon to test, and a girl we had great potential for. We had to see what she was capable of. And so we tested you by seeing if you would kill her."

Everyone was in shock.

Sabine could no longer take it. Everything she dreaded might happen, had happened, in all the worst ways possible. And her old fight returned.

"TRAITOR!" She screamed, leaping up into the air and bringing her cuffed hands forward. Before her feet even touched the ground, the nearest storm trooper pulled the trigger of his Shock 4, stunning her, and she collapsed, unconscious. Mal Shrivus spun to glare at the trooper.

"I wanted her conscious, you idiot! I wanted her to feel pain! To Suffer!" He kicked at Sabine savagely several times until she rolled over and moaned. He spat in her face, slapping her, and she groggily came to. He glared red death at the girl, his hated enemy.

"I want you to feel all the pain, all the shame, that I felt when you ran away. When you left, destroying the Shock 4's plans, and the entire academy, in one giant, colorful explosion. I barely escaped with my life, but how I wish I hadn't. The shame, the ear burning mortification I felt when my equals demoted me as far down as sanitation, because of You. You ruined everything I had ever known." Shrivus stood. His body was shaking with rage, and his brows were so furrowed they were nearly vertical. Every inch of his being leaked his hatred. He pointed a long finger at the wide eyed Mandalorian.

"You will-" There was a small 'shreink' noise, and Shrivus spun on his heel towards the Jedi. Ezra was standing up, gag falling to the ground. Without taking his eyes from Shrivus's, he stuck his hand out, and his lightsaber seemed to appear out of nowhere. He ignited it, and still without moving his eyes, cut Kanan and Zeb free. While Shrivus was still too stunned to move, the two quickly stood up, removing their gags, and Kanan force grabbed his lightsaber. He ignited it, and Zeb took a fighting stance.

Finally, Ezra spoke, his hard voice just above a whisper. "Mal Shrivus, you get your wish. Prepare to die."

OH SNAP! I can't wait for the comments on this one 😂Let me know what you think! Part 5 will be coming soon!

Peace out rebels ✌️