The wildlands had earned their name well. Everything on this planet was untamed and dangerous, but that was true tenfold in the wildlands. It felt as if the very ground that you walked on was trying to kill you. More inhospitable than Felucia, with the bubbling rage of Mustafar. Like everywhere here, it was totally unique, which made it unpredictable. Even Commander Skorn, who had seemed so in control thus far, seemed to be treading carefully here. He had mentioned that he had passed into these lands only once, and was lucky to escape with his life. That fact did not fill Sabine with too much confidence. The area around them seemed much more ominous than other areas of the planet that they had seen. A thick mist had rolled in, seemingly out of nowhere, and none of the roaring wildlife from before could be heard, save for an occasional unnatural shriek.
"You said you've been here before?" Ahsoka asked, breaking the tense silence.
"That's right, general. When I first got here, one of our first objectives was to scout the terrain. I came in here with a whole squad, I was the only one who survived long enough to warn everybody else about this place" Skorn replied bitterly, it definitely seemed like he held a grudge on this place in particular. Who could blame him? Sabine dreaded to think how many of his friends had been lost here.
"What is it that makes this place so dangerous?" Ahsoka questioned, stepping over a tree root. As she asked this, the root seemed to slither and creak, almost as if it was trying to trip her over. She shook her head and continued onwards.
"I couldn't say for sure ma'am, there's just something about it. This whole damn planet is a death-trap, but here...here you get the impression that it's actually trying to kill you" the commander answered. Sabine understood that, every single second she would see something moving in the corner of her eye, and then, by the time she had turned to look, it was gone. The silence was deafening, but the trio continued on as best as they could. One step at a time.

As Skorn had warned before, the night soon arrived, and the forest now was barely any lighter than the inside of the Chimaera. The commander had lost his flashlights powering up the audio recording before, and Sabine's had been damaged when she was attacked by that creature, so now the only light guiding them was that of Ahsoka's ice white lightsaber. The togruta held her weapon up high, like a torch, and used it to beat away the tangled vines in their way. It was strange, but the vines seemed to hiss every time they were struck, like a wild animal in pain. They would then retreat back upwards, almost slithering back into the trees. If she hadn't known otherwise, Sabine would label them as some form of reptile, but they were just vines. This place was just impossible. Every instinct in her body told her that what she was seeing couldn't possibly be real, and yet it was. It was both exciting, and terrifying.
"What's that?" Commander Skorn asked, noticing something glinting in the light of Ahsoka's blade. The trio moved forwards to find a stormtrooper helmet, years old by the looks of it, and almost certainly from the crew of the Chimaera. It had been crushed under some kind of great force, and the visor was completely smashed. There was no sign of its previous inhabitant.
"There any kind of video recording?" Sabine asked, leaning down and briefly wincing thanks to the pain in her foot. She picked up the helmet and reached her hand inside, pressing a small button there and causing a flickering hologram to shine from the shattered visor.
"This is unit TK-5667, we've tracked the Bridger boy to an area nearby, but we've encountered heavy resistance!" the voice stopped for a moment, and was replaced by a recording of intense laserfire "...cannot possibly reach him...full retre-ahhh". The hologram stopped on that eerie note, causing each of the trio to glance around. What could possibly have struck so much panic into those troopers? They were attacked years ago, but even the thought of what had attacked them still being there scared the trio, especially after the previous encounter. They had seen what the wildlife of this planet had to offer, and it was not particularly comforting.
"Ahem...well, anyway, I suggest we carry on moving. It's not good to stay in one place at night here unless you're setting up a camp" Skorn stated, coughing nervously a little at the contents of the recording.
"Let's make camp here, it's been a long day, and we need to be at our best if we're going to stand any chance of tracking Ezra" Ahsoka suggested, and Skorn nodded with a quick salute.
"As you say ma'am, I'll quickly gather some supplies for a small fire" he responded, jogging off into the shadows. It had indeed been a long day, and even Sabine was in need of a rest.

Ten minutes passed, and the fire was now roaring as the trio sat in the middle of a small clearing in the strange, misty forest. Sabine was sat down with her back leant against a tree. She had removed her helmet and rested it by her side, needing to breathe the air with her own lungs as she rested. A flash of pain shot through her foot, and she winced, letting out a small groan at the sharp sensation. It had been a while since she'd taken a hit like this. Ahsoka suddenly walked up, having heard the Mandalorian's struggles, and knelt down next to her. She examined the bandage closely and grimaced at the look of it.
"It's already dirty, probably infected, we need to replace the bandage but I don't have any more" she said with a frown.
"I'll be fine, I can still fight" Sabine insisted, if there was one thing she hated, it was being made a fuss of.
"I'm sure you can" Ahsoka said with a chuckle "but we've got to keep an eye on this, there's nothing I can do now so just struggle on, when we get back to the Gauntlet there should be enough supplies to sort that out". Sabine nodded her head in understanding before leaning back into the tree behind her, sighing. Ahsoka gave a brief, pitied look, before moving away and sitting in her own position. She remembered that Sabine liked her space, and she doubted that she'd changed that much over the years. A fond smile appeared on her face as she remembered the old days, using the codename Fulcrum and advising Phoenix Squadron. At that point, so much had changed for her with the rise of the Empire, but her involvement in a military seemed familiar, almost welcoming. And the rebels did represent a truly worthy cause. It was difficult to believe that the Emperor was now dead, Anakin along with him. If there was one thing she regretted, in what seemed like such a long life, it was leaving Anakin behind, her friend, her Skyguy. Maybe he never would have turned if she had just stuck around, maybe. A loud crash as Skorn tossed some more branches onto the fire interrupted her chain of thought, and she decided it was best to leave such things in the past.
"Skorn, the fire is quite large enough, sit down, get some rest" Ahsoka said in an almost commanding tone. The clone opened his mouth to speak, but resisted, instead smiling and joining the togruta by the fire.
"Commander, do you mind if I ask you a question?" she questioned slowly, twiddling her fingers.
"Ask away general" the commander replied, busily cleaning his helmet with his hands.
"How did you end up here? You obviously arrived quite early in the war, judging by the phase one armour, but, what happened?" Ahsoka asked, causing Skorn to suddenly stop cleaning and go completely still. For a moment, she thought she may have crossed some sort of line, but the commander soon went back to his work and started to explain.
"Yes, it was only a few months after the Geonosis Conflict. The venator I was serving on was in the Bardotta system, and we encountered a Separatist scout fleet. Only a few ships, but they were trying to secure new hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim that would put us at an even further disadvantage. We couldn't let that happen" Skorn started.
"You engaged an entire fleet? On your own?" Ahsoka asked with surprise.
"Back in the day, we were good, damn good. Anyway, we caught them by surprise and managed to destroy all but one of their cruisers. The final ship was preparing to go into hyperspace, and so we pursued it. We assumed that it was fleeing to a Separatist base, and that by following it we could learn its location and signal for reinforcements. Now, I realise that it was panicking, making the jump without calculations. Both ships ended up crashing here, and to cut a long story, there's only one clone left here, but plenty of damn clankers" the commander explained, the bitterness clear in his voice. He'd lost his entire battalion, and yet the droids hadn't seemed to lose a thing.
"What is it about this planet? First you and the Separatists, then Thrawn, and now us, that's a lot of crashed ships" the togruta wondered aloud.
"I don't know general, all I know is that I want off this rock. I'll follow you anywhere you decide to go, but just get me out of here" Skorn said, showing a rare vulnerable side. Ahsoka nodded understandably with a sympathetic look on her face.
"We'll try our damn best Skorn. Now then, time to get some rest, I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you in a few hours" she answered, causing the clone to nod with a small smile. He liked this Jedi a lot, she reminded him a lot of his previous general, wise and powerful but with a sympathy for those under her command. Ahsoka was certainly a welcome member of his new battalion and, small as it was, he had a good feeling about this trio.

Morning came. Or at least, whatever could be remotely compared to morning. The trio had slept for hours, but night was still in full swing, with the three moons only just taking their prime position in the sky. Skorn had not been lying when he'd said that the nights here were long. Still, it was time to move. It didn't take much to stir Sabine from her sleep, she was eager to get moving. Having heard Ezra's name mentioned several times by different troopers now, she was getting a good feeling in her heart. In fact, it was beating out of her chest. Excitement. Anticipation that things might be looking up. First with the defeat of the Empire, and now with this. The times ahead may just have been shaping up to be the best in her life.

The trio set off in high spirits, and Sabine was even beginning to notice the pain in her foot less and less, the adrenaline of the moment keeping it at bay. Skorn and Ahsoka also seemed closer to one another this morning, Sabine herself had fallen asleep before them. The last thing she had heard was the two of them discussing how he had landed there, she assumed that the togruta had been comforting and supportive as usual, tightening the bond between them. Ahsoka, despite all of her mysterious, seemed to be so full of love and care for everybody around her. It didn't matter how much she lost, she was eager to put everybody else first, even Vader at one point. But the peace was soon interrupted by shouting from Skorn, who had volunteered to scout ahead of them.
"Come look at this!" he shouted, and Sabine soon saw the reason why. The clone was stood in a clearing full of dead stormtroopers. Each of the troopers laid in vastly different resting places, but all seemed to share a similar continuity, deep cavities in their armour, almost as if they had been hit by something...some force. Ahsoka noticed this too, and the pair shared a glance.
"Ezra?" Sabine asked hopefully.
"Let us hope, come on, this way!" Ahsoka said, gesturing towards a dark cave where the bodies seemed to be facing. Ezra had likely fled within having fought the troopers outside. But as the trio prepared to enter the cave, a cataclysmic roar beckoned them from behind. They slowly turned around, afraid of what they might see, and soon found themselves right in being fearful. Bearing down upon them, was the clasping maw of an almighty acklay. It was a taste of the familiar, but certainly not a welcome one. This acklay seemed even larger than the ones Ahsoka had seen in the past, mutated to become stronger and more efficient at killing. In a swift movement, the acklay raised one of its feet and smashed it into the ground between the trio, effectively cutting Ahsoka and Skorn off from the cave. Sabine scurried off towards the cave, before turning to give a fearful glance to her friends.
"Go! We'll deal with this!" Ahsoka shouted, but Sabine was hesitant "go!!" The Mandalorian clenched her fists, but obeyed the order, charging off into the cave and leaving her friends to stave off the ferocious acklay.

Sabine instantly found herself inside what looked like another world, the sounds of the fight behind her becoming distant, and faded. She ran her hand along the walls of the cave, they were moist, dripping with cool, clear water. A shiver ran through her, it seemed far chillier down here. But most fascinating were the flora, luminous blue mushrooms were fixed to the sides of the cave, glowing and staving back the shadows. Stalactites hung down from the ceiling, like icicles of rock, frozen in place. The Mandalorian gathered herself, determined not to become distracted by her surroundings. She was here for a reason, she would find Ezra, and bring him home. In the back of her mind, she imagined the look on everybody's faces when they returned with him. Hera would be worried sick, probably more concerned with if he's been keeping healthy, despite having a child of her own now, Ezra was still like a son to her. And that fact alone only stoked her determination. She continued onwards, down a harsh descent as the cave led further down into the bowels of the planet. She had this image in her head, of her reaching the very bottom of the cave to find Ezra sat there, cross-legged, in some kind of mediation, completely calm. Jedi Master Ezra, she snorted at the thought alone. But pretty soon, she didn't have to imagine what their reunion would be like...

The Mandalorian, after walking through the cave for what had felt like hours, turned a corner and gasped in disbelief at the sight before her. She spotted an orange jumpsuit, cobalt blue hair that had grown long and scruffy in isolation, even the scars beneath the eye that had been delivered by the Grand Inquisitor, so long ago. In other words, she spotted Ezra. The Jedi was sat down, leaned against a cave wall, with his head hung down as low as possible. He didn't seem to be conscious. Sabine bounded towards him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him madly.
"Ezra! Ezra! It's me! Sabine! We've come to rescue you! Ezra?" she shouted with joy, joy that soon twisted into confusion at her friend's lack of response. She glanced upwards, and noticed with a frown that Bridger seemed to have several long vines connected to his body, pulsing with blue energy. She reached her hand forwards.
"Don't touch him!" Skorn shouted from behind, scaring the life out Sabine. She turned to see her friends stood there, and gave the commander a confused look.
"That plant..." Skorn began, unable to finish his sentence.
"What is it?" Ahsoka asked, moving closer but refraining from touching it.
"I'm no scientist general...but whenever one of my men would get grabbed by one of those, they'd soon go mad afterwards...we believed that it was a sort of parasite, feeding on the neural energy of its victim" the clone stated, this was the last thing that he had ever wanted to see. Sabine looked broken.
"Is...is he alive?" she asked slowly, terrified of the answer. But before Skorn could respond, somebody else spoke.
"They're here?! They're here! Got to get away...got to..." Ezra had briefly shot up in panic, but soon fell back into unconsciousness.
"Ezra?! Ezra?" Sabine turned to him again, Skorn subtly shook his head at Ahsoka with a grim look.
"He's alive" the togruta said, trying to find a positive.
"The plant needs to keep him that way...he's a...food source" Skorn explained.
"Well let's get him out! Come on! We've found Ezra and he's alive!" Sabine shouted, quickly looking for a way to free her friend from the plant.
"Wait, Sabine. Look, even if we get him free and he is alive...all of my men went mad within a week of being attached to those things...your friend may have been trapped here for years...you saw him, he's delirious" the commander stated, but this time, Ahsoka was the one acting out of emotion.
"You don't know Ezra, he'll pull through, I know he will. Let's get him back to the Gauntlet" she said with conviction, igniting her blade and slashing away at the vines. They hadn't given up on Ezra in all this time, and they weren't about to now.