Sabine opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them and yawning, her mind trying to work out where she was. In front of her, she saw the vastness of space, stretching past the window at speed. She was aboard a ship, in its cockpit by the looks of things. A glance to her left revealed a familiar face, Ahsoka. The togruta's hands were clamped around the flight sticks, and her eyes were distant as she focused on flying. She hadn't noticed Sabine's consciousness. The Mandalorian yawned loudly, both out of exhaustion and also because she wanted to get Ahsoka's attention. Her friend turned and gave a small smile, nodding in greeting. Sabine nodded, and turned her attention back to the window.
"When did I fall asleep?" she asked, struggling to remember leaving Lothal.
"Not long ago, couple of hours, if that. Pretty much as soon as we took off, you were gone" Ahsoka answered. A slight blush appeared on Sabine's face, she was in the presence of a true veteran, and whether she felt like they were on equal footing now or not, falling asleep almost immediately had not been her plan. Still, it had been the first uninterrupted nap she'd had in weeks.
"That's the first time I've been able to sleep in...a while" she commented in passing, Ahsoka nodded with understanding.
"Without the dreams?" the togruta asked, and Sabine replied with a nod. Ahsoka could tell that her friend was wondering why this was, and immediately thought of a possible answer.
"Perhaps now that we are acknowledging these visions, our path will be shown to us in a different light" she stated, speaking in a mysterious tone, typical of her character.

Silence filled the cabin for a few moments, and Sabine glanced backwards to see a welcome machine behind her. She slowly stood up and moved over to the machine, carelessly pouring some coffee into a metal cup and taking a sip with satisfaction. With a curious look, she then turned back to Ahsoka.
"Where are we going?" she asked, still having no idea in the slightest as to how they were supposed to find Ezra.
"We're heading to Thyferra, the rebel fleet is assembling there in preparation for an operation on Jakku. Hopefully we can find someone who's willing to help us, because, in complete honesty, even I'm not completely sure where to start" Ahsoka explained in response. Such simple honesty caught Sabine a little off guard. She supposed that Ahsoka was still a normal person, but she had always been a mentor figure so to see her unsure was an odd feeling. Perhaps this mission was impossible after all. The Mandalorian shook her head, inwardly admonishing herself. She would not lose hope, not at such an early stage. Yes, they were a little unsure at the moment, but they would find the way, they always did. For now, Sabine had a whole new question on her mind.
"Do you know what the business with Jakku is? I still get Alliance intelligence reports but they've sent me next to nothing about it" she asked.
"I can't be sure, but I believe it's another operation on the scale of Endor. Rebel squadrons have been busy in the past few months, clearing up after Operation Cinder. If you ask me, I reckon this is the counter-attack" Ahsoka answered, causing Sabine to raise her eyelids.
"The end for the Empire?" she questioned, causing Ahsoka to laugh out loud.
"Oh, I doubt it" the togruta said with a chuckle. Sabine frowned, what was so funny about that?
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"If there's one thing I've learnt in life, it's that evil always returns. Yes, it will carry a different form, but after fighting Separatists for years and then being rewarded for our fight with a tyrannical 'empire', you realise that the fight will never stop" Ahsoka explained, growing grim and serious.

Sabine lowered her head and stayed quiet, she didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like Ahsoka was right. From the day she was born, Sabine had been raised to fight. Of course, that was nothing strange for a Mandalorian, but was that necessarily a good thing? She enjoyed a fight as much as any warrior of Mandalore, and relished any opportunity to show off her abilities, but even the heat of battle didn't compare to the feeling she got when she was painting. Inwardly, she wondered if losing its warrior traditions would be such a bad thing for Mandalore, after all, how much death had they caused in the past? She shook her head and leant back in her chair, trying to enjoy the trip, despite her deep thoughts.

The hours passed by, and Sabine had spent them staring into the blue medley of hyperspace, lost in the washes of blue. Every time she saw it, she would tell herself that one day she'd paint it, but in all honesty, she didn't think she could do it justice. All of a sudden, she was shaken from her thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. She glanced upwards to see Ahsoka stood above her.
"We're about to leave hyperspace, time to get to work" the togruta stated, taking a seat in the pilot's position. Sabine nodded and stood up, carefully moving past her friend and entering the cargo bay. Even though they were visiting the Alliance, who ought to be friendly enough, she would not go anywhere without her westar blasters. Hesitantly, she scanned the dark cargo bay for a few moments, trying to find her weapons. With a smile, she laid her eyes on them and retrieved each of them in turn, slotting them satisfyingly into their holsters. Now she was ready.

But as the Mandalorian stood there, smiling contentedly, the Gauntlet suddenly shook violently, forcing her to grab onto a rail above her to keep her balance. The ship shook again, and crates in the cargo bay began to slide out of their positions. That was no hyperspace exit, what was going on?
"Sabine! I could use your help up here!" Ahsoka shouted from the cockpit. With a determined expression, the Mandalorian swiftly marched forwards, carefully trying to keep herself from falling over as the entire ship shook violently for the third time. As she entered the cockpit, all of her questions were immediately answered, and a grim expression appeared on her face. Tie fighters. But what were tie fighters doing at a rebel rendezvous? Now was no time to question, Sabine swiftly reached the front of the ship and slid into the co-pilot seat.
"At least half a dozen, maybe more. At the moment, I'm just trying to keep us flying" Ahsoka narrated calmly, or quietly, she certainly wasn't calm judging by the beads of sweat on her brow.
"What can I do?" Sabine asked, keeping her statement short and on point to allow Ahsoka to concentrate.
"Rear laser turrets, behind the cargo bay, need you to be a brilliant shot as always" Ahsoka answered, before sending them into a roll with a focused glare on her face.

Sabine smiled at the compliment, flatterer. Once the ship had finished rolling, she swiftly stood up and ran backwards. She wanted to get back into a seat as quickly as possible, but she wasn't fast enough. A bright green laser bolt rocketed into the Gauntlet, causing it to shake once more, this time sending Sabine collapsing into a pile of mislaid supply crates. It was a good job she'd been wearing her trusty helmet. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, the Mandalorian pulled herself up and made her way to the rear turret bay. She slipped into the seat and grasped her fingers around the firing mechanism, causing past memories from the days of the Ghost to come flooding back.
"Alright Sabine, you remember this" she muttered under her breath in a comforting tone. It would have been far more comforting if it was coming from someone else, but now was not the time to be picky. Time to shoot down some tie fighters. As she began turning in her seat, the familiar beeping of the targeting computer rang in her ears, and she immediately saw two hostiles to the rear. She moved into position and furrowed her brow with concentration, before firing off a shot of fiery red plasma and hitting a fighter in its starboard wing, causing it to spin out of control and hurtle into the second target. One shot, two fighters. Sabine smiled in her little victory, she hadn't lost her touch.
"Port side! Two fighters coming around!" Ahsoka shouted over the intercom. With a breath, Sabine regained her focus turned her attention to her right, waiting for more targets. The tie fighters roared past in a flash, and every shot that Sabine fired disappeared hopelessly into space, miles behind her attackers. She gritted her teeth and silently reprimanded herself, lead your targets Sabine, basic principle. A third tie fighter followed and the Mandalorian readied her aim, letting off a single blaster bolt. The shot hit with pinpoint accuracy, breaching the hull of the fighter's cockpit and causing it to explode into pieces.
"I just took down my second one! I think we're almost clear!" Ahsoka stated over the intercom. Sabine grimaced, knowing that two fighters still remained thanks to her own stupidity. Hearing the roar of their engines, she made ready once again. But as it turned out, her move was meaningless. Just as the ties came into her field of vision, a volley of red laser bolts from some other source blasted them into oblivion. Sabine gasped in shock, and immediately wondered who had fired the shots. Whoever it was, they had saved her skin. At that moment, a pair of X-Wings flew past the rear turret bay, causing the Gauntlet to shake slightly and allowing Sabine to breathe a sigh of relief. They were in the clear. As she removed her helmet, a new voice came through over the speakers.
"Unknown vessel, this is Phantom Leader, you did a hell of a job out there. Follow my vector and I'll report you to command" a male voice said.

Sabine laid her head back on the chair, wiping some sweat from her forehead and chuckling to herself, it had been too long since she'd shot down some ties.

Meanwhile, aboard the Alliance Nebulon-B frigate, The Redemption, a rebel general stood in the centre of a whitewash bridge. All around him, technicians and comms specialists worked hard, ensuring that the ship remained at peak performance. It was a tense time for the Rebellion, all craft had to be in perfect condition, ready for the battle to come. Jakku was certain to be the last great conflict in the Galactic Civil War, and hopefully the end of the Empire. Not that he wasn't determined to win the war, but this particular general's thoughts were elsewhere, as his mind turned to different matters that were equally important to him. Suddenly, one of the comms specialists turned to him, removing his headset and beckoning the general's attention with a respectful "sir".
"We've received a communication from Phantom leader, he encountered a tie patrol close to the fleet. All targets destroyed" he explained, causing the general to smile knowingly and nod.
"Sounds about right, he always was a good pilot. We could use a tightened patrol pattern ourselves though, don't want the Empire knowing what we're up to" the general replied.
"Yes sir, but there's more news sir, Phantom Leader isn't returning alone. He fought alongside some form of Mandalorian vessel sir, registered as the Gauntlet" the specialist stated.
"Hm, do we know the vessel?" the general asked curiously, moving to look over at the specialist's monitor.
"It checks out in Alliance records sir, from several years ago. Its last registered owner was...wow, uh sorry sir, its last registered owner was Ezra Bridger" the specialist exclaimed with a small gasp of shock, to many in the rebellion, Ezra was becoming something of a legend.
"Ezra Bridger huh?" the general said with an enigmatic smile, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
"Well, General Skywalker? What are your orders sir?" the specialist asked.

Skywalker simply smiled.