"We have a new mission."

Hera Syndulla's voice rang out clear and strong, slightly elevated to be heard over the steady hum of the Ghost's Hoersch-Kessel ion drive sublight engines. The Twi'lek stood on a walkway overlooking the cargo bay where the rest of her small crew went about their morning duties.

Of course, there were no mornings or evenings in space, but the original crew of the Ghost had decided early on that they needed a regular schedule so that operations ran as smoothly as possible. As the crew came from three different planet with three different rotational cycles, it was decided that "days" on the ship would follow the Galactic Standard model. Everything seemed to run smoothly until a young female Mandalorian named Sabine Wren joined the crew

During her early years on Mandalore, Sabine had lived .with her entire life structured around the planet's 19 standard hour rotation. While this was normal to Sabine, only later, when the Empire had seized Mandalore, had she had learned that days on her planet were considered "short" compared to the Galactic Standard model.

"The Galactic Standard Calendar," the first year instructor at the Imperial Academy had lectured "is based on the size and rotation of the planet Coruscant. A Standard day is 24 hours while a Standard week consists of 5 days."

At the Imperial Academy, everything strictly revolved around the 19 standard hour rotation of Mandalore: Sabine was told when to wake in the morning, when to go to sleep in the evening, when to arrive (promptly) for her classes, and even when (and how many times) she was allowed to use the bathroom during the day.

Hera's announcement that a full day/night cycle on board the Ghost would last 24 hours was at first met with resistance by the young Mandalorian, who was so used to retiring to her room at a very specific time and now found herself expected to be awake and working during times she was not accustomed to.

After months aboard the Ghost, the teenager became somewhat used to the schedule and had fallen into a routine that had her falling asleep only an hour before the others. It was much to her annoyance, however, when she had discovered that, despite her falling asleep before the others, she was almost always the last person to wake, finding the other members of the crew eating and socializing around the modest table in the lounge.

Not that Sabine had much of an appetite in the morning. While the Mandalorian joined the crew around the table, she spent the time doodling in one of the many sketchbooks she seemed to keep on her person at all times. Once, she had caught Garazeb Orrelios leafing through the book, the big Lasat's brow furrowed as he studied the diagrams of armor and hairstyles Sabine had thought up. After angrily snatching the sketchbook from his hand, ripping a few pages in the process, Sabine had stormed out, leaving Zeb at the mercy of an unsympathetic Hera.

Later, when Sabine returned to her room, she found a box containing several tools she had listed in her book as requirements for any armor modifications. The box also included a note in passable Basic reading 'Sorry'. The next morning, Sabine entered the lounge, nodded in response to a pleasant "Good morning!" from Hera, and settled onto the bench next to Zeb. The two became fast friends.

And so when Sabine gave Zeb a hard elbow to get his attention and nodded towards Hera, the Lasat only gave her the lightest of retaliation taps before turning his attention to the Twi'lek.

The remaining crew members present in the cargo hold, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, lowered their lightsabers and deactivated the weapons as one. The droid C1-10P, known affectionately as Chopper, and who had spent the last hour firing low power energy bolts only to have them redirected back towards him by an overly enthusiastic Ezra, took the opportunity to pick up a discarded piece of scrap and sling it towards the blue-haired youth only to watch Kanan snatch it out of midair. Giving Chopper a stern glare and a brief shake of his head, he returned his attention back to his Twi'lek lover.

Hera shot a glance at each of them in turn before clearing her throat, he lekku swaying back and forth to indicate her impatience.

"Ahsoka wanted to brief us in person, but she's needed elsewhere. She contacted me a few minutes ago and filled me in on the situation. Looks like we're running a solo op today, kids."

A hologram of a pretty young woman hovered over the projector, filling the room with a flickering blue light which washed over the walls like a pale ocean, giving the familiar corridors of the Ghost an eerie feel. Sabine shivered, her mind drifting; she unconsciously scooted closer to Zeb, although the Lasat failed to notice.

Hera stood opposite her crew, the projector between them.

"This is Bria Tharen. She is an agent involved in underground intelligence work. Normally even Ahsoka doesn't know where she is. She sends information to the fleet via a contact. She was due to arrive on Corellia to infiltrate the garrison there, but she never arrived."

Hera reached down and pressed a button on the holoprojector's panel; the device beeped and a map of the galaxy replaced the portrait of the redheaded woman. Ezra let out a low whistle; he had only seen a hand full of maps in his 16 years and was always impressed by the sheer scope of the galaxy he was a small part of.

Hera allowed herself a small grin at the boy's curiosity before entering in a series of coordinates. The map zoomed in on a smaller sector of space, labeling several planets; none of which Ezra recognized. Hera indicated one of the planets.

"Tharen left a planet called Ylesia with a course intended to have her arriving at Druckenwell -"

"You know the BlasTech factory there is the one probably supplying the garrison on Lothal." Sabine muttered to Zeb, who nodded darkly.

Hera sighed.

"Yes, Sabine. The factory on Druckenwell is probably the one supplying the Imperial garrisons on quite a few Outer Rim worlds. Unfortunately, today's mission does not involve us raiding, or destroying, a heavily guarded weapons factory."

Hera exchanged a look with Kanan. She eyed her Lasat crew mate.

"Is that clear, Zeb?"

"Seems like the Alliance never lets us blow anything up anymore." Zeb growled in disappointment, his eyes on Hera. Hera glared right back before returning to the holoprojector.

"The idea was for Tharen to dump her ship , hitch a ride to Druckenwell, and board a transport bound for Corellia. Druckenwell is on the Corellian Run hyperspace route; one more passenger on a crowded transport ship on a crowded hyperspace trade route. Nothing to look twice at."

Hera cleared her throat.

"Tharen was supposed to meet an Alliance contact on Nar Shaddaa but there's been no sign of her. Ahsoka has tasked with finding out why.

The holoprojector behind Hera changed its display to show the moon; from what Ezra could make out from the low quality holo, it appeared that this moon was one large city. The young rebel could make out the lights of millions of buildings all over the city.

Zeb had his arms folded, his face set in a scowl. His eyes were locked on the image of the slowly rotating moon. He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, his tone sarcastic.

"So instead of sending us to sabotage or steal anything like we've been doing all this time, we're getting send on a blasted rescue mission?"

Hera nodded, her attention focused on the Jedi sitting next to Zeb. Sabine grinned; she punched Zeb lightly on the shoulder.

"Calm down, big guy. Compared to what we've been through, it'll be over before any of the good factories are destroyed."

Ignoring her, Zeb stood up, his arms open. He locked eyes with Kanan.

"Are you hearing this, Kanan? Don't tell me you're on board with taking the kids," He indicated Sabine and Ezra. "...well...there?"

Both Ezra and Sabine protested at the same time, their voices creating a harmony that mixed with the background drone of the holoprojector.

"Hey I'm not some -"

"If that Lothrat is -"

"Enough!"

Hera's shout made both of the teenagers stop mid-sentence. They turned to face the pretty Twi'lek pilot. Hera had her eyes closed, her hand gripping her forehead in concentration. Sabine noted the tightening of her lekku and sank into her seat with Ezra close behind. She spoke deliberately, meeting the gaze of every crewmember seated around the holoprojector.

"It's our job to find Tharen and get her to that contact. And we do it together."

Zeb, however, was not finished. "Hera, you know I respect your judgement," The Lasat paused, picking his words carefully "But Nar Shaddaa is not a place I think we should take Sabine and Ezra." Zeb held up a hand as Sabine gave an angry scoffing sound. "Just...hear me out. I know they've fought the Empire with us for going on a year now. And they've done a damn good job. But there are so many worse people in the galaxy. And Nar Shaddaa is full of them."

Without another word, Sabine jumped to her feet and stomped out of the room, a very angry and all too familiar look in her eye. Zeb threw his hands up. "Great, and now she's angry."

"Gee, and I wonder why, Zeb? You just called her a kid -"

"Well isn't she -"

"You know she doesn't like being looked down on!"

"I'm trying to protect her! And Ezra, for that matter!"

"And I'm sure Ezra really appreciates being called a kid as well." Hera said with sarcastic finality. The Twi'lek glanced around the room, confirmed that Ezra had left, and rounded on Zeb again. "And now you've made Ezra mad. Just...stay here and talk to Kanan or something. I'm going to prepare our jump." With that she turned on her heel and marched away, disappearing up a ladder. Zeb turned towards the Jedi, who had silently watched the conversation with a smirk on his face.

A/N Hey guys. So it's actually been a few years since I've done this whole fan fic thing. So I would really appreciate it if you would leave a comment (it doesn't have to be long) telling me what I'm doing wrong or right. I really want to improve my writing and I love the feedback. Thanks!