“Blood Sisters”

The Courier

On the planet Garel, Hera Syndulla sends out Vaux and a woman to pick up fighter parts in the market, just as Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Chopper show up. Syndulla has a mission for Wren: a courier with secret information needs to be picked up and transported to Havoc Outpost. Syndulla says the information this courier is holding is very important, so it must be delivered. When Wren asks what this courier looks like, Syndulla has no clue, but knows he will respond to the given code phrase “It’s a long way to Alderaan.” With orders understood, Wren heads out to meet with the courier, with Bridger and Chopper as backup. On the way, Bridger speaks to Wren about how he sees her as a loner, since she usually handles her missions alone and prefers solitude. As he continues, Wren spots a marking she appears to recognize on a wall, looking concerned. She then regroups with Bridger and Chopper, and the three of them make it to the hangar where they are to meet the courier. As passengers depart arriving shuttles, Wren and Bridger try the code on each passenger and civilian that passes them. Nobody apparently responds to the phrase, and a few awkwardly walk away. Hours pass, the hangar is closing, and Wren and Bridger still have not found the courier. Finally, they discover the courier to be an EG-series power droid, EG-86, who arrived with the cargo payload. They also discover that someone else is after the courier, a bounty hunter whom Wren identifies as Ketsu Onyo.

An Old Friend

Bridger learns that Wren and Onyo have a history together, as Onyo helped Wren escape from the Imperial Academy on Mandalore, and they then became bounty hunters. According to Wren, they had plans to join the criminal syndicate known as the Black Sun, but Onyo got greedy and left her for dead, while she alone became part of Black Sun. Onyo tells Wren she would have been better off dead than joining the rebellion. She didn’t believe that Wren had joined until she learned that the Empire had put a bounty on her. However, Onyo doesn’t intend to collect on it, as her main priority is the courier. Wren warns Onyo that she won’t let her take him, and just before the two are tempted to take on one another, they are interrupted by stormtroopers. The lead stormtrooper reminds them that the hangar is closed and instructs them to leave, and Onyo responds by shooting at them, triggering a gunfight. As more troopers show up, Bridger instructs Chopper to get EG-86 aboard a nearby shuttle while he, Wren, and Onyo hold off the stormtroopers. As soon as the droids are on board, Bridger and Wren join them. Chopper shuts down the pilot droi,d and Wren powers up the engines. But as they take off, Bridger falls overboard when a shot from one of the stormtroopers strikes the shuttle door, causing him to lose his balance. As the shuttle departs, he contacts Syndulla and informs her that the mission has gone “high profile.”

Meanwhile, the stormtroopers surround Onyo and hold her at gunpoint. After they order her to drop her weapons, Onyo suddenly attacks and takes out the troopers in hand-to-hand combat. She then retreats, using a departing shuttle as a stepping stone onto the roof where her ship, the Shadow Caster, is waiting.

Incoming

Wren and Chopper are now out in space, and despite leaving Bridger behind, they proceed with the mission of getting EG-86 to the rendezvous point. Just before making the jump to hyperspace, they detect Onyo’s ship approaching. She comes up from behind and opens fire on the shuttle, knocking out their hyperdrive. Wren can guess what Onyo’s next move will be, and orders both droids to lock their feet down. Onyo comes up beside Wren’s shuttle and shoots the side door open, causing a hull breach. Chopper gets sucked into the vacuum of space, as EG-86 and Wren get trapped in the doorway. With a bit of a struggle, Wren activates the force field, sealing the breach. Onyo pulls the Shadow Caster around so she’s face-to-face with Wren’s shuttle and makes contact. She threatens to blow her up unless she surrenders the droid. Little does she know that Chopper, after a moment drifting in space, has landed on her ship and is sabotaging her weapons array. Wren sees this and keeps Onyo distracted long enough for Chopper to disable her main cannon. While Onyo expresses how proud she is to be part of the Black Sun, Wren only shows disgust for having once wanted that life, as she knows the Black Sun is a slavers and assassins who don’t care about anything but body counts and quotas. They will also kill their own for a profit. After Wren again refuses to hand over the droid, Onyo regretfully opens fire on her old friend, but thanks to Chopper, the guns are disabled. Wren bids her farewell and hits the thrusters on her shuttle, with Chopper following. Onyo proceeds to capture him in a tractor beam and holds him hostage. Wren turns back and docks with the Shadow Caster, agreeing to make a trade. Meeting face to face, Onyo can see that Wren is still not willing to give up the courier. Onyo offers to split the bounty with her if she hands over the droid, but Wren tells her she is no longer interested in making a profit, as she is now part of the rebellion’s fight against the Empire. Onyo shows little confidence that the rebellion can overthrow the Empire, and tells Wren it’s foolish even to try. To her, survival matters most, and people cannot be trusted. Wren tells Onyo that the rebellion gave her a second chance in life. Back when she was only out for herself, she met good people who helped her become more than what she used to be and fight for the right cause. She forgives Onyo for abandoning her and offers her a second chance. Just then, they receive a transmission from an approaching Arquitens-class command cruiser that has been tracking down the stolen shuttle, which threatens to open fire if they try to flee. This issue forces Wren and Onyo to work together once again.

A Bad Situation

As the Imperial vessel approaches, Wren has a plan: instructing Chopper to overload the shuttle’s hyperdrive. She then contacts the Imperial vessel, warning them that their ships have suffered severe damage and are in danger of self-destruction. The Imperials scan and confirm Wren’s report. The commanding officer gives them two minutes to stabilize the situation before moving in to dock. Onyo begins to see what Wren’s plan is. She’s going to blow up the shuttle, giving them the time they need to escape. Using explosives stored on the Shadow Caster, Wren plants them all over the shuttle, ready to blow. She then reactivates the pilot droid and instructs him to activate the emergency protocols before retreating to the Shadow Caster. The Imperials notice the shuttle is powering up, and begin to open fire. They hit the docking tube, and the blast knocks out Wren. Onyo is prepared to make a getaway, but the droids refuse to leave Wren behind. Two against one, Onyo rescues Wren as the shuttle attempts to rip away from the docking with the Shadow Caster. Finally, everyone is aboard, and the Shadow Caster detaches from the shuttle, but both ships get caught in the Imperial cruiser’s tractor beam. The explosives aboard the shuttle detonate, destroying it and severely damaging the Imperial cruiser. The Shadow Caster, free of the tractor beam, escapes into hyperspace.

A New Ally

Wren, Onyo, and Chopper arrive at Havoc Outpost to deliver EG-86 into safe custody. Several Alderaanian rebels, including the astromech droid R2-D2, greet them. Then they return to Garel and land, where Syndulla and Bridger are waiting for them. Syndulla congratulates Wren on a successful mission and thanks Onyo for her assistance. Before going their separate ways, Wren thanks Onyo for saving her and tells her that if she ever thinks about helping the rebellion, she will be welcomed. After shaking on it, Onyo boards her ship and departs as Wren and Bridger watch.