Armored Passion | The Mandalorian

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I had learned from multiple past experiences that it was never a good idea to openly interact with the civilians of a town the Empire had power over. I remember that whenever I had tried to talk to someone or simply just help them with a simple task, troopers were always ordered to either harm or kill those select few civilians. 

So, I guess you could say that Din's little notion of trying to speak to the trembling trio just about made my heart drop. 

In a matter of mere seconds, all the instances I had lived through start to flash through my mind and I couldn't seem to get the images of Vader and his troopers wreaking havoc throughout different towns and villages out of my head. 

I quickly snap out of it and start to move forward, knowing that I should probably stop Din before anyone else spotted what it was we were doing. If we were lucky enough, none of the guards walking around had caught wind of Din's attempt to conversate. Now, all I have to do is get him to move on before anybody else notices—

"You two. The Magistrate wants to see you," a guard behind me says, his hand clamping down on my already tense shoulder. He squeezes tightly, making me tense up even more as I swallowed my nerves down. I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down, looking over my shoulder to glance up at him while nodding my head with a sense of confidence. He slowly slides his hand off of my shoulder before walking down the main street we had been following. Din and I follow, but I make sure we lag back and out of earshot.

"Hey, try not to interact with the civilians too much, alright?" I mutter, making sure to keep my voice low and quiet so only he could hear me. I glance to the side, spotting a mother and her child dashing into their home as we pass by. 

"What?" he questions, tilting his head down to glance at me. I slowly start to look back towards the path we were following, trying to keep a blank stare on my face to mask the worry and apprehension that had started to spread through my chest. "Why shouldn't we—"

"Mando," I rush out, stopping him before he could say anything else. 

It had been quite some time since I had last addressed him as Mando; it almost felt unnatural to even call him by such. But apparently, that was enough to really sober him up because now he's watching my face with the utmost intent. His blank gaze locks directly onto mine, telling me that he was really listening to me this time around. I take a deep breath and let it out in a distressed sigh. 

"Look, I think this place might be under Imperial rule. And I'm telling you not to interact with the civilians because I know from experience what happens when guards or troopers catch you showing them any sign of wanting to help them or talk to them. They're just going to get more hurt than they already are in the end," I whisper as a few more memories flash through my mind. I shiver and shake them out of my head. "I witnessed a lot of civvy maltreatment when I was younger. Just... just trust me on this one, please."

He slowly nods his head with a sense of understanding. I nod back and let out a quiet sigh of relief. He subtly steps closer to me and takes my hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze before letting go.

Before I know it, we're all coming to a slow stop in front of a large set of thick metal doors that looked to be sealing off some sort of peaceful sanctuary from the rest of the cruel outside world. And when I say cruel, I'm talking about holding people in circular cages that were electrically charged kind of cruel. 

Each person I could see locked in a cage looked to be in pure and utter agony, all of their limbs subtly twitching to match the low, frightening buzz of electricity that happened to be running through each of their so-called caged. I could tell that they were all trying to do their best to keep completely still, but even that was proving to be a little difficult for them.