The Quarry

The Quarry - Part 28

It has been a week since they'd returned to Aq Vetina, and it felt as if the galaxy around Din was healing itself. The hole punched into it by Jon's death was closing, and for the first time since Grogu had left him, Din felt some semblance of peace within himself. Lai had insisted Versa and Din stay as long as they needed again, and after what they'd endured together, they were more than happy to accept. They woke together each morning, wrapped around each other as the sun peeked in through the curtains on the window, casting long shadows across their bodies. The first few days were difficult as they would crawl out of bed and quietly help each other change the dressings on their injuries. The spear wounds Din had suffered were going to leave deep scars, but he was thankful that the bacta seemed to be doing wonders for the hashmarks that had been carved on Versa's skin. He hoped that perhaps she wouldn't have an obvious reminder of what she'd endured while they'd been separated. The cut on her cheek was healing nicely as well, now just a pale line that he only noticed if he was looking for it.

The first night they'd arrived, Versa had fallen asleep early, collapsing into bed after cleaning herself up in the refresher. Din had struggled to sleep, instead sitting with a cup of tea at the small kitchen table, reliving the fight and his decisions. Lai had joined him after tucking Vee in, taking the seat across from him.

"It's done then?" she asked quietly.

"He's dead. He'll never harm you or Vee."

She nodded as she took a sip of tea from her own mug. "Good."

Din raised an eyebrow at her, and she shrugged. "He threatened and hurt those I care about. I imagine killing him wasn't difficult after everything he's put Versa through."

"What makes you so sure I killed him?"

Lai eyed him carefully, setting the mug back on the table. "You are carrying more weight than the last time we saw each other. You're too kind of a soul for killing to come easy to you, Din. Even if he deserved it."

Din shifted his shoulders uncomfortably under her gaze. She was right, but he was still struggling to determine why. He'd killed before, but couldn't recall it feeling this heavy. "He was a Mandalorian," he said quietly.

Lai's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "One you knew?"

"No. Definitely not. Very different." Din took another sip of tea. "The way he interpreted the Mandalorian Creed and what it means to be a Mandalorian was counter to everything I stand for. I saw the evil that drove Versa away from the Mandalorians in him, and it's frightening." Reaching down, he unhooked the Darksaber from the back of his belt, placing it on the table between them. "Did Jon tell you what this is?"

She nodded. "I don't understand completely, but I do know it gives you a great responsibility, one that you seem unsure of."

He leaned back in his chair. "How does anyone re-establish a culture when people like that twist what it means into something evil? I'm starting to wonder if Versa was right, and it's not worth reviving."

Lai rubbed her thumb along the rim of her cup. "Let me ask you something. When you and Versa reunited, were you immediately ready to rekindle your relationship?"

He met her eyes again, thinking back to when Versa had launched herself into the river trying to escape him. Of course seeing her had tugged at something deep within his chest, but he'd been more frightened than he cared to admit of losing her, of experiencing the pain he'd felt as a teenager when she left the first time. "No," he said softly.

"And why was that?" Lai asked, taking another sip of her tea.

"Because I was afraid it wouldn't work, that it wasn't worth..." he trailed off, meeting her golden eyes as she raised her eyebrows at him.