Dorn: A Star Wars Story

40. Inheritors

"Hey," Khomo whistled to me as we prepared to board the transports. "Come with me a sec."

I followed him into the compound and into a room that I figured after we had arrived belonged to him.  He entered into it, and I took a minute to look around. On his desk were holoportraits. One was of him and Kando with the twi'lek I remembered from the last time we met and an older Mando with steely eyes and dark armor. They were all smiling, Khomo being a young kid there and sitting happily on Kando's lap, the older Clone grinning at the camera in a set of beskar'gam. The next picture was of a much younger Kando and a group of Clones, all done up in the same red and white armor, each with a painted gundark head in their chest pieces. My eyes wandered to another photo of Talen and Kando, again much younger. The last was a picture I hadn't seen in decades. It was me and Kando that had been taken by one of the astromechs that Kando had been given for maintenance of me nd him. I looked so young there and was only half smiling, Kando had his arm around me, one of his big smiles on his face, and it looked like I had just told a bad joke. I reached out and grabbed the photo, holding it up to look at the two of us. A pang of regret flooded through my body. I should have gone with him when he asked...

"Buir wanted me to give you this," Khomo emerged from on of the storage areas holding a large box. He set it down and opened it up, and when I made my way over, picture in hand, I saw what it was. It was a beautiful set of beskar'gam that looked like it hadn't ever been worn done up in black with two Jaig Eyes that had been hidden in stencils when it was painted, gleaming up at me in pure beskar silver. "The black in the armor stands for justice and just governance. It's one of Clan Ordo's colors," he explained, gesturing down to it with his chin before his eyes fluttered to the picture, "it was the color that my ba'buir picked for his armor. Buir always said that you reminded him of ba'buir Wylan. Thought it would be a good fit when he had it made for you."

"He... had this made for me?" I looked from the armor to Khomo, who smiled at me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked back down to the armor, setting the picture down beside it before reaching out and taking the armor in my hands, running my hand over it before slipping into onto my head. The visor lit up and the HUD appeared. It fit me perfectly. I took it off with a shake of my head, "I can't take this..."

Khomo snorted as an amused smile played on his lips, "Uh, yeah, you can. And you better. Buir had to do a lot of justifications on having a set made for you to our goran. His will wound up being stronger in the end. Definitely wanted to be sure that you got this at some point. I decided you earned it when you agreed to help us out." I turned to him as he stared down at the armor. "The Empire killed a lot of my friends and family. Never got why he was so obsessed with you at first, but... His face when he saw you again... I knew right then that you were my brother. Hoped that working for the Empire hadn't changed that kid that made my papa smile. I was right, and so was he." He looked up at me and smiled, "I'll get you a copy of that holo, too. Figured you'd want one."

I don't know what came over me, but I set down the helmet and pulled Khomo into a hug. "Thank you," I whispered as I felt my eyes sting with tears I was trying to fight back. Khomo returned the embrace, hugging me tightly as I felt them slip unbidden from my eyes.

Kando had never forgotten about me. Not after all that time.

"You need somewhere to go when you're tired of fighting, you come back here, got it?" Khomo squeezed me tighter.

"I don't know where I'll go," I admitted as we stepped apart, brushing the tears away from my eyes with the back of my hand, "but wherever it is, I'm bringing a piece you and Kan'buir with me."

Khomo and I emerged together with me now sporting the dark black armor, walking in step as we exited the compound. It made my crew pause and turn to look at me. I shrugged, "Inheritance."