Between Good and Bad

The Tragedy

The whole trip Aria has been ignoring Mando, leaning her head back against the seat with her eyes closed. Everyone now and then, Grogu would make a noise loud enough to get picked up by the comm, and he can see the way she smiles a bit when she hears it.

The ships drop out of hyperspace. Aria straightens up. She can feel how Mando feels. He's gotten attached to Grogu, but he only has him because he agreed to take him to the Jedi. He hits a couple buttons to open a channel.

"She said you could train him. Is that true?"

"One doesn't take a Padawan because of convenience. There has to be a desire to teach. If Luke doesn't come, I might consider it. Might. The seeing stone is atop a mountain with no place to set down. We'll have to land and jet up."

They do, and somehow Grogu opens the ramp and insists on flying with Aria. He squeals loudly in protest when Mando takes him. Both Mandalorians are fully armored. Eventually, Grogu goes with the girl instead and squeals happily. It doesn't take them long to reach the ruins of the temple. Six towering rocks in a circle lean inward toward a domed rock in the center.

"I guess this is it," Mando says. "Does this look  . . . Jedi to you?"

Aria goes down the couple steps leading to the seeing stone. She sits Grogu on the stone and steps back.

Mando looks around as the Child coos. "Is anything happening? This is the seeing stone. Are you . . .  seeing anything? Or are they supposed to see you?"

"He's a kid, Mando. Give him a minute to figure it out," Aria scolds. "None of us know what's supposed to happen."

Regardless, the man begins to walk around the stone, looking for anything that would help. "Maybe there's a control of some kind." He makes a complete round and finds nothing.

Some butterflies begin to flutter around and Grogu reaches up for one.

"Ahsoka said get him here and he'd do the rest."

They all look at the sound of a ship approaching.

Aria recognizes it as a ship from her mother's pictures. The Slave I. But it was destroyed? They both walk to the cliff edge and watch it land near their ships.

"Times up, kid. We gotta get out of here."

They both look back to see a blue beam shooting up from the seeing stone.

"We don't have time for this." Mando steps toward it. "We got-"

"Din don't!"

He touches it and is flung back. He stands up slowly. "Hey, snap out of it kid! We got to get out of here!" He turns back and uses the infrared to see someone get off the ship.

"I'll stay with him," Aria tells Mando.

"I'll buy us some time." He pulls out a blaster. "Get him to hurry up."

Mando starts climbing down the cliff and she slowly paces around the stone, lightsaber in hand. She watches the man interact with Din, and she hears, "I'm a simple man making his way through the galaxy. Like my father, and sister, before me."

She's sure this is Boba.

"My friend's locked onto that companion of yours up on the henge."

Aria isn't sure if he means her or Grogu. She begins looking around for the sniper. She finds them when they stand and join the men, who have put their blasters down. 'Stop arguing and give him the armor for kriff sake.'

They all look up as another ship approaches and lands by the other ships. Mando begins running up the cliff face and Aria ignites her lightsaber. Grogu still sits in the shield on the stone.