Heart Of Darkness (Star Wars)

Chapter 3: Training The Villagers

My face fell at his words. Looks like he didn't have it easy either. I wasn't exactly great at comforting people or even being around people, which is why my best friend was an anooba.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I mentioned.

"This is the way." He commented.

We remained silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say or do. Finally, he spoke up again, changing the subject. "Cara and I are going to the forest to check out how many of these raiders are coming into the village. Do you want to come along?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not."

With that, the Mandalorian, Cara, and I went out into the forest, inspecting the place to figure what kind of raiders were coming into the village. The Mandalorian spotted out the tracks.

"About fifteen or twenty of them came through here on foot." He commented before pointing to the tree in front of us. "And something big sheared off those branches."

As we walked further into forest, we saw the footprint of a walker in the dirt. My eyes widened. "AT-ST by the looks of it."

Cara glanced over at me, but refrained from saying anything. Fortunately the Mandalorian spoke up. "Imperial walker. What's it doing here?"

"I don't know. But this is more than I signed up for." Cara mentioned.

•••

Once we returned to the village, we gathered all the villagers in front of the Mandalorian's home. I looked at them with a pang of guilt. We took the credits and their lodging, and now we were about to tell them that we can't help them. It wasn't fair to them.

"Bad news. You can't live here anymore." The Mandalorian confessed.

Everyone in the village was baffled at his words. I winced. Not the best way to break the news for them.

"What?" Stoke inquired.

Caben furrowed his brows. "Why?"

"Nice bedside manner." Cara whispered.

"You think you can do better?" He retorted.

"Can't do much worse." Cara retorted. She then turned to everyone in the village. "I know this is not the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options."

"You took the job." Stoke pointed out.

Cara nodded. "Yeah. That was before we knew about the AT-ST."

"What is that?" Stoke questioned.

"The armored walker with two enormous guns that you knew about and didn't tell us." Cara retorted.

I watched as the villagers begged us to help them. This was their home. It's the only place they've ever known. I thought back to the place I've called home. A shiver went up my spine. That home was taken from me by the Empire.

"You're supposed to help us." Stoke added.

"We hired you." Caben chimed in.

"We have nowhere to go." Omera mentioned.

"Sure you do. This is a big planet. I mean, I've seen a lot smaller." Cara pointed out.

Who knows if that will stop the raiders. Maybe they'll keep coming no matter where they relocate. As long as the raiders remain here, they'll keep coming back.

"My grandparents seeded these ponds." Caben protested.

"It took generations." Stoke chimed in.