Cataclysm ─── The Mandalorian. ¹

xli. numb

"Zoya," Din says, his voice quiet, urgent. "It's okay."

He's close enough to set his hands on her shoulders, to squeeze gently, but he's calm, too calm, and something within Zoya's chest splinters at a realization that flickers on within her mind, glowing and neon and screaming for her attention.

He's not shocked. Why is he not surprised? Why is he not surprised?

Zoya's eyes widen even further as she stares at him, lips trembling. Harried breaths fall from her mouth, clawing from her lungs. Her shoulders stiffen beneath his hands, and his jaw clicks beneath the helmet, because she knows him better than anyone does, can read his body language in the time it takes to blink.

Her brows pull together, and she stares at him. "Tell me you didn't know."

Din can only stand there, silent as the grave, because he won't lie to her.

"Please." The word shatters on her tongue, so quiet that he almost doesn't hear it. "Tell me you didn't know," she repeats, voice rising.

"Zoya, I—" Din stops.

Her eyes harden, tone sharpening into a dagger's blade. "What? You what?"

"I knew," he admits.

Zoya pushes him away and looks at him as if she doesn't know who he is. Cara, near the back of the cantina, steps back, as if she's in danger of being burned by her anger, even as Zoya turns away, fingers threading through her hair violently as the Imperials wait outside, weapons at the ready. Din has no doubt that Ayaan Vitaan knows the turmoil he's caused within the building.

"I didn't want to hurt you—I thought that maybe—"

She whirls on him. "I couldn't give less of a shit about whether you thought you were sparing me or not. I deserved to know!" Her voice cracks on the last word, and her eyes are glassy, full of tears she refuses to let fall.

Greef and Cara lock eyes across the space as Din and Zoya stare at each other wordlessly, her hurt fracturing the air with tendrils of sharp glass. The ex-shock trooper nods subtly as they come to a silent agreement, and Greef shifts towards the empty window.

"What do you propose?" he yells, and their attention is diverted.

Ayaan's partner replies, "Reasonable negotiation."

Greef scoffs. "What assurance do you offer?"

"If you're asking if you can trust us, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand. The assurance I give is this: we both will act in our own self-interests, which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit." There's a short silence, then the man continues, "I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire."

It's his final words. Zoya looks out the window in time to see the man and Ayaan move back through the ranks of Stormtroopers. Her brother doesn't even turn back to look, even though she knows he can feel her eyes on him. Ice curls sharp tendrils around her heart, and her nails cut deep into her palms.

"I say we hear them out," Greef says. With a sideways glance at Zoya, simmering by the window, he looks at Din and Cara. "With Zoya here, they wouldn't fire upon us. Not if that is truly her brother."

Cara shakes her head. "The minute we open that door, we're dead. They wouldn't have brought the damn cannon if they wouldn't use it regardless of who was in here." She casts a quiet look Zoya's way, which Zoya doesn't bother returning, eyes fixed blankly on the shattered window, salty tracks drying on her cheeks.