Heart Of Darkness (Star Wars)

Chapter 14: Clan Of Four

I could feel my cheeks turn as red as a Sith lightsaber. I hope I didn't look too flustered. I then spoke up, agreeing with IG-11. "He's right, Mando..."

"Call me Din." He urged.

I smiled. "Din, it suits you."

He gave my hand a squeeze before letting go. After a few moments, Din spoke. "You can take your scarf off. My helmet's back on."

At his words, I took off the scarf from my eyes. I saw Din with his helmet back on. I gave him a smile. Din gave me a nod in return. "Let's go."

Din, IG-11, and I then made our way into the sewers. Din had a light from his helmet, showing the path of the dark hallways. It wasn't long until we found Cara, Kaytia who was holding the child, Ani, and Karga. Once they saw us, Kaytia rushed towards us, giving me a hug. 

"Mom!" Kaytia cried out. 

I placed my arms around her, rubbing her back. "It's all right, Kay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

The child then cooed as he reached his hands out towards me. I smiled before gently taking the child from Kaytia and placing him in my arms. I then handed him over to IG-11, who had the bag to put the child in. He carefully placed the child inside with his head peaking out.

"Do you know which way to go?" Karga questioned.  

"No. I don't know these tunnels. I've only entered from the bazaar." Din mentioned. 

"Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it'll lead us up to the plains where the river flows." Karga suggested. 

"And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship. We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety." Din argued. 

As we walked through the endless hallways, Cara groaned. "Ugh, this place is a maze."

"I'll try to find tracks." Din said before using his helmet to find the way to the Mandalorians.

"We're close. Turn here." Din advised. 

At his words, we turned inside a room. Once we entered, we saw Mandalorian helmets and armor all cluttered together in a pile. My stomach churned at the sight. Din made his way towards the armor, kneeling in front of it. 

"We should go." Cara suggested.

Kaytia nodded. "I agree." 

"You go. Take the ship. I can't leave it this way." Din advised. He then turned towards Karga. "Did you know about this? Is this the work of your bounty hunters?"

"No. When you left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters just melted away. You know how it is. They're mercenaries. They're not zealots." Karga protested. 

Din stormed over towards him, raising his voice. "Did you do this? Did you?"

"No!" Karga exclaimed. 

Before Din could do anything, we heard a woman's voice. "It was not his fault."

We all turned around to see a female Mandalorian, wearing her armor and horns on her helmet. She grabbed the armor and helmets before placing them in a cart. "We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the covert. The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This is what resulted."

"Did any survive?" Din asked. 

"I hope so. Some may have escaped off-world." She informed us.

"Come with us." Din urged. 

"No. I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains." She replied. 

The Mandalorian then walked out of the room with the cart. Din gave us one look before following after her. And we went after him. We followed her into a smelter room, where she began melting the armor and helmets.