The fallen foliage crunched under my boots as I walked alongside Din. He held the child-Grugo, in his arms. It's still strange to call him by his name. But I'm grateful that we finally got to know it. Ahsoka was leading us through the dead forest, she was going to test the child's force abilities.
Ahsoka stopped and turned to face us. She stepped up to the child in Din's arms with a kind smile. "Let's see what knowledge is lurking inside that little mind." She tapped Grogu lightly on the nose.
Ahsoka stepped back and gestured for Din to place the child on a moss covered rock. He gently placed the child down and he began to babble to himself. I smiled fondly as Din gently rubbed Grogu's back.
Ahsoka bent down and picked up a small rock. Like what she had done with me, she had probably been testing me too. Well, she definitely was.
Din and I walked over to Ahsoka so we could watch Grogu. He looked between us with his head tilted, I could tell that he didn't really understand what was going on.
Ahsoka held her hand out, the small stone resting on her open palm. I felt the feeling of the force increase as Ahsoka tapped into it and turned her hand. True small rock floated out of her hand and she pushed it gently towards the child. I watched her with fascination, her control was amazing. Beyond what I'd seen before.
The rock slowly drifted through the air towards the child. Grogu had his little hands outstr towards the rock. It floated into his hands and he cooed gently.
Ahsoka held her hand out again. "Now, return the stone to me, Grogu."
Grogu stared down at the rock with his ears furrowed, he didn't want to let go of it.
"He doesn't understand." Din said
"He does." Ahsoka confirmed. Grogu whined and dropped his ears, looking down at the rock sadly.
"It's okay." Ahsoka prompted with her hand outstretched. "The stone, Grogu."
Grogu suddenly dropped the stone on the ground. I'm not exactly sure what's wrong, but he looked sad. His ears were drooped and his eyes were almost shut.
Din sighed and Ahsoka dropped her hand. I fiddled with my fingers as I looked at his sad features. I wanted to find some way to cheer him up but I'm not sure what the problem is.
Ahsoka sighed and walked over to Grogu. She bent down and picked the stone back up again. She looked at him for a moment before she took his small hand in hers.
"I sense much fear in you." Ahsoka said. I furrowed my brows slightly as my chest clenched. Though the child seemed to brighten up a bit.
He babbled and his ears went back up again. Ahsoka stood up and walked over to us again. "He's hidden his abilities to survive over the years."
I frowned gently at the child. "That I can understand." I muttered
Din turned his head to look at me. In the corner of my eye I saw him tilt his head, his gloved finger gently brushed against the back of my hand. I wanted to move my hand to hold his, but Ahsoka brought me out of my thoughts.
"Let's try something else. Come over here." Ahsoka asked
"He's stubborn." Din said when Grogu didn't move.
"Not him. You. I want to see if he'll listen to you." Ahsoka said to Din.
Din moved past me and stood between Ahsoka and I. I clenched my hand to my side as I tried to ignore the urge I still had to hold his own.
"That would be a first." He said
"I like firsts. Good or bad, they're always memorable." Ahsoka as she handed the stone to Din. He looked down at it before he gently took it from her.
"Now, hold the stone out in the palm of your hand." Ahsoka said. Din nodded and held his hand up, the stone rested on his open palm.
"Tell him to lift it up." Ahsoka instructed
"All right, kid. Lift the stone." Din said. Grogu tilted his head at him, but at least he didn't look as afraid and sad anymore.
Ahsoka lent over to Din and whispered to him. "Grogu."
She then walked away from Din and I, choosing to lean up against a larger rock just to the left of us.
"Grogu." Din called out. The child made an alerted cooing noise again, which caused the edges of my lips to twitch upwards.
"Come on, take the stone." Din said. Grogu grunted and looked down, I'm starting to think he just doesn't like the stone.
"You see? I told you, he's stubborn." Din stated as he tossed the stone on the ground.
"Try to connect with him." Ahsoka said.
Din stared intensely and Grogu. The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Apparently Din's idea of connecting is to stare intensely, and to be honest, I'm not surprised.
Din held his hand out again and I looked down to see the metal ball from the ship in his hand. I smiled gently at him. I have a strong feeling that this will work.
"Grogu..." Din called out again. The child looked up and made small noises when he saw what Din was holding. His little hand immediately went up. Din crouched down slightly with the ball held between his fingers.
"Do you want this?" He asked as he fully knelt down, squatting on the balls of his feet. Grogu held his hand out for the ball.
"Well, go ahead. That's right, take it. Come on. You can have It." Din encouraged him. The child closed his eyes and I could feel him start to manipulate the force.
"Come on." Din prompted. The child then pulled the metal ball out of Don's hand and into his own.
I let out a breathy laugh, feeling proud of him for managing to do it. "Yes." I cheered for him.
"Good job! Good job, kid." The pure happiness in Don's voice made my heart soar. He walked quickly over to Grogu.
"You see that? That's right. I knew you could do it." Din said happily as he crouched down in front of Grogu and gently took the metal ball from him.
I didn't want to take my eyes off of them, but I glanced over at Ahsoka to gauge her reaction. Her expression was hard to read, but she looked like she was concerned about something.
"Very good." Din said to Grogu again.
"He's formed a strong attachment to you. Both of you." Ahsoka said. I then understood why she looked concerned. Attachment is dangerous. The path to the dark side.
I stepped over the fallen branch and walked over to them both. Din looked up at Ahsoka but he didn't say anything. I stopped by Don's side and placed my hand lightly on his shoulder.
"I cannot train him." Ahsoka spoke up. My expression dropped slightly. She had only told me to be careful, nothing about not being able to be trained? So why can't Grogu be trained?
"What?" Din said with shock and annoyance in his voice. He immediately stood up to face her.
"Why not?" He asked her, he walked over to her and I could see the annoyance in the way he stepped.
"You've seen what he can do." Din argued
"His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears. His anger." Ahsoka explained
"All the more reason to train him." Din stated
"No. I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi knight. To the best of us. I will not start this child down that path. Better to let his abilities fade." Ahsoka explained.
"Wait, but what about me? I have attachments too." I asked with concern and confusion written on my face, I didn't want to sound self centered, but I couldn't help but worry about what that might mean for my own abilities.
Ahsoka looked at me and her features softened ever so slightly. "It is different, though you have attachments, you are not a child. It's highly unlikely that you will forget your powers and if you don't know how to control them, it may be worse for you. It could become dangerous if you don't learn to control them."
I nodded gently to her. "I understand."
Ahsoka nodded in return. She then looked over to Din who still looked tense. "I've delayed too long. I must get back to the village." Ahsoka began to walk away from us.
Grogu whined gently as she walked away. I fiddled nervously with my fingers, her words about my abilities becoming dangerous were ringing through my mind.
"The magistrate sent me to kill you." Din called out to her as she retreated. Ahsoka stopped walking and tensed slightly.
She then turned around to face us again. "I didn't agree to anything." Din reassured her.
"And we'll help you with your problem, if you see to it that Grogu...and Celeste, are properly trained." Din bargained with her. My face contorted into one of confusion as I whipped my head to look at him.
"What?" I asked him. "The quest was for the child." My chest squeezed and my heart dropped. What he was suggesting...it would mean that we would have to separate from each other. We have rarely been apart since we first met 3 years ago. I don't know what I'd do without him. And I don't want to know.
"That was before. Plans changed." Din stated. He was trying to hide his emotions, but I could see it was affecting him as well from the way his shoulders slumped slightly.
He then turned back to Ahsoka. "Well?"
"Okay, very well." Ahsoka said. She looked between Din and I for a moment before she spoke again. "I'll go collect our things, I'll meet you back here In 10."
Ahsoka gave us one last glance before she walked off in the direction of our camp last night. It wasn't very far away, but we had left some things there while we tested Grogu.
Once she was out of earshot, I turned back to Din with my arms crossed defensively over my chest. "What was that?"
"What? Din asked. Acting like he didn't know what i was talking about.
"You're going to send both of us away?" I asked, I couldn't help the defensiveness in my tone.
"I don't..." din sighed heavily. "I didn't want it to have to come to this. But after what Ahsoka said, about what could happen if your powers went untrained, it seems like the best move."
"So...you're afraid of me, then?" I asked him, trying to mask the pain in my voice.
"What? No! Why would you think that?" Din said immediately, his voice was unexpectedly loud and panicked. It had even gone up an octave. And unsurprisingly, it didn't ease my concerns in the slightest.
"Because Ahsoka said that if I'm not trained my powers could be dangerous." I said defensively. I blinked hard to ward off the sting of tears in my eyes.
"I'm not saying this because I'm afraid of you, I'm saying it because I'm afraid for you. I don't want you to get hurt. If you don't learn how to control your powers and it comes out at the wrong time in front of the wrong person, they could come for you. I can't let you get hurt or..." Din sighed as he trailed off. I softened slightly at his tone and his words. I understand where he is coming from, if it were the other way around I'd want to protect him too.
"Or what?" I asked quietly, prompting him to finish his sentence.
"You know what. I couldn't...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." He sighed gently again. "Look, If I could fight by your side...stay by your side for the rest of this life I would. But not if it puts you at risk like this." Din said
I nodded gently as I looked down at my boots, letting everything settle for a moment. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks and I scolded myself for it. This was not the time or place for a childish crush. I then looked up again and walked over to him. I hesitated for a moment before I raised my right hand up and gently placed it on his arm.
"I understand, but...I don't want to leave you." I said honestly. "I don't have anyone else."
"I know. You're all I have too." Din sighed. There was a sense of understanding that went between us. He gently placed his helmet against my head. His right hand rested against the back of my head while his left hand rested on the side of my neck, just below my jaw.
"Well, aside from the kid." I said lightly with a small amount of amusement in my tone.
"Except for the kid." Din agreed. His voice sounded different than it usually did, but I couldn't explain why.
I closed my eyes to savor the moment. I don't know how long it will be until we find another Jedi who will train Grogu and I. I don't know how much time we have left. I just don't think I can leave him. My heart burns at the thought of not being with him.
Someone cleared their throat, Din and I jumped apart like we'd been caught doing something scandalous, which considering our people used to be enemies, it's possible to look at it that way. I looked over and saw Ahsoka, she was looking at us with a curious expression. Her eyebrow was raised slightly. I could also sense disapproval along with understanding.
"Are we going?" She asked as she tossed Din his bag. He caught it in his hand and nodded to her. Ahsoka looked between us again before she turned around and began waking, I made a mental note to ask her about it later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"She has a small army of guards armed with A350 blaster rifles, two HK-87 assassin droids, and a hired gunfighter." Din explained to Ahsoka as we walked back through the woods towards the gated village.
"He reads ex-military to me. Combined, not even your laser swords would be able to protect you from all that firepower." Din said. My lips twitched up at the way he described her lightsabers, but I didn't say anything. Before I was told what they were, I was none the wiser to their name either.
"True. But don't underestimate the magistrate either." Ahsoka said. I could see the slight smile on her lips at Din's words as well. She turned around and began to walk again.
"Who is she?" Din asked her. Causing her to stop in her tracks and turn back to us. "She offered me a staff of pure beskar to kill you."
Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest. "Morgan Elsebeth. During the clone wars, her people were massacred. She survived and let her anger fuel an industry which helped build the Imperial starfleet." Ahsoka explained. I raised my brow slightly, I seemed to be learning a lot about how dangerous anger can be.
"She plundered worlds, destroying them in the process." Ahsoka added as she turned around.
"Yeah, it looks like she's still in the business." Din said. I looked over at him and saw that he was leaning against a tree.
"When you were in the city did you see any prisoners?" Ahsoka asked us as she turned back around.
"I saw three villagers strung up just outside the inner gate." Din said
"They were being electrocuted." I added with a sad tinge to my voice.
"We must find a way to free them." Ahsoka said. I nodded gently in agreement.
"A mandalorian and a Jedi? They'll never see it coming." Din mused.
"And a youngling." I raised my hand jokingly. Ahsoka laughed and Din tilted his head in confusion.
"And a padawan." Ahsoka corrected before she turned around and began to walk through the dead trees. I smiled to myself and began to follow after her. Feeling emboldened by her confidence in me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dusk had fallen over the sky. Causing it to look a darker green than before. My back was pushed up against rough bark as I pushed myself up against one of the larger trees. Din was standing at my right, behind another tree.
We had all decided that Ahsoka was going to make the first move. I held my breath as I waited patiently for her to advance on the town's defenses.
"It's her! Sound the alarm!" A man called out. Blaster fire sounded out alongside the deep bang of a gong. The sound echoed throughout the town and the forest. Alerting everyone that there was an invader.
The alarm stopped going off and for a moment all I could hear was the distant sound of fighting. I waited with bated breath as the sound of Ahsoka's lightsaber cut through the air. I was so focused that the massive bang that suddenly happened made me jump. The gong fell to the ground with a loud crash.
"Ready?" Din asked in a hushed Voice
"Always." I replied. I quickly pushed myself away from the tree and walked over to him. Din held his arms out to me as I stepped up to him. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck while he secured me by my waist. It was weird to be holding him without one of his pauldrons. Which Ahsoka had taken.
His jetpack hummed to life and we flew upwards, though it was not as fast as it usually was. We came up to the large wall and my feet landed on solid ground again. Once we had landed upon the wall, we immediately crouched down to keep our cover.
I walked on quiet feet across the stonewall walkway, keeping my body crouched behind the half wall. My legs started to burn the longer I stayed in that position. But there was no way that I'd pop up and blow our cover just because of muscle pain.
Din and I made it to the section of the wall that looked down on the guards, the magistrate and the prisoners. I held my breath while Ahsoka approached them. Her lightsabers were holstered on her belt and she didn't look worried in the slightest. I admired her for that. I admired her for a lot of things, actually.
She then pulled out a metal pauldron and dropped it unceremoniously onto the stone pavement. It clanged as it hit the hard stone, but I knew it wouldn't be damaged. Even though Din was crouched right beside me, it still made me nervous to see his pauldron laying there on the ground.
"Your bounty Hunter failed. Tell me what I want to know. Where is your master?" Ahsoka said intimidatingly.
"Kill her." The magistrate spat out.
"Love to." The gunfighter said. He aimed his blaster and began to shoot at Ahsoka, but she jumped unbelievably high into the air and landed on the roof of a house.
The other guards began to fire at her but all of them missed. She blocked each blast with her lightsabers like it was second nature. I couldn't help but be impressed as I watched her, she didn't have a single scratch on her body.
She then took off running along the rooftops of the houses, causing a large number of guards to chase after her. She disappeared from view but I could still hear the blaster fire.
"I'll take care of this." The Gunfighter said
"Take them with you." The Magistrate said, referring to two guards who were still there. The three of them immediately followed her orders and ran off.
She then turned on her heels and spoke a simple but devastating order to the two guards behind her. "Execute them. Then go door to door."
My heart dropped at her orders and I shifted slightly, getting ready to spring into action. Din tapped my arm and I looked up at him, he signaled with a tilt of his head that it was time to go. I nodded in return and the both of us stood up.
"Please, don't!" One of the prisoners cried as the guard neared with his blaster raised.
Din wrapped his arms around my waist so my back was pressed against his chest. His jetpack started up and we flew upwards. We rapidly descended. Our trajectory had us heading straight for one of the guards. I tapped Din's arm, signaling for him to let me go. He hesitated for a moment, getting me closer to the guard before he released me from his hold.
I dropped down through the air and stuck my legs out. My feet firmly made contact with the guard's head as I kicked him. I landed on my feet beside him and he collapsed to the ground, assumingly unconscious. At least I thought he was, until he groaned quietly. I quickly drew my blaster and shot him in the shoulder, making sure he would stay down.
I turned and looked at Din. The second guard was laying on the ground at his feet. I went to say something but movement caught my eye. The both of us faced the person with our blasters raised. But I quickly lowered mine when I recognised them. It was the man we had spoken to before, one of the villagers.
I put my blaster in my holster and heard Din do the same. The man nodded to us in thanks. I lowered my head in return as did Din. The three of us then walked up to one of the prisoners. We had to release them and get them back home. No one deserved to be treated this way.
I pressed the button that released them and the three prongs that held the woman in place fell open. I held out my arms and caught her. I quietly grunted as she fell into my arms, she was unable to hold her own weight up from how long she had been held there.
After a moment she managed to stand on her own two feet again. Shakily, she held onto my arms with gratitude in her eyes. She smiled shakily. "Thank you."
"It's okay." I said gently. One of the male prisoners wrapped his arm around her shoulder in comfort. The man from the village gently put his arm on her back and the both of them began to escort her away. The other prisoner who had been released followed after them.
"Get inside!" Din yelled to them as they quickly walked away.
"Go." The woman who I had released said. They had to get inside and hide from the guards until it was over.
At the end of the path, the gunfighter emerged from the shadows. He quickly surveyed the situation and realised that we had let the prisoners go. Even from where I stood, I could see the anger in his eyes.
The man from the village stopped and looked at us over his shoulder. Din held his hand out and beckoned for him to leave. The man nodded and disappeared behind a house.
Suddenly, the gunfighter's expression changed. He was staring at something over our shoulder, but I knew not to be afraid. I could sense that it was Ahsoka somehow. It's probably something to do with the force that I don't yet understand.
"So, you threw in with the Jedi." The gunfighter said bitterly
"Looks that way." Din Said nonchalantly
The quiet night air was suddenly cut through by the noise of distant fighting and grunting. Ahsoka had found the magistrate, I'd assume.
"Who do you think's gonna win?" The gunfighter asked
He slowly began to walk towards us. Trying to come across as menacing. "Could be your side...could be my side."
"My money's on the Jedi." I said. There was no room for debate in my tone.
The gunfighter smirked. "You seem certain."
"I am." I stated
The fighting could still be heard in the distance. It wasn't over yet. Not until one of them stepped out of that courtyard victorious.
"I got no quarrel with you, Mandalorian." The gunfighter took a few confident steps forward.
Din held his hand out towards him in a manner that was threatening. "That's far enough."
The gunfighter's smile dropped off his face and he stopped advancing again. I could tell that he was trying to get to Din so he could get past us. But it wasn't going to work.
"You and I, we're a lot alike." The gunfighter said. I held in a scoff. "Willing to lay down our lives for the right cause. Which this is not."
Suddenly, the distant fighting came to a stop. The man looked up slightly as he acknowledged the fight's end.
"Sounds like you win." He mused. He then slowly lowered down to the ground. My fingers twitched against the metal hilt of my blaster. He grinned in a strangely menacing way as he fully placed the large blaster on the ground. Though, the both of us knew better. I could tell from the look on his face that he was trying to trick us.
I moved my hand away from my blaster slightly to see if he would make a move, and he didn't disappoint. He reached behind him and grabbed his blaster. I quickly did
the same, pulling my blaster out of my holster and aiming it. I waited no time in pulling the trigger and neither did Din. The both of us shot at the same time and hit the man in different parts of his chest.
He let out a pained scream as he fell to the ground unconscious. Once the man had fallen and there was no more noise to be heard. The door to our left swung open. The man from the village looked at us and nodded with a kind smile.
Both Din and I nodded back to him in return. I felt a strange feeling within me, like the hairs on the back of my neck had stood up. But I brushed it off as lingering adrenaline. He stepped out of the building with a grateful smile. But it quickly changed, his expression quickly dropped into one of panic. "Behind you!"
I whipped my head around so fast that I thought I might get whiplash. On the roof above us, there was a droid with a blaster trained on us. Din quickly pulled out his blaster and shot it in the head. It tumbled off the roof and fell to the stone ground below.
I let out a quiet sigh and immediately felt guilty. I had felt the danger beforehand. And I had ignored It. Someone could have gotten hurt or killed because I didn't understand my own gifts. Perhaps Din and Ahsoka were right, maybe I do need more extensive training. Even if it means being separated from the one person who means everything to me.