The round white droid beeped quietly, whooshing from side to side in an attempt to throw me off before shooting a stun bolt at me. I quickly blocked the shot with my lightsaber and hit the bolt Into a tree to my left. It changed position and hummed, trying to keep me on my toes. It shot again and I was quick to block the shot. The first time I had done this the droid managed to get my arm, I have a small scar to prove it.
The droid suddenly clicked and shut down, I furrowed my brows in confusion as it fell to the ground. It didn't take me long to feel the presence of my master from behind me. I turned on my heels to face him and disengaged my saber.
"Celeste. I need to talk to you." Luke said, his expression was serious. I couldn't help the small amount of worry that jabbed at my chest.
"What is it?" I asked him, taking a step closer.
"Ahsoka tells me you know of the Mandalorians visit." Luke said
"I do. I felt his presence as he left." I admitted
"I see. When The Mandalorian came to visit, he brought a gift with him. Beskar Chain-mail armor for Grogu." Luke said. My lips twitched up in a small smile at his words, of course he had.
"For a while now, I have noticed that Grogu's heart has not been fully into his training. So I gave him a choice. The choice was to take the armor and go back to the Mandalorian, or to take Master Yoda's lightsaber and stay here to continue his training." Luke explained. My heart jumped in my chest at the thought of going back to Din, but I tried to push it down and keep my expression neutral.
"What did he choose?" I asked him
"He chose to return to the Mandalorian." Luke told me. My heart jolted in my chest, does that mean that I'll be here without the child?
"I see." I said casually, trying to hide my feelings.
"Now, I'm giving you the same choice." Luke said with a knowing look in his eyes.
"What?" I asked him.
"Grogu would be safer with you by his side, you can choose to go with him." Luke explained. I nodded to him while my mind ran a hundred miles an hour. Every single scenario was running through my brain. I wanted to continue my training, but the only thing that kept coming to the front of my mind was Din.
"You want to go, don't you?" Luke asked me.
"I...I don't know." I said hesitantly. The indecision was making my head spin.
"It's okay, Celeste ." Luke said
I couldn't help but think of Luke's feelings in all of this as well. I didn't want to just up and leave him. "Are you sure?"
Luke chuckled at my concern. "I'm sure. Besides, you can always come back if you wish. You're not being kicked out after all."
I hesitated for a moment before I nodded. I took in a deep breath to try and calm my nerves before I took a step forward. Luke held his hand out to shake my own but I ignored it. I stepped up to him and wrapped my arms around him for a hug. Luke wrapped his arms around my back in a friendly embrace.
"Thank you." I said as I let him go.
"The pleasure was all mine." Luke said with a soft nod. I smiled in return. The thought of seeing him again was whirling in my mind and making me feel slightly dizzy. The anticipation that I was feeling was beyond anything I'd felt before. I don't even think it's fully set in yet that I will soon be back with my Mandalorian.
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I couldn't help the way my eyes lit up as the familiar mechanics bay of Mos Eisley came into view. Master Skywalker's X-wing was lowering itself down through the atmosphere. My eyes scanned the view of Mos Eisley outside, it had been so long since I had been to Tatooine. The sky outside was dark, the lights of the city looked like stars scattered in the sand.
Master Skywalker had told me that Din was on Tatooine, but I haven't been able to contact him through our comlink. Which has honestly made me worry. I don't know if he's on a hunt or if he's in trouble. He usually always answers my calls.
The ship lowered down until it touched down at Peli's mechanics bay. I'd asked R2 to take us here because if Din is here, there's a possibility that Peli will know where he is.
The roof began to lift off and I could hear Peli manically yelling at her droids, she probably thought we were New Republic officers. I couldn't help but smile at the familiar tone of her voice.
"Move it over there. Go! You heard me! Quit it!" Peli yelled to her droids as they rushed around the mechanics bay.
"Hello officer! Hide it! Officer! I filed for my New Republic certification seal just as you were landing. Quite a coincidence, if you ask me." Peli said enthusiastically
I lent over the side to look down at her with a teasing smile on my face. "I know we've not seen each other in a while, but I don't think I've changed that much."
Peli's face lit up. "Hey! It's you! I thought you were off becoming a Jedi?"
"I was. But I thought I'd make a comeback." I said with a bright smile.
"Oh, also." I trailed off as I reached behind me and wrapped my hands around Grogu. I lifted him up and held him in my arms so Peli could see him. "Tada."
"Well, look who it is!" Peli said with a wide smile. She climbed up the ladder that had been placed beside the ship so she could greet us. Once she got to the top she reached her hands out. "Well, hello, bright eyes!" She took Grogu from my arms and held him up.
R2 beeped at Peli and she turned to look at him. "Grogu? Whoa! That's a terrible name. Sorry about that, pal. No way am I calling you that."
I laughed gently at her chaotic comment. R2 beeped again and Peli looked up from the child. "The mandalorian? He's not here."
"Where is he?" I asked Peli
"I don't know. He's on a job in Mos Espa." Peli told me as she gently rocked Grogu.
She quickly became distracted by Grogu again, looking down at him and spotting that he was wearing beskar under his shirt. "What do you have here, huh? Something shiny? Well, don't you look all fancy?"
She then looked up at me. "Has he eaten anything? Is he hungry? Are you hungry?"
"No, I'm okay. But Grogu will definitely want something to eat." I told her with a smile. My mind was too focused on Din to be thinking about food.
"Bring him some dung worms." She called over her shoulder to her droids. Peli started climbing down the ladder with Grogu in her arms. Once she had gotten down I swung my legs over the ladder and climbed down myself.
R2 beeped at Peli again. "Oh, keep your dome on. I don't care how big of a rush you're in. Baby's gotta eat."
I turned and looked up at R2. "Don't worry R2, I've got it from here." R2 beeped happily and closed the roof over.
I turned around and looked towards Peli and Grogu. Grogu was eating the dung worms happily as he sat on a table. The three pit droids surrounded him and watched him eat. I walked over to them and stood behind Grogu.
"Peli, do you know anything about Din or this mission?" I asked her
"All I know is that he's in Mos Espa and that this lady showed up asking for his help. She said it was for Boba Fett." Peli told me. Boba Fett, huh? Something tells me that this might not be a normal job.
"Was it Fennec Shand?" I asked her
"Yes. I think so." Peli said
"Do you have any idea where they are?" I asked her
"No, I'm sorry." Peli said. I sighed gently and ran my hand through my hair.
"Can you do me a favor and look after Grogu, I need to find him." I told her
"Absolutely, but maybe you should wait until morning. It's the middle of the night and you look tired." Peli told me.
"I don't know, Peli." I said hesitantly.
"Nope, you don't have to decide. Go back there and get some sleep. Then in the morning you can find Mando. Okay?" She asked sternly
I sighed and nodded gently. "Okay."
"Besides, I'm sure he's fine." Peli said. I nodded in response, but I couldn't help but feel like there was something more to this job he was on. It felt bigger than just a normal job, especially when Boba Fett is involved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The streets of Mos Espa were busy but quieter than I had expected. I got here about 30 minutes ago and ever since I've been looking for any sign of Din. I had tried his comlink several times this morning and he still hasn't picked up. Something definitely feels wrong. I moved through the streets quickly, my eyes darting all around me as I looked for him.
Suddenly, the sound of blaster fire echoed from the next street over. I tensed up at the sound, I could hear people screaming in the distance. The blaster shots seemed to be coming from multiple directions. What has Din gotten himself into?
I needed to get to a better advantage point. I have no idea what's coming from where or what is happening. I looked around and spotted an alleyway. I headed towards it, getting myself out of view. I looked around the darkened alleway and then leapt up, using the force to push myself onto the roof of the building.
I decided to go towards the blaster shots that were closest to me. I jumped from building to building in the direction of the familiar sound. My boots landed gently on the flat section of a roof, the blaster shots are extremely close now. Suddenly a figure jumped out in front of me. It was Fennec Shand.
She raised her blaster and shot at several people down below, causing the blaster fire to stop. Some of them were running away in fear, retreating back to wherever they came from. Fennec shot one last time at a man who was hanging out a window. He fell out the window and landed heavily on some barrels. The water from within erupted from the impact.
"Fennec?" I called out, she looked over to me and I could see her eyes widen in surprise. She jumped over the small gap and stood in front of me.
"Hey, look who's back from Jedi school." She greeted me
"Where's Din? What's going on?" I asked her
"Too much to explain right now. Head to the cantina, that's where he is." Fennec explained.
"Thanks." I nodded
"I'm just glad you're here. We could really use a Jedi on our side right now." Fennec told me before she jumped down and landed on the sandy ground below.
I started to jump across buildings again, hoping from roof to roof in search of the cantina. Even though I was unfamiliar with the streets of Mos Espa, I've been in enough towns to recognise a cantina and figure out where one might be.
I landed on a building and went to jump to the next one when something below me caught my eye. I glanced down over the side and saw an extremely large gray speeder flying along. The thing that caught my eye the most was that I recognised the people. We had met before when we fought the Krayt dragon together. With the hope that they were heading towards Din, I started to follow them.
The vehicle was going much faster than I could keep up with. But it wasn't hard for me to keep track of where they were, especially when blaster fire was being rapidly fired from up ahead. I used the noise as my beacon and followed it. I was almost there, the blaster fire was still raining on from up ahead. But when I almost got there I saw the back of a man on the rooftop with me. He was aiming his blaster towards something. And I have a suspicion that it might have something to do with my Mandalorian.
I kept low and snuck behind the man, keeping myself out of sight. I glanced over the side towards the sound of blaster fire and saw the large gray speeder again. It was lined up so it was parallel with a building that looked like a cantina. The people of Mos Pelgo were crouched down behind the vehicle, using it as cover. Suddenly, my eyes fell upon a familiar helmet. It was Din. He was here, and of course he was in danger. I couldn't help the way my heart jumped in my chest at the sight of him. It has been so long since I saw his familiar beskar armor. I saw Boba Fett crouched down beside him.
I moved away from the edge and creeped up behind the guy who was standing on the roof. He had his blaster aimed at the speeder and he was occasionally firing at them. I unhooked one of my sabers from my belt as I creeped up behind him. Once I was close enough, I ignited my saber and shoved it into the man's chest. He yelled out in pain and I pulled my saber out. The wound caused by my saber caused him to tumble over the side and fall to the ground below.
My eyes scanned the area below, trying to figure out what my next move would be. I could just throw caution to the wind and jump down there. And I almost did, until two strange speeder bikes came rushing in from around the right corner. They were painted bright colours. The people riding the speeder bikes were shooting as they rode towards the large gray speeder.
The man on the red bike went flying as someone shot at his bike, causing it to flip over. He landed heavily on the ground and a girl on a blue bike pulled to a stop to try and help him. She moved her bike so it was in front of him like a shield and started to fire at the oncoming men. They looked to be Pykes.
The girl got off of her bike and pulled the man behind the large speeder. another two speeders came rushing from the right. The people pulled up next to the large vehicle and hid behind it as well. They were cornered and outnumbered. I have to do something.
I stepped back a few paces and unhooked my second saber from my belt. I looked down at the saber as I ignited it. The brilliant white blade glowed brightly even in the Tatooine suns. I could hear roaring from below and I furrowed my brows, taking a glance over the edge again, I saw a large black Wookiee fighting against the Pykes. They were firing at him from all sides and he was definitely outnumbered.
I took in a deep breath, calming my nerves and feeling my connection to the force. Gripping onto my lightsabers tightly, I pushed off of the roof and jumped, flipping off of the roof to give myself some momentum. The wind rushed past my ears as I fell, whipping my hair around my face. As I got closer to the ground I used the force to slow my body down. I landed gracefully on the sand covered ground and two Pykes charged at me from either side.
I slashed my blue saber towards the first Pyke. My saber slashed across his chest and left a scorching red mark in its wake. The pyke screamed and fell backwards. I quickly turned to the second Pyke and impaled him through the chest.
I cast my gaze at the Wookiee, who definitely looked injured. I gestured with my head towards the others. "Go. I've got this."
From behind the Wookiee, I saw several Pykes running towards us with their blasters drawn. Shooting rapidly at us. I moved so the Wookiee was behind me and started to deflect the blaster shots back at the Pykes. It's just like the training droid. I swooped my saber in an arch as I blocked a bolt and sent it flying back towards one of the Pykes.
The Wookiee yelled from behind me as more Pykes shot at us from above. I looked up towards one of them and raised my hand, letting go of my blade with some of my fingers. I pulled the Pyke off of the roof with the force and dragged him towards me. Once he was close enough I swung my other saber and slashed his chest, causing him to fall to the ground.
I continued to try and block the blaster shots so the Wookiee could get to safety. Some of the bolts managed to slip past me and hit the Wookiee. I grunted in frustration as he yelled out in pain.
I kept trying my best to block the blows, I just needed to give the Wookie some cover so he could get to the vehicle. Once he was safe I could focus on the Pykes. I turned my head for a split second and saw Boba Fett wrapping his arm around the Wookiee. Aiding him in getting to safety.
Silver beskar armor caught my eye and I realised that Din had come out as well. I went to turn to him when two Pykes came rushing up to us from the side. I quickly turned my attention to them and ran over. I jumped up and kicked my legs off a wall, doing an aerial flip over the Pykes heads and slashing at them with my sabers. I landed on my feet at the same time the Pykes fell to the ground.
I exhaled sharply and looked over at Din. He stood frozen to the spot. His visor burned into me. I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face regardless of the dire situation.
"Din, I have been looking everywhere for you. What the hell is going on?" I asked him.
"I-Cyar'ika." Din stuttered, his mind didn't seem to be working right now. I sensed a blaster bolt heading towards us and I quickly stepped up to him, blocking the bolt before it could hit him.
"Let's go." I said, gesturing towards the vehicle with my hand. Din seemed to snap out of his daze, he nodded and raised his blaster again. Shooting at the Pykes as we retreated. Even though we were in the middle of a battle, I felt a spark of joy in my chest that we were fighting together again.
I blocked the shots while he delivered them. We quickly made our way behind the large vehicle, giving ourselves cover so we could collect our thoughts.
I disengaged my sabers and quickly stepped up to Din, wasting no time in wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him into me. Din quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and back, clutching onto me so tightly that it felt like he thought I would disappear again. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and tightened my grip on him. My eyes stung slightly with tears as I finally had him in my arms again. It had been so long since we had seen each other and I had missed him desperately.
"What are you doing here?" He asked me gently, the happiness and shock in his voice was evident.
"Saving you, apparently." I said lightly.
I reluctantly pulled away from him and looked into his visor. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum." I said quietly
Din chuckled and placed his forehead against mine. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum." The sound of his voice made me smile, he sounded unmistakably happy.
"Are you okay?" I asked him worriedly.
"I'm fine. Are you? Where's the kid? Is he okay?" Din asked rapidly, I could feel his hands trembling against my hips.
"I'm okay, the kid is safe. Everything's fine." I told him gently.
"Good." Din sighed in relief.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we are in the middle of a battle." Boba Fett suddenly said, standing next to us.
"Sorry, hey Boba." I said as I looked over at him, reluctantly taking my hands off of Din.
"I have to say, it's good to see you, little one." Boba said
"It's good to see you too." I said with a friendly smile. "But, why are we fighting the Pykes?"
"I am Daimyo of Tatooine. The Pyke syndicate wishes to take over Tatooine so we are now at war." Boba Fett summarised. We don't exactly have time to go over everything that I have missed. I nodded in response to his explanation.
"They're falling back!" A man yelled. I looked over and saw the Pykes were running off. Everyone started to cheer but I couldn't bring myself to join them, something was wrong. Why were they suddenly retreating? Din seemed to have the same idea as I did, he stepped forward and put his hand up to the side of his helmet. Turing on the setting of his visor so he could see what was coming.
"I wouldn't celebrate yet. We got problems." Din said as a large droid came crawling round the corner. Another large droid appeared from the left. I tensed slightly and tightened my grip on my lightsabers.
"We got real problems." Din said. Both of the droids turned to face us. They had four spider-like legs and four large blasters on their heads.
"We can take them." I said, trying to sound confident in the face of immense danger.
"You think?" Din asked uncertainly.
"What? A mandalorian and a Jedi? They'll never see it coming." I said, quoting him. Din chuckled lightly at my comment and raised his blaster towards the droids. Another droid appeared from around a corner. There were now three of them.
I ignited both my sabers and watched the droid's movements intently. The one at the front turned on a forcefield, a large blue circle surrounded it. Making it far more difficult to fight against. The other droids followed the first one and activated their shields. Several people began to fire at the droids but the blaster bolts only ricocheted off of the shield.
The droids were quickly coming closer and closer. I ducked my head down every now and then to avoid any backfired shots. A missile shot out from beside me and I glanced to the side to see Boba Fett leaning over. The missile flew towards the droids and exploded upon impact. A massive wave of wire erupted from the explosion, blocking our view of the droids.
Thick smoke was left in its wake, I held my breath as I waited for it to clear. I have a bad feeling that the droids weren't destroyed in the blast. The smoke cleared and revealed that the droids were still standing. The one that was closest to us started to fire upon us. The blaster bolts hit the side of the vehicle and shook it violently. All of us ducked our head down to avoid getting hit as the blaster bolts hit the wall behind us.
"Run! We'll distract them." Boba Fett told the others. The townsfolk all ran out from behind the vehicle and found shelter behind the buildings, getting themselves out of harm's way.
The others continued to try and shoot at the droids, but it didn't seem like the bolts were going through. Suddenly, a large bolt hit the vehicle and it exploded right in front of us. Din grabbed my waist and spun me around, protecting me from the blast. I saw that he went to turn on his jetpack and get out of the way so I stopped him.
"Wait. Leave me here. I'll try and use my sabers to cut through." I told him, stepping back from him. Din reluctantly let go of me but I could tell he wasn't happy with the idea.
"Be careful." Din Said
"You too." I said. He and Boba turned on their jetpacks and flew off. I didn't have time to watch them leave, knowing that the droid was right behind me. I spun around and raised my blades in a battle stance. I could see the other two droids marching off in different directions.
I moved forward quickly and slashed at the forcefield with my blade. The blade of my saber ricocheted off of the forcefield, sparks ignited off of it from the contact. I sighed in frustration and attempted to pierce the forcefield only to get the same effect. It readjusted its aim and lowered its blasters down at me. I glanced up and my gaze landed on the bright red light in the middle. On a whim, I raised my hand and focused on the force flowing through me. I pulled hard and the center came out.
The droid immediately collapsed. The forcefield came down and it collapsed to the ground, unresponsive and defeated. I exhaled heavily in relief and turned my head to look for Din or Boba. I turned to my left and saw another two droid's. I just destroyed one and now it's gone up by one. I saw Din fly up from between the two and land behind the second one.
I ran forward as quickly as I could, dodging the blaster shots that were coming from the other droids. I rolled across the ground and quickly stood back up again. I looked to my right and saw Boba and Din standing there. The droid fired at them so the two men dodged out of the way and ran up to me.
"Hey, are you okay?" Din asked me
"Yeah, I took one down. But my sabers do nothing against the force fields." I said to him
"Can you protect the others?" Boba asked suddenly
"We can distract them for a spell. Why?" Din asked
"Watch out!" Boba called out suddenly. He grabbed onto Din's shoulder and Din wrapped his arm around me. The three of us got knocked forward onto the ground just as the droid shot at where we once stood. The three of us quickly got back up on our feet and scampered over to the other side.
"We need reinforcements." Boba Fett said
"From Where? You've run out of friends." Din said. If the situation wasn't so dire I would have laughed at the unintentional jab.
"Protect the others." Boba Fett said before he took off and left us.
I turned my head to look at Din. "What's the plan?" I called over the blaster fire. He held his hand out to me, I glanced down at his outstretched hand and hooked one of my sabers onto my belt. I grabbed onto his hand and It felt like a jolt of electricity ran through my body.
"We run." Din said before he took off, my hand clutched tightly in his. I ran alongside him as we dodged past the large droids. Even though we were in a lot of danger, I'd never felt better. He was by my side again and that was all that mattered for now.