Cara immediately turned around and stormed over towards the droid. "Stop the boat. Hey, Droid, I said stop the boat. Hey! I'm talking to you. I said stop!"
The droid continued to move the boat, so Cara raised her blaster before blasting the droid's heat off. However that did nothing as the boat continued to move towards the stormtroopers.
"We're still moving." I mentioned.
"Looks like we fight." Cara suggested.
"There are too many." Din argued.
"Then what do you suggest? 'Cause I can't surrender." Cara protested.
"They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child. This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape." IG-11 suggested.
"You don't have that kind of firepower, pal. You wouldn't even get to daylight." Din mentioned.
"That is not my objective." IG-11 replied.
"We're getting close. Saddle up." Cara urged as she took out her blaster.
"Mom, are we going to die?" Kaytia inquired.
I shook my head. "No, we aren't going to die
"I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct." IG-11 commented.
"What're you talking about?" Din asked.
"I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed." IG-11 explained.
"Are we gonna keep talking, or get out of here?" Karga questioned.
IG-11 placed the jetpack on a small table of the boat. "I can no longer carry this for you. Nor can I watch over the child."
"Wait. You can't self-destruct. Your base command is to watch the child. That supersedes your manufacturer's protocol, right? Right?" Din asked.
"This is correct." IG-11 confirmed.
"Good. Now, grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out." Din advised.
"Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured. The child will be lost. Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved, in which I survive." IG-11 protested.
"Listen, you're not going anywhere. We need you. Let's just come up with a-" Din began.
However, IG-11 cut him off. "Please tell me the child will be safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command."
"But you'll be destroyed." Din commented.
"And you will live, and I will have served my purpose." IG-11 pointed out.
"No. We need you." Din urged, sounding dejected.
"There is nothing to be sad about." IG-11 assured him. "I have never been alive."
"I'm not sad." Din argued, immediately denying it.
"Yes, you are. I'm a nurse droid. I've analyzed your voice." IG-11 retorted.
I snorted, earning a glare from Din. I shrugged. "What? You did sound sad."
IG-11 took one last look at the child before climbing out of the boat, baffling Karga. "IG? What're you doing?"
We then walked he walked in the lava towards the opening, where the stormtroopers were. Once he reached the opening, he self-destructed, killing the stormtroopers with him. I felt a pang of sadness coming from Din. I slipped my hand in his, giving it a small squeeze. He kept his gaze on where IG-11 self destructed, but I felt him squeeze my hand. When we reached the opening, we saw all the stormtroopers were dead. Many of their armor was charred. However it wasn't over, we saw two TIE fighters in the air.
"Moff Gideon!" Cara exclaimed.
"And he has backup." I groaned.
The TIE fighters fired their blasters towards us, but missed as they flew around. We tried firing with our blasters, but it was useless. No doubt that they'll be coming back.
"They missed." Karga mentioned.
"They won't next time." Din stated.
"Our blasters are useless against him." Cara commented.
"Let's make the baby do the magic hand thing. Come on, baby! Do the magic hand thing." Karga urged as he looked over at the child.
The child let out a giggle as he waved back. Karga sighed. "I'm out of ideas."
"I'm not." Din replied.
I then watched as Din put the jetpack on his back before walking out of the boat. My eyes lit up at once. He gave me an idea. I took out my lightsaber from my belt.
"Here he comes!" Cara shouted.
"The second TIE fighter is coming behind him." Kaytia said.
"Leave the second one to me." I advised as I climbed out of the boat and onto the rocks.
"Delmira, what are you doing?" Din asked, turning back to face me.
"Helping you out. Now go and take care of Gideon." I urged.
"Delmira, you should go back into the boat." Din suggested.
"Do you trust me?" I inquired.
Din nodded. "I do."
"Now get Gideon. I'll take care of the fighter." I insisted.
Without looking back, I rushed out towards the second TIE fighter. As it flew towards me, it fired several blasts. I dodged the laserfire before reaching the fighter. At the last moment, I used the Force, allowing me to jump onto the fighter. I glanced over to see Din on Gideon's TIE fighter. I noticed a detonator in his hand. Knowing he would take care of Gideon, I turned back, focusing on the TIE fighter that I was on.
I then ignited my lightsaber before swinging it down into the TIE fighter. In two quick movements, I sliced the two the wings of the TIE fighter. Once the wings were off, I jumped off and landed on the ground. In the distance, I saw to the two TIE fighters tumble out of control before crashing.
"Mom!" Kaytia exclaimed.
She quickly rushed over towards me, wrapping her arms around me. I rubbed my hand down her back, sensing her worry. "It's all right, Kay. I'm here. I'll let no one talk you away from me again."
Once we pulled away from the hug, Kaytia looked at me with tears glistening in her blue eyes. "You promise?"
"I promise." I assured her.
I then saw Din, Karga, Cara, and the child walking towards us. Once Din approached us, he looked at me from head to toe. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." I mentioned.
"She's amazing!" Kaytia exclaimed. "Did you see her take down that TIE fighter! That's my mom!"
My heart warmed at her words. I was happy that Kaytia was proud of me. Din placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Kaytia's right. You did a great job."
I felt my heart flutter his words. My smile immediately widened. Karga nodded, chiming in. "Indeed that was impressive, Helia. Very impressive. You too, Mando. It looks like both of your Guild rates have just gone up."
"Any more stormtroopers?" I inquired.
"I think we cleaned up the town. I'm thinking of staying around just to be sure." Cara mentioned.
"You're staying here?" Din asked, rather baffled.
Karga shrugged. "Well, why not? Nevarro is a very fine planet. And now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it's very respectable again."
Din tilted his head. "As a bounty hunter hive?"
"Some of my favorite people are bounty hunters." Karga commented. "And perhaps, this specimen of soldier might consider joining our ranks."
"Yeah. I've got some clerical concerns regarding my chain code." Cara said.
"And if you would agree to become my enforcer, clerical concerns would be the least of your worries." Karga assured her. He then looked back at Din and me. "But you, my friends, you will both be welcome back into the Guild with open arms. So, go off, enjoy yourselves. And when you're ready to return, you will have the pick of all quarries."
The child walked over towards Din and me, letting out a giggle. I couldn't help but smile at the child.
"I'm afraid I have more pressing matters at hand." Din mentioned as he picked up the child.
"Take care of this little one." Cara commented.
"Or maybe, it'll take care of you." Karga mentioned.
Din handed the child over to me. He then wrapped an arm around my waist before using his other arm to grab Kaytia. Kaytia looked over at me, rather confused. I gave her a smile. "It's all right, Kay. You can trust him."
Kaytia returned my smile at my words. With that, Din took off from the ground. Once we reached the ship, Din let go of Kaytia and me. It wasn't long until Ani joined us, running all the way from where Cara and Karga were. Before climbing inside the ship, Din buried Kuiil's body, placing his hat with goggles over the burial mound. I placed a hand on his arm.
"I'm sorry about Kuiil. He was a good person." I mentioned.
Din nodded. "He was."
Once we returned to the ship, we made our way into the cockpit. As Din turned on the ship, he glanced over at the child, who was teething on a necklace. I followed his gaze to see it was the necklace that Din had given me.
"What do you got there?" Din asked, gently grabbing the necklace. "I didn't think I'd see this again. Why don't you hang onto that?"
Din looked over at me, giving me a small nod before turning back towards the controls before lifting the ship, taking us back into space.