We then followed Bo-Katan and the others out onto the docks, where their ship was. We sat on the ship as Bo-Katan pointed to a freighter that stood in the water not too far from us.
"You see that Imperial Gozanti freighter? It's been loaded with weapons as we speak. According to the port's manifest, it's scheduled to depart at first light." Bo-Katan informed us.
"So we stow away?" I questioned.
"We've been hitting 'em pretty hard. They scan for lifeforms as a precaution before pushing back." Koska mentioned.
"If you wanna do this with five, you're gonna need the element of surprise." Din commented.
"Exactly. The freighter will maintain trawling speed while inside the shipping lanes and then ascend into orbit. We'll jet up when they're cruising in atmosphere. The tower won't allow them to climb until they've left the port's airspace." Bo-Katan explained.
"Troopers?" Din asked.
"A squad at most." Bo-Katan said.
"And they couldn't hit the side of a bantha." Axes stated.
I couldn't help but snicker at his words. Bo-Katan then turned over at me. "I wish to speak to Delmira alone."
I could feel Din's bafflement as he turned his helmet over at Bo-Katan. "Whatever you can say to her, you can say to me."
I sensed his anger growing. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right. I'll catch up to you and the kids."
Din was taken back by my words. I watched as he clenched his fists before he spoke. "Fine..."
I watched as he stormed off, taking Kaytia, Selba, and Ani with him. My heart clenched. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. Once we were alone, Bo-Katan spoke up. "Does he know you're a Jedi?"
"I'm not a Jedi." I replied.
A smile appeared on Bo-Katan's face. "You remind me of someone....You look like a Jedi to me."
"I try to be like a Jedi, but I'm nothing like the Jedi I wish to be. And I've done horrible things in my past that I wish I could forget." I explained. "I want to believe that in time I'll be able to be a better person...but the past still haunts me."
Bo-Katan's eyes fell on my neck, where my scar lied. My scarf had fallen down, revealing my entire scar. Feeling insecure, I pulled my scarf up, trying to hide as much of my scar as I possibly could. Fortunately, Bo-Katan didn't mention the scar, which I was grateful for.
"You aren't the only one who's done terrible things in your past. I was once with the Watch. I did many things that were wrong." She confessed.
"What made you change?" I asked.
"I realized the side I was on was not the right one. I went against my sister and my family. But I managed to help her before she died. But I wish I could've done more." She revealed.
"I know what you mean. But unfortunately we can't change the past. I'm afraid what's done is done." I added.
"But we can still change what's to come." She pointed out.
I then thought of Din's words that he told me after we left Ran's space station. "Whatever you did in the past, that's not you. You're a different person, Delmira."
A smile appeared on my face. Perhaps they were both right. Once I left Bo-Katan, I found Din, Kaytia, Selba, and Ani waiting for me outside the inn. As soon as I approached them, Din spoke up. "We need to leave Selba and Kaytia somewhere safe."
"No I want to come with you both." Kaytia argued.
"No, not until you're properly trained." I protested.
"And when will that be?" Kaytia retorted.
"Soon, Kaytia, very soon." I assured her. I glanced over at Din. "Where will we leave them?"
"I have an idea." Din replied.
•••
Din knocked on a door inside the inn, while Selba was in his arms. I stood beside Din, while Ani and Kaytia stood behind us. The door opened, revealing the frog couple along with their container of eggs in their room.
"Something's come up. Can I leave my son and my daughter with you for a bit?" Din asked.
The frog lady let out a croak as she nodded. Din handed Selba over to Kaytia before looking at the both of them. "You are going to both stay here, so I want you to be respectful. And mind your manners. You know what I'm talking about."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him." Kaytia assured him.
Din then turned to the frog couple. "Thanks. We'll be back for them."
"Be good." I urged. "And we'll be back soon."
With that, Din, Ani, and I left their room. Once we walked into the hallway, the door closed behind us. Din then turned towards me. "What did you and Bo-Katan talk about?"
"It's nothing really important." I said, trying to dismiss it.
But this only got Din more interested. He tilted his helmet. "Do you not trust me?"
My heart clenched at his words. Those were the words I used when he left with Selba and Ani, urging Kaytia and me to stay on the ship.
"I trust you." I assured him.
He huffed. "It doesn't feel like it."
I could sense anger and frustration radiating off of him. Wait, why was he angry with me? I should be furious with him, he's the one who left me on the vessel!
"Why are you angry with me? You're the one who left me on that vessel." I reminded him.
"But your new Mandalorian friends saved you, didn't they?" He shot back.
So that's what this was about. He was jealous of them. I furrowed my brows. "Why are you jealous of them? They're our friends."
Din scoffed. "They're not my friends."
He then stormed off, refusing to talk more about this matter. Once we met up with Bo-Katan, Koska, and Axes at the docks, we saw the freighter flying out of the water and up into the sky. Bo-Katan, who carried Ani, Koska, and Axes flew up into the sky towards the freighter. Din then turned towards me. "Ready?"
I nodded. "Ready."
Din scooped me up into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Din glanced over at me. "Hold on."
He then turned on his jetpack, flying towards the freighter. Once we were on the freighter, Din released me. We quickly took out the stormtroopers outside with our blasters, while some we threw overboard. I approached the closed door, taking out my scramble key before jamming it into the socket. In a matter of seconds, the door opened. I turned towards Bo-Katan, who gave me a nod before going inside. Once the rest of us rushed inside, we saw Bo-Katan take out three stormtroopers, causing them to collapse onto the ground.
We made our way through the hallway, where many stormtroopers rushed in. Bo-Katan, Koska, Axes, and Din took out their blasters. We fired away before rushing to the edges of the hallway to cover us from laserfire. I glanced over at Ani. "Get 'em, Ani."
As we continued to fire away, Ani charged towards the stormtroopers, taking down the last stormtroopers in the hallway. We rushed towards the end of the hallway, where Ani stood. He wagged his tail as we reached him.
"Good boy." I praised.
We went through several hallways, taking them down one by one with blasters and with Ani's teeth. Once we were close to the turbolift that would lead us to the cargo control area, we were greeted by stormtroopers on the opposite end of the hallway.
"Look over there! Stop them!" One of the stormtroopers exclaimed.
We rushed over to the edges of the hallway to protect ourselves. Din then threw smoke grenades, blinding the stormtroopers. We then all lunged towards them. I concentrated on the Force, using it to sense where the stormtroopers were. Once I knew where they were, I ignited my purple lightsaber, which let out a howl.
I then focused on calm as a channeled the Force with every strike I took towards the stormtroopers. The stormtroopers let out screams as I swung my lightsaber quickly and with powerful blows, hitting their sides and chests. When they were all taken down, Din turned towards me. I turned off my lightsaber, putting it back in my belt.
"You took down those stormtroopers without being able to see them...how?" Din asked, stupefied.
Bo-Katan scoffed. "You really don't know anything about the Jedi. She used the Force."
I was baffled that Bo-Katan knew much of the Jedi. Din tilted his helmet, and I could sense he was more baffled than before. Bo-Katan quickly turned around. "Come on, let's keep moving."
With that, we got in the turbolift. Once we were in the turbolift, it lifted us up onto the next level. When the door opened, we saw a plethora of stormtroopers and an Imperial officer in the cargo control area. Bo-Katan, Axes, Koska, Din, and I fired our blasters, hitting several of the stormtroopers, causing them to drop onto the ground. But before Ani or any of us could charge towards them, they closed the doors on us. Bo-Katan turned towards me at once. "Can you open all the doors in the cargo control area, except for ours?"
I nodded, understanding her plan. "I can do that."
I took out my scramble key before putting it into the socket next to the control panel of the wall. Slicing into the system was easier than I thought. After a few seconds, I managed to get the doors of the cargo control area opened, causing all the stormtroopers and the Imperial officer to be sucked out of the freighter. Once all the stormtroopers were all gone, I closed the doors of the cargo control area and opened the doors that the stormtroopers had trapped us in. Bo-Katan gave me a smile. "Not bad, Skywalker."
Koska, Bo-Katan, and Axes approached the boxes, opening them to reveal several blasters and weapons of the sort. We then heard a male voice through the comlink. "Do you copy?"
Bo-Katan grabbed the comlink at once. "I copy. Thanks for packing up this gear so nicely. Imagine what a division of us can do when we get our hands on what's inside these shiny little boxes."
At once, another male voice responded. "If you think you're going to escape with those weapons, you're sadly mistaken. Even if you manage to jettison a few of those crates, we will comb the entire area until you are hunted down and killed."
"Oh, we're not jettisoning anything. We're taking the entire ship." Bo-Katan corrected.
Upon hearing her words, both Din and I whipped around to face her, completely surprised by her words. "What?"
"Put some tea on. We'll be up in a minute." Bo-Katan retorted.
She then threw the comlink onto one of the boxes. Din immediately stormed over towards Bo-Katan. I trailed behind him, following him in case he did something he might regret.
"This is more than Delmira and I signed up for." Din argued.
"There is something I need if I am to rule Mandalore. Something that was once mine. They know where it is, and soon, so will I." Bo-Katan explained. "Regardless, we are taking the ship for the battles ahead."
"We got your weapons. Delmira and I have to return to my ship with the foundling and our daughter." Din insisted.
"If you want my help finding the Jedi, you will help me take this ship." Bo-Katan shot back.
"You're changing the terms of the deal." Din mentioned, raising his voice.
I could feel his anger rising as he clenched his fists. Oh Force, this isn't good. And things only grew worse as Bo-Katan replied. "This is the Way."
With that, Bo-Katan took off, walking out into the hallway. Axes and Koska trailed behind her, leaving Din, Ani, and me. Din turned to face me. "Do you still think they're our friends?"
"She must have her reasons." I pointed out.
"You're defending them?" He asked, raising his voice.
"No, all I'm saying is that Bo-Katan has good intentions. Besides I'm not sure if we'll be able to reach my brother anytime soon." I informed him.
He tilted his helmet, rather confused. "Why?"
"He's on a mission of some sorts and I don't know when he'll be back." I explained.
Upon hearing my words, Din replied, sounding frustrated. "Maybe we should help her out to find this Jedi. A real Jedi may give me clear answers, and not these vague answers I get from you."
My heart dropped at his words. Not wanting to show him my emotions, I turned away from him with my back facing him. I then spoke up. "Then we should help them out, Mando."
I then walked off, without letting Din say a single word. As we made our way out into the hallway towards the bridge, the freighter began to move downward, causing us to nearly fall forward. We all held onto the wall, trying not to fall down. Poor Ani slid forward into the next hallway.
"They're taking the ship down. Let's move!" Bo-Katan ordered.
We then rushed into the next hallway, finding the bridge on the other side. My eyes lit up. "There's the bridge!"
However, we saw several stormtroopers in front of the bridge door. Near them, stood Ani, who was trying his best to avoid the heavy laserfire. We quickly hid behind the edges of the hallways. I shouted out. "Ani, come back!"
Quickly Ani rushed back, hiding on my side along with Din and Axes. Bo-Katan looked over at us. "How many troopers?"
Axes glanced over before hiding his helmet back. "Six to ten. Two with heavy repeating blasters."
"We're losing altitude fast." Koska warned.
"We need to move now." Bo-Katan urged.
Koska then glanced over at me. "Can't you use your lightsaber?"
"They have too much firepower!" Axes protested. "I doubt she can handle all of it on her own."
"He's right. Without beskar, I'm bound to get shot at least one with this heavy laserfire." I added.
"Still dropping. Ten thousand." Koska informed us.
"We won't it to the bridge!" Axes mentioned.
"Nine thousand." Koska said. "Eight thousand."
I glanced over at Din, who seemed to be deep in thought, thinking of something. He then looked over at us. "Cover me."
He then took out explosives before lunging out into the hallway. Din rushed towards them with the explosives in his hands. As Bo-Katan, Koska, and Axes continued firing their blasters at the stormtroopers, I appeared out in the hallway, using my lightsaber to deflect the laserfire, trying to help Din as he made his way across the hallway. As the laserfire increased, heading in my direction, I quickly used my lightsaber, shielding myself and my entire body from any blasts.
I watched as Din was hit several times, falling to the ground. But the beskar protected him, he then threw the explosives towards the stormtroopers before taking cover. I quickly used the Force, creating a barrier around Ani, Bo-Katan, Koska, Axes, and me to protect us from the flames. Once the flames were gone, I rushed towards Din, who was on the ground, unharmed. Before I could ask if he was all right, he climbed up on his feet, blurting out. "Come on!"
Once we reached the bridge door, Axes and Din managed to get the door open. We then rushed into the bridge, finding an Imperial captain sitting in the pilot's chair with two dead Imperials beside him. Din grabbed the captain, dragging him out of the pilot's seat, before throwing him back towards Bo-Katan, who held him with a vibro-knife to his throat. Din sat down in the pilot's chair, while I plopped down in the co-pilot's seat. Together, we did our best to regain control of the freighter.
"Easy." Din advised. "Easy..."
After a few moments, we managed to get the ship's control back before it could dive into the water. We missed hitting a buoy by a few centimeters. As Din checked the controls, I looked around at the navicomputer, seeing that the captain sent a distress signal. I mentally cursed. We need to leave now. I then glanced over to see Bo-Katan still holding the vibro-knife to the captain's neck. "I'll let you live. But you will take me to him."
"You might let me live, but he won't." The Captain replied.
The Captain then bite his teeth before his entire head shook, electrocuting him. Bo-Katan let out a scream as he collapsed onto the ground. "No!"
"We need to go now. He sent a distress signal." I warned.
Bo-Katan looked over at Koska. "Clear the atmosphere and prepare to jump."
As Din and I stood up from the seats, Koska took over, sitting down at the co-pilot's chair. Bo-Katan turned towards us. "Are you sure you won't join us?"
"There's something we need to do." Din mentioned.
"The offer stands if you change your mind." Bo-Katan informed us.
"Where can we find the Jedi?" Din asked.
Bo-Katan took off her helmet before she spoke. "Take the foundling to the city of Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus. There you will find Ahsoka Tano. Tell her you were sent by Bo-Katan. And thank you, your bravery will not be forgotten. This is the Way."
Din gave her a nod. "This is the Way."