Beyond - Legends The Child

Awesome and great encounters!

 

Chapter 13: Ties That Bind

An hour later they were comfortably settled in Sabine's living room again. All of them tired to the bone, but in dire need to fill in Ahsoka on what was going on. When they came to the part describing their findings on Kamino they could see her clear blue eyes narrowing in disgust.

"And we weren't stopping this atrocity," she said softly, almost afraid to meet Rex' eyes.

"How could you? You didn't know. At least I don't think so."

She obviously decided to let the question go for now, and turned her piercing glance towards Mando.

"I've heard your story, but yet I don't understand how you got mixed up in this mess? Bounty hunters rarely pick up stray children where they go."

He sighed. How was he supposed to explain something he didn't understand himself? He had felt the urge to protect and to get the little one away from the Client as quickly as possible and he'd acted upon it, but she was right. It wasn't what a bounty hunter normally would do.

"I don't know. I just…couldn't let them have him. They might have killed him in their search for whatever they're after."

"Why?"

Her question was as straightforward as his answer was airy.

"I don't know. Maybe because I once was a …foundling myself. My parents were killed during a separatist attack and the Mandalorians took care of me. I guess I felt that we were alike somehow."

He knew the explanation was lousy, but it was the best he could do. She seemed to understand because she nodded slowly.

"I see. You felt attached to him?"

"I guess."

Stars end, this was embarrassing. Fortunately she seemed to accept the answer - for now, he added silently to himself.

"And you took this…Armorer's words for granted and you both think he belongs with the Jedi? Why?"

Mando sighed: "The Armorer recognised his abilities when I told her about him. I've seen him do things that no ordinary being would be able to."

"Give me some examples," Ahsoka prodded.

"Well, he was able to lift an attacking mudhorn off the ground by…I don't know…looking at it. And he stopped the flames from a flamethrower from reaching us. I think. I was quite dizzy at that point."

Ahsoka nodded silently: "Yeah, that sounds like a Force sensitive to me. Lifting mudhorns is one thing, stopping flames is on a quite different level. And he's had no training at all? "

"I don't know. I don't think so."

Ahsoka rubbed her eyes, clearly unhappy with the information, and then she summarised: "OK, so we have a small kid, who likely is from Master Yoda's species and probably a clone of him and very strong in the Force. Kid's been tucked away for decades to be kept out of harm's way and now he's grown attached to you - and to finish it off he's been kidnapped for a purpose we don't know for sure, but most likely to provide genetic material for a new atrocity from the Imperial leftovers' side. I'd say we have problems in heaps here."

"That pretty much summarises it," Sabine agreed.

The living room fell silent, each of them filled with somber thoughts of various types.

"Can we get help from Hera and Luke?" Sabine mused.

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, not if we can avoid it. Hera is trying to stay away from dangerous missions because of her son, Jacen, and I suspect this will be a clandestine mission from A to Z and well, Luke is more for the direct approach. But first we have to find the kid and I have an idea for that."

The other three looked at her in surprise. From what they knew the kid had disappeared somewhere in the galaxy's belly, or rather underbelly, and none of them had the faintest idea of how to find him. Ahsoka almost chuckled.

"You will likely be the key," she said, nodding at Mando.

"What? What can I do?" he answered in surprise.

She sighed.

"You will have to do more or less the same as you did with Dume, but this time I will do the channeling. If that is not sufficient we can always call on Dume to enforce my attempts. Or rather - we should possibly get him from the start. If you're attached to the kid he will likely be attached to you as well."

Mando nodded in agreement. He couldn't know for sure but the kid had reacted to him as if it felt a connection between them and he knew how he once had felt bonded with his surrogate father as well. Kindness would make attachments grow. Likely she was right. He hoped she was. What he didn't understand was the dismay. How could it be wrong to feel attached to someone?

She seemed to read his thoughts.

"Jedi and attachments isn't necessarily a good combination," she said. "I've seen it before. But in this case he will likely reach for you through the Force since you're his anchor in this world and by now likely the only one he trusts."

Mando nodded, remembering vividly the little bundle trying to hide from the horrors of Kamino by disappearing into his chest plate.

"I assume you're not Force sensitive yourself?" she asked.

"Me? No, I wouldn't even know what that means," he said.

She just nodded. "Anyways, Dume managed to direct me to you, so maybe something similar can be done with your kid. He is probably trying to reach you in the only way he can and, I don't know, maybe Dume and I somehow can feel him through you? When I was a Jedi I had a training bond with…my Master, and I know he had a strong bond with his Master too. It may fail since you are not Force sensitive and I have no bond whatsoever with your foundling, but I think this is our best shot. Sabine, if you can get Hera on the comm and ask them to perform a search to find out which quadrants of the galaxy an Imperial base possibly could be hidden we may compare that with whatever information Mando and I may get from the kid. And if we aren't able to connect to him we will have to do it the old fashioned way, start with number one on Hera's list and search ourselves. Come on, Mando, let's give this a shot. "

"Go with the Commander," Rex said calmly. "We'll talk to Hera and prepare for a …well equipped departure."

Mando just nodded. He really didn't care much for the Jedi-wolf-mystical-mumbo-jumbo, but if that was what it would take to get the kid back safe and sound, he'd give it a shot.

A short speeder ride later (where had Ahsoka learned to fly - this just couldn't be even close to safe driving?) they were back at the Temple ruins and stepped out of the speeder. The plain lay empty and void in front of them and Mando gave Ahsoka a quizzical glance.

"No wolves."

"He will come," she said confidently. "He understands."

She turned out to be right. This time there was no sound of paws, no whisper in the grass. The huge wolf stepped silently out from the shadows towards them.

"We need your help again," Ahsoka said quietly.

The wolf tilted its head as if it understood every word, a soft growl coming from its throat.

"We need to find his kid," she explained. "You and I may be able to feel him."

The wolf tilted its head and gave her a sceptical glance.

"I know, I know, it hasn't been done before, but hey - there's a first for everything," she said and shrugged.

"What am I supposed to do?" Mando interjected the silent communication.

"Uh…good question. Think of him? Think of happy moments, something fun, something which would make him want to connect with you?"

Yeah, right. Fighting down stormtroopers, crashing walkers and running for our lives from Imperial Moffs is just what would make any kid beam from happiness. It's not like we've been living a happy family life here.

He didn't say it. In fact he didn't know what to say so he just sat down as he'd done previously feeling the light touch of Ahsoka's hand on his shoulder. He began thinking of the kid, recalling the warm feeling he'd felt when it first peeped up from the blanket in the crib and then the moments where the kid had been happily playing with the chrome ball from the gearshift. He could see the intense look of curiosity in the little face and the small hands cradling the globe and something stirred in his mind. The little globe was literally glowing in his mind and the world around him faded.

Warm, it's so warm in here and it's humid and I feel lonely and I want to go home. I don't like those black armoured guys. They disappeared when we arrived here but I don't trust that they won't come don't look like Dad at all…

Wait? What…Dad? For a moment he dropped out of the trance-like state he'd been in. A light pressure from Ahsoka's hand made him realise it and he continued focusing on the imaginary chrome ball.

Dad is kind, those guys are not. And I don't like those who are pinning me with needles either. Wait - Dad? I think I can feel you in my head. Can you come pick me up soon? I don't want to be here. I want to go home.

"Where are you, kid? I'd come get you but I need to know where you are."

"Dad? Green….lot's of leaves. Bet there are frogs there… But I cannot go outside."

"I need more. Anyone mentioned a name?"

Warm, very warm and I saw a dead ship there. Not like home. They call it Minor. They don't like me, and I want to go home. Come get me, Dad. Please."

The connection or whatever it had been broke and Mando almost collapsed to the ground, panting. His head felt on the verge of exploding and his world turned black.

He woke feeling two hands releasing his helmet.

"No! Don't !"

His hands flew up and grabbed Ahsoka's wrists. "I cannot take it off. It's forbidden."

She let go. Concerned blue eyes scrutinised his armoured face. "You need air. You collapsed or something."

"I can breathe very well with the helmet on, thank you very much. What happened?"

His head was pounding now.

"You tell me. In one moment you were sitting there and the next you collapsed in front of us. I felt as I was passing through a strong Force field, or rather the opposite - it passed through me. Nothing else."

"Oh…"

The evening turned silent around them. He hadn't noticed but Dume had somehow disappeared again and he and Ahsoka were the only ones left behind.

"I…I don't know what happened. It could have been only my imagination…"

"Don't count on it. What happened?"

He took a new deep breath and began: "I think I felt him. He's lonely. And he's on a green, humid planet. He saw a 'dead ship' whatever that means. And I got a word : 'Minor'. I have no idea what that could be.

Ahsoka sighed: "It was worth a try. It's not much but if this fits with the intel from Hera we might as well start looking for hot and humid planets."

"But…"

"Don't say it," she interrupted, "it may have been your imagination or Dume and I may have created a link between the two of you - but it's all we got for now so let's go back to the others. You need rest and we need to cross-check with the intel."

Mando just nodded, too tired to say anything, but with a feeling that they at least were on their way to something. The experience of connecting to the kid mentally had been exhausting but also comforting. If he'd only known that some kind of bond really had been created.

As they once again returned to Sabine's tower they saw a rather large pile up of something nearby the door. Said 'something' involved certain amounts of metal covers and wires. Mando looked quizzically at Ahsoka who shrugged: "She likes blowing up things…"

Rex met them on top of the stairs, loaded with new mysterious items that obviously were destined for the pile up.

"Have you heard from Hera?"

"Yep, we have a list of possible worlds. Did you succeed?"

"We're not sure," Ahsoka said," join us after you've unloaded your burden and we'll tell you what happened."

Rex only nodded and disappeared down the stairs.

Their story was quickly reiterated and Sabine wrinkled her brow, obviously in sceptic mode, while Rex had a pensive expression on his face.

"You're a Mandalorian, not a Jedi. This might be just your imagination," was Sabine's straightforward comment.

Mando sighed, he knew that very well himself: "I know. It's not much to go on, but it felt real. I'm sorry we weren't able to get more hard facts…"

And in that moment Rex jumped up, snapping his fingers: "Mando, Commander…you're geniuses. I've got it."

Without further explanation he grabbed the pad closest to him and began scrolling down the listings of potential planets which they had received from Hera."

"Here it is," he said triumphantly, "Lubang Minor, a planet in the Illisurevimurasi sector.. It has to be there. Everything fits. The word 'minor', the dead ship…the jungle."

His three comrades looked at him, puzzled.

Sabine was the first to speak: "It's not that I don't trust you, but what makes you so certain?"

"During the Clone Wars one of our brothers, Able - or CT1707- was stranded there for almost 20 years His LAAT/i gunship was shot down over the planet and crashed. Most of his team was killed in the crash and the rest died shortly after. He was eventually saved by Luke Skywalker.

"Can we ask him to come with us," Sabine asked?

"No. He's too old now. Since he was staying there nobody stopped his accelerated ageing but we can ask him to transfer what he remembers about the planet. He might have an idea about where the Imperial base may be located."

"Contact him. Now!" Ahsoka decided.

"Yes, Commander…"

 

Wonderful, a solid lead!

 

Chapter 14: Lubang Minor

Lubang Minor was all they had expected and more. And none of it was positive. The hot, humid climate made the beskar armour extremely uncomfortable for the three members of the rescue team who wore one, and Ahsoka did not fare much better. The dense underbrush was obviously home sweet home for a lot of insects and too many were of the stinging type for her likings. Besides, it made it difficult to move.

They had argued about the best approach, and Ahsoka had suggested that Rex should stay with the ship and be ready to pick them up after the hopefully successful mission but the old trooper would have none of it.

"I'm not that old," he had argued indignantly.

Mando had tended to agree with Ahsoka for practical purposes. He still had the dispute with the mudhorn fresh in his memory and on a rescue mission like this he really would like to be sure that their means of escape was unharmed. Coming back to Razor Crest after saving the kid only to discover that the ship had been stripped for most vital parts had been really unpleasant. On the other hand - they needed all hands on deck, especially since Sabine insisted on bringing a rather comprehensive arsenal of explosives and weapons with them.

He didn't argue that. The value of good armour and good weapons could not be overestimated and eventually they decided on landing and leaving the ship in the jungle. It would take them a few hours to get to the place where they believed the Empirical troops were staying. Able's instructions had given them a fairly good idea of where to find the 'dead ship' and they chose to trust Mando's vision enough to assume that the facility would have to be nearby. If the kid had seen it, he must have been close by because there was no way anyone would have seen it from above.

As they closed in on the spot where Able had had his base they became more careful. They could only assume that the place would be guarded, but the numbers of guards and their level of awareness was hard to guess. They just could not be discovered. Period.

It wasn't like they had a good plan. They knew they had to get inside the facility but how they should accomplish that was an open question. So much depended upon its construction and how it was placed in the terrain.

"Makes me feel young again," Rex had chuckled, only to earn himself a sharp glance from Ahsoka.

"As long as you don't mention 'ventilation shafts'…" she sighed.

A couple of hours later she began wondering whether she'd suddenly got the gifts of foresight. Regretfully. The Imperial base was squeezed in-between two mountain tops more or less like a nerf ham in a sandwich and there was no way to get through the sidewalls. It had to be the front door or the roof and from the look of the huge gate in front there was likely a hangar just inside. Which meant an open space and very little to hide behind.

"Dank Farrik!" Mando exclaimed, "That one isn't going to be easy to sneak into."

None of his companions did comment on the obvious. This would certainly not be an easy hit and run mission.

Ahsoka sighed again: "I guess it has to be the vents then. There has to be something like that on top of that building. Even the imps have to breathe, unfortunately. Sabine and I will likely be able to get down there, but the two of you are a bit more…bulky."

"You calling me 'fat'?" Rex shot in and the tension in the group eased for a moment.

"Nah…more like 'broad' - over the shoulders, that is…"

Mando silently agreed that she had a valid point. There were many good things to be said about beskar'gam, but 'flexible' was not one of them. He could see that crawling through ventilation shafts with that on would be…not very practical. Sabine's slim figure would likely make it if the vents were of a decent diameter but for himself and Rex it might be difficult indeed. But there was another concern too - how would they get up there? The jetpacks would bring himself, Sabine and Rex up through the air, but Ahsoka didn't have any. She would have to climb and the mountain walls seemed frightfully steep. And how would they get up unnoticed? It wasn't like the jetpacks were free of sound or even sometimes visible flames.

"Guess we'll all have to take a beeline," Ahsoka concluded. "We cannot get in through that gate and they will clearly see us if we try to move up to the roof. We'll have to move to the ravine over there and there you can use your jetpacks and with some luck I can climb. I guess they have some security on the roof as well but we'll get over that obstacle when we come to it."

"You don't have to climb," Sabine comforted. "We'll lift you."

"What? A jetpack cannot carry two persons. Not that far, at least."

"Nope, but two can. I think. I've had some good spare time on Lothal so I've done some neat improvements on mine, and Mando's seem to be more or less same model as mine so I bet I can give it some extra boost too. Then we can lift you between us."

"There's something about the 'I think' phrase that's not too comforting," Ashoka said rolling her eyes, "but I trust your abilities so let's give it a try. It would save us a lot of time. But first we have to get to the ravine and that means at least one more click in this jungle."

An annoyed 'smack' to a pesky mosquito followed her words and the group began moving again. At least they now had some kind of 'Plan - part A'. Rex was quite sure they would see more parts coming up before the mission was ended.

The ravine they'd seen from a distance was narrow and steep and in a way exactly what they needed. There was no way to be seen directly from the Imperial base and if anyone did a fly by, or fly over, the just had to handle the problem when or if it occurred.

"We'll get you up first, Ahsoka. Then you can do some investigations of the surroundings and the three of us will get the gear up and follow you as soon as we can."

Ahsoka just nodded. She wasn't too eager about her personal lifting operation but it would for sure save a lot of time compared to her climbing the steep ravine, and she'd done worse in her life. With Mando's hand firmly in her right hand and a secure grip from Sabine around her left they took off from the ground.

Sabine's modifications held and she landed safely on the rock on top of the ravine and disappeared in the dark. She more felt than saw Sabine and Mando disappear over the edge of the cliff again to haul up their so-called gear. She had a suspicion that if they lost some of that the imps would hear it right away. If that happened at least she needed to be free to get the others out of the clutches of the Imps.

Just like in the old days.

They all knew the drill except Mando. Stick to the plan as long as you can, improvise when everything blows up in your face and save your friends if or when you can. And preferably get out alive. She doubted Mando's experiences with such joint operations but on the other hand, as a bounty hunter he was well acquainted with dangerous operations and he likely knew how to handle a dangerous situation. All in all they were a good team, she thought.

When Mando came with his first load of "gear" Ahsoka had nearly reached the roof already. When he came with the second, she had disappeared again. Hopefully she was somewhere in or between the huge ventilation pipes that stuck up from the roof. It would be tight but from the looks of it both Rex and he would fit in, which was a relief. On the other hand, he didn't know if it would last. Most ventilation pipes usually branched out into more narrow pipes and that would be challenging. But for now it was the waiting game. They just had to sit down and blend in with the cliff as much as they could which for him meant pulling the cape over the beskar'gam. It was just too shiny and reflective for this purposes. Rex and Sabine didn't have that possibility so they positioned themselves behind him the best they could. At least their armours weren't as reflective but on the other hand, the colour markings on theirs might stand out towards the background.

It felt like an eternity but in reality it was less than half an hour before Ahsoka's head perked up from one of the largest pipes and soon the rest of her followed and they could see a shadow jogging towards their position.

"It's doable," she declared. "Even for you two guys."

Rex arched an eyebrow and Ahsoka gave him a pointed glare: "No, Rex, I did not say you're fat…"

Then she continued: "Most of it seems OK, but there are a couple of pipes that are more narrow than the rest so I believe the two of you should take off your chest plates. That will make it easier. Sabine, you will have no problem so when we go in you will go after me so we can protect the guys while they're dressing up again if some problems occur. It seems like the area we will enter through is some kind of maintenance room so if we're lucky there's no-one there when we appear. "

The phrase 'lucky' made Rex scoff. He'd never seen a mission where that word was involved in his entire life.

Ahsoka continued: "From there we will have to go step by step. I would guess that they keep the kid somewhere on the lower levels. Detention cells are usually placed low in any construction. I just hope that the kid can feel you, Mando, and that I can pick up some of that connection when we're inside - or even better, we will find a map over this place and skip all the 'Jedi-mystical-mumbo-jumbo'."

Mando had rarely been so glad to have his helmet on as in this moment. He felt a blush flaring on his cheeks and realised that she'd picked up some of his thoughts on their way to the Lothal Temple. If the Jedi could read his thoughts he might be in trouble.

Ahsoka chuckled: "No worries, Mando. I'm shielding so I'm not reading your thoughts on a regular base, but that one you projected loud and clear."

"My apologies," he said, "all this is new to me."

"None offence taken," she said, "now, if everyone is on board with the ..uh…plan, we'll just go."

"Nope, not yet," Sabine said, "if possible we should place some of the stuff from my 'goodie bags' scattered around the roof. Obviously we can't bring everything with us inside through the vents and I'd really like to blow up this place when we leave. If we can damage the roof roof it will likely break a lot of the underlying construction too. I somehow doubt we will have the chance to place them when we are on our way out."

"Agreed," Ahsoka nodded. "Let's place as many as we can in 15 minutes. One quadrant each. keep to the sides so we're not spotted and let's head down the vent I came through immediately after that. And, Sabine, please don't push the detonator button by accident while we're still inside…"

Sabine rolled her eyes grabbed four bags and handed over to her companions.

"Here, place them as close to where you imagine a bearing construction will be and hide the bag under some rock or whatever when you've finished. Let's get moving."

And with that four shadows disappeared into the darkness.

 

LOL on the back and forth as things get situated for the search and retrieve

 

Chapter 15: Fireworks

Mando soon discovered the reason for Ahsoka's and Rex' lack of enthusiasm when it came to ventilation shafts. Confined spaces were one thing, crawling on hands and knees with beskar clad knees - and doing it silently- was a complete different game. Additionally came the fact that each of them had to push or haul one of Sabine's 'goodie bags' with them and he and Rex also had to manoeuvre the chest plates of their armours through the channels. He had his hands full and then some. The more narrow tubes which Ahsoka had mentioned added new words to his vocabulary. He'd not thought of himself as having very broad shoulders, but when he was nearly stuck like a cork in a bottle of fine Serennian wine he cursed loudly. Well, semi-loudly and in front of him he could hear Rex' similarly colourful language.

They made it through. Barely.

By the time he dropped out of the vent in the technical room Ahsoka had already silenced the trooper on guard there. Fingers crossed that he wasn't supposed to report to someone within the next hour or so.

Sabine was already eagerly tapping on a keyboard on the desk and the screen in front of her changed from a view showing the main hangar to a map over the base.

"How did you…?"

"Shhh, done similar things before - and the terminal was unlocked."

As they had expected the detention cells were in the lower part of the base, about four levels down from where they stood. Only the hangar was below them. Not too bad. Except they had to cross two levels which likely were packed with stormtroopers before they came there. And worse - the darktroopers appeared to be situated on the level immediately above the cells.

"I don't like the look of this," Sabine sighed. "They're docked now, but…."

"Which one is the shortest way down?" Ahsoka asked. "We need to get there as quick as we can, getting out may be…troublesome."

"Mmmhmmm… if we go straight down that corridor we will have a stairway down there. At least we don't have to cross the area between the docking stations for the darktroopers. But that also means we will have a longer way to pass through level 4 …there."

"We have to risk that. From what Rex and Mando told us we don't want to engage the darktroopers in direct battle if they're activated."

Rex gave her a somber glance: "I don't want to engage them in any battle. Been there, done that. Still sore."

"I suggest that if we get a chance we can put some of Sabine's small gifts near the darktroopers' quarters," Mando shot in. "I'm not sure that will work on those things but it may slow them down if they're activated?"

Sabine nodded appreciatively. "I have some…specialities in my bag. That may be a worthy cause."

"Let's go." Ahsoka decided. "If we have to take down some troopers on our way, give me a chance to do it first if they're not too many. My 'sabers are less noisy than your blasters."

"If you don't mind…" Mando added, "I'll go with you. My armour has some built in surprises which may come in handy."

Ahsoka nodded: "Rex and Sabine, you two take care of the explosives then."

They were lucky. They were almost halfway to the staircase before they were discovered. Four stormtroopers rounded a corner and noticed them immediately, but Ahsoka was literally mid-air before any of them even had the time to reach their comm links and seconds later the two first fell to the ground. A swift touch of a button in his armour and a thin wire flew from Mando's wrist and curled around the ankles of the two remaining troopers and with a quick pull he reeled them in. Ahsoka's sabers snapped twice and the two troopers lay still, both with a scorched hole in their armours right through their chests.

They knew that their luck would only last for so long, but they had hoped it would last a little bit longer. As they passed by the level where they suspected the darktroopers were stored an alarm flared and the sound of heavy marching feet could be heard. The sound was more precise and foreboding than any marching stormtroopers could have provided.

Mando and Rex exchanged a glance: "Darktroopers. They've been released."

They all froze for a second, then Ahsoka were gathering her wits: "Mando, give your bag to Rex and Sabine. We'll continue to the cells. Rex, Sabine, you know what to do, but get out of there if the troopers become a real threat to you."

"As if this were a walk in the park," Sabine wheezed sarcastically. "Come on Rex, we have fireworks to set off."

The two of them peeked out in the hallway where the first dark troopers appeared from a heavily constructed door.

"Here we go, welcome party is on…"

And with that grenades flew through the air and along the floor and a series of explosions were set off. The first darktroopers fell and debris from their mechanical legs and arms flew through the air.

The sound of running feet from stormtroopers approaching from the other side could barely be heard through the clanking of the darktroopers further back in the line. The stormtroopers fell in numbers as Rex' blaster flared, almost every single bolt hitting its target at a remarkable speed.

"Still have it in you, I can see," Sabine muttered.

"Good basic training," Rex responded dryly.

The next wave of 'fireworks' took out some more darktroopers and Sabine was able to help Rex with the stormtroopers for a while, both of them carefully shielding in the doorframe whenever they could. But eventually the darktroopers kept coming.

"Karabast! How many of those things are there?"

"Too many."

"Let's give them one more surprise and change position. Ahsoka and Mando may need some extra hands now. "

"Agree."

A new grenade rolled out and a couple more darktroopers disintegrated, while Sabine and Rex hurried down the stairs with a considerable less weight to carry than they had only a few minutes ago.

…

Ahsoka and Mando took the shortest possible route to the detention cells. They were almost too late. From a distance they could see a dark figure disappearing into one cell. From the looks of it was a human being and not a darktrooper, but the latter weren't far behind.

"Kriff it," Ahsoka wheezed. "I didn't think they would come here that quickly. There must have been another way down."

Mando kept quiet. There was little to do for him but nod. The situation was obvious - Moff Gideon was likely with the kid already and he had an escort of eight darktroopers following in his wake. The odds were…not good.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, looked relieved: "Thank the Force, only eight of them…"

"Only eight…?"

"Yeah, I doubt that they are made from beskar so my lightsabers will work perfectly fine here. Can you get the kid? I'll get rid of these guys. You can take down Gideon?"

It was more of a statement than a question so Mando just rolled his eyes. As long as Moff Gideon was alone and didn't use the kid as a living shield he would be good, eventually. The other male was older and likely not as trained for combat as he himself was. A well placed shot from his blaster blew the lock of the cell door into small pieces and he entered. And stopped abruptly at the scene in front of him. Surely, the kid was there. His kid. But something was horribly wrong. No dark eyes looked upon him expectantly. No soft cooing from the little one greeted him. The kid was laying on one side as if it were asleep, but his skin had a pale, green almost greyish complexion and he seemed unconscious.

As if that wasn't enough Moff Gideon was looming over him with a weapon he'd never seen before. It resembled Ahsoka's lightsabers but it was completely black. Only a thin line of something that seemed like an electrical field sparked around its blade. It seemed to be an exquisite weapon which he would have admired under other circumstances. But now was not the time. The dark blade hung over the kid's neck, ready to strike in a moment. This was so not good.

But who had expected this to be easy? Not he.

"I assume you will think twice before doing anything foolish," Gideon said pleasantly. "I might slip the saber and…ah…a very unfortunate accident might take place."

"If you harm the kid, that will be the last thing you do in your life," Mando stated matter of factly.

"That may be so, but you don't want him killed do you? Me neither. He is more of value to me alive so I suggest we settle this little dispute peacefully."

The saber did not waver for a moment. Mando's mind flickered through his options. Shooting would take too long. The saber might decapitate the kid before he even had the blaster in his hand. The key to getting the kid would be to get the saber away from him quickly. Silently he wondered how much Moff Gideon actually knew about Mandalorian armours.

"OK, OK, I get it…don't harm the kid," he sad quietly, adding just the tiniest quiver to his voice. With some luck Gideon might even believe in him. Slowly he raised his hands in front of him in a disarming movement. Then he pushed the button and once again the thin wire flew out of his armour. This time it curled around the arm of the man in front of him and he gave it a pull almost before it had fastened it's grip. Simultaneously he kicked upwards and heard a satisfying 'snap' when his boot met Gideon's face. But Gideon didn't go down that easily and regained some of his balance, obviously neglecting the blood streaming from his nose. A very sharp, very unpleasantly looking knife was pulled from his belt and with his free hand he aimed for the opening between Mando's helmet and the chest plate.

Mando blocked and the knife hit beskar. He had to get that knife quickly. It couldn't penetrate beskar but it surely could hit between the armours different components and do a lot of damage. And Moff Gideon seemed like he knew how to use it.

Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.

The old saying flew through his mind as he threw his arms around Gideon trying to wrestle the knife out of Gideon's hand and simultaneously keeping his movements restricted so he didn't get a chance to stab again. His knee came up and collided with Gideon's midriff and the older man buckled for a moment, which gave Mando just enough time to twist the other man's arm. The knife fell to the floor. As did the two men. Gideon was obviously a trained warrior and despite his age he did not go down easily. Instead he moved towards the place where the darksaber lay, only appearing like a loose hilt now when it was switched off. His hand reached for it, but Mando was quicker. And he had longer arms… A split second before Moff Gideon's fingers were closing around it he grabbed it, pulled it towards them and pushed the ignition button.

The blade went directly through Gideon's chest almost directly through his heart, -assuming that he actually had one. By the looks of it, Mando wasn't sure. Who would do whatever Gideon has done to a child? The kid hadn't moved during the entire fight and seemed oblivious to the world. The only thing that proved it was still alive was the fact that Gideon had tried to keep it.

With a lump forming in his throat he clipped the darksaber to his armour and grabbed Gideon's knife for good measure before he carefully lifted the kid up and tucked him into the nook of his arm.

Now they only had to get out of here, in case Ahsoka's self confidence had been justified and that there weren't a full party of darktroopers waiting outside the door. He didn't have to worry. Just as he left the cell he saw Ahsoka switching off her 'sabers. The floor around her was covered with parts of the fearsome darktroopers. Obviously a lightsaber was a force to be reckoned with, and two were double trouble for the enemy.

"Got him? Good. Let's get out of here before reinforcements are arriving," Ahsoka stated and bolted for the end of the block closest to the hangar. "Sabine and Rex should be ready for takeoff soon."

"Takeoff?"

….

Rex and Sabine peeked into the detention block just as Ahsoka were taking on the first of the troopers. They saw her lightsaber slice through limbs and chests of the mechanical monstrosities almost effortlessly.

"That's my 'Soka," Rex whispered proudly, and Sabine wondered which memories were running through his head right now. She was fully aware of the tight bonds Ahsoka and Rex had shared during the Clone Wars.

Ahsoka cast a quick glance over her shoulder: "Make yourself useful and find a way out of here. Preferably with an engine. We're right above the hangar."

"Yes sir, yes." Rex answered automatically, and Sabine chuckled.

"She seems to be on top of things. Let's go."

The hangar was definitely not unprotected, but fortunately no darktroopers could be seen. Only regular stormtroopers. They both let out a relieved sigh - in unison and nodded to each other.

"I've always wanted to try a TIE/rp," Sabine chuckled, "and we need space for our passengers. Cover me when I run, and then I use the rest of my surprise gifts to keep you out of trouble and off we go. Ahsoka will understand what we're doing and head for the best pick up spot."

Rex just nodded and lifted his blaster: "Off you go. Run girl."

Sabine ran. She knew her friend would do his best to keep her covered and as she ran she saw the stormtroopers fall for his blaster bolts. A couple of bolts whirled beside her, too close for her likings, but none hit their target.

She took cover nearby the TIE/rp they had seen and sent out a couple of grenades towards the advancing troopers. The hangar was filled with smoke that made it difficult for them to aim for Rex who now was running towards her, still firing into the rows of remaining troopers. Sabine pulled up her blasters and joined in. Rex might look like the old-timer he actually was but when it came to real battle he would overpower any young stormtrooper any time.

"Phew, I'm getting too old for this," Rex sighed as he reached her.

"Pfff, still in your prime," she jested as her fingers flew over the panel close to the hatch. "Now, get inside and let's get this thing started."

Rex stayed in the hatch keeping the troopers at bay while Sabine fixed 'starting the thing'. It took her less than a minute.

"Closing the hatch!"

Rex pulled away from the opening and the hatch closed smoothly in front of him. He turned on his heel and set the course for the nearest cannon turret. It wasn't like they were safe yet. The engines roared to life and they began moving forward - towards the closed hangar door.

"You forgot something…"

"Nope," Sabine chuckled in the very same moment as en explosion right in front of them blew the huge hangar door off its hinges. "Threw it there before the shooting started."

She didn't give full speed, instead she flew an almost lazy round over the nearest treetops and saw two small figures inside the cracked transparisteel window above the hangar door.

"Let's hope Mando still has his blaster and that Ahsoka still can perform her force jumps."

And with that she manoeuvred the ship as close to the hangar as she could. The window exploded from within and they saw Ahsoka fly through the air in the same moment as Mando shot a grapple hook towards the ship. The hook found its target and Mando reeled himself closer to the ship. Rex was already on his way to open the hatch again - mid-air. Ahsoka slid in lightly, having the kid safely under her left arm. Hauling Mando in proved a bit more difficult but with united forces and an extra force pull from Ahsoka they got him inside too.

"All onboard?" Sabine yelled from the pilot's seat.

"All onboard!" Rex confirmed and Sabine pushed the remote control she'd kept in her belt the entire time.

Behind them they heard the sound of a tremendous explosion as the explosives they had set out on the roof before entering the base went off, simultaneously with the smaller ones Rex and Sabine had managed to place near some of the bearing columns within the base.

They reached Razor Crest without any further incidents, and more important - without any pursuers and landed beside it.

"What's wrong with the kid?" Rex asked. "Is he…."

"He's alive," Ahsoka answered. "Barely. My best guess is that the bastards have drawn too much blood from him. And because of his species I don't dare to try giving him any human plasma. I think the best thing we can do is getting him to the Jedi healers as fast as we can."

For a short moment the group went completely still.

"Jedi healers?" Rex croaked.

 

Riveting action... Glad they got Grogu but he needs medical attention.

 

Thanks...I really hate writing action scenes. I've been fearing this one for several chapters now, and I really envy other writers who are able to do it seemingly without effort.
And, yep, the kid isn't feeling too well for the moment being, but at least Mando got rid of his tormentor.

 

And Sabine has yet to notice that Mando has the Darksaber, and therefore has inadvertently become Mand'alor.

 

Chapter 16: Draay 2

Ahsoka had the decency to look a bit ashamed: "Uhm…yes."

"I believed," Rex said sternly, "that the Jedi were wiped out during Order 66?"

"They were. Mostly. A few survived and one of them was a healer."

"And you didn't tell me? You never told," the sadness in Rex voice was almost palpable.

"The need to know," Ahsoka sighed. "It was never about trust, but they were so few and we needed to keep them safe for everyone's sake. They were mostly children from the creche and then a few grown ups and elders. We wanted them to grow up in as much peace as we could give them."

Mando was listening to the conversation with a heavy heart. He could absolutely relate to the small Jedi younglings being torn away from the only home they knew - and he could also relate to the need of letting them grow up in peace. It had not been a part of his own childhood, but oh how he sometimes wished it were.

Now was not the time for daydreaming.

"Can we take that discussion later? The kid needs help and besides, we're not sure if you were able to take down all of the stormtroopers and some ships may have survived too. We should get going as fast as possible."

"Right!" Ahsoka nodded. "Rex, Sabine…I believe the imps owe Rex a ship after Kamino. Can you take this one back to Lothal and maybe do some rebuild so it's not so easily recognised? Mando, the kid and I need to go 'somewhere else' and we can take the Razor Crest."

Rex nodded. He wasn't completely finished with the Jedi topic. At least he wanted to know which of the grown up Jedi who had survived, but now was not the right time. Too many Jedi friends had been lost that night, and too many of his brothers later on - and before.

Sabine looked as if she was going to argue but a stern glance from Ahsoka silenced her before she had the chance of saying anything.

"OK," she agreed meekly, and froze on the spot.

"Mando? What. Is. That?"

"What is what?"

"The cylinder in your belt? You didn't have that before. I think."

"No. I picked it up from Moff Gideon, sort of. He was threatening the kid with it so I had to take it from him. As it happened it came to…pierce his heart, if he has…had one."

"Let me see it," Sabine demanded, "now!"

"We don't have t…" Ahsoka tried, but was interrupted.

"We have time for this!"

Mando unclipped the hilt of the weird saber from his belt and gave it to Sabine who with a practiced stroke of her thumb ignited the darksaber.

For a moment she went completely silent and then she bursted into laughter.

"You…you won this from Moff Gideon in battle?" she hiccuped, tears of laughter streaming down her face.

"Yeah?"

"I hate to be the one who breaks this to you, but…congratulations. You seem to be the new Mand'alor."

"What? Who?"

Rex and Ahsoka exchanged glances.

"The new ruler of Mandalore," Rex said softly. "The one who wields the darksaber is the rightful ruler of Mandalore. It can only be won in combat. Which, I take it, you actually did."

"I…I…." Mando stuttered,"I'm not a ruler of anything."

"Seems you are now," Sabine stated dryly.

"But I can't… I mean… Are you crazy?"

"Some say so, but in this matter it's actually Mandalorian tradition."

"I don't want it. Take it."

"Nope, I've had it already," she said and shook her head.

"How did you get rid of that kriffin' thing? Obviously you're not the ruler of Mandalore now."

"I gave it to Bo-Katan Kryze, heiress to the Mandalorian throne by blood. I have no idea of how she lost it to Gideon. It must have happened during the siege of Mandalore."

"Deciding who's the ruler of Mandalore can wait," Ahsoka stated dryly, "we have to get going. The kid needs help and we all need to get away from here before any survivors find us."

"OK," Sabine agreed, and released a small electronic box from her belt. "Just let me check for bugs. You don't want to risk being tracked to wherever you're going. And neither do we."

"Mando," Rex said quietly as Sabine disappeared under the Razor Crest,"you know that if you're going to Mandalore or get in trouble somewhere else…comm us? We'll be there in a moment, son."

"I…thank you."

To his own annoyance Mando felt himself choking a little bit. He wasn't sure whether it was the term 'son' used by the old clone or if it was the knowledge that he now had a group of people who actually was willing to have his back without any thought their own gain.

A couple of minutes later Sabine had cleared both ships and the two groups parted.

…

"Whereto?" Mando asked as they had left the planet's surface and saw it disappear behind them. The kid was still asleep or unconscious and had been placed in his own little hammock above Mando's bunk.

No-one was pursuing them which was a good thing.

"If you don't mind, I'll set the coordinates," Ahsoka offered. "We're going to Draay 2, but I'd rather not give the exact position just yet."

Mando just nodded. He understood the need for secrecy even though he had a hard time wrapping his mind about whom would listen to their conversation now. Whatever listening posts the Empire might have had down at Lubang Minor had likely been damaged in one of the explosions and he doubted they would have reached so far out anyway.

Ahsoka swiftly punched in the coordinates and looked at him: "We'll do it in two jumps. Ideally I would have had at least one more, but we should get there as quick as we can. He really doesn't look too good, poor little thing."

That didn't exactly make Mando feel better. He had been aware that his foundling likely not would have had a pleasant experience, but he had not imagined that he would find the kid almost on the brink of dying. At least that's what he looked like. But there was one more matter at hand, literally.

"Ahsoka? Can you use your lightsaber and get those handcuffs off of him? He's so tiny that I don't dare trying the darksaber. You're far more skilled with such things than I am."

Ahsoka nodded silently and disappeared into the ship. Her shoto blade could likely cut of even the tiniest of handcuffs. She found the kid laying where they had put him. Deep asleep with a small blanket over him. Space could be so cold. Carefully she lifted the blanket aside and saw the small claws linked together with the smallest cuffs she'd ever seen. They had a slightly eerie feeling about them and she prodded them tentatively.

"Ouch, they must be Force dampening," she muttered to herself. She remembered the almost blinding feeling from a training session back in the Temple decades ago, where the initiates had been put in Force dampening collars for just a few minutes. The unpleasant feeling of being cut off from the Force was still a bad memory indeed.

And the kid have had to live with this for days?

"Bastards!" she hissed and made two precise cuts. The handcuffs fell off and she took them between two fingers and dropped them unceremoniously on the floor. If they'd been outdoors she would have cut them into tiny fragments beyond any repair but a ship entering hyperspace was not the right place or time for that.

And then the thought struck her.

Stars end. How did he do that? With those things on he shouldn't have been able to reach for Mando when we tried that. He would have been completely unable to do anything Force related. Either he's incredibly strong in the Force or he wasn't handcuffed at that time. Even Anakin and Master Obi-Wan couldn't fight those Force dampening things.

It made her shudder. The prospect was overwhelming. She'd seen one incredible strong Force wielder turn to the dark side. She would never, ever want to see another do the same, not even such a tiny and admittedly cute one like this baby. No, he had to have been free from the cuffs in the exact right moment of time, she decided. That was the only possible solution.

….

Draay 2 was a small planet, far off from the regular hyperlanes used for merchandise - or warfare. It was very clear to Mando that Ahsoka knew the area well and when they entered the atmosphere he willingly handed over the controls to her for manual flying. A voice crackled to life in the comm link demanding them to identify themselves and she answered readily enough: "Hi there Kindergarten, Ahsoka speaking. Incoming with Razor Crest class. Please ask a healer to standby for immediate treatment of one of the ship's passengers."

"Copy that. Welcome home Ahsoka."

Mando lifted one eyebrow in surprise. Surely Ahsoka knew these people very well since they considered this her home. For a moment he felt the tiniest bit of longing when thinking of the word "home". That was something he hadn't had for a very long time unless the Razor Crest counted as one.

He wasn't quite sure what to expect from this place. Somehow deep within he probably had expected something like the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant, or at least some kind of a monastery where serous looking Jedi were meditating and chanting and performing whatever exercises that were a part of their religion. What he definitely had not expected was finding something looking very much like a tranquil village where kids were running back and forth in the streets. It all seemed so normal.

Nor did he expect the elderly woman who was awaiting them when they landed. She had huge silvery eyes and a salmon coloured skin with some very light grey, almost silvery, nuances to it. She had an aura of peace around her. From the looks of it she was a Mon Calamari.

"Bant!" Ahsoka exclaimed, "I didn't think you would meet up in person."

The other woman chuckled.

"I had to. I wanted to be the first one to see your mysterious patient. I believe it's the first time you bring someone here at all so he -or she- must be very important. But he seems to be at good health?"

"Oh… not him. He's fine. It's the kid who needs help."

Then she turned to Mando.

"Mando, please let Bant see him. Bant is our Chief Healer and she was trained in the main Temple of Coruscant before Order 66. She has a lot of experience."

Mando just nodded and pulled the blanket away from his little foundling. When they landed he'd just grabbed the kid and the blanket in one complete bundle and the little one was now resting peacefully towards his chest plates. And then came his second surprise in a short while. As the foundling's little face was uncovered and Healer Bant saw him she gave a gasp of pure surprise and her eyes became even bigger than their natural state.

"Stars end, what…I mean….who… is that? He looks exactly like a little baby Yoda," she said, her voice quivering the slightest bit.

Of course, if she was trained on Coruscant she must have known the real Yoda. It has to be shocking to see this little copy of him when she has expected him, and possibly all of his species, to be extinct.

Ahsoka nodded: "Yes, in some respect he really is a Baby Yoda. He was captured by some imperials and I believe they have taken far too many blood samples from his little body. He's been asleep ever since we rescued him from their claws."

"Give him to me," Bant said with all her years' authority as a healer behind her voice.

Reluctantly Mando handed the kid over to her and in a brief moment their hands touched each other and he saw her startle a little before she tucked the little bundle of kid and blanket safely to her chest.

"Poor little guy," she cooed, "but we'll get you up and running again in a short time."

And with that she set a steady course towards the village, with Ahsoka and Mando in her wake.

 

Fascinating Mandalore tradition. I can well imagine Mando wants to be rid of that darksaber thing.

Force-dampening collars/cuffs, not pleasant indeed and now that they're off Grogu will doubtless heal faster.

Bant as a healer...cool!

 

Chapter 17: Healing Body and Soul

As Mando would have expected Bant was aiming steadily for what was their main Temple and he was just hoping that he would be allowed to enter. There was no way he was going to be separated from the kid again - at least not yet. He would see to that the kid was safely settled and happy and accepted by the Jedi before he left. He just hoped that he wouldn't be thrown out immediately. He was used to attracting glances almost wherever he went and with the rather colourful history of Jedi and Mandalorians he had no idea of what would happen next. Seeing Ahsoka's formidable battle skills in practice made him quite certain that he wouldn't be able to take on a fight with more than one Jedi and if everyone were like her, he would likely lose a combat with each and everyone of them.

Nobody moved to stop him. A few greeted Ahsoka with merry "Hello"s but none of them commented on his presence.

The Temple itself was less elegant and less sophisticated than its sibling on Coruscant. Heavy stone blocks formed the walls and the ceiling was supported by large stone pillars. Yet it felt warm and in a way cosy. He could hear muffled voices coming from various rooms but few people were to be seen.

"The Healer's Ward is on the rear side," Ahsoka explained. "It's more quiet there."

As they entered the Healer's Ward Bant stopped and turned towards them.

"The two of you can wait here," she said, "I will examine him and let you know when I've finished."

"But…" Mando began, but was quickly stopped by Ahsoka.

"No objections. Bant is the queen of this part of our community. She will let you know after she'd found out what's going on with him. If you want to we can go and grab a bite in the refectory while we're waiting. It's not fine dining but they serve food through daytime."

Mando just shook his head. Food could wait, and besides, he couldn't eat in a common room like that anyway. Ahsoka seemed to understand.

"Yeah, right. I wasn't thinking. We will have to do something about that. We have quite a lot of spare rooms so I will see to that you get one. I assume you would like to stay for a while after he's recovered. I don't think it would be wise if you left him too soon after the trauma he's been through."

Mando nodded gratefully: "Thanks. Yes, if it's possible I'd like to stay with him for a while. I promised to bring him to the Jedi, but… well…"

"We'll figure out that part later. Let's just wait until Bant has told us what's going on with him, then we can take care of the practicalities," Ahsoka agreed.

They sat down in amicable silence. Hopefully Bant would be there soon - with good news. It took a while and a half and Mando began to feel a faint anxiety rising. What if the kid had been too badly treated? What if he was beyond recovering? What if…? He almost missed Bant's return as he sunk deeper and deeper into his own thoughts.

"He'll be fine," she declared. "It's just too little to drink and too many blood samples. He's anemic and needs nourishment and rest for a while but that's easily fixed. I'd better tell the kitchen to make some -ugh- of Yoda's stew."

"Frogs," Mando said quietly, "he likes frogs."

"Well, no frogs in my ward," Bant said sternly. "He'll have to wait with that. You can go in and see him now. He was awake for a moment, but might have fallen asleep again. I gave him some intravenous fluid and he did not like the needle, poor little guy. He almost threw me through the room. Or would have if he'd been stronger and I hadn't been alert."

She chuckled.

Mando rose and followed her in.

The kid seemed too small for the huge bed he'd been placed in. Dank Farrik, he was too small. He was used to a small hammock which encapsulated him almost completely. The huge bed had to make him feel vulnerable.

"Can we put something around him? A blanket or something?" Mando asked. "He's not used to so much space."

Bant just nodded and hid a smile. Watching the fierce warrior's concern was actually quite cute.

And then the kid's eyelids fluttered a bit and his eyes opened. A tiny yelp of delight when he saw Mando almost made Mando's eyes water a little bit. Almost. He sat down beside the bed and stretched out a hand to pat the kid's head carefully. Before he could remove his hand again a small claw captured his little finger and held fast. The grip was surprisingly solid.

"Ok, I'll stay with you for a while," he agreed. "You'll be OK and do NOT try to remove the needle. You need the fluid."

The latter came in a stern voice as he saw the kid's other hand reach for the annoying needle that pinned his little arm.

"Uh?"

"No. Keep it. The kind healer is making you feel better. Don't touch it."

The kid sighed and fell asleep, still with a solid grip around Mando's finger.

Ahsoka chuckled.

"Seems like you're stuck for a while. I'll go find you some soup and arrange a room for you so you can stay here as long as you want, -or as long as he lets you."

Ahsoka kept her word, a little while later she appeared with a generous bowl of soup and some bread.

"I've informed them. There won't be anyone entering for the next 15 minutes the least so you can take off you helmet. The kid is sleeping and you can turn your back to him or something, right?"

Mando nodded with gratitude. People were seldom so considerate when it came to his 'keep your face covered under all circumstances' rule. And, when that was said, he actually was hungry enough to eat a bantha if he'd had one right now.

…

It was with a heavy heart he left the Healer's Ward, but Bant assured him that someone would comm him if the kid woke up and appeared to need him, so he gave in and followed Ahsoka to the room he'd been granted. It wasn't big, but he was used to smaller living spaces in Razor Crest so he didn't mind. There even was a small crib the kid could use when he was released from the ward.

"Same rules goes," Ahsoka informed, "nobody will enter without knocking and they will wait for an 'enter' before actually opening the door. You can safely take off so much or so little of your armour as you want to. The 'fresher is down the corridor. We share them but if you want to have a shower you can lock the door. Originally there were common showers for all but we decided we wanted some more privacy so we rebuild it.

"Thanks. Again."

"I'll get you in the morning. The Master of the Order wants to meet you, but we agreed that both you and I needed some sleep first. He can wait."

And with that she left. Mando contemplated how good a shower would feel but exhaustion won. The bed looked too tempting. Swiftly he removed the armour and went to bed. Seconds later he was deep asleep.

He woke up before Ahsoka turned up the next morning, but that was more out of sheer luck and old habit than being rested. The calm atmosphere was soothing and he realised that years of hard work and dangerous missions had caught up with him. It would actually be good to have some downtime, if only a few days, with the kid before he had to leave again.

A knock on the door indicated Ahsoka's arrival.

"Enter!"

"Good morning," she greeted, "glad to see that you're awake. Did you sleep well?"

"More than well," he admitted, "it was close to perfect. Is everything OK with the kid?"

"Yeah, Bant checked in on him and he was still asleep. I suggest we go to the refectory so you can pick some breakfast and then we continue to the healers. You can have your breakfast in his room and be there when he wakes up. Then we go to meet the Master. He really wants to meet you."

Mando just nodded in agreement: "Sounds like a plan."

He was surprised to see the number of people in the corridors as they moved towards the refectory. Last afternoon it had been silent and hardly anyone could be seen. Now people were everywhere. He received a couple of curious glances but else there were only polite nods or friendly 'good morning's"

"It's so different from yesterday," he said.

Ahsoka chuckled: "Yes, we have a rather energetic staff and students but most of them go home in the afternoon after classes."

"I don't know what I had expected but this is…something else. I guess I had expected something more grandiose, more like the Temple I saw on Coruscant."

"You've been there?"

"Yeah, I broke in - sort of. I was hired to get a jewel from the throne room by some old space pirate called Hondo Ohnaka."

To his surprise Ahsoka burst in laughter.

"Hondo? He's still alive? And still up to shenanigans?"

"You know him?"

"I do. Or did. He had some kind of a weird friendship with my grandmaster, and we had some adventures together, believe it or not. I hope you got your payment for that job? "

"I did - after some negotiations."

Ahsoka chuckled. She clearly understood what kind of negotiations that could be expected when dealing with Hondo Ohnaka.

The breakfast served in the refectory seemed delicious to him, but then again - everything was quite delicious compared to the nutrition bars that was a part of the standard equipment in the Razor Crest's small pantry and he himself was by no means a skilled chef, so he happily filled his tray with what he reasonably would expect to eat.

"Should I bring something for the kid?"

"No, they'll feed him with whatever they have that he might eat and which will improve his building of new blood cells. You can give him a treat when he's out of the Healer's ward.

The kid was still asleep when they entered but he began stirring as soon as Mando entered and he had barely sat down on the stool next to the bed before the kid's eyelids fluttered and a couple of seconds later the two big round eyes were staring at him. A soft cooing indicated that he had been recognised and that the little one was quite happy with the situation. Obviously the last evenings admonishing words had been taken into consideration because the needle feeding fluid into the little body was miraculously still in place.

A small claw reached towards him and he decided to overlook Ahsoka's instructions a bit. A small piece of bread shifted owner and soon the kid was chewing happily on it while he himself turned away and began eating. He assumed the kid was used to that routine by now. Soft chewing sounds behind his back told him he was right.

He'd barely finished his meal and put the helmet back in place when someone knocked on the door. They'd been well instructed.

"Come in."

The one who entered was the Chief Healer herself.

"Ahsoka said you were here. Has he been awake….oh…."

The kid had somehow moved into a sitting position and a few breadcrumbs on his blanket revealed what had been going on a few minutes earlier.

"We're used to eating together," Mando admitted sheepishly. "It's only a little bread so I'm sure he will have room for whatever more nourishing food you'll give him."

Bant chuckled: "No worries. It's not just about healthy nourishment, it' also about feeling comfortable and recover from trauma. I'm sure you had a nice breakfast together. If you don't mind I'll borrow your little friend here for a check up and give him some more food. I know the Master of the Order would like to meet you so maybe you and Ahsoka will pay him a visit while we play 'the healing game' here?"

A slightly worried chitter came from the bed.

"I'll be back soon, little one. Be a good boy and let the healer check you up and don't do the lifting OR throwing thing to her. She's our friend. Got it? Be good."

The kid nodded in agreement and Mando almost gaped in astonishment. This was the first direct acknowledgement he'd received from the kid ever. He'd long ago realised that the kid understood what he was saying even though he quite often refused to act upon it, but this time it was really an answer, be it a wordless one.

They were growing closer day by day and that would make their parting so much harder.

 

So glad Grogu's prognosis is favorable and steady. Mando's concern and reluctance to part eventually is endearing.

 

Mando is such a dad. I love it.

 

Chapter 18: "His Kind"

They never made it to wherever they were going to meet the Master of the Order. A determined knock on the door (whomever stood outside had been well informed) could be heard just a moment later and Bant asked the newcomer to enter.

By the sight of the newcomer Mando froze in his seat. He had been impressed by Ahsoka, and even though the Jedi Temple was different than expected he had admired both the construction and the organization from what little he had seen of it. However, the person who strode in gave a whiff of what the Jedi once had been.

Mace Windu was undeniable in his 80's but his shoulders were almost as broad and square that they'd been in his younger days. Dark brown eyes surrendered by a fine network (some would have said 'shatterpoints') of wrinkles revealed that he indeed had lived for some decades, but said eyes were as sharp and penetrating as ever and the authority in his voice had not changed a bit.

"Master Windu?" Bant exclaimed.

"Yes, I wanted to see the newcomer whom I've already heard a lot about," he said and threw a glance towards the child in the bed. Then he turned to Mando and with an uncharacteristic grin he said: "And you must be the brave Mandalorian who dare to walk into the lions den? Welcome. I am Mace Windu, the so-called 'Master of the Order' in our little community."

"Yes. Your…co-worker Ahsoka was kind enough to bring us here. The kid needed medical care."

Windu just nodded and turned towards the bed once more.

"You were right," he said thoughtfully, "he really is very much alike Yoda."

Slowly he reached one hand towards the bed and a curious cooing came from it's inhabitant. Small claws grabbed the outstretched hand and for a moment the revered Master seemed lost in memories from another time, remembering the years he'd had with the little one's predecessor.

"Nice to meet you, little Grogu," he said politely.

Mando watched in astonishment. He saw Bant's eyes shimmer with unshed tears that swiftly was blinked back again. Obviously their memories about their old Grandmaster were triggered. The moment ceased and the connection which seemed to have formed between Windu and the kid was broken.

"Grogu?" Mando said quizzically.

"Yes, his name is Grogu. Or…that's the only name he knows anyway. I could sense it from his thoughts. I'm not the best mentalist in the order but he has barely any shielding at all so it was quite easy to pick it up from him. He is quite strong in the Force, I think. Have you checked his midichlorians?"

The last sentence was directed to Bant, who nodded.

"Yes, I did. It's about 14 000. I couldn't get an accurate reading because of the anemia right now but it's not anything close to Master Yoda's. It's quite surprising, actually. He is undeniable strong in the Force but not as much as I would have expected from his origin."

Mace Windu's brow wrinkled for a moment: "Maybe something was lost in the process when he …was created."

"It's possible. I would have expected him to be an accurate replica in that respect, but clearly his count is not that high."

Mando shuddered by the use of the world 'replica'. It reminded him too much of the horrors of Kamino.

A new knock on the door informed that another newcomer was appearing and after waiting for the clearance Ahsoka emerged in the door.

"Oh, you're already here, Mace? I was coming to pick up Mando so we could go and see you."

"I wanted to see the little one here with my own eyes," Mace informed, "but now you're here we may return to my office. I'm sure Mando want to know a little more about this place than you've been telling him."

Ahsoka nodded: "You ready, Mando? You can come back here afterwards.

Mando just nodded in agreement.

Mace Windu's office was a small room with modest, yet comfortable furniture. A writing desk was placed near the only window in such a way that while most of it was turned towards the inner of the room, Mace could throw a glance out the window every now and then. In the adjacent corner a small furniture group with 4 chairs and one round table was placed and the trio settled down there.

"What do you know about the Jedi?" Mace wanted to know.

"Not much," Mando admitted, "until a few months ago I was barely aware of their existence."

He continued telling the story of how he had come across the kid, brought him away from the imperials and finally being told about the Jedi by the Armorer back on Nevarro.

"…and that's when I decided to help him find his own kind," he finalized. "I knew from growing up that the Jedi were considered to be enemies of Mandalore, but apart from that they never mentioned any details. It was…just the way it was."

Mace nodded thoughtfully and steepled his fingers. "I see. So you were intending to bring him here almost all the time?"

"Sort of, yes. I just didn't know that such a place existed. The more I searched, the more I learned that the Jedi were extinct about two decades ago and nobody knew where to find them. They told me about Luke Skywalker and I believed he was the only one alive by now. I was also told about Ahsoka and someone called Ezra Bridger who'd disappeared off the chart some years ago - which of course wasn't of much help to me. Then Ahsoka turned up from nowhere on Lothal."

"She tends to do that," Mace agreed with a small smile, and something that might have been a faint blush made Ahsoka's cheeks turn a little more bright orange for a moment. "She sort of saved the Jedi you see around here - me included."

"Master! I didn't…"

"Oh, but you did. Hadn't you found our first hideout and got the first group of survivors away from the clones there wouldn't have been anyone going here in the first place."

Mando looked quizzically at them: "What happened?"

"You've seen the Temple on Coruscant? Right?" Mace asked.

"Yes."

"That used to be our home before Order 66. Have you heard about it?"

Mando shook his head: "Not really, I've heard it mentioned a couple of times after I found the kid but I don't really know what it is. Was…"

"I see," Mace continued, "To recap briefly that was the order that initiated the Jedi purge. The Jedi Order have had one of its main bases on Coruscant for more than a millennia, and we were working as peacekeepers whenever we could. When the Republic was formed we allied with it and took missions on behalf of the Senate. Much as we were trained as warriors we sought to promote peace through negotiations and mostly we succeeded. Then came the Clone Wars. We fought alongside the clones for almost three years before they turned against us and killed nearly all. We had been aware for some years that the Sith had reoccurred but we didn't know they were orchestrating what was about to happen. That fateful day one of our own, Ahsoka's master and the father of Luke Skywalker, turned to the dark side and became a Sith Lord only hours after revealing that the Chancellor, later Emperor, was the Sith Lord who had planned and executed the Clone Wars from A to Z.

That night 4 experienced Jedi Masters went to take down Palpatine. I was one of them. It took only minutes after the revelation before my three companions were defeated and killed. I was the only one to survive. For a while. I had my hands full with keeping up with the Sith Lord, but I somehow managed to stand my ground until Anakin Skywalker turned up. For a moment I thought he would be my ally and we could take down the Sith together. Then he turned and teamed up with the Sith. The last thing I remember was that my arm was cut off and I was thrown out of the window in the Chancellor's office. I survived by sheer luck only.

Meanwhile the so called 'Order 66' was given and the clones turned against and killed their Jedi Generals. Anakin, now Darth Vader, marched against the Temple with his loyal legion, the 501st. They broke into the Temple and killed all they could see. Children and elders alike. The few knights and masters who were not on the battlefields were overpowered and killed as well.

A small group of initiates - children- and elderly knights were saved by Bant Eerin. She lead them away from the fighting towards a hidden ancient Temple beneath the one we lived in. Ahsoka had already settled in there and found them and saved them before they were discovered by the clones. I joined them some time later as a common friend knew about the survivors.

We stayed for about a year and then we were able to reallocate ourselves to the abandoned Temple here on Draay 2. Since then we have aimed for secrecy. As we mostly had elders and younglings among us we were in no position to defend ourselves if the imperial spies should discover us and thus we lay low. In the beginning we sent Ahsoka out to save force sensitive children who were threatened by Vader's inquisitors and as many of their parents chose to follow them our little community grew steadily. In the Temple of Coruscant we took in only the children - with their parents permission - but here we were too few caretakers so we decided to change our ways.

As the initial younglings grew and became knighted they were able to substitute Ahsoka for many of her rescue missions and she was allowed to work for the growing rebellion instead. The children you possibly saw in the streets are partly from the late rescue missions before the Empire was defeated and partly 2nd generation growing up here. We now have a fine mix of force sensitives and adults in our little society here. Most of the non-forcesensitives have chosen to stay and they have indeed helped us being self sufficient with food and craftsmanship. That was a bonus we didn't foresee when we established this Temple. Most of the families live in separate houses but we have some initiates who either didn't have parents alive when we found them or their parents for some reason chose not to follow and they live in the Temple itself."

Mace stopped and looked at Mando expectantly.

"So…that means I could stay with the kid for a while if I wanted to?" Mando asked, skipping his question about the mysterious Sith for more important matters.

"Yes of course. Actually we would be glad if you chose to do so. I could sense that the kid has grown attached to you. He looks upon you as a father figure, and breaking such an attachment at an early stage could be…harmful. In earlier times the Jedi code forbade attachments to prevent such being used as a weapon against the Jedi or their birth families, but we also realized albeit too late that it was a secret attachment that was a key to the turning of Ahsoka's former master. Now we allow attachments but we teach the younglings to handle them after their best abilities as they mature. As long as they let their duties come first they are allowed to have personal attachments. You are probably the first person young Grogu has felt close to, and he needs that security for a long time. It doesn't mean you have to stay here all the time, of course, but he needs to know that you will return to him."

"So you allow people to leave?" Mando asked.

"But of course, being here is voluntarily and everyone who lives here is allowed to leave as long as they promise to keep this place secret. If we are in doubt that they can keep that promise they will still be allowed to leave but before that they need to consent to our mind healers altering their memories a bit so even under pressure they won't be able to reveal that we are Jedi or the exact location of our village. If we see that the new Republic thrives and that all remainders of the old Empire disappears we will of course change that too, but until now we have felt that precaution to be needed. When that is said, our mind healers have had very little to do in that respect. Most of the newcomers stay and the few who have left are people we trust upon not to say anything under any circumstances, so we've used the mind altering procedure only two or three times in all these years."

Mando sat quiet for a while. These people reminded him about his own tribe. They had also been forced to leave their homes and settle down on another planet. However, the Jedi had been the luckier ones as they had found a peaceful planet to make their new home. Nevarro had been…something else.

A question from Mace Windu woke him up from his musings.

"Feel free to not answer, but I'm curious. How come you wear your helmet all the time? It's quite different from the practice of the Mandalorians I've encountered before."

Yep. It had to come. It always did.

"I…it's the custom of my tribe," he answered honestly. "As soon as you've earned the right to wear the armor, you're never allowed to remove the helmet in front of others. I've never given it a thought, it was just the way of my people. Now, as I have seen that others have different customs, I assume the reason was partly that we were refugees and that we should not be recognized for some reason. We even had restrictions of leaving the covert. Only one of us at a time was allowed to do that. I was granted an exception from the rule as I took on as a bounty hunter. As long as I was off planet someone else could leave the covert."

Mace nodded slowly. To some extent it made sense. Being a refugee could very well lead to such behavior if the circumstances leading to leaving one's home planet had been dire enough. Obviously that was something that had happened to this man's 'tribe'.

"Your parents were Mandalorians?"

"No, not really. My birth parents were killed during the clone wars when separatists attacked our settlement Aq Vetina, and a Mandalorian became my foster father. He took me away from my village and to his tribe in Nevarro City. I knew it was my best chance of survival at the time so I followed him willingly. We have a strong tradition for foundlings and as such I am Mandalorian by creed but not by blood."

"Your tribe were survivors of the Mandalorian purge?"

"Yes, that's what made them leave. We wanted to stay out of sight for the Empire and we really didn't want them to know who we were or how many we were, hence all the secrecy, I guess."

"One more question before I let you off the hook," Mace smiled, "I know they just call you 'Mando' but I assume it's not your birth name?"

"It's not," Mando said slowly, "I got that nickname when I became a member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild and it sort of stuck to me. I didn't really mind because in my occupation secrecy is a good thing so the fewer who knew my birth name the better. My real name is Din Djarin. I guess I can trust you keeping it to yourselves?"

"Absolutely," Mace confirmed.

And with that the 'audience' was over, or so Mando believed. He had almost reached the door when Mace noticed something.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"The hilt hanging from your belt. It looks almost like the one of the darksaber."

"It is. I fought Moff Gideon when we saved the kid and ended up grabbing the saber to prevent him from attacking with it. How do you know of it?"

Mace pursed his lips together: "It was once a property of the Jedi, created by Tarre Vizla, the first Mandalorian who became a member of the Order. It was stolen from us a long time ago, but holos of it existed in our library. It's a beautiful weapon."

Mando clipped it from his belt: "You can have it back. I don't want it."

Mace chuckled: "No thanks. If you won it in combat you're its rightful owner now. And, as some say, the ruler of Mandalore. I take it from your question that you may not be too happy about that part. Do you know how to wield it?"

"No, not really. I mean, I am trained in combat with vibroblades and sabres made of metal, but not this one… It's lighter than a regular saber, so I guess it will take some time to get used to. "

Mace stroke his chin pensively: "If so…may I suggest you make good use of your stay here. Ahsoka, would you like to give our friend here some basic saber training? It might come in handy for him one day."

Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded politely: "Of course Master Windu. It will be a pleasure."

 

Excellent conversation and interesting revelations. LOL on Mando wanting to get rid of the saber Glad he'll get some training with it.

 

Okay, so there's a lot here that I love. Mace lives! And not in the off-the-rails, bat-shavit-crazy, ANGRY MACE™ way that pervades the most prominent theories to that effect.

When Mace tells Mando that the Darksaber used to belong to the Jedi, he immediately offers to give it back.

And Mace is like, "Thanks, but nah. It's yours fair and square."

So then Mando is like, "Welp, may as well learn how to use it then."

 

Thanks. Yeah, in "my world" Mace lives. Of all the characters who seems to be resurrected he's the only one I feel actually could have survived his own death from a logical point of view. We didn't really see him die, we saw him lose an arm and being thrown out the window and then...gone. That stands a better chance for survival than Maul being cut in two and falling down a reactor shaft. So I just let him recover. I have never seen him as "Angry Mace", more like a person who is a leader and knows it, and have to follow the rules (aka the code) and be strict because of that, so in a less stressful environment than the republic in it's last days and being older I feel he could have softened quite a bit over the years.

 

Yeah, pretty clear that in this AU there is no such thing as Cream Of Vengeance Soup!

 

Chapter 19: The Learner and the Teacher

His Mandalorian combat training had been thorough and he considered himself a reasonably good warrior after years and years as a bounty hunter and the practice that came with the occupation. He had learned hand to hand combat. He had learned shooting with various weapon types, he had learned how to construct and place explosives in a reasonable way (and how to avoid blowing himself to smithereens while doing so). He even had learned some basic skills in swordplay.

Basic was the crucial word.

16 seconds after engaging Ahsoka in duel he found himself on his back in the dojo with her lightsaber pointing directly at his throat.

In their second attempt it took 9 seconds.

The third time…well, he doubted that anyone even had the time to start the stop watch, if there had been someone there to watch them. He was glad they were alone.

Master Windu's suggestion had taken them both by surprise. He had never expected being given such an offer and from the looks of it Ahsoka had never expected to get a fully grown 'apprentice' either. After the meeting with Windu they had agreed to meet in the dojo in the afternoon when everyone else were enjoying their evening meal and after she'd shown him the dojo he was left to himself for the next hours. Which meant that he could settle down in the Healer's Ward and keep the kid company. That became an easy task as the little one still was tired and weak by his blood loss so Mando allowed himself to lean back towards the wall and rest while he was pondering how he had managed to get into this new situation.

Being a bounty hunter was a challenging occupation, even on the best of days, but since he met the kid it felt like he'd been in constant danger of some kind and always on the move so he'd never had the time to think over how much his life had actually had changed.

From being a 'loner' even by Mandalorian standards he'd first teamed up with Cara Dune and Greef Karga, then came Sabine and Rex - and Ahsoka. And now he had been offered a home, even though a temporary one, with the Jedi. It actually became almost more than he could bear.

But it felt good too.

Having people whom could be considered as friends was a new feeling. He remembered having some in his childhood but after becoming a Mandalorian there had been more…acquaintances and not real friends. Until now.

And then came the kid. Funny how much he had grown attached to his foundling in such a short time. He wondered if it was the apparent vulnerability in the little creature which had triggered this urge to protect or if he simply had been lonely? He couldn't really say. He'd like to think the first of the options was the answer, but honestly it might very well be the latter.

Friends, family - of sorts - and a place to call home base. He could definitely get used to this.

A knock on the door told him that time had come to stop musing, and leave with Ahsoka for his first lesson in 'saber practice - or rather darksaber practice. He wasn't too happy about it. It was something about the darksaber that made him pull back from it. It wasn't the weapon per se, but all it seemed to represent to so many people. Ever since his foster father took him away from his hometown he'd wanted to be a Mandalorian like everyone else. That didn't mean he wanted to be the Manda'lor. Not at all. With leadership came a responsibility and being responsible for an entire planet was not something he felt comfortable with. Dank Farrik, being responsible for the kid was sometimes too much, how could anyone even want to be the ruler of anything?

Ahsoka's voice interrupted him: "I've signed up for dojo #3. We both set our 'sabers to a low version of stun so we don't kill each other by accident and then we'll try a little spar. I'll be gentle to you…"

She chuckled and continued more seriously: "Honestly, I know you're a good fighter, but I'd like to see how you wield a saber like that to get an impression of your strengths and weaknesses. Then I'll have a better understanding of how to continue the lessons."

Three very short rounds of sparring later she'd got her impression and she called for a halt.

He stood up, attentively listening.

"Your greatest strength, the armor, is also your weakness," she concluded. "You've seen the Jedi around here? We all wear loose clothing or at least clothes that allow us to move freely. Your armor does not give you that advantage."

"But I…," he interjected.

She held up a hand: "No, no, I'm not suggesting that you abandon it. It's not who you are. It's such a great part of your culture and to some extent of you, so I would never ask that of you. Besides, as we've already seen, it can come in handy every now and then. We just have to make a work around and find a style which will fit you. Obviously Ataru is out of the question since that demands an agility that you don't possess when wearing the beskar'gam. What comes to my mind is Soresu…"

He could sense a shift in her, -a hint of sadness which hadn't been there merely seconds ago.

"Something about this…Soresu makes you sad," he stated.

She looked up, surprised: "Yeah, a little. That was my grandmaster's preferred form. He was the Soresu master. Nobody in the entire Order could beat him after he honed in on that… But it's a very defensive form so you should really learn something that's more useful when it comes to attacking too as you already have a strong defense in your armor. I think maybe Shien will fit you well. It's more developed for attack than Soresu and it also goes well with deflecting blaster bolts, which may be a good thing in your occupation. But we'll start with Shii-Cho which is the form every Initiate starts with. It's the one who resembles regular saber combat the most so you can draw on some of your previous training for that. "

Mando just nodded his agreement. He had no idea of what she was talking about, but obviously she knew. That would do well enough for him.

….

He soon realized that tough as the Mandalorian warrior training had been, the Jedi training was no less exhausting. He spent hours practicing the various katas and internally he felt a pang of pride when Ahsoka every now and then nodded her approval to his performance. He experienced that she'd been right in assuming that his previous training with regular vibroblades and sabers would have given him a decent basic training, because it didn't take him long to get to an acceptable level in Shii-Cho. The lighter darksaber made it easier for him to move than a conventional saber did and fit fairly well with the rest of his armored being.

Soresu was doable as it was a seemingly passive form with rather small movements, but Shien was something else indeed. There were evenings when he was so exhausted that he almost passed out in his bed after an intensive day of training.

He'd never felt better in his entire life. He'd never felt happier.

Little Grogu soon regained his health with good help from the healers. After some discussion with the crechemasters and Master Windu they concluded that Grogu would be permanently installed in the creche and have that as his main base. That would allow Mando more freedom to leave when time came for him to go back to his former occupation. And it would secure his long lifespan foundling a home long after he was gone himself. During the first weeks the night owls of the Temple could sometimes see a small shadow shuffling from the creche to the resident wing and they would chuckle by the sight, knowing fully well that next morning the tall armored newcomer would turn up for first meal in the creche with his foundling on his arm and return the little one to his crechemates. Since no one ever visited the Mandalorian in his room they didn't see the small hammock hanging in a corner waiting for its small inhabitant on these nights.

The sight of the tall warrior with the little green one in tow exploring their new surroundings was quite endearing and many of the villages' inhabitants hid a soft smile when the unlikely father&son duo was out on their small adventures.

Even though some of his time was focused on helping Grogu settle in with his new extended family, Mando realized that it was about time he gave something back and he raised the question to Ahsoka.

"Yeah, I wondered when you would ask that question," she chuckled. "And I have an idea. You have become quite good with the basic saber form, but you have years of in-field practice with conventional weapons and combat. I wonder whether you'd be willing to train the older initiates and the padawans in use of those kind of weapons? Or rather how to defend themselves against an opponent who is as skilled as you in that respect. Basically I'm asking you to become their 'punching ball'. The combination of your skills and your armor will make you a more formidable opponent than most of those they may meet out there."

He didn't have to think long. The term 'punching ball' didn't sit well with him, but he really wanted to give something back to this society which had offered both him and the kid a home and it might actually be fun teaching younglings. He knew that the Jedi were well disciplined and eager to learn so it would be give and take for both parties.

It actually was more fun than he'd thought. To his own surprise he discovered that the younglings had a great deal of respect for him and in the beginning they were a bit intimidated. However, in the first lessons he had been paired with the weapons master of the Temple so they had a well known figure to relate to as well and as more time passed he took on classes on his own. He had expected to become the proverbial 'punching ball' but over time he realized that some of their Jedi mindset seemed to rub off on him. He learned to read their movements and after some months he was able to foresee quite a lot of their strategies and attacks.

In periods Ahsoka would disappear for longer and shorter missions off-world. She never mentioned what she was doing, but when on site they continued their saber training and he found that he was able to stand his ground against her for longer periods at a time. She always won their duels, but he never stopped hoping that someday he would beat her and it would be his saber pointing towards her throat and she who would say the magical words: "I yield."

It couldn't last forever. Good things never did.

He knew the day for a new change had come the day he was asked to meet at the Master of the Order's office. Ahsoka had returned the day before and she looked suspiciously serious when she asked him to join her. And worse still, Mace Windu also looked quite somber when they entered. This couldn't be good.

It wasn't.

"I was hoping we could postpone this a bit longer, but I think the time has come," Mace began. "You are, of course, free to reject but I was hoping you were willing to assist Ahsoka and some others on their next mission."

A chilling feeling crept up Mando's spine. Definitely not good.

"What's the matter? What is it all about?" he asked.

"Retaking Mandalore," Mace Windu said plainly.

"What? Why?"

The Master of the Order sighed, for once looking every bit his natural age.

"Ever since the Clone Wars Mandalore has been a pain in the butt for both their own people and the Galaxy as such. First came the Empire and the genocide that happened there which was not good for any of us. Certainly not for the Mandalorians of course, as they were the ones who suffered it, but for the Galaxy as such it wasn't good either. As you know there are many hyperlanes passing through the Mandalorian region and the New Republic would profit from a stable regime on the planet. I dare say so would the Mandalorian population.

During the years of the Empire the ones who had survived the genocide suffered terribly but there was nothing we could do about it. We tried to send them supplies but the Imperial presence was too strong so we hardly ever succeeded. After the fall of the Empire access to the planet was easier, but the Mandalorians themselves were just as stubborn and troublesome as they've ever been before - and far less united, so we have never succeeded in giving supplies to all their numerous fractions - which of course increases the hostilities between the different clans or what is left of them. Whenever the Mandalorians don't have an outer enemy to defeat, they put up internal fights between the clans. It has to stop."

Mando nodded thoughtfully. He knew from first hand experience that the Mandalorians were a proud people who stuck stubbornly to their own clan, and looked upon everyone else with suspicion. What the Master said made sense.

"How do you intend to stop it? Are you planning to take Mandalore and put it under 'protection' of the New Republic?" he said.

"No, that wouldn't do. They would never accept that and the fighting might escalate. We don't want that. We would rather see the clans unite and form their own government, preferably based on democratic principles."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

He believed he knew the answer but at least they had to say it out loud.

"You're the Manda'lor," Mace stated. "At least for many of them."

"But I'm not a politician," Mando objected, "I wouldn't know what to do with a clan, far less an entire planet. It's ridiculous. I cannot, and will not, be the ruler of Mandalore."

"You won't have to."

"But…?"

"You forget what I said about 'democracy'. We need you to be a symbol for them to gather around until they get settled. You won't have to rule the planet yourself. The time for Emperors, planetary or galactic has passed. We would never ask that of you. But we need the clans to gather and to come to an agreement among themselves. We have already done some work in that respect. You have noticed that Ahsoka has been out on missions lately?"

Mando nodded again. She was his teacher, how could he have missed that?

"After the genocide there were fractions who escaped the planet. Among those were the sister of the last Duchess of Mandalore, Bo-Katan Kryze. She fought the Empire as long as she could but when she realized they would be overpowered she and many of those who followed her went into exile. Ahsoka has been in touch with her every now and then throughout the years and knew where to find her, and after numerous discussions they have come to an agreement. Bo-Katan will lead the gathering of the clans and do her best to unite the surviving clans and promote a democratic government. She's a stubborn lady and more willing to fight than her pacifist sister was, but she also care deeply about what she consider her people. We also have been in touch with another of the great clans, Clan Wren. Your friend Sabine from Lothal has been doing multiple undercover missions to Mandalore recently. She's born and bred from Clan Wren and despite breaking with her clan for numerous years she did reunite with them a short time before the fall of the Empire and she has now managed to convince them to join Clan Kryze and Bo-Katan's other followers in an effort to reunite the clans of Mandalore to one nation."

"Why do they need me if everything is settled?"

"You will be the symbol of the united Mandalore. Many Mandalorians will see reason, but as we all know - not all of them are 'reasonable'. However, we think that if the Manda'lor, the wielder of the dark saber, shows up it will make at least some of them join due to respect for tradition. We don't know how many, but hopefully it will be enough to make the last fractions accept the solution as well and make the transmission peaceful, or if not peaceful let's make it with as little fighting as possible. If you agree, you and Ahsoka will leave to team up with Bo-Katan Kryze in a couple of days and you will meet Sabine and Rex in Clan Wren's main quarter on Mandalore."

Mando sighed, a deep heartfelt sigh: "I guess I have to do it then. If my presence can help both my people, the Mandalorians and you, then I will do what I must."

Ahsoka and Mace exchanged a glance of common understanding mixed with a fraction of sadness.

"It's settled then. We'll leave two days from now," Ahsoka stated.

 

Loved the progression in Mando's training and growing in competence as well as feeling "at home" with Grogu but then here comes this crucial mission. Fortunately he doesn't have to run the entire government ... Looking forward to how things unfold.

 

Chapter 20: The Clans of Mandalore

Mando had hardly ever met a women he disliked more at first sight as he did Bo-Katan Kryze.

Ahsoka and he descended the ramp of their ship on the small backwater planet where they had decided to meet Bo-Katan and her followers. Two figures in Mandalorian armor (he couldn't say whether it was beskar or regular durasteel) stood there waiting for them.

"Greetings. We will take you to the Duchess right away. She is expecting you."

Ahsoka just nodded so Mando chose to follow her example. It was slightly ironic that he was belonging to their people in a way while she, who was their old enemy, knew them better. They had landed right outside a small settlement, some would have called it a village, and despite the noise from Ahsoka's ship the streets were deserted and dark. He wondered whether this was all Mandalorian terrain or whether the inhabitants were used to secret visitors coming and leaving after dark and deliberately chose to stay out of it.

The two Mandalorians led them to a house in the outskirt of the settlement. It was by no means a small house, nor was it the size of a mansion, but it was definitely larger than many of the other houses in the village.

They entered the house and their guides nodded towards a closed door just inside the hall.

"She's expecting you in the library. You may enter."

Ahsoka knocked on the door, two determined yet polite knocks. A muffled voice from inside asked them to enter. That door really had to be made from solid wood. A slim red haired woman sat by a desk in the innermost corner of the room. Shelves with flimsi books were covering three of the walls, whereas a huge fireplace was dominating the fourth.

The woman stood up and greeted them.

"Ahsoka, it's good to see you again."

"You too, Bo-Katan," Ahsoka answered unceremoniously. Obviously the two women had known each other for years and were on good terms with each other.

"And this is the…uh….darksaberwielder you told me about?" she asked as she turned towards Mando.

"Right," Ahsoka confirmed. "He's the one."

Bo-Katan was almost shorter than Mando by a head, but somehow she managed to look down at him as if he were some suspicious looking insect from the deep forests of Kashyyk.

"Hm, which clan do you belong to?" she asked.

"The Mudhorn clan," he said calmly.

"Mudhorn…? No such clan exists."

"It does now."

Ahsoka seemed on the verge of bursting in laughter but she was able to compose herself.

"Let's not start a fight between clans here and now," she interjected, "our common goal is to prevent that fighting."

Bo-Katan and Mando both drew their breath deeply.

"You're right," Bo-Katan admitted. "I apologize for letting myself be carried away like that."

She turned towards Mando: "You may take your helmet off now, you're among friends."

Oh, this was getting difficult indeed.

Ahsoka interjected once more: "He doesn't take it off in the presence of others. He was, I believe, raised by the Children of the Watch and their beliefs forbid it."

Bo-Katan sighed exasperatedly and shook her head.

"So be it. But you do have a name, I presume?"

"They just call me 'Mando'. I prefer to keep my birth name to myself."

Actually he could have told her, but now he felt a stubborn determination to not let her have it her way.

The rest of the evening went in an under the circumstances amicable way. Obviously Bo-Katan tried to keep a polite demeanor, and Mando decided it was best not to ruffle her feathers further. After all they were supposed to work together on this mission and the sooner it was over, the better. He already longed to be back on Draay 2 with his students and the kid.

…

They approached Mandalore in the early morning hours while the night were still covering them like a soft blanket. The landing place near Clan Wren's mansion was sparsely lit but well enough for them to get their ships down safely. A small group of armed Mandalorians awaited them as they embarked. A tall dark haired woman stepped forward.

"Welcome, Bo-Katan Kryze. Clan Wren or what's left of us welcome you and your people back on Mandalorian soil," she said with a slight bow of her head.

"Thank you, Duchess Wren," Bo-Katan answered politely. "We are grateful to join forces with Clan Wren to reestablish our homeworld."

"Do not forget the clans Eldar and Rook who have also aligned with us in this battle. Some of their members followed you into exile, and thus those who stayed on world have chosen to join us too. We will meet their leaders tomorrow."

Ahsoka and Mando exchanged glances. This mission might be easier than they had thought if two of the large clans had promised to follow them already. Clan Wren had really done an impressive effort in the gathering of the clans.

"You are welcome to stay in our home overnight, or what is left of it anyway," Ursa Wren declared and motioned them to follow her.

The slight tension in the air disappeared and in the same moment slim figure broke from Clan Wren's ranks and embraced Mando.

"Mando, I'm so glad Ahsoka was able to persuade you to join us," Sabine said as she released the awkward hug she'd given him through the helmet, and totally ignored the less than approving glance she got from her mother.

"I had little choice," he answered, "if I can help reunite my people I have to do so."

"How's the kid?"

"Oh, he's healthy again. He needed some time to regenerate blood cells after the samples Moff Gideon's people had taken from him, but now he's up at full speed again and well installed with 'his own people'. "

"So you're not his caretaker anymore?" she asked curiously.

"I am, to some extent but he lives with…them. I've got my own quarters as well and we can see each other when we want but we agreed that since his lifespan is so much longer than mine it would be wise to have him sleep elsewhere so he can connect to others as well."

Sabine just nodded. It made sense.

Clan Wren's mansion was built of some kind of light grey stone high up on a sloping hill, giving them a good overview over the landscape surrounding it. A large courtyard was located in front of it and it stretched out in two separate wings. Ahsoka and Mando was ushered to one of the wings, the members of Clan Kryze to the other.

"Let's all get some sleep before the morning rises," Ursa Wren decided. "Breakfast will be served in the hall at 6th hour and we're expecting the representatives from Clans Eldar and Rook at 7th hour."

As could be expected there was no big common breakfast but they found bread, cheese and various sorts of salted and dried meat, some fruit juices and tea so both residents and guests had a nice breakfast before the remaining clans appeared. As usual Mando had grabbed a bite and returned to his room to be able to remove the helmet and have some. When he returned he could see Rex patiently standing in a corner of the room, sipping the last dredges of what had been a jug of tea.

The old clone nodded friendly at him.

"As I said, when you need us, we will be there," he chuckled.

Mando sighed: "Right now I guess they are the ones who somehow need me, or rather the saber."

"Yeah, but…you will need us when we're in the capital and they want to present you as the Mand'alor," Rex chuckled.

The leaders of Clan Eldar and Clan Rook appeared with their entourage at 7th hour sharp, while their troops gathered below the hill, well separated in two very visible fractions.

The original plan that had been worked out had prepared for the united clans to fight their way towards the capital, Sundari, and they had assumed that their worst enemy would be keeping the supply lines intact when moving through the deserted landscape and simultaneously fighting opposing clans. Now it seemed like nature itself would be their largest enemy until they reached the capital. However, as so many clans already had come to an agreement, albeit a fragile one they would be able to advance much faster and the supply problem would diminish compared to the original plan.

"If you can all guarantee the safety of republic ships into each clan's territory, we can arrange for a drop of food and other supplies in each of the territories," Ahsoka said. "And with some luck they will drop some spare food and water for us as well - about halfway to Sundari. I know the supplies have been sparse lately and the troops may need some extra energy before we enter the capital."

The four clan leaders nodded their agreement before Cor Rook spoke up.

"Clan Rook will give safe passage to supplyships. However, we were told that when we reach the capital we are aiming to clear the way for the Mand'alor. But nobody has told us which clan he belongs to. How can we be sure that he, or she, won't favor his own clan once he's on the throne? We've only been told that this will not be a problem."

Sabine sent Mando an apologizing glance.

"I didn't know exactly what to tell them," she whispered.

For a moment his head was spinning. He'd hoped to get some instructions from Ahsoka about that part, now it seemed like he had to improvise, like the leader he was…not. He met Ahsoka's clear blue eyes and he could almost hear her voice inside his head: "Don't mess up now, Mando. This is your cue."

He squared his shoulders and stepped forward.

"You have my word," he said quietly. "I am of Clan Mudhorn, likely the smallest Mandalorian clan ever. There is no use in me trying to favor my own as there are so few of us."

"Clan Mudhorn?" Merid Eldar said incredulously. "No such clan exists among the Mandalorians."

"It does now," Mando assured him. "we were defined as a Clan less than a standard year ago."

"And how, if I may ask, can you possibly be the Mand'alor then and by whom were your so-called Mudhorn Clan declared to be a clan?"

The suspicion and disbelief was almost palpable. With some right, he had to admit. Whom would ever accept a Mand'alor from a totally unknown clan coming from basically nowhere? Ahsoka and Mace must have been out of their wits to believe that this was actually going to work. But he had a job to do and he would stick to the truth.

"I was sworn to the creed by the Armorer, and she was the one who declared the existence of the Mudhorn Clan."

He had no idea whether this would work. Why should the Mandalorian clans have heard about his tribe's exile armorer, when Mandalore was full of skilled people of the same profession as she?

"The Armorer," Merid almost gasped, "you mean…The Armorer."

"She was known among us as the Armorer, yes. She never revealed her birth name."

Obviously the mentioning of the Armorer had pulled a string in their collective memory. Too bad he didn't have a clue what had triggered the reaction.

Merid Eldar swallowed: "She was of Clan Vizla and she was said to be from the same bloodline as Tarre Vizla who made the darksaber. She was very young back then, yet when she disappeared she was already known as one of the best armorers the Mandalorian people had ever seen and she was said to be a formidable fighter as well. I don't know exactly when she left but it must have been around the time when Duchess Satine came to power. Our pacifistic period didn't give much room for an armorer of her skills so it makes sense. She was never heard of again."

"It may have been the same. I never saw her face. But she was known to be a skilled fighter, that much is true," Mando said truthfully, "and she was…is… really a skilled armorer. She was the one who forged my armor too. And when it comes to the darksaber - I won it in honest combat with Moff Gideon who had it in his possession, which I guess to some peoples belief make me the rightful owner of it and also the Mand'alor."

With smooth movements he unclipped the darksaber from his belt, raised the hilt in the air and ignited the blade.

A soft hiss went through the hall. For some the darksaber had been considered a legend only, for some it bore memories of the dark times in the past and for others it bore hope of a better future. Mando didn't realize himself how much the calm and quiet little speech combined with his rather impressive appearance in his shining beskar armor had impressed them. He held the saber up in the air for some seconds before he switched it off and clipped it to his belt again.

In the same moment he saw the four clan leaders step forward and simultaneously they fell down on one knee.

"Clan Kryze will follow the Mand'alor and pledge ourselves to creating a better future for all Mandalorians."

"Clan Wren will follow as well."

"Clan Eldar will join the Mand'alor and our fellow clans."

"Clan Rook will join the other clans and the Mand'alor as agreed upon."

The feeling was surreal. He'd never expected this. Dank Farrik, he never wanted this. He actually wasn't quite sure of what just had happened but it seemed like he had been approved as the Mand'alor by some of the largest clans on the planet. He had no idea of how to handle this. He just hoped that Ahsoka would come up with something. But right now they had a job to do.

"I thank you all for your co-operation. Let's get back to the planning. We have a capital to conquer and much work lies ahead."

 

Excellent progress. He's finding his niche/groove despite himself

 

Chapter 21: Taking Sundari

The Mandalorian capital, Sundari, was located out in the deserts where hardly any living being could be seen. If they had expected any resistance on their way towards the capital they would have been disappointed. The desert lay as still and silently hostile as it had done for decades. If they had stopped, they might have seen a few desert rodents or snakes, but they didn't. A few settlements had been seen from a distance when they left the Wren territory but the inhabitants did not even try to put up a fight. Tired of the bickering and fighting among the clans most of them silently hoped for an agreement that finally could provide the planet with some much needed peace.

The first signs of any defense came when the circumference of the city was in sight. The indication came from a glimmer of armors on the roofs belonging to the buildings closest to the perimeter. Obviously the present ruler, Tion Saxon, had placed snipers there as a first line of defense.

The snipers didn't stand a chance as the first, and admittedly very few, starships were in the air. Sabine had spent her time on planet well and her mechanical skills had been invaluable for repairing some of the ships left behind by the Empire. The snipers were no match for Ahsoka, Rex and Sabine and the way into the city itself was soon cleared.

The complications began as soon as they were inside the city. The instructions had been clear: "Avoid harm to civilians and pick your targets carefully." Performing them were something else. Saxon's forces were scattered throughout the city and managed to keep themselves well hidden from the attackers. Distinguishing friend from foe became a task in itself. To prevent as much damage as they could the ground forces of the united clans spread out in a fan pattern moving steadily towards the Royal Palace, while their companions with access to jet packs covered their movements from the air.

The strategy worked. As they were closing in on the palace they realized that the number of people in the streets had increased noticeably and in some blocks Saxon's forces were overpowered by armed civilians.

"Kriff," Ahsoka swore. "We didn't foresee that. Sabine, do you have any projector somewhere? We need to get Mando visible. We do not want a new genocide on Clan Saxon's members. We need to take down Tion somehow but we should not kill his followers unless strictly necessary."

"I bet the rat is hiding in the Palace," Sabine sighed, "but you're right. We should try to keep the civilians from lynching Saxon's men. I do not have a projector but…Mando, I think I can relay a transfer to comm links in the area. You'd better have a speech ready as we go."

"What am I to tell them?"

"Use your imagination. Tell them something like Mandalorians shouldn't continue killing each other blah blah blah…. Look as impressive as you can and pull up that saber. It's not like you've been using it too much so far."

And with that she switched on the recorder just as Mando had hauled himself on top of the closest speeder.

"People of Sundari, people of Mandalore. Today is the day for a new Mandalore. Let's not start this new era by killing our own people. One purge is more than enough for any clan, for any people, for any planet. Do not kill unless in selfdefense. This is a day for unifying the clans to the nation we once were. This is a day for new beginnings. This is a day for creating a new Mandalore where each and every clan is to be heard. We will fight down the existing regime and replace it with democracy. A democracy built on our clans, but this time with clans that unite in a common goal instead of fighting each other as we have done way too long. We are not attackers from outside, we all belong to Clans Kryze, Wren, Elder and Rook and before the day is over we hope that also members of Clan Saxon will join us in building a new Mandalore."

On purpose he left out the proud clan of two, the Mudhorn clan. Some things were best unsaid.

Sabine switched off the recorder and from some areas of the city faint cheers could be heard.

"A bit tear-jerking and you didn't show off the darksaber, but I guess it will have to do," she sighed.

Slowly they made their way towards the Royal Palace and surrounded it as best they could, but the majority of Saxon's forces had managed to withdraw there as well. Limited violence definitely came with a price.

Moreover, the enemy literally had the high ground. The Palace was build by a people of warriors, for a people of warriors and its outer walls were steep and the higher levels which originally was planned as defense lines had definitely got their original function back. It more or less swarmed by armor clad defenders.

Taking the Palace wouldn't be an easy task if they were to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, that much was certain. They could send up the star fighters but that would more or less mean blowing up the Palace too. With the fragile peace between clans blowing up their Royal Palace might not be the best of ideas. It had to be the jetpacks once more.

Of course it didn't work. The defenders were ready for them and the first wave of attackers were shot down one my one before they even managed to open fire themselves. The next made it to the platform surrounding the Palace and the battle was on. Mando had been one of those who actually made it from the first wave and he soon realized that he was drawing more than his fair share of the blaster fire. Which was fine - for the others.

"Use the saber! Deflect the shots!" Ahsoka yelled.

Dank Farrik, he hadn't even thought of that. Here he'd trained mostly defensive techniques months and months again and yet he didn't event think of the saber in a critical situation. Some kind of a Mand'alor he was.

Ahsoka had trained him well. As soon as he had the saber in his hand he automatically fell into the meticulously rehearsed movements of Shii-Cho and Soresu, deflecting more than half of the shots fired at him back to their source. He was so absorbed in the movements that he didn't notice the firing ceasing gradually and a low whisper spread through the ranks of Clans Saxon and Vizla.

"The darksaber."

"It's the Mand'alor…"

A yell from above broke the almost hypnotic silence: "Cowards! Fire at him. He cannot beat all of you."

A few raised their blasters again, reluctantly.

Then one of the officers raised his voice: "Tion Saxon, we do not want to fight the rightful Mand'alor on your behalf. If you want to win this battle, then you should call for a trial by combat and once and for all decide who is the Mand'alor. Such is our tradition."

A sigh spread through the crowd.

"Mando?" Ahsoka whispered, but didn't have the time to finish what she was about to say.

The doors opened and Tion Saxon stepped outside, a sword in his hand and the helmet under his arm.

"My people have a valid point," he stated. "I challenge you in combat by trial. The winner gets Mandalore and the darksaber. The loser…"

He stopped. It wasn't necessary to say what would be the fate of the loser.

"Mando, you don't have to do this," Sabine whispered. "This is our fight, the Mandalorians' fight, not yours."

He sighed. Somehow he'd know it would come to this. He just hadn't known when.

"Am I not a Mandalorian?" he said calmly. "This is my people too. This may be the only way to avoid more bloodshed, and Ahsoka has trained me well."

Then in a louder voice: "I accept the challenge, Tion Saxon. For the sake of Mandalore and its people."

As if on a cue the crowd on the terrace parted and formed a circle around the combatants. The tall Mandalorian who had called Tion Saxon to the makeshift arena, repeated the terms: "The winner of this duel will be pronounced the Mand'alor and gain the darksaber. The duel begins now."

Mando had been in many duels in his life. it just hadn't been named duels. It had more been 'fight of life and death'. This was hardly different except the fact that not only his own life was at stake, but the life and wellbeing of an entire planet. It was overwhelming.

Let all distractions go. Be in the battle, be in the fight. You're not jedi, but still you can follow the flow of the battle as good as anyone. Focus, Mando. Focus on what you have to do and then do it when the time is right.

The two men kept circling around the arena, both unwilling to make the first move. Both intently aware of the other's movements. Every little step, every small movement of an arm, every change of position might reveal what was about to come.

You know the defensive forms better than most by now. Do not feel tempted to attack and he will, sooner or later. Remember, his sword may not cut through your beskar'gam, nor will the darksaber cut through his - if it is real beskar. You have to hit the joints, and so will he.

Tion was the first one to lose his patience and attack. The blow came as a forceful downward arc, clearly aiming for Mando's neck. Mando stepped to the side and raised the darksaber in a block. He felt his arm almost giving in to the fierce blow. Kriff, or as Sabine would say: 'karabast', this guy was strong! Well, so be it. He could move. A change of stance and he parried again. This time the blow came along his midriff. Those were the most difficult ones to parry but once started the movement was also difficult to redirect for the attacker, so Mando stepped backwards. The heavy saber missed him by a split hair. This was certainly too close for his likings, and he followed up with an upward swing of the darksaber which made the sparks fly from his opponents arm.

Yeah, beskar'gam all right. At least he knew now. That would limit his chances a bit, but…he just had to be more precise. Deliberately he took a few steps back to get more space between himself and Saxon. He could feel the sweat trickling down his brow, but he knew Saxon would feel the same, and for him it might be even more uncomfortable. After all he himself had literally lived inside this armor for more than 20 years and for the native Mandalorians the code was less rigid.

The deadly dance continued, Tion Saxon always on the offensive, Mando evading and parrying as he'd done during the grueling long training sessions under Ahsoka's supervision. For a moment he met her eyes and he could see her almost invisible nod. He was doing well.

The silent approval gave him strength and he noticed that the more recent attacks had been a little sloppy and less forceful than the ones in the beginning of the fight. He had no idea how long it had lasted but he noticed that some lanterns around the plaza had been lit.

Keep evading. He is losing his temper and his strength. Soon it will be your time to attack, but not yet. Bide your time and wait until the flaws are repeated.

Evade, parry, feign an attack.

Let him believe that you're attacking him, but keep the defense up. You cannot win strictly by defending yourself but eventually he will be exhausted and do a severe mistake. Your time will come.

And the time came. Tion Saxon aimed for a straight blow towards Mando's midsection but by doing so he opened himself fully for the counterattack. Mando stepped to the left and forward and the darksaber found its way right below the chest plates of Saxon's armor and slightly upwards. Tion Saxon fell, his fist still clenching the hilt of his saber.

He never rose again.

Mando stood still, hearing the cheers from the audience as if it came from a distance. He felt nothing but sorrow. It wasn't the first time he'd killed, nor would it be the last he assumed, but it was by far the saddest. This man, this enemy, was a Mandalorian like himself and the killing felt so … wasted. But maybe, just maybe, if it could bring his people some peace in the long run, it would be worth it.

He bowed slightly to the fallen enemy.

"May your soul be at peace, Tion Saxon. You fought well."

Only then did he switch off the darksaber and clipped it to his belt.

 

Fantastic early success followed by a temporary setback, but Mando did superbly with the impromptu speech and the duel!! Ahsoka was an excellent tutor, he an awesome learner. Peace is restored and the rightful ruler decided upon.