CHAPTER 15: THE DARK SABER

"Never forget, our interpretations are often colored by our fears," Ahsoka said firmly. "I once had a vision that a close friend of my Master would be killed by a bounty hunter while at a peace conference during the Clone Wars. The bounty hunter did attempt to murder her, but working together, my friend and I made certain that future never happened."

Ahsoka looked directly into Tarre's eyes as she spoke. "What you saw might be one of multiple possible futures, and what you saw might not be the death of your Buir. So try with me to find more detail, more information, anything that might help us. Okay?"

Tarre looked very unsure, but he nodded slowly. And Din reluctantly put Tarre back down so he could sit with Ahsoka for a while longer as she continued to work with Tarre on his visions.

They worked for another hour before Ahsoka finally put a stop to the lesson. Tarre was exhausted mentally and emotionally, and Ahsoka brought him curled up into a tight ball to Din where he immediately began to snore.

Din looked up at Ahsoka, "Is he okay?"

Ahsoka frowned, "He is even stronger than you already know, Din. He carries a lot of knowledge of the past and the future. He does not understand it all, and he has a very hard time sorting what is helpful, but only experience tells us how to sort through everything the Force tells us." She looked back at Din. "Being with you has given him more experience and context than the first fifty years of his life combined. He needs your love and care to help him understand what the future will hold."

Din looked back down at Tarre, "So his vision could be wrong?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "No, his vision was clear. You will be struck by the Dark Saber. But Master Yoda used to say the future is always in motion. We must be mindful of all possible outcomes."

She put a hand on Din's shoulder and left Din to cradle Tarre in his arms on the sleeping bunk.

To avoid detection the group decided to stay in hyperspace and remain radio silent for the duration of the trip back to Nevarro.

Din had to keep checking the tracker in order to reassure himself their rate of travel was real. It had taken almost three weeks to find Ahsoka and Sabine, but at their return rate of speed they would arrive in less than a week.

Ahsoka worked with Tarre on his focus and communication, so he could express to anyone exactly what he needed. Previously he would focus on only one thought, but communicating concepts and conducting dialogue was more difficult. His first few attempts with Din and Cara were more of an onslaught of his "stream of consciousness" which they both struggled to understand. Tarre was becoming frustrated, and Din found himself forced to keep his own aggravation in check to help deal with Tarre's emotional state.

Din and Cara had increased their workout schedule, partly to work out his stress, and also because he had decided he wanted to start wearing his armor again. He started with the pauldrons and thigh guards only, but within a few days he had the back plate on as well. The weight was familiar and reassuring, but he felt the strain.

Cara pushed Din harder than he was comfortable with, but it also forced him to aim higher, and he knew better than to push back or push her away.

Sabine developed two beskar shield prototypes on their journey, and developed a plan to test them once they returned to Nevarro where she could find a way to create an arc generator capable of demonstrating the full potential of the Duchess against her new shields.

When they were down to less than a day left before they would be orbiting Nevarro none of the group could sleep, except Tarre, of course.

Ahsoka was in the cockpit, Tarre was snoozing in his pram at ops, Cara and Sabine were working on her Duchess targeting program at the secondary ops position, and Din was boxing in the upper hold with his partial beskar on.

Din was focusing on movement with the armor, and cardiovascular stamina. He was punching a milled grain bag with bare knuckles, and thinking about the dream he had about the Dark Saber the morning he woke after his encounter with the Duchess. He had seen Gideon. He had seen the Dark Saber. And he had felt that the Saber would strike him down.

He took to heart Ahsoka's words, that his fears would affect his interpretation of his dream. He also felt keenly her words that his influence would affect Tarre's view on the galaxy for the rest of his long life.

Din had been so focused on avenging what Gideon had done, not only to his home, his Tribe, but to Tarre and to himself. And he knew that even his brother was set on avenging Mandalore, exacting restitution for the torture he had endured, and for the threat to his family. Din was beginning to realize, however, that cycle of revenge was not the last lesson that he wanted to teach Tarre.

The thought of what that legacy would do, especially in the hands of a very powerful being like Tarre, over the millennium of his lifespan made Din question everything, and caused a self-examination he had never attempted before. If he was going to die on the Dark Saber, sooner rather than later, Din wanted Tarre to have respect for life, even of his enemies. Even if Gideon killed Din. And therefore, his motivation going into this fight had to change — completely.

"Din? You okay?"

He blinked, turned around and saw Sabine and Cara staring at him.

"Yeah, why? Was I too loud?"

The girls looked at each other, and Sabine shrugged.

"Well, you were too loud, and then suddenly you stopped, and you were too quiet. We came in to make sure you didn't hurt yourself, and instead you're standing here alone — staring at a grain bag."

Din looked at the grain bag, then back at them. He considered talking to them about the Dark Saber, but decided he wasn't ready to share on that level just yet.

"Grain bag isn't putting up much of a fight."

Sabine laughed out loud, "So — that sounded a lot like Clan Vizsla challenging Clan Wren! Too bad I can't use my jet pack in here!"

Cara sat down on a bin next to the wall with a piece of chalk, "I'll keep score! Mando v. Mando!" She called out to the cockpit, "Don't worry Ahsoka this won't take long!"

Din looked back at Cara, "Don't get too comfortable scorekeeper, I'm coming for you when I'm done with this Wren!"

Din almost managed to defeat Sabine, but she was faster with her vambraces. And he took a sound beating from Cara, but she did give him a solid nod after he tapped out for the last time.

"You're getting there. You gonna put on the full cuirass before we get back?"

Din was drenched with sweat once again, gasping for breath, but he shrugged, "I think I'll do a few workouts with the Armorer when I get back and then give it a try."

Cara nodded, "Tired of me kicking your ass, then?"

Din looked at her, "No. You just fight dirty."

Cara laughed, and without thinking she sucker punched him, then immediately regretted it as he folded in on himself. But, he was actually choking out laughter as he groaned in pain so she threw him down on the ground and walked out.

"Go shower! You smell!"

The moment they dropped out of hyperspace they were all crowded in the cockpit and sighed with relief when they saw the Mandalorian battleship and no Star Destroyer.

"Keldabe battleship, this is the Razor Crest. Keldabe battleship, this is the Razor Crest. If Paz Vizsla or Tristan Wren survived the battle, please warn them their siblings are have returned," Din said looking back at Sabine who chuckled but sighed. She was not anticipating a warm welcome because of how she had left her brother, again, to manage the will of their mother.

Ahsoka held Tarre and they both had their hands out communicating with the purrgil. The whales untwisted themselves from the ships and then Sabine took over with the drone controls of the Old Republic ship.

"Razor Crest this is Tristan Wren. Clan Wren and Clan Vizsla celebrate your return. Please meet us in hangar four."

"Acknowledged," Din put the controls on autopilot and then looked up at Cara, "Looks like Karga is never gonna let you live this down. He won while you were away."

Cara rolled her eyes and half snorted.

The purrgil floated ahead of both ships headed toward the hangar.

Ahsoka marveled at the battleship, "I haven't seen one of those since the Siege of Mandalore."

Din and Sabine looked at her, "You were there?"

Ahsoka nodded, "I fought to keep Mandalore free. It was my last battle with the 501st, and I was there for Order 66. I faked my death…and disappeared."

Din was not versed on this part of history, Sabine explained, "Order 66 was the order sent to the clones by the Emperor to kill all of the Jedi on every battle field across the galaxy. It's how most of the Jedi were wiped out."

Din looked from Ahsoka to Tarre, then back up to Ahsoka, "Thank you, for defending Mandalore."

Ahsoka nodded.

The Razor Crest touched down, and Sabine brought the Republic ship to rest right next to them.

Din looked down at Tarre, "What do we owe the purrgil? I don't suppose they eat krill?"

The purrgil turned around in front of the cargo bay, and large eyes winked as they turned.

Ahsoka smiled, "They consume space and planetary gases, it's their natural fuel."

Din frowned, "So how do we thank them?"

Ahsoka and Tarre looked at each other, "We already have. Tarre has been talking to them the entire journey. They have been telling each other stories and enjoying the ride immensely."

"Will they stay?" Cara asked, but as soon as she did, they noticed the three purrgil tendrils all starting to glow and pulse, and they disappeared again into hyperspace.

"They just saw us all the way to safety. They are headed to find fuel now, and then likely home," Ahsoka said quietly.

"Well, I for one have had enough of tiny spaceship life for a while, let's get out of this ship and move into a bigger one," Cara said as she moved toward the upper hold to grab her bag.

By the time they lowered the ramp Tristan was already there, but did not take off his helmet. He walked right up to Sabine, and he put both hands on hers.

"Sister — please, don't leave for so long again," his voice was soft, not the hard warrior voice Din remembered.

Sabine frowned and looked down, "I'm sorry it took such dire circumstances for me to return. And I missed you too, Tristan."

Tristan looked up at the rest of the group, "Din Djarin, your brother is with the Armorer on the planet, but he will return soon to hear of your mission and meet our guests. He is well and rejoices at your return."

Din nodded, "Thank you, Tristan, for all that you have done for Nevarro, and House Vizsla."

Sabine turned back to her brother, "We need to talk to your weapons and engineering crew. We already have a working model for personal shielding and detection of the weapon — and it needs to be tested."

Paz arrived a few hours later and embraced Cara first, "Tell me the truth, how is he doing?"

Cara could feel Din's gaze but she did not hesitate. "He's about seventy to seventy-five percent. His primary weakness is cardiac stamina. And his leg strength is probably still at about fifty percent."

Paz smiled, "Well done, Cara. You really pushed him."

Din looked up at Paz and gave him a glare. Paz chuckled and took Tarre from Din. Tarre squealed with delight and carried him on his shoulder.

"So, the Star Destroyer escaped Nevarro with Gideon and the Dark Saber on board," Paz growled as he walked over to sit down with all of them.

"However, the Imperial Remnant has been removed from the planet, and the mission to find the Duchess records and destroy Gideon's entire archive on Mandalore was a complete success."

Din was impressed, "Clan Vizsla is victorious."

Paz nodded, "It is. However, still, to many of us it was only a partial victory without the Dark Saber," then he sighed. "And we found some bad news in the archive. There are at least three versions of the Duchess are being built, and we have only encountered one. And we can bet Gideon is planning to attack any Mandalorian that tries to keep him from Tarre-Haal. And we have no idea where the other two weapons are."

Cara shook her head, "They must be on the Star Destroyer. Was there any indication of the size or output?"

Paz shrugged, "The specs can all be sized up and down, output and range are affected by size."

"So we must still assume the weapon may be used on a large scale against Mandalore," Din surmised.

Paz nodded, "The Tribe and Karga's representative government have all voted and they agree we should stay on Nevarro to keep Gideon's focus here, and the danger away from Mandalore until we have built defenses that can protect a greater numbers. When Sabine has a viable prototype Zaral will see to mass manufacture for warriors of Mandalore who wear any beskar."

Tarre reached out and jiggled Paz' pauldron, trying to pull it loose.

"And what were you up to on this trip, Tarre-Haal? Because I can't imagine you were quiet," Paz chuckled as Tarre tried for a third time to pull off the pauldron.

They sat and talked for hours about Ahsoka's insights into Tarre-Haal's past. Cara noted, however, that Din avoided the topic of Tarre's visions, especially the Dark Saber. She decided to wait on that topic, and see if Din would come to it in his own time.

Paz looked over at Tarre and lifted a brow. "Tarr'ika, can you speak your thoughts in my head?"

Tarre nodded.

Paz waited, but no thoughts came, "Can you try now?"

HUNGRY.

Paz laughed a full belly laugh and Tarre had to grip Paz' shoulder and pauldron with his toe claws to keep from falling off. Paz reached into his hip bag and pulled out a ration bar, which Tarre happily tucked into.

"That's a poor excuse for a meal, Tarre, we will get you some meat, I promise," Paz chuckled. "In fact, let that be an appetizer, let's all go and introduce Cara to some real Mandalorian fare on this ship. You'll need to bring some back here and fuel up for tomorrow, Din. The Armorer expects you at dawn. Through her own recovery she has developed a training regimen for you. And trust me it will not be for the faint of heart."

Din ran the course for the fifth time in his full cuirass. He worked to control his breathing, and was finding more efficient ways to move with his armor through the smaller obstacles and still maintain his balance. His time was improving, and when he crossed the finish line the Armorer walked up and nodded.

"You run as if the Empire is chasing you," she said dryly.

Din bent over as he worked to catch his breath, "I need — to be — one step ahead."

"Din Djarin, you are not up to your full strength. I agree with Cara's assessment that you are barely more than three-quarter strength. I can see you hesitate, and worry about this weakness. You are not ready."

Din growled, "Well I need to be!"

The Armorer did not back down, "Why?"

"I have to be there!" Din yelled.

The Armorer was unimpressed, "WHY?"

"Because I have to be the one to —"

The Armorer would not finish his sentence for him, "To what?"

Din put his head down, "To face the Dark Saber. Tarre has had a vision. And if any of them died in my place — I don't know — what I'd do." Din dropped down to his knees, as tears mixed with sweat running down his nose and face.

The Armorer stood above him looking down, "The number of people in your care has increased significantly. I recall a time when you avoided all attachment — after your discord with your brother."

Din nodded but did not respond.

The Armorer did not let up. "You now acknowledge that you love them all? Your brother?"

"Yes."

"Cara?"

"Yes."

"Tarre-Haal?"

"Yes."

"Then you must find peace as you face your fate. Do not fear it. Embrace it. You do not need your full physical strength. Simply, show your son — the Way."

Din looked back up at the Armorer and whispered, "I will."

The Armorer nodded. "Now, you are ready."

Sabine and Cara spent their first few days on board with the engineers from Mandalore on the most efficient way to integrate the personal shields on an innumerable variations on traditional beskar armor, and still others that had more durasteel than beskar.

Paz and Tristan started work on ideas of how to outfit the battleship and at least one ground assault ship with Cara's program to find and destroy any possible model of the Duchess. And then Paz found a way to integrate the detection program into his visual readout.

Din walked into the cargo hold that Sabine and Tristan had re-fashioned into their workspace and found Paz and Cara waiting there for him and standing behind a solid barrier with narrow slits for viewing.

"Now you get to see why I requested your armor," Sabine said with a smile.

She lowered a caged Nevarro lava flats goat and Din's armor was strapped to it.

"Oh damn, I can't watch this," Cara felt nauseous remembering the smell that permeated the air after the Tribe members were vaporized.

Din, however, wanted to see proof, "Do it, now."

The arc generator whined with the same sound Din heard before he was hit, and his nerve endings prickled as the pulse was released. But then, Din heard a low pulse beat, and saw a quick flash of light just before the goat was struck with the full force of the weapon. He could not see what happened due to the smoke. The smoke cleared, and the goat was mildly stunned, but not a hair was damaged.

Then Sabine handed Din his pulse rifle. She tapped on her pad a few commands, "Loading targeting program to your visual sensor array…I will not warn you when I will fire on the animal, and I will move the arc burst source. Go!"

Sabine set off three different weapons concealed above them in the rafters, all within seconds of each other, and with the program guiding him to aim and fire — Din hit every one of them within less than seven seconds.

Cara and Paz looked at each other, visibly impressed.

"You seem more — focused," Cara said carefully.

Din turned to look at them, then turned to Sabine, "It's ready."

Sabine jumped up to high-five her brother, "I would also call that a successful trial. Ready to send these specs to Mandalore and have them run their own simulations and start mass production."

Din nodded, "And we need to fully outfit every warrior on the planet and in this ship."

Tristan added, "I will see to the programming of the targeting of all craft and weapons, while you talk to Zaral."

Sabine smiled, "On it! Let's go Cara!"

Cara started to follow Sabine but looked back at Paz who was watching Din walk back out of the cargo bay without another word.

Ahsoka practiced levitation again with Tarre, she sat with her legs crossed while Tarre levitated her up off the ground in her quarters.

I want you to focus on clearing your mind of all distractions. Use me to channel your connection to the Force and all of its echoes and ripples.

Tarre's eyes were closed and his lips pursed as he moved Ahsoka further off the floor.

Good. Now maintain your focus on me, and listen to my thoughts. Take me to your last vision. The one with the Dark Saber.

Tarre frowned, but slowly Ahsoka rose higher off the floor and he began to project images into her mind.

The Dark Saber appears out of darkness, and moves closer and closer to Mandalorian armor. The black blade scratches along the surface of the armor but it cannot cut it. A man starts to scream, the sound is distant at first, then it gets closer and closer until it fills their ears. And then a Star Destroyer rumbles so close overhead it feels as if it might ruffle their clothing.

Ahsoka feels Tarre's resolve waning, and she reaches down to touch his head.

You've done well, young one. Now bring me down gently.

Tarre followed her instructions and then looked up at Ahsoka.

I miss Buir.

Ahsoka smiled, He has been very busy since we got back. But do you not sense he misses you too?

Tarre nodded, He is very worried — about the future.

Ahsoka nodded back, And about your future.

Tarre looks up at her, Can we call him? I want to go home.

Ahsoka nodded. She walked over to her comm and turned it on, "Din Djarin, this is Ahsoka Tano. Tarre-Haal desires to see you, and I would like to speak with you."

A few seconds passed, and then Din responded, "On my way."

A short time later, Din rang the bell of her quarters and Ahsoka opened the door using the Force.

"Successful test?" She said quietly.

Din nodded, "Yes. Very. We will be starting mass production here and on Mandalore."

Tarre was already toddling toward him with his arms up. Din knelt down to his level and lifted Tarre up into a gentle hug. He had not realized until that moment how much he needed the hug himself. Sabine still had his armor so he could feel Tarre gripping his shirt and trilling against his chest. Din wondered if Tarre could feel his heart beating.

Ahsoka waited quietly while they communicated without words. Tarre moved up to Din's shoulder and they both looked back to her.

"You also wanted to speak with me?" Din said.

"Tarre has had another vision, of the Star Destroyer," Ahsoka said gravely.

Din tensed instantly, "Where? When?"

Ahsoka frowned, "Close to Nevarro."

Din stood up, "Thank you. At least we know it is coming here. Mandalore will be safe. We must prepare."

Paz arrived at Din's quarters and Din opened the door without a word.

Paz followed him in and suddenly Tarre jumped up to chest height and Paz barely caught him in his hands. He chuckled in surprise as Tarre laughed.

"Ba'vodu!" Tarre cried out.

Paz chuckled, "Tarr'ika!"

Din, however, was not laughing. Paz caught his sober demeanor and followed him to the table and sat down across from him.

"What's wrong, Din?" Paz said concerned.

Din paused, then looked back up at his son and brother. "Tarre has been having visions of my death by the Dark Saber…and so have I."

Paz set Tarre down on the table as his face fell.

"I don't know what it means, I could be just seeing his visions due to our connection. Ahsoka is advising caution in how we interpret the visions. And I believe her — but — I need to be prepared, and so do you and Tarre."

Paz looked down.

"I need you to promise me two things. One, that you will safeguard Tarre, and ensure he gets his training at the Jedi Temple — when he determines it is time to go."

Paz nodded.

"And two — that you will not teach him to take revenge."

Paz lifted a brow, "What do you mean?"

Tarre sat down on the table between them looking at his Buir, and Din paused searching for the words.

"When he was taken by the Emperor, the Dark Force wielders tried to teach him anger, hate, and revenge. Ahsoka says that since we have shown him love, trust, and honor — that his powers in the Light have been amplified."

Din looked over at Tarre, "He is a healer. He is also a great warrior. But if he goes down that vengeful path at such a young age…I don't want him to follow the path I took. I don't want him to take out his anger on his brother. I don't want him to feel only anger because his Buir is gone. I don't want him to be defined by what he has lost."

Paz frowned and nodded. "When we were young, brother, I don't think I ever expected our family would take precedence over the pain of your past, until now," his voice breaking. Paz leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "I would be honored to ensure your wishes will be respected, brother."

Tarre reached out for Paz's finger and he gripped it tightly in his tiny claws. Din smiled to himself.

"Now, I want to discuss our plan to complete our mission — and avoid getting killed," Din said wryly.

Suddenly an unexpected ring at the bell silenced them.

Din went to the door and opened it. Cara, Ahsoka and Sabine all smiled at him.

Ahsoka lifted a brow, "I had a feeling you three were having a meeting without us," she looked over Din's shoulder at Tarre. Din turned back sharply to look at Tarre who smiled back at him and squeaked in greeting. Tarre had obviously decided that any planning required the whole team.

Sabine held up a fabric wrapped gift, in an effort to break the tension. "A thank you, for letting me blast your cuirass."

Din looked back at her and accepted the gift. When he put it on the table it clanked, confirming his armor was inside. He unwrapped the fabric carefully, and on top was his pauldron with the Mudhorn sigil. The pauldron, however was painted with a dozen different shades of green, including a shining green that matched Tarre's skin color perfectly on the sigil, for the Clan of Two, and highlighted just at the edges with Vizsla blue.

Tarre toddled across the table and picked up the thigh guard running his fingers over the colors, and they all looked at the beautiful work Sabine had done. Tarre put up his hand and squeaked until Din handed him the pauldron with the sigil.

Din turned back to Sabine, "Thank you, sister. This is more than I could have ever imagined."

Sabine smiled. "I assume this is was a secret strategy meeting, so let's get back to planning how to destroy the Duchess forever, and get the Dark Saber back."

Ahsoka stepped forward, "Tarre and I will be coming along to safeguard the ship and get you home."

Din hesitated but as with the operation to rescue Paz, Tarre had remained safe in the ship, and he had proven helpful, so he shot Ahsoka a look but nodded.

"Good, I'm going to be monitoring the Duchess activity from command with Tristan," Sabine said.

"And I'm going with you two," Cara said lightly to Din and Paz. "Because you'll never make it without me."

Incoming ship proximity alarms went off just six hours later.

On the bridge Tristan shouted from the command chair, "Scan the ship for the two Duchess weapons!"

Sabine was at an ops position and frowned, "They are not powered up yet, nothing is showing yet."

"That's all we needed! Razor Crest, you are go!" Tristan yelled.

In the hangar bay, Din, Paz, Cara, Ahsoka and Tarre were all in the Razor Crest, and they immediately cleared the bay. They were flanked by four other fighter ships manned by Mandalorians who had Duchess detection systems.

They flew at full power towards the Star Destroyer but there was minimal resistance. Gideon's forces were obviously depleted by the last battle.

Sabine's voice came over the comm, "There she is! Their shields are down to fire the Duchess! Starboard guns! FIRE!"

The Razor Crest continued on its course and the battleship fired just as the buildup of the white energy discharge had reached critical mass and a significant portion of the starboard side of the forward section was destroyed in the blast.

The bridge erupted in celebration, but Tristan remained focused as the Razor Crest cleared the hangar bay on the Destroyer.

"Razor Crest landed," Din reported.

Ahsoka and Tarre were reaching out with the Force and Din turned to them, waiting.

Ahsoka opened her eyes, "Gideon is in his office, and Tarre can see the Dark Saber there."

Din nodded, "Thank you. We will be on comms."

Ahsoka and Tarre watched the others leave and stayed to monitor their progress from the hangar. Ahsoka looked down at Tarre.

We must be patient, young one. The Force will guide us.

Cara, Paz, and Din made their way out of the hangar and followed their maps towards the command center.

"Ship one and two to command, Strike one, two and three on their way," Ahsoka said calmly.

Din kept his Duchess program active, as did Paz, but the third Duchess was nowhere to be seen on their path to the command center. They managed to dodge most of the patrols and their presence was apparently as yet unnoticed.

"Strike two to command, still no sign of the third weapon," Cara said quietly to her comm.

Sabine was monitoring their detection system and she hit the console with her fist, "Strike team, I'm seeing small blips all over the ship, but not one concentrated weapon! I don't understand what this means! There's no way they could be blocking my detection sensors!"

"Keep at it, command. We will change direction if you detect a target. Moving forward," Din said quietly.

"Ship one to strike one! We sense multiple targets around you!" Ahsoka's voice rang out over comms.

"Say again, Ship one, multiple targets?" Cara hissed.

"Coming up on the command center," Paz growled, and then he stopped. "TAKE COVER!"

Paz opened fire with his rapid repeating blaster, and when Din turned the corner his visual display was lit up with multiple Duchess signals in the walls, in the ceiling, and coming from a dozen storm troopers that were headed toward them. They all carried a weapon no bigger than a Death Trooper blaster, with a lower cartridge that had a high-pitched whine — another Duchess weapon that Din's and Paz' visual displays immediately targeted.

"Strike one! Report! Anyone!" Sabine yelled from the comms inside the Razor Crest.

Ahsoka stood up and Tarre hopped into his pram, "Command this is Ship one, we are going after them."

Sabine replied, "If anyone can get them out of this, I know you can, Ship one!"

Ahsoka knelt down to Tarre, "Just how we've been practicing. It's time."

Ahsoka walked down the ramp and switched off her comm as she set the pram to her proximity sensor, then she pulled out her lightsabers and jogged toward the command center with the pram right behind her.

Cara focused fire on the troopers and Paz and Din set to work knocking out the wall Duchess signals. Din hit five in a row and so did Paz, but as one set were destroyed two others powered up.

"Paz! They are going to get ahead of us! Get ready!" Din shouted.

The high pitched whine filled Din's ears just before the blast stunned him to the ground. But he did not lose consciousness, and could still hear Cara firing as she yelled at Paz and Din. Din pulled himself up and picked up his rifle and hit two more of the Duchess weapons, then Paz recovered and hit two more.

Suddenly a fresh group of troopers arrived and in their midst was Gideon. He was holding up another Duchess weapon that Din's visual display immediately targeted and stunned Din and Paz down again as Cara opened fire but it was too late, and the troopers overwhelmed them.

Din struggled as he was dragged into Gideon's office along with Cara and Paz. They were all strapped to interrogation tables, Then, Gideon walked in and dismissed the troopers.

"You came here to destroy the Duchess — and to collect this, I believe," Gideon said nonchalantly as he removed the hilt of the Dark Saber from a hook on his belt.

He walked over to Din and activated the Dark Saber and held it up between his eyes. Then he ran the blade of the saber over the edge of Din's helmet until it sparked over the cheek line.

"The Mandalorians have developed and now tested in battle a full defense against the weapon. You're finished," Din growled, while his visual display filtered the brightness of the sparks from the Dark Saber.

Then Gideon saw Din's sigil, and moved the saber down over his pauldron, scraping it up against the Mudhorn, and burning off some of Sabine's paint job.

"I've never seen the legendary resistance of beskar to lightsabers. Fascinating. Some of the qualities of the beskar which make it vulnerable to the Duchess also make it resistant to sabers. But — not impervious to it."

Gideon turned the Dark Saber and stabbed it straight through Din's pauldron and sigil.

Din's scream echoed down the hall.

"STOOOP, GIDEON!" Paz roared.

Gideon pulled the Dark Saber from Din's shoulder, but paced around him like a predator.

"What did you think I was going to do, Mandalorian? Did you think I would just let you keep him?"

Gideon then stabbed Din straight through his thigh guard. Din's scream pierced their ears and then he groaned as his consciousness drifted from the pain.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU COWARD!" Cara yelled dangerously.

Gideon laughed as he pulled the Dark Saber from Din's thigh, then his attention shifted — and he turned toward Cara.

Din couldn't feel his arm or his leg. He started to shake as he felt himself going into shock, and darkness clouded the edges of his vision.

Gideon walked toward Cara slowly, "I know he is here. He can sense you. And he will come for you."

Paz looked up at the ceiling, and tried his best to reach out to his nephew, "TARRE! IT'S A TRAP!"

Cara laughed out loud, "If he comes for us, you can bet that you won't survive!"

Gideon smiled as he moved closer, "No my dear, Carasynthia. He will be too busy trying to save you. But he will be too late. And he will be mine."

Gideon lifted the Dark Saber and then plunged it into Cara's chest.