Aria
I blinked hard, stumbling down the dark tunnels with the child on my back. Kuiil must have known I needed something familiar, because he had strapped the baby to me as soon as we left the bar.
"Where are we going?" I asked wearily and Cara tightened her arm around my waist. "Mando said to make our way down to the Mandalorian covert but I don't even know where to begin in this maze."
My companions turned at the sound of footsteps, and I squinted in the dim light hoping...praying.
IG-11 was helping The Mandalorian down the tunnel, the bounty hunter leaning on the droid as his feet moved sluggishly. Next thing I knew, I was running and Din pushed himself off the droid in time to catch me weakly.
"You're still in trouble." Din turned his head to whisper in my ear but his tone was gentle, almost tender. I felt a wave of relief at his attitude, although I was pretty sure I was going to hear an earful when he recovered fully. He sagged against me slightly and Cara helped on his other side,
"I got you." She told him, the relief clear in her voice.
"Do you know which way to go?" Greef Karga asked and Din shook his head,
"No. I don't know these tunnels. I've only entered from the bazaar."
"Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it'll lead us up to the plains where the river flows."
"And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship." Din was able to walk on his own now, "We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety. I'll try to find tracks."
We followed him into a small room and we all shouldered in but Din, who was at the head of the group, halted at the sight of a pile of armour on the floor.
He approached it slowly, dropping to his knees as he picked up a Mandalorian helmet from the pile. I felt sick at the sight of it but I could only watch as Cara said softly,
"We should go."
"You go." The Mandalorian's voice was insistent but only I heard the underlying pain coursing through his tone. "Take the ship. I can't leave it this way." He froze as he stood, rounding on Greef as he thundered, "Did you know about this? Is this the work of your bounty hunters?"
"No!" Greef took a step back and I didn't blame him. "When you left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters just melted away. You know how it is. They're mercenaries, not zealots."
"Be at peace, Mandalorian." Kuiil's wise voice sounds near my elbow.
Din didn't seem to hear a word Greef said, pushing his shoulder roughly and shouting furiously,
"Did you do this? Did you?!"
"It was not his fault." A new voice rang in the tunnel, making us jump. Din turned and I knew he recognized the sound because he didn't draw his gun. A female Mandalorian, radiating power and authority bent and picked up a helmet, placing it carefully in the cart by her side. "We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the covert."
Din began to follow her into the deeper portion of the tunnel.
"The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This," She swept a hand over the piles of armour about her, "Is what resulted."
Din felt like there was a weight on his chest as he followed the Armorer into the forge.
"Did any survive?" He asked.
"I hope so." His leader responded, melting the metal and pouring it into a mold. "Some May have escaped off-world."
"Come with us." Din continued but the Armorer shook her head, calm and collected as always.
"No. I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains." She turned to face the group and Din thought her gaze lingered a little longer on Aria than the rest of his companions.
"Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction."
IG-11 lifted the flap, having taken charge of the child once Aria had her arms around Din.
"This is the one." Din watched as The Armorer observed the child carefully.
"This is the one you hunted? Then saved?"
"Yes. The one that saved me as well." Din answered honestly, although he glanced at Aria to gauge her reaction. Part of him was ashamed that he hadn't told her that important piece of information but mostly he was relieved that there were no secrets between them now.
"From the mud horn?"
"Yes."
The Armorer looked at Din,
"It looks helpless."
It's injured but it is not helpless." Din proceeded, hoping that his leader had some answers, "Its species can move things with its mind."
"I know of such things." The Armorer turned to finish her work at the forge, "The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such power."
"It is an enemy?" The thought made The Mandalorian's blood run cold and he glanced at the wide, adoring eyes staring up at him from the sack.
"No." The response made his shoulders relax, "It's kind were enemies but this individual is not."
"What is it?" He asked.
"It is a foundling." The Armorer gave him a serious gaze under her helmet, "By Creed, it is in your care."
"You wish me to train this thing?" Din didn't know how he felt about the suggestion. He wanted to keep the child safe, yes, but he wasn't sure about raising it.
"It is too weak. It would die." The Armorer shook her head, thinking, "You have no choice. You must reunite it with its own kind."
"Where?"
"This, you must determine." Was the cryptic answer.
"You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?"
The Armorer shrugged her shoulders and looked at him sternly.
"This is the Way."
Cara moved forward, speaking up for the first time,
"These tunnels will be lousy with Imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan."
"We have little time left." Kuiil spoke up.
"If you follow the descending tunnel it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream toward the lava flats." The Armorer instructed and the group shifted.
"I think we should go." Greef agreed.
"I'm staying." Din looked at his leader, "I need to help her, and I need to heal."
"You must go." The Armorer insisted, "A foundling is in your care. By Creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its father. This is the Way. You have earned your Signet."
Din held still as his leader affixed the signet into his pauldron over his right arm.
"You are a clan of two." She says. A feeling of pride washes over Din's exhausted and beaten body but he replied gratefully,
"Thank you. I will wear this with honour."
The Armorer glances at the group behind him and he understands,
"Go check the tunnel," He tells them, "I need a word."
Cara and Greef nod, backing away with Kuiil following behind and IG takes the opposite hallway. Aria turned but caught Din's eyes, her expression thoughtful and soft before she left the room.