Hi! I'm not even going to apologize for this being late. I kind of took a break from writing over the summer. ( I'm in a bad mood. And be honest. When have I ever published something on time?) I've also been getting some PMs recently and I realize I need to make something clear. I'm a girl not a boy. Yes the username is confusing.

In this chapter I gave a little more about Cole's backstory and a paragraph from his point of view.

This chapter is rated T for violence. There is some swearing but no suggestive themes.

Okay hope you enjoy!

The void churned and swirled like a vicious ocean on a stormy night. Heron watched wondering what sort of tourture he would endure while dreaming. Only an hour before Heron had forced himself to sleep. He needed to see Ella again. He needed to know if it was real, or if it was his own mind tricking him into seeing her. He had no way of knowing that she was asleep, or even what time it was where she was. He just had a gut feeling that she would appear. The void finally stopped turning and Heron found himself walking in a forest on some mysterious planet. He had no control over where he was going or what he saw. His head turned in all different directions. He saw only trees and the occasional squirrel. Suddenly he was walking in a desert, similar to where they found the child. Heron walked and walked and pretty soon it was obvious that this was the planet they found the child on. He soon saw the structure that had held it. The bodies still littered the ground. Inside it was empty and Heron soon found control over his body.

"Why am I here?" Heron thought.

The IG Din had shot was missing, along with the child's pod. It looked exactly like it had when they had left. He didn't know why but he had the sudden feeling someone was trying to sneak up on him. He reached for his weapon only to realize he had no weapon. Or armor. Just a dusty shirt and worn down pants. He grabbed a piece of wood near him and whipped around and saw her face. Ella was also holding a piece of wood clearly just as terrified and confused as him.

"Heron!" she shouted.

"You're asleep?' Heron asked.

"Yeah."

They both stood there with the wood still in their hands, breathing heavily. Ella's hair was messy and tangled. She wore her armor unlike him with the exception of her helmet.

"What is this place?" she asked, dropping the piece of wood.

"It's where we found the asset."

"The child?"

"How do you know?"

"My father told me. He is with you right… Right?" Her voice trailed off and she looked concerned.

"Yeah… He's with us."

"So we are actually speaking to each other?

"It would appear so."

Ella beamed with joy and excitement. Yet there was a cautious side to her face.

"Heron do you know how incredible this is?!" She shouted, "This is amazing! We could send information to the tribe! We could...We could….. How?"

"What?"

"How is this possible?"

"You tell me! I'm just as confused as you are!"

"Heron.. My father told me that you turned in an asset, the child, and you went back for it. He said that you could never return. Is it true? Is it true I might never see you again?

"I don't know." Heron could feel his own voice getting softer. He hadn't truly realized the outcome of his decision until now. Maybe he should have just left the child.

"He said that he could return as long as he isn't seen helping you. But what if he is seen? What if he never returns!" She seemed to be going into a small panic attack.

Before Heron could do anything the void swept him away and back into the real world. He gasped and stood up, not quite knowing where he was. The panic left as quickly as it had come and Heron plopped back down into his seat.

"Hello sleepyhead," Din said.

"How long was I asleep?"

"I don't know when you started sleeping, I figured out as soon as you started snoring."

Cole let out a half chuckle while the child squealed happily in his lap. He had been put in charge of watching the little thing just before Heron fell asleep. He was probably the only one of them who actually knew how to watch a small child. Sure Din had raised Heron but half the time he barely knew what he was doing.

"So have you found a planet yet to hide out on?" Heron asked.

"Sorgan. There's no star port. No industrial centers, and no population density. It's perfect. So what do you two think?"

"As soon as I know you're all safe I'm heading back to Nevarro," Cole said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Heron looked over at him thinking about what Ella had said.

"I have some friends who can get me back quietly. Nobody will even know I was with you."

"Okay whatever," Din annoyingly said. He clearly was trying to pretend he didn't want Cole with them but Heron knew that he enjoyed the company of a close friend. They flew over the planet and its vast green landscape looking in awe at all the nature.

"Huh," Cole said, "I haven't seen a real tree in years."

"Just don't go climbing any of them," Din requested.

"That's the first thing I'm going to do. I'm an expert tree climber."

"How?" Heron interrupted, "If you haven't seen a tree in so long how can you be an expert climbing one?"

"Trust me Heron. He can climb a tree faster than a squirrel. Unfortunately he falls from them more than a squirrel."

"Shut up."

Cole whacked the side of Din's head and the child reached its tiny hands up and used all his strength to slightly nudge his head. It beamed with pride and excitement. Heron had to hide his joy while watching the little thing. Its adorable eyes gazed into his and made him think of more peaceful times.

They flew down closer to the long fields and large lakes.

"Wow. There really is nothing. Maybe we won't have to constantly be on the move," Din stated with an optimistic tone to his voice.

Heron couldn't help feeling a little odd. There was something else going on on this planet. It felt too familiar. Like he had been here before. They flew over a tiny village surrounded with ponds, full of small children running around. It looked quiet. Well, the whole planet was quiet. It reminded him of where he was born. The housing was a bit different, and there were no ponds, but still. Din gracefully landed the ship in a small clearing near what looked to be a restaurant of some sort.

"All right, you guys stay here. I'm gonna find some lodging. It shouldn't take long," Din told them.

"Alright," Cole said, "C'mon Heron let's go find a tree to climb."

Heron felt a bit annoyed that Din was leaving him here instead of letting him come with. With the child in his arms he walked out onto the grassy earth. Cole immediately began climbing a tree, like he had said, and was already half way up by the time Heron made it over to him. Heron watched as Din began slowly disappearing from his view. Every time Din would say "It shouldn't take long" what he meant was "I don't know how long this will take. I'm just saying this so you won't have a reason to come with me." After about ten minutes Heron realized that he couldn't just stay in one place.

"You know you can just go with him right? There's literally nothing he can do to stop you." Cole's voice was distant, and when Heron turned around to look up at him he was on the highest branch that could support him without breaking.

"I can actually see him from here. You could easily catch up," He continued.

After a couple minutes Heron decided he wasn't going to wait any longer. He hated being left behind. What was Din going to do? Yell at him? Like that ever worked. He held the child tightly in his arms as he sprinted across the muddy earth for a bit until he finally caught up with Din. He could feel the mud sinking beneath his feet, and into his shoes. Uck. The child squealed in his arms and giggled until he was out of breath.

"Heron I told you-," Din started, "Nevermind."

"Hi," Heron said, knowing he was being annoying.

Din looked down at the small infant in his arms.

"Why did you bring the kid?"

"Cole was in a tree."

Din completely ignored him and continued walking. They came across a quiet little restaurant which was uncrowded and didn't seem very dangerous at all. Everywhere he looked he saw people laughing and talking, really seeming like they were enjoying their time. But when he walked by their expressions changed. Confusion was really all he saw. Was it the fact that two Mandalorians randomly showed up or was it that two Mandalorians showed up with a small, mysterious child? As they were walking over to a table a young woman caught his eye. She was giving him some sort of death glare. He couldn't help feel like he had seen her somewhere. In a place he didn't like. Then it hit him. It was the woman from the dream, the one of the burning building. Panic shot through him and he knew they needed to leave immediately. Heron reached forward and grabbed Din's arm.

"Buir we have to go," he said.

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's not safe here."

"Heron someone glaring at me isn't scaring me away from a chance to find somewhere safe."

So he had seen her.

"Please buir-"

"Heron. If we run into trouble then we'll leave. For now let's just figure out if there's lodging here."

Heron decided not to argue. If he tried to convince him to leave he would eventually learn about the dream. Din would then try to make him believe it was a dream or an illusion. Up until that day Heron had never been sure about what he saw. But now he was certain. It was no dream. Something else was going on in his head. Something he couldn't explain.

Din led him over to a table and they both sat down just before a waitress came over to their table.

"Welcome travelers. Can I interest you in anything?"

"Bone broth, for the little one," Din said.

"And anything for you?" she asked, nodding her head in Heron's direction.

Heron just shook his head.

"That one over there," Din said, pointing at the woman, "when did she arrive?"

The woman quickly looked the other way indicating that she had been watching them.

"I've seen her here for the past week or so."

"What's her business here?"

"Business? Well there's not much business in Sorgan, so I can't say."

Din tossed some credits on the table clearly trying to bribe her. She looked at them stunned and carefully took them.

"Well thank you sir. I'll get that broth to you as soon as possible, and I will throw in a flagon of spotchka just for good measure. I'll be right back with that."

Heron couldn't help but laugh at what had happened.

"Wow. I have never heard of a place so friendly," He said through chuckles.

Heron looked over at Din only to find that he had disappeared. He looked over to where the woman had been sitting. She was gone too. Heron turned on the comm in his helmet and could hear his father's faint breathing on the other side.

"Buir, where are you?" he asked.

He could barely make out what Din was saying.

"Heron stay put, and watch the kid, don't-"

Heron wasn't able to make out anything else after that. He wanted so desperately to go and find him but at the same time he had to watch the kid. Make sure it didn't run off or something. He finally gave in and decided to leave the child alone. He burst through the doors and immediately turned on the heat sensor in his helmet. He saw two sets of footprints, one that was darker and in long gaps. They had been running away. The other was newer, most likely Din's. Heron ran along the footprints and stopped just in time to see Din and and the woman laying on the ground with blasters pointed at each other's heads. Heron just stood, frozen waiting for someone to shoot, knowing that the beskar on Din's helmet would protect him. He stood there for what felt like minutes waiting for something to happen, holding his vibroblade tightly, ready to strike. Heron's concentration was quickly broken when he heard light sipping beside him. He turned his head slightly to see the child sipping broth at his feet. The woman seemed terribly confused as she looked from Heron to the child multiple times. Din suddenly threw his head on the ground in exhaustion and simply asked the woman if she would like some soup. Heron felt annoyed by him. What was he thinking? Moments ago she had a gun to his head and now he was asking her to lay down her weapon and possibly work something out? Be friends? Sometimes Din was an unpredictable idiot.

They soon learned that the woman's name was Cara, she was an ex-shocktrooper, who went into what she called "early retirement." She also claimed that her reason for attacking Din was because she assumed they were guild members who were sent to capture her. Heron didn't believe a word of it. He didn't know much about what he saw in that dream, only a dying Din, and... her. Whoever Cara was she was not to be trusted.

"Well this has been a real treat," she said finishing her soup and standing up, "Unless you want to go another round, one of us is going to have to move on, and I was here first."

"Perfect," Heron thought, "Now we can finally leave this planet and get as far away from her as possible."

Din sighed a long annoyed sigh. Heron pretended to be upset but he was secretly very relieved that they had a reason to go. I didn't take long before they were headed back to the Razor Crest along the dirty, muddy road. As they pushed through the grass and branches Heron noticed Cole sitting just below the tree he had been climbing. His helmet was off but positioned so that his face couldn't be seen from where they were standing. He quickly saw them and pulled his helmet back over his head. Heron saw bright blonde hair and a small scar near his ear before quickly looking away.

"So how did it go?" Cole asked.

Din just shook his head.

"Someone's already here." Heron replied.

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"Someone else is on this planet, someone who, like us, is trying to remain undetected."

"So are we going to kick their ass or not?"

"No, Cole, we are not going to be kicking any asses!" Din shouted from inside the ship.

"So what's the plan then?"

"Camp here tonight and leave tomorrow."

"Great."

Heron, Din and Cole spent the rest of the day sorting their supplies, fixing the ship, or hunting for small rodents to preserve in case they were needed. They took shifts watching the child, who had proven to be quite good at running away, and then getting lost or stuck. The day quickly turned to night, and Heron could feel the weight of his eyelids slowly increase, and his muscles ache for a break. He felt a little jealous of the child who was sound asleep in the cockpit. Just as he was drifting off, he heard the creaking of what sounded like wood, or a boat. He opened his eyes and saw in the darkness, a small lantern on, indeed, a boat. Heron grabbed his pulse rifle and watched two frightened faces emerge from the black forest. He clutched his rifle even closer to him as they got closer. Din walked over and looked at the two small men climb out from their raft onto land. They had eyes of pure fear. Heron didn't even have to see them to know that they were terrified. Mandalorians were dangerous, unforgiving, and ruthless, or at least that's what most of the galaxy thought. Sure they were trained to be dangerous hunters, and sure they never really hesitated to kill someone, but they were still people.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Din questioned.

"Uh… Yeah," The first one stuttered, "Raiders."

"We have money," the other one butted in.

Heron could tell that Din was a little annoyed by their sudden appearance, and then almost immediately asking for help.

"So you think, we're some kind of mercenaries?"

"You are Mandalorians, right?"

"Or at least wearing Mandalorian armor, that is Mandalorian armor, right?"

"Yes."

"See? I told him. Sir I've read a lot about your people... Tribe. If half of what I read is true-"

"We have money."

Heron began to get a little annoyed by the two. He was starting to wonder why Did wouldn't just tell them to buzz off. It was late, he was tired, and all of a sudden, came some cowardly men, asking for their help, in chasing off some raiders.

"How much do you have?" Din asked.

"This is everything we have, sir. Our whole harvest was stolen." said the smaller one holding out a tiny sack of credits.

"We're krill farmers, we brew spotchka. Our whole village chipped in."

Din looked at the small bag in his hands and without hesitation, told them it wasn't enough.

"Are you sure? You don't even know what the job is."

"I know it's not enough. Good luck."

"This is everything we have, we'll give you more after the next harvest."

Cole suddenly walked around from the other side of the ship, making both of them jump back.

"Come on," said one of them, "Took us the whole day to get here. Now we'll have to ride back with no protection. In the middle of nowhere."

He raised his voice so that they could all hear him, trying to earn someone's pity.

"Where do you live?" Din turned towards them in curiosity.

"On a farm. Weren't you listening?"

"In the middle of nowhere?"

"Yeah."

"You have lodging?"

The two men perked up in excitement.

"Yes!"

"Great, wait for us."

Heron couldn't believe his ears. He wanted to yell at Din, to tell him that they should leave, but he knew better.

"First give me those credits," Din added.

Heron quickly realized that the "boat" they were on was actually a hover cart. It was then that Heron realized how tired he really was. As they were traveling, Din told them to stop. Heron looked around and saw a tiny fire in a clearing nearby. He could barely see the figure sitting next to it, but he was almost certain it was Cara. Pretty soon she was jumping in the cart with them, after agreeing to help.

"So we're running off a band of a band of raiders for lunch money?"

"They're quartering us in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked that's a pretty square deal for someone in your position. Worst case scenario, you tune up your blaster. Best case, we're a deterrent. I can't imagine anything in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldnt handle."

"Or three Mandalorians," Heron thought, still not trusting Cara.

The little child gazed up at the stars and also decided to stare at each person one by one. Maybe he was trying to tell what they were thinking. Whatever it was doing, it was adorable.

It didn't take long before both Cara and Din had fallen asleep, leaving Heron, Cole and the child awake. The child had briefly fallen asleep, but then suddenly woke up, whimpering. It was interesting watching the kid sleep. His little ears would perk up and his tiny fingers would twitch. After a while Cole fell asleep, and soon after the child did too. All night Heron forced his eyes to stay open, fearing that Cara would try to attack them while they were sleeping. It wasn't until early morning that he let himself drift off.

Heron was awoken by a jolt. He quickly sat up and saw Din and Cara jump out of the hover cart. Villagers surrounded them unloading boxes of supplies they had brought and putting them in a small hut. The child sat in his arms looking up at him. Without saying anything Heron got up and helped Din unpack.

"You seem tired," Din teased.

They were led over to a small hut where they would stay while they were in the village. It had two beds and a cradle, which Heron immediately put the child in. He couldn't risk him running off again.

"Where is Cole?" Heron questioned.

"He's out at the edge of the village. Somewhere in the woods. Kinda like a lookout. I don't know, I think he's just trying to get some time by himself."

"Okay."

Heron walked back out onto the muddy earth to grab the last box in the cart. On his way at least five small children surrounded him, thanking him, and asking lots of questions.

"What planets have you seen?" asked the smallest one.

Heron told them about all the things he had seen and the nature on each of the individual planets. Of course he didn't tell them anything about the bounties. Once the little ones had filtered away Heron grabbed the small box on the cart and jogged back to the hut. When he arrived he found Din, talking with a woman who had a small child behind her. He was a little surprised but walked in calmly. The woman almost jumped when she saw him but her surprise was quickly hidden by a kind smile.

"Oh hello," she said.

Her voice was soft and friendly, it reminded him of his mother.

"This is my son," Din told her.

"And what might your name be?"

"You can call me Blue," Heron said.

It was part of his tribe's code. "No outsider shall know your name, only those who wear the skull of the mythosaur." He remembered the first bounty hunt Din took him on. He had told Heron to come up with a short name. Without hesitation Heron blurted out the name Blue, it was what his grandmother called him. She could never remember who he was.

"This is Winta. My name is Omera," she said.

Heron nodded his head to her when she left.

The child made a loud noise to get Herons attention. He picked up the kid and put it on his lap as he sat down. It began playing with all the strings and wood he could reach and Heron gave him a piece of bark to play with.

"This doesn't seem that bad," Heron commented.

"No, It really doesn't," Din said sitting beside him.

They both sat there for a while each engulfed in their own thoughts. Heron didn't know how long it had been when he once again heard Omera's voice.

"Knock, knock," she said.

"Come in," Din told her, standing up.

She walked in holding a small plate of food that she set down beside Heron. Winta came in quietly and quickly hid behind her mother's dress.

"I brought some food for you," she said.

"Thank you."

Dins voice was quiet and soft like he was trying as hard as he could to not scare Winta. He wasn't very good at it. He had a very strong voice. Speaking softly wasn't exactly one of his talents.

"Can I feed him?" Winta asked, pointing at the kid.

"Sure," Din said.

She gave the child what looked like a mushroom. He seemed to like it.

"Can I play with him?" She asked again.

"Of course," Heron said, picking up the child and putting it on the floor. Winta ran out of the hut calling for the child to follow her.
"I don't think-" Din started.

"Don't worry buir, I'll watch them."

Heron ran after Winta and the child who had already attracted a swarm of other kids. He was looking forward to his time on Sorgan.

Cole stepped back and looked at the shelter he built for himself. It was small yet strong and it would definitely protect him from any winds or rain. He felt proud of himself. He hasn't built a shelter in a long time, or climbed a tree. He loved climbing trees. Something about it made him happy, or made him feel bigger than the world around him. It was nice to have a special talent, a talent that not many others shared. He plopped down in the shelter and pulled out a small holopicture of his family. He looked at the helmet of his wonderful, beautiful, amazing, Resha. He could see the blue streaks on her armor and the pink just below her shoulder. He could almost see her face through her helmet. The long brown hair and her green eyes. She had left on a mission, a mission given to her and to her brother, Roen. She would be gone for a year. Five more months and she would return. And hopefully Cole would be waiting there for her. He and Ella would be waiting to hug and smile and laugh. Thinking about his daughter led him to think about his own childhood and his friendship with Din. He had known Din since they were babies. They instantly became friends, and grew up together. He also thought about his brother. When their village had been attacked his brother had tried to save him. They hid in a small building. It blew up. Cole survived, his brother did not. He was left with a giant scar on his forehead that stretched all the way to his ear. When he awoke he had large amounts of brain damage. He had to learn how to walk all over again. Cole then remembered the man who raised him, Zan. He loved Zan, loved him more than he ever loved his own father. He was heartbroken when he died. Cole also remembered the heart crushing feeling when he realized that everyone he loved was gone. He wept for his parents for his brother and mostly he wept for his friend Din. The feeling of joy he felt when he learned that Din was alive was almost too much for him. Cole eventually had to tear his mind away from his younger years. Sure some of it was amazing, but some of it was just too painful to think about. Cole held the spear Zan had given to him hours before he died, and looked at the nexu painted on his helmet. He was the first foundling in the Nexu family, the first of which tamed a nexu generations ago. The nexu family was a long line of Mandalorians who were born Mandalorians. Zan had passed the nexu name onto him and he passed it on to his daughter, who shared the same mark on her helmet.

Cole hadn't realized how late it had become until he looked out at the sun setting over the trees. He took one last look at the holopicture, he held so dearly, and laid his head down on the grass bed he had made, and let the darkness consume his mind.

The next morning Din and Cara set out to find clues as to how much raiders they were dealing with. Din felt uncomfortable leaving Heron all alone. This planet seemed trusting enough, but Din was still on his toes. The last time he left Heron alone with someone "trustworthy" they tried to kill him. If he hadn't sent a distress signal he would have died. Since then Heron was always close by, or in an area where he would be safe alone. He was never left with another person. Sure he was older now, and if anything went wrong he could defend himself. But it was still a lot. Din's mind began to focus less on Heron and more towards their investigation. Din turned on the thermal detector in his helmet and found footprints that were still warm.

"About 15 or 20 of them came here on foot," he told Cara, then looking up and seeing large branches torn off trees. "And something big sheared of those branches. They both walked a couple of feet until they came across a large footprint in the ground.

"AT-ST," Cara said.

"Imperial walker. What's it doing here?"

"I don't know. But this is more than I signed up for."

Heron saw Cara and Din appear from the woods, and immediately demanded information. Din told both Heron and all the village people to gather around.

"Bad news. You can't live here anymore," Din told them.

The small group erupted into questions and angry shouts of confusion.

"Really?" Cara asked.

"What do you think you could do better?"

"Can't do much worse."

Cara stepped forward to explain. Every step she took made Heron angry. She was untrustworthy.

"Look I know that's not the news you wanted to hear," she started, "but there are no other options."

"You took the job!" Shouted one of the people.

"That was before we knew about the AT-ST."

"What's that?"

"The armored walker with two enormous guns which you knew about and didn't tell us."

The group once again grew angry. Heron had to agree with them. They did take the job. And a bounty hunter never leaves a job. But he wasn't about to say that in front of Din. Cara, definitely, just to piss her off. But not Din.

"We have nowhere to go," Omera said.

"Sure you do. This is a big planet. I've seen a lot smaller."

"My grandparents seeded these ponds! It took generations!"

"I understand," Cara said, "I really do. But there are only three of us."

"Four of us," Cole said walking up to the hut.

The people nearly jumped when seeing him and there were a lot of confused faces.

"Yes," Cara said "fine, four. Well I've seen them take down hundreds."

"We can help you!" Omera blurted "You can train us!"

"Be realistic. How could we possibly train you in time?"

"Give us a chance!"

"We are not leaving," Omera firmly said.

"You cannot fight that thing."

"Unless we show them how," Din said.

Cara glared at him with frustration in her eyes. Heron felt pleased that she was angry. He was determined to get her as far away from them as possible. And If that meant annoying her to no end, then that was what was going to happen.

I took months to teach the people how to fight. They were peaceful, most of them couldn't even hold a spear correctly. It's just a stick with a sharpened end. How do you hold a stick incorrectly?! Heron had no idea how but they found each and every way to hold a stick wrong. And only Omera had ever shot a blaster before. Din hung up pots and pans for them to shoot. Sure some of them were hitting but mostly they were just shooting the bushes. Heron was impressed however, by Omera's shooting. She almost never missed her shot. She was definitely not born a farmer.

Over time the people dug huge pits and made tall barriers. They wanted to take the AT-ST down, by making it fall in the ponds. Every day they got closer to when they would strike, and every day they went over the plan more and more until Heron could say it in his sleep. Then finally the dreaded night arrived. Heron and the villagers would help provide cover for Din and Cara, while Cole prepared the children, and stood like a statue outside of the hut they were supposed to stay in. Heron's heart was racing, and every second he thought about the plan the more he thought about how it could all go wrong. What if they were caught? What if they couldn't protect the village? They were putting others lives at risk, others who barely knew how to fight. They were nothing like warriors. They worked hard to learn to fight but even then they barely knew anything. He was sure some of them would die, or be horribly injured.

Heron waited with his hands on his rifle, waiting. He stood without moving, like the others. Suddenly he heard blaster fire and a large explosion.

"Get ready!" Heron commanded the villagers "They're going to come out of there soon! Remember the plan!"

Din and Cara ran out from the forest with the giant machine just behind them. They both jumped behind the barriers, and sat quietly blasters ready. The AT-ST knocked down a trail of trees before slowly approaching the pit.

"This is it," Heron thought.

He was wrong. Just before stepping in the walker pulled its robotic leg back, standing just a foot away from their trap.

"Do you have a plan B?!" Heron shouted at Din.

"Coming up with it right now!"

"Oh great, this plan just keeps getting better and better!"

The AT-ST stopped before shining a spotlight over the wall.

"Everyone get down." Din told them.

The spotlight kept continuing until it stopped on two faces, frozen with fear. It once again stopped before letting out a giant blaster bolt completely destroying the hut behind them.

Suddenly the ponds erupted with shouting as the raiders ran towards them.

"Open fire!" screamed Cara above the noise.

Just as told, the villagers opened fire onto the raiders, who were taken by surprise. Heron and Din focused on disintegrating all the enemies who got in their way.

"We gotta get that thing to step forward." Din said

"I'm thinking," Cara replied. "Got one."

"What do you get?"

"Give me the pulse rifle."

Heron was too involved in shooting to think of a reason to be angry with her. Din handed over the pulse rifle, and Cara ran forward distracting the machine and shooting at it. Sje jumped into a pond and continued firing. She was trying to provoke it. Hiding just at the pond edge where it would have to step forward to reach her. With one step the thing came crashing down into the trap. The villagers ran forward with their spears and Heron was surprised by how well they were doing. Din pulled out a charge and Heron knew immediately that something was going to go wrong. This could be what he saw in the dream. He had to stop him. Din ran at the AT-ST and Heron ran behind him.

"Buir, wait!" Heron screamed.

It was too late. Din placed the charge on the walker and jumped into the pond next to Cara. It was only then that Heron knew he made a mistake. A huge blast rang through his ears and he felt himself pushed backwards. The next few seconds felt like he was floating.

"Am I dead?" He thought.

He couldn't be dead. His head pounded like thousands of boulders had smashed into it. His ears still rang and he was unable to hear anything. He couldn't open his eyes. He tried but he saw nothing, he was blind. He suddenly felt himself gasping for breath, only to realize that he was drowning in water. He tried to push himself upwards but he couldn't move at all. He struggled to reach the surface, panicked by his blindness and the need to breath. Suddenly he felt a hand on his wrist and he was pulled up into the air. He gasped and coughed, choking out water and from what it smelled like he had also coughed up blood. His chest screamed and his head shouted in agony. His hearing slowly came back and he heard Din shouting his name. He tried to respond but couldn't move his lips. Instead he used his hand to tap the metal on Din's armor. They had come up with a code that could be used by taping an object or clicking their tongues. He simply tapped the words "no voice". Din seemed to understand and held Heron in his arms quietly whispering calming words, like he did when he was younger. He felt himself being transported to a bed and his helmet removed. He knew Din was there, he was the only one allowed to see Heron's face. Heron slowly moved his mouth and whispered anything he could. It hurt but he still had to speak.

"Buir?"

"I'm right here Heron."

"Buir please forgive me."

"Why Heron, why did you do that? You were almost killed."

"I was scared, I was scared something would go wrong."

"Scared? You almost gave me a heart attack."

Heron let out a little giggle and quickly regretted it. It made him want to scream.

"Buir, I... I can't see anything."

"Well that's what happens when you look into a giant explosion," Din teased, trying to make Heron happier. "Don't worry, it's only temporary."

Heron tried to find humor in Din's words, but he couldn't. He rolled over and yelped at the pain in his chest.

"Careful, Heron. It will hurt for a while, but thanks to your armor it wasn't bad. It should be able to heal on its own."

"How do you know?"

"Well I did the same thing as you. A couple times actually."

That did put a smile on Heron's face. Thinking of his father doing stupid and foolish things like him, almost made the pain go away.

The next morning was exhausting. Heron had regained his sight but everything was still a little blurry. Omera had led Din to the edge of the ponds where they were talking. Heron was surprised to learn that it was Cara who saved him. Maybe she wasn't the worst. Maybe that dream really was just a dream. Heron slowly walked over to the child who was surrounded by kids. He sat down in the circle they created while giving the child krill to catch and eat. Heron made a loud grunt of pain as he sat down with them.

"Does it hurt much?" Winta asked.

"Not too much," Heron told her. He was lying of course. It hurt to hell and back.

She seemed to know he was lying and ran off and came back a couple of minutes later with a cup of tea with a bamboo straw.

"Here," she said, holding out the drink "It's what my mom makes me when I feel sick."

"Thank you."

Heron sipped the hot drink and he had to admit it did make his pain ease a little. He was thankful for the kindness of Winta, who he had grown quite fond of. Suddenly a blast was shot and Heron saw Omera run towards them and tell them to hide. She helped Heron up and brought him over to a safe spot. Din returned minutes later and informed both he and Cole that a bounty hunter had found them. He was dead now but that meant others would come.

Heron sat on the cart as Din and Cole began packing. The child sat in his arms. It seemed to feel his pain and cuddled close to Heron. Something about the child eased the aching muscles in his body. Once they had all packed they set off for the Razor Crest. But not before waving goodbye to everyone. Once they had arrived Din carried Heron on board and laid him down in the small bed. Din put his hand on Heron's arm a few seconds before climbing in the cockpit. Not long after Heron felt them go into hyperspace. The soft hum of the engines and the cooing of the child eventually caused him to fall asleep. Heron last saw the face of the child before the darkness took over and led Heron into the void. Where he would wait for Ella, and for their journey to once more take them to some other crazy planet with another crazy adventure.

Wow this really took a long time to get out. Thanks to Silvergate48 for coming up with last names (I'll use them in the future) and for everyone who always asked "when is the next chapter coming out?" Don't be afraid to keep asking. It's what motivates me to write. Let me know what you would like to know or read about in the future. I'm going to be creating more Heron and Ella moments and I would also like to keep writing from Cole's point of view. (my favorite character)

If you do leave a comment please tell me what you liked, what you think I should change, and who your favorite character is and why. I love to read what you all think. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! (Next chapter coming soon)