Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Location: Christophsis
Din patiently waited at the perimeter of the site of the explosion while the intelligence team carefully walked through the chard debris.
He hadn't slept since prior to their arrival to the planet and was exhausted. Caffeine was no longer effective, and he secretly wished he'd asked a doctor to prescribe a stimulant for him to take. He made a mental note the inquire about that in the near future.
Wedge walked up to him and asked, "Anything yet?"
Din shook his head. "No, there's not a hell of a whole lot left, so intelligence is their taking their time to see if they can get anything", he said. "How's the team doing?"
"They were cleared through medical and had a few burns and scrapes treated", Wedge replied. "Have you had a chance to go through medical yet?"
"Not yet. I put some bacta salve on a few burns, but since there was nothing serious, I'll get checked out later", Din said. He didn't have time for a full examination and had to make do with what he had in his kit.
"Fair enough. Anything from the local government?" Wedge asked.
"They've requested a meeting. The Captain of the Reliant said he was contacted, and the governor wants a representative to meet him at the capitol building, but I asked that he arrange a meeting on the Reliant", Din said. "Once I have a chance to review any intelligence, I'll need to consult with the Emperor before I meet with him."
Wedge snorted. "It'll be pretty hard for them to defend that they didn't know the depot was here."
"That's what I'm thinking too. Christophsis has been loyal since the end of the Civil War with the Separatists, so the entire situation is confusing", Din said as he rubbed a minor burn on the back of his neck.
"Okay. I'm going back to the ship and call Dalia to let her know that I'm safe. You might want to do the same with the Princess when you get a chance", Wedge said as he turned to leave.
"Yeah, that's a good idea", Din responded as he felt guilty from his actions last night.
Wedge walked away and Din resumed his focus on the intelligence crew.
Lieutenant Alysia walked to him. "We've found a few things so far, Commander."
Din exhaled and said, "Okay, what do you have?"
"It looks like there was a lot of small arms, but there were some pretty heavy weapons as well." The Lieutenant produced a clear plastic bag out of a hard case and handed it to him.
The bag contained what looked like a melted computer chip.
"This looks like a guidance chip", Din said as he examined the melted metal.
"That's what we think as well", Alysia said. "We'll need to run a few tests on it, but my guess is it's an older model for a civil war Imperial concussion missile."
Din looked up. "I'm sure there's a lot of tech from that era floating around on the black market, but I find it hard to believe that the Slavers would just let one sit in a munitions depot. From the number of secondary explosives there had to be more than one."
Alysia just nodded; the implications of her findings weren't good.
The Slavers had to have a sophisticated arms dealer to have this type of weaponry at their disposal.
"Put the analysis of this at the priority level. There had to have been some heavy transports to get this kind of hardware to and from the system", he continued.
"Yes, Sir", Alysia acknowledged.
Din watched the young intelligence officer walk back into the debris.
He turned on his heel and walked to the landing zone. He needed to have a discussion with Anakin.
Location: Christophsis – Aboard the Reliant
Din took a shuttle back to the Reliant while he worked on a draft of his after-action report.
Upon his arrival he went to his quarters and sat down at his hyperspace com terminal and keyed in Anakin's private frequency.
He waited while the computer system initiated the call.
It took a few minutes, but the Emperor finally answered.
"Din, what Sith is going on?" Anakin asked.
"So, you've heard", Din replied dryly.
"It's all over the holonet. An anonymous source leaked a recording of the fire and the entire galaxy knows something happened on an Imperial planet", Anakin continued.
Shit, Din thought. He really needed to get in touch with Leia and let her know he was okay.
"Once we breached the compound, the combatants began attempting to blow the facility. We were able to stop one group, but obviously another bomb was set. We evacuated with minimal casualties", Din reported.
"The government on Christophsis has filed a formal complaint with the senate. Have you been able to find anything form the explosion site?" Anakin asked, the stress of the situation was evident in his voice.
"We've located what appears to be a Civil War era guidance chip of a concussion missile. The chip needs to be analyzed to confirm the model, but it's obvious that this facility wasn't just for small arms", Din replied. "That type of hardware wouldn't be easily transported in with a small freighter. There had to be heavy lift transports moving in and out of the system."
"We have defense satellites in orbit of the planet, correct?" Anakin asked.
Din knew where Anakin was going. "Yes, we do. We should be able to access the logs with a master command code. I'll have intelligence pull the logs. There'll be a lot of traffic, but we should be able to track any heavy lift transports or capital ships, even if the logs were manipulated by the locals."
Anakin leaned back in his chair as he contemplated the situation. "If you can confirm your theory, this is what I want you to do…"
Anakin went into detail on Din's instructions. Anakin retained certain powers outside of the Senate's control, so there was a certain latitude on how certain situations could be dealt with.
Din recalled Lieutenant Alysia to the Reliant and instructed her to pull the data from the satellites and additionally sent a message to the local government requesting an extension to the meeting, which was approved.
He looked at a chrono set to Coruscant's local time and saw it was eight in the evening.
He sat back down at his hyperspace terminal and keyed in Leia's frequency. It again took a few minutes for the connection, but Leia answered as soon as one was made.
"Din", she exclaimed. "I was worried, all of the holonet news channels are reporting on the explosion. Are you alright?"
Din again felt guilty. "I'm alright, just a few minor burns and a couple of pulled muscles", he replied honestly, not wanting to lie to her.
The relief was evident on Leia's face. "What are you going to do? Mothma has requested an emergency meeting with the intelligence committee."
"We're working on something right now. I can't go into details, but we'll be here at least another day", Din replied.
Leia nodded in response. "I understand. Do what you need to do, I'll be here when you get back", she said. Her tone conveyed that she was still concerned.
"I can't wait to get back. How does another date sound?" He asked wanting to give the both of them something to look forward to.
She smiled, "Of course. It's my turn to think of something, so I'll let you know when you get back."
"Sounds good. I'll be thinking of you", Din said.
"Me too", Leia replied.
Din ended the connection and sighed. Being in a relationship was complicated, he thought. Worth it, but complicated.
He flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes. He was so tired he neglected to follow his usual sleep routine of a stiff drink and a sedative.
A Year After Mustafar. Location: Unknown
A ten-year old Din Djarin woke up from a nightmare of his parents' death and his rescue by Death Watch.
He had spent the last year with the Children of the Watch and learned about Mandalorian customs and history. While he missed his parents and his old life, he found purpose with the Mandalorian's.
There were strict rules of conduct, but as a Foundling he was family.
Din got up from his pallet and stretched. His protectors had gone off on a raid and he was left alone in the enclave. They moved frequently, so there was little stability in his life aside from the Code.
Too young to be trained as a warrior or wear Beskar armor, he was frequently left by himself.
Curious as to the surrounding on the planet he was on, he decided to venture out of the tunnels. No one would know he'd left the confines of the tunnels, he thought.
He climbed out of the tunnels using a ladder and squinted in the daylight. He noticed he near a market, so he walked towards it with curiosity.
There were beings of different races that he didn't recognize and languages that were guttural to high pitched. No one spoke any Basic from what he could tell.
He caught the gaze of a human who was on the other side of the market. The man was staring at him intensely which made Din feel uncomfortable.
Din started to feel dread in his stomach as the man flanked by two aliens began walking towards him. He quickly turned around and started to walk back to the alley.
He rounded the corner of the alley way and saw a large humanoid who blocked his path.
"Where you goin boy?" The being asked in broken basic.
Din felt cold fear wash over him. "Please let me pass", he said to the being as he tried to muster up courage.
"You look lost, let me find your parents", the being said in a sinister tone.
"My family is coming back, they'll be here soon. Please leave me alone", the boy said.
He turned to walk away but saw that the human and two other aliens were right behind him.
"I think you should come with us, young man", the human said.
"Please… leave me alone", Din pleaded. He was immensely regretful of his decision to wonder out of the enclave.
He was about to try and run away from the group when he felt a sting in his shoulder. He looked to his left and saw a syringe.
His eyes felt heavy and he immediately passed out.
Three months later. Location: Unknown
Din braced himself as he felt lash after lash of a leather whip. His master had been drinking again and was punishing Din for an unknown.
He fought back screaming as tears ran out of his eyes. He felt blood running down his back as the beating continued.
"Stupid boy", the man shouted. "I don't know why I keep ya around, ya keep fuckin up everythin."
The foul stench urine and liquor emanated from the man.
"Please stop", Din begged. "I'm sorry."
He felt a sharp kick to his ribs which knocked the wind out of him. He curled up into a ball.
"You shut yer damn mouth, boy", the man sneered. "If you say anythin else I'm going to break yer damn neck."
Din he fought to keep from screaming so the beating would stop.
Just as he felt like he couldn't take anymore, he felt a blunt object crack over the back of his head, knocking him out.
Present Day. Location: Christophsis – Aboard the Reliant
Din woke up drenched in sweat. He sat up straight in his bed in a panic as he looked around his quarters.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe slowly to calm down.
Once he had his breathing under control, he opened his eyes.
Damn, he thought. It'd been a long time since he had a dream about his childhood. After being prescribed sedatives, his nightly routine of taking one with a drink prevented most nightmares.
That and the night he had spent with Leia. Her presence was very soothing.
He got up and looked at the chrono his wrist com. He had only slept for a couple of hours.
He thought about taking a sedative, but quickly decided against it. He needed to check on the intelligence gathering so he could meet the planetary government's representative.
Din quickly dressed in his black fatigues and winced as the fabric of his pants rubbed against the minor burns on his legs.
He made his way to the bridge of the Star Destroyer and met with the Captain.
"Commander Djarin", Captain Yaran greeted.
"Captain", Din replied. "Any word on the data mining from the satellites?"
"Yes, they're compiling a report now. I've been told that there is clear indication of heavy lift transports arriving in the system at least once a week. The data is accurate enough to place their landing in the same vicinity of the weapons compound", Yaran replied.
"That's good enough for me. What's the name of the planetary governor?" Din asked as he recalled Anakin's instructions.
"Governor Retoulian. Collin Retoulian", the Captain said.
Din nodded. "Have communications contact Retoulian and let him know that he'll be received in the main hanger bay. Send a shuttle and a Stormtrooper escort, I want him to feel confidence before I speak with him."
"That sounds like a good idea, Commander", the Captain smugly responded.
"Once he's in the air, let's deactivate the satellite network", Din continued.
The Captain nodded and Din spun on his heels and headed for the hanger bay to prepare for the Governor's arrival.
It took an hour to collect the Governor from the planet's capital.
Din stood alone with his hands behind his back as the shuttle landed. He had a difficult time keeping his anger at bay after what he'd learned.
The landing ramp lowered, and the Governor walked out. He was a short and portly man with large jowls, dressed in colorful robes. Din immediately picked up the man's arrogant attitude.
"Excuse me, Commander. I'm here to discuss the actions of the Empire on my planet. Where is the captain?" The man demanded.
"You're actually going to speak with me, Mr. Retoulian", Din responded coldly.
The Governor looked Din up and down with a frown on his face. "I'm the governor of this world, I am not going to speak about this incident with a mere commander", he sneered.
"I'm going to ask you a question and I want an honest answer, Governor", Din said slowly. "Do you believe the Empire is incompetent?"
"With your blundering actions last night, I would say so, yes", Retoulian replied.
"Are you aware that the planetary defense satellites that the Empire gave to your world have a hidden backup command?" Din asked as he set up his trap.
The Governor visibly swallowed.
"This backup command shows heavy lift transports arriving and departing from the Slaver's facility. It also shows that the command code that we gave to you personally was used to erase the logs from the primary system", Din said.
"I have no response to these allegations", Retoulian said fearfully.
"Are you also aware that the Emperor maintains the authority to expel planets from the Empire?" Din continued.
The Governor froze. "You wouldn't dare, the Senate…"
"The Senate doesn't have a say in this, Retoulian", Din said as his voice grew colder. "Your greed has earned you nothing. In fact, we're going to leave a Star Destroyer in orbit over your planet to collect the satellite defense system. After that, your personal accounts on Coruscant will be seized. The detailed logs and information will be released to every holonet news outlet so your people will know why they're no longer entitled to Imperial citizenship."
The Governor was petrified. "I'll be charged and jailed if you do this", the man whispered.
"You're lucky this is all we're doing, Retoulian", Din responded.
The Governor looked over his shoulder as he heard Stormtroopers marching up behind him.
"Escort Mr. Retoulian back to the spaceport", Din commanded. He turned around and began to walk towards the exit of the hanger.
"Wait, we'll be defenseless if we're attacked by pirates. What will we do?" The Governor pleaded.
"Call a Hutt", Din responded.
Justice could be cold.