disclaimer: i do not own star wars or any of its associated characters; they all belong to their respective owners. i only own any characters or plotlines that you do not recognize. I also do not own any of the dialogue i may quote from the franchise.

Family

Darkness. All that is known is darkness. He is conscious, yes, but all he sees is darkness. He reaches up and pulls off his helmet, but the darkness does not dissipate. He rubs his eyes and finds that nothing obstructs them.

Din shakes his head in an effort to clear it. Why can he not see?

"Carbon sickness, don't worry your vision should return in a day or two." the voice that speaks is like honey with a hint of gravel that tells him that she is tired.

"Nova?" Din stares at nothing. How is it that in his effort to find her, she has found him first? He reaches out to where he heard her voice and his fingers snag in her curls.

"You were frozen, like me, in carbonite." Nova's voice is quiet. She has bad news that she doesn't want to share. She is nervous.

"How long were we frozen?" Din prompts her. She sighs.

"I know for me it was twenty five years, I don't know how long after I was taken you were out there for but I would assume it's around the same time."

Din lets that information sink in. The world around him has changed and evolved for almost twenty five years, and he has no idea what those differences are. The only constants are Nova, who sits beside him now, and the knowledge that Grogu is probably still a child considering how slowly his species ages.

"How did you find me?" he asks. He tries to sit up but that only makes him dizzy so he lays back down. Wherever he is, it feels moist. Humid. He can smell water and trees. And tea? He must be inside considering he is laying on a bed. Nova must have made tea for he smells fruit and herbs.

Nova launches into a story of how she awoke on Moff Gideons cruiser, a fact that angers Din but he doesn't let that anger come to the surface. He will deal with it later. She tells him of Vega, the doctor who helped her escape. Of Greef Karga and how he still has the Darksaber. Of the coordinates the two women followed to find a room of differing species all frozen in carbonite.

"Some of them didn't make it." Nova says. "We loaded them all into the cargo ship we stole and brought all of them here, to Sorgan. When we unfroze everyone, some couldn't take it. We are still digging graves. But Vega, I can see why she was taken, she's an excellent healer. She can use the force too, but not like I used to. She uses it to revive people, and all she has to do is touch them which is how I got around not taking your helmet off."

"Sorgan? We are on Sorgan?"

"Yes. I remembered you telling me about it, I thought it might be a good place to lay low. We found an abandoned town and set up camp."

She helps Din sit and she gives him a glass of water. They sit in silence for a while. Din can hear small splashes, from a pond perhaps.

"Used to?" something clicks in Dins mind. Something Nova had said. "You said, 'how you used to use the force'?"

Nova goes still. "He took it." she whispers.

"What?"

"Gideon, somehow, someway, he used some kind of technique to take my connection to the force and bring back someone."

Nova's voice catches and she stops to breathe. Din can hear tears in her speech. "I spent so long running from what I could do, and when I finally decided that it was a part of me, when I realized it wasn't a curse. And now it's gone. One more choice stolen from me."

"I'm sorry." Din says, his voice soft. That anger tries to rise again but he tempers it. Anger wont help here.

"It's fine. You're here now so it's better. It's… it's just hard." Nova says. "I can't feel you like I used to."

"Im here."

"I know," she grasps his hand. "I know."

0

Din sits, apart from his armor, at a table. He has since learned that he is in a one room hut, a thin bed in the corner with a table pressed against a wall. A chest for storing belongings sits at the foot of the bed, Din learned this by running into it with his toe, but if there is more furniture he can't tell. It's been almost a day since he awoke and everything is still dark, though he is beginning to become sensitive to light.

Nova left a few hours ago to aid Vega in taking care of the others they rescued. Apparently only two others have regained consciousness, the rest remain asleep.

A breeze comes through an open window and brushes against Dins skin. His arms are bare, a feeling he is unaccustomed to. Even when he lived on Tatooine without donning his armor he wore long sleeves. He rubs the skin as if that will help, his fingers pausing to trace a scar on his upper arm. He remembers this scar, he got it on Arvala-7 in his efforts to retrieve the Child.

Footsteps rouse him from his mind, he turns his head to listen as Nova enters the small hut. Not having access to his sight has given him the opportunity to focus on his other senses. Nova's steps are light, yet firm and they carry her to the back of the hut to the table where Din sits.

"Good, you're up." she comments. She places her hands on his arm and pulls him to his feet. "Exercise will help your body fight the carbon sickness."

"You are walking me in circles."

"Yes, I know."

Din sighs. His feet are bare as well, the feeling of dirt under his toes is a strange feeling, one he hasn't had in years. He is unaccustomed to the uncomfortability of dirt and the way it squeezes itself into one's skin. He takes his steps slow, not because of the blindness though that is a contributing factor, but because of the dirt and its small lumps that cause pain if they hit the right places.

"We could dance if you'd rather." Nova quips. Din snorts.

"We both despise dancing."

"I know I was kidding."

Din raises an eyebrow and looks at Nova, hoping that he is meeting her gaze on some level. He is not.

"It's funny you think you're looking at my face." she says. Dins eyebrows lower.

"Where am I looking?"

"Think lower."

Din feels his face flush and he moves his head. Nova laughs. She inhales as if she is about to speak but Din stops, he can hear footsteps approaching the hut.

"That must be Vega." Nova murmurs. She guides Din back to the table.

"Nova!" a feminine voice calls from outside the hut. "Another one woke up."

"I'll be back." Nova says to Din. Her footsteps leave the hut and become distant.

0

The doorway of the hut slowly comes into focus, the soft wood and hanging curtain forms from blurs to solid shapes. Din squeezes his eyes shut, rubs them, then opens them again. The doorway is still there, the curtain sways in the breeze.

Nova appears in the doorway, she pushes the curtain to the side as she steps through, it sways shut when she lets go. Her hair is down, red curls reaching for her waist.

"I'm going to be heading into town." she says, she moves closer to the table. "I'm going to see if there are any odd jobs or anything like that. We need credits and well, we have none so while Vega takes care of everyone I'm going to see if I can solve that problem."

Din nods. "I'll go with you, no use in sitting here."

"No offense, but I'm not sure we can lie our way out of you not being able to see." Nova says, an eyebrow raised and the sides of her lips turning up in a grin.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

Nova's eyebrows lower and she frowns. She pauses a few feet from Din, squints, and holds up a hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Seriously?"

"How many?"

"Four."

Nova steps back. "How long have you been able to see?"

"For about two minutes."

Nova frowns again. She steps forward and whacks his arm. "Ass."

"For not rushing out the minute I got my vision back?" Din asks, though he is fighting a grin.

Nova huffs. "Still an ass." she then grabs the beskar staff from its place beside the bed, and walks to the opening of the hut. "If you still want to come with me, I suggest you hurry." she leaves the hut. Din sits for a few moments before moving to retrieve his armor.

0

The small trading town is layed out how Din remembers it. Things are older now, wood is bleached and peeling in a way it wasn't before, and the people don't offer as many quick grins. He and Nova pass through the market and head to the cantina, they pass vendors who eye them with mistrust and some even hold malice.

The inside of the cantina isn't much better. The bartender, then a cheery woman and now a weathered old man, wipes off a glass and watches Din and Nova approach.

"We're looking for work." Nova leans her arms against the counter.

"Hunter or 'giver'?" the bartender asks. Nova wrinkles her nose at his insinuation.

"Hunters." she says. Din glances around the cantina, taking in its people. Two humanoids with tusks sit at a table by the back entrance, small blasters hidden under their coats. A Twi'lek sips spotchka at the bar across from Din and Nova. A group of three laugh merrily at a table in the center of the cantina, half empty bottles of sticky brown liquid are thrown up every other word and are clinked together.

"Ask around. I have no work for you." the bartender says. He turns away from them and goes to the Twi'lek to refresh his drink. Din sighs and leads Nova to a table near the back and they sit.

They sit for around an hour, watching the patrons mill about. Many come in, others leave. Two humanoids come in and sit at a table near Din and Nova. They shake from anxiety, dark purple smears under their eyes hinting at their lack of sleep. Din looks at Nova and gives her a small nod. She gets up and walks to the two humanoids table.

"Mind if I sit?" she asks. The two shake their heads. One is a woman with short hair, the other's head is shaved and his eyes are rimmed with red. "What troubles you?"

"A curse." the bald one mumbles.

"Our village is haunted." the woman says. Nova's eyebrows raise. The woman sighs and continues. "I'm sure that it is not an actual ghost,"

"I am." the bald one says. The woman shushes him.

"It's not a ghost. I found a machine where some of the eerie sounds were originating, but I cannot explain the other things that have happened. Someone is haunting us, though I do not know why."

"That's a sad story." Nova says, her voice soft with purpose. "Is there any way my friend and I might ease your troubles?"

The woman's eyebrows lower. "You're prostitutes?"

"Why is that the immediate assumption." Nova mumbles to Din, who represses a snort. Nova turns back to the woman. "No, but we are hunters. We can find your ghost and rid you of him, for a price."

"Oh, yes." the woman gasps. "Please. We are a rich village, most of this planet's spotchka production comes from us. We are more than willing to pay you for your troubles."

Din gets up and moves to sit with Nova at the villagers table. "How far out is your village?"

"Just a day out." the woman says. "I am Elise, this is my brother Nathan."

"Im Nova." Nova says. "We can leave immediately if you'd like."

Elise looks confused. She glances at Din. "you didn't introduce your friend. Does he have a name?"

Din shifts, Nova tilts her head.

"His name isn't necessary for you to know." she says. "Do you have a way of transportation?"

Elise frowns. "Yes, we have a speeder."

"Good." Nova stands when Din does. "Then let's go."

Elise and Nathan lead Din and Nova to a beaten up speeder at the edge of town. The siblings climb in first and stare at Din and Nova expectantly. Nova exhales slowly and climbs in. Din resists the urge to shake his head before he too climbs in. The speeder shakes as it starts. It sputters and jerks forward. As it flies across the ground Nathan turns to look at Din and Nova.

"This is the only speeder we could find that still worked." he yells above the wind. "All the others had been disabled."

Nathan turns to look forward again. Din leans towards Nova and whispers.

"I've seen warlords angry when they are unable to own a town, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one somehow haunting this village until they give him control." he says.

"We can ask Elise if she knows of anyone like that when we get there." Nova shoots the woman a nervous look. "Right now I don't want to distract her."

Elise drives the speeder with an insane intensity. It flies faster than it should, and rattles as the wind beats it. If the speeder were to crumple, Din would not be shocked. He sighs and tries to ignore the desire to fly overhead via jetpack.

Trees pass on either side in green blurs though they slowly start to thin as the speeder approaches the village. Elise drives the speeder into a rundown barn at the edge of town and parks. She and her brother climb out and Din follows them.

Nova almost leaps out of the speeder. She brushes off her pants and widens her stance to balance herself. Elise and Nathan take no notice as they start to walk towards a door in the side of the barn.

"Feel free to kiss the ground if you need to." Din says to Nova, who aims a kick at his leg. He dodges and follows the siblings out of the building. Nova huffs and jogs after them.

"This guy moved into town a few weeks ago." Nathan says as he and Elise lead Din and Nova behind buildings and houses. "He's been saying how he can get rid of the ghosts for us, and many people believe him. Our people have been willingly giving up our hard earned credits so that this man can 'do his job' or whatever it is he is actually doing."

Nova gives Din a look. Din tilts his head as he walks.

"All I've seen this man do is eat our food and get drunk off our spotchka." Elise says. Nova grips the beskar staff a bit tighter. "He speaks sweet words though, all our people sit to listen to him every night as he shares his stories."

"Bring us to him and we will do our best to get rid of him for you." Din says. "He is probably the one behind the hauntings."

"Why would he do that?" Nathan says.

"It's a profits trick." Nova says. "Someone I used to know used it a lot. Its manipulation plain and simple, you create a problem for a person, then you 'fix' it. Makes you into a hero and your mark is usually none the wiser."

They come up to the center of the town, where a bearded man sits with his feet propped up. A glass of spotchka is in his hand and a strange looking device is in his other. He waves the device every few seconds. The townspeople who have crowded around him watch his actions with interest. One villager brings him a plate of fruit.

"I'm tired of dealing with cult leaders." Din says to Nova.

"You and me both." she says. "Do you remember the idiot who thought he had killed a 'beskar'?"

Din nods.

"Friends!" the man shouts from his place where he is lounging. "Come, join us! I was just cleansing the air of ghosts." his eyes shift from Elise and Nathan to Din and Nova. "And who are your friends?"

"He seems friendly." Din remarks to Nova, sarcasm cutting his tone. She snorts and walks forward.

"We too are ghost hunters in a sense and came to offer our services." she says, a pleasant, and fake, smile is plastered on her lips.

The change in the man is instant. He sits up and glares at them, humor gone from his eyes. "My people, do not listen to these charlottens." he says. "They come here to take me from you, and if I go, the ghosts will return."

"How do we know you aren't causing the ghosts?" Elise snaps. One of the villages gasps.

"Hush dear," one of the women in the village says to Elise. "You should have seen him while you were gone. He was so brave, saved my Timmy's life."

"Please, townspeople, remove these pretenders. They bring you nothing but harm." the man says. The townspeople start shouting obscenities at Din and Nova.

Nova turns to Elise. "We will play the part of the wounded animal and flee, but we will return."

Elise nods. Din and Nova leave the center of the town and make for the forest surrounding it.

Evening sets in as the sun lowers in the sky, darkness envelops the forest and casts deep shadows on the ground. Din and Nova sit half a mile away from the town around a fire Din has built. They plan and discuss what they should do and how they should do it.

"What if we found his way of haunting the village?" Din says.

"Elise said she had found a machine of some kind, maybe he has them spread throughout the village." Nova responds.

"We could find them and remove them, if they give off a signature then the heat tracking in my helmet should be able to find them easily." Din places a hand on his helmet which sits beside him.

"If we just removed them then we have no way of tying them back to that man. Just the machines being there isn't enough evidence to prove that he did it."

"Maybe we could set a trap, get him to go to one of the machines, proving that he knows where they are."

Nova tilts her head. "That could work."

Under the cover of night, Din and Nova make their way back to the village. All the villagers sleep, snores can be heard through the walls of their huts. Din touches the controls on his helmet and adjusts them on his vambrace. The heat signatures flicker to life in his visor and he follows the smaller ones in hopes of finding the machines. A small flickering catches his eye and he leads Nova to a hut where a small heat signature is hidden at the base. Nova crouches down and unearths a strange looking device, no bigger than her palm. She shrugs and holds onto it as she and Din continue to search for more.

They find another near the center of town, but they leave that one where it is. They find thirteen others hidden in various places throughout the village and they take and hide them all back at their makeshift camp. For the rest of the evening Din and Nova take shifts, one sleeps while the other stands watch. The one who stays awake works on the machines to disable them.

Light filters through the trees as the sun rises. Din and Nova have already begun their trek back through the forest and towards the village. They go slowly to preserve energy, and they discuss the specifics of their trap.

It feels like it was only a few months ago that Nova was taken. Only a few days since he woke up from the carbon freeze, Din tries to process how it has been twenty five years since he last saw Nova. Twenty five years since they last worked together to solve a problem. Twenty five years lost. He regrets the lengths of time he spent being angry with her, or the arguments that took too long to be resolved. Maybe from now on they would treat their time with honor and respect, giving it the proper attention that it deserves.

But in all honesty, Din is glad to be with her again. To walk beside her in this forest. Even if they don't know what to do next at least they are together. There is, and Din suspects there always will be, an empty space reserved for Grogu as well. Maybe in the future he and Nova will search for him, at the very least to ensure that he is okay and that he is thriving.

Din and Nova reach the village as breakfast commences. Villagers sit about on steps and stools clutching plates. They laugh together and visit. For a moment the village feels almost normal, until the man who has wittingly taken control steps out of a hut and struts into the throng of people. He opens his mouth to speak, when he glances up to see Din and Nova standing at the edge of the crowd.

"I thought I told you to leave." the man shouts. The villagers fall silent and turn their eyes to the trespassers.

"You did," Din says.

"We changed our minds and decided to stay anyways." Nova says. "And it's a good thing we did, for we searched your village and found these." Nova holds up one of the devices that she brought with her.

"What is that?" Nathan shouts, Elise catches onto the ruse and nods. Some other villagers voice their curiosity as well.

The "ghost hunter" looks shocked. He runs to where one of his devices is hidden, the device Nova and Din had left behind. He breathes a sigh of relief.

"You are bluffing." the man says.

"How did you know where it was?" Elise shouts. Villagers start to stand up.

"I…" the man stammers. "They are my ghost repellers. They keep away the ghosts."

"Then why didn't you tell us about them?" Elise says. More villagers stand up.

"They would be more inclined to believe you if you demonstrated what these devices do." Nova says. She passes the device in her hand to Din. "Since you probably won't, we will."

Din flips the hidden switch he had found that night. Eerie wailing sprawls from the device and many villagers cover their ears. Din turns it off and the villagers turn to look at the man standing in their midst.

Elise walks through the villagers as they close in on the man. She comes to stand in front of Din and Nova, a pouch is held in one of her hands.

"We can take this from here, thank you for what you have done for us in showing them the truth." Elise says. She hands Din the pouch. "Here is your payment as promised. And here is an ignition key. That man had a ship but I doubt he will be needing it anymore."

Nova takes the ignition key. "Will your people kill him?"

Elise smiles. "What you dont know wont hurt you." she points them in the direction of the man's ship and leaves them standing alone as she enters into the fray of her angry villagers.

Din shrugs and turns away from the villagers. He and Nova find the man's ship at the edge of town and press the ignition key into the ignition. The ship roars to life.

Din pilots the ship over the trees and towards the abandoned village Vega and Nova had claimed. He lands next to their cargo ship and powers down the newest ship. He and Nova disembark, clutching the bag of credits and the knowledge that they had won at what they had set out to do.

Vega stands in the midst of a few of her patients who all sit in the sun. She sees Din and Nova approaching and she runs up to them.

"We got credits, and a ship." Nova says. She hands the bag to Vega who holds it close.

"I will hide this." Vega promises, more to herself then the people standing before her. Nova laughs. "And you will have to share with me the story of how you got all of this later."

Nova promises that she will. She and Din walk through the path that leads to their hut, it is a bit more secluded as Nova had assumed Din would want privacy. They enter and Nova goes to lean against the table. Din sits and pulls off his helmet. The device, which he had kept, now sits on the table and he studies it.

"Din," Nova starts, drawing Dins eyes from the device and to her. "Gideon said something when I was on his cruiser."

Din nods, encouraging her to continue. She takes in a deep breath as if to steady herself.

"He called me Nova Djarin. Was he wrong?"

Din studies her for a moment, his heart has begun to pound and his throat feels dry. "Do you want him to be?"

Nova thinks for a moment. She glances at her feet before looking back at him. "No,"

"Then he wasn't."

Nova smiles. They both rest with the knowledge that maybe, just maybe, they can begin again. That this life they have now can be all that they make it to be.