CH 13
13.
"The Empire is gone."
"Not entirely." Zo replied. "A few small victories, a few years of relative peace does not mean the Empire is gone." She pulled her robes closer around her body and looked into his visor. "The Jedi believed the Sith were gone. They hid in the shadows for hundreds of years biding their time…I sense we do not have that kind of luxury."
Mando sighed, "Then we should get moving." He spread his arms motioning for her to step into them.
She put her hands on her hips and looked up at the sky. "It's a beautiful day. Why don't we walk?" She said with only a hint of persuasion in her voice. He didn't bother shaking his head, he simply tilted his helmet and she stepped forward head hung with resignation. Cricket giggled, excited they were going to fly again. "This is ridiculous, " she muttered. "I didn't mean we don't have that much time...I don't even know if they're really on their way here…"
"It's fast and I don't feel like walking back to town," Mando replied, helping her get secure in his arms before he took off. She buried her face in his neck and breathed in his calm warmth so she didn't have to watch the ground disappear below them.
Saying goodbye to the little house brought along a sense of melancholy as Zo packed Crickets pram full of toys and snacks. She made sure to bring along the datapad Karga bought and the teething ring Cara whittled. Then they said goodbye to their friends, for now at least. Din didn't want to believe the Empire was still out there, perhaps Moff Gideon and the others were zealots clinging to the burning embers of former glory. But he also knew the universe didn't exactly care what you wanted to believe; it was going to do its own thing. So he told Cara and Greef to keep their heads down and paid the mechanic, Terfan, a bonus to forget the Razor Crest had been there.
Just in case.
She watched the recorded message a dozen times, studying the burly, frizzy-haired man, memorizing his voice and mannerisms. Not that she could sense what the man on the recording was thinking but she searched for a lie or deception in the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes.
The man, Ranzar Malk or just 'Ran' to his friends and close associates, chomped on a soggy cigar as he stared into the recording. "Mando! Long time no see, pal. Look, I'll keep this short a little birdie told me you're lookin' for your people. Well, I've got some info you might find helpful…" He paused to spit out a bit of tobacco. "Jox blew his last job, his last- last job with me. I know, I know I told you that piece of shit was excommunicado for the shit he pulled on Batuu but those damn pheromones of his come in handy…" The man sighed and shook his head like he was regretting the life choices that brought him to make this recording. "Bring him in alive and we'll discuss how much that info's gonna cost ya."
That was it. A thirty-five second recording. The entirety of the 'job' Greef had handed off to Mando. The holo was delivered directly to the former cantina with specific instructions to release only to the Mandalorian bounty hunter. That fact alone raised serious suspicions with Zo. She stared at the recording, leaned forward, and pressed play again. Mando let out a disgruntled huff, spun in his seat, and ejected the holodisk.
"Enough." He groused, tucking the disk out of her reach.
She leaned back, eyeing her fingers, wanting to chew the nails to nubs. Instead, she tucked her hands between her thighs to keep them safely out of reach. Cricket played on the cockpit floor between them, babbling and cooing at the many colorful toys Uncle Greef bestowed on him as a farewell gift. "Pal? This guy is your friend?" Zo asked with a heavy dose of skepticism. Mando had yet to acknowledge her as such and after his behavior that morning she didn't feel they were any closer to the milestone.
He tilted his head, weighing his words. "No. We were...associates. I worked with him before I joined the Guild."
"Doing what?"
He turned his seat back towards the control panel without answering. Zo stared at the back of his silver helmet feeling him seal up his mind, slamming air locks shut as she tried to sense what he was hiding. She felt regret and apprehension drifting from him. "I'm not judging, Mando…" She said quietly. "I would never-"
Some of the tension left his shoulders, "Ran runs his own syndicate, black market mostly...you name it he's got a finger in it: spice, slavers, hyper-lane robbery. I helped him when he needed muscle or...someone to take targets out...I did what I had to do to survive." He added firmly.
Zo nodded slowly, she understood that. "Why would he reach out now?"
"I don't know. We didn't exactly part ways on good terms-" Mando paused and looked down as Cricket pulled on his cape, reaching his little hands up towards the silver gear knob. He unscrewed the ball and handed it to the baby before continuing, "But if Ran says he might know where Mandalorians are we have to check it out."
"And Jox? He's another associate?"
A disgusted scoff hissed out of his vocoder. "Hardly, worked with him on a handful of jobs. That Falleen piece of…whatever's he done must have been pretty bad if Ran wants me to be the one to bring him in."
Zo watched as Mando reached out to various contacts sprinkled all over the galaxy, making holocalls, trading information and snarky banter with rough-looking men, women, and everything in between. A short while later, the Crest was traveling in the hyper-lane towards Aargonar, the last known location of the Falleen fugitive. Whatever else the man beneath all the armor was, he was an excellent bounty hunter.
Eventually, the kid tired of the small confines of the cockpit, so he and Zo retreated to the hold. Din was comforted by the sounds of them causing a ruckus. Storage boxes crashed, Cricket laughed, and Zo mumbled something about the Force and concentration. The few times he checked on them he found Cricket clinging to her, quiet and content in her arms as she set about organizing their things amongst Mando's arsenal. She didn't necessarily ask to move his collection of blasters to make room for the baby's toys and snacks but he also didn't necessarily mind. The month away from the kid had been a lonely reminder of his prior existence.
The small ship, built for a crew of two, modified to fit one, would now be home to the three of them for the foreseeable future. Din was as close to happy as he'd been in a long time. Eventually, the noises quieted down as Zo readied the baby for bed. She apparently didn't need to bribe him with a box full of churro cakes or sing inappropriate drinking songs in an attempt to lull him to sleep. Again Din felt something almost like gratitude for the woman that shouldered her way into their life.
She kept the child safe. She had given him something Din had been unable to: a chance to be a kid in a warm home, surrounded by toys and a soft bed to sleep in every night. Something he probably hadn't had since the Great Purge. She had done what he asked and was still doing what he asked. Cricket sorted his colored marbles and held up the correct ones when Mando quizzed him. Whether that meant he was closer to becoming a Jedi he didn't know but it would come in handy if the pivot mechanism in the forward repeating blaster cannons went on the fritz again.
And then he had dropped back into their life and immediately given her a load of shit because the kid woke up cranky.
"Fuck." He muttered to the empty cockpit. What was that in the pit of his stomach? The burning acidy feeling bubbling up his throat when he thought about what he said to her. Chagrin? Regret? Maybe a touch of shame? He had had long nights with the kid, especially when they were running from the Guild. When Din was lucky he got an hour of sleep every few days. "Fuck." He repeated, pushing himself out of his chair.
He slid down the ladder and found the hold lights dimmed. Cricket snored softly in his hammock, a knitted Ewok clutched against his chest. Her blanket was strung across the entry of the 'fresher as a makeshift curtain. The sounds from the shower echoed softly against the cold metal walls. She hummed as she showered, something tuneless and mindless. Din had the quiet epiphany that she was an actual woman. Not that he hadn't had women on his ship before, some frozen in carbonite, others invited on board for a quick tour and a hard fuck then escorted right back off. But Zo was something else, something he didn't quite have a name for yet but somehow fit in amongst the toys and weapons.
The shower cut off and her bare legs were visible under the edge of the softly swaying fabric while she maneuvered around the small space. Din sat on the edge of his small bed and watched the kid sleep while Zo finished in the 'fresher. He noticed the short ladder leading to the small upper deck storage compartment hanging down and wondered what the hell she was looking for up there.
"Mando?" Zo peeked around the edge of her blanket sensing his presence. "Is he awake? I– I didn't hear him cry." She stumbled out from behind the blanket, hopping as she went into a pair of loose linen pants.
He stood up with the same acidic burn in his gut at the tense look in her eyes like she was expecting him to bite her head off again. "No, he's asleep." He cleared his throat nervously then pushed the button to seal the pod for no other reason than to give his hands something to do. "Zo, I-"
"Mando, I want to apologize for this morning." The words rushed out of her mouth. "I didn't…I don't want you to think I've been ignoring him-"
"I don't think that-"
She continued, squeezing her fingers nervously as she spoke. "I haven't been sleeping well…these dreams– it's nothing that affects him, though." She glanced at her reflection in his visor.
"Dreams like you had about my bounty."
"Yes… No…" Uncertainty clouded her mind, uncertainty seemed to cloud everything she did lately. "I'm not sure which of my dreams are dreams and which are visions. The Force is complicated at the best of times for the most experienced Jedi." She said, shrugging one shoulder.
"And you aren't a Jedi." His reply was a deep rumble through the vocoder, devoid of judgment, merely repeating her sentiment.
Zo sighed looking down at her bare feet, "I don't know what I am anymore. The Jedi were far from perfect. They were flawed, stuck in their traditions, unwilling to change… he deserves better than that." She paused for a moment, gathering the rest of her thoughts. "But…they were our family, our friends. They don't deserve to be forgotten. He is the future of our Order, maybe he can be the change the Jedi needed."
"I shouldn't have been so rough with you this morning." He said suddenly.
"I have a responsibility to him, to both of you," she answered, looking up at him. "I deserved it."
"No. You didn't." Mando took a half step towards her, relieved when she didn't flinch or step away. "I was tired and sore and…" He sighed, stars this was exhausting, "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I shouldn't have left you two behind. It was foolish. Vor entye for taking care of my Foundling while I was gone. Thank you."
"Thank you for…coming back alive. I didn't know what to think after that dream, it was...when I couldn't hail you on the com..." She trailed off, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth for a moment. "You mean the moon and stars to Cricket. I thought you were dead. I didn't– What would I tell him…" She shook her head dispelling the memory of the cold band around her heart that tightened with each passing minute with no word from the bounty hunter. "Now that you're back, now that we're all together again and moving; I feel better, more secure. I can't protect you if you're halfway across the galaxy. "
"I don't need your protection, jetiise'ika." Din smiled under his helmet. "I won't leave you two behind again. Where I go, you go. It feels...right when we're together."
Zo's small smile brightened her pale face. "That's a relief because I really didn't want to go through the trouble of finding another pilot...Although, Greef did have a few in mind–"
"I'm sure he did," Mando muttered sourly. Zo's smile widened, he was easy to talk to like this. Calm, open, trusting. "Are you looking for something up there?" He asked after a breath, his chrome chin pointing to the ladder.
"Oh, " Her eyes darted to the small storage alcove. "No...I thought I'd be out of your way up there. And I can still hear the kid. If it's ok?."
"I'll move the boxes, " Mando said.
"It's already done." She smiled knowing she was probably pushing her luck and his patience. "They were heavy."
"That's because they're full of spare ship parts."
"Those probably come in handy."
"Yeah, " Mando drawled leaning against the wall of the ship, his beskar creaking with the movement. "Never know when we're gonna be under siege from an army of arachnoids."
Zo laughed, surprised once again by his quiet humor, and snapped a hand over her mouth when Cricket cried softly inside the sleep pod. "Maybe we should go to the cockpit before we wake him. I'll mix up some instant caf and you can tell me about the bounties I didn't dream of."
Mando checked a readout on his vambrace before sighing out an answer, "We're gonna land on Aargonar in about eight hours. I should get some rest."
"Of course. Of course. You probably haven't slept since you got back," She shook her head, loose strands of hair falling in her face. The warm flush of embarrassment crawled up her chest. She had overstepped. They still barely knew each other and his good moods seemed to be fleeting. They weren't friends or 'pals'. They were...she wasn't sure what they were. "Well...good night, Mando." She whipped her blanket off the paracord and flung it over her shoulder as she stepped across the hold to the ladder.
"Zo?" He called as her upper body disappeared into the alcove.
She took two steps down and looked over her shoulder at him, "Yes, Mando?"
"I'll take that cup of caf when we land." She gave him a small smile, bobbing her head once before retreating to her makeshift quarters. Din reopened the hatch on the sleep pod. The baby thankfully didn't stir as he sat back down on the edge of his bed, trying to keep the clinking of his armor to a minimum. He sat there watching the steady rise and fall of the baby's chest until the pull of exhaustion weighed down heavier than his armor.
Zo lay awake on her bedroll until she heard Mando retreat to the cockpit. His heavy boots echoing off the ladder as he hauled himself and his armor up. She imagined wearing all that beskar must be exhausting and wondered when he chose to live that way. He was different from other Mandalorians she had met. To start with, they shared their names and their faces.
But that was before the Great Purge when there was still hope of unity between the Jedi and Mandalorians. Perhaps this was the reaction the survivors had, retreating further into their beliefs and traditions, hiding behind the anonymity of their distinctive T-shaped visors.
Master Vatrari tried to do the same thing; she kept her Padawan wards sequestered in the ancient temple compound on Cresta, taught them the ways of the Jedi to keep the Order alive until they could rebuild. Until it all crumbled down once and for all and Zo ran from the burning ruins. She sighed and curled onto her side pulling her blanket tight around her shoulders, cold now that the lingering warmth from Mando was gone.
"Again!" The voice echoed across the training circle. Zo swallowed, her mouth full of the coppery tang of blood. Her muscles shook from exertion as she adjusted the grip on her lightsaber and glared across the dirt expanse at her sister. Nel smiled, dangerous and fierce and looking nowhere near as tired as Zo felt. Her twin acid yellow lightsabers hissed in the humid afternoon as she feigned forward. Zo sidestepped the wrong way, sweat dripping into her eyes as she took her sister's bait. She heard Bran, or maybe it was Pax, laugh at her mistake. Master Vatari walked along the edge of the circle, face impassive, hands tucked inside the folds of her flowing robes. Nel sprang forward lightsabers slashing down and Zo had to jump-spin out of the way. She screamed in frustration and pain as the blade burned a line along her shoulder. "Your eyes can deceive you. The Force will never deceive you. " Master Vatari's calm voice drifted across the courtyard.
Zo growled under her breath. She was tired and sore. They had been at this for hours, Nel humiliating her round after round. Pax and Bran mocking her as Nel toyed with her; blistering the top of her hand with a well placed swipe of her lightsaber or using the Force to pull a clump of hair from the back of her head. Zo watched her sister's ice blue eyes dart up, making sure Jacen was still watching them, a coy smile playing across her lips. He sat silent and cross-legged on the stone wall above them, his face as calm as the afternoon sky. "Use the Force to sense your opponent's move before they make it, " Master Vatari spoke quietly, her voice gentle as a warm breeze.
Nel skipped around her, her long blonde hair bouncing with the movement. Sometime during their awkward growth spurts between girl and young woman, Nel had grown taller and leaner than her twin. Her high cheekbones and narrow regal features the opposite of her sister's soft, heart-shaped face and full lips. Lips that were now split and swollen from a jab Zo had been too slow to dodge.
She gripped the hilt of her lightsaber tighter. Maker help her, she loved her sister, they were best friends outside of the training ring but she really, really wanted to knock that smirk off her perfect face. She was getting angry, she felt it creeping up her back like a cold chill.
Once Nel stepped in the ring she became a different person, cold, calculated, and intent on winning by any means necessary. She made a show of deactivating one of her lightsabers and clipping it to her belt. "Come on, Zo, I'll put one of my sabers away. We'll fight one blade to one blade. Then you might actually have a chance this round, " She said with a saccharine smile, her eyes once again drifting to Jacen.
The older boy remained emotionless, warm honey eyes unreadable. He never laughed when Zo made a mistake or mocked her when Nel left her with another scar. That was not acceptable behavior for a newly Knighted Jedi. Instead, he would wait until Master Vatari dismissed her from the day's training. Then quietly ask her if she wanted to practice by the waterfalls or meditate at the ancient altar in the jungle.
"Arrogance and ego are a path to the dark side." More quiet warnings from their Master. Nel scowled as she spun the hilt of her lightsaber over the top of her hand before dashing forward. Zo felt where her sister was going to be before she was there and jumped out of the way. She glanced up at Jacen, the smallest shadow of a smile on his lips. Nel's lightsaber struck the ground and she screeched in anger.
"Control your anger or it will control you." More quiet words from their Master.
Zo's back was still turned, shoulders heaving with each exhausted breath. What more did she have to prove? Nel was the better fighter. She was faster and stronger. Zo had inhibited her own abilities for years as an act of self-preservation. Since the never-ending stream of pain and death seemed to flow through the Force and into her head started on the night of the purge. She wasn't strong enough to face it. Or believed she wasn't. The only person that seemed to believe in her was Jacen.
Nel ran forward, her lightsaber skimming across the packed dirt. Zo sensed her too late, spinning around as Nel jumped and one long, muscled leg kicked her square in the chest. She flew out of the circle landing on the hard ground, chest constricting painfully, eyes watering as she tried to pull air into her burning lungs. Her muscles refused to cooperate as she gasped, blood roaring in her ears, fingers clawing at the rough dirt trying to ground herself. Trying to find something to focus on besides the burn of pain and humiliation. Through her tears she saw the edge of Vatari's dark brown robes as she stood next to her. How many more times did Zo have to fail before Master Vatari finally told her she had enough?
"Again!" Vatari called out, continuing on her walk. Zo stood unsteadily, wiping the tears and dirt off her face. Nel rolled her neck and shoulders as her sister limped back into the circle. They slowly circled each other, Zo swung her blue lightsaber in wide sweeping arches feeling the ache in her chest loosen with the movement. Nel raised her lightsaber above her head and prowled around her like a tiger stalking its prey.
"Let go of your fear, your anger. Let the Force guide you." Master Vatari spoke. Zo felt the words were meant for her, even though she wasn't Vatari's only Padawan any more she still felt their special bond. Zo stopped circling and gripped the hilt of her lightsaber in both hands as she swept her right foot back. She looked above her sister's blonde head and met Jacen's eyes. He nodded once, lending his calm resolve to her and Zo exhaled, letting go of the tension in her shoulders and the pain raking her body. She closed her eyes and let go of her fear. The Force surrounded her, a vibration of energy that flowed from the ground under her feet, through the air she breathed into her lungs, she felt Pax, Bran and Jacen, her Master and… She swung her lightsaber up and to the left catching Nel's. The sabers connected with a sizzling boom, the surge of energy sent the sisters tumbling apart.
The ground shook with another explosion. Dirt and rubble rained down on her as Zo struggled to her knees once again. People screamed and smoke obscured everything. This wasn't how the dream usually ended. She beat Nel, gave herself over completely to the will of the Force and there was no amount of feints or kicks her sister could throw at her that she couldn't counter.
"Where the hell?" Zo grumbled trying to find her bearings in this dream. Another explosion sent her stumbling back to the ground. A young boy holding desperately to his parent's hands ran out of the smoking ruins of their home and right through her. A monstrous, dark grey war droid landed heavily in front of the fleeing family. "Din, run! Don't let go of your mothers hand!" The man yelled as they turned and ran down an alley. The child ran past her, his deep hazel eyes wide with fear and for a fleeting second Zo felt a familiar warmth. "Wait!" She yelled even though the memories couldn't hear her.
The droid raised its cannon hand, training it on the backs of their red robes. "No!" She screamed jumping forward, her lightsaber misting through the droid. This wasn't her nightmare, she was merely stuck in it, she had no power to make a difference. The droid's head exploded a second later and even though the sparks couldn't hurt her she staggered back as a heavy armored Mandalorian dropped from the sky, his Rising Phoenix spitting fire as he landed. She spared one look at his blue armor and the blood red insignia on his shoulder before following the pull of the Force.
"Din my sweet boy, " the woman brushed the boy's curly brown hair out of his eyes, " We love you so much."
"Mom?"
The man pulled the heavy granary door open and motioned for his young son. "Go, Din, hide. Do not come out. No matter what you hear."
"Dad? Mom?" Frightened tears streamed down his dirty face, his shoulders hitched under his too-big robes. His mother leaned down, peppering his face with kisses. Zo kneeled, feeling like an intruder in this private moment but she also sensed familiarity. Something about the boy called to her.
"Mando?" Zo murmured in surprise as recognition set in . She realized she had never thought of him as a child, she hadn't even been sure he was human under all that beskar. After all, Mandalorian was a creed not a race. A part of her accepted that he had simply come into existence fully formed and covered in platinum armor.
She sucked in a sharp breath waking up on her small bedroll. Her blanket once again kicked off and tangled around her feet. "What the fuck was that?" she mumbled, drawing her knees close to her chest as she absently traced the thin slightly stinging scar on top of her right hand.
She sensed a disturbance in the Force close by. Pain. Fear. Her feet made no sound on the cool steel floor as she jumped down from the alcove. She checked Cricket first. He had his fair share of bad dreams. But tonight, the baby slept peacefully, his face free of any worry or concerns. The pain pulled her forwards, up the ladder and into the cockpit. The Mandalorians' emotions swirled around him. He groaned something, his gloved hands twitching with his dream, his helmet lolling against his shoulder.
"Mando?" She whispered, reaching a tentative hand towards him. His nightmare got worse, he cried out and her heart ached with his pain and loss. She wanted to spare him from being trapped in his memory any longer. His pauldron was warm to the touch with the heat that seemed to radiate off of him. "Din? Din wake up." She shook his shoulder slightly.
Under the helmet Din's eyes opened. "Din, you're safe. It's-" She didn't have time to jump back before he sprang out of his seat, one hand firmly wrapped around her wrist. She gasped, sharp and pained as he bent her hand back far enough for the tops of her fingers to almost graze her forearm. She swung her other hand trying to knock him away, putting every ounce of her pain and fury into her fist, heedless of the memory of what happened the last time she tried to punch him. Mando caught her hand as deftly as a loth-cat swiping a bird out of the air. Her knees buckled as her wrists threatened to shatter under his grip. "Din-Mando- you fucking fucker let go of me!" The force of her voice almost knocked him of his feet but he didn't let go. The impulse was there, that itch in his brain he wanted to scratch but his anger at this intrusive bitch pushing her way into his head burned it away.
He pushed her back, using his grip on her wrists and his size to shove her across the small space. "Let me-" She started yelling again, he slammed his hand over her mouth muffling her attempted commands. Her blue eyes went wide with fear and the fiery anger that burned through him grew hotter. The Mandalorian lifted her up and slammed her back into the control panel, pinning her arms above her head, the bones of her wrists painfully close to snapping under his unrelenting grip. Buttons and knobs pressed into her back as he leaned into her, the hard edges of his armor dug into her hips and thighs. He lowered his helmet until the dark glass of his T- shaped visor hovered a millimeter from her face. She stopped her angry muffled curses as the rough leather of his glove dug into her lips.
He didn't say anything for several long seconds. He breathed, slow and angry. She blinked, angry tears caught in her eyelashes reflecting the blue light from the hyper-lane like tiny diamonds then slipped down her cheeks. His fury burned her senses as images of Moff Gideon flashed through her mind. The last living person to use his name, his real name, the name his parents had given him. It was a line he hadn't known existed until Gideon and now Zo crossed it. He tried to let that part of him die with his parents. His name was nothing more than a painful reminder of the life stolen from him. "I told you to stay the fuck out of my head," he growled. "My name is the last thing I have of them. You have no fucking right."
His grip on her face tightened and the baby started crying.
The fury was gone in an instant. He let go of her and stepped back. His breaths were ragged gasps through his helmet. Zo slowly brought her hands down, rubbing her sore wrists. They stared at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. "Zo, I-" He reached out towards her.
She flicked her hand and swept him off his feet slamming him into the roof of the cockpit. He was completely pinned, unable to move or even turn his head. Zo stepped forward looking up into his visor. Her hands curled into tight fists at her sides. The baby cried louder, angry high-pitched wails upset that he was being ignored. Her eyes darted to the open hatch, she felt like was perched at the edge of a deep well. If she wavered even a bit in the next few moments she would fall. At the bottom of that well was a deep pit of anger she wouldn't escape. Neither would he. She could feel the darkness slithering up from the pit; she had reached out in friendship and he hurt her. How foolish was she trusting a Mandalorian? Quick to anger, violent, warmongers that destroyed their planet... All she had to do was embrace that dark thing inside her, give in, snap his neck... She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, her stiff fingers uncurling. Din waited for the crush of invisible fingers around his neck.
"I'm sorry…." She murmured quietly. "I'm sorry you lost your parents like that. I'm sorry you've suffered through that alone all this time…I'm sorry for my lack of control, I intruded. It won't happen again." She turned towards the hatch pausing once more before she jumped down. "I'm sorry you're such a fucking asshole."
She released the Force hold on him and he fell to the floor with a heavy thud. She jumped down, not bothering with the ladder and the hatch slammed shut after her. Cricket's indignant cries softened as Zo picked him up and comforted him.
Din slowly pulled himself up. The walls pressed in on him as he turned and took two quick strides back towards the helm. He yanked his helmet off, unable to pull in enough air through the cloying filters. He stared at his reflection in the dark glass visor and hated the man there. "Fuck!" He bellowed, throwing his helmet at the hatch hard enough for the beskar to leave a dent.
Below deck the baby started crying again.
jetiise'ika— little jedi