The message wasn't long. "Grogu wants to see you" followed by a set of coordinates. Batuu, a remote world on the edge of the Outer Rim. Din Djarin brought the Razor Crest II, a Mandalorian Pursuer-class Enforcement Ship, out of Hyperspace in the system, his communicator immediately pinged with a prerecorded holo message. Din pressed the button to accept, and a small holo of the Jedi who had taken Grogu years ago appeared.
"Thank you for coming. I'm in a small outpost on the western coast of the largest continent. I've already secured a landing pad for you. Transmit this code as you enter the atmosphere."
The computer beeped as the verification code was downloaded.
"I'll meet you at the landing pad. I know Grogu is very eager to see you again." With that, the image disappeared.
Din felt a tightening in his chest and a lump in his throat at the mention of the child's name. Din had missed the little guy. With the mess on Mandalore having been finally put to rest, Bo-Katan Kryze having gotten her damn saber and her damn throne, Din had been adrift.
For most of his life, he'd had a purpose. First, to take bounties and bring back Baskar for the Foundlings, then it had been Grogu. The kid had been how he had gotten his signet. Then, after the Jedi had taken him, Din spent the next several years by Bo-Katan's side, fighting to retake Mandalore. The fighting had been brutal, and many good people had died. But Mandalore was free. And Bo-Katan hadn't even needed to kill Din to regain the darksaber.
2 years earlier, 13 ABY
The small group found their retreat cut off by a squad of Stormtroopers. The planted explosives were counting down. Din had argued for more time on the detonators, but Bo-Katan had insisted on a very narrow window, pointing out that if the enemy found and disarmed the explosives, their cause was finished.
"We have to get out of here!" he yelled, crouching behind a supply crate in the wide hallway.
"I know!" Bo yelled back, squeezed behind a narrow outcropping of bulkhead.
The third member of their party, Reeves, shouted, "Djarin, cover me!"
Din popped up from behind the grate, moving forward to Reeves' position, counting on his Baskar armor to protect him from the occasional hit from a blaster. Once he was in position, Reeves dove past him. The Stormtroopers, distracted as they were with Din, didn't fire a single shot at her.
Rolling to her feet, Reeves tossed a grenade directly into the center of the group. The explosion sent troopers flying in every direction.
"Let's move!" Bo ordered. Reeves and Din didn't have to be told twice. Just on the other side of the pile of dead troopers, the open portal led out to a platform several dozen kilometers above the surface of Mandalore. The large sub-orbital weapons platform had been the final one on a long list. With this last one gone, the Mandalorians were certain that the ground war would turn in their favor.
An explosion rocked the platform beneath them. Several more explosions shook the massive floating structure. Din lost his footing, falling to his hands and knees. Something struck him hard on the back, dazing him. Trying to move, he realized a piece of debris must have hit him. Something else, much heavier, fell on his leg. Fire shot through his nerves as the bone snapped. He cried out involuntarily. He could see Reeves and Bo, both almost to the waiting shuttle. They both had turned at the sound of Din's cry of pain.
Bo turned to Reeves. "GO!" She ordered, "Get the shuttle away from the base."
Reeves did as ordered. She was a good soldier. She also understood that Bo-Katan Kryze could damn well take care of herself.
Bo ran past Din, which confused him until he heard her grunting and felt the heavy thing moving off of him. That sent brand new pain up his leg and into his chest. This time, he stifled his cry. Bo's arm wrapped under his as he awkwardly got onto his uninjured leg.
"You should have left me," Din said. He couldn't see Bo's face under her helmet, but he could imagine the incredulous look.
"But I'm glad you didn't," he finished.
The platform suddenly rocked and pitched them both over the side. Suddenly finding themselves free falling, the two gripped each other. Bo fired her rockets, altering their velocity away from the ground. As soon as they were level, Din fired his own rockets and let go of Bo-Katan.
The two drifted far enough apart to fly safely and headed for the shuttle, well outside the explosions and falling debris of the twisted scrap that remained of the weapons platform.
As they flew into the open door of the waiting shuttle, Din braced for a landing that he knew was going to hurt. He touched down as gently as he could, but his broken leg instantly gave out. He managed to catch himself, lowering himself into a seated position rather than falling. For several minutes, he took in deep breaths, trying to ignore the pain. He, Koska Reeves, and Bo-Katan Kryze watched as the last symbol of the oppression of Mandalore fell out of the sky. There was still a war to win, but they all knew that this would prove to be the definitive turning point.
Bo finally turned from the door and knelt next to Din. She asked, "How's the leg?"
"Broken," he answered, "I might be out of action for a while."
"You've done your part," Reeves said over her shoulder, "More than most."
Din's hand moved to his belt. He detached the darksaber. He had held the weapon for nearly four years and had never once used it. He didn't even want the damn thing. He held it out to Bo. She didn't move.
"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice flat.
"Take it," he said.
She stood, towering over him. "You know I can't."
Din sighed, his arm dropping heavily at his side. Gathering his will, he grabbed a piece of the bulkhead and forced himself to a standing position. The pain shot up his leg at every jostle, but he managed to keep his verbal protestations to grunts. Keeping his hand on the bulkhead to steady himself, he once again held out the darksaber.
"You just risked your life to save mine," he said, "That makes you more worthy of this blade than winning a fight."
She stared at the darksaber. "You've risked your life before," she countered.
"For the mission," he said, "I'm a soldier in this war. That's what I pledged to do when you helped me rescue Grogu. This was different, and you know it."
When she didn't answer, he asked, "What's more important, someone who can win a fight, or a queen that will do anything for her people?"
Finally, she reached out and took the blade from him. She almost immediately activated it, revealing an energy blade so black that it seemed to suck in the light around it. After a moment, she shut it down, the blade drawing down into the hilt.
"You know," She said, "I think I liked you better when you were stoic and didn't talk so much."
An indicator beep pulled him out of the memory. He was receiving instructions for landing. One of the pads was highlighted on his display, but there didn't appear to be an auto landing sequence taking over his controls. He took manual control and brought the Razor Crest II gently down. The ship rocked slightly as it touched down. Flipping switches, he shut down the engines, removed his safety harness, and stepped out of the cockpit. Finding his way to the hatch, he opened it to reveal a man standing on the edge of the landing pad, waiting for him. Din was a little surprised. He had expected all black attire with a flowing black cloak. This man wore robes of tan and off white.
As Din made his way over to the man, a creature with smooth green skin, no hair, and wearing a jumpsuit approached him from the side. Din didn't slow, and the creature kept pace.
"Pardon me, sir," it said, it's voice low and gravely, "For a few credits, I could refuel you and-"
"Fine," Din cut him off and kept moving. The creature nodded and turned back to the ship, shouting orders in a language he didn't know.
The Jedi finally unclasped his hands and stepped forward to greet him. "Greetings, Din Djarin," he said, "I don't believe I gave you my name last time we met. I'm-"
"Luke Skywalker," Din interrupted, "You don't think I didn't look into who I had given the child to."
Din looked the man over. The last few years had etched a few fine lines onto his face. His hair was longer, a little more wild. The beginnings of a beard were showing in a shadow of stubble on his face. He seemed even more commanding than he had six years ago. The look complimented him.
"Yes, that was wise," Skywalker noted, "The reason I asked you here was-"
"The kid," Din cut him off again.
"Yes," he said slowly, "But I also want to hire you."
"A job?" Din asked, "What about Grogu?"
Skywalker nodded, "Grogu is with my other apprentice. I thought you might want to see him first." With that, he gestured away from the landing pad. Din, taking the que, walked beside the Jedi into the outpost.
The two walked in silence for a time, but eventually Luke's curiosity got the better of him.
"I saw you take your helmet off when I took Grogu," he said, "That seemed significant. Both for you and for him."
The bounty hunter didn't look at him. But after a moment, he answered, "It was."
Luke didn't speak. He had discovered late in life that if one wanted to share about one's life, all he had to do was wait.
"It's a long story," He finally said.
Luke accepted that. The bounty hunter didn't owe him any answers, though he was desperately curious. The only other people he had encountered wearing armor like his were the two with him six years ago, and Boba Fett.
They reached the room that Luke had rented while on this planet. The door opened and Ben, Luke's nephew and apprentice, stood from the bed he had been sitting on. Grogu, who was also on the bed, turned to face the two.
The Mandalorian immediately removed his helmet, setting it on a desk near the door. This surprised Luke, though he realized it probably shouldn't have. His face was as Luke remembered. Ruggedly handsome features. Short, unkempt hair that gave him a slightly wild look despite his clean shaven face. Luke rubbed his left hand over his own stubble. He had been considering growing a beard, if only to look more wise and mysterious. He chuckled inwardly at that thought.
Upon seeing Grogu, Din's heart swelled. Grogu looked up and opened his mouth in a wide smile. He ran and jumped off the bed. Shocked, Din took a step forward, he needn't have bothered. Grogu floated gracefully into his arms. The child leaned his head against Din's and spread his arms wide across it, giving Din the best hug he could manage with his tiny arms. Inwardly, he noted that Grogu wasn't much bigger than he had been six years ago.
Grogu finally pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Din!" he called out in his tiny voice.
"You said my name!" Din exclaimed in surprise. He looked at Skywalker, "He said my name."
The Jedi smiled, "Yes. It'll be a few years before he's speaking full sentences. His species ages very slowly. But your name was one of his first words."
Din noticed a young boy, not yet a teenager, standing next to Skywalker. He had very dark, shaggy hair, light brown eyes, and wore robes similar to that of Skywalker.
The Jedi must have noticed his curiosity because he looked to the boy and smiled warmly, "This is my apprentice, and nephew, Ben Solo," Then to the boy he said, "Ben, say hello."
The boy, looking very serious indeed, stepped forward and said, "Hello, Sir."
Grogu turned his head toward the boy and said, "Ben!"
The boy did his best to hide his smile.
Skywalker cleared his throat, "If you don't mind, I'd like to discuss the other reason I asked you to meet us."
Din's brow furrowed, "In front of the kids?"
"They are my apprentices," he answered, "They know what I know. I can tell you from experience that truth from a certain point of view does far more harm than good."
Din nodded, thinking of his own upbringing as a Child of the Watch.
"Tell me," Skywalker said, "Have you ever heard of the Jedi Archives?"