Author's Notes: When I finished writing Pieces of the Truth almost three years ago, I never intended to write a sequel. Not that I didn't think it was possible ... I knew there were more stories that could be told, but no bunnies were nipping at my toes, demanding to be written. That all changed with the release of The Mandalorian. As I was again watching footage of the show, something went ping in my brain, and the next thing I know, I had Cody talking to me. So. Here we have the sequel to Pieces of the Truth. I know, angels aren't quite the same in Star Wars that they are in life, but I still think baby!Din would regard his rescuers as angels. And no, these are not the Mandalorians who rescued Din in the show … but they are Mandalorians, from a certain point of view. And yes, Baby Yoda will be making an appearance in a few chapters.

Disclaimer: Din Djarin, the impossibly adorable tike we call Baby Yoda, Cody, Kix, Obi-Wan, et al, do not belong to me. They are the property of Lucasfilm and Disney. As of right now, the only original character is Jasleen Palpatine. She does belong to me.

Prologue

Armored Angels

Three Years After the Fall of Darth Sidious

He was eight years old. He was alone in the dark. And he was terrified.

His parents left him here, tucked away from the fire and the screams and the blaster bolts … he was safe, at least for the moment. But he was alone, no comforting arms around his small body or gentle fingers caressing his hair. And he was afraid, his young mind conjuring terrifying possibilities, based on what he was hearing, what he'd seen before his parents tucked him away in this hiding place … and he wanted his mother and father. But the longer the doors stayed closed, the less chance there was of little Din Djarin ever seeing his parents alive again.

When those doors finally did open, the little boy was sure his own life was over, because one of the metal monsters that attacked his village (the Civil War was supposed to be over, the fighting was supposed to be done years earlier, that was what his father said) was leveling a blaster at him. Din turned his face away, closing his eyes … and then, a miracle happened. The metal monster exploded in a shower of metal pieces. Din looked up, stunned … and saw a second metallic figure. It was much smaller, human shaped, and it was a very human voice that growled, "You were warned, droid."

The figure holstered his blaster, saying in a far gentler voice, "Hey, kid … c'mon out. I promise you, that's the last of those things. They won't hurt you or anyone else ever again." As he spoke, he took a careful step forward, reaching his hand out to Din. Swallowing hard, the boy reached back, and felt gentle fingers wrap around his much smaller hand. The newcomer said softly, "You're a brave kid. I need you to be brave a little bit longer, okay?" Din nodded, allowing his rescuer to lead him out of the shelter. But even the gentle admonishment wasn't enough to keep from crying out as he saw the crumpled bodies of his parents not far from the shelter. His rescuer swore under his breath and dropped to one knee, removing his head? No … no, it was his helmet. He removed his helmet with one hand, never releasing Din's own hand, and Din found himself looking at a man who seemed to be the same age as his father … olive-complected, dark-haired and dark-eyed. His rescuer said gently, "I am so sorry, kid. We came as soon as we heard your village was in trouble, as soon as we knew about the Seppie remnants, but we didn't know soon enough. I'm sorry."

With those words, he pulled Din into his arms, hand cradling the back of Din's skull. Another one of the figures in metal called, "Commander, take him to the infirmary when we get back to the ship … I want to make sure he's all right. The others are doing a sweep … seems like this isn't the only village that was hit." The … commander? Rolled his eyes, drawing a tiny giggle from Din, and the other figure sighed, "Yeah, I figured as much. I'll meet you there."

"Ignore Kix. Being CMO makes him cranky," the commander said with a gentle smile, ignoring Kix's 'and you're not cranky when people ignore what you tell them to do?' He went on, "He's right, though. I need to get you up to the ship, so I need you to put your arms around my neck and hold on tight while I activate my jetpack. Ready? If you need a few minutes, we can take that time … besides, I do need to put my bucket back on." He briefly released Din, and the boy immediately missed the contact. The bucket … his helmet … went back on, and he held his hands out to Din. Hesitating only for a moment, Din reached back and wrapped his arms around the commander. The man folded his arms around Din in turn, murmuring, "You're gonna be okay, kid. We'll get you back to the general, Kix will make sure that tin can didn't hurt you, and then we'll get something worked out for you. Promise."

With those words, he straightened up and there was a roaring in Din's ears … and then, they were both in the air. But any awe or joy Din might have taken in flying was wiped away by seeing what was left of his village, of his home, of his family, of his life. And the tears began once more. It was the first time he cried for his parents ... it wouldn't be the last. But one thing eight year old Din Djarin didn't realize as he rose in the sky in the arms of an armored angel … he also wouldn't be alone. He was about to be adopted into an extremely large and extremely unusual family.

TBC