Chapter 3: The Conundrum

When responding to a sudden threat, soldiers are to don their gear within seconds and rush to their respective positions as though their lives depended on it because, most of the time, it did. The manner in which I dressed that morning was similar to this response, the thought of finally leaving this place and going home strengthening my movements, each motion sharp and crisp. Though I was thankful for the hospitality and generosity, I couldn't help but think of the consequences of my having been gone for this long. Of returning back to my actual home in Toronto after my tour was done. Of my dear mother, Valena, and my best friend, Owen, who I hadn't seen in the flesh in months. I was in full tactical gear, exactly as I had appeared prior to having been injured, even before my mind was entirely awake. To exhibit my respect to my host, I subsequently made the bed and cleaned the room, ensuring I left it as I had found it.

I stepped outside of the building into the warm sunlight, thankful that, this time, my body wasn't in fight mode. Yet, what I saw before me took my breath away once again.

The grounded, blue and silver ship that was being prepared a few meters away by a handful of fully-armoured men and women was absolutely magnificent. The primary hull was flanked by large wings, currently in an upright landing position, spanning at least fifty meters into the sky. It resembled a beautiful butterfly at rest; though, in flight mode, it was most likely a formidable threat. A wolf in sheep's clothing. It was unlike any fighter jet I'd ever seen in my life - and I'd seen many throughout my lifetime. For several moments, I merely gawked at the sight, speechless.

"Perhaps you'll be happy to see this again."

Din, with Green hopping contentedly along behind him, appeared at my side. He extended something held reverently in his hands to me.

It was my rifle, now fused with a metal alloy that was unfamiliar. At its surface, the weapon was a mixture of swirling grey and black, the coating shining and unsullied; it appeared brand new. A soldier was to never leave the side of their rifle; early on in your training, you were told that it was to be a part of you, like another limb. To have it back in my hands filled me with relief. In a way, this rifle was also my constant; a reminder that I was from elsewhere, and that the home that I was to go back to wasn't anywhere in this galaxy. "Oh, wow. I wondered what had happened to it." My inspection of the weapon was thorough as I grasped it tightly in my hands. I eyed Din with utmost sincerity. "Thank you."

"It was badly damaged. I had sent it off for repairs." He eyed it as well, inquisitive, tracing the handguard with gloved fingertips. "It's...peculiar. Our Armourer hadn't seen anything like it before. He has mended it as best as he could with beskar."

"Beskar." I repeated the foreign word, cocking the action with ease. The movement was crisp and fluid. "This is amazing." I smiled genuinely. When was the last time I did that? "Thanks again. You have been very kind to me."

He simply gave a slow nod.

I observed the others around us, who were conversing with one another in a foreign tongue through their respective pre-flight tasks. Their movements were sharp and direct; words straight and to the point. They seemed to have significant training. "Are these your soldiers?"

"They're my people," Din corrected lightly, pride evident in his tone. He squared his shoulders, spine straightening. "We are Mandalorians."

"Ah, understood. And…'Mandalorian'...is that a country?"

His head tilted towards me. "It's a creed."

A red-armoured Mandalorian jogged up to us, slightly bowing with his arms tightly tucked at his sides as he faced Din. The decorum he exhibited was admirable. "Mand'alor, the Commandos and ship are now ready for departure."

"Good. Thank you." Din then turned to me, gesturing with a hand for me to follow him.

Nervousness began to overtake me as I peered up at the ship once more. A spaceship. Only then did it hit me that we were about to embark on interplanetary travel. This was not going to be a helicopter ride through the city, or a long-haul, grey tail flight between countries.

We were going to be travelling through bloody space.

My knees were weak as I strode with Din and Green up an extended, steel ramp leading directly into the hull. I slightly jumped as the ship began to power up and the ramp began to ascend to a close. Surprisingly feeling secure within the craft, my eyes took in the new environment, somehow finding the steel sidings and panels familiar, the scent of metal and exhaust faint in my nostrils. I took a seat beside Din, behind two Mandalorian pilots at the helm, strapping on my seatbelts as instructed. Green sat on Din's right hand side, his little feet contentedly dangling out from the edge of his seat, appearing to be entirely comfortable with what we were about to do. How is Green so calm throughout all of this? Two more Mandalorian guards - Commandos, as they were apparently called - sat farther back in the vessel, keeping a close watch on Din.

As the preflight checks concluded, the engines beneath us rumbled awake. The ship began to ascend, slow and controlled. More distinct whirring sounded; it must be the wings moving into place, rotating into a horizontal position. After a few more seconds, and a couple of calls by the pilots, the ship then accelerated forward in a diagonal pattern, shooting swiftly towards the bright blue sky.

My body instantly rebelled at the sudden movement, entirely uncomfortable. Thinking about whether today would be the day that I'd die, my hands flew to my sides, grasping for something, anything, to keep me in place. Instead of the armrest, however, I managed to grip Din's arm, squeezing tightly. Seeing this, a Commando behind us abruptly stood, stalking over to me in an instant, unimpressed. He appeared to be armed with a stern reprimand - or worse. From the corner of my eye, I saw Din shake his head at his fellow Mandalorian, then turn his gaze to me.

"Breathe," Din said soothingly, permitting the contact to continue. "It will feel better once we have completed take-off."

I nodded, exhaling slowly through my grimace. Flying in general was never my favourite thing to do, even on a normal aircraft. The word "turbulence" was akin to a curse. My hand didn't release his arm.

"You do not have these types of ships on Earth?" he questioned, perhaps attempting to distract me.

"No. Well, sort of," I replied quickly, not at all fond of the feeling now in the pit of my stomach. The pressure upon my temples steadily increased, as did the tunnel vision. Fighting the looming unconsciousness, I attempted to just focus on his voice. His presence. "But nothing like this."

Though we were still in the take-off phase, Green climbed easily upon Din's lap, curiously eyeing me with a tipped head.

I let out a light laugh. "Okay, little one, now you're just showing off!"

It released a prolonged sound as it pulled something out of the sleeves of its robe. It appeared to be some sort of blue snack. "Meh?"

My eyes shifted towards it once more.

Green extended its arm, holding out the piece of food towards me.

I looked up at Din, who nodded in silent permission.

"Thank you," I said with a smile, taking the morsel of food from its tiny hand. It seemed to be as generous as Din - so carefree and loving.

Green laughed, pleased that I had accepted its offering, and took another piece from somewhere up its other sleeve. It cried out happily, then took a generous bite.

I popped the cookie in my mouth, noting that it actually wasn't half bad. I met Din's gaze, finding both of them a welcome distraction. "Is it...your pet?"

"He's my son. Grogu."

It was admittedly not the answer I expected. My head slanted to the side, brows knitting in surprise. "You're...um...green?" My orbs locked on Grogu's curious stare. "Well, not that there's anything wrong with that at all. It's just…" I made circles with my hand, pushing myself to get to the point. "You seem…human."

"I'm human," Din confirmed, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"And...you have to wear the helmet all of the time?"

"It's part of my religion," he explained. "Not all Mandalorians follow this practice."

The vessel seemed to stop moving, the rumbles beneath us fading. I had been so engrossed in conversation with Din that I didn't even realize where we now were.

My breath caught in my throat when I finally did.

Through the rectangular viewport to our left side, I could see nothing but millions of twinkling pinpricks, waving in humble greeting. "Oh my God," I breathed out, heart palpitating. As though in a trance, I removed my seatbelt and stood, drawn to the sight. Tears began to form upon the brims of my eyes; however, this time, it wasn't due to fear or panic. It was due to pure wonder. "We're...in space."

Perhaps that was when I had crossed the threshold from sane to insane, but, at that very moment, I believed everything that I was seeing before me.

Real or not, it was beautiful.

Soft footfalls sounded at my side. "I take it you've never been in space before?" Din queried lightly.

I shook my head with a smile. "Being an astronaut was never really my thing." My head gestured to my slung rifle with pride. "My calling was a little closer to the ground."

Din seemed curious, but said nothing further about the subject. He looked through the viewport himself. "We'll be travelling for a while yet. I suggest you get some rest in the meantime."

"Thank you, but," my eyes were once more affixed to the sights in front of us, "I think I'll stay here for now."

(V)(V)(V)

The several hours of blissful travel was bluntly interrupted by the wailing of staccato beeps and sirens within the hull of the ship. With a gasp, I sat up straight upon my seat, tense, my half-asleep daze disappearing within seconds.

"Hang on, kid," Din said, his body stiff as he strapped his son into the seat at his side. Grogu let out a worried whine and placed a hand upon his father's arm. Din covered his tiny hand with his own. "It'll be ok."

"What's going on?" I asked, distraught.

Din gestured to the right side of the viewport. "We've got company."

A pair of smaller, grey ships whirred past us, their too-close-for-comfort flypast signalling their threat. With practiced proficiency, they positioned themselves until they flanked us, then slowed down to focus on the rear of our ship. Explosions ravaged both our port and starboard sides in turn, violently rocking us akin to a pendulum.

"Scout ships," Din said with distaste, his voice rough. "I suggest you buckle up."

"Don't worry, Mand'alor," the red-armoured Mandalorian pilot directly in front of Din stated with confidence. He coolly flicked on a couple of switches, then pushed on the throttle. "We'll take care of this for you."

Our ship suddenly veered to the left, increasing its speed, and tumbled slightly to its side as it meant to turn 180 degrees. It then maneuvered into a quick barrel roll and increased its altitude as we were once more right-side up. Several blasts rumbled beneath us, the floor trembling as we began our counterattack.

I groaned, my vision becoming blurry once more. The pressure on my chest increased as the dogfight continued, making it severely difficult to breathe.

"Hey." I somewhat felt a gloved hand lightly patting the side of my face. Din's cloudy form came into view. "Stay with me."

It sounded as though I had managed to reply with another groan, but I wasn't too sure. My breaths were laboured, my focus now only on remaining conscious, having no room in my brain to worry about being shot down by another alien craft.

The fight was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

Grogu raised his hands in the air, whooping in victory.

It took everything in my being to prevent myself from throwing up.

I must have somehow fallen asleep, because when I awoke, we were no longer in space. I glanced out the viewport as the ship began its landing sequence on flat, icy terrain, quickly recognizing the settlement. It was a relief to be on solid ground once more; albeit successful, one dogfight in bloody space was one too many for a lifetime.

As I walked down the extended ramp, once more feeling the chill of the air of this planet, settlers began to crowd around the ship, surprise and elation plastered upon their faces. Perhaps they don't get that many visitors. It was a stark, though welcome, difference from what I had witnessed the first time I had stepped foot here. Some of the settlers were in the process of rebuilding the outdoor facades, many of which were damaged and deformed. They stopped for a few moments, looking at us new arrivals with interest.

"Ibac cuyir kaysh, buir!"

Though I didn't understand what he said, I did recognize the young boy that was excitedly pointing to me. It was the boy who had been crying, alone, in the middle of the firefight when Din and I first met. The older woman at his side, who seemed to be his mother, began to share his excitement, tears forming in her brown eyes. She made her way towards me through the forming crowd, stopping in front of me. "Vor entye!" She sobbed, taking my hands in hers. Her fingers were calloused and slight. "Vor entye, verd!"

"She says 'thank you'."

Gasps and whispers sounded amongst the crowd, rippling around us. The woman before me became rigid and, like the others in the field, bowed their heads as Din approached, the still snacking Grogu tucked snuggly in his arms. He didn't seem surprised by the reaction, nodding to our onlookers left and right. Taken aback by the sheer respect that they expressed towards Din and his noble reply, I snapped my head up towards him. It all made bloody sense now. "Wait a minute." My eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stopped at my side. "Are you...some kind of royalty?"

"You could say that," he answered, his tone humble.

I let out a puff of disbelief as he and his Commandos strode onward, the crowd parting to make way for them. I jogged forward and fell into step with Din, my eyes scanning the waves of bowing settlers before us. "Who attacked us? These people?"

"Imperials." The distaste and anger that resonated within Din was palpable. "Grand Admiral Thrawn has taken over our home planet of Mandalore, intent on rebuilding the fallen Empire. Many of the Mandalorians who had lived on Mandalore escaped, now exiled throughout different planets and systems. This planet, Krownest, home to many Mandalorians past and present, is one of those planets."

My eyes scanned our surroundings once more. "These are all Mandalorians," I stated in awe.

Din nodded. "The Empire seeks to continue what the Great Purge sought to do."

"The Great Purge? What's that?"

He stilled then, his free hand clenching at his side. "A time when Mandalorians around the galaxy were hunted down and killed."

Genocide. That was fucking genocide.

Why would others do that to these people?

It was upsetting to learn that the heinous acts committed on Earth occurred even in this galaxy. Was there ever any escape from such evil? I frowned, finding myself placing a hand on his arm for some semblance of comfort. He only eyed me briefly, then gestured in front of us with an open hand. "Perhaps you can show me where you came from?"

I swallowed, nodding, and began to retrace my steps.

As we journeyed forward, panic started to bubble within me when all I could see was snow-covered plains before me - entirely flat ground up to the horizon in the distance. After half a klick, I turned back to the settlement towards the north in order to orient myself, knowing for sure that that was its image when I had first seen it. "I couldn't have gone farther than this," I said out loud, confusion plastered on my countenance. "The cave should be around here somewhere."

Din pressed a button on the side of his helmet, scanning the scenery before us with intent. "There's nothing here."

The sinking feeling in my stomach overtook me. The sickening sensation was worse than what I had felt during the dogfight.

"It's gone," I croaked out, "the cave is gone."

(V)(V)(V)

Helplessness was an uncomfortable feeling. Perhaps a way to combat it was acceptance of the situation, knowing that you had done everything that you could, made every possible, reasonable decision, and it just didn't work out. You just needed to accept your fate. And yet, I felt angry. Angry because I hadn't decided on anything, mostly because I didn't have any options to begin with. I never had a choice to be here or not.

I had no idea why this was happening to me. How something like this could even be possible.

But here I was, fighting to keep my sanity together. Wishing that, somehow, this would all be over soon. That I'd truly wake up and find that it had all been just a bad dream. I'd finish my time on deployment, say goodbye to the friends that I'd made, take some much-needed leave. Perhaps I'd even meet a nice guy on vacation and entirely forget about that asshole Hunter who decided to dump me right after finding out I was deploying again. Maybe I'd finally start a family of my own, after years of putting it off due to the nature of my job, and find peace with them after living a quarter of my life in the realm of war.

But no.

This was now my reality.

Sleep eluded me that night. I merely sat in a lodging generously provided by the settlers, stoking a small fire in a tiny fireplace, watching the wood burn into ash, eyes fixated on it until the fire had gone out entirely. Din had assured me that he and his Commandos would do more sweeps of the area, attempting to find something, anything, that resembled what I had described. And I waited for them. Waited for the banging on the door, for the report that this portal - or whatever the hell it was that brought me here - was back, and I could finally leave.

Just like the wood in the fire, my hope crumbled into nothingness as the night passed.

At sunrise, I once more watched pre-flight preparations taking place; but, this time, there was no wonder or excitement within me.

Din faced me, arms tight at his sides, his body language alone emanating his apology.

"Thanks for trying anyway," I said quietly, attempting to keep my voice steady.

"We're leaving shortly," he announced, twisting his head momentarily to the awaiting ship. "I must return to Kalevala as soon as possible."

I nodded, barely able to meet his gaze. "Safe travels. I appreciate everything that you've done for me."

Din merely stood there for a moment, pensive. "You are a fellow warrior," he began slowly, taking a step forward. "As warriors, we follow a code of honour."

I finally looked up at him. "What are you saying?"

"My debt to you remains," he extended a hand out to me as the ramp descended behind him, "and if you so choose, I offer a place for you with my people until my promise has been fulfilled."

I stared at his outstretched hand for a few more moments.

Though my options were limited, I found that something else drew me to my decision:

Instinct.

With a nod, I took his hand.

(V)(V)(V)

- Ibac cuyir kaysh, buir - That is her, mother

- Vor entye, verd - Thank you, soldier

(V)(V)(V)

A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! Thank you so much for your support. I love reading all of your reviews. I, too, found that an OC being transported into Mandoworld doesn't come up all too often; there are a lot of interesting things that you can do with such a story! As both my husband and I are in the military, I also really wanted to write a fic with a soldier OC. Alas, this story was born! (Art certainly imitates life!) I also try to do my best to include current military practices in my fics, just to add that bit of realism.

There is a lot more in store, so don't you worry! Looking forward to hearing from all of you. Happy reading! xx IFHD