Following a group of bounty hunters, we came to a stop as we watched them attack another Mandalorian and a child. Taking my blasters, I jumped down, shooting them with Sabine joining me. Once we landed, the Mandalorian kept his gun on us, with us doing the same. "Trust me my friend, this isn't the fight you want, nor is it the one we want." I said, looking from him over to the child. "Sabine." I said, looking over at my daughter as she held up a small device with a red blinker on it.
"It's not him." She said, tossing it to the side. Putting my weapon away, I looked towards the Mandalorian. "Nor is he him." She said, walking over to me. "Another lost cause." She said with a loud and annoyed groan.
"Mandalorian, what is your Clan?" I asked, with him looking between me and my daughter.
"I am of no clan, but a member of the children of the watch." He informed, with me nodding as I put my blasters away.
"Your name at least?" I asked, with me knowing that the children of the watch don't care for names as they were of the old ways, even before the old republic era.
"You can call me Mandalorian." He said, with me shaking my head as I saw that coming.
"My name is Dakota Wren, head of Clan Wren." I introduced before turning towards my daughter. "This is Sabine Wren, my daughter." I said, turning back to her. "We've been on the search for a good friend of hers, Ezra Bridger. Have you seen or heard of him?" I asked, looking towards the child, seeing that it was the same species as Master Yoda.
"No, I am sorry, I have not." He said, lowering his blaster. "You've come a long way for nothing." He said, with me looking at him.
"I wouldn't say that." I said, looking at Sabine. "That child." I said, pointing towards it, with her moving away from me. "What are your intentions with it, Mandalorian of the Children of the Watch?" I asked, with him looking towards the child.
"I plan to take him from here." He answered, with me seeing that he had yet to put the blaster away.
"A foundling then." I said, looking at Sabine, who shrugged her shoulders as she didn't know what that was. In the simplest terms, "foundling" is just another word for "orphan". It refers to a child who has been left alone, either because their parents died, disappeared, or were taken away. It's part of the creed of a Mandalorian culture to take in foundlings, no matter the circumstances of finding those abandoned or lost children. It's part of Mandalorian life to care for the innocent, despite being known best for being a tough warrior culture. It's a specific concept to Mandalorian culture. I informed, with her looking at the child.
"Ok, so, we go back to finding Ezra!" Sabine said, turning around and walking away.
"Sorry for my daughter's attitude. Ezra, in a way, is her foundling." I said, saluting him before turning to follow her. Stopping a few feet, I turned to face him. "That wouldn't happen to be your razer crest, would it?" I asked, remembering the Jawas that were scrapping said ship earlier.
Later that night
Seeing Mando jerk his arm once more, I held a firm hold on him. "Hold still!" I warned, with him looking over at Sabine as she fixed the inner linings to his armor. "I know it hurts, but this is only a scratch!" I said, with Sabine looking towards us.
"So... The children of the watch, they never remove their helmet?" Sabine asked, with us looking at her.
"No." I answered as I went back to working on his arm. "The only time they do, is when they are eating AND are completely alone, no cameras, nothing." I answered, letting his arm go as I had finished. "Removing one's helmet is considered a great dishonor and a leaving stage of the children of the watch. You abandon them, as you once were. If one were to remove their helm from them, then it is still the same." I said, getting up and walking over to the child as he started climbing out, placing him back in his pod.
"How is it that you know of the children of the watch as well as your own ways as well?" Mando asked, with me sitting down on a rock, looking into the fire.
"Believe me or not, but I am one of the oldest beings in the galaxy." I said, closing my eyes. "I am one of two immortals, the other being my wife. I have no idea where she is." I said, looking back at the fire. "She, in a way, is my foundling." I said, smiling at that. "My era was during the Knights of Old, thousands of years ago. I lost how long it has been." I said, looking towards Sabine. "Our Daughter did not inherit this trait from us, and I am glad she didn't. She would have to watch everyone she loves around her die, much like her mother and me." I said, closing my eyes as I remembered our crew, the jedi, and the members of the Ghost.
"It hasn't been easy for either of them. Mom and I watched dad sacrifice himself for us, and we thought we lost him until I went back with another crew to gather supplies. I went there looking for his remains and was almost killed by two inquisitors." Sabine said, looking at me. "He spent so long in the becta tank, he still had the strength to fight them off with one of mothers lightsabers." She said, looking at my hip, where I did the same.
"She was a jedi?" He asked, with me looking at him.
"She was at one point, then she turned Sith, and then lost all of her memories of the past. She became a soldier, and I found her then. We learned of who she was, and she rejected the truth, made her own. We stopped the Sith, and our friend betrayed us, killed everyone, nearly killed us. If she didn't use a forbidden ritual, we would have died. We joined the republic, then the empire came to power, and we were separated." I said, closing my eyes as I smiled.
"We hear word of a Jedi here and there, but we can never figure out if it is mom, Ezra, Ahsoka or some other jedi. Dad can tell sometimes, but other times is a no go." Sabine said, looking at the child. "One of these times, lead us here." She added, with me looking at the child as well.
"I see." Mando said, with us looking at him. "You must have had it rough, looking for the ones you love." He said, with me nodding as I was never going to give up, even if it killed me.
The next day
Reaching the top of the hill, I pointed towards the Jawas as they scrapped his shop. As you can see, they have been at it for a day. I said, watching as he pulled out his Disruptor Rifle and started taking out the Jawas. Seeing Sabine make a move, I grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. Seeing her look at me, I knew she wanted to protest, but I shook my head. Mando gave chase once they entered the Sandcrawler, with us staying behind and watching the child. "He will learn that not all situations can be won by combat." I said as I looked towards the child, who looked up at us.
Later
Walking up to Mando, who was out cold on the ground, I kicked his arm, where he started waking up. "Good, you're awake." I said, holding my hand out to him, where he took it. Pulling him to his feet, I looked over at Sabine and the child. "We will have to find someone on this planet that can take us to the Jawas so that we can negotiate the return of your parts." I said, looking back at Mando.
"I... think I might know someone." He said, where he started walking, with us following him.
Later that night
Reaching a small farm, I watched as the creatures walked around us, with me looking up the ladder once we got closer, seeing someone was up there. "I thought that you were dead." The person said, where he started climbing down towards us.
"I'm going to let the child walk for a bit, he has been in the pod all day." Sabine said, with both of us looking at her. "What?" She asked, with Mando looking at me.
"Keep an eye on him." He said, with Sabine giving a mock salute as Mando and I walked over to the farmer. Sabine picked the child up and set him on the ground, where he started chasing after a frog, where she walked with him.
Once the farmer was on the ground, he looked towards me, then Sabine, then the Child. "You three were what the fuss was about?" He asked, looking back at me.
"No, we ran into Mando here on our own search. Our search ended here, so we plan on going somewhere else to search." I answered, holding my hand out. "Dakota Wren." I introduced, with him cleaning his hands off and shaking mine. "My daughter, Sabine Wren." I introduced, looking towards my daughter as she caught the frog and held it up before letting it go, where the child gave chase once more.
"Kuill." He introduced as he let go.
"The child was what the fuss was about though, and Mando has taken it in as a foundling." I said, where Mando turned his head towards me as I spoke.
"My ship has been destroyed; I'm trapped here." Mando said as Kuill walked over to some crates.
"Stripped, not destroyed." Kuill answered as he grabbed a tool and walked back over to us. "Jawas steal, not destroy." He said as he passed the tool over to Mando, who started working on his wrists.
"Stolen or destroyed, makes no difference to me." He said, with me looking at him.
"It should." I said, where he looked up at me. "Stolen means you can get it back, destroyed means you can't." I informed as I crossed my arms and looked at Kuill. "We can trade, the ship we came on, which doesn't have hyper speed, for your parts. I can also tell them the location of three other ships that are abandoned now that their pilots are dead." I said, with Mando looking at the Child as he jumped at the frog and missed.
"I will take you too them, I have spoken." Kuill said, where we turned our attention towards him as he had spoken.
"No, spit that out, it's not food!" Sabine said, where we turned to see her pulling on the foot of the frog as the child had eaten all but its legs.
"Sabine." I said, with her letting go as she turned towards me, then looked back at the child as it burped. "Come, we are leaving." I said, with her nodding and placing the child back in the pod as we followed Kuill.
The next day
Seeing the Sandcrawler come into view, I looked over at Sabine as she slept. Looking towards Mando, he reached for his Disruptor Rifle, with me taking it before he could. "No weapons we're here to negotiate, not start a fight." I said, where Kuill looked at us.
"Weapons are our religion." Mando reminded, with me nodding as he was right.
"Yes, they are, but that doesn't mean use them to kill mindlessly." I said, placing a hand on his chest plate. "We use them to protect the innocent, nothing more, nothing less." I said as I placed the weapon down and proceeded to take my blasters and put them to the side as well. Taking the lightsaber, I held it in my hand for a minute before placing it down as well. "Even if you have an emotional connection with it, leave it." I said as Sabine sat up.
"We're almost there?" Sabine asked as she stretched her arms out. "When was the last time you spoke jawa?" She asked as she looked at me.
"It's been a long time, too long that I am not sure if I speak the right dialect anymore." I answered as we got closer to the Jawas, who started surrounding us.
"Lucky for you, I know their tongue." Kuill informed, where I looked at him as we got closer. "Greetings!" He spoke in Jawaese, with me knowing that from back then and to now, the tongue was different, ever so slightly. "They really don't like you for some reason." Kuill said as he turned to look at us.
"Well, I did disintegrate some of them." Mando admitted, with me shaking my head as that was true as well as being the wrong call.
Coming to a stop, we got off, with me looking at Mando's hip. "Your blaster." I reminded, with him looking at it and then placing it on the carriage. As he started walking, I grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him once more. "The Vibroblade, and your wrist mounts." I said, getting a sigh from him as he started removing his gauntlets and knife before placing them next to the carriage.
"And yours?" He asked, looking at my gauntlets.
"I've only got the wire; I have no need for anything else." I informed as I turned towards Sabine. "Stay and watch the foundling, as well as our things. Jawas are tricky, but friendly." I said with a smile, getting a nod from her.
Walking over to the Jawas, we sat in front of them, where Mando standing for a minute before doing the same. The Jawa spoke, with me getting some words here and there, some of it making sense. "The Jawas will trade all the parts for the beskar." Kuill said, looking towards us.
"I'm not going to trade anything, these are my parts, you stole them from me!" Mando said, with me holding my hand up.
"Mandalorian never part ways with their armor, only when they fall in battle or pass on their armor to the next of kin do they ever do so, that is our way." I said, placing my hands on my knees. "I offer you the location of three deserted ships, one being my own, for his parts. That is the best offer I can offer you." I said, with the Jawas speaking to each other and then towards us once more before speaking.
As the Jawa spoke, Kuill looked towards me. "They say that they can't take your word, for you could give them false information on the locations or that there is no ship. However, they will consider the child." Kuill said, with me shaking my head at them.
"The foundling is off the table, as is the Beskar, our weapons, and any other person in this group." I informed, where the Jawas sighed at this. "So, lets skip the negotiations, and get to what you truly want." I said, with the Jawa tilting his head. "I have saved your kind before, even spent time with them. You want one thing right now, something that you can't get a hold of, not without help." I said, leaning forward. "We will get this item for you, and you won't have to lift a finger to help other than pointing us in the way. All that is required in return, are the parts." I said, with the Jawa getting up and grouping with the others and talking.
Once they turned to us, they started saying one word that I knew. "The Egg."
Later
Stepping out of the sandcrawler, I looked at Mando as he put his gauntlets back on. "Have you ever seen a mudhorn before?" Mando asked as we walked down the ramp. Looking at Sabine and the Child who was floating behind us, I looked back at him.
"I've taken down rancors, this is no problem." I said as we made our trip on foot.
Later
Reaching a cave, I saw only one way inside. "Sabine, how many thermal detonators do you have on you?" I asked, with her looking at her pouch on her hip.
"I have... four? Five, I have five." Sabine said as she opened her bag and looked at her inventory.
"Don't use any until we leave, in fact, we won't need to use any at all." I said as I took the saber in my hand. "Mando, you're going to draw it out. Once that is done, Sabine will sneak inside and get the egg. While that is going on, the two of us will take care of the mudhorn." I said as I looked at Sabine and then Mando.
"Fine." Mando said as he drew his blaster and walked into the cave.
"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Sabine asked as she walked over to the edge of the cave as I stood in the middle.
"I haven't gotten anyone killed yet." I said, followed by blaster fire going off from the cave. Seeing Mando come flying out, he landed in front of me. Grabbing his broken chest plate, I pulled him to his feet as the mudhorn charged out of the cave. "Now!" I said, pushing Mando to the side and jumping to the other just in time. Throwing my hand out, I ignited the red lightsaber.
Seeing the mudhorn turn towards me, it charged, where I moved aside and cut its side in one swift motion. Looking at the mudhorn, I saw it limping, but not dead. It turned its attention towards Mando before charging at him. Once it reached him, I shot my wire at him, wrapped around his leg and pulled him away.
That was when I took notice to something spectacular. The Mudhorn was no longer on the ground. Turning towards the child, I saw that its hand was extended. Seeing the Mudhorn fall, I looked back at the child and saw that it was passed out. "Mando, take care of it!" I said, walking towards the child to check up on it.
Once I reached the child, I knelt down next to the carrier and saw that he was indeed asleep. Taking my glove off, I placed a hand over its head, feeling that he was alright. Closing my eyes, I focused on the force for an answer, something to explain the child's sudden collapse. Getting an answer, I stood up as he was alright, just tired from using the force for the first time in over twenty years.
Looking towards Sabine as she climbed out of the cave, covered in mud, she held up a hairy ball. "I got it!" She called out, making her way over to me as well as Mando.
Seeing him look over the child, he looked towards me. "Do you know what happened?" He asked, with me nodding as I did.
"He used the force after cutting himself off from it." I answered as Sabine stopped next to me, where I took the egg. "Good work, now we can work on getting your ship back in order." I said as I started leading them towards the sandcrawler.
Later
Reaching the Raiser Crest, Sabine and I jumped off the back and started setting up the lights for Kuill. "We will need a full maintenance team to get her back up and running. It will take days." Mando said as we turned the lights on.
"Then it is a good thing that we are here to make it go faster." Sabine said as she unhooked the straps.
"With you helping us, it will go even faster." Kuill said as I grabbed the tools and started getting to work with them.
The next day
Stepping off the Raiser Crest, I looked at the cockpit and saw Sabine start up the engines, with the thrusters coming to life. Giving her a thumbs up, she gave one back and turned it off. Walking over to Mando and Kuill, they turned to face me. "Everything is working just fine. Until she gets properly looked at, I wouldn't get into any fights with her." I said as I walked up the ramp.
"Thank you." Mando said, extending his hand, which I took. "I can offer you a ride to your ship." He said, where I crossed my arms at that.
"My ship is long gone, I also included it and the others for your parts." I said, surprising him.
"That leaves you stranded here, with no way of reuniting with your wife." Mando said, where I shook my head at him.
"Nope, because we are hitching a ride to the next space port that you stop at. From there, we will get another ship and continue our mission." Sabine said as she stood next to me. "It's kind of his thing." She said as she jerked her thumb towards me.
"It's kind of my thing?" I questioned, looking at her. "Who was it who chased down four tie fighters, got shot out of the air and send us crash landing here?" I asked, with her crossing her arms at this. "You may have a pilot's license, but that is as far as it goes. I would never let you touch the Ebon Hawk!" I said as I turned towards Mando. "Permission to board?" I asked, with Sabine standing up straight as I said this.
"Permission granted." Mando said, then looking at Sabine. "Mind checking on the kid?" Mando asked, with her nodding and walking off. Looking back at me, he looked at my lightsaber. "Can you teach me?" He asked, with me looking at the saber as well.
"Sorry, but it is not a Mandalorian weapon." I said, holding it out to him, showing him. "This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as random as most blasters; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times... before the Empire." I said as I put it away. Looking towards Sabine, he did the same. "I would pass it down to her, but she shows no sign or traits of the force. Even then, it is not up to me to pass along such a weapon. It belongs to her mother, so it will be her mother's choice." I said, looking back at him.
"How are you certain that she is still alive?" He asked, with me smirking at that.
"For one, I am more connected to the force than most. This is only due to my immortality. Due to this... I can hear others who I have had connected with, those who can use the force." I said, frowning. "Ezra is one I have not felt in a long time." I said, where he turned to me. "But she shows the same signs as me, but weaker. She can hear my thoughts if I don't focus, she can feel Ezra better than I. Just like I can feel my wife." I said, placing a hand on my chest. "If he is alive, we will find him. If not, we will find him." I said, where he turned back to face me.
"I understand." He said, where I walked over to Sabine and sat down in the seat next to the child as Mando talked to Kuill.
"He is so small." Sabine said, with me looking down at the child.
"So were you, once." I said, with her looking up at me. "I miss those days." I said, reaching forward and placing a hand on her helmet, where she moved my arm away.
Mando walked by, stopping next to us. "You are free to join me up on the cockpit." Mando said, with me nodding as we got up and followed him. Once we climbed to the top, Sabine and I sat behind the pilot seat, where me moved the child in front of me. "Watch over him." He said as he took his seat, started the ship and proceeded to take off.
