24
Cobb leaned against the bar and took a long sip of spotchka. His brown eyes roamed over the crowd of every adult in the village crammed into the cantina. The older teenagers and a few elderly supervised the children, including Grogu, playing outside. Their laughter echoed through the makeshift meeting hall during a momentary lapse in conversation. Zo glanced out, wishing she were there instead of stuck inside the tightly packed room, growing antsy from all the barely contained nervous energy bombarding her senses.
The emergency meeting meandered for the first thirty minutes as people slowly filed in and ordered drinks from Tanti before sitting down. A few villagers attempted to monopolize the Marshal's attention to settle trivial matters that popped up during his short absence. Once Cobb regained control and appeased the more rowdy citizens, he immediately jumped into the most pressing issue before losing their attention.
"I called this meeting because it's high time we figure out a way to deal with the krayt dragon." He said, setting his empty glass down on the bar behind him. "The beast is peeling off our pack animals one by one and sometimes our mining haul with it. It's only a matter of time before it gets tired of scraps and comes after us, hell if it weren't for her," He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Zo, who stood behind the bar taking advantage of Tanti's absence by mixing cocktails from top-shelf liquor, "Mina would be gone. What happens next time? What if it goes after the school?"
Fear and anger swelled up in the crowd, followed by low, frantic murmuring. "What are we gonna do about it!" Someone yelled.
Cobb had to raise his voice over the sidebars breaking out amongst his neighbors. "Now, this here is a Mandalorian." He waved a hand at Mando, leaning cool and collected against the bar beside him. The colorful cocktail Zo mixed for him sat untouched and ignored at his elbow. "Y'all know what a Mandalorian is, right?"
"We've heard the stories," Tanti responded.
Cobb nodded, "Well, then you know how good they are at killing. The Mandalorian has agreed to join us, to help us slay the leviathan. The only payment he seeks is this armor," he ran a hand down the green chest plate, "So that it may be returned to its ancestral owners. I've grown fond of this armor, but I am far more fond of this town. Our Town."
Tanti slapped his hand on the table, "Well, that settles it. The Mandalorian's hired! Let's kill this thing!"
"Slow your speeder there, Tanti," Cobb interjected. "We can't kill the krayt alone, even with Mando's help…." He ran a hand over his mouth and drew a deep breath. "The Sand People have also agreed to join us."
The cantina devolved into pandemonium. Chairs toppled over as people leaped to their feet, and someone threw a drink against the wall and yelled. Cobb glanced over his shoulder at Zo, and she dutifully served him another double spotchka.
Sensing the Marshal beginning to flounder, Mando stepped forward and said, "I have seen the true size of that thing. It will swallow your entire town when the fancy strikes it. You're lucky Mos Pelgo isn't already a sand field." The group quieted at Mando's firm voice. "I know the Tuskens. They are brutal, but so is the Dune Sea. They have survived here for thousands of generations. They know more about the Krayt Dragon than anyone on this planet. I believe in their plan to slay it."
"And what payment do the Sand People demand?" Someone yelled.
"No payment beyond the carcass and ichor of the dragon."
"How can we trust them? They're monsters!"
Mando stepped back and turned toward Zo, who was stirring her cocktail with the end of a mini paper umbrella and starting wistfully at the playing children. "This is Zo Mara. She is a Jedi. A great warrior of the fallen Galactic Republic." Zo choked on her drink. Awe rippled through the crowd. Apparently, the people of Mos Pelgo weren't as uninformed as Mando had once been about the now near-mythical Jedi. "She was trained as a peacekeeper and negotiator. She helped broker the treaty with the Tusken Elders. They will stand by your side in battle and will forever live in peace with you, never raising a blaster to you unless one of you breaks the peace first." He pointed one long finger at the crowd.
The villagers sat in stunned silence, digesting Mando's declaration. An old man in the very back of the crowd pushed forward, staring at Zo. She set her empty glass down on the bar and eyed him warily. "Is it true? Are you a Jedi?" He wheezed.
She swallowed thickly and nodded. "I am."
"Prove it."
Zo held her hand up, and her lightsaber flew into it. She thumbed the trigger, and the purple laser hissed. Several people murmured at the sight of her weapon. She raised her other hand, and the man started to float off the floor. He squealed in surprise as she had him do a mid-air somersault. Coins and a set of keys dropped from his pockets and clattered onto the floor before she set him back on his feet. He turned and nodded at his friends and neighbors. "Does the Mandalorian speak true? Have the Tuskens agreed to peace?" He asked, snatching his dropped items as Zo floated them in the air in front of him.
"Yes." She answered. "I do not have much experience with the Tuskens. But from my short time with them, I sense they are honorable people. The treaty will stand as long as you and your people maintain your end."
"We are a free people and a free town. I would never force you into something you didn't agree to." Cobb said, stepping forward. "So what do you say? Do we slay the krayt dragon?" Ayes rang out as every villager agreed to the treaty. Mos Pelgo would join the Tuskens, ending the beast's reign of terror together.
The meeting drew to a stilted end, and villagers slowly filed out of the cantina. A few gave Mando and Zo appraising stares. Before Mando could turn towards the batwing doors to follow Cobb outside, Zo vaulted over the bar, grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to her side. But he planted his feet like the stubborn mule he was, and she ricocheted toward him.
He caught her before she slammed into his chest. "Yes, Zo Mara?"
"Don't 'Zo Mara' me." She imitated his smokey voice, jabbing a finger at his hard chest. "A great warrior of the fallen Republic?"
"Most people would take that as a compliment coming from a Mandalorian." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and tilted his helmet to glare down at her.
"I was a kriffing child when the Republic fell, you nerf-herder." She mirrored his stance, tilting her jaw defiantly up at him. "You misled them. I had no part in the negotiations. I don't speak Tusken, remember? I simply nodded while you translated the conversation."
"Semantics. The villagers needed something else, someone else to trust, to believe in." He replied.
"They don't know anything about me."
"No. But I do." His words were a warm caress that she wanted to lean into. But before she could, he abruptly turned and exited into the bright sunlight.
The Sand People would arrive early the following morning with the banthas needed to transport the bombs and people to the dragon's cave. Cobb directed his people to begin gathering supplies and weapons. Explosives were brought from the mines and stacked in the town center. Families gathered their blasters and brought them to Mando to evaluate their usefulness against the dragon. Most of the weapons would be worthless against anything larger than a womp rat but he couldn't fault the willingness to fight for their town.
Zo stood with the village's two young teachers and a cluster of old folks watching the children play. The older man that had challenged her Jedi claim strode towards her with another man in tow. "Uh oh," Cobb muttered, noticing the sun-baked crotchety pair hobbling toward her.
Mando spun around, hand on his blaster, immediately finding Zo's red hair in the crowd. "Are they dangerous?" He growled as a sudden pang of apprehension tightened in his gut. After hearing Cobb's story of what horrors the Mining Guild had showered on his people, he hadn't thought there might be any Imperial sympathizers in Mos Pelgo.
"Dangerous?" He laughed. "No, Thom and Tym ain't dangerous. Just a pair of shuckin' annoying, cantankerous old sandworms…Matias, don't put anything heavy on that box of thermal detonators!" Cobb yelled towards a man in a frayed straw hat and oil-stained overalls.
Zo sensed the men approaching and stood slowly, brushing sand off her knees as she slowly turned towards them. They looked like a pair of surly wolverines trapped in sandblasted octogenarian bodies. Their wrinkled, weather-worn faces were mirror images, as was everything else, from their stiff-legged gait to their matching denim coveralls. "Gentlemen." She gave them an unsure, wavering smile, keeping her movements slow and non-threatening.
"Jedi, my brother and I got a serious problem that requires official intervention." The first brother said.
"Gentlemen–"Zo tried again, her voice matching her wavering smile.
"Gentleman? Bah! I'm Tym, the ugly'uns Thom." The other brother barked.
Zo couldn't help the little laugh that escaped or the sudden sharp pain that flared across the scar on her right hand at the sight of the elderly twins. "Ok,Tym, Thom-" She nodded to each of them. "I don't know what you think I can do–"
"You're a Jedi, ain't ya? Tatooine never had an official emissary from the Council, but we had … what's the word, Thom?"
"Ambassadors–"
"Ambassadors, yup, they'd come to the big cities a couple times a year to help the magistrates with big cases that required an outside judge."
Thom spits a mouthful of tobacco juice into the sand, "That's right– outside, non-partisan." The man looked very proud for digging up that word from the recesses of his memory.
"Cobb Vanth, now he's a good man, but he's a far cry from non-partisan."
"Thom, Tym, I think you have the wrong idea about what I am…who I am–"
"The Mandalorian said you were a Jedi, and you said you were a Jedi," Thom pointed a gnarled finger at her accusingly.
"I was–I am– May the Force grant me strength." She muttered, bowing her head. "You two need to understand I do not now nor have I ever had a seat on the Jedi council– the Council is kriffing gone, and I have no authority to render any verdict."
The twins waved her words away. "You bein' a Jedi's good enough for us–"
"So you see, we have this protocol droid–"
"And we agreed to split it, 50-50 to help run our moisture farms–"
"But Tym here he's been keeping the damn droid on his end o'the farm fixin' evaporators and such–"
"You scud rat liar. I ain't never kept that droid-–" The twins turned toward each other bickering.
Zo looked between them, searching the bustling crowd for a friendly face to save her. The sun glinted off Mando's armor, and she let out a relieved breath as he walked toward her.
"Excuse my interruption, but I need a word with my partner–" Mando dipped his chin at the elderly men before leading Zo towards freedom.
"Thank you, that was worse than being stuck in a Sarlacc pit." She muttered, folding a loose strand of hair back into her braid.
"What are best friends for?" Mando replied.
She tucked her hands into the sleeves of the Tusken robe she still wore and watched as the villagers got a few more minutes of preparations done before the sunset. "I have a good feeling about this…the dragon, the treaty."
"That's refreshing."
A series of whistles echoed, and the village children scattered, called home as dark fell. Grogu ran to them on his stubby little legs. "Cobb offered to have us bunk with him. He's got a few extra rooms." He said, picking Grogu up and slipping him into the bag across his shoulder. "It's that or the cantina."
"I don't care where we sleep as long as I get to take a shower," Zo sighed.
They rose early the following day and returned to the town center to wait for the Tuskens arrival. The village was tense. The adults spoke very little, and even the children seemed to play with less energy than the day before. Zo chewed her fingernails between sips of caf. The anxiety radiating off the others made her skin itch.
"You've had enough caf," Mando admonished, taking the cup from her trembling hand and lifting his helmet just enough to drink down the remainder.
"Hey, I wasn't done with that." She huffed, chewing her fingernails as his helmet slipped back down over the stubble on his chin.
Mando set the cup aside and took her hands in both of his, "Enough of that also. I thought you sensed everything was going to be ok."
He rubbed his gloved thumbs along the back of her hands, distracting her from further mutilating her fingernails. She let out a shaky breath, looking at her reflection in the glass of his visor. "I can't see everything, never everything…it feels like this is the right path, but they are so afraid. One mistake, and the entire plan is…shit. The Tuskens are here." She said, turning towards the eastern horizon, sensing a familiar presence approaching.
The first bantha appeared at the top of a sizzling dune. Atop sat a lone Tusken Raider. The villagers clustered together as Mando and Cobb walked out to greet the party. A few loud barks, harsh grunts, and delicate swooping hand motions later, the Marshal led the Tuskens formally into his town. Cobb and Mando conveyed brief introductions and then handed out instructions. Everyone got quickly to work loading the banthas with explosives and weapons. A few shy Tusken children stood off to the side until Grogu recognized them and shuffled up to his friends from the camp. They didn't need to speak the same language or be the same species to restart their games. The mood lightened considerably once the human kids of Mos Pelgo joined, and the village was once again full of the sound of happy, laughing children.
Zo helped move loads of sonic detonators, using her control of the Force to float the large missile-shaped explosives to Mando and the others, who then secured them to the back of the largest bantha bulls. The humans and Tuskens worked quickly and in relative peace until everything was loaded.
Mando briefly entertained the idea of ordering Zo to stay behind with Grogu. Briefly, because the moment he let the thought take hold, an ice-cold chill crept up his spine. She stopped her discussion with Cobb mid-sentence and looked over her shoulder at him. "Absolutely not." She hissed, her cold blue eyes narrowed to irritated slits.
"Cyare–" He sighed.
"I am not staying here. The kid will be fine, and we will be back before dusk."
"This is going to be extremely dangerous."
"Yes, it is," she smiled. "Aren't you lucky you have a great warrior of the fallen Republic on your side?" She turned back around and touched Cobb's chest, rubbing a smudge of dirt off one of the black buttons on his red shirt. "Get your people ready. It's time to go." Zo didn't wait for his reply before jumping onto the back of the giant explosive-laden bantha.
Din bristled under the armor at the touch she gave Cobb. Simmering jealousy that the other man probably felt the warmth radiating from her soft fingers through his thin linen shirt. Cobb whistled loudly through his fingers, "Mount up. Time to get this done." Villagers hugged their children and instructed those staying behind to guard their homes. He turned back to Din with a crooked grin, his teeth chewing his bottom lip as he considered how foolish it might be to challenge a Mandalorian. He laughed at his possibly suicidal decision, then clapped Din on his shoulder, "If you don't stake a claim, partner, I will."
The return trip to the Krayt's layer seemed to take no time. The cloud of nervous anticipation that lingered over Mos Pelgo followed the group like a phantom. The villagers spoke very little as the banthas plodded on, towing speeders and supplies. The dunes rose and fell under their steady hooves, and the suns traveled across the sky. The Tuskens relayed directions or concerns to Mando through hand signals. The desert itself seemed to know their destination. The usually curious and hungry creatures that dwelled in the sands avoided them.
Just before midday, the Tusken leader slowed his bantha to match Mando's pace and shared a quick conversation. Zo sensed the familiar comfort of Mando's warm strength as his visor briefly settled on her before speaking to Cobb. The Marshal nodded once, winked over his shoulder at Zo, then turned to Tanti and told him what Mando reported and so on down the line. The humans murmured nervously as news that the dragon's cave was just beyond the canyon.
"Stay calm, stay true to the plan and each other," Zo said, turning in her saddle to face the line of villagers behind her. She sent a burst of calm through the Force that linked them all together. The nervous murmuring quieted as the first bantha entered the stone canyon. The banthas marched on through the canyon and into the valley of the beast's lair.
A hot breeze skittered across the sand and high rock walls sprouting from the hard-baked earth. The draft reversed, sucking sand and whipping through their hair back towards the cave's dark mouth. The ground rumbled, and the banthas stomped their feet as the riders dismounted. Zo turned toward the cave, her senses reaching into the deep darkness to the creature inside. "It's asleep." She said as Mando and Cobb joined her.
"Can you keep it asleep until we're ready?" Mando asked, remembering the way she calmed Grogu.
Zo shook her head as the beast blew out another earth-rumbling snore. "Probably not. So we should get this done as quickly and quietly as possible."
They buried the explosives brought from Mos Pelgo's mines in a shallow trench Zo created using the Force to silently scoop up the top layer of sand so the others could position the bombs. Once the trench was booby-trapped, Cobb and the Tusken leader directed their people to take flanking positions farther away from the cave so they wouldn't make for an easy snack. Massive harpoons, usually reserved for giant sand-reys, were anchored into the ground. Lastly, two banthas were tethered at the end of the trench to entice the Krayt Dragon to emerge from its den.
"You ready?" Mando asked Cobb.
The Marshal shook his head, "No. Guess we have to get this done anyway."
Mando signaled for one of the Tuskens, and they had a quick conversation. "What's that all about?" Zo asked, holding her lightsaber and a blaster in either hand.
"Ce Iraq is going to wake the beast," Mando said, indicating the Tusken walking towards the mouth of the cave.
Zo let out an annoyed scoff, "Because that went so well last time. I'll go poke it with my lightsaber and have it chase me out."
"No," Mando answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Cobb piped up, "I gotta agree with Mando on this one."
Zo glared at both of them but refused to let her anger flare up, "I don't remember asking for either of your permission. Get the harpoons ready." She disappeared in a blink, a blur of movement headed straight for the cave. She nearly knocked Ce Yaraq over in the wake of her run. The Tusken let out a confused bark as Mando signaled for him to resume his previous position. Far back in the pitch-black cave, Zo's purple lightsaber flared to life like a candle flame.
The dragon slept deeply; the immense life energy filled the cavernous space. Unlike Krex and the force-sensitive creatures she met in the forest on Aargonar, the krayt had no sentient thoughts. She skidded to a halt a few paces from its massive mouth. Just one of the creature's fangs was taller than she was. She willed away her fear and jumped up, landing on its snout. The krayt breathed out and the cave filled with hot, stale air, but it otherwise didn't stir. She thumbed the trigger on her lightsaber, and it thrummed to life in her hand. "I am one with the Force. The Force is with me." She murmured, slashing her lightsaber across the dragon's scaled snout.
An enraged growl shook the mountain. "Get ready!" Mando yelled as the glow from Zo's lightsaber bounced around the cave walls. The Jedi appeared fifty paces from the mouth of the cave, swinging and stabbing her lightsaber at the dragon-like a matador with her muleta, urging it into a mindless frenzy. The ground undulated as the krayt slithered forward, its enormous jaws snapping at the stinging gnat that woke it from its slumber. She cartwheeled backward, flipping and twisting in the air as the dragon swung its head towards her, its black eyes tracking her every movement. The beast's segmented body snaked after her as she continued the flipping, cartwheeling jumps across the booby-trapped trench. Her hands and feet moved with preternatural grace and speed; she didn't so much as disturb a grain of sand.
The dragon made another great lunge towards her as she landed between the harpoon guns. "Come on!" She roared at the beast as it swung its head up, beady eyes darting around, then slowly shifting its body back into its den sensing this particular meal was more trouble that it was worth.
"Fire the harpoons!" Cobb yelled before the dragon could fully retreat. The spears sailed through the air and punctured the thick scales of the krayt's neck. The steel chains attached to the harpoons rattled as the dragon slithered back. The villagers and Tuskens ran forward, grabbing the chains and yanking in a game of tug-o-war with the dragon. Zo flung her arms forward, reaching out with every bit of the Force she could muster to pull the creature towards the bombs. The dragon swung its head, and the first chain snapped, sending a dozen villagers and Tuskens sprawling into the sand.
Mando ordered those armed with blasters to fire on the krayt. Zo was jerked forward across the sand, quickly growing exhausted as her strength failed. She slid closer to the bombs as the second chain snapped. Mando landed behind her, latching his arms around her middle as the krayt dragon snatched up a villager that got too close. "Let it go!" He bellowed as they were both dragged another dozen feet.
"We'll lose it in the mountain!" She screamed back.
"Let it go, jetti'ika!"
The tethers of the Force frayed and then broke as her grip on the beast went slack. Zo's head bounced off the beskar on his chest as they both slammed into the ground. She lay stunned and groaning, blinking away dizzy spots as Mando sat up, one arm still wrapped around her middle, frantically checking the back of her head with his other hand. "Cyar'ika, you're kriffing bleeding!"
She batted his hands away from the back of her head as he probed the throbbing knot near the nape of her neck. "Worry about it later."
Seeing an easy meal, the dragon reared up and prepared to strike. Zo scrambled to her knees, lightsaber hissing up at the giant beast. "Zo, wait!" He grabbed for her again, but she was already gone, running forward while she sent a powerful push through the Force that sent him sliding through the sand like a pebble across a lake.
"I'm takin' the shot, Mando!" Cobb's harried, static-filled voice crackled across the com.
"Cobb, Cobb, don't! Zo's up there !" He bellowed back as Zo jumped toward the dragon. The krayt hissed and snapped its jaws as Zo spun in the air, slashing its face and keeping it distracted as the villagers and Tuskens scrambled to safety. Sensing they were free from immediate danger, she slashed the dragon once more for good measure, then ran down the length of its nose and jumped off the end, flipping end over end in the air like a graceful high diver going for gold. Rocket fire hissed above, and Din snapped his helmet around, watching as Cobb pelted forward in his stolen green armor. The buried explosives went off with a tremendous crack and rumble. The dragon roared as Cobb blasted past, catching Zo as she tumbled through the air before they disappeared into a cloud of sand and rock.
The smoke cleared, revealing a great crater in the hard bedrock. No sign remained of the dragon. People were talking, confused, and hushed. A Tusken barked, and another howled, and Din looked up as Cobb slowly descended from above. Draped across his arms was Zo, flushed and dusty but alive. Cobb set her down, and she shook sand out of her hair. Cobb put his thumb under her chin, tilting her head to look at him. The flush in her cheeks grew hotter, and Din knew they had shared something in the air, a few heated words or a stroke of Cobb's hands where they had no business being.
Din curled his hands into fists, barely containing the absolute fury threatening to break through his practiced calm. That had been too close, too fucking close and reckless, and who the hell did Cobb think he was giving her a look like that? "I told you to fucking wait, Vanth!" He reached for Zo wanting to feel her, to know she really was ok, and Maker, damn it all, why had she been so kriffing stubborn?
Cobb hooked his hand around her waist and pulled her to his chest, tugging her away from Mando's outstretched hand. "I had her in my sights the whole time, partner." He said, shoving the green Mandalorian helmet up, so it sat on the top of his head like a Beskar crown. He turned his hazel eyes to Zo and ran a gloved hand along her jaw. "Tell him I got it, Angel. Tell Mando I fucking got it." He murmured, nuzzling the side of her sweat-streaked face.
"Actually, Cobb–"
The top of the mountain exploded, giving Cobb his answer as the krayt dragon erupted through the rock. Cobb released her, cursing loudly as he pushed the helmet back over his face. Boulders tumbled down the mountain sending the raiding party scurrying for safety from the avalanche. "Zo." Din took her hand as she shook off the Tusken robes and prepared to run again towards the danger.
She felt his concern, the tendrils of fear that clung to him. "I'm all right, Bounty Hunter." She said, reaching for him, fingers hesitating in the air between them before she stroked the thin strip of bare skin on his neck.
Din stepped into her touch, murmuring, "I told him to wait."
"I'm all right." Her fingers slid along his warm skin, feeling a few soft strands of his hair escaping the base of his helmet. "Let's finish this and get out of this Maker-forsaken desert."
The dragon let out another enraged roar and spewed a deluge of green venom on the scattering people far below. Zo's soft fingers were suddenly gone from the back of his neck. She was running towards a trio of Tuskens too slow to avoid the downpour of dragon vomit. One of the Tuskens stumbled and fell, bile rained down on his head, and he howled in agony. She slid to a halt between the two shocked Tuskens as the acid liquified their comrade. A cold shiver of fear threatened to shatter her resolve. But she breathed through it, calming her racing heart and thoughts of failure, running through the same grounding exercises she practiced with Grogu in the milliseconds it took for the Krayt's acidic bile to flow towards them. She threw her arms up, reaching out to create a Force shield around them. Her knees buckled under the strain of keeping the shield intact as the acid sluiced over and around the shimmering stasis field of Force energy.
"Cobb, follow me! We need to distract that thing so Zo and the others can get clear!" Mando yelled before his Rising Phoenix sparked to life, and he blasted off, aiming for the mountaintop.
"Fuck it all," Cobb grumbled as his rocketpack sputtered before catching. He jumped into the air and followed Mando towards the raging beast. They landed on a rocky outcropping hiding from the dragon while they fired their weapons. The laser bolts ricocheted off the krayts impenetrable scales. "This isn't fucking working!" He yelled as the dragon spewed more venom.
"Obviously." Mando retorted as far below, the villagers and Tuskens ran for cover. Zo shoved a woman in dusty overalls out of the way and barely had time to shield herself before acid rained down on her head. "Just keep shooting it." He reloaded his rifle. He needed more time. He had to think. The krayt heaved itself out of the mountain and slithered down the face of the mountain. Boulders tumbled down with thunderous crashes. Mando jumped back in the air, Cobb right behind him as they flew towards the ground.
The krayt flicked its tail, sending a giant boulder flying off the mountain. The projectile flew towards Zo as she urged the villagers to flanking positions along the rocky edges of the valley. Mando cursed and urged the Rising Phoenix to hurtle him forward. He yelled her name, knowing she wouldn't hear him over the rocket's roar or the mountain's thunderous cracking. He dropped the shields on his mind that had become second nature and reached out as he had on the prison ship, throwing out a warning along that invisible tether he knew connected them. Zo looked over her shoulder, finding his glinting figure in the air high above her, then saw the giant boulder hurtling towards her and the others. She pirouetted towards the boulder, her lightsaber extended and ready as she ran forward. "Di'kult Jetii." He cursed, angling himself down, barreling towards the ground so fast his armor grew hot with speed. How many times would she risk her life before the day was done?
A heartbeat before impact, she jumped into the air, flipping over and slashing her lightsaber as she went. A molten hot crack formed straight down the middle of the boulder then it split apart with a wave of her hand, and the pieces tumbled into the sands. Zo landed on her feet, her knees buckled, and she felt herself falling, too exhausted to even throw her arms out to save the humiliation of a face full of sand when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her middle.
"I've got you, cyare." Mando's deep voice enveloped her. Zo slumped against him, her body loose and shaky from exertion.
"Well, I'm open to suggestions because it feels like this far we're getting out asses handed to us," Cobb grumbled, landing beside them, and the three of them watched as the krayt dove into a dune and swam away.
"We don't have enough time to set another trap," Zo replied, looking at one of the banthas. It brayed and swung its large horned head in annoyance at the explosives still strapped to its back. She rubbed her chest trying to calm the erratic beat of her heart, doubting she had the energy to move even another grain of sand.
"That damn things hide's a lot tougher than we thought. Damn bombs didn't even slow it down."
Mando's grip on her waist tightened as the ground shifted under their feet. The krayt crested through the sand, each of its vast dorsal scales twice as tall as Mando or Cobb. The bantha brayed again and tried to run, its knotted reins tied tight to a petrified tree. Din took a deep breath as the krayt surged forward. The plan formed quickly, and he focused on keeping the Jedi shut out of his mind. "Cobb, help me with Zo. She's heavier than she looks."
"Hey, fuck you, Bounty Hunter." She said finding enough energy to snap at him as he pushed her towards Cobb.
The Marshal caught her as she stumbled forward, scooping her into his arms again. "She's light as a feather, Mando."
"Good. Hold on tight." Cobb didn't have time to ask what he meant by that as Din slammed the butt of his rifle into the base of the Rising Phoenix. It was a sore spot in the design that had yet to be overcome in the generations since the Mandalorians took to the skies. A weakness Mandalorian foundlings were trained to protect and one that the Marshal obviously knew nothing about. The rockets sputtered on, and Cobb's grip on her tightened as his feet left the sand. A look of utter betrayal contorted her features and burned straight through the dark glass of his visor before she and the Marshal shot upward.
Din didn't let that hurt change his course as he ran to the tethered bantha. The krayt swam closer, roaring as it sighted its prey. The bantha reared up, jerking its reign free, and Din dove towards the leather strap, digging his heels into the sand before the bantha could run.
"Mando! Mando!" Zo screamed, trying to pull herself free of Cobb's arms as he fought to regain control of their trajectory. Far below them, the dragon roared.
Cobb cursed, adjusting his grip under her knees to reach a control on his vambrace. "Damn it, Angel, I'm tryin' to get this damn thing under control. It's buckin' like a wild eopie, and you aren't exactly helping matters."
The suns glinted off Mando's platinum beskar as the krayt dragon barreled towards him; massive jaws opened impossibly wide. The Mandalorian didn't flinch, didn't turn and run or explode into the air. "Let me go!" Zo yelled at Cobb, and they dipped sharply as if the rocket on his back was more than willing to comply with her demand.
"I'll put you down as soon as I can get us on solid ground–"
"Let me go now!" Zo ordered with every ounce of Force she could muster.
The Force command she threw at Cobb found purchase in his mind. He shuddered against her, his muscles refusing for an instant after his mind gave in. His arms dropped to his side, and Zo plummeted down. "Anything you say, Angel." He yelled merrily over the roar of his rockets.
Zo had time to gasp in surprise as she fell towards the sand. The calm, chiding voice of her Master whispered over the wind whistling past her ears. "A Jedi must remain calm, focused. Your path may not always be clear, but you are truly lost if you let emotions guide you."
She pivoted her body in the air, arms and legs bent, head tucked in slightly as the ground rushed ever closer. Knowing she didn't have enough time to stop entirely, she focused on slowing enough that she wouldn't break every bone in her body on impact. She hit the dune at a rough roll and skidded to the base of it without an ounce of Jedi grace. But she was on her feet instantly, running toward the Mandalorian as the Krayt burst forward. She screamed his name, his real name, the name she was forbidden to use. Din turned his head towards her, and she felt his eyes find hers, the warmth, strength, and absolute lack of fear beneath the impenetrable Beskar. "Please." She breathed, unsure who she was begging: Mando to drop the reins and run or herself to move faster, be stronger, to be able to save him, to save them all.
He didn't move, and she wasn't fast enough.
It was over in a heartbeat.
He was right there, so close she could almost feel the warm contours of his armor, and then– gone. Nothing remained except the swirling sand as the beast dove beneath and swam towards its den. Cold gripped her, enveloping her in a bone-deep arctic agony she hadn't allowed herself to feel in years. Something feral inside her fought to break free from the carefully constructed barriers in the very makeup of her soul.
Cobb landed behind her, carefully scanning the dunes surrounding them. A few of the Tuskens emerged from their hiding places and drove their gaffe sticks into the sand, trying to feel the vibrations of the krayt. "No! No! No!" Zo screamed her pain and rage out into the universe until it was a tangible thing, a tether into the darkness that promised strength and power enough to do anything if she just let that cold, angry thing inside of her claw its way out. She used the Force to reach through the shifting grains of sand until she grazed the beast's cool scales, but the dragon was too big. She couldn't pull it to the surface. She couldn't even change its course as it swam away. But she tried anyway, even though her limbs shook and her heartbeat roared in her ears. "Please, please, Master, help me. Help me save him."
"Master, help me." Shrill laughter filled her head, and Zo felt a tug on the darkness inside her. "Look how weak you are. So afraid of your power, you call on the dead for help."
"Please."
"They will die because of you. Because of your weakness."
"No!" Her voice shot across the canyon, the Force buoying it on a sonic wave that crashed into the mountain. The former Sarlacc pit collapsed on itself, sending people scurrying away from the dust cloud.
"Impressive. But not impressive enough." Anger flared inside her at the condescending tone, the know-it-all shadow that judged she wasn't worthy. "Take what you want, Jedi. There is no help for you here."
Every muscle in her body tensed, primed, and ready to fight against the krayt dragon deep under her feet and that probing dark presence in her mind. The dragon slipped further away from her, and a shot of white-hot rage blazed to life. The beast wouldn't win, not after everything they had been through. Crex, Xi'an, Jox, the kriffing Empire, they survived them all.
She led Mando down this path because she wouldn't trick Cobb into giving up the one thing that kept his people safe. She made another foolish, short-sighted vow to stop using the Force to bend others to her will because it wasn't the Jedi way.
"Look where the Jedi way got you." The intrusive thought pushed forward. "Beaten, broken, hiding your true strength." The shadow perked up, stoking her growing resentment. "What are you truly capable of, Jedi?"
What was she capable of? What could she do if she wasn't afraid of the barely contained power humming impatiently between her cells? She knew she could do much more than lift boxes or rip open hatches. She could crush and destroy anything in her path. She could rule worlds and conquer the galaxy. Nothing would stand in her way, especially not a desert-dwelling subterranean leviathan. Strength poured into her limbs like molten steel. Zo felt the Force bond intensify, then the dragon's movement slowed and finally stilled. The sand swirled down, down, down into a rippling whirlpool as she tested her renewed strength and snared the krayt with giant hooks made of pure Force energy.
"Give into the anger." The shadows in her mind preened, delicately stroking against the barriers to her innermost thoughts. "Let me show you the power of the Dark Side."
The ground rumbled and shifted as she pulled on the Force snare. The dragon would pay. They would all pay for every hurt she endured, every nightmare that woke her in a cold sweat– the krayt dragon rose slowly to the surface in a cascade of sand. The dragon snapped its jaws against the unseen chains. It swung its massive head towards her, locking its empty black eyes on her, and hissed. Its forked tongue slithered between jagged fangs.
"Angel!" Cobb hooked her under the arms, dragging her away from the snarling beast. "Move your ass before that thing eats you next!"
"What! No! No!" She shouted as the dragon slipped back beneath the sand. Her elbow connected with Cobb's jaw, and he dropped her with a string of muttered curses. "What've you done?" She shoved his chest, and he stumbled back, landing on his ass with a harsh 'oomph.'
"It's getting away!"
"Angel, I thought–"He scrambled back, scuttling for purchase across the sand like a frightened crab.
"You thought what, Cobb Vanth?"
"I– we don't have any way of killin' that thing. If it gets loose, my people are still out there!"
Her hands curled into fists. She didn't care about Cobb's people. That part of her, the nexus of compassion that tied her to the light, had gone suddenly dark. There was only anger. "Let it consume you." The shadow caressed her mind, and this time the cold felt welcoming.
Zo cocked her head, listening to the incorporeal voice as she took another step. Cobb's eye grew wide. The quiet hum of her lightsaber was shocking in the sudden silence. She froze and looked down at the weapon in her hand with no memory of grasping it. The hilt was sending painful, ice-cold throbs up her arm. "Cobb, I–" She touched the trigger, and the laser evaporated. "I'm sorry– I didn't–"
He stood unsteadily as the ground beneath them rumbled, "Maker above, what the hell's wrong with your eyes? They're– they're yellow–"
"What? No– no, that's–" She turned away from him, covering her face with her hands. She almost said impossible but knew it wasn't. She pulled back, physically from Cobb and mentally from the Force, retreating into her small sphere of power. The cold gripped her, the soft caressing fingers turning into talons, clawing into the Force bond, refusing to let her go.
"Let me see you. Let me find you."
Zo severed herself from the bonds of the Force. The jarring vacuum of loss was like cutting off one of her arms or poking out her left eye. She was momentarily disoriented, hamstrung by the lack of connection she had grown so accustomed to, and stumbled to her knees. The dragon was gone, rumbling further and further away. Cobb rushed to her side, hesitating for a breath before grabbing her under the arms and pulling her to her feet. "We gotta move, Angel, before it comes back."
"No." Zo sobbed. "I can't. Mando–"
"Is gone." He said, shaking her shoulders. "I'm sorry. Fuck, I'm sorry, Angel. I have no idea what he was thinking. But we gotta move before it comes back."
"No." She saw him disappear into the belly of that great, murderous beast and knew Cobb was right. A Jedi must protect life; there was still much life to lose if she didn't move her ass. Grogu still needed her, and it was wrong to selfishly indulge her emotions. But…" No."
"No? Whatta ya mean 'no'? The damn thing et the rest of the explosives we got nothing that can even knick it–"
Zo wiped her eyes and sniffed, "What did you say?"
"The sonic bombs were on the back of that bull that went down the krayt's gullet."
Zo closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, focusing her mind and finding calm in the chaos. There it was under all the pain and fear cloying her other senses, the warmth, strength, and resolve. She saw the bombs and realized the futility of trying to set another trap. She was too focused on her exhaustion to see past the perception of failure.
Mando hadn't, though. He had seen the path to end this conflict without further loss.
"Stars above, it's coming back," Cobb growled as the krayt broke through the surface of the sand at the far end of the clearing, swinging its massive head as it screeched a high-pitched piercing scream of an animal in pain as it gnashed its teeth against an unseen hurt.
The dragon reared straight up as if it might take to the sky next, its giant body nearly as tall as the skyscrapers on Ord Mantel. "I'm calling the retreat. We live to fight another day."
The krayt bent backward nearly in half, its truncated midsection convulsing as something inside fought its way out. Red-orange fire and blue bolts of electricity shot out of the dragon's screeching maw, followed by the Mandalorian. He blasted out through rows of jagged teeth shooting electric shock rounds out of his rifle as he soared to safety. As Mando flew closer, Zo caught a glimpse of a small blinking box barely visible in one of his large gloved hands. "Cobb, take cover! He's gonna blow it up!" Zo yelled.
"Huh?" The Marshal patted his pockets, realizing too late that Mando finessed the detonator from his belt. "Well, I'll be a Bantha's uncle–"
Mando swooped low, shooting a final bolt of electricity over his shoulder as he pressed the detonator. A deafening BOOM shook the remains of the mountain As the beast exploded. Sand and charred dragon meat rained down across the plane. In the center was the gutted remains of the giant krayt dragon. Slowly members of the raiding party reappeared from their hiding places. Triumphant barks from the Tuskens and cheers from the villagers echoed across the valley.
Mando stopped an arm's length from her. His chest was heaving as he sucked in breath after breath of fresh air. Zo stood frozen, hands curled into tight fists. She started at a point on the horizon, not meeting his eyes or where his eyes were hidden beneath the layers of glass and tech. Her entire body trembled with restraint. She would run to him if she didn't ground herself and dig her heels into the sand. Throw her arms around his neck and beg him to never, ever shove her aside so he could face danger alone again. They would face it together, anything, everything side by side.
She would make an utter fool of herself. For him, because of him. Mando's warm presence pressed in on her. Whether he realized his defenses were down or not, she wouldn't risk lowering her own. Not with her emotions so unchecked. Not until the whispers lost interest again. "Zo?" He stepped toward her, and she took a step back and then another, making room for the villagers pushing towards him to offer their thanks and congratulations. He called her name again, and she shook her head, hugging herself tightly as she shivered in the heat and bit down on her lip to keep the foolish words inside.
"Mando! Partner!" Cobb laughed as the Tuskens crept towards the smoking carcass of the dragon." Stars be damned, that was quite a show!" He raised his hand to clap Mando's shoulder and thought better of it, wrinkling his nose at the dragon goop sliding off the armor. The crowd pressed around them, lobbing questions, thanks, and praise at the Beskar-clad warrior who had just saved their town.
By the time the throng finally dispersed, and the Tuskens got to work butchering the edible parts of the krayt dragon, Zo had disappeared. Din couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that he had missed something profound in the time he spent in the belly of the krayt dragon. The look of hurt betrayal as she tried to claw her way out of Cobb's arms like a furious loth-cat replayed his mind repeatedly. He cursed himself the entire time he was in the darkness, worried that was the last memory she would have of him if he failed. In all honesty, it wasn't his best plan, and he probably could have spared the thirty seconds to at least explain it to her. But things had gotten out of control, and he took the quickest route he saw to ending this blasted quest. Hell, at least he hadn't lobbed another thermal detonator at the thing and hoped for the best. "Damn it," he muttered sourly. He tracked Zo to the edge of the valley, where she was helping the Tuskens round up the surviving banthas. She sensed his presence, looking over her shoulder at him even though he was a few thousand paces away. The telescoping magnification of his visual processor caught the crease between her brows before she turned back to the bantha.
He didn't know what he was going to say to her. He figured he should apologize. For what exactly, he wasn't sure. Probably everything. From the moment he kicked her door in and everything that's happened since that inexorably bound them together.
"You should start with being purposefully eaten by a monster." She said, raising one hand to block the sun from her eyes as Mando came to a halt beside her.
Mando dipped his head and sighed. "I should have told you my plan. It was–"
"Stupid? Fool-hearty? Very Mandalorian of you?" The tips of her ears turned red with barely controlled irritation, and she scratched the bull under his chin just to give her hands something to do.
His helmet tipped up, and she could feel the warmth of his hidden smile. "Then I suppose you running into that cave and nearly getting boiled alive in acid was very Jedi of you."
"I suppose it was." Her lips twitched into a brief smile as she brushed past him to check the saddle straps. The smile disappeared as a shadow shuttered her eyes. "You pushed me away, and I saw you– I watched you die, and I couldn't see past that." She closed her eyes at the memory of fear splashed across Cobb's face, "…Crex, Jox, Xi'an, now this. You're in danger more than you're not, and I can't tell if I'm making it better or worse."
"You make it better, Cyar'ika."
"Are you ok?" Her eyes roamed his armor like she could see through it all to the man underneath. Maybe she could, Din thought. Maybe her Jedi gifts gave her the insight the heat scanners and vital trackers in his tech gave him.
"Yes. Are you?"
She gave him a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. "Don't ever do something like that again."
"I swear on my honor as a Mandalorian; I will never be eaten by a krayt dragon again."
Zo rolled her eyes and turned back to the bantha, but not before Din saw her smile. She was filthy and exhausted, but the smile was genuine and just for him. He was done, he decided. Done worrying about what could or would happen. Being briefly eaten by a giant monster helped him reconsider all the barriers, physical and otherwise he had built and reinforced between him and the Jedi. He'd stake his claim, as Cobb had put it. Physicality was so much easier for him than conversing. He was used to doing, not discussing. He got a puck, tracked it, apprehended it, and moved on. But not with her. How could he explain what he wanted when she couldn't see his face? Would never see his face. Din considered simply asking her to accompany him on the ride back to Mos Pelgo, and then he'd spend the next few hours with his hand down the front of her pants memorizing the feel of her and the sounds she'd make when he did something she liked. When they got to the village, there wouldn't be any questions about what he wanted.
Heat prickled down the back of her neck before settling low and heavy in her belly. "What did you say?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder to the Mandalorian. His helmet snapped up, and he muttered something that sounded like 'Fuck me' before busying himself with the banthas saddle.
Around them, the villager's speeders and swoop bikes revved to life now that they were no longer worried about the vibrations traveling across the sand. Cobb whistled and clapped his hands, signaling his people to head back to Mos Pelgo. "Did you see the size of that pearl?" He asked, walking towards Zo, Mando, and their waiting banthas. "Would'a fed the village for an entire season." He muttered, shaking his head.
Mando bit back a retort about the treaty's terms as he swung himself onto the back of his bantha. He turned to look down at Zo, reaching one arm towards her. Relief he wasn't resentful or angry for everything he had been through today flooded through her. He hadn't seemed angry when they spoke, but it was hard to tell beneath all that armor. Something else simmered there in the air between them. She sensed it like a warm breath against her ear, causing goosebumps across her skin. Her feelings for Mando caused nothing but complications for both of them. Sitting in his lap for the next several hours would only make a further mess for her to sort through, but she didn't care at the moment. She wanted to be close to him, as close to that reassuring warmth as she could.
Before she could step forward and take his hand, Cobb swept between them, smiling broadly. The Marshal trained his eyes solely on Zo, bright and full of flirty humor. He took Zo's hand and spun her into his arms so smoothly she couldn't help but laugh in surprise. Din dropped his hand with a silent sigh. "You still sore at me for earlier, Angel?" Cobb asked, gently wiping a smudge of dirt off her cheek.
"No. I should be the one apologizing, Cobb." She said, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to let things get that far out of control…I should've-"
"Dance with me." He said, cutting her off with another broad smile.
"What?"
"We're having a good ol' fashioned Tattooine jamboree." He spun her in a tight circle and dipped her so low her hair grazed the sand. "So what do you say, Angel? Dance with me?" Before she could answer, Mando urged his bantha into a steady trot, leaving them to ride to the village together.
Author's note Sorry for the exceptionally long time since I posted last. Life is crazy. Reviews are always welcome. Thank you