disclaimer: i do not own star wars or any of its associated characters; they all belong to their respective owners. i only own any characters or plotlines that you do not recognize. I also do not own any of the dialogue i may quote from the franchise.

[this chapter contains a flashback to the second to last chapter in the Color Festival but from Dins pov, if you want context i suggest you go reread that chapter]

Canto Bight

Wires, circuits, scrap metal. These float before Nova, fitting themselves together in harmony. She sits alone in her room aboard the Dandelion, her feet bare are tucked underneath and on top of her legs as she meditates. Her long red curls are slung over one shoulder, her hands rest palms up on her knees.

The lightsaber hilt comes together as she guides the parts with the force. It's missing something, a casing. Something to finish its rough exterior. But she has nothing that would fit, so she lets it be for now. She guides the two kyber crystals into their chambers and they click into place. She reaches out and grasps the hilt. She takes a cloth and wraps the chambers so they are somewhat closed, a job meant for the casing.

Bo-Katan's voice comes over Nova's wrist comm, letting her know they are about to drop from hyperspace. Nova acknowledges her and lets her hands fall back to her knees. She sets the lightsaber before her and fixes her eyes on the glass door before her. As the Dandelion is a cruise ship, all its exterior rooms contain a balcony protected by an energy field so one can stand outside and admire the stars. Those balcony doors stay locked during hyperspace travel, the force fields aren't strong enough to keep up with hyperspace.

Nova watches the blurred white lines shift to solid shapes, pinpricks of light in the distance. She breathes deeply, pushing the burning sensation in her veins aside, and stands. She tucks the lightsaber hilt, almost as long as her arm as it is made to have two blades coming from both ends, into one of the many hidden pockets on her flowing pants. There hasn't been much to do in their travels except sit around and alter clothes.

The lightsaber knocks against her leg as she walks down the many hallways of the Dandelion towards the bridge. When she enters she first sees Bo-Katan, looking agitated as always. Sitting across from her is Ahsoka, who is fighting down a grin. Nova turns to see Din standing by one of the side windows, Grogu held up so he can see the stars.

"Glad you could make it," Bo-Katan's voice redirects Nova's attention to the sour Mandalorian.

"I'm assuming the planet ahead is Canto Bight," Nova says. She moves farther onto the bridge so she can activate the holotable in the center.

"What do we know of Canto Bight?" Ahsoka asks.

"I turned down a job that would have taken me there," Din says. He walks up to stand close to Nova. "From what I've heard, it's full of Imperials and lawless looking to make more money."

"There probably are no more Imps," Nova says. "Maybe some remaining First Order supporters?"

On top of sewing secret pockets into all of her clothes, Nova has done some reading on the events of the past thirty years. The biggest event seems to be the First Order and its grasps for power. She feels nauseated knowing it was her blood that helped the First Order bring back Palpatine, or a shadow of him anyways.

"We will definitely have to be on the lookout," Bo-Katan says. "I've done a scan of the planet while you took your time getting here, there's numerous mansions in the middle of nowhere. I figure they will have access to Canto Bight's network and therefore tell us what we are up against."

"I'll stay here," Ahsoka says. "I'm not fully recovered, I need more time to heal."

"Would you mind," Din begins to speak when Ahsoka interrupts him with a wave of her hand.

"Yes, Grogu can stay."

Grogu chirps.

"Well that's settled," Nova says. "Shall we head out?"

o0o

The pirate, Hondo, takes Din to the brig of the ship with the intent of locking him within. Xi'an holds Nova elsewhere, and Din knows they need to escape. He elbows Hondo in the gut, grabs the helmet, his helmet, and runs forward. He gets lost twice in the twisting hallways. He hears footsteps behind him for a while but they die off as Hondo turns back. Din remembers Hondos warning that if Din tried anything he would kill Nova. Meaning Din doesn't have long.

He slips back the way he came and finds Nova and his cabin. He slides the door closed and turns his attention to the crate of their belongings. The top is open and their things spread through the room, the beskar armor peeking out of the bottom of the crate.

Din turns over the helmet in his hands and stares at the visor. He doesn't have time for indecision, but he cannot make himself move. He's frozen, his own eyes staring back at him, reflecting in the visor.

Whether or not he is worthy anymore is a question he has been wrestling with for months now. He was so sure the answer was no, especially now after not wearing it for so long. So many people have seen him, but does it matter? Nova doesn't seem to think so, she's made her feelings on the matter clear to him. She believes he hasn't broken anything, simply put his family first. And she is right in the aspect of family is the most important thing to the Mandalorians.

And now, Din is presented with a choice. Continue to forgo his armor, to leave it behind and fight without it, or to wear it and go save his family. To decide what he did didn't break the Creed he's spent his life upholding.

Maybe there is more than one way to follow the Creed.

Din sets down the helmet and reaches for the cuiress. If the Creed is upheld by protecting those one cares for, then his mind is made. His decision final, he slides on the beskar armor, leaving the helmet for last.

He is a Mandalorian, and that will not be taken from him.

o0o

Din pilots the cargo ship into Canto Bight's atmosphere. He guides the ship over empty land, while Bo-Katan sits in the co-pilot's seat and scrambles the ship's signature. Nova sits behind him, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently. Her boots are worn thin again, how she does it, Din has no idea. He's never met anyone who couldn't hold onto a pair of shoes for longer than three months at a time.

Din directs the ship to land at a lone mansion. The landing platform is empty, save for a few land crafts, the homeowners must be out. He lands the ship and they disembark.

He and Bo-Katan pull their blasters and lead their party through the house. Nova remains without a weapon in her hands, she simply looks around with curious yet cautious eyes. Her hands curl and uncurl as she takes in the mansion's dark interior.

"Do you sense anyone?" Din asks. She shakes her head. Bo-Katan flips a lightswitch and the room is bathed in bright white light.

They are in a living room of sorts. It's large enough to have fit the Razorcrest, if they still had it. They move to the staircase, a massive thing with granite steps. The second floor is just as formal. Bo-Katan pushes open a pair of double doors and enters what looks like a master bedroom. Din goes to the secondary living room across from the master bedroom and flicks on the holotable. He goes to the holonews and lets it play. Nova touches it and changes the holonews to what looks like a market.

"Places like this have a popular black market," she says.

"How did you know?" Bo-Katan asks as she exits the master bedroom.

Nova glances at her hands before returning her gaze to the holographic market listings. "Because my home planet was like this."

Bo-Katan says nothing to this. She sits on one of the plush couches after holstering her blasters.

Nova continues to scroll through the listings. "Here," she pauses on one. "Someone is holding an auction for a group of Mandalorians they found frozen in carbonite. It doesn't specify if they unfroze the Mandalorians or not."

"That'll go for a high price." Din says.

"Will we go?" Nova asks.

"Yes," Din says. "Maybe we can break the Mandalorians out instead of participating in the auction."

"Probably smart considering we don't have any credits." Bo-Katan says. Nova rolls her eyes and sits on the arm of the plush couch behind her. Din crosses his arms.

"If they are selling Mandalorians, I don't think they would take too kindly to two Mandalorians showing up to the auction," he says. Nova shakes her head.

"Probably not. I could go in and you two could hide nearby, but we don't know the terrain and there might not be anywhere to hide." Nova says.

"When I did a scan of the planet," Bo-Katan says. "It's highly populated, but only in certain areas. If I remember correctly, the coordinates of this auction would fall about smack in the center of all those buildings."

"So nowhere to hide."

"Nope."

"So we hide in plain sight," Din suggests.

"How would you suggest we do that?" Bo-Katan asks.

"Disguises. The people who live here, it's a big house. They must have a lot of clothes."

Bo-Katan scoffs. "You couldn't uphold your creed that way."

Din fights down the shame that threatens to rise. If there is a chance to save more Mandalorians, Mandalorians who could help them restore Mandalore, then the risk is worth it. "Some things are worth fighting for, other Mandalorians for instance. If you doubt my resolve to restore Mandalore, then you haven't been paying close enough attention."

Bo-Katan huffs and gets up. She paces for a moment before disappearing into the master bedroom.

Nova gets up, rests a hand on Dins shoulder, and smiles. She follows Bo-Katan and disappears behind those double doors.

o0o

Nova stands next to the decorative table in the master bedroom. She is shoving her lightsaber hilt into the only purse she could find that was large enough to possibly contain the hilt. She slides the zipper shut and hopes no one will notice the strange bulges at opposing corners of the purse. She would have hidden the lightsaber on her person, but the dress she chose is too thin and form fitted for such a thing. Nova would have chosen something else but the silk green dress was the only article of clothing that did not constrict her arms or legs thanks to the slit in the skirt and the fact that it is sleeveless. The only thing holding up the dress is thin silk straps, a fact that she frowns upon. But at least it won't constrict her arm movement.

She slides on a pair of heels and admires how her vantage point of the room changes with the added height. In truth, she had to shove cloth in the toes of the shoes as they were too big. But she's able to walk in them fine, and if she needs to fight she will just take them off.

The closet door opens and Bo-Katan steps out. She's wearing a purple pantsuit. She wouldn't wear any of the dresses so she stole a pair of pants from the man's side of the closet and paired them with a purple jacket and a white button up shirt. She looks murderous.

"They might not let you in if you insist on that sour expression," Nova says. Bo-Katan huffs. She removed her head piece so her hair falls around her face. She exhales some air to blow a strand from her face.

"I feel ridiculous," she says.

"You are probably underdressed for a place like this." Nova says. "But it should work."

Bo-Katan huffs again and grabs the duffel bag filled with her beskar armor. They exit the master bedroom to find Din sitting on one of the plush couches. Why a sitting space needs five full sized couches is beyond Nova.

Din stands, his own duffle bag with his armor sits at his feet. He is dressed simply in a black on black suit. Nova shrugs.

"Okay we all look the part, should we drop our stuff and go?"

Din nods and leads them back to the cargo ship where he and Bo-Katan deposit their armor. Din goes in and sets the autopilot.

"Hey Ahsoka, can you hear me?" Nova says into her comm.

"I'm here," Ahsoka responds.

"We are sending the cargo ship back up to you. We'll steal a ship down here since we need a new one anyways."

"Standing by. I'll be ready to activate the tracking beam once it's in range."

They stand back and watch the cargo ship lift off and head back up into space. Nova can feel the comfortability of the two Mandalorians on either side of her slip as their armor is carried away. She can feel their anxiety, the way they feel exposed.

"Tractor beam activated. Cargo ship is being reeled in." Ahsoka says a few moments later. "And now it's on board."

"Thanks," Nova says. She turns to the row of land ships. "Which one should we take?"

"I don't care as long as I drive," Bo-katan says. Din shrugs and goes to one with a wide backseat and tall windshield.

Nova sits in the back while the two mandalorians sit up front. Bo-Katan fiddles with the controls for a few moments before the hover car rises from the ground. She maneuvers it out of the landing pad and onto a road leading into the city.

After almost an hour of travel, they get to the city and stop. Bo-Katan follows the other hover cars and parks with them. The trio climbs out and looks around.

"The casino on the listing is just up there," Bo-Katan says. She and Din start forward but Nova stops them.

"Hold on," Nova says.

"Do you sense something?" Din asks. Nova shakes her head.

"The only thing I sense is you two getting caught." Bo-Katan and Din exchange a glance before looking quizitory. "Did either of you learn anything about blending in with a crowd? Covert spy stuff?"

"If I want to go unseen I just wear a cloak." Bo-Katan snaps. Nova shakes her head.

"There's more than one way to go unseen. You two are used to your armor, it usually gives you a golden ride into not paying attention to how others perceive you, but this place is different. The people here will see you staring at your shoes as you walk, they will see you don't belong, and they will catch you."

"So we came this way for nothing."

"Just walk like you own the place and you will be fine."

"What?"

Nova sighs. "Walk like you would if you had all your fancy weaponry on your belt. Like you know where you are going and what you are doing. If you act like you belong, no one will question you."

Nova watches both of them, staring at them until they change their posture.

"Great. Follow my lead then, and no scowling." Nova directs her last comment at Bo-Katan, who scowls in response.

Nova takes the lead as they walk towards the casino doors. She glances over her shoulder at Din, who is doing better than Bo-katan at the blending in. He may have spent two months in denial over who he is, but at least he learned how to blend in without armor because of it.

They enter through the casino doors and into the casino. The place is loud, bright, and swimming with action. Slot machines spin recklessly as players place coin after coin within them. The card and dice tables are full of cheering players and onlookers. One dice player swears loudly as he inevitably loses a fortune.

"The auction will take place in the lounge," Din says to Nova. She nods and walks down the winding path through the slot machines towards a door on the far side of the casino. The words "starsight lounge" are hanging above the door.

The lounge is almost silent compared to the casino floor. The patrons laugh quietly and clink their glasses together. A couple of musicians take up a small corner of the room, playing a sort of jazz that seems to float about the room. Din indicates they should position themselves around the room to have multiple vantage points. Bo-Katan nods and breaks off from the group to grab a flute of something bubbly and stand by the musicians.

"See you on the other side," Din murmurs. Nova nods. They split, he goes to the far side of the room and she goes to stand at the bar.

The bar is against a side wall, in between the only two doors in the lounge. To one side, is the door that leads to the casino. To her other side, is a door that must lead to a staging area of sorts. A place for holding prisoners. Nova leans her back against the bar, and she props her elbows against the bar as well. She keeps her back straight and bends one leg, keeping a carefree expression on her face.

"Can I buy you a drink?" a weequay asks her. Nova looks him up and down and is uncomfortably reminded of Hondo.

"Depends, do you have good taste?"

"Im talkin to you, aren't I?"

"Fair."

Nova looks around the room, keeping an eye on Din and Bo-Katan. The weequay orders two drinks Nova has never heard of before. She catches Bo-Katan's eye and raises an eyebrow. Bo-Katan frowns and straightens up again. She takes a sip of the bubbly drink in her hands and makes a face, which she quickly recovers and returns her features to a neutral expression. Nova almost laughs but the weequay hands her a drink. She smiles at him, takes a sip, and fights down a cringe. It's way too sweet.

"You don't like it?" the weequay says.

"It's a shame your taste in drinks isn't as fine as your taste in women."

The weequay laughs. Nova wishes the weequay would leave. She is about to speak again, when shots ring out from the next room over. The staging room. Nova sets the drink on the bar and stands up straighter, the jazz band halts their music. Bo-Katan is scanning the room, and Din has gone deathly still, his eyes scanning the room as well. His hand poised at his wrist, where Nova knows his vibroblade is hidden.

An alarm blares, and the soft white light of the room turns red. What Nova assumes are casino guards flood the room. They point their blasters at the crowd, ushering the patrons out of the lounge.

"The auction is to be postponed!" a speaker says, but Nova can't locate who is speaking. She shoves her way to the center of the room, where Din and Bo-Katan meet her.

"What's happening?" she asks. Bo-Katan shrugs and Din shakes his head.

"I'm not sure. But we should try and get into that room, see what's going on." Din says. Nova agrees and the trio begins to work their way against the crowd.

The room is nearly empty now. The guards push at Nova, Din, and Bo-Katan, attempting to direct them back. Din catches Nova's eye and nods. She nods back, barely moving her head. Bo-Katan grunts and slams her fist into the closest guard's nose. He reels back into Din, who pushes the guard into another guard. Din pulls his knife and slices a third guard across the chest.

Nova steps out of her heels and kicks one into her hand. She uses the sharp heel as a weapon, slamming it into a guard's eye. He screams and falls over. Bo-Katan notices and gives Nova a look of approval.

The guards begin shooting, firing their blasters with unfortunate accuracy. Nova redirects as many bolts as she can with the Force, but she needs an easier way of doing so. She pulls the lightsaber hilt from the purse. She rubs her thumb over the center of the hilt, finding the ignition switch, and sliding it on.

Pale green blades extend from either side of the lightsaber hilt. The guards step back, from shock or fear Nova doesn't know, or care. They start firing again and she begins to spin the saber, deflecting the bolts with ease. She slices a guard in half and turns to check on Din.

Din has pulled his blaster and shoots the remaining guards. He raises an eyebrow when he sees her. Nova knows she must look insane, barefoot in a formal dress, laser sword in hand. She deactivates the lightsaber and gestures to the door.

Din takes lead. He pulls open the door and steps in, his blaster held out in front of him. Nova goes next and Bo-Katan takes the rear. Inside the next room they are stopped by the sight of more guards, already dead. Blaster bolts mar the walls. Cells line the back wall, all empty.

"I think the Mandalorians escaped." Bo-Katan deadpans. Distant blaster shots ring out.

"This way," Din says. He leads them through a hallway, pausing every so often to listen for more fighting and blaster fire. They erupt into a large room lined with escape pods, which is strange since they are not in space. One of the pods is ejected up when they enter, leaving a platoon of guards behind.

"I think the Mandalorians escaped." Nova says. She ignites her lightsaber again and she and the Mandalorians by her side surge forward. They dispatch the rest of the guards with ease and stand for a few moments catching their breath. Bo-Katan rubs her shoulder.

"You okay?" Nova asks.

"Fine," Bo-Katan says. She goes to a control panel on the wall next to the escape pod that was jettisoned moments before.

"Where would they go?" Nova asks. "What's the purpose of having escape pods on land?"

"Because they aren't escape pods," Bo-Katan says as she reads. "They are hyperspace pods."

"I've heard of those," Din says. "They are capable of going into hyperspace, but only to a fixed set of coordinates."

"So what are the coordinates on their pods?" Nova asks.

"A moon in the Lucrum system." Bo-Katan says. Nova feels her heart stop.

"Which moon?"

"What?"

"Which moon?"

Bo-Katan scans the data. "Lucrum Major."

Nova closes her eyes and reminds herself to breathe. She slides her thumb on the ignition key, deactivating her lightsaber.

"You've been there before?" Bo-Katan asks.

"I lived there," Nova says. "It's where I was born."