Chapter 3

The rest of the journey passed peacefully, and soon the jungle-covered world of Onderon was in sight. Rino was instructed to touch down in the main city of Iziz, where the group would meet with minister Widom. Disembarking, the old man from the holo met them, wringing his hands again. "You've come!"

"Yes," Din replied. "And we're eager to get this hunt started."

"Ah, forgive me, I didn't realize that two Mandalorians would also be coming." The man was even more nervous now, eyes widening. M'Raiya centered her focus on him, trying to see if there was something about them that had brought about this change. Surprisingly, she detected the power of the Force from him, though it was faint

"Minister, are you all right?" she wondered, a bit curious at what she sensed.

"Yes good lady, just a bit nervous in the presence of such legendary hunters as the Mandalorians. Onderon may be known for the "beast riders", but we tamed the creatures from necessity, and generally did not hunt them. That you are willing to do this for us is an honorable thing."

"Where was this creature last sighted?" Din asked.

"Outside the walls, near a settlement we'd been attempting to set up on the edge of the jungle. Most creatures are frightened off by a show of force, but not this... Thing."

"How far is this place?"

"About an hour or so by speeder bike, and we have two that you can borrow to save time. They are parked outside the hanger."

"That is much appreciated," A'den stated, dipping his head slightly.

"Please, I beg you to be careful. Though we asked you here to deal with the threat, I would feel responsible if something happened."

"We'll be fine," Din retorted, stepping past him. Still, the nervousness persisted, and M'Raiya stayed back to probe a little deeper, when the older Mandalorian turned to her. "M'Raiya, let's move."

"As you wish." She was only able to catch a quick glimpse of the minister's foremost thought.

'She suspects...' The group headed outside and quickly found the speeder bikes, and Din sat down on one, shifting Grogu's sling to his front. The child peeked out, ears wiggling at the bustling city around them.

"Who else can drive one of these?"

"Just me," the other Mandalorian replied, sitting down. Isslan sat behind him, and M'Raiya dutifully took the space behind Din.

"All right, we'll head out until you can sense where this thing is, then get eyes on it. After that, we'll come up with a plan to take it out; preferably with some kind of ambush." Everyone nodded in agreement, and soon they were outside the large walls and heading for the line of dense jungle they could see. Jagged cliffs and canyons were interspersed with the foliage, making for a wild-looking world. They'd gone almost an hour, seeing what looked like a small walled village coming up, when M'Raiya tensed and spoke into the comm:

"I can sense the presence of the Dark Side." They pulled the bikes to a halt, seeing that they'd come upon a split on the path. The left side led into the village, though they could clearly see that there had been some kind of conflict there, with part of the wall caved in. On the right, the path snaked its way into a low canyon. "Actually, I can sense two."

"Two?" Din turned to look at her, noting that she was frowning and fidgeting a bit.

"One on each side. I don't know if that means there's a Dark Side force-user here, or..."

"Or two creatures," A'den finished for her with a sigh.

"Well, shit," Isslan added softly.

"We need to split up." The three Knights all looked at Din.

"I have to respectfully disagree," A'den responded. "We are in unfamiliar territory with two unknown entities that are definitely not going to be happy to see us. These creatures were known to be deadly to groups of Jedi, and they're poisonous as well. If there is a Dark-Side user here, they may well be trying to capture or control the Terentatek. Add on the fact that M'Raiya is the only one of us who can sense the Force at a distance."

"Your objections are noted. So why don't we do this: We'll still split up, but just to get eyes on these two "presences". Nobody is to engage, and whoever spots an enemy first is to call the other team. We'll work on a plan when we know more." Again, they all nodded, and Din swept off to the right. "How far away is this thing?"

"Not far; a couple miles or so. But I can't tell if it's on the ground or the canyon wall."

"Keep your eyes- Sorry." She laughed, sensing the mild embarrassment he felt.

"I know what you mean. I'm not offended."

"Okay, just let me know when we're getting close." They rode for a few more minutes, when M'Raiya tensed again, rapidly tapping on his armor. Din quickly maneuvered behind some boulders, pulling his pistols as he stepped off and looking around. "Where?"
"Should be straight ahead," she whispered, hand on her light-saber. They both peeked around the rocks, and even Grogu popped up to take a look, though he quickly ducked back into his sling. About a hundred feet ahead, seemingly asleep, was a creature that could only be the Terentatek. Its dark-gray hide allowed it to blend in easier with the shadows cast by the canyon walls, but they could clearly see the thick limbs and spikes. "We found it," she said into the comm.

"All right, I've got your signal, and we're headed for you. Should be- Sithspit!" The roar that followed A'den's oath was heard both over the comm and from the other side of the canyon. The sleeping Terentatek was suddenly on its feet, its own matching roar causing the Jedi to sink to her knees. Din hauled her up as he got back on the bike, quickly putting it in gear.

"Hold on!" he ordered. But having to turn the vehicle wasted precious seconds, and a clawed hand came down on the back of it, flipping them off. The Mandalorian used his jet pack to stay up, but he saw M'Raiya spill onto the ground and roll to her feet. Turning from the damaged machine, the creature charged at her, and he saw her light-saber ignite. "Kriff!" Blasters were out a moment later, and Din fired at the beast, forcing it to refocus its attention.

"Get out of here!" M'Raiya shouted to him. "Go help A'den and Isslan."

"Luke would be upset if I let you die out here."

"Better one of us than all of us!"

"Kid, can you push that thing back so she can make a break for it?" Grogu popped up, raising his hand towards the beast and concentrating. But no matter how much he focused, nothing happened.

'Resisting.'

"Damnit!" Din landed, still firing. "Take Grogu and run. I'll distract it."

"It'll kill you!"

"I'm not a Force user, so it might not. Now go!" She quickly placed her light-saber back on her belt as she grabbed the child and headed further into the canyon, Grogu squealing in her arms.

"A'den! Isslan!" she yelled into the comm.

"Little busy right now!" the younger Mandalorian answered.

"M'Raiya, there's two of them!" Isslan shouted back. "We're pinned down in the village."

"Our bike got wrecked, and Din is distracting the other one. Can you hold out?"

"What choice is there?" The finality she heard in A'den's voice scared her, and M'Raiya stopped running, now looking at her surroundings: The walls of the canyon stretched about fifty or so feet up, but she saw what seemed to be depressions or caves about thirty feet up. Perhaps these were burrows of some kind they could shelter in, assuming the Terentatek couldn't climb the sheer stone.

"Little one, I need you to trust me, all right?" He looked up at her, fear on his face. But he finally nodded, and she set him down, concentrating on what she needed to do. "Don't move. I promise not to drop you." A moment later Grogu was airborne, heading slowly up to a ledge until his little feet were on it. "Is that hollow big enough for all of us?" He sent back an affirmative, and she nodded. "I'll be right back with your father. Please don't move."

'Save him.' M'Raiya turned back, reaching the spot they'd left only ten minutes before. However, what she saw made her blood run cold: The creature had grabbed Din around the torso, and was shaking him around violently. The Mandalorian dropped his blasters and reached for something on his belt, struggling past the large hand. When he ignited the blade, she felt the force of it like a pressure wave. He plunged the blade into the beast's elbow joint, and it roared in pain and dropped him, the limb falling useless to the ground. Gathering up his blasters, Din ignited the jet pack once more and rocketed towards her, grabbing her around the waist and picking her up.

"Where's the kid?"

"Safe in a cave." She directed him to the ledge, and then they both ducked into what turned out to be a short tunnel that opened up into a rounded space about ten feet across. Grogu was sitting in the middle, and jumped up when he saw them, toddling over to Din.

"Ad'ika..." The Mandalorian sat down heavily against the wall, cradling the child in his arms. "You're okay." M'Raiya kept her senses towards the entrance, and could feel the creature walk past, roaring. But there was no accompanying emotion she could discern, just a blank wall. There was silence in the cave for what seemed like an eternity, until the comm beeped.

"M'Raiya, please come in."

"Isslan, are you all right?" She fought to keep her voice down, but the joy at hearing his voice was unmistakable.

"Well, I am." And now the joy turned to fear once more.

"Where's A'den? What happened?"

"That thing happened. I tried to throw it, but... I guess they really are resistant to Force powers. Anyway, it sent A'den flying a few times, and when he shot a rocket at its face, it jumped on him. He told me to kill it however I could, so... I dropped a house on it."

"Isslan... Is A'den alive?"

"I'm not dead yet, M'Raiya." His voice was soft and hitched through the comm, but it was music to her ears. "And to answer your next question, it most definitely is."

"You're hurt." He laughed, but that quickly turned into coughing.

"Just a few broken ribs and probably a dislocated knee. I'll be better tomorrow."

"Are you three all right?" Isslan wondered.

"Yeah, we're-" Grogu suddenly squealed, sending out a wave of distress. M'Raiya turned, seeing Din still sitting against the far wall, head tilted back, and right arm curled around his midsection. Grogu was on his left side, and held up his hand. It was covered in some kind of liquid, but what- And then it hit her: His hand was covered in Din's blood. She scrambled over to them, ignoring the worried questions from her friends. The child was whimpering, staring at his hand, which she quickly wiped with her robe. "Din, what happened?" His helmet shifted, and she knew he was looking at her, though there was a lot of pain rolling off him.

"Caught me with a claw when it grabbed me. Pierced between the beskar." His breath was even more hitched than A'den's, and she gently pushed his arm away and looked at his side. A little above his hip, she could see a large puncture in the fabric he wore underneath, and it was bleeding heavily.

"By the Force. No, we're not okay."

"How bad is it?"

"It's bad," Din answered, and they could hear his teeth grind together. "A'den, I need you to promise me something."

"There's no need for-"

"I need to hear you swear it." There was a long, painful sigh over the comm.

"I swear on the honor of Clan Ordo, I will see Grogu swear the Creed and become a Mandalorian. I will make him my Foundling, if I have to." Din seemed to relax a little, but Grogu's terror only escalated.

"Thank you."

"M'Raiya, do you have any medical supplies?"

"Just the field kits we're all supposed to carry."

"Okay, I'm going to talk you through a quick battlefield wound care." The fear was creeping back up, and it was made worse by the emotions she could feel from Grogu, and the pain from Din.

"A'den, I'm not-"

"M'Raiya." His voice had snapped into the hard edge that he always used in combat. "Agath isn't here, and we can't get to you. So unless you can get Din back to the city, you are his only chance. Or do you want to have Grogu try something?"

"No, he needs to save his strength in case that thing comes back," Din broke in. "If he heals me, he'll be passed out for hours."

"Maybe I could get to you guys," Isslan suggested.

"No." There was more courage in her voice now. "A'den isn't mobile, so you need to watch his back." She brought her face right up to Din's helmet as well. "And I promised Grogu I would help you. A'den, walk me through this." She heard the laugh-cough again.

"Grab the bacta spray and patch out of the kit, along with as many bandages as you have. Put the spray on the wound. Use it all if you have to." She did so, and heard Din suck in a breath as the bacta stung, and Grogu placed a small hand on his arm.

"Okay, can is pretty empty. Now what?"

"Now you have to undo the chest plate." A'den and Din quickly walked her through that, and she gently set the armor piece next to Din. "Uncover the wound, place the bandage on it, and wrap it tight. Then just make sure to keep an eye on him. If he was poisoned, hopefully it wasn't a lot." A'den's speech was starting to get softer and a bit slurred, like he was falling asleep.

"Isslan, you keep an eye on him. We'll see what the morning brings."

"Yeah, I will. May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with us all." Turning her attention back to the Mandalorian in front of her, she noted he was wearing both a reinforced vest and a flight suit, and sighed. Suddenly, a knife was in front of her, and she lifted her head. Din held the weapon by the blade, and she took the hilt.

"Vest closures are on my right side. Suit is a loss anyway, so just cut where you need to." M'Raiya did so, pulling the vest off gently, and then easing him away from the wall as she cut the suit as close to his waist as possible. Peeling the blood-soaked fabric up, she quickly applied the bacta patch to the wound and began wrapping it to keep it in place. Once she was done, she sat back and watched Grogu crawl into Din's lap, and he hugged the child as tightly as he was able. "I'll be okay, kid."

"I'm sorry." They both looked at the Miraluka, who was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest. "If I hadn't been with you, you could have flown off with Grogu and gotten to A'den and Isslan."

"If you hadn't been with us, I would've run face-first into that thing."

"Still... I shouldn't have left you."

"You got Grogu to safety." He tilted his head, remembering how high up they actually were. "How did you get him up here?"

"I can levitate things like Isslan, but nothing bigger than a person, and not for very long."

"So you aren't just a mind-reader." She frowned, sitting up straighter.

"Is that how A'den phrased it?"

"No, but that's what it is, right?"

"I can read other's thoughts and emotions, yes. I have to focus on the person to "read their mind", but it's come in handy for getting information out of people. Emotions are easy, though."

"Can you tell what I'm feeling now?" She gave a wry smile.

"Pain, frustration, and relief." Din raised an eyebrow, thankful she couldn't see his face. "And now surprise. Just because I can't clearly see your features doesn't mean I don't know the reaction."

"Wait... You can see underneath my armor?"

"In a way." She paused for a moment, unsure how to explain her sight to him. "All living things radiate the Force, just some much more than others. Your armor is like a shell over a slightly luminous body. Grogu is a tiny, blazing beacon."

"So I can't use the Force, but it's still in me?" He sounded very confused.

"Yes, though now I know why I thought you were Force-sensitive." She pointed at the Dark Saber, frowning a bit. "You carry a Force object unlike anything I've ever felt before." She watched him place a hand on the hilt, almost protectively.

"This is the Dark Saber. Crafted a millennia ago by the first Mandalorian Jedi." M'Raiya pulled back a moment, then placed her right fist over her heart and bowed her head.

"My deepest apologies. I didn't realize the Grandmaster had sent us on a mission with the Mand'alor."