Chapter 12: The Reconnaissance
"Luna, are you sure about this?"
I met my father's concerned gaze upon the full-length mirror before me as I completed clasping my cloak around my shoulders. Though nervousness continued to course through my body, the traditional Grádian armour that I donned, coupled with the Mandalorian power shield that Din had given me the previous day, contributed to strengthening my resolve in making a final decision. I gently traced the cool, Grádian steel upon my torso, immediately reminded of why I was doing this. With a curt nod, I replied with, "Yes, father."
He took a few steps forward, his worry not abating. It was a wonder to see how tired his eyes had become. "Perhaps you should stay off-world for now, Luna. At least until the recce has been completed and we know what we are dealing with."
I placed my hands upon his upper arms and examined him closely. His military bearing was quickly being overtaken by the love of a father. "I can't just let my friends risk their lives on their own. I must go and conduct this recce with them, father. Just as you should stay on your ship to command this operation." His expression remained tense. My father was wise, and I knew that he only wanted what was best for me. However, this was my decision to make. I needed to do this for Din, for the others...for all of Grá. "You know I have been to Neart many times. I will help them navigate."
While I was growing up, my father had always placed such importance on duty, honour, and courage, reminding me that being a Grádian meant being true to all three of these core values. The conflict within him was palpable. He eventually released a sigh, but said nothing further. Though his countenance softened slightly, the apprehension in his eyes remained.
Light footsteps sounded at the entrance of my father's tent. Din's shadow danced with the morning sun as he walked inside with the child in tow. He clasped his hands in front of him, waiting patiently for a few moments as though to ensure that he was not intruding. My father nodded with a smile and gestured for them to approach. "Din. Little one. Please come in."
I did my best to keep my attention fixed on the matter at hand; however, my mind and eyes were immediately drawn to Din, who strode steadily to my side. I unconsciously bit my bottom lip as my thoughts wandered to the moment that we had shared the previous night.
Din gave me a nod, his posture relaxed. "Good morning, Luna."
At that moment, I wished with all of my being that I had a helmet on as well. I managed to swallow the growing lump in my throat and attempted to keep my composure steady. "Good morning, Din," I replied with forced nonchalance.
It was definitely the forced nonchalance that gave it away. My father raised a brow and observed us alternately. The gears moving in his mind were almost visible. "Din, regarding what we had discussed last night," he clasped his hands behind his back, chin tilting upwards, "have you made a decision?"
My orbs fell upon Din in curiosity, not entirely privy to what they had discussed. The child waddled in between them, observing the two of them alternately.
Din took a knee and placed a protective hand upon the child's head. "I think he'll be safer if he stayed on the ship with you during the recce." He still seemed to carry some doubt, but it was clear that bringing a child into unknown, hostile territory was not a good idea - despite the fact that this particular child was indeed special.
In response, the child merely uttered a light mew.
My father nodded, moving closer to Din. "I will protect him as though he were my own grandchild." He then gestured to me, his lips pursing into a straight line. "In the same vein, please ensure you look after my Luna."
"I will protect her with my life," Din declared as he stood.
The statement, coupled with the sincerity that lined his tone, was enough to trigger tears to form at the corners of my eyes.
My father placed a loving hand on the side of my face. "I suspect that the two of you need to complete your final preparations as well, so I will rendez-vous with you shortly at the assembly area."
As soon as he left, Din's attention was wholly locked upon me. It never failed to amaze me that the emotions that he exuded were so clear despite the layer of beskar between us. Without another word, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him towards me in a tight embrace. The coolness of his armour, tempered by the warmth of his body, made me instinctively shiver. "Din, are you sure about leaving the baby?"
He caressed the back of my head, shifting closer to me so that the lengths of our bodies touched. "Your father's ship will be close by," he reasoned, almost as though he were attempting to simultaneously convince both me and himself, "he'll be close enough that I can get to him if needed but far enough that I won't have to worry about him getting hurt." He pulled back slightly, the tips of his gloved fingers tracing my jawline. "I trust you, so I trust your family."
"My father would never break his word, Din." I placed my hand above his. "He will protect the child by any means necessary. I promise."
"I swear...either I have the worst damn timing or the two of you are just always all over each other when no one is looking." As we turned towards the sound of the voice, Cara poked her head into the tent. Her expression, however, was that of amusement. She gestured a thumb behind her. "You guys ready to go?"
Din scooped up the little one and tucked him upon his left arm. Then, he entwined his free hand with mine. "Yeah, we're good to go."
Cara took a moment to survey the sight before her. The amusement upon her countenance morphed into a genuine smile.
The assembly area where the recce patrols were hastily gathering was surrounded by the Razor Crest, the Crusader, and the Grádian patrol ship, the Preserver, which was going to be commanded by Brion. As the Razor Crest was apparently undetectable to the marauders' radar, it was decided that it would be the lead ship. With Din at the helm, we were tasked to secure a landing zone for all three ships transporting the recce task forces upon entry into Grá.
Din and Kriger exchanged handshakes. "Kriger, I will send you the coordinates for the rendez-vous point as soon as I've confirmed we're good to land."
"Looking forward to it, brother," Kriger gave Din a nod. "We'll keep you posted on the intel we gather along the way. As we discussed, General Láidir's ship will remain outside of Grá's atmosphere. They'll jam the marauders' signals to cover our descent. There will be troops on board ready to come to our aid if required."
I met my father's stare as he approached. He embraced me without warning, so tightly that it was almost difficult to breathe. His voice shook as he said, "I will see you soon, my daughter."
"I love you, father," I whispered, embracing him in return.
As I pulled away from him, I noticed Din looking into the child's eyes as he set him upon the ground. A frown formed upon my lips as I realized how difficult it must be for Din to be parted from the child, even if it were only for a short period of time.
Din sighed as he mindlessly brushed out the creases and wrinkles on the child's clothing with a hand. "You'll be staying with General Láidir while I take care of some business." When the child merely cocked his head to the side and released a high-pitched sound, Din shook his head amusedly. "Now you behave while we're gone, you little womp rat. No throwing up on the General, alright?"
He was answered with only a burp and a giggle.
That was definitely not a promise.
(V)(V)(V)
My foot began to tap nervously upon the Razor Crest's steel flooring as we began our final descent upon Grá. Din communicated with my father, Kriger, and Brion above me in the cockpit, his voice calm and even as he relayed his information and he received theirs. Cara, who remained with me in the cargo hold, busily prepared her rifle and numerous other weapons, wholly focused on her primary task at hand. As the least experienced among the three of us by a wide margin in all matters of combat, I could only close my eyes and lean my head back upon the ship's cold siding, concentrating on the thrusters' rhythmic hum to calm myself.
The ship swayed for a brief moment, then touched down on solid ground with a light tremble. The engines powered off shortly afterwards, leaving us in the embrace of intense silence. My heart began to beat more rapidly as reality started to sink in. As I readied my belongings and ensured that my comlink was operational, Din hopped off the ladder from the cockpit into the cargo hold and programmed the side hatch to open. As the ramp fully extended, Cara gave the two of us a nod and marched off the ship, intent on rejoining the other two task forces that had landed and congregated a few meters from us.
Din examined me for a moment and gave my shoulder a delicate squeeze. "Try not to worry too much, Luna," he said. "We'll do a recce, gather some intel, then get out as soon as we can."
I nodded, his soothing tone succeeding at making me feel moderately calmer. "My memory of the city is still pretty clear. I'll guide you all as best as I can."
"If it helps…" he inched closer to me as he swung his slinged rifle behind his back, "...just think about last night."
My brow raised automatically as I scoffed, "Din, thinking about one hell of a goodnight kiss is not going to calm my nerves! Frankly, it will do the complete opposite!"
"At least you'll remember that you have the best ideas." With that, he briefly placed a hand on the side of my face, then disembarked. I followed his footsteps closely as the ramp behind us gradually lifted and shut. We assembled with Cara, who conversed with Brion, Kriger, and T'iana by the Crusader.
Din surveyed each of us in turn. "Everyone good?"
"Just received the most recent map of the city centre from my team's zone recon. Lifeform intel." Kriger studied the datapad in his hand. "The intel has now been transferred to all of you."
"Like we discussed, part of Brion's team will stay here to guard the ships." Din locked eyes with Kriger. "Our teams will split into two and cloverleaf towards the main objective; team Alpha will move counter-clockwise from here while team Bravo moves clockwise. We'll meet at the north end of the objective. Keep regular comms and inform everyone of anything out of the ordinary."
We all confirmed our understanding of the plan.
Kriger placed his helmet on and signalled to a group of his clansfolk behind him. "Buy'ce olar, kar'ta ogir!"
"Buy'ce olar, kar'ta ogir!" T'iana and the other Mandalorians chorused after him. She smiled at me as she too placed on her helmet. "Helmet on, heart gone!"
I embraced her tightly, feeling a surge of pride upon seeing her once more in full Mandalorian armour. "Take care, my friend."
"You too, Luna."
We performed one last comlink check before splitting up into our teams. A few Grádians and allies remained with the ships, forming a loose perimeter to secure the area. Kriger, T'iana, and their Mandalorian team began their patrol to the west. I remained with Din, Cara, and Brion and moved due east. Din led the way, relying on his helmet's advanced technology to navigate through what was before us in the heart of darkness. Myself, Cara, and Brion donned night vision goggles, enabling us to perceive forms of heat signatures throughout the surrounding area. We marched deliberately yet swiftly, knowing that we had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time.
Neart appeared to have crumbled even more since Din and I had last been here. There did not appear to be any signs of life thus far, humanoid or animal. The putrid smells of decay intensified as we moved farther into the heart of the city, now a few klicks from our landing zone. The city was once so beautiful even in the darkness of night, with celebrations ongoing until the light of day; now, it was a sombre shell of itself, more akin to a graveyard. Though Din led us through as clear a path as possible, it often became difficult to navigate through the toppled stone structures and buildings, the debris and wreckage from their destruction leaving uneven ground beneath us. Though the city had fallen, I was still able to recognize Neart's distinct landmarks and guide our movements throughout the recce manoeuvre.
About an hour or so into our patrol, Din held up a closed fist, signalling for us to halt our movements. Without hesitation, we crouched down around him as he gestured to what appeared to be an abandoned, concrete building directly in front of us. "Our main objective," he announced, conducting a primary scan. Pressing on his comlink, he reported, "Kriger, this is Din. We're at the objective. Send a SITREP, over."
"Still a few minutes out," Kriger replied. "Nothing out of the ordinary here. Will link back with you when we're closer to the objective, over."
"Roger, out," Din replied. He turned back to us, entering a code on his vambrace. "Kriger's clan's aerial maps are showing that there's a cluster of heat signatures here. We'll need to confirm what it is before moving forward."
"I don't see any outliers," Brion said, scanning the area.
Cara shook her head as she did the same. "Neither do I. Looks like the lifeforms are clustered only in that building."
"That building used to be a main storage facility for goods, just off of Neart's main road," I informed them, picturing the city at its prime.
In a swift movement, Din grabbed his rifle and shouldered it, peering into the sight. He appeared to be scanning the interior of the building. He pulled his head back for a moment, as though stunned, then looked back into the sight. "I have visual confirmation of the cluster of heat signatures and can hear...crying."
"What?" the three of us responded simultaneously.
I began to think furiously, brows furrowing. My head snapped up. "They must be Grádians!" Without a second thought, I pulled my blaster from its holster, feeling the surge of adrenaline rushing through me.
"We'll check it out, but we'll need to be careful," Din said. After holding out his arm to signal for us to wait, he then made his way towards the entrance first. His steps were so lithe and calculated that he barely made a sound. When he confirmed that it was clear to move, he sharply beckoned for us to follow and positioned himself by the main doors. Cara shot out first, sprinting to Din's side. Brion patted me twice on the back to signal me to move. With a nod, I raced towards Din and Cara, crouching low throughout my movements. Brion was not far behind and secured the rear.
Din pressed his comlink as he rested his spine against the outside of the building. "Kriger, entering the objective now. Investigating the cluster of heat signatures, over."
"Roger that. We're a couple of minutes from you now, over and out."
We entered the building as stealthily as we could. Din, still leading the way, pressed his shoulder against a stack of crates, looking out towards the hallway before us. He signalled for us to move forward, shouldering his rifle to cover our movements. "Lifeforms dead ahead," he hissed.
As we stalked farther down the cramped hallway, I couldn't help but gasp at the sight in front of me.
The intel was picking up on this?
In a dimly-lit room, several Grádians were imprisoned behind a steel door riddled with thick, metal bars. Some of them were so malnourished that they appeared to be at death's doorstep. I visibly shook as I observed each one of them, the group ranging from children to elders.
What could they have possibly done to deserve this?
"Luna," Din began in a low tone. "Wait…"
I didn't heed Din's warning, too angered by what I was seeing before me. Fighting back tears, I immediately used my blaster to destroy the security panel beside the door. Sparks spurted momentarily from the thin sheet of metal. In a split second, the door slid open horizontally.
At the same moment, alarms started to rage around us, the sounds so intrusive that they scratched at my eardrums.
Ignoring the alarms and Din's calls behind me, I rushed inside the makeshift prison cell without looking back, kneeling in front of the first person that I encountered. Her light eyes were faded, similar to her complexion. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?"
She only appeared to be a little younger than I was. As her eyes attempted to focus on my form, she weakly lifted her head to face me. "You...you shouldn't be here."
I squinted in question. "What? What are you saying?"
"You're in danger," she croaked out, hugging her arms more tightly around her meagre body. "They will...they will come."
Cara rushed to my side and steeled her expression. "Luna, I have a bad feeling about this."
Din moved tactically inside, rifle up, scanning every inch of the room. Then, he knelt beside several of the prisoners, examining their health.
"Din…" Kriger's intermittent voice sounded through the comlink's static. "Din, can you read me, over?"
"Kriger, your signal is weak," Din replied, "What is it, over?"
"We're picking up a lot of movement converging on your spot," Kriger replied hastily, his breaths becoming more laboured as though he were running. "You should get out of there. We can't confirm if they're friendlies, over."
"Roger that, out," said Din.
I desperately clutched his arm. "Din, we need to get these people out of here!"
"Agreed." Cara tucked her weapon underneath an arm and began to help the prisoners onto their feet. "But we need to do that now."
We began to usher the twenty or so Grádians towards the exterior of the building, coaxing them to move as quickly as they were able through the narrow hallway in single file. Brion stood guard at the entrance, crouched down in position as he guided the Grádians towards the safety of the forest in front of us.
When the room was cleared, Din, Cara, and I rushed to Brion's side. As soon as we attempted to make a beeline for the cover of the trees, however, blaster fire began to surround us, some shots even bouncing off Din's armour. Cara and Brion dove back inside the building, expletives escaping their lips. Din instinctively stood in front of me and pushed me back into the cover of the building, returning fire. It was difficult to discern where the enemy was shooting from. The barrage of shots did not abate. With gritted teeth, I activated the Mandalorian power shield and stood at Din's side, hastily scanning for marauder troops. I fired my blaster as soon as I glimpsed the scarlet colour of their armour.
"They're coming closer!" Cara cried out, a scowl forming on her lips. She and Brion moved back to our side as they continued firing at the marauder troops.
Din momentarily shifted his rifle to his left hand and extended his right arm. With a shake of his forearm, he activated his wrist-mounted flamethrower, the flames extending a few feet in front of us. Some of the blaster fire momentarily stopped as he moved his arm in a sweeping motion. "Run!" Din growled, looking down at me, then to Cara and Brion. "Make your way into the woods!"
"I'm not leaving you!" I declared, feeling the heat surrounding us.
Din shook his head as a sign that his statement was non-negotiable. "Go, Luna! I'll be right behind you!"
Cara gripped my arm and tugged at me to go as she and Brion rushed past me. Against my better judgement, I began to move away from Din, holding the shield in front of me as I continued to fire my blaster. Through the utter chaos, I couldn't even count how many marauder troops there were and could barely see where the shots were even coming from.
"Luna, look out!"
Before I could turn, I felt my body being knocked forcefully to the ground. A blast erupted behind me a split second later, violently sending debris and shockwaves towards me. I coughed and spurted dirt and blood, automatically holding on to my stomach as pain coursed through my body. I couldn't hear a thing, my ears temporarily numb from the explosion. Through the dust on my right side, I could see the faint shape of a Mandalorian helmet upon the ground.
"No, please, no…" I crawled as quickly as I could manage towards the unmoving body as the feeling of pain continued to surge through my own.
As I moved closer, I finally recognized who it was.
"T'iana!" I cried out in alarm, shaking her shoulders. "T'iana, do you hear me?" Shielding us from the oncoming blaster fire, I used what was left of my energy and dragged T'iana to a covered location. Now protected by a large rock outcropping, I removed her helmet in rapid movements and shook her shoulders once more. She still didn't respond. Her eyes remained closed as blood streamed down her mouth. My head began to spin then and I lost my balance, falling promptly to the ground upon my back.
I was drained of all energy.
Through the ringing in my ears and the continuing pandemonium around us, I heard Din's faint voice, fading in and out. "Stay with me, Luna." He pulled my debilitated body closer to him, my head lolling and resting upon his chest. "Kriger...Kriger, do you copy, over?" He shifted me in his grasp, resting a hand upon the back of my head. "Kriger, I just sent you my coordinates. Require immediate CASEVAC. Two times casualties. Do you copy, over?"
Though I could no longer feel pain, my body became even weaker, my eyes blurring to the point that I could only see the outline of Din's body in the moonlight. My brain demanded my body to move, yet my body did not comply.
There was movement behind Din now. Several forms flew by us, so rapidly that I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then, a single, faint silhouette emerged from the night sky above us, landing a few footsteps beside Din. Din and the figure appeared to exchange words, their voices now muffled and incomprehensible. For a moment, I was able to recognize Kriger, his movements panicked as he hovered over T'iana's form. He then turned back to Din and pointed upwards.
Din nodded and gripped me closer to his body.
The world around me began to fade as the ground beneath my feet slowly disappeared. Though I could see flashes of light from the corner of my eyes, the only sound that I could hear through the ringing in my ears was the effort of thrusters. The stars above seemed to twinkle a little brighter, appearing to beckon to us, as Din and I continued to rise into the night sky.
Then there was nothing but darkness.
(V)(V)(V)
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the latest installment! Apologies that it took a while to update. I really needed to get this chapter right and writer's block was not making it easy! I tried to incorporate current military practices in North America in this chapter, so I hope it added a bit more realism. (Fun fact: my husband and I are both in the military.) Lots more to come, so stay tuned. Possibly open to a sequel depending on how this story goes! ;) Hope you are all well! xx IFHD
