Chapter 18: The Search

"What do you mean he's on the ship with you?"

Cara's incredulous voice emanated crisply from my vambrace despite her miniature hologram being mere inches. To provide evidence to my former statement, I held my arm a little farther from her image and balanced the little green child on my lap for her to see. As though to underline the point even further, and knowing precisely what was happening, the child grinned widely at her, letting out a sharp giggle. "He's...here with me."

Cara released a prolonged groan, running her hands through her face and hair. Her light-blue, almost transparent image captured every bit of her mortified expression. "I swear he was right beside me, fast asleep, when I tried to call it a night myself…"

It wasn't the first time that the child had pulled off such antics and, knowing him, it certainly wouldn't be the last. Perhaps it was normal for his species - whatever he was - to act in such a manner. I winced at Cara empathetically, then cradled the mumbling child more tightly in my arms. "Maybe it was some kind of mind trick?"

Another groan from Cara. "Din's going to kill us."

Though my first instinct was to find some form of lightheartedness throughout our current predicament with the child, the mention of Din's name instantly brought me back to reality. The reality of why we, and the others, were currently speeding through the Outer Rim, heading straight for the Grá system to the last known coordinates of Din's ship. Though it was difficult to push away the negative thoughts from my mind, I managed to remain steady and hopeful, clinging onto the fact that, deep down within my being, I knew he was still alive. Somewhere. "Don't worry." I shook my head with a small smile. "I'll keep him safe. We'll both be back - with the others - before you know it."

Cara's apprehension didn't abate, but she appeared to accept my response - at least, for the time being. "Alright, well...keep steady comms with me so I know what's going on, okay? I'll do the same so you know what's happening on the ground here. I feel a shitstorm coming, and we need to be ready."

"I will."

She cocked her head to the side, an afterthought appearing to have flashed in her mind. "I like the new look, by the way."

Guilt suddenly bubbled in the pit of my stomach. "It was just a last-minute ruse to get me on the ship without being questioned." It was a good reason at the time of my leaving Kalevala. But it was only then that the symbolism of what I had actually done - of what I was purporting to be - started to sink in.

Cara read my hesitation - and, quite possibly, my remorse. "Look, you had your reasons." She lifted her chin. "But remember that you actually have on armour with built-in weapons systems. Use that to your advantage. Take care of yourself out there, Luna."

"We'll see you soon, Cara."

As the transmission ended, I felt the weight of our current circumstances in its entirety. I stared blankly out of a side viewport, the heaviness in my chest increasing. Though the child's presence brought me comfort, and though I was in a ship full of hardened warriors from the Coalition, the uneasiness of being separated from Din remained. Even prior to the marauders invading Grá, I was never one to form such strong attachments, particularly given that the nature of my father's work had necessitated that we constantly moved, living around the planet like nomads. But with Din, it was...different. He felt like...home; there was no other way to describe it. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that what I had said to my father back in Kalevala about Din wasn't a slip of the tongue.

Perhaps this is truly what...love...felt like.

Alarms suddenly rang out throughout the ship in waves, making my heart jump as the incessant sounds scratched my eardrums. I instinctively covered the baby's large ears with my hands and pulled him closer to me. He released a light cry in response, seemingly distressed by the commotion as well.

"Marauder ships incoming!"

My face blanched as I peered through the viewport once more, now joined by some of the other Coalition members at my side. As though on cue, several marauder attack ships flashed by, the rumbling of their engines and thrusters reverberating through our ship and shaking the glass before us. Those on the bridge reacted swiftly. Our ship's deflector shields activated just as they made another pass overhead, their blasts dissolving around us in a violent spray of light and fire.

"Mando, we need you on the first starboard turret below deck, now!"

It took a moment for me to realize that the order was being directed to me. A sinking feeling invaded my stomach. Before I could reply, the orange-skinned Mon Calamari male brushed past me, mired in the growing frenzy within the vessel. My spine stiffened as my eyes flashed around at the others in consternation. They rushed to occupy their own positions in order to complete their individual tasks as orders continued to be shouted from all areas of the ship. I eyed the distraught baby in concern for a brief moment, then did as the Mon Calamari had asked without a word of protest.

Sure, I had on Mandalorian armour. And sure, I was able to somewhat take care of myself in hand-to-hand combat and even in a blaster fight. However, as I sat on the turret seat, surveying the array of blinking, multicoloured buttons and switches, I was at a complete loss. The set-up was unlike anything I had ever seen, on Grá or otherwise.

Perhaps posing as a Mandalorian might not have been the best idea after all.

As though sensing my growing frustration, the child rearranged his sitting position on my lap and leaned forward upon the dashboard. At first, he appeared to be merely curious, attracted to and amused by the display…

...until he pressed on a few switches and a large, red button to my right.

The turret swiftly activated and, without my being at the helm of the controls, the blast shot out haphazardly towards an incoming marauder vessel…

...hitting it squarely at its centre of mass.

Debris scattered from the damaged ship, peppering the star-speckled scene like fireworks. The vessel now appeared to be inoperative. I automatically jumped back in my seat at the impact, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, then peered down at the baby. He merely looked up at me, with the galaxy's worth of innocence all concentrated in his large, brown orbs, blinked several times, and then attempted to reach for the button once more.

"Whoa, wait a second," I held on to his tiny arm lightly, stopping him from repeating the act. He looked at my hand, then back up at me; he almost seemed...disappointed. I pursed my lips in response. "I'll take it from here."

My brain replayed precisely what the child had done, now focused on the task at hand. I gripped the controls in front of me with a long intake of breath and pressed the necessary switches and button. The turret seat swiveled as another blast fired out of the cannon towards my intended target.

I missed.

The child looked up at me quizzically.

Borderline judgingly.

I threw him a tired look and raised a brow. "I just...mistimed things a bit," I muttered, setting up the cannon once more and resetting my position upon the chair. My body stiffened in concentration, expression emanating the desire to not miss again. As another vessel flew past the viewport, I shot another few rounds as the system locked on target.

To my - and the child's - surprise, the shots made contact, disabling the vessel entirely. It fell from sight, flying past our tail as our ship continued to press forward.

"Woo!" I cried, embracing the little green being before me. "That's another one down!"

The Coalition ships locked into battle formation as the firefight continued for several tense minutes. Adrenaline rushed through me like a maelstrom, bringing me further and further into the fray. Though our ship had sustained some damage throughout, all current indications informed me that we weren't in grave danger. As our surroundings progressively calmed, with no marauder ships left in sight, I released a cry of relief and embraced the child once more. "We did it, baby!"

"Luna?"

I froze, recognizing the voice.

Captain Brion Stridende peered into the gun turret and tapped on my shoulder when I didn't reply. His light-blue eyes displayed his simultaneous curiosity and incredulity. My shoulders fell, defeated. I could no longer keep this ruse from one of my father's most trusted officers. Besides, I was already on the ship.

He wouldn't toss me out into space, would he?

I removed my helmet with a sigh. "Hi, Brion."

His eyes widened. "Luna, what are you doing here?"

I shrugged, replying simply with, "The same thing you are."

He nodded after a few moments, understanding precisely what I meant without need of further elaboration. "We've located the ship Din is on. It's on Grá's surface. We're headed there now."

With renewed hope, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "The faster we get there, the better."

His brows knitted, his eyes betraying his own worry. "Let's just hope we're not too late."

(V)(V)(V)

I stepped onto Grá's reddish-brown surface with caution, instantly flooded with the memories of what had occurred the last time we had been here.

How we had lost T'iana.

Though the guilt quickly bubbled up to the surface, accompanied by the flashes of images of T'iana's funeral pyre, I maintained a steady pace forward, determined to find Din and the others. Determined, once more, to have a chance to make things right for my people and my planet.

Tyranny had no business being here.

Swallowing the lump that had progressively formed in my throat, and reminding myself that T'iana's sacrifice would not be in vain, I instead focused on ensuring that my little baggage was perched comfortably in my open backpack. Given the choice of either leaving the baby on the ship or keeping him under my watchful eye, I resolved it would be best to keep him with me. A warzone was no place for a child; but, at the very least, we wouldn't be separated, which lessened my worry about him. Seemingly approving of my decision, he appeared content, keeping his little hands on my shoulders for balance. "You ready, baby?"

The high-pitched babble seemed to be his version of a yes.

The cover of night blanketed our movements; only dim moonlight guided our steps. I managed to activate the Mandalorian helmet's night vision capability. Green images flickered on my visor, making it much easier to see the landscape and terrain. With a flick of Brion's wrist, we set out with a platoon-sized worth of Coalition combatants under Brion's leadership. The combatants from the other Coalition ships remained throughout our landing zone, looking to establish a pseudo forward command centre with a view to being a link between us and those on Kalevala. Though our premature entry into the planet wasn't part of my father's original plan, it would be best to use the situation to our advantage.

After about half an hour of marching, a familiar sight caught my eye in the distance.

The ship in which Din and the others had flown.

"Din…" I whispered under my breath. My gaze immediately locked with Brion's. With a common understanding, we scanned the horizon for any signs of the enemy, our eyes raking through the foreign environment. When the surrounding area was confirmed to be clear, I broke into a sprint towards what now appeared to be a deserted vessel. It had stopped at the foreground of the beginning of a chain of hills. My eyes flashed throughout its exterior, noting its condition. The outer steel was badly damaged, with some parts of the large ship entirely missing or still smoking. The deep gouges on the ground were evidence of its rough landing, though the pilots had chosen an ideal place for a crash landing as the terrain was relatively smooth. At the very least, it didn't appear to have burst into flames…

Others briskly followed my movements. "Stay close," Brion ordered, surveying the members of the platoon in turn. "I don't see any heat signatures within the vessel, but we need to be careful, just in case."

My brows pinched. No heat signatures?

So where are they?

I activated the comlink attached to my right vambrace and sent a quick SITREP to Cara and my father, relaying that, although we had managed to find the ship in one piece, no one appeared to be on board. The message would hopefully reach them quickly, given that my father was awaiting word of our progress in order to execute the next stage of his operation.

Several Coalition fireteams pressed forward, inspecting the vessel through their own night vision goggles, scanners, and gadgets. As a whole, we remained practiced noise and light discipline, keeping our movements purposeful and swift.

A Sullustan female hopped from a side ramp of the darkened vessel. "No sign of anyone or where they might have gone," she reported, holstering her blaster as she strode towards the rest of the platoon.

Brion's lips formed into a thin line, the gears in his head visibly turning. "Then we fan out and look for any signs of where they could have gone. We'll send a team of scouts forward. It hasn't been too long since this ship was abandoned."

The trackers in the platoon took the lead, using a combination of their natural instincts, high-tech gadgets, and experience. Given that we were, for all intents and purposes, now in "enemy" territory, we resolved to continue on foot, leaving some combatants behind to guard the ships.

We proceeded due south through densely forested foothills. Though the landscape demanded a heightened effort to trek onwards, the temperature was thankfully crisp, making our journey not as uncomfortable as it could have been. It made me remember just how pleasant the summers were on Grá, no matter where you were on the planet. I tended to the child in intervals, ensuring that he had something to eat and drink along the way. Though we received some curious and questioning glances from some of the combatants, our main focus remained on the mission at hand.

"Get down!"

The warning cry sounded in front of me just as bright-red blaster rounds flashed before us. Without a second thought, I unloaded the baby from my back, dropped to the ground, and shielded his body with my own. Shouts erupted throughout the platoon as a firefight began. In haste, I activated my Mandalorian power shield and crouched behind it. There was movement to my side, followed by more blaster rounds. I then drew my own blaster and returned suppressive fire. "Contact left!"

Coalition fireteams moved forward to my side to support, moving and covering one another in turn. My visor was only picking up a handful of marauder troops before us, leading me to believe that this was only a scout patrol. Nevertheless, our platoon continued with the intention of ending the firefight as soon as possible, knowing that this would only draw more attention to our location if it continued.

It was then that I felt myself forcefully knocked to the ground, the wind escaping my lungs as a result. The movement was followed by a series of swift kicks to my side, targeted right at my ribcage. Though pain surged through my body, I stifled my cries, the focus of my distress solely on the unprotected child a few meters away instead of on the marauders now looming over me. Before I could grip my blaster and fire, two marauders were instantly blasted down. One, however, pressed on, hiding behind his own shield.

In a surge of anger, I lunged towards the sole marauder troop, trusting that my shield and armour would hold throughout the blasts. The move knocked him off-balance, and, with a swift punch to the face, he toppled over upon his back, limbs akimbo. He cried out in fear and placed his hands up in surrender as I towered above him.

"Please! Please, lady, don't kill me!"

Others rushed to my side, weapons drawn at the troop, as the firefight died down. I raised a hand in a signal for them to hold their fire, deactivated my shield, then took the child in my arms once more. Thankfully, the baby appeared to remain unscathed. As my attention fell back upon the troop, I cocked my head to the side in question at the pitch of his voice. The removal of his helmet by a male Twi'lek revealed that the troop was merely a young boy, perhaps 15 standard years. The grip on my blaster waned, though its barrel remained pointed at him.

Diabhal is using children to support her tyranny?

"Y-you're looking for your friends, right?" he stammered, eyes darting around him. "T-the other off-worlders?"

I audibly growled, stepping closer to him. "What do you know?"

His entire body trembled, his teeth chattering as he continued, "T-there were off-worlders taken to the Compound." Tears began to stream down his face. "W-we were told that… that others would come."

The Compound?

Were Din and the others captured?

I regripped the blaster more tightly, though my hesitation remained. "We won't kill you," I said through gritted teeth, but pressed my blaster closer to him to highlight my point, "if you show us where they are."

"I...I don't know exactly where they are!" The young boy continued to panic, squirming at my feet, "but the Compound is just beyond that ridge there."

My head turned toward the direction of his pointed finger, then turned back to him. I continued to eye him with a tightened jaw, noting the pure fear that his orbs bore. He could perhaps be leading us into a trap, but the desperation in his eyes said otherwise. Could a boy his age lie, given his state? I grabbed the fabric of his shirt, lifted him up to his feet, then urged him to move forward with a cock of the head. "Take us there."

Brion marched to my side, moving his lips to the side of my ear. "You're going to trust this kid?"

"It's a lead. We should at least check it out," I reasoned.

It was clear in Brion's eyes that, though he understood where I was coming from, he still didn't believe it was a good idea. Good idea or not, however, he made the order to move out in the alleged direction of the Compound.

It didn't take us long to pass the ridge. The platoon was now on even higher alert, with some feeling as though we were being led into a trap. Though my gut didn't rule out the possibility, the bright lights that greeted us from what appeared to be a walled city underlined that, perhaps, this young marauder boy was telling the truth.

Brion's light eyes scanned our surroundings. "Where to now? This place is a fortress."

As though in response, the baby gurgled something, his hand repeatedly tapping upon my shoulder. I carefully slid the backpack strap from my arm and held him in front of me. "What's wrong, baby?"

His tri-fingered hand lifted, pointing to somewhere above my right shoulder.

Puzzled, I followed the direction of his little fingers, noticing a forested area with a hilly backdrop.

"Luna?"

I turned back to Brion. "Brion, the baby is noticing something. Over there."

Brion fixed his gaze to where I had gestured. His expression hardened. "Heat signatures. Everywhere."

I placed the baby upon my back once more and unholstered my weapon. Following a hand signal from Brion, the Coalition members moved to an extended line, their various weapons drawn.

"I told you it was a trap," Brion muttered, tight-lipped.

"No, you didn't." I squared my jaw, tensing my shoulders. "You just...heavily implied it."

A single figure appeared from the cover of the forest.

He held out his weapon-less hands in front of him. "Captain Stridende?"

My eyes widened in realization as my head spun. "Din?" I hissed, placing my weapon back in its holster.

Din froze in place, taken aback by my voice in return. His head snapped to my direction. "Luna?"

Din raised a hand as a signal for the others to stand down.

Weapons were lowered.

I ran towards him.

As I made my way to his side, other Coalition members emerged from their covers, relieved. Hushed cries of excitement sounded from either side as the extended lines rushed towards one another, following my and Din's lead.

I choked back tears as my arms finally wrapped around Din's neck. His own arms wrapped around my body, holding me tightly. As the Coalition members on Din's ship rushed past us, I moved slightly from him and, without a word, pulled him behind the cover of a large tree trunk, away from curious eyes. In swift movements, I removed my helmet, closed my eyes, and used a hand to lift his helmet just enough to reveal his mouth. Though he initially - almost instinctively - protested by holding on to my arms, he eventually allowed the helmet to slip from his head just a few inches when he realized my intent. Before he could speak, I captured his lips in a blazing kiss, a mixture of relief, need, and happiness flowing through me. My mouth lingered upon his for a few moments, then parted slightly to deepen the kiss. He reciprocated the act with the same intensity, holding on to the sides of my face as though I was the anchor that kept him ashore.

Though I wanted the moment to continue, I eventually pulled back and, with reverence, replaced his helmet.

"Luna…" he said breathlessly, running his fingers through my hair, "...what are you doing here?"

I caressed the side of his helmet with the backs of my fingers, the longing unmistakable in my eyes. "Searching for you." Clearing my throat, I turned to reveal my backpack to him. "We both were."

Din's head tilted to the side. As he opened the flap of the backpack, the child poked his head out, ears first. A gleeful cry escaped his lips as he reached for his father.

I had expected Din to scold me, to go off on a merciless tirade about how we shouldn't be here and how utterly idiotic it was to do what we had done.

Instead, he rested his chin on the child's forehead as he embraced the two of us in silence.

I really was home.

At that moment, a message came through on my vambrace, my visor indicating its urgency. As I pulled back from Din and punched in a code, Cara's hologram appeared. She was just about to say something to me, but Din's appearance caught her attention. "Boy, am I glad to see you!" Relief briefly flashed through her face, but it was quickly overshadowed by consternation. "This is probably bad timing, but...Luna, Din...we have a problem."

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

She threw me an almost apologetic look, then her eyes fell upon Din. "Our Imperial friend is back."

Din visibly tensed, his hold on me tightening.

"Imperial?" I repeated, puzzled. "Din? Who is Cara talking about?"

"Moff Gideon."

(V)(V)(V)

A/N: I'm back, my lovely readers! What did you all think of that? As per usual, apologies for the later-than-normal update. Again, I want to provide you lovely folks with quality chapters. Coupled with how busy work has been and how I really wanted to tie in some new story ideas - and make sure everything fits into a neat package - I'm really taking my time to make sure I get it right. So, please stay tuned - there is more to come, and I am super excited to get all of my ideas down "on paper"! I honestly just want to keep this story going on forever, because there is SO much more to tell! So many more ideas to incorporate! (Can you feel my excitement?!)

Thank you, dear reader, for your support. Whether you've been reading this story since December or have just started reading this month, knowing that someone out there is enjoying this story is amazing and keeps me going. Cheers! xx IFHD