I was jolted awake by this electric pulse coursing through my body. Not heat- electricity. It wasn't painful so much as it was frightening. My eyes shot open as my limbs reactively tensed up. Someone or something held me into place during my convulsion. "Master is revived," a familiar robotic voice announced. "Where am I?!" I gasped, completely in a state of panic. I had no clue where I was or what happened after I passed out. The droid took a step back and I jerked my head up to see Mando's helmet staring down at me. Mando? He's alive? We survived Moff's assault? "Easy, easy," he said in a weak tone. Sounded like he wasn't entirely better to me. I examined the situation to find that I was currently laying on this hard-counter thing in what appeared to be an underground bunker. The Mandalorian was beside me, wrapping both his arms around my upper half. Carl, Greef, and the robot- who had just administered an electric shot to me- were also there, along with…..

There was another Mandalorian here; this one wearing a cape along with the armour. They watched me as I carefully and slowly sat up, Mando retracting his arms a tad. "So, this is the target the Client has sought so hard for? The reason the Imperials are here…." It was a woman; she had a rough, deep female voice. She took one step towards me, not breaking her gaze from mine. "I never thought the day would come… that our archenemy would enter the Mandalorian covert."

"Archenemy?!" All the men present gasped in utter shock. Even I sat up straighter wearing a confused expression. Seeing our collective reactions, the female Mandalorian decided to address me specifically. "Are you not a Jedi?" She inquired. "You're a Jedi?!" Greef turned to me like this was some horrible secret- not to mention crime- I've been keeping. "No! I'm not a Jedi! I'm a healer," my hand rose defensively up to my chest. Her head tilted sideways a little. "Then why do you carry their weapon?" That caused Mando and Carl to look at me with so, so much bewilderment. I, meanwhile, merely blinked puzzled by this question.

"What weapon? All I have is the blaster Mando gave me, and I left that back on the ship," oops. "In your pocket," not missing a beat, her finger pointed to the bulge in my pant's right pocket. Curious, I pulled it out to examine it again. Didn't look dangerous to me. "This? No, it's not a weapon. It doesn't do anything except when I press this button, this long green glowing light appears. It's just a big flashlight or something." But she didn't look convinced; or at least, she didn't act convinced. Mando and Carl glanced at each other confused. The only one who wore a dumbfounded and terrified expression was Greef, who wordlessly gawked at me with his mouth hanging open…. for some reason. The Mandalorian lady straightened up her head. "Show me," her voice was low but very commanding.

My lips parted a tad since I knew I'd have to use the Force to activate it. Still, knowing that she and everyone else were now waiting, I stood up- with Mando's help of course. Once steady on my feet after a few seconds, I held the stick in both hands and concentrated. Within seconds, the same green light stick appeared, making its buzzing sound. While Mando and Carl seemed stunned but perplexed, Greef wore a look of horror; even the Mandalorian lady acted differently. She took another step forward while inspecting the green stick. "Remarkable…." Was all she said.

"Is that why the Imperials are after you? Because you're a Jedi?!" Greef angrily fired at me. "I told you, I'm not a Jedi! I have no idea what this thing is," I retorted loudly; he's not listening to me. "How did you come by this?" The Mandalorian lady asked me next. "Oh uh… my…. master gave it to me not too long ago," I struggled to answer. "Who? Yoda?" Greef's hands rested on his hips, still in an enraged fashion. I shot him a glare but hesitated. "Yes, as a matter of fact- he did. But he knows I'm a healer; he's the one who told me to become a healer! He would never give me a deadly weapon."

Greef shook his head. "It all makes sense now. The healing, your ability to move things…. No wonder the Imperials want you so badly." "I don't understand what you are talking about! This isn't a Jedi weapon…. is it?" I peered back at the stick mildly suspicious now. But that doesn't make any sense…. Why would Master Yoda give me something deadly when he knows I've made a vow never to kill? I don't get it….

"Is this why you didn't tell us you were training to become a Jedi? Because you knew Mando would have killed you on the spot if he had known?" "What?!" Mando and Carl exclaimed. But to our shock, the Mandalorian lady nodded her head in agreement. "It is true. The Jedi and the Mandalorians have been archenemies for centuries. What you hold in your hand is called a lightsaber- it is the formal weapon of a Jedi Knight. Only those who are Force-sensitive can use such a sword." "Y-you know about the Force?" I asked her in a shaky voice. Uh oh; Master Obi-Gon told me not to tell Mando about the Force. Guess it's too late for that now.

The Mandalorian lady looked right back at me and nodded her head resolutely. My eyes trailed off into nowhere thoughtfully- thoughtfully and more than a little confused. She took yet another step my way. "It is a great pride for the Mandalorians that our beskar armour is the only thing which can withstand a lightsaber strike. As your ancestors used the Force, we adapted to equal the Jedi." "So… that's why you made suits out of beskar? Because they can hold up against a lightsaber attack?" I asked, finally releasing the button. It was nice to be rid of all that constant buzzing. Her head nodded once more. "This is the way." Hey, that's what Mando says…..

That's when the Mandalorian lady spun around to go over to a pile of Mandalorian helmets and armour. Hey, where'd all that come from? She brought a few scrap pieces over to this blue fire pit. I thought now was the best time to reiterate my point. "I'm not a Jedi." "No, but you are descendent from Jedi, and you were trained by Jedi spirits." "But… but…." Oh no, now what's going to happen? I gazed back at the uncomfortably silent Mando, who had been watching me this whole time. He must feel conflicted now; his tribe are the archenemies to everyone I've ever loved before? That's why my great uncle to me not to tell him about the Force when we first met…. If what she and Greef said is true, then Mando would have had a duty or obligation the slay me right away, wouldn't he have? Forget about my bounty; the honour of his clan is at stake. But then again, I'm not a Jedi…. Does that even matter though? Should it? "You balance each other. Remember that when you find reason to distrust him." Does it matter?

The Mandalorian lady continued to work on her metalcraft. "Saoirse Jinn: your safety deemed such destruction. You were hunted and saved by one of my own…. and you saved him from the mudhorn." Mando and I looked to each other before she went on talking. "A daughter of Jedi and a son of the Mandalorians. This unison defies both your histories; you are descendent from enemies to our kind. And yet, I see a balance between you. Mando took you from your home- by creed, you are in his care." "You wish me to train her?" Mando asked her while pointing at me. "She is not a warrior but a healer; if Saoirse was to enter combat, she would die." I nodded my head at this; seemed right to me.

"You have no choice; you must reunite Saoirse with her own kind," she then informed Mando. This alarmed and astonished me; I didn't think there were any Jedi left. I thought my dead masters were the last of them; they certain never spoke about any other Force-sensitive individuals except Anakin. Anakin….. "Where?" Mando asked for me. "This you must determine," she claimed while pouring this liquid metal into a mould. Then I thought of something. "Couldn't…. Mando just take me home? He doesn't have to search the galaxy for a bunch of individuals I've never met. Besides, wouldn't it be dangerous for him to deliver me to a race of enemy Jedi?" And she glanced over her shoulder to look at me. "This is the way."

While she began pounding on something, and Mando said nothing, Carl finally stepped up to intervene. "Hey, these tunnels will be lousy with imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan." "If you follow the descending tunnels, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream towards the lava flats," the Mandalorian lady told us. Carl looked to Greef who motioned his head to the tunnels. "I think we should go," Greef concurred. "Take Saoirse. I'm staying; I need to help her, and I need to heal," Mando stated quickly. "Mando!" My heart skipped a beat at the thought of us parting again. "Go, Saoirse," he fired back at me. "No, I can heal you," I shook my head. "You're not strong enough, and it's too dangerous for you to stay." "But Mando….." I began. "Go," Mando remained firm on his stance. Or he did until….

"You must go; Saoirse is in your care. By creed, until you have returned her back to her home or she is reunited with her own kind, you are as her protector," the Mandalorian lady decreed. No one said anything; Mando and I merely looked once more at each other. "This is the way. You have earned your signet," she spun around holding something with these iron pinchers. She then came over to Mando's side where she could fuse something onto Mando's arm plate. We all watched curiously. When she was done, she gazed up at him.

"You are a clan of two," she proclaimed. Mando considered sincerely for a moment, moving his head with intent. "Thank you. I will wear this with honour." "This is a bond stronger than marriage. You are one whether together or apart, you will share everything….." "And we will raise our children as warriors," I finished her sentence impulsively before realizing that all eyes were on me now. That just came out of nowhere from my lips…. I just thought that's how the verse ended. But the Mandalorian lady turned my way and nodded her head affirmingly. "This is the way."

Wait…. What just happened? Isn't that the Mandalorian's….. marriage vow? But that would mean…..? Did I just get married? My eyes peered to Mando, now staring back at me. My gaze lowered tenderly onto him. Did I just… marry the Mandalorian?