Lohan gazed down at the fallen body of the Mandalorian who had taken his son. And then his eyes met little Ronin's wailing in his arms. Upon making eye contact, Ronin stopped crying and smiled at his father, knowing he was safe. Lohan felt a rush of relief as he inspected his son. Seeing as no harm had come to the little boy, he clutched him against his chest.

"I almost lost you, Ronin," Lohan whispered into the little bundle of cloth.'s

Ronin reached up at his father with a little hand and firmly grasped Lohan's ring finger, Lohan made a fake look of surprise, and Ronin giggled.

"Glad that's over," Jax said from above on his speeder.

"Agreed. Let's get back to Kila. We'll see if she has gotten anything out of the three she knocked out earlier." Lohan said as he carried Ronin over to the speeder.

"Well, it looks like I'll be driving from here, Jax said with a smirk.

"Unfortunately, Yes," Lohan said with an exaggerated look of annoyance.

"Well, let's go!" Jax said as he helped Lohan back onto his speeder. And they sped off toward Kila and Darius' home.

As the Militia grew closer to the palace, they could see a giant pillar of smoke in the distance.

"What's that?" John asked from behind.

"I'm not sure, but that can't be a good sign," Lohan said.

When they rounded the corner, they all saw it. Or rather, what remained of Kila and Lohan's home. What had once been the nobility's beautiful, towering house was replaced with a heap of smoking wood and melted steel.

"NO!" Lohan yelled as he leaped off the speeder and desperately rifled through the wreckage. But there was nothing to be found. The building had been leveled from the bottom up.

"Kila! Kila?! Kilaaaaa!" Lohan screamed to no response.

Lohan fell to his knees in despair and disbelief. His home was gone. Kila was gone. All that was left of his little family was the person he held in his arms.

"That's why her link went out," Lohan said more to himself than to the others surrounding him.

"I failed her."

"No, you did not," Jax said as he brought his legs over his speeder and knelt beside Lohan.

"You did exactly what Kila would have done in your position. Save Ronin."

"No. I was the one who told Kila to stay." Lohan said guiltily.

"While that may be true, we would have never gotten the location of the kidnapper and the rest of the Death Watch had it not been for her. There was nothing you could have done." Jax said.

Lohan tried to argue again but stopped when he made eye contact with Jax.

"You're right."

at that moment, a giant hologram was projected into the air from the ashes.

A cloaked figure stood in the hologram and removed his hood, revealing a Mandalorian helmet with a Death Watch insignia on the vizor. Then the figure spoke:

"Lohan Darius. Traitor to the true ways of Mandalore. This message is for anyone who believes in your fallen ways of pacifism. This is what happens to those who defy the ways of Mandalore. This is justice. Remember this day as justice was leveled for your sins against Death Watch and the rest of the rightful people of Mandalore. Your wife Kila is dead. Your very marriage was a disgrace. You married a Jedi! The sworn enemies of our people for generations! You have brought this upon yourself, Darius. Know that this is not over."

With that, the figure brought his arm up to his breast and clicked a button on his wrist gauntlet. And the transmission ended.

Behind Lohan and Jax, The Mandalorian palace erupted in a giant mushroom cloud of fire and metal. It was sending debris and chunks of the building in every direction. Lohan and company quickly scattered into what little cover was available as the rest of the palace tumbled into the ground. When the dust settled, all that remained of the court was a pile of bent pillars, broken glass, and unrecognizable debris.

"It seems another war is upon us, brother," Jax told Lohan.

"It appears so," Lohan said.

Three Weeks Later

"With Mandalore at war again, I fear it is not safe anymore for Ronin. As the leader of House Darius, I do not have time to look after him. I cannot be the father I had wished to be. I must lead my people. And I cannot do that and care for Ronin simultaneously." Lohan said to Jax as they stood in a war tent.

"Then what should be done?" Jax asked curiously.

"Jax. I trust you with my life. You know that, right?"

"I do."

"I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"I need you to take Ronin to a safe house on Alderann. I have some family friends that can take care of him. Only there will Ronin be safe."

"Of course."

"And I need you to stay there until this conflict ends."

"But Lohan, the war..."

"I know. Jax, you are one of our greatest fighters, so I'm entrusting you to protect my son."

"Understood. I'll leave immediately."

"There is something else you should know."

"What is it?"

"Ronin is force sensitive."

"So it is true then."

"Yes. That is another reason I want Ronin away from all of this. Death Watch already tried to kidnap him, assuming he might've been force sensitive. If Death Watch knew for sure, they would only double their efforts. One day, he could be inducted into the Jedi Order. Reach his full potential. It's what Kila would have wanted."

"But didn't Kila Leave the order?"

"For me, yes. But Kila said she would have stayed had she not met me. She had said that if one of our children was force sensitive, she wanted them to be trained by the Jedi so they could learn to control their power."

With that, Lohan walked over to the corner of the tent and picked up Ronin from a cot he had been lying on. "

Goodbye, my son. I hope to see you again one day." Lohan said as a single tear ran down his cheek as he handed little Ronin to Jax.

Jax boarded his starfighter, the Raptor, and waved goodbye to his old friend with his free hand. The Raptor took through the air. As they reached the edge of Mandalore's atmosphere and the beginnings of space, Jax plotted a course for Alderaan. Jax hit the lever, and the ship vanished into the darkness of outer space.