I'm sitting in a lawn chair on the porch of our cabin, remembering what it feels like to relax. It's been a while. For the past few years, I've had to stay on guard, watching our backs, protecting the Kid from the imperials and the bounty hunters that would constantly come after him. Now I'm here at the home Greef has given me, Grogu plays on the bank of the pond—our pond—holding a frog in midair with the Force. It all seems surreal.
My thoughts replay what happened just a few days ago. Gideon's troopers that mocked our culture by wearing our armor and fighting us with Mandalorian tactics and weapons, had captured me and dragged me into their base on our planet—disgusted, humiliated, and defeated, my thoughts went to what might happen. Moff Gideon was a former ISB agent. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he had in store, but I know he had many deranged ways of getting what he wanted.
And he wanted the Kid. He would have used me as a bargaining chip to get him. I couldn't let that happen.
I made my move isolated in a secluded corridor with just my two captors, and no weapons. I didn't like those odds, but trying something and ending up dead was better than Gideon getting Grogu. I found my footing long enough fight free from the troopers. Then Grogu showed up. Dread filled me as I watched the kid pilot that plodding IG unit skeleton into one of the most dangerous situations we'd ever been in. I couldn't imagine a way out for both of us. I couldn't even fathom a way to keep him safe. But I had to, that was all that mattered. We had to kill Moff Gideon.
Propelled by the power of sheer will to protect the Kid, I brawled through a hallway of beskar armored troopers, collecting their weapons as I went. We destroyed a room full of Gideon's clones. He came at me hard for it. After all the fighting, I'd taken a few hits. It started to seem like Gideon was getting the advantage. When he brought his Praetorian Guards out, I assumed it was over. At least the kid was still unnoticed, safe in a corner, or hopefully making his escape. I took strength in that as I readied for what I thought would be my last stand.
"No."
That droid voice brought more horror than any torture Gideon or his men could devise. Why was the kid there? Why was Grogu putting himself in danger for me?
The guards went towards him. White hot terror and blinding rage filled me. The consuming instinct to save him turned into raw power. Together, fighting alongside the Kid, we eliminated the Praetorian Guards.
Meanwhile Gideon dueled Bo, presumably for the Darksaber. But Mandalorians are stronger together. And he crushed the thing anyways. Me and Grogu joined Bo, our weapons and the Kid's powers steadily pushing Moff Gideon back, but it was Axe Woves, sending the light cruiser crashing into the base, who landed the final blow, taking the Imp out with his own ship.
A wall of flames raced towards us. I froze as the fire roared closer, knowing that we too would be vaporized. But the fire went around us. At first I was confused. How were the flames not burning us alive? The only shield was the one on Bo-Katan's vambrace, the small circle of protective energy held up in a useless gesture against the inferno that raged all around. That's when I noticed the kid, his eyes narrow in concentration, his arms lifted, protecting the three of us with the Force.
The next day, a creed ceremony was held at the Living Waters for the first time in years. Ragnar swore the creed, a bittersweet moment since Paz wasn't there to see it. Then I asked the Armorer something— I asked if Grogu can advance from foundling to apprentice. Surely after all he'd done in the battle, he was at least worthy of the title, if not more. The Armorer said that a parent would need to speak for him since he can't yet speak for himself. By the way she talked, I gathered that she was saying what I'd been thinking for a long time— the time had come for me to adopt Grogu.
He's my son now. I'll teach him as I take bounty hunting jobs for the New Republic. For now we're back on Nevarro. Greef welcomed us. He gave us this comfortable cabin with a good sized plot of land and the pond that the kid plays at. At ease at last. It's a change of pace, and it sure feels different, but it feels right. There's a million different ways things could have gone wrong over the past while, but there's nothing better than this.