Chapter 5: The Abomination

A/N: This chapter finishes up "The Jedi". Once again, thank you for your interest in this story. I have really enjoyed writing it and developing my first character of my own. Your reviews would mean a lot 3

"Let's see what knowledge is lurking inside that little mind," Ahsoka started.

Ahsoka and Grogu were back in their original positions from yesterday, with Grogu sitting on his rock, and Ahsoka sitting on the forest floor.

Kai watched as Ahsoka grabbed a small, smooth rock from the forest floor, and held it out in the palm of her hand. Suddenly, the rock levitated up out of her hand and traveled in a slow, steady path to Grogu, who caught it eagerly.

"Now, return the stone to me, Grogu," the Jedi instructed, holding her hand out to accept the stone's return.

Grogu stared at the rock in his small hands for a moment before holding it up in the air and sounding off a series of babbling noises.

"He doesn't understand," Din told Ahsoka, quick to jump to Grogu's defense.

"He does," Ahsoka responded stoically, without looking away from Grogu or moving her hand.

Kai guessed by Din's silence that he was not completely sure that he believed Ahsoka. While something wasn't exactly sitting right with Kai about the Jedi that Din had been so adamant about finding, she wasn't wrong about the Kid's ability to understand the things around him to an extent. Kai gave the man standing next to her a small bump into his arm with her shoulder. Din looked down at her and she gave him a little nod to confirm what Ahsoka had said.

"It's okay," Ahsoka reassured Grogu it seemed that the Kid was stalling. "The stone, Grogu."

Grogu held the small rock in his hand and Kai could sense frustration emanating from the small child. Then, when he looked back from the rock to Ahsoka, that frustration turned to fear.

"I sense much fear in you," Ahsoka said quietly.

Kai rolled her eyes and gave a bump to Din's arm with her shoulder to get his attention.

"Even I knew that," she whispered. "Remember how I said that last night?" Kai finished, not impressed with the Jedi that Din had been so determined to get to.

Din nudged her with his elbow, "Shhhh," he whispered to her, not taking his eyes off of Grogu. He was intent on watching every interaction between his ward and the Jedi.

Kai flattened her lips and went to sit back on the tree stump she was at yesterday. Kai kept her eyes on Ahsoka, trying to figure out what exactly it was about the Jedi that just wasn't sitting right with her. She supposed some of it was, was that Kai just had a hard time believing someone who seemed to know just as much as she did about Grogu. Kai herself had only basically just met him too. And she had no idea how to even fully use her newfound powers.

"He has had to hide his abilities to survive over the years," Ahsoka narrates, trying to explain to them why Grogu was dragging his feet. "Let's try something else," she says, sitting up a little straighter. "Come over here."

Grogu looked between Din and the Jedi, but no one moved.

"He's stubborn," Din said flatly.

"Not him. You," Ahsoka told him.

Kai chuckled at the surprised Mandalorian and found herself trying to school her features quickly when Din turned back to stare at her. She couldn't hide another smirk when she pictured the glare she imagined was just under that helmet.

Ahsoka turned to look at Din, "I want to see if he'll listen to you," she explained.

Din shook his head doubtfully but moved to stand next to Ahsoka, "That would be a first."

"I like firsts. Good or bad, they are always memorable," Ahsoka told him with a small smile on her face.

"Now, hold the stone out in the palm of your hand," she instructed, passing Din the stone. "Now, tell him to lift it up."

"All right, Kid," Din said, moving his hand to mimic Ahsoka's from earlier, holding the stone in his palm for Grogu. "Lift the stone."

"Grogu," Ahsoka corrected.

"Grogu."

Grogu let out a coo, and Kai could sense a brief flicker of excitement at being referred to by his given name by the armored man that had taken him under his wing.

"Come on, take the stone," Din tried to encourage Grogu again when nothing had happened yet.

Grogu looked around at everyone staring at him and let his ears fall.

"You see? I told you, he's stubborn," Din grumbled, letting his arm fall in defeat.

Ahsoka shook her head, "Try to connect with him," she offered.

Din and Grogu had a silent stare-off, while Din was thinking of something to say. When Din dropped the stone to the ground, Kai became concerned. Surely, he wasn't going to give up on Grogu just because the child didn't immediately produce a positive response. Hopefully, Din wouldn't let his frustrations get the best of him and do something to damage the connection the two obviously shared.

But then, Kai watched as the Mandalorian changed up his strategy, using a tactic that Kai hadn't thought of.

Din moved his hand to the front pocket of his utility belt. Kai smirked, remembering what he had stashed in there yesterday.

"Grogu," Din goaded.

Din was now holding the metal gear ball in his hand that she and Grogu had played with earlier. He moved it slowly, in a taunting circle, making sure that he had Grogu's complete attention.

The metal gear shift seemed to have done its job, and Grogu was grunting and reaching toward it.

"Do you want this? Well, go ahead," Din was just being mean to the Kid now, but his words seemed to have the intended effect.

Grogu was reaching towards the ball, with his eyes closed, fully focused on the task at hand.

"That's right, take it. Come on," Din kept up, "You can have it. Come on-"

Everyone went quiet when the metal ball was slowly lifted off of Din's palm and was suspended in the air for just a moment. The next moment it whizzed through the air to land in Grogu's tiny grasp.

"Good job! Good job, kid," Din congratulated. "Did you see that?" Din asked, looking down at Ahsoka. "That's right!" he clapped.

Grogu cooed, holding the ball up victoriously in the air.

When Din looked back at Kai, she gave a short, congratulatory clap to the both of them. Din was acting like a proud dad, and Kai couldn't help but smile at the antics of the two of them. However, that smile slipped when she caught Ahsoka staring intently at her.

"I knew you could do it. Very good," Din congratulated Grogu, walking over to the rock he was sitting on.

"Yes, very good indeed," Ahsoka agreed, turning her attention back to Din and Grogu with her smile returned.

The excitement seemed to wear off after a couple of moments and Kai caught Din's turn from Grogu and looked expectantly. He stared at her for a long moment before looking back to Ahsoka as if to say, "Your turn." Kai frowned. She wasn't exactly sure she was ready yet. The Jedi already seemed less than impressed by her. But… she had told Din last night that she would talk to Ahsoka. So, she gave him a small, hesitant nod in agreement, bracing herself for whatever was about to happen.

Din indicated with his helmet to Kai for her to join them at Grogu's rock. Kai got up and wiped her hands down her sides trying to stall slightly before nervously walking to join her new traveling companions.

"Ahsoka, Kai would like you to asses her too," Din started for her. He was probably concerned that if he didn't get the ball rolling, she would have chickened out on him. "We rescued her from the Empire's base on Nevarro."

Ahsoka, however, had been studying her closely during Din's explanation. The Jedi's intense look only added to Kai's nervousness, causing her to start wringing her hands in an attempt to direct her anxious energy to something.

"The Empire was doing some experiments on people using the Kid's blood. Kai was forced into the experiment. Whatever they've done to her, it's given her his powers as well."

Grogu gave a chirping noise and looked up at Din.

"Grogu, sorry," Din corrected, giving Grogu a single pat on the top of his head. "To what extent, I don't know. But I don't know if powers are the right word, or if it is the Force that you mentioned earlier."

Ahsoka's gaze hadn't moved from Kai at all. Kai gave the Jedi a nervous smile. Not that the pleasantry had any affected on Ahsoka at all.

"The Empire used Grogu's blood on people?" Ahsoka repeated, trying to wrap her mind around the idea. It didn't take her long until her face went even more stoic if that was possible. "They wanted to create their own soldiers that could wield the Force," Ahsoka said, slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"It appears that way," Din agreed.

"How many of you are there?" Ahsoka asked her, finally acknowledging Kai's existence. The wariness that laced her voice was not missed by Kai.

Kai gave the Jedi an awkward wave, "Just me. I think," she finished with a frown. Assuming the Empire hadn't figured out a way to resume their tests.

"Out of ten, Kai was the only one alive when we found her," Din confirmed.

Ahsoka took a seat on the ground and motioned for Kai to have a seat across from her.

Kai took a deep breath in and looked at Din and Grogu. They both gave her a nod of encouragement and she exhaled in a rush while moving to sit down.

Once she was sitting on the moss-covered ground, she crossed her legs and looked expectantly at the Jedi in front of her. Ahsoka was still staring closely at her and Kai started looking around the forest nervously until Ahsoka finally broke the silence.

"So, Kai," Ahsoka started, bringing Kai's attention back to the Jedi. The Jedi's use of her neck name bristled her slightly, but Kai tried not to let it show on her face. "Prior to the experiments, had you ever been telepathic, able to do things you couldn't explain, or move objections with your mind?" Ahsoka asked her.

No, she'd never been unique like Grogu. But she found it hard to answer the simple question without also over-sharing about her life before she met Din and Grogu. That previous life where she had only been given the basic necessities for survival for the majority of her life. That previous life she had almost died from starvation at the hands of her first owner. If Kai could have had the ability to do what she could now, then she would have freed herself a long time ago. Kai briefly looked down and saw her shackle-free wrists and realized, that for the first time since she was a child, she didn't have to explain that she was a slave. For all Ahsoka knew, Kai was just some poor girl that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"No," Kai answered firmly.

Ahsoka seemed skeptical at first but reached out toward Kai with her hands.

Kai looked at them skeptically before hesitantly placing her hand in the Jedi's open palms.

"I want you to just try and relax," Ahsoka told her. "Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. I'm going to try and see if I can visualize what exactly they've done to you. Try to not tense up."

Kai breathed in and out, closing her eyes as she released her breath in a slow, steady stream. She didn't know what to think about exactly. How was she honestly expected to try and clear her mind or meditate at a time like this? So, Kai found her mind wandering over several different things from her past and present at once. Which was probably the exact opposite of what the Jedi had asked her to do, but she couldn't help it. Kai tensed when she could feel the telltale sign of Ahsoka beginning to breach the barrier of her mind. The sensation brought all other thoughts to a halt. This was different than when Grogu did it. It was direct and uncomfortable. Kai tried to remain calm while she allowed some stranger to take a stroll through her innermost sanctum. She didn't know exactly what Ahsoka was looking for, so she did her best to try not to fidget and to keep her thoughts from racing.

Then, suddenly, Kai heard screaming. The screams sounded disembodied, and Kai wasn't sure if it was her screams, or Ahsoka's. The sound was accompanied by excruciating pain which was then followed by darkness.

When Kai opened her eyes after some unknown period of time, she was momentarily disoriented. Din and Grogu's concerned faces swam above her. Well, at least Grogu was concerned, she would just assume that Din's face showed some concern for her as well. At the very least, she warranted a raised eyebrow. Kai looked around, confused to find that she was now laying on her back on the ground.

Din reached a hand out toward her. "Are you okay?" he asked her while he helped her get back into a sitting position.

Kai nodded and then immediately stopped, and she had to stop Din from helping her up for a moment. She regretted moving her head because it made the world spin around her, leaving her in a slight residual pain. "I think so." she groaned, letting her head fall into her hands for a moment. "What happened?"

Once she felt as if the pain was at a more acceptable level, she looked to Ahsoka who was moving to get up from the ground.

Din held his hands back out and helped her get up on her feet as well.

Kai still felt a little dizzy, but when she returned her attention to Ahsoka, the look on the Jedi's face was enough to sober her right up. If Ahsoka looked wary before, then now she just looked flat-out distrustful.

"What did you see?" Kai asked her nervously.

Ahsoka shook her head as she looked at Din and then at Kai. "I don't know what they've done to you, and I don't know if anything can be done to fix it, but I can't help you."

Surprisingly, Kai found herself actually relieved when Ahsoka said that. She had sensed a certain level of distrust and uncertainty from her since their very first meeting. Now, Kai wondered if Ahsoka had been able to sense something from Kai all along.

"I don't know if anyone could or even should, for that matter," Ahsoka continued again. Her voice sounded a little far-off. Haunted even. Like she was remembering whatever she saw when she was looking through Kai's mind. "You possess something that makes it appear that you have the Force, but it is manufactured. Your powers are forged. Fake. Whatever they've done to you isn't finished with you yet," she told Kai with a shake of her head. "You are a risk. A risk that I'm not willing to take."

The whole, 'whatever they've done to you isn't finished with you yet,' was a little ominous, but otherwise, Kai was okay with the outcome. The initial allure of being a Jedi had lost its sheen, especially after meeting Ahsoka. Kai would just have to figure out how this new information would play into her future.

"But-" Din was about to start his argument on her behalf. Kai turned and rested a hand on his forearm to stop him. "Kai doesn't just have the appearance of powers, she actually has them," he carried on anyway, ignoring Kai. "I saw them firsthand. Those powers saved Grogu and me."

Ahsoka shook her head, "Whatever they did to her…" the Jedi tapered off and was looking back at Kai. "Whatever was done to her is very dark. I fear it will turn her dark as well. Or worse."

Okay, we get it, Kai thought with a frown. Ahsoka's message was most definitely received.

Kai squeezed Din's arm again, "It's okay," she whispered to him with a nod. "Let's just focus on getting Grogu back with his people like you have been so determined to do. Besides, I hadn't even held up my end of our agreement yet," she reminded him. Sure, she had thrown a wrench into Din's plans of leaving her with Ahsoka, but she obviously wasn't welcomed by the Jedi. The least she could do was make sure Din had all the information he could about the Empire and Moff Gideon before we went off on whatever suicide mission he was planning.

"Fine," Din agreed after a beat, and Kai let go of his arm.

Kai could tell by the tone of his voice that he didn't agree with Ahsoka but was focusing back on the task at hand.

"What about Grogu?" Din asked, Ahsoka, pointing to the Child in question.

Ahsoka gave Kai one last look before looking down at Grogu, giving him a sad smile. "He has formed a strong attachment to you."

Obviously, Kai thought to herself, keeping her eye roll to herself. She could tell that after just minutes with them.

"I cannot train him."

Kai's mouth fell open on its own accord at that bomb.

"What?!" Din asked her, obviously floored by that answer as well. "Why not? You've seen what he can do," he argued, pointing at the metal ball that Grogu still had.

"His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears. His anger," Ahsoka answered.

"All the more reason to train him!" Din insisted, and Kai nodded her head in agreement.

"No," Ahsoka replied with an adamant shake of her head. "I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully-trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us. I will not start this child down that path. Better to let his abilities fade."

There was a silence that had fallen over the group. It was one thing for this woman to call her fake and refuse to take her, Kai had somewhat expected that… But not to take Grogu? She looked over at him and saw he was just as confused as everyone else.

"That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard," Kai spat out in anger at Ahsoka before she had a chance to stop herself.

Only when she saw that she now seemed to have everyone's attention, she decided to continue on. Besides, Ahsoka apparently decided she was going to maybe be responsible for the end of life across the galaxy, it's not like Kai was going to change her mind.

"Grogu's attachment," she laid on a little sarcastically, "is love. And I've never seen anything else in the galaxy that is stronger than love before."

"That is the problem," Ahsoka turned to her, and Kai could see that she had struck a nerve. The Jedi had been calm and composed almost to an almost disturbing degree during their time with her. But now that Ahsoka had spun around to her, Kai could see a wave of anger in her eyes that surprised her. "You are an abomination of a creation that was made in a test tube. I wouldn't expect you to understand just how detrimental those types of emotions would be to a real Jedi."

Kai felt like she had been stabbed in the chest by that statement.

Kai had always been an emotional person and prior to her enslavement, she would make sure that she returned her mother's love every day. Her mother always made sure that Kai knew that she was safe and loved every day until she died. As Kai had grown older, even on her darkest days, Kai would retreat into herself and just remember that love, and hold on to it for just a little longer. She doubted she would have survived without it.

"I feel sorry for you," Kai whispered to the Jedi before turning to go sit next to Grogu on his rock just behind Din.

"I've delayed too long," Ahsoka told them, obviously ready to avoid any more unpleasantness. "I must get back to the village."

Thanks for nothing, Kai thought with a glare at the Jedi.

"The Magistrate sent me to kill you," Din told Ahsoka before she had a chance to leave.

While Ahsoka didn't seem particularly phased by Din's statement, Kai wondered if now was really the best time to bring up that certain piece of information.

"I didn't agree to anything," he told her, holding his hands up. "And I'll help you with your problem if you see to it that at least Grogu is properly trained."

Kai looked over to the other woman and assumed that Ahsoka was at least contemplating the offer because she hadn't immediately turned him down or taken off on her own.

Din must have known that he had her attention too when he started going in on the tactical statistics of the village he had gone to earlier.

"She has a small army of guards armed with A350 blaster rifles, two HK-87 assassin droids, and a hired gunfighter. He read ex-military to me. Combined, not even your laser swords would be able to protect you from all that firepower," he finished with a point to her weapons.

"True," Ahsoka started slowly. "But don't underestimate the Magistrate either."

"Who is she? She offered me a staff of pure beskar to kill you."

"Morgan Elsbeth," she told him with a look that was similar to the look she had given Kai when Ahsoka called her an abomination.

"During the Clone Wars, her people were massacred. She survived and let her anger fuel an industry that helped build the Imperial Starfleet. She plundered worlds, destroying them in the process."

"Yeah, it looks like she's still in business," Din agreed, looking around at the barren forest.

Kai watched as Ahsoka mulled over the offer. She had half expected the Jedi to say no, just like she had to everything else. But then again, the woman was still here.

"When you were in the city, did you see any prisoners?" Ahsoka asked.

Din nodded, "I saw three villagers strung up just outside the inner gate."

"We must find a way to free them," Ahsoka told Din, and Kai knew that she had made up her mind.

"A Mandalorian and a Jedi? They'll never see it coming."

Kai and Grogu shared a look. She couldn't tell what Grogu was feeling at the moment, but Kai was starting to feel just as desolate as this planet.

Din and Ahsoka exited the village with the celebratory cheers of the villagers heard behind them, even at some distance from the gates.

Ahsoka stopped just before they made it to the edge of the forest.

"I believe this is your payment," she told him, offering him the Beskar staff that she had taken from Elsbeth.

"No. I can't accept it," he declined with a shake of his head. "I didn't finish the job."

"No," Ahsoka agreed with a thankful smile. "But this belongs with a Mandalorian."

Din took the staff from her and inspected it up and down. It was well-balanced and comfortable to hold in his hand. He gave Ahsoka a nod of thanks for the gesture.

"Are your friends back on your ship?" Ahsoka asked, interrupting his examination of his new Beskar staff.

He was momentarily taken aback by the 'friends' label, seeing as his friends currently consisted of a child he rescued and someone he had saved from certain death only a couple of days ago.

Din nodded in response. He would have been more worried about his friends if there was more trouble to get into on the planet. But given the fact that this planet was basically a wasteland, and Kai's piloting skills left much to be desired, Din figured he was safe. He just hoped they hadn't found too much trouble to get themselves into on his ship.

Ahsoka paused and turned to look at him once his ship was in sight.

"What I said about Kai," she started.

Din stopped and looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I know what I said was harsh."

Din nodded but kept the rest of his opinions to himself. For now.

"But what I said doesn't make it any less true. Whatever they did to her wasn't meant to happen. Whatever it is inside her mind is dark, powerful, and is still taking hold of her," Ahsoka finished, looking at him with an extremely serious expression. "The Empire had no right to perform those tests. They have no idea what they have potentially unleashed."

"Wouldn't you rather take her then? At the very least to keep an eye on her, or maybe even try to help her," he suggested.

Ahsoka shook her head but didn't elaborate.

Din sighed at the lack of response and headed back toward his ship. Ahsoka hadn't even spent any real time with Kai. Not that he really knew her either, but what he did know didn't fit with the dire predictions that Ahsoka saw.

Still, that limited potential locations to find a spot for her to settle down. Not that Kai seemed especially eager to leave him right at this moment, but he suspected she would likely change her mind once the Kid left with Ahsoka.

Din stopped in front of the ship and pressed the commands on his wrist panel to open the cargo doors. When the door landed at his feet, he let out a sigh.

It looked like Kai had moved a couple of cargo containers to opposite sides of the area. Kai was sitting on the weapons container the two had discovered yesterday, while the Kid was sitting on top of a couple of crates that were stacked on top of each other across from Kai. Grogu let out a squeal when he saw that he and Ahsoka had returned. The Kid's excitement had disturbed the two's session of moving the metal gear ball back and forth between the two of them.

Kai turned to look at them, startled when the ball dropped on the metal floor. Din watched as her gaze hardened at the sight of Ahsoka standing just behind them. Her eyes then went to Grogu before looking back at Din in disappointment.

Din sighed, "Sorry, buddy," he said walking toward the Kid. "It's time to say goodbye."

Kai slid down from the container and came to join them.

"Can I?" she asked.

Din nodded and passed Grogu off to her.

"Don't be scared, okay?" she whispered to the Kid. "And don't let them change you either. I expect you to still be you the next time our paths cross, got it?"

Grogu gave her a couple of cooing noises. Apparently content, Kai passed Grogu back to him.

Kai gave Ahsoka one final glare before looking back at Din, "I'll just be up there when you're done," she told him before turning to head back up to the control deck.

Din looked down at the Kid. He didn't have any words of wisdom prepared as Kai had. He just looked at the Kid and hoped he knew what he was thinking.

Grogu gave a couple of despondent-sounding coos that led Din to believe he might understand more of what was going on than Din thought.

Ahsoka was still standing just outside of the ship where Din had left her, watching them curiously.

This is the way, Din reminded himself with a sigh before heading toward Ahsoka.

Ahsoka gave them a calm smile and stared intently at Grogu.

"You are like a father to him," Ahsoka told Din.

Din remained silent, once again relieved that there was a suit of armor that prevented his true emotions from being on display to the rest of the world.

"I cannot train him," she told him, looking back up to Din.

Din clenched his hold on Grogu, "You made me a promise," he reminded Ahsoka, barely able to contain his frustrated growl. "And I held up my end."

"I cannot train him," Ahsoka said with a heavy emphasis on the I. She let out a sigh before continuing, "There is one possibility," she told him. "You could go to the planet Tython. There you will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force. You could place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain," she instructed.

"And then what?"

"Then Grogu can choose his path," she offered. "If he reaches out through the Force, there is a chance a Jedi will sense his presence and come searching for him. Then again, there weren't many Jedi left."

He looked down at Grogu who was looking up at him with sad, confused eyes. Kai's words from last night replay in his head "Just maybe let him make that decision?" Maybe he was wrong and the Kid was old enough to choose. Just because he couldn't communicate with him, didn't mean he wasn't communicating with others.

"Thank you," he told Ahsoka with a nod.

"May the Force be with you," Ahsoka said with one last look to Grogu and turned to head back into the forest.

Din repositioned Grogu and turned back into the ship, closing the cargo door behind him.

"I guess we were stuck together for a little while longer," he told the Kid, taking him with him to join Kai up in the control room.

Kai was sitting in the passenger seat with her back turned to him. She didn't turn around to greet him when he stepped inside the small area. Between Ahsoka's abomination comment, and her still thinking that Grogu had left with said Jedi, Din knew that Kai was angry. He supposed that she had several things to be upset over, he just hoped that this turn of events would maybe cheer her up. Even if it was temporary until they were able to come across another Jedi.

As if on cue, Grogu sputtered out several nonsensical noises that grabbed Kai's attention immediately. She spun around and looked at the both of them with a large smile plastered on her face.

"I guess we were going to Tython," he told Kai, passing off the Kid to her on his way to his pilot's chair without much of another word.

He pressed a couple of buttons and looked down at the gear shift that was missing a piece.

With a sigh, Din turned in his chair and held his hand out expectantly, "Where is it?"

Kai and Grogu blinked at him with similar innocent, owlish looks.

Din didn't move his hand, determined to win this battle.

Kai sighed and reached into the Kid's shirt, pulling the ball out of a small pocket that Din wasn't aware he had.

"This wasn't yours to give him," Din feebly scolded her.

Kai shrugged her shoulders, "I thought he needed a little something to remember you by," she told him as he spun back to work on getting the Razor Crest up in the air.

The cockpit went quiet as they made their ascent back up into space. Din's attention was focused on locating Tython while simultaneously scanning the immediate area to make sure there were no surprises lurking.

"You know, for what it's worth," Din started, turning to look back at Kai once he'd decided they were in the clear. For now anyway. "I think she was wrong."

Kai lifted an eyebrow at him and Din couldn't help but note that her now stoic features had replaced some of the fire and personality she had started to show. She tilted her head when Din didn't continue on immediately and gave him a curious look.

"I don't think you're an abomination," he elaborated.

A slow smile spread across Kai's face, "High praise," she snarked back.

Din could see the tell-tale signs of relief though. The slight relaxing of her shoulders, and then tension slowly left her face.

"How about I give you a chance to redeem yourself from your lousy attempt at piloting skills from yesterday?" he asked her, getting up from the seat.

Kai's face lit up immediately. In a blur, she had shoved Grogu into his arms and slid behind him, into the pilot's chair.

"Just don't put me in the path of any asteroids this time," she instructed him, without even a look back.

Din looked down at Grogu who looked just as excited as Kai did. "Sorry, Kid, you won't be making that face for long," he joked loud enough for Kai to hear him. "You'll probably wish that you got to stay with that Jedi back there once she's done."

"Hey!" Kai swiveled back on him with the most affronted look he'd seen from her yet. "Maybe if I had a better teacher-"

"Alright, alright," Din stopped her from getting worked up. He grabbed the top of the chair and forced her to spin back towards the control panel.

"Moff Gideon, we've tracked the Child and the Mandalorian to Tython."

Gideon punched a button and a holo-image of the planet, Tython, came into view. No significant civilizations. Just one giant sphere of nature.

"Has Doctor Pershing arrived?" he asked without stopping his study of the planet in question.

"Yes, sir," the nameless uniform replied. "Dr. Pershing arrived with General Graven just an hour ago."

Moff Gideon turned off the holo-image and gave a smile to the officer in front of him.

"Then let's go ready the Death Troopers, shall we?"