Din felt like he'd slept for weeks, and woke wondering if he'd dreamed the entirety of the day before. It certainly seemed like it. When his mind began to clear, he realized Grogu was curled up next to him, and he was lying on his side rather than sitting upright in the N1. He opened his eyes, and looked down at a pale pelt underneath him. If he was looking at this shimmering hide of indulgent fur, she must have been real too. A soft coo immediately cleared his sleep-addled brain as he looked down at his son, snuggled up against his cuirass, just opening his big eyes. The brown orbs looked up at Din as he purred and cuddled closer. Din immediately knew what he was after. "You know I can't let her see my face."

Grogu pointed toward Aldor's bunk. She was nowhere to be seen. No sound or sign of her.

"Are you positive she's outside?"

Grogu bounced and nodded in excitement, pleased to have won his father over yet again.

Din sighed deeply. "Okay then, Pal. But if you sense her…"

Grogu nodded again before Din could finish. "Promise," he said.

If he was saying the word in Basic, he meant it. So Din begrudgingly took off his helmet, sliding it over his head on the floor, still lying on his side. Grogu immediately hopped up to Din's face to rub the tip of his little nose against his father's like it was the greatest thing in the galaxy. He giggled ecstatically while Din chuckled in spite of himself, smiling under the tickle at the tip of his nose. Din had no idea why Grogu loved this so much, but it was a small delight he could give to his son without question. Din had learned to cherish it too. Every morning since the boy first woke him with the gesture on Hovak 5, it had become their way of reminding each other at least one being in the Universe loved them. Grogu knew his father needed to feel that as much as he did.

Din sat up and pulled Grogu into his lap, and bowed his head to rest his forehead against his son's as he smiled down at him. "What would I do without you, Kid?" he asked quietly. "You know?"

Grogu took Din's face into his little hands and purred sweetly, repeating the morning gesture. He did know.

"And you know I'd do anything for you," Din continued. "So you need to tell me… do you want Aldor to train you?"

Grogu nodded. "Important," he said.

Din sighed, giving Grogu's head a gentle scratch. "So I've heard."

"Kind," Grogu said. "Wise."

"Yeah, she is… but…"

"Trust," Grogu insisted.

"I'll try, Kid. I promise I'll try."

Grogu pointed a claw toward the ramp, then at himself. "Care." He pointed again to the ramp, then at Din. "Care." He pointed at himself once more, then smoothed his little hand over Din's cheek, and left it at that.

It didn't happen often, but in moments like these when he had nothing to say because there were no words that could approach his feelings, Din couldn't help himself. He wrapped his arms around his tiny son, and pulled him to his chest, hoping the boy understood how much one word and a few simple gestures meant to him. He felt the tiny arms splay wide over his cuirass, trying to embrace him. Din chuckled as he fought to clear the mist from his eyes, then pressed a firm kiss to the top of Grogu's head.

"Important," Grogu cooed as Din released him and dropped his forehead again to the boy's. This word and all it implied had pulsed through the Kid like blood through his veins ever since they saw the Eye, like something told him he had to be here for the good of the Universe. The fact was, Din was inclined to believe him. As much as he hated to admit it, something about this planet felt right. There was something welcoming and familiar here that Din hadn't felt since he was a child. It was just a feeling. Something he didn't have words for that hummed through the cool wind and the warm ground. It whispered that he was exactly where he needed to be.

Grogu pressed his little palm against Din's cheek to rouse him from these bleary thoughts. He pointed to himself, then one hand to Din and the other to the ramp. "Is Way," he said quietly.

A thousand more things implied as Din sighed under their weight. A thousand more questions to consider. "I hope you're right, Kid," he sighed. "For your sake."

"Yours?"

A small smile curled into Din's moustache. "Maybe," he said. "We'll see."

"Stay?"

"Maybe for a little bit. We'll see."

Grogu accepted this begrudgingly, but he understood Din's caution. So he left it at that for the time being. Only for the time being, of course, because the Kid was just as stubborn as his father. Nevertheless, Din wouldn't make his son any promises until he knew he could keep them. The boy had enough broken promises to last even his lifetime. His hopes were so high for this place, Din didn't think his heart could take it if he had to see his son disappointed in it. So he remained wary. As much as Grogu wanted to stay and as much as Din wanted to trust the boy's instinct, he just couldn't shake the barbs from his mind that told him to high-tail it out of here. He was too comfortable. There must be something amiss. Some threat or other he hadn't counted on or conceived of. But the barbs were not as sharp as they had been when he landed, and a much more compelling feeling told him to ride this out for a little while at least, just to see where it would take them. All he had to do was maintain his wits. He'd done a poor job of it last night, lost as he'd become in watching her sleep. But now he resolved to approach her with cool respect in the interest of what she might be able to offer his son.

"Ha-too," Grogu said somewhat urgently, pointing emphatically at the ramp. She was coming back.

Din put his helmet back on and nodded. "You can go say good morning. I need to hit the fresher." Grogu gave the front of Din's helmet another little rub with his nose. Din smiled, and knew Grogu sensed it. "I know, Kid. I know. I'll be back in a minute."

Din intended to resist the shower stall again, but Grogu had been too successful in setting him at ease, and the call became insistent. At last he gave in to the pitiful plea of his aching body. The first spray of hot falling water over his hair and skin was almost orgasmic. So he stood there under it for a while, inhaling the ionized air as a deep warmth sank into his flesh and loosened his joints. He let out a relieved grunt and braced himself against the wall as angry muscles gave way, and finally relinquished their grip on his spine. He felt for a moment like he might weep with the resounding joy.


Grogu ran to her as soon as she came up the ramp with a basket of frost melons from the garden. Aldor barely had the basket on the counter and her coat off before a little green bundle of energy jumped into her arms. "Good morning, dear One!" she said brightly. Grogu immediately informed her that he had a chat with his father. He was sure the Mandalorian would let them stay at least for a while. They had nowhere else to go anyway.

Aldor nodded her understanding, encouraged by Grogu's confidence. "I hope you're right, my dear One." Aldor felt how true this was as she spoke.

She hoped very much that Grogu was right. Having her friend around had revived an alacrity and excitement in her she used to think were long gone. Curiosity and wonder popped through her veins for the first time in a decade, and she found herself craving more of it. It was like waking up to a beautiful morning after a fitful night's sleep.

There was also an anomaly of a Mandalorian to consider in this gentle morning, and she was ecstatic to have the opportunity to get to know him. Intricate characters were rare in the Galaxy, and Aldor had never met one quite like Din Djarin. His mind was unlike any she'd encountered. She hoped she might be able to make it out someday, and to find the wordless thing between them that felt so familiar. It wasn't the Force she felt, but it was of the Force. Some peculiar similarity in spirit or mind, perhaps. She wanted to find a definition for it if nothing else. If he decided to trust her and stayed for a little while. She was afraid it was rather a resounding if.

Grogu watched her and felt all she did while these thoughts tumbled through her head, and she worried she'd been too unguarded. She had to remind herself that her thoughts may not be silent to all present here. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to enclose all her hopeful reflections within a boundary of reason, and as much for herself as for Grogu, she felt the need to speak of reality. "But you know, Grogu, your father is…"

"Stubborn," Grogu supplied.

Aldor released a short, soft laugh. "Yes, I believe he is. But he's also wary. And understandably so."

Grogu nodded in agreement.

"I'll be gentle with him, my friend. I promise." Grogu snuggled closer to her in response. "Where is he?"

Grogu pointed toward the back of the hull as she sat him down at the table.

Aldor nodded, and turned her attention to the frost melons on the counter to take one out to show him. "I think you'll like these," she said. "They're my favorite."

Grogu certainly did enjoy the frost melon. By the time her tea was ready, he was asking for another. She was slicing up the second along with one for herself and one for Din when she sensed Grogu's thoughts levelling between her and the Mandalorian, who was likely luxuriating in a proper shower. As these thoughts became slightly louder, she turned from preparing her tea to look at her old friend curiously, unsure of exactly where his mind was headed. Sensing her need for clarification, Grogu pointed toward the fresher, then back at Aldor. "Likes."

Aldor released a short laugh. "Well, I hope so."

"Likes lot," Grogu said. He looked up at her, asking whether she liked him.

"I believe I do, little one," Aldor said. "But we don't really know each other yet…"

"Both know." He left it at that as Aldor heard the fresher door open, followed by a deep sigh and heavy footsteps that slowly brought the Mandalorian into view.

He stood more erect than he had last night, and seemed slightly less broken as he gave her a short nod. "Good morning."

Aldor nodded back. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," he answered softly, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to admit it. "It's… comfortable here."

"I'm glad you think so," she said. "We shouldn't stand on ceremony, Din. Please." She offered him a plate of melon and a cup of tea. "Grogu seems to like the frost melon. Maybe you will as well. And have some tea. It has a stimulant in it similar to caf, but its effects extend a bit more into the body, and leave you feeling more refreshed. If you're like me, it'll make the suns shine a little brighter today."

Din nodded, and gratefully took both. He murmured another soft thank you, and disappeared with his breakfast into the cockpit. Grogu got her attention again, indicating to her that what had just passed was proof his father did like her very much indeed.

Din remained sequestered in the next room for quite some time while Aldor and Grogu communicated possibilities for the day. The boy had good suggestions, all cleverly aligned to nudge his father into accepting Aldor's offer to train him. Although she advised more subtlety than Grogu considered, they agreed to a fluid plan just as Din stepped back into the kitchen and took his empty plate over to the sink. "I'll take care of the dishes, Din. Please." She indicated the empty chair across from her. "Sit with us. Grogu and I were just wondering if you'd like to see more of my little corner of the Eye."

"Yes," Din answered with genuine interest as he took the offered seat. "Your planet is… unusual. Are you the only sentient living here?"

"Most of the time, I am," she answered. "I've had a few visitors over the years, but few journey this far into the Unknown Regions. Those who happen upon this planet typically just lay over for a few days. I've had some who spent a week or two. A couple traders stop by every few years."

"Do you ever have any trouble?" Din asked. "Raiders? Pirates? Imps?"

"Raiders and pirates on occasion. No Imps yet."

"How have you… defended yourself?"

"I was trained as a Jedi, Din."

"Oh…" a soft huff pushed through the modulator. "Well… I've seen Jedi fight, so… I see your point." He paused as he looked for a moment at Grogu, then back at Aldor. He cleared his throat and straightened in his chair. "So it's clear he's very… fond… of you. And I'm sure you have skill. I've… noticed that much. But…"

"You want to see what I'm capable of," Aldor finished for him. "I understand."

"Well… partly, but… he's my son and I… I want what's best for him, so…" His words drifted into silence. There was a deep emotion tied to them that he seemed reluctant to share. Even without the benefit of training, he successfully kept it from her. But after he studied her eyes a moment longer, he finally seemed to give in, and continued to speak. "When I let him go with Skywalker, it felt… wrong. Grogu learned a lot from him, but… like you said last night… they didn't… understand each other. And… I just… want to be sure. Grogu… he needs more than… more than just… training. He deserves more."

"I agree entirely."

"Oh…"

"What do you suggest?"

Din was struck silent. He hadn't expected to be asked his opinion. But he soon recovered himself, and looked at Grogu again, then down at the table. At last, the black visor tilted toward Aldor's face. She felt his eyes, emitting a simmering warmth that filled her with a soothing sort of static energy. He was considering her, trying to make sense of all his wordless impressions and tie them together with what he wanted for his son.

want Grogu to learn to defend himself, use his mind… she can do that… but the Kid wants to learn how to fight too… I can do that… maybe she can… not with a lightsaber yet, but… that would take a lot of time… maybe too long… but… can't leave… don't feel like it… but… should leave… for him though… for him… just stay wary… have to stay… on guard…

His thoughts again. Pouring from his mind to hers as if he wanted her to help him interpret them.

Best to just watch. Watch her. Watch Grogu… can't leave… don't want to… not yet…

While she watched him in these few seconds of thoughts, she began to see something of the mechanism of his mind at work. Bits of concrete information were strung along an invisible in-between made from woven strands of dark matter. It twisted together to bring these bits of knowledge and experience closer to something verbal. All the time this dark matter engine was at work, the golden warmth she'd sensed last night poured from his heart and gilded every strand of the remarkable fabric. The gilding illuminated a complex weave of connections and ideas. The way dark matter and molten gold worked together was impossibly elegant. Like golden stars and nebulae nestled in the expanse of spacetime. Fascinating. But to him, it was merely a liquid glow he couldn't explain and another strange sensation he had to consider.

She senses it... knows me… how does she know me… not right…can't trust… what does she hear… what is she thinking…

Patience… give him time… needs to know…

…she won't use it against me…

Din's thoughts seized in his brain, and the visor snapped back to the table. He withdrew from her with the speed and agility of a frightened fathier, and the black viewplate remained bent on the table as he heaved a deep, tremulous sigh. "I'm sorry, I…"

"You're thinking," she said softly. "I'll give you time. I'm in no hurry." She hoped it would comfort him to echo their silent conversation. You're not crazy. And I'm not trying to trick you. Trust me. She begged him to sense all the nuance of what she couldn't put entirely into words. He needed to feel everything she meant. He could withdraw all he liked after that. Trust me. Please understand this one thing. I only want to help.

He looked up at her again, and the helmet dipped in half a reticent nod.


Aldor was speaking, but Din barely heard her. He gathered enough to understand she was headed for the fresher. He only gave her another nod when she excused herself. He was too preoccupied to manage anything else.

He sensed her thoughts. It was more than imagination could produce. He'd heard it because in that moment, he wanted to know what she was thinking. And he'd taken it. Somehow… he'd pulled her thoughts out of her.

It terrified him. Made his stomach lurch. He didn't know why, but his body shuddered against this realization as he struggled to breathe. His mind rushed through strange images of glowing bands and darkness in between incomplete memories and flashes of light. The voice that had whispered through his mind all his life was the loudest it'd been since Mandalore. Forget it's there.

"Grogu," he said faintly. "Tell me if you sense her coming… I have to…" His helmet was suffocating him. He had to feel the air on his face before he could be certain he was in his own body. He yanked the helmet off and inhaled deep as he held it in his hands, ready to put it back on at a moment's notice. But the sweet, fresh fragrance of the air rushed through his nostrils and breezed across his cheek in a cool caress. It forced his shoulders to drop, and the helmet landed softly on the table as the Mandalorian bowed his head into his hand and breathed as if he was only just learning how.

He already knew she could sense his thoughts, but she didn't make that happen. Din knew from the core of his soul that he had taken those few words from her mind… somehow melded them to his… but… What does that even mean?

"Ha-paa-oou…" Grogu's word was a whisper, so sweet and kind. A soothing little phrase of music that brought Din back to his senses, even though they remained bewildered.

Din raised his eyes to Grogu's, as if he could explain what just happened. He probably could, so Din asked him, "How is that possible?"

Grogu hopped up on the table, laying his little hand over the back of Din's gauntlet. "Ha-paa-oou…" he repeated. In the sweet phrase, Din may not have heard an answer, but he did hear a suggestion. Grogu said it in Basic to make sure his father understood. "Peace," he urged. "Trust."

Din inhaled again, a weak smile flickering under his moustache as his heart finally settled and his mind cleared. He huffed a short chuckle. "What would I do without you Kid?"

Another press of noses, a deeper smile. "Okay, Kid," Din assented. "For you, I'll try."

"Do," he corrected sagely.

Din's chest shook with a quiet laugh. "Fine."

"Ha-too!" Grogu warned, and sprang back into his chair.

Din put his helmet back on just before Aldor rounded the turret and came to the table looking refreshed and carrying a pair of sturdy black boots. She sat down in the chair beside him, and got to work on the knee-high boots made of thick black leather and lined with dense black fur. She reminded him of Cara Dune somehow, in the careless, masculine way she forced the first boot onto her tiny foot and hiked it up in her own chair to yank at the lacing as if she meant to conquer it. In the next instant, slim, long fingers carefully adjusted the fit in fluid, dexterous movements that caressed the buckles around her calf. All the while, she remained doubled over the tough black boot in her delicate blue robe. It was a picture Din would remember until the day he died. A definition. Silk wrapped around zillo hide.

She looked over her shoulder as she strapped on the second boot, hiking her leg up and settling her foot in the seat to get at the laces. "Do you need to go to your ship?" she asked.

"Um… yeah… probably should get the droid…"

Aldor raised her brow at him. She slid a skeptical eye over to Grogu. "He still has the droid?" she asked in exaggerated shock.

He glanced at Grogu, then back at Aldor. "R5's alright," he said. "IG-12 was better." Aldor and the kid burst into laughter the moment Din's eyes settled back on Grogu. A quiet chuckle finally worked itself out of Din's chest, and he found he didn't care that they'd seen him through the beskar, or that she somehow knew about his problem with droids.

"Well, now we have a mission," Aldor said confidently. Like an officer ordering recon. "We'll head out to your ship, and you can test my mettle however you must, my friend." A teasing smile tilted the corner of her mouth as she stood and grabbed a large sack from a hook on the wall. She dropped a few melons and a large canteen in it along with a bundle of dried meat from the storage cubes mounted on the wall. She moved to sling the sack over her shoulder, but Din stopped her.

Taking the sack from her to sling it over his own shoulder, he quietly insisted, "Let me." He nodded at Grogu. "He wants you to carry him."


Din asked her to show him the boundaries of her compound before they set out for the N1, curious to see what he may have missed the day before.

"I imagine you would have seen most of it on your approach," Aldor said, allowing Grogu to climb up onto her shoulders as she gathered her hair out of his way and let it fall in a pale wave over her breast.

Din swallowed hard, willing himself to pick anything out of his field of vision to keep his eyes from following the soft cascade. "The line of boulders over there," he finally said, indicating the southwestern boundary he'd noticed yesterday. "Is it some kind of… weathered rock shelf?"

"Yes. It's part of why we chose this area," she answered, turning toward the feature to lead him to it. "Along with the cliff face and the spring nearby."

"How much ground does it cover?"

"At least a hectare," she answered. "It's been useful when I've been outgunned. I keep extra weapons hidden there. And the maze between the rocks makes for a good training gauntlet. I have another gauntlet I've set up closer to the shoreline, but that's rather a long walk for today."

"What kind of training gauntlet?"

"I've designed a few traps with training remotes I got from the Temple. Some stationary targets. I run it often to keep myself sharp. The larger maze near the shoreline is best for more intensive training. I intended it for light saber training, but I sometimes try to tune my blaster skills too. Not my favorite weapon, but necessary on occasion."

Din indicated the two hilts hung on her belt. "So you know light saber combat?"

"I do," Aldor answered. "I know all the forms."
"All of them? How many are there?"

"Seven," Aldor answered. "I favor about four. It's easier to confuse an enemy using as many as you can. Our contemporary enemies are poorly trained, though, and I'm not sure it matters anymore…"

"As long as there are Imps in the galaxy, I imagine it does."

Aldor looked back at him as he walked slightly behind her. "Good point," she said simply.

"Grogu isn't ready for one, but… do you think you could start him out with some basic forms? So he'll have a good base to start from when he's big enough. He's so small now, I know…"

"Not too small to learn," Aldor agreed. "So I can certainly help him there. It may surprise you how quickly he'll grow once he has more freedom to move and train. I've thought about his species a great deal. Not much is known about them, but I had three examples to observe in my Youngling days. I've often wondered if their training in the Force fuels their development."

"I've had the same thought," Din said, surprised she'd come to a similar conclusion, yet feeling even more guilty for having dragged the poor kid around the galaxy for so long without giving him the freedom she spoke of.

"No, my Mandalorian friend, I don't mean to shame you," she said in response to the words he didn't say. "He's better off with you than he would have been anywhere else. I'm certain of it."

"I'm glad… you think so."

"I'm not sure anyone could dispute it."

"I could…"

"Well, Din Djarin, that goes without saying, doesn't it?" She looked back at him, flashing a smile. "I sense that any compliment to yourself is always up for dispute in your eyes." At this, she glanced up at Grogu, who enjoyed a little laugh as he looked down at her, seeming to agree with her statement.

Uncomfortable under Aldor's continued accuracy in unfolding his character, Din looked down at his feet, following her blindly until a familiar little pull brought his eyes up to Grogu, who was looking back at him from her shoulders, telling him with one look that he shouldn't be so hard on himself. "I'll try…" was all he managed in agreement.

"Perhaps one day, my friend," she said, addressing Grogu, "your father will believe you when you tell him he's a good man." She turned around, walking backward a few steps to find Din's eyes through the beskar again, that playful smile locked into the sweet curve of her mouth. "There's hope for him yet." She turned gracefully back around before she looked up at Grogu again. "Don't you think so?"

"Always," Grogu answered.

"Indeed, my dear One. There is always hope."

Din cleared his throat to make room for his voice through the buildup of an ever-expanding pool of warmth in his chest, not sure why this exchange had touched him so. Perhaps simply because this woman and his son thought he was a good man. "You… said 'we' chose this location. You weren't alone when you came here?"

"No," Aldor sighed, a subtle sadness clouding her fine features as she looked down a moment.

"What… happened to them?"

"Some left when a gas prospector came through this region looking for a fuel source and offered to take them. Others died."

"I'm sorry…"

The sadness lifted somewhat from her face, and she looked up at Din, who now walked beside rather than behind her because he felt the need to be… available. It did seem to comfort her. "We've all lost a great deal," she said softly. "We learn to live with it somehow or other."

"Why didn't you go with the prospector?"

"It didn't feel right," Aldor said. "We'd been here about two years before he came and I was… content. It seemed like the place I needed to be from the moment we found ourselves stranded here. It was always the will of the Force that I came here. I still don't know to what end."

"Do you still feel that way? That you're on this planet for… a reason?"

"I do," Aldor answered confidently. "Moreso now than I did then."

"The ones who died… how…"

"Age in one case. Animal attack in another. The other who stayed was… closest to me. A dear old Clone Trooper named Jumper. The chip responsible for turning the Clones against us was damaged, discovered, and removed when he was wounded in the Clone Wars. To me, he was my father. I got to keep him for quite some time. He taught me a great deal." She looked up at Grogu as if he'd said something. "Yes, my dear One, I did love him as you love your father."

In response, Grogu sweetly smoothed his little hand over her hair and murmured the same word he'd whispered to Din this morning. "Ha-paa-ouu." It had the same effect on Aldor that it had on Din, and a small smile broke through the sadness that shrouded her fine face.

"I'm… sorry…" Din's voice cracked in his throat. He felt a tighter pull from Grogu as the boy took a moment to consider what his life would be if he lost his father like Aldor had. Din tried not to consider what his would be without Grogu. Looking at Aldor again, Din felt all this between the three of them, and his heart wanted nothing more than to latch onto both of them and never let go, while his mind clenched his fists at his side, defying the urge. His heart kept his voice as it wavered through his question. "What happened… to him?"

"He died… defending me," Aldor said softly. "About twenty years ago, a smuggler who set down here tried to… force himself… on me…"

Blood rose in Din's vision at what she implied, furious at the very idea of anyone touching her in that way. He'd kill anyone who dared…

Her shuddering breath beside him washed the blood away, and his heart trembled at the sight of the tears gathered in her long lashes. "Jumper got him off me," she continued quietly. "Killed the slime, but… it was too late. I couldn't… I couldn't save him. I tried, but I was too… weak…" As she swiped at her tears with fragile fingers, Din felt like he should touch her. He should… hold her. At least tell her… something.

"He died with honor," Din said quietly. "This is the Way."

She nodded somberly. "It is," she whispered, taking Grogu's little hand between her fingers as he offered it over her shoulder. Din was partly grateful his son could provide gentler comfort than he could, and partly envious that he hadn't thought to offer his own hand. But she needed tenderness, and Din's hand was covered in leather and beskar. A tool more than anything else. Useless in offering anything to a beautiful woman fighting tears.

Aldor cleared her throat and squeezed Grogu's little hand before she released it, her back straightening as she won the fight against her tears. "To die with honor was all he ever wanted," she said more evenly. "And I thank you for acknowledging that, Din." She managed a small smile as she looked up at him. "You remind me of him in many ways. Jumper was a good man too. And much too hard on himself."

They covered the rest of the distance in silence. Having spent his piddly store of words, Din was left deep in thought. It occurred to him that she had read his mind again, and through her own tears, managed to offer him comfort. Though he could tell his statement genuinely moved her, he'd made a pretty poor confidante.

What does it matter? Why does this bother me? Why do I care so much?

Loved ones lost. Battles fought in vain. An emptiness that was painfully familiar. It was a place in her memory where she and Din were the same. A place inside herself where she'd become trapped, and had no one left to pull her out.

Din's mind flashed through refreshed memories of his earliest days in the Fighting Corps. Confusion and anger. Pain and fear. It was all he remembered because every shoulder that might have helped him bear the weight was covered from head to toe in austerity and baseless pride. Too obsessed with training new soldiers to notice or care that a frightened Foundling needed more than training. They were as useless to a wounded child as a bounty hunter's gloved hand to a beautiful woman fighting tears. Though he didn't see it at the time, he saw it now after everything that happened on Mandalore, and began to wonder if he might have been less useless to her if just one soul had offered him a hand composed of flesh and blood instead of a helmet made of beskar. Then again, he wouldn't be here at all if anything else had found him in that bunker on Aq Vetina.

Another tug of consciousness from Grogu, and Din looked up at him. "Ha-paa-ouu," he said again. Grogu was glad the Mandalorians found his father when he was a child, and reminded Din that he had offered his hand to save him from darkness. Perhaps his father had heart enough left to offer it to another.

Din smiled sadly under his helmet, wanting to believe his son while he tried to navigate the new tracks and tunnels his heart had constructed. He felt like a frightened boy again. Confused and lost in a tangle of new construction. Trapped in a dead end where useless gloved hands tried to strip away his armor to see if what lay underneath was something they could use for themselves. To see if it was what they wanted it to be.

They would have been disappointed.

But Grogu was not. To prove this, he hopped from Aldor's shoulder to Din's, and lay his little claws on either side of Din's helmet, trying to get at the flesh and blood beneath. Trying to be the one hand that only wanted to touch and hold him. Din reached up and plucked his son from his shoulders to bring him into his arms. The boy laughed and cooed, snuggling up against his father's chest as Din sighed with relief, and held in his hands the light that would lead him out of the maze.


While Aldor walked Din and Grogu through the maze to show them its targets and traps, Din asked his questions with genuine curiosity and a slightly lifted tone of voice. It was clear that Grogu had successfully routed his father's darker thoughts. She felt terrible for awakening them with her own sorrows, but it did offer some insight into this connection she felt to him.

She had been trying not to push her way into the Mandalorian's mind. She was sure that, like herself, Din particularly cherished the freedom of his thoughts. More than most. He would fight for it tooth and nail because it was the only place where he felt free; and Aldor would never fight the Mandalorian on that front. But she couldn't always block him out. It was becoming so easy to feel his thoughts, it was disconcerting even for her. Some part of him wanted her to know all he felt. At least he was aware of it now. This morning's exchange at the table made it too obvious to ignore. He knew the moment he'd done it, and it sharpened the pebble in his mind into a jagged stone. He was so terrified of it, he'd simply chosen not to acknowledge it since.

"I see why you keep it stocked with weapons," Din was saying. "It's a good defensive tool."

"I've only had to use it in that way once. Fortunately, they had terrible aim and had never fought a trained Force wielder."

Din watched her for a moment, considering her as the willing part of him reached into her mind to look for her memory of the attack in question. She let him access it, wondering how he would react when he saw the detail she provided. "Pirates," he murmured. She felt his eyes locked onto her face, watching her memory play out in her gaze. "Shard's men…"

"How did you know?"

"I…" recognized one of them. He didn't say it. Rather, he looked away from her and surveyed the sides of the boulders, where there were still faint signs of the firefight. "This wasn't very long ago, was it?"

"Maybe a year or so."

Din nodded. "I didn't think there were that many left… I'm sorry…"

"Why?"

The Mandalorian said nothing, but as she looked at the visor tilted down at her, and into the mind behind it, she saw a Corsair ship. A battle over a volcanic planet… a place he knew… other Mandalorians and a Nikto… the Nikto she recognized as the leader of the gang she fought off.

Din was not only aware, he was experimenting. He knew she saw it. He still wouldn't acknowledge it, but he knew. "Did any get away?" he asked in a low tone.

"Just one."

"One?"

"After I took the leader's head off, I let the Ugnaught go on the condition that he forget this planet exists… after I liberated a few items from their ship."

"You had spoken," Din stated with an audible smile.

Aldor laughed. "Indeed I had."

"I'm glad you killed Vane… he…" Din caught himself. "I mean… Shard's gang was well-organized. His lieutenants were ruthless."

"Yes, but the Nikto was arrogant. And careless."

"Too stupid to recognize what was in front of him."

"That's true."

A short, light laugh whispered through the modulator, and Din Djarin's thoughts went back to their point of origin, shrouded by sheer force of will once again as a quiet rumble shook the ground beneath him.