Chapter 2: A Lone Specimen
January 22, 2227.
The hit-and-run tactics of the Commonwealth were proving to be highly effective, to the detriment of the imperial advance. The supply convoys were being targeted every day, forcing the fleet to spread out to defend the transports.
Not that the attack on Spice Terminus had been a complete disaster: the imperials had still managed to take out that heavy cruiser, and the monitoring of rebel traffic indicated that it certainly wasn't a prevented tactic as somebody had suggested. Still, the knowledge that Iblis and his forces had those stealth frigates in their arsenal was lousy news enough.
He needed answers on those ships: where they were, where did the Commonwealth get their hands on the rare materials usually necessary to build the cloaking devices.
The only thing that could detect those ships would be a Crystal gravfield trap, but those things were expensive and they were not suited for a fleet that based its strength on speed. The only reasonable way was to gather intel and come up with a plan, just as Iulius had always done.
And to do that, he was waiting for a certain call. One that didn't take too long to come.
Two holograms appeared in front of his desk while he strolled up and down his office on the Admonitor.
"Report, Astartes."
"Lord-Protector, we found out that the rebels of the Commonwealth keep all the stealth frigates inside the Cristoph System." Morit said dutifully.
Iulius hummed thoughtfully. It seemed quite appropriate: the only recorded time when the Republic used that blueprint was exactly during the battle of Christophsis. And the planet itself was an industrial hub, even when the Empire owned it. During the disastrous retreats of the previous year, it was no surprise that the Commonwealth had seized the factories.
"Have you seen the base already?" he simply asked.
"We have a plan to take a closer look, but I don't guarantee we can sabotage it." Aiolin explained.
"Nor I am asking you." Iulius replied in a conciliatory voice. "It will surely be well-guarded. Right now, I'll be satisfied with any piece of knowledge you can provide on this new ship."
The twins made a quick bow. "As you wish, Lord Tanis." and their holograms disappeared.
He took a moment of break, then opened his holomap. The maneuver on Spice Terminus had not worked as he had hoped. Iblis and his generals clearly understood that they couldn't risk an open confrontation yet and so they were simply trying to wear down the imperials so that they couldn't bring forth an effective attack on Llanic.
And this was a problem, because, without taking Llanic back, Iulius and his people would have to attack only on the Corellian Spine, starting from Mon Gazza and fighting their way through the systems of Herdessa and Radnor before they could reach Christophsis, and the probe droids had shown that those systems were heavily fortified.
His intercom beeped. The voice of Nash made an announcement. "Grand Admiral, we have reached the meeting point. Admiral Krybos is requesting permission to come aboard."
"Permission granted. Prepare the bridge for the summit."
He quickly tidied his uniform and then headed out of the office. He then headed for the command section of the bridge and waited until Krybos and five high-ranking officers of his general staff arrived. Those included: Vice-Admiral Rentol, whose rank was self-explanatory; Brigadier-General Yersuf, Quartermaster of the Trailing Sectors; Major-Commander Arsen, Chief of Staff; Overseer Lodwick of the ISB and other ten officers from all branches of the Armed Forces.
"Welcome aboard, gentlemen. Let's get right into this." he calmly announced as he took his position around the circular table, with Krybos and Arsen getting on his sides. The others took a spot and the summit started.
"I just received news from a reliable source that the main base of the rebel stealth frigates is in the Cristoph system. That makes it our priority for the next phase of the campaign." he started.
"First, I think we should talk about Llanic." Krybos said, pointing a finger at the map.
"As long as the rebels hold it, our army is effectively split in two." Yersuf noted. "Right now, all our supplies must stay on Naboo if we want to promptly deliver them to either the direction of Mon Gazza or continue the offensive up the Llanic Route from Spice Terminus." he explained while moving a finger on the map to better explain his statement.
"We already saw that the rebels don't have the strength to attack us directly." Arsen proposed. "And they expect us to attack Llanic. I advise we focus our efforts on the Corellian Route, keep the initiative on our side."
"Herdessa is also a tough nut to crack." Krybos replied. "If we have to bang our heads against a wall, we should at least try to break the one that opens more options to us."
More arguments were made, but the debate was centered around the two options that had been presented by Krybos and Arsen. To Iulius they were both valuable insights, but he could afford to choose only one.
As he was staring at the map, making running all possible scenarios in his mind, Iulius was interrupted when Overseer Lodwick spoke up with a little urgency in his voice.
"Lord-Protector, I apologize for interrupting, but I just received a report regarding the Northern Fringe."
Iulius' attention was turned toward him. He knew that they had recently lost all contacts with Moltok and a few other minor worlds in that region, and long had High Command feared that the rebels were launching their main offensive there, and not on the main hyperspace routes where the imperial line was much sturdier.
"What did you find?"
"Moltok has been occupied by a rebel force. Also, Aris is under attack. It seems they're trying to reach Mygeeto."
The news caused visible urgency among the officers. Nobody was expecting an attack in that direction after the New Republic had recently thrown men and ships against the main imperial defenses on the two major hyperspace lanes.
And that was exactly what made Iulius unsettled. "How come nobody noticed anything?" he asked calmly, overcoming his surprise.
"I don't know, sir." Lodwick replied dumbfounded. "But it seems like rebel encryption in that sector is incredibly strong."
A doubt started sneaking around the Lord-Protector's mind. "You have a sample?"
Lodwick at first looked stunned, probably wondering what Iulius hoped to achieve by just observing it, but then he tapped the datapad and went to give it to the Grand Admiral.
Iulius studied the code and the shapes of data, and it took him only a few seconds to identify the author. A half smirk and a bitterly amused huff came out of his mouth.
"I see. My brother is in that sector."
Lodwick was again surprised. "How do you know?"
"This encryption is a small work of art, and I would recognize the style of my brother anywhere." he replied with unwavering certainty, then made a couple of steps around the room as he kept looking at the datapad and tried to understand what Darvos was doing.
"What do we do, then?" Krybos asked. "Mygeeto is a major manufacturer and energy provider for the worlds of the Core, including Coruscant."
"But if we send reinforcements up there, we might not have enough for a decisive push here." Arsen pointed out.
Iulius took the decision quite quickly. "We won't. Order the evacuation of Mygeeto and retreat to Ord Mantell."
The officers looked quite distressed.
"Lord-Protector...you do realize that we would abandon a large region…" one of them meekly said.
Iulius made a firm nod and replied with the glacial calm that distinguished him in the most dire of moments. "I do. But planets can be retaken, while should we lose the men and ships still in the region, nobody could stop the rebels from going all the way to Coruscant from there."
Silence fell. For better or for worse, all the men and women in that room were soldiers and knew that sometimes is better to trade territory for time. Still, the idea that the Empire didn't have the strength to hold all its territory had some impact on their morale.
The Lord-Protector, on his part, knew that this would cause a huge political fallout, but he was determined to act reasonably and not waste men and materiel in hopeless battles. Eventually, he returned to the table, returned the datapad, and announced his final decision.
"We will attack Llanic. Its fall will give us more options to handle the Commonwealth."
Everybody respected that decision and after delineating the strategy the summit ended.
The voyage toward Plesstil had been quite uneventful. All the systems the siblings had traveled through were either part of the Coalition or mostly uninhabited. Ezra and Jaral had spent most of their time meditating, watching some holo-movies they had in the database of the ship, playing games or just chatting.
Their incredible affinity and the Force bond also meant that they knew when the other just needed some time alone to think or to dedicate themselves to other hobbies. As Masters, both had started to study a little more the legends and the secrets contained in the holocrons they had. Sometimes they would read something entertaining, other times they would consult the codex to learn something new about the two galaxies. The HoloNet had seen an explosion in sites with encyclopedic information or news channels, meaning that there was a lot to keep up with in order to make sure they were always up-to-date with everything happening around them.
For one, they learned that Darvos was making huge progresses in the Northern Fringe. Bettok had already surrendered and the Coalition was sending him more troops and ships to push the advantage and try to take Mygeeto. That made Jaral very proud of her husband, and a bit bitter when she saw that he was trying to call her but she couldn't respond because the Jedi were trying to keep a low profile.
All those thoughts, however, were dispersed as they approached the fifth planet of the Plesstil system and they were greeted by a huge beacon in the Force. Hearing the unmistakable musical humming in their heads, the siblings looked at the planet with amazement.
"Seems like you were right about the Force wanting us here." Jaral commented.
Ezra nodded and hummed, but his attention was still on the planet.
"I wonder if it's an ally or an enemy, though." she added.
"If this was a Dark-sider we would feel it clearly. All I understand is that there is someone with a huge potential."
"And if this one is in the hands of pirates, we got no time to waste...Jinx, scan the surface and find that fortress."
The AI obeyed and it didn't take long before the facility was found on the surface. The planet hosted only a handful of buildings indicating the presence of any civilization, so it wasn't that difficult.
"We can't just land over their heads, though. If even Qi'ra didn't get any news from her bounty hunters, I bet they are heavily armed." Ezra observed.
"You just read my mind. We'll have to land among those canyons and then proceed on foot." Jaral replied.
To find that wasn't much difficult. They found a place that was separated from the fortress' area by a mountain gorge. It might have been difficult to pass without a vehicle or a mount, but they would find a way. They materialized their armors and after sealing the ship, they wandered outside. They promptly used the binoculars in their helmets to scout the area, finding something that could be of use in the distance.
"Look. Blurrgs." Jaral said pleasantly surprised, pointing in the direction she saw the small group.
Ezra looked as well and then commented. "A strange color. Guess they are a local breed, but it shouldn't be a problem to convince them to help us."
Jaral agreed and they approached the small pack, made of just three blurrgs. The animals were of course hostile at first, but the two Jedi had long mastered the ability to pacify even aggressive creatures. With patience, openness and a little help from the Force, Ezra and Jaral easily gained the trust of the pack. They mounted on the two bigger specimens, as the third one was probably in the equivalent of adolescence, given its dimension and the fact that the other two blurrgs were a male and a female.
With their mounts, and trying not to separate them from the cub, the siblings rode for a couple of hours as they climbed the gorge. The Blurggs were robust creatures but surprisingly slim, and staying on their back without a saddle was a bit of a challenge even for the Jedi, but they still managed to hold on until they reached a point where they could spot the compound.
However, they saw it was in a very disorderly state, and something more alarmed them.
"I can't feel the whistle anymore." Ezra commented down the bond.
"Me neither. And look. Somebody has done quite the number on that place and its inhabitants."
Already from there the compound was visibly damaged. The buildings had lost some pieces and the siblings could distinguish the shapes of humanoid bodies lying motionless in the courtyard of the structure.
They both materialized their TL-50 and made their mounts approach the outside area, then dismounted to proceed on foot.
It didn't take long, however, to realize that there was no life in that place.
"By the Force…" Ezra whispered, observing the massacre that had occurred in that courtyard.
The siblings noticed that those on the ground were Nikto pirates, quite common in that part of the galaxy. They had all been killed in a firefight with somebody. They inspected the ground for a bit, looking for any clue on the bodies of the pirates to understand the dynamics of what had happened.
"Whoever did this fought their way through that side of the compound." Ezra concluded, first indicating a series of columns on the left wing of the building. "Then they reached the main entrance and, at some point, stole that turret." he added, tracing the air with his finger until he pointed a repeating blaster installed on a hovering platform.
"The disposition of the bodies suggests so." Jaral agreed. "And after clearing everything they breached the bigger door. Let's go take a look."
They headed toward the door, but as they passed in front of the turret, Ezra's attention was drawn to something hanging on one of the handlers. He saw a rope and a grappling hook that looked familiar. He approached it to take a closer look. Jaral noticed that her brother had stopped and walked back to him.
"What's that?" she asked.
Ezra managed to take only the hook of the rope and showed it to his sister as well.
"Look at the design. This is quite elaborate to be a simple grappling hook."
"Now that you mention it…" Jaral mumbled as she took a closer look.
"And I just remembered that Sabine has many of these back home." Ezra added unfazed.
Jaral stood back up. "You think we're dealing with a mandalorian?"
"I can't think of many people who would be able to do all this."
Jaral hummed in thought. Eventually she replied. "We'll be sure when we will find them. First let's try to figure out where they went."
They entered the main door, noticing that it had been blasted open with a series of highly-concentrated blaster bolts, opening a large rectangle like the Jedi usually did with their lightsabers when they found an obstacle and were in a hurry.
The only room behind the main entrance was large, and mostly dark. However one could only go forward, and so they did until they found a droid lying broken on the ground.
"An IG unit." Ezra said surprised. "It still has its weapons."
"Yeah, but who did this?" Jaral asked rather. She knelt down to take a look at the droids. Its head had been blown, but after a scan with the omni-tool, she was able to recover its memory bank, giving the siblings a chance to see the most recent video feed.
They followed the video showing that the IG had arrived on the planet and just straight showed up in front of the base. He eliminated a few pirates before the others retreated inside, likely to search reinforcements.
It was at that point that a new voice came in.
"IG unit, stand down!"
The IG simply turned one of its blasters and fired in that direction, hitting the man straight in the chest but not killing him. However, to the half-surprise of the siblings, the man in the recording was actually a mandalorian.
"Looks like you were right." Jaral commented.
"I'm in the Guild!" the mandalorian protested, showing what seemed like a badge.
"There's a guild for bounty hunters?" Ezra asked surprised.
Jaral hummed. "I think I heard something about it, but I never dug in."
From the record, it emerged that the two bounty hunters had joined forces to overcome the pirates and eventually split the reward. Despite being cornered, they had managed to come out on top, mostly thanks to the quick thinking of the mandalorian.
"Who is that guy? Certainly not from Atin." Jaral commented.
"Jinx, is he in any database?" Ezra asked while the recording kept going.
"None I have access to." the AI replied.
The recording finally approached the end. The bounty hunters had detected a life form inside a reinforced capsule that Jaral found very familiar.
"Hold on...isn't that a shell for babies?"
The moment she finished that question, they were left flabbergasted in seeing who was inside the capsule.
"What...the…?" Ezra said in a tone that wasn't far from speechless.
"A...little Yoda?"
Indeed, inside the capsule there was a little Yoda. Or at least the siblings nicknamed him like that because they never actually found if his species had a name they were known by. All the siblings knew was that said species had a great affinity to the Force.
And then, just as the IG unit was about to kill the child, the recording only registered the sound of the mandalorian's pistol firing, and then it ended.
The Jedi stood there for a few more seconds, then looked at each other.
"Wasn't he supposed to be 40?" Ezra asked.
"Master Yoda is almost a thousand years old. Clearly his species doesn't age at the same pace as our." was Jaral's answer, albeit she was a little skeptical as well. "Whatever, though. All that matters now is to find that child."
Ezra nodded. "The recording stopped three hours ago. They can't be that far."
He closed his eyes and focused. His sister did the same. After a dozen or so seconds, they felt that powerful presence in the Force as before.
"Let's go." Jaral exhorted, and they both ran outside back to the Blurrgs.
January 23, 2227.
"Captain, we're approaching Primigenia." Mazak reported. "The control tower just gave us permission to land at their capital."
"Thanks. I'll go inform our guest." Jane said and went for the elevator.
In front of her cabin there were two imperial guards, who saluted her when she left the elevator and then allowed her to pass. Stepping inside her room on the Normandy, Jane quickly spotted Francesco sitting on the edge of the bed, his mind completely absorbed by something that likely wasn't the datapad he was holding in front of his eyes with both hands.
"Time's up." she joked. "Hope you wrote your speech to be convincing."
Francesco made a light chuckle. "More than a speech, I need improvisation skills."
Of course, in a diplomatic encounter like the one that was about to happen, where nobody had made preliminary talks for the leaders, Francesco would need to rely on his negotiating skills, answering any question that would rise from the other party.
All were hoping that, since the Emperor had offered to come to Primigenia personally, that would show the people of the Terminus that the Federation wasn't hostile to them. That only a small but powerful group of criminals was trying to put them against each other for their own profit.
Francesco tidied his clothes one last time and then followed Jane downward. The two guards also mounted on the elevator and followed the Emperor closely. When they reached the main hatch on Deck 2, James and the rest of the guards were already there, ready to protect their monarch from anything that might have threatened him.
Actually, they were there to protect two royal kin.
"Did you read the drafts?" Anastasia asked with a certain severity. None took diplomatic encounters more seriously than her, in the family.
Francesco replied with a tranquil smile. "They were impeccable, Nita."
Still, Anastasia looked nervous, as usual: before any meeting she had the habit to vent out all her anxieties behind the curtains, so that she could stay collected when the real deal went down. After all, this meeting would decide if the Milky Way was going to face a galactic conflict or not.
Jane asked the delegation to wait a few minutes so she could go and put her armor on. Wilhelm and the twins lamented that they couldn't come with her, but the terms of the meeting were clear: only a handful of bodyguards, and Jane was allowed only because Federico had vouched for her.
After recommending her crew not to cause trouble and stay inside the spaceport, Jane returned to Deck 2 and authorized the disembark.
They had landed at the main commercial spaceport of the planet, which was outside of the capital. As they stepped inside the docks, the delegation was welcomed by a group of policemen of the Commune. The officer, a bald man with a black armor, stepped forward.
"Greetings, Emperor Francesco, and welcome to Primigenia. Your brother, comrade Federico, sent us to bring you to Watson." he greeted.
"Thank you. Please lead the way." Francesco replied gratefully.
The officer made a gesture to invite them and they started walking.
"So you still call the main city 'Watson'?" Jane asked.
"While we build a new country, we don't want to forget our past as pioneers." the officer replied proudly.
The delegation was conducted to a landing pad where a large dropship was waiting for them. While the police left them there, the officer mounted and had the pilot bring everyone to the airport of Watson. The flight lasted around ten minutes, and during that time Francesco made some genuinely curious questions to the officer.
While they were moved by personal interest, this also helped their guide to loosen up and not be too suspicious of them. Jane couldn't help but admire the inherent ability of Francesco to be so likable, which was one of the reasons why he had been chosen as heir a long time before.
When the dropship finally touched ground and the ramp opened, Jane immediately noted the scenery in front of her: in the distance, right behind a large river, stood Watson with a handful of skyscrapers and other buildings.
Right in front of them, instead, stood Federico, accompanied by two rows of guards who were welcoming their guests.
The guards were a mixture of Humans, Turians and even an Asari, all wearing the colors and weapons designed and built by the Commune. Or at least on some of their worlds.
The two imperial kin were the first to stand up and reach their brother. Anastasia, despite wearing heels, was the quickest and opened her arms with a huge smile. Federico chuckled as well and the two laughed as they shared a heartfelt hug.
To Jane, that was little surprising as well: Anastasia had always been the most caring of the four siblings, always ready to mend any discord among the family.
Francesco then reached his siblings and the three shared a brief moment of reunion before Federico invited them to follow him out of the landing zone and reach a convoy of vehicles that was waiting for them. For the Emperor, they had even prepared a reinforced skycar, showing that they still respected him, after all.
The drive was quick, but it allowed Jane to take a look at the conditions of the city. While it still bore some signs of the recent war, it was mostly rebuilt. People walked around the streets with modest clothing, workers were leaving a small factory as they were probably done with their shift, and young people were discussing at the tables of a bar or taking a stroll in the park that the convoy crossed.
Certainly, many citizens stopped in their tracks and looked with a certain curiosity at the row of cars and bikes with armed police officers. Jane wondered if the people knew about the meeting.
Then she noticed that a group of people started jogging to follow them. Slowly, they attracted other citizens who joined the run, while others simply started walking in the same direction as the rest of the mass. Jane actually felt alarmed and was about to grab her pistol.
"Relax, Shepard." Federico said suddenly from his seat, in a completely relaxed attitude. Most likely he could sense her uneasiness. "The people was actually waiting for this day. They are all heading to the Forum with us."
That notion left the federal delegation stunned. "Wait...we are going to talk in public? Just like that?" Francesco asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Of course." replied Federico. "This is just a diplomatic encounter. We will show the people that they don't have anything to be suspicious of: we do everything in broad daylight."
That was a huge surprise. "You could have told us." Anastasia said with a certain frustration. "You know this is not how diplomacy usually works."
"I thought you would have second-guessed if you knew, honestly." Federico replied in an apologizing tone.
"There is no problem." Francesco intervened calmly. "I guess the people of the Commune are dying to know if they will have to defend their new state or not, after all they've gone through."
Federico made a relieved smirk. "That's why I'm sure you will gain their sympathy right away, big bro."
Overall, the two brothers seemed very optimistic, so both Jane and Anastasia decided to loosen up a bit and confide in the success of the negotiations. The Spectre simply returned to check her surroundings and making sure nobody would try to crush the dialogue.
She was confident that there were no assassins sent by the 'Ring' as she and the other Spectres had nicknamed the group of people that was conspiring to cause war between the Federation and the Commune. The interrogation of Maxwell had brought to uncovering a few names that had preoccupied Jane, for they were a total of twenty persons. Politicians of the many Constituents, powerful weapon dealers and generally people that would be too difficult to apprehend with a head-on confrontation.
But for now, Francesco should have been safe, since his voyage to Primigenia was a tight secret and it was unlikely the Commune would allow this meeting to go south, or let any spy go through their net. Nonetheless, Jane was determined to keep her eyes peeled, and so was James.
Finally they reached the Forum, a moment before the crowd started to amass outside the perimeter. The Forum was basically a huge square, with a stage put in the middle of one of the long sides of the rectangle. The convoy halted in front of said stage and Federico invited the group to follow him. They did just that and found themselves in front of the few stairs that would allow them to get on the stage.
On top of said stage there were a handful of humans and aliens, a couple of species that Jane had never seen before. But clearly the one standing outside of the line was Maximillian Nachikov, the current President of Primigenia.
The confusion added to the federals as the politicians welcomed them with a warm applause and Nachikov sported a huge smile and a laugh as he went to shake the Emperor's hand. Jane saw Francesco going along with the flow and made a cordial smirk.
"Welcome, Your Majesty." Nachikov said loudly and friendly, his voice resonating through a series of speakers that were most likely linked to the camera drone that was hovering next to the two leaders. "The people of Primigenia welcomes you."
To back up his claim, it has to be said that the crowd that was gathering below seemed pretty enthusiastic to see the Emperor. Many were pointing at him with excitement while other waves. Soon enough, welcoming choruses filled the air, and Francesco returned the kindness with a wave of his hand.
"I'm humbled by this welcome, Mr. Nachikov. I honestly thought I wouldn't have been well-received." he said in a humble tone.
"Nonsense." Nachikov replied in his all-goody tone. "The entire universe knows that you have always been a friend and ally of the working class, Emperor Francesco."
Suddenly, that put everything in perspective: since he had involved himself into politics, Francesco had always been nothing short of a socialist, always lobbying for policies that gave the workers of the Federation a dignified salary and promoting a strong presence of the state to regulate the abuses of the market. And he hadn't changed so far since he became Emperor.
Jane could see that Francesco's popularity was not only limited to the Federation, but it had extended throughout the Milky Way. Even the people of the Terminus were sincerely hoping that he was going to hear their story and ensure their freedom through peace between the two powers.
A surprise outcome, for sure, but an auspicious one. Nachikov moved on to greet Anastasia with a kiss on her hand and then presenting them to the other members of the Commune standing on that stage. Thanks to that, Jane learned that the two other species were called 'Urshin' and 'Kinayet'.
The former were bulky and green, with two fangs peeking out from the lower mouth, and reminded Jane of how Humans represented an imaginary creature known as 'Orc'.
The latter were basically felines on two legs. Even the lower legs had the knees reversed according to a Human perspective. The representative of that species on that stage had what looked like a big beard on the face.
And with that, the public talks between the Federation and the Commune, or at least a part of it, could begin.
The tracks clearly indicated that the mandalorian bounty hunter had found a speeder at some point, meaning that Ezra and Jaral had to follow the tracks on top of their Blurrg friends, stop during the night and resume the chase when the first lights of the local star illuminated the canyon again.
They were definitely lucky that, on arid terrains, tracks tended to stay there for long. But as they followed them, something much more indicative stirred their attention: a strong perturbation in the Force, the type that happens when a raw power is unleashed. Then all that movement cease abruptly.
All the siblings had to do was to look at each other and they knew that their target was in that direction.
"Sorry, pal. We need you to speed up a bit." Ezra apologized to the creatures, then both him and Jaral spurred the Blurrgs to run.
Holding up with a certain difficulty, but being able to direct them with the Force, the siblings approached their target more and more. Around six minutes later they spotted the last thing they expected: a Jawa sandcrawler.
"I didn't know there were Jawas outside of Tatooine." Ezra commented.
"Maybe they can point us in the right direction." Jaral simply added.
"Better remove our armors...just in case they get funny ideas." the brother added, knowing full well that Jawas tended to try and put their hands on every good piece of technology they saw.
The siblings thus dematerialized their armors, instead they made sure to hang their lightsabers on their belts, where they were clearly visible, then dismounted from the Blurrgs, which still followed them for a while. The Jedi turned behind the corner where they had seen the huge vehicle and walked until they reached its front.
There they saw the group of Jawas, one of which spotted them and pointed them out, alarming his brethren.
Ezra and Jaral immediately showed their hands to indicate that they meant no harm to them, then their eyes fell on another person that they didn't expect to see: an old Ugnaught, who was leaning on an empty magnetic cart attached to a saddled Blurrg.
They looked at him, he looked back at them, and they caught a glimpse in his eyes. It wasn't just because he was seeing two people who were probably Jedi, but because he clearly knew why they were there.
"Greetings, nice people." Ezra started with his friendly attitude. "Settle down, for we are just passing by."
The Jawas had gathered around, looking at them with curiosity. A good sign, since it meant they didn't fear them. But barely had Ezra finished his sentence, that two more people appeared in the distance, opposite from where the siblings had arrived.
It was the mandalorian, covered in mud and his armor badly damaged. Right behind him, the capsule with the child.
The mando stopped in his tracks the moment he saw them. But after the surprise, the Jedi felt his mind switching to a combat mode. Under his left arm he was holding some sort of egg, so he quickly drew out a pistol with his right.
Ezra and Jaral immediately ignited their lightsabers and the latter parried the first bolt that was going straight at her face. They then sensed the surprise in the mind of the bounty hunter, and a sense of insecurity.
The Jedi quickly decided they could capitalize on that feeling and lowered their lightsabers, though they didn't turn them off.
"Mando brother." Ezra stated loudly in Mando'a, and that too caught the attention of the bounty hunter. "My name is Ezra Bridger, and I do not seek hostility."
"How do you speak the Language?" the mandalorian asked nervous.
Ezra finally deactivated his lightsaber and stepped forward, with Jaral still ready to fight next to him.
"I am married to a mandalorian. And I am from Lothal, where I live next to a mandalorian colony."
"Lothal?" the bounty hunter asked perplexed. "I never heard of a covet on that planet. Besides, you two are Jedi."
"And how is that important?" Jaral asked.
"The Jedi have always been our enemies."
"Times change, man." Ezra said cautiously. "Look, why don't we put away our weapons and discuss this? I think you figured out why we are here." and gave a quick glimpse at the capsule with the little Yoda.
The mandalorian hesitated, but didn't withdrew his blaster. Ezra made a slow gesture with his free hand to signal his sister to remove her lightsaber, which she did. As soon as they did that, probably thinking that the confrontation had been solved, the Jawas ran toward the bounty hunter, clearly aiming for the egg.
In order to not have them around more than necessary, the mandalorian left the egg quickly and still kept his weapon aimed.
"Mando." the Ugnaught spoke suddenly. "It's never a good idea to defy the Jedi."
"The kid is coming with me." he replied sternly.
Ezra shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't let you do it. But why don't we discuss it? How much are they going to pay you for the kid?"
The hunter probably wasn't expecting somebody with the reputation of the Jedi making an offer like that out of the blue. Still, he replied after a couple seconds. "I'm not getting credits for this. My employer offered me bars of beskar."
Jaral was confused. "He's doing all of this just for some beskar?" she whispered to her brother.
"I'm pretty sure even Sabine and Tristan would do it." he explained. "Beskar is extremely important to the mandalorians. It's what their armors are made of."
Even though he wasn't speaking that loud, the bounty hunter heard him and this time he lowered his pistol.
"You…you really know a lot." he said surprised.
"I told you. I live among your kin. I don't know your circumstances, but I think it would be much beneficial to all if you just come with us." Ezra said.
The mandalorian turned his gaze toward the child, who was still sleeping soundly. The long stare he took clearly indicated that he was seriously considering that option. Ezra reasoned that, if that guy valued mandalorian tenets so much, he should have been felt quite disgusted at the idea of handing over a child to someone shady.
Eventually, with what seemed a little bit of regret, the mandalorian replied. "I...can't leave the beskar in their hands."
The siblings only needed a moment to come up with the only option available. Jaral stepped forward. "Then how about we keep it simple? You lead us to your employer and get the beskar. We'll take care of the child afterwards. That way, we both get what we want."
This time, the mandalorian didn't seem to hesitate too much. "This is the way." he simply said.
A weird formula, but perhaps Ezra could see if the mandalorians on Lothal could guess that guy's identity.
While all of this was going down, the Jawas had already opened the egg and ate all the yolk inside of it. Now they started to load a lot of pieces and electronics onto the cart. The Jedi and the mandalorian approached each other.
"That stuff is yours?" Ezra asked.
"They dismembered my ship while I was away." the mandalorian replied bitterly.
"Oh, goodness." said Jaral, then lit up her omni-tool to send a homing signal to the Silver Bullet. She wasn't about to risk the same thing happening.
"As I already said, I'm Ezra. This is my sister Jaral." the Jedi Master added courteously. "May we hear your name?"
"Din Djarin."
Ezra extended his hand, and the mandalorian shook it after getting rid of his last doubts. He then did the same with Jaral, and the Jedi attention shifted to the child.
"Something just happened while I was fighting a Mudhorn." Din said in an awed voice. "I heard that the Jedi possess a great magic...do you think he is one of you?"
"It's not a simple magic." Ezra explained. "It's the Force. An energy that permeates all living beings and the entire universe. And yes, we do believe this child has a strong connection to it."
"How do you know?"
"We could feel him from the orbit." Jaral intervened. "Furthermore, we know another person of his species, and he used to be one of the greatest Jedi." and to back her claim she took out a picture of the Academy that they had taken in the last day of the year, that Lothal now celebrated as it was part of the Imperial Federation.
In that picture, not only there was Yoda, but also Sabine and a few other mandalorians who helped in the training of the Padawans. Din looked at them, but the Jedi were surprised to feel suspicion and even scorn in his mind, which then manifested with words.
"Where did they get those armors?" he asked furious.
A bit confused, Ezra still replied with vigor. "My wife and her brother have had their armors passed down for five hundred years or so."
"They don't cover their faces. They are not mandalorians!" Din insisted with his voice slightly muffled by the helmet, even if the voice never sounded too aggressive.
The siblings looked at each other in confusion. Not even Ezra understood what was going on. "Well, they won't be here for this mission. So how about we discuss this at a later date? After we secure the kid and the beskar?" he still said.
Din huffed out his remaining frustration, but eventually he agreed.
Right at that moment, the Bullet appeared over them, its engines rumbling.
Jaral turned toward the Ugnaught, saw him taming without much effort the three Blurrgs that had brought the Jedi all the way there, and she went to speak with him.
"We'll help you rebuild Din's ship. Let's load everything in our cargo hold."
The Ugnaught simply made a nod, but before he started loading up, he asked her about the Blurrgs. "Do you mind if I take them in?"
Jaral looked at them and probed with the Force. Realized that the creatures didn't mind at all, and so turned to him. "Treat them well. They have helped us a great deal."
"You have my word. I have spoken." the little alien concluded, and then he started immediately to load up the pieces.
Ezra and Din reached them with the capsule and the baby following.
"Just one last thing...Who hired you to take the child?" Ezra asked.
Din halted and replied. "The Zann Consortium."
