The black water slipped past as the ferry continued its journey through the tunnel. After their battle with the hungry creatures back at the last stop, Fazzakkaar kept a lookout, scanning the tunnel ceilings. Burg stared at the water.

"So all right," said Mayfeld. He sat up and brushed a few rubbery pieces of salamander flesh off his shoulders. "You want to get back into the prison. So how?"

"We need to make a plan," said Din. "But hold on. I need to take care of the kid first."

Mayfeld looked closely at Grogu. "Hey, bud, you okay? I owe you big time for saving me back there." Grogu nodded in acknowledgement in a very man-to-man way. The boy looked all right, none the worse for wear after being dragged into the water by the creature, although he was soaking wet. Grogu never seemed to mind being wet—again, Din suspected his species was used to hunting and spending time in shallow water.

But Din did not like the combination of wet and cold at the same time. The cavern was quite cool and Grogu was shivering a little.

Din slightly adjusted and lifted his chest plate so he could unfasten his cloak. Then, crouching near Grogu and sheltering him with his body, Din stripped off the wet robe, mail shirt, and tiny undergarment. The others politely averted their gazes. Grogu squirmed and complained half-heartedly. "Come on, pal," said Din. "It won't be good for you to get chilled." His son settled down and allowed himself to be wrapped in the cloak until only his bright eyes peered out.

"Hey F5-62," said Mayfeld, looking at the benches. "You got anything else on this boat? Like emergency supplies or something? What's in the lockers under these benches?"

"All onboard supplies are property of Crellanian Lines," replied the ferry droid frostily. "Supplies may only be accessed by authorized personnel during emergencies."

"I just can't," said Mayfeld, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Holding Grogu, Din came to stand next to Mayfeld. "F5-62, Crellanian Lines doesn't exist anymore. The mines are closed. The city is abandoned." He tried to keep his frustration out of his voice. "No more authorized personnel."

The boat was quiet.

"But you have passengers. And we have an emergency."

More silence. Was something finally connecting in that malfunctioning brain?

"There could be more of those animals in the water, because no one's cleared this river in years. So we need you to look out for them. To keep the passengers safe and keep you on schedule."

There was a long pause. "Understood," said the ferry droid at last. Its voice seemed flat, almost sad.

"The mines are gone but…unauthorized personnel have turned the mines into a prison and a factory for the Empire."

"Unauthorized personnel?" asked the droid, perking up.

"Yes. We need your help to remove the unauthorized personnel from the mines. From this planet."

"I am programmed to prevent interference from unauthorized personnel!" It was downright excited now.

"We know," said Din with a very small sigh.

"Please stand!" said the droid. Burg and Mayfeld rose from the benches. After a series of clicks, the bench seats all rose up on hinges, opening the lockers. They all bent over to get a closer look at the contents. The lockers held flares, life jackets, fire extinguishers, flame-retardant blankets, tools, rope…and grav charges.

A lot of grav charges.

Din picked one up. They were older models, but they were built to last, and the technology certainly hadn't changed for years. They must have been stashed for clearing the ferry's route of creatures and rubble.

"Well, there's our plan," said Burg.

###

Din used the data function on his vambrace to project a small map of the prison. "So where does the river go?" asked Mayfeld.

Din looked at Grogu. His eyes shone beneath the borrowed cloak. "You said there was water. Where on this map?" The boy frowned thoughtfully, then pointed with one claw at the water filtration and hydropower systems on the bottom level.

"The rumor is that the lowest of low get stationed down there," said Mayfeld. "The shittiest guards and the worst prisoners. The ones they can't control, or the ones with the lowest productivity. You get sent down there to be worked to death."

"That's a long way to that control room up top," said Burg.

"We'll need to cut the power to disable those floors," said Mayfeld. They had filled in Burg and Fazzakkaar about the prison system and its deadly floors. "Otherwise they'll fry us."

"All those grav charges'll help," said Burg.

"And water can short out the floors too," said Din. But the chief problem was that even if they took out the hydropower, there was a solar power facility at the very top. Redundancy. Each level had its own power relay. They were going to have to destroy the relays one by one, level by level, until they got to the main control room, Din realized with a sinking heart.

"Boo?" asked Grogu. He pointed at Din's feet.

They all looked at Grogu. "What did he say?" asked Burg.

"That's our word for father," said Din absently as he looked at Grogu. Something was tugging at his mind.

"Boot," said Mayfeld. "Yeah buddy, we need boots. Mando, you and me can borrow stompers to protect us." He looked at Burg and Fazzakkaar and shook his head. "But something tells me those boots don't come in Devaronian or Wookie sizes. The two of us will have to disable the power on each floor before the two of them can follow." He gestured at Burg and Fazzakkaar. "And the prisoners are lost causes."

Din was still looking thoughtfully at Grogu. He remembered the mean little room he had briefly occupied with Grogu while in the guise of a guard back at the Panopticon. It was where the boy had first said buir—even in the midst of that horror, something special, something important had happened. Din had removed his helmet there as well…and his boots.

"The floor in the guard's quarters is some kind of soft, spongy material." He looked at Mayfeld. "Remember?"

"Yeah. Wait, yeah!" Mayfeld's eyes lit up with understanding.

"It has an insulating property. It's on the bottom of the boots. The guards are safe in their quarters. We can find those rooms."

Fazzakkaar growled. We can take shelter there until you shut off the power to the floor.

"Better than that," said Din. "We can pull it up, cut it up—"

"And tie it to our feet," finished Mayfeld.

"And if I'm right, I think F5-62 can help." Din looked at the console, the closest thing this weird ferry droid had to a head. "Isn't that right?"

"Preventing interference from unauthorized personnel is my core function!" it said happily.

"That prison. What a place," said Burg, shaking his head. "Floors that kill. Only humans could come up with a place like that."

Indeed, added Fazzakkaar.

Din and Mayfeld were silent. "Guilty as charged," said Mayfeld at last. The rest of them looked at Din.

"I'm Mandalorian," he said.

###

Fazzakkaar looked back from his place at the stern. Ask this ridiculous boat if we are there yet, he said.

"We will arrive in forty minutes," said the ferry. Din could swear that it made an offended sniff. "I am familiar with more than one thousand forms of communication, including Shyriiwook."

"You really think they're gonna roast everyone in the Arena in a few hours?" asked Burg musingly.

"Not if we stop them," said Din shortly.

The rest of the journey down the river had been mostly uneventful, allowing them to plan and prepare. They had run across only two other giant salamanders, and F5-62 had stunned them in short order. At least the ferry droid was cooperative now. It had even consented to running a slight current through its console, providing enough warmth to dry Grogu's soggy garments. Now the boy was dressed and sitting next to his father, watching Din work with great interest.

"What are you doing?" asked Mayfeld, eyes narrowed.

"You'll see." Din had used his blade to trim one of the flame-retardant blankets from the locker and cut strips from the tattered fabric of the sling that Grogu had been riding in. Then he braided, wove, and tied knots. Now he was almost done.

The old sling was not beyond repair—Din had mended clothes, bedding, and more over the years. But he was really starting to dislike the disbalanced way the sling felt when he ran or fought, and honestly Din didn't think it kept Grogu any safer. It just wasn't going to cut it any more.

Time for a new approach.

Din studied his contraption, testing the knots, then he stood and looped it around his chest and shoulders. The result was still a sling, but a different kind of sling.

"Grogu," Din said. "I want you to do something a little…different."

The boy blinked expectantly. "Boo?"

"You need to ride up here on my back, even while I fight." Grogu's ears twitched. "I know you're brave. I'll protect you. And you can help me. We're a team. The sling will hold you up but you should still hold on as tight as you can, no matter what. Use your claws to get a good grip. And you'll have to stay high up, away from the business end of the jetpack." The boy nodded and lifted up his arms without hesitation. Din picked him up and Grogu scrambled over his shoulders.

Soon Grogu was riding high on Din's back. The makeshift sling supported Grogu's weight and kept him comfortable while not trapping him. He sat high above the jetpack's flames but still behind Din's helmeted head. And Grogu's mail shirt would keep him safe.

Mayfeld shook his head while Din adjusted the straps. "Am I actually seeing what I think I'm seeing? But don't you think riding on your fucking… I mean, your back is a little, uh, dangerous?"

"I have to carry him somehow," said Din, a little defensively. For the first time, really, he wished Grogu had a helmet. "And we'll need his help. He wears a beskar mail shirt too."

"That kid's wearing armor?" asked Burg incredulously. Mayfeld still looked doubtful.

"I mean, yeah, but what about your jetpack thing?"

"There's a protective layer between him and the jetpack. Just like I have. Plus the pack itself is shielded. I don't get burned on a regular basis, Mayfeld."

Mayfeld looked at Burg and Fazzakkaar with mute appeal. The Wookie shrugged. I suckled at my mother's teat while she hunted.

"You humans are too overprotective," said Burg. "My parents made my brothers and me wrestle to see who got dinner."

"Oh, for the love of…" Grogu gave Mayfeld a cheerful wave from his new perch. "You better know what you're doing, Mando," Mayfeld said as he stalked to the other end of the boat.

They all grew quiet as the ferry came closer to its final destination, mentally readying themselves. Five people and an unstable droid against a vast and lethal prison, an Imperial stronghold. Mayfeld was probably thinking about Omera and Winta, Fazzakkaar about his brother. Who knew what Burg thought about? Maybe he was just pondering the choices that had landed him here and now.

Din sat apart from the others next to Grogu. Grogu closed his eyes, and Din did the same, concentrating on the rhythm of his own breath and heartbeat, finding stillness before the battle. They were not exactly alone, but perhaps…

Buir.

"Ad'ika."

I like the new thing you made. I will be brave.

"I know you will. We won't be apart from each other again."

This place is very wicked. They hurt you, buir. They play games here that hurt people. Confusion and anger clouded Grogu's mind. I do not understand that kind of game.

"I…don't either, buddy. All I know is we have to stop it."

Yes. The confusion dissipated, replaced by determination. I will fight them with you.

"Remember everything we talked about. Hold on and keep your head down. And don't touch the floor. If something happens to me…stay with our friends."

Oh, I will not let anything happen to you, buir.

With a slight shiver Din thought about the fire that had engulfed them on Mandalore, how Din and Bo-Katan had tried, absurdly, to shield Grogu with their bodies…and how Grogu had instead shielded them.

"And you think we'll fit through that grate?"

Yes. For an instant, in his mind Din saw a metal grating, a tunnel through rock endlessly sucking in water.

"Before I forget. Here." From one of his ammo pouches Din brought out the lever knob—still shiny. With a wordless surge of joy Grogu took it, making it float from Din's hand to his own. As the boy clutched it, Din felt a small jolt of sadness that mirrored his own.

Our poor ship.

"Yeah."

Always the Enemy takes things from us and our friends. Always the Enemy hurts us and our friends. Grogu's eyes were as dark and bottomless as the river around them. It will be very good to make them stop.

Din felt another small shiver at the calm certainty behind Grogu's thought.

Then Grogu rolled the ball between his hands, cooing at his tiny treasure, and he was just a little boy again.

"Five minutes!" said the ferry. From the distance came a growing sound of churning water.

"Time to go, pal," said Din. "Saddle up."

The river curved, and a crumbling pier of concrete and rusted metal came into view. Ahead, a great dam probably eight meters highblocked the river. A row of hydropower turbines churned the water endlessly. Stairs led from the pier to the tunnel and the grate covering it, exactly like the picture from Grogu's memory.

Slowly the ferry pulled alongside the pier. "We have reached our final destination," F5-62 announced. "Please prepare to disembark."

"Could you lower your volume, just a little?" hissed Mayfeld.

"F5-62, remember the unauthorized personnel," warned Din. None of them could detect any kind of monitoring devices, but they couldn't be too careful.

"Of course," said the ferry, chastened. It sounded like it was trying to whisper.

With weapons ready and Grogu perched on Din's back, they all stepped out of the ferry and onto the pier. They moved down the stairs to the flooded platform in front of the tunnel. Cold water came to their ankles. Din switched on a headlamp while the ferry kept a beam of light focused on the dam. They sloshed up to the grate to take a closer look. The tunnel was about two meters across and as tall as Mayfeld's shoulders—they'd all have to stoop, but they could do it.

"Grogu," said Din quietly. "This is the place, right?"

"Essss."

"Okay, buddy. You ready?"

"Essss, boo."

They climbed back to the pier, out of the water and toward the dam. Moving swiftly now, Burg and Mayfeld climbed the narrow maintenance stairs to place charges on the dam near the turbines as Fazzakkaar and Din stood guard. The timers were set for fifty seconds, enough time for them all to take cover behind piles of rubble.

"F5-62, are you ready?" asked Din.

"Yes!" Then it added, delicately, "It is advisable for all passengers to stay out of the water for the upcoming activities." Mayfeld silently ticked off the countdown with his fingers. Three, two, one…

The deafening explosions echoed through the tunnel. Grogu's ears flattened. Turbines protested, whined, screamed, and ground to a stop. A few of the turbines still spun, but the roar of churning water lessened. They all doused their lights.

Now they waited. They didn't have to wait long.

The grate swung open on its hinges with a rusty shriek, loud in the tunnel now that the aftershocks of the explosion had died down and most of the turbines grown silent. Five guards emerged from the tunnel with headlamps on their helmets and weapons drawn.

"What the hell caused that?" asked one of them.

"One of those fucking salamanders?"

"This better be worth it. Me and Stokey have a little wager going with two of the prisoners. Whoever falls off their chair first and gets fried loses."

"You idiots, half the place runs on power from this dam. You wanna lose the floor? Check it out, then let's get the Engineer and a crew," said another, who looked like their leader.

"You, get up those steps."

Two guards climbed to the pier. "Wait," said the first. "Was this boat here before…?"

F5-62 shot a bolt of electricity through the water towards the three guards standing up to their ankles in the water. They spasmed and fell where they stood. The other two looked down, startled, but before they could react another bolt came from the boat. They collapsed to the stone pier without a sound.

"The unauthorized personnel have been neutralized," said F5-62 in an exaggerated stage whisper.

"You can say that again," said Mayfeld.

Din was also somewhat horrified and regretted that Grogu had to see this, but only briefly. As he had said what seemed like a very long time ago, the kid had seen worse. "Let's go. F5-62, watch out for more unauthorized personnel."

"I will neutralize them immediately!"

"But ONLY if they're wearing the same kinds of uniforms and helmets as these guards. EVEN if they're wearing the same gear, if they identify themselves as prisoners, then do NOT neutralize. THEY are authorized. Do you understand?"

"Understood," said the ferry reluctantly.

"Reasoning with a droid," said Burg with disgust.

"For someone who hates droids so much, you sure have a way of talking to them," Mayfeld remarked.

Din rolled his eyes unseen. "Let's move out."

They went down the steps back to the tunnel. Fazzakkaar kicked the bodies of the guards into the river, presumably to be salamander food. Burg ducked and went first, followed by Din, then Mayfeld and Fazzakkaar taking up the rear.

Din could feel his son tense and alert on his back, his presence and slight weight a comfort. Grogu. Hear me. Feel my thoughts. Together we'll get through this.

Grogu said nothing, but he stirred and fastened his claws more tightly into Din's cowl. Ahead, a pale white gleam lit their way into the heart of the prison.

####

Sorry for this delayed and shortened chapter after a crazy time at work. Plus, I hadn't decided on how they would storm the prison. This is what happens when you plot by the seat of your pants. Thanks for your comments and feedback!