In the end, Din and Grogu spent nearly two more weeks on Sorgan.
Din and Karga's people helped the new Marshal Mayfeld and the New Republic with the mop-up operation. They were still Imp holdouts lurking around Sorgan, plus former Merrix employees skulking around. The New Republic had their hands full with the station and its prisoners, while also keeping guard against possible Imperial attacks from off planet. Leia sent teams of specialists to help the unfortunate prisoners trapped on the station with food and medical treatment, but it was going to be a long, challenging road ahead. A few might be able to go to the fragile Riello colony, but many were simply too violent and unstable.
But this was above Din's pay grade. He was just glad that someone with as much power, intelligence, and compassion as Leia was working on it. And she was determined to use this and Riello to show that the New Republic could solve problems and ensure safety without resorting to the cold cruelty of the Empire.
After retrieving his hidden N-1 (he couldn't resist giving it a pat as if it were a blurg) Din had joined in the hunt. He was pleased to discover there was a little extra reward money in it. Plus it was good to keep busy. He started to think too much if he slowed down.
This time, Din actually agreed with the advice not to take Grogu with him. Not all the time, anyway.
Grogu mostly stayed in the settlement with the children under Omera's watchful eye. His presence seemed to do the children good after their traumatic experience. The little boy needed some rest and the chance to be around other children, not an assortment of bounty hunters, criminals, and soldiers. Plus, if anyone did try anything funny at the settlement, Din knew Omera and Grogu would make short work of them if need be. Din and Grogu shared the room in Omera's barn, but many nights Din slept rough on the hunt. Knowing Grogu was with Omera was a relief, even though he missed his son accompanying him.
Din never remembered his dreams, but he had a feeling sometimes, just out of the range of his memory. Maybe when Varro had knocked him out back on the station? Something about Grogu and his future that gave him a feeling of peace. But every time he tried to focus on it, it slipped away.
Finally, he decided it was time to take his son on an excursion with Mayfeld to a remote trading post. Grogu was an apprentice, after all. Couldn't get out of practice. The assignment was to bust up a cell of former Merrix employees. Their boss had tried to set himself up as a freelance warlord and had terrified the locals into submission.
"Looking for someone who calls himself Terzan," said Din, walking up to a fat man sitting on a rough table in a tavern courtyard and drinking prime spotchka.
The fat man wiped his mouth and glared up at Din. "Who wants to know?" He turned and barked back at the rough building behind him. "Hey! Refill! Fast, if you know what's go for ya!" A cowed woman scurried out with a jug and poured out another healthy portion. She had a black eye. Grogu squirmed on Din's back indignantly.
"The Marshal," said Mayfeld, coming to stand beside Din. "That's who." The fat man squinted, then grinned.
"Ooh, we got us a Marshal now. Lookit here, fellas." Three toughs emerged from the shadows.
"Is that beskar?" asked one of them.
Din sighed. Grogu sighed.
"Not this shit again," said Mayfeld, rolling his eyes.
The fight ended about four minutes later.
Just as they had secured Terzan and his three flunkies to the trading post's water tank, a bloodthirsty snarl came from a dark shed. A wiry man armed with a dagger and sword leapt out. Mayfeld raised his eyebrows. "Maybe you'd like to try me, Mandalorian. I am well-versed in the deadly arts. I have studied the blade!"
"Let's not," said Din.
The swordsman rushed at Din. Grogu gestured at him, and the man tripped over his own feet and went sprawling onto the ground. Din's whipcord wrapped around his torso and legs. Awestruck villagers poked their heads out of doors and windows.
"I almost feel guilty being paid for this," said Mayfeld.
"I don't," said Din.
They hauled the prisoners to Mayfeld's shuttle, where Taliss waited for them. She was ready to leave the bounty hunter lifestyle and had accepted Mayfeld's offer to be deputy. "What took you so long?" she asked.
"Stopped for snacks," said Mayfeld. Grogu sucked down a last frog leg poking from his mouth.
"So, I think it's time for Grogu and me to head back to Nevarro," said Din before heading back to the N-1. He felt the pull of home. Well, home was wherever Grogu was, but it would be nice to get back to their own space. Karga also was returning to Nevarro, to get ready for the new Magistrate and prepare for his role as chief advisor to Leia on Riello.
"What, and leave all this?" Mayfeld looked around at the swampy forest. "Well, don't run off without Winta getting to say goodbye to Grogu. I'd never hear the end of it."
"Wouldn't think of it."
Mayfeld started to board his own shuttle, but turned back. "There's a feast tomorrow night. It's the Seventh Moon Cycle, kind of a minor holiday. It's gonna be low-key, not really a party what with everything, but it'll be nice. Stick around for that at least."
"Wouldn't miss it."
As he watched Mayfeld's shuttle lift off, Din asked Grogu, "I know it's good to be around the other children. But you're ready for home, right?"
"Esssss, boo," said Grogu. "Ohhhm."
###
The Feast of the Seventh Moon Cycle lived up to its low-key billing. The community celebrated not just the holiday but also their freedom from Merrix, Varro, and the Empire and the return of their children. No dancing or raucous festivities, especially since the kids were still recovering from a frightening ordeal, but some mellow music played in the background. All of the families got together to cook food and share the work of setting up, serving, and cleaning. A bonfire burned in the center of the settlement, its warm light glowing in the krill pools. Much spotchka was discreetly consumed.
While Grogu raced around with the children, Din sat near the fire and observed everything and everyone around him…especially Mayfeld, Omera, and Winta.
Mayfeld really did seem to be a part of this community, although he had only lived here for a short time before getting in trouble with the law. (Again.) The people here seemed to appreciate his humor (for some reason) and his general handiness, and they were glad to have him as a Marshal after all of the chaos caused by Merrix and the Empire. No one seemed to care much about his checkered past.
He also really did seem to be part of Omera's family. He kicked a ball around with Winta and the other kids and played a confusing game where you had to kick a ball into net. Mandalorians didn't exactly play with balls. Mayfeld also spent some time showing Winta his new shuttle, letting her sit at the controls and explaining what they each were for. It was obvious that Winta trusted him and was glad to have him back in her life.
Din especially watched Mayfeld and Omera together.
After the awkwardness of their initial reunion, and the fight to get the kids back, Din was struck by how natural and comfortable they were together. How relaxed.
She did most of the cooking but Mayfeld did all of the cleaning. They chatted constantly, an ongoing stream of banter over the most trivial subjects. And Mayfeld respected her opinions and, although he was now Marshal, Din was pleased to see that he deferred to her on nearly every decision, from krill pond drainage to village administration to which bowl they should use to serve stew.
He made her laugh a lot.
It was…nice.
But it didn't make Din especially happy.
As the evening drew on, Mayfeld and Omera sat together on a bench on the far side of the bonfire. Winta came up to them then and plopped unceremoniously next to Mayfeld.
"Looks like someone's getting tired," said Mayfeld.
"I'm not tired," Winta yawned. Grogu still had plenty of energy and was running around frenetically with a few other children, playing tag in the dark beyond the light of the fire as their parents relaxed. They would all tire themselves out and sleep well. Omera rose to stir the stew and scooped up a fresh bowl. She brought it to Din.
"Have you had enough? Do you need to find some privacy to eat?"
"In minute." Grogu bounded past. "It's just good to watch him play and have fun with the kids."
"It's been so good to have him here." She sat down next to Din. Mayfeld was talking to one of the neighborhood fathers. "I guess Sorgan's on the map now. It's never going to be remote, quiet place it used to be."
"You're right."
"Would you consider staying?" Omera asked. "More people will keep coming, and there's probably going to be more trouble. There's plenty of land for your own place. Grogu could visit us whenever he wanted, or stay with us while you're working. You could help Mica." She still preferred calling Mayfeld that, although she knew everything about him.
Din was quiet for a moment. "It's tempting," he said slowly. "But…Nevarro is home. I have an obligation to keep that place safe too, because of Greef Karga. We have a place there. It's where we belong. But I'll always come if you need me. I mean, we'll come if you need us." He tried to lighten his tone. "Besides…I've seen how you shoot. I think you can handle yourself just fine."
Omera smiled and her eyes were warm and kind in the light of the fire. "I'm so grateful to you, for bringing Mica back to me. And Winta."
"You were the one who saved her."
Grogu raced past again like a small green flame. Omera laughed. "He's a little overexcited."
"A little?"
"I knew how much you loved him when I first met you. You were so stern and gruff. But I could see. What a wonderful father you are."
"You gave me good advice. But you know, I was ready to leave him here with you at first. I didn't think I was up to it." And how dark his life would have been, if that had happened. How empty.
"But that's how much you cared. You wanted to do what was best for him, even though it hurt."
Their eyes met.
"Well, I better start getting that one home to bed," Omera said, nodding at Mayfeld and Winta. It wasn't clear who she meant by "that one." Winta was curled up on the bench while Mayfeld gazed a little blearily into the fire and sipped spotchka.
Grogu racing past yet again distracted Din. When he looked back up, Mayfeld had his arm around Omera's waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.
Din picked up his bowl and left his place by the fire. And he kept walking into the dark, cool woods longer than necessary to find a place to eat. Finally he sat on a stump at the edge of an old clearing. Probably once a garden plot, now left fallow to help the land recover. He took off his helmet and ate Omera's stew. It was good, as was everything she turned her hand to.
After he ate he did not put back on his helmet right away but gazed up at the stars and the tiny moons with unaltered vision. No rain today, just clear skies, the air so clean that the moons stood out in sharp focus against the night sky. Maybe that blinking light was a New Republic ship on patrol, or the Merrix station itself, now being turned into a New Republic supply depot.
He felt creeping middle-aged tiredness and the dull ache of his many injuries, mostly healed but still making themselves known.
How silly to grieve for something that was never his and that he wasn't really sure he even wanted. And how greedy, when he already had more than he had ever dreamed possible. When Grogu had given his life purpose and meaning and love.
Still.
A tiny hand patted his knee. Grogu looked up at him with dark eyes lit by moonlight.
"We need to get you to bed," said Din.
Grogu kept looking at him expectantly.
"I'm fine," said Din.
Grogu waited.
Din exhaled. "Sometimes I wish we had never left Sorgan in the first place," he said.
Grogu gave Din's knee a comforting pat and climbed onto his father's lap. They sat in silence for a long time looking up at the night sky.
###
The next day Din walked around the N-1, inspecting every rivet in preparation for hyperdrive. Grogu was saying his farewells to the village kids and would come with Omera any minute.
"I still can't get over this antique," marveled Mayfeld. "But I guess I miss the old beater."
"So do I," said Din. "Believe me."
"So, what's next for you boys?"
Din shrugged. "Rest. Then back to work."
"Fucking Empire keeps wanting to crawl back to life, right?"
"Yep."
Mayfeld's face turned a little pink. He cleared his throat. "Djarin," he said. He seemed to have a little speech prepared. "I owe you big time. Especially after what I tried to do to you. Because of you I have this second chance."
"Don't mention it," said Din.
"No, I gotta. If you ever need something, let me know, okay?"
"Same," said Din. "But don't go to prison again."
"I'll try." They clasped hands. "And you better take care of that little kid. Keep him away from trouble for a change, okay?"
"Take care of Winta and Omera or there's nowhere in the galaxy you can hide from me."
"That's the Mando I know and love."
A sound of crackling twigs made them look at the forest. Grogu walked next to Winta and Omera. "Kids are sad to see him go," Omera said. "I can tell he's sad too but at the same time ready to get home."
"Visit me?" said Winta. She knelt to hug Grogu who hugged her back as much as his little arms could reach.
"Esss," said Grogu. "Viissst." Then he leapt to perch on Din's shoulder.
"We'll be back to visit," Din told Grogu. "I promise."
"Watch out for your old man, little guy," said Mayfeld, putting an arm around Omera's shoulder. Grogu nodded, taking his charge seriously.
"Thank you again," said Omera. Din nodded and then they were off. He glanced down once at the little family before they sped off, Mayfeld with a hand on Winta's shoulder and his other arm around Omera.
###
The trip back to Nevarro was quiet. Grogu sat on Din's lap, refamiliarizing himself with the N-1's control panel. Din quizzed him lightly. "Point to the fuel gauge. Now the range finder." Maybe in the future Din could hire a crew of Anzellans to outfit a ship with modified controls for a very, very small pilot. But that was years away.
Finally, the unlovely brown surface of Nevarro lay below them. Unlovely but home. "We'll go home, but first we have to stop in town. You know that our friend Greef Karga is going to Riello to help our friend Leia." He would keep his promise to keep the magistrate's illness a secret.
"Elp?"
"Yes. So we'll have to take good care of Nevarro while he's away."
Grogu sat up straighter. "Oh, esss, boo. Guuuhhhd."
The familiar streets of the town buzzed with activity, merchants and traders jostling with construction workers and droids still rebuilding after the pirate attack. Plenty of bounty hunters still made Nevarro their home base, but they gathered more discreetly nowadays. They were also a less disreputable bunch than before.
In Karga's office, workers polished volcanic granite floors to mirror brightness. "Very nice," Karga said. He was back in resplendent garments befitting his station, an embroidered robe and shiny boots. Maybe he seemed a little tired around the eyes, though?
"This floor is a slipping hazard," IG said.
"Nonsense," said Karga. "I want people to come into this office and be dazzled."
"They will be dazzled because they will sustain concussions after slipping on the floor," IG pointed out.
"I'm dazzled," said Din, coming forward to take Karga's hand.
"Finally, someone who appreciates shiny things," said Karga with a broad smile. "Just supervising the finishing touches on this office. I want my successor to have the best."
"And I appreciate it," said a figure in the corner. A slim, well-dressed man stepped out from behind shelves. At first glance, he looked superficially like Greef Karga—similar in height, skin tone, even facial hair. But on closer study, the two men were really nothing alike. There was a fundamental smoothness to the stranger that contrasted with Karga, who despite his elegant trappings was a very rough character. "I appreciate the finer things."
"Mando," said Greef Karga. He knew it was polite not to introduce Din by name this early in an acquaintance. "I'd like you to meet Lando Calrissian."
Din had seen this type before. Con man. Gambler.
Lando Calrissian stepped up. His smile was guarded, his dark eyes appraising. He wore a fine cloak and other fashionable garments, but they looked a little threadbare at closer glance. "Well, well," he said. "When the Magistrate here talked about this planet having its very own Mandalorian, I didn't know if I should believe it. But you, sir, exceed his description by a long shot." He studied Din's armor. "That armor is something else. Pure beskar. No paint?"
Din shrugged. "Never had the time. Couldn't decide on a color."
"Best decision you could have made. Why bother with the scratches? I've seen some pretty beat-up armor in my day." So it seemed Din might not be the first Mandalorian this Calrissian had ever met. From what little Din had learned, this character had floated around some of the shadier elements of the galaxy. Of course he had run up against bounty hunters. That might explain his wariness. He didn't seem to trust Din any more than Din trusted him. "And hello! Who is this strapping young man?"
Grogu had rested in the crook of Din's arm during this whole exchange. He studied Calrissian carefully. He didn't seem to know what to make of the replacement Magistrate yet.
"My son, Grogu," said Din.
"Grogu!" Now Calrissian turned on an ingratiating smile. "You and me are gonna be buddies, right?" Grogu blinked. "Right!"
"I'm told you know Councilor Organa Solo," Din said.
Calrissian put a hand over his heart. "I have the privilege of knowing that great lady," he said with a little bow. "And her family. I count her as a friend." He seemed sincere. "I hear you helped her out of a tough spot on Riello."
"She's pretty good at getting herself out of tough spots."
"Agreed." Calrissian shook his head. "I heard everything about that place. I don't know why I keep being surprised by the Empire. But the size of it. All those people tortured, turned into slaves. Imagine getting yourself frozen in carbonite and waking up there. Bounty hunters across the galaxy must have been having a lively trade in frozen bounties." He turned a sudden cold eye on Din. "Wonder how many you shipped there."
Din said nothing. He had wondered that himself.
"IG," interrupted Karga. "Wasn't it time to introduce our new magistrate to your deputies."
"No," said IG.
"Yes, it is," said Karga, raising his eyebrows significantly.
"I see," said IG. "You wish to discuss Mr. Calrissian privately with the Mandalorian, so I should remove him from your presence under pretext of a nonexistent meeting. Very well. Please accompany me, Mr. Calrissian."
"Thank you, IG," said Karga with a grimace. "Lando, I apologize for his, uh, literalness." But Calrissian looked more amused than anything.
"Droids," he said. "Sure, take me to me the deputies. I just hope you're saying nice things about me." He winked and left with IG.
"That's the new Magistrate?" said Din when they were alone in the office. Karga had sent the floor workers off for a caff break. Grogu studied his reflection in the polished granite.
"Yep. Personally recommended by the Councilor herself."
"Huh," said Din dubiously.
"I know, I know, but she really seems to trust him. He was a war hero but his post-war business opportunities have not exactly met with success. He helped blow up the second Death Star."
Din stared. "Really?"
"Really." Grogu was now entertaining himself by sliding around the floor. "But, you should know he has a little bit of a history with your friend the Daimyo."
Oh good, baggage. That probably explained the carbonite jibe. "Why?"
"It's not very clear. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Karga sighed. "Need to sit." He sank down into the nearest chair.
"Should you really go through with this? Going to Riello in your…condition." Grogu was busy slipping and sliding around the floor, giggling with delight.
"Bah! I'm fine. I'm determined. Go out on top, like I said. I'm leaving tomorrow. The town guilds are sending me off with a banquet tonight. They don't know I won't be coming back. No one knows. They just all think I'm off being a do gooder. Maybe so."
After a lifetime of loss, Din was surprised that he wasn't getting used to it. Wasn't getting better at goodbyes. The hard shell around his emotions seemed to wear down with age. Or maybe it was the effect of Grogu opening his heart and mind. "Buddy, it's time to go." Grogu skidded between Ding's legs and crashed into Karga's ankles. "Let's, um, say goodbye to our friend."
Grogu lifted up his arms to Karga and the old man obliged, scooping the little boy into his lap. The kid seemed to know something was up. "Now you be good, little man. Keep your old pop out of trouble." Grogu ransacked Karga's shirt pockets and emerged with a krill treat. "Oh, how did that get there?" He whispered something in Grogu's ear and the little boy nodded. Then Karga stood and handed off the boy to Din. They clasped hands.
"Thank you for everything you've done for us," said Din.
"It was the least I could do. I should thank you both." Karga's eyes were a little wet. "You gave an old fool a second chance. That's why I want to help out at Riello for as long as I can. Everyone deserves a second chance. Hell, maybe three or four. Now enough mushy stuff. You two get going!" He turned and walked to the balcony overlooking the city, hands clasped behind his back.
As they left the city square, Din caught one more glimpse of Greef Karga. He still stood at his balcony watching over the community he had rebuilt. And then they turned a corner and he was gone.
In the end, Din and Grogu spent nearly two more weeks on Sorgan.
Din and Karga's people helped the
new
Marshal Mayfeld and the New Republic with the
mop
up operation. They were still Imp holdouts lurking around Sorgan, plus former Merrix
employees skulking around. The New Republic had their hands full with the station and its
prisoners, while also keeping guard against possible Imperial attacks from off planet. Leia
sent teams of specialists to help the unfortunate prisoners trapped on the
station
with food
and medical treatment
, but it was going to be a long, challenging road ahead. A few might
be able to go to the fragile Riello colony, but many were simply too violent and unstable.
But this was above Din's pay grade. He was just glad that someone with as much power,
intelligence, and compassion as Leia was working on it. And she was determined to use
this and Riello to show that the New Republic could solve problems and ensure safety
without resorting to the cold cruelty of the Empire.
After retrieving his hidden
N
1
(he couldn't resist giving it a pat as if it were a
blurg
)
Din had
joined in the hunt. He was pleased to discover there was a little extra reward money in it.
Plus it was good to keep busy. He started to think too much if he slowed down.
This time, Din actually agreed with the advice not to take Grogu with him. Not all the time,
anyway.
Grogu
mostly stayed
in the settlement with the children under Omera's watchful eye. His
presence seemed to do the children good after their traumatic experience. The little boy
needed some rest and the chance to be around other children, not an assortment of
bounty hunters, c
riminals, and soldiers. Plus, if anyone did try anything funny at the
settlement, Din knew Omera and Grogu would make short work of them if need be. Din and
Grogu shared the room in Omera's barn, but
many nights
Din slept rough on the h
unt.
Knowing Grogu was with Omera was a relief, even though he missed
his son
accompanying
him.
Din never remembered his dreams, but he had a feeling sometimes, just out of the range of
his memory.
Maybe when Varro had knocked him out back on the station? S
omething
about Grogu and his future that gave him a feeling of peace.
But every time he tried to focus
on it, it slipped away.
Finally, he decided it was time to take his son on an excursion with Mayfeld to a remote
trading post.
Grogu
was an
apprentice, after all.
Couldn't get out of practice.
The
assignment was to bust up a cell of former Merrix employees. Their boss had tried to set
himself up as a freelance warlord and had terrified the locals into submission.
In the end, Din and Grogu spent nearly two more weeks on Sorgan.
Din and Karga's people helped the new Marshal Mayfeld and the New Republic with the
mop-up operation. They were still Imp holdouts lurking around Sorgan, plus former Merrix
employees skulking around. The New Republic had their hands full with the station and its
prisoners, while also keeping guard against possible Imperial attacks from off planet. Leia
sent teams of specialists to help the unfortunate prisoners trapped on the station with food
and medical treatment, but it was going to be a long, challenging road ahead. A few might
be able to go to the fragile Riello colony, but many were simply too violent and unstable.
But this was above Din's pay grade. He was just glad that someone with as much power,
intelligence, and compassion as Leia was working on it. And she was determined to use
this and Riello to show that the New Republic could solve problems and ensure safety
without resorting to the cold cruelty of the Empire.
After retrieving his hidden N-1 (he couldn't resist giving it a pat as if it were a blurg) Din had
joined in the hunt. He was pleased to discover there was a little extra reward money in it.
Plus it was good to keep busy. He started to think too much if he slowed down.
This time, Din actually agreed with the advice not to take Grogu with him. Not all the time,
anyway.
Grogu mostly stayed in the settlement with the children under Omera's watchful eye. His
presence seemed to do the children good after their traumatic experience. The little boy
needed some rest and the chance to be around other children, not an assortment of
bounty hunters, criminals, and soldiers. Plus, if anyone did try anything funny at the
settlement, Din knew Omera and Grogu would make short work of them if need be. Din and
Grogu shared the room in Omera's barn, but many nights Din slept rough on the hunt.
Knowing Grogu was with Omera was a relief, even though he missed his son accompanying
him.
Din never remembered his dreams, but he had a feeling sometimes, just out of the range of
his memory. Maybe when Varro had knocked him out back on the station? Something
about Grogu and his future that gave him a feeling of peace. But every time he tried to focus
on it, it slipped away.
Finally, he decided it was time to take his son on an excursion with Mayfeld to a remote
trading post. Grogu was an apprentice, after all. Couldn't get out of practice. The
assignment was to bust up a cell of former Merrix employees. Their boss had tried to set
himself up as a freelance warlord and had terrified the locals into submission.