The team of four reached the coordinates that Teva had given Din. It was the last known location of the outpost crew, who'd managed to get a final message out before going deeper into hiding. Predictably the area was clear, but they had expected that. If it hadn't been, the New Republic crew would already be lost.

They just had to hope that their luck would hold, and they could get the people rescued before the Imps sniffed them out. The chances of that were slim, none of them were kidding themselves about that fact. The Imps had to be monitoring the airspace, and a Gauntlet troop transport ship flying into what should be an empty area was going to sound off all kinds of warning bells. Din and his team needed to move fast.

When they landed, everyone got down to business. They gathered at the hatch and Din turned back to give his team their final orders.

"Cara and I will run point," Din reminded them. "Bo and Med, you two are covering the rear."

They all nodded in reply, checking weapons one more time before Din let down the ramp.

Bo took a deep breath. She still didn't want to be left back, but this was Din's mission, and he was in charge. If he wanted Cara at his side because he felt they worked better together, she would accept that.

Din used readings in his helmet to study the topography, trying to ascertain where the New Republic crew may have gone to hide. Teva's information had only given them a general location and now the real hunt began. They were close to the base of a small rocky hill, the area pockmarked with what looked like cave entrances. It was a smart place to hide out, given that the stone would make it harder for the Imps' tracking devices to locate the missing crew.

Up front with Din, Cara tried looking for tracks on the ground but gave up after a couple of minutes. Either some sort of storm had come through the area and hidden all signs of their escape, or the New Republic crew had done a bang-up job at covering their tracks. She was inclined to think it was the latter, given that the people they were there to rescue had survived this long with a bunch of Imps hot on their trail.

"There!" Din called, pointing to tracks he'd found close to the rocks. They seemed to lead straight into the face of a cliff, but a more careful inspection showed that there was an opening tucked behind an outcropping. The hidden entrance would've made it difficult for them to be found and the discovery gave Din another reason to be impressed by this outpost crew.

Din and Cara led the way into the cave. Din, Bo, and Med turned on the lights on their helmets. Cara switched on the light she'd attached to her shoulder armor.

If Bo had any lingering doubts about the teamwork of their point crew, she lost all traces of it as she watched Din and Cara working together. The two were a smooth unit, one moving forward until they reached a turn in the cave, stopping and waiting for the other to come up behind and pass as the first provided cover, then repeating the maneuver again.

Taking up the rear, Bo and Med moved in a similar pattern. One ran ahead, then stopped to turn and provide cover while the other moved forward and passed them, then turned to cover as the other moved forward.

Din was in the lead position when his helmet readout indicated life forms on the other side of the next turn. He could also detect a scant amount of light coming from the location. The crew must be utilizing lamps or perhaps had lit some torches. Din held up his fist and his team halted as one. Bo was facing backwards, covering for Med who was about to pass her. He held up his fist, signaling they'd been ordered to halt. She nodded and they moved forward silently to meet their teammates. Once they were behind Cara and Din, Bo and Med turned back around to provide cover from behind.

"Commander Harik!" Din called out, using the name of the highest-ranking crew member that Teva had given him. "Captain Teva sent us, we're going to get you out of here. Hold your fire."

A man stepped from the semidarkness, squinting at the lights being pointed at him. He showed signs of the difficult week he and his crew had suffered, but still held his head high.

"Teva sent a Mandalorian?" He peered over Din's shoulder and saw the others standing behind him. "Scratch that, a team of Mandalorians?"

"Yes, now let's get out of here." Din wasn't one for small talk in any situation and was even less so now.

Din's team provided cover while Commander Harik got his crew rallied, organizing them to help each other out of the caves. They made it almost to the cave entrance when they heard the first shots of blaster fire. The Imperials had detected motion and began firing. It wasn't a smart move, as it gave away their position and offered the group a chance to seek cover inside the caves. Still, it made the rest of the escape more complicated.

"Well, we knew this wasn't going to be that easy," Cara said with a grin, ready for a fight.

They regrouped and came up with a quick plan. Initially, they wanted to bring the outpost crew back to the Gauntlet all at once, but that became impossible when more Imps kept pouring into the area. Now they were forced to split up and bring them out in smaller groups.

As the battle amped up, necessity determined who was needed where. Too trained for it to turn into a complete free-for-all, the increased enemy activity still shuffled the original teams. Now it was about getting people moved to spots that were safe, then going back for others. The worst of the wounded were left at the mouth of the cave, being covered by their own people with what little weapons they had which still had power.

Med dropped down to check on those who would need to be carried. They were dealing with more wounded than he'd anticipated, but thankfully most of them were mobile. Of the three that couldn't walk on their own, two were seriously wounded, while the other was only suffering a leg injury. It wasn't particularly serious, but still made the woman immobile.

"Djar, let's get at least one group back to the ship. I'll bring one of these people with each group. We'll do it in shifts."

Din dipped his head in agreement, accepting the order without question. When wounded were involved, Med had the right to take over any aspect of a mission. As long as it didn't interfere with a combat situation, such as enemies that Med couldn't see, the medic could run the team temporarily to ensure his patients were safe.

Cara watched the interchange with interest. First, the nickname had caught her off guard. She'd never heard anyone refer to her friend as anything other than "Din" or "Mando". Except for those quarries who called him by a few select names and phrases that shouldn't be repeated in mixed company. It felt like an old nickname, probably one from their childhood, and it gave Cara another insight into the relationship between the brothers.

Cara also got another glimpse of who Med was. While she understood the rule about medics outranking nearly everyone when wounded were involved in a mission, she hadn't seen many who took over the way Med just had. It also spoke to the fact that he and Din must have done this at least a few times together in their pasts.

Din, Cara, and Bo provided cover fire for the first group to stumble to the ship, some being practically carried by others. They finally made it, Med bringing the wounded crewman he'd carried to a cot. Cara guided the rest inside, while Din and Bo covered the hatch.

Some of the Imps had broken off, coming after them and attacking the ship.

"We can't leave these people alone," Bo said, firing and taking down another Imp. They were using the Gauntlet's landing gear as cover.

"You stay with them," Din ordered. "Cara, Med and I will head back for another group." Bo nodded acquiescence, then watched as they ran off together.

Din and Cara continued to work as a cohesive unit, finding cover and shooting Imps as they went. Med provided backup as they raced back to the rest of the outpost crew. The Imps were acting like disorganized rookies, following the moving targets, and leaving the group on the ship relatively uncovered. Bo rolled her eyes under her helmet at the stupidity, while thanking them for it at the same time. At least it would be easier to keep the New Republic people safe.

With only the occasional threat to handle, Bo's thoughts wandered again to Din and Cara's strong bond. Bo felt like she and Din had gotten closer as friends during the nano-droid poisoning and subsequent Life Day celebrations. Their bond, if one wanted to call it that, had grown, at least she had thought so.

But now seeing Din with Cara, Bo thought perhaps she'd read entirely too much into what had happened between Din and herself. Bo wasn't given to jealousy; she wasn't a little girl who was going to stomp her foot because another child had stolen her favorite toy. But she also couldn't help feeling a touch of sadness that she might have been wrong about the type of friendship she had with Din.

Din, Cara and Med made it back to the other outpost crew, who were putting up a valiant fight to protect their wounded.

"I'll carry this one," Med said when they got close to the second group of crewmen and women. He'd hoped to get them back in three trips, with him carrying one immobilized person as part of each group. But things were getting out of control, the Imps flooding into the area like angry ants whose nest had just been kicked over.

Din read Med's thoughts. "We need to get them all back now. You take that one, I'll carry the last one," Din nodded at the woman with the injured leg. "We'll cover you."

At that moment a bunch of Imps converged on their area, getting close enough for hand-to-hand combat. Med heard grunts and yells, spinning in time to see Cara yank a trooper by their grungy back armor to slam them into the ground. The utter strength she displayed was a marvel to him, even as someone who had seen all manner of fighters in battle.

If he'd observed anyone else show that kind of strength, Med might have been tempted to call it some variation of "brute force", but it wasn't like that with Cara. Her movements were precise, delivering the exact amount of power needed, without an ounce of wasted velocity.

Med had only seen Mandalorians fight and while her technique was similar, it wasn't the same. It was yet another thing about Cara that intrigued him. Perhaps because he saw something in her he could relate to, a type of fighting that worked well for him, too.

Med had always been a good wrestler, even better than his brother – as hard as that was for many to believe. When he watched Cara, Med saw similar training. It included sizing up your opponent's body and weight, comparing it to your own, then doing quick calculations that told you exactly how to take them to the ground and keep them there. Cara was an expert at it, and Med knew without a doubt that Din had been brought down hard by the shock trooper more than once during any sparring matches they'd had.

When combined with Cara's expert weaponry skills, Med saw again why Din trusted her implicitly. She could handle herself, there was no doubt about it.

"Right flank!" Med called out in warning to the team, crouching down to fire at another enemy that attempted to get the jump on them.

Cara turned to fire at Med's call, but the trooper was already down. She frowned thoughtfully, impressed at the medic's speed. She knew he was a Mandalorian and a member of Din's tribe. But he was also a medical professional, and she hadn't known if his skills were more toward his healing side or his warrior side. She was happy to see the warrior was there. Though she should've known Din would never bring someone on a mission who couldn't hold their own. Still, Cara was always cautious when working with someone for the first time. She liked to make her own decisions about them and not rely solely on another's opinion.

Med picked up the wounded man who appeared to be the worst off. He was also the biggest of the crew, but the medic pulled him onto his shoulder with little effort, proof that he'd done the move many times. It made Cara wonder how often Med had carted Din around like that. She guessed that it had happened more than a few times over the years.

"Watch behind!" Din's yell had them all spinning, weapons raised. Multiple combatants were coming at them, firing. Cara was closest to Med and instinctively moved to cover for the medic as he carried the victim away. She fired off three shots and took out two of the closest opponents. She was handling a third when she heard blaster fire off to her right.

Without stopping, Med had shot a fourth trooper, dropping the man and jumping over his body as he carried the wounded crewman to safety.

Cara's eyebrows went up, deciding again that there was more to this medic than she'd originally thought.

Med ran back and deposited the wounded man on the ship. He had looked over his shoulder a few times, looking for any other enemies, but his way had been cleared. He caught sight of Cara, blasting away at anyone who dared to come near the wounded. Trusting the others to get the rest of the crew on board, Med switched out of warrior mode and into doctor mode. He ran triage, figuring out who needed help in what order. He started treating the worst off, ignoring the sounds of the battle around him.

Din was on his own at the back of the group, struggling to keep up while helping the woman with the injured leg. He'd had to put her down more than once to take on some combatants by hand.

Bo ran back towards Din when Cara and Med brought the next group on board. She and Din were too far apart to hear each other, but when Bo looked into the T-visor, she felt that same connection after Din had been sick. Somehow, she knew what he was thinking, almost as clearly as if he was speaking right next to her.

Head back to the ship! We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

When Din saw Bo looking back at him, he too felt the same communication line that he'd first decided to try at the cabin. He understood her words even if he couldn't hear them.

Are you sure you don't need help?

Din shook his head quickly and again Bo understood the words unspoken.

I'm good. Go!

Bo nodded, running back to the ship. She started the flight sequence, letting the engines warm up as the last of the people were brought aboard. She went back down to the lower deck and found Med still tending to the wounded, running between people as he tried to be everywhere at once.

Commander Harik had insisted on providing cover fire with those of his crew who were still able to hold a weapon. Cara was helping Med where she could. Covering people in blankets and letting him know when she spotted someone who looked like they needed more help.

Bo looked around at all the people in the hull, noticing their count was short. She felt a small wave of panic when she didn't immediately see Din.

"Where is he?" Bo asked Cara sharply, striding to the other woman. The dropper looked up in surprise at the sudden icy tone of the Mandalorian princess. That was the woman she remembered from the mission on the cruiser.

"He was right behind us. He should be back any second," Cara assured, though she too turned to look toward the open hatch. Med looked up briefly at the exchange. He had a number of wounded now to attend to, but he needed to know his brother was all right.

Before Bo could give in to the urge to run off and search for him, Din finally appeared a few hundred yards from the ship. He was helping the last of the less seriously wounded. The woman wasn't hurt as badly as some of the others but with her leg injury, the run from the caves had sapped her strength. She stumbled hard and without missing a stride, Din scooped her up and ran onto the ramp with her, taking advantage of the cover fire provided by Commander Harik and his crew. He deposited her gently on one of the cots.

When Din put the woman down, they all could see blood on his armor, which had soaked into the padding underneath the cuirass, and into his flight jacket. Bo heard Cara curse and turned to see the shock trooper staring at the blood.

"Mando, what happened? Are you bleeding? Where did they get you?" Before Din could protest, Cara was pulling aside his cloak, moving his arm out of the way so she could get a better view.

"No, it's not mine," Din tried to reassure his friend.

"Are you sure? We need to check. You could be in shock and not know it," Cara wasn't taking no for an answer.

As Bo stood dumbfounded, Cara pushed Din into a nearby chair and started to examine him. The shock trooper probed around his armor, searching for injuries. It was apparent the other woman knew exactly where everything was attached. Cara's deft fingers unlatched Din's cuirass so she could push it aside, then slid over the padding, looking for any holes or a source for the bleeding. Finding none, she put everything back, then continued her exam, removing and re-attaching armor as she went. She moved Din's arms, then made him lean forward so she could check his back. She went so far as to get down on her knees and run her hands over his legs, moving aside each cuisse on his thigh to search for wounds.

Through it all, Din sat and waited, clearly used to this treatment from the other soldier. Bo got the impression she was witnessing something that had happened many times before. While Cara didn't bare or touch Din's actual skin, it still surprised Bo that Din didn't flinch under the woman's ministrations. His impatience was apparent, but he didn't fight, waiting for Cara to finish. As if he knew that no amount of protest would get the soldier to stop until she had determined for herself that he was okay.

Bo marveled at the ease of the shock trooper's examination of Din. Here she was still feeling odd after lying in bed with him when he was ill – though both had been fully clothed and joined by his son – and now she could only watch in awe while Cara just reached out like it was nothing, basically manhandling him without a flinch.

As Cara kept up her meticulous exam, Bo couldn't help but speculate if there was ever more that had happened between them than simply being partners on missions. That thought then made her mind wander to pondering how it all worked with the helmet rule. As far as Bo knew, Children of the Watch never bared their faces, not even to spouses or family or… lovers. Bo's neck instantly flamed, wondering why in the universe she'd had to go there with her thoughts. She ducked her head down, hoping no one saw the blush.

Finally, Cara stepped back with a sigh, finding nothing amiss. Freed from her intense examination, Din stood up with a sigh of his own.

"Do you believe me now?" Din's head cocked sideways, his hands on his hips.

"It's not about believing; it's about needing to see with my own eyes. You should know me by now."

Cara raised a finger at him.

"And don't give me that attitude, buckethead. I still remember that time on Karnac where you swore up and down that the blood on your leg was from the guy you stabbed. Then you passed out on me from blood loss less than ten minutes into the flight. We're both lucky you were on the main floor of the Crest so I could drag your heavy, armored ass into your bunk and get the bleeding under control. It's not like I could have carried you down that kriffing ladder. Sure, I might have been able to treat you in the cockpit, but I think you'll agree that waking up in your bunk was a hell of a lot more comfortable than waking up on a metal deck."

"True," Din agreed with a shrug, moving to help Med without another word about the incident.

Bo shook her head, recovering from what she'd just seen. Noticing her stress, the medic paused from his triage of the New Republic crew, to check on one of his own team.

"Are you okay?" Med asked quietly, not wanting to bring attention to Bo if she was unduly stressed.

"What? Oh…yeah, I'm fine."

"It's all right, I understand."

"You do?" Bo didn't understand herself what she was feeling, how could the medic hope to decipher it?

"Sure. We almost lost Din not that long ago. It's not a surprise that you'd be worried about him."

Right, that must be why she was feeling so odd. He had almost died a short while ago and Din going missing for those few moments had terrified her. That must be why it felt strange when she'd watched Cara examining him.

"I'm okay, thanks for checking, Med." He nodded in reply.

Shaking herself out of the thoughts she still didn't understand, Bo stepped up to Din.

"Do we have everyone? Can I initiate takeoff?"

"Yes, we got them all. Thank you," Din said.

Assured that Bo was all right, Med went back to his other patients. He hadn't stopped Cara from her very thorough exam of Din. If his brother had been wounded, Med had zero doubts Cara would have found it and let him know.

As Med had watched the proceedings out of the corner of his eye, he unknowingly had a few of the same thoughts Bo had. Though knowing Din, and his history in that area, Med was fairly certain that nothing had happened between him and Cara. But it didn't stop Med from wondering if the two were on their way toward something happening between them in the future.

The thought made Med feel… strange, but he couldn't figure out why. Cara seemed like a great person, a loyal friend, and a strong, capable soldier. You couldn't really get more perfect in terms of the type of person one would expect to be involved with a Mandalorian. His brother deserved some happiness in his life. If that was where things were heading, Med would be happy for them.

But still, it made him feel…something… to think of Din and Cara heading that way.

Then there had been Bo's intense worry about Din when they thought for a moment he might have been injured. Followed by her obvious relief when he'd been fine. It was an interesting development, or maybe it could become a development. It was too soon to tell.

Either way, there was zero awareness on Din's part about any of it. His brother was laser-focused on the mission, but even if he hadn't been, Med doubted Din would have noticed it. When they'd been young men, the young ladies of the Covert had to practically knock Din across his beskar-covered skull to let him know they were interested.

But much like now, Din had always been too focused to show them much interest. At the time, Med thought perhaps it was something Din would do in the future, after he was fully trained. Or that maybe the loss of Din's family had left his heart too broken to try and attempt any sort of romantic relationship.

Then Din had gone through a fresh loss at a crucial point in not only his training, but in his life. It sent him over the edge and Med had been helpless to stop what happened next. He could only watch from the sidelines as his brother took more and more dangerous bounty work, running with crews that were ruthless, and barely operated within the law. Din lost himself in his work, and with women like Xi'an. The crews and the women had only been looking for the reputation that came with running, or sleeping, with a Mandalorian.

Med was glad all of that was behind Din, now. Though once again, all the female attention was centered on his brother and, once again, Din was completely clueless about it.

Just like old times, Med thought.

Once they were out of the atmosphere and hit hyperspace, Din contacted Teva and gave him the exact coordinates for the Imperials who had come after them. Now that there weren't any wounded to worry about or rescue, Teva's teams could go in with more force and clean up the mess, taking into custody any who survived the skirmish.

Bo stayed up in the cockpit, using the excuse that she wanted to monitor their course. But really, she just didn't want to be with the rest of the team at that moment.

"Hey, you sure you're all right?" Bo felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Med's helmeted head peering down at her, sincerity evident in his voice. He dropped into the chair behind her.

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

"I don't know, you seem…. distracted."

"Nope, I'm good. Just checking to make sure the ship is running well. Can't take any chances getting these people to the rendezvous."

"Right. Sure." He wasn't convinced but he also wasn't going to push it. Either he was wrong about her feelings toward Din, or she wasn't even aware of them herself. He would have to wait and see.

"Anyway, how are our wounded?"

"Doing well. All are stable so I'm letting them rest. They don't need me poking and prodding at them constantly."

"Even though that's what you love to do?" Bo teased.

Med laughed. "Oh, Lady Kryze, you know me so well."

"I remember what it was like when Din was ill. You had a hard time staying away from him, even when he was asleep."

"It's true. I'm inclined to hover, especially when it comes to my brother."

"But that's a good thing," Bo turned back and put a hand on his arm. "Even if your patients don't always appreciate it. It means you care. And… well, I notice it. It's one of the reasons I asked you to lead our medical center."

Din and Cara came back up to the cockpit. Din paused when he saw his brother walk up to Bo and put a hand on her shoulder. Cara didn't notice where Din's attention had gone. She sat down in the same chair she'd occupied on the way to the mission, looking out at the streaking stars.

But Din kept his eyes on his brother and Bo, watching as they had a quiet conversation. Med laughed briefly before Bo said something to him, touching his arm.

Med had always been able to do that, Din realized. The medic had always had the ability to casually touch another person. And yet, despite the fact that Din and Bo had technically – and truly only in the extreme technical sense – shared a bed, Din didn't think he'd feel comfortable putting a hand on her shoulder to offer comfort. Din had finally gotten to the point where he could reach out to another person, but only his son. He rubbed Grogu's back when the boy was upset, scratched his ears to hear him purr happily, tickled him for the giggles they brought out.

But the idea of touching another, especially their leader, wasn't something he felt he could do. His hands had spent too much time fighting and not enough time offering comfort.

As Din continued to watch his brother and their leader, he remembered again that the two had worked together while he was ill, and it appeared they had gotten closer.

It made Din confident he'd been right to pair them for the mission, but he still felt that strange… something when he watched them together.