THE ARC OF SKYWALKER | a star wars story✔️

17 | the village

—RIGHT WHEN I THOUGHT WE WERE LEAVING, MANDO ACCEPTED A JOB TO HELP A VILLAGE FIGHT AGAINST RAIDERS.

I sat beside him on the tram, Cara sitting across me and the Child was perched at the front. The two farmers who hired us led the way down the pine needle path and into the village they lived in. I sat up straighter, my face resting in a neutral expression and reaching out in the Force to make sure no one was hostile. Mando seemed to sense my hesitancy since he placed his hand on my shoulder to ease my nerves. I tensed from the contact but I appreciated his attempt to calm me down.

Cara's eyes flicked between him and me, a small grin quirking on her lips as she stared at me. I frowned at her, not understanding what she was grinning at but turned my gaze to the crowd approaching us. The tram stopped and Mando hopped out. I did the same and began to help him grab his weapons and supplies he brought with us.

"Aww, he's so cute!" A young girl cooed.

I turned to see her talking about the kid sitting on the tram. More boys and girls gathered around and were talking to him.

"Hello there."

Cara, Mando, and I turned to face a woman dressed in a blue dress. Her long hair fell over her shoulders and down her back and a warm smile was on her face. I subconsciously put my hand on one of my sabers hilts as I studied her.

"My name is Omera. I'll be showing you where you will stay."

I turned to grab the Child from the tram, the children around him pouting since he was leaving. I chuckled in amusement as I followed Omera, Mando staring ahead and he had a flustered aura around him. My brows furrowed as I looked up at him, the man looking down at me and shrugging his shoulders.

Omera showed me where I would reside first. It was a small hut with only a small bed, night stand, and dresser in the room. I didn't mind the minimal furniture here. It's not like I would be staying for long.

"Thank you, Omera." I said to her as I offered a kind smile. It felt weird to show these emotions to a complete stranger, but then again, Mando and I were still considered strangers to one another.

"You are very welcome, miss." She said before leading Mando and Cara away.  The child squirmed around in my arms as he tried to follow the Mandalorian, his whines and squeaks telling me he wanted to go.

"Kid, he'll be back here to get you." I said and used the Force to make him float. Immediately, the kid giggled and laughed as he spun around in the air, his arms stretching out to me. I brought him back and he grabbed my cheeks, cooing and nuzzling my cheek. He's never been affectionate like this before.

Asa...

I perked up as the small, childlike voice which whispered to me. My eyes glanced to the doorway but there was no child there. The child's hands gently touching my cheek brought my attention back to him as memories which did not belong to me flashed through my mind. I saw the Jedi temple on Coruscant; Master Yoda training younglings; a young child who looked exactly like Yoda who practiced using the Force and caused trouble with the other padawans training with him.

Blinking rapidly and staring down at the small thing in my arms, I realized I was seeing the Child's memories.

I gazed at him as I sat down on my bed, setting him down as well and he stared at me. He squeaked to me and tilted his head, awaiting my reaction to what he showed me.

"You knew Master Yoda?"

He cooed in response.

"And you were in the Temple on Coruscant."

Another coo.

I smiled at him and gently ran my fingers over his small head. He grabbed my fingers, examining the ring on my finger then tried to dig through my memories from my time with the Empire.

"No, no, no, no, kid. That's something you don't want to see. Trust me."

He whined in defiance as he tried again, a pout on his face. I stood from the bed and turned my back to him, blocking him out as best I could. To say he was quick and seemingly more powerful than me was accurate. It hurt my head to feel him force himself in.

"Stop it."

He continued to not listen as he made attempts to break the barriers in my mind. I resisted the anger which wanted me to snap at him or possibly scare him. I didn't want to ruin the trust he put in me.

"I don't want you seeing what I've done. Stop trying—"

The Child managed to break a barrier in my mind and I inhaled deeply, falling to my knees as the Dark flooded every part me. He whimpered from being overwhelmed by how dark and evil my memories were as he saw me killing innocents, Jedi survivors, torturing Imperial prisoners, practicing the Dark, and being cruel to anyone who dared defy me.

My lady! It...It was only a joke...honest...!

If I were you, lieutenant, I would hold you tongue, especially around me. You know exactly what I'm capable of, and I will not hesitate to kill and replace you. Understand?

I came to when I felt the kid hug my hand to his chest, cooing and crying to me. I realized I was lying on my stomach, my body shaking from how overwhelming the dark was. A sick feeling entered my stomach and every part of me felt weak.

"I'm so sorry, kid." I muttered as my forehead rested against my forearm. Whispers and echoes in the Force were in my head, the voices growing louder with each passing second. For a moment, I thought I heard Sidious' voice speak to me, but it was too faint to hear.

I blocked memories and parts of myself out for a reason. The Dark was too powerful but also my only faith in the Force. I wanted to get rid of it all, yet I couldn't bring myself to let go of it.

The Child whined loudly, his hands tugging mine, when footsteps sounded outside but rushed in and stopped beside me. A hand rested on my lower back while another moved my hair out from my face. That when I saw the familiar beskar armor.

"What happened?!"

He helped me stand up, but that sickly feeling in my stomach heightened. He set me down on my bed before kneeling down in front of me to look over my face. Why does this man have to be so damn soft toward me?

"It's nothing, Mando. Don't worry your shiny, helmeted head about it." I replied as I leaned on my knees, holding my head in my hands. Something cool touched the skin of my forehead, making me sigh in relief. It wasn't until I opened my eyes I realized I was unknowingly leaning against Mando's helmet.

"The kid seems pretty shaken up about it. What happened?"

I shook my head, not wanting to tell him what I experienced and what happened with the kid.

"Did it have something to do with the Force? Yes or no."

I nodded my head yes and he sighed, shaking his head little and placing his hand on my knee.

"Did the kid see whatever you saw?"

I nodded again.

"I'll take the kid when I leave. Get some rest, Ace. We have a long day of training the villagers tomorrow."