PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXXXVII

Once the boat exited the dark tunnel and into the bright sunlight, my lungs seized when I observed the carnage IG had left in his wake. There was no evidence that the droid was even there. No metal bits, no pieces of wire, not even the blaster that Din had shoved into his chest. All of it was gone.

And the blood.

There had to have been at least twenty troopers, because the sheer amount of severed arms and legs scattered everywhere was indescribable. Blood was spattered and painted on everything. And it coated every bit and piece of white stormtrooper armor big enough to see with the naked eye. The acrid smell of death and the singe of fire and smoke made me gag, and I nearly vomited.

"Holy fuck," Cara breathed as she grimaced, holding the back of her hand to her nose, "That droid packed a huge punch."

"I can't believe he did that," Din said absentmindedly, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

I placed a comforting hand on his arm, forcing myself to ignore the death that surrounded us. "Din, he sacrificed himself so we could live," I whispered, squeezing his bicep to force him to focus on me. "We can't give up now."

He swallowed and eventually nodded, slightly lowering his head between his shoulders.

Greef was the first to scramble out of the boat and onto the ground, leaving a large boot print in a slick pool of blood. Then he held out a hand to me. "Let's go," He said, beckoning me forward wit his fingers, "Before more troopers arrive."

I shook the gruesome picture out of my head. "Good idea."

But once we hauled everything onto land, a familiar high-pitched whine crescendoed overhead, making my heart sink in my chest. Din, Greef, and Cara noticed it too, and all four of us whipped out heads to the sky, searching for the TIE fighter we all knew was coming in hot. Then not a moment later, a black speck appeared in the sky, and my eyes widened when I felt a surge in the Force as it screamed towards us.

Moff Gideon.

"Fuck!" I shouted, reaching for my lightsaber at my belt, "It's Gideon!"

"Again?!" Cara hissed, unsure of what to do with the child in her arms. "You have got to be kidding me."

All of us quickly scattered, slipping on the blood as Gideon began shooting at us, the TIE's cannon bolts slamming into the ground way too close for comfort. I hissed in a sharp breath as I slipped in another pool of blood, falling face first in the crimson and black liquid. The blood was still warm, and it completely coated my armor and utterly soaked the clothes underneath.

"Shit," I hissed as Din screamed something I couldn't make out and hauled me to my feet. More bolts form Gideon's TIE kept raining down as Cara and Greef took cover behind a large rock formation.

"Do you have your jetpack?!" Din screamed at me again as Gideon made another pass, and my eyes flicked to where it was still laying on the bank by the river.

Din followed my line of sight. As he turned, I realized he had already attached his to his back. Oh shit.

"Din!" I screeched over the screaming of the TIE fighter, "Whatever you're thinking—"

He snapped his gaze back to my face. "Stay here!"

"Wait!"

But it was too late. He lunged out from behind out cover, sprinting straight for my golden pack laying on the dirt by the river. I looked above my head as Gideon repositioned his ship to make a run at Din, and my heart began to beat so hard and fast it hurt.