Chapter 18 | The Mines of Mandalore (Part 3)

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Din ushers Cordelia and the pram behind him, leading the way into the cave entrance. He and Cordelia keep their blasters ready, keeping an eye out for any dangers. They reach the edge of the cliff and look out over the remnants below.

"That's the Civic Center. This is where Bo-Katan said to go." Din explains after he holsters his blaster. He wraps his arms around Cordelia, and they look at Grogu.

"Hold hands." She tells him. He coos and grabs his sister's hand, her other hand holding her Wookiee doll tightly. Cordelia wraps her free hand around Din and nods at him. He steps over the edge, keeping a tight hold on her as his jetpack slows their descent. They land part of the way down and look over the edge.

"The mines should be further down. I guess we're on our own from here." He says. 

"Hey." Cordelia says, getting his attention. She cups his helmet and smiles. "We've got this. Right kids?" Grogu coos in agreement and Din chuckles, making Pandora giggle. He presses his helmet to his wife's forehead for a Keldabe Kiss.

"We've got this." He repeats before stepping over the edge again.

They land at the bottom and look around for a moment before starting forward. Din activates the light on his helmet and Cordelia grabs her flashlight off her belt. One hand shines the light around while the other holds her blaster. Din follows her lead and grabs his own.

"These waters should flow down to the mines, and the Living Waters within." He says. They continue walking and Grogu babbles worriedly, speeding the pram up to keep him and Pandora closer to their parents. 

"Look, that passage heads down." He says after they've been walking for a while. They continue through the passage, slowing as they find remnants from previous Mandalorians. Cordelia spots a helmet buried under the dirt and crouches down in front of it. 

"Din, I found a helmet." She tells him. He crouches next to her and pulls it free. He looks at it for a moment before Grogu whines loudly, sensing something wrong. "Grogu, what is it?" She asks him, following him as he steers the pram away, babbling to them, trying to get Din to join them.

Before Din can follow, something springs from the sand under him, trapping him. The mechanism spins around and begins moving away as Din struggles to free himself. Cordelia keeps the pram behind her as she peeks out from behind the pile of rubble, spotting the eye looking around.

"Shit." She curses quietly. Grogu whines and Pandora joins him, worried for their father. "We need to be quiet, okay? We can't save Daddy if we're also captured so we have to be careful." She tells them. The kids quiet down and she turns to Grogu. "If anything happens, you run. You take your sister back to the ship and go to Bo-Katan. She'll be able to help. This is important, Grogu. I know you want to help and I'm so proud of you for that, but your sister is too young to defend herself or escape so you have to take care of her." 

Grogu coos and holds his hand out towards her. She takes it and he coos again, telling her that he understands and that he'll always protect his family. Cordelia kisses the top of each of their heads before standing and turning back. She tightens her grip on her blaster and takes a deep breath before quietly following the creature taking Din away.

***

"Stay back. Stay in the pram with your sister." Cordelia whispers to Grogu. He coos softly and rests his hand on Pandora's back as she sleeps. Cordelia smiles at him before quietly moving further inside the creature's lair. 

She stays behind cover as she moves, watching the creature as it places the cage with Din into some sort of device to keep him in place. It moves away and a hatch on top of the machinery opens. The creatures climbs out and Cordelia shudders in disgust.

The creature approaches Din and removes his weapons, leaving him trapped and unarmed. It moves away and Cordelia eyes it's electric staff. Once the creature is far enough, she moves out from her cover and approaches Din.

"I'm gonna get you out of here." She whispers.

"Grogu. Pandora." He says weakly, concerned for their safety.

"If something happens, he's taking her to Bo-Katan. They'll be all right." She assures.

Cordelia looks at the cage, trying to find any way to free him. She runs her fingers along the metal but can't find any weak points. She tries prying the pieces apart but is unsuccessful. She glances at the creature and sees its back turned to her. She desperately grabs the cage holding Din and tries lifting it, hoping she can at least try dragging him away from the creature. She manages to lift it a little, but it's heavy and slips from her fingers. The creature turns and spots her, firing electricity from its staff.

"Grogu, get out of here! Get to Bo-Katan!" Cordelia yells, ducking. She rolls away and looks towards the pram, spotting it flying out of there. She sighs in relief and peeks out from behind her cover. The creature is trying to follow the pram and she stands, firing her blaster. It turns to her and fires, the electricity narrowly missing her this time.

"Delia..." Din groans, wishing he could help her. 

Cordelia and the creature continue firing at each other, moving around the lair. The creature, having more knowledge about the area, corners her and fires, shooting her with electricity until she passes out. 

The creature drags her back and drops her on the ground next to Din. It drags its first, slightly weaker cage over and drops her inside before locking it. It moves away to grab its equipment, hooking Din up to it and beginning to draw his blood.

Bo-Katan arrives and defeats the creature using the Darksaber. The children see their parents and begin crying. She quickly frees Cordelia from her cage and shakes her, trying to wake her up. 

"Bo-Katan?" She asks, finally waking. The woman sighs and nods, quickly handing her the crying children.

"Make them stop. I'll get Din." She says. Cordelia nods and begins shushing her kids, assuring them that she and Din are all right.

Grogu calms quickly and returns to the pram where he can keep an eye on both his parents. Pandora continues to cry, clutching tightly to her mother. Cordelia holds her close, but nothing seems to calm her.

"Move back, please." She tells Bo-Katan, approaching where she has him laid on the ground after freeing him from the cage. She nods and moves away, organizing her things to prepare for moving him to safety.

Cordelia sits next to him and gently removes one of his gloves, keeping her body between his and Bo-Katan to block her view. She shushes Pandora as she moves her to her lap, grabbing Din's hand and moving it towards their daughter. Pandora places her hand in his and he squeezes it, comforting her even in his unconscious state.

"See, Pandora. Daddy's okay, I promise." She tells her. Pandora clutches onto both of her parents, beginning to quiet down.

Once Pandora has calmed, Cordelia puts his glove back on and sets her in the pram with Grogu. The two children cuddle up, comforting each other after seeing their parents unconscious. 

Bo-Katan and Cordelia prop Din up between them and lead the way out of the creature's lair, moving somewhere safer.

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