Across the Universe | D. Djarin

Aliit ori'shya tal'din

Translation - family is more than blood.

The deep red glow from the planet Moraband illuminated the cockpit of the N-1 as Din lowered us down towards the surface of the planet. After our encounter with stormtroopers at our own home, we knew that we had to move fast in order to keep the sith holocron out of the hands of the empire.

The planet gave me a deep, uncomfortable feeling in my chest. I could feel the anger and the hatred radiating from the surface. It poured out of every corner and crevice. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as we grew closer and closer to the surface.

Sharp, towering rocks stuck out from the surface of the planet, leaving very little flat ground for us to land on. I could see Pierce's ship on the monitor in front of me, the small green dot followed closely behind us. Grogu sat on my lap with a worried expression on his face. His ears were lowered in concern as he sensed the same evil that I did. I wanted to leave him back on Nevarro with Greef Karga, but after the stormtrooper attack, I couldn't risk it.

I took in a deep breath as we touched down on the planet's surface. No turning back now. The ship fell silent as Din switched off the engine. Neither of us moved to get out, we only sat in silence as we observed the planet that we had landed upon. Din seemed to sense my uncertainty as he turned his head to me and placed his gloved hand upon my shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked me

"No. But it has to be done." I stated with wavering confidence. Din hesitantly nodded in response, evidently feeling just as sure as I did about this whole thing.

"Let's go then." Din said. He reached forward and pressed the button on the console that opened the glass canopy above us. As it slowly hissed open, I found myself holding my breath, like I was afraid to breathe in the planet's air. After a moment, I allowed myself to take in a deep breath.

I pushed myself up out of my seat and handed Grogu over to Din. He gently took the child from my arms and allowed me to jump over the side of the ship first. I tried not to think about the weird feeling that rushed through me as my boots landed onto the deep red soil. I heard a second thud as Din hopped out of the ship after me.

I glanced around the area that we had landed in, taking in the massive pointed rocks that surrounded our ship. The thing that caught my eye above all else was the gaping doorway that had been carved into one of the rock faces. It was interactly designed with old ruins and writhing. I didn't recognise the language or the images, but the darkness that radiated from within the tomb was enough to send shivers down my spine.

A hand landed firmly on my shoulder and brought me out of my staring competition with the void inside the mountain. I turned my head to see Pierce standing beside me. He held a grim but determined expression on his face as he held out the holocron to me.

"You ready for this, kid?" He asked me

"Yeah." I said with faux confidence as I reached out and took the holocron from his hand.

I took a step forward towards the entrance of the temple, but quickly stopped as I thought about how dangerous this could be. "Maybe you guys should hang back." I suggested

"No way. I'm coming with you." Din argued with a stern tone in his voice that said there was no way I would be going in alone.

"It won't be safe." I stated

"Which is exactly why I'm coming with you." Din said firmly

"What about Grogu?" I asked him, gesturing to the child who looked frightened of this environment.

"Look, tell you what, I'll stay outside with the kid. You two go inside and deal with the holocron, okay?" Pierce interjected our disagreement.

I sighed softly to myself before reluctantly nodding at him. Keeping Grogu out of the temple would put my mind at ease. Pierce stepped forward and gently took Grogu from Dins hold. Grogu cooed softly as he looked between the two of us.