Star Girl | Din Djarin

08 | dead or alive

TAWL, OUTER RIM
Nine standard months after Tatooine...

She gasps as she rounds the corner straight into a familiar white armoured chest. 'Cody.'

'General Bela, you're under arrest for treason against Emperor Pal-'

'Cody? What are you doing?' Her voice is desperate and she looks between him and the space behind him waiting for more troopers to arrive.

'You need to surrender and come willingly, or we've been ordered to take any means necessary to-'

'Cody.' She rips his arms and watches his eyes move away from her. 'Cody, please. Help me.'

'We can bring you in dead or alive, Bela, your choice.'

She reaches up with blood soaked hands, staining his armour as she cups his cheeks. 'Cody- please. Please.'

He moves his chin forward and she furrows her brows as his grip loosens on her arms. Under his breath he mutters one word. Behind.

Her hands fumble between them, moving along his belt until she grabs his blaster. She breathes in deeply once and he squeezes her arm, it's okay.

The blaster goes off and she uses the force to push Cody away from her as she turns to the two approaching Stormtroopers and shoots them down.

She runs to Cody, forcing him to his feet with his arm and dragging him behind her. 'General, wait. General-'

He tries to keep up as she weaves through the houses in the small town. She can hear the rhythmic thudding of Trooper's boots getting closer and she pauses in an alleyway.

'General-'

'Shh.'

'You have to go.'

She shakes her head, 'A town over- on the other side of those mountains there's a landing dock, we can-'

'It's swarming with troopers.' He tells her, 'So is every other landing dock across the planet. There's a force in each village, each city, everywhere. We won't get off together.'

'We will.'

'My ship-' He drags her back into their hiding spot as she tries to make a run for it, 'My ship is at the cols, you can't miss it.'

She nods, 'So let's go.'

'It's a one-man ship, Bela.' He sighs, 'You need to get there, once you're inside-'

'No.'

'-Disconnect the tracking system, make a jump, move over an entire sector, there's a junkyard on Corelia with old-' He pauses again as she tries to interrupt him, 'Warships. Get one, go to a mid-rim planet. These days the outer rim territories and the ones who are giving into the Empire. Find neutral space-'

'Not without you, Cody.'

'I'll find you.'

She shakes her head, 'I can't. I can't do it alone.'

'You can. You've always been alone, Bela, look how far you've come.'

With a hand between her shoulder blades he pushes her out into the open and creeps down the street, 'Go.'

'Bela!'

They both turn to find Troopers behind them. 'You're under arrest.'

'Go.'

'Come willingly or we're ordered to open fire.'

The Trooper at the front lifts their blaster, the others following. 'Bela, go, now.' Cody warns as he steps forward.