Metanoia | The Mandalorian

Chapter 43

The fight under the mountain continued. The man, Boba Fett, and Fennec Shand were fighting the stormtroopers. Din finally started to stir after a few moments of lying unconscious. He groaned as he stood up and walked again to the kids.

"That's it, kids. We got to get out of here!" He tried to get a hold of them but was again thrown away. He moved to the edge, looking at them. "Okay, I'm gonna protect you. Just stay there. I'll be back soon." He told them as he pulled out his blaster and went to join the fight.

As he was rushing down, the forcefield around the children vanished. Both kids were breathing heavily. Grogu laid down on the stone as Juno lost footing and sat on the ground next to him.

"That was interesting." She breathed as she closed her eyes. "Ahsoka was right." She whispered.

Under them, the fight was over as the stormtroopers got on their ships and tried firing away, only to be hit by Boba Fett's rocket on his Mandalorian armor. Their relief was quickly gone as a bolt flew down and destroyed the Razor Crest. Din watched in despair as his beloved ship was blown apart.

"Better get to your ship." Fennec told Boba and he immediately flew to his own ship as Din scanned the sky, noticing a ship flying over them.

"The kids!" He exclaimed and rushed up, trying to get to them as fast as possible.

Juno was slowly gaining her strength back when she noticed something flying their way, fast. She stood up when she saw four troopers heading towards her and Grogu. She started breathing quickly as she watched them land and move forward, the blaster that Din gave her and that she sometimes brought with her forgotten on the Razor Crest. The troopers suddenly grabbed her and Grogu. She tried fighting, struggling against them as they flew up just seconds before Din got to them.

"No!" She screamed, still trying to fight when she saw Din. "Dad!" She yelled for him, her throat burning as tears threatened to fall. They were too high up, the air was getting harder to breathe when she blacked out.

~

Din was going through the ashes of the Razor Crest, trying to find something that survived the explosion. He found the little ball that Grogu loved, squeezing it as he pulled out the necklace that Juno made for him. The words You're our hero, once warming his heart, were now laughing in his face. He failed them. He gritted his teeth, putting the ball in his pocket and hiding the necklace. The only other thing that wasn't destroyed was the beskar spear. He walked over to Boba and Fennec.

"This is all that survived." He said, holding the spear.

"Beskar." Said Boba and Din nodded. "I want you to take a look at something." He continued and showed him a chain code on his vambrace. "My chain code has been encoded in this armor for 25 years. You see, this is me. Boba Fett. This is my father, Jango Fett."

"Your father was a foundling." Said Din.

"Yes. He even fought in the Mandalorian Civil Wars." He replied, turning off the code.

"Then that armor belongs to you." Din said.

"I appreciate its return."

"Then our deal is complete." Commented Din.

"Not quite." Argued Boba.

"How so?" He asked.

"We agreed in exchange for the return of my armor, we will ensure the safety of the children." He explained.

"The children are gone." Said Din with sadness in his voice.

"Until they are returned to you safely, we are in your debt." Said Boba and Fennec nodded.

~

On the Imperial cruiser, far away from Tython, Juno and Grogu were separated immediately, each one on the other end of the cruiser. Juno woke up in a cold cell, scared. She had no idea where she was, where Grogu was and if he was okay and in front of her stood a single stormtrooper, watching her. She slowly stood up and the trooper moved to her. Her breathing quickened as she remembered the defense moves that Din taught her.

She was struggling against the trooper when the door to her cell opened and Moff Gideon and two other stormtroopers walked in. At first, Juno didn't notice them as she managed to kick the trooper in the neck, making him loose his breath and let go of her. She fell on the ground, since the trooper was holding her up so her feet were in the air, and finally saw Moff Gideon.

"I must admit, for a little girl, that was quite impressive." Gideon chuckled. "I underestimated you. It was foolish of me not to think that your Mandalorian friend would teach you something."

"What do you want?" She asked, trembling in fear as a tear ran down her cheek.

"I know that you know where the rest of your kind are hiding. I want you to tell me where they are." He told her as he crouched down in front of her. Juno just shook her head, breathing heavily. "The Seers are a threat to us. The enemy knowing our every move before we even think about it is dangerous for us. Your kind needs to be exterminated. But not before I can get a few more samples of your blood."

"Why?" She cried quietly.

"Why? Because with your and your little friends blood combined, great things may be created." He said before he nodded at one of the troopers. The stormtrooper moved forward and pointed a stunning blaster at her. "Don't worry. It will just be like a nice, long nap." He mocked. Once she was unconscious again, Gideon spoke again. "Put the princess in shackles." He said as he was leaving, the two troopers staying in the cell. "And don't do much damage to her. I need her alive." He called over his shoulder as the door closed behind him.

Hii, I just wanted to say here that I'm skipping the next episode - The believer, since I don't really know how to add Juno and Grogu into the chapters meaning that nothing from that episode would change. So, the next chapters are going to be from The rescue episode, which finishes the second season of the Mandalorian.