THE MANDALORIAN: CHAPTERS 9-16

CHAPTER 9 - THE RETURN

The Mandalorian set his course and the ship surged as the familiar hypnotic streaks of hyperspace flowed into view. He always felt relief each time they entered hyperspace even though he never really trusted anywhere was safe. Even since the threat on Nevarro was destroyed he still felt uneasy, partly because he was still not completely healed, in more ways than one.

His body ached, in every direction. He prided himself on quick recoveries, and near indestructibility. But his brush with death a week ago had broken down many of his ideas of who he thought he was. He had faced for the first time in his life that his mortality was catching up to him, sooner rather than later. And that meant something now that he had a Child who needed him. He remembered his father figure going through the same process. And as the older man slowed down, he had watched with pride as Din found himself coming up as the most impressive fighter in the Death Watch corps. Well, him and Paz, of course.

His training fights with Paz were legendary in their Clan. Clan Vizsla prided themselves in keeping the strongest Foundlings. And Din, while physically smaller, was faster and smarter to match Paz' brute force. They built a friendship and respect over the years, and when their mother was executed and their father died in the conflict they were hunted and forced to flee by their Clan in order to preserve the future, and Paz left Mandalore with Din until they found the Tribe.

His heart ached. The Tribe was now gone, and so was Paz. They had fought over Din's bounty hunter activities, Paz never approved of the questionable moral code of killing people who did not deserve death. Din asserted that anyone who runs is guilty. In hindsight, Paz could not have been more right. They had reconciled with Din reclaiming his honor in Paz' eyes the night he rescued the Child. His guilt at the following destruction of the Tribe, however, weighed heavier than even his new mission.

His heart also had new holes where friends were now gone. They had given their lives so that his aching body could continue to safeguard the Child. Every time he felt he might lose his temper, he heard Kuiil in his mind reminding him to reinforce with patience. And every time he took off his helm and looked at the mirror, he thought about what IG-11 had seen with his synthetic eyes. Had he seen what Din now saw? These days he barely recognized the man he was before he met the Child.

His head ached and his brow furrowed as he continued to second guess the course he had laid in the navigation. The Armorer had said she knew of old tales of battles between the Mandalorians and the Child's kind — the Jedi. His only lead then was to find those tales. He had to return to Mandalore. He had not returned since the Purge, and for the past ten years had been so focused on survival that he never even considered looking back. Now, with mind, body and heart still recovering from the battle on Nevarro, he was about to reopen old wounds.

A soft beep on the comm caught his eye and made his heart jump with more of the same uneasy feeling that had been nagging him. He turned back to the ops station and found the Child asleep in the seat with the Mythosaur skull still in his mouth, covered in drool. Then he turned back to the console and pressed the blinking button.

A ghostly holoprojection of Cara Dune appeared and Din found he was holding his breath as he stared at her face.

"Hey Mando — checking in on you as planned. This week Greef and I have confirmed the few remaining Imps are on the run, but I will feel better once the new militia has cleared every building in the city. Once that's done we will check in with the Jawas and start cleaning up this place. Greef is setting up the Cantina as his base of operation, so contact us there at this signal. You should see him. You'd think he was already Mayor, General, and Senator of Nevarro." She could not contain a chuckle. "Listen, do me a favor and give yourself a quick medscan. It will put me at ease to know you're physically capable to take care of the Kid, OK? As agreed, I expect a response within two days, even just an acknowledgement with your code if that's all you can do. If you fail to respond we are coming after you. Stay safe, buddy."