𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Chapter 19: The Culmination

chapter 19: the culmination •••

You swallow hard, raising your chin as you refuse to let any of your tears fall. You can't show this vulnerability to the people who have you surrounded. Leaving Din like that was painful—seeing him so utterly broken beneath that beskar was so painful—but you can't give these Imps the pleasure of seeing you affected by their actions. You want to feel angry that Din didn't follow through with his promise, but at the same time, it was unfair of you to ask him to do something so difficult in the first place. If you were in the same situation as him, you wouldn't have been able to do it, either.

But the main thing you feel as the two Imps lead you to wherever their leader's going is guilt. You were supposed to keep the child safe—and you don't even know what's happened to him. You and Kuiil had been riding on the blurrg as fast as you could to the Crest when you'd been stunned, and you have no idea what they did with the child or Kuiil. You want to hope they're both alive, but you can't be sure. You think at least the child is in their custody—but Kuiil's fate is unknown to you, and you don't have a good feeling about what it turned out to be.

The Imps stop once you're standing further beyond the TIE fighter, and they force you down onto your knees as their leader turns to face you. You look up at him with as much disgust as you can muster, observing his slick armor and the cape that falls ominously around his shoulders. You'd known of a few Imperial officers back when your parents were senators, but this one is unfamiliar to you. His lips curl into a smirk as he looks down at you, and you grimace back up at him.

"How exciting is it to have none other than Princess Astra of Arilia in company today?" he drawls, raising an eyebrow. "If only your parents were still here to see it."

You're close to spitting on his shoes—but you feel as if you'll gain nothing but a swift death from it. Instead, you continue to scowl at him, trying to ignore the amusement dancing in his dark gaze.

"I see you've grown close with the Mandalorian," he continues, and your blood boils at his mentioning of Din. "It's a shame he'd let you get so close when there's so much at risk. Did you ever stop to think that it was all a setup, and he wanted you close so he could turn you in later?"

You clench your jaw, wanting so badly to instantly deny his words. You know they're not true—you know how Din feels, how you feel, and how real it all is—and you know he's simply trying to get a rise out of you.

"He's a bounty hunter. That's what he does—he kills. For money. You're nothing but a couple of credits to him and you know it."

"That's not true," you can't help growling back at him. "You don't know him."

"I don't have to know him, princess, to know what bounty hunters do." He still has that kriffing smile on his face, and you wish with everything in you that you could slap it off. "Once I tempt him enough with another reward, he won't hesitate in surrendering that child completely—and you."

"You're wrong!" Your exclamation is full of seething anger, your teeth barred as you sneer at him. "You don't know him."

He suddenly starts to kneel down in front of you, his dark gaze never leaving yours as he rests his arm against his knee. He only stops once he's eye level with you, and your stomach twists in uncomfortable knots as he pauses before saying his next words. "I'm Moff Gideon, princess," he tells you in a firm voice. "I was an officer during The Great Purge of Mandalore. I've known Din Djarin for longer than you have."

Din had told you all about The Great Purge, and the pain it brought him and the covert before they were forced to flee and hide like sand rats on Nevarro. The thought of this man being responsible for it—for bringing Din and his comrades so much pain—makes you even angrier than before, and your brow is furrowed intently as Gideon smirks and stands back up. "He won't give in," you insist, refusing to let his words unsettle you. "He's not the man you think he is."