CHAPTER 45

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SOMBER AFFAIRS!

*:･ﾟ✧

Gaia's bubble of security has long since been shattered. Her lungs are hungry for clean air, the smoldering debris from the cantina hanging around them still. Something is squeezing her arm, and her gaze hooks on the hand steadying her behind the flipped table. It's currently acting as a makeshift shield whilst Mando reassures Gaia, his palm firm against her limb. Get down! — she may remember herself yelling a second ago, prior to the blaster bolts swinging about their ears.

Thero pushes himself up from the ground, beside Greef. "What was that?!" he coughs once the attack has ceased. "What was it?"

Silence reigns over the sheltering group for a strong moment. Although none of them provide Thero a response, they're all aware of the fact that the onslaught developed from the outside; through the window ahead of them. The smell of death and decay have a long way to reach them yet, however, Gaia — out of all of them, have become hyper-aware of the bodies strewn on the other side of the table. The Client lies dead and unimportant.

Mando's intentions are aligned with Cara as they both nod at each other, vacating their former spot. They shift mindfully, and Mando begins to slowly lead a dazed Gaia with him on over to the opposite side of Cara, of the cantina as a whole. A cold sensation flows across the inside of Gaia's hand suddenly. She peers down to find Dawnbringer tightly seized, returned to her just now when Mando prompted her along.

Thero rushes an encouraging smile out in Gaia's direction. He is still remaining with Greef behind one of the bar's pillars, the latter prepared with his two blasters. The entire group is divided about in order to form a fraught vanguard, so that the enemy might have a harder time pinpointing them down.

"Come on," Gaia mumbles to herself, swinging her weapon's sheath around her rigid shoulder, "focus. Breathe. Focus."

The Death Troopers lined up outside, blaster rifles at the ready, skims the corner of Gaia's sight. Her heartbeat quickens like a small creature sprinting through a forest. Their all-black uniforms increase the tremble of her fingers as she withdraws from leaning sideways. She's not all too proud to say that she's practically hiding behind Mando, inspiring several prolonged breaths to stabilize her rattled breathing pattern. They're trapped, she knows. It's one of the worst feelings by nature, though, she can only be comforted by the attested fact that she's not alone, and that The Child is far from the dangers of their ensuing battle.

You cannot be serious.

Gaia's eyes flutter open again after a moment of internal yapping. The vehicle carrying numerous regular Stormtroopers makes it difficult to focus, and she would've stopped peeking through the gap of the cantina had it not been for Cara bitterly re-stating, "four stormtroopers?" toward Greef, as the onslaught of white piles out into the vicinity.

"You're not gonna let that go anytime soon, are you?" Thero joins in, prior to him glaring hard at Greef. "Good. That makes two of us."

"This is bad."

In the echo of Cara's assessment, Mando brings the commlink to the chin of his helmet. "Kuiil? Are you back to the ship yet?" Gaia waits with bated breath as he continues to question, "Are you there? Do you copy?"

"Yes!"

"Are you back to the ship yet?"

"Not yet."

Gaia suppresses the turmoil of sadness and panic stored within her body, her eyes aching with the burden of unshed tears upon Mando ordering, "Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here: we're pinned down!"

The line cuts off with a faint bellow of Kuiil's blurrg. Gaia is exhausted, her body heavy with toil and she shakes her head with the absentminded thought of never reuniting with The Child. The fight is not over yet, though she can't help but feel overthrown already with how dire the situation is. To think she will never hold him in her arms again or hear him chuckle when out for mischief; it pains her endlessly. The sole consolation of her woe is the reminder of Kuiil, whom The Child will be guarded by in her and Mando's stead. Still, it is not enough.

"I'm never going to see him again." Gaia's whisper catches the attention of Mando.

The Mandalorian's chest twinges once he's registered the deepened frown caught on her brow, the strain of her clenched jaw. He takes his eyes off of the enemy and glances toward her for just a moment but it lingers, and it hurts to no end. "Hey, hey," he soothes, "everything will be fine." Gaia's mouth draws together to refuse the sob in her throat as she aims her gaze elsewhere. He faces her properly now and grabs her chin to direct her focus unto him. "Gaia, look at me," he pleads delicately as she does so. "It's going to be okay. It's not over for us yet, yeah?"

Gaia nods, forcing her tears back. "Yeah. . . We've still got some fight left in us."

Mando's broken heart mends slightly when Gaia embraces her hand with his — the one previously holding her chin in place. Their hands dangle together between them, the commlink seized. "Jah reh ah." *I have you.*

"Jah reh ah," she reciprocates.

Gaia's mellow expression falls fast and heavy, as the announcing drone of none other than a TIE Fighter emanates beyond the smashed window. Gaia is visibly alarmed and reluctantly traces Mando's stance when she eyes the view outside. The starcraft has found purchase in the clearing, the cap hissed open to proclaim a figure clad in dark fabrics as he emerges from the TIE Fighter's top, as if to further implement his own significance: dark-skinned, cold-eyed, and stoic. The man's cape brushes against his side while he marches in a straight, clean line through the horde of Stormtroopers awaiting orders.

Gaia is unable to put a name to his face, but she can only guess that this is who the Client was in talks with from the very beginning.

"You have something I want," the man states for them all to hear, wind carrying his tone.

Cara is backed up against the wall, her eyes wide with confusion. "Who's this guy?"

"You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of," the man resumes sternly — emphatically, "but you do not."

Mando's hand slips away from Gaia's trusted hold, then. "Kuiil, are you back to the ship yet? They're onto us! Kuill, come on!"

Gaia is tempted to snatch the commlink for herself just so she can scream into it until her voice is raw. There's no reply from the device whatsoever, and the high-ranked Imperial outside appears resolute with his arrogance; set on triumph and nothing but that single goal. "In a few moments. . .it will be mine."

Gaia is becoming utterly desperate with the lack of assurance, and so is Mando as he persists, "Kuiil, do you copy!? Kuiil!?"

The man outside is staring at the gap in the wall despite only catching glimpses of the opposing group, yet the adamantine look in his eyes is too stubborn to fade. To die. "It means more to me than you will ever know."

"Kuiil, please," Gaia begs, her hands clinging to Mando's arm. He doesn't object and may only witness Gaia unravel before him — into a million pieces of reflected, stained glass. "Kuiil, if you're there, we need to know: are you okay? Is the kid okay — is he safe? A—Are you both safe?" She removes the commlink slightly away to allow a pause in should the ugnaught answer her, but all she's left with is hope. "Please just tell me he's not hurt," Gaia nearly cries out. Her voice is so frail, so small compared to the outrage she heralded earlier.

Cara is done in with the other woman's distress, surveying the lineup of Stormtroopers. "Is there another way out?"

Greef points toward the battered window, dejectedly stating, "no, that's it," to her.

A pent-up sigh can be heard next to him. Thero's head is bowed, and the tension notched into his countenance speaks of his thoughts wandering back to his heart, the home he promised he'd return to. His radiant eyes have become jaded; a rare sight for one as cheerful as him. Mando, taking this into account, presents, "What about the sewers?"

"Sewers?"

"The Mandalorians have a covert down in the sewers," he reveals with opportunity. "If we can get down there, they can help us escape."

Cara nods fiercely. "Yeah, sewers are good."

Mando comes face to face with Gaia. Her already-soft features have improved a bit with the suggestion of a possible getaway, though her eyes are still very much on their way to being puffy and red, with how much she's been attempting to restrain her own tears. Mando is released from her grip as she bobs her head heartingly in agreement, and he begins to interact with his vambrace by her approval. "Checking for access points."

As Mando's visor is in the process of scanning the entire room, Cara observes the many units past the hole in the wall. "What the hell are they waiting for?. . . Hold up."

"You just had to ask," Thero grumbles after a prolonged pause. "Nothing good ever comes from tempting the universe like that, Cara."

The woman is resting herself against the building's structure, a hefty sigh darting from her lips and a gleam of urgency in her eyes. "They're setting up an E-Web," she announces with buried disbelief. It's not so much that she thought them incapable of it, but more so of the extremities and the lengths they would go to for the group's demise. Or better yet, to chase them out so that they may be easier to pick apart.

Greef is staring at the huge firearm with an empty look. "It's over."

"Hush, tell me you've got something." Gaia does not dare watch the occurrences unfolding outside anymore, rather, she's been focusing on Mando this entire time as a means to distract herself. The grace of his nickname is of tremendous comfort to her, a rough push against the bleak circumstances they've found themselves cornered into. It's both a fondness and a tether all in one.

"I found the sewer vent," Mando imparts.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

Thero leaps over in the direction of Gaia. "Stars, yes! Get us out!" He, along with Mando and Cara, scurry to the back of the cantina where a cluster of miscellaneous items are heeled against the wall. The three of them work together to remove the various objects, until a vent sealed with a thick grate has the three of them think twice about their attempt to escape. Mando and Cara dive down, grunting when they're met with resistance as they cooperate to loosen it.

Gaia's eyes are sprung open. The components of the E-Web cannon are assembled much faster than she anticipated, and she glances over her shoulder in the same instance Greef rushes, "It's assembled! How long until that thing's cleared?"

Cara takes a step back. "Blow it."

"I'm out of charges," Mando warns.

The two-handed blaster gun Cara have lugged around is picked up once more and aimed at the vent. "Get out of the way!"

Thero and Mando both steer clear of Cara who, without hesitation, fires away at the grate. Shades of frenzied reds are slashed across the walls in repetition. However, even after the gunfire has been discontinued and Cara has advanced on the robust grate with a heel-kick, the vent remains unopened.

Gaia's heart sinks in her chest.

"Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation," the man outside observes all of a sudden. "I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan, will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model."

There is a certain stillness in the air as everyone's eyes immediately seek out Cara. The woman in question is wavered, glimpsing each person of their group to reaffirm the same thing: the man garbed in black knows about her, and not only does he know her full name, he's well-informed of her complete identity — more than the rest of her fellow teammates were even aware of. It's a scary thing when the enemy is clued in on who he's dealing with, but equally so with what he might do with such information.

"Or perhaps," the man drawls with newfound interest, "the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears."

Din steps forward. His initial reaction is to look towards the splintered window, to really take in the leak of disclosure, until a pair of intense eyes burrow into him from beside it.

Gaia's thoughts take on new heights and fears with the non-consensual revelation, though, most of all, she's touched by the fact that Din himself wasn't able to offer it up. With his background, his history, his own blood, it was meant to be his to share. Having it out in the open like this, for all to cling to, alters what was supposed to be valuable and trust-inducing to a mere husk of exposure. And yet, Gaia cannot distance herself away from truly seeing him, as if she had just met him for the first time all over again. He is still her Mando; still her Djarin, but this is Din.

"I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside." No smile is plastered to the man's face, neither frown nor smirk as he carries on. "The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order, and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end. A conclusion former Imperial Assassin Gaia Ascena can tell you much about. Many of her kin perished during related circumstances. Even those dearest to her."

Gaia is side-eyeing the window with a most hateful look. Her brows are squished together to mold the aversion within her body, a vessel too small to contain the grief, hurt, and aggravation veined throughout her being. She no longer fears but spews hatred toward the Imperial just beyond the compound. He doesn't have to say anything further in order for her to know he's alluding to Lavendea, her parents, and her home.

Greef is surveying the enemy, nevertheless. "What do you propose?" he shouts in return.

"Reasonable negotiation."

An unconvinced scoff flies away from Greef at that. "What assurance do you offer?"

"If you're asking if you can trust me, you cannot," the man says bluntly. "Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand. The assurance I give is this: I will act in my own self-interest, which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit." The man scrutinizes the sky for a second, evaluating the sun's position high above them. "I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire!"

Gaia becomes more lax when the Imperial strides away from the scene, his back facing the building. There's room for contemplation unlike in Thero's case. "He didn't mention my name," the medic notes. "Is that good?"

Gaia nods in confirmation while passing by him. She clasps a hand down on his shoulder. "It's the best outcome you could hope for. It means you're a lot safer than we are, Thero."

"I say we hear him out."

Suddenly, all eyes are on Greef, although Cara retains a different viewpoint. "The minute we open that door, we're dead."

"We're dead if we don't," he reasons with her. "At least out there, we've got a shot!"

"That's easy for you to say." Cara kneels down between the stormtrooper bodies, collecting every weapon she can get her hands on. "I'm a Rebel Shock Trooper! They'll upload me to a Mind Flayer."

"Those aren't real. That was just wartime propaganda!"

"Well, I don't care to find out," she retorts back. "I'm shooting my way out of here."

"I'll help," Thero adds in, earnestly. "Now might be the best time for me to learn how to shoot a blaster. For self-defence, of course."

Greef turns halfway around and is now regarding Din. "What about you, Mando?"

Gaia treads closer, hearing how low Din's voice is. There's a cheerless tinge to it; one she instantly adheres to. "I know who he is." The whole group has stilled with surprise and expectancy. Time seems to slow as Din barely moves a muscle, caught in the warp of those spoiled memories of his. "It's Moff Gideon."

— Author's Note —

So, I don't know if anybody noticed, but I've literally been holding back for so long about not using 'Din' instead of 'Mando'. I wanted that sweet sweet joy of having to refer to our Mandalorian as 'Din' when his full name was revealed and only then! Was it worth it? Hell yeah, I say ✋😮‍💨 I've never been more satisfied in my whole ✨life✨ !!

And Gaia's reaction to it all??
I screamed 🤍