CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

THE FOREST

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TESS OPRIN BRISTLED as the putrid, hot air stung her eyes. 

The green moss buildings and ashen stones were weary under her feet. The air was loose and hot, sticking to the back of her neck. The sizzle of a smoke grill and patter of hurried footsteps were the only sounds that could be heard. Light shone softly through the thick clouds hanging limply in the sky. The palace tasted like rust and dirt and fear.

The town felt like it had been dead for ages.

The Mandalorian moved closer to Tess, who walked ahead of him now, arms limp at her sides, metal leg clanging against the stones. As they went forward, the townspeople, eyes narrowed and focused on the floor, hurried around them, and when Tess' gaze landed on each person, they tucked their heads farther into their necks. Tess didn't know where they were going as they ran off.

She kept her head down, then, peering up only at the Mandalorian. The tingling of her skin was all too familiar, the supple silence, the dead-ness that flowed against the ramshackle huts and clung to the saddened townsfolk's clothes.

It was the same depressing, weathered feeling that lay over Mos Pelgo like a blanket. An abandoned town, a carcass of the past, it's skin and meat withered away. Yes, Tess knew this feeling well.

It was abandonment, and it hung in the air as if it were on strings.

The houses were aligned in neat rows, and Tess watched as sentries, motionless and armed, were atop the roofs. They didn't look at her, but she knew they were aware she was watching them. Closer to the end of the enclosed town, a woman in deep purple robes with a mask covering her features stood behind a table laden with fruit. Mando tugged on Tess' wrists, and she nodded, following him closer, understanding that she was not to speak.

When Tess spoke, disaster always seemed to follow.

"Excuse me, vendor." Din said kindly, "have you heard of anyone..." his words were cut off, and a sigh replaced it as the townsperson turned sharply and hustled away from the Mandalorian and the girl. Tess' brows pinched together, her mouth moving to a thin line.

"What was that about?" She whispered, making sure no one else, especially not the sentries, could hear her.

"I don't know." Din replied, looking down at her. "But let's just find the Jedi and get out of here."

"Yes, please." Tess mumbled, and under his helmet, Din's mouth quivered upward. Then, above Tess' head, Mando spotted an older man kneeling down, handing chunks of food to the little children crowded around him. Mando tapped Tess' forearm, and she spun around, seeing where his gaze had landed.

Together, the two walked forward.

"You there." the Mandalorian called out. "We need some information." the man turned his head, and Tess was met with sad, drooping eyes and a mouth which hadn't smiled in years. There was a flicker of something angry that passed over the man's pupils, but he held up a wrinkled hand, patting one of the children's shoulders, and the group ran off down the other side of the alley. He then moved back to look at them. The child cooed and Tess stiffened.

"We're looking for someone." Din finished. The man stood, his hands at his side, face turning grave, and Tess almost took a step back, the overwhelming sense of fear pressing down on her like a ball of lead.

"Please," the man said, and she softened at his tone. "Do not speak to them, or to any of us." Tess frowned, and she raised a hand to tug on the Mandalorian's gloves, but was careful not to touch his flesh. Something wasn't right.

"Look, we just need to know..."

"Mando." Tess warned, and her tone was so sharp that the Mandalorian paused, following her gaze to where two guards, rifles slung across their shoulders and helmets clasped tightly over their heads, stood behind the two. Tess froze when they looked at her, unable to make out where their eyes were located, or their mouths or lips or nose.

"The Magistrate wants to see you." a modulated, wavering voice emerged. Tess and Mando shared a look, and the old man moved his head down, slightly bowing. Tess nodded to Mando, and the two followed after the guards, but not before she took a final look at the older man, backing away carefully.

He reminded her of Greef Karga back on Nevarro. Tess' chest ached, remembering the man's kind words and Cara Dune's sharp tongue. Despite everything, despite who Tess was, she found she really did miss them.

Tess followed after the Mandalorian, finding she didn't want to be left alone in this forsaken town, where grief hung heavy and reminded her of things she'd rather keep buried. The guards stalked behind them, and Tess could almost feel their blasters pointed straight at her back. She kept her head high, however, and forced her limp to stop, not wanting to show any weakness.

It worked for a while, at least, until they reached the entrance to the Magistrate's palace, where Tess froze, her legs jamming. The Mandalorian almost rammed into her, and peered up. His face turned grave under his helmet when he saw what had made Tess so stiff.

Men and women, clothed in rags, dried blood on their faces, stood straight, enclosed behind three rings —cages— of black and yellow. Tess saw they were shaking, and she tried not to turn away when the young man looked at her. His eyes were pale and near lifeless, lips blue. Abandonment and agony clung to him like a child for its mother, and the stench was almost too much for Tess.

She'd lived in the darkest places in the world, seen more danger and distress than most her age, but this, this was something different.

This was death, and it hung densely, attempting to squeeze the life out of both her and Din.

The Mandalorian didn't hesitate to reach over and grab Tess' arm, gently, so as not to frighten her, but firm enough to pull her away from the broken men and women. Tess didn't protest, she was glad to leave, but something had made her stay, forcing her to watch the poor man suffer. She peeled her eyes away from his corpse-like body, and looked to the ground, eyes unable to watch any more.

"Help us." she heard the man whisper, and Tess closed her eyes tight, throat closing. His voice was hoarse, tinged with blood.

"Come on," the Mandalorian said softly, and Tess didn't refuse, following him through the gates, into an enclosed open space, a garden. The faint trickling of water alerted her to the pools on either side of a concrete path. Trees shaped in odd ways, contorting somewhat unnaturally, sprung up in the middle of the water. Leaves of bright crimson and onyx green, colours Tess had only ever seen in holograms, and even then that screen was leached of nearly all vibrancy.

The inside of the palace was a stark dichotomy to the outside. Luxury and poverty, power and peasants. Tess had only ever known the equal sands of Mos Pelgo, where the Marshal led the people as one of them. This place was different, it was dark and fully aware of the drastic change. The peace that surrounded it felt wrong, out of place, just like everything else Tess laid eyes upon.

What had happened to this town to make it so unbalanced?

Standing near the round temple, a woman with black and red hair, as well as dark ruby robes fitted well across her shoulders, was picking leaves off a tree close to the path. She had a face of hardened lines and quizzical eyes. Immediately, Tess became weary, this woman radiated power, and not the good kind. Her fingertips began to ache.

"Come forward." the woman spoke up, in an accent much different to that of the Marshal's or Din's. Tess couldn't place it.

The Mandalorian never let go of Tess, and she didn't tell him to, as they both stepped towards the woman. The rippling of water was like a waterfall in Tess' ears. Caution ran rampant through her body.

"You are a Mandalorian?" the woman asked, not so much as looking down to Tess. One part of the girl was grateful, knowing it meant the woman wouldn't harm her, but the other was slightly offended that this Magistrate thought of her as nothing but a little girl.

(Despite Tess actually being a little girl)

"Yes." Mando replied, then halted a little ways away, not wanting to bring himself or Tess any closer to this woman. He didn't trust her, but he wasn't about to show her that.

"I have a proposition that may interest you." the Magistrate said, sprinkling the leaves into the water. Tess watched as the little seeds fell below, enveloped and dragged down by creatures she couldn't see in the glaring light. She almost didn't want to know what resided beneath the shallow depths, knowing all too well what kind of monsters can hide in ebony waters.

"My price is high." the Mandalorian said. He kept one firm step ahead of Tess, keeping her partially blocked from view of the Magistrate. He wasn't sure how much it would help, but the itching along his neck, the raising of hairs along his arms, made him take extra precautions.

The woman finally turned, her eyes peering down at Tess for the first time since they'd arrived. One of her neatly trimmed eyebrows raised, and Tess was astounded to find that her own piercing frown had little to no effect on the woman. Instead, when seeing the angry young girl with eyes like storms, the woman smirked, and she almost laughed as the girl's expression faltered. A stab in the ice, a chip in the marble.

The woman turned back to Din. "This target is priceless." the Mandalorian and the girl did not move. "A Jedi plagues me." If the word brought any sort of reaction to the duo, they did not show it. The Mandalorian's helmet made it easy to give nothing away, and the girl was an artist, a master, at hiding her emotions. Yet inside both, fires licked at their hearts.

"I want you to kill her." the Magistrate finished.

"That's a difficult task." the Mandalorian answered, his voice numb. Give nothing away, take nothing in return. That was his Way, and if it was Din's, it had become Tess' as well. She didn't so much as lift a finger.

"One that you are well-suited for." the Magistrate replied. "The Jedi are the ancient enemy of Mandalore." Tess frowned, then quickly hid her puzzlement as the older woman's eyes flashed to her once more. Pulling down the facade, Tess let in a quick breath, knowing that had been a close call.

"As I said, my price is high."

The woman pursed her lips, then stepped to the side and held out an arm. By the building's doors, a guard Tess had thought to be humanoid stalked towards them with the clunky grace of a droid. Tess noted how it's walk was eerily similar to her own, relying heavily on one side, hips perched and chest straight. For years, she'd wanted to become as little human as possible, but now, seeing the unsettling likeness, it brought sickness roiling in her stomach. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her coat, despite the heat bearing down on them from all sides.

The woman took the spear the droid held from its metal hands and turned back around. Already, triumph weaved a fine tapestry across her features. A little early, Tess thought to herself, but said nothing as the woman walked towards them.

"What do you make of this?" she asked. Tess held an incredible look of disinterest beneath her irises, but the Mandalorian hadn't relaxed. He eyed the fine weapon carefully, a hint of recognition passing across his mind. He stepped forward, the first movement he'd made since arriving. Tess had almost forgotten how to walk, but she followed soundlessly, save for the thump of her metal leg. She winced, a spasm running up her flesh, and the Mandalorian held on tighter.

Unfortunately, the Magistrate noticed it all, and became aware of the young girl's disability, but she kept this information to herself, locking it away to use sometime at a later date.

They stopped in front of the woman, and the Mandalorian took the spear from her hands. Tess raised an eyebrow.

"It's a spear," the girl said matter-of-factly, and the woman clenched her jaw at the blunt tones that felt as if they were digging their way through her skin. It ate away at her bones, this girl's voice. She stiffened, giving an unimpressed sniff that made Tess smirk.

The Mandalorian smiled under his helmet, then stepped away so he didn't hit Tess. She turned back well, watching curiously as the man spun the spear and let the tip clang against the armor covering his wrist. There was a loud ringing, an almost celestial sound, that rang through Tess' ears. It almost sounded like music, but was above even that. It was the sound of like calling to like.

"Beskar." the Mandalorian said, his tone stained with awe.

"Pure Beskar." the Magistrate corrected. "Like your armour." she smiled. "Kill the Jedi, and it's yours." The Mandalorian paused, looking to Tess, who gave none of her true thoughts away, then moved forward and handed the spear back to the woman. Tess walked over to his side, and she caught the child's eye, hidden under the flap of the Mandalorian's cape.

Tess winked at it. The child smiled.

"How do we find this Jedi?" Din asked, and the woman scoffed. She smiled down at Tess, sickly sweet, and it made the girl's hands start to shake.

"We?" the woman said. "The forest is no place for a child, Mandalorian." Then she gestured to Tess. "If it befits you, we can keep the girl here until you return. She will be safer in the temple."

"No." the Mandalorian and Tess said together.

"Where he goes, I go." she finished, and the drop of the last syllable brought an end to the conversation. Or, it would have, if this woman wasn't so determined.

"The Jedi will kill you in an instant."

"I can handle myself."

"I really must object—"

"Enough." Din said, but Tess did not stop glaring at the woman, who realized the urgency in her tone, and once again, covered it up with a smile. Tess had found she'd come to hate that smile more than she hated most things. "She's coming with me." the woman paused, then reluctantly nodded.

"As you wish." was her final word, before turning back around, walking into the depths of her lavish temple.

Tess sneered, while the Mandalorian struggled to pull her back to the front of the town. They walked hurriedly, not pausing this time, not even looking at the other townsfolk. It wasn't hard, as everyone that lived there seemed to have gotten a secret message: stay away from the newcomers. Everyone ran off when Tess, the child, and Din passed them. When they finally got to the entrance of the town once more, the armoured man who'd let them in before went with them.

As a group, they walked to the outside of town, where the smoggy forest sprawled out before them. Tess stood on one side of Mando, whereas the man stood on the other. She could see up close now that the man was older than Din, and his face was weathered like beaten stone. He reminded her of the canyons on Tatooine, the rocks filled with history and holding a million stories underneath. Only this man's stories were of war, of blood and violence.

As they looked out towards the plains of trees jutting to the sky, a small gurgle alerted them all of the child by the Mandalorian's side.

"What is that thing?" the man asked, and Tess stiffened, but the Mandalorian did not look threatened.

He simply replied. "I keep it around for luck." Tess had to hold in a snort, and discreetly, the Mandalorian pushed his elbow into her side. This only made Tess want to laugh louder, but she kept her mouth firmly shut. The back of her throat began to itch.

The man nodded. "You're gonna need it where you're headed." there was a momentary pause, and then he leaned forward to meet Tess' eyes. "And you?" he didn't need to explain any further.

Tess raised both eyebrows, her hands still in her pockets. She cocked her head to one side, looked up at the Mandalorian, then replied. "Wouldn't you like to know."

The man opened his mouth to retort something back, but it was then the Mandalorian decided to start their journey, and the man didn't have a chance to reply before the duo and the little child stalked forward, slowly disappearing into the fog and thin trees of Corvus.

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Back in town, the shadows shifted.

The Magistrate stiffened, whirling around, keeping the cool facade pulled across her face. She'd almost forgotten he was there. The man had a cloak as dark as night, and surprisingly light feet. He'd been hidden in the crook of the curving walls, concealed behind a large tree whose branches spread wide and long.

Now, he showed himself. Dark eyes and dirty blonde hair, scars criss crossing his face, and a mouth which seemed never to stop smirking. The Magistrate's shoulders rose. The spy walked carelessly up to her, his movements suggesting he thought he had all the time in the world. There was a cracker in his hands, and he munched a it incessantly, looking around, mildly impressed.

"It's done." the Magistrate told him, her tone as still as stone. The man raised an eyebrow. "Once the Mandalorian kills the Jedi for me, they are yours."

"They?" the man said, his tone like the embers of a long-burning fire. "Do you really think I could go up against a fully armored Mandalorian?" the Magistrate gritted her teeth. "Especially with that shiny new spear you got him?" the man chuckled. "No."

"That spear is a worthy gift for the one who kills the Jedi." the woman tried to reason.

"My concern is not the Jedi." the man. "My concern is getting what I want and then getting paid."

"Is it what you want? Or what your buyer wants?" the Magistrate challenged. Now the man laughed, really, truly laughed. His bright voice, blooming with history and an arrogance that rose above anyone who met him coming out clear and loud. He was a man who cared little for who he insulted, and little for what they thought of him.

After all, he was not paid to have good manners. He was not paid to have a soul. He was paid because he was good at his job. The best, if he could say so himself.

"What is the difference?" the man finally said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You promised me the girl, and in return, I have the information you wanted."

"An unworthy price," the Magistrate said. "As I think about it more and more."

"My word is good."

"Why is it that I don't believe you?"

The man rolled his eyes, and the Magistrate continued to try her luck. "Why do you want her, anyway, and not that strange little creature they had with them?" she asked, withholding her vast knowledge so as not to seem unequal. "It seemed much more... priceless."

The man smirked. "Of course, but that is not who I'm here for." his head cocked to the side. "I am here for the girl, the girl who, quite entertainingly, gave you a run for your credits." the Magistrate huffed.

"She's just a girl."

"Exactly." the man answered, and it took everything in him to contain his amusement. "Just a girl."

The woman frowned, then turned, picking up her forgotten basket, and returned to dropping seeds into the water. The man looked back to where her guard droid stood sentry, then up to the fortress and gate which surrounded them. Holed in, protective or simply paranoia, the man wondered. What could have happened to make the air sag in tragedy outside these walls, yet fill with such peace on the inside?

The man shook himself, pulling himself out of his daze. He was not here to ask questions. He was here to extract and deliver a divine being, nothing more, nothing less.

"Just make sure it's done." he spoke up, but the woman didn't turn to him. "The Mandalorian kills your precious Jedi, and I get the girl."

With that, he walked out, not hesitating in his step so that the guards had to open the gates faster than ever before.

His cloak billowing behind him, blaster holstered at his hip, incessant smirk on his lips, the spy disappeared into the background, slipping back into the shadows.

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"The trees are dead."

The Mandalorian paused in his careful tread, his feet landing on the mossy ground with a thump. The child cooed at his feet, and the forest seemed to sigh around him. Day and night seeped as one, the world starting to bleach to darkness, but not enough for the light to be snuffed out completely. Behind him, her footsteps, normally so distinguishable, had gone quiet.

The man turned slowly.

They'd been walking for several hours now, taking only slight pauses to catch their breath. The Mandalorian, despite trying to keep himself calm, was anxious to continue on. If it really was true, if there truly was a Jedi here, then it meant everything was finally dropping into place. He would reach the Jedi soon, Tess and the child would finally meet one like them, and then... he paused in his thought, the words running dry.

What happened after that?

Would the Jedi take them in, teach Tess and the child how to control their powers, their divine, unreal powers? Tess wanted to get rid of them, to go back to who she was before, but with everything that happened, everything that had changed, was that still what she desired? The Mandalorian turned fully, his face contorting under his helmet, sweat dripping down the back of his neck.

They were so close, so why did his heart start aching?

Instead of pondering it more, the Mandalorian looked at Tess. She stood, her back turned to him, hand reaching out to touch the bark of one of the fallen trees. Her hair curled little now, whether it be the humidity or simply the growth of youth that had softened her umber locks, the Mandalorian did not know. He saw the jacket he'd given her sag at her shoulders, reaching down to the floor of the forest. The sleeves were too large and the collar too big, and it looked like it was swallowing her whole, but somehow, it fit.

Her hands, ever gloved and grease-stained, pulled at the moss which covered the silken bark, tracing her fingers along the rivulets of dew that fell from the tree. The water collected in her hand, then seeped through the cracks of her fingers. She made no sound, made no sudden movements, simply stood and watched.

The Mandalorian thought she'd always been good at watching, but this was something different.

The girl he'd known on Tatooine didn't just watch, she judged and patronized and tried to find weakness. Her eyes would flash and the person being looked at would flinch. Her lips would curl into a smirk and the person being smirked at would shiver. Tess Oprin had watched others as if they were a threat.

The girl he saw now watched everything with a hint of wonder.

Her wide eyes, storms and thunder bottled into tiny irises, were mellow, softened by age or by fire, he did not know. Everything about her was subdued. Her hands, sharp and akin to the likes of other machines instead of flesh, now whittled to calloused fingers and soft touches. Her mouth, once only ever knowing the curve of a frown, now muffled by the weight of a smile. Subdued, softened, changed.

The Mandalorian grinned.

"What?" he asked, breaking the deafening silence of the still forest.

Tess didn't turn around, still watching the bark. "The trees. They're supposed to be alive." she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Din raised an eyebrow, stepping closer.

"What makes you think they're dead?" he asked.

Now Tess did turn, and her signature frown muddled her features. "They're broken." she replied bluntly. Din let out a soft chuckle, which made Tess frown deeper. "What?" she asked sharply.

"Tess," he started, and Tess bristled at his tone, like he knew more than her. "Just because something is broken doesn't mean it's dead." Tess stiffened, her brows scrunching together, nose wrinkling as she tried to work out Din's strange and unusual words.

Isn't that the only time when something is dead? Tess wondered. When it is broken? Out loud, she said. "I don't understand." the Mandalorian sighed and moved to stand beside her, peering at the tree. It was split down the middle, moss covered, pale insides showing from where the branches and leaves had been ripped apart.

"Take this tree, for example," he said. "It's broken, yes, but it's still growing." Tess peered up at him. "It'll sprout new branches, new plants." Tess reached out and touched the bark again. "It's not gone, Tess, it's not dead. It's just... it needs time."

For some reason, Tess didn't think he was talking about the tree anymore.

She stepped back, turning away, her chest, healed ribs, aching heart, all pulsing with a fiery grip. The Mandalorian turned as well, his shoulders stiffening. The child looked up at him, confused.

There was silence, as Tess once again wouldn't look at him, facing out to the abundance of bushes and moss on the other side of the path.

The Mandalorian dared to speak again. "Tess, are you sure about what you want?" at the end, his voice clipped, his assertiveness withered away.

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning back to face him. He almost stumbled back at the force of her gaze, the way her rage gathered in the sharpness of her cheekbones, in the curve of her mouth, the creases of her eyes. It was as sharp and punctuating as the first day he'd met her, still seething from the loss of her mechanic shop.

"I just..." he started. "Are you sure you want to get rid of your powers?" Tess stiffened.

"Yes." she said after a moment, but the beat of hesitancy did not go unnoticed. "I don't want it."

"Why?" the Mandalorian breathed. "It's a gift. If you had seen what the child did before—"

"I don't want it." she interrupted, then took a deep breath. "It's... it's always been there, it's always fought to get out. I pushed it away because it hurt. It was there the day my parents died. It was there when Moff Gideon almost caught me." the Mandalorian lowered his head. "It hurts, Din. It's like I'm burning from the inside out." her face hardened. "And we all know I'm anything but fire."

"Tess."

"Stop." her tone was biting, and it made Din do exactly as she said. The girl let out a breath, a terrified, shaking breath that made a fracture in his heart. "Just... stop." She finished, and moved to continue their trek through the forest.

The Mandalorian watched her go, his mind protesting to go and drag her back here, to talk some sense into her stubbornness. She was making a mistake, he knew it, and he thought she knew it too, somewhere deep inside, she knew. They both did. Her power wouldn't leave her, it was a part of her, the hurt and the divine and the untamed strength. They both knew, somewhere in their mending hearts, that the power could never be taken.

Din said nothing, however, and went to follow after Tess.

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They continued to walk, the silence beating down on them as if it had wings. They moved on for another hour, quiet, not so much as making a sound. The conversation lay heavy on them. Once they got up from under gnarled roots that shot out across their path, the Mandalorian slowed his pace.

"Well," he said, breaking the silence, voice hoarse. "These are the coordinates." he told Tess and the child. The girl nodded, stepping forward into the path. Din, however, had other plans, and grabbed her arm. "I'll go first." he told her, not unkindly. Tess paused for a moment, then stepped back to let him go.

"I'll keep my eyes open," she told him, and the Mandalorian nodded his helmeted head. He stepped forward, peering up and around the trees. There were birds singing, a sad and dulcet song, and from where Tess stood behind him, the light glinted off his beskar.

Then, suddenly, there was a rustling up ahead, and a caw which rattled Tess' bones.

"Did you hear that?" she asked. Din nodded, not wanting to make another sound. The child cooed. The Mandalorian looked down to it, then made a decision Tess wasn't a part of. He stalked towards a large rock, taking the child from his bag and placing the creature onto it. Tess frowned and went to the child.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Don't worry." Din answered. "You two sit right here. I'm gonna go see what's out there." Tess went to protest, but the Mandalorian was already moving away, raising his small binocs to look out.

Tess crossed her arms, wearing a very uninterested look, and leaned against the rock. She jerked back up right then, her fingers aching. The child cooed loudly, and Tess heard a familiar ringing start to swell in her ears. It stung, a dull, incessant ache that became louder and louder.

"Din..." Tess started, at the same time the Mandalorian said. "False alarm."

Everything happened at once.

Tess was thrown back by some unseen force, her chest caving in and stars swimming in her vision as she landed hard on the ground.

There was a grunt from in front of her, and a blinding white light, singing the back of her irises and illuminating her darkened hair, flashed before her. She stumbled onto her elbows, curling back, hair falling into her face.

The sight that awaited her made Tess gasp.

Cloaked and agile, a woman with skin of amber, face marked with pale ivory dashes and bright sapphire montrails, swung two brilliant white swords down on the Mandalorian. Her weapons looked as if they had been carved from pure starlight, and for a moment Tess lay mesmerized, her ears ringing so loudly she could barely hear the fight that went on before her, watching the sabers move and twist in the air.

The woman was a master in combat, flipping and losing her cloak when Din grabbed hold of it, swinging her swords around to clang against his beskar. Tess scrambled to her feet, legs heavy and chest heaving from the force of impact. She ran forwards, but again was thrown back at the movement of the woman's outstretched hand back. She didn't look at Tess, but somehow she'd known the girl was running in to help.

Tess landed on the floor again, and groaned, head banging against a small rock. The taste of sweet metallic blood filled her senses from where she'd bitten down on her tongue too hard. Up ahead, Din pulled out his wire, wrapping it around the woman to lock her armed hands to her waist. The woman paused, then looked up to the branch hanging above them. Before Tess could warn the Mandalorian, the woman jumped, flipping seamlessly over the branch, bringing Din up with her.

But the warrior was smart, he smacked his wrist and the wire retracted. In one single movement, the woman landed, broke the metal wire with her sabers, then turned swiftly around, holding the pulsing swords before her.

Din raised a hand, blaster in the other, and yelled out. "Ahsoka Tano!" the woman paused, and Tess let out a sharp breath. "Bo-Katan sent me!" Tess got up from her spot, limping and holding her chest, moving over to stand beside the child, who seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened. Tess looked at Ahsoka Tano, and the woman's eyes met hers. The ringing continued. So this was a Jedi. Tess' mouth fell agape. She could barely hear Mando's next words.

"We need to talk."

Ahsoka paused, still watching Tess heave in gulps of air, putting a hand over one of her ears. This seemed to make it final, and the woman withdrew her sabers, placing them steadily back on her belt.

Then she said, in a clear and calm voice. "I hope it's about them." 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE.

y'all, I'm so happy with this chapter. This is seriously my favourite chapter I've written for this book in a long time. I got pretty bad writers block for a while, and wasn't overly content with what I wrote (specifically the whole 4th episode), but now I'm getting my inspo back! YAY! 

so much good content is coming guys, it's insane. the spy (unnamed as of right now) is hunting Tess, and strangely not the child? Tess and Din have met the QUEEN AHSOKA TANO, and next chapter is basically all internal conflict for Tess, on what she's gonna do when she learns Ahsoka can't take away the Force. I CAN'T WAIT, and I hope you guys are excited! 

ANYWAYS, what did you guys think of this chapter? Did you like the different perspectives? Did you enjoy the conversation between Din and Tess at the end? It really showed their personalities, I loved it. As always, don't be afraid to comment, vote, and follow me! 

Until next time (where Tess learns she can't get everything she wants and Din becomes a proud dad)

Love, Mel