Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 28: The Helmet

Daedalus was broken.
The Mandalorian was dead.
He sat in the burning carnage of their ship, cradling Din's helmet in his hands. The green and brown paint which he had used to disguise himself had burned off in the crash, and the flat grey was all that remained. Daedalus's tears dripped from his face and puddled in the helmet's visor.
Verid and Gayle made their way to Daedalus after running by the AT-AT themselves.
They sat down besides the Foundling, pulling him in for a tight hug.
"It's going to be okay," Gayle consoled.
Verid offered him a tissue, which he used to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"I just...thought we'd have more time," Daedalus choked. "And it's all my fault. I called him in to pick us up."
"It's not your fault. Any one of us could have told him that. Hell, even Wally could have," Verid lamented.
"Where is Wally?", Daedalus wondered.
Gayle pointed at the walker. The wookie could be seen climbing up a leg of the walker. "By the time that thing gets turned around to fire at us, he'll have the entire crew of that thing out like a light," she teased.
Daedalus continued to sob.
Suddenly, the walker lost balance and fell on its side.
"Will Wally be okay?", the Foundling asked.
Verid laughed, "That Wookie could fall off a cliff and still walk away."
Almost on cue, Wally could be seen climbing from the side door of the AT-AT. He quickly jumped down and ran to the rest of his crew. Unexpectedly, the Wookie grabbed Daedalus and pulled him in for a warm hug.
The Foundling let out a lighthearted chuckle. "Thanks buddy." While Wally was still holding him in the air, he saw tire tracks coming from the wreckage. "Guys, what are those?"
The team walked to inspect the tracks.
"Definitely some sort of tank, maybe they took Din when the ship crashed?", Gayle suggested.
Daedalus hoped this was true, but there was little hope. He had made his way to the ship as soon as it crashed, there was almost no way they could have capture Din in that small window of time.
The Foundling took Din's helmet and placed it on his own head. It smelled like the Mandalorian did, a warm, smoky smell mixed with the saltiness of sweat.
"If he's alive, they probably took him to the same place they did Alis. We'll follow the tracks on foot until we find something," Daedalus commanded. "Unless there's a way we could get that walker up?"

—— A FEW HOURS LATER ——

The team had somehow managed to get the AT-AT moving, and were now walking besides the train tracks to wherever they had taken Alis. Traveling in the walker was slow, but it sure beat walking on foot. The tracks and left the city limit about a mile from the depot, and they were now walking through the marsh. The railway seemed to head towards the mountain range the squad had seen when they first landed on the planet.
Daedalus's head was still reeling. Din was dead. He had gotten caught up in his anger and ignored his feelings for the Mandalorian. He wanted to spend his life with Din. And now he couldn't.
"There," Verid pointed, breaking Daedalus's trance. "A tunnel."
Gayle piloted the walker to the mouth of the passage. "This thing isn't going to fit in there, we'll have to walk the rest of the way."
She laid the walker close to the ground, and the team jumped out. They entered the tunnel and began the long walk to the end. Small lamps lined the walls, but hardly gave off enough light to illuminate the dank passage. They walked for about 30 minutes, until the dreaded blare of a train horn could be heard.
"Now what?", Verid exclaimed.
Daedalus looked down the tunnel. The train was still a ways out, but was headed in the same direction as they were, so perhaps they could find a way to board it and cut their travel time. The Foundling noticed a ladder which followed the arch of the ceiling. He climbed the rungs and used Din's helmet to zoom in on the train. One of the cars appeared to be an open air cart. If they could time it right, perhaps they could jump into the car and ride it into the heart of the mountain.
"Guys, up here," Daedalus barked. "Let's try and jump into one of the cars."
With no better option, the rest of the team joined Daedalus on the ladder, and Verid used one of his ropes to rig a contraption which would swing them over the tracks.
The plan was to wait until the train went by, then swing over the tracks and cut the rope, so they'd land in the open car. It was risky, and the timing would have to be perfect, but the reward would be huge if they could pull it off.
The train came roaring into the tunnel in an almost deafening rumble. Verid, Gayle, and Daedalus had tied themselves to Wally, who was holding onto the rope with his bare hands. It was Daedalus's job to cut the rope so they'd land in the right car.
He was definitely feeling the pressure. If he cut them loose even a second too soon, they would be nothing but a red smear atop the train.
The locomotive was almost to their location now.
"Go, Wally!", Daedalus urged.
The Wookie pushed off the wall as the train clambered under them. Daedalus closed his eyes and cut the cord.
The four let out a scream as they fell right into the open car.
"You did it!", Verid exclaimed, pulling his teammates in for a hug.
Wally wrapped his furry arms around all of them, and lifted them high off the floor in the tightest embrace.
"Okay Wally, put us down," Gayle wheezed.
The Wookie set his team down and let out a loud holler.
"So, now what?", Verid asked.
"I guess we just wait to see where this thing goes..." Daedalus pondered.
He wished more than anything that Din would be waiting for them at the end. He didn't care if it was too much to ask, he needed it to happen.
He wasn't sure what he would do if the Mandalorian was actually dead.