Fall of the Jedi

Chapter 9

Jango woke with a screaming migraine, he groaned holding his head in his hands, his neck was doing no better and ached where his neck met the base of his skull. Each and every move he made only made the migraine worse but he knew he had to get moving. He had no idea how long he'd been out for and he could only assume something awful happened in his unconsciousness.

He realized he was touching his own hair instead of his helmet and that he was seeing the world through his own eyes instead of through the visor. He took a moment to gather himself and let himself fully come back. He tried to remember the last thing he saw and he remembered looking at Kira's back while she had her lightsabers to the creature's neck, then it waved its hand. In the corner of his vision he remembered seeing Kal drop to his right and Mij drop to his left before he felt his knees grow weak before buckling himself.

The sky above him was bright blue with no hint of rain, the sun beat down on him making the beskar parts of his armor warm. He felt the grass beneath him as well as the dried mud that pressed against his back. He could smell the pollen from the flowers that were blooming in the sun.

Jango slowly began to move each part of his body to make sure nothing was broken, first, he moved his fingers, then rolled his wrists. His toes curled in his boots before he carefully brought his legs up to bend at the knee. When he was satisfied that nothing was damaged beyond the regular soreness he felt, he slowly pushed himself to sit up on his elbows. He swallowed hard, his throat was dry and begged for water. He surveyed the area and noticed his helmet was a few feet from him, likely falling off when he hit the ground.

Jango looked to his side and saw Kal still on the ground, then looked to his other side and saw Mij and Wad'e in the same state. Jango pushed himself to sit up fully and looked for his Jedi companion, who should have been no farther than a few feet in front of him. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut when all that was left of her were her two lightsabers laying on the ground instead.

Her absence seemed to awaken all his senses. Forgetting his aches and pains, he jumped to his feet. He looked around but everything was quiet and calm as if nothing had happened. He carefully gathered the black and silver hilts and inspected them before clipping them to his belt.

Jango scooped up his helmet, returning it to his head before activating the antenna and searched for any clues that might lead to where his Jedi was taken. Footprints lit up in red through his visor, the mud from the night before left perfect impressions of the creature's feet and where it had collected Kira before taking her.

Kal stirred behind him, finally regaining consciousness, the mandalorian's movements caught Jango's attention, he calmly walked to Skirata's aid and knelt beside him offering a hand to help sit him up.

"What the kriff happened?" Kal asked as he took Jango's hand, letting the younger Mandalorian help him sit up.

"It took her." Jango said, trying to hide whatever emotion he was feeling. He wasn't used to feeling much of anything after Galidraan but whether he admitted it or not, he cared for the Jedi's safety. She had saved him several times and her small acts of kindness were enough to make him feel some type of way about her that wasn't entirely negative.

Kal let out a sigh. "We have to do something. They've gotten the drop on us twice now. I have a feeling a third time won't be as pleasant." Kal rolled his shoulders before rubbing the forehead of his helmet. "God, my head is killing me. What did that thing do to us?" He asked.

"I don't know." Jango answered as he pointed towards the forest. "There's footprints leading off that way. I have no idea how much time has passed but the longer Kira and Jense are out there, the less likely we'll get either of them back alive."