Broken Soul | Din Djarin

chapter five: the remembering

A soft breeze brushes against your face, slowly easing you from your sleep. Blinking away sunlight, you rub specks of dirt from your eyelashes as you prop yourself up to look around at the waking desert.

Your whole body aches. Your bones groan in refusal as you sit up, taking a moment to stretch your sore body. The desert floor isn't the best place to catch some sleep, but it wasn't the worst choice either. Over the years, you've learned to be very thankful for the small things that you have, and finding a place to sleep peacefully is definitely one of those things. You look over to see that the Mandalorian is laying beside you, sound asleep. Smiling to yourself, you stand, brushing yourself off before moving over to the Child's pod. You step quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping bounty hunter, and open the hatch to the pod.

The Child is wide awake and smiles up at you from its nesting place of blankets. Cradling him in your arm, you move a few paces away, out of earshot of the slumbering Mandalorian, and sit on a rock with the Child on your lap so that you could face one another. Your eyes lock with the child's and you can sense him trying to reach out to you through the Force. It was an odd sensation - familiar, yet distant because of the years you've spent closing yourself off from the Force. You're curious to know how much the child remembers or what he's seen, but you're wary of what trauma you could reawaken from his subconscious.

Should I really do this? The kid is fifty years old. He was alive during the Wars. I could see a memory that might trigger one of my own. But... it might help me to understand why they want him... What could they possibly want from a child other than the ability to train him to work for them?

You glance over at the Mandalorian. He's still sleeping - laid on his back, one arm resting on his blaster while the other rests on his stomach. You've never seen him at peace like this before... he's constantly tense and hyperaware, nervous as to what was happening around him. The idea of him waking up while you attempt to communicate with the Child makes you nervous... I don't know how he'll react if he wakes up to see me talking to the kid.

But you've already made up your mind. Taking a deep breath, you turn your head to look back at the small green child. He's closed his eyes and raised a small hand to your face, touching your cheek delicately.

Your eyes start to tear up at the delicate touch and you tilt your head towards his hand, absorbing the feeling of his gentleness. You close your eyes and let yourself feel the connection that he's forming with you, clearing your mind and focusing on the Child.

At first, you just see the Child. His being, his thoughts, his feelings. Everything that is him. Your connections to the Force have met, giving you the chance to see into his soul, just as he is able to see into yours. You reach out, asking permission to see his past, and you sense his affirmation of your request.

His memory is suddenly present to you. 

You're in a Jedi temple. Flashes of blue bolts streak the air around you, and you look around to find the Child. Fear floods the air, making it thick and heavy and difficult to breathe... the senses are nearly overwhelming. He's hiding, only paces away from three Jedi with their weapons drawn, their backs to the Child. They're deflecting attacks from incoming clones. Your heart seizes in your chest when you recognize intricate markings on some of the clones' armor and helmets.

You know these soldiers... they used to be your allies... Your friends... 

You recognize this scene. 

Order 66. 

Your own memories of Order 66 are similar to what you're seeing before you: full of death and decay, anguish and grief. You watch as the Jedi fall in battle, dying to protect the Child from the clones. Yelling and crying rip through the air, but you can't see the source of the cries as everything around the Child and the Jedi becomes a blur.