Mandalorian Lost

Chapter 3

I march down one of Nevarro's main streets, keeping my eyes peeled for the correct alleyway Greef Karga had described. Despite the amount of people milling around out here, I'm able to stay relatively unnoticed. The hood of my cloak is still down, the fabric billowing in the wind every so often. It's less conspicuous to leave my face in the open than it is to hide it. Each step is calculated, each time I bump into someone or narrowly avoid a collision is a thought-out decision. Blending in with a town or city is something I'm extremely familiar with. Even before the Empire, I spent four years living on the streets of Mandalore. Those were the years I learned to find my own food and stay hidden.

I continued my training during those four years. It was risky, but I still think it was the one thing that kept me sane through the endless days on the run. I would sneak around the palace perimeters before the Siege and watch the warriors train. I'd recreate their movements from a hidden spot and critique myself with a strict eye until I got it right. After the Empire started occupying the planet, it got harder to sneak around to watch the training. But there were other opportunities to watch fighting from afar, especially once the clans started fighting for power over each other.

A distinct alleyway catches my attention and pulls me out of my thoughts. The entrance is partially blocked by a Rhodian vendor selling some outsourced fruit. It's exactly as Greef Karga described it. I let out a relieved sigh and turn into the alley. No one tries to stop me, and I don't make eye contact with anyone on the street as I walk. The sounds of people milling around fall away as I cross the alley into the next, much smaller, street.

I stop short when a conspicuous brown door stands in front of me. A spherical droid pops out of the wall and I grab it, yanking hard until the wiring disconnects and it hangs limply in its socket.

With a breath to steel myself for whatever is inside, I swipe my hand to the side and use the force to open the door before rushing into the first hallway. I'd spent the last five years traveling from planet to planet eliminating any Imperial presence that terrorized the locals, and doing what the New Republic can't seem to manage. Navarro isn't going to be any different, as far as I'm concerned. Especially now that I know they have some poor child in their custody. I can't allow a child to be snatched up by the Empire and used as just another tool for their wishes.

Not again.

Stormtroopers rush around the corner toward me within seconds, and I huff out a breath as they shout warnings at me. Like it will make a difference. I pull out the two blasters at my hips, deciding to shoot my way through for a while. There's no use wasting the beskar staff on these guys.

One blaster shot barrels toward my shoulder and I flick my wrist, using the force to send the shot behind me and into another stormtrooper. When the hall is clear, I jog down to its end, peering through each corridor for any clue of a way to go.

I pause when a strange feeling tugs at the back of my mind. It's familiar and new, all at once. My brow furrows and I close my eyes, listening intently to the feeling. My mind tingles with it, my fingers twitching as it grows. With a deep breath, I open my eyes and follow it.

I run through a labyrinth of halls, all the while following the pull in my mind, until I reach a door. It's locked, but that doesn't deter me. The force allows for many abilities that often prove useful. I swipe my hand through the air and the door slides open to reveal a stormtrooper and an Imperial doctor, who is hovered over a flat bed. I immediately shoot the trooper and move toward the doctor, whose hands are raised in a desperate plea for mercy.

I've never been one for mercy.

"Please, he's just a child! Don't hurt him!" The doctor cries, gripping the sides of the bed as I step closer. The tugging on my mind grows stronger with each step.