The Mandalorian Jedi

Part Two: Chapter Five

It should have been common sense but somehow the idea that the clones still existed outside of the manipulations of the empire was a bizarre thought to me, sure one or two maybe but the dozen or so that stood gathered in front of me? It felt like something out of a dream. A kriffing good one, but still a dream.

Tripp cleared his throat to draw attention to himself, "You all remember General Keldau?" Whatever conversation they had been having immediately stopped as they all turned to face Tripp and I. There was a moment of silence as they stared at me in absolute shock and then they broke out into an outpouring of swears and confused questions. I just stood there slightly awkwardly as they talked at me. I didn't recognise any of them but they seemed to know me, I mean why wouldn't they? It didn't take long for the noise to die down and one of the clones stepped out in front of the group,
"How the hell are you alive? The Jedi are meant to be dead and gone, sir."
"Pure luck, although I could ask the same of you. What happened to your inhibitor chips?" Tripp stepped forwards to answer, he seemed to be some kind of leader in the group,
"A few of ours got damaged in battle and we've spent the last few years finding other stray clones, disrupting their chips." The clone who had stepped out spoke again,
"It's been kriffing difficult, we can't get anywhere near the imperial bases to free our brothers there. We're all discards from the army who could be hunted down easily. Maybe you could help us-" Tripp interrupted him with a glare,
"The General is not here to risk her life for us, she needs our help and we are going to give it to her, we owe her that much." The clone clenched his jaw and I pretended not to notice his fists clenching. I wasn't sure why Tripp had decided I didn't want to help. It wasn't like I had anything better to do with my life,
"We're not in the Republic anymore Tripp. You don't get to do something for me if I can't do something for you in return."
"General there's really no need-"
"Ne'johaa, gedet'ye. I'd rather be a thorn in the emperor's side than another relic on the run. You help me, I help you."
"... fine. Thank you, sir." The other clone looked me up and down and then nodded in agreement. No one said anything else, they just dispersed to their separate nooks and crannies and Tripp guided me to a secluded corner with a mattress and pile of blankets on the floor,
"We'll discuss our plans at dinner, for now, rest." I thanked him and sat down on the mattress, pulling a blanket off and throwing it at Naakla so she could make her own bed. Looking at the two remaining sheets I couldn't help but think of Ka'ra. I had pushed her from my mind, telling myself the past was the past and she was dead, it didn't change the fact that I missed her more than anything.

There really wasn't much I could do that wouldn't lead to dark, depressing thoughts so I kept my hands busy and sorted through the meagre items in my bag. The robes and the boots came out first. There was something comforting about the sight of them laid out next to me, it made me feel at home. I found the half assembled BD droid next, it had started off as a project to distract me from the nightmares but the little thing was shaping up to be a sweetly odd looking droid that I had told myself I would give to Grogu when I found him. The damn thing was bigger than the little green guy, or maybe he had grown in the years that had passed since I had last seen him being carried away by that droid. It was a nice lie that kept me focused, I knew the likelihood of me ever seeing him again was small to none but I could still pretend, right?

I left the credits in the bag and just sat there for a while, staring

at the wooden box at the bottom of the bag. I hadn't touched my sabers in a long, long time. I wasn't sure if I even still had the skill to wield them in the beautiful swirling fashion that Mace had drilled into me over and over again. I thought, just for a moment, about taking them out of their box and seeing if I still had it in me. That moment passed quickly enough and I stuffed the robes, droid, and boots back into the bag and pulled it shut. Those items were for another time and place.

I spent the next hour or so before Tripp came to get me fiddling with Naakla's ears. She didn't complain, she just leant into my side and snored lightly, twitching every now and then at something in her dreams.

Ne'johaa, gedet'ye – Shutup, please