May The Way Be With You

Tatooine

A few weeks have passed since the fight. We've taken care of the rest of the raiders, taken down the barricades, and repaired the damage done to the village. We even brought them the spotchka the raiders brewed, as well as all their supplies so they aren't without.

I haven't heard from that voice again, but something tells me I will, when I most need it. The baby and the village kids have grown close, and seeing them play, and be grossed out when he goes to swallow a frog whole, is adorable to see.

Cara, Din and I are in front of a hut, and Din has his arms around me, my back to his chest. Omera comes out with drinks for Cara and I, and offers to leave one for Din inside. He tells her maybe later, and we watch the kids. "He's really happy here. Fits right in." Omera smiles, then walks away.

"So what happens if you take that thing off? They come after you and kill you?" Cara asks after a few moments. I look up at Din, not having thought about it before, but am now curious. I feel him sigh.

"No. You just can't ever put it back on again." He answers. I look at him in surprise.

"That's it?" Cara and I ask at the same time.

"Wait, you didn't know?" Cara asks me.

"I'm not one to pry or ask such things." I shrug. Cara shakes her head.

"You mean you could slip that thing off and settle down in this beautiful village with Thief and the kid, sipping spotchka all day and making babies all night?" She asks, as if it's the easiest thing in the world. To some, it is. Not for Din.

He doesn't answer, instead commenting that we raised a lot of hell, too much so for such a backwater village as this. He suggests she does the same as us, which is to move on from the planet. Cara sighs, "Would not want to be the one who's gotta tell him." She motions her cup to the baby, and I know how she feels.

He looks so happy with the other kids, being able to be a kid and play. There's nothing on the ship for him except for Din and I. "We're leaving him here. Traveling with us, that's no life for a kid." Din says. My heart aches, but I know it's best for him. He'll have kids to play with, and I know Omera will care for him like her own baby.

"It's gonna break his little heart." Cara says softly before taking a sip of her drink. I find I can't drink my own, and give it to her. I walk away to think and deal with my emotions. I walk through the woods, their silence and tranquility giving me peace.

I don't know how long I walk for, but That Feeling is telling me the baby is in danger. It guides me through the forest, and I come up on a bounty hunter. Before I can take out my blaster, Cara appears and shoots him in the back. He drops, dead before he hits the ground.

"Thank you." I tell her.

"It's a good thing I came looking for you. Was gonna tell you Mando is telling Omera you two would be leaving soon, but I think that plan has changed." She sighs, looking over the hunter. Din runs up to us, touching my shoulder to silently ask if I'm ok. I nod, and use my foot to roll the hunter over. There's a blinking tracking fob.

"Who's he tracking?" Cara asks.

"The kid." We both answer.

"They know he's here." She sighs. I don't know what hurts more, having thought I was going to leave him behind, or knowing we'll have to take him away from here to keep him safe. As we make our way back, Cara offers to escort us. Din politely declines. We return to the village, and people ask what happened. Apparently Cara's shot echoed all the way here.

"Change of plans, the kid is coming with us." Din tells Omera.

"Bounty hunters learned he's here. No one is safe if he stays." I tell her. She looks sad, but nods. We start packing up our things, and I can't help but feel everyone's melancholy. Cara again offers to escort us, but we aren't going into town. She holds out her hand to Din.