Breakaway ---The Mandalorian

Chapter 20: Scouting

Clara sat at a cantina in the diplomatic sector of Coruscant sipping on a hot drink that reminded her of home. She was alone today for the first time in three weeks and she hadn't realized the relief she felt. She had strong feelings for Din, that was certain. She found herself staring at him as he drove the ship and she couldn't take her eyes off of him in his armor. She felt this connection with him that went deeper than a liking. It felt as if their destinies were intertwined somehow. Yet, he was difficult to be around. He brooded most of the time, he was confused and disorganized. He clearly was more comfortable doing missions by himself, and then there was Grogu. He had developed this intense paternal bond with the little guy and absorbed him into his life. Clara couldn't make heads or tails of the whole situation.

After the bounty that they completed together, Din had relaxed some of his anxiety around Clara. He had realized that she could take care of herself, and was annoyed at his constant babysitting. They had decided to split up and cover more ground. In addition, the diplomatic sector was significantly less welcoming to a fully armored Mandalorian. They had realized after they checked into their new hotel and noticed the attendant's discomfort at Din's appearance. The hotel staff had given them a wide berth in the past two days. Din and Clara had to leave the ship in the trade sector and take a five hour transport to the diplomatic region. They pooled some of their money and bought seven nights in a hotel with options to add more. Clara hoped they would find what they were looking for in one week but it had already been two nights with no luck. They could only afford one room with an adjoining kid's room. There was a sliding partition that divided Grogu's bunk bed from the main room, which had only one bed. The bed was spacious and comfortable but the room was tight. Clara was certain that Din wasn't sleeping at all. The lack of sleep and the added stress of their frustrating search made tensions high between the two of them. She was beginning to think that a relationship with Din was impossible, and often wondered if she even wanted it.

Clara couldn't understand their lack of success in finding the former Jedi temple. The once majestic Jedi temple that sat at the seat of power in the galaxy for nearly 100 years had all but vanished off the map. Any electronic records of the building had been wiped clean and no one they interviewed had seen or even been inside. It's as if the city planet had absorbed the building like a wound, healed over into a scar. They were hunting for a ghost. At the same time of their searching, Clara had been hunting for parts for her lightsaber. She now only needed one more piece to finish it, a kyber crystal. The crystal was the source of the power for lightsaber and the jedi were said to be bonded to their crystal for life. Clara knew there would be a kyber crystal for her in the temple. All temples kept a stock of crystals for new jedi. However, if the temple had been demolished or remodeled they could be gone. Kyber crystals were valuable in the galaxy, they were used in numerous types of weapons and the idea that maybe Clara could have one was exciting for her. For the past three days Clara had come to this cantina, ordered a drink similar to coffee, and then began tapping into the force.

She tried several techniques to locate anyone who knew about the Jedi temple. She had assumed that they would be force sensitive and might respond to her intrusion. The biggest hurdle was the immense quantity of people in such a small area. She was surrounded above, below and on all sides by dense population. As she reached out into their minds, gently tugging on their consciousness she felt a sensation of drowning. She was outnumbered and couldn't comb through everyone in Coruscant this way. On the third day, she decided to try a new approach. Instead of reaching out to find someone, she enticed them to find her. She broadcasted her location and sent a beacon to anyone who might sense her manipulation of the force. Thoroughly satisfied with her attempt she waited.

Several hours later, Clara was beginning to think about lunch and maybe leaving the cantina when a small being in dark brown robes sat next to her.

"Are you looking for me?" It said to her.