Mandalorian Revived

Chapter 5

Mom, no! Mom! Where is my mother? Please, mom!

I wake up with a sharp gasp, sitting up straight in my bed. My chest heaves, my skin is covered in a thin layer of sweat, and I look around. A dream. Just a dream. I blink a few times to let my eyes adjust to the dark room. I'm in my bedroom, on my ship. Safe. Din is just outside flying. I'm safe.

My dream, more like a nightmare really, comes back and makes me start to shiver. I was little on Mandalore again, searching for my mother in the aftermath of Pre Vizsla's death. The day she left me.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and quickly stand, hoping to rid myself of the dream completely. I debate putting my armor back on, but even looking at it makes me feel heavy and dizzy. Instead, I slip out of the room in my pants and light sleeping shirt. My feet pad across the floor as I make my way to the cockpit, though I'm silent as I listen to Din talking to Grogu as the child sits in his lap.

"Now, kid, being a Mandalorian's not just learning about how to fight. You also have to know how to navigate the galaxy, because you never know where you might be headed next," he explains. Grogu hangs on to his every word as he points to the different parts of the control panel. "That's important. And it's how Tara was able to find me after you left Skywalker. She knows her way around the galaxy." A small smile tugs at my lips as I creep up the ladder behind them. "This here is your hyperspace map." He points to it on the panel.

I come up behind them and reach around to point at another spot. "That's your fuel gauge."

Din looks up and jumps a little, but he immediately relaxes when he sees me standing above them. "Did you sleep well?"

A shadow crosses my face as I sit in the copilot seat and try to smile. "Of course." He looks entirely unconvinced, even with the helmet on, and I quickly change the subject. "Don't let me interrupt your lesson." I gesture to the console and Grogu coos at him eagerly.

Din sighs but turns back to the console anyway. "And this..." the screen flashes red and beeps at us, and I straighten in my seat. "Is your enemy proximity warning indicator." He sighs, handing me the child. "Hang on, we got pirates."

Three enemy fighters pull in behind us. "Avast, Mandalorian!" I recognize the pirate's voice as the one from Nevarro and roll my eyes as he comes through the comm channel. "You can't just sneak away after cutting down four of my brothers in cold blood. We're Pirate King Gorian Shard's men, now you'll answer to him."

Din leans forward, activating the comms. "Gorian Shard should stick to hijacking and ransoming." He flips off the comm and turns to me, jumping out of his seat. "I'll draw them off with the N-1. Keep yourselves out of the heat."

I move into the pilot's seat after strapping Grogu into the copilot's. "And let you have all the fun?" I call as Din drops through the docking port into the N-1.

"Don't be reckless, Tara," he orders just before disconnecting the ships.

I grin, winking at Grogu. "No promises."

The N-1 shoots into space past us and as much as I love a good firefight, I'm also mesmerized just sitting here watching him expertly evade the pirates on his own. He zips in and out of the approaching asteroid field, taking out a few as he goes. An alarm beeps on my console and I frown at it.

"Three more fighters coming in," I mutter, glancing at Grogu. "I think it's time we joined the fight."

I throw us into the asteroid field, spinning and pulling a few more risky maneuvers to catch the attention of some of the pirates. I take out two of them with ease and try to keep the third one on my tail a little longer to keep the heat off Din. I drag us around an asteroid, using the rock's pull like a slingshot to spin around and finish off the third ship. Grogu looks at me, his little mouth hanging open.