Mandalorian Revived

Chapter 7

The ride back to Mandalore is silent. Bo Katan pushes us through the storm clouds and into the atmosphere with ease. Grogu sits in his pram beside me, but his clawed hand is gripping my thumb tightly.

He gazes fearfully at the charred remains of the domed cities. Bo catches his look. "It didn't always look like this," she mutters. Her eyes flick to me for a brief moment.

"There." I lean forward and point to the familiar cluster of rocks we landed at. She lands her ship there and immediately lowers the ramp.

Grogu's pram hurtles down without hesitance and she slips on her helmet and follows. I make it down the ramp, but my feet freeze in place just before I can set foot on the planet's surface. My chest hitches.

Bo Katan stops, tilting her helmet at me. "What's the holdup, Vizsla?"

I swallow. I can feel the memories rushing at me again. The flames, the screams...

"Tara." Her voice is soft, almost motherly as it snaps me out of it.

I blink and look into her helmet. "I can't..."

"You can," she orders sternly. "You will. Din Djarin needs our help. It doesn't matter what happened here before. Step off the ramp, Tara."

Grogu coos at me from his pram. It's a plead. He needs me.

I pry one foot off the ramp and set it on the rock. Then the other.

"One step at a time, Vizsla," Bo says quietly. As we approach the cluster of rocks, she sighs and turns to Grogu. "Okay, kid. I'm going to need you to guide us to him. Can you do that?"

He babbles at her confidently and she sighs again, unconvinced.

I should've just gone with them the first time.

We reach the mouth of the cave and Grogu sails onward, leading us through a cave of molten rock and emerald hues. It feels so familiar. The edge of the cave overlooks the ruins of a city and a familiar one at that. Below, I can see the civic center. I used to pickpocket on those streets.

"This was once a beautiful civilization," Bo says, breaking the silence between us. "My family ruled it all."

Grogu whimpers and I let out a breath. "Now it's a tomb."

She looks over at me through the helmet. "Let's go." She holds her hand out to me and I can already tell what she wants. I peer down and groan. It's a long drop. "You're not still afraid of heights, are you?" I hear a hint of amusement in her voice and glare at her.

"No." Not even Grogu buys that lie. "It's just...it doesn't look very safe."

"It's not safe." She shrugs. Her hand grabs my arm and she pulls me to her side to get a grip around me. "But I won't drop you. There's a chance I'll need backup when we find Din Djarin."

I roll my eyes and wrap my arms around her shoulders. "I feel safer already."

A quiet snicker escapes her helmet modulator as she steps off the rock edge. The jetpack activates instantly and I gasp, wrapping myself even tighter around her as we fall. My stomach is in knots as I look over at Grogu as he floats peacefully beside us.

The ride feels endless until we reach the mines and Bo finally releases me. We land in a muddy puddle with a smell that makes me wrinkle my nose.

Bo Katan's helmet tilts. "See? I didn't drop you."

"You definitely thought about it."

"But I didn't do it."

I shoot her a pointed look as we start to move forward. She clicks the light on the side of her helmet to give us some visibility. Grogu pants in his pram and I walk closer to his side and offer him a feeling of comfort through the force. It does little to calm him. I can only imagine what he must have seen down here. Suddenly, his pram lurches to a halt. Bo and I stop with him and she sighs.