Mandalorian Revived

Chapter 16

It's heavy.

The thought comes to me as I sit in Bo's ship. I haven't said a word since Bo—through me—ordered the fleet to come with us back to Nevarro. Bo pilots dutifully, her expression flawlessly neutral every time she turns around to check something, and Grogu sits on her lap staring at me from over her shoulder. Din's thoughts are overwhelmingly loud in my head through the force.

And he feels...well, he feels terrible.

I swallow back another wave of guilt that's not mine as it hits me. My eyes close as I squeeze the Darksaber's hilt tighter in my fist. Once the shock of everything wore off, I realized that when I ignited the saber for all to see, it was somewhat heavy. Just like it was for Din.

"We should be coming up on Nevarro pretty soon," Bo announces.

My throat feels raw. I haven't spoken the whole flight. "Will I need to do anything?"

She sighs and keeps her gaze on the stars. "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" It's impossible to keep the frustration from my voice. "Didn't you lead these people once before?"

"This is new territory for all of us, Tara," she snaps. She turns in her seat to face me and her eyes flick to the saber hilt before returning to my face. "We'll have to navigate it together if you want to be the best leader you can be."

My bottom lip quivers and I bite down on it to stem the emotion bubbling up. I can see Nevarro coming into view behind her. "I don't want to lead them." Her eyes fill with pity and for once I don't bristle at it. "Just take the saber, Bo. Please."

She shakes her head and gestures to Din. "I couldn't take it from him. I can't take it from you. You know the rules."

I throw myself back into silence as she resumes piloting the ship. We flank the cruiser as it passes over the city in Nevarro before coming to land in the new Mandalorian covert. The land Din took on everyone's behalf, where we might have had a somewhat peaceful life ahead of us.

"I'll land. Get ready to disembark. You'll need to be at the front of this mess," Bo says. "These groups have never met, and what little they know of each other, they hate. I hope they get along."

I obediently make my way to stand in front of the landing ramp as she starts the landing. "They will if they want to survive."

My eyes rake over the gray wall of her ship. In moments, it will lower and there will be no going back. What will the Armorer say? What will Paz say?

A gloved hand grabs mine and squeezes. I look up into Din's familiar helmet and swallow thickly. "I wasn't trained for this. I can't lead them."

He presses his helmet against my forehead. "You won't do it alone, I promise."

His words help calm me a little, but when the ship jolts as it settles on the ground and the ramp starts to lower, my nerves spike again. I let go of his hand and squeeze the Darksaber hilt in my other as I start walking down the ramp. There's no room on my belt for the saber since my other two take up the space and I refuse to stop carrying them. Those are my weapons.

The Mandalorians formerly under Axe's control all flock to me and walk toward the covert's huts with me in the lead. The covert is standing at the ready with Paz standing guard before them. I feel it instantly when his gaze lands on me. I know he sees the weapon in my hand.

"You're back," he says cautiously.

"I am." I resist the urge to run back into the ship. "I've brought more of our kind."

As if on cue, Axe and the others remove their helmets. The covert collectively tenses.

"Is that what they are?" Paz mutters.