The Mandalorian: Beskar and Bone

Chapter 14: The Tragedy

Elaine sat quietly on her seat as Mando played with Grogu. Her doll was in her hands and she played with it quietly. Grogu held the ball, and Mando was trying to get him to use his powers. "Grogu,"

The Child looked up at him instantly, earning an amused chuckle from the hunter. "Grogu?"

The little guy looked up at him again and Mando laughed lightly. It was definitely amusing to watch Grogu snap his head up so quickly. "Give me the ball."

Grogu held his toy tighter. "Grogu, give me the ball. Come on." He didn't respond, so Mando took the ball and tried to get him to take it back. "Okay, here we go. You can have it, just like before. Grogu, come on. You can have it. Come on."

Grogu just looked sadly at it and cooed. Mando hit his fist against the controls. "Dank farrik!" Both children flinched at his outburst, Grogu's eyes welled with tears. Seeing this, Mando turned around to face him. "Hey, no. I'm not mad at you." He spoke in a kinder tone now. "You did good. I just... When the nice lady said you had training, I just..."

Mando sighed and looked to both of them. "You're very special, kids. We're gonna find the place you belong and they're gonna take real good care of you."

Elaine frowned. She held the doll a little tighter in her hands as she sensed Grogu's sadness. Neither of them wanted to leave Mando, but it felt like they didn't have a choice. "But, we don't wanna go." Elaine said softly.

Mando sighed. "It's...it's for the best, Sarad'ika. You'll get training and learn how to control your powers."

Elaine said nothing, she just squeezed her doll so tightly that Mando worried she would break it. He turned back to the controls and brought them out of hyperspace, revealing a large planet. "This is Tython. That's where we're gonna try and find you a Jedi."

Grogu grunted and Elaine huffed. "But you have to agree to go with them if they want you to. Understand?" Mando asked. "Plus, I can't train you guys. You're too powerful. Don't you wanna learn more of that Jedi stuff?"

"But I'm not a Jedi!" Elaine argued. She folded her arms in anger and glared at the floor.

Mando sighed. "I agreed to take you back to your own kind, so that's what I need to do. You understand right?"

Elaine didn't look at him and her horns had a slight glow. But it wasn't red like anger, it was a faint lavender, barely even visible. Mando hated the idea of parting as much as she did, but he had to be the adult. He brought the Crest over the surface of the planet and spotted a large stone area. "Looks like that's the magic rock I'm supposed to take you to down there."

Mando passed over it, searching for any good landing spots. "Sorry, guys. I can't land on the top. Too small. We're gonna have to travel the last stretch with the windows down." He landed the Crest at the base of the mountain and took Grogu in his arms. "Elaine," He held out his hand for her to take, but the girl refused.

"Elaine, we are going whether you like it or not." Mando ordered.

The girl hopped down from her seat. "Fine." She threw her doll to the ground and stormed out in front of them. Why was Mando giving them up? She thought he cared about her and Grogu.

Mando sighed as he walked after her. He hated it just as much as she did, but how could he explained that?

~~~~~

Mando flew them up to the seeing stone with his jetpack, Elaine held on tightly to Grogu and Mando held on to her. The little guy squealed in joy at the ride, but Elaine remained silent. Mando landed them on the top and set them down. "Well, I guess this is it? Does this look Jedi to you?" He took Grogu from Elaine and walked over to the center rock. "I guess you sit right here." He set him down. "Okay. Here we go. Elaine," He turned to the girl. "You need to come over too."