𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Chapter 20: Salvation

chapter 20: salvation •••

As you walk through the tunnels alongside Cara and Karga, you lift your chin a bit higher in the air. Your heart is aching for the man you just had to leave behind—for the life you know you won't be able to have anymore, the second loss of a home—but you remember his words clearly in your head: be s-strong for me, cyar'ika. It was his dying wish, and you were sure as hell going to carry it through. The dried tears on your cheeks try to remind you of the pain, but you bury it deep within, thinking of his last words to you over and over as a reassurance.

The child squirms a bit in your arms, as if he can sense the anxiety and tension of the situation. You give his head a pat, laying a small kiss there. "I'm so sorry, copikla," you say softly to the child, whose large eyes have now settled upon you. "I should've been there for you earlier. I'm going to keep you safe—I promise."

You feel Cara rest a careful hand on your shoulder, and your head soon turns to face her. She has an expression of strong sympathy, and you try to ignore it, not wanting to think too hard about what you're leaving behind. "You okay?" Cara asks after a brief pause, as if hesitant to say the words.

You give her a nod. "I'll get there eventually," you assure her. "But I shouldn't have been so weak back there. I should've listened to Din, and to you." You look back down at the child, feeling a pang of guilt run through you. "I put the child at risk."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Cara chastises you in a gentle manner. "That wasn't easy—at all. I know how much you two care for each other. You were strong in getting yourself to leave him at all."

You give her a single nod—not so much believing her as wanting to dismiss the topic. All you want to focus on is finding the covert, so they can escort the four of you to safety. You stop yourself when you get to the end of the first tunnel, finding that you can either go left or right. The three of you look in each direction, trying to figure out which turn is right. You close your eyes as you try to remember from the time you'd gone down into the tunnels yourself. "Do you know which way to go?" Karga asks you, and you reopen your eyes to face him.

You draw in a breath and shake your head. "I'm not sure," you confess. "I was in the Mandalorians' tunnels once before, but I came in a different way. I'm not sure how to get there from here."

Cara curses under her breath, and Karga lets out a sigh of his own. You keep looking between the two routes and try to see if either one is more familiar, but your thinking is interrupted when you hear footsteps approaching you from behind. Your hand immediately reaches for the blaster Cara had stolen back for you, and you point it with one arm as you guard the child with the other. Cara and Karga do the same, but you only feel your eyes widen as the silhouettes come out of the light.

It's IG-11, and he's stayed true to his word: he has Din slung around his shoulder, crutching him towards you. Your knees almost give out in utter relief. He's alive. He's alive!

"Din!" you can't help exclaiming, and Cara takes the child from you as you hurry to approach him. IG-11 offers Din's arm to you, and you wrap it around your neck. You can sense Din's relief, but the sight of his evident weakness is heartbreaking to you. "I thought you were dead, riduur. I was so scared."

"Don't worry, I'm alive," Din assures you, though his modulated voice is still weakened as his body recovers.

"Are you okay?" you instantly start to interrogate him. "What did IG do?"

"He used a bacta spray," Din explains. "It should work over the course of a few hours. I can already feel my strength building."

You draw in a breath, hesitating before you ask your next question. "Did he..."