𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Chapter 26: Desperation*

chapter 26: desperation •••

Din knows the Dune Sea usually isn't this peaceful—but he just assumes that he's having a stroke of good luck after what you've just gone through.

You're rather quiet on the back of the speeder and Din accredits it to your exhaustion from the events of earlier. You've been traveling for almost the entire day after spending a brief time at a Tusken camp, though Din knows you barely got any sleep there. The baby had been particularly fussy, and you'd insisted upon Din resting while you stayed up with him. He didn't sleep very well himself knowing that you weren't getting the rest you needed.

Now, he's glad to see that you're getting some kind of sleep on the speeder, your arms still wrapped tightly around him as he drives on. As long as he stays alert enough to push forward for a little bit longer, you'll be back to the Crest soon enough for all of you to get the sleep you need.

But he should've been more alert.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a trip wire appears right in front of the speeder, instantly launching all three of you off the bike. Din hears the baby squeal with surprise as you can barely get a gasp out before he hears you two tumbling in the dust, making him panic even more as he tries to land on his feet with his jetpack. When he manages to get onto his own two feet and narrowly misses getting hit with the speeder, he observes you two in the sand—your form unmoving as the baby lifts his head in unpleasant surprise.

"Cyar—!" Din tries to call for you, getting cut off by his own grunt of surprise when a blaster bolt hits his shoulder. He falls back a few steps, gasping when one hits him square in the helmet. Din can barely see the group that advances on him, but he makes out three people.

"Get the child!" one of them orders a smaller one, but Din won't stand for it. As soon as he gathers his bearings for even just a moment, he pulls his blaster, shooting at the one advancing on the child.

He's cut off mid-shot, causing his blaster bolt to only hit their leg as they fall to the ground. His blaster's ripped from his hand as one of his attackers swings at him with a short fighting stick. Din now turns his focus to this man, dodging his blows and throwing punches whenever he gets the chance to. They go back-and-forth until Din manages to rip the stick from his opponent's hands, hitting him on the back of the head with it.

Another attacker advances on him, pinning him up against a rock as Din lands a punch in his stomach to make him back off. In the split-second of time he has to think, Din can see you still laying on the ground, struggling to get up and help. The crash had affected you even more than he'd anticipated.

"Riduur!" Din tries once again to get your attention, but he's immediately advanced on by a Nikto attacker, having to wrestle him away just as the other attacker comes back with his fighting stick in hand. He's got two on him with no easy end in sight.

That is, until the smaller one tries to aim a longer blaster at him.

Din immediately frees his right arm to release his grappling hook, wrapping it around the weapon and giving it a hard tug to send it flying towards him. He ducks down just in time, letting the weapon hit both the heads of his attackers as he prepares to launch into action against the third.

Instead, he's met with the horrifying sight of the attacker with his arm around your neck, his other hand pressing a knife to the place just below your chin. Your eyelids are hooded as you look at Din, your goggles having been knocked off during the crash as a trail of blood flows out of both your nostrils. Din winces to himself underneath the helmet, lifting his hands in surrender as he realizes you're not only too out of it to retaliate but you also lost all your weapons in the crash.