The Vow of Two Creeds: A Mandalorian Story

1: The Child

The air in the encampment was dry and dusty. Both of which irritated Nova, but not as much as the actions of the Nikito mercenaries. They have not said a word to her since she was dropped off in the encampment. Their only interaction came in the form of dropping off rations and the casual beating she endured when she looked strong. Strong is was she tried to be, but in reality, she was scared. 

It has been almost twelve years since she has seen her master after he put her into hiding. She was only six and barely educated on the way of the force. She was told she was powerful but a risk to the Jedi Order due to her compassion and emotion. The Jedi Order. A failed order which betrayed her master and her. She was left without a home, a family, a chance at life because of them. She was left to scavenge at a young age, hide from The Empire, conceal her growing powers, and never stay long enough to make connections. But even with all of this, the little things were what she relied on. Her lightsaber which she was able to make herself or her padawan braid her master braided for her right before she died, were the little things she valued. She had to value the little things or she wouldn't have anything.

It was hard to see the daylight cycle in her darkroom. But the routine of the food orders has shown to be the only constant in her life. That and the child. The little green creature with whom she bonded. He had adorable large ears and wide eyes. He was the little thing that made her want to push through and fight for freedom, not only for her but for the little one. 

The child she has known as Grogu is also forced sensitive like her. Through the reading of one's emotions, they were allowed to silently communicate without alarming the guard that resided outside their door. His immaturity and inability of protecting himself made him defenseless. He was housed in the encampment longer than Nova and shared his knowledge on the area. Although his memory wasn't very helpful as he only paid attention to the small tasty creatures that resided on the planet.

It was around five months into Nova's encampment when someone, which Nova assumed to be a bounty hunter sent from The Empire, had gotten close to the encampment. Nova tried then to escape, thinking that the Nikito mercenaries would be preoccupied with the bounty hunterS to realize their escape. She tried to break away from her cuffs which inhibited her force abilities, but not her will. Sadly they didn't budge. She knocked out the guard with one strike to the back of his orangish-yellow head and stole his blaster. She triggered Grogu's pod to follow her and ran out of the room. It was then she was blinded by the sun in which she hasn't seen in months. She pushed through staying close to the walls. 

She saw the opening of the mountain which seemed to be the only exit. But between there and where she and Grogu stood were at least 100 mercenaries and five bounty hunters. The battle was colorful with blaster shots filling the sky. A ping of anxiety filled her. She didn't have her lightsaber and she hasn't' used a blaster in forever. She wasn't just protecting herself but another being. 

She glances down at the child and tells him it is going to be okay. Then with a boost of courage takes cover at a nearby rock and starts picking off mercenaries. It was especially difficult to shoot with bound hands. But she makes sure not to draw attention to her. The battle was fairing well for Nova until the mercenaries used an ion cannon to take out the last of the bounty hunters. This left only her to defend herself. 

She closed the pod of the child and took off towards the speeder nearby in an attempt to free themselves. But it soon ended with a single shot ringing through the valley that caused her to drop. she plummeted face-first into the mud, her leg struggling to function. She tried with all the strength she had to crawl towards the speeder that was a mere five feet away. Tears staining her dirty cheeks. She reaches out to the speeder only to have her hand stepped on by a mercenary. Her scream echoed through the valley.

That was the last time she tried to escape. It was also the last time they were given full rations. Apparently, the bounty hunters blew up the ration tent instead of the ammunition tent leaving the mercenaries struggling for food. 

It took ten mercenaries to clean and bandage the young Jedi. Her tendency to head bud and bite anyone that came near her made their attempts difficult. She wondered why they cared about her being. If they cared so much then why shoot her?

A week after the attempted escape Nova and Grogu were finally put back into the same room. A weight was released off Nova's chest when she saw the small child. The time of happiness fell short when she realized the rations were not enough for the both of them.

At first, they split a single ration. But after a few days, it proved to not be enough. Nova acting like she wasn't starving told Grogu to eat the majority of the rations. Nova grew weaker by the day but wouldn't let the small green ball of joy know that. 

One day almost a month after the attempted escape, Nova struggled to maintain composure. She was in and out of consciousness when the sound of blasters filled her ears. She thought it to be a hallucination, a sign that she was dying. She crawled over to the child pod and closed along with placing ropes and boxes around it in hope of concealing it. It was until the blaster fighting stopped and the door of her room open to reveal a man and a droid, with a path of dead mercenaries behind them. She looked at the man with the beskar armor in pain. It was then she was met with the damp floor and darkness.