TERMINAL ︳the mandalorian

─𝐎𝐍𝐄

─𝐎𝐍𝐄─

Din Djarin did not believe he was a good person.

He'd lost track of his age a long time ago, his job count even sooner. Now, as his way of life carried him into the Mid Rim, he sighed into the stars streaming past. Leaden shoulders beneath beskar armor failed to relax. An iron heart beat steady as he guided his ship out of hyperspace, the destination a small desert moon orbiting a nigh inhabitable planet. He knew of it only through name, through reputation.

Jedha was under the strictest Imperial control the Mandalorian had seen in a long time. TIE fighters carved cruel lines in the frigid stratosphere. Squadrons of trade and import ships followed behind, chauffeured by the tyranny of the Emperor himself. An Imperial Starfighter hovered above the walled city, a fortified warning to those who dared visit the former holy city. Nothing was sacred to the Empire. Nothing remained where the Emperor placed his hand.

The Mandalorian guided his ship down to the desert wasteland, placing it just out of sight amidst the cliff faces. He thought of the statue he'd seen face down in the sand, wondered what it was a statue of.

Inside the city, Jurah looked out from the temple window. The never-ending stream of trade ships never ceased to ignite the acid in his stomach. How dare they collect kyber that was never theirs. He touched the crystal hanging from his neck, a spoil of the ambush that killed his father.

Behind him, there was a heavy hiss, the solid clank of a pronged metal foot against the tightly packed temple floor. Jurah knew very well who stood behind him.

"Each day we wait the Empire spreads its filth through our streets. I cannot stand to watch any longer." He turned and met Saw Gerrera eye to eye. "We rebel today or not at all." He set his jaw firm, the way he'd watched his father do it.

Saw Gerrera had never seen a young man so willing to throw himself into the firefight. In the midst of a world collapsing, he'd found a warrior in Jurah Stuet. His impatience, however, would prove to someday be his downfall. You see, Saw Gerrera could not make the trip into the city himself anymore. He could not be the rebel he'd always strived to be. So instead, he looked to Jurah.

"You cannot rush rebellion, Jurah. The time will come."

Jurah clenched his fists as his sides. He felt the pull of the planet on his very existence, tugging his heart in every direction. He thought of Nyara back home, old enough now that there was grey in her hair and he had to make her grocery trips in the market. He thought of Rowan alone walking, blind but not defenseless. They were his family and he would spend every moment until his last fighting for them and them alone.

"The time is now!" He cried, the flames of ambition spilling from his lips. "We cannot afford to wait anymore. We wait longer and they grow more powerful." He did not wait for Saw to answer. "We attack tonight on the docks when the kyber shipments arrive." Around him, the band of rebels cried out in agreement, weapons raised in the air and brows nailed hard. Saw Gerrera knew then that he was watching something unfold, watching history lay at his feet for him to step upon. He knew then that Jurah was not a warrior, not in the sense of glorious victory. Jurah was a warrior with his life laid upon a tripwire and when the wire snapped and took Jurah with it, he would become a martyr for the cause.