Wow, Dante was right. Mando’s head felt so much better once he switched out his damaged helmet with the new one. It was nice and snug, not constantly pushing against his head, and the same color as his cape. He could finally see again, too, and no longer stumbled like before. He could get used to it, but nope. Mandalorians had their own helmets. This one was a “temporary” one.
Now almost back at the spaceport, Mando and Grogu stopped when they saw Luke and Rotta facing one another… talking! Were they finally getting along?
Luke leaned against an X-Wing (not his), arms crossed.
Rotta chucked his hands forward. “I tossed the little guy forward so he could get to the autopilot.”
“I know,” Luke said, pushing off the ship and uncrossing his arms. “You did well, Rotta.”
“I’m a good Hutt—promise,” Rotta said. “Wasn’t your father Darth Vader? And you’re a good guy. How am I any different?”
That was good. Rotta was standing up for himself.
“I know,” Luke repeated. He was still tense, but Mando noticed him relaxing a little (so there was some trust). “I’m sorry for misunderstanding you, Rotta.”
And he apologized. That was progress, too.
Luke and Rotta broke apart at the sight of Mando and Grogu.
“There you are, Mando.” Rotta left Luke and approached him, letting out a shaky breath. “Luke’s a tough nut to crack.”
“Give him time,” Mando said. “You’ll earn his trust soon enough.”
“Speaking of cracking…” Rotta next studied Mando’s new helmet. “You got a new helmet?”
“It’s temporary until I fix mine.”
A little hand soon reached for Mando’s broken helmet. Grogu Force-grabbed it and tried setting it on his head, but the helmet instantly covered his head and chest and knocked him down with the weight.
Rotta chuckled and gestured at him. “You want to be like your dad so bad, don’t you, little guy?”
Mando exhaled and removed the helmet from Grogu’s head.
He shook it before nodding at Rotta and patting his chest armor.
Luke soon joined them, saying, “What did the medic say, Mando?” He clenched his fists.
“It’s just a minor concussion,” Mando said. “Nothing serious.” He patted the new helmet. “This is a temporary helmet until I fix mine. It was squeezing my head.”
“Well, that’s good.” Luke focused on Grogu. “Grogu looks like he’s feeling better, now that he knows you’re okay. Don’t you think so?”
“Yeah, he does,” Mando agreed, not yet picking up on Luke’s nudge.
“But you still need to be wary,” he added.
“I know.” Why did Mando feel tension between him, Rotta, and Luke?
Grogu was the only one not serious; instead, he hopped around behind Mando, trying to catch a few bugs that had crawled onto the spaceport.
It wasn’t long until Zeb appeared. He brought his hand to the side of his mouth and called, “Mando, Luke, Rotta… It’s time for the meeting.”
The three soon broke eye contact. Luke and Rotta headed toward Zeb, but Mando stayed behind, saying, “Come on, Grogu.”
Grogu had just finished slurping up a scorpion and smacked his lips. Mando offered him his arm, and Grogu hopped onto it, climbing back up to his shoulder. He was still pretty restless. He crawled all over Mando on the way to the conference room inside the base, switching from one shoulder to the other and up to his head.
The conference room was on the other side of the base, in its own little building close to the beach and an overgrowth of palm trees. There was a large, see-through table programmed with holographic maps. The table’s round shape took up a significant amount of space in the room, but there was still room for a refreshment table and a sitting area. Mando shivered in its air conditioning.
He, Rotta, and Luke gathered around the conference table and watched Zeb pull up a holographic image of the bounty. It showed a blank figure with the word “Mastermind” flashing over it.
“Mastermind?” was the first thing Mando asked.
“We got in touch with a couple of other bases across the Outer Rim yesterday,” Zeb explained, “and they all said that they had a similar attack recently.” He pulled up a map of the Outer Rim and pointed out the areas where an attack had occurred. “Not only that, but they also said that a few of their pilots and mechanics have begun showing unusual signs since the attacks.”
Luke rested his palms on the table and lifted an eyebrow. “Unusual signs? Like what?”
Zeb pulled up a list and scrolled through it. “Increased irritability, mood swings, more violent, etc. The thing is… whatever is causing these attacks is targeting emotionally unstable people.”
“Brainwashing?” Mando guessed. “Is that what we’re dealing with here?” He pulled Grogu off his head and set him in a chair beside him. “Stay, Grogu. We’ll play later.”
Zeb nodded and gave Mando a concerning look. “That’s what we think it is.”
Brainwashing. That was a new one for Mando.
Luke recrossed his arms. “But how can someone brainwash the entire Outer Rim?”
“That’s the thing,” Zeb continued, switching over to the map of the Outer Rim. “We think there’s a technologically advanced base somewhere in the Outer Rim, where there’s a mastermind behind the attacks and brainwashing. So… your assignment, Mando, is to find this base and figure out who this mastermind is. Once you do, bring them back here.” Zeb held up his hands. “The New Republic said that they will pay you handsomely.”
Money was the least of Mando’s worries after hearing this. How could someone be so unethical with technology? There was the heat in his chest again. Did something hum in his new helmet? Whatever… Mando wouldn’t worry about it or his injury. Protecting the Outer Rim from a new threat was more important.
“Is it Imperial?” was his next question. He knew the ex-Galactic Empire still hid in the ashes of the galaxy, trying to regain power. He saw that on Morak.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” Zeb answered. “Here, Mando…” He zoomed in on a new planet on the map, which appeared to be 80% ocean and only 20% land. “There’s a base on the planet of Oamia that was recently hit by one of those invisible attacks. They’ve been having a lot of trouble with brainwashed people. I would start there. It’s in the furthest corners of the Outer Rim.” He transferred the coordinates to Mando’s gauntlet, and he lifted it. “However, don’t do this mission alone. It’s dangerous.”
Danger was Mando’s middle name: Mando Danger Din Djarin.
Before Luke could speak again, Rotta stepped up. “That’s why he has Luke and me,” he told Zeb.
Looking at him, Luke carefully observed him. Mando saw the internal conflict in his eyes.
The humming continued in his helmet, but it soon stopped, and Mando backed away from the table.
The others focused on him.
“Sorry,” Mando soon said, his eyes landing on Grogu, and then Luke, Rotta, and Zeb. “I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I tend to work alone, especially with something like this.” Besides, taking on the mission alone would prove to him that he was still that same bounty hunter before Grogu, as well as protect him and the others. For now, he needed a status update on the Razor Crest so that he could leave quickly: in and out like the doctor’s office.
Luke soon stepped forward, calm yet concerned. “Din, you can’t do this mission alone—you’ve got a concussion. I don’t think you can fly right now. Zeb and I both know how to fly. I tried fighting my father when I wasn’t 100%, and look what happened.” He lifted his right hand and pulled off the glove, revealing his robotic hand. Luke flipped it a few times.
Mando understood Luke’s point, but he was in a full suit of Beskar armor and knew how to fight. He had been shot plenty of times (never wounded).
Grogu’s shoulders tensed again. He started to get out of his chair, but Mando held up his hand.
“No, Grogu. I don’t think I can take you on this mission this time. I’m already a terrible father.”
“Wait, what?” Luke patted his ear, as if trying to slap water out of the other one. “Is that why you came to Ossus?”
Not answering, Mando turned on his heel. He clenched his fists when he heard Grogu jumping out of his chair anyway. “Grogu, please,” he said. No yelling, no yelling. But something on the inside tugged him so hard that he did not feel like himself right now (not that Mando knew who he was anymore).
“Grogu, stop!” he finally snapped, and Grogu jumped. “I can’t take you! I’m sorry.” With those words, he left the room and went back outside, hanging a sharp left and clutching his helmet.
Back in the base, two minutes of silence passed, and then Zeb lifted his hand and gestured at the exit, asking Luke and Rotta, “What’s with him?”
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.