“The nebula, Din?” Luke gave him a thoughtful look.
“It makes sense,” Mando said, his attention moving to Esther. “The worst of the brainwashing has been in this sector, so for the Mastermind to reach all three planets simultaneously… It just makes sense.” He tapped his helmet. “The helmet is also telling me it’s where we need to go.”
“Hm.” Esther crossed her arms and tapped her left one. “It does make sense, now thinking about it. We may be able to get a better lead at the base. We could have one of the technicians take a look at your helmet and see if it originated from one of the Oamian Planets, Mando. If not, then I think that will prove your theory.”
“Do you think they may also know about Dante?” Luke pried, but not forcefully.
It looked like he was thinking the same thing as Mando: Esther knew something about Dante. He was especially confident when she cringed, but she collected herself.
“We can ask when we get there.” From there, Esther left the group, right as the clouds began moving in again.
Mando had just learned how to open up more about the Dragonsnake—“There’s always that one case that hits harder than the rest”—so he wondered if he could pass that lesson on to Esther (get some answers out of her). Not now, though, because Mando felt himself yawning behind his helmet, even though he kept telling himself to stay awake. His hunger and thirst were becoming more apparent, too, but Mando tried his best to ignore them and sat back down on the deck.
“Mando, you really need to try to get some rest,” Luke almost begged, but he shook his head.
“I’ll sleep after the mission, Luke.” Well, that was a big lie because not even two minutes later, Mando dropped onto his back and shut his eyes, out like a light under the Oamia Nebulae.
Grogu fell asleep again, too, so Rotta scooped him up and wrapped his arms around him like a blanket.
Luke chuckled and disappeared below deck for a minute. He reemerged with a blanket and a pillow. He slipped the pillow under Mando’s head and tossed the blanket over him, right when he turned onto his side and set his hand under it.
Luke spent the rest of the journey meditating under the nebula and clouds, collecting his thoughts. He occasionally watched the nebula and rubbed his beardless chin.
About ten minutes from the base, the sharp rocks returned, but those rocks were closer together than the ones outside the spaceport. Therefore, Esther brought the oars in, using the solar power to snake through the rocks and waves carefully. Water was sprayed onto the deck, but Mando and Grogu didn’t stir.
Luke noticed Esther speaking into a radio in her pod, but stayed close to Mando, Grogu, and Rotta, just in case something happened.
Thick fog had moved in over the ocean, but Luke still barely saw the outlines of the tall cliffs.
A few docks soon appeared, and Esther pulled up beside one of them, lowering the sails and handing the line to a few more towering Vikings guarding the dock. Like her, they wore black suits, had paint on their muscular arms, and long hair.
One Viking said, “Nice to see you again, Captain Esther,” in a deep, monotone voice. “I will take you and your guests to the base.” He gestured at a tall cliff behind him, which had been cut into switchbacks: no protection if someone got too close to the edge. “We have some beds ready for them to get some rest.”
“Just a few hours,” Esther said. “We think we have a lead and need to get a technician to look at the helmet on the bounty hunter’s head. Sooner rather than later.”
“Yes, Captain.” The man backed away, leaving Esther to call to Luke and Rotta:
“Let’s go. Luke, you wake Mando.”
Luke nodded and knelt to him.
He shook Mando awake, preventing the recurring Dragonsnake nightmare from completing its course. Good, because that one had included drowning. Each nightmare was slightly different, but nothing good ever came from them.
Mando sat and searched his surroundings, finally asking Luke, “I fell asleep again, didn’t I?” And it still wasn’t enough. He was still tired—the shockwave encased his head—but he didn’t feel that much different: he was still pissed as hell that he couldn’t get near Grogu, but at least he remained strong enough to fight.
For how much longer, though?
Mando pushed the thought aside and tried to focus on the mission, although his brain was fuzzy from too little sleep and his growing hunger and thirst. He stepped off the boat onto the dock, his eyes landing on the remaining two Vikings.
Mando couldn’t see much, since it was still dark and foggy, but two bright lights in the fog indicated that a ship was taking off. Why did his helmet tug him toward it? It was as if the ship were calling him.
Fighting the helmet, Mando again shook his head, not focusing forward until he no longer heard the ship’s engines. He walked behind the new, tall Viking, Esther, and Luke through the port to the cliff, his eyes following the switchbacks and lack of protection—for children and adults.
His instincts kicking in, Mando looked over his shoulder at Rotta. “Rotta, make sure that you carry Grogu up the switchbacks.”
“No worries, Mando,” Rotta said, showing him Grogu, still asleep. “I don’t think we have to worry about that.”
But what if something happened? No, Rotta would be careful with Mando’s kid; regardless, he found himself constantly checking on him during the journey up the switchbacks to what he guessed was the New Republic base at the top of the cliff. The sound of crashing waves upped that anxiety a little, even though they were far enough in from the ocean.
Wait, did Oamia have tsunamis?
No, Mando, stop.
Why couldn’t he protect his kid?
The helmet hummed, so Mando hit it until his hand hurt. No! It wasn’t going to separate him from Grogu!
Turning, Mando tried running to him, but the helmet jerked and threw him back into Luke.
“Whoa!” Luke went right over the edge of the switchback, but Esther grabbed his leg before he could plummet.
Before long, Luke dangled, his arms swinging before him.
Where Mando landed, he sat and rubbed his head. Wait, why was he on the ground? He was mad about something, but what? However, he did still remember that ship on the beach that he had been drawn toward: those glowing eyes that told him to follow it (to the nebula, perhaps?).
Esther and the new Viking worked together to pull Luke back up to the path.
He narrowed his eyes and glared at Mando, who gave him a blank look. “Mando, you can’t be near Grogu right now. The more you try, the more the helmet will influence your guys’ relationship.” His angry look turned to concern when Mando didn’t move; instead, he continued staring into space, not speaking… nothing.
“There’s something wrong,” Rotta soon said, holding Grogu closer. He rocked him to keep him sleeping.
“I agree.” Esther chewed the inside of her lip and approached Mando, helping him stand. “I don’t think we can wait until dawn anymore. We need to get those technicians now and get the helmet off.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Luke gritted his teeth.
Esther passed him and made Mando walk between her and the other Viking for extra protection. “I’ve seen this before, Luke,” she said, “with”—a lump formed in her throat—“my own family. I think Mando just triggered the amnesia stage of the brainwashing.”
ns216.73.217.110da2
and then Add to home screen.