“So, this has been going on for a while?” Mando asked Esther. He, she, and the others were in the base’s lobby. Esther had just finished sharing her story with Mando.
She braided her hair and pulled it over her shoulder. Tugging it, she explained, “Dante was one of the first brainwashing victims, aside from our children. Up until about six months ago, the brainwashing had mostly been confined to this sector, but the Mastermind seemed to wipe out all our transmissions for help. So, we Vikings have been trying to find them, but they always find a way to hide.”
“So, like a DNA change,” Mando confirmed, recalling the invisible attack on him and Luke when they left Ossus.
Esther nodded. “That and advanced technology. I was beginning to lose hope, Mando, but then you came along.” She stroked her hair for a second, then dropped her hands. “You’re not like the others. You’re still fighting, which is rare when someone hits the amnesia stage. That endurance is why we know where the base is now. Thank you for giving me hope.” She focused on Grogu. “You’re a great father, just like Dante was.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Mando argued.
“Well, you are,” Esther pried. “You just need to tell yourself that and believe it, as Luke has been trying to teach you.”
Mando fell quiet, but then Luke’s transmission device activated.
“I just landed, Luke,” Zeb said. “You can come out and leave now.”
“Great! Thank you, Zeb.” Luke shut off the device and gave the others a hopeful smile. “Well, this is it. Let’s save some families.”
“Me, too?” Perking up, Rotta placed his hand on his bulging chest.
“We need everyone,” Luke said. “A good Hutt is a nice change of pace. We could use your muscles.” He patted Rotta’s shoulder with his left hand, and Rotta grinned.
“I’ve been accepted! Thank you, Master Luke!” Without warning, he picked him up and squeezed him. “I won’t let you down.”
Struggling to breathe, Luke gasped, “You’re welcome.”
Even Esther and Grogu smiled a bit, but Mando remained quiet.
***
The New Republic and the Vikings looked as if they were preparing when Mando and his allies made it back outside: pilots raced toward their ships, mechanics checked them, and a couple of large transport cruisers had just landed at the spaceport, each with a ramp that dropped out from under their bulky hulls.
There was Zeb. He had landed the Razor Crest away from the cruisers and stood outside with R2 and another Viking.
At the sight of Luke, R2 beeped and rolled to him, full of energy. He circled Luke, who tried following his movements.
“R2!” he said, kneeling. “How are you doing?”
Zeb soon approached them, a helmet under his arm. “We charged him on the way here. It was tough flying here, but I had a good guide.” There, he waved at the Viking he had come with before focusing back on Luke. “How’s Mando?” he asked while the others moved toward the Razor Crest.
“He’s hanging in there, but only by a thread,” Luke elucidated. “I think it’s going to get really tough for him when we reach the base.”
“He’s not going to be alone, right?” Seriousness was in Zeb’s voice, but also compassion.
“No. We’ll make sure of that.” Luke stood and faced Zeb. “We just sent the coordinates to the hidden base to you guys, so we’ll go on ahead, and you can follow.”
“Sounds good.” A smile tugged at Zeb’s lips. “We’re checking shields right now, and the Vikings have agreed to help, too.” He gestured at the transport cruisers. “More transport cruisers are coming as well, so we can get people off that base.”
“Thanks for everything, Zeb,” Luke said, gesturing at R2. “We’ll see you there.”
Saluting, Zeb said, “May the Force be with you.”
“You, too. Come on, R2.” With those words, Luke headed for the Razor Crest, R2 at his heels. He met up with Esther and Rotta, and instantly, his eyes seemed to widen. “Where’s Mando?”
“He’s in the cockpit,” Esther said, “but Grogu is watching over him.”
“The cockpit? But he still can’t fly.” Luke started up the Razor Crest’s ramp. “And Grogu can only do so much. We can’t leave Mando alone, guys, especially since we’re heading to the nebula now.”
“Right. Sorry, Master Luke.” Rotta offered Esther his hand, and she took it. They followed Luke and R2, but looked back at the prepping New Republic one more time before disappearing inside the ship.
As Esther had said, Mando was in the cockpit, but his shoulders were slumped, and he held his head, groaning. His tummy rumbled nonstop now, and he ended up swallowing some spit.
Grogu, keeping his distance by sitting in the passenger seat behind Luke’s seat, kept talking to him, but fear and maybe even a few tears clouded his eyes. Mando’s gauntlet was in his lap.
After another minute, Esther and Luke entered the cockpit, and their eyes landed on Mando.
“Are you okay, Mando?” Luke inquired, sitting in the pilot seat and starting up the Razor Crest.
Esther took the seat behind Mando, biting her lip until it bled.
To Luke, Mando shook his head. “No. My head hurts, and I’m hungry and thirsty.” He didn’t care that he sounded like a child; he just wanted everything to be over.
“I know.” There was still hope in Luke’s voice. “But it’s almost over.”
Mando groaned again. “Can it be over now?”
Luke giggled.
Rotta soon appeared in the cockpit’s doorway, a blanket over his shoulder.
Esther, Grogu, and Luke glanced at him, sporting friendly looks.
“I thought Mando could use this,” Rotta said, stretching his arm and handing Esther the blanket.
“Thank you, Rotta.” Esther stood, draped the blanket over Mando, then sat back down and strapped up. “Just hang in there, Din.”
“I’ll try.” Mando removed his hand from his head and typed the coordinates to the base into the Razor Crest’s computer. He then sat back, wrapped the blanket around himself, and lowered his head. Three seconds later, he breathed silently, indicating that he had fallen asleep.
“We need to move, Luke,” Esther sternly said. “He’s getting worse. I’ll guide you out of Oamia.”
“Just tell me what to do.” Luke lifted the Razor Crest off the ground and said to Rotta, “Rotta, you and R2 make sure you strap in.”
“Got it,” Rotta said, still optimistic behind his concerned expression. He left the cockpit, and the door hissed shut.
“Okay. Shield up.” Luke flipped a few switches.
Outside the Razor Crest, the invisible shield briefly came into view. It pulsed before disappearing again.
“Done,” Luke said in the cockpit. He flew the Razor Crest toward Oamia’s cloud cover, the New Republic base becoming smaller behind them. The ship bounced through the turbulence, but Esther gestured with her hand.
“Keep the wings level, Luke. It’s like the Force.”
Luke nodded and adjusted the Razor Crest’s wings. Before long, the turbulence faded, and Luke flew smoothly through the atmosphere, which grew darker the higher they went.
Eventually, Mando and his team left Oamia and found themselves in the familiar pitch-blackness of space, the Oamia Nebulae looming before them.
Grogu whimpered and hugged Mando’s gauntlet close. However, he soon narrowed his eyes and loosened his grip.
Luke brought the ship to a halt before the nebula, his mouth twitching. He rested his hand over the hyperspace switch and inhaled. “There it is, Esther.”
“There it is,” Esther repeated after him, looking from Mando to Luke. “For Mando?”
“For everyone,” Luke corrected. Beads of sweat dripped down his temples, but he gripped the switch and pulled it.
The Razor Crest shot forward, disappearing inside the Oamia Nebulae.
***
The journey to Mando’s coordinates took about an hour. The ship bounced through the wormhole in the nebula, but its shield protected it from dust and particles; regardless, that didn’t mean that the journey wasn’t a little uncomfortable.
For the first thirty minutes, Luke and Esther let Mando sleep (the bouncing didn’t even faze him). Esther and Grogu kept an eye on him, while Luke kept his eyes on the wormhole.
Mando’s blanket fell, but Esther pulled it back up to his shoulder and rested her hand on it for a second before pulling it away.
“How’s he doing, Esther?” Luke inquired, setting his right hand beside the computer.
Esther noticed him puffing out his cheeks slightly but said, “I think we need to get him back to the doctor once this mission is over.”
“I was already planning to,” Luke said. “I think he’ll need two weeks off after this.”
“How are you doing?” Esther asked, examining his arm. “Is your arm okay?”
“Just a little sore, but Mando’s in worse shape than me.” Grogu whimpered, so Luke revised his words. “He’s just exhausted, Grogu—he’s not dying. He needs some time to recover from his head injury and the brainwashing.”
Grogu still looked worried, so Esther and Luke encouraged him during the rest of Mando’s rest.
Esther eventually shook him awake and said, “We’re in the nebula and should be there in another half-hour. We may need help with the guns if we’re ambushed.”
Why can’t I just sleep? Mando thought to himself. That was all he wanted—his head was killing him. And who were the other two people in his cockpit with him and Grogu again? Mando felt like he knew, but the names had vanished from his mind.
Raising his eyebrows, he asked Esther and Luke, “Who are you again?”
They froze, but then Luke said, “We’re Luke Skywalker and Esther. Come on, Mando—you need to keep trying to fight the brainwashing.”
“Luke and Esther?” Mando’s helmet glitched, and his neck jerked. Groaning, he clutched his head with both hands and tucked it between his knees in a fetal-like position. The ringing and humming were back.
Grogu set his gauntlet down and reached for his seatbelt, but Esther held her hand up to him. “I know it’s hard to watch, Grogu—it was hard for me, too—but we can’t risk you getting hurt. You can’t get near him until that helmet is off.”
A tear dripped down Grogu’s cheek, and he held his arms out to Mando. His eyes read, I want to be with him, though.
“It hurts,” Mando soon complained. His leg twitched as much as his helmet, and he gripped it harder. “Make it stop.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Luke wanted to know.
Esther gulped but explained, “Regression is common in the later stages of brainwashing.”
“Regression? What can we do to help?” A touch of desperation was in Luke’s voice.
“We can only support him and try to make him comfortable,” Esther admitted. “Hope he continues to fight. Dante and our children didn’t have a support system, but Mando does.”
“I don’t want to be brainwashed,” Mando finally said, eventually remembering Luke and Esther. He lifted his head, his face stern. “I won’t be brainwashed. I promised Grogu that he wouldn’t lose me.”
Esther gave him a small smile. “That mindset, Din, is how I know you’ll overcome this.”
For the final thirty minutes, Mando listened to Grogu, Esther, and Luke, who reminded him who he was, why he was fighting, and how he had located the hidden base… because he chose to keep fighting, even with a head injury compromising him further. He had shown the Mastermind that technology couldn’t overshadow the love a parent had for their child, or a child for their parent.
Mando pointed the Razor Crest’s guns out at Luke, saying, “I’ll tell you when you can properly use the rockets.” He mumbled his next word. “Hopefully.”
Before dropping out of light speed, Luke sent a transmission to the New Republic. “We’ll scout the base first—find the hangar bay,” he explained to Zeb through his holographic image. “See what we’re dealing with, and then we’ll summon you when we’re ready.”
“Sounds like a plan, Master Skywalker.” Zeb nodded at him. “The most important thing is that you find the hangar bay, Mastermind, and the brainwashed army so that we can be in and out.”
“Right. See you soon.” Luke shut off the hologram and checked the map. “All right, here we are.” He, Mando, Esther, and Grogu moved toward the edge of their seats. Mando, Esther, and Grogu held their breaths when Luke pulled the hyperspace switch again, and they dropped out of the wormhole.
There they were: in the eye of the Oamia Nebulae. It was dark and endless, but the nebula’s wall surrounded them from every angle: above, below, and around, showcasing its many hues. In the distance before them, beneath a towering cloud of dust, was a large ring in space, lit by its many windows and lights. It looked like the Death Star, but only its outer ring.
“That’s it.” Esther quickly unbuckled herself and pointed out the cockpit at the ring. “My family.”
Just seeing the ring sent another wave of pain through Mando’s head, and he reached for it. Yet, he filled his mind with memories of his early days as a bounty hunter, his journey with Grogu, and even his current journey with Luke, Rotta, Esther, and R2. He liked to work alone, but hell, he was grateful for the team and support he had right now. He would’ve already been fully brainwashed if he didn’t have them.
“I can’t believe we found it.” A sigh of relief left Luke’s lips, but he collected himself. “All right, let’s find that hangar bay.”
But before Luke flew forward, the Razor Crest jerked, and its shield flickered as it spun away from the base as if it were a dreidel.
Mando heard R2 wailing from the common room, as well as Rotta saying, “Whoa, little guy! I’ve got you!”
Mando stopped his head from hitting something again and looked at Luke, explaining, “It’s the invisible enemy.” Well, now he had proof that, yes, the invisible enemy and the conspiracy were connected. But how would they navigate the invisible enemy and get to the base?
Wait. Something popped into Mando’s mind: Luke’s flying lesson and how he got through it. That was it.
Mando focused on Grogu and Luke and said, while his helmet glitched, “We need the Force.”
ns216.73.216.67da2
and then Add to home screen.