Seeking the Jedi

With extreme reluctance, Din nevertheless decided to accept Bo-Katan's offer for a drink, though he clearly was not going to remove his helmet. The three armored warriors sitting around the table with him were Mandalorian, he had no doubt about that, for they knew far too much about Mandalorian culture for them to be anything but: that, or they were just very good actors with knowledge they shouldn't know. But they are not true Mandalorians, there's no way they could be. He was raised by Mandalorians, taught everything there was to know about his people, and the Way of the Mandalore. That is the only way.
"Trask is a black market port," Bo-Katan was saying, and he listened. "They're staging weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet. We're seizing those weapons and using them to retake our homeworld. Once we've done that, we'll continue with the rebuilding of our society."
If they could see him, he would be rolling his eyes in exasperation at the idea.
"That planet is cursed. Anyone who goes there dies," he states firmly. "Once the Empire knew they couldn't control it, they made sure no one else could either."
"Don't believe everything you hear," she replies dismissively. "Our enemies want to separate us. But Mandalorians are stronger together."
Din shakes his head in disagreement.
"That's not part of my plan. I've been quested with returning this Child to the Jedi," he informs her.
Bo-Katan observes the Child for a moment with a thoughtful gaze, and then looks up at him.
"What do you know of the Jedi?" she asks.
"Nothing," he admits bitterly. "I was hoping you would help me by Creed."
Koska pauses while in the middle of eating and glances over at the Child, who gazes back in kind with a small whine, hungrily eyeing the seafood she was eating. Bo-Katan shares a knowing look with Axe, who stares back in skeptical unease.
"Perhaps," Bo-Katan finally responds, staring at Din with serious intensity, her eyes narrowed. "And... how much do you know of Jarik Shan?"
Din straightens up in his chair, blinking his eyes underneath his helmet with a baffled expression, which quickly turns to annoyance.
"What kind of question is that?" he demands irritably.
"Surely the Tribe must at least know something about him, do they not?" she says calmly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Whatever that aru'e does is nothing we will ever concern ourselves with, and that's all we ever need to know," Din states firmly, glaring back at her in frustration.
To his confusion and annoyance, however, Koska bursts our laughing, drawing an exasperated sigh from Axe while Bo-Katan quietly shakes her head with a sigh. Din looks over at Koska, his frustration growing.
"Is something funny to you?" he snaps irritably.
Koska puts her spoon down and leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest while looking at Din with an amused, knowing, smirk.
"You guys really don't pay attention to current events, do you?" she asks mischievously.
"What is she talking about?" Din asks Bo-Katan intensely.
"Something that can be discussed at some other time," she responds, briefly giving Koska a stern glare before returning her gaze to Din. "In any case, I can lead you to the Jedi. But first, we need your help on our mission."
Din looks at her suspiciously, and she merely smirks at him in return. He's tempted to just walk away and disregard her request, having grown irritated by the three seeming Mandalorians: he's especially annoyed by their mentions of Jarik Shan, and doesn't understand why they're asking about him. He's a Mandalorian, so one of Revan's descendants is the last kind of person he'd ever try to look for.
And yet Bo-Katan says she can help him find the Jedi, the ones with whom the Child belongs. This might be his only chance at doing so, and by Mandalorian Creed he has to do it. So with little choice available to him, he accepts her offer.
Category:Chapters
Category:Side Stories
Category:New Republic Era
Category:Bounty Hunter adventures