Chapter Text
Sirens blared loudly throughout the whole city of Sundari. Bo-Katan groaned as she opened her eyes to see that the sun didn’t even come up yet.
Something must’ve triggered the planet defense system.
“All fighter pilots, proceed to your ship. Warriors, proceed to your position. This is not a drill.”
What the hell is going on? Bo asked herself as she quickly got up from her bed and got her armor on. As she was strapping her blaster belt on, Koska Reeves barged into her room, looking panicked.
“Imps.” Just one word from Koska, Bo-Katan was in a battle-mode in that instance.
The Duchess nodded and put her helmet on. “Let’s go.”
Both of them ran towards the balcony of Bo’s room and ignited their jetpacks. Other Mandalorian warriors were flying off from their building as well, ready to go to battles to defend their world.
For eight months, there was not a single attack on their planet from any factions. This would mark the first time someone tried to test Mandalorian’s might after the retaking of their homeworld.
But since then, their numbers have grown exponentially. Mandalorians from all over the galaxy returned to their homeworld. The rebuilding progress went on faster than Bo initially expected.
“Do we know how many of them?”
“Sensors only detected an Imperial shuttle coming out of hyperspace.” Koska reported through her comm as they flew through the city.
Bo frowned. This doesn’t make any sense at all . “One shuttle?”
“We suspect there will be more of them. That’s why Axe sounded the alarm.”
They landed near Bo’s Gauntlet where her Nite Owls had already assembled nearby. Bo and Koska got to their pilot seats while Daal Kast took her position at the navigation system. The rest of the crew went to the launch bay and strapped into their seats.
Bo powered up the ship and took off, leading the Mandalorian fleet into the upper atmosphere.
“This is our best response time.” Koska spoke up. “Five minutes.”
“As it should be.” Bo replied as she reached her hand to the weapon system control panel, flickering some switches. “Weapon system ready.”
“Our fleet on Kalevala is on standby as well.” Daal reported.
“Good. Let’s hope we can easily deal with this one.”
Finally, they approached the lone Imperial shuttle. Two fang fighters quickly moved into their positions, flanking Bo’s ship to provide protection for their Mand’alor. Axe’s Gauntlet circled around to the back of the Imperial shuttle.
Bo gave a nod to Koska to initiate contact with the Imperial ship. She will remain out of sight for a while, not wanting to alert the Imps of her presence.
“Imperial ship, what’s your business here?” Koska spoke through comm. “You are now surrounded by the Mandalorian fleet.”
“We come in peace. Please don’t shoot. We have a clearance code.” A female voice came through the channel, urgently. “We will send it to you now.”
Bo and Koska looked at one another. They both knew that the woman didn’t sound like an Imperial pilot. But all of this could be a decoy to distract them from the real threat.
“Everyone be on guard.” Bo-Katan gave a warning.
“Their clearance code is legit.” Daal confirmed. “But it said that this code is a personal clearance code of Din Djarin.”
Once the name came out of her friend’s mouth, Bo turned her head to look at Daal. “What?” She was confused and alarmed at the same time.
If this Imperial pilot got Din’s code, that would probably mean that Din had to give up this information unwillingly, but Bo will not wait around to find out. Din must’ve been in danger. Her whole body tensed up, ready for a fight. Her protective instinct and worries got the better of her.
Her hand pressed on the communication button. “Where did you get this clearance code? What did you do to Din Djarin? If you get this code from him, it means that you have to torture him for it.”
Bo-Katan was now on edge and her voice was very hostile. Everyone could sense the shift of their Mand’alor’s emotions once she thought that Din Djarin was in danger.
She went down the threatening route right away, fearing for her friend’s safety. “Answer me right now or we will blow you up into oblivion! This is our final warning.”
Before the pilot could reply, the ship's sensors went off, alerting them of incoming enemies.
“Duchess, another ship just came out of hyperspace!”
Bo quickly maneuvered her ship to the direction of the newly arrived spaceship. But what she saw wasn’t what she expected. The familiar sleek, silver cladded N1 showed up. Koska quickly looked at her leader because she knew that Bo probably didn’t pay any attention anymore when she saw that ship.
“Sorry, I’m late. Couldn’t shake off the pirates.” His calming, modulated voice came through comm. Din Djarin in the flesh, alive and well, to everyone's relief. “Dank farrik, guys, stand down. These are friends of mine. They come here with business proposals for our Duchess of Mandalore.”
“All ships, stand down.” Koska gave the order in Bo’s stead because she knew her friend’s brain probably went haywire right now at the sight of the man.
“Koska, nice to hear a friendly voice again.” Din greeted with a hint of teasing in his voice.
Koska smirked. “I'm friendly but can’t say the same for other people down there.”
Din chuckled. “Let’s get down to the surface. I also have urgent matters to speak with the Armorer.”
“Alright, all ships, let’s head home. N1 and the Imperial Shuttle, the control tower will assign you a landing pad.”
“Rogers that.”
Koska clearly saw how tense Bo-Katan was throughout her short conversation with Din Djarin. Her hands gripped tightly to the controllers as if she was trying to restrain herself not to yell at him.
It must’ve been hard for her friend to see him again after such a long time. Eight months of hearing nothing from him and suddenly he dropped out of hyperspace in front of her.
This is going to be fun . Koska mused. Or it is going to be unbearable to all of Mandalore .
.
.
.
.
The whole trip down to the surface of Mandalore was very quiet. Only quiet chatters between the control tower and the Gauntlet to confirm that they were clear to land.
Bo remained quiet and didn’t say a word after the sudden appearance of Din Djarin. Her mind was a mess right now as she didn’t expect to see him, despite how much she wanted to see him again. Well, she woke up thinking there was going to be an invasion on her planet anyway. She didn’t wake up to a reunion with Din kriffing Djarin.
Eight kriffing months that he kriffed off without saying goodbye and leaving her in such an absolute mess that was her mental state.
She didn’t know how to react or how she should act around him anymore. Everything had changed since the day he left her. Bo knew she wasn’t that same love sick puppy waiting for him to come home anymore. She was now a fire ball of pure anger and resentment.
If he could hurt her, she could hurt him back as well. Peace was never an option when someone hurted Bo-Katan’s feelings.
Bo let out a long sigh as she landed the Gauntlet. She stood up and watched as the N1 and the Imperial Shuttle landed close to her. Din was powering down the N1 and headed for the Imperial shuttle.
“Let’s go.” Koska spoke up. “You will have to greet them, Duchess.”
Bo dreaded that she had to do that. All she wanted to do right now was to disappear, retreating to the safety of her own room. Or someone might have ended up dead, someone that was Din Djarin.
Bo-Katan stood with her hands behind her back in front of her ship with Koska and Daal flanking her left and right. The rest of her Nite Owls lined up behind the Mand’alor for extra protection.
Finally, the ramp of the Imperial shuttle lowered down, revealing a small group of delegates. The person at the front was a beautiful woman with tan skin, long brown hair, and kind brown eyes. Then Bo’s eyes rested on the familiar little green figure attaching to the woman’s hip. It was a sight that made her heart arched in pain. Grogu was clinging tightly to the woman, indicating the closeness and familiarity between them. He was babbling something and the woman smiled softly at the child. Din must’ve trusted the woman enough to let Grogu travel with her, not to mention he didn’t take his back into his arms right away. They probably knew each other for a long time, long before they even met Bo.
Suddenly, Bo felt the overwhelming waves of emotion clashing over her. But one emotion that she could pinpoint was heartbreak. That was the only emotion she felt most strongly, especially when Din held out his hand and helped the woman walk down the ramp, staying close to her. Grogu was still giggling and babbling happily. Bo couldn’t mistake the loving look in the woman’s eyes as she looked at Din. This kind of closeness only meant one thing and one thing only.
Had he already taken his vows and bound his soul to her?
Bo-Katan knew all kinds of heartbreak and was pretty certain that she was familiar with all of it. But this was another level. This one borderlined cruelty at its finest. She wanted something she couldn’t have from the start and let her own feelings run wild for this man when his heart already belonged to someone else. Din Djarin had been leading her on this whole time. He never said a word about this woman or his relationship with her.
Oh someone is going to be so dead .
Her eyes kept on watching as they walked across the landing platform towards her. She felt like she was losing something, some parts of her. It should be her that was holding Grogu and walking next to Din. That was her place. And now she had no place beside them at all.
Bo-Katan quickly straightened herself and held her head high, hiding any gesture that could give away her emotions. Her hands still clasped together behind her back. And just for this one time, she didn’t care to remove her helmet to reveal her face to her guests. She was taught from a young age that she should remove the helmet when meeting with other people as a way to show her sincerity, opening herself and welcoming her guests, showing a sign of letting her guard down and reducing any hostility.
She was not going to do that today. Like she said, peace was never an option.
When they were nearing her, little Grogu’s big brown eyes finally saw the familiar figure of the woman who wore an owl helmet. He reached his hands out to her immediately and called her ‘Bu’, wanting to be held by her. It took all of Bo-Katan’s willpower to remain still and not turn her head towards the young child. Grogu’s large ears folded down immediately when she rejected him and didn’t even acknowledge him. Grogu tried to call her again but Bo remained still. She needed to show that none of this affected her in any way. She needed to maintain her façade of the Duchess. She couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of the guests, especially in front of Din Djarin.
“Lady Kryze,” Din was the first one to greet her with his fisted hand on his heart and bow his head. “This is Omera of Sorgan. She is the elected leader of the Council of Sorgan.”
Omera curtsy in front of the Duchess. “An honor to meet you, Duchess Bo-Katan. Din speaks highly of you.”
Bo gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. “The honor is mine. Welcome to Sundari, the capital of Mandalore.”
“I hope that the proposal I have for you will benefit both of our planet.”
“I hope so.” Bo agreed. “It’s been a long journey for you. You should get some rest and enjoy the city. We will discuss our business tomorrow.” The Duchess turned towards her friend. “Koska, can you see to our guests’ accommodations?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I have a meeting in an hour. I need to get ready.”
“Of course, Duchess, thank you for your generous hospitality.”
Bo gave another nod before turning sharply on her heel to leave the scene as fast as she could. But Grogu’s sad voice, calling after her, stopped her dead in her tracks.
“Bu?”
Bo inhaled sharply. Her fist clenched tightly before she ignited her jetpack and flew off, heading back to her room inside the palace of Sundari.
She just needed to leave. She couldn’t stand another second here.