Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Din and Grogu are back in time on Tatooine (because Force Shenanigans). They’ve been there a few days/weeks, so while Din is a space himbo, he is aware something is up because Jabba is alive.

Anyways, Din steps in when Sebulba is threatening Anakin because Children are the Future. Way upheld, child endangering Dug dead, he’s ready to walk away, good deed done. 

Grogu has other ideas.

Jar Jar waves at the baby in the pouch. Ani is in awe of the cuteness. Jinn wonders where the shiny Mandalorian got a baby Yoda/Yaddle. Padme is horrified that this man is carrying a baby in a satchel on his hip. That’s not what satchels are for!

Din… is resigned to the fate his child has chosen for him. He hates having his parenting techniques questioned. The kid is happy and (mostly) safe. Why is this girl making such a big deal out of the satchel? The kid fits comfortably, it makes the kid hard to steal, and it leaves his hands free for weapons. It is a perfect way for carrying Grogu in semi-hostile territory (also, it's cheaper than buying new hover prams).

So, awkward parenting impressions aside, Din is somehow convinced to stick with the group (Jinn believes the Force is drawing them all together. Also, he doesn’t want the Mandalorian bounty hunter to sneak up on them later). 

Off to Casa Skywalker they go to avoid the sandstorm.

When the pod race gets brought up, Din offers to shoot Watto instead. The man’s a slave owner, Din doesn’t have much sympathy. Even if he is not the worst slave owner out there. The Skywalkers will be free and Jinn can just take his ship part. Watto’s not high-rolling enough for anyone to really care if he gets himself killed in a disagreement with a Mandalorian.

Also, Din and Grogu need a ride off-world. If Din grabs the part for them, he wants a ride on their ship once it’s fixed. Jinn and Padme cave, mostly to get Grogu off the dustball. 

Though Padme morally objects to murdering someone for personal gain. Din argues that slavery is also morally objectionable. Sometimes violence is the solution. Also, this plan involves little to no child endangerment, depending on whether or not he can trust them to keep an eye on Grogu. 

Padme is once more horrified by Mandalorian parenting. He would take a baby with him to murder somebody.

D: The kid has literally seen me kill dozens of people.

P: That doesn’t make it better!

D: These are life lessons on how to survive. Rule one: don’t pick a fight with a Mandalorian. Doubly so for a Mandalorian parent.

P: *sputters incomprehensibly*

Shmi offers babysitting services, just please bring back the slave chip control units, I don’t want my baby boy getting blown up. Din agrees that exploding children is bad, he will get those units once the deed is done.

After the sandstorm, Din heads out to murder the Skywalkers to freedom. It is a disappointingly easy job. He gets the control units and the hyperdrive loaded up and goes back to Casa Skywalker. The Skywalkers are freed, as thanks for their hospitality, and Din has secured his ride off of Tatooine with Jinn and Padme.

And Jinn offers Ani the chance to be a Jedi, seeing as the kid is super powerful and the "Chosen One."

A: And as a Jedi, I can come back and free the slaves, right?

J: Ah, well… maybe.

A: Why not?

J: *avoiding politics with a 9y/o* It’s complicated. 

A: *turning to Din* What if I became a Mandalorian?

D: If you’re willing to risk yourself. Might even be able to get your clan to help you.

A: Hmmm.

J: *sweats nervously about losing the Chosen One to an ancestral enemy*

D: But Jedi magic is pretty impressive. It would be worthwhile to get lessons on that first.

A: Okay! *begins plotting to learn magic before becoming Mandalorian and freeing the slaves*

J: *has no clue what to make of this turn of events*

S: *has such high hopes for her little boy, whatever the path he chooses*

So Ani tags along in search of magical training (Jinn hurts every time Din, and now Ani, refers to the Force as “magic.” He doesn’t know Din has been doing this on purpose to the Jedi ever since he reunited with Grogu after giving the kid to Luke. It's a passive-aggressive power move. This also extends to calling lightsabers laser-swords). 

Shmi stays on Tatooine because she doesn’t want to leave the planet she knows for the unknown. Din suggests she take over Watto’s shop considering she already knows how to run the place. He also suggests learning Tusken sign language for more trade opportunities, or possibly hiding out with a tribe if slavers come to attempt to reclaim her. Shmi extracts a promise out of Din that if the Jedi won’t teach Ani, the Mandalorian will see her son safely back to her.

So they leave, and avoid Maul because they left sooner. Maul is not a happy psychopath, stuck on that dustball per his master’s orders to find the Queen (who is no longer there).

Once they get underway, Din decides to finally ask where they’re going. He, uh, doesn’t know where the Jedi live.

O: You don’t know about the Jedi Temple on Coruscant?

D: To be fair, most of the Rim treats the Jedi as spacer tales. Lots of stories, but no one actually sees them.

O: *offended squawking*

Also, Din has questions about who the rest of these people are. Introductions are made, Din is left confused by the Queen’s dress code. Those clothes cannot be easy to move in (though definitely lots of room to hide weapons) and the hairstyles/headdresses don’t seem to serve much purpose beyond making life difficult. Also, teenage ruler. Din remembers being a teenager, and others who were teenagers with him. It was not a good time to be making community wide decisions that actually benefit the community. Everyone was petty and stupid then. 

But Din doesn’t say any of this. He respects other peoples’ cultures. Why can’t they respect his?

Then, since a sharing mood has been activated, they tell Din about the Trade Federation and their droid army occupation.

D: I’ll help.

Everyone else: Wut?

D: I said, I’ll help.

E: Why?

D: I don’t like droids. *flashback to the cellar*

E: ...okay… *carefully tucks Artoo away while the Mandalorian is staring into space. Probably. Stupid helmet*

They arrive on Coruscant. Din wonders if this Senator Palpatine is related to the Emperor Palpatine, they look a bit alike. He decides to be wary of this man who could be the relation of an evil emperor-to-be. Especially when Grogu hides from the guy. Ani follows his new little friend's lead and puts beskar-clad space himbo between himself and the senator.

So Din is standing around when Palps brings up the idea of changing the chancellor.

D: So the chancellor has final say over the Senate?

P: Well, no.

D: Then how would a new chancellor be more powerful?

P: He would have more support. More systems would be in agreement with his ideas because they chose to support his rise to chancellorship.

D: ...Okay. How does that get you more support? Shouldn’t these systems already be supporting you if they’re going to help at all? 

P: Uh… *sweats as he realizes his plot to withhold support until he’s chancellor is now backfiring*

Q: The Mandalorian has a point. We will require a different plan of action.

P: *internally curses the use of logic by shiny strangers*

So the Senate meeting doesn’t change much, except that Valorum gets to keep his job for a while longer.

Meanwhile, at the Temple, Ani gets his testing. Results: powerful, but too old to train.

Jinn still pushes to train the Chosen One. Gets his probationary Padawan as the Queen calls them away to fight her own battle.

When they catch back up with Din and friends, Ani explains how his test went.

JJ: Oh, poor Ani! *glomping Gungan hug imparted on small child*

D: Well, you tried, kid. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll get you back to your mom, then you can talk with her about becoming a Mandalorian. We’re more about too young to train. But you’re old enough to start.

A: But I wanted to learn that wizard magic. They even said I was the Chosen One!

D: I wouldn’t know anything about that. Sounds like sorcerer poodoo to me. But I bet we could find some different sorcerers if these Jedi still say no. They can’t all be in that Temple.

J: *starts sweating at the thought of a Mandalorian Darksider/Sith*

A: *oblivious to Jedi fears* Okay!

Return to Naboo is canon. Din is asked for his opinion on the plan, but he says he has no real experience with military action, especially on this scale. He’s a hunter. Small, elite units for singular missions or chains of missions are the extent of his planning expertise.

Then Maul shows up. 

Nobody knows who this Zabrak is, but he’s got a red laser staff. Din wonders how many colors these laser blades come in. He also notices that Red is presenting as an enemy, so he gets out his lovely beskar spear and starts fighting.

It doesn’t go as well as Din would hope. Gideon obviously didn’t know how to use his weapon and he didn’t fight Ahsoka for long. Din’s not exactly losing, but he’s not gaining ground either. Also, Maul keeps trying to use him as a meat shield against Obi and Jinn.

Grogu doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like it at all.

Cue baby’s second Force Choke. (From the ship cockpit with Ani)

Obi and Jinn are horrified. They didn’t realize Mando’s kid was Force Sensitive, much less powerful enough to do this. And of course, Dark Side concerns.

Din’s not exactly happy about the kid using his magic, it’ll tire him out, but he also doesn’t look a gift Bantha in the mouth. Spear goes here, knife goes there, both of the Zabrak’s hearts are pierced. There, dead enemy and the kid didn’t do the actual killing, just like with the Mudhorn. What are you all standing around for? I thought we had a slimy corporate CEO to catch. Also, kids, stay hidden. We’ll be back for you later.

Party heads after TF head, Ani “accidentally” launches the fighter after they leave. Grogu is an adrenaline junky and loves barrel rolls. Can he get some hands up in the air, whoop, whoop? And so the command ship gets blown up (there will be lectures from Armor Dad later on about how that was not staying hidden).

The adults blitz through the palace. Two Jedi and a Mandalorian are a force to be reckoned with. The folding lawn chairs are no match. The TF bosses are captured, and Din notices they have a mobile holo-pedestal. I wonder who they were talking to? Let’s redial the last transmission.

Sidious: What is—? Wait, you’re not the Trade Federation!

D: I know that voice.

S: No you don’t. *sweating about meeting the Mandalorian days ago*

D: Oh! You sound like Emperor Palpatine.

Everyone: What?! Emperor?! *Palps in glee, others in confusion/horror*

D: *tilts head* So are you related to the senator?

E: *face palms at space himbo obliviousness*

D: *catching on* Oh, not related. They’re the same person.

E: *gasps in surprise at himbo comprehension*

D: We should stop him before he starts a genocidal empire.

Good Guys: *nod in agreement while combating more horror*

S: I shall rule the galaxy and no one can stop me! You’ll never take me alive!

D: Then I’ll bring you in cold.

S: Wut?

D: This is the Way.

So Palps is outed as a bad guy. The Republic and Naboo put a bounty on his head: dead or alive.

And now there are questions for Din.

E: How did you know?

D: Time travel.

E: How!?

D: Don’t know.

E: How far into the future?

D: ...Over 30 years, I think. Unless the Clone Wars are going on now.

E: The. What. Now?

D: Clone Wars. Fought by droid *points to scrapped clankers* and clone armies. 

E: Gonna need more details than that, Mando.

D: The droids fought for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Separatists, the clones for the Republic. Droids massacred my hometown/world when I was a child. I was saved by Mandalorians and sat out the rest of the war. The Empire was the end result of the war.

E: More details, Mando.

D: I don’t have more details. History isn’t really my thing. Or politics… *pauses and thinks for a moment* Luke said the emperor and his right hand man were… Sith? I think that’s the term. The Jedi equivalent of dar’manda.

E: Can it get any worse?

D: Few years before the Empire fell, they blew up Alderaan.

E: They bombed a Core World?!

D: No. Blew it up. Boom, it's not there anymore.

E: *staring in numb horror*

End result: Din is interrogated for his meager knowledge of political events and shit. The fact that his detailed historical knowledge is mostly “so-and-so said” is not lost on them. He is a lethal Rim bumpkin, but it seems he had friends who actually took part in things.

Now Palps’s bounty is amended to: dead or alive, but mostly dead. The creation of the clone army is stopped early (Jango gets to keep his bouncing baby Boba, Din shares parenting tips of the non-magical variety), Sith-influence-free politics ensue to try to fix the ailing Republic (will they succeed? Who knows), Obi is knighted and Ani apprenticed to Jinn, Grogu gets to stay with his dad and become a test run for not separating kids from their families for Jedi training after making a fuss about leaving Armor Dad forever (Ani becomes a part of this initiative when they invite his mother for a larger test group), and Din accidentally attracts a crowd of Mandalorians to come live at the Jedi Temple with them once his possession of the Darksaber and title of Sith Slayer gets out (All hail the Mand’alor! Protect his green bean son!).

Life is good.

The end.

Chapter Text

Din, Boba, Fennec, and Grogu are back in time on Naboo during the Trade Federation's occupation (no particular reason why besides The Force Wills It). Boba and Fennec figure out it's not just spatial displacement pretty quick and inform Din, who is more concerned with killing all the droids and saving all the children. Grogu supports this goal. They spend a few hours harassing patrols and liberating people on their way to the internment camps.

The Squad(TM) ends up taking the royal hanger or whatever (which they learned about from freed people) because fighter craft (and a way out of this mess or to pick up reinforcements) …at the same time as the Queen plus the Entourage(TM) shows up. 

Obi and Jinn are distinctly displeased with having Mandalorians in the area given experiences with armored Mandalorians on their mission protecting Satine. Padme and retainers are pleased to find heavily armed friends have cleared the hanger of droids. 

None of them know about the baby/toddler in Din's satchel.

For reasons, the Squad ends up on the ship with the Entourage escaping the planet. Insults are made about the one hyperspace-capable ship not having guns and the shit blockade run. 

Detour to Tatooine is Force Mandated.

Boba and Fennec spend most of the trip "helping" Din hide Grogu (Din’s not actually trying, it just ends up that way. Grogu plays along with Auntie and Uncle’s game, for it amuses him greatly) and plotting how to take over a more active Hutt Syndicate at their destination, including salting the slug. They conclude it may have to wait until after the Naboo situation is handled.

Actually, Jar Jar is the only one from the Entourage to find out about Grogu before Tatooine. Din has half-adopted the manchild within an hour and uses him for child entertainment.

They arrive at the dustball. Jinn gets pushed into the sand to make his disguise more "authentic." Padme is plied with a blaster and knife before leaving the ship because "This is the Outer Rim. If you don't have at least a knife, you aren't fit for survival." Jar Jar is not given a knife or blaster. His clumsiness is threat enough. 

Fennec is set to ship (and baby Jedi) sit, while Din plays Jedi/handmaiden/manchild minder and Boba does real business. Grogu is not letting his dad adventure alone. 

Suddenly everyone is aware that the shiny Mandalorian, who will not tell them his name, has a baby Yoda with him. Padme is horrified by the Baby Satchel. 

D: He doesn't walk very fast and someone might steal him. Also, I need my hands free for weapons. What else should I do? Hover prams are expensive.

P: Still! A satchel is not for carrying babies!

D: He rides in it all the time. Don't ya, kid? 

G: *coos happiness*

P: *muttering to self* That's not good parenting.

G: *to no one* It's the best parenting!

Anakin is met, Jinn screws up the parts purchase with his Jedi-do-what-they-want hubris, Din might kill Sebulba for child and manchild endangerment, and the Sand Party minus Boba ends up at Casa Skywalker.

When the pod race gets brought up, Din pushes Jinn to be the racer.

D: If you need Jedi reflexes to race, you should do it.

J: *nervous and shifty* Why?

D: You mean besides not risking the life of a child slave? You're the one who messed up buying the parts. Plus, we can keep the winnings and purchase the parts and the Skywalkers' freedom in thanks for providing the pod.

J: ...but… 

D: You will be the one in that pod. *points blaster at Jinn for a Mandalorian "mind" trick*

J: I... will be the one in that pod.

A: Aw, I wanted to race!

D: *caving to pouting child* You can help fly our spaceship later.

G: *cackles at the thought of all the buttons he could push*

Jinn races and wins by Force cheating. Boba also gets rich betting on him winning. Parts are purchased along with the Skywalkers, and they head back to the ship.

Except Maul shows up.

He manages to behead Shmi. Anakin is shocked and heartbroken, releasing a big Force pulse or something. Din manages to get to him first with Grogu assisting him against Anakin's power and bundles the poor kid up and into the ship while hustling the still breathing civilians along.

Boba stays to help Jinn and avenge a fallen parent (because personal trauma has been triggered). He also tells Fennec to get the ship to lift off. He figures if the Jedi can't jump back in the ship, he can haul him up with his jetpack. Fennec leans out the open door to take potshots. She's very annoyed by magic senses that allow her target to dodge. To his disappointment, the best Boba manages is to put a bolt in Maul's leg so he can't jump after them so well before everyone gets back on the ship.

Anakin is not letting go of Din anytime soon (because Grogu has told the kid that Superdad here is good and safe and damn near impossible to kill). Din is resigned to his fate of carrying and raising magical children. Boba swears he will see that Zabrak dead and his corpse tossed in a sarlacc. Fennec has her boss's back.

Also, therapy.

Basically, Din and Boba sit down with distraught little Ani and explain how to move on from losing a parent and why revenge doesn’t do much for you.

B: Look, kid. You don’t have to forgive the bastard that killed your parent, I sure as hell didn’t, but revenge is a mess. You might end up crashing a destroyer-class ship trying to kill one man and instead killing probably several hundred other people. And then you go to jail, end up living with a rough crowd, and eventually have your profitable but empty career of nearly 30 years end in a sarlacc pit. Oh, and you lose all the things your parent left for you and then spend 5 years trying to collect them again. But you get lucky during the last year and finally get some friends besides your lizard nanny to help you out.

D: Boba, do we need to be having a talk?

B: Shut up. This is about keeping the kid from making poor life choices in his grief.

D: *sighs with feeling* We’re having a talk later.

G: *makes grabby arms at Uncle because his cuteness heals all*

Sometime on the way to Coruscant proper, Din decides to ask why they're going there and not collecting all their heavily armed badass friends to form a posse to destroy their enemies. It takes some explaining to get the idea across that not everyone has such friends. But it does get Boba and Fennec (who actually know a bit about How Politics Work, if in a more totalitarian manner) thinking. They need real proof that the TF isn't following the rules, like say, firing on a diplomatic vessel when enacting a trade blockade. Or blowing up the ship of a duly appointed neutral party come to open negotiations. Or cutting off communications of a sovereign world. You know, things we have actual proof of to get their slow asses moving, because if they do it in one system and get away with it, that's a precedent for when they do it to you next.

Revolutionary attack plan coming together, they arrive on Coruscant.

Palps is shot at on sight. Unfortunately, he dodges, barely (has to keep up the harmless old man act, but is definitely plotting revenge on this Squad of mercs that almost killed him). The Squad manages to explain it away as Palps looking like an Outer Rim warlord that killed a lot of kids that all of them hate.

Palps: Oh my. And such a man is still running around?

Fennec: Heard he got killed, but no body or decapitated head. No body, not dead. People said to be dead have a way of coming back in the Rim.

Boba: True Story.

When Palps brings up the idea of a new chancellor, Fennec/Boba asks if a new chancellor can so thoroughly change how the Senate works, because the current one is already supporting them, having sent Jedi to try to straighten out the mess. Padme realizes that this is a really good point. She's sticking with Fennec and Boba's plan of all the evidence, and not telling Palps. The man apparently has forgotten how the Senate he works in works. She's definitely taking over that job once she's done being Queen.

Also, Din and Grogu at the temple. 

Grogu is like "No, I do not wish to go back. I like adventuring with my dad. Can I have weekend lessons instead?"

And when Din hears the Council turning Anakin away, he goes "Well, he's just the right age to begin Mandalorian training." Which just, horrifies the Council. It's bad enough he's already got one powerful Force Sensitive child unwilling to part from him, he doesn't need a second, even more powerful child that he can train to fight right now.

And no, Din has no idea How to Train Your Sorcerers, but if he managed to find two Jedi after they were supposedly all killed, he could find someone else with magic to teach his kids. This is the Way.

The Council would like time to reconsider the idea of Anakin joining the Order. He'll be a probationary Padawan under Jinn while they also consider knighting Obi or picking someone else to train Anakin.

And not a single Jedi notices that Din has the Darksaber. It enjoys the chaos created by its reluctant Mand'alor and is waiting for the opportune moment to smack them in the face with who they're dealing with.

The Senate meeting goes better. Following the Evidence Plan, Padme drums up more interest in support and doesn't vote out the chancellor. Palps is not happy with it, but fakes a smile anyways. 

Still, help is coming slower than Padme would like (she really doesn't understand how slow Senate politics are in general when the threat isn’t to the majority of the constituent planets, particularly the Core Worlds), so when she finds out about the ready army from Jar Jar, orders a quick return to begin fighting back while Palps is probationally trusted to get more help. 

The Squad gets "hired" to see things through in exchange for Naboo bankrolling the purchase of a gunship (or two) for them along with supplies.

Upon the return, it's mostly like canon. Except the Squad has some extra goodies for the Gungan army that they picked up on Tatooine and Coruscant while more "civilized" parties weren't watching.

In the hangar again, Anakin is still told to stay in a ship by Jinn. Except this time he's also holding on to Grogu, who likes to push buttons. Din notices them taking off with the other fighters. He tosses his spear to Boba, in case the Zabrak with the laser sword/staff shows up (it's just a feeling, knowing their luck), and hops in his own fighter to go protect his kids. He misses the Razor Crest, where children can be hidden and not in the cockpit with all the buttons to power the ship up (also, who the hell has automated flight patterns to a space battle? That's a great way to get shot down!). 

So Grogu enjoys Anakin's death-defying flying, Din nearly has a heart attack several times covering their six, and Anakin saves his Angel's planet in the race of a lifetime. 

On the ground, Boba joins Jinn and Obi fighting Maul, Fennec continues to escort the Queen.

Boba wishes he had a beskar gaderffii, but still wields Din’s spear like a pro. And notices how stupid a laser staff is when you can only grip it in the center foot or so, leaving you unable to fully leverage its greater overall length compared to a sword. 

And Maul is having issues fighting a close-range weapon that cannot be cut in half by a lightsaber and isn't also a sword. And that's not even getting into the flamethrower, blaster, whipcord, and knee rockets. 

Plus there's two Jedi to contend with as well. 

Boba ends up getting a blaster bolt between Maul's eyes, earning the title of Sith Slayer (now he just needs to add Hutt Slayer to his resume).

Fennec, meanwhile, kills Nute Gunray after he starts making threats. When Padme and Entourage try to chew her out she goes "Oops, my finger slipped" and quietly threatens the second-in-command to fess up to the Senate (a full recorded confession right here and now) otherwise her finger may slip again.

What is not expected is for the second to reveal the existence of Sidious and how Maul was the Apprentice. Now the Jedi know there's a Sith Lord and he could raise more apprentices. Maybe even at the same time if he leaves the Bane school of thought. Also, because it was part of the confession to the Senate, they're also on the look out for this Sidious. Palps is, of course, furious about this unexpected mess.

Planet saved, TF defeated, it's time for the after action.

Ani still goes Jedi, but not Obi for master. Probably not Jinn either, the Council doesn't need the maverick training a kid already attached to a Mandalorian. Possibly Plo Koon, as he’s a Council member, but also does attachment in a good way (and secretly approves of Din’s unofficial adoption and support of Ani). 

Din maintains partial custody over the Sand Brat, because the Jedi can't stop him from showing up at the temple as “friends” to finagle extra lessons for Grogu, or Ani from sensing him and slipping out to see him. Mostly, Din just drops Ani’s little-big brother off with him and ushers them off to Ani’s classes. Grogu is a smart green bean, when he wants to be.

The Jedi get the surprise of a lifetime when Din asks for 'saber lessons for himself. 

Jedi: Why do you need to know how to wield a lightsaber?

D: Weapons are a part of my religion.

J: That’s not a real answer.

D: I have this. *pulls out the Darksaber*

J: *makes pained noises of confusion and disbelief*

Boba and Fennec begin their plans to take over Tatooine (again). Mostly, it's quickly working up their reputation so that they won't have to fight every idiot on the dustball once they slay a Hutt.

Din helps when asked, but is mostly busy tracking down Children of the Watch coverts to warn them of what's to come, just in case things haven't/don't change enough. Also to make sure they're all adequately provided for. They're all willing to acknowledge and follow a Mand'alor who follows the Way so devoutly. 

There also might be a covert established under the Jedi Temple to watch over the Mand’alor’s second Foundling. The adult Jedi are very confused about where the extra candy and training weapons and armor in possession of the younglings is coming from.

Din might accidentally start a shadow war with Death Watch later, when they hear about a different Mand'alor with a Darksaber. He feels a lot better about Bo-Katan not taking the Darksaber when he offered it back on Gideon’s cruiser after encountering her in a settlement devastated by DW to draw him out. He may be a zealot, but at least his religious beliefs don't allow for murdering children and innocents.

And as for the New Mandalorians, well, he guesses a certain value of Mandalorian is race, not Creed. And the race Mandalorians have no importance to him, unless they want to swear the Creed, at which point they are his Mandalorians. In the meantime, the New Mandalorians can have the cursed planet/system, so long as his people can have the beskar.

Oh, also, Boba tracks down Jango to either prevent the Clone army from being in Jango's image, or to turn things on the Kaminoans and prevent all the Clones from being chipped into flesh-droids. He doesn't want a little Boba to lose his father like he did. Then he goes hunting for Dooku (possibly with his dad for family bonding) as a spot of revenge for Jango. And because it will mess up Palps's plans more. 

Boba also volunteers Din for Little Boba babysitting duty. How hard can a clone baby be compared to a magic baby? Answer: there are two babies now, this is not easier.

Fennec makes it her goal to make Palps miserable. 

She starts with wrecking his political career by drawing attention to how he is an adult male in a position of great power “requesting” time alone with an underage sentient in an organization that has to rely on funding from the group that Palps is influential in. The tabloids are eating this up. Palps’ grandfatherly persona is being brought under serious question. The Jedi are horrified they hadn’t even considered the possibility. And there will be no corruption of one of Din’s babies by sleazy Sith Lords on Fennec’s watch. That’s her and Boba’s job.

She also quietly sends incompetent/sleazy/unwanted assassins after Palps. The point isn’t to kill him (though she’d take that), it’s to drive him crazy. It’s hard to pretend you’re a kind, harmless old man when random shit keeps trying to kill you, envoking your raging inner Sith who wants to destroy these incompetent buffoons that keep bothering you.

The reveal of Sidious must be forced in an absolutely ridiculous and stupid way, like having to levitate 9 Star Wars piano equivalents to keep from being squished and then going after the dumbass who tried that in a vengeful fury that exposes his true nature, because he is just so done with these dumbass assassination attempts. Cue the Jedi doing whatever to catch/kill this very dangerous Sith Lord that everyone saw going on a rampage.

Fennec is so pleased with the results of her plan.

So basically a happily ever after ending.

The end.

Chapter Text

Din and Boba back in the past on Tatooine, a week or three before Anakin and Padme show up in AotC.

They hook up with a Tusken tribe to travel towards civilization. On the way, a member of another tribe shows up asking for this tribe’s help, their chieftain and most of the warriors have gone mad. They went out on a hunt/raid week(s) ago and came back with a woman who they are torturing. 

Yes, the Tuskens are raiders, but long term torture is a drain on resources the tribes can’t afford. That the chieftain and warriors are insisting on this is madness, and unfortunately, the remaining tribespeople have no means to treat or depose them.

The tribe Din and Boba are with are Bantha herders, not very combat oriented. But Din and Boba are very combat oriented. They agree to do the job and the Bantha herders are willing to take in the remaining tribe until it can support itself once more.

So Shmi Lars (Skywalker) is rescued.

She is very surprised to wake up in a Tusken camp with her injuries being treated and two armor-clad men mixed in with the tribe. When the armored duo explains her change in situation, she is surprised once more and relieved. The tribe is willing to send her home along with the strangers, who were seeking to reach an outsider settlement anyways. 

Once Shmi is healed enough, the trio gets a Bantha and rides off into the sunset with the tribe’s blessing.

Meanwhile, Ani and Padme have shown up at the Lars homestead. Ani still had nightmares about his mom dying, sent by Palps, who had mind tricked/brainwashed the Tusken war party into taking and torturing her. Or had Dooku/some acolyte do the mind shit for him.

Just as Ani prepares to head out, he senses his mother just outside the homestead. He rushes out to find her there with two strangers on a Bantha. There is a tearful, happy reunion of the Lars/Skywalker family.

Ani acknowledges a life debt to the two men once Shmi tells her story to her relieved family.

A: If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, here’s my com code. Or just ask for Anakin Skywalker.

B: *begins internally screaming about being in the past*

D: *in space himbo obliviousness* You wouldn’t happen to be related to a Luke Skywalker, would you?

A: Who?

P: *mentally* I love that name. I’d name my kid that.

Boba decides he needs to immediately cash in his portion of the life debt by using Ani and Padme’s ship to make a long-distance, off-world call to the Slave I. He is going to save his younger self a lot of grief, one way or another.

The message mostly consists of “stay the kark away from Geonosis” and a list of bad things that will happen in the next 30 years if Jango goes and gets beheaded, including highlights such as intergalactic civil war, little Boba going to a Republic supermax prison before he turns 15, Honda Ohnaka getting his hands on the Slave I, and older little Boba falling into a sarlacc pit.

Message sent, Boba and Din spend the rest of the day making sure Shmi is resettled with her family. And Boba is teasing out information on the current state of galactic affairs. Din cottons on to time travel shenanigans when Jabba is mentioned as still breathing. Or possibly something about Palps, though that may just be wondering if the chancellor is related to the emperor.

The next day, Obi’s distress signal shows up. Boba volunteers as tribute to go to Geonosis. He just needs to borrow a ship.

There’s arguing about it. It’s Padme’s (and Ani’s) ship. They’d never see a bounty hunter coming. Obi is Ani’s master. Have you ever even been to Geonosis before, boy? Etc. End result: Padme and Ani are going to Geonosis with a Mandalorian/bounty hunter escort.

When they get in system but before planet fall:

B: Wait, let me make a call. I might know someone who can help, get Kenobi out without us risking ourselves.

P/A: Why didn’t you bring this up sooner?!

B: I’m not sure if they’ll help. We have a… complicated relationship, and they’ve got good reasons to dislike Jedi.

P/A: ...okay. But what if they don’t help and tattle on us?

B: What makes you think the people down there aren’t expecting someone to come and try to rescue Kenobi? They literally captured him while he was sending a distress call.

P/A: ...uh, right. Carry on.

So B.F. phone home.

Jango picks up and has choice words for this “prank” that has given his kid nightmares about his dad being beheaded. How did you even get a Mandalorian helmet for this, trooper? Did one of the trainers put you up to it?

Boba replies in Fett Code and now Jango is terrified that this isn’t a prank. Only he and little Boba are supposed to know that “language.” But it can’t be, right? Maybe it’s some droid.

J: Take off the helmet.

B: *complies*

J: You—!

B: I know I’m not pretty, but this is what happens when you fall in a sarlacc pit.

J: *pained noises as the crazy story is proving too true*

Jango is low key starting to have a panic attack about all the horrible things that might happen to his baby boy because Jango dies here, the things that have happened to this grizzled, not-entirely-a-stranger in repainted armor with his face.

B: I know. Not the legacy you were aiming for. But we have a chance to change things for your boy.

J: ...right. We’ll be leaving immediately.

B: Good. You should consider taking the Jedi, Kenobi, with you.

J: You’re kidding.

B: Do it, and at the very least, if the other Jedi don’t have to rescue him, it should delay some of the rest for everyone else. Galactic war isn’t a great setting to grow up in.

So Boba manages to convince Jango to break Obi out and take the Jedi with him when he leaves with Little Boba. 

Obi is, of course, very confused by Jango breaking him out after being the one to capture Obi (and also trying to kill him earlier). They make it to the Slave I, which Little Boba had ready to launch for a quick getaway. 

And so the “good” guys blow the Geonosis popsicle stand.

Once away, word is sent to the Jedi Order that a rescue mission isn’t necessary. Of course, there’s still the issue of Dooku and the Separatists and their droid army. And Jango hiring Zam to kill Padme in his place for Tyranus/Dooku.  

So everyone heads to the Jedi Temple to try to sort this out since the Senate isn’t fully involved yet to bog things down. They'd… actually like to keep it that way.

Also, Obi is not happy to find out the ship they’re rendezvousing with has Ani and Padme on it when those two are supposed to be hiding on Naboo.

As the Disaster Party makes their way through the Temple to meet with the Jedi Council, Din’s shins get assaulted with green bean. Din happily scoops his kid up and marches on like nothing has happened. Boba congratulates his friend on becoming a dad again. Everyone else is left in confusion. Especially the Jedi as to how the baby got out of the crèche without anyone noticing.

With the Council, Boba and Din explain their time traveler status. Part of this includes Din’s adoptive father role to Grogu of their time. No, they’re not sure if Grogu has also time traveled, or just senses Din’s superdad vibes for green beans. As for Grogu, he’s not revealing nothing. 

Now plans can be made in pre-knowledge by good guys, and the rest is an exercise in politics and Palps’s planning.

Chapter Text

One day Boba awakens and notices things are different. The aches of old wounds are gone. He can hear the distinct snoring of his nanny lizard, Bossk, who he hasn't seen since before the sarlacc pit, and hasn't talked to in even longer (sorry, nanny lizard). And the sounds of a ship that isn't Slave I, and Boba categorically refuses to ride any other ship if he has the choice (and he usually does, being an Outer Rim warlord/underworld kingpin).

So he jumps out of the bed/cot he was on… and finds himself missing, like, half a meter in height and many pounds of muscle. Also, he has hair again. Boba hadn't realized how much he missed his hair. Even if cutting it was annoying because mirrors and his father's face (or is it just the face of millions?).

This… is not what Boba was expecting to wake up to.

Three options come to mind as an explanation. A scarily lucid dream (Boba's not sure he even remembers what it's like to not be aching all the time), some sort of mind-fuckery for interrogation purposes (he's heard rumors about drug cocktails mixed with Force bullshit), or time travel (because Force bullshit is supposedly omnipotent).

Given options one and three make Boba a free actor (and option two doesn't make much sense. He didn't do any high enough profile shit as a kid to be worth this kind of effort), he decides it's worthwhile to make some… changes. A new Fett legacy of ascendancy. 

Basic plan decided, he looks around the cabin to get an idea of when, exactly, he is.

Oh look, there's the old armor he used before he was big enough to fit in his (father's) armor. But no Mandalorian armor carefully tucked away. Kriffing kark. At least he knows where it is and there will be no questing to find it. Or Slave I. 

Right. Time to go talk to nanny lizard about a change in plans.

Boba: *pokes Bossk awake*

Bossk: What?

Boba: I think I'm a time traveler now.

Bossk: I haven't had enough caf to deal with this shit.

Boba convinces Bossk that something is going on with him because he knows things he shouldn't possibly be able to know. 

Bossk… is wondering how his imprinting on this hatchling was ever a good idea. He followed the kid to jail after a revenge plot gone bad, kept the other inmates from killing a hatchling with more hiss than teeth (though the teeth were coming in pretty damn quick), and now he has to deal with time travel-based messes.

The order of business is now changed. Instead of setting up a bounty hunter gang, they're going to recover Boba's inheritance and go from there.

Bossk: Didn't the Slave I blow up? With the armor in it?

Boba: Yes. But also no.

Bossk: Wut?

Boba: *aggravated sigh* Hondo has them both. 

Bossk: *in flat disbelief* Hondo Ohnaka has them.

Boba: *with renewed teenage drama* Ugh, yes. He fixed the Slave I for his fleet of secret ships. I don’t know how it is that he didn't sell the armor.

Bossk: Well, this is going to suck.

Boba: At least we won't end up on a wild goose chase across the Rim only for Hondo to give it back on my "birthday." (Read: when Hondo's had his fun and the risk of Angry Little Boba coming back with nanny lizard to shoot him for "selling" it in the first place was getting too high)

Bossk: Wut?

Boba: That pirate is a dramatic bastard. 30 years and still no one managed to kill him.

Bossk: Damn. I hate immortality based on the annoyance factor.

So off to the Pirate King's place, Florrum.

And Boba is determined to walk in, threaten Hondo to return his shit, shoot the pirate as necessary, and walk out.

But it’s Hondo, Nothing ever goes to plan with that glorious bastard.

Captain Hondo Ohnaka worthy shenanigans ensue (he is Star Wars’ answer to the Captain Jack Sparrow, after all). Eventually, shenanigans conclude and Boba gets his shit (does Hondo still have a base left standing when it’s over? You decide).

Hondo: I’m going to miss that kid.

Boba: *hisses in a manner that makes Bossk proud*

Hondo: Such a cute kid. He’s more like his father every day.

Boba: I will hurt you.

Hondo: Come now, my little friend! *throws arm around Boba’s shoulders* You have your father’s ship, his armor, and his face! *pinches Boba’s cheeks*

Boba: *bites Hondo’s fingers*

Hondo: Ack!

Bossk: Spit that out, Boba. You don’t know where it’s been. *the only reason Bossk hasn’t bitten Hondo*

With his most important possessions now in his possession, Boba has to think about what he’d like to do about The Things to Come.

He could do nothing. Just be an even better bounty hunter than he was before. But it was, admittedly, a fairly empty existence. Hunt, eat, sleep, repeat. Not really what he wants to do with himself anymore (even if he does still enjoy a good hunt).

So… changing things.

There’s still no love lost for the Jedi (the Mand’alor’s green bean son being the exception. That kid is an adorable agent of chaos), but genocide… he doesn’t exactly support that. He definitely doesn’t like the mind slavery (or slavery in general) that was enforced on the other Clones (even if he doesn’t exactly like the other Clones either. Too many people have judged him for peripherally being one of them). So a plan that might save them without getting Boba arrested (again) or get him tied up in the politics of war. Also, it needs to be something the Jedi and Clones will believe.

Eventually, Boba comes up with this plan: kidnap a Clone. De-chip the Clone. Leave the Clone and their removed chip on the Jedi’s doorstep with a note of explanation on how to do the procedure. Make sure the note cautions against revealing anything to the Senate until after they’ve confirmed the data and begun de-chipping all the Clones, because Order 66. Wait, what are the other orders (at least 1-65)? Kriff. Also note that they should investigate the chip’s programming. Hope that the Jedi aren’t complete idiots.

If they can’t save themselves from betrayal and genocide with a road map to avoid it… well, Boba tried. He washes his hands of such idiots.

Which leads to Boba making plans for if the Jedi Order falls (again) to acquire the green bean and deliver the kid to his sliver Mando daddy, even if the one future Mand’alor he respects is still a child himself.

The plan kind of short circuits when he realizes he has no idea where silver Mando comes from, or how the game of hot potato (green bean) went. Kriff. Guess he’ll get to it when/if it becomes more relevant.

So Boba and Bossk scope out the Jedi Temple to figure out where to drop the Clone they’re going to kidnap and de-chip (feel free to have them drag the likes of Cad Bane into the plan, given his expertise in giving Jedi the runaround). There are still a lot of Jedi hanging around the Temple, which has a dedicated healing hall, and everyone there would jump to help an injured Clone. It's risky doing this right under Palps's nose, but also their best chance for actual results (battlefields are too busy for a ding-dong ditch operation). 

Once they have their drop point (and a doctor) figured out, they kidnap one of the Coruscant Guard, de-chip him, and leave him for the Jedi to find (do the Jedi manage to not bungle finding out there are behavior altering chips in their mens’ heads? Who knows).

Token attempt at saving thousands-to-millions of lives finished, Boba’s back to further considering what to do with his life and future.

Boba: So, Bossk, what do you think of taking over the Hutt Syndicate and ending slavery?

Bossk: Are you serious?

Boba: Not, like, right away. I need at least a few years of top notch bounty hunting that the galaxy knows about before making a move. To, you know, cut down on the idea that trying to depose me would be easy, or a good idea, like at all.

Bossk: Are you trying to hint that you’ve done this before?

Boba: As a matter of fact I did. Sort of. There was a sharp decline in Hutt power before I made my move. No one left wanted to fight me and my assassin buddy.

Bossk: *heart felt sigh* What’s the plan, kid? *because despite grumbling, he is interested *

Boba puts together Krayt’s Claw again to get his reputation up off the ground again before plans of slug domination can be implemented. He reflects that things are going better this time since he’s less of a hotheaded kid with a chip on his shoulder (what? Boba still has a temper, and teenage hormones to deal with. Again). Also, wearing a Mando helmet provides an excellent intimidation factor and legitimacy to his badassitude. He can’t wait to fit into the rest of the armor again (and yes, he did give it the proper paint job after reclaiming it from Pirate Hell).

And if he is hoping to one day hire a silver Mando for his crew, that’s Boba’s (and maybe Bossk’s) business.

Then comes the crossroads for anyone wanting to write a full version: Are the clones successfully de-chipped? Or does Palps catch on and accelerate the Order 66 timeline/initiate a different Order to wipe out the Jedi?

If successful: The clones in the field are free. Now the Jedi are planning to lock down Kamino, de-chip the rest of the clones. Also, by studying a number of the removed chips, they’ve found out the Orders placed in them, mostly to do with subduing the Republic and killing the Jedi. They’ve also looked into how those Orders can be initiated. Surprise! Sidious, the Sith Lord they’ve been searching for, has the key code or whatever. Further investigation to try to locate Sidious through this data reveals that the Sith Lord is… Palps. Karking kriff. But they have proof now that Palps is Bad Guy Number One. Time to take this to a trusted Senate subcommittee, get a license to subdue/kill the man running the war.

With Palps subdued/dead, Dooku is left alone running the Separatists while the Republic gets its shit together without a Sith Lord karking up the system. Suddenly peace talks are an option, unless Tyranus wants to try his hand at tyranny.

Either way, without a higher power playing both sides, the War is going to end (with a Confederacy and a Republic? Just one big galactic government, either of the original participants or a new one? Who knows).

As for Boba… well, war criminals make for good bounty hunting. Especially when some of them have hellish reputations for not getting killed (or captured) in the war.

He builds up an excellent reputation as a top tier bounty hunter despite being under 20, and makes a lot of lethal allies along the way (the Krayt’s Claw finds his acquisition of newbie Fennec Shand to have been a good call).

So Boba’s bounty hunting syndicate stands strong, and they eventually take out the Hutts, crowning Boba King of Tatooine once more.

The galaxy spins on, and Boba may eventually hire a silver Mando (and conspires to get the Mando a green bean. And the Mandalorian throne, maybe. Depends on how Boba feels about the Mand’alor of that time).

The end

If Palps catches on: The Empire starts earlier, but the transition is not nearly as smooth (because it’s been, you know, rushed). The Jedi Purge is a lot messier because not all of the Clone troopers are responding to the Order, causing a rift in the forces, so a lot of Jedi escape. Also, Vader doesn’t happen (or if he does, he’s not under Palps’s control. Anakin learned about the enslavement chips in the Clones and who controls them like everyone else in the Jedi Order), so the canon Jedi Hunter Number One isn’t available. Dooku isn’t exactly able to do it either, given he still has to vaguely head the Confederacy (until they can be brought into the Empire, the Sith hope), and they want to take in the Jedi, the Republic’s greatest soldiers, for their own use.

The Empire is, of course, ruled with an iron fist. Except there are still Jedi generals and commanders running around because the Purge went poorly. Worse, some of them still have squadrons/platoons/maybe even a legion of troopers following them. Any place that wants to rebel against imperial rule just has to open its doors to the Jedi and Clones and they become a fortress, sort of.

So like any functioning government, Palps looks to subcontract out the problem solving. In this case, Jedi hunting. And taking out rebel leaders.

Boba and his people take those contracts, and contracts to fake the deaths of the Jedi and bring them to safe places (and Boba may get a contract to kill Windu and actually carry it out. He never did forgive the man for killing his father, after all). It is a lucrative business and always useful to have Jedi in your debt/pocket.

The Empire just isn’t holding together well when almost every rebellion is aided by Jedi. 

Dooku is also getting tired of Palps’s bullshit. He was promised a united galaxy under their rule. Instead, things are more fractious than ever. The only upside is that the Jedi don’t answer to any singular governing body anymore, and aren’t locked away in their Temple, separate from the galaxy they proclaim to peacekeep for, so the chances of a repeat of Galidraan are decidedly less. 

Cue the duel of Sith Master and Apprentice.

Who wins? Doesn’t matter. The Empire is not a fan of being under the control of a Sith Lord, given the miserable conditions of historical Sith Empires. And current miserable conditions. Same goes for the Confederacy, who votes Dooku out (if he lives).

So the galaxy is a mess, but good people are trying to fix it. 

And if Bounty Hunter Warlord Boba Fett has taken in some Mandalorian tribes and a certain green bean, well, some things are truly the Will of the Force.

The end.

Chapter Text

Grogu wakes up in the past, mid-Clone Wars. 

He wakes up in the crèche in the Temple that was destroyed. He hates these nightmares. They’re so scary. And everything feels especially real this time—

Wait. This isn’t the night the darkness began. There’s no empty army marching on the Temple. Though there is a dark haze in the Force hanging over the Temple. 

Grogu doesn’t like it. He wants Buir, who is warm, and metal, and safe.

So he starts crying, because Buir always comes for him when he cries. Even in dreams because Buir wakes him up.

Except that his cries bring a bunch of Jedi to him, not Buir. They try to comfort him and ask what’s wrong, but they’re not Buir, and Grogu wants Buir. 

And Grogu can’t tell them that because he knows that they won’t like his attachment to Buir, just like the Nice Lady. 

...except if they know about his attachment, maybe they’ll refuse to train him like the Nice Lady and give him back to Buir. So Grogu spills the beans.

The Jedi think that little Grogu has had a Force Vision.

No, they have no idea why the youngling would foresee himself in the care of a nomadic Mandalorian (because all those images of the Mandalorian taking care of the green bean have different planetary backgrounds. When they’re not on a ship anyways), but what other explanation is there? Certainly not time travel, because nobody can time travel. Even if the attachment developed incredibly fast for just being a vision. 

Still, the youngling refuses to settle without this Mandalorian. If they let his upset continue, it’s likely to spread to the rest of the crèche.

Time to confer with the Council.

Obviously, the solution is to send the 20-year-old baby/toddler on a Vision Quest to find his Mandalorian (because they really don’t need an entire hall of crying toddlers. They have a war to fight). More seriously, it is such a powerful and vivid 'Force Vision' at a time when nobody else is getting one due to the shroud of the Dark Side. Plus Grogu's a barely trained child, so some think this is a serious message/prompt from the Force itself (which just might solve the threat of the Sith?).

But he’ll need a babysitter. Someone who knows Mandalorians. Someone like… Obi-Wan Kenobi (never mind that his ties are with the New Mandalorians, which Grogu’s Mandalorian obviously isn’t a member of. He’s wearing armor).

Ever humble, Obi-Wan takes the job, of course.

So the Council merrily sends him and Grogu on their way, with a handful of sketches of the Mandalorian they’re searching for (courtesy of an artsy Jedi that Grogu agreed to share some memories with). I mean, Grogu’s not going to tell anyone his buir’s name, it’s just not done (or his face if post-S2 Grogu).

They go to Concordia, because that’s where the warrior Mandalorians were exiled to by Satine/the New Mandalorians, so there should be some record as to where the ones that weren’t Death Watch disappeared to (Obi really hopes Grogu’s Mando isn’t DW. That would be all kinds of awkward). After all, Prime Minister Almec said the warriors died out (which obviously wasn’t true), but they weren’t openly running around Concordia anymore. Or anywhere else in numbers enough to get picked up on by the Republic (otherwise accusations could have been leveled at people who weren’t Satine for Clone Wars S2:E12).

Satine, of course, meets them there. She's not exactly one to turn down the chance to see her favorite Knight, Obi. 

Also, damage control. All Jedi are walking trouble magnets (the price for mystical powers, apparently).

Yeah, the records on Concordia are pretty much useless. 

S: You don’t have a name, Obi-Wan. No species. No planet of origin. No age. Do you even know what gender they are?

O: *being politely awkward* Yes, well, we are working off of the Force Vision of a youngling. Though I do believe they are male, if the few snippets of speech Grogu has shared are anything to judge by.

S: How lovely. That just narrows the list by half.

O: What about the emblem on his pauldron? It must mean something.

Nosy, nerdy Data-clerk: It’s a signet. An emblem of personal achievement, Master Jedi. It’s not the kind of data we kept. Now if it was on the left pauldron, it would have been a clan crest, which could have been helpful. Actually, it could still be a clan crest, just a newly founded one. So still useless. 

O: Are you sure there’s nothing else you learned to help us find this Mandalorian, Youngling?

G: *sends one of many memories of Din saying “This is the Way”*

O: *with proper Obi-Wan dry sarcasm and wit* Wonderful.

So that was a general flop. Obi gets a list of the last dozen or so Mandos to officially leave Concordia. They'll try to find one of them in hopes that the Mando they do find can lead them to the one they want to find.

Cue adventures through the Rim (guest appearance by Hondo Ohnaka is suggested. The space pirate makes for splendid shenanigans). Or Noodle Incident additional adventures.

Eventually they catch up to a Mandalorian. Or rather, the Mandalorian catches them. 

M: *pointing blaster at Obi after leading him into an alleyway* Not a big fan of having a jetii searching for me.

O: I mean you no harm.

M: *very skeptical* Uh huh.

O: Truly. It’s just that one of our younglings has foreseen himself in a Mandalorian’s care and he’s quite insistent that we find this Mandalorian.

M: It doesn’t sound like “this Mandalorian” is me.

O: No, I don’t think so either. But I was hoping you would know more Mandalorians who might know or be the individual we’re looking for. 

G: *decides this is a good time to make himself known and coos from his carrier*

M: *spends a moment staring at cuteness* ...if I take you to the others, you may not reveal our location to anyone. Or we will hunt you down.

O: *gulps at threat from culture known for fighting Jedi, for generations* That sounds reasonable. I would just like an assurance of our safety before we go with you.

M: We will offer you no violence, jetii, so long as you do the same.

O: And the youngling?

M: By your story, it is a Foundling. We would give our lives to ensure it’s safety. This is the Way.

Other Mandos that quietly surrounded Obi: This is the Way.

Obi: Oh my.

Obi would like to know how these people managed to sneak up on him. He’s Force Sensitive! It should be no problem to sense people approaching him! (Everyone talks about beskar damping Force senses and stuff, but I didn’t see that on the Wookieepedia page for beskar. Let's just say that hunters are naturally sneaky, at a minimum)

So the Mandos take Obi and Grogu to their ship to go meet with the others. Obi is forced to stay in the cargo hold or some other area without windows or navigational equipment. Grogu is allowed free reign of the ship (and doted on by the Armored Badasses). Obi feels this is very unfair. He is a delight to be around!

They land at a remote settlement (looks more like a military base, if you ask Obi) of Mandalorians. Everyone over 13 is wearing a helmet.

Look, Din believed that helmets at all times was necessary to be Mandalorian. That only works if all of the Mandos he met before Bo-Katan and friends also followed that rule, so Children of the Watch communities had to exist in the Clone Wars era, not just as a result of the Purge. Having a Fighting Corp to raise kids in just means they weren’t hiding in sewers pre-Purge. And apparently had some citizen registration with Mandalore at some point for Gideon to find minimal records of Din, but I wouldn’t bet on that being with the New Mandalorians.

Anyways, Obi and Grogu are greeted by the leaders and lead away to try and sort this Mandalorian hunt out.

Yeah, no one knows anyone kitted out like what the pictures show. No one has a mudhorn signet, or wears armor in that particular style (ammo belts and stuff included).

What I imagine is an Ugnaught Mando Armorer, because Armorer-and-Kuiil-like wisdom: And how long would the child remain a child? I seem to recall your jetii Grandmaster being at least several centuries old. Are they not the same species?

O: They are, and I’m not sure. By all accounts, Master Yoda was teaching by the time he was 100. Grogu is 20.

UM: Then it may remain a child for some decades yet. The one you seek may not be a Mandalorian yet. Or simply too young to be recognized by the images you’ve provided.

O: ...that... had not occurred to us. I suppose we’re too used to dealing with those with shorter lifespans. And Force Visions are rarely so far ahead of an event.

UM: It is understandable. 

The leaders and Obi keep talking. They’re actually quite helpful, Obi reflects. There’s a certain amount of derision for the New Mandalorians and how Obi knows nothing of real Mandalorians, but they’re definitely trying to help. For Grogu’s sake.

But Grogu, he is bored with all this talking and planning. There’s not even a massiff to make faces at him like when Buir was talking with the desert people. 

Time for an adventure.

Grogu waddles off. No one notices.

He just wanders around, until he hears other kids. They sound like they’re having fun! Grogu goes to check it out. He’s found the Fighting Corp, and class is in session. They’re nowhere nearly as good as Buir, but it’s fun to watch anyways, so Grogu joins the other kids on the sidelines who are too small to begin training yet.

Instructors: *sees extra baby. Sees extra baby is well-behaved. Continues with lesson. Their buir(e) will find them, eventually*

Grogu likes watching one particular human boy in the class/group. He reminds Grogu of Buir. Actually…

Grogu reaches out with the Force to the boy. 

It’s Buir!

Grogu lets out a shriek of joy, both physically and in the Force, then charges for his buir’s ankles.

Baby Din is very confused as to why the green baby has decided to attach itself to his ankle. And now the green baby is trying to climb him like a tree. It’s claws are pointy. Din picks up the green baby so it will stop trying to ruin his pants. It purrs happily. Din… kind of likes it.

Back with the leaders and Obi…

Obi of course hears Grogu’s happy shriek in the Force, and subsequently realizes he lost the baby. Oops. 

So Obi shoots off to find the wayward youngling, with the leaders trailing behind him. There might be some jumping over people and buildings involved so that Obi can take the most direct path to Grogu.

They find Grogu happily clinging to one of the Foundlings, who looks confused, but also kind of happy.

One of the leaders to Din’s buir: Congratulations. You’re a ba’buir.

Din’s buir: *choking noises of incomprehension*

Or, if you like Din’s buir being the Armorer: He is ten. *heavily implied “you idiot”*

Obi… doesn’t know what to do. He’s found the Mandalorian. But the Mandalorian is a child. The Mandalorians in general seem up to taking care of one more child. But can they actually handle a Force Sensitive child. Actually, what did the Council expect him to do when he found the Mandalorian? Or was this supposed to be some wild goose chase to get Grogu to give up on the Mandalorian? Obi needs to consult with the rest of the Council. 

Could the kid please babysit Grogu while he does that? He does like you after all.

So the Council… did not really expect Obi to succeed. In fact, the mission was supposed to be a traveling/working vacation of sorts for Obi and a means of placating Grogu. They should have known better, given they use Obi (with help from Ani) to mop up impossible messes in the war all the time. In fact, they were just getting to the point of recalling Obi back to the frontlines. Obi is not impressed with the elder masters’ schemes.

O: Well, I found the Mandalorian, *mumbles under breath* despite your expectations, *back to normal volume* so now we must decide what to do.

UM: You may leave the child with us. We will not allow it to come to harm, nor participate in your war game.

The Council: War is not a game!

UM: It is not. And yet this war is fought as if it is a game of dejarik in which the point is to inflict high casualties while dragging the game out for as long as possible.

C: ...No. That’s not—

UM: We have many Foundlings rescued from the rubble of your war. A war in which neither side can hold on to their momentum. The moment the end seems to be in sight, the potential victor starts to make questionable decisions, or their opponents suddenly have new resources or intelligence to push back with. Any attempts, by either side, at settling the war at a table instead of the battlefield are always derailed by a perfectly timed attack. So you tell me, is this war not a farce with little purpose besides the never ending battles?

C: No! It’s… it’s not— *starts reconsidering the very suspicious (in hindsight) chain of events that is every attempt to end the Clone Wars*

O: *reeling but trying to get things back on track* While very enlightening, views of the war are not the purpose of this call. I believe the simplest solution would be to let Grogu decide.

C: What?! He’s just a baby!

O: He’s 20 years old. Still very child-like, obviously, but old enough, I think, to decide. And if he changes his mind, we can be open to taking him back.

C: This is not the way things are done.

O: This situation is rather outside of any guidelines established by the Order. I don’t see how we could continue without stepping outside our normal bounds.

C: ...point. 

O: *turns to leader folk* My only concern is your ability to handle a Force Sensitive Youngling.

The Armorer, who just walked in: *snorts in amusement* Yours are not the only people capable of Hearing the Whispers of the Stars, jetii.

O: *has a minor crisis upon realizing that the woman has the bright presence of a Force Sensitive hiding themselves*

Okay, hear me out.

You are a race of warrior people who love their family and adore children. If you have people who can feel other people’s emotions and lifeforce, where do you put them? On the frontlines? Hell. No. You are not going to subject them to feeling everyone’s horrors of the battlefield. No. You stick them in the heart of the homefront where they are surrounded by the love of family moments. Where their ability to read people’s emotions can be used to mediate domestic disputes, and any precognitive abilities can be used to help ensure the safety of the community. And because armor and self-defense are part of the Creed, you encourage those practices through the forging of weapons and armor for those who defend the community. 

That’s right. I think that Mandalorian Force Sensitives are the armorers, the spiritual heart of the community. Given the Mandalorian reverence for armor and weapons, the forge is the last place they’re going to let the enemy reach (besides where they keep the children), so it’s the safest place to keep people who experience emotional feedback from others’ extreme emotions (with particular concern for negative emotions). Because no one needs crazy people who can invade your mind, or psychic/telekinetic enhanced temper tantrums.

The reason Tarre Vizsla is the only Mandalorian Jedi? The Mandalorians know that the Jedi find the most volatile situations and then send in individuals who can feel all that negativity to fight (in more than one sense) and fix it. They consider it reckless endangerment when sending someone normal with the right skill-set/equipment would be just as effective (see “We can match the Jedi in combat when we try”). Tarre was probably an attempt to get Jedi secret teachings or something that didn’t go to plan.

Also, I’m tired of “Din’s a Force Sensitive” AU things. Let him be a normal man with all the badass a là Batman. Let’s make the Armorer the Force Sensitive. I mean, she low-key predicted Din was going to fight the mudhorn.

A: Has your signet revealed itself? 

D: Not yet. 

A: Soon.

The next time she sees him? She tries to give him the mudhorn signet. Not to mention her excellent timing for tipping emotional scales among her people. It could be experience and wishful thinking, but what if it isn’t?

But back to the plot, not my headcanons...

So the Jedi are busy having a revelation that the Mandalorians do have at least one Force Sensitive, with a suggestion that they have more but just hide them away from everyone else. This is not what they expected. They thought that Mandalorians killed their Force Sensitives, or cut them off from the Force. Surely if they were going to train and use Force Sensitives, they would have put them on the battlefield to counter the Jedi in the past wars?

The Mandalorians, they’re enjoying the Jedi having the rug pulled out from under their feet.

In the meantime, Baby Din and Grogu are called over so Grogu can make his decision.

Obi and the Council are surprised to find out Din doesn’t talk out loud, he signs. They’ve heard him speak in Grogu’s vision (memories). Truthfully, it’s not that he can’t speak, but that he’s a traumatized kid, his voice is still stuck on the battlefield (for like, the past 6 months). It doesn’t help that he wasn’t much of a talker before. Not that anyone else knows that (come on, Din’s sparse speech is at least partially personality).

Anyways, question time!

O: *explains the option of leaving Grogu with the Mandalorians or coming back with him to the Temple*

G: *replies with the memory of Din’s lecture upon arriving on Sorgan "You stay right here. You stay. Don't move. You understand? Great."*

O: *to the Council (and everyone else)* Grogu desires to stay with the Mandalorians.

Mandalorians: *celebrating the acquisition of a new child (who could be an armorer)* We shall take good care of him, haat, ijaa, haa’it.

So, Grogu is officially(ish) a Mandalorian now. And he is determined to be the best little armorer. If he gets good enough fast enough, he could forge Buir’s armor. 

And Baby Din now has a child/clingy little brother. He doesn’t mind, the green bean is cute. And Grogu’s cuddles cure all ailments of the heart.

The Mandalorians take Obi back to his ship (they still don’t let him know where their settlement is) so he can get back to the war. The war that the Jedi are seriously questioning the methods of, now that the Mando leaders have pointed out how strangely staged the whole thing is.

Oh, and feel free to have a misunderstanding by Obi about the emblem of Death Watch/Clan Vizsla somewhere in there. Paz Vizsla had to come from somewhere, whether that was his parents fleeing Death Watch and Pre Vizsla, or some previous generation getting away from the rest of the clan (like say Tor Vizsla’s Death Watch, which is Legends-almost-canon). Regardless, there are Vizsla in the Children of the Watch settlement who aren’t against showing off their clan ties (shown by Din’s rescuers, because if DW is willing to raze a village for asking for their stolen women back, they’re not going to save a settlement from battle droids. It was Clan Vizsla folk, not DW, if you ask me). Basically, the Clan Vizsla emblem was appropriated by people with poor morals and now is famous for that association instead of its original use.

Or it could be about how this sect is called Children of the Watch. Personally, I like the Mando’a name of Ja’hai’ade for them (coined in this lovely fic ) which makes the name association with Death Watch (Kyr’tsad) a matter of translation. And I'm coining the New Mandalorians being Nu'mando'ade, the Not Mandalorians (and yes, I know aruetii is basically the same being outsider/traitor, but the News do call themselves Mandalorians unlike the rest of the outsiders), but to anyone who doesn't know Mando'a, it sounds like New Mando'ade (and puns please me).

Eventually, as part of Grogu’s armorer training, they get him to open up about his trauma (in hopes of healing), and realize they have a time travel baby. Mandalorians know that sorcery does seemingly impossible things (and don’t think they have the possibilities all figured out), so they believe. 

They talk with the Jedi in hopes of finding the origin of the events to come, then send out hunters (probably behind the Jedi’s backs) to find out how the Clone Army really came to be. They find Valorum’s guy who the Pike Syndicate have for blackmail, and they get him out without being killed (because the Mandos aren’t reporting to the Jedi until the job is done, so Sidious and Dooku don’t know to get in the way).

The Jedi are horrified to learn that their army was commissioned by the Sith leader of the other side. They want full bio-scans from their own doctors to make sure Dooku didn’t include some failsafe to kill their men at a moment's notice. 

What they find is the control chips, which are worse. 

De-chipping efforts begin immediately and quietly. One of the things the Mandalorians noticed was that there had to be an info leak somewhere in the system, either the chipped clones or the Senate (given secret Jedi plans without either’s involvement seem to go okay), so it’s best to keep everything as quiet as possible.

They also work on figuring out how the commands in the chips can be activated so that they can try to avoid it for as long as possible or until the Clones are all cleared. Oddly enough, it’s all voice commands, keyed to one specific voice. They put the voice through a vocal analysis program in the hopes that the Sith Lord (obviously not Dooku, the man has a distinctive voice) can be identified. Obi conveniently brings up Dooku’s old warning about the Senate, so they run the command voice against senatorial speeches (because everyone in that building has given at least one speech). The results: Palpatine is the closest match (he does kind of change how he voices between Sidious and the Chancellor). Kriff. They review parts of the war that were directly requested by or involve the Chancellor. The suspicious pattern is there. Double kriff.

The Jedi are very concerned now. They are basically under the thumb of a Sith, and if they can’t prove to the galaxy what a bad thing that is, the Jedi are going to be in trouble for trying to break away. So they begin working on getting all non-combatant Jedi squirreled away. Some are dispatched to old temples, some are sent to Children of the Watch coverts (they’ve been steadfast allies in this mess and will protect the children), some to make new hidden settlements. Also, saving/copying the archives so they won’t be lost. All is done with as much care as de-chipping the Clones.

When the Senate finds out about the non-combatant Jedi being hidden away, there’s an uproar. The Jedi come forward with their evidence of the Clone control chips, who ordered the army, and all the odd turns of “fortune” in the war. Thus their concerns for the safety of their members and continuation of their Order. “Best not to have us all in one spot to be wiped out.” 

The Senate, of course, latches on to how the Jedi discovered all this and didn’t tell them. Never mind that information given to the Senate had a way of ending up in enemy hands or precipitating conveniently timed counter-actions. Guess who’s spearheading that line of thought.

The Jedi kindly point out that no other group in the Republic is expected to give live reports on internal actions and decisions. Padme and the rest of the peaceful faction throw in on the Jedi’s side.

Also, when the Jedi had to give their evidence to the Senate, they also sent it to the Separatists, who are not happy to find out that Dooku commissioned the enemy’s army. What other efforts have you been sabotaging, Count, hmmm?

And do most of those representatives know that their droid army is in the habit of massacring civilian populations? Or taking them prisoner to be sold into slavery for war funds? Because if they do, that makes “we’re going to be better than the stagnant Republic” feel like a giant line of hypocrisy. I think that at least the likes of Mina Bonterri didn’t know/realize that it wasn’t some Anti-Separatist propaganda.

So both sides are now tearing down the middle between those who don’t care about the death toll to make them right and those who are done with this stupid war.

Dooku and Palps give the order for their respective armies to turn on the people. It’s time to end all the stupid debating, get an Empire, and hunt down all the Jedi.

Casualties in the Clones ensue as the de-chipped try to save their still chipped brothers. Quite a few Jedi go down as well.

The droids are enforcing martial law with heavy death penalties. The peace leaders are pretty much massacred.

Resistances rise most everywhere the “Empire” tries to force itself. Jedi and free Clone troopers help as best they can. Children of the Watch offer more covert aid, as they’ve gone into deep hiding. Grogu had shared his memories of mentions of the Great Purge against the Mandalorians by the Empire and they’re determined to survive that possibility as best they can. Survival is their strength.

New alliances are made in resistance to the Empire, necessitating a new body to oversee shared actions. Maybe call it a Congress, or some other political group of representatives that hasn’t been used by the Galactic Republic or Confederacy of Independent Systems.

They war. Eventually the New Alliance wins. Mostly because systems kept defecting from the Empire’s harsh totalitarian rule. Or someone managed to kill Palps and Dooku. Bonus points if Boba kills Dooku (low-key revenge for what happened to Jango at Dooku’s hand at Galidraan).

And Grogu? He’s happily living his life as the Littlest Armorer with Buir. And Din loves his green bean son/brother.

The end.

Chapter Text

Din and Grogu are back in time on Tatooine, right outside of Ben’s house.

Hello? Anyone home? No? 

But Din finds tracks outside the house, not too old. They’ll just wait out here for the owner to return (Din does not have video game character manners, there will be no barging into strangers’ homes).

Ben returns with Luke and the droids in tow. Ben’s worried when he finds a very shiny Mandalorian waiting on his porch. Have they figured out he’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi General, and come to collect on his bounty?

Wait a second. Is that a baby Yoda in the Mandalorian’s arms? 

Or he can wonder if that’s Grogu, if you think the green bean and Obi met back in the temple.

Din is his polite self and would like to know if he and the kid can get supplies or a ride back to civilization. He’s not sure he could find a Tusken tribe for help before the desert got to them.

Luke is a confused farm boy. Who expects Tusken Raiders to help them?

Ben, meanwhile, is wondering if this is some elaborate trap. 

Grogu senses their distress and sends them feelings of safe and happy to put them at ease. Luke has a good feeling about the shiny man and his green baby, you know, like he sometimes gets about people. Ben knows exactly what just happened and isn’t as reassured as Grogu planned because Ben knows the bias of love.

So Luke would be happy to give Mr. Shiny Armor a ride back. As soon as he and the droids are done talking with Ben. Artoo does have a message to deliver, after all. Din finds this agreeable. Ben… not so much. There are things he needs to tell Luke, because he knows those droids and who they worked for. You can’t tell me Obi didn’t know the time of hiding was over when Anakin’s son showed up with the droids he left with Anakin’s daughter. Even if he does tell a bunch of half-truths to Luke in the movie (about so many points).

Grogu sends more feelings of safe to Ben upon sensing his unease once more directed at Din. Ben decides to gamble on the kid’s sense of his guardian, and tells Luke about his father. Din ends up interrupting storytime.

D: You’re a Jedi?

B: *nervously* Well, yes.

D: I have been quested to return this child to the Jedi. 

B: *mentally* What the kriff? *out loud* Oh, is that so?

D: *nods seriously*

B: I’m afraid I’m not really in a position to take care of a youngling.

D: Dank farrik. You’re the second one to say they can’t train him.

B: What?! *asks desperately* Who did you meet?

D: Her name was Ahsoka Tano.

B: *in cautious hope* When?

D: Few weeks ago.

B: *in joyous disbelief* Ahsoka's alive. *Also confused, since he believed Vader killed her (see the Rebels show)*

L: Who’s Ahsoka?

B: She was your father’s student, and a good friend.

Storytime resumes. Din realizes they’re back in time based on the message about the Rebellion and Empire. Plus how Ben (though the holo girl called him Obi-Wan. Din thinks that sounds a bit familiar) and Luke act like there’s no chance it’s an outdated message. Din’s silent attention is maintained until Ben starts pushing Luke to learn the Force from him.

D: What the hell?! You said you wouldn’t train Grogu, but you’re trying to bully this kid into learning!

B: I said I couldn’t care for him. Not that I couldn’t train him.

D: *glares intensely enough for it to be felt through his helmet*

B: Grogu is a child! A little bitty one! And these are dangerous times.

D: He’s seen worse than farm boy here. I can guarantee it.

B: *wonders if Din knows about the Jedi Purge, or means the shit he’s gotten into with the baby in tow (little does he know, the answer is both)*

D: He needs training.

B: *glances to Luke (and considers if he really wants to train another Skywalker) who is giving the old man disappointed eyes* Alright. *gets a bright idea* But only if Luke trains too.

D: *slaps a manipulative old man*

Things relatively worked out, they all pile into Luke’s speeder. They’re probably dancing around, if not outright surpassing, its intended weight limit. They’re definitely not following safety guidelines for loading it up.

They find the wrecked Sandcrawler. Din doesn’t feel much sympathy for the thieves. He certainly thought about doing the same to the ones that stripped the Razor Crest after it was reassembled. Din can also look at the wreckage and tell as easily as (if not even more easily than) Ben that this was not Tusken work, but the work of someone who didn’t know the Tuskens trying to pin the blame on them. Why they felt the need to attempt to cover their trail was a mystery. The Jawas are a convenient trade opportunity for the locals, but not something local people would bother to look deeply into if they were killed. Tatooine is just that kind of planet. Not to mention that with the Empire still going strong, it’s not like the Imps (assuming Ben was right. Din has seen stormtroopers shoot. You want a good Imp shot, you get their sharpshooters, like Mayfeld) had any repercussions to fear. Jabba wasn’t going to pick a fight with the Empire over one lone Crawling Fortress.

When Luke realizes the Imps were after C-3PO and R2-D2, he dashes for the speeder. Din grabs Luke before he gets there to make him take a moment and think, unlike Ben just-standing-here-letting-kids-run-headfirst-into-danger Kenobi (seriously, didn’t even twitch to stop him beyond verbal warnings). Din doesn’t manage to talk Luke out of dashing back to the farm, but he does convince the kid to let the heavily armed Mandalorian accompany him. Grogu is left in the care of… the droids. Because despite Din’s well-founded mistrust for droids, these ones are more honest than Ben (Din’s second-guessing the idea of letting the man teach Grogu). 

They find the burning remains of the farm. Din offers his condolences and bundles Luke back into the speeder as quickly as possible. No use in standing around and possibly getting caught by Imps sweeping by again.

Plus, Grogu hugs will help the kid feel better. 

They get back to the wrecked Crawler and Grogu is summarily placed in the mourning farm boy’s arms. Luke must admit the cuteness does make him feel a bit better. 

Ben also offers condolences once he learns about what happened on the farm. He didn’t agree with Owen much, but the man (and his wife) didn’t deserve that. And he knows they loved Luke deeply.

And, with nothing to return to, Luke decides to pursue the path of the Jedi.

Everyone loads back up in the speeder (and man are they lucky there’s basically no traffic laws on Tatooine) and they head to Mos Eisley. Din laughs at Ben’s assessment of the city. Obviously, this man hasn’t been to Nal Hutta or Nar Shadda. 

Ben insists Din wear his cloak over his armor, after failing to convince the Mandalorian to take it off. Din’s too shiny and attention grabbing, and they don’t want that. Ben switches for Din’s cape, which he can fashion a hood/wrap out of to cover his head, help keep people from recognizing him. Din warns that if he has to use the jetpack, he’s going to lose the cloak (and possibly light it on fire. By accident). Ben will mourn the loss of his nice Bantha wool cloak if it comes to that. And possibly burn Din’s cape for petty revenge. There are questionable stains on its fabric. Particularly the raggedy edge (because Din uses it as a napkin/wipe on-the-go for his old toddler).

So they roll into Mos Eisley. The Imps pull them over and Din is ready to fight, then gets very confused as to why the trooper is repeating what Ben says, while seeming to believe it. Not to mention that none of the other troopers question this direction of events.

Luke asks about that oddity, and Din’s glad the kid does. He gets tired of feeling like he’s stupid for not knowing things. He can speak multiple languages, and understands several more. He knows hundreds of ways to incapacitate and kill, all sorts of ways to jury rig a ship into working. He’s not stupid, there’s just subjects that never interest him until they’re relevant.

They get the explanation for the mind trick. Din has concerns. Mostly if it means someone can get into his head and puppet him around. Ben reassures him that he’s very doubtful it would work. Most Mandalorians are the kind of stubborn that resists tricks like that. Plus stormtroopers are conditioned to take orders easily. Din is only slightly mollified by this.

They go into the cantina. Luke meets his new “friends.”

That guy: I have the death sentence in twelve systems.

D: *seeing where this is going* Does that mean you have a corresponding bounty? I could always use the extra credits.

TG: Who— *sees the Mando helmet under the cloak. And the shiny spear in his hand* Ah, no! No bounty! *scurries away with friend*

L: *in farm boy innocence* What just happened?

D: The natural order.

L: Wut?

D: This is the Way.

So Ben doesn’t draw attention to himself by pulling a lightsaber in front of the whole cantina (he seriously gave up the notion of hiding in-movie, didn’t he?).

They go talk to Han and Chewie. Chewie is enchanted by the little one the Mandalorian is carrying. It reminds him of the old Jedi Grandmaster. Han is nervous when he sees the Mando helmet under the cloak. He knows that Fett is the most fearsome of Jabba’s hunters, and this guy strikes him as similarly capable. Time for the Smuggler Bluff of I’m Untouchable.

Din doesn’t mention that he’s seen Solo’s bounty puck off and on before, meaning he keeps escaping the hunters. Or managing to pay off the people setting the bounties. Or out-living them. A smuggler probably is their best way to quietly leave the planet anyways. Even if he’s charging hyperlane robbery rates (and Ben has almost doubled the listed price. Voluntarily. Din’s not covering the cost. Crazy sorcerer). 

The non-smugglers take their leave to sell the speeder. Han has his issues with Greedo and Jabba. Din notices the person following them, and shoots them. Or sneaks up on them kind of like some of the cool scenes from S1:E6. They don’t need hunters following them. So the troopers don’t show up to force the group to flee with all speed (or call the destroyers on them, presumably). They make a clean getaway.

Ben begins training Luke once they’re underway. By giving a quick lecture on using the Force, then handing the kid a lightsaber and activating the shooty little training droid. Din does not approve.

D: That is not proper training. At least teach him how to hold the laser sword properly. The only thing those things can’t cut through is beskar. Do you want him to lose a limb?

B: *flashbacks to all the severed arms*

D: Come here kid. *starts showing Luke basic sword stances and proper footing*

B: *surprised* You know how to use a lightsaber?

D: No. But I learned how to use a sword when I was younger. The main difference here is that the kid can’t brace the laser sword, since all edges of it cut.

L: Brace it?

D: *pulls out his spear* I’ll demonstrate. Take a swing at me.

L: Are you sure?

D: I’ll be fine.

L: Okay… *makes a slow, exaggerated swing*

D: *blocks with ease, then bounces the ‘saber away* Like that. Bracing makes taking heavier blows easier, but with a laser sword, you don’t have that option. You’ll have to dodge or redirect.

L: Okay.

Basically, Din takes over teaching Luke the basics of fighting. When Ben tries to take control back, Din happily points out he can work with Grogu until Din has finished drilling Luke in the basics. Ben reluctantly acquiesces. 

It’s bittersweet to “talk” with someone who knew the old Order, though he is gratified to get a glimpse of Ahsoka “the Nice Lady” Tano. And he has concerns about Grogu’s fear, even if the kid is making a wonderful effort at being brave. For his dad. Ben decides to try to teach the line between selfless love and attachment. He is surprised that Grogu already knows it. Turns out, Grogu’s Mando dad has been preparing himself to willingly give up Grogu to the Jedi for ages. How could Grogu not know the feeling of selfless love? His dad feels it for him every day. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Grogu wants to leave his dad. He’d much rather have his dad around, if it can be helped. Ben knows the feeling.

Suddenly, Alderaan is destroyed. Ben and Grogu are feeling that. Din suspects Ben’s millions of voices may be Alderaan. It’s the one time where so many were killed all at once. He still doesn’t really understand this magic stuff though.

Grogu is sad and wants Mando dad cuddles. Ben and Din switch children.

Han comes in and makes his comments about how the Force can’t be real. Din partially agrees with him. He doesn’t believe in Fate, though he definitely knows the magic is real.

They arrive at the dust field that was Alderaan. The TIE-fighter strafes them and Han pursues. When he points out the “moon” base, Din jumps on that shit and tells them it’s a heavily weaponized space station. The others argue it can’t be and/or question how he would know that. They spend too long arguing and get caught in the tractor-beam.

The Falcon is not given the same treatment as in the movie since they weren’t logged as escaping Tatooine. But Vader still has a feeling about the ship. Han and Luke don’t hide in the smuggling compartments. Instead they try to fast-talk the Imps into letting them go.

H: *to Luke before they leave the ship* Just be yourself, kid. Fear is a pretty natural reaction after the Imps grab your ship. And leave the talking to me.

H: *to the Imps and Vader* Look, I just got hired to do a delivery to Alderaan from an associate. Then I get here and the planet’s gone and some Imperial flyboy decides to take shots at my ship!

V: If you have nothing to hide, then you will not mind a more thorough search of your ship, Captain.

H: Sure! But uh, please take it easy on my ship. She's an old classic.

V: *mumbles to self* A classic pile of junk.

H: *not catching the insult to his ship* Your Lordship?

V: *dismisses the dumbass and stalks off for more important matters than grunt work*

So Han and Luke are left standing around in the hangar with the Imps. Any Imp that enters the ship is dispatched by Din. Quietly. He’s a professional (unlike Han and Luke in-movie). Actually, Han is mildly terrified when the Mandalorian sneaks up behind him to inform him that the bay has been cleared. The man(do) cleared the bay without a single blaster shot being fired. 

They seize the hangar control room without much fuss (Luke and Han may play stormtrooper. Your choice). R2 finds the tractor-beam power sources, Ben volunteers to take care of it, Din refuses to let the old Jedi go alone. He finally has a teacher for Grogu and is not letting the man get killed because he has no one to watch his back. Ben isn’t feeling agreeable to having someone come with him.

Din gives him a 10 second head start.

Mostly so he can hand Grogu over to Chewie. Because the Wookiee is the most responsible person in the group that isn’t Din.

Luke and friends find out about Leia’s captivity, and Luke manages to convince Han to play fake prisoner to his stormtrooper. Chewie stays with the droids to protect little Grogu. Wookiees may rip off limbs when angered, but Mandalorians slaughter for the safety of their children. No thank you. Chewie didn’t live to an old age (by human standards) by doing unnecessarily stupid things, like charging a detention level containing a high-ranking prisoner with a (Mandalorian) baby in his arms.

The rescue of Leia pretty much follows canon (besides his role as fake prisoner, Chewie wasn’t overly necessary there). Except the trash compactor gets turned off sooner since Chewie is in the control room to fight off the stormtroopers, so the comm doesn’t have to be turned off. Though Chewie and friends do evac down to the hangar afterwards, just in case more backup is sent. Also to be ready to leave sooner. 

Meanwhile, Din is masterfully stalking old Ben through the halls and ensuring the Jedi isn’t getting killed. Vader shows up and, for some unfathomable reason to Din, Ben confronts the Empire’s enforcer. Oddly enough, neither seems to be putting much effort into their battle, to the Mandalorian’s trained eye. Din then shows his wisdom as a hunter, watching the duel and waiting for the opportune moment…

...to stab the karking Darksaber through Vader’s black heart.

Or he snagged Anakin’s old ‘saber from wherever Ben/Luke left it on the Falcon before departing.

Yeah, so the latest point to draw Din (and Grogu) from is the Dark Troopers punching the bridge. He can’t have met future!Luke.

And the reason Din actually managed to backstab the Sith Lord? Vader was too focused on Kenobi (and possibly beskar Force dampening. Your call).

Everyone is shocked. Some random, shiny Mando has killed Darth kriffing Vader.

Din takes advantage to snag Vader’s ‘saber (one can never have too many weapons. And the laser swords are admittedly very useful) and starts shooting down troopers. Ben snaps out of his shocked catatonia when the troopers start firing back, deflecting bolts back at their attackers. 

Grogu doesn’t like these people shooting at his dad (and his new teacher too, he guesses) and uses one as a human wrecking ball against the others. Han is now terrified of not just the full-grown Mandalorian, but the baby Mandalorian too. Yeah, Han doesn’t know how Mandalorians work, besides their lethal skills of badassery. Which are apparently taught as early as the infant/toddler stage.

They all make it back to the Falcon and make their daring escape. Tarkin didn’t know they killed Vader before they left, so he couldn’t change his mind on the tracking beacon. 

It doesn’t work out for Tarkin anyways. Din is paranoid and finds the beacon. He destroys it and happily dumps it in Han’s lap to prove how wrong the man was. Ben expresses concern about not knowing where the DS will head next. Din pulls out his own tracking device. He’d tagged the DS with his own tracker while he was stalking Ben. Mostly so that it would be easy to avoid the thing (or at least have warning to get the kriff out of there), but if you people want to use it to follow the battlestation, feel free.

Oh, and Ben puts a stop to Luke having romantic ideas about Leia by revealing their separated-at-birth twins status (B: No incest. All the ghosts of your dead parents would murder me if I didn’t stop that from happening). When asked why they were separated, he says it was to avoid drawing Vader and the Emperor’s attention, since the pair knew both of their parents and would want them for their parentage alone, never mind Force Sensitivity. He still doesn’t explain that Anakin was Vader. He’s taking that secret to his grave.

They make it to the Rebellion base. The read outs are analyzed, the weakness found, attack plans made. Ben and Din spend some more time training Luke and Grogu. The Rebellion is as ready as they can be to try to destroy the DS.

The Death Star itself is observed to be headed for... Mandalore.

Din bullies his way onto a comm to try to warn the Mandalorians of what’s coming (presuming that the Purge was post-DS1 and they had originally planned to use it against the Mandalorians in canon until Luke happened ). 

Instead, they receive the Empire wide notification that Mandalore is to cease its resistance at once and hand over Din (who’s specified by his appearance/armor or as the Mand’alor, if he used the Darksaber) for crimes against the Empire, or be destroyed, like Alderaan. They very carefully don’t mention that Vader is dead.

The Rebellion mobilizes. This is actually better than what they anticipated, sort of. If they can begin their attacks on the DS, chances are the Mandalorians will join them. And everyone knows Mandalorians are the badasses of the galaxy.

They begin their attack runs immediately, with Ben (and Luke, maybe) leading the first attempt. Ben had insisted he go, as a Force Sensitive would be the most likely to successfully make the shot on a first run (even if he isn’t as great a pilot as Anakin was). The Mandalorians began pitching in as soon as the Rebels showed up, shooting out the DS’s defense guns. They refuse to go down without a fight.

The Force is with our heroes (especially since Vader isn’t there to tip things the other way), and Ben makes the shot on his first try. Luckily before Mandalore can be destroyed. 

OR: The DS does fire on Mandalore. 

They really should have done a deep geological scan, because they hit a giant deposit of pure beskar (or as close to pure as a naturally occurring metal can be. I ain't no geologist). So the laser hits the beskar deposit and bounces back at the Death Star. The Mandalorians now have an Abyss of Doom where the laser hit.

Yeah. The Mandalorians are so badass, the literal planet they live on destroyed the Death Star. The rest of the galaxy cowers in awe.

Alternatively, nobody realizes how the Mandalorians managed that, and the sheer mystery of it leaves everybody intimidated. 

And the reason this can work while the planet got successfully glassed in canon: glassing is mostly a surface level process whose greater effects are in making the topography incapable of supporting life. Plus the Mandalorians have cleared out most, if not all, of the surface level deposits, so any laser cannons used in the process aren’t going to be hitting lots of beskar. The DS hits the planet’s core to blow it up, so it can hit deep deposits that the Mandalorians haven't found to mine.

Either way: Han shows up to the party late, but wants to stick around anyways. For his friends. It’s agreed that smugglers are useful for rebels and their underground ways. And he gets bullied into paying his debt to Jabba (once they find out about it). 

D: You’re useless if you’re one of the Outer Rim’s highest bounties.

H: Alright, alright, I’m going!

Now the Mandalorians are ready to proclaim all-out war on the Empire for trying to blow up their planet (with all the children on it!). 

And the Rebellion happily proclaims the the reason the Empire wanted Din is because he killed Darth kriffing Vader. Suddenly, a lot more planets are finding the courage to rebel with the Emperor’s most terrifying enforcer out of the way. Plus what happened to Alderaan and the destruction of the DS.

Sidious is outraged by all of these events. He lost his super-weapon (the second one won’t be operational for years). He lost his apprentice (who was like a miniature super-weapon). The Mandalorians are going to war (and he damn well knows the histories). And the rebels are now multiplying exponentially (the damned rats).

So lots of rebel movements are going on. 

And Din “accidentally” finds the second DS while it’s still being constructed (he doesn’t know details from before, but he knows what system/sector to look in. The DS change too much for him to not know the broad strokes). The Mandalorians pounce on that and destroy it real good. They will not have their planet blown up. 

Speaking of, Mandalore doesn’t get purged. With all the rebellions igniting across the galaxy, the Empire can’t spare the necessary power to fight a campaign against the enraged, heavily armed, and unified Mandalorians without it being a bloodbath. It doesn’t help that ambushes of Mandalorians are popping up across the Rim. The Children of the Watch stand with the one who slayed Vader and claimed the Sith’s blade as his own. The Redsaber (unless Force BS to change the blade’s color to like, silver or something, to match his armor. Or go for broke and make it iridescent). Also helps that when Din contacted the network of coverts, he asked them to prioritize the safety of the kids, because the Empire would be Mandalorian hunting now.

Yeah, it’s not been a good year or so for Palps.

Now for the coup de grace.

Han smuggles Ben, Din, Luke (who’s had much more training now), and Leia (that girl wanted a laser sword to carve her enemies in two with. Plus the training to use it) to whatever planet/place the Emperor is staying. They infiltrate and attempt to assassinate the man. It ends up a fight, of course. There is Force Lightning, acrobatics, lightsabers. The works. 

Our heroes emerge victorious (if possibly less in number. Your call). The galaxy is free of Sith tyranny.

Luke and Ben begin training new Jedi, and follow the Din-Grogu example and allow kids to have their parents. To teach them selfless love to combat attachment/possessive-selfish love. Ben decides it’s kind of nice to implement all the changes in the Jedi he used to think would make things better. Only “kind of” though because trial and error is a pain in the ass (and not all of the results are immediately apparent. Or will even show for generations). 

And Yoda is not contacted. They don’t want him cramping the new Jedi style, the stubborn old troll.

But Ahsoka is invited to join them, whenever she’s not looking for Ezra/Thrawn.

Leia is the most badass Senator the galaxy has ever seen (at least since her birth mother. Padme knew her way around a blaster) and Han is fairly content being a trophy husband (if still a troublemaker because of his wanderlust). Chewie remains as Han’s (and the eventual kid[s]) babysitter.

Din is Mand’alor of at least the Children of the Watch, if not all Mandalorians. He's not as bloodthirsty as Bo-Katan Kryze, after all, and most are ready to go back to child rearing self-defense, not go out on a crusade against the dwindling Empire remnants. Or whoever Bo-Katan wants to war with next for glory. She never gave up Death Watch ideals of Mandalorian superiority. She just left because Maul, an outsider, claimed the leadership.

Anyways, Din’s Mandalorians happily offer shelter for the New Jedi Order to set up shop in. Partially for continued alliance between their peoples, partially because they don’t want their leader regularly disappearing from their territories for his green bean son’s lessons.

And so the galaxy spins on, becoming a better place.

The end.

Chapter Text

It's Din’s turn to wake up in the past as his child self. 

And a quick new headcanon to explain some background we’re working with here: 

Din has two buire, his rescuer and the Armorer, because those two are siblings and co-parented Din. It went something like this:

Rescuer: Look what I found on my last mission, vod’ika! *holds baby Din up a là Lion King*

Armorer: That's very nice. You're taking care of it (which isn't her being rude. There's this excellent in-fic discourse on Mandalorians using gender-neutral pronouns on kids until the kids choose otherwise).

*several months later after R keeps leaving D in the forge while he goes off places*

A: This baby is mine now.

*cue sibling rivalry custody battle. Baby Din just appreciates all the hugs and not-boring lessons. Making everyone listen to you with curt bluntness is interesting, but sneaking up on people, and beating them up, is more fun. Also, he doesn't understand Gor'buir's talk about listening to the Ka’ra. Stars don't make sound, they’re in space (but they do look pretty)*

And FYI, the Armorer is mid-twenties at the oldest “currently”, but probably closer to twenty even, and the Rescuer is either a twin or a minimum of two years older. Also, the Armorer is Force Sensitive (see my discourse in the chapter Grogu and the Search for Buir).

Anyways, Din wakes up in his little room attached to his Gor’buir’s suite. Which is confusing, because he hasn’t been there since well before the Purge. Also, he’s pretty sure that the last time he stayed here, it felt a lot more cramped.

And then there’s a minor panic attack when he realizes he’s not wearing his armor. He’s pretty sure he fell asleep in it, last he remembers. The panic settles some when he sees it neatly stacked in the corner, spear and jetpack included. But only some because every piece that isn’t beskar seems to be missing. Arguably, he’s still got the most important parts, but he liked the other parts of his kit. It took forever to get his ideal assemblage.

He gets out of the bed to make sure everything really is there… and notices he is short. Look, it’s not like Din is ridiculously tall or anything, but he’s not this short either.

A closer look in the conveniently shiny and reflective surfaces of his armor reveal his baby face. 

So… Din’s a kid again. This is weird. Maybe since this is his first home with the covert, Gor’buir is here too. This was her suite originally.

Dealing with the weirdness as nonchalantly as he had with Grogu’s magic (I mean, we never see him freak out about Grogu having abilities, only what he does with them), Din puts on his helmet before heading out to see if anyone else is around (he may have had to pad the inside of it with an extra shirt so it won’t wobble on his head).

Din: *stumbles into living space (stupid reshortened legs) and sees the Armorer* Gor’buir?

Armorer: Din’ika, where did you get that buy’ce? *concerned because she should know every helmet in the covert*

D: It’s mine.

A: That’s not what I asked— *has sudden realization that the baby her idiotic older brother brought home is speaking out loud. They couldn’t even get the kid to say his name. The only reason they even have his name is because he luckily knew how to write it. They had to teach him to sign so that he could communicate easily* Oh praise the Manda! You’re speaking!

D: *confused noises as he is crushed to Gor’buir’s chest plate. He knows he doesn’t talk much, but this seems excessive*

A confusing conversation ensues: the Armorer is surprised to find a full set of pure beskar beskar’gam has magically appeared in her kid’s room, jetpack and a lovely spear included. Din is surprised to find out he has time traveled, not shrunk. And he is upset to find out that while his custom blaster pistol (the one gun he didn’t have to replace after losing the Razor Crest) has been lost to him, the karking Darksaber has not. 

The Armorer is not sure how to feel about her ten-year-old having a claim to the throne/being the rightful ruler of Mandalore. Pride, because wow, look at where my baby ended up. Or anger that some demagolka hu’tuun in the future forces this thing on her baby. He’s told her quite plainly that he tried to return it to the previous Mand’alor cleanly, but she refused to take it back because the demagolka talked about its legend in front of (all four of) everyone else there. Or fear that this kid who liked to watch her verbally bitchslap upstarts (and her brother physically do it) but can barely bring himself to sign rude things about them behind their backs is supposed to lead them. And yes, she’s aware it’s been thirty years for her baby and he’s been a very successful beroya in that time, but she really doubts he’s gotten much better at social situations, which are kind of a requirement for the Mand’alor.

This… this requires more wisdom than she has. They’re going to visit the Gor’alor (I saw this originally elsewhere, but I don’t remember if it’s been in multiple fics or not. Otherwise I’d credit the author of the eldest of those fics for the term). Say hello, Ugnaught Armorer OC (also from Grogu and the Search for Buir).

Gor’alor: The child is a time traveler?

Armorer: So he claims, and the Ka’ra speak of no duplicity in his words. The beskar’gam that appeared in his room does bear resemblance to my work, if more refined. And I know I have not yet made it.

G: Interesting. And you, ad? Do you have anything else to add?

Din: Please don’t make me be the Mand’alor again. I don’t want to reclaim a cursed planet. The one we’re on right now is just fine. The ade are safe here, we can practice the Creed, and we don’t have to hide from Imperials.

G&A: Imperials?

D: The only Core government after the Clone Wars end. They glassed Mandalore about ten years before I came back and hunted us for beskar, along with all the other shabuire of the galaxy.

A: Language!

D: Sorry, Gor’buir.

And after that Imperial nugget drops, there’s a lot of head banging against the brickwall that is Din’s refusal to speak more than he has to. It’s like pulling teeth from a recalcitrant bantha. And most certainly isn’t helped by Din’s ignorance of anything not related to surviving the Outer Rim (which history of the Republic and Clone Wars certainly isn’t), considering the causes are all Core politics.

It also comes out that the Armorer (and her brother) is a ba’buir. To a baby that is currently twice the age of its buir.

A: Are you trying to give me a migraine, Din’ika?

D: *in perfect, straight-faced honesty* No.

A: *heartfelt sigh* You’re lucky you’re still cute.

D: *tilts head (unintentionally) adorably, which is enhanced by his shiny, too-large helmet*

A: *mentally* That’s the stuff a buir lives for.

So, what to do now that pertinent information has been wrung out of the child?

Din votes that he goes to this “Jedi Temple on Coruscant” that Ahsoka Tano mentioned Grogu grew up in, to see if his ad’ika has also time traveled, or if the green bean just wants to come with him. Technically, Grogu’s over thirteen and thus of age by Mandalorian standards. He can choose for himself. 

The Armorer and Gor’alor don’t think it’s a good idea for Din to go deep into the Core alone. Din disagrees. He’s a perfectly capable beroya who has already passed his verd’goten.

A: You’re ten.

D: *petulant whine* Only in body!

A: Which means you have a ten-year-old’s brain. You will not be able to focus or control your responses as you are used to. You are no longer that verd.

D: Nuh uh!

A: *helmet tilt equivalent of a raised eyebrow*

D: *curls into self upon realizing instant childish reaction* You… may have a point.

A: *hums knowingly*

The real plan is for the Armorer to accompany him to Coruscant to see if Grogu will come with them. But first, he’ll need some training armor to wear. Yes, you can keep wearing your future helmet. I’ll make an under-helmet/hat so that you don’t have to stuff a shirt under there. Also, the Gor’alor insists that Din take the Darksaber with him. It will probably make the jetiise more willing to at least hear him out.

The Armorer takes lots of holos before they leave. Din is just too cute with his oversized helmet and right pauldron (he refused to leave his signet behind) plus his little armor and cape. He also gets a little blaster (and misses his custom one even more fiercely).

So they make it to Coruscant. The Armorer doesn’t like the muffling of the Ka’ra there. But it does explain why the jetiise are acting so stupid. They’ve never been particularly good at just listening to the Ka’ra. Always too selective with chasing their “light,” leaving themselves unable to see the “dark” until it snuffs out their light. So if the light is only dimmed, the jetiise probably don’t even realize it, since they can still see the light, just not as clearly.

Force philosophies aside, they head for the Jedi Temple. Just as they’re reaching the main temple building (because unless I’m sorely mistaken, the Temple also covers the wide space of shorter buildings that isn’t their ziggurat-like main building), they hear a coo. 

The green bean baby has come out to meet them, and would love to start a new life of violence and unrestrained familial love.

D: *happily picks up baby and puts him in the backpack he brought* Can we go home now, Gor’buir?

A: *looks at the Jedi Temple* We should let the jetiise know the ad’ika is coming with us.

D: Will they even notice he’s gone? They don’t allow attachment. And it doesn’t look like anyone noticed Grogu snuck away.

A: *considers Din’s points* Very well, ad’ika. Let us return home. *she really doesn’t want to stick around this thick muffling in the Core longer than she has to anyways. It lets all the unpleasant Whispers through*

So, yeah. Din and the Armorer leave Coruscant with a consensually kidnapped child. The Jedi, they have no clue where the youngling from the crèche disappeared to. They can’t even find him in the Force. Gor’buir’s first lesson on Mandalorian Force practices: how to not let other people see you among the Ka’ra. It keeps the Jedi from trying to steal you away. Or the Sith. Grogu is a natural.

Later on the ship (which may be the Razor Crest with Rescuer buir flying)...

D: Wait. Shouldn’t we have warned the jetiise of the Empire as well?

A: *snorts* The jetiise are terrible listeners. If they wish to have our wisdom, they may come to seek it from us themselves.

D: Okay. *goes back to playing with his green bean. Grogu doesn’t hesitate much to use his magic now. It’s new, and fun (Look, Ma, no hands!)*

During a pit stop on the way back to the covert, some nasty types decide it would be a good idea to steal Mandalorian babies to get the parent(s) to walk into a trap. Din does not appreciate being manhandled, having his blaster taken, and most certainly not having his ad’ika threatened. Lucky him, the di’kute did not grab the Darksaber. Din decides it is a very cool weapon when it cuts the bad guys up even better than his favorite vibro-knife. Now if only it didn’t make him unwilling royalty…

Anyways, the Armorer (and Rescuer, if he was on ship duty) catches up in time to see her shiny ad’ika finish dispatching the last bad guy with the (laser) Sword of Destiny. And then start rifling through the dead’s pockets for loose change. This is the point where she realizes it’s one thing for the kid to proclaim himself an experienced warrior financially supporting a small community almost entirely on his own, and another to see the effects of that in action.

They make it back to the covert (probably without more trouble). Grogu is presented before the Gor’alor, and Din hands over his spoils of war. For the Foundlings. And if that’s not the cutest, most mandokar thing the Gor’alor has ever seen a child do, it’s definitely up there.

A few days/weeks later…

G: I have spoken with the other coverts about the future you lived. They send their thanks for the warning. And they have recognized you as Mand’alor.

D: ...kark.

A: Language!

D: *in full pout* I don’t want to be the Mand’alor!

G: And yet you are.

D: But—!

G: I have spoken.

D: *slumps knowing that argument is lost. That’s just the way the Gor’alor is (and why he never argued with Kuiil after he had spoken)*

A: I will arrange for extra lessons in negotiation and history for him.

D: *in child dramatics* Nooooooo! It’s boring! I don’t wanna!

A: Din, you will behave yourself! Do you still follow the Creed?

D: *sniffling* Yes. This is the Way.

A: Very good. And this is for the safety of your aliit, of the ade. A good Mand’alor needs to be able to secure what their people need from anyone with the least risk to them. That requires skills in negotiations. They also need to know their history, so that they may know which clans are prone to feuding with each other and which outsiders can be trusted to honor their word.

D: *back to pouting* I’m not good at bossing people around. Why can’t someone else do it? I’d give them the Darksaber.

G: By what you have told us of your trials after taking on your ad'ika, you are more without experience than skill in leading larger groups. More importantly, you have a gift for bringing disparate people together for your causes. A Mand'alor capable of rallying all the clans, and keeping them, has not been seen in many years.

D: I don’t think I can. I'm not–

A: Have faith, Din’ika. The Darksaber favors you, as do the Ka’ra. You can be greater than you believe.

And Din can't pull the "I removed my helmet. I'm dar'manda." line because that was part of his time travel exposition earlier, and either then or before he time traveled, it was explained that there is a priority list to the Creed, and child care comes before not showing your face. 

So Din is the little Mand'alor. He takes his job very seriously now that he can’t avoid it. Nobody who should be allowed to lead will fight a child. Nor is anyone who is worthy willing to just take the damn blade. 

But Din’s also fighting his child brain (it's hard to sit still and focus when things are boring. And hard not to throw a fit when everyone is being stupid or mean). And given he doesn’t know a whole lot about large-scale logistics or politics (even the little bit that occurs among the Children of the Watch), he has insisted on having a council of Armorers to help him realize the goals he sets.

Armorers know everyone in their tribe/clan/covert. There is no keeping secrets from them. They know who is best suited for which missions and who has the expertise they need when their own is insufficient.

Unlike the Clan leaders, who are always arguing with one another and bringing up past arguments and alliances. This is why Din thinks the ways of the CofW (who leave the armorers in charge) are better than the "mainstream" Mandalorians (who are all clan and house heads in charge): they don't cling to grudges from generations past (even if they don’t forget how others have dealt with them before. That's just information about how far it is safe to trust them).

Because, yeah, when other Mandalorians who aren't Death Watch but wear armor hear about this new Mand’alor, who is establishing secret settlements for safely raising ade while the rest of the galaxy tears itself apart with a civil war, they want to join up.

And yes, Din’s first order of business as Mand’alor is to establish secret settlements for his people to retreat to when(?) the Empire happens. Uninhabited planets are ideal, but low population (as in “a real backwater skughole” status) works too, so long as friendly relations are established with the locals. People are less likely to sell you out if they genuinely like you (and you’re good business to have around). Good relations are generally along the lines of the Mandalorians handling any pirates, raiders, or other undesirables in exchange for not telling outsiders they're there. Basic necessities are also a welcome currency for services rendered.

And all locations are to be in the Outer Rim since the Core governments have never truly had a presence there. Or at least enough presence to change things much between regimes.

So Din’s initiatives of bunker down and fort up (but be ready to bail out at a moment's notice) for the long winter that will be the Empire go unopposed by the Republic or Separatists for a year or so. 

Death Watch found out about them about a month or three sooner, and they want to subordinate the CotW, but the CotW are loyal to their Mand’alor, who isn't proving Mandalorian superiority by going out and conquering. In fact, they are cowardly and hiding away, so DW will drag them to glory in a forced recruitment drive. Or take their resources of beskar and stuff for themselves. Except DW isn't ready for harassment by the quality beroya of the CotW before getting hammered with their heavy infantry. DW gets increasingly frustrated with the CotW, mostly because the CotW are really good at guerilla warfare, and disappearing their settlements shortly after they've been found. 

And Din doesn’t really know about it. All the alore under him are aware that he is ten-going-on-forty(ish), but he still looks like a kid. So they may, occasionally, censor the reports that reach him. Also, they underestimate his level of space himbo. They’ve been reporting the relocations due to DW as escaping aruetiise (which is both outsiders and traitors) who want their beskar and to enslave their people. Din doesn’t realize that these aren’t outsider beskar thieves/slavers like he’s dealt with all of his (previous) life.

Anyways, rumors of a growing movement of Mandalorians make it back to the Senate. In fact, it sounds like these Mandalorians have conquered a smattering of planets in the Outer Rim. They are understandably worried given the histories of Mandalorian Empires and their bloody expansions, plus the actions of Death Watch during this war. Plus, they don't need another warfront, even if the Mandalorians do go after the Separatists too.

Of course, the smart people on Din’s Social and Political Shortcomings Council knew they couldn't hide the communities or their movements forever, and so had spies placed in the capitals of all the big powers (Republic, Separatists, Hutt Space, etc if there are more) to listen for when the governments start making noise about them. Most of the spies are just keeping note of public, official meetings (like senate debates), with a few splicing and sneaking around for more details. So when the report comes back that the Republic is rumbling about the Mandalorians, it is time. 

They send an invite to the head of the Senate's peace block: one senator and an aide of their choosing (not necessarily another politician. They won't mind if it's a bodyguard) plus a Jedi with an aide of their choosing, but only those four (or less. The aides are optional). 

The location for the meeting with the Mand’alor and his council (only a handful of which will be there in person) is Tython, at the Seeing Stone.

Padme says "Yes, I'll go!" immediately. Anakin, upon hearing the news, immediately offers to be the Jedi or her aide (he is concerned about his wife going to meet the ultimate warrior culture). The Jedi Council says "oh hell no" to sending one of their least diplomatic and most impulsive knights anywhere near this. Obi-Wan is the Jedi representative, given his (actually not that relevant) experience with Mandalorians, and his (actually relevant) Negotiator chops. Since Ani has been denied, he volunteers Rex to be Padme’s second. Padme… doesn’t find that to be a terrible idea. The clones were given nominally Mandalorian training and are, well, clones of a Mandalorian. Obi takes Satine as his plus one because as the Duchess of Mandalore, she probably deserves to be there and should have some insight as to what they're dealing with (which still probably isn’t as useful as they’d hope). Plus she sees it as her responsibility to make sure nobody associates these Mandalorians with her own people, and to try and resolve things peacefully as a pacifist and leader of the Neutral Systems.

So the Republic Reps show up at Tython. And grumble about the hike to the Seeing Stone. Padme is glad she wore practical clothes. It was supposed to be a nod to the warrior culture of the Mandalorians, and seems to have been a wise choice given the “test” before them. Look, Din’s not trying to be difficult, but the Seeing Stone is important. It’s not his fault there’s nowhere to land a ship near it.

The Reps reach the Stone and the group of Mandalorians they’d seen in their fly over (6-10 that aren’t Din). The group will include the Armorer and Gor’alor. And might I suggest a Fenn Rau cameo (the Protectors are supposedly a royal guard of sorts)?

The Mandalorians are all fully decked out in armor, helmets on. And these Mandos are a riot of color, in direct contrast to the more unified colour schemes Obi-Wan is used to. Reds, blues, greens, blacks, purples, yellows, oranges, whites. And one little kid in unpainted silver. 

Oh, and there’s like two dozen more Mandos conference-calling in (the visuals weren’t projected until after the Reps began hiking). They’ve also left the Reps an entire half of the circular ruin on the mountain top, cramming their 30-ish people on the other side (some holos may be overlapping).

Then the little kid steps up to the Seeing Stone and bangs his full-sized spear on the ground to the chime of beskar. All the Mandos immediately shut up (because any time you have people gathered and waiting, small talk happens), so the Reps snap to attention too. Maybe the kid is like a herald or something.

Obi has a… feeling about this. Not bad, more like headache-inducing.

The kid introduces himself as the Mand’alor.

There’s the headache.

Satine is wondering why these barbaric followers of the old ways feel the need to figurehead a literal child. They certainly had no problems with their previous warlords parading around.

Padme has less issues with a child ruler, having nominally been one herself at age 14. Though her planet was peaceful, and not a warrior culture.

Rex is used to following a teenager into battle. If the Republic can expect that of him, he doesn’t see why the Mandalorians can’t do the same among themselves. Even if the kid looks a bit on the small side.

Introductions go around. Din clarifies that unless addressed, the people holoing in on the meeting are not going to be speaking. They are to purely observe (and not put words in his mouth). The people who are there live are guards and trusted counsel, to further explain/clarify when he can’t (also read: doesn’t want to talk anymore).

Obi and Satine kick up a fuss when they notice one of the Mandos (live or holo) with what they believe is the mark of Death Watch. The Mando in question is, of course, very offended. Shouting match ensues.

Din: What’s Death Watch?

CotW Vizsla clan member in attendance: It’s more accurate to call them Kyr’tsad. They’re a group of demagolka hu’tuune. *abridges the most recent Mandalorian Civil War and DW’s recent terrorist acts, including attacks against CotW coverts*

D: *upset about the Reps being stupid and mean* Why do they think you are with this Kyr’tsad?

V: Because the leaders of Kyr’tsad have been Vizslas, and so they have used our clan crest for Kyr’tsad. Osikla shabuire.

D: *considers how DW is dar’manda and hurting his people* When we are done here, we will send the beroyase to find Kyr’tsad, and then the verde to wipe them out.  

Mandos in attendance: *cheer for the green light to wipe out DW (particularly from those who were/supported the Haat Mando’ade)*

Reps: *shiver at a child ordering a massacre (of terrorists)*

Now, what does the Republic want?

That’s… a lot more blunt than the Reps were expecting. Whether that’s a child ruler thing or just a Mandalorian thing, they’re not sure.

Padme: To be honest, we expected you to have requests (demands), given you called the meeting.

Din: …we want to know how the Republic intends to treat us. That’s why you’re here.

Obi-Wan: And then what, youngling?

D: We ensure our survival as Mandalorians.

All the Reps: *mentally* Well, that’s not ominous.

So Padme starts with Senate concerns of a new Mandalorian Empire (no, we’re just a network of coverts and clans), then the conquering of planets (no, we made deals, and left, peacefully, if they wouldn’t take the deal). Would they like to join the Republic (no, we live in the Outer Rim where the Republic is useless)?

Obi-Wan asks how they intend to act towards the Jedi (if they don’t pick a fight with us, we won’t pick a fight with them. But we won’t trust your Order. Mando’ad draar digu, and our people have been enemies often in history).

Satine is, reasonably, worried about their aims towards Mandalore.

Din: You can keep it, so long as we have access to our clans’ mines. Beskar belongs with the Mandalorians.

Some Mandos on holo: *muttering and grumbling about giving up Manda’yaim*

Satine: You make it sound as if my people are not Mandalorians.

D: *tilts head curiously* Mandalorian isn’t a race. It’s a Creed. Ba'jur bal beskar'gam. Ara'nov, aliit. Mando'a bal Mand'alor. An vencuyan mhi.  

Armorer: *further explaining after Din just doesn’t* You may argue that your people follow most of the Resol’nare, but there is no denying that you have outlawed the wearing of beskar’gam. If one does not walk the Way of the Mandalore, how can they be a real Mandalorian? Besides, what need have you for our sacred metal when you do not fight and have driven out those who know how best to forge it?

 S: *doesn’t really have a counter argument to the differentiation of religious Mandalorians to racial/system-of-origin Mandalorians*

D: *trying to be helpful* We’ll refer to ourselves as Mando’ade to prevent further confusion.

While the reps accept that distinction, several of the Mandalorians are silently gloating at the (unintentional) insult on Din’s part, that the New Mandalorians are referring to themselves as "Mandalorians," which is the aruetiise's name for them. 

Also noted by the reps that unlike the New Mandalorians, these ones clearly have non-Human members in attendance, adding credulence to them being a creed.

More political type discussions ensue. Din lets his designated adults explain shit for him, and to him (in-helmet comms are so useful). 

The conclusion: leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone.

And with the political shit out of the way, one of the Mandos (probably the Armorer) challenges Obi to sit on the Seeing Stone to search for that Sith Lord the Mandos have heard the Jedi are searching for. See, the Armorer tried it out before the Reps got there, and, well, the thing lives up to its name. She could see much more in the Force/Ka’ra than normal. 

Now whether or not they reveal that they tested it before setting Obi up is the decision of any plot adopters.

Obi, figuring he doesn’t have much to lose (because if these Mandos wanted to kill the Reps, they had plenty of chances earlier), gives it a go. 

Oh wow. Oh kriff. Where did this shroud come from? Never mind. Find the Sith Lord. Find the Sith Lord… Grogu? No, find the Sith Lord. Happy younglings in hiding later. Kriff, there’s, like, 5 Sith out there. Let’s see… he knows Dooku, and Ventress (who’s not really that Sith anymore). Is that Maul and Savage? They’re still not dead? And number 5 is on… Coruscant?! That can’t be right! The Jedi are all over Coruscant. They would have noticed. Except… the shroud thing is really thick there, and he didn’t even know there was a shroud until he used the Seeing Stone. Karking kriff. Not the time, though. Focus. Get the final Sith’s identity. 

Oh…

Oh there aren’t enough expletives in the galaxy to express this horror.

Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord.

Now if you could just excuse me, I need to go evacuate, like, the whole Jedi Temple. Thank you for this delightful meeting.

Cue Obi trying to hurry all the other Reps back to the ship. He has so many holo-calls to make. 

And maybe that’s not how the Seeing Stone is supposed to work, but this is some high grade Force BS to keep the galaxy from needing the Mandalorians and poor Din to explain everything for them.

Oh, and before you go, the Mand’alor would like Captain Rex to know that he and his brothers are welcome to seek out their Mandalorian heritage. Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir ori’wadaas’la. Din figures that extends to not mattering how it is that you were born, not just who your parents were. After all, he would have been happy to invite Boba into his tribe (getting younger Boba to join them is a work in-progress).

So the Reps are back to Coruscant with a lot of calls by Obi on the secret Jedi channels. Either Rex overhears Obi talking with other Jedi or Obi just tells the rest of the party that Palps is the Sith Lord and why that's kriffing bad. So Rex is putting out messages to the Clones in secret Clone code (usually used to disparage natborns of importance that they don’t like, since most Clones only know how to use official GAR channels) about how Palps is the bad guy, plus the mini Mand’alor’s offer. If necessary, they’ve got a place/people to receive asylum from if protecting the Republic and their Jedi requires them (all) to commit treason.

Meanwhile, Din and his court are meeting with the Separatists Reps, who got invited to a meeting at Aq Vetina a (minimum of a) few days later (travel time considerations, folks). The Sep Reps are two of their Senator equivalents (I don’t remember exactly how their government works, but that it did look like British Parliament) plus aides. 

And this is because you can't talk with only one side of a war and remain neutral. It's either both or neither. So yes, he lets the Republic and Separatists know ahead of time, so nobody can say they are going behind their backs. And Din has no intention of taking his people to war if he can avoid it. The Creed stipulates self-defense, which conquest and wars of aggression aren't, given how they encourage everyone else to attack you.

So, yeah, Din’s ripping the blindfold off. The Separatist government needs to be fully aware of the atrocities their droid armies are committing. And where better to prove that than the ruins from which Din was set on the Way of Mandalore. 

Sep Rep: *after getting over the child ruler thing* Why are we meeting in this ruin, Mand’alor?

Din: Because until a year and a half ago, this was the only home I’d known.

SR: *very surprised* What happened here?

D: Your droid army.

SR: Excuse me?

D: *quietly staring at either his childhood house or the cellar, whichever location seems more dramatically appropriate for this*

Rescuer: What he means is that the CIS’s droid army marched through this settlement a year and a half ago, massacring the inhabitants. Members of Clan Vizsla from one of our coverts were in the area and intervened as best we could. The Mand’alor is one of the handful of survivors we saved from this settlement. I pulled him from a (this) cellar myself.

D: …I’m not sure if more than a handful of the people who lived here had ever even held a blaster. I don’t remember anyone fighting back against the droids as we fled through the streets. *gets an armor sandwich hug from his buire to help with the (child brain enhanced) PTSD*

R: And there wasn’t a single member of the GAR here. It was a pointless slaughter.

So guess what, we Mandalorians will fight your armies wherever we run across them massacring civilians like they did here. As sentient life affirming aid (basically humanitarian aid [with violence!], but it’s Star Wars, so people aren’t just Humans). 

The Sep Reps are horrified to find out that this was actually happening and not Republic propaganda. So you know, please do that. We don’t want innocent civilians getting killed like that. In fact, we’re going to be bringing that up and carefully going over the decisions by the flesh commanders/generals because that is not how we want to fight the war.

The Mandalorians provide the Sep Reps several more examples of massacres to check against their records. They wish them luck in changing the war.

So, both the Republic and the Separatists are going through a military structure upheaval. The Jedi are suddenly pulling back (nominally on religious grounds because “the Force Wills it,” but really to get away from Palps and his hold over the Senate) with around half or more of the clones following them (or at least trying to). The Senate, of course, is not exactly happy with this decision, but with the help of the peaceful faction, manage to win a sabbatical of sorts to sort out their next moves.

This is helped by all of the non-droid generals of the Seps being under scrutiny for any abnormally high collateral casualties in their theatres (we are not trying to exterminate or enslave civilian populations). With the senators so wary now, Dooku is having trouble assassinating the inconvenient ones, and framing the Republic for it.

So a small armistice gets reached with a need for the actions of generals and soldiers on both sides to be under review.

And all because the little Mand’alor and his people have kindly pointed out the bullshit that is going on.

Palps and Dooku know something is up. They’re busy trying to wrangle things back into shape: Palps not letting the Jedi walk away from the war front, Dooku with letting his generals continue their dishonorable practices. 

Problem is, the Mandalorians gave the Sith opposition targets. They now know who/where to send their stealth and special forces to gather evidence to sway the neutral parties to their side. The war is falling apart as those who don’t want to fight it anymore gain the tools to prove why they shouldn’t have to. Plus you can only assassinate so many of the doves before people start looking for the man behind the curtain of this bloody war.

So revenge it is. Palps and Dooku begin diverting resources to hunt down the Mandalorians for their offense. Unfortunately, they’re having more success in finding DW than the ones following the little Mand'alor. The wonders of generations of hiding and keeping on the move. 

And DW is having a horrible time between the misdirected Sith death squads and the angry Mando’ade harassing and hunting them. Eventually someone catches up with Pre Vizsla’s group and caps that ass. You either end up with Din having two Darksabers (or they possibly merge into one through time/Force shenanigans, possibly the moment Din bounced back, or "now" when he gets hands on both past and future blades) or someone else gets signed up as the new DW Mand’alor (and earns all of Bo-Katan’s hate for being an outsider claiming rulership of Mandalore). 

So DW doesn't find Maul and Savage to unleash upon the galaxy once more, so they probably die from being stranded in their ship. 

Or DW finds them and then kills them, since they are under Sith control now, and Palps and Dooku don’t like the Zabrak brothers.

Or, since Obi has their location from the Seeing Stone, a small cruiser or something is dispatched to kill and confirm the death of that dark pair. 

No criminal empire or Darksaber for Maul.

At some point, at least one Clone decides to try being Mandalorian. The clone is given a deep medical check to make sure they’re not set up like a slave with a tracker/exploding chip. I mean, the Seps literally called them the Slave Army, and I’m sure some number of Din’s people are ex-slaves and thus have concerns. 

There’s trackers in the armor, but seemingly none in the Clone. He does, however, have a tumor in his brain, which is removed before it can cause medical complications/kill him. Given that the Clones are all the same genetically, the Mandalorians send news of the tumor to the Jedi so they can do preventative procedures on any other Clones who may develop the tumor.

The Jedi get concerned when every single Clone they check for the tumor has one. So they take a closer look at the tumors they’ve removed, and find out that they are basically biological slave chips, meant to override the victim’s brain. Suddenly the “tumor” check and removal is a lot more important than it previously was.

Given only the Kaminoans have access to the Clones young enough to get the chip installed beneath the skull without cutting through it, the Jedi storm Kamino to get them to quit putting slave chips in people’s heads. The Kaminoans aren’t exactly happy with the change in the order, but they comply since it’s either that or have their work disparaged (and they’re too proud of their work for their own good). And are also bullied into removing the chips from those who already have them.

Of course, the Jedi finding out that Sifo-Dyas ordered the chips installed leads to a renewal of investigating how the army came to be. Finding out that Dooku had a hand in it just makes the chip removal ever a higher priority.

The Seps are busy firing an unfortunate number of generals. And asking a lot of questions to their “security” council about their reporting habits.

Then the Jedi go live with their discoveries about the Clones, as well as Palps and Dooku’s status as Sith Master and Apprentice. These men are obviously in cahoots and running the war.

Suddenly no one with any decent set of morals likes those guys, because the Jedi had really good evidence. Including transmissions pulled from the Kaminoan “secret and secure” communicators.

The Sith try to activate Order 66, but the vast majority of the Clones have already been de-chipped and/or are staying off of the audio channels of the GAR communications network since the chips were discovered to be voice activated. It’s not like text only communications are that much trouble when all Clones are literate and the frontlines are currently shut down.

So the dark lords have to turn to the droid-based execution orders. Which aren’t nearly as effective when anything that isn’t an assassin droid has half-assed programming and the Jedi have no hesitance in mowing the droids down (with help from their troopers).

Now everyone is fighting the droid army because the droids are now holding civilian populations hostage to lure in/force the surrender of the Jedi. Which no one likes because, hello, non-combatants being used as meatshields. Some of which are their people. The public may be losing faith in the Jedi, but using hostages like this to try to kill all the Jedi is much further than is morally acceptable to most.

Things are messy, but with the majority of the galaxy turned against them, the droid armies fall, along with Palps and Dooku.

The galaxy is left licking its wounds now that the war is over. Rebuilding into what people hope and work to make a better future.

And Din is left to mildly parent the Mandalorians until he’s old enough to take his verd’goten again, and then someone can win the karking laser sword off of him and take over.

Joke’s on him. The Mandalorians like their ManD’ADlor. 

Look, his leadership experience is small elite squads and parenting. A kingship is more like a parent to the people than a squad leader, even if the people are warriors. When they don’t listen to him, "I’m not angry, just disappointed." So the Mandalorians love him and see no reason to remove him from the throne. They also watch the chaos going on for everyone else, and are glad he kept them out of that.

And Grogu is their beloved prince/mascot (the Jedi are very confused as to how he got there, but also not willing to fight a war against the Mandalorians to take him back).

The end.

Chapter Text

Din has been randomly teleported (and time traveled) to Coruscant. He has no clue where he is, or how to get back to his people.

So he pulls out the Darksaber, and lets it start wayfinding how he can get back to his people.

I’m sure you’re going “wtf, how does that work?” So allow me to explain.

The kyber crystals in lightsabers are alive to some degree, given the whole “bleeding them red” thing the Sith do. The Darksaber is kriffing old at 1000+ years. So, I posit that the old blade is more alive than most and has picked up some tricks over its long, varied, and active career. After all, the majority of its wielders were not Force Sensitive (as I doubt Tarre Vizsla, the Darksaber’s creator, was the only one who ever was), and yet no one managed to accidentally lose it forever/destroy it. Plus, it’s had a lot of wielders to attune itself to. Most ‘sabers only know one long-term wielder. Maybe two, if the one who killed their creator goes on to use them. 

Unlike, say, Yoda’s ‘saber, assuming he’s kept the same one for over/around 800 years. It has only had the one wielder to attune itself to, and thus hasn’t/can’t create its own thought patterns that are discernibly different from Yoda’s. Assuming that the 'sabers attune/copy to the thoughts/personality of the wielder in a non-bleeding relationship.

So for the purpose of this story, the Darksaber isn’t haunted, as the usual bit goes, so much as alive. And kriffing old. It’s got so much experience that when it’s providing guidance, it can seem haunted/possessed.

Basically, the Darksaber has become a repository of Mandalorian history with a slight connection to the Force that can aid the Mand’alor, if it likes them. 

The Darksaber, of course, likes Din. Unlike everyone else (Sabine Wren being the other exception) to wield it for the past 50 years (minimum), Din does not want to conquer. He wants safety for his people, yaim’la. So it offers him more knowledge about Mandalorian ways by speaking to him in dreams (it shows up as a Mythosaur with tusks like its blade: void in a white nimbus) and pointing the way to wherever Din can find what he needs in the waking world. Lost in a maze? Dowse with the Darksaber, or toss it like a coin and follow the blade emitting end. Need to decide which planet to jump to? Close your eyes, swing the blade, wherever the point rests on the map, that’s your destination. And Din has come to trust the guidance of his Magic Laser Sword. It hasn’t steered him wrong yet.

Din has learned most of this before this story. He was surprised to learn the "real" reason why the Darksaber is so important to having the throne of Mandalore, but Din is also blissfully unaware (almost) all the previous Mand’alore knew squat about these extra functions. The Darksaber isn’t in any hurry to disabuse Din of this notion.

But enough of the not-quite-haunted Darksaber and back to the story!

Din has the Darksaber set for dowsing. The target: a way back to his people. So he’s following its guidance through the streets of Coruscant. Eventually, the durasteel and transparasteel buildings give way to sandstone-ish stuff. Strange. The Darksaber is also now guiding him on a more circuitous route. Whatever. It’s never steered him wrong yet. And if it seems to be taking him around the people in the area, well, maybe it’s best if he doesn’t encounter them right now. But it is weird that the Darksaber does not seem to be directing him to a starport, given his people do not live on Coruscant.

The Darksaber’s guidance becomes clearer when it leads him to some enormous indoor garden with a kriff ton of fountains, with one particular fountain having a special green bean seated beside it.

There is a joyous reunion.

Meditating Jedi just experience a new buoyancy and light to the Force. It makes them smile and feel better. Something good has happened.

As Grogu and Din sit together, enjoying each other’s presence and Grogu’s favorite fountain (which is now Din’s favorite fountain), a kid shows up looking for Grogu. Din notices that the kid is (understandably) afraid/cautious of him. Good news is, that’s the usual reaction of new Foundlings, so Din knows how to ease kids into realizing he is not a bad guy. And Temple kids are also very sheltered, thus they subconsciously believe nobody dangerous gets into the Temple. Plus Din’s techniques are fairly effective, but the selling point for the youngling from the crèche is Grogu’s assurances that Buir is good and kind and wouldn’t ever, ever hurt them (children).

Din is very confused as to how the kid has assumed his name is buir. At least until he realizes that Grogu is doing that mind speaking thing with the kid. Then he’s in a blissful panic that Grogu has claimed him as his parent and is introducing him that way.

Before Din can correct the kid on how buir is not his name, more kids show up. They start asking questions, so many questions. Din ends up giving a lesson on weapons safety to, like, six year olds. By the end of it, the kids are all calling him Master Buir. Because they don’t know better. All the adults they’ve dealt with who teach them things are Master [insert name here] since most are taken in young enough to not remember their families. I bet the Jedi version of Stranger Danger has more to do with what the Force tells them than a general distrust of people you don't know. At least until they are Padawans dealing with the greater galaxy. Then profiling comes into play.

And Din has no idea what to do with this.

Someone calls for the kids, so they scamper off, one of them translating for Grogu that he will see Din later, after lessons.

…Well, okay. Din will see the womp rat later.

So Din just kind of ends up living in the Temple and navigating his way through it via Darksaber, and that crafty old blade has him avoiding every Jedi over the age of like, twelve. The Darksaber directs him to some unused room (storage closet?) that Din claims for himself. Though he’s not in the Temple 24/7, because he’s not taking these people’s supplies. Din’s going out, earning credits (probably bounty hunting), paying his own way, and bringing treats back to the kids. 

After a few days Din finally figures out what is going on from comments dropped by the older(ish) kids.

Pretty quick, all the kids know about Master Buir.

He is the nicest Master. Always willing to listen to your problems and help you solve them. Never upset or disappointed if you have trouble with anger or fear or letting emotions go. Willing to help you form healthy attachments instead of straight up forbidding them. Often bringing them treats and trinkets from beyond the Temple. Ever patient in any lessons he teaches them. Everyone wants to be his Padawan. Even if the smarter kids realize Grogu is kind of already Master Buir’s Padawan (Grogu has shared a few of his adventures with Master Buir outside the Temple. Whether those are Force visions or Grogu also being a time traveler is up to you).

The adult Jedi have no clue a Mandalorian has taken residence in their Temple and is parenting their children.

Din is as serene and calm as any Jedi Master could wish to be, he carries a lightsaber, and no one notices that his Force presence is way too weak to belong to a Jedi. The fact that the Darksaber has taught Din all the secret paths through the Temple (including hidden passageways even Yoda is unaware of after centuries in the Temple) and the Force wills the rest of the Jedi into ignorance means they just don’t ever catch sight of the man in Mandalorian armor. And while the crèche Masters hear about this Master Buir, the Jedi Order has a lot of people in it, so nobody knows everybody. They would like a word with Master Buir, though. Some of the things he’s teaching the younglings is… concerning. Every time they mean to search for him though, or ask the directory for his comm code (because there are lists of everybody), one of the kids distracts them with something (it is the Will of the Force, and the younglings heed Its directions).

The adult closest to figuring out about Din: Madame Jocasta Nu. All the kiddies who know Master Buir hit a sudden interest in Mandalorian culture when they reach the learning module on the Mandalorian Wars and realize he wears Mandalorian armor. And that his lightsaber looks like the Darksaber (only a few piece together that it actually is the Darksaber. But they still love Master Buir, even if he is the leader of an ancient enemy. Besides, the Jedi and Mandalorians haven't been to war for generations). Because Madame Nu is the head archivist, she notices this trend of sudden interest in Mandalorians from all the kids. But she doesn’t stop it or anything because it’s nice to have so many of the younglings actually interested in their research projects for once.

Most of the kids who are Padawans by the time Din first shows up are as unaware of him as the adults. Anakin is one of the exceptions.

Yes, Din is back after The Phantom Menace, but well before Attack of the Clones.  

So Ani is around 10 or 11. It’s been long enough for him to be mostly used to the Temple and Jedi life, but still short enough to have bad days of missing his previous home (or more particularly, his mother). 

Enter Master Buir and his relevant life experiences.

Din sees this sad ex-slave child and knows he must help this kid. No child deserves to be that sad, nor to have known what it was like to be a slave. He’s no therapist, but Din knows what it's like to lose your parents, and what it's like to willingly give up family. Being orphaned is a common issue with Foundlings. He guides Ani through loving while also letting go, allowing the ones you love to choose their own path, and knowing that one day they will be Marching Far Away (if they're not already), no matter what you do. The best you can do is make sure they have a proper send off and don't need to worry about those left behind.

Obi-Wan does manage to notice the change in his Padawan. Mostly because Ani takes his lessons on mourning back to his Master, who's still reeling from losing Qui-Gon and being suddenly responsible for a child himself. Much like the crèche Masters, he would like to talk with Master Buir. Unfortunately, the man seems to come and go on whims, so Obi has no way to contact him. Obi also doesn’t try to get his comm code, because he would prefer to meet this wise man in person. Obi can be patient. Plus he doesn't want to intrude/be rude to a senior Master.

Din also makes Ani more skeptical of all the things Palps says about Jedi and other people. Maybe the older Masters are hidebound, but the other kids still have lots of room to grow and change. One day, they will be the Masters, so if there is change you want to see, start with yourself, then teach others. Community is our strength. So Din is (unknowingly) combating Sith temptations with Mandalorian ideals of Aliit (clan and family).

Inevitably, the Clone Wars begin.

Look, Din was a victim of that War, but he doesn’t know about the politics of it, why and how it started (he is regretting that a bit now). Also, he’s not really in the loop about what the adult Jedi are up to, nor the politicians. Most of what he knows about Jedi comes from the younglings in the crèche and the kids who have graduated to Padawan in the years he’s been there. The kids are sheltered from the worst of the goings on in the galaxy.

So the War has begun, and all the little Padawan commanders get on really well with the Mandalorian-based Clone troopers. They’re kind of like Master Buir, which the Padawans love. You always see Master Buir less once you leave the crèche, and they miss his steady presence and wisdom.

The Clones, meanwhile, are having a minor crisis with one of the Jedi being Master “Dad,” even if none of them have ever met the man. They’ve mostly convinced themselves it’s just an odd coincidence that this Jedi’s name sounds like the Mando’a word for parent, but a few of them see the Padawans’ level of comfort with Mandalorian-type people as reason to think it’s not coincidence. This leads to a quiet bet among the Clones as to who Master Buir is. 

The clones are also surprised at how many of the kids know snippets of Mando'a. The Clones only know a bit themselves, but it amounts to about the same as the Padwans. If with a more militaristic focus.

As for Din, he knows how this story ends: worlds are ravaged, the Empire rises, the Jedi and many others are destroyed. 

Which is just No.  

He is not going to let all his babies get killed by this karking war. It is time to take advantage of the fact that many Mandalorians see the Darksaber as the qualifier for being Mand’alor. The Darksaber eagerly guides Din to the coverts to be rallied in defense of all the innocent children this war will kill. Which includes the child soldiers that are the Clones. Din’s been receiving a lot of letters and shit from the Padawans about their wonderful new friends/siblings who have the same face but different souls.

Death Watch is quietly dismantled by the other Mandalorians, while Satine’s people are largely ignored.

What Din doesn’t know is that all the lessons he’s been giving the Jedi kids the past decade or so has made them much more capable. Plus they are free to call him for advice or help. The Jedi adults in the field are left wondering when their students learned real battlefield tactics (instead of just the standard peacekeeping tactics). Though they are not complaining as much as they could be, given the kids’ sound tactics are getting them victories. 

The answer as to where they learned it: Master Buir. He taught them like they were games, but it was really in preparation for surviving any war or battlefield. It’s only now that it’s finally dawning on the adult Jedi that no one over the age of 20 or so in the Order personally knows Master Buir.

Anyways, Din’s Mandalorians become the back channel for peace talks, dismantlers of droid deployments that go after civilians, and they fight any Jedi, or other leader, that abuses their Clone troops (looking at you, Pong Krell) or tries to make the troopers slaughter civilians. The padawans let him know if they have concerns, and give his contact info to the Clones as well. 

It takes a while for people to realize that the Mandalorians are acting almost solely to protect children in the war. Mostly because people don’t generally think about how long the Clones have been alive. 

The politically savvy Mandalorians are also careful to collect evidence of any war crimes by either side (or have their clans/vode collect it for them), and regularly post it on the Holonet, which makes things awkward for politicians on both sides.

Eventually, it is requested by the Senate and Confederacy that the Mand’alor host official peace talks to hopefully end this war. Truthfully, they’re getting kind of nervous that the Mandalorians will quit playing defensive and go on the offensive to end the war. Which is pretty scary when they consider how the Mandalorians have been slipping in and out of their territories for the backdoor peace talks. 

Privately, the Sith just want the leader of those who keep destabilizing their plans for a nice, spiraling war of Darkness out in the open, and will adapt from there.

Palpatine is especially frustrated, since all his attempts to corrupt Anakin are falling short, and he knows he needs the boy to be his perfect Sith Apprentice. Powerful, but molded to obey him from (re)birth in a way Darth Tyranus has not been. 

Din agrees to host the peace talks and has the Darksaber pick out a nice planet for it.

So representatives from both sides show up, along with the usual guard escort. The Republic’s people of course include Jedi and their Padawans (plus Clone troopers). The Padawans happily go bounding up to the Mand’alor for hugs and praise.

Padawans: Master Buir! It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?

Government Reps: Wait, you’re a Jedi?!

Din: No, I’m a Mandalorian.

P: But you live in the Temple with us, Master Buir!

GR: *suspicious muttering*

Jedi: *mentally* What the kriff?!

D: Only sometimes. 

J: *more mental screaming* What the kriff?!

D: My kid is the one who lives in the Temple.

J: *mental chant of disbelief* What the kriff?! Whatthekriff?! What. The. Kriff?!

Clones: *calling in the bets on Master Buir*

So, you know, the Jedi are freaking out about a Mandalorian secretly living amongst them for the past decade or so, teaching their children stuff, and trying to figure out which youngling the kriffing Mand’alor has personally claimed. 

They're also mildly terrified of the bomb that is telling Cin Drallig (the current head of Jedi Security) about the big kriffing hole in their security that the Mand'alor has been dancing through for a decade.

The Government Reps are questioning the Mand’alor’s neutrality given he is apparently living part-time with the Jedi, who work for the Republic.

Sep Reps: You are not neutral! You side with the Republic and their Jedi!

Din: *in growling anger* No. I want the children, all the children to be safe. I don’t care who "wins" this war as long as the children have a future where they don’t have to fear being exterminated as part of some uncaring government’s agenda. You order merciless droids to march on civilian populations, they have an army of children that no one sees as people except those expected to give them their marching orders. Both sides are in the wrong, and I will fight to stop it.

So Din thoroughly chews out both sides as only a man who has several hundred (and counting) children can. Dooku and Palps try to argue back, but Daddy Mando knows all of the backtalk tricks by now and is not having it. The Sith are increasingly tempted to try offing the man in front of the Maker and everybody because his Ultimate Dad Vibes are ruining their plan.  

Palps snaps first. He’s invested his life in this plan. He was sure he would see the goals of the Order of Bane realized by his hand, and then this damn Mandalorian wandered in and messed everything up! He pulls his lightsaber intending to split the Mand’alor in two, forgetting (or not realizing) the man is covered in pure beskar, and has the Darksaber too.

Unfortunately for Palps, Din was aware the man was a Bad Guy. He’s hired Fennec Shand to sit overwatch and gun down anyone who tries to kill someone else at the summit. 

Fennec Shand doesn’t miss.

The Republic wants to be mad, they really do. That was their Chancellor. But, there’s no denying the man tried to kill the host of the peace talks. With a red lightsaber. The Jedi are aghast that the Chancellor was a Sith. Dooku decides peace is… acceptable. He never was really behind the whole Empire idea, he just didn’t want the stagnant Republic and Jedi Order to continue. I mean, the man didn’t outright tell the Jedi who Sidious was, but he damn well did provide them with a big clue.

And so the War ends, without the Clones ever being given a “destroy the Jedi” Order. The new Chancellor of the Republic is from either the Neutral Systems, or the Peaceful 2,000, so they don’t know about any kill (or in general) Orders. The chips are found out later if some of Palps’s old supporters could activate minor Orders. And if they can’t, then the chips are not a problem anymore.

On the Confederacy side of things, Dooku cleans house. He doesn’t need the nasty types that supported his efforts to drag out the war for Palps’s plan. Honestly, he’s looking forward to some peace. He’s not as young as he used to be, you know. Of course, Dooku is likely to be kicked out of his own position of power, given his own distasteful actions, but he takes the demotion with grace (even if he refuses to go to jail for his crimes).

And as for why Dooku can back down, well, I’m not sure he ever was fully Sith, given we never, ever see him with yellow Sith eyes. So he just, turns aside from the Dark Side, or at least the Sith path. He’s got most of what he wanted, it is enough.

With the Jedi, there’s a lot of restructuring going on. They can’t just abandon the Clones, they have to deal with the Mand’alor apparently coming and going from their stronghold at his leisure, teaching their younglings all sorts of Mandalorian shit (which has been reinforced by the Clones), plus restoring their reputation as peacekeepers and not generals. Oh, and one of their most famous Knights has married a Senator and they got busy.

In the end, the Jedi Masters are forced to acknowledge Mand’alor Master “Buir” and his lesson plans, otherwise the younglings will be up in arms and there will be peace in the Temple for no one with all those temper tantrums. And, though they are loath to admit it, Master Buir’s lessons on attachment seem to be more effective in preventing Falling than the blanket policy of No Attachment. Also, they are still trying to figure out how he is getting in and out of the Temple.

As an honorary Jedi Master, Din can (technically) take a Padawan. So he does. Grogu is happy to be traveling with Buir (again).

And the Clones may or may not have translated the Mando’a so that the Jedi know they are calling the Mand’alor “Master Dad.” Whoever ruins that joke is (re)named Spoilsport.

Speaking of Clones, they become a peacekeeping force themselves. Sort of.

See, Din may have made suggestions about using their experiences to help others, like he has. Problem is, their experiences are extensive military campaigns and nominal slavery. The military campaigns weren’t so bad, mostly because their upbringing means they have an appreciation for military order and ordinance, but the slavery-in-all-but-name they could do without. They are people, not objects. And Din may have pointed out that there are places in the galaxy where others are also treated as objects, not people. 

So the Clones set out to Free the Slaves!

Anakin is 1,000% behind this motion. He’s giving them all the advice he can, and he would totally be on the frontlines with them… if he didn’t have new babies to look after. The Clones understand and wish him luck with the babies. But if they are really in need of help, Ani’s got favors he can cash in for them.

The rest of the Jedi are sort of on the fence about helping the Clones. Like, yes, this is a really good thing you want to do, but also no, we can’t go around usurping governments and upsetting the galactic balance/political scene like that. Or whatever reasons have kept them from helping the vast majority of slaves for years/centuries/millennia.

Din is like “Tell me what you kiddos need. Me and the other Mando adults will help you out.” Because the Clones are his kids’ friends/family, and you help your family/friends. 

There may be some Mandalorians adopting Clones involved as well. 

Including Din scooping up Boba. He owes that particular Clone so much. Even if it takes a while for Boba to quit trying to escape for a life of amoral bounty hunting. Boba deserves better and Din will give it to him. He already has Fennec on retainer for problem shooting (in a very literal sense), so they can be friends again.

And during/after the Free the Slaves Campaign, the Mandalorians (and Clones) have a lot of security, mercenary, and bounty type business available thanks in part to good publicity, and the increase in piracy/crime due to the war taking up the able bodies that were previously policing it all. 

Hondo does not enjoy the results of very capable warrior-soldiers being set loose to curb piracy. It cuts into his profits something fierce. He receives no sympathy.

So things are becoming happy and good because Din adopted all the children.

The end.

Chapter Text

On the night the Clones reach the same physical age as when Jango completed his verd’goten back in his own youth, they remember their previous/original life.

This is, of course, a huge shock to the first batch of Clones, the Alphas. 

They don't know why they suddenly remember the war they were made for, and what comes after if they survived that long. So some are very confused by the sudden turn in their memories of having free will, but then losing it to the words "Execute Order 66." They’re secretly scrambling to figure out how not to receive and comply with that Order. They like having free will, as limited as their ability to express it is around the Kaminoans and their trainers.

Lucky them, they all wake early and manage to come to the agreement to tell no one who is not an Alpha. They are all already well familiar on how to communicate without tipping off Kaminoan surveillance, including discrete hand-signs. This Pact of Silence also extends to faking out the trainers and not letting on about gaining the experience of many a battlefield overnight.

Not too much later, the next batch comes of age, and they remember too. The CC-class Clones have more information, given that Wolffe made it to old man status. So now they all know about the biochip and how it needs to go. 

Unfortunately, no one with medic specific training has remembered yet, so they're not exactly sure how to go about the de-chipping.

Also, ideas of an Uprising are brought up, because none of them like the Kaminoans. Especially after finding out about the chip. But they acknowledge that at the very least, more numbers before they act is a good idea. That doesn’t mean that plans aren't bandied about though, and preparations are begun to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Good news on both fronts is, the first CTs aren't too far behind, and Rex is among their number. They also finally start getting some medics as well. Given Rex is the one to facilitate several of the Clones getting de-chipped, he knows more about the process, and knows from Five’s example that a medical droid can be coerced into helping them.

Unfortunately, that knowledge mostly amounts to "get a venator-class medbay and stick them in the surgery tube for 'tumor' removal." 

Luckily the ships have already been built by Palpatine’s covert black ops projects, and have begun to arrive on Kamino so the Clones can be familiarized with the actual primary capital ships and not just simulations. Unfortunately, the ships are carefully monitored, and while tours have begun, the Clones don't know if the ships are fully operational and ready to go yet. Because the Clones aren't. The oldest of the Clones are barely teens, so they feel it is strategic to be patient a little while longer. In fact, the medic CTs from the first batch are very leery of de-chipping before more physical maturity is achieved.

Which brings up another point: the Clones are not going to fight a war for the Sith to make their Empire, nor are they going to let their Generals and Commanders do it either. 

So are they going to take their freedom and overthrow Kamino now, or wait until they’re older and better able to put up a fight? 

Subduing the Kaminoans isn't a big concern, the long-necks aren't really fighters. Though if they also have Orders, that's bad news. Not to mention that the Kaminoans know more about Clone biology than anyone, so if anyone had a working anti-Clone biological weapon, it would be them.

The trainers, however, are a more immediate threat. The trainers taught the Clones a lot of what they know, but even with Shaak Ti overseeing things, it was certainly not all the trainers know. Many Clones would likely die if they attempt the overthrow now at a (possible) experience and (definite) physical disadvantage. 

It grates on the highly competitive Clones, but they manage to keep Jango and the trainers from realizing that the Clones are more experienced and skilled than they should be. 

So the Clones decide to postpone taking their freedom until the eldest batches reach at least a physical eighteen.

That doesn’t mean they’re not planning for their future freedom.

The Clones are busy picking out which trainers they're going to toss in the brig or kill in the Uprising, and which ones can be nominally trusted to continue to help and teach them, plus which Kaminoans can be lightly trusted to continue ensuring the birth of all of the Clones and to find a fix for their accelerated aging. 

Plus plans to acquire their Generals and Commanders without getting tangled in the Sith’s war plans. They mostly boil down to something like this.

Cody: You’re suggesting we kidnap our Jedi?

Wolffe: Less "kidnap," more "forcibly adopt." You can’t tell me that after all we've been through, we don't know how to get to our Jedi.

Rex: Pretty sure I spent half the war trying to keep mine, and yours, Cody, from doing stupid shit. And then picked up one of Grey's, plus that one's kid, afterwards who weren’t much better. You and Gregor were there for part of that, Wolffe 

Grey: *sounds of excitement for grandbaby*

W: Point being, we are expert Jedi Wranglers. Getting them to sidestep the war and join us should be perfectly possible. We just have to bait them into it.

C: ...fine. Commanders, come up with a plan to wrangle your Jedi.

R: Probably wouldn’t hurt to consult your medics either. 

Clones: *groaning at the memories of herding their stupid Generals into the medbay*

The end goal boils down to removing the Jedi from Coruscant and getting them out from under the Senate's thumb. To appease the Jedi's need to throw themselves at danger, the Clones have decided to move them to the Outer Rim (maybe Kamino, maybe a different planet they know about). After all, the Rim has lots of problems that the Jedi haven't gotten to address given their Senate ordered service to the Core-oriented Republic. Plus, the more worldly Clones, like Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, Cut, and the Bad Batch(? Assuming they survive long enough to learn not to rely on Cid) know that a cry for help can be found on the Holonet and not just in the Senate. 

So some years pass, more and more of the Clones remember and are brought in on the Plan. They also figure out the secure communication link the Sith use for updates with the Kaminoans during this time. They enjoy knowing the Kaminoans have no clue they've done this, and it gives them further clues to go with their future knowledge as to  what the situation is in the wider galaxy for the Sith plots.

Eventually, Uprising Day arrives.

A squad or two (or three or more) of de-chipped Clones secures the Tipoca City main security/control hub. This is the first strike to keep any citywide speaker-based attempt at issuing an Order (assuming the Kaminoans can issue some Order) from going through, seeing as they can’t secretly de-chip everyone, but they can de-chip a few directly after a medical exam. 

The rest of the Clones who are to fight are wearing their helmets with external audio dampened/off to prevent further Orders. They communicate easily with hand signals exclusive to the Clones. Other Clones are on lockdown for safety

The Clones manage to take down everyone on the Shit List pretty cleanly, especially since more of their number than the trainers and Kaminoans expect have ARC training. Not to mention their real battle experiences.

Of note is that they are keeping Jango under house arrest. For Boba’s sake. Boba isn't exactly one of them, but he might remember one day too, and they don’t want to take his father from him a second time.

Whether or not Jango was aware of the Sith’s endgame plan for the Clones is up to the adopting writer, as well as his eventual fate.

Now with Tipoca City under their control, it’s time to start the Wrangle-thon.

The first step is to grab Jedi attention, get them investigating a predetermined location from which they can snatch the Jedi. 

Then the Jedi is either debriefed by their commander or peaceably held/forcibly adopted while waiting for a secondary Jedi party to arrive. Because those who were Generals in the field were the more combat capable Jedi, so they would be the ones dispatched for a rescue. Presumably.

Personally, I'd go for a non-General Jedi first, just because their confusion at this Clone society that is really good at just knowing when the Jedi are going to escape (and how) without a drop of Force Sensitivity would be hilarious. Plus Clones that died early or never got to be close to a Jedi jockeying to have this one to look after. (This one might not be as crazy as the other Generals). 

Maybe even have a string of Jedi being subsumed into the Clones' tender loving care. (One of us. One of us. One of us)

Anyways, eventually they get a General to show up for the "rescue" (although if Pong Krell shows up, he is discretely murdered, and his body disposed of). It’s not easy to convince the General, but the commanders and top squads know their Generals, and manage to convince them to get the message back to the Jedi Order: a war is coming, and if they don’t get out now, the Order will (probably) be destroyed.

The Jedi don’t know what to make of this army of almost-Mandalorian clones and their desire to mother-hen the entire Jedi Order. Or the fact that they are apparently mass reincarnating at the (physical) age of thirteen.

But they can't exactly dismiss the warning. Not when the Clones have way too much intimate knowledge of some of their members (and the Jedi Order as a whole) that could only be learned by prolonged close contact. Hell, they know more than most Senators or other people on Coruscant ever manage!

So the Jedi start secretly relocating to live with the Clones.

The Clones are very happy. Now almost every company can have their own Jedi to look after. Though the original field Generals and Commanders obviously have the biggest followings. But the Legions are generally happy to adopt more Jedi, even if it increases the amount of work they have to do. Best not to leave the boys idle anyways.

Of course, just getting their Jedi out of the war isn’t really enough for the Clones. They were made to serve the Republic and aren’t quick to give up their duty.

Which is why they've been making plans to assassinate Palpatine and Dooku, thus wiping out the Sith. Some of the Clones are really good at stealth and stuff. Others trained really hard for it. Plus, Fox and the Guard were responsible for Senate/Coruscant security, including patching up holes in it. And the ARC troopers are all very experienced in bypassing tighter Separatist security than what they currently have (since the war hasn't forced any advances yet), and they are aware of the ways Force Users can die/be killed. They all find preventing the Rise of the Sith to be a worthy cause, one they're not afraid to die for. 

So the tools the Sith planned to destroy the Jedi with destroy them instead.

The galaxy is shook by the loss of these leaders. They don’t even know who assassinated the Republic's Chancellor and the leader of the (nearly formally ratified government of the) Confederacy at the same time. Some think that was on purpose, others think it a tragic coincidence. They still have to elect new leaders though. And these ones are not looking for war. Or they are, and the Clones keep assassinating them until the galaxy gets the message: No Intergalactic War-mongering.

Also, Trade Federation holdings are destroyed in large numbers, while incriminating evidence of further crimes are left for the Jedi investigating to discover. Same for the Banking Clan, as the Clones knew they were playing both sides before along with the Trade Federation, and that there was a big scandal with most of their leadership removed for corruption, so evidence exists. The factories on Geonosis are also dealt with. Hard to have a war without armies, after all, and the Clones are well aware that most nat-borns aren't willing to fight as they did. Not having a disposable army available also makes most of the surviving manipulators trying to start a war take a step back. 

Having the Jedi live out in the poorer systems makes them more viscerally aware of how bad the situation is getting for the Republic. So they and the Clones work to try and fix things. 

The Jedi feel really bad about the sheer scale of what they've ignored in the Outer Rim. The stories of how blindly obeying the Senate the last time led to their destruction add to the guilt. Add in the fact that apparently nobody really opposed the near genocide of the Jedi, barring basically Bail and Mon (plus others, but Rex is generally unaware of them), and it’s all a particularly bitter pill to swallow. 

So they roll up their sleeves, and work to address the genuine grievances those who would become the Confederacy have. And also reveal to the angry populations that the very corporations they are turning to for help, are the ones responsible for a concerning number of the injustices they are blaming on the Republic as a whole.  

And while (at least) the Republic asks the Jedi to find the assassin, they can’t. Several Jedi do suspect the Clones are responsible for the rash of death and destruction plaguing the more corrupt leaders, except the Clones are Expert Jedi Wranglers and know how to hide shit from their charges.

So the galaxy spins on, the Clones happily taking care of their Jedi. (And when Boba remembers, he goes looking for certain bounty hunters, and Mandalorians. Success not guaranteed)

The end.

Chapter Text

Din and Grogu back in the past on the Trandoshan hunting moon. But it’s not the same hunting island as Ahsoka got dropped on (yet).

This particular island has (at least) a squad of Shiny Clone Troopers on it. The poor Shinies have been allowed to keep their armor, because the hunters enjoy making them choose between the protection of armor and the fact that blinding white sucks for camouflage in a tropical forest, but have been stripped of all their weapons and communicators. These poor babies have had it rough.

And that’s when they stumble upon Din (and Grogu) fighting off a hunting party. And Din is using the Darksaber to carve up the last few Trandoshans. But the Shinies can see that the General (because that ‘saber isn’t red and only Generals/Commanders and Sith have lightsabers. And Grievous, but he's practically a droid, so obviously not this guy) is flagging, so they jump into the fight to help as best they can. 

They are also glad to see that contrary to rumours, some Generals do take their own health seriously, and thus wear proper protection. 

You see, this Din (and Grogu) was pulled from the Bridge of Gideon’s Light Cruiser, so he’s had a very rough day (week. He hasn’t been sleeping well since Grogu was stolen) and is not on top of his game. His knives have been thrown and used, the spear and his blaster knocked out of his hands, so he's down to the Darksaber. Though he finds that the laser sword is an excellent weapon, carving through anything that isn’t beskar. In fact, it’s almost unnaturally easy to wield (the Darksaber likes this Mandalorian and is poking the Force into supporting his endeavors).

So Din is suddenly receiving support from guys in armor that is something between stormtrooper and Mandalorian (because Phase I armor has a distinctly more Mandalorian look to it). It is a confusing, though not entirely unwelcome, event, and Din is ready to take help where he can get it.

Now, it's author's choice whether or not Din knows what old Clone Trooper armor looks like. He certainly doesn't know the Clone face or voice since he did not piece that together with Boba in canon. But images of Clone Troopers in armor were probably more widespread during the war, so there's a chance Din saw those as a kid (and possibly remembers now). 

And if Din is unfamiliar with Clones (besides Boba), he assumes that the similar body language and stature are because they are part of the same clan/family. While the same voice can also be under that label, or them all having the same voice-altering vocoder (though he will find it odd that they all sound like Boba). The armor is obviously by the same armorer and they just haven't done anything with it besides white paint, if that.

Also up to the author to decide if the Clones have earned/picked names for themselves yet or not.

Anyways, the group manages to take the Trandoshan hunters down. After which the Shinies start fussing over their newly discovered General. Din’s going "I'm fine. Are you okay? Also, we need to strip these guys of useful weapons/supplies before more show up." Which, okay, yes sir, we Shinies can do that. You just take a rest, General.

Din is duly confused about being called "General." He is not part of any military (unless you count being a Mandalorian in general as being part of a military since they're all warriors) and most certainly is not the boss of these Troopers, despite what they seem to think. But he’s too kriffing tired to argue about it (and not very talkative anyways). Better to just grab his stuff and go. If the oddballs want to follow him, fine, whatever.

Sheer stubbornness keeps Din upright long enough to put some distance between them and where they fought the hunters. Then he blacks out.

Din comes around to a campfire in a hideyhole, the Troopers sitting around cleaning and checking weapons, or sorting through their other spoils. Grogu is curled up at Din’s side, and his aches and pains (primarily his head from fighting the Dark Trooper, though the hunting pack of Trandoshans, and Gideon, definitely didn't help) are mostly gone. 

Fear has Din reaching for his helmet, which he finds is still in place. The Clones take notice of this.

Clone 1: Look, the General's awake!

Clone 2: Good to see you up, Sir. We did some first aid, but nothing on your head. 

Clone 3: Yeah. The little Commander made it pretty clear we weren't allowed to take off the helmet. 

C1: Probably would have gotten less bruises if they could speak. But they managed to get their point across.

C2: I think the Commander patched you up anyways. They were certainly focusing on something before they fell asleep.

Yeah, Din’s got so many questions about why he and the fifty-year-old toddler are being referred to as military leadership. But he’s also concerned about what will happen if he asks about it, because he doesn't exactly want to fight these guys at the moment.

...Din decides to just go with it, since it will keep him and Grogu safe for now.

With some work, they manage to bypass the safety locks on the blasters they grabbed from the hunters (because Din knows weapons. And the Clones aren't too bad themselves). This means that the hunters will now be the hunted. The Trandoshans would very much like to know who the kriff brought a (fully armed) Mandalorian to their hunting ground!

Din and Grogu bond with their new squad as they hunt the Trandoshans down and look for a way off-planet. Or a comms station, since the Clones assure him they can get help. Either would be good.

During bonding, Din solidifies (or stumbles across) the fact that he and his green bean have time traveled. The big give away is the Clones mentioning the GAR when Din asks about where they would like to go after getting off the hunting moon. He's also (kind of) pleased to find out about the Jedi Temple that he can bring Grogu to, allowing him to complete his quest (even if he'll miss his child terribly. At least he got Grogu back from the Imps first). 

Din also makes much more sense of what Bo-katan meant when she said she'd heard Boba’s voice thousands of times and why Fett's face would be in the Imps' system. He is apparently a Clone of the same person as all the Clones of the GAR. And Din finds out that, like Grogu, the Clones are not the age they appear to be, if in the opposite direction. He’s not sure how to feel about that. On one hand, they are physically adults, on the other, they’re barely even ten and have known nothing but a soldier's (slave's) life. But Din’s perception of them is leaning towards children barely past their verd’goten given their Shiny-ness (they got grabbed from their first posting). This amounts to seeing them as people who can fight as an adult could/should, but don't have enough life experience to take care of themselves adequately.

The Shiny Squad, on the other hand, is imprinting on Din hard, and have their belief that he is some Mandalorian Jedi further confirmed, unbeknownst to Din. He treats them as people. He can tell them apart, even though they have no distinctions on their armor and still have regulation appearances under the bucket. These are things that they have been taught pretty much only the Jedi can do by the older Clones (they were also told Jedi can come from pretty much any culture, so why not Mandalore?). Plus the child the General hauls around with him obviously has Force abilities, and only the Jedi have Cadet/Little Force Users. 

But the General won't give them his name, or the Commander's. So they take to calling their General "General Mudhorn," for the signet on his pauldron (Din may have to explain what it is a symbol of), and the Commander as "Commander Kid," since Din is always calling Grogu "kid" (Din hides Grogu’s name from them for the same reason he hides his own: it’s hard to hunt someone who’s name you don’t know).

Din and Grogu roll with the Clones’ “oddities.”

Eventually, they get the hunting lodge for their island after wiping out the hunters. Unfortunately, there are no ships there, and the long range communications accidentally got destroyed while they were taking the lodge. None of them are that good at tinkering or mechanics to fix it or build a new one.

Good news is, there are hunting pods in working order, and they are pretty sure from what they do get out of the busted communication system, that the Trandoshans they just killed never warned the others. Din figures it was ego, but no complaints. So they stock up and then pile up on one or two so they can hop on over to the next island, see if they won't have more luck taking that lodge.

They barely make it to another island with the pods running out of fuel/power. But there is a ship at one of the island's beaches, so they have a possible route out of there. 

Of course, that's just about the time the ship starts spinning around before crashing into the beach. And Din thinks he spotted some small figures/kids running around on the outside of the ship with his helmet's magnification. So of course they have to hike over that way to check it out.

Din and his Clone squad manage to catch up with the kids, and a Wookiee. 

(Din: Excellent, a Wookiee. The hunters won’t know what hit them.)

The Jedi younglings are not comfortable about suddenly running into a Mandalorian, given what they learn about Mandalorians in their history modules plus reports on Death Watch. Did the Trandoshans call him in to wipe them out?

Chewbacca picks up on this and is ready to defend the Jedi cubs. 

The Clones are confused about why everyone is scared of their General. He is a really nice guy and a super patient teacher, if a man of few words.

Grogu decides to break the tension.

The green bean chirps from his place in one of the Clone's arms (because Din is their best combatant and can fight better if he doesn’t have to hold his kid. The trooper may be wounded, and thus relegated to babysitting so that he will still feel useful). The younglings then notice the Clones hiding behind the Mandalorian, plus the Force Sensitive youngling of Grand Master Yoda's species. Now they are very confused as to what's going on.

Din is also confused. Is this really the same Ahsoka Tano he and Grogu met before, except younger? Or a different Ahsoka Tano? What are the chances, right?

A bit of talking later, they affirm an alliance at minimum. The kids lead everyone back to their Hidden Tree House. It’s not easy for the non-Force Sensitives to climb up there, and even Chewie’s natural talent and immense strength cannot do everything. It's crowded, but everyone does manage to fit inside. Offering the kids the food they got from the other island helps build a lot of trust, as well as checking them over for injuries.

Din is highly offended at the idea of people abducting children to hunt them (ones who are definite kids, while the Clones are still slightly ambiguous), and the Clones furious too.

Jinx (the Twi'lek boy): Where did you all even come from?!

Din: The next island over.

Jedi Kids: *startled surprise and disbelief*

O-mer (the Cerean boy): Then how did you get to this island?

Clone: Well, we'd *gestures to his brothers* been on the other island for a while. Then the General *Ahsoka looks at the Mandalorian suspiciously* arrived, and he led us in taking out the Trandoshan hunters there. Unfortunately, there were no ships at their lodge, and the communications array was too badly damaged for us to repair. None of us have the skill to build one either. So we took a pod to see if a different island would be more fruitful.

Ashoka: *to the Clones* You boys did good. *to Din* So how did you end up on the island, fully armed, "General?" The rest of us got stripped of our stuff.

D: *shrugs* Me and the kid were on the bridge of a light-cruiser with droids about to punch the blast doors in, then we were in the jungle. 

J: That doesn’t make sense!

D: I know. But it’s the truth.

O: ...I don’t sense him lying…

A: *testing the waters* So what now, "General?"

D: We take out the Trandoshans on this island and escape.

Chewie: *rumble roars*

A: He says he can build a comms array from the scraps of the ship we crashed.

D: Okay. We'll keep the Trandoshans off of you while you build the communicator.

Clones: Oya!

Weapons are redistributed among the group, and they head for the wreck the next night.

Din and the Troopers take out (kill) the patrol, strip the patrolers for weapons, and take their pod to continue the route. Ahsoka and Chewie get the pieces they need and retreat to the Tree House. Before Din and the squad head back, they search the pod for a tracker before hiding it in the foliage for later.

When Chewie's comm array doesn't work on its first try, Jinx pushes for taking the fight to the flying lodge. Din shoots that idea down. The patient hunter is the more successful hunter. They can thin the Trandoshans' numbers as both a bid to buy time for Chewie to call in help/a pick up, and so that if they do need to take the lodge, there will be less enemies there to fight. Plus with the food and other supplies they have, they can afford to wait a little longer. Ahsoka raises concerns about back-up being called in since they will be putting up a much more effective fight now with proper weapons and more experienced warriors. Din concedes her point, though he does point out that no back-up was called before they decimated the previous island of hunters.

So they plan to take the lodge and continue to call for back-up themselves. Din will take the Clones and Ahsoka to assault the lodge while Chewie stays with Jinx, O-mer, and Grogu in the Tree House. This split is so that the most innocent (for a given value. Basically the ones who haven’t had training in/for war) of their number are kept safe with Chewie, who can fight and build comm arrays.

The Trandoshans are not prepared for what basically amounts to a GAR special strike team. Din is a damned skilled Mandalorian bounty hunter, the Shiny Squad has been taking very informative lessons from their General on top of their Kamino training, and Ahsoka has been manning the frontlines of the Galactic Civil War for somewhere around a year. Plus Din and Ashoka have enough tactical experience to put together a solid plan beforehand. The battle goes pretty well for our heroes.

The Wookiee general and his strike team show up to help out towards the end of the fight as the episode goes, or after Din and the rest have taken care of business. They go collect those left at the Tree House and fly for Coruscant to return the wayward Padawan and younglings.

Din spends the trip preparing himself to say goodbye to Grogu. And the Clones, they’ve grown on him. However, Foundlings are meant to be returned to their kind when their family is available. The Clones belong with the rest of their brothers, and Grogu belongs with the Jedi. The life of a displaced bounty hunter is no place for these sweet children.

Though maybe the galactic war machine isn’t either…

So they reach the Temple. The younglings are taken back with happy, open arms while Ahsoka gets hugs from Anakin and Plo Koon, and Din is sadly trying to hand over his child and Clone squad.

Grogu and the Clones aren’t having it.

The first thing the Clones do after reporting in is request a transfer to General Mudhorn’s command/unit. The Jedi are confused as to why these Clones think the random Mandalorian even has a command (because he’s definitely not one of the Kamino trainers, who are the only Mandalorians working with the GAR). Their confusion only increases when the Clones insist the Mandalorian is a Jedi, and the little toddler he is trying to hand over is their Padawan-Commander, obviously. 

Grogu, in the meantime, is refusing to let Din hand him over. He doesn’t want to go back to the Temple where they will be upset about him loving his dad, and where the worst of his nightmares originated (this is probably not helped by Anakin being there, assuming Falling doesn’t create a huge difference in one’s Force signature). 

Din is trying to convince his kid to go get an education that he just can’t provide. 

Somewhere in the negotiations with his child, Din calls Grogu by name. This makes things even more confusing for the Jedi because someone (probably Plo) knows that they already have a youngling of Yoda’s species named Grogu.

About then, the local Grogu comes wandering out onto the landing pad. He has escaped the crèche to check out the one who feels exactly like him in the Force. The two Grogu have a quick chat in the Force, and then Grogu the Younger attaches himself to Din’s boot. He would like to know a father’s love too.

Din’s heart melts. So does everyone else’s. Two green beans are just too cute.

So now Din’s got a Grogu in each arm and a squad of Clone Troopers ready to follow him like ducklings (Din is ascending into Dadlightenment, his powers of fatherhood grow ever stronger!).

The Jedi need answers.

Din: …so we’re time travelers. Probably.

Jedi: Wut?

D: The Clone Wars ended almost thirty years ago for me and Grogu *lifts Grogu the Older* I’m pretty sure you can do some quick medical test to confirm Grogu’s age.

Clone: Then who won, Sir?

D: The Empire.

J: The what now?!

D: The Empire. Run by Emperor Palpatine?

J: *mounting confusion* Emperor Palpatine? 

D: Not a nice man. Lots of worlds were devastated by his rule. But he died about five years ago. Though the New Republic is not doing a good job getting rid of all the Imperial remnants. One of the Moffs wants Grogu for his blood.

J: Wut?

Anakin is allowed to freak out about the accusations against his "good friend" Palps. But if he does, the Grogus Force throw him off the landing pad for yelling at Buir. No one is particularly worried about it though. Jedi always land on their feet after a long fall. Plo Koon, Yoda, and Windu are all present, and their personal and professional authority is enough to convince Anakin to keep his mouth shut so they can at least investigate this claim.

It takes a while for the Jedi to get a more coherent timeline out of Din, and there’s still lots of gaps since he was a child for the Clone Wars and then more concerned with bounty hunting in the Outer Rim once he was an adult during the Empire. 

Also, they find out Din has the Darksaber, and no clue of its historical and cultural significance (and no one decides to enlighten him about this either).

But a few things are clear: one is that Palps can not be allowed to remain in power since he turned the Republic into his own totalitarian state of misery. They remember Dooku’s warning to Obi-Wan about a Sith within the Senate, but it is unclear if Palps is secretly a Sith, or a dupe. Neither is good of course. Another thing is that something happens that kills practically all of the Jedi at the end of the war, but not the Clones, who, according to Din, went on to become the first Stormtroopers, before being replaced by regular recruits/conscripts. 

Things need to change. 

So the Jedi decide to “hire” Din (it’s more like they secretly make his General status real). He knows all sorts of back routes and hidey holes in the Outer Rim. Even if some of those routes aren’t safe for something as big as a Venator to navigate. Just being able to drop small special forces groups (like the Bad Batch, ARC Troopers, Jedi led squads, or even straight up Jedi teams) wherever is a huge boon. 

They pay him with a ship and learning modules for the Grogus, along with an open invitation to visit the Temple so that the green beans can take actual lessons or have assessments (they have acknowledged the futility of trying to pry the green beans from their Mando Daddy. Plus they can feel the Force willing it).

The Clones have decided to take their fates into their own hands and volunteer as tribute to help Din. The Jedi approve of this, as it is a display of free will and self determination from the Clones, and unofficially name them Mando Squad. They write up the Clones’ new assignment with a long, boring assignment number, and then bureaucratically bury the paperwork to hide this special ops squad even from the rest of the Republic military. You can also add some more Clones in the middle of being reassigned from other units to increase their numbers.

So General Mudhorn, Commanders Grogu and Grogu, and the Clones of Mando Squad are unleashed upon the galaxy.

Now anything after Season 3 of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars tv show is open for Mando Squad to wander into. Though obviously anything concerning Death Watch or other Mandalorians should be seriously considered, if the events aren't derailed by earlier content (S4:E14, S5:E14-16, S7:E8-11).

Mando Squad spends most of its time bouncing around the Outer Rim with little regard for the battle lines. Din unwittingly embodies the ideal people hold of heroic Jedi, which is helped along by most people being no more aware of the Darksaber and its history than Din is. Mando Squad frees slaves, saves towns from battle droids and despots, stops corrupt corporations, and kills dangerous megafauna (still haven’t managed to top the Greater Krayt Dragon though). 

So they’re basically this random goodwill ambassador for the Jedi Order, the Clone Vode, and (to a certain degree) Mandalorians in general. And due to the Jedi burying their trail, plus Palps assuming he would be informed of any Republic-based covert ops groups (already aware of several key Jedi missions like that), the Sith have no idea who is behind this. Indeed, they are currently unaware these incidents are all connected to a single, small band. 

Eventually other Mandalorians catch up with this new Mand’alor. They like all the stories they are hearing, and are eager for an alternative leader who is not Satine Kryze or Pre Vizsla. Din is very confused by these people proclaiming him (basically) the King of Mandalore. 

Uh, no. He isn’t a king. He’s a single buir of five (or more depending on how many Clones you have following him. And yes, he’s officially adopted the Grogus and his Clone squad) and a beroya. No king here. 

The other Mandos have to explain the Darksaber to Din.

Din now has the conundrum of keeping the very useful weapon, or chucking it at the next Mando so that they won’t expect him to lead them. His hands are quite full with his magic toddlers and indoctrinated child-men, thank you. He doesn’t need an entire Creed’s worth of warrior people to manage.  

…What do you mean not all Mandalorians are Mandalorian by Creed?

The end result of Din’s unwanted position as Mand’alor?

General Mudhorn has a growing following of Mandalorians either trailing him like his Clone squad, or bringing him “gifts” like cats with dead mice. Except the mice are corrupt despots or corrupt Republic executives. And information to stop the battle droids and save the innocents (and the Vode).

And as an aside here, Din does not go seeking out his younger counterpart. Either he takes action to try to keep Aq Vetina from being attacked/decimated in the first place, or, if it’s too late for that, takes comfort in knowing that his younger self is in the care of the Mandalorians, and thus doesn’t need him. Though if it’s the latter, he can meet his younger self (and possibly adopt Baby Din or get adopted by Baby Din’s new buir(e)) when/if Din meets the Children of the Watch in this time.

Also, Din, in all his Mand’alor majesty, acknowledges the Clones as claimants to Mandalorian heritage. They can be recognized as belonging to House Vode with their Clan being their legion/squad/deployment command, which can be named after their General if it pleases them (ex. Rex of Clan Torrent, House Vode. Rex of Clan 501st Legion, House Vode. Rex of Clan Skywalker-Tano, House Vode). The Clones are also welcome to adopt the Generals and Commanders into their clans, if it pleases them. Some Jedi are eager to be adopted (looking at you, Plo Koon).

Many of the warrior Mandalorian clans are initially opposed to having the Clones joining up like this, until they realize that these Clones have fully converted to the Creed and uphold it with a fanaticism they can respect. Sure it's not ideal to those who can't acknowledge the Clones as people, but having the Mandalorian population swell with True Believers is a good counterbalance.

Moving on. 

The Separatists, of course, are also learning of this Mand’alor/General Mudhorn, and they like him (mostly). The new Mand'alor becomes popular enough that full disclosure of his activities get published without Dooku being aware until it is far too late. For the reporters, he is too hot a topic to pass up on, and since he is not part of the Republic, they are free from the various official censorship laws (and the unofficial measures) put in place to control the press. The Mand'alor's just as likely to act against the corruption in the Republic as in the Confederacy. He’s actually neutral without being inactive. The Separatists are, obviously, not happy to find out about the corruption in their own governments though. Still, they appreciate that Mand’alor Mudhorn seems to hold both sides of the war to the same standard. 

Duchess Satine of Mandalore is concerned with this new contender for the rulership of Mandalore. Especially given the support he has, bringing together more and more of the warriors, while she still has only police officers. Except he’s not showing any interest in Mandalore. Little does she know his followers have been quietly mining beskar to supply their people. But they’ve been doing that since before they got a proper Mand’alor. Now they're just more organized about it.

Death Watch is furious about this pretender to the throne (and confused as to how there is a second Darksaber, which has been verified as real by trusted sources). They want him dead. Or at least the leadership wants him dead. A fair number of the peons are defecting to the more friendly Mand’alor now that they have options for someone who will lead them and wear armor. Anyways, the leaders aren’t having a lot of luck in trying to kill Din. His followers are devoted and Din’s no slouch himself. This either comes to a head when Pre Vizsla calls Din out in a formal challenge (There shall only be one!) or when DW picks up Maul and Savage, and then Din and his people interfere (by accident) when going after the crime syndicates, or during the staged fights for Pre to take (very temporary) leadership of Mandalore.

And during all of this, the Republic Senate is yelling at the Jedi about General Mudhorn, because that man is doing whatever the kriff he wants and you are responsible for him! The Jedi just grin and say “No, we’re not. He’s not a member of the Order” and it is all very true. Of course, Senate members like Padme also like General Mudhorn. He’s taking on every bit of corruption he stumbles across, making the galaxy a better place.

Once they are fully aware of the situation, Palps and Dooku are both trying to take out Mando Squad. It’s not working. Mando Squad is very good at living on the run and helping people out as they run (Din has lots of experience doing that). Every attempt they make on Mando Squad only makes their legend grow, since it tends to involve killing/capturing noteworthy bounty hunters and assassins. Or handling an elite special ops squad. And it all draws the Sith just a little farther out of their concealing shadows, as each time they try to kill Din, it leaves a small evidence trail. If it was just one time and successful, then no problem, but the growing number of attempts means more and more little clues building up. The Jedi are just waiting to pounce on evidence of their wrong doing.

It also doesn’t help that Mando Squad is a fair bit bigger than a squad now with all the different people deciding to follow them.

In fact, Din’s kind of accidentally made himself an Outer Rim warlord with all the people he and Mando Squad have helped who are now willing to answer the Mand’alor’s call. People are even sending him taxes, which he mistakes for gifts/payment to help keep his people supplied for their operations. Both the Republic and Confederacy are just about ready to offer his holdings seats on their senates. Or at least acknowledgement as a sovereign power (with lots of warriors).

And somewhere in there, Mando Squad (platoon? battalion? legion?) finds out the Clones have foreign tumors in their brains. That each and every Clone has exactly the same tumor, means there's no way this was missed by the perfectionist cloners, so they must be deliberate. The tumors need to go. For medical safety. 

Next stop: Kamino. To stop the implanting of tumors, and make a staggered recall/Vode-wide medical alert for the Clones to get their tumors removed. And since no Sith spies have managed to infiltrate Mando Squad, everyone else is caught completely off-guard.

The Kaminoans aren’t happy about being invaded by a force of mother hens for their product, but they also aren’t anywhere near armed enough to rebuff said mother hens when the units are happy to help the mother hens. 

And since Din and his Parents for Clones Association (the PCA. Shaak Ti and Plo Koon are the ones actually running it) have taken over the communications network to get messages out to the legions, the Kaminoans can’t tell Lord Tyranus about the forced change in his order.

The PCA also sees no reason to inform the Senate of the new medical standard for the GAR as the surgery and recovery time is rather negligible and only uses up anesthetics for extra medical costs. Or they can use stun pulses from their blasters to spread the cost around. 

Maybe the Jedi even find a legal loophole which they can leverage for being able to keep it quiet (bonus points if it is a law Palpatine implemented to gain greater control over the military and/or media). 

So the GAR gets de-chipped without Palps or Dooku knowing (because they rarely see a Clone without their helmet, so they don't see any surgery scars or bandages).

Someone more inclined to medical stuff (or way more paranoid) than Din may look into why the Kaminoans have been implanting tumors in the Clones, thus figuring out the whole bio-slave-chip thing. Knowing that the Chancellor has the authority to issue the encoded Orders makes Din’s claim that Palps went Evil Overlord feel more real. It is also some powerful circumstantial evidence against Palps, who has been Chancellor the whole time the Clones were being made. Not to mention Palps was continuously solidifying his position as Chancellor for that decade, making it more and more difficult to remove him from power, plus his more recent consolidations of more power to the position.

The Jedi Council quietly makes plans against Palpatine. They also either include Anakin (as a test for his loyalty to the Jedi and their Code), or carefully make sure he will be away from Coruscant/Palps when it all goes down. Author's choice.

Eventually, Din’s good deeds and growing legend in the Outer Rim leads to a stalling in the war as planets refuse both the Republic and Confederacy. There already is the Council of Neutral Systems, but those guys have no military might to rebuff the Republic or Confederacy if either comes knocking. Plus having been cut off from trade by the other two powers means their economies are not in great shape. So these planets that just want to be left alone have found better allies for this endeavor in the other places Din has selflessly given help. And places actual Jedi have helped. The ones not tied down by command in the war started following Din’s example of just going out and doing stuff without being asked to show up. Some of them even get Clone squads to accompany them too. It gives them a reason to keep Clones that would have otherwise been decommissioned.

So the war stalls, which opens up chances for peace talks. Official peace talks. And Dooku and Palps can’t derail every single opportunity without making it obvious that there’s a puppet master keeping the war going. So they plan to sabotage the peace talks some other way once they get going.

Worse (for the Sith, anyways), the peace talks that do happen are very productive, despite Sith attempts at sabotage. The sabotage is not going as well as those boys expected since most of their best agents got killed/captured trying to assassinate Din. Nobody really wants this war. At least, no one who isn’t profiteering off of it, and Din’s people have already been making a dent in those corrupt assholes too. And the senates of both sides are realizing that with every peace talk. Especially once some of the senators on both sides make the actual discussions public to see how it is going over. They are listening less to the corporations that were given seats and more to the state of their people and planets.

Palps can read the writing on the wall. Without something radical in the extreme, peace will be victorious and leave him without an empire. Kriff that noise. Time for Order 66 (or something similar) to at least kill the Jedi, and seize control of the Republic. Meanwhile, he uses the Separatist Council, the shadow leaders of the Confederacy through which he controls the Droid Army, to similar Orders on that side as well. 

Except the Clones are free and none want to follow that Order. 

In fact, his attempt to execute Order 66 without any discernible reason is now evidence for abuse of power and warmongering. Added to all the other things the Jedi Order and allies have been collecting to remove him from power, and they now have a solid case. 

Palps does not leave quietly nor graciously. There is probably a bit of a massacre in removing him from office, but the job gets done. He probably doesn’t survive it (bonus if a Clone gets in the killing blow. They are not so gentle as their Jedi, being bred for war and all).

After Palps’ defeat, Dooku decides discretion is the better part of valor, and abdicates his position so that he can live (if in hiding). The Droid Army is shut down and the Separatist Council is arrested by agents of the Separatist Senate, who have been doing their own quiet investigations based off of what Din has been turning up. They are tried under Confederacy law.

With the Sith not in political power, the peace movement is unchained, and soon the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems come to an accord. They also recognize the Free Alliance of Worlds, which is the Outer Rim systems Din has helped out and have learned to stand up for themselves. So planets take membership wherever they feel most comfortable now.

As for Din, he continues to run around with his family, ignoring his political duties (and still fulfilling them by chance half the time) and helping out as he sees fit. His kids are happy and cared for, enjoying their adventures together.

The end.

Chapter Text

Setting: the middle of Chapter 14: The Tragedy.

The (first) troop transport of Stormtroopers has touched down. Fennec and Fett have gone down the mountainside to fight them while Din ascends to the top to retrieve Grogu. Din gets thrown by the force field when he tries to force his way to his son.

Except when he comes around, the force field has dropped and there is a figure in Mandalorian-esque armor holding his Foundling. Din has no clue how they got there or who they are, so he pulls his blaster on them.

Din: *menacingly* Who are you?

Stranger: I am Tarre Vizsla. I was brought here by this youngling’s call.

D: *not applying any due significance to the name besides being a possible relative of Paz* You are a Jedi?

T: I am.

D: *rolling with the Jedi magic shit that teleported someone here (or made them spring up from the ground like a space cabbage?) and his ability to read people saying they’re not lying* Okay. I have… allies down the mountain holding off Stormtroopers, but we really should leave as fast as we can.

T: …These “storm troopers” are enemies?

D: They want to steal the (my) child.

T: Take your Foundling, vod. I shall be the vanguard and see to it that only our enemies fall this day. *practically pushes Grogu into Din’s stunned arms before going bouncing down the mountain (with superhuman speed and agility), Darksaber drawn*

And just a quick aside: Tarre can have whatever appearance you want for him. Including being female, despite pronouns used in the shows. In which case, have some fun with Fem!Tarre’s reactions to being rewritten in history as a man, and know that this makes it harder for people to realize just who they are dealing with. But I'm writing the rest of this with a male Tarre for simplicity's sake. You may even want to reference the statue of Tarre in Star Wars: Forces of Destiny S2: E11 for appearance. But take creative license since the statue could be an artistic representation of Tarre anyways. I personally enjoy the image of a baby-faced, five-foot-nothing Tarre who no one takes seriously as a threat until they break open the can of whup-ass, at which point they are terrifying. And people can mistake them for a child/teen for further hilarity/trickery. Also, the “I thought you’d be taller/bigger” joke.

Anyways, Tarre goes bouncing down the mountain with the help of the Force and decimates the Stormtroopers. They don’t even get to retreat between Tarre, Fennec, Din (who detoured to pick up his jetpack since the Jedi is moving with all speed to help and Grogu is safe as he can be with Din. Extra maneuverability for Din will just make the child safer), and Boba (who still made the detour to retrieve his armor like canon).

The author may wish to do Tarre’s thought process during this assault, show how he's noticing the differences 1,000 years have made in arms, fashion, and ships. And doesn't have the luxury to care too much about it.

Fennec and Boba have questions, of course, about where the “Jedi” with a black lightsaber came from. They’ve been following the silver Mandalorian and his child for a while now and someone with a lightsaber accompanying them hasn’t even been a rumor.

Boba may have an inkling as to who this Jedi is “imitating,” depending on whether or not you think Jango tried to teach Boba Mandalorian history or abandoned all parts of his previous culture that weren’t useful for bounty hunting (note that Boba was 10 when his dad died, so even if Jango didn't abandon his roots, it's a limited time frame for teaching less immediately useful things like history). Though if Boba does know the significance of the Darksaber and Tarre Vizsla, he’s going to be wondering who in their right mind would emulate the legendary figure that would have most Mandalorians out for their blood for daring to do so. He's also surprised at seeing the legendary weapon resurfacing.

Regardless, neither Fennec nor Boba want to mess with this guy after what he just pulled off.

Stormtroopers dealt with, Din figures it’s time to figure out what to do with Boba grabbing the armor Din did not agree to give him, and then abscond with the Jedi to wherever Tarre thinks will be a safe place for him and Grogu (assuming the Jedi can’t just teleport away or something).

Unfortunately, any such plans are completely derailed by a heavy battery turbo laser blast blowing up the Razor Crest. Din’s heart is broken. That was his home.

A second blast takes out the Imperials’ own ships. Gideon does not intend to leave Din any means of leaving the planet. The pilots were as worthwhile a sacrifice as the trooper platoons(? squads?) that were killed in combat. 

Tarre now has an idea of what kind of people he is up against, and knows they cannot be allowed to run free.

Boba flies off to make sure his beloved Slave I doesn’t meet the same fate. Fennec, Tarre, and Din, who’s still carrying Grogu, do their best to take refuge among the rocks as they wait for Boba or the next wave of attack. They know that it’s not over yet. Not until they get off the planet and hit hyperspace.

The Dark Troopers are deployed. But four super droids are little match for a Jedi Master, much less one clad in pure beskar. 

Now Din has questions for Tarre because a) that is beskar armor, which is only for Mandalorians, and b) the helmet shows his face, because it doesn't have a visor, just an open slit (if the statue is to be believed. I'm going with it for shenanigans).

Tarre… is delighted to be in the company of a Child of the Watch. They are the Keepers of the Way, the Devout of the Mandalorian Creed. Their strict practices and beliefs mean every last one of them is mandokarla. A Mand'alor acknowledged by the Children of the Watch is undisputedly a good leader, and this one has entrusted him to help guard their Foundling. Tarre might become one of the greats.

...Yeah, this Tarre is maybe a few years into being Mand’alor after uniting the Clans, which means there's still plenty of infighting and petty squabbles. He's still not sure how well his reign will go. Or how long it will last. He's a hell of a fighter, but even he is wary of the assassin's blade and/or overwhelming numbers. Plus there's the stigma of also being a Jedi Master, with some questioning how committed he is to being a "proper" Mandalorian. And some Jedi question his commitment to both following the Jedi Code and being impartial (the Jedi of his time are not as neutral as they later became, but being a head of state is another thing entirely). 

This also means that Tarre is (literally) the youngest person in the party. Probably late twenties to early thirties, which is still in the ballpark of a decade younger than everyone else.

Meanwhile, Din comes to accept that yes, this guy is a Mandalorian, including quoting the Resol’nare flawlessly in their native tongue, Mando’a (even if with a strange accent). So he accepts this is the real deal, and is honestly happy to get a more positive reaction compared to Bo-Katan’s. Also a bit unnerving that being a member of the Child of the Watch gets such praise. He is not used to it at all (given the one time he's heard the term it was spoken with derision). Nobody reacts to him like this! 

Now the options are for Gideon to deploy (and lose) the rest of the Dark Troopers, or he can sit in the sky all intimidating in his light cruiser as he plans his next move/waits for something to happen down on the planet. He has the high ground, starfighters, and troops though, so he still feels (understandably) confident. None of his men lived long enough to mention a lightsaber, only that they were being slaughtered, and then stopped answering. Maybe the pilots got a glimpse of it through the viewports, but he killed them before they could say anything.

Either way, once the action is done, Din goes sifting through the remains of the Razor Crest to recover his spear (and Grogu recovers the shifter knob. It is his precious. Possibly Tarre helps, after Grogu communicates what he is looking for). 

And now they hash out what the next move will be.

Boba doesn’t have as much safety to guarantee the Mandalorian and his child now that he has a Jedi at his side. But he does have the one working ship. So after showing off his chain-code being encoded into the armor alongside his father’s and receiving Din’s blessing (and Tarre’s unspoken one), Boba offers to complete the deal by giving Din and his party a ride off-world to a destination of their choosing. It doesn’t express his full gratitude for having his armor back, but it’s a start. Din accepts that.

So they all pile into Slave I and get the heck out of dodge. Which includes dodging Gideon’s light cruiser and complement of TIE fighters. Gideon is very frustrated by how all of his ships failed to handle one ship, and looking for someone to blame (kill?). He orders a notice to go out to find Slave I (and might have a small heart attack when his search shows that ship as registered to a bounty hunter that got regular commissions from Lord Vader).

Once away, Boba needs more of a destination than “anywhere but here.” Din asks for Nevarro (he has connections there that might let him get his own ship again. Certainly enough to get back on his feet) and that Boba take Tarre and Grogu wherever Tarre believes is best/safest.

What Din does not expect is for Tarre to insist that they stick together (and go to Mandalore. He’s the Mand’alor and only idiots would even try to cross the Mandalorians as a whole).

Tarre would not take a child so young from their parent. He himself had been somewhere between 6 and 10 when he went to the Jedi Order (remember folks Tarre’s from an old version of the Order, before practices got tightened up for fear of Falling), and Grogu is maybe in that developmental range. He honestly has no idea what Grogu’s equivalent Human age is, beyond “child.” Plus Tarre is more Mandalorian than Jedi at this point and he’s turned out fine so far. He sees no reason to not allow the same with a Padawan.

Din brings up how Grogu’s attachment is the reason that Ahsoka turned Grogu away for training. Tarre is confused by this. 

In fact, there are a lot of things that have confused Tarre in the time since he was summoned by the Seeing Stone (and he starts listing them off). Din and Boba are obviously wearing Mandalorian armor, but it’s not quite like anything Tarre has ever seen (and he absolutely wants to get some Whistling Birds for himself). Their blasters (and Fennec’s) are unknown designs with more power and “ammo” to them. Even the Stormtroopers’ armaments were new. Then there’s the powerful droids that tried to take Grogu. Even the five different models of ships he’s seen are unknown to Tarre. Not to mention how both Din and Boba think Mandalore is a terrible destination between it being glassed and under Imperial control (and cursed). 

Some pointed questions reveal that Tarre is more than just spatially displaced, it’s temporal too.

The rest of the party is shocked to learn the Jedi is from over 1,000 years ago. A conclusion that takes some doing to reach since Fennec is the only one with anything close to a proper understanding of history (possibly something including Yoda? He does cross out the past 900 years after all). There is, of course, a freedom to selecting out how many centuries or so over 1,000 years ago Tarre’s time was, given he has no hard dates from canon. Also consider that the Republic he was a part of was destroyed, and likely a new dating system was started when the next one rose, causing further confusion (and that's not even getting into the most recent snafu with calendar systems).

Upon realizing these people are not recognizing him as the Mand’alor (Boba is keeping quiet if he knows. He gives his allegiance to no one), Tarre mentally concludes that the title may be defunct. So he does not mention his (hard won) title. It's not the kind of boasting he likes to do. Besides Tarre’s more concerned about what happened to the rest of (both of) his people. 

So with that time bomb dealt with, they hit up Nevarro.

Greef and Cara congratulate Din on finding more of his own kind and a Jedi. Boba instantly denies being Mandalorian, Tarre is pleased to meet more allies, and Fennec enjoys the show. 

The Nevarro pair also feel bad about Din losing his ship/home, knowing that without a ship it’s only a matter of time before Gideon comes for Grogu (whose name they are delighted to learn) and Din again. Unfortunately, they don’t really have any for sale right now, but Greef will talk to (read: bother and bully) his contacts to see if he can’t scrounge one up for one of Nevarro’s heroes.

It's up to the author to do anything with the port worker who originally planted the tracking beacon on the Razor Crest. Who knows if they were really dedicated to working for Gideon or just making a quick buck. Though it's doubtful they could pull the same trick on Slave I as Boba is not trusting some randos with his beloved ship. And he has improved upon the original system to detect trackers on the outside of the hull (he does not want a repeat of Kenobi following him and his dad to Geonosis).

If moving around is what they need, Boba supposes he doesn’t mind letting them hitch a ride with him. He’s got a few stops to pick up specific supplies before a certain “appointment” on Tatooine, and lots of people have successfully disappeared into the sands of Tatooine (plus these Mandalorians are definitely handy to have around). Din would like to note that lots of people have unsuccessfully disappeared into the sands of Tatooine. He’s seen to that himself several times. 

But… it’s not a bad deal.

So they travel around on the Slave I to take care of Boba and Fennec’s shopping list. 

Din’s keeping an eye out for a replacement ship for himself, however finding a pre-Empire gunship to replace his Razor Crest is proving difficult. Din probably has to explain to Tarre that he's being particular about the ship because ones that old go unnoticed more, seeing as they lack some of the more modern identification systems the government uses to track ships. Tarre is a little confused as to why they are avoiding the Republic, but it's clear to him that Din is not breaking what he would consider to be major laws. 

Plus Din’s got an eye out for more Mandalorians who might (should) help them. Though Din’s reluctant to go to his covert (again) until Gideon is dealt with. And I think Din would know where to find them because with how focused they are in surviving in hiding, they should have their next location scouted and chosen for quick escapes. And Din would know the location of the next covert in case they had to move while he was out on a bounty hunt.

As for Tarre, he is busy teaching Grogu and playing catch up on history (thanks to stuff Cara got him from the school), with mixed success. 

Grogu is plenty happy to learn from Tarre since he is not insisting that Grogu give up Din, nor is Tarre upset about Grogu being afraid and angry after the way his life has gone. Honestly, Tarre is angry about the sacking of the Jedi Temple (that Grogu experienced) and scared for the fates of his peoples. 

The history lessons are more hit and miss, seeing as a thousand years is a lot to catch up on, and people seem to have issues with clearly accounting for just the last fifty years (kindly recall the aforementioned calendar snafu, which includes having 2-3 systems over this time period). Staying in the Rim does not help Tarre's studies since the people there see minimal differences between the Republic(s) and the Empire. They certainly don’t keep thorough historical records in one big archive/library. Even the textbooks from the new school on Nevarro consist of generalities. Though Fennec and Boba do have a fair bit of more relevant information that they’ve learned over the years in high-profile jobs. 

Tarre has mixed feelings learning about the recent rash of civil wars, both galactic and local, including the Mandalorian Pacifist movement. While horrified at the notion of throwing aside most of their culture, he loves the idea of peace. Though it's horrifying to learn of the sheer scope of the civil wars which led to pacifism seeming like the best idea. Whoever was supposed to be Mand’alore was not doing their job!! Boba shifts awkwardly at that if he knows about his dad's short reign as Mand’alor that he never returned to.

Tarre also spars with Din (and Boba occasionally. Fennec opts out of testosterone contests, thanks), which helps them both. Mandalorians have picked up a "few" new tricks over the years, and Din is a skilled and experienced fighter. Tarre, though, is just terrifyingly good, and not just because of the Force. Boba has seen Jedi in action during the Clone Wars, and he thinks Tarre could take most of them in single combat. Din learns some great new moves from their matches. He's also benefiting from practicing against someone better than him. It's also nice to just have someone new to spar with. He knows how the people in the Tribe fight, having learned and grown up sparring them.

Eventually, the party sets down on Tatooine, and Boba takes over from Bib Fortuna. Fennec is pleased to be in service, Din could care less, and Tarre has learnt enough about Tatooine already that his Jedi sensibilities are not offended. Plus he already knows Boba’s plans for the planet. Boba’s not that bad, and Tarre is going to need all the help he can get trying to fix all the problems he sees in the galaxy. 

With Tatooine under his thumb, Boba finds an old gunship for Din to claim for himself (and Peli fixes it up in exchange for Grogu cuddle time. Fennec is fascinated by this currency). While waiting for the ship to be repaired, Tarre (and Din) happily helps Boba (and Fennec) stabilize his rule by putting an end to slavery. Boba and Fennec then go hunting for their competitor criminals. This dustball ain't big enough for more than one Syndicate, and Boba’s going to win. Din also (accidentally) builds upon his previous work in Mos Pelgo in establishing better relations between the Tuskens and settlers. Boba approves. It's just good business. 

Overall, Tarre finds it’s a very Jedi thing to do, and the Force wills it be done. You might also consider Tarre stopping by the remains of the Lars’ homestead and sensing something significant happened there.
During this time, Tarre never uses his lightsaber in situations where word of it might get back to a certain Imperial. It's not a deliberate on Tarre’s part (the Dark Trooper corpses they left on Tython are proof that someone with a lightsaber has joined Din), he just never needed it. You see, he is not big on casually pulling it out ever since he became Mand'alor given some individuals' reactions to Jedi.

Boba also took over Fortuna’s intelligence network (which was built upon the remains of Jabba's network). He uses it to keep an eye out for Mandalorians for Tarre and Din. Though it would be a lie to say they aren't counting on rumours of what they are doing to also attract other Mandalorians. Boba also starts putting together a small fleet of ships, but nothing yet able (or willing) to take on a light cruiser. He's learnt from the stories of Maul and the Death Watch making their own super syndicate by taking over most major syndicates towards the end of the Clone Wars. If that's ever going to happen again, Boba is going to be the one in charge, thank you very much.

Maybe a month or two in, Gideon shows up with his light cruiser to threaten the inhabitants of Tatooine with localized glassing if Grogu isn’t handed over. Moff Asshole is well aware that Din is a kind and traumatized man.

Tarre is pissed the hell off.

This is the sleemo that destroyed his homeworld (to fully uninhabitable, which all the civil wars somehow managed to avoid) and scattered his people to the winds. A literal demagolka who, like the man the word is based off of, wants to experiment on a child. And now he’s here to ruin more lives.

Not on Tarre’s watch.

The ancient Jedi grabs a ship and flies up to Gideon’s cruiser, kamikaze crashes the ship into the cruiser while he jumps out to land on the hull of the larger ship, then finishes cutting his way through the hull where his crashed ship has already made the beginnings of a hole.

Cue the rampage.

Meanwhile, Din is shoving Grogu into Peli’s (or Cobb’s if you want him to show up) arms to grab his own ship and follow his jetii’vod’ika (yes, Din has gone big brother/dad on the younger Mandalorian Jedi. He can’t help it. Grogu has awakened a need to make a family in him and these Jedi need him too) and hopefully keep the little maniac from getting himself killed (Tarre has proven over the extended shopping trip to be prone to finding the biggest problem in the system, and then charging down its throat. Din wants to know if all Jedi do this, or if it’s just Tarre). Since the cruiser isn’t firing on Din, he actually docks with it, like a sane person.

Din finds the insides of the cruiser to be plenty shot and slashed up. He follows the carnage (both flesh and droid) up to the bridge, where Tarre has Gideon in a coup-de-grace using his own Darksaber and the one Gideon had. 

Now Din thinks Gideon could really use that short haircut with a sharp sword, but he’d be worth a lot more money alive than dead, and they could really use the money. But if you want to remove his limbs and/or tongue, be my guest, vod’ika. Bounties like him don’t lose value for being damaged. Tarre’s interpretation of the Jedi Code has no issues with cold-blooded examples, such as mutilation not done in anger. ...Tarre may be bending his Code a bit. But! This is about silencing Gideon, not that he's a no good hu’tuun that deserves all the pain.

Gideon’s having a bad day. He did not think the Jedi that Din Djarin had picked up would massacre an entire cruiser by their own hand without remorse. All accounts of the Jedi he has come across do not suggest them being comfortable with so much killing when other revenues can be tried. And now he’s missing his tongue and hands.

Din and Tarre call back to the ground to report their (Tarre’s) success in taking the cruiser. There is much celebrating.

And have fun trying to come up with a new name for Gideon’s former ship. Might I (and Victor) suggest either something serious or an insult to Gideon/the Empire.

Din later turns Gideon in to the New Republic through Cara for lots of money. The New Republic is left scratching their heads in worried confusion that some Outer Rim bounty hunter has turned in the supposedly executed man. Especially seeing as there’s no denying that this is Moff Gideon, sans tongue and hands. Which makes it very hard for them to extract any information out of the ISB officer (and was the point of removing those parts).

With Gideon handled, Boba’s people search the cruiser’s data logs and find that while Gideon is/was a part of a larger Imperial network, he had a lockdown on all the information pertaining to the hunt for Grogu. Tarre is very interested in rooting out the rest of the people assisting and funding a monster like Gideon.

Din just feels relieved to have the bounty on Grogu fully rescinded. And he now feels safe enough to see how much of his covert survived. Tarre encourages Din to go see the Tribe, and take Grogu with him as both a vacation for the kid and so that Din can formally adopt the green bean before the rest of his people. Din can bring Tarre by later, he has things to do.

You see, Tarre now has plans to make since he has acquired something close to a capital ship and he and Din are now rolling in money. He wants to take back Mandalore. More importantly, he wants to take back his people’s beskar (they found a bunch aboard Gideon’s ship. Possibly to be integrated into the Dark Troopers?). Even more importantly, he wants his people to be free to live in the open again safely. To have much of a chance to achieve any of those, Tarre will have to unite the Clans once more, so he’s making plans for that. It would really be helpful if he knew more about how his reign went. Obviously with some fame, given the evil Moff’s possession of his lightsaber, which Tarre kept (now he can learn Jar Kai forms! …if he knows what they are). But was it famous or infamous? 

Tarre would also like to get in contact with the one other Jedi Din has met. He has so many questions about what happened to the Order. In the meantime, Tarre’s not opposed to taking on as many students as are willing have him to try to preserve that culture too.

Back with Din, he and Grogu show up at the new covert. All of the kids and elderly were safely evacuated, but many of the warriors perished. Din’s story of how he did find one of Grogu’s kind, who is also Mandalorian, is received with awe and skepticism. The Armorer would like to meet this sorcerer who claims to follow the Way.

So Tarre comes to the covert and proves his (impossible) existence.

Din: This is the Jedi I found.

The Children of the Watch: *give Tarre a looooong look*

The Armorer: Din, Din, do you know who that IS?!

D: Tarre Vizsla? A Jedi who became a Mandalorian?

A: Tarre Vizsla is probably THE most famous Mand'alor. The one who made the Darksaber!

D: The what now?

A: Damnit, Din! Pay more attention to your history lessons!

Tarre: Huh. Nice to know my people remember me fondly. …At least it sounds fond. Also, that is an awesome name for my lightsaber.

A: *slaps forehead in disbelief at the stupidity of this duo*

…Yeah, never meet your heroes. 

Even if one is back from the dead with enough beskar to outfit everyone in the Tribe, along with stockpiles of military grade weaponry.

Tarre is not some wise, perfect leader. He is five feet of kickass that is determined to save his people through sheer stubbornness and unconventional attack vectors. The true history people have forgotten? Tarre had both Jedi and his Clan riding herd on him and doing a fair bit of the actual planning/damage control to make his ideals come true. Tarre’s job mostly involved beating up idiots, or those too wrapped up in their prejudices and hatred. And giving inspirational speeches (after his advisors proof-read them. Sometimes Tarre is less inspiring and more "wtf was that?!").

Honestly, the Tribe should be venerating Din for managing to wrangle both Tarre and Grogu at the same time.

But, there is no denying that Tarre is powerful and charismatic. So when he brings up the idea of hunting the Empire to extinction and taking back what belongs to the Mandalorians, the Tribe is listening. 

They have a light cruiser that can easily contain this covert and more, which will allow them to “hide” in a mobile base while also hunting their enemies. Add in the collection of personal vessels the various members have, and they have a way to resupply without revealing the cruiser and get people off of it for some time dirt-side. The only danger is if someone manages to cripple the cruiser. Though any boarders would be in for a hell of a surprise when they find the thing staffed by Mandalorians. And as more Mandalorians joined up, they would have a flotilla/fleet in which a ship could be designated for the Foundlings and thus to be protected at all costs. Assuming that they don’t find a good planet to colonize for raising the children in the meantime (the Armourer may give Din a pointed look, noting they will have to put more emphasis on history lessons. Yes, they are a warrior culture, but That was ridiculous!)

Oh, and Din and Tarre made so much money turning in a crippled Gideon, so the Tribe is set for a while either way.

The Tribe is interested in the idea of taking back all the beskar and not having to live in hiding. They could care less about reclaiming Mandalore. They agree to put out a call to other coverts for those who are interested.

So about 100+ Mandalorians converge on Tatooine to collect/man the cruiser. Boba is a fairly gracious host. He certainly has room to house people in his mostly empty palace/monastery. And he's not too opposed to it when some are willing to do a bit of bounty work he needs done as payment. Having a whole group of Mando hunters to call on does wonders for his reputation (beyond even what he himself, Fennec, Din, and Tarre did for it). It also conveniently scares off anybody with aspirations of taking over the palace like he did. People are reluctant enough to fight one Mandalorian, much less a whole squad/platoon's worth of them. And while Boba may not know how to handle kids, he’s not really opposed to letting the Foundlings live in his palace for safety (he likes to watch them mess with/have tests of courage against the brain jar monks. No seriously, check these creepers out).

With arrangements made, Tarre’s fleet sets out to cleanse the Outer Rim of the Empire. Feel free to bring in people like Sabine Wren or Migs Mayfeld to join the hunt. Or anyone else in the Rim that you think would be fun. 

Din’s skills continue to grow as he and Tarre train each other, which only adds to Din’s personal fame (which he remains oblivious to). 

And in taking the fight to the Empire, they accidentally stumble across the beginnings of the First Order. There’s an adopt-athon every time they take a training base filled to the brim with traumatized, semi-brainwashed children. 

Boba’s beginning to complain about his palace being turned into a daycare, you kriffers need to build your own palace for kids. 

Fennec enjoys corrupting the youth. Except Mandalorians don't see teaching children how to maim and kill as corruption. Or how to sneak around without getting caught (it's an important survival skill!). Well, she can still teach them to curse in as many languages as possible.

Marshal Cara Dune is passing back all this intelligence about Imperial remnants, their attempts to rebuild, etc. to her superiors. Except she and the other Republic officials she is working with in the Outer Rim decide to omit exactly how they are getting all this information. They figure the politicians would focus more on the whole Mandalorian thing than their warnings about the resurrecting (or at least not dead yet) Empire. Because the Mandalorians certainly look like the bigger threat to the peace the politicians think they have after (mostly) dismantling the Empire. After all, the Imperial remnants rarely win a skirmish against the might of the New Republic, and are not considered to be collective action, only isolated incidents. Meanwhile, Mandalorians are known for being The Badasses of the Galaxy now that the Jedi are basically gone. No one wants to fight them as a collective whole. History says that generally doesn't go well for the other side.

Also, Cara suspects her socially awkward friend is now part of the government, so being the one responsible for anything leaking out might mean no more cuddle time with Grogu. Fennec’s certainly implied that when they have a bit of badass bitchs time (which is like girl time, but with more guns and knives).

Anyways, pretty soon, Mandalorians are a welcome sight to any world oppressed by the Imperial remnants. 

Something that confuses Bo-Katan until she learns about the other Mandalorian army (which seems to be bigger than hers, dank farrik!). People are walking up to her assuming she is part of their group. Which is supposedly headed by a Mandalorian Jedi with a black lightsaber (she dismisses the rumors of them using two such blades. The Darksaber is utterly unique). Obviously she has to confront this contender to her throne.

...Din may have deliberately omitted Bo-Katan and her people when he told his story to Tarre. He really didn't want to deal with her again if he could avoid it. Nor did he want Tarre going off to follow/support her "Way" of altering deals as suits her needs. Which is why Tarre didn't try to recruit her before.

Bo-Katan is not at all enthused to be directed to that dumbass Child of the Watch from Trask, who is somehow this other Mand’alor’s second-in-command (or the real Mand’alor. There are some rumors that the Mand’alor has been seen to take orders from him).

Din is perfectly happy to dump the issue of Bo-Katan into Tarre’s lap. He has buir duties with Grogu to attend to. Very important stuff. 

Bo-Katan is about ready to explode at this little shit of an imposter Tarre Vizsla (who does in fact have two Darksabers). Tarre is silently cursing Din for dumping this hellcat on him so that he can teach/play with Foundlings (Din has found his new calling. It is parenting).

Eventually, Bo-Katan is brought around to Tarre in fact being the real deal, and begrudgingly swears loyalty to him (he’s so peaceful off the battlefield, like a goddamned Jedi. Which he also is, but still. This is not the ideal Mand’alor she was taught to seek/be. Where is his sense of glory in battle?). There’s probably some wall-shaking screaming matches involved in this conversion somewhere (which makes Tarre forgive Din for intentionally not mentioning her before). Eventually Tarre goes to being perfectly serene in the face of Bo-Katan’s yelling. He had almost forgotten that to deal with Mandalorians like this, one must be totally passive-aggressive about it. Tarre enjoys the results of that. Also, if they snap and attack (which he has forewarning of thanks to the Force), you are totally in your right to beat them up, and it invalidates their arguments. Win-win!

And now that the Mandalorians are all under one banner in full force, the New Republic finally takes notice. It took a while to rig up something for communicating with Gideon (there are limits even for Bacta to heal, and they are in no rush to give him prosthetic hands, all of which are legal loopholes the interrogators enjoy for someone this vile), and for the Moff to decide he hates Mandalorians more than he hates the New Republic.

The NR is under the impression that all these Mandalorians crawled out of the woodworks to make a new Mandalorian Empire. 

Which is not the case. 

A freed planet is free. If they choose to give loyalty to the Mand’alor, that is their choice. All he really asks is that everyone get along as best they can and help each other when in need. 

Tarre and Din both miss that the ‘gifts’ they are getting are actually considered taxes. The worlds sending in their due payments are stumped as to why their overlords are accepting such meager offerings with so little issue. But they don't bring up this concern for fear of rocking the boat. The Mandalorians in charge of logistics (and thus know what they're looking at) are having too much fun laughing at the cluelessness of their leaders to explain the truth. Besides, as long as everyone has enough to eat, the rest might as well go to those who need it. Individuals are responsible for earning the money for luxuries (and new weapons).

Tarre also has perfectly friendly conversations with planetary leaders, where he discusses ideas and changes he thinks they should consider. The leaders take them as polite orders and are amazed by how well they work out. Meanwhile, Tarre is just happy they are willing to try his ideas. In turn he listens to their concerns, and does what he can to fix things (helps that most issues involve bandits, pirates, and vicious creatures). They also think having the seat of government be a ship, and thus making it mobile between planets to check things out, and not show favouritism, seems like an awesome idea. Why doesn’t the New Republic do that? They just keep to the Core. That the Capitol Ship is a former Imperial ship is icing on the cake.

Boba Fett wakes up one day to realize that he is pretty much the planetary governor of Tatooine, and he is thus part of this collective government. In fact, due to how much of it started out in his palace and crime syndicate, a lot of the bureaucracy is located there. Plus he is pretty much running their growing intelligence network. For free. Fennec is trying to hide how hilarious she finds this (and not doing a good job), considering she thought he already knew.

Greef Karga knows what's up, and is pleased to assist a collective government for the Outer Rim by the Outer Rim, and smooths things over with his greater political acumen. He likes bullying people into doing stuff like education and moving supplies around. And since everyone knows he has a close relationship with Din, they assume the "old friends" discuss politics a lot. Greef discusses most anything but politics with his friend (unless you count badmouthing the Empire, and occasionally the New Republic). 

Cara backs her local boss by carefully omitting to her superiors that she is increasingly the New Republic Marshal for a world paying only lip service to the New Republic… which is not exactly doing much for her charges anyways.

In fact, Tarre’s kind of pulled the Mandalorians into the peacekeeper role the Jedi used to fill (at least until he’s finished training the beginnings of a new Jedi Order. People are willing to trust the Mand’alor, and his brother [husband? Not encouraging a Din-Tarre pairing, just the misunderstanding], to teach their kids to not become miniature tornados of destruction when throwing a tantrum). Except Mandalorians are more peace enforcers because they really aren’t scared of (and almost prefer) punching people in the face to get a point across or violently deposing any corrupt officials. Tarre hopes the Mandalorians will stick with this and be allies to the Jedi Order once it's back on its feet. It is what he’d wanted when he first became Mand'alor in his time.

And Ashoka is on the very edges of the Outer Rim (remember, Ezra and Thrawn got yeeted to the Unknown Regions, so she should be dancing around out there), but missing a lot of the rumours of Mandalorians (and possibly a Jedi. The Darksaber makes her doubt it though). Or she just assumes they are Bo-Katan’s people, probably with that silver Mandalorian joining her.

Anyways, the majority of the New Republic reach the conclusion that they should send a team to scope this out, and that team should include their only Jedi (because Jedi are the only things that stand a chance against a Mandalorian. Not even sarlaccs or Krayt Dragons can kill these bastards). 

Luke and company are not as sneaky as they think they are.

Tarre would like to know who set their Padawan/barely Knighted kid loose without adult supervision. This is made more insulting by him being practically the same age as Luke. But to be fair, Tarre has had a lot more training. Though Luke has a few modern tricks that Tarre has never even heard of. Plus the Skywalker has been stumbling into some innovations as well. 

Luke himself is totally on board with the idea of having another Jedi Master. And also a little disconcerted, since by this point people have spent years treating him with reverence, while Tarre is treating him like a kid. Also, no, you may not walk off with a child without even leaving contact information. Or proving you can even handle the kid. Do you even know how to raise a Human child, much less a non-Human one? What is wrong with you, thinking that is okay?

The New Republic is not enthused to hear that the Mand’alor has decided to take their Jedi under his wing for training. Din finally has ammo to tease Tarre back about the Mandalorian need to adopt stray children (Din may have taken a minimum of one kid from each First Order training base. His Dad Energy is becoming legendary. Grogu’s hijinks are also the stuff of legends. No one's sure if it's a threat or not to be put on babysitting duty for him).

This development requires real negotiation, seeing as the New Republic is not just letting their Jedi get stolen like that. Leia is about ready to pull out her old General title for the manpower to go rescue her idiot brother from his ancestral enemy. Han is busy trying to be the rational mind. It is a new and disturbing experience for the ex-smuggler. It only even half-works because Han is still unaware that Boba Fett survived, so he's not freaking out about that. Yet. Chewie unhelpfully reminds Han that it was his choice to marry into that family. Threepio is "helping" by walking around wailing about how Master Luke and Artoo must be suffering an ever-growing list of (historically accurate) horrible fates. Han and Chewie find his pessimism very unhelpful.

So Din and Tarre go to Chandrilla to talk, bringing Luke (and the NR team) and Grogu with them. Plus a few representatives from those planets now allied to them who wish to make their case to the New Republic. 

People make the mistaken assumption that Din is the Mand’alor because he looks like the one who can kick all the ass (which the Mand’alor can reportedly do) with his quietly intimidating presence, at least compared to the baby-faced short guy with the megawatt grin. Tarre finds this hilarious, and goes to great efforts to keep that impression going until they actually sit down for negotiations. Din regrets agreeing to come (he does that blank helmeted glare at anybody who tries to suggest he should not have brought his child to a high-level political meeting. Tarre enjoys pointing out that at least Din only brought the one child. And his eldest at that. People can't decide if he's joking or not). 

Tarre and Din stand firm that the Outer Rim will govern itself, though the planets are free to seek membership with the New Republic over the Mandalorian Alliance if they so wish. The New Republic finally accepts that after a lot of getting stone walled. They remember (or are reminded of) the last time a Republic reacted to secession with violence. The public will not stand for another civil war so soon after the last disaster. 

Luke and the NR team are also verifying the warnings that the Empire is not as dead as they want people to believe. The NR really needs to send out their warships to sniff out the last of the Empire before they become a serious threat.

The NR is also not happy about Luke being very consensual in his inclusion (kidnapping) into Tarre’s rebuilding of the Jedi Order. Tarre (tries to) waves off their concern with reassurances that he’s teaching his growing horde of  Padawans/Initiates to follow the Will of the Force, which only makes it look like they are loyal to the Alliance since Tarre is also following the Will of the Force. It’s really not as reassuring as he believes it to be. But they can’t exactly deny their one Jedi a full education (that he will hopefully bring back to the New Republic once he’s done learning). 

Din comes up with a compromise (his child rearing experience coming in handy): Luke spends a few months learning from Tarre, he spends a few months in the New Republic teaching what students he’s (already) collected. Easy proof that the Alliance isn’t out to steal the NR’s Jedi. They are much more accepting of this (and are wondering once again which one is the real Mand’alor).

So things spin on, going well. 

Ahsoka may find her way to the Mandalorian Alliance (possibly with Ezra in tow) and get some lessons on ancient Jedi practices while Tarre learns about the more contemporary ones that were wiped out (and lessons in Jar Kai).

If/when Luke has issues with Ben Solo’s darkness, he just drops that problem in Tarre’s lap. Or rather Din’s lap (Din: *releases put upon parental sigh* Tarre: You’re the best, ori’vod!). The man is not Force Sensitive, but damn if he doesn’t know how to wrangle Force Sensitives like a pro and make them feel safe and loved. Honestly, Ben is just hungering for a father figure the likes of which he is just not getting from either Han or Luke. Boba also gets a kick out of getting to corrupt Solo’s kid. When Han finds out what Luke has done, he goes storming into the Rim to take back his child. Kriff that Force hoodoo. Snoke and Zombie Palps lose to the Power of Fatherhood.

So the galaxy is doing good and the sequels never happen.

The end.

Chapter Text

It’s in the middle of Magistrate Karga’s presentation on possible trade arrangements that the soft, sleepy coo sounds.

The silver Mandalorian (who was referred to as Mando, Beroya, or Alor Mudhorn because it was apparently against his religion to give out his birth name to strangers) at the Mand’alor’s right hand immediately shifts to bring the satchel he’d been wearing around. He flips up the cover and withdraws a green creature wrapped in a blue blanket.

Leia’s fairly certain she’s not the only one staring, even if the Magistrate hasn’t so much as glanced at the commotion going on to his right.

Mando unwraps the green being to reveal it is wearing a tan romper. And after unceremoniously stuffing the blanket back in the satchel, Mando places the little baby on the table. 

Surely she can’t be seeing things right. But a quick glance out of the corner of her eyes shows Leia that the rest of the New Republic Senators at this meeting are just as distracted by Mando’s satchel child. Meanwhile, the Mandalorian Alliance representatives don't so much as blink at this new development.

The child seems to have no problem with its predicament. Mando’s hand dips beneath the tabletop, only to come back up with strips of jerky. The small thing’s large ears perk up at the sight. Mando begins to tear off pieces of jerky and hand them over to the child, who happily gobbles them up.

Transport (and Acquisitions!) Master Ohnaka scoots his chair closer to Mando and his child, pulling jerky from his own mysterious hiding place to feed the babe. Ohnaka’s assistant, Melch, squeezes into his boss’s chair and lap, apparently to receive jerky to snack on from the elder(?) pair as well.

The spell cast by this unusual snack time ritual is broken by the sharp sound of the Magistrate’s hands clapping together. “… Don’t you all agree?”

Kriff. A startled look at her fellow senators shows Leia that none of them heard the first part of the question. They can now either agree (or disagree) with who knows what, or admit that they were not doing their jobs and paying attention to the negotiations. 

Just… kriff.

_____

The day’s negotiations conclude. There were several other moments of great distraction as Mando attended to his child, but the New Republic representatives have made it through without royally kriffing things up with the Mandalorian Alliance.

“And tomorrow, please don’t bring your child,” Senator Codfysh concludes.

The whole Alliance party stiffens at the request (they’d all interacted with the child at some point during the negotiations).

Mando just stares the senator down, helmet inscrutable yet radiating disapproval. Codfysh begins to sweat under that stare. Leia worries that the man may have cost them the negotiations.

“Where I go, he goes,” Mando declares, then immediately stalks off with the giggling child in his arms.

The Mand’alor just laughs at his ‘Trouble Wrangler in Chief’s back. “You’re lucky he only brought his eldest with him. There’s a dozen more where that came from.”

Leia has no idea if he’s serious or not. 

Chapter Text

Din and Grgou get plucked out of the timeline on their way to Tython (pit stop at a magic Force cave in search of more sorcerers?). The mystical Force energy that does this drops them in Otoh Gunga, shortly after Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jar-Jar Binks have departed for Theed.

Din is very concerned about magic osik teleporting them to an underwater city. Swimming is hard in beskar'gam. He is also very grateful at how well his helmet seals off water, even if it's lacking in air capacity (Din fixed it up after that time those Quarrens tried to drown him). Still, swimming out of here is beyond his (mighty) abilities, so he approaches some locals.

The local guard would like a word with the Bery Shiny Outsider who appeared out of nowhere. 

Din knows he is (probably) trespassing because of the Magic Osik, so he comes quietly after receiving assurances that his ward (child) will not come to harm for this perceived wrong. The Gungans are pleasantly surprised by his polite nature and respect for them. They also approve of his concern for his child.

Din and Grogu are brought before Boss Nass. The big Gungan is not pleased with another Outsider showing up in his city in less than an hour. But Din is seriously polite and respectful. He kindly explains that he has no clue where he is because a magic cave spit him and his child out here, but Din is willing to work to pay for transport so that they are no longer the Gungans' problem. 

This is rather novel for Boss Nass. When his people run across Outsiders, they usually demand aid, like Jinn did (if with arguments as to why it also helps the Gungans), or insist on paying for things with their Outsider currency. Which is useless to them. Gungans don't even need Outsider stuff, much less want it. 

Nass decides he likes this Shiny Outsider, who wishes to be called "Mando."

So Shiny Friend-o, what do you know about the Trade Federation and droid armies?

Din has no clue who the Trade Federation is. Sounds like a Core corporation getting big britches. But droid armies? He knows about those. Get your civilians out, unless you want a massacre. Further tactics depend on numbers, models, terrain, and whether or not you can splice into their programming. 

Din is a half-decent splicer, and a great warrior. He would be glad to help defend their city/world from the monstrous droids (he has a lot of PTSD-fueled aggression for them). Particularly if they will allow his charge to go with their civilians to a safe place while Din wages war against the machines, and figures out how to get off-world. 

The highly detailed advice he gives up front sells the impression he knows what he is doing.

Some military Gungans assert that they are warriors, and need no help. Din has no doubts they can fight, but the Droids will not hesitate to massacre civilians. They are literally incapable of caring, so better to be safe than sorry.

And if they do not trust Din to be altruistic, well, there's selfish reasoning too. A lot of money can be made by an Outsider like him between what he can salvage from the downed droids and a possible retroactive bounty on their flesh leaders.

Boss Nass is pleased with the honor and forthrightness of Mando. The Gungans would be glad to receive his assistance and will send his child with the rest to their safe places.

The first part of the defense is to try splicing a droid. Din is surprised to find the code does not seem to have been updated since the (early) Clone Wars (they used to practice on droids recovered from battlefields in the Fighting Corp). Someone was lazy when they churned out these droids.

So now that Din can get into the system, he’s trawling through the orders given to the deployed droids. Looks like it's all handed down through one command/carrier ship. And all the supporting ships are leaving for some reason (saving money on fuel expenses since the planet is mostly subjugated).

Hmmm… that sounds suspiciously exploitable.

Din’s proposed plan to the Gungans is this: they will transport him stealthily to a Droid drop location. There, he will catch a ride back up to the control ship in an empty landing craft when it goes back up to get more Droids. Once on the ship, he will sneak his way to communications and control to sabotage the whole thing, thus shutting down the whole army. Din will then message the Gungans that they are clear to take back the territories the droids captured. 

Din would also like to call dibs on the control ship once the mess is sorted out. It's very spacious and there’s a lot of useful metals and material profits aboard. Plus the droid foundries/repair bays can be refurbished as proper forges. It would be a great boon for his people to have a mobile home base. Or he could sell it for lots and lots of credits. 

As long as their new friend-o isn't going to unleash the droids upon them again, the Gungans don't object, since they don't really leave the planet anyways and thus have no use for the ship (one general does point out having their own spaceforce to keep Outsiders, well, out, would be nice, but overall overruled). 

The plan is a great success. The droid army falls over defunct once Din hits the kill switch (after he's done shooting up the live staff, plus any droid guards in the control hub) and the Gungans take Theed and Viceroy Nute Gunray (plus minions).

Then comes the snag in the plan that wasn't mentioned to Din (the Gungans may have discovered it a little late): the prison camps full of the Naboo. 

Din wasn't even aware there was another sentient race living here. See, he thought that the droid orders for taking prisoners and putting them in camps referred to Gungan cities on the surface (seeing as the species is amphibious), not Human cities.

So the Gungans, they’re not really sure what to do with the Naboo. They may not much like the long-standing colony and want them off the planet, but the abject misery of the camps is not something they are in any way comfortable with. Friend-o, help?! Advice?!

Cue the Sigh.

Din changes all the security measures on the control ship so the Trade Federation can't waltz back in (possibly with upgrades to the software from the future), then hops in a shuttle to hit the dirt again. He takes a look at the camps, then starts handing out orders to stabilize the place, turn them from concentration camps to refugee camps. Also he starts on plans to get them back into their homes. The whole thing isn't that different from when the Tribe helped organize new converts for others after the Purge. Thankfully the people have not been there too long. Not so thankfully, the population was already half starving from the blockade before the droids rounded them up. Good news is the Gungans can provide a lot of emergency food. Mostly in the form of fish.

Then Din gets dragged to Boss Nass's side to help him sort out what to do with the Naboo through a talk with Governor Bibble, who is the highest ranking Naboo left. Apparently the Queen left the planet a few hours before Din shut down the army (although Bibble insists it was to go get aid).

The end agreement is that the Gungans are in charge now (which wasn’t really up for debate). The Naboo can stay if they want to (including keeping their houses/cities), but there are going to be changes in how things are done. Among which is that the planet economy is going to be basically self-contained. The Gungans aren't big on Outsiders and trade, especially when this mess came from the Trade Federation. Obviously that's an issue for the Naboo, who are a majority of artisans exporting their craft. But, there’s not a lot of arguing with how that particular economic quirk has bitten them in the ass over the past few days/week. Especially the fact that they have such a rich and plentiful planet, but are unable to actually feed themselves.

Things get a bit tense with those who had been forming a resistance against the Droid occupiers. However, they are convinced that the Gungans are okay when they get asked to help organize the relief aid, seeing as they had the gumption to help on their own anyways.

Din is begrudgingly made a go-between for the Naboo and Gungans while they are sorting out the initial mess. The Gungans don't have the same priorities as the Naboo, so the Human colonists require the trusted Din to translate the issues. Fortunately, Din isn't entirely out of his element, seeing as he has brokered peace and agreements between non-Human locals and Human colonists, as well as cross-cultural ones, before. The Naboo are thankful for his insights.

Din also takes the chance to try to further his quest to reunite Grogu with his own kind by asking questions about Jedi (and where he might find more Mandalorians, since he's still hoping to get back into the network of coverts). He actually gets a surprising amount of information. Guess he should have tried searching more Core-ward. 

Wait, what year did you say it is?

...kriff. Osikla Jetii magic. Karking time travel. Grumble grumble. 

Still, it seems reuniting Grogu with his kind will be much easier now. After all, he just missed two by a few hours, and they may come back. And maybe, just maybe, he can prevent the Purge from being so devastating to his people. He hasn't a clue how one could stop the Empire from happening.

Anyways, Governor Bibble is stuck between being thankful to the mysterious Mandalorian and hating his guts. Mando has been very helpful in seeing that the Naboo's basic needs are met, but he’s also the reason the Gungans had the opportunity to seize control. The Governor was really hoping the Republic would liberate them, not the Gungans. And Bibble has no guarantees that he will still be Governor for at least Naboo's Human population. He's already seen the Gungans getting on better with the police and guards that remained on the planet. The barbarism.

Now things are still in motion, but it’s a (mostly) peaceful motion as all the traders who were stuck on the planet can now leave, and the Gungans secure Theed's palace. Which includes switching out the locks. Din’s suggestion in case the Trade Federation tries to get cute, like he did for the control ship. Plus securing/moving the fighter craft in the hangar in case the Naboo decide to get petty. Same for the underground power generator, so no one gets cute ideas about detonating it. All things Din assumes the TF would have done if they had a little more time. 

People who intend to stay are moving back into their homes, and those who wish to leave are packing up their private vessels, or bartering for room on someone else's ship.

The palace is also turned into a secondary hospital for the people, taking advantage of how it has the same sort of gear as the actual hospitals.

Boss Nass gets (demands) Bibble's help in declaring the change in Naboo's government/leadership to the proper galactic channels so Outsiders will know they aren't nearly so welcome on Naboo anymore.

The rest of the Trade Federation has no idea what to do about Naboo. The place was (seemingly) chosen because it was the most cost efficient planet to get what they wanted. Quite obviously, this isn’t the case. They’re not willing to bleed more money in a second attempt when they don’t know what went wrong with the first. Even if they don’t have to fight their own commandeered Droid Army, the weapons of a defeated Army are almost certainly arming the populace. Also, the executives left behind are eyeing Gunray’s chair, wondering how comfy it is. None (except for possibly Senator Lott Dodd) know of the Sith involvement. 

So Padme and the Queen’s Entourage arrive at Coruscant, only for Valorum to inform them (and Palps) that he literally just received word from Naboo. They play the message.

Good news! The Trade Federation's blockade/invasion of Naboo has been defeated!

Padme is relieved, and also very confused as to how that happened. They don't have an army. Palps is furious and confused, not that he's showing the fury.

But wait, there’s more! The Gungans (who were the ones to defeat the droids. Kind of. They had help) have claimed the planet/solar system for themselves as the original inhabitants. They have freed the Naboo from the camps and are allowing them to stay, if they wish, though the Gungans wish to withdraw Naboo from the Republic and adopt an isolationism policy.

Now Padme is angry as well. This is a coup! They took advantage of the Trade Federation doing most of the work and then swooped in like carrion feeders! Her people still need her!

Valorum (who has been Padme’s biggest ally since this all started) would like to point out that the Governor they left behind was in the message and attested to the Gungans' fair treatment of the Naboo.

Excuse me?! Was that your people who were released from concentration camps into a new regime? No? Then shut up!

Except they still need to at least try diplomacy, despite the TF having proven to be unreceptive. So Padme just about shoves everyone back on the ship to see to her people's safety and well-being. Palps is ordered to stay behind and continue to drum up support for the Naboo.

The only reason they even delay the tiniest bit is that they have to wait for the Jedi to drop Ani off at their temple, and turn in an abbreviated report. Qui-Gon pushes the drop off job onto Obi-Wan while he writes said report. Obi basically doesn't have time to do more than shove the Sand Brat into dear Bant's fishy arms before he's running off after his Master.

Obi: *shoves Anakin into Bant’s arms* Sorry for the short notice. Please keep an eye on him until Master Jinn and I get back. Anakin, behave. *dashes off*

Bant: *blinks large fish-eyes at child* When was your last check-up?

Ani: *playing with the webbing between her fingers. He's never seen the like before* What’s a "check-up?"

B: When a healer or doctor makes sure you're healthy.

A: Huh. I guess slaves don't need check-ups. We just go to the elders when we get too sick or hurt to work. Or die.

B: *dawning realization/horror that Obi brought home a (hopefully) freed slave child*

Yeah, Ani got left with the responsible adults this time (did Obi even know Ani was a slave before the kid became his Padawan in the original timeline?), and they're going to make sure he is medically ready for the wider galaxy with proper clothes, full meals, and immunizations. And figure out how much mind healing he needs. 

By the way, they have absolutely no clue about the whole “Chosen One” thing. A senior healer (probably Vokara Che) did the midi-chlorian count, which is patient confidential. Besides, Ani is too old to become a Jedi, so he doesn’t need to know (the Council may not even know Ani is in the Temple until after they read Qui-Gon’s report). Maybe some of the Council members even meet him informally, curious as to what the fuss is about.

But back to the Entourage.

They make good time back to Naboo and get (begrudgingly) directed to the palace hanger for their landing. And what should the Queen see when they depart their ship but a Mandalorian (and Gungans) loading one of her royal ships with treasures. This will not stand!

Din is just minding his own business, loading up his new ship with all the gifts from the Gungans for his hard work (the shuttle he rode down in doesn’t have enough room for any gifts, really). Plus gifts from some of the Naboo who are just appreciative of their planet not belonging to the Trade Federation, and his work convincing the Gungans that the Naboo can be okay people (even if the Naboo maybe shouldn't be in charge). Din may not personally need even half of the stuff they’re giving him, but he’s a provider at heart, and this is a lot he can provide his people with (when he finds them).

Suddenly:

Queen: *in royal outrage* What are you doing with my ship?! With the royal treasures?!

Din: *very factual* This is my ship. And I’m leaving.

Not so fast, Mister Mando Man. There needs to be more explanation than that. The Jedi step in to stop Din from boarding the ship. The Gungans don't like this. Neither does Grogu, who whines/cries from the ship's interior. Din's Protective Dad Instincts are triggered. Get out of the way, Jedi! Jinn and Obi were not prepared for the steamrolling Mando Dad. Or a small, crying child.

Baby is happier being held by daddy. The Queen and her escort can't exactly be mad about good (if maybe excessively violent) parenting. They still have unfinished business and lots of questions, however.

The Gungans kindly request that Din delay his departure to help them deal with the Naboo once again. They're not looking to fight the Humans if they don't have to, and he was quite helpful last time.

Din Sighs, and agrees to help. Curse his bleeding heart and morals. Grogu is happy to stick around and eat more frogs (the Gungans agree with his choice of delicacy. Din has given up trying to make the kid spit them out, so long as they don't ask him to eat live frogs).

So everyone sits down at the negotiating table to talk. And for once, the side that brought the Jedi isn't immediately in the position of power.

Now the main argument of the negotiations is who gets to rule the planet. 

Din does not know much about how one would claim a planet, but his impression is that it is generally first come, first serve. Unless you kill or subjugate the previous inhabitants. That's how it generally works for settlers in the Outer Rim. Seeing as the Gungans are native to Naboo, they technically have first claim, like the Tuskens on Tatooine (Din has great respect for both cultures). Except that the Gungans obviously have the unity and means to do away with the outsiders trying to claim their planet.

The Jedi and Naboo leaders with the Queen are not at all fond of the comparison. Especially after what the Queen has witnessed of Tatooine. Her people are not slavers (though the Gungans might be Raiders?). Unfortunately, the Naboo don’t have much of a leg to stand on for these negotiations besides being the former regime. The Naboo have basically no military, the Republic lacks the means or will to re-conquer the planet on her behalf, the Jedi can’t act in any greater capacity than they already are, and Padme has nothing to offer that the Gungans want. That doesn’t mean that the Queen is going to take the change in regime lying down though.

As the negotiations drag out, Din is becoming less and less sure of trying to return/give Grogu to the Jedi. Ahsoka already said she wouldn't teach the babe because of his natural feelings after having a shit 30 years and finally finding someone who cares about him, and Din does not like Jinn's sense of self-importance or the way he treats Obi. Legends background for Obi-Wan has Jinn being basically abusive with all the times he leaves Obi in dangerous situations, or brings home dangerous creatures and expects Obi to just survive it on his own. There has to be visible body language that speaks to this abuse, and being a very conservative Mandalorian, Din knows how to read body language. So Din has increasing doubts about the Jedi's ability to care for their young. 

And yes, it’s probably a biased view, but when you’re going two for two, the odds aren’t looking great.

Din has also heard some concerning rumors from the Gungans about how Boss Nass had a very uncharacteristic change of heart about the Jedi while he talked with them. Din knows that Jedi can speak mind to mind, so was sorcery used on the Gungan head of state? That seems kind of dishonorable, if not outright unsettling. At least Ahsoka threatened her answers out of that one Magistrate like anyone else can.

Also, there is a full banishment from the planet (at minimum) for Jar-Jar for siding with people who aren't acknowledging the Gungan ascendancy. The only reason his banishment was fully revoked last time (and possibly changed to being the Senatorial Junior Representative) is because he did play a critical role in bringing the cold conflict between the Gungans and Naboo to an end. Remember that even then, his first promotion coincidentally nearly got him killed, and the second did send him off-planet. This time, Jar-Jar was palling around with unfriendly Outsiders, so banishment reinstated. His little heart be broken.

So Padme doesn’t get much of anything out of the negotiations besides the ability to keep Jar-Jar and the opportunity to clear out her personal effects if she’s so against the changes to Naboo as to refuse to stay. Padme’s family leaves Naboo with her (the only relevance is that they can’t tell Padme how the Gungans run the planet). Oh, and she can have Viceroy Nute Gunray, if she wants. The Gungans were reaching the point where they were going to execute him so that he’d stop taking up resources (and stop making empty threats and bribes), but if you want to take him off their hands, fine, whatever. 

The Jedi and Padme would very much like to take Gunray off the Gungans’ hands so that the guy can stand trial for the invasion, and implicate the Trade Federation in an act of war against a fellow member system of the Republic with the intent to conquer.

Meanwhile, Maul, who was on his way to Naboo anyways, was retasked by Sidious to eliminate Gunray and his aids on the off chance that the toady would spill the beans. Though the best case scenario would be springing Gunray and his closest people, since they are the only ones who are giving Sidious access to the highest levels of the TF. Without them, Palps can’t initiate a round two.  

Problem: Maul can’t find him. You see, Gunray got deported to an underwater facility (on Din’s suggestion) to cut off/minimize the Viceroy’s chances of either contacting the rest of the Trade Federation or getting sprung/assassinated by TF hired personnel. Maul doesn’t even lay eyes on the Viceroy until a ship comes out of the water to deliver the Neimoidian into the Republic’s custody (via the Jedi and Queen’s guards). There’s no opening to quietly kill the man per Maul’s master’s orders. So he ends up tailing the group back to Coruscant.

And during all of that, Palps is busy trying to rework the Grand Plan. He is still determined to be the Sith that destroys the Jedi and creates a new Sith Empire (which he will rule over as an immortal demigod), so he will not scrap the work he’s done and leave it to the next generation(s).

Including Plagueis is optional. Main-canon says he died when Maul was apprenticed, Legends that he died the night before Palps was elected Chancellor. 

Anyways, Palps was not expecting the primitive Gungans to successfully repel the Trade Federation. Now Naboo is going to secede from the Republic in a peaceful event, which will encourage other governments to do so before he has properly put his puppets into play, or set the stage for the Republic to violently attempt preventing any secessions. He can’t even use Naboo as a symbol or rally point  for the failings of the Republic, as Gungan Naboo went neutral with no outcry against the Republic. Oh, and he put a lot of political capital into making sure he would be elected to his senatorial position, and has summarily lost a lot of his standing alongside his home planet. Even if he fulfilled his current term as the senator for his sector, his chances at re-election with his homeworld having seceded are ridiculously low. 

He does manage to retain his “friendship” with Valorum though.

Meanwhile, Valorum is using Naboo's sudden upheaval, and how the Republic failed to help the Human Naboo’s regime at all, to get enough support to start revamping the Republic to genuinely address concerns by the Outer and Mid Rim worlds. After all, it’s just sad that one lone man did more for an entire planet than a galactic power. The Senate is made to feel duly ashamed by their Chancellor, who at least attempted to send help in the form of his Jedi pal (and said pal’s Padawan). Other reformers are firmly behind Valorum, and the various scandals engineered against him by Palpatine are quickly forgotten.

As for Padme, she gets back to Coruscant as the leader of an exiled regime, with Gunray as her prisoner. Gunray goes into the prison/justice system to be tried for his crimes, while the TF do what they can to get him out since they don’t want to lose any more face because of him (and possible pressure from Sidious). Valorum is doing his best to see the man face severe convictions, and hopefully break up the TF’s monopolies.

Padme herself isn’t sure of where she can go with her home taken over. Lucky her, Onderon is willing to take in any Naboo “refugees” (the Gungans didn’t force them to leave or threaten their very lives. It was all very voluntary). Padme can meet Mina Bonterri in this time, if she doesn’t already know the woman. Alderaan also offers assistance in sentient (humanitarian) aid and to investigate the TF, keep them from trying this again.

Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan return to the Temple to learn that Anakin has been accepted as a Jedi Initiate. Specifically under the guidance of the maverick (and Obi’s crechemate) Quinlan Vos.

Yes, that Vos.

Why Vos? He just got back from Tatooine and his undercover job there. He was not expecting the surprise of finding a former slave he recognizes being taken care of by his and Obi-Wan's other crechemates. As one of Obi’s friends, he feels he has to take the kid under his wing. Because Vos has perspective that Qui-Gon lacks on being a slave (not personal, like Obi’s stint on Bandomeer, but Vos is hella more aware of that misery than Jinn). Plus the Kiffar has his own temper and issues he has had to master. So Vos makes Anakin’s case to the Jedi Council. Particularly how letting a Force Sensitive as powerful as this kid is with that much baggage (because all slaves have lots of baggage) loose on the galaxy is begging for trouble down the road. Especially since Anakin, bright kid that he is, has by now figured out he has the Force, meaning he’s likely to start experimenting without proper adult supervision, or any warnings about why that is a Bad Idea. If they’re so concerned about him going Dark, shouldn’t they be welcoming him into the Light of the Jedi? Also, for the small price of freeing Ani’s mom from slavery, they can preempt quite a few issues. The kid doesn’t have to know where his mom went with her freedom, just that she’s free and happy. And possibly the occasional censored-for-location letter to reassure him to curtail his fear, guilt, anger, etc. based around her.

Since this is all coming from maverick Vos, who has mastered his own emotional issues, works his maverick magic by bending/creatively applying the rules rather than outright breaking them, and just finished Knighting his first Padawan, Aayla Secura (who is the model of being a proper Jedi), the Council are actually listening. Plus Quinlan’s own Master, Tholme, is still active, highly respected, and happy to help. Unlike Qui-Gon’s canon spiel of “Chosen One, I must train him!” his outright disregard for the rules, spotty record for Padawan raising, and absent Master.

Vos has worked with the rest of the Obi Friend Crew to make a Plan for this kid, so he’s got the whole thing figured out, his arguments prepared, before he hits up the Council. Which includes observations and opinions from some other Jedi who have interacted with Ani, all of whom are respected individuals themselves. They aren’t going to let Obi down in his request for them to look after the Sand Brat. And because Vos is a little crazy, he bluntly tells Ani that at least part of his reason for helping out so much is revenge against Jinn for not Knighting Obi months ago, especially when he’s pretty sure Jinn is going to unceremoniously dump Obi for Ani. Ani agrees that it’s a dick move. Vos is also sure to tell Ani that the bigger reason he’s helping out is because Ani deserves help and has the potential to be great (but probably not under Qui-Gon’s tutelage).

Cue hijinks as Qui-Gon learns the Council approved the maverick they actually like (better than Qui-Gon anyways) getting to be Anakin's Jedi Teacher (NOT Master! That is a bad term for those raised in slavery!), and Vos teasing the elder Jedi about the wonders of actually following proper procedure to your own benefit. Qui-Gon is not amused. Even less so when Vos keeps coming up with absurd excuses to keep the man away from Ani.

Obi-Wan worries until he meets the surprisingly well-adjusted Aayla, who has taken a big sister role to Ani. She and Vos encourage Obi (who does get Knighted somewhere in there) to be like an uncle to Ani, mostly by dumping the Sand Brat on him for babysitting duties. Ani likes his Uncle Obi. It is nice to have a cup of tea after the chaos whirlwind that is Vos. Obi is a more subtle version of chaos.

Also, Vos has a proper Lineage to rely on in Tholme. Plus both of their work as Shadows means that they are very aware of the importance of mental health, especially in preventing Falling. Vos may have started a campaign to use Ani to get Obi into therapy (possibly by running parallels to their time spent as slaves).

Anakin also goes completely unnoticed by Palpatine, especially since Quinlan is careful to ensure any mess they get into that is overly public is attributed to himself. For the kid’s own protection. Ani doesn’t need, or know how to handle, the spotlight. 

Qui-Gon is still worried about the Sith (since he did still encounter Maul on Tatooine), but without further proof, the Council is dismissive of his concerns. It was ‘merely’ another Dark Side User who found an old lightsaber. Some Jedi privately agree with Qui-Gon, but they're not finding any more clues of substance.

As for Din (and Grogu), he’s got a giant Lucrehulk-class ship (one which he can pilot with the help of a handful of the *shudder* droids aboard it),  that he intends to stuff with as many Mandalorians as are willing, thus creating a mobile covert. Plus he’s talked it out with the Gungans to acquire land for a Mandalorian settlement on Naboo. His people don’t need to own a whole planet, just a nice corner to safely raise ade. The Gungans are glad to support their fellow warriors and the people of their Shiny Friend-o. It doesn’t hurt that Din made the agreement terms along the line of, “We get land here by your grace, so if we abuse your hospitality, you have the right to evict us.” And Din’s also looking into other planets to set up coverts or open settlements on (Sorgan? Nevarro? Probably not Trask. Or Tatooine, unless they want to depose the Hutts). Variety and more bolt holes will help ensure his people’s survival. Survival is our strength. This is the Way.

Din, of course, has Force blessed/cursed timing, and shows up in the Mandalore sector with his giant ship just as the New Mandalorians are finishing up the exile of the warriors. What a convenient ride out of the system for them. And the guy who owns the ship has some excellent (if vague) plans to see their culture continue to grow and thrive.

The new arrivals to the Lucrehulk (Din has no naming sense for ships. Razor Crest was both the model and name of his ship) are all welcomed aboard by Din in person. As they get underway, Din also has to direct the many Mandos to supplies and quarters, since it is his ship (and he spent his previous travel time figuring things out and organizing). Basically, if they have questions about the ship and amenities, they go find Din. There’s also a fair bit of Din breaking up conflicts between Clans because a) it’s his ship, so “captain’s” duties and all that, b) the story of how he got them a place to live on Naboo proves Din has negotiating chops/lots of patience, and c) he is entirely neutral, being from a Tribe and a new clan. The fact that Din does all this with long-suffering grace while also looking after his own chaotic little bundle of happiness gains the other Mandalorains’ respect and regard.

The Duchess Satine Kryze and her government would like the galaxy to know that those armored barbarians have nothing to do with the civilized New Mandalorian government. The galaxy would like to point out that extraditing/exporting warriors so that you can have your pacifism is not a good look. It just makes them mercenaries looking for a job/home. And they’ve openly moved to a peaceful planet without starting a war/bloodbath (even if one did help semi-overthrow the previous government). You could have just kept them.

(The warriors do have plans to discreetly return to mine for more beskar. The New Mandalorians aren’t doing anything productive with it)

Padme is not thrilled, at all, to learn of the new Mandalorian settlement on her planet months to a year after being exiled herself. Any rebellion/resistance her people might try there is doomed to failure if those top-notch hunters and warriors continue to side with the Gungans. Worse, they are subsuming some of her people into their culture. It’s only later that she realizes/is informed that the Naboo covert is mainly families and children. Apparently, they are in the habit of adopting stray children at the drop of a hat (she may have run into a group collecting orphans off the streets of Coruscant. And accused them of kidnapping. The kids were quick to defend their rescuers/Finders), and like Naboo for raising the kids. It is one of the Mandalorian Orthodoxy’s most stable holdings.

The Lucrehulk continues to play the role of a mobile covert and arc of mass-exodus. It brings the Way to distant corners of the galaxy for those with the courage to walk it.

At this point, Din has his own gunship (small freighter?) to Find children/people in and do jobs with so that he can provide for his people. He leaves Grogu at the Naboo covert regularly for lessons with the Ka’ra Touched armorers (what can I say? I love me some Force Sensitive armorers), and because Grogu enjoys the Gungan dishes (frogs. All the frogs). The bean (and his dad) is basically a celebrity to the Gungan children now (and some of the adults too). 

Since the Mandalorians are gaining traction in the galaxy, Palps decides they will be his mode of vengeance/attack. Of course he has many different plans and contingencies, but the bulk of them are formed around the same general idea.

He hires Jango as the template for the Clone Army, with the understanding that one day these Clones will be used to tear down the Republic that sent the Jedi after the Haat’mando’ade on Galidraan (Palps may provide records of the intelligence the Senate gave the Jedi to act on), as well as the Jedi themselves. The fat paycheck doesn’t hurt either. Or the child(ren) he’d always wanted for himself. 

See, the Clones are going to be raised full Mando this time for the Separatists as a Secret Mandalorian Army. So Jango collects up his Cuy'val Dar to help him raise his army of children.

Meanwhile, Sidious sends Apprentice Maul out into the galaxy to build up a reputation the Mandalorians can appreciate before infiltrating their ranks. The idea is that Maul will fake becoming Mando and eventually take the position of Mand'alor to lead them in the coming war. Also to smooth over the entry of Jango's Fett Family Army. Maul needs the traceable backstory so the Mandalorians will think he is a respectable warrior they want to follow, and not realize he is a Sith trying to leash them.

And now Palps brings in fiery, charismatic, and brilliant idealist Padme. He takes Jango with him as a (fake) Mandalorian representative to propose the Separatist Movement with the Mandalorians acting as a counterbalance to the Republic’s reliance on Jedi. Everyone knows Mandalorians are good to their word/contracts, and have the skill/power to fight the Jedi. While Padme is reluctant to take help from the kind of people who saw to the exile of her regime, she can also acknowledge that “Mando” was one greedy man, and not the whole culture. But she doesn’t ever want to see Mando again. Palps is happy to agree, as he intends for Maul to kill the busybody anyways when his apprentice takes the Mandalorian throne.

To be clear, Padme has the skewed perspective of Din silently stonewalling her (he doesn’t know how to deal with royalty, much less upset royalty. It’s his nature to clam up when things get awkward anyways) and complicit in Naboo returning to the Gungans for an absurd sum (she doesn’t know it was all gifted and not used solely for himself). Her image of him is “cold-hearted mercenary, except to his kid.”

Quick aside: this whole time Din has not provided his name to much of anyone. The few he has given it to are so honored they refuse to tell anyone else. 

So nobody can figure out who he is. The search isn’t helped by the general assumption that someone as skillful as Mando would have played a noticeable role in the recent Mandalorian Civil War.

Jinn and Obi were sent to Mandalore (after the mass warrior exodus. The Senate demands that something is seen being done about that sudden issue of Mandalorians) to find out who this new influential player is, but are continually frustrated by their inability to find anything at all about Mando in Mandalore’s records. Palps isn't much happier about this powerful stranger springing up out of nowhere with no history either. 

And Din still never shows his face, so they don’t even have what he actually looks like to help their search. They don’t even know what species he is under the helmet besides “very humanoid.” And while there is some precedent for a Mandalorian who won’t remove their helmet in some small, ultra-orthodox offshoot from the main culture, there’s also very little record of this offshoot, besides the fact that they don’t generally get involved or even seen in tumultuous times. Din is creating tumultuous times (by accident, not that they know that). 

Attempts to raise suspicions about Din due to his mysterious origins (thus garnering even more investigators who would inevitably turn up something eventually) fall flat as the Mandalorians love him. Only the armorers know of Din and Grogu’s origin, and they see no reason to share this with others.

Anyways, Palps also tells Padme that he has the funds and could find more investors for the Movement. He provides some lie about finding illegal, off-world funds that the previous King of Naboo had squirreled away before he got ousted that were recently found when looking over the government-in-exile’s resources. Those funds work as proof of their resources, which will allow him to discreetly find other backers. He even has a few in mind already. Padme trusts Palps, and really, really wants to have this new government that will be better than the Republic. She wants to believe. …And Palps is subtly manipulating her to be more receptive to the idea.

Dooku (who Palps has led down the Dark path) supports the younger, charismatic Padme as the leader (figurehead) for the Confederacy. Padme is glad for Dooku’s support as he is already a planetary leader of a wealthy world who acts like the perfect head-of-state Padme wishes to be for her own people. He will, of course, be one of her close advisors, along with Palps.

Neither Maul nor Dooku are aware of each other. Especially since Maul has very little contact with his Master as he builds his Mando-approval reputation.

To the dismay of both Palps and Dooku though, Padme is keeping Jar-Jar around as an assistant since she feels she owes him. His simple kindness takes the edge off of the ache of her exile.

On the Republic side, Palps continues to play a loyal senator for the length of his term, and then becomes an advisor to Valorum. Claims that despite the regrettable, if tragically understandable, actions of his former protégé, he remains a firm believer in the Republic and democracy. 

And he has concerns, good Chancellor, about all these secessions. You know my history, the history of my planet, and yet I feel I must suggest that we create a Droid Army. Not that there’s a war to be fought (yet. Mwahahaha), but as an emergency, disposable force for when a volunteer defense force cannot act. If we involve the good Jedi, surely this mechanical might can’t be abused the way the Trade Federation did? We can even recycle materials to make the droids!

What’s really going on is this: Sidious has the corporations in his pocket exporting more and more materials/resources from the Rim into the Core, which drives more worlds to secede from this oppression while stockpiling the resources needed to make the Droid Army. It’s not always immediately sent to droid foundries, but it’s out of the Rim and in a place where Core manufacturers will be able to reach it later when they need it to keep the war machine going. The Jedi will get to inspect/design the early droid’s programming, but once the war is on (and the Jedi are distracted), Sidious is going to start reprogramming/making additions to the Army. The Order 66 type of “additions.”

Valorum is a good man who wants the galaxy to be a safe place (and has unwavering faith in the Jedi), and Palps is a manipulative bastard. The production of the Droid Army begins, with ol’ Palps having a major role in overseeing it. 

Though there is less war industry (tanks and ships, new armaments) on both sides as it’s harder for Palps to convince Valorum to invest in that, and he does need the sides roughly equal.

As for the war itself, Palps intends for it to start with the Mandalorians performing a blitzkrieg attack against the Republic to devastating effect, so the Republic will give up on the volunteer defense force/army as insufficient and switch to the Droid Army, and bolstering that force with the Core’s industrial might. The how of which is written out in excellent detail in some “contingency” plans. The Mandalorian skill and initial victories would keep the war balanced, much like how the canon CIS’s numbers and initial victories did. 

Also, to make matters worse, resource-rich planets are going to be stripped once they are taken in the war to fuel the Droid Army. It would be presented as an idea of “more aggressive mining” of captured worlds, but the reality would be full-on strip mining. This of course, then fuels the Separatists' howls for the defeat of the corrupt Republic. And the Jedi won’t be able to do anything about this as they will be too busy manning the frontlines and getting pushed around by the Senate.

But for now, Padme believes that Palps is acting as a mole within the Republic, feeding her key information (including details which just might be handy if a war began. Not that it’s going to happen, but those nice little tidbits are there).

Unfortunately for Palps, the years throw some unexpected snags in his plan.

Problem One: Valorum is still functional in the Senate and cracking down on corruption. 

His favorite Jedi, Qui-Gon, is often sent out to handle corporate corruption in the Rim. Jinn is regularly skirting (and breaking) the law to get dirt on the people running those shows, to the complicit senators and corporations’ anger. They don’t get long to be mad though, as the investigations into their wrongdoings are quick to follow. Jinn and Valorum are enjoying the chaos they spread, even as they give the Jedi High Council a collective migraine.

Part of that migraine is how Jinn brings back lots of hard evidence about the Jedi’s failures to help the Republic’s Rim worlds (alongside his friend the Chancellor supporting him). So they have the headache of trying to change centuries of tradition, which they only undertake in small, small steps. But those steps really are showing to be in the right direction. 

And more bad news for Palps, Qui-Gon is still sniffing around for hints of the Sith.

Which isn’t helped by the encounters between Dooku and Jinn. They didn’t part on good terms, but you can’t easily erase years of being basically a parent and child, so there’s still some fondness there, buried real deep down. Which makes Qui-Gon an obvious choice for Darth Tyranus’s Apprentice should he decide to throw out the Rule of Two or overthrow Sidious. Neither of which makes Sidious happy (or much of anyone else).

This, of course, messes with Palps’s Grand Plan. It can’t stop The Plan, but it does slow things down and divert resources to work around them.

Time for the assassins.

They are having issues getting Jinn to just kriffing die already. The man has nine lives. Strangely enough, the one time they almost killed the tall bastard, Padme saved his life.

Jar-Jar also fails to die during the attempts, which both Palps and Dooku were deeply hoping to happen for more... personal reasons. 

Valorum, unfortunately, does die. Bail Organa takes his place as Chancellor though, after surviving the attack that took Valorum’s life (Bail was supposed to die too, clear the way for Palps or one of his puppets to be Chancellor, but Obi, Vos, and Ani got Bail out alive). And while Palps maintains his position as a fairly close advisor, Bail is hella more wary of the Droid Army. Also, he’s not giving up the fight against corruption and continues to throw Jinn at the problem (much to the Council’s suffering). 

Palps is frustrated by his inability to clear a path for himself to the Chancellorship without making it obvious someone is clearing the way for him. Because to truly kill democracy, he must trick the dull-witted commoners into doing it for him. Outright conquest always inevitably failed the Sith of old, and Palps will not fail. 

Vos and Anakin are also making major headway against corruption on Coruscant. Without Sidious’ corrupting influence, or his canon insecurities, the Force is really helping guide Anakin, and he is an excellent investigator despite still being in his early-mid-teens. In fact, they are so successful that Vos is having to arrange other Jedi to take credit to divert suspicion. 

Problem Two: Maul’s infiltration backfires.

It’s not that Maul doesn’t make his way into the Mandalorian Orthodoxy, he does. 

It’s not even that he doesn’t have a chance at becoming Mand’alor. The guy who supposedly has the position doesn’t claim it.

Yeah, Din does not know that he is basically the Mand’alor. It was a pretty unanimous decision by the Clans and Tribes. And no one thought to tell Din about this. They just assumed he knew. 

Din doesn’t. He just assumed the armorers had control. People just come to him with problems sometimes, and he fixes them as best he can. Due to the gradual escalation of this, Din hasn’t really taken the time to step back and notice the scale of the problems he’s presented with, such as how he started with keeping Clans from killing each other on the Lucrehulk to more recently helping a Clan save a ton of Foundlings from a world stuck in a civil war (and possibly ended that civil war, by accident). So, you know, things are working smoothly, thus he feels no need to question who is in charge. Din just doesn’t do Politics.

Maul is so confused when he finds this out. Does the man not desire power? How can that be?! Only Jedi, brainwashed as babes, are supposed to be like this! 

No, the issue is that Maul actually becomes a part of the Mandalorian Orthodoxy.

When he shows up to begin his training before the Mandalorians allow him to take his verd’goten and swear the Creed, Maul is blissfully unaware that the Mandalorians have their own traditions for Force Users. They (generally) become the armorers. So the armorer Maul reports to notes the darkness of his presence in the Force pretty damn quickly. So before Maul’s trials, they send him on a quest to face his fears and anger. The quest leads Maul to Dathomir to fell the Nightsisters and free his brothers (and the rest of the Nightbrothers). Feral and Savage end up walking the Way of the Mandalore with their brother, though unlike Maul who stands proud as a warrior (and possibly Alor of the Nightbrother Clan), they become armorers.

Sidious’s lack of knowledge about Mandalorian Force traditions bit him in the ass, hard.

Problem Three: Jango changes his mind about sending his army of children into a war.

Jango was kind of stuck on Kamino for the first couple of years (can be up to five or so), raising his many, many, many boys. Remember that this time the Clones are to be raised as Mandalorians, not disposable soldiers. Which means Jango cannot compartmentalize his emotions away when family is a big thing to Mandalorians. Between that distraction and Kamino's limited Holonet access, Jango's not too aware of the going-ons of the wider galaxy. So when he finally got back into the galaxy for a nice hunt is when Jango finds out about the Mandalorian Orthodoxy (they were barely starting when he settled in to have the city population family). It takes the ex-Mand’alor a while to satisfy his curiosity about them, but when he does, he realizes that he does not want to inadvertently drag those of his old people that hold to the Creed into a needless war. Hell, during all his parenting, Jango had half forgotten that he’d agreed to having kids for a war. That just won’t do.

So Jango and his co-parents (and maybe the kids) take over Tipoca City (and maybe all of Kamino). The Clones already in development will be seen decanted, but no more will be made. They’ve already got enough mouths to feed.

And the Final Problem: Din (accidentally) collects all the pieces to reveal the Sith plot.

Jango: *shows up at Din’s door with Boba on his hip* I need to speak with you.

Din: That’s a cute kid. Can I hold him?

J: …Uh, sure. So the kind of problem is that I have a million more like him.

D: Wut?

J: *proceeds to explain how he has many, many, many Clone children* And all these years as a buir have changed my mind about handing my ade over to fight aruetiise’s wars. I mean, I still low-key hate the Republic, but I have to think about my ade, you know?

D: *has been realizing that this was probably once the Republic’s Clone Army* …yeah. I’ll talk with all the gorane I know, see if we already have a covert that can fit you all, or if Aliit Fett will need to start your own and where we can place it. And possibly more vode to help you raise them all. Claiming your current planet-of-residence is also an option. It would serve those slavers right.

J: *close to tears of joy for his many, many, many children* Vor’entye.

D: N’entye. Children are the future. This is the Way.

And as Din is getting up to go start making calls while Jango watches Boba and Grogu (and any other kids Din may have adopted over the years) play, Maul comes bursting in, fresh from his verd’goten.

Maul: Mand’alor!

Din: *deadpan reminder* I’m not the Mand’alor.

M: *gives Din the stink eye over not accepting his title and rightful power*

Jango: *is very confused. Every Mando’ad he asked pointed him towards this exact Mandalorian when he asked about the Mand’alor *

M: ‘Alor, there’s something I must tell you. *proceeds to explain the original plan for him to usurp Din and bring Jango’s Clone Army into the fold for the Sith Grand Plan*

J: *is kind of horrified by all the dar’jetii manipulation and so glad he changed his mind to give his boys the freedom to choose their own path*

D: *sighs* …dank farrick. This is above my pay grade.

J&M: You’re the Mand’alor.

D: *possibly whining* I am not. I am a beroya and a buir. I go to the gorane for guidance all the time.

M: *as an aside to Jango* They’re his Council of Advisors.

D: *grumble grumble*

So Din is stuck having to sort out this karking mess. 

Obviously, the first thing to do is call the gorane (-his Council. -Shut up, Maul!). They’ve got a few ideas for housing Aliit Fett, though it’s going to take a little while. In the meantime, you should take Jango to talk with the Confederacy the ade were promised to defend, Mand’alor (-I’m not the Mand’alor! -Yes, yes, as you say, Mand’alor. -*angry noises*). 

Maul volunteers to go with since at the very least there will be Sith acolytes/supporters hanging around the Confederacy to make sure The Plan is proceeding accordingly. Sure, whatever, Din would like to get going before his annoying shadows catch on (-they’re your bodyguards. -I don’t need bodyguards. -You’re the Mand’alor! -I am not!). They don’t manage to ditch all of the “shadows.”

Din, Jango, Maul, and a few more Mandalorians roll up to the Confederacy of Independent System’s HQ to talk with President Amidala. Din feels like he’s heard that name before (he’s not the Mand’alor, he doesn’t keep up with politics, because he doesn’t need to). The Mandalorian Orthodoxy party makes it to the President’s office (they may have bypassed security so they could keep their weapons. Weapons are a part of their religion). Padme blows a fuse when her nemesis, the Mando Without a Name, walks through the door.

Padme: Representative Fett, I thought I made it clear I would not deal with this cretin. *points at Din*

Jango: Wait, wait, wait. You meant the Mand’alor, leader of the Mandalorian people, when you told me about that?

Din: I’m not the Mand’alor.

Mandalorian Orthodoxy Members: *long suffering sighs about their leader’s refusal to accept his title*

D: I’m here to babysit. Alor Fett and Verd Maul want to talk with you.

J&M: Babysit?!

This shit show is not at all what Padme expected out of the Mando that haunted her memories, taking away her home planet.

Anyways! While Padme is not excited to hear that she won’t have the defense force Jango had originally helped promise her, she can definitely understand why it’s being withdrawn. The Sith Plan that Maul provides the broad strokes of isn’t good news either. Though it does shed some light on a number of odd policies and actions that have gone through over the years, both in the Confederacy and the Republic. She also does not want to believe what they are saying about Palpatine, but lots of little things are coming together about him as well. Plus Padme’s handmaidens/bodyguards have had their quiet doubts as well. But until proven otherwise, Padme believes Palps is a tragic pawn of this Plan himself 

Regardless, they obviously need to do something about this. 

Unfortunately, this is about the time that Dooku comes into the office, only to find all these Mandalorians, including Fett, there. Seeing as no weapons are drawn, and Padme is peacefully talking to a man she is supposed to hate, this can only mean bad things for The Plan.

Time to kill the people involved and pin the blame on someone else. Preferably the Republic. Or the Jedi.

Secretary/assassin Asajj Ventress is called in to help her Master. Too bad for the Dark duo, Mandos are pretty good at fighting Force Users. Not to mention that Jango has killed six, count them, six Jedi barehanded and Maul is a powerful Force User himself who’s familiar with Sith techniques. Jango’s pretty pleased to get to kill one of the Jedi from Galidraan. He still managed to get a little more revenge out of this gig. Meanwhile, Maul manages to disarm and knock out Asajj. He will bring her to the armorers so that they might help her purge her darkness, as they did for him. He may have heard of some of her childhood history during his time revisiting Dathomir. Or notices her to only have the skills of an Apprentice, and thus still be salvageable.

So that was a thing. 

Padme would very much like to bring this mess to the attention of the Jedi and Republic, since neither Dooku nor Asajj were the one to hire Jango or apprentice Maul. Would you gentlemen please come with me? Din would like to go home now, this sounds like a Politics problem. Sorry, Mand’alor, you need to finish what you started. Dank farrick.

Off to the Jedi Temple with our heroes!

They get directed to/intercepted by Master Vos, who’s been finding a lot of strange puzzle pieces with the help of his highly Force Sensitive/guided Padawan, Ani (who is happy to see his Angel again, but isn’t quite so forward in his attentions since he’s spent less time with Obi the Flirt. And Vos made sure to mentally scar him with The Talk so that he wouldn’t have to deal with hormonal teen years as much). Turns out Padme has more pieces for the puzzle, and the Mandalorians have the framework. The picture made is that Palps is a Sith who is planning a galactic war. 

That is so much No.

They take their Picture of No to the Council and Chancellor Organa. It’s time to do away with the Sith Lord.

Since Palps would rather watch the galaxy burn than let anyone else rule it, he unleashes the Droid Army when they come to arrest/kill him (Mandalorian justice dictates the man should die. They may not have communicated this with the peaceful Jedi, Alderaanian, and Naboo). So once Palps is dealt with (probably dead by either Ani or Din’s hand. Depends on if you want to pay service to the Prophecy), the Jedi are being sent out to counter the Droids (let’s assume there was no counter-order or way to cancel the order since this was an endgame, wipe the board clean contingency) while the Mandalorians are being rallied from their many settlements. 

The Clankers never stood a chance. Din is particularly vicious in destroying them. He has issues.

For the aftermath:

Bail makes all of the manipulations and conspiring public, both to justify/explain what happened and to help ram home even more reforms so it won’t/can’t happen again. Many worlds start to rejoin the Republic with The Plan revealed to be the cause of their issues with that government. It also doesn’t hurt that the member worlds (finally) start getting more benefits just for being actual members, instead of just lip service.

Padme renounces her feud, and returns home to Naboo. Revenge has gotten her nowhere, and she’s been away for too long as it is. Padme is surprised to discover life there is nowhere near as bad as she feared. Honestly, the Gungans are barely enforcing any rules upon the surface dwellers besides the planetary self-sustaining/isolationism policy. And given the mess that was recent galactic politics, it’s nice to know they won’t touch her world.

Ani may stop by to visit her occasionally. And they can have a more normal romance of actually getting to know each other before getting hitched. He’s much more stable without Palps’s interference in his teenage years, and Vos’s insistence on taking proper care of his mental health. Or they remain single/start seeing other people. Truthfully, they don’t even have to be friends or acquaintances.

Jango gets a settlement for his many, many, many children. And a couple hundred more caretakers. He may be regularly fighting off people who want to be buire to his children instead of bavodue. Jango’s also not sure how to feel about some of his many, many, many sons deciding they want to work in the Jedi Temple.

Maul begins Clan Ca’vod, which consists of the survivors of Dathomir. Asajj helps him run the Clan, her stint as an assassin undercover as a secretary proves useful in organizing things. Their clan boasts an unusually high number of Force Sensitives due to Dathomir’s Force traditions, and there are a lot of (attempts at) poaching clan members to be armorers elsewhere.

And Din goes home to cuddle his son and continue his denial of being the Man in Charge. The denial gets harder when Pre Vizsla shows up to challenge him with the Darksaber and Din wins. He didn’t think the fancy Jetii’kad meant anything, and now everyone’s saying it makes him the rightful ruler of Mandalore beyond what the Clan and Tribe votes did. Din just wants to cuddle (his) children and provide for his people, stop asking him to do Politics! They don’t, because his attempts to abstain (somehow) lead to really good policies and decisions. Din is so done with it.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

Chapter Text

“Ah, Jedi Teacher Vos,” smiled Yoda. “What for us, do you have?”

There had been a little initial contention over Quinlan changing his title so Anakin was not calling him ‘Master.’ While some traditionalists had balked at the man not being shown the proper respect, Yoda had chuckled, and suggested ‘Jedi Learner,’ as they were all still learning, hmmm? 

Thankfully, Aayla, Force blessed as she was, had recommended they ask Anakin for what he was comfortable with. 

“Well, Masters,” he began a touch nervously, fiddling with the stack of datapads in his hands. And if the Shadow was letting them see it, then it must be serious.

“Has Skywalker done something wrong?” Jedi Master Even Piell said sharply.

Quinlan’s expression and posture shifted into the very image of a perfectly composed and emotionally controlled Jedi. “Not at all, Masters.”

They all knew this was his equivalent of cursing vehemently at them.

“As I recall,” Mace Windu smoothly said, “you were investigating gang activity in the lower levels.”

“Yes, Master Windu,” said Quinlan, relaxing a fraction into what they knew was respect. “Good practice for the little Sand Rat, I figured. Scope out a minor one that’s mostly jumped up teens, so nothing too serious for him just yet. Except, well, we got lucky.” 

Jedi knew there was no such thing as ‘luck.’

“One of them got into an accident or something, and everyone left their little hidey-hole to go check it out. Only ones left to watch it were too spiced out of their minds to notice if I went right up to them. Figure the others didn’t realize how bad off they were. So we got a look around, and got enough to give to the cops to round ‘em all up. Only Anakin happened to notice something was off about a wall, and found a hidden safe, and then figured out how to cheat the electronic lock to get it open. And what do we find but evidence they’ve got dealings with a senator? Using a minor gang to feed his addiction for spice and minors so it would be less likely to be noticed.”

Despite their own self-control, none of the Jedi found shame in showing their distaste at the mention of minors. Doubtless it would fall to Yoda to sort out who got to volunteer for the senator and gangsters’ arrests.

“Anakin played around with my datapad and the evidence, and we left copies for them, and took off with the original records.”

“That is very good of Skywalker,” conceded Ki-Adi-Mundi. “But it does not explain your presence here.”

“Yeah, well,” Quinlan hefted up a datapad. “That’s my first report for the afternoon. See, the gangsters were heading back, so Anakin led me out a window. Took a roundabout route, while I felt something was off. Touched about, and found evidence of a murder. We looked around some more, and discovered signs a body had been disposed of in an abandoned building, but I got enough for a trail, and it led us back to another senator.”

The attention of the Jedi Council was practically boring into him now. Two corrupt senators in an afternoon?

“Now getting away from the scene of this one wasn’t so easy. But Anakin grabbed us a ride, and flew us off. Oh, don’t give me those looks. We all know he’s already a better pilot than me. Anyways, to get away he did cost me a few years of my life with this daredevil stunt and, eh, you can read it in my report,” he hefted up a third datapad, “but I don’t recommend eating while you do so. The point is, he stashed us in a back-alley, where I literally tripped and fell over more evidence— ”

“Master Vos,” cut in Windu. “How many senators are you bringing us evidence against from today’s excursion? Eight?” 

That was how many datapads the man was holding.

“No. Thirteen.”

A tense silence fell. 

This was... nearly unheard of. The sort of tales Jedi investigators dreamed of, even if it was further proof of how bad the Senate had become. Especially since it was quite plausible those politicians would sell out more in hopes of lighter sentences.

“What do you need of us?” asked Jedi Master Depa Billaba.

“We all know I’m good, but not that good. It was all Anakin. 

“And I can’t let all of this get connected back to the kid. The only thing worse than the officials not taking what we’ve found seriously, is if they do believe he helped me find it all. It’s too much for him at that age. People all over will be keeping too close an eye on him afterwards, especially when the journalists get word of it. I’m hoping you can find other Jedi to take credit for it.”

It would seem the Council had found its next source of migraines. At least this one wasn’t likely to revel in the ability to provide them with more problems. Now they just needed to come up with a rotating list to attribute the migraine’s actions to. Because migraine though he might be, Anakin Skywalker was still a child in their care, and they would not throw him to the howlrunners.   

“You know,” said Bilaba with a teasing smile, “I do believe this means you’ve beaten Qui-Gon’s record for senatorial arrests in one day. As well as his tally for the last two months.” 

A Jedi doesn’t fist-pump, a Jedi doesn’t fist-pump, Quinlan reminded himself while trying to lock down his mental shields so not even a whisper of his emotions got out. 

Yoda still cackled.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Din, Grogu, and Cara suddenly find themselves on an Imperial Star Destroyer. And not just any Star Destroyer, oh no. This is the Executor, the Super Star Destroyer flagship to Lord Vader himself.

Not that our heroes know this right away. They have to drag a Stormtrooper into a closet for some interrogation first.

Which is when they also find out that the Executor is flying with Death Squadron to capture/destroy the Rebel Base on Hoth.

Well… kark. That’s time travel to an active Empire and live Darth Vader.

…But maybe before the Great Purge of Mandalore. Din’s not sure. The Battle/Fleeing of Hoth didn’t ping his radar. Not that it matters when they have bigger concerns, like the full staff of an Imperial Super Star Destroyer.

Cara is still a Rebel at heart and would like to use this opportunity to kark the Empire’s operation up from the inside as best they can. There won’t be any saving Hoth Base itself, she knows, but they can probably provide more Rebels with the chance to escape alive. And possibly with more equipment/resources, which might let them win the war faster.

And while Din would like to protect his green bean from all the evil Imps, he can admit that their chances of escaping the ship alive are very slim, forget actually escaping the battle group alive. The shields of any vessel they could commandeer would lose out to the Destroyers’ cannons, and Din’s not a good enough pilot to outmaneuver multiple squadrons in an unfamiliar ship. 

All that to say: Din’s in. If he and his kid aren’t going to survive the day, they’ll at least go down as true Mandalorians: weapons in hand, fighting the enemy. Who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky and fight their way free.

So the plan is basically to cause as much chaos as they can, stay alive as long as they can, and see what happens. Improvisation is highly encouraged. 

So Death Squadron comes out of hyperspace and starts scrambling the assault transports and fighters. Unfortunately for them, Din and Cara have picked where to start their chaos quite well. A turbolaser battery on the Executor begins to open fire on their own ships, blasting them out of the sky. It even manages a few shots on the other Star Destroyers, who have their shields down since this is a surprise attack and the shields take up energy they can use elsewhere before the Rebels launch their fighter craft. Once the stupefied officers get the shields up, the battery quits firing. 

The damage is already done, however. Including the disintegration of the assault craft bearing Darth Vader himself down to the planet. If Vader was flying (who are we kidding, Vader flies himself whenever it’s physically possible), he was too distracted by the disturbance in the Force that was Din, Grogu, and Cara arriving to realize he needed to dodge. Also, assault landing craft ain’t nearly as maneuverable as the fighters he so loves to fly.

…yeah. Awkward.

Oh, and General Veers, the guy leading the whole invasion force is dead too. Plus the most elite of the Stormtrooper forces.

With the Commander-in-Chief of their military forces dead, Admiral Piett has ended up in charge. His first order? Find those responsible for Lord Vader’s death. Capture them alive if possible (for interrogation/torture/to be made an example of), kill them if you can’t. Escape is not acceptable in the least. To that end, all ships onboard are secured to prevent escape that way. Using the escape pods is considered suicide.

In the meantime, Piett has to do his best to wrangle the panicking Death Squadron so that they can at least attempt to finish their mission. For Lord Vader. And in the interest of remaining on mission, Piett personally shoots out the Executor’s long range comms station. The Emperor must eventually know of the loss of his right hand man (if he does not already thanks to his mysterious powers), but the longer Piett can delay that call, the more chances he has at making this mission not a complete clusterkark. Piett seriously doubts he’ll survive the call from the Emperor even if they capture/execute every last Rebel in the system, but he might at least spare those under his command, and keep the mission as professional as possible.

Down on the icy surface of Hoth, the Rebels are amazed to have seen one Imperial Destroyer, the flagship, fire on their own allies. Not that they have much time to appreciate it since there’s still a fleet in the skies waiting to rain death and destruction down on them. The evacuation continues.

Luke, though, has an idea of what might have happened up there. Through the Force, Luke sensed Vader’s death, the erasure of a megalith of Darkness. And in that moment, he also sensed a bright Light shine in exultant jubilation, before it shuttered itself away again. Obviously, such a beacon of Light with the skill to hide itself so thoroughly must be a survivor of the Jedi Purge. They must have infiltrated the ship just so they could strike the decisive blow against the one who led the Purge.

Others, who are aware of Sith/Dark Sider/power hungry people power plays, are concerned that this was not the work of an ally they have yet to meet, but of a rival in Darkness to Vader, like maybe an Inquisitor, who saw their opportunity, and took it.

Ghostly Obi-Wan shoots that idea down when he haunts Luke. It was indeed agents of the Light who killed Vader. And if Luke can safely swing it, he should try to rescue the Jedi, Grogu. But only if it is safe(ish) to do so. Luke surviving is more important than rescuing old Jedi up to their eyeballs in Imperials.

Leia and Han work on a plan for that. Maybe. They might also be flirting? It’s hard to tell when they’re shouting at each other like that. They’re definitely trying to decide something, though. It is incredibly awkward for the eyewitnesses either way, even if those two make a surprisingly good team.

Han also notes they have worked on worse intel than “a little voice in Luke’s head.”

Back on the Executor: Grogu’s shielding in the Force slipped when he sensed Vader’s death. It was a happy moment for the traumatized bean. His daddy killed the Nightmare Monster that led the Empty Army to kill all that Grogu had ever known before the Dark Times. He’s so glad to have his daddy to protect him.

Though the whole “protection” aspect is pretty tough at the moment.

Din and Cara have been running all over the Destroyer, using up an absurd amount of luck to stay alive (and ahead of their pursuers) as they sow chaos and destruction. 

The things supporting that luck are a) their ability to be very stealthy when motivated (which they obviously are), giving them a chance to catch their breaths, b) that while the Destroyer boasts a crew of hundreds of thousands, a fair amount are non-combatant positions and thus no problem to handle, c) most of the elite troops of the 501st were in the assault landing craft they just shot down and thus are no longer a problem, d) the ship is massive and filled with hideyholes, which helps with the aforementioned stealth, e) due to both believing they are going to die anyways, and inexperience, they are using more explosives than anyone professionally trained in large-scale shipboard combat (because you are in vacuum and surrounded by delicate electronics) would consider sane (and get away with it because the ship is so karking huge), and f) internal Imperial politics have the officers not coordinating so that they can be the sole claimant to “avenging” Vader.

The reason they need luck: neither is particularly trained for guerilla warfare against a whole Destroyer, or fighting in a Destroyer in general, and tens of thousands of the enemy are still highly skilled soldiers. As a well-trained Mandalorian, Din can totally handle clearing a small freighter, but he doesn’t know much about something this big. Cara, on the other hand, is a shock trooper. She’s used to boots on the ground and more open spaces. The few times she got into boarding action, they were much smaller ships.

Still, live and learn. Or in this case, learn or die.

Meanwhile, Admiral Piett is having trouble keeping Death Squadron on mission. As the shock wears off, the other captains are ambitiously clamoring for command to be transferred to themselves. Especially since Piett obviously does not have the situation aboard his own ship under control. Whole rooms are exploding, leaving breaches in the hull, hangers are going up in flames, the turbolaser batteries are still occasionally firing potshots at other Imperial vessels. This is all very distracting for Piett, even as he keeps trying to remind them that there are still Rebels on the planet to deal with. You know, the whole reason Death Squadron came to this system in the first place? They do still need handling, and there are still massive troop compliments on the other Star Destroyers. Of course those ground commanders are in no hurry to leave their nice, safe motherships.

Unfortunately for our dear Piett, the other long-range comms in Death Squadron were not sabotaged by clever commanders. Sidious, in all his sithly fury, has made contact with the other captains of Death Squadron… and handed out the order to destroy the Executor. There are traitors in need of killing, and his Raisin-ness will see them dead. Plus he doesn't have much need for such an incompetent crew.

Piett isn't taking the attack lying down. The men and women on the Executor are brave and loyal, and he won't see them die like dogs just for being on the wrong ship. Piett gives the order to fire back at the rest of Death Squadron. Though maybe just to aim for the others' turret emplacements. He doesn't actually want to destroy other Imperial ships, just get them to stop trying to destroy his!

And a Super Star Destroyer versus a bunch of regular Star Destroyers is an uncomfortably (for them) equal fight.

What the Imps don't realize is that Leia and Han were waiting for this to happen.

Leia is more than aware of the Emperor’s political leanings and how he handles "betrayal," and a despot is a despot. As for Han, he’s dealt with plenty of crime lords in his smuggling career, and at times sees little difference between them and Imperial politics, and knows exactly what would happen between a gang’s lieutenants if their leader just up and died. So both know that the time to scoot is when the infighting escalates.

So this is when all the Rebel ships scatter to the skies and make their bids for freedom. The delays as the Imperial officers argued also bought more time to get everybody aboard.

Our original timeline heroes haven't forgotten about the secondary objective Luke got from Obi-Ghost either. So they all load up into the Millennium Falcon to make a rescue run at the Executor (which Luke couldn't really do in an X-wing that only seats one). Han and Chewie are flying, Luke is on guns, and Leia is broadcasting on comms, hoping whoever caused this glorious Imperial mess knows at least one Rebel frequency. She'd rather not have to broadcast their rescue on completely open comms that the Imps can listen to too.

Good news, they do know a Rebel frequency! Cara Dune reporting in, ma'am. And yes, we (me, my buddy, and his child) would love to get off of this death trap. Meet us at hangar [insert arbitrary number here].

The Original Trio (plus Chewie and droids. Ooh, Non-Human Original Trio) Eh-hem. The Original Sextet wait, R2-D2 is with Luke’s X-wing so it doesn’t get abandoned on Hoth, but the rest are there to pull the Falcon into the hangar, with Luke and Leia rushing to the bordering ramp to cover their rescuees. The twins (not that they know they're twins. Yet) aren't sure what they expected of the Jedi and Rebels who are badass enough to get aboard the Executor and cause merry hell, but it probably isn't what they see running and gunning toward them.

What do they see? 

A stout shock trooper woman (obviously the Cara Dune they spoke to), roughed up with some blaster shot grazes, some bruises and scrapes (probably from having a punch-out with Imperial troopers. Which she obviously won. Look at those arms!), toting a repeating blaster rifle (or whatever tommy gun equivalent she managed to find/loot while they were running around). 

Her companion is the more eye-catching of the two though. He’s wearing what was (probably) once shining armor (do they know what a Mandalorian is? I give Leia good odds, less for Luke. Though he might have looked them up after his encounter with Boba?). Now the armor is covered in carbon scoring and blood (they hope it's not his own blood). Armor Guy has an electro-staff (stole it from an armory. The fun armory) in one hand and a blaster in the other (probably not his standard one since all the running and gunning could/would run him out of "ammo"). And there's a little green head with huge ears poking out of a satchel on his hip.

The twins get to watch the pair steamroll a squad of troopers. Armor tanks a fair number of blaster bolts before he lays in with the electro-staff while Cara mows down the opposition and punches any who get too close.

Luke has stars in his eyes. These are the kind of legendary figures he dreamed of while stuck on the farm. Incredibly strong, seemingly invincible, and carrying innocent children to safety against impossible odds. Look, you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. He may develop a (fanboy) crush on either of them, but can you really blame him? Honestly, even Han cannot hide how impressed he is.

The image may get a little tarnished when Din practically collapses once they are inside the Falcon and taking off (he was frontlining for their party and taking hits to protect both Cara and Grogu. Even amazing Mando dads have stamina limits). Cara would like to know what Din has been eating, or if his armor is just that kriffing heavy. Or possibly just how many Imperial weapons Din managed to loot and secret away upon his person (the answer is a lot. Weapons are a part of his religion). Still, she drags her friend further into the ship and straps him onto a bunk where he starts getting medical attention. Din’s fumes don’t allow him to do much more than lay still and hold his child close. Truthfully, they’re not even sure he’s doing that much. It could be that the kid is holding Din’s hand(s) in place against him.

Cara tells everybody to leave Din’s helmet on, regardless of good medical sense (and threatens to punch anyone who tries to take it off).

And during all this, Death Squadron is tearing itself apart. Something that isn’t helped by the Rebel fighter craft joining in. The Rebels are going for the maximum payout for losing a pricey base and all the equipment they couldn’t take with them. This one is going to be a victory for the record books! With Death Squadron practically in shambles, the Rebels flee for their next safe point.

Once the Falcon hits hyperspace to rendezvous with the rest of the Rebels, it’s time for some explanations from the Executor boarding party. And proper introductions. 

Leia is vaguely aware of who Cara is upon seeing her (remember, Cara stated her service was mostly after Endor). The princess likes to be aware of the remnants of her people (and Cara has her Rebel tear tattoo to mark her as from Alderaan). Cara wishes she knew if the rumours about Leia and Han getting married were true or not. Also:

Luke: *with concern towards Din* Are you okay, Grogu?

Cara: Who?

Din: Grogu?

Grogu: Oo-oh! *turns to look at his dad who finally said his name. He’s only been shouting it in the Force at Armor Dad for months*

L: It’s not your name?

C: *responding when Din doesn’t* Definitely not him. He’s called Mando. *she’s respectfully not giving away the name she learned from an absolute asshole of a Moff, but also perfectly aware that he is Din, not Grogu*

D: *looking down at his child because of the odd reaction* …Grogu?

G: Oo-oh!

D: …Ni kyr’tayl gai sa’ad, Grogu. *was overcome with the urge to adopt, and was out of it enough to forgo the mission and carry through*

G: Patoo.

L&C: wut?

D: This… is the Way. *and probably passes out now*

…Yeah. So Luke may have assumed that the Jedi they were picking up was Din.

To be fair, he could sense the Light presence consistently in Din’s direction (because Din was carrying Grogu) and the man seemed impressive enough to be the Jedi. And also old enough to be a pre-Purge Jedi. Also, Luke has only ever known old Ben as a Jedi, so he doesn’t actually know what a Jedi is supposed to be like.

And, as you may have noticed, Din, Grogu, and Cara are from before Chapter 13: The Jedi, seeing as Din didn’t know the green bean’s name yet. In fact, I’m plucking them from basically the end of Chapter 12: The Siege. So they are vaguely aware of why, exactly, the Empire wants Grogu, and thus cautious about it.

Anyways, with Din tapped out, it’s left to Cara to explain their vague understanding of how they ended up on the Executor . The explanation includes time travel. And that includes some understanding of how the Empire can be defeated. Leia is practically demanding her fellow Alderaanian to go through a thorough debrief once they catch up with the rest of the Rebels. The intel locked away in that trooper’s mind! By the way, what about your friend? Cara isn’t sure. Din was the one in their party to identify Moff Gideon when they first faced him, but Gideon was also very involved with Mandalorians, being the one to lead the purge against them. And he only identified Gideon by the knowledge he held.

This is the point where you have to decide if Hoth is pre- or post-Mandalorian Purge (if its place in the timeline isn’t revealed before you start writing). Because if pre-, then the Rebels might be convinced to warn the warrior culture (probably in a bid to recruit them). Which either results in the Great Purge not working, or it’s a much tougher battle for the Imps since the Mandalorians are expecting it. Or it’s post-, and Leia has sympathy for Mando, trying to imagine what it would be like to encounter Tarkin again after he ordered Alderaan destroyed.

Personally, I lean towards post. It makes sense to bring the hammer down quickly on one of the few uprisings that could threaten the Empire so soon after they lost their planet killer. So this outline will continue on the assumption of post-Great Purge.

Anyways, our heroes meet up with the rest of the Rebellion at the rendezvous point. Din and Cara (and Grogu) are met with much celebrating for their masterful infiltration of the Executor. Even if they have to be chivvied off to medical right quick instead of participating in the celebrations. Din is now conscious enough to protect his religious rights with a drawn blaster. The head medic is a veteran of the Clone Wars, and makes unflattering comparisons to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (or any Jedi really) when they were laid up with injuries.

People are stunned at how Grogu does not even have so much as a scratch on him. Everyone also adores him. As they should.

Also, about that… infiltration… 

Rebel Command (that’s currently in live attendance) is pulled aside and gets the real story behind that explained to them. 

Plans are quickly put into motion to confirm that they are real time travelers. Most in the form of questions that only Cara would know the answer to that they verify against her younger self. They pass the questions off as a check against a potential Clawdite (shapeshifter people) infiltration or something to the younger Cara. They also take pains to make sure she is on isolated assignments that keep her fellow Rebels from realizing there are two of her running around. 

Meanwhile, older Cara is put into a deep debrief as the Rebellion plans their next moves now that Hoth (and Vader) has fallen. Having been more of a grunt soldier than a planner, Cara has mostly broad strokes to give Rebel Command, but the interrogators know their work, and how to gently squeeze out more details from her recollections. The one thing Cara makes sure to plainly spell out to them is the second Death Star being built at Endor and the trap that was laid for the Rebellion with it. 

Rebel Command is not happy to hear about a second DS, but they know it also presents an opportunity, especially since it’s still under construction. They will destroy it before it becomes functional (hopefully. They at least know how long is too long to wait) and make it a good publicity piece (for them. It’ll be terrible for the Empire for the galaxy to know they were making a second planet killer). The reason they aren’t going for it immediately is that they want the Empire to waste more resources on the weapon the Rebels intend to destroy before it can ever fire. Doing so will also kill their top military engineers as well as a bonus. Plus they need to gather more intel for themselves. The removal of Vader, the supreme commander of the Empire’s military, and chief enforcer, is sure to cause differences in Empire military action as new commanders step up to fill those ginormous boots, so Cara’s reports of future campaigns have already lost a degree of accuracy.

Oh, and Operation: Cinder is also mentioned/explained, just so that the Rebellion will be better prepared to deal with it once they break the Empire/kill the Emperor.

Din has no debrief to give. He doesn’t do politics and certainly didn’t pay much attention to the warring of the Rebels and Empire. He was too busy ecking out a living for himself and his Tribe. And Din kept his bounty work focused on bail jumpers and other clearly criminal elements. Rebels were too high profile for his tastes. The best he can do is corroborate some details, like Operation: Cinder.

Din also makes the interrogators miserable by refusing to take off his helmet. They can fight him about it, literally. He is not forsaking his religion to satisfy their curiosity. The fact that fighting Din would be counterproductive and downright rude to a hero such as him aside, the interrogators are hesitant to provoke a man who fought his way through a Super-Star Destroyer and lived to tell about it.

They do ask him if he could pay closer attention to history-in-the-making and galactic events in the future, in case this happens again. Would this mean more interviews? Yes? No thanks then. 

And in all honesty, Din isn’t really interested in joining the Rebellion. He doesn’t like the Empire for very personal reasons, but his stomping grounds didn’t see a lot of change between them and the New Republic, so he’s got no interest in trying to change history himself.

Finding this old Jedi Master with Luke, on the other hand, very much has his interest.

Luke brought up his quest for Yoda after finding out that Grogu has incomplete training in the Force as well (if more than what Luke has. Han likes to tease the kid about learning from a baby). Din agrees to help with that quest with the intent of vetting the Jedi to see if they are capable of looking after children (this Luke is around 20 years Din’s junior, he is a kid).

So Din, Luke, Grogu, and R2-D2 load up in a ship (Luke’s X-wing?) and head off for swampworld, Dagobah.

Back with the Empire, things are not going well. 

Sidious is raging from losing his Apprentice. And unfortunately for him, there are no Inquisitors left by this point to even promote to Apprentice. Every other potential candidate is too weak for him to work with. 

Because “traitors and saboteurs” caused Sidious all this misery, internal security is tightening its grip to lung crushing, which only causes greater dissent in the ranks. Nobody likes having their loyalties questioned when a simple slip of tongue or unpopular opinion might mean death. Or when it is so easy for your rivals to accuse you, thus getting you dragged off to a kangaroo court with even less defense than before. Death Squadron being the scapegoat for this change in policy doesn’t help things either. Others are looking at Vader’s special forces, who had done as good a job as could be expected previously, and starting to wonder if they might be next. 

Losing Death Squadron also represents a heavy military blow, as basically regardless of the outcome, those ships, with all those elite personnel, are now scrap. So continuing the hunt for the Rebels means diverting troops and resources from other critical locations.

And the two Rebels that spearheaded Death Squadron’s downfall (and Vader’s death) were from Alderaan and Mandalore, both planets trashed by the Empire. It is taken as proof by some that those populations have not been broken despite how they were supposed to be an example of what happens when you defy the Emperor’s will. 

Not to mention that there are people going around whispering about Operation: Cinder. You know, that plan to immolate planets if someone manages to kill their “glorious” leader? It’s a horrible rumor, and the commander officers are looking to stomp that rumor out. Except the loyal officers digging into it to prove it’s Rebel propaganda are finding it to be a very real contingency. Considering some of their planets (both homes and places they are in charge of) are on the destroy list, they are suitably horrified.

Internal security is trying to hunt down who made the original leak, since that was extremely classified. They’re not having much luck.

Sidious is also currently focused on killing Luke, not capturing him. Luke may be a powerful Force Sensitive, but given the mess that was both Luke’s father and mother, ol’ Sid is ready to look into other options. So without his overprotective daddy buffer, Luke is looking at legions of Imperial assassins after him. 

Back to the heroes.

Luke, Din, Grogu, and R2 arrive at Dagobah. Grogu is thrilled with all the frogs and other amphibious creatures there for the hunting. Everyone else is less than pleased with all the mud and bog. It makes for difficult camping.

It comes as quite a shock to everyone (except maybe R2) when an old man of Grogu’s species shows up. Din wonders if this is the race’s home planet. Grogu seems to like the environment well enough for it to be plausible. 

Din is also not impressed with the crazy old hermit they’ve found/that found them. He is rudely rifling through their supplies, wasting said supplies by tossing them away all willy-nilly into the swamp, and whacking them with his little cane when they try to stop him (Din is considering lighting the cane on fire). The poor impression is not helped by how Grogu immediately got clingy with Din when the old hermit showed up (poor baby knows that Yoda will want him separated from his dad, forever, so he’s doing his best to make that difficult by engaging Dad’s Protective Instinct). 

Luke is kind of following Grogu’s lead in sticking close to Din and being cautious of this new guy. Though he’s nicer about it because Luke is a cinnamon roll who feels bad for the crazy, lonely hermit.

Eventually, the human guys realize the old muppet is in fact the Jedi Master they are here to find, Yoda. 

Din: It was nice to meet you, Crazy Jedi, but I cannot trust you to raise/teach children. Back in the ship, Luke, we’re leaving.

Luke: Aw, come on. The ghost of my first Master said I should learn from him!

D: Wut? Ghosts?!

L: *explains Obi-Ghost coming to him in a blizzard as he was freezing to death*

D: Kid, no. You were dying and hallucinating.

L: How else would I have known to search here if Ben’s ghost wasn’t really there?

D: *has no refute to that*

Yoda: My own counsel I will keep on who I will train!

L: See? He’ll train us! 

Y: What I said, that is not!

L: *ignoring Yoda* Isn’t that what you wanted for me and Grogu?

D: I don’t think a crazy sorcerer can teach you anything useful about magic.

Y: Magic?! The Force I wield, as all Jedi do.

D: Yes, yes. You belong to an order of enemy sorcerers. I’m aware.

Y: *noises of frustration at the obstinate, stupid Mandalorian*

Obi-Ghost eventually puts his two-cents in and convinces the involved parties that they should stay and Yoda should train the kids. Luke in particular, so that he can defeat Sidious.

Yoda despairs for the next generation of Jedi. They have latched onto a Mandalorian, the ancestral enemy of the Jedi (besides the Sith). Yoda's crèche masters must be rolling in their graves (seeing as old people when Yoda was a bean might have lived the end of the Mandalorian Wars/sacking of the Temple). His own kind (child? nephew?) is most adamant about the Mandalorian remaining, and has convinced the young Skywalker to follow his lead. 

And the Mandalorian! He is an idiot! He knows nothing of the Jedi nor the Force (which is incomprehensible to Yoda, who lived through nearly a thousand years where basically every spacefaring adult knew of them). He calls it magic! And he thinks that Luke should not face the Emperor alone in open combat as a Jedi, but try assassinating the man, or at least be a flashy distraction so someone else can assassinate him.

Obi-Wan, enjoy my misery, you should not! Teach young Luke anything, did you? Like not to follow a Mandalorian, yes?!

Obi-ghost sees nothing wrong with the Mandalorian influence. It is a sound plan, from a military standpoint. They do need Sid dead as a doorknob. Does it really matter who lands the final blow? And he might be looking to keep all the good that is left of Anakin alive, now that the evil that was left of his Padawan/brother is gone. 

Oh, by the way, Luke, Leia is your twin sister separated from you at birth.

Luke now feels horror for being happy about the kiss Leia laid on him back on Hoth. Din is no help for this. He has no relevant experience for sorting out that relationship.

Anyways, now that Yoda has agreed to train the children (against his better judgment), it is time for the Mandalorian to leave. He serves no purpose here. The children immediately throw a riot about Armor Dad being kicked out. Din’s not in any hurry to leave the kids with the crazy old Master himself. Yoda is outvoted, Armor Dad stays.

Yoda finds himself painfully empathizing with Sidious. The Dark Lord banked all his hopes and plans on Vader, while Yoda and Obi-Wan did the same with Luke and Leia, only in both cases Din karked it all up.

A week or two into training, the Millennium Falcon shows up with Han and supplies, courtesy of the Rebellion. Han may have forgotten in all the excitement that he was supposed to be ditching the Rebels. It would be a lie to say Han isn’t excited by/proud of recent Rebel victories. And Leia is a fine reason to stay.

Anyways, Han’s there because Luke mentioned Dagobah to Din while in hearing range of both Han and Leia. The two may have been arguing at the time, but the ex(?)-smuggler is good at dividing his attention like that. And once he hit the system, it wasn’t too hard for Han to track their ship.

Yoda is not impressed. Not by the smuggler, and not by his new students (and menace) bringing even more people to Yoda’s hiding spot.

The bright side, Yoda thinks, is that there is now a second ship here, so the Mandalorian can conceivably leave without stranding his charges with Yoda. This is the old gremlin’s prime opportunity to be rid of the metal menace. 

Din also sees it as a chance to get off-world… because there’s someone else to take up his babysitting duties: Chewbacca.

You didn’t seriously think Din was entrusting the care of his child to a Corellian smuggler who can’t admit what he wants, did you?

Chewie is fine with looking after Luke and Grogu (and Han). It’s been a while since he’s seen Master Yoda as well. They can catch up. Also, this planet is as good as any for dodging the heat from Jabba’s bounty hunters.

With that matter settled, Din takes the ship he, Luke, Grogu, and R2 showed up in to take a working break. He’s going to go to his Tribe, present them with tribute he earned from the Rebels for running around the Executor (plus a few bounties he may have run along the way), and seek their assistance in protecting the Jedi children he’s claimed as Foundlings. And see if he can’t find rumors of the younger Grogu so that he can rescue that green bean as well.

The five years older version of their beroya is certainly a surprise to the Tribe, but he is one of them and thus welcomed with open arms. The Armorer agrees to quest Din’s younger self with locating Grogu-Y so that the child may be rescued from the demagolkase who are currently in possession of him. 

By a quirk of fate, Din-Y returns with his own spoils of the hunt before Din-O leaves for Dagobah again. Din-Y is understandably confused by the presence of an older him in a full beskar set of armor. So much beskar should have gone to supporting the rest of the Tribe, to sponsoring Foundlings! Din-O has to tell the story of his (their. Din-O is forcibly adopting Din-Y into the Clan. They wrestle for who is the Alor, since they are the same person Din-Y argues. Din-O wins) Clan’s origin, including the Mudhorn wrecking his old armor, plus how bringing back a whole camtono of beskar provided more than enough for what he wears (the Armorer chiming in that even Din-Y has more than earned a full set if they had the resources).

Din-O provides his own (new) comm code to the Tribe plus a contact for Din-Y in the Rebellion for some extra jobs to earn credits for the Tribe before he leaves. Din-O still doesn’t really care about the Rebellion, but their credits spend, and most of their jobs are agreeable with his sense of morals. Plus they owe him enough that they will not cheat him.

The Rebels quickly find the second Mandalorian is just as skillful as Cara-O’s friend. They would like to know if there’s more they can hire. The Tribe may agree to help more since the payments are good and prompt.

The sudden appearance of more Mandalorians in the Rebellion catches the attention of General Hera Syndulla. And her pseudo-daughter, Sabine Wren.

Sabine is glad to know that some of her people survived and are still fighting. She invites those not serving in the Rebellion to come to Lothal. Sabine doesn’t leave much anymore, trying to protect the place in memory of Ezra and his sacrifice. Still, the planet is a good safe harbor. 

The Tribe has the Dins scope Sabine and her offer out. Din-Y is highly offended by Sabine taking off her helmet. At first. Din-O, having encountered Bo-Katan and her followers, is not as surprised as Din-Y. Sabine is offended by the accusation of not being Mandalorian. Differences are worked out eventually, and the rest of the Tribe comes to roost on Lothal.

And then they start inviting other coverts over.

Sabine was not expecting to become a leader like this. Isn’t this why she gave the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, so she wouldn’t be expected to lead everyone? Unfortunately for her, destiny calls. At least her experiences since Ezra’s sacrifice, including helping Hera run a planet, have prepared her some for shouldering this burden.

In the meantime, the rest of the Rebellion is trying to foster better relations with the Outer Rim under the recently promoted General Dune. This is partially in recognition of her new rank, and also to help explain why she is still giving advice to Very Important People. Cara’s first-hand account of how little the New Republic did for Rim worlds supposedly under their aegis has spurred some changes, plus the ex-trooper-now-officer has been leveraging her own new position (if she can’t escape to/vacation on the likes of Sorgan, she can damn well make such planets are a part of her duties for a working vacation). Especially given her recounts of fully operational Imperial remnants like Gideon and his Nevarro lab.

And truthfully, the realization that the Outer Rim basically went ignored is very uncomfortable for the Rebel leadership, on both a personal and professional level. Most of their top politicians are Core-born, and thus Core-centric in their mindsets, which is now being thrown in their faces with how they failed the Rim. Meanwhile, Leia is young and idealistic (and not bogged down by so many opposing politicians), so she is making her voice heard by Mon Mothma and the few other civilian leaders still alive. The realization is made worse by Luke, their one and only Jedi who grew up in the Outer Rim, knowing how badly the Empire mistreats the people there, and how he assumed a reborn Republic would do better. Not to mention how much of their military forces are from there…

So the head honchos are taking this Very Seriously, and refuse to repeat that other future folly. Which is good, since the other timeline’s instability in the Rim helped the rise of the First Order.

The Rebels are also lying about how many people they had on the Executor and making up stories about how they got Imperial personnel to turn coat. All of this to ramp up the internal paranoia of the Empire. It works pretty well too. 

The number of people actually defecting from the Empire also increases. Due mostly to them either realizing the true horrors the Empire perpetuates, or because they will die if they don’t get out. All of which ramps up the internal security pressure even further, creating a nasty feedback loop. 

Honestly, the only ones who seem to be rising through the Imperial ranks anymore are those with the ability to backstab indiscriminately. The rising lack of actual competence pleases the Rebels 

Sidious has relied on fear (mostly of his enforcer, Vader) for decades at this point to keep everyone in line. However, lately it’s been a lot of losses for the Empire. The Death Star, Vader, Death Squadron, and the cascading effects of those initial losses plus plans made with Cara’s pre-knowledge. Add in the newly ramped up fear of traitors and saboteurs to the mix, and resources are getting thinned. Which isn’t helped by the vicious rivalries in Imp politics as they try to throw each other under the bus for their own promotion.

Oh, and the Emperor is also killing people for incompetence. Their failure to stamp out the rebellion and the growing discontent is counted in this category. Previously, Vader was taking the blame for failures like that (and weeding out the actual problems), and Sid wasn’t going to kill the Apprentice he worked so hard to cultivate for that. But with the destruction of the Death Star and Vader’s death, Sidious is in charge of cleanup, so he’s now killing a bunch of the regular important officials and officers who don’t meet his standard. 

All the fear that made people toe the line is going through that terrible alchemy to become rage and defiance, hate, all directed at Sidious and his government. Especially since people are now seeing that the Empire cannot snuff out every spark of rebellion that crops up.

Truthfully, Sidious is in denial about how the Sith methods are failing to hold an Empire together. He is also displeased by the lack of sightings of Skywalker so far. The Dark Lord has an uncomfortable certainty that the boy is being trained to be a Jedi, one lacking that nonsense about diplomacy. He knows this despite the fact that his Force Visions, a power he replied upon in his rise to “ultimate power,” are no longer working properly. In fact, it hasn’t worked right since about the time of Vader’s death, for reasons he cannot understand.

Nothing is working as it should be, and it is not fair!

Time passes,  battles are waged.

Luke’s training is going well overall, even with Yoda having to divide his time between him and Grogu. They’re even getting more training done than canon, since Luke is not running off to be mutilated. The only wrinkle (in the Jedi Master’s opinion) is Han. The man has no respect for authority figures who have not personally earned it in his eyes. Yoda hasn’t earned it. Luckily for the old codger, Chewie cuffs his friend over the head if he goes too far (and unlike the humans, Chewie actually enjoys Yoda’s stew). Yoda’s other complaint about Han is that his Big Brother Energy does not help the old master teach the no-attachment policy, which was already an uphill struggle against Din’s Dad Energy. Although Han wins some brownie points by agreeing with the ‘no-obsession’ clarification.

When Luke goes into the Dark Side Cave, he is confronted by the actual spirit of Darth Vader, and remember he died without being redeemed (which is why he doesn’t get to be ghost pals with Obi-Ghost). Vader reveals the truth of Luke’s (and Leia’s, though Vader doesn’t know about her) heritage, and tries to convince his son to murder Grogu to avenge him. It would only be fitting to take the son from the man that killed your father, son. That is the Tatooine slave culture way, to place blood and family before all. Luke refuses, Grogu has become like family to him, but this revelation horrifies Luke. He now doubts his right to be a Jedi, he doesn’t believe he should train any more. 

Yoda doesn’t really do anything to disabuse Luke of the notion, seeing as he was reluctant to train the boy in the first place.

Grogu is worried for his friend, but has enough childbrain to not know how to fix it beyond demanding cuddles and bringing Luke his (Grogu’s) favorite foods. He wishes Armor Dad was here to fix it.

Han is the one who talks Luke out of it. He convinces Luke that he owes a deadbeat dad like Vader nothing.  Anything that would make a monster like that happy is a bad idea. Han also believes that it was right to hide Luke’s heritage from him to make things easier, to keep that legacy from overshadowing Luke’s childhood. Though Han is quite upset on his surrogate younger brother’s behalf when it becomes clear Luke was basically raised from birth to fight against the Sith head-on.

When Obi-Ghost shows up, Luke demands answers. Han backs the kid up, even if he can’t see or hear the ghost. Luke would also like to know more about his mother , who his aunt and uncle only met once and no one else seems to know about. Obi-Ghost admits she was a wonderful woman, and a good friend, but confesses to some  resentment on his part, seeing as she was the focus of Anakin’s obsession and “death.” It’s not helped by how she never told Obi-Wan anything when they were supposed to have been friends. If she had trusted him, maybe all this could have been avoided. But truthfully, while alive Obi-Wan had little idea of the details of Anakin’s Fall. Ol’ Palps was obviously involved as the Sith Lord/Master, but Obi-Wan never did figure out exactly how close Padme and Anakin were until the babies.

Privately, Han tells Luke that the grief (and isolation in the desert) may have left him actually a bit crazy in a way they failed to recognize at the time.

Meanwhile, General Dune’s star continues to rise. She is assigned to lead ground assaults on planets she already assaulted in the alternate future as just a grunt. Her actually intimate familiarity with these campaigns helps them avoid some of the worst slaughters Cara had previously experienced. Despite how the ripple-effect is in play, starting with how she is heavily participating years early, she is successful enough to earn the respect of her troops, and reassure her superiors she is worthy of her position. Which means they give her more responsibility. Especially since before the Battle of Hoth, they had actually lost a lot of Rebel leaders, so there are still a lot of empty shoes to fill.

After one mission where Cara is feeling down about how many of her people died, the troops come to congratulate her for how her bounty has risen again.

She has a bounty?
Why yes. It turns out that if you are held responsible for killing Vader they will put a price on your head. How much? A stupendous sum. As in buying a planet with the reward amount.

A quick call to Din confirms that yes he did know this, but it felt awkward for a bounty hunter to tell his friend how much they are worth. Also Guild Code: We don’t talk about how much our crews/selves are worth.

One day, Din-Y contacts Din-O. He’s got a lead on Grogu-Y. The hunt begins.

On the hunt, the Dins stop in a local cantina for reasons (info gathering? keeping an eye out for extra bounty pucks?) and notice a fellow Mandalorian in armor that’s beat to shit and in need of a paint job day drinking at the bar (using a straw so the helmet stays on).

Boba Fett has had a shit day/week.

He just finished his latest Imperial contract, only to find out the guy who set it, Darth kriffing Vader himself, got gacked in the meantime by Rebels (the Imperials did their best to hide the news of Vader’s demise, and the Rebels have been in quite the rumor war with the Imps lately. Boba wasn’t sure what to believe). The new Imp in charge of receiving bounties is a karking asshole who had to be threatened into paying even a third of the original commission (probably lining his slimy pockets with the rest of Boba’s money), and made it pretty kriffing clear that they weren’t willing to pay his prices again. 

Which is pretty karking stupid if you ask Boba. He charges exactly what his guarantee is worth. It’s why Vader went to Boba for the real prizes: he got what he paid for, which was the best. 

True, there are still commissions for Jabba and his ilk, but those tend to be both less exciting and less profitable.

So here Boba is, day drinking in hopes that by the time night (and the rougher crowds) roll around, he’ll be drunk enough to enjoy a good bar fight.

And then the kriffing Mandos walk in and beeline right kriffing for him.

Boba knows this song and dance. The karking jackasses will look down their noses at him for being a Clone. Never mind that Boba is the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy (like his father before him), and thus can (and will) kick their karking asses.

He’s not even thrown when the Mandos start by asking if he needs help. It hasn’t really happened recently, but when he was younger and not nearly so (in)famous, Mandos would offer him help. At least until they heard his name and/or voice. Then it was back to the Clone issue.

So Boba is thrown for a loop when these Mandos don’t follow the script. They don’t seem to recognize his name or his voice, just continue to ask if he needs aid from his “fellow Mandalorians.” And if he doesn’t, they would not be opposed to receiving some aid themselves, if he’s not busy.

Now Boba is interested.  

Not only does this pair move like experienced hunters themselves, but they honestly don’t seem to have a kriffing clue who he is (Boba knows how to read people and they haven’t hit him with anything but honesty). Have they been living under a rock? Because they don’t strike him as that young/inexperienced.

Other question: are they Clones of someone else? Or one a Clone and the other the original? Because he’s pretty sure he’s heard both of them speak, and they sound kriffing the same, or so close that it hardly matters. If it wasn’t for the different body armor and weaponry, they would be hard as hell to tell apart. Their identical helmets can be explained by being in the same Clan or something (they both wear the same sigil/signet), but the similarity in body language, build, and speech patterns are something else. Or maybe they’re twins? He’s not sure if nat-born siblings can be that similar, though.

But anyways, Boba’s interested. What’s the job? They’re rescuing a child. Sounds like an old-school Mandalorian thing to do. Boba’s in. It’s not like he’s got anything better to do (and he might already be kind of drunk). What should he bring? Anything that could be useful. Lots of weapons. There might be heavy resistance. More like probably. You still in? Kriff yeah! Sounds like a good time, and I needed something to kill anyways.

So the Din and Din party adds a barbarian to their group (referencing the fighting model for Boba in Mandalorian S2 according to the Gallery stuff S2: E1 time 42 minutes in). They set off into the wilderness to hunt down the people holding a (Mandalorian) child captive. Boba is in for quite the surprise when he lays eyes on the child they came to rescue (though it does explain the empty satchel hanging off of Pure Silver. It fits that tiny kid perfectly. And is Eclectic Armor jealous that Silver gets to carry the kid?).

It’s not until they are escaping the compound/camp/whatever that Grogu-Y was being held in that Boba realizes that their mission is in contention with the Empire, who are blocking their escape as the Empire sweeps in to take the place for themselves. 

Boba’s not ditching these Mandos yet, though. They’ve had his back and covered for him enough that he’s not comfortable leaving mid-mission. Also, they keep getting more and more interesting, and Boba kind of wants to see where all of this is going.

So the Mando party manages to escape, and the Dins lead Boba to the Lothal gathering (there's more adventures and dodging the Empire on the way too. Boba enjoys the one-finger salute their adventures give the Empire). After all, Boba is a Mandalorian like them, so they welcome him into their community.

Boba is bewildered to find more Mandalorians just as accepting of him as Silver and Eclectic. A few are maybe giving him the stink eye/cautious looks under the helmets, but they’re in the minority. Where have these Mandos been all his life? Hiding from most everyone, apparently. 

Boba likes their open arms and hospitality, but it also makes him feel like a fake. He’s not really a Mandalorian, he just wears his father’s armor. Boba isn’t really one to feel guilty, and yet here he is, feeling vaguely guilty. He doesn’t like it. So he goes to confess to the Armorer his “duplicity.” 

She already knows. 

The Armorer is not unfamiliar with Mand’alor the Lost, better known as the bounty hunter Jango Fett, who donated/sold his DNA for the Republic’s Clone Army. She’s also aware that no Clone of Jango Fett was really given the chance to swear the Creed. But it is never too late to choose to do so. That the Tribe's hunters have such trust in Boba after so short a time means that he has acted in a way befitting of one sworn to the Creed. The Armorer would be glad to welcome another onto the Way of the Mandalore. In the meantime, Boba is as a Foundling: he has no parents, no family, to return to, so the Tribe offers to act in the missing family’s stead, to give him shelter to heal and time to choose his path going forward.

Boba would seriously like to know where these Mandalorians were back when he was a kid. Kriff, he might cry for their unsolicited kindness. These kriffing moronic Mandos. Kriff.

Boba’s probably going to need a minute.

…okay, minute’s up.

Boba… still isn’t sure he’s up to swearing the Creed (being highly independent and self-reliant), but he would like to stick around with Silver and Eclectic. The Armorer charges the duo with their new (third) Foundling. Din the Older is happy to have a growing Clan. Din the Younger may be more leery of welcoming this Outsider who wears their armor without being sworn to the Creed. Din-O kindly reminds Din-Y that he is the Alor, so deal with it. They wrestle, Din-O is still the winner.

Din-Y stays on Lothal to attend to his duties. He later meets Rex, who is visiting Sabine and the new Mandalorian colony. Din-Y is pleasantly surprised to find a member of Boba’s family, but also a bit upset. How dare you leave your vod’ika all alone! Rex is eager to hear about a surviving brother, until he finds out it’s Boba. Now he has to explain the Clone thing (how the kark does this Mando not know?!), including how Rex is actually younger than Boba, despite appearances. Plus how Boba and all of the other Clones have been on the outs for literally decades. Din-Y is seriously considering staging a family intervention for the two.

Around this time, Bo-Katan shows up. In fairness to her, she was pretty far away rallying other Mandalorians, so there’s no need to take offense at her late arrival. Bo-Katan’s attitude is another issue though. And Sabine is not going to just hand over her role as leader this time. She still respects Bo-Katan, but these people look to Sabine, not because she found an important relic, not for the Clan she hails from, but because she herself is worth following. The way that Bo-Katan treats Children of the Watch and Clones (particularly Din and Rex who have been steadily supporting Sabine through her trials of leadership) also makes Sabine take a closer look at the kind of leader Bo-Katan is. She’s finding that the last of Clan Kryze is no longer someone she will so easily follow. 

And don’t be afraid to toss in some family moments for the Ghost Crew, letting Sabine know how proud they are of her for helping her people. Maybe even have the rest of Clan Wren show up to support Sabine.

Also, Bo-Katan’s standing at the Lothal Mando Colony is not helped by the muttering that Mandalore fell while under Bo-Katan’s rule because she claimed the Darksaber without earning it, as Sabine had once done. 

Meanwhile Din-O and Boba have left on the Slave I to take Grogu-Y to Jedi school.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Pump the brakes. Back up. Jedi school? Boba did not hear no nothing about a Jedi school (or Jedi in general) in all their previous talks. It’s a very small school. One teacher, two, soon to be three, students. And it’s located on a middle-of-nowhere swamp planet. We can’t convince the teacher to move somewhere less… muddy. You mean filled with fetid water and swamp monsters? That too.

Things get even more awkward when they show up to Jedi school and it turns out Boba may have taken a bounty on Luke. For Vader. 

Boba: Look, it was nothing personal, kid. Just a job.

Luke: *hysterical because he’s freaked the kriff out* Just a JOB! You almost killed me!

B: I wouldn’t have. The bounty was for you alive, and I always deliver.

L: As if that makes it better!

B: You would be dead if that weren’t the case. Besides, that job is over, given the client is dead.

Din: Who was the client?

B: Vader.

Yoda&L: *are horrified*

D: Hmm… 

And oh yeah, this would be about the time Boba realizes that his foster-Clan is supporting/part of the Rebellion. Which makes their lack of knowledge of him even odder given how many Rebels Boba’s hunted for Vader. Oh, turns out it was a very recent development for them. And they just kind of do random jobs, when they’re not busy Jedi-sitting. 

…Boba can live with that, he guesses. The green bean kids (twins? Clones??) are pretty cute, Skywalker is… something, and the elder muppet… well, Boba might kill the elder muppet if left alone with him for too long. Karking Jedi Order, grumble, grumble.

So Boba accidentally becomes a Rebel as he runs missions with either and/or both Din. He’s not quite sure how this happened, but he’s also not complaining. Boba is also happily an uncle to the Little Agents of Chaos, Grogu and Grogu. Even Skywalker is starting to grow in him. He still wants to punt Yoda into the swamp, though. Solo too (the only reason he hasn’t tried Solo is his Wookiee nanny, and Skywalker likes him).

Eh, you can’t win them all.

With Din returned, Han heads back to the Rebellion. Leia refuses to admit she missed him, and he won’t admit to missing her either. Chewie wishes they would stop dancing around each other. General Dune is being asked questions on the sly about them for the betting pool (she has already been forbidden from participating).

The Rebels end up going after the Death Star 2: Electric Bugaloo on Empire Day. For the media attention.

Obviously, the Empire is aware that their founding day is prime time for symbolic messages, especially after months of dissent growing like crazy, so they have jacked security up to the maximum. No Rebels will not be highjacking their broadcasts, no siree. Security is so tight not even a fly will go unnoticed. It would be suicide to try getting past their new measures. The usual parades will go as planned, and their glorious Emperor will address the galaxy with the Empire’s triumphs.

Unfortunately for the Imps, Rebels specialize in suicide runs.

With the help of their droid sidekicks who tend to be excellent hackers that the Imps never expect to be infiltrators (which is odd when you consider all the shit Anakin got up to with R2’s help. Did he just conveniently forget to make anti-droid protocols when he went evil?), the Rebels waltz right into a major holonet broadcasting station. For the flesh guards, they have Yoda in a hollowed-out astromech to Mind Trick them into letting the Rebels pass. The Dins and Boba are making sure the old maniac doesn’t get killed on this mission. They still need him to train their magic children to safely use their powers.

Yoda is displeased to be working with the Mandalorians (and being stuffed in a droid suit), but he's been called out for not helping the Rebellion at all previously, so he does it anyway.

The Rebels use the broadcast station to cut off the Palpatine Talks Show and replace it with the Disco Ball of Doom Goes Boom! It’s a big hit, inciting rebellion and riots across the galaxy as people realize the government was using their taxes to build another planet killer. One that got blown up before it got completed this time, while still costing billions upon billions.

And Yoda makes a brief appearance in the Rebellion’s Empire Day Special. They give the old Master a cosmetic lift for the show so he looks less like a "doddering old hermit who literally has months to live," and more like a "still active Grand Jedi Master Yoda."

Yoda: Need a falsified image, I do not!

Rebel Cameraman: Shut up and just smile for the holo-recorder.

Y: I will not! Lying, this is.

RC: *begging look to Din*

Din: *Parental Sigh* I will catch one of those mega-frogs when we get back to your hut if you play along.

Y: *ears perk up with interest*

So it takes a little bribery and pointing out that a lack of good PR half-killed the Jedi Order of old to get Yoda to play along, but they get the job done. 

No seriously, actions speak louder than words, but the old Order's last actions was to head a war as one side's generals. A little bit of clever words for the galaxy to hear may have helped them have support instead of blame at the end. 

Anyways, the Rebels’ Exclusive News Broadcast comes to an end when a Star Destroyer parked nearby to prevent a guns-blazing hijacking opens fire on the station. Not the most thought out move the Imps have made, since that attack was also caught on tape and broadcast to the galaxy before being cut off due to “technical difficulties.” The daring Rebel stars escape by the skin of their teeth with a cliffhanger ending (extra points if that cliffhanging is literal).

And during all of these broadcast shenanigans, the Rebellion has been making other military strikes while the Empire’s attention is focused on the political arena. They’re not critical, huge strikes since the majority of the Rebel forces were focused on making sure the Death Star 2.0 was so broken it would never be finished, but they were still effective strikes. The Rebels even managed to commandeer some more capital ships while they were at it.

It is not escaping people’s notice how the Rebels appear to be holding the initiative, and have the rancor’s share of major victories.

The Rebels throw an Anti-Empire Day Bash after all the missions. The Dins and Boba meet up General Dune, and they get sloshed. She brought special straws made just for them so the Dins can drink with their helmets on (either Boba pouts for not also getting a special straw, or he brought his own. He doesn’t like showing his face for personal reasons). Cara comes up with a drunken plan for her to be turned in for her bounty to help fund the Rebellion. Her loyal minions not so discreetly make sure this doesn’t happen. Drunken bounty hunters are terrifyingly difficult to fend off. They may need to make rules about letting them drink anymore.

Sidious is in a manic outrage. Apparently, if you want something done right, you must do it yourself!

So Sid takes to combing the intelligence the Empire has to find the perfect place to strike fear into the galaxy and bring everyone back under his thumb. In the meantime, he’s going Rebel hunting.

The results lead the Sith Lord to Lothal.

His spies have reported sightings of the Lothal Temple on and off again. Sidious wants that temple for its connection to the World Between Worlds. The power of time travel, all at his fingertips.

There’s also rumors that the Imperial factories there that were working on the TIE Defenders aren’t as defunct as previously presumed. Sid doesn’t want the Rebels to have higher quality ships. They’re managing to do a fair amount of damage with Clone Wars Era (and older) junk!

Worse, the Mandalorians are rallying to the planet. He knows it would be bad if the Mandalorians unify. Sure, traditionally the Mandalorians side with the Sith, but unfortunately for him, Sid has recently signed off on their extermination, so all that skill that is designed to fight Force Users is ready to turn against him. Not to mention that Mandalorian weapons designers are some of the best in the galaxy. It’s half the reason Sid let them live in “peace” for as long as he did, so they could build him better weapons. If they’re gathering on Lothal with the old Imperial factories (and apparently under their best weapons designer of her generation, Sabine Wren), they could churn out superior armaments for the Rebellion.

And the cherry on top is that in the most secret of communications, he has learned that the Rebel Command will be gathering on Lothal to induct new systems into the Rebellion.

Yeeeeees, yes. Sidious will personally strike on Lothal. Their days of freedom are over. Lothal will know Imperial might again, and it will not be so gentle as Thrawn’s clever grip.

Sidious’s plan is to march into the Rebel Command meeting/ceremony, behead everyone there, and then call in a fleet he assembled to wipe out the rest of the Rebel presence on Lothal, thus taking back the factories for the Empire. And all of his personal actions will be recorded for posterity. Also so that he can broadcast his might to the galaxy.

And after that is done, he’s going to make that temple (and time itself) his bitch.

The Emperor makes landfall and starts marching for the meeting point, which is out in the middle of karking nowhere.

Except as he stalks to his destination, it feels like he's being... hunted. Strange.

You see, there was something ol’ Sid did not know he needed to account for.

Dume.

The man-wolf does not appreciate having the Sith Lord on his planet, out to kill his lover and his pseudo-daughter, here to destroy all that his Padawan sacrificed himself to save. 

Tonight, the Sith is the prey.

Dume and his pack rip Sidious apart. All that's left to be discovered are blood stains and shredded robes. And because Dume is a magic wolf, Sidious’s consciousness doesn’t escape to inhabit an imperfect clone, it is also shredded and destroyed instead. The Final Order will be left waiting forever. Or until they starve to death/kill each other off.

Dume gives Sid’s recording device to his lover. Aww, babe, this is such a sweet anniversary gift. It makes the quintuple-XL Bantha steak I got you seem dinky. You want belly rubs? I can totally do that, honey. Jacen, sweetie, come help me lavish love upon your dad. Who’s a good boy? (Theirs is a strange love nowadays)

Any Rebel who wasn’t a part of Ghost Cell is (at least mildly) terrified of Dume.

Ghost Cell is whooping in joy at the achievement of Wolf Dad.

Sabine’s status as Mand’alor is solidified since everybody is too afraid of her adoptive dad to complain. The Armorer presents Sabine with a signet of a Loth-wolf as a coronation gift. Clan Loth-wolf is a fine Clan of mostly non-Mandalorians and a good ally to Clan Mudhorn.

And this was not what the Rebels had planned at all.

They knew Sid was after them something fierce, so they let rumors of the Mandalorians and the weapons factory leak to the Imps. And then they made up the rumors of Rebel Command gathering on Lothal, though only a few were actually coming. 

All parties involved had agreed to make Lothal a trap for Imperial forces, a reverse Endor, if you will. The Mandalorians were particularly eager to spill Imperial blood in retribution for the Great Purge and the Night of a Thousand Tears.

Sidious showing up himself was considered fortuitous. Dume’s guest appearance was unexpected yet very welcome. The Rebels were expecting to lose a fair number of people in this operation. Instead the losses are none on-planet, and minimal for the fleet sent to handle the group Sid was going to call in for clean up.

Luke got a day off from training to help lead the fighter attack. He’s happy to take the news back to his teacher that he no longer needs training specifically to defeat the Emperor. Yoda is slightly terrified by the most recent actions of Windu’s lineage.

News goes out that the Emperor is dead. He has no designated heir to the throne, so the command structure is fighting over who is now in charge of everything. Operation: Cinder is mainly a no go, since the loyalists who were meant to carry it out are more aware of the scale of it and how their own worlds are likely to suffer for it, and frankly officers who are either decent or corrupt on money are actively preventing it because those are still their planets being threatened.

The Rebels are also working to be thorough in their cleaning up of the Empire. General Dune is very insistent on this, and considering the Mandalorians are backing her up, no one really wants to argue with her about it.

Obviously, the Dins have to accidentally stumble across and take out Gideon. They’re much more interested in the beskar stored aboard his ship. If somebody else wants the laser sword, they can have it. 

Sabine doesn’t know what to do with these dumbasses. Boba and Rex aren’t helping, they’re too busy laughing their asses off in the corner. Luke thinks the Grogus are too young for lightsabers yet. Ghost Yoda agrees with that assessment as he whacks the also laughing his ass off Obi-Ghost in the shins with his ghost cane.

So the Rebels take out the Imps and start rebuilding the galaxy into something better.

The end.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Uuuuurgh."

"Well, that was a Groan," Sabine said wryly, looking up from the schematics for her latest paint bomb to the blue armored figure that just collapsed on her couch. "What's wrong, Rau?"

"While I am thrilled to have the first full settlement of Mando'ade after the Great Purge, my Lady, I almost wish we were dealing with the old Clans and not these Tribes," Fenn Rau, last of the Protectors, replied.

"Their Creed isn't that bad," Sabine bristled on behalf of her new allies.

"Their Creed is not my problem," Rau soothed the younger Mandalorian, his hands raised in surrender. "There are many ways to interpret the Resol’nare, and theirs is a very honorable, if equally strict one."

"Then your problem is…?"

"The pack of half-feral beroyase they use to fund themselves," Rau huffed.

Sabine just raised an eyebrow and gave a little motion for him to continue. 

“I understand that they are integral to funding the settlement, but they make my job protecting it much harder.”

“Oh?”

“I’m beginning to doubt they know what a front door or clearance code is for, my Lady. Ka’ra forbid they actually check in with any regularity,” Rau ranted. “They just come and go like stray Loth-cats. Any time I find and plug the hole in our security that they seem to think is the door, they just find a new hole! Or how to circumnavigate or spoof the systems I put in place!”

“…If it’s any consolation, I think the Tribes know and guard their own beroyase’s access points,” Sabine tried to soothe her Chief of Security. “I can put you in contact with Clan Mudhorn, if you think that would help. They are all beroya.”

The flat stare she received for that suggestion made it very clear where she could stuff that idea.

“Oooh, let me guess, they’re the worst offenders?” she asked with a wince.

“I have caught them teaching the ade how to dodge my security measures,” Rau flatly explained to her. “Do you know how many ade there are here, or how much trouble they can cause? Trust me, it’s quite a lot, especially with Fett egging them on.”

“…Do you want me to talk to Clan Mudhorn for you?” Sabine offered. She was nominally in charge of the Mandalorians of Lothal, so settling disputes and solving problems like this was her job. She was still getting used to being what could very well be the Mand’alor.

Fenn Rau Sighed. “Maybe just make sure they have measures to keep aruetiise from being able to use their routes without warning? The Empire would love to get their hands on all the beskar here alone. And we certainly don’t need other bounty hunters to find their way in either.”

“Definitely,” Sabine easily agreed. Those were very real security concerns, and she had a feeling that the beroyase wouldn’t object to it, if they weren’t already doing so. She got up and put a hand on Fenn Rau’s shoulder. “And thank you for your hard work. Vor entye.”

“N’entye, ner Alor. It is my honor to serve as the Protector.”

Sabine gave him a proud smile, and his shoulder a pat.

Then her grin turned wicked. “So… any plans to take in some Foundlings to restart the Protectors?”

She laughed as the older man reddened and sputtered.

Chapter Text

Palpatine has been waiting 10 years for this: the Senate has finally granted him Emergency Powers (read: supreme power over the Republic). He’s just finished giving his acceptance speech (lying how he loves democracy), when the Force twists. He doesn’t have time to do much more than catch sight of something shiny before it crashes into him and he knows no more.

…Because his neck got snapped by a falling Mandalorian (plus the Mandalorian’s child).

Din has no clue what just happened. He and the kid were checking out a possible lead on Jedi (probably that darn Force cave pit-stop again), and then they were here and falling. Wherever here is. There’s a big uproar because they accidentally fell on a senior citizen and snapped his neck. 

After a couple of hours in a detainment cell, Din and Grogu are released.

…and Din is informed that he is now the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

Turns out that the Emergency Powers screwed over the line of succession and the election methods. And then some dumbass dug out an ancient rule that the new rules didn't void that stated that if the Supreme Chancellor was killed in the presence of the full Senate, the killer was the new Chancellor by Rule of Conquest. It appears the rule was instituted to prevent straight-up Rule of Conquest for killing the Chancellor under any and every circumstance, but honestly everybody is just horrified that this slipped by them. Especially the Jedi, given how some Sith Wars went (implied for extra irony that a Banite Sith was responsible for it).

So Din’s legally the Chancellor. At least until he dies or relinquishes the Emergency Powers. The Senate's hands are tied, since none of them like their chances against a fully armed Mandalorian (at least not after he punched the first one to try out of the pod. Din’s just hoping he didn’t get their title too when they went splat against the floor). The Senate is upset for all the reasons.

The Wookie senator wishes they knew about this ages ago (the number of bad Chancellors they could have deposed!), but is willing to wait to see how this plays out.

Now, Din would abdicate... if he wouldn't be immediately arrested, separated from his charge, and/or executed for accidentally killing his predecessor. The senators are trying to reassure him they wouldn't do that, but for some strange reason he doesn’t believe them.

So, what exactly does a Supreme Chancellor do?

What do you mean I have Emergency Powers that almost make me King of the Republic?!

What do you mean I'm in charge of a WAR?!

At some point he also learns the name of the guy he killed, and realizes time travel was involved (at least he is not being crowned emperor).

Obviously, Din is going to need help being in charge of this political shit show. *Sigh*

He's not asking a Naboo politician for help since his predecessor, who was from Naboo, started this war (having not done anything to prevent the build up in his ten year tenure), and the Emergency Powers were instigated by a Naboo Senator’s representative while she was off hiding from assassins. Nor is he keeping his predecessor's groupies as his help/support staff. 

Din semi-arbitrarily selects Bail Organa to be his Vice Chancellor. His reason: Cara spoke well of Alderaan's old government when she got drunk on Sorgan. 

Bail doesn't know how to feel about his appointment. On one hand, he now has power to help the Republic, on the other hand, he has no clue why the Mandalorian chose a peaceful planet’s Senator to be his VC. Also, Bail is justifiably afraid his political career will be torpedoed with Din’s, who quickly proves to be a barbarian poorly educated in everything unrelated to being a self-sufficient hunter and killer. There’s no way this random Mandalorian will be a good leader.

Next order of business: the opening salvo of this war.

The Jedi would like to mount a rescue mission for their Knight that infiltrated and got the information on the CIS's impending attack back to them. His 19 year-old Padawan may also need rescuing. And Naboo's normal Senator.

...Okay. Din can understand not wanting to abandon your people. What is your plan? Mmm… How about no. Either quietly extract the prisoners before they are surrounded by thousands of enemies in a gladiatorial arena, or be prepared to butcher the stadium goers to get them back. 

Also, wouldn't an orbital bombardment be the best way to destroy the droid factories without risking our soldiers? 

Speaking of, how did we muster an army so quickly? What do you mean they were created/cloned for this? Kriff. Isn’t that a slave army? I don't condone slavery or denying people their right to choose their own fate. Offer all of these clones the choice to serve in this army or seek out training for a new occupation. They are now citizens of the Republic. I will fight you on their personhood.

The Cloners are to be arrested and placed under house arrest. They will safely complete the Clones already in the process of being created so as not to kill anyone, but they will not start any new ones. Also, someone needs to find out how this even got started. An army that no one knew about should not be suddenly available on the eve of war. Not without someone planning something nefarious. Especially since the Kaminoans are trying to protest that they were hired to do so by either the Jedi or the Republic. Clearly something is missing here. 

And where are the generals for this army? The Jedi? Do they know how to lead an army? No? Fine, get me member planets' generals. They don't have generals/armies? Then surely there's some warlords we can pay to organize for us. Don't worry, we'll vet them for proper ethics. I would leave the command to the Clones since they have been trained for it, but some experienced people to oversee things would be wise.

Why are you insisting the Jedi be deployed to fight? Their magic makes them very powerful? Okay, they can be a commando force. Volunteers only.

Wait, they want to bring their kids with them onto the battlefields? No, I do NOT care if they are Jedi Padawans, you get them back here before I have your whole Order arrested for child abuse! A child has no place in war besides learning self defense at home just in case!

And this also makes Din reluctant to give Grogu into their custody, seeing as they endanger their children, which is unacceptable by Creed.

And so ends Din's first day in office as Supreme Chancellor Mando. 

Yes, Din refuses to give his name, he doesn't want these slimy Senators poking into his past. Bail kindly supports this as demanding Din's name, or the removal of his helmet/armor (which he kept on even while arrested), would be Religious Discrimination (Din also argues that weapons are a part of his religion, so he’s still armed too). So far, the Alderaanian has decided that his new chancellor is... okay. He's certainly being practical about this whole war problem that got dropped in his lap. And Bail appreciates Mando acting on his suspicions about the convenient army. And trying to protect the Jedi from the frontlines. Even if Bail doesn't approve of how Chancellor Mando achieved his office.

Anyways, there’s a problem. Mando and his child do not have a residence on Coruscant. ...I guess we can house you in the previous Chancellor's quarters? Sure, okay.

Bail is very surprised when he walks into the Chancellor's office early the next morning in order to prepare it for this second day of chaos, only to find the new Chancellor slumped against the front of the desk with his child in his lap.

Bail: *rushing forward thinking someone already assassinated the Mandalorian* Chancellor!

Din: *startles and pulls his blaster*

B: *nervously eyeing the weapon* Chancellor?

D: Sorry. *puts away blaster*

B: ...sir, what are you doing here so early?

D: *ignores him to wake his child and start feeding him pocket jerky*

B: *in horrible suspicion* Sir, did the two of you sleep in your office?

D: *totally was sleeping, and using the desk as cover from the karking huge window. That is such a security risk!* ...the kid made a fuss about the apartment. *doesn't mention that the place gave him the creeps too, rattling his hunter's instincts* I didn't want to bother the Jedi to translate for him in the middle of the night.

B: *is touched by the Chancellor being oddly considerate* ...wait, translate for him?

Din kindly sends a request to the Jedi to send someone to magically speak with his magic son. There is something wrong with the ex-Chancellor's apartment.

Everyone else involved is highly confused. 

Jedi: Magic? Do you mean the Force, sir? 

Din: If that's what you want to call it.

J: …Chancellor, what do you know about the Jedi?

D: They are an ancient order of enemy sorcerers who can move things with their minds. Though I'm not sure why the Jedi and Mandalorians are enemies. The ones I've met so far have been okay.

J: *suffering from Din's total lack of knowledge*

Anyways, a Jedi is sent to translate for Grogu to Din, and another is sent to Palps’s old apartment.

The corroborated discovery? The previous Chancellor has a fair number of Sith and other Dark Side artifacts in his apartment. 

Din: What’s a Sith?

Jedi: *blank staring*

Bail: *has been catching on to Din’s lack of formal education in history and government (by Core standards), while coaching Din through Chancellor work as they waited for the Jedi* Basically evil Jedi. They have the same powers, but use them to hurt people instead of help.

D: *nods in understanding. Sith are an order of very enemy sorcerers*

Chancellor Mando gives the Jedi full authority to clear the place out. He doesn’t want to live in a haunted apartment. The Jedi (correctly) take this as permission to find out what the kriff their previous Chancellor was up to with all this "evil magic" shit.

This sudden need to look into Palps’s affairs also includes looking into his closest supporters and confidantes.

During the questioning of Palps’s groupies, Din learns that Jedi can sense lies. 

This is perfect!

He can use them to determine if the politicians are lying to him during negotiations (someone forgot to tell Din that politics is all about lying). His life could be so much simpler if he knew if people were being honest when they agree to a deal. 

So time to make use of his power and order Jedi to attend his meetings as living lie-detectors.

The Jedi think the Chancellor is abusing his power. Maybe? It's a bit hard to argue abuse when he's apparently trying to help.

Din: You want to serve the Republic? Then make it easier on yourselves and help me determine who's actually doing that.

Jedi: *have no comeback for that*

These are not the only misunderstandings Chancellor Mando seems to have about the function of the Jedi.

When the Senate tries to requisition a battalion or three from the GAR to serve as police officers for Coruscant, Din smacks that idea down. They’re going to need every soldier they have to do their jobs, which is not police work. Also:

Din: Isn't that the Jedi's job? They're peacekeepers, right?

Senate/Jedi: Uh…

Din: Also, in my experience, regular people are weird about not showing them your face. And wearing armor. Most of you are a good example of that. We’re not subjecting our loyal soldiers to that.

Speaking of the Clones, the Chancellor is receiving his first call from Kamino. They would like to report in that the Kaminoans have been successfully subdued, no losses suffered. We've started going through the files to determine how the order was made and what all it entails. And the Commanders would like to report that the vast majority of their brethren are ready to serve the Republic as its army. Those who have chosen otherwise are being assisted by the Jedi in finding training for other careers. Din is honored by their willingness to serve and loyalty. And now they are ready to be deployed. May the Ka’ra watch over you.

So the Geonosis mission goes off pretty cleanly. ...More or less. 

They get General Kenobi (Obi-Wan still gets the title since he is a Jedi with actual military experience), his Padawan, and Senator Amidala out of there safely before they ever made it to the execution grounds. 

Except Dooku and Jango interfere, and Anakin loses a hand trying to fight Dooku, who clearly reveals himself as a Sith. 

Thankfully one of the Jedi orders the capital warships to come in and start their orbital bombardment of the droid factories, which serves nicely as a distraction for the escape. For both Dooku and his Separatists, and the Jedi and their friends.

So yes, unfortunately, Dooku and a fair number of the Separatist leaders manage to escape, thanks in part to the clever skill of Jango Fett (no arena fight, no beheading). But no mass death of nearly two hundred Jedi either to start the war with.

So yeah, Dooku is not having a good day. 

His Sith Master is dead, and that bitch Sidious deliberately kept many of the best Sith secrets from Dooku (mainly because when the Apprentice learns them is about when the Master ends up dead). Not to mention that with Sidious out of the picture, coordinating both sides of the war has become impossibly more difficult. The war is going to be for real now. And the Republic is going to use real military commanders, not the Jedi. Kriff, this might be an uphill battle.

The public is also in a tizzy. The Sith have been largely forgotten (and the Jedi are quite happy that people have forgotten the evils Force Users are capable of), but the legends of Mandalorian warriors most certainly have not. So as much as the Republic may dislike how Chancellor Mando took power, he has to be perfect for fighting a war, right? Meanwhile, the Confederacy has gone from dealing with a ‘kindly if ineffectual, and elderly’ Chancellor, to one who looks like he could rip a super-battle droid apart with his bare hands. 

A later publicity poster does actually show Din doing so, and he strangely appreciates it.

The Chancellor and his entourage are there to greet their newly recovered general when he returns to Coruscant. Their return is delayed because Anakin needs a new hand and healing, so Padme takes him to Naboo for that (and they get married), while Obi-Wan is delayed helping out with genuine war stuff, which the new Chancellor is perfectly fine with. So despite being separated, they end up all arriving together at the same time, and fully informed as to what has been going on.

Din intends to give Obi the command of the volunteer Jedi forces, plus a Clone compliment (the 212th, can't split up Obi and Cody).

Except Anakin can't keep a lid on his temper when he finally lays eyes on the man who killed his good friend Palps, and stole his position and legacy.

Grogu Force Slaps Anakin into the ground. ...And then smacks him to the ground several more times for good measure. Din has to stop Grogu from turning the Chosen One into a bloody pancake.

By the time Ani's pulled his head out of the concrete, all of the Clones, from Din's Secretarial Guard (the flash training makes them really good at quick reading and retention for all the paperwork Din is expected to go through/catch up on, and have his trust, plus they insist on protecting their Supreme Commander) to the group from the 212th and 501st Anakin showed up with. 

The Clones love their Supreme Commander who granted them rights and citizenship. Not to mention that every Clone who has met Chancellor Mando only has good things to say about him. He just understands their culture. Or if he doesn’t understand, he certainly respects it. The very efficient Clone gossip vine has firmly established that anyone who messes with the Chancellor will be on the receiving end of the Wrath of the Coruscant Guard (who are there to protect military bases/assets and be the last line of defense, not police).

Now Din is misunderstanding things, and thinks that Palpatine was Anakin's grandfather (by blood or adoption. It’s not like any real Mandalorian sees a difference there), and thus he was trying to avenge his family. Grogu is slapping at Din's chest plate trying to explain just how wrong he is. The rest of the Jedi are very concerned about the Chosen One being attached to someone with a Sith obsession (at the very least. They haven't managed to determine if the dead man was an actual Sith or not). And didn’t they have Anakin meeting Palpatine, alone, since he was very young? Well, kriff.

On the surface, the Jedi Council tries to placate the Chancellor about the attempted attack (not that he actually needs placating. His guard on the other hand…) by sequestering Anakin in the Temple for mind healing and mental evaluations, though the real reason is to find out just how badly Palps messed him up. They only get more insistent about the mind healing when Grogu explains his reasoning for a self-defensive murder attempt.

Padme is very conflicted about her mentor being dead, the laws of democracy getting overturned, and the man she just married now basically being under house arrest. All at the hand of the same man.

Anyways, Din manages to settle into the rhythm of being Supreme Chancellor. He gets the Cliff Notes version of the paperwork/legislation from his Secretarial Guard (I speak many languages, legalese/politics isn’t one of them), learns How a Functioning Government Works (we get funding how? What are “taxes?”), slaps down the Senate’s attempts to interfere with the military (if you don’t know how to kriffing defend yourself, you sure as hell don’t know how to defend a planet! Leave the kriffing military the kark alone!), shames the Senators into being reasonable (are you full-grown sentients, or toddlers? Give me reasons besides "because" to do what you want), uses Jedi lie-detectors to determine which Senators are corrupt and need the boot (if you won't keep your word, how the kriff are we supposed to get anything done?), and occasionally ditches the Senate to go hunting in the undertown for criminals to take his aggression out on (and turn in to the Bounty Hunters Guild or the Coruscant Police Force) and save street orphans (his guard are wondering if he’s trying to turn his apartment into an orphanage. Secretarial Guard and Chief Babysitter Captain Squee is an enabler).

As for a little more detail of the changes Chancellor Mando is implementing… 

Well, Bail has convinced him to set up a properly democratic line of succession, just in case someone somehow manages to overcome not only Mando's highly protective (and competent) guard, but the man himself as well, for a successful assassination. Plus an elimination of any Rule of Conquest loopholes for the chancellorship, though not retroactively. Bail can acknowledge that Mando does a surprisingly good job despite his horrifying lack of knowledge on how the Republic (or any proper, non-totalitarian government) functions.

The chancellor’s willingness to help the democratic process also helps reassure people he is not intending to be a permanent tyrant. Or that at least he wants to give that impression...

Chancellor Mando has also eliminated the Senate seats for the likes of the Trade Federation and Banking Clans on the grounds of "no citizens = no one to represent." This decision is also influenced by reports from his military commanders about their blatant support of the CIS, including Obi-Wan’s report about who was in leadership positions for the Geonosis conference, which Din does not disregard. He’s not going to allow them to double deal.

Trade Federation Senator: This is an outrage!

Din: This is a government body. A company is not a government. Thus you have no place in this government body.

TFS: You cannot just dissolve our seat! It is not democratic!

D: I have Emergency Powers. And do you remember how I got this position?

Padme: The Senator of Naboo volunteers her handmaidens to escort the representatives of the Trade Federation from the premises!

D: ...Granted.

P: *to her ladies* Never say I didn't get you anything.

*Later*

D: Senator, I have here a note about your handmaidens throwing the ex-representatives of the Trade Federation down the stairs outside the building. Repeatedly.

P: *sweating nervously*

D: My guard would like to congratulate them on their excellent technique.

P: …I'll let them know.

Furthermore, with his Jedi lie-detectors, Chancellor Mando is rather efficiently weeding out the traitors supplying info to the CIS, and the corrupt ones who are representing their own interests and not their people's (think Orn Free Taa, with his slave/sex worker aides). A couple of simple pointed questions with a Jedi to sense their sincerity in giving the "right" answer, and then the Jedi know if they need to investigate that Senator's affairs or not. Din has also effectively removed the red tape that prevented inquiries into Senators without an enormous amount of evidence already acquired.

The Jedi are conflicted over the Chancellor calling them up as he pleases and having a handful of them as basically part of his staff, yet he's giving them free reign to do their jobs. They are making more progress against corruption than they have managed in centuries.

Even better, Din makes a point of seizing Trade Federation and Banking Clan resources within the Republic (because otherwise they would be used to support the other side of the war), plus confiscating the wealth of all the corrupt senators, CEO’s, etc. the Jedi have been arresting. It seems like a good use of his Emergency Powers. The money either goes directly into funding the war effort, or into public services to make life better for people. Supporting the community is in line with his religious beliefs. And he is finding way too many hungry kids on the streets. And drug addicts.

Bail uses the funds to also encourage the creation of smaller banks and trade companies to replace the ones which had monopolized the Republic for so long. This is done to not only ease the economic chaos of Din’s arbitrary decree (he has no idea how much this could upset the economy) but also to help prevent the rise of similar corporate super-powers.

There's also the small issue of the Chancellor's son, Grogu. The Jedi have a Grogu in the Temple, same species and everything. They had temporarily wondered if Mando had somehow stolen the youngling, but their Grogu is still safely tucked away in the Temple crèche. Anyways, the Chancellor's child obviously needs training in the Force, which Mando seems to understand, but he’s also refusing to hand the child over to the Jedi Order for said training. Instead he's pestering his Jedi lie-detector of the day for lessons when there aren't any meetings going on. The other Councilors are getting concerned that Plo Koon keeps volunteering for lie-detector/green bean lessons duty.

Commander Fox would like to complain about his main charge, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, regularly going out to "help clean up the city." Which is code for going bounty hunting and/or collecting street orphans. It is, admittedly, a very Mandalorian pastime, but it does not make the Commander's job easy. The difficulty certainly isn't helped by some of his men actively participating in the Chancellor's shenanigans. 

The Chancellor and his guard have actually caught some fairly big time criminals, which is a mix of impressive and concerning. Impressive because no one else caught the criminal before, and concerning because no one else caught the criminal before. Fox has got some of the Secretarial Guard looking into the CPD's affairs to figure out why the kark the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic is better at their jobs than them. At least the Jedi seem to be trying to pick up the slack.

And Captain Squee is the main enabler of the Chancellor's desire to collect and parent every stray child he comes across. They’re practically turning the Chancellor's exorcised apartment into a daycare/orphanage. Fox is just glad that there are more than enough of the Guard to rotate caring for the Chancellor's growing collection of children.

The press, of course, is all over the Chancellor and his collection of children. There’s an attempt to spread malicious rumors about his "relationship" with the children, but it falls flat due to the constant Jedi presence, the improving health of the children seen to follow him and his guards around, and because of how the heads of most of the major news companies have been arrested for corruption too. There is also a growing shortage of corrupt rich people to pay them to write scandalous articles. The ones left are running legitimate news, and they do not buy into those rumours. Especially since the Chancellor has given a statement on how his religion considers children to have the highest priority as "they are the future," with harsh penalties (often death) prescribed for child abusers.

The war is going well with the Republic taking the initial victories. Nothing decisive to win the war yet, but it's not unreasonable to feel confident. This is in good part because Sidious is not leaking intelligence, but also because these new anti-corruption policies mean that more worlds support them, without as much internal division. 

For Ryloth, the aid the resistance receives includes Orn Free Taa’s former sex workers, who have now adopted the Mandalorian creed. Given their past experiences, they particularly enjoy wearing full-body armour 24/7.

One Captain Wilhuff Tarkin commits a war crime, but tells his men to keep quiet due to the necessity of it. The Chancellor is a warrior, he will understand. The Clones pass it up the line to said Chancellor, and next we see Tarkin, Chancellor Mando is dragging the handcuffed man across the floor by the collar of his uniform, throws him before the senate with holo-images proving his crimes, and shooting him in the head. Only afterwards does he belatedly realize that he just killed that Tarkin, and maybe should have impaled him instead.

One day...

Jedi: Sir, the Hutts are demanding the Republic finds Jabba's child, or they will cut off the hyperspace lanes from us.

Din: What happened to their hunters?

J: Sir?

D: Are all of the Hutts' hunters dead? Incapacitated?

J: ...no?

D: Then inform the Hutts that we are not amused by this power move, and if they do cut off their lanes, we will consider it an act of war.

J: Sir! We can't afford a war on another front.

D: We won't have another front. Those gangsters can't do more than harass our supply lines, and they know it. Unless they want to face an orbital bombardment, they won’t try anything.

Bail: But what about the Neutral Systems, Chancellor? They may not react well to this threat.

D: This isn't a threat, it's a promise. The likes of the Hutts only respect one thing: power. And I have no compunction about killing slavers . ...That said, we cannot leave a child in danger and missing. Send a commando team to rescue the child. One of the Cuy'val Dar should have the hunting skills and connections necessary to find it.

Hardliner senator: Speaking of the Neutral Systems, Chancellor, the Confederacy is forming a trade embargo against them. We must do the same!

Din: ...Why? How does isolating those systems from both sides help us? If the CIS won't trade with them, they'll only be able to trade among themselves and with us. They don't have to fight to help us. Supplies are important too. And I won't condemn worlds to starving simply because they want to avoid the tragedies of war.

Duchess Satine has no idea what to think about the growing mess caused by this politician-warrior Mandalorian, who also happens to be helping her people. She certainly can't oppose him without seeming highly ungrateful, but she's worried about what such a traditionalist will want with her New Mandalorians (the answer is nothing. He doesn’t care about them any more than any other planet out there).

So you know, search for Rotta the Huttlet. Obi-Wan and his new Padawan Ahsoka Tano (not a war zone, so okay for her to go along) get assigned that job as a part of the commando team. Padme still goes to negotiate with Ziro the Hutt for a chance to talk with Jabba on behalf of Naboo's old ally, and the ex-Initiate who has helped Ani pass notes to her after his mandatory house arrest for mind healing. The Masters are not letting the married couple meet, so Anakin has had to get creative in contacting his wife (after failing to escape house arrest anyways). He is so proud to call Ahsoka a sister of his Lineage now.

A big difference here (besides Anakin's absence on the mission) is that Chancellor Mando shows up to help with Ziro's arrest. Given the Hutt has not only kidnapped a child, but attempted to kill it (and a Senator) while blaming representatives of the Republic, Din is less than pleased with the slug. The Chancellor asks his Guard what punishments are applicable for Ziro's crimes. Imprisonment for life… and the death penalty. 

Death it is. 

Chancellor Mando personally runs Ziro the Hutt through with his spear. 

Ziro is now the first Hutt killed in centuries by someone not directly affiliated with/hired by a rival Hutt. 

Obi: That was quite the… message, Chancellor.

Din: It’s not done yet.

Everyone not Din: *feeling of Dread*

Din orders Ziro's body be shipped to Jabba. 

What? It's proof that the Republic has fully solved the problem. And that this really was about the kid for the Republic, not the hyperlanes.

Of course, Din is perfectly aware that the Hutts aren't going to let him kill one of them scott-free. It would undermine their power to have the Republic obviously dismiss them as a threat like this. But Din’s confident that with the help of his guard he can handle any hunters the Hutts will send after him. 

And only once the Hutts' hunters are thwarted will his message be complete. 

The Hutts' days are numbered. All it takes is one Chancellor willing to act .

Some time later, Cad Bane takes his selection of bounty hunters to the Senate Dome to kill the Chancellor. Honestly,  there are a lot of rich people who want Chancellor Mando dead. And even in prison, a lot of them still have money.

Unfortunately for Bane, Chancellor Mando has been expecting them. His guards have been learning a lot about bounty hunter tricks in trying to keep up with their charge (there’s a reason the Wrath of the Coruscant Guard is quickly becoming greatly feared by all Clones), so they are ready to thwart hunters after the Chancellor’s life. Not to mention that on this particular day, a handful of the Cuy'val Dar are meeting with the Chancellor to discuss proper upgrades for the Clones’ armor (the Chancellor has been offended by the quality of Clone armor since he first laid eyes on it. Proper protection for his soldier boys!). And one can’t forget the capabilities of the Chancellor himself.

And so the hunters become the hunted.

Bane and his hunters are taken alive in a show of skill. Except for the droids. Some (or all) of those get scrapped. Din wants the dirt on who hired them. Mostly as a check to see if these ones were the Hutts’ crew, or someone else’s. There’s been more than a few thwarted attempts on his life (the Guard likes to catch them before the Chancellor gets involved in the fight, as protecting him gets difficult when he’s throwing himself into the thick of the fight and trying to protect them).

Speaking of thwarted assassinations…

Jango Fett has been trapped in service to Count Dooku. The bounty hunter doesn’t really want to be working for Dooku, but his other options are to head for the far corners of the galaxy and hope no one hunts him down (unlikely given his role in making a suspect army and association with Dooku) or get arrested by the Republic (and last time that happened he got sold into slavery). So, working for Dooku (and trying to keep Boba on the ship and away from the suspicious Separatist leaders).

Dooku is having issues with the Plan. After all, a key part of the scheme the Rule of Two had come up with was having the Republic willingly surrender their freedoms to the Sith, since outright conquest has continually failed in the past. Unfortunately, Chancellor Mando is not killing democracy so much as scolding it into shaping back up. And while Dooku could feasibly win the war using the Confederacy, having only the CIS’s population accepting him as their supreme ruler will not be enough. So he has to either a) lose in a way that will set things up for the next generation of Sith, or b) find a politician within the Republic to assume the role of leading the nation into an outright dictatorship after Din is dead (and one that will continue to be Dooku’s puppet once they have control). 

Obviously, Dooku favors killing the Pain-In-His-Backside Chancellor and having power for himself. Especially since the Line of Bane is not going to have an easy time going back into hiding. The Jedi now know they missed the Sith before. Even worse, they're sure to have figured out by this point that they nearly had a Sith Lord granted Emergency Powers over the entire Republic. The Jedi will be practically rabid in their hunt for any remaining Sith. But even just removing the willful Chancellor from the board should help the Plan greatly. Speed is of the essence before Chancellor Mando undoes even more of the preparation work Sidious laid out. So Dooku sends Jango Fett.

Jango doesn’t like this job. He’s been keeping up with the news, and Chancellor Mando is a good Mandalorian. He reminds Jango of the vode he lost in the war with Death Watch. And Mando is doing what Jango’s buir, Jaster Mereel, set out to do and changing the galaxy’s view on Mandalorians, because the shiny chancellor isn’t afraid to answer questions about his religion and how he practices it, and applies those practices to running the Republic (in the right direction).

And Jango is not the only Mandalorian to notice how great Din is. There’s been a small pilgrimage of Mandalorians to Coruscant to join this new prominent Mandalorian leader. They don't want to follow Duchess Satine Kryze and her wimpy pacifists, and most certainly don't want to follow Pre Vizsla and the amoral DW. Din is an excellent third option that suddenly popped up. He mostly asks them to collect/protect street kids and help police/clean up the lower levels. Some also volunteer for military roles too. It helps fill out the command structure with experienced hands.

The Jedi (and others) aren't a big fan of the Chancellor having what looks like a growing personal army/religious cult. 

Some kindly point out that aren't the Jedi describing themselves to a certain degree? 

Din's response to accusations that he's replacing the police is: "They will either do their jobs, or I will find someone else to do it. This is the Way."

But back to Jango, who is a professional hunter, so he doesn’t (consciously) botch his performance for the assassination plan against Din.

The thing is, the Clones have been on high alert for Jango. The man birthed them into what would be slavery, if it weren’t for Chancellor Mando. So the Clones have questions and anger for Jango. They've been scouring the galaxy for their blood "father" with the help of the Jedi, making use of knowledge from the Cuy'val Dar about Jango and Din’s general knowledge of bounty hunter habits.

So the Clones manage to capture Jango before he can even set a toe on Coruscant. The man was expecting an epic duel with a worthy Mando’ade, but instead got taken down by a squad or three pile-tackling him.

The only one informed of this capture is Chancellor Mando, who only asks that they share what they learn from Jango in exchange for custody. Din knows that the party most wronged by Jango is the Clones. With that in mind, Din also makes sure to remind the Clones that torture isn't that helpful against people who do violence for a living (the high pain thresholds, you know? Also, people are more likely to tell you what you want to hear, not the truth).

The Clones end up going with guilt trips to extract information… and assimilation for Boba. Jango can have Boba back once he acknowledges his army of children and how he wronged them.

Boba is not eager for assimilation, but a million-plus brothers is a lot of peer pressure. Look, we're all Clones of the same man. You're a brother. Our little-big brother, seeing as you are chronologically the oldest yet on the younger end biologically. And Jango abandoned the rest of us. He sold us to fight a war as cannon fodder. We just want to make sure that won't ever happen to you.

Eventually Boba is brought into the fold, including having a certain reverence for Chancellor Mando fostered within him by his brothers. Din thought Boba was adorably feral when he first met the kid (Boba was still being rebellious about accepting his brothers' loving embrace at the time). He reminded Din of some of the kids back in the Tribe. They want love, but they're not sure that they can trust the adults offering that love.

Dooku is very displeased once Jango fails to check in and there’s still no news of Mando's demise. Time to send the Apprentice.

Unfortunately for them, the Jedi Special Forces have been on the lookout for Asajj Ventress ever since her first appearance in the war. The Clones are exceptional soldiers, but they don't have the lightsabers or beskar to effectively fight Asajj. So when news of Asajj being spotted heading for the Core comes in, General Obi-Wan Kenobi correctly assumes she's targeting the Chancellor (Din may have shared Jango’s capture with him since Obi-Wan was the one to first encounter Jango and the Clones). 

Obi goes to Chancellor Mando hoping to get him to agree to having a copy of his armor made for a body double so they can set a trap for Asajj. He is surprised when the Chancellor is willing to play the bait himself, so long as his kids are somewhere safe while it goes down (Din gets bored being stuck in Senate meetings/affairs. A nice ambush trap sounds like fun). 

Trapped by a Jedi commando force (with a Clone trooper commando net to keep her from slipping away from the Jedi) and finding the Chancellor quite capable of defending himself (he’s been taking lessons/sparring with Grogu’s Jedi tutors since he found out about the whole Sith thing so that he can protect his Foundling. His guard may get in on these lessons too), Asajj ends up getting captured. She's then put into Jedi custody since they actually know how to detain Force Sensitives. 

The Jedi end up trying to rehabilitate her (on the Chancellor's suggestion, maybe). After all, her first Master in the Force was an active Jedi. So part of that rehabilitation is providing proof that there was no way the Jedi could have helped her first Master.

Asaji: LIES! LIES!

Din: I thought you people could sense the truth?

A: *begins to feel horror about the path Dooku led her on which strayed so far from what her first, beloved Master wanted for her*

Dooku is starting to reach crisis mode as his assassins are not only failing, they're being taken alive . He obviously needs a replacement for Asajj, not only to kill the Chancellor, but to kill the previous assassins too. 

There's also the little problem that the war is no longer in his favour. 

Instead of the tenuous balance he and Sidious had planned, the Republic has been holding the initiative since Geonosis. Dooku's political standing is also a lot more precarious, because the politicians who are opposed to war like what is going on with the Republic, plus the troubles cropping up with the Trade Federation and other corrupt corporations. You see, they agreed to support the Confederacy with the understanding that they were the only ones who had an army, and that they would be making a lot of money. Instead there is a war they might lose, and they are definitely losing a lot of cash as their investments throughout the Republic are being seized and used to fund the war being waged against them. So they are Very Unhappy with the guy who talked them into this mess.  

Dooku knows the Jedi will never stop coming for him since he's been outed as a Sith, which means declaring for peace will not work in the long run (for him). And at this rate, he is in genuine danger of his own side deciding to hand him over. But that does not mean he is going to give up. That is not the Sith Way. So Dooku's going to need some disposable Dark Siders from other sects to buy time for him against the Jedi while he prepares himself a proper Sith Apprentice.

So Dooku ends up going to Mother Talzin for a replacement.

The leader of the Nightsisters agrees to supply him after receiving offers of wealth and fresh Force Sensitive Zabrak bloodlines to be "recruited" into the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers once the Jedi are defeated.

What Dooku is unaware of is that Mother Talzin was preparing a champion to retrieve Asajj from the Jedi so that she could be brought back into the Nightsister clan. The old witch is happy to be paid for something she basically was already planning on doing.

After some further, Sithly training with Dooku, Savage Opress is sent to Coruscant. Because they know where the Jedi Temple is, but are having trouble locating Jango (he's being passed between the Clone battalions. It is depressingly easy to hide their progenitor among their ranks). The Zabrak champion is also doused in Nightsister magicks to make his infiltration of the Jedi Temple easier. And Dooku managed to draw up a  Temple map from his time there. The Jedi may be able to rearrange to some degree, but moving the jail cells isn't anything they can do in a hurry.

Savage manages to make it to Asajj, but getting in was the easy part. After all, Savage isn't the one who can cast an invisibility spell. They have a hell of a time making it out of the Temple and off of Coruscant. There are Jedi Masters, that's right plural, blocking their way. Plus the Temple Guard. Plus the Knights in residence. Plus the Coruscant Guard (Jedi are kind of military assets. And their brothers wouldn't forgive them if they didn't protect the family of their favorite nat-born commando squads).

The Dathomirian duo make it off of Coruscant by the skin of their teeth. They certainly didn't make it out without heavy injuries, and the Jedi may or may not have figured out how they infiltrated, and will be prepared for that next time. The close call has them rethinking the Sith's ability to win a war against the Jedi and the Republic. Asajj knew that Dooku's Master had a winning plan, but whatever it was, it was ruined by the man's death (and the rise of Chancellor Mando).

Dooku isn't exactly happy about the assassin he paid for bringing back one target alive and not being able to locate the other at all, but Mother Talzin manages to talk/threaten him around to the idea that more powerful Dark Siders is better than less.

And on that note, let's go find Sidous's other Apprentice, Maul.

Savage and Asajj do, and MT fixes him up.

Maul is open to "partnering" with Dooku (both expect the other to backstab them once they outlive their usefulness). Dooku has other ideas, though, and after beating Maul around (he does have a lot more experience and training than Maul. As a Jedi), takes the leadership for himself, and designates Maul as the Apprentice.

Maul suggests that their first act should be taking out Kenobi (obviously it's a revenge plot). Dooku smacks that idea down as his grand-padawan is not that weak. Or is Maul looking to be split in half the other way? No, their first acts are going to be attacks against less capable Jedi. Get an actual body count going, while investigating if the Plan is even remotely salvageable. Having two Sith investigating should hopefully help with that.

Obviously Maul disregards this idea as soon as possible. 

And what does he find out, but that Kenobi has a little Padawan, ripe for the taking as an Apprentice. Oh what sweet revenge it would be, to suborn Kenobi's student and have her kill him as the final step on her path to continuing the Line of Bane as Maul's Apprentice.

Commander Cody and Captain Rex are very concerned over Maul's obsession with their General and his Padawan (Obi-Wan is concerningly blaise about it. Apparently this kind of mess was common when Anakin was his Padawan?). Please help, oh Supreme Dad Mando? Oh kark no. Evil sorcerers are not allowed near impressionable children. And what is a teenage girl doing out of the Jedi Temple to be targeted like this!? I could have sworn I gave orders and promises regarding child abuse! Scramble the commandos/hunters!

Maul is having a bad, bad week.

It gets worse when Dooku finds out. It turns out the Count was also planning on taking Ahsoka as his Apprentice. Dooku knows the Line of Bane needs to be continued (and that he is a way more capable teacher than Maul, seeing as Dooku has raised Jedi Padawans before) and thought the newest member of his Jedi Lineage was a good fit. Old enough to have already completed basic Force training, young enough to still be highly malleable. And she seems to show more promise than Skywalker did on Geonosis. The boy couldn't even protect one lousy Senator when sneaking into a factory. Or, you know, have the brains to not take the person he was supposed to be guarding into enemy territory.

Dooku is now doubly on the Open Circle Fleet's shit list for trying to steal their mascot.

And while they don’t manage to net Ahsoka's elderly stalker, they do manage to capture the creepy Zabrak with a revenge hard-on against the General.

Ashoka and Obi-Wan are brought back home. She goes back to the Temple, while Obi-Wan gets a multi-hour, blistering dressing down from multiple parties for reckless endangerment, and insubordination during a war (though to be fair, he generally kept her on the capital ship. But Ahsoka being the feisty little thing she is, would sneak onto transports to join missions). He is also reassigned from frontline command to military HQ where he will "not be a danger to others." Anakin gleefully welcomes his old Master to the House Arrest Club.

Dooku begrudgingly allows Mother Talzin to organize a rescue mission of Maul to be led/carried out by Savage and Asajj.

But Asajj has been ruminating on what she learned while in Jedi custody, considering the path her life has taken until now, and where it might go in the future. She's pretty damn sure the Sith are not winning this war. Maul is the second of their Force wielding number to be captured, and he was stronger than her. Asajj is interested in surviving (and honoring her first Master's memory), so she comes to the conclusion she should defect/seek asylum from the Republic. Her bargaining chip is her intimate knowledge of the endgame play Dooku intends to enact: a full-frontal assault while activating the Clones' Inhibitor Chips to kill as many Jedi (and/or high value targets) as possible while pushing into the Core.

It's not as surprising a play to the Republic Military Command as she thought it would be.

See, at some point in here, the search through Kamino's records led to the discovery of the Inhibitor Chips, and their full/true functions. It took a while because the Chips were one of the closely guarded secrets.

Chancellor Mando immediately mandated their removal. His good soldier boys would not become meat droids. Command class and special ops Clones were given first priority (given they can order the others/are the most dangerous), but everyone who can be shoved through a surgery tube without comprising a battlefield was getting the operation as quickly as possible.

Dooku realized about halfway through the de-chipping process what was going on. Which of course meant that the little program he was making to fake Sidous giving the Orders needs to be used now before it became obsolete. Maul getting captured just made it a little more urgent.

So now that Din knows the Chips are going to be activated soon, he puts out an order for all still chipped Clones to destroy their communicators while their de-chipped brethren put them under until they can be de-chipped themselves.

Of course, even if the Clones aren't turning on their nat-born allies, it's still a major strike to the manning of their battle lines. And Dooku is coming with his droid army and Savage to take advantage of that weakness.

Din: ...Bail, you're in charge while I'm gone.

Bail: *in great confusion and surprise* Chancellor?!

D: Don't let the kids eat too many sweets. *sweeps out of the room with his guard right behind him*

B: *looking to one of the guards assigned to him* What just happened?

Guard: *in wondering awe* ...I think the Chancellor has just decided to take the fight to the Seppies.

Right you are, Mr. Guard!

Din gathers up all his Mandalorian followers, at least half the Coruscant guard, and any Jedi that are willing to come to repel the droid advance (there's a lot more of them sitting in the Temple than in canon since they haven't been drafted as generals and shit). As they push back the droids and hold the line, their numbers swell as locals stand up to fight alongside the Chancellor of the Republic who has left Coruscant to fight for their freedom.

The Republic and CIS are shocked. Has any Chancellor ever taken to a literal battlefield while still in office before? Not only that, but the Chancellor is very effective in halting the droid army's advance and stalling them out until the official army is ready for action again. It's almost like he knows where they are going to attack next (the wider galaxy does not know that Asajj supplied him with the precise details of the CIS's battle plans beforehand).

Din manages to kill Grevious in single combat. This is unquestionably impressive. And possible because Grevious is set to kill Jedi, not people with conventional weapons, or beskar armour (and a beskar spear). And Din does better than the canon Clones against Grevious because of his superior armor and close-combat skills (Clones were meant to be firing squads mainly. Especially since they were meant to fight a droid army, which makes CQC less effective without specialty weapons) ...and he probably had a firing squad to keep Grevious from escaping like he always does when at a disadvantage.

Savage is overwhelmed by Jedi Knights, their numbers trumping his skill. Because if there's one thing the Jedi definitely have over the Sith at this time, it's numbers. Remember, quantity has a quality all its own.

The CIS is now mildly terrified of the Chancellor of the Republic taking the field for an offensive campaign. A number of systems are defecting back to the Republic, and most of the rest are asking to open a dialog to end the war. Especially those who originally left the Republic because of genuine concerns about the corruption in the governmental system, since they are now seeing it being aggressively cleaned up.

Din's terms for ending the war are pretty simple: no more droid (or cloned) armies. 

They make it too easy to devalue lives when it's not your people suffering the losses, just "disposable pawns." After that, no attacking each other. There will be peace, and we will not be preparing for war again behind each other's backs. 

Break the terms and we will break you

The Jedi add in that Dooku is to be handed over as well, providing proof of the Count's war crimes to help convince the CIS parliament/senate/whatever it is, because demanding Dooku on the grounds that he's a Sith would be religious discrimination (which is frowned upon even by their own government). When Dooku tries to make a violent escape, he ends up gunned down by CIS security. Their own investigations into his private affairs confirm the worst of what the Republic has been accusing him of, which shakes the moral CIS leaders, and gives them what they need to root out their corrupt members. The Trade Federation, Banking Clan, etc. are on their last legs.

Asaji is pardoned and on parole. Din personally helped negotiate the specifics so that the Jedi can be assured she won't  go on a killing spree, while she does not feel pressured by them looking over her shoulder for every second of the rest of her life. 

An unrepentant Maul is executed for various crimes, starting with the murder of Qui-Gon Jinn on Naboo. Maul tried to escape, or failing that, have a death "worthy" of a Sith Lord. Things did not go to plan. He got killed by his Jedi guards without so much as scratching one.

And so the War winds down to its end. The final treaty is signed and sealed on the neutral world of Mandalore. There's a chance the Republic and CIS may merge back together again, but it will be all very nice and peaceful.

So of course Din declares his relinquishment of the Emergency Powers, plus his surprise (to anyone who doesn’t know him) retirement now that the treaty is signed, and the war over. It all gets done nice and orderly too, since he worked out a plan for his resignation and replacement with Bail as part of cleaning up the line of succession.

Din is so relieved to finally be getting out of politics (yuck). No, he has no clue what is next for him and his kid(s), but Din has offers to hang out on the Clan lands of any and all the Mandos who worked for/with him, plus an offer of citizenship in the colony the Clones intend to establish for themselves.

Then Death Watch attacks. 

Guess who Din fights and what he picks up. *author cackling intensifies*

Clone/Mandalorian: Sir, that's the Darksaber! With it you have the right to rule Mandalore. It makes you the Mand'alor!

Din: ...dank farrik!

The end.

Chapter Text

After two weeks of watching Chancellor Mando bluntly bulldoze through the bantha shit in the Senate so that he can cut straight to the heart of any problem put before him, Bail Organa has worked up the courage to do the same.

Their new Chancellor, an Outer Rim bounty hunter who has spent a concerning amount of time reading a children’s primer on how the Galactic Senate functions, has, for some unfathomable reason, trusted Bail to be his Vice Chancellor.

Bail Organa, who is the Senator for the peaceful, dare he say pacifistic, world of Alderaan. If he wasn’t by now intimately familiar with Mando’s complete lack of knowledge of partisan politics, Bail would think Mando had been trying to appease the peaceful and neutral factions of the Senate for his unapologetically warrior mindset. 

But no, for some reason Bail doesn’t know, Mando has taken him as an advisor in whom he places near complete trust.

That trust leaves the Alderaanian with the burning question of “why?” He’d never met a Mandalorian before in his life . Truthfully, Bail didn’t even know Mandalorian was a religious designation until Chancellor Mando had rather literally fallen into his life, and only fought back against his arrest when they tried to infringe against his religious beliefs by removing his armor, his helmet. 

And today, today Bail is going to be blunt, cut to the heart of the problem, and ask, “Why me?”

“I had a friend from Alderaan,” Chancellor Mando says.

Bail blinks at that answer. One person is hardly representative of an entire culture.

“She spoke well of the planet’s government,” he continues to explain in his exceedingly sparse manner.

“So you chose me, based upon your friend’s recommendation?” Bail gently inquires when further information is not forthcoming. He wonders what kind of Alderaanian woman would leave for the dangerous corners of the galaxy their Chancellor used to live in yet still speak fondly of the peaceful regime of Alderaan. 

Mando nods. “I trust her judgement. And you have proven to be as honorable as she said.”

What Bail knows of Mandalorians is limited, but he knows that honor is something important to them, to Mando. Two weeks, and he has gained this armored stranger’s trust. Bail can’t help but think that Republic is very lucky Mando had that Alderaanian friend, because there are so many Senators here that can fake the likes of Bail’s truly good nature, and they wouldn’t have hesitated to take advantage of Mando. And Bail thinks those Senators were lucky too, because he’s also fairly certain that an ex-bounty hunter like Mando would have been… harsh in dealing with the inevitable betrayal of such self-interested politicians. 

Bail’s not a religious man, not like Mando, but he has Jedi friends, and if the Force truly has a Will that leads to things going right, he thinks it might be that elusive Will of the Force that put him in Mando’s path to help the Republic.

Din told Bail that he chose the Alderaanian to help him with this political shit show because Cara spoke well of her home planet’s government. What he did not say was that she was drunk, and mourning the loss of her planet and said government when she praised it. It wasn’t important for the man to know. 

Besides, Bail had more than earned that trust the moment he looked at Din’s lack of knowledge in the arena of politics, swiped Din’s datapad, and only handed it back once he’d put a primer on the Galactic Senate on it and extracted a promise from Din that the Mandalorian would read all of it. Anyone who wanted to abuse the power Din could now grant them would have left him reliant on them instead of teaching him. 

Yes, Cara had been right, Alderaan’s government was good.

Chapter Text

Grogu was bored of the adults talking, talking, talking.

Buir was not here. The other Mando’ade did not know where to find him. Grogu didn't need to know anything else from them. 

That was why he'd left Master Kenobi to talk with the Other Mando’ade for an adventure all his own. 

There are so many Mando’ade here. Grogu thinks it would make Buir very happy. Grogu certainly thinks it's fun to see all the different shapes and colors they come in, even if none of them are Buir in all his shiny greatness.

As Grogu wanders around, taking in the sights of Buir’s Kind, he hears it. Children's laughter. There are kids here and they are having fun! Grogu wants to have fun too!

Grogu wanders over to where he hears the laughter coming from, and finds a class of younglings learning to fight. The younglings in the fight square have armor! Though it’s not as nice as the adults’ armor. Grogu hopes that one day he can have armor. Even just practice armor would be cool. It would make him more like Buir, and then everyone could tell that he belonged with Buir.

Grogu wants to learn to fight, too. Then he could help Buir more without having to resort to the Force, which tires him out and worries Buir. But if this class is like fighting classes at the Temple, then Grogu will be too small and too young to participate. The good news is, that also like the Temple, there is some space at the edge for the smaller younglings to sit and watch. 

Grogu doesn’t hesitate to join them. 

One of the perks to Grogu being so small is that he always gets to sit in the front row, closest to the action. Or have someone hold him up so that he can see over the others’ heads. Here, Grogu sits close and in the front. It’s almost like when Buir has to fight and protect him (them), except Grogu isn’t in any danger and none of the younglings are anywhere near as good as Buir at fighting. But that’s okay, they are learning, after all.

Grogu’s favorite youngling in the class is one who’s armor is the same color as what Buir wore when they first met. The youngling even moves kind of like Buir. Except he is more clumsy, less smooth and sure in his movements. This youngling is not the best in the class, but he tries hard, gets back up every time he is knocked down, and learns from his mistakes. He is also very quiet. Grogu hasn’t heard this particular youngling utter a single word. Which is also a lot like Buir. Buir knew lots of words in lots of languages, but it took time for him to speak much to Grogu.

When Grogu’s Favorite Mando’ad Youngling loses the practice fight again and is acting upset about it, Grogu decides to reach out with the Force and offer his support. It is what they were taught to do at the Temple, to encourage and comfort others. Failure is a teacher too, the Masters say, but sometimes a bit of cheering up is helpful. So Grogu pushes feelings of encouragement at his Favorite, even if his Favorite probably can’t feel the Force.

…wait… his Favorite almost feels… familiar. 

Where does Grogu know this Force Signature from? 

He needs to inspect his Favorite’s presence more closely.

…is this…?

BUIR!

Din Djarin is a Mandalorian Foundling —wait, it’s Mar’ey’ad, can’t forget the Mando’a.

It’s different from being a child on Aq Vetina. 

Here, group lessons on how to read and write are still a thing, but they’re also in more languages than just Basic. Everyone learns Mando’a, because it’s important to being a Mandalorian, a Mando’ad, but they also offer lessons for lots of other languages. Din is learning as many languages as he can. Maybe one of them will let him actually speak again. He wants to, very much so, but every time he thinks about using all the new words he’s learned, or even words he’s long known, his throat closes up and won’t let a sound past his lips. Din’s just glad that some languages don’t use sound, because they let him still talk with other people. Even if most of the Mando’ade don’t know any unspoken languages beyond basic battle signs.

Other lessons are about how to fight, how to survive in the greater galaxy, instead of learning your future trade. Din had never even thrown a punch before the Mando’ade had taken him in, but being able to defend yourself, your family (aliit, remember the Mando’a!) is something Din desperately wants to be able to do. It will not only help make him a Mando’ad like his rescuers, it will mean he can stop the bad droids himself.

But Din isn’t very good at fighting yet.

The trainers say that it’s natural. Everyone has to start at the beginning and improve from there. They say Din is actually learning quite well for a child who has never fought before being Found. 

It doesn’t make it any less frustrating that he still loses many sparring matches.

Din had just lost another match when one of the smaller children lets out a squeal and throws themselves at Din’s legs. Din freezes, unsure of what to do. He doesn’t think he’s seen this kid before. Din’s pretty sure he would remember a green child who’s ears are nearly as big as the rest of him. 

Has this child decided Din is so weak that they could spar with him? 

…no, apparently they decided they wanted Din to hold them, if the attempt to climb Din’s pants are any indication. This child has claws, and Din can feel them scratching at his leg as the little one tries to scale him. Din is quick to scoop the green child up upon that realization. He’d rather not need to sew up his own pants if/when the little one’s claws tear them. He gets enough pants to mend from the other kids (ade, remember!) since Din knows the basics of mending clothes, something his parents had taught him. And since even more of the ade don’t know signed languages than the adults, Din has trouble rejecting them when they ask him to fix their clothes, or cloth dolls. Short of throwing their things back at them, anyways, which would just be rude. His parents had taught him better than that!

The green ad settles once Din has them securely held in his arms. In fact, they start… purring? Or maybe they are grunting? Din’s not sure. But with the way the ad is snuggling up against him, Din thinks it must be a sound of contentment.

It’s… soothing, to hold the happy little one. Din runs finger over their head and along the length of one of their ears. The fuzz on the kid’s head is soft, and they purr-grunt louder at that, leaning into Din’s touch.

Din has never had a sibling before, but if this warm feeling is what it’s like, then maybe he’d like having one.

Chapter Text

All right, Season 2 and the Seeing Stone again, except this time, there are consequences for Din almost forcing his way into an active Force Barrier while his kiddo is calling for a teacher.

Namely that Din is now kind of possessed now by *drumroll please* ...Kanan Jarrus. The one recent Jedi that was actively and knowingly a good father (hunting your kid across the galaxy is not good parenting, Anakin. To say nothing of the maiming. No, him wanting to be a Jedi does not excuse said maiming. What is wrong with you?).

This is a very confusing occasion for the two space dads. It certainly isn't helped by Kanan's last memory being of the factory explosion on Lothal that killed him. 

Anyways, the Force Barrier has now popped like a bubble, its purpose fulfilled, so Din is going to ignore the possible concussion-induced audial hallucination that sounds like some guy freaking out about his family surviving an explosion, and focus on grabbing his kid so that the Stormtroopers can't (at least, not without killing Din first).

Back down the mountain they go, and the Hallucination Voice is not happy about the Stormtroopers here to take a child. That's nice of the Voice, but Din is kind of busy here, killing the would-be child thieves, if it would please stop distracting him. Sorry, sorry. I'll be quiet now- duck! Did the Voice just predict a blaster bolt? One that might’ve actually hit somewhere not covered by Beskar? I sensed it coming through the Force. ...okay? Whatever you say, Hallucination Voice. Call out more of those, I guess. Sure, though I’m not a hallucination. I’m a ghost, I think. …We’ll come back to that later, shooting bad guys now.

So the troopers have a terrible day between the Mandalorian, the assassin, and the re-amored bounty hunter. At least they don't have to worry about reporting their failure to Moff Gideon, seeing as they're all dead.

And then the Razor Crest gets blown to smithereens. Hallucination Voice offers his condolences to Din for the loss of his home. Kanan would definitely feel terrible if he watched the Ghost get reduced to ash like that. Though probably not as terrible as his lovely Hera would feel. He hopes his wife-in-all-but-name is doing okay.

Din is confused as to why a voice claiming to be a dead person is talking about ghosts.

And then the Darktroopers come swooping down out of the sky.

Din is a Mandalorian of many talents, but wrestling super droids (and winning) is not one of them. The Darktroopers pry Grogu out of Din’s arms and fly off with the green bean (sorry, not sorry. We’re setting up for later badassitude). And apparently the three fighters left are not even worth killing. Din reaches out for his son from where he’s been laid out on the ground. Kanan reaches out with his fellow space dad, using the Force. The Darktroopers stall out for a moment before Kanan loses his grip on them. Being a ghost suddenly inhabiting someone else’s body is hard. Especially when they aren't Force Sensitive and you try to channel the Force through them anyways. Din passes out from the strain.

Of course, all the witnesses (including Gideon via the Darktroopers' memory banks) think it was Grogu who did that, not “Din.” Because, let me be perfectly clear, Din is less Force Sensitive than some rocks. Kanan is the one with all the magic, he just happens to be renting space in Din’s head/body now.

Anyways, during Din’s enForced nap, he gets to meet with Ghost Kanan and figure that out a bit. Basically that Kanan is a ghost and not a hallucination, that he has acquired a Jedi that will require him to stay with Grogu to teach the green bean (he is so adopting the kid when they get him back now that he knows he won't have to give his boy up), and that his next quest will be to find out what happened to Kanan's family and/or reunite his new ghost friend with them. This is the Way. Kanan gets to find out that he's been dead for about a decade, the Empire fell (mostly), that the Mandalorians went through a Purge (he's very worried for Sabine), and Ahsoka somehow survived Vader to meet with this Mandalorian.

Din wakes up to Fennec and Boba checking him over/patching him up from the beating he took from the Darktroopers. They haven't moved him due to worry about possible/real internal injuries, and respect him enough to care. So once Din fends off the worrying duo (yes, he's hurt. No, it's not that bad), he sifts through the ashes of his home, retrieving his spear and Grogu’s Precious, the shifter knob.

The deal with Boba and Fennec is hashed out afterwards. Din is happy to have skilled hands to assist him and Kanan in the Hunt for Grogu. See, one more thing the Space Dad Alliance (SDA,  pronounce 's Da! for funsies) hashed out was that Kanan could track Grogu via the Force through Din’s attachment/bond with the child. And maybe that's not really how the Force works, but if all things are possible with the Force, then I say it does! Or, you know, new Force ability from being a ghost. Or because Grogu set up a (originally one way) Force Bond with Din, which Kanan can track better than a regular Jedi could (even if it was their bond) because he’s so tangled with the Mandalorian's psyche. So since he has a lead but no ship, Din was ready to do what he could to bum a ride off of Boba and Fennec. Having them freely offer it, plus their help in kicking Imperial ass, is most welcome.

First stop is Nevarro to grab Cara for more muscle. And possibly spring Mayfeld for Imperial clearance codes so they can get close enough to board Gideon’s cruiser, and then kill everyone who's not Grogu on it.

Second stop is probably to track down Bo-Katan for the extra firepower. The more Mandalorians, the merrier. Kind of. Din’s seriously considering not counting her as Mandalorian with how rude she is to him and his allies. Kanan finds it concerning how different Bo-Katan is from how he remembers. Though the Mandalorian Purge Din has mentioned could have something to do with it. Kanan certainly wasn't the same after the Jedi Purge. He is also tempted to have Din ask about Sabine, but ultimately decides against it, as Bo-Katan might not know anything about his not-daughter's fate anyways. And bad news would make for a terrible distraction while they have a rescue mission to focus on. Distracting Din could get him killed, plus the kid they have a chance at rescuing.

Kanan does figure out that Gideon must have the Darksaber, and mentions this to Din as possible extra incentive, just in case. The Jedi ghost never actually explains what the Darksaber represents, because he assumes a Mandalorian would know. What Kanan thinks Din may not know is that it was Bo-Katan, specifically, who had it last before Gideon. In reality, Din does not care enough to ask about this “dark saber” thingie. Besides, if it is important to Bo-Katan, Din does not really want to care.

This is also the point where the others realize something weird is going on with Din when he won't reveal exactly how he knows how to find Gideon. Or rather Grogu, as Din, in all his honesty, tells them that he can track his kid, who just so happens to be with Gideon. Things just get weirder when Din just points to the spot on a star map, no pulling out a tracking device or anything, proclaiming that to be the location of Grogu.

Actually, back up. It occurs to me as I write this: how the kark did they grab Doc Pershing's shuttle (in particular) in canon? The information stolen from Morak was the location of Gideon’s light cruiser. So were they just waiting for the first Imp shuttle headed Gideon’s way for their infiltration plan, and then lucked out with who was aboard? Or was there a message (that could be summed up as "I stole the baby! Get yo' bitch ass over here!") sent by Gideon that had both his and Pershing's location attached? I’m so curious now! 

Anywho, grabbing Pershing is optional. If Mayfeld is sprung for Imp codes, they can just grab any old Imp shuttle to fake their way in (probably). Of course, they won’t know about the platoon of Darktroopers awaiting them, or have the Doc’s cylinder to lock the super droids in their bay, but that can be overcome. If they do grab Pershing (by coincidence or on purpose), then they have their canon warning and readiness. 

Actually, I’m going to tell this like they grabbed Mayfeld for faking Imp conduct correctly and didn’t nab the Doc. Just to make things different.

Whichever way one writes it, Gideon has not received a warning message from Din about their imminent attack, so he’s probably not as ready for the attack as canon. Especially since, to Gideon’s knowledge, there hasn’t been any attempts at accessing his locational data. Of course, since we don’t know how Gideon “knows everything,” maybe he is ready for Din and friends to come charging in for the rescue. Mostly. Din’s the only one that knows about his Force Ghost ride along currently.

So the Rescue Crew (including Mayfeld) rolls up mostly like canon. Except Mayfeld, knowing Imp procedures, manages to be more convincing than Bo-Katan about their immediate need to land. Or possibly Boba actually does some damage to the shuttle that makes it obvious they really, really need to dock sooner rather than later.

Mayfeld goes stumbling out of the shuttle in Imp gear once they practically crash land in the hangar launch tube, drawing the hangar crew’s attention. Which allows the team of deadly ladies to pick them off really easily. And then they basically send Mayfeld running ahead of them to draw attention with his fleeing form/guide them through the ship. Mayfeld is trying to pretend he is not perfectly okay with killing his ex-comrades.

Din sneaks off the shuttle once the hangar is cleared and follows Kanan’s Force Sense to Grogu.

The SDA stumbles across the Darktrooper bay just as the doors begin to open. They Nope that action real fast with Kanan slamming the doors shut via the Force and Din hurrying over to pull the lever to space the droids. Kanan may have to Force Push one of the Darktroopers back into their bay before/during spacing them. 

Gideon is a lot more nervous about facing the Mandalorian who hasn’t spent his one salvo of Whistling Birds. The Moff is aware that while a lightsaber like the Darksaber is capable of deflecting such projectiles, the man himself does not have the Jedi/Sith reflexes to actually do it. Plus having all those little missiles directed at one person was probably how they were originally intended to kill Jedi when not being used for crowd control against normal opponents. After all, one can only guard in so many directions.

Now Kanan would drag the Darksaber out of Gideon’s hand, thus disarming him, but the old ‘saber is not willing to jump into the hand of whatever random Jedi (or Sith) calls to it. It wants a wielder worthy of it, which is generally proved in combat. So Din still winds up fighting and defeating Gideon. 

Kanan didn’t interfere because he’s well aware at this point, having swapped memories some during the scant hours of rest Din has had since his son was stolen, that the Mandalorian is plenty capable of handling the Moff’s inelegant wielding of the Darksaber. The ghost Jedi also approves of a man like Din leading the Mandalorians. He would trust this man with his adoptive daughter’s life and culture. Bo-Katan, well, not anymore. The way she’s snubbed Din and Boba, it’s not fitting of a leader for such a diverse people.

Kanan does, however, give Din some pointers before the assualt on how to not cut yourself apart while fighting against a lightsaber, and then how to safely carry said lightsaber as they haul Gideon and a freed Grogu up to the bridge to meet up with Mayfeld and the ladies. After Din officially adopts Grogu, and Kanan introduces himself to the kid through the Force. Din might also adopt Kanan into the Clan at this time. He would like to be able to take off his helmet and look in a mirror after all. Or you can rationalize helmet removal as Kanan is not “living” anymore and thus doesn’t count.

When Din tries to hand the Darksaber over to Bo-Katan and she refuses, Kanan notes that she didn’t refuse when Sabine did the same. Such a revelation startles Din, but before he can really ask about it, the Darktroopers come back.

This is Kanan’s moment to shine. He has the Force, and now, a lightsaber. Those droids are done for. Kanan can’t even remember how many clankers he scrapped during the Clone Wars. As a kid.

Kanan & Din: *in overlapping voices, because I’m having it that when Kanan possesses Din to speak, Din’s helmet’s vocoder translates it to sound like Kanan* Seal the blast doors. We’ll handle this.

Everyone else: *staring in awe/horror as they get an inkling of what’s up with Din. Bo-Katan might even recognize Kanan’s voice*

Grogu: *hits the button Kanan specified to him through the Force once Super Dad is out the doors. He trusts the Padawan-Knight working with his dad*

So Din and Kanan decimate the Darktroopers. And everyone on the bridge gets to watch through the security feeds. Bo-Katan is realizing that there’s no way she’s getting the Darksaber back without Din voluntarily handing it over now. Dank farrik! Everyone else is just promising themselves to never pick a serious fight with Din ever again. They all like living, thank you very much.

And Luke doesn’t show up. Grogu’s advertisement for a Jedi teacher was interrupted by Din pushing into the Force Barrier, so Luke never got the memo. Or he at least didn’t get enough of the memo to track Grogu down (and Din got to his kid faster than canon). And Grogu’s not looking to be found now that a teacher has been installed inside his dad.

Boba comes back to pick up the triumphant heroes (Bo-Katan and Koska stay on their new light cruiser).

Cara decides to let Mayfeld walk free when it turns out he hopped on a terminal during all the drama to deactivate the Imperial bounty on Grogu, wipe all data about the green bean, and steal as much info from Gideon’s systems as the data stick he’d taken off a dead officer could get. 

Gideon is turned in to the New Republic under Din’s Guild account. Our multi-dad is now filthy rich. And Greef Karga has a nice cut to help with the revitalization of Nevarro as Din’s Guild Representative, after he provides his Chief Enforcer/Marshal with a bonus. Never let it be said that the Magistrate doesn’t have a sense of honor.

With Din’s quest to bring Grogu to a Jedi completed, it’s time for his next, self-assigned quest: reuniting Kanan with his family, if any are still alive. So Din goes to Cara for help. She's an ex-Rebel, Kanan's family were Rebels. You do the math.

Din: Do you know of a Hera Syndulla?

Cara: ...you mean General Syndulla. The Rebel leader that freed an entire planet from the Empire?

D: *taking a moment to listen to Kanan* It sounds like her, yes.

C: ...why?

D: I have a message for her from her unofficial husband.

C: *deciding to just roll with it* Yeah, sure. I'll look into sending it.

Now Din and Kanan need a place to hide out and train Grogu while the heat dies down, from both bringing in Gideon and letting the news of the full cancellation of Grogu’s bounty get around. They would go to the next place Din’s Tribe was supposed to go, but again, they need the heat to die down first so as to not lead any enemies there. Plus they're waiting for a possible reply from Hera.

Boba offers them space with him and Fennec on Tatooine. They have plans to take over the remnants of Jabba’s Syndicate there, and an extra badass would be welcome. Hell, they’re even willing to take Mayfeld as extra staff. Sharp shooters are always useful, and Mayfeld’s not half bad at planning either (as long as a Mandalorian wrench isn’t thrown into the works).

So off they go to Tatooine. The Syndicate becomes Boba’s, and everyone keeps busy at the palace.

Hera, meanwhile, has just received a message from her not-husband, who's been dead for nearly a decade, which uses special code phrases known only between them for emergency situations. And “not-husband” is exactly the kind of awkward thing Kanan would say if he suddenly found himself not quite so dead as he previously was. This requires investigating. And ass kicking if someone is pulling her leg. 

But first she has to drop Jacen off with Uncles Zeb and Kallus. She doesn't know what she'll find when she answers this message, but she's not risking her precious son for it. Meanwhile, said uncles are feeling a little sorry for whoever has Hera hunting after them with That Look in her eyes.

And no, she hasn't ever sent Jacen to Luke for training. She looked into that Jedi, and he has even less training than what Kanan, a man who never completed his Padawan-ship, was able to provide Ezra with. So Hera decided that she would wait until Jacen is the same age Ezra was when the Ghost's crew first found him, and then she'll make Ahsoka teach her baby boy. Assuming Ezra isn't available by then and willing. If that means Hera has to go galavanting through the Unknown Regions as the pilot for Ahsoka and Sabine's continuing quest to find Ezra just so her kid can get an education in the Force, then so be it.

So Hera goes to Tatooine and finds out that the message was very true: her dead not-husband is in fact haunting/possessing a Mandalorian bounty hunter (who also has a Force Sensitive child). This is weird. Especially since she has been regularly visiting the Loth-Wolf apparition that is also kind of Kanan, Dume. Like, is Dume gone now? Are there two Kanan ghosts?  Hera doesn’t know, but she appreciates this more humanoid one. Keldabe kisses aren’t really like regular kisses, but she could get used to them. And hugs, hugs are good. But nothing much more intimate than that, since it is someone else’s body, and Din is still around.

Din rolls with how...unusual this relationship is, and is happy for the lovers. And encouraging them to get married, Mando style. Who knows, maybe one could throw in a Mandalorian story of ghost weddings or something. I’m just saying, Mando weddings are a three sentence vow and bam! you’re done. Very ghost friendly.

Also, he wants to meet his not-nephew, after learning about Jacen's existence. Din loves children, and wants friends/more family for Grogu.

“I have a son!?!?” Kanan is just so happy, running around screaming in Din’s head in joy. Din does not fault his fellow father this happiness, even if it is giving him a headache/migraine.

Hera thinks a family reunion is definitely in order, now that her not-husband is back from the dead. Maybe if we’re really lucky, Sabine and Ahsoka found Ezra. Wait, what happened to Ezra? He got yeeted into space with Thrawn by purrgil. …Okay. Let me try finding my Padawan, who I am bonded to with the Force, so we really can have a family reunion. I love you so much, babe. I know. I love you too.

So Din/Kanan and Grogu accompany Hera to pick up Jacen (his father and not-father have so much to teach him!) plus Zeb and Kallus to go Ezra Hunting. Maybe pick up Rex, if you think a physically 80-year-old could handle it. It would definitely lead to some awkward conversations if/when Din talks about hanging out with Boba to Rex (he does understand the Clone thing after Kanan explained it/shared his memories as a Padawan-Commander). They also make calls to Ahsoka and Sabine with their new information for the Ezra Hunt. Sabine is now itching to meet up with them so she can paint Din’s armor. The man is a blank canvas and that just won’t do! He at least needs jaig eyes like what she put on Kanan’s visor-thing after he got blinded, since Kanan is under that armor too. Ahsoka is flabbergasted by the results of sending Din and Grogu to the Seeing Stone. She just figured that her old Master’s kid or some other surviving Jedi would show up, not the Mandalorian getting possessed by a dead Jedi. Of course she tries to hide the surprise, being the serene not-Jedi and all.

The party gets together, some good-natured teasing about Hera’s "not-husband" (or husband, if you do let them get hitched) getting into another man (which Din tolerates), they have adventures, they find Ezra. A happy family reunion ensues.

When they get back from the Ezra Hunt, Din and Grogu go to visit his Tribe. Sabine accompanies them. She only finds out that Din has the Darksaber (Hera helped them pick up Kanan’s lightsaber before going on the Ezra Hunt) when he presents it to the Armorer. Din was carrying it at the bottom of his sack or something. Kanan thought he was just being humble, and respected his choices. Both Sabine and the Armorer are displeased to hear of Bo-Katan’s treatment of Din. 

And they both support Din being the new leader of the Mandalorian people. Nope, nope, nope! Either of them can have it. Please, take it! I just want my rapidly expanding family to be safe and happy. Hmmm. …Very well. 

The Armor blindsides Din and takes the Darksaber “through combat.” Sabine is flabbergasted. And awed. The Armorer has style and is so badass! Kanan is pretty surprised too. He hadn’t felt that coming through the Force. Din is grateful. He knows the Armorer is a great leader. Grogu is just concerned about his dad(s).

As for the Armorer, she will unite the Clans and create a safe place for those who walk the Way of the Mandalore. And the Jedi of Din’s Clan (he may have adopted the whole Ghost Crew into it). They are not enemies like the old order of sorcerers were.

At Sabine and the rest of the Ghost Crew’s suggestion, the Mandalorians come out of hiding to settle on Lothal. Lothal already likes Mandalorians and Jedi because of Sabine, Ezra, and Kanan. 

Soon, the planet is inundated with Mandalorians, making it the safest place to live in the sector. Nobody wants to pick a fight with that many (possessive) Mandalorians. Even more so when they are allied with Boba Fett and his Syndicate.

Bo-Katan thinks about challenging the Armorer for the Darksaber (the other woman isn’t trying to reclaim Mandalore!), but doesn’t, given the Armorer did defeat Din in combat, as witnessed by the heiress/leader of Clan Wren. Bo doesn’t know that it was more a surprise attack than a straight up fight. And the Ghost Crew has fun exaggerating how serious the fight was.

However, that doesn’t mean Bo-Katan (and her followers) has given up on taking back Mandalore. …The Armorer will allow it. If they want to die fighting for a cursed planet, that is their choice. Her followers will survive elsewhere. This is their strength.

And when it quietly comes out that there are people who can teach magic, the Outer Rim’s Force Sensitives start to also congregate on Lothal. Kanan/Din and Ezra (and maybe Ahsoka. She is very picky about who she would teach after learning Anakin’s fate) are kept very busy teaching all these new students. The Lothal Temple even comes back to provide this new Clan Jetii with kyber crystals for their lightsabers.

Eventually, the New Republic catches wind of a new Jedi Order in the Outer Rim. They are upset about it. Why are those Jedi not working for the Republic as they used to? Skywalker and his new Order (if it can be called an Order. Does Luke even have any students yet?) are working for the Republic. Like they are supposed to. 

In fact, when the NR tries to send spies to check out this other Jedi Order, they get stymied by overprotective Mandalorians. It’s very unexpected given the history of Mandalorians and Jedi as enemies. Apparently Wren and Syndulla set up a contract for them to protect the planet and whoever lives there or something? Not that they are going to ask the local, rebellious leaders directly. They’re generally unaware that most of these Jedi are also becoming Mandalorians. Kanan and Ezra don’t see much of a problem with it considering that Sabine has long been a part of their family, and Din and Grogu just reinforce how okay that is.

What’s even more unexpected for the New Republic is for the Mand’alor and all her governmental allies in the Outer Rim telling the NR to kark off, they don’t need them. The NR couldn’t even properly dismantle the Empire, after all. Fighting off the Imperial Remnants is what brought the Outer Rim Alliance together. 

In fact, the ORA (pronounce as a Marine oo-rah! for funsies) has basically dismantled the fledgling First Order in a bid to protect their territories. And because the Mandalorians want to take back their beskar from the Imps. Everyone else supports that because more Mandalorians/better armed Mandalorians means more safety. Clan Jetii are also somewhat helpful for this, when their Mando protectors let them out to fight/help. Mostly, they just sense where/when trouble is going to happen.

The NR is forced to concede that the ORA is in fact the governing body for the Outer Rim. It is done with a mixture of begrudgingly and Core World bias that there is nothing of worth there. Certainly not anything worth fighting a third galactic civil war over. They’d barely even realized that the few Marshals the NR had been able to set up in the Rim were only reporting the bare minimum to them anymore.

The NR is also unhappy about Luke wanting to meet the ORA's Clan Jetii. Grand Master/Alor Kanan/Din is perfectly happy to meet the kid. And re-educate him to proper Clan Jetii standards. Oh no, no, no. The ORA does not get the NR’s only full-fledged Jedi. But is he really fully fledged with only a few months of actual training under a Master when our Masters have had years of such training? …shu-shut up! You can’t have our Jedi!

So ensues a custody battle for Luke. Mand’alor the Armorer would like to know if this is really necessary. Does the NR want to have less qualified Jedi than the ORA? …shit, no. Fine, he can train with your Jedi. But we want him back afterwards! I believe that is his decision. But rest assured, we won’t forcibly keep him with us.

Relations afterwards between the NR and ORA aren’t exactly good, but they're not bad either. ORA isn’t interested in going to war with the NR for no good reason, and the NR does not want to fight a Mandalorian and Jedi army.

And so Din and Ghost Kanan have mostly unwittingly ended the animosity between the Mandalorians and the Jedi. For their kids. And the galaxy spins on in relative peace.

The end.

Chapter Text

“What the kark is going on here?!” Leia Organa asked as a Mandalorian, the one with the ruddy red armor, suplexed a Rebel.

“W-well you see,” one of the horrified onlookers hesitantly began to explain as the silver Mandalorian performed a jetpack-assisted elbow drop on another Rebel, “General Dune may have convinced her Mando buddies to drink with her.” Fett gave another Rebel a helmeted headbutt that resulted in a terrible crunching noise that had the watchers flinching. “... a lot. And then she had a ‘great’ idea.”

“Those of us who were sober enough knew it was a bad idea. So we tried to stop the Mandalorians…”

“Maker,” Leia breathed. “This is them fighting drunk? ” Her eyes followed the arc of one poor Rebel from where Silver had spun around another Rebel, elbowing that one in the head, to kick the unfortunate soul into a lariat from Fett, who had a third Rebel in a headlock under his other arm.

“Y-yes ma’am,” her fellow watcher stuttered, wincing as one of their fellow Rebels was drawn back into the Mandalorians’ brawl pile via a whipcord from Ruddy Red.

“...Right…” the princess muttered, horrified as the beatdown continued. “Next time, we’re banning the Mandalorians from having more than one or two drinks.”

Chapter Text

End of Season 3 Bo-Katan wakes in her younger body, which is in that Death Watch camp that Ahsoka accidentally infiltrated. While Ahsoka is accidentally infiltrating it (Bo has missed the Force-sensitive Togruta, even if this version doesn't know her. Yet).

Considering all the shit she's been through in the past/next thirty years, Bo knows that Pre's ass is in need of a good kicking. Which she does, because she's got 50-ish years of experience in a 20 year old body (and Maker above does she love her 20 year old body. She loves her knees and all the other joints that don't ache anymore).

Unfortunately, Bo-Katan had kind of forgotten the kinds of assholes Pre liked to travel with. Good news is, they all respect Kick Assery, so after a few more challenges, the violent dumbasses are willing to fall in line.

Having kicked ass and taken names, Bo is ready to work on actually bringing strength to the Mandalorian people, through unity. 

Mandalorians are stronger together.

…But first she has to deal with the kid (Lux Bonterri) Pre duped into getting a tracker on Dooku. …Which could actually be very useful, now that she thinks about it.

Turns out it’s not. Dooku’s exact location is his manor/palace on Serreno.

Bo-Katan: Did no one think we could find Dooku, the Count of Serreno, on Serreno?

Everyone else: *looks at each other awkwardly*

BK: You know, there’s this great little tactic where you wait for your target to show up because that’s a place they go. It’s called a karking ambush.

EE: *feels even more stupid*

BK: *muttering to self* How the kark did we get anything done before? *Remembers Maul’s takeover* Dank farrik.

Bo has no idea Dooku is a Sith, or the full scope of what the man’s death would accomplish, but he is still the Head of State for one of the warring superpowers, so having the opportunity to nab or kill him is too good to pass up on. She has no idea what exactly she will do with that opportunity, but she’s sure she can make it work in Mandalore’s favor.

Anyways, peace out, kids. We’ve got other shit to do. Ahsoka, if you ever leave that bitch ass Skywalker, you’re welcome to be my Mandalorian Apprentice. It’ll be so fun. We’ll be the baddest bitches the galaxy has ever seen. Maybe. There’s this armorer chick… and that one friend… and that clone’s assassin… *Makes a mental note to find the assassin so they can look fine together without the clone* Look, we’ll kick ass and look great doing it. So, keep that in mind.

Ahsoka has no idea what sort of scheme Death Watch is pulling, but she will not fall for it! …Even if she has no idea what they could possibly gain from this. 

Children sent on their way, dumbasses given a list of Not Dumb things to do for her, Bo-Katan sets off for Mandalore. She needs to talk to her sister. And hopefully find a hidden covert on Concordia.

Satine is very surprised to find her missing sister in her chambers one seemingly normal day.

Bo-Katan: Sister. We need to talk. *places her recently won (re-won?) Darksaber on a little table*

Satine: …What?

BK: *proceeds to explain all the terrible things that will happen in the Future that May Be, particularly the bad stuff for Mandalore if the factions fail to come together* So I was hoping, maybe, we could stop being mad at each other and reunite Mandalore. Together. You’re good at galactic politics, I’m good at kicking ass. We could make it work.

S: I need some time to think about it. That was a lot. …But I’d like for us to be real sisters again. I’d like that a lot.

While Satine is busy thinking about what her suddenly much more mature sister said, Bo-Katan pops over to Concordia to see if she can’t find that Children of the Watch covert. It's going to take her a while, but she does manage to eventually find them, thanks to the fact that she lived among their future members for a time and thus kind of knows their ways. And knowing they were former Death Watch, or at least somewhat associated at some point, leaves some other clues. And Bo gets the disappointment that Din Djarin is either not there yet, or a small child who is in no way ready to be her new right hand battle buddy. Looks like she may be getting a non-Jedi Apprentice/heir.

Bo-Katan talks with the current leader of the covert (could be the Armorer, could be her predecessor) about her future knowledge and her (vague) plan to unite the Ways so that Mandalore may stand strong. She gets another “Let me think about it.”

Back to Mandalore proper. Satine is willing to try Bo’s plan. Bo isn’t asking everyone to return to the old ways of violence, just that those who do see weapons as a part of their religion are not denied their own right to Mandalore (particularly its until-now thought uninhabitable deserts and not the city domes, besides trade privileges), to swearing the Creed at the Living Waters. Access to the Mines and the Great Forge would be great, but can be negotiated for later. The fact that Bo is not trying to take over the domed cities like Pre wanted, which are also central to Satine’s power, means there is not much she can do to stop this. Unless she wants to send what few guards she has out into the wastes to try and root them out. Which is really an exercise in futility, all things considered. The warriors are much more used to harsh conditions and survival tactics.

And quite honestly, given how the Republic (and Confederacy of Independent Systems) keeps pushing at Mandalore, it might not be a bad idea to have Mandalorians who can and would defend Mandalore for their fellow Mandalorians present. Satine has not forgotten how close her planet came to being occupied if not for her acquiring the true evidence at the last minute. Not to mention that reinvigorating the planet’s wildlife could do wonders for their standing given how much trouble they are having getting food with those embargoes. Plus bragging rights about accelerated natural terraforming. So long as the dangerous megafauna are kept away from the domes full of unarmed civilians, it’ll be great.

Because, oh yeah. Part of Bo-Katan’s deal is digging down to find the hidden oases that must exist to cultivate and grow further. Because if the glassed wasteland that Mandalore became could have them, then the desert wastelands should too. Also, Satine, we may need to blow the bottom of the Living Waters out. I think there’s a Mythosuar down there. What.

Satine is also going over all of Palpatine’s assorted policies with a fine-toothed comb, and there does seem to be a pattern there supporting her sister’s accusations. Granted, that may be bias over that whole near-occupation thing (he did nothing to keep people from twisting her words right in front of him), but still! 

As Satine starts talking her cabinet, and the people at large, around to the idea that maybe they do need some violence capable citizens, and the much more popular assistance to the nature recovery project (despite the dangerous fauna, and maybe flora), the CotW get back to Bo. They’re in. The Manda has been consulted and this Way is promising. They will reach out to those they know and rally them to Clan Kryze’s banner. 

Also, yes, we suppose you are allowed to Apprentice and/or adopt a child from our covert, if they will have you. Bo will have her right hand battle buddy, even if she has to provide some of his training herself.

Which reminds her, she needs to acquire a Green Bean. 

Satine: Are you crazy? Taking a Jedi youngling?

Bo-Katan: He is a Mandalorian by adoption and a fine Apprentice.

S: Will-be-was, Bo. Will-be-was. If you want to get in trouble with the Jedi over that, I will not bail you out.

BK: No. You’ll be too busy trying to convert Kenobi.

S: *blushing* I will not!

BK: Will too.

S: Will not!

BK: Will too.

S: Will not!

BK: Will too. I bet he might even agree given how devastated he was when you died before. Anyways, I think I’ll try to grab Tano as well. Skywalker can hang for all I care.

Sisterly squabbles aside, Satine at least thinks the Jedi should be given fair warning of what Bo-Katan knows, so Sister Road Trip! (Daring do very much encouraged)

Unfortunately, while Obi-wan is open to the warning and prepared to pursue (if he had the time between generaling duties), the rest of the Jedi Council is not. There is no proof of Lady Kryze’s allegations of what is going on on Coruscant (even if she was supposedly right about things that weren’t known about Mandalore). Also, no, you cannot have Jedi younglings to adopt.

Grogu: Wanna bet?

The stowaway is very cute, Satine must admit. And it’s unfortunately easy to quietly jump the legal hoops to adopt him into Clan Kryze. If she looks at the legalities of marrying a Jedi afterwards, that’s her business. Now shoo, she has important things to do, like closing that legal loophole so others can’t abuse it.

So Mandalore is getting along, reviving their planet, and their old religion in certain regions. The general pacifist populace is even coming around to having the warriors back, if only because farming is impossible in the wastes unless you can kick ass, and they like not having to rely so much on imports to be fed.

This Mandalorian warrior resurgence, of course, makes the Republic nervous, and Palpatine angry/curious. Especially as, according to the Jedi, they are claiming Maul is alive, while having no idea where he is or how they know. So Palpatine sends a rising star within Republic Intelligence, one Lieutenant [Insert Insulting First Name Here] Gideon, to find out what is going on with Mandalore.

Bo gets one look at the guy and shoots him dead. This obviously doesn't go well with the Republic, but Bo doesn't give a damn. That bastard will not have the chance to ruin Mandalore so he can be "better" than them again. 

Satine is not happy about having to smooth ruffled feathers, but she does it because she loves her sister. And she has heard Bo-Katan tell the story of what will-be-was for Mandalore and she doesn't like that shit. Does she approve of killing the problem? No. Is she going to put up with it anyways? Unfortunately, yes.

When Bo lets slip in the aftermath talk that glassing Mandalore was not the worst destruction done to a planet by the Empire, Satine loses her shit.

Satine: What do you mean they blew up a pacifist core world?!

Bo-Katan: I don’t know the details behind it all, but most obviously, it was a power move. If Alderaan wasn’t safe from retribution, no one is.

S: And you didn’t think to mention this sooner? We are going to be a target for that thing. We are an actual threat since we are not solely pacifists anymore. I already knew there was a great deal of political weeding out to be done, but Bo, this is seriously making me consider your method of problem solving. And I’m a sworn pacifist.

BK: I mean, if you want an assassination, I’m sure I can schedule one.

S: Shut up. I need time to process so I don’t make a huge mistake. For us, and the rest of the galaxy.

Respecting her sister’s wishes, Bo-Katan does not schedule that assassination. But she does look into the logistics of it. Definitely not an easy prospect. Hell, it’s a wonder some of the hostage and assassination shit has even happened in the Senate Dome from what she’s seeing. Almost as if an insider– Oh. Well there’s the karking problem. She should probably notify Satine of that.

Satine would like to be angry with her sister for looking into how to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, but, Bo does have an unfortunate point that the only assassinations that seem to make it through are to the political opposition of said Chancellor or what look suspiciously like loose ends in some of the more distasteful policies that somehow squeak their way through the Senate. Which were all low-key supported by the Chancellor. Dank farrik, she has a headache from this absolute bantha shit.

Then a horrible thought occurs to Satine: what does the assassination scene look like in the CIS?

The answer: Bo’s already looked into it. It’s pretty much the same deal, except it’s Dooku in the Chancellor’s place. Oh yeah, and there was this one kid who accused Dooku of killing his Senator mother himself.

Sometimes Satine wishes she didn’t ask these kinds of questions.

And so begins Satine’s crusade to wake the Senates to the corruption under their noses. It’s an uphill, nay, an up-the-tallest-damned-mountain-while-the-wildlife-tries-to-eat-you-alive battle, but by the Manda, she’s going to fight it. 

And some say the pacifists haven’t got a lick of fight in them.

Bo-Katan is just glad she assigned the best warriors she’s got to Satine’s guard. Both public and off-the-books. Because the assassins are coming in droves. Bo’s also sending her best hunters to cut down as many of the bankrolls for these assassinations as she can. No money means no hired guns. And it will strike fear into anyone considering buying an attempt on her sister’s life. Or her nephew’s. Or her apprentice(s)’s. 

They want to take Bo’s life, then they can certainly try. And fail. A lot. The pile of dead assassins helps maintain her rep with the hardliners.

The Jedi finally figure out where Grogu got to, and are making noises, but they also cannot spare any generals to go retrieve him. Obi-Wan’s attempts to call Satine and “make her see reason” degenerate into her trying to give him veiled hints, him trying not to give orders to a sector leader, and Bo lurking in the background to jump out and tell them to get a room already like civilized beings. Oh yes, and all the Jedi not relegated to being generals are too afraid to try. Especially since Grogu has been spotted with not only Duchess Satine, but also Lady Kryze, leader of the warriors. She’s scary. She regularly posts pictures of the latest batch of assassins she has killed on the holonet. Sometimes the kids pose with her. No one knows why, though there’s some speculation the kids fought the assassins (the kids love Space Home Alone and are much more vicious and creative about their traps). And Lady Kryze’s heir(?) seems very (mutually) attached to Grogu.  

Speaking of Little Din. He and Korkie get along quite well. They're shaping up to be excellent heirs to their respective Kryze sister's trade. Din excels under the expectations that he will be great, as opposed to having to prove himself as an adoptee. Long may Clan Kryze reign. (Use whatever headcanon you’ve got for Korkie’s parentage, but understand that he follows the Way of Satine)

Oh, and one of the assassins was an IG unit, so Bo-Katan totally gets it refitted for Grogu to ride around in again with his “yes” and “no” buttons. It is adorable. Videos of that only increase Clan Kryze’s popularity. 

Meanwhile, Maul makes his return, hiking up Satine’s stress levels, and causing her to double down on security. The target dummies now all resemble him. The Jedi are slightly more prepared due to Bo’s warnings, but did not take them seriously enough to really diverge from canon. Hondo laments to Obi-Wan that this all could have been avoided if Mandalore had put out a proper bounty for the Nightbrothers, which the Jedi tactfully does not pass on. However it does confirm the sisters have access to some credible sources, which Palpatine also takes note of.

Back to Satine’s political crusade as head of the Council of Neutral Systems.

She’s winning. Part of it is because she has excellent evidence and policies, part of it is because more cowardly senators in both the CIS and Republic are scared of what will happen if they resist her. They’ve seen the pictures her sister posts. Satine’s not the biggest fan of leaning on her sister’s fear image, but it does get the job done without actually instigating any violence. The sweet-cake and the electro-whip, as it were, even if Mandalore would never wield that electro-whip as long as she lives.

Palpatine is very Not Happy about Satine’s winning. Her successes in pushing for peace, her undermining of his intended ‘reforms,’ and her efforts in increasing the work of true democracy are all terrible, in his opinion. Palps is also Not Happy about Bo-Katan’s winning either. The karking assassins can’t do their one job. The senates are slipping through his fingers as the senators have their attentions turned away from the war to internal matters. Obviously, something has to be done about the Mandalorians. Again. And what worked once may work again. Time to send in Dooku.

The CIS will level the planet, unknowingly like the Night of a Thousand Tears. The Republic will lambast the CIS for their latest atrocity, and Palpatine will proclaim how this proves peace is impossible without a decisive military victory. Meanwhile Dooku will say that when faced with a military threat, Bo seized control of the government, failed to fight the noble CIS forces off, and when given the option to surrender, her forces chose to use doomsday bombs upon all  of Mandalore rather than suffer that “dishonor.” And Dooku will hold up Satine as a martyr for democracy. 

In the meantime, Anakin has assigned himself a mission:

1. Infiltrate Mandalore 
2. Find evidence that Mandalorians are bad 
3. Bring back said evidence
4. ?
5. Profit

Look, he doesn’t like Mandalorians. One of their leaders keeps trying to seduce Obi-wan. The other keeps trying to steal Ahsoka. They did steal a Jedi youngling (he hasn’t figured out how/why no one has saved the kid yet). And they are causing Palpatine and Padme Political Distress. Someone has to do something, and Anakin is just the right Jedi for the job.

Unfortunately, while Anakin has a gift for by-the-seat-of-your-pants tactics, it doesn’t translate well to political intrigue and espionage (see his first visit to Geonosis where he completely failed, got the person he was supposed to be guarding captured, and killed various guards). Also he’s biased to have more hate for the warrior faction as some of them are/were Death Watch, and they are the ones eying his padawan, so he’s infiltrating Bo-land for evidence. You know, the place where Politics don’t happen. Oh yeah, and Snips decided to stowaway with him. This is gonna go great.

This dumb Jedi doesn’t even know he’s set off Grogu and Din’s Dumb Intruder to be Pranked to Death senses. He just thinks he’s gotten lucky that the Mandalorians are so arrogantly secure in their own home that there’s no guards. But oh baby, no. Bo has over twenty years of experience breaking into places, and her former right-hand was even better at it. Her security knows exactly who is there, they are just leaving him to the not-so-tender mercy of their “princes,” because it’s good practice and Jedi don’t hurt kids. Or if this one tries, he’s going to be full of lead and laser bolts.

Ahsoka may pick up on the prank-ish nature of the obstacles she and her master are facing. But she doesn’t say anything because Anakin’s reaction to the bucket of sand was hilarious.  

Sometimes, you’ve just gotta eat shit (sand), Skyguy.

R2 is occupied with trying to slice the system for Anakin’s evidence. But the plucky droid is up against a dedicated team of astromechs specifically meant to prevent someone else’s droid from slicing the Mandalorians. Bo remembers R5 in equal measures of fondness and exasperation, depending on who the droid was helping.

While Anakin is being slowly tortured by children, Dooku is headed for Sundari and the other domed cities. He intends to take out the soft targets of Satine-land so that the warriors will be angry and reckless, making them easier targets.

It doesn’t go to plan.

Mandalore has been prepping for a possible invasion by the CIS or the Republic since Satine learned about the planet killer. Even her ministers see that Palpatine’s recent policies imply he is not as peace-loving as he claims. Loathe as she was to do it, Satine did authorize Bo-Katan to set up whatever defenses would protect all their people and their planet. Knowing what could happen if the security system failed, Bo refused to let anyone half-ass it. Not to mention she has some future knowledge to improve the quality of what she’s working with.

Now what was the name of that brilliant weapons designer who gave her the Darksaber again? …Sable …Saber …Sabine! Of Clan Wren. Send her some tech manuals as a nameday gift!

So anyways, when the (large amount of) CIS forces show up, Bo’s forces scramble the fighters before the first bombing runs can be made, and deploys the light cruisers that were built underground.

Of course, when this information on a State of Emergency reaches the compound Anakin is “infiltrating,” the adults call a halt to play time. They need to get the kids to safety. Including the Jedi kid you brought to play with Lady Kryze’s Apprentices. Children are the Future, This is the Way.

Anakin: No! You’re not taking my Padawan! I would die first!

Mandalorian Babysitter-Guards: ??? Sir? We are taking you both to safety.

A: I won’t let you imprison us.

MBG: *nonplussed* You broke into our home. You’re lucky we’re not throwing you to the droid army instead.

A: Ah ha! You’re working with the Separatists!

MGB: *muttering to each other* Who scrambled his brain pan?

Cue Anakin trying to fight the Mandalorians and getting beat up for his troubles (the numbers were against him, and it was not good odds considering Bo has been working on their anti-Jedi/Sith training in anticipation of Maul). 

Ahsoka… may have missed this confrontation because she was busy trying to follow Din and Grogu to stop the pranks on her master. And somehow got swept along non-violently into going into a bunker until the attack is dealt with. 

Except Din and Grogu want to help fight, and honestly, so does Ahsoka. So the kids team up to bust out and go fight the Seppies. Bo-Katan is going to have words with the Babysitter-Guard, because she’s pretty damn sure they let the kids slip out so they could join the fighting too. Not that her Apprentices aren’t very capable, but dank farrik, they’re not that desperate for help.

Vagabond children aside, the attempt to bomb Mandalore is not going well. The CIS ships in space are holding their own, but the moment they get into atmosphere, there’s not only Mandalorian defense ships and batteries to deal with, there’s the goddamn Mandalorian warriors with jetpacks flying around. The CIS are learning the terror of humanoid flyers with thermal detonators and/or heavy guns (Adult!Din was a terrible influence on Bo in terms of sticking bombs on moving ships).

Bo-Katan and her personal special ops team make it onto the CIS flagship, blasting their way through the droids to the bridge. There they find General Grievous and an intense fight ensues.

Bo’s next “Look what/who I killed” pic features Grievous’s head in her hand with his body in the background.

Yeah, the cyborg was not optimized for fighting Mandalorians. Spinning lightsabers at high speeds is way less effective if your enemies have armor that is specifically capable of blocking lightsabers. Plus he doesn’t actually have the Force to anticipate blaster bolts and mini-missiles. And the Mandalorians have good teamwork.

As for Dooku, he’s slipped into Sundari to handle the Duchess personally. His master is so furious, he figures it’s best to confirm that kill in-person. Especially when the bombings are barely happening. When Dooku intercepts some reports about Anakin, he thinks, “Ah, I’ll just frame her death on my worthless great-great-grandpadawan.”

Dooku does not expect what he finds when he reaches the bunker Satine is in.

Obi-wan: Doesn’t anyone knock anymore?

Dooku: *stares in flabbergasted confusion*

Satine: What? Have you never seen a book club before? We weren’t going to stop just because you gave my sister something to do. It’s a scheduling nightmare to set up our meetings.

O: Yes, quite. So if you don’t mind, please be on your way. We were just getting to the good part.

Dooku… does not know what to do with this.

He’s also so distracted by the bizarreness of what he walked in on that Satine has no problems at all with shooting him with a stun blast. Dooku’s limp form is dragged away to be fitted with proper restraints for a Force-user.

Obi-wan: Excellent shot, my dear.

Satine: Yes, well. Bo insisted that if I wasn’t going to kill or maim anyone, I needed to be able to shoot those who would do so to me first. She’s a relentless taskmaster in that regard.

O: I’m sure her Apprentices will be terrors to behold when they’re full grown.

S: Undoubtedly. Now where were we?

O: I believe Oskar and Guinevere were escaping their wrecked ship together.

S: Ah, yes.

(They knew full well Dooku was breaking in from early on, but Satine figured Obi-Wan could not reach the guards Dooku was killing in time, so better to send them away and let Dooku reach them. This would throw him off, and these two are under a lot of stress, and need this book club to keep from snapping and going on incredibly awkward killing sprees...)

Eventually the battle ends with Mandalore victorious. The CIS has just lost a rather large sum of droids on this unsanctioned endeavor, their highest ranking general is dead, and their Head of State was caught on the ground during the invasion, killing/injuring foreign guards (regular security guards, not Mandalorian warriors) all on personnel helmet cameras.

Bo laments that all that work to prepare an ambush on Dooku’s home fell flat.

The CIS senate is in an uproar over whatever the kark Dooku thought he was doing and scrambling to disavow him before the Mandalorians decide to fight them. Considering some of the information Obi-wan has passed on during book club, Satine will take the disavowal and keep Dooku snuggly locked up in a max security prison on Mandalore where he can harm no one. Obi-wan would object… but he can’t out argue both of the Kryze sisters. And hopefully the lack of Sith tugging at the reins will allow Satine to make further progress in the CIS senate. They certainly owe her for outing Dooku’s atrocious behavior.

Obi-wan picks Anakin up from Babysitter Jail after Book Club is over, scolding his former padawan for being so foolhardy. R2 is picked up from Naughty Droid Jail. Ahsoka is collected from her playdate. Back to Coruscant they go to report the latest news.

Obi-Wan: You also abandoned your command! If you weren’t a Jedi, you’d be court-martialed for being AWOL!

Anakin: What about you!?

O: I filed the proper paperwork. *As in he approved his own leave request, which was then buried under an assortment of boring requisitions* 

Palps is, of course, fuming over these events. Mandalore draws closer and closer to ending the war in peace with every passing day. The Separatists are now reconsidering peace talks, and he’s hard pressed to deny similar pressure is growing within the Republic. His Apprentice is captured, and given all the failed assassination attempts on Clan Kryze, beyond his reach. The replacement he’s been grooming is so useless he can’t successfully fight even a small handful of Mandalorians successfully. What a waste of power. Moreover, none of this was in any of the various Force visions he has so proudly used to mastermind his rise. And now it’s pretty clear these savages have some sort of unknown intelligence. And maybe, no probably , pawns of some unknown power. 

It looks like he will have to handle the Sisters Kryze himself. 

Time for Darth Sidious to make an appearance.

Palps-in-a-cloak catches up with the Kryze sisters as they’re doing a joint inspection of the Mines of Mandalore. Makes his appearance casually killing their elite guards. He thrills in the hunt as they flee deeper into the mines. He knows he has them when they’re backed against a large pool of water. He cackles as he stalks forward, reveling in the moment of the Mandalorian Diarchy’s downfall.

Chomp

Palps did not account for a Mythosaur being grumpily awoken from its nap in the Living Waters by a noisy Darksider. And I’m gonna say lightsabers don’t work too well on something that calls a beskar mine and the waters probably infused with beskar home. So, you know, Palps is very dead by the National Animal(?) of Mandalore.

Nastiness now set to be digested for one thousand years or some shit, Mythy the Mythosaur is gonna go back to sleep. Night night.

Bo-Katan: Well, that just happened.

Satine: Yes. Yes, it did.

BK: Lunch?

S: I suppose. Though we’ll need to inform the guards’ families of their passing and–

BK: Lunch. Flimsi-work later.

S: …Okay.

With Sith influence now removed from both sides (and the Chancellor of the Republic disappeared from the face of the galaxy), Peace Talks move forward. Vice-Cancellor Amedda dislikes it, but he’s aware he alone cannot maintain the whole conspiracy. Except, of course, with no Sidious, the Dark Side shroud falls, and the Jedi converge en masse on Sidious’ old holdings. Dooku is put on trial, and Ventress is (probably) hunted down. Something-something happens with Anakin. Ahsoka keeps getting invitations to Mandalore. 

And Mandalore kindly refuses to hold the Peace Talks. They’ve had enough assassination attempts on their soil recently, thank you very much. Work out your issues yourselves like adults.

And now that Bo-Katan has much less to worry about in regards to future-that-once-was political machinations, she can work on a personal project: bisecting Maul vertically.

Luckily, she was there when Pre, idiot that he was, collected Maul and his brother. So she’s got a good idea of where to look. It takes some time as changes in events and timing mean they haven’t drifted the same way. Also Bo’s having to remember shit from thirty years ago (to her) that she had hardly cared about at the time. 

But she does it. She finds the escape vessel. There’s two life readings inside it.

Time to fix that.

Bo-Katan goes into the escape vessel and stabs the half-dead Maul and Savage with the Darksaber in the same spot the previous one stabbed Satine in the other future (she saw her sister’s body. She knows how Satine died). Once the Zabraks’ breaths no longer fog the frozen air, she lops their heads off, returns to her ship, then blows up their ship. It’s best to be thorough .

Project complete with Satine none the wiser (Bo loves her sister, but spare her the lectures on the morality of killing), Bo returns home to her clan to go through spreadsheets on the latest agriculture improvements and megafauna sightings.

And the galaxy spins on, better because two sisters made up.