Granted, Mando had eaten and had something to drink before he lay down for his nap, so he wasn’t starving, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it, especially when he saw Rotta and Grogu before they strapped in for Luke’s final practice run. He also couldn’t get over the fact that he, an experienced bounty hunter, had fallen into a trap. Why was he suddenly making mistakes? Was he really so emotionally unstable that someone was trying to brainwash him? No, that wasn’t going to happen, not when he had Grogu. Mando would get the helmet off and his old one fixed… somehow.
Luke and Zeb were in the pilot and co-pilot seats, with Mando and Grogu seated behind them in the passenger seats. It felt strange for Mando not to be flying the Razor Crest. He could still do it.
While the helmet was stuck, it had helped Mando’s headache and vision. Therefore, he stood and tried reaching for the controls, but Grogu used the Force to sit him down and shook his head.
“Hey, look at that!” Zeb looked over his shoulder at Mando. “It looks like your little guy doesn’t want you to fly, either.”
“I can fly,” Mando said. “I can still see better.”
“True,” Zeb said, “but you’re also in the early stages of brainwashing.”
Mando shuddered. How long did the stages last?
Try not to give in to the fear, try not to give in to the fear.
Luke was getting better—he didn’t accidentally fire a rocket again or chuck R2 into the wall—but he still had trouble with the Razor Crest’s weight.
After a couple of stalls and drops, Mando said, “Nope,” and tried to stand again, but his eyes rolled over to Grogu, and he quickly sat.
“So close, kid,” Zeb said. “You’re so close.”
Luke looked ahead at the ocean, his hand tightening on the throttle. He appeared a little frustrated, but froze when he heard something in his head.
“Balance, Luke. Use the Force.”
Luke searched the cockpit before refocusing on the ocean. “Ben,” he whispered.
“Who?” Mando asked behind him.
Luke closed his eyes—not dangerous at all—but Mando didn’t move, not with Grogu right there. Regardless, he noticed that he, too, had closed his eyes. He and Luke didn’t move for about a minute, and then they opened their eyes simultaneously, looking more relaxed.
“We got this, Grogu,” Luke said, moving the throttle forward and flipping a switch.
The ship jerked, but she soon balanced herself, and Luke steadily flew her over the ocean, picking up water in her wake. He sped up and steered her toward the sky, keeping her wings balanced. Luke flew her in a few circles, then let go of the controls.
Mando wanted to yell, but also didn’t want to break Luke and Grogu’s Force connection. Was he actually beginning to trust Luke with his ship? That was unusual, especially for him.
Luke waited until the ocean was a bit closer, and then he caught the Razor Crest. He steered her toward the base and grinned. “We did it, Grogu!”
Grogu clapped and seemed to cheer. He was definitely getting a little more vocal now and seemed more jittery around Luke rather than Mando.
Did something tug his heart again? No, he wasn’t going to give in to the fear. Yet, it was all he thought about, even when Zeb nudged Luke.
“Well done, Luke! I think you’re ready now.”
Once Luke reached the base, he landed, and he, Grogu, Mando, and Rotta escorted Zeb to the exit so he could be on his way.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come, Zeb?” Mando gently pushed him.
“I’m sure,” he said. “I need to stay here, Mando—teach the New Republic about the conspiracy and keep an eye on things, now that I know it’s closer than we thought.” He saluted Grogu, Luke, and Rotta. “You have a good team helping you.”
It was definitely diverse: a Jedi, a kid, and a good Hutt. But Mando still couldn’t help fearing what would happen once they reached Oamia without Zeb. He knew more about the conspiracy than Mando, Luke, Rotta, and Grogu.
“You’re more than welcome to call,” Zeb included, beginning to make his way down the ramp. “Especially if things get hectic, and you need backup.”
“We will,” Luke said, returning Zeb’s salute. “We’re going to take care of your bounty hunter.”
“Take care of him,” when Mando could take care of himself (at least, he hoped).
“I trust you will.” Zeb stepped off the ramp, but before leaving, he turned back to Mando’s team. “May the Force be with you.”
“May the Force be with you,” Luke returned.
Then, just like that, Zeb was off, and Mando was stuck with three young people and a corrupted helmet that he didn’t know how to fight. He watched as Zeb disappeared around the corner, soon realizing that he was the last one still on the ramp when Luke called to him.
“Come on, Din!”
Returning to reality, Mando turned and entered the ship, closing the hatch. He paused in the common room at the sight of Rotta and R2 playing with Grogu.
Luke observed, his arms crossed.
Rotta was good at keeping Grogu distracted. They tossed a ball back and forth (Grogu fell back only once).
R2 cheered them on by beeping.
Look at how happy Grogu was with them. Mando clenched his fists, but said to Luke in a calm voice, “Do you believe Rotta is a good Hutt now, Luke?”
He didn’t answer; he merely kept his arms crossed.
Mando left the room and sat in the co-pilot seat in the cockpit. An unexplained urge deep inside made him almost punch the wall, but Mando stopped himself before he did.
He soon straightened himself and reached for the helmet again, trying to pull it off.
No luck.
“Come on,” Mando begged.
No luck. First, invisible enemies, and now helmets that glued themselves to people’s heads? Mando didn’t understand.
He gave up trying to pull the helmet off, right when Luke entered and took his seat. They were alone now. Was this Mando’s chance to try that father-son conversation? Hell, he was going for it.
“Luke,” Mando said, while he prepped the Razor Crest, “can I ask you something? It’s about why I came to Ossus.”
“Master Yoda always told me to ‘do’, not ‘try’,” was Luke’s response.
Do…? What was he talking about? Mando tried to speak, but Luke interrupted.
“Do, Din. There is no try.”
“Never mind.” Mando would think on his own about what Luke was trying to pull. “Here are the coordinates to Oamia.” He typed them into the computer between the pilot and co-pilot seats. The sector soon popped up, and he and Luke studied it together.
Mando gestured at what looked like a dust cloud in space. “It looks like there’s a nebula in the area: the Oamia Nebulae.”
Nodding, Luke pointed at the triangle the nebula was between. “It’s between these three planets.” His finger moved to the triangle’s tip. “There’s Oamia.” He pressed the planet’s image, enlarging it. “We may want to learn more about those remaining two planets when we get there.”
Mando watched as he started up the ship and lifted it off the ground. “Don’t shoot rockets anymore, please,” he deadpanned.
Luke chuckled. “I won’t. Why don’t you get Grogu?”
“Luke…”
“You need him, Mando.”
Mando sighed, thinking for a minute. He then stood and left the cockpit, returning a few minutes later with Grogu. He set him in the passenger seat across from him, so that they could be a safe distance from each other. Afterward, he crossed his arms and tilted his head.
Before Luke even reached space and pulled the hyperspace switch, he and Grogu heard Mando breathing quietly.
Grogu whimpered, so Luke said, “He needs rest to recover, Grogu, so we’ll let him sleep for now.” He smirked. “I’m sorry that you’ve got a stubborn dad, but we’re going to help him—I promise.” It was there when he reached space.
Luke inhaled, saying, “Okay, so far, so good,” and pulled the hyperspace switch. Looking at the computer again, he saw it would take about an hour to reach their destination through the wormhole, so he got comfortable and took the time to study the sector. He gave Grogu a ball to play with, but he spent most of the time examining the outside world and Mando.
After an hour and a half, the Razor Crest dropped out of light speed, jerking Mando awake. “Did we crash?” was the first thing he asked. He needed to stop sleeping so much—he couldn’t watch Luke. “How long was I asleep?”
“About an hour and a half,” Luke answered, “but we’re here, Mando.” He jabbed his finger. “Look, there’s the nebula.”
He was right. The Oamia Nebulae, a dust cloud of neon blue, purple, and leftover star fragments, was before them (maybe a light-speed skip away). Even though it was still far away, it occupied an enormous amount of space. It was like a giant circle filled with Outer Rim history. Mando would be lying if he said it wasn’t both beautiful and mysterious. He stared at it for so long that Luke snapped his fingers before his face.
“We’re coming up on Oamia,” he said.
Sure enough, there was the medium-sized planet before the nebula (talk about a sight at night!). It was almost entirely ocean, with a few small continents and mostly islands.
Mando’s helmet hummed, and he reached for it. He dropped his hand, though, when Rotta appeared at the cockpit door.
“Mando,” said the ex-wrestler, “I just came from the back and saw something behind us.”
“What?” Mando glanced at him. “Are you sure, Rotta?” Surely, the invisible enemy couldn’t have followed them all the way out there… Right?
Without warning, the Razor Crest shook, and the computer began glitching. Something was interfering with it.
“Imperial?” Mando inquired. He and Grogu were looking out of each window.
“It doesn’t feel like it,” Luke said, steadying the ship.
“Pirates?” Mando had seen them, too.
“I’m not sure,” Luke admitted, tapping the computer, but it still glitched.
Grogu unbuckled himself and jumped over to Mando’s lap.
“Grogu!” he said, quickly holding up his hands.
Two spaceships soon approached them from behind, appearing on either side of the Razor Crest. Oars stuck out from their hulls, and they pushed through space’s vicinity. Each ship had a hooked bow, two gun mounts on top, and pods. The largest pod was at the bow of the ships.
After examining them for a bit, Mando told Luke, “Those aren’t pirates.”
A woman’s voice soon came through the hacked computer, leaving Mando, Luke, Rotta, and Grogu to look at it. She sounded like she was speaking through a helmet.
“We are the Vikings of the Oamian Sector. State your business.”
Vikings? Which was worse: them or pirates? Mando wouldn’t be scared off, though.
He set Grogu back in his seat and rested his hand on the switch for one of the Razor Crest’s guns. “Stay calm,” he told the others before leaning close to the computer. “We’re on business. We’re looking into the Brainwashing Conspiracy and were sent here.”
“How do we know you’re not Imperial?” the woman questioned. She had a very distinct accent; it was hard to understand her behind the mask. Mando guessed it was an Oamian accent.
The oars of the two ships stopped moving, so now they flew parallel with the Razor Crest.
Mando barely saw a tall figure standing in the pod at the bow of the ship on the right. Was that the woman? “Just let us through,” he said, noticing that the gun mounts had turned toward them.
Luke came in for him. “We think we might have a piece of the technology causing the brainwashing.” His eyes moved up to Mando’s helmet.
Silence, but the guns never fired, and the woman eventually spoke again. “Are you Jedi?”
“A Jedi and a bounty hunter,” Luke answered. “As well as a child, a Hutt, and a droid. One of us is injured.”
More silence. Mando could literally hear his heart thumping against his armor.
Eventually, the gun mounts turned away from the Razor Crest, and the two ships flew before her, the oars pumping again.
“We will take you to Oamia,” the woman said. She spoke her next line to the crew. “Stay down, crew. I think we can trust these outsiders.”
Crew? Was she the captain?
“I’m Esther,” the woman soon introduced herself. “I’m the captain here. You do exactly what I say until we land, understand?”
Well, that confirmed it for Mando. There was definitely something mysterious about that sector if Vikings patrolled it.
If only he could fight the helmet long enough to capture the Mastermind successfully.
How hard could that be?
16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyoivQ7hQQ
End of Episode II: The Helmet!
Current Word Count: 20,038
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