The litluns are crying.
The litluns are always crying.
Breath rattles in malformed lungs, slow suffocation in their own pooled, poorly oxygenated blood. It gathers in pleural pockets. He listens to the muddled sound, interstitial fluid seeping, nowhere to go but inwards. They drown dry.
He pets their hair, and gentle, sings–
A blink, and the walls are not sterile and stark white, with red eyes monitoring in the corners, ever-glowing. The walls are dark. Stained by the scorch remnants of blaster fire. A different material– a gray one he does not yet know. The halls yawned before them are dark, unlighted. There is detritus on the floor. Here at the entrance they have found and cut into, the jungle has crept in, inevitable and indomitable. Greenery sprouts from the impossible lines between plates of metal or stone, rupturing tile, climbing ivy sweet and poisonous up the rafters.
A blink, and he is there and here. An abandoned gurney lays on its side here. He is strapped to one there. It is cold. It is suffocatingly hot and humid. Like the inside of a chest with lungs that cannot breathe–
“Rue? Are you okay?”
The hybrid startled, gripping tighter where he had been hugging himself, short, stone nails digging into his arm. He turned and looked to his sister standing bedecked in her armor, bracketed by sunlight they will soon leave behind along with the open air of the mountain. These are depths they must wade into.
He tried to open his mouth to tell her it was fine and couldn’t. So instead, he nodded, tail wrapping tight around one leg.
- Ahead of them, Ras is already proceeding, lighting the way with her saber raised; Rue has never seen her wield it before, despite knowing the Storm Raven for some time now. Beside her is a new face, the large male, Sir Arlo, another teammate.
“What’s up, little guy?” asked the Lonto, grinning easily over at him. He had to look up at Rue, but Arlo was perhaps thrice the hybrid’s mass. “Not scared of the the dark, are ya? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”
No, Sir, this one is not afraid of darkness. But he still couldn’t make himself vocalize a single word, not about standing in two places in time, in one haunted laboratory of dead and dying experiments and another, and so just shook his head, bowed to Arlo, and took a step after Elly.
Rasilvenaira glanced back, catching part of the conversation. She was concerned about Rue, but knew he had his sister with him so she hoped that he would be alright. At least with her taking point, with Veritas off to her right, if there was anything dangerous, she and her droid would face it first. They soon broke through the edge of the jungle into the gaping maw of the ruined compound. Crumbling walls had been blasted open at some point in the past. She scowled at that. Like most sites like this, there were always the tomb raiders and grave robbers, the looters and thieves who wanted to get anything valuable and often left behind the things of greatest worth out of ignorance.
It was to one such hidden vault that they were headed, scouts had reported an untouched vault deep within the compound. She was eager to find out what was held within it. Glancing back at her companions again, she wasn’t sure how thrilled about it they were, especially Rue who finally began to follow Elly.
She paused there, taking a moment to let the others catch up. “Veritas, scout ahead, watch out for traps or unstable flooring.”
“Statement: Affirmative, Master.”
As the others caught up with her, she extinguished her silver saber since there was enough light in the clearing. She would need it again once they got deeper into the compound where the sunlight no longer reached.
“Everyone alright? Veritas is scouting ahead for us. Arlo, you want to take rear guard?”
Two worlds collided here. Nature, replete with its twisting vines and scattered leaves, which Arlo could feel faintly pulsing with a steady rhythm in the Force, crept into an edifice of worked metal and laser cut tile. Something about the natural world’s reclamation of this testament of human ingenuity was both comforting and upsetting to him; it reminded Arlo of the teachings of his youth, the enduring legacy of Lonto belief that all things would one day return to the Green. And with the fondness of memories past, came a reminder of his own mortality, of his own brushes with death, causing him to hook a single digit inside the color of his tunic to make some space for his neck – had it been tightening his grip? He could breath now.
As they passed through the broken threshold, anyone with decent observation skills among the group would notice the vines that twisted along its jagged edges begin to bulge and, in some cases, sprout new growth that stretched a few millimeters across the open air, like gnarled fingers reaching toward the hulking Lonto.
“So far so good,” he said, trying his best to quiet the tremble in the back of his throat, “this place gives me the creeps, though.
"Rear guard sounds good to me.”
A sense of gratefulness pulsed through Ellisyn as her helmet disguised the worry in her eyes. It wasn’t often, at least of late, for the woman to see her brother in the state he was currently in. She would protect him.
As the group exited the jungle and entered the compound, the woman found herself feeling grateful once again. Despite years of combat, she had never gotten used to open areas like jungles and forests and fields. She’d always stuck to more urban areas, places where it was harder for her foes to run.
“We’ll be fine,” Elly said in response to Ras, speaking for both herself and Rue in the moment. “Whatever we’re here looking for has managed to stay hidden for quite some time, despite the visitors the base has received,” Elly motioned to the scorched edges around their entrance. “Be wary and stick close,” she said, mostly to Rue.
As though sensing her look, Rue’s unfocused saffron gaze went to Elly’s helmet, and he shuffled nearer still, hunched form all but disappearing behind the breadth and bulk of her in her armor. His fangs slipped easily as ever through his lip, the wounds welling with blood before closing, as Arlo agreeably sauntered to the rear of the group and they collectively moved deeper. The hybrid vaguely watched the way the clyerodendrum omsoniae and vonnoainvillea bent towards the Lonto, shivering in anticipation. He blinked twice, and reached out, cupping one juvenile bud and channeling some of his energy into it, watching the trumpeted, bleeding bellflower slowly yet suddenly bloom.
This species –or at least its original strain, as this bloom had six septals and not five, and was in an environmental zone it never would have naturally lived in – was meant to be extinct. It was also extremely poisonous.
Perhaps they were alike. Experiments, cobbled together, never intended to survive, and most certainly not to live.
Had its purpose been to die, too? Or had it been used for something else? Were there files here that would note as much? Was anyone left alive to remember? Had anyone ever cared?
“Uh, little guy?”
Rue startled, bowing again, and hurried along so as to not make Arlo or the others wait.
“A-apologies.”
Rasilvenaira stood watching Rue and the others, but Rue caught her eye. She noticed the flower bloom at his gentle touch. She smiled and then her expression turned to one of concern as she watched his body language.
She walked over to him, “Rue, are you alright? Would you like to walk with me for a little while? We can let Elly go first with Veritas.”
She clipped her saber to her belt and held her hand out to him, offering him a warm smile.
Veritas scouted further ahead, moving carefully as his sensors scanned for any traps or potential hazards. Something large suddenly showed up on his infrared sensors and he backtracked toward the group.
“Statement: There is an obstacle if we go this way. It appears to be a large animal that is showing up on infrared sensors. Visually, I saw nothing, Master. I cannot identify the danger.”
“It’s probably just a ronto or something,” Arlo countered while stepping forward, “the longer we wait around, the greater the chance for something to go horribly wrong. Like getting possessed by ghosts. I, for one, am not interested.”
After taking one long swig from his flask, the contents of which made his face scrunch up, Arlo marched forward in the same direction the droid had come from. He’d yet to meet an animal he couldn’t wrangle, and today would be no different. “The command center should be this way, right? Ellisyn, can you confirm that using the schematics on your datapad?The desk jockeys back at HQ should have sent it to all of us.”
<@301514304845381632>
Arlo’s voice rang clearly as he ventured further down the hall, fading into a husky silhouette in the dim, flickering light of overhead panels long overdue for replacement. It was a miracle that they, or anything in this place for that matter, still worked. “I’ll handle our pest problem and then we’ll be on. our. wa—wait a second … what is that?
"It’s coming for me!”
The sound of an animal’s roar, like tearing sheet metal and the warble of sublight thrusters, shattered the tense silence. Arlo screamed, and before the others could make it down the hall, the sound of thundering footsteps made it clear that whatever Veritas’ sensors had detected was coming toward them. Quickly.
From the shadows emerged a titan of muscle and feathers nearly fifteen feet in length, with a large, vaguely lupine yet reptilian head crested by greenish-black feathers. Two eyes that shone in the dim light like burning coals darted about with wild fury as the beast thrashed about, mostly in an effort to shake off the Lonto man who was holding onto its neck for dear life. But Arlo’s strength wasn’t enough. One more hard whip of its massive head sent him careening toward the wall, which he smacked hard before landing on his stomach.
“Ow.”
The creature roared again before leveling its fearsome gaze on the others.
<@244244163002892288>
“Sir Arlo!” Rue gasped in concern whence the Lonto was slammed into steel, seemingly less afraid of the giant creature. In fact, his expression, crumpled with terror, seemed not for themselves but for it as he rushed forward, throwing out his arm and stump in an attempt at blocking any incoming fire from Elly or the others. “Wait, wait, do not hurt it or kill it, please! We can–”
One massive paw slammed into the willowy hybrid, throwing him much like Arlo clear through the air and into the wall with a spray of faintly metallic red blood. The native Wayland beast snarled, the intelligence gleaming in its acidic eyes smothered by rage.
Elly retrieved the datapad that lived on her hip and began tapping away. It was something a bit smaller that was easier to carry around in the field, vastly different from what she used in the office. “We’re on the right path,” she said before Arlo decided it was time to run ahead on his own to take on whatever creature lay ahead of them. The vigilante didn’t have it in her to sigh or even shrug. She expected something like that to happen when among others at this point.
As quick as Arlo left, he came back. The man seemed rather distressed by whatever he had found, and it seemed he had every right to be when he was swatted across the room, his large form taking flight from the force of the hit. The woman growled as she retrieved her batons from the homes on her hips, readying herself for a fight.
But then Rue came out of the woodworks to stand between the group and the beast. “Rue get out of the-” Elly tried yelling over her brother as he pleased, them both being cut off by the animal slamming Rue across the room. “Rue!” She yelled, anger welling up along with a newfound worry. She knew the hybrid could survive a hit like that but it didn’t keep her from worrying.
Elly activated her jetpack and flew towards the beast, aiming to be level with its head to use all of her strength and momentum for one clean hit. All she needed to do was buy time to check on her brother.
Her swing connected and sent the beast reeling, but only temporarily, just long enough for Elly to land beside her brother to take up a more defensive position. “Any time now, Jedi!” She yelled at the force user among them.
Rasilvenaira growled under her breath. “I’m not a bloody Jedi.” Then louder, “I’m sorry, Rue, we have to chase it away and that is going to mean hurting it enough to scare it away. I will try not to kill it though, I promise.”
She sprinted forward, closer to the beast as it charged again, A lightsaber would have ended the fight but she meant her promise to Rue, if at all possible, she wouldn’t kill it. As the beast drew close enough, Rasilvenaira threw out her hand and blasted it with a ball of purplish lightning. It roared but faltered as the lightning played havoc with its nerves. It started coming again and she hit it with another, stronger blast of lightning.
The beast glared at them all but finally had enough and turned to flee, but its bulk and direction forced the group to retreat down another hall, deeper into whatever else might lay in wait in the derelict base, lest they be trampled.
“Go, go!” barked the Mandalorian woman, hefting her brother easily under his shoulders to pull him along. Another burst of fire from her jetpack launched them back away from nearly under the dryax’s feet, while Arlo was aided by the vines along the walls, which whipped him forward at his desperate urging. The three barreled near into Ras, who grit her teeth and activated her lightsaber.
Still, she didn’t intend to kill, keeping her promise. She slashed at empty air, just warding off the creature for but a moment as everyone gained their feet, Rue already knitting back together, to retreat. Then the Sith deactivated the blade, pivoted, and ran, channeling the Force into her steps. She didn’t overtake the others, remaining in the rear should the need arise, breath and clacking claws hot on her heels.
“Statement: Master, you are leaving! Where shall I go?” came Veritas’ faint, mechanical tones from whence the beast had come. Ras would have to recover him. For now, the group ran, just trying not to be crushed in the tight, Imperial-standard halls.
“There’s a lift!” called Arlo ahead. “HECK with this, let’s go, everybody in!”
The Lonto pushed his bulk into the old turbo lift, smashing at buttons in the hopes they would work. Some power seemed to remain somewhere, as lights flickered on and machinery groaned. Elly all but crashed into the back of the carriage, Rue in her arms, turning herself to that the bring of the impact was absorbed by her and her armor alone. Ras came last, spinning and throwing her arm out, sparks on her fingertips, just as the doors closed in the face of the beast. Its howls were muffled by the metal, which shivered with those ferocious vibrations.
“Is everyone alright?” Ras asked tightly, almost at the same time that Ellyisn snapped, “Rue, Rue are you okay?! Don’t do that, what were you thinking, you don’t even have armor!”
“This one– I am alright,” the hybrid assured, turning his arm out from where he had initially applied pressure.
Rue’s clothes had massive tears torn in them, tapering and ragged lines like claw marks that would have eviscerated many. As it was, while his skin and the fabric were utterly soaked in glinting blood, the weals on his skin were silvery and puffy, stretched and angrily red in places, as if the edges were barely knit together, but still, they were whole.
“Whoa, brother. That’s something right there,” remarked Arlo.
“This one is very good at healing. It is why it is here. Also, to try and ensure no one is hurt. Neither us nor others nor any animals or droids. Please. Let there be no more violence.”
“Can’t promise that, Rue,” Elly was quick to say, like it was a very old argument between them. “You can’t just– we have to defend ourselves. So be more careful and stay back. Okay?”
Rue’s brows furrowed like he might argue, but just then, something impacted the door. It seemed the dryax wasn’t quite done with them after all.
The entire lift shook, rattling, and groaned. There was a sharp metallic screech, long and whining, from above them, around them.
And then the entire thing dropped.
Falling. They were falling. Arlo felt his muscles tense in anticipation of an impact that never came. How many floors were they descending? This was bad. And he didn’t have time to think anymore. He had to act. To those nearest him, to each member of his team who, in the midst of the chaos of their present situation, glanced in his direction, might have noticed the fabric of his robes beginning to shift and twist. The fabric, made entirely of plant material, answered his call and lashed out in the form of thickened tendrils that blossomed in response to a surge in the Light Side of the Force.
The tendrils shot up through a small gap in the turbolift’s ceiling, and desperately clung to anything on the smooth duracrete walls that raced past the runaway contraption. The turbolift jolted at the added friction. Although Arlo’s efforts failed to stop it completely, it did slow enough to save them from becoming paste on the inside of its reinforced metal frame.
Impact.
It took everything Arlo had to maintain remain upright when the turbolift came to a sudden, violent stop, but it still forced him to his knees.
“I-Is … Is everyone okay?” he asked, looking around to assess the damage. He noticed Rue had his hand on his shoulder, and that was when he realized that the swell in Light Side power wasn’t entirely his own doing. “Thanks, man. Needed that, otherwise we would’ve been toast.”
Rasilvenaira got slightly squished between Elly and the wall, but disentangled herself and nodded. “Bruised but nothing broken, I’m fine.”
She looked over to Arlo and Rue, “Thank you both, this could have ended really badly if not for the two of you and your abilities.”
She pulled a comlink from her pocket and turned it on. “Veritas, can you hear me?”
“Statement: Yes, Master, I copy. Where are you?” came the raspy mechanical voice.
“Don’t worry about that. Get back to the ship and tell R5 to be ready for a rapid exfil soon. We’re moving in further, but we may run into more hostiles. So be ready to come rescue us if we can find an exit, or we can make one. Stand by.”
“Statement: Understood, Master. Be careful, you are not a droid, Master.”
She rolled her eyes at that, then shut the comlink off. “Let’s see if we can find a way out of this tube first, then see where we end up. The Caliburnus will be ready when we need her.”
Arlo nodded to Rasilvenaira in recognition of her thanks, before moving to examine the turbolift’s walls. The metal was thick, but he knew enough about lightsabers to know that they could cut through it with enough time.
“How long would it take you yo cut us out of here?” he asked Ras, “Elly and I could do the rest if you just weaken it.”
“I can make us a way,” Ras affirmed, her steady eyes flicking around the slightly crumpled, plant-choked compartment. She raised her silver saber and with effort sunk it into the doors, starting where the work would hopefully be simplest; if they were still aligned with the opening in the shaft, it would be much easier than cutting into a full wall.
“Cool,” Arlo affirmed, and checked back to see if the others were on board.
Rue had not risen from the floor. Elly crouched by her brother worriedly, but he shook his head at her. “The empowering– healing– it took much. This one but needs a moment to recoup.”
So promised, saffron eyes slipped closed, and the Mandalorian’s visor turned in Arlo’s direction.
“I got it,” she growled behind her helmet, standing and joining Ras.
Together with Elly and Arlo, one a pair of beskar gauntlets and the other hands thickly coated in plant matter, pried and pushed the still-hot edge of the metal following Ras’ cut. The metal block eventually gave way, only to meet resistance when pushed forward. Instead they had to slid it back and drop it into the compartment, revealing a portion of metal shaft and half an opening to the floor above.
“Oh man, I don’t know if I can fit through that,” Arlo said, and Elly in her bulky armor seemed at similar risk.
“This one can fix that,” Rue offered up, and in a sudden flash of misty light, there were two voorpaks where his teammates had stood. One was reddish, the other a deep brown.
Ras quirked a brow. “You might have to start warning others before you do that, Rue. But it works.”
She clambered out with an assassin’s grace, and reached back to pull the waif-like hybrid up by his only hand, his toenails scrambling at the wall and a voorpak on either shoulder. Once free into the open, pitch-dark hallway, the transformation released.
The sound Arlo made as his body suddenly transformed from the fluffy, multi-legged monstrosity of the voorpak back into his true self was …. unflattering to say the least. Somewhere between a groan and a squeal two octaves higher than his speaking voice, it echoed down the hall. Arlo turned on his heels and locked eyes with Rue.
“You…,” he pointed a finger, “that felt so wrong. Never again, bro. I should not know what it feels like to have more than two legs, and now I’ll never forget.”
Elly didn’t appear to be handling it any better. “That was not okay,” she said.
With a huff, Arlo marched down the hallway, leading the group to a large set of double doors. Beyond them was a room replete with computers and access terminals, some of which still glowed with residual power from the base’s barely functioning generators.
Ras was the first to look over a collection of documents gathered on a table just inside and to the left of the doors. “This is information on the cloning research conducted here,” she said, looking down at the papers with an expression that said everything that words couldn’t about the grim nature of the experiments carried out here.
Rue was standing close to Elly, his posture somewhere between protectiveness and fear. “This one does not like it here. The energy is … sickly.”
“Yeah, same here,” concurred Arlo, “some bad stuff happened he–” Like a whisper on the wind, something bubbled up from the depths of Arlo’s consciousness, imploring him to act. Danger.
The Force never lied.
Just as a silhouette, larger even than himself and Elly, spawned from the shadows of the room, the terrifying screech of a missile ripping through the air tore through the tense silence. Arlo threw himself in front of it, hands raised with palms outward, and channeled the Force into a mighty pulse directed outward to blow the missile off course.
A mighty explosion of heat and light burst from where the redirected projectile impacted by the doors, briefly lighting the whole room in a flash.
Databanks, yes, many of them, containing that horrid research. A few empty, broken plastiglass tanks, a faint scent of something sour lingering. Cables and wires and gurneys and computers.
And against the far wall, a line of security droids, stepping down from their stations, two already advancing and one lowering its firing arm.
“DT-series sentries!” Elliysn barked, familiar and hateful. “Watch their blaster arms! They’re armored!”
Rasilvenaira cursed under her breath as the missile was redirected. She drew both lightsabers and ignited them. “More incoming, I’ll take the ones on the right, see if you guys can handle the ones on the left, and try not to blow up all the databanks.”
She rushed forward, using her speed and smaller size to weave between the droids slashing at legs and arms where she could She wanted heads intact, so she could grab a few to explore their memory banks for the fun of it. But Elliysin was right, the blaster arms were armored and took a little more effort to cut through than their legs or non blaster arms.
“Too bad Veritas isn’t here, he’d love this fight.”
She ducked under another droid’s arm, slicing through its thigh, then it’s blaster arm when it fell over. She was anxious to get her hands on the databanks to recover what she could for Rayne. It was the main reason she’d been sent on the mission in the first place. Though she personally didn’t care for the practice, she begrudgingly accepted that cloning in itself could be useful if done properly.
Once she was done with her group of droids, she turned to look at how her companions were faring with theirs.
Ellisyn was a savage tornado as she activated her jetpack, batons drawn, and rocketed right into the droids’ midst. She swung with all her strength and all the vengeance of a daughter of clones and Jedi from the Clone Wars themselves. She had been taught since she could walk how to fight and how to fight clankers. A single swipe of her baton crushed one of the wrist-mounted blasters just as it was shooting for her brother, causing the device to explode from its own contained plasmic fury.
Another swing lobbed off the head of one droid like a ball in play. Wires sparked as the large body dropped to its knees, then to its side with a crash.
“Hey, here you go, lady, dang!” Arlo cheered, having sprinted forward and engaged one of the massive assassin machines with nothing but his bare fists. Or rather, his gauntleted fists, furled in tough plant matter that enhanced his grip as he grabbed one droid in a headlock manuever. He leaned back, fully lifting the heavy bot so that even when its torso tried to rotate in order to fire on him, the only result was its leg components spinning uselessly in the air. With the droid held in place, shooting at the ceiling above non-stop, it was simple for Elly to charge over and thrust her baton under the edge of the chassis chest plate, heaving to pry it free. It clattered away with a CLANG and the Mandalorian was quick to reach in for its power core and rip. Oil sprayed and cables frayed. She tossed it away in disgust and turned about just as Ras finished dismantling her droids more kindly to the units themselves.
Behind her helmet, Elly’s gaze sought out her brother. He remained where she’d shoved him when the first missle flew, crouched low behind a toppled gurney for pitiful cover. Rue was trembling, holding the head of her decapitated droid in his lap like he held one of his voorpaks, or Lektra when she’d been a baby, or a plant. Like it was something precious.
And he was crying.
But there were still more droids; those Ras had left standing. Ellysin lifted her arm as the friendly Sith moved towards them, aiming behind her. “Ras, look out! Move!”
The whistling birds sprang forth at her command, their sharp cry heralding the darts shining and flying free. They burst forth as Ras leapt clear in a preternatural bound, exploding into the DT-sentries and the databanks that were near them.
“Oh, kark!” Arlo exclaimed, using the droid corpse he still held as a shield to duck his face behind. The collective explosions rocked the floors, and the Lonto dropped his metal bulwark once things stilled, the stench of melting plastics emerging from the broiling databanks, smoke clearing to show the enemies downed.
“What was that? They were disarmed,” Ras growled, gold flashing in her eyes. “We needed that data.”
“The only good droid is a dead droid,” Elly snapped back, voice modulated by her helm. “The rockets are dummy-fired in a burst. I’m sorry, but your lives came first.”
“You–”
“Hey, now, ladies, come on. We still have to get out of here in one piece and past that big crazy monster, let’s not turn on each other now,” Arlo soothed. Wisely, the Lonto eyed the hybrid over in the corner, and pointed out, “I think your friend needs you, yeah?”
Both women glanced over to Rue, but Elly shouldered past Ras first. The Sith sighed, then shook her head and looked to the papers scattered on the floor and the remaining droid bodies. At least she could salvage those for her Empress. Maybe persuade Rue to give her the one he was clutching.
Elly looped an arm under Rue’s and lifted him to his feet after a few soft words. His tail was cinched so tightly around his leg, one foot was near gray compared to the other. Arlo’s brows furrowed, and he stepped away from helping Ras collect what they could to check in.
“You okay, bud? Need a ride out of here?” He made a gesture of carrying on his back.
“No, Sir, thank you, Sir,” Rue whispered to the floor. “This one will walk. This one is capable. This one is sorry.”
“…okay, man, sure.”
The mood was as miasmic as the Force around the base as the group found a maintaince tunnel adjacent to the broken tubrolift and climbed to an above-ground floor. From there it was a matter of carefully retracing their path, thankfully with no dryax to be found. They trod back over the spilt blood and scorched stones, some of their own added to it all, now, haunting.
“Statement: Welcome back, Mistress,” Veritas greeted them once they emerged back into the light and the jungles of Tantiss. His optical sensors tracked over them and stilled on the droid head Rue cradled. “Statement: irritation: you performed combat without me?”
“It was inescapable, Veritas. Next time I will make sure to keep you by my side,” Ras assured, sweeping up the ramp. The creases around her eyes softened as they all boarded and she surveyed their moltley crew, Rue immediately dropping into a ball on the floor that Elly stayed close to and Arlo leaning back with both arms overhead. “Take us home, Veritas.”
“Statement: yes, Mistress.”
“Come,” Ras beckoned, not unkindly. “I apologize for snapping. You all did well. It’s alright.” She seemed to mostly be speaking to Rue. “The Caliburnus’ kitchenette is well equipped. Would you all like some tea, juice?”
“Oh, that’d be good,” Arlo accepted.
Rue was silent, staring into memory. Elly answered for them.
“Tea, he likes tea. And apology accepted. I’m sorry for snapping as well.”
Ras walked off to accommodate her guests, and Elly’s eyes lingered on her brother, then on her gauntlet. Her gauntlet that was fully programmed to dummy fire or directly target with those whistling birds.
The Mandalorian pulled off her helmet, shook out her hair, and hugged her brother close. She offered Arlo a polite, strained smile.
For the moment, with Tantiss and its torture and exploitation burning behind them, tea would do.