Prologue
Dressed in Mandalorian armor, helmet by his side, Grand Master Din Grogu sat in meditation upon a rocky outcropping. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Grogu’s long green ears fluttered slightly in the wind. Since entering Sith space Grogu had felt uneasy. The Dark Side was omnipresent here. Though his eyes remained closed, reaching out through the Force, he could see everything around him. His friend, Master Din Djarin, a direct descendent of Grogu'sadopted father, sat in meditation at his side. He glowed with the Light Side of the Force - powerful, balanced, and focused. Grogu found comfort and strength in Djarin’s presence and centered himself on this feeling. He was glad his friend had agreed to accompany him on this mission.
Continuing in his Force meditation, Grogu reached outward, he found the landscape was barren of life and landmarks, save the deep chasm they were seated in front of. Their Aethersprite sat behind them, but that was everything of note that marked the surface of this hilly terrain. Their quarry was below.
“Feel its presence, you do?” Asked Grogu.
“I do,” replied Din Djarin. “It is deep within this pit. It is unlike anything I have felt before.” Djarin hesitated, searching for the right words. “It’s like… hundreds of voices… at once. But the voices are far away. They are afraid.”
“Yes, strange this is, but unexpected it is not.” Grogu had been searching for this very creature for several standard years. Ever since whispers had surfaced. Whispers that the Sith were searching for something. A long lost beast, created in ancient times, that had survived millennia. Here it was, at the bottom of a pit on a lonely planet, deep in the heart of Sith space.
Grogu opened his eyes to see the weathered old Master Jedi beside him. Djarin’s long gray hair, leathery skin, and aging body belied the strong soul within. His kind brown eyes were those of his great, great, grandfather, a man Grogu had loved as a child. Full of warmth and love. They had spent many hours together, enjoying their families and the fruits of a rejuvenated Mandalore. Throughout his life Grogu had grown to love, then let go of this man several times - different incarnations of the same being. This was the pain and the joy of living hundreds of years.
“Yes, I’m old,” quipped Djarin. “Stop staring at me like that, you are creeping me out.” Djarin smiled at Grogu warmly. “Remind me again, old friend, what the plan is before I lose my nerve.”
Grogu reviewed the plan. They would attach lifelines to the ship and rappel into the chasm. The mission was to find out what was down there, and, if the opportunity presented itself, eliminate any threats. At the first sign of danger they would activate the lifelines to tow them back to the safety of the ship. “Ready, are you?”
“Oh yeah, let’s do this,” remarked Djarin. “But when we get back I get to choose dinner tonight. If I have to eat another meal of frogs, eggs, and unidentified slimy things again, I may blow chunks.” With a chuckle, Djarin and Grogu donned their helmets and from then on it was all business. They were both dressed in full Mandalorian beskar armor, armed to the teeth, ready for the fiercest opponent. They pulled lifelines from their backpacks, attached them to the ship, and after a quick weapons check, they turned on their helmet lights and descended into the chasm.
As they lowered themselves down, Grogu noticed that the voices he had heard through the Force started to get louder and more distracting. They were filling his head. The further and further down they went into the chasm the louder it got. Voices became screams and they were almost deafening now, blocking thoughts in Grogu’s mind. He did everything he could to calm himself, resisting the feelings of fear and confusion.
Grogu reached out through the Force to Djarin. “Center on each other through the Force, we must.” Djarin looked over and nodded at Grogu. Grogu felt Djarin reach out and his presence was suddenly strong in the Force. Then, one by one, the voices started to change. A scream quieted and became a soft plea for help. “Come closer… help me…” they whispered. Grogu wanted to help. As each of the voices became quieter, calmer, he started to hear them more individually. A child, a woman, an old man. Some of the voices he thought he might know. If he could just get closer, he would be able to hear better, then he would be able to remember whose voices they were. Someone from his past?
Grogu and Djarin reached the bottom of the chasm, stood, and turned their lights to the darkness. They stepped forward and moved towards what seemed to be the source of the voices. Grogu could feel Force energy coalescing in front of them and a crackle of electricity filled the air as if they were passing through an energy field. Glowing figures started to form. Force ghosts. The whisperers. They beckoned the duo closer, and step by step, Grogu obliged.
Then, suddenly, Grogu felt pangs of loss. A connection had been severed. Djarin. Grogu looked to his side and saw him moving closer to the Force ghosts. A wave of panic swept through Grogu and he reacted by pushing out through the Force. Grogu concentrated on clearing out the Dark energy around them. It worked. The Force ghosts evaporated and the electricity subsided. Grogu could see and think clearly now, but quickly realized the reality of the situation was much more terrifying than a hoard of Force ghosts.
Floating like a dark cloud before them was an enormous creature. Giant blisters and sharp horns covered its bulbous body and a tongue dripped from its giant maw of teeth. As if awakening from a slumber it slowly unfolded its arms and opened four evil red eyes. Grogu ignited his little green lightsaber and readied for an attack.
The creature focused on Grogu, and he could feel the intensity of its stare as its anger built. Then, the creature’s giant maw snapped open and erupted in a deafening roar, blowing Grogu backwards and Djarin onto his back. On impact, Djarin’s trance was broken and Grogu felt his presence again. They shared a look, and Grogu knew it was time to get out of there.
But before they could act, the roar was followed by an eerie silence, then a giant intake of air. Grogu could feel an instant tug on his armor, then he braced his legs to resist the pull. The crackle of the electric field and Force ghosts returned and started to swirl around them. By bracing himself Grogu had physically stopped himself from moving, but he felt something else move, something else trying to tear away.
Looking back over at Djarin, he could see it now. The Force, Djarin’s very soul was being ripped from his body like a translucent shadow. Grogu knew this was his plight as well, the Force was being pulled from his body. Djarin screamed, and Grogu watched in astonishment as he ignited his lightsaber and propelled himself toward the creature, his Force shadow going along for the ride. In defiance of gravity, Djarin flew through the air head first, and plunged the blue blade into one of the beast’s four beady red eyes.
The vacuum of air suddenly stopped and the Force shadow rejoined with Djarin’s body. But Djarin’s momentum carried him into the creature’s gaping mouth. With a crunch, the monstrous set of teeth clamped down on Djarin’s midsection, putting his entire lower body in its mouth. His lightsaber clanked to the ground. Grogu gasped, hoping the creature’s teeth had only found beskar, but he could sense Djarin’s pain.
Grogu rushed the creature, leaped and was ready to stab through another red eye. But just as he was about to plunge his lightsaber into it, a large trunk of an arm batted him out of the air. Grogu tumbled to the rocky ground and rolled up to his feet. His head was ringing in his helmet but he was no worse for wear. Then, the creature’s arm extended towards him and lightning sparked from its gnarled fingers. Grogu was ready, catching the bolt with his lightsaber. The power of the lightning built up into a glowing ball of light and started to push Grogu backwards. Straining to keep his footing, he was in trouble.
In anticipation of victory, the beast’s jaw dropped a bit and bloody saliva dripped to the ground. It had forgotten Djarin in its mouth, and Grogu hoped the Master Jedi had enough left in him to help one last time. “One last effort, we need, old friend,” Grogu called out through the Force.
As if being startled from a deep sleep, Grogu saw Djarin shake his head and look around. Then, struggling to a sit up position, both of his gauntlets erupted in flames as he pushed them into the face of the creature. The creature lifted its arms to shield its face, releasing Grogu from the onslaught of Force lightning.
“Now!” He heard from Djarin through the Force. It was his turn. Sprinting forward, he pulled Djarin’s saber to his hand and ignited it, then jumped into a somersault. Grogu flew like a whirling saw blade into the head of the beast, gouging deep into its flesh. Electricity erupted everywhere as if he had severed the circuit boards of a giant droid. A Force push from Djarin sent him up from the head into the beast’s body. The spinning lightsabers seared through the creature’s back, piercing scores of giant blisters and leaving a large gaping mess. The beast was completely eviscerated and not just blood, but Force energy poured from the wounds.
As he landed, Grogu composed himself and rushed back to help his friend. The beast’s jaw, lifeless and slack, let Djarin’s body slide to the ground. It wasn’t good, Djarin’s wounds were deep, but he was still alive. Grogu keyed the command on Djarin’s gauntlet, then watched as the lifeline zipped him up the side of the cliff.
A crackle of energy caught Grogu’s attention. A field of electricity now covered the body of the beast and began spreading to the rocks. The creature’s blood soaked the ground and that spread quickly as well, corrupting the area around it. What foul Magick was this?
Grogu took his cue and engaged the lifeline through his gauntlet. Flying up towards the surface he watched as the electric field spread below him. Grogu reached the top of the chasm and found the medical droids had started their job. They were in the process of loading Djarin into the rear of the ship. All Grogu had to do was release the lifeline and jump into the cockpit of the Aethersprite. He lifted off just as the storm rolled in.
Djarin’s vital signs looked good and he was already complaining loudly through the intercom. “Sure, just stuff me in the trunk like a piece of luggage! And after I save your life.”
Grogu chuckled. “Stop your bleeding, and let you sit up front like a big boy, I will.”
Banking around to interface with the hyperspace docking ring, Grogu took one last look at the planet. Lightning strikes illuminated the surface. The creature was dead, but Grogu frowned at the thought of the cluster of Dark Side energy. Fortunately it was far enough away from Mandalore and the core worlds to cause any problems. With the ship docked to the ring, Grogu turned his attention back to the controls. The Aethersprite made the leap to hyperspace.
“Mission accomplished?” asked Djarin.
“Mission accomplished,” echoed Grogu.
