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It’s not important.
[A clear invitation for him to go back to bed if he wanted to.]
I’ve just been thinking.
[A clear invitation for him to go back to bed if he wanted to.]
I’ve just been thinking.
Home.
[Okay if he insists.]
Aside from Grogu. Do you miss it at all?
[Okay if he insists.]
Aside from Grogu. Do you miss it at all?
Mando, you couldn't keep me out of the rafters.
[Of course, if Mando gives him access to them, he'll have a bit of an easier time getting up there, but he was always going to go there. It's a good place to snipe from!]
You just sounded like every old person ever.
[Of course, if Mando gives him access to them, he'll have a bit of an easier time getting up there, but he was always going to go there. It's a good place to snipe from!]
You just sounded like every old person ever.
Of course not. I just figured I'd make it easier by opening the door for you.
Yeah, I know. And trust me, someday you'll think back on this conversation and realise I was telling the truth.
Yeah, I know. And trust me, someday you'll think back on this conversation and realise I was telling the truth.
If you're not moving, you can't do anything offensive.
I think that's how manners work.
[He doesn't know!]
I think that's how manners work.
[He doesn't know!]
I miss my guns.
[Like, obviously!]
And I miss flying. But otherwise... no, not really.
[Like, obviously!]
And I miss flying. But otherwise... no, not really.
[Bo snorts a laugh at the blunt reply. She misses her guns too but she just found that funny. She then goes quiet for a moment and speaks in a sober tone.]
What happened after everything on Gideon’s ship?
Riz said you told him the Jedi said you had to leave Grogu with him and that you couldn’t see him again. That’s not what I remember.
What happened after everything on Gideon’s ship?
Riz said you told him the Jedi said you had to leave Grogu with him and that you couldn’t see him again. That’s not what I remember.
I came to see him later.
[He's quiet for a moment too before continuing.]
The Jedi took him, and we all left Gideon's ship and went our separate ways. Then I ended up with some extra beskar, and asked the Armourer to make a chainmail shirt for Grogu. He's too little for full armour, but he could wear a shirt.
[Mando's voice rises in frustration.]
He needs protection! And the Jedi weren't going to do it! They'd say getting hurt was a learning experience or something!
[Evil space sorcerers! Mando takes a breath to get himself under control.]
I brought him the shirt to the planet they were on. Ahsoka Tahno met me there, and told me that seeing him would just make things harder on Grogu. I left the shirt, for her to give to him, and then I went back to Tattooine. I'm meeting Boba Fett there to help with some problems he's having.
[He's quiet for a moment too before continuing.]
The Jedi took him, and we all left Gideon's ship and went our separate ways. Then I ended up with some extra beskar, and asked the Armourer to make a chainmail shirt for Grogu. He's too little for full armour, but he could wear a shirt.
[Mando's voice rises in frustration.]
He needs protection! And the Jedi weren't going to do it! They'd say getting hurt was a learning experience or something!
[Evil space sorcerers! Mando takes a breath to get himself under control.]
I brought him the shirt to the planet they were on. Ahsoka Tahno met me there, and told me that seeing him would just make things harder on Grogu. I left the shirt, for her to give to him, and then I went back to Tattooine. I'm meeting Boba Fett there to help with some problems he's having.
Din... we say that.
[A sigh and Bo-Katan goes quiet for a moment. Knowing she needed to choose her words carefully. She understands where he's coming from. She had been able to tell back then how difficult it had been for him to give up Grogu. But he apparently wasn't able to let go. She also saw the other side of it. While Bo-Katan wouldn't claim to fully understand Jedi, she certainly knew them better than he did.
As she speaks again, her tone is gentle.]
He was with a Jedi, Din. A Jedi who saved our lives. If it wasn't for him, neither of us would be here and Grogu would be with Gideon. You really think he couldn't protect him?
[A sigh and Bo-Katan goes quiet for a moment. Knowing she needed to choose her words carefully. She understands where he's coming from. She had been able to tell back then how difficult it had been for him to give up Grogu. But he apparently wasn't able to let go. She also saw the other side of it. While Bo-Katan wouldn't claim to fully understand Jedi, she certainly knew them better than he did.
As she speaks again, her tone is gentle.]
He was with a Jedi, Din. A Jedi who saved our lives. If it wasn't for him, neither of us would be here and Grogu would be with Gideon. You really think he couldn't protect him?
I wasn't worried about him getting hurt physically.
[Sorry, he should have clarified this better.]
I know Skywalker saved us. I know he's a powerful Jedi. But he was treating Grogu like a student, and a student only. He didn't treat him like...
[like a son]
... like a foundling. He was teaching him the way, but not The Way.
I don't know enough about Jedi to know if their way works for some people. But the Jedi fell, and the Mandalorians didn't, and I think part of that is because Mandalorians know we're stronger together.
[Sorry, he should have clarified this better.]
I know Skywalker saved us. I know he's a powerful Jedi. But he was treating Grogu like a student, and a student only. He didn't treat him like...
[like a son]
... like a foundling. He was teaching him the way, but not The Way.
I don't know enough about Jedi to know if their way works for some people. But the Jedi fell, and the Mandalorians didn't, and I think part of that is because Mandalorians know we're stronger together.
[This was not how she thought this conversation was going to go. What Din said was simply baffling to her. Though it wasn't until the last part that Bo-Katan felt her hackles rise.]
You have no idea what you're talking about.
[Her tone suddenly turning tense. Harsh. Borderline emotional.]
We did fall. Over and over and over again. For decades I've watched our people fight and kill each other. It's because we weren't together that we were weak. Why the Empire wiped us out, just as they did the Jedi. We're not any better or stronger than they are.
I'm not any better.
And you and your covert were not there when we needed you most. When our people were dying.
So if you really think that you or any of us are superior to them, then you're a fool.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
[Her tone suddenly turning tense. Harsh. Borderline emotional.]
We did fall. Over and over and over again. For decades I've watched our people fight and kill each other. It's because we weren't together that we were weak. Why the Empire wiped us out, just as they did the Jedi. We're not any better or stronger than they are.
I'm not any better.
And you and your covert were not there when we needed you most. When our people were dying.
So if you really think that you or any of us are superior to them, then you're a fool.
I'm telling you, Riz: let Spicy out of her ball. I'm five minutes away from home, I'll take the fall for you.
[It takes a few moments before Mando answers. He clearly struck a nerve here! When he does speak up, his voice is calm and measured.]
Would you have had me at the Siege, Bo-Katan? A foundling who had barely taken the Creed, with a secondhand helmet and armour scraped together from scraps, with the thinnest possible layer of beskar?
If not then, would you have had me at the Fall? I had better armour then, and a ship that could have gotten a dozen Mandalorians off the planet, and the flying skills to get between the Empire's blockade. Would you have had me flying that mission, again and again, getting as many people as I could off the planet?
Or would you have turned your nose up at me as a cultist who doesn't follow the right Way, and never asked for my help? Would those born on Mandalore view me as less than because I'm not a blood Mandalorian, and choose to die with their planet rather than accept a single blaster shot from my covert?
[Somewhere along the way, this shifted to the proverbial you and not the specific Bo-Katan you.]
I would have come to the Fall, Bo. I would have run that mission. But I didn't even know it was happening until it was over, because no one thought to ask the covert for help. We would have answered that call, because we're Mandalorians. We would have been there.
Would you have had me at the Siege, Bo-Katan? A foundling who had barely taken the Creed, with a secondhand helmet and armour scraped together from scraps, with the thinnest possible layer of beskar?
If not then, would you have had me at the Fall? I had better armour then, and a ship that could have gotten a dozen Mandalorians off the planet, and the flying skills to get between the Empire's blockade. Would you have had me flying that mission, again and again, getting as many people as I could off the planet?
Or would you have turned your nose up at me as a cultist who doesn't follow the right Way, and never asked for my help? Would those born on Mandalore view me as less than because I'm not a blood Mandalorian, and choose to die with their planet rather than accept a single blaster shot from my covert?
[Somewhere along the way, this shifted to the proverbial you and not the specific Bo-Katan you.]
I would have come to the Fall, Bo. I would have run that mission. But I didn't even know it was happening until it was over, because no one thought to ask the covert for help. We would have answered that call, because we're Mandalorians. We would have been there.
[Taking in a deep breath, Bo-Katan tries to settle her emotions before replying. However there is still an edge to her voice.]
Really? Does your covert’s honor only extend to those who ask for it? Even your own people who are too busy fighting for their survival while a small group hides on a moon in plain sight?
[They knew. Din might not know himself at the time but the Armorer certainly did. She had admitted they were hiding on Concordia during the Purge.]
During the Siege it was a Jedi who took back our planet. The very one who I trusted and sent you to. Ahsoka Tano. So if you think I would have turned any of you away during the Night of a Thousand Tears, then you’re wrong. You could have shown us then the honor that I know now that you have.
If the others had rejected you even then, then I would have stood up for you just as I did to my fleet. Your bloodline means nothing to me. Only you do.
Really? Does your covert’s honor only extend to those who ask for it? Even your own people who are too busy fighting for their survival while a small group hides on a moon in plain sight?
[They knew. Din might not know himself at the time but the Armorer certainly did. She had admitted they were hiding on Concordia during the Purge.]
During the Siege it was a Jedi who took back our planet. The very one who I trusted and sent you to. Ahsoka Tano. So if you think I would have turned any of you away during the Night of a Thousand Tears, then you’re wrong. You could have shown us then the honor that I know now that you have.
If the others had rejected you even then, then I would have stood up for you just as I did to my fleet. Your bloodline means nothing to me. Only you do.
You would take one of the rare pleasures of old age away from me?
[ S I G H ]
So what is it you miss from home?
[Yeah, this is getting fraught. Mando would rather not get into the particular dynamics at play between his covert and the Mandalorians from the planet. Needless to say, the interactions have not always been pleasant. Bo might have welcomed their help; other Mandalorians might have shot to kill.]
So what is it you miss from home?
[Yeah, this is getting fraught. Mando would rather not get into the particular dynamics at play between his covert and the Mandalorians from the planet. Needless to say, the interactions have not always been pleasant. Bo might have welcomed their help; other Mandalorians might have shot to kill.]
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