“Whoa, Mando. What happened to your visor?” Rotta gestured at it. He, Mando, and Grogu stood at the edge of the cliff after reuniting. A warm breeze passed through the area, and all three of them examined the green valley at the bottom of the cliff. The forest was behind them, as well as the lake they nearly crashed into.

        Mando touched his visor and told Rotta, “It’s an easy fix. I’d rather it be the visor than something else. Right now, we need to find Luke and figure out what attacked us.” He had checked the ship, but didn’t see any blaster burns. Odd, considering it had felt like an Imperial ship shot them.

        “We also need to find the landing gear,” Mando continued, pointing behind him toward the lake. “But don’t let your guard down. If something is targeting us, we need to be prepared in case of another ambush.” He jabbed a finger at Rotta and Grogu. “Got it?”

        The two boys exchanged looks, and then they nodded simultaneously.

        Mando gestured with his hand. “We’re good? Okay.” He pulled his blaster out of its holster and led the way toward the forest, Rotta and Grogu following. They soon marched under the tall trees, all of which leaned over them like a giant blanket, specks of sunlight bouncing through the leaves onto the forest floor.

        Mando stopped in his tracks and examined his surroundings before reaching up and shaking his head. “We’ll stick to the buddy system,” he told Grogu and Rotta. God, could the ringing in his ear stop already? “Just make sure you stay close.” There was definitely something watching them. Mando noticed Grogu studying the forest with him.

        He slipped his blaster back in its holster and removed the sniper from his back, flipping off the safety. He held it at the ready while they searched for the landing gear. Eventually, he told the boys, “Stay behind me,” and lifted his sniper, pointing it at a plant overgrowth beside the lake. The leaves and branches shook, indicating that something moved in them.

        Grogu lifted his hand, and Rotta pumped out his chest to make himself look even more intimidating.

        Mando waited a bit, slowly moving his sniper back and forth, and then he pulled the trigger.

        Boom!

        Dirt and plants exploded from the area he shot, soon followed by a loud screech that made the ringing in his ear worse.

        A purple head with an armor-like plate on its forehead, two large mandibles, and six yellow eyes crawled out of the overgrowth. The centipede popped up, showing off rows of legs and a black underbody. It had to be at least twenty feet tall.

        Though it wasn’t visible, Mando felt his eyes widening, but he soon narrowed them and shot his sniper again, breaking off a piece of the centipede’s right mandible. “That’s a big bug,” he observed.

        The creature dove into the ground, and its figure circled Grogu, Mando, and Rotta.

        Rattling came from the monster’s legs, and Mando heard its mandibles breaking the earth beneath them. He needed to get it out of the ground and the younger people to safety. The last thing he wanted was to get poisoned again—that time by a giant bug—or risk poisoning his allies.

        He shot the sniper, but unlike the first two successful hits, he missed the creature three times in a row.

        What? Why? Din Dijarin never missed. Granted, the world was slightly darker because of his cracked visor, but he still saw it.

        With his next attempt, instead of aiming for the creature directly, Mando shot the area beside its head, and it burst out of the ground, glaring at the trio.

        Groaning, Mando hit the side of his helmet a second time—that damn ringing.

        Noticing him, Grogu closed his eyes and raised his hands, straining. He caught the creature like he did Rotta in the Hutt’s palace a few months ago, but only lifted it a few feet off the ground before dropping it. Nonetheless, Grogu continued to strain.

        “Hold on, kid,” Mando said, resetting his sniper. Was the creature there or there, though?

        Rotta smacked his fist into his palm and hurried for the centipede, preparing to strike it. However, he backed off when it was suddenly thrown into the sky and tossed into the lake. A wave of water swamped Mando, Grogu, and Rotta, knocking them back a few feet.

        Grogu coughed, but then he checked his little hands.

        “Did you do that, Grogu?” Mando said, brushing the water off his armor.

        Buzz.

        Was that Mando’s ear? Nope.

        Pounding feet sounded behind the group, and a black-cloaked figure leaped before them, the light from his green lightsaber reflecting on the dirt.

        The centipede slithered out of the lake, and the cloaked figure faced it, yelling at Mando, Grogu, and Rotta, “Let’s attack the Arthropleurix together!”

        Arthropleurix? That was a new one.

        “Grogu, help me out,” the figure included. “Follow my lead.”

        Nodding, Grogu watched as he lifted his right hand, which was covered with a black glove, and raised his own.

        The Arthropleurix rose into the sky again, screeching while it strained under its frozen state.

        “Now it’s your guys’ chance,” the figure next told Mando and Rotta. “Give it your best shot. And hurry.” It was amazing how calm he was.

        Mando drew his blaster and handed it to Rotta. “Just this once, Rotta.”

        For a second, Rotta examined the gun, hesitation but also joyfulness in his eyes. Before long, he accepted it, and he and Mando closed in on the centipede.

        “Pull the trigger now,” Mando ordered. “Just don’t hold the blaster close to your face.”

        “Whoa!” Rotta yelped when the blaster bolt left the barrel. It struck the creature in its chest.

        Shooting his own gun, Mando struck the bug’s chest, too, allowing the figure to go in for the kill.

        He jumped up to it and ran his saber through it, cutting it in two pieces like an earthworm. From there, he and Grogu threw it into the lake again, and it sank below the surface, but not after swamping the group with one more wave.

        What a welcome to Ossus.

        “Did you see that, Mando?” Rotta looked at him and shook water off, offering him his blaster. “I think I’m becoming a natural in this crowd.”

        Mando sighed, accepting his gun. He put it and his sniper away, grunting. Mando reached for his helmet again. What was wrong with him? He was never off like this.

        The figure sucked his lightsaber blade in and attached it to his belt, facing Mando, Rotta, and Grogu. He pulled his hood off, revealing a young man with short, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

        Luke Skywalker brought his hands to his front and clutched his wrists, saying, “It’s been a while, Mando. You guys wouldn’t happen to be looking for a ship’s landing gear, would you?”