Din and Kia returned to the snowy planet of Krownest by the late-afternoon. Since their arrival was expected, landing was quick and uneventful. Their vessel touched down smoothly with barely a shake, as the engines powered down to an easy slumber. Shortly after the ramp extended, the two of them hold hands as they exit the ship in full armor. They are immediately greeted by Ursa and her husband. As the Countess approached them, she reached out her hand to greet them in turn, "Welcome back, Manda'lor — Kia."

Din nodded sincerely and grasped her hand firmly. His solution to gaining the trust of his people is to slowly integrate himself into high society and their way of life."Thank you. I'm glad we are back safe and sound."

"Alrich and I have some good news," Ursa says as the air of nobility in which she previously gave off began to fade, replaced by what seemed like tenderness. "There is a chieftain inside who has requested to meet with you as soon as you arrived."

"Oh! Well of course. And we also have updates as well," Kia says as she turns to look at Din, then gesturing to the Wren's with an open palm to her side. "Lead the way."

Kia removes her helmet as they follow Alrich and Ursa through the hanger, and into the warmth of the Wren stronghold. Once turn a corner to walk down a long grey hall, the Wren's come to a stop in front of a pair of large double doors to the throne room. As Alrich reached for the door's control, Ursa began to speak, "We apologize for the urgency, but the clan leader insisted that we bring you to her as soon as possible."

The moment Alrich opens the doors, they were greeted by Tristan, Sabine and Fenn standing together by the tall royal chair, as well as a young Mandalorian woman in vivid scarlet armor. Her curly hair was jet black, her complexion and caramel eyes were a deep chocolate brown. With her red helmet tucked underneath an armpit, she turns to Din with a nod and a kind smile.

"Din Djarin, the Great King of Mandalore! I come with the blessings of Clan Awaud," she announced proudly as she confidently approached him. "I am Vera, the daughter of Nam Beroya," she continues walking towards them, extending a gloved hand for Din to shake.

"Clan Awaud?" Din asked once he removed his helmet to accept her handshake. Kia could sense that every time he takes off his helmet, it seems he is getting more and more comfortable with showing his face.

"Yes. After my father was killed by slavers, the leadership of Clan Beroya fell upon me. We are no friends of the Empire, I assure you. When Sabine and Fenn told me what you did for your child, I had to come see the man in person. As a foundling myself, I am honored to call you Manda'lor," she says graciously with a bow.

"Uh — thank you," Din muttered a reply, still not feeling fully comfortable with his newly acquired status of leadership. "My wife and I are also foundlings. We love that little one as if he was our own. The children are our future," Din proclaimed with deep satisfaction as he grips onto Kia's hand, and she returns the grasp without hesitation.

"I couldn't agree with you more, sir," Vera says with pride, nodding her head slightly as she kept eye contact with him.

"Wife?" Ursa and a couple of the others in the room all exclaimed.

"When did that happen?" Sabine asked with surprise in her tone.

"On our journey back," Kia says, her cheeks immediately flushed red at those words.

"I thought marriage was forbidden by the Jedi," Tristan questioned.

"A Jedi?" Vera cried out. "There hasn't been a Mandalorian Jedi since the days of Tarre Viszla."

"Yes, well — I am no longer one of them," Kia sighed as her gaze shifted to the floor with sorrow, then back up at Vera. "My duty is to my husband and our clan — and of course to our people."

"To do what you did is a great sacrifice. I applaud your loyalty, my queen," Vera bows once again. For some reason, the concept of being the wife of the Manda'lor did not fully register in Kia's mind right away. It wasn't until Vera announced it for everyone to hear, that her royal status had sunken in and the responsibility it entails. Not that she's complaining. The rank of Jedi Knight also came its own duties and roles. So she feels very capable of taking on this new task. Din, on the other hand, still needs more motivation and encouragement.

"My family was always loyal to Mandalore. Today we are Clan Mudhorn — " Kia explained as she gestures to Din standing next to her. "Along with the remnants of Clan Eldar and the sole survivor of the Protectors," Kia explains as she signals to Fenn Rau. "We all have to put aside our differences to reunite the clans to fight for independence. We must eliminate the Empire once and for all," Kia declared as she squeezes Din's gloved hand tight.

"House Eldar fought in the resistance," Vera recalled. "They lost greatly in the battle. War is inherently evil. Most of us blame the Empire. Others blame Bo-Katan," she went on to say as she kept a stern glance at Kia.

"How do you know this?" Kia frowned. The idea that a total stranger knows this information took her by surprise, even though she knows rumors of that dreadful day was inevitable and likely to have spread widely throughout the clans.

"My lieutenant has a great deal of informants. They tell him many things. Such as Bo-Katan's profound desire to reclaim the Darksaber for herself," Vera says as she motions to Din. "May I — see it?"

Without saying a word, Din wraps his gloved fingers around the hilt of the sword, unsheathing it form his belt as he ignites the black saber with a hum. As he griped tightly onto the beskar handle in his grasp, Din felt eerily connected to it for the first time, watching as Vera looks upon it with wonder.

"That's it — the Darksaber," Vera whispered, unable to stop herself from gasping at the sight of the ancient weapon. "The royal sword," she murmured softly again to herself, mesmerized by the black hole within the blade itself. "Now, that I have met you and your wife, my hope is renewed. You will make a great Mand'alor," her smooth, soft voice resonated between them as the young chieftain took a knee. "My king!" Vera soon declared bowed her head. "You have the support of Clan Awaud."

"I am also pleased to announce that Clan Rook has also pledged their alliance to our cause," Countess Ursa stated as she stood up from her throne.

"The resistance has been reorganized once again!" Fenn called out with honor.

"The Empire shall once again fear the powerful warriors of Mandalore!" Sabine declared, pounding a fist into the palm of her hand.

"All hail Manda'lor!" Ursa shouted and raising a hand in the air.

"Hail Manda'lor!" The rest of the group spoke in unison.

Sabine and Fenn seemed pleased, even Kia looked delighted. Deactivating the saber, Din sighed with irritation at the thought of being stuck with the Darksaber even longer.

***

Back inside the guest wing, Kia and Din walk side by side, their helmets tucked under their arms, slowly making their way towards the children's playroom. About halfway down the hall, they see Mia running towards them with her hands in the air, seemingly distraught about something. There was an elevated level of uneasiness in the air, but Kia knew what this meant.

"Oh thank the maker you two are back!" Mia panted as she ran towards them in her traditional white armor.

"What's going on?" Din asked.

"I've been here with the children since yesterday, and they have been so agitated! Neither of them have slept! Alina kept saying that you were in trouble," Mia explained with a worried look in her eyes. "But I'm so glad to see you two have returned unscathed," she goes to say with a sigh of relief.

"It's okay, Mia. I know what's going on," Kia says confidently, giving her old friend an reassuring pat on her shoulder.

"Kia — you're giving me that look again," Mia teased.

"What look?"

"Like your thinking Jedi things," Mia frowned.

"Oh, well — we ran into a squad of Imperial stormtroopers on Mandalore, but they were eliminated," Kia explained. "The children must've felt my anger."

"Kia, I was so worried about you. I thought — " Mia says but stopped to swallow a lump in her throat. "I thought I lost you all over again."

"Hey — " Kia says as she outstretched her arms to hug her friend, "It'll be alright, Mia," she says as the two women share an embrace.

"If anything ever happens to me or Vax, promise me you'll look after our daughter," Mia muttered in Kia's ear.

"We are a clan once again, my friend. We'll look after each other — always."

"But promise me the Jedi won't take her away. Promise you'll look after her — please!"

Kia leaned back and unwrapped her arms, "Of course I will. Same goes for us. If anything happens to us, take care of that little green bean in our absence."

Mia chuckled lightly, "That little wamp rant ate two bowls of beans last night!"

That news made Din and Kia both laugh, "That's nothing new," Din's dry honesty made Kia laugh even harder.

When Kia released her, she noticed a new marking on her left shoulder pouldron, a symbol of a mudhorn in a tan colored ink. "Mia, when did you paint that on your armor?"

"Oh, Sabine painted these for us last night."

"Do you think she'll do something like that for me as well?" Kia asked.

"I don't see why she wouldn't — Now, let's go see what's going on with those two," Mia says as she leads the way towards the playroom, with Din and Kia close behind.

"Welcome back, sir," Vax greeted them as they got closer to the main hallway, his shoulder pouldron also carrying the mudhorn signet in light brown as well.

"Vax, hope your mission was a successful one," Kia answered.

"It was, but when we were dropping off a shipment of arms back at our home base, we ran into your friend," Vax said as he motions his head, signaling to Din standing next to Kia.

"I don't have many friends," Din replied in his usual dry sarcasm.

"It was Fett," Mia interjected. "He said he has new information on a possible hidden covert, deep in the Coruscant Underworld."

"Well I guess we have a new mission, don't we Manda'lor," Kia says with a wink as she looks over up Din, who's silently protesting his royal responsibilities.

Din sighs, feeling torn, "First, I need to visit my old tribe."