Hunt for Grogu

The Galactic Empire collapsed in 5 ABY, leading to the rise of the New Republic, which was based in the Core Worlds. However, fragmented remnants of the former regime persisted. These remnants consisted of lawless gangsters, former Imperial [warlords](/article/warlord], disparate armies of mercenary remnant [stormtroopers](/article/stormtrooper], and fleets composed of warships and starfighters. They clung to power on remote worlds. Other former Imperial territories remained under the control of ex-Imperial governors and Moffs. Despite the Empire's fall, these Imperial holdouts continued to resist the New Republic with their scattered forces.

One such Imperial remnant was commanded by Moff Gideon. Gideon was a soldier who had advanced through the ranks as an officer in the Imperial Security Bureau during the Empire's Great Purge of Mandalore against the Mandalorians. Gideon's remnant was comprised of surviving elements of the Imperial Army and a fleet. By 9 ABY, Gideon's remnant had established a presence on Nevarro, a planet situated in the Outer Rim Territories. The [Bounty Hunters' Guild](/article/bounty_hunters%27_guild] also had operations on Nevarro, as did a clandestine Mandalorian tribe (underground) that remained hidden after the Purge. On Nevarro, scientists working for Gideon's remnant secretly conducted experiments at an abandoned Imperial base involving blood transfusions with high M-count levels.

Gideon and his forces eventually sought to acquire a mysterious alien child known as Grogu. Grogu was a member of the same species as the then-deceased Jedi Masters Yoda and Yaddle. Grogu also possessed the ability to wield the Force, having received some training in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant from various Jedi Masters before the Empire's purge of the Jedi Order. The goal was to harvest Grogu's blood for their experiments. A substantial reward was offered for anyone who could deliver the child to him, prompting numerous bounty hunters to seize the opportunity to capture Grogu and bring him to "the Client," who Gideon used as a front for his presence on Nevarro.

Upon returning to Nevarro to collect payment for his latest bounty, Din Djarin, a Mandalorian bounty hunter widely known as "the Mandalorian," received his reward from Greef Karga, an agent of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, at the local town's cantina. He then received his next bounty, which he accepted upon learning of the substantial reward offered by the patrons. After obtaining the chit required to enter the meeting location, Djarin departed the cantina to meet with the Client.

Djarin met with the Client, who was dressed in Imperial attire and guarded by remnant stormtroopers, at a facility. He realized that they were an Imperial remnant. The Client provided Djarin with an initial payment of beskar, a metal alloy of great importance in Mandalorian culture. He offered Djarin a camtono of beskar for returning the Asset, dead or alive, although Imperial Doctor Penn Pershing objected to the latter. Instead of a standard holopuck, the Client could only provide Djarin with a tracking fob and the last four digits of the chain code: the target's age, fifty years. Djarin returned to his tribe, where "the Armorer" used the beskar to forge him a [pauldron](/article/pauldron] before he left Nevarro aboard his personal starship, the Razor Crest.

Djarin's tracking fob guided him to Arvala-7, where he encountered Kuiil, an Ugnaught moisture farmer and blurrg tamer. Kuiil, who had encountered previous bounty hunters seeking the same bounty, trained Djarin in blurrg riding. Together, they used blurrgs to traverse the desert to the compound where the asset was being held. Djarin, aided by IG-11, an assassin droid, stormed the compound, which was defended by a Nikto mercenary company. They recovered the asset, realizing it was a child despite being fifty years old. Djarin destroyed the assassin droid when it attempted to terminate the Child. Later, a local Jawa tribe dismantled the Razor Crest, but with Kuiil's assistance, he was able to recover the scavenged parts by helping the Jawas acquire an egg. During this mission, the Child saved Djarin from a mudhorn, and Djarin later recounted that the Child had "moved objects with its mind," believing it to be a trait inherent to his species. Kuiil then assisted Djarin in repairing the Razor Crest before his departure.

Djarin returned to Nevarro and delivered the Child to the Client and Doctor Pershing. When Djarin inquired about their plans for the Child, the Client rebuked him, reminding him that such inquiries violated the Bounty Hunter Code, before handing him the camtono of beskar. Djarin brought the beskar to the Armorer to forge new armor in their underground covert. Djarin later asked Greef Karga about the former Imperials' plans for the Child as Karga provided him with a new puck. Before leaving Nevarro, Djarin had a change of heart and returned to rescue the Child from the Imperials and Pershing. Djarin was then cornered in the town by Karga and the bounty hunters, whose fobs alerted when Djarin recovered the Child. He was nearly shot down but was saved by the Tribe, who moved in to cover Djarin as he made his way to his ship. He was confronted by Karga, but he blasted Karga off his ship. Djarin then fled off world on the Razor Crest with the Child in his care.

Navigating the galaxy, Djarin sought refuge and accepted various jobs for payment. It was during this period that he encountered Cara Dune, assisting her in the defense of a village. Subsequently, Karga contacted Djarin via hologram, revealing that the Imperials had returned and seized control of the town following Djarin's departure. Karga proposed an agreement: in exchange for Djarin's assistance in liberating the town, he would clear both Djarin's and the Child's records. Djarin then recruited Dune from Sorgan, along with Kuiil and a reconstructed IG-11, whom Kuiil had rebuilt and reprogrammed for caretaking and protection, from Arvala-7. Upon arriving on Nevarro, the group rendezvoused with Karga and his bounty hunter escort outside the town, proceeding together towards their destination.

Just before reaching the town, Karga eliminated his own escort, revealing that their initial scheme involved ambushing Djarin and seizing the Child. However, Karga had a change of heart after the Child healed a life-threatening wound he sustained during an attack the previous night. Djarin, Karga, and Dune entered the town carrying an unoccupied hovering pram, while Kuiil hastened back to the Razor Crest, where IG-11 remained with the Child. Inside the cantina, they confronted the Client, who questioned Djarin about Mandalore's resistance to Imperial expansion and demanded to see the Child. At that moment, Moff Gideon contacted the Client via hologram, ordering his escort to eliminate the Client and his stormtrooper guards. Gideon and his escort then cornered Djarin, Karga, and Dune within the cantina. A pair of scout troopers assassinated Kuiil and abducted the Child, only to be thwarted by IG-11, who arrived on a speeder bike and rejoined the group. They eventually sought refuge in the underground sewers, where they discovered the Armorer and the remnants of the Tribe members' armor, who had been annihilated by the Imperials after revealing themselves. Upon seeing the Child and learning of its abilities, the Armorer recounted legends of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of "sorcerers" known as Jedi. She equipped Djarin with a jetpack and tasked him with reuniting the Child with its "people." Until then, Djarin would serve as its guardian, and she declared them a clan, Clan Mudhorn. She remained behind while the others made their escape.

The group eventually emerged from the tunnels by crossing a lava river, during which IG-11 self-destructed to eliminate a group of stormtroopers lying in wait. They were confronted by Moff Gideon in an Outland TIE fighter, but Djarin utilized his jetpack to ascend and destroy the TIE fighter, causing it to crash in the distance. Djarin, accompanied by the Child, then parted ways with Karga and Dune, who stayed on Nevarro as Karga's enforcer. Unbeknownst to them, Moff Gideon survived the crash and escaped the wreckage with the Darksaber, having acquired the Mandalorian lightsaber.

Having received the Armorer's directive to reunite the Child with its kind, Djarin sought out other Mandalorians who could aid him in his search for the Jedi. Djarin received information from Gor Koresh about a Mandalorian supposedly located on Tatooine. There, Djarin encountered Cobb Vanth, who, despite not being a Mandalorian himself, had acquired a set of Mandalorian armor. Djarin demanded the armor, and Vanth ultimately surrendered it after the Mandalorian assisted him in slaying a krayt dragon that had been terrorizing his town. However, Boba Fett, the armor's original owner, observed the Mandalorian.

Upon departing Tatooine, Djarin agreed to transport "Frog Lady" to the estuary moon of Trask, where her husband, "Frog Man," was located with information on a Mandalorian covert situated there. During the journey, however, Djarin's ship, the Razor Crest, sustained significant damage after crashing on Maldo Kreis. On Trask, the Querm Rybet reunited; elsewhere, Djarin encountered former Mand'alor Bo-Katan Kryze and two other Mandalorian warriors of the Mandalorian resistance who fought during the Purge. Kryze revealed to Djarin that he had been raised in a Mandalorian splinter cult, the Children of the Watch, that adhered to the ancient way. Nevertheless, the group collaborated to defeat Imperial forces under Moff Gideon, who were transporting weapons from Trask aboard a Gozanti-class cruiser. After Kryze confirmed that Gideon possessed the Darksaber, which she had been seeking, Kryze informed Djarin that he could find a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano in the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus.

To repair his ship, Djarin returned to Nevarro, where he reunited with Greef Karga and Cara Dune, who had since collaborated to rebuild the planet's town, as well as a Mythrol previously captured by Djarin who had since taken up working for Karga to pay off a debt. While his ship was being repaired, Djarin agreed to assist Karga, Dune, and the Mythrol in destroying a remaining Imperial base on Nevarro to completely liberate the planet from the Empire's remnants. Although they destroyed the old Imperial base, they discovered during their mission that the base had still been active under Moff Gideon's forces. Djarin subsequently departed from Nevarro, but a tracking beacon was placed on Djarin's ship by a Mimbanese repairman in cahoots with Gideon's holdout, which Gideon sought to use to track Djarin down and capture Grogu for his genetic experiments.

Djarin located Ahsoka Tano on Corvus and assisted her in liberating the city of Calodan from magistrate Morgan Elsbeth; Elsbeth had been working under a master, Grand Admiral Thrawn, whose location Tano sought. Tano revealed the child's name, Grogu, and his upbringing at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to Djarin. After sensing Grogu's memories, Tano explained to Djarin that he had been taken from the temple and hidden away by someone when the Empire rose to power at the end of the Clone Wars. However, she refused to train Grogu any further due to his strong attachment to Djarin, which Tano stated left Grogu vulnerable to his fear and anger. With the Jedi Order having fallen by the Empire's hand, Tano advised Djarin to instead take Grogu to the ruins of an ancient temple on Tython, where Grogu could reach out with the Force, allowing his presence to be sensed by the few remaining Jedi in the galaxy, who could then come searching for him.

On Tython, while Grogu reached out through the Force, Djarin was confronted by Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, who had been tracking Djarin for some time. Fett offered to assist Djarin in protecting the child in exchange for returning his armor. The Razor Crest was tracked by Moff Gideon's forces, however, and stormtroopers deployed in a skirmish against Djarin, Shand, and Fett. Gideon's light cruiser destroyed the Razor Crest with a blast from the sky, though Fett was able to acquire his armor from Djarin's ship beforehand. As the three drove away the last of the stormtroopers, four Dark Trooper battle droids deployed from Gideon's light cruiser and seized Grogu before returning to the cruiser with the child. Fett and Shand remained in Djarin's debt for allowing Fett to keep the armor, and they agreed to help Djarin rescue Grogu from the Imperial forces.

On Nevarro, Djarin learned from Cara Dune, who had since become a marshal of the New Republic, the location of a Republic prisoner, Migs Mayfeld, an ex-Imperial sharpshooter whom Djarin believed could help him locate Gideon's light cruiser. After recovering Mayfeld, Djarin, Dune, Fett, Shand, and Mayfeld flew to the planet Morak in order to access an Imperial terminal with the coordinates to Gideon's light cruiser. There, Djarin and Mayfeld, disguised as Juggernaut pilots, infiltrated an Imperial remnant base and recovered the coordinates; Mayfeld subsequently destroyed the base by blasting rhydonium, and Dune let him go.

From the Slave I, Djarin, Dune, Fennec, and Fett captured the Lambda shuttle Shuttle 2743 in space while it was transporting Doctor Pershing. The four then flew to desert world Lafete where Djarin and Fett recruited Bo-Katan Kryze and fellow Nite Owl Koska Reeves for their mission to rescue the child. Kryze agreed to help Djarin rescue the child from Gideon in order to reclaim the Darksaber, thus allowing her to lay claim the Mandalorian throne, and capture his light cruiser as part of her effort to take back Mandalore, the homeworld of the Mandalorians. On the Slave I, Pershing informed the team that Gideon commanded a platoon of third-generation dark trooper droids that were stored in a cargo bay. The team then devised a plan of attack.

The team emerged from hyperspace in the shuttle near Gideon's cruiser; Fett fired on the shuttle from Slave I to make it seem like an attack. The shuttle crash landed into the cruiser through its launch tube while Fett destroyed three TIE fighters and jumped to hyperspace. Having boarded the cruiser, Dune, Shand, Kryze, and Reeves made their way to the bridge, eventually seizing it from its crew, while Djarin made his way to the cargo bay to disable Gideon's platoon of Dark Troopers. Djarin shut the doors with Pershing's code cylinder, though one Dark Trooper escaped; the two fought, but Djarin eventually destroyed it, and opened the cargo bay's back doors, dragging the rest of the Dark Troopers into space. Djarin then made his way to Grogu's cell, but found Moff Gideon in it holding the Darksaber over the child. With his beskar spear, Djarin dueled Moff Gideon and eventually defeated him, taking the Darksaber and freeing Grogu.

On the bridge, Djarin brought Gideon and the Darksaber to Kryze. However, the platoon of Dark Troopers used their foot-mounted rocket boosters to fly back to the cruiser and board it again. The team sealed the blast doors, but two Dark Troopers began to pound the doors in order to punch through. Before they could knock down the blast doors, however, a single X-wing emerged out of hyperspace and docked in Gideon's cruiser. The Jedi Luke Skywalker descended and fought against the Dark Troopers with his lightsaber, destroying the entire platoon. Gideon grabbed a blaster pistol, repeatedly shot Kryze, and pointed it at Grogu, but Djarin threw himself in front of the child, shielding him with his beskar armor. Gideon attempted to shoot himself, but Dune punched the pistol out of his hands and knocked him out.

Djarin opened the blast doors for Skywalker, who confirmed he was a Jedi to Djarin upon his asking. Djarin gave his permission for Grogu to go with Skywalker, and removed his helmet to look on the child and give his farewells. Skywalker promised to defend the child with his life; he picked up Grogu and left with him. Thus, Djarin fulfilled his quest and reunited the child with his kind.

In the non-canon comic strip featured in Star Wars Insider 196, Grogu became the target of a bounty hunter named George and their Jawa associate. However, the hunters ceased their attack on Djarin and the Child upon seeing Grogu and finding him to be adorable.