Falling for a Mandalorian

Chapter 6

They approached the green door and a gatekeeper droid popped out of the wall. The Mandalorian showed it the transponder Greef had given him and it allowed them to enter. Elara stuck close behind him as another droid led them deeper into the building. As they rounded a corner, four stormtroopers in dusty armor appeared.

Elara gasped but the Mandalorian didn’t react to their presence. He kept his gaze trained on the client, an elderly man with white hair. 

“Greef Carga told me you’re the best.” The man stated, studying the Mandalorian. 

The Mandalorian was about to respond when a door swung open quickly. He stepped in front of Elara and simultaneously pulled his blaster out. The stormtroopers raised their guns and aimed at them both. A small dark haired man with glasses stumbled through the door. 

“Drop your weapons!” The stormtroopers shouted at the Mandalorian. 

Elara stood pushed against the Mandalorian’s back frozen in fear with four blasters aimed at her. The Mandalorian must have been used to stand-offs though because he kept his cool. His gun stayed aimed at the bespectacled man. 

“I didn’t mean to cause alarm.” The man said looking between the Mandalorian and the client. 

“This is Dr. Pershing. Please excuse his lack of decorum. His enthusiasm tends to outweigh his discretion.” The client stated calmly.

“Now lower your weapon.” 

“Only if they lower theirs first.” The Mandalorian replied. 

“We outnumber you four to two.” A stormtrooper countered. 

“I like those odds.” The Mandalorian said with what Elara thought must have been a smile. 

“Now, now. We don’t want your little Hapan getting caught in the crossfire do we? Hmm? Take a seat Mandalorian. Greef Karga told me you’d be expensive.” The client said. 

The Mandalorian slowly lowered his weapon and stepped forward, gesturing Elara to follow him. He took a seat and motioned for her to as well. Dr. Pershing also sat. The client unwrapped a rectangular object covered in a red cloth.

“This is just a down payment.” He quipped, allowing the Mandalorian to inspect what looked like a block of metal to Elara. 

As the Mandalorian looked over the beskar, he glanced at Elara. While her face was impassive, her shaking hands betrayed her calmness.

“If you are able to bring the asset to us, then I promise you a trove of beskar.” 

“The asset must be delivered alive.” Dr. Pershing explained.

“Bounty hunting is a difficult profession, Dr. Pershing. You can provide proof of termination for a lower fee.” The client countered. 

“But…” Dr. Pershing began to interject. 

“We accept the asset dead or alive.” The client said with finality. 

After working out a few more details, Elara and the Mandalorian left the client. 

“I have to take you back to the ship. There’s something that I need to do here. Alone.” The Mandalorian told her. 

She nodded and didn’t protest. The sun was beginning to set and soon she wouldn’t be able to see to navigate. She was feeling helpless enough as it was. They walked silently through the streets of Nevarro. 

“Do not open the ship for anyone. I won’t be gone long.” He told her as he led her into the cargo bay. 

Elara lay on the bed and felt fear and excitement coursing through her. Today was like no other experience she had ever had. She marveled at how calm he had been throughout the whole ordeal while she had literally shook. She thought back to how her body had felt pressed against his. She knew he had only been trying to protect her but a blush still rose to her cheeks.  

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she heard the cargo bay opening. She stood and walked down to meet the Mandalorian. He strode in from the darkness with a shiny new piece of armor. Elara stood in front of him and studied the newly forged beskar on his shoulder.

“Is this from the metal you got today?” She asked looking up at him.

He nodded and she could sense that it was a private topic that he didn’t want to discuss further. She followed him up to the cockpit.

“Where are we going now?” Elara asked as she sat in the copilot chair.

“We’ll spend the night here and then head out to Arvala-7 tomorrow morning.” He answered. 

Elara pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. She looked over at the Mandalorian who was inputting coordinates for their next destination into the navigational system. 

“Mando, can you teach me to use a blaster?” She asked. 

He paused and then silently glanced at her.

“I want to learn to protect myself just in case.” She explained with her face reddening. 

She nearly felt embarrassed making such a request. The Mandalorian nodded. 

“Tomorrow if we have time, I will show you.” He stated simply. 

“Thank you.” She said as she stood. 

“You should go get rest. We’ll be leaving early in the morning.” He instructed her.

She turned to walk away and then turned to face him again.

“Do you know where the glasses I was wearing on Coruscant went?” She asked, chewing her lip nervously. 

“They were broken by the traffickers.”

“Oh, they only make them on Hapes." She said dejectedly as she realized how disadvantaged she would be on most planets.

He remained silent. 

“Good night, Mando.” She said softly as she walked to the sleeping quarters.

The Mandalorian watched her walk away. He never remembered feeling this confused. He knew that his responses to her questions were coarse, but he was struggling to understand the feelings she had ignited in him. He had never allowed himself to be interested in anyone romantically. Doing so would require a certain amount of vulnerability that he didn’t feel comfortable with.

He didn’t understand someone like Elara for whom love meant so much to. Sure, he could understand wanting to escape the abuse she faced on Hapes, but she had been so adamant about finding someone to love. So why did he find himself wondering if that person could be him? He shook the thought from his mind and focused on cleaning his weapons for the next day.