Chapter 7: The Reckoning

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"He all right up there alone?" Cara asked, referring to the Child, as Mando opens the weapons vault. "Yeah." Mando and (y/n) said, in unison, and Cara ogles the weapons.

"Pick one." Mando said and Cara begins to inspect the weapons. "You trust the contact?" Cara asked the two hunters. "Not particularly." Mando said as (y/n) shakes her head. "We've had a run-in last time we were there on some Guild business." Mando said.

"So then why are we going?" Cara asked. "We don't have a choice. You saw what happened on Sorgan. They'll keep sending hunters. The kid'll never be safe until the Imp is dead." (y/n) said. "And you two are okay with bringing him back there?" Cara asked them, her eyebrow raised. "Not really. That's why we're bringing you." Mando said. 

Suddenly, the ship shakes and banks, making everyone stumble a bit. They climb up into the cockpit to find the Child playing with the ship's controls. Mando grabs the Child, hands it to (y/n) and stabilizes the ship.

"We're gonna need someone to watch that thing." Cara said as she nods at the Child while (y/n) rocks him. "Yeah..." Mando and (y/n) said. "You guys got anyone you can trust?" Cara asked them and Mando and (y/n) share a look, coming to the same conclusion.



"Whoa! Easy, Whoa!" Kuiil said to the creature as the Razer Crest lands near his moisture farm. Moments later, Mando, Cara and (y/n) enter Kuiil's residence with the Child in a floating crib.

"It hasn't grown much." Kuiil said, gesturing at the Child. "I think it might be a strand-cast." Mando said. "I don't think it was engineered. I've worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved. Too ugly. This one on the other hand..." Kuiil said then points at Cara. "...looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora." 

"This is Cara Dune. She was a shock-trooper." (Y/n) explains and Kuiil looks up at her. "You were a dropper?" he asked. "Did you serve?" Cara asked him. "On the other side, I'm afraid. But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt and now I serve no one but myself." Kuiil said then IG-11 enters the building with a tray.

Mando, Cara send (y/n) jump up and draw their blasters on the droid. "Would anyone care for some tea?" the droid asked and Kuiil gets between them. "Please lower your blasters. He will not harm you." Kuiil assures.

"That thing is programmed to kill the baby." (Y/n) said in a low tone. "Not anymore." Kuiil said as IG-11 places the tray on the table. "It was left behind in the wake of your destruction. I found it, laying where it fell, devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and staked it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic. Little remained of its neural harness. Reconstruction was quite difficult, but not impossible. It had to learn everything from scratch. This is something that cannot be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience, repetition. I spent day after day reinforcing its development with patience and affirmation. It developed a personality as its experiences grew." Kuiil explains.

"Is it still a hunter?" Mando asked him. "No. But it will protect." Kuiil said as IG-11 lifts up a cup. "Tea?" it asked and everyone gives each other confused looks.


Later, Kuiil was tending to a blurrg when Mando comes up to him. "I've run into some problems." he said. "I figured as much. Why else would you return?" Kuiil said. "I wanna hire your services." said Mando. "I'm retired from service." Kuiil reminds him.

"I can pay you handsomely, Ugnaught." Mando said. "I have a name. It is Kuiil." Kuiil said and Mando nods, slightly. "I need someone to protect the little one, Kuiil." he said. "I'm not suited for such work. I can reprogram IG-11 for nursing and protocol." Kuiil said. "No! I don't want that droid anywhere near him." Mando said, firmly, and Kuiil turns to him.

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