My Silver Lining (Marvel/Star Wars Crossover)

Chapter 18: The Mercenaries

"A job is a job." Ran retorted.

"No it's not. This is the New Republic we're talking about." I protested.

Mayfeld raised an eyebrow. "You have a problem with the New Republic?"

"No, I..we just can't afford to be caught." I rebuked.

"Neither can we." Mayfeld shot back.

"Mandy's right, this isn't just any job. That's a max security transport and I'm not looking for that kinda heat." Mando added.

"Well, neither are we. So just don't mess up." Ran warned.

"The good news for you is the ship is manned by droids." Xi'an commented as she approached Mando. "Still hate the machines, Mando?"

At that moment, Zero walked out of the Razor Crest and made his way towards us, informing us of his progress. "Despite recent modifications, the ship is still quite a mess. The power lines are leaking, the navigation is intermittent, and the hyperdrive is only operating at 67.3% efficiency. We have much better ships. Why are we using this one?"

"'Cause the Razor Crest is off the old Imperial and the New Republic grid. It's a ghost." Ran explained.

"Yeah, and we need a ship that can get close enough to jam New Republic code." Mayfeld chimed in. He then pointed to the coordinates above the ship. "So, when we drop out of hyperspace here, if we immediately bank into this kinda attitude, we should be right in their blind spot, which will give us just enough time for your ship to scramble our signal."

"It's not possible. Even for the Crest." Mando commented.

"That's why he's flyin'." Ran retorted.

At Ran's words, Mayfeld laughed. I knew how territorial Mando was with his ship, especially with flying. He wouldn't let anyone fly the Razor Crest, well no one...until now. But it's not like he had a choice.

"Mando, I know you're a pretty good pilot, but we need you on the trigger. Not on the wheel." Ran mentioned.

"Don't worry, Mandalorian. My response time is quicker than organics. And I'm smarter, too." Zero added, not helping the situation.

Ran patted his shoulder. "All right. Yeah. That's good."

As soon as Zero boarded the ship along with Mayfeld, Xi'an, and Burg, Ran spoke again. "Forgive the programming. He's a little rough around the edges. But he is the best."

"How can you trust it?" Mando asked.

"You know me, Mando. I don't trust anybody." Ran confessed.

I mentally groaned at his words. That doesn't make me feel any better. With that Mando and I made our way up the landing ramp. That's when Ran spoke up again. "Just like the good old days, Mando. Huh?"

Ran then extended out his hands as he smiled. Mando said nothing as he pressed a control panel to close the landing ramp. We made our way to the cockpit, where Zero was flying, while Xi'an, Burg, and Mayfeld were in the cargo hold. R8 and the child were hiding, so the mercenaries wouldn't harm either one of them.

"Calculations complete. Jumping to hyperspace now." Zero stated.

With that, he entered hyperspace in a heartbeat. He then spoke up without facing us. "Feel free to join the others. I will handle it from here."

Once we left the cockpit, I climbed down the ladder with Mando trailing behind me. Once we reached the cargo hold, I saw Xi'an playing with a dagger in her hand, while Mayfeld sat beside her. Burg had managed to open up Mando's weapon cabinet, which didn't please Mando. As soon as Mando saw this, he used vambrace to shut the cabinet. Burg grunted as he slammed the doors. When he tried to open the cabinet again, Mando stopped him. I watched as Burg glared at Mando. Mayfeld immediately intervened. "Hey, hey, hey. Okay, I get it. I'm a little particular about my personal space, too. So, let's just do this job. We get in, we get out, and you don't have to see our faces anymore."

"Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian." Burg commented.

"Well, apparently they're the greatest warriors in the galaxy." Mayfeld mentioned. "So they say."

"Then why are they all dead?" Burg inquired.

At his words, Mayfeld, Xi'an, and Burg all laughed. I noticed Mando was tense up, but I couldn't blame him. These mercenaries were the worst. They had no hearts. I did everything in my power to keep from telling them off. Mayfeld then turned to Xi'an. "Well, you flew with him, Xi'an. Is he as good as they say?"

"Ask him about the job on Alzoc III." Xi'an responded, keeping her eyes on her dagger.

"I did what I had to." Mando admitted.

Xi'an chuckled. She turned around to face him. "Oh, but you liked it. See, I know who you really are."

At her words, I glanced over at Mando. What did she mean by that? I then noticed Mando looking in my direction. I turned away as I thought about Xi'an's words. Was she saying the truth? Or was she just messing around with him and me? I knew Mando didn't have the best childhood, but I'd never judge his past actions. Why should I? I had my fair share of skeletons in my closet. I only opened a bit up to Mando, he didn't know about the Framework, Jeffrey, Rumlow, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell him any of that.

~Translations~

Mesh'la----Beautiful (Mando'a)