Clan of Three

Part Three

"I'm with the Guild. I can't go back on my word. It would ruin by reputation and ability to get jobs. I'm taking the child to the client and then I'll figure out what to do with you." He decided as they broke out of the planet's atmosphere and he entered the hyperspace coordinates.

Rael felt her shoulders sink at his words and glanced over at the child, who had yet to wake up. "I won't give up." She barely whispered as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She felt the ship prepping to enter hyperspace as she drifted off into some much needed sleep.

~~~~~

Rael woke up with a dull ache coursing through her body. She slowly blinked  as she glanced around the dark ship. After the blurriness left her eyes, she noticed that not only was she alone, but she had been buckled to the chair and her cuffs remained on her wrists. "That nerfherder shocked me again." she growled and struggled against the straps.

She fought against the restraints for a few more seconds before letting out a frustrated sigh and slumping against the chair. 'Clear your mind. You've gotten out of worse.' She thought and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Rael willed her mind to calm and summoned the Force to wrap around the cuffs on her wrists.

Slowly, the cuffs began to pull apart and she heard the electricity buzzing as it tried to shock her, but Rael remained focused and kept it at bay. A second later, the cuffs had opened enough for her to quickly move her wrists upwards and out of the cold metal's grasp. She let out a sigh of relief as the cuffs snapped closed and fell into her lap.

The young Jedi wasted no time and unbuckled herself and began to search the ship for her saber. "He had to have stashed it somewhere." she grumbled as she dug through different compartments. The more she searched, it dawned on her that her saber was nowhere to be found. 'Well, I'm not leaving without it.' She thought and went back to the bounty hunter's armory she had stumbled upon.

Rael pulled out a small blaster and a knife to replace the ones the man had confiscated from her when they first met. Once she was satisfied with her weapons' stand-ins, she pulled her scarf up to act as a hood and hurried down the ship's ramp. Her feet had just hit the dusty ground when she heard someone clear their throat.

She turned to the left and saw the Mandalorian staring at her. Rael summoned the blaster to her hand and aimed it at the man as she growled, "Where did you take the child." The man tilted his head as he studied her, but didn't say anything. As she stared back at him, she noticed that he was wearing a shiny new set of beskar armor. "You've already given him to the client and claimed your payment." She observed coldly.

The Mandalorian huffed before reaching behind his back and tossing Rael her saber. She clumsily dropped the blaster and caught her saber with wide eyes. "We're gonna go get him." The man stated plainly and nodded his head for her to follow. It took Rael a few seconds to process what was happening before she jogged to catch up with him.

"Wh-what?" She stuttered and looked at where his eyes were shielded by the visor... that was, if he was human. "The client works for the Empire." He said lowly as they hurried through the small towns streets. "The Empire?" Rael hissed in disbelief as she reattached the power coupling to her saber's hilt and reattached it to its holster on her back. "I think he was a highly ranked officer and he has a scientist with him, along with stormtroopers. We'll have to fight our way in." The Mandalorian explained quickly as they turned a corner into a small alley.

Rael stopped in her tracks as she realized how crazy this whole situation was. "And why should I trust you. You've held me captive for the last cycle and turned the kid over for some beskar." She ranted and her hand ghosted over the blaster on her thigh. The bounty hunter turned and came face-to-face with her. "I'm the only one who can help you get the kid out. You don't have any other choice, but to trust me." He said firmly. Rael narrowed her eyes at him before saying, "Fine, but I'm watching you. And, I'm calling you Mando, since it's clear you won't tell me your real name." The newly nicknamed Mando shrugged at her demands and carried on.