Clan of Three

Part Four

When the barkeep was gone, Rael glanced over at the table where the mysterious woman had been sitting, only to see she was gone. "Mando." Rael said nervously and the man turned to look where she was facing. "Dank farrik", he growled as he stood up quickly. "Stay here with the kid. Get back to the ship if things go wrong.", he ordered her before hurrying outside. The barkeep had to dodge him as she was walking towards the table with broth and flagon of spotchka.

Rael thanked her and handed the child the small cup of broth. The two sat in silence, besides the small slurps from the kid, until Rael couldn't take it any longer. "Come on. You can bring the broth." she said and stood up. The child slid out of the chair and dropped to the floor, while managing not to spill his broth. "Stay close." she told him as they slipped outside and crept around the corners of the huts.

Suddenly, Rael heard the familiar sound of Mando's flamethrower ignite. The girl took off running and the child cooed excitedly as he followed after her. As they rounded the corner, she skidded to a halt and her hand ghosted over her blaster when she saw Mando and the woman laying on the ground holding each other at blaster-point. The two slowly turned their heads to look at the newcomers.

Before anything could be said, a loud slurp sounded from beside Rael and they all glanced to see the child enjoying his broth. The Mandalorian looked back at the woman and asked, "Want some soup". The woman hesitantly said, "Sure...", and they both lowered their weapons and got to their feet. Mando and the child walked in front with the woman and Rael trailed behind them, trying to figure out why she recognized the tattoo on her arm.

The group re-entered the canteen and moved to a table in the corner so they could have a bit more privacy. When they had sat down, Rael spoke up and asked, "You fought in the rebellion, didn't you?". The woman, that they now knew was aimed Cara Dune, nodded and said, "Saw most of my action mopping up after Endor. Mostly Ex-Imperial Warlords. They wanted it fast and quiet. They'd send us in on drop ships. No support, just us. Then when the Imps were gone, the politics started. We were peacemakers, protecting delegates, suppressing riots. Not what I signed up for."

Rael nodded her head but remained quiet, not wanting to give away her identity. It wouldn't be hard for a member of the rebellion to recognize her. "Then how'd you end up here?" Mando asked. Cara smirked and said, "Let's just call it an early retirement.", before taking a sip of her broth. "Look, I knew you were Guild. I figured you had a fob on me. That's why I came at you so hard." Cara continued. "I figured as much." Mando hummed and leaned back in his seat.

"Well, this has been a real treat, but unless you wanna go another round, one of us is gonna have to move, and I was here first." Cara said with a shrug of her shoulders and finished her broth before giving the trio a nod and heading out the door. "Well, looks like this planet's taken." Mando sighed and the child cooed back. Rael stayed quiet for a moment before hesitantly saying, "If we can find a subspace com link then I could ask my friends for help."

"Can't we just go to wherever they are now?" He asked as he looked at her. "Not exactly. When I left, we were in the middle of finding a permeant location for the Tem- a base, so they could be anywhere. The only way I could contact them was by my subspace comlink, and we know what happened to that.", she replied with a hint of sass.

The man sighed and stood up. "I've already apologized for that. How would I know the Jawas would swipe it off the cart.", he said annoyedly and headed for the exit. Rael and the child followed him as she said, "Um, they're Jawas. It's kinda what they do." She quipped with a smirk as they followed the small path that lead into the forest and to the ship. The Mandalorian only grunted in return and they fell into a peaceful silence as they continued on their way.

~~~~~

Rael was trying to make a temporary sleeping mat in the Razor Crest's cargo hold while Mando was repairing a few minor components to the exterior of the ship, when she heard voices coming from outside. She pulled her scarf from around her neck to where it as she had been and quietly walked down the ramp.

"Our whole harvest was stolen. Krill. We're krill farmers." A voice explained. Rael saw that there were two men standing in front of Mando and had a hover-cart with a trailer attached. "We brew spotchka. Our whole village chipped in." The other man said. Mando glanced at the pouch one was holding out to him and said, "Not enough."

Rael rolled her eyes as she approached the men and went to stand by the Mandalorian. The farmers jumped but collected themselves and continued to plead, "Are you sure? You don't even know what the job is." Mando shook his head and turned back around to continue his repairs. "I know it's not enough. Good luck." he simply said. "This is all we have. We'll give you more after the next harvest." The older one tried again.

Mando said nothing this time and headed for the ramp to go into the ship. As much as Rael disagreed with the reason Mando refused to help, her main priority was the child's safety. "Come on. Let's head back." The younger farmer said and headed for their cart. "Took us the whole day to get here. Now we have to ride back with no protection to the middle of nowhere." The older farmer grumbled, making Mando and Rael stop abruptly.

"Where do you live?" Mando demanded. "On a farm. Weren't you listening. We're farmers." The younger one snapped, making Mando bristle. Rael sent him a look before turning back to them and politely asking, "Do you have lodging?". The two farmers shared a hopeful look before one nodded his head quickly and said, "Yeah. Absolutely." Rael turned to Mando with arched brows and shrugged. A second later, he nodded and said, "Good. Come up and help."

~~~~~

"So we're basically running off a band of raiders for lunch money?", Cara asked skeptically, making Rael roll her eyes. "All you two care about are credits.", she mumbled but too quiet for either of them to hear. They had picked Cara up on the way, luring her with the farmers' money. "They're quartering us in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked, that's a pretty square deal for somebody in your position. Worst case scenario, you tune up your blaster. Best case, we're a deterrent. I can't imagine there's anything living in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldn't handle." Mando said matter-of-factly.

Rael sighed as leaned back on a sack of grain and looked up at the night sky. She heard the child coo and copy her actions as he cuddled into he side. "You're a weird group." Cara mused as she leaned back against some crates. "How so?" Rael asked as admired the stars. "Well, a Mandalorian in full beskar is already a strange sight in its own. Then girl who hides her face. And to top it all off, a small green... kid?" Cara listed off. "Fair enough." Mando commented as he got comfortable as well.

~~~~~

"Wake up, Rae." Mando said as the child tugged on her braid. The young woman blinked rapidly and sat up. "Are we at the farm?", she asked. "Yep. Just got here." Cara said as she pulled her pack onto her back on hopped off the trailer. "Everyone, they're here!" A voice called out and made the group turn and see a group of people and children hurrying towards them. "Well, looks like they're happy to see us." Mando commented as he jumped off the trailer and Rael followed. "Looks like it...", Rael said as she looked at all the smiling faces.