The Mandalorian

Chapter 10: The Passenger

For @kenziekei

The ride back to Mos Eisley was a long one, and Elaine felt ready to pass out at any moment. But she gritted her teeth and held on to Mando as they rode over the Dune Sea.

Suddenly, the speeder flipped over, and was destroyed. At such high speeds, Elaine and the Child went flying. Mando used his jetpack to steady himself and fight the trappers, but the kids weren't so lucky. The rough sand scraped across Elaine's skin as she tumbled to the ground. She barely had time to grab the Child before she was grabbed from behind, and a knife pressed to her throat.

Scanning her surroundings, Elaine saw that Mando had already killed the other trappers, but he dropped his blaster when the man threatened the kids. "Wait!" He said. "Don't hurt the kids. If you put one mark on them, there's no place you will be able to hide from me. We can strike a bargain. There's a lot of value in this wreckage. Take your pick. But leave the children."

The man didn't move his knife from Elaine's throat as he gestured towards Mando's jetpack. Mando took off the Beskar strapped to his back and set it on the sand. "Okay. Here. It's yours. Take it. It's okay."

The man let go of Elaine and the Child harshly before talking the jetpack and running. Elaine ran to Mando, and he bent down to look them over. "You two okay?" He asked. He brushed Elaine's hair off her face to check for injuries, then looked over the Child. They were both fine, much to his relief. He picked them up, the Child still in Elaine's arms, and watched as the man ran away with his jetpack.

Mando pressed a button on his gauntlet, and the jetpack flew up into the air, the man still holding on. He then turned off the jetpack and watch with the kids as the man dropped dead to the ground, and the jetpack returned to him.

Mando set the kids down. "We need to get going." He rummaged all their things together. The dragon meat, Vanth's armor, all his weapons, and tied them to his rifle to carry like a yoke. He put the Child in the satchel and wore it, bumping the little guy with every step. Elaine wanted to help in some way, but everything was either too dangerous or too heavy for her to carry. Mando instructed her to stay in his shadow, seeing as how the girl's tan skin was already at risk for burning.

~~~~~

It was night when they arrived back at Most Eisley, and all three of them were dead on their feet. Well, maybe not the Child, but Elaine barely stumbled into Peli's hangar before falling over on the ground. She picked herself up and rubbed her eyes. "I'm tired." She moaned.

Mando sighed. "I know, Sarad'ika. I know." They walked into Peli's office and found the familiar mechanic playing sabaac with an insect-looking creature. Mando dropped his burden, earning their attention.

"You finally found a Mandalorian and ya killed him?" Peli asked looking at Vanth's armor.

Mando looked down at Elaine. She was teetering and on the brink of a coma. Despite his weariness, Mando picked up the girl and rested her against his hip. Elaine leaned her head against his shoulder and fell asleep immediately. Mando turned back to Peli. "He wasn't a Mandalorian. I bought this armor off of him."

Peli raised an eyebrow. "What'd, that set you back?"

"Killed the krayt dragon for him."

"Oh. Is that all?"

Mando let out another sigh. He was too tired to deal with Peli. "He was my last lead on finding other Mandalorians."

The insect Peli was playing with clicked. Peli nodded at him before looking back to Mando. "Okay. Well, you might be in luck. Dr. Mandible says he can connect you with someone who can help you, if you cover his call this round." When Mando stared at her, she added, "It's what he said."