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CHAPTER ELEVEN
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UPON landing on Tatooine, Artemis grabbed her cloak and put it around her before pulling her hood up.
"We're leaving the kid here while we look for some work," Din told her, making her raise an eyebrow.
"You want to leave the kid here alone?"
"He'll be fine," Din assured her, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "Trust me on this one."
"Fine," Artemis said, "but don't be surprised when he's not around when we return."
"He will be," Din said, taking Grogu from his cradle before descending the ladder towards the main area. Artemis followed him down and watched him put Grogu into his small compartment.
"You stay right here, all right?" Din told the kid, before closing the door and opening the hatch.
Artemis saw three DUM-series pit droids rush out to service the Razor Crest, but they quickly retract when Din fired a warning shot.
"Hey!" a woman's voice came and seconds later she appeared from out of her office. "You damage one of my droids, you'll pay for it."
"Just keep them away from our ship," Din said, gesturing at the droids.
"Yeah?" the woman said, her eyes darting over the Razor Crest. "You think that's a good idea, do ya? Let's look at your ship." She banged on the ship. "Oof! Look at that. Ugh, you got a lot of carbon scorin' building up top. Yeah. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout. Special tool for that one. I am gonna have to rotate that. You got a fuel leak. Look at that, this is a mess. How did you even land? That's gonna set you back."
"I've got five hundred Imperial Credits," Din said, handing them to her.
"That's all you got?" the woman questioned. "Well, what do you guys think?" she added, looking at her three droids, who shook their heads.
"That should at least cover the hangar," the woman told them.
"We'll get you your money," Din assured her.
"Hmm. I've heard that before."
"Just remember —"
"Yeah, no droids," the woman interrupted him. "You don't have to say it twice."
Din and Artemis turned around and left the hangar. Artemis stood still upon seeing the city and took it all in. Din, who had noticed she wasn't walking next to him anymore, turned around to watch her.
"Nothing has changed," she told him, starting to walk again. "Do you think we can do a quick detour?"
"To what?" Din asked.
"My home."
"Of course," Din said, nodding. "But first, we need to find a job."
They entered the cantina and made their way over to the bar. Artemis' eyes glided around, remembering that this was the bar where she met Din all those years ago.
"Hey, droids," Din said to the droid that stood behind the bar. "We're hunters. We're looking for some work."
"Unfortunately, the Bounty Guild no longer operates from Tatooine," the droid replied.
"We're not looking for Guild work," Din said.
"I am afraid that does not improve your situation," the droid said, "at least, by my calculation."
"Think again, tin can," another voice said, making Din and Artemis turn around.
The one who had spoke was a rather young man who was sitting in a boot with his feet on the table.
"If you are looking for work, have a seat, my friends," the man continued, gesturing at the seats in front of him. "Name's Toro, Toro Calican. Come on, relax."
Din glanced at Artemis, who nodded. She felt no evil intentions from the man. The two made their way over to him and slid onto the seats.
Toro moved his feet off the table and placed a holoprojecor on it. It showed the face of a female bounty hunter.
"Picked up this Bounty Puck before I left the Mid Rim," Toro explained. "Fennec Shand, an Assassin. Heard she's been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown."
"I know the name," Din said, while Artemis merely nodded. It wasn't the first time she had heard of Fennec Shand.
"I followed this tracking fob here," Toro continued, showing them the fob. "Now the positional data suggests she's headed out beyond the Dune Sea. Should be an easy job."
"Well, good luck with that," Din said, standing up.
"Wait, wait, wait, hey," Toro said. "I thought you needed work?"
"How long with the Guild?" Din asked him.
"Long enough," Toro retorted.
"Clearly not," Artemis spoke up, making both men look at her. "Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates, including the Hutts. If you go after her, you won't make it past sunrise."
Artemis then turned around and walked with Din towards the door.
"This is my first job," Toro called after them, making them stop in their tracks. "You can keep the money, all of it," Toro added and both of them turned around to face him. "I just need this job to get into the Guild. I can't do it alone."
Din glanced at Artemis, who clearly showed him that it would be a bad idea. He then looked back at Toro.
"Meet us at Hangar three-five in half an hour. Bring three speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob."
Toro hit the tracking fob against the wall, destroying it.
"Don't worry, got it all memorized," Toro said, grinning.
"Half an hour," Din reminded him, then they headed back outside.
"Looks like the two of you are stuck with me now, partners!" Toro exclaimed after them, making Artemis sigh.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
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"WHERE is the kid?" Din asked, the moment they entered the ship.
"I told you he'd be gone," Artemis said, sounding not nervous at all since she felt the kid's presence with the woman. "You should listen to me more."
"Hey!" Din said, ignoring Artemis, while dashing out of the ship.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!" the woman said.
"Where is he?" Din demanded.
"Quiet!" the woman hissed. "It's okay," she then said to the child that laid in her arms. "You woke it up. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?"
"Give him to me," Din ordered.
"Not so fast," the woman said. "You can't just leave a child all alone like that."
"That's what I told him," Artemis said, walking down the hatch to stand next to Din.
"You have an awful lot to learn about raising a young one," the woman added, glaring at Din.
"I said that, too," Artemis said. "The name's Rogue, by the way," she said, holding out her hand. "I figured it was time for introductions."
"Peli Motto," the woman said, shifting the kid before shaking her hand. "I started the repair on the fuel leak," she continued. "There you go. I had a couple setbacks I want to talk to you about. You know, I didn't use any droids, as requested, so it took me a lot longer than I expected. But I figured you were good for the money since you have an extra mouth to feed."
"Thank you," Din said, before he made his way out of the hanger, closely followed by Artemis.
"Oh, I guess I was right," Peli exclaimed. "You got a job, didn't you? You know it's costing me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up," she went on as the three of them walked out of the hangar.
"Hey, Mando and mysterious lady," Toro greeted us happily, leaning against one of two speeders. "What do you think? Not too shabby, huh?"
"I asked for three speeders," Din grunted.
"Couldn't find three," Toro said. "But don't worry. The lady can ride with me."
Artemis raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"No," Din said. "She's riding with me."
"And the name's Rogue," Artemis added. "Not mysterious lady."
"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Rogue," Toro said, holding his hand out for her to shake it. She did and rolled her eyes at the name he gave her.
Din climbed onto the speeder before extending his hand to Artemis. She took it and he hoisted her up behind him. She leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around his torsos, placing her head against his beskar armor.
Artemis closed her eyes as the two speeders raced over the desert. Her grip on Din tightened, not wanting to fall off the speeder.
"You okay?" he called, glancing over his shoulder to her.
"Never better," Artemis called back, as she tried to hold her hood up. It didn't work but when she noticed no change in Toro's mind upon seeing her, she knew he didn't recognize her.
Din gestured for Toro to stop and the two speeders came to an halt.
"What's going on?" Toro questioned Din, removing his goggles.
"Look. Up ahead," Din said, pointing at something Artemis couldn't see. She stood, placed her hands on Din's shoulders to steady her, and narrowed her eyes.
Two Banthas were standing a mile away from them. Artemis jumped off the speeder and followed Toro, who had taken out his binoculars, to have a better look.
"Tusken Raiders," Toro said. "I heard the locals talking about this filth."
"Tuskens think they're the locals," Din told him, making Toro scoff. "Everyone else is just trespassing."
"Whatever they call themselves, they best keep their distance," Toro said.
Artemis, who felt two presences approach them, turned around. "Yeah?" she said, eying the two Tusken Raiders. "Why don't you tell them yourself?"
Toro turned around and jumped up upon seeing them. His hand went to his blaster but Din stopped him.
"Relax," the Mandalorian said, who started to talk to the Tuskens by sign language.
"What are you doing?" Toro asked, while Artemis merely observed him.
"Negatiating," Din replied flatly, continuing the sign language.
"What's going on?"
"We need passage across their land," Din said, awaiting the response of the Tuskens.
"Let me see the binocs," Din said, holding his hand out.
"Why?" Toro questioned.
Din simply looked at him and Toro sighed, handing him the binocs.
Din threw it over to the Tuskens.
"Hey! What?" Toro exclaimed. "Those were brand new."
"Yeah? They were," Din said, stalking back to his speeder before climbing back up and holding out his hand out for Artemis, who swiftly got up after him.
She glanced at Toro, feeling a bit sorry for him before wrapping her arms around Din's torso once more.
The two speeders continued to fly over the desert landscape and it wasn't too long when Din raised his arm once again.
"Get down," he ordered Toro while pulling Artemis down with him.
"What? Oh," Toro said, jumping off his speeder and staying low.
The three of them hurried up the hill and fell down onto the sand, looking right over the edge.
Artemis saw a dewback with the rod still attached to its now dead rider.
"All right," Din began, glancing at Toro. "Tell me what you see."
"Dewback," Toro answered, as if Din was his master and he was his student. "Looks like the rider is still attached. Is that her? Is that the target?"
"I don't know," Din replied honestly. "I'll go. You cover me," he added, taking out his blaster.
Artemis nodded and took out her blaster before positioning herself next to Toro.
"Stay down," Din added.
"We'll be fine," Artemis told him. "Be careful."
Din gave her a slight nod and ran down the hill towards the dewback. Artemis' eyes darted over the sand hills, trying to spot anything that might be a danger to them.
"Well, is it her?" Toro called over to Din, who had turned the body around. "Is she dead?"
"It's another bounty hunter," Din called back.
"Hey, I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff for yourself," Toro said. "Can I at least have that blaster?"
Suddenly, a feeling overwhelmed Artemis and her eyes widened.
"Get down!" she yelled over to Din, who immediately fell onto the ground, missing a shot by inches.
Artemis pulled Toro down with her but could hear that the next shot hit Din.
"Mando!" she yelled, just as he leaped over the hill and landed next to her.
"What happened?" Toro questioned.
"Sniper bolt," Din breathed. "Only a MK-modified rifle could make that shot."
"Are you all right?" Toro asked him.
"Yeah," Din said. "Hit me in the beskar and at that ranger beskar held up."
"Wait, Lady Rogue and I don't wear any beskar," Toro realized.
"Nope," Din said, but Artemis could tell he was worried about her.
"Well, so what do we do?" Toro asked.
"You see where that shot came from?"
"It came from that ridge," Artemis said, nodding over to the other side.
"Okay, we're gonna wait until dark," Din told them.
"What if she escapes?" Toro said.
"She's got the high ground," Artemis pointed out. "She'll wait for us to make the first move."
Din nodded in agreement. "We're gonna rest. You take the first watch. Stay low!" he warned the young man.
Artemis sat down next to Din and leaned against the speeder.
"Can we trust him?" Din asked quietly so that Toro wouldn't hear him.
"He's young," Artemis replied just as quietly, "and hasn't been influenced yet. So far, he's a good kid."
Artemis then closed her eyes while intertwining her fingers and placing them on her stomach.
"Wake me up when it's our turn to take watch," she muttered, before drifting off in what would be a short sleep.
Word count: 2274
Another chapter finished! I hope you liked it! And thank you for reading, voting and commenting!!
"Lady Rogue" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? ;)
Published: 02.03.2021