Prompt:
A gang of bounty hunters pursue Grogu.
Requested by PokemonMaster2019
Part 1!
She/Her❥
1st POV
♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎
Everything went by so fast. My life-long friend and lover, Din Djarin, and I, were on a small supplies mission on the eastern part of the planet of Mon Cala. Water planets... they never gave me a good feeling about anything. Just about anything could be hiding in those icy, dark depths, and per usual, Din had brought the easiest target alongside us for the mission. If there was anything in that water, little Grogu would be getting snatched before either of us, which always puts me on edge.
Din wasn't even paying much attention to Grogu; just fighting off some opposing Mon Calamari and the occasional Quarren. I was half-assed fighting off the Mon Cala occupants over the fact I was so worried for the state of our small accompaniment. He was getting dangerously-close to the waterside, and both the Mandalorian and myself were blocked off; unable to protect him.
Many of the Quarren noticed this little weakness of ours almost instantly, and I could tell they were gunning for the Child, plus trying to kick him into the water. I couldn't wrap my head around why these individuals would be this evil; to aim for a child, just to get the upper hand, but I am nicer than most. I'm the reason Din didn't turn Grogu in for the credits, but he thanks me about my suggestion everyday. Children aren't on our lists for potential bounties,
"Din!" I shouted as I began to get overwhelmed by the ocean-dwelling aliens; a pair of them pinning my arms behind my back and attempting to wrestle me to the ground, "Get Grogu! They're gonna throw him over!"
That got the younger Mandalorian's attention almost immediately. He quickly kicked into overdrive and smacked two Mon Calamari overboard and shot another one in the gut. I struggled against the weight of the opposition. If I was free, I'd be able to save him... far faster than Din could...
The leader of these bandits; an ugly salmon-pink Quarren smirked, and picked Grogu up by the collar of his little jacket, "Stand down, Mando!" he snarled; his voice bubbly and water-like, "Your precious cargo will be fish food if you take one more step."
Din froze and slowly lifted his hands into the air, "Alright. Alright, you win. Just let him go, and we will forget about this. You will be free from us, we swear."
I nodded in agreement, still struggling against the grips of the large males, "Listen to him! No one needs to get hurt!"
Grogu squirmed and struggled against the man's grip, squeaking occasionally and eyeing Mando and I both. My heart shattered. With the kid traveling with us, his safety is in jeopardy, but he is our kid and a member of our Creed. Regardless of his safety, he must stay with us.
"That's precisely it, Mando," the Quarren shouted; eyeing the two of us, "I have the upper hand now, and if I return the kid, who's to say you won't shoot me on the spot."
"By the code of the Mandalorian," Din begins, dropping his blasters and staring right at the Quarren. I could feel the anger radiating off of him, and I shivered, "We will never pursue your clan if you safely let the kid go. No tricks on your part, and none on ours either."
The Quarren grumbled something inaudible in the language of Quarrenese, obviously saying something to his clan. I had a bad feeling about this. This alien, by the name of Verin, was known to be crafty, and his clan, the 'Black Tide,' were willing to do anything in their power to ensure his plans went through,
"Let the girl go!" Verin announced, looking towards me, "And let him go as well. We will comply Mando, don't try anything though."
He nodded and slowly inched forward towards Grogu. He had his hands extended in both a surrender gesture, as well as a way to grab the child easily. The Mon Cala surrounding me lowered their weapons, alongside the ones around Din.
Right as Din approached Verin, the Quarren growled and released a dark black ink; covering my lover's helmet and obscuring his sight, "I thought your creed was smarter than this!" the Quarren shrieked with laughter, throwing Grogu abruptly into the dark waters below, "The Black Tide will not sway to negotiations, and you will all die!"
I shouted in surprise, and quickly pushed through the two Mon Cala who originally held me, and shoved past Verin; plunging into the dark waters below after the child. I was thankful I had my Beskar helmet on, otherwise the whipping of the waves would've incapacitated me completely on impact. Thankfully, I have more time, unlike Grogu. I need to move fast if he is to survive!
The water was so inky and dark. I could barely see a foot in front of me, but I knew where I was going despite my vision being obscured. My helmet alienated to my one active sense; hearing. I could hear Grogu struggling underneath the rough tides. I will trust this— this is the only clue I have to where the Child is.
I swam faster than I ever had in my life. Blindly, I reached my arms out and wrapped them around a small mass; more than likely my target. He was squirming and wiggling around; likely terrified of his watery grave than scared of me. Kicking, I swiftly made my way to the surface; the small creature coughing and spitting up the ugly water,
"You're dead!" I shouted; my voice echoing through the abandoned waters, "I understand targeting us, but this kid? You make me sick!"
I smashed the button on my jet pack and immediately took flight. Grogu was back to his normal self; squealing with glee over our short flight. With Grogu in one hand, and my blaster in the other, it was a full-out gunfight now, despite how it was originally a fistfight,
"Boss, we need to go!" one of the Quarren shouted over the sounds of Din and I frying their friends, "We won't survive this!"
Din glanced over at me and I nodded. We were both having the same thought; kill them all except for Verin. By keeping him alive, despite how much I wanted to put a bullet through his slimy face, we would be able to discover why him and his clan were after us. Our bounties have been swept away from every surface of the galaxy, so it was unlikely we were a target for bounty hunters.
My Mandalorian accompaniment quickly blasted a bolt right through the Quarren's chest, and we both took out the rest of Verin's men out with ease. Verin's inky-black eyes were wide open in shock, and unfortunately for him, his reflexes were failing him. He knew it was over. He couldn't win, and he'd pay the price.
After the final Mon Cala slipped loudly into the water below, both Din and I focused on the Quarren. Although Verin couldn't see our faces because of our Beskar masks, he knew we were pissed, and rightfully so,
"Mandos!" he said, in a light tone, "Why don't we just forget about this little shenanigan? Remember the Mandalorian code you referred to earlier? You won't touch a scale on my head, and me with you!"
Din snatched the Quarren by the side and slammed him to the ground, "We gave you that option before, and you ruined it. Now, tell us who hired you, and I won't drown you. Either way, we will figure it out regardless if you help us or not."
Verin made a bubbly noise in his throat. Both Din and I knew he was weighing his options, despite the lack of options that were available. Either Verin tells us who hired his clan, or we track them down some other way,
"Promise me I will survive if I tell you," the Quarren yelled; his face muffled by the ship below, "I will only reveal this information if I know you both will leave me be."
Din glanced up at me, and I nodded in affirmation. Nothing was worth Grogu's life, and if this Quarren can lead us in the right direction, then we need to take advantage of it,
"Spill it, squid!" I shouted; Grogu still in my arms, "It takes a lot of guts to go after a child. Whoever hired you is dangerous and needs to be stopped."
"He's bad news, Mando," the Quarren echoed a reply, "Ever heard of the Empire?"
I chuckled and rolled my eyes from underneath my helmet, "We weren't born yesterday."
"The leader of the Empire. Some man named Palpatine or something. He gave us a pretty penny to bring your kid in."
I eyed Din and I could just see his spirit drop, "Emperor Palpatine?"
Verin nodded eagerly; a smile appearing on his slimy face, "Yeah, yeah. That's the one!"
Din got off the Quarren and kicked him in the gut; the male's scream echoing through the quiet sea, "What was that for?"
"You made a deal with the most powerful man in the galaxy? You know what the means for every single one of us? We will all die, you included, womp rat!"
I nodded in agreement and growled down at the Quarren, "We promised we'd keep you alive if you told us, and we will keep our promise. But, you will assist us. You are in a life debt to us, and you will help us destroy your master."
"No, no!" Verin shouted while rising back to his feet, "That wasn't apart of the plan! It's one thing to lose the bounty, but it's another thing to backstab the buyer!"
Din growled and grabbed Verin by the neck of his shirt, "You wanna join your buddies at the bottom of the sea?"
He shook his head immediately and rose his hands in the air, "Even if I wanted to help you, I can't! I don't know where our Emperor is now! I didn't even speak to him personally when my clan made the deal. It was two Stormtroopers, I swear!"
I hissed and shook my head angrily, "Din, just throw him in the water. He's no use to us!"
My Mandalorian accompaniment nodded in agreement and began the process of tossing the Quarren into the murky waters below. Right as Din was about to drop the useless baggage, Verin confirmed his last appeal to life,
"The kid is a Jedi, r-right?" he choked out, eyeing the waters below, "I heard the troopers mention something about an heir to the Emperor's throne. That may be the reason they're hunting that thing."
Neither of us replied. Din slowly pulled Verin back to the ship and glanced at me, "This is even worst than I thought... we have to find a Jedi now. And one that won't abandon his training."
I nodded in agreement. The two of us have been on the trail of a Jedi for a while. She claimed Grogu couldn't be trained. He shared too much of a bond with the pair of us. We felt like we'd hit a brick wall. We needed Grogu trained immediately, especially if what the Quarren claims is true,
"I'm sure I can help with that!" he shouted eagerly, "Jedi are my clan's specialty," he stopped and looked down at the wooden floors of the ship, "was our specialty. Before you assholes came into the picture, Jedi hunting was easy with my clan. You've ruined everything."
"You did that to yourself, Verin," I snapped, rubbing the child's ear as I spoke, "If you wouldn't have taken the job, y'all would still be a team. Unfortunately, we can't go back in time, so we will take you up on your offer. You will help us find a Jedi to combat the Emperor, and then you're free to go!"
Although Din's helmet was covering his face, I knew his expression screamed, 'What the hell are you doing?' It was our only chance to keep Grogu alive, especially after the only hope we had for his training turned us down. I'll never forgive Ahsoka Tano for this... she could've trained him to be the most formidable Jedi in the galaxy. I'll never forgive her...
June 3rd, 2021