The heavily requested part 2 for the soulmates series: Mando edition
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I stared up at the hologram floating high above me. On Corellia, wanted criminals had their faces plastered on almost every billboard. Bounty hunting was a popular trade on this planet. And my picture was currently up on the roster.
I pulled my hood lower over my head and dropped my gaze to the ground. My home was no longer safe. The shop had been raided in the night by bounty hunters. Trandoshans. I'd barely escaped and by the time I came back they had trashed everything. My valuables were gone, so I had nothing.
I knew the risks when I removed soulmate tattoos. It was illegal throughout the galaxy. Even here on the crime stricken planet of Corellia. I was so careful but someone had found out. I had spent all night wondering how I had slipped up, although it was useless. It was too late anyways.
There was a high price on my head and I needed to get off this planet. The streets were crowded so I slipped through unnoticed, making my way towards the shipyard. I could stow away on some vessel. I didn't have any money to pay for a way out of here. I would just have to sneak onto a ship and hope they didn't discover me until we landed on some far away planet.
The shipyard was bustling with people from all over. Various different languages reached my ears, some I recognized but many I didn't. People transported large shipments of goods. Others were simply travelers and refugees from other planets. Thankfully none of them paid me any attention.
I discreetly inspected each ship as I passed by. Some were too small and others already crowded with passengers. My eyes landed on a medium size merchant vessel. The ship was older, formerly imperial, but it was in good shape. The man who seemed to be the owner was watching as a few workers removed boxes off the ship and brought other boxes in. This might be the one for me. I moved in closer to get a better look, overhearing a conversation between two Twi'leks passing by me.
Most of it was lost to my ears, but one word caught my attention. Mandalorian. The woman had said Mandalorian. I wondered if the same man who had came to me for help that night was still on this planet.
Mandalorians typically didn't sit in one place too long. They were always on the move. They were bounty hunters or mercenaries by trade. That kind of job involved a lot of travel. It couldn't be the same one from that night.
Either way, mandalorians were bounty hunters, damn good ones at that. And the price on my head was too high for anyone to resist.
As if hearing about him spoke him into existence, I spotted the glint of beskar armor through the crowd.
"Shit," I said aloud. A few people passing by looked by way but said nothing. Maybe he hadn't seen me yet. I stared at the ground and circled my prospective ship again. I needed an opening. When the workers and the pilot weren't looking, I'd slip on and hide amongst the shipping containers. Easy peasy.
I turned my head to see where the mandalorian had gone but he had disappeared. The spot where he was standing was now empty. My eyes scanned the crowd but there was no sign of him.
Panic began to set in. I turned my gaze back to the ship. The coast was clear. I had an opening and I went for it. I took a few quick steps but didn't even make it halfway before I was grabbed. A gloved hand cover my mouth and strong arms pulled me backwards and around the back of the ship, behind some storage containers and out of the prying eyes of civilians. Out of the eyes of witnesses.
I struggled against my captor but to no avail. He was much larger than me. And stronger.
He whirled me around to face him but did not release his grip or uncover my mouth, so my shouts were muffled. I looked into his eyes, or at least where I thought his eyes would be. He wore the typical helmet all mandalorians did.
"Don't scream. I'm not here to hurt you," he said. His voice was deep and Muffled through the mask, but I recognized him. It was the same mando from that night. My soulmate. Why had he come back? It was clear he wasn't interested in finding who his soulmate was. I assumed he had come to turn me in and collect my bounty.
I wiggled, trying to loosen his grip so I could make a run for it but he held firm.
"Stop, just listen to me," he said.
Knowing that escape was unlikely, I stopped moving. But still, my heart pounded knowing what my fate would be. I'd spend the next few years in a New Republic prison on some desolate planet. I couldn't see his eyes through the mask but I could feel him staring at me intently. I nodded and he warily removed his gloved hand.
I began to scream. "Help! Help! Somebody-"
His hand covered my mouth once more and he dragged me further back into the shipyard, away from the crowd of people.
"Dank ferrick," he muttered.
I desperately hoped someone had heard me and would come to my rescue. But no one did. I was left through a maze a ships and large metal shipping containers. A few pilots or workers glanced outside way but no one dared to question the mandalorian.
I made eye contact with a young woman dressed in a simple uniform, obviously a pilot of some kind. I looked at her with pleading eyes and struggled against my captor, but she said nothing and went on her way.
"Would you stop? I'm trying to help you," Mando said. I didn't listen. I struggled against him as he pulled me onboard his ship and closed the door.
He released me quickly, making me lose my balance and fall to the cold metal floor. I scrambled to get as far away from him as possible, my back hurting the wall. It was a small ship. There was nowhere to run.
"I'm here to help you," he said again.
"You've kidnapped me!" I exclaimed, infuriated.
He stood silent for a moment, unaffected by my temper. "Your face is plastered on every building and inside every cantina. Practically every bounty hunter on the planet is looking for you."
"Including you," I snapped.
He released a deep sigh. "I'm not going to turn you in," he said in a gruff voice.
I blinked. Why would he bring me here if he didn't intend to turn me in? My mind flashed to the mark on my wrist, identical to the one that used to be on his. It was covered by my sleeve for now. He hadn't seen it yet so that couldn't be the reason.
"I felt responsible for getting you in trouble," he continued.
"You ratted me out?" I interjected.
"No!" He replied quickly. "I have no idea who reported you. All I know is I was trying to leave this planet yesterday and saw your picture on the bounty board."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"I owe you. You did me a favor for removing that tattoo for me," mando said.
The words stung for some reason. I had to remind myself that he wanted the tattoo removed for a reason. I couldn't let him see mine. Ever.
When I said nothing, he spoke again. "I was going to offer you passage to Nevarro. It's a small planet on the Outer Rim, outside the bounds of the New Republic."
I had never heard of this planet, but I hadn't done much traveling. A small planet on the outer rim sounded like just the place.
"I'm heading there on business," he continued. "If you don't want to come, I can drop you off somewhere else."
I considered his words. I didn't have any family or many friends. I wouldn't know where to begin on a new planet. "Nevarro sounds fine," I said after a long silence.
~~~~
With Navarro being on the Outer Rim, it was going to take us at least a day to arrive. Mando had made sure I was comfortable in the tiny sleeping quarters in the back of the ship. He told me I could place my belongings wherever I wished. I had only managed to grab a small bag of things from my apartment, the few things that hadn't been destroyed by the bounty hunters: a bit of food, a picture of my parents, and a knife.
Mando didn't say much, but I learned he had a son. A cute little creature called Grogu, who eyed me curiously everywhere I went. I shared some of the food I brought with him. He didn't speak so our conversations for the next hour consisted of me talking. Mando would occasionally turn his head and check on us. He hadn't said anything to me since we left Corellia. I told myself I was okay with that. I didn't need to get attached.
After a couple hours, I headed to the cockpit to check on how things were going.
"How much longer?" I asked. I hated to sound so impatient, but being trapped on this ship with him was driving me nuts. I wish I could get a read on him. He was stoic, like a statue in that suit.
The ship shook, knocking me off my feet. I landed in the copilot's seat, heart racing. Lights blinked on the control board of the ship. Grogu appeared next to me and cooed. His ears bent downwards, creating a worried expression. I picked him up and set him in my lap.
"Dank ferrick," Mando hissed.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing good," he replied. "Two ships tailing us." He gestured you the radar on the control panel. Two red dots appeared on the screen and they were gaining on us.
I held onto the baby. Mando must have sensed my worry because he glanced at me in the copilots seat.
"There's an asteroid belt ahead. We can lose them there," he said. He gripped the steering and made a sharp turn. It wasn't long before the asteroid belt he spoke of was in sight.
I gulped. I didn't have a lot of flying experience and I didn't know how good a pilot this man was. I wanted to trust him, but this was dangerous. I couldn't decide if I should shut my eyes or keep them open.
The ship soared through the asteroid belt at dangerously high speeds, swerving around the giant rocks. Behind us, the ships continued to fire.
"Who are they?" I asked. I couldn't think of many people who would openly attack a mandalorian. The ships didn't look empire.
"Bounty hunters. Pirates," he answered.
He didn't need to add that they were coming after me. Guilt built up in my stomach, feeling like I had swallowed a rock. He was endangering himself and his son for me. He shouldn't be doing this.
I felt as though I was going to throw up. Mando was a good pilot it seemed. He maneuvered through tight sections and dodged asteroids with ease. One of the ships behind us did not have such an excellent pilot because it's red dot disappeared from the radar.
The ship rocked again as we took a hit. I wasn't sure if it was from a small asteroid or fire from the enemy. Grogu covered his eyes by burying his face into my stomach. I held onto him and murmured some comforting words.
Mando yanked so hard on the steering I thought it would break, the ship jolted upwards, narrowly missing a large asteroid. We still didn't lose the remaining pursuer. The blinking red dot grew closer.
"Surrender," I said, speaking loudly so Mando could hear me over the alarms going off, signaling that the ship had taken damage.
"What?" He said incredulously.
"They're after me," I said. I couldn't take my soulmate risking his life and child for me. He didn't even know me. He definitely didn't know I was his soulmate. "Surrender and let them take me."
He was silent for a long moment and I almost thought he was considering my proposition. "No," he said blankly.
"I'll do it, just let the other ship know," I argued.
"Do you know what'll happen if you go with them and get turned in?" He snapped. He glanced over at me for a brief moment before turning his attention back to flying the ship.
"I'll go to prison," I replied. My expression was grim. It wouldn't be pleasant but I would do it. It would be better than living with the guilt of him dying to try and save my life. Or all of us dying while trying to run.
"New Republic prisons aren't safe, especially for people who are in for what you did," he replied. He didn't say anything more and neither did I. It was useless. He wasn't going to listen.
I didn't understand why he cared. Perhaps it was the soulmate bond pulling us together, even though he had no clue. Would it always pull us together, even though his mark was gone? I had thought that meant the bond would be broken. Maybe it was. Maybe he only cared because he really just felt bad for what was happening to me. I didn't know and I likely never would. Once we landed in Nevarro we would go our separate ways once and for all.
~~~
This took way too long to write. There will be a part 3
Have you guys played Jedi: Fallen order? And if so, are you excited for the upcoming release of Jedi: Survivor and have you read Battle Scars yet?
Reading through Battle Scars as I write this, and so excited to play Jedi: Survivor.
Anyways all of this to say: I have some exciting news for those of you who are fans of the game.
I will be adding Cal Kestis and Merrin fanfics to this book! So stay on the lookout for that in the coming chapters!