The sun had only just risen over the planet, casting the sky in a calming light yellow. I trudged along the ground next to Mando, we were unable to use Blurrgs since the creatures last night had taken two of them.
Cara was walking on the other side of Mando while the bounty hunters walked ahead of them. They were muttering quietly to each other which caused me to feel suspicious.
They closely whispered to each other and glanced around to make sure that they hadn't heard. I felt on edge by the way the bounty hunters kept turning around and staring suspiciously at us.
"You think they're having second thoughts?" Cara asked them
"Could be." Mando answered. "I need your eyes."
"I'm watching." Cara replied
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sighed as we came to a stop, I could see the town in the distance. We didn't have long until we reached it, and that's when the real danger started.
"I guess this is it." Greef Karga said from the front of the group.
I suddenly felt on edge, like there was an unknown danger that I couldn't see, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I tensed up, my muscles contracting as I prepared myself for a fight.
Suddenly, Greef Karga spun around and shot his blaster just behind them. I pulled my blaster out and aimed it at him out of reflex. I could hear the sound of bodies hitting the ground behind me. I turned my head and saw the two bounty hunters who were with Greef Karga lying on the ground with blaster shots to the chest.
Greef Karga then held his blasters up in the air as the three of us aimed our blasters at him. "There's something you should know."
He walked past them and put his blasters back in his holster. He then proceeded to kick over one of the bounty hunters bodies and kick his blaster out of his hand. "The plan was to kill the two of you and take the kid. But after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it." Greef Karga explained
Mando and Cara stared coldly at him as they refused to lower their blasters. I glared in his direction as I clenched my jaw.
Greef Karga sighed and raised his arms out to the side. "Go on. You can gun me down here and now and it wouldn't violate the code. But it you do, this child will never be safe."
"Oh, and suddenly you care about the child. Only because he saved your ass." I spat out with a glare
"Yeah. We'll take our chances." Cara said
"The imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run, but where did it get you?" Greef Karga said
"This is ridiculous." Cara said to them
"Perhaps you should let him speak." Kuiil interjected
"Listen, we both need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you three..." Greef Karga started to say
"No." Mando firmly interrupted him
"Let's just kill him and get outta here." Cara said
Mando then suddenly lowered his blaster. "He's right."
Cara and I looked over at him. "What are you doing?" Cara asked him in confusion.
"As long as the Imp lives, he'll send hunters after the child." Mando explained
"It's a trap." Cara said
"Bring me." Mando said to Greef Karga
"Bring you?" He asked in confusion.
"Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him and I'll kill him." Mando explained
"That's a good idea. Give me your blaster." Greef Karga said
Mando pulled his blaster out of his holster and handed it over to Greef Karga.
"If you're taking Mando in, you'll have to take me in too." I spoke up.
"No. They want you dead." Mando stated firmly
"And? They want you dead too. They want all of us dead, Mando. I'm coming with you." I stated
Mando sighed and looked away from me for a moment before he reluctantly nodded his head. "Fine."
"This is insane." Cara argued
"It's the only way." Mando said
"Well, I'm coming with you." Cara stated
"No, no, no. That would make them suspicious." Greef Karga argued
"I don't care. I'm coming." Cara argued
"Tell them She caught me." Mando Said
"Fine. Then she can bring the child." Greef Karga said
"No. The kid goes back in the ship." Mando stated
"But without the child, none of this works!" Greef Karga said exasperatedly
"I have a plan. Kuiil, ride back to the razor crest with the child and seal yourself in. When you're inside, engaged ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors." Mando informed him
Kuiil stepped up to Mando and held his hand out to him. "Here's a comlink. I will keep the child safe."
"Don't forget to cover your stripes." Kuiil said to Cara as he walked past.
"Thank you, Kuiil." I nodded to him. The ugnaught nodded in my direction as he walked over to the child.
"Let's go." Mando said as he pulled out a pair of cuffs from his belt and handed them over to Greef Karga. He pulled out another pair and handed them over to me. I held the metal cuffs in my hands as I considered the danger we were putting ourselves in. Though my thoughts were cut off when Greef Karga stepped up to me and held out his hands for the cuffs and my blaster.
I reluctantly placed the cuffs and my blaster in his hands. I allowed him to cuff my wrists together in front of me. It really wasn't a comfortable position to be in. But they had to stop the ex-empire.
I glanced over at the child as he was picked up by Kuiil. He cooed at them and dropped his ears in confusion as Kuiil began to walk away. I sighed sadly as I watched him go.
"Come on." Cara Said as she gestured for me to begin walking in the other direction.
I nodded and walked alongside Mando, who also had his hands cuffed in front of him, and the child's empty pram. I really hope this plan will work. Because if it doesn't, we're all dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked slowly as the group approached the town. At the large, stone gate that led into the town, there were two stormtroopers sitting on speeder bikes. The two of them stood up when they saw the four of us walking towards them. I felt my muscles tense as they drew closer.
"Chain code?" One of the troopers asked
"I have a gift for the boss." Greef Karga said, pointing in the direction of Mando and I.
"Chain code?" The trooper repeated himself
Greef Karga sighed and pulled a card out of his pocket, he held it out to the trooper who took it off of him. He scanned the card and looked back up at them.
"I'll give you 20 credits for the helmet." The trooper said
"Ha-ha! Not a chance. That's going on my wall." Greef Karga laughed.
"On your wall?" Mando whispered to Greef Karga
"Go with it." Greef Karga whispered back.
I decided to play along and glared menacingly at the trooper and at Greef Karga. Not that being angry at them was very hard.
"Go ahead." The trooper said as he finally passed the card back to Greef Karga.
Greef Karga took the card back and placed his hand on Mando's back to Usher him along. Cara placed her hand on my back and began to push me lightly towards the town.
The four of us began to walk through the storm trooper riden town. They were everywhere. White plastic armor lining the streets. Sending fear and anger into my heart.
"You said four." Mando said quietly
"There are more than four troopers." Cara added
"Four guarding the client. Many more here in town. Things got really heated once Mando and Celeste crashed the safe house." Greef Karga replied
"Slip him his blaster." Cara whispered to Greef Karga.
"Not yet." Greef Karga whispered.
The four of us continued to walk through the streets until they came to a stop in front of a very familiar door. The guild cantina
"Here we are." Greef Karga said to us as he put his hand on Mando's back and pushed him to walk up the stairs.
I followed behind them beside Cara who was continuing to act like my captor. She pushed me up the stairs and I felt myself tense up even more when I saw the familiar stormtrooper uniforms.
Greef Karga was right, there were four of them.
"You see? Four." Greef Karga said quietly.
The door closed behind them as they walked further into the room. The bar was far too empty now. It used to be bustling with noisy bounty hunters. Now, It was practically silent. Normally I would like how quiet it was, but the situation made it feel ominous.
I tensed up again when I saw a familiar man stand up and made his way towards them. The client who wanted the child. The ex-imperial officer.
"Look what I brought you. As promised." Greef Karga said
"What exquisite craftmanship." The man said as he raised his hand to Mando's armor, he brushed his hand past his helmet before he lowered his hand again. I glared at him as he got too close for comfort.
"It is amazing how beautiful beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans." He said to Mando. The man then turned his attention to Greef Karga. "Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?"
"I would be obliged." Greef Karga nodded.
The imperial officer raised his hand towards the droid at the bar who nodded in return. He then gestured towards a booth. The one that Greef Karga used to sit in when he was in charge.
"Please sit." He said to them
Greef Karga pushed me forward, making me slide into the booth first before he pushed Mando in next to me. Greef Karga then slid in next to Mando, not leaving much room for the three of us to move.
The man stared intensely at me for a moment. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and thought about whether I should say something or not. I chose to hold my tongue. But the Imperial officer mistook my silence for resistance.
"I got an interesting transmission..." the man enunciated as he stared at me. "From a group of raiders claiming they saw a fully grown Jedi."
I furrowed my brows and pursed my lips together. The word Jedi brought me back to the night my parents were killed, I still don't know what it means. But apparently I took after them. At least I know how the Empire found out about me now.
The man kept intense eye contact with me for a moment. I could see the hate and distaste in his eyes before he turned his attention towards Mando. Acting like he had never even spoken to me. Like I didn't exist.
"It is a shame that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable." The man said to Mando
I glanced around nervously as more stormtroopers entered the room for backup. There were now a total of six.
"Why did mandalore resist our expansion?" The man asked. "The Empire Improves every system it touches. Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside. Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos. I would like to see the baby."
Greef Karga awkwardly glanced to the side. "Uh...it is asleep."
"We all will be quiet." The man said as he looked at the babies pram
"Open the pram." He demanded
A stormtrooper then lent down and whispered something to the man. The trooper pulled away after a moment and moved to stand back up.
"Don't think me to be rude. I must take this call." The man said as he stood up from the booth. Greef Karga stood up along with him with his hand poised over the pram. The man looked at Greef Karga before he turned and slowly walked away.
I let out a small breath in relief and felt my muscles relax. Slight movement caught my eyes and I looked down towards Mando's hands. He had managed to get one of his hands free from the cuffs and he casually placed his hands together so no one would notice.
I glanced down at my own cuffs and pushed the unlocking button against my thigh. Causing the cuff to pop open so one of my hands was free as well.
"Give me the blaster." Mando whispered to Greef Karga. Greef Karga carefully slipped Mando his blaster.
"You got one shot." Greef Karga warned him
"This is bad. You said four." Cara lent down and whispered to Greef Karga
"Well, there are more. What can I tell you?" He asked
I suddenly shifted in my seat and sat up straight. My muscles felt tense and my heart began to beat a little faster.
I glanced around the room and wondered why I was suddenly feeling so on edge. We were already in a room full of stormtroopers, surely that was dangerous enough.
I wanted to brush of the feeling, but all of a sudden a blaster bolt came flying through the glass window of the cantina and went straight through the clients chest. The old man fell backwards and landed on the concrete ground.
After the first shot, blaster bolts began to rain down on them. I stood up in surprise as well as Mando and Greef Karga.
Mando grabbed hold of the table they had been sitting around and flipped it so it was on its side. He then grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the table. Greef Karga and Cara joined us as they shielded themselves from the blaster fire.
After what felt like an eternity, the firing finally stopped. I breathed out shakily as I waited for more shots to come.
I turned my head towards Greef Karga who was just behind me and held my hand out to him. "Blaster." I said quietly
The man nodded and pulled my blaster out of his belt, handing it over to me. I felt a small amount of relief now that I was armed.
Cara then ran out from behind the table and quickly darted across the bar towards the broken window.
Mando then followed her lead and stood up from behind the table. I sighed shakily before I pushed myself up and followed after him. I quickly jogged across the room and pushed myself up against the wall next to Mando.
Mando carefully turned his head to take a look out the broken window. I was unsure on what he could see because of my position. But I was going to assume it was bad until I was told otherwise.
Cara turned away from the window and looked at Greef Karga in anger. "Four stormtroopers?"
"How many are there?" I whispered to Mando
"Too many. There's gotta be more than 40." Mando whispered back
"Dank Farrick." I whispered to myself. That wasn't good. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
"This is bad." Cara said
Mando then decided to bring the comlink up to his mask. "Kuiil? Are you back to the ship yet? Are you there? Do you copy?"
"Yes!" Kuiil's Voice said
"Are you back to the ship yet?" Mando asked him
"Not yet." Kuiil replied
"Get back tk the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We're pinned down!" Mando ordered him
Silence fell over the town as we all waited. Waiting for someone to make the first move. I held my breath in fear and anticipation. Suddenly, a familiar whining noise pierced my ears from outside. A TIE fighter.I felt a jolt of fear pierce my chest.
The ship continued to get louder as it began to lower itself onto the ground.
Mando moved further around the wall to get a better look and I shuffled along with him. Finally, I had a decent look at what was happening outside. My heart dropped in my chest, it was worse than what I had been imagining.
The door on top of the TIE fighter slowly hissed open and a man slid out of the top on an elevated platform. He was dressed completely in black with armor and a cape. The man climbed down from the TIE fighter and began to stroll past the hoard of stormtroopers.
"You have something I want." The man said as he came to a stop.
"Who's this guy?" Cara asked
"You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not." The man continued
"Kuiil, Are you back at the ship yet? They're onto us." Mando said into the comlink."Kuiil, come in."
"In a few moments, it will be mine." The man continued
"Kuiil! Do you copy? Kuiil." Mando asked again
"It means more to me than you will ever know." The man said
"Kuiil! Are you there? Come in, Kuiil. Kuiil, come in. Kuiil, Are you there? Do you copy? Kuiil? Kuiil!" Mando continued to try and get in contact with him. I felt my heart beat wildly in my chest. Something had happened. The plan had failed.