.･ ̣ ✵ ･ *.
⠀⠀⠀ MANDO HAS DINED on stew thinner than the dust that coats every crate in the storage hold. And, given that most stew he eats has the consistency of wet clay, that's saying a lot.
⠀⠀⠀ He's hunkered down. With one hand, he keeps the green kid tucked close to him. With the other, he readies his blaster. From the sound of things, the wall behind his stack of crates is now a smoking pile of rubble.
⠀⠀⠀ You missed, he thinks wryly. Laser sights cut through the air, searching, searching, searching. They do not find him. Yet.
⠀⠀⠀ He knows it's but a matter of time until a stormtrooper pokes his head down around the stack of crates, or until one hears the rasp his helmet makes as it filters out the dust and smoke from the air.
⠀⠀⠀ Another laser cuts across the dust. It's closer than the others, and he sighs. Better to surprise than to be surprised, he tells himself.
⠀⠀⠀ He sets the child in a shadowy hollow between two crates. Then he waits. When most of the sights seem aimed away from him, he rises. The smoke hides his movements, and his footsteps are silent on the carpet of dust.
⠀⠀⠀ His blaster is a lot less quiet.
⠀⠀⠀ The first trooper falls without so much as crying out, but a blam echoes through the room. Instantly, every sweeping sightline snaps toward him.
⠀⠀⠀ "Dank farrik," Mando mutters. But already, the blood is pumping in his veins. He's poised to dance that deadly jig. Death is his partner, the stage is theirs.
⠀⠀⠀ An Imp materializes out of the dust, and Mando spins. He fires at the chink where helmet meets breastplate and is running before the body hits the floor. Pounding footsteps bounce off the crates, off the walls, off the ceiling, and figures run ghostly in the thick air.
⠀⠀⠀ They're converging on him now, a hurricane of fists and feet and knives and blasters. It has quite the grounding effect. In the midst of the fight, Mando sees everything, and his body responds automatically.
⠀⠀⠀ A white clad fist shoves an electro-knife at his face; he ducks away. Momentum carries the Imp forward, and Mando slams his elbow on the back of his neck. Then he's spinning to meet the next attack.
⠀⠀⠀ He knocks a blaster from another stormtrooper's hand before he can fire. Like the thief, he thinks as he sweeps the feet out from beneath yet another Imp. He lands hard on his back, and Mando knocks him on the head. The last one is running toward the blasted wall. Whether to get help or simply hide, Mando doesn't know. Or care.
⠀⠀⠀ He shoots a line from his wrist that snares the trooper's feet. He goes toppling to the ground, and Mando fires at him.
⠀⠀⠀ He glances around to make sure that that was indeed the last Imp. Satisfied, he picks his way across the rubble to where he stashed the kid. He ducks down. The child stares up at him, unblinking.
⠀⠀⠀ A clatter behind them.
⠀⠀⠀ Mando spins, blaster primed and ready to fire. Then he freezes, because the Imp is standing still, head angled back, hands scrabbling desperately at his throat. The clatter was his blaster dropping to the floor.
⠀⠀⠀ When the trooper finally slumps several long seconds later, and Mando sees who saved him, he swears under his breath. It's the thief, and her small frame is threatening to topple under the Imp's weight. She pushes him forward and lets him crumple to the ground. Then she stoops and unwinds something from around his neck.
⠀⠀⠀ A garrote, Mando realizes. Although where she got it, he can't imagine. The thief stands and looks at him. There's a very pregnant silence, then: "Well, this is awkward." Her voice is light, but very tense.
⠀⠀⠀ He studies her for a moment. Her face is unreadable, her shoulders stiff. The coat she was wearing on Pagodon is gone, replaced by coarse gray cloth. Her gaze stays even as she watches him.
⠀⠀⠀ "Thank you," he says finally. It seems proper.
⠀⠀⠀ The thief studies him a moment more, nonplussed. "Humf," is her eloquent response. Another pause, then: "You're busting out of this chumbucket." A statement, not a question.
⠀⠀⠀Mando sighs. If he's going to destroy his reputation, why not go all the way? "You want a lift?" he asks.
⠀⠀⠀The thief blinks. "Crik yeah," she says. Her brow furrows. "You won't haul me off to someone else?"
⠀⠀⠀"No." A simple answer; he can't tell whether the thief believes him. But when he turns, she follows him.
⠀⠀⠀ THE ALLEY IS dark, and Mando senses trouble. When shadowy figures begin to fill the dim area, he sighs. Sometimes, he truly hates being right.
⠀⠀⠀ "Stay close," he whispers to the thief. Then he steps into the open, and there's a long pause. Greef Karga is there, watching him evenly. Mando feels a faint flicker of disappointment, but really, how much did he care about the old man's loyalty in the first place? He was, in a way, simply another customer.
⠀⠀⠀ Still, he tries his luck. "Karga," he says calmly, "tell your hunters to stand down, and no one gets hurt."
⠀⠀⠀ Karga smiles. "Ah, Mando. I'll be damned if I underestimate your skills, but you are surrounded thirty two to one."
⠀⠀⠀ The thief steps up beside Mando, her small frame brimming with defiance. "Thirty two to two," she spits. She grips Mando's blaster tightly. He did not give it to her. She took it, he realizes. Ridiculous.
⠀⠀⠀ If Karga is surprised, it doesn't show. "Go ahead," he tells his hunters. There's a spell of silence. They are afraid, Mando realizes. Numbers in their favor and they still will not attack. He wonders for a moment if maybe they'll decide it's not worth the trouble.
⠀⠀⠀ Then blaster fire explodes in the alley, and Mando flattens to the ground. Of course it's worth the trouble.
⠀⠀⠀ He takes a moment to assess the situation: he's surrounded, but his current position keeps him hidden. And this space is open enough for him to use his rifle. The hunters he can count on to be ruthless. The child is unconscious. The thief is apparently a wild card.
⠀⠀⠀ "Great," he mutters to no one in particular.
⠀⠀⠀ Mando aims carefully.
⠀⠀⠀ Pull the trigger. Duck.
⠀⠀⠀ The hunters are looking in his general area now, but they can't get sights on him. Blaster fire pings harmlessly off storage crates and old machinery.
⠀⠀⠀ Mando fires again and again, and the thief taps his shoulder. She points to an old landspeeder, and beckons him to follow her. Then she scurries off,
⠀⠀⠀ He fires one more shot, then follows her to the landspeeder, staying low. The child is still tucked under his arm. As he clambers into the old machine, the droid whee-beeeeps to life. "Drive," Mando says. The droid whirs and beeps in protest, and the landspeeder stays still.
⠀⠀⠀ "'Beep beep no,'" the thief mocks. She shoves her stolen blaster at it threateningly. "Drive," she hisses. Another alarmed wheep wheep, but then they're gliding across the alley.
⠀⠀⠀ "Where are we going?" the thief asks.
⠀⠀⠀ "That way," Mando points. "The Crest is close."
⠀⠀⠀ "The old chumbucket," the thief mutters. "Perfect."
⠀⠀⠀ The landspeeder offers cover and movement at the same time. Mando fires shot after shot, and does not miss. The thief is shooting too. She's not a crackshot, but she lands a solid number of hits, and Mando's glad for the extra cover.
⠀⠀⠀ From the corner of his eye, he sees Karga aim at something. It's not him, so he's not worried. Then the thief growls a swear through clenched teeth, and he sees that she's clutching her arm. A second later, Karga fires again, and the droid dies with a panicked wheep wheep wheeee-
⠀⠀⠀ They jolt to a stop, and now Mando's alarmed. He scans for cover. Not much. The Crest isn't far, but they'd have to cross a stretch of open space, and that's not happening.
⠀⠀⠀ "Hey," the thief whispers. "I can cover you. Take the gremlin to your chumbucket. Just wait for me."
⠀⠀⠀ The offer - command? - is so unexpected that Mando's taken aback. "Pardon?" he asks calmly.
⠀⠀⠀ "Great, he's dense," the thief mutters to herself. "Your pal doesn't want me dead," she says patiently. "Just you. You got terrible taste in friends, chum."
⠀⠀⠀ The hunters are approaching, wary and hungry for money, and still Mando says nothing. He's trying to think. She's right, but also, what kind of person would he be to let her do that? The thief sighs.
⠀⠀⠀ "Look chum, points for honor, but this situ isn't getting any better. Time for you to haul ass."
⠀⠀⠀ She doesn't give him a choice; without another word, she leaps down from the speeder. "I'll make you richer if you don't kill me!" she's hollering, and Mando's slipping toward the ship.
⠀⠀⠀ He glances back. The thief is holding her own, and it seems no one's noticed that Mando's not with her. Impressive. But she's losing ground, and she holds her left arm stiffly.
⠀⠀⠀ Then something happens that Mando's pretty sure will stay seared in his memory. Bolts of light begin to rain from the sky, and he recognizes the shadowy figures in the clouds above him.
⠀⠀⠀ The thief is staring at the sky. He cannot see the expression on her face, but he remembers her words in the blizzard - I thought the oh-so-mighty Mandalorians were dead - and he imagines she's surprised.
⠀⠀⠀ But then the spell breaks, and she starts sprinting toward him. He sees Paz in the air above them, Paz, with whom he'd argued not twelve hours ago. He wonders if the thief will think higher of his taste in friends now.
⠀⠀⠀ Then she's behind him, and they're running into the ship. Mando registers the figure at the top of the ramp at the same time as it raises a blaster. Karga.
⠀⠀⠀ He skids to a stop, the thief not a cubit behind him. "Oh," she says when she sees Karga. "You."
⠀⠀⠀ He ignores her, as does Karga. Karga is telling Mando to turn the bounties in, that it is not too late, that his sins can be forgiven by the Guild if he only stands aside.
⠀⠀⠀ "Not happening," the thief cuts in. Karga still ignores her. Which is why he doesn't see her aim her blaster until it's too late.
⠀⠀⠀ When she fires, he slumps to the ground.
⠀⠀⠀ "Pay attention next time," she spits at him.
⠀⠀⠀ She struggles to shove his body off the ramp, and Mando kneels to help her. Then he strides to the cockpit, ramp lifting behind them. She scurries after him.
⠀⠀⠀ "You still have the green guy?" she asks him. He nods. Then he's in his chair, the controls before him, and they're rising.
⠀⠀⠀ Behind them, the alley is ablaze with fire and smoke. A figure soars out of the haze. Paz. He salutes, and Mando returns the gesture.
⠀⠀⠀ "This is the Way," he whispers.
⠀⠀⠀ SOARING THROUGH SPACE eases the tension in Mando's shoulders. They're safe. For now. The kid is still asleep, and the thief sits in the chair behind him. Her reflection is faint on the glass in front of Mando. She's watching him.
⠀⠀⠀ "You got some bacta spray?" she asks finally, and he remembers the stiff hang of her arm.
⠀⠀⠀ "In the cabinet over your head," he replies.
⠀⠀⠀ There's some rustling, then a thunk as she sits down again. Silence for a while, punctuated only by a hiss from the thief as she peels the jacket off her arm. "Ah crik," she mutters.
⠀⠀⠀ More silence, and he hears the med kit click shut again. "Thanks," she says.
⠀⠀⠀ "It's me who owes you thanks," Mando admits. "That was good shooting."
⠀⠀⠀ The reflection shows her studying her hands. "Thanks," she says after a little while. Her voice is surprisingly soft. "My mom taught me."
⠀⠀⠀ Beneath his helmet, Mando's brow furrows. "How old are you," he asks.
⠀⠀⠀ "Sixteen a week ago," she answers quietly. Her reflection's shoulders are hunched, knees drawn to her chest. More silence. It's not unpleasant silence, or it wouldn't be, if her small, miserable voice didn't keep running through his mind.
⠀⠀⠀ Mando does not press. Eventually, she speaks again.
⠀⠀⠀ "I'd say it's nice to meet you," she murmurs, "but then I'd be lying."
⠀⠀⠀ "I'm willing to try that again," Mando says quietly. "I'm Mando."
⠀⠀⠀ The thief snorts. "Wonder where that came from," she mutters.
⠀⠀⠀ Mando sighs. She's every right to be bitter, and it pains him to admit that. "What's your name?" he tries gently.
⠀⠀⠀ "What, it wasn't on the puck you used to hunt me?" Her voice is laced with bitterness.
⠀⠀⠀ "They didn't give me your name," he says quietly.
⠀⠀⠀ "Oh. Well then." In the reflection, there's a glint in her eye, as if she's making a joke that only she knows.
⠀⠀⠀ "Call me Cyi."
.･ ̣ ✵ ･ *.
this one's dedicated to the lovely
blondebucky
who made the nicest moodboard for Wired
and completely made my day
she's written a Mando fic too,
go check it out y'all!
( this was a while ago, but better late than never.
thank you again <3 )
also the way "paz" kept autocorrecting to "kaz"
my computer knows me too well omg