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Chapter 5:
A New Dawn
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The feeling in Bex's chest only grew more uncomfortable the further into the desert that they rode. What was once just a slight tugging sensation began to feel more like a sharp pain, it felt like a vibro-blade was being shoved between her ribs. She pressed a hand against her side, trying to apply pressure in order to soothe the pain, but the constant sway of the creatures only made it worse.
But while it hurt, there was a part of it that felt like gravity, a constant tugging toward the direction they were walking. She felt like she was a magnet, like no matter how hard she would try, she couldn't pull away. It was confusing. She was unsure of what she was supposed to do. She wanted to tell her partner, but she was unsure of how she was to explain it. How was she supposed to explain her dreams? How was she to explain everything she had been seeing and how real it felt to her?
Bex was so lost in her thoughts that hadn't realized the Blurrg had slowed to a stop. It wasn't until Kuiil began to speak that she realized that they had reached their destination.
"They are just beyond that ridge." Kuiil pointed to the west. "Be wary. Their numbers are strong, but that is where you will find your quarry."
Mando reached to his belt, removing a small bag of credits. He reached across to Kuiil, offering it to him. "Please. You deserve this."
Kuiil shook his head, refusing the payment. "Ever since these ones arrived, this territory has been an endless stream of mercenaries seeking reward and bringing destruction." He explained.
"Then why guide us?" Bex questioned.
"They do not belong here. Those that live here come to seek peace...There will be no peace until they are gone."
"Is that why you help?"
Kuiil nodded. "I have never met Mandalorians, I've only read the stories. Even if half of those are true, I know that you will make quick work of this. And then there will be peace again."
Mando slid off the creature, adjusting his rifle as Bex slid off behind him.
"We'll take care of it." Mando said with a curt nod, looking at Kuiil. "You'll have peace once more."
"We promise."
The two said their goodbyes to Kuiil, giving him a curt wave as he gathered the reigns of their Blurrg and started back toward the way that they had come from.
Bex adjusted the collar of her jacket, pulling the material taut against herself so it wouldn't be in the way as the two began the real legwork of their mission. She followed Mando as he approached the cliffside, dropping down to her stomach next to him as the two approached the edge. Once she peered over the edge of the cliffside, she could make out the outline of a compound tucked into the sandstone. It was hard to make out any other details beside the basic shape of the building, causing Mando to reach to his belt and pull out a small scope.
"What do you see?" Bex questioned as Mando surveyed the area with the scope.
"Mercenaries." He responded. "A lot of them. Armed."
Bex could have guessed that there was going to be a gunfight, especially with how unusual the circumstances of the bounty were. Her best guess was that the person they were after had to be associated with the mercenary and bounty hunter scene. This was a person that clearly had made a lot of enemies if they had a bounty on their head to bring them back dead. And if they had a compound with this many mercenaries protecting them. It made Bex wonder what it was her and Mando were dealing with. She didn't know why, but it felt out of their depth.
"How do you want to do this?" Bex looked at him. "I stay high and you go low?"
The high and low strategy wasn't the one they typically went with as both of them like being in close proximity to the other in case things went south, but with the situation that laid before them, it was better for her to be Mando's eye in the sky. Not only that, she was a decent sniper shot, by no means the best but that wouldn't matter to a couple low level mercenaries.
"That might be the best-" Mando cut his sentence short as he turned the scope to his right.
"What? What is it?"
"We've got a problem." Mando said as he pulled the telescope away from his face. "A bounty droid."
"What?" Bex held out her hand for the scope, which Mando placed in her hands.
Bex looked through the scope as the bounty droid approached the compound.
She could tell that it was an IG-series droid, which could mean one of two things for them. One, it would mean that it was just one outdated droid that they could easily get rid of. Or two, it was one of the newly refurbished IG droids that the Banking Clan maintained. The first meant that the droid would pose little problem to their plan, the second meant that they were going to have to adapt quickly if they wanted the bounty.
"Why would a bounty droid be here?" She questioned her partner as she kept eyes on the droid.
"Obviously Greef didn't think we would get the job done."
"I'm slightly offended." Bex scoffed.
She watched as the droid quickly approached the front of the compound and began opening fire on the mercenaries; and based on the droid's shot, this was definitely a Banking Clan droid.
"The element of surprise is gone." Mando said, sitting up but remaining low to the ground. "We better get down there."
Bex nodded, following his lead. "Let's go."
She handed the scope back to Mando as the two began making their way down the cliffside. They moved quickly, but made sure to move carefully with Mando testing out each anchoring spot with his foot before he would reach up to help Bex down. As they moved, the droid continued to mow down mercenaries. While it might be helpful to narrow down the number of combatants, those that were inside the compound with their mark would know that something was going on and would leave room for escape.
They were going to have to move fast.
As the two reached the bottom of the cliffside, the doors of the compound had opened and the mercenaries had retreated inside. Bex knew that they were regrouping, and with the amount of mercenaries that were standing guard outside, she hesitated to think about how many were inside. They would be outgunned. That was, unless they had help.
"You think Greef really sent the droid?"
"Who else would have?" Mando answered. "This is clearly a high priority and when he didn't hear from me, he sent the droid to make sure it got done. But now he's screwed any chance either of us had."
"Separately."
He looked at her for a moment before turning his head to locate the droid. Seeing it approach the doors, he pulled Bex behind a stack of crates. "Separately?"
"It's a Banking Clan droid, Mando. While not exactly the most stealthy, they can get jobs done in record time. If we team up with it, this bounty will be no problem."
"You want to team up with that thing?"
"Do I want to? No. Do I think we need to? Yes."
She could tell that he was unhappy with her observation. She knew that he hated droids, but at the same time, she knew that he would make the right choice. It was something that she always admired about him, he was willing to sacrifice his comfort and feelings if it meant the success of the job or for the good of someone else."
He sighed. "Alright. Just stay alert."
She nodded to him in response as the two stood once more. Mando kept one hand on his blaster, ready to draw it at a second's notice, while his other hand remained poised in the air and hovered protectively behind him. Ready to push her out of the way. Bex withdrew her own blaster from its holster, ready to fire if things went south.
Mando turned back toward the center of the compound. "IG-Unit!" Mando called out. "Stand down!"
The bounty droid whirled toward the sound of Mando's voice and fired before Bex could even blink. The blaster shot nailed Mando in the shoulder, sending him flying back into her. While she was able to break his fall, she was also able to remain upright. She aimed her blaster at the droid just as it raised its arm once more. Her finger began to press down on the trigger, before she could fire the shot, Mando jumped to his feet.
"Do not shoot her! I'm with the guild!" He flashed the bounty fob at the droid as he stepped in front of Bex once more.
The action seemed to resonate with the droid, as it paused its forward pursuit. "You're a Guild member?" The droid lowered his gun. "I thought I was the only one on the assignment."
The droid seemed to look past Mando to where Bex still stood with her blaster aimed over Mando's shoulder, readying to shoot the droid without a second thought. "What about her?" the droid asked. "I do not recognize her from any of the Guilds rosters."
"She's not with the Guild. She's with me." Mando explained as he turned over his shoulder to look at her.
"I would like to state that I'm all for the plan of shooting it now." She muttered quietly to him.
"As much as I want to say yes, I think you were right, and it might be more beneficial to us if he's in working condition." Mando replied in the same tone.
Bex scoffed as she lowered her weapon. "He shoots you again, I'm going to make sure not even his parts can be upcycled." She could sense Mando's smile behind his helm.
"Sadly, I must ask for your fob." IG interrupted them. "I have already issued the writ of seizure, this bounty is mine."
"Unless I am mistaken, you are as of yet, emptied handed." Mando commented, stepping further into the open, but still making sure to remain a barrier between the droid and Bex.
"This is true."
"I have a suggestion."
"Proceed."
"We split the reward." Mando suggested. "We half it with you."
The droid was quiet for a moment as it calculated the probability of success. "This is acceptable."
Mando pointed toward a structural beam. "Great, then let's regroup out of harm's way and form a plan."
Mando started to move, with Bex following him. After a few footsteps, she realized that she didn't hear the metal clanking of the droid's steps behind them. She turned back and saw the droid watching them walk away, but making no attempt to follow after them. "Are you coming?" She questioned, making Mando stop and turn as well.
"I will, of course, be receiving the reputation merits associated with the mission." IG said bluntly.
"Can we talk about this later?" Mando asked sharply as he walked to stand beside Bex. It was clear that her partner was growing just as frustrated as she was when it came to the droid. She regretted her idea of working with it and wished she had suggested just shooting it and moving on with the bounty.
"I require an answer if I am to proceed."
Before anyone else could say anything else, a blaster shot impacted the IG-Unit. "Oh no. Alert, alert, alert."
Both bounty hunters were quick to react. Both noticed the same stack of supplies and moved to duck behind them. As Bex got settled behind the supplies, she peered around the side. It seemed in the irritation of trying to get the droid on their side, all parties had momentarily forgotten about the mercenaries regrouping in the compound.
There were far more than there was before as they began fanning out from the compound door. They were going to have to move fast and efficiently if they wanted to get their bounty and make it out alive. As mercenaries began lining up on the roof of the compound, Bex ducked behind the supplies and looked to her partner.
"We need better cover! We're going to get lit up standing right here!"
"Let's go!" Mando called out, hoping the droid heard him.
It seemed like the droid had in fact heard him and was a little more inclined to join them as the three began racing up the center, heading straight for the structural beam that Mando had pointed out earlier. And as much as she hated to admit it, having the droid working with them seemed to be paying off as the three were able to make it to the beam without being hit.
As the three settled behind the beam, Bex was suddenly overwhelmed. In the heat of the battle and trying to get the droid on their side, she hadn't noticed that the ache in her chest had become a lot more noticeable. And now that they were closer to the door of the compound, she felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. It was painful, the way that her heart was willingly to move toward the door despite her body and mind knowing it was dangerous. Her hand ghosted over her chest, pressing against the spot where her heart was, almost as if she were trying to will it to calm down.
The adrenaline that coursed through her veins made her feel as if she had been waiting her entire life for what was behind the red door in front of her. It was an excitement that she had never felt before in her life.
"Our bounty is inside." The IG-Unit broke her thoughts as she was brought back to reality and to the exchanging of blaster fire.
"Bex, can you get it open?" Mando half-yelled over the noise as he shot down another mercenary.
She tried to pull her head back into the game. "Not with all this blaster fire." She said, glancing over her shoulder. "We need to deal with them first."
"Yeah, that might be a little harder than we thought."
More mercenaries piled out of the compound, firing everything they had at the three bounty hunters, slowly approaching their position.
"It appears we are trapped." IG spoke.
"Seems that way." Bex replied, trying to pull her focus back to the task at hand, trying to ignore the growing feeling of pain in her chest.
"I will initiate self-destruct sequencing."
"Excuse me?" Bex couldn't help the sharpness of her tone as she turned back to look at the IG-Unit
She watched as the centermost chamber of the droid's chest opened. Several metal places slid back onto themselves to reveal a glowing red orb shaped device in the center of the droid's chest. The orb began beeping and the glow it emitted got brighter with each sound.
"Manufactures protocol dictates I cannot be captured." The droid explained. "I must self-destruct."
Bex looked to Mando. "We should have just shot him."
"Do not self-destruct!" Mando yelled at the droid before looking at his partner." We'll cover you, you get the door."
Bex knew she didn't have time to argue. "Please don't let me get shot." She muttered to herself as she holstered her blaster. She moved quickly to the door, digging into her belt and producing her laser lockpick. She wouldn't usually start with the laser set, but there was no time to waste.
Bex knelt down in front of the access panel, prying off the cover of the component with one of the shims in her lockpick set. The jumbled mess of circuits and wires made Bex's head spin, it was one of the more complex systems that she had ever seen.
The moment she began working on the wires, a wave of nausea overwhelmed her. She had to take a moment to close her eyes and try to let the feeling pass, but she found that it continued to overwhelm her. Her hands began shaking violently as she tried to focus on the wires. What was wrong with her? Why was she feeling this way and why did it have to be starting now? She tried to refocus her mind, narrowing her eyes at the wires in front of her. This wasn't the time to be losing her cool.
Using the smaller of her skims, she began disconnecting circuits in the order that she would typically start with: red, white, blue than green. It was a system that she had mastered over the years and, depending on the year and origin of manufacturing, it would only change slightly from time to time. She worked quickly, but methodically, making sure to clip every wire in the right order. Finally, she made it to the last green wiring, snipping it. But nothing happened.
She looked at the cut wires once more, making sure that she didn't miss one, but there was nothing left for her to cut. The door was malfunctioning.
"Mando, I can't get in!"
"What do you mean?" He called over to her.
"I mean that this system is a lot older than I thought it was. Even though I cut the wires, the door isn't opening!"
She turned her head back toward her partner, feeling her heart drop at the sight. Just beyond where Mando was standing, she could see one of the mercenaries move from behind one of the stacks of crates, pushing a large turret. She barely had a moment's notice to shout out a warning to Mando before she stumbled away from the door, seconds before a wave of turret bolts hailed down where she had just been standing.
She scrambled away from the door as far as she could, the uncoordinated movement making pain flare up in her leg. She tried to ignore the pain as she continued to back up until she found cover, bumping into Mando. His hand fell on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She nodded in response as he helped her onto her feet. As he did, the IG-Unit fell into place next to them. The machine seemed to survey the situation around them and decided on its own course of action.
"I will initiate self-destruction."
"Do not self-destruct!" Mando and Bex yelled in unison.
After they were certain that the droid wasn't going to explode right next to them, Bex turned back to her partner. "What do we do now?"
"We shoot our way out." He replied. "Like we always do."
She grimaced. "I'm not sure that plan will work this time."
"We don't have a choice." Mando looked at the droid. "IG, cover me."
He turned back to her. "Stay here, figure out how to get that door open. I'll buy you some time."
She nodded, not sure how she was supposed to get the doors open, but she knew that she was going to have to find a way. She watched and Mando and the IG-Unit moved between structural beams, taking out a few mercenaries as they went, but still not able to move far due to the turret. They were outnumbered, that much was clear. There was no way that they would make it out if they didn't do anything about the turret. They had to think of a different plan. Quickly.
She peered around the cover she was hiding behind, and she instantly felt her heart drop at the sight. She could see the turret turn, the large gun aiming directly at Mando.
He had no cover and there was no way he was going to be able to get out of the way. She watched as it stopped and then she could hear the motor begin to whirl.
"No!"
Her body reacted before she could stop herself, and it felt like the overwhelming feeling in her chest had finally boiled over. All the pain and discomfort she was feeling finally exploded outward, as something in her willed her hand to shoot up in front of her. As her hand became parallel with her chest, she felt something wash over her.
It was hard to describe the sensation that passed through her, like a wave of cold air moved from her chest, down her arm, and through her hand. She watched, in slow motion, as the turret in front of Mando turned away from him. It spun around, continuing to fire at the mercenaries before it lost momentum and turned over on itself and stopped. Once it stopped, they were left in the silent aftermath.
She stood, dumbfounded with her hand extended out in front of her. Her breath hitched as she pulled her hand back toward her and examined her palm. She somehow expected her hand to look unusual or beyond normal, but as her eyes traced the lines in her palm, she couldn't identify anything different. It was the same fading scars and calluses that had decorated her hands for years. Nothing was different. But it somehow felt different. It felt like she was weightless and like her body wasn't her own.
But beneath all that, she could feel something in the back of her mind. It felt like a soft whisper of relief, but with no words. It was only a glimpse of emotions, the overcoming of joy, the solace of another's presence. Despite her fear, it was that quiet feeling that kept her calm. A warm embrace that enveloped her spirit, and it was almost like she could reach out and touch it in the back of her mind.
"Bex!"
Mando's voice seemed distant despite his running approach toward her. It wasn't until she felt his hands on her shoulders that she felt herself come back to her body. The feeling in her mind seemed to fade as her vision began to focus on her partner in front of her, the image of his form becoming sharper by the second. After a few moments, she looked at him.
His hands gripped her shoulders, almost as if he wasn't sure what he was going to say.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded slowly. "I-I think so."
He turned over his shoulder, looking to where the turret was turned over. "Did...Did you do that?"
She looked from him to the turret. "I-I think so."
"How?"
She shook her head, unsure of what to say. She didn't have a good answer and she wasn't entirely sure how she did it.
The two were interrupted as the IG-Unit approached them.
"The tracking fob is still active."
Mando sighed, letting his hands fall from her shoulders. He turned to the droid. "Can you get the door open?"
It turned to the door. "Affirmative."
The two watched as the droid moved toward the door. Mando looked at her once more. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded.
"Let's get through this and get off this planet."
The droid was able to get the doors open after a few minutes with his ability to override the programing of the system. The air inside the compound was chilling, clearly it was more than a few degrees colder than the outside. It was a noticeable temperature difference as the three stepped through the threshold.
Just as they stepped through, a hidden mercenary jumped out from where he was hiding, but even with his gun in his hand he wasn't a faster draw than Mando. In a split second, the mercenary fell where he stood, his gun sliding away from him. "Anyone else?" Mando hissed, ready to be down with the foolish mercenaries.
"My sensors indicate a lifeform is present." The droid spoke.
The statement confused Bex.
The room appeared to be empty, with only a few supply crates and other miscellaneous items. They began searching the room, not leaving a single corner untouched. She was looking for any sign of a fifty-year old person, but it seemed that the place was abandoned.
"I think your sensor is faulty, droid." Mando spoke. "Whoever was here is long gone."
"Incorrect, my sensors still indicate a lifeform is present and the tracking of it is still active."
The two continued to bicker as Bex searched.
As she passed the back corner of the room, something made her stop in her tracks. It was the same soothing feeling from before, but it felt a little different. This feeling made her feel like she had been dunked in a vat of ice water, it was chilling and alone. It felt like a combination of fear and anxiety. And instead of the feeling coming from her mind, it felt like it was coming from somewhere in the room. She turned in a slow circle, closing her eyes to see if she could feel the source of the sensation.
It took her only a few seconds before the feeling became overwhelming. She opened her eyes, and in front of her was a container that she hadn't checked before. It was shaped like an orb, and was unlike any container that she had seen before. It levitated a few feet off the ground, making her wonder how she missed such an oddly shaped vessel before. Stepping forward, she lifted the dirtied cloth that had been thrown across it and pressed the button at the bottom. The top of it slid open, revealing large onyx colored eyes.
The green being on the inside looked up at her, big round eyes accompanied by large soft looking ears and a small frame. The feeling inside of her rapidly changed, the feeling of fear melting away into the relief and there was a small piece of her that felt like she recognized the being in front of her. This was who they were looking for.
"Mando." She called over to her partner softly.
The bickering stopped as Mando and the droid made their way over to her. Mando looked over her shoulder at the being. "Wait...They said they were fifty years old. There's no way that this is fifty years old."
"Species age differently." The droid replied, approaching the orb. "It could have perhaps lived for centuries.
The creature cooed at them quietly, looking between the three, almost as if it knew they were talking about it.
"Sadly, we will never know."
The droid raised its blaster, pointing it at the small being. Immediately, Bex panic gripped her heart, almost like it was her that he was pointing the weapon at. She pushed the blaster away, slamming her hand down on the top of it, sending the weapon skidding across the floor.
"Don't touch him."
"The commission was very clear." The droid turned to her. "The asset was to be terminated."
No.
She couldn't let that happen. She could let the machine kill him, every atom of her being was telling her that she couldn't let it happen. It didn't matter if the droid shot and killed her instead, anything would be better than killing the child in front of them.
"It must be terminated." The droid took a step back. "And if you stand in the way, you must be terminated as well."
"Don't threaten my partner."
A blaster shot rang out as the droid's main component exploded inward, the blaster shot from Mando's pistol destroying the droid. It crumpled over, metal loudly clanking against the floor. Bex looked to her partner, who holstered his weapon. "We take him in alive."
Bex offered him a smile as she turned back to the child. It wasn't phased by the blaster shot, making her wonder what kind of violent childhood it experienced in the past. It seemed like the small being could feel her distress on its behalf, as it reached out toward her. She could help but smile as she offered it to her hand.
It looked between its own hand and her hand before reaching out and grasping her finger with its small hand.