TWENTY-FOUR.
mando's old colleague
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Mando navigated the ship down to a desolate area with only a space station hangar nearby. I crossed my arms, leaning back in my chair as the Razor Crest landed on a bay full of machinery and workers.
He stood up from his seat and grabbed the child, placing him in his arms. He looked at me, "Follow me."
"Alright," I shrugged, standing up and walking over to the secret room where the child was to hide inside of again. "Hopefully he doesn't escape this time."
"Yeah," Mando replied, placing the child inside the room and closing the hatch. "Hopefully."
Afterwards, we walked over towards the ship's entrance as Mando unlatched the opening. He looked around at the bay before turning to me once again.
"Be careful," He said as sparks of light flashed in front of our eyes. "Not sure if these people will play nice, especially with you."
I raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I-- nevermind," He shook his head, slowly walking down the entry way. "Just.. follow my lead."
I sighed, walking down the ship's entrance next to him. We began roaming around the space station hangar as Mando looked around for his 'colleague'. People stared and gave us dirty looks, observing our features.
"Mando," A stern but welcoming voice called out to him. We turned around on our heels, facing the owner of the voice. "Is that you under that bucket?"
The man held out his hand for Mando with a small smile on his face. Mando glanced over at me for a split second before shaking the man's hand. He greeted him, "Ran."
"I didn't really know if I'd ever see you in these parts again.. good to see you." Ran said, pulling his hand away from Mando's. He shifted his gaze onto mine with raised eyebrows. "And who's this pretty lady over here?"
Mando announced, "She's with me -- we're gonna get the job done together."
"Your girlfriend?"
Mando cleared his throat, ".. Partner."
"Adalyn," I said, holding out my hand for Ran. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey, if you want.. I can tell you some embarrassing stories about Mando while he's not listenin'." Ran laughed, shaking my hand for a brief moment as I chuckled in response. He pointed at me, facing Mando once again. "I like this one."
Mando groaned under his breath, "Ran, please, not now."
"Alright, alright." As we walked a bit further away from all the noise, Ran placed a hand on Mando's shoulder; talking some more. "You know, to be honest, I was a little surprised when you reached out to me."
Mando stopped walking, turning to face him. I stood right next to them and watched as Ran continued to talk. "You know, 'cause I hear things. Like.. maybe things between you; the girl and the Guild aren't workin' out."
Mando rolled his head, slightly annoyed. "I'll be fine."
"Okay, well, you know the policy: no questions." Ran nodded, placing his hand on his shoulder once again. He smiled, turning to face the both of us as we walked some more. "And you, you're welcome back here anytime.. along with that girl of yours."
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"So, what's the job?" Mando asked Ran while we trudged along a high platform.
"Yeah, one of our associates ran afoul of some competitors and got himself caught. So, I'm putting together a crew to spring him." Ran responded, glancing at us. "It's a five person job, but six would be perfect -- I've only got four. All I need is the ride, and you two brought it."
Mando stopped to look at his Razor Crest with a grim tone in his voice. "The ship wasn't part of the deal."
"Well, the Crest is the only reason I let you back in here with the girl." Ran shrugged as Mando gave him a cold stare through his helmet. Ran shook his head, "What's that look? Is that gratitude?"
Mando sighed, looking at me while I pursed my lips. Ran laughed at us before walking away again. "Uh-huh, I think it is."
Mando leaned over the railing with another sigh. I glanced back up at him, "Ran's.. quite the character."
"Yeah, nothing's really changed."
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We continued following Ran as he led us to another section of the space station. Mando and I stopped right next to Ran while he went up to introduce us to a worker.
"Hey, Mayfeld."
The man turned around, facing us. "Yeah?"
"This is Mando, the guy I was tellin' you about." Ran said, pointing at him. "We used to do jobs way back when."
Mayfeld raised an eyebrow, trudging towards us and keeping his eyes on Mando. "This is the guy?"
"Yeah, we were all young, tryin' to make a name for ourselves." Ran shrugged while Mando nodded. "Yeah, but running with a Mandalorian, that was.. that brought us some reputation."
"Oh, yeah?" Mayfeld scoffed. "When did he get out of it?"
"I asked him that one time.. you remember what you said, Mando?" Ran laughed hysterically, turning to face Mando. "Target practice, target practice! We did some crazy stuff, didn't we?"
I stared at Mando as he sighed, "That was a long time ago."
"Well.. well, I don't go out anymore." Ran stopped laughing and put on a serious face. "You understand?"
Before Mando could respond, Mayfeld spoke up first as he turned to look at me. "So.. who's the girl?"
"Oh, she's also gonna take the job." Ran shot up with excitement. "And.. Mando's girlfriend."
I took a deep breath in, "We're not--"
"Huh, she looks too pretty to be Mando's." Mayfeld crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. I raised an eyebrow as I took a quick glance at Mando. It was as if there was a slight bit of sadness radiating off of him. "What are you doing here, hanging out with the big boys like this? It's too dangerous for a petite girl like--"
"Watch it," Mando snapped, standing tall as he glared at Mayfeld through his helmet. "She's tougher than she looks."
Mayfeld snickered, "Oh, yeah? I like a girl who bites--"
"Woah, woah, woah." Ran stepped in between the two of them with outstretched arms. They took a few steps away from one another, calming themselves down. Ran cleared his throat, "So, uh.. Mayfeld -- he's gonna run point on this job. If he says it, it's like it's coming from me. You two good with that?"
There was a slight pause before Mando responded, "You tell me."
Ran laughed again, "You haven't changed one bit."
Mayfeld snickered, slowly walking away. "Yeah, well, things have changed around here."
"Well, Mayfeld, he's.. he's one of the best trigger men I've ever seen." Ran said to us. "Former Imperial sharpshooter."
'Stormtrooper..' I thought to myself, placing a finger on my lower lip. The thought of one of those armored men made me feel troubled.
Mando shrugged with a bit of attitude, snapping me out of my thoughts. "That's not saying much."
"I wasn't a stormtrooper, wiseass!" Mayfeld yelled outloud, turning around to face us with anger written all over his face. He shifted back around on his feet, continuing on with his path.
Mando turned his gaze over to mine as we followed Mayfeld to wherever he was leading us to. Ran looked at us with a wide smile on his face; unable to stifle his laugh.
"Don't take long, does it?"