THIRTY-ONE.
change of plans
🔹️🔹️🔹️
Our surroundings were surprisingly calm.. considering everything that we'd been through. The airy noise was pleasant and placid. This had only helped me to go to sleep.
☁️
I sighed as I sat down beside a large body of water. I ran my hands across the water, feeling the rush of its waves flow through my fingertips. I hadn't felt this calm in a while.. it was nice for a change.
Suddenly, the water turned cold which sent shivers down my spine. I jumped up onto my feet and stared at the water, confused. I dipped my hand back inside the water and felt how its temperature dropped drastically.
That's when its ocean blue color turned red -- it was blood. I gasped, pulling my hand away from the water as I stared down at my blood-stained hand. The sky above me shifted to a dark setting; the original peaceful atmosphere.. turned evil.
I tried to run away, but it felt as if there was some sort of a strong force pushing against my body.. urging me to stay. I growled in frustration, wanting to wake up from this horrible dream.
I turned to my last resort -- my lightsaber. I placed my hand on my belt where my lightsaber would be.. but it was gone. My eyes widened as I looked around for it, breathing heavily.
Not even a second later, I felt something bump into my foot. I looked down and saw.. my lightsaber. I quickly bent down to grab it, but something or someone had forced it away from me. As the world around me began to change into a familiar unsettling room, I saw my lightsaber fly into someone's hand.
I looked directly at the person who had summoned The Force to steal my lightsaber from me. I felt my hands tremble with anger as I recognized the man standing a few feet in front of me. This man gave me an evil grin as he spoke in a dark and deep voice.
"I've found you.. at last."
☁️
"No..!"
I gasped, my eyes shooting right open as droplets of sweat trickled down my forehead. I took a deep breath in.. the nightmare playing over and over again in my head like an unforgettable scene in a movie.
'He couldn't have found me..!' I thought to myself. 'That's impossible!'
"Adalyn," Mando asked, looking back at me from his seat. He stood up and walked over to me. "What's going on? What happened?"
I ignored Mando as I quickly checked to see if my lightsaber was still in my belt. I wanted to make sure that what happened in my dream wasn't real. I sighed in relief as my hand made contact with the lightsaber's hilt.
'So it was all inside my head.."
"S-Sorry," I replied, trembling as I placed my hands on his arms. "I just.. had a bad dream. It's nothing."
".. Are you sure?"
I nodded, calming myself down. "Yeah.."
Mando slowly made his way back to his seat, pressing some buttons on the control panel. I sighed once more as I glance over at the child, whom was sleeping soundly in his crib.
Just then, a transmission from a familiar figure interrupted the silence, filling the ship's room with his voice. I glanced over Mando's shoulder and saw that the transmission was from none other than.. Greef Karga.
"My friend, if you are receiving this transmission that means you and your prisoners are alive," Greef announced. Mando shifted around in his seat, looking over at me in confusion. "You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too."
My eyes widened, "I could've sworn I--"
"I guess we can call it even," Greef continued with his message. "A lot has happened since we all last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here; his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have grown.. and they have gone to extreme lengths to find the assets you have stolen."
I furrowed my eyebrows, biting my lower lip in disbelief. 'I can't believe this..'
"They have imposed despotic rule over my city, which has impeded the livelihood of the Guild. We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out." He sighed, shaking his head. "If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while. You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prizes."
Mando looked back at me as if he was conflicted. I pinched the bridge of my nose, frustrated at how persistent the Guild and its hunters were. Mando and I continued to listen to Greef's little message with exasperated looks on our faces.
"So, here is my proposition: return to Nevarro; bring the child and girl as bait. I will arrange an exchange, and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once we get near the Client, you kill him, and we both get what we want. If you succeed, you keep the child and the girl. I will have your name cleared with the Guild, for a man of honor should not be forced to live in exile.. I await your arrival with optimism." He said as the transmission finally turned off.
Mando sighed, hitting the control panel with full aggression. He turned to look at the sleeping child as he snored softly. Mando shifted his gaze onto me while I gave him a confused look.
"Mando, you're not actually gonna--" I stopped myself mid-sentence when I realized that he was already shifting the gears into hyperspace. I rolled my eyes, "You gotta be kidding me."
🔹️🔹️🔹️
We arrived back on the planet, Sorgan, as my disapproval for Greef's plan only grew. Mando stood up from his chair and walked over to the control room's hatch.
I placed the child in my arms and stood next to Mando. He turned to look at me, "You ready?"
"Only if you are." I smirked, shrugging my shoulders a little. He nodded in response as we walked out of the room and over to the ship's entrance.
I took a deep breath in and placed the child on the floor. Mando unlocked the ship's entrance, and we watched as it opened up. Once the hatch was fully open, we trudged down the ship's slope and began walking towards the common house.
It didn't take long until we arrived. As we walked inside the common house, everyone gathered around in a circle, watching a boxing match take place in the middle.
Just then, everyone began cheering as the match came to an end. There was one clear victor.. Cara Dune. While everyone was paying up their bets to Cara, we slowly made our way to her with the child behind us.
Mando asked, "Looking for some work?"
Cara chuckled, walking us over to a table so we could talk some more. We each sat down in a chair and ordered some drinks, catching up with one another.
Cara raised an eyebrow, "So.. how have you two been?"
"We've been busy." I shrugged.
"Not too busy I hope," She winked, pointing a finger at me and Mando. My face grew red as Mando rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. She laughed, "Anyways, what exactly is the work you guys offered me to do?"
Mando nodded, "Well, it seems like a straightforward operation."
Before he continued on with his explanation, we first let the waiter pour in our drinks and walk away. Mando cleared his throat and began to explain everything about this new 'job' -- it took a few minutes to explain.
"They're providing the plan and firepower," Mando announced. "I'm the snare."
Cara took a sip from her drink before asking, "With the kid?"
"That's why we're coming with you."
"I don't know, I've been advised to lay low," Cara sighed. "If anybody runs my chain code, I'll rot in a cell for the rest of my life."
Just then, a man came by our table and dropped off a bit of money for Cara, interrupting our conversation. She gave him a big smirk, "Come back soon."
"Yeah, I thought you were a veteran." I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my chair.
"Look, I've been a lot of things since; most of them carry a life sentence," She stated sternly. "If I so much as book passage on a ship registered to the New Republic, I'm--"
"And I understand that, but you're not the only one who's running away from monsters created by life itself." I replied, shaking my head. I glanced at the child as I said, "Sometimes you just gotta risk your own life to save another's."
Cara thought for a moment, then sighed. "I'm sorry, but I--"
"I have a ship. I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward," Mando said, leaning an arm against the table. "You can live free of worry."
"I'm already free of worry, and I'm not in the mood to play soldier anymore, especially fighting some local warlord."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "He's not a local warlord -- he's Imperial."
Cara hesitated for a second before giving us a small smile. She tilted her head to the side, slightly lifting up her drink into the air.
".. I'm in."
🔹️🔹️🔹️
"Does your guys' contact need to vet me?" Cara asked, sitting in the extra passenger seat while Mando and I sat in our usual spots in the ship.
Mando responded, "Doesn't know you're coming."
"Really?" She raised her eyebrows with a judgemental look on her face. "That could be a problem."
"It won't." I stood up and walked over to the control room's hatch as Mando turned around in his seat. He followed my actions, walking over to where I was.
"But if it is, that's his problem." He nodded.
Cara laughed to herself as we made our way down to the bottom of the ship. She looked up, "The kid alright up there alone?"
"Yeah." Mando replied, opening up his armory of weapons. Cara stared in awe as Mando said, "Pick one."
I stood aside, leaning my shoulder up against Mando's as we waited for Cara to pick out all the weapons she required. I already had all the weapons I needed, so I didn't want any more.
Cara asked out of curiosity, "So, you trust the contact?"
"Not particularly, he and I had a run-in last time I was there on some Guild business." Mando said, crossing his arms.
I scoffed, "That's putting it lightly. I don't like this guy, not even a little bit."
"Oh, I see," Cara nodded, admiring the rifle in her hands. "Then why are we going?"
"I don't have a choice. You saw what happened on Sorgan; they'll keep sending hunters. The kid will never be safe until the Imp is dead."
"And you're okay with bringing him back there?" Cara asked, fixing the rifle's position in her hands.
"Not really," I sighed. "That's why we decided to bring you along."
Just then, the ship began to shake as a loud alarm erupted from the control room. I stumbled about and accidentally bumped into Mando. He grabbed onto my waist, preventing me from crashing onto the floor. I stared into his helmet before quickly snapping out of my thoughts.
I gently pushed him away and climbed up the ladder that led me to the control room. I entered the room and saw that the child was messing around with the controls. Almost immediately, I took him into my arms and gently placed him back in his crib.
Mando quickly stumbled over to the control panel and tried to stabilize the ship. A few seconds later, the ship stopped shaking, the alarm stopped beeping, and everything went back to normal.
We all sighed in relief as the child giggled in amusement. Cara announced, "We need someone to watch that thing."
Mando looked back at the child, "Yeah."
"You guys got anyone you trust?"
Mando exhaled sharply, turning to face me as I sighed. I placed a hand on my hip, "I think I know just the guy."
🔹️🔹️🔹️
We had to improvise, because our original plan wasn't going to work otherwise. So.. Mando ended up landing his ship on the planet where it all began -- Arvala-7.
My eyes glistened with excitement as Mando turned off all the engines to the ship. I immediately jumped out of my seat and ran towards the ship's entrance. I opened up the ship's hatch, and it revealed the dusty, plain, but beautiful land in front of me.
I hurried out of the ship and was greeted by the warm sand at the soles of my feet. Just then, Mando tapped on my shoulder and pointed at a silhouette in the distance. I shifted my gaze onto the figure, and my lips curved into a small smile.
The person dropped everything that was in his hands and stared at me, shocked. I chuckled to myself and rushed over to him. Once I made contact with him, I fell onto my knees and wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling him into a warm embrace.
"Kuiil." I muttered aloud as he tightened his grasp on me. He nodded, slowly pulling away from the hug.
"Welcome back.. Adalyn."