Author Note: So this is just a fun one shot on how my three favorite Mandalorians met. This takes place just before Fynta decides to join the Republic Military. It was suggested by one of my readers that some footnotes with the translation of the Mando'a words might be helpful. So my plan is to begin incorporating those at the bottom. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

3655 BBY
Hutt Space
Hutta

This guy was a hot ticket. Cinlat had put down three other hunters and still didn't have her damn quarry. Those Hutts needed to work on their counting, because they'd promised this contract to her with assurances that she was the exclusive bidder. Cinlat took a deep breath to cool her temper, there was no thinking straight once she started seeing red. It was time to get moving anyway.

It was no secret as to why this particular Trandoshan was pulling in every merc within a hundred parsecs. He was wily for the lizard species, who usually just hissed and hit things with sticks. This one actually used his brain for something other than bellowing his greatness to the stars. Still, going after the Hutt cartel seemed a little riskier than his normal clientele. Nem'ro the Hutt made Ler Fallu's fifth target, he'd get in with a crime boss, earn the guy's trust, and then make out with as much of the treasury as he could carry. The only problem being that Nem'ro had a lot of pull around here since he'd finally taken out his longtime rival Fath'ra. Cinlat was sure she'd heard Nem'ro's roar of anger long before the slug called her up for a favor and she wasn't ashamed to admit that it pleased her greatly to hear of his woes. The Hutt had it in his head that since he'd been her initial sponsor into the Great Hunt that meant she owed him. Cinlat had chosen to forego mentioning his betrayal and agreed to take his credits.

The woman mentally ticked off the best places to hide on this dump of a planet, estimating how many rivals she'd have to kill before claiming her prize. It was as if Nem'ro had decided to host his own Hunt, except he'd changed the rules to indefinite opponents instead of one. That adrenaline packed game of hide and seek, one planet, one target, two hunters. The one who survived was declared the victor. It always brought a smile to Cinlat's lips.

So far she had one win under her belt, the last attempt had put her out of commission for a while. Those detonite sticky bombs were a dirty business and if Cinlat hadn't been wearing some of the best armor known to the galaxy, there probably wouldn't have been enough of her left to worry about scraping up. It had killed her partner though, poor girl. So, Cinlat had been on her own for the last five years.

The water sloshed around her calves as Cinlat tracked Ler Fallu through the putrid swamp where the Evocii, docile, flat faced aliens, built their mud shacks. She'd tracked the Trandoshan to one of Nem'ro's old mines. One that dried up a long time ago by the looks of it. To the best of her knowledge, these mines only had one way in and one way out. Meaning if he was still in there, she had him trapped.

The night vision in Cinlat's helmet activated as soon as she entered the narrow shaft, throwing everything into a hideously green light. She could hear wheezing further down in the dark, then a choking laugh. "So you've found me, hunter. Going to kill me or take me alive?" Ler Fallu spoke in clicks, gurgles, and hisses, even though they were perfectly capable of speaking Basic.

"Thought I'd let you decide," Cinlat answered. She kept her head still, sweeping the small space with her helmet's sensors. She still didn't have eyes on the lizard, but she couldn't let him know that.

"I had a good run, let me live and I'll tell you where I hid the credits."

"Yeah, I'm sure you sang that same song to the last few bounty hunters. I think I'll stick with Nem'ro, I know his weak spots," she snorted.

More choking laughter echoed off the wall. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Ler Fallu reared up out of the darkness, standing nearly half a meter taller than Cinlat. In the few seconds from his appearance to the moment she brought her blasters to bear, Cinlat saw the brown fluid staining his shirt. He was dead already, his brain just hadn't caught up with the fact that he was mortally wounded. Then she squeezed the triggers and nearly a hundred kilos of humanoid reptile crashed into her, flattening her against the dusty ground. Wounded or no, it had been her blasters who took him down. That meant the kill was hers.

It took some doing, but Cinlat finally managed to wiggle her way out from under the corpse and heaved a sigh. Nem'ro wanted proof of death, so it was either lug the guy all the way back to the Hutt palace, or remove his head for ID. She hated head removal, it was messy and dulled her blade. But there was no way she was dragging him out of here alone, so that looked like her only option.

Cinlat bent to start the grisly process, when a blaster bolt smashed into her back, staggering her forward, then again into her shoulder. Something heavy hit her at a run as she spun to meet her attacker. There weren't many people in the galaxy that could sneak up on her, and that pissed Cinlat off. She was sprawled out on the floor, considering her best plan of attack, when she heard a voice. It was a young female. "She dead?"

"Don't know." That was definitely a male voice, just a kid by the sound of it.

Cinlat remained motionless, waiting for her attackers to get closer. The boy, Cinlat guessed early twenties, had removed his helmet and was leaning over her. He had dark blue eyes, light brown hair, and tribal scarring across his face. He was a damn Mandalorian kid. That was enough information for Cinlat.

Using the fact that she was wearing a helmet and he wasn't, Cinlat sat up with enough force to crack him in the nose with her faceplate. The impact left a red smear across her HUD but frankly, it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. Jumping to her feet, Cinlat gave the kid her boot square to his chest to throw him backwards onto the ground. Now she was standing above him with her blaster aimed at his face and her boot firmly planted on his chestplate. "First rule, kid. Disarm the target."

"Noted," the girl said. Cinlat swore silently, she'd forgotten about the little whelp, maybe she was slipping being on her own for so long. Cinlat used the cameras in her helmet to take in the girl without turning her head. She was short and stocky, wearing beskar'gam that was a few years too small. The girl also held a scattergun that was almost and big as she was. "Let my brother go and you can keep your head." Her tone was ice, impressive for such a little squirt, and she hadn't taken off her helmet, meaning she was smarted that the guy Cinlat was currently using as a doormat.

The brother shifted under Cinlat's boot. He was laying on his back, gazing up at her with blood pouring from his nose. He didn't look scared or angry, if anything, merely intrigued, and he hadn't once tried to staunch the flow, just turned his head to keep it from running down his throat. "I've got a better idea," he said, putting both hands gently on the foot that held him down. His voice sounded nasally through all that blood in his sinuses and Cinlat tightened her grip on the blasters in her hands. "We help you drag Fallu back to the palace, ensure no one tries to steal it, and split the credits."

"Or I kill both of you for all the trouble you've put me through, cut the chakaar's head off, and keep the credits for myself."

"You could," he agreed, pushing against her boot. The boy's eyes glittered in her night vision, making them shine brighter in contrast to the dark fluid covering the lower half of his face. "But that's messy and time consuming. My way's better and you know it." Cinlat pushed her boot harder into his chest and squeezed her finger on the trigger, causing the blasters to whine as it revved the power core. He held his hands out to the side, "Your choice, hunter. But I think you'll like what my sister and I can offer you."

Slowly, Cinlat released the pressure on the trigger and stared down at him. Somehow she knew these two had been the cause of her bounty's near fatal wound. A couple of Mandalorian orphans who had been quiet enough to sneak up on her in a dark mining shaft. Neither of them showed any fear and the boy's near invisible smirk bordered on amusement, betraying the kind of mental instability needed for being a mercenary. If nothing else, Cinlat might be able to get a few jobs out of them before they got themselves killed or she ditched.

"I'm listening." She didn't back off or holster her weapons, there was still the chance it might just be easier to shoot them and move on.

The kid smiled through bloody teeth. "Name's Verin. That's Fynta. Nice to meet you, hunter."

beskar'gam [BES-kar-GAM] mandalorian armor

chakaar [chah-KAR] corpse robber, thief, petty criminal - general term of abuse