Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its character and while plot points are from various RPG games I take no credit for their origins only of their application in the story therein. This a labor of love and not for profit though if Disney or Lucas Arts would like to hire my creative brain I'd be more than happy to drop everything and come running. Please read and leave a review.

Episode 4: Mandalorian Captain Part 2:

Chapter 9: Added Ingredient

The devastation wrought by the wing of TIE fighters was amazing and terrifying at the same time. The once pristine swamp clearing was now a smoldering wreck of its former self. The trees were shattered splinters, and the warrens were now a pile of rubble. The carcasses of the grabworms were strewn everywhere, blown open by the Green turbo-lasers of the Imperial fighters.

Amongst the dead creatures, the Mandalorian saw bits and pieces of green laminate armor, indicating where the beasts had slain one of the swamptroopers. The Sergeant and his men set about the grim work of retrieving armor tags so as to help identify their casualties. The wanton destruction served to remind Jarek of the immense unforgiving power of the Imperial Armada, and that he should avoid being the focus of that power.

Despite having fought side by side with them, Jarek found it hard to empathize with the Imperials. They were the symbol of an authority in the galaxy that he and his people didn't recognize nor approve of, given how the Republic/Empire had laid siege to Mandalore at the end of the Clone Wars. Mainly Jarek couldn't relate to the NonCom because all of his crew had survived. He was grateful that for the most part his crew had been spared the gruesome fate of the Sergeant's men...barely.

Slick had recovered from his concussion though he needed a stimulant to get back on his feet. Jarek could tell he'd suffered some contusions from being thrown about but was otherwise ok. Gare was another story. The Gank lay taking deep pained breaths, his arm ending just above the elbow. Tersen with Era's help had improvised a tourniquet and a cybernetic stabilizer clamp to prevent the severed power conduits from feeding back into his crewmate's nervous system. The Lannik assured the other's that he'd live but it'd be some time before he'd be fully recovered.

Madlyn was another concern. Between her lover's concussion, Gare's life saving antics, and everyone else bumps and bruises, she was taking the blame pretty hard. She apologized copiously to the unmoving Gank, kneeling next to him in some attempt at comfort. Slick gripped her shoulder trying his best to soothe her, but Madlyn wouldn't have it.

"It's my fault," she snapped making the Pantoran recoil slightly. "We'd never be here if I hadn't wanted to take the job."

"The little cretin fooled us all, my dear," Slick stated hugging her close, doing his best to get her to calm down even as she resisted.

"But I still pushed for us to do it," Madlyn growled, "You all warned me to be careful and I still pushed for us to take it. All so I could get just another taste of home." She buried her face in his shoulder clenching both hands into fists.

Jarek didn't make any comment and neither did anyone else. Madlyn had chosen the work and convinced them to take it. But the fault resided with them all. They'd all had their reasons to take the job; credits, nostalgia, food, or just out of boredom. This was their life now. If they wanted to keep living on the fringe then they'd have to take jobs with questionable ethics and motivations. The ryll they'd smuggled from New Meen to Toydor could just as easily been used to make narcotics as well as medicine. Every job was a gamble. The quest for the Gobaki mushrooms had been a tough lesson in that, but they'd survived...barely.

"We just need to learn from this," he stated earning everyone's attention, "Ships gotta stay flying, but that doesn't mean we take every job at face value." He looked at Madlyn, "You found the job, but I agreed to take it. My blame," he jabbed a thumb at himself for emphasis, "Mine. Not yours."

Madlyn looked at him in utter surprise that he'd be willing to take the burden of her mistake, and for once she didn't seem to have the words to respond. Slick however just nodded in appreciation. Era also looked at him too, but in a way like she was impressed by his ability to take responsibility. Isn't that what a leader was supposed to do?

Just then the swamptroopers approached, looking a lot more haggard than when they'd first met. The crew stiffened at the sight of the armored soldiers, wondering just like before if their encounter would end in blaster fire. One could never tell with Imperials.

The Sergeant stepped up to Jarek. They stared at one another, one emotionless visor into another as if psychically weighing each other's character strengths and weaknesses. After a short moment, the Sergeant nodded respectfully saying, "Not many sentients would fight alongside Imperials these days."

A true statement if Jarek ever heard one. It had been just over five cycles sense Palpatine had taken power, and in that time he had dissolved the Republic, crushed The Confederacy of Independent Systems and their affiliates, gassed an entire planet because it refused to bow to the Empire, and expanded rapidly and sometimes violently into the Mid/Outer Rim. Needless to say, out on the fringes the Imperial banner and its accompanying Ilk were not a welcome sight.

But Jarek was a practical man. More specifically he was a practical Mandalorian. The swamptroopers hadn't presented themselves as a threat, the grabworms had, therefore...

"The foe of my foe is my ally," he replied smoothly, then lightly tapped a fist on the trooper's shoulder, "especially when they bring in air-support." This brought a wry chuckle out of the NonCom and his team.

"So what about us?" Era asked meekly.

The Sergeant looked at her, sighed, and shrugged as if in apology. "We'll confiscate the Gobaki, and send you on your way." When Jarek tilted his head, slightly confused, he added as exposition, "You stood by me and my troopers." He leaned in closer, but Jarek could hear the smile in his voice as he added, "Just get off-planet before I change my mind."

Given the circumstances, Jarek felt that was more than fair. The lost profit and wasted time stung, but at least they wouldn't go to jail. He also guessed that with the crew, although injured and tired, outnumbering the swamptroopers and all of them having little to no ammo to speak of, the Sergeant figured attempting to arrest them would be more trouble than it was worth. He would be right.

But Jarek couldn't help but wonder about something. "What about Domdees?" he asked genuinely curious.

The Sergeant sighed again but this time in frustration. "Without evidence of his direct involvement," The man had a look about him like he was resigned to the fact he was powerless to do anything but clean up after scum like Domdees or just limit the damage he might do. "The Empire doesn't have a reason to arrest him."

It was then Madlyn stood up and approached the Swamptrooper Sergeant. Jarek half expected the Alderanni to give the man another snippy remark as she had before. Especially given the evil grin that spread across her lips.

"I think I may have a way to help us both," she stated.

After several hours of trudging back through the swamp, they rendezvoused with Domdees at his shuttle atop a stone plateau one click east of Toydor. When they arrived he practically fell out of the air in his excitement.

"Fantastic!" he cheered flying up to meet them. He barely even acknowledged Gare's injuries or that the entire crew was covered in everything from mud to blood. "You made it back in one piece! I knew you would." He waged a finger at each of them, "You had that look about you."

None of the crew spoke. Jarek looked at the Toydarian long and hard until Domdees starting wringing his hands nervously. The Mandalorian lifted the pack for the chef to inspect. The fill status was plain to see and their patron practically drooled at the sight of its contents.

"Our credits you promised," Jarek said curtly snapping Domdees out of his golden haze. The Chef chuckled nervously before indicating a small plasteel crate on the landing platform opposite the Toydarian shuttlecraft.

"All there," he said as Slick moved to retrieve the case. As much as they wanted to be rid of the Toydarian, Jarek didn't want to take any chances of being screwed out what his crew had bled for. The Pantoran carefully opened the lid, briefly examined the contents, before nodding in affirmation. "Plus the bonus," Domdees added eyeing the contents of the pack as he spoke, "I had that much faith in you."

Jarek smiled, even though he knew the Toydarian couldn't see it, saying in an offhanded tone, "This should be enough for three or four batches of Neutron Pixie."

"Yes it will," Domdees said nodding in excitement. A Split second later he seemed to realize what Jarek had said and he narrowed his gaze, "Wait - what?"

Jarek shrugged in the manner of a half-hearted apology before looking over his shoulder. "Is that enough for you Sergeant?" he called out. Domdees squeaked in surprise as half a dozen swamptroopers appeared over the lip of the landing platform.

"A recorded confession should do just fine," the Sergeant replied. The Toydarian swore and started to flutter away only to nearly run headlong into more troopers. Six E-11 Blasters leveled at him as Domdees tried to find an avenue of escape. When he realized he was trapped, he visibly slumped in defeat. The Sergeant practically strutted up to the Chef. "Hello, Domdees," he greeted pleasantly even as he removed the pack from his hands and replaced it with a pair of magni-cuffs, "Been awhile."

Domdees cast his gaze about hoping to find something to save him, but all he could see were smug, annoyed, and angry expressions on Jarek's crew. The Mandalorian stood front and center arms crossed and despite the visor, Domdees knew he was grinning. "You-" he spluttered in outrage, "you swindled me!"

Madlyn took an angry step forward causing the Toydarian to flinch backward in alarm. "Actually you tried to swindle us first," she snarled glaring hatefully at the fluttering chef.

Jarek stepped closer as much to keep Madlyn from beating the scum to death as to be able to look the Toydarian in the eye. "You paid us to bring you Black Gobaki and we did," he stated dryly, making it absolutely clear how disappointed he was that the chef had tried to trick them. "You neglected to mention you planned to make a narcotic with them."

"Facilitating drug-runners isn't exactly our style," Slick added not even trying to conceal his conceit.

"And you also forgot to mention the grabworms who killed your last two teams," Tersen spat even as he kept a watchful eye on Gare's condition. Madlyn may have been upset at the Toydarian, but the Lannik was practically murderous. He jerked his head towards the Imperial NonCom, "Of which the nice Imperial helped save us from. So we decided to pay back the kindness all around."

Domdees started to blubber and protest even as the swamptroopers marched him away. Jarek wasn't sure what would happen to the Toydarian in Imperial custody, but it was astonishing how very little he cared. They'd done their job, without dying, made friends with some swamptroopers, without being shot, survived a brood of grabworms, again without dying, and still got paid the credits they were owed. Despite injuries sustained, it had been a... Well, maybe not a good day, but a productive one at least.

The Imperial Sergeant stayed back and stood before Jarek. In a rare show of respect, the noncom removed his helmet. He looked worn and tired; like a man who was in his fifties but in reality only in his thirties. A quality soldier being wasted by the Empire, and yet he still did his duty. As a show of mutual respect, Jarek removed his own helmet.

"The Empire thanks you for your service," the sergeant said. It was a rehearsed line and both men knew it, but Jarek didn't point it out. The Imperial glanced at the box of credits stating, "I'd normally confiscate that money as evidence," he looked up at the crew who seemed to bristle at the notion, "but that would also mean arresting you for possession with the intent to sell harmful substances."

Everyone seemed to shift nervously at the statement. None went for weapons, seeing as the Sergeant was alone and in no position to arrest anyone. Still, the idea of being wanted by the Empire was a worrisome thought.

Slick, however, seemed to be one step ahead of the Sergeant's thinking. "That would detract from the effort you and your men made in apprehending the fugitive, I think," he countered.

"The same men you helped keep alive," he added with a nod, "I won't forget that." He stepped back and placed his helmet back on. "But all the same," he turned and started to follow his troopers, calling over his shoulder, "best you get off-planet." He paused at the edge of the platform turned and added, "Before I remember who sold him the Gobaki."

Onboard the Outcast:

Despite the Imperial's warning, the crew did not leave Toydaria immediately. Not because they wouldn't, but rather they still needed to refuel the ship and load the supplies they'd purchased in the market. Among the new acquisitions were the parts for a Praxon Strato Swoop-bike Slick ordered. Shortly thereafter a mixed batch of cybernetic droid components with accompanying tools arrived for Tersen.

There were also quite a few personal items the crew wanted in order to make the ship feel more "homey" to include changes of clothing, extra bedding, hygiene accouterments, and additional medical and food supplies. Madlyn had even seen Jarek take advantage of their layover to buy what looked like armor/weapon components. Possibly to augment his battle gear. She had to wonder if the Mandalorian ever stopped thinking about the next fight. In the same thought, she wondered how Era might distract him.

That was something she could ask her later, for now, the Alderanni had more important things to do. She'd expected to find Gare in the med-bay only to discover it was empty. Rather the Gank was located in the starboard launch bay which had been retrofitted into the ships new maintenance bay. It seemed Gare's injuries were less of a biological nature and more of a mechanical one.

Gare sat at a workbench, sans armor, his severed left arm propped up on the table. Tersen stood on a stool, work visor on, and tools busy, attaching a brand new prosthetic arm. Madlyn paused at the hatchway, unsure how to proceed. The Lannik was obviously in the middle of delicate work that required the utmost concentration. Likewise, Gare was equally focused on trying to keep himself still while sparks flew not scant inches from his unshielded face.

She was about to leave and try again later when Tersen stopped and stepped away, a satisfied smile on his face. "That should do it," he declared. Gare removed the straps that had kept his limb in place. He stood slowly flexing and twisting his knew appendage experimentally. The Gank nodded appreciatively bending and curling each finger in turn before testing its dexterity by manipulating some of Tersen's tools. It was then they both noticed Madlyn standing off to the side. Before the Alderanni could say a word, Gare nodded wordlessly at Tersen who sighed. "Try not to get this one bit off," he quipped before jumping off the stool and exiting the room.

Madlyn cringed at the jab, knowing she full well deserved it. She looked at Gare who was still nonchalantly testing his new arm. Unsure how to proceed she asked, "So how does it feel?" Gare shrugged but didn't respond. Madlyn felt her embarrassment rise, but continued anyway, "Tersen did good work. How'd he get the replacement so soon?"

"We'd already ordered the spare parts," Gare replied in a flat tone, "before we took Domdees' job."

Once again Madlyn winced at the implication that was made. It was her fault, no matter what Jarek had said, and Gare had paid the price for her mistake. Taking a deep breath she finally said what she came there to say, "Thank you, for saving my life."

Gare paused and finally looked at her. He shrugged again saying, "No big deal."

"Yes, it is," Madlyn stated immediately, "I'm quite partial to living, and you didn't have to go jumping in front of a grabworm so...Thank you."

Gare looked at her tilting his head, ears twitching slightly, and nostrils flaring as the only indication he was processing her words. Finally, he nodded saying, "Your welcome."

"And," Madlyn rung her hand nervously doing everything she could to avoid his gaze and failing, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked cocking his head to one side.

"'For what?'" she repeated a little bewildered at his question. "For being such a hag ever since the pirates." She gestured to his cybernetic eye, "You took a chance, risking your life for all of us, and I treated you like bantha poodoo." She looked back down feeling ashamed as she recalled all the snide remarks and scolding looks she'd given her crewmate over the course of their journey, "So for that I am sorry."

Once again the Gank shrugged, but his eyes seemed to take on a more sympathetic expression. "It's okay," he replied softly, "In your place, I'd have done the same. Trust is a delicate thing." He made a gesture between the two of them and the rest of the ship, "But we do what we need to keep each other alive." He actually smiled, which she found a lot less intimidating without the mask, "That's what family does right?"

"Yes," Madlyn agreed, mirroring his smile with a relieved one of her own, "Yes they do."

Jarek was tinkering with his gauntlets when he heard a heavy tap on his chamber door. He'd only retired for the night a moment prior, having assisted the rest of the crew in loading the supplies. Of course, the first thing they'd all done upon returning to the newly christened Outcast-a name he found smug satisfaction in-they'd all charged the freshers. Freshly scrubbed Jarek decided to utilize his downtime before chow to work on upgrading his gauntlets. The flamethrower had worked perfectly in the field, as had the grappler before it, but a few more enhancements wouldn't go amiss.

He was sitting at the room's tiny work desk, tools and half-assembled parts arrayed before him when the knock came. Jarek gently laid aside his work and went to the door. He'd barely opened it all the way when Era shoved her way in, arms laden with baggage. Before he could utter a word she deposited the bags on the bed before stepping out and retrieving a couple more.

"Era?" he said questionably. The Mirialin rounded on him smiling as innocently as she could. Looking from the bags to her he said, "I'd ask what you were doing but it seems rather obvious."

"Moving in of course," she declared. Presumption aside, Jarek was a little thrown by her boldness. They hadn't talked at all about her moving in. In fact, the only other time it came up they'd argued about it. Though they'd reconciled at the cafe, they actually never agreed to move in together.

"It's..." he started to complain, but at her raised eyebrow he said, "Just so sudden." Era nodded in agreement, but then shrugged in a 'what can you do' gesture. Jarek ran a hand through his hair sighing. "I supposed I can crash in the Rec room until-"

"No." Era stated.

Jarek looked at her curiously. "No?"

"No," she repeated and crossed her arms. Though a blush flared in her cheeks and her breathing had quickened, Era Oldessi stood firm. "You can stay right here with me." Jarek crossed his own arms arching an eyebrow as she continued, "I gave it plenty of thought and it only makes sense that we share a room."

The Mandalorian wondered when exactly she had the time to think about it exactly. Surely not while they were slogging through Toydaria's swamp or fighting for their lives against the grabworms. He held out a hand saying, "By all means explain to me why."

Era blinked and stuttered, surprised by his question, but she quickly regained her composure. "I like you," she stated tilting her chin stubbornly and pointing at herself than at him, "and you obviously like me. And there are no other bunks available on the ship so...why not?"

Jarek sighed rubbing his eyes with two fingers. The woman was going to be the death of him. He could feel it. Meeting her eyes he could see her nervousness as well as her excitement. It had obviously taken a great deal of courage for her to confront him, and in her defense she was right. He did like her and there were no other bunks left on the ship. The only thing he himself was anxious about was the actual living together part.

"I still don't know if this is a good idea," he murmured. By living together they'd have no secrets and no privacy. If either of them had any idiosyncrasy the other found annoying then they'd just have to deal with it.

Her jaw tightened at his words and her eyes narrowed. "Are you too shy is that it?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"No," he replied sharply. Having stood before her on at least two occasions half naked it was a sure thing he wasn't at all bashful, "that's not it at all!"

"Then what is it?" she demanded her eyes drilling into him.

"I-" he stuttered feeling not only the heat creeping into his face but also losing his will to argue with her. He sighed in exasperation before throwing up his arms and exclaiming, "I snore okay?"

Era's jaw dropped and she blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected that answer of all things. Jarek scoffed and gently closed her mouth with a finger. The action seemed to jar her back to the here and now and she composed herself once again.

She sidled up to him close enough for their chests to almost meet. She looked up at him unblinkingly saying, "Well I kick in my sleep."

Jarek sighed leaning forward a bit but replied in a softer voice. "I tend to wake up early and hog the fresher," he stated.

Mischief glinted in the young woman's eyes but she kept her voice stoic. Leaning forward a bit more she stated, "I might leave my clothes out on the floor."

Closing the distance just a bit more, Jarek countered with, "I play mando'ade classics while I work on projects," and he jerked his head towards the workbench for emphasis.

Not to be outdone Era stood on her toes until their noses were almost touching before stating, "I have a ton of books. And I read them aloud." They stared unblinkingly at each other, breaths mingling with one another, as close as they could get without physically touching until Jarek had had enough. Reaching over, he hit the door controls and the door of the room hissed shut.

"Then I guess we better get your things organized," he stated barely above a whisper, his lips barely grazing over hers. He felt her shudder and watched as her eyes glazed over. The blush deepened on each of her cheeks. With that, he smiled and took a step back leaving her standing dumbfounded and flustered. As he grabbed the nearest bag he smirked back at her confused expression stating, "You didn't think it'd be that easy did you?"