Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.
Three Years Later…
...
The cold wind was bitter. It stung at her eyes, forcing Amreen to squint them halfway shut. She pulled her overcoat closer to her body, slowly taking in the barren wasteland around them. The town was small and quaint, a result of the low population density on this planet. Not to mention the hellish weather conditions. She stepped into place next to Din, eyes focusing on the tracking fob in his hand.
He scanned the area in front of them, the fob picking up the asset's presence right away, it was close-in fact, the asset was right ahead of them. The building in question was the only cantina in town. Din stashed the fob into his beltline and tilted his head to look at her. Even with her scarf pulled up over her mouth and nose, Din could still see the red discoloration on her face from the cold. But nothing hinted to him that it bothered her. She never did complain much about where they traveled to. It was all part of the job.
Amreen glanced up at him, blinking away the snowflakes sticking to her eyelashes. She nodded her head in the direction of the bar. Let's get in and out.
The bar was small and barely packed when they entered. Their presence caught everyone's attention. But they were able to spot the asset out of the bunch being manhandled by a few trawlers. One of them called out to them in Huttese. Amreen's knowledge of Huttese was sparse at best, but his tone of voice wasn't the most welcoming. He seemed rather peeved about them being there. He'll be trouble. They simply ignored the trawlers, instead deciding to take their place at the bar counter.
True to her initial thought, the trawlers approached the pair. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the trawler who had called out to them was standing right next to her. She kept her eyes forward, taking notice at how close this man was standing next to her. He didn't know the definition of personal space. He eyed her form and leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath against her face.
Din was quick to notice this. He barely turned his head in the man's direction, he saw the way the trawler was looking at her. It's something he's encountered several times since their partnership started. Other men who would get a little too handsy for their own good. Din learned quickly that she was very capable of handling the situation herself. Still, that knowledge failed to prevent him from flaring up with anger at seeing it happen. The trawler noticed him staring and threw him a deathly glare as a warning. It did nothing to break his gaze. He watched as the man slowly raised his hand to Amreen's face, stroking at her cheek. Din felt his hand twitch, making the move to do something but paused when he saw the other men circling them. They must have noticed his little tick.
Amreen's body tensed at the unwanted attention. The man went to pull down her scarf and her reaction was instantaneous. She gripped his wrist and twisted, a sickening crack coincided with the man's agonized scream. A swift kick to his leg popped his kneecap, and with her hand braced against the back of his neck, she pushed him down until his head made contact with the counter and his body slumped to the floor. A pair of hands grabbed her arm, she pulled out her blaster, whirled around and slammed the butt of her gun against the assailant's head. With a kick to the abdomen, the attacker was incapacitated. There was a cry that garnered her attention. She looked up in time to see one of the trawlers stuck in the door as it slowly closed on them, cutting their body in two. It took a moment to realize that it was Din who committed the act.
Din placed his blaster back into its holster before turning to look at her. He gave her a single nod, You okay? were the unspoken words.
Amreen nodded, following in suit with stashing her blaster back into her holster.
The two focused their attention on the lone Mythrol that the trawlers were harassing upon their arrival. The Mythrol was Din and Amreen's asset. He situated himself into a chair and smiled at them, still somewhat rattled from being heckled. "Thank you for handling that," he motioned casually at the four bodies strewn about the place. "You both have my heartfelt gratitude."
The duo remained silent. It unnerved him to no end. Was he about to get harassed again? "Here, you know what, you both can take my credits-buy yourselves a drink." He said, trying to diffuse the weird energy that was radiating off the duo.
Amreen reached into her pocket, "Don't think that's gonna happen, buddy." She placed the puck down on the table, the bounty for the Mythrol displayed before him.
He hesitated. They were bounty hunters. No wonder they were acting strange around him. His mind got to work quickly, trying to conjure a plan to get out of it. "Is that a bounty puck?" He questioned, no response. "Is that me?"
Trying to play dumb, nice. Amreen thought to herself. A tactic she has encountered hundreds of times, still no less amusing.
"Listen, there must be a mistake, I can get you both more credits-"
"We can bring you in warm," Din warned, his hand moving to the blaster in his beltline. "Or we can bring you in cold."
The Mythrol's eyes moved from Din to Amreen, the latter merely raising her eyebrows at him. She then pointed to the bottom half of the dissected trawler near the door, "I don't think you want to come in cold."
He couldn't fight his way out of this. Given what he just witnessed, it would be suicide to even try. He eyed the puck once more, then his entire body deflated.
Mission accomplished.
Amreen glanced over at Din, her hand reached out towards him, waiting for something, "My turn to cuff."
Din merely stared at her. The corners of her eyes wrinkled the same way they did every time she smiled. With a casual sigh, Din pulled the cuffs out and handed them to her.
Amreen carded a hand through her hair, moving her hand down to the back of her neck. She leaned her head against the headrest, silently listening to the Mythrol talking down in the cargo hold. She couldn't make out everything he was saying. But she did catch onto the words Life Day. Too bad he won't be able to celebrate it.
It suddenly went silent for a brief moment, then the all too familiar hiss of the freezing chamber echoed up from the cargo hold.
"At least that's over with," Amreen checked the controls and flight route, seeing that they were not that far from Nevarro. The sliding doors to the cockpit opened and the sound of footsteps followed soon after. "I'm surprised you dealt with his spiel for that long," she swiveled the pilot seat around so she could face him. Just with the way his shoulders were slumped, she couldn't help but laugh. "You think we should've given him the chance to experience Life Day one last time?" Amreen pulled down the scarf from her face, her smile growing upon doing so.
Under his helmet, Din also smiled, forgetting that she was unable to see it. But she's gotten good with picking up on what he was thinking. He was proven right when she laughed again at his silence.
"I'd say that was our best record for completing more than one bounty." Din never understood why she insisted on keeping tabs on it. She only professed that it was a fun thing to do. How she considered that fun he wasn't exactly sure. But he let her do it, nothing about it ever caused him annoyance. Amreen relinquished the pilot's seat, "We'll be in Nevarro soon." She went to exit the cockpit when Din's voice stopped her.
"Are you okay?" He had wanted to ask her that sooner. But with them having to deal with the Mythrol first, he put it off until now.
"Yes," she furrowed her brows at his question. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"He touched you."
The trawler. Right. "Yeah," she nodded quietly, the strain in his voice made her hesitate. "And he got a broken wrist and a dislocated knee, I'd say the score is settled." She finished with a smile, hoping to ease the tension that suddenly built up in Din's shoulders. "No big deal." Amreen pressed her hand against the side of Din's helmet, a habit she picked up on a few months into their partnership. It didn't take long for Din to explain the situation with his helmet. How he could never take it off, that she would never know what he looked like. Truthfully, it was a little difficult to wrap her mind around at first. Not being able to see her partner's face was rather strange. But she grew used to it rather quickly. To compensate for the literal barrier that was his helmet, she adopted this little habit as a sign of affection. A habit that Din grew rather fond of.
She removed her hand from its place. The disappointment that crossed Din's features conveniently hidden under his helmet. "You hungry?"
"No." The word felt thick when it left his mouth. It left him confused and hoping that she didn't notice. Amreen only offered him a smile before exiting the cockpit much to his relief.
When the Razor Crest touched down on Nevarro, Din had almost forgotten his slip up. It was only when he saw her down in the cargo hold did he feel the tightness in his throat. He simply ignored it as best he could.
When they exited the craft, Amreen took a glance at one of the landing struts. She could spot the minor damage that needed to be corrected. Damn Ravinak. She pulled the scarf back over her mouth and nose, then stepped into place with Din as they entered the town and towards the cantina. It was packed, as usual, the same regulars-other hunters that she recognized. Not particularly friendly with any of them.
Near the far corner of the cantina, Greef Karga sat alone in one of the booths, his attention was on the duo as they approached him. A quite surprised look on his face. "You two finished already?" Din placed the deactivated fobs down onto the table. That was the only answer Greef needed. "I'd say that was record time, I'll start the unloading," he motioned at one of his men, who quickly left the cantina.
Din unhooked the rifle, then motioned for Amreen to take a seat in the booth. She did just that with Din following in suit quickly after.
"No problems on the job?" Greef asked, hoping to spark up a decent conversation.
Din wasn't interested so Amreen took the bait. "No more than usual."
Greef nodded at her answer then fished through his pockets and presented the duo with their payment.
They both eyed the credits silently. "These are Imperial credits." Din pointed out.
"They still spend."
"I don't know if you heard but the Empire is gone."
"It's all I got."
"All you got?" She reached for one of the credits, taking only a moment to inspect it. "What's with the slim forms of payments, Greef?"
The man in question answered her with a small shrug. She tossed the credit back onto the table, unsatisfied with his answer. Din reached for the fobs, intent on walking out with them but Greef was quick to stop him. "Cut the theatrics," a look of dismay briefly crossed his face. "Fine, I can do Calamari Flan but I can only pay half."
Only half. A major cut that didn't sit well with either of them. Din silently regarded her, his head tilting slightly. Better to get half a payment than nothing for a bounty. Amreen nodded in agreement.
"Fine," Din placed the fobs back down, took the payment and stashed it back into his pocket. "We want our next job."
Din's quick aversion was enough to stall Greef. "You know, it would be nice to be able to have a conversation every once in a while."
With the scarf covering her mouth, Amreen was able to smirk without it being noticed. "You know how it is, Greef," she spoke up. "We like to keep busy."
"Yes, I know." He replied, rather despondently. He pulled out a leather pouch full of bounty pucks. "Let's see," he started taking them out one by one. "I've got a bail jumper, a bail jumper, another bail jumper," Greef gave a small noise of surprise, "And a wanted smuggler."
"Great, we'll take them all." Din reached for the pucks, quite eager to get back out on the next job. Greef was quick, placing his hands over the pucks to stop Din from taking them.
"Hold on, there are other members of the guild and this is all I have."
"Why so slow?"
"Not slow it's very busy… they just don't like to pay guild rates. They don't mind if things get a little sloppy."
The statement made Amreen snicker. "And oftentimes, sloppiness leads to problems for guilds and the job never gets done right." Greef couldn't think of anything to combat her words. But it was clear that he wasn't going to budge with giving up the entire bulk. Amreen sighed as she eyed the bounty pucks on the table, her teeth bit down on the bottom lip. "Alright, what's the highest bounty you have then?"
"Five thousand."
The Mandalorian next to her made a small noise. "That won't even cover fuel these days."
"Well, there is one job."
"Let's see the puck."
"No puck. Face to face. Direct commission. Deep pocket."
That made Amreen tick her head to the side. "You're talking a real under the table deal."
"Not like you two haven't dealt with those before." The briefest smirk crossed Greef's face. "All I know is that there's no chain code," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a transponder. "Do you want it or not?"
Greef had been right. Din and Armreen have dealt with underground jobs before. They've met with a fair amount of individuals that unsettled them. But they always got the job done regardless. "Gotta take what we can get," Amreen answered as Din took the transponder from Greef.
"You're right." Greef settled back into the booth, silently watching the duo rise from their place. "Good luck."
They were stood outside a rusted door located down an empty corridor. Not a single soul around them. The location made perfect sense for an underground network. They have dealt with underground bounties before. Still, there was always a gnawing sense of paranoia that ate away at her stomach. They could never know how a meeting with a client would go. A few occasions granted them some bad experiences that they wish to forget. Lessons were learned.
When Din banged on the metal door, Amreen felt her stomach churn. The gatekeeper droid popped out from its place and Din presented the transponder. The droid retreated to its place and the door opened. They were greeted by a lone GNK droid who made way for both of them to enter. It was dark, the place wasn't that well kept up. That was expected from underground networks. The droid led the duo to a second door, they waited for a moment before it finally opened. Amreen's heart nearly stopped at the sight of eight armed stormtroopers, their attention all focused on the two of them.
Din could feel Amreen tense behind him. He gave a gentle tap to her wrist, then took the first step into the room.
She followed, keeping close to him, her eyes scanned over every single stormtrooper, sizing up their height and taking note of their weapons. What the hell were Imperials doing on Nevarro? Ahead of them, sitting at a table, was an older man dressed in dark robes and a medallion of the Imperial emblem hung proudly around his neck. She forced herself to keep a neutral reaction.
"Greef Karga said that you two were coming."
The door behind them closed. Amreen gave a start and turned to look behind her. God, she hated how skittish she felt right now. When meeting Empire remnants, the last thing one would want is to appear scared.
"What else did he say?" Din asked.
"That you two were the best duo in the Guild."
A door opened without warning. The duo had their weapons drawn in a matter of seconds. Amreen had each arm stretched out, aiming her blasters at two stormtroopers at either side. Her eyes bore down on their helmets, daring them to make the first move. She looked forward, seeing a timid man with dark facial hair cowering at the sight of Din's gun aimed at him.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you." His hands were up in defense, showing that he meant no trouble.
"This is Doctor Pershing," the client stood up from the table and rounded it so that he was standing in front of the duo. "His enthusiasm outweighs his discretion." He eyed the weapons in their hands then gestured to them. "Please, lower both of your weapons."
"Tell them to lower theirs first."
"We have you both four to one."
She tightened the grip on her blasters and straightened her aim more, "We've had worse odds."
The client ventured closer. Eventually, his hand found its way to her wrist. An unwelcome touch that caused her to glare him down. "Greef Karga told me that you both are expensive… very expensive, please sit." The older man motioned for the troopers to lower their weapons as he went to take his seat at the table.
Amreen scanned the group before them, watching as each of them lowered their aims. Once every weapon was down, she slowly placed her blasters back into their holster. Her heart continued to pound within her chest, it should've calmed her down-the troopers lowering their weapons. But they were in the company of remaining members of the Empire. That was an unsettling fact she couldn't seem to shake off.
Despite the gnawing instinct to leave the room, Amreen took up one of the empty seats, trying to minimize eye contact with the client as much as possible. Being in this room with Imperial remnants was enough to bring back that sense of dread. The loss. The pain. The grief. All the people she had lost. Sitting here in negotiations with the Imps made her feel like she was betraying her loved ones. Belittling everything that they had stood for. Of course, she lost her rights to those ideals when she abandoned her home. She turned her back on her family to travel through the galaxy with a new identity. Still, she thought about them almost every day. Wondering if any of them were still alive, how were they managing? Did any of them start families of their own? Questions that she's asked herself plenty of times but never dared to find out for herself.
"We can only provide you with a tracking fob."
Amreen had been engrossed in her thoughts, she missed the first part of the negotiations. She remembered watching the client hand out a steel block. It was called… Beskar, she finally remembered. The doctor who had entered earlier carefully approached her. Her head snapped in his direction, she eyed the fob in his hand before taking it from him.
"What's the chain code?" Din asked.
"We can only provide you with the last four digits."
Amreen absentmindedly handed the fob over to Din, her attention on the conversation was still hazy. She ignored the fact that Din had stared at her for a good moment. No doubt he would bring this up once they've left. She watched him mess around with his vambrace, reading through the data given from the fob.
"Their age?" Din questioned. "That's all you're going to give us?"
That was… odd. Why so discrete? Why such sparse information? Who the hell was this asset they were being hired to track down?"
"They are fifty-years-old, we can also give you the last recorded position of data. That combined with your skills, you two should make quick work of this."
The door behind them opened, two of the stormtroopers were on either side of them. It was time for them to go and Amreen wasn't going to be told twice. She stood from her seat, went to leave when the client spoke up again.
"Don't forget the other half of your down payment." He pointed to the brown pouch sitting on the table.
Right. Truthfully, she had completely forgotten about the payment. Amreen eyed the client silently, feeling his eyes glaring her down. She swallowed hard, grabbed the pouch from the table and turned for the exit.
"The Beskar belongs back into the hands of a Mandalorian. It is good to restore the natural order of things after a period of such disarray, don't you agree?"
They both stopped in front of the open door. Amreen barely turned her head to look at Din. The tension in his shoulders had returned. The words had struck a chord in him. She took a gentle hold of his wrist, letting go when he gave her the briefest look. Then, she led them out of the building.
"I'll meet you back at the ship." Amreen started off from Din, not wanting to give him the chance to question what had happened to her back there. He didn't object or try to stop her, which was a relief. It was a small moment of weakness on her part. She was better than that and she promised herself that it would never happen again. First stop, the marketplace to stock on more necessities. The transaction was quick, Tarin always had what she needed ready to go. Perks of being a regular.
With the purchase in hand, Amreen made the short trek back to the Razor Crest. After depositing the items in their place, she rummaged through the tool pouch and went to work on the damaged landing strut. It wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. It was a matter of replacing the screws and realigning the arms. The work was easy which didn't make her happy. She had hoped it would preoccupy her mind rather than the guilt that was currently eating away at her. Ever since leaving home, she had done a great job of avoiding Empire remnants. Now, she was going to perform a job for them. She has stooped low. Granted, becoming a bounty hunter was low enough. But this was different. If she had known they were Empire, she would've tried to convince Din to not take the job.
"It's too late now," she whispered to herself. Besides a job was a job, the payment was what mattered. It's how she has been able to survive in this mess of a world. That was her justification for going along with it.
Amreen finished up the repairs, gathered the tools and retreated onto the ship. She wiped the tools clean before putting them away. The brown pouch was sitting on one of the containers where she had left it upon returning to the ship. She allowed herself to check over the credits, a little surprised at how much they had given. And this was just the down payment. Her stomach twisted at what the full payment would be.
It's money from the Empire's pocket, she paused and huffed out a sigh. A job was a job, regardless of who the client was. It's what she signed up for when she became a bounty hunter. Stop overthinking it.
Footsteps came up the ramp behind her. She turned, giving Din a quick smile though she was quick to notice the shiny new pauldron. "That's nice," she pointed at his shoulder. "Made with the Beskar he gave you?"
Din nodded.
"Good. Well, I fixed the damage done on the landing strut, it wasn't too bad actually." She nervously messed with the pouch in her hand "I stocked up on some supplies so we'll be good for a few runs."
"Good." Din remained still, his visor staring her down which was starting to annoy her. "What happened back there... with the client?"
"Nothing." Perhaps the most unconvincing answer she could've given him. She saw him tilt his head to the side and she threw her head back wich was followed by a sigh. "We were in a room full of Empire remnants, excuse me for being a little on edge." She tied the pouch closed, the feeling of his eyes on her was ever-present. "And Greef didn't think to share that little detail with us."
"He probably did us a favor by not saying anything."
Right. She highly doubted it was him doing them a favor.
"There's something else, that can't be the only reason why," Din said slowly.
"Can we please talk about this later?" They had a job to do and she'd rather get it done quickly. She turned to the latter but paused to look back at him. "In fact, how about we never talk about it again because it's not a big deal, okay?"
Din merely regarded her for a moment but shrugged in compliance. He brushed past her and started up the ladder but not until he muttered one word. "Fine."
A/N: The next chapter is when the duo finds little baby yoda! Ah, can't wait to write it all out! Let me know what you all thought!