A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter will go in a slightly different direction than the actual episode it corresponds with. I'll explain why at the end.
Music: "Welcome Back" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
The Razor Crest flew into a space hangar, landing in a messy area filled with machinery. Mando opened the hatch, and he, Dredd, and Ryan walked out, surveying the area. All around them was machinery, most of it broken, with workers doing their best to repair it.
"Mando!"
The trio turned their heads to the left, seeing a man with a long white beard and hair strutting over to them.
"Is that you under that bucket?"
"Ran." Mando nodded, reaching out and shaking the older man's hand.
"Didn't think I'd see you in these parts again." Ran murmured, as he glanced over at Joseph and Ryan. "You pick up some new friends?"
"Something like that." Dredd muttered. Ran shrugged, as he led them all through the hangar.
"You know, I was a bit surprised you reached out to me." Ran mumbled. "What with the guild and all…"
"I'll be fine." Mando interrupted, as they walked up a catwalk. "What's the job?"
Ran smirked, stopping for a moment.
"One of our associates got caught by our competitors. We're getting him out."
"What did he do?" Dredd asked.
"Sorry, no questions asked." Ran shrugged. "That's our policy here."
Behind his visor, Joseph narrowed his eyes in suspicion, before they all continued to walk.
"Anyway, I'm putting together a team. Five man job, and I need a ride. And, well… you brought it." Ran grinned.
"The Crest wasn't part of the deal." Mando grimaced.
"The Crest is the reason why I let you back in." Ran revealed, before walking off. Dredd and Mando gave each other a look, knowing what each other was thinking despite their respected helmets, and followed the old man.
Ran led the three of them towards a bald man in a black shirt, who appeared to be cleaning his blasters.
"Hey, Mayfeld!"
"Yeah?" the bald man, Mayfeld, looked up, seeing the newcomers.
"This is the guy I was telling you about."
"Seriously?" Mayfeld frowned. "This is the guy?"
"Yeah, we were young, trying to make a name for ourselves..." Ran's voice trailed off for a moment. "But working with a Mandalorian bought us some reputation."
"And what'd he get out of it?" Mayfeld asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.
"Target practice… or so he said." Ran chuckled.
"And his buddies?" Mayfeld inquired, looking Dredd and Ryan up and down. Ran frowned, turning to look at Joe and his son.
"Sorry, I don't think I got your names-"
"Dredd." Joseph bluntly interrupted. He considered throwing out the name Butcher, but then, this was a completely different universe. He doubted using his real name in front of criminals would matter.
"And I'm Ryan." Butcher spoke up.
"Pleasure." Mayfeld grunted, beginning to walk away. Ran began to chuckle, turning to speak to Mando.
"He's running point on this job. Anything he says, take it like it's coming from me." the old man ordered. "He's one of the best shooters I've seen. Former Imperial sniper."
"That's not saying much." Mando muttered, causing Ryan to snicker.
"I wasn't a stormtrooper, wise-ass!" Mayfeld shouted, looking over his shoulder.
"Not that there's much difference." Ryan smirked. Ran sighed, clapping Mando on the back and leading him away, prompting Dredd and Ryan to follow them back towards the ship.
Music: "The Gang" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
"That's the Razor Crest?"
Mayfeld looked up at the Mandalorian's ship, rolling his eyes at how primitive it looked.
"The damn thing's a Canto Bight slot machine."
The four began walking towards the ship, just as a red skinned creature with horns entered their peripheral vision, carrying a heavy crate.
"Okay, the one with the horns is Burg." Mayfeld called out, pointing to the alien. "This may surprise you, but he's our muscle."
Burg dropped the crate and lumbered over to them, sizing Mando up.
"So this is a Mandalorian." Burg grunted, walking around the warrior. "I thought they'd be bigger."
Mayfeld pursed his lips in annoyance, before pointing to a gray colored droid with large eyes.
"The droid's name is Zero."
"I thought you said you had four." Mando growled in a low voice. The sudden shift of tone was not lost on Dredd or Ryan.
"He does."
Mando turned around, seeing a blue skinned twi'lek sauntering up to everyone else.
"Hello Mando." the female alien smiled, showing rows of sharp teeth.
"Xi'an." the Mandalorian replied begrudgingly.
"Tell me why I shouldn't cut you down where you stand." Xi'an said slyly, as she lunged at Mando with a knife. She was only stopped however, when Dredd reached out, catching her arm.
"You'll die before you cut him." the Judge told her.
"And who's this?" Xi'an sneered. Mando looked over to Dredd, slightly shaking his head. Joseph wore a grim expression, but let go of the woman.
"Oh, I've missed you." Xi'an laughed. The crew stayed silent, until Mayfeld cleared his throat.
"Do we need to leave the room?"
"No. I'm all business now." Xi'an said reassuringly, before pointing her knife at Mando. "I learned from the best."
Mayfeld audibly exhaled, looking back at the ship.
"So, the package is being moved on a fortified transport ship."
The mercenary pulled out a small device, and a blue hologram of a ship materialized.
"We have a limited window to find our friend, and get him out before we make the jump."
Dredd took a closer look at the ship, narrowing his eyes.
"Your man was arrested." Joseph realized, looking up at Mayfeld in anger. "You want to break him out."
"He's right." Mando agreed. "That's a New Republic cruiser. He wasn't taken by a rival syndicate."
"Is there a problem with that?" Mayfeld asked smugly. "A job is a job."
"That's a maximum security transport. I'm not looking for that kind of heat." Mando protested.
"Neither are we, so don't screw it up." Ran told him, before glancing at Dredd and Ryan. "You either."
"When did we become a part of this?" Ryan asked.
"You're here, aren't you?" Xi'an reasoned. "Besides, the ship's manned by droids. You still hate machines, right Mando?"
The Mandalorian glared at the twi'lek, but said nothing.
"We'll have to fly high up above the transport to get in their blindspot." Mayfeld continued, showing a hologram of a red line zigzagging above the New Republic ship, before touching down on top. "Then, your ship can scramble our signal."
"It's not possible." Mando announced.
"Of course it is." Ran smirked. "We'll have Zero fly."
"How can you trust it?" Mando asked angrily.
"Come on, Mando." Ran grinned. "You know I don't trust anyone."
The crew finished their briefing, and they all boarded the Razor Crest, with Mando, Dredd, and Ryan being the last to walk up the ramp.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Ryan murmured to Dredd.
"That makes two of us." Joe agreed, just as Mando closed the ramp, and the ship flew out of the hangar.
Music: "Greatest Warriors In The Galaxy" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
While the Mandalorian went straight toward the cockpit, Dredd and Ryan stayed in the hold with Burg, Mayfeld, and Xi'an. As the twi'lek tried to balance a knife on her fingertip, Burg simply paced around the ship, pushing any button he saw. Eventually, Joe had enough, and reached out and grabbed his wrist, just before the creature opened up the armory. Burg narrowed his eyes, growling at the Judge, but he was soon joined by Ryan, whose eyes suddenly began flickering red.
"Hey, hey, okay, I get it." Mayfeld suddenly called out. "I'm a bit particular about my friends' stuff too. So how about we just do this job, and you guys and Mando don't have to see our faces ever again."
"Works for me." Dredd muttered, letting go of Burg's wrist.
"Who the Hell are you, anyway?" Burg asked condescendingly.
"I'm a Judge." Joseph simply stated, as he sat down in one of the hold's chairs. Ryan shot the horned alien a glare, beginning to see a slight resemblance to someone else he knew, before joining his stepfather.
"Uncle Joe…" the supe murmured. "Doesn't he look a bit like Schoonover?"
"Who?" Dredd frowned, looking toward Burg.
"Colonel Schoonover." Ryan repeated. "Wasn't he Frank's CO, and the guy that swore Millie into the Marines?"
Dredd squinted his eyes, just now remembering the man. As it turned out, they'd also met Schoonover outside the white house, before the Boys killed Homelander. Schoonover was also one of the funerals they went to six months ago, after hearing that several of Frank Castle's friends were murdered.
"Yeah." Joe admitted, staring at Burg in confusion. "How's that possible?"
"Well, this was possible." Ryan reasoned, indicating they were technically in a fictional universe. "Maybe he's some kind of doppelganger."
Before Dredd could say anything else, Mando climbed down into the hold, standing right in front of Burg.
"Why do we need a Mandalorian anyway?" the red skinned creature asked loudly.
"Well, apparently, they're supposed to be the best." Mayfeld shrugged.
"Then why are they all dead?" Burg pressed, earning laughter from Mayfeld and Xi'an.
"Why don't you tell us, Xi'an?" Mayfeld turned towards the twi'lek. "You've been with him before. He as good as they say?"
"Ask him about the job on Alzoc-3." Xi'an responded, still fixated on balancing her knife. The Mandalorian glared at her, before turning his head away.
"I did what I had to do."
Oh, but you liked it." Xi'an goaded. "I know who you really are, Mando-"
"That's enough." Dredd declared, glaring at the twi'lek. Mayfeld stared at the Judge quizzically, looking between him and Mando.
"So he never takes the helmet off, huh?"
"This is the way." Xi'an said mockingly, earning a chuckle from Mayfeld.
"I wonder what he looks like." the merc mumbled. "Maybe he's a gungan. Is that why yousa don't wanna show your face?"
Burg and Xi'an guffawed from Mayfeld's gungan impression, while Mando and Dredd stayed silent. Even Ryan suddenly snickered, trying to keep in a laugh.
"What about you, 'Dredd'?" Mayfeld asked, looking over to Joseph. "Why don't you take off your helmet, so we can see the rest of you?"
"Negative." Joe muttered, noticing the ire from the rest of the crew.
"I'll take it off!" Burg announced, lumbering towards the Judge. Just as he got within reach, Dredd kicked out, slamming both boots into the giant's chest and making him stumble back. Burg growled in annoyance, preparing to rush forward, by Mando threw back and elbow, making him stumble back again and accidentally press a button. A secret compartment opened up, revealing a small creature with green skin and long pointy ears. The Child.
"Whoa, what the Hell is that?" Mayfeld asked, standing up and approaching the baby. "Some kinda pet or something?"
"Something like that." Mando muttered, as Mayfeld got closer.
"Didn't think you were the type." the ex-Imperial slyly grinned, reaching over to pick the Child up. Before he could, Ryan lunged foward, grabbing his wrists and pulling away.
"Don't do that." Butcher scolded, just as Zero's voice sounded throughout the ship.
"Jumping out of hyperspace, now."
The ship jolted forward, making everyone grab part of the walls to not fly around.
"Commencing final approach, now."
The Crest pitched forward, throwing everyone around, though Ryan kept his grip on the baby.
"Cloaking signal, now. Engaging coupling, now."
After a straight minute of the ship jerking around, they all finally felt the floor calmly land on top of the New Republic transport.
"Coupling confirmed. We are down. And relax. Commence extraction now."
"Damn droid didn't even give us a proper countdown." Xi'an grumbled, while Burg and Mayfeld got their bearings. Meanwhile, Ryan handed the Child back to Mando, who placed him back in the storage compartment.
"Z, you sure they can't see us?" Mayfeld asked through his comms.
"The Razor Crest's cloaking signal is active, and I am inside the prison system." Zero confirmed. "It's impressive this gunship survived the Empire without being impounded."
"Great, we got a job to do." Mayfeld announced, turning to the Mandalorian. "Mando, you're up."
Mando nodded, pulling out a tubular device and opening the hatch on the floor. He stuck the tube past the grate, waiting for the device to blink green, and the hatch of the transport opened up to them. Mayfeld was the first to climb down, followed by Xi'an, then Burg. Mando stepped forward, but felt a hand clamp on his shoulder. The warrior looked over his shoulder, seeing Dredd staring at him.
"I'm going with you."
"What?" Mando asked in surprise.
"A friend of mine taught me the importance of always having someone's back. Battle Buddies, he called it." Joseph explained. "I don't trust them."
Mando slowly nodded, while Joe looked back to Ryan.
"Stay here. Make sure the droid doesn't try anything."
Butcher wore an annoyed look, but nevertheless nodded, and Mando jumped down the hatch, followed soon after by Dredd. They both landed quietly on the floor of a clean white hallway, where Mayfeld, Burg, and Xi'an were already waiting.
Music: "Little Mousey" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
"Okay, we're on the clock." Mayfeld reminded everyone. "When we engage those droids, they're gonna be all over us."
"I know the drill." Mando grumbled, just as Zero's voice echoed in their comms.
"Activating bio-trackers. I've got eyes."
"Alright, let's go." Mayfeld muttered, and the group began running down the halls. Along the way, Dredd looked at several cells, noticing aliens of different images. A blue furred creature with four arms. A bald man in a green Imperial uniform. A pale, bald woman with dark tattoos on her head.
"I don't like this." Mando murmured, as they continued walking.
"You were always paranoid." Xi'an snickered, while Mayfeld got spooked by an ugly looking being with droopy ears.
"Approaching the control room. Make a left at juncture." Zero announced. The group turned left… only to find a small, rectangular droid on wheels.
"Aw, just a little mousey." Burg grinned, pulling out a blaster and shooting the tiny machine.
"Burg, no!" Mayfeld shouted. "What the Hell are you doing?"
At that moment, five humanoid droids turned the corner, carrying blasters.
"Stop! By order of the New Republic!"
"Drokk!" Dredd shouted, as everyone took cover between the cells. Joseph pulled out his Lawgiver, staring at the display screen.
"Armor piercer."
The gun electronically hummed, and Dredd peeked out from behind cover, rapidly squeezing the trigger, while the rest of the crew fired their blasters. Five bullets were expended, each hitting one of the droids' heads, until it eventually popped off from the diamond tipped rounds.
Joe grimaced, realizing if he continued firing, he'd waste all his ammo, and hid behind cover again. A hi-ex wouldn't do enough damage, unfortunately. Incendiary might, but it'd run the risk of also harming himself and the crew in this tight space.
"Mando-"
Dredd looked over his shoulder, only to find the Mandalorian wasn't there anymore.
"I knew it!" Mayfeld shouted. "He's just a coward!"
Suddenly, Mando appeared from the other end of the hallway, pulling out a knife and rushing forward. Just as the droids began to turn around, the Mandalorian slashed his blade across their legs, sending them to the ground, and firing some type of bolt from his wrist to instantly disable one of the droids. With his other wrist, Mando shot out a cable that wrapped around another droid's neck, pulling back to pop the head off and crash into its companion next to him. Finally, Mando scooped up one of the blasters, firing at the droids and blowing out fist sized chunks of metal from their heads.
With the guards destroyed, Dredd and the rest of the crew emerged from hiding, surveying the hall.
"Good work." Mayfeld complemented, moving towards the control room. "Just clean up your mess."
"It seems security has been alerted to your location." Zero informed. "Rerouting alert away."
Mayfeld led the crew down the hall towards the control room, activating his comms.
"Z, open the door!"
"But I'm detecting an organic life signature-"
"Yeah, just open the damn door!"
Dredd frowned from what the droid said on the comms. Organic life? As in, human-
The door opened up, revealing a stunned man in a blue uniform and white helmet. The moment he saw the small band, he jumped up, pulling out a blaster.
"Just stop right there!"
Mayfeld chuckled, beginning to walk around the man.
"Nice shoes." the merc snickered, while Xi'an sat in one of the command chairs. "Matches his belt."
"There were only supposed to be droids on this ship." Mando said accusingly, while everyone except Dredd pointed their guns at the man.
"Hold on. Let's see… cell 221." Mayfeld murmured, ignoring Mando and looking over the ship's logs. "Okay, now for our well dressed friend-"
Music: "Tracking Beacon" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
The man suddenly pulled out a small device with an antennae. It only took a second for Dredd to realize it was an alarm of some kind.
"Whoa, easy. Put that down."
"What is that?" Joseph asked.
"Tracking beacon." Mayfeld explained. "He presses that, we're all done. New Republic hones in on us, and blows us all to Hell."
"Easy. No one has to get hurt." Mando told the man. He began to stammer, forcing Dredd to step forward.
"Let's talk." Joseph announced, holstering his Lawgiver. "What's your name?"
"D-Daven." the man stammered.
"Okay. Daven. We're not here for you, we're here for a prisoner." Mando told him. "If you let us go about our job, you can walk away with your life."
"No he won't." Mayfeld frowned, pointing his blaster at Daven. Mando suddenly shifted his blaster towards the former Imperial, prompting Dredd to join in.
"You realize what you'll bring down on us?" Mando asked coldly.
"This isn't what I signed up for." Joe added.
"You think I care about either of that?" Mayfeld challenged.
"We're not going to kill anyone." Mando told him, as Mayfeld's shoulder turret opened to point a second blaster at him.
"Get that blaster out of my face, Mando."
Meanwhile, Burg stepped forward, but Mando pointed his wrist at him, while Dredd kept his gun on Mayfeld. Out of the corner of his eye, Joe noticed Xi'an preparing to throw a knife, and thinking quickly, pushed Daven to the ground. The knife whizzed by, embedding itself into Burg's shoulder.
"Crazy twi!" Mayfeld shouted, as Mando kicked him back into a control panel. Dredd aimed his gun at the twi'lek, but Burg suddenly bull rushed him, pushing him into the controls.
"Let's see your face, Dredd!" the red alien cackled, grabbing Joe by his visor. Joseph grimaced, bringing up his Lawgiver and pointed it at the creature's chest and pulling the trigger. Two armor piercing rounds shot out, going straight through Burg's chest and making him stumble back. Without hesitation, Dredd aimed for the forehead and fired, watching as a small hole appeared between Burg's eyes, causing green blood to drip out.
While Burg's body crumpled to the ground, Xi'an began throwing her knives at the Mandalorian, forcing him to hold up his arms for protection. The blades bounced harmlessly off the beskar armor, as Mando surged forward, pulling out his own knife and slashing her forearm, before stabbing up through her chin.
"Holy-" Mayfeld's eyes widened, darting his eyes between Dredd and Mando. As he tried to figure out who to shoot, Joseph fired another armor piercing round, blowing off his shoulder turret, before Mando punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.
"Good work." Dredd nodded, as he went to check on Daven.
"You too." Mando murmured, glancing down at Mayfeld's body. "Is he alright?"
"Yeah." Joe confirmed, helping Daven up. Unfortunately, he noticed the beacon he was holding was not blinking a dark orange.
"I'm sorry." Daven apologized. "I hit it when I went down. I can't stop it."
"How long do we have?" Mando asked.
"At best, twenty minutes."
"Maybe we can use this." Dredd suggested, gingerly taking the beacon and putting it in his belt. "For now, we need to find the prisoner."
Daven slowly nodded, as he made his way to the controls and unlocked cell 221. Dredd nodded a thanks, as he and Mando picked up Mayfeld's body and made their way down the halls, coming across the cell. Upon opening the door, they found the prisoner inside was a twi'lek that looked exactly like Xi'an.
"Is that-" Dredd was about to ask, but was interrupted.
"Xi'an's sister." Mando confirmed, dropping Mayfeld's body unceremoniously. "Hello, Qin."
"Mando." Qin sneered, looking down at Mayfeld. "You killed the others."
"They got what they deserved." Mando said coolly, nudging Mayfeld's body into the cell.
"But if you kill me, you won't get your money." Qin pointed out. "Whatever Ran promised you, I'll make sure you get more."
Dredd and Mando gave each other a look, before turning back to the male twi'lek.
"You were paid to do a job, right?" Qin reasoned, holding out his hands. "So do it."
Back in the Razor's Crest, Ryan kept an eye on the Child, when he suddenly heard Zero's voice via his superhearing.
"Mayfeld, it appears that two life signatures have been deactivated. I take it your double cross with Mando failed?"
Ryan narrowed his eyes, quickly making his way up to the cockpit to find Zero staring at the screens.
"Mayfeld, are you there-"
"What was that about your double cross?" Ryan asked, staring at the droid in suspicion. Zero stood up, turning around to throw a punch, but Ryan reached out, grabbing the metal appendage and ripping it off with ease, before grabbing the droid's head and firing laser beams from his eyes. Because they were in the ship's cockpit, Ryan had to be careful to tone the intensity down, making sure to not cut through the metallic head and only fry the internal wires and circuits.
Once Zero's head was cooked, Ryan dropped the droid's body to the floor, just as Dredd, Mando, and a male twi'lek in a tan undershirt arrived, looking up at the supe.
"You took care of the others?" Ryan asked.
"Yes." Mando nodded. "Zero?"
"Destroyed." Butcher confirmed. The corners of Dredd's mouth tugged up into a grin, as Mando climbed up and entered the cockpit, moving Zero's body and sitting in the pilot's chair. With a few button presses and a lever switch, the Razor Crest detached from the transport, blasting off into hyperspace towards Ran.
Music: "Mando's Back" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
Minutes laster, the Crest exited hyperspace, flying towards Ran's space station, a hunk of metal with a rod trailing downward, floating in the middle of space. The ship landed in the same hangar as before, and Ran watched, as the landing pad opened up to reveal Mando, Dredd, and Ryan, with Qin in front of them.
"Where are the others?" Ran asked curiously, while Qin marched forward and hugged his old friend.
"No questions asked." Mando told him. "That's the policy, right?"
"Yeah, that's the policy." Ran agreed.
"I did the job."
"Yes you did." Ran nodded, tossing a bag full of credits to Mando.
"Just like the good old days." the Mandalorian mused, before he, Dredd, and Ryan, walked back up the ramp, closed the Crest, and returned to the cockpit, where the Child was waiting.
"Nice work in planting the tracker on Qin." Mando complimented, sitting in the pilot's chair and preparing to jump to lightspeed.
"He would've tried to kill you even after you got the job done." Dredd shrugged, just as three X-wing fighters appeared. While the fighters began firing at the space station, Mando made the jump to lightspeed, before pulling a silver ball off of one of the levers.
"Told you that was a bad idea." Mando addressed the Child, before handing the ball to him. Ryan smirked, seeing the baby happily play with the ball, while Dredd stared off into space, as the ship entered lightspeed and flew away.
Mega City One
2118
Becca Butcher frowned, staring at the digital clock in her family's apartment. Joe should've been home right now. In fact, so should Ryan. Where were they?
As Becca continued to ponder, she heard a slight beeping noise from the counter, and upon turning her head, saw that it was coming from a small communications device, black in color. Butcher's frown deepened, as she walked over to the counter, picked up the device, and activated it once she placed it in her ear.
"Joe, you there?" Frank Castle's gruff voice asked.
"Frank? Is that you?" Becca asked. "Joe's not here right now."
"Fuck. Do you know when he might?"
"He and Ryan were supposed to be home an hour ago…" Becca's voice trailed off.
"Whenever he does get back, tell him to turn on his communicator." Frank requested. "I tried reaching him three times, and he won't answer."
"Yes, of course, Frank." Becca nodded, before ending the communication. Joseph usually had his earpiece turned on. Why would it be off now? Unless…
"He's missing." Becca realized.
A/N: Originally, I was going to skip over this chapter entirely, because I saw it as nothing but filler for season 1. In fact, I thought episodes 5 and 6 of season 1 were just filler, no matter how great they were. Only problem was, Fennic from episode 5 returns to help out Boba Fett and the heroes in season 2, while Mayfeld returns in the penultimate episode. So my hands were kind of tied. But, because Dredd and Mando saved the New Republic soldier, they won't be given trouble. Which will move the story along a bit quicker later in this story.
Anyway, the next chapter might or might not be the final two episodes combined. I haven't started writing them yet, so I'm still deciding.
Take care and stay safe out there.