A/N: Sorry for the delay. Life through a few curveballs at me, and now I'm plowing through writer's block. Not sure if it'll show in this chapter, but if it does, sorry in advance.
Music: "The Mandalorian" from The Mandalorian Season 1 OST
Once the Mandalorian, Dredd, and Ryan returned to Mos Espa, it was long past dark, with the air getting colder. Joseph dismounted the speeder bike outside a cantina, and he, Mando, and Butcher walked in, finding the mechanic sitting at a corner table, playing cards with a large insectoid alien. Joe raised an eyebrow, realizing it looked like a gigantic ant, with glowing yellow eyes.
"Well, looks like someone's walking home with nothing." the old woman grinned, much to the alien's displeasure. The small group approached her, causing her to look up and scowl.
"So you found another Mandalorian, and you killed him?"
Dredd looked over to Mando, seeing him hold onto the set of green armor.
"He wasn't Mandalorian." Din told her. "But no, I bought the armor from him."
"And what'd you give him in return?"
"Killed a krayt dragon for him." Mando shrugged. "But that was my only lead."
The insectoid began speaking in a series of clicks, causing the mechanic to raise an eyebrow.
"Well, you might be in luck." the old woman grinned. "Doctor Mandible here says who knows someone who can help, but only if you cover him this round."
"What's the pot?" Mando asked.
"Um… five hundred."
"That's high stakes."
"Yeah, but he's on a hot streak." the mechanic lied. Joe rolled his eyes behind his helmet, before fishing several credits from his belt.
"Here."
The Judge dropped the credits onto the table, earning the ire of both card players.
"Hey, I told you before, I won't take those!"
Dredd glared at the old woman, while Mando audibly sighed.
"For kriff's sake."
The Mandalorian took out his own credits, placing them on the table, just as the mechanic laughed.
"Ha! Idiot's array! Pay up, Thorax!"
Doctor Mandible spoke in his language again, sounding annoyed, as did Mando.
"I thought you said he was on a hot streak."
"Oh quit your crying." the mechanic said casually. "You'll rust!"
Mandible continued speaking, making the old woman pause for a moment.
"Okay, he says the contact will rendezvous at the hangar. They'll tell you where to find the Mandalorians. That is what you want, right?"
"Yes." Mando nodded.
"See, quit your moping!" the mechanic chastised, as they all walked out of the cantina. "Oh, did you save any of that dragon meat? Because it better not have maggots on it. I hate maggots…"
Half an hour later, Dredd and Mando watched the chunk of dragon meat getting cooked by a ship engine, while Ryan sat down next to the Child.
"Okay, there's a Mandalorian covert in this sector, with one system trailing." the mechanic announced to everyone, walking into the hangar.
"Did they leave Navarro?" Mando asked, remembering what had happened a week prior.
"Don't know. But the contact will lead you to them." the old woman shrugged.
"What's the cost?" Din inquired.
"That's the great thing: it's free." the mechanic smiled. "Except… they want passage to the system. And no hyperdrive."
"No. Deal's off." Mando quickly said. "Going fast is the only thing keeping me safe, I can't go sublight."
"Well, these are mitigating circumstances."
"What do you mean, 'mitigating'?" Dredd asked, joining in. The woman said nothing, as a short creature, appearing to have a face like a frog, walked into the hangar, with a glass canister slung on her back. Inside were what looked like a dozen eggs, submerged with a clear fluid.
"Those are her children." the mechanic explained. "She needs her eggs to fertilize by the equinox, or else her line will end. Going into lightspeed will kill them. Now, her husband has settled on the estuary moon of Trask, in the system of Kol Iben."
"She told you that?" Ryan frowned.
"Sure did." the mechanic nodded. "I vouch for her on my life."
"And she's sure there are Mandalorians there." Mando raised an eyebrow behind his helmet.
"Yes. Her husband's seen them."
Mando, Ryan, and Dredd stared at each other, before the beskar wearing fighter let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine." Din decided, beckoning the frog creature towards them. "Let's get going."
Moments later, Mando was sitting in the cockpit of the Razor Crest, with Dredd, Ryan, and their new passenger right behind him.
"You stay strapped in." Din ordered, as he tightened his own safety straps in his chair. "Travelling sublight is a bit dicey these days. Whether it's pirates or warlords, someone always ends up with a big chunk of change, or your ship."
"You're not wrong." Dredd mumbled, as he and Ryan readjusted their straps. With a few taps on the controls, a navigation screen was pulled up, with a red line leading to what Ryan assumed was the moon Trask.
"Okay, I've charted a course." Mando declared. "I'm heading to the rack to get some rest. It's going to be a long ride."
The frog creature slowly closed her eyes, prompting Dredd and Ryan to do the same. Meanwhile, Mando climbed down the ladder to the lower deck, picking up the wandering Child and placing them in their resting compartment, pausing only to shut the door behind them, and quickly fell asleep.
Mando woke up some time later, hearing a beeping alarm. He quickly opened the rack's compartment, grabbed the Child, and climbed back up the ladder, joining Dredd, Ryan, and the frog alien in the cockpit to see a giant blue planet getting closer.
"Looks like we made it." Din mumbled, sitting in the pilot's seat. "Steady… here we go."
Trask
The ship slowly descended into the planet's atmosphere, aiming for one of the landing pads. Ryan took a closer look, noticing that the entire planet appeared to be an ocean, with various villages and towns surrounding it.
"Razor Crest, you are clear to land." a female's voice sounded over the ship's comms.
"Thank you." Mando replied, just as they landed onto one of the platforms. Everyone unbuckled from their seats, with the frog slinging the container of eggs onto her back, and they all exited the ship, walking onto a wet dock populated by a dozen Quarren, humanoid aliens with squid-like tentacles protruding from their mouths. One such alien, having a squid like head and orange eyes, walked right up to them.
"You need some repairs?"
"Only fuel." Din told him, handing him a few credits. The frog looked around for a moment, before seeing her husband at the other end of the docks. The two creatures called out to each other, meeting at the middle and hugging warmly, while the three humans waited patiently.
Once their embrace ended, the frog's husband turned to Mando, excitedly shaking his hand.
"You're welcome." Djarin said gruffly. "I was told you could lead me to more of my kind."
The frog man nodded, turning around and pointing to a small building within the city. To Dredd and Ryan, it looked like a pub of some sort.
"The inn? Over there?" Mando asked aloud. The alien nodded, and he and his wife began walking toward the inn, with Dredd, Mando, and Ryan following close behind. While walking, Din noticed a woman wearing a black cloak and hood, eyeing them from afar, but before he could take a good look at her, she vanished among the crowd. Behind his helmet, the Mandalorian formed his mouth in a grim line, as they all entered the inn.
Inside, the frog creatures pointed to a mon calamari alien, speaking in their native language. The calamari, having a large, orange colored squid-like head, nodded, before turning to Mando.
"Take a seat right over there."
"Thank you." Din murmured, as he, Ryan, and Dredd moved towards a table in the corner.
"What can I get you?" the calamari asked.
"Nothing for me, but my friend will have a bowl of chowder."
"These seats are scarce buddy. You gotta get something." the mon calamari told him, before eyeing Joseph and Ryan. "That goes for all of you."
"We can stand." Joe decided, getting up from his seat, with Butcher following soon after.
"I can buy something else." Mando revealed, setting two discs made of a gel-like substance onto the table. "Information. Have you seen anyone who looks like me?"
The calamari paused, pouring soup into a bowl for the Child, before taking the discs.
"Others with beskar have been through here." the alien mumbled. "I know someone who can help."
The server left their table, walking to the other side of the room to speak with a quarren. Ryan focused on his superhearing, listening in on what he was saying.
"There's a Mandalorian here. He's looking for others of his kind. He was asking about passage, and he's wearing beskar."
While Mando was busy getting a small squid off of the Child's face, the quarren approached their table, sitting down in Dredd's now vacant seat.
"You seek others of your kind?"
"I do." Din confirmed. "Have you seen them?"
"Aye. I can bring you to them too. They're only a few hours sail. But it'll cost you."
"Money won't be a problem." Mando told him, as he nodded in agreement.
An hour later, Dredd, Ryan, Mando, and the Child found themselves standing at the edge of a sail barge, watching from the railings as the vehicle sailed quickly through the ocean. As the wind lightly slapped at their faces, the quarren from the inn walked up to Mando, holding onto a pole with a hook at the end.
"Ever seen a mamacore eat?" the quarren asked. "Quite a sight."
"No." Mando murmured, while Dredd and Ryan shook their heads.
"Well, the might take an interest." the alien grinned. "Come on over here, let the kid can see. He'll love it."
Mando, Dredd, and Ryan turned around, following the quarren's gaze to a rectangular pit on the deck, covered by a metal grate. The grate opened up, the other quarren crew members dumped a basket full of fish into the pit, where the water began to bubble.
"She must be hungry." the quarren chuckled. "Often times, we feed her in the morning, but we missed it, because we were going out of port!"
Music: "Ship O Haj, Mandalorians!" from The Mandalorian Season 2 OST
At that last word, the quarren swung his pole, hitting the Child's cradle and pushing him into the pit, much to Dredd, Mando, and Dredd's shock.
"No!" Din yelled, looking down to see the Child and his cradle get swallowed by a large maw. The Mandalorian jumped in after the mamacore, while Dredd glared at the quarren.
"Close the gate, now!" the alien screeched towards one of his crewmates. "We'll deal with these two!"
Dredd pulled out his blaster pistol, shooting two of the quarren, while Ryan flew up a feet, feeling his eyes begin to heat up. The quarrens backed up, looking at the supe in awe, as Butcher turned his attention toward the now closed gate, flying back down and ripping the metal apart, before diving in after Mando.
"Drokk." Joseph muttered, as both he, and the quarren, realized that the person they were afraid of had just left.
Inside the watery pit, Ryan swam straight towards the mamacore, careful not to plow into Mando. Din slowly glanced over to the supe, as he pried the creature's mouth open, reaching inside and pulling the cradle out. Thankfully, the Child had wisely closed its lid, in order to prevent it from drowning. Unfortunately, one of the sides was caved in, making it difficult to open later.
Ryan handed the cradle to Djarin, who quickly began swimming up, while he focused on the mamacore. The beast let loose an angry roar, and the supe fired his heat vision straight into its mouth, causing the creature to writhe in pain, before going limp. With the monster dead, Ryan looked back up, vaguely seeing the Mandalorian's form carrying the Child, and followed after them to the surface.
Back above water, Dredd rapidly fired his blaster pistol at the ship's crew, while ducking under the quarren's own fire. The Judge doges the plasma bolts, while punching away an alien that got to close, but a crimson laser found its way into striking Joe's badge, scorching the metal and making him stumble back, towards the pit. Another shot hit him in the leg, forcing Dredd into one knee.
"Looks we'll be getting double pay!" one of the quarren grinned, aiming a blaster at Dredd's head. "First the Mandalorian's beskar, and now yours!"
Dredd groaned, hoping Ryan and Mando would return. Unfortunately, it looked like they were going to be too late. Joe glared up at the quarren, just as he he was about to squeeze the blaster's trigger, when a plasma bolt the color of the sun hit him in the head. Judging from the direction of the shot, it seemed to come from above, causing Dredd to look up and see three figures flying down towards him. As they got closer, Joe noticed they all wore armor and helmets similar to Din, but it was all painted a dark blue, rather than silver.
The three mandalorians landed on the deck of the ship, shooting down the remaining quarren, as well as stabbing a few that got too close. At the same time, Mando and Ryan emerged from the pit, holding onto the Child's cradle. The supe ripped off the piece that was caved in, and Mando held onto the Child, who stared up at the warrior with wide eyes.
"Ryan… are you alright?" Jos asked in concern.
"I'm good Uncle Joe." Ryan grinned. "Turns out I can breathe underwater."
Joseph smirked, before he and Mando turned towards the other mandalorians.
"You know who they are?" Joseph murmured.
"No." Mando shook his head.
"I do." Ryan muttered. "They're Deathwatch."
Mando turned his head in Butcher's direction, and using his x-ray vision, the supe could see him glaring behind his visor.
"That's impossible." Mando growled. "The last of Deathwatch was killed during the Siege of Mandalore, shortly after Pre Vizsla was murdered."
"And yet…" Ryan shrugged, as one of the mandalorians, a female with accented white eyes on the helmet, approached them. Djarin looked back at the newcomers, stepping forward.
"Thank you." Mando nodded at them, indicating the quarren they just killed. "I have been looking for more of my kind."
"Lucky we found you first." the lead mandalorian replied. Ryan raised his eyebrow, hearing the woman's voice. Why did it sound so familiar?
"I've been quested to deliver this Child." Mando told them. "I was hoping that-"
Din paused, as the mandalorians in blue armor took off their helmets, revealing their faces underneath. Their leader, a woman with short red hair, wore some type of metal headband. Flanking her was a man with curly black hair, and a woman with braided hair to give the appearance of being shorter. Butcher narrowed his eyes at the redhead, realizing why her name was familiar-
"Where did you get that armor?" Din demanded, taking another step forward. The mandalorians all looked at him strangely, before the redhead spoke.
"This armor has been in my family for three generations."
"But you do not cover your face." Mando pointed out. "You are not mandalorian."
"Yes, she is." Ryan groaned. "That's Bo Katan."
The redhead looked over at Ryan curiously, raising an eyebrow.
"You know me?"
"Not really." Ryan scoffed. "But I know how you and Death Watch staged terrorist attacks on Mandalore to reclaim the throne, only to start a civil war after Maul rightfully won it in combat."
"Watch what you say." Bo snarled, clenching her fist. Ryan simply snorted at her reaction, before stepping back to join Dredd. Meanwhile, the mandalorian with the curly hair looked Din over.
"He's one of them."
"Dank farrik." Bo muttered.
"One of what?" Joseph frowned in confusion.
"One of the mandalorians that defected from the Death Watch Clan." Bo announced, while still staring at Djarin. "Your friend is right; I am Bo Katan, from Clan Kryze. I was born on Mandalore and fought in the Purge. I am the last of my line. And you are a Child of the Watch."
"The Watch?" Din tilted his head in curiosity.
"You didn't know the clan you joined?" Bo Katan asked condescendingly. "Children of the Watch are a group of religious zealots that broke away from mandalorian society. Their goal was to re-establish the ancient way-"
"And what did you do, huh? What did you do?" Ryan suddenly shouted, while lowering his voice to sound more gruff. "You and Death Watch tried to do the exact goddamn thing! You were onboard with Pre Vizsla into killing your own sister-"
"Ryan." Dredd placed a hand on the supes shoulder. "Enough."
Ryan looked over to the Judge, took a deep breath, and calmed down. Bo Katan glared at Butcher, as Din began to speak.
"There is only one way." Djarin told her, before walking away. "The Way of the Mandalore."
Mando activated his jetpack, flying away from the ship, as the three other mandalorians watched. Ryan quickly grabbed Dredd by his shoulders and flew off as well, following closely behind Djarin. The supe looked back once, just in time to see the ship below them explode, as Bo Katan and her guards flew off. Butcher grimaced, having a bad feeling that wouldn't be the last they'd see of each other.
Night came quicker than expected, as Dredd, Ryan, and Mando walked toward the docks, with Din holding the Child in his arms. As they trudged on, Djarin looked over to Butcher, nodding his head in thanks.
"Thank you for what you did."
Ryan frowned in confusion, stopping for a moment to look at Mando.
"What do you mean?"
"What you said back there to her." Din explained.
"Oh, that was nothing." Ryan murmured. "After my father, I don't like bullies… or hypocrites."
Mando shook his head in amusement, as another question popped into his head.
"But how did you know about all that?" Djarin spoke. "Not even I knew of Bo, and we were part of the same clan."
Ryan paused, trying to think of what to say. He couldn't say that this universe wasn't real, Din would never believe that. So instead, he lied.
"I like studying history." Butcher told him. "Uncle Joe and I have travelled to many systems, and I've always tried to research as much as I can about their culture. I have to say, Mandalore's has been the most interesting so far."
Djarin nodded, accepting Ryan's explanation, just as a group of quarren made themselves known, surrounding the group.
"You!" one of quarren, holding onto a crowbar looking tool, pointed at Dredd. "You killed my brother!"
"Gonna have to be more specific, creep." Joe grunted.
"Let us pass." Mando demanded, stepping forward.
"I don't think you understand." the alien chortled, as the ring of quarren began to close in.
"You killed my brother, so now, I'm gonna kill all of you!"
Just as the quarren were about to fire, a hail of yellow colored blaster bolts rained down, killing the aliens around them. Mando, Ryan, and Dredd looked up, seeing Bo Katan and her guards floating down from their jetpacks. Ryan inwardly groaned, as they landed in front of them. Why did they come back? They didn't need the other mandalorians' help.
"Can we at least buy you a drink?" Bo asked innocently.
Ten minutes later, Din, Joe, and Ryan sat at a corner table of the inn with Bo Katan and her mandalorians, with the Child on Djarin's lap.
"Trask is a black market port." Bo explained, as she sipped from a cup of spotchee. "They're stage weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet. We're going to seize those weapons to retake our home world. Once that's done, we'll seat a new Mandalore on the throne."
"That planet is cursed." Mando muttered. "Anyone who goes there dies. Once they realized they couldn't control it, the Empire made sure no one could either."
"Besides, you haven't had a good track record with rulers in the last several years." Ryan added. Katan shot the supe a glare, before turning back to Mando.
"Don't believe everything you hear." Bo told Din. "Our enemies want to separate us, but mandalorians are stronger together."
"That's not part of my plan." Mando shook his head. "I've been quested to return this Child to the Jedi."
"And what do you know of the Jedi?" Bo questioned. Behind his helmet, Djarin grit his teeth in frustration.
"Nothing. I was hoping you would help me by Creed." he admitted. Bo Katan looked amongst her allies, smiling wryly.
"I can lead you to one of their kind. But first, we need your help on our mission."
"That's not part of the deal." Ryan spoke up, narrowing his eyes. "You're blackmailing us into helping you? For what? A couple blasters?"
"Do you know any Jedi?" Bo challenged.
"Yeah. Skywalker."
"Then where is he now?" Bo raised an eyebrow. "Because the last I heard, he hasn't been seen since Endor."
Ryan felt his eyes heating up, as he glared at Katan.
"Why don't you tell us where your Jedi is, or-"
"Ryan." Dredd murmured in a commanding tone. "Enough."
Butcher whipped his head towards his father figure, keeping his eyes burning.
"You too, Uncle Joe? Didn't you once say to squeeze the creep until they cough up the next one?"
"You kill her, we get nothing." Dredd pointed out.
"He's right." Bo Katan smugly grinned, pushing down her shock from seeing Butcher's eyes glow crimson. Ryan turned back to glare at her, before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, and when he opened them, his eyes were their normal blue color. Din and the Child stared at him curiously, as Mando addressed Bo.
"What's the mission?"
Mando, Dredd, Ryan, and Bo Katan walked outside of the inn, seeing a large gray ship on one of the docks.
"See that Imperial Gozanti freighter?" Bo asked, pointing towards the ship. "It's being loaded with weapons as we speak. According to the port's manifest, it's scheduled to depart at first light."
"So we stow away?" Din suggested.
"No. We've been hitting them pretty hard." Bo shook her head. "They scan for life forms as a precaution."
"Even with six, you'll need the element of the surprise." Djarin pointed out.
"Exactly." Katan grinned. "The freighter will maintain trawling speed while inside the shipping lanes and then ascend in orbit. We can jet up when they're cruising at low atmosphere. The tower won't allow them to climb until they've left the port's airspace."
"Troopers?" Dredd asked.
"A squad at most." Bo shrugged. "And they couldn't hit the side of a bantha."
"On that we agree." Ryan smirked. "But I could always just take care of them."
"No, Ryan." Joe told him. "After Navarro, I don't want you going in alone."
Ryan looked over to Dredd, flashing a pained expression.
"You don't trust me." Butcher said sadly.
"No." Joseph denied. "But even I knew when to have someone watch my back in the Big Meg."
Ryan opened his mouth to argue, but closed it just as quickly. After all, he knew he was right, deep down.
"We'll need someone to watch the kid." Ryan spoke up, turning to Mando.
"Don't worry." Din told the supe. "I know someone."
Music: "Mega City One" from Dredd 2012 OST
Mando knocked on one of the town's doors, watching it slide open to reveal the two frog aliens from earlier that day. The creatures looked up in surprise, as Din strode forward.
"Something's come up. Can I leave him with you for a bit?" Djarin asked, holding up the Child. The frogs nodded, and Din handed the baby over into the female's arms.
"You stay here, and be respectful." the Mandalorian ordered. The Child playfully cooed, as Mando walked back towards the door, seeing Dredd and Ryan waiting for him at the doorway.
"You don't want me to stay with him?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll be back for him." Mando shrugged, before activating his jetpack and flying off. A moment later, Ryan slung Dredd's arm over his shoulders and took off as well, following after Din. They were soon joined by Bo Katan and her guards, flying straight towards the freighter up ahead.
The bulky ship began to take off from the docks, just as the small group descended down onto the hull's exterior. Bo and her male companion slid down the side, landing on a catwalk and knocking out two stormtroopers that were guarding the door, while a third walked out.
"Pirates!" the trooper yelled, activating a red button that sealed the door shut behind them. That's when Ryan suddenly landed, and Dredd shot the white armored man with his blaster. The bolt didn't hit him in the chest, but it did knock his blaster away, giving Ryan the opportunity to grab him and fly him up into the air. The supe flew a ways away from the ship, before dropping the trooper into the water below.
While Butcher flew back towards the ship, one of Bo's mandalorian's hacked into the exterior door, opening it with ease. Bo activated a knife blade from her wrist, nodded to her followers, and ran inside, stabbing and slashing at one of the three stormtroopers that tried to stop her. Mando followed shortly after, firing his blaster, while Dredd and Ryan were the last to enter, as Bo finished the last trooper off. As they all began walking down the corridor, the far door opened up, revealing a squad of stormtroopers ready to fire. The mandalorians and Dredd took cover behind the blast doors' frame, while Ryan fired his laser vision, being careful to lower his power to simply knock the troopers off balance. With the troopers distracted, Joseph and Din peeked out from behind cover, firing their blasters and killing the stormtroopers with military precision, before Bo and her guards followed them.
Another squad of stormtroopers entered through the elevator at the far side, with one of them firing a quad cannon directly at Ryan. Several of the bolts hit him in the chest, forcing Mando and Dredd to brab Butcher by the shoulders and drag him out of the line of fire.
"Dammit, that thing will shred us!" Bo shouted, as they all took cover behind another frame. Joe groaned, pulling out a small ball from his belt, and tapped the display screen on his wrist.
"What is that?" Mando asked.
"Stun grenade." Joseph replied, before tossing the ball out into the corridor. Instead of going off, Dredd held up his fist, activating a built in microphone.
"Stormtroopers of the Empire, disperse immediately, or we will use lethal force." Joe declared, his voice echoing throughout the ship.
"Where is that coming from?" one of the troopers could be heard asking. "There is only six of your, but thirty of us! Come out here, or we'll blast you to Hell!"
"Ten seconds." Dredd reminded them.
"You have five!" the stormtrooper called back.
"Thanks for the heads up." Joe muttered, before tapping his wrist display. A high pitched noise whined in the air, signalling the grenade went off, and Dredd emerged from cover, seeing the stormtroopers placing their hands on their helmets, trying to shake away the stun grenade's intense light. Joseph quickly raised his blaster, firing at the stunned troops, and he was soon joined by Mando and Bo, with Ryan staying back with her guards.
"Neat trick." Bo complimented, as the last of the stormtroopers fell. The group quickly entered the elevator, with Ryan panting.
"Ryan, are you alright?" Dredd asked, knitting his eyebrows in concern behind his visor.
"I'll be fine, Uncle Joe." Butcher forced a smile. "Man, those blaster bolts pack a punch."
Minutes later, the elevator opened up, and Bo Katan led the charge, firing straight at several troopers and an Imperial officer in the cargo bay.
"Close the doors!" the officer shouted, while ducking behind a crate. "Close all of them!"
The blast doors suddenly shut, trapping the mandalorians, the supe, and the Judge inside a small room.
"I can… I can see if I can open them…" Ryan offered, stumbling forward towards the doors.
"No, wait." Bo grinned, looking at a control panel on a wall. "I have an idea."
Katan smirked, walking over and tapping a few keys on the panel. After throwing a level, the sound of the cargo bay doors opened, followed by the screams of the stormtroopers and officer being thrown out of the ship.
"Good call." Dredd nodded, as Bo closed the bay door opened the blast doors to reveal no one inside.
"Do you copy?" a voice asked from a discarded officer's comm. "Sir, do you copy?"
Bo reached down, picking up the comm device, and held it up close to her mouth.
"I copy." Katan grinned, while her guards inspected the collected weapons. "Thanks for packing up this gear so nicely. Imagine what a division of us can do once we get our hands on what's inside these shiny little boxes."
"If you think you're going to escape with those weapons, you are sadly mistaken." a new voice, presumably the captain, murmured through the comms. "Even if you've managed to jettison a few of those crates, we will come the entire area down until you are hunted and killed."
"Oh, we're not jettisoning anything." Bo declared. "We're taking the entire ship."
Mando suddenly whipped his head around, followed by Dredd and Ryan.
"What?" Din asked out loud. "This isn't what I signed up for."
"Same here." Joseph agreed. "This wasn't the deal."
"The deal was you help us. That hasn't changed." Bo narrowed her eyes.
"No, you told us we'd be stealing weapons, not an entire ship." Ryan told her. "Why?"
Katan glared at Ryan, taking a deep inhale.
"There's something I need, if I am to rule Mandalore." Bo revealed. "Something that was once mine."
"The Darksaber." Ryan realized.
"The what?" Dredd asked in curiosity.
"An ancient weapon the rulers of Mandalore used." Ryan quickly explained. "After Maul killed Pre Vizla, it became his. And you-"
The supe turned back towards Katan.
"You think it's here?"
"No." Bo admitted. "But they know where it is, and soon, so shall I. Regardless, we are taking this ship for the coming battles."
"I got you your weapons." Mando growled. "Now I need to return to my ship with the foundling."
Bo stared at Din coldly, narrowing her eyes in anger.
"If you want my help in finding the Jedi, you will help me in taking this ship."
"You're changing the terms of the deal." Djarin protested. Bo simply smirked, as she placed her helmet back on.
"This is the Way."
Ryan and Dredd glared at the mandalorian, as Butcher stepped forward, suddenly grabbing Katan by the throat and lifting her up into the air.
"Enough of the lies." Ryan growled, in a voice that made Dredd pause for a moment. The tone he used… it almost sounded like his father.
"Tell us where your Jedi is, or-"
Bo suddenly pulled out one of her pistols, shooting Ryan point blank in the face. The supe recoiled, dropping Katan to the ground, and placed a hand to his forehead.
"Motherf-"
"Enough!" Dredd shouted, marching over to Bo. "We will help you take this ship. But if you try anything, I will not hesitate to execute you, or your companions."
Bo shot Dredd a glare, realizing he meant what he said, and stormed off, with her allies right behind her. Joseph scowled at the mandalorians, before turning towards Ryan.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine." Butcher groaned, removing his hand from his face to reveal a bruise on his forehead. The supe was about to join Mando in catching up to Katan, when Joseph placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait." Dredd commanded. "You need to calm down."
"Is that what you did?" Ryan asked snidely. "Did you calm down when you thought Mom was gone?"
Dredd grimaced, looking away. No, he didn't. He assumed the identity of Billy Butcher and waged war against Ryan's father and all supes.
"I'm not proud of what I did." Joseph confessed. "I lost my way when I thought your mother was gone. And I don't want to see you go down that same path."
Ryan's gaze hardened, and he looked forward, walking after Mando. Joe sighed in frustration, before following behind as well.
As the group got closer to the bridge, Ryan activated his superhearing, in an attempt to listen in whatever the captain was talking about. Instead, the voice he heard made him jolt in surprise.
Music: "Long Live The Empire" from The Mandalorian Season 2 OST
"-If they've taken that much of the ship, I'm afraid that's no longer an option. You know what to do. Long live the Empire."
That voice… Ryan's eyes widened in horror. That was the voice of Stan Edgar- no, Moff Gideon. But he should be dead! He watched Din destroy his fighter!
"What's wrong?" Mando asked, noticing Ryan's expression.
"Moff Gideon…" Butcher murmured. "He's alive."
"What?!" Mando shouted. "That's impossible!"
"Not if you never see his body." Dredd murmured grimly.
While Butcher was still contemplating the fact that Gideon survived, the entire ship pitched forward, making everyone stumble.
"Kriff! They're going to crash the ship!" Bo shouted, as more troopers emerged from the bridge's entrance.
"We're not going to make it in time!" one of the mandalorians yelled. "They've got too much firepower!"
"Cover me!" Din decided, pulling out two explosive discs from his belt and running forward. The other mandalorians and Dredd fired at the troopers, as Djarin bolted down the corridor, stumbling from the blaster shots, before throwing the devices through the air. Seconds later, the discs exploded, creating an inferno where the troopers were. Unfortunately, the explosion also sent Mando reeling back, crumpling to the floor.
"Let's go!" Joseph called out, running forward and picking up Din by his shoulders. Ryan followed suit, carrying him towards the bridge, and Joe shot the door open to reveal the Imperial captain manually flying the ship towards the planet's surface.
Bo Katan strode forward, grabbing the captain and throwing hi against the wall. While her companions took the controls, she activated her wrist blade, angling it at the captain's throat.
"Where is it?" Bo growled.
"Where's what?" the captain asked innocently.
"The Darksaber." Bo snarled impatiently. "Does he have it?"
"If you're asking, then you already know." the captain said smugly.
"Then I'll let you live, so you can take me to him." Bo declared.
"You might let me live, but he won't."
Ryan's eyes widened, as the captain suddenly bit down, activating a hidden device that electrified himself from within.
"No!" Bo screamed, dropping the Imperial's body to the floor.
"We have to go." the female mandalorian told Katan. "He sent out a distress signal."
Bo breathed heavily, turning towards her companions.
"Clear the atmosphere and prepare to jump." Bo ordered, before looking to Mando. "The offer still stands to join us."
"There's something I need to do." Mando reminded her. "Where can I find the Jedi?"
Bo paused, taking off her helmet, and looking Din in the eyes.
"Take the Child to the city of Calodan, on the forest planet of Corvus. You'll find Ahsoka Tano there, and let her know you were sent by Bo Katan."
Mando nodded turning to leave with Dredd and Ryan, before Bo called him back.
"And thank you. Your bravery will not be forgetting- from all of you. This is the Way."
"This is the Way." Din replied, as he turned his back. Mando, Dredd, and Ryan walked back through the corridors, outside to the catwalk, where Djarin jumped off the railing, falling several feet, before activating his jetpack and flying off.
"Are you good to fly?" Dredd asked.
"I think so." Ryan said optimistically, as he grabbed Joe by his shoulders and took off into the sky, trailing behind Mando.
Ten minutes later, the trio arrived at the frog aliens' home, knocking on the door and walking inside. There, they found the Child playing with a small tadpole, who had just recently hatched.
"Come on, kid. Time to go." Mando announced, picking up the baby and walking back out. Before leaving, he turned back towards the frog couple.
"Thank you. And congratulations."
Mando, Dredd, Ryan, and the Child returned to the Razor Crest, entering the cockpit and placing the baby in the passenger seat.
"I finally know where to take you, kid." Mando told the Child, as he sat down in the pilot's seat. "You'll finally be with your own kind."
Ryan smiled at the Child, as the ship suddenly blasted off into hyperspace, towards the planet Corvus.
Deep within space, Moff Gideon's Imperial cruiser cut through the void, lumbering quietly amongst the stars. Within the ship, at the bridge, a female Imperial officer activated a holotable, and a blue projection appeared with an image of a mon calamari alien.
"What do you have for me?" the officer asked.
"The device has been planted." the calamari informed.
"Good. You will be rewarded in the new era."
The officer shut off the holotable, made her way down the bridge, and approached a heavy set of blast doors. With a tap from the control panel on the side, the doors opened up, revealing Moff Gideon, surrounded by white vapor.
"Moff Gideon." the officer announced. "The tracking beacon has been installed on the Razor Crest."
Gideon turned to look at the officer, his lips twisting into a smile.
"Does he still have the asset?"
"Yes. Our source confirmed it."
The Moff smiled wider, as he looked over to the side. The officer followed his gaze, seeing at least a dozen humanoid robots, all wearing helmets similar to the Death Troopers.
"Then we will be ready." Gideon declared.
A/N: So, I wasn't a fan of Bo Katan in this episode. Actually, I've never been a fan of hers ever since she showed up in the Clone Wars show. I thought she was a massive hypocrite, especially after being apart of Death Watch, which wanted to overthrow and kill her sister Satine. Then she betrayed Death Watch after Darth Maul rightfully won leadership and the Darksaber in combat with Pre Vizla. I didn't even mention the fact that she somehow lost the saber sometime after Rebels, even after Sabine Wren handed it to her.
Not a knock on the actress, she did great, but her character in general is just as bad as a few certain characters from the CW shows.
Anyway, the next chapter will skip over the immediate episode that took place after this one, since I felt it was just filler as well. That's why the ending is placed here. Until next time, everyone.