X-.-X hello there. back at it again. random note Tenri has a soft Spanish accent. think it fits her best. thank you for reading. onto the story. X-.-X
IV
Her ship was sleek and longer than the Crest. The exterior didn't look any better than his. The dark metal had blaster holes and large scratches etched in on some places. Din stared at it for a moment. He recognized the shape, but he never thought he'd see one all the way out here.
"How the hell do you have a Nubian yacht?"
Tenri just chuckled to herself, saying nothing, and continued on towards the ship. It was an H-type Nubian yacht that looked heavily modified to survive the harshness of the Outer Rim territories. He followed after her as she pressed a button on her vambrace on her right arm and the ramp lowered on the back of the ship. Something dark dashed from the belly of the ship and stood itself between Tenri and Din. His mind went to autopilot when he sensed danger and drew his pistol, aiming it at the black mass. It was snarling at him, sharp teeth bared with its long tail whipping back and forth. Tenri hissed something under her breath and the beast relaxed but kept its gaze on Din.
"What the fuck is that?!" he demanded, still aiming his blaster at the beast.
Tenri stepped before him and placed a hand on his arm to push it down. "Grend. His name is Grend and he's my companion. He was just protecting me."
"Alright, but what is it?"
"A vornskr. They're from Myrkr. I'm sure you know about Grey Soul using beasts as partners."
He does. The Mercenaries used creatures like they were an extension of their persons. He lowered his arm completely but kept the pistol in his grasp. The vornskr Grend didn't move, his red eyes boring holes into Din's helmet.
"Everything is ready."
A new voice, a robotic voice, spoke into the night. Metallic footsteps echoed on the ramp as a tall droid exited the ship, its yellow-orange eyes piercing in the faint light. Memories of his past sent Din into attack mode, almost knocking Tenri out with his elbow. The high pitch whine of his blast rang out in the night, but the bolt didn't hit its target. Instead, it whizzed past the droid and into a tree. Tenri had pushed his arm aside to make him miss. He glared down at her from behind his helmet.
"What are you-"
"Would you stop trying to kill my partners?!" she interrupted him. "Loch is harmless."
"That!" he growled, pointing at the droid. "That's IG-100 Magnaguard droid. They are not harmless."
"I know what he is and Loch is harmless. He was reprogrammed by a trusted friend."
It was the same story he heard from Kuiil about the IG-88 droid. But Tenri was a stranger and he wasn't going to trust her word. She still had his arm in her hand with his blaster above his head. Her fingers tightened their grip and a pout formed on her lips. The droid, Loch, didn't seem bothered. Nobody moved. Din kept his gaze on the snowy-haired woman. He could feel her body heat. She was adamant about him not shooting her odd pair of companions. His body relaxed and she slowly stepped back, keeping her hands up just in case he tried again. He didn't holster his pistol.
"Now that you're done trying to kill everything, shall we go?"
"Everything is ready," the droid repeated, not moving from his spot.
"Good. Can Loch go aboard your ship to set the course to the Luchett System?"
He bristled. "No."
"It'll be easier for you if he does."
"I said no."
Tenri placed her hands on her hips. "He's not going to do anything. If he does, you have permission to shoot him."
He didn't reply. Loch still hasn't moved and the woman was now staring him down. At least he thinks she was. He couldn't get a read on her expression with her half mask. His sigh was followed by an angry yes that passed through his helmet like a hiss and he turned around back to his ship. He could hear the heavy clunks of the Magnaguard behind him, making his stomach go in knots. One wrong step from this fucking droid and it's dead.
Once he was back on the Crest, he made sure the sleep pod was shut as the droid followed. Din pointed up the hatch that lead to the cockpit. Not a word was spoken. He climbed up after him, seeing the droid waiting for permission to enter the flight plan. The Mandalorian was tempted to blast a bolt through its metallic head. But he resisted the temptation and gave Loch a curt nod. The droid used a scomp link hidden in his left arm to plug into the Crest. There were three systems connected by a travel line before it landed on Luchett, each one being small and out of the way.
"I am also going to connect your ship to the Serenity," Loch said in that harsh monotone voice.
"The Serenity?"
"Master Tenri's ship. It will be a private link."
Once the droid was finished, he stepped back and left down the hatch. Din quickly checked nothing else was done. Surprisingly, the Magnadroid only entered the flight path and created a comlink between the two ships. Din quickly left the cockpit to check on Grogu. The kid was fast asleep, babbling softly from whatever dream he was having. Once he knew the Child was safe, he left the Crest.
Tenri was kneeling on the ground where her vornskr was on his back receiving belly scratches. He's never seen a vornskr nor has he been to Myrkr. From what he can tell, he was a loyal and protective beast that listens to the commands of Tenri despite it looking like he could rip a human to shreds in a matter of seconds. She turned her head towards him when he got closer and she rose to her feet. Grend stood as well, giving the Bounty Hunter a hard stare before going aboard the Serenity.
"You ready?"
Din nodded.
"Well, then we'll be seeing you in the next system."
She held out her hand towards him. He looked down and just stared at it for a moment before he took her hand in his. Even through his leather glove, he can feel the faint heat radiating from her skin. And her grip was quite firm. They stayed like that for a few clicks, hand in hand facing each other. She was short.
"Make sure you follow me on the way out," she spoke first, taking back her hand slowly.
He nodded.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to lead you to your death."
"I didn't say anything."
A smirk played on her lips. "Your apprehensiveness says it all. The Bounty Hunter Guild are allies with Grey Soul. And I would be pretty stupid to try and challenge a Mandalorian wearing beskar."
He said nothing.
"Not really much of a talker," she muttered loud enough for him to hear and turned on her heel. "See you."
She didn't move right away. Din stood still, watching her as she shrugged and left for her ship. He waited until the ramp closed before he went back to the Crest. Grogu was awake. Sort of. He was peering over the hammock, his big dark eyes staring at Din. No staring past him where Tenri's ship was.
"You'll see her again," he said as he picked up the kid. He pushed the button to close the ramp then one arm climbed up the hatch. "Time to go to another system."
He set the kid down in his spot and Din sat in his, starting up the Crest. Tenri's ship was already in the air and heading towards space. With a heavy breath, Din made the Crest follow after her. He was happy to leave this muggy planet behind. But there was a small voice in his head saying the swamp planet was better than what Tenri would be leading him to. He shook his head and opened up his comlink to send a message to Greef Karga.
"I'm going to be gone longer than I originally thought. Someone named Tenri is taking me to the Luchett System."
He sent it away with that, knowing Karga would get it. He's talked about Grey Soul before and speaks highly of them. The Crest whined softly as it revved up to jump through hyperspace. He watched as Tenri's ship vanished into the void and the Crest jumped after. Once he got into the swirling blue tunnel, his comlink blinked. He stared at it for a few seconds before pushing it. The blue static image of Tenri sitting in a chair appeared.
"Oh good, it works. Hey Mando and green frog baby." Grogu's ears perked when he heard the woman's voice and he wiggled happily. "I figured I should tell you about the systems before reaching them."
"Fine. Talk."
"The first one is Hualuta in Axiit and it'll take a couple days to get there. It's an agricultural and peaceful planet. The next one is Schneil in Utajer. It's a bit more...shady, but the dregs keep to themselves for the most part. The last one is Frunadey in Qea. It was a former Imperial controlled planet," she told him in a calm voice. Din bristled at the words Imperial controlled. "I know what you're thinking. Grey Soul has dealt with them. If you stick around long enough, you'll see plenty of planets that Grey Soul has helped gain their freedom."
"That all?"
She shrugged. "For now. If you have any bounties, there are a few places you can drop them off at. I'll lead you to them once we get there."
Din just nodded and she returned the gesture before the call ended. Grogu let out a sad whimper.
"Looks like we'll be seeing more of her. For a while."
X-.-X X-.-X X-.-X
Tenri sat in silence after the call ended with the Mandalorian with her knees pulled up to her chest. The Magnaguard next to her kept his robotic stare forward as the ship sailed through the streaking tunnel of hyperspace.
"What do you think of him Loch?" she asked her companion.
There wasn't a reply right away. "He doesn't like droids."
Tenri let out a soft hum and left the cockpit to a circular room that acts as a kitchen and lounge. In the right corner was a booth with a square table and on the left was a small set of windows with a cozy bench under it. The entire room was a calm bluish-grey. There was another door on the opposite side that lead to her private room.
The bottom floor had all the bells and whistles to make the ship run along with a maintenance room with small droids and a loading bay that led right into storage. It was completely refitted inside and out to make it more livable for long-distance space travel. That included adding better shields and guns just in case. But her ship has speed on its side and was very maneuverable.
The white-haired woman stretched her arms above her head then reached into one of the kitchen cabinets for a container of jerky. The door to her room quietly hissed open as Grend, who was previously napping, stalked out when he heard the metallic box of dried meat open. She ripped a few pieces and fed them to Grend as her vambrace chirped. She played the message and heard the voice of the Grey Soul leader, congratulating her on the job well done with the warehouse. It was quick and simple. She peeked inside the cockpit and asked Loch to send a message to Xasruk, the Zabrak leader and the boss of the Mercenary Company, that they were coming home.
"Is there anything specific you want me to send?" the droid asked, keeping his eyes on the ship's console.
"Nope. Just that we're on our way back by the usual route."
Loch nodded curtly and did as she asked. Tenri gave the vornskr the rest of her jerky and vanished into her room for a shower.
X-.-X yay a long chapter. i hope you guys like long chapters cuz there might be more. hopefully. now it's time to have a nice adventure. also for those that watched Boba Fett no i didn't have her ship be from the same place as Din's new ship. this story was written before i watched it. good show. thank you for reading. bai-bai darlings. X-.-X
