Last time: A Mando arrived and trapped Sasha.

Now: Now the Mando goes after Oppie.

Chapter 26- You Saved Me

Oppie knelt at the river bank, filling the second of their four water containers. The canteens were holding up okay, despite repeated boilings, and he was thankful that they had at least been given metal containers so they could at boil their water. The rifle sling was loose on his shoulder and he had to repeatedly shove it back over his back lest it fall forward.

The clear water was flowing down from the mountains, he wasn't sure if it was snowmelt or not, but it was relatively cool. After finishing the fourth bottle of water, he splashed some of the water on his face, wiping away the grim that felt like it had built up. Then he stood up, turning back towards the cave.

Xar'ii approached the river and spotted the other Jedi filling their canteens. She reached up and unsheathed the dagger before slowly approaching. She thought about using a blaster to kill him, but if his profile was true then he was actually a borned Mandalorian like her. Which means if he was going to die, she wanted to make it entertaining. As he stood to leave the river, Xar'ii managed to slip out from cover and behind him and grapple him into a choke hold, pressing the dagger into his side.

"Don't move, Jedi," she hissed from behind him.

He immediately elbowed back, his arm bashing into hard armor behind him as he tried to rotate out of her grip. Xar'ii stumbled back, releasing her grip. She glared at him through her bucket. She then lunged forward, attempting to slash him with the dagger, and Oppie jumped back, barely avoiding the blade. He was shocked to see a Mandalorian facing him down.

Trying again, she lunged again with the dagger.

"Fight me, Jedi," she taunted.

He jumped back avoiding her again, "me'haran gar?" He asked slightly shocked, hoping to stop her from attacking him with some Mando'a.

"Xar'ii, jetti," she responded with a snarl. "Ash'amur." She raised her gauntlet and released a gout of fire at him.

He dodge rolled off to the side and brought the rifle off the sling as he tried to keep moving to avoid the flame. "Gar sol'yc osik'kovid" He snarled as he pulled the trigger. And nothing happened. He pulled it again and glanced at the rifle, slightly confused.

She laughed. "Didn't bother to check the rifle after taking it from the Trandoshan? Di'kut. All Trandoshan weapons only work with their owners. They lock up when someone else takes them," she explained before shooting another blast of fire at him.

He threw the rifle at her, into the path of her flame projection. She barely brought her gauntlet down in time to dodge to the blaster as it melted from the heat. She threw the dagger at him as reached for her own rifle.

The blade of the knife sliced across his arm as he tried to dodge it, leaving a shallow cut that he ignored. He unholstered his pistol and ran to the side, trying to get to a tree trunk. She aimed her rifle at him and let loose a spray of blaster fire. He hunkered down behind the trunk, trying to come up with a plan. If she had beskar she would barely have any weak spots in her armor. She continued to fire at him, moving towards him.

As the tree trunk whittled down behind him Oppie desperately tried to think of anything he could use to turn this. Seeing a fist sized stone at his feet he scooped it up, and swung around the side of the tree, throwing it at her head, and bringing his pistol up. She dodged the rock, but in doing so she stopped blasting him long enough to provide him an opening. He dodged to another tree as he fired at her, trying to land a hit while trying to get to better cover. She moved as quickly as she could to avoid the blasts, but one did hit her right thigh plate, actually doing some damage to the armor. She ignored the impact and brought her rifle back up to fire, but this time, she charged towards him while doing so.

Oppie reached the cover, a fallen log the river had washed up, and then immediately came back up, shooting at her. She dodged the blasts even though she was closing the distance between them. As soon as she was close enough, she dropped the rifle back on its sling before grabbing the spear from her back and swiping at Oppie with the sharp bladed end. The long spear provided her the ability to cover the remaining distance to slash at him. He dodged back, shrugging his jacket off and trying to catch the blade in the thick leather. The tip of the spear got twisted up in the jacket.

"Osik," she cursed as she tried to shake off the jacket, but to no avail. He kept the jacket wrapped over the bladed tip as he used it to try to pull the spear out of her grasp.

She didn't let go and she didn't resist either. Xar'ii let him pull her forward and once she was close enough, she dropped the spear and threw a right hook at his face. The punch connected and he staggered back, bringing his arms up into a defensive form. She charged forward with another series of punches that went for his face then his gut then his side before going back for his head again. He deflected them as best he could but he was driven back, at the end of her series he grabbed her wrist and pulled her through, using her momentum from the punch to drive her around him as he held on to her tightly, trying to throw her to the ground.

Xar'ii didn't expect the strength from the Jedi given how long they had been on the run here, but she wasn't going down that easily. She managed only to drop down onto one knee and switch the grip on the Jedi. She then pulled him over her shoulder to slam him to the ground. He landed with a grunt as the wind was knocked out of him from the impact.

Looking up at her, slightly dazed, he noticed a Mandalorian heart piece hanging from her belt. The same as his copper heart. Sasha's.

With an enraged growl he swung his legs out against hers, trying to knock her over. She was thrown off guard by his sudden aggression and fell back as his legs connected with the back of her knees. She hit the ground with a thud before glaring at him. He pulled the knife from the sheath on his belt and lunged towards her, trying to get in between her plates. Xar'ii brought her hands up and caught the hilt of the blade with a growl, keeping it away from her as best she could while pushing against him. He pressed the blade down at her with a snarl, trying to overpower her as the only thought that ran through his mind was that she had killed Sasha.

But Xar'ii just laughed at him as she watched him get angier while still keeping the blade away. After another second of struggling with the blade, she got her knee between them and kicked Oppie over her head, separating them.

Sasha couldn't just stay here like this. It had been too long already since the Mando left to go after Oppie. Neither had returned, but that made Sasha even more worried. After the first five or so minutes where Sasha kept trying to get over the fact that she was the target, a sense of dread filled her when she feared that this hunter might actually succeed and Op was going to be killed because of her. She couldn't let that happen. And she couldn't just stay here and mope when Oppie was in real danger. Sasha needed to get out of this net. But nothing worked. No amount of tugging or attempting to rip was going to get this net off of her.

Dropping her hands after several more tugs, exhausted and in defeat, Sasha felt her finger tips brush up against the hilt of the vibroblade she had sheathed into her belt. She couldn't recall exactly when she put it there, but it was after Oppie left to take on the Trandoshan yesterday. A sense of hope filled her when she realized she had it still. Getting an awkward grip on the hilt, Sasha pulled it from its sheath and twisted around in her palm so the blade was up. She then brought the blade to the netting and started to cut. It took her several good cuts with the knife before she managed to get it to fall away enough for her to get out.

Staggering forward, Sasha barely caught herself before she would faceplant with the cave floor. Taking a second to recompose herself, Sasha made her way out of the cave, leaving their belongings and gear behind. The only thing she did grab was her discarded blaster, just in case, and her makeshift crutch before she left. With an awkward limp and with the aid of the crutch, Sasha hustled after the Mandalorian bounty hunter with the hopes of catching up to her Ignoring her injuries, the fever, and everything else that had been slowing her down. She needed to get to the river before it was too late.

Oppie landed with an impact, his back slammed against the ground and his breath knocked out from under him. Xar'ii hopped to her feet and went for her discarded spear. He rolled over and jumped to his feet, his dagger still in hand as he chased after her. She noticed him chasing her in her buy'ce. Grabbing her spear, she swung the stick end of it at him, and he reached out to grab it as it swung his direction. She grunted as he grabbed it and pulled both him and the spear towards herself, and he slammed his elbow up to try to hit her in the neck. She leaned back to avoid his elbow, but it still clipped the edge of her buy'ce causing it to shift on her head. She growled under breath as she sent a kick at him, only using the thin slit of her T-visor to see him before reaching up to adjust it back into place.

The kick connected and sent Oppie back a bit. He growled at her and lunged forward, brandishing his knife, trying to aim for the gap at her neck. She stepped aside and grabbed his wrist in the process, twisting it around to force him to drop the blade. It fell from his hand as he grunted in pain. She then pulled him in and brought her knee up and into his gut, and he doubled over in pain, stumbling a few steps. She released him and moved to punch him in the face. He spied a river stone and grabbed it as he rotated back up, trying to sidestep her punch as he brought it into her head.

Xar'ii didn't move fast enough and the stone connected with her buy'ce. She staggered to the side, cursing under her breath. When she looked up, she noticed her surround video feed and a few other settings were busted from the hit. She turned back to Oppie with a growl.

"Shabuir," she snarled before charging forward to deck him in the jaw with a left hook.

Oppie deflected her fist off to the side, "that's why you get beskar dar'manda." He growled as he tried to bring the stone in for another hit.

She didn't answer that. She just dodged the stone and kicked for his knees, trying to throw him off guard or off his feet. Oppie sidestepped the kick and then lunged forward again. Xar'ii tried to dodge the stone again, but while it missed her buy'ce, it did hit her shoulder pauldron. She grunted as she felt the armor dent and bruise her shoulder underneath. She reached out to grab Oppie by the arm, twisted it around, and grappled it behind his back and he yelped in pain as his shoulder was wrenched behind him. She then got her leg wrapped around his and shoved him forward to knock him down and pin him to the ground. He collapsed with a grunt, and tried to swing his legs behind him to bring her down. She dodged his kick and pinned him to the ground as she reached for another knife from her thigh. She pulled it and pointed it at his neck.

"You lose," Xar'ii hissed in his ear as she pressed the knife against the bare skin of his neck. He struggled to break her hold on him to no avail.

She laughed as she prepared to press the knife further into his neck and slice his throat. But before she had the chance, something stabbed into the side of her own neck. She gasped as she felt a searing pain in her throat.

"No, you lose," Sasha's voice said from behind her with a snarl.

The knife that was in her neck was ripped out aggressively and Xar'ii tumbled off Oppie as she pressed her hand to the wound as blood seeped out, trying to pressurize the laceration. She gasped and wheezed as she felt blood filling her lungs.

Oppie rolled over and looked at her with wide eyes, then up to Sasha. Sasha stood above them, breathing heavily. She was standing with all of her weight on her right leg as she dropped her crutch just a few steps behind her. In her left hand was the vibroknife she had just used on Xar'ii. Her grip loosened and the bloodied blade slipped from her fingertips as she sunk down onto her knees, her chin dropping as she tried to gather her breaths.

"Sasha." Oppie said as he scrambled to his feet. He looked at the Mandalorian who was bleeding out, moving over to Sasha. "Are you okay?" He asked with panic in his voice.

"I'm okay," Sasha said with a tired nod.

He wrapped his arm around her, looking at the armored figure, "can you walk? Let's go somewhere else." He suggested.

"Yeah, I think so," Sasha said as she glanced over at the Mandalorian who wasn't moving anymore, but appeared to still be barely alive. She felt her stomach turn as she continued to stare.

"Don't look, come on." He urged as he tried to guide her over to the river.

Sasha got to her feet with his help and let him guide her away, averting her gaze. "Are you alright? She almost killed you." She asked, concerned as she limped alongside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He asked as they moved away.

"I'll be okay," she said, tiredly. "I'm just glad I made it in time."

"Thank you." Oppie said quietly, "you saved me."

"Of course. You're my brother, it's my job," Sasha said in the same quiet tone. "Plus I owe you after saving me so many times this trip."

Oppie just nodded as they walked to a boulder that overlooked the quietly flowing stream, the Mandalorian left behind them. As they reached the boulder, Sasha immediately sat down on it with a heavy sigh. Oppie sat next to her, worn out from the brawl.

"I left our stuff back at the cave," she said, looking at him. "Should we head back for all of it?"

"Yeah, in a minute." Oppie said, needing to collect himself a little after the fight.

"Okay," Sasha said, nodding. She noticed the cut on his arm and the thin cut on his neck from where the bounty hunter had the blade. "You're cut up. Are there any other injuries?" She asked worriedly.

"I don't know." He said tiredly. "I don't think so." He said, looking down at the cut along his arm.

"We should treat those cuts when we get back. Even though they are not deep, we don't need you getting infected too," Sasha pointed out.

Oppie nodded. "Yeah." He looked back, "did she hurt you?" He asked, looking over to her more directly, remembering the heart piece that was still on Mando's belt.

Sasha averted her gaze. "No, she just trapped me in a net. I managed to get out of it with the vibroblade," she said softly. She then reached up to her neck, almost longingly. "She did take my heart piece though."

"I know." Oppie said quietly, "when I saw I thought she had..." He trailed off and looked away, trying to keep his composure.

Sasha looked at him with a frown as she seemed to finish the sentence in her head. She felt tears sting her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. "I'm okay," she assured him. "I'm sorry to scare you like that."

He wrapped his arm around her. "I'm just glad you're okay." He said quietly.

They held the hug for a moment before Sasha pulled away slightly and asked, "Oppie… I need to know something, but did the trandoshan ever say anything about the bounty that was placed on us?" She asked him, out of the blue.

"What?" He asked, "no, not really." He said.

"Oh," she said, quietly.

"Why?" He asked.

Sasha closed her eyes, burying her head into his shoulder. "That Mando… She told me the truth. She told me about the bounties on us," she said, trying to keep her composure.

"What truth?" He asked.

"This whole thing. The hunt. The bounty hunters. All of it was originally made just for me," she explained. Her voice cracking with emotion. "I was the target here. The bounty, apparently for a million credits, was on me from the start. That's why I was taken in that alley. And apparently, the only reason why they are going after you too is because whoever ordered the hit was going to add on more credits for you. Dead or alive." Sasha tried to keep it together, but it was too much. Her voice raised with each sentence she said as the frustration and fear came out with each word. By the end of it, she was trembling as she tried not to burst into tears. "But I'm their target here. We almost died because of me."

Oppie sat there silent for a while, hugging her. "So you mean we could get two million credits if we turn ourselves in?" He asked quietly.

Sasha smacked him against his shoulder, if she was at full strength it might have been a hard hit, but it was more a light smack. "It's not funny, Op. This is serious. Someone wanted me to go through all of this. Alone," she said, her tone serious.

"I'm glad I was here to be a bonus, then." Oppie said. "Whoever set this up, whoever invited all the psychopaths here to hunt us, they're not right in the head. We'll get through this and track them down, and figure out what all this is about." Oppie said. "Unless you've been robbing the wrong people behind our backs."

"Okay," Sasha said, dejectedly. "Let's just get out of here first. She was the last bounty hunter anyway."

"How do you know that?" He asked.

"She told me," she answered simply.

"Oh, well now we can relax then." Oppie replied.

"I guess so," Sasha said.

Oppie looked at her a little worried. "I'm going to go see if she has anything useful. Maybe she has the good bacta." He said, hopefully.

Sasha nodded, but didn't say anything. She just pulled away from their hug.

Oppie got up, retracing his steps, back to the armored figure that now lay still. He grimaced looking at her. Then started inspecting her pouches, sighing with relief as he saw three bacta ampules, a small first aid kit, a strand of rope. He grabbed her ration bars, and took her blasters, and he also took the grenades off of her, stuffing them into his pockets. He took her knife, and the knife he had dropped. With one last grimace, he also retrieved Sasha's heart piece from where it hung at her belt. He stood up, going back to Sasha. On the way back he also retrieved her crutch along with his jacket from where it was still wrapped around the spear tip.

"She had some bacta, it looks like better stuff, do you want to take some now?" He asked her a little worriedly.

Sasha looked up at him as he returned then shook her head. "I'm alright for now. The Mandalorian already gave me some earlier, and quite forcefully at that." She absently rubbed at her neck where the bacta had been injected earlier. "She wanted to make sure I wouldn't die on her," she said, a little bitterly on that last sentence.

"Oh." Oppie said, and swallowed. "Do you want to go back to the cave and settle in?" He asked.

"Yes, please," Sasha said, quietly. He offered his hand out to help her up. She took his offered hand and, with his help, moved to her feet. He helped her onto her crutch and held her heart piece out to her.

"Want this back?" He asked.

Sasha stared at the heart piece for a moment before slowly nodding. She took the piece from his hand and then pressed it to her chest as tears brimmed. "Thank you," she nearly whispered as she was grateful to have it back.

He just nodded. "Let's get back to the cave." He said, at her side.

"Yeah, let's go," she agreed as she looped the heart piece back over her head. She then adjusted the crutch and started moving slowly back in the direction of the cave. Oppie kept pace with her as they walked.

They continued along the path in silence for a while. Oppie's thoughts strayed back to the fight, how close he had come to being killed. And worried for Sasha that she had just killed that Mandalorian, but he wasn't going to bring it up with her if she didn't. For all the fights they had on this planet, this was the one where Oppie had felt overmatched. Especially as worn down as he was now. He remembered all the other times he had had a close call with death, but this felt far closer than he had ever come before.

"Op, are you okay?" Sasha asked, looking up at him and breaking the silence. She noticed the distant expression he had on his face.

"Yeah, just worn out." He replied.

"Same," she said with a tired nod.

"I'm so done with this." He said tiredly, "I hope the others get here soon. Maybe we'll wake up to the sound of their arrival this evening." He suggested hopefully.

"I hope so too," she said in agreement. Then her face lit up as she remembered the speeder sound from earlier. "Wait, I just remembered something. I'm not a hundred percent sure on this, but I think the Mandalorian used a speeder or a swoop bike or something to get here. I remember hearing something before she showed up at the cave, but I wasn't able to see it from where I was. So I'm not sure if it's real or just my head playing tricks on me."

Oppie definitely perked up at that thought. "I can definitely go look for it." Already they could see the cave, and he started looking around to see if it might be hidden nearby.

"Okay, I'm going to go back to the cave and sit for a while if you wanna go look," Sasha said gesturing tiredly toward the cave entrance.

"I'll let you know if I find it." He said. "Thank you again." He said as he took a step away, and looked back at her.

Sasha smiled at him. It was a tired smile, but still a smile. "No problem. I'm just glad you're okay."

He nodded as he stepped away. He probably should have dropped off the gear, but he was too eager to scout for where the speeder or the bike might be. Sasha continued towards the cave, still moving at the slow pace. After a few moments of searching the nearby area, a swoop bike came into view, tucked neatly behind a couple of small trees and bushes making it perfectly invisible to the cave entrance. The bike was in one piece and fully functional. Oppie stopped and gawked at it for a moment, so glad to see it he almost felt tears come to his eyes. He approached it cautiously, looking for any traps that might have been set. But there were none. The Mandalorian must have assumed she would be victorious that she didn't bother to protect her bike.

Oppie approached it gingerly, running his hands over the handlebars, and then sat down on the bike, a little awkwardly with all that he was laden with. He could at least take it back up to the cave. He tensed slightly, and hit the ignition switch. It started up with a growling whine, and he relaxed. He looked across the controls, and blinked when he saw the navigation screen. It had soft readouts for nearby life signs, he could see Sasha up in the cave. But more importantly, it had a route map on it. It led back off the screen, and he swiped back, following the route along until it started, or rather began, at a temple. Where she must have landed her ship.

"Oh thank the Force." He said under his breath as a smile actually broke across his face. He set the bike into gear and worked his way back up to the mouth of the cave, excited for a chance to get off this rock soon.

Sasha was resting against the wall of the cave when he approached. She nearly jumped out of her own skin when he pulled him, not actually expecting to see a speeder bike. She stared between Oppie and the bike in awe. "No way…" She breathed out stunned. "Please tell me I'm not hallucinating this."

"No, and there's more." He said, powering down the bike and getting off. "The navigation map logged where it started from, where her ship is."

Sasha's eyes widened as tears escaped her eyes. "Are you serious? We have a way off this planet? We can go home?" She asked, almost not believing what was happening after all the bad luck they have had thus far.

"Hopefully, unless she just appeared on the planet with this swoop bike." He said with an enthusiastic grin.

Sasha actually laughed as she brought a hand to her mouth, more tears falling. She couldn't find the words to express how thrilled she was to finally go home.

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