Chapter 13

~X~

"Always work harder than you feel capable. That way, your enemies never know your limits."

~Mandalorian Proverb~

Once they were far enough away from Cantonica, and Din had laid in a safe, round-about course back to Pessue, both he and Ravana chose to adjourn to their respective cabins to get some much-needed rest. The kid, however, having already had his allotted amount of sleep, refused to go down for a nap. Thankfully, he was content to spend his time playing with Zax, much to everyone's relief.

When he'd slept as long as his body would allow, Din rose to find Ravana happily giving the kid a much-needed bath.

"He and Zax helped themselves to some of the stickier foods while we slept," his companion reported, pulling back with a giggle as the green child slapped at the water he was sitting in, splashing her in the process.

"I knew leaving them unsupervised was not wise," he said, though to be honest, they often didn't have a choice. And if making a little mess was the least trouble they got into, he figured they were getting off easy.

"You needed your rest," Ravana reminded him. "And I just couldn't keep my eyes open another moment."

"You should have slept while I was gone," he reasoned.

"As if that was possible," she huffed, sounding rather insulted that he would even suggest such a thing.

Din chose not to dwell on what she'd meant by that and went over to where she'd laid the bag of credits he'd earned. Dumping it out on the table as he began to make two piles. When the kid was clean at last and wrapped in a towel, Ravana joined him, rubbing his green skin dry amid words of endearment. Once he was satisfied with the separation, Din took his hand and pushed the larger stack of currency towards her.

"What's this?" she questioned, putting out her hand to stop the kid from helping himself to the shiny objects now within his reach.

"They're for you," he told her. "To use in rebuilding your home back on Pessue."

"WHAT? No! I won't take money you nearly got yourself killed over," she argued, sitting back as if trying to distance herself from it.

"Who says I nearly got killed?" he asked, now sounding rather offended himself.

"I saw the way you walked back into the ship," Ravana accused. "Holding your side and limping rather prominently. It was obvious you'd been hurt…or at least beaten up."

"That's not the same as nearly being killed," he reasoned. "It was merely a scratch."

"I don't care what your male pride demands you to call it, I still won't take blood-money!" she stated firmly.

"Do you see any blood?" Din asked, holding out his hands for her to get a good look at his armor. He chose not to think about all those who he'd undoubtedly wounded or killed in the process of earning it.

Ravana chose not to answer, just glaring at him with her eyes narrowed, daring Din to say any more on the subject. Well, he wasn't about to give up on this, and she would take those credits even if he had to force them on her.

"Your home was destroyed because of us. Your life was nearly cut short, because of us. And I will not allow you to return to your planet without the means to set things right…or at least as right as they can be," Din insisted. "The code I live by as a Mandalorian will not allow it, so you have no other choice than to accept."

At this, he watched her face soften, knowing he'd said the exact thing that would cause her to relent. It was also the truth, however…he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he couldn't square things between them.

"Fine," she said at last, giving a heavy sigh that rivaled his own. "But if I take this money, you must let me help you out before I go by stocking your supplies with some decent food, and not those ration packs you've been existing on. All right?"

"If that's what it takes," Din nodded, pleased that she had agreed. "I was thinking of stopping one last time before reaching Pessue to refuel and let you acquire a few things you might be in need of."

"Great!" she smiled, yet when the expression didn't reach her eyes, he could tell that something was bothering her. He considered asking her what it might be, but decided it was not his business, nor did he wish to involve himself in her private life any more than he already had. If she wanted him to know her thoughts, she would share them. He wouldn't pry.

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While Ravana was happy to hear she would be going home, even if it was only to a burned-out house and a destroyed farm…suddenly the thought of leaving the kid, as well as the Mandalorian, saddened her. She was just getting used to sailing through the stars, seeing new and exciting things, even if she could do without the danger aspect. Yet, it was obvious that he'd put a lot of thought into this, and sending her back was his intention. More than likely he wanted his privacy back, making it just him and the kid once more. Thus, she would leave, but not before being certain that the String-bean would have at least a few nourishing meals to look forward to once she was gone.

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The planet Din chose was not the best, but Pentab was on their way and seemed to have a decent enough settlement that hosted an area of commerce. Nothing too fancy, but good enough that Ravana would be able to find what she required. He was certain she was in desperate need of some more clothes, especially the more intimate apparel he knew she had been forced to wash out and hang to dry nearly every night.

When Ravana insisted on going alone, Din balked, his protective instincts on high alert. Yet he couldn't argue with her over the point that someone had to watch the kid, and with hunters still out there with potential tracking fobs on the both of them, it was best they remain onboard. Still, Din stuck a small device in her bag that would allow him to monitor her movements without her knowing…just in case.

Once she'd left, he brought up the tracker on the view screen, following her path as she left the docking port and headed towards the town square. He noted that she stopped here and there, apparently looking at items and picking out things that would suit her needs. She hadn't been gone terribly long, perhaps less than an hour, when Din noticed her movements had stopped. At first it didn't worry him, assuming she might be trying things on or maybe sampling some wears that were offered. Yet, when nearly half an hour had passed and Ravana still had not changed locations, he began to become concerned. Had she perhaps dropped the tracking device? Or more likely, found it and left it behind on purpose out of irritation that he'd chipped her without her knowing. Din could just imagine her doing something like that simply to spite him.

However, that little voice in the back of his head wouldn't be silenced, the one telling him that something was wrong. So, after locking the kid and the zaktan in their cubical - for all the good that did – he left the ship and followed the tracking signal, hoping his concern would all be for nothing.

When he reached the area where her movements had stopped, he looked around, searching for any sign of his wayward passenger. And while nothing seemed out of place, he couldn't see Ravana anywhere. Letting the steady beeping of the chip guide him, he became enraged to find the bag he'd given her nestled among other items for sale on a cart belonging to a couple of Jawas! Assuming the little thieves had stolen it from her, he grabbed it up, causing the diminutive felons to begin to jabber and squawk.

"Where did you get this?" Din demanded, reaching out and taking hold of the closest one by the throat and pulling it roughly to him. Lifting the bag, he shook it in front of its beady glowing eyes. "Where's the woman this belongs to?"

When he deciphered the answer his captive gave, Din became even more confused and angry.

"What do you mean you found it lying on the ground?" This wasn't right. Dropping the Jawa, he checked inside, finding several articles of clothing folded neatly, apparently bought with care and something she wouldn't have willingly abandoned. "What about the girl?"

This time when the irritating creatures spoke, that sinking feeling he had soared to new heights. For according to them, there had been some kind of scuffle in the market, between a woman and a Trandoshan – a creature known for utilizing their species' hunting skills to track and capture bounties.

Suddenly everything fell into place, and Din felt like kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. That hunter back on the moon of Cortan hadn't been looking for him or the kid…he'd been hunting Ravana! But why? Had they already linked her chain code to his or the kid's? It made no sense, and yet the facts were plain as day, and Din had missed them all.

Realizing the yammering Jawas were not to blame, though he was certain they were less than innocent, he threw them a few credits for their trouble. Then, taking the bag, he headed in the direction they had said the reptilian creature had gone with the woman. Utilizing every trick and all the skills he'd ever learned as a bounty hunter, Din was able to follow their tracks easy enough, though mostly because the Trandoshan had not bothered hiding them in the least. He apparently hadn't counted on anyone coming after him and his prize, and Din was going to use that to his advantage. He only hoped that the Trandoshan filth hadn't made it off-world yet, taking Ravana with him. For they were not known for being gentle with their captives, and he'd seen more than a few bounties brought in not exactly whole. This thought made Din hurry all the faster, desperate to find her before it was too late.

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Ravana's head was pounding when she at last came too, having no idea where she was or what had happened. The first thing she realized was that she was strung up with her arms over her head, her hands locked in a pair of restraints that hung from the ceiling of a ship she was in. The second thing was that place smelled horrible, like rotting meat of some kind, causing her eyes to water just a bit.

She remembered having been shopping for food, when someone had grabbed her from behind, spinning her around harshly. Ravana recalled the face of an ugly beast, with reptilian skin and sharp teeth…and that's when everything went blank. She would have liked to think she'd put up some kind of struggle, but honestly, she didn't believe it had given her much of a chance. A spot on her neck between her right shoulder and ear throbbed as if she'd been hit by some bolt of electricity, leaving her to conclude that he'd zapped her with something that knocked her out.

Yet, Ravana had no idea why he'd attacked her in the first place. She'd done nothing wrong, nor had she been bothering anyone while she shopped. But here she was, held captive on some stranger's ship, with no way to save herself, and unfortunately no chance to contact Mando.

It was then that she heard the engines begin to power up, telling her that any moment they would be taking off and heading to who knows where. She couldn't let that happen! If she could just keep them planet-side, there was a chance that Mando might come looking for her…but if the ship took off, she was sunk.

"HEY!" she called out, shaking her hands and rattling the shackles. "Let me loose! I demand you tell me what's going on. Do you hear me?" She continued to scream and shout, doing all she could to get the attention of her captor. She breathed a sigh of relief when the engines didn't engage, yet sadly they didn't sound like they were being powered down. However, when the same hulking beast she'd seen just before being knocked out exited through a door and came stalking towards her, she began to rethink her plan of getting its attention.

"Shut your mouth, female," the reptilian thing ordered, his voice something between a growl and a hiss. "Or I will shut it for you…permanently!"

"But…but if I can't talk, how can I give you the coordinates for the loot?" she asked, quickly thinking of anything that might keep him there talking and not back in the cockpit flying away. "That is what you want, isn't it? The treasure?"

"Treasure?" This seemed to confuse the creature, reaching his hand up and scratching at his scaly skull. "What's this about a treasure?"

"I just figured that's why you captured me," Ravana reasoned. "But if not, then never mind."

"No one said nothing about no treasure!" he growled, now sounding even more angry than before.

"Oh, my mistake," she said with a shrug, trying to appear calm and not quivering mess like she truly was. "Never mind. Go about your business then, but whatever the reason you have caught me can't be worth more than all the gold ingots, gems, and bags of Imperial credits I stashed."

"And just where did you stash all this?" he demanded, bringing his face so close that she could feel his foul breath, the smell causing her to turn her head in disgust.

"I suppose I could show you," she told him reluctantly. "I mean it's not very far from here…assuming we're still on Pentab, that is."

"We are," he confirmed. "Now talk! And no lies, or I'll reconsider my idea of cutting out your tongue."

"Well…like I said, I could show you," Ravana repeated. "But it will be rather difficult to do while you've got me chained up like this." Once more she rattled her shackled hands above her head. "If you'll let me loose, I'd be happy to lead you right to it."

She could tell her captor was torn between going after this supposed treasure and just cutting his losses and simply take off. Ravana really hoped he was the greedy sort and would do as she had suggested.

"Where'd you get this treasure anyway?" he pressed. "Your warrant said nothing about you being a thief as well."

A warrant? How in the world had she acquired a warrant, one that obviously had attracted a bounty hunter set on collecting the reward for bringing her in. What was she supposed to have done?

"I…I was just on Cantonica," she supplied, figuring a lie with some truth to it was easier to believe. "There I hit the casino at Canto Bight and struck the motherload. You should have seen the stack of credits and other things I won that night. But I was afraid of it being stolen, so I hid it, and good thing too since apparently I have a price on my head."

"Made a fortune playing your luck at the casino, did you?" the bounty hunter laughed, apparently willing to believe her lie after all. "And exactly how did you get from there to here? No transport ship has landed that I know of, at least not since I touched down. You got a ship stashed somewhere as well?"

"I caught a ride," she informed him, once more adding in a bit of truth. "But I wasn't sure I could trust the pilot either, you see…and that's why I hid it. I mean, can one really put their faith in a Mandalorian? After all, they're a bunch of untrustworthy mercenaries and vicious killers, or so I'm told."

"A Mandalorian? You came here with a Mandalorian?" This news seemed to upset the hunter a great deal, and he began to hiss and spit as he slammed his fists into the wall of his ship in a fit of rage. "Do you know the kind of trouble they bring? Is he still here on the planet? Did I just steal his bounty right out from under his nose?"

Ravana was suddenly very sorry she'd mentioned her Mandalorian, afraid that she'd now ruined everything and that he'd immediately take off, making all her stalling and subterfuge pointless. She had no idea if Mando was even aware she was missing, let alone out looking for her. This caused her eyes to burn with tears of fear, wishing that she was back on the Razor Crest right now and nowhere near this horrible creature.

"No! He knows nothing about the money! I just paid him for a ride, that's all," she stammered, attempting to salvage her fabricated lie. "He's probably already left the system, headed off for who knows where."

"That's good," the bounty hunter nodded, calming down somewhat. "That's very good. But I'm not about to risk losing my payment for you by hanging around any longer than necessary. So, what say you just tell me where you've hid your stash and I'll come back for it after turning you in."

"You'll never find it without me, and I won't tell you anything while you have me trussed up," Ravana threatened.

"Are you sure of that?" the creature asked, drawing out a small blade, one that not only looked very sharp, but when he flipped a switch on the handle, it began to glow bright red. She could feel the heat coming off of it as it turned white hot, causing her to pull back in fear over what he might be planning to do with it.

"Torture won't work," she lied, the panic in her tone a dead giveaway.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it torture exactly," he corrected, his evil laugh sending shivers up her spine. "But I'm willing to bet that after the first cut, you'll be telling me all sorts of things, things you never thought you'd tell another living soul."

Ravana let out a terrified scream as she watched the glowing blade come towards her, knowing that any moment she would feel the excruciating pain as it cut into her skin. Yet, just before it did, there was the sound of a blaster going off, and the reptilian creature standing in front of her suddenly went limp and fell to the floor.

"MANDO!" she cried in utter relief at seeing him standing there at the back of the ship. How he'd found her or gotten on the vessel, she didn't care, all that mattered was that he'd come, saving her once again in the nick of time.

Saving the damsel in distress just in the nick of time is such a Mando thing to do. ha ha.

Well, we've learned a thing or two, haven't we. Ravana has a price on her head...but for what and who put it there?

Guess you will have to keep reading to find out. More fun in the galaxy will be heading your way on Monday!

And I have a question for you...which Mandalorian saying at the beginning of the chapters has been your favorite so far?

Guest Reviews:

Phantom Guest: Yep, he's always thought she was beautiful, but now he's said it out loud. ha ha. And she couldn't help herself, she was just so grateful that he came back alive. Now...we just have to get them to admit their love to themselves and THEN to each other. Oh what stubborn characters they can be. ha ha. Thanks!