"Saoirse! Saoirse Jinn! Where are you?!" That voice…. that voice. My heart skipped a beat- several beats- as my blood ran cold. Out of instinct, my feet took steps backwards. This was the first time since Mando picked me up at Takodana that I felt real, unadulterated fear. I wasn't this afraid when the Imperials and that crazy Dr. Pershing had me in their custody. But the way this new man belted my name just now….. Without having to look, I knew he was dangerous- deadly, even. Not someone I wanted to face alone. My body froze petrified with my hands out at my sides; my breath stilled as I waited, prayed he'd leave. But alas, no such luck.
"I know you're here, woman! There's no use hiding from me! Get out here and I mean now! You better not make me come and find you!" It took absolutely everything I had to peer from around the tree which was currently concealing me from any line of view. The man, or monster I should say, was as terrible and frightening as you can imagine. Tall and covered head to toe; he was also wearing a mask but looked nothing like the Mandalorian. In his right hand was a very large gun and in the left one of those red, beeping trackers. He had on a dark cloak with the hood up. His physical appearance matched the tone of his voice: very, very chilling.
Whoever he was, he waited for less than a half a second before shouting his tirade again. "I'll search every house one by one, killing all its residents if I have to!" How this beast was able to project he voice like that from behind a mask, I had no clue. What he threatened, however, made my eyes slowly widen in horrific realization. The villagers wisely stayed hidden in their huts, giving the village this sort of abandoned aura. Yet despite this, it was obvious that there were people around; not just me as indicated by his insidious tracking fob.
It hit me gradually at first, then sped up to a rapid pace. My eyes were enormous and staring off into space in utter, tragic horror. This fiend…. He was threatening the safety of the villagers in order to flush me out. And what's more horrific- I knew it would work. The moment he broadcasted this, my subconscious mind had already made its decision. Mando wasn't here; neither was Carl…. I was all alone to face him. Mando wasn't here….. My lips parted the tiniest sliver. I was unarmed and likely going to die if I confronted this villain….. But there was nothing I could do. I value all life…. There's nothing I can do.
I was completely numb to the sensation of my legs moving. One foot stepped in front of the other without it consciously registering. With my vision almost blurred, I automatically walked out from the thicket into the light of the village perimeter. The man's feet immediately shifted; he turned to face me. His gun raised on impulse; the tracker was beeping like crazy.
"Saoirse?" This was the quietest I've heard his voice, though it was still mightily vicious. I didn't answer; I couldn't. All words turned to cotton in my throat. I guess he took my omission to speak as a confirmation. He was now candidly pointing his gun's barrel at me. "Finally. You have no idea how long it took me to find you," his finger rested on the trigger. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe….. He's going to shoot me, right here and now. He knows that if I run, he can punish me by slaughtering the innocent villagers…. Winda and her mother. No, I can't run; I can't try to run away or even call for Mando. If I was alone, it would be entirely different…. But I'm not alone. I value all life; I was born to be a healer. If I can metaphorically heal this village by dying for its members, I'd do it without a second thought.
The creep shut one eye to steady his aim onto me. "Saoirse Jinn, consider this a death sentence by the order of the Imperial Empire," he hissed. The Empire? What is, or was, that? These were my only questions on the subject as he readied his gun in his hands. His last few words to me, I'll never forget: "I don't like killing girls, but for your bounty, I'll make an exception."
Before I could close my eyes to brake for the impact of being shot, I felt something hard crashing into me. Literally crashing into me, like a speeding spaceship. It was enough force to knock me off my feet, sending me straight onto the ground beside where I was standing. The pain didn't register right away; it just felt like something heavy pressing into me. After wincing shut, my eyes shot open to see Mando laying overtop of me; he was shielding me with his body. Both his arms were protectively out and close at my sides.
Like five seconds I was tackled down, an ear-shattering gunshot rang through the air. It was so loud that it sent birds flying in a panic in the nearby forest. After a second, Mando sat up in such a way that I was still laying in between his legs. We looked to where the shot came from. The only part of that I saw was the monster felt to his knees; Carl was standing behind him with his own gun aimed at the beast's back. Mando then proceeded to block my view as I heard the now dead body fall to the ground. It was around now that faces began to nervously peer from outside their houses.
"Are you alright?" The Mandalorian asked me. My mouth opened but no words came out yet; I was still too stunned and traumatized by what just occurred. I was able to put the pieces together in my head, though. Mando ran for me; not the guy wanting to kill me. I bet it was because Carl was right behind him; he knew that Carl would handle the villain. So Mando left that to him, choosing instead to address my safety first instead of shooting that guy himself. His first instinct when he saw that I was in danger was to come to me…. Not take out the man threatening me but protect me himself. The very notion helped steady my breathing as I stared up at Mando's helmet.
Meanwhile Carl took a few steps forward and reached down to pick up the tracker, which fell from the fiend's person into the dirt when his corpus collapsed. He inspected it; his face washing over in horror and deep concern. "Mando, what is this? Was he using this to track Saoirse?" Carl sounded appalled, enraged, and terrified all at once. "Stay here," the Mandalorian told me before getting up to go over to Carl and the gruesome body. "Mando, what does he want with Saoirse? Is there something you've neglected to tell me?" Carl's voice was raising. "Give it to me," Mando held his hand out for it. Carl frowned, taking a step backwards.
"He almost shot her! Why?! What was he doing here? We know how he found her, but that doesn't answer why he wanted to murder Saoirse." Mando hesitated to answer for a moment; his head tilted downwards ever so slightly in a thoughtful manner. "That doesn't matter."
"What do you mean? Course it matters! She could have died, Mando! I mean, what would have happened if we hadn't arrived when we did? How many more of these fobs are out there? How many people are searching for her?" By now, the whole stunned village was listening to them along with me. People apprehensively came out into the open; not that neither man took notice.
Again, Mando took his time responding; it was clear he was considering this too by the way his head moved. "I don't know." "You don't know?" Carl spat back angrily. "I'm handling it," the Mandalorian's hand raised. "You're clearly not. Wait… Is that why you brought her here? Because you knew these…. these bounty hunters are tracking Saoirse?" A moment of silence passed between them. Mando's helmet turned gently to face Carl. "Yes," he answered honestly.
Carl contemplated this for a minute, licking his lips and glaring off to the side. The mood was still very, very tense. "Then they'll keep coming." "Yes….." "They know she's here; you'll have to leave, and the sooner, the better." "I know," Mando then threw the tracker back onto the ground and crushed it with his boot.