We dropped Kuiil off at his shop on Takodana before heading back out; he said he had some business to take care off. Even though I listened in on last night's conversation, I pretended to be ignorant this morning. Mando didn't tell me where we were going but I had an idea. Kuiil said they needed someone they could trust; someone who already knew me. And I can only think of one man who fit that description.
The ship landed on an unknown planet to me. Mando brought me off deck this time to a place which had a familiar setting. Great- another tavern. Why am I spending a lot of time in bars lately? I don't even drink. The Mandalorian opened the door to reveal a fist fight occurring in the centre of the room. Scores of people were cheering and shouting. My eyes grew huge when I realized that one of the contenders was Carl Dune. He and the man- this big, burly guy with horns- had this red taser connecting them in front of their waists.
I probably wasn't supposed to intervene, but I was just so appalled by their behaviour right now. "Carl!" I shouted, clearly upset. Both his and his opponent's head shot over our way. "Saoirse?!" Carl had just enough time to gasp; his adversary took the opportunity to round house Carl in the side. I had to shut my eyes as Carl spun around to knock him square in the face a couple of times. The taser rope only disappeared once he literally choked the horned guy with it. I was not amused.
Once the rope severed, Carl rushed over to Mando and I. "You guys!" My eyes widened as Carl suddenly and unpredictably pulled me in for a hug. His sweaty arms wrapped around my shoulders for a second. I was so stunned that I couldn't embrace him back. This was the first time a man has ever hugged me like that before. And it was quite obvious that Mando was also not impressed by this, following the motions of Carl's head with his helmet. "What are you doing here?" Carl finally let me go, grinning at both of us. "Looking for some work?" Mando asked him.
The three of us sat down at a corner table; me planted right in the middle of them just like before. I poured Carl and myself some cups of this weird, glowing blue liquid while Mando explained the plans. "It seems like a straightforward operation. They're providing the plan and firepower; I'm the snare." Now it was Carl's turn to wear an unimpressed expression. "Mando, this is Saoirse we're talking about," he uttered in a very serious voice. "That's why I'm coming to you," Mando retorted. Carl sat back in his chair; he glanced from me back to the Mandalorian in a thoughtful yet irritated manner.
"It's not a good idea," Carl shook his head after a minute or two. "I'll be there," Mando rebuffed. "Look, even if I did think this could work, I've been advised to lay low. If anybody runs my chain code, I'll rot in a cell for the rest of my life." "I thought you were a veteran." "I've been a lot of things since- most of them carry a life sentence. If I so much as book passage on a ship registered to the new republic, I'll…." Carl gazed down. "I have a ship." "I know you have a ship, but that's not the point." "I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward. You can live free of worry." "Mando, look at her! I won't be worry-free if anything happens on this mission where she's dangled in front of the Client on a string. They could seriously harm Saoirse, or worse. She shouldn't be anywhere near them."
Oh lovely; they're talking about me like I'm not here again. I might as well go on a pleasant stroll outside. Heh, but they might ironically miss me when I'm not here. And I should point out that no one's asked what I think of this whole scenario yet. Hey, wait; that's true. They don't know how I feel…..
"Actually, I don't mind…." I surprisingly heard the sound of my voice cut in. Both their heads spun to face me alarmed, but I simply gave a shrug in response. "I don't mind being used as bait. So long as you don't kill him in front of me. In fact, is there a way you can do this without killing him?" Neither man spoke for a second, then Carl turned to face Mando. "This isn't gonna work." "They won't stop coming. You saw what happened on Sorgan. She'll never be safe until the imp is dead, and this may be our only chance." Oh, sure; just keep talking like I hadn't said anything. I sat back in my chair while sipping on my drink and staring off into space. It's like they didn't hear me at all.
Carl frowned. "Forget it. I'm not in the mood to play soldier, especially fighting some local warlord." "He's not a local warlord- he's Imperial." Well, this titbit of information shut Carl up pretty fast. His tongue rolled over his teeth in a thoughtful manner, and then he peered my way. Our eyes locked for a minute; Carl's mouth morph into a thin, flat line.
"This is going to be dangerous, Saoirse. You're going to have to do exactly what we tell you." "Don't I already?" I blinked perplexed. A grin grew across his lips a moment later. His head spun to see the Mandalorian straight on. "Alright, I'm in on two conditions. One, we get more backup. And two, I get to kill this escort guy if he double-crosses us." "Deal," Mando nodded. Carl leaned back in his chair once more.
"Speaking of our escort, does your contact need to vet me?" "He doesn't know you're coming." "Really? That could be a problem." "It won't. But if it is, that's his problem." Carl then looked back at me. "You trust the contact?" "Not particularly." "He's caused us some trouble before," I took a sip of my water. Carl rolled his eyes back to the Mandalorian apprehensively. "I will kill him if he tries anything. I'm not taking any chances," he stated, clearly forgetting my stance on killing and violence in general. But Mando seemed to understand where he was coming from; at least one of us did. Carl took his last gulp of his water and wiped his mouth. "So, who's the backup?"
And back to Takodana we flew. We landed right when Kuiil was tending to these weird, domestic, riding creatures. He greeted us and brought us into his home. "This is Carl Dune; he was a shock trooper," the Mandalorian introduced the pair. Neither man looked particularly impressed. "You were a Dropper?" Kuiil pointed to the tattoos on Carl's arm. Carl glanced down at them puzzled and back up at Kuiil. "Did you serve?" He asked. "On the other side, I'm afraid. But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt, and now I serve no one but myself," Kuiil sat down with us. Kuiil… My eyes lowered onto him softly. Sounds like he's had a hard life; poor guy. He's so kind, he didn't deserve that.
Literally right after I thought that, a robot stepped into the room with a tray in its hands. Mando immediately stood up, aiming his blaster right at it ready to shoot. Carl followed suit, both men positioned protectively beside me. "Would anyone care for some tea?" It asked in its robotic voice. Hold on, my eyes narrowed closely onto it. Haven't I seen this droid somewhere before? That voice is ringing a bell in my head. "The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated." Oh, wait….. Oh no.
"Please, lower your blasters. He will not harm you," Kuiil lifted up his hand pleadingly. "That thing is programmed to kill Saoirse," the Mandalorian didn't move his gun or his glare. "Not anymore. I said we needed some extra insurance and here it is," the engineer defended. The bot placed the tray down and poured some…. uh, interesting looking tea. Mando did not look convinced; not at all. "Is it still a hunter?" He grilled, making sure to stand in front of me now. "No, but it will protect." The robot then held a cup up. "Tea?" Mando sighed, frustrated.
"No," the Mandalorian went on to state with finality. "I've reprogrammed it to be Saoirse's protector," Kuiil just kept on pushing. "I don't want that droid anywhere near her." "Why are you so distrustful of droids?" "It tried to kill her," Mando said seriously. Hey, yeah; I remember that. "It was programmed to do so. Droids are not good or bad; they are neutral reflections of those who imprint them." By now Carl and I were watching the robot; I noticed Carl's arm unthinkingly and quite defensively slip over my shoulder. While I was looking at his arm now, he was observing the droid suspiciously. Even Mando was still reluctant to accept it. "I've seen otherwise," Mando said. "Do you trust me?" Kuiil asked him. "From what I can tell, yes." "Then you will trust my work. IG-11 will join me. Remember, Mando; we're not doing this for payment, but to protect Saoirse from Imperial slavery. None will be free until the old ways are gone, forever."
After a long, loooooong minute, the Mandalorian finally relented. His head moved up as if he was rolling his eyes. "Ok." "And the blurrgs will join me as well." "The blurrgs?" Mando countered. "I have spoken," Kuiil stood up. I leaned in towards Carl so to whisper: "what's a blurrg?"