AN: This chapter was a bit of a struggle, so I hope you guys like it.
Also happy May the 4th 3
Chapter 10 – Search and Rescue
Life was waking between the boulders in preparation for the coming dawn. A colorful lizard darted across the warming rocks, freezing for a moment when it saw Sinead and the Mandalorian before disappearing behind a tuft of coarse grass that grew from cracks in the stone. A small, shrunken tree clung to an outcropping with purple leaves rustling in the wind. The trunk was black, making it look charred and wholly out of place amidst the white rocks.
A small avalanche of pebbles followed them downwards. Sinead tried keeping an eye out for any sign of Mirian but she really had no clue what to look for. As they ran, a sound of rushing water grew louder and louder, echoing between the rock walls. More trees and shrubs appeared growing from whatever dirt they could find.
They rounded a corner and stopped in front of a frothing river that cut through their path. White water splashed over rocks that broke through the water, creating wild eddies that pulled whatever had the misfortune of landing in the water into a wild spin. Mirian was stupid, but not stupid enough to try to cross. If she had so much as stepped a foot in the river she'd been swept away, to either drown on the bottom or be crushed against the rocks.
Two logs made a narrow bridge across the rushing water. The ends sank into the banks on each side and the wood was covered in slimy algae.
Sinead went first on the bridge. Her feet slid on the wet wood, and she breathed deeply through her nose, keeping her eyes locked on the opposite bank, which suddenly seemed miles away. Ice cold spray hit her face, keeping her grounded. Water washed over the bridge, soaking through her boots.
On the other side of the river the ground was soggy and clear footprints led further south. There was more vegetation here and signs of animal life.
Suddenly, the trees and the rocks fell away like someone had plucked them from the ground. Mando and Sinead stood at the edge of a patchwork of fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Ancient stone dikes carved up every field, white stone glowing in the pre-dawn light.
The settlement nestled into a bend in the river, a dark spot in the green landscape where thin wisps of smoke disappeared up into the morning air. Two dirt roads led out of the city, one going across the river and disappearing east and the other carving through the fields to the west.
"If I was a young girl desperate to prove myself," Sinead said and wiped some sweat from her brow, "I'd start by finding the nearest town."
"There'll be guards."
"It's bound to be more exciting than wandering the wild."
Mando's looked up at the brightening sky. "That's what I'm afraid of," he said with a hollow voice. "Let's just keep out of sight." He didn't need to tell Sinead that. She could blend into most crowds- her survival depended on it- but the Mandalorian stood out everywhere he went.
They started towards the settlement. Knee-high stalks still wet with dew ran in straight lines and the air was filled with a sweet earthy scent. Stiles that looked as old as the stone dikes made their way across the fields a bit easier.
The settlement was bordered by farmhouses, low buildings made of white rock that had turned grey by dirt. A herd of big, hairy creatures watched Mando and Sinead with drooping eyes.
The houses grew closer after the first couple of streets, turning from dirt roads into uneven cobblestone. It smelled of woodsmoke, and Sinead could hear people inside the houses moving around, but the streets were still empty.
Suddenly, Mando froze and gestured to Sinead to get down. She barely had time to duck behind a pile of damp firewood before two black-clad figures strolled down the street, two rifles swinging from their arms.
"Can't believe Commander Rancor-Dick has stationed us out here in the ass-end of nowhere," said one of the men.
"Ranick's always been a tightass, but this shit's made him bloody paranoid. Ain't like anyone's gonna storm a place like this." The other figure rolled up his mask and spat on the logs. Sinead made a face.
"Kriffin' idiot."
They waited until the guards were out of earshot before moving carefully down the street.
"Look," Mando said and stopped in front of a wall covered with peeling and sun-bleached posters. "Gatt said the Collective keeps a tight hold on the planet."
"Explains why the streets are empty," Sinead said. The word 'curfew' screamed out at her in angry red letters.
They continued onwards, keeping to the shadows. Many of the houses were dark and abandoned and broken glass or trash littering the streets. They passed the burnt-out remains of a house, a dark husk of charred beams and crumbling outer walls. Foliage had begun to encroach between the rubble.
They reached a wide street. Mando went first, crossing the lit street and ducking into a narrow alley on the other side. Sinead waited until he was safely out of the light before following him.
"Hey you!"
She froze fight or flight instincts rooting her to the spot in indecision before higher brain power resumed control and she turned and looked. A New Moon soldier stood at the end of the street. He was dressed in black like the two guards with a mask covering his face. There was an inexpertly painted white circle on his chest, the color running into the dark cloth. Most of her attention was drawn to the rifle he pointed directly at her, his finger hovering over the trigger. "What do you think you're doing?"
Mando moved to step into the street.
"Stay back," she hissed.
The soldier stepped closer. "Hey, I'm talking to you! There's a curfew."
Sinead looked at the ground and shuffled back. Her blaster burned in its holster. "I-I know that-"
"If you know that," the soldier sneered, lowering his rifle an inch, "why aren't you home with the other little dokmas, eh?" He reached for her. "Oi! Look at me when I'm-"
Mando darted out from the shadow and grabbed the guard, clamping a hand over his mouth and dragged him back into the alley. Sinead grabbed the soldier's blaster rifle before it hit the ground. She followed them after casting a glance up and down the street.
Mando threw the soldier against the alley wall, using all his strength to keep him pinned. "A human girl," he grunted, "have you seen her?"
The soldier's eyes swiveled in their sockets and a muffled voice came out beneath Mando's hand.
"Nod yes or no."
The soldier shook his head as well as he could under Mando's iron grip.
"Fuck." Sinead shook her head and bit her bottom lip. What if Mirian hadn't gone this way? What if she'd turned off and followed one of the roads or been swept away crossing the river?
Suddenly, the sound of marching feet made Sinead scramble farther into the darkness.
Mando grunted when the guard started squirming in his grip, eyes white in the darkness.
Sinead stepped forward and pressed the barrel of the rifle into the soft part of his stomach. "Don't move," she whispered.
Light flickered as four soldiers, dressed head to toe in black, marched down the street. One of them stopped at the mouth of the alley, an arm's length from the trio hiding in the shadows. He stretched while scanning the area, holding his rifle loosely in one hand. Sinead held her breath.
"Oi! Tokker! Curfew's about to end, we gotta get a move on," came a shout from down the street.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming all right." The guard hitched up his pants and disappeared from view.
There was a commotion behind her and she whirled around; the guard had gotten hold of a knife and struck it against Mando's side where it was deflected by beskar, sparks lighting up the small space. Mando slammed into the guard, the knife sliding across beskar again.
Sinead rushed forward and grabbed the guard's wrist, wrenching it back until there was an audible pop and his eyes went wide. The knife fell from his hand.
Mando grabbed it in the air and slammed it into the soldier's throat, who slid slowly to the ground.
"You okay?" Sinead didn't look at the corpse at their feet.
"Yeah," Mando said, checking that his armor held up. "But we can't stay here much longer. We need to get back to the ship."
"I know, but we have to make sure she isn't here." Sinead didn't want to imagine what Gatt would do if they returned sans her niece.
They followed the four guards, keeping to the smaller streets. The city was waking up with the sun; some of the shutters covering the small windows had been opened, showing sleep-weary people getting ready for the day.
Up ahead, the street opened up into a small square where narrow stalls clustered together in a seemingly random order and sun-faded lanterns hung low between rotted wooden poles; many of them had disintegrated, leaving behind a bare wire skeleton to sway in the breeze. The dark houses surrounding the square seemed to close in over the small space.
The four soldiers clustered around at the other end of the square, surrounding two figures laying curled up on the uneven ground. The biggest of the figures, an old man, hid his face in his cloak as blows from the soldiers rained down on him. The other smaller figure was likewise huddled on the ground, a shock of red hair making Sinead grab Mando by the shoulder.
"Mando-"
"I've seen her. Go right and distract them."
Sinead didn't stop to think. She ran along the right side of the square, the rifle heavy in her arms.
"Hey Tokker!"
The soldiers looked up.
"Who-"
A blaster bolt fizzled through the air and one of the men crumbled to the ground, a smoking hole in the middle of his chest.
Sinead stepped to the side as a blaster bolt hit the wall behind her, showering the ground with dust. She fired the rifle and the recoil punched a bruise into her shoulder. Another soldier let out a strangled cry and fell to the ground.
One guard jumped behind a flimsy stall while the last one started running, screaming into his comm-link. Sinead shot him in the back and sent him flying into a hand-drawn cart, flipping it over with a loud crash.
The last soldier fell backward with a smoking hole in his head.
Silence fell over the square. The old man carefully lifted his head.
"Get up," Sinead said when she reached Mirian. She cast a worried look around. Someone was bound to have heard that.
The old man slunk away as Mando came running. "We gotta go," he said, casting a glance behind him.
Sinead grabbed Mirian's wrist and pulled her to her feet. Mirian didn't complain but followed them as they ran for the nearest street leading out of the square.
A door opened and a human woman came out, taking one look at the trio before hurrying inside, slamming the door behind her.
They took a shortcut through a garden made up mostly of mud and weeds. Sinead kept glancing back, her ears prickled for any sign of guards coming their way. She threw the rifle into an uncovered well and pulled out her blaster. They stopped by a rain barrel and Sinead let out a deep breath.
Mirian's face was streaked in dirt and she seemed to curl in on herself. "I didn't mean to-"
Mando shushed her while Sinead hissed "quiet!"
There were shouts in the distance and the sound of heavy footfalls, a group of people moving down the street. There was a loud crash as a door was broken down and someone screamed.
They started running along a dilapidated fence until they found a gap big enough to squeeze through one after one. Raised voices came from a nearby house and something shattered.
Sinead was the first to head down a narrow alley, the sky only a sliver of light above her. Broken glass crunched under her feet. She could hear Mirian's terrified breathing behind her.
A hulking figure appeared at the mouth of the alley. Sinead hit the ground, dragging Mirian down behind her.
A blaster bolt fizzled over her head and hit Mando in the chest, sending him stumbling back with a grunt.
Mirian screamed, her voice reverberated between the walls.
Suddenly, the alley was filled with blaster fire and howls of pain. Sinead got to her feet and squeezed the trigger. The figure fell to the ground but just as soon another took his place.
She threw herself to the side, colliding with the wall to avoid a blaster bolt.
The alley lit up in red again and again. The air smelled like ozone.
She stabbed the nearest dark figure, her knife getting twisted out of her hands as he fell.
Something collided with her back, sending her crashing to the ground. Broken glass cut into her skin as she twisted around and pushed the weight off her. The soldier rolled to the side, a trickle of blood seeping from his mouth.
She scrambled to get up when a boot connected with her ribs. Air left her lungs as she crashed into the ground, her mouth filling with dirty alley water.
Two meaty hands closed around her throat. A dark mask hovered above her, two red-tinted eyes glinting down at her. Putrid breath hit her face.
Her blaster was gone. She tore at his hands, but his grip grew stronger. Dark spots clouded her eyes.
There was a sickening thud and the soldier froze. He blinked once, blood flowing into his eyes.
He pitched forward. Sinead took a deep gulp of air and pushed him away.
Mirian stared at the board held raised in her hands. Her breath hitched.
The last soldier fell. The alley rang with silence.
Sinead got to her feet; broken glass tinkled as it fell from her tattered clothes.
"I-I didn't mean to-" Mirian tore her gaze from the bloody board to Sinead. Her chin quivered.
"No time," Mando said, pulling Mirian to her feet in one fluid motion. "There are still more in the city."
Sinead grabbed her blaster half pinned under a dead soldier, and they set into a sprint.
Sun broke over the horizon as they found a way out of the settlement. Stalks crunched under Sinead's feet as she ran, breathing heavily through her nose. Her chest felt tight.
Mando helped Mirian over a stone dike where the stile had collapsed. Her hands had finally stopped shaking.
They were near the relative safety of the rocks which were painted golden in the early morning light, when Mando's head snapped back to the settlement. "Get down," he growled and threw himself flat against the ground.
Sinead and Mirian dove behind the nearest stone dike. Three speeder bikes shot out of the settlement, a tail of dust behind them. They followed the dirt road at breakneck speed.
Sinead held her breath as they passed. No one moved until the roar of the speeder bikes were gone.
"Do you think they're looking for us?" Mirian's voice shook as she grabbed the stone dike to haul herself to her feet.
"Just move," grunted Mando, who kept an eye on the road as they hurried towards the mountain.
At last, they made it to the river. Sinead jumped on the bridge first, edging her way across. There wasn't any sign of them being followed but still, she'd rather not stay for longer than strictly necessary.
Once her feet hit the ground on the other side of the river, a tiny bit of tension left her shoulders. A small strip of water wouldn't be much of an obstacle for the Collective but it still felt better knowing there was something standing between her and the settlement.
Mirian scrambled down from the bridge, her eyes locked on the ground.
At last, the Mandalorian made his way across. Sinead could read the anger in his shoulders. Something hot and spiky unfurled in her stomach.
Mirian scraped the ground with the tip of her shoe. "I didn't mean to-"
Mando and Sinead exploded at the same time.
"What the fuck were you thinking-"
"Do you realize what you've-"
"-of all the shortsighted, senseless-"
"-and for what? Being a-"
"-idiot girl, I hope your aunt locks you up in a goddamn cell if we ever get back, hopefully you won't do any more harm from there." Sinead's face burned with anger.
Mirian looked at them with wide eyes, face frozen in fear or defeat.
Mando breathed heavily through his nose. "We go back to the ship. You don't touch anything, you don't say anything." He stared Mirian down until she nodded.
Sinead rolled her shoulders, trying to reign back her anger. "Right. Let's go."
Sunlight glinted off the ship when they found their way back between the boulders. Suri walked in circles beside the open ramp, the child watching her solemnly from the opening. He was the first to notice them, babbling excitedly and waddling down the ramp.
Suri spun around, letting go of one of her lekkus. "You found her!"
The old man, Erno, came hurrying out of the ship. "You're too late. The blockade is back online."
"We know," Mando grunted and grabbed the kid before he fell over in his haste to get to the Mandalorian.
"Place'll be swarming with guards any minute. Is there anywhere we can go?" Sinead looked back the way they came. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she could hear raised voices.
Erno twirled his hat in his hands. "There are caves on the other side of the mountain. They ain't easy to navigate even if you know the area. I might be able to find one you can hide out in."
"And then we do what? We can't stay there forever," Sinead said.
"We can figure that out later. Now we just need to get out of here," Mando said.
They piled into the ship. The wounded rebel was sleeping in the bunk.
"Don't move a muscle," Mando said to Mirian, who shrunk at the words. Sinead would feel bad for her if this wasn't solely her fault.
Mando disappeared up the ladder with Erno, and the ship turned on with a shudder.
Sinead sat down on the floor with her back against the wall, her side was burning. "You think we're gonna get out of here?"
Suri grimaced and wrapped her arms around herself in a tight hug. "I don't know."