Suggested Listening:
Walk to Dryden's - John Powell (from Solo: a Star Wars Story) | ...Nevarro
A Science Experiment - Alan Silvestri (from Back to the Future III) | ...lets go
Aftermath - David Arnold (from Independence Day) | ...what's going on here
"Well, well, well."
We stepped off of the Razor Crest onto the hard, rocky, volcanic surface of Nevarro and were immediately greeted by two welcoming figures — a man in official-looking garments, and a tough-looking woman in armor — both looking more than pleased to see Din.
The night before had been restless and self-flagellating. I felt a little better — more numb, anyway — today. The distraction of meeting Din's friends was more than welcome.
"Business or pleasure, Mando?" Continued the man with a hearty laugh. They clasped hands in greeting.
"How's my credit around here?" Mando asked them, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"I think something can be arranged," replied the man. "Right, Marshal?"
"We can work something out," the woman answered, smiling at me curiously.
Mando gestured to me.
"This is Kyrani Moss. She's on my crew. Kyra, this is Greef Karga, magistrate—" the man nodded in greeting. "—and Cara Dune, Marshal. And if you met them both the way I did, you'd find that sentence hilarious."
I shook hands with Cara Dune and noticed the tear on her cheek — a rebel tattoo.
"I thought you'd given up on having a crew, Mando!" Chuckled Greef in disbelief.
I wondered what that meant.
"She's good on a ship," said Din, matter-of-factly. "And she helps with the kid."
On cue, the kid poked his head up over Din's shoulder and squealed, happily.
"Ahh, there's the little one!" Greef's face cracked open into a beaming smile. "May I?"
I lifted the kid out of his carrier on Din's back and handed him to Greef.
"Hello, little friend," he cooed to the child, who looked delighted to be reunited.
"So, how did you get mixed up with the likes of him?" Cara asked with wry affection as we walked into town. Din and I exchanged looks.
"She helped me deliver a passenger safely," he said, opting for the vague route.
"That's right," I corroborated, then shot Din a subtle teasing look. "And lets face it, as soon as I got a look at his weapons store I couldn't say no."
He looked over at me with what could've been an amused eyebrow raise or a chastising scowl — I decided to believe the former. Hey, maybe there are advantages to this whole helmet thing.
"Looks like you two have been busy," said Din, looking around at the bustling marketplace.
"I myself have been steeped in clerical work," said Greef. "Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town."
"Hey", said Cara in a low voice, indicating with a cock of her head to hang back a little. "Can I ask you something?"
The other two continued ahead, with Greef gesturing at various new aspects of the city.
"Sure," I said, walking a little closer to her. She nodded at Din.
"Are you two…?"
"… driving each other crazy?" I replied, deflecting. "Only sometimes, glad to report."
She snickered, shaking her head.
"He's just an enigma, you know? I just didn't know if he'd maybe… expanded his social circle, lets say."
"Nope," I said simply. "Just crewmates. Although…"
I leaned in closer, lowering my voice even more.
"I've wondered, too. Does he… has he ever had a… crewmate, I guess?"
"Not that I've known," Cara said, shaking her head. "Like I said, an enigma. To be honest, we all kind of stay out of each others' personal lives. I think we're all loners in our own ways."
"Then… why did you ask if we were…?" I looked at her curiously.
She chuckled to herself.
"I don't know. I guess I've always thought he would do well with connection. I think maybe its good for him."
I bit my lip and looked at Mando striding ahead of us, unsure of how to respond.
"It's a good thing he found the kid," I said, finally. Cara gave me a knowing smile. I cleared my throat and caught up with the others.
We came to an office, presumably belonging to the Marshal. At a desk was a flustered looking Mythrol man, his bright blue skin in stark contrast with his dark attire.
"I believe you two know each other!" Greef came to a stop in front of the desk and handed the baby gently to me.
The Mythrol looked up at Din and gasped, a puff of some sort of bodily vapor escaping his neck in fear. I held my breath.
"I'm surprised to see you here," growled Din.
"R-right back at ya," he replied, fearfully.
"Mythrol here's taken care of my books since he was a pollywog," said Greef. "But then he disappeared one day after a bit of 'creative accounting'."
Mythrol shifted in his seat, uncomfortably.
"Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt," smiled Mythrol, leaning toward Greef. "Thank you for that, by the way."
"Three hundred and fifty years," grumbled Greef. "But who's counting?"
"Well if he runs off on you again, let me know," muttered Din, giving Mythrol a threatening stare.
"Let me assure you, I do not wanna spend any more time in carbonite," assured Mythrol. "Still can't see outta my left eye!"
I bit back an amused smile — so this was a former bounty. Interesting.
"Can we talk business?" Interrupted Cara.
"We're only here to repair my armor," said Din.
"Mando," said Cara, exchanging a look with Greef and leaning in, her voice lowered. "The Armorer isn't on Nevarro anymore."
This was clearly new information to Din, who shifted his weight, thinking for a moment.
"Where is she now?"
"From what I know she's on a space station near Glavis, I'll get you the coordinates."
Din's body deflated a little in disappointment and frustration.
"But while you're here," said Greef tentatively. "… we could really use your help."
Din sighed, and looked at me. I shrugged.
"Help how?" He asked, finally.
The problem turned out to be a big one. There was an Imperial outpost on the outskirts of their settled area that for some reason hadn't been abandoned in the fall — and it was chock full of Imperial weaponry. As Cara, Greef and Mythrol went to get a speeder for the mission, I pulled Din aside.
"So they basically are hiring us to do a hit job?" I hissed, my brow furrowed. "Mando, that's not what we do."
"Technically, we do what I say we do," he said gruffly. I cocked my head at him, challenging him. "Look," he said in a softer voice. "I know this isn't the kind of job you're comfortable with. Stay here and watch the kid — I don't want him anywhere near Imps."
I crossed my arms and hesitated — truthfully, I didn't want him to go either. I knew he'd probably done plenty of things like this in his time, but I also knew what a killing mission felt like to carry out, even by force, and I felt a strong swell in my chest urging me to protect him from that.
It's his choice, I reminded myself sternly. No caring, remember?
He could see I was reticent, so he leaned in even closer, only inches away from the side of my face. I swallowed, trying to keep my breaths even and calm.
"The people who wanted to hurt the kid," he said in a low, intent voice. "They were here. People with Imperial links wanted to do experiments on him, they had him hooked up to machines when I found him."
I looked at him, shocked.
"If there's an Imperial holdout on Nevarro, they're connected to what happened, I just know it," he went on. "I might be able to find out more information there that could help him."
I swallowed and gave him a small nod.
"I understand," I murmured. "I'll keep the kid safe here."
The others returned in a wide, tired-looking landspeeder. Din touched the kid's cheek affectionately and turned to go.
"Mando," I exclaimed, unable to stop myself. He turned to look at me. I turned my fearful gaze into a jokey half-smile. "… Be careful, okay? Your kind of the meal-ticket in this whole situation."
He looked down and I heard a quiet chuckle rumble from his vocoder.
"I'll be careful."
I watched him board the speeder, swallowing my anxiety down and raising a hand to wave at the departing group.
Please let him come back okay, I thought, despite myself. In every sense of the word.
Hours later I was still wringing my hands, but I tried to keep a cap on my nerves so as not to worry the kid. We explored Nevarro city, touring the street carts and market booths, and he had some fun playing with some children who had poured out of a local schoolhouse for recess.
I was just starting to relax and enjoy myself when Din reappeared, jogging across the street to meet us.
"You made it!" I smiled, but his energy quickly told me the mission wasn't finished.
"Get the kid, let's go," he commanded. "Quickly."
I scooped up the kid, much to the chagrin of the other children, and we hurried back to the Razor Crest.
"What's going on?" I panted as we boarded the ship.
"I was right," he replied, clambering up the ladder ahead of us. "It was a lab. They were using the kid's blood and they want more of it."
I clutched the kid tighter to me, a jolt of fear coursing through my chest.
"We were outnumbered," he continued, revving up the ship and bringing us upward. "They need our help or they're not gonna make it."
We soared away from Nevarro city, speeding toward the fracas.
"There," I exclaimed, pointing to the left of the viewport. "They're under fire."
Sure enough, a stormtrooper transport was hurtling across the volcanic desert. I knew it was them because Imperial TIE fighters were flocking straight towards it, firing indiscriminately.
"I got 'em," said Din, leaning forward in his seat. With nimble aim, he shot down the TIE fighters, zooming over the transport just in time. I held on tight as he piloted us through a brief air battle, showing incredible prowess and gunmanship. I looked over at the kid, worried that he might be scared, but he had his little arms up in amusement, enjoying every swoop and duck the ship took.
"I'd like to officially award you back your Good Driver badge," I joked. "You get us through this safely and I'll never mock your crash history again!"
"That's motivation enough," he replied with amusement, taking down another Imp.
Din took us straight down through the clouds, plummeting towards a TIE fighter that was shooting up at us, relentlessly. He shot back, refusing to duck — like a vertical, maniacal game of chicken. At the last second, the TIE fighter splintered into pieces and we flew through the wreckage unharmed. I couldn't help but exclaim in relieved victory.
The skirmish over, Din flicked two switches on the dash and turned around in his chair to check that we were both okay. I found myself grinning at him, thoroughly impressed.
"Nice work, boss."
"Nah," he demurred. "They're just lousy opponents."
The radio buzzed and Greef Karga's voice filled the cockpit.
"That was some impressive flying, Mando. What do I owe you?"
"Tell you what," chuckled Din, raising his voice for the communicator. "Call it even for now, and if we get in a jam, we'll call you."
"Sounds fair," said Greef. "Can I at least buy you a drink?"
I smiled to myself — as much as Din seemed to like people to think of him as a stoic, grumpy loner, he certainly had a lot of people who cared whether he lived or died.
"Sorry," said Din. "I have some onboard maintenance I gotta take care of. Then we gotta hit the road before Gideon catches wise."
"Well," said Greef, sounding disappointed but warm. "Good luck flying, my friend. And Kyrani—" I perked up at the sound of my name. "—you keep him in line."
I laughed and leaned forward in my chair.
"I'll do my best."
We left Nevarro's atmosphere and I waited until Din had plugged in some coordinates and taken us into Hyperspace before I asked.
"Mando… who's Gideon?"
He turned around in his chair and sighed an exhausted sigh.
"I guess it's time to let you know exactly what's going on here."
Twenty minutes later, I was completely filled in — and totally bewildered. Everything, from Din storming the Client's place and finding the kid hooked up to those machines, guarded by the cowardly, strange scientist, to his inevitable battle with the puppetmaster, Moff Gideon.
"… And he's still pursuing the kid?" I asked, leaning forward on my knees. We were speaking in low, urgent voices since the little one had fallen asleep.
Din nodded, solemnly.
"I guess its his blood they want," he said, looking over at the dozing child helplessly. "We know he's got abilities… but I guess he's even more powerful than we realized. That's why we need to find this Jedi."
My eyes widened. I knew about Jedi — at least a little — from my family's business discussions. From what I understood, Jedi were rare, dangerous… and valuable.
"Jedi?" I breathed. "I don't think there are any left."
"I don't know much about it," said Din with a light shrug. "But from what I understand, they're the best hope of helping him."
"So that's where we're headed?"
"Corvus," he nodded. "Bo-Katan told me to look for Ahsoka Tano, that she would know what to do next."
He had told me briefly about his meeting with the Nite Owls, Bo-Katan's crew of Mandalorians, back on Trask. He shared the barest details, but I noticed how complex and unsettled his feelings seemed to be when he discussed meeting others of his kind who were so different from him.
He paused, looking over a the kid again.
"I just wanna do right by him, you know?"
I was struck by the vulnerability in his voice.
"You're doing a good job," I said softly. He looked at me, and I felt his frame soften, just a little bit. A moment of earnestness passed between us — one that I realized I should break off. I cleared my throat and stood.
"Hey, do you mind if I hit the rack for a quick nap?"
"Sure," he said, clearing his own throat and turning around, finding something to do on the dash. "I'm wide awake."
I knew he was probably exhausted, and that when I came back up I would probably find him sleeping heavily in his chair, but I let him pretend that wasn't the case.
I slept longer than I meant to, and by the time I emerged, we were already swooping low over the spindly, wiry forests of Corvus. We landed and descended the ramp into the eerie fog, the cool, fresh air hitting my lungs like a refreshing wave. In the distance, through the sharp, grasping trees, I saw the hulking silhouettes of some gentle beasts, feeding on the sparse plant life.
Din and I realized that the kid wasn't walking alongside us, and we looked back to see him dawdling down the ramp, clutching a little silver ball.
"Hey," scolded Din, walking back to him and taking the ball out of his hands. "What did I say about that? This needs to stay on the ship."
"What is that?" I asked.
"It's the head of a lever—"
"—on the dash…" I finished, recognizing it. I smiled at the kid. "You like shiny stuff, huh, kid?"
I scooped him up and turned back to Din.
"Explains why he likes you so much," I said wryly. He stared back, inscrutably. Probably laughing silently, I thought to myself. Definitely thinks I'm hilarious.
He turned back around to look into the forest and shifted his weight. I realized that for the first time since I'd started traveling with him, he didn't really know what to do next.
"I've never dealt with a Jedi before…" he said, a slight undercurrent of nerves in his tone. Then he cleared his throat and motioned for me to follow him. "Let's head into town, see if we can pick up a lead."
I followed him, trepidatiously, into the fog.