Trel Mongabe patrolled the hall between the cells. They could hear the crying of the new products but it rang hollow in their ears. After years working with the Thasp slavers they had learned to tune it out. Their heart had hardened and all they could think about was the credits. Stopping in front of the cell with the newest batch of child slaves they looked in on them. Most of the kids were huddled together, crying or whimpering, but one of them stood out amongst the others. It was a boy with messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He sat, cross legged, between the other children and the cell door. Trel cackled.
"Think you're brave, huh?" The boy glared at them and they grinned.
"My dad is going to kill you. All of you." Trel felt a small shiver run down their spine. There was something so certain in the boy's gaze it was unsettling.
"Oh yeah? Him and what army?" The boy smiled, looking smug. Trel wanted to smack the look off the kid's face.
"He doesn't need an army. He's the best bounty hunter in the galaxy!" They let out a bark of laughter.
"That's a big claim considering the best bounty hunter in the galaxy is Jango… Fett…" Trel's laughter tapered off when the boy didn't waver. If anything his expression grew more smug, more triumphant. They paled.
"Y-you can't be serious?" Before the kid could answer there was a sudden jolt and a loud explosion. The kid got to his feet with a huge grin. "What the fu-" Before they could finish their sentence the boy lifted their cuffed hands and suddenly Trel was knocked back into another cell door, their head slamming against it hard. The boy turned and Trel watched as the cuffs fell, like they hadn't been locked a moment ago.
"Come on, we're getting out of here." The boy said happily to the other children. They tried to push themselves away from the cell door but was caught by the hands of the older slaves. The blonde boy shoved his cell door and it opened with a shriek of metal. More hands grasped at them, cutting off their oxygen. The last hysteric thought that went through their head as the world turned black was; 'Jango Fett has a son!?'
[Anakin]
Soothing some of the younger kids he told them to hide if they heard the slavers coming and to only come back out if they heard him tell them it was safe. "I'll say 'there are no bad guys.' If you hear that then it's safe to come out. If I say 'it's safe' then you'll know the slavers got me and are trying to make me help them catch you again." The oldest girl nodded in understanding and ushered the others into the shadowy section of the hold. With the kids safe he turned his attention to the other cells.
His dad told him he had to be careful when he used the force. If he did too much he could get sick and there was no one around to take care of him. So instead of ripping all the doors open he went over to the unconscious, maybe dead, hut'uun and rummaged through their pockets until he found a remote. He checked it carefully to make sure it wasn't connected to any explosives before hitting a button and whooping when all the doors opened.
"It's alright! You're all free!" He called out. Those who could see him from their cells were the first to come out into the hall then slowly others started to join them. One woman, a Twi'lek, leaned down to smile at him, gratitude shining in her eyes.
"Arni'soyacho!" (Thank you greatly.) She said emphatically.
"Koahiko." (You are msot welcome.) He said in response, his smile growing wider when the woman looked pleasantly surprised.
"Is anyone really good at shooting?" He asked. A couple of hands went up and he handed them the guns from the unconscious slaver. When they were armed they went to guard the door to the cargo bay. There wasn't a long wait before the two former slaves were shooting down the hall to keep the slavers at bay. Anakin sat down and closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly. Right away he zeroed in on his father's presence in the force and relaxed.
Another explosion rocked the ship and the people around him began to panic. "It's okay!" He said loudly above the murmuring, standing up excitedly. "It's just my dad, he's here to help!" Of this Anakin had no doubt. His dad hated slavery even more than he did. He wasn't lying when he told the slaver that his dad was going to kill them all.
When he felt his dad finally come closer he ran up to the door. "Don't shoot!" The slaves looked at him a little strangely but they aimed the blasters at the ground rather than down the hallway. His father's bulky armored frame came running down the hallway, his aura of rage giving way to joy and relief.
"Ad'ika? Me'vaar?" (My child? Are you alright?) Anakin ran up to him and was pulled into an embrace. A gloved hand ran through his blonde hair as he was lifted into his father's arms.
"Naas, jahaala." (Nothing's wrong, I'm fine.)
Jango's gloved hand brushed against the bruise on his face and Anakin could feel his anger spike. "Nayc, ne'jahaala." (No, you're hurt.) But his dad let it go for the time being. Setting him down on the floor he let Anakin lead him into the cargo bay and looked around at the sheer number of freed slaves. He cursed under his breath.
"Can anyone here fly?" Anakin grinned and went to open his mouth. "Not you, shu'shu'ika." The man said with exasperated fondness. He pouted but let his dad work with the slaves while he wandered over to where the kids were hiding.
"There are no bad guys left, you can come out now!" There was no response at first but after a beat of silence the kids came out from their hiding places. Some of them ran to their parents, whom they'd been separated from, while others huddled together near Anakin.
"It's settled then. I'll escort you to Alderaan." Turning away from the small group who appeared to be the new leaders for the freed slaves his dad motioned him over. "K'olar, An'ika. We're leaving." Anakin said good-bye to the other children and scampered over to his father.
"You sure you're alright, ner ad?" He smiled.
"Lek, I knew you'd come." He could feel his dad's emotions in the force and leaned against him. His dad had felt so desperate and angry, scared almost. Now he was all calm determination and contentment again, sharp and focused like he always was when doing his job.
"We're going to help them get home, right buir?" Jango looked down at him and even through his helmet Anakin knew he was smiling fondly.
"That's right, An'ika." Anakin beamed. His dad was so wizard!
Mando'a
Hut'uun- Coward
Arni'soyacho!- (Ryl) An expression of extreme gratitude; thank you very much.
Koahiko- (Ryl) A polite response to gratitude.
Ad'ika? Me'vaar?- Little one, you okay?
Naas, jahaala- I'm well.
Nayc, ne'jahaala- No, you're not well.
Shu'shu'ika- Little disaster.
K'olar- Come here, commanding.
Ner ad- My son.
