So, I'm back with another chapter for you all.
I know that you all don't want to kept waiting, so let's get on with it.
So, as always, all credit for this idea goes to World for this idea and also a quick thanks to all those who helped and supported me during this project. As I wouldn't have gotten this far for this long without their support!
With that out of the way, as per usual, and all rights go to their owners, as I own nothing!
"I thought I told you all that I gave up that title," Jango sounded somewhat annoyed as he said this.
"Some of us never really accepted that," Ijaat replied sarcastically.
As in his mind the only way that a Mand'alor could lose his title was by his passing, or naming of a successor, and considering that Fett had done neither, so in Ijaat's mind Fett was still their leader.
"That doesn't really matter, as I need your help with a job," Jango said, getting straight to the point.
Because, given the current situation he didn't have time to really mess around. Especially considering the mess that Ijaat had made had drawn the collective ire of every major criminal organization on the planet.
As Fett was getting several requests to bring in the rogue Mando in, and if he hadn't already gotten a contact that was frankly, more important, then Fett might've been tempted to cash in on Ijaat's current bounty.
Even so, Fett was still rather irritated at his fellow Mandalorian, as the last time he had been in contact with Ijaat was to get him to stop his one-man crusade against every 'untouchable' as he had called him.
As Ijaat's actions had not only negatively impacted his own reputation, but his Clan was also coming under enormous pressure from the Hutts, so as a favour to them, Jango had managed to talk Ijaat into being reasonable, or so he thought.
Still, maybe he would be able to hammer in the message this time, as the two of them would be working closely together for the next little while.
"What can I do to help?" Ijaat inquired as he kept an eye on his prisoner.
"For starters, I need you to come with me this," Jango said, as his free hand brushed over the set of binders.
Which of course got the reaction that you might've expected from Ijaat, as he shifted his body slightly so that he was now looking at Fett while making sure that he could spin on him while slapping the blaster away from his head.
"Why would I go with you in binders? Low on credits?" Ijaat said mockingly.
Because if Jango thought that Ijaat was just going to go with him in binders because he said so, then he had another thing coming.
"It helps me with what I need specifically," Fett said cryptically as he then moved his blaster away from Ijaat's head.
Then, without a wasted moment, Fett put a bolt into the man that Ijaat had been trying unsuccessfully to get information from.
Still, Ijaat didn't question or even comment on what the Mand'alor had just done, as he was certain that Fett had a good reason for ensuring that the following conversation would be a private one.
"Care to explain just what that is, Mandalore?" Ijaat then asked.
As he wanted to understand just what this would help him with.
"I know you're going after the Hutt, which is convenient for me. As I needed a reason to be invited to his private prison," Jango explained to Ijaat.
Which tipped Ijaat off that whoever the Mandalore was after was locked up in that prison.
"What kind of target are we looking for in the prison?" Ijaat then asked.
But before Fett could tell him, the two of them heard a series of noises that sounded like blaster fire and the sound of something crashing through walls or something solid coming from the hallway beyond the doors to the room they were currently occupying. As Ijaat wondered for a moment if the Chief was here.
'He would've Commed me if that was the case,' Ijaat thought to himself.
As he knew that Spartan was many things, unprofessional wasn't one of them.
Still, it came as something of a surprise when moments later the door to their room was blown open, and through the dust came a figure that Ijaat immediately recognized.
As to how the Chief had found him so fast, he would never know, but what Ijaat did realize at that moment was that he needed to defuse the situation before the two of them started shooting at each other.
For the Spartan had already taken aim at Fett, who had responded in kind.
So, in the mere seconds before the two started trying to kill each other, Ijaat, knowing that this was probably the only way to defuse the situation, placed himself between the two men, ensuring that their weapons were aimed at him and not at one another.
"Easy ori'vod, the Mandalore was looking for me. Just happened to catch me in a bad spot." Ijaat tried to explain to the Spartan.
While on the Chief's end, he was personally trying to verify Ijaat's story, because if the person was who Ijaat claimed, then the whole situation had changed drastically.
"Cortana, who am I looking at?" John asked her.
As he was 87% certain he knew who it was, but he wanted to make sure.
"Well, considering the fact that he looks, speaks and isn't killing Ijaat, I would say that's Jango Fett," Cortana said, confirming what John had suspected, but that didn't explain just what he was doing here with Ijaat.
At which point John lowered his weapon, as he was willing to give Ijaat a chance to explain himself.
Besides, the Spartan knew that in this situation that Ijaat was more than likely going to side with Fett than with him. And considering the mess that John had made getting into the building, the Spartan knew that he would more than likely need their help to get out.
As John had been forced to deal with a couple of heavily armed individuals in order to gain access to the building.
So, knowing that there were more of them gathering outside, John knew that it would be more productive for them to work together to deal with the situation they were currently in.
Because if this turned into a siege, then all three of them would need to be on the same page to get out of this alive, as even the Spartan didn't like the odds stacked against them outside.
"Why were you looking for Ijaat?" John then inquired of the legendary bounty hunter.
As Fett didn't strike him as someone who dropped in to see people unless he needed something from them.
An impression that was proven right by Fett's response to the Spartan's question.
"I need him for a job," Fett stated simply as he then heard a sound coming from outside of the room. "But we can worry about that later. As it seems that we might have company," Jango commented.
"Cortana?" John then asked into the privacy of his helmet.
"Seems that several small groups have breached the building. It should be a few minutes before they reach our location. Better let everyone know," Cortana said.
To which the Spartan did, as he knew that they would have to deal with this group of scum currently making their way towards them.
"I've tapped into the towers' security systems. Several groups of mercenaries have made their way into the building." John said, explaining the situation to the other two men in the room.
"They're here for me…" Ijaat then muttered.
"It was to happen eventually," Jango sounded rather resigned to the fact that he was most likely going to have to fight his way out of this situation.
As Fett didn't trust anyone on this moon not to attempt to try and collect on the bounty that was currently on Ijaat's head.
"What are our options?" Chief then asked, as he moved to cover the door, he had blown open only minutes before.
"Not that many… unless we can convince them not to try and collect on Ijaat's bounty," Fett said, now turning to look at the Spartan as the gears in his head started working.
As the ghost of a plan started to emerge in his head.
"How would you convince them to do that, Mandalore? As the bounties are probably worth at least twenty stand years' pay here," Ijaat unhelpfully commented.
But it was true, as it seemed that once Ijaat's presence had been confirmed on the moon, everyone who had a grudge against the vigilante hunter had added to Zemo's already large bounty on his head.
"Have any ideas?" John then asked his faithful companion.
As he didn't really have any, other than to dig in and wait for extraction.
"Well, considering the fact that we have probably the three most dangerous beings on this moon in the same room. I would say your reputation might be able to do something," Cortana commented.
As between the three of them, Cortana knew that they could probably pull off anything.
But there was one thing that Cortana had overlooked, as Jango and Ijaat had some that Chief lacked: Reputation.
But then again, Chief hadn't been trying to build a reputation, mostly because he was trying his best to keep a low profile.
Even so, John was already starting to get attention from most of the major players in the Mandalorian sector, and this wasn't even talking about the moves that Roroa was making in the business world.
Having just secured a deal with the Verpine to work on some join projects.
That and the fact that John had slowly been putting together an unofficial navy through expanding the sector's security forces, which was only happening thanks to Adenniyc and his fellow commanders of the local security forces throughout the sector.
As with their influence and knowing what they could get away with, they were getting most, if not all the new ships and gear approved by the New Mandalorian government.
However, there were certain issues with the New Mandalorian government that John would be looking to address sooner rather the later.
But that was something that John had slated to work on later, as right now he needed to focus on dealing with the situation he was currently facing.
"Can you make them back off?" Chief was asking Fett this question.
Because if anyone here could do such a thing, it was him. As Fett took a moment to think this over. As he knew that it might be possible, but at the same time, Jango knew that same time this might not work at all unless he did a couple of things.
"Perhaps, but I would need your help to pull this off," Fett said, making it clear what he had in mind.
And given the circumstances, John wasn't in a position to argue the point, as he knew that between him and Fett, they just might be able to bluff their way out of this situation.
Even so that would be something of a long shot unless they played their cards right.
"What did you have in mind?" John then asked.
Fett took a few seconds to figure out how to explain his plan. As the bounty hunter knew that what he said next would either get the Spartan fully on board with his plan, or at the very least get him on side for the very long and protracted firefighting that was to follow until his son could bring the ship in to extract him and Ijaat.
But in all honesty, Fett would prefer to try and have the Spartan support him with his plan. Despite the risks the Jango knew that between the two, it would be more likely to pull this off and be able to walk out of here, rather than fighting against the moon.
"-need to make this look good," Fett finished, explaining as he then brought out a couple of thermal detonators from one of his pouches.
To which John nodded, as he moved to the nearby door that had an in-wall computer built into it. As he and Cortana were going to do their part of the plan.
"I'll set the charges and deal with any security systems," John stated as he looked over his shoulder to check on Fett.
"Good," Fett said as he then turned to Ijaat, "Ijaat, start making a mess. Once you're done, I'll have to disarm you while making it look as if you fought us."
To which Ijaat nodded, at which point he turned to the Chief.
"The Mand'alor can fill you in on all the details later, as we don't have a lot of time to pull this off," Ijaat said as he started to work on his end of the plan.
To which the Chief nodded, as he knew that there was nothing to be gained by asking any more questions, John followed Ijaat's example as he did what he needed for his part of their plan.
It took a few minutes for everyone to get everything in place, as John had set the explosives, while Cortana hack into any security system in the building to destroy all recordings and footage from any of the building's cameras that were still functioning while locking any doors that lead up to this room to slow down the army of scum making their way towards them.
While Chief and Cortana were doing this, Ijaat had been helping Fett make a mess of the room, and once that was done Jango made Ijaat look as if he had been disarming after a long fight, which took a couple of minutes, while at the same time, Fett roughing Ijaat up a bit, to make it look like that he had been through the ringer at least twice before finally being taken down.
To help sell the illusion that there had been a fight to bring him in.
Once that was done, John joined Jango, who then brought out a pair of binders, and placed them on Ijaat's hands, after which he and Chief set off the explosives and after a few minutes did they led Ijaat out of the room.
Hoping that their plan would work, but if it didn't then they already had plan B on standby.
To which their plan worked out much to John's surprise. As their trip to Slave 1 had been uneventful, despite all the attention they had on them.
As between Chief's intimidating presence and the reputation of Jango Fett, no one in the crew dared to interfere with the transport of Ijaat to the ship.
Thou Chief had to at least shoot two of the many underworld denizens when they started reaching for their weapon.
Which had only hammered home the point that Jango and his partner weren't playing around. After which every piece of scum and villainy they passed had either left or gave them a wide berth, having gotten the message.
Once they had gotten to Fett's ship, John had instructed Cortana to send the signal to have their transport fly off to their preassigned recovery location for later.
The only reason why this was possible was because Cortana had ensured that the Shaadlar troopship had been fitted with a modified droid caller that would allow her to both recall the ship to her or send it away for safekeeping until it was necessary to recall it.
So, they wouldn't have to worry about them not having a ship when they got back.
Even so, the ride out of the system had been unusually quiet.
But then again, this hadn't bothered John, as he had Cortana had been talking things over in the privacy of his helmet while Ijaat was seemingly praying in his seat.
It was only when Slave 1 entered hyperspace did Jango finally left the bridge to deal with his 'guest'.
"I'm guessing that you want to know why I have dragged the two of you out here," Jango said as he exited the cockpit.
"What is it that you needed from Ijaat?" John asked simply.
Jango then shot a look at Ijaat, which was a signal for him to explain the situation to his companion.
"The Mandalore needs to get into Zemo the Hutt's private prison. And given the contact on my head, Fett thought it was the best way for him to get into the place." Ijaat explained the situation to the Chief.
"What role will I be playing in this?" John then asked.
As he knew that Jango hadn't planned for him to be there, but now since he was here Fett would have to work him into his plan.
"You're acting as my second in this situation. Do you have any issues with that?" The bounty hunter asked.
"What's my backstory?" Chief then asked.
"As far as anyone is concerned, you're some up-and-coming bounty hunter that I picked up at the bounty hunter's association. Because, despite being a noble, you have some talent." Fett said, obviously referring to Chief's rather unusual armour.
But then again, as the Chief's back story, it made perfect sense, still there was just one thing that he was missing.
"Cortana, what is he talking about?" The Spartan then asked into his helmet.
For he had heard about the organization in passing, but hadn't fully familiarized himself with it, as he had more important information that he had to get up to speed within this galaxy.
"I'll give you the cliff notes version then, as I'm certain you know about bounty hunters from the briefings I've given you. But what you might've missed were the guilds. The guilds are institutions that regulated the bounty-hunting trade throughout most of the known galaxy, which seems to have worked rather well for them, considering the fact that they've been around for centuries." Cortana explained to the Chief.
As Cortana knew that he probably hadn't time to go through everything she had given him, mostly because of the fact that Chief was becoming increasingly busy both trying to prepare for the upcoming war, while at the same time dealing with his 'fan club', the Clans that had taken an interest in him and more worrying the governor of the moon.
Despite trying to keep their heads down, Chief's actions were already drawing more attention from the sector's big players, which included the New Mandalorian government. But then again, with the Muun's interest in Misriah Technologies and their parent companies, such attention would've come to them eventually.
Even so, Cortana knew this would happen eventually, still, she hoped that John would have more time to prepare. Then again, John alongside herself was rather busy in the last couple of months getting ready for the galaxy to go up in flames.
Even so, there was one important issue that had to be dealt with first, and it was Ijaat who brought it to Jango's attention.
"There's a problem with that plan, Mandalore, as the Chief's isn't registered at any guild," Ijaat informed Fett, who then turned his head slightly to look at the Chief.
"You take independent contacts?" Jango then inquired.
As this wasn't exactly uncommon with certain individuals in the trade of bounty hunting.
"In a fashion," John stated simply.
For he wasn't simply going to tell Fett anything, as he was going to treat him the same as everyone else.
Having to earn both his trust and the right to know certain things about him.
"Okay then," Fett said, taking out a datapad and typing in a few commands.
"Done, you're now 'officially' registered as a member of this sector's bounty hunter guild." Fett then tapped the last couple of commands into the datapad.
"Will it hold up?" Chief then asked.
"It will get you through the door," Jango assured him.
As he knew that the ID wouldn't stand up to hard scrutiny, but at the same time Fett didn't expect the Hutt to be too interested in the Spartan.
For he knew that Hutt would probably be too busy gloating to think about checking Chief's paperwork.
Which was the best thing about these situations, as Fett knew that no one would be asking too many questions as to why he was currently taking on an apprentice, and if there were any questions, he knew that he could defect any questions but explaining that he had been brought in to help capture Ijaat.
Which obviously would work considering the fact that they had brought Ijaat to the slime ball.
"Mandalore, if I may ask, what is your sons' part in all of…" Ijaat's voice then trailed off as Fett shot Ijaat a look through his helmet that made it clear that he shouldn't pry any further into the matter.
A message that Ijaat got loud and clear, as he then shifted the conversation back to the job that the two of them had been brought here to do.
"Anyway, what's the plan once we're inside?" Ijaat asked, moving away from his earlier subject.
"Once we're inside, the main objective will be to reach one of the security stations to locate the target. Though I suspect that I will need help to slice into the stations' systems…" Jango's head turned slightly in John's direction as he said this.
"I can handle that," The Chief assured him, even though what he actually meant was that Cortana would handle everything.
"Good, as you'll need to confirm that the target is still aboard that station," Jango then brought out a datachip. "All the relevant information you need about the target is on here," Jango explained as John then took the datachip from him.
"Do you know just what kind of target we're dealing with?" John then inquired as he looked over the chip.
Because, depending on the answer he might have to change his tactics, and what weapons he used.
"Yes, but all that you need to know is that the target is extremely dangerous, all I know is that the only reason why Zemo is even alive is because he got lucky," Jango explained to them.
As to how he had managed to capture the target in the first place was beyond Fett. But he wasn't getting paid to ask questions, as his employer wanted to make sure that what the target might have potentially learned didn't reach the wider galaxy.
"What brought him to your employers' attention in the first place?" Ijaat asked.
For he knew that Fett wouldn't have taken on such a contract without a good reason.
Even so Fett had been dreading this part of the conversation, but he knew that trying to avoid it would've only made Ijaat and his companion suspicious. As such, the bounty hunter knew that he had to give them the bare basics to keep them satisfied.
"He was looking into a man named Tyranus." Jango left it at that.
As this was already more than he should've told the two of them, but at the same time Jango knew that this question would come up eventually.
So, he thought it best that he hears this information from him, as at the very least he could control what they knew.
Or so he thought, as Cortana had quietly bookmarked the name for later, as Jango then continued.
"From my understanding, Tyranus is someone you worked with before," Ijaat said, immediately catching Fett's full attention.
As Jango knew that someone might've learned his name through the bounty he had posted on Bando Gora's leader: Komari Vosa.
Fett would have to ask Ijaat just how he had come across that information once this job was done. As that wasn't common information, nor should it be, considering Tyranus's style of covering his tracks.
For the ex-Mand'alor would prefer that Ijaat didn't end up being collateral damage in what was already a messy situation.
"He's someone who likes his privacy; that and I don't want to get on his bad side…" Jango explained to them.
But John could sense that there was more to this than Jango was letting on. Even so, the Spartan saw no reason as to why he should push the issue and continue planning their infiltration of the prison.
"How are we going to get Ijaat's equipment inside without raising suspicion?" John then inquired.
As he knew that this would probably be the most difficult part of this plan.
John was certain that he could smuggle some of his weapons on his person as personal trophies. But how they were going to get Ijaat's armour into the prison was a different matter entirely.
"I was hoping that you might have an idea about that. As you know the Hutt better than anyone here." Jango admitted.
For the bounty hunter had an idea as to how he could get Ijaat's weapons into the prison, but not his armour.
"It shouldn't be too hard, as Zemo does like his trophies. He might even pay you extra for my armour should you show it to him." Ijaat explained.
As Zemo would want to show off to his peers, that it had been him that had brought an end to the menace of the Hutt clans and most of the criminal underworld.
So, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to also get Ijaat's gear and potentially sell it off to others with a personal grudge against the Mandalorian.
"I'll be the one with transporting Ijaat's equipment inside," Chief stated this in a way that made it clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer on this.
Which was something that the two men picked up on immediately.
"So long as we can get most of his armour and weapons inside," Fett said, pretty much giving his seal of approval for John to be tasked with getting everything ready.
At which point the conversation drifted in the most obvious direction, as Ijaat started bringing up the latest events in the Mandalorian sector.
"So, Mand'alor, do you want to know what's been happening in the sector while we wait?" Ijaat then asked, finally bringing up the subject.
"Cortana?" Chief asked the unsaid question to her.
"Probably best that Ijaat brings this up," Cortana stated.
As the AI knew that the Historian had requested that Chief talk to Jango about what had been taking place in the Mandalorian sector should the two of them somehow cross paths.
Even so the AI knew that John would struggle in doing this, so having Ijaat be the one to bring it up was probably for the best.
"I'm assuming that there's a point to this?" Jango replied, it being very clear that he wasn't interested in having this conversation.
For when the True Mandalorians had been wiped out, Fett had lost any real connection to the sector.
So, he didn't keep up with what was happening in the sector, as Jango assumed that the Mando'ade could easily look after themselves without his help.
"A couple of notable True Mandalorians have resurfaced, Mand'alor, I wasn't sure if you know about that?" Ijaat said as he knew Fett had cut most contact with the True Mandalorians once the Death Watch was destroyed.
"I thought most of the True Mandalorians died on Galidraan," Fett commented, now slightly interested in what Ijaat was saying.
Which of course was a mostly true statement, as nearly ninety to ninety-five percent of all True Mandalorian forces had been killed on that force-forsaken ice ball.
At least as far as he checked, as Fett knew that anyone who had survived were either solo survivors such as himself, or others who had hidden themselves in shame/fear over what had taken place.
For once, Fett was imprisoned, Tor had gone on a rampage across the sector, killing, butchering, and otherwise destroying anyone that had missed during the earlier drive to punish those Clans that had allied themselves with the True Mandalorians.
Clan Cadera having been a part of those purges during the war.
"You could say that with the Death Watch as well, Mand'alor," Ijaat shot back.
Chief could see that Ijaat's words had an obvious effect on Fett, as it was reflected in his body language and the sudden interest in what Ijaat was saying.
"Tor was the last of the Death Watch. Tor's cause died alongside him and the rest of their leadership." Jango seemed very insistent on this fact.
Mostly because he had been there to see them all die, with the rest giving up the cause without leadership.
"I want that to be true as much as you do. But the kriffing dar'manda are back, me and the Chief fought them!" Ijaat stated, as he then brought up a datapad with the footage to back up his claim.
To which Fett took the device and watched the footage that was now being played on it, all the while John watched as Jango.
Watching his body, as it gave John hints of what Jango was feeling, the Spartan could see the small clues that suggested that what Jango saw on the datapad made him feel confusion, anger, and also what he thought was something of disbelief through his body language.
Any other thing that Fett might've felt as he watched the footage of Chief, Valerie and Ijaat infiltrating and then fighting the Death Watch on Concordia was muted as Fett quickly regained control of his emotions after the initial shock of what he had seen.
Once the video ended, Fett then made a copy for himself, as he then handed Ijaat back the datapad.
But before Fett could say anything, his attention was seemingly drawn away. As John immediately recognized when someone had just been called, thankfully it seemed that it wasn't anything serious, as the Mandalorian turned bounty hunter turned to look at them.
"Boba says we're getting close to where the Hutt sent us," Jango explained to them as he continued. "I want you both to be ready by the time we get there." Jango then turned to Chief, "Try and get as much of Ijaat gear on you, I don't care how you do it, but we'll need it once we double cross the Hutt." At which point Fett then turned to Ijaat.
"Once we're done with the target, make sure that Zemo doesn't escape. As the client wants no witnesses, clear?" Jango then asked the two of them.
"Understood, Mandalore," Ijaat said, while Chief gave him a simple nod.
"Also, once this job is done, we'll be having a long conversation about what's been happening in the Mandalorian sector in my absence." Fett didn't exactly sound happy about having this conversation.
But considering what he had been both told and shown, Fett knew that he had to take some kind of action.
If only to make sure that his son didn't suffer from his legacy.
As Fett then left the two of them in the small space as he rejoined his son on the bridge of the ship to help him get ready to drop out of hyperspace while giving him some last-minute instructions in case a certain circumstance arises…
Mando'a Dictionary:
Mand'alor - sole ruler
Ori'vod - big brother, older brother, special friend
That is all she wrote; I hope that you all enjoyed it!
As we got to see a lot of interaction between Ijaat, Chief, Jango and his son Boba.
I just hope that this wasn't too out of character for Jango, as I have to read and watch videos to get an idea as to how to write him.
Still, I hope that it wasn't too off, but anyway I think we know what's going to happen in the next chapter, as I'm certain everyone can already guess just what is about to happen.
And on that note, I'll leave you all, and until next time, have a good one.