Chapter Text
Chapter Three
The Fights
While she initiated the ship’s landing sequence, (Y/N) took a moment to glance out the cockpit’s viewport and let out a low whistle. “Yep, just as seedy as I imagined it would be.” She looked over at the Mandalorian standing beside her with a brow raised in curiosity. “Have you been to this planet before?”
“Once, when I first started working with the Guild. It’s rougher than it looks, which is why we’re gonna bring the kid along with us.” The ship landed smoothly and he followed her down the ladder to the armory. “How do you think we should do this?”
(Y/N), who had begun fastening her blaster holster around her waist, glanced up in surprise; since their partnership was only a little over a week old, she hadn’t expected him to give her the opportunity to formulate a plan. Maybe this is some sort of a test, she silently reasoned, so he can see what I can and can’t do. Recovering from her shock, her eyes met the Mandalorian’s visor as she replied, “I go in first and scope the place out for Koresh, then you and the kid follow. That way if things get dicey, I’ll be there as backup and his goons won’t suspect that we’re working together.”
Mando nodded. “Good, that’s what I was thinking.” He tucked a vibro-knife into his boot before straightening and pointing at her blaster. “You any good with that?”
“Of course I am, I’m an ex-smuggler.” (Y/N) playfully retorted, tugging on one of her longer coats and checking to see if it covered her blaster before smiling despite herself. “It’s when I’m disarmed that I start having some problems; as evident in my altercation with the Black Sun, I’m not exactly the best at hand-to-hand combat.”
“Good thing you’ve got an ex-bounty hunter onboard to teach you, alor’ad.”
Rolling her eyes at his quip, (Y/N) reached into the open armory and tucked a vibro-blade into her own boot. She stood and accepted the comm link the Mandalorian held out to her, placing it in her ear and brushing her hair over to cover it up. “Okay, it looks like I’m good to go. Is there anything else I should know before going?”
“Yeah, stay on the main road and stick close to the street lamps.”
He didn’t elaborate on his statement, so she just nodded and made her way down the ship’s lowered ramp. Walking down the long stretch of road, it wasn’t long before she understood why Mando had issued his warning; glowing red eyes began appearing in the shadows on either side of the road, but it seemed as though the dim street lamps were the only things keeping the creatures away from her. Her blood ran cold at the thought and she quickened her pace, reaching the large building at the end of the road in no time.
A large Twi’lek stood in the doorway, his tightly arms crossed over his chest. As (Y/N) approached him, she kept her face impassive and empty of emotion. “I’m here to place some bets.”
The Twi’lek’s eyes scrutinized hers and after several tension-filled moments, he moved to the side and held his arm out towards the doorway. “Enjoy the fights.”
(Y/N) gave him a nod and she walked inside, taking in the exuberant crowd and their deafening cheers as they watched the two Gamorrean fighters at the center of the room. Weaving her way through the rowdy people, she stopped at the bar and ordered herself a glass of spotchka. “Excuse me, bartender, but where can I find Gor Koresh? I’d like to place a bet and I hear that he’s a hell of a gambler…”
The bartender handed her the glass and pointed across the room. “Over there.”
Thanking her, (Y/N) paid for her drink and moved to lean against the wall; the Abyssin was seated in the front row, quietly watching the fight along with four stoic men. They couldn’t be any more obvious, she thought to herself, downing her glass of spotchka before reaching up and activating her comm link. “Come in, Mando.”
“What’ve you got?”
Careful not to be spotted, (Y/N) relayed everything she’d gathered to her partner: a description of Koresh, the number of bodyguards stationed in the arena, and how heavily-armed each of them were. Not long after, she spotted the Mandalorian making his way through the crowd with the child’s pram floating alongside him. She had a clear view of the two of them from her spot by the wall, and she watched as he seated himself beside Koresh; they talked for several minutes until suddenly, Koresh shot down one of the Gamorrean fighters. The crowd scattered, hurrying to the exits as the one-eyed man and his bodyguards all pointed their blasters at Mando’s helmeted head.
(Y/N) ducked behind the nearby bar and pulled out her blaster, peeking around the corner as their voices filled the now-empty arena.
“Thank you for coming to me. Normally, I have to seek out remnants of you Mandalorians, in your hidden hives, to harvest your shiny shells. Beskar’s value continues to rise, and I’ve grown quite fond of it. Give it to me now or I will peel it off your corpse.”
The Mandalorian stayed completely still as he calmly retorted, “Tell me where the Mandalorians are and I’ll walk out of here without killing you.”
Koresh sneered. “I thought you said you weren’t a gambler.”
Raising an impressed brow, (Y/N) watched as Mando subtly flexed his wrist and activated what he’d called ‘whistling birds’ to start glowing. Her grip on her blaster tightened in anticipation as the child closed the lid of his pram and Mando finally spoke. “I’m not.”
In an instant, the whistling birds launched into the air and quickly found their targets; the four dead bodyguards fell to the ground as the Mandalorian kicked the child’s pram out of harm’s way and began fighting off the surviving Gamorrean and the Twi’lek from the entrance. (Y/N) raised her blaster and prepared to help him, but she became distracted by a group of guards hurrying across the arena in the direction of the child.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” (Y/N) muttered, firing off a shot and hitting one man in the neck. The remaining guards immediately aimed their blasters in her direction and began firing; she ducked back behind the bar and waited a moment before jumping to her feet and firing off three quick shots. All three remaining guards dropped to the ground, each having been shot clean through the heart, and the child’s pram remained in its place.
Climbing over the bar, (Y/N) hurried to the pram just in time to see Mando throw his vibro-blade and hit the last man standing directly in his chest. His helmet turned to her and they both looked over to see Koresh hurry through one of the arena’s exits; looking back at Mando, she watched as he pulled his vibro-blade out of the dead man’s chest and followed alongside the pram as he went through the same exit. Both she and the pram emerged onto the street just in time to watch Mando string Koresh up onto the street lamp by his ankles.
“All right, stop, stop! I’ll tell you where he is.” With her blaster still in hand, (Y/N) moved to stand beside Mando as Koresh continued to stammer in fear. “But you must both promise you won’t kill me.”
“I promise you will not die by my hand, or hers.” Mando slowly declared, and (Y/N) was quick to bite back her smirk. She wasn’t stupid; she’d observed just how much her explanation of Koresh’s business dealings had affected him, so it was fairly obvious what he was planning on doing with the one-eyed man. “Now, where is the Mandalorian you know of?”
“Tatooine!”
Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) noticed Mando stiffen. “What?”
“The Mando I know of is on Tatooine!”
“I’ve spent much time on Tatooine; I have never seen a Mandalorian there.”
Koresh continued to swing by the whipcord as he angrily replied, “My information is good, I tell you! The city of Mos Pelgo, I swear it by the Gotra!”
(Y/N) and Mando both looked away from Koresh at the same time; she shrugged a shoulder and holstered her blaster, wordlessly telling the Mandalorian that Koresh’s information was worth investigating. Mando nodded and glanced back at Koresh. “Tatooine it is, then.” They both began walking away from the one-eyed man.
“Wait, Mando! Lady! You can’t leave me like this, cut me down!”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.” Mando pulled out his blaster and shot out the street lamp, plunging that section of the road into darkness; he holstered the weapon and gestured for her to follow him as Koresh continued his shouts of protest; they were quickly joined by the growling of the creatures that approached him.
“Wait, what are you doing? Mando, I can pay! Mando…Mando!”
By the time that they reached the Razor Crest, Gor Koresh’s screams had faded into nothing and (Y/N) silently thanked the Maker; there was no denying that the one-eyed man had deserved his fate, but she would’ve preferred not to hear it happen. I’ve heard too many sounds of death in my relatively-short lifetime, she somberly thought as she took the child out of his pram and followed the Mandalorian up into the cockpit. He had already seated himself in the pilot’s seat, so she sat herself down on the seat to his right and held the cooing child in her lap; moments later, the ship rose from the ground and soon, they were traveling through hyperspace.
“Do you think I was wrong to leave Koresh for dead?”
(Y/N) looked up in surprise; his helmet was still facing forward, but she could see that his hands had tightened around the ship’s joysticks. “No. For what he did to countless Mandalorians, he deserved exactly what he got.”
“Then why did you look sickened when I did it?”
Mando’s modulated voice was gruff and accusatory. With a small sigh, (Y/N) ran a hand over the child’s wrinkled green head and hesitantly replied, “Because…when you’ve been through everything I’ve been through, and seen the things I’ve seen…even the dying words of an enemy can have some effect on you.”
The cockpit was silent for several long moments, until he turned the pilot’s seat around to face her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to relive any painful memories-”
“It’s okay, Mando. Like I said, he got what he deserved.” She flashed him a small smile before gesturing to the ship’s guidance system. “At least we have some sort of idea of where to go now; Tatooine should be nice and sunny this time of year, don’t you think?”
Mando chuckled at her terrible joke. “Very funny, alor’ad. Why don’t you get some rest while I watch the kid?” He reached over and took the child from her lap, and when she made no move to stand, he let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not gonna get much sleep when we land on Tatooine, you know, so you should get it while you can…”
“That’s true.” Relenting, (Y/N) got up from her seat and muffled her reluctant yawn. “Wake me up if you need any help, okay?” He nodded, and she turned to exit the cockpit.
“You did good tonight, alor’ad.”
(Y/N) glanced back at Mando, who had already spun his seat back around to face forward, and the corners of her mouth raised into a smile at his compliment. “You too, Mando.” Giving him a final look, she turned and made her way down the ladder; she stored her weapons in the armory before kicking off her boots and crawling into her makeshift bed, quickly falling asleep. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the gentle rocking of the ship or the soothing presence the Mandalorian exuded, but (Y/N) couldn’t remember having a single nightmare.