Chapters Chapter 1: The Assignment
Author's Note
And so our first chapter begins.
I'll admit, this first chapter is pretty copy and paste from the first episode, but I can promise you, we're not gonna have that for the rest of the story, we are going to have some originality in this much later on.
Either way, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Assignment
"Trust placed in another is trust earned. "
Evil plans! As the battles for control of the galaxies continue, so do the desire for more power and forces for the Storm Army! Storm commander Varan must track down special cargo being protected by Jedi Knight Lyra Heartstrings under orders from the Storm King! With many attempts and zero progress, he finds himself desperate and must now call on the help of money grubbing bounty hunters to bring back this mysterious cargo...
Several figures sat in various chairs in a very dimly lit room. A motley collection of hunters of different species all gathered together. The only noise that was ever heard in the room was the sound of some chairs swiveling, or the low growling of others.
A Trandoshan sitting in a chair glared at a woman hidden under a blue helmet with pink markings, and she got similar glares from the extremely pale woman sitting across from her. Her long bony fingers tapped on the table, making every tap echo throughout. Each tap was sounding like a ticking bomb to the masked woman's ears, and she hated it. But she wasn't about to cause a scene before their benefactor arrived.
"So. What'sss your sssstory?" The Trandoshan asked the pale woman, getting no answer.
"Where is that infernal general who sent out the call? I'm starting to believe this is nothing more than a scam," said a bounty hunter with the white hood.
"Wouldn't be the first time it came from the Storm Army," a Zabrak woman commented, twirling a dagger in her hand.
The doors swished open, and footsteps pattered down the hall and into the room. A man in a formal commanding officer suit had marched into the room with a serious scowl. Today was not his day, but he was not going to fail again. His face was stern as he was more than ready to get this meeting done and over with...
"Afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I'm sure you all are wondering why I asked you all to come here on this station instead of meeting somewhere more public. Well that's because I require all of your help on this important mission, hence the want ads I had delivered across the galaxy. And I am glad you all answered..." He turned his head to look at a man with blue skin and blood red eyes, wearing a long coat and hat. "Cad Bane, who needs no introduction. You are one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. I could use your skills in tracking down this cargo," Varan said, getting a nod from the hunter.
"Aurra Sing..." A pale-skinned woman, tall and regal with skeletal hands, an orange outfit with twin blasters and a sniper outfit, and dark sunken in eyes looked at him. "Your sniper skills make you one of the best hunters money can buy. I could use you. Embo and Sugi..."
Two figures looked up. A pale Zabrak in a marroon tank top and shotgun held in a holster, along with a purple horn sticking out the back of her head smirked. The other was Kyuzo, who wore a mask on his face, and a circular hat/helmet shield, holding a bowcaster weapon on his back. "You two work quite well together. I'm sure you two can work together on this assignment. IG-88..."
An assassin droid with a swiveling head stood tall and straight, holding a few pistols next to his sides along with a rifle.
"You're one of the strongest IG units man has ever built. Use your skills wisely." Looking to the side, he could see a human wrapped in a brown and white armored suit, with a white hood covering most of his head and face. Next to him was a Trandoshan with a yellow jumpsuit and a slithering noise coming from his breath.
"Dengar. Bossk. I understand you two are formidable hunters. I trust you two will take this job seriously."
Now the final bounty hunter was given attention; a woman in Mandalorian armor, with a dark blue and gray color scheme, and light pink markings on her helmet.
"The one who didn't give me a name, but simply asked that I state you as... the Mandalorian," he said.
The helmeted woman gave one nod, acknowledging him.
"Yes, yes. Anyways, now that you are all present, now is the time I explain the mission. My group of Stormtroopers and I have been tasked to track down a precious cargo that is being held by this Jedi Knight," he projected a hologram of the individual. "Lyra Heartstrings. She's protecting valuable cargo, and has evaded our every attempt at obtaining the treasure she's hiding."
"So you want us to kill her?" Bossk asked, hissing.
"No, my friend. I want that cargo found and brought back to this station in one piece; I do not want it damaged or destroyed. If I find out that it is, no one will be getting paid, and I will be putting the prices on your heads so large, you won't be going near a civilized system."
The bounty hunters exchanged glances with one another.
"Now, I will say this. You may use any strategy or means to get the cargo back, but I want it in one piece. If you have to eliminate those who stand in your way, then do it. But I want it back. Whoever gets it to me, will receive a generous reward of 50,000. Do I make myself clear?"
Everyone gave resounding affirmations of yes.
"Good. Now go, you must bring it back to me. Oh, and one more thing; our spies have tracked the cargo over on Arvala-7. Now get going, and don't come back here until you have the asset."
Everyone was given permission to leave, and so one by one they all left. The Mandalorian waited for everyone else to leave, and then she left, walking right behind everyone else.
So I'm competing against the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. This may be harder than I thought...
Outside the base, there were several ships parked in a few landing spots, all of them reserved for the bounty hunters. There in the other lot, there were only Storm Empire ships and cruisers.
Two astromech droids were waiting for her. One was an R4 series droid with a black cone dome with black legs, a gray torso, and some gold streaks running down the torso and the head. The other was a smaller astromech with a gray dome with yellow streaks, and a gray body with dark gray feet. And two panels opened up showing two small articulating hands that waved at her as she came to the ship.
"Yes, I'm back Cheep, G-G. Start up the ship, we've got to get going, we have our coordinates!"
The Mandalorian's steel boots walked to her ship and marched up the hatch and inside. She slammed the button to close the hatch behind her, waiting for it to fully seal. Climbing up a ladder, she moved up into the main cockpit, strapping herself in, with her astromechs sitting inside, waiting for her. They flipped on some controls, and the Mandalorian entered the coordinates.
"Next stop, Arvala-7."
The thrusters ignited, pulling the ship off the ground and into the air. The landing gear folded inside the ship and the thrusters spun around so they could take off for the skies. The hyperdrive powered up, and in a flash it shot out of the planet's atmosphere on its way to Arvala-7.
As the ship was set on autopilot, the Mandalorian took this time to move over to her workstation, and try to see if she could build something new. She dug through some metal bins, pulling out some spare droid parts. Arms, legs, fingers, some heads, a bunch of random junk. And nearby, G-G stood still, waiting for word if she needed help.
"Birt brrt beep brt? "
"No G-G, I don't need your help right now. I'm just trying to see if I have anything available for another commando... there has to be something..."
"Beep bop boop brit brr. "
"I can't just stop to buy something, I'm saving up for more Jawa Juice."
She pulled out a few arms, mostly just standard battle droid arms. She grabbed two, setting them down on the workbench table, next to the torso that had yet to be finished with the rest of the body. And eventually she found a set of legs to go with it; mismatched, but they would have to do. Only one problem.
She dug through another bin, scrounging around like mad, but wound up frustrated. She slammed the box on the ground and rubbed at the top of her helmeted head. And there laid the problem; she had all limbs, but no heads. Another market trip she was gonna have to make, not something she was particularly fond of. Shopping wasn't an issue, but shopping on the black market with all of the shady customers and vendors; it was the seedy underworld of markets. Never know if you're truly buying something valuable, or if you're being conned for your cash. She almost fell for a scam to get incredibly valuable armor and items, but found out soon that it was nothing more than a cash-grab by a shady snake-oil salesman.
"Chirp? "
"What is it Cheep?"
"Chirp chirp chirrrrp chirp ."
"We've arrived?"
"Chirp !"
"Okay, I'm coming up," she said. "We'll have to see about making some new ones later, G-G. We're going to have to hit the Tatooine market again."
The Mandalorian climbed up the ladder and got back into the cockpit, sitting back down in the pilot control chair. The ship burst through the planet's atmosphere, slowly heading straight down on some open space, just near a small cliff that led down a hill to a small base. Landing gear unfolded and a pair of legs gently sat on the ground, while the engines slowly powered down.
Climbing down the ladder, the Mandalorian looked at a wall, revealing a docking type of system which had a few bipedal droids standing, currently offline. Most of them were droids she had started to build but had to stop halfway in between, mainly because she had a job to do or not enough time for herself.
Pressing a button, she walked right past them and down the walkway hatch to the outside. She jumped from out of her ship, landing on her feet. Her head went up, looking ahead at the rocky valley. And several figures jumped from the ship right beside her; rebuilt, reprogrammed and repurposed commando droids. Most of them were in peak condition, but some had one or two parts reused from other battle droids. Regardless, they still were functional. And there was even some small marks that the Mandalorian had branded them with so she could make sure they were hers, with the addition of some paint.
The group ran down the path, stopping alongside some bigger rocks to take cover. They were sitting on top of a cliff, and just up ahead was the base they needed to go to. But there was one problem; guards were outside, Ithorian ones at that. And with plenty of guns. The Mandalorian pulled out a set of binoculars, looking down at the activity below, looking around. And a commando droid next to her looked as well, searching for any guards.
“Ten guards posted outside ,” the commando droid responded.
“Should be easy.”
“Wait a minute. New target ,” the second commando droid responded, pointing with his replacement arm.
“What new target?”
The bounty hunter looked up, and now she understood who he was referring to. Aurra Sing, marching up to the guards ever so casually. One of the guards saw her and started grumbling at her, yelling something in their native language.
Aurra however did not get scared so easily and she did not pull back. Instead she just faced the one Ithorian who got up close, watched as he went for his gun and—
BAM!
The guard went down, and Aurra’s hands swung her pistols out as she shot the other two standing guards, even looking up at the ones coming from behind her and from up on top of one of the buildings.
“There goes the element of surprise,” the Mandalorian groaned. “Come on, we better get down there.”
The Mandalorian and the commando droids jumped and slid down the cliff they were on, creating dust clouds right behind them. Running into the base, the group threw themselves against some cover just as a precaution.
“Aurra!”
Aurra spun around and nearly shot the Mandalorian who dropped to the ground from near shock. “Hey, hey! I was hired with you! I’m in the Guild for crying out loud,” she yelled, holding up her badge.
“You’re a Guild member?”
“Yes, Aurra, I am,” the Mandalorian retorted. “Now can you not shoot me for two seconds?”
“The bounty is mine. I want that fifty-thousand credits,” Aurra snarled.
“Well in case you didn’t notice, you’re empty handed. And I don’t know how well you plan to get inside just by yourself, regardless of how tough you are.”
Aurra glared at her. “Big talk coming from someone who had to come here with commando droids.”
The Mandalorian growled, looking at the entrance, and then back at Aurra. “How about this; since neither one of us are going to be able to get inside, how about we bust down these guards together? We can shoot them all out, my droids can restrain the Jedi, we get the cargo and split the reward. Fair enough?”
Aurra was honestly thinking of just shooting her in the helmet and ending it now, she didn’t want to be sharing with anyone. But on the other hand, she heard the rumors of how tough these commando droids were and she had things she wanted to do before she died so she wasn’t about to risk it. And if this bounty hunter was as good as the Storm general made her out to be, maybe she could be useful.
“Fine. We’ll bring in this cargo together. But do not get in my way,” Aurra warned.
“You too.”
A red laser shot at a can nearby, and Aurra ran for cover, hiding in the same space as the Mandalorian and her crew of droids. The two of them held their heads back, avoiding being blasted in the heads.
"Okay boys, time to fight! Go!"
The commando droids all rolled out and took cover and positions to shoot at the incoming guards. Some hid behind some debris like cans and the fountain in the middle of the base, others took positions behind beams, sniping at targets up on some of the buildings or coming around the stairs.
One of the guards shot a commando droid in the chest, which did hit it enough to make it bend his back so far he was about to fall... except he just flipped his upper torso back up and just kept shooting.
"I see why you picked commando droids as partners," Aurra commented, firing at some more Ithorians, blasting some of them in the heads.
"They have tough armor, but they're not unstoppable," The Mandalorian said, firing rapid shots to the legs of the guards as opposed to the heads.
"Why are you shooting their legs?"
"Can't run after you without being able to stand, now can they?"
The women ducked their heads from another laser blast, striking an empty fuel cell nearby.
"I'll take them out from that building there, I have a sniper rifle with me," Aurra yelled over the fire, charging for the stairs, shooting more guards along the way.
Rolling from the cover, she stood on her own two feet and fired with the best she got. Two guards hiding behind a barricade fired, and the Mandalorian fired back with two of her commandos, waiting for them to pop out of their space. Once they were back up, all three shot for the shoulders and weapons, taking them out at once. Another guard appeared from the left, holding a machine gun and shooting like a madman, but the commandos shot him more than his gun could.
Another guard came behind, ready to knock the Mandalorian down, but being swatted like a fly from the commando droid accompanied by Aurra firing a single laser into his head did the job. The commando droids saw her taking cover in one of the smaller buildings, right on top the roof. The woman loaded up her sniper rifle, getting into position. She focused it on one guard planning to shoot the Mandalorian in the back and BAM, he dropped dead. Another Ithorian tried to run straight at the intruders a little too late as a laser blast to the skull took care of him, and so did his friend who immediately ran for cover but ran too late.
She kept her eye looking through the scope as she surveyed the courtyard some more, looking for any more guards. Just a bunch of dead bodies on the floor, and a Mandalorian who gave her the all clear signal to come down. She put her rifle away and jumped off the ledge she was on, joining the rest of the group.
"Nice shots, Aurra," the Mandalorian complimented.
"Thanks kid. You're not bad, yourself," she said back. "But you missed one," she pointed to the last guard struggling to get up.
The Mandalorian snapped her fingers, and a single commando droid charged at him to finish him off. He swung a blade around, smacking him in the head hard enough to knock him unconscious. Same tactic used for taking down some of the clone troopers to move quick and fast.
"That should be the last of them, unless there are more inside the compound," the Mandalorian said, turning around with Aurra. The two looked at the doors, feeling how tough the outside was for a second. And off to the side was a control box, most likely locked. “Get these doors open,” the Mandalorian ordered.
“Roger roger ,” the commando droid replied. His fingers pried the box open, and his fingers started ripping a few of the cords. Some sparks sizzled until finally the doors opened. More guards appeared to blast them, but Aurra shot at them like a cowboy, not even flinching.
Finally, the doors slid open, revealing nothing but darkness inside. It was quiet, with no sounds but their own footsteps. Then in a micro-second, the silence died and a noise had broken it.
"Hold it right there, widowmaker!"
The sound of a lightsaber powering on got their attention, along with the minty green glow coming from the right of the room. A green woman with minty green skin, along with minty green and white hair, golden eyes, wearing tan Jedi robes with dark maroon boots.
"You! I remember you, Jedi brat!" Aurra snared. Her arm twisted out and shot another incoming guard without so much as even a stare.
"You know this Jedi?" The Mandalorian asked.
"Not personally," Aurra answered. "She left me for dead!"
"You assassinated a senator, you crashed an Alliance cruiser, and killed my clones!" Lyra retorted, still holding her lightsaber steady. "I'm honestly surprised you're back to work so soon," Lyra growled.
"Well a girl's gotta make a living." Aurra smirked. "And if you don't stand aside, I will have to kill you. I'd like to haul your carcass back to the Storm Army to make an example out of you, but my time is limited. Now get out of our way."
"Never."
Aurra chuckled evilly. "You really have a death wish today, don't you?"
She didn't give a warning before pulling out her pistols, shooting up a storm at Lyra who tried her best to block most of those blasts. But try as she could, she wasn't fast enough and she felt the hot stinging pain of a laser blast hitting her in the shoulder.
"AGH!"
Aurra laughed maniacally. "Not so tough as you made yourself out to be? Last time we met, I thought you made some claims about how great you are."
Lyra glared. "You're clearly thinking about Trixie. I never once declared myself as that great or powerful!"
"Whatever. Miss Mandalorian, I think your commandos can hold her, right? We should --"
A wailing noise interrupted their taunt-fest, just over in a corner. Lyra, Aurra, and the Mandalorian all looked over at a small hovering container looking thing where the noise came from. That noise, it sounded like... crying .
"What the heck...?"
"Commandos, keep her in place, but don't kill her."
Lyra was about to move but the commandos rushed in and grabbed her, holding her in place. Hands gripping her arms, and an arm went around her neck, holding her back even more.
“No,” Lyra whimpered, trying to fight. "Don't! That's not the cargo!"
The Mandalorian ignored her, and pulled the top off. But when she and Aurra looked inside--
"What?”
A small fuzzy blanket was seen inside the containment piece, underneath a plush snail. A soft pale hand slowly moved the covers off, revealing more of her blue and purple hair. Two soft blue eyes opening and blinking, looking at the two figures standing above her, clearly afraid.
“A baby…?” The Mandalorian gasped. “I thought they said this was cargo, how is this… this is not…”
Aurra did not like the sound of her voice. “Don't tell me you're thinking of quitting this job, are you now?” Aurra said, raising a brow.
“When they hired us, they said to pick up cargo. They never said this 'cargo' was a living child! I will happily steal spice, fuel, weapons, jewelry, credits, I'll even steal a lightsaber, whatever! But taking a child?”
Aurra smirked. “Then if you don't mind, I'll be taking the bounty on this one. After I eliminate our Jedi friend here.”
The guns turned around and pointed at Lyra who still struggled to fight her restraints against the commando droids.
“Hold on, why kill the Jedi?” The Mandalorian asked.
“Oh you didn’t know? I’ve been told that Jedi lightsabers are rather valuable . I think hers might give me a bigger paycheck.”
Lyra couldn’t see a way out of this one. She was held by commando droids, two bounty hunters were outmatching her, and she had no friends out here who could step in to stop her. But as her eyes were slowly closing to await death’s cold embrace…
ZAP.
She heard a body fall and hit the floor. Opening up her eyes, she saw Aurra Sing had dropped to the floor, unconscious. And the Mandalorian’s gun slowly moving back into her holster. She assumed she had used a stun blaster, if she hadn’t killed her. But she was completely shocked; this bounty hunter just turned on that other hunter, unwilling to take the baby. But why?
Lyra heard a body fall and hit the floor. Opening up her eyes, she saw Aurra Sing had dropped to the floor, unconscious. And the Mandalorian’s gun slowly moving back into her holster. She assumed she had used a stun blaster, if she hadn’t killed her.
"I’m taking you to my ship. But let me get one thing clear with you, Jedi,” the Mandalorian said, walking up to the Jedi. Lyra was about to say something until she felt her wrists grabbed and slapped with a pair of cuffs that the Mando put on her. “You’re going to do what I say for the trip. I will take you to a safer location, for you and the baby, but you do as I say. Got it?”
Lyra nodded. “Got it. But why are—”
“Quiet,” the Mandalorian pointed, sternly. Lyra just shut her mouth, waiting for her to finish. “There’s a possible chance of more bounty hunters coming to this very location to find the baby, so if we’re leaving, we need to leave without getting them to desire to go after us. Hopefully that stun will keep Aurra down, but we must move quickly. Come!”
She led the way, and soon the crib carrying the baby floated right with them, next to the Mandalorian. And right behind her was two of the commando droids, Lyra, and two more commandos behind her. The Jedi looked over to the crib, looking at the stressed out baby, giving a somewhat hopeful smile. "It's okay, I'm here. We're going to be alright."
“Cheep, G-G, start up the Sweetie Drop . We’re getting out of here,” the Mandalorian said, patching into her com device.
“Brt-beep-boop .”
"Chirp chirp. "
“Thank you,” the Mandalorian replied, looking at her ship just ahead. “Now if we can just—”
“—Where are you going?”
“… Scrap.”
Cad Bane stood, hat tilted down to hide his eyes as his body faced the Mandalorian. He didn't show fear, for he had none Not even against the rustbucket commando droids that were standing by her side.
"If you would be so kind as to hand over the bounty, I will be leaving with it and leave you alone," Bane suggested.
“Bane, they’re my bounty. And if you think you’re going to be taking mine—”
The commando droids all turned their weapons on him.
“—You have another thing coming. And all of them are pointing at your heads. One blast to your skull and your brain is fried.”
"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you," Cad warned.
Bane slowly backed up, but he had other ideas. He wasn’t about to let her leave with this bounty so soon, but then a signal started to call to him on the com device. Bane answered, and unfortunately, Lyra and the others heard the signal.
“The cargo is the baby. The Mandalorian is escaping with the cargo and the Jedi, and she knocked me out. She’s helping the Jedi!”
Only one thought ran through the Mandalorian’s head. Oh no.
Cad Bane was ready shoot at the Mandalorian, except she came prepared. She charged at him, sweeping a leg under him to throw him on his back. Then taking her chance, she fired an electric shock to his body to zap him, rendering his body limp.
"That'll keep him down for a small time, come on!"
She yanked on Lyra's cuffs, forcing her to run with her. And the commandos along with the hovering crib followed closeby.
“Cheep, is that ship ready!?” The Mandalorian yelled. “Because we really could use it right now!”
"Chir chirp chirp!"
"Good! Prepare for take off, we need to leave, now!"
Now everyone was running. Even though Cad Bane was hit with an electric shock, it wasn't strong enough to keep him down. He pulled himself right back up and launched into the air with his rocket boots, firing some shots from the air.
"If you uncuff me, I can deflect some of his blasts!"
"I'm not dumb enough to fall for that trick, Jedi!" The Mandalorian argued, still leading her to the ship.
And to make matters worse, Aurra was running closeby. She was now joining the chase, running close behind Bane's flying feet.
"Chirp choowoop. "
"Got it Cheep! Keep your head down, Jedi!"
The ship was starting to take off from the ground, preparing for take off as per ordered. And once the two bounty hunters came into perspective, Cheep and G-G got to work. A turret mounted on the top of the ship turned around and focused on Cad Bane. Rapidly, lasers started to fire towards Bane, forcing him to duck and fly lower to get out of the turret's sight.
Aurra, now within range, started to shoot at them with everything she had. Rapid fire of her pistols came their way, hitting a few of the commando droids, but not enough to take them down. Lyra and the baby went into the ship first, followed by the commando droids. Now the last one remaining was the Mandalorian who wanted to exchange one final word with the two chasing her.
"The bounty belongs to me, Aurra, Bane. Find some other bounty to get rich off of!"
She ran up the hatch and soon it closed right behind her. The ship's feet folded inside itself as it began to get off the ground. Aurra kept firing, but her shots were worthless against the ship's armor. And with one blast of the engines, the Sweetie Drop was out of the planet's skies, flying straight out of the atmosphere.
"That Mandalorian is helping the Jedi escape," Aurra growled.
"We'll make sure she doesn't get away," Bane said, clicking his wrist-com. "We're going to make some calls to everyone else after that bounty... I'm sure we can all come to some sort of agreement."
There was some... awkwardness, to say the least. Lyra wanted to say something to the Mandalorian since they arrived, but she had been so eerily quiet that Lyra swore this girl was about to threaten her and do something nefarious, even though she said nothing at all. Didn't make matters better by the fact that her wrists were bound in cuffs. She tried wiggling her hands out of them, but no luck. Too tight around her, but not enough to cut off any blood to her vessels.
"Where are you taking us?"
She waited for an answer, but the Mandalorian didn't say anything. She just kept her hands clamped onto the controls, focused too much on not crashing or getting off-course. Lyra was about to give up on getting an answer--
"--I'm taking you and the infant far away from this section of the galaxy. I'll drop you off on Naboo, and you can find yourselves a ride back to wherever you want to go. But once you're off, I'm leaving. So don't think about saying any goodbyes to me."
"Why are you helping us? And are you even going to take us there, or are you just going to trick me and--"
The Mandalorian slammed her feet on the floor to stand up. She looked over to the Jedi, standing over her and she leaned in, helmet in close to her face.
"I said I would take you back, and I mean it. I'm a lot of things, but I draw the line at taking children. Got it?"
Lyra gulped and slowly nodded. "Got it."
"Good."
The bounty hunter stopped hunching over and sat back down in her chair, flipping more controls. "I have plenty of food down in the first level for you and your baby, you won't go hungry. But it's going to take a few days to get back, so I don't want to hear anything about why it's taking so long."
"I wasn't going to ask that anyway," Lyra deadpanned.
"The point I'm making is that this trip is going to take some time. So until we get to Naboo, I don't want you causing me trouble or else I'm slamming you into the carbon freezing chamber," The bounty hunter threatened.
"You wouldn't dare," Lyra grit her teeth. "Besides, how would you be able to take care of the baby?"
And speak of the devil, suddenly the sound of a crying baby interrupted their spat-fest. Their heads looked over to the crib, their argument apparently made the baby stressed out.
"... Is that baby going to be crying on the whole trip?"
"She won't if I can pick her up and talk to her. Only if you can get these cuffs off me," Lyra sassed, raising her wrists.
The Mandalorian really did not like that option. "How do I know you're not just going to use some Jedi mind trick on me and take over my ship?"
"Well how do I know you're not just going to hand us straight to the Storm Empire?" Lyra retorted.
There was some silence in the cockpit, well, aside from the baby still crying. The Mandalorian was hesitant, and she cursed to herself quite hard as she grabbed a key to unlock the Jedi's cuffs.
"If you play any tricks, I will lock you in carbonite for the rest of the trip," the bounty hunter warned, freeing her hands.
Lyra, now freed from her restraints, rubbed her wrists which had been pressed against the hard metal for some time. But she was happy to finally be out of them. And with her attention back to the baby, she slowly picked up the crying baby, carrying her out of the cockpit and into the open space where the ladder was leading to.
"Shhhh... it's okay, it's okay... shhh, don't cry, I'm here," Lyra cooed, hugging the baby.
The baby's crying slowly dwindled as she felt the familiar person she knew was here with her. And seeing Lyra's face made the baby smile even more.
"It's okay Flurry, your sorta-mommy is here," she said, booping the baby's nose and making her giggle.
The Mandalorian sat quiet, listening to the Jedi comforting the baby. Mainly just to make sure she wasn't going to pull any tricks on her. She had run-ins with Jedi before who tried to pull a fast one on her, but she knew how to evade them. Though she had to admit, this Jedi was quite a natural with the infant.
"It'll be okay... shhh..." Lyra kissed her head, and gave her another hug, and the baby softly giggled while hugging her back. "Hey Flurry? You feeling hungry, sweetie?"
The Mandalorian didn't understand how the baby could easily understand the Jedi, but somehow the baby did. Lyra, holding the baby tight, climbed down the ladder to the bottom floor, down to the kitchen. The bounty hunter didn't move from where she sat, curious as to how things were going to go with her down below.
"Cheep. Keep an eye on those two. If they try any funny business, tell me," the Mandalorian reported into her comlink.
Down below, Lyra walked into the kitchen, opening up the fridge. She looked through some of the contents, looking for something, any kind of drink she could give the baby. Surprisingly she was able to find actual milk. Lyra assumed that for a bounty hunter of this kind which this huge ship that she would have bought heaven knows how much whiskey or beer or alcoholic beverages of any kind.
"Thank you, Mando," Lyra said to herself, grabbing some milk. She force lifted a baby bottle, pouring some milk into it for the baby. And with some happy giggling from the toddler, she reached for the bottle once Lyra had finished preparing it, given by Lyra's adult fingers.
Over in the corner, Cheep had just been sitting in a charging station to get some more power fuled within. But his attention was soon drawn to the newcomer that was now in the kitchen area. And after getting that order from his boss, he wasn't about to disobey. The charging ports removed themselves and Cheep was now free to move walk around however and whereever he pleased.
"Chorup chirp chirp chirp. "
"Oh hi there," Lyra said, looking at the small astromech. "You're a C1 series astromech aren't you?"
"Chir chirp ."
"I thought so. Didn't know this Mando had one. What's your name?"
"Chirp chirp. "
"Cheep?" Lyra tilted her head. "Your name is Cheep?"
The small astromech bobbed his body back and forth, nodding. And even a small hand pulled out from the side of his dome, waving at her.
"Okay, nice to meet you, Cheep. I'm Lyra," Lyra extended a hand out, and surprisingly got a handshake from the small astromech. And she felt something bump her side, a much bigger astromech with a cone-sized dome. "Oh, sorry buddy, I can't believe I didn't see you there."
"Brt beep birt birp. "
"G-G?" The Jedi tilted her head.
"Brt boop. "
"Well, it's nice to meet you too, G-G. I'm Lyra."
The R4 series droid rolled right past her, sitting right next to Cheep as they stared up at their new prisoner. Surprisingly, this prisoner did not attempt to find a means to escape or try and fight back.
"... Do you two need food as well?" Lyra snickered.
The two droids just shook their heads, not keeping their eyes off her.
"Chirp chirp, chir chir chirp ."
"Guys, I'm not going to try anything funny. As long as your boss doesn't try and turn herself around on me."
"Birt beep bop birt birup. "
"And what makes you say that?" Lyra put her free hand on her hip, giving a glare.
"Chirp chirp ."
"She... rescued you two? How does that make--"
"Chirp chirp, chirp chirrrrrp chirp chir. Chirp chirp! "
Lyra's hand scrunched her face. "Lemme get this straight, she said she'd bring you to a safer place to be and because she rescued you two, it means you both can say she's trustworthy?"
"She can be trusted, Jedi ," a new voice emerged. This one was coming from one of those junky commando droids, this one showing a standard battle droid arm and leg replacing two of it's missing limbs. "I was sent to the scrapheap until she put me back together. She saved me from permanent destruction. "
"I can believe she put you back together, but saving you?" Lyra asked, still not believing. "Why would you even agree to stay with her?"
"She gave all of us a choice. Something the Storm Empire never did. "
The other repurposed commando droids clanked their feet, standing next to their allies, a unity of six now staring at Lyra; two astromechs, and four commandos.
"And what did she give you all that the Storm Empire didn't?"
"Freedom. "
That one word echoed from all of them like a megaphone was screeching in her ears. But she wasn't about to question it; and why should she? She was trapped on board a ship with a bounty hunter who had fully functioning commando droids at her disposal. There was no use in trying to argue her way out.
"Okaaaay then..."
As time went by, Lyra kept the baby distracted the rest of the evening, and out of the Mandalorian's hair. The commando droids eventually left her alone and set themselves on the little docks to charge up, but the two astromechs stayed out to continue to talk and just hang out overall.
But now it was time for the two of them to go to bed, even as little Flurry yawned, she still tried to deny she was asleep. Lyra was not convinced, she knew when it was the baby's bedtime. And Flurry cutely playing with the buttons on the wall still didn't convince her.
"Flurry, no. Stop playing with the button. Let's get your jammies on," Lyra giggled, setting the child down on the blanket. And Flurry still tried to get away. "No huh? I think someone's getting a little cranky," she sassed playfully.
After holding her down, she finally got Flurry's pajamas on and slowly set her down on the blanket covering the small table to get her bottle. Still, Flurry was trying to get back up to get her drink, and on her own. If a grown-up could do it, so could she!
"Sweetie, I'm getting your warm milk in a second," she said, trying to get her to stay still. She went over to the kitchen area, setting some milk in a baby bottle. And with the instructions left by the bounty hunter, she found just the means to warm it up.
The baby's little hands clutched her milk and she started to suck on the bottle, enjoying the deliciousness of good wholesome milk.
"Shhh... shhh..." Lyra whispered, shaking her softly. "All of the little crabbies have gone night-night, all of the little Tauntauns are cuddling up, all of the Porgs are resting in their nests..." She smiled, seeing the baby was slowly falling to sleep, with the help of the warm milk. "All of the crystal foxes are heading to their stead... and my little powerhouse is going to bed."
She slowly put the baby back in the crib, and covered her in the blanket. Lyra leaned in and gave her one soft kiss.
"Sweet dreams, Flurry."
Once all that she heard was the baby soft snores, she started to settle in for the night as well. She climbed into the spare bed that was unfolded, and laid down on, cuddling up on a pillow and blanket that was offered. And so Lyra, fell asleep.
Unbeknownst to her, the Mandalorian was climbing down the ladder to check on them, making sure they were still behaving. She had a long trip ahead of her, and didn't need any of them causing her any kind of trouble. The deck was thankfully quiet. Didn't seem like she would make much noise, outside of the baby crying if she was needing something, but it wasn't something she was going to bother with. It was the Jedi's baby, not hers after all.
Her metal boots did stir the baby a little, waking her up, but she didn't cry. Curious, she looked up to see who it was, but quickly hid back under her blanket when she saw the scary metal lady. The Mandalorian turned her head, seeing the baby cowering under the blanket, but she decided to leave her alone. She didn't want nor intend to antagonize the baby anyway.
She whipped her to the corner, watching as Cheep and G-G were keeping themselves busy, simply playing the holochess game with the sounds muted so they didn't disturb the others. Seeing that the situation was under control and there would be nothing else to worry about, she turned around and climbed back up the ladder to continue flying. She had a LONG trip ahead of her if she wanted to get to Naboo.
Flurry slowly pulled the cover of her blanket off, peaking to see if that big scary metal wearing monster was there. No, she wasn't in her sight. Not in her sights any longer, the coast was clear. She was safe now.
Pulling her blanket off, she peaked over to the spare bed that had been pulled out, seeing Lyra sleeping peacefully. And then over in a corner, just playing on the holochess area were the two astromechs she saw earlier. Carefully, she grabbed the edge of her crib, slowly moving around. One leg moved off to the side while the other slowly followed behind, and she flopped onto the ground, thankfully not hurt. She slowly stood back up, and very cutely straightening her little robes that her aunt had made her, and looked at the two robots in front of her.
And that one thud was enough for them to pause their game and to divert their attention towards the infant.
"Chirup? "
"Brt boop. "
The baby wasn't scared to see that these things had noticed her. She still kept waddling towards them. Cheep wasn't sure what to do until the baby suddenly moved closer to him and laid herself on him, trying to hug him.
"Beep beep. "
Cheep didn't move, afraid he was gonna hurt the baby. And then when she looked up, one of Cheep's smaller hands extended out, and lightly patted her on the head, making her giggle. Her little fingers reached up, trying to touch his little claw.
The little astromech honestly thought anyone who tried to do that was going to rip them off, but he didn't feel this way with this little girl. She just seemed so cute and nice. And softly, his claw reached down and allowed her to grip him slightly, just so she could feel his little hand. The baby looked up, cooing in awe, and moved in for another hug, feeling a soft metal hand pat her on the back.
The next day, the Sweetie Drop finally came out of hyperspace, outside of a desert planet; Florrum. A world owned by some of the most nefarious beings in the galaxy, Weequay pirates. Those marauding miscreants were always in the shipping lanes of the Outer Rim Territories, looking for cargo to claim for their own, or travelers to hold for ransom money. Now Florrum remained their stronghold, which held just enough food, drink, places to stay, and one of their most valuable resource, spice.
While these pirates stole from everyone and could steal practically everything, they stayed away from the conflict of the war, preferring to remain neutral only if there was no chance of making any kind of profit. And these were just the kind of people that the Mandalorian needed to meet right now. The Sweetie Drop flew through the clouds and headed straight down to the landing space, unfolding the landing gear. Now that it was parked, the engines slowly powered down.
The Jedi Knight felt the ship sitting still, and pulled herself up. She saw the Mandalorian climbed down her ladder, with a small bag and a handful of credits in her pouch.
"Why have we stopped?" Lyra asked.
"I'm just stopping to get some fuel and pick up a package, it shouldn't take too long," The Mandalorian said, grabbing her guns.
"Does this pickup include killing anyone?"
The Mandalorian didn't turn her body around to face her, only turning her head slightly, peaking out the side. "No, it does not. I'll be back, just try not to touch anything or blow anything up?"
"I'm protective, not dumb," Lyra snarked.
"Just..." The Mandalorian sighed, shaking her head. She pressed the button to open the hatch, and the walkway opened up, bringing light from the outside into the ship. She walked down, leaving the Jedi, the baby, and her astromechs alone.
As the Mandalorian walked down, a few heads of Weequays turned to look at her, gawking at her armor. But then their eyes looked over at the captain who held total control of everyone and everything in this lovely port. A long red coat with no dust or ripped pieces of thread, only weighed down by the metal padding on his broad shoulders. A pair of green tinted goggles, only implementing more marks into his wrinkled face. And to top it off, black cap to hide his unruly head, but not his friendly smile.
"Ah, my best customer, welcome back to Florrum," The man chuckled.
"Good to see you again, Hondo," The Mandalorian greeted.
"What brings you back here?"
"I need to fuel up, and if you don't mind, if any of your boys have anything available to buy..."
The leader of the pirates just laughed. "Of course, of course! Please, follow me. Boys, please give our guest her fuel."
"Right boss."
Lyra peaked her head down the hatch, looking to see where the Mandalorian was going. She was going away with Hondo, oh joy. Hopefully she wouldn't be back for too long, and, wait a minute. She was walking away from the ship... and no one was guarding her, or holding her hostage. Now was her chance to escape!
Not taking any chances, she opened up the crib and pulled the baby out, holding her in a comfortable stance that still had a strong grip on her.
"Hang on, sweetie, we're getting out of here," Lyra said, calmly. The baby gave confused babbles, and Lyra shook her head. "Don't worry, we're going to be okay."
"Chorup? Chirp chirp chirp ."
"Cheep, I'm sorry, but we're not staying here. We need to leave. I hope whatever happens to you and the rest of your boys is a continuous good journey," Lyra said, walking out of the ship. Cheep waved his arms in protest, but Lyra just ignored him. The baby whined a little bit as she waved goodbye, but she couldn't get out to give him a hug. Lyra would have to find something for the baby to hug another time.
Slipping past the Weequays who were honoring their word (surprisingly) by fueling up the ship's tanks, Lyra managed to roll right on past them and found herself into an open space where dozens of Weequays and various sketchy characters walked about. An open market where various items were sold either for outrageous prices, or items that were stolen to be sold on black market deals. This was clearly some black market area. However, she wasn't about to do anything to stop them, not that she could. Even then, she had to find a way out off this planet before the Mandalorian came searching for her.
"Okay, let's see, if we pay one of these pirates handsomely, maybe we can get ourselves a ride or a ship. Assuming we can find something," Lyra said out loud, with the baby being the only one to listen.
Click.
"Hand over the asset, Jedi. And no one dies," a feminine voice spoke.
Little Flurry whimpered when she saw the scary lady with horns on her head. Lyra could hear the gun clicking, and only turned her head slightly. A pale-skinned Zabrak woman was the one holding the trigger, ready to kill.
"Waki der, e zeperai? "
And so was Embo.
"Aren't you two working together or something?" Lyra asked, raising a brow.
"The Storm Empire demands that you hand over the asset at once. "
And now IG-88 was here.
"So make that three?"
"Correction," Dengar said, pointing a pistol at her. "Four of us."
"Hand over the asset, or face termination ," IG-88 emphasized, holding up his two pistols.
Lyra could see she was outnumbered. One wrong move and she'd get hurt, and worse, they'd take Flurry. She wasn't about to let any of that happen. Fighting her urge to smirk, she started to talk.
"Okay. I'll hand over the asset... but who am I taking it to? I mean, you four don't seem like the kind that would work together as a team, and clearly two of you are a team, and well, you two clearly came alone, so that's three different types that are here for the asset soooo who do I hand it to?" Lyra asked playfully.
"Hand it over to us," Sugi pushed her gun at Lyra's face.
"Hold on now. I found her first, the asset is mine," Dengar slapped her gun away from Lyra's face, now getting into the Zabrak's face.
"Technically speaking you arrived last, but the asset is mine ," IG-88 declared.
Embo started to butt in as well, speaking something in various profanities that made Lyra cover Flurry's ears. No way she was ready to have her innocence taken from her, especially at this age. Well, more of her innocence, really.
Now that she had her chance to depart, she started to make a run for it. She was proud of herself, fooling them all without having to use a single mind trick. However, it seemed like it didn't work for all of them...
"Hand over the asset or be terminated ," IG-88 declared as he marched after Lyra.
IG-88 completely ignored the other hunters in-fighting, and kept his primary objective to obtaining that asset. He was a droid, he wasn't going to allow their fighting to stray him away from this. Lyra looked back at the IG unit who still followed her, trying to track her down and not lose her.
She had to think of something, fast! But what? Wait, what was she thinking, she was running in an open market with a bunch of Weequay pirates, they had to have guns on them!
"This IG unit has buyer's remorse!" Lyra shouted as she ran past them.
"Buyer's remorse, now huh?"
Some of the Weequays stepped out to stand in the way of the IG unit, keeping him from leaving. One of them was ready to shoot the assassin, but IG-88 was programmed to handle this kind of situation. His arm swung a gun up and fired at the first Weequay who was ready to shoot.
Another pirate was ready to fire, but IG-88 threw his other arm up and shot back. Two pirates from the sides were ready to shoot this time, except the assassin was ready for them. His entire upper torso spun around and his arms extended, shooting the two pirates at once, not even moving his legs. Another one got ready to shoot, and he went down as well. With only one more ready to shoot from behind, but one of his scope eyes turned to look and shot him before he had a chance.
His eyes spun back around, and focused back onto Lyra who was getting further away.
"Idiot. Never send a droid to do a man's job," Dengar snarled, pulling out a gun and charging right past him. He pulled the trigger a few times, but with no success hitting any shot on Lyra, only managing to hit pieces of market stands, barrels, and walls.
Dengar fired more shots at Lyra, hitting more andom barrels and cargo crates around her. But when he shot again, she blocked the shot with a quick lightsaber swing, which unintentionally bounced off and shot one of the Weequay shop-keepers in the shoulder, making him drop.
Lyra's eyes and mouth drooped as she put her lightsaber away, and the other shop-owner glared at her with murderous intent.
"Um... he did it," Lyra pointed at Dengar.
"WHAT!?"
Suddenly the Weequay pirate pulled out a gun and started to shoot at Dengar, and he shot back. And very soon more pirates started to join the fight, all pulling out their guns and firing at Dengar and the rest of the bounty hunters. Now everybody in the market started to pull out their guns and shoot at them like madmen.
Lyra took one look at the situation and cursed herself internally. This may not have been the best idea...
“Oh, before I forget, I wanted to give you a little present,” Hondo chuckled, watching his pirate boys haul something large and heavy over to her. It looked like a damaged tactician droid, those Storm Empire models used to command legions of battle droids and Stormtroopers. This one was purple and gold in color, and was rapidly falling apart with each step. “Some Storm boys forgot a few battle droids, and I know how much you like to make things your own. I thought you could take this one with you.”
“Oh this one’s perfect,” the Mandalorian said, gleefully grabbing the parts. She lifted the head, flipping it around to look further. “K2-B4. I will be making heavy use of this one.”
Their happy words were interrupted with the sounds of laserfire somewhere down in the market, making them turn their heads.
"Is it usual for your boys to start shooting up in the market?"
"Only if we have rowdy customers," Hondo said walking over to check out the fight.
One of the pirates came running out of the fight, panting and breathing heavily. "Some bounty hunters are causing a ruckus. They're after a Jedi and some little brat."
"What!? I told them to stay put, ohhh that's it!" The Mandalorian pushed past the pirate and darted straight into the market fight. When finally walked into the ruckus, she watched the entire scene unfold before her; pirates shooting up a storm at the bounty hunters, into the skies as they let out the call of the wild, and some even beating each other up, weirdly.
Through that crowd, she was able to find Lyra running with the baby in her arms. And not too far behind, pushing through the crowd like a tank was IG-88, blasting and shooting anyone in his path.
"What the devil?"
The Jedi did a ninja jump over a stand, and over another table, kicking it down for some cover. She ducked behind it, trying to keep herself safe from the onslaught. The Mandalorian ran over to her position and slammed her armored against the cover.
"I told you to stay in the ship!" The Mandalorian yelled. "I said I'd bring you and the baby to Naboo, and I meant it!"
"You handcuffed me!" Lyra argued.
"Because I can't trust you to go running off alone!"
"Well how am I supposed to trust you then!? Especially when you drag me to your ship in handcuffs!"
"I was making the illusion of you being my prisoner, I was going to free you... eventually," The Mandalorian said, ducking some more fire. "Listen, I promise I won't do that again, but we have to get out of here together, are you with me?"
Lyra blocked another laser blast with her lightsaber, gritting her teeth. "Alright, fine! But do not kill anyone!"
"I haven't killed anyone... today. Can we discuss this later!?"
"Fine!"
The two of them jumped out of hiding, joining the firefight. Lyra swung her lightsaber around, blocking every laserblast that came close to hitting her body. The Mandalorian twirled her gun around, shooting at some pirates who were now focused on trying to shoot them straight back.
"Do not let them get the baby! We have to escape!"
The Mandalorian fired multiple shots at Sugi who managed to dodge every shot. Sugi flipped a knife around from her boots, and ran at the Mandalorian, attempting to slash at her.
"You're very persistent!"
"We will be leaving with the asset. I am a woman of my word, and I do not break deals," Sugi growled, swinging her blade at her.
"Too bad the deal you're doing a part of has no honor," the Mandalorian huffed, kicking her in the stomach, and pushing Sugi away from her. Embo soon saw this, and now he knew who to maim. He began a running charge, lifting his bowcaster to fire a few shots at the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian shot back, managing to get the gun out of his hands, but it didn't stop him from running.
Embo brushed through several of the pirates in his way. The Mandalorian braced herself for impact, waiting to feel a heavy bang against her body. She waited... and waited... but there was no feeling of the pressure. When she opened her eyes, she saw Embo just held there in place, his head still held down like an angry bull, only he was now struggling to break himself free from whatever was keeping him like this.
The Mandalorian's head turned and when she saw what was making him like this... she could not believe her eyes. Neither could anyone else in the entire market yard. Flurry Heart, the little baby, no taller than a womp rat, was holding her hands out like she was using the Force, and Embo was being held in place, not allowed to mow down the Mandalorian.
Lyra saw it too, and when she did, she could not help herself; she squeed like a little girl about to open a birthday present. And even more so when Embo was forced to spin around, no longer facing the Mandalorian. The baby let go, and Embo was let back on his feet to run and he slammed right into another market stand.
When the baby finally stopped, she plunked herself on her behind and suddenly everyone came to the same conclusion.
That's one powerful little baby.
Now that the baby was done, everyone just went straight back to fighting on their own, either the other shopkeepers, or the bounty hunters that originally came here.
"Hand over the asset or be terminated ," IG-88 repeated yet again.
Lyra ran to try and save the baby, but Sugi stepped in, kicking her down, placing a foot on her head to try and pin her, ready to shoot her. Dengar saw this chance to try and grab the baby who did not look happy at the scary stranger coming close to her.
"We're just going on a little ride, little one. All the way to the Storm Empire..."
Lyra in a fit of rage, threw Sugi's foot off her and swung her foot around, smacking her in the face. "Get away from her you bounty-hunting scum!"
She used the Force, pushing Dengar away and slammed him against a wall, up in the air. She wanted to choke him and finish him, right here, right now. He was getting to her baby, and the thought of her baby being held hostage by these strangers both scared and angered her to the core.
Taking her chance, Sugi got back up and fired at Lyra who tried to duck her shots, but got hit the shoulder, making her cry out and drop Dengar. She held onto her shoulder, feeling the intense pain from the hot blast. Sugi's gun twirled as she clicked it, ready to finish the job. But a gloved hand punched Sugi in the back and hit her with a stun of her gun. The Mandalorian rushed back into the fight, shooting a stun attack on Dengar as well, rendering him unconscious.
Embo was ready to get back up and finish them again, but he was kept busy thanks to Hondo's men trying to shoot at him. Only one left; the IG unit. He held up his weapons, pointing them both at the Jedi and the baby. The Mandalorian wasn't about to let him be the cause of their deaths, and so clicking her gun back to kill, he fired multiple shots at the IG unit's head, shooting multiple times until he finally shut down and just collapsed on the ground, now smoldering from the attack.
The bounty hunter looked all around her; the Weequays were still infighting with each other, but thankfully their attention was not set on her or the Jedi. Sugi and Dengar were temporarily stunned, Embo was busy with some Weequays, and now IG-88 was destroyed. At least he would be until the others fixed him. But either way, she now had a chance to escape. She looked at Lyra, still struggling to get up, holding onto her shoulder.
Lyra looked at the Mandalorian extending a hand to help her up. Smiling, she took her hand, pushing herself to get right back up on her feet.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm hit, but I think I'll be alright," Lyra said, removing her hand from her would. The Mandalorian got a better look now; not only did part of her robe get ripped off, but there was some intense heat and some little bit of blood coming out.
"We'll get you patched up. But we better leave now before they come to," the Mandalorian advised.
"Right."
She leaned over to try and pick up the baby, hissing at every ounce of pain it took just moving her shoulder. It was a struggle, but she finally got the baby in her arms, safely cradled. The Jedi jumped at the feeling of another arm touching her, but quickly found that the Mandalorian had moved one under her, trying to help her stand up straight, at the very least, provide more strength to help make sure the baby didn't fall.
"Come on, let's go back to my ship. Hondo should have it refueled by now, and it'll be on our way to Naboo," the Mandalorian said. Unbeknownst to her, two figures poked out from behind some boxes, having listened in.
The Jedi sensed a disturbance within the Force, and her head whipped back. No one in sight, outside of the Weequays who were slowly getting back to normal, well, mostly. But none of them were focused on the two of them, thank goodness. Now it meant they could escape without being caught.
Recovering from the fight, Dengar and Sugi got back on their feet, brushing off the dust and sand they were flung into. Their sights focused on IG-88 who was laying destroyed on the ground, smoking in the central brain. And across the market they saw a freighter take off from the ground, escaping for the clouds. Now the Mandalorian had escaped.
Worse, Sugi was hearing a faint signal beep from her holo-device. She picked it from her side, turning it on.
"Why have I not heard from any of you? Do you have the asset or not? " Varan huffed, crossing his arms.
"We've had a little bump. We're after the asset, but that Mandalorian bounty hunter you hired is now helping the Jedi and the asset escape," Dengar said.
"Then bring the asset and that Mandalorian back! I don't care how many people you have to kill, JUST BRING THEM BACK ALIVE! "
And the transmission cut off before any of them could say another word.
"Really has a way with words, doesn't he?" Dengar snarked. "I don't see any way for us to find that bonuty hunter, she's probably long gone by now."
"Not for long," a feminine voice called.
The two looked to the call, watching as Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, and the newly-arrived Bossk walk towards them.
"We overheard their little conversation. The Mandalorian's dropping her off at Naboo. We just need to follow her and catch her when she arrives..." Cad Bane said, raising his head a little to let his red blood eyes be visible to the rest. "Since we're all against the Mandalorian, how about we all split the reward for taking in that traitor and the asset?"
The freighter known as the Sweetie Drop was back out in space, now back on course to Naboo. The ship's engines powered up, and soon they were flying right back into hyperspace again for a much quicker travel. And with the ship set on automatic pilot, this gave the Mandalorian some downtime to do other things; like help patch up her wounded Jedi.
She wrapped up some bandages around Lyra's wound, surprised to get her to hold still long enough to do so.
"You took some big hits, but I think you'll be alright," the Mandalorian said, this time more softly.
"Thanks," Lyra said, graciously.
The Mandalorian set the medical supplies down, and then looked over at the baby, who was just sitting on the floor, playing with a rubber ball. It rolled away a few times, but she learned how to use the Force to pull it back to her so she could get it again.
"When they hired me to capture that baby, I thought they were crazy. Now I understand why... and at the same time I don't," the Mandalorian said, sitting down on the step with Lyra.
"My assumption was that they want to turn the baby to the Dark Side, but that's just my hopeful wishing."
And poor Flurry whimpered as the ball rolled away again, except when she focused and pulled it back to her, she babbled and giggled in joy, grabbing it again.
"I have a feeling they would have killed her," the armored girl said, observing her. "Although there's one thing I don't understand; How did a Jedi like you end up being in charge of looking after this little powerhouse?"
Lyra hissed. "Oh... that. It's... not pretty. You sure you want to know?"
"It can't be that bad, can it?"
"It can, and it will," Lyra warned. "But okay. Where do I begin? Oh yes..."
"I was just doing business, discussing strategies in a war room like any other day. When suddenly we got a transmission, requesting for some help over on a small planet. It turns out that the princess along with the captain of the Royal Guard, her husband, had been dealing with a serious problem. A possibly changeling threat. You see, while Canterlot's a peaceful planet, it's unfortunately also home to another threat; Queen Chrysalis, and her Changeling army."
"I've heard about those bugs. Don't they take on the form of people you love and grow from the emotional energy you have for said people?"
"They do. And sadly, it had become a recent problem for the princess and her Crystal Empire. So she asked me to watch over the baby for a few days as a little nanny. Admittedly, I was surprised, but I honestly fell in love with the assignment. It was a nice change from battle. But over the course of time, it seemed the paranoia had gotten worse. And so one day..."
"Okay little one. You ready?"
Flurry nodded, and giggled in delight as Lyra lightly threw her up in the air and caught her gently, zipping around the baby's room with her like she was an airplane.
"Here comes the starfighter, nerrrroooooowwww, fire the ion cannons, bam bam!"
Flurry giggled in delight, especially after Lyra brought her back down to face her.
"You're such a sweetie, yes you are, yes you are," Lyra nuzzled her. "Is Flurry going to be a star pilot when she grows up? Huh? Are ya?"
Just then, Cadence and Shining Armor came in the room. "Hey, Lyra, can we talk to you?"
"Of course."
"Wait... how do know it's you?"
Lyra gulped. She knew this was gonna happen, again. A machine from the ceiling propped down, and started flashing a scanning ray up and down on her, checking her entire body.
"Okay, it's her," Shining said with relief.
"We wanted to discuss something with you, something important."
"Um, sure, yeah. What's that?" Lyra asked, sitting down in a chair.
"I'm afraid the search for the Changeling intruder has not stopped, and we aren't anywhere near close to stopping it or finding out if there is more coming," Shining Armor said with frustration, setting his helmet down on a table.
"Which is why we wanted to talk to you about this," Princess Cadence said, kindly.
"But wait, what about Twilight? She's her aunt, doesn't she deserve to know? If you're having problems here, I think she can dispatch some clones and come to help you--"
"She has enough responsibilities happening right now, and a war of her own going on. But we will let her know, I promise. But if something happens to us... and Twilight--
"Can we ask you to please take care of Flurry? You're the only one she seems to take a liking to."
Little Flurry playfully squirmed in her arms, blissfully unaware of what her mommy and daddy were talking about. Lyra looked down at Flurry, who was still desiring to play, and then back to Shining and Cadence. She couldn't say no to them, but she had responsibility to the Jedi Order. Well, either way, she wasn't about to break the promises of either or so she simply said--
"If it means that much to you two, I promise to look after Flurry should the day come. Which it won't."
The two sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Lyra."
"It really means a lot to us that someone will be protecting her. We just can't imagine what would happen if something bad happened to her," Cadence said.
Lyra looked down at Flurry, a little bit of worry in her voice said, "Yeah... me too."
"After our discussion, we all got on a shuttle, and they dropped me and Flurry off on Naboo... because I didn't think about bringing my own ship with me."
The two parents stood with Lyra, with some final minute discussion. Reminding Lyra of when would be appropriate times to set the baby to bed, her favorite foods, things to practice with her, and much, much more. The two parents really didn't want to leave, but they had no choice. They wanted their child safe, and they weren't about to keep her on a planet with the chance of her being kidnapped or killed by the Changelings.
"G-goodbye, Flurry..." Shining kissed the top of her head softly. "Daddy loves you, all right?"
Now Flurry could sense her daddy's sadness, making her frown and whimper.
"Just make sure she stays okay," Cadence requested, somberly.
"I promise. And don't worry, the Changeling debacle will end soon. You'll be able to get your daughter safely again," Lyra said with pride.
"I hope so. I don't want this search to take too long," Shining replied, worriedly.
The guard waited some more, and then stepped aside as Shining Armor and Cadence walked back onto the shuttle to depart. Lyra didn't move at all, holding little Flurry in her arms. She waited, and then watched as the shuttle took off, leaving them alone. She sighed momentarily, parking herself on the empty bench.
Lyra looked at baby Flurry in her arms, smiling softly. But seconds after, her heart crushed inside, thinking about the idea of Shining and Cadence being gone. Little Flurry could see her sadness, frowning a little. But she slowly pulled herself up to try and stand on her lap, and kissed her on the cheek. The Jedi felt a little warm inside as she looked back at Flurry, smiling some more and picked up the baby holding her in a warm hug, even feeling the baby's hands hugging her back.
"What do you say you and I go take a stop to Coruscant. I'll buy you some ice cream, I know Dexter's Diner has some of the best," Lyra asked little Flurry.
"... After that, I've been on the run, trying to keep the baby safe. Only a few Jedi know I'm trying to take care of their niece, but Master Sparkle doesn't. That's her aunt."
"Doesn't she deserve to know? She's her family," the Mandalorian said.
"She does, but... I don't know. I'm just scared it's only going to put more anxiety on her, and she has enough going on right now. But I'm hoping as soon as the Changeling scum has been found, I may return her back to her parents. Poor thing doesn't deserve being stuck out here in war," Lyra said, softly petting Flurry's hair, making her giggle.
The Mandalorian was quietly observing the baby, pondering Lyra's story. "I agree strongly. It's bad enough you all have brought this war stretched across the galaxy, but throwing children into this is just... I have no words. That's why I refuse to bring this 'asset' to the Storm Army. Kidnapping children has never been part of my code. Spice, money, jewels, whatever, I'll happily find those. But children? No. That's where I draw the line."
Lyra had to admit, she felt rather impressed. "I didn't think bounty hunters had any honor."
"Some do. Depends on the bounty hunter," the Mandalorian said. "So tell me. You're a Jedi, aren't you? Don't the Jedi have clone battalions to help? Why don't you have one helping you look after the baby?"
"Oh funny you mention that. Actually, I'll tell you why, just one second," Lyra picked up the baby, holding her safely and walked over to the crib, setting her down. "Lyra will be right back, Flurry. You're not ready to deal with my frustrations."
She closed the top, and then turned around with a face that screamed 'I am going to kill everyone on board this vessel'. "Why don't have I any clones? I'll tell you why; THEY'RE DEAD! I had a battalion! I had a captain, Captain Concord, I liked him, he was a good guy!"
The Mandalorian was not ready to deal with her anger either. "... And where is this, Captain Concord?"
"I don't know. Because he's FREAKING DEAD!"
The Mandalorian jumped.
"He, along with the rest of my battalion are all dead! They died, trying to help me protect Flurry! I watched those Storm Troopers mount Concord's head on a freaking stick!" She force-grabbed a staff from the side for emphasis. "A stick! Like a bunch of savages!"
And she tossed the stick to the side, back to the wall it was on.
"This is just like Kit Fisto's incident on Vassek with Nahdar and Commander Fil!"
"... I don't know who those two are," the Mandalorian blanked.
"Exactly!" Lyra ranted. "I just... agh! Varan won't stop until he has the baby, and I cannot imagine Flurry being held by that monster, or anyone of the Storm Empire."
Lyra took a moment to finally calm down, sighing to take a deep breath. Then she looked back at Mandalorian, with a bit of embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I forgot, Jedi aren't supposed to be this passionate or enraged, but honestly that rule doesn't... what?"
The Mandalorian's head was leaning over to look past her, not looking at Lyra directly.
"... Flurry got out of her crib, didn't she?"
Indeed she did. And when Lyra looked over, her anger washed away and she gushed with joy. Flurry was adorably hugging Cheep, who in turn was giving her some soft pats on the back with his little claws.
"Your baby really seems to like Cheep."
"Chorp chorp chorp chorp chorp ," Cheep responded.
"I guess she thinks he's probably a plushie," Lyra thought.
And little Flurry then looked up at G-G, who just stood there idly, and watched as she started to slowly walk towards him. And very cutely, she hugged him as well, getting a soft pat from the astromech too.
"Aww," Lyra squeaked. "Your astromechs are really sweet."
"I think your baby is the sweet one here," the Mandalorian admitted. "I can't recall the last time I've been around someone so sweet and innocent."
The two of them sat for a moment or two, watching the baby just innocently sit and chill out. Eventually, the Mandalorian got back up on her feet. She walked over to a small workbench, looking at the parts laid about from K2-B4's body. She would reassemble them later, right now she wanted to do some reprogramming of her own so this tactical droid would obey her.
"Say, um, Mandalorian... do you have a name?"
The Mandalorian put the tactical droid's head down. "I'm sorry?"
"Do you have a name? Because I can't just keep calling you 'Mandalorian', it gets really repetitive after a while," Lyra blushed.
"... You can call me Mando," the bounty hunter said, a little coldly.
Lyra frowned. "Still don't want to share your real name?"
The Mandalorian was going to speak--
"If you don't want to, I understand. I should respect your rights to privacy, I shouldn't pry you on that," Lyra finished.
"I would be okay with you calling me Mando," the bounty hunter said, sincerely.
Lyra smiled a little. "Okay then, Mando ."
Flurry's nose twitched and her eyes squinted a bit, feeling an urge to sneeze. Her voice started squeaking like she was about to as well. But when Lyra heard those noises--
"Oh crap, hit the deck, Mando, hit the floor!"
She grabbed the Mandalorian and slammed into the floor, covering her ears.
"Ah... ah..."
The Mandalorian didn't understand, but she stayed on the ground, mainly because she didn't know what this Jedi was gonna do if she tried to get back up.
"... What are we waiting for?"
"Ah... achoo ," Flurry cutely sneezed.
Lyra lifted her head, looking back at the baby, sighing in relief. "Whew. Thank goodness."
"You were scared over a baby sneezing?"
"It's not the normal sneezes you should be worried about. The baby is Force-sensitive, but I found out the hard way that she has a little bit more power than she lets on..."
The Mandalorian pulled herself back on her feet, helping Lyra back up. "I'm almost afraid to ask."
The baby just innocently pulled herself up, patting her tummy as she heard her stomach growling.
"You hungry Flurry?"
The baby looked up and nodded with a big smile.
"How old even is that baby, I wouldn't think she could understand your words so easily," Mando asked. "Just bring her to the table, I'll see if I can make her something."
Mando walked over to her kitchen area, about to pull out some food to get working on. But she stopped partway in between. She tilted her head to look at Lyra out the corner of her eye, thinking a little bit. She set some food down on the counter, and spoke.
"Do you want something to eat, Lyra?"
Lyra heard her name. "I'm sorry?"
Mando paused for a second. "I said, do you want something to eat?"
"Oh! Um, sure, thanks! That would be appreciated," Lyra blushed. "W-Whatcha gonna make?"
"I did by some fresh Nuna legs," Mando asked.
"Then yes, I would love some," the Jedi smiled.
Mando got her answer, and her hands got started to cook dinner.
Now that dinner was cooked, the two young adults and little infant sat at the table and began eating. Very good food, surprisingly. Deep fried Nuna legs, some Thala-Siren milk, there was some good food here. And it only made the baby happier when she discovered she liked the Nuna legs.
Just hope she doesn't find out where they come from, or that'll ruin her innocence forever , Lyra thought. Her eyes looked back at Mando, somehow able to eat even though she kept that helmet on. She just watched her gloved hands slip the food under her mask to eat.
"How exactly can you eat with that helmet on?" Lyra asked, flipping her spoon at her.
"Very carefully. My code says no one is allowed to see my face. Therefore, I do not take off my helmet."
"Doesn't it get kinda sweaty under there?" Lyra asked.
"Sometimes," the Mandalorian shrugged.
"... You realize that I'm not going to judge you, right?"
"Why would you judge me?"
"Are you some alien species, is that why you're hiding under there? Or did your hair get badly screwed up by a barber, and you shot him, and he had a Mandalorian helmet so that's why you parade around in that? Or did someone toss you down a bottomless pit, trap you in carbonite, mutilate your limbs, let your body burn to a crisp by molten lava which is why you're hiding your face because it's nothing but melted skin?"
"..."
"..."
"... You. Are weird."
Lyra heard some condescension in that tone of voice, frankly feeling a little hurt by her words. "Do you hate me?"
Mando nearly coughed up her food, almost spitting into bottom of her mask. But turning around and wiping her mouth (making Lyra pout about not being able to see her face), she finally got herself stable. "I am sorry?"
"Do you hate me? Do you hate having to put up with me, are you annoyed--"
"No, I don't hate you, Jedi," Mando said. "But I'm not the biggest fan of your kind."
Lyra raised a brow. "My kind?"
"Just Jedi in general. They all speak about being keepers of the peace, and yet your war cannot bring any semblance of peace anywhere," Mando said with some snark. "And do not tell me or try and defend yourself. I've heard it all."
Lyra folded her arms, and the baby let out a small 'eh?' like sound, looking at Mando almost inquisitively.
"But that doesn't mean the Storm Army is safe either. I never liked them anyway, everywhere I go, I swear they're almost trying to build doomsday devices. I'll give your great Republic and Galactic Alliance this, at least you aren't trying to kill everyone you meet."
The dinner table suddenly got quietly awkward.
"Chirp, chup chup chup choop. "
"Bwoop boop. "
Mando groaned. "Yes, I probably should have said something else, and yes I just made the conversation incredibly awkward. You're not helping."
Cheep and G-G just let out soft curses at her and let their wheels take them away where they weren't going to be insulted.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get political with you," Mando apologized.
"No, don't be. You shouldn't be sorry for your opinion, it's all up to you, and if I can't change it, that's fine," Lyra acknowledged. "So... am I the first Jedi you've met?"
Mando took a second to finish chewing what she was eating. "I suppose you are."
"Annnnnddd?" Lyra said playfully, giving her sparkling innocent eyes. "I'm not that bad, am I?"
The Mandalorian was going to respond right away, but she got lost when Lyra gave her that face. Those sweet little eyes that looked into her soul that had nothing but kindness and innocence that she could get lost in. One of the few instances of pure innocence she had seen in such a long time. A surprise, but a welcoming surprise all the same.
"Mando?"
The bounty hunter finally snapped out of her thoughts. "No, um. No you're not bad. Not at all."
"See? We're not all bad," Lyra winked, playfully sticking her tongue out. The Mandalorian didn't laugh, but it certainly made the baby giggle a bit.
"I suppose so. Still prefer droids though," she said.
"Well, how come you favor the droids more than me? What's wrong with human contact?"
"... Droids can't easily betray you if they were programmed to do their job. And they give me more comfort than any human has offered," Mando sneered.
Lyra was confused. "I don't understand."
The Mandalorian sighed. "I suppose you should probably deserve to know. Have you heard of a terrorist organization called the Death Watch?"
"I believe so. I've heard of them existing for a long time, standing for the former warriors of the past that they used to be. Why?"
No longer hungry, the Mandalorian pushed her plate to the side so she could talk. "I was a little girl. Say around seven years old. My family and I were just out to have a picnic, when several bombings took place in the park. Death Watch attacked, and they killed dozens of the people there; my parents and I only barely escaped. We tried to make our case to the Duchess of Mandalore, but she didn't help. We weren't exactly happy with their stance on Mandalorian culture, but at the same time they refused to support Death Watch."
Lyra nodded, while the baby just sucked on her little plastic spoon, completely oblivious.
"We found little to no aid from the Duchess, especially when they came after us. The leader he... he killed my mom. So without much choice, my dad and I had to leave Mandalore and leave it behind. We took what we could, and settled to find a home on Tatooine. We eventually found a home and so we started to look for means of business. Outside of my father, the only people I cared for was some astromech droids that I helped maintain for a job. Repairing them, cleaning them, building them. There was a strange sense of comfort I got from working with droids."
"Okay. But wait, why do you even wear--"
Mando held up her hand, so she could continue speaking. "As time went on, my dad just couldn't keep up the workloads, even when he found a second job just so he could pay rent. It's hard living in a galaxy this big, and he eventually died heartbroken. I thought I was now done, my time was going to be over. But then I saw that he had made a will for me, and with it, a set of coordinates. I paid a taxi driver to take me to it and it led me to a massive storage unit. I looked inside, and I found he had saved up all of his money to make sure I had a means of going anywhere, and a place to live. Which is what you and I are sitting in, right now."
Lyra looked around her, not sure what she meant. The Jedi thought more and more, until she started to piece things together. "Wait, this--"
"Mmmhmm. This freighter that you're sitting in was the last gift my daddy made me. He also left behind some savings, some food, weapons to defend myself, instructions, and everything I could ever need. He also found this Mandalorian armor, which I painted myself. I didn't want any outsider to know who I once was, so I made a vow to never take this helmet off when I'm around people. And all of those boxes of droid parts, and the commando units that I have made out of junk?"
Lyra gave another nod, looking at the commando droids sitting on the little charging docks.
"When I fixed them, I gave them reprogramming so they could follow me; someone who wouldn't just forget them and fix them whenever they were banged up. And the same went for Cheep and G-G. After their ships were shot down, I brought them in and gave them a home. They're my family."
Cheep and G-G gave positive beeps, confirming her words.
"I never bring any company on board because I know how most people will act; they'll pick their noses into places they don't belong, or try to steal from me, or stab my back. I don't trust anybody. Droids can be trusted far more, and I can count on them more than human emotion." Her head turned away from Lyra for a few seconds ago, and then looked back at her. "You need to know who you can or cannot trust, Jedi. Me, I learned a long time ago you cannot rely on people for help. At least the programmable droids can help me when I need it," Mando said.
Lyra finished chewing on her piece of food, and then set down her fork. "Do you mind if I say something?"
Mando waited for a second. "Go ahead."
Lyra pushed her plate to the side, now finished with her dinner. "I'm sorry all of that happened to you. I really am. I can't say I've been through the same, but I've felt betrayed by some people sometimes as well. But you can't just close yourself off from them. If you can't trust anyone, then how are you getting around? And what about that Hondo guy, I saw you talking with him."
"He's more of a mutual business partner. He respects me, I respect him, simple as that," Mando replied. "I get his boys some spice, and in return, he and his boys have given me fuel and droid parts."
Lyra had a neutral expression on her face, unsure of what to say. All she really could say was, "I see."
But little Flurry raised her arms up, begging to be picked up so she could hug her quasi-mother. Lyra saw her, and her mind immediately melted when she saw the cuteness of little Flurry again. She picked up the baby, holding her in a hug, and she gushed hearing Flurry's adorable little happy sounds.
Some time later, Lyra and little Flurry had gone to bed hours ago, leaving Mando some time to try and focus on piloting and driving back. For a brief moment, she climbed down the ladder from the main pilot controls to go clean up the dinner table, having not taken care of it before. The first thing her eyes set upon was Lyra trying to sleep on the bed she folded out, visibly stirring a bit.
The Mandalorian thought about the conversation she had with Lyra during that dinner. She still held onto her beliefs about the war, but she did feel a bit guilty about how she acted to the Jedi. Sure, she was a Jedi, but she wasn't showing any signs of those behaviors she had believed or expected from the Jedi Order. This girl was sweet and kind, the complete opposite of how she imagined the Jedi to be, just from all the stories.
And on top of that, this Jedi's only main interest of focus was to protect the baby, something that she completely understood. Maybe she wasn't that bad a person at all...
Recognizing that she was shivering, she reached over into a compartment, pulling out a warm and fuzzy blanket. This was something that had been completely stitched together, something that her mother had made when she was a little girl. To this day, she still held onto it, never wanting to forget it. She hadn't used it in a while, but it was still clean, Maybe her guest could use it.
Slowly, she set the blanket down on the Jedi's body, making sure she was completely covered up and warm. And Lyra's quivering lips softly turned into a warm smile, no longer feeling the discomfort. And under that helmet; the Mandalorian couldn't fight her lips curling into a smile.
The very next day, the Sweetie Drop came out of hyperspace, now outside of a pale and sand green planet. Lyra, along with Mando sat in the main pilot seats of the ship as they started to make their approach.
"Here we are; Sorgan. We can pick up some fuel and supplies, there's a village we can stop at," Mando pointed, flipping the switches.
"Fine by me."
The ship flew through the atmosphere, punching through the clouds until they finally making it to the ground level. As far as the eye could see, the planet was another forest looking planet, like Endor, Ajan Kloss, Felucia, and many, many others. In a small clearing, they found a spot to land, and so the engines began to wind down as the landing gear unfolded. A soft landing had been made, and now they could get off the ship.
Mando climbed down the ladder from the cockpit down to the main open floor, ready to purchase some merchants. And luckily she still had some credits that did her good.
"I'm taking Flurry with me. Even if your droids are capable, it wouldn't be best to keep a Force-sensitive baby alone on your vessel," Lyra said, letting Flurry's little hovering crib come to her. The baby just sat inside it, enjoying the little ride.
"Good point."
"Thanks. I know she may not be just as safe outside here, but I think she'll be safer near me than by her own. Especially for someone just learning how to use the Force," Lyra pointed.
"Fair enough. G-G, activate one of the commandos. We're going to buy some things, might need some defense if someone gets hasty," the Mandalorian ordered.
"Bwoop boop. "
G-G moved to a wall, accessing one of the panels. A commando that was set on a dock activated, and stomped from its stand, with the cables and cords pulling off from the back, no longer needing it. This unit had almost all of his limbs intact, except for one arm which was a piece from a common B1 battle droid unit, and a leg of a Geonosian B1 battle droid.
"Awaiting orders, commander ," the commando droid said, standing straight.
"At ease soldier. We're just going out to do some shopping, no need to be locked and loaded. Just put the gun away, we want to show these people that we mean no harm," Mando advised.
"Roger roger. "
The group walked down the hatch, finally reaching the actual land of Sorgan. Their feet stood on a patch of dirt, thankfully dry not wet. And right behind them was G-G and the single commando unit, ready to depart.
"Well alright, let's go."
The group left the ship and followed a direct path leading out of the woods, hoping to find more open areas.
--
Their walk was about fifteen minutes from where they parked the ship, and around the bend they could see some people nearby. People close to a hovering wagon with various goods and supplies. When they were further in view, they discovered a small cabin near them. And next to it was another small cabin. And reaching far beyond it and with several more log cabins and houses and shops. They had just found a small community, a village no less!
Hiking up their boots and metal feet, the group walked into the village, watching and looking around at the various people around them. Some various locals hanging around, chatting, talking to one another. Some children visibly walking around and laughing as they played, even getting Flurry's attention as she was now waddling with her, well, mommy. Once again she had climbed out of the crib, but Lyra didn't try and fight her to get her back in; Flurry was walking just fine for now it seemed.
Some of the more colorful looking locals glared at the group with unfriendly eyes. They didn't even do anything but just walk into town, what could they have done to make these few individuals so upset? Lyra could only imagine what these people were saying.
Yeah you see them, you see they keep walking, just freaking walking. I don't like them, they're terrorists! They wear their underwear backwards! They eat Gungan eyeballs!
At least that's what her slightly crude mind imagined them saying. She hadn't been exposed to many locals, and could only picture what they would say in her head. But even if this collective looked suspicious, they didn't say a word, or do anything to antagonize the group.
"Hello."
The group halted in their tracks, seeing two individuals standing before them. A girl with magenta hair and dark pink skin with freckles on her face, and a boy with light brown skin with wild green hair.
"Um, hi."
"My name's Gloriosa Daisy, and this is my brother, Timber Spruce."
"You can think of me as that fun guy who should always be invited to fun things," he said with a smirk, making Gloriosa roll her eyes.
"Welcome to Sorgan! What are your names?"
Lyra and Mando looked at each other, and back to the locals.
"My name's Lyra. This is Mando, G-G, and... um--"
"C1-327."
"... Right," Lyra said, unsure of how to reply.
"We came here to purchase some supplies. Is there any store that sells fuel of any kind?"
"There is. Just go down to the market stands over there, you should find plenty of things to purchase. And if not, there is a fuel and parts store on the left," Gloriosa asked.
"Thanks. Come on, Mando. Let's go see about finding us some fuel," Lyra said, casually with a smirk.
Sometime later, Lyra and Mando walked around with the crew, looking around the various stands. They had plenty of fuel to buy, which they picked up right away. But they still had time on their hands, and no signs of any bounty hunters in the vicinity, so they decided to go walk around and look at the stuff from the shops.
Thankfully the shop owners started to open up to the strangers and were less hostile than how they acted before, and so it gave them a chance to look for something just for fun. Little Flurry waddled on her own two feet, thankfully still able to catch up with the adults, what with G-G staying with her as they walked.
"Food stands, perfect. Hmm, maybe I can pick up a juice box for Flurry, she really likes those," Lyra thought.
Luckily she had found a stand, and paid a few credits to the owner, picking up a case of juice boxes for the little girl. And to make sure she didn't go thirsty, she pulled one out and squatted down to give it to Flurry, who happily accepted it and started sipping on the delicious taste of fruity liquid.
"Good thing you brought credits, I was starting to wonder if you had any," Mando said.
"I always have some," Lyra pouted.
"Republic credits don't work in the far reaches of the Outer Rim. You're lucky these people accept that currency," the Mandalorian said, paying an owner for some frozen Nuna legs. "Because out here, you need to pay smart. This isn't like some fun mall you can just pick up whatever you desire. Out here, you need to be the smartest you can, and that means paying smart, paying only what you need to survive."
“And just how do you even survive just living on a freighter and just buying from merchants?” Lyra asked, raising a brow. "Yes, I understand playing smart, but specifically, what do you mean?"
“You follow these simple rules, Jedi. Don’t play a hero, shoot anything that can’t shoot back; like Porgs, circus people, peasants, tourists, dust, Banthas, and Womp rats.”
The Jedi gave her a disturbed look. “Uhhh…”
Lyra wasn’t sure if she should have been confused, or to be disgusted. She was however surprised to hear the Mandalorian actually start snickering and laughing at how she expressed her shock. “I’m kidding, Jedi. Look, it’s a tough universe out here, but the way I see things; you stick to your guns, do not trust anyone, only accept small jobs, and fry any sleemo that tries to pull any micro-transactions on whatever he tries sells you without giving you the full deal. I hate people who basically con you into buying things that you never really own.”
Lyra still wasn’t sure what to say. “I am trying really hard to understand that last sentence… but I really can’t.”
“You’ll learn eventually,” the Mandalorian shrugged off. “Come on, we better get back to the ship.”
Their plan for turning around was interrupted when they saw a man get tossed across the ground in front of him, feet away from the little shop that he had came from. And an unfriendly sight in the form of a bandit with a loaded gun came whipping around from the store, with a bag of presumed stolen goods in his possession. Lyra wanted to march forward but Mando stopped her, shaking her head.
"But I--"
"--That's not our business."
"A man was tossed out of that shop, we have to help him," Lyra insisted, putting her hand down. "My job is to protect the peace, and he just got thrown in an unpeaceful way. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to help him," Lyra set her foot down, walking over to the man who had just been mugged. "Sir, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!" The man shouted. But he realized how he was sounding to the stranger who just asked him a simple question. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I've been on edge lately, along with everyone else around here."
"That explains all the nasty looks we got since we got here," Mando said, looking at some more of the villagers. "What's wrong?"
"Bandits. Highly armed bandits who attack our village, steal from our families, our businesses," the man said, crossing his arms with an angry face. "We like our village. But we do not like those who steal from us. Especially from people who come here with weapons and war machines."
Mando looked at her pistols, and over to her commando droid who just stood there, keeping his gun by his side and not in his arms.
"Sir, we didn't come here to attack or steal, we only come here as customers, to buy," she said.
"And I sincerely appreciate that. But we do not want any trouble brought here, we're in enough as it is," the man said.
"What's your name, sir?" Lyra asked.
"Wix," he said.
"Okay, Wix. I have another question, do you have any warriors or security teams of any kind?"
"You think we'd hire bounty hunters to protect us? That would cost us more money," Wix said.
Lyra scratched her chin. She then looked at her Mandalorian friend, and the two of them exchanged a small nod.
"By any chance, do you have a place where we could gather all the villagers for a town meeting?" Lyra asked.
"We do... why?"
"I think I have an idea," Lyra grinned. "And if it works, you won't have to worry about any bandits ever--where's the baby!?"
"Whoa, Lyra, calm down," Mando said, gripping her shoulders. "G-G's watching the baby, and Flurry is just over there," she pointed.
Lyra looked to where she pointed and she felt a sliver of relief. Flurry was safe, thank goodness. And G-G was watching her as Mando said, and she was trying to chase after some fluffy creatures who were prancing near some playing children. She couldn't help but smile as the little girl tried to run after them, so cute. But Lyra's defensive instincts kicked in when she saw an older little girl approach her, looking around 7 or 8 years old.
"Hi there," a little girl said.
Flurry looked up, curiously smiling. She waddled towards her, and she squatted down to get up a little closer to greet her. Lyra was about to move up in defense, until the Mandalorian stopped her.
"Relax. It's just a little girl, she's okay," the bounty hunter reassured.
"Sorry. I've seen all the little ones, they can be savages," Lyra sneered, defensively.
The Mandalorian looked at her, admittedly disturbed under the helmet. "I think you've spent too much time in the battlefield. You're really on edge."
Lyra sighed. "Sorry. I don't want anything bad to happen to her."
"I understand," Mando said, lightly patting her shoulder, but then quickly withdrawing her arm.
But as she looked at Flurry, her mind then wandered back to the man who had been robbed. Her hand rubbed her chin, thinking hard. What could they do to help these poor people? There had to have been something they could do, something they could do that would be of help. And yeah, she had an assignment to protect the baby, but this wasn't a problem that she could ignore.
Her eyes locked onto the commando droid who was awaiting orders, and then back at Mando.
"Mando, out of curiousity, how accurate is your commando droid's aim?"
"Better than the B1's, I can tell you that," Mando replied. "Why?"
Lyra had a small grin. "I think I have an idea. But I am going to need your help as well."
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Author's Note
I'll be honest, I got inspiration from Auralnaut's video on YouTube, titled 'Go To sleep Baby Yoda'. Check it out, it is wholesomely hilarious.
It is heavily inspired by this, but I thought it'd be fun for this chapter. Hope you enjoy! ^^
Chapter 6: Naboo
The engines roared with power as the Sweetie Drop traveled through hyperspace. The inside of the ship was now quiet again, with only the Mandalorian making some noise as she climbed down a ladder to check up on her guests. Looking over, she saw Lyra was sleeping peacefully on her cot, warm under the fluffy blanket that Mando had given her.
Her head looked over on the table, eyeing the IG unit that was near completion for assembly. So far, it was honestly in really good shape, aside from being in pieces and just needing to be put back together. Only major things she had to do now was to get some good programming information so he would obey her, and not be incredibly hostile. But that was something she would have to do for after the trip was over. But yet, she still was considering finishing it now, even as she looked at a micro-chip containing more medical related emergencies.
Her attention wandered until she heard the soft but adorable babble coming from the baby's hovering crib. Mando glanced back over to the baby, hearing her whimper when she found herself caught, and hid back under her blanket. Checking again, she saw Lyra had fallen asleep, but she wasn’t going to wake her. Maybe she could try and approach this little baby without scaring her this time? Maybe?
She lowered herself on her knees so she could be face to face with the baby while she was in the crib.
“Flurry. So, you saved my life when we took that stop on Florrum. I gotta hand it to you kid, I didn’t know you could do… that .”
The baby listened, but still held the covers in her little hands, trying to hide from her.
“Hey, hey, listen. Look, I didn’t know you were what the Storm Empire was after. I know you can’t understand me, but I’m not here to hurt you. I promise.”
But the baby still didn’t react kindly to her. How was she going to get this kid to open up? There had to be something to get this baby to like her. Maybe she could tried what Lyra did; maybe extending a finger to give her little tickles could work? Or if that doesn’t work, maybe she could just try and get the baby to simply shake her hand?
Slowly, she extended a finger and moved her hand into the baby’s crib, moving it within distance of the child. The baby’s whimpering slowly died down, and she pulled her blanket down without fear. And in the baby's mind, she thought over everything over of her experiences with this masked vigilante. She didn't mean no harm, she kept her safe. This masked woman wasn’t going to hurt her after all…
Smiling, she put a hand on the Mandalorian’s finger, patting her. It wasn’t visible, but the Mandalorian was smiling happily underneath the helmet. This little powerhouse was opening up to her and without fear! Still trying to be cautious, she slowly moved her hands in the crib and picked up the baby, moving her carefully to hold her in her arms. The baby just giggled, showing the most happy faces that the Mandalorian had ever seen.
“I think I understand why Lyra likes you.”
She patted the baby’s head, making her giggle. And the baby slowly moved her hands to the Mandalorian’s helmet, trying to grab it. “No, no,” she said, softly but sternly. “No one is allowed to lift my helmet. My helmet stays on my head, kid. No one is allowed to see my face.”
The baby pouted. She just wanted to see her real face. But she got an idea. Thinking and calming down, she slowly moved her hands out, aimed at the Mandalorian’s helmet.
“… You better not.”
The baby did not resist her words.
“You better not be using your fancy magic to raise my helmet. Do you know what happens to those who—”
For a moment the helmet was lifted up, until Flurry’s shock made her let go and it plunked back on her head. She didn’t see much, but it did surprise her. Not enough to make her cry, thank goodness.
“That’s a huge risk you just took.” The Mandalorian spoke. “If you were an adult, I would have quaking in fear. But I can’t make you do that, now can you?”
Flurry tilted her head, not processing much of her words.
“Do you want to sit up with me in the cockpit, look at some stars?”
Now that, Flurry understood as she nodded ecstatically.
“Okay. I’ll take you up with me,” she agreed, keeping one hand on the baby while the other hand she used to try to pull herself up, luckily she had some wall behind her to use as an extra force to pull herself up. And luckily she had the little crib hovering right behind her which she got to follow her up the ladder and into the cockpit.
Once she was up, she sat back down in the pilot chair and let Flurry sit on an open space next to her. And right now, the baby was in touch heaven. So many shiny buttons that were in the cockpit around her, there were so many for her to play with! Her head looked to her right, and Flurry's little hand flipped a switch, setting it to green.
"No. No no," Mando said, calmly but firmly, reversing the switch order.
And yet Flurry ignored her and flipped it yet again .
“How about we stop playing with button?”
And still, Flurry did it again!
“Hmm, no huh?” the Mandalorian said. “I think someone’s getting a little cranky.”
Once again, defying her word.
“If you touch that button one more time, this ship is going to self-destruct," Mando threatened, starting to lose some patience. And Flurry still flipped the button that she was told not to, and to the baby's surprise, nothing blew up. “Huh. You didn’t even hesitate. That’s a huge gamble you just took.”
The baby had zero clues what she was talking about and just sat there innocently, wanting to press that button again.
"Tell you what. I'll let you play with the button for a few more minutes, and it's time for bed. I'm no parent, but I'm pretty sure it's past your bedtime," Mando compromised. "But don't press the blue button. I don't need you waking up your mom." Flurry instantly got an idea. Press the button? She leaned slightly over to hit the switch, and Mando watched her with an eye of a hawk. "Don't... you better not." And Flurry hit the switch. Dramatic music started blaring inside the cockpit, with dramatic drums and a chorus singing like performers at an opera on Coruscant.
Empire on Ice! Empire on Ice! Here we are the Empire on Ice! All those Jedi will pay a big price! Tempest's not nice and the Storm King will dice and the Wookiees have lice The Empire on Ice!
Mando immediately pressed the switch, deactivating the music. "If Lyra heard all of that, she would kill me." She looked at the baby who continued to sit innocently. "What? So I like listening to songs mocking the Storm Empire and the Republic Senate, so what?"
"Eh voi...", baby Flurry babbled, innocently smiling.
"Thank goodness you're too young to understand," Mando sighed, shaking her head.
And it didn't take long for Flurry to start playing with the button again. This went on for a few more minutes, until Mando turned around and picked up the baby, setting her back down in the crib.
"Okay, playtime is over. Time to go to bed, Flurry."
Mando turned her chair around, putting her attention back onto space, continuing to just sit and keep things under control while her home went through hyperspace. Her attention nearly wandered until she heard the little cooing from the crib.
“What am I hearing right now? You better not be fiddling with that compartment switch. If I find out you’re not back in your crib you are in big, big, big trouble. I’m one of the most feared women in the galaxy. Do you know what I’m capable of? I have eyes in the back of my head. No one gets the drop on me.”
“…”
“… You’re standing right behind me, aren’t you?”
Mando turned her head, and instead found Flurry sitting on the same spot she was before, next to the buttons she was playing with from before. As Flurry sat on the little compartment piece, her eyes were drawn to the shiny ball that was on top of one of the levers. She reached for it, pulling it off, thinking it was candy. And when she tried to suck on it like a pacifier, the Mandalorian plucked it away before she could do any damage.
“No, don’t eat that,” she said, taking the metal piece away from her hands and away from her mouth. And yet Flurry reached for it again. “Stop. Don’t tell me you’re hungry. We already had dinner, I saw you eat! How are you still hungry?”
Flurry looked at her with a frown, patting her arm.
“Do you want a snack? If I get a snack, do you promise you’ll go to sleep?” Mando said, sternly.
Somehow the baby understood and gave her a little nod.
“Alright. Give me a second,” The Mandalorian said, getting up from her chair. But before she turned, she looked back at the baby who sat there innocently. "Don't touch anything, understand?"
Mando set the ship into auto-pilot mode, and walked away from the cockpit, climbing down the ladder to go to the kitchen. And little Flurry just sat there, looking around and at all of the controls in awe. So many shiny buttons to play with, so many possibilities. What did they all do? But then she saw one of the joystick controls in the middle. Waddling over, she kept a firm stance on one of the arms of the arm chair, and gripped the joystick, wiggling it side to side.
That however proved to be a very risky act, as within seconds, the entire ship started shaking and rumbling, and it began spinning around, dangerously. The Mandalorian was heard screaming from down below, especially when she was heard slamming and banging against everything. Luckily Mando finally got control to climb back up into the cockpit to stop the little powerhouse from causing any further destruction.
"AH!"
Mando fell backwards in the cockpit, and thanks to Flurry still playing with the joystick like a toy, Mando's face slammed against the consoles and against other parts of the cockpit. "I should have left you in the crib!"
Thankfully the ship spun itself back around, and Mando was able to get a grip on the controls and stop the baby from causing any more damage. She picked up the baby, and set her back in the crib, getting some little whines back. Thankfully they went away when she saw the snack that Mando was offering, a small little fruity popsicle, and immediately started sucking on the snack.
Mando sighed, getting the ship back in control. "Do not touch things, understand?"
Flurry slowly sunk where she was sitting, with a guilty face, as if to say 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again'. But she smiled as she kept sucking down on the snack, keeping her hunger at bay. For a few more minutes, Flurry just ate her snack, finishing it with a cute little burp. And once she made it clear she was done, Mando carefully lifted Flurry and set her down in her crib.
"Okay, good night little one. Sleep tight."
Mando turned around back to the controls, keeping the ship going once again. But she still felt something was off. Her head moved and out the corner of her eye, she saw the baby was still awake.
"What?"
The baby looked at her innocently with pleading little eyes.
"I know what that look means. You want me to sing you a song, don't you?"
Flurry shook her head.
"No? Then what do you want?"
Flurry's little hands reached down in her crib, and pulled out a small little physical book, shown with colorful pictures and cute animals. Mando picked up the book, looking at it for a brief second, then back to the baby.
"You want me to read you a story? If I read you this story, do you promise to go to sleep?"
"Yis," Flurry cooed softly.
Mando sighed. "Oh boy... I can't say no to you little cutie, now can I?" Her head jolted to the side from shock. Where the hell did that come from? Regardless, Mando diverted her attention back to the baby. "Alright. You get one story, and then it's time for bed. No negotiations."
She picked up the book, thankfully a skinny book at that. Cute cartoon pictures of little animals, all different species from across the galaxy. Admittedly, they reminded her of some books that her mother used to read as a little girl... and now here she was, about to read to a baby of a similar kind.
"Alright," The Mandalorian said, clearing her throat. "The loth-cats are cuddling in their homes, with no emotions to make them weep. And so I am telling you little one... to please go to sleep."
The next few minutes went by, and so Mando kept reading, making sure it had an effect on the baby. And as the story progressed, it seemed to be doing it's job. The baby was enjoying the story, and her little eyes were slowly starting to close as she got a little more sleepy, listening to the story.
Although, Mando did change the last verse for something a bit more fitting for her.
"And so now, I will fly the ship back to Naboo, with my droids, G-G and Cheep. And now I see, you little Flurry... you have finally gone to sleep."
After all of that reading, Flurry had finally gone asleep.
"Look at that. Finally, some peace and quiet for a bit." The Mandalorian sighed in relief, finally this baby was going to be peaceful for a while now. Yet, when she looked at her, finally sleeping in that little crib... she couldn't figure out why she was smiling. This small little thing was causing so much trouble in the past few days, yet she didn't know why she didn't want to look away. Her soft little hair, that cute little face, and the adorable noises she made when she tried to talk. She swore she almost gushed a little when she heard those.
The baby stayed sound asleep, thank goodness. And it never saw as Mando took off a glove, and softly patted her head and adjust her blanket to make sure she stayed safe and warm in her crib. But right now, she couldn't think about it. She had much more pressing matters to deal with; one of which was to get to Naboo in one piece...
The Sweetie Drop jumped out of hyperspace, finally arriving at Naboo. No Storm Army blockades, no warring factions, nothing. The atmosphere was clear for them to come down and land, thank goodness. But instead of landing in a landing zone in the city, Mando instead chose to land in the grasslands, roughly two miles from the city.
The ramp opened up, and Lyra walked out, the crib floating right behind her, and Mando being the last of the bunch to leave. The hatch closed behind, and so the group started walking towards the city.
It wasn't a long walk, thankfully. But it did take some time to get there, until the group was finally standing at the city gates.
"Alright, here we are. This is as far as I go."
"Hang on, why here? There's a docking bay in the hangar you can use, I'm sure if you just let me--"
"After everything I said about your Jedi Order, your war, your rules, and the people you're fighting against... I don't think they would want to see me. Let's not forget, I'm a bounty hunter. I'm not worth the time of day to deal with the likes of me, and I know I have some crimes under my belt that they would want to press charges for."
"But Mando--"
A gloved hand went over her lips, and she stopped talking. Lyra didn't understand what the Mando was doing, and she was very stiff when she saw her hand softly hold her shoulders.
"Stay safe. I've done all I can to keep you and Flurry safe. I think my career as a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild is now over, and there is a 100% chance that Bane and the others will come after me," Mando said. Lyra felt a little worried, she could just feel the shakiness in her voice.
"Mando, you don't have to run. Why don't you get your ship, park it in the hangar bay, and maybe we can talk to the Republic about putting you into some kind of protection? If they're coming after you for saving me, then they have to--"
"--I've said enough, Lyra. And after everything I've said to you, and everything I've spoke about your allies... I don't think you would want someone with that much snark around," Mando said, turning her head away to look back out into the fields, seeing her ship still parked on the hillside. "I have to leave."
"But..."
Lyra couldn't get any more words out of her mouth. Mando didn't say another word either, and she started to walk away. Lyra wanted to use the Force to yank her back, or do something to try and get her to come back, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She didn't want to drive her further away, and so she just stood there... and watched as Mando walked back to her ship.
The baby watched as Mando left, and whimpered a little. Her little hands reached out, begging for her to come back, but with no result. Flurry whimpered some more, until Lyra picked her up, holding her in her arms.
“Oh, Flurry…” Lyra cooed, hugging the baby. “Shhh… it’s okay. It’s okay sweetie. I know... I know...”
Flurry still whimpered, but Lyra still kept her close and continued to walk further into the city. The city was peaceful, thankfully. And everyone seemed to be minding their own business, no one was in any imminent danger, no problem whatsoever. But she had to find someone, anyone of a high position or security so she could call for help.
Thankfully someone answered her prayer, in the form of a voice that she heard carried in multiple familiar bodies. Over near one of the bigger buildings was a clone trooper in light blue armor. Actually, multiple troopers, huddled together, calling for the Jedi's attention. Lyra immediately knew who they were; they were a part of Derpy Hooves' clone division. They waved to her, gesturing her to come over to them. That was enough to finally get her to break out of her frown.
“Baker's Batch, so good to see you all. Mix, Patch, Stinger, Ace, Bolt, good to see you all again.”
"Good to see you're safe and alive, General," Bolt stated. "There have been multiple Jedi stretched across the galaxy trying to find you. Should we radio all the search parties to tell them you're still alive?"
"Yes, yes we should," Lyra agreed. "Tell them I'm okay, and I have the baby."
Flurry tilted her head, and clapped her hands with joy when she saw those same familiar white-armored guys who kept her and 'mommy' safe during the last few runs.
"Aww. Glad to see the baby's safe," Mix smiled under the helmet. He couldn't help himself and wave a finger in front of the baby, getting Flurry to try and hug it, playfully.
"Where's Derpy? Is she around?"
"Actually, she's inside the hangar. We're just about to go in to meet her actually," Ace replied.
"Great! I'll come with!" Lyra smiled, following the group of clones.
Lyra followed the clone troopers, passing by some citizens and a few more clones who were just standing by with some of the Naboo Royal Guard. They just simply gave her some friendly waves, letting them continue to walk on by. And even though it wasn't important, Lyra did smile a little, hearing some of the conversations between some of the clones who were around. All of them had the same blue armor as the Baker's Batch.
"I heard we might be getting modified Phase II armor next week," said the trooper on her left.
"Finally. I've been waiting to get some upgrades," replied another trooper.
Chuckling softly, she continued to follow the clones through the city, and were granted access to walk inside a hangar area. Inside, there were a few more clone troopers hanging out, chatting, taking a break, whatever. And standing with an eye-catching trooper in bright blue armor, was Derpy Hooves.
"Derpy!"
The Jedi heard her name, and immediately turned with a hopeful smile, knowing who that voice belonged to. "Lyra, it's so good to see you," Derpy smiled, pulling her into a hug. And her walleyes met the eyes of the baby in her arms. "Aww, I'm so happy you're okay. How have you been sweetie?"
The baby raised her arms up, insisting on being picked up. Lyra, with a smile, carefully passed the baby to Derpy's arms to let her hold her. "You're getting so big," Derpy gushed. And carefully, she moved the baby around so she could keep her cradled safely and in the most comfortable way. "How did the trip go, did you make it back safely?"
Lyra shrugged a little, although her face seemed unsure. "It was... fine. Kind of got sidetracked a little. But I met a lady who was kind enough to help me get here safe and sound."
"Who was she?"
Lyra frowned. "Well... she's a Mandalorian. And I don't think I'll see her again."
Now Derpy frowned. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sure she'll turn up again."
The Jedi turned her head to the open hangar, gazing at the beautiful day that was just outside. Her hands moved behind her back as she looked outside, saddened that she wasn't going to see her again for some time. "I hope so Derpy. I hope so..."
When Lyra found her way back to the city, the Mandalorian stood outside her ship, taking in the fresh air of Naboo around her. It felt rather nice, and it was a gorgeous day today. Sadly, she couldn't stay. She had to leave, and knowing the bounty hunters, they were most likely going to be on her tail with every passing second. So she walked inside her ship, climbed up to the cockpit and sat back down in the pilot chair. Mando flipped some controls, about to take off when her hand reached for a lever. She saw the top of it was gone, thanks to the baby pulling it off and trying to suck on it like candy. Her hand slowly retreated back, her mind a bit heavy in thought. The engines were still prepping idly, ready to take off, and she had that instinct to try and leave. But some part of her couldn't just get herself to get going, she couldn't bring herself to leave.
Any other people she picked up along the way or paying passengers she just dropped off without a second thought, but she didn't want to go. Just when she was about to force herself to finally get off the ground, she pulled a switch and listened as the engines slowly powered down. She let her head bang against the headrest of the seat, sighing.
What is wrong with you? You're done! They're safe, just go and move on with your life! Its not like these people are going to be important to you anyway. Not like that baby with dangerous magic would be good to have around a rust bucket... especially one so downright cute and sweet and kind to my bots.
Her head slammed against the steering wheel.
No, no, no! Mando, you are not going to go back and try and find them, you can't! Lyra is a Jedi, she has rules she has to abide by, you can't get her to break them. Especially not someone so ... cute.
"Agh! What is wrong with me!?" The Mando yelled, slamming her fists against the controls. "No, I can't leave. I gotta go after her."
She spun around in her chair, and slid down the ladder like a fireman pole. Once she hit the ground, she charged out into the open and her skin was cold. She had a visitor, an unfriendly one at that. Scary blood red eyes and cold dark blue skin staring straight at her with pistols in his gloved hands.
"Hold it right there."
Mando turned around and saw IG-88 step in the way, blocking the ship entrance. And on her left and right were the others; Bane, Sugi, Embo, Dengar, Bossk, and Aurra.
"Where is the asset?"
"She's dead," Mando said with a straight face. "Couldn't stand the thing."
"Liar," Bossk hissed. "I can hear it in your voiccceee. I can smell your fear. And it smellsssss... delicioussss."
"You Trandoshuns have weird eating habits, I swear," Mando shrugged off.
"You're wasting our time. Where is the asset?"
Mando looked at her surroundings, snarling softly under her helmet. "Even if she was here, I still wouldn't say a thing."
"If you don't tell us where she is, we'll just have to rip your ship apart until we find it," Bane warned, clicking his gun.
Mando looked down at her wrists, silently flipped a switch without them noticing. She stretched her head, moving it all directions and cracked her knuckles. "You can try... but you won't find anything valuable."
Her fists went up and spinning around in circles, she shot out giant bursts of flame that made everyone duck and jump out of the way. Mando may not have wanted to kill them, but at the very least, getting them all to back away would have been helpful.
"Get her!"
Aurra fired the first shot, which the Mandalorian ducked. Thinking on her heels, she swung a foot around and kicked the blasters out of Aurra's hands. Aurra however fought back, striking her in the gut with her knee. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Aurra's arms and threw her hard enough to slam her against the side of her ship.
Dengar went to grab her by the neck, and Mando instinctively went for the stomach, punching and then throwing an extra kick to push him away. Embo got a move on her, feeling a powerful slam against her back thanks to his hat shield disk. Mando wanted to fight back, but someone else soon caught her attention. She tried to press her wrist gauntlet to activate her droids, but there were too many targets and there was only so much she could do to occupy her attention.
Sugi jumped at her, trying to tackle her and pin her to the ground to keep her from activating her droids. In a fit of luck, Mando threw Sugi off her, and ducked as IG-88 fired multiple shots came flying at her, avoiding being blasted in the head. Unfortunately she did not anticipate several agonizing shocks coming from the electro-staff that Embo was twirling around, stolen from some Magna Guard droid long ago. He hit her in the back, sending a large amount of paralysis to her body, striking her every time she tried to get back up to fight.
One more shock did the trick and she finally dropped, overwhelmed by everyone around her. Now that she was down, Embo and Sugi swooped in to grab her, picking her back up and held her in place, locking her arms behind her back.
"What do we do with her now?" Dengar asked, pointing his gun towards her head.
"Hold on. This Mandalorian has battle droids. We better check and make sure they stay deactivated, just for good measure," Aurra grinned, raising her pistol.
"Agreed," Bossk nodded.
Bossk and Dengar walked inside the ship, looking for droids. A few were visibly seen sitting on their little docking platforms, and instinctively, the bounty hunters opened fire on all of them, frying them instantly. And their sights set on K2-B4, and they also immediately set their guns to fire on him, smashing him into nothing but spare parts.
The two looked around some more, pushing more junk and debris out of the way. And Bossk even slapped the almost finished IG unit onto the ground, left to just lay there like a sack of potatoes. Couldn't get up without a brain, so no worries there. But then Bossk tapped a button that opened up a small compartment door, revealing Cheep and G-G sitting inside, turned off in fact.
"Wait, hang on. They're astromechs, they're nothing more than pets. They can't do anything, let's just leave them here. Besides, how are they going to activate?" Dengar snickered.
"Finneeee..." Bossk whined.
The two sweeped the ship some more, but eventually found nothing. With nothing else to do, they walked out of the ship, leaving it a complete mess. And unbeknownst to them, the astromechs started to activate on their own...
"Where is the asset?" IG-88 asked, raising a gun.
Mando lifted her head weakly, growling at them. "I am not saying anything, you malfunctioning scrap pile."
"I will initiate the weapon to kill."
"Wait. The Storm Army will pay big money if we bring back the one who kept them from getting the asset back," Aurra suggested. "Don't kill her, we need her alive."
IG-88 stopped in place, looking back at Aurra quizzically. "This is true."
"Come on everyone, back to the ship. We're taking this traitor in alive," Bane ordered, leading them back over to the ship.
Mando moaned as she tried to move, but couldn't. Everyone had their arms on her, and they wouldn't let her escape. Mando could barely lift her head up to see their sinister glares as they dragged her limp body to their craft. And when they got closer, all she saw was darkness as she slowly blacked out.
What they didn't realize was that there was still some droids left on her ship still online. Two astromech units slowly moved down the ramp to look, and they whimpered and shuddered as they watched their captain get hauled away by the bounty hunters.
"Chirp, chup chup choop, chup chup chup."
"Bort weeeirp," G-G whimpered.
"Chup chup chup choop," Cheep agreed.
The two astromechs rolled back up the ramp and back inside the ship to stay out of sight, waiting patiently. Using a small elevation control, the droids got up to the cockpit controls to see if they could get a better look. They couldn't see much until they saw a gunship start to take off into the air with a custom paint job and markings vanish into the skies. Once the bounty hunter crew got high enough, the hyperdrive activated and they escaped Naboo with a single jump into hyperspace to meet their 'esteemed' client...
Chapter 7: Rescue Mission
The bounty hunters took a quick trip through hyperspace, arriving outside the planet of Sullust. A barren obsidian world filled with lava streams. Thrusting through the clouds, they found a space to land on a landing pad, slowly descending down and letting the landing gear unfold and touch the ground.
First to walk out was Cad Bane and Aurra Sing, and right behind them was Sugi and Embo holding a beaten-up Mandalorian in their arms. IG-88, Bossk, and Dengar soon walked out as well, joining the group. The Storm Guards at the entrance let them inside, and just gave little grunts as they walked on by.
And right before them was Commander Varan who was awaiting them, hands behind his back.
"Let's make this fast, tight pants. We want our payment and we want it now," Dengar insisted, cocking a gun at him.
"Relax, my comrade. Just go into the meeting room where we all met before, I have some business to attend to first."
Two commando droids moved in to take the Mandalorian off the bounty hunters hands, and the seven of them hesitantly walked further down the hall to go back to the meeting room where they had all met. Varan just growled, keeping a neutral face as adjusted his suit. "At least Zuckess and 4-LOM were easy to negotiate with," Varan grumbled, walking past them.
Ignoring the bounty hunters, Varan followed his two commando units underground to the prison chambers. Once the door was open, the Mandalorian was tossed into a containment field, and magnetic cuffs held her arms and legs up, hoisting her up in the air in a restrained position. She lifted her head to gaze at the commando droids that were clearly not on her side, glaring at them intensely. If only these droids were on her side, they wouldn't have been slaves to this vicious army...
The well dressed commander marched inside, demeanor as cold as the Storm Army's attacks. He looked at the Mandalorian held captive, not changing his facial expression in the slightest.
"So you're the one who got the child away from me. Sad. You would have been given an extraordinary payment beyond your wildest dreams," Varan glared.
"You were going to do horrible things to that baby. It doesn't take a scientist to understand why you wanted it."
"Who said I wanted to do bad things to it?" Varan snared. "I won't beat around the bush. I don't want to harm that baby. I wanted it so she could be raised. Nurtured. Learn to live among our kind, and to grow with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Storm Army... and many others dedicated to our cause."
"Just to turn into another killing machine to wipe out those who don't agree to your views," Mando spat, trying to yank her wrists from her bonds.
"You're siding with the Republic now?"
"No. I'm just stating the painfully obvious, you greased weasel ," the woman growled, mocking Varan's accent.
Varan wasn't really emotionally affected. He just smirked as he got uncomfortably close to her body. "Now I'm curious. What are you hiding underneath that helmet?"
Varan moved his hands up, gripping the sides of her helmet. Mando wanted to fight back, but she couldn't. Her hands couldn't grab or move at all, and it was too late. Her helmet came off, and the commander just let it slam onto the ground.
Varan guffawed. "Wow. You know, for someone who hides behind a mask, that is not a face I certainly expected. I honestly thought you would be much uglier."
Her teeth, now visible, were grit and snarling. But this didn't phase the Mandalorian.
"So tell me, lady Mandalorian. You spent the past few days running and hiding to protect the child and the Jedi from us, and the other bounty hunters... yet you choose to work alone."
Mando spat, "I work alone with droids."
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, with droids. I forgot, you view them as people, unlike us flesh and blood," Varan scoffed, folding his arms with a smug expression. "Funny thing though. You see these metallic beings as living things... yet they are nothing more than buckets of bolts programmed to do what we tell them to."
"Droids are reflections of those who program them. Just like my crew," Mando argued.
Varan then reached his hand to her face, grabbing her by the jaw and yanking her a little close so he could be even more up close to her. Extremely close. "If you were smart, you'd learn to keep your trap shut. I'd gag you but I need some information from you anyway. And by the way... take this as a piece of advice. You can't replace human emotions for lifeless metal trash." His hand let go, pushing her face away from him. "You say you have a crew, but I don't see your crew around. I must say though, if your crew does show up, I will be very surprised."
Another painful shock of electricity was sent through her body, making her scream in agony.
"I'm not wasting my time with you. Where did you take the asset!?"
"I... won't... say... a thing!" The woman panted, trying not to pass out. "I won't tell you a thing! Even if I have to die, I still won't talk. I rather die protecting them than to live and give them up."
"That can easily be arranged," Varan sneered.
One of the commando droids spun an electrostaff around and jabbed it right in her stomach, making her yell out in pain and agony. Her head hung down as she panted heavily, trying not to faint or collapse on the spot.
"Why not just kill me!?"
"Because I want you to suffer. I want you to experience every ounce of pain that penetrates your body, and watch as your energy slowly gives away. I want to witness your demise. Lucky for you, I have other business to attend to at the moment. So, I'll just let you sit there and suffer. I'll come back when I feel like making you suffer some more. Troopers, come."
The two hairy beasts grunted and followed Varan out of the interrogation room, leaving Mando all on her own as she tried to keep herself together and not pass out or faint. She wriggled her wrists around, trying to break out. There had to have been some way to get freed. And she had to get out of here, but how?
Back On Naboo...
Lyra sat at a small makeshift table, made out of cargo containers that were sitting inside the hangar. Lyra sat at one end with the baby sitting in a high chair, and Derpy sitting across from her. The Bakers Batch troopers were also sitting with them, all enjoying a delicious lunch. Only one problem; Flurry was pouting in her chair, refusing to eat.
"Flurry, come on sweetie, you need to eat," Lyra said sweetly, patting her head. "You want to grow big and strong, don't you?" Flurry kept pushing her food away, much to Lyra's annoyance. "Flurry, come on." She thought some more, how to get her to eat? Any other times, there was no problem. When Flurry was hungry, she took her food as told. But Lyra wasn't going to hold back. "Flurry?"
The baby pouted, until she saw what Lyra was holding. Her little snail plushie that she always loved to snuggle with at night. She gasped in delight, and Lyra took that opportunity to quickly give her a spoonful of that food. The baby coughed in disgust, but she didn't hack up the food.
"Thank you."
Flurry folded up her arms, pouting.
"Okay, fine, if you don't want to eat now, you don't. But you cannot refuse it forever, understand?" Lyra said, sternly as she pointed a finger at Flurry.
The baby nodded, understanding.
"Good. Now, I will let you down so you can get back to your drawing," Lyra said, getting up. She helped get the baby out of her high chair and set her down on the floor next to her crayons and papers. Someone was kind enough to give them to Flurry to keep herself occupied since they didn't exactly have anything else around here momentarily. But it was effective, and it did keep Flurry's happiness at a good high. "So Derpy, please, talk to me, what has been happening in your world?"
The wall-eyed girl shrugged. "Um, not really anything. We've been doing well on some missions, I'm glad about that. We almost were defeated on Ryloth, but we did fine there. And since we've been doing so good we were granted more access for ships and expansions of troops."
Lyra smiled softly. "That's nice. Any new boys added to the Baker's Batch?"
"Well we did get a new guy, Vargas," trooper Mix said, gesturing to the new 'shiny' next to him who just awkwardly waved.
"Nice to meet you Vargas," Lyra nodded.
"Oh did you tell her the big news?" Bubbles asked.
"Which one?"
"The first one."
Derpy squeaked. "Oh that! Kamino finally approved the commission of Phase II armor, we're going to get Phase II armor next week!"
"That's great Derpy. ... Too bad all my troops are dead, but that's great!"
"Yep! We even got word from Captain Rex, he and the 501st have gotten new armor. Jesse, Hardcase, Kix, Tup, all of them!"
"And how are they doing?" Lyra asked.
Just then, Lyra felt her sleeve being tugged at by an invisible force. Looking down, she saw Flurry reaching her arm out to get her attention, giggling as she pat her arms on the floor. The Jedi nanny could see Flurry had been finished something she wanted to share.
"Hey sweetie, what are you drawing?" Lyra asked.
The little baby raised her picture up, letting Lyra take a look at it. The picture just made her heart snap. A rough display of the baby, herself, and just based on the blue and black scribbles, she saw the Mandalorian woman. She frowned a little, remembering how she left so quickly even though she was offered protection.
And when she looked down, she saw Flurry whimpering some more. She was pawing at a small picture which had apparently been taken inside the ship. Cheep, the astromech droid had apparently snapped a photo and found a way to make it a physical form, showing the Mandalorian holding her and tucking her back into her crib.
"Oh, Flurry..." Lyra slowly picked up the baby. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry, I know you miss her, but I just don't think she'll be coming back."
Just then, a clone captain came running into the hangar, looking for the group who was on their break. “Commander, an unidentified ship is coming this way,” the captain reported. “Looks like a freighter of some kind.”
Lyra was confused. “Kind of a strange transport to be coming back here…”
The Jedi joined the clones and watched as a ship started to fly into the hangar… the same ship that she had been taken onto for the entire trip back. The sight alone made her heart beat, and a smile come back on her face. “She’s back?”
“She , general?” Bubbles asked.
“The Mandalorian, that’s the bounty hunter who brought me here,” Lyra said.
Bubbles and the rest of the Baker's Batch stood together and held their guns to fight as a line of defense, unknowing of the inhabitants of the bounty hunting vessel. The hatch slowly opened up with several amount of steam hissing through. She waited for her to come through, was she going to see her again? Was she finally going to see her once more?
Sadly no, as the only things coming out of the ship were two screaming astromechs who fell and bounced out of the hatch and onto the ground, slamming right on their faces.
“Cheep? G-G?”
Lyra set the baby down and ran over and picked up Cheep, getting him back on his legs, and then did the same to G-G. Their dome heads spun around in several circles, trying to get themselves back to normal, or at least mostly normal.
“Chorup, chirp chirp chirp!”
“Slow down guys, what’s wrong?”
“General, you know these droids?” Bubbles asked.
“They belonged to the Mandalorian. What’s wrong guys?” Lyra said again, petting them both.
“Bwoop boop bwoooo. Brt beep bwoop boop .”
“Captured? Wait, how, who?”
“Chirp chirp chirp. Chirip .”
Lyra was now scared. “Oh no… I knew something like that was going to happen, I just knew it. Why didn’t she try to call for help?”
“Bwoop brt brt beep bwoop .”
“Caught before she got a chance, okay that makes sense,” Lyra tilted her head, scrunching at her temples. “But why didn’t she stay, if she knew this was the case? We could have helped her!”
“Chirp chirp?”
Lyra sighed. “I’ll ask her that myself." But then she got an idea. A wonderful idea. One that made her give a mischievous smirk to the two robots in front of her. "Do you two feel a little frisky?”
The two droids nodded in agreement.
“Bweep bwoop brt boop .”
“We're going to do a little rescuing, boys. Can I count on you two?”
"Wait, where are you going?" Derpy asked, watching as Lyra took the baby in her hands and ran into the ship with the two astromechs.
"I have to go rescue someone! If I'm not back, contact the Temple and tell them to send forces to... um, Cheep, where did you say she was at?"
"Chirp churp."
"Sullust, okay! Send an assault force on Sullust! I'll be back!"
Derpy didn't have time to reply, because the hatch soon closed afterwards. Lyra climbed up to the cockpit, setting the baby down in the metal crib that was still left inside up, and pulling herself in the seat. Except, she felt herself just a little too close to the controls.
"Geez, Mando has the seat so close, how can she drive like this?" Lyra huffed, trying to adjust her seat. She pulled the seat back, and activated the engines, prepping for takeoff. Everyone in the hangar got away from the ship as it started to jump. Flames burst from the engines as it thrust out of the hangar and so it left, zooming up into the sky.
The calculations were made, and the navigation was set, and so the ship jumped into hyperspace to Sullust.
While the ship was making good time, Lyra decided to lend a hand to Cheep and G-G below deck. The blasts on the droids had done severe damage, and she needed to help them get them patched up. The two astromechs thankfully knew how to repair them and knew how to bring them back up, while Lyra was more of just an assistant. Sure she tinkered with a droid now and then, but she wasn't any expert. Ships yes, but bots? Not so much.
Note to self, learn droid repair from Mando.
In the time they were onboard, two of the commando droids had been activated once again, and they were able to provide help for a third unit. Only problem was they were on a time crunch and couldn't turn on all four. Lyra would have to settle for three.
The final circuits were fused, and the third of the four commando droids were up and walking again. It looked at Lyra. “Thank you friend. How can we repay you? ”
“We need to rescue the Mandalorian,” Lyra suggested, standing back up. “You guys are tough, right?”
“We are ,” the commando droid responded.
“Then let’s use that to our advantage. But I need your help with some other things first,” Lyra ordered, helping sit K2's body on the construction table.
“Roger roger. ”
--
Eventually the ship arrived, doing a few circles around the land to try and find a good spot to land. Their eyes soon set on an empty landing pad, parked next to one of the shuttles. The crew stared out the cockpit windows, trying to look around and get a feel of the place.
"I cannot calculate how many Storm guards, troopers, or battle droids are inside the base," K2 said, looking through the windows.
"Rats. But what about the guards?" Lyra pouted.
"Bwoop beep bweep."
"No G-G, I'm not going to turn over the baby," Lyra said. She rubbed her temples, thinking for a moment. Her eyes looked over to the crib, and a lightbulb flickered over her head. “I have an idea.”
The hatch opened up, and their attention was given to the Storm Guards still standing outside the entrance. The big hairy beasts growled and glared at the returning intruders. And some battle droids were also drawn to the ship opening up as well.
Some metal footsteps clanked, echoing as they walked out the ship. A pair of purple and gold legs walking out first, following by leather boots, and more metal feet. K2-B4 walked out first, Lyra Heartstrings walked behind him with a set of electro-cuffs, and the rest of the Mandalorian’s commando droid crew walked close behind. The hovering crib came behind them, with G-G close to it, covering their tracks.
“Our arrival is long overdue ,” K2 stated. “We have captured the Jedi and the wanted asset .”
The guards looked at each other, and then to the crew that was with the tactical droid. Seemed normal enough, nothing suspicious out of the ordinary. Their staffs moved out of the way, allowing K2 and his pack to walk inside.
“Thank you.”
The droids and Lyra marched inside, receiving some glares from the Stormtroopers and battle droids, but their attention was completely gone once they had walked inside. K2 led the group around the corner, away from the security cameras and into a space where they could sit momentarily. The first commando droid fired a shot at the nearby cameras, hopefully disabling them for the time being.
With surveillance off them, K2 removed the electro-cuffs off of Lyra, freeing her wrists. And one of the commandos pulled her lightsaber out from behind his back and gave it back to her.
“Excellent. Okay, here’s the plan. We need to find the prison cells and get Mando out. We have one job and one job only, and that’s getting her freed. K2, and two commandos, can you find the security offices? We need to find out where she's being held."
"Roger roger."
"Excellent. While you three go, I'll take the other commando and G-G to do a search. Let us know if you run into any problems, and stay online."
"Yes, Master Jedi," K2 nodded.
The group of three went on their way, leaving Lyra, G-G, and the other commando droid to set off on their own path. Lyra's team ran around a corner, ducking the security cameras
"Flurry should be safe on the ship with Cheep and Bee, and they should contact our friends for help if this goes wrong. Now let us get going!"
--
The tactical droid and two commandos wandering the halls, completely blending in with everyone else within this outpost. Not one person or droid suspected that these three were completely out of place, as luck would have it. K2's finger hit the button, and the doors opened up. Inside were a few other battle droids, monitoring security and parts of the base. And in the command chair was a lowly tactical droid, only difference being the colors he was blazed with.
"Who are you?" The tactician asked.
K2 looked to his two commando compatriots who closed the doors behind him and cocked their guns. The battle droids didn't have time to react, as the commandos jumped all around and blasted each of their heads before they could have a chance to fight. Even the tactical droid sitting in the command chair didn't get a fighting chance, he was just blasted on the spot.
K2 pushed his body out of the chair and sat down, looking at the controls in front of him. His fingers typed, looking through the systems. Finally some screens came up, revealing the security cameras for the cells. One of them finally came up, showing the Mandalorian struggling to break free. Looking down, K2 saw a release button and pressed it, watching as the Mandalorian was dropped from her containment field and onto the ground.
Just then, a small button was blinking on the console, insisting that the tactician or whoever was in charge answer it. He didn't hesitate and pressed the button.
"This is Central Command. Please identify yourself."
"TX, it's me you malfunctioning clanker! Look, I'm going to be in a long meeting with these bounty hunters and trying to get them to understand they aren't getting paid, so make sure the Mandalorian doesn't escape! She knows where they are, and we can still use it."
"Affirmative commander."
"Good, now--wait a minute. What happened to your voice? You sound funny."
"A small malfunction, sir, nothing to be concerned about," K2 finished, hanging up right away and not letting the commander talk back. He got up from the seat, looking to the two commandos. "We must move quickly before he finds us."
"We have another problem," one of the commandos said, giving K2 a manifest. The purple and gold tactical droid stared at the console, reading the signals and logs that had been put into the device.
"We must find the Jedi at once."
Meanwhile, Lyra, G-G, and the other commando unit moved down the hallway, trying to avoid being caught by anyone or anythign in sight. So far, so good. No sign of any hostiles to be afraid of. And everyone that passed by so far hadn't questioned the fact that a commando droid had two odd limbs attached.
"Droid."
Okay, now someone did. A Stormtrooper (one of many things the Storm Empire tried to make of their own) stood in front of them.
"Where are you taking this prisoner?"
The commando unit froze. He looked back to Lyra, and then back to the Stormtrooper. "I am taking the prisoner to the prison cells."
"And what happened to your arm?"
The commando looked down, noticing that he a glaringly obvious B1 battle droid arm as a replacement. "I lost it, and was repaired with this one."
"No droid just loses an arm and gets repaired. You better step aside," the trooper insisted.
"Excuse me, I think this guy's got me just fine!" Lyra complained.
"Why aren't you cuffed?" The Stormtrooper pulled out a com device. "Okay, someone send some repair crews, we need to run--agh!"
The commando droid knocked the com device from his hand and swung a sword out. Lyra, in one of the few times she did, gave a smug grin on her face as she looked at him. "Knock him out."
"Roger roger."
The commando droid swung the blade around, conking him on the head hard enough to knock him out. But that was enough to get attention from some nearby battle droids walking around.
"Get them!"
Lyra pulled out her lightsaber quickly, igniting the blade to attack. The battle droids opened fire and Lyra blocked as many of the blasts as she could. The reprogrammed commando unit pulled out his gun and moved against the wall in a defense position, blasting away at the droids as they came.
Two of them were shot down, leaving four more left to go. Lyra ran up to them, slicing up one of the weapons and Force-pushing him against the ground, letting him clatter and bounce. Another one was kicked and sliced in half, while the other two received shots from the repurposed commando.
Lyra almost panicked, seeing one was still online, but thanks to G-G zapping him, he stayed dead. But she heard another coming right behind her. The minty Jedi jabbed her lightsaber into the droid coming behind her, and her face drooped when she saw it was a tactical droid. But by the time she could react, it was too late. The tactician dropped and collapsed on the ground, now destroyed. And around the corner, Lyra saw K2-B4 appear from the doors with the two commandos. The Jedi sighed in relief, glad that she didn't destroy her ally. Frankly speaking, she felt stupid. How did she miss the painfully obvious colors in front of her?
"Did you know that wasn't me?" K2-B4 questioned.
"... No, I didn't. I thought I screwed up. Wait, what are you doing back, did you get the intel?"
"Affirmative," K2 said, holding up a manifest. "She is located in prison cell 11-12-19. But there appears to have been a connection made with Storm forces on Kijimi and Mygeeto."
Lyra's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
"Transmission logs show Commander Varan has contacted Storm Army forces to extract the Mandalorian."
And then Lyra facepalmed. "Fun. Well we better find her before any more get here. Although just based on how much Varan's wanting to go, I doubt the Storm King or Tempest will want to pursue this quest any further. Come on, we better find her and get out of here."
"Agreed."
And so the crew set off on their way.
--
The Mandalorian was in pain from the drop, but she was still awake. She didn't know what force had freed her from her restraints, but she wasn't about to complain. But she had to get out of here! She saw her helmet just laying on the ground and she slowly reached her arm out trying to grab it. Her hand weakly clamped onto her helmet, and she slowly dragged it to her, carefully sliding it on top of her head. She was still breathing heavily, trying to keep her strength together. She had to get out of here somehow, she was not planning on dying today!
But just as her eyes were getting more tired, she heard a sound of something penetrating through the steel doors. Slowly, she moved her head up, seeing a bright green blade prodding through the sides of the door, and she watched it start to go up, and to the left, and back down like it was trying to cut the door down. It didn't work. And then she saw the blade just go straight through the door and start making random slices and motions all in the door to get it to cut, until it finally came down in a bunch of random pieces.
“What the?” The Mandalorian said, looking up.
“It's meeee!” Lyra squeed.
The Mandalorian tried to get up on her feet, but with very little success. She was able to look right up at her though, staring at her beautiful golden eyes with shock under the helmet. “You… you came for me.”
“I’m not going to let the Storm Empire just take you. And you haven’t done any crimes to my knowledge,” Lyra winked.
"I... I don't know what to say," Mando panted, trying not to collapse again.
“Before I bust you out of here, there’s something I must know… Why did you refuse my offer to stay with us on Naboo for sanctuary!?" Lyra snapped, making the Mandalorian almost jump in shock. "Am I annoying? Do you really not like me?” The Mandalorian was going to speak, but Lyra still kept on talking and it was starting to get annoying. And it didn’t help that Lyra was starting to go teary-eyed now. “Why did you just leave us like that, do we mean—”
“—I didn’t want to leave!”
A deafening silence filled the air as the two stared at each other.
“You… you didn’t want to leave?”
“I was about to, but I couldn't bring myself to go. Honestly I wanted to leave because I know the works of all of those bounty hunters, they do not care who dies or doesn’t if they get a good paycheck. And after everything that happened to get you safely back to Naboo, to get you far away from them, I… I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I wanted to come back to you, but they found me.”
Lyra was in shock, but her open jaw slowly smiled. “You really care?”
“I do. So much so that… can’t believe I’m saying this, if your offer for protection of the Republic is still available… I’d be more than happy to devote myself to your cause at this point forward. I’m done with the Bounty Hunter's Guild at this point, I’m already a wanted criminal by them and all of these other hunters by now.”
Lyra grinned. “Let’s get you out of here first. Come on.”
She helped the bounty hunter get back on her feet, thankfully not tripping over anything in the way. Mando still had one hand gripping her side, feeling the pain from the shocks and punches.
“Can you still walk?”
“Yeah, I think so. But they took my guns, smart sleemos,” The woman growled. “My guns are all on my ship.”
Two of the commandos moved in and helped Mando stand on her feet. Now that she had some help, she could see better in front of her, taking in who were all of the allies before her. “I see my commandos, K2, and G-G. Where is Cheep?” The Mandalorian asked.
“Oh don’t worry, he's back on the ship."
“Chorup? ”
Lyra’s eyes shrunk as she hit her com device. What he said was startling her. “Um… yes, Cheep?”
“Chorp chorp chorp chorp chorp .”
The Mandalorian took a moment, pausing as she looked flat into Lyra’s eyes. “You brought the baby, didn't you?”
“I did.”
“The baby escaped, didn't she?"
"She did."
"Did it at all occur to you that bringing the baby might not have been the best idea?”
“Highly!” Lyra grinned. Mando waited again, and Lyra’s smile faded. “… Oh dear.”
“Okay, lemme just ask you this straight…”, Mando said, struggling to stand up. “Are you out of your mind!?”
“I wasn’t thinking at the time!” Lyra protested.
“They’ll kill the baby!”
“Over my dead body they will,” Lyra pointed.
“That’s what I’m saying, you would be dead too in that scenario!” Mando groaned.
“Well I’m arguing against that!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Why are you yelling at me?”
“Because I love that baby and I don’t want to see it dead, you idiot!” The Mandalorian snapped.
Lyra scrunched at her own face. “I’m so stupid, what was I thinking!?”
“Well is there anyone else you brought with you that could look out for her!?”
--
In fact, there was. Back on the ship, a new droid had been activated. His long stiff legs stood on the ground, and two small little eyes spun around to analyze his location. Behind his back were two weapons to use for combat, and his head was as small and skinny like a cone. And only one objective was on his mind...
"To nurse and protect."
Chapter 8: Nurse And Protect/Final Showdown
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Author's Note
I made this for shits and giggles. Just cause why not.
Bonus: You Woke The Baby
A Little Ways Down The Road..
The Mandalorian was stressed to the bone. She promised to take the shift for baby Flurry so Lyra could finally get some much needed rest, but as expected, she was still new to parenting. Taking care of a living baby wasn't the same as keeping a programmed robot together. The waking up in the middle of the night, the constant feeding, burping, and whatever needed to take care of a child was an entirely new experience to her. The baby had unfortunately been restless these past few nights.
However, Bon Bon made a promise to look after her, and she was going to live up to that promise. And that was starting with trying to get this little muffin to go to sleep. ... This screaming, cranky, very loud muffin.
"Flurry, come on... come on, what do I have to do to get you to fall asleep?" Bon Bon worried. She felt the top of her head, noticing she was feeling a little warmer than usual. "Are you hot? Is that the problem? Wait... do you feel sick? Hold on, I'll go get the medicine!"
Bon Bon ran down the ladder and into the bathroom space, looking for meds. She knew they were hidden somewhere, she needed them fast! Thankfully it wasn't that hard to find and quickly grabbed that and a spoon. She ran back up the cockpit, hearing the infant still crying. She poured some onto the spoon, moving towards the baby. As expected, she was met with resistance as she kept trying to dodge it, batting away from her face.
"Flurry, please! I just want you to feel better! Please just take the medicine... You know I would never hurt you, sweetie, just please take the medicine..." Bon Bon was slowly starting to break. This was impossible! How did Lyra ever deal with this on her own!?
Her eyes watered up and she let her head slowly drop, resting it on the edge of the crib. Flurry did take notice of her second mama clearly upset, and she stopped resisting. She took the spoon from her, sucking down the medicine and swallowing. She coughed mildly, mainly disgusted with the taste. A whole new flavor that she wasn't used to. But something happened. She stopped crying. She didn't feel too hot or sick anymore.
Bon Bon took notice of this and raised her head up, seeing her child no longer crying and in pain. She looked happy again. And using her strength, she pulled herself up and waddled as close to her mama as she could, insisting on being picked up. Bon Bon sniffled a little, her eyes watering only with joy that her child was no longer in pain. She picked her up, and held her close to her chest to hug her.
"I promised I'd keep you safe... I always will," Bon Bon said, kissing her forehead. Flurry looked up at her, and lightly brushed her hands against her mother's face, wiping her tears away and nuzzled her.
"Think you can get some sleep now?"
The baby nodded.
And so Bon Bon carefully put Flurry back in her crib, covering her with her blanket again, and giving her plushie back to her so she could sleep again.
"Goodnight sweetie. Sleep tight."
The Mandalorian's bare hand petted Flurry's head, and smiled as she finally went to sleep. For the past few months, she had been living with her and Lyra, and admittedly, it wasn't easy living with the two of them. Both of them had their own habits and routines which did make things a bit flipped for her, but Bon Bon found a way to adapt. Now that she was asleep, she could direct her focus back to flying the ship to their current destination. They were setting off to Naboo for a little vacation; something Lyra desperately needed. She had been dealing with some massive amount of stress lately, and Bon Bon was hoping this vacation would do the trick and help her relax so she could clear her brain.
"Finally, some peace and quiet. Now maybe I can get this ship there in one piece..."
Her hands stayed on the controls as she sat there, staring out into the empty abyss of space. She followed the coordinates on the radar system, taking the direct path to where Naboo would be. She would be there soon enough and then maybe she could finally... rest...
Bon Bon's eyes slowly closed as she sat there in the seat, and started snoring softly. She didn't even think about a thing in the world, other than escaping into the realm of dreamland. Thinking of some happy times that always made her feel so warm and fuzzy. Taking Lyra out into the open grasslands on Naboo, going swimming in the crystal wars, tropical sunshine... and getting to hold Lyra as they sat together in the warm glow of the sunset on a nice summer evening--
The control panel beeped, setting off an alarm which broke Bon Bon from her slumber.
"Hmm, what? No! No! No, no, no!"
A lot of loud noises erupted from the alarms and she pressed as many as she could, trying to keep it all quiet so no noises disturbed the baby.
"Shh, shh, shhh!" Bon Bon hesitantly turned around, praying that the baby didn't wake up. She did not need this right now. "Whew. Thank God." Turning around, she flipped the guidance controls back to normal. "What was that all about?"
And things only got worse when suddenly a voice spoke through the com system.
"Mandalorian, it is time... for your death!"
A Mikkian woman with a deranged face and a crazy amount of cybernetic parts all over her body was in the control chair of a Correlian freighter. She fired multiple blaster shots towards the Sweetie Drop like a psycho, relentlessly firing at her.
"Oh come on, you gotta be kidding me!" Bon Bon yelled, feeling the ship shake and vibrate, now turned to rumbling thanks to the laser blasts. Her body was now thrashing violently against her chair, feeling like she was about to be thrown right out of it. "Is it possible for us to reschedule, I just caught a break!"
"You have taken innocent droids! It is time I liberate them from your fleshy hands!"
"You have flesh, you nimrod!"
Another round of lasers fired at the back of her ship, sending more erupting tremors on board the freighter. Bon Bon prayed to all gods that the baby wasn't going to wake up, but she knew she was tempting fate. "Morag, I respect what you're trying to do, but this is reaaaaallly not a good time. Can you please come back later? And I've made it clear time and time again, I give my droids free will, they chose to come with me, I didn't program them!"
"You've had your chance, Mandalorian. And you prove to me you will keep my robotic kind under your terrorist skin!"
"That is a huge insult to my people!" Bon Bon yelled back. "... And again, you're flesh! I think someone's had way too many death sticks."
This time, the next set of blasts really did the job. The baby finally heard the sounds, and she burst out crying and whimpering at the loud sounds. Bon Bon's heart snapped when she saw the baby crying, but something else inside woke up. Something angry and powerful.
"Errrrghhh, that's it! I don't care, I have had it up to HERE with people startling me, startling my girlfriend, and startling my girlfriend's baby!" Bon Bon snarled, yanking a lever down on her ship.
The freighter halted in place, letting the Correlian freighter zoom right above her, completely missing her. Then, thrusting the engines, Bon Bon targeted all of the guns to focus on the freighter with fire in her eyes, blood boiling, and nothing but pure unbridled rage.
"Nothing personal Morag..." Bon Bon growled, locking on target, "but you woke the baby. "
