𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

❝ NEW FOUND TARGET ❞

Small yellow native creatures ran past Arista's feet and fled back to their red rocks they call home. The sounds of the hunters boots squishing into the muddy floors of the canyons were the audible sounds bouncing throughout the land form. Being without the blurgg's made the way back to the Razor Crest even more tiring than it needed to be. Arista's feet had been throbbing ever since the asset had be recovered. Nonetheless, she had to keep pushing through the pain. Din didn't take her tension unnoticed. He knew that she was in pain from her demeanor. But Arista's pain went beyond physical. She kept glancing between the dirt path and the child's pod floating next to Din.

"The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated"

          Still, the voice of IG-11 rang in her mind.

          Why would a child be terminated? What does ex-imperial officers need with it?

          Arista stopped in her tracks and turned around when she realized that Din wasn't by her side. She took notice in his changed aura. Din had paused from the new sounds of rustling around them and it wasn't from the yellow creatures. The wind even whistled a new song. Arista looked back at Din and caught a glimpse of reflected figures jumping from above them in the Mandalorian helmet. Her hand moved towards her blaster and slipped it out of its holster. Din saw Arista's movements and did the same.

          Manda nodded her head up to signal the possible threat that was above them. A sudden rustling sound came from behind Mando and a Trandoshan attacked him from his right and knocked his blaster out of his hand. Simultaneously, another Trandoshan attacked Manda from above, knocking her down to one knee. A loud vigorous beeping was heard at close range. Mando, blocking another strike, caught sight of a tracking fob. He quickly realized what the attackers were here for and pushed the child's pod away. The sudden force of the push made the child giggle and fall back in the pod.

          Manda shot the attacker with her blaster and sprung back to her feet executing a side kick that knocked it down. Mando blocked each swing of the vibro bladed staff then grabbed onto it. He was able to wrestle down the Trandoshan with a grunt. He went to stab the hunter but another one came and parried Mando away. Manda ran and threw a flying knee thus knocking the Trandoshan down to the ground and their staff out their hands. But it was quick to recover and swung back at Manda. The vibro staff was easily blocked by her wrist gauntlets. Manda parried another swing then shot it in the chest with her blaster. A rifle shot rang out behind her, Mando had taken down one. Manda turned towards Mando and saw a two-on-one assault. She advanced to one and jumped to wrap her legs around their neck, fired a blast to its head and flipped the body to the ground. Mando loaded his rifle and disintegrated the last Trandoshan that tried to attack the child.

          The fire flurries from the blast floated around the child as it cooed in interest.

          All that was left of the disintegrated Trandoshan was a fob. The beeps continued intensely next to the child. Arista walked up to Din's side, her own panting matching his rhythm. Both Arista and Din stared down the fob. This job wasn't making any sense. Arista then walked up the fob, raised her boot and forcefully smashed the fob, stopping the beeps. She went around to all the other fobs and did the same. Din stood in place and watched her. His eyes then moved to the child in the pod. He was trying to make sense of all that happened. There must be more bounty hunters out there that have tracking fobs just like theirs.

          Arista smashed the last one then spoke, "let's keep moving. No telling how many more have fobs."

          They had been walking for hours on end through the sandy terrain. Night began to fall and sleep was begging at Arista. The bright warm colors of Arvala-7 ombred to violets and indigos. Din walked up to a small rocky hill, "we can rest here." Arista tiredly fell to the ground, "finally." She rolled onto her back practically spread eagle. Din watched her childish action and shook his head slightly chuckling. He unhooked his rifle and took a seat next to her. He pulled out his retractible lantern in substitute of fire. The child's pod stayed stationary a few feet away from the two hunters. It's big eyes examining the surroundings.

          Din began to fix up his wounds he received at the hands of the previous attack. Arista tried to get some kind of sleep but the sound of Din's grunts from his attempts to cauterize his wounds prevented her. She turned to face Din and propped her self up on a rock. She took notice that the child had escaped its pod and was waddling towards Din. Arista had to admit that it was easily the cutest thing she had seen but would never verbally admit it. The child waddled closer and closer then raised its little three-fingered hand to Din's wound. Arista watched intently, she had an idea of what the child was going to do but decided to believe it when she saw it.

          Din's breath caught when he saw the green child raising its hand at him. Its eyes squinted and held its hand in place above the wound. The high pitched ringing returned to Arista's ears. Din dismissed the child by picking it up and placing it back into the pod. "It just wanted to help." Arista spoke up. Din didn't know that she had been watching the exchange. "I don't need its help." He said. "By the way you're cooking yourself instead of cauterizing it looks like you need some kind of help." She teased. Din looked back at the wound and knew that Arista's words were true. She was gone for so long that he never had anyone to help him. He breathed out a heavy sigh and handed out the medical tool.

          Arista got up from her spot and sat right across from Din and took the tool out of his hand. She took his bicep in her hands. The contact made Din tense. "Relax, it'll hurt less." Arista commented. Din did as he was told but still struggled when she was this close to him. She examined the wound that was already partially burnt, "this is going to leave a nasty scar. Knowing you, you're probably riddled with marks like these."

          "Wouldn't you like to know?" Din's sudden surge of confidence made Arista's cheeks glow a soft pink. She let out a small laugh, "shut up" and cauterized another section of the wound. She may or may not vengefully left the tool on a little too long making Din grunt loudly. His grunt made an evil smirk crawl on Arista's lips and snicker. She continued to finish up the wound and wrapped it in some clean bandages. Din watched her as she worked on his wound, doing it better than he ever could. "All done, big guy." She said and handed back the medical tool. "Thank you, Rista." Din casually said.

          Arista paused and stared back at Din. "What?" He questioned at her sudden stone stature. "You- I just haven't heard that in a long time." She smiled. Hearing the nickname that only he called her. Rista. It wasn't much of just taking the "A" off but it was something only he did. And he was the only one that was allowed to.

          Small coo's and footsteps broke the hunters out of their trance when the child waddled back up next to Din. Din got back up and placed it back into the pod. The child stared back at him with its big eyes. Din stood still staring back, in an almost transient like state. Arista watched the exchange unfold. What she couldn't see what that Din could see himself as a reflection in the child's eyes. He broke the trance and closed the pod, insuring the child wouldn't get out.

          Arista got up and went back to her previous sleeping spot and laid down, "I think it likes you." Din cleared his throat, "just get some rest." "Not going to argue with you on that one." She said before yawning and closing her eyes.

          Din wanted to dismiss the encounter with the child and the encounter with Arista. He tried to focus on fixing his cuirass to get his mind off of the unexpected interactions. Yet, they still echoed in his subconscious.

          The rising sun signaled the awakening of the bounty hunters. Both wasted no time in traveling back towards the Razor Crest and getting back to the client.

          Reaching closer and closer towards the ship, shouting reverberated in the distance. Arista caught the sound of it and was all to familiar with the shouting. Din crouched down to one knee, unhooked his rifle and pulled out his telescope. The child also leaned forward, looking down at the land from the pod. He saw the exterior damages, the Razor Crest already had holes of where parts should've gone. Din grabbed his rifle, aimed, and fired a disintegration bullet. Screams erupted from the other Jawas. Now on alert, Jawas rushed back into their R-5 astromech unit. While others were disintegrated, some were firing back.

          Mando went to fire another shot when Manda came into view through the scope. She must've ran down the hill when he was shooting at the Jawas. He immediately got up and ran towards the shoot out.

          Manda had blasted some Jawas and saw that the ramp was already closing. The astromech unit was taking off with Manda running by its side and Mando a ways behind her. Manda was running by the unit when a sudden blast went off and sparks caught her eyes. Mando must've been trying to shoot at it.

          Manda's pace quickened and she was able to jump onto the unit. She pulled herself up onto a hidden platform next to the wheels and out of sight from Jawas. She looked back and saw that Mando had caught up to her. "Come on!" She yelled over the defining road wheels and stuck her hand out. Mando ran faster and jumped towards her open hand. He grasped tight and she pulled him up on the platform with her. She looked over and saw the kids pod following behind them and at a distance from the astromech.

          "There's a ladder just above us." She told him. She went first climbing from metal structures and onto the ladder and stood on the skinny railing. Next was Mando, he did exactly as she did. The astromech has them picked up speed and was closing in on a boulder that could squish Mando. Both hunters realized the potential and Manda frantically pulled him up and stood shoulder to shoulder as they passed by a potential death.

          Hatches were opened and the Jawas began to throw stolen pieces of scrap metal at the hunters. Manda dodged some pieces and climbed up the structure. Mando followed suit and tried to throw off a Jawa but the hatch clipped his fingers. Before he could fall be shot his grappling hook around a crane and began to accent along side Manda. Manda shot hers at another crane adjacent to Mando.

          Jawas then popped out of various hatches throwing metal, bonking Mando on the head. A Jawa popped out and electrocuted Mando with a staff. He then yanked the staff and threw the Jawa from the astromech. One Jawa tried to blast Manda off the side of the unit but she blasted the Jawa right back in. From the other side another kept throwing metal at Manda. She then used momentum and swung across, wrapped her legs around the Jawa and threw it out of the hatch.

          The bounty hunters continued the grueling climb up, while the Jawas scrambled to beat down the cranes that supported them. Manda and Mando had almost made it to the top but the cranes finally broke and collapsed. Both fell screaming until Manda caught the edge and grabbed Mando's hand. She helped get his footing back, till they were both dangling from the edge.

          A stray Jawa looked over the edge but was thrown over by Mando. They both pulled themselves up and drew their weapons but it was no use. Multiple Jawas fired electrical tasers at them. The shocks were enough to stop their movement and their bodies to fall back off the astromech.

          Din's body fell more into sand while Arista fell spine first into hard rock. Both hit with loud grunts and Arista sorely moaned in agony and her sight went black.

          "Rista!" "Rista!" "Arista!" Her eyes shot open and her body jerked forward but met the helmet of Din. "Ow." Both groaned. "How long have I been out?" She groggily asked. Her back still suffered from severe pain.

          "I don't know. I just came to and then saw you." Din said. From the look of the sun's positioning and the shadows, it must've been hours. Then it hit Arista.

          "The kid!" "Still there." Din assured her. She looked back and saw the child still in its pod looking over at them.

          Limping back to the skeleton of the Razor Crest wasn't on the agenda. Seeing all the scattered and broken parts imbedded in the sand frustrated Din. Arista felt reminded of her own ship, the Valkyrie, she wouldn't know what to do if something like this would've happened to her. Arista backed off from entering the ship, she knew Din would need a bit of space. She heard him angrily slam doors and stop around. Engines began to sputter and blew out black smoke. Arista sighed and hung her head low.

          She leaned against the opening when she heard little footsteps approaching. The child stopped in front of her legs and looked up to the Mandalarian helmet. Arista locked eyes with the child and saw her helmet reflecting back in its eyes. The slim dark blue helmet looked even darker in its eyes. She tilted her head at the kid and it cooed back. Arista couldn't help the small smile that formed and picked up the kid. She placed it on her hip and it's ears perked up.

          Din descended down the ladder and sat in the sleeping chamber. He sighed heavily but the sounds of the cooing child forced his head up. He saw Arista carrying the child on her hip, she looked so motherly. It warmed his heart but he knew it can't last. It can't.

          He got up from his spot and walked over to where the two were. He gently placed a hand on the back of Arista, carefully enough not to startle her or irritate her injury. "We should get moving. We can head back to the Ugnaught's home." She nodded back in response and walked down the ramp and tucked the child back into its pod. Din watched her and couldn't help but have a warm feeling in his chest.

          Night had fallen once again. Kuiil was out fixing a tower when the three walked back onto the Ugnaught's land. "I thought you two were dead." Kuiil called out. "Not yet." Manda jokingly responded. Kuiil climbed down and joined the three on the ground level.

          The kid was out of its pod and playing with a frog, Manda was cleaning her blaster and Mando was recalibrating his gauntlet. "This is what was causing all the fuss?" Kuiil asked examining the kid. "I think it's a child." Mando said. "It is better to deliver it alive then." Kuiil spoke. "My ship has been destroyed. We're trapped here." "Stripped. Not destroyed", the ugnaught corrected, "the Jawas steal. They don't destroy." Kuiil handed Mando a tool to help him.

          Manda then mumbled, "stolen or destroyed, makes no difference to us." "They're protected by their crawling fortress. There's no way to recover the parts." Mando added. "You can trade." Kuiil suggested. "With Jawas? Are you out of your mind? Those con artists can't be trusted." Manda spoke. "I will take you to them. I have spoken." Kuiil finalized.

          Their attention was pulled when the child cooed loudly. The child had a frog already halfway in its mouth. "Hey! Spit that out." Mando sternly said. The child ignored Mando and swallowed the frog whole. "Gross." Manda commented. The child laughed at their reactions then burped loudly.

          Rain poured down on the travelers. Kuill rode the blurrg to guide. Manda and Mando rode in the cart behind. The child's pod was closed, keeping the child dry from the rain. Manda's eyes began close but she refused to sleep. Mando took notice in how she would slightly sway and then straighten. "Here. Lean on me." He offered his shoulder. "No, I'm fine. I can get by." She tiredly refused. To Manda's surprise, Mando unhooked his rifle and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. Her back was against his left side and his arm rested across her waist. "Thanks." She thanked him. The new position helped her back tremendously and felt less pain. "Of course." He replied. Manda felt more comfortable and shut her eyes. Even Mando felt more at ease. He leaned his head against her's and was able to get some kind of sleep.

Kuiil called out a greeting to the Jawas. They greeted back peacefully until they spotted Manda and Mando. Jawas armed themselves and initiated a defensive stance. Kuiil looked back at the hunters, "they really don't like you for some reason." "Well, i did disintegrate a few of them." Mando said. "And blasted them and threw them off their crawler." Manda added.

"Tell them to drop the weapons and we will talk." A Jawa spoke.

"You both need to drop your weapons." Kuiil translated. Manda knew exactly what they said. She had enough run in's with the Jawas to understand their language.

"We're of Mandalore. Weapons are apart of our religion." Mando informed. "Then you are not getting your parts back." Kuiil stated. Mando sighed and dropped the rifle to his side, "fine." Manda dropped her rifle and her blaster next to her, all her visible weapons. They both exited the cart when a Jawa stopped Mando.

"And his blaster!" The Jawa pointed to his side holster. "And the blaster." Kuiil translates. Mando and Kuiil glared at each other, Mando more irritated. Manda growing frustrated grabbed the blaster out of Mando's holster and tossed it back in the cart, careful not to hit the kid, "can we just speed this up please." She sarcastically waved a hand gesture to both of them to move forward.

"Good day! I am here with my friends to discuss a possible trade." Kuill conversed. "If they are free of weapons then they shall move forward." The Jawa said. Mando was free of weapons besides his torches, Manda on the other hand had several knives tucked away but they didn't need to know. Kuiil sat down on the mat followed by Mando sitting, resting his arm on his leg, and Manda sitting the same way.

"We are willing to trade the ship's parts for all of the beskar." The Jawa proposed. "The beskar is nonnegotiable." Manda immediately responsed. Mando looked at Manda surprised, he didn't know that she was knowledgeable of their language. "They want to trade all of the parts for the beskar. She told them that the beskar is nonnegotiable." Kuiil explained to Mando. "We're not trading anything. There are my parts. They stole them from me." Mando sternly said.

"No one was around. How could've we known the parts are yours?" The Jawa said trying to act innocent. "They, they... belong... to me!" Mando tried to speak their language to get his point across but failed. His speech made the Jawas laugh and even made Manda chuckle a little as well. "You speak terrible Jawa. You sound like a Wookiee." The Jawa mocked.

"You understand this!" Mando exclaimed then ignited his torches and spat flames at the Jawas through his wrist gauntlets. "No! Easy, easy!" Manda yelled trying to calm Mando down. Her touch made Mando calmer and extinguish the flames. "Why can't they trade beskar?" The Jawa asked.

Kuiil decided to explain since Manda calming Mando down. "They are Mandalore. They cannot give you their beskar armor. What else may they trade?" "What about that?" The Jawa asked pointing to the child. The three turned back and saw two other Jawas already advancing in. "Get away from it!" "Get away from it!" Both Mando and Manda yelled at the Jawas. The child had a scared frown on its face and whimpered.

"There must be something else." Kuiil begged. The Jawas then huddled together and began to discuss. Mando looked over to Manda. Her arm was wrapped around his and her hand clutched onto his. She saw that he was looking at her through her peripheral vision and slowly untwined her arm from his, leaving him cold without her touch.

          She focused on the huddled Jawas. She couldn't pick up what they were sayin except for the repeated word, "egg." The Jawas disbanded and the leader spoke, "we will require The Egg. Bring us The Egg."

          Kuiil sighed at their words and rubbed his forehead. That doesn't seem good.

          Mando and Manda sat there confused at what they meant. Mando asked, "The egg? What egg?"

――――

hey y'all!
yeah it's been a minute since i last updated and a lot has been happening with me and the world obviously. but i am back to writing more of "thrill of the hunt". this whole chapter seemed a bit rushed but i wanted to get content out AND if any of you read my "tagged!" book i did leave some spoilers to be decoded...

oh and the dialogue that italicized is obviously in Jawaese

so with the everything going on in the world PLEASE wash y'alls hands, wear a mask, and practice social distancing! you never know if you can carry, contract, and/or give the virus. i've already had multiple family member have covid but luckily survived so please be cautious out there.

AND ALSO sign petitions against social injustice, racism, and discrimination! i'm doing my part by signing and spreading petitions and donating what i can. just please don't be an asshole to other people!

hopefully a new chapter later this week!