CHAPTER ONE

❝ HELLO AGAIN ❞

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Arista mumbles from under her helmet as she frantically tries to keep her ship from failing. "You're doing an amazing job." The Rodian said in the back of her ship from his handcuffs. "Shut it up back there!" She yelled out. Multiple ships flew out after her when she had taken the Rodian for her bounty. "Give us the Rodian back or we will have to kill you." One of the voices from the fleet came through the ships coms. "Kill me for doing my job? Seems a little rash." She commented back. "So be it." The voice spoke back.

"You know, you must've been a big deal since there's almost a whole mini fleet trying to kill me." She called out to the back. The Rodian screamed as Arista turned the yoke to roll her ship to avoid the gunfire from the small fleet following her. Hearing the Rodian's yelp made a sadistic chuckle flow from Arista's mouth.

Arista flew in different fight patterns trying to shake the fleet but the sudden sound of blasters hitting the outside of her ship, the Valkyrie. The control panel in front of her flashed red signaling that the Valkyrie has been hit. Damage to the lower region.  Arista continues to maneuver around the fleet, avoiding more gunfire.

She flipped a switch to release the Valkyrie's guns, ready to fire back. Four ships steadily flying close behind her, it's not easy to misguide the other ships off course in the middle of empty space. She took advantage of their tight formation and yanked the yoke to the right causing the Valkyrie to circle around the fleet. Arista immediately fired her own shots and the two ships from the back exploded from the impact from the guns of the Valkyrie.

"Now we're getting somewhere." She smirked beneath her helmet. Her confidence stumbled when the debris from the explosion came flying back at her. The panel alarmed as one of the last ships flew over head. A ship rained shots down, most missing but a few managed to hit close to vital weak spots. The Valkyrie tumbled off course but still remained in flight. Another alarm went off and Arista turned to left to see that the left wing was smoking. "Well, shit." She muttered. Arista tried to think of what to do to get the rest of the fleet off of her back. There were so many different scenarios in which the Valkyrie couldn't survive this attack. The ship had taken too much damage even before the attack it wasn't in her best condition. She has to think fast and if sacrificing her ship meant that she would live and collect her money from the bounty's, she had to do it.

Committing damn near pilot suicide, Arista steered the Valkyrie up and saw that the final two followed behind her. Perfect. "Here goes nothing", Arista took a deep breath and pulled the lever to shut down the Valkyrie. Her ship flipped backwards, guns aimed, red blasts rained down from her ship instantly blowing up one of the final ones. Still spinning, the last and final ship had fired back with its own green blasts. It's blasts hit another vital spot near the main engine. The last ship circled around the Valkyrie in arrogance, the pilot thinking that there wasn't any chance the ship could still survive. It was wrong. The sudden turbulence from the blasts rocked the Valkyrie and Arista pulled the power lever to start up the Valkyrie again.

            Arista engaged the emergency canon and waited. Out of the corner of her peripheral vision she could see the last ship coming back around, this time aligned with the canon. The signal went off when the ship crossed the line of fire and Arista pulled the trigger. The canon was fired and blew up the final ship.

            "Nice work." The Rodian complemented. "Oh so now you wanna complement on my flying skills and not having us killed? You know what," Arista angrily got up from her pilot seat and shot a stun blast at the Rodian. "I've had enough out of you, let's put you to freeze." She dragged the body over to one of the several other carbon freeze containers, not many were vacant. Pressing several buttons to set the chamber to freeze she then grabbed the body and threw it into the chamber. "Finally some silence." She said and took a deep relaxed breath.

            Arista went back to her seat and tried to salvage whatever was left of the Valkyrie. "C'mon, don't die on me girl." She cooed. Luckily her destination wasn't far. Navarro. She flipped the switch up ahead to signal the radio tower for a landing zone. The static of the radio was all that was heard till a voice broke through, "this is Navarro tower, we are tracking you. Head into bay 2-6." "Copy that." She replied then flicking the radio switch off.

            She steered Valkyrie downward and entered Navarro's atmosphere. Through the narrow slits in her Mandalarian helmet she could see the trail of black smoke coming from the back of the ship. "Please don't hate me for all this pollution." She mumbled as she tried to land the Valkyrie as smooth as possible. She turned into the landing zone and prepped her landing gear down with the flick of a switch. The legs shakily folded out as she descended closer to the ground. A red light started flashing and a sharp alarm startled Arista and the Valkyrie landed roughly, wouldn't even say landed more so dropped into place. But landed nonetheless.

            Arista shut down the whole ship and exited before anything else could go wrong. "Manda!" Stance, the older ship technician greeted her as she departed the Valkyrie. "Stance." She greeted in her short manner. The big burley man pulled her in for a hug to his big gut thus making her face pressed against the interior of her helmet. "How've you been, I haven't see you and that helmet for a while now." He asked her pulling away from the kind gesture. "I've been around and all over. Took care of some things that took a while. Picked up some bounties and now I'm back to collect my rewards." She finished. Stance was listening to her speak but he couldn't help but look at what was left of the Valkyrie. "What the hell happened here?" Stance asked still gazing over some of the exterior damages. "How many shoot outs did you get into?" He added. "More than what I was hoping for." Arista stated. "Is she even worth salvaging?" She asked Stance, hopeful for a positive answer.

            He continued to scan over the ship with his eyes and his scanner in hand. By the looks of the expressions on his face alone, things weren't looking too hopeful. "Either you got some secret royalty money, or you can easily rob a shit ton of their money, there's no saving Valkyrie here." Arista's head dropped, those were the exact words she didn't want to hear. "C'mon Stance, there gotta be something I can do. She's all I got." Arista begged. "Sorry kid, if it looks this bad from just the outside I can't even imagine how bad it in from the inside. The parts alone could cost a fortune and it would take quite a bit of time. I suggest you unload your bounties, get paid, and find another ship." He told her. Arista just let out a deep sigh. She didn't know what to do now. She did as Stance advised, at least she could get some money from her bounties to stabilize her for a bit. She pressed a few buttons on her gauntlet and the various carbon freeze chambers followed out of the ship one-by-one as some other guild collectors came for the chambers. 

            Arista made her way through the streets of Navarro, passing all the vendors trying to sell her some knock off junk for outrageous prices. She kept her covered face forward, not giving anyone a second glance. She approached her destination and got a weird warm feeling in her stomach, her chest tightened, and her breath hitched in her throat. It was almost comforting and relaxing, yet intoxicating. She shook it off and regained her composure. There's no time for silly games when it's payday.

The door to the cantina where she is to meet Greef slid open. Arista took a few steps in and the noise of the whole cantina gradually died down into almost thin silence. Arista ignored the crowds stares. They act like they haven't seen her there before. She saw Greef sitting at a booth in the middle of the room but he wasn't alone. Her eyes caught the glimpse of a person with a helmet like hers. It seemed all to familiar. It couldn't possibly be him, she hadn't seen him in years. But that Beskar confirmed who she thought it was.

"Manda!" Greef greeted Arista as she approached closer. She could already feel the other persons eyes on her the whole time. She didn't have to look at him to know exactly who it was. It was hard for her not to look back at him but she managed to fend off the urge. "Did you catch them all?" He asked her. She reached in her back pocket and laid out 9 tracking fobs. Almost doubled what she assumed what the man put out.

The Mandalorian never took his eyes off of her. Since she walked through the door. When Greef announced her presence he didn't even have to look to know who exactly walked through the door. He hasn't seen or heard from her in years. He could never get into contact with her or locate her since she went off grid. But now seeing her right in front of him made him a bit more self aware about what he was actually feeling. She was alive and well, that's what mattered most.

"Excellent work, Manda. Now I see why the Mandalorian value Mandalarian's more." Greef commented, letting out a laugh. "Please sit, I assume you two already know each other." He insisted. Arista finally gave a glance over to Mando. His gaze from behind his helmet still searing onto Arista. His eyes wandered all over her body, mainly observing the wear and tear of her armor. It looks like since they last saw each other, she had been through quite a bit. "May I?" Her voice broke him out of his trance. Her voice threw him off a bit, it had been so long since he last heard her voice. "Of course." Now it was his turn for his voice to have an effect on Arista. Her chest tightened at the bass it had.

Then tension thickened when Arista took a seat next to Mando. Greef cut the tension by pulling away Arista's attention when currency was placed on the table. "These are imperial credits." She said. "They still spend." Greef said trying to sell of the the almost invaluable currency. "You expect me to spend imperial credits with no empire?" She spat. Greef nodded and shoved that currency back into his pockets. "Fine. I can double in Calamari flan but that's all I can do." Greef placed 8 credits of the Mon Cala currency, the credits making an aquatic sound as they hit the table and made their way in Arista pocket. "Show me what else you got?" Arista told Greef. The more bounties she could get means the money she could be making.

"Hmm. I have a bail jumper, a bail jumper, another bail jumper, a wanted smuggler." Greef was placing down all the tracking fobs one by one when Mando interrupted. "I'll take them all." He said and begun to swipe up all the fobs. He paused when Arista forcefully stopped his hand by placing her hand in his. Mando has stiffened from the contact of her hand. "No hold on. There are other members of the Guild, like the one sitting right next to you, and this is all I have." Greef notified Mando. "Only 4? Why so slow?" Arista questioned still having her hand on Mando's. "It's not slow at all actually. Very busy. They just don't want to pay Guild rates. They don't mind if things get sloppy." Greef explained. The Guild rates have be going down as of recently. With no Empire, and no corrupted central government to hire the bounty hunters, the rates were gradually decreasing. Making it harder and harder for people like the bounty hunters to find work and survive.

"What's your highest bounty?" Mando asked. "Not much. Five thousand." Greef said. "That won't even cover fuel these days." Arista let out. She knew the guild rates were dropping but not this bad. Greef held an expression of contemplation before giving in. "Hmm. There is one job." This peaked Arista and Mando's interest. To focus on hearing about the job, Arista moved her hand off of Mando's. Mando's hand felt instantly cold when the warmth of her hand was removed.

"Let's see the puck." Mando said. "No puck. Face to face. Direct commission. Deep Pocket." Greef said. For a job like this, the bounty must be something of extreme high value for it to be this quite. "Underworld?" Arista questioned. "All I know is no chain code. Do you want the chit or not?" Greef asked pulling out the small chit. Before Mando could even react, Arista grabbed the chit, nodded at Greef, and immediately got up and exited the cantina.

She knew that Mando would come after her and that's exactly what she wanted. She felt a heavy presence following her through the crowded streets. Getting more into the heart of all the vendors, it made it easier to move with cover.Just to make it harder on him she began to swerve through alleyways of Navarro. She picked up her pace from a casual walk to more of a light jog. A couple of turns later and she made it to a dead end. Needing to act quick she began to climb up the stone wall, as if she thought she was a spider. She climbed on top of rooftops, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with grace. She knew eventually she would be found but she wanted to make Mando work for it. She needed to bait him in.

Arista jumped down a close off alleyway and looked around. No Mando. Good, for now. She took a deep breath of relief but was then yanked around the corner by a strong arm and pushed up against the stone wall. His left arm caging the left side of her head and his right hand pushing her hip up against the wall. He leaned his head down low, both helmets touching.

Mando.

"Give me the chit." He growled. The sound of his low register in his voice made Arista's stomach flip.

"Long time, no see, huh... Din?"

Hearing her say his name allowed him to fumble slightly. He hadn't heard his name fall from her lips in years.

"You too... Arista. Now give me the chit." His grip tightened on her hip. Her name falling from his lips had the same effect on her. Even though she would never admit it, but it did.

"Nice to see you too." She sarcastically said. He pushed his head forward to make her helmet push back straight up against the wall. "Don't give me that shit. Last time I checked you were the one that left. Now give me the chit." He words were like venom. The venom that pierced into her veins and ran her blood cold. Her brows furrowed and a deadly expression grew on her face. If they didn't have their helmets covering their faces, Din would be a dead man.

"I had some personal business to take care of. You know that. I had told you that before I left. I wanted no questions asked, as my best friend I thought you could understand that." Arista spat. "And when I don't hear from you in years, a best friend gets a little worried." He said back. "When you left I didn't know where you were going or what could've happened to you. You're all I have left." Arista's face softened from her death glare to one of regret and understanding. After everything that had happened to them, they were all they had. They were their own family. She was selfish and only thinking of her when she didn't put Din's feelings into consideration. "I'm sorry. What I had to do was too personal and you wouldn't understand it anyway. But eventually I'll tell you." She softly spoke. She moved her head down a little to try to meet what would be his eye-line. "I'm sorry." She repeated in almost a whisper.

Din softened his grip on her but didn't let go. "I'm sorry too." He whispered. "Din, you have nothing to be sorry about." She told him and that's true.

"Now about that chit?" Din brought up the chit again. "Not so fast. I have a proposal", Arista relaxed a bit more now that Din loosened his grip, "I'll give you the chit but I want in on this bounty." "Ok." Din simply said. "Ok? Seriously, just ok? You're making it this easy?" She questioned. "Arista you're still my best friend and I still care about you. You need the money and so do I. It'll be just like old times." He finished. "Yeah just like old times." Arista thought. "But we're going to have to use your ship, you still got the Razor Crest?" "Yeah why? What happened to the Valkyrie?" He asked with concern. "Did you get into another shoot out?" He added. She let out a light sigh and chuckle. "You know me so well." Arista quipped. "You are defiantly not flying my ship." He told her. "But I made out alive." She pointed out. "That you did but your ship didn't." He chuckled.

In that moment, Din just held onto her. Wanting to savor this moment for all that he can. His best friend is finally back. But notice that key word, "friend". Din knew where his feelings truly lied but also the feeling of the unknown is what prevented him. He wanted to reach out into the unknown but his own internal fears kept him trapped. Seeing Arista back again, though, made him feel alive again.

"Um...hey, Din?"

Arista's voice broke broke him out of his trance. "Hmm?" He hummed. "You know, if we wanna get started on this bounty you have to let me go so we can meet the client." Arista had been blushing red the whole time. "Thank god for the helmets." She thought. They had been close to each other throughout the whole exchange of words. Din's arms still trapping Arista against the wall, but she wasn't moving. Being brought back to his senses, "oh, uh, sorry", he let down his left arm and lifted his hand off of her hip. Arista pushed herself off the wall and began their path.

"The Mandalorian and The Mandalarian, back together again. Kicking ass and collecting bounties." Arista said in a dramatic way. Din just chuckled at her and they walked together to where the client was said to be at.

This is how it is supposed to be. Din and Arista, back together again.

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it's finally out!!

i have been stressing about finally getting the story started and now i can finally publish it!

let me know what y'all think about it so far... and feedback is much appreciated!

enjoy!