Chapter Text
The Mandalorian waited patiently in the shadows, leaning against the wall outside the dilapidated cantina. The dark night and the unlit street were assets he planned to use to his advantage as he closed in on his targets. Blinking tracking fobs indicated his bounties were inside and the lateness of the hour told Din it shouldn’t be long now. Two muted squares of light from the small windows on either side of the entrance doors illuminated the street just enough to ensure there were no mistakes. The Mandalorian was hoping to catch the last two crew members of five who had blasted their way to freedom after their smuggling ship was boarded and the illicit cargo of death sticks seized. A Devaronian and a Trandoshan. Dangerous criminals with the death sentence and nothing to lose. Din wasn’t taking any chances.
From his position, he could not see Ela, but he knew she was also waiting patiently on the low rooftop overlooking the cantina’s frontage. They had finally come to an agreement that in dicey situations like this, she took the high ground and he took the street. Not that his partner couldn’t handle herself in a brawl. He knew Ela had been well trained in all manner of combat at the Mandalorian Covert by himself and the other highly experienced warriors. But Din could never admit to her that he died a thousand deaths watching her small figure come toe to toe with aggressive thugs. He assured her it was due entirely to her superior sniping skills that she should stay high above, and far away from, the man-handling of the bounties. Her indulgent smile told him Ela guessed his reasoning, but with her customary courtesy she honored his unspoken feelings by not arguing. Too much.
Armed with an electrified net gun and her favorite crossbow, Ela was likely eager for the action to begin. Din could picture her intent gaze as she watched below, left hand resting against the silver scar that threaded across her tawny neck. Dark hair pulled back in a braid, but the wispy tendrils that always managed to escape, curling around her pretty face. He couldn’t help a smile thinking of her, small in stature but large in courage. With an effort, the Mandalorian forced his attention back to the task at hand.
From the rooftop, Ela could just barely make out Din’s dark form hidden in the shadows below. She had a perfect view of the cantina’s entrance, where the two bounties would likely emerge at closing time. With the patience of a hunter, she kept her finger relaxed but hovering near the trigger of the net gun, and leaned calmly against the parapet to wait. A hunter. Indeed, how strange to now be a hunter of people. But then, Din had shown her many new things in their three years together. Truly, had he not shown her the whole galaxy and everything in it? Ela’s heart warmed at the thought of Din, the Great Warrior. Her warrior now. She laughed at herself a little, still calling him the Great Warrior when she knew all about Mandalorians and bounty hunters. But still. Din was her magnificent rescuer and an exceptional warrior.
Ela checked all the side streets and alleys and verified there was no movement. This run-down little corner of the city was mostly asleep. Her eyes scanned the thousands of lights spread around her and she shook her head in awe at the magnitude of it all. How enormous was this city! Her entire tribe would have only filled one room of this great and terrible place. She idly touched her carved red beads to her lips as from habit. But she did not pray to her spirit helpers nor invoke a chant of protection. The Great Mother was far away and Petah was largely silent. As her experience had been opened to a wider universe, her beliefs had been challenged. Some discarded, but some held dear as a last link to the People of the Sun.
A commotion at the cantina entrance Din was guarding caused him to tense in readiness. The doors slammed back and two boisterous figures emerged into the darkness, difficult to identify if not for the rapid beeping of the bounty fobs. The Mandalorian allowed them to walk further into the street out in the open, then quickly launched his grappling hook at the Trandoshan’s legs, to pull him back and away from his colleague.
That was Ela’s signal, and right on cue Din heard the electrified net surround and stun the huge Devaronian, causing him to freeze in mid-stride from the paralyzing blue lightning snaking around him, then fall unconscious to the ground. Din’s quarry was not going quietly however and before he could put the binders on, the reptilian criminal had reached a pistol and the Mandalorian felt a blaster bolt hit his beskar cuirass. Impatiently, Din swatted the weapon aside with his right fist then knocked his assailant back to the ground with a hard, left punch. Swiftly rolling the Trandoshan onto his stomach, Din pulled his arms back and placed the binders around his wrists. With a huff of satisfaction, the Mandalorian retracted his grappling hook and assessed the situation. Both bounties subdued and secured.
Hearing boots, he glanced up as Ela ran towards him from between two buildings, her cream-colored tunic standing out in the darkness. She stopped near the huge quarry she had netted and Din saw a flash of white teeth as she saw the two immobilized bounties. “Good job, Spitfire. Go get the speeder.” Although Din couldn’t see her face clearly in the dim light, he knew she was radiating happiness at the prospect of driving the air speeder. How that girl loved to drive.
Ela ran excitedly around the corner where Din had parked the speeder. She jumped in the driver’s seat and quickly got it going. By the spirits, this was a fine speeder! She enjoyed the feel of the smooth engine and the power at her fingertips as she manipulated the controls. Ela had never known the thrill of fast speeds in her previous life on Teth. She had flown short distances on Can-cell, but never dreamed that one day she too would master the skies. Blood racing, wind in her face, nimbly maneuvering a sleek craft at unbelievable speeds. Oh how she loved it! As she swiftly brought the speeder around the corner next to Din, she could not hide a wide grin.
The Mandalorian pushed the cuffed bounty towards the speeder and Ela jumped down to help get him in the back seat, as Din turned to the unconscious Devaronian on the ground. “What’s thisss Mando, using little girls to help you? No wonder Mandaloriansss are all dead,” hissed the Trandoshan. His reptilian tongue flicked out between his teeth as he raked Ela’s petite but attractive form with a lecherous grin. “Why don’t you let me go, Girl. I’ll show you a real good time. It’ll be a treat compared to thisss bucket head.” Ela jerked his cuffed wrists up high behind his back until he grunted in pain and fell forwards against the speeder. She pointedly motioned him to climb in, while continuing the upwards pressure on his bound hands. The angry prisoner awkwardly climbed in but continued to mutter vile obscenities explaining in suggestive detail what he would enjoy doing to her, but mercifully for her peace of mind, Ela did not comprehend the half of it.
Meanwhile, Din had laboriously hauled the large Devaronian, still unconscious and wrapped in the stun net, to the speeder and hefted him in the back next to his colleague. Ela scrambled back to the pilot’s seat and the Mandalorian sat next to her but faced backwards to keep an eye on the assets. As Ela sped away towards the Razor Crest, the Trandoshan kicked his partner’s inert form with an irritated curse. Trying to bait the Mandalorian, the captive spewed threats of retribution and revenge from the underworld if he and his friend weren’t released, but his invectives were met with the cold unresponsive stare of the beskar helmet. Frustrated, the bounty unwisely began hissing the same filthy suggestions about Ela he had uttered earlier. Without warning, the Mandalorian lunged towards him and hammered his fist into the side of the Trandoshan’s head, knocking him out cold. Karkin’ low-life.
Din swiveled to the front and, as he settled himself more comfortably, said mildly, “He chose to come in cold.” Ela gave him a side glance and a mischievous smile as she maneuvered the speeder deftly between two other vehicles and sped forwards into a gap in the busier inner-city traffic. Din sensed her pleasure and contentment as they raced along, and he glanced at the vibrant bronze-skinned woman next to him. She looked happy. Such a change from that dark time after Teth.
The Mandalorian’s thoughts drifted back to Teth and the aftermath of the devastation they had encountered at Ela’s village. Once they had determined from neighboring tribes that none of her people, not one, had survived the massacre, he had watched the black cloud of grief descend upon her. She seemed completely paralyzed and overwhelmed by her absolute aloneness, so he had simply taken her with him on board the Razor Crest, and they had left her world behind. Himself not completely recovered from relinquishing the Child, his Child, to the Jedi, his heart went out to the suffering girl. The sadness and confusion in her large dark eyes, mute testament to the loss and grief she could not utter, pained him, and he gave her the only things he knew, a gentle touch and a soothing voice.
The skid of the speeder around a tight corner roused Din from his musings, and he shook himself from the past. They were almost back at the landing bay and a glance at the back seat indicated it was none too soon, as the Trandoshan was coming around again and the Devaronian was moaning. Ela maneuvered into the hangar and slid the speeder next to the Crest. She hopped out and grabbed the groaning reptile by the arm to pull him out of the vehicle but Din intercepted her and said solicitously, “I’ll get him.” Ela’s brows rose and with a slight smile she used her hands briskly to sign, “What, you want me to get the big one?!” The Mandalorian huffed, “All right Spitfire, you take this one.” Nodding, with the gleam of humor in her eyes, she walked the dazed captive up the rear ramp to the carbon freezer. Din watched their progress, on the look-out for trouble, then heaved the netted Devaronian to the ground with a thump and unceremoniously dragged him up the ramp.