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“This is extremely generous. The excess will sponsor many foundlings.” -The Armorer
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Mando should have known better than to trust an Imperial. He should have known better than to go after a bounty with nothing but positional data. He should have been expecting some sort of deception. Still he had been shocked and angry to find out the bounty was an innocent child. A tiny wisp of a thing with tear streaked cheeks and wide, fearful eyes. Dark Stringy hair covered her small pale face in a greasy curtain. He felt his heart sink in his chest when the fob signaled to her. It sank even deeper when the IG unit insisted on executing the kid.
He stared right into her fearful eyes and he felt that she could see right through his armor and into his heart. It wasn’t even a decision to blast the bounty droid to a pile of scrap. He felt his hand move automatically and his finger pulled the trigger without a moments hesitation. The girl flinched at the bright flash and loud noise, further tears dripping from her trembling chin.
He slowly raised his hand towards the child trying his best to assuage her fears she backed away into the corner and he slowly dropped to one knee. His armor scraping slightly on the dusty stone floor.
“Hey kid, It’s alright. I won’t hurt you... you’re safe.” The assuring words tasted like poison in his mouth, he tried to push down the awful reality of their situation. He was a bounty hunter. She was a quarry. Her unnaturally bright eyes were full of broken hope. She slowly raised her tiny hand towards him it shook all the way until it brushed the worn leather of his own hand. He let her touch his glove, trying his hardest to stay as perfectly still as he could. He slowly stood her hand still in his. She followed him up. Her clothes were filthy and tattered. And her legs were shaking. He hoped it was from an adrenaline crash and not fear of him.
He moved at a snails pace leading her out of the small room. He lead her through a small alley and around the backside of the buildings to avoid her seeing the bodies of the Nikto he mowed through on his way into the compound. She followed him dejectedly, head down tripping slightly over the rocky terrain of Arvala-7.
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She never spoke a word on their journey, never a complaint of weariness, thirst, or hunger. The only sound outside of small puffs of breath she ever made was when the Trandoshans attacked.
He heard the scuffling above him just a second before they dropped onto him. A short terrified scream tore out of her throat before yanked her hand out of his and ran.
“Kid!” He managed to shout just before the Biggest trandoshan swung his vibro-axe into Mando’s back. It knocked him forward into one of the other hunters. He transferred his momentum into a brutal headbutt. There was a sharp crack from the trandoshans face and he turned towards the sound of a hiss. The gleaming axe poised above ready to swing down and turn him into two halves. He pulled himself the side feeling the axe grazing his arm and jammed the prodded end of his disruptor rifle into the stomach of the Lizard. The highest shock setting was capable of knocking a bantha unconscious and that’s what he used. The hunter was knocked back by the electricity. It gave him enough room to draw his blaster and finish off the attacker he head butted. The other had been electrocuted and now lay still in a smoking pile. He turned to find the third Trandoshan pulling at the Girl by her tiny fragile arm. He hastily raised his rifle, aimed purely by instinct, and fired. His hit confirmed by the plume of ash that floated to the ground.
The girl fell to the ground with a splatter of mud. Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes filled with fresh tears she began to sob in fear. The cries echoing through the canyon. He rushed to her side kneeling in the mud.
“Hey, hey! Don’t cry! You’re safe! It’s okay you’re safe!” She flinched at his voice and he lowered his pitch and softened his tone. “Hey. Don’t worry I’ve got you. It’s all right I won’t let them get you.” Then she surprised him by throwing herself into his arms with much more force he thought her capable of. Her sobs muffled by his breastplate. His arms hovering where her shoulders had been and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her tiny shaking frame. When her sobs turned into stuttering breaths He slowly raised to his feet, shifting her up into his arms. She curled into his chest her tiny fists wrapped into his cloak.
He carried her through the canyon and back into the sunlight. At some point she feel asleep exhausted by the trauma and lulled by smooth gait. She was so light it was like carrying nothing at all. Each step he took brought him back to the day so many years ago when he was saved by the Mandalorians. The one who carried him from the destruction of his home had been remarkably gentle and he tried his hardest to replicate that gentleness.
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He didn’t want to bring her to the Mudhorn’s lair but he also wasn’t willing to let her out of his sight it was too dangerous. Now he regretted bringing her to what would likely be both of their demise. His armor was compromised, his strength dwindling. The fall from the Sand Crawler had been hard on him and with only a days rest between the beatings he felt weary. So, so, weary. Had he not been a Mandalorian he likely would have given up by now. Hell, he would have given up years ago
“Run Kid!” Just the effort it took to shout the warning to her made his whole body hurt. He felt nauseous after being thrown around so easily and his ribs sent a burning flash of pain at every breath. He smiled in spite of the situation she would have a chance to escape while the Mudhorn finished him off.
He kneeled in the mud swaying slightly, his blaster lost and his disruptor rifle jammed by the mud. He reached down and slowly drew his vibro-blade from the sheath in his boot he sighed softly. He knew if he died here it would be with honor. He wasn’t ready to die but deep in his soul there was a yearning for rest. For years he had trudged through pain and suffering to provide for his covert. Every job weighed heavy on his soul. But still he pushed on desperately trying to repay the people who had saved his life so many years ago.
He raised the blade. The Mudhorn Roared and stamped its feet angrily kicking mud in all directions before charging him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl in his mind. Each breath an eternity each heartbeat a millennium. The pounding of the monsters feet in the soft ground echoed in cadence with his beating heart. The humming of the blade in his hand a static undertone below the deep pounding. He braced for the horn to gore him. Then suddenly there was no rumbling though the ground below his knees. At first he was sure he had died, the horn killing him instantly before the aches in his body reminded him of his continued existence. He looked up to find the beast pulling against an invisible restraint. It stomped and pushed but it could not seem to make any progress. Then it slowly levitated upwards. It thrashed and struggled above the ground. It’s legs kicking wildly for purchase and snorting in anger and confusion.
He turned his mud painted visor to the side. He rose shakily not quite believing his own eyes. The girl stood with her arm raised and eyes closed, a look of intense concentration over her tiny pinched face. Her arm trembled with unseen effort. Then suddenly her arm dropped to her side and she fell backwards into the mud, deathly still. A ground shaking thud as the Mudhorn hit the earth below them once more. He turned quickly, thrusting the knife into the now exposed and vulnerable neck of the beast. It collapsed with a pained roar the sound echoing throughout the depression and then a deafening silence filled the space.
He walked almost in a trance towards the girl. Her face was paler than normal and her mouth was open he dropped down to his knees pressing the side of his helmet into her chest listening intently for any sign of life. After hearing nothing he quickly rose and was about to begin chest compressions when she took a shuddering breath and then begin breathing regularly, if not a little shallowly. He pressed his helmet once again to her chest and was relieved to hear a strong steady rhythm. He sat back on his haunches trying to get his own heart to stop hammering against his ribs. When he finally gained control of his body he stood turning back towards the cave to retrieve the Egg.
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She was still unconscious when the Razor Crest left the atmosphere of Arvala-7 her small body curled into the navigators seat of the Crest. The only indication of her still being alive were the small puffs of breath disturbing the curtain of hair in front of her face. He gently brushed it away from her face behind her ear and sighed. He turned back to the controls making small adjustments to their course. After some time had passed he heard a slight stirring and then suddenly a tiny pale hand appeared in his periphery. It deftly reached forward and unscrewed the knob on the Accelerator lever. He turned his chair to her and pointed sharply at her.
“Hey put that back, it’s not a toy.” She stared at him seemingly uncomprehending. “I know you can hear me. Put it back.” he tried his damndest to be stern. She clutched it closer to her chest and he sighed once more. “Fine keep it.” He was glad he had turned towards her because otherwise he would have missed the dazzling smile that lit up her young face at his concession. It gripped his heart and suddenly he wasn’t sure what he would do about the bounty.