Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 9: Betrayal

Daedalus was scared to death of two things. One, he feared how the mission would end. There were two different agendas between the crew, and he didn't know which side to take. Mave, Jorge, and Elix were pretty passionate about making Lug pay for stealing their hard-earned wages, but Lug seemed so kind, he didn't want to harm someone he didn't even know. Secondly, he was scared to death of Din. He had been vulnerable with him, perhaps too vulnerable. He couldn't believe he had gone from attempting to swindle a few combat lessons from Din to falling for him. It was all too much. Perhaps this mission were a good breather from the tension between the two.
The crew had left the docks and were making their way through the city. There was almost no one out on the streets, and the few that were gave them suspicious looks.
"Hey Lug, we think we should take a detour, maybe turn here? There's less foot traffic this way," Mave suggested.
"Oh, ok. Whatever you believe to be best, I'll trust you," Lug replied with a smile.
The team made their way down their new route. They hadn't made it fifty paces before Elix pulled Mave, Jorge, and Daedalus back.
"He knows," she whispered.
Mave and Jorge exchanged looks.
"Now what?" Mave said in disbelief.
Elix smirked, "We change plans."
Daedalus's fear increased. Their plan seemed risky before they decided to play it by ear. He needed to warn Lug of the betrayal planned by his crew.
"What if I, I don't know, made up some spiel about how you all admire him to make him think a mutiny isn't in order?" Daedalus proposed. He tried his best to maintain good posture, knowing that even the slightest sign of a lie would alert Elix.
Elix nodded, "Not a bad idea punk."
Daedalus made his way towards Lug.
Grabbing his arm, he muttered, "Act like I'm telling you good news or she'll figure this out. Your crew is planning on turning you in to Mandalorian officials, we're on our way to meet up with the authorities right now. You have to get out of here."
Lug faked a smiled and put his arm around Daedalus. "I know. I have a few tricks of my own up my sleeve. The authorities we're meeting with are giving me a handsome rate for turning them in."
Daedalus was impressed. Perhaps Lug was as cruel as his crew suggested.
He fell back to talk to the others. "We can't go to the authorities, they're looking for you instead."
Mave and Jorge's eyes widened, but Elix chuckled.
"Two can play at this game," she said, pulling out her  blaster. "Hey, Lug, turn around." When he turned, she shot him in chest. "Hope those stolen wages were worth it," she sneered, sending off a single bolt into his head.
Daedalus was stunned. He knew all of them wouldn't make it back, but he had no idea it would climax this soon.
"So what now? Are we heading back?" Daedalus questioned.
Elix wheeled around to face Daedalus. "Not quite yet...we promised the authorities a criminal, but you'll have to do. Mave? Jorge?"
As she said this, the two Twi'Lek's grabbed Daedalus by the arms, twisting them behind his back, causing him to drop his spear. He tried screaming for help, but Mave had brought out a muzzle and placed it over his face. He fell to his knees.
Elix crouched down to his level. "For all the Mandalorians know, you're the bastard who's been trying to steal their schematics for the past few months," she said with a smirk. "Do us a favor and respond to the name 'Lug' from here on out."
The trio picked him up and carried him about a block. Daedalus could see a small police outpost up ahead. Upon reaching it, his captors threw him down in front of the authorities. There were about four of them, all wearing weird half-Manadalorian half-Stormtrooper armor. The Empire may have left Mandalore, but it definitely left some influence behind.
"This is Lug, the one who's been scheming against Mandalore," Elix announced. "We're expecting to be compensated for turning him over."
The Mandalorians looked at one another, nodding at one holding a briefcase. Elix walked towards them, taking the case with glee. She winked at Daedalus as the three walked away, leaving him to be arrested.

———

Din was anxious. It had been almost an hour, more than enough time for the team to get in and out. Finally, he saw the crew returning from the city.
Din walked to the open ramp, awaiting the results of the mission. However, he didn't see Daedalus.
"Where is he?" He asked, turning to Elix.
She smiled. "Lug had an 'accident' while we were out, so we needed someone to fill in for him," she said, looking at Mave and Jorge.
"Is he coming back?" Din asked, seriously concerned.
Elix placed her hand on his shoulder, "I think you already know the answer." She began walking away. "Either way, we're leaving now."
The boarding ramp began to rise. There was no question in his mind of what he had to do. He stepped off the ramp.

———

Daedalus was giving up hope. The police had handcuffed him and were forcing him to walk in the middle of them, occasionally poking him with the end of a blaster to get him to walk faster. He feared what would happen once they arrived at their destination. Who knows what crimes Lug had committed that he would be charged for.
He saw their station up ahead, he knew he didn't have much time. Before he could think of something, he heard the whoosh of a jet pack and the ignition of the Darksaber.
"The rightful ruler of Mandalore commands you to let your captive go," Din ordered. His voice was noticeably deeper than normal.
The Mandalorians exchanged looks. "The rightful ruler of Mandalore? Of what clan?", one asked.
"Clan Mudhorn," Din responded.
"Never heard of it. Perhaps we should take that node off your hands," the Mandalorian suggested.
Daedalus noticed the Mandalorians had taken their focus off of him and were all facing Din. He used this distraction to kick one of the Mando's in the back of the leg, making them collapse. Din saw the attack and charged the authorities. He attempted to deflect their blaster shots, all of which hit his armor. It was obvious he was not a Jedi. He used the saber to cut the Mandalorians' blasters in half, refusing to use deadly force. He cut Daedalus's cuffs, so he grabbed a blaster off the officer he knocked over. Looking over, he saw an enforcer walking up behind Mando, blaster drawn. Daedalus began shooting at him, but missed all his shots. The charade caught Din's attention, though, and he swung the saber around, disarming the Mandalorian. All the authorities at this point were lying on the ground, unwilling to continue to fight.
Daedalus walked to Din and embraced him. It was a quick hug, as they needed to retreat.
"Hold on," Din urged, wrapping his arms tightly around Daedalus's hips.
They two lifted off with his jet pack. Upon reaching a decent height, a twinkling light caught Daedalus's eye.
"Down there, your staff," he pointed.
The two flew down to retrieve the staff, and continued their journey back to the port.
The landed behind a shipping crate, allowing the two to regain their composure.
"The others took off, so we'll have to steal a ship," Din added.
Daedalus nodded. "I saw a small Y2K-class freighter docked at a hanger on our way in. Maybe that?"
Din nodded in approval, and the two made their way to the freighter.
Upon further inspection, they would be lucky to get back to Cerea in the scrap heap.
"It will have to do, we can't stay here," Din urged.
The pair boarded and began takeoff procedures. A dock manager ran up to the ship, waving his arms in the air. Din used the ships cannons to fire a single shot in his direction, and the man ran off.
The ship reluctantly took off, shaking strenuously as it accelerated.
Daedalus cheered at their success.
"It's not over yet, we don't know how this thing will do in hyperspace," Din cautioned.
They ascended out of the planet's atmosphere.
"Here goes nothing," Din muttered, attempting to activate the hyperdrive.
The ship sputtered, hyperdrive rattling in the background. The ship stalled for a moment, then shot into hyperspace.
The two cheered and high fived. Daedalus replayed the encounter in his mind. Din hadn't killed a single guard. In fact, he was the one who acted in deadly force. He had shot at the one Mandalorian. He missed every shot, but had still attempted to strike him down.
"That was great down there, Din!" Daedalus exclaimed.
Smiling under the helmet, he replied, "Thanks, I wasn't quite sure what else there was to do, I had to save you."
"I thought you said all the Mandalorians were killed or exiled in the Purge, who were the ones who were arresting me?" Daedalus asked, puzzled.
"A few members of Clan Saxon pledged themselves to the Empire before that."
Daedalus nodded. "Clan Mudhorn, huh?"
Din chuckled, "Yeah. Not the most fear-instilling name, but it's kind of my own little clan. Me and an old friend." His voice trailed off at the end.
"Can I join?", asked Daedalus.
Din cocked his head. "Since you technically already belong to another clan, I'm not sure what the protocol is for changing clans," he said plainly, "but I'd be happy to take you in as an honorary member."
Daedalus blushed.
"And if you expect to join the most exclusive Mandalorian clan in the galaxy, we have to get you some blaster skills. You would've never survived the initiations I went through," Din finished.
The two laughed.
"I'd like that," Daedalus responded.