Clan of Three

Part Seven

After they had left Sorgon, the plan had been to go to find a planet that would have a black market where they could get a sub-space comlink to contact Rael's friends. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Another Guild bounty hunter had caught up with them and was doing his best to either blow them up or convince Mando to had her and the child over.

"Hold on." Mando said as he sent the ship onto a tight spin to avoid the bounty hunter's guns. Rael grimaced as she felt her stomach turned while the child cooed excitedly. "Come on...", The man grumbled as he leveled the ship out. "I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold." Their attacker said over the comms.

Rael heard Mando mumble a few curses at the man's words and suddenly cit the engines off and the Razor Crest was brought to a halt. The bounty hunter's ship zoomed past them and Rael understood what the Mandalorian had been planing. "That's my line." Mando said annoyedly as his weapons system locked onto the ship in front of them.

It only took a single shot to the ship's hyperdrive for it to explode, effectively ridding them of their pursuer. Mando powered up the damaged engines and the ship slowly started to move once more, but alarms started to go off. "We're losing fuel." He said and shut the engines off again. "Go open the fuel line to the emergency reserve." He told Rael and motioned to the silver case behind him.

She nodded and hurried over and turned the switch. "Good to go." She told him as she returned to her seat. "We're right here at Mos Eisley. Might as well." Mando said as he turned the ship back on and thankfully no alarms sounded. He slowly guided the ship towards the desert planet and the air traffic control tower hailed them.

"This is Mos Eisley tower. We are tracking you. Head to bay three-five, over." The grabbed voice said. Mando replied, "Copy that. Locked in for three-five". The ship made a slow and rough descent through the atmosphere and Rael let out a sigh of relief when they finally landed in bay three-five.

"Didn't think I'd ever be back here...", Rael breathed as she stood up. Mando tilted his head at her curiously. "My grandfather raised me not far from here." She said shortly before heading down to the cargo bay. Mando only nodded, getting the hint that she didn't want to say anymore on the matter.

After they secured the sleeping child safely away in a hidden compartment, they lowered the ramp and exited the ship. A few droids popped up and grabbed their tools as they scurried forward, but Mando stopped them in their tracks when he fired a warning shot. 'What the hell, Mando." Rael hissed as she yanked his arm down.

"Hey! Hey! You damage one of my droids, you'll pay for it." An angry woman shouted as she came out of the hangar. "Just keep them away from my ship.", Mando told her. The woman scoffed as she surveyed the ship and said, "Yeah? You think that's a good idea, do ya? Let's see... Woah, look at that. Ya got a lot of carbon scoring building up top. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you've been in a shootout. This is a mess. How did you even land? This is gonna set you back."

"I've got 500 Imperial credits." Mando told her and held them out. She took them and said, "That's all you got. It should at least cover the hangar." Mando sighed and said, "I'll get you your money. Just remember-". She cut him off and rolled her eyes as she said, "Yeah, no droids. I heard ya. You don't have to say it twice." Mando huffed before heading towards the hangars exit. "Sorry about all that. Thank you!" Rael called over her shoulder to the mechanic as she hurried after the annoyed Mandalorian.

The two cautiously walked through the empty streets of Mos Eisley. "So you've spent time here. Is there a place I can pick up a job?", Mando asked but Rael was distracted by th stormtrooper helmets the townspeople had but on wooden stakes. "Rae." Mando called as he stopped walking. The girl jumped a bit and said, "Oh sorry, yea. Follow me.", and hurried past the display.

A minute later, they arrived in front of a canteen. "This is where we hired a pilot. I'm sure you can find something here." She told him. He nodded and said, "Stay close." They walked in and headed towards the droid at the bar. "Hey droid, I'm a hunter. I'm lookin for some work." Mandos aid as he leaned on the counter and Rael stood next to him.

"Unfortunately, the Bounty Guild no longer operates from Tatooine." The droid replied. "I'm not looking for Guild work." Mando told him lowly. "I'm afraid that doesn't improve your situation, at least by my calculation." The droid said. "Think again, tin can." A new voice called from behind them.

Both Mando and Rael turned to see a young man lounging in a booth. "If you're looking for work, have a seat my friends. Name's Toro. Toro Calican. Come on. Relax." He told them and sat up straight. "I'm already annoyed." Rael whispered and Mando let out an amused huff as they slowly approached the booth.

Rael slid in first and Mando sat beside her. Toro pulled out a bounty puck and place it on the table. The puck activated and a hologram appeared. "I picked up this bounty puck before I left the Mid Rim. Fennec Shand, an assassin. Heard she's been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown." Toro said.

The Jedi hid her grimace as she recognized the woman from a few past run-ins. "I know the name." Mando said. "Well, I followed this tracking fob here. Now, the positional data suggest she's headed out beyond the Dune Sea. Should be an easy job." Toro explained and Rael scoffed at his cocky attitude.

Mando nudge Rael's knee with his and stood up. "Well, good luck with that." Mando said as he and Rael turned to leave. "Wait, wait, hey. I thought you needed work?" Toro asked confusedly. Mando stop and faced the young man as he asked, "How long have you been with the Guild?".

"Long enough." Toro said firmly. "Clearly not. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates, including the Hutts. If you go after her, you won't make it past sunrise." Mando explained dryly and they turned to leave once more.

"This is my first... job." Toro said bashfully as he hurried after them. "Really?", Rael said with mock surprise and Toro glared at her. "You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the Guild. I can't do it alone." Toro added desperately. Mando hesitated and glanced at Rael who was softly shaking her head no.

"Meet us at Hangar three-five in half an hour. Bring three speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob." Mando told him and held out his hand. Toro was quiet for a moment before crushed the fob on the sandstone wall next to him. "You nerf-hearder!" Rael hissed and Mando stared at him.

"Don't worry, got it all memorized." Toro said with a grin. Rael rolled her eyes as she headed for the exit. "Half an hour." Mando repeated before following the young woman. "This is a stupid idea. Even for you." Rael grumbled as they headed back for the hangar bay.