Arani Jakal was not ready to be stranded on an unfamiliar planet, causing her whole life to change. But in the chaos, a friend or two popped up - seemingly from nowhere - wishing to help. Ari gladly accepted and quickly became part of a small town...
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BACK ON THE DOCKS, Mando watched Arani as she solemnly crouched down and dropped the remains of her beloved droid into the ocean. If he had died at sea, he'd be buried there too. The sky was burnt orange, making the water look as if it were on fire. How fitting. Ari heard an explosion and glanced up to find that the other Mandalorians had blown up the boat and were flying away. The only sound was the crackling of flames and the lapping of the sea. It was despairingly peaceful.
Mando placed a hand on her shoulder, signalling that he was ready to go. She nodded and followed him down a street, and before long, the sky turned black and the city dark. The only source of light was the moon, stars, and an occasional house lamp.
They were almost back at the inn when the silence broke.
"Hey!" someone shouted.
Ari closed her eyes and sighed.
The Quarren they met in the inn came out of the shadows, slinking away from a stack of crates. The two stopped walking and the man came towards them. "You killed my brother," he growled. He was getting too close for comfort.
"And you destroyed my droid," said Ari, come forth. "Besides, do I look like someone who could do such a thing?"
"You're right." The Quarren smirked. "You can't, but your boyfriend most certainly can."
Ari's lip twitched and without thought, she punched the guy. He fell back a few feet, knocking over a few crates. She hoped the commotion would notify someone. She looked back at Mando, smiling. "I'm pretty good at this. It felt good." At that moment she understood that her body had remembered something - her training. That was what happened on the ship and it was happening again. But her happiness did not last.
The man stood upright and from the shadows slunk out more Quarren.
She withdrew, deciding it was safer to be behind the guy with armour and weapons.
"You killed my brother," said the man once more.
"Let us pass," Mando told them.
Quarren laughed out a horrible and hideous sound that made Ari shiver. "I don't think you understand. You killed my brother and now, I'm gonna kill your pet." He stepped closer and added another condition. "And I'm gonna take your girlfriend."
The brunette peered around Mando. "I don't think so, hotshot."
The bounty hunter pushed her out of sight, ready to whip out his blaster, but he never got the chance.
The three Mandalorians they had met earlier dropped behind them. "He didn't kill your brother," said Bo-Katan. She came forth, blaster held at her side. "I did." The others quickly drew their guns and shot each man down in a flash.
"Can we at least buy you a drink?"
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"WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT?" Mando asked Arani as they walked into the bar.
"I don't know, I just . . . remembered." Ari grinned. It was the happiest Mando had seen her in quite some time. "I remembered. Mando, I'm getting my memories back." She let out a small laugh and sat down next to the man who helped her, immediately striking up a conversation.
Mando hesitated. He was glad Ari was finally remembering, but how long would it be until she got all her memories back and how long after that until she wanted to return to her old life - if it was any good? He watched as she laughed with the others, she looked at home. She leaned closer to the man, he hadn't learned his name nor did he plan to. He had seemed to bring Arani back from her sadness over BD - Mando hadn't been able to do that, she had been moping about until Quarren attacked them. Mando huffed. The Quarren was wrong - Ari wasn't his girlfriend and he wasn't her boyfriend. Sighing again, he finally joined the group.
The others had each ordered something. They tried to get Mando to eat something but he was as stubborn as ever.
Axe - Ari learned was the other male Mandalorian's name - had gotten a strong liquor. He asked if she wanted to try it but she declined.
"Alcohol doesn't sit well with me," she told him.
Axe leaned back in his seat. "Really. Are you one of those people who swore off alcohol or have you never tried it," he asked in a teasing voice.
"I'm not kidding." Ari's voice was as light as ever. "I have one sip and I'm dead. It's a family trait, I swear."
Mando shifted. She did know something about her family and yet she refused to share it with him. The bounty hunter cursed himself, he didn't share much with her, why would she let down her walls with him?
He returned his attention to Bo-Katan, who started to explain what they were doing on Trask.
"Trask is a black-market port. They're staging weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet. We're seizing those weapons and using them to retake our home world. Once we're done that, we'll seat a new Mandalore on the throne."
"That planet is cursed. Anyone who goes there dies. Once the Empire knew the couldn't control it, they made sure no one else could either."
"Don't believe everything you hear. Our enemies wanna separate us. But Mandalorians are stronger together."
Mando glanced at the child. "That's not part of my plan. I've been quested with returning this child to the Jedi."
Bo-Katan narrowed her gaze. "What do you know of the Jedi?"
"Nothing."
The Jedi. That was who the kid belonged to. She understood of whom he spoke about. Ari sat back, removing her hands from the table. Another memory surfaced, this time clear and concise.
A figure with a lightsaber stood next to her in the chaos. They spoke to her and than ran off, fighting a band of stormtroopers. The act had bid Arani enough time to get to her ship and use it's guns to take down more of the Empire's troops. She never saw the Jedi again, that she knew.
Ari looked to Bo-Katan and in a small, quivering voice said: "I know quite a lot, actually."
The ginger sat straight, all her attention was on the younger girl now. "Like what?"
Ari recited the only thing that would win Bo-Katan over. "'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.' I know - knew - a Jedi. They taught me everything I know, taught me to fight, to wait, and how to find other Jedi. As to why my friend kept the kid's clan a secret from me I do not know. But I do know that we can help you in seizing those weapons, and you can help us find a Jedi."
Bo-Katan smirked, proud of the girl for stepping up. "Alright, I'll lead you to one after the mission."
"Sound's great." Ari glanced at Mando, a brow raised and got up, walking away from the inn's cantina.
