Breakaway ---The Mandalorian

Chapter 11: Negotiations

There was a brief moment of silence before the party imploded. Clara made eye contact with Din, staring up at his shining metal helmet. She could see his shoulders tense and his head cock to one side. He slowly reached into his armpit where he had a sleek metal knife hidden. It was curved with a loop for his finger to fit through. Clara then looked down at Grogu who was beginning to stand in his hover pram. He reached one tiny clawed hand into the air and with a stern creased eyebrow he broke the glass of the case. The shattering of the glass took seconds to register with the assembled crowd and the guards. Those precious seconds were all Grogu needed to leap forward and grab the green lightsaber from the podium. Another bounding leap had him several feet in the air grabbing on to a low hanging chandelier. Din grabbed the first guard who reached for his blaster and elbowed him firmly in the chin knocking him out. The second guard took his eyes off Grogu and went for the mirrored soldier who had easily taken out his comrade. Grogu then sliced the hangar of the chandelier and the whole thing came crashing down on the guard who was headed for Din. Clara, standing stunned in confusion, made her way towards Grogu hoping to catch him as he leapt off the falling light fixture. He flipped into her hands and Clara made her way towards a side exit while Din lead two remaining guards towards the front. Clara, being more concealed than Din, was able to slip out into the hotel hallway and quickly make a break for the elevator. As she rounded the corner the elevator opened and a mass of uniformed men with helmets came barreling towards her and Grogu.

Not keen on giving up what he had just earned, Grogu leaped from her hands and started climbing the walls looking for an air vent to exit. He found one quickly and, in a heartbeat, he had disappeared into the ceiling. Clara was left in the center of the hallway surrounded by soldiers of Katan's private army. They split up, a group grabbed her by the arms and pulled her into a private room and the rest marched briskly down the hallway trying to follow Grogu's suspected path. Clara kept quiet in the room, knowing from experience that talking to the soldiers without a leader present is a waste of time. After just a few minutes Din walked in led by four guards with guns pointed at his back. One had his helmet removed and blood dripping down is nose on to his green uniform.

Katan walked in last, using a cane and taking his time. He found a seat in the room and sat comfortably. The soldiers waited patiently for his instructions, used to the slow pace of their boss in these situations. Katan began his speech with a slight smile. "Well, you all have certainly brought a surprising level of enjoyment to my little party."

The room was quiet and tense. Din was poised for a fight and Clara was already planning her escape.

"I don't plan on killing you two, for now, so you can relax. I am sure that we can come to, some sort of an agreement." His eyes twinkled with anticipation. Katan purposely paused for a length of time here, waiting to see how we would react.

"Clara, I have heard you moved away and shed this life forever. Something must have brought you back to the family business. Please enlighten me, why did you arrive tonight and who is this man you brought as a guest." Katan said. Giving Clara the floor he made sure to curl his words as he said family.

"I came here tonight with my guest Din, we are here tonight to negotiate with my father for use of his ship the Yellow Bird." Clara tried to answer with the least amount of information possible. But even still, she felt she had said too much. Katan now knew that they were here for a ship, and that they hadn't found one yet.

"And this third member of your party, the creature who stole from my collection, what is his relation." Katan said dryly

"He is my son." Din said tensely. He made a small step forward, more movement than he had made since they entered the room. A clear threat to Katan and his men. They responded by reaching for their weapons slightly, tightening their grip on their blasters.