The Mandalorian: Beskar and Bone

Chapter 5: The Gunslinger

(A/n: this is probably gonna be a mostly Elaine chapter because I didn't really like this episode.)

Elaine held on tight to her seat as the Razor Crest flipped and spun, dodging the lasers of a bounty hunter.

"Hand over the children, Mando." The hunter said through the comms. "I might let you live."

Mando spun the ship even more as the kids whimpered.

"I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold." The hunter threatened. That was the last straw. Mando turned off the engines for a moment, allowing the hunter to get in front of them.

"That's my line." Was all Mando said as he fired, blowing the hunter's ship up in the process. But they weren't safe yet. Multiple alarms were going off and Mando tried his best to silence them. "Losing fuel." He said flipping switches. The ship powered down abruptly.

"What happened?" Elaine whispered as Mando continued to mess with the controls.

"The ships fuel intake is hit." Mando explained. "I need to power down the engines to reserve fuel. Luckily, Tatooine is close, so we can fix it there."

"That's good." Elaine said. "What's Tatooine like?"

Mando kept his eyes on his work as he explained to her. "It's a desert planet. Lots of sand and dust." He turned the ship back on and proceeded to Tatooine.

"Are there Jawas here, too?" Elaine asked as they landed in a landing bay.

"Yes. Hopefully we don't run into any." Mando said feeling exasperated. He lowered the ramp and, after he made sure the kids wouldn't follow him, walked out. He was met by pit droids, which he shot at with no hesitation.

"Hey!" A woman with wirey hair ran out of the building. "You damage one of my droids, you'll pay for it."

"Just keep them away from my ship." Mando ordered.

"Yeah? You think that's a good idea, do ya?" The woman snarked before looking at the Crest. "Let's look at your ship. Oof! Look at that. Ugh, you got a lot of carbon scorin' building on top. Yeah. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout. Special tool for that one. I'm gonna have to rotate that. You got a fuel leak. Look at that, this is a mess. How'd you even land? That's gotta set you back."

"I've got 500 Imperial Credits." Mando said after she finished her analysis. He knew it wasn't much, but it was all he had.

The woman gave him an incredulous look. "That's all you got?" She turned to her pit droids. "Well, what do you guys think?" They chattered before she turned back to Mando. "That should at least cover the hangar."

"I'll get you your money." Mando assured her. He was confident that he could use his bounty hunting skills to make some quick cash.

"Hmm. I've heard that before." She said.

Mando walked away. "Just remember..."

The woman waved him off. "Yeah, no droids. I heard ya. You don't have to say it twice. Jeez."

Mando headed into Mos Eisley. He wanted to get back as soon as possible, not wanting to leave the kids alone. He knew that Elaine was smart and could take care of the Child for a little while, but he also knew that she was still 5 and she needed an adult too.

~~~

Elaine was getting bored waiting for Mando. He'd been gone for what seemed hours, and the Child was getting antsy too. They sat in the hull near the weapons cabinet, though neither of them dared to touch any of them.