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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SITTING IN GREEF'S CHAIR, Ari swayed back and forth as she watched Din and Haro bicker about the best way to fix IG-11. Greef didn't put up much of a fight and caved, having got someone to take down what remained of the droid. Ariani smiled, Din and Haro's disputes were common and she came to understand that it was done for fun.
Placing down his tools, Din took a step back from the workbench and looked at Greef. "There. He's hooked up to power. Let's see if we can wake him up."
Ari stood and went over to the table, standing in between Din and Haro. She shuffled a bit as they watched the droid expectantly. She shielded her face when sparks started to fly from the wires Din held together. After a moment, nothing happened and Din dropped the wires, looking over at Greef.
But then a robotic sound was heard and the droid's hand started to twitch. Its lights switched on and its head swivelled, looking about the room. Ari huffed out a laugh of disbelief when IG-11 sat up.
Greef shook his head, smiling. "There you go."
"Subparagraph sixteen-teen of the Bondsman Guild protocol waiver . . . immediately produce said . . . The bounty is mine. Assest to be terminated." the droid said, distortedly. His eyes flickered to red and looked directly at Grogu. Before the bot could grab the Kid, Ari snatched him off the table, shielding him. The droid threw itself off the table and crawled, determined to get to Grogu.
Din fired two shots at IG-11, both times hitting him but it did nothing and the droid carried on. Ari bit her cheek, wanting to scream but knew it wouldn't help. The droid pushed her further back into the room and she hit the side of Greef's deck. Glancing at it over her shoulder a few times, she decided it was safer to be on higher ground.
Clutching Grogu tighter, she climbed the desk and stood on it as Greef shouted in protest. The bot had quickly pulled itself up and was now trying to grab at Ari, its pincer-like hands knocking things over.
"Din, do something!"
"I am doing something, Ari!" he shouted back at her.
"Well, clearly the blaster isn't working!"
Haro rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he calmly walked over to Din and took the Dark Saber from his belt, igniting it. With little hesitation, he rammed the blade into the droid's head. It sparked and went limp.
The four looked at one another and then at Haro. The young man's brow raised and he gestured to the bot. "It was that simple." Retracting the blade, he handed the weapon to Din before offering a hand to Ari, helping her jump down.
"I think he defaulted to his old programming," said Din, studying the droid.
"You think?" Greef questioned, sarcastically.
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"THAT'S TOO BIG A JOB for you to do by yourself," said Greef to Din. The small group was on their way to the mechanic. Din was pushing a cart that held the scraps of IG-11 and glanced at the older man every once in a while. "Fortunately, Nevarro has attracted the best droidsmiths of the Outer Rim. They'll have IG back to his old self in no time."
They stopped just outside a building and Grogu cooed, glancing up at Din from his spot on the cart.
"Are you sure they're up for it?" asked Din, cautiously. "I don't think I can handle him with all his limbs if things go scud."
Haro crossed his arms. "That's why there's three of us now."
Ari nodded in agreement. "But I'd still like to meet these guys." She turned to the building. "Where's the door . . . ?" Greef pointed to the ground and Ari peered down to see a small doorway with a creature standing in it. "Oh, hello. Who are they?"
"The Anzellans," answered Greef.
"What do you want?" The Anzellan grumbled.
"Can you take a look at our droid?" Ari asked.
The Anzellan gestured to them. "Yeah, come in."
There was a slightly larger door inside but the quarters were cramped and the ceiling low. Ari shifted her legs so they were under her and leaned against Din, who sat on the floor with her. Their gazes flicked between the group of Anzellans as they talked with each other, electrical sparks flying every so often.
"No. Can't fix. No. No, no. The broken," said one of the Anzellans in erratic basic.
"Uh . . . Okay . . ." said Din, confused. "I don't understand. Do you speak Huttese?"
"Is that the only other language you know?" said Haro, rolling his eyes. He was on his hands and knees, staring through the small door with Greef. The two men looked strange, sitting in such a way, but Ari didn't doubt they looked equally odd in the tiny shop. "He said he can't fix it, man."
"That's no good, I need this one. This one is my friend."
"It not friend anymore. Memory circuit."
"He says the memory circuit is shot," Greef translated.
"Well, put in a new one," Din told them.
"No, no, no. Not work," answered a different Anzellan.
"Don't make new one. Very hard to find," explained another.
"He said they don't make them anymore-"
"I got it," Din interrupted Haro.
"Buy new droid. This one poodoo," said the Anzellan, shaking his head.
"He says you should get a new one," Greef translated again.
Ari huffed and turned back to the little being. "Can you fix it without the memory circuit?"
"Yes. But IG no think."
Din glanced at Ari before shooting off another question. "What if I find you the part?"
"Okay, now. Then no problem. We fix."
"If you get a new part, he says he can fix it."
Din didn't get a chance to respond. The Anzellans started to shout, yelling 'No' over and over. The couple's gaze shot back to the creatures, finding that Grogu had snuck over and now had one of the Anzellans in his grasp.
"No, Grogu, he's not a pet," said Din, reaching over the work table to separate them.
"No squeezie. Not squeeze. Not squeeze," said the Anzellan as Din picked him up and placed him on the table. "Bad baby. Oh, he's a bad baby."
"Sorry about that," Din apologized. "He's young."
But Grogu wasn't having it. He reached for the smaller being, not understanding that he wasn't a toy.
"Grogu, no!" This time it was Ari who had the quicker reflexes. She grabbed him and placed him in her lap. He tried to crawl away but she had a vice grip on him, holding the back of his clothes. "Hey, what'd your dad and I say?" The kid just babbled, eyes wide and ears perked. "Sorry about him - again, he's still learning," she said to the still grumbling Anzellan. "We'll find that part for you."
