The Mandalorian: Beskar and Bone

Chapter 22: Guns For Hire

I am skipping most of this episode because I hate it with a passion. I didn't mind the whole Detective Mando and Bo-Katan on the case! But I was disappointed in everything else, (mainly Lizzo being there and Jack Black disappointing me. That's a very rare thing).

~~~~~

Bo-Katan, Mando, Elaine, and Grogu sat in the train car. They were on their way to meet Axe Woves and hope they would follow Bo.

The red head sat staring out the window, her expression a mix of wistful and anxious.

"They're Mandalorians." Mando told her. "You're their leader. They're going to follow you." It was an attempt to make his friend feel better, but a wasted one.

"I'm not their leader anymore." Bo said dejectedly. "Axe Woves is."

"Then what's your play?"

"I'll know when I get there."

Elaine frowned from where she sat next to Bo. She could sense the older woman's worries, though she didn't quite understand all of them. She leaned her head on Bo's arm in an attempt to make her feel better.

Bo smiled down at the girl. It almost felt like her anxiety was being pulled out of her. She looked up to see Mando, and though he wore his helmet, Bo was sure he was smiling.

~~~~~

The party of four walked across a grassy plain to the fleet. They stopped in front, and the Mandalorians in blue stared.

"Have you come back to join the mercenaries?" Axe Woves asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"I've come to reclaim my fleet." Bo clarified.

"It's no longer your fleet, is it?" Axe asked. "I'm now in command and grown quite fond of it."

Bo shifted her stance. "Then I challenge you, one warrior to another. Do you accept my challenge?"

Axe stood, his expression hard. "I do."

He shot from his vambrance, but Bo flew up with her jetpack. Elaine watched anxiously as they fought, clinging to Mando's side.

"It's okay, Sarad'ika." Mando told her. "Bo's tough."

Finally, Bo was on top of Axe, blade pressed to his throat. "Do you yield?"

"You'll never be the true leader of our people." Axe spat. "He's the one you should be challenging." He jerked his head towards Mando.

"Enough Mandalorian blood as been spilled by our own hands." Bo grunted as she stood. "Mandalorians are stronger together."

"But a misguided zealot possesses the blade." Axe said as he stood. "One, I might add, who has not one drop of Mandalorian blood in his veins."

"Din Djarin took the Creed and chose to walk the Way, just as our ancestors did." Bo defended. "He is every bit the Mandalorian that they were. Certainly as much as any of us."

"But according to our ways, the ruler of Mandalore must possess the Darksaber." Axe countered.

It was then something clicked in Mando's mind. Something he internally cursed for not realizing sooner. "Then she shall have it."

All eyes were on him as he unclipped the Darksaber from his belt. "This belongs to you." He told Bo.

Bo smiled sadly. "It's not a gift to be given, no matter how well intended."

"It's not a gift." Mando corrected. He turned to the other Mandalorians. "While exploring Mandalore, I was captured. Bo-Katan rescued me and slayed my captor. She defeated the enemy that defeated me. Would this blade then not belong to her?"

A stunned silence over took the people.

"Would it not belong to her?" Mando repeated.

"It would." Axe said after a moment.

Mando nodded and walked back to Bo. "I return this blade to it's rightful owner." He stepped back.

Bo looked down at the hilt in her hand. A feeling of awe came over her. She never thought she would hold that blade again. When she activated it, the familiar hum filled her ears, a sound she had not realized she had missed.

She was going to unite Mandalore.