Solstice • The Mandalorian

Chapter 3~The Blaster Pistol

   My father had always called me reckless and although I had never really seen myself that way, his words were beginning to make sense. When I joined sides with the Mandalorian, I assumed it was going to be easy hiding my true identity from him, but I was proven wrong. His constant questioning kept me on my toes and on edge every time he spoke. Although I had done a good job at answering his questions with lies so far, I knew if I slipped once he would know something was wrong.

   "Where have you searched already?" The Mandalorian said. We had been walking through the town's streets for a couple of hours, looking for any sightings of Mena Starkiller, but thankfully she was nowhere to be found.

   "Just the obvious places. I made sure to search the fuel stop and auction houses first, so we don't have to go there," I said. I didn't want him anywhere near where I had been, just in case we accidentally ran into the man who sold me this armor or the man who I had asked about the fuel.

   "Why did you search the auction houses?" The Mandalorian said.

   "Oh, just in case she sold something to earn money for fuel, but there was no sign of her there," I said. The Mandalorian did not respond and continued to walk. "Where are you planning on searching next if we don't find her here?"

   "The next planet over and then the next until I get a lead."

   "You're really hell-bent on finding this girl, aren't you?"

   The Mandalorian looked at me, "That is our job."

   "Right." 

   We continued walking, the Mandalorian stopped every now and then to ask random shopkeepers and workers if they'd seen the girl anywhere. He relied heavily on the puck when he asked these people and I wondered how well he'd do on his mission if his puck were to go missing. He kept it with him at all times, sometimes in his hand, but other times he placed it into a small pocket underneath his armor, on his waist. Getting it off of him didn't seem too difficult of a task. Maybe I could take it when he was distracted, or maybe while he slept. No, that would be too dangerous. I'd have to take it when he least expected it, when I could escape right after. 

   "No, haven't seen her," said a shopkeeper, looking closely at the hologram of my face.

   "Are you certain?" Said the Mandalorian.

   The shopkeeper rubbed his chin and squinted at the hologram. "You know, come to think of it, I did see something strange yesterday," he said and my heart dropped to the floor. 

   He couldn't have seen me. There wasn't a single moment where I allowed someone to see any part of my face. So, what was this man talking about?

   "You saw her?" Asked the Mandalorian.

   "No, I didn't see her, but I did see someone strange with a purple hat and a scarf over their face come through here. If what you're telling me is true, and this girl has a bounty placed upon her and the only real clue is her face, then I'm positive it was her," Said the shopkeeper.

   "How are you so sure?" I said.

   "I've worked in this stall for all my life. There's a certain kind of people who come here; criminals, mercenaries, smugglers, you name it. This is the one planet where everyone on it has done something bad at some point in their life, and this is the one planet where they can go without being shamed for their crimes. So, trust me when I say the people here are not afraid to show their faces. The person who came through here was terrified." 

   I looked around, and sure enough, not a single person besides the Mandalorian and I had their face covered. Although this man hadn't seen my face, he had seen me.