Solivagant-The Mandalorian

18

" interrogation "

The blurrgs were settled in their small corralled area in the back of the ship. They were an ease to get onto the ship, Lana had read that they were very easy-going compared to other animals they could have brought.

Kuiil had just finished up feeding the large animals and took a seat resting near them on a bucket he had found. Lana found herself sitting up in the cot, reading through some of the old beaten books she brought on her journey with Mando. She hadn't read much on their adventures together, but she decided to open the book and read a couple pages tonight letting Cara have his attention for the night.

The child was beside Mando and Cara in his seat. He watched was the two were hand in hand arm wrestling over the makeshift table Mando had put together. They were grunting louder and louder it was distracting from Lana's reading. Lana sets her book down, turning her attention to the two.

"I got you, Mando." Cara breathes out. Lana could see the tattoo on her arm stick out from all the energy she was using in her upper arm.

"I think he does." Lana smirks. Mando pops his head up to see Lana biting her lip at her own comment. Under his helmet he carelessly rolls his eyes. "Care to double the bet then?" He grunts.

The two were going at it strong, never letting the other get the upper hand. But, then, something strange happened.

Cara began choking, with nothing even touching her neck. Lana saw she had fire to beat Mando, but her grip on his hand loosened as both her hands flew toward her neck. She clawed at it, gasping for air. Lana's jaw dropped, jumping out of her spot to try to help Cara.

She comes to Cara's side looking around at her neck, but nothing was there to be choking her. Mando stayed still, confused not knowing what he should do. He took a glance at the child, who he saw hand his small hand out and his tiny eyes were close to closing.

Mando darted up from his spot, he grabbed the child somewhat roughly to stop him before he could have possibly killed Cara. "No! No! No! Stop!" He yells. The child looks away from Cara cooing at Mando.

"We're friends, we're friends. Cara is my friend!" He tells the baby, still holding him trying to let Cara regain her breath. Lana squatted down to Cara's side. "Do you want some water?"

Cara coughing into her arm nodded for the water. Lana gently pressed her hand on her forearm before quickly retrieving the water from the back of the ship. "That is not okay." Cara points to the child.

Kuiil hears the commotion and finds himself next to Mando and the child. "Hmm. Very curious." For some reason Kuiil wasn't concerned for what had just happened, just suspicious of something.

Lana returns with the cup, handing it to Cara. In one large gulp it's gone.

"Curious? It almost killed me." Cara was telling Kuiil.

"Mando, what did he do?" Lana asks walking over to him. Peering down over his shoulder she looked at the what seemingly helpless child.

"The story you told me of the mudhorn now makes more sense." He tells Mando, examining the child.

"What is it?" Mando asks him, almost begging for answers about the child he had taken into his own care. "What it is, I don't know. But what it does, this... This I've heard rumors of."

"What? When you worked for the Empire?" Cara asks, still holding her throat. She sounded to menacing, so angry he was even forced to be on that side.

Kuiil grew angry, as he should. "When I was sold to the Empire, in indentured servitude."

Cara wasn't happy with his story. She stood up overlooking Kuiil. "Yet somehow, you walk free."

Lana grew uncomfortable with the situation, it was escalating far further than she would have liked. She took the child from Mando's arms hold it close to her chest. She pondered at what this child was, how was he able to choke Cara, it made no sense.

Lana had been ignoring the rest of Kuiil and Cara's argument, that was until IG-11 entered the situation. Cara got quiet upon his arrival, Mando sensed it.

"Tell you what. I could really use your craftwork right now." Mando speaks drawing them from the tense conversations that had occurred. The child cooed in Lana's arms, grabbing onto her shirt with its three little fingers.

"Can you pad this container so the child can sleep better?" Mando points to the makeshift seat the child had been sleeping in ever since she knew the two.

Kuiil nods, "I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one's hands."

As the ramp opens from the Razor Crest, the group rides the blurrg's brought by Kuiil down. They each have their own, walking down single file to position themselves next to each other. The newly built pod followed them out.

They were greeted by four men, three who looked like the average bounty hunter, the fourth was who Lana assumed was Greef Karga by the way he dressed compared to the other three.

The blurrg's bellowed lowly as the four stop in front of Greef Karga. "Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando, but things have gotten complicated since you were last here." The man speaks up first.

Mando keeps quiet, his eyes gazing over the men in front of him, eyeing up any potential threats.

"It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided security detail." He gestures to his men, then to who Mando had beside him.

"I recommend the shock trooper guards the ship. These lava fields are lousy with Jawas." He points straight to Cara. Cara smirks slightly.

Finally, out of nowhere Mando speaks. "She's coming with me."

"But the town is now run by ex-Empire. If a rebel Dropper is with us, they'll get their hackles up."

Lana glances to Mando and Cara beside her, Mando kept his shoulders high with his chin mostly up, still looking at the men below him. She thought he looked so intimidating, so menacing. She knew Din well now, and she knew all too well he was a big softie under all the beskar he was carrying but not when it comes to the protection of his new-found family.

"She's coming." Mando was not going to take a no for an answer from him.

"Fine. At least cover your tattoo. No need to flaunt it." Greef points to her arm. Just by knowing Cara, she'd want to keep it uncovered just in spite.

"Now, where is the little one?" Everyone glances to Mando, waiting his next move. Mando lifts his wrist to click a few switches, which launched the small pod toward Greef Karga.

The hatch hissed opening to expose the scared baby inside. He looked around for Lana and Mando, but only saw another stranger approaching him.

"So, this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about?" He comments.

Lana could see out of the corner of her eye that Mando's hand slipped not so discreetly down to his blaster. Lana looked back up the men, seeing the others getting on the offense as well. She kept her eyes forward doing the same by placing her hand on her thigh.

Lana felt her breathing become heavier watching Greef Karga pick up their child. "What a precious little creature. I can see why you didn't want to harm a hair on its wrinkled little head." He slowly places it back into the pod. Lana and Mando ease up, drawing their hands away from their blasters.

"Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all."

Mando clicks a button on his wrist again, closing the pod and bringing it back to his side.

"The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank, then make our way into town at first light."