Lone Wolf

Teaming Up

The man holding the blaster didn't speak. His eyes were icy blue and hard. Kella gulped. She hadn't seen him before. There weren't any crew members present last time they were on Grox's ship. He was human, with dark hair cropped short in a Mohawk. The left side of his face was twisted into a grimace by a long white scar. Beside him, Grox stood with her arms crossed. "Hello again Kella," she said cordially. "I think we need to have a chat." She kept one eye trained on Mando, "Take it easy and don't start shooting. You'll thank me once I explain."

Mando kept his hands at his sides, near his blaster but not touching it. "Uh huh," he droned. "Could we move this along? Like I said, I have somewhere to be."

Grox nodded to her crewman, who began checking Kella for weapons. The smuggler's voice was casual as she introduced them, "I don't think you've met Jones. We're a crew of two on board the Blaze these days. Used to be a crew of three until yesterday. I had to let the other guy go." Jones' harsh expression twitched into a smirk for just a moment before his scowl returned.

"You won't find any weapons on her," interjected Mando, gesturing impatiently toward Jones. "I already checked her before we left the planet."

Grox raised her eyebrows. "I take it you already knew about her part in the attack? And here I thought I was going to blow your mind with what I found out." Kella bristled at being accused again, but kept quiet. Jones had finished searching her and still had his gun pointed at her head.

"What exactly did you find out?" Mando prompted.

Grox shifted uncomfortably. "I discovered that, unintentionally, I was responsible for that ambush on Cardan. It's my fault you lost the kid." The remorse in her eyes was genuine as she waited for Mando's reaction.

Mando went completely still, then said, "I think you'd better explain. Start at the beginning."

Grox fidgeted a little but quickly launched into her story, "A week ago, I was hired to procure and deliver that Bith vase to an anonymous buyer. Confidentiality is usual in my line of work, but this client was adamant that they remain unknown. I was instructed to act as the middle man and hire a guild bounty hunter. Putting a bounty on an item instead of a person isn't unheard of. Besides, the pay was so good, I didn't ask questions. You immediately came to mind for the job. Partly because I knew you could handle it, and partly because I knew I could pay you with some information I'd recently learned. After getting the item from you, I went to deliver it to the buyer." She cleared her throat. "Long story short, I realized I was hired by the very person the item was stolen from, a Mr. Graham Paravyn." She paused for dramatic effect. "The whole thing was a setup to get me to reveal the Jedi to you, so you could lead them to her."

Kella's jaw dropped in shock for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few days. But, now that she finally had a chance to think things through, it made perfect sense. Timmin said no one seemed upset about the theft. She'd been wondering how the Paraluxe soldiers knew to follow them to the Jedi on Cardan. Now that Grox had filled in the missing details, it all became clear.

Grox seemed to regain her usual level of confidence and put her hands on her hips. "And that brings me to the main reason I'm here now. Since I'm partly to blame for what happened to the kid, I'm going to make it right. I'm going to help you get him back."

Mando cautioned, "It's true that I'll need all the help I can get, but there's a good chance we may not get out of there alive. That place is a fortress, and I suspect I got in and out last time only because it was part of their plan. This time will be different."

Grox wasn't deterred. "If we die, we die trying." She waved a hand to dismiss the negativity. "But I'm optimistic about our chances. Look at us! We've got a guild bounty hunter who also happens to be Mandalorian, the most talented smuggler in the quadrant, and a demolitions expert slash former terroris—" Jones shot her a look, and Grox amended, "Sorry, freedom fighter." She finished off with, "This is a crack team we've assembled."