Promises are made to be broken. Deals are made to be kept.
[The Mandalorian Season 1-2]
I do not own the Mandalorian or any of the Star Wars Universe characters/settings. I own Alora and her unique story.
Prequel to Promises and Deals --> Truth...
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The night passes before Alora goes back to work. Concern for Mando has started to become like the tug: unbearable.
It takes until mid-evening to finish the ship, sealing it with Peli's help. The mechanic laughs happily as she steps away and admires Alora's work. "I must say, I could use someone like you," Peli says with a grin. "Can I keep you? How much?"
Alora shakes her head with a roll of her eyes. She picks up the Child who had been watching, tickling his stomach as the trio make their way to Peli's table for dinner. The mechanic happens to be an excellent cook.
Slicing open one of the fruits she had gotten the day before, Alora offers Peli and the Child a half before slipping the knife back in place beneath the waistline of her pants. Alora grins at the twin looks of astonishment on the other's faces as they dig into their food. It had been a long time since Alora had felt a part of something like this. Not even on Sorgan—she always felt like an outsider just there for the Child.
The chill that runs down her spine makes the feeling disappear. She faces the door to the hanger, slowly standing with a growing frown on her face.
"Something wrong, girlie?" Peli asks.
Alora waves her off with a forced smile as she approaches the entrance, pausing just in front of Mando's precious ship. Another wave of chills racks her body, though she does not shake as the door to the hanger opens to reveal a man she hadn't seen before.
"Oh," he says with a grimace, his gaze darting over to Peli as the woman stands, shifting in front of the Child. The blaster in his hand does not ease the tension. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Toro. Mando sent me back early to check on you. Thought someone was coming after you."
Well, that's a blatant lie.
"Where's the hunk of metal?" Peli calls out.
"On his way back with our bounty." Something about his grin makes Alora shift, her hands itching for her daggers. When he looks back at her, his expression dissipates. "Saw right through that, didn't you?"
Before she can move, he slams the side of his blaster against her temple.
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As Mando approaches the hanger, anger flares in his gut. The bounty's dead, his partner's gone, and he is pretty sure he got double-crossed. The speeder waiting outside the hanger only confirms it.
Drawing his weapon, Mando is not at all prepared for what he finds: the girl lies on her stomach at the base of his ship, blood dripping from her forehead. He wants to run over to her, see if she is all right, assess the head wound. He knows it's just bait.
"Took you long enough, Mando." And there's the traitor's voice. Mando looks up to see Peli inching out of his ship's hull with Toro behind her, gun and Child in hand. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now, huh, partner? Drop your blaster and any other weapons you've got on you and raise 'em."
Pressing his lips together in irritation, Mando follows the order, dropping his gun beside the girl along with the flash grenade he planned to use.
"All of them."
He holds up his empty hands.
"Thought you'd have more," Toro taunts. Such an idiot. "Cuff him." He pushes Peli forward; she complies nervously. Holding up the blaster, Toro says, "You're a Guild traitor, Mando." He points the blaster at the kid. "I'm willing to bet that these are the targets you helped escape."
Suddenly, Peli whispers, "That'a girl."
Without moving his helmet, Mando glances down to see the girl's hand inching toward the flash grenade, her eyes still shut tight. Somehow, he knows what the plan is; he knows what she is going to do. After all, no one touches the Child.
"Fennec was right," Toro laughs. "Bringing you in won't just make me a member of the Guild, it'll make me legendary."
As the flash grenade goes off, Mando pulls Peli down to hide behind some boxes as the girl jumps up from the ground. Toro shouts as he blinks away the flash while shooting randomly. While he is incapacitated, the girl takes the Child from his grasp, tossing him over to Peli who catches him with a shush and covers his eyes as she does the same.
Mando watches as the girl slips behind Toro—all while he is recovering from the flash—and kicks him down the ship's ramp. He stumbles and twists back around, his blaster ready.
Before the shot has a chance to go off, the girl leaps onto him, daggers slashing Toro's throat. The only sounds that come from her are heavy pants as Toro chokes, grasping at his throat before she lunges and plunges the daggers into his chest, tackling him to the ground.
She breathes heavily, her head tilted down as she watches Toro bleed out below her. It isn't until his gurgling stops that she stands and sticks the daggers into the sand. Blood cakes her skin as she walks over to their hiding spot. Silently, she holds out her hand.
Mando gently takes the Child from Peli's grasp and hands him to the girl. He ignores Peli's shout of surprise, choosing to watch as the girl looks over the Child before hugging him tightly against her blood-splattered chest. She closes her eyes and presses her cheek against the top of the cooing Child's head as a smile filled with relief spreads across her lips.
When her gaze meets his, she simply nods and reluctantly gives him the Child. Then, she smacks his armored shoulder as if to say Don't take any more sketchy jobs, asshole!
He shakes his head with a soft chuckle as the girl touches her face with a grimace, staring at her now stained hands. She walks over to Toro's body, snatching up his wallet and a piece of his clothing not soaked in blood to wipe her face.
"I take it you didn't get paid?" Peli asks as she rocks back and forth on her feet.
The girl tosses Mando Toro's wallet with a raised brow before she goes back to wiping off the blood. Mando drops the gold into Peli's awaiting hands. "That cover us?"
"Yeah," Peli lets out a surprised laugh. "Yeah, this is gonna cover you."
Mando nods as he turns back to the girl. She glares at him with her now mostly clean face, her jaw clenched as she places her daggers back into place. "Come on," he says as he walks up to her. They both start up the ramp together. "It wasn't that bad."
She punches his arm.
"Fine. I won't take any more sketchy jobs. Promise."
The girl just rolls her eyes.
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I know I've said this before but I LOVE THE DYNAMIC
