Bounty & A Solo (The Mandalorian x OC)

Jedi Temple

I lay in the bed staring at the ceiling. This darkness had taken over so much of my body I felt almost empty once it left. I feel no drive to practice endlessly with my saber, no longer needing the sheer light of the weapon, no anger traveling through my blood. I was simply at peace, and it was then that I never knew what relaxation felt like.

I hear Din's soft chuckle from above, tugging a smile to my lips. I really do love him and the child.

I sit up and walk towards the hatch leading to them. I pop my head up and Din glows, "Aria! Watch this!" After a few seconds, Din speaks, "Grogu." The baby looks up, alert. "Grogu? Give (y/n) the ball." The child looks at him confused. Din speaks again, sending chills up my arms, "Grogu, give mommy the ball. Come on."

Grogu sends the ball floating towards my hands allowing me to catch it with the force hold. I smile brightly, "You did so well!" "Oh, we're not done! Grogu? Okay, here we go. You can have it, just like before. Grogu, come on. You can have it. Come on. Take it from mommy." The child coos before retracing the sphere.

Din hits the steering controls in excitement, "Dank farrik!" The child jumps, reaching for me with his hands, "Aww, you scared him." I giggle lifting the child. Din looks up at him sincere, "Hey, no. I'm not mad at you. You did good. I just... When the nice lady said you had training, I just..." he sighs, "You're very special, kid." I nuzzle up to Grogu in my arms.
"We're gonna find that place you belong and they're gonna take real good care of you."
Maybe we didn't have to let him go...
I look down on Din's navigation, "So this is the place?" He nods, "Tython. That's where we're gonna try and find a Jedi." I lean on Din's chair, "good luck to us. Not many left in the galaxy."

Din looks up to Grogu, "If we find one you have to agree to go with them if they want you to. Understand? Plus, We can't train you. You're too powerful. Don't you wanna learn more of that Jedi stuff?" Grogu looks away from Din uninterested. I shrug, "maybe if I worked harder... maybe I could train him." "Aria, you know we can't." Din looks away painfully. We don't want to find the Jedi.
"I agreed to take you back to your own kind, so that's what I need to do. You understand, right? Looks like that's the magic rock I'm supposed to take you down there."

Our feet touch the sand, the breeze brushing scratching my cheeks. We walk to the rock together, the child in my arms. "Well, I guess this is it. Does this look Jedi to you?" I shrug at his question, "nothing ever does." Din takes Grogu, "I guess you sit right here. Okay. Here we go." He sits him on the rock in the center of the temple. Grogu coos and wiggles his little feet. I giggle lightly, "he's so cute." "Stars, I know."

"This is the seeing stone, are you seeing anything?" Din calls out to him, but he just sits quietly. "Or are they supposed to see you? Maybe there's some kind of control or something." The child just sits doing nothing.
Din sighs, "Oh, come on, kid. Ahsoka told me all I had to do was get you here and you'd do the rest." Engine fire blazes through the sky. "Uh oh." I look to Din in concern. "Get him. I'll cover you." I jerk my blaster out and climb the rocks for a better view.

Time's up, kid. We gotta get out of here. We don't have time for this. We got to get..." Din reaches into the blue force shield as the child's meditation strengthens. My eyes widen, "He's found one." Din rushes past me towards the shop that landed. I stay here covering the child.

-Din-

I meet the man from the past, "I've been tracking you, Mandalorian."

"Are you Jedi? Or are you after the Child?" He grits his teeth, "I'm here for the armor." "If you want my armor, you'll have to peel it off my dead body, and my wife would be pissed."
"I don't want your armor. I want my armor that you got from Cobb Vanth back on Tatooine. It belongs to me."
"Are you Mandalorian?"

He lifts his head, proudly, "I'm a simple man making his way through the galaxy. Like my father before me."

"Did you take the Creed?"

"I give my allegiance to no one." I shake my head, "The beskar belongs to the Mandalorians." "It was looted from us during the Purge. The armor was my father's. Now it's mine."

"What's to stop me from dropping you right where you stand?"

"Because I have a sharpshooter up on that ridge with a locked scope that will unload by the time my body hits the ground."

"I'm the one wearing beskar. As soon as I see that muzzle flash, you're both dead."

The man looks past me, right at Aria standing on the rocks. "I didn't mean she was going to shoot you. My friend's locked onto that little companion of yours up on the henge."

A new voice rings out, "And if you remember, I don't miss." "Fennec?" "You have a keen ear, Mando."

"You point that gun away from the kid or I'll drop you both where you stand."

The man strikes a deal, "Let's all put down our weapons, have a chat. There's no need for bloodshed."

"Tell her to drop the gun." "After you put down the jetpack." "Same time." I lower my pack as the words leave his mouth, "Stand down."
Fennec joins us at the bottom of the hill, "You look like you've just seen a ghost." I nod, "You were dead."

The man corrected, "She was left for dead on the sands of Tatooine, as was I." "But fate sometimes steps in to rescue the wretched. In my case, Boba Fett was that fate. And I am now in his service."

Boba Fett looks at me, staring through the armor, "I want my armor back." I shake my head, "It goes against the Mandalorian Creed."
"The armor was given to my father, Jango, by your forebears. In exchange, I guarantee the safety of the Child, as well as your own. The bounties on your friends have risen significantly. You can buy ten suits of armor for the price on their heads. I'd say we're offering a fair deal under the circumstances."

-

From the stomp sphere, another ship breaks through the sky. Din and the two others run to meet us. Din reaches for the kid, "Time to go, kid!" He attempts to reach for him but is forced back by the beam surrounding Grogu.
Then it starts. Blasters firing at our head, then they take the fight to the ground. The stormtroopers push us out from Grogu, but I push through, keeping him in my sights.
Suddenly I'm shot in the back. I scream falling to my knees. Two stormtroopers grab my arms hulling me across the sand. "No!" I kick with as much power as I have, but one of them strikes my head with the blaster causing me to fall into unconsciousness.

~

Four Dark Troopers, fly down and capture Grogu and take him back to the cruiser. They have done it. They have their treasures back.

~

-Din-

Once at the top of the hill, the four dark robotic troopers fly up to their ship with the child. I search the surroundings for Aria, but she is gone too. I swallow my anger. The disappointment boils in my blood. I did it again, I let them down.

Chilling words leave Fett's mouth, "They're back." "Who?" After a pause with growing anticipation, Fett reveals, "The Empire. They're back." Fennec shakes her head, "That can't be. The Outer Rim is under the jurisdiction of the New Republic."
"This isn't a spice dream. I can see the Imperial cruiser with my own eyes. Heading down." Fett says as he descends from the sky, meeting us.

I dig through the burnt rubble of my Razor Crest. The only thing left is the spear. I push it in the sights of the two, "This is all that survived." "Beskar."

Fett takes his stand, "I want you to take a look at something. My chain code has been encoded in this armor for 25 years. You see, this is me. Boba Fett. This is my father, Jango Fett." "Your father was a foundling," I note.
Fett nods, "Yes. He even fought in the Mandalorian Civil Wars." I agree to his request, "Then that armor belongs to you." "I appreciate its return." "Then our deal is complete."

"Not quite." I tilt my head, "How so?" "We agreed in exchange for the return of my armor, we will ensure the safety of the Child." I look down at the sand, "The child's gone."

"Until he is returned to you safely, we are in your debt. Plus, I feel I owe Ms. Solo. I did capture her and her brother once before." Are they really about to do this? His eyes hold nothing but true emotion and regret. He feels the clenching of my heart. Tears brimming my eyes, my chest burning.

I have to get them back...
I have to get her back...