Clan of Three

Part Two

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Rael woke up to the sound of Jawas chattering away and a small finger prodding her cheek. "What the hell?" She groaned as she opened her eyes and saw the child looking down at her curiously. He cooed at her and she smiled at him before sitting up, which proved to be difficult since not only her hands were cuffed, but now her feet.

"Kriffing bounty hunting scum." she growled and looked around for her captor. She spotted him sitting next to the Ugnaught in front of a crowd of Jawas who had started to chant the word 'Suka'. She saw the Mandalorian nod his head and storm towards them. "You're up." he grumbled and hit a few buttons on his vambrace and the child's carriage floated towards him.

"Very observant." She said with a glare. The man ignored her as he swung his rifle onto his shoulder and put his blaster back in its holster. "What exactly is your plan, huh? Keep me hostage with the child? Kill me?" She questioned as the Ugnaught climbed back on the blurrg that was pulling the cart she was sitting in.

"I haven't decided yet, but I do have a question." The man said and reached behind his back, unclipping something. He held up her saber and asked, "Why do you have this?" Rael felt her breath hitch as she registered the emptiness of her saber's holster. "I don't know much about the people who used these, but I do know what this weapon is and how much they go for on the market. Now, I'll ask again. Why do you have this?" The man asked again.

"I found it in a pawn shop on Lothal." she forced out and kept her face neutral. She hated how she couldn't see the man's face as he studied her through his helmet's visor. "Why keep it when it doesn't even work?" He questioned. "If I can fix it, then I can sell it for a good price." She replied while breaking the stare off she was having with the Mandalorian. The man let out a grunt and clipped the saber back on his belt and walked beside the blur as they entered the Jawas' sand-crawler.

The Jawas crowded around them and chattered away. "Um, what exactly is happening?" Rael asked as she struggled to get off the cart. "The Mandalorian has agreed to retrieve the Egg for the Jawas in return for the parts the salvaged from his ship." The Ugnaught explained. "Watch them." The man said before following a few Jawas up a ladder and disappearing. "Now that we have a moment, My name is Kuiil." The Ugnaught introduced himself and bowed his head to her slightly.

Rael gave him a smile and returned the greeting. "My name is Rael." she told him before glancing around to make sure the bounty hunter was still gone. "Could you, uh, get these off of me?" she said quickly and held her hands up. Kuiil shook his head and said, "The Mandalorian has those programmed to shock you if they are tampered with." He told her and she let out a frustrated sigh

"But, I can remove the ankle cuffs. I do not believe you will run off without the child." He added before pulling a lock picking tool from his pocket and crouched down. Within a few seconds, the cuffs fell off her ankles and Kuiil put them in his satchel on the cart. "Thank you, Kuiil." She said gratefully.

Before anything else could be said, the sand-crawler creaked to a halt and a Jawa pulled a lever that opened up the loading ramp. The Mandalorian reappeared with a heard of the Jawas following him closely still chanting 'Suka'. The man came to a stop in front of them and looked down at her feet. "How'd you get out of them?" He demanded.

"I removed the ankle cuffs. As long as the child is near, she will not run." Kuiil said with a wave of his hand and headed down the ramp. Rael smirked and jutted her chin out as the bounty hunter grumbled in a language that the girl recognized as Mando'a, though she couldn't understand. "Move." The man ordered and shoved her forward a bit. "Alright, alright!" She snapped and began to walk down the ramp as he followed with the child.

"I'll be back with the egg." The Mandalorian said as he stepped off the ramp and into the mud. "You should leave the child here. It might be dangerous." Rael called out. "Just so you can run off with him? No chance." The man called back and continued walking with the child cooing excitedly next to him. The Jedi let out an annoyed groan and sat down on the ramp, cursing the bounty hunter in every language she could think of as she watched him walk down a muddy slope.

~~~~~

About an hour had passed by when Rael was snapped out of her mediation by a surge of anxiety and fear she sensed through the Force. "The child!" She she hissed and jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could down the muddy slope with her hands still cuffed. She followed the footprints down to a muddy opening that was surrounded by a rocky cliff.

She heard a loud roar and her eyes locked on a giant mud horn pawing at the ground, preparing to charge. Rael looked to where the beast was facing and saw the Mandalorian covered in mud and sitting on his knees with his head bowed and holding a small dagger. Her attention was snapped away from the bounty hunter's last stand by a desperate cry from the child who was in his carriage by the cliff wall.

'I have to get him out of here.' She thought and began to run towards the child. Her steps faltered as the ground began to shake from the mudhorn's charge. 'Help him... please' a quiet voice whispered in her mind and she met the child's pleading eyes. She sighed as she watched the child stretch his hand in front of him and close his eyes. Rael turned and saw the beast began slowing, but it was still heading for the man.

Begrudgingly, the young woman copied the child's motions and reached out with her cuffed hands. With a deep breath, Rael focused her mind on the mudhorn and felt the Force begin to swirl around her as it answered her call. Just as the beast reached the kneeling man, it was lifted into the air.

The beast snarled and cried out as it swung its feet around. The Mandalorian slowly lowered his blade and looked up at the mud horn suspended in the air. As he slowly got to his feet, he glanced over and saw the child and Rael with their eyes closed and hands outstretched.

After a few seconds, the child began to waver before he lost consciousness and fell down in his carriage. This distracted Rael enough to lose her hold on the creature, allowing it to drop back to the ground on shaky legs. The Mandalorian lunged forward and stabbed it in its neck, effectively killing it.

Rael wasted no time and hurried to the child and peered into its carriage. "Oh little one." she whispered and brushed a finger across his cheek gently. She heard the man stumble up next to her and look down at the kid. "What are you doing here?" he grumbled. "I was worried about the child." she responded quietly, still watching the small creature. The man let out a huff before trudging back through the mud and into the cave to retrieve the egg.