This is NOT the way

Nar Shaddaa

Weather: Acid rain, heavy smog
Planet:Nar Shaddaa / Smuggler’s Moon
Open Bounty:Senator’s Son .. Alive

Nar Shaddaa hadn’t changed, it was still one of those treacherous moons best avoided, infected by crime in its most insidious forms. Even the usual troublemakers gave this gray, desolate, stinking ball in the middle of space a wide berth. Perhaps this place was incapable of changing.. it was doomed to remain the same forever. Loud, filthy, and crammed with people who were either trying to survive or exploiting others in the process. Din hated this moon, this place devoured people without anyone caring, or spawned new villains you couldn’t count on, who were constantly evolving and causing chaos. Nevertheless, he moved through the lower levels of the spaceport, as usual, the Beskar ensured that most people instinctively kept their distance, some stared after him, others immediately lowered their gaze as soon as they noticed the helmet. Grogu shifted slightly in the pouch at his side, and Din glanced down briefly, feeling tiny fingers cling to the fabric for a moment before everything went still again.

“We’ll be gone soon.”

At least that had been the plan, the job sounded simple… as it always did, but Din Djarin suspected it would once again take far too much time. The bounty was right, it was appropriate, since after all, this involved a kidnapped senator’s son who had allegedly been taken by pirates, but in the background, a rather unimportant side note, there were also several missing supply ships. Din would receive a bonus if he found out who had stolen these ships and where the goods were being stored. All in all, a bounty hunt that didn’t seem out of the ordinary, and yet this uneasy feeling that he had to be more cautious than ever hadn’t left him since the mission began. Many people talked about this Blackbeard, the number one suspect, some claimed he was attacking Republic convoys, while others described him more as some kind of damn folk hero of the Outer Rim. Then there was the typical chatter that Blackbeard didn’t actually exist at all, but was merely a catch-all term meant to replace piracy. Din knew what such stories triggered in humans and other beings, eventually they began to believe their own myths, and then the whole thing became unpredictable. 

His gaze slowly swept across the spaceport platforms. Armed mercenaries everywhere, a few merchants, various run-down mechanics, half-dismantled freighters. And then he saw the ship, exactly as it had been described to him. The Mandalorian slowed his pace almost automatically,  the ship looked out of place among all the other transporters, an old Republic structure welded together with Imperial parts, a black hull, damaged red lights pulsing faintly through the fog. People were working all around the platforms of the massive, graceful technical cadaver, crates were being loaded, smaller transporters repaired, and somewhere there was a loud discussion.. and yet everything seemed organized. That alone made him suspicious. Pirates didn’t usually operate like that. He took a closer look at the armed men at the entrances, no visible affiliations with syndicates. Grogu stirred again, and Din felt that uneasy sensation settle deeper into his body. A few traders walked past the armed men, no one seemed nervous or rushed, one of them even grinned and pressed a drink into one of their hands before moving on. It reminded him more of a protected district than a pirate’s territory. An older Duros dragged several crates past him, apparently noticing his gaze… or rather, the direction the helmet had been staring at for several seconds, and snorted dryly.

“If you’re here because of Blackbeard, you’d better not be the first to draw your weapon.”

Din looked at him.

“Why?”

The other man set down the crates and briefly eyed the Beskar armor before nodding toward the dark ship.

“Because his people shoot first.”

Din fell silent, the Duros apparently noticed this and chuckled quietly to himself.

“You’re not from around here.”

“No.”

“Then listen carefully, Mandalorian.”

He stepped a little closer.

“Since this crew showed up, fewer people are disappearing, the Syndicates are keeping their distance, there are no more slave traders in the lower levels, no spice sales to children... even the damn Corpos are now voluntarily paying protection money.”

Din felt his posture tense slightly, that didn’t make sense… Pirates didn’t create order.

“And the New Republic?”

The Duros laughed harder.

“Them? They send some officials over every now and then who make big speeches and then disappear again.”

Din looked away from the other man, he couldn’t believe a word of it right now, many had their eyes on this filthy planet, many wanted to claim it for themselves, it made no sense that a pirate could have achieved this in such a short time, especially since others likely had far better weapons and a larger crew. 

No one had tried to stop him, no one had stood in his way.. and then suddenly another voice.. 

“The captain is expecting you.”

For a brief moment, he said nothing, under normal circumstances, that probably wouldn’t even have surprised him. His own reputation often preceded him by now, especially in the underworld. Still, that sentence left an uneasy feeling in him, too many things were already unfolding according to some kind of plan, and Din didn’t like situations where others were in control of the plan.

“How does he know I’m here?”

The guard merely shrugged.

“The Captain knows a lot.”

Din watched the men on the upper levels again, they were keeping an eye on him. Slowly, he started moving again and stepped onto the ramp. Inside, everything seemed almost even more orderly, none of the armed men followed him, and some even smiled at him. His posture remained strained, even though it was hardly noticeable. He automatically registered every movement around him. Grogu peeked out of the shoulder bag for a brief moment, his large eyes curiously scanning the unfamiliar surroundings before he almost immediately scurried back inside as several voices echoed loudly through the ship, Din rested his hand closer to his blaster. Still..no one was stopping him, so he waited.. 

@Edward Teach (Blackbeard)