Chapter 02

Tatooine

Yang really, really hated the sand.

She hated how it just seemed to get everywhere, in every crevice and nook and cranny, but more than anything she hated the dry heat that came with the sand and what it did to her luxurious mane of golden hair.

The smuggler blew out an irritable huff of air at the limp blonde strands that hung down in front of her face.

"Who would even kriffing live in a place like this?" she wondered idly.

Standing guard loyally at her side, ZW-31 beeped a short opinion of the mental facilities of such organics.

"Right there with ya, buddy," Yang sighed. She shrugged off her long, brown leather duster to drape it across her shoulder. Clad now in only an orange tanktop and tan cargoes, along with the common spacer workboots favored by smugglers across the galaxy, the sunlight from the dirty windows of the salvage shop reflected off of the dull surface of her artificial right arm.

"Oh, hey!" her sister called out from the depths of the assorted junk and piles of scrap metal. "They have a catalyzer here!"

"Do we need one?" Yang asked patiently.

"Well, no… But they're really hard to find, y'know?"

She snickered softly while shaking her head. Some things never did change. "If we don't need it, then no, Rubes. Besides, we don't have much credits, remember?"

"Yeah, I know…" Her sister came into sight, clad as always in her worn black coveralls, unzipped and with the sleeves tied at her waist, along with a rather stained and tattered red tanktop. Like Yang, though, she was armed, her highly customized blaster riding low in a holster on her right hip.

Following close on her heels like an overeager puppy was Ruby's repair droid, P3-NY. The tan droid was quietly warbling with excitement, her bright green sensor lights peering around at all the interesting items in the shop.

"I can't believe we lost the entire cargo," Ruby finally grumbled as she came to a stop and scuffed the toe of her boot on the dirty floor.

"Well, yeah, they don't package Corellian whiskey like they used to."

"Cargo hold stinks now."

"That's just 'cause you don't like the smell of whiskey."

"I don't like the smell of any kinda alcohol!" Ruby protested, wrinkling up her nose.

Yang laughed, ruffling her sister's red-tipped hair affectionately. "Yeah, I know. We'll get it cleaned out if this guy comes through."

"You know he won't," the brunette mechanic stated with solemn certainty.

"Have a lil' faith, sis!" the other girl replied cheerfully. "I ain't even turned the charm on, yet!"

"Yang, he's a Neimoidian. Charm won't do frizz on him."

Before she could offer a retort, the shopkeeper in question came back into the store from his office. He clutched a handheld device up to his flattened green face, red orbs flitting across the screen. "Yes, yes," he murmured distractedly. "I can find what you need, certainly, certainly… It will be a bit pricey, though."

"Right, well, we knew that," Yang stated with a brilliant smile. She flicked her hair out to the side, refusing to let its limp and lifeless condition deter her. "So how much?"

When he told her, even P3-NY let out an indignant squawk.

"That's… not even close to a fair deal," the blonde growled, dropping all pretense of geniality once confronted by such a ridiculous estimate.

The Neimoidian shrugged his narrow shoulders guilelessly. "We're on Tatooine, my friends. Parts are hard to come by, yes indeed."

"Sithspit," Ruby scoffed. "You get wrecks around here all the time, and I know the Jawas bring in loads of parts."

"Yes, yes, that might be true, but for these particular items you have requested to get your ship functional again?" He spread his arms out wide. "That is an entirely different matter."

Yang sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with cold metal fingers. "Right, fine. So…" She really did not want to take this route; in fact, it was causing actual physical pain in her chest to even consider this as a path forward. But, while her sister was usually the optimist of their little team, she tried to remain the pragmatist when it came to the long-run.

And she just didn't see any way past it now.

"How much for the ship as… scrap?"

She heard Ruby give a soft, sympathetic sigh. The brunette wasn't as attached to the old rust bucket as she was, but she knew just how much it cost for Yang to even bring it up.

If we can get a decent payout, maybe, I dunno, sign on with another crew, save up… Maybe be able to buy another ship in… Oh, kark it all, a decade or so?

They'd known it might come to this, and as such already had their bags packed with what meager possessions they actually had aboard. Some pics, a number of serviceable items including Ruby's carefully-maintained set of weapon customization tools (which, incidentally, worked just fine on maintaining her prosthetic arm as well, much to Ruby's continual indignation), and a few changes of clothes.

Not much to show for their lives, but they'd left most of that behind forever on Corellia.

"Well, let me see now… Old Dynamic-class freighter, haven't seen one of those since the Jedi Civil war…" The shopkeeper pursed his thin lips in contemplation as he typed a few numbers into his handheld.

"Yeah, I know, she's old," Yang retorted defensively. "But the parts on there are still good, yeah?"

The Neimoidian gave a grunt in response. "Sublights?"

"Um, half are intact," Ruby replied apologetically. "The rest don't really work."

"Hyperdrive?"

The brunette chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Uhhh… not so much, no."

He grunted once more before giving a nod. "Very well, I can give you… this much."

He turned the handheld around for the two girls to view.

Nobody made a sound.

Until that is, a low, feral growl began to rumble in the base of Yang's throat. "You cheating little Hutt-spawn…"

"Yang," her younger sibling warned, placing a restraining hand on the blonde's arm. She then turned to the smug-looking shopkeeper with an impish grin. "Oh, hey, meant to ask you about the speeder bike in the rear. Looks pretty sweet, can't imagine you own it, though."

"No, indeed," he replied, puffing his chest out with pride. "It belongs to a big-time gangster here in the employ of Drakka the Hutt himself! Rondgan is a bit of a racing enthusiast, you see, and he entrusts his speeder to me for maintenance and repairs!"

"Wow, pretty big deal," Ruby nodded sagely. "I guess there's a race coming up soon, then?"

"That's right, the day after tomorrow!"

"Good, good… so, then, tell ya what." The diminutive brunette mechanic crossed her arms and leaned against the nearby counter, her grin morphing into a smirk. "We'll give you both our ship and the ignition codes I changed on that speeder for twice what you just offered us."

"I… You… What?" the Neimoidian sputtered after a few seconds of shocked silence.

Yang, though, wore a smirk to match her sister's. "You heard the girl. I wouldn't try to hack it on your own, though, were I you."

Ruby nodded with a small giggle. "Yeah, pretty proud of the job I did there, two wrong guesses in a row will completely fry the ignition." She shrugged guilelessly. "You could even bill it to that Rondgan guy as a security upgrade."

Eventually, of course, the salvage shop owner conceded to the new terms, even if he did have a pained expression on his face as he transferred the credits over to their rather paltry account. Ruby made sure to painstakingly show him the ignition codes, watching as he input them and successfully started up the motor.

The pair of smugglers set out across the sand from the settlement towards the crash site of the Ember Celica, walking slowly enough for their wheeled droids to keep up with them.

"That was nicely done, sis," Yang eventually commented warmly.

"Thanks, Yang!"

"Think we shoulda told him our ship's ignition sequence is rigged the same way?"

"Eh," Ruby shrugged unconcernedly. "He'll figure it out soon enough."

"Yeah, I'm sure…"

They walked for a few more meters before Ruby spoke up again.

"It's not enough, is it?"

"...No, it's not."

"So what are we gonna do, then?"

Yang gazed up at the searing yellow orb overhead, soon to be joined by its twin blue one. She shaded her eyes with her hand, searching for answers in the sky that she knew were not forthcoming.

"Let's just get our gear and catch a ride to Mos Eisley, okay? We'll figure something out there."

The brunette nodded slowly, trust shining in her silver eyes. "Okay, Yang."

It took them another fifteen minutes before the misshapen metallic lump of metal was visible behind a sand dune. They had to stop once to lift out a very indignant P3-NY who'd gotten stuck in a particularly soft spot of sand. The diminutive droid trudged determinedly in their wake still, ZW-31 offering warbles of encouragement.

Rounding the dune, they came across the already half-concealed airlock, requiring another five minutes to clear the area so that they might enter.

"Whew," Ruby exclaimed, blowing out a huff of air as she shook the sand from her clothes and boots. "I'll be happy as all shavit to get off this planet."

"Well, might take awhile, Rubes," her sister cautioned, upending her boot with a grimace as a steady stream of sand poured out. "We'll figure out what our options are once we get to… Um, what's wrong?"

The brunette mechanic was frozen halfway into the cargohold, her hands held away from her sides in a decidedly non-threatening manner.

"Yang," she squeaked. "You better come out here."

"Fine, yeah, I'm here, what-" The blonde smuggler came to a halt at the sight of the armored figure lounging at the crew table, bolted to the deck at the edge of the hold and serving as a common area. Their boots were up on the surface as they reclined indolently in one of the durasteel chairs in the shadows, the faint glow from the Y-shaped visor regarding them steadily.

And with a blaster aimed squarely at Ruby's midsection.

"Guns on the floor, please," an electronically filtered voice demanded mildly. Yang wasn't quite sure on the gender or race of the individual, but by the pitch, it sounded female. As she unholstered her heavy-duty blaster pistol, gently laying on the deck alongside Ruby's, the figure stood up, gesturing with her weapon towards the rear wall. Once they moved forward as well, their armor became more distinctive, white with pale blue trim.

"So, bounty hunter, huh?" Yang asked conversationally. "Don't suppose we could offer more to let us go?" Her eyes were carefully not on her astromech droid, hoping to give him an opportunity with the concealed weapon she'd installed a year or two back.

"K'uur," the figure replied shortly, kicking the discarded blasters to the side. "Up against the bulkhead, arms behind you."

With a sigh, the pair of smugglers complied once more. This time, Yang risked a glance aside towards the airlock. Their droids, however, were immobilized by what looked to be restraining bolts, evidently applied by the second armored figure in scarlet red and gold, taller than the first and with a blaster carbine trained on them.

"Sithspit," she muttered dejectedly, feeling the magcuffs binding her arms behind her. "Hey, if you're gonna play rough, at least buy me dinner, huh?"

The only reaction that garnered was an amused-sounding snort from the red-armored figure. On closer inspection, Yang could be fairly certain that one was a female by the curves of their armor.

Glancing the other way, she was confronted by a worried, frightened pair of silver orbs.

"It'll be okay, Rubes," the blonde tried to reassure her sister. "We've been in worse scrapes before, yeah?"

"Right," Ruby whispered back, her voice wavering slightly. She swallowed and blinked her expressive eyes. "Just… don't leave me, okay?"

"Don't you even worry, whatever bounty we're in for, we should be together for it. Um," she peered over her shoulder at the shorter bounty hunter who was retrieving their weapons and sticking them in their duffel bags, still lying near the airlock. "We are a package deal, right?"

"Did I say you could ask questions, aruetii?" the pale-armored figure demanded.

"Ven udesla, vod," the second figure seemed to chastise gently. "Yes, aruetii, the bounty is for the both of you, as well as your belongings."

"Including our droids?" she replied hopefully.

"Including your droids," the red-armored bounty hunter affirmed with a nod.

"Okay, thanks." After the none-too-gentle nudge from the shorter captor, the blonde Corellian began to walk towards the airlock. "Hey, um, can I ask why you keep calling me… aruetii?"

"We are Mandalorians. The word means… Well, 'outsider' might be the best translation."

"Are we giving language lessons now, ner vod?" The first armored figure interjected with a note of humor in her voice.

"Oh, nar'sheb," the second one chuckled in return.

While they exited the wrecked starship, another one was descending nearby. As opposed to their rather bulky and dilapidated former transport, this one was all sleek, elegant lines and shining chrome plating. It swiveled around as it came to a rest so that the door ramp opening on the back was lined up with their approach.

"Nice ride," Yang whistled appreciatively.

Ruby, however, was practically bouncing on her toes in excitement, their predicament momentarily forgotten. "Oh, wow, an actual X-70B Phantom-class Infiltrator!" she squealed. Her bouncing about almost caused her to fall to the side as they ascended the ramp, but the red-armored figure caught hold of her and reeled her back in, shaking her head in seeming amusement.

"Of course, you'd know the ship type," the blonde replied with a quiet laugh.

"No, Yang, you don't understand! These are super rare to find! They're still in the experimental prototype phase, with high-tech radar coating and next-generation navigation systems, optimal interior design, advanced shielding, dual turrets and heavy forward weaponry…" The excitable girl finally had to stop in her rapid explanation when she needed to suck in a huge breath. "This is so cool!" the brunette finally squeaked.

"Well, I gotta say," a blond, blue-and-gold-armored man stated as he walked forward to meet them at the top of the ramp, his helmet not in evidence. "This is the most excited bounty we've ever brought in."

"Jaune, two droids on the ship still," the smaller figure, evidently the one in charge by their commanding tone, stated. She set the sisters' bags down against the wall of the cargo hold with a muffled thump. "Both immobilized, go get them, gedet'ye."

"Troch!" he replied cheerfully, his bright blue eyes twinkling with humor as he passed them with a jaunty wave.

The smuggler girls were brought further inside the ship, gently prodded from behind. Yang had to admit, the interior was as nice as the outside, with wide corridors and a clean, almost pristine look about it.

"You just get this ship?" she asked curiously.

"Been a few years," the red-armored woman replied nonchalantly. "Helps to have connections."

Her partner snorted, the electronic filtering doing nothing to dispel the humor lacing her words. "Ba'gedet'ye, so glad you're enjoying the fruits of my connections, ner vod."

The other Mandalorian barked out a quick laugh as they entered a medium-sized chamber lined with force-cage holding cells. The procession paused, the two figures facing each other silently. Yang figured out after a few seconds that they must have been holding a conversation over their helmet comms, and whatever it was, the white-armored bounty hunter seemed to eventually capitulate with a toss of her hands over her head, stepping back and crossing her arms.

"Alright, then, in you go," the taller one instructed, giving Yang a gentle push towards a cell on the right. "You too, ad'ika, go with your sister, we'll join two cages into one so you may remain together."

"Really?" Ruby whispered gratefully. "Um… how do you say 'thank you' in your language?"

"In Mando'a? You would say 'vor entye'," she replied with amusement.

The brunette nodded as she moved to stand next to Yang. "Well, then, vor entye."

The red-armored woman nodded, indicating with her finger that they should turn around. "Ba'gedet'ye, ad'ika," she replied as she slipped their magcuffs off and stepped back, activating the forcefields around the joined cages.

Yang let out a sigh as she slumped back onto the small bench provided, but Ruby remained on her feet, pressing close to the barrier. "Why d'you call me ad'ika?" she asked curiously. "Is that different from aruetii?"

Chuckling, the figure removed her helmet, revealing a pleasant Human face with sparkling emerald eyes and long red hair that she shook out with a sigh of relief. "Yes, it means 'little one'," she stated, her voice melodic and full of amusement.

The other figure pulled her helmet off as well. She was, in fact, also a female, though her skin was too pale to be Human and her long hair stark white in color to match her armor. She looked to be rather young, though, perhaps of an age with Yang. Twin pale blue orbs regarded the smuggler sisters, the left eye framed by a scar that bisected it top to bottom. "More lessons, Pyrrha?"

"It doesn't hurt any, Weiss," the redhead replied with a shrug.

"Wow," Ruby breathed almost reverently, staring open-mouthed at the shorter Mandalorian. "You're really pretty."

Yang let out a snort of laughter, causing her sister to blush heavily and spin around, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did, Rubes," the blonde chuckled. "Yeah, you did." She glanced over towards where Weiss stood, flabbergasted and doing an admirable job of imitating a Burra fish from Dathomir with how her mouth was opening and closing, her forgotten helmet still clasped in her hands.

They were saved from any further embarrassment, whether from figuring out what to say or from Yang's penchant for relentlessly teasing her sister's often disastrous attempts at flirting, by the arrival of the third Mandalorian with a magsled. Tied securely on top were both ZW-31 and P3-NY, the latter looking a bit like an undersized bucket on its side.

"Want me to stick these in a cell as well?" Jaune asked pleasantly.

Weiss finally snapped her mouth shut and spun on her heel, marching stridently out of the room.

The blond stared after her, rubbing the back of his head in perplexity. "Was it something I said?"

"No, you're fine, Jaune," the redhead replied with some warmth. "Er… elek, let's put the droids across the holding cells, here, so that we may deactivate the restraining bolts, gedet'ye."

The pair of Mandalorians managed to wrestle the droids off their transport well enough, disabling the bolts and activating the fields around their cell.

"The bolts need to stay on," Pyrrha mentioned apologetically. "When we get you to where you need to go, we can remove them."

"And where are we going, exactly?" Yang queried as Jaune left the room with the magsled in tow. "Can you tell us that much?"

The redheaded bounty hunter paused at the portal, glancing over at them with a regretful look in her emerald eyes. "Nar Shaddaa," she murmured before ducking out.

"Ah, vape it all," the blonde sighed, banging the back of her head against the bulkhead. "Must be that Hutt-spawn, Junior."

Ruby plopped down next to her sister, brow furrowed in concern. "But I thought he was our client?"

"Our last one, yeah, the one whose cargo got stolen out from under us. He musta gotten impatient, or somehow got word we crashed."

"Oh. Well… shavit."

The brunette sighed as she snuggled into her sister's side. In response, Yang draped her good left arm over the little mechanic's slender shoulders. Across the way, both droids moaned softly in commiseration.

"Whelp," Yang finally sighed, giving her sister a loving squeeze. The deck gave a small lurch as they took off, though otherwise, the flight on the advanced starship was smooth and practically unnoticeable. "At least there's a bright side."

"Yep, at least we're together."

"That, yeah, but know what else?"

"What?"

"Well, the 'pretty' one didn't just blast you right outta hand when you flirted with her. Maybe you actually have a chance with this one?"

"Yang..."

"I'm just sayin', anything's gotta be better than that Twi'lek girl on Coruscant…"

"Yannnggg…."

"Or the Mirialan girl back at the Yavin-4 research station… Oh, or that cute dancer on Nar Shaddaa…"

"YANG!"

A/N: New players enter the scene! Apparently, Yang got all the flirting genes in the family. Ruby tries… So, something you might have picked up on here. I'm not going to be translating the Mando'a, most of it can be figured out in context, but eventually, some of it will be revealed for the aruetiie. (Bonus lesson, in Mandalorian a noun is made plural with the addition of an 'e' on the end.)

Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):

Yang Xiao Long - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.

ZW-31 - Yang's custom astromech droid.

Ruby Rose - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.

P3-NY - Ruby's astromech droid.

Lady Salem - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.

Lady Cinder Fall - Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Darth Hazel - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.

Darth Tyrian - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Emerald Sustrai - Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.

Mercury Black - Human male. Sith Warrior.

Weiss Schnee - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Pyrrha Nikos - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Jaune Arc - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.

Stay shiny! (I could change this to something like "May the force be with you," but… naaah.)