The Mandalorian endured one pursuit after another, living a difficult life. The Razor Crest was severely damaged and in urgent need of repairs. He barely managed to pilot the ship to Mos Eisley and landed at Docking Bay 35. However, he only had enough credits to cover the docking fees and still needed to find a way to raise funds for the repairs owed to Peli Motto, the repair station owner.
Leaving the sleeping Child aboard the ship, the Mandalorian headed out of the port to a local cantina. To his surprise, the Tatooine Guild was closed, and there were no bounty missions available. However, a man named Toro approached him, claiming to be a bounty hunter and offering an off-the-books deal. From the bounty puck Toro showed him, the Mandalorian could tell the man was a rookie. The target was Fennec Shand—anyone who had spent time in the guild knew she was a notorious elite mercenary who carried out assassinations for top-tier criminal syndicates. Taking this job was either foolish or suicidal.
Seeing no reason to risk his life for half the reward, the Mandalorian turned to leave, but Toro stopped him. This was Toro’s first mission and his ticket into the guild, so he was willing to forfeit his entire share of the bounty in exchange for cooperation. The Mandalorian calculated that the reward would more than cover the repair costs and agreed. Toro went to find two speeder bikes, and they arranged to meet at the docking bay in half an hour.
When the Mandalorian returned to his ship to gather weapons, he was alarmed to find the Child missing. He rushed out of the ship and sighed in relief upon seeing the little one happily cradled in Peli Motto’s arms. After gathering his gear and thanking Peli, the Mandalorian mounted a speeder bike and headed deep into the Dune Sea with Toro.
The tracker indicated that the target was deep within the Dune Sea. Along the way, they encountered Tusken Raiders blocking their path. Not wanting to cause trouble in their territory, the Mandalorian negotiated passage by offering Toro’s binoculars as a toll. Continuing onward, they reached a valley in the dunes. The Mandalorian’s instincts told him something was wrong. As they hid behind a dune and peered into the valley, they spotted a dewback with a rider on its back.
Without binoculars, they couldn’t confirm if it was the target. Under Toro’s cover, the Mandalorian approached the dewback and discovered the rider was another bounty hunter, already dead. It was a trap. The Mandalorian hurried back to the dune just as a sniper bolt struck his armor. Though the beskar deflected the blast, the impact left him in pain.
The bolt was a specialized sniper round, fired only from a modified MK rifle—confirming the shooter was Fennec Shand. Toro pinpointed the shot’s origin to a ridge opposite them, and the Mandalorian decided to wait until nightfall when Fennec’s high-ground advantage would diminish.
After dark, strong winds swept across the desert. The Mandalorian and Toro mounted their speeder bikes and raced toward the rocks on the opposite side of the dunes. Whenever they were exposed in the open valley, they took turns firing flash charges into the air to disrupt Fennec’s night vision and thermal imaging. Unfortunately, Toro hit a bump and accidentally fired a flash charge directly at the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Fennec shot the Mandalorian’s speeder bike.
After crashing, the Mandalorian quickly fired flash charges to cover Toro. He stood up, drawing Fennec’s fire and relying on his armor to withstand the shots. Toro tried to flank Fennec but was disarmed by a thrown dagger and quickly overpowered. Useless, the Mandalorian thought angrily. Gritting through the pain, he sprinted toward the rocks. Fortunately, Toro’s struggle distracted Fennec long enough for the Mandalorian to aim his blaster at her and toss her a pair of binders, forcing her to surrender.
With only one speeder bike left, they couldn’t carry three people. Toro refused to leave the target behind, so the Mandalorian went to retrieve the spooked dewback. Observing Toro’s selfishness, Fennec deduced that he could be easily manipulated with the right incentive. She mentioned the guild attack on Nevarro—how a Mandalorian had stolen a valuable target and escaped. If Toro turned in the Mandalorian and the target, he would gain far greater rewards and reputation than this mission offered. Toro thought of the little green creature he had seen in the docking bay and was tempted. However, he wasn’t foolish enough to team up with Fennec against the Mandalorian. If the Mandalorian was worth more, there was no need to keep Fennec alive.
When the Mandalorian returned to the valley on the dewback, he found Fennec’s abandoned body and knew something was wrong. The dewback was much slower than a speeder bike, and by the time he reached the port, half a day had passed. The speeder bike was parked outside the repair dock, and he saw Toro holding the Child with one hand and pressing a blaster to Peli’s head with the other.
The Mandalorian had no choice but to drop his blaster and raise his hands. Peli was forced to approach with binders, but when she saw the flash charge hidden in the Mandalorian’s palm, she closed her eyes and turned away. A brilliant flash blinded Toro, and the Mandalorian swiftly moved to the side and fired, striking Toro down. Peli rushed forward to check on the Child—thankfully, he was unharmed.
There was no reward for Fennec, but the Mandalorian looted her credit pouch, which turned out to be quite substantial. Peli no longer cared about the credits—she gazed sadly at the Child. However, the Mandalorian couldn’t leave the little one behind. He picked up the Child, boarded his ship, and left the port.