FTL Chapter 6

Blu looks down at the Bodyguard, whose helmet gives nothing away. Blu bends to pick up the rifle, then turns from the edge of the roof and returns to the stairs. She reaches street level in time to see the Bodyguard execute the last gangster.

Curious, she pauses, leaning the rifle over her shoulder.

“Why did you help me?” the Bodyguard asks without turning around.

“I mostly watched,” Blu replies. She walks up to stand beside the Bodyguard and looks at the dead Trandoshan. Blu holds out the rifle; the Bodyguard’s got smashed in the fighting. Wordlessly, the Bodyguard takes the weapon and looks it over briefly.

Blu considers the scene. “I’d say they planned this. Had it planned for a while. Someone talked.”

“I should go,” the Bodyguard says briskly. Her voice is muffled by her helmet. Blu is paying more attention now: the helmet is an owl type, and the war paint on the armor is still relatively bright. It hasn’t yet begun to fade. This Mandalorian can’t be any older than Blu, but she’s pretty good. It’s been a long time since Blu has seen beskar up close.

“That shield,” Blu says as the Bodyguard pushes a button, causing the shield to collapse back into her gauntlet. “That’s from a Wren forge.”

The Bodyguard had begun to walk away, but now she pauses and looks back.

“You’re one of us?”

Blu snorts. “Not even close. Not anymore.”

The Bodyguard hesitates. “You still came to the aid of a sister in need.”

“I was just bored watching. You aren’t going after them, are you?” Blu asks skeptically.

“What’s it to you, Bounty Hunter?”

“Look how well-dressed they are,” Blu says, unable to help herself. She gestures at the bodies littering the street. “Notice how City Police aren’t here yet? You can’t have goons like this in a posh mining operation like this without them being paid up. You won’t have any help from the authorities. If anything, they’ll make you the problem.”

“They took my client,” the Bodyguard says tightly.

“She had enemies. She must’ve known that someone was coming for her. That was why she was so tense,” Blu replies with a shrug. “This is on her, not you. Only having one bodyguard with that kind of heat? Nar Uned miscalculated. And that’s exactly what you’re doing if you go after her by yourself.”

“I pledged to protect her,” the Bodyguard replies simply, beginning to walk.

“Do you even know where to go?” Blu asks, starting after the Bodyguard. She’s truly baffled. She remembers all those pledges, although this Mandalorian clearly comes from another clan and another school. Still.

“Yes.”

“They’ll be ready for you,” Blu warns.

The Bodyguard doesn’t miss a step. “This is the way.”

Blu looks over at her for a moment, then lets out a bark of laughter.

“Sure,” she says.