summary: what happens when a mandalorian walks into your mechanic job in Ferrix asking for a spare part? well you help him of course, and try not to develop a crush.
an: ok, so this is something my clown brain came up with after watching Andor. I kept thinking about a 25-ish year old Din Djarin who’s starting to make a name for himself as a skilled bounty hunter, but isn’t very skilled yet. He gets his razor crest damaged and happens to find Ferrix as the closest planet. Like I said, I’m a clown. I hope you like it. This is supposed to be a 5ish part story but it’ll depend if it’s actually good/liked lmao.
Masterlist — • — Part two Part three part four
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“I’m heading out for lunch!”
“Okay!” You shout over your shoulder, eyes focused on the datapad in front of you. You were just finishing up signing for a new shipment that just got delivered to Bix’s Salyard.
“You sure you’re not coming along?” Bix asks you, even though she already did several times in the last 5 minutes.
“No, I’m fine for now. Have fun!” You tell her, raising your voice and smiling even though she can’t see it. “And thank you.” You say to the delivery man who brought the boxes in.
He left them in a pile near Bix’s office, one on top of the other. The shipment is full of second-hand parts that arrived after many delays. To say you’re excited is an understatement when you can’t wait to inspect and organize them. The back door to the main garage is open and cold wind comes through it making you shiver even while wearing a thick sweater under your work overalls.
A second later you walk to the boxes, ready to take the one from the top, but it turns out to be heavier than you thought it would be. Your knees almost buckle under its weight, just as the sound of footsteps comes through the open door. Your first thought is that Cassian has dropped by to ask Bix for a favour, and your voice is strained from the weight on your arms when you speak.
“Just a moment!” You say, maneuvering the box to an empty corner of the garage, but it becomes lighter a second later as the person who walked in takes half of the weight from you. With the new help –probably Cassian’s– you place the box down in the designated place and turn to your left to thank your helper.
“Bix isn’t here, Cassian.” You say, wiping your hands on your overalls. You look up and come to face to face with the dark visor of a Mandalorian helmet, “Oh you’re not Cassian.”
Awkwardness creeps up your neck. The man in front of you wears red and well-worn beskar armor, an Amban rifle behind his back. The shop’s lights reflect off his shiny helmet, the one part of his armor that looks the newest, maybe because it’s not covered in paint like the rest. You first thought is that he is probably a bounty hunter, but you don’t let any of your intrigue show on your face. Instead, you put on a smile. “Thank you for the help. What can I do for you.” You place your hands on your hips and assume a more relaxed stance.
“I’m looking for a part.” His voice is smooth despite coming from the modulator in his helmet, it’s got a deep tone to it –but young. Not that you can be sure though since you can’t see his face. His short reply is followed by his open palm that shows you a round piece of metal, less than 4 inches in diameters –it has a scorch mark by the edge where a chunk has been chopped off.
You take it from him and inspect it. “One of your capacitors got shot.” You state, looking from the part to him. “I’m guessing your nacelle got damaged too if this is busted.”
The Mandalorian only tilts his helmet ever so slightly and you smile, amused.
“Well, I think I have one of these lying around here, lucky for you. Ships rarely have this specific type of capacitor anymore.”
You turn from him, scorched part still in your hand and move towards the back of your workshop where you have 5 crates full of trinkets and incomplete parts. One of them is labeled Engines and as you start to look through it you can hear the Mandalorian’s heavy boots trail behind you. “I’m guessing from this part alone, your ship is pre-empire? Maybe a LAAT?”
“Razor Crest.” The modulated voice says which makes you look over your shoulder to him.
“That’s a sweet ship.” You go back to searching for the part –it’s only a couple of minutes until you do. “Aha! Told you I had one.”
“How much?” He asks.
You stand and turn back to him, eyebrows furrowing in the middle. “What do you mean? I still have to go and fix it.”
The Mandalorian leans his weigh on his left leg and tilts his helmet again. “I can do it.”
You chuckle at this, “Yeah right, and the nacelle?”
“It can fly without it.”
“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” Your shoulders move up and down in a shrug as you sidestep him and walk back to the open garage door –your voice trails behind you as you continue to speak. “It will fly, with your engine and capacitor exposed to the elements, an easy target for any shot. But that’ll only make your engine blow up. Nothing too bad right?”
There is a long sigh behind you, and even though you should know better than to annoy a Mandalorian, you can’t help but laugh quietly. He has a Razor Crest, a frankly amazing antique you’ve only heard and seen few pictures of, you’ll be dammed if you didn’t get to see it in person. Even better: fix it.
“What’s that going to set me back?” The Mandalorian’s voice comes out slow, like he is considering changing his mind and let you fix it.
“Tell you what,” You smile at his visor again. “You let me fix your ship and I won’t charge you.”
His helmet tilts, and you’re almost sure he’s thinking Are you serious right now?
“I’m being serious. Fixing a Razor Crest is payment enough.” You hold the new part up again and wave it around. “What do you say?”
A long sigh, then an even longer pause.
“Sure.” He finally concedes and you feel your face light up, even when you know the man in front of you is probably rolling his eyes.
“Alright.” You say with another shrug, as if you aren’t excited beyond words for the opportunity. “Let me get my toolbox. You can grab a piece of scrap metal from the back, I’ll need that for the nacelle.”
It takes a couple of minutes, but in little to no time the two of you are walking out the garage door that you close on your way out. The Mandalorian holds the piece of scrap metal under his arm as if it weighs nothing, which surprises you. You’ve seen the garage’s staff struggle with pieces like that even when they have help. You keep your toolbox on your right hand and point at his leg with your left. You feel bad that you didn’t notice he was almost limping from the angry cut on his right leg. You could have offered him a Medpack.
“That wound looks painful. Rough bounty?” You ask him as you walk to the shipyard. It’s a tough bet to assume he’s a bounty hunter, but from the rumours and stories you’ve heard, there’s nothing you do know about Mandalorians. They keep their word; you know that much.
Another sigh from the beskar-clad man. “Not really.”
“Oh.” Is all you say, fixing your gaze straight ahead, that is until the Mandalorian speaks again. Unprompted.
“There were others after the same bounty.”
You nod your head, understanding the hunter’s predicament. “They’re the ones who shot your capacitor.” Out of your peripheral you see him nod. “I can tell you’re not much of a talker… sorry for the questions.”
Before either of you can say anything else, the shipyard comes into view, and in the far side you can spot the Mandalorian’s ship. A shiny and beautiful relic of the time before the Empire. You approach it slowly, with barely contained excitement, and drop your toolbox in favor of running your hand over the hull.
“Woah.” You gape at the shiny ship, looking over the yellow designs on the side. “A pre-empire ship, I’ve never seen one up close before. She’s perfect.”
“How did you have the missing part then.” The Mandalorian’s tone is almost curious.
“So I can be ready should the opportunity to see one present itself, and it did!” You smile over your shoulder as you walk around the ship, taking it in until you spot the hole on the left nacelle and the incomplete capacitor. “Here we are. See, you’ve got to fix the nacelle otherwise your capacitor won’t stay in place.”
You open your toolbox and take out your gloves which you put on quickly so you can get to work. The Mandalorian walks behind you and places the piece of scrap metal on the ground.
“You’re not just going to stand there, are you?” You ask him, digging your hands into the engine and taking out the capacitor to fix. “You gotta help me out, so next time you can do it yourself. Something tells me you’ll need it.”
The Mandalorian chuckles, and it makes you glance at him with a grin. He has a sense of humor under that armor then. He then helps you get up to the engine; with his hands one on top of the other, palms up, he gives you the push upwards that allows you to climb on top of one of the nacelles. Moments later, the Mandalorian takes a ladder out of his ship and uses to pass you your toolbox and linger close to where you begin your work.
You use a screwdriver to take apart the capacitor and clean the new spare part on your overalls before putting it in place. As per your request, the Mandalorian hands you the screws and bolts that you need until the part is put back together.
“You live here in Ferrix?” He asks you while you concentrate on your work. So he does talk, just not all the time.
You nod once, securing one of the main bolts before you speak. “Yeah, for a couple of years. I showed Bix I was a good mechanic and she hired me to help her, have been here since.”
The Mandalorian doesn’t ask anything else, and silently hands you whatever too you need to continue your work. It remains like that for a few more minutes, and you enjoy the silence –it’s not uncomfortable, it feels like the opposite.
Once happy with the fixed capacitor, you grab it with both hands and place it back in the designated compartment inside the engine.
“Even if it’s secure here,” You motion to the two bolts that are holding the piece in place, “The nacelle is what keeps it safely attached to the engine. It doesn’t give it room to move forwards or backwards.”
You look over your shoulder at the Mandalorian’s visor as you speak, pointing and the things worth noting and getting a warm feeling on your chest when you notice he is paying close attention to your every word. It’s almost like he likes new knowledge, and somehow despite not being able to see his face, you can tell he’s focused on what he’s learning.
“Can I ask you something?” You say, while put some tools away and take out the ones you need for the next part. “I know you must get this question a lot of times but I… I genuinely don’t know.”
“The helmet.” Is all the Mandalorian says, and you nod your head.
“What happens if you take it off?” You ask, securing the last bits of the engine in place.
“I would be breaking my Creed.” He explains, his voice gentler than you were expecting. You imagined he would be annoyed with you.
“You wouldn’t be a Mandalorian?” You pause your work to look at him over your shoulder.
“This is the Way.” He nods once before he looks away.
You nod in understanding, trying to imagine what you would feel if you were in his shoes but quickly going back to work. “Can you bring the scrap over?”
A few moments later, the two of you move back to the ground and together to cut and bend the piece of scrap metal to the ideal shape that would cover the exposed space in the engine. You use your torch to heat up the metal and the Mandalorian uses one of your hammers to shape it. Then with the help of your stick welder, you attach it over the scorched hole. It’s almost an hour of hard work, but the end result is as satisfying as all of your other repairs. You’re impressed by your skills, and you show it with an proud look up at the engine.
“Well, I guess my work here is done.” You tell your companion while you gather your tools from the ground and place them inside your toolbox again. “Looks as good as new.”
“Please accept some credits for your work.” The Mandalorian starts to reach inside his pocket, but you shake your hand. He sighs, exasperated.
“Work?” You wave his words away with a bat of your hand. “Please this was like a holiday, and it means more experience in my pocket. Thank you for letting me fix it; it’s a real life classic.”
The Mandalorian nods, though it’s not without reluctance, “Thank you.”
“You should get your wound cleaned up too, you know.” You glance at the cut on his leg. “There’s a market two streets down and to the right, if you need supplies.” Your hand motions the direction for him, pointing at the streets you’re referring to.
“Thank you.” He says again. “You’re very kind.”
“You’re welcome. Get the Meiloorun pastries while you’re there, they’re incomparable.” You smile, taking your toolbox in one hand and offering him the one that’s free. “Safe travels.”
The Mandalorian nods and shakes your hand once. The leather of his gloves feel rough and worn out on your skin, almost like your own when you put them on. He lets go of your hand and you smile one last time, knowing he will be very pleased with your repairs.
Knowing Bix might be back from her lunch break, you decide to head there to leave your toolbox before you grab something to eat. The thought of inviting the Mandalorian for lunch appears briefly in your mind, but you squash it down quickly. He can’t take his helmet off, how would he eat in public? You shake your head to yourself and smile when you spot Bix opening the boxes you had left behind.
“Guess what?” You ask her, putting your toolbox down by your station.
“You went on that much needed lunch break?” She raises a stern eyebrow, always concerned with the way you put your own needs second.
“Nope.” You risk a smile as you shake your head. “I fixed a Razor Crest, Bix. A real one!”
“What?” Bix turns from the box to face you. “What was a Razor Crest doing here?”
“A bounty hunter needed a repair.” You shrug, toning down your joy and satisfaction from a job well done. “Want any help?”
“Yes, actually.” Bix smiles, pointing at the door. “Go get some food, please. You can’t check out these parts if you pass out.”
“You and your lunch breaks, Bix.” You roll your eyes but smile at her as you make your way to the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
The streets are busy with the rush of people coming and going from different cantinas and food stands around the garage. You’re quick to spot a short line of people to your favorite stall and join the queue until it’s your turn. The old lady –Cateea– who handmakes all the food tells you about her day as you sit down and eat your lunch next to her. She tells you her daughter is now engaged, and though she’s very happy for her, she will miss her terribly once she leaves.
“She’s going off-world?” You ask her, a frown pulling at your lips.
Cateea nods, sadness glazing her eyes, but she shakes it off her features as she takes another order. “Nothing else we can do about it. She’ll visit often though.”
You offer her your brightest smile. “Of course, she will. Look at the lovely company and food she’ll have waiting for her here.”
Cateea chuckles at your words and after a few minutes you bid her goodbye, knowing you must get back to work. You can’t help but look around as you walk back to the shop, trying to spot a shiny helmet standing out from the crowds, but no such luck. Stop it, no crushes allowed.
Once back at Bix’s Salyard, you move towards the back where your workstation is, spotting Cassian talking to Bix in her office on your way. Everything is just as you left it earlier, except for a leather pouch and a small paper bag that now sit on your desk. You take the first and find more than a handful of credits inside, while the paper bag contains two Meiloorun hand pies. The Mandalorian. You must give him credit for his persistence, he got the last word in the end, and though he shouldn’t have, you’re grateful for the extra credits that’ll add to your savings to get off-world.
You find yourself smiling as you gaze down at the two items, wondering if you’ll ever see the intriguing man again.
What an incredible story we all witnessed for the first time six years ago today! I cannot believe it’s already been that long. We enter into a brand-new era next year when their story hits the big screen, and I couldn’t be prouder! 🩶
