based on chapter 12: the siege ; 6k+

edit by sondercoyfish

"All right. Okay. Let's try this again. Did you... do you have the wire?"

You peered inside the wall, where you saw the Child's clueless eyes staring at the wall of wires in front of him. "No, he doesn't have it. Hey. Hey, listen here, kid. Remember what you were told to do?"

Din sighed and got out of his seat. He knelt beside you and peered into the tiny space. "Okay. Did you get the wire out? The red wire?"

The baby pulled one of the wires out of the wall and held it up. "Huh?"

"No, little one, that's red," you said. "Remember when we talked about learning colors this morning?"

"The red one," Din specified. "Show me the red wire. The red one."

The Child held up the red wire, his head tilting, waiting for confirmation.

"Yes," you said, "good."

"Now, you're going to plug that red wire where the blue wires goes in the board." The baby seemed confused, so he tried again. "Put the red wire where the blue wire goes in the board, okay? But don't let them touch."

The Child looked at him, fists gripping both wires. "Huh?"

"You see where you took the blue one off? Yes, now put the red one---" With an exasperated grunt, the Child shoved the blue wire back where he had taken it from. "No, don't put the blue one back. Put the red one where the blue one was. And put the blue one where the red one was."

"He's not going to get it, Din," you whispered.

"He'll be fine," Din said, brushing your worries off.

"You expect too much out of him."

"He's a smart kid."

"I know he's a smart kid, but this is dangerous and---"

"Be careful!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Hold them apart from one another. They're oppositely charged, so---"

"Din!" you hissed, cringing as the Child touched the ends of both the wires to one another. They sparked bright and loud and he gasped in shock, his little body trembling until he dropped the wires. "Little one, are you all right?"

He whined. Smoke poured out of the wall and you waved it away, glaring up at Din.

"Well, it was worth a shot."

"He could've really been hurt, Din," you said. The baby crawled out of the wall, whimpers pouring out of his mouth. You reached inside for him and picked him up gently. He smelled of burnt hair and smoke. "C'mere, little one."

"I wasn't doing anything that would put him in danger," Din argued.

You looked at him, eyes narrowed. "Really?" you deadpanned.

"Really," he said. "I had it all--" But you weren't listening. You rolled your eyes and stood, holding the Child to your chest. Din sighed and shook his head. "I had it all under control."

Holding the Child in one arm, you moved down the ladder. As you stepped off of it, you looked at him, your fingers brushing across the collar of his robes. Taking a seat down on one of the crates, you pulled the smoke-smelling shirt over his head, sighing and moving to find another one for him to change into. Din had stopped at a small shop on Nevarro and had bought a few extra robes for him to wear, thankfully.

After you changed him, you placed him on your lap and rocked him. He whined tiredly and you sighed. "Are you sure you're all right, little one? That gave you quite the shock, didn't it?"

He sighed, his little shoulders rising and falling. He seemed unbothered by it as he shoved his hands in his mouth and chewed on them. You smiled and rocked him side to side slowly.

Eventually, Din walked up to you, holding three bowls of soup in his hands. "Are you... still upset with me?"

"I'm not upset with you, Din," you said. "I was worried about him."

"You seemed upset."

"I wasn't," you said.

"You seemed to be."

You looked up at him and your lips twitched into a smile. You looked at what he was holding and laughed. "So you're apologizing by bringing me some soup?"

"Yes," he said. He sat down on the crate beside you and passed you two of the cups. You handed one to the Child, who was now sitting between you and Din. The Child hungrily sipped on the bowl. You took a small drink of the light brown broth, feeling the warmth of it in your fingers. "I never meant to put him in danger."

"Din," you said, "I know that. I wasn't mad at you, I was just worried. He's so small, and..." You watched as the Child downed the entire bowl of soup in a single gulp. "Well, I guess I forget he might be stronger than us sometimes."

Din laughed softly. "The last thing I want is for either of you to think I am willing to place you in danger."

"We couldn't think that, Din," you said, eyebrows pulled together. "You have no reason to think that either of us would ever believe that."

He nodded and looked at his bowl. Carefully he raised the bottom of his helmet. You barely got a glimpse of his mouth as he sipped from his soup. The Child cooed and tilted his head, trying to get a good look at the Mandalorian's face. You loved his curiosity, but snapped your fingers to get his attention nonetheless. He looked at you now, watching as you poured some of your broth into his bowl. He started to sip it loudly.

"There's no way we'll make it to Corvus in this shape," Din said. "I think we need to visit some friends for repairs. So how'd you like to go back to Nevarro?"

The baby looked at him. "What do you think, little one?"

The baby smiled, and that was answer enough for you and Din. You grinned at him and at the same time, the three of you took a long sip of the soup left in your bowls.

The landing on Nevarro was rough. When the Razor Crest was finally on the familiar grey earth, you walked alongside Din, the Child in your arms. Din sighed when he realized that the ship couldn't even land properly. He jumped off the edge of the ramp, turning to take the Child from you.

"Here, Princess," he said, shifting the Child in one arm so that he could give you his hand. You took it, smiling gratefully, and jumped down.

Once on your feet, you looked up at Din's friends, who both approached. They were happy to see him return so soon.

"Looks like someone could use some repairs," Greef Karga laughed.

Din shook his hand. "How's my credit around here?"

"I think something could be arranged," Greef replied. "Isn't that right, Marshal?"

"I'm sure we can work somethin' out," she said, smiling wide. She stroked the Child's cheek and he cooed in greeting.

"I'll get my best people on it," Greef said. Din nodded. After Greef called out to his workers to get the ship fixed as good as new, he looked at the baby and reached for him. "And you, little one! Has Mando been takin' good care of you, little one?"

As he took the baby in his arms, the Child gleefully cheered and giggled. You smiled, your hand on the Child's back for a lingering moment. He began to babble to Greef.

"Yeah? Yeah! He said yeah. Oh, yeah!" The baby voice was thick and you couldn't help but laugh at him. He insisted on carrying the Child through the city walls. Neither you or Din opposed; it was nice to walk without the extra weight in your arms.

As you entered the city walls, you hooked your arm with Din's and leaned against him. He kept his hand on top of yours. The sun was bright and the city was colorful, with dozens of busy, bustling people that were shopping, selling, and chatting. "Looks like you two have been busy."

"I myself have been steeped in clerical work," Greef said. "Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town. It's even better than it was last you visited, when we watched the kid."

"You ship's not lookin' too good," Cara said.

"I had a run-in with the New Republic," Din explained.

"They should leave the Outer Rim alone. If the Empire couldn't settle it, what makes them think that they can?"

Greef took you to a building and opened the door. Din shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this place is still standing."

"Wait 'til you see inside," Cara announced, spreading her arms wide as she backed into the entrance.

"What is this place?" you asked, stepping through the doorway with him.

"Let's just say I've had my fair share of run-ins here," Din said. "And they always ended with the windows being shot out... at least."

You laughed, then fell silent as you glanced around a children's classroom. A droid stood at the front and taught a lecture. The desks were filled with students of all young ages, each listening intently to their teacher, who praised them when they answered correctly.

"A school?" Din said, surprised.

"Things have changed a lot around here."

"We'll leave the little one here so we can talk business," Greef said, walking through the aisle of desks. He placed the Child in one of the empty ones.

"Wait," Din said, panicked. "Wherever I go, he goes and---"

You placed a hand on his chest. "Din, stop. It's okay."

"Mando, please. Where we're going, you don't want to take a child. Trust me."

"He'll be fine here," Cara said. "You have my word."

"This'll be great for him," you murmured. You had never had the opportunity to sit in a classroom of students. Your school work was done in your room, alone, with a pile of textbooks and a palace servant as an uninterested teacher. You dreamed of playing with other children, of getting to know those your age. And for the Child, who only spent his days with you and Din, facing dangers no child should ever have to face... a day like this was necessary.

All of the children began to murmur when they saw him. You could feel Din tense as the whispers raised. To put him at ease, you passed by the desks and knelt next to the Child's. He looked at you and his ears perked up.

"We will be back soon, little one," you promised. "Until we come back, wouldn't you like to learn? Play with children your own age? You can make friends today."

He cooed and you smiled, stroking the side of his face. He leaned into your touch and babbled for a quiet second. All of the children were staring at you.

"All right," you whispered, "then you be good and have fun. We will be back very soon."

You stood and walked back to Din. He stared at you for a long moment, took your hand in his, and then stared at the Child. You pulled him along with you to follow Greef Karga and Cara Dune.

You didn't know where you were being led to, or where you were going that was too dangerous for the Child. A lot of places were too dangerous for him, but he went there, anyway. What was so different about this one? Where were they going to take you?

"Well, there's no registration on the ship, but I'm pretty sure it belongs to..." The blue creature at the desk fell silent as his eyes landed on Din. He looked sick.

"I believe the two of you have met," Greef Karga said, his tone a bit teasing.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Din said.

"Right back at ya." The creature gulped.

"Mythrol here's taken care of my books since he was a pollywog. Then he disappeared one day on a bit of creative accounting."

"Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt," Mythrol said. "Thank you, by the way."

"Three hundred and fifty years, but who's counting?" Greef replied.

"Well, if he runs off on you again, let me know," Din said.

"Let me assure you, I do not want to spend any more time in carbonite," the Mythrol said. "Still can't see outta my left eye. Have you been in carbonite?"

"Me?" Your eyebrows furrowed. "No, I haven't."

"Well let me tell you, it isn't enjoyable! Don't get on his bad side. Trust me on that."

"I'll be careful not to," you said, amused.

"Can we talk business?" Cara asked.

"I'm only here for repairs."

"Which'll take awhile," Greef said. "And you'll have some free time on your hands, right? Unless the two of you did plan on running off on your own for the day."

"Not... really," Din said. "I didn't want to leave the kid."

"Trust me, Mando, the kid will be fine. And, if the two of you really are free, well... we could really use your help."

"Help how?" Din asked.

Cara flipped a switch and a holographic image of a map popped up at the center of the table. "This is Nevarro. We're here. This entire area's the green zone. Completely safe. But over on this side is the problem."

"It's an old Imperial base," Greef explained.

"It's where all those troops came from when we defeated Moff Gideon," Cara said. "This base has been here since the beginning. It's got a skeleton crew, but for some reason, it hasn't been abandoned."

"There's a lot of heavy weaponry in this place the black market would love to dismantle and get their hands on."

"And you wanna mop the last of the Imperial force before they do," Din finished.

"Mando, I just want them off my planet," Greef said. "If we could take out that one base, Nevarro could be completely safe. We could be a trade anchor for the entire sector."

"And the planet could finally be free," Cara said.

Din looked at you, and it took a moment to realize that he was waiting to hear what you thought. You nodded once, just barely, and that was enough. "What are we looking at?"

Speed was something you would never get used to. It was exhilarating, feeling the wind whip your hair back and send your stomach dropping to the floor. As the speeder zoomed over the hills of grey ash, you kept your eyes squinted shut. They burned in the wind.

"The whole base is powered by a reactor." Greef Karga had to shout to be heard over the sound of the vehicle and of the breeze.

You were seated in the middle between Din and Greef. You were partly on top of Din's lap; the speeder wasn't big enough for the five of you. Cara and the Mythrol had the front row.

"We sneak in, overload the reactor, and get out of there," Cara said.

"Let's be fast," Din suggested, "and keep the speeder running."

Greef pointed up ahead. "That's it right there. You see it?"

With your eyes squinted, you could barely make it out. It was a set of grey buildings amongst the grey walls of the canyon walls that surrounded you. As the speeder zipped through the shadows, you grew uneasy.

"How close do you want me to drop you off?" the Mythrol asked nervously. You could tell he was eager to get out of there.

"How about the front door?" Greef replied coldly.

"It's a little close for a civilian, don't ya think?"

"I got two choices for you," he continued, not in the mood to deal with the anxieties of this blue creature. "You take us in and I knock a hundred years off your debt."

The Mythrol pressed for another option with an eager, "Or...?"

"Or I leave ya out here in the lava flats to walk home with whatever is left in your humidity vest!"

"It's not much of a choice, is it?" he mumbled, and Greef didn't say anything. The rest of the trip was silent.

Although he didn't want to, the Mythrol dropped everyone off right in front of the door. It was tall, grey, and made of thick steel. You stood up off of Din's lap and he got out of the speeder, reaching up to take your hand as you stepped off the vehicle.

You had your blaster up and ready, your eyes taking in every single detail of your location. You'd gotten good at making sure no one was behind you, ready to take you or Din or the Child out. You'd gotten good at assuming that every time your back was turned, you were in danger.

Din looked over the controls, pressing them to get the door to open. He shook his head. "The controls are useless. They're melted."

"Well, it's probably not rated for lava," Greef said.

Cara groaned. "Imperial trash."

"All right," the Mythrol said, "I'm heading back. Hit me up on the comm, we could set up a rendezvous time."

Din looked around. You knew that he was trying to form a plan together.

"You park your gills right there until I say otherwise!" snapped Greef.

The Mythrol dropped his head in disappointment. "I'm startin' to dehydrate, boss."

"Okay, how does thirty more years off your debt sound?"

"Can you... can you at least be quick about it?"

Greef was starting to lose it. "You wanna be quick about it? Grab the flange cutter and help us out!"

The Mythrol groaned painfully, as if it was killing him to do all of this. As he climbed out of the speeder, he mumbled plenty of complaints under his breath. "Okay, fine. I don't like leaving my speeder out like this, just so you know..."

"Come on, hurry it up!" Greef hissed.

"All right, fine, I'm coming," he said.

You weren't paying much attention to either of them. You were watching Din, who had been standing quietly for a long few seconds. "Din?"

He looked at you and waved you over. As soon as you came close to him, his arm hooked around you and he said to the other three, "Hold tight."

You barely had time to throw your arms around his neck as his jetpack ignited and your feet left the ground. You gasped and kept your wide eyes on the ground. "What are we doing?"

On the platform on the top of the canyon, you were placed down. You glanced up and saw four stormtroopers with their guns raised and pointed at you. Din dropped his arm away from you and you both started to fire, taking out the group of them quickly. Breathless and startled, you looked at him. "Pretty sure they said empty base. Right?"

"They did," he said. He kicked one of the dead bodies off the side of the platform.

The three finally arrived on the lift. They stepped out, eyes sweeping over the dead bodies around you and Din.

"Empty base, huh?" Din asked. No one responded. Cara stepped over one of the bodies without a care.

"The reactor should be set in the heat shaft," Greef said. "If we drain the cooling lines, this whole base will go up in a matter of minutes."

"Look!" the Mythrol exclaimed. "It's a mint Trexler Marauder. You know how much we can get for this on the black market?"

Impatiently, Din replied with, "And it's going to get vaporized like the rest of this base. Now let's go."

The Mythrol sighed and fell slightly behind the rest of the group as they moved in deeper into the base. "Such a waste."

The plan was set in motion. Din led the way, you followed right behind. Cara took out the single Imp working and Din went to knock out the cameras.

"I found the heat shaft," Din said. "Let's go."

Moving through the rest of the base, you felt much calmer. Things were okay so far. That usually would make you uneasy --- something had to go wrong at some point, right? But Din was handling this mission with such confidence that you knew it was a simple one. It had to be.

"The access corridor should be right past this junction." Din turned a sharp corner. If it weren't for the loud voices of the stormtroopers, he would've walked right in front of them. He pushed back, backing against you. You grabbed his shoulder to steady yourself before you tripped into the Mythrol's cowering figure.

As they passed, the group snuck by quietly and successfully. At the end of the corridor, just as Din had said, was a large door. "There, Mythrol. Slice that door."

Greef handed him a slender silver object he had taken from the dead body of the Imp. "Here, use the code cylinder."

He listened, and as the doors opened, the heat hit your skin. An overwhelming wave of warmth washed over you. You stepped inside of the room and saw the lava bubbling at the far bottom of the giant pit you stood over.

"Whoa," the Mythrol gasped.

"Whoa is right," Greef said. He pointed to the right. "That's it! Get on the reactor controls, drain the coolant lines. We'll watch the doors."

"Me?" the Mythrol asked.

"Yes!" Greef said impatiently. "Yes, you!"

"Well, I-I'm afraid of heights! And heat! And lava!"

"How about if I put ya back in the carbonite? Get over there!"

The Mythrol shook his head. He was frozen still, stiff as a board. You sighed and handed Din your blaster. He looked at you. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing it," you announced.

"No," he said automatically. "No, you are not."

"I am," you insisted, staring at the panel, "because I'm not too afraid."

As you moved towards the sliver of grate that overlooked the lava, you pressed your back against the wall. You moved slowly, taking each step with great care. The heat made the hairs rise up on your arms. Din switched spots with Cara. She took place at the door to stand guard and he stood next to the panel, his hand outstretched to grab you in case you started to fall.

"Be careful," Din pleaded.

"See, he didn't want her to go. That's proof that I'm just someone that's... that's expendable for you guys!" the Mythrol whined. "Look, there's no guardrails on that thing. I bet when she falls, you'll all really regret your decisions and I know you'll wish it was me up there."

"That's enough out of you," Greef threatened. "Now tell her what to push!"

The Mythrol guided you with a trembling voice. He seemed uneasy to even see you up there, with your heels hanging off the platform. You held onto a crevice in the wall with all your might, pressing your body completely forward. The keypad buzzed twice.

You shook your head. "It isn't working."

"Give her the code cylinder," Din said. He snatched it from the Mythrol, who wasn't moving fast enough for his liking. He didn't like you up there one bit. He handed it to you. You were surprised that your ice cold fingertips weren't trembling as you took it into your hand. "Put it right there. Yeah. Now try the code."

You nodded and hit all the switches you had before. An alarm started to blare and the lava below began to bubble and rise. You looked down at it for half a second before you started to ease your way back to the wide platform.

"All right, she's gonna blow," the Mythrol gasped, "so let's get out of here!"

Din reached for you, grabbing your hand and yanking you right back to him. You collided against his chest and he turned, sprinting forward and pulling you with him.

"How long do we have?" Cara asked, taking the lead.

"Ten minutes at the most," Greef said.

Running into a different section of the base, you saw two Imps working furiously to stop what you had started. They slammed their fists on a panel, sweat dripping down their pale faces. When they saw the group, they began to raise their weapons and fire.

"Destroy it!" one of the Imps said, and the other one obeyed and turned his blaster on the panel. Smoke poured out of it as it busted with the blaster fire. You shot him in the chest and he slumped forward, dead.

In the sudden silence, every member of your group became aware of the bubbling sounds from the wall behind you. Part of you froze up, fearing it was lava seeping through the wall already. But much to your confusion, you saw bodies, deformed and mutilated and strange, floating in the middle of tanks of bright blue, connected to wires and beeping machines.

"What is this?" you whispered.

"I thought you said this was a forward operating base," Cara mumbled.

"I thought it was," Greef said.

"No, this isn't a military operation," she said. "This is a lab. We need to get into the system and figure out what's going on."

The Mythrol started. Again. "W-What about the reactor---"

"Do it!" she snapped, and then she clenched her teeth. "Do. It."

He nodded, gulped down hard, and hurried over to the panels. He tossed the bodies off of them. "Pardon me."

Din was still staring at the tanks. "I don't like this."

The Mythrol pressed something on the panel and a holographic message popped up. You didn't recognize the thin man with round glasses that started speaking, but by the way Din stiffened, you knew he was bad news.

"Replicated the results of the subsequent trials, which also resulted in catastrophic failure. There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we'll find another donor with M-count, though. I recommend that we suspend all experimentation. I fear that the volunteer will meet the same regrettable fate if we proceed with the transfusion. Unfortunately, we have exhausted our initial supply of blood. The Child is small, and I was only able to harvest a limited amount without killing him. If these experiments are to continue as requested, we would again require access to the donor. I will not disappoint you again, Moff Gideon."

"They're after him," you whispered, sick to your stomach at the thought of him alone in the school, "right now."

"You knew they were after you," Cara said. "I thought you said---"

"We knew they wanted me to get to him, but their plan didn't work," he said. "I should've suspected this. We never should've left him behind."

You shook your head, agreeing with him. Tears filled your eyes. What if they knew you both were here? What if they snatched him while you were separated?

"There they are!" a stormtrooper exclaimed. You turned, blaster raised, as a dozen troopers poured into the room. Din pushed you behind him slightly, catching a couple of shots off the chestplate of his beskar. You shot around his arm, your hand shaking and your mind on the Child. You could only think of him.

In twenty seconds, they were all dead, slumped on the floor. Din pulled away from you and turned around. "I need to go get the kid. Now."

You nodded. "Then you go ahead. I'll slow you down if you fly with me. You've got to get there quickly."

"I shouldn't leave you," he said.

"Go." You grabbed his hand. "He needs you."

"We'll head to the speeder and meet you back in town," Cara said.

"I will be there," you said, "I promise."

He hesitated only a moment longer. "I'll see you soon."

You nodded again, giving his hand a quick squeeze before he rushed out of the room, disappearing around the corner. You stared after him for only a split second, your heart aching without him. You weren't used to separating.

"Come on," Greef said, "let's go."

"When did you say this place was gonna blow?" the Mythrol asked, running behind you.

You couldn't believe the amount of troopers that ran out in front of you. You fired at them quickly, running on pure adrenaline of the moment. You had never taken out more of them before.

Finally, you made it out to the door you'd come in at. You didn't get far. The elevator doors opened and stormtroopers poured out. "There they are! Blast 'em."

You ducked behind one of the cargo crates, pressing your blaster against your chest as sparks flew overhead. Cara had to tackle the terrified Mythrol to the ground. "We're trapped!"

"Is that so?" Cara asked. "Cover me!"

You did without question. She ran out from behind the crates and rushed over to the same giant object that the Mythrol seemed enamored with earlier. She tossed the tarp off of it.

"What does she think she's doing?" the Mythrol yelled.

"Finding us a way out of here," you said, teeth clenched. Blaster fire flew right past your face. You felt the warmth of it against your skin, burning you slightly. You touched your palm there, wondering if it had hit you, if it had ripped through your face. You couldn't feel anything but a slight sting.

In your distraction, Cara backed up the giant vehicle. It slammed to a stop behind you. "What are you guys waiting for, an invitation? Let's move!" she yelled.

You wasted no time to rush into the back of it. The Mythrol followed you. Greef hesitated to try to take out as many as possible until he physically couldn't remain anymore. Breathless and shaking, you held onto the back of Cara's seat. You gripped on tightly as she tried to get through the same door you'd just come through. The thick, heavy steel sealed shut. She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and spun it around.

"Um, you're not really considering going over---" the Mythrol started, but Cara answered him by speeding it up and going over the edge of the platform.

"Hang on!" she yelled.

As the vehicle hit the ground, you flew backwards, your back slamming against the wall. You hit the ground with a loud thud and looked up, seeing the sky zoom by. You grabbed on tightly to the wall and held on.

"Man the guns," Cara demanded.

Greef nodded. "Copy that."

As he moved, you got up and took his seat. The Mythrol grumbled a complaint and you shot him a dirty look. He raised his hands in surrender, only to get knocked off his feet as you went over a giant bump. You looked at Cara, whose eyes kept darting behind her. Several troopers were directly behind on speeder bikes.

"I've lost 'em!" Greef yelled.

At the same time, you saw two speeder bikes on either side of the viewport. They pointed their blasters at you and fired. You ducked at last minute, gripping on tightly to the edges of your seat as Cara jerked the wheel, sending you flying towards both walls in half a second. Both troopers were crushed with the weight and the flames of their bikes.

"Whoo!" she cheered.

"Awesome," you breathed, lifting your head. Behind you, the base exploded in a cloud of ash and flames.

"Yes!" the Mythrol cheered. "We did it!"

Cara grinned. "Headed home, boss."

At the same time, you caught a glimpse of something in the sky and your relief went away as quickly as it had come. "TIE-Fighters."

"That may have been premature," the Mythrol said.

"Take evasive! I got this!"

The road got bumpier. The TIE-Fighters were shooting without any sign of mercy, and you weren't surprised. You shut your eyes tightly and gripped your seat again. Part of you knew that you needed to prepare for death. Situations like these weren't easy to escape from. Din often did everything in his power to prevent moments like these.

"Ugh! What is going on back there?" Cara growled, her head whipping around as the ship slammed against the walls of the canyon, out of her control.

"You wanna get back here and try this?" Greef asked. "Be my guest! Can't you get this thing to go any faster?"

"Ugh --- come on!" She pulled a lever, igniting the thrusters. The vehicle lurched forward with a slight sputter, but glided along faster.

As Greef finally hit a TIE-Fighter, the explosion shoved you all forward. You grunted as you smacked right into the panel. Looking behind you, you saw him on the floor. You got up and rushed over to him, helping him to his feet. The guns were destroyed and your only hope of escaping was being quick enough to do so.

"We're almost there!" the Mythrol announced, and you saw that he was right. The city was just overhead, but it didn't matter. The shots were closer. And closer. You shut your eyes tightly, preparing for the moment one would hit---

And then you saw pieces of a TIE-Fighter fall apart above you. They rained onto the ground in sparks of gold. You grinned, relief washing over you once again. The Razor Crest sped on above you, shooting at the remaining two TIE-Fighters. They were destroyed in minutes, and you were able to disembark in front of the city.

Over the comms, Greef said, "That was some pretty impressive flying, Mando. What do I owe ya?"

"With the repairs, let's call it even," he said.

"Can I at least buy you a drink?"

"Sorry. I've got some... onboard maintenance I gotta take care of. I'm just gonna pick up the Princess and then we've got to head on our way. Is she---"

"She's fine, Mando, and she's one fighter," he said. "You picked a good one for sure."

You smiled, crossing your arms over your chest. You couldn't remain in one place as you saw the Razor Crest land a few feet away. Although it stirred up wind and ash that nearly knocked you over, you walked on, grateful to see him standing there, waiting for you. You didn't hesitate to take his arm and walk on board the ship. You turned to give one final wave to your friends, who were grinning ear to ear, still celebrating their victory.

Once on the ship, Din looked over you. "Are you all right?"

"Perfectly fine," you said. "Not a scratch on me."

His hand was on your cheek, where you felt the slight skin of a burn. "What's this?"

"A blaster burn," you said, "not a scratch. I'm fine."

He shook his head at you. The Child waddled forward, whining miserably. Your eyebrows furrowed as you knelt in front of him. He reached for you with grabbing hands.

"What's wrong, little one?" you asked, and then you saw the splatter of blue on his robes. "What... what happened?"

"He got a little sick," Din said. "I probably should've taken the cookies away before I started flying like that. I just got a little carried away. I tried to clean him up."

You looked up at Din and smiled, shaking your head. "You get us in the air, I'll clean this up. Deal?"

"Deal," he sighed, but he sounded relieved as he rushed to the ladder and escaped to the cockpit.

You looked at the Child and tilted your head. "Are you feeling better now, little one? Now that I've got you?" You took him into your arms and gently laid him across them. "I will give you a quick bath and then lay you down, and you'll feel as good as new soon."

He cooed at you, and you swore he gazed upon you lovingly, like a son would his mother. But maybe that was all in your mind. Maybe that was all that you were hoping for as you gazed on this little guy that you were falling in love with so easily.

A feeling of possessiveness overtook you. Moff Gideon was hunting him. And you knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that you wouldn't be too scared to face him if it came down to it. You would do anything for the Child. For Din.

Soon in the future, you would regret not realizing the tracking beacon that was located on the ship, watching every move you made, waiting for the right moment to strike and steal everything that you cared for from you. But for now, you held the Child tenderly, blissfully unaware.