I followed my new friend down the hill, away from everything I own. Am I making a mistake? I'm not usually the type of person to make rash decisions like that... but I'm intrigued by this man. I trail only a few feet behind him. He hasn't said anything since we started walking. Why did he ask me to join him? I mean, we're basically strangers. He doesn't seem like the type to have friends... or travel companions. Am I his travel companion now? His employee? So many questions buzzing around my brain. 

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I elongate my stride to keep up with his quick pace. His long legs carry him quicker than my short ones do. I have all of my belongings in my brown canvas bag slung over my left shoulder, which is starting to ache. Coins really get heavy after some time. It's after midday now, so the sun is beginning its descent back into the shadows. The beams of light shining through the trees make me feel like I'm in a movie. 

Eventually, we find the end of my trail and have made it back to the entrance to the town. 

"I've got to grab a few things before we leave," my companion says. I continue following him to the produce stand I was at yesterday. He waltzes up to the stand and looks at all that is offered. During the hot season, there are a lot of fruit harvests, which yield the most vibrant, juicy fruit you could ever sink your teeth into. Today, there are some especially good looking koyo fruits set in the center of the display. 

"Can I get two of these," he points to the koyo fruit, "two of these," then to the melons, "and four of these," finally at a bunch of green leaves I'm unfamiliar with. The shopkeeper tosses his choices into a sack and mutters a number. Mando tosses a few coins her way, and we turn back toward where we came from. 

"Two whole melons?" I ask. That seems like quite a lot of food for one man.

"There are two of us," he leans his gaze toward me to remark. He slings the full sack over his shoulder as he saunters down the road. I wasn't expecting a free meal. "And you fed me a meal already, the least I can do is return the favor."

He caught me by surprise. I hardly meet anyone that generous. I have sweet customers at the tavern, but nobody who buys me a whole meal just to 'return the favor'. This man is full of surprises. I remain quiet as I follow him out the village and into the forest once again, but this time, the opposite direction from my house.

Soon enough after our lengthy walk, we come upon a somewhat small ship parked on the opposite side of the mountain from where my house is. It's a shiny silver metal, similar to Mando's suit. It looks like some kind of Starfighter ship: small and fast. Mando raises his arm and pushes a few buttons on his wrist to open the hatch atop the vessel. A loud hiss escapes the ship as the glass lid opens slowly. 

"Wait, this is yours?" I ask, dumbfounded. My steps have halted, and I stood in place. Mando looks like he couldn't even fit in this thing. It's his ship? Mando's shoulders look far too broad and muscular to fit inside this tiny ship. And he said he had an extra seat? Where, on the roof?

Mando nods his head and continues walking toward it without missing a beat. I jog a little to catch up to him as he climbs up the side of the ship to hop inside. He tosses the bag of produce somewhere in the back and turns to looks back at me.

"You coming?"

A wave of energy washes over me. This is real- this is actually happening. It feels like excitement, but more; like there are a million-billion happy sparkles being shaken up like a snow globe inside me. It's intoxicating. A frenzy for adventure. 

It's not even about Mando, it's about the opportunity to do something wild. There have been so many years of the same thing in my life: work, hunt, train, sleep, repeat. The idea of something new after what seems like an eternity of doing the same thing is... unexplainable. Unfathomable. And, a little scary. This is probably the thing in the back of my head that said yes to joining a stranger on his quest to find a Jedi.

"Hello?" he asks again. I snap out of my daze and move my feet. I get up close to the ship and realize it's not quite as small as I had initially thought. Mando throws his hand out to heave me up onto the wing of the ship. There is a roomy front pilot's seat, wide enough to accommodate Mando's broad shoulders, a passenger seat directly behind, and an even smaller seat above the passenger seat. 

Only a baby could fit in that tiny seat. 

The passenger seat slides back quite far into the body of the ship, giving, actually, plenty of room. There's a ton more space in here than I had originally thought. Both seats look to recline to a sleeping position. Not bad.

I wonder how he fits his shoulders in here while he sleeps. Why do I keep thinking about this dude's shoulders? 

He takes my bag from me and tosses it in the back along with the fruit. He holds his hand out to me one more time. I grab it and he guides me into the passenger seat of his ship, gently setting me down. He takes time to ensure I'm comfortable and strapped in. Then, he climbs into the pilot's seat. He's quite agile for someone covered head to toe in heavy metal. 

"Ready to go?" he asks.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I say with a hint of trepidation in my voice.

"Are you sure?" 

I pause, with thoughts of doubt swirling in my head. I met this guy yesterday, he stalked me in the woods, asked for my help finding his kid, and now I'm in his spaceship leaving everything I know behind. What the hell am I doing?

"Yeah, I'm ready," I confirm, sounding more certain this time. He turns around to double check I'm buckled in, then starts the engines. The engines ROAR awake around me. They rumble and scream with power, aching to take off. Mando flicks a few switches and presses some buttons while I sit and soak it all in. The buckle over my lap digs into my sides, keeping me pressed firmly in the leather seat beneath. 

Mando finally lifts a large lever looking thing, and then ship rises into the air smoothly. We gain altitude at a steady pace, getting farther from the ground. Once the ground is far enough away, our ascension halts and Mando turns around to look at me once more.

"Hold on tight," he says, sounding amused. He pushes the lever and the ships shoots forward at a ridiculous speed. My village comes and goes into the distance below almost instantaneously. We fly past everything I knew in a matter of seconds. I don't think I've ever traveled quite this fast. Mando pulls up on his steering wheel and the nose of the ship tips up toward the sky. The force of the speed mixed with the gravity of the planet pulls me back into my seat forcefully. Soon, the light of the planet fades as we quickly exit the atmosphere of Dantooine. 

The first thing I notice are the stars. Seeing stars from the ground isn't nearly as magical as it is seeing them from space itself. They're so bright from up here. They twinkle and dance in the darkness as we race farther and farther away from my home. My eyes widen cartoonishly to catch every glimpse possible. Mando lets out a small chuckle from in front of me.

"Was that a laugh?" I ask, smiling. I haven't heard him laugh yet. It was only a short chuckle, but it was there. I look into the rearview mirror that's sat in front of his helmet to look at him. Who needs a rearview mirror in space?

"Have you never seen space before?" he asks, sounding bewildered. I shake my head. The only time I'd ever been in space before was when I was fleeing Lah'mu and the Jedi hunters. We were hidden in a box on a freight vessel. No windows in a box to look at stars from.

"We're going to jump into hyperspace now," Mando notifies me. He looks up at the mirror to look at me through it.

"What's that?" 

He pushes a button and we shoot forward, and I mean shoot. I thought we were going crazy fast before, but this... this is insane. I'm pushed ever further into my seat by the force of the jump. I didn't realize it, but I'm gripping the edge of my seat next to my legs with such an absurd amount of strength. The adrenaline is pumping through my veins. This is something completely new to me. I've never experienced anything like this before. Speechless. 

The stars around us turn into streaks of light as we zip past. They almost looks like streamers dancing in the wind. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen before. My eyes must be wider than saucers because Mando keeps giggling at me.

"Where are we going?" I ask, ignoring his amusement.

"I got a tip a while ago of somewhere where I can hopefully find some Jedi. It's a little far from here."

"So what were you doing on Dantooine then?"

"I was just stopping for some fuel and food."

"But you were injured." I say, implying it as a question.

"Yes."

"How did that happen?" Getting any information from this guy is impossible.

"I stopped at a different village before yours. I asked for some food at some shop."

"... and?"

"Things... escalated and the owner came at me with a meat hook."

"Oh." I'm not sure how to respond.

"He didn't like my helmet, I think." He pauses. "So I left with a meat hook in my leg, then found your village."

"What happened to the meat hook guy?"

"I... took care of it," he says with finality, like he's finished talking about it. He adjusted himself in his seat.

"So let me get this straight," I begin, "You stumble into my tavern looking for bacta, disappear, then reappear in the forest outside my house to watch me?" I'm trying to piece this together. Probably should've done this before I got in this guy's starfighter...

"Not quite." I look in the mirror at him and raise my eyebrows, goading him to continue. He continues, "I went to the med center you directed me to. It was closed."

"I said it was probably closed. I had bacta in my bag I was going to lend you before you disappeared."

"Well, then I came back to the tavern, but then that was also closed. I came back right as you were shutting the door behind you."

"Well, why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to scare you. It was dark. Then I saw you go to the produce stand. You moved your cloak in a way that exposed the lightsaber on your back for a second."

"I did?" I ask as my cheeks reddened, wondering how many people saw my saber over the years. I thought I was hiding it well under my cloak.

"Yes, so I knew you were a Jedi."

"Were you what was following me in the woods last night?"

He pauses and says, "Yes." He sounds ashamed.

"Creepy, bro."

"I just needed bacta."

"Still creepy."

"I'm... I'm sorry," he sounds genuinely apologetic. He sinks into his pilot's chair a little. "We have a long ride ahead of us. Why don't you get some sleep?" he suggests. He doesn't sound like he wants to continue this conversation.

I take his advice and snuggle into the seat and shut my eyes. The rumble of the engines is kind of soothing. Relaxing, almost. I feel oddly comfortable around Mando, and I'm not sure why. His presence is comforting. 

Eventually, I start to doze off. The thoughts of doubt start to creep back in, though. What the hell am I doing? This man is still a complete stranger. This is the dumbest thing I have ever let myself do. Father would be disappointed in my decision. I just left my house and job in the dust. I didn't even tell my boss I was leaving. Or my regulars. Or the produce stand lady.