Lots of time skips because I was much more interested in writing the juicier plot points in this arc than the extra filler. These are drabbles after all, not fully written chapters. 

Not like anyone was on the edge of their seat waiting to read this. I need more Star Wars friends :')

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"So," Din started as he navigated the Razor Crest through Naboo's atmosphere, "what do you want to do about that leg of yours?"

"Hm? Oh, right, my robot leg." Rian stated, lifting it up and flexing the artificial ankle. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Take you to an actual medical facility and get you a new prosthetic." Din replied.

Rian frowned, throwing herself back in her chair. The child gurgled in her lap, grabbing at the cloth around Rian's neck. "I don't know... you've already done so much for me. I can't ask for you to spend credits on my leg when this ship always needs repairs and the child needs food."

"I've paid handsomely for strangers to watch the child before. You could consider it payment for the months you've been watching him."

Rian let out a short laugh. "My payment is food and shelter. Plus you literally saved my life back on Kijimi. That's a pretty big payment."

Din shook his head. "A gift from one friend to another?"

Rian looked at Din in surprise. Friend. She smiled, playing with the child's thin white hair as she savored the word. "Tell you what? If this job goes smoothly and you get a nice payment, I'll let you buy me a new leg."

"It's a deal then." Din stated. He started turning dials and flicking switches as he prepared the ship to land. "My contact on Naboo said the job would be simple. This'll be a walk in the park."

"Well, gosh, don't jinx it." Rian muttered as they touched down on the landing platform.

Din laughed as he switched off the ship. "Jinxing and luck have nothing to do with it. Stay on the ship with the child. I won't be too long."

Din stood and made his way down to the hold, grabbing some of his weapons off the wall and exiting the ship. He could already hear the child squealing and Rian encouraging the outburst as he exited the ship, and he sighed, shaking his head. Those two were too much together.

However, his heart twinged a bit as he remembered that barely a week ago, he thought he had lost Rian forever. His veil of annoyance quickly gave way to relief and gratefulness to have his clan back together again. With both his treasures safely stowed away in his ship, he could walk with confidence into Theed to meet his contact. 

Once he located the bar he was meeting Vosca Sallaros at, he ducked inside and took quick assessment of the scene. It was daylight out, meaning the bar had a lighter capacity than usual. That made it quieter in terms of less people to overhear his business; at the same time, it would be harder to mask his transactions under the usual noise at a watering hole such as this.

He quickly spotted Vosca, a Theelin woman with bronze skin, decorated with darker spots, creating a mottled pattern down her arms and on the borders of her face. Her long, neon blue hair flowed down her back like a waterfall and framed her face like a cascade around the three sharp horns that protruded from her forehead above the later half of her brows. Her charcoal eyes bore into Din as he took a seat across from her at the table. Her two guards stood tense, watching the mandalorian which distaste and wariness.   

Vosca, however, smiled. "The Mandalorian. It's a pleasure."

"What's the job?" Din stated.

She pursed her lips, but was more entertained than offended. "Not interested in sitting down and discussing this over a few drinks?"

"No, I'm a business only type of bounty hunter." Din responded, his insistence unwavering.

Vosca nodded, taking a sip of her own cocktail, before lowering it to the table. "I can respect that." Without another word, she set the bounty saucer on the table and pressed it, causing a hologram of a male Vultan to appear. "This is Kennex Sunfell. He was to wed my daughter, but made off with the dowry and attempted to have my daughter killed instead." Vosca sighed. "It's a shame, really. He was such a charming young man."

"What's the price?" Din pressed.

"500,000 credits." Vosca stated.

Din whistled quietly. That was a hefty bounty. "Preferred dead or alive?"

Vosca smiled. "I will only pay when his corpse lays at my feet." She slid the bounty disc to Din, who shut off the hologram and took it. "Kennex will be a guest at the Queen's ball. There will be lots of dancing, food, and spirits. But there will also be a crowd. You may want to bring a team to help you find him faster and without making a scene. Meet me here when your done. I've rented. a backroom where I'll be waiting."

~~~~~

"You are such a pain." Rian whispered hoarsely. The child giggled uncontrollably, clapping his hands together, which caused his food- soaked grains- to splash everywhere, including Rian's face. Not that it mattered. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the hold, as well both the child and Rian, were covered. Her mission to get the child to eat his breakfast? Unsuccessful. 

The doors of the hold opened and Din Djarin climbed inside. Rian turned and huffed. "Well that was quick. Sorry for the mess. I intended on having it cleaned up before you got back."

Din chuckled slightly. As irritating as the mess was, he knew it was just temporary. But seeing Rian and the child both painted with soaked grains? Priceless. "It's okay, we'll take care of it." He cleared his throat. "I'm back because I can't get to the target until later on this evening, at a party."

"Oooh, fun." Rian stated, standing up and taking a deep breath as she reached her arms out and spread her fingers out, her brows furrowed in concentration. Din watched as a bucket from under the sink flew out of its place and into the air, before floating to the nearest spill on the floor. Rian's body temored slightly as the mush lifted itself off the floor and dropped into the bucket. 

The child cooed happily at watching Rian use the Force while Din continued. "The problem is, I need a second pair of eyes with me on the mission in order to be successful."

Rian's eyes locked with Din's through the visor of his helmet, the bucket falling slightly as she lost concentration. "Is this... an offer for me to go?"

"Well, we'll have to figure out what to do with the kid, and how we're gonna walk around in a party without anyone getting suspicious, but if you're up for the challenge." Din stated.

Rian smiled, the bucket now spinning around her like an orbiting moon while the child cheered with a shrill scream. "I cannot wait! This'll be so fun!" Then, she paused, looking down at her soiled clothes as she pursed her lips. "Actually. This might not be the best plan."

"Let's just clean up and then we'll head into town and figure out what we're gonna do for disguises and what we're gonna do with the kid."

~~~~~

Din took a deep breath. He considered himself a man with sturdy nerves. But this venture? It was going to take a lot out of him. 

Obviously, there was no way he could get away with wearing his Beskar armor. It was just too eye grabbing and would give him away right off the bat. But the Queen's ball was going to be heavily guarded by New Republic soldiers. If Din could pass for a guard, the plan would be a sinch. 

The only problem was his helmet.

The Way was to never be seen without his helmet. He did happen to have a spray painted, battered Stormtrooper helmet, which could pass as a New Republic soldier's trophy helmet. His face would not be seen by anyone. But technically, he was not supposed to be seen without his helmet, not just any helmet. His heart was beating fast as his eyes flickered back and forth between the Stormtrooper helmet and his beskar helm. 

But if he wanted to get Rian that new leg, this was what had to be done.

Suddenly, there was a small knock on the hatch to the cockpit. It had to be Rian, since they had already dropped the child off at a very secure daycare (which also came at a hefty price, another reason Din needed to cash in). "Hold on." He stated, scrambling as he grabbed the Stormtrooper helmet and shoved it on his head. "Okay, come in."

The hatch opened, but Rian didn't climb in. Instead, her head just hovered within the opening. "I just wanted to say that we should probably get going. The sun will be setting soon."

"Yes, I can see that." Din stopped. That sounded kind of harsh, but Rian seemed unfazed. "I'm ready when you are."

"And I am ready to go, so perfect!" Rian stated, before dropping down. He heard her shoes hit the ground as he began to climb down the latter. 

"Well, I assume by the outfit that we're not walking in together." Rian teased, and Din turned to face her. His eyes widened as he took in Rian's outfit. She was wearing a soft purple dress with lace cut like flowers decorating the chest, back, and encircling her waist. The dress was long enough to brush the floor, and she had a white, feathery boa over her shoulders that draped low enough to cover her scarred back. Her hair was loosely pulled up in messy bun with frizzy curls sticking up and out all over the place. 

"I actually was planning on walking in together. I have a plan." Din stated.

Rian raised a brow. "Is it a good plan?"

"All my plans are good."

Rian shrugged. "I mean, you've had good plans, but like, they can't all be gems, right?"

"Shut up, they're all good." Din grumbled. "You just need to follow my lead."

~~~~~

"This is not what I pictured when you said "follow my lead"." Rian muttered under her breath. She was walking in front of Din with her wrists cuffed together, while Din walked behind her, keeping a hand on her shoulder as if to make sure she didn't run as they approached the door.

"Just go along with it." Din whispered as they neared the soldier guarding the door.

The soldier seemed to be on bouncer duty, checking a guest list as he let people in the door. Din ignored the line and pushed Rian right up to the entrance. This caused the soldier to stand at attention. "Soldier! That helmet is not proper uniform. State your designation!"

"My designation?" Din's deep voice emitted from beneath the Stormtrooper's helm. "Bold of you to try to reprimand me when you're failure allowed this bograt inside."

Rian gasped. "I am NOT a bograt! I am an esteemed guest!"

"Right, that's why I was directed by the Queen herself to remove you from the premises." Din shot back, and Rian huffed in fake frustration.

The soldier seemed flustered now. "I-I don't recall ever seeing someone that looked like her try to come through these doors."

"It's called a disguise, moron." Rian stated. "But it wasn't even a good one. I was surprised that it worked."

"Well, it didn't in the grand scheme of things, did it?" Din countered.

The soldier watched their back and forth in confusion. "So, why are you bringing her back?"

"I left my handbag. And if you jerks want my processing to go quickly, I need my identification card." Rian huffed.

"It'll take two seconds and save the boss a headache." Din stated.

The guard nodded, stepping aside and letting Din and Rian through. They walked quickly into the building, turning into the first hallway they could. There, Din stopped and took out the key to Rian's handcuffs, freeing her. 

Din handed her an earpiece, and as she placed it and situated her hair to hide the piece, Din went over the instructions. "Remember, we split up to cover more ground. We're looking for  Vultan called Kennex Sunfell. Get him to me, I'll pretend to arrest him, and then we leave the premises before we execute him."

"Do we have to kill him?" Rian whispered.

"Yes, if we want to get paid. Don't worry, he tried to kill my contact's daughter. He's scum."

Rian pursed her lips in thought. "Alright, I guess that makes me feel better." She brushed out her dress before doing a slow twirl. "How do I look? Fancy enough for a Queen's ball?"

Din smiled under his helm. "You look great. Now go in first. I'll come in in a couple minutes."

Rian flashed a smile and a thumbs up before going back down the hall they were originally walking down and disappearing into the crowd. 

Din turned on his com, listening to the muffled chatter taking place around Rian. He sat patiently for about 5 minutes before he also followed the crowd into the ballroom.

The palace of Naboo was giant and glamorous, and its ballroom was no exception. Save for the one connecting it to the main building, all the walls were made of thick, tall glass that went several feet to the ceiling. The ceiling, which appeared identical to the rest of the round, blue domes on the outside, was made of golden beams like connected in beautiful snowflake pattern on the inside, with the gaps filled beautiful stained glass. The room was glowing with both chandelier light and candles, giving the golden floor a glowing effect, which perfectly matched the setting sun, which glittered upon the ocean below. 

The ball was alive with many guests and a gentle song. Din spotted the New Republic soldiers skirting the outside of the crowd with careful watch. Din followed suit, glad that his Stormtrooper helmet had a bright orange New Republic symbol spray painted on it, so no one went into a panic at the sight of him. As he walked along the glass walls, he found himself watching for both Kennex and Rian.

He spotted Rian opposite of him, but she was slowly making her way towards him as she casually talked to another woman. Din listened closely to the quiet conversation in his ear.

"It's a pleasure to meet someone else from Tulth. Naboo used to be a planet on the outskirts of politics, but the Assault on Theed, as well as their representation in the Senate during the Clone Wars, made it a very well known power. Tulth, however, still remains in the shadows, even within the New Republic. Its rather disheartening."

Rian placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I have no doubt that'll change under your term, Senator Norith. Even though I don't live on Tulth anymore, I've heard great things about your work. I'm confident Tulth is in great hands."

"I'm flattered, Rian. I hope to see you back on Tulth in the future. Feel free to reach out to me if that ever happens."

"I'll be sure to." Rian stated. As the women parted ways, Rian made eye contact with Din. She gave a small nod of acknowledgement to him as she changed directions and began towards the end of the ballroom. As Din moved opposite of her, her voice suddenly spoke clearly into the ear piece. "Target spotted. 11 o'clock from my position."

Din turned to see where Rian was standing. Slightly to the left and a few feet away, completely oblivious that there were two sets of eyes locked on him, was Kennex, who seemed to be preoccupied with sweet-talking a servant with a tray of drinks.

"Exit the hall three minutes after the arrest." Din stated, before he began to push his way through the crowd towards the Vultan. Rian began to head in the opposite direction as to avoid association with the scene about to take place. 

Din was only a couple feet away from Kennex, his hand laid on his blaster, when he heard a voice speak clearly through the earpiece. "Rian?"

Din paused. He did not know that voice. He turned to where Rian had headed off to. She stood next to the clear wall across the room, staring dumbfounded at a Mikkian with light indigo skin and shoulder length tendrils that were red at the tips. They waved like flowing water suspended in space as the Mikkian stared at Rian with wide eyes. Din watched as her name left their lips again. "Rian? Is that really you?"

Rian looked like a deer stuck in headlights as she stared at the Mikkian, her eyes bouncing between their different facial features. Din didn't like the distressed look, and his body automatically began moving towards Rian, his heart beating faster.

Then, Rian balled her fist and punched the Mikkian straight in the nose.