╭━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━╮

(dut'uun)
coward (the greatest
possible insult to a
Mandalorian)
╰━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━╯

She sat in the pilot seat, knees pulled to her chest. The only sound was the hum of the engine and the odd snore from the child. She could almost feel his dreams, like the child reached out in his unconsciousness and all he knew is he didn't want to be alone. She heard the door slide open and pulled away.
"Couldn't sleep?" Mikata sat in the co-pilot seat, slouching. She shook her head. "Nightmare?"
"I guess. It was odd."
"Want to talk about it?"
It was- "have you ever stood on a cliff and it felt like," she fumbled for the words. "Like gravity was wrong?"
She glanced back.
He nodded, starlight glinting on the beskar. "There was no cliff. But that feeling was still there. And I-" was floating? levitating? No. "Falling. I was falling down a pit that was lined with threads of light."
"Sounds pretty."
"It was terrifying. I think I died." Her small voice was almost lost under her modulator.
His head jerked up. "How do you know?"
"I don't." The console beeped. The proximity alarm went off. She shot forwards, disengaging the autopilot and veering the Crest into a different direction.
The comm boomed, startling the pair. "Mando, surrender and hand over the bounty."
"Like hell," mikata hissed. He lunged forwards, slamming the mic button before she shoved him back. She glanced at the map.
"Sit down." She leaned towards the mic, pressing the button and responding in a timid voice. "Please, I think you have the wrong person. I'm hauling cargo to Tatooine." There was a crackle in the channel. She glanced back at Mikata. "Is the kid strapped in?"
He nodded. "In his pram."
"Proceed to the nearest planet. I will be searching your vessel under the authority of the Bounty Hunters Guild."
"Understood," she responded into the mic, voice shaking. She released the mic. "Okay, should we ambush him on the ground or should we smoke him?" She glanced back again. "He might have credits. I'm not above mugging people."
Mikata's modulator buzzed with the bare exhale of a laugh. "Tatooine?"
"It's closest." She shrugged.
"Are we heading there?"
"If we don't we'll get in a dog fight." She looked back at the console, tapping the radar. "He's riding our ass."
"At least you have home turf advantage."
She gave a sigh. "I haven't been back since way before the Empire fell. It's probably different."
"Sand dunes change. Cities and people don't."
"I guess." An exhale. "Tatooine it is."
Mikata broke the silence. "Back on Sorgan, you said you had to talk to me." She threw him a sharp glance.
"Really? We're being tailed by someone who wants to kill you."
"Same as usual." She laughed at that. Mikata let out a quiet chuckle.
"But," his tone sobered. "Jokes aside, what did you need to say?"
She was silent for a moment, fixing her gaze on the steadily growing orange dot. "Has the child," she paused and hummed. "Ever done anything odd?"
"Yes. Did you know something?" There was something off in his tone.
"What has he done?"
"He can move things with his mind." Her breath hitched. "You know something." She nodded.
"I knew someone like that a long time ago."
"That can move things with their mind?"
"Yes." She flicked a few switches as towns came into focus.
"Who was it?"
"Someone very high up in the Rebellion." Mikata's gaze burned into the back of her helmet. She could practically feel the gears shifting in his head.
"I was wondering when you would tell me that you were Rebellion." Her head snapped to him.
"This is Mos Eisley Tower, we are tracking you. Head for bay three-five, over."
"Understood." She responded over comms. There was silence in the cockpit. Her eyes were trained on the city below.
"You listened in on mine and Cara's conversation," she snapped.
"You weren't exactly quiet."
"You pretended to be asleep." The Crest creaked.
"And you were a Rebellion spy. And you told someone who you had know for less than a day before you told me."
"I know who Cara fucking is! I don't know who you are! She's Rebellion, a shock trooper from Alderaan. She has emotions and feelings that I understand. You're only a Mandalorian."
Her chest heaved. "You hide behind a mask and call it honor." The landing was rough, the Crest creaking like it was about to fall into pieces.

Anger licked at his throat, blood roaring in his ears. She got up and he shoved her into a wall, blaster muzzle digging into her neck.
"Do it, then." He hesitated. She kneed him in the groin and he flinched back. She drove her knuckles into the small bit of exposed neck, yanking his own vibroblade from its sheath. He grabbed her wrist and slammed it into the wall. The blade clattered to the floor. Din sputters and gasps for breath. The blade was at his throat. He didn't remember seeing her pick it up.
"Do it," he spat her words back at her.
She gave an indistinct yell and shoved him away, driving the blade into the wall with a metallic screech. She left the ship, him following at her heels. She brushed past the confused woman who gave an indignant sputter upon being ignored.
"Hey! We need to settle on payment!" The mechanic turned to Din. "Are they always like that?" His jaw tensed.
"Yeah." The mechanic let out a hmph before continuing.
"Well, it looks like your ship could use a little checkup but not too much." A ship roared overhead, catching Din's attention. He haphazardly shoved his credit pouch into her hands. "This- this should cover the hangar."
"I can get the rest later," he rushed, striding towards the exit. A mechanical scurry caught his attention. "No droids."
"No- droids?" she sputters, but he was already gone.
There was a bounty hunter after Din and he was isolated. He needed to find his partner and fast.