Calamity || The Mandalorian

thirty-six

Suddenly, the child gave a low cry as he was dropped to the ground as the ship continued to fly randomly. Not bothering to finish her sentence, Kasia dove from where she stood to scoop the kid from the floor.

"Engaging coupling now."

Finally, the ship came to a stop as it landed with a thud on top of what Kasia assumed was the prison ship. As she struggled to stand, she felt Mando again place a leveling arm around her waist, his other holding firmly to the side of the ship as the Razor Crest finally ceased moving.

"Coupling confirmed. We are down. And relax."

Kasia took a few dazed steps forward and again placed the kid back in his bunk. Even as her stomach continued to swim, she couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit grateful that Zero hadn't given them a warning before landing; it had provided the necessary distraction to get the kid back from Mayfeld and lock him away safely.

"Commence extraction now."

"That useless droid didn't even give us a proper countdown," Xi'an hissed, sounding as sick as Kasia felt. Next to her, Burg easily picked up two of the fallen cases, throwing them out of the way with a low grunt.

"Z, are you sure they can't see us?" Mayfeld asked into the commlink, suddenly all business as he ensured that their plan was still on track.

"The Razor Crest is scrambling our signature and I am inside the prison system. It's impressive that this gunship had survived the Empire without being impounded."

At the droid's praise, Din nudged Kasia, a sense of smugness emanating from the Mandalorian. She rolled her eyes at his childishness.

"All right, we got a job to do," Mayfeld informed them all very seriously as though they were schoolchildren who didn't know what the fuck they were doing. "Mando, you're up."

Without a word or even nod of understanding, Din strode forward, kneeling down before pressing a button his control pad. The hatch hissed open revealing their entry point into the New Republic ship.

Kasia raised a brow as she felt a sudden wave of anxious anticipation from the other three members of the crew, but she thought little of it as she continued to peer down at Din as he worked. She watched as he attached a device to the outside of the hatch, a small red light flashing momentarily before it turned a solid green. In response, the metal teeth guarding the opening to the prison ship hissed open, giving them entrance into the ship.

His work done, Mando stood, and after a moment of silence, everyone's attention shifted to Mayfeld, the proclaimed leader of the mission.

His eyebrows flitted up, "It's me?"

"Always you," came Burg's low confirmation a moment later.

Kasia resisted the urge to smirk in satisfaction as she felt a wave of discomfort from Mayfeld, uncertainty washing over him.

His mouth tightening, he slowly lowered the top of his body through the hole, peeking into the ship to ensure that there were no guards in their immediate surroundings. Spotting two patrolling droids, he lifted his upper body for a moment as they passed before finally making his way fully into the ship.

"Zero," Mayfeld called a moment later over the comms as Xi'an too infiltrated the New Republic ship through the hole, Burg following suit with a deep sigh a moment later. "Get us to the control room."

"Sub level three. Disabling onboard surveillance."

Finding themselves suddenly alone in the hull of the ship, Din glanced up at Kasia, "No chance I can convince you to stay on the ship?" he asked warily, already knowing the answer.

She winked at him, running her fingers along his shoulder pads as she made her way forward. "No way in hell," she replied sweetly, before jumping through the hole, her pistol blasters already clasped tightly in her palms as she landed with fluid ease.

Din sighed as he watched her for a moment, glancing toward where the child was again hidden away. Then, a small smile gracing his lips, he jumped down after her.

*.*.*

I'm so tired today.