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"Wake up, girl and Mandalorian." The modulated, accented voice jolted Tess awake from her fitful sleep.
The girl shot upright, her arms flailing, as her eyes opened wide, startled from the nightmare still playing across her mind. The Mandalorian laying beside her did the same, one hand flying to the blaster at his hip, the other finding Tess' forearm. Both breathed heavily, looking around for the origin of the strange voice. The Mandalorian recognized it, and knew that it only meant danger, but Tess did not, and her brows furrowed at the sight of the warrior so stressed.
Mando pointed the blaster towards the broken down protocol droid strung up in front of them, while Tess pushed herself up, her chest aching. She winced as she tried to move her metal leg, the steel cutting into her flesh where the fabric separating her calf and knee had torn during many years of use. It felt like icy fire upon her skin, and for a moment, Tess could see or hear nothing, all her attention focused on her leg, which was compressed from the cold, ice lining the crevices. It was worse than the sand.
Mando released Tess' arm as she tiredly pulled the blanket down from around her shoulders, letting it rest on her legs.
"This cannot wait until morning." the voice came again. Once Tess had let herself breathe, she finally looked back up, following the Mandalorian's eyes to where wires spewed from the lopsided head of the droid, lighting up when it spoke. A small croaking came from beside it, and when Tess turned a little more, she saw Frog Lady standing before them, a modulator in her hands, connected to the wires.
Understanding dawned on her a little too late as the droid spoke again. "Do not be alarmed. I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed it's vocabulator." Tess sat up more, ignoring the creaking in her leg, eyes widening at the droid's —or, frog lady's— words.
Tess furrowed her brow, eyes alight at the mention of a machine. "How did you—" she began, wondering exactly how their passenger had done such a thing without any noise. She let her voice drop however, as a round of pain shot up her body. Frog Lady just looked at her, and Tess could have sworn a mischievous glint passed across the woman's eyes. Tess frowned, and turned to the Mandalorian. He looked at her, and while she couldn't see his face, Tess had a good idea of what he looked like. Brow furrowed, eyes wide, mouth puckered. She was right. The Mandalorian watched Frog Lady cautiously, but put his blaster back in the holster.
