Calamity || The Mandalorian

fifty-three

Under his helmet Din rolled his eyes as Karga and Cara both chuckled.

Ah, makes sense, Cara remarked silently, pausing a moment before adding, so a blindfold?

Kasia couldn't help the slight blush that crept up the back of her neck. She was saved from having to respond, however, when a flash of movement by the Stormtroopers caught her eye. Peeking around Din's body, she squinted slightly, "What the hell is that? I mean I like my guns and all but that looks like some heavy-duty shit right here."

Cara followed her gaze—and cursed loudly a moment later as she turned back to the others with disbelieving eyes, "They're setting up an E-Web."

Greef shook his head and murmured, "It's over," as Kasia risked another glance around Din's Beskar.

She frowned. "I'm not sure why, but I always envisioned E-Webs being bigger," she trailed off as Cara's disbelieving eyes fell to her, shrugging a moment later as her friend scoffed. "Don't get me wrong, it's still cool. Plus I prefer smaller guns anyways," she lifted her twin pistol blasters in emphasis.

"I found the sewer vent," Din cut in, nodding towards one of the back walls.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Cara replied.

Kas sighed in relief as Din and Cara began to jog in the direction of the now-located sewer vent, both taking care not to step into the window's line of sight while she and Karga remained next to the window, keeping an eye on the troopers assembling the E-Web. Behind her, Din and Cara began to pull on the metal bars of the sewer grate, grunting with effort.

"It's assembled," Kasia barked over her shoulder in warning as she and Greef both spun to peer at the two struggling members of their ragtag team. She gulped slightly as her eyes swept over the progress they had made on moving the vent—or rather lackthereof.

"How long until that thing's cleared?" Greef asked from her side.

Cara ignored him as she spoke to Din, "Blow it."

"I'm out of charges."

Cara's jaw clenched as she thought for a moment before the ex-shock trooper grabbed her weapon from where she had placed it down. "Get out of the way!" she commanded and then without another word of warning leveled her heavy blaster upon the metal grate and fired a torrent of blasterfire, the sound echoing off the walls of the destroyed room.

Kasia sighed a moment later as Cara ceased her fire and attempted to kick in the steaming grate—to no avail.

"Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation," the tie fighter-superhero-ringlord fucker from earlier called a moment after the sound of blasterfire stopped. "I would prefer to avoid any further violence and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model."

At the man's words, Kasia didn't have to glance towards Cara to know her friend's eyes were hooded as she glared at the Imp. She blinked away the onslaught of images which flowed from the woman.

"Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter," Gideon continued, "Din Djarin has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears."

As he finished, Kasia didn't resist her urge to glance wide-eyed over her shoulder at Din, the Mandalorian standing still in the way she had come to recognize to be a defense-mechanism to avoid giving away any unwanted emotion through his movements.