The Mandalorian's Bounties | Din Djarin

Chapter 6 | The Prisoner (Part 2)

"They why are they all dead?" He asks, moving away from Din. The others and Cordelia glares at them as she moves to stand next to Din.

"Well, you flew with him, Xi'an. Is he as good as they say?" Mayfeld asks the woman.

"Ask him about the job on Alzoc III." Xi'an responds, focusing on balancing her knife on the tip of her finger. The group turns to Din.

"I did what I had to." He says. Xi'an grabs her knife and turns to him.

"Oh, but you liked it. See, I know who you really are." She says. Cordelia grabs Din's hand. He slips his fingers between hers and squeezes her hand. She squeezes back and runs her thumb over the leather of his glove.

"He never takes off the helmet?" Mayfeld asks. Xi'an shakes her head with a laugh.

"This is the Way." She mocks. Cordelia decides then that she hates the Twi'lek. 

"Huh. I wonder what you look like under there. Maybe he's a Gungan. Is that why yousa don't wanna show your face?" He says. The others laugh. 

"It doesn't matter what he looks like. Words and actions are much more attractive than a person's looks. Based on behavior, he's definitely more handsome than you. If I were you, I'd consider getting a helmet of your own. I bet you'd do better with the ladies then." Cordelia says, glaring at Mayfeld. Burg and Xi'an laugh while Mayfeld glares at her. He turns to the Twi'lek.

"You ever seen his face?" Mayfeld asks Xi'an. She gasps softly.

"A lady never tells." She replies.

"Aw. Come on, Mando. We all gotta trust each other here. You gotta show us somethin'." He says. Burg gets up and edges towards Din. Cordelia moves in front of him, keeping her hand on her knife at her belt. "Come on. Just lift the helmet up. Come on. Let us all see your eyes." 

He nods to Burg, who shoves Cordelia towards him. Mayfeld traps her in his arms while Burg tries to grab Din's helmet. Cordelia struggles to get out of his grip, but he locks his hands together, keeping her trapped against him. Din fights Burg off and shoves him back. As Burg falls, he grabs onto the wall to catch himself, pressing the button to open the door to Din's room where the Child is. He coos when he sees Din.

"Whoa! What is that?" Mayfeld asks, letting go of Cordelia and approaching the Child. "You get lonely up here, buddy? Huh?" Cordelia moves next to Din, both ready to grab the Child if he tries anything. "Wait a minute. Did you two make that? Huh?" He asks, looking between Din and Cordelia. "What is it, like a pet or somethin'?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Din replies. Mayfeld waves his hand in front of the Child and Cordelia steps closer to keep an eye on him.

"Didn't take you for the type." Xi'an says. She moves closer to him while Cordelia's distracted. "Maybe that code of yours has made you soft." She smirks and looks at Cordelia. "Or maybe it's her." Din struggles to not react to the unspoken threat.

"Me, I was never really into pets. Yeah, I didn't have the temperament. Patience, you know?" Mayfeld says. Xi'an moves, putting herself between Cordelia and the man. "I mean, I tried, but never worked out. But I'm thinkin' maybe I'll try again with this little fella." He continues, grabbing the Child. 

He turns to face Din and Cordelia. He pretends to drop the Child, making them both jerk forward to catch him. He and Xi'an laugh.

"Dropping out of hyperspace now." Zero announces a moment before the ship starts jerking around. Din grabs onto the wall, wrapping an arm around Cordelia's waist and pulling her into his side to steady and protect her. "Commencing final approach, now. Cloaking signal, now." He announces, the ship shaking even more. 

Mayfeld's grip on the Child loosens and Cordelia darts forward as he drops the Child. She catches him before he hits the ground and spins her body so she lands on her back. Din quickly moves to hover over her, shielding them with his body as the ship continues lurching around and knocking things around.

"You okay?" He asks her. She nods, grabbing onto his arm for support.

"Are you?" She asks. He nods and briefly touches his helmet to her forehead.

"Engaging coupling now." Zero says and the ship finally steadies. Din wraps an arm around Cordelia's waist and helps her up as she cradles the Child to her chest. "Coupling confirmed. We are down and relax." He announces. Din keeps his arm around Cordelia's waist as they move towards the bunk. She gently sets the Child down and wraps him up in his blanket. "Commence extraction now." 

"Useless droid didn't even give us a proper countdown." Xi'an says and snarls. Burg grabs two crates and throws them back to where they fell from.

"Z, are you sure they can't see us?" Mayfeld asks into his comlink.

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

"All right, we got a job to do. Mando, you're up." Mayfeld says. Din moves and kneels on the ground next to the hatch. He presses the button on his vambrace and opens it. He opens the hatch into the prison ship next, removing the tool he used and standing. "It's me?" The man asks once the group stares at him.

"Always you." Burg replies. Mayfeld leans over to check for droids. He pulls himself up and drops down into the ship a minute later. Xi'an is next, followed by Burg. Cordelia steps forward to go next, but Din grabs her hand.

"Is something wrong?" She asks, turning to face him. He shakes his head.

"Be careful. Stick with me." He says. She smiles and nods.

"Of course. I've got your back." She reassures him. She turns to climb down but he stops her again. "Yeah, Din?" She says, quiet enough so the others can't hear. 

He doesn't say anything, but rests his helmet against her forehead. She smiles and closes her eyes. She doesn't know what the gesture means, but she knows that it's important to him and is happy he shares it with her. She makes a mental note to ask him about what it means when they return. He pulls away and she opens her eyes.

"Can I climb down now?" She teases. He chuckles and nods. She climbs down and Din jumps down immediately after, not wanting her to be alone with them for longer than necessary.

Sorry this is so late! I had a reading assignment due today and hadn't read the book yet lol. Had to read the whole thing today, answer the questions and turn it in before I could work on the story!