Stowaway | A Mandalorian Love Story | Din Djarin x OC

Chapter Thirteen: The Tragedy

Suggested Listening:
Catwoman - Michael Giacchino (from The Batman) | ...a one woman mutiny
Main Title: Nemo Egg - Thomas Newman (from Finding Nemo) | ...Grogu
To the Spaceport - James Newton Howard (from Treasure Planet) | ...with the windows down
The Ax Games - Michael Giacchino (from Thor: Love and Thunder) | ...is that a ship?
Il Bandito Monco - Ennio Morricone (from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) | ...i've been tracking you
Capture the Flag - Ludwig Goransson (from The Mandalorian) | ...another ship
The Armor - Ludwig Goransson (from The Mandalorian) | ...can yours do that?

"Have you been to this planet before?" I asked Din in a gentle voice as we glided through the hyperspace lane. Grogu was fast asleep in his seat, and the atmosphere was cozy and quiet.

"Never," He replied, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the dash. "I didn't even know it existed."

"And if this 'seeing stone' works, and a Jedi comes for him..." I pondered my words, careful of plunging him back into that sad, vulnerable moment when he thought he was leaving Grogu with Ahsoka. "... if they take him to get his training... will you be alright?"

He let his feet drift gently to the floor and turned in his chair to face me.

"You don't need to worry about me," he said, pointedly.

"I'm not," I deferred, a little haughty. "I'm just making sure you're going to be emotionally stable enough to be the captain of this unit. I don't want to have to mutiny."

"A one woman mutiny," he said, and I could feel the one raised eyebrow burning through his T-visor. "I think I could take you."

"Yeah, maybe in a talking-really-low-and-serious contest," I deadpanned.

"That would be a very odd and specific kind of mutiny."

"Well, I'm an odd and specific kind of girl," I retorted. He considered me for a moment.

"Yes you are," he said slowly, with an amused pondering. My cheeks burned as we stared at each other — I couldn't shake the feeling he was looking me over.

Suddenly, the ship gave a lurch.

"Is that supposed to happen in hyperspace?" I asked, gripping the sides of my seat.

"No," said Din, his tone serious again. "It's not."

Another lurch, followed by a treacherous shudder. The dash flickered and all the lights went out for a second, before coming back on with a loud power-up.

"Dank Farrik, this ship!" He cursed, pressing some buttons frantically. "She's stalling. Can you come hold down these two?"

I unstrapped and rushed to the dash.

"The blue one and the white one," he ordered, nodding to the far-left panel. I found the buttons and held them down, one with each pointer finger, while he played a jazz piece on the knobs and switches scattered across the dash. With an orchestral swoop, the engine noises stabilized and the dash returned to normalcy.

Din let out a breath of relief, and we both looked over at Grogu.

"Still asleep," I observed with a whisper, and we chuckled.

"I knew I was right," he said under his breath, a dry humor potent in his tone. "Bad luck. Ever since you crawled into my weapons store, this ship has been falling apart."