See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story

C H A P T E R O N E

"Where's the puck?" Mando jumped to the important matter at hand.

"No puck." The Client caught on.

"Tracking number?" Reina questioned next.

"I can only provide you with the last couple digits. His age is fifty years old. I can also only provide a tracking beacon."

You heard something heavy being lifted and dropped onto the steel table between them. Mando had gone silent as whatever it was was being presented. Reina assumed it was the promised reward.

"Should cover both of you handsomely if you are successful with this assignment. And one more thing: I want the asset alive. If you are unable, the reward will lower."

"Understood." Reina bowed her head and turned to follow Mando out. Once they were alone and walking back towards the maid road, a familiar sight to Reina, Mando began steering in the wrong direction of the ship hangars. "Excuse me, where are you going?"

"I have to take care of something first. I will meet you back here."

"Hold on, if you must go somewhere, then could you at least show me to your ship? That way, I can familiarize myself with the exterior and interior design while you are away."

Again, the Mandalorian was silent before sighing through his helmet. "Sure." Reina was honestly shocked he agreed.

Once Mando showed her the Razor Crest, he bolted and left her alone with his ship. Reina carassed the exterior walls of the ship with her hands, getting an accurate measurements and features. Walking up the ramp into the main hangar, she must've tripped over twenty times, bumping constantly into crates and other junk thrown around. When she managed to find the control panel, she pressed several switches, following the sound of storage units opening, and figuring where everything is. One cabinet was dedicated to weaponry of mass abundance. Another right nest to it was a simple flat storage area, fairly empty. Soon enough, Reina had a complete picture of the Razor Crest, and could easily maneuver any way she liked. She even climbed the steps to the cockpit and ran her fingers over each button, lever, and switch. It was quite different than her ship, but she was sure of each component's purpose was.

"If you think you'll be flying my ship any time soon, think again." Mando's voice appeared behind Reina, who jumped. She could see his left side movement, but the rest of him was either a blur or completely dark.

"Don't worry, we won't be together that long for me to learn." Reina smirked and then bit her bottom lip. "I do have one request though before we get this mission in space."

"Yeah, what is that?"

"I can only see about fifty percent of you, so could I touch you to get a full picture? It would be beneficial if we are going to work together."

"What are you talking about?" Mando's voice was very much on the defensive tone.

"It's how I see what around me." Reina sighed calmly, expecting this reaction. "I may be blind, but I know the bazaar better than anyone who can see because I feel the presence who and what is there. By touch, hearing, and a sixth sense. Brushing up against your left arm earlier gave me not only your height, but also, I can feel your movement on your left side. We are going to a foreign planet. I'm going to need a familiarity around. That will be you."

An obvious sigh was huffed. "Fine. Make it quick."

Reina started with her hands on his larger ones. He wore thick gloves that immediately transitioned to armored gauntlets and steel tricep guards. However, the guard on Mando's right was different than the one on his left.

"So this is what Beskar steel feels like." Reina murmured, and continued to Mando's chest, that was also plated. He wore thick fabric clothing underneath and a cape on his back. He was strong, not just physically, but also willfully. Besides the right tricep guard, the rest of Mando's armor felt worn. Reina paused with her hands still on his chest. "I need to touch your helmet..." She wanted to be cautious asking this—She was well-aware of the Mandalorian code of never removing the helmet in front of living beings. How it was sacred to the Mandalorians...

"Okay..." Mando also sounded cautious, as if to warn Reina to not try anything tricky.

Reina moved her hands up until she felt the rim of the bottom. She outlined every crest of the Mandalorian helmet, and she could its significance to Mando. Reina suddenly found her eyes closing as the picture of Mando formed in her mind. His energy surged into her fingers and she momentarily felt...

"Hey, are you done?" Reina's hands were removed by Mando. "If you are, I think I want to get this job finished even more quickly."

"Fine by me." Reina snapped back. Then, she rubbed the side of her temple. That was weird. That's never happened before.

She felt the ship lifting from Nevarro's surface, and she took her seat behind the Mandalorian as the Razor Crest zipped into Hyperspace.