See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

"That last one is no problem." Toro smirked. "So what's the deal with you two? Is he your guidedog or something?" I guess he did figure it out.

"Mando said to cover him." I changed the subject. "I'm fine here. I can manage without a guide for the most part. Please make sure he doesn't get shot."

"Yes, ma'am." Toro winked, and resumed his position, calling out to the Mandalorian when he reached the Dewback for updates. "Hey, I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff for yourself!"

"Get down!" Mando suddenly shouted, and I heard the clink of a laser bouncing off Beskar armor.

"Mando!" Both Toro and I exclaimed. Just before Mando rolled in over the other side of the dune, he was hit again, causing him to lose his balance and toppling down the slanted slope. "Mando!" I cried again, and slid in the sand to his side. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Mando insisted. "It hit my Beskar."

"What was that?" Toro questioned.

"Sniper bolt." Mando confirmed, panting and crawling back up where Toro was. "Only a MK-modified rifle could make that shot. At that range, my Beskar help up."

"Wait, Reina and I don't wear Beskar." Toro pointed out.

"Nope." Mando agreed.

"So, what do we do?" Toro's stammering was becoming a regular habit, as if he expects all the answers to come from his mentor. "The shot came from that ridge."

"We are going to wait until dark." Mando planned. "She's got the high ground. She'll wait for us to make the first move."

"Mando, you should rest." I suggested. "Let us take the first watch."

"I—"

"We'll stay low." I didn't give him a chance to argue. "Rest." This time, Mando followed my orders and headed back to his speeder where he could lean his back on it.

"Alright." Toro heaved himself closer to the dune's edge, giving me a mischievious grin. "Now that we are alone, I want to know what's the deal between you two. I mean, you are blind, right? Why are you hanging around the Mandalorian?"

"It's complicated." I said, not wanting to share Mando's and my adventures with running from the Guild. "Mando is good to me, and we make a good team."

"No offense, Love, but" Toro reached his hand out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I couldn't flinch if I wanted him to believe I was unable to see, so I had no choice but to allow him to do it. "I think he's using you."

"Oh, right." I huffed. "Just like you are using us? To get into the Guild?" That shut him up, but I felt sorry for the guy. He couldn't been no older than me, but he still that childish side to him that needed nurturing, as if he had been on the run all his life.

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up in surrender. "You got me. You're pretty sightful for a blind woman."

"Was that suppose to be funny?"

"Did it work?"

"Sure." I couldn't help it and laughed. "I guess you can call it a sixth sense."

We chatted back and forth until the suns disappeared behind the horizon and the night sky was glittered with stars, a sight that never became old to me. Toro Calican was an interesting specimen, I'll give him that. I learned more about his past and where he came from and how he ended up in the Mid Rim to eventually seek the Guild's acceptance. His family had been taken by the Empire, just like mine, and he sought revenge by wanting to join the Guild so he hunt down Imperialists. A strong motive, but a blind one...

"I think it's time." Toro sighed with a wink.

"I'll wake him." I volunteered, and crawled down the slope to Mando's side. It's been awhile since I've seen him looked so relaxed, even when we were on Sargon. Although he wore his full armor, he leaned onto his speeder, completely content. "Mando," I whispered close to his helmet, touching his shoulder.

"Hey, Reina." Toro called quietly behind her, and pulled his blaster from his holster, chuckling softly. "Asleep on the job, old man?" He then whipped his blaster in Mando's direction, playfully teasing.

"You done?" Mando turned his head, startling both me and Toro, who became flustered after being caught. "Yep, yeah, I was just, you know, letting Reina wake you up. Good job, Reina." His stammering got worse. I helped Mando to his feet. "Get on your bike." he instructed. "And Toro, ride as fast as you can toward that ridge."

"That's your plan?" Toro scoffed. "She'll snipe us right off the speeders." In response, Mando tossed a small cylinder case to him. "It's a flash charge. We'll alternate shots, and it'll temporarily blind any scope. Combine that with our speed and we have a chance."

Toro didn't like the sound of 'a chance', and neither did I, for when it came to chances, Mando has held me back in order to protect me. Was he about to make me stay back while the two of them rode out to capture Fennec? To answer my question, Mando approached me and lifted me gently onto Toro's speeder. "Aim straight." He nodded, and handed me a flash charge also.

"Mando..." I was speechless.

"Get ready." Mando mounted his bike and revved up the engine. Then, both speeders zipped into the No Man's Land.