See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story

C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N

THIS IS MY VERY OWN ORIGINAL EPISODE OF THE MANDALORIAN.

THIRD PERSON POV

Reina shuffled around the landing deck on her hands and knees, a wide grin glued on her face as she chased the tiny green baby as it waddled away in different directions, babbling happily. "Where do you think you're going?" Reina teased as she extended her arm to pretend to snatch him up. "Damn, you're getting quicker!"

Mando watched from the sidelines, leaning against the wall with his boot propped up on a crate, arms crossed as he watched in amusement. Both hunters have gradually eased their guard down throughout the weeks the three of them have travelled together, and this moment were one of those where even Mando felt completely at ease. No Guild. No covert. No enemy of any kind. Just him, Reina Beckett, and their rescued child.

It almost seemed too good to be true.

Reina took a break from crawling and rubbed her eyes with her palms. Lately, they've been bothering her quite a lot, but she did not dare bring it up to her partner, for he would most likely either become overprotective, not allowing her to tag along on jobs, or concern, about how she kept this issue to herself and he would be the one questioning trust. It's best to keep it to myself.

She also didn't want to think about the worst possible outcome of irritated irises.

Reina gazed over her shoulder and looked directly at the T-shaped visor on Mando's helmet, understanding that's where his eyes were, and smiled gently. "This is nice, huh?"

"Yes." Mando agreed, nodding his head.

"If I had to be honest, Mando," Reina paused before finishing her thought, and the Mandalorian seemed to lean forward in anticipation on what she had to confess. "I wish—"

Abruptly, the ship was barreled into by an unknown attacker, scattering all three of the Razor Crest's passengers and knocking them into metal surfaces. Reina's head was smacked against the wall, and she fell unconscious for only a few moments. Mando, though his main concern were Reina and the baby, hiked himself up on his feet and scaled the ladder to the cockpit to find out who was attacking them and take them down.

It was another bounty hunter from the Guild, tracking them and pursuing to either take the child or blow the Razor Crest to Hell. The hunter had damaged the left engine turbine and began aiming for the right one so that the Crest would have no chance for escape. Mando frantically switched controls and thrusted the ship forward, hoping to gain some distance between him and the attacker. Winding around the empty space, Mando struggled to knock him off his trail, and with another couple shots, his hyperdrive was disconnected, now they couldn't escape.

He needed the hyperdrive, and the only way to reboot it was to power down and back up, which would leave the ship completely helpless for a few moments. It wasn't a lot of time, but it was enough for the hunter to blow them up. He felt a hand on his armored shoulder, and when he glanced back, he found Reina right next to him, panting heavily. There was blood trickling down her temple. "Go for it." She huffed. She knew exactly what needed to happen.

Mando didn't hesitate. He switched off the main power, and the Razor Crest screeched to a halt and tilted on its side from the lack of pressure. Immediately, the hunter's ship fired upon the Crest, causing it to rumble violently. Mando powered it back up and thrusted the shift to hyperspace. They escaped just in time. It wouldn't last long, since the hyperdrive was still damaged, and after a few moments, they exited hyperspace and the Crest was left floating in the empty black void.

"Are you okay?" Mando turned his attention onto his partner, and in response, Reina grew dizzy and almost collapsed under her legs if Mando hadn't caught her under her arms. Reina's bloody temple rested on the cool Beskar chest plate as her eyes closed. "Reina? Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you." Reina hummed. "My head is throbbing." She then forced her head up to look at him. "The child, Mando."

"I got you." Mando carefully helped her down the ladder to the landing deck, and let her rest while he searched the area for the child. He found him unharmed under a crate. Holding it tightly for a moment in the crook of his arm, Mando gazed down on it and sigh, relieved. "He's fine." He informed Reina, and allowed her to hold him.

"Thank goodness." She breathed, her panting became heavier.

"Are you really okay?" Mando asked again, actually concern on her condition. She was heaving pretty hard for someone with a small cut on her head. She's had worse injuries.

"Yes," She nodded, taking deep inhales. "Just a little hard to breathe. I'll be fine."

Mando then left her with the child and climbed back up to the cockpit to analyze the overall damage...it was worse than the Mandalorian had anticipated...

The left engine had been completely smoked out and remained dyfunctional. The right one also had enough damage that it wouldn't even rotate to propel the ship even an inch. The hyperdrive was unresponsive, and so were the weapons' system. They were completely defenseless. The worst part was the oxygen system, where a leakage was signalled somewhere in the hangar. That meant the oxygen levels were dropping slowly, and if Mando didn't find help for repairs...They were going to run out of air and ultimately suffocate. All Mando could do from their location, was send out a distress signal for rescue. And now, all they can do is wait for a response...It could take minutes...or days.

Mando returned to Reina and knelt down next to her. "I have bad news." He explained their situation and waited for Reina's reaction. She remained surprisingly calm, but when she looked down at the baby in her lap, and it stared right back at her with a coo, she bit her lip. "He won't survive long. What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry." Mando rose from his knee and retrieved a silver-white capsule. "Found one of these things in that hangar on Tatooine. Thought it would come in handy. It has a built-in oxydizer, so the kid will have plenty of air. But you—"

"That's perfect." Reina smiled, and placed the baby, babbling away, and rubbed the end of one of its velvety pointed ears. "You'll be fine in here." And with that, Mando closed it and the baby was confirmed safe.

"But Reina," Mando continued his thought. "My helmet provides just enough oxygen to keep me conscious as it circulates air from the outside. But you have no protection."

"I'll be fine. You sent out a distress signal, right?"

"Yes."

"Then all we can do is wait, right?" Reina smiled, full of optimism.

"Yes." Mando lowered himself down and leaned against the metal wall next to his partner.

And they waited.