HUMAN

𝟮𝟲

          I was within a few feet of her when I raised my gun to fire, but in a swift kick, it left my hand and hit the floor.

          She landed a firm punch against my jaw and another to my side, but nothing seemed as painful as when my fist slammed against her nose. She gasped and stumbled back slightly before running at me and tackling me to the ground.

          I squirmed and tried to shove her off of me while she continued to try pummeling my head. 

          "Pathetic." She growled and managed to strike her fist against my head. I felt a splitting pain and a subtle dripping from my eyebrow.

          Finally, I managed to kick her off of me. The anger took over my body and mind, searing hot. I nearly felt blinded by it. I held out my hand, forcing her against the wall. Her hands grasped at the invisible pressure on her throat, trying to pull it away.

          "You-You're some kind of witch." She wheezed.

          I chuckled lowly and released my grasp, watching as she fell to the ground and slumped against the wall. 

          "Perhaps." I whispered and grabbed her head, slamming it back against the wall to knock her out.

           As much as I wanted to, I couldn't kill her. Din and I already had a plan and that wasn't it. No matter how cruel she was, I couldn't do it.

          I dragged her back to the cell where an equally unconscious Burg laid, tossing her in as well. When I turned around, I found Din with Mayfeld trailing behind as he pulled him along. All three were knocked out cold, likely not to wake up for a few hours.

          "Looks like you had fun." I snorted and stepped aside for him to toss the final one in. Of course there was Qin, but we had a different plan for him.

          "Did you?" He quipped.

          I shrugged and pressed a few buttons to shut and lock the door on the three. "I'm just ready to get back to the ship."

          Din stopped me and raised his thumb to my eyebrow, wiping the bit of blood that dripped down my skin. I winced and wrapped my fingers around his wrist to pull his hand away. I guess Xi'an was able to get in a few good hits. 

          "I'm fine. I'm tired of worrying about these little scratches. Let's go." 

          We ran down the dimly lit halls until we found the purple Twi'lek climbing up the entrance to the Razor Crest, seeming to make a fairly easy escape.

          "Qin." Din shouted, stopping the other man dead in his tracks. 

          His head hung low, a saddened sigh escaping him. "You killed the others."

          "They got what they deserved" He answered vaguely. 

          He snarled and raised his blaster, only to be met by the two of us holding ours out towards him as well. 

          "You kill me, you don't get your money." He shrugged. "Whatever Ran promised, I'll make sure you get it, and more. Come on, Mando. Be reasonable." He scoffed and dropped his weapon on the ground. 

          "You were hired to do a job, right?" He continued on, stepping towards us with his arms held out. "So do it. Isn't that your code? Aren't you a man of honor?" He laughed as I placed the cuffs firmly on his wrist. 

          Din brought him up to the cockpit while I lingered in the belly of the ship. I saw Zero wandering with his blaster raised, standing over the cot and what I only could assume was the child. 

          I felt a sense of protectiveness fill me as I raised my blaster and shot the droid through the head. I can say confidently that this one deserved it. 

          The child looked up at me with its big brown eyes, making me smile just by looking at it. It reached up, begging for me to hold him, which I happily obliged. There was a jolt of the ship as it separated from the prison and jumped into hyperspace, but I held onto the child as tight as I could.

          "You're safe now." I hummed and placed a soft kiss on his head. "I'm going to make sure of it." 

          Din landed the ship safely inside of Ran's hideout and had me help in bringing Qin out to the desk. He laughed and shared a hug with Ran while we slowly sauntered down the ramp to meet with them.

          "Where are the others?" Ran chuckled. 

          "No questions asked." Din spoke. "That's the policy, right?"

          "Yeah. That is the policy."

          "I did the job." Din edged on, trying to not directly ask for the money, but not wanting to continue any sort of conversation.

          "Yeah, you did." Ran nodded and tossed him a large pouch of credits. 

          I snatched the bag mid-air from Din, grinning smugly as I glanced at our earnings. It was soft, but I could hear the sigh that came from his helm.

          "Just like the good old days." 

          "Yeah, just like the good old days." Ran agreed. 

          We turned and left back up the ramp, closing it behind us without another glance. We lifted off as fast as we could, leaving the workshop behind.

          "You placed the tracking beacon on him, right?"

          Din chuckled and pointed at the Republic fighters that just left hyperspace. I nodded in approval and sat back as we shot off through space, finally able to relax.  

          He turned around and looked between the child and I, handing the little green being a small ball off his controls.

          "I told you guys that was a bad idea."

          I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Like hell you did."

          He looked over at me, his posture stiff and tense in a way I couldn't read. 

          "What happened earlier-"

          I groaned. "Oh, Kriff."