Pursing her lips, Alora winces as she looks down at the cuts littering her clothing. On the way back to Tatooine, they had been attacked, but the hunters were easy enough to best; Alora had still been left a bit scraped up from being tossed off a speeder into the coarse sand. Mando's armor had protected him, and the Child has skin of steel. Alora's soft flesh didn't stand a chance.
As they walk into the tavern, Alora adjusts her grip on the Child yet again, trying to hide her wince from Mando. Her head spins a bit more than she would care to admit as they walk up to Peli who sits at a booth with a creature engaged in a game of cards.
Peli looks up as they approach. "You finally found a Mandalorian, and you killed him?" Her gaze travels to the extra helmet.
"He wasn't Mandalorian," Mando replies. "I bought this armor off of him, though."
"What'd that set you back?"
"We killed a Krayt Dragon for him," Alora says. When they had first returned to Tatooine, Peli had been amazed by Alora's voice, praising it though Alora couldn't understand why.
"Oh, is that all?" Peli chuckles as she looks between them.
"He was my last lead on finding other Mandalorians," Mando admits with a small sigh. Alora can tell he's upset by the small decline of his helmet.
The creature across from Peli begins speaking, but Alora does not understand; she's mostly been trained in core-planet languages for political reasons. Peli nods along as she says, "Well, you might be in luck. Dr. Mandible here says he can connect you with someone who can help you if you cover his call this round. It's what he said."
"What's the bet?"
"Five hundred."
Alora lets out a low whistle. "High stakes game."
"He's on a hot streak."
As the Child coos in her arms, prompting her to readjust yet again, Mando sighs and tosses some coins on the table. Alora presses her eyes shut for a moment before releasing a long breath. She needs some sleep, no matter how much she hates it.
"Ha!" Peli exclaims, spreading her cards on the table. "Idiot's Array! Pay up, thorax!"
"I thought you said he was on a hot streak?" Mando says as Peli collects her money.
"Oh, stop your cryin'. You'll rust." Peli grins widely before beginning to translate. "He says the contact will rendezvous at the hangar. They'll tell you where to find some Mandalorians. That's what you wanted, right? All right, well, stop your mopin'. More importantly, did you bring back any of that dragon meat? Better not have any maggots on it. I don't like maggots."
Alora chuckles as they all walk back to the hangar where Peli starts roasting their cut of dragon meat with her droids while Alora makes her way into the ship alone, settling in the small space she used to sleep. Curling up against the metal wall, she sighs in content and simply wraps her cloak around her tightly and closes her eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Alora doesn't move.
"I know you're awake."
She groans. "I can't have a moment of peace with you, can I?" She pops her eyes open and frowns dramatically. "What, Mando?"
He stands before her with his arms crossed. His armor still stinks from the dragon venom, and there are places where the metal is coated in a light green film, but he does not seem to notice or care. "You've been fidgeting," he says.
"So?"
"You hit your head."
She adjusts to straighten her neck. "So?"
"So, you should let someone check it out."
"And that someone is you?" Alora arches a brow. "Trust me, I'm fine. I just need some sleep."
"Strange, I don't believe you." He lets his arms drop as he gently takes a seat at the edge of the compartment, swinging his cape around to the other side of his body. "I'm sure Peli knows an old doctor or something."
She decides against grasping his open hand. "I'm really fine. I'm sorry the Mandalorian was a bust. At least Peli's got some contact to help." Alora clears her throat as she slouches just a bit more, once again letting her head roll to the side. "You should really scrub that armor clean."
"You're changing the subject." The small growl in his voice unwittingly makes what little warmth she feels spread through her limbs.
"Look, Mando, I haven't slept more than an hour or two in the past four days. I'm really just tired," she reluctantly admits. "Is it bad that I'm hoping for a long trip? More time to sleep."
The helmet tilts. "What do you mean? You've been sleeping."
"Not really." She presses her lips together.
"I've seen you asleep."
"And that's the only time I've slept since we set course for Tatooine." Alora tugs at her cloak. "It's fine. Just leave me be so I can sleep."
He does no such thing, much to Alora's annoyance. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Not important."
"Yes, important. Why aren't you sleeping?"
Licking her dry lips, she leans forward. "I'll tell you if you leave me alone."
Mando sighs, probably clenching his jaw. "Really?" She arches a brow to challenge him. "Fine. I'll leave you alone."
She blinks: she didn't expect him to agree. As she lets her body rock back against the wall, Alora's gaze drifts to the Child who stands outside the ship, staring at the roasting chunk of meat. "Unpleasant dreams."
"Not enough."
Rolling her eyes, Alora takes a deep breath. "I've always had these dreams of a time I barely remember, but I'm getting them more often now. It started after we left Nevarro." She stops really seeing the Child as the colors in front of her blur. While her eyes stay put, she is no longer truly seeing anything, trapped in her own world as the fire burns red.
"That was weeks ago."
"Yep." She pops the p but her gaze does not waver. "It's been a long few weeks."
She can feel his gaze on the side of her face. "Alo—"
"You said you'd leave me alone." She inhales deeply as she pulls her gaze back to him, pressing her back against the wall. "I just need some sleep. Come get me when Peli's contact gets here, ok?"
✦✧✦✧✦
"You're our only hope."
She can't die here, not yet. Alora is young, just received her position. This can't be the end of everyone on this ship.
Dropping next to the small droid, she places a hand on its side. "Get to the pods. Escape now," she orders. "Find... What's the name?"
The girl beside her sighs. "Obi-Wan Kenobi. Everything is in the message."
Alora nods. "Go, R2."
The droid beeps as it begins to glide over to its golden companion. Instead of watching it, Alora turns to her closest friend. "You should get to a pod too. You know too much."
"So do you," the princess responds, her grip on the blaster tightening. "I won't leave all these people to Vader. I'm their leader, it's my job."
"It's also my job to protect you, and I can't do that if we're both captured by Imps, Leia." Alora pulls the girl into the shadows just before soldiers in distinct white armor walk in. Adjusting her grip, she pushes the princess further away with a small grunt, despite the pounding of her heart.
She makes the mistake of peeking around the corner.
"There's one. Set to stun."
Alora shoots the closest stormtrooper square in the chest. Though she's always been a fan of close-ranged weapons like swords and knives, she knows how to handle a blaster well enough. Lorn had ensured it with her rigorous training regiment.
"Come on," Alora waves to the princess, gripping her hand and tugging her along as they climb through the ship, trying to stay hidden.
Unfortunately, they get cornered on the south side by an expected enemy. Alora flies across the room, the blaster dropping to the ground in the process as she gasps for air. A dark helmet greets her; all she does is laugh as she's been trained to do.
"Only you would be so bold, Vader."
Alora wakes as her body jerks to the side. She can still feel her throat closed off as it was before, air barely able to get down as she tumbles out of the compartment. Obviously, Mando did not listen and had not woken her on Tatooine.
Before she can even think to climb up to the cockpit, her body jumps up as the ship falls through the air. As soon as it begins to stabilize, Alora blows a tuft of hair from her eyes. "Mando?!" She shouts, climbing up and managing to grab onto his chair. "What the hell?!"
"Come on, Razor Crest. Don't make us do it."
Alora's eyes dart up to see them zooming through an ice canyon. "Who's chasing us?"
"New Republic," Mando manages to reply. "Anything you wanna say to your old buddies?"
"No, not really."
With a shout, Alora's hand wraps around Mando's bicep as the ship darts to the side suddenly, slipping through an opening in the canyon and sliding along the ice until finally coming to a stop. Peeling her eyes open, she ignores the feeling of removing herself from Mando as she leans forward to watch two X-wings pass by their position.
"I've lost visual. He's gotta be around here somewhere."
"You head North. We'll cover more ground."
"What happened to waking me up?"
Mando clears his throat as he begins to push buttons. "You needed the sleep."
As he trails off, the ship dips down before falling through the ice ground. Alora screams as Mando pulls her closer to him, his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist and pressing her into the seat.
When she wakes again, she finds herself tangled in Mando's arms, electricity crackling in the distance. She blinks a few times before pushing against Mando's chest softly to jostle him. "Mando?" She whispers, pursing her lips. "Mando!"
He gasps, his helmet yanking backward. Alora holds her hands up in surprise as he looks around. As the helmet stops moving, he sighs. "That was...rougher than I expected."
Alora nods as she climbs off of him only to find a Frog Lady lying on the ground. "I fell asleep, and you got bored?" Alora asks as she drops next to the woman, gently pushing her shoulder.
"She's the contact," he explains as he moves around the control panel. "Her husband saw some Mandalorians, so we're transporting her and her eggs. No hyperdrive."
"Damn." Finally, the woman jerks awake. "Oh, hey! It's ok," Alora says softly. "Are you hurt?"
The Frog Lady whimpers, clicking her tongue loudly.
"I'll find your eggs, don't worry." Mando stands with a groan. "Gotta get some blankets, keep you warm."
Alora watches as he descends into the hull. She holds the woman close to her chest as the woman trembles against her. "It's ok," Alora says. "Trust Mando, ok? We'll find a way out of this mess."
Soon enough, Alora finds herself assisting Mando in any way she can, though both of their movements are slower than usual. The Child and the Frog Lady sit together to eat while Alora tries to patch up the hole in the ship.
"If you hadn't guessed, we're in a tight spot," Mando explains. "The main power drive is not responding, and the hull has lost its integrity. I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls."
"Don't scare her," Alora whispers though his assessment is the positive version.
"We'll have a better idea of our prospects at that time." Mando moans as he sits down to rest against the intact wall.
The Frog Lady begins speaking, pointing to her eggs.
"I'm sorry, lady. I don't understand Frog. Whatever it is, it can wait until morning. I recommend you get some sleep."
The Frog Lady sighs as the Child curls into Mando's side. Both of the boys are asleep within seconds. Alora shakes her head, but a smile graces her lips before she turns to the obviously distraught woman draping her blanket over the eggs.
"Let's see if we can find a way to communicate, shall we?" Alora places her hands on her hips. "Or else, this is gonna be a long journey."
✦✧✦✧✦
So, I've been thinking a lot about Alora's past and how she got to this point in her life. I've also been thinking about her childhood and interactions with various Jedi.
So, I may or may not do an extended prequel.
Would people...like...that?
Hope you enjoyed!
-L