Trisk was laughing, hard. Meric had never seen her bust a gut so thoroughly. He didn't know why his comment on Tawn Tawns cracked her up so completely, but he liked seeing her smile. He was even chuckling with her.
Unexpectedly, while she inhaled on a breath, a snort came with her laugh. She suddenly stopped and covered her mouth, a blush rising to her cheeks. Meric's eyes widened. His chest began to shake as he held in laughter.
"Are you laughing at me?" She yelled. He couldn't hold back his enjoyment after that. His laugh filled the room. "Yes, I snort when I laugh hard. Is that so funny?"
Once Meric got control of himself again, he held up a finger. "One, it's the first time I heard you laugh that hard. So, I can't help myself but laugh with you. Two, there's nothing wrong with your laugh. Three, I think it's kinda cute."
Her expression changed from one of embarrassment to surprise at his comment. The blush meant something different after that. He simply smiled at her. It had been a while since his contract to retrieve her father from Hoth, and during that time he had began to notice more things about his friend.
He noticed how she seemed to shy away from him when he was close. He noticed how she would cuddle into herself when sleeping. He noticed how she seemed to have a little sorrow always in her eyes. He noticed small things that he never took note of before. And after hearing her laugh, he knew why he was paying so much attention to her, and how she didn't often leave his thoughts.
A sudden alert of emergency entered the ship, causing both to jump up and run to the holoterminal. Pressing a few buttons, Meric answered the distress call.
"Meric!" Another Mandalorian responded once he connected. "Thank Mandalore, we need your help."
"Vata," Meric called back. "What's wrong?"
It looked like she dodged a blast before she continued. "Our group was hired to gather any Khyber Crystals we could find on Jedha. Apparently, we got on Imperial Intelligence's radar, and now we have several squadrons of Operatives attacking us. I'm retreating to camp, but we are rotating in groups on the attack so they don't get too close. Meric, I want you involved because we don't have a way off this planet."
"How many are in your group?" He asked urgently.
She looked around. "Not much more, they did a number on us, but I think we can fit everyone on your ship. But I also would like your input. If there is a chance of us winning this, you would know how."
"On our way." He responded.
Ending the call, he and Trisk ran to the cockpit and took off towards Jedha. A feeling of panic entered Meric's chest as he thought of his friends in danger. He hoped that they would make it in time to save them. He wanted to at least give them a fighting chance.
"Do you know Jedha?" He asked Trisk while he engaged the hyperdrive.
She looked over at him. "I remember learning about it. I've never been there. It's a desert moon that's described to have an eternal winter. It's one of the first places to have had Force Sensitives. Many Force Users went there to learn. But since then, battle of the planet with the Empire has caused it to be a wasteland. The old civilization there is long gone, and anything left is just dust. People still live there, but they are mainly passing through. Tourism, I guess."
"Khyber Crystals come from there?" He asked.
"It was one of the originators of the Khyber Crystal for our Sabers, but it's not the only planet." She explained. "I guess the Imperials don't want anyone taking the Crystals they stole."
This allowed Meric a little chuckle in a time of worry. He was glad that Trisk was around to help him. And he wanted her along. Her defensive fighting style would help them at this time.
"You're coming with me." He told her. "I'll need you in order to give them a chance."
She nodded. "I'll be glad to help."
They remained in silence the rest of the flight to Jedha, focusing on the task at hand. Meric had a lot going on in his head though. Along with worry for his friends, he worried about Trisk. He didn't know if the other Mandalorians would be accepting of her. As well as, he worried that with Imperial Intelligence there, they could make it known she was traveling with him, making her an easy target. Find him, and anyone could find her. There were a lot of unknowns happening in this whole situation that he didn't like. But he couldn't see into the future, and so all he could do was prepare for the worst.
They pulled out of hyperspace and found themselves facing Jedha. Meric entered in the location of where his friends were and made his way onto the moon. The ship flew in close to the surface and landed a short distance from the camp. Without hesitation, Meric put on his helmet and Trisk placed her sabers on her belt, and they went out to the camp.
The sounds of blaster fire was in the distance. Looking around the small camp, Meric took in the sight of his fellow Mandalorians. Several were injured and were receiving medical care in one tent, while there were others that were resting. Some were practicing their targeting, but Meric couldn't see Vata.
A larger tent was set in the center of the camp. Assuming it was the commanding center, he went in with Trisk following. When the tent flap opened, he was greeted by the faces of Vata and several other leaders of the group. Once Trisk entered, all of them pulled their blasters and aimed them at her.
Meric stepped in front. "It's okay. She's with me."
All of the collectively let out a breath of relief and went back to the holomap of the area. Vata began to explain the situation. "It's only a matter of time before they surround us. There's something here that the Imperials don't want us to see. And apparently our employer decided that it wasn't worth mentioning that we would be this close to their project."
Meric stepped to the table. "Tell me what you can."
Vata pointed at a nearby structure. "We were told that the Khyber Crystals we needed to obtain were in this building, but once we entered, the Imperial Intelligence Operatives attacked. I don't know how they found out we were coming, but they do not want us in that ruin."
"It's not just a ruin." Trisk jumped in, her arms crossed. "That's a Jedi Temple. One that was specifically for Khyber Crystals. Harvesting, training, building, anything dealing with the use of a Khyber Crystal."
They were silent for a moment. One of the other leaders spoke up. "I can see why you brought her."
Meric smiled under his helmet. "She's also an excellent fighter."
"Anyway," Vata interrupted. "Do you know why they would be guarding this Temple like a stronghold?"
Trisk brought her hand to her chin. "They Crystal here are different from most found in the galaxy. Because this place was one of the first to really have the Force become apart of everyone's life, it was often thought that these crystals were stronger in the Force than any other place. I don't know if it's true, but I wouldn't brush it off as a possibility."
Meric listened intently as she talked. Vata had one more question for her. "What are the possibilities of them hiding something there?"
"The Temple is very large, so I would think it's very likely." Trisk confirmed.
"I want to find out what their hiding." Vata stated. "If we are able to keep the majority of the troops occupied, a small infiltration team can get in there, get some Crystals, and find out what they are hiding. Meric, myself, and the Chiss will be that team. You keep them occupied. We won't have much time before Red Eye comes."
Meric froze. "Red Eye is coming?"
Vata nodded.
"We don't have time to do an infiltration, once she's here then this won't be a battle anymore. It will be a massacre." He challenged. "We need to evacuate."
"As well as it will take longer than you think to even get out of the temple with all you want to find." Trisk added. "We don't know what they are hiding, as well as if it is something large. We could be on a wild chase searching for something that doesn't even exist."
"I am not leave without those Crystals." Vata commanded. "Fine, we don't have to look for what they are hiding, but I need those Crystals. I'll have anyone who isn't fighting prepare the evacuation. Once we are done in the Temple, we book it to Meric's ship with everyone else. With any luck, Red Eye will arrive only to see the remains of the camp."
Meric growled, but didn't argue against her. She was stubborn. Meric knew that from when they were little. Turning to Trisk, he motioned for her to follow. They made their way out of the tent to prepare. Sitting down he pulled off his helmet and set it to the side. Trisk stood in front of him.
Grabbing her hand, Meric looked into her red eyes. "I know we are doing this together, but I still want you to be careful. After this, Imperials will know that you were with a Mandalorian, and there's a chance of them coming after us. Plus, you may be really good a defense, but even I know that ambushing you would take you down."
"I'll be careful." She promised. "But you have to do the same."
He nodded.
"Who were they talking about?" She asked.
"What?"
"Red Eye," she clarified. "Who's that?"
Meric looked down at their joined hands. Stroking the back of hers with his thumb he answered. "Ysanne Isard."