TWENTY-SIX.
his face
🔹️🔹️🔹️
"Will you sit down..!" Xi'an barked, glaring at Burg.
He punched the top of the ship, angrily in response. She hissed, twirling a dagger around her fingers as they stared at one another angrily. Burg and the rest of the gang broke the tough silence, laughing.
I felt extremely uncomfortable as I sat on top of a nearby crate, crossing my arms and legs. Mayfeld turned to me, chuckling, "Why so tense? We're not gonna hurt you."
".. yet." Xi'an gave me an evil grin. I rolled my eyes, watching as Burg walked over to one of the ship's controllers.
I snapped, standing up. "Hey--"
"Relax," Mayfeld scoffed. "It's not like he's gonna break the ship or anything."
I sat back down, keeping an eye on Burg. Just then, I felt the ship go into hyperspace, reminding me of the good old days with Luke and the others on the Millennium Falcon.
A few moments later, I heard the sound of a door opening. I felt my heart drop; worried that Burg might've found where the child was. To my relief, Burg had just figured out how to open the covert full of weapons.
Burg laughed out loud, admiring all the weapons and rifles that Mando owned. As if on cue, Mando had dropped down from above the top level.
I gave him a quick glance before standing up and walking over to the controller, closing the covert. I rolled my eyes, "They're not yours."
Burg slammed his fist onto the covert's closed door, turning around to face me. He groaned in frustration and towered over me. I gave him a dark stare, furrowing my eyebrows.
Just as he was about to hit me, Mando stepped in front of me and blocked his attack. He then shoved Burg's fist away from him aggressively.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mayfeld exclaimed, trying to break the boys apart. "Okay, okay, okay -- I get it. I'm a little particular with my personal space too."
Mando and Burg glared at eachother, circling around one another like male lions about to fight. They stopped once I stepped in between them, "That's enough."
Mando stood in front of the covert as he kept his eyes on Burg's. Mando growled, shifting his gaze onto mine. I relaxed my shoulders and walked over to stand next to him.
"Yeah, so let's just do this job," Mayfeld announced, leaning forward as he turned to face us. "We get in, we get out, and you guys don't have to see our faces anymore."
Burg snarled, "Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian and this girl."
"Well, apparently the Mandalorians are the greatest warriors in the galaxy.." Mayfeld said sarcastically. ".. so they say."
"Then why are they all dead?" Burg laughed, causing the others to laugh with him as well.
I clenched my teeth, trying to hold myself back from lashing out at them. I turned to take a peek at Mando, but all I could see was his helmet; no emotion.
"Well, you flew with him, Xi'an," Mayfeld smirked. "Is he as good as they say?"
She didn't even look up to speak; she just kept her eyes on her dagger. "Ask him about the job on Alzoc III."
".. I did what I had to." Mando replied, sounding as if he was annoyed or frustrated.
"Oh, but you liked it," Xi'an gave him an eerie smile. "See, at least I know who you really are.. compared to that foolish girl of yours--"
"Shut it," I replied, scowling. "You don't know anything."
She rolled her eyes, "I sure as hell know more about him than you do."
"Then, does he never take that helmet off?" Mayfeld asked Xi'an, curiously. She chuckled in response as she mocked Mando.
"'This is the Way.'"
"Huh, I wonder what you look like under there," Mayfeld said, making fun of Mando as the others laughed along with him. "Maybe he's a Gungan. Is that why yousa don't wanna show your face?"
I turned to face Mando as he looked down at me. I sighed, whispering, "Ignore them."
Mayfeld asked Xi'an once more, "You ever seen his face?"
"A lady never tells." She gave out an exaggerated gasp, smirking.
"You and the Mandalorian are in a relationship, right?" Mayfeld spoke to me, raising an eyebrow. "Have you seen his face?"
I turned back around to look at him, crossing my arms. "No."
"Whoa, not even when you two are up here together and.. alone?" He chuckled. "Now, that's what I call commitment!"
Mando growled, "You--"
"Aw, come on, Mando! We all gotta trust each other here. You gotta show us something." Mayfeld exclaimed as Burg took a step closer to me and Mando. Mayfeld continued, "Come on, just lift the helmet up. Let's all see your eyes."
Everything became silent as the tension in the room began to grow. I pursed my lips, watching as Burg took another step closer. He shrugged, "I'll do it--"
With swift movements, Mando quickly punched Burg in the jaw, pushing him into the small area next to the child's secret room. Mando punched him again as Burg fell into the area, trying to hold onto to something to keep him from falling down.
I tried to pull Mando back; afraid that the fighting might end up revealing the child's secret room. "Will you two knock it off--!"
Just then, Burg accidentally pressed a button, unhatching the child's room. My eyes widened as the child cooed at us, staring up at me with his big eyes. I turned to look at Mando as he seemed to be taken aback as well.
"Whoa, what is that?" Mayfeld gasped, standing up and walking over to the child. The kid looked up at him, cooing. "You two get lonely up here, huh?"
I sighed, "Mayfeld."
"Wait a minute, did you two make that? Huh?" He smirked, looking over at both me and Mando. Xi'an hissed, glaring at me with fire in her eyes. Mayfeld turned his gaze back onto the child, "What is it, like a pet or somethin'?"
"Yeah, something like that." Mando replied, causing my head to turn towards him. I stared at him, raising an eyebrow.
I snickered, "Really?"
"Didn't take you for the type." Xi'an purred, rubbing herself against his body as she walked past him. "Maybe that code of yours had made you soft."
"Back off." I growled, pushing her away from Mando. She rolled her eyes, then quickly gave Mando a wink before standing over to the side.
"Me, I was never really into pets." Mayfeld interrupted our bickering with a dark smile. "Yeah, I didn't have the temperament."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "What?"
"Patience, you know? I mean, I tried.. but never worked out. But I'm thinking.." He trailed off on his words as he placed the child in his arms. "Maybe I'll try again with this fella, huh?"
I held my breath, trying not to start another fight again. Mando took a glance at me and I could tell he was just as anxious as I was. Just then, Mayfeld pretended to drop the child, causing everyone to start laughing.
I growled, stopping myself from strangling them with the Force. I took a deep breath out, closing my eyes for a split second. Mando placed a hand on my shoulder, comforting me.
I opened my eyes, looking over at Mando as he gave me a gentle nod. As if on cue, Zero's voice erupted from the control room, interrupting us.
"Dropping out of hyperspace, now."
The ship began to shake as everyone stumbled about, losing their balance and falling down onto the floor.
"Commencing final approach, now."
I landed on my hands as I fell, watching the child cry as he was dropped onto the floor. I quickly crawled over to him, trying to catch his rolling body.
"Cloaking signal, now."
When I finally caught the child and brought him into my arms, the ship started shaking even more. I rocked around, unable to keep my balance. I fell back onto the floor, pain jolting up from my back.
Suddenly, Mando fell on top of me. His hands on either side of my head, pinning me to the floor. He stared down at me as I looked up at him. He leaned in a bit closer, making sure that we wouldn't roll around any further.
I felt my face grow warm, a light blush forming on my cheeks. I held the child close to my chest, my heart racing. I pursed my lips as Mando kept his eyes on mine.
"Engaging coupling, now."
After a couple of seconds later, the ship came to an abrupt stop. Mando stood up, holding out his hand for me. I grabbed his hand as he pulled me up.
But surprisingly, we didn't let go of each other's hands yet. We just.. kept our eyes on one another. He leaned in a little more, inches away from me.
"Coupling confirmed. We are down.. and relax."
We pulled away from one another, my hands still warm from his touch. Xi'an growled, watching us look at each other with admiration in our eyes. I sighed as the child cried out to me. I walked over to his secret room and placed him inside, closing the hatch.
"Commence extraction, now."
Xi'an snarled, "Useless droid didn't even give us a proper countdown!"
"Z, are you sure they can't see us?" Mayfeld asked the droid.
"The Razor Crest is scrambling our signature, and I am inside the prison system." Zero replied through his intercom. "It's impressive that this gunship had survived the Empire without being impounded."
Mando walked up to me, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," I said, turning around to face him. "You?"
"Yeah, I--"
"Alright, we got a job to do." Mayfeld announced to all of us. He shifted his gaze onto me and Mando, "You guys are up."
I sighed once more before walking over to the bottom exit as Mando followed me from behind. We both kneeled down as Mando opened the ship's exit. He turned to look at me as I got out a hacking device.
I plugged it into a small outlet as the hacking device began decoding the entrance's password. Suddenly, the entrance opened up to reveal the New Republic prison ship's white interior. I unplugged the device and threw it over to the side.
Mando looked at me with a small nod. I gave him a gentle smile before turning over to look at Mayfeld. Everyone stared at him as he looked around at us with a confused expression.
"It's me?" Mayfeld asked in confusion, raising up an eyebrow. I scoffed as Burg took the pleasure of responding for me.
"Always you."