My new boots were caked in mud as the bounty hunter and I trekked through the dense woods to the spot that I kept all of my belongings while I was on this planet. I hiked my bag up on my shoulder, looking over it to see shiny right behind me, seemingly unbothered by the lack of clear path.
The silver glint of his armor made me think of the child, pulling the corners of my mouth down. My goodbye was hurried when we landed, pulling him from his orb and cradling him to my chest as he cooed and grabbed my hair. His soft cries were heard as I descended the ladder, and they were met with modulated reassurances that Mando would be back soon.
"How much longer?" The same voice questioned.
I pulled back a large branch as we came to a rocky incline, ducking my head down with a smirk before looking back. "We've arrived."
The dark hole in the hillside was mostly covered by the dense forest. It really was the perfect hub- big enough to hold the necessities but small enough to hide. I leaned down as I walked in, chuckling as I heard shiny cursing beneath his breath at the tight fit. Reaching up, I flicked on a lantern, watching as the light reflected off the small mirror fragments I had set up around the space just for that reason. Everything sat disturbed and covered by a thin veil of sediment. My cot on the far side with a single blanket and pillow, a bag of food thrown at the foot of it.
The Mandalorian took in the small space as I kneeled by the cot and reached under. "It isn't much, but it serves its purpose well." My hand found a leather satchel, pulling it out as I stood and turned to the man. I opened it for a quick count, satisfied with the amount. "Your pay, shiny."
He took the coins, fingering them until his visor rose to meet me. "This is a lot."
The corner of my mouth twitched up. "Just over double my bounty. I told you I'd pay to not turn me in, and I meant it."
"I don't nee-"
"Keep it. Buy the kid some food."
I held his visor's gaze until he pocketed the bag with a modulated sigh. "I better head back."
"Yeah... well, it was a pleasure doing business with you." I stuck out my hand, softly smiling when the tough fabric of his gloves met my fingers. His grasp was strong in mine, and I squeezed his fingers slightly before letting go. He spun on his heel back to the entrance, almost out when I spoke again. "Mando-" he didn't turn around, but turned his head for me to see his profile. "Thank you again." With a pause, then a curt nod, he was out of the door and I was alone. I strained my ears, sighing when I heard the last of the forest floor shift beneath his boots. I sat heavy on the cot, grimacing when a puff of red dust rose into the air.
I really didn't want to come back here.
It was naive of me to think that I'd hang out on the Razor Crest for a while, but the Madalorian wasn't one for visitors or hosting. However, even his quiet company, along with the kid's, filled a void that I had forgotten was nestled within my heart. Loneliness.
"Ugh," I huffed, eyeing the bag I had carried with me. I leaned forward to grab the flimsy strap and drug it over to my feet, reaching in and grabbing the once-blue fabric of my only dress. I'd be able to mend it here with my supplies. While living practically on the run, I'd quickly learned that repairing my clothes was so much easier than risking a trip to town to buy more. I'd had this dress for years- a rare nicety that I had let myself spend credits on when the sultry blue caught my eye.
I filled up a basin with water from my stash, dipping and rinsing the dark mud from the fabric, fingering the slight rip that Mando had caused. I reached down for my blade, laying the wet fabric flat before slicing off a bottom portion of it to bring the length just above my knees. A long branch I had wedged in the narrow portion of the cave served as my drying rack as I held my hand beneath to catch the stray drops.
It was time to leave this planet. I'd helped the people the best I could, and my presence here had become too known. Even going to the shops was a risk now. I closed my hand, watching as the water drops squeezed their way out of the sides of my fist to their rightful place on the dirt-covered floor. I walked to the cot again, throwing myself down and staring at the cave ceiling. I had options. Turning my head to the side, I assigned planets to three random objects on a shelf of rock before leaning down and plucking a small stone from the floor.
"So where are we going?" I asked no one as I closed my eyes, rolling the rock between my fingers before tossing it in the general directions of my stand-in objects.
The ring of aluminum filled the cave. A small smile lifted my lips as I settled further onto the cot. "Looks like a visit to Canto Bright then."
***
"It's due East! The same one that was here a few days ago."
I startled awake at the sound of voices down the hill from my cave. Immediately I was up at the mouth of it, crouched in the darkness with my blade in my hand, listening.
"They made good work of Raul and his crew, but word has it the Mandalorian was seen by himself in the market a few hours back, no girl in sight. Yun followed him back and kept eyes on the ship until the whole gang arrived. Last I heard, they were just now able to overpower him." The voice faded away as the group wandered further from the cave, following the path that Mando had taken last night when leaving.
Uh-oh.
"Looks like you haven't gotten rid of me yet, bucket." I grabbed my bag, stuffing my small amount of belongings into it and hoisting it onto my back. Patting my thigh, my blade and razors were secure and I took off to return the favor of saving the metalhead and the kid. The men were still talking ahead in the distance, and I was able to track their voices all the way back to the Razor Crest through the dense woods and cold night air. As we got closer, the glow of fire shined off the surface of the ship, creating an orange glow around the field the Madalorian had landed in. I crouched down by a tree on the outskirts, trying to count the men posted about.
"Not even Mando could take out this many," I whispered to myself, not seeing any sign of the bounty hunter. I snuck forward, using the tall grass and thick trees as cover so I could get closer to the ship.
"They have him inside. Knocked 'em out cold and tied 'em up. We will wait 'til the morning when Boss can come out- see what he wants to do with 'em."
A grunt answered him. "And the green thing?"
"'ready back at the shop."
I bristled at their words, praying no harm came to the kid. I had to get Mando out so we could take care of these guys. There was obviously no way I'd be able to do it on my own. If I could make it onto the ship, I could get him awake before any of the thieves noticed. I continued left, able to get closer to the open ramp without being noticed. The majority of the crew was gathered around the large fire, fighting off the chilly air that was seeping into my clothing, making my shoulders tense. There were quite a few guys stationed on the edge of the field, but spread enough where they wouldn't be a threat. The shadows provided cover as I crouched down, crawling to the ramp and spinning inside of the lower level with my blade drawn. I could hear someone above walking heavy. Not Mando.
"I've always wondered what you scum looked like below your precious masks," I heard as I silently climbed the ladder to the upper chambers. I heard Mando then as harsh modulated breathing filled the room, joined by pained grunts and scraping metal. "Uh, uh, uh. Don't wear yourself out struggling." They were coming from Mando's sleeping quarters.
I placed my back against the partially opened door, peeking into the dimly lit room. Mando was chained against a chair, shaking his head back and forth as the criminal placed his hands on either side of his helmet.
"Let's see how ugly you are," the man said, but I quickly took a razor from my holster, flinging it forward with a grunt and catching the man in the neck. He stumbled backwards, clutching the squirting wound and collapsing against the wall. The Mandolorian whipped his head to me, uninterested in the gurgling sounds of the dying man on his bedroom floor.
"You're here," was all he said.
I stepped inside, sliding the door closed and locking it. "No shit, shiny." I fingered the thick chains that were wrapped around him, trying to find the lock. "How exactly did you get yourself into this mess?"
A modulated huff came before the answer. "I was trying to get some rest before leaving, and they ambushed me. Took the kid."
"I heard," I said as I found the lock, taking the dead man's blaster and shooting the lock open with it before adding it to the waistband of my pants. I helped Mando unravel the chains, grasping his forearm and helping him up. I held him steady as he reached up to hold the side of his helmet. Through the break in the armor, I could now see the crimson path coming from beneath it. "Mando, you're hurt."
"I'm fine."
"You're stubborn."
His visor focused on me for a moment. "Let's go," he huffed, turning to the door.
I reached out for his arm again. "Hey, wait. There are a lot more of them than us. We can't just go blasters blazing out there."
A raspy sigh filled the space. "Then what do you suggest?"
"We need to use stealth for this. The majority of them are around the fire, but if we can take the others out one by one, I think we could handle the smaller group together."
"Blasters aren't particularly great for stealth. You have your blades."
I walked over to the dead man, plucking my blade from his neck and wiping it on his shirt. Turning to the hunter, I held it out to him. "And now you have one. That mixed with your brute strength, I'm sure you can take some down silently. I'll work left, you work right. Take them down as you go and we will eventually meet on the other side. Then we can strike the group."
His helmet tilted as he regarded the blade, but he took it from me regardless. "You're sure this will work?"
I scoffed at him. "Unless you planned something better while chained to the chair?"
A modulated growl was my only answer as he slid the door open and exited the room. I followed close behind, jumping down the ladder and peering outside when we got to the ramp. The perimeter was lined, as planned. We could do this. I looked at Mando and he was already looking over at me. We nodded to each other and slipped out of the ship, slinking behind the tall grass. The first man I encountered was whistling and bouncing on the balls of his feet while picking under his nails with a small stick. I snuck behind him with my vibroblade in hand, making quick work as I clamped my free hand tight against his mouth and ran the blade across his neck, silently lowering him to the ground to be shielded by the grass.
The second and third went the same, but the fourth asked a question in the third's direction and called out a second time when he received no answer. "Mate, are you listening at all?" I heard his heavy steps in the grass coming towards me, so I quickly crawled a couple of feet away by a tree. A few steps before he would have seen his friend, I grabbed my throwing razor, hitting the man in the neck much like I did the man in the ship. He crumpled to his knees, far enough away where the other men didn't hear him.
I grabbed my razor from his skin and continued on, taking down two more before my eyes caught the glow of the fire off of a Mandolorian helmet tucked behind a tree.
"Took you long enough," he teased.
"Excuse me for taking my time. Those men were quite a bit bigger than me." I leaned against the tree, taking a second to gather myself before looking over to him. "How's your head?"
"What's the second part of your plan?" Shiny asked, ignoring my question. I sighed, rubbing my forehead.
"Seems to only be about ten left. We can handle that I think?"
He nodded. "We can handle that."
"Blasters blazing?" I asked as I removed the weapon from my waistband.
I was met with a huff of a laugh. "Blasters blazing."
With that we both stepped from behind the trees, taking down two men with our shots before the others started yelling and shooting back. I dove to the right, narrowly missing a shot before volleying back and hitting the guy in the chest. But right as I stood back up, a shot grazed my thigh, causing me to yell out and drop to one knee. The man approached me, raising his blaster before a familiar blade met his temple. I looked over as Mando turned back to the group, and I stood shakily to help him finish them off.
I pushed out a breath, closing my eyes and pressing my hand against the wound on my leg. It wasn't deep, but red still coated my hand when I removed it. I heard deep robotic breathing, and opened my eyes as Mando stopped in front of me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I breathed. "Just a flesh wound. I'll need to clean and wrap it." I went to take a step towards the ship, reaching out to the bucket as I tripped forward.
"I'm going to pick you up," he said with almost no warning as he scooped me into his armored arms.
"Shit, Mando! Put me down, I can walk."
"Not well," he replied, headed towards the ship. I grumbled some choice words, but wrapped my arms around his neck regardless, grimacing as I felt his drying blood on my arm.
We settled in the open area by the small bathroom. Mando was rummaging around for his aid supplies as I unhooked my holster and weapons, setting them on a metal table before twisting my leg towards the light. "It definitely could've been worse. Should be a relatively easy fix." I unbuttoned my pants, shimmying out of them with a small whine as the fabric rubbed against the raw skin. The outside of my leg was stained red and contrasted harshly against my pale skin as I stood in my underwear. Mando turned around and stopped abruptly when he saw me, causing me to roll my eyes. "What? Never seen a woman in her underwear before?" I asked as I reached forward for the supplies.
He held them out of reach with a huff. "I'll do it. You can't have your leg twisted when you bandage it."
I lowered myself onto the floor, jumping at the cold metal on my bare legs. "Well hurry please. It's freezing in here."
The Mandalorian removed his gloves and got to work cleaning around the wound. His hands were calloused but surprisingly gentle as he worked, relieving the pressure with each pained hiss of my breath. He kept one hand on the inside of my leg to hold it still, and I tried not to focus on how strong his fingers felt as they softly dug into my skin. Seriously, I thought. No need to get turned on by a guy wiping away blood. But easier said than done when his hand pulled my leg open a little more to have more light on it. A quiet breath escaped me, but he heard it based on his fingers tightening their hold momentarily.
He looked up after wrapping the wound, keeping his hand placed on my leg. Our faces were close together, and I wondered what his expression was beneath the helmet. "Thank you," I whispered, grabbing his warm hand in a gentle squeeze before sitting back. He cleared his throat and stood to put away the supplies. "Mando you need to clean your head wound. You could also have a concussion... what did they hit you with anyway?"
"Not sure, something heavy, but I'm fine."
"You say that until you pass out later, and I won't be able to just scoop you up and carry you back."
I could feel the glare behind his visor as he faced me. "We need to get the kid."
I nodded. "I've been thinking about that. If we go now, we could get to him before sunrise. Should be in and out. I don't imagine they'd have him heavily guarded. However," I started as I dug a new pair of pants from my bag, slipping them on. "When we get back, we need to deal with your injury. Okay?" When he didn't answer I pressed more. "Please."
"Okay, fine. When we get back. But we need to leave and get back before more of those guys do." I clipped my holster back and went to climb down the ladder before stopping, almost making Mando run into me. "What?"
"We should probably move the dead guy out of your room."