That night, we arrived at Mos Eisley, making our way to the cantina, where we saw Peli playing sabacc against an insectoid alien creature with brown skin and yellow eyes. They sat at a booth towards the back of the cantina. Peli did a double take upon seeing the Mandalorian armor that Din was carrying.
"You finally found a Mandalorian and ya kill him?" She inquired, rather baffled.
"He wasn't Mandalorian. I bought this armor off of him, though." Din informed her.
"What'd that set you back?" Peli inquired.
"Killed the Krayt dragon for him." Din added.
"Oh is that all?" Peli retorted, sounding very sarcastic.
Kaytia grimaced as she looked over at Din and me. "I don't like her."
I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we're leaving Tatooine soon."
"We are, but I don't know where we'd go next. He was my last lead on finding other Mandalorians." Din stated.
The creature spoke in his language, baffling us. Peli turned towards us. "Okay. You might be in luck. Dr. Mandible says he can connect you with someone who can help you, if you cover his call this round. It's what he said."
I furrowed my brows. "What's the bet?"
"Five hundred." Peli replied.
"That's a high-stakes game." Din pointed out.
Peli shrugged. "Hey, he's on a hot streak."
Din let out a sigh, reluctantly he tossed the credits onto the table. Peli glanced over at Dr. Mandible. "Is the pot right?"
Dr. Mandible nodded. Peli let out a laugh as she slapped her cards down. "Ha! Idiot's Array! Pay up, thorax!"
She stood up, grabbing the pile of credits as Dr. Mandible spoke in his language, no doubt protesting. Din glanced over at Peli. "I thought you said he was on a hot streak."
"Oh stop you're crying, you'll rust." Peli retorted.
I clenched my jaw, but I remained silent. It's all right, Delmira, that's just the way she is. She doesn't mean to be personal. Dr. Mandible then spoke in his language as he turned to look at us. Peli translated his words. "All right. He says the contact will rendezvous at the hangar. They'll tell you where to find the Mandalorians. That's what you wanted, right?"
Din nodded. "Yes."
"All right, well, stop you're mopin'." Peli advised as she walked away from the booth. "More importantly, did you bring back any of that dragon meat? Better not have any maggots on it. I don't like maggots."
With that, we returned to the hangar. While Kaytia played with the pit droids near the Razor Crest, Peli's WED-15 Treadwell droid was roasting the chunk of dragon meat that we brought with one of the engine's blast, while Selba watched in awe. At that moment, Peli walked into the hangar.
"Hey, don't overcook it, Treadwell! I like it medium rare! I'm not some Rodian for crying out loud." Peli mentioned as she approached us. "All right, here's the deal. A Mandalorian covert is close. Its in this sector, one system trailing."
"Are they the ones that left Nevarro?" Din asked.
Peli shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is that the contact will lead you to them."
"How much will it cost?" I questioned.
"Well, that's the great news. It's free. Aside from the finder's fee, of course." Peli informed us.
"What's the not great news?" Din inquired.
"Nothing, it's all great." Peli mentioned.
Din gave her a nod before turning away. "Okay."
I could sense that there was something Peli wasn't telling us. I narrowed my eyes. "There's something you aren't telling us."
Din glanced over at me before looking over at Peli. "Is this true?"
Peli grimaced. "Yeah, unfortunately there is one small skank in the scud pie."
"Which is?" Din asked.
"The contact wants passage to the system." Peli commented.
"Do you vouch for them?" Din questioned.
"On my life." Peli confirmed.
"Fine." Din confirmed.
"And..." Peli trailed off.
Din turned back around, becoming slightly irritated, not expecting there to be more. Peli continued. "No hyperdrive."
Din and I exchanged a look. I didn't need to see his face to know he was taken back. I knew Din didn't like that idea nor did I.
"You want me to travel sublight?" Din asked, rather baffled.
"Oh no, deal's off." I protested. I quickly turned towards Din. "We can find other ways, this isn't the only way."
Din turned towards me. He let out a sigh. "I wish that was true, but your brother isn't available."
"It's one sector over." Peli commented.
"Moving fast is the only thing keeping us safe." Din argued.
"These are mitigating circumstances." Peli replied.
"What do you mean mitigating?" Din asked, tilting his helmet.
All of the sudden, a female frog creature walked into the hangar. She wore a brown dress with a scarf around her neck. On her back, she carried a container filled with eggs.
"I'm not a taxi service." Din protested.
"I know, I know, I hear you. But I can vouch for her." Peli urged as she raised her hands.
The frog lady then approached us. I could feel Din becoming irritated rather quickly. I placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced over at me, and I gave him a reassuring smile. Once he was calm enough, Din turned back to face Peli.
"What's the cargo?"
Peli spoke to the frog lady in her language. The frog lady replied to her. Peli then turned towards us, translating her words. "It's her spawn. She needs her eggs fertilized by the equinox or her line will end. If you jump into hyperspace, they'll die. She said her husband has settled on the estuary moon of Trask in the system of the gas giant Kol Iben."
"She said all that?" I questioned, rather baffled.
Peli shrugged. "I paraphrased."
"Is she sure there are Mandalorians there?" Din asked.
Peli looked back at the frog lady, speaking to her. She replied at once. Peli was quick to translate her words. "She said her husband has seen them."
The frog lady then walked off, making her way to the Razor Crest. Selba walked off, following the lady as he stared at the eggs in awe. Din then spoke up. "You you know her husband?"
"No. I met her ten minutes before you both walked in." Peli confessed.
Din and I were both baffled by her words. But she said she vouched for her life? Treadwell approached us with a plate filled with the cooked meat. Peli grabbed a piece of the meat before taking a bite.
"I thought you said you vouched for her life." Din mentioned.
What can I say, I'm an excellent judge of character. Oh come on what's the worst that will happen?" Peli inquired.
•••
With that, we took off. Selba, Kaytia, and Ani remained in the cargo hold, while I sat in the passenger's seat along with the frog lady in the cockpit, while Din sat in the pilot's seat, flying us out of Tatooine.
"Now, I'm gonna ask you to stay strapped in whenever you're seated. Traveling sublight is a bit dicey these days." Din mentioned. "Whether it's pirates or warlords, someone either ends up with a nice chunk of change or your ship."
The frog lady replied, speaking in her language. Din turned back to look at her. "I don't speak whatever language that is."
Din then glanced over at me. "Do you speak her language?"
I shook my head. "No, I don't know. Do you speak another language?"
"You speak Huttese?" Din asked.
He then spoke some Huttese, but the lady just stared at him, looking baffled. Din let out a sigh. I could feel him growing frustrated. I don't blame him though. This is going to be a long trip, I could sense it. As time went on, Din stood up from his chair. "So, I'm gonna hit the rack. I've set the nav for our course. It's gonna take a while. I recommend you get some rest."
He then glanced over at me. "Cyar'ika, you coming?"
"I'll stay here in case something goes wrong." I informed him.
Din gave me a nod. "But get some sleep."
"I will, min larel." I assured him.
He gave me one last look before leaving the cockpit. Once he left, I took out my holoprojector, trying to contact Luke. Instead, a hologram of Han and Chewy appeared. Their eyes lit up as soon as they saw me. Chewy let out a growl, happy to see me.
"Hey Mira!" Han exclaimed. "Glad to finally hear from you. Have found Kaytia yet?"
"Yes, I managed to get her back...Where's Luke and Leia?" I questioned.
"Leia's in the Senate, debating with other senators as usual. And Luke's gone on a mission." Han explained.
I raised an eyebrow. "A mission? What for? When will he be back?"
Han shrugged. "Don't know. It concerns the Jedi though. He's traveling around the galaxy to find texts of the Jedi and more about their lore. To be honest, I don't think he took a holoprojector or comlink with him. I've tried to contact him, but I got nothing."
Of course...Luke had talked about searching the galaxy to find out more about the Jedi. He hoped it would help him rebuild the Jedi Order. I nodded. "Thanks Han. How's Ben?"
"He's good. That little bandit's been lifting rocks outside the house...again." Han commented.
I chuckled. "Well, he's strong in the Force. Takes after his mother and uncle."
"And his Aunt Delmira." Han added.
Before I could protest, Han spoke up again. "Mira, don't sell yourself short. You're a Skywalker, you are stronger than you think."
Chewy let out a growl, agreeing with Han's words. I cracked a smile. "Thanks for your encouraging words. I appreciate it."
"Leia told me you weren't coming back yet. But when do you plan on returning?" Han inquired.
"Not anytime soon. I have some matters I need to attend to." I replied, being vague.
An amused grin then appeared on Han's face. "Did you meet a guy?"
My eyes widened, not expecting him to ask that. Chewy snickered before letting out a growl, saying I probably did meet a guy. I could feel my entire face turning bright red.
"Ha, ha, laugh it up, Chewy." I retorted. "And yes, I did meet a guy, he's a good man."
Han's smile grew. "It's about time, Mira. When will you introduce him to us?"
"One of these days, I promise." I assured him. "But we both have something important that we must do."
Han raised an eyebrow. "And what's so important that you must do now?"
"It concerns a Force-sensitive child. That's why I've tried reaching to Luke. I believe I may have a student for him." I explained.
"Why don't you teach him yourself?" Han suggested.
"I'm not a true Jedi, Han. This child needs someone who can properly teach him the ways of the Jedi and of the Force." I protested. Not wishing to talk more about the matter, I changed the subject. "I must go, I'll call again when I'm not busy."
With that, I hung up, causing the hologram of Han and Chewy to vanish. I knew I wasn't the best teacher to teach the child or even Kaytia the ways of the Jedi. They both needed a better Jedi to teach them, one like my brother. I then felt myself drifting off to sleep. Not long after I fell asleep, I woke up to the sound of an alarm. I glanced over to see the frog lady fast asleep. Before I could do anything, Din stormed into the cockpit, plopping down in the pilot's chair.
"What's going on?" I questioned.
"We have company." Din informed me.
At that moment, I heard a male voice coming from the controls near the nav computer. "Razor Crest, M-One-Eleven. Come in, Razor Crest. Do you copy?"
At that moment, I saw New Republic X-wings approach the ship, each one of other side of the Razor Crest. My heart clenched as I looked over at Din, getting nervous. Din glanced over at me, placing a finger on his helmet, where his lips were.
"This is Razor Crest. Is there a problem?" Din asked.
"We noticed your transponder is not emitting." The man replied.
"Yes, I'm pre-Empire surplus." Din explained. "I'm not required to run a beacon."
"That was before. This sector is under New Republic jurisdiction. All craft are required to run a beacon." The man explained.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll get right on it." Din assured them.
"Not a problem. Safe travels." The man said.
"...May the Force be with you." Din replied.
A smile appeared on my face, happy he was using the phrase that I taught him. He was still confused as to what the Force was, but he was learning.
"And also with you." The man responded.
Din and I exchanged a look, relieved when we didn't hear the man say another word, believing we were no longer in danger. However, our hopes fell as we heard the man's voice again. "Just one more thing."
"Yes?" Din questioned.
"I'm gonna need you to send us a ping." He mentioned. "We're out here sweeping for Imperial holdouts."
"I'll let you know if I see anything." Din commented.
"I'm still gonna need you to send us that ping." The man insisted.
"Well, I'm not sure I have that hardware online." Din mentioned, trying to get us out of this.
"We can wait." The man informed him.
I could feel Din's nerves growing as he looked around at the controls. Din fumbled over his words as he replied. "Yeah, I...Doesn't seem to be working."
"That's too bad. If we can't confirm you're not Imperial, you're gonna have to follow us to the outpost at Adelphi." The man stated. "They'll run your tabs."
"Oh wait. There it is. Transmitting now." Din stated.
As soon as he transmitted the ping, the frog lady woke up, startled by the sudden noise. Immediately, I turned towards the frog lady. "Be quiet!"
"What was that?" The man inquired.
"Uh, nothing. The hypervac is drawing off the exhaust manifold." Din lied.
As the frog lady continued speaking, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn to look at me. I then whispered. "Please, stay quiet."
Another man spoke up. "Carson, can you switch over to channel two?"
"Copy." The man named Carson replied.
My heart clenched. They found something on us. But what did we do? I rummaged through my brain, trying to think, and then it hit me. We helped those mercenaries board a New Republic ship and we used the Razor Crest to accomplish that task. I then watched as both X-wings set their S-foils to the attacking position. My stomach dropped. This isn't good...The man named Carson spoke up. "Was your craft in proximity of New Republic Correctional Transport Bothan-Five?"
I glanced over at Din, who remained silent. Then, he violently moved the ship forward, making our way to the nearest planet, Maldo Kreis, causing the frog lady to let out a yell. The two X-wings followed behind us as we entered the planet's atmosphere. I was trying to process everything that had just happened.
"Razor Crest, stand down. We will fire. I repeat, we will fire!" Carson warned.
"Din, what are you doing?!" I exclaimed.
"Trying to save ourselves from ending up in a cell." He retorted.
He then moved the ship into the clouds before dropping us lower into the planet at full speed, causing the frog lady to scream out as she held on for dear life. Din didn't pull up until we reached the ice canyons. As he flew into the canyon, Carson continued to urge him to stand down, not that he'd listened to him anyways.
As the X-wings gained on us, Din flew us onto the canyon before he violently flew us under a rock shelf, where we slid around until Din managed to stop the ship. I looked out to see the X-wings fly past us. I let out a sigh of relief. I whipped around to face Din, who's gaze was on the controls.
"What in the blue blazes? You could've gotten us killed." I protested.
He huffed. "I know what I'm doing."
Before Din could fly us out of here, the entire floor that the ship was on top of began to crack before it gave out, causing us to collapse into a cave. Upon impact, I hit my head against the wall next to me.
~Translations~
Cyar'ika----Beloved
Min larel---My love
Min turhaya---my bright star