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hunnythebee · 2 years ago

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Stow Away

Chapter 11: Finally Free

Jo finally wakes up after a week long period of sedation. The bacta has healed her almost completely of her wounds and she is able to finally take in everything. Friends, new and old, the rekindling of an old flame, and a surprising new development guarantee that even though Jo has her freedom, that her adventure is not over yet.

3.3k words - third person - female original character

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12 | Masterlist

Tags & Warnings; Din Djarin x oc, Din Djarin x ofc, fluff, angst, this chapter is pure plot, mentions of trauma and death, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Grogu, Pelli Moto, Jawas can find anything, Boba's Palace

The days that followed were a blur. Jo remained mostly sedated, waking for brief periods of time to eat or bathe. It wasn’t until about a week later did she feel well enough to stay conscious. Din had left the room to go fix her breakfast, and while he was gone she had woken up feeling almost completely healed. She got up out of the bed, feeling incredibly stiff from lying down for so long, and stretched a little as she walked to a set of double doors that lead out to a balcony. The twin suns were just peeking over the horizon and the heat had yet to overtake the cool night air. Jo leaned on the banister and breathed deeply. She was finally free. Bane believed she was dead and Din had somehow found her again. She didn’t care how. For now, she was just happy he was in her life again. A breeze blew through her hair and she never thought she would be so happy to smell the sands of Tatooine again.

Behind her was a crashing sound and it startled her from her peaceful thoughts. Jo whipped around quickly to discover the source of the noise. Standing in the doorway was what she imagined to be a very bewildered looking Din Djarin who had been carrying a tray of assorted fruits and breads. Had, being the operative word, as they were now scattered on the stone floor of the room. She smiled at him, slightly amused at how obvious his emotion was at this moment. A stark contrast to the man she had been forced to leave behind years ago. He practically sprinted across the room to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. His beskar plates dug into her skin, but she didn’t care right now. He was holding her, that was all that mattered.

“I thought I had lost you forever… I thought you were dead. Then you weren’t and there was hope but you were so badly injured and I–” he was rambling. She grabbed his helmet and shushed him gently as she tipped their foreheads together, remembering the sentiment behind such action. He sighed heavily and took her face in his own hands as they pulled apart.

“I did try. I know he said not to… but I tried to find you. But it was as if you never existed. A ghost in the galaxy. But now you’re here… you’re real.” His voice was so full of emotion. It was admittedly a little jarring, but she was happy to hear him so honest.

“I’m real. I’m real and I’m free. He thinks I’m dead. He thinks he killed me in the explosion and now he will never come looking for me again. Din… I’m free.” Jo was beaming at him. His shoulders stiffened. There was something she didn’t know, something he needed to tell her. “What is it?” She asked, her joy fading into worry.

“Come with me,” he beckoned and she followed him inside, her hand in his. They sat at the edge of the bed she had been asleep in for so long. He took a long pause, trying to find the words to tell her.

“Jo… you are free. And you’re right, he is never going to hurt you ever again. But not for the reasons you think…” He sounded so hesitant. Her heart was hammering in her chest.

“He’s dead.” Din finally proclaimed.

“What?” She felt shock come over her. “That’s… no. That’s impossible.”

“He is. Cad Bane is dead. Boba Fett and I made sure of that. You’re free, permanently.” His words echoed in her mind.

Cad Bane is dead. Cad Bane is dead. Cad. Bane. Is. Dead.

She choked on a sob. “He’s dead…” she whispered in disbelief.

“Yes. He is. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Din took her hand in his.

“I–I can’t…” she was still processing.

“Jomira, you’re safe. I will never let anything happen to you ever again.” He promised as his thumb smoothed over her knuckles and her breathing began to still, her mind quieting.

“Jo…” He spoke softly, hesitantly, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a knock at the door. Din stood to answer the door. It was the woman from before. She stood in the doorway speaking with Din for a moment and then looked past him to Jo. The words she was saying were too quiet to make out, but whatever it was, Din was nodding in agreement. She left and he closed the door.

“Who was that?” Jo decided to ask. “Is she who owns all of this?” She gestured to the grand room.

“No, that’s Fennec. She’s the right hand man to Boba Fett.” He explained, as if she was supposed to know who that was.

“Boba…Fett?” She tilted her head questioningly.

He stared at her for a long moment, processing all the things that had happened since they were last together. Finally he broke the silence, “Two years is a long time… A lot has happened since we were last together.”

Her stomach dropped. Jo was finally realizing that it had been two years. She didn’t know what he had been doing this whole time and her mind caught up to reality. What was he doing on Tatooine? How had he found her? Why did he know the man Bane had shot? Then all thoughts came to a head on one question.

“Where’s Grogu?” She asked, terrified something had happened to the sweet green gremlin. “Please tell me nothing’s happened to him… please say he’s okay.”

Din quickly moved to her, wrapping his arms around her to calm her. “Shhh he’s okay, he’s with Peli right now. Things have happened but he is okay now.”

“What do you mean things have happened?” She asked, an underlying tone of panic still lingering in her voice.

“Like I said…" Din replied, "Two years is a long time.”

Two years was a long time apparently. Din spent the next two hours recounting everything that had happened since they had been apart. Jo listened intently, nodding along and asking a question here and there, but mostly just listening. He had been through hell and back. Finally, he explained why he had been on Tatooine in the first place and how he had found her. She shook her head in astonishment.

“I missed so much…” sadness brimmed her eyes.

He grabbed her hands firmly, “But you’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

“Where do we even go from here Din?” She asked, sounding a little broken.

“Boba says we are welcome to stay as long as we like,” he began, “but knowing how you feel about Tatooine, I assume you won’t want to stay long.”

She smiled softly at the consideration of the man with her, “That’s very kind of the Daimyo, but you’re right. I really don’t want to stay a moment longer than I need to.”

Din nodded in understanding, “I told him that may be the case. I already have Peli finding us a ship.”

“Right…” her heart sank a little, realizing she would never step foot on the Razor Crest again. “Any news on that?” Asked Jo.

“I was going to go check on that while you ate breakfast,” he explained, glancing over to where the tray had fallen.

Jo hadn’t realized how long they had been talking or how late it was in the day already. She finally registered that her stomach was rumbling aggressively.

“Boba has a spread downstairs. If you want, I could go find you some more food?” Din offered.

“Actually,” Jo smiled, “I think I’d like to go make myself a plate. Can you show me where?”

Din sat silently, staring at her while trying to discern if she was really well enough to be walking around. Jo caught on to what he was thinking and stopped him.

“I feel fine, Din. Honestly, I think moving around might do me some good.” Jo stood up from the bed before he even had a chance to protest. “See?”

A defeated sigh came through his modulator, followed by him standing with her. They walked together to the palace feast hall. The halls were carved out tunnels of sandstone lit with small flickering lanterns. It was a rather large palace, which made Jo wonder why she had never seen it before. She was planning to ask how far they were from the Mos Eisley Spaceport, but all thoughts of her question fled her mind when she witnessed the elegant spread that was inside the feast hall.

A long stone table filled from end to end with platters over-flowing with food sat in front of her. She noted a rather delicious looking roasted nuna before finally meeting a pair of familiar golden eyes. Her heart nearly stopped and tears brimmed her eyes. She knew there was no possible way it was him. He was dead. But this man was obviously a clone, and the similarity was uncanny despite lacking hair and a beard. The man was bald and wore black garb with Mandalorian armor over it. His helmet was placed on the table beside him. He raised a hand gesturing the pair over to sit with him. Jo snapped out of her shock and she and Din took seats opposite each other as the mysterious man spoke.

“We are relieved to see you doing so well, Jomira. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you properly. I am Boba Fett, Daimyo of Mos Espa. You are welcome to call me Boba.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet my host face to face. And please, call me Jo," she smiled politely.

"Please. Help yourself to whatever you would like. I'm sure you're hungry," he smiled and she felt another twinge in her heart.

"Th-thank you," Jo swallowed the lump forming in her throat and directed her attention to filling her plate. All the while she could feel Din's eyes on her, taking note of the bittersweet sadness brimming her eyes. Jo stared into his visor with a pleading look and shook her head, as if to silently ask him to not pry. He gave her a small nod to agree, but she knew this wouldn't be the end of it.

Boba spoke up, snapping them both out of the wordless conversation, "So… Jo, I take it you've met one of my clone brothers."

Her head whipped towards him with such speed that she almost gave herself whiplash. "How did you-"

"When you have copies of yourself scattered throughout the galaxy, you learn to recognize who has seen your face before," he patted the helmet that sat on the table beside him, "One of the reasons I am thankful for this heirloom."

"I- I did know a clone… yes. He was a good man. Kind. Loving… but he's gone now." She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I am sorry for your loss," Boba said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. The action meant more to her than he could ever know. She gave him a small smile.

"I had no idea that you knew a clone," Din said quietly. Trying to piece together why that would make her so sad.

"There's a lot you don't know…" Jo muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Din asked

She looked up and shook her head, "Sorry, I said 'It was a long time ago.'" He knew that wasn't what she had said, but he decided not to press the issue further right now.

The rest of the meal was filled with small talk between Jo and Boba, with Din chiming in on occasion. As Jo was finishing her food, Fennec appeared looking a little disgruntled.

“Mando.” She stated, her voice matching her look of annoyance perfectly. “A woman is here to see you, she says you were expecting her.”

Jo’s head whipped around in excitement, “Is her name Peli?”

A look of confusion and amusement overtook Fennec’s features. “How did you know?”

Jo looked back at Din, a sense of joy bubbling up inside her. If Peli was here, then that meant so was Grogu. Before anyone else could say another word, Jo launched out of her seat at the table. She ran quickly through the palace to the hangar that she had passed through on the way to the feast hall earlier. Jo slid to a stop once she and Peli locked eyes. Peli didn’t look any different than she had years ago, except for the missing tooth. That was new. She was waving from the gangplank of a kom'rk class fighter with Grogu balanced on her hip. Jo’s eyes welled with tears as she began to close the distance. Peli hadn't registered who it was she was waving to yet, but as she got closer she broke into a light jog. Peli placed Grogu down on the ground, and he proceeded to leap into Jo’s arms. She caught him and held him tight to her chest. Jo had imagined this moment a thousand times, but nothing could compare to the real thing.

“I have missed you so much little guy… I never stopped thinking about you,” She whispered softly, cradling him in her arms. Grogu babbled happily, as if he was trying to speak to Jo, which she found utterly amusing. Peli finally reached Jo and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"What are you doing here, you mudscuffer?" Peli shouted in surprise.

"It's a really long story," laughed Jo, bouncing Grogu on her hip.

"One that includes Mando?" Peli pulled back and tilted her head at Jo.

"Hey, I didn't judge you when you came home with not one but two Jawas." Jo jokingly threatened.

Peli laughed heartily, "Fair enough. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too. But I gotta ask," Jo gestured to the marvel sitting in the hangar, "How did you manage a find like this?"

Peli shrugged as if it were nothing and offered her standard explanation, "Jawas. You like it?"

"Like it?!" Jo exclaimed.

"She's magnificent…" Jo heard Din remark from behind her. Completely in awe over the ship. Grogu’s ears perked at the sound of Din’s voice, making Jo’s heart melt.

"I thought you might say that. She's a bit banged up here and there, but I fixed her up real good," Peli spoke with her usual air of confidence.

"Wait…" Jo finally realized what this ship was. She put her hand to her head and her eyes grew wide as she looked from Peli, to the ship, to Din. "You don't mean that this is the new ship?!"

"I do mean that, that is if it's up to Grandpa's standards." Peli gestured to Din who was examining the ship, running his hands along the wings and hull like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And Jo couldn't help but agree.

"What do you think Mando?" Jo asked, jokingly emphasizing the name she used to use for him.

His helmet quickly turned to her and she could feel the glare from here. "Is she up to your 'standards'?"

He started back over to Peli and Jo. "She’s perfect. Peli, I don't think I can afford a ship like this…"

"You can with the friends and family discount I'm going to give you now." She grinned. "50% off. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, Mando."

He folded his arms in front of his chest, he knew there was always a catch with Peli. Jo knew it too.

"Alright, fine. 50% off and I need you to run a small errand for me. Nothing crazy I swear." She admitted.

"Uh huh…" Jo said skeptically, "To where?"

"Naboo. Like I said, nothing crazy. I just need you to pick up a couple crates of parts from a friend in Theed and bring them to my shop." Peli explained.

"And then I keep the ship?" Din reconfirmed.

Peli nodded, "Yes and then you keep the ship. Do we have a deal?" She stuck her hand out. Din hesitated for a moment, but then grasped her hand and shook it.

"Deal." He spoke firmly. Jo practically jumped for joy over the prospect of traversing the galaxy with Din and Grogu in such beauty. Then it hit her that she was going back to Naboo. She hadn't been there since she was a teenager. She felt a mixture of excitement inside. Jo had wanted to explain her origins to Din before Bane had taken her, and maybe returning to Naboo was the time to do it.

"Jo?" Din's voice interrupts her train of thought.

She looked at him, “Yeah?”

“I asked if you wanted to rest longer or if you felt ready to travel.” He sounded concerned, which wasn’t unfounded. Jo had been getting rather lost in thought today.

“No need. I’m fine, I swear. Just a little caught up in my own head today,” she placed a hand on his bicep and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

Peli didn’t hang around for too long. She didn’t want to leave, but she had to get back to Mos Eisley for a delivery. Jo had returned to her room to get herself dressed before leaving, while Din prepped the ship with Grogu. Jo’s heart felt light as air as she dressed in the clothes that Fennec had left for her. The outfit was just a simple pair of black pants, a black turtleneck tank, and a leather bomber jacket. She didn’t have anything to pack so she didn’t have that to worry about. Shortly after getting dressed and saying her farewells to Fennec and Boba, she met Din back at the hangar. He leaned lazily against the piston of the gangplank. The simple relaxation of his body language made a familiar heat burn low in Jo’s stomach. The beginnings of a fire she hadn’t felt in a long time, and it excited her.

“Ready?” Din asked as he pushed off from his position and placed a hand on Jo’s waist.

“I’ve never been more ready in my life.” The two boarded the ship and entered the cockpit. Jo took her seat in the copilot's chair and Din took the controls. The ship came to life and Jo’s heart was a flutter. She was so excited. She had only ever heard stories of these ships, never having seen one in real life. The ship flew like a dream, taking every twist and turn like it was nothing. Jo couldn’t see Din’s face, but she knew he was beaming. Din wanted to test out the manuevering in the atmosphere before heading out into space. Jo sat in the copilot’s seat, holding a very happy Grogu. She felt a sense of true inner peace. Once Din was satisfied with how the ship was handling, they exited the atmosphere. He put in the coordinates for Naboo and launched into hyperspace.

Grogu had fallen asleep in Jo’s arms and she hadn’t wanted to move, for fear of waking him, and had fallen asleep herself in the process. However Din knew that the kid could sleep through anything, so he scooped the limp sleeping body of his foundling from her arms and placed him into his bassinet and returned his attention to the also limp body of Jo. He smiled softly to himself and lifted her from her seat, carrying her to the modified transport bay. Peli had converted the troop transport into reasonably sized sleeping quarters. Din gently placed Jo down on the bed, careful not to wake her, and returned to the controls of the ship. He hoped that they would reach Naboo in time for her surprise. Unbeknownst to her, there was no errand. Peli had made that up to help Din get her to Naboo without raising her suspicions. What they were truly going for was something far more fun than running an errand. He smiled to himself as he relaxed into the pilot’s chair.

She’s going to love it.

Chapter 10 | Chapter 12 | Masterlist

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ladyxskywalker · 2 years ago

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NOV 2022

fandoms featured on this list: star wars, rogue one, andor, moon knight, pedro pascal, triple frontier, multi. fandom

* coffee fund *

thank you to the amazing fic writers for sharing some wonderful stories with all of us ! & to the kind readers for their support. 💙

please assume that all works & the blogs they belong to are 18+ only

mature adult content will be marked with a double asterisk **

be sure to check all warnings & tags before reading, feel free to skip if something isn't for you

& of course, enjoy responsibly

all the love xo A ☕

** I have been taking a little break from the blog, so the Nov & Dec reading list will be a little shorter than usual. There are some really great finds here that I think you will love ! Hope you will stick around xo **

hope you enjoy ! & happy reading ! 🤗

please send me things to read ! favorite fics or something you've written that you're proud of ! 💌

find more monthly fic recs over on my masterlist, Dec 2022 coming soon ! ✨

please let me know if you would like to be removed

✨ new authors & characters added for the first time !

✨ some authors are mentioned more than once throughout the list, check to see if your works are there !

STAR WARS

✨ Anakin Skywalker

Making Out with Ani by @laserbrains (gn!reader) **

✨ Din Djarin

Din Djarin helping with your fear of animals by @archieimagines (cw: fear, anxiety, banthas)

Feel It by @ezrasbirdie (din x cobb) **

Grogu’s Teacher (series) by @firstofficerwiggles (f!reader)

Oceans in the Desert by @wyn-n-tonic (cw: grief, loss)

Ranting to Din while he repairs the Razor Crest by @archieimagines

Shatter Me (series) by @writeforfandoms (f!reader) (a season two divergent series)

Touching Din by @archieimagines (sfw touching, angst)

✨ Fennec Shand

Indigo by @artemiseamoon (modern, cinderella, fairytale au) (prince!fennec x ofc)

✨ Luke Skywalker

Shower/Bath Sex with Luke by @laserbrains (afab!reader) **

✨ Obi Wan Kenobi

Crystal Clear by @hellotherekenobi (gn!reader) (cw: battle, injuries, anxiety)

First Lady by @tropodyn (sith!obi wan) (f!reader) (link no longer available 😭)

Stardust (And Other Varieties) by @wickedscribbles (cis afab reader) (cw: implied age gap, force bone, library, mature adult content) **

Temptation’s Kiss by @hellotherekenobi

✨ Poe Dameron

Alright, That Happened by @dreamlandcreations (cw: hair pulling, kinktober) **

Survive Now, Then Flirt by @flightlessangelwings (cw: mild violence, angst) (gn!reader)

You Are In Love (series) by @alwritey-aphrodite (modern au) (f!reader)

ANDOR

✨ Cassian Andor

Hold Me Through the Storm by @archieimagines

✨ Kino Loy

Hoping Against Hope by @saradika (kino loy x wife!oc) **

✨ Ruescott Melshi

Before. When. After. by @littlemisspascal (a three part prison /narkina 5 au) (f!reader) **

MOON KNIGHT

✨ Marc Spector

Helping Marc Through a Panic Attack by @archieimagines (cw: grief, panic, anxiety, nightmares, DID, ptsd, angst)

Marc Winking At You In Public by @archieimagines

✨ Steven Grant

Asking Steven Out to Dinner by @archieimagines

Complaining to Steven About Work by @archieimagines

Dream A Little Dream of Me by @redahlia-writes (f!reader) (fake dating, christmas time)

I’m Right Next Door by @flightlessangelwings (gn!reader)

I’m Yours by @in-between-the-cafes (f!reader)

PEDRO PASCAL

✨ Ezra (Prospect)

Love you, endlessly by @artemiseamoon (ofc) (read in full on ao3)

✨ Frankie Morales

Seen by @clydesducktape (werewolf au) (f!reader)

✨ Misc. Pedro Characters

How Did You Love (series) by @writeforfandoms

TRIPLE FRONTIER

✨ Benny Miller

A Fall Getaway by @artemiseamoon (f!reader) (read in full on ao3)

MISC./MULTI FANDOM

✨ The Amazing Spider Man

Keeping Secrets by @luveline (cw: blood, injuries)

✨ Black Pather: Wakanda Forever

(** may contain spoilers **)

Namor the Sub-Mariner

My Queen, My Sun and My Sea by @mooncleaver (f!talokan!reader) (cw: death, colonizers)

✨️ The Originals / The Vampire Diaries

An Act That Brought You Joy (series) by Merontheshore on ao3 (elena gilbert x the originals) **

✨ Werewolf by Night

Jack Russell

Night Crawling (series) by @moonlight-prose (f!reader)

#star wars fanfiction #andor fanfiction #moon knight fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #triple frontier fanfiction #tasm fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #the originals fanfiction #the mandalorian fanfiction #pxk monthly reading list 💌#pxk queue #fic recs 💫

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lovelessdagger · 2 years ago

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Starlight - Chapter Thirty-One: The Devil Rings His Bell

Pairing: Din Djarin x OC, Din Djarin x OFC

Rating: Mature

Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Smut

Warnings: Explicit Language. Horror.. Angst. Suicidal Ideation. Gore. Light Medical Horror. Nonconsensual nonsexual touching. Panic Attacks. PTSD. Everything goes to hell.

Words: 13k

Summary : “There was a point to this, there should’ve been anyways.”

A/N: This chapter is A LOT. I usually advise to read with caution but specifically here

Starlight Masterlist Here

Read Chapter Thirty Here

Read on AO3 Here

Objectively, this isn’t what Senior Officer Horix Kelis signed up for when he joined the Imperial Academy some twenty years ago. Stalking through thick branches with dying embers while being drowned from above. Oxygen tubes connecting from the boxy filter on his back to the front of his helmet does little to mitigate the fumes.

The mission briefing was short, conducted from whatever pseudo base was constructed on whatever Outer Rim scumhole that was chosen for the moment. It’s pointless to keep track of locations anymore, setting up only to relocate hardly a month after. Just another worthless planet filled with worthless natives who hadn’t the decency to learn Basic. Who dressed in animal hide and painted their faces with ash.

He heard his superiors talk the day before, bitterly recalling the memory. Moff Gideon and the Thirteenth Sister specifically requested the second best team. Being chosen was no honor.

It started off as twenty men packed into a cargo hold like a can of Naboo sardines. His personal team consisted of five, they crowded over a glitchy hologram. Prerecorded messaging allowed no questions.

“Your mission is to acquire one asset.” Gideon couldn’t be assed to give the report himself, and Horix assumed this Inquisitor was no better. The voice was the same as other report requests, some female lead on Gideon’s cruiser. “Target is female, estimated height 163, an estimated 25 to 28 years of age. Black hair, grey eyes, brown skin.”

A matching hologram appeared before them, a blue tinted figure. One of his men, Coltin—someone who never had much respect for hierarchy and basic rules—leaned over to him. “I’d fuck her,” he said.

“You’d fuck your sister if she offered,” Netru, his second in command snorts at his other side.

He works with idiots, running his hand over his pale face.

“—accompanied by Mandalorian, Din Djarin.” Another hologram, the man from the rumors of Nevarro. “Master Assassin, Fennec Shand—”

“Ain’t she dead?” Furge muttered.

“—Bounty Hunter, Boba Fett—”

“Isn’t he dead?” Horix found himself saying.

“And an alien.” Ugly, but not the most threatening way to end. “Moff Gideon orders that under no circumstance are the Mandalorian and Child to be harmed. The asset is to be obtained unharmed. Lethal methods are strictly forbidden. Intelligence suggest active harm of any kind will result in your own termination. If captured, Officer Kelis is to inform Moff Gideon via coded signal immediately.”

The cylinder stick pokes from his belt, a single red button protruding from the top. His hand covers it when the others look.

“The asset is invaluable Imperial property, it must be kept in prime condition,” she says. The word strikes them all in different ways. Property. Like the clones who taught them how to shoot blasters as children, or the cards for sabbacc they could buy from the commissary.

Her throat clears through the recording. “I’m sure you are all familiar with the tale of Lord Vader’s daughter—“ They all look to each other, tension in the stuffy room. “Private operatives have located and confirmed this being to be her. The asset shares the same abilities and skill of her father. Perhaps more.”

“This is a fuckin’ suicide mission,” Furge says. “We’re supposed to go after one of them devil wizards?”

Suddenly second best makes sense.

None of them stood a chance, they were never meant to. Another expenditure by the Empire. They weren’t esteemed soldiers from a dwindling lot, they’re as worthless as the rest of the galaxy.

Horix steps in a puddle, wincing at his foot stuck in the mud. He could still have a chance to make it out alive, comm chatter indicated other surges retreating throughout the morning. It’s a tough decision, to leave with his life a coward or leave this life a forgotten sacrifice.

“How are you all holding up?” he asks to the open communication line. “Any updates?”

“Same as they were ten minutes ago.” Coltin. “They already sent and called back the Dark Troopers. Why are we still out here?”

“The Moff specifically requested for us to head this mission, because we’re the best.” Almost. “We’ll stay as long as we have to until it is complete.”

“Reports onboard Gideon’s cruiser said the Inquisitor came down to engage the Mandalorian.” Triemp, the youngest of the group. He never got to properly graduate from whatever academy he came from.

Lothal, Horix thinks. He’s still too skittish, like a frightened kitten.

“Bitch is crazy,” Furge says. “They said we couldn’t do that.”

“Thirteenth Sister can do what she wants. She doesn’t concern us—“

“Wait,” Triemp says. “Wait. I’ve just gotten word—The Mandalorian has been… taken care of?”

“Elaborate.”

“It’s just that. We weren’t the only ones instructed not to harm him. My source says the Sister and Moff Gideon were screaming at another on board.”

“Is he dead?”

“Gideon?”

“No genius, the Mandalorian.”

“Uncertain. If not completely, close to it.”

Netru speaks up, “…The Mandalorian is down?”

“Correct.”

“Have you heard anything about the alien?”

“Acquired by the Inquisitor,” Triemp says, gulping his words. “She’s directly gone against orders.”

“If she’s alone we have to get back to the ship or else we’re fucked.”

“Let’s not be dramatic,” Horix cuts in. “This was the Inquisitors fuck up, not ours. We still have a job to do. There’s no reason for panic.”

“You think they told us to stay away for kicks?” Coltin asks.

“I’m only saying we don’t know why, it’s foolish to assume.”

“She’s Lord Vader’s daughter,” Netru says. “What else do you need to know?”

It is a valid point. He—whether it be fortunate or not—never had the pleasure of meeting Vader. But his paternity isn’t the only story told throughout camps.

“You honestly believe she’s his child?” Horix huffs. “That’s disappointing.”

“Disappointing?”

“Well, if she is his child… they must share more similarities other than abilities.” A chorus of ohs echos. “I always believed Vader looked more like us.”

“I heard the Jedi kid that blew up the Death Star was his too,” Coltin says. “That kid doesn’t look a thing like her.”

“It is possible she is from a different mother,” Triemp says.

“A bastard?”

“Or he is. She is the one Vader kept after all.”

“Kept the wrong one then,” Furge says.

For once, they all agree.

“Focus,” Horix interjects. “We’ll regroup at the ship, figure out a new plan. Netru, what’s your status on location?” On their initial spread they planned on no more than fifty yards of separation. But he’s always been a wanderer.

With no other man speaking, he’s met with static.

“Netru? Come in. Report your location.” The static pops, crinkling. “KT-9248 come in.”

“Net,” Coltin says.

“The idiot must have walked outside of comm bounds. Furge, what’s your status?” Reluctantly, he answers with coordinates. Not too far off, closer to where Netru was meant to be. “Will you find him?”

“On it.” He drops the connection.

“The rest of you—“ Thunder cuts him off, a lightning strike over the mountains. “Get to the ship on your own.”

“What about you?” Triemp asks.

“I have a mission to complete. I’m going to find and report the asset to Moff Gideon.”

A female voice breaks through the line, honeyed and smooth. “That’s bold.”

“Sir?” Triemp says.

“You can contact Gideon?” Then more to herself she says, “But I thought…”

“Who is this? This is a private channel.”

“Dammit,” she mutters under her breath. “Stupid.”

“This is Senior Officer Horix Kelis, KT-7392 of Imperial Corp 7254 of the Galactic Empire. I demand you disclose your identity.”

There’s shuffling, a cough then steady breathing. “KT-9248,” she says, like she were reading it from a manual. “Netru Bolts,” she sighs, “Junior Officer.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s what his arm says.”

“How do you have Bolts?”

“Just his arm,” she corrects. “The rest of him is… here and there.”

“Holy shit,” Coltin says. “It’s fucking her.”

Triemp whispers, shaking, “Lady Vader.”

More breaths come from the end of the line. Spiking chills run up Horix’s skin. Breaking into a sprint , feet snapping twig and splashing in streams. “Back to the ship! Back to the—“

“I don’t know if I like that name.” She’s completely mellow, sounding dazed. “Lady Vader… Sith are given names—” She stops short, and humming enters his ears. “Hello. Which one are you?”

“Furge! Furge get out of there!” Horix shouts.

“Hi Furge,” she says. “I’m—oh, this is a lightsaber—an arm… I couldn’t figure out how to it take off. It’s in poor taste I know, but… yes, it’s his… I only wanted his help,” she snorts, “things got out of hand. Clearly. I won’t hurt you if you help me. I promise.”

The connection turns to static again, the surrounding rain and winds blowing out the mic.

“Sir,” Triemp says.

“Get on the other line, Tri. Contact the remaining, order every man to return to the ship immediately. After that I want you onboard, locked in.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Colt, get off the comm, I’m sending you my coordinates. We’re furtherest out, right now we’re stronger together.”

“Understood.”

The girl’s voice comes in again, more on edge, pointed. “Horix, is it? May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Is Furge lying to me?”

“What?”

“He says they took the Child. Is he lying to me?”

Stuttering, Horix answers no. Distant from the rest, a scream to awaken hibernation sounds. Breathing follows. Five inhales, six exhales.

“How many of you are there?”

“Twenty.”

“Eighteen now.” Cold. Missing the sickly sweetness it was coated in just moments ago.

Sick to his stomach he can hardly repeat it. “Eighteen.”

The humming stops, and her voice comes directly from the microphone on Netru’s detached arm. “Officer Kelis?”

He swallows collecting spit. “Yes?”

“You should start running too.”

---

“Wake up Mandalorian. Wake up.”

Groaning to life, every muscle inside of Din tenses and every joint cracks. It starts with ringing in his ears, ending with vision restored to his eyes. His side is prodded by a blunt object, later discovered to be Fennec Shand’s foot.

“Lu…”

“Wrong Fett,” Fennec snorts above him. “I think he has a concussion. Should get checked out.”

He finds Boba, or three Bobas, the world a dizzy mess.

“Where is she?” The Bobas ask.

Din blinks, struggling to focus on the data within his helmet. Heart rate is at an all time high, blood pressure the same, oxygen levels too low. He considers the possibility of being dead, a void filling his mind. “Who?”

“Maker he’s lost it,” Fennec says. “Your girlfriend. Where is she?”

“Girlfriend?”

Concern now etches into Fennec, she crouches, face pinched. “What the fuck happened to you? Your girlfriend,” she says slower. ”Lumina. The one you were going to propose to this morning?”

“What?” The Bobas say.

“There was no good time to tell you.”

“Why was I not consulted first?”

“I don’t think that matters right now.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Later,” she says. “Mandalorian, where is Lumina?”

Din groans again, pants unheard through his modulator. If this is how she feels after her increasingly common fainting spells, well he can’t blame her for getting sick each time.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Where’s the kid?”

The Bobas nod to Fennec. “Search the ship.” Then to Din, “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know,” he says again. “I haven’t seen her.”

“Since when?”

“Since…” He frowns. When did he see her last? She was there last night. This morning before she left on her walk… Din coughs, the sludge of soil uncomfortably wet under him. Nothing comes back to him as a clear picture, fuzzy understandings lingering in his mind.

There’s a fire, a storm… Imperials. She came out of the woods at some point with the Child…

Din blinks, only now noticing wetness on his face, too cold to be blood. It hits him like a ship thrown out of hyperspace.

“Lumina,” he says panicked, sitting up far too quick. He speaks again, surprising himself with the anger it comes with. “That fucking bitch.”

A blaster bolt flies against Din, sparking beskar right over the left side of his chest. Knocked back fully to the ground again, the three Boba’s turn back to one with proximity. His soiled boot keeps Din pinned, blaster and wrist gauntlet pointed to his head.

“What the fuck—” Din gasps.

“Ne shab'rud'ni,” Boba says. “I don’t give a fuck what she did to you. If you ever disrespect her again, you’ll wish she got to you first. Am I understood?”

“Fett!” Fennec stands at the top of the Crest’s ramp, unfazed by the scene. “We have a situation.”

“I’ll say.”

“The Child is missing.”

While Din’s head snaps the best it can to her direction, Boba removes himself, holstering his gun. “What do you mean missing?”

“As in he’s not here.”

“The Jedi took him,” Din says. He tries to stand again, slow, an eye constant on Boba.

“What Jedi?”

“She came with the TIE… had a red one of those laser swords.”

“Fuck.”

“What’s going on?” Fennec asks, jumping off the ship.

“Inquisitors,” Boba says.

“They’re all dead.”

“So are we.” He points to he sky. “And the Empire. And her. We’re all supposed to be dead, none of it matters.”

“But if they’re here then—“

“We’re too late. It’s already happened.” Boba grabs Din by his shoulders, despite the height difference and with significant strength. “Mandalorian, where is she?”

“She left,” he says.

“Left where?”

“I don’t know. She was talking about Gideon and—“ His hand leans against his head. “Fuck.”

“He needs a medic,” Fennec decides, approaching. “Concussion, internal bleeding, who knows what they did to him.”

“Mandalorian,” Boba says.

Din doesn’t mean to snap, or at least he doesn’t think he does. Nothing feels like himself. “What?”

“I need you to tell me everything you remember.”

“She said—“ It’s like he’s filled with static, memories glitching from one thing to another. “She… wanted to talk to him and—I don’t know. I…” He takes a breath, collecting his thoughts with the ground. “I was with her and she was crying and I— we… I had her. She promised she wouldn’t leave anymore. She promised she’d stay.” He looks up. “Then all I wanted was to get away from her. So I took the kid and I left.”

Fennec looks dumbfounded, he’s sure Boba shares the same expression.

“Let me ask you something,” Boba says. “Do you love her?”

“What?”

“You wanted to marry her right? Do you love her?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t you rather she be here then?”

“…No.”

“Why?”

Din sits with himself, silent. He doesn’t have an answer, not one that won’t result in another assault from Boba. He can’t say the thought of her makes him irrationally angry. That he gave her everything, every piece of himself and she still left. Again.

But… he’s the one who left ultimately. He grabbed Grogu, he agreed to it, he knew what it meant, the conditions she set.

Pounding intrudes on his head again, the conflict more painful than the blows from the not Jedi.

“She’s in trouble,” Boba continues. “Do you understand that? We have to find her—”

“My kid is in trouble,” he counters. “She can take care of herself. What I need to worry about is getting him back.”

Boba’s arm sticks out behind him. “Fennec, hand it over.” She places a metal disc, the size of her palm in his. Painted black, it flashes red. “Do you know what this is?”

Din nods. “A tracker.”

“Found it on my ship after you left. Whoever put it there knew we would come for her. All of this was planned. All of it. Do you know what that means?”

He says nothing.

“It means she knew. She knew the Empire was coming.”

“You don’t know that—“

“That girl can sense the energy of a city on the other side of moon if she damn well pleases. She spent her whole life on my ship, you really think she couldn’t tell there was a tracker?” His voice lowers, a whisper with killer instinct. “They want her. You will never understand how valuable she is to them.”

“Why? She’s not special like the kid, she doesn’t have—“

“Abilities? Powers? Never mind everything else, you know she can feel energy, that she hears things we could never. What do you call that? They have your kid and they’re not gone. Why is that?”

“…She said she made a deal with Moff Gideon.” He says this slow, coming to his own realization. “That’s why she wanted me to leave. Said he wouldn’t hurt us, the kid. That he’s scared of her.”

“She knew exactly how this would go. They fucked up Mandalorian. If she finds out they have your child—you’re the only one that can bring her to her senses and stop her.”

“I don’t understand. Stop her from what?”

“From killing herself.”

---

Horix never met with Coltin. He took the girl at her word, sprinting before the last syllable dropped. He doesn’t care about being a coward, all he wants to do was live. Honor be damned. Being exiled, put on trial, discharged. He’d rather all of it.

He found Triemp first. The poor fucking kid, he looked just as scared as he always did. The others he’d rather not remember, though he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the smell.

There are five left, including him. Could be less and he just hasn’t found them. Coltin is out there still, but Horix doesn’t intend to look for him. He has to get to the ship, fly away, leave the sector, the Outer Rim.

He has to never look back.

It’d be easier if he knew how to get out of the labyrinth. If it weren’t for the fact that he has yet to see the same body twice, he’d be convinced he’s been running in circles.

He has no time, and yet it dares to feel infinite.

Horix sees Coltin first. He’s held against a tree, four feet in the air. His hands grip around his own neck, feet kicking out. Then he sees her. At the base, hand passively raised only to her shoulder. She’s drenched in rain, possibly other fluids he won’t spend time imagining. She has a lightsaber, red, prominent from the rest of them.

“Don’t move!” Horix shouts. His blaster rattles in shaky hands. He switches the setting off of stun. “I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking kill you I swear.”

She listens. He catches how her eyes roll, annoyed, pushing her hair out of her face. The lightsaber turns off, and attaches to her hip. She turns.

“I said don’t move!”

“Officer Kelis?” she asks. “You came.” He could swear she’s relieved, voice like a lullaby. She looks at Coltin, tilting her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t need you anymore.”

Her wrist turns, and so does his neck.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she says, turning to Horix. “I’ve been looking for you. I need your help.”

“You killed him. You fucking killed all of them,” Horix pants. “You’re a monster. You tore them apart—“

“And I apologize for the mess. It could have been cleaner, I got carried away. That doesn’t matter now. I need you to help me, I won’t kill you.”

“No. No! You’re just like him—I’ve heard stories. Of your father—”

“Then you’ve heard about me. You know what they want with me, don’t you? What was your mission objective?”

“I don’t—“

“You’re the one in charge,” she snaps, then breathes. “You should know. What did they tell you to do?”

“Capture you.” He says this shaking, suffocating under his helmet. “To not hurt you. Not hurt the alien. Or the Mando.”

She frowns. She frowns like it were a personal insult. “What do you do after you capture me?”

“I contact Moff Gideon.”

“How?” He fumbles, pulling out the cylinder. His thumb hovers over the red button. “Do you have a rendezvous point?” He nods. “Let’s go then.”

“What?”

“You’re going to turn me in. Contact Gideon, if you can tell him you have me, do it. Then you’ll take me to your point.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to talk to him.” She walks forward, his finger waver on the trigger. “I gave him my terms, he didn’t listen. So you either help me, or I’ll call him myself and you can join your friends. It’s your choice.”

---

Wiping her cheek, Lumina’s hand turns a dripping red, washed down her arm by the rain. Her chest heaves, soaked hair sticking to her skin. Her left hand clenches, nails biting into her palm. She smiles, the closed kind, full of relief.

There was a purpose to this, there should’ve been anyways. She looks to her lightsaber, drawing a scorch mark in the mud. It crackles with the wetness, a putrid smell coming with it.

She looks behind her, the troopers head—Horix—stares at her beyond the helmet. It flew farther from the body than she intended. She used to be better at that.

Decapitations are few and far between these days.

Her lightsaber attaches again to her belt, a breaking twig snapping her head to attention. She grabs the cylinder from his hand, cringing at the loose muscles.

It’s never not disgusting.

She clicks it, listening for the subtle whirling inside. It shouldn’t be too hard. Wait for the hold or TIE to descend from the heavens, make an entrance. Looking at Horix, she briefly considers bringing him as a gift. She decides against this, too tacky.

It’s his fault for not agreeing. All her plans have turned to shit, she should have expected this would join the list. Now she can’t play the prisoner angle. Not that Gideon would have believed it. But she likes having intent, it’s all lost now.

Dammit.

It takes two minutes for a ship to be spotted entering atmosphere, blinking lights closing in by the mountain range.

It’ll do.

Moff Gideon is a shorter man than Lumina expected. He stands by the entrance of a modified cargo shuttle, arms crossed in front of his body. He holds himself like a giant, gaze solid as stone, pointed forward.

The head would’ve been a nice distraction right now, the storm at last fading away for thick humidity. Taking a breath, Lumina pats down her now straight hair, pulling her shirt to not stick to her chest.

It’s important in times like these to make a good impression. To be presentable.

Lumina storms into the clearing, arm out stretched. Gideon slams against the hold before recognition arrives. His body lifts into the air, gasped breath and bulging eyes.

“I warned you what your insolence would cause,” she bites. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that child of yours. If you find such pleasure in direct disobedience and taking mine, just you wait until you see what I can do to yours.”

Words being too strangled to be understood, she releases her hold, just enough.

“It wasn’t me,” he coughs. “I told them not to—“

“Who?”

“The Inquisitors! I can’t control them, they’re like animals—”

Her body stalls before her mind, and she sounds like a little girl. “Inquisitors?”

“They need a leader. A voice to answer to, someone to fear, to show them the way. You—“ he coughs again, ”—they can all be yours.”

The notions tickles something inside of Lumina, hers. Nothing has ever been hers before. Always someone else’s, a temporary possession, a loan. Inquisitors would be useful… if not difficult all the same. They’d only want more power, her position, her favoritism. They’d be overgrown toddlers fighting over a toy. Then again, a toy can be powerful leverage. It’d give them a goal, ambition, meaning.

A reason to obey.

All useful to her, true. She wouldn’t have to bother in gaining their respect, it comes with the name.

Lumina shouldn’t listen to any of it. She knows the ways of Sith better than any living sentient in the galaxy. Then again… what else does she have to lose?

She lowers Gideon, keeping him against the durasteel. “Tell me more.”

“Some were recovered from Project Harvestor, runaways,” he says, face ready to flinch. “Others new followers, lost, greedy. Insubordinate.”

“How did you get them?”

“They found each other, and they found me.”

“Why?”

“Why else? Connection. Common goals. Three of your peers remain. Four including yourself. 324. 306. And 313.” Gideon catches the twitch in her brow, the split second of a dropped facade. It’s his moment to strike and he’d be a fool to not engage. “I would argue 313 is most eager for a reunion.”

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” He takes a step forward, she takes one back. “You’re spiritual, I’m sure you can find the answer in yourself. In fact, it was 313’s idea to recruit you in the first place. Something about… making good on a promise? Does that ring any bells?”

“Shut up,” she bites.

He takes another step, and she trips on a rock. “You are nothing but a scared little girl. Understand I am offering you the galaxy.”

Her hand shoots forward again, trembling while he’s only that short distance away.

“Hurt me and the Child dies,” he says.

“Where is he?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Gideon—“

“Do you realize how much of my time you’ve wasted playing your little game?” He cups her cheek, ignoring her ragged gasp. His touch is warm, dry. “Look at you,” he mutters. He strains her neck up and to the right. Thumb and middle finger pressing into her jaw. “You’re perfect.”

Spit flies to his face, streaking down his cheek. He shoves her head away, hard enough to throw her to the ground. Mud splatters in her hair on impact.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says. “I have never wanted to hurt you.” He kneels to her level, gripping her hair to force a stare. “If you only listened to me before. You could have avoided all of this.” Her eyes meet Gideon’s, he stares at her cold, unapologetic. “What would your father say if he saw you now?”

“Do not speak of him,” Lumina mutters. “You have no right.”

“Don’t you want him to be proud of you?”

“Stop it.”

“He chose you for a reason. Everything Lord Vader did was for you, and you threw it away. And now,” he stands, circling her like a vulture. “You’ve thrown that away too. Look at the mess you’ve made. Do you honestly believe you can go back after this? That the Mandalorian, that anyone could ever accept you when,” he waves outwards, “this is what you do? What you are?”

Lumina’s gaze hardens, head shaking.

“Did you think you could change? Take a hand at playing someone else? That is not how this works.” Gideon’s voice turns honeyed as he says, “Wouldn’t you rather be somewhere you’re wanted? Accepted? Where you’d never have to hide again?”

Gideon would make a good Inquisitor, she thinks. He turns into warmth, stopping behind her, kneeling once more. His hand grips her shoulder, the flesh of it bruising her. It’s as if a shadow follows him. It’s an enveloping darkness, pulling her hair behind her shoulders, stroking down her arms. Her back hits his chest, and shakes.

“Look at this place,” Gideon whispers. “You enjoy this.”

She’d prefer to sleep now, an exhaustion filling her bones. The ground is comfortable, softer than when it’s dry. Maybe if she did, she wouldn’t have to wake again.

“If you join me, I will give you everything you ever wanted. How does that sound?”

The shadow strokes her cheek, beckoning the rest of her to follow. It’s a hypnosis, singing to her in the echos of the Force.

The dark side has a way of dominating destiny. Forever a winding path, guiding the hopeless follower into the abyss. Ahsoka may have been wrong about her, about all of this. In thinking there could ever be more to her. Everyone was wrong. She is helpless.

The shadow whispers this in her ear.

Lumina doesn’t think it’s Gideon, non-Force Sensitives rarely have such palpable an aura to them. It can’t be her own either, she’s too friendly with it, too much a part of herself to be this distinct. The shadow is the same as it was this morning, before it all began.

Her hands are still red, darker now.

“Doesn’t it sound nice?” Gideon asks her again, but she can’t hear his voice anymore. It comes from the darkness, gentle still, familiar and old. “It will be like it was always meant to.”

“Yes,” Lumina whispers. Her muscles relax, head drooping forward. The shadow circles to her front and holds her chin up.

“You’ve been wronged,” it says. The shadow touches her again, a shiver flooding her skin. “With me, you can make them finally hear. Don’t you want that?”

She says, “Yes.”

The shadow presses, words hissed. “Yes, what?”

Lumina falls against Gideon’s body, eyelids heavy. “I want Din,” she mumbles, the whiny sort.

“He means nothing,” Gideon says, distinct from the fog. “He only holds you back. I give my allegiance to you, my Lady. �� Her head is light, fumbling to reach her lightsaber. His hand falls on top, a strong grip. “Don’t.”

“Relax,” the shadow urges, and she does.

“What do you get out of it?” Lumina asks.

Gideon’s answer is simple, coming without thought. “You.”

And the shadow responds, “All of you.”

Then Gideon says, “All you have to do, is come with me.”

---

When news first broke about Corellia, Din never thought much about it. It was everyone else in the galaxy that became obsessed. They questioned how a high functioning Imperial base could run in the core worlds, what that meant for the rest of the regions, and the effectiveness of the New Republic.

The location of the base was in plain sight, a presumably abandoned warehouse, tucked in some alley. Pedestrians watched storm troopers walk in and out every day without qualm.

As soon as the first report came out, written by some novice journalist on Coruscant, the whole of Coronet City was put on lockdown. Residents were arrested by the dozens, security footage from every business within two miles was seized for inspection. New Republic guards stood at check point bases on every other street, chain codes became mandatory upon inspection.

No one got in. No one got out.

To the citizens of Corellia, the new occupation meant the Empire never truly left.

The Senate didn’t care, no one did. They cared about image, brushing away their frayed edges behind riot gear and impromptu searches.

Din caught a glimpse of a news broadcast after Greef Karga told him of the incident. Some senator, a princess and former Rebellion leader, was the first to speak up. Spewing nonsense about needing to be strong and how the resolve of the Republic will not falter.

No one ever mentioned how the base was exposed. Only the initial report credited the discovery to the Red Axe Syndicate. No one else spoke of the so called atrocities found inside the warehouse. No one else gave mention to the reported dozens of storm troopers slaughtered like livestock. Not one word of the hazard crew called in to clean it all up.

As far as anyone was concerned, a base was found and promptly ‘dealt with’. End of story. Should they find it, Din wonders how the New Republic will cover up this disaster. If they’d even care.

It makes Corellia look like child’s play.

He can’t all together describe it. If a bomb went off there’d be no disparity to the current scene. Storm troopers aren’t just dead. They’re unrecognizable and thrown about like cheap Life Day decoration. Bodies are broken and bent into inhuman positions. It could be debated if some bodies are still to be considered bodies at all. Or just pieces of it.

“Keep your eyes forward,” Boba tells him, leading ahead. “No use lamenting.”

“I’m not.”

“No use for thought then.”

“…Do you know how this happened?”

“Like I said, thought isn’t helpful right now.”

“What does Lumina have to do with all of this?”

A cargo shuttle enters their eye-line, parked with the oversized droids from earlier acting as guards. “I’d wager that’s Gideon. Hurry up.”

“What does he want with her?”

Boba steps over a torso—just a torso—and ducks under a branch. “If she’s with him, you’ll have to go in alone. There’s no telling how much he knows. If he’s smart, his goal is separation. He’ll tell her anything he has to to get her on his side. If he knows what I fear he does, I won’t risk being the one to cause her turning.”

“And what exactly would he know?”

Boba comes to a full stop, and he turns. “You should consider yourself lucky you’re not interesting enough to have anything to hide. Over time, it devours you.”

---

The cargo hold of deliverance for Moff Gideon stands surrounded by droids larger than man. They wear an imitation of black armor. Red lights acting as eyes scan the area, their heads turn from left to right and back again.

The export door to the shuttle is prompted wide open, the Moff himself paces around the inside. His hands clasp behind his back, cape blowing with every sharp and unnecessary turn he makes.

An officer stands at attention in the doorway to the cockpit. Were it not for his rising chest Din would believe him to be a droid as well.

The inside of Din’s head feels like a steady vibration, his neck twitches. Maybe Fennec was right, a concussion would explain the weight of pounding dread in his mind.

Boba already circled back to camp, were he here Din would have it in his right mind to make him stay instead. What does he care about finding her? The idea of her alone ticks a bomb in his heart.

Boba should be the one here, not him. She’s his child whether he’d be keen to admit it or not. Din has his own to look after, to look for. All she is, is a distraction from the real issue.

She wanted to leave, Din reminds himself. She saw him. He gave her everything and she left. He shouldn’t be here, not for her.

He doesn’t see her until it’s almost too late, turning in the bushes to make an escape.

From the very beginning, the very first day in the mechanic’s hangar on Tatooine, Din Djarin has inexplicably been drawn to the girl. Possessed in a way to consume nothing but her, to live only off her smile and steel eyes. He’s lost himself in her, finding a horrifying discovery that whoever he is, whoever he was before, no longer exists.

She is a curse that has stripped him bare to all his inhibitions and he has so willingly granted this. He should despise her, he wants to. Everything in his head drives his logic to the conclusion that she must be left. To allow her to do whatever it is she does when she runs away. To take the opportunity and leave. Leave her, leave for good. That he would be happier beyond measurable belief.

And Din believes this.

But then he sees her. The same way he’s seen her every morning in the sun and every night in the moon. He can’t help himself anymore than he could on Arkanis, seeing her again. Barely an hour away feels like a lifetime apart.

The universe and all of its gods have guided him to her, and for what reason? What path could be so necessary he must face this constant torment? She holds a part of his soul he never knew was missing.

Try as he might, he can’t leave her.

Not yet.

Not without leaving himself.

Lumina sits in the hold, back to the outside on bent knees, head bowed. Muscles tremble, a constant shiver from the incoming wind. She’s tied up, shoulders forced back, rope digging into her wrists. Moff Gideon paces in circles. He grabs something black at her hips, handing it to a droid.

Gideon raises a hand against her but the strike never hits. Instead he’s frozen inches before contact is made. The droids pull their weaponized arms against her, a unified step forward. All at once Gideon’s hand falls, as do her shoulders.

Din alters the inner mechanics of his helmet, sound readjusting to a new frequency covered in static.

A rush comes over Din, pricking from inside his throat. His muscles turn rigid, his vision almost red. He’s never had a clear grasp on her abilities, they make as much sense as the kids. But if there’s a chance… he may have a plan.

“Fascinating.” The voice comes from Gideon, paused in front of her. “What your peers accomplish with action, you do with thought alone.” He reaches out. “I see why he chose you.”

“I told you don’t touch me,” she mutters, riddled in exhaustion.

“Lumina,” Din says, just louder than a whisper.

Her head lifts like a startled kybuck, turning to the left.

“Lu, can you hear me?”

“Don’t bring him into this,” she whines. “You can’t do that.”

“Who do you speak to?” Gideon asks. “What do you hear?”

“I’m sick,” she whispers, though not as a response to him. “I’m sick. He’s making me sick, none of this is real. None of it matters.“

“Sarad,” Din says. “It’s me.”

She stiffens, looking both directions. “What?”

“Get Dr. Pershing on the line,” Gideon says to the officer. “She needs an immediate evaluation.” The officer nods once, he disappears into the cockpit and Gideon follows.

“Lumina,” Din says again.

She doesn’t waste time. “Where are you?”

“East. Behind the shrubs, twelve degrees to your right.”

“I can’t turn around.”

“But you can feel me. Can’t you?”

It takes a second, but her head nods. “I thought—How are you here?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Din groans, shaking his head as the pounding returns. “I came to bring you—Fuck.”

“You have to leave,” she says. “It’s not safe here.”

“How did Gideon get a hold of you?”

“Din you can’t be here. I mean it. You have to leave, tell Boba I’ll be fine. If Gideon sees you—“

“Can you stand? I’ll distract the droids, you can make a break for it while they aren’t looking.”

“Din—“

“Can you?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay.”

Scared, breathy she asks, “Are you real? How am I talking to you?”

He shrugs. “I have helmet hearing. You have super hearing. It’s convenient.”

She scoffs. “Yeah… yeah it’s you.”

---

Plans, as Din Djarin has long come to find out, are far better in theory than in action. What he expects to happen as soon as he spots his opening—as he aims down the barrel of his pistol, pointed at the exposed mechanics of the droid furthest in the ship—is for the bundle of wires to collapse into a heap of itself.

In time he will learn reality will never match expectations.

The droid doesn’t even stumble in its assigned position, eyes lifting from its harder gaze on Lumina out into the forest. The others follow its direction.

Their march synchronizes like soldiers, filing out the shuttle two by two. Unfortunate, but not impossible. He shoots again, now to the first in line. In their hive mind, they approach him, guns raised.

Shit.

The droids block his view of the ship, but he picks up the sound of shuffling. “If you can run, I suggest you do that now!” His pistol fires, each shot directed and with no impact. “What the hell are these things?”

“More than you can handle. Get the hell out of here before they kill you.”

“What about you?”

“Do you actually want me to go with you?”

The shutdown of his mind is one Din never expects or intends to have happen. All thoughts disappear into an opening abyss. He loses focus of aim, sight, consciousness even. The ability to process the wind, the approaching droids, her words. It all vanishes.

Because he doesn’t. The simple and frankly obvious answer in his mind is no. He never wanted to do any of this, but he can’t say that. Not to her, not here, not in the middle of his failing rescue mission.

“Din?”

He wants his kid. He wants to go back to the Razor Crest and get the hell away from this place.

“Din?”

He wants to get away… from her.

“Din!”

Before he can act, let alone think, a hand of the front droid grips him. He’s lifted by the neck, dangling like a baby tooka from its mothers mouth. Despite his protest and struggle, he’s returned to the ship. Thrown to the ground he lands right in front of her. She hasn’t moved an inch.

Lumina pulls against the ropes that hold her, shuffling the best she can. “Be careful with him!” She barks. He isn’t sure they understand much of anything. “Din? Din, are you okay?”

An automatic response, the display in his visor runs through a heap of diagnostics, scrolling past his vision in orange text. Nothing’s broken, not yet anyways. Head trauma is suggested, whatever that means.

“I think I’m fine,” he mutters. “What—“ He stops short, seeing her. She’s drenched and bloody, red smeared across her cheek, her hands… dried mud caked in the creases of her pants, clumped in her hair. “What happened to you?” Gathering the strength, he rises to his knees. Cupping her face the way he has a thousand times before, his thumb wipes her cheek. “Is this yours? Did Gideon do this to you?”

Her face drains of color, the same emptiness he found in her on Corvus taking her features.

“You can’t be here,” she whispers, pulling away. “You’re not supposed to be here, it’s all wrong.”

“Shh.” He pushes hair from her eyes, leaning forward. “It’ll be okay. We’re together, we’ll find a way out we always do.”

She’s misty, distorted in motionless air. “No, Din, you don’t understand—“

“Gideon took the kid—“

“I know.”

“You know?”

Lumina leans against his helmet, shallow puffs of air fogging his vision. “Din, listen to me. I have to do things my way now, I can’t—I can’t have you mess this up. You have to let me go. You’ve done so much, you have to stop. Okay? You have to stop now.”

“Lu… I don’t know what’s going on. I feel—something happened. I can’t remember anything it’s like… I don’t know. What I do know, is that the kid is gone. Someone took him, I can’t get him back without you—“

“I know,” she mumbles. “That’s why I have to do this.”

“You, promised me Boba Fett.” Gideon stands above them in the doorway. Lumina slides her body in front of Din’s. “What is he doing here?”

“I don’t know,” she says.

“You told me—“

“I know what I said,” she snaps. “I can’t—I can’t control him. I don’t know why or how but nothing I do works.”

“Then what good are you?”

“Plenty. You’ll learn that, but you have to let him go. He doesn’t have anything for you.”

He stares at the Mandalorian, face twisted in a scowl. “I don’t like surprises.”

“Gideon, you have what you want from me,” Lumina says. “That should be enough. Let him leave.”

“You shouldn’t be here, Din Djarin.” Moff Gideon says. “I should have given the order to kill you when I had the chance.”

“That’s your own mistake,” Din retorts. “Whatever she has for you isn’t worth all of this.”

“You have no idea what she’s worth.”

“Destroying an entire moon? Have you taken one look at the damage you’ve caused? Your own men are massacred because of what you’ve done. Does it mean nothing to you?”

To Din’s own surprise, Gideon lights up. “What I’ve done? You don’t honestly believe that I am capable of all of this. What aim do I have in gutting my own forces like fish?”

“What aim did you have in destroying Mandalore? I don’t care what information you want out of her. I came bring her back and that’s what I intend to do.”

Gideon paces around them, the heels of his polished boots click on the floor. Each step heavy with purpose. “She isn’t going anywhere. Not anymore. She will be returned to exactly where she was always meant to be.”

“She doesn’t belong to you.”

“Of course not. Just like her father, she is property of the Empire.”

Beside him, Lumina turns rigid, biting her bottom lip raw.

“CF-318,” Gideon says. “How is he immune?”

The signs are the same as they always are. Her emotions become distant before disappearing completely, her eyes lose herself, her chest heaves, panicked and desperate for air.

Din’s reaction is muscle memory. His arms wrap around Lumina, the touch of his beskar cooling her feverish head. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “You’re okay, just breathe. I’m right here, Lu. It’s okay, don’t listen to him.”

“Lu,” Gideon mocks on his tongue. “Midnight. Gloves. Tracker. Ayy’Numa. Marie. Nebula. Estelle. Ellian. Omani. Atikya. Lu. Why do you insist on hiding who you are?”

She strains herself to speak. “Do not—”

“CF-318. You are Imperial Assset, CF-318F1.” He kneels to her level, squinting. Were it not for the combat droids Din would have his hands around his neck. “I believe I asked you a question. How is Din Djarin immune?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do,” Gideon says. “Tell me. Are you not strong enough?”

“I am.”

“So tell me why.” Snapping leather fingers, the droids form a new position. They circle the trio, guns all aimed… at Din. Before Lumina has a chance to react Gideon grips her arm, pulling her away.

She struggles against him, yanking until the rope burns her skin. “No, no! Gideon!”

“Why has he not listened?”

“I told you!”

“Don’t. Lie.”

“I’m not! Don’t hurt him!“

“Fire on my command. In three. Two—“

“It’s the beskar!” Lumina shouts. The light behind them shatters at its base, glass spilling on the floor. “I can’t get past it, it’s blocks everything! That’s all I know. I promise.”

Gideon, never one to be satisfied, throws Lumina at Din. She crashes into his chest, they almost topple over. “Mandalorians,” he mutters. “You lower yourself with him. Do you realize this?”

“That’s not true,” Lumina says.

“And what do you suppose they’ll say when they’ve realized you’ve broken the first rule of your programming? You have no credibility with him.”

“Lu,” Din says. “What is he talking about?”

Gideon’s expression flickers. “Does he not know?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she mutters.

“Do you have any idea who she is?” Gideon asks. “The power she holds?”

“I don’t care about that, that’s behind her. It’s behind us.”

“Oh but you should,” Gideon laments. “Since the death of her father, she is the rightful heir to the Empire. Hand selected by the Emperor himself to one day rule at his side.”

“What?” Comes in unison from both Din and Lumina.

“That’s not true,” she says.

“Do you deny your inheritance?” Gideon asks.

She says nothing.

“Lumina—“

“Palpatine tried to kill me. He never wanted me, he wanted the other one.”

“The Jedi,” Gideon says.

“He had a choice. It wasn’t me.”

“And yet here you are. Alive. Why do you think that is?”

“My father saved me. He wanted me alive.“

“Do you honestly believe, the Emperor did not know you survived? That he is capable of making mistakes?”

Her tone strikes with hesitancy. “You don’t know him like I do. He is selfish, and greedy, and his arrogance blinds him. I spent my life studying his weaknesses. I know exactly what that man was capable of. Mistakes are high on the list.”

“He sees you as his granddaughter,” Gideon says. “Your return is of his demand. He wants you. He needs you.”

Only now, Lumina falters. Din can’t tell what comes over her. Why her head falls back, why her breathes come from her mouth, or what she stares at on the back wall like she’d seen a demon.

“Stop it,” she whispers. “I don’t want—I don’t want you. Shut. Up.”

“What are you doing to her?”

“Nothing. She’s deranged,” Gideon offers.

“She’s sick. Has been for weeks. You’re making her worse.”

“No. She’s only rediscovering herself, her anger, her loyalties. And you my friend, are the final piece.” He looks at the droids, waving his hand. “Allow Din Djarin to stand.” So he does. ”Follow me.”

Moff Gideon guides him to a wall of screens, he twirls a code cylinder between his fingers. “I believe it’s time you discover the truth, Mandalorian.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your girlfriend.” He snickers from the word, plugging the device into the computers terminal. “I’m afraid, has been harboring a dangerous secret from you.”

Lumina stops talking to herself, short, all at once. “What are you doing?”

On Gideons command, two of the droids haul her off the ground. One grips her arms together, the other keeps its gun to her head.

“What are you showing him?” She pulls at her hold, to no avail. “Gideon let me go. This wasn’t part of the deal! I told you he can’t know about it!“

“What deal?” Din asks, facing her.

“Moff Gideon,” Lumina ignores, to his surprise sounding like a politician. Strong. Powerful. “I command you to stop and release me this instant.”

Display monitors come to life, static and blue. All fill with the same frozen with an image of Lumina. Sat in the Razor Crest, a growing bruise under her left eye.

“I apologize,” Gideon says, regretfully melodramatic. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible.”

On the screen, Lumina comes to life. Rustling plays through speakers before her voice. “Red Axe, Crimson Mission Report,” she says. The date and time follow. Over four months ago. “Current location: Trask. Previous location: Arkanis. Destination is currently uncertain, but I assume somewhere in the Outer Rim. I’ll update when I can. Contact with target has been successful. Relationship with target known as the Mandalorian is—” Lumina, the current version of herself, pulls against the droids. She strains herself shouting Gideon’s name, “—uncertain, and in development. No news of interest to report.” She sighs, hand rubbed over her face. “You know I really fucking hate you for sticking me with him again. I was better on my own. I left for a reason. As soon as you clear me to come back I’m gone.”

The next video plays:

“Current location: Hyperspace. Previous location: Llanic. Destination: Ryloth. Relationship with target…” Smiling, Lumina says, “Good.” Noise rattles in the background, she turns to it. “One second!…Get a better ship and I’ll be faster!” She looks back at the camera, grinning. “Really good. I gotta go, bye Lena!”

The next she dates hours later, bright red marks littering her neck. She pulls her hair in front of her shoulders. “I’m doing my job. You said to get close to him… I am not being disrespectful… no I know I’m not allowed to but… All of it?” Her eyes roll. “Red Axe, Crimson Mission Report…”

The next plays, cut to the middle. “Relationship with target is decreasing and really fucking annoying.”

Then the next. “Relationship with target, satisfactory.”

---

“…Acceptable.”

The videos never end.

“…Stupid.”

They play one right after the other.

“…Fine.”

Din hasn’t said a word.

“…Increasing in my favor.”

It’s hard to tell if he’s breathing at all anymore.

“…The best its ever been. He’s really great—at falling for it, I mean. No I just—it’s pathetic. Naboo is really nice though, it’s the most at home I’ve ever felt… I don’t know, it’s familiar.” The clip stays uncut after this, Lumina nodding, tying up her hair. “Technically I’m not ‘diverging from the mission’. My job was to follow the Mandalorian, I’m still doing that…”

“Turn it off,” she says. “We didn’t agree to this, turn it off!”

“Don’t.” It comes from Din.

No one dares to move.

“…I’m not that horrible,” Lumina says. “I can pretend to not be horrible. Very well, might I add. You know this.”

“Pretend?” he repeats.

“Din, I can explain.”

“This whole time. This whole time you were pretending?”

“No! No, never.”

“He is!” Lumina laughs in the video. “He’s been very… sweet to me, in his own way. And he’s started taking his helmet off. I haven’t seen anything, obviously, but, well it feels important to report that.”

Finally, he looks at her. She can envision his face, every line, every hair with perfect clarity. She wishes she couldn’t.

“You didn’t know her lineage,” Gideon says. “You don’t know her worth, her power. You have no idea what she is capable of. How she,” he points, “alone produced what you’ve seen out there.” His attention returns to the screen. “This is my favorite part.”

“I’m not attached,” Lumina argues. “I do not love the Mandalorian. I will not ever love the Mandalorian. And he certainly does not love me. I am perfectly capable of staying on my mission and completing it. Whatever it is, I can and will do it.”

The montage ends here, glitched and stuck in the middle of her eye roll.

“These are doctored,” Din swallows, “it’s easy enough to do. You have the technology.”

“I ask you this,” Gideon muses. “What benefit do I gain in creating a false narrative? When she excels at spinning her own web? Mandalorian, how well do you really know her, when she has been my payroll from the beginning?”

Din remains stuck on the screen, her broken image. “Tell me he’s lying,” he says. His voice holds no inflection, no emotion to bear vulnerability. He speaks like it were a term of business. Another arrangement between them, agreed upon over a contract. “That’s all I need. Tell me you don’t work for him.” He turns to her. “I promise nothing else you’ve done matters to me. Just tell me those are fake.”

“Din.”

“Tell me.”

Her mouth opens to close again, shaking. “Din—”

He stands in front of her in an instant. He stares at her the same way he did on the Razor Crest. Before it all began, stuck in the cockpit arguing about her return to Coruscant. “Are they real?” He’s venomous, rasped in a growl. “Yes or no.”

Quietly, she responds, “Yes.”

He says the same thing he did then too, “You’re unbelievable.”

“I quit right after Naboo,” she defends in vain. “I never knew it was for Gideon until it was over, I promise. I would never take a job for the Empire, you know that. Lena never told me why I had to follow you, I thought she was getting back at me for Corellia, that it was another punishment or a joke. Din you have to believe me.”

“Why? You said so yourself, you lied about everything. It’s what you do. So why the hell should I believe you on this?”

Lumina has no response to give.

And he says, “I’m done with you.”

Nothing inside her is intact. “What?”

“I’m done. I’m done, Lumina. All of this. Everything that’s happened, everything we’ve done. Everything I’ve done for you. It meant nothing.”

“No, no it meant everything—”

“You lied to me.”

She pulls against the droids, bruising her arms. “You think I wanted to?”

“Trust me you don’t want to know what I think.”

“Relena owned me. If I didn’t do what she wanted I—you know what they did to me. You know what everyone has done to me. I have to listen! I had no where else to go.”

“You had me!” She can’t remember the last time he shouted at her, and she flinches like he were any of the others. “You had me, and you left. That was your choice. I told you then, I’ll tell you now, it’s always been your choice. You left. You went back to that shit hole. You took the job. You work for the Empire. Not Relena. Not Neri. Not your father. You.”

“I told you, I didn’t know—”

“You didn’t know?” he mocks. “Who the fuck else wants anything to do with me Lu?”

“I wasn’t hurting you, I didn’t think it mattered.”

“You’re so fucking stupid.” Din scoffs, shaking his head. She thought there was nothing left inside, that her tears were spent. “Cara was right about you.”

She was wrong.

“Don’t say that—“ she whispers.

“You’re a selfish entitled brat. You can’t stand one second away from yourself to think about who you might hurt. Or you and you just don’t care. The moment anyone tells you anything you break down like a child because you know exactly who you are.”

A dam breaks inside. The light above pops and burns out, her jaw clenched. “Stop it.”

He doesn’t flinch. “Oh I’m sorry your highness, did I offend you?”

“That’s not fair.”

“I’m past being fair.”

“Din—“

He steps to her, like it were instinct with a clenched fist glued to his side. “Say my name one more time.” He shakes his head. “I gave you everything I had. Everything you never got. Not because anyone told me to, because I wanted to. Because I was stupid enough to think you had an ounce of good inside of you. I wanted to marry you. I trusted you with my son—“ He stops. He looks at Moff Gideon whose sly smile only grows.

“Where’s my kid?” Din asks. “Do whatever you want with her, I want my kid.”

Moff Gideon shrugs at the Mandalorian. He’s leaned against the entrance of the cockpit and he shrugs. “Ask her. The attack on you was her idea. I thought we had an agreement you were to be left alone, or else I would’ve done it myself.”

Lumina manages her voice before Din, who whips his head so fast it might actually break. “What?”

“318, now is not the time to be daft,” Gideon says. “The jig is up, you’ve been caught. It’s best to admit it, there’s no going back for you.”

“What did you do?” Din sneers.

“Nothing!” she stutters, a laugh, as panicked as ever coming out. “I would never—I don’t know what he’s talking about. You—You know how much I love him, I would never. He’s my baby too, I wouldn’t—“

“He’s my kid,” Din interrupts. “He’s only my kid, you are nothing to him anymore. Do you understand that? What did you do?”

“Nothing!”

Another light goes out.

Gideon’s tongue clicks the roof of his mouth. “318, I’ve told you I have no use for the Child anymore. Clearly your plan has again failed. I implore you to tell him the truth for once.”

“Shut up!” she snaps.

“Where’s the kid Lumina?”

“I already told you, I don’t know.”

“If you lie to me again I swear— I’m only here because Boba didn’t want to look for you himself,” Din admits. “I didn’t want to be here to begin with. I never came for you, I came for him. What did you do?”

Slow, Lumina’s head turns to Din. Her mouth partially opened, her eyes to match beskar, glare. “You…” she begins. She speaks with deliberate pause, dark from her chest. “You don’t want to look for me.”

“I don’t want to look for you,” he agrees.

“You want the Child.”

And he nods. “I want the Child.”

Huh.

Considering all possibilities… Lumina ultimately decides Gideon is right. There is no going back. She does an awfully good job at ruining herself, its happened again with greater consequence but so what?

What reason does she have to care anymore?

At the end of the day she’s still alive. She still has herself. That’s should be all that matters. And it is.

Tears sting at her eyes, she tries to blink them away but they fall with no regard for herself. For six years she’s had nothing but headaches and nightmares. She isn’t proud, she can’t see herself as a victim. She only is what she is, no matter how horrible that may be.

What other choice does she have?

She sees in Gideon the same thing she’s seen in so many people. In Neri, Sully, Relena. What she saw in the mechanic who homed her on Tatooine. In Omera as her wounds were nursed and her body washed. In Tidhel and her stupid pretentious friends playing dress up in greed. In Petiko before his head left his body.

She almost smiles.

It’s exactly what she saw in Din. Sees in Din. And what Vader saw in her.

Opportunity.

Lumina looks between the Mandalorian and Moff Gideon. She can hear the analog clock tick away further in the ship. She counts the seconds.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven…

At thirteen she nods to Din, her lips pursed. “You think… I… kidnapped my own kid. My child. You think I’m that dumb to take him like this, and not the million times before that I’ve been left alone with him.”

The Mandalorian’s head twitches, and his fist unclenches.

“You, think I’m selfish and entitled and that I’ve been manipulating you from the very beginning. You have to hold yourself back from hitting me.”

Now both his hands turn to fists.

“You hate me,” Lumina says, eyes searching whatever lays beyond the visor. “You actually hate me now. You don’t think I ever loved you.”

“You never did.”

“Yeah? Maybe I didn’t. Then what? You saw this coming.”

“I saw it coming.”

“You knew this would happen. You knew I never loved you. You always knew.”

“I always knew,” he mumbles. “I…”

She instigates, pushing forward. “What else do you think of me Din? Huh? I lied about loving you. So fucking what. Tell me how much you hate me Din. Tell me.”

The answer is instinctual. “You’re evil.”

“I’m evil.” Lumina scoffs, biting her tongue. “I’m evil. I spend my whole life trying to be good enough to be called evil, and you—I have been nothing but good to you. You, have never seen evil in your life,” she snaps like a whip. “Never.”

The hull shakes, the Dark Troopers holding begin expel black smoke from their chests.

“That’s enough!” Gideon barks.

“Evil is letting your kid get murdered because of some blond cunt you don’t know. Evil is blowing up an entire planet because some princess won’t tell you where the Rebels are. Evil, Mandalorian is dying and leaving the only person who loved you, who you conditioned to love you without any closure!” The display monitors shatter, glass flies everywhere. “You want to talk about evil? You wanna call me evil? You don’t know the first thing about evil!”

“Does it make you feel better?” Din asks, as always only having eyes for her. “Hurting people like your dad hurt you? Do you think that’ll make him give a fuck about you?”

“What did you just say?”

“You ever think about why Boba doesn’t want to call you his kid? It’s because you’re psychotic. He hates your dad, and you’re probably just like him.”

Without a second to waste, every source of light in the room flickers on and off. On and off until the bulbs explode one by one. The computers of the ship power down to reboot three times over. The droids at her side collapse.

Lumina feels herself burn.

“Get him out here,” Gideon orders the remaining droids. “Now!”

“Where’s my kid, Lumina?” Dark Troopers grab Din by the arms, forcing him back. “Lumina, where is he?”

“Don’t touch him,” she mutters, pulling at her rope. “Don’t touch him. Gideon! Gideon don’t touch him!”

“Hold her back,” Moff Gideon instructs two others. They do and she is once again helpless.

“Lumina what did you do to the kid?” Din shouts.

“Get rid of him,” Gideon says. They drag him out of the ship, the squad of them with guns raised.

“I said don’t touch him! Din! Din!”

Lumina screams until her throat is raw and the doors shut, trapping her inside. She screams promised threats at Gideon, throwing everything she knows. His mother, his sisters, his daughter, his status. He doesn’t so much as blink.

Not until she starts laughing.

“You stupid fucking cunt. You’re a fucking idiot if you think I’ll ever help you,” she spits. “You were so close… You’re a mistake, Gideon! All of you are the same. You. Fucked. Up.”

“Sedate her,” Gideon says. “Two doses.”

“You’re a coward! I gave you two rules! You think what I did out there was bad? Just you wait until I get my hands on you. You’re going to wish you were dead by the time I’m done with you.”

Lumina screams until a needle pricks her neck, blood running cold. She collapses, and the lights never turn back on.

---

“Where is she?”

The Mandalorian pushes past a questioning Boba Fett without a comment to spare. He limps, shaking out his arm. The droids threw him at a tree, and took off when he hit the earth. Surveying the area, there are less bodies scattered, and he sees Fennec at cliff’s edge wiping her hands.

That’s one way to do it.

“Where’s Adi?” Boba asks again, grabbing his shoulder. He’s stronger than before—or Din’s getting weaker, they’re both reasonable—forcing his entire body to turn on his heel.

It might be a Mandalorian trait, the ability to discern emotion despite the helmet. They both wear theirs, but he can still make out Boba’s tight jaw, his fleeting eyes darting back and forth.

“Who is she?” Din asks, hoarse.

“What?”

“Who the hell is she, Fett?”

“What’s happened?”

Din laughs. Shaking his head he points to where he came. “What happened? What happened is that she’s a maniac and apparently the Emperor’s granddaughter—“

“Who told you that?”

“Did you know?”

Boba shakes his head. “That’s not—she’s not.”

“The heir to the Empire? The chosen one to take over for her father? You’re the one who wants her as an advisor, all that education had to be for something.”

“It was the vision of my employer, I never wanted that for her.“

“Gideon says the Emperor chose her.”

“Impossible. Palpatine never knew her, we made sure of that. We both knew how dangerous it would be if he found out about her.”

“She’s working for Gideon,” Din says. “This whole time she’s been working for Gideon, spying on me. You want to talk about dangerous? Let’s start there.”

“She would never do that, she loves you.”

“I saw the video myself, Fett. She confirmed it!”

“Where is she?”

“She’s with Gideon still, wherever he fucked off to. Hopefully it’s hell.”

“Shit,” Boba spits. He moves from Din, speeding to the Slave I. “Fuck!”

“What’s going on?” Fennec asks. She holds a trooper helmet like it were a toy.

“We have to go,” Boba says. “Ready the ship.”

“Context?”

“Gideon’s taken her too.”

“Unfortunate, but I’m sure she can save herself.”

Boba leans over, whispering. Din can’t make out a word, but Fennec’s expression changes from passive dismissal to real tangible fear.

“You’re certain he’ll find out?” she asks.

“They wouldn’t wipe data like that. One test and she’s caught.”

“Would they tell her?”

Boba shrugs.

“I told you you had to tell her yourself—“

“Now is not the time for a lecture. We have to go. I made a promise to keep her safe, I’m making good on that.”

Fennec motions at Din. “What about him?”

“He’ll come with us.”

“I’m not doing anything that benefits her,” Din says in defense. “I’m going back to my ship. I’m looking for my kid. I’m done with this.”

The moment comes as if on cue, and Din will forever consider himself nothing but a cursed joke of the galaxy. A green bolt of energy blasts from the atmosphere, shooting between the clouds until an explosion ruptures miles away.

In the exact location of the Razor Crest.

“You’re fucking with me,” he says.

“Like I said.” Boba comes from behind, a hand on his shoulder. “You’re coming with us.”

---

Din Djarin is perpetually stuck in a vacuum of space and time where he is forced to watch its continuance with no say of his own.

His body jostles with every movement of Boba Fett’s ship and he has nothing of value or importance to occupy his vision but the rifle belonging to her. Laid against the wall, propped and looming with shadow.

It is shadow.

Everything is shadow.

He’s too reflective to be devoured by famine.

Fennec and Fett are upstairs, talking. Arguing. He can’t hear their exact words and he doesn’t want to. They can talk about him. Of her. Of them. None or all of the above. He’s lost the ability to care for any of it.

The only thing he feels is the weight of whatever he could save from the Razor Crest; two ingots of beskar, the ball Grogu played with, and his spear.

Nothing else remains.

“All I’m saying,” Fennec says. She jumps down to the hull, and Boba follows. “Is we could at least try.”

“No,” Boba replies. “I’m not involving her in this.”

Fennec holds some frame that she waves around haphazardly. “She’s been involved in this.”

“The answer is no. You don’t know for certain if she’s alive, and I won’t allow them to meet like this. We can do this on our own. I said I’ve found her before, I can do it again.”

With an exasperated sigh, Fennec tosses it onto the seat next to him, landing face up. “How do you suggest we get coordinates to Gideon’s cruiser?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“We’re on limited time.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

“Your sister—“

“Meg is the last person I want to talk about right now.”

Meg, or whoever, Din assumes is the girl in the photograph. Young and blonde, sat in the middle of a group of armored men. Each different than the last.

He looks at the photo then to Boba, and back again.

And again.

And a third time for good measure.

Or not so different after all.

“I know someone,” he says. The first he’s spoken since entering the ship. “He can get us coordinates… If we go to Nevarro, I can get the assistance I need to contact him.”

They stare as if he’s grown a head, and Boba nods.

“I’ll reroute,” Fennec offers, and leaves the way she came.

The helmet does nothing to hide his stiff glare and tight jaw. “We’ll need more numbers if we don’t want to die on that cruiser. I know other Mandalorians we can contact on Trask. They can offer assistance.”

“Who?”

“Bo-Katan Kryze. Her gang. She owes me, or… her.”

“She’s met Bo-Katan?”

“You know her?”

“Of her. She’s a reluctant friend of the family. To put it simply.”

“Reluctant?”

“My people aren’t welcomed in most circles. Specifically hers.”

“Is she going to be an issue?”

His head nods to the side. “She might be.” Boba steps back once, then forward, then back again. “I’m sure you have questions, and although it’s not my place to answer them… do know I understand how you feel.”

Din lifts the frame, tilting for examination. “These your people?”

“Some.”

“How many left?”

“Of them? None.”

“Except her.”

To this Fett says nothing.

“Anyone else?” Din asks.

“There might be more of us laying around still. I never kept track of that, it was more her thing.”

“Anyone else?” he asks again.

“I have a nephew,” Boba says after a moment. “And a niece.”

Din nods, slow, careful. “Do you have children of your own?”

“No. She’s the closest I’ll ever get—”

“And you don’t claim her as a foundling?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t want to hear you say that you understand how I feel. I’ve lost my home. My child has been taken from me. I have been lied to, for months. I wanted to marry her this morning and she is the reason all of this happened, and now she may be dead. You do not understand an ounce of how I feel.”

Boba’s squint can be confused for a glare, or maybe it is and they are one and the same. “You blame her for this?”

“She should have told me.”

“And what would that change?”

The snap is as heavy as cut rope, and burns just the same. “I wouldn’t have gotten involved with her to begin with.” His chest aches, and the fire of the forest has moved to rage of grief inside him. “I wouldn’t have trusted her with my child. I would have never looked at her if I knew this would come from it.”

The glare now, is unmistakable. “She didn’t ask for this.”

“Neither did I.”

Din leans while his hands grip the plates of beskar on his thighs. “I’m getting my kid back,” Din says. “And if she’s still alive, you’re getting yours. I don’t care what happens after. That is where it ends for us.”

---

An Imperial Starcrusier drifting through hyperspace with no real urgency, rumbles and creaks. Inside the sterile white room, florescent lighting blinds. A male, appearing middle aged, paces. He wears latex gloves and a lab coat, wire frame glasses perched on his nose. He clicks a recorder in his hand, the mechanics whirling awake.

“Hello. Greetings. This is Doctor Pershing,” he says to the holoscanner opposite him. “Let this be documented as HoloLog Twenty-Seven in the Harvested Project. The first in the category subtitled: CF-318F1. Unfortunately, all known documentation on the subject prior to adolescence has been completely wiped. I will have to begin again. There is a lot of ground to cover, so for simplicity sake, I’ll make this as quick as possible.”

Behind him, a girl lays on an operating table. She’s strapped by all her limbs, completely unconscious. An IV hooks into her arm, wires of an EEG covering her head. Her heart rate projected on a second monitor, oxygen levels on a third.

“While enacting my employment under Imperial remnants to Moff Gideon, it has been my task to properly assess all Force Sensitive assets acquired. Mainly, these have been of the remaining Inquisitors. These were former inductees into Project Harvestor. This one, however, is different.”

He sits in a rolling chair, spinning to see her. “She is quite special. Imperial archives have listed this being as CF-318F1, marked terminated some thirteen years ago. The reason for speciality is that this is the alleged daughter of Lord Vader. Whether it is a genetic relationship or not is unfounded. The Daughter has become a myth in Imperial circles. Legends tell of a child raised and trained in the ways of the Force by the Emperor’s right hand. She has been kept hidden for years. Intellectuals such as myself all believed her to be dead or simply nonexistent. Until now. I am proud to say the forces of Moff Gideon have successfully acquired her for my studies. The question has plagued the minds of my colleagues, myself, and my superiors as to why she was favored, saved, selected. I aim to discover this.”

Releasing one of the girl’s arms, he turns it in examination. “It is completely organic, and appears human. Blood samples indicate an M-Count far exceeding that of the other surviving Inquisitors I have examined.” He snorts, pushing up his glasses. “It really is quite extraordinary,” he says to the camera. “I am currently awaiting the results of a DNA sampling.”

“Ah, it is best I mention now. Data logs from a recovered ship of Lord Vader’s details several times over documents listed under the code 631-120-282-024-618.” Doctor Pershing reads this from a notepad on his lap. “Almost all the information has been redacted, save for the name and one mention of a female. Should this be his child it is not unreasonable to presume the file is on her.”

He ties down her arm again. ”I believe Moff Gideon knows more than he is telling me. He’s instructed perfect preservation of the subject’s—.”

“Doctor.” An Imperial Officer stands in the doorway. He jumps. “Your lab results.” She holds out a data pad. “Moff Gideon wishes to meet with you to discuss your findings. He says you may proceed with any questioning and studies you wish.”

“Ah, thank you,” he stutters. “Yes. Please, tell the Moff I am thankful. I will meet him before days end.” Doctor Pershings walks out and reenters frame, the doors shut behind him.

He gawks at the data pad. “Maker above,” he whispers, grip tight enough to turn knuckles white. “This is… this is marvelous.” He throws the tablet onto his desk, scurrying around the girl. “I can’t believe it.”

He laughs, a loud singular clap to follow.

“More research is needed,” he tells the camera. “Hundreds of hours perhaps. But should my theory prove correct—“ he motions around the body, waving over her core, “—then I am in the presence of the greatest scientific achievement known to man—so far.” He shrugs. “I never thought I would see this come to fruition.”

The lights in the room begin to flicker. Medical equipment powers on and off, the room fills with beeping. The girl begins to move, reanimating limb by limb.

“No no no no,” Doctor Pershings whispers. He grabs a needle, injecting a relaxant into her arm.

She groans, weak with a scratchy throat. “What…” She pants, blinking awake.

“Hello.” He crouches by her head, her eyes lazily blinking and soon blinded by a miniature light. “Have no alarm, I don’t wish to hurt you. I am Doctor Pershing, you are currently in my office. I have waited a very long time to meet something like you. If you don’t mind, I have some questions I’d like to ask.”

---

Chapter Thirty-Two: An Image of Perfection

Taglist: @lexloon @jay-bel @xsadderdazeforeverx @spideysimpossiblegirl @sarahjkl82-blog @annoyinglythoughtfuldestiny

#din djarin fanfiction #Din Djarin x Original Female Character #mandalorian fanfiction #mandalorian fanfic #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin x ofc #din djarin x original character #din djarin x female oc #Din Djarin x oc #Mando x oc #mando x original character #mando x ofc #mando x original female character #Starlight

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yournothingmyeverything · 3 years ago

Text

Saved From the Sands

More Boba Fett! I am so in love with him. This one is complete shit, it was born from some strange place in my brain and then I birthed it into text. It’s unedited, ofc, enjoy my loves!

Summary: You’re one of Fennc Shand’s closest friends, a bounty hunter. You show up to the Hutt Palace in search of her, only to find the man who rescued you from the sands and stole your heart.

Boba Fett x Hunter!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of past slavery, light angst (if you squint). I think thats it, if I missed anything let me know!

WC: 2,075

“Fennec!” You called out.

You were back on Tatooine, for the first time since nearly dying in the sands years ago, trying to find your beloved friend.

Fennec, the best assassin in the galaxy, had been injured loads of times. But this time, you heard about it.

Word got back to you while you were in the middle of a hunt on another outer-rim planet. After your brush with death on Tatooine, you became a bounty-hunter. At first it started out with just small jobs from the Guild just to get you by, but it soon evolved into you taking higher paying jobs, and then you became something of a vigilante. You hunted slave and spice traders, swearing to never let someone become who you had once been.

You were a slave to Jabba The Hutt until you escaped, you thought the hard part was over. Until you found yourself stranded in the treacherous desert. You already had injuries from the Palace, but now you were starving and weak in the desert.

On the verge of death you met a man.

He was draped in robes, accompanied by a bantha. His face was scarred and he was quiet. But he took you in, tried his best to nurse you back to health. You were with him for weeks, months even. Over time you began to get to know the man, he was quiet and reserved. He opened up to you some, showed you a kindness you didn’t think he could convey. You learned his name, Boba. He never told you his last name, something about it being unimportant.

Even now you could picture the precise honey-brown of his eyes, the scar over the right side of his face. The days you spent in the heat of the suns, or the warmth he provided over the cold nights. Some part of you fell in love with the man in the desert.

You were nearly better and then one of your wounds wouldn’t heal. The infection began to spread and eventually you were worse than you started.

One day Boba came to realize that he couldn’t keep you in the sands, he wouldn’t let you die. Even if it killed the part of him he thought died a long time ago, he had to let you go. He brought you atop his bantha, who he only ever called Old Girl, and started off on the journey to Mos Eisley.

The journey was long and hard but he held you tight to him, eyes taking over your skin that was losing color, the fever on your brow. Even dying Boba thought you were the most lovely thing he’d ever seen. He savored the little time he had left with you.

Once he arrived in Mos Eisley he dropped you off with a medic, not leaving you so much as a letter. Your wounds healed but your heart felt forever bruised, left missing Boba.

***

You arrived at Mos Espa early in the day, and made the trek up to the Hutt Palace. Word was that Fennec was now serving as the right hand to the new Daimyo. She’d had a scuffle with someone who opposed the Daimyo, you were certain her injuries weren’t life altering – but you would take any chance at seeing her again.

The last time you saw her was when she sent you out on your own after meeting you in Mos Eisley. She taught you some of what you knew before she saw you off the planet. You owe her your living, but you owe Boba what you know.

You were racing through the palace, dodging guards in the same way she taught you to. You finally make it into the throne room.

“Y/N? What are you doing here, Sunny?” Fennec already has her rifle drawn, ready to pull the trigger on whatever fool was racing through the palace. As soon as she saw you she lowered her weapon, helmet already off her head.

“I’m here for you! What did you do to yourself?” The two of you met in the middle of the room.

“Me? Come on now kid, I’m better than that. Just a scratch,” She says, pulling you into a rare hug. “You should see the other guy.” Fennec was smiling down at you, taking in your own armor with weapons strapped to your hip. She taught you well.

“I am not believing any of that, but okay,” You were just happy to see her. “I also missed you, that's all.” Your cheeks hurt from smiling at this point.

Somewhere behind you, someone clears their throat. Your worst habit was never being aware, sometimes it got you in risky situations.

“I would love to know who just waltzed into my palace unannounced,” The man's voice murmers from the modulator, yet still clear and strong.

He stands from his seat on the throne, looking somehow more powerful when he stands. He’s dressed in full Mandalorian armor, painted green. You can’t make out his eyes from beneath his helmet and T-shaped visor.

He’s calculating in crossing the room to you and Fennec now, looking larger with every step. The suns’ light streams in from the windows, glinting off his visor.

He’s finally in front of you now, looking down on you. There’s a slight tilt in the way he holds his head, as if trying to name you.

“Oh, I’m Y/N,” You were looking up at him, trying to place the familiarity of his build. “I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect by it. I just haven’t seen Fennec in so long.” Your voice was apologetic, but your brow was furrowed. You couldn’t place him.

Something felt so comforting but you would’ve remembered a man in green Mandalorian armor.

“Y/N,” Your name sounds so right coming through the modulator. “Y/N, it's you…” The man, the Daimyo, brought his gloved hands up to his helmet, quickly pulling it off.

When he removed his helmet you were met with the scarred face that haunted your dreams, those honey-brown eyes that saw you like no one else did.

You took disbelieving steps towards him, the bravery you forged from the past few years slipping from your shoulders. You’re right in front of him now and you bring your hand up to his face, fingers warming as you trace the scars on his face.

“Boba,” Your voice is weak even to your ears. “Boba, you’re, you’re you!” You were close to tears as he leaned into your touch.

“Sweetheart,” His hands were over yours now. “Oh, Y/N. You’re safe.” The way he looks at you is as if you rivaled the stars.

“You,” The feelings of hurt were coming back as if the wound was fresh.” You left me! I woke up and you weren’t there! Boba, where did you go?” The emotional tears spilled onto your cheeks.

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry love. But I couldn’t do that to you,” He brings his thumbs to wipe your tears. “Don’t cry over me.” He was still so tender with you.

“Couldn’t do what? I was alone, I mourned the loss of you!” You were feeling so many things, and after all these years all he could offer you was that he couldn’t do that to you?

“No, you’re not safe with me. I couldn’t be selfish, not with you.” His voice was so sincere, so much so you believe him.

“You could’ve left a note!” That was the only argument you have left.

Before he could even begin to explain you pulled him closer.

“I missed you.” Your voice is weaker than you’d heard it in years.

Boba gathered you into his arms, you feel safer than you had in years, since he left.

“I know, you can’t fathom how much I missed you,” Boba wasn’t exaggerating. “I missed you so much. You’re worth more to me than any of this, and that’s why I had to let you go.” The Great Daimyo was nearly pleading with you, begging you to understand.

Fennec is still behind you, mouth nearly falling open. You had told her brief stories of your savior, how kind he was and how the loss of him almost broke you.

You had mentioned the name, Boba, but Fennec never believed that your Boba could be the same Lord Fett she knew. You were kind and selfless, naive at times, but forgiving. She nicknamed you Sunny, always glowing. Fennec truly didn’t think that the same kindness could be perceived by Boba Fett.

“Osik,” Fennec swore. “What am I even seeing?” She walked closer to the both of you. “I made a hunter out of your girl?” Fen said. She’s proud, you can see it in her eyes.

“What?” Boba looks from you to Fennec, so obviously out of the loop.

You aren’t the delicate girl in the sands, you made a living for yourself. “Oh, yes. Fennec, she saved my life,” You look at her. “Nearly as much as you did. She taught me how to be a hunter.” You stand a little straighter at the thought of the past few years.

“Two bounty hunters? Wow. Stars, I’m good.” Fennec’s lip tilts up in a smirk. Now it’s your turn to be confused.

“Two?” You look at Boba with an adorable tilt.

“What is it with the younglings not knowing the greats anymore?” Laughing, Fennec is laughing at you.

“I am Boba Fett,” Boba looks down to you.

Oh, you think. You’d heard of Boba Fett before, of course you had! The best bounty hunter who ever lived, like his father before him. But Boba Fett is dead, he died years ago in the Sarlacc. There was no way that your Boba was the Boba. Except there was.

“Oh, stars. I thought-” You start.

“Yes, I’m supposed to be dead, sweetheart.” Now he’s smirking. “There’s an advantage to people thinking you’re dead, princess.”

You can feel your cheeks heating up. How? How did you not connect the dots?

“Well,” You collect yourself, “I’m glad you’re alive.”

“And I’m glad you’re here, little one.” The sparkle in his eye is filled with love. “I’m sorry that I left. My past isn’t pretty. I didn’t think I could clean up my future. You deserve more than worrying someone's out to get you.” He was still so stubborn.

“Deserve more? You don’t get to decide what I deserve.” If he was stubborn, so are you. “And somebody is always out to get me, I dropped off a bounty before I came here!” You wanted to make him understand, you only ever wanted him.

“I know that, now. I’m sorry it’s been so long. There were things I had to clean up.” His gaze fleets around the throne room, his throne room. “But I need you to understand, you never left my thoughts.” If there was one thing you knew about Boba, he’s a man of his word.

“I believe you, Boba.” Your words caused a smile to break out onto his face, a smile you hadn’t seen in years, one you missed dearly.

Once again you embraced him.

“I don’t know what you do, but I should hope you stay.” Somehow, he looks worried, as if you haven’t searched for his face in every crowd since the moment he left.

“Boba, I don’t think you could get rid of me if you tried.” You break out into a fit of laughter, Boba quickly joins in.

“I missed that smile more than you will ever know.” In his eyes, you did rival the stars.

“You know what? I think I’m to thank for this, technically.” Fennec looks at both of you, borderline teasing you. She’s having a hayday watching her boss act like a lovesick puppy.

“Fen, you so are!” You’re still giggling.

“Course I am, Sunny.” Now you stand true to your nickname.

Boba’s watching you two talk, admiring you, taking in all that he lost.

“Y/N,” He starts, waiting until you look at him. “I love you.” He couldn’t be clearer if he tried. He was truly and wholeheartedly in love with you. “I have loved you since the day I lost you.”

You looked at him, taking his hand, part of you shocked at how seriously he meant it. “I love you too Boba, I always have.” You meant every word.

And he smiles at you like you’re the stars.

#boba fett #boba fett x reader #boba fett x you #the book of boba fett #im sorry for this one #its so random #i feel like its not that bad

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phandoz · 2 years ago

Text

Cin Vhetin - Chapter Eight

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (eventually…)

Warnings: None this chapter I don't think. It is my writing though so there are probably some swears in there somewhere...

Din and Cara stop for help on their mission.

See notes at the end for mando'a translations.

Chapter Seven > Chapter Nine

Chapter Eight

It was early morning on Tatooine when Din's ship touched down in the Palace's hangar. The temperature was pleasant with the suns still low in the sky, far from the oppressive dry heat that Din knew would only be hours away.

It hadn't taken much convincing to get Cara to agree to ask Sana for help. He had assured her that he would not only vouch for her, but Fett and Shand would as well.

The latter of those two now stood at the bottom of the ship's ramp, hands behind her back as she watched them descend.

"Back so soon, Mando? Anyone would think you crave our company."

"Just one of you for now."

Din clasped Fennec's hand as they met while the two women shared a nod.

"We have a job for Sana if she is interested."

Fennec's head tilted in interestat Din, a knowing smirk spreading across her face. "Oh, I'm sure she will be very interested."

"Do you know where we could find her at this hour?"

"Of course. This way."

Din and Cara fell into step behind Fennec as she lead them lower into the palace. They had gone down so many sets of stairs that Din was beginning to wonder where exactly they were going.

"You're in for a treat." Fennec teased over her shoulder.

"How so?" Cara took the bait.

"She and Boba are sparring. It's always good for a laugh. Those two really know how to push each other buttons."

As they descended down yet another flight of stairs Din could begin to hear the tell tale clack of wood on wood. Spears of some sort then. Sana had said she favoured a staff so perhaps that. Regardless he found himself quickening his step as they finally rounded a corner into an open room. Various melee weapons lined one wall but his eyes were drawn to the fighters in the middle of the room. They arrived just in time to see Sana knocked hard to the floor.

Dust flew up from where she lay on her back in the dirt.

"Where is your mind Verd'ika?" Boba's gruff voice called out to her.

Despite being early in the day, it was already growing uncomfortably warm in the lower levels of the palace. Boba was breathing heavily as he held the training staff out to Sana so she could pull herself up from the floor.

She eyed the staff with distrust, twisting it from Boba's hand before he could use her own weapon against her. "I know your tricks, Fett."

"Not all of them. Where are you today? What is going through that head of yours?"

"Nothing of your concern." Sana replied cooly as the two began to circle each other, waiting for the other to move first.

"I can spar with one of the children if this is too much for you today."

At this Sana was the first to attack, the staff a blur as it swung at Boba's torso. To make the fight even the older mandalorian had shed his armour, making him unable to block with his vambrance as he usually would. Her strikes were relentless, the staff twirling with an elegant precision, but the grunt from Boba with each strike he blocked with his own staff gave an idea of the force behind each blow.

It was mesmerising in a way, watching her move almost as if it were a dance. Her anger had clouded her judgement though and Fett saw the opening at the same time as Din, Sana leaving her right side open as Boba quickly swung back, cracking his staff against her ribs.

Sana dropped to one knee and Dins hand twitched at his side.

"You're getting sloppy. Maybe you can get some lessons, I know a Mandalorian who would be more than happy to help." Boba tilted his head in question.

Fennec was right when she said that the two fighters knew how to push each other's buttons. Sana quickly stood at this with a renewed determination and the pair began circling each other once more.

This time it was Boba on the offensive, raining blows down on Sana in quick succession, her arms shaking with the force behind each hit.

"You're getting worse the longer you stay in that head of yours. I know you're better than this" Boba now blatantly taunted.

Sana snarled in annoyance and now it was Boba on the defensive as Sana advanced. She struck high before feigning low. Boba fell for it, stumbling backwards to protect his armourless legs. She raised her training staff high, looking like she was going for the final hit to which Boba raised his own for a block. It was in that moment Sana swung low and fast, sweeping his legs clean out from underneath him. Boba hit the deck hard and could barely lift his head before the blunt point of a training weapon was pointed at his throat.

"And you're getting slow in your old age." Sana bit out.

His head fell back to the ground with a dull thud, dropping his staff and raising his hands in surrender. "You got me. Much better." he smiled proudly.

Beating Boba was no easy feat but Sana simply smiled back, chest heaving in exertion. Din watched a bead of sweat trail down from her collarbone, her tank top sticking to her like a second skin, until it disappeared from sight. Fuck.

"Drinks on the old man tonight then!" Fennec began a slow clap, finally drawing Sana and Boba's attention to the newcomers in the room.

"Like they wouldn't have been anyway..." Sana laughed under her breath as she held her hand out to Fett. Helping him up off the ground, Boba embraced her in a rough half hug around her shoulders.

"You're not half bad when you pay attention."

Sana just grinned as she shrugged his arm off, rolling her eyes at Din and turned from them to place their weapons back in the rack.

"Mando, Marshall Dune." Fett nodded in greeting and Din's attention was torn from watching Sana's back. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Marshall? Sana's back stiffened where she stood facing away from the others. Shit. She didn't think her chain code was linked to anything these days but she couldn't be sure. This woman though, a shock trooper judging by the tattoos that were proudly on display, she looked familiar.

"We were hoping to speak to Sana." Mando finally spoke up as he looked to her.

Well, shit. "Is now the time to say that I didn't do it?"

The Marshall laughed before extending her hand. "Cara Dune. Marshall of Nevarro."

Nevarro. Ah, that would be it. Sana strode forward and shook hands with the woman in blue. She had a firm handshake, enough for Sana to know that she would be hard to beat in a fight without weapons. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. It appeared that her and Din were friends at least.

"I don't even want to know what I could bring you in for. I'm here on Mando's recommendation. He assures me that you're good for a job."

Thank the maker. "Does he now?!" It didn't go unnoticed to Sana that Mando stood straighter at her raised eyebrow. He seemed... nervous.

"Well, It's disgustingly hot down here already so lets move upstairs, I'll be with you once I've changed. Meet me in my rooms in say fifteen? Mando knows the way."

Boba and Fennec were snickering at some unheard joke between themselves that must've been at Sana's expense. Sana shouldered Fett into the weapons rack on her way upstairs which only caused him to laugh even louder.

"Children..." Sana muttered before she disappeared round the corner.

Sana and Fett were like brother and sister with the way they constantly needled at each other. It was teasing on the surface but Din knew they both cared for the other deeply, just as siblings would. He envied them in a way. He turned from watching Sana leave to find Cara looking at him, brow arched in question to which he simply shrugged.

After Cara spoke with Fett and Shand for what felt like long enough, he and Cara made their way to her rooms. Din had long since been given access to a majority of the Palace by Boba, including the floor where Sana's rooms were. He knocked gently once they reached her door.

At her muffled "Come in!", he and Cara entered her rooms, coming to stand in her kitchen. Sana appeared from her bedroom and gestured they sit through a mouthful of hair pins. Din watched as she tied her hair back, her fingers twisting expertly and placing pins here and there. It was still damp from the fresher and he could smell the faint scent of her shampoo through the filters of his helmet. It smelled of citrus and some spice. Ginger, perhaps. It suited her. He wondered what it smelled like without his helmet.

"So, this job?"

That snapped him out of his, whatever it was, and he cleared his throat, sitting up straighter in the plush chairs where they were now seated.

"Intel." Cara began and Din was glad that she took over the conversation.

"And it's for the Republic?"

"Strictly speaking, no. Not officially at least."

"What do you need?"

"I'm certain we were in the right place for the information we need but the locals were pretty tight lipped. We need someone that will blend in, see what they can find out that we couldn't.

Sana lowered her eyes to Cara's tattoos and badge and back up. "Strange. Between you and the walking mirror over here you're about as subtle as they come."

Din simply sighed.

"Then you can see our problem here." Cara laughed before getting to the serious details. "There are rumours of a trafficking ring..."

The three of them were in hyperspace not even two hours later. Din had a gut feeling that the planet from which they had just left before coming to Tatooine held the information that Cara was after. After all of his years of bounty hunting he knew when to trust that feeling.

From where he sat in the cockpit he could hear the two women speaking back in the kitchen, the conversation broken with laughter every so often. It hadn't taken much convincing for Sana to agree to help them. He thought it was just an opportunity for her to get off world again, but once Cara explained why they were after the intel a look had crossed her face, and Din knew that she would agree.

An emerging trafficking ring in the Outer Rim that was making big enough waves to be picked up on the Republic's radar. The Republic didn't hold as much sway in the Outer Rim as they thought they did. There was an avoidance if not straight out distrust of them so it was no surprise that people were hesitant to speak to a Marshall.

And for Din? Well, he was used to people avoiding him as much as possible. In fact he normally enjoyed it. Until it interfered with his work.

Once he was done checking their progress and that their course was still set correctly, Din headed back to join the others. They weren't far out now.

"So, I left him out front of the very same establishment. Cuffed him to the column closest to the door. I got an extra thousand credits from the Madam for my 'thoughtfulness'."

Cara was broken, in tears of laughter, and even Din was intrigued at the conversation he had stumbled into. "Do I want to know?" He announced his presence.

Sana's face was lit up, eyes bright, when she turned to him from where she and Cara sat at the kitchen counter of his ship. The only explanation she gave him being a "Probably not."

"I'll take your word for it. So," he leaned back against the wall opposite the two women and crossed his arms. "What's the plan?"

Wiping a tear from her eye, Cara finally spoke up. "Well," she cleared her throat before turning to Sana. "Mando and I haven't had much luck getting anything out of the locals, but everything points to this planet being where things started. People must be desperate if they're willing to contact the New Republic in these parts, but they're scared enough of whoever it is that they aren't willing to be seen talking to us. There's been multiple reports of women going missing."

"I can try and get myself picked up?" Sana suggested but was quickly cut off by Mando.

"Absolutely not."

"Give me a tracker," she shrugged, "I'm happy to do it."

"No." Mando was firm. "We need information but not at that much of a risk."

"Right..." Cara glanced between the two of them where they stared at each other. "But I'm with Mando on this one, we just need information for now."

"We're about twenty minutes out. I'll give you the coordinates for a cantina that we tried when we were last here." Din had already started punching buttons on his vambrance. "It was sketchy and the people there were nervous. They know something and they weren't willing to share with us. That will be your best starting point."

"Alright, let me see what I can do."

Sana was perched as daintily as she could manage on the edge of a stool at the cantina Din had directed her to. She'd shopped briefly for a change of clothes that was far from her usual attire and allowed her to blend into the dull planet.

Sketchy was a kind description of the cantina but she agreed with Din. Somebody here knew something.

"Excuse me," She raised her fingers meekly to be served. Once she received her drink, Sana merely sat and observed. Any eye contact she made with fellow patrons she quickly broke by staring down at her feet. Slouched in on herself and trying to project weakness, it made her skin crawl to see how that appealed to at least one of the men here. Fortunately she wasn't the only one who noticed this either.

"You need to be careful around these parts." The old woman next to her at the bar looked down her crooked nose at her. Sana guessed that the scowl on the woman's face was permanent. "A young woman like yourself is an easy target for those who frequent this place."

"I don't know," Sana spoke quietly. "You could probably say the same of any planet in the galaxy."

"You could, but not like this."

Sana's eyes widened slightly in fear and let the silence hang. She had come into the cantina under the premise of asking for work, anything to try and gather the information that Din and Cara were seeking. This woman would tell her what she needed to know.

As if on cue the woman straightened her shoulders, her stern eyes glancing around the room before leaning in closer.

"Folk have gone missing. Well, women. Around the age of you, more specifically."

"Missing?" Sana made her voice quiver. "What do you mean?"

"Taken."

"By who?"

"Smugglers." The old woman looked around again before adding even more quietly. "Smugglers with links to Imperials."

"But- But the Empire is gone."

"And you believe that?"

"I- Yes, yes I do." Sana whispered, keeping up the act.

"Then you're more naïve than I thought."

"But what would the Empire want with a bunch of women?" Sana fished for more.

"Look, I don't know and frankly, I don't want to. I don't have any work for you, but I do have some advice. Don't hang around here. Get yourself off this maker forsaken planet before you end up on Jakku with the rest of those poor souls."

Jakku. Bingo.

Thanking the woman, Sana lifted her cloak over her head and made her way back to the ship where Din and Cara were waiting. Taking the long way and doubling back to make sure she wasn't being followed she finally slipped into the hangar. The ramp was down and waiting for her, Din no doubt watching her approach. Pressing the panel to close the ramp she turned and was greeted by the pair.

"You weren't followed?" Din spoke first.

"No. I took the long way and doubled back. We're clear."

"Good." He leaned back against the wall behind the shock trooper looking far more broad than should be allowed. Why must he insist on standing like that? Maker, it was distracting.

"So, how did you go?"

"Good." She drew her eyes back to Cara.

The Marshall brightened at this, glancing over her shoulder at Din where he pushed off the wall, thumb hanging on the holster at his hip. Fucking hell...

"Jakku." Sana swallowed before adding. "That's where they are taking them."

"And you got that information how exactly?" The modulated voice came from over Cara's shoulder.

"When you look harmless people will tell you anything."

"You are far from harmless."

"But they don't know that." Sana smiled. She could feel heat rising in her checks at his words. "I will take that as a compliment, you know."

"As you should. I highly enjoyed watch you put Fett on his ass." Sana could hear the grin in his voice and smiled more widely back at him before Cara cleared her throat and she was reminded that there was another person in the room.

She needed to get out of here. "I'm going to get changed before we lift off. I'll give you the full run down then." She announced before excusing herself to her usual quarters on Dins ship.

Alone in the hold, Cara broke the silence between her and Din

"Well, that was fruitful."

"It was."

"So Sana?..."

Din simply looked at Cara. He managed to hold in his sigh at the direction this conversation was taking.

"A friend huh?" Cara pushed.

"Yes."

"You look at all your friends like that?"

"Like what?"

"You tell me. You're the one who won't stop looking at her."

"I wasn't aware you could see my eyes." He tried his best to avoid this line of questioning.

"Oh, I don't need to." She let that comment hang for moment before putting him out of his misery. "Come on, let's get out of here before I have to watch you flirt with anyone else."

"Excuse me?" He wasn't flirting. Was he? Din didn't even think he knew how to flirt.

"You heard me, come on lover boy..."

"Imperials?"

They were running through what information Sana was able to gather for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"That's what the old woman said." Sana confirmed. "Was pretty certain of it too."

"I mean it does make sense that if there were any remaining supporters around that they would be hiding out here in the Outer Rim. But Trafficking women?" Cara looked thoughtful. "It doesn't seem like their style. Why?"

Sana was equally as stumped. Cara was right, it didn't add up. "Normally I would agree with you but I really don't think she's lying."

Din was however noticeably quiet at the mention of Imperials. Understandable, given his past, Sana thought. He had excused himself to the cockpit to begin their landing in Nevarro.

"I'll report this to the higher ups and see what happens from there."

The ship jolted lightly as they came to a rest on the barren surface of Nevarro. The two women walked to the ramp, Cara waiting for it to meet the ground in a cloud of black dust before making her way down.

Sana paused before following her. She was almost hesitant to leave the safety of the ship. Nevarro held... memories, and not many of them were good.

"I really can't thank you enough." Cara broke her from her thoughts before they could spiral any further. "Are to sure you won't stay for a drink?"

"I should get back to Tatooine." Nevarro still felt a bit too raw. "Thanks for the invite though. And the invite for the drink."

"You can thank Mando for that first one. I couldn't hut him up from singing your praises."

Sana heard Din's deep sigh from behind her. She hadn't even heard him make his way from the cockpit.

"You know what he's like." Sana played along. "So dramatic." The two of them laughing at Din's expense.

"Are you done?" He grumbled

"Yes, your highness."

"Dune..." Din growled in warning

Cara held her hands up in defence before turning to Sana. "If I need your help again, are you in?

"Of course."

"Good to know." The Marshall hiked her pack higher on her shoulder before casually saluting over her shoulder with an "Until next time."

Sana and Din stood at the bottom of the ramp and watched Cara's retreating form until it was swallowed by the crowds. Nevarro had changed even more from when she was last here. For the better by the looks of things.

"I have to meet Karga briefly." Din spoke from behind her. "He's the Guild Master here. You're welcome to join me."

"Thank you, but I might stay here." She wasn't sure that she could face the town today. "Catch up on some sleep before getting back."

"Of course." He glanced at the busy crowd in the distance. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need anything you can comm me from the cockpit. Lock the ship behind you."

"You are such a Dad." Sana smiled until she realised her mistake. Din's shoulders sank slightly and he swallowed deeply.

You idiot, Sana.

"I won't be long." was all he offered in response before striding towards the gate into the town alone, his tattered cape blowing in the suplhur scented breeze behind him.

Notes:

So I haven't posted anything since April...

*pokes head out from under rock*

I have finished off a major project at work now so my life now has significantly more free time and I'm looking forward to getting back into writing.

The last paragraph of this fic just popped into my brain while working the other day and I had to drop everything to write it down. Now I have something to aim for but I also have to get there. Shit...

As always, if you’ve made it this far and would like to read more, let me know and I’ll add you to the taglist for future chapters.

Translations:

Verd'ika: Can mean private as in the military rank or affectionately, often to a child to mean ‘little soldier’. Boba’s nickname for Sana is him being facetious.

#the mandalorian fan fiction #the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian x ofc #din djarin x ofc #mandalorian fanfic #mandalorian fic #din djarin x original female character

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artemiseamoon · 2 years ago

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A Year of Whump- Masterlist

Completed!

I’m joining this challenge @yearofcreation2023 by @oonajaeadira and writeforfandoms, which sounds so funnnn! Masterlist at the end of the post. Info below.

This year, I’m serving 12 servings of whump, one for each month. With a side of comfort and fluff. Emphasis on comfort! I’m also interested in trying some new characters for me.

Inspirations: A (what do you need), B (hurt/comfort prompts), C (emotional prompts), D (intimate moments), E (intimacy/fluff), F (difficult recovery), G (desperate prompts), H (dialogue prompts 💔)

What will this include?

Each month there will be one piece based on one of the prompts (drabbles or one shots, each with their own moodboard)

Which characters? Fandoms?

Assorted. Check out my masterlist to get an idea of what I write and who I enjoy writing. As a queer women, I’d love to make this diverse! So pairings will be a mix of m/f, f/f, and gn. Possibly m/m too. Pairings will range from platonic to romantic.

How about warnings?

Will be listed individually for each work. Overall this is an adult 18+ account.

How to follow? Get updates?

1. Save and follow this post! This is the masterlist!

2. Check out @artemiseamoon-updates (I do not do taglists)

3. A03: artemiseamoon| Series name: Arte’s year of whump (you can subscribe to this)

*Important*

My A03 is open to subscribers only at this time. I only post previews of work on tumblr, for full access, you can only read that on A03.

Other

Each work will be added to the characters masterlist as well. For example, any Pedro characters will go to my Pedro character list (here on my masterlist).

Thank you for checking this out, and for your support! Please to share, reblog, add kudos on a03 and/or comment if you feel inclined.

My general mastetlist

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

The Masterlist

🌟 ongoing, or a double shot

January

From there to here (Fennec Shand x ofc)

February

A casino on Valentine’s Day (William Tell x ofc)

March

As long as I’m alive (Tf guys, ofc, Tyler Rake)🌟

April

Is this how it ends? ( Tf guys, oc) * dark pope (ongoing) 🌟 (follow on A03 to get updates for all chapters)

May

Dial up the Jack, Dim the Whiskey (Jack x ofc) 🌟

June

Update: is this how it ends? | chapter 3

July

Update: Is this how it ends? | Chapter 4 (actively ongoing, find updates on A03)

August - October (No fics)

November

The thing about second chances | (Marcus Pike x ofc) | A03 🌟

December

A light at the end of the tunnel | Ezra, ofc, Cee | A03

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

POST CHALLENGE

at some point…

Dial up the Jack, dim the whiskey - pt 2 of 2

The thing about second chances - pt 2 of 2

Is this how it ends? - Multi chapter & ongoing

#a year of whump #artes year of whump

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imabeautifulbutterfly · 10 months ago

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Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

Summary: First steps to friendship

A/N: Hello lovelies,

I hope everyone had a good week. I just want to put this out there as someone who works in the medical field, please be kind to doctors, nurses, technicians, receptions, and cleaning crews.

Just be kind in general. I had a rough week with a very rude patient. It might not seem like much but after a while it takes a toll. So to everyone and anyone who needs to hear this, thank you for all the hard work you do.

Love oo

Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.

Warnings: discussions of lunch, trying to avoid isolation, mentions of past trauma (blink and you'll miss it), discussions of being dirty (physically), possible mud (use your imagination). If I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link | Words: 909 | Previous -> Next

Main Master List | Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

THE CRESTWORLD

CHAPTER NINE

As we watched Taika and Misty munching away, it made me remember we needed to eat too, “Din, what do you want for lunch? There’s some leftovers from last night’s dinner or I could make us a sandwich and salad …”

“You know…” he cut her off, realizing he needed to make more of an effort with her.

Sure she was his employee, but he was also the only person she knew out here. Cobb and Fennec were always busy in town and the surrounding areas, and Fennec had even less time than Cobb, being Boba’s right hand. Then there was Grogu, and as fun and enjoyable he was for a little kid, it wasn’t the same as having someone around her own age to hang out with.

He nodded to himself, resolving he needed to do better, “You did a really good job today, Ann. Looking after Bessie, milking her, noticing there was something off about her. You could’ve easily brushed it off, or not even bothered to tell me about it. But you did, and because you did, I can tell you there will be a new addition to the ranch. Nerfs have a faster gestation than most quadrupeds. We should have a new addition in a month or two depending on if it’s a bull or calf. Not to mention you fed the nunas and collected the eggs, even though I know it freaks you out a little. I even noticed that you stamped the eggs with the date, and put them away. Cleaned out the pens as best you could … before I got here.” He smirked.

I tilted my head to look at him, resting my head on my arms that were propped on the railing of the corral. I didn’t say much, simply looking at him as I narrowed my eyes at Din, “I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me, or if you’re being genuine”

He chuckled, as he glanced over to her, shaking his head. “Genuine, I’m being genuine,” he turned back to look at Taika and Misty, “plus, I owe you for this morning.”

I smirked, focusing back on the horses, “So … does this mean, I’ll get a pay bump?”

“Ha! No.” He stood stretching, “However, I do believe, your good work today, and for my …”

“Assery?”

“That’s not even a word.”

“Words aren’t words, until you start using them more often”

Din shook his head laughing, “Anyway, I do believe this entitles you to lunch on me. How about we go into town for lunch? I know a good restaurant.”

“Oh, um … yeah, I guess…”

He hadn’t expected that reaction, “Do you not want to?” Din glanced over to her.

A thousand scenarios ran through my mind, my biggest concern was bringing danger to this small town, but … Fennec went through a lot to cover my tracks so I could make it here. I couldn’t keep hiding on the ranch like I was. I needed to stop letting my ex dictate terms. I needed to start living again.

I closed my eyes, and reminded myself, I wasn’t that same weak girl, he initially married.

“No. No.” I focused on the landscape before, taking in the beautiful mountains, the crisp air. I was far away from him. “I’m up for going into town. After all, I need to see more of this area, get to know the town and people. As beautiful as this ranch is, I can’t exactly be holed up here forever.”

“No. You can’t” he smiled.

I smirked, as my eyes glanced down, looking over my dirty outfit, “Maybe I should change? Take a shower at least?” My hand subconsciously went to my forehead and hair, wiping away some of the sweat and dirt.

Din shrugged, “You can if you want to but there’s no need, we’re going to a diner, not some fancy five-star high-end Coruscant restaurant. Plus this is a farming town, we’re all used to being a little dirty.”

“Hmmm … Well, I guess, if you’re going like that” I motioned to his shirt, “then I guess I can go like this” I motioned to my less than stellar outfit.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He looked down, sure there was dirt, hay, dust, some grass strains, and something … he hoped but wasn’t entirely sure was mud. The more he thought about it, the more he changed his opinion, “You know, now that you mention it, maybe a change of shirt wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

I chuckled, nodding in agreement, as he tried to flick a nondescript dark matter off his shirt towards me. I squealed, flinching away from him, increasing the distance between us. “Hey …” I held up my finger as I moved further away, “I’ll have you know, I have enough of my own questionable dark matter on me, I don’t need to take on yours, too.” I shouted over to him, when I was far enough away and headed back into the house.

Din watched as she headed back to the house, slipping off her boots before she went in.

He stood in the open glancing over to the pens, the horses grazing, and Bessie chewing away as she stood there looking at him, and he couldn’t remember a time he felt this content from cleaning the pens and grooming Taika and Misty. He shook his head, pushing his thoughts aside as he headed into the house to change.

AO3 Link | Words: 909 | Previous -> Next

Main Master List | Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest

@littlemisspascal @sprout-fics @liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @tortor-mcgee @sarcasmismyonlydefense24 @chiyo13

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raiseyourcups · 4 years ago

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Cabur

Chapter Fourteen

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (AIli Verdella) Warnings: canon-typical violence, cursing, sexual-references (I think), Word Count: 5k (and we’re still not finished with the episode) Also on AO3

Masterlist

Summary: Surprise, the job goes sideways as so many of Mando’s ideas do. Only this time there's a countdown involved making it more pressing than ever for them to get the job done as quickly as possible. Too bad the crew decides it would be the best idea to cross Mando and Aili...

“All right, we’re on the clock,” Mayfeld said once everyone was on the prison ship. “The second we engage those droids, they’re gonna be all over us.”

“I know the drill,” Mando said shortly.

“Bio trackers activated for all but one but I’ve got eyes otherwise,” Zero said over Mayfeld’s comlink and everyone took a moment to look at each other in confusion.

“That would be me, sorry,” Aili said, shrugging when everyone looked at her. The Empire hadn’t wanted their prized secret to be traceable by anyone but them so they had used a different method to track them for when they were sent out on missions. One that Aili had been quick to remove from herself and the girls she was able to get out before destroying the base. It was one of the reasons the New Republic hadn’t been able to find her yet. She and everyone she got out were effectively ghosts just like the Razor Crest.

“How do you not-”

“Are we breaking someone out of prison or talking?” Aili questioned, looking at Mayfeld with a raised brow.

“All right, let’s just get going,” Mayfeld said before he took off for the hallway. Mando was right behind him, followed by Aili, with Xi’an and Burg in back of her. They went down several turns, more than half the prisoners coming up to look at them through the bars at the top of their cells. Aili kept her eyes forward, ignoring them all and she almost shifted into the walk she had used to use when on the base.

“I don’t like this,” Mando finally said.

“You were always paranoid.”

“Is that true, Mando? Were you always paranoid?” Mayfeld mocked before getting scared by a prisoner banging against his cell door.

“There’s usually a reason for being paranoid, like staging a prison break on a ship manned by droids,” Aili said. She wasn’t enjoying this job and it wasn’t just because of the shitty company that she didn’t trust for anything.

“You saying you’re paranoid too?”

“No because I have a plan for everything that could go wrong,” Aili made sure to stare at Mayfeld in the eye as she spoke, just in case he had figured out who she was. She was also hoping that the way she had taken down Burg in under a minute in a tight space was enough to convince them to not cross her and Mando. She smirked a little when he flinched under her gaze and looked away quickly.

“Approaching control room. Make a left at the next juncture.” Zero’s voice broke the silent staring contest between Aili and Mayfeld. They hugged the wall, Mayfeld at the front as he peeked around the corner. He gestured for Mando to move to the next small alcove who did as quickly and quietly as he could, gesturing for Mayfeld to move as well. When nothing came down the hallway, they started walking down the center when a small droid came down the hall.

Everyone stopped and stared at the droid, unsure what kind it was. Aili couldn’t see it very well but it wasn’t shooting at them yet so she assumed it was a--

“It’s just a little mousey,” Burg said, chuckling at the way everyone had been prepared to shoot or throw a knife at it. Repair droid, if they didn’t alarm it, it shouldn’t call for the guard droids. Burg leaned down, pulling a blaster from a holster as he did. “Come here little mousey.”

“Burg, come on, Burg.” Mayfeld tried to get the Devaronian to leave the small droid alone. They were wasting time and it was a repair droid.

“Hey, leave it alone,” Aili said in a hushed tone when Burg kept going after the retreating droid. Burg growled and stood to his full height before shooting the droid. Aili threw her hands up and immediately moved for cover, dragging Mando along with her.

“What?” Mando whispered to her while still letting her pull him along. He stood behind her as if that would protect her from what was going to be coming their way soon.

“He just fucked us, is what.” Aili said, getting her blaster ready.

“Burg, what are you doing?” Mayfeld questioned.

“What?” Burg shrugged like the giant idiot he was and that was when the security droids came from the other end of the hallway.

“Intruder alert. Open fire.” The lead droid said and the four droids started firing on them. Mando and Aili were already behind cover and they started shooting at the droids to give the others time to make it behind cover as well. They didn’t do any damage, the droids own blaster shots blocking theirs.

“We’re too exposed here!” Xi’an exclaimed.

“If they get a signal out, it’s not gonna matter!” Mayfeld tried to shoot the droid closest to his side again but it did nothing. A blaster arm extended from his back and started shooting so he could stay in cover. “Mando, let’s go! You’re supposed to be somethin’ special.”

Aili turned slightly to look up at Mando and was taken aback to see empty space. She hadn’t even heard him leave nor had he told her. “What the kriff?”

She growled and peeked over the edge of the wall to see how close the droids were and her brow furrowed when she saw Mando come out from behind them. He took out his vibroblade and rushed forward, sliding down on his side to slice one of the droid's feet which sent it to the ground. He got up, kicking another droid down before shooting the third from up close.

The droid he had cut shot him in the back but the shot glanced off the beskar and Mando turned to shoot it instead. One of the remaining droids pushed Mando against a cell door, aiming a punch at his helmet but he moved to the side in time for it to completely miss him, hitting the cell instead. He ducked several more punches before he pulled out the vibroblade that Aili hadn’t even noticed in the droid’s torso and he threw it into another droid’s head.

Aili would never admit to anyone who asked but she was impressed...and a little turned on. She stood back and watched as Mando took down the droids solo, mouth open a little as she stared. She hadn't really been able to see him actually fight since joining him on the Razor Crest. Sorgan didn't count since it had been so dark and he had been giving Cara cover fire. And obviously he hadn’t even gotten close to Fennec Shand before she took her down. The longer she watched the worse the growing feeling in her chest got.

One of the droids knocked him down but he released his whipcord and pulled the droid in. It knocked against the other one as he did and they both went down. He pulled on the cord and the droid’s head came off rolling past Xi’an and Mayfeld. The last two droids came towards him, getting a few shots off before Mando turned on his flamethrower and used his whipcord again to pull one down, take it’s blaster and hit the last droid over the head, followed by slamming the blaster into its knee joint. Once it was down, he shot a hole clean through the droid's head.

“Fuck,” Aili whispered to herself right as Mando took down the last droid. She didn't have time for this, they had a job to do. But she did have a bottle of whiskey on the Crest that she would be hitting after this. Nothing drowned away inappropriate feelings like alcohol did.

“Make sure you clean up your mess,” Mayfeld said as he walked past Mando. Burg made sure to knock against his shoulder as he went past making Aili roll her eyes once again. She walked over to Mando, stepping over a few droid pieces as she did.

“You did not hear this from me but, um, good job.” She didn’t wait to see if Mando said anything before she took off after the rest of the crew. Maybe not seeing him in front of her would help the now inappropriate thoughts she was having go away.

“It seems your presence has been detected. Redirecting security alert away from your position.” Zero said over the comms.

Seems the useless droid was done being utterly useless now. They turned one last corner and met a closed door. “Z, open the door!”

“But I am detecting an organic lifeform.”

“All right, all right, open the door anyway!”

The door opened and they all rushed in only to stop in their tracks. “Stop! Just stop right there.” It was a New Republic soldier and he was holding a blaster towards them. Aili slowly put her blaster away and held her hands up in a placating manner, lightly nudging Mando to do the same. He didn’t do as she wanted and she let out an annoyed sigh.

“You put the blasters away right now,” he said, hand and voice shaking. Mayfeld started to mock the man’s uniform, Xi’an and Burg laughing at his lame jokes.

“There were only supposed to be droids on this ship,” Mando said. Aili side stepped around Mando so she could catch the soldier’s eyes.

“Hey, we’re just looking for someone and then we’ll be gone. Won’t even know we were here,” Aili said gently. She kept her hands up so he could see she was unarmed and she hoped that would calm him down enough. She wasn’t paying attention to Mayfeld getting the cell location or the way that everyone still had their weapons out. She only cared about making sure this man stayed alive. This hadn’t been part of the job description. He looked at her, eyes still wide in fear but he did lower his blaster just a little.

And then Mayfeld had to screw it up by turning around. “And now for our well-dressed friend.”

Aili closed her eyes for half a second when the soldier pulled out a tracking beacon. “Please don’t do that.”

“Put it down now!” Mayfeld shouted, pulling a blaster out and aiming it at the soldier. Aili pulled out her own blaster and aimed it at Mayfeld, Mando doing the same.

“Easy. Nobody has to get hurt here, just calm down,” Mando said as if that was going to calm either Mayfeld or the soldier down.

“What is that thing?” Burg asked.

“A tracking beacon, honestly you call yourself a merc,” Aili muttered the last part to herself once again wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation.

“He presses that thing and we’re all done. A New Republic attack squad will hone in on the signal and blow us all to hell,” Mayfeld hissed out, finger moving closer to the trigger before pausing.

“Are you serious?” Xi’an questioned.

“Yes, so maybe everyone here needs to calm down and put the blasters away!” Aili exclaimed, despite the fact that she still had hers on Mayfeld. She didn’t trust him to not shoot the soldier and she subtly tried to move between the two men when Mando’s t-visor turned to her and he slowly shook his head. She pursed her lips in annoyance but stayed where she was for now.

“You didn’t think we needed to know that tiny little detail?” Xi’an aimed the question at Mayfeld.

“I didn’t think we’d get to this point,” Mayfeld said, his voice taking on an angrier tone and Aili hoped that he just kept his finger off the trigger for a little while longer.

“Yet here we are,” Xi’an said, continuing to egg him on.

“Are you questioning my managerial skills, Xi’an?” Mayfeld asked, turning away from the soldier which gave Aili the opening she needed to get between the soldier and Mayfeld, blaster still aiming at Mayfeld as she moved. Thankfully the soldier didn’t take that as a threat and he didn’t press down on the button. She ignored the way that Mando whispered her name to get her to stop.

“Look, listen to me. You do not have to do this, okay? I want you to get out of this alive,” Aili said, slowly putting her blaster away again and gesturing for Mando to do the same. This time he listened to her and did as she asked. “Everyone is going to put their weapons away, right?”

“Are you crazy?” Mayfeld asked, turning back to face her, his blaster still out and now pointed at her. He had it aimed mostly towards her chest so she wasn’t too worried about getting shot just yet since it would hopefully glance off her beskar cuirass.

“Are you?” Aili asked Mayfeld before turning back to the soldier, he looked like a kid to her, “What’s your name?”

He stuttered a few times before he could answer her clearly, “It’s Davan.”

“Davan. That’s a nice name, right Mando?” She turned her head slightly to look at the Mandalorian with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and a eyes a little wider than normal. She knew they had to de-escalate the situation now, she was the only one who was close enough to see the beacon in his hands. If anyone that was threatening him so much as got too close to him...

“Yeah,” Mando said a little awkwardly. “Listen, Davan, we’re not here for you. We’re just here for a prisoner. You let us get him, you can walk away with your life.”

“No he won’t.” Mayfeld pulled his blaster out again which made the soldier aim his blaster at Mayfeld as well as lift the beacon.

“Yes he will,” Aili spun to face Mayfeld, standing side by side with the soldier now. “Or I will take you down just as fast as I took down Burg only you won’t be getting up.”

Mayfeld stared at Aili for a second before aiming his blaster at her instead. It would be too close for even her beskar to help her from having some kind of injury. Mando brought his own blaster back up and pointed it at Mayfeld who brought out his second one to aim at Mando.

“You realize what you’re going to bring down on us?” Mando asked, voice low with anger. No one could see the look in his eyes, the rage at the sight of Mayfeld pointing his blaster at Aili. It brought back the anger he had felt on Tatooine when facing down Toro and he didn’t know where Aili was. This was worse, seeing a blaster actually pointed at her.

“You think I care about that?”

“We’re not killing anybody. You understand?” Mando wasn’t actually asking Mayfeld, he was telling him now even if Mayfeld didn’t know it.

“Get that blaster outta my face, Mando, and call off your loth-cat before I shoot you both,” Mayfeld growled out.

“I can’t do that,” Mando replied shortly. He barely held back from pulling the trigger right that second. Aili let out a huff under her breath and pulled her blaster out again, aiming it towards Mayfeld’s stomach. It was his mistake not wearing any armor or any kind.

“Get that blaster outta my face Mando!” Mayfeld shouted, not even noticing that Aili now had her own on him.

“Hey don’t even think about it,” Mando said when Burg pulled his own blaster on him.

Aili was about to just shoot Mayfeld when Xi’an threw her knife and killed the soldier, the blade grazing against Aili’s arm before it hit it’s target. “You idiot!” Aili shouted, kneeling down to see if the soldier was dead or alive. She cursed when she checked for a pulse and found none.

“What, princess? Sad a New Republic soldier is dead?” Xi’an questioned, a smirk on her face as she watched Aili check for a pulse. She wouldn’t find one, Xi’an knew where to aim to kill in one shot.

“No you moron, he already had the beacon activated with a dead man’s switch so now we have fuck knows how long to get the hell off this ship or we’re all dead,” Aili explained, pointing to where the beacon had fallen when the soldier had.

They all looked down at the beacon that was now blinking red. “Was that thing blinking before?” Mayfeld asked, looking at everyone other than Aili in the room.

Aili growled under her breath and picked up the tracking beacon, hoping that they could make it back to the ship and toss it out in the middle of space before they jumped into hyperspace. That would throw the New Republic off their trail. Mando came over to her and silently gestured for her to hold her arm out. She looked at him in confusion until he pointed to her arm.

“Kriff,” she said under her breath. She hadn’t even noticed that Xi’an had cut her too when she tossed the knife. It had gone clean through her sleeve too. She held her arm out for Mando to put a bacta patch on the cut, thankfully it wasn’t a big cut or very deep but it was still bleeding. Neither of them said anything while Mando placed the patch, and neither of them commented on the way Aili took in a breath when his fingers paused while making sure it was secure.

“Zero to Mayfeld, Zero to Mayfeld.”

“What?” Mayfeld said harshly into his comm.

“I've detected a New Republic distress signal homing in on your location, you have approximately twenty minutes.”

“We only need five,” Xi’an said as if she hadn’t just royally screwed them. She all but skipped out of the room, Mayfeld and Burg rushing after her. Aili grabbed Mando by the arm before he could leave as well.

“They’re going to screw us over, I know they are. Take this.” She shoved the beacon in his hands before running in the direction the others had gone in. She could hear him run after her and they caught up with the others quickly. There was a hover security droid and Aili winced knowing those weren’t easy to take down.

Burg rushed forward and took down the one hover security droid with no problem, tossing it into a second one and just smiling as they both exploded. They kept going down the hallway until Mayfeld stopped at the cell they were looking for. He got Zero to work on opening it.

“You have fifteen minutes remaining.”

“Open it up!”

Despite Zero’s slight protest, he still opened up the cell to reveal the associate of the crew that had been arrested. It was another Twi’lek and Aili watched as Mando stepped forward a little to get a better look. “Qin.”

The Twi’lek let out a sort of dark chuckle as he stood up. “Funny, the man who left me behind is now my savior.”

Aili didn’t like this, didn’t like how close Mando was to the open cell, didn’t like the way that Burg had tried and failed to subtly shift closer to her. She took another glance at Qin, taking in all of his scars and she shifted her feet as quietly as she could.

“Mando,” Qin said, looking the Mandalorian up and down with a smirk on his face. Mando didn’t say anything in reply which didn’t surprise Aili.

“Imagine how much money we’ll get,” Xi’an suddenly giggled out.

“Rescuing your brother from here?” Aili questioned, raising an eyebrow. She had quickly seen the similarities between Xi’an and this Qin guy.

“No, when we sell you two out,” Mayfeld stated.

Aili ducked under Burg’s arms before he could grab her and did a quick roll away from someone’s blaster shot. She heard Mando let out a grunt followed by the sound of the cell shutting again. Kriff. They locked him in there and now she was on her own. Good thing she had memorized all of the turns they had made before then. She didn’t spare a glance at anyone before she shot up to her feet and took off.

She found an alcove that would keep her hidden from them just in time. She heard several pounding footsteps come to a stop nearby and she stood as still as possible. “Find her! We’re not leaving until she’s in that cell too! She's worth more than Mando!” That was Mayfeld and now Aili knew he had figured her out back before they even made it to the ship.

Aili waited until she heard everyone go in a different direction before pulling her comlink out of her pocket. “Mando, do you read me?” She kept her voice hushed but loud enough that he should be able to hear her clearly in his helmet comm.

There was a long silence that she hoped was just him trying to remember where he put the button to operate his own comlink.

“I read you." From the other end of the comlink, Mando let out a small sigh knowing that they hadn't grabbed Aili yet. He didn’t know if they would even try to get her in the same cell as him or just shove her into the nearest one. He didn’t even want to think about the other prisoners locked up on the ship.

“Can you get out of that cell or should I head back that way?”

“I’m already out. Get back to the ship, I can handle them.”

“Copy that,” Aili didn’t wait another moment, running out of the alcove and retracing her steps as best as she could. The problem was that she could hear the others ahead of her and she silently cursed, hiding behind a wall. They were arguing about Mando getting out and Xi’an shouted at Mayfeld that they should’ve just ended the two of them sooner.

She let out a breath when they were suddenly moving again, further away from her but now she heard hallways getting blocked off. “Kriffin’ hell, Mando. I’m not even back to the ship yet.” The lights suddenly shut off, the backup generator kicking on soon after and bathing everything in red light. She partially hoped that the others had made it through but then she heard Xi’an and Burg both let out shouts. She silently cursed to herself knowing that they would be on high alert, she glanced around before she looked up and smirked.

“Zero! We need a path.” Xi’an paused but got no reply causing her and Burg to yell out again. Aili smiled to herself, Mando must have done something to mess with their comlinks meaning they were flying blind now. She doubted any of them had even bothered to remember which way was which, figuring they could rely on the droid.

It didn’t take long for her to run back down the hall and find a spot where she could climb up into the vents. She had just gotten her feet up when Xi’an and Burg started walking down the hallway.

“You get Mando, I’ll find the little loth-cat,” Xi’an said, pulling out one of her many knives. Aili rolled her eyes knowing that Mando would be able to handle Burg so she’d just have to take on Xi’an. And then it would only be Mayfeld and Qin left but if they were smart, they wouldn’t attempt to fight them.

Aili followed after Xi’an from above, waiting for her moment when she heard Mando and Burg fighting. She raised an eyebrow because how Mando didn’t get the jump on Burg was a mystery to her when everything was obviously so perfectly lined up to do so. She saw Xi’an flip her knife into a different hold and knew she didn’t have any more time to waste.

“Hey! Looking for me?” Aili shouted, smiling down at Xi’an when she looked up in surprise. Aili didn’t wait for Xi’an to respond before she took off down the hallway, away from Mando and back towards where she had left herself an opening. She could hear Xi’an following after her like the idiot she clearly was and she was quick to swing herself back down, boots hitting Xi’an square in the chest and sending her to the floor.

Aili landed on her feet and waited for Xi’an to get back up, pulling out a small vibroblade of her own. “That was a mistake, loth-cat. I was going to let you live,” Xi’an said as she finally stood up straight.

“Funny, I didn’t get that impression,” Aili stated, flipping her blade around to hold it in a reverse grip. She chose to keep talking in an attempt to throw Xi’an off and she knew exactly what to say to piss her off the most even if it wasn’t necessarily true. “In fact, you seem to want me dead, why is that? Is it because Mando has someone not crazy in his bed now?”

Xi’an let out a snarl before rushing towards Aili, throwing a punch that Aili easily blocked with her forearm. She threw her own punch with the hand not holding the blade, landing a hit which seemed to just make the Twi’lek even more angry as the punch made her bring a hand up to her jaw. She tried to kick out at Aili who blocked it easily before blocking the following punch as well before she backhanded Xi’an who looked at her in shocked anger.

There was another kick aimed at Aili who used her height to her advantage as she ducked under and away from Xi’an without trouble. Aili grabbed at Xi’an’s wrist, spinning around before throwing her elbow into the Twi’lek’s face, turning back around to pull her arm out before bringing a knee up into Xi’an’s chest. Xi’an tried to throw another punch at Aili’s but she simply used her grip on Xi’an’s arm to come behind her, kneeing her in the back and sending her forward.

Aili rushed forward, a slightly stupid move on her part, as Xi’an held her arm out to hit Aili in the throat and sent her to the ground. Aili rolled over and got to her feet just in time to block a kick from Xi’an, aiming her own at the Twi’lek but she moved to the side and hit Aili on the back with enough force to send her into a wall.

Aili turned to throw a punch at Xi’an but winced when the Twi’lek grabbed her arm tightly and started to twist it. Aili tried to throw her other arm out to hit Xi’an but missed when the Twi’lek ducked under and pushed her into the wall behind them, her arm across Aili’s throat and a knife too close to cutting her.

“You think you’re so special,” Xi’an snarled out. “Because you’re a Dragon? Because you’ve got Mando teaching you? I’m gonna kill you and then I’m going to get back to the ship and get that little green thing.”

“You think he really has anything to teach me that I don’t already know?” Aili questioned before shoving Xi’an off of her, a hand gripping one of theTwi’lek’s hands. She brought her elbow down into Xi’an’s face before she spun and did a partial cartwheel which led to Xi’an being forced into a flip of her own. The only difference was that Aili landed on her feet while Xi’an ended up on her back. Aili barely waited for Xi’an to get back up before she kicked the Twi’lek straight in the chest and sent her further down the hallway groaning in pain. That was what she got for not wearing any kind of armor.

Aili walked over to where Xi’an was just picking herself up from the floor. The Twi’lek was baring her teeth as she pulled out a second knife. “I’m going to make you wish you had stayed away from Mando.”

“Oh believe me, I already was,” Aili replied as she blocked both of Xi’an’s knives, gripping her wrists and twisting until the Twi’lek had no choice but to drop her weapons. “See now you’ve pissed me off, I don’t give a kriff what you try to do to me but you threaten the kid?”

She pushed Xi’an away just enough to let her turn the Twi’lek away from her, giving Aili the chance to wrap her arm around Xi’an’s neck. She ignored the way Xi’an tried to claw at her arm, her nails barely doing any damage. Aili was barely paying any attention to that or her surroundings anyway.

“Aili, stop!” Mando shouted as he turned the corner right before Xi’an lost consciousness. She had stopped fighting a few seconds ago but was still hanging on to being aware.

“Why?”

“I’d like to avoid anyone else dying,” Mando explained. The New Republic soldier was the only death he wanted on the ship and even that was more than he had wanted on this job.

“Fine, where do you want her?” AIli asked, loosening the arm around Xi’an’s neck before she grabbed the Twi’lek’s arms instead to keep her from grabbing any weapons.

"I'll take her."

Aili pursed her lips but pushed Xi’an into Mando’s arms anyway, watching as he turned to take her away from the hallway.

Xi’an let out a crazed giggle, not able to stop herself from making one last comment, “Seems you haven’t changed one bit, Mando. Still prefer an animal to a human in bed.”

Aili’s head snapped up and she barely restrained herself from lunging at the Twi’lek again. Her words made an old memory come to the front of Aili's mind and she felt the heat of anger on her cheeks. Mando knocked his blaster across Xi’an’s head, knocking her out before she could say anything else. She barely noticed as Mando disappeared around the corner and she was still staring at a spot on the wall when he got back.

"We need to get back to the ship," Mando said as soon as he got back to where he had left Aili. He was a little surprised that she hadn't so much as moved a muscle. He placed a hand on her shoulder but pulled it away when she flinched away more violently than she ever had before.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x original character #din djarin imagine #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x oc

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wild-karrde · 3 years ago

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Meilooruns (One-Shot)

A/N: Hey all! This one-shot is a spin-off from my fic "The Quarry," so if you don't want that to get spoiled, I'd recommend reading that first. It includes some canon-typical violence and is a bit spicy (I love a good "rivals to lovers" trope) , but I like how it turned out hehe. As always, THANK YOU to the lovely @teletraan-meets-jarvis for beta-reading this for me! :)

The wind whistled past her orange and black helmet, kicking dust up into her view slot for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Fennec cursed silently under her breath as she reached her fingers inside to rub the grit out of her eyes. The quarry was a creature of habit, and for some reason, hadn’t shown up to his favorite cantina today, and she was growing weary of waiting. Perched on a cliff overlooking the doorway, her limbs were stiff, and she once again wished she’d thought to bring a ration bar with her. This was supposed to be a short day, in and out and back to the client.

She had tracked this bounty for weeks, learning his routine so that she could take him when his defenses were at their lowest. Normally, he was surrounded by bodyguards, but twice a month, the crimelord Reegan Naal frequented his favorite cantina alone, The Greasy Gear in this small town on Ord Mantell. She wasn’t sure if it was sentimentality or just a way to get out of the city, and frankly, she didn’t care. This place had presented a perfect opportunity to grab him with minimal collateral damage. At least, it had until he hadn’t shown up.

A commotion broke loose in the street near the cantina’s entrance. Fennec trained her scope at the source, and felt anger coil in her stomach again. Her quarry was shouting as he was being chased through the streets, blaster bolts whizzing by his head. He crashed into a stack of crates, pulling them down behind them, and his pursuer leapt over them before tackling him to the ground. Her.Fennec cursed under her breath as she slipped her rifle over her shoulder and scrambled down the cliff face. Not this time. She won’t get away with it this time. She raced through the back alleys, drawing her blaster. I swear I’ll kill her.

The alley dumped out in front of the cantina, and she slowed her gait. Her quarry lay in the middle of the street, face down, shouting and swearing, his hands cuffed behind his back, but his captor was nowhere to be found. Where is she? Fennec crouched low, silently creeping forward until she reached the end of the alley. She looked left and right, but the hunter was nowhere in sight. She straightened, and suddenly felt the cold metal of a blaster barrel pressed to the back of her neck.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Fennec dropped down into a crouch, kicking her assailant’s legs out from under her. The woman crashed into the ground, dropping her pistol. Fennec was on her in a flash, straddling her waist and pressing her pistol to the woman’s temple. She felt a pressure at her waist and looked down to see a vibroblade pressed to her ribs. She hadn’t even noted the hunter slip it out of her boot as she fell.

“What are you doing here, Horne?” she hissed angrily.

The woman smiled back up at her. “Same as you, I figure. Especially since I followed you here.” Fennec felt her annoyance grow, and dug the blaster barrel into her rival’s skin, but the woman raised her unoccupied hand, keeping the blade pressed against Fennec’s side. “Whoa now, we don’t have to be rough here, Fen. Although, I do prefer-“

Fennec rolled her eyes and kneed her in the side before withdrawing her pistol and standing up off the woman, who tipped her head back and let loose a deep sigh.

“It’s Versa by the way.”

“I know what your name is,” Fennec snapped, stepping towards the end of the alley. As soon as she saw the empty place where the crimelord had previously been laying, she swore loudly, pounding her fist against the wall.

“It’s alright, we can find him again.” Versa’s voice in her ear made her jump, and she instinctively swung an elbow back, which was caught with ease in the other woman’s hand. Fennec felt her frustration grow, but also, something else that she didn’t like.

She and Versa had bumped into each other before, it was true. They always seemed to be chasing the same big-ticket bounties, and they’d pretty evenly traded victories thus far, which fueled Fennec’s frustration even more. Versa’s smirk as she’d shuffled quarries past her or the cheeky winks she’d give when they spotted one another made Fennec’s fists clench, and even more annoyingly, it made her spine tingle. She hated that her cheeks would burn when Versa would catch her eye and poke her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and the way her legs would weaken when she’d brushed past her.

She felt the warmth at her back as Versa leaned over her shoulder, peering up and down the street. “Tell you what, you help me catch him, and I’ll split the bounty with you. And buy you a drink.”

Fennec scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Why should I agree to split?”

Versa’s tongue poked out of her teeth and Fennec resisted the urge to reach up and rip it out of her mouth. She hated how her gaze lingered on Versa’s lips, the scar on her lower one drawing Fennec’s attention. Her rival’s voice snapped her gaze back up to piercing eyes that found hers underneath her helmet. “Because, technically, I caught him first.”

Fennec’s anger flared again. “I don’t need your help.”

“Sure you do. Because I know where he’s going next.”

Fennec glanced at her. “And I don’t?”

Versa shrugged, stepping in front of her and placing one of her hands on the wall next to Fennec’s head. They stood the same height but something about Versa’s demeanor had always made her seem taller than she was, another thing to annoy Fennec even though her cheeks were burning under her helmet again. “I’m sure after staking him out, you think he’ll go home to hide out there, buuuuut I’ve got his security protocols,” Versa said, pulling a key code data stick from her back pocket. “I know where his safehouses are, the codes to get in, and what kind of security each one has.”

Fennec felt the creeping edge of defeat seeping into her body, but she kept her shoulders squared and her gaze even. She’d been trying to get ahold of that information since she’d set foot on this Maker-forsaken planet, and here was Versa Horne, waving it in her face. She cursed internally, realizing she was beaten, and the only way to salvage any dignity and credits was to concede.

“Fine,” she spat. “We bring him in together, but I get to claim the bounty.”

Versa’s brow finally furrowed, and Fennec bit back a smirk of satisfaction. “Can’t let that happen, Fen. He’s gotta come with me. My boss will have my hide if I don’t deliver. I’ll still give you half my cut.”

The nickname riled Fennec, but she let her retort go. She knew Versa’s boss was one of the most notorious and ruthless bounty hunters in the galaxy, a reputation of violence preceding him everywhere he went. She didn’t doubt what Versa said was true, but she still wasn’t ready to yield just yet.

“That sounds like your problem, doesn’t it?”

“Hey, I’m offering to let you take half of my bounty payment when I’ve got the final piece of the puzzle here. I’d say that’s pretty good-natured of me.”

“So what’s in it for you then? Why do you need me at all?” Fennec asked, raising an eyebrow.

Versa shrugged again casually. “Told you, there’s security at each warehouse, and you know this guy doesn’t skimp when it comes to bodyguards. Could always use some backup. And like I said, I’d like to buy you a drink.” She grinned wickedly, and Fennec resisted the urge to slug her.

“Fine. We work the job together. That’s it.”

Versa feigned mock hurt, pulling back from the wall to clutch at her chest. “You’d turn me down for a drink? You wound me, Shand.”

Fennec shoved past her, nudging her shoulder as she strode back down the alley.

“Where are you going?” Versa called.

“Speeder’s this way. Unless your legs run as fast as your mouth and you’d rather jog alongside. Now get moving.”

“Yes ma’am,” Versa muttered, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

----

They’d been staking out the safehouse for hours, lying on top of a roof that overlooked the only entrance, and Fennec felt as if every single one of her muscles had been tensed the entire time. Versa was laying next to her on her stomach, her binocs pressed to her eyes as she scanned the street again. Fennec was peering through her scope, trying not to look over at the way Versa’s hips curved against the rooftop, one of her knees pushed forward, accentuating the slope of her spine.

“We’ve got movement,” Versa said quietly. Fennec noted the joking tone was gone, her rival all business now. For half a second, she found it attractive before she recomposed herself, focusing back down on the building’s second story windows. Sure enough, she could make out the figure of their quarry, darting along the walkway inside.

“I’ve got him.”

“Wait.” Versa gripped her shoulder, scooting closer to her. “Don’t shoot.”

“Why the kriff not?” Fennec snarled.

“Look at the way the light is reflecting off the windows. It’s blast proof.” Fennec refocused her gaze, taking in the way the moon glinted off the transparisteel. Biting back her pride, she asked a question.

“How can you tell?”

Versa smirked and Fennec wanted to slug her, a desire that increased as Versa slipped her arm around Fennec’s shoulders, pointing at the window. “The waves in it give it away. If it wasn’t blastproof, the surface would be smooth. It’s the material that they put in the matrix to make it impenetrable that gives off that wavy look when light hits it. If you shoot it, we’ll lose the element of surprise, and very likely, the quarry.”

Fennec rolled her eyes, but tucked the knowledge away for future hunts. How the kriff does she know this stuff? Fennec eyed Versa’s face again. She was sure Versa was younger than her, but wasn’t sure by how much. Can’t be that many years. She knows too much. Her youth annoyed her even more. She was cocky, young, but also, she was good. She’d been rising among the ranks of hunters fairly quickly, not making much noise other than in Fennec’s own mind when she would swoop in and snatch a bounty from under her nose.

Versa slipped her arm from Fennec’s shoulders to prop herself back up on her elbows as she peered through the binocs again. “I see the code panel. We should be able to sneak in, but then it’ll be chaos. Got anything fun in those pouches?”

Fennec pulled out a few thermal detonators, a smirk creasing her face. “I’ve got some toys.”

Versa raised an eyebrow. “I like the way you think, Shand. So shock ‘em and sock ‘em?”

“If that means blow them up and then shoot them all, then yes.”

“Good enough.”

The two women climbed down from their perch, quiet as shadows in the night, slinking along the neighboring building until they reached the corner. A loud laugh from a block over made Fennec jump, and Versa turned to look at her. “Probably a prostitute and her latest customer. This area’s got a lot of cantinas and spice dens, so easy pickins’,” Versa said quietly, glancing around the corner. “Kriff, they’ve got a camera above the door. It was hidden under that ledge when we were on the roof, but the damn thing probably covers the whole street. We won’t get close sneaking up to it.” She turned, glancing at Fennec. “I’ve got an idea, lose the helmet. And the big ass gun.”

Fennec stared at her. “No.”

“What, can’t shoot with a pistol?”

“I have my preferences.”

“Yeah, well my preference is to not get shot before we get within ten meters of the door. Now lose the helmet and the gun.”

Fennec grumbled, but finally conceded, stashing her helmet and weapon behind a dumpster. “And what exactly is your brilliant plan?” she muttered.

Versa’s tongue poked out between her teeth, and Fennec immediately regretted the question. “Come here, old buddy.”

Fennec narrowed her eyes, not moving. Versa scoffed, stepping forward and throwing her arm across Fennec’s shoulders. “Come on, just act like I’ve had too much to drink and we’re stumbling home together.”

Fennec glared at her before sighing and shuffling out of the alley, Versa beginning to slouch and drag her feet, causing Fennec to have to slip her hand to grip Versa’s waist. “You’re an idiot,” she muttered.

“And yet, you’re helping me,” Versa slurred, swinging her head around to stare at Fennec, tongue prodding between her teeth again.

“Put that tongue away,” Fennec muttered, “before I cut it out.”

“Before you see what I can do with it? Your loss.”

Fennec huffed at that as they neared the building, Versa leaning harder into her so that she had to steer near the doorway. As they neared the door Versa reached into her pocket, yanking out the data key and reaching out to scan it as they passed by the panel. The door beeped, and they heard the lock inside disengage. Fennec shoved her off, pulling her pistol from her hip as Versa yanked a beat-up DL-44 from her holster. Reaching into her hip pouch, Fennec grabbed the explosives, glancing at Versa, who nodded.

“You go high, I’ll go low,” Versa said, and Fennec was about to argue before she realized she’d prefer taking up high.

“Fine.”

Opening the door, she thumbed on the activation switch on the explosives and tossed them inside before holding the door mostly closed again, shielding them from the blast. The building shuddered as both explosives went off, and smoke started pouring out of the cracked door as shouts began echoing inside.

“After you,” Versa motioned, bowing dramatically as she pushed the door open. Fennec ignored her, stepping inside. Quickly, she scanned the walkway that traced along the upper part of the building, picking off one or two forms moving through the smoke with weapons. Versa was firing wildly into the smoke ahead of them, ducking away from the returning blaster fire.

“Careful,” Fennec hissed. “Don’t hit the quarry.”

“We get paid either way,” Versa shrugged. “Plus, he doesn’t strike me as the type to go out guns blazing. I’ll bet credits he’s holed up in a back room somewhere.” She shoved Fennec in the back as a blaster bolt winged in between them, narrowly missing Fennec’s shoulder. Fennec went to snarl at Versa, but the other hunter had already moved forward, charging towards the bodyguard closest to her. Fennec watched in awe as Versa tackled him, the vibroblade slipping from her boot almost as smooth as a reflex before embedding itself in between the much larger man’s ribs without him even having time to react. Whirling, Versa yanked the blade from the man’s side and flung it at the next closest guard. The knife lodged in his throat, and he collapsed with a sickening gurgle. Fennec finished clearing the upper walkway before turning to aim down the hall, but Versa had already cleared it, stooping to pull the vibroblade from the guard’s throat, wiping it on her trousers and shoving it back in her boot.

“All good?” she asked, and Fennec couldn’t muster a retort, just nodding.

“Great. Let’s move.” Versa stalked down the hall, blaster level as she checked the corners before leading Fennec towards the back office. She jiggled the door before swearing slightly. “Locked.”

“Your codes don’t work?”

“Only on the exterior doors. This one’s different,” Versa muttered.

Rolling her eyes, Fennec dug in her pouch for a smaller explosive. Slapping it on the door, she gripped Versa’s arm yanking her out of the way as the lock exploded in a burst of metal shrapnel and the door swung open, revealing their quarry cowering in the corner behind a desk.

“I HAVE MONEY! PLEASE!”

“You hear that, Fen? He’s got money. Guess that changes everything.” The man’s eye widened hopefully for a second before Versa rolled her eyes. “I’m being sarcastic, asshole. Now get up. Chop, chop.”

The man grumbled as he stood, and when Versa stepped behind him to cuff him, he tried to swing an elbow back at her. Before Fennec could blink, Versa caught his arm and wrenched it violently, slamming him facedown on the desk with her elbow digging into his spine. “If I didn’t have to haul you back to my speeder, I’d shoot you for that, Reegan. I don’t particularly care if you live or die, but I’m not a fan of dragging bodies around. I will, however, make an exception if you try that shit again, understood?”

He whimpered underneath her, and she dug her elbow in. “What was that?”

“FINE. I’LL COME QUIETLY!”

“Good. That’s what I like to hear.” She hauled him to his feet, shoving him towards the door. “Lead the way, Fen.”

The three of them made their way back through the streets, Fennec grabbing her gear before they got to the speeder they’d shared. The quarry grinned as he took in the single seat that Fennec and Versa had barely fit on together. “Looks like someone’s walking.”

Versa ignored him. “Fen, how much weight is this thing rated for?”

“A few hundred kilos.”

Versa eyed the crimelord up and down before nodding. “Good.” Whipping out her pistol, she stunned him, and he slumped over the back of the speeder where the cargo was normally stored.

“You got any cables to tie him down with?”

Fennec swore loudly.

---

Several hours later, Fennec sat at the bar, swirling the last remnants of the ale in her glass. It had taken them a while to get back to the capital city on Ord Mantell, weaving their way through backroads and city streets. Versa had taken the quarry as agreed, promising Fennec she’d be back with payment. Fennec had been so tired of it all at that point, that she’d agreed, even at the risk of Versa just running off with the bounty and all of the payment. I’ve got enough to float me for a bit. Losing one won’t kill me. Might even be worth it to not have to hear her voice anymore.

She knew she was fooling herself. She’d hated how much her cheeks had warmed watching Versa take down those guards so easily. She’s got to have some sort of military training. You don’t learn to do that just anywhere. It had been so fluid and quite frankly attractive. Thinking back to the way Versa had turned and looked at her as she yanked the knife out of the man’s throat had sent shivers down her spine. Her eyes had practically glowed, a little wild, and very much electrifying. Fennec hated it more as she tipped her head back, emptying the glass.

As Fennec went to nudge some credits towards the bartender, a hand clapped over them, slipping them back towards her. Her eyes snapped up to find Versa’s as she slid into the seat next to her. “Told you, I’m buying you a drink.” She dropped a bag on the table, pulling a few credits and pushing them towards the bartender. “I’ve got my friend’s tab here. Also, you got any drinks with meiloorun in them?”

“I’ve got a martini.”

“That’ll do.”

Fennec watched her for a moment before leaning forward with a smirk. “If she’s buying, I’ll take that bottle of spotchka on the top shelf.” She sat back, waiting for Versa to balk, but instead, Versa took another handful of credits out of the bag, tossing them to the bartender.

“You heard the lady.”

The bartender shook his head before placing the bottle in front of Fennec and placing a second glass in front of Versa. “You feel like sharing?” Versa asked, scooting the glass towards Fennec. Raising an eyebrow, Fennec pulled the stopper from the glass bottle and put the nozzle to her lips, maintaining eye contact with Versa as she took a few mouthfuls. Karking hells, that’s smooth, she thought, trying to keep her composure. I could definitely get used to drinking this. Versa just watched her with her signature half grin.

“Fair enough.”

The bartender slid Versa’s drink in front of her, garnished with a delicate looking paper flower on a toothpick. Versa nodded her thanks before lifting the drink to her lips and sipping. Fennec had to stifle a chuckle at the image of the bounty hunter Versa Horne, the blood of the guards still on her trousers, hair wild with a blaster burn across her cheek, sipping a delicate, sweet martini. Versa caught her watching, cocking her eyebrow.

“What?”

“Just didn’t take you for a martini person is all.”

“I’m not normally. Just love meilooruns. They’re hard to find, so if there’s a dish or a cocktail with them in it, I can’t pass it up.” She grinned. “A bit of a weakness for me.”

Fennec could feel the liquor warming her insides as she took another draw from the bottle. “Is that all? A fruit can easily topple the infamous Versa Horne?”

Versa chuckled, and the way the soft light of the bar caught her eyes sent another shiver through Fennec as she leaned closer, almost conspiratorially. “That and competent, beautiful women that wear a lot of black and orange.”

Fennec sat back, rolling her eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. And I think you’d like to suffer a bit more of me, if I’m honest.”

“Keep buying me top-shelf liquor, and perhaps I’ll consider it.”

“Alright, but that might eat into your share of the bounty payout if you keep that up,” Versa teased, removing a second bag from her belt and tossing it towards Fennec. “There’s your half.”

Fennec looked at the bag and realized she’d completely forgotten about it. Looking up, she knew Versa had realized it too, her tongue poking between her teeth again as she leaned back in her chair, downing the rest of her drink.

“You dance, Fen?”

“I hate when you call me that.”

“Sure you do. Not what I asked.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, first time for everything then.” Versa stood, extending her hand. “Come on. I helped you catch Reegan, split the bounty, and bought you all the nice spotchka you can drink. Just one dance.”

Fennec rolled her eyes, but slid her gloved hand into Versa’s. She was immediately struck by how warm her palm felt, even through Fennec’s gloves.

“Watch that for us, buddy, and there’ll be a good tip when we get back,” Versa called to the bartender as they left their bags of credits and spotchka bottle on the counter. He gave her a nod, and that was enough to satisfy her apparently. Versa pulled Fennec through the crowd at the rear of the bar, closer and closer to the pounding bass beat that had steadily grown louder throughout the evening, finally stopping somewhere in the middle. As the music thumped, Versa let her arms drift down to rest her hands on Fennec’s hips. “This alright?” she whispered into Fennec’s ear, and goosebumps broke out across her arms at the feeling of Versa’s breath on her neck.

“Yeah,” Fennec croaked, letting her arms slide across Versa’s shoulders. Versa smirked, but said nothing, and Fennec couldn’t decide if she wanted to punch her or push her back against the wall behind her. That’s a very different thought. Am I drunk? She surveyed her senses. No. Definitely not. Someone jostled Fennec from behind, shoving her into Versa, and Versa shouted at the receding figure. “Oi! Watch it!” The only thing Fennec noticed was how Versa’s fingers dug protectively into her sides, pulling her closer and away from the crowd as she glared at the perpetrator. “You alright?” she asked, and Fennec nodded, not trusting her voice.

They danced together, moving in time with the tempo. At some point, Fennec turned her back to Versa, allowing her hand to drift over the other woman’s neck and pulling her head down to rest against her throat. Versa’s fingers dug into her hips as they swayed together, and she liked the feeling of putting her rival back on her heels, if only for a moment. Versa went no further though, and it took Fennec a moment to realize that Versa was waiting for her to take the next step, not daring to go further until Fennec gave her some idea of where she stood. That control and unspoken question broke Fennec’s last bit of resolve. She needed this, and quite frankly, wanted it.

Turning to face Versa once more, she let her lips graze over Versa’s lightly, and she felt her inhale sharply, her grip tightening on her waist, but not moving an inch. Fennec leaned in to whisper directly into her ear.

“You got a place you’re staying?”

“I’ve got a room upstairs.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then maybe we grab my very expensive spotchka bottle and take this upstairs.”

Versa pulled back, examining her. “You’re not drunk, right?”

Something in Fennec softened a bit at the question, but she shook her head. “Not yet. Wouldn’t mind getting that way with you though. Maybe I’ll share more than just the spotchka.”

Versa grinned. “You in a sharing mood, Shand?”

“Perhaps.”

The two women wove their way back through the crowd, their pace a little more hurried this time as Versa grabbed the bags of credits while Fennec snatched the spotchka bottle and glasses, following Versa up the stairs.

Fennec allowed Versa to get inside and set the bags of credits down before she pushed her against the wall, pressing her lips to hers and gently running her tongue over Versa’s lower lip. Versa shuddered, reaching up to grip the back of Fennec’s neck, the other sliding to her hip to pull her closer. Fennec moved to Versa’s neck, nipping at the skin there and drawing a groan from her lips.

“Dank Ferrick,” Versa sighed. “You’re gonna leave marks I’m going to have to explain.”

“I doubt you’ll have an issue with that,” Fennec growled, sucking another bruise near Versa’s collar bone, pulling her shirt to the side to expose more of her shoulder. She caught sight of a delicate copper chain with a pendant in the shape of an ashsap tree dangling from Versa’s throat and carefully pushed it aside before nipping at the spot where Versa’s neck connected to her shoulder, drawing another groan from her.

“I thought you hated me,” Versa gasped as Fennec worked her shirt more open.

“And yet, you flirted with me relentlessly.”

Versa grinned, her fingers finally finding the zipper on Fennec’s jacket. “What can I say, I enjoy the chase.”

“That why you became a hunter?”

“Something like that.”

Versa walked her backwards towards the bed, sliding her clothes from her shoulders, but just before she could press her back onto the mattress, Fennec whipped her around, tripping her and sending her onto her back. Versa let loose a whoop of surprise that made Fennec’s blood surge as she straddled Versa’s waist, working at the buckle on her pants.

“Now Horne, I think you promised to do some things with that tongue.”

Versa let her hands rest on Fennec’s thighs, staring up at her hungrily. “With pleasure.”

---

It was late morning, much later than Fennec would have preferred before moving on, but after the hunt and subsequent night she’d just had, she figured she deserved it. What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was sitting between Versa’s legs, resting her back against her bare chest as Versa worked her hands through her hair.

“I always thought these braids were beautiful on you, but Maker alive, they’ve got to be a pain in the ass to maintain.”

Fennec shrugged as she felt another tie in her hair loosen. “You get good at it after a while.”

“Will you teach me to braid your hair like this sometime?” Versa asked quietly as she gently tugged the thread around one of Fennec’s braids loose.

“You think we’ll be doing this again?” Fennec asked.

“Only if you want to. You seemed to be having fun last night,” Versa commented with the slightest hint of teasing.

Fennec rolled her eyes. “You weren’t exactly suffering either.”

“Never said I was. Quite the opposite actually.”

Fennec sat in silence for a few moments. “That pendant you wear. It’s pretty. Where’d you get it?”

She felt Versa’s hands pause for a moment, and she worried that she’d overstepped somehow. “A childhood friend made it for me when I was with the Defense Corps,” Versa said quietly.

“Defense Corps? You’re Mandalorian?”

“Nah. Wasn’t right for me. Was picked up as a foundling and left before swearing the Creed.”

“And your friend?”

“He stayed. Probably still hates me for leaving.”

“Sounds like he didn’t spend enough time with you,” Fennec snarked.

“Yeah something like that.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments as Versa worked her way patiently through Fennec’s hair. She was waiting for a tug or a pull, but Versa was gentle, careful when she hit a tangle and gentle around the sore spots. Normally, this was something Fennec would do alone in the cockpit of her ship while waiting for the next comm ping to come in on a lead for a quarry, but there was something infinitely better about doing it naked in bed with Versa. Fennec let loose another sigh as Versa’s fingers worked their way across her head, rubbing the soreness away as she carefully unwove the thread from her hair and undid her braids. Nimble fingers unwound tension, dancing across her scalp and rubbing the tender places as inch by inch, her braids were taken down.

“Almost there,” Versa whispered against the shell of her ear, and Fennec fought the shiver that ran down her spine. She felt Versa’s lips twist into a smile, and she rolled her eyes. Cocky asshole. She felt the last tight place on her head loosen, and try as she might, she couldn’t stifle the groan that fell from her lips when Versa rubbed the especially sore spot just behind her ear, allowing her head to drift back against her rival’s bare shoulder.

“Karking hells, Fen, I don’t think I got you to make a noise like that last night.”

That’s a kriffing lie, Fennec thought, but she wasn’t about to stoke Versa’s ego further. “Sounds like your problem,” she muttered, settling back against Versa’s chest.

“Is that a challenge?” Versa’s voice was teasing but low, her hands already drifting down Fennec’s arms towards her bare hips, and Fennec dug her teeth into her lip as heat rushed through her body, goosebumps rippling across her skin.

“I thought you liked a challenge, Horne,” she said with a voice far breathier than she would have preferred, but at this point, she was starting to care less.

Lightning quick, Versa flipped her onto her back, hovering over her as she kissed her, digging her teeth into Fennec’s lip and gently tugging. Her fingers found the place that made Fennec’s legs quiver just as Versa released her lips.

“Oh, I do.”

---

Versa sat up and rubbed her eyelids as the afternoon sunlight trickled in through the curtains of the room.

Kriff. I overslept. By a good margin.

Reaching over, she felt the empty place in the bed next to her, long gone cold. She sighed.

Should have guessed.

A second later, her fingers grazed something unfamiliar, and her eyes snapped open as she rolled to see what was in her bed.

Two meilooruns sat in the sheets where Fennec’s body had been nestled a few hours before. Versa grinned as she reached over, pulling at the piece of flimsy tucked between them.

Not as hard to find as you’d think. See you around, Horne. – Fen

A/N: Versa Horne is my OC, first introduced in "The Quarry," so if you'd like to learn more about her, I'd check that fic out! :)

#karrde writes #meilooruns #the mandalorian #fennec shand #fennec shand x original female character #fennec shand x oc #fennec shand x ofc #fennec shand x versa horne #versa horne #wlw fic #fanfiction #fan fic #star wars #SPACE QUEEEEERS YES #the quarry #rivals to lovers #enemies to lovers #fennec most definitely has a competency kink

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