𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕦𝕤𝕥 | A Mandalorian Story

XXI

The Collector

A/N 

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long! I hit a little bit of writer's block and I've been so busy  I haven't had much time to write. Thank you so much for reading I can't believe this book is at 1k votes! That's so crazy! I love all of you guys so very much, thank you for being so patient, I'll try and update more frequently. Thanks for sticking around. =D

Bryn

The Crest gave a low moan as it hovered above the ground. Din flipped the controls, trying to get the creaking ship in the air. 

"Strap in." He grunted, his voice barely audible over the rumbling noise of the Crest. 

Bryn scrambled to the leather seat and gripped onto the sides of the chair, nails digging into the armrests. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure. There was another groan from the Crest and a sudden explosion rocked the vintage ship. 

 Din managed to get the Crest in the air but not without struggle. No matter how good a pilot Din was, the Crest couldn't take much more of this. One of the engines had already been blown out, causing the ship to lean towards one side. Bryn heard things fall behind her, but broken trinkets were the last of her worries.

The ship rattled and barely managed to shoot into the sky. "Hold on!" Din yelled as he pushed into the clear blue air. Bryn managed to catch another glimpse of the ship attacking them and held her breath. 

It was Greylock, there was no doubt about it. She knew his fancy ships anywhere. It was a small fighter ship, agile and fast moving but Bryn didn't dare underestimate it. 

Shots fired and Din barely managed to dodge them. The shots were precise and direct. One thing was for sure, whoever was on that ship was most definitely not a stormtrooper.

Bryn didn't care to stick around to see who Greylock had sent, or if he had come himself. She prayed to the maker to move the Crest faster. 

The Razor Crest never got anywhere near the edge of the atmosphere as the fighter ship launched up after them. Din puled the ship up and it flipped in the sky so he was able to get a clear shot of the ship. He pulled the trigger but the small ship got away with not so much as a scratch on it's fresh painted hull. 

Bryn could hear Din taking in a sharp, annoyed breath as he tried to outfly the fighter but although the Crest was many things, it was not the fastest ship in the galaxy, not by a long shot. 

"Hold on!" Din yelled and re-directed the Crest so it shot back down towards the planet. They flew over forests and ponds but there was almost no where to lose ship tailing them. 

Bryn squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch. The child babbled in her arms and patted her arm, almost as if trying to comfort her. She gave a weak smile and nuzzled his soft ears. 

Behind them the ship was moving faster, dodging and flying through the air. It was faster than any ship Bryn had ever seen and was soon right on their tail. She heard Din curse under his breath and pressed more buttons on the crest, trying his best to dodge and weave through the trees, but nothing was working. 

"Where did he go?" Din muttered under his breath. The ship was nowhere to be seen, disappearing almost as quickly as it had appeared. 

Bryn cautiously looked up into the blue sky but saw nothing, still the dreading feeling in her stomach only grew. "Din-" She was caught of by a sudden flash of metal as Greylock's ship appeared in front of them, heading towards them at full speed. "Din!" She yelled but even Din's remarkable piloting skills couldn't save the Crest in time. 

One shot and the Razor Crest went spiraling out of the sky, down towards the planet below. Light's flashed and Bryn's ears rang with the sudden drop of altitude. Things crashed around them and she briefly felt Din reaching for her but her vision went spotty and eventually black and the Crest crashed to the ground. 

Bryn wasn't sure how long she was out, but the next moment she woke she was in the arms of her Mandalorian. He clutched her head, his helmet glinting in unison with the flashing lights of the Crest. 

"Bryn," He rasped, desperately holding her. 

"I'm okay." She said. Unfortunately her words slurred together backing up the notion that she was most definitely not okay. Her head buzzed and she felt something stick trickle down her forehead. She gently touched it and winced, realizing it was blood. A huge gash ran from her forehead, causing strands of hair to stick to her skin. 

Din quickly pulled her hand away, almost worried that she would make it worse. Even through his gloved fingers she could feel his fingers trembling. 

"I-" Din was interrupted by a sudden explosion which rocked the Crest. It shot out another engine. The shots weren't aimed directly for the crest, certainly not to kill them. Or her, for that matter. Greylock didn't like broken things. 

Din quickly pulled her up and behind him as the lights of the crest flashed off and they were plunged into darkness. The only light were the last rays of sun which quickly disappeared. Din's blaster was already tightly in his hand and Bryn debated pulling out her own. 

"Stay here," Din told her. 

"Din wait," She want to be separated from him but he was already heading down the cockpit ladder and shot her one last look, almost to reassure her before he disappeared. 

Beside her the child babbled on the leather pilot seat, surprisingly safe and sound and made grabby hands towards her. Bryn quickly picked him up, unsure of what to do. Her head pounded with pain but she managed to get her thoughts into order. 

There was an eerie silence throughout the ship. A shiver rant down Bryn's spine and she clutched the child closer. Suddenly there was a loud bang down below, following by a series of grunting and punching. 

She heard Din shout at her to close the cockpit. She heard the sharp screech of metal against metal. Bryn held back the urge to shout his name and did as she was told. 

There was a sudden thump that came from the top of the the crest. Bryn froze, Din was still downstairs from what she could tell by the banging of metal and stale smell of shot blasters. She took a step back when she heard a small click. It was barely audible and came from directly behind her.

She spun seeing nothing but a small blinking red button on the glass front of the razor crest. Bryn's brows furrowed before she realized what she was looking at. Bryn spun back around and wrapped herself around the child, hoping to shield as the flashing bomb exploded and the glass shattered. 

Bryn was shoved forward from the force. the blistering heat scorched her back and the shards of shattered glass rained down on her. The crest groaned and shuddered, barely being able to take the impact. The child tumbled out of her grasp with a cry and was thrown beneath one of the scorched black pilot seats. it didn't seem to be hurt. Bryn on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. 

She threw her hands out, hoping to stop her fall but the force of the blast was too much. Her head smashed against the metal wall and she crumpled to the floor, feeling stream of sticky red blood trail down her face. 

Bryn coughed, ears ringing and eyes blurred. Her limbs felt like lead and she was unable to do anything but lay in the smoke and ashes. 

Through blurred vision she could only watch as familiar dressed soldiers dropped down from the top of the crest and landed in the cockpit of the crest. 

Din yelled her name from behind the door which was now welted shut. She heard him bang against it but there was little she could do about it. Her mouth wouldn't even work to reply. Bryn felt the soft breeze of the planet brush softly through her hair, as if trying to give her some sort of comfort but there was little of that as she saw Greylock's best man walk towards her. He lifted his helmet and the scarred face of Baize smiled coldly down at her.

"Ready to go home princess?"