PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXX

Mayfeld, Xi'an, Din, and I all continued to observe Burg as he paced across the bay. Mayfeld seemed content, not bothered by the slight shake of the Crest as it took off, but Xi'an quickly became annoyed by the Devaronian's pacing. I rolled my eyes just before she snapped, "Will you sit down?"

Burg stopped his pacing slowly turned to face her, growling deeply before slamming his fist into the weapons vault doors. I jumped up when the lock to the vault broke, one of the metal doors slowly swinging open to reveal the extensive collection of blasters, knives, and other various weapons Din had collected over the years.

I was about to stalk up to the Devaronian and give him a piece of my mind, but Din was the first to move. He swiftly crossed the length of the bay, his cape flowing behind him as he slammed the door to the vault closed. "Don't touch anything," He said in a low, deadly voice.

Burg grunted at Din. "Someone tell me why we're even working with the Mandalorians," He growled, keeping his beady eyes on Din as he backed up a step.

My gaze snapped to Mayfeld when he got to his feet. "Supposedly, they're the best fighters in the galaxy," He mused aloud, folding his arms across his chest as he arched his brow at me. Then he added, "Or so they say."

I let the pause settle between us before I broke the silence. "Do you want to find out?" I asked sweetly, using my leg to push myself off the wall of the bay. "Or was one ass-kicking enough to prove my skills to you?"

I preened when Mayfeld's eyes flickered with anger, but he bit his tongue when Burg retorted, "Then why are they all dead?"

Both Din and I bristled at Burg's tone. "I'd watch your mouth," I bit at the Devaronian, lacing my voice with the promise of violence.

"Why should I?" Burg growled, smirking as he stepped up towards me, "You don't scare me."

I stepped up to Burg, preparing for a slugfest, but then a gloved hand on my cuirass pushed me back. Din stepped into the space between me and the Devaronian, whispering my name under his breath as a way to calm my temper and give me a warning.

Xi'an exhaled dramatically from where she sat on the bench, drawing all of our attention to her. "You guys and your useless pissing contests," She complained, rolling her eyes as she did so. "You know, I though you would be a little more decent," She crooned in my direction, pointing one of her knives at me, "But then I remembered Mando likes his women..." A smirk crossed her lips, "A little rough around the edges. So honestly, I'm not surprised at all."

A tether that she had wound up inside of me snapped. I lunged at her and hissed, "Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur!"

But Din immediately shoved me back, snapping at me in a low voice, "Let's not start a fight in the middle of my ship!"

After a few moments of struggling against him, I exhaled a sharp breath. "Fine," I bit out after a moment of heavy silence, "But once we're off this ship," I threatened, pointing a damning finger at her, "It's fair game."

Xi'an only giggled girlishly as Din continued to usher me away from Burg. "Careful," She crowed, twirling her knife, "You're starting to make me like you again."

My nose twitched under my helmet, but I reigned myself in before I smarted off to her again.

"So," Mayfeld interjected loudly, "Are the legends true? Are you really the best?"

Xi'an giggled again before Din or I could respond, and both us snapped our attention to her. The Twi's eyes settled on Din as she said, "Why don't you tell them about Alzoc III?"