PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXXV

When I woke up, the lights in the cargo bay were on, and I had to squint for a few moments until my eyes adjusted. I was laying on my side, the still sleeping child tucked securely under my arm. But the soothing heat that was behind me the night before was gone, as well as the pile of shining beskar.

"Din?" I called, still half asleep.

"Up here," He replied, his modulated voice floating down from the cockpit.

I glanced down as the child stirred under my arm, slowly blinking away his sleepy haze. I smiled at him when he looked up at me, gently flicking his nose as I said, "Good morning to you, too."

"Actually," Din said as he dropped down from the cockpit, startling both of us, "It's afternoon."

"What?" I snapped in disbelief, my brows creasing as I watched him. "How long was I asleep?"

Din chuckled as he approached us, reaching out to massage the child's ear between his fingers. "At least twelve hours," He answered nonchalantly as he flicked his gaze to my face.

My eyes widened. Twelve hours?! I knew I was exhausted, but I couldn't remember the last time I got more than six consecutive hours of sleep, let alone twelve.

"How long did you sleep?" I asked suspiciously, blinking against the light as I sat up straight and pulled the child into my lap.

He chuckled again. Then he said, leaning closer to me, "A lot longer than I usually do."

My mind immediately flicked back to when he soothed me as he gave me the bacta injection on Tatooine. He told me he rarely slept because he was always plagued by nightmares in an attempt to distract me from my crippling fear of needles.

Din's throat bobbed as he swallowed, and I had the feeling that he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

"No," He admitted happily after a moment, sensing that I was about to ask him about his nightmares, "I didn't have a single one."

I smiled sweetly at him, reaching up to press a kiss to his helmet. "I'm glad," I responded while trying to stifle a yawn.

But my glazed and content mood began to shift when Din breathed out a long sigh. My head tilted to the side as I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Greef Karga sent us a transmission."

My brows narrowed again as he reached for the child, taking him back to his compartment and closing the door.

I lifted myself off the bench, and the chill of the floor stung my bare feet. Then I walked up to him, placing my hands on his stiff shoulders to massage the stiffness away. I asked nervously, "What does he want?"

Din exhaled another heavy breath, resting one of his gloved hands on my own. Then he turned to face me, lacing his fingers with mine as he said, "He wants me to come back to Nevarro. He thinks using me and the child as bait will help draw the Imps out."

I swallowed harshly, thinking of how many ways that plan could go wrong. It made me shiver.

"There's no way it's not a trap," I warned him.

"I know," He breathed, leaning his head closer to mine. "But he doesn't know you're with me."

I smiled weakly, flattered by the fact that he thought I was going to make all the difference. But the Empire was hunting me too, and there was no way the Imps didn't know I was with Din. Karga may not know, but I had no doubt Moff Gideon did.

"We're not enough," I sighed defeatedly, glancing at my armor that was nearly piled beside the bench. "Are you sure going back there is a good idea?"