Armored Passion | The Mandalorian

|21|

Mythrol pushes the thick sole of his boot further down on the large accelerator pad, forcing his low-set speeder to rush even faster as we traveled through the dangerous lava flats of Nevarro. The wind viciously whipped around my face and through my wavy, raven hair, the harshness of the piercing air making my eyes sting and involuntarily water. I sink further into my cushioned seat, hoping that it would help me escape the rushing wind. 

Greef taps the back of his fingers against my blaster and the fading holster it had always rested in, easily catching my attention as I settled comfortably in my seat. I let out a quiet hum as I looked over to him, letting him know that I was listening to whatever it was he wanted to tell me. 

He perks a curious brow at me, subtly letting me know that he was just trying to check in to see if I was doing alright. This was his usual way of checking in on me when he didn't want to draw any attention to the matter. I nod my head in response to his gesture before looking back towards the front of the speeder, keeping my eyes on the path we were currently speeding over. 

"So, the whole base is powered by a single main reactor," Greef says, deciding to fill the silence as he slowly leaned his arm on the outer edge of the flashy speeder. 

"We're going to sneak in, overload the reactor, then get the hell out of there," Cara says, explaining the plan as she kept her eyes on the rough terrain. 

"Let's just be fast about this. And make sure to keep the speeder running," Din says, his head tilting to the side so he could glance at Mythrol. The blue man frantically nods his head as he sank further into his own seat, nervously swallowing as he adjusted his hands on the steering mechanism set in front of him. 

"Alright, there's the base up ahead. Do you see it?" Greef asks, leaning his body towards the middle of the speeder as he pointed his index fingers towards a narrow cavern that we were starting to pull into. My eyes follow the direction his finger was pointing in to see a large metal structure that looked to be built into the side of the deep cavern wall. I perk my brows up in slight amazement, surprised to see how large the base looked even from the outside. 

Out of all of my years spent on Nevarro, I don't think I've ever caught wind of something like this. 

"How close do you want me to drop you guys off?" Mythrol asks, tapping his fingers against the steering mechanism a few times as he waited for an answer from Greef. 

"How about the front door?" Greef instantaneously quips back, his lips thinning out into an annoyed grimace within a matter of seconds. I roll my eyes at him and hold back a groan, already knowing that there was going to be a ton of unnecessary banter running throughout the entirety of this job. Greef hadn't been able to hold himself back from using his typical reels of sarcastic remarks ever since Mythrol came in to work his lifetime debt off.

"That's a little close for a civilian, don't you think?" the blue man hesitantly questions, slowly looking over his shoulder to figure out whether or not Greef was just pulling his leg. 

"Alright, look. I've got two options for you," Greef tiredly sighs out. He clears his throat once before raising his pointer finger in the air. "Option one: you take us in and I knock a hundred years off of your debt."

"Or?"

"Or option two: I leave you out here in the lava flats to walk home with whatever's left in your humidity vest," Greef finishes,  holding his second finger up while keeping an unenthused look on his face. I lightly slap his chest with the back of my hand, sending him a quick glare for being so harsh with his obnoxious options. 

"Don't be so mean about it. He's just a little anxious about getting this close to an old Imperial base. Hell, even I'm feeling a little anxious about this whole mission," I mutter, my shoulders slumping a bit as I crossed my arms over my chest. He holds his hands up in surrender as he settled back in his seat.