Calamity || The Mandalorian

thirty-six

"Whoa! What is that?" Mayfeld exclaimed, prior embarrassment forgotten as he stared transfixed at the child. He sprung to his feet, pacing towards the child. Kasia shifted to stand in front of the kid. "You get lonely up here, buddy? Huh?" He paused and then looked over his shoulder at Xi'an. "Wait a minute. Did you two make that?"

At the words, Kasia bristled slightly, but her face remained unreadable as she remained steadfast in her stance.

Mayfeld shifted to look around her body and gaze back down at the kid who cooed quietly, "What is it, like a pet or something?"

Din's voice was low, and his words were clipped as he responded, his body visibly tense even with all his armor on. "Yeah. Something like that."

Mayfeld continued to stare down at the child in fascination, peering around Kasia's body. She blinked in surprise as she realized that he meant no harm for the small mint green alien; he was merely curious. At the understanding, Kasia relaxed slightly, body still tense but not nearly as much it had been.

Xi'an tilted her head as she peered up at the Mandalorian thoughtfully, "Didn't take you for the type," she mused, standing close to Mando such that they were practically nose-to-nose. "Maybe that code of yours has made you soft."

"Me, I was never really into pets," Mayfeld remarked suddenly, his words grabbing the attention of everyone in the hull. "I didn't have the temperament. Patience, you know? I mean, I tried, but never worked out."

"Well, fuck-dee-do, good for you. Thank you so much for sharing," Kasia muttered under her breath, the words almost causing Mando to snort. At the beat of humor, she momentarily shifted to smile up at him, her attention slipping away from Mayfeld as he took a step closer to the child.

"But I'm thinking," Mayfeld continued, either unaware of Kasia's snide comment or ignoring it altogether, "maybe I'll try again with this little fella."

As he went to pick up the kid, Kasia's hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it grabbed her blaster and pressed it to the side of Mayfeld's head.

"Put the kid down and back the fuck up," she growled, no ounce of sarcasm or joking amusement in her voice as she spoke; it was pure rage that boiled in her eyes and stomach as she glared at the man in front of her.

Mayfeld's eyes flitted between her and Mando, a smirk tugging at his lips as he cradled the creature. He pretended to drop the child as the kid gurgled softly. At the movement, Mando's body tensed instinctively but Kasia remained unmoved, having sensed the fake-out. Mayfeld chuckled at the Mandalorian's reaction.

Then, Zero's robotic voice filled the hull, and both Kasia and Mando found themselves suddenly grateful for the droid as he announced, "Dropping out of hyperspace now."

The ship rattled as it indeed dropped out of hyperspace, the sudden movement throwing the standing passengers against each other and into the walls. Kasia found herself lurching into Mando's armored body, a hand sliding around her waist and barely preventing her from crashing to the ground.

"Commencing final approach, now."

The ship dove down and spun as Zero continued to pilot it according to the laid-out flight pattern—one which included maneuvers that were certainly not intended to be executed with standing passengers.

"I'm going to be fucking sick," Kasia muttered to Mando as the Razor Crest continued to zoom erratically, her stomach having been left far behind somewhere in space.

If you throw up on my armor our next stop is Reldve.

She scoffed in disbelief at him. "Sorry to tell you, but that joke is getting pretty damn old. You're not going t-"