Never Again: Din Djarin

Droid Problems

My toolchest lay open on my lap as I tinkered away at my droid, M5. I'd been working on him for years and after the ordeal of being taken, I needed something to take my mind off things and quiet my thoughts. I was happy to be back on the Crest, the familiar surroundings trying their best to keep me calm, but I was in a constant state of feeling on edge. The hairs on my neck standing up at the smallest of sounds, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest, and the urge to curl up in a ball and start crying threatened to give way at any moment. Tears started to well in the corners of my eyes, blurring the sight of my droid suddenly spurring to life. He activated his thrusters and lifted off my hand, whistling unhappily at me, almost as if he knew something was wrong. 

"I'm okay, M5," I said to him. "Life's just been a little crazy lately, that's all."

He beeped at me in acknowledgement as he rapidly flew out of the room. I followed him into the cargo bay where he promptly ran into one of Din's carbon freezing chambers. My laughter vibrated off the walls as he shook it off and went up to explore the cockpit.

"Nice to hear that sound again," said a voice from behind me. It was Din, his rifle slung over his shoulder and his fingers clasped around a case which I assumed was full of credits. He set it down on a nearby table, opened it, and pulled out a handful which he signaled at me to take.

"These are for you. Don't go spending it all at once."

"These are all for me?" I asked. He nodded.

I shook my head. "This is too much. The Crest has been doing fine, I haven't even done that much work lately."

"It's because you've taken care of her that she's been doing fine. Please, I insist. You've earned it."

My eyes beamed. I'd never gotten paid this much at my old job and I don't even think I'd ever held this much money in my hands before. I grinned at Din as I went to put it away in a safe place in my room.

"Thank you," I said to him as I returned.

He was packing away his gear and replied, "Like I said, you deserve it."

Din looked up and suddenly drew his blaster, the barrel trained on M5 as he whirred back from the cockpit. The droid screeched loudly and flew behind my shoulder, quivering in fear.

"What the hell is that?" Din said sternly.

"Woah, hold up there gunslinger." I cradled M5 in my hands, petting his head lightly with my fingers. "This is M5. He's a droid I've been fixing up for years. He's perfectly harmless. I promise."

"No droid I've ever met is perfectly harmless," he said, his gun still raised. "Turn it off."

"Well, he is. This little guy helps me when I fix ships. He gets into tight spots that I just can't get to. I used him once fixing the wiring on a panel in here, in the cargo hold."

Din had lowered his blaster, but he had not put it back in it's place yet. "I don't care. Get that thing off my ship."

I scowled at him. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to make him? I'm not just gonna chuck him out the door like he's a piece of bantha fodder." M5 was still shaking, so I pressed the button to deactivate him, hoping that would satisfy Din. "There, I turned him off. Happy?" I stormed off before he could respond.