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"Wake up, Mandalorian."
That voice alone was enough to send a bolt of fear through Hebe as she was startled awake by a robotic voice. She almost hit her head jolting out of the way of Mando's arm as he whipped out his blaster. There, was the wildly disconnected head of Zero, the ugly bug droid that Mando had disassembled for parts, and as much as he wouldn't admit it, a trophy. A massive 'fuck you' in Hebe's opinion. "This cannot wait until morning. Do not be alarmed. I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed its vocabulator," then it dawned on the two startled adults that the frog lady was speaking through Zero.
"Mother of Kad Ha'rangir, why would you do that, woman? You scared me half to death!" Hebe cradled her pounding head, her Mandalorian clung to her shoulders and slowly lowered the blaster.
"What the hell are you doing?" Din rasped, leaning up and shoving his blaster back into its holster. "That droid is a killer."
"These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to," Hebe could hear her desperate gasps and Hebe felt her harsh brow soften. The pressure this woman must be feeling is ridiculous. I would hate to be in her situation. In her short reverie, Hebe was most surprised by Din's response.
"Look, lady, the deal is off."
"Din there has to be something we can do... It wouldn't hurt to feel sympathetic you know, imagine how hopeless she must feel," she lowered her voice at the last part, her pale eyes digging into Din. He felt a shiver pass through him, not because of the biting cold, but the intensity of her voice. Yet he opposed her as much as he didn't want to.
"Hebe, we'll be lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives," she frowned at him unhappily, thought about rolling her eyes, then didn't. Only because of the ache behind her eyebrows. Hebe sat up stiffly and rolled her shoulders, ignoring the sticky dried blood that ran under her eyelid.
"I thought honouring one's word was a part of the Mandalorian code. I guess those are just stories for children," the lady waved her webbed hands around in disappointment.
"It is. And we'll do our best to uphold that deal, won't we Mando?" Hebe looked at him pointedly, as well as the child who gave him the largest puppy eyes. It didn't take Din long to cave in, a sigh escaped from him as he moved the child and got to his feet. Din grabbed a toolbox and moved to the blanket draped over door, pulling it back. "This was not part of the deal," then he stepped out. Hebe's lips twitched up in a shaky smile at the lady. She tugged the blanket closer to her and leaned forwards to stand up. Her knees shook but she walked to the exit anyway, peeking her head through the missing panel to see if she could help. She caught Mando's figure just disappearing past the cockpit of the Razor Crest. She followed. The snowflakes nipped at her frosted skin as she moved silently through the white blanket of snow.
