SEE ME, SEE YOU: Series Two

C H A P T E R S I X

REINA'S POV

After Mando shook hands with Vanth one last time, it was finally time to head back to Mos Eisley. I double-checked the child in his little knapsack and climbed onto the speeder behind Mando. There was not a whole lot of space anymore with the both jetpacks and the extra Mandalorian helmet hunkered down in the back, but at least my face would be protected Din's back. I slipped my goggles on for good measure.

Din drove the speeder at top speed through the empty desert. My arms squeezed around his snatched waist. My cheek pressed into his cape. I could hear the child squealing with excitement. For once, my mind didn't wander and ponder about my sight, my newly discovered powers, the voices in my head, or our mission to find a Jedi so that he or she can train the child. My eyes closed in content as I tightened my hold around Din's waist. There was nowhere else I'd rather be.

Spoke too soon...

Before I knew what hit us, literally, I was catapulted into the air and smacked the ground, hard, on my right shoulder. My body skipped and rolled like a stone on water for several yards before coming to a complete halt.

"Reina!" I heard Din shout over the crashing ruckus of our speeder. I hacked up sand and groaned as my body ached with every attempt to get to my feet. Before I could even squint my eyes open, someone shoveled their arms underneath my shoulders and legs and chucked me to the side. Coughing some more, my eyes burst open to realize it was Din who had saved me from the speeder's crash course. I would've been crushed if he hadn't acted as quickly as he did. Din hunkered down on his feet facing away from me.

The child...

My eyes darted in every direction to locate the baby, terrified that he was injured from the crash. There were a few blaster shots from Din, but I noticed another figure hobbling after the baby. "Oh, no you don't!" I forced myself to my feet and reached for my blaster, but it must've been knocked off my belt when we crashed, because my holster was empty.

"Hol-tuss." The stubby alien ordered in its native language. I bit my lip as both Din and I saw it holding a sharp knife to the child's neck.

"Wait, don't hurt the child." Din said, holding his hands up. "If you put one mark on him, there is no place you will be able to hide from us." Despite the threat, there was some desperation in his voice. I followed his lead by raising my hands up.

"A bargain." I said. "We'll trade whatever we have in this wreckage for the child."

"Yes," Din agreed, nodding slowly. "There is a lot of valuable items. Go ahead, choose your pick."

The thug considered this and thrust the knife at Din's jetpack that laid a few feet from me. I got the message and slowly picked it up and reached it out to him. The alien ordered me to drop it a few feet in front of him, and I obeyed. Alwhile, I coaxed, "Okay, yeah, it's okay. See? It's yours. Right, Mando?"

"Yeah, it's okay." Din nodded, his hands still visible.

Once I placed the jetpack down, I backed off with my hands up. The alien moved forward and swapped the jetpack and the child, and then bolted. The baby then rushed into Din's waiting hands, practically tripping over his little brown pullover. "You okay?" Din sighed with relief to have him back safely.

"Well, I guess we know who he likes more." I scoffed lightly, definitely not jealous. Din and I watched the alian scurry away with the former's jetpack in arm. Suddenly, Din's arm outstretched right across my face. "Want to do the honors?" he asked.

I side-eyed him with a smirk. "Gladly." Holding Din's forearm with one hand, I used the other to operate the jetpack on the controller attached to his gauntlet. I may have enjoyed it a little too much, but launching that lowlife sky high and performing a few tricks before dumping him to his death sure relieved some stress. The baby snorted, giving Din an upward glance, in which the latter replied with a nonchalant hug. "I would've done the same." he admitted. He took the control to gently land the jetpack in front of us.

"Come on." I shrugged, too. "We got to get moving. Mos Eisley isn't too far. We should reach it by nightfall." Din and I worked together to gather all our supplies. While my partner handled the heaviest luggage, I carried my weight of the baby in his knapsack, the Mandalorian armor we obtained from Cobb Vanth, one of the sacks that contained our water source, and my sensory rifle.

We then began our hike through the Tatooine desert.