SEE ME, SEE YOU: Series Two

C H A P T E R N I N E

REINA'S POV

"Reina!" He raced after me. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

I halted in my tracks and turned to him. The cold pierced every exposed part of me like tiny needles. The wind whipped through my hair and clothes. The flurried snow caused my vision to blur immensely, and I felt blind again. So much so, it actually scared me. Did I know what I was doing? Of course not. But there was no use sleeping around when there was work to be done...It was all part of the deal.

"Get back inside." Din stomped through the snow-covered ice that acted as the ground, crunching under every step he made. He grabbed my arm once he reached me and attempted to pull me along like I was a stubborn child, kicking and screaming.

"Let go of me, Din." I wrenched my arm out of his grip. "If you want to help, I'd be very grateful, but I'm going to start getting our systems back online. We have to start somewhere. We can't wait around anymore."

"You will freeze to death if you stay out here!" Din shouted back. "What will you do then, huh?"

"Fine!" I shoved passed him, reentered the cargo hold, and scoured around for some warm clothing. Tilly offered up her shawl, which I politely declined. Eventually, I innovated a poncho of sorts from blankets and a couple cords. After finding a pair of old gloves, I slipped on my goggles and face cover over my nose and mouth, and headed back outside. Din was waiting for me. "Happy?!"

"Reina..." Din chided.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself since you want to be a jerk about it."

"Reina, stop!"

This time, Din grasped both my arms, forcing me to face him, or at least my reflection in his helmet. Through the goggles, my silvery vision was dimmed. I tried to wriggle free, but his grip was tight. "Let go of me, Din." I repeated myself.

"Not until you talk to me."

"It's very simple, Din." I huffed. "We agreed to transport Tilly and her eggs safely to Trask. Thanks to you and those stunts you pull to escape the New Republic, we can't do that now until we fix the Crest. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Reina, this can wait til morning." Din said. "We have other pressing matters than rushing to get off this—"

"What if it was the Child dying?!" I snapped, and Din went silent. I breathed in the cold air and exhaled slowly to calm myself before continuing. "I think it has something to do these new powers...I felt their life force, Din. Tilly's eggs. I felt them while we were on Tatooine, and I felt them just now. The energy I felt, was growing weak. They are dying and I promised...we promised to help her get to Trask safely and in time to reach her husband. Her family is in danger. Imagine if it was our family..."

Din didn't say anything for a long time. He also didn't move his gaze down on me. His hands still gripped under my elbows.

"Say something..." I breathed, the frosted air exhaled from my mouth.

"I hate it when you win."

I smiled underneath my face mask. "We have lots of work to do."

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THIRD PERSON POV

The wind howled around Mando and Reina as they inspected the Razor Crest's condition. It was much much worse than either of them expected. Much of the outer skin of the ship had been sheared off, exposing inner machinery. Colorful hydraulic fluid spewed and stained the snow and ice.

"It's going to take a miracle to get the Crest flying again..." Reina sighed, rubbing her gloved hand over the injured ship. Her heart even ached at the horrendous sight.