SEE ME, SEE YOU: Series Two

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

REINA'S POV

We were all fast asleep when the Razor Crest began plummeting out of the sky. The proximity alarms were blaring, jolting all four of us awake and immediately alerting us we were in trouble. I was still snuggled between Din's lap and the pilot's seat when the commotion started, and had to high-tail up onto my feet so my partner could take over. He began pressing buttons all over the noisy console. An experienced pilot myself (though I was used to a voiceover informing my ship's status), I understood most of the alarms.

The Crest's landing array wasn't responding, which meant, without that guidance system, we would have to land manually, which was dicey even in the best of circumstances...

"Don't worry," Din said. "Once we're through the atmosphere, there should be enough fuel to slow us down..." He paused as the clouds dispersed, revealing the spaceport very far below. "if we don't burn to a crisp first."

On the display screen, alarms were flashing. The heat shields were in this dark silver color (which I could only assume red), the fuel bar was dangerously low, and now the Crest had become an unstable, fiery orange (again, I'm seeing all this in a black, white, and silver aspect—that being said, I know what colors heated metal look like) hunk of metal in the reentry of Trask's atmosphere. Down below, waiting for us, was the spaceport nestled on the coastline. We were approaching it fast...and there was nothing we could do about it.

"Reina! I need you!" Din shouted.

"I'm here!" I yelled back over the blaring alarms.

"I need you to hold back this lever!"

"Got it!" I clutched on the lever on Din's right for dear life. Crackling through the comm speaker, a woman spoke, "Razor Crest, this is Trask flight control. Please reduce your speed to port protocol."

"Trying our best!" I shouted, rolling my eyes.

"Reina! Engage reverse thrusters! Brace yourselves!" Din ignited the ship's retrorockets with the full power of whatever fuel we had remaining in the tank. The entire vessel shuddered with a tortured groan from the repulsors, and miraculously they slowed the Crest's descent as it closed in on the approaching pier. I let out a half-witted laugh. "See? Nothing to it."

"Yeah, heh, nice and—"

Without warning, the fuel gauge dropped to empty and one of the ship's sideways repulsors coughed out one final time, causing the Crest to dip horizonally, missing the landing pad and splashing down into the murky water. The ship completely submerged, but luckily the cockpit was completely sealed.

I started laughing. Not sure why—I just found the situation hilarious. Din shook his head as he checked the child behind us. I had completely forgotten that Tilly was with us until that point. She was clutching her capsule of eggs for dear life, trembling like a leaf. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

Croak. Creak. Whimper.

"No worries, Tilly." I smiled. "The pier maintenance will help us out. Eventually."

Din groaned next to me, struggling to keep himself in his seat at the 180° angle we were sinking at. He would crush me if he wasn't. I grabbed his forearm playfully. "Another perfect landing, eh, partner?"

"I'm glad you are enjoying this." I could hear the rolling of his eyes underneath his helmet.

Soon, the Razor Crest was salvaged from the sea. The spaceport was a thriving mixture of water vessels and spacecraft, with cargo being transported to and fro. Enormous nets of freshly caught aquatic life swung from cranes, ready to be distributed across this corner of the galaxy. And amid all this, was us, in our seawater-dripping ship like the catch of the day.

Our poor, poor Crest...My heart truly ached at her horrible condition. A Mon Calamari worker approached us with a tablet in his hand and Din asked him, "Can you fix it?" Even I knew the answer to that question.

"Fix it? Nah." The worked shrugged as he glanced over the battered ship. "But I can make it fly."

Din sighed and handed him a fistful of credits. "Do what you can."

As the four of us, the child hovering in his silver cradle next to me, walked away, I heard the worker mutter to himself, "I'll put some fuel in it, if it still holds fuel..."

"Tilly, do you see your husband anywhere?" I asked. She and I looked in every direction for him. When Tilly finally caught sight of her mate, she squealed with joy, racing towards him through the crowd. I spotted the frog man with a seabag thrown over his shoulder after she took off and followed, pulling Din along by his arm. I watched as Tilly and her husband reunited and gazed into each other's eyes with affection and then at the capsule that contained their eggs, their shared love gleamed.

"It's so moving..." I breathed, not knowing if Din heard me. Next to me, the baby whimpered. "Sounds like someone is hungry."

"Yeah, I know." Din said and then approached Tilly's husband. "Excuse me, I was told you knew where to find others of my kind?" Tilly's husband nodded and croaked out a response, pointing at the far end of the pier.

"He said we can find answers at the inn." I translated. "He said they often visit there."

"Thank you." Din said sincerely. "Thank you." He shook hands with the husband. I held Tilly's hands in affection with affection. "Take care of yourself." I smiled, and then followed the Mandalorian to the inn, where we hoped we'll finally get some answers.

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A Mon Calamari server told us to sit in a far corner of the inn, in which the three of us eased our way into the darkened establishment. We took a spot at a barrel-shaped central table. The place itself was full of hungry diners, not only Mon Calamari, but also Quarren, their heavy-browed faces were adorned with long tentacles that drooped down over their mouths. I got an icky feeling in my gut—In my experience, Quarren were never to be trusted.

"What can I get you?" The server asked us.

"Nothing for me." Din waved himself off. "Just two bowls of chowder for my partner and the kid." I noticed the baby gazing expectantly at the server with hungry eyes.

"Seats are scarce here, buddy." The server sighed. "Everyone seated needs to eat."

"I can buy something else." Din threw a few Calamari flan onto the table, offering the server a generous amount of the local currency. Where did he even acquire it? "Information. Have you seen others that look like me?"

The Mon Calamari slipped the currency into his pocket, then pulled a lever that extended a fat hose down to my and the child's bowls, spewing out a chunky portion of chowder for both of us. "I've seen others with Beskar, yes."

"Do you know who can take us to them?"

"Yes, I do know someone who might help." Without another word, the server left and approached another table with several Quarren and began talking. I leaned over to Din. "Hey, I'm getting a really eery feeling about all this. I don't think we should trust the Quarren if they come over here."

"Why do you say that?" Din asked. "We are close to finding more Mandalorians."

"I know, but—" Suddenly, the child squealed and squeaked next to me. A tiny squid had attached itself to his face. Din reached over and poked it with his knife, causing the seafood to plop back into the bowl. "Don't play with your food." he said. I glanced down at my own untouched bowl.

The server returned before I could continue my talk with Din. At no surprise, a Quarren was with him. He sat down at the table and spoke directly to my partner. "I hear you seek others of your kind."

"Have you seen them?" Din asked.

"Aye, I can bring you to them."

"Where?"

"A few hours' sail." the Quarren said darkly. "It'll cost you though."

I didn't trust this sailor as far as I could throw him, but glancing over at Din and knowing how eager he was to meet the other Mandalorians, I slipped at my chowder and stayed mindful of the warnful gut-feeling I was having.