─ ❛ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 ❜
BY ALL ACCOUNTS, Cyi should be dead. Instead, she's crammed into the hold of some chumbucket of a spaceship with a kid that may or may not be toying with the fabric of the universe.
By all accou...
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.･ ̣ ✵ ･ *.
⠀⠀⠀ WHEN MANDO CATCHES sight of the distant planet, he's relieved. He's also not quite sure where he is. As if on cue, the thief - Cyi - asks which planet it is.
⠀⠀⠀ "Good question," Mando mutters. He refers to the chart on the monitor. "Sorgan."
⠀⠀⠀ "Crowded, or...?"
⠀⠀⠀ "Let's see. Looks like there's no star port, no industrial center, no population density. A real backwater skug hole. Which means it's perfect."
⠀⠀⠀ He glances back at Cyi. She stares out the cockpit, and her brow is furrowed. "For you, maybe," she says quietly. "But no star port means not much to stow away on."
⠀⠀⠀ A pause, then she mutters, "That's gonna be a problem."
⠀⠀⠀ Mando tilts his head, studying the stars as if they'll whisper the words he's searching for if he only watches long enough.
⠀⠀⠀ "What?" Cyi snaps.
⠀⠀⠀ He swivels his chair around, those right words still just out of reach. "Where is it you're wanting to go?" he asks. Keep stalling.
⠀⠀⠀ Now it's her turn to stare at him, as if she's trying to read him. He's thankful for his helmet, but even so, her eyes are piercing. Almost unnaturally so. "Home," she says finally.
⠀⠀⠀ Another piece to the puzzle of this girl. Mando has the feeling that if he presses her for information, she'll withdraw. But she's mentioned a mother who's familiar with guns, now a home.
⠀⠀⠀ "Where is that?" he asks.
⠀⠀⠀ "Det Mibeja. It's a town on Duhiri's high deserts." A tiny smile brushes her lips. "If you face east, you can see the mountains."
⠀⠀⠀ Go on, he wants to say. But she doesn't. Her eyes fall on the dents and scratches on the edge of the chair and she traces them lightly with her fingertips.
⠀⠀⠀ "What about you Mando?" she asks. "Where do you call home?"
⠀⠀⠀ I don't know, Mando realizes. But he tells her that the Crest is his home, and she scoffs under her breath.
⠀⠀⠀ He turns to the kid. "You ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple of months, you little womp rat?" he asks. "Nobody's gonna find us here."
⠀⠀⠀ Mando looks back at Cyi. "I mean that," he adds. "You can hide out here. This place probably isn't empty; you don't have to stay near me if you don't want to."
⠀⠀⠀ She glances up at him, surprised. "I'll take you to Duhiri in a few months," Mando continues, "if that's what you want."
⠀⠀⠀ Not exactly what a respectable bounty hunter would offer, but maybe what a respectable person would.
