we were infinite - the mandalorian

t w o

THE RAZOR CREST SETTLED NEATLY in the midst of the Ryloth jungle terrain. The moisture in the air and the empowerment of surrounding volcanoes offered a breath of fresh air to Mia who had grown accustomed to barren, hot wastelands.

As the pair descended this ship, Mia found her fingers finding the comfort of the knives at her hip at the sound of a distant, foreign-sounding roar. Dangerous predators lurked this planet's luscious forests, and she hadn't come all this way to be breakfast.

"You can stay on the ship." He said.

Like hell she was. She dared not to demote herself to his sidekick.

Where he went, she went.

"No." said Mia, cautiously stepping down from the ship. She didn't like unfamiliar surroundings.

"Scared?" The Mandalorian asked as he confidently walked ahead.

Mia rushed to walk beside him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of leading her. She may not have known where they were headed, but she wanted him to be aware that this was a partnership. They were doing this together whether he liked it or not.

He one the other hand had just grown so used to the idea of working alone that he kept to his own pace. That, and he slightly enjoyed watching her irritation grow.

She scoffed, "You wish, bucket-head."

Following a series of winding paths along the jungle terrain, Mia patted away the beads of sweat on her forehead, loose strands of her hair curling softly within the humidity.

Had she been alone, she would have moved silently through the leaves to her destination without a trace. But with bigfoot over here, they may as well have been fish in a barrel. Which is why she held a small blaster in her right hand as precaution.

The Mandalorian stopped as they approached a series of interconnected huts, forming some sort of village in a clearing.

"I'll get the trackers." He said entering a small dark hut, leaving her standing in the plain.

"Okay," she muttered to herself, taking in her surroundings.

Twi'lek natives were tending to a large patch of farm, harvesting their crops which they had an abundance of.

Growing up on a farm on Lothal, Mia was soon reminded of her parents and how she helped them pick Jogan fruits from their plot every week.

She soon pushed the thought to the side. Now was not the time for sentiment.

The natives had almost a dozen crates of this pink fruit. She knew a lot about farming, but this she had never come across.

She couldn't be picky. They would need a plentiful supply of food on the ship, and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity in trying to get some.

Mia approached the two farmers, their elongated, scaly heads turning to her.

"How much?" She gestured to a crate full of the pink fruit.

They shot her a confused look.

She pointed to the crate and held out 3 Imperial Credits in her palm.

They immediately shook their heads and made gestures in their language which she recognised to be rejection.

She held out one more credit, "This is enough."

They began to shoo her away, as if insulted.

"Four credits for these?" She exclaimed, eyebrows knitted together. "That's more than enough."

One of the Twi'lek shoved her back harshly, but she remained steady on her feet.

"So that's how you want to play." She swept out her small knives.

They shrieked but approached her with more force, each one she easily dodged, ready to slit their throats if they got close enough once more.

Sadly, it didn't come to that.

"Hey!" The Mandalorian held up a blaster to the farmers to which they immediately backed away.

"These sleemos are asking for it." Her hand clenched right around the hilt of her dagger.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get us some food." Her furious gaze shifted to his placid helmet.

The bounty hunter sighed, pulling out 10 Imperial Credits from his pocket onto the leafy ground as he heaved the crate.

"You're going to waste our currencies like that, you have to bargain with these things." Mia grudgingly shoved the daggers onto her hip.

"You're going to get us killed."

The pair walked back in the direction of the ship. Mia trying not to feel her blood boil at the thought of her encounter. If he hadn't shown up, the farmers would have been drowning in their own blood by now.

The dark thought scared her, so she claimed herself down before it progressed.

"You got the trackers?"

"Of course." He set the crate down once the village was out of sight.

"Good, because I might have our first lead."

He tilted his head in her direction.

"I've been thinking," she paced on a spot of damp leaves, "Bespin only just eradicated it's Imperial control. The place must still be filled with dark-side loyalists."

She waited for a reaction, but the Mandalorian stood arms folded, facing her annoyingly still.

She continued, "We could get information out of them about hidden Imperial bases on other planets."

"I guess we've got nothing else to go on." He said, and then nodded in approval.

She inwardly cheered. Finally, she felt like she had contributed something useful.

"Perfect." She said passively, grabbing one of the pink fruits and biting into its soft surface.

Her watched her close her eyes in joy, immersed in the sweet nectar of the fruit. "This is good." She moaned, "Have one."

She said both out of politeness and curiosity. How did he eat? Did he eat? Of course he ate.

"Later." He said lifting the crate once more.

"Is it true you never take off your helmet?" She blurted out.

He turned and walked in the direction of the parked ship, by-passing her question completely.

"Oops." She took another bite as she followed, happy to find out that she might have struck a nerve. "Touchy subject?"

Licking her tips of her fingers clean, she lightly stepped in line with him.

"Great conversation." She hummed sarcastically, his forward gaze unmoved.

He ignored her teasing smile as she continued to speak, "Quite the talker, Mando."