See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story

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

REINA'S POV

I leaned in a chair against the outside wall of the barn, my arms crossed and a deep scowl on my face. waiting impatiently for Mando's and Cara's return. I was so furious with them, specifically my partner. How could he just leave me? Does he really trust me, or is he playing with me? Even with my sight back, he holds me back!

"Hey,"

"Welcome back." I snapped coldly. "Find anything interesting out there with Cara?"

"What's with the attitude?" Mando instantly caught on. "I'm sorry we left, but you disappeared and we didn't have the time to find you."

"That's no excuse!" I jumped from the chair and wrenched him by his chest plate into the barn where we would not be seen. I then confronted him with my finger pointed between us. "What if something was to happen to you?"

"I don't know where this is coming from, but I think you need to lay low for this job." Mando suggested in a disturbingly calm tone. Before he could add on, I interruped with, "There you go again! Why do you do that? Why do you treat me as if I'm broken? Like I'm still disabled?...Mando, why don't you trust me?"

"I thought I told you I do trust you." Mando reminded me. "Do you think I would have taken a job with you if I didn't? Do you think I would have come to you to save the kid if I didn't? How about the entire time we've been on the run? Do you think I would have kept you around if I didn't trust you?" He paused when he noticed I was taken back, and he sighed deeply. "If this is about what happened earlier with the blindfold, forget about it. It's not worth getting...emotional, over it. We are bounty hunters. We are partners. Let's do our job here and win this battle."

"Battle?" I questioned, confused. "What battle?"

"Cara and I found evidence of an Imperial Walker, an AT-ST, these raiders have possession of. I came here for you to relay what we found before we tell the villagers."

"Oh, I see." I fell quiet, realizing there are bigger problems than my own, much bigger things at stake than my feelings. Mando turned to head out the door, but before he could exit, I snagged his cape with my fingers. We both paused before I breathed, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." was his quick response. "Let's go."

I obediently followed him out and to where Cara had gathered the villagers for the briefing.

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I stood behind my partner as he began the meeting. "Bad news. You can't live here anymore." A choir of why's and what's rang out over the crowd, Omera stood with her daughter Winta in the front, her face washed over with concern.

"Nice bedside manner." Cara muttered through her teeth.

"You think you can do better?"

"Can't do much worse." Cara sighed and took over. "I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but we have no other options."

"You took the job!" One of the men who hired us shouted. I crossed my arms at this predicament, for what Cara was saying was right. Even with the three of us, there was no way we could take down such a force without our own giant bucket.

"We have no where else to go." Omera chimed in, Winta clinging to her arms.

"Sure, you do." Cara corrected. "This is a big planet. I've seen smaller—" The villagers were not having it, and argued how their birthright was here and that they could never rebuild the generations of work from scratch. They then began protesting they could fight.