See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y

THIRD PERSON POV

"You deserve this!" Xi'an laughed as the Twi'lek and the rest of the crew, including the rescued Quin, Xi'an's brother, bolted for the Razor Crest, leaving Mando locked in Quin's cell. "I'll make sure to give your precious Reina a lovely sob story on how you died!"

Mando knew he had to hurry. Not only were they going to strand him on this New Republic prison ship, they knew about the baby and conversing with Reina was unacceptable. Once Mando was able to escape by ripping a guard droid's control arm off, he set out to give his 'crew' what they deserved.

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REINA'S POV

I sat on top of a crate in the main hangar, waiting for my partner's return. It seemed like days have passed. I know I should be resting, especially since my eyes were still burning. I just want the pain to end, but if that meant I had to go back into darkness and relying on my sixth sense...I'd rather be tortured until the day I die.

The old, burly man who rescued us, Ran, casually joined my side and stared off at the mouth of the hangar. "They should be back any moment now. You should have more faith in them."

"It's not that I think they're in trouble," I corrected, leaning forward to prop my chin up on both my palms. "I just want them to hurry so that Mando and I can leave."

"I'm hurt!" Ran exclaimed with a smirk.

"That's not what I meant." I shook my head. "I mean, I want it to go back to the way things were—when it was us and the...the Guild behind us." I caught myself just before I could mention the baby. I sighed, and looked over at Ran, who also shook his head with a chuckle. "Forgive me, my dear, but the idea of that Mandalorian settling down with a partner outside of the Guild or any organization is...baffling."

"How so?" I questioned his wording.

"Well, back when I was still running on jobs, at one point Mando and I were, I guess you say, partners, but it's in quotations since we were forced together by our high-paying client. I was amazed by the Mandalorian warrior's ability to fight and...take care of things quickly. Mando really loved the spotlight, especially when it came to 'target practice'. He even left people behind on purpose, whether they were slowing him down or in his way." Ran paused to laugh. "Ah, my dear. You see, it's baffling because Mando doesn't have partners. Sure, I was there, but to Mando, I was just back-up. He does what he wants, which is ultimately the entire job by himself. He'd take command and take matters into his own hands to guarantee the job's completion. Oh boy, you should've been there for Alzoc III."

Unfortunately, what Ran was telling me wasn't too far from the truth. In fact, it was almost spot-on on how Mando and I ended up together. And while we were on Alvara-7, how Mando took control when I could've easily helped. This whole time I thought he did it because of my disability...but now it's possible he would've held me back whether I was blind or not...Like on Sevara, when Mando left me behind to go scout. Or on Tatooine, leaving me with the easy job. Suddenly, the idea of Mando protecting me slightly blurred.

Of course, now...I think about how much Mando and I do trust each other. If there was no trust, Mando would have definitely left me behind in his task of rescuing the child after we abandoned it to the Client. He would have not bother to include me ever again in his life. We were forced together as partners, and once the job was seemingly done, we went our separate ways for good.

And I have to considered our latest adventure of almost suffocating to death...and even before that, the kiss I had given him. That ultimately solidified our trust in one another.

Mando and I...were partners.

"Mando has changed." I told Ran. "He and I are partners. Real partners. And we trust each other to protect one another."

"Well, that's really sweet of you." Ran smiled and nodded. "And look, just in time to make an entrance." He spread out his arm in front of him as the Razor Crest touched down inside the hangar. Both Ran and I walked over just as the large ramp lowered, revealing Mando and a male Twi'lek wearing a tight yellow shirt and a permenant snarl on his face. The Twi'lek stomped down the ramp and greeted Ran with a laugh as they embraced. Mando approached me with a nod of his helmet.

"Welcome back." I smiled softly. We only stood a few inches apart.

"Where are the others?" Ran questioned, and I realized he was right: The four other members (including the droid) were missing. I glanced up at Mando as he put his attention on his client.

"They got what they deserved." Mando replied simply. "No questions asked: That's the policy, right?"

He even left people behind on purpose, whether they were slowing him down or in his way.

"Yep, that's the policy." Ran nodded, a surprisinly calm grin on his face, and he handed Mando a pouch full of his share of the reward.

"Reina, let's go." Mando commanded.

"Wait, what?" I stammered, but I didn't have much choice as Mando was already halfway up the ramp. I gathered my armor in my arms and followed him, giving a quick thank-you to Ran for looking after me, and he returned the gesture.

Mando was taking off by the time I reached the cockpit and I questioned him why we were leaving in such a rush. "You'll see." He said, and the Crest exited the hangar. The baby was sitting behind him, cooing away in his open capsule. As if on cue, three New Republic X-Wings zipped out of hyperspace, passing by us without a thought and continued with blowing up Ran's base to bits!

"Mando!" I was shocked at this outcome. "What the hell?!"

"Relax." Mando sighed, as he unscrewed the small silver ball from the acceleration lever and leaned back to hand it to the baby's waiting outstretched hand. "We knew it was a bad idea."

"The job?"

"Yes."

I was going to take his word for it, because no matter what Ran had told me about how Mando was in the past, I knew my Mandalorian was different. He would not have done that if there was a legitimate reason.

I trust him.

Mando then jumped the Crest into hyperspace. Turning in his seat, he faced me with what I sensed was concern. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"I am fine." I lied.

"Reina." Mando's head slightly tilted to the left. "You can tell me if you are in pain."

"And if I do?" My voice suddenly grew aggressive. "Will you leave me behind?"

"Reina?"

"I'm sorry." I shook my head and reached my hand out, gripping his right wrist. "I didn't mean it. It's just Ran told me about the times you and him worked on jobs before...and I could tell they were true. You are different now, I know, but I'm afraid you turn back to your old ways every once in awhile..."

"I understand." Mando nodded. "But in the end, you've changed me. So has the kid. I'm not the same person I was before we met. And for that," Mando covered my hand with his left. "Reina, I—"

"M-mando," A familiar voice belonging to a hologram that popped up on the console interrupted. The message static and Mando switched a few controls to clear it up. We both recognized the contact.

It was Greef Karga.