The Gallows

chapter ix

the mandalorian

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"It's kriffing freezing!"

Mando snorted, not bothering to look at me as he slid his blaster into the holster on his thigh. "Good thing you'll be staying with the ship then." I stuck my tongue out at the back of his helmet but eventually resigned to leaning against the cool, metal wall. "I'll make it quick."

"You always do." He turned to me, no doubt rolling his eyes at my pathetic salute, before leaving down the ramp and heading onto the ice. I watched him as he left before closing the ramp and locking myself in the heat of the ship. The Crest was quiet, and the creaking of the wind hitting the ship was the only thing cutting through. I sighed, turning to go back into the cockpit. At least there I could keep an eye out for his return through the windows. Being left with the ship wasn't new to me, as my fighting skills were still admittedly subpar and my aim with a blaster not much better. I usually tended to the ship as Mando collected the bounty, fixing anything that needed to be fixed or simply just charting different courses. I was right, though, he never took long.

It was barely a half an hour before I saw the speeder, albeit a very crappy one, pulling up to the Crest, three men inside. Mando's helmet glittered in the sunlight, and as his head cocked upwards to the windows I gave him a small wave before prepping the ship for take off. He stepped out of the speeder, bounty in tow, and not a minute later I heard the hatch opening. I moved to turn to the ladder outside of the cockpit, waiting for Mando to come join, when out of the corner of my eye I saw ice splitting and the speeder that had dropped them off get eaten by something from under the ice.

Wonderful. Extremely low temperatures and an ice monster. Makes my day so much better every time.

The next thing I know, Mando is shoving the bounty into the seat behind me before setting his hand on my shoulder, silently telling me to take off.

"Dank ferrik, that was close! Oh my god - oh my god!" I let out a snort as the bounty continued to shout before the ice monster grabbed onto the leg of the Crest, bringing us back down to the surface. "'Stay off the ice', that's the understatement of the millennium."

I imagined Mando rolling his eyes at the bounty's incessant chatter, but I quickly returned my focus to piloting the ship. "A little help, Mando?" He left the cockpit as quickly as he entered it, the bounty shouting after him. Eventually, I felt the monster let go of the ship and I took off, praying that I hadn't just ditched Mando on the ice planet. He returned and found his seat next to the bounty, putting the coordinates for Nevarro into the nav system.

"I like your ship, she's a classic."

"Thanks," I said, shooting a grin towards the helmeted hunter behind me. I pictured him rolling his eyes again, and for some reason, I pictured brown eyes. I shrugged it off, turning back to the controls and letting the bounty continue to ramble.

"Razor Crest, am I right? Pre-Empire. I have a lot of credits, by the way. That's why I offered to hail a cruiser." I stayed silent, just as Mando did, wondering how long it would take for Mando to shove him in the carbon freezer. "How much are they paying you two?" Then he turned to Mando. "Is it true you guys never take off your helmets?" The silence was deafening, and I could feel the tension in the air as the bounty started to feel it too. "Oh... boy. I think I have to use the vacc tube. I mean I can do it here, but if you've never seen a Fledgling Mythrol evacuate their thorax, you're both lucky, trust me." We still met him with silence, although I could feel the annoyance rolling off Mando in waves, bringing a small smile to my face. "Clearly, there's nowhere for me to go. So, uh... I'm gonna look for that vacc tube if it's all the same to you? Great.

He left the cockpit and headed down the ladder. As soon as he was out of sight, I put the ship in autopilot and spun to face Mando. I shot him a crooked grin, brushing the hair out of my eyes. He stared back for a moment before following the still-talking bounty down. Eventually, I heard silence, and then Mando reappeared alone.

"How far out are we?" he asked, gesturing for me to switch places. I stood and scooted past him, taking the copilot's chair as he sat in the seat I had been in.

"A ways. Enough time for you to get some rest." He shook his head, but I wasn't surprised. He had a habit of skipping sleep like I had a habit of biting my nails - kinds of habits that never really went away. "Man the wheel for me then?" His response was merely a nod, but I took it and left, headed into the small sleeping compartment that we split. It felt as though I had been up for days, though perhaps I had. The last bounty had been troublesome, and Mando had taken a blaster hit on a section of his abdomen uncovered by armor as well as a nasty hit to the head. I had patched up his side and piloted the Crest after he threw the unconscious bounty into the freezer, and then he prominently passed out, leaving me to my thoughts and devices. Not that I was complaining, getting the man to sleep was like getting a kid to eat vegetables.

I fell asleep rather quickly as the Crest soared through space, and the last image in my conscious mind was the rolling of two deep brown eyes before I succumbed to sleep.

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Nevarro was a horrid little planet. It had been controlled by the Empire for a long time, and was now subject to the home of the Bounty Hunter's Guild which brought many unkind faces to streets of the city. I had only accompanied Mando to the cantina to meet Greef once, and though I instantly took a liking to the man, I never really wanted to go back, and Mando didn't favor me being there either.

So, as he headed out to get a new job from Karga, I slipped into the city, hood up to cover my bright hair and colorful eyes. The ice monster had done its damage on the ship, and we didn't have the parts needed to fix it. I quickly swerved through the crowded streets, eyes locked on a building I knew to carry parts for droids, weapons, and ships. Grabbing what we'd need quickly, I waited impatiently for the droid to accept my payment. Despite how long it had been, I was still nervous about going to places like these without Mando, though I'd never tell him. And I'd never tell him that I avoided alleys like the plague, and Nevarro was full of alleys.

So I made my trip short. I gathered my purchases and gave the droid a small thanks before leaving and maneuvering through the multitude of bodies to get back to the Crest. It was easier than I expected, and no one even bothered me a second glance. I could feel the tension leaving my shoulders as I finally made it outside the city walls and the Crest was in sight. I could feel a few more presences behind me, but I paid them no mind, completely focused on getting back and inside the ship I called home.

Mando beat me to it. He was waiting outside the hatch, examining the damaged leg. "I got some things to help with that," I called out, alerting him of my presence, though I'm sure he already knew I was approaching. "It shouldn't take much to fix, or long for that matter. Get a new job?"

"Something like that," he grumbled, reaching out for a wrench that I handed to him. "Underworld. Face to face meeting, no puck." I kissed my teeth. "Plus, the last five were only paid in Imperial credits or half in Calamari Flan."

"Which did you take?"

His helmeted gaze shot to me, and I could feel his exasperation. "The Empire's gone, Thea." I shrugged. "I'll head out to meet the client once this is done. Not even a chain code," the last part he mumbled to himself, although I could hear it rather quickly through his modulator.

"Don't worry about it," I assured him, waving him off towards the city. "I can deal with this, at least get started, while you go meet the client. Meet back here, you can double check my work, and then we'll be off." He didn't move at first, and by his hesitance I could tell how uneasy he was about the job. It was strange - no puck, no chain code, and a face to face meeting - but we didn't have many other options right now for credits. He nodded slowly, as if coming to the same conclusion, before handing me back the wrench.

"Don't break my ship."

"She's basically mine now, Mando, but keep dreaming."