Adrift [A Mandalorian Fanfiction]

The Sin

With her clothes as tattered as they were, Doc fit right into the aesthetic of Nevarro.

Her feet crunched into the ash with every step. Everywhere she looked, there were bounty hunters who were more dangerous than the last. Nala stayed close to her heels, not wanting to get lost in the commotion.

Doc knew if she had stayed with the Mandalorian there would have been no hope of getting the child to safety. Everything was so cold and calculated about his demeanor that it sent chills running down her spine. How could someone be so heartless?

She turned down an alleyway, not wanting to arise suspicion, before scaling up the wall of a building. Nala followed close behind, her body shifting energy states from solid to electricity as she made the leap up to the roof of the ashy building.

They leaped across the rooftops for a while until Doc could see them: the Mandalorian with the child trailing behind him. The child, seemingly able to sense her presence, gazed his large, glassy eyes up to her direction. She stuck with them, covertly sneaking along edges to see where the drop-off point was located.

Every turn seemed random. It wasn't until he came up to a door and a gatekeeper droid appeared that Doc was certain it was the place.

She pulled out a pair of thermal-vision goggles from her side pouch and watched. There were certainly enough people inside to make this an Imperial drop-off location. Doc kept her focus on the child, especially when they started whisking him away from his hunter. She watched as the Mandalorian came back outside. When his visor started to shift in her direction, she hid behind the roof wall. After a few moments, she was sure the coast was clear and continued spying.

The Mandalorian disappeared into the maze of alleyways. Doc knew that to infiltrate the building right now would be a suicide mission. She would need to wait until it was darker – when there were fewer people on the streets and the cover of darkness would be her ally.

If she was going to do this, she needed to do it right.

"Are you in?" she asked her faithful companion. Nala wagged her tail in response and bore her teeth in the direction of the compound. "Alright, we'll wait a bit and then go in."

She waited in silence and stillness. When dusk was about to set, her time had begun. She popped a pill for courage and jumped down the side of the building and hugged the wall to the corner. When the coast was clear, she ushered Nala to follow her into the alley that ran beside the building.

On the side of the building was an air duct secured by a few screws. She pulled out a screwdriver from her side pocket and pulled the cover off. Nala went in first, the pale electricity from her body illuminating the air duct. Doc followed close behind, being sure to close the vent door behind her.

The air ducts of Nevarro were made of heavy ashen stone, no doubt a better air insulator than most other materials. They crept along the passage. At this moment, Doc was grateful for all of the stealth training she had ever had.

Nala used her exceptional nose to search for the room where they were keeping the child. Knowing how the Empire operated, they were probably already running experiments. They must have a lab somewhere.

Suddenly, the air duct shook violently. Nala and Doc exchanges nervous glances. An explosion? Here?

They crawled faster. Whatever had set that off was of no doubt a bigger ordeal for the troopers to deal with. Though the occasional crack, she could see their white armored bodies marching off to see what attacked the compound.

When Nala stopped suddenly, that was the indicator they reached their destination. Doc unscrewed a bolted metal panel off of the duct and jumped down silently, Nala following close behind.