PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

II

I waited until we were a few blocks away from the casino before I shoved him two-handed into a dim alley.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I yelled angrily.

"Hey!" He barked, his modulator cracking, "I just saved your ass."

"No," I chided, "You just caused a huge scene that I, luckily, knew how to fix."

Din threw up his hands, pacing away from me. "Really? I thought you were the one with the blaster to their back."

I exhaled sharply through my nose, trying to calm myself. "Yes, and I just defused a situation between you and an Imperial war lord."

In a matter of a few seconds, he was on top of me, staring me down once again. "He let us get away and you know it." He let out a huge sigh, seeming to reign in his temper. "At least we're safe now."

"Safe?" My anger was glowing white hot now. "Din, they recognized who you were. They were going to turn you in!"

He shook his head, muttering a few choice words while still keeping his anger in check.

I rub my temples, the dark realization of what just happened settling in. I laughed in despair. "And they know I won't hand you over."

"I don't know," He said flatly, fidgeting with his vambrace, "You had me convinced."

I remember his muscles tensing when I said I was going to take him in. "You don't understand." I shook my head. "He knew I was a Mandalorian."

Din snapped his head to me. "How?"

I shook my head again. "I don't know. But I can't stay here anymore." I lifted my to look at him. "It looks like you're getting what you want."

He folded his arms across his chest, leaning back against the stone building next to me. Tossing me a sideways glance, he said, "I'm sorry, Jeyna. This isn't how I planned it working out."

"Well," I shrugged, walking towards the opening of the alley, "Let's get going then."

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I stared at the pre-historic Razor Crest in disbelief as I followed Din into the hangar. "You fly that thing?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," He said matter-of-factly, like I was an idiot for even asking, "And it has a very good habit of saving my life, so don't disrespect it."

I pursed my lips, walking into the cargo bay of the Crest. Deciding to not piss him off any farther, I looked around for whoever he had gone rogue for, but I didn't see anyone.

"Hey, Din?" I asked, getting nervous that whoever was supposed to have been here had either been captured or had run off.

I heard him hum from inside the cockpit, letting me know he was listening. I yelled up the ladder, "Is the asset still here?"

I barely heard him groan as he appeared at the top of the ladder, climbing down two rungs at a time. Walking right past me, he pressed a button on a nearby control panel, and the small compartment door next to him opened.

My eyebrows creased. "The asset... is a child?"

"Yep," He said again, holding out his finger for the little green... thing... to grab ahold of. Initially, I thought it looked kind of hideous, but is large dark eyes and humongous ears made it look innocent and, quite frankly, adorable.

I stepped forward, gently brushing my finger over its small, wrinkly forehead. It cooed softly, reaching its other tiny hand up to grasp my finger. A small smile spread across my face as it continued to make cute little noises.