xii

(Nova's POV)

We enter the quiet establishment, my cautious eyes darting around as Mando speaks to the droid. I don't hear what he's saying as my eyes catch those of a man in the corner. Even though I'm completely covered, his eyes rake up and down over my figure slowly. I shiver, glaring at the man and looking away, hoping to never come across that man again. Of course, as always, luck is not on my side.

"I am afraid that does not improve your situation, at least by my calculation." the droid says to Mando, who leans on the counter.

"Think again, Tin Can." a masculine voice interrupts from the corner, and I can only hope it's not the same man as I turn around. Unfortunately, it is. The man smirks at me before turning his attention to Mando, his feet on the table as he gestures to the empty seats near him. "If you're looking for work, have a seat, my friends."

His eyes meet my own. "Name's Toro, Toro Calican." Neither of us budge. "Come on, relax."

Mando gives in, going to the table as Toro takes his feet down. I follow behind Mando, still suspicious. The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl. Mando sits, but I stay standing. "Oh, c'mon, sweetheart." I glare coldly. Mando understands and makes no move to force me to sit.

Toro sighs, placing a puck on the table. "Picked up this bounty puck before I left the Mid Rim. Fennec Shand, an assassin." Oh. I know Fennec. An old friend of mine was sent after her, and never came back. This isn't a job we can afford to do. "Heard she's been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown." Toro continues. Sounds familiar.

"I know the name." Mando comments. I say nothing, keeping my jaw clenched tightly. There's no way in hell we agree to this job. No way.

"Well, I followed this tracking fob here. Now, the positional data suggests she's headed beyond the Dune Sea." he shrugs. "Should be an easy job." Easy?!

Clearly, he knows nothing.

I hold back a sarcastic, Why don't you do it, then? and keep my arms crossed as Mando moves to stand. Better to let him do all the talking. "Well, good luck with that." I almost let out a breath. Good, he's not taking it.

"Wait, wait, wait, hey. I thought you needed work?" Toro asks, turning to us as we start to leave.

"We do, just not that job." I point out, barely restraining my anger at his stupidity. Mando lays a hand on my arm.

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers, right?" he's clearly desperate for help.

"No, we can." 

Mando holds up a hand before turning his attention to Toro. "How long you been with the Guild?"

"Long enough." the man says coldly. I roll my eyes.

"Clearly not. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. Almost as much of a reputation as her." he points a thumb at me, and I fight the heat rising to my cheeks. Since when have I become so easily flustered? Instead, I tilt my chin up just a touch, hoping the slight blush goes unnoticed. "She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates, including the Hutts. If you go after her, you won't make it past sunrise."

We leave the table, but the stubborn man quickly catches us before we can fully exit the bar. "This is my first job." he hisses. Damn, he's not at all lucky. Someone gave the rookie a Fennec Shand puck? Must suck.

"You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the Guild." Toro pleads. "I can't do it alone."

"Clearly," I mumble. Mando's head snaps to me, and he's probably shooting me a look under the helmet. I shut up.

Mando considers for a moment. "Meet me at hangar three-five in half an hour. Bring two speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob." 

The idiot takes a look at the tracking fob before smashing it into the wall and successfully breaking it. "What the hell is wrong with you? We needed that!" I exclaim. Mando tilts his head, emitting an Are you goddamn serious? attitude.

"Don't worry," Toro smirks, pointing to his head. "Got it all memorized."

I sigh heavily. "Oh, Maker help us."

"Half an hour." is all Mando says before leading me out of the bar.

"Looks like you're stuck with me now, partners!" Toro calls out after us. I ignore him as best I can, trying not to do anything rash. When we're far enough away from the bar, I stop in my tracks and turn to Mando.

"So you didn't think you could've, I don't know, consulted me before we picked up that idiot as a tag-along?" I ask, trying not to raise my voice too much.

"I'm sorry. I'm used to working alone."

"Yeah, well, you're gonna have to get used to having a partner now. And please, Mando, you have to communicate with me. I don't like doing jobs with people I don't trust." I'm calmer now, although still angry.

Mando's silent for a moment, his head slightly tilted. "No, it's not just that. What's wrong?" 

I sigh. "He's a jerk, clearly. He was checking me out when we walked in, made me super uncomfortable."

"He was?" I nod, disgusted. Mando clenches his fist, unclenching it several times, but does nothing more.

"What if he does that the whole mission?" He's silent. "Which I'm going on."

"I don't know how long it'll be. And if Fennec gets the best of us, someone has to be able to care for the child." Mando argues.

"Oh, you're sidelining me?!" I shake my head. "No, I'm coming with you. What if something happens and you need backup? There's no way I'm letting you face Fennec Shand by yourself, especially with that dumbass at your side. I've already made that mistake once, I won't do it again." Thankfully, he doesn't pry.

"I only told him to grab two speeders." 

"We can both fit on one. I'm going, and that's final. You argue, and you get left." I turn, walking towards the hangar without waiting for him.

"Nova... Nova, wait." he jogs after me. "Look, I'm sorry, but we need the money for this. You can come. I'm sorry."

"Damn right I can." I pause, trying to let my anger fizzle out. "I'm sorry I blew up. Let's go; I'm worried about the child." 

>>>>><<<<<

It takes us a good twenty minutes or so to get back to the hangar. I'm restless with anticipation, both for this mission and to see the child before we go. Upon reaching the shabby little hangar, I rush inside the ship, only to stop dead in my tracks as I see the open compartment. 

"Mando?" I ask, not bothering to hide the panic in my voice. "Please tell me this isn't where you put him?"

He rushes over, seeing the empty hiding spot. "Shit." We run outside, and as soon as he sees the woman through the little window, he shouts aggressively, "Hey!"

She gasps, startled. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" she yells. I hear a cry, and look to see the child in her arms. Part of me is relieved, but the other is wondering why the hell she has her hands on my son.

Mando, who hadn't seen nor heard the child yet, approaches a droid. "Where is he?!" he demands, but the droid only retreats into its shell of a head as a response.

"Quiet!" the mechanic yells as she makes her way over to us, shushing the crying child. "Oh, it's okay." she mutters comfortingly, before whirling on us. "You woke it up. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?"

Mando and I speak at the same time. "Give him back."

"Not so fast!" she denies, keeping him away from us. I narrow my eyes. Just what the hell does she think she's doing? "You can't just leave a child all alone like that. You know, you two have an awful lot to learn about raisin' a young one."

I want to tell her that she doesn't know what she's talking about, but I can't. She's right. We left him alone, and while it would've been risky to take him, anything could've happened to him on the ship.

The child coos up at the woman, and my fingers are itching to take him back. But this woman is harmless, and she watched over the child for us. I shouldn't be rude.

"Anyway, I started the repair on the fuel leak." she begins messing with a machine, muttering, "There you go," to it before turning her attention back to us. "I had a couple setbacks I want to talk to you about. You know, I didn't use any droids, as requested, so it took me a lot longer than I expected. But I figured you were good for the money, since you have an extra mouth to feed." I tilt my head as she works. The woman seems frustrated; she's definitely one of the sassiest people I've come across in this galaxy, which is saying a lot. I like her for that.

"Thank you." I nod to the woman once I realize Mando isn't going to say anything.

"Oh. I guess I was right. You got a job, didn't you?" she assumes following after us as we leave the hangar. "You know, it's costing me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up."

I shake my head, ignoring her as Toro comes into my line of sight. He smirks to me before greeting Mando with a nod. "Hey, sweetheart, Mando. What do you think? Not too shabby, huh?" I roll my eyes at the nickname that makes my skin crawl and brings up unwanted memories. We'd better get this over with, and fast.

Mando sets his bag on the back of one of the speeders, proceeding to examine it. He messes with some of the loose parts, shooting Toro a look. He only shrugs. "What'd you expect? This ain't Corellia." Then, he notices the mechanic and nods to her. "Ma'am." I don't miss the strange look that he gives the child, still in the woman's arms.

With Toro's back turned as he climbs onto his speeder, I wander over to the mechanic. "Sorry about earlier. You were right, we're still learning. Do you think I could...?" I hold my arms out to the child, who squirms excitedly to get to me.

"Well, he is yours." she hands the child over and I hug him briefly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

"You be good for her, alright? We'll be back soon." I rub the pad of my thumb over his forehead, drawing a giggle out of him. I smile, holding onto him a moment longer before hesitantly returning him to the woman. "We won't be long. Thank you..." I pause, waiting for her name.

"Peli." she supplies. I nod, thanking her once more before turning around and climbing onto the speeder behind Mando.

"You good?" he asks as I mount the machine.

"Yeah. He'll be safe with her. Let's go." Mando nods, starting the speeder. We tear away from the hangar, following closely after Toro. Thankfully, I thought to put my hair in its normal style before we even got to Tatooine, so only the baby hairs can annoy me now. Well, that and the sand. I bury my face into Mando's back, shielding myself from the harsh wind and sand attacking my face. He tenses as I wrap my arms around his torso to steady myself, so I beat a steady rhythm on his Beskar with my fingertips to calm him. 

We race across the dunes, staying right next to Toro most of the time. It takes an hour or so before we come to a slow, and I look up from behind Mando's shoulder to see why we've stopped. There's no way we've already reached Fennec; if she were smart, she'd be further in, and probably have some semblance of high ground, too.

"What's going on?" Toro asks, just as confused as I am. I'm almost disappointed to be on the same level as he is, for now.

"Look. Up ahead." I follow Mando's line of sight to see two spots in the distance. I squint, but it does nothing. I suppose I'll have to borrow the idiot's binoculars.

"Tusken Raiders. I heard the locals talking about this filth." he spits. I scoff, snatching the device from him to look for myself. They were still level with his eyes, so hopefully I hit a part of his stupid and unattractive face.

"Tuskens think they're the locals." Mando explains, only for Toro to scoff. "Everyone else is just trespassing."

"Well, whatever they call themselves, they best keep their distance." Toro brags.

"Yeah? Why don't you tell them yourself?" Mando snips, annoyed just as much as I am by the rookie's arrogance.

Toro turns from squinting at the raiders in the distance, and I lower his binoculars just in time to see two Tuskens right behind Toro, yelling fiercely at him. I snort when he jumps, obviously scared. Mando comes over to us.

"Relax." he holds his hand out to Toro, before turning to the Tuskens and beginning to communicate with them in some sort of gesture language.

"What are you doing?" Toro asks.

"Negotiating." I cut in so that Mando won't have to break his focus.

"What's going on?" Toro asks again as the Tuskens make gestures back.

"We need passage across their land. Let me see the binocs." He holds his hand out expectantly. I hand them over quickly.

Toro immediately protests. "Wait, why?" Mando offers no answer, instead tossing them across to the Tuskens. "Hey! What? Those were brand new!" he complains like a spoiled child.

"Yeah? They were." He shoots back, climbing onto the speeder once more. I settle in behind him. Toro sighs, and we take off before he's on his own vehicle.

>>>>><<<<<

We travel for a couple hours more, and I make simple small talk with Mando along the boring way. It's all going good, and I might even say it were fun if not for Toro beside us the whole time, until we slow to an abrupt stop in the middle of the desert.

"Get down." Mando orders, climbing nimbly off of his speeder with me not far behind.

"What?" Toro sits like a dumbass on his speeder, until he looks over and sees us down in the sand. "Oh."

We rush to the peak of a dune, looking over to see a Dewback with the rider still attached, dragging painfully behind the animal.

"Is that her? Is that the target?" Toro questions. I shake my head, almost imperceptibly. Fennec Shand isn't so careless to be out in the open, unconscious or dead on a Dewback. No, she was most likely the reason for the 'dead or unconscious' part.

We might know for sure, if someone hadn't destroyed our only means of tracking her.

Mando, having less experience with the certain assassin we're hunting, is a bit more unsure. "I don't know." he turns to me. "I'll go. You cover me." I nod, taking out the spare blaster I'd taken from the ship. "Stay down," he orders Toro before stepping over the peak of the dune and making his way down.

I watch as he approaches the Dewback slowly, muttering calming words that I can't quite hear. A smile makes its way onto my face; he's come far from the hunter who held me captive on Arvala-7. Back then, he struggled with animals like his blurgg.

He bends down to examine the hunter's body, and that's when Toro speaks up. "So, sweetheart. You got a name?"

"Not sweetheart. And now's not the time, rookie. I'd pay attention. Watch the professionals at work," I mutter coldly, keeping my eyes on Mando.

"No need to be harsh. I'm just trying to get to know the pretty lady I'm working with." he continues, completely ignoring my words.

"Shut up," I growl, and thankfully, this one listens the second time.

"Well, is it her? Is she dead?" Toro calls out as Mando flips the body over.

"It's another bounty hunter," he calls over his shoulder. Well, I could've told you that.

"Hey, I hope you don't plan on keeping all that stuff for yourself. Can I at least have that blaster?" the rookie requests. Suddenly, Mando's body goes rigid. His head shoots up, surveying the area.

"Get down." I murmur distractedly, my focus on watching Mando's six.

"Why?"

"Just do what I say, unless you want your head shot off!" I order more directly. It's partially a threat, partially a warning. If my hunch is right and she's watching, Fennec probably has a clear shot at both of our heads.

Toro doesn't listen until Mando is on his feet and yelling the same thing.

"Mando!" we both shout as a shot ricochets off of his Beskar. Not for the first time, I thank the Maker he has armor as I duck my head to avoid getting hit.

Just as he reaches the crest of the dune, another shot hits and he lurches over the side and to cover with a grunt, panting.

"What happened?" Toro asks. 

"Sniper bolt," I inform, and Mando nods.

"Only an MK-modified rifle could make that shot," he elaborates.

Toro glances at Mando, fear visible in his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asks as if he's not wearing armor.

"Yeah. Hit me in the Beskar, and at that range Beskar held up." he gestures to his armor.

"Wait, 'at that range'?" I ask, turning to him. He nods, and I sigh. This may be more difficult than I already knew it was going to be.

Toro looks down at his own outfit. "Wait, I don't wear any Beskar."

I turn to the man with a smirk. "Nope." 

"You see where that shot came from?" Mando inquires.

"Yeah, it came from that ridge." Toro points across the flat span of rocky ground. Looks like I'm right, she does have a high ground advantage. To be honest, I'm surprised Toro was even paying attention to what was going on instead of flirting with me.

"Okay, we're gonna wait until dark." Mando decides.

"Well, what if she escapes?"

At this, I shake my head. "She's got the high ground. She'll wait for us to make the first move."

"I'm gonna rest. You take the first watch, and stay low. Nova, with me." He gestures with his head for me to follow him. I nod and walk away from the newbie as he settles himself in the sand. 

He sits, his back against the speeder, and gestures for me to sit beside him. I comply, lowering myself to the dusty ground and settling myself into his side. His arm loops comfortably around my shoulders, and for a moment I forget all of my frustrations with Toro and this mission and leaving the child, content to just sit here with Mando.

After a few minutes of silence, I speak up. "Sometimes I think you're too nice for your own good."

"Nice? I am not nice," He denies, trying to sound tough.

"Please, you're such a softie. Helping the newbie with his super hard mission just because he said please." I grin teasingly.

He's quiet for a few moments, trying to make up an excuse. "We needed the money."

"You and I both know we should've found a different job. It's Fennec Shand, for crying out loud." I hum. "I think you're just nice and you want to help. And that's not bad, y'know, except for when it's Toro that we're helping."

"I really wanted to hit him when we saw him, after you told me what he did," he admits quietly.

"Would've been fun to watch. Though, I do like this new attitude. I think I may be rubbing off on you a little too much." I chuckle.

"Can I ask you something?" he blurts. I tilt my head, but nod anyway. "Did something happen between you and Shand?"

I hesitate. "Well, not me. An old friend of mine was sent after her. I told him not to go, but he wouldn't listen to me. Said Fennec's reward would be worth the risk. He gave me updates along the way, until I stopped getting them. His brother went after him a few days later. The only thing Iggy brought back was his body." I wince, realizing I let a name slip. Oh, well. I trust Mando.

"I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, don't apologize." I murmur quietly. We sit quietly for a few minutes more, the air still around us. It's almost peaceful, with his arm around his shoulder and not a care in the world- for right now. After a while, I think he's fallen asleep, but I'm not entirely sure.

I sigh, shifting slightly so I can look up at his helmet. "I wish I could see your face." I whisper.

"You do?" he asks, letting me know he's awake. He sounds almost surprised that I would say such a thing.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" 

"I always thought... well, you'd be disappointed if you saw what I looked like." His words are low, more to himself than to me.

I shift again, sitting up fully so I can turn around and look at him. "And why do you say that?"

"I don't know. You probably have all these high expectations and-"

"Alright. That's enough." I knit my brows, concerned. "You don't really think that?" He offers no reply, looking down instead of at me. I have my answer. "Look, I'm sure you're beyond handsome, whatever you look like. There are no expectations, no disappointments. I mean, c'mon, you stuck around and you know what I look like."

He leans forward and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Beautiful." But he leans back quickly, dropping his hand and looking away as if the simple gesture is something I would disapprove of. 

I offer a small smile, holding my hand out. He takes it gingerly. "Look, I know neither of us have any experience with this. It's going to take some getting used to, and we're probably not going to get all of it right. And you don't have to take your helmet off, I understand completely why you wouldn't. But even if you did, I would not be disappointed. I'd be happy that you trust me."

"I do trust you." he says immediately.

"Good. And I trust you." Unexpectedly, he pulls me forward by my hand and into a tight hug. I lean my head onto his shoulder, my arms around his neck as his rest on my waist.

"Get some sleep." he advises as he lets me go. I settle into his side, closing my eyes and slowly drifting off.

{word count: 2,592}