xviii

(The Next Day)

"All of that trouble for this?" I hold up the tiny bag of credits that Ran had given us. "This is barely triple of what the villagers on Sorgan gave us."

Din sighs. "I know. But it's the best we can get right now."

I tilt my head, deep in thought. This can't be the best. There are plenty of places that would still offer jobs to Din, if not to me. I should know- I was able to survive off of those places for a couple years until some of them stopped offering. There's no way Ran's group was the top provider.

An idea pushes its way into my head before I can stop it, and I have to admit, it's not that bad. "Wait. No, it's not." I stand abruptly. "I need to make a call."

>>>>><<<<<

"Are you sure this is where we're supposed to be?" Din asks skeptically, maneuvering the controls for a smooth landing on the small planet of Orvia. It's a dwarf planet, really, and it's hardly inhabited despite having near-perfect conditions for living. The forest planet isn't widely known about, which is why it's the perfect hideout for us and for the people I used to know.

"Positive." I start to move to the door, but pause and turn back to Din. "There's a couple of things you need to know. There are going to be a lot of people on this particular base, and not all of them are friendly. We're going to find the group I used to run with a few years back, when I was still at the bottom in terms of Guild status. They're like your old group, except... friendlier."

He nods hesitantly. "Are you sure you want to do this? After yesterday..." he trails off, and I know what he's saying.

"Trust me, we'll be fine." I take a breath, looking to where the child is seated. "And I know neither of us want to, but we have to leave the child for now."

He argues immediately. "Nothing good has ever come out of that." I almost smile at seeing how protective he's grown of him. And he's right; that mischievous little troublemaker is going to be the death of us one day, and leaving him alone for safety has never worked. But it's the best option.

I sigh. "Believe me, I know. But nothing good is going to come out of bringing him, either. Like I said, there are people here who would do horrible things if they saw him. This place is dangerous."

Din agrees reluctantly, and we say our goodbyes to the child before stowing him away in his small compartment. Then, we're on our way.

We make our way to the part of the base that my squad used to occupy. I hope they're still there, otherwise we'd have to ask around and I don't want to talk to these people. Hell, I don't even know if my squad wants to see me.

I know some of these people recognize me. There are many familiar faces around, most of which I've punched before. They growl and snarl upon seeing me, threats in their glares and hands on their weapons. I simply smirk back at them, knowing there's nothing they can do. My reputation around here was feared, to say the least. . And although I haven't used the harsh and merciless façade I used to have around here in years, I pull it back up just in case. These people can sense weakness like a shark can smell blood.

Din's hand rests on his blaster. He's more tense than I think I've ever seen him. I look up at his helmet, trying to tell him with my eyes to calm down. I don't want to make a scene if someone decides to approach us.

Instead of listening, I feel a light pressure on the small of my back and know that his hand has moved to rest there protectively. I shake my head, but don't pull away.

When we finally reach the familiar area that my squad used to occupy, I knock lightly. We used to have code knocks so that we'd know who was at the door. Hopefully I've remembered mine correctly.

I can feel the nerves bunching up in my stomach. I try to keep from fidgeting too much, but it's nearly impossible. What if they hate me? What if they turn me away? They seemed fine when I left, but that could've just been my rushed exit. They could be angry at me.

After a few minutes of waiting, the door is opened by none other than Ma herself. She was always stern and strict, and never liked showing any emotion. She was professional with everyone but her son, who's also in the squad, and never liked physical contact. Which is why I'm surprised as hell when she cracks a smile and holds her hand out. I grasp it firmly and my nerves disappear.

"They're happy you're back. Emil told us you were coming." Ma tells me, a grin still lingering on her face. She gestures for me to come in, and relief floods through my body.

I step forward, only to feel Din's hand drop from my back. He's still in the doorway. I nod, telling him it's okay and that we can trust these people. After yesterday, I don't blame him for being cautious.

He steps forward, the tension still clear in his muscles. "Relax." I whisper to him. "We're safe." Those three words seem to work wonders, because his hand moves away from his blaster as he nods. He follows closely behind me down the small hallway. We reach a living area where everyone sits, and the breath leaves my lungs at the sight of my old family.

Daechi barrels into me before I can fully process my surroundings. I laugh, putting my arms around the slim Zabrak. "Oh, I have missed you." she murmurs, rocking us side to side slightly.

"I've missed you too, Chi." I say with a smile, pulling back to look at the face of my best friend. She became like my sister while I was here.

"You have missed so much!" she exclaims, the accent I love so much evident in her voice. English isn't her first language, and the way she speaks always fascinated me.

She pulls away entirely, holding her hand out to a male Zabrak that I barely recognize. She pulls him over, a huge smile on her face. My mouth falls open. "Kago?" I ask, my tone colored with surprise. "Are you...?" I point between them, and Daechi nods excitedly while Kago just looks at her, a smile on his face.

"We are together! A lot has happened since you left, my dear friend." she tells me, a wide grin on her features.

"I'm sure." I notice a female Chiss in the corner of the room, one I haven't met before. Her red eyes meet mine in a harsh glare, and I know right then and there that she's going to be a problem. I gesture to her, asking Daechi, "Who's the newbie?"

"Medeia. If you ask me, she is a bitch. Even Emil is uneasy about her, but Ma insisted she take your place." The words sting a bit. Ma wanted to replace me? I nod, shoving my hurt away. "I should let other people say their greetings! I will speak to you later, old friend." she turns and walks away, Kago's hand still in hers. I smile at the two. She always had a crush on him when I was here.

Ignacio is next to greet me. He runs up, spinning me around in his arms and taking me by surprise. Not being able to help myself, I laugh. I missed my other best friend.

"Hey, sunshine!" he says as he sets me back on my feet. His face is split into a huge grin, and I can't help but smile back at him. His smiles have always been contagious.

"Hey, Iggy. How've you been?" I ask, taking a step back. He'd been a bit close, but I suppose he was just excited to see me.

"It's not the same around here, that's for sure. What about you? I heard you got yourself into some trouble while you were gone." he teases lightly.

"It's been interesting. And yeah, we ran into a few... hiccups. But we're okay. How'd you know, anyway?" I ask, a brow raised.

"The Guild asked if we knew you, and then stopped giving us jobs. They said it was because we were associated with a traitor, so I figured you did something." he explains.

"You always think I did something." I complain jokingly.

He laughs. "Hey, I'm just trying to look out for my girl. You're okay though, right?"

"I'm fine, Iggy. The gesture is appreciated." I say sarcastically, a smirk on my face. "Now move, I need to say hi to everyone else." He raises his arms and backs off, a fake look of hurt on his face. I roll my eyes but don't have time to tell him off as a familiar blue Twi'lek comes into my line of sight.

With grins on our faces, we do our "sibling" handshake that we'd developed so long ago. We finish with a hug, and I'm honestly surprised I remembered it all. Nearly five years is a long time to be gone.

"How are you, Osak?" I ask the Twi who's like a brother to me.

"I am well. Like Daechi said, you have missed much. I am glad you are back." Osak has a very proper way of speaking, because he learned English not too long ago and that's just how he speaks. I've always loved both his and Daechi's accents.

"Me too. What did I miss with you?" I ask, already knowing by the look on his face that he met someone.

The tall Twi'lek gestures for an unfamiliar face to come over. An beautiful orange Twi approaches with a grin on her face. "This is Aola." he introduces.

I stick my hand out, but she pulls me into a huge hug. I stiffen, and she seems to realize it as she releases me. "Sorry." she apologizes sheepishly. "I've heard so much about you, and it's so nice to finally meet you." she bounces up and down excitedly, full of energy and causing me to chuckle. She acts as if I'm a celebrity.

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm glad you're making my brother happy." she beams at my words. Osak smile and takes her by the hand, walking away after promising to come see me later. He leaves room for my to greet the last person. I look around the room, but he's nowhere in sight. Ma is missing too, so she must've gone to get her son.

Sure enough, a door opens and Ma walks out, followed by Emil, who looks so much older than the last time I saw him. No longer a teenager, the twenty year old stands in the doorway for a moment in shock. Then, quicker than I've ever seen him move, he runs to me and nearly knocks me over with the force of his hug. Even at only twenty, he's taller than me.

I can feel him shaking, so I rub his back comfortingly. He pulls away, and there are tears on his face that hurt my heart. "I-I thought you would never come back." he whispers.

"Oh, come here." I say softly, and we hug for a few moments longer. Emil's always been like a little brother to me. I taught him how to fly and the basics of fighting when I was still here, and comforted him when he had nightmares. He's always been a bit more sensitive than the rest of us; he cried when I left.

"I sensed you here, and..." he cuts himself off. "I need to talk to you later, okay?" his tone is slightly more urgent, telling me that whatever he has to say, it's important. Despite being the youngest of the group, he's one of the most important because he's slightly force-sensitive. I learned to trust his instincts, if nothing else, which is why I nod and let him go.

"Are you okay?" I ask. He nods with a little sniffle. I smile and ruffle his hair affectionately. "Good."

"It's good to have you back." he says.

I nod. "It's good to be back." I gesture for him to go sit back down before looking to Din. "Sorry. I haven't seen these people in years."

"It's fine. I get it. You're much closer with your squad than I was with Ran's." he spits Ran's name, causing me to tilt my head. He's angry, but I don't know why. I suppose I'll ask him about it later. He probably wouldn't tell me in front of everyone.

"Hey, guys?" I speak up over their chatter. They all quiet and look to me. I suppose I should start with introductions, but I'm not allowed to tell them Din's name, technically. "Alright, this is Mando. He's with me, and he's not a threat. I've been traveling with him for a couple months. He'll be helping us." I explain, introducing him. Daechi gives a happy little wave to him. Din just nods to the group in greeting. "Also... we need rooms." Ma had told me on our way here that we would be here for a few days for the mission, although she hadn't told me what we're doing. I'll probably find out later.

Daechi and Osak volunteer to get our room situation sorted. I see Osak go off with Din as Daechi approaches me happily, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

She leads me to a less familiar door, but one that I know isn't my old room; it's too far down the hall. "I am sorry we could not give you your old room, but someone else is occupying it for now." Daechi explains, as if she read my mind. I know she's talking about the newbie.

I chuckle. "It's alright. What did she do, anyway?"

"Enough. It is a most welcome surprise to have you here. I think everyone needed this." she says, a sad smile on her face.

"What's wrong, Chi?" I ask, concerned.

"Ma has not told you about the mission, has she?" I shake my head. "We are going to go undercover at a gala that a slave trader is holding. It is supposed to be an... advertisement, if you will, of his newly acquired slaves. One of those slaves is my daughter, Detre. She was captured just a few weeks ago, and it has not been easy for anyone."

My mouth falls open. "You have a daughter?" I exclaim, stunned. She nods. "With Kago?" Another nod. "Are you married?"

She shakes her head this time. "No. I did not want to do it without you here. You are the reason we are even together."

"Aww, Daechi." I pull her into a hug. "We will get your Detre back. And then you're going to have yourself a wedding, okay?" she nods, tears in her eyes.

She thanks me and we're quiet for a moment, swaying back and forth in our hug. "So..." I speak up. "Are Kago and Aola a part of the squad?"

"No. They did not want to be. It is dangerous, as you know. Kago stayed out of it for Detre, and Aola just does not wish to. They only live with us." she explains.

"I'm happy for you both." I comment.

"And what about you and your Mandalorian?" Daechi pulls away, looking at me teasingly. My face reddens slightly.

"What about us?" I pretend not to know what she's talking about.

She lets out a girly squeal. "So there is an 'us'!"

"Daechi-" I complain, but Osak sticks his head into the room.

"What about an 'us'?" he looks at me suspiciously.

"Nothing!" I say quickly, but Daechi rolls her eyes.

"I was asking about her and her Mandalorian. Look at how red she is!" Daechi continues to tease me.

I cover my face with my hands. "He's not my Mandalorian." I correct.

"He is not?" Osak asks from the doorway. I huff, moving to leave the room. Osak loops an arm around my waist to stop me. "You have some explaining to do."

"No, I don't!" I exclaim, spinning out of his grasp and running down the hall. Unfortunately, Din takes that moment to walk out of his new room. I run straight into him, almost falling. He grabs my upper arms. "Thanks," I breathe, looking over my shoulder. Osak isn't far behind, Daechi right next to him. "Come on." I grab his hand without realizing what I'm doing and we run down the hall. I know this place like the back of my hand, so with any luck, we should escape the two.

"What are we doing?" He asks as we run.

"Getting away from Osak and Daechi. They're interrogating me." he looks to me, and I see that he's tense once more. "It's nothing serious. They're just acting like older siblings."

"What are they asking about?"

You." I say shortly, dragging him to the stairs. I know Daechi hates heights, so we'll go to the roof.

"What do you mean, me?" he asks curiously.

"You and me. They're making assumptions." I say vaguely. "I mean, the assumptions are true, but I don't really want to talk to them about it at the moment." We reach the roof and Daechi yells at us in Zabraki from the bottom of the stairs. I laugh, recognizing a few profanities that she taught me a while ago.

Osak, however, continues to chase us. I back up to the edge of the roof. Din doesn't, staying a few feet away from the edge. He goes to the other side of the roof after I suggest that we split up so Osak has to choose.

When Osak reaches the top, he hesitates for only a moment before going to Din. With his back turned, I take the opportunity to run at Osak, jumping on his back. He almost falls backwards but doesn't, instead gripping my legs. They're wrapped around his torso, and I realize my mistake. I squirm, trying to get off and poking Osak in the ribs repeatedly. He finally lets me go, laughing, and I drop to the roof. Din immediately comes over to help me up.

"This is not over." Osak says, a smug smirk on his face as he sees Din's hand still in my own.

"I think it is." I argue playfully.

"You must talk to Daechi and I still. It is not over." with that, he goes down into the building again.

I look to Din, going on my tiptoes and pressing my lips to the "cheek" of his helmet. "Thanks." He nods, his hands cupping my face as he presses the forehead of his helmet to my own. I close my eyes, leaning into his touch.

"I knew it!" comes the shout of a familiar voice. My eyes snap open and I turn my head to find Daechi, her head the only thing visible above the trapdoor. I can feel my cheeks heat up and I bury my face in Din's shoulder to hide my blush. He chuckles, his chest vibrating as he does so, and wraps his arms loosely around my waist.

I can hear Daechi cackling, so I merely extend an arm to flip her off from the safety of Din's arms. She gasps in mock offense. "You take that back!" she yells. I do nothing of the sort.

Eventually she leaves, but I stay in Din's arms. "I found out the mission." I mumble into his Beskar-covered chest.

"Hm?"

I lift my head, looking at him. "The mission. We're going undercover at a gala, but since you can't really go undercover with all of this," I gesture to his Mandalorian garb, "I'm guessing you'll be watching our backs. We're supposed to break a child out. Other than that, I don't really know what we're doing. I'm guessing we'll get briefed later."

He shakes his head almost immediately. "I don't want you going in alone. I don't trust these people."

"I know, but I do." he continues to object. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you." comes the immediate response.

"Then trust my instincts. Trust that I know these people, because I traveled with them for years."

"People change." he points out.

"Fine. If nothing else, trust that I can handle myself. You'll be there to watch my back anyways. I trust you to keep me safe, Din. Us against the galaxy, right?" I hold my hand out and he grasps it tightly, weaving his fingers through my own. "We'll just have a little help."

We head back down after a few minutes to make sure the coast is clear. Din had left his blaster in his room and went to go get it, still paranoid, so I enter my room alone. Meaning I'm completely unprepared for the Chiss to pounce on me, pinning me to the wall with her blaster under my chin.

"Why are you here?" she growls, pushing the weapon into my jawbone. Her navy blue forearm is across my neck, not putting pressure but letting me know she can. She has all of the power in this situation, or so she thinks.

"To help my friends. Should I be asking you the same?" I ask, feigning innocence and nonchalance.

"I think you're here to endanger my squad." she puts a little pressure onto my windpipe, though not enough to do damage. I don't miss how she ignores my question.

"Your squad? Honey, please, you're embarrassing yourself." I laugh, despite the position I'm in.

"You just want my spot. You want to get in the squad but guess what? You're not getting in, and you never will." she shoves her knee into my stomach. Not being able to help myself, I groan in pain. It's quiet, but she still hears. She laughs, her arm and blaster still in the same threatening spot. "I should kill you right now, so you're not alive to do any damage. And then I'll go over there," she gestures to the room where Din's staying with her blaster, "and I'll kill your little boyfriend, too."

"Not likely." I say with a grin. She pulls me forward, only to shove me back against the wall. My head hits unnecessarily hard, cracking loudly against the surface.

"Why are you so confident?" she demands.

"Because you're not in the squad. If anything, it's reversed right now. You want my spot. But guess what, sweetheart?" I drawl the nickname, venom dripping from my tone. I lean forward and mock her in a dangerous whisper. "You're not getting in, and you never will."

She shouts, pressing her blaster against my chin with a ferocious anger. The safety is switched off. "I'll kill you. I'll char your face off right now." she threatens.

"No, you won't. You're a coward. And cowards don't kill." I grin as I feel her hand shaking. She's angered, but I know she won't do anything to me. She couldn't bring herself to if she tried. "Plus, everyone's out there. If they come in and find me dead, what are they going to think? They'll trust you even less, and you can kiss your chances of getting in the squad bye-bye." I wiggle my fingers in her face in a mocking wave.

"I'll tell them you killed yourself." she shoves her arm hard against my windpipe. Oh, that's going to leave a bruise.

"You know they won't believe you. Just face it: you can't kill me." I emphasize every word, feeling my eyes flash white. Her own red orbs widen for a moment, before she bares her teeth in a feral manner and punches me in the jaw. I laugh, rubbing the spot to ease the minimal pain.

"Then I'll tell them you went rogue. Never planned on helping them, so I had to kill you." We dance around each other in a slow circle.

"You truly don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" I ask, and I don't mean myself. Sure, she's making a huge mistake by underestimating me right now, but I'm not the one she needs to be worried about. She must have no clue that my force-sensitive little brother Emil can sense whether people's intentions are good or bad, among other things. Hell, she must not even know that he's force-sensitive.

"I know enough about you, Nova." she spits my name in disgust.

"Oh, yeah? Well, Medeia, that's quite the lie." I pause. "Medeia. Where do I recognize that name from?"

"Your nightmares?" she supplies. I burst out laughing, unable to control myself for a moment.

"That was amazing. But please don't ever try to make a comeback again." I say through my laughter. She falters for a moment, before using my distracted state as an advantage and tackling me.

She straddles me and effectively pins me. It's only working because I'm still dying from laughter. "Shut up. I'll kill you." she growls, her blaster once again under my chin. My laughing doesn't cease. "Shut-"

Suddenly, she's ripped off of me by none other than Din himself. "You stay away from her." he threatens, his tone low as he pins her to the wall, a hand on her neck. She nods frantically and drops to her knees as he lets her go, taking heavy breaths.

Din comes over to help me up, only to see me curled up on my side and clutching my ribs as I laugh. Medeia yells some words before leaving, including the word psychopath, which I assumed is aimed at me. I really don't care.

Din kneels next to me, a hand on my forehead. "What, did she hit you too hard in the head?" he asks, confused at my laughter.

"N-no, something she said." I wipe a tear from my eye.

"Which was?" I retell the conversation, and even he snorts at her stupid comeback.

"And she thought she could scare me. Oh, that was funny." I say as my laughter dies away.

"Not to interrupt anything, but Ma is ready for the breifing so you better get some clothes on and get out here." Daechi calls through the closed door. It takes me a moment to realize what she's implying but when I do, my eyes widen and my cheeks redden, and I bury my face in my hands. Din seems to choke on air, equally embarrassed.

"Alright, I guess we'd better go." he says. I open my fingers to look through them, and see him offering me a hand. He pulls me up and guides me with a hand on the small of my back as we walk out, my face still covered. I peek through my fingers every now and then so I don't fall.

Din leads me so that I'm standing next to Daechi. She nudges me. "Sorry for the interruption."

"I hate you." I mumble. She laughs.

Ma clears her throat, and I immediately drop my hands. Ma, despite never coming with us on missions, is the leading authority in our squad. She's good with strategies and numbers, so she runs everything behind the scenes and helps us if we need it. Nobody ever argues with her unless they have a death wish.

"This is serious." she says. "First, Nova, welcome back. But we've got a mission, so you'd better focus. All of you." she looks sternly around the room before continuing. "We're going to have a small group inside. You'll all be dressed as some rich people looking to buy, and you'll get your identities later. The cages will be in the back rooms. You get back there, get Detre and get out through the back before anyone notices. The guards rotate frequently, but it'll be up to you to get in. I can hack the locks remotely, but that's it.

"Now, obviously you'll need your backs watched in case anything goes wrong. I know the deal with the Mandalorians and their sacred helmets or whatever, so you'll be Lookout number one. And the seller just so happens to despise Twi'leks, so Osak will be Lookout number two. Nova, I trust he has some skills, yes?" Ma looks to me, a brow raised.

"Yes. He'll be fine as a lookout." I confirm with a nod. As I've seen with the Jawas, he's got some pretty good shooting skills.

"Great. You all know about the formal clothing in the back. Go crazy with it, wear whatever you want, I don't care. The only thing I haven't prepared is what ship we're taking." She looks around the table.

"We can take the Crest." Din suggests.

"Your ship?" Ma looks directly at him, her eyes cold.

"Yes. It's called the Razor Crest. It's off both the Empire's and the Republic's grid, so it's completely safe. A ghost." I jump in, and Ma's gaze softens as it switches to me, something I don't fail to notice. Either she missed me that much, or she doesn't trust Din. I'm willing to bet it's the latter.

"Then it's settled. The gala is in three days. You can go to your ship to get supplies if you need them." The last part is directed to Din and I. I nod to Ma, and we walk outside.

"Wait!" I hear from behind us. We stop to let Emil catch up. "Sorry. Can I come?"

"Of course." we begin walking again, and I notice Emil fidgeting out of the corner of my eye. "What is it?"

"Earlier, I said I needed to talk to you." he says.

"Right. Do you want to now, or would it be better in private?" I ask.

"Now is fine. I trust him." he motions to Din. I smile.

"Good. What'd you want to talk about?"

"Medeia." her name leaves his mouth, and a chill runs down my spine. "I don't trust her. Her intentions are bad, really bad. I think she may be a spy."

"A spy for who?" I ask, my heart rate quickening. If she's putting my squad in danger-

"I don't know. Maybe the Guild. Most of us have bounties on our heads, and maybe she thought we could lead her to you." he guesses.

"Does the Guild even have spies?"

"Who knows? All I know is, she's bad news. Ma knows, too. The only reason she took her in was because she could fight. I wanted her out right away, but Ma said she wants to know who's trying to spy on us. If she even is a spy." Emil explains quickly, his tone quiet.

"Sounds familiar." Din mumbles under his breath. I smile fondly as I remember when he first captured me and I only agreed to go with him because I wanted to know who was after my head. I guess I inherited that from Ma.

He clears his throat and speaks up, louder this time so Emil can hear. "The real question is, how do you even know all of this? Her intentions?"

"He's force-sensitive." I explain his abilities to Din. I can tell he's still skeptical, but he says nothing more.

"The point is, she's bad news." Emil tells us.

I rub my neck where bruises are beginning to form from our earlier confrontation. "I know."

We reach the ship. "I need to talk to you." Din says vaguely, before entering. I nod, turning to Emil.

"Why don't you go check out the cockpit? We just need to take care of something." he raises a brow. I know he doesn't appreciate being treated like the baby of the group. "Please? I'll come get you as soon as we're done. Besides, I really think you'll like it." he agrees reluctantly.

"Really? You sent him to where all the controls are?" Din exclaims once he's gone and I've followed him into the ship.

"Relax, it's not like he's going to take off. And even if he did, he's an experienced pilot. I taught him." he calms after this, but I can tell he's still on edge.

"What are we going to do about the child? We can't just leave him here for days, he'll get hungry and then escape which would be a disaster." He worries, sounding like a father.

"Take him with us." I suggest simply.

"I'm not bringing him around those people." he objects.

I cross my arms. "Hey, most of 'those people' are my family. You're right, I don't trust him around Medeia, but she won't try anything. He can stay in one of our rooms the whole time, okay?"

"What if I stayed on the ship?" Din ignores my suggestion completely and makes his own.

I refuse. "Absolutely not. You need to spend time with Osak, at the very least, so that you know you can trust him."

"Why do I need to-"

"So your attention is focused on watching our backs instead of split between that and your paranoia. And before you argue with me, don't forget that I know you. You'd have one eye on Osak at all times, and then you're distracted. What if something happened?" I sigh, seeing that he doesn't want to go along with my idea. And I get it, I want the child to be safe, too. But at this point, it's the only logical option to bring him with us. "My point is, you can't stay here by yourself, okay? We're bringing him and that's final." Maker, I sound like a mom.

"It isn't safe."

"It's safer than leaving him here. And back with the group, he'll have more than just us two to protect him against Medeia. You trust me, right?" I ask, my hand out.

"Don't pull that on me." he objects. "Of course I do. Just not-"

"Not everyone else, I know. But I am telling you, Din, he will be fine. Alright? Safe and sound. Get your things, and I'll get Emil and the child. Oh, and grab my bag for me?" I ask. He nods. "Thank you for being so cooperative. I know this is a lot." I press a kiss to his helmet and make my way to the cockpit.

"Emil?" I call out as I enter the room. He turns to me, a shocked look on his face. "What is it?"

"You remember how I can sense living things, right?" I nod. "You didn't think I wouldn't find out that you're hiding someone else on this ship?"

Oh. "Well, it didn't really cross my mind at the time-" he cuts me off.

"Who is it? I can't sense their intentions." He sounds almost panicked. Emil's force sensitivity has been with him since his childhood. It's like with my abilities; they're a part of him, and when they don't work the way they normally do, it freaks him out.

"He is a child. We're bringing him back with us, but keep it a secret, alright? I don't want Medeia knowing, or she might hurt him." I make my way to the child's hidden compartment, beckoning for him to follow. He does so cautiously.

When I open the door, I'm relieved to find that he's stayed where he's supposed to for once. He coos up at me when he sees me, lifting his arms. I comply and pick him up. "Hey, bubba, how are you?"

Emil just stands there, shocked. "Don't tell me you and Mando made that?"

I roll my eyes, a smile on my face. "Does he look like me?"

"Well, I don't know what Mando looks like underneath that helmet." Emil points out.

"Fair point. But no, we did not, we've just been taking care of him." I look to the child, and my eyes soften. "This little guy's been through a lot."

The child notices Emil and his brown eyes fill with curiosity. He reaches a hand out, and I take it upon myself to introduce them. "Bubba, this is Emil. Emil, this is my adopted little cutie. I haven't actually adopted him yet, though. It's complicated."

"No name?" Emil murmurs, his focus on the child.

"Not yet. Someday." Emil reaches his hand out to touch the child's outstretched green one, and as soon as their fingers brush, he gasps and turns to me.

"He's force-sensitive." he reveals, his eyes wide.

"He is?" I think of his strange abilities, of how Mando told Kuiil and I that the child saved him. "Emil, does the force involve moving things without touching them?" Knowing full well that Emil studies the force whenever he gets the chance, he should be able to answer the question.

And he does. "Yes. Of course, there are different abilities with different levels of strength. Some can only sense living things, but the most powerful force users can move objects and control minds using the force."

I stand in shock for a moment before exclaiming, "Emil, my son has the force!"

Din, who had apparently heard my unnecessary screaming, comes rushing in. "What's happening?"

"The child is force-sensitive! That's how he saved you from the Mudhorn!" I look to the child, a huge grin on my face. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!" I hug the child tightly.

"Nova," Emil places a hand on my shoulder. "He has a target on his back, you know that, right?"

I sober at his words. "We all do. But yeah, I know. We got captured a few months back, me and the little one. I hadn't known why, but I do now. It's just more of a reason to protect him." I accept my bag from Din. "Now, don't tell anyone, alright? I'll bring people into my room so we know Medeia isn't listening. I want to keep this from her. None of us trust her, who knows what she'll do?"

{word count: 6,271}

a/n: another insanely long chapter :) i think after this the chapters may start to get slightly longer, so sorry about that. i'm kinda bad at breaking this sort of stuff up. all the same, i hope you guys are enjoying this! i was a little nervous about trying to add my own thing in soo i'd appreciate feedback <3

also, i know i'm a little late but happy holidays :)

edit: gUYS I FORGOT TO PUT REFERENCE PICS FOR HER CREW OH NO 

Osak: 

Daechi: 

Medeia: 

(pics dont belong to me creds to the amazing artists) 

SORRY THIS IS SO LATE I LITERALLY JUST REMEMBERED 

ALSO THANKS SO MUCH FOR 5K READS LOVE YALL