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mell-bell · 4 years

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Fight so dirty (but your love so sweet) - Part IV

The Mandalorian x Reader

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

Words: 5436

Series Summary: You are sent to hunt down a Mandalorian, the odds aren’t exactly in your favor

Chapter: 4/8

Author’s notes: Seriously you guys are still the best I love every single one of you!!! All of your comments make my day. I bumped up the chapter count to 7 chapters now because that’s what I have outlined, but it may go up farther in the future depending on my storyline! I had a few issues writing this chapter mostly because my brain kept arguing with my thought process so hopefully, it turned out well. Also, I think I tagged everyone who asked, if not please just drop me a message! Hope you guys enjoy!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What about this?” You motioned to a small brown coat.

The little green child chittered softly, his ears tilting downward as he turned waddling off toward the next cart.

You sighed, quickly wishing the owner of the cart a good day before taking off after the child, who had somehow already waddled five carts down.

It had been two weeks since you won the Competition. And all was going well. The money you had won from the bounty was more than you knew what to do with.

You had put the majority of it aside for a rainy day. But the rest you decided to use to make life on the run a little more comfortable.

The Mandalorian had landed the ship on this planet a few days ago, claiming it was a good place to find mechanics and parts for the ship. With the money you had now, he wanted to update and fortify it since bounty hunters were coming after you left and right.

Just last week a ship had jumped out of hyperspace and began shooting before you even knew he was there. You had strapped yourself and the child into your seats as the Mandalorian chased the hunter down and killed him.

So, while the Mandalorian remained with the ship, you took the little one out to buy some clothes for him, the Mandalorian and yourself.

You had been in the market place for hours. You had managed to buy a few things for yourself and the Mandalorian, but when it came to the little, he disliked everything. You pointed things out and let him decide if he liked it or not. But so far he hadn’t liked anything.

He toddled around, bringing smiles to people’s faces when he reached his little hand out to greet them. He was becoming less reserved with strangers and you smiled every time his ears flicked up and he chittered happily.

He had grown since you met him five months ago and he seemed to be able to communicate more. He had even grown stronger in his powers. Training with him every day seemed to help. Even if it was just as simple as a game of catch with his favorite ball.

It was nearing dusk when the child eventually pulled on a red cape, much like your own. You turned to the woman at the cart and asked her if she could make one about his size. When she nodded you pressed the credits into her hand with a warm smile.

When you made it back to the ship, you placed the little green child on the ground and he took off toward the Mandalorian babbling happily. The man looked down, nodding back as if he understood what the child was saying.

Stepping up next to him, you sat down beside where he was working, leaning your head back against the cold metal of the ship.

“There are some helpers available for hire in the market. I was thinking of hiring a few to help you finish the ship.”

The man stood, brushing off the sand from his pants, “I can go scout them out.”

He went to walk past you, but you shot up stepping in his way, placing your hand on his beskar armor, pushing him back gently.

“You know you need to stay hidden. You can’t blend in here. I can.”

“I can do more.” His voice was deeper than normal.

Your hand patted his armor, “You’re doing enough. You can relax now.”

“I just want to protect you.” He said.

You froze and he cleared his throat, “And him.” He gestured to the little one who was chasing after a rodent looking creature.

You smiled, “I know but I need you safe and that means you need to stay in here. I’m gonna feel them out and pick up some things I bought earlier. Stay here.”

His gaze remained on you as you left the hangar, only moving when he lost sight of you.

The green child next to him cooed and he glanced down, “Stop it.” He said.

When you made it back into town you stopped to grab some other necessities. This was a nice planet. The people were kind. And there was an abundance of crops and materials for sale.

Sometimes you wished you could settle down again, in a place like this. But somehow you figured it just wasn’t in the cards for you.

You couldn’t imagine life without your Mandalorian now. He had somehow become your family. You couldn’t leave him. Even for the chance at a normal life.

After you picked up the tiny red cape and other clothes the woman had made, you stopped by the cantina to grab some food. As you sat in the back corner, enjoying your food, the table next to you began to talk in hushed whispers. Your ears strained and when you heard the word “Empire” you stiffened.

You hunched over pulling up your hood to hide your face as listened. It wasn’t much longer before they left and when they did, you threw credits on the table, before taking off out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late when you arrived back at the hangar. The Mandalorian had long since stopped working because of the darkness that had fallen over the planet. You stormed up the ramp of the ship, startling the little green child who had been levitating a tool to the Mandalorian, the tool falling on the man’s head.

“You won’t believe what I just heard.”

The Mandalorian sat up fast, his helmet hitting the bottom of the ship.

You motioned, “Meet me inside.”

When he came storming through the door, the little green child in his arms, you began to tell him what you had heard.

But instead of being excited like you had expected, his body was tense.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for!” You exclaimed.

The man sighed, “I don’t know if we’re ready.”

“Something is brewing we’re gonna need help. You said it’s time to fight back. So let’s fight back.”

His voice was gruff, “What if it’s a setup?”

“What if it isn’t?” You shot back, “I think we should take the chance. We could finally get the intel we need.”

You stood and began to pace and the man looked at you worried.

You began to mumble, “We’re going to need help, maybe I could call one of my old contacts, but I don’t know if Commander Trax put a track on them. I don’t know if I want to get anybody involved in this.”

The Mandalorian stepped up, placing his hand on your shoulder, taking your comm out of your hand, “I have somebody.”

“You have friends?” You teased.

“Acquaintance.”

He quickly typed in a message and waited just a minute before it beeped back. He handed it to you.

“She’s on her way.”

“Just like that?” You questioned.

“Just like that.”

As you gathered what you needed in the carbo bay, you heard boots echoed on the ramp of the ship. You weren’t expecting anyone to arrive so fast, so when a strange woman entered the cargo bay, your blaster was out and aimed at her head.

In your defense, she attacked first.

Having the higher ground, you managed to knock her down quickly, flinging her blaster out of the ship. With a grunt, she swung out her leg trying to knock your feet out from beneath you. But as her leg rose, you grabbed it, flipping her over and pinning her to the ground.

You had been sparring more and more with the Mandalorian every morning to strengthen yourself. And it was working.

You smiled as you held her down as she struggled.

The Mandalorian stepped out from the main room, his head swiveling between the two of you.

He sighed, before walking over to you. Kicking your side lightly, you looked up at him before your gaze swung back to the woman beneath you.

“This is your friend isn’t it?”

“Acquaintance.” They both said at the same time.

You stood, holding out a hand to help her up.

The woman took it, pulling herself up.

Looking you up and down she smiled, “I like this one.”

Your eyes narrowed as you held out your hand. She took it.

“I’m Cara.”

The Mandalorian sighed.

The woman stretched as she walked around the ship, looking at the supplies you had been pulling out, “So what am I helping with?”

“I’m going to infiltrate an Empire gala.”

The Mandalorian’s head swiveled to yours fast, “That is not what we decided.”

“It’s the only possible option. You definitely can’t go. Pretty sure she can’t go either. So it’s on me.” You shrugged.

“But you just-”

You held up your hand, cutting him off, “I’ll be fine. I’m back in fighting shape. I won the Competition. I’m doing fine.”

“You’re barely fully healed, you need to give your body a break.”

“This is only an intel mission, there shouldn’t even be any fighting.” You argued back.

Cara tsked, “Hey no parental fighting in front of the child.”

The green child babbled as he walked up to the warrior woman, who bent down to say hello.

“I’ll do as I damn well please.” You said glaring at the Mandalorian, “I’m going.”

“Fine.” He turned on his heel and stalked off the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You tugged nervously at your clothes as you peered out of the alley at the building across the street.

Your hands shook as you made sure your panic button was in place and hidden. You sighed, balling your hands tight. He had gotten into your head. You knew it was just because he was worried. But you couldn’t infiltrate this Gala feeling insecure.

You took a deep breath running through the plan in your head one more time.

Stepping out from the alley, you lifted your head high as you weaved in and out of the townspeople. One guard stood at the entrance, but you could tell that there were others hidden amongst the normal citizens, their clothes just a little too expensive, their gazes following you as you strode up to the door.

Up close, you could see through the stained glass window. Dozens of people, drowning in glittering jewels and beautiful dresses and suits. You knew your outfit would help you fit in, but you hoped, your lack of knowledge of high society affairs wouldn’t make you stand out too much.

You walked up to the door your steps hesitating slightly as your heart started beating, unsure if you were prepared for this, not paying attention until the guard at the door barked at you.

Eyes wide you stepped up to him and you were about to walk in when the man stopped you, his arm outstretched.

You panicked, not knowing what he was expecting when a voice sounded behind you.

“They’re with me.”

You nodded at the guard, before turning to the man now beside you, “Thank you.”

The man before you was impeccably dressed. And though he had a smile on his face, his eyes were cold.

“No, thank you. You look like the most interesting person here.” He looked you up and down, “What is your connection to the Empire? Your father?”

As you made it past the foyer and into the ballroom, your eyes grew wide at the strands of lights, the soft music playing, and the abundance of people. Turning back to the man beside you, you realized you hadn’t answered his question.

“Sorry, yes. He was murdered by the rebellion.”

He nodded solemnly, motioning for you to continue following him, weaving the two of you farther into the room.

“Ah, don’t worry they will all be eradicated one day soon.” He waved his hand absent-mindedly as his other grabbed two drinks off of one of the waiter's trays, handing one to you.

You hid your grimace behind your glass, “And you are?”

“Oh, I am Governor Moff Gideon, at your service. Well... former Governor according to those rebel scums who took down our Empire.”

You swallowed heavily your eyes wide and you stopped yourself from taking an instinctive step back.

“I take it you know of me.” The smile that graced his face was twisted.

You bowed your head slightly trying to hide the fear crossing your face, “Of course, I am so sorry to impose, I will leave you alone.”

“No please.” He motioned, “Join me.”

As he led you deeper into the room, you glanced one more time behind you losing sight of the entrance, hoping that your Mandalorian was still keeping an eye on you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Mandalorian laid perched on the roof across the street, his macrobinoculars following your every move.

“Everything will be fine, you don’t have to keep such a close eye.” Cara drawled, she was stretched out beside him, resting back against the wall, her eyes closed.

“Something might go wrong.” He mumbled, watching as you made your way inside the building. His eyes focusing in on the man at your side.

“You mean something might happen to your precious crewmember.” She goaded.

“What?” He growled.

She chuckled, her legs bouncing restlessly, “Oh, nothing. Just wondering when that’s going to become a thing.”

“Nothing’s going on.” He snapped.

“Sure. But you might want to make a move before someone else does.”

He stiffened as he saw you continue to walk through the room, the man who had been beside you when you entered still at your side. He watched as you stopped, holding out your hand to people in front of you.

He whistled to get Cara’s attention and held out his binoculars to her.

“Who is that?”

She took them with a roll of her eyes, putting the binoculars up to her eyes, “Ah, old governor Gideon. That man is a piece of work. Killed more people than he saved. He’s the one that’s been gathering Empire supporters.”

The Mandalorian pushed to get up, but Cara kicked out, knocking him back down.

“Stop, if you rush in there there’s a better chance of everything going to shit. Stay here and watch. It’ll be fine.”

He ripped the binoculars from her hands and looked through them once again, more tense than usual.

As the minutes passed, he began to relax. You seemed calm as you maneuvered your way through the ballroom. However, when he recognized a familiar face walk past the window, his heart stopped. He jumped up and was down onto the street before Cara could even move an inch.

Before he reached the front door, Cara tackled him, shoving him into the alley adjacent to the building.

“Are you insane?” She hissed.

He pointed toward the ballroom, “Fennec Shand is in there.”

“The assassin?” Cara sounded impressed.

“We need to abort.” He started forward again, but she pushed him back against the wall.

Voices echoed down the alley as two imperial guards walked past where they were hidden. The two held their breaths, sighing in relief when they continued past clueless of what lurked in the shadows.

Cara turned back to the Mandalorian.

“No,” She growled, “We wait for the signal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t easy getting away from the former Governor. You weren’t sure why he had put his sights on you.

He introduced you to many people and you mentally tried to keep track of them all. Names were flying in one ear and out the other. Most were wealthy citizens from across the galaxy. People who figured putting their stock in the Empire would help them make more money.

But they weren’t important in the long run.

The people you had to pay attention to were the Imperial generals and the ever rarer rebels turned Imperials.

Every so often you would peek a glance out the window, knowing that your Mandalorian was watching. But you were here alone, even if he was just a step away.

The first time somebody asked you why you hated the rebels, you froze. Before you could stop yourself the words spilled from your mouth tasting like poison on your tongue. As you spewed obscenities about the rebellion and how wonderful it would be to reinstate the Empire to its glory, the wealthy men and women fervently nodded in agreement.

A few even asked if you were available for hire for they needed reliable people to work for them. With a feigned smile, you just waved your hand saying you already had employment that paid well.

As the music swelled and the former Governor finally turned his attention from you, you managed to slip away, weaving in and out of the men and women, catching pieces of conversations here and there.

“Did you hear how he died? Apparently, his building collapsed on him.”

“Well, I heard he was murdered by a Mandalorian.”

Your heart pounded as you slipped into a side hallway, the music and loud conversations fading away to nothing.

You leaned against the wall for a second longer than necessary to pull yourself together.

Pulling out a tiny device, you placed it on the wall near the ground before you continued down the hallway.

You walked down the hall nonchalantly, waiting for a guard to make his appearance. When you rounded the corner, you came face to face with one.

The guard startled, reaching out, grabbing onto you, “Excuse me. No one is allowed back here.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” You turned, allowing him to walk you back to the door you had slipped through.

When you reached the door, you turned to look down to see the guard standing next to the device you had placed on the wall. With a smile, you pressed the button on the remote in your hand. The device beeped rapidly, and before he could move, an electric shock shooting out from the device hitting the guard where he stood.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Peering around making sure that no one had heard, you took off down the hallway. When you finally reached the locked door at the end of the hall you dropped to your knees. Pulling out your kit and began picking the lock.

“Come on. Come on.” You mumbled to yourself.

“Hey!”

A guard at the end of the hall started running towards you and you quickly pushed the panic button the Mandalorian had slipped you earlier.

You stood, putting your hands up and smiled. The guard’s brows furrowed as he made his way down the hall, his blaster aimed at you. And then the world exploded.

You dropped to the ground, the wall at the far end of the hall blowing out. The guard flying.

Quickly getting back up you went back to working on the door.

With a trained ear, you listened as your friends made their appearance.

“I am looking for someone.” His voice was loud as he shouted over the frenzied screaming of the elite.

You smiled as the handle finally gave way under your hand and you slipped through the door.

Closing the door slowly and quietly, you turned around and quickly scanned the room. You only had a few minutes. You looked under the desk, in the cabinets, between the couch cushions. For a hidden hatch beneath the carpet. It wasn’t until you made it to the bookshelf when you finally saw a button poking out slightly behind one of the books.

Smiling, you pushed it and a hidden compartment popped out, a folder of papers there. You grabbed them, closing the compartment quietly. Just as you took a step toward the door, the handle turned and you froze. Just before the door opened you stepped to hide behind the bookshelf.

A mirror on the back wall allowed you to watch as the Governor walked into the room, a woman following closely behind him.

“Sir, that was the Mandalorian I encountered on Tatooine.”

“I figured as much.” He fumed.

“I can go kill –“

“Later. We need to get the paperwork to the Supreme.” You clutched the papers tighter to your chest.

You listened as he walked toward the bookshelf, just a foot away from you.

When you heard the compartment click open, you squeezed yourself tighter against the wall. His hand slammed against the bookshelf, the whole thing rattling, objects collapsing to the ground.

“Nobody leaves this building! Find it!”

You breathed a sigh of relief when the man stalked out of the room and the woman began to follow. But as if she could hear your breathing, she turned, her gaze scanning the room. You could hear her footsteps grow closer to your hiding spot. You pulled yourself tighter against the wall.

You could just see her shoulder when a shout came from down the hall and the woman turned on her heel and left.

Collapsing to the ground in relief, you quickly shoved the files you had stolen beneath your clothes. Rushing quietly toward the door, you opened it slightly, slipping out into the hall. Your head swung left and right, not sure which way. Taking off toward the left, you rounded the corner, coming face to face with the backs of four Stormtroopers. Your eyes went wide as you slowly backed up.

“Hey! You!”

You turned around feigning surprise.

A Stormtrooper motioned toward you, “Let’s go. The Gala is under lockdown.”

Entering back into the main hall, you saw the Governor directing Stormtroopers to break up guests into different groups.

You were shoved into a with a bunch of other people and soon later placed alone in an empty white room.

When the door slammed open, a man walked in.

“Good evening. I’m sure you want to get out of here as soon as I do.”

You nodded, you didn’t have to feign the fear on your face.

The man droned on and on but you could barely pay attention, your ears were buzzing and the bright white light in the room seemed to drown out your vision, “Did you break into an office? Did you still paperwork? Are you a rebel sympathizer?”

You said no to all and the man nodded before getting up to leave.

He turned his brows furrowing, “Do I know you?”

You shook your head.

“Hm. You look like someone who used to work for me many years ago. But it can’t be”

You didn’t recognize him, so why were your hands shaking so hard?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you for walking me back to my transport.” You said tersely as Governor Moff walked beside you.

The man had been waiting for you outside the door after you had been questioned. He had apologized for making you go through questioning knowing that you couldn’t have stolen anything.

“If you ever need for anything.” He handed you his card.

You took it with a shaking hand, “I will let you know.”

You nodded at him watching as he turned walking down the street. You kept your eyes on him until you could no longer see his dusty black cape.

Taking a deep breath, you walked around the block a few more times before walking into the hangar. When you saw the Mandalorian’s ship you sighed in relief.

You climbed the lowered ramp, waving at the mechanic’s you had hired who were working on the side of the ship.

Neither the Mandalorian or Cara was back yet. While you waited for their return, you decided to change. Entering the lower level of the ship, you opened the closet to grab one of the Mandalorian’s shirts when your hand hit something hard.

Grabbing hold of it, you brought it up. A picture frame.

As you traced your finger over the face in the photo, loud footsteps above echoed through the ship.

The modulated voice yelled your name and you walked out into the cargo bay, the picture still in your hand.

“Where did you get this?”

The Mandalorian stepped up to you, gently taking it from your hand, “It was in your old house.”

“And you took it?” Your brows furrowed.

“You looked happy.”

“I’m happy now too.” You breathed as you looked from the photo to him.

Cara nudged him and his head shot towards her, glaring at her through his mask.

She turned to you, “Did you get it?”

“Mhm? Oh, yes.” You pulled out the file and passed it over to the Mandalorian. But instead of looking down at it he was looking at you.

“Do you want to get food?” He stumbled over the words.

You hesitated, looking from the tense man to the widely grinning woman beside him, “Sure... Cara?”

“No!” He barked.

You froze, your eyebrows raising.

He cleared his throat, “No, I mean she already has plans?” He turned toward the woman.

She shrugged with a chuckle, “Um, yeah I guess I do.”

You frowned but stepped up to her offering her your arm, “Stay close. Hopefully, we’ll be making a move soon.”

She nodded, saluting the two of you, before vanishing down the ramp of the ship.

You motioned nervously down the ramp, “I’ll go grab some food.”

The man nodded.

You raced down the street to the cantina, grabbing some food before hurrying back out the door. On your way out, you slammed into someone.

“Oh! So sorry.”

The man steadied you, “No worries, you look like you’re in a hurry.”

“I am! Have a good night.”

You hurried off down the road, missing the beeping fob in the man’s hand.

Something was different tonight.

When you arrived back at the ship, the Mandalorian had set up a makeshift table for the two of you.

The food was good and as you ate you tried to make small talk. However, the man only seemed to nod or shake his head.

You cleared your throat, “Are you alright?”

“Yes? Why?” He stuttered.

“You haven’t spoken in fifteen minutes.”

“I am enjoying the food.”

You opened your mouth to tell him that he hadn’t eaten anything but before you could reply, he cut you off, “Are you?”

“Yes.” You chuckled.

“Good.”

You smiled as you continued to eat, both missing the glances you were throwing each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were hunched over the desk flipping through the plans you had stolen when you heard the door creak open behind you.

It was late at night, the only light shining from the candles littered around the room.

“You’ve been gone a while.”

The Mandalorian had left early that afternoon to scout out some new planets to bunker down on. He had been acting weird since the dinner you shared last night. You weren’t sure why.

And when he hadn’t been back after a few hours, you had almost left to find him. But with the little green child still on the ship with you, you couldn’t bring yourself to leave him alone or bring him with you. Especially not on a plant infested with imperials.

You scribbled a few more things onto the paper in front of you before turning around, as the man behind you still hadn’t spoken.

Squinting through the dark you tried to make out the usual shape of his armor, but when he stepped forward you could see that he wasn’t wearing it. Or his helmet.

You spun around with a squeak, placing your back toward him.

“Hey! Sorry, I took over your room but this was the only place that had a desk.”

The man behind you remained silent and your heart was in your throat as you heard his quiet footsteps on the metal floor.

A hand reached out to your arm, grasping you gently, turning you around, the bare skin of his hand brushing along your own. But before he turned you fully, you closed your eyes hard.

You could feel his body step up close to yours, his breath warm on your face. Your heart was pounding. And you could feel that his was too.

You swallowed hard as his hand ran from your hand up your arm until it reached your face. His thumb rubbed against your cheek, his hands softer than you had imagined, the warmth of his skin burning against your own.

“Open your eyes.” His voice was still gruff even without the voice modulator from his helmet. You almost melted at the sound.

You shook your head aggressively and you could hear him let out a little sigh as his fingers teased around your lips. Involuntarily, your tongue darted out to wet them accidentally brushing against his thumb.

Your face reddened and you went to take a step back, but he just followed.

“Look at me, please.”

“But...”

“No talking for once,” he said, “just- look.”

You froze unsure what to do. But after a beat, you opened your eyes.

Your breath caught in your throat when you were finally face-to-face with the man you had spent almost half a year with. His hair dark unruly curls, his deep black eyes glistening in the candlelight.

You slowly raised your hand to his face running your fingers over his forehead, his cheeks, his stubble. The man smiled, and your fingers moved toward the laugh lines next to his eyes and the dimple on his cheek.

“Why?”

“I wanted you to see me.”

“I’ve always seen you.”

Your heart skipped a beat as his mouth curled up into a smile.

He leaned forward toward you, so your lips were just touching, but stopped there as if he was waiting for you to make the decision.

You shot forward, your fingers threading through his hair as you pulled him down, his mouth coming down hard on yours.

Without a moment’s hesitation, you pressed back. His lips were soft but unyielding against yours. A soft sigh tore from your mouth as he deepened the kiss, his arm coming up to wrap tightly around you, the other weaving through your hair to pull you even closer.

It was a rough kiss, but you expected nothing less from the two of you. You had been dancing around these feelings for too long.

You took a step back, him following as you both stumbled through the room your lips locked together.

The Mandalorian’s hands moved, scrambling for purchase on your body, settling on your hips yanking you flush against him. Your hands grabbed onto his shoulders steadying yourself and when you ensured you wouldn’t tumble over, you raised up onto your toes wrapping your arms around his neck.

He turned you and you felt his hand reach around you trying to shut the door, but when he couldn’t reach it, he shoved you back against it, finally slamming it shut.

He pushed you flat against the door, his hands tight around your waist while your nails scratched through his hair, eliciting a deep moan from him.

You pulled your face away with a gasp and tilted your head back, your eyes snapping closed with a moan when you felt him pepper kisses along your jaw and down your neck.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

Your hand grabbed the back of his head, and you pulled him toward you until your foreheads were touching, “You are never going to lose me.”

And once again you pulled him down until his lips met yours. This time the kiss was softer, slower. And you savored the feeling of his lips on yours.

As your hands ran through his hair, his slipped under the back of your shirt, his hands burning like fire against your skin.

You pulled away with a gasp and he pulled back his eyes searching your face. With a smile, he reached up, his fingers dancing across your cheek before he brushed a piece of hair back behind your ear.

You leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek. And then his forehead. And then his dimple.

He pulled back and smiled at you. That smile was becoming your new favorite sight in the world.

And you replied with one of your own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night you found yourself sitting at the desk in the corner, while the Mandalorian slept peacefully in the bed.

Your eyes were heavy and you couldn’t seem to focus on the words in front of you. Your eyes kept slipping shut, but you couldn’t give in until you found out what they were planning for the little green child.

You flipped one more page with a sigh when you started. Sitting up straighter you flipped back to the previous page and read.

“They’re trying to clone him...”

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starcitizenprivateer · 6 years

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Whisperer in the Dark

Writer’s Note: Published originally in Jump Point 1.1, this story takes place before the events of The Lost Generation.

People complicate things. That’s what they’ve always been good at. Take a look at any functioning civilization and you will see chaos, confusion, and frustration. It could be human, Xi’an, Banu, Vanduul, whoever. We may look different, be built different, but boil us down and you’ll find the same insecurities, fears, and anxieties gnawing.

Tonya Oriel watched the yawning abyss outside the window. Kaceli’s Adagio in 4 gently wafted through the otherwise empty ship. Scanners cycled through their spectrums on the hunt for any flagged anomalies.

The void. It was pure. It was simple. It was permanent.

A calm serenity huddled around Tonya’s shoulders like a blanket, the kind that can only exist when you are the only person for thousands of kilometers. Everyone else can have Terra, Earth, or Titus, with their megacities teeming with people. Never a moment where there wasn’t a person above, beside or below you. Everything was noise. Tonya needed the silence.

Her ship, the Beacon, drifted through that silence. Tonya customized almost every hardpoint and pod with some form of scanner, deep-range comm system, or surveying tech to get her further and further from the noise.

The problem was that the noise kept following.

* * * *

After three weeks on the drift, Tonya couldn’t put it off any longer. She was due for a supply run and to sell off the data and minerals she’d collected. After repairs, new scrubbers, and a spectrum update, she hoped she’d have enough for some food.

The Xenia Shipping Hub in the Baker System had been the closest thing to a home she’d had for the past few years. Tonya set her approach through the shifting entry/exit patterns of ships. The station’s traffic was busier than usual. As soon as the Beacon docked, her screen buzzed with a handful of new messages from the spectrum. She passed them to her mobiGlas and went to the airlock.

Tonya paused by the entry and savored this last moment of solitude as the airlock cycled, then hit the button.

The sound of people swept inside like a wave. She took a second to acclimate, adjusted her bag and crossed into the masses.

Carl ran a small information network out of his bar, the Torchlight Express. An old surveyor for a long-defunct terraforming outfit, Carl traded moving minerals for slinging booze and information. Tonya had known him for years. As far as people went, Carl was a gem.

The Express was dead. Tonya checked local time. It was evening so there was no real reason why it should be like this. A group of prospectors sat at a table in the corner, engaged in a hushed conversation. Carl leaned against the bar, watching a sataball game on the wallscreen. His leathery fingers tapped out a beat to some song in his head.

He brightened up when he saw Tonya.

“Well, well, well, to what do we owe the honor, doctor?” He said with a grin.

“Don’t start, Carl.”

“Sure, sorry, doctor.” He must be bored; he only called her that when he wanted to pick a fight. Tonya slung her bag onto the ground and slid onto a stool.

“Anything interesting?” Tonya pulled her hair back into a tie.

“I’m great, Tonya, thanks for asking. Business is a little slow, but you know how it is.” Carl said sarcastically and slid a drink to her.

“Come on, Carl. I’m not gonna patronize you with small-talk.”

Carl sighed and looked around.

“At this point, I’ll take any patrons I can get.” He poured himself a drink from the dispenser. Tonya swiveled her mobiGlas around and showed him her manifest. He looked it over. “Running kinda light this time, huh?”

“I know. You know any buyers?”

“How much you looking to get?”

“Whatever I can,” Tonya said as she sipped. She could tell Carl was annoyed with the non-answer. “I need the money.”

“I might be able to get you ten.” He said after a long pause.

“I would give you my unborn child for ten.”

“With all the unborn kids you owe me, you better get started.” He said. Tonya smacked his arm.

One of the prospectors drifted over to the bar with empty glasses. He was young, one of those types who cultivated the dirty handsome look. Probably spent an hour perfecting it before going out.

“Another round.”

As Carl poured, the prospector looked at Tonya, giving his looks a chance to work their magic. They failed. Carl set a fresh batch of drinks down. The prospector paid and went back slightly deterred.

“I think someone liked you.” Carl teased.

“Not my type.”

“Living?”

“Exactly.” Tonya watched the prospectors. They were really in an overtly secretive conversation. “Any idea what they’re here for?”

“Of course I do.”

“Yeah? What’d they say?”

“Nothing… well, not to me anyway.” Carl pulled an earpiece out and held it out to her. Tonya wiped it off and took a listen. Suddenly she could hear their conversation loud and clear. Tonya looked at Carl, stunned.

“You have mics on your tables?!” She whispered. Carl shushed her.

“I deal in information, honey, so yeah.” Carl said, almost offended that he wouldn’t listen in on his customers.

Tonya took another sip and listened to the prospectors. It only took a little while to catch up. Apparently Cort, the prospector who tried to woo Tonya with his ruggedness, got a tip from his uncle in the UEE Navy. The uncle had been running Search & Rescue drills in the Hades System when their scanners accidentally picked up a deposit of kherium on Hades II. Being the military, of course, they couldn’t do anything, but Cort and his buddies were fixing to sneak in there and harvest it for themselves.

Kherium was a hot commodity. If these prospectors were on the level, they were talking about a tidy little fortune. Certainly enough to patch up the Beacon, maybe even install some upgrades.

Even better, they obviously didn’t know how to find it. Kherium doesn’t show up on a standard metal or rad scan. It takes a specialist to find, much less extract without corrupting it. Fortunately for Tonya, she knew how to do both. “You’ve got that look.” Carl said and refilled her glass. “Good news?”

“I hope so, Carl, for both of us.”

* * * *

Carl offloaded her haul at a discount so she could set out as quick as possible. Last time she checked, the prospectors were still at the Express and from the sound of it, they wouldn’t leave for a couple hours, maybe a day.

Tonya disengaged the Beacon from the dock and was back in her beloved solitude. The engines hummed as they pushed her deeper into space, pushed her toward a lifeline.

The Hades System was a tomb, the final monument of an ancient civil war that obliterated an entire system and the race that inhabited it. Tonya had it on her list of places to study, but every year Hades was besieged by fresh batches of young scientists exploring it for their dissertation or treasure hunters looking for whatever weapon cracked Hades IV in half. So the system became more noise to avoid.

Tonya had to admit that passing Hades IV was always a thrill. It’s not every day you get to see the guts of a planet killed in its prime.

Then there were the whispers that the system was haunted. There was always some pilot who knew a guy who knew someone who had seen something while passing through the system. The stories ranged from unexplained technical malfunctions to full-on sightings of ghost cruisers. It was all nonsense.

There was a loose stream of ships passing through Hades. The general flight lane steered clear of the central planets. Tonya slowed her ship until there was a sizeable gap in the flow of traffic before veering off toward Hades II.

She passed a barrier of dead satellites and descended into Hades II’s churning atmosphere. The Beacon jolted when it hit the clouds. Visual went to nil and suddenly the ship was bathed in noise, screaming air, and pressure. Tonya kept an eye on her scopes and expanded the range on her proximity alerts to make sure she didn’t ram a mountain.

Suddenly the clouds gave way. The Beacon swooped into the light gravity above a pitch-black ocean. Tonya quickly recalibrated her thrusters for atmospheric flight and took a long look at the planet around her.

As was expected, it was a husk. There were signs of intelligent civilization all around but all of it was crumbling, charred, or destroyed. She passed over vast curved cities built atop sweeping arches meant to keep the buildings from ever touching the planet itself.

Tonya maintained a cruising altitude. The roar of her engines echoed through the vast empty landscape. The sun was another casualty of this system’s execution. The cloud systems never abated so the surface never saw sunlight. It was always bathed in a dark greyish green haze.

Tonya studied the topography to plot out a course and set the scanners to look for the unique kherium signature she had programmed. She engaged the auto-pilot and just looked out the window.

Being here now, she kicked herself for not coming sooner. It didn’t matter that this was one of the most scientifically scrutinized locales in the UEE. Seeing the vastness of the devastation with her own eyes, Tonya felt that tug that a good mystery has on the intellect. Who were they? How did they manage to so effectively wipe themselves out? How do we know they actually wiped themselves out?

A few hours passed with no luck. Tonya had a quick snack and ran through her exercise routine. She double-checked the settings on her scans for any errors on the initial input. A couple months ago, she was surveying a planet and found nothing, only to discover on her way back that there had been one setting off that scuttled the whole scan. It still bugged her. It was an amateur mistake.

She brought up some texts on Hades. Halfway through a paper on the exobiology of the Hadesians, her screen pinged. Tonya was over there like a shot.

The scope gave a faint indication of kherium below. She triple-checked the settings before getting her hopes up. They seemed legit. She looked out the front. A small city sat above endless sea of dead trees lay ahead. It looked like an orbital laser or something had hit it excising massively deep craters from buildings and ground.

Tonya took a closer look. The craters went about six hundred feet into the ground, revealing networks of underground tunnels. They looked like some kind of transport system.

Tonya looked for a suitable landing spot with cover from overhead flights. If she was still here when the prospectors showed up, her ship would be a dead giveaway and things would get complicated.

She strapped on her environment suit and respirator. She could check the ship’s scanners through her mobiGlas but threw another handheld scanner/mapper in with her mining gear just in case. Finally, she powered up her transport crate, hoping the anti-gravity buffers would be more than enough to lug the kherium back.

Tonya stepped out onto the surface. The wind whipped around her, furiously kicking up waves of dust. She pushed the crate in front of her through the blasted forest. Gnarled branches clawed at her suit as she passed. The city loomed overhead, black silhouettes against the grey-green clouds.

Her curiosity got the better of her so Tonya decided to take a ramp up to the city streets. She told herself the detour would be easier on the crate’s battery. Smooth streets are easier for the anti-grav compensators to analyze than rough terrain.

Tonya moved through the barren, empty streets in awe. She studied the strange curvature of the architecture; each displayed an utterly alien yet brilliant understanding of pressure and weight dispersal. This whole place seemed at once natural and odd, intellectually fascinating and emotionally draining.

The kherium signature was still weak but there. Tonya maneuvered the crate around destroyed teardrop shaped vehicles. Pit-marks in the buildings and streets led her to suspect that a battle had taken place here however many hundreds or thousands of years ago.

The crater closest to the kherium was a perfect hole punched through the middle of the city into the ground. Tonya stood at the edge, looking for the easiest way down. The crate could float down but she would have to climb.

In a matter of minutes she secured a line with safeties for herself and the crate. She stepped over the edge and slowly rappelled down the sheer wall. The crate was making what should be a simple descent a little more complicated. The anti-grav buffers meant that any kind of force could cause the crate to drift away, so Tonya needed to keep a hand on it at all times. To make matters worse, the wind started picking up, flinging small rocks, branches and pieces of debris through the air.

A shrill scream tore through the air. Tonya froze. She heard it again and looked for the source. The screaming was just exposed supports bending in the wind.

Suddenly she realized, the crate had slipped out of her grasp. It slowly drifted further out over the crater, the swirling wind batted it around like a toy. Tonya strained to reach it but the crate floated just out of reach. She kicked off the wall and swung through the churning air. Her fingertips barely snagged the cargo before she slammed back against the wall of the crater.

Her vision blurred and she couldn’t breathe from the impact. The HUD went screwy. Finally she caught her breath. She took a moment or two before continuing down.

The scanner from the Beacon couldn’t isolate the signature any clearer to determine depth so she had to rely on her handheld. The kherium looked like it was situated between two tunnels.

Tonya secured the crate, climbed into the upper tunnel, and tied off her ropes. She checked her suit’s integrity in the debris-storm. The computer was a little fuzzy but gave her an okay.

She turned on a flashlight and activated the external mics on her suit. The tunnel was a perfectly carved tube that sloped into the darkness. Tonya couldn’t see any kind of power or rail system to confirm her transport tube theory. She started walking.

Hours passed in the darkness. Tonya felt a little queasy so she decided to rest for a few minutes. She sipped on the water reserve and double-checked her scanner. She was still above the kherium and it was still showing up as being in front of her. That much hadn’t changed.

She heard something. Very faint. She brought up the audio settings and pumped the gain on the external mics. A sea of white noise filled her ears. She didn’t move until she heard it again. Something being dragged then stopped.

IR and night vision windows appeared in the corners of her HUD. She couldn’t see anything. In the vast stretches of these tunnels, there’s no telling how far that sound had travelled. Still, she went to the crate and pulled the shotgun out. She made sure it was loaded, even tried to remember the last time she had cause to use it.

Tonya started moving a little more cautious. She doubted it was the prospectors. For all she knew it could be some other pirate or smuggler down here. Regardless, she wasn’t going to take any chances.

The tunnel started to expand before finally giving way to a vast darkness. Tonya’s night vision couldn’t even see the end. She dug through her supplies and picked out some old flares. She sparked one.

It was a city. A mirror city to be precise. While the one on the surface reached for the sky, this one was carved down into the planet. Walkways connected the various structures built out of the walls on the various levels. She’d never heard of anything like this before. Everyone speculated that it was civil war that destroyed this system. Was this a city of the other side?

She came to an intersection and the first real sign that the fighting had spread here. A barricade of melted vehicles blocked one of the tunnels. The walls were charred from either explosions or laser-blasts. A shadow had even been burned into the wall.

Tonya stood in front of it. The Hadesian seemed to have a roundish bulky main body with multiple thin appendages. A thousand year old stain on a wall is hardly much to go by, but even as a silhouette, it looked terrified.

A cavernous structure was built into the wall nearby. Tonya approached to examine the craftsmanship. It was certainly more ornate than most of the other buildings down here. There weren’t doors down here, just narrow oval portals. There was some kind of tech integrated into the sides.

Tonya decided to take a look. It was a deep bowl with rows of enclosures built into the sides. All of them were angled towards a single point, a marble-like cylinder at the bottom of the bowl. Tonya descended toward it. There was a small item sitting on top. She kept her light and shotgun trained on it. It was made from a similar marble-like stone as the cylinder. Tonya looked around. Was this some kind of church?

She leaned down to get a better look at the item, careful not to disturb anything. It was a small carving. It wasn’t a Hadesian shape. Not one she was familiar with. She weighed whether she should take it.

Tonya’s head suddenly swam. She stumbled back and steadied herself on the enclosures. After a moment or two it passed. A subtle stabbing pain started to ache in her arm. She stretched it, trying to work out the ache. She took a last look at the small carving.

Tonya stepped out of the ornate building and brought up her scanner. The kherium was close. She followed the scanner’s directions into the dark and twisted tunnels. Her eyes stayed locked on the growing glow of the screen. She tripped over something. The scanner clattered across the floor. It echoed for a minute.

Tonya shook her head slightly. This place… She turned her lights back right into the face of a rotted corpse, its mouth open in a silent scream.

“Hell!” she yelled as she scuffled away from it. She looked around. There was another form on the floor about twenty feet away. A strongbox sat between them. The initial shock subsided.

Tonya got up, grabbed her scanner and walked over to the first body. Its skull had been cracked open. There was no weapon though. No club or bar nearby. That was odd. The other one had clearly shot himself. The gun was still in his hand. They were definitely human and based on their clothes; they were probably surveyors or pirates. She didn’t know what kind of elements were in the air here so she couldn’t give an accurate guess how long they’d been dead but suspected months.

She shuffled over to the strongbox and kicked it open. Kherium. Already extracted and carefully wrapped. Sweet relief drifted through the exhaustion.

“Thanks guys.” Tonya gave them a quick salute. “Sorry you aren’t here to share it.” Something flitted across her IR window.

Tonya snatched up her shotgun and aimed. It was gone. Her breathing became rapid and shallow as she waited. Her finger hovered over the trigger. She pumped the gain on the external mics again and scanned the hall. The whole time, telling herself to calm down. Calm down.

Every movement of her suit amplified a hundred times in her ears. She tracked the rifle through the tunnel, looking for whatever was in here with her. Something came through the static. Close.

“Welcome home,” it hissed.

Tonya fired into the dark. She spun behind her. Nothing down there. She racked another round and blasted anyway. The shots blew out the speakers in her helmet.

She grabbed the strongbox and ran.

Ran through the slippery, sloping tunnels of pitch-black, now in total silence. She passed the intersection, where the Hadesian still raised its arms in terror. She kept looking back. She could swear something was there, just beyond the range of the IR, watching from the static.

Tonya sprinted up a rise to see the grim overcast light of the exit, now just a pinhole. Her legs burned. Her arm killed. All she wanted to do was go to sleep but she wasn’t going to stop. If she stopped, she knew she would never leave.

She pulled herself up the rope and pushed through the blasted forest back to the Beacon. Thirty seconds later, the thrusters were scorching earth. One minute later, she broke atmo.

As Hades II drifted away, she tried to steady her nerves. Her environment suit slowly twisted on the hanger in the decontamination chamber. She noticed something.

The respiratory functions on the back were damaged. The fall in the crater must have done it. It bashed up the feeds and she was getting too much oxygen. The headaches, nausea, and fatigue… even that voice. Even though it chilled her still. They were all probably just hallucinations and reactions to oxygen poisoning.

Probably.

Tonya set a course back for the Xenia Shipping Hub in Baker. She had goods to sell, true, but right now, she wanted to be around people.

She wanted to be around the noise.

Back in the decontamination chamber, the tiny Hadesian carving sat on the floor.

THE END

#star citizen #squadron 42

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inexcon · 6 years

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RSI Comm-Link: Whisperer in the Dark