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Karga prepared a small cottage for me on an acre of land just outside the city. The Mandalorian escorted me there and we settled in to wait while the storm passed.
I looked around at my new home. The windows had a cover that would swing shut to protect from sandstorms. The kitchen and living room were connected in a way that was very cozy. There was only one bedroom and one bathroom, which was fine for me. I was only one person.
"I hope you like everything." The mandalorian had been watching me explore the new surroundings. "I asked Karga to give you the nicest he had."
I smiled. "Thank you, Mando." The beskar mask tilted as he nodded.
The wind grew stronger outside. The light that had previously seeped through the windows was now gone. Karga had said a storm like this could last an hour. Maybe two. I would have to get used to this. Corellia rarely ever had storms.
"Thank you for helping me," I said. He didn't have to come back for me and risk his own life but he did. He seemed like a good man. It made me sad that I wouldn't get to know him better.
"You helped me," he replied. "I owed you."
It was quiet for a moment. The baby was asleep in his floating crib. Nothing but the wind made any sound. The mandalorian was perched on the edge of the couch, as if he was ready to go the second the storm cleared. In the short time you had spent with him, he never seemed relaxed. Always on edge.
"Can you ask you something?"
The mask bobbed up and down as he nodded.
"Why remove your mark?" I asked. I regretted the question the moment it passed my lips. Something in me had to know. Why didn't he want me?
"Most mandalorians do," he replied. "Not many are willing to break the creed and remove their helmet, even for a soulmate. And most soulmates don't want to go their lives without seeing their partner's face."
I was surprised at the answer but it made sense. The creed was important to the mandalorians, from what you understood. Removing their helmet was treason. "What if their partner was okay with the whole helmet thing?" you asked. "With never seing their face?"
He shrugged. "It's up to each individual to choose. But like I sayoud, most mandalorians go ahead and remove the mark."
Tell him.
No.
"I am grateful you chose to help me, despite the risks," he said after a moment of quiet.
I forced a smile. "I needed the credits," I answered honestly. I decided there, for good, that you would never show him my tattoo. I would never tell him. He wouldn't be willing to break the creed. And I wasn't sure if I could go without ever seeing the face of the man I'd spend the rest of my life with. I'd be willing to try, of course, but I would always be wanting to see him. To know him.
—————
The storm passed and I stepped outside into the sunlight. It was much warmer here than on Corellia. I sighed, thinking I could get used to this. The sky was blue and bright as if the storm had never even happened. The door of my new home creaked open and then quietly shut as the mandalorian came out to test the weather.
"Should be good to fly now," I said. My tone was almost bitter, but it wasn't on purpose. He didn't seem offended by it.
"Thanks again, for everything," he said. His voice was genuine and I couldn't be sure but I thought he was smiling under that helmet.
———
The mandalorian left. I didn't go to see him off.
Greef Karga got a me a job in his palace until I found something else I liked. Nevarro had a growing economy, he had told me. There would be plenty of jobs to choose from, and while my artist heart wanted to go back to tattoos, I knew it would be best to stay away.
I woke up with the sunrise that morning and yawned. Another boring day at the palace lay ahead of me. I was grateful for the job, but the work was so monotonous. I put on my uniform, a simple gray and red ensemble with the flag of Nevarro symbol over my heart. I had been provided several sets of this uniform along with other clothing items to wear.
The job paid fairly well, although I didn't know what to spend money on. I stopped at the farmers market a couple times a week for food. I made simple dinners with the ingredients I could buy. Most of it was stuff I didn't recognize, but it all tasted amazing.
I made my way out of the door, locking it behind me. That was when I noticed the shadow overcast above. My brow furrowed as I looked up.
A large ship had come into the atmosphere and was flying steadily towards the city. My curiosity quickly turned into panic as something opened from underneath the ship and a large metal contraption came out. It was only when they started firing that I realized it was a gun.
Even from my house outside the town, I could hear the panicked screams. Figures began flooding from the streets, looking for shelter. The ground shook as more shots fired. Buildings crumbled. For a moment I was frozen in place, watching as the chaos ensued.
When I finally did start moving, my steps felt almost robotic. My walk turned into a full blown sprint as I headed into the city. Alarms bells in my brain were telling me I should be running away from the danger but I didn't listen. People were in trouble, and I should help. Karga had given me a small blaster for emergencies. It was heavy in my pocket as I ran. Did I know what I was going to do exactly? No. No I didn't. I didn't have a clue. But I did know that I couldn't sit around and hide while people were being attacked.
I reached the city, and things were worse than I thought. Gaping holes now covered the buildings and the street. Crying reached my ears. A small child. I searched frantically through the smoke and ash, and then my eyes landed on her.
A small togruta girl, who couldn't have been any more than three years old. She shrieked so fiercely I knew it must have hurt her throat. No parents or any obvious guardians were in sight so I ran towards her.
My sudden appearance startled her and she scrambled backwards, still screaming.
"Hey, hey it's okay," I said gently. I knelt down to her level and opened my arms. "Let's go find your family. Come on, hurry."
Sensing that I was not a threat, the girl stood up and toddled into my arms. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her with ease.
"It'll all be okay," I said, gently patting her back. We made our way down the street, the little girl burying her face into my shoulder and soaking my uniform with her tears.
As I rounded the corner of some buildings, my eyes caught a flash of movement. Two men in dirty outfits and large blasters in their hands. Before I could do anything, the one with bright orange skin turned around and made eye contact with me.
He hit his companion on the shoulder. "There! Get that girl!" The other one turned around and both raised their weapons at me.
I ducked and ran for cover, hiding behind a crumbling wall. Plasma shots from the blaster blew so close to me that I could feel the heat from them. I refrained from swearing in front of the child. The blasters upset her even more. Her screams sent pain shooting through my ear.
The shots continued for a moment before halting. I could hear their faint voices and then boots crunching against the rubble on the ground. My heart pounded. My blaster was in my hand but it only had a few rounds and I hadn't had much practice. I had definitely never shot at someone before.
I eased the kid off my hip and set her on the ground, tucking her coat around her and making sure she was completely sheltered by the wall.
Carefully, I lifted my head and pointed my blaster in the general direction of the enemy and fired. Missed. I quickly ducked my head as they started shooting again. When the shooting paused, I took my chance and sat up. When I fired this time I was more sure of myself.
The man on the left flinched as the plasma shot went into his shoulder. I couldn't believe I had actually hit him, but there was still his friend. Before I had time to to aim and fire, the other pirate fired his own blaster.
Fire exploded through the hand holding my weapon and I screamed in pain. My hand instinctively dropped the blaster. I ducked down behind the wall and cradled my now bleeding right hand. A few more blaster shots fired and then all was quiet for a moment. I stopped my crying to listen out for possible danger.
Footsteps. Several pairs of them, and heading in our direction. I'd have to shoot with my other hand. I only had a couple shots left but I'd have to try to protect both myself and the kid.
"Is someone there?" A gruff voice called out.
I recognized that voice. you peered over the top of the wall. Mandalorians. A whole group of them. Mando must have seen me because he motioned to the others and they all dropped their weapons.
My whole body relaxed. "We need help." My voice was hoarse from the fear. My bloody hand had soaked through my shirt and pants. I was so grateful to see the dark gray of his armor.
Mando rushed towards me. The kid was screaming so he picked her up first and handed her to one of the other mandalorians, a woman in a blue and gray beskar suit with the face of an owl on the helmet.
"Where are you shot?" He asked, turning his attention to me now. I couldn't see him but I could sense his gaze scanning my body for wounds.
"My hand," I replied. He reached for my arm and even though I resisted at first, he pulled it towards him to inspect it.
"We can take you back to the ship and get you bandaged up," he said. He was careful as he turned my hand over so that my palm was facing upwards. He pushed up my blood soaked sleeve and then stopped.
I was too distracted by the pain and the crying child and the rest of the chaos to understand what he was looking at. Then I realized. I pulled my arm away quickly and covered it again with my shirt. I wished now more than ever that I could see his face to read his expression. His mask was looking in my general direction and he didn't say anything.
His gaze turned towards the other mandalorians. "Get the girl to safety. I'll join you as soon as I get Y/N to a doctor," he ordered. They did as he said, without questions.
He supported me from my elbows and helped me to my feet.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said. If he was mad, I couldn't tell.
"You don't have to apologize," he sayoud. "Let's get you back to the ship. We have people who can patch up your hand."
———
The mandalorian healer was a pleasant middle aged man, who thankfully had very gentle hands. He was careful as he cleaned and bandaged my wound. They didn't have many pain medications but he gave me what he could. I tried to keep my mind occupied to ignore the pain.
After the pirates retreated, I was able to go back to my cottage. I hadn't seen Mando since he dropped me off with the healer.
I was alone in my house again. The city was rebuilding. People had flooded the hospital with their injuries. Any volunteers were welcome and highly encouraged. When I showed up, however, they turned me away. Didn't want me working with my injured hand.
So I was home alone with nothing to do. One of Karga's droids had dropped off a few books but none of them seemed very interesting. I picked one up and flipped through it with my good hand. There was a knock at the door. My brow furrowed. I hadn't made any friends on Nevarro, so I hadn't a clue who would be visiting me.
I crossed the room nervously. Could the pirates be back? The thought was ridiculous. Pirates wouldn't knock. I opened the door to come face to face with the last person I ever expected to see again.
The mandalorian stood awkwardly on my doorstep, the baby in his arms.
"The, uh... the kid misses you," he said, after I didn't say anything for long while. "We wanted to see how you were doing."
I smiled nervously. "Oh I'm fine. The doctors gave me the all clear to come back home. My hand is healing just fine, they said."
He nodded quickly. "Good, good."
Grogu cooed and reached for me.
"Can we come in?" Mando asked.
I nodded and opened the door wider so they could step inside. His movements were careful, almost robotic as he stepped into the cottage. He set Grogu down on the floor to check the place out.
I closed the door but didn't move from my spot, too in shock to do anything else. After he saw my tattoo, I was positive he'd make a run for it. But now he was here in my living room, just a few feet away from me.
I sat down on the couch and after a few minutes he sat down on the other end. We said nothing and simply watched the baby as he explored. I wondered if you should say something but in that moment I don't think anything needed to be said. We simply sat and enjoyed one another's presence