The engines roared with power as the Sweetie Drop traveled through hyperspace. The inside of the ship was now quiet again, with only the Mandalorian making some noise as she climbed down a ladder to check up on her guests. Looking over, she saw Lyra was sleeping peacefully on her cot, warm under the fluffy blanket that Mando had given her.
Her head looked over on the table, eyeing the IG unit that was near completion for assembly. So far, it was honestly in really good shape, aside from being in pieces and just needing to be put back together. Only major things she had to do now was to get some good programming information so he would obey her, and not be incredibly hostile. But that was something she would have to do for after the trip was over. But yet, she still was considering finishing it now, even as she looked at a micro-chip containing more medical related emergencies.
Her attention wandered until she heard the soft but adorable babble coming from the baby's hovering crib. Mando glanced back over to the baby, hearing her whimper when she found herself caught, and hid back under her blanket. Checking again, she saw Lyra had fallen asleep, but she wasn’t going to wake her. Maybe she could try and approach this little baby without scaring her this time? Maybe?
She lowered herself on her knees so she could be face to face with the baby while she was in the crib.
“Flurry. So, you saved my life when we took that stop on Florrum. I gotta hand it to you kid, I didn’t know you could do… that.”
The baby listened, but still held the covers in her little hands, trying to hide from her.
“Hey, hey, listen. Look, I didn’t know you were what the Storm Empire was after. I know you can’t understand me, but I’m not here to hurt you. I promise.”
But the baby still didn’t react kindly to her. How was she going to get this kid to open up? There had to be something to get this baby to like her. Maybe she could tried what Lyra did; maybe extending a finger to give her little tickles could work? Or if that doesn’t work, maybe she could just try and get the baby to simply shake her hand?
Slowly, she extended a finger and moved her hand into the baby’s crib, moving it within distance of the child. The baby’s whimpering slowly died down, and she pulled her blanket down without fear. And in the baby's mind, she thought over everything over of her experiences with this masked vigilante. She didn't mean no harm, she kept her safe. This masked woman wasn’t going to hurt her after all…
Smiling, she put a hand on the Mandalorian’s finger, patting her. It wasn’t visible, but the Mandalorian was smiling happily underneath the helmet. This little powerhouse was opening up to her and without fear! Still trying to be cautious, she slowly moved her hands in the crib and picked up the baby, moving her carefully to hold her in her arms. The baby just giggled, showing the most happy faces that the Mandalorian had ever seen.
“I think I understand why Lyra likes you.”
She patted the baby’s head, making her giggle. And the baby slowly moved her hands to the Mandalorian’s helmet, trying to grab it. “No, no,” she said, softly but sternly. “No one is allowed to lift my helmet. My helmet stays on my head, kid. No one is allowed to see my face.”
The baby pouted. She just wanted to see her real face. But she got an idea. Thinking and calming down, she slowly moved her hands out, aimed at the Mandalorian’s helmet.
“… You better not.”
The baby did not resist her words.
“You better not be using your fancy magic to raise my helmet. Do you know what happens to those who—”
For a moment the helmet was lifted up, until Flurry’s shock made her let go and it plunked back on her head. She didn’t see much, but it did surprise her. Not enough to make her cry, thank goodness.
“That’s a huge risk you just took.” The Mandalorian spoke. “If you were an adult, I would have quaking in fear. But I can’t make you do that, now can you?”
Flurry tilted her head, not processing much of her words.
“Do you want to sit up with me in the cockpit, look at some stars?”
Now that, Flurry understood as she nodded ecstatically.
“Okay. I’ll take you up with me,” she agreed, keeping one hand on the baby while the other hand she used to try to pull herself up, luckily she had some wall behind her to use as an extra force to pull herself up. And luckily she had the little crib hovering right behind her which she got to follow her up the ladder and into the cockpit.
Once she was up, she sat back down in the pilot chair and let Flurry sit on an open space next to her. And right now, the baby was in touch heaven. So many shiny buttons that were in the cockpit around her, there were so many for her to play with! Her head looked to her right, and Flurry's little hand flipped a switch, setting it to green.
"No. No no," Mando said, calmly but firmly, reversing the switch order.
And yet Flurry ignored her and flipped it yet again.
“How about we stop playing with button?”
And still, Flurry did it again!
“Hmm, no huh?” the Mandalorian said. “I think someone’s getting a little cranky.”
Once again, defying her word.
“If you touch that button one more time, this ship is going to self-destruct," Mando threatened, starting to lose some patience. And Flurry still flipped the button that she was told not to, and to the baby's surprise, nothing blew up. “Huh. You didn’t even hesitate. That’s a huge gamble you just took.”
The baby had zero clues what she was talking about and just sat there innocently, wanting to press that button again.
"Tell you what. I'll let you play with the button for a few more minutes, and it's time for bed. I'm no parent, but I'm pretty sure it's past your bedtime," Mando compromised. "But don't press the blue button. I don't need you waking up your mom." Flurry instantly got an idea. Press the button? She leaned slightly over to hit the switch, and Mando watched her with an eye of a hawk. "Don't... you better not." And Flurry hit the switch. Dramatic music started blaring inside the cockpit, with dramatic drums and a chorus singing like performers at an opera on Coruscant.
Empire on Ice!
Empire on Ice!
Here we are the Empire on Ice!
All those Jedi will pay a big price!
Tempest's not nice and
the Storm King will dice and
the Wookiees have lice
The Empire on Ice!
Mando immediately pressed the switch, deactivating the music. "If Lyra heard all of that, she would kill me." She looked at the baby who continued to sit innocently. "What? So I like listening to songs mocking the Storm Empire and the Republic Senate, so what?"
"Eh voi...", baby Flurry babbled, innocently smiling.
"Thank goodness you're too young to understand," Mando sighed, shaking her head.
And it didn't take long for Flurry to start playing with the button again. This went on for a few more minutes, until Mando turned around and picked up the baby, setting her back down in the crib.
"Okay, playtime is over. Time to go to bed, Flurry."
Mando turned her chair around, putting her attention back onto space, continuing to just sit and keep things under control while her home went through hyperspace. Her attention nearly wandered until she heard the little cooing from the crib.
“What am I hearing right now? You better not be fiddling with that compartment switch. If I find out you’re not back in your crib you are in big, big, big trouble. I’m one of the most feared women in the galaxy. Do you know what I’m capable of? I have eyes in the back of my head. No one gets the drop on me.”
“…”
“… You’re standing right behind me, aren’t you?”
Mando turned her head, and instead found Flurry sitting on the same spot she was before, next to the buttons she was playing with from before. As Flurry sat on the little compartment piece, her eyes were drawn to the shiny ball that was on top of one of the levers. She reached for it, pulling it off, thinking it was candy. And when she tried to suck on it like a pacifier, the Mandalorian plucked it away before she could do any damage.
“No, don’t eat that,” she said, taking the metal piece away from her hands and away from her mouth. And yet Flurry reached for it again. “Stop. Don’t tell me you’re hungry. We already had dinner, I saw you eat! How are you still hungry?”
Flurry looked at her with a frown, patting her arm.
“Do you want a snack? If I get a snack, do you promise you’ll go to sleep?” Mando said, sternly.
Somehow the baby understood and gave her a little nod.
“Alright. Give me a second,” The Mandalorian said, getting up from her chair. But before she turned, she looked back at the baby who sat there innocently. "Don't touch anything, understand?"
Mando set the ship into auto-pilot mode, and walked away from the cockpit, climbing down the ladder to go to the kitchen. And little Flurry just sat there, looking around and at all of the controls in awe. So many shiny buttons to play with, so many possibilities. What did they all do? But then she saw one of the joystick controls in the middle. Waddling over, she kept a firm stance on one of the arms of the arm chair, and gripped the joystick, wiggling it side to side.
That however proved to be a very risky act, as within seconds, the entire ship started shaking and rumbling, and it began spinning around, dangerously. The Mandalorian was heard screaming from down below, especially when she was heard slamming and banging against everything. Luckily Mando finally got control to climb back up into the cockpit to stop the little powerhouse from causing any further destruction.
"AH!"
Mando fell backwards in the cockpit, and thanks to Flurry still playing with the joystick like a toy, Mando's face slammed against the consoles and against other parts of the cockpit. "I should have left you in the crib!"
Thankfully the ship spun itself back around, and Mando was able to get a grip on the controls and stop the baby from causing any more damage. She picked up the baby, and set her back in the crib, getting some little whines back. Thankfully they went away when she saw the snack that Mando was offering, a small little fruity popsicle, and immediately started sucking on the snack.
Mando sighed, getting the ship back in control. "Do not touch things, understand?"
Flurry slowly sunk where she was sitting, with a guilty face, as if to say 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again'. But she smiled as she kept sucking down on the snack, keeping her hunger at bay. For a few more minutes, Flurry just ate her snack, finishing it with a cute little burp. And once she made it clear she was done, Mando carefully lifted Flurry and set her down in her crib.
"Okay, good night little one. Sleep tight."
Mando turned around back to the controls, keeping the ship going once again. But she still felt something was off. Her head moved and out the corner of her eye, she saw the baby was still awake.
"What?"
The baby looked at her innocently with pleading little eyes.
"I know what that look means. You want me to sing you a song, don't you?"
Flurry shook her head.
"No? Then what do you want?"
Flurry's little hands reached down in her crib, and pulled out a small little physical book, shown with colorful pictures and cute animals. Mando picked up the book, looking at it for a brief second, then back to the baby.
"You want me to read you a story? If I read you this story, do you promise to go to sleep?"
"Yis," Flurry cooed softly.
Mando sighed. "Oh boy... I can't say no to you little cutie, now can I?" Her head jolted to the side from shock. Where the hell did that come from? Regardless, Mando diverted her attention back to the baby. "Alright. You get one story, and then it's time for bed. No negotiations."
She picked up the book, thankfully a skinny book at that. Cute cartoon pictures of little animals, all different species from across the galaxy. Admittedly, they reminded her of some books that her mother used to read as a little girl... and now here she was, about to read to a baby of a similar kind.
"Alright," The Mandalorian said, clearing her throat. "The loth-cats are cuddling in their homes, with no emotions to make them weep. And so I am telling you little one... to please go to sleep."
The next few minutes went by, and so Mando kept reading, making sure it had an effect on the baby. And as the story progressed, it seemed to be doing it's job. The baby was enjoying the story, and her little eyes were slowly starting to close as she got a little more sleepy, listening to the story.
Although, Mando did change the last verse for something a bit more fitting for her.
"And so now, I will fly the ship back to Naboo, with my droids, G-G and Cheep. And now I see, you little Flurry... you have finally gone to sleep."
After all of that reading, Flurry had finally gone asleep.
"Look at that. Finally, some peace and quiet for a bit." The Mandalorian sighed in relief, finally this baby was going to be peaceful for a while now. Yet, when she looked at her, finally sleeping in that little crib... she couldn't figure out why she was smiling. This small little thing was causing so much trouble in the past few days, yet she didn't know why she didn't want to look away. Her soft little hair, that cute little face, and the adorable noises she made when she tried to talk. She swore she almost gushed a little when she heard those.
The baby stayed sound asleep, thank goodness. And it never saw as Mando took off a glove, and softly patted her head and adjust her blanket to make sure she stayed safe and warm in her crib. But right now, she couldn't think about it. She had much more pressing matters to deal with; one of which was to get to Naboo in one piece...
The Sweetie Drop jumped out of hyperspace, finally arriving at Naboo. No Storm Army blockades, no warring factions, nothing. The atmosphere was clear for them to come down and land, thank goodness. But instead of landing in a landing zone in the city, Mando instead chose to land in the grasslands, roughly two miles from the city.
The ramp opened up, and Lyra walked out, the crib floating right behind her, and Mando being the last of the bunch to leave. The hatch closed behind, and so the group started walking towards the city.
It wasn't a long walk, thankfully. But it did take some time to get there, until the group was finally standing at the city gates.
"Alright, here we are. This is as far as I go."
"Hang on, why here? There's a docking bay in the hangar you can use, I'm sure if you just let me--"
"After everything I said about your Jedi Order, your war, your rules, and the people you're fighting against... I don't think they would want to see me. Let's not forget, I'm a bounty hunter. I'm not worth the time of day to deal with the likes of me, and I know I have some crimes under my belt that they would want to press charges for."
"But Mando--"
A gloved hand went over her lips, and she stopped talking. Lyra didn't understand what the Mando was doing, and she was very stiff when she saw her hand softly hold her shoulders.
"Stay safe. I've done all I can to keep you and Flurry safe. I think my career as a member of the Bounty Hunter's Guild is now over, and there is a 100% chance that Bane and the others will come after me," Mando said. Lyra felt a little worried, she could just feel the shakiness in her voice.
"Mando, you don't have to run. Why don't you get your ship, park it in the hangar bay, and maybe we can talk to the Republic about putting you into some kind of protection? If they're coming after you for saving me, then they have to--"
"--I've said enough, Lyra. And after everything I've said to you, and everything I've spoke about your allies... I don't think you would want someone with that much snark around," Mando said, turning her head away to look back out into the fields, seeing her ship still parked on the hillside. "I have to leave."
"But..."
Lyra couldn't get any more words out of her mouth. Mando didn't say another word either, and she started to walk away. Lyra wanted to use the Force to yank her back, or do something to try and get her to come back, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She didn't want to drive her further away, and so she just stood there... and watched as Mando walked back to her ship.
The baby watched as Mando left, and whimpered a little. Her little hands reached out, begging for her to come back, but with no result. Flurry whimpered some more, until Lyra picked her up, holding her in her arms.
“Oh, Flurry…” Lyra cooed, hugging the baby. “Shhh… it’s okay. It’s okay sweetie. I know... I know...”
Flurry still whimpered, but Lyra still kept her close and continued to walk further into the city. The city was peaceful, thankfully. And everyone seemed to be minding their own business, no one was in any imminent danger, no problem whatsoever. But she had to find someone, anyone of a high position or security so she could call for help.
Thankfully someone answered her prayer, in the form of a voice that she heard carried in multiple familiar bodies. Over near one of the bigger buildings was a clone trooper in light blue armor. Actually, multiple troopers, huddled together, calling for the Jedi's attention. Lyra immediately knew who they were; they were a part of Derpy Hooves' clone division. They waved to her, gesturing her to come over to them. That was enough to finally get her to break out of her frown.
“Baker's Batch, so good to see you all. Mix, Patch, Stinger, Ace, Bolt, good to see you all again.”
"Good to see you're safe and alive, General," Bolt stated. "There have been multiple Jedi stretched across the galaxy trying to find you. Should we radio all the search parties to tell them you're still alive?"
"Yes, yes we should," Lyra agreed. "Tell them I'm okay, and I have the baby."
Flurry tilted her head, and clapped her hands with joy when she saw those same familiar white-armored guys who kept her and 'mommy' safe during the last few runs.
"Aww. Glad to see the baby's safe," Mix smiled under the helmet. He couldn't help himself and wave a finger in front of the baby, getting Flurry to try and hug it, playfully.
"Where's Derpy? Is she around?"
"Actually, she's inside the hangar. We're just about to go in to meet her actually," Ace replied.
"Great! I'll come with!" Lyra smiled, following the group of clones.
Lyra followed the clone troopers, passing by some citizens and a few more clones who were just standing by with some of the Naboo Royal Guard. They just simply gave her some friendly waves, letting them continue to walk on by. And even though it wasn't important, Lyra did smile a little, hearing some of the conversations between some of the clones who were around. All of them had the same blue armor as the Baker's Batch.
"I heard we might be getting modified Phase II armor next week," said the trooper on her left.
"Finally. I've been waiting to get some upgrades," replied another trooper.
Chuckling softly, she continued to follow the clones through the city, and were granted access to walk inside a hangar area. Inside, there were a few more clone troopers hanging out, chatting, taking a break, whatever. And standing with an eye-catching trooper in bright blue armor, was Derpy Hooves.
"Derpy!"
The Jedi heard her name, and immediately turned with a hopeful smile, knowing who that voice belonged to. "Lyra, it's so good to see you," Derpy smiled, pulling her into a hug. And her walleyes met the eyes of the baby in her arms. "Aww, I'm so happy you're okay. How have you been sweetie?"
The baby raised her arms up, insisting on being picked up. Lyra, with a smile, carefully passed the baby to Derpy's arms to let her hold her. "You're getting so big," Derpy gushed. And carefully, she moved the baby around so she could keep her cradled safely and in the most comfortable way. "How did the trip go, did you make it back safely?"
Lyra shrugged a little, although her face seemed unsure. "It was... fine. Kind of got sidetracked a little. But I met a lady who was kind enough to help me get here safe and sound."
"Who was she?"
Lyra frowned. "Well... she's a Mandalorian. And I don't think I'll see her again."
Now Derpy frowned. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sure she'll turn up again."
The Jedi turned her head to the open hangar, gazing at the beautiful day that was just outside. Her hands moved behind her back as she looked outside, saddened that she wasn't going to see her again for some time. "I hope so Derpy. I hope so..."
When Lyra found her way back to the city, the Mandalorian stood outside her ship, taking in the fresh air of Naboo around her. It felt rather nice, and it was a gorgeous day today. Sadly, she couldn't stay. She had to leave, and knowing the bounty hunters, they were most likely going to be on her tail with every passing second. So she walked inside her ship, climbed up to the cockpit and sat back down in the pilot chair. Mando flipped some controls, about to take off when her hand reached for a lever. She saw the top of it was gone, thanks to the baby pulling it off and trying to suck on it like candy. Her hand slowly retreated back, her mind a bit heavy in thought. The engines were still prepping idly, ready to take off, and she had that instinct to try and leave. But some part of her couldn't just get herself to get going, she couldn't bring herself to leave.
Any other people she picked up along the way or paying passengers she just dropped off without a second thought, but she didn't want to go. Just when she was about to force herself to finally get off the ground, she pulled a switch and listened as the engines slowly powered down. She let her head bang against the headrest of the seat, sighing.
What is wrong with you? You're done! They're safe, just go and move on with your life! Its not like these people are going to be important to you anyway. Not like that baby with dangerous magic would be good to have around a rust bucket... especially one so downright cute and sweet and kind to my bots.
Her head slammed against the steering wheel.
No, no, no! Mando, you are not going to go back and try and find them, you can't! Lyra is a Jedi, she has rules she has to abide by, you can't get her to break them. Especially not someone so... cute.
"Agh! What is wrong with me!?" The Mando yelled, slamming her fists against the controls. "No, I can't leave. I gotta go after her."
She spun around in her chair, and slid down the ladder like a fireman pole. Once she hit the ground, she charged out into the open and her skin was cold. She had a visitor, an unfriendly one at that. Scary blood red eyes and cold dark blue skin staring straight at her with pistols in his gloved hands.
"Hold it right there."
Mando turned around and saw IG-88 step in the way, blocking the ship entrance. And on her left and right were the others; Bane, Sugi, Embo, Dengar, Bossk, and Aurra.
"Where is the asset?"
"She's dead," Mando said with a straight face. "Couldn't stand the thing."
"Liar," Bossk hissed. "I can hear it in your voiccceee. I can smell your fear. And it smellsssss... delicioussss."
"You Trandoshuns have weird eating habits, I swear," Mando shrugged off.
"You're wasting our time. Where is the asset?"
Mando looked at her surroundings, snarling softly under her helmet. "Even if she was here, I still wouldn't say a thing."
"If you don't tell us where she is, we'll just have to rip your ship apart until we find it," Bane warned, clicking his gun.
Mando looked down at her wrists, silently flipped a switch without them noticing. She stretched her head, moving it all directions and cracked her knuckles. "You can try... but you won't find anything valuable."
Her fists went up and spinning around in circles, she shot out giant bursts of flame that made everyone duck and jump out of the way. Mando may not have wanted to kill them, but at the very least, getting them all to back away would have been helpful.
"Get her!"
Aurra fired the first shot, which the Mandalorian ducked. Thinking on her heels, she swung a foot around and kicked the blasters out of Aurra's hands. Aurra however fought back, striking her in the gut with her knee. Thinking quickly, she grabbed Aurra's arms and threw her hard enough to slam her against the side of her ship.
Dengar went to grab her by the neck, and Mando instinctively went for the stomach, punching and then throwing an extra kick to push him away. Embo got a move on her, feeling a powerful slam against her back thanks to his hat shield disk. Mando wanted to fight back, but someone else soon caught her attention. She tried to press her wrist gauntlet to activate her droids, but there were too many targets and there was only so much she could do to occupy her attention.
Sugi jumped at her, trying to tackle her and pin her to the ground to keep her from activating her droids. In a fit of luck, Mando threw Sugi off her, and ducked as IG-88 fired multiple shots came flying at her, avoiding being blasted in the head. Unfortunately she did not anticipate several agonizing shocks coming from the electro-staff that Embo was twirling around, stolen from some Magna Guard droid long ago. He hit her in the back, sending a large amount of paralysis to her body, striking her every time she tried to get back up to fight.
One more shock did the trick and she finally dropped, overwhelmed by everyone around her. Now that she was down, Embo and Sugi swooped in to grab her, picking her back up and held her in place, locking her arms behind her back.
"What do we do with her now?" Dengar asked, pointing his gun towards her head.
"Hold on. This Mandalorian has battle droids. We better check and make sure they stay deactivated, just for good measure," Aurra grinned, raising her pistol.
"Agreed," Bossk nodded.
Bossk and Dengar walked inside the ship, looking for droids. A few were visibly seen sitting on their little docking platforms, and instinctively, the bounty hunters opened fire on all of them, frying them instantly. And their sights set on K2-B4, and they also immediately set their guns to fire on him, smashing him into nothing but spare parts.
The two looked around some more, pushing more junk and debris out of the way. And Bossk even slapped the almost finished IG unit onto the ground, left to just lay there like a sack of potatoes. Couldn't get up without a brain, so no worries there. But then Bossk tapped a button that opened up a small compartment door, revealing Cheep and G-G sitting inside, turned off in fact.
"Wait, hang on. They're astromechs, they're nothing more than pets. They can't do anything, let's just leave them here. Besides, how are they going to activate?" Dengar snickered.
"Finneeee..." Bossk whined.
The two sweeped the ship some more, but eventually found nothing. With nothing else to do, they walked out of the ship, leaving it a complete mess. And unbeknownst to them, the astromechs started to activate on their own...
"Where is the asset?" IG-88 asked, raising a gun.
Mando lifted her head weakly, growling at them. "I am not saying anything, you malfunctioning scrap pile."
"I will initiate the weapon to kill."
"Wait. The Storm Army will pay big money if we bring back the one who kept them from getting the asset back," Aurra suggested. "Don't kill her, we need her alive."
IG-88 stopped in place, looking back at Aurra quizzically. "This is true."
"Come on everyone, back to the ship. We're taking this traitor in alive," Bane ordered, leading them back over to the ship.
Mando moaned as she tried to move, but couldn't. Everyone had their arms on her, and they wouldn't let her escape. Mando could barely lift her head up to see their sinister glares as they dragged her limp body to their craft. And when they got closer, all she saw was darkness as she slowly blacked out.
What they didn't realize was that there was still some droids left on her ship still online. Two astromech units slowly moved down the ramp to look, and they whimpered and shuddered as they watched their captain get hauled away by the bounty hunters.
"Chirp, chup chup choop, chup chup chup."
"Bort weeeirp," G-G whimpered.
"Chup chup chup choop," Cheep agreed.
The two astromechs rolled back up the ramp and back inside the ship to stay out of sight, waiting patiently. Using a small elevation control, the droids got up to the cockpit controls to see if they could get a better look. They couldn't see much until they saw a gunship start to take off into the air with a custom paint job and markings vanish into the skies. Once the bounty hunter crew got high enough, the hyperdrive activated and they escaped Naboo with a single jump into hyperspace to meet their 'esteemed' client...