So here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, but I'm renovating my bathroom over the course of the next week, so I'll likely not be updating for a week or so. But hopefully this chapter is enough to keep everyone happy for a bit.

Special thanks to everyone for the wonderful words of encouragement. Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews.

Zechs had been correct, the cantina fight had ended by the time they got back. The inside of the dive was mostly empty, with two extremely rusted cleaning droids picking up broken peices of wood and glassware, a few woebegone individuals nursing wounds in the shadows and the barkeep casually organizing his wares without a care in the world. Nothing was said when they entered once again and no one was stupid enough to even look too hard at Din as he moved around this time.

Rather than sit at one of the rickety tables, the dark haired male led the two towards a booth near the back. Din saw Val look around again, likely noting where the exits were. She was a cautious one, always aware of her surroundings. At least she was when not driven to the point of exhaustion like on Corellia and Panna Prime. However, she seemed to feel safe enough with the two men to willingly sit in the more confined cubical, sliding onto the curved pew.

As Zechs moved to sit beside her, Din clamped his hand down onto the smaller mans shoulder, digging his fingers into the sensitive nerves around the base of his neck and squeezed hard. A strangled, pain gasp left the man's mouth, his legs buckling a bit and Din forcibly turned him towards the opposite bench. Stepping forward, he boldly moved to sit beside Valriya, forcing her to scoot further in or risk him crushing her. She sent a glare his way, but said nothing in protest. The child squirmed in his lap, crawling out and shimmied into the small space between the pair, snuggling into both their sides contently.

Satisfied with that, Din turned his attention to Zechs, who frowned unhappily, but slid down onto the other side of the table nonetheless, "So how'd this happen Swiftfoot? He's not the type I'd figure you'd pair up with."

"I didn't come here to discuss my life plans, especially not with you. What's so damn important that you tracked me down? Because I know that took time and patience has never been your strong suit."

The smuggler clutched his chest with one hand dramatically, "Oh, the pain. You cut me deep, Valriya. Don't be so cruel."

She rolled her eyes but a small, amused smile danced at the edge of her lips, "Hilarious."

Everyone turned as a server set three cups on the table. Without thought, Din pushed his over to Val. She looked pleased at the extra drink. Zechs looked puzzled at him, switching targets for conversation, "Not thirsty? You looked like you worked up quite the sweat earlier. Sit back and relax a little, take off your helmet and enjoy yourself. It's on me."

"Zechs, if you don't get to the point of why you're here, I'm going to ask him to shoot you."

"Who says you need to ask?" Din responded immediately, shifting his hand down to the blaster at his hip just to hammer in the threat.

The male raised hands in a placating manner, having gone rather pale at the growl in the Warriors voice, "Okay, okay! Cool your jets, we're all friends here."

"I wouldn't go that far." Din responded in a dark tone. Zechs swallowed a little and looked to Val for support, who causally took a hearty swallow of her drink, pretending not to notice. Quickly changing his tone, he offered the young woman his glass as well before finally starting to explain things.

"I've got a job lined up...a big one. It'll give you enough credits to bribe off any hunter for months and get you set up in a nice, cushy hidey hole for a good long while. I'm pulling the crew back together for it and I want you to be part of it, Val. You cut will be big, I promise."

She looked unimpressed, "I'm not interesting in getting involved in your "Get rich quick" schemes, Zechs."

"This isn't like that, its a solid play, I swear. The one backing it is actually an aristocrat from Alderaan, a real uppity so-and-so, but he's got credits galore. It's not even that hard of a job, just a quick snatch-and-grab like on Yulum."

"You ended up getting stuck in an airduct on Yulum, which forced me to act as live-moving bait to keep the guards busy while you wiggled your fat ass out of a third story window."

Din almost lost his composure and laughed out loud at the shameful flush that spread across Zechs face, but he recovered quickly, smirking back, "True...but the payoff was worth it, wasn't it? You sure didn't complain much about the stack of chips you got."

She didn't argue that point, but was still resisting the smugglers pressure, "I'm trying to not draw attention to myself. Swiping high value assets tends to upset beings and make them do things that are unpleasant. Like shoot laser bolts in my direction and plaster my face all over the sector so everyone knows where I am. Not interested."

Din however, was intrigued by the prospect. Bounty hunting was dangerous work, he'd always known that. It paid well enough, but with the collapse of the Empire, things weren't as profitable as they once were. A side job, one that came with a high payload and lower risk than those he'd been on previously, might be worth investigating in.

"What's the job?"

Zechs looked startled that he was the one asking for details. Val was even more shocked, staring at him. After a few moments, the dark haired man scoffed a little, "While I'm sure you're very good at what you do, this gig requires a little more finesse and less muscle than what you can offer."

"Every job needs muscle for something. It's always good to have backup."

Zechs frowned, but did nod finally, "Alright, fair point. Fine, I'll add in a place for your partner if you agreed to join, Val."

"I never said I was going to do anything. I'm still out, Zechs. I said I was leaving that behind me and I meant it."

Now that smuggler leaned over the table, expression softening towards the woman, trying to ply her with sweet words, "Hey, come on now Val. I need you on this one." Zechs reached over and took one of her hands in his, raised it up and gently kissing her knuckles. Din wanted to slice off his paw at the wrist. "You're the best I've ever known. Still are the best. You've got the talent and you always have a way out. I need that on this job. Come on, Swiftfoot...gimme one last run together. What'da say."

She looked torn, unsure of what to do, eyes darting between Zechs and him. A long pause followed before she sighed a little, "What are the details?"

Radiien looked immensely happy at her words, "Can't give you the full breakdown here, too many ways it can leak out. You remember the co-ordinates to the old haunt?"

"I remember." She took another swallow of alcohol, "I'm not promising anything, Zechs. I'll hear out what this amazing job is and decide if I want in or not. I'm still more than willing to walk away, and you will kreiffing let me do so if that's what I want. You got it?"

"I got it, Swiftfoot." He gave a two finger salute to the woman that looked very familar to Din before rising and leaving the bar. He realised he seen her preform that gesture towards him during their first meeting. He wondered if it had some special symbolization.

The two sat in relative silence after Zechs left, before Din broke the quiet, "You've never asked."

She blinked up at him in confusion, "Asked what?"

"You've never asked me to take off my helmet, or even asked about why I never have. You've never even asked for my name. How come? Everyone else always asks. Some are stupid enough to try and take it off."

She snorted a little, "I'll bet that ends well."

Din lifted one pauldron in response, letting the silence speak for him. Her eyebrows pulled together and she honestly looked completely befuddled for a bit, like the idea had never even crossed her mind.

"Honestly, its never even really occurred to me that you never take it off. It just seemed like this," she gestured up and down at his form, "is just who you are. It's the choice you've made, the life you've decided to live and its really not anyone else's buisness to try and tell you to do things any differently."

Din stared at her from behind the visor. She'd spoken so causally, like she was discussing the fraking weather with him. Her answer was so simple, so straightforward it almost sounded childish. But the volume of respect she showed for his culture, his oath to the Creed, his decision to follow the path of the Mandalore, her choice to not pressure him against it, to not attempt to convince him to let her see a glimpse of his face or pry into his life like so many others had tried to was astounding to him. It was almost overwhelming and made him want to pin her to the nearest vertical surface.

Val tilted her head towards him, changing the subject, "So why are you interested in Zechs offer? Thought you were a hunter, not a bandit. Doesn't that go against some kind of rule you have to follow or something. You know, no honor among thieves and all that."

"Not really, a jobs a job. Besides that, sounds like the whole things a bust if you decide not to jump in on it. You really that good of a moonlighter?"

She shrugged lightly, "There's probably a lot better out there, professional trained and the likes, but I do well enough. I've got a bit of an edge. You know..." Val wiggled her fingers in their trademark signal and Din chuckled lightly before sobering.

"You trust him?"

A frown marred her face as she swirled the contents of her glass, "Zechs isn't the first person I'd turn to if I was in a major bind." She finished her drink, swallowing before continuing, "He's also not the last either. If he really has pulled the old crew together, there's a lot of potential though. Could actually be a big score."

"Are you going to join up then?"

"I'm not sure, depends on the what the run is. I'll hear it out then make my final choice. If nothing else, it'll be nice to see the gang again. How long till you're finished here?"

"Jobs done, guys in carbonite already. That's why I came looking for you."

Val looked startled and impressed, blinking in surprise, "Already? That was fast."

He tilted his helm, shifting to lean a bit closer to her, his voice growing a little husky, "I'm good at what I do."

Din saw her eyes darken a little at his words before she smirked, "You weren't good enough to catch me."

"You're still here, aren't you?"

"I haven't tried to leave yet, Shiny."

The back and forth flirtation was highly unusual for him. Din normal kept his mind on the next job, didn't allow himself to form connections with others, remained disciplined and stoic. But, somehow it was different with her. She was easy to communicate with and work with, understanding of him in ways others simply couldn't grasp. She just seemed to adapt so quickly, molding to his needs. He didn't want to let her go yet.

"Anytime you want to run, Kordes, I'll be glad to chase you. You won't get away again."

She chuckled lightly, but said nothing in response. Din settled back in the seat and let her finish her drinks, though he did note she continued to glance at him from the corner of her eye, as though trying to figure out a puzzle. This partnership of theirs, however short or long it may be, could become very interesting. He was rather excited to see where their path would lead.

He liked this new person...he liked her a lot.

His memories before the compound with the brown skinned men were fuzzy. He remembered a soft touch of another that might have look a bit like him, but the image in his mind was distance and blurred. He'd been alone a lot and no one had really ever held him or offered a gentle touch or word. Sometimes if he was too noisy and didn't listen, the brown skinned men would hit his head or pull his ears, locking him inside the pod that had once housed him. It hadn't been fun, he wasn't allowed to move around and hadn't had any sort of company.

It had been alright, he was never really alone in reality. He always had the comfort of the Force with him. It had whispered to him to wait, wait just a little be longer, to have faith and trust and he'd listened. Then, one day, he'd heard strange noises outside his pod and sensed many lifeforces disappear. Then his guardian had come to him, a shiny metal man who played the finger-game with him and held him in strong, gentle arms, letting him play with the cool round ball on the ship.

He'd known who he was the moment he'd peered over the scratchy blanket. He'd seen him before, inside his dreams. He'd seen the towering figure of a gleaming being, highlighted by the sun. This imposing form had picked him up in strong arms, holding him against his chest securely and the ground had left as they flew off into the sky. He'd been sustained by this image, this promise of freedom and protection.

So he'd waited. He'd waited in the compound, stayed quiet and still, not drawn attention to himself and waited for the day that dream became reality. A lot of bad things happened before he saw it come true. The man had left him behind with the scary ones in white armor, but he'd come back and taken him away, taken him to the pretty planet with trees and frogs. He'd liked it there, but they'd left again after a while. There'd been the time the strange people that had bad energy around them had been on the ship for a bit. He hadn't liked them, especially the one that had dropped him. It was okay though. He was with his protector, the one he now knew as Buir.

Buir kept him safe, held him when he wanted to be held, never yelled or hit him and showed him all kinds of new things. He'd seen sandy deserts, pretty forests, busy cities and the sparkling stars. He liked the stars the most. And now Buir had a new friend, someone like him. Well, not quite like him, her skin wasn't green and she was tall like Buir, but she was strong with the Force like him. But it was different, she seemed almost afraid of the Force at times. That was confusing to him, for the Force was something that should be trusted.

He wanted her to stay and he knew Buir wanted her to stay too. She glowed brightly when he looked at her. Not as bright as Buir, but no one glowed as bright as his Buir. However, her energy was more chaotic than Buir's, wilder and in constant motion, unlike the steady, strong presence of his Buir. He worried that she wouldn't want to stay on the small ship, that she'd get bored and want to leave. He didn't like being bored either. So, maybe he needed to play with her more.

As Buir and his new friend talked to the other one that he didn't like that much, he wiggled out from between them. No one noticed, to caught up in their conversation and he knew how to move without drawing attention. Plopping onto the floor, he waddled around the feet, careful not to touch them. He'd been kicked before doing that. The world was always so big around him, but that was okay. It meant he didn't get noticed as much and could explore more.

The adults were still talking, Buir's energy was getting more volatile. That meant Buir was getting mad and usually meant that people were going to become Gone, their lifeforces disappearing. Toddling away, he looked around. There were the metal machines that didn't have any lifeforce to them. Buir really didn't like those things, he always wanted to make them Gone.

He looked up and then noticed that the ceiling had wide, wooden planks running along them. He remembered being up in the air with Buir's friend. She'd walked along the beams and uneven surface with confidence and had felt like she was having fun. Maybe that was how she liked to play. He could play with her like that too.

"Where is he!?" Buir's alarmed voice rang through the cantina a few minutes later.

It was fun, he understood why she like to walk on the high places. Now he could see Buir far below with his friend. Both were looking up at him. He didn't know why they looked so scared, this was a fun game. He gurgled happily, walking along the roof beam. He put his arms out like he'd seen her do a few times. It helped balance him.

"How the frizz did he get up there!?" The woman was dancing below, trying to get under him.

"I don't know! Ad'ika! Get down from there before you fall!"

"Kreif! Bend down Shiny! Gimme a leg up!"

He watched Buir thread his fingers together and she took a few running steps towards him, planting her foot in the cupped palms. An upwards heave and she grabbed the beam, easily hauling herself onto the planks near him. Swing a leg over, she straddled the support, wiggling fingers at him.

"Come're, you little monster. Come on, time to get down."

It had worked, she was playing with him! Giggling madly, he scampered in the opposite direction, his small size letting him move quicker than her. She said some strange words, twisting and bending between the supports, trying to catch up to him. Below, Buir was keeping pace, arms out and frantically yelling at her.

"I'm blaming you for this!"

"What the hell did I do!?"

"You're a bad influence!"

"Pot calling kettle, Shiny!"

She was so much fun to have around. He really hoped she'd stay.

Din was going to end up strangling his new, unofficial partner with her own bloody hair before they even got to the rendezvous co-ordinates.

He learned one very important thing about Valriya Kordes. The woman hated space travel. Like a lot,almost to the same degree he hated droids. For him, hyperspace was a safe zone, someplace he could fully relax and recuperate, a time for him to rest his mind, think back on past actions and correct any errors he'd made. A time of peace.

For Val, it was like being in a prison cell.

She was a high energy girl. He knew that. She had to be, given what she'd done most of her life. So it was understandable that she'd get edgy in the Razor Crest as it travelled. What Din hadn't taken into consideration was the length of time that she'd be stuck in the cramped hold.

After the heart stopping terror his Ad'ika had put him through with his balance beam act on Taris, they'd packed up and headed back into space. Val had assumed he'd want to head to the location Zechs told them to meet up at, but Din wasn't ready to throw all his chips in one bag yet. As the whole job the smuggler was planning seemed to depend on the Runners final choice, he wanted to make sure his own pockets were lined well enough to keep traveling if Kordes backed out. So he'd deviated to Nevarro to drop off his payload of carbonite slabs and pick up a few new pucks from Karga.

What he hadn't taken into account was the fact that Val flat out refused to leave the ship while docked on a planet full of bounty hunters. Even with his reassurance that she wasn't on the Guild's list and that as a sort of passenger to him, she'd be untouchable, she'd still not moved from the Crests hold, locking herself in his quarters while the frozen quarry's had been unloaded and he'd collected his dues. He hadn't been long on the planet, only staying a few hours. But the fact that she hadn't been able to leave the ship, or more specifically had refused to, was now coming back full force to bite him in the ass hard.

She was worst than the damn kid! He'd come to find out that when she didn't push herself to the point of exhaustion, Val only needed about 5 hours of sleep to be fully charged. And, Maker help him! An energized Valriya was more annoying to have around than a Gungan hopped up on Spice!

The girl was almost incapable of staying still, constantly moving around to the point where she made him feel tired just from watching her. Plus, she got bored extremely easily. At first, she managed to stay entertained by rearranged the hold a few times, randomly cleaning things and playing with the child. But that hadn't held her attention for long. Soon she'd turned to him for entertainment, changing into a massive chatterbox that rattled off lengthy conversations about absolutely nothing till he got fed up and banished her from the cockpit.

So when he'd refused to accommodate her pent up jitters, Din had come down after being in the upper level for a few hours to find she'd ripped off nearly all the panels on the sides of the hold and had handfuls of wires pulled out, separating each one into neat color coordinated bundles before replacing them in the walls and his weapons locker completely dismantled, the interior torn out, claiming she could improve the locking mechanism.

He'd lost it on her and Val, spoiling for any excuse to burn off excess energy, had thrown herself into the yelling match head first. Din was amazed beyond words that they hadn't killed each other. He was immensely regretting making her feel so comfortable and safe around him, because he'd really wanted to deck her, but she was such a slender twig of a girl, he was afraid even a light whack would break one of her bones. The only reason he hadn't thrown her into the carbonite unit was cause his Ad'ika had attached himself to her leg halfway through the fight, chirping happily and refused to let go. Val had cleverly used the child as a shield, preventing him from being able to actually do any sort of harm to her.

And Stars help him, the kid! He'd been completely fooled by the adorable, big eared baby. The child wasn't a 50 year old toddler of an unknown species with magic powers beyond his understanding, he was a nightmare fueled terror sent straight from hell to mercilessly torment him. Din had not realized that the child behaved so well because he tended to naturally picked up on the energy of those around him. Thus far, he'd only really been exposed to him and a few others for short periods of time, people that were usually fairly calm and collected. There'd been a few times the kid had gotten fussy or restless, and the time he tried to kill Cara, but aside from that, he was generally well behaved.

However, with the Runner pumping off enough juice to light up a fraking city and the kid's growing affection for the woman, his Ad'ika was absolutely kreiffing wired! He ran around the ship, yammering and squeezing into small places Din didn't even know existed on the Crest, finding ways to push button and flick switches even when Din was looking right at him. Trying to hold him still was an absolute no-go, the little monster would wail, scream, kick and claw if forced to stay in one place for too long and trying to shove his care off to Valriya only hyped up the child even more. Din had hoped he could get the kid to rest a little, giving him some measure of peace, but every time he thought the little green nuisance was about to fall asleep, the fragger would bounce back awake with a second or third wind, sometimes a fourth.

This went on for days! Or at least, that's what if felt like to Din. The weird, time dilation that hyperspace created made every moment spent in the Razor Crest feel like a drill was being shoved through his skull. He was ready to jettison both of his passengers just so he could get a few heartbeat of crinking peace. Finally, in an act of sheer desperation, Din had dug deep into his knowledge of Kordes, trying desperately to find a solution that didn't involve using the taser setting of his sniper rifle.

The answer had been unbelievably simple. He'd torn through some of his more forgotten belongings and found a holo-pad, one that had been given to him the day he'd agreed to join the Bounty Hunters Guild. It had his contract scrawled out on it, as well as the in depth rules and regulations members of the Guild were required to know and follow. Most people didn't bother with the Guild code to much, or only followed the major rules, but regardless, Din had snatched up the small digital pad and shoved it into Val's hands as a final last ditch effort before he shot her.

It...had...worked...

Val had taken hold of the holo-pad, sat her tight little ass down in the co-pilot seat, put her feet up on the console and started reading through the long, boring-as-hell document like it was the most fascinating story in the whole parsec. She stayed still and quiet, her energy level dying down to a dull hum, absorbed by the words even though they were probably the most unenjoyable thing to read that ever existed. But it had kreiffing worked! The sudden lack of a hyper, bouncing, irritated female in the ship was finally the thing that knocked out his Ad'ika, who promptly passed out on his lap before being moved to his pram a few minutes after Kordes settled in.

Din visible collapsed in the pilots chair, breathing out a sigh of relief at the sudden, Gods-sent quiet that enveloped the whole ship. His headache that had been plaguing him for who knows how long, also started to fade, which just made his mood improve more. Leaning back, he watched the blue streaking lights of hyperspace fly by, vowing by the Creed of the Mandalore that the first thing he would do upon getting anyplace civilized was buy a missile case full of holo-pads. He didn't care how much room it took up in the hold, he was not going through that again.

"Most men tend to find a much easier and much more enjoyable way to entertain me on long trips."

He started slightly at her quiet statement. She was zeroed in on the holo-pad, energy level still buzzing low and her body relaxed. Din replayed the words in his head before understanding hit. Despite himself, he shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"Didn't think that was something that was on the table."

Val glanced at him, eyes trailing up and down his body suggestively, before going back to her pad, "I wouldn't have said no."

Heat flared through his blood, but Din said nothing, letting her go back to her reading. There was defiantly a spark between them, one that could easily erupt into a huge flame. While the idea of taking what they had to a higher level was tempting, he was still unsure about that. His own trust issues aside, turning a good partnership from a professional respect to something physical was how things got ruined. Xi'an was a prime example of that. Plus, he didn't have a lot of experience in that department. Most of his relations had been quick, dirty romps designed to burn off excess tension, enough to satisfy the carnal urge before he moved onto the next job. Valriya Kordes was fire and passion and rampaging energy that might completely overwhelm him if he allowed it to go too far.

Before he had too much time to think on that, the engines whined and the ship dropped out of hyperspace. Din locked in the co-ordinates that Val had given him, taking control of the steering and flicked the engines over to sub-light speed. Confusion started to grow as the location pinged in on a nearby gas giant planet, one uninhabited as far as the scanners could tell. There was a lot of electrical activity in the atmosphere, which made it hard to tell what the exact composition of the world was, his instruments didn't want to fully work.

"Is this the place?" He questioned the woman behind him.

Val swung her feet down, moving to stand beside him, ducking her head to see out the window better. Her position brought her chin close to his shoulder, almost leaving her cheek to cheek with him. Well, cheek to beskar helm curve, but close enough. With as much tension as he'd been experiencing trying not to climb the walls with the two pests on board, Din had to fight not to fidget at her proximity.

"Yup, that's Tanzak. Atmo entrance is tricky as hell, you going to be able to handle it, Shiny?"

"You seriously want me to throw you out the airlock, don't you?"

She snorted and sat back down, fastening the seatbelt around her. He mimicked her actions, double checking to make sure the kid's crib was secure before dropping the nose down. The ship immediately started shaking and rattling, warning alarms coming on as crackles of deadly lighting hammered down near the ship. Quickly checking the scans, Din weaved the Crest out of the oncoming storm, dropping below cloud level. None of his long range scanners were working in this atmosphere, he was almost flying blind. The red and black clouds of dust around the ship made visual maneuvers tricky too. All Din had to go on were the co-ordinates Val gave him and a small map on the console telling him he was heading in the right direction.

Then, suddenly the fog of gas and deadly partials parted and Din saw a large, floating outpost in front of him. A large, very well armed outpost that was much closer than he was expecting and had massive turret guns turned towards him. His ships external sensors started screaming that they'd been locked onto by the huge weapons. The comlink of the ship crackled and a cold voice came through the speakers.

"Razor Crest, you are trespassing on private airspace. Retreat at once, or you will be fired upon. This is you only warning."

Din could see the ion energy of the turret guns powering up and his ships defense system was going wild. Then Val was suddenly beside him, flicking on the comm and speaking calmly,

"Chronos Station, this is Swiftfoot, access code Yavin-Niner-Echo-Echo-Hoth, requesting permission to dock."

A pause followed her words into the communication system and Din was on the verge of diving into the unknown clouds below when static came across the link again,

"Roger that, Swiftfoot. Access code is good, landing permit has been granted. Proceed to docking bay 17. And tell your idiot pilot to get the proper transponder on their ship, we were three seconds away from hitting the big red button."

Val grinned wide as she depressed the comlink again, "Good to hear your voice, Finis."

"Welcome back, Swiftfoot. Frist round in the cantinas on me."

"I'll be there. Swiftfoot out."

The guns energy faded away and Din got a message through his computer of where to land. Flicking a few switches, he looked over at Val, "Were you going to warn me about that?"

"Wouldn't have mattered even if I did. Chronos Station is an unknown, it was built by the black market for smugglers, hunters, gangster and anyone else looking to find a place to hide out. It's probably the best contact point in the surrounding parsecs you'll ever find for jobs that pay well and err on the side of not-legal-in-anyway. But the only way you learn about it is through someone else that knows about it."

"You learned about it from Zechs?"

She nodded, "Yup, and you know about it from me now. Get yourself a transponder keyed to this place and you'll get an access code if you want to come back."

"And what will happened if I tried to come here without the right access codes."

"They'll shoot you out of the air. There's a reason you only get to learn about this place from someone else, you know."

He grinned behind his helm at her blunt statement. She really was damn useful to have around, even if she did drive him insane from time to time. Having access to a place like this would serve him well for a number of years, he was sure of that. Veering around the left side of Chronos, Din prepped the ship for docking.

She wasn't 100% sure when this unofficial partnership had truly started.

It might have been when she prevented the engines from exploding, or when he saved her from falling to her death on Panna Prime, or maybe when his adorable kid had started alternating which one he slept with, but somewhere along the line of the association with the Mandalorian, Val had stopped feeling the need to leave. At least for the time she had, it was hard to say if the itch to move on would come up again. She was worst than a male Devaronian with her wanderlust, or so many a comrade had told her.

Neither of them had really said anything about it. He never asked her to stay and she didn't demand him to fulfill his promise of taking her to a place she wanted. But somewhere along the line, they'd silently come to an agreement that she was staying and they were now working together.

He was a complete enigma. She didn't know his name, had never seen his face, didn't know if he had family or friends. All Val really knew was that he was strong, loyal, focused and protected what was his with a vicious, primal power that left her breathless. It was almost unbelievable that she trusted this man as much as she did when the most she knew about him was that he was a damn good bounty hunter, had a serious droid complex and a slight weakness for cute, helpless beings.

She trusted him. More than she rightfully should, almost more than anyone else she'd been associated with. It should bother her, should scare the hell out of her that she was so comfortable with him. Letting oneself rely and get that close to someone was how people got dead. Val had more than a few close calls in her younger years, back when she was still a Hutt Runner and more naïve than she was now. But it didn't. He knew more about her than anyone else ever had, more about her capabilities and power, enough to easily blackmail and coerce her into submission if he wanted to. But he didn't. He didn't care about trying to use or bend her to his will, didn't hunger to abuse the potential she could offer him. Instead, he just silently asked her to watch over his weird green gremlin child from time to time while he did his own thing.

Val had never considered herself the 'Mothering Type' before. She liked kids, but she had next to no experience with them. Especially with alien ones. But the child had a way about him that just drew in most people. Maybe because he was so damn cute, or maybe his odd power let him influence those he wanted. In either case, he'd successfully charmed his way into her tightly walled heart. Terrifying as the idea was, Val knew without a doubt that she'd die to protect him if it came down to it.

Jarring herself back to reality, she shoved the last pin into her hair and walked back out into the hold. Mando was securing the kid in the alcove, who was still out cold and probably would be for a good long while. Val knew she'd probably come as close to a good old fashion beating as she ever would with the long trip to Chronos in regards to the Warriors tolerance of her. But he hadn't backhanded her despite everything, so her level of trust had just risen several degrees. Very few people could put up with her on space travels, the fact that he had was testament to his discipline and resolve. She wondered if all Mandalorians were like him.

"This place secure or do I need to keep the external defenses up?"

Val shook her head, "Chronos isn't bound by any government or society, its sort of a free-for-all in some ways, but there's a security force that keeps most rough housing in check. No one would come here if all that happened was they got robbed upon landing, it would be bad for business. They should be enough keep anyone from pilfering the ship. Lock everything up though, things can still happen."

He nodded back and did a double check of his weapons. Out of habit, Val strapped the small blaster to her leg. As they prepared to lower the ramp, she pursed her lips slightly, turning her head towards him.

"Do me a favor and stand behind me when we leave."

"Why?"

She winced a bit, "I don't feel like getting knocked over today."

He tilted his head in curiosity, but said nothing else. As she stepped down the ramp, he did indeed shift to stand at her back as requested. Val's walked off the ramp and paused, waiting for the inevitable. It took less time than she thought.

"SWWWIIIFFTTFFFOOOTTT!"

The bellowing yell echoed off the walls of the docking bay and startled the fighter at her back. Val reflexively reached back and grabbed his wrist that had been inches away from drawing his blaster just before a flying grey blur slammed into her, knocking her back against the hard armored body behind her. She grunted at the impact, breath momentarily lost and arms instinctively wrapping around the form now plastered against her chest while at the same moment, the Mandalorian stumbled slightly, hands coming out to brace her, a surprised "oof!" exiting his vocalizer. The group staggered, but stayed on their feet as Val looked down at the furry being now in her arms.

"Hi, Chips."

Held in her grasp was a small, grey furred Ardennian male with tan and grey skin and green eyes. The monkey-like alien had all four arms coiled around her torso and his prehensile legs wrapped around her waist, the digits interlocked behind her back. He also looked absolutely estatic to see her.

"You beautiful, frillin', lightspeeding Rimmer! I knew you'd come back! No one leaves Chips! I knew you'd come strutting you fine little ass right back to my arms! Kripes, I've missed you and your deliciously, soft, squishy body!"

To emphasis this point, Chips rubbed his rounded muzzle across her bosom, appendages squeezing tighter. He was a lot smaller than most members of his species, only standing about a meter tall, which made it easy for Val to hold him. She grunted a little, readjusting her balance with Mando's help and ignored the blatant sexual advances the little mammal was doing. Chips was just being himself, he was kind of an eccentric.

"I don't know how long I'm staying, so don't go stripping off your durasuit yet."

"Long or short, I don't care, just let me stay here. Why do you always smell so good, beautiful, wonderful Swiftfoot?" Mando moved out from behind her, looking over the odd scene silently. She couldn't tell if he was confused or amused and didn't really care one way or the other. Chips finally pulled his head up and noticed the other figure, grinning widely at the other man.

"Who's this Swiftfoot? You cheating on me, you cruel, cold woman? How could you, my heart...oh my poor heart! Say it ain't so!"

Val snorted, shifting to pat Chips head mockingly, "There, there poor baby. You know you're the only one for me."

A laugh was shared between the two before the multi-armed male adjusted his hold. Recognizing what Chips was doing, Val braced herself as he swung around her body with agility only an Ardennian could manage, wrapping arms and leg around her so he was piggybacked, head resting on her right shoulder.

"So, Zechs managed to convince you join up too. Must be a big haul if he got you involved in it."

She started walking, packing the clingy monkey with ease, not even needing to support him with her arms. The Mandalorian fell in a step beside her, still silent. "I don't know if I'm joining up yet, Chips. I'm just here to see what all the fuss is about. He didn't tell you what the plan is either?"

"Nope, he's keeping it close to his chest this time. Probably just to draw everyone in. Laze showed up a few days ago."

Her eyebrows lifted at those words, "Really? I thought Laze said if he ever saw Zechs again he'd castrate him."

Chips managed to perform an odd shrug despite holding onto her for dear life, "Don't know what he said to change his mind, but Laze seems to be all in."

Val hummed softly, now more intrigued about what Zechs had planned. Mando chose to finally breech his wordless presences, "So you don't know anything about this job?"

The male looked to the armored man, "All I was told was we were going after, and I quote, "The Heart of Alderaan." Take from that what you will. Zechs wanted to meet up on Sector 4, Swiftfoot."

"Alright." She headed for a turbolift, remembering the design of Chronos well and smiling at fond memories, "It's good to see you, Chips."

"You too, Val-Val. You too."

The Mandalorian looked to her, "Are all the members of this crew going to be like that?" He nodded to the Ardennian on her back. Val smirked back at him,

"We've all got our own weird families, Shiny."

His low scoff and slight chuckle were contagious. Val found herself softly laughing along with him as they made their way to the meeting. The walk wasn't too far and the trio entered into another room with a holo-table in the center. Zechs was inside talking with another human man, one with blond hair. They both looked up as the group entered, Chips finally jumping off her back, scampering deeper into the room and the blond male smiled brightly,

"Swiftfoot! Hey there." Laze's eyes shifted towards the Mandalorian beside her and darkened immediately, sweeping up and down the armored man hungrily, "Oh, Sweetie, you brought me some fresh meat. You shouldn't have."

Val sensed rather than saw Mando jolt from the sudden redirected attention from the obviously gay man and almost snorted, "Down Laze-boy. Let's not scare off the new guy just yet."

Laze pouted almost childishly at her before stepping forward. Val raised up her face as he gave her a peck on each cheek, before pulling back, "You look good. Not as good as me, of course, but that's a given. How you been and please tell me this yummy little tinman isn't your boy-toy?"

"Keep your pants on, Laze. We all came here to do a job, didn't we?" Zechs ended the reunion and waved everyone around the table, running through a quick introduction.

Chips was the ace slicer, where as Laze was the grifter, someone able to charm and finagle his way into tight spot with expert ease. Zechs was the face, the one who arranged the jobs, as well as the tech expert and pilot. Valriya was the footman, the tricky, wiry figure that wiggled past security and snatched up the valuables. All together, the crew made a damn fine pack, able to pull of impressive heists when synced properly. Her new partner simple told everyone to call him Mando and made sure she was always standing between Laze and him.

They all paid close attention as Zechs pulled up a holoimage and started to explain the job they'd all gathered to hear about. The room darkened and an image of a large, finely cut jewel popped up from the flat holoscreen.

"This is our target. It's called, 'The Heart of Alderaan'. If you believe the stories following it around, supposedly, this little gem was once the crown jewel of the monarch. Traditionally, it was inset into the ruling King or Queens crown as a symbol of their stature. When Alderaan got dusted, it was assumed to have been lost."

The image changed to a large, walled fortress with mountains around it. Zechs kept talking, "Rumors started floating around that the diamond had been found. No one is sure how or if the information is valid, but the 'Hearts' being held in this keep. The owner, a warlord named Maial Cohl, is going to hold an open auction and sell the gem to the highest bidder. We've been hired to acquire the gem and return it to the survivors of Alderaan before that happens, or so that's what the client claims anyway."

Val frowned deeply, "So you're telling me some bureaucrat is willing to pay us to get this jewel regardless if its the real thing or not? Gimme a break, that's a load of garbage if I ever heard one, did you serious fall for that Zechs?"

"I agree with Swiftfoot, this doesn't sound like a solid payday." Laze crossed his arms prissily.

"Doesn't matter if its a fake," Mando's deep voice started her and she turned with everyone else, waiting to see what he meant, "It's a symbol of a culture that's been lost, something that shows they haven't been defeated, haven't given up and are still fighting. Fake or real, it means something to the ones that remain."

His words hit deep with her. Was he speaking from experience? Did he understand the reasoning of worth behind a simple item because his own culture had been driven to the point of extinction?

Laze was still unconvinced and looked to Zechs, "If this Maial is selling the jewel, why doesn't this client just jump in on the auction with everyone else?"

"He's a senate member and using money that's suppose to be distributed for rebuilding worlds and people still crippled by the former Empire is somewhat frowned upon."

Chips jumped in on the wagon, "But hiring a bunch of underground thieves isn't?"

Her partner spoke again, "Not if he doesn't get caught, or is using his own credits to do so. If he gets the 'Heart', it'll boost his prestige by a lot. It's likely just as much a power play as it is a desire to reclaim part of a devastated culture. What's the payout on this?"

Zechs paused for dramatic effect and smirked confidently, "30,000 credits. Granted, the expenses needed to pull off the job are skimmed from the final payout, but still, it'll be a good chuck of change."

Someone whistled and Val's eyebrows lifted. That was a lot of chips. Split five ways, it would set her up really nicely. Chips hopped up and down excitedly.

"Well, damn! Count me in."

"Same," Laze chimed out, "That's just too much cheddar to pass up."

Eyes turned to the last two and Val hesitated. It was a lot of money, but she still wasn't sure about jumping in. It had been a while since she'd done any moonlighting and even knowing that most of the men in the room wouldn't deliberately abandon her if something went wrong, in the end, most everyone always looked out for themselves first and foremost. She looked to Mando, uncaring about the others in the room.

He turned to her, a silence wall of metal and strength, pondering for a few moments before calmly replying, "I got you."

Her heart fluttered for a few moment in an unfamiliar manner. Kreif this man was something else, he stirred her up like no one she'd ever met. She wanted him...badly. And she didn't even know his damn name. Pushing aside the odd sensation, she looked back to her old crew.

"We're in."

And thats where I'll leave it. I hope everyone likes the little interulude from the Child's point of view, I love that little guy so much. I also hope I'm managing to show that time is passing and that Mando and Val are getting to know each other a little better.

On to shout outs.

Love. Fiction. 2020: As always, I love seeing your reviews Love. Thanks so much for sticking with me.

Annieonymous: Thanks so much Annie, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.