"Ne shab'rud'ni ner vod. (Don't mess with me, my sister)" The Mandalorian's hand twitched in anger, the blaster in his hand shook ever so slightly.
"Haar'chak! Ori'haat! Di'Kutla, hut'unnla Naast is norac! (Damn it! Its the truth! The Idiotic, Cowardly, Destroyer is back!)" Maleena's broken Mando'a sent rage through Din's system as he watched her come undone at the revelation. Maleena turned and kicked the wall forcefully as she fumed.
"Trallwa sdua frete lon. (You are not safe anymore.)" Her energy drained.
"Whatever you said it wasn't true."
She pointed at herself forcefully. "I am a liability. You have to go. Take the kid. Leave me."
The Mandalorian's shoulders squared as he holstered his blaster. "You are family to me Maleena. You are apart of our clan."
"No. I won't have it anymore. You can't be in danger again. Not after I nearly lost you."
The Mandalorian took small steps towards her as she stood in the corner. "It is my duty to protect you."
"I'm not your responsibility."
His head tilted, his chin jutting out slightly at her remarks. "Hut'uun. Aliit ori'shya tal'din. (Coward. Family is more than blood.)"
At this she seemed to snap, a broken sob echoing around the room as she grabbed her long hair, tugging at it. "How can you say that when all I've done is put you and the Child in danger?"
"We are not in danger if we stick together."
Maleena's arm gestured to the console. "They have details about the Kid. How can you let me put him in danger again? I'll hand myself over to Moff Gideon. Be done with this."
His voice was stern, unwavering as she tried to compose herself. "You will do no such thing."
Maleena walked past Din to look at the console again. After a beat she pointed down at a paragraph. "Here they talk about how I endangered an Imperial asset. How I stole it from Cralderon. Finding me brings immunity." She turns to face the unwavering beskar helmet. "Bounty hunters won't stop until they have my head on a pike. Why can't you see that?"
"Can you override it?"
Frowning, she glanced back at the console, her eyes cast downward in resignation. "My bounty is locked. Only Gideon himself can remove it."
The Mandalorian nodded, unholstering his blaster. "Then we kill him."
She pushed his chest plate as she stepped closer to him. "Stop! Hand me over to them. You become safe!"
"We can do this."
Another shove. "The Child needs his people. Don't string him along."
"We can do both."
Another strong shove. "Yeah cause that went so great last time!" At this the Mandalorian grabbed her wrist, restraining her.
"We are here aren't we?"
She laughed sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Not for much longer."
"Why are you so insistent on us leaving you behind?"
Her eyes raised from the floor to look at his helmet, trying to make eye contact with Din. "I nearly lost you once Din... I can't be the reason the Child is without his protector."
"And yet you do not see you are also his protector?"
"There can only be one protector."
Din shook his head. "I had you join our clan for a reason. You swore to protect him that day. To protect us both. To never stand down, to fight for what is right."
Maleena's face twisted at his words. She gestured around them mockingly. "Yeah because I'm sure this is what the Armorer had in mind."
His grip on her wrist loosened. "He is our ad'ika. We cannot abandon him."
A fresh wave of tears streamed down her face. "But he's just a child Din..."
His frown deepened under his helmet. "A Child who needs us. Who needs you." Maleena sagged at the weight of his words, the only thing keeping her upright was his reassuring hands on her wrist.
"What do we do?" Her voice was a broken whisper, her hair falling infront of her face like a waterfall. He holsters is blaster again before using both hands to pick her up, setting her back on her feet before placing his hands on her shoulders.
"You mentioned Cralderon?"
She sniffed, looking up at him. "What about it?"
"We start there. We look for someone who knows of his kind, of the Jedi. If Gideon has spun a story about you stealing him from there then it could be the first place the Child was spotted."
"Won't Gideon look for us? He wants me and the Child Din." Maleena's voice broken in sadness, she knew the Child they had both grew to love deeply would never have a normal life as long as Gideon lived.
"Then we kill him on sight."
The power behind his words sent a shiver down her spine. Looking at the helmet of her long time partner she felt the confidence radiating from him, he knew he could stop Gideon.
Or he would die trying.
He moved his forehead down, making contact with her forehead as she sighed.
"This is the way."
She took a half step backwards, raising her forearm to meet his as she bumped his beskar armour. His hand rested in the crook of her elbow, Maleena copying his action. Spending a moment in eachothers company, Maleena stood back. She took the blade out of her waistband and sent it hurtling down into the consoles screen. It cracked on impact, satisfying her. She saw her reflection in the broken screen, her tear stained face frustrating her. She had never felt so weak and yet so angry. She hated the way Gideon made her feel, how it made her feel so alone. But knowing Din and the Child weren't prepared to leave her anytime made her feel a new sense of responsibility...
She pulled her hood over her head.
She turned.
The Mandalorian stood watching her as she walked past him and out of the door. Swinging her knife in her hand, Her words made the Mandalorian grin under his helmet...
"Time to die Gideon."