"Wake up, Mandalorian," Mando jerked so fast that it woke up straight up. My head was much clearer now, much sharper…. And judging by how rapidly Mando pulled out his blaster, I'd say he was fully alert too. He pointed it at this droid head we carried onboard…. for some reason. "This cannot wait until morning. Do not be alarmed; I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed it's vocabulator," the frog lady was speaking through the droid. I guess that's one way to solve the language barrier. I nervously looked from her to the upset Mandalorian beside me. He was not amused.
"What the hell are you doing? That droid is a killer," he put his gun away only to point right at the robot. I blinked puzzled. We have a killer droid aboard? I was unaware of this. Frog lady placed her smooth hand onto the egg container. "These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species." Awe, that's so sad. She's got a devoted husband there. "We've fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line." Well, yeah; she has a point there if they really went through all she said. "I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to," she concluded. We held our breathes and looked to Mando. His shoulders grew less tense, but I could see he was still not happy.
My husband let out a sigh. "Look, lady; the deal is off. We're lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives. You're not the only one with something valuable on this ship," he said, and I peered at him from the corner of my eye. Awe, Mando…. He can be sweet without even realizing it. It was frog lady's turn to be unimpressed. "I thought honouring one's word was part of the Mandalorian code. I guess those are just stories for children." Feeling a bit upset by what she'd just said, I yanked my head straight to Mando, who was looking at me now. He didn't say anything, but he was obviously at war with himself over it. My hand reached up to grab his. "Mando, honey… Please."
He sighed again- this time in a loss. He proceeded to get up, letting go of my hand and stomping over to his toolbox. He picked it up and shot the frog lady a glare from behind his helmet. "This was not part of the deal," Mando muttered to himself, going outside the ship leaving us in there alone. I also got to my feet, now staring off into where he left.
A few moments later, frog lady spun her head in my direction. "Human woman," she addressed me through the droid. I glanced at her, not verbally responding- there was no time for me to. "The temperature of myself and my eggs is rapidly declining. I am unable to control my own internal temperature and as such, need to find an exterior source of heat. Otherwise my eggs will parish and I will fall into a state of hibernation." "Oh… oh! You're cold! Right! Just wait here a minute. Mando!" I exited through the slit where he just gone from. The intense cold hit me bitterly; unconsciously my arms wrapped around myself. "Mando! Mando!" My voice didn't go far thanks to this strong wind. It had already wiped away any of his foot tracks too; I couldn't follow him wherever he went. Realizing I needed another strategy, I went back inside.
I shook the snow off shoulders and looked at the anxious frog lady. "I can't find him. Just wait here; I'll go and see if I can find us some help or something." She nodded understandingly and with a deep, deep inhale, I braced myself to venture back outside. Mando wouldn't like me leaving the ship alone like this but what choice did I have? My shoes stepped quietly onto the snow, not making a sound as I slowly moved forward. I was all huddled in myself, trying my best to keep warm; I'd left my blanket back with her.
Weird. The further I went from the spacecraft, the colder it seemed to get out here. The wind was so freezing, it felt like it flew straight through my clothes, touching my bare skin. It was painful, but ironically the longer I stayed out in it, the less it bothered me. Maybe I was becoming adjusted or maybe it was something more dangerous. Either way, I trekked on, determined to find something, anything that could help both her and her eggs. They weren't going to die- not on my watch.
But I was utterly useless out here. I'd made it no less than twenty feet before my legs began to go numb. I lost all feeling in my feet, making me stop for a moment. I stood there like a frozen statue, holding my arms and hands as close I could into me. The ice-cold wind blew hard, whistling and swaying my hair out in front of my face. My lips parted a little; it was getting hard to breath. The air was so icy going into my lungs. Without realizing what I was doing or that I was doing it, my eyes shut themselves. For the briefest of moments, I contemplated just laying down in the snow and just going to sleep. It's not that I wanted to die; I was just already so tired out here.
But this suicidal thought must have triggered something in my brain because I suddenly felt this bolt of mild energy zoom through me. It wasn't anything drastic, but it was enough to cause me to open my eyes again. My head shot up towards the sky in a hopeless fashion. "Come on; come on, Force. Help me out here….. Speak to me. I'm listening; speak…. You're supposed to be strong with me," my eyes stayed closed while I said this. I wanted to pay full attention, yearning to hear any sound- no matter how remote. I concentrated as hard as I could; I gave it my all, with only the desire to save that lady and her offspring. I wanted them to live; they had to live. And I had to help them….
For a second, nothing happened; I only heard the wind blowing all around me. Just when I was about to give up, this familiar ringing started in my mind. It wasn't in my ears- it was in my head. This soft, low vibration raddling inside of me…. My eyes opened a crack. What's that noise? Is that the Force? It didn't sound like anything but….. energy; that's literally the best way I can put it. What's more surprising is that it didn't stop when I opened my eyes.
What I'm about to describe is so extraordinary, even I have trouble believing it. The ringing continued and it seemed to be coming from somewhere. Now I know that contradicts what I just said about it being in my head, but…. I can't explain it. It was only in my mind but it felt like something external was causing it. My head gently turned in the direction it was coming from. This had never happened to me before, which might explain why my masters hadn't shown up to help me right now. My whole life they'd wanted me to hear the Force, to become one with it. If it was the Force making this ringing sound, then I'm sure they wouldn't want to interrupt me. Just to test it, I stepped in the direction where the ringing seemed to be emanating. Or rather, where the Force was guiding me.
I must have been doing something right since the closer I got, the louder and clearer the ringing got inside my head. It wasn't a painful or annoying vibration; more soft and inviting. Following it felt more and more natural to me. The ringing was at its loudest when I reached an ice cave formation. Curious but unafraid, I entered through one of its widest openings. The place was cold but warmer than outside thanks to the lack of wind. I hadn't even noticed the ringing had stopped by the time I was well inside. It was beautiful in here; I'd never seen anything like it. It never crossed my mind that this might be home to someone or something deadly. I was just happy to be in out of the wind.
After about five minutes of walking, I was shocked and delighted to come across these pools- like hot natural springs. The giant icicles high above them were a bit concerning but I was too overjoyed to have finally found a heat source. I didn't even notice my numb feet or lower legs as I eagerly ran back to the ship. I darted inside, glancing all around in anticipation.
"Lady! Hey, lady! I found somewhere hot….." All my excitement melted when I spotted her laying down on the ship's floor. My heart immediately sank in profound fear as I raced over to her; I pulled her upper half into my arms. "Are you alright?! Are you alright?!" I asked repeatedly in a yell. Her shut eyes opened up to me and she let out a squeal. Still grasping her in my arms, I scanned her over. She must be too cold; her body's shutting down. She'll be asleep soon if she stays here. Comprehending this, I didn't hesitate to cautiously lift her to her feet. I draped one arm over my shoulders, held in place by my hand holding onto her wrist. Then I reached down to grab her egg tank with my other hand. I somehow managed to hoist it up onto my back in a somewhat secure way. She moaned a little and I led us towards the outside. "D-Don't worry; I'll get us there in time."
We trekked onward, with me pulling her most of the way. I didn't blame her though; she can't help her body mechanics. It took me a lot longer to reach the cave this time, with each step feeling heavier than the last. It didn't help that her body was cold, pressed securely up against mine. But thankfully my legs didn't give out on me. There we were, hiking through the snow in a desperate attempt to get to those hot pools. Frog lady seemed confused but didn't fight it when we eventually entered the caves. She did grow more lively as we reached the ponds however. Making more noise, I let go of her arm and set the tank down. I then looked over to see her already getting undressed; I had to help her with her shirt.
Without any reluctance whatsoever, frog lady got into the hot pool. She made a gurgle which sounded like she was happy. She then went to take all her eyes of their container and put them in the water with her. This surprised me until I realized that they needed to warm up too- probably more so than either of us. After watching her do this, a grin grew across my lips. I took in a flew cleansing breathes, which were muchly need. She's alright….. Her and her eggs will be alright.
Frog lady finished up with her eggs and looked at me. She made a noise which sounded encouraging. I blinked at her then down at the pool of water. My grin grew in the edges as I dipped my hand down in it. Man, did its heat feel good against the skin of my freezing fingers. I shut my eyes for a second, taking another long inhale. Well, why not? After all, I don't want to freeze to death either. Frog lady watched me remove the outer layer of my clothes, leaving only an undershirt and shorts on. Then I descended into water opposite where she was sitting. I dove right on in, letting the heat caress every inch of my chilly being. My head re-emerged to the surface; my hands drew my now sobbing wet hair back away from my face. I smiled happily at her for the first, feeling a sense of joy swell through me. Afterwards I floated on my back with her eggs all around me. Ah, this is nice…. Maybe it only feels like heaven because we just came from a frozen hell.