I sat in the lovely warm water along with the frog lady and all her little eggs. We'd been there long enough to get all warmed up and back to our normal selves. So long in fact that I hadn't considered the fact that Mando might notice us missing or come looking for us. I was under the assumption that he was busy fixing the ship and that would take some time. I guess I was wrong as proven by my husband frantically heading over to us in the cave.
"Saoirse!" I heard Mando before I saw him. That's when it all hit me. Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell him we were in here. Oops. He rounded the wall of ice, only to find the two of us lounging there in the pool. The relief when he saw us there perfectly alright…. But that didn't make the scenario alright in his eyes. He half-marched, half-ran over to the pool's edge. "There you are!" "Hi, Mando. Sorry, I should have told you where we were," even though I wasn't able to find you earlier. That didn't help matters. The Mandalorian grabbed my clothes and held them out for me.
"You can't leave the ship; it's not safe out here," he held out his hand for me to help me out of the water. Knowing he wouldn't let this go, I reluctantly took it. His hand clasped mine until I was out safely, then he helped me dress. Once that was done, he turned his attention to frog lady and her eggs. He started collecting them. "Let's gather these up." I reached out to stop him. "No, Mando. The eggs were cold; they should stay in there." Frog lady also protested. "I know it's warm but night's coming fast, and I can't protect you all out here," he countered to me. Finally relenting, I began to help him pick up the eggs.
Right as I grabbed my third egg, something behind us caught my eye- something I'd never noticed before. Upon closer examination it became apparent that they were little oval white things. Lots of little oval white things. They truthfully looked like eggs. I must have been watching them too long because Mando shot his head back my way. "Saoirse, come on. There's not much time." I wilfully ignored my husband, wandering ever so closer to the egg-like things for an even better look. I don't know but something just felt… off. Nearly sinister even.
My eyes grew at the sight of something suddenly popping out from one of the ovals. It took me a hot second to grasp that these were in fact eggs and it looked like they were about to hatch- all of them. My foot slid back some. Mando by now had glanced at me from over his shoulder and froze once he spotted the same birthing creatures. I took another step back as these spider animals began appearing one by one.
Sensing that we were in danger, I did what felt natural: I spun right around and ran to Mando's side. He immediately wrapped a protect arm around my waist, holding me close to him. We stepped back, still holding onto each other. With his free hand, the Mandalorian shut the egg tank and picked it up. The frog lady snatched her robes with her tongue. She got dressed and we all watched the flurry of little white spiders fill the cave. Moments later they were joined with what I'm assuming was their parent- this hideous monster with a scary, tooth-filled mouth of in front of it.
This set Mando into overdrive. "Go! Go, go, go! Back to the ship!" He hollered at frog lady. Holding my hand in one and the egg vessel in another, we too made a run for it, heading back towards the ship. Of course both parents of those tiny beasts were now chasing us. Mando pushed me out in front of him, so it went frog lady, me, and him bringing up the rear. He threw the tank over his back and still holding onto my hand, pulled out his blaster with his free one. These things were destroying the ice as they came after us. We reached a part where the little ones got there first; Mando had to run back in front to shoot them away. Frog lady urged him on, tugging at his cape and ogling the monsters in fear. And soon we learned that they could shoot webs.
Eventually frog lady began to hop along the ice, which turned out to be a good idea. One of the parents kept moving above us. Mando took out these little glowing red orbs and threw them onto various parts of the cave walls. We paused only briefly to see the damaged they caused- it was not enough. I wasn't surprised at all when he swiftly and without warning lifted me up in one arm; he somehow was able to carry me princess-style using one arm. The other hand was still devoted to blasting the frightening monsters away. It soon became apparent why he wanted me off the ground; those critters were getting too close to our feet for comfort. He tried to keep them away and when their numbers became too much, he powered up his flame thrower.
Mando only set me back down onto my feet once we were outside the cave. He gave me a push to keep going to the ship, which I did alongside frog lady. My husband was the last to join us onboard, shooting his gun until the last second. He gave her the egg jar and was about to join us until a web blast got his hand. Luckily Mando was able to crush any monsters who lunched at him with his bare hands, and soon enough he came aboard too. Unfortunately, so did the monsters.
The control room was the only place we could block them out, for however long that may be. But not before a few got in. Mando did his best to keep them at bay, with frog lady even blasting one off my head when it landed- I couldn't kill any of them, lest I break my vow. Soon Mando burned the rest; well, at least onboard with us. Then, without making a sound, he looked at me and then at our guest. But there was no time to celebrate just yet. They were still not done with us on the outside of the craft.
"Strap yourselves in!" Mando ordered. We did just that, though I don't know what good it would do. "This better work," he next said more to himself than us. I came over to Mando where I could sit right next to him. He scooted his chair as near to mine as possible; I put my hand securely on his shoulder. "I've got limited visibility. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
And it was. At first it went smoothly….. Then all went downhill five seconds later. One of the parents jumped overtop the ship's roof. The force was such that it sent us right back into the ground. If it couldn't get any worse, it punctured through the front glass with its pointy feet.
I'd never seen the Mandalorian act so fast. Before I knew what was happening he pulled me under him, effectively sheltering me with his body. His arms acted as barriers, planted firmly at my sides. I winced my eyes shut, trying not to move or do anything that would put him at more risk than he already was.
The monster tried to break through with its many layers of razor-sharp teeth, and for a moment, I thought it would succeed. But then, a miracle….. Something shot at it and it wasn't any of us. Mando watched in awe, not really sure what was happening. Only when he was sure it was safe enough, he spun the chair around and set me down in it. With his blaster in his hand, he went out to investigate who or what might be out there helping us. Frog lady and I held hands, waiting anxiously for his return. Soon the blasting stopped, and it got quiet outside; she and I just looked at each other.
When Mando came back in, he looked exhausted. Neither of us said anything, watching him with also warily expressions. "Alright. I'm gonna repair the cockpit enough for us to limp to Trask. There's nothing I can do about the main hull's integrity so we're gonna have to get cozy in the cockpit." Frog lady and I glanced at each other, unsure what to make of this information. "It's the only thing I can pressurize," my husband added, seeing our unenthusiastic reactions. "Mando….." My lips whispered. "If you need to us the privy, do it now. It's going to be a long ride." He then picked up a blanket and draped it over my shoulders; frog lady did the same with another blanket she found nearby.
So the Mandalorian set to work on repairing the ship. While he did that, I was busy trying to keep our visitor and her eggs as warm as humanly possible with my body heat. She and I were huddled together with the egg tank securely nestled between us. "It's ok; it's gonna be ok….." I repeated every ten minutes or so; I wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or mine at this point.
That's how Mando found us hours later. He entered the control room and stretched out his hand for mine. Frog lady and I stood up, and Mando led me to our dual seats at the driving board. "Ok, repairs all done. Let's see if we can get this thing going once and for all," he clicked buttons and pulled switches. The ship managed to hover off the ice- a promising sign. Exiting the frosty prison was bumpy, sure; but we made it out of there alive. I sighed in relief and looked at my husband. I can't imagine how tired he must be right now. Mando….
"Wake me up if someone shoots at us, or that door gets sucked off its rails." That alarmed the poor reptile lady. Mando's helmet twirled back her way. "I'm kidding. If that happened, we'd all be dead." I watched him for a second more. "Mando, are you sure you're alright?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. His head turned in my direction, freezing on me. "I'm fine, Saoirse. You don't have to worry about me." Mando, this sweet man….. "But I do," I admitted without reluctance. His head moved in such a way and his hand drew up to rest against my cheek; his thumb ran tenderly along the skin. "Sweet dreams," he told me. Then he proceeded to wrap one arm around my shoulder, bringing me into a sleeping position. I put my head down up against him, waiting a second longer before finally shutting my eyes. It's strange. No matter what danger we're in I always end up feeling super safe, here in his arm like this. I supposed it made sense- I don't feel safe unless he's nearby.
I don't know how long the three of us slept like that for.