8.
Tatooine was hot and bright; two of its three suns riding high in the sky while the third was cresting the eastern horizon. "Maker, I'm tired of deserts," Eira grumbled as the oppressive blanket of heat hit her when the Crest's ramp descended. Mando ambled down the ramp heading for the office to pay for his fuel. She leaned against the Crest under the shade of one of the ship's wings, already feeling beads of sweat running between her breasts. If Rhabat had been hot then this place was sweltering. She wondered how Mando dealt with the heat under all that metal. He came back soon enough, she could tell by his stride and the way he clenched his fists he was irritated. "Did they reject your credits?" she asked.
"What?" he asked like that was the most ridiculous notion out of all the others she could have come up with. "One of their pumps is broken. There's two ships ahead of us. It's gonna be a few hours until they get to us."
Eira shrugged her shoulders not seeing the issue, "We could walk to town. Get something to eat, knock back a couple Tevraki whiskeys...I'll find you a really long straw so you don't have to worry about the helmet." She mimed lifting his helmet up and taking a sip through a straw, slurping noise and all.
"You stay here with the ship. I'll be back in a few hours, " he replied flatly. He'd been so close to getting what he needed from her but she'd drawn the line in the sand. The teasing and touching was as far as she was willing to go, at least for now. It wasn't enough for him especially since they were getting ready to go on a jump that would confine them to the ship for days.
"I don't want to stay with the ship," she replied, pushing herself away from the shaded hull. " I want to go to town, get something to eat that doesn't taste like Hutt slop and get a little drunk. You can watch me if you don't want to join me."
Manda snapped, "Cuyir shev'la!" Be silent. Eira stepped back, face drawn tight at his outburst. She didn't ask what the words meant but knew from his tone to keep quiet. He took a deep breath, the air hissing through his helmet. "Just listen to me for once. Stay here."
"Why?"
"Just stay here. Don't touch anything and don't let any droids on my ship." He strode away from her, not waiting for her to keep arguing and not looking over his shoulder when she said something exceptionally rude in Huttese.
She twisted her hair up, getting it off her sweaty neck and surveyed the yard. She was frustrated at herself for letting things go as far as they had with Mando. She felt the frustration every time her legs brushed together. Now he was gone to parts unknown for the next few hours and she was grounded at the ship. She considered going back to her pod and getting rid of the frustraion herself but it was too hot and she was too annoyed. She watched as various droids rolled, walked and hovered between ships and pumps performing maintenance. A short, bulbous Hutt slithered around, leaving a trail of glistening slime behind him as he barked orders at the droids and collected money from the pilots. He must be the one in charge, Eira thought.
"Chuba!" She hailed the slug in his native language. He stopped mid slither and angled his segmented body towards her. His bulbous eyes glistened and he darted his dark green tongue out of the maw of his stinking mouth leaving a thick glob of saliva dripping down his gelatinous chest.
"Kava mucha nechaska?" How much princess? He asked. His voice sounded like stale air being forced through a sack of bantha shit and smelled about as fresh. The Hutt laughed heartily making his stomach giggle like Jovan fruit pudding.
Eira wrinkled her nose in disgust at his stench and his words. She usually reserved passing judgement on strangers but the Hutts were all the same. "You wish you nerf-spit slug. I need replicator parts." She said tossing a credit disk at the alien. His stubby little hands missed the disk and it stuck to the slime on his chest. He yelled at a protocol droid to come over. The harried-looking droid limped over to them and received the instructions from his master.
"Replicator parts for a Razor Crest ….my, my not many of those old things left," the droid clicked.
"What can I say? I love a good challenge." Eira mused following the limping droid to the far side of the landing base that doubled as a junkyard. Several decrepit ships lay in various stages of being stripped, piles of junked parts several times her height shifted and rippled like metallic ocean waves when they passed. Eira jumped out of the way as a rusted speeder bike suddenly tumbled down the trash hill. "What in the dark abyss of Aryss was that!" She yelled as the trash rippled like something was swimming through the detritus.
The droid never stopped its halting, limping gait, "We have a bit of a Dionaga infestation at the moment. I wouldn't get too close to that pile if I were you." She quickened her step to catch up with the droid as a bloodshot eye on a fleshy stalk protruded through the husk of an R2 unit. She rested her hand on her blaster and cautiously eyed the piles of trash for any slithering appendages. Gods she hated Dionaga. "Here we are. It won't be an exact match but I'm sure you can find something-" The droid dropped her at a ship that was barely more than the rusted hull of a battle worn Star Cruiser.
Mando didn't need to ask for directions. Settlements like Mos Doba were all the same; the outer ring was the cleanest. Home to businesses like inns, restaurants, and trader stalls. The deeper you went into the city the dirtier things got; spice rooms, unscrupulous cantinas where the smugglers and Bounty Hunters frequented and finally the brothels. Red lights , the scent of cheap perfume and sex led him to the bordello faster than his nav could.
The women swarmed him as usual. He knew it was because the armor made him stand out. The Beskar made the Pleasure Girls think he had more credits to spend than their usual John. He picked one at random then followed her through the crowded foyer, up a flight of stairs and into her private room.
The door shut on the small, cramped room. Candles dimly flickered, if he snuffed them out the room would be pitch black. He could take his helmet off if he wanted but he wasn't going to. Not with her. She ran her hands along the armor on his chest and down his arms. She was blonde and tanned almost to a crisp from spending too much time under the Tatooine suns."I've never had a Mandalorian before." She breathed. Her voice had a slight nasal quality like she had a cold presumably caused by the thick cloud of incense that seemed to permeate the building. It was so different from Eira's lite, breathy voice always tinged with a touch of sarcasm like life was one big joke and she was the only one in on the punchline. The voice that reached into some deep part of his brain and brought forth memories of someone else. "Is it true you all carry big blasters?" the woman asked, running her hand down his cuirass and cupping the bulge between his legs.
Mando sighed. This wasn't going to work if he had to look at her. Or if she kept talking. "Quit talking and get on your hands and knees," he said flatly.
She smiled, "What ever you want baby. Price is the same." She complied with his directions and climbed onto her bed without argument or interpretation which was a change from Eira's defiant streak. Her defiance was driving him mad, who the hell was she to come onto his ship and fix things? Use his towel, sleep with his blanket, touch him and tease him. He wanted to see his handprint on her ass, red and raised against the otherwise pale skin. Hear that smart, arguing mouth of hers make sounds that teetered on the edge between pain and pleasure. He took his gloves off and tucked them into his gun belt then pulled the zipper down on his flight suit just enough to free his dick. He pulled her underwear down, spit on his hand and guided his cock into her slit. It was mechanical, automatic, just another job. When he was done he dropped her credits on the table and left. The void inside him was quiet, tamped down for now but not completely satiated.
He was still frustrated, at himself more than anything. Frustrated that Eira was able to so quickly get under his Beskar. He couldn't remember the last person that was so exasperating. That wasn't true; he could remember one person. The only person that could persuade him to skip advanced combat training and go watch illegal pod racing on the outskirts instead, consequences be damned, with nothing more than a few words and a tilt of her helmet.
He was dreading his return to the ship because he would have to face her again. And he would know that she had made him weak. Training, meditation, dedication to his Creed hadn't been enough to stop the urge to possess her for even a few brief moments. But he also wanted to find out what she had decided to 'not touch' while he was gone. "Ship is fueled and ready for take off, sir!" the limping protocol droid greeted him. "I do hope your companion found the parts she was looking for. A ship this old-"
"What parts?" Mando grumbled walking past the droid. He smashed the controls to close the ramp leaving the droid to finish his end of the conversation alone. A hot buzzing sound filled the ship. He found Eira on her back tucked under the replicator, a protective shield over her face and a plasma torch in hand. He sighed and stepped around her heading for the refresher.
He wanted to wash every trace of Tatooine and the brothel off his skin. His flight suit was already in the sonic and he would polish the armor later. The water was hot and Maker did it feel good on the tense, bunched muscles of his back. Unlike his usual showers which were quick dips under the frigid water to wash the dirt, sweat and blood off he lingered under the spray. He couldn't remember the last hot shower he'd had, the water at the Covert was barely lukewarm which was disappointing since literal rivers of lava flowed under Nevarro. So this was an indulgence he was unaccustomed to.
By the time he pulled himself out from under the hot water his flight suit was clean. He swiped the fog off the small mirror and glanced at his reflection. Dark, curly auburn hair that needed a trim, stubble several days old that he should shave, deep whiskey colored eyes that had seen the light of countless stars. And a face that only he had seen since childhood; he could stand toe to toe with members of The Tribe and they wouldn't know him without his helmet. He ran the towel quickly through his hair and slipped his helmet back on.
Eira was still tinkering with the replicator when he exited the refresher. "Hot water's glorious, huh?" she called from halfway inside the machine.
"It was...refreshing, " he said after a moment. "We're going to take off. You should strap in."
"I'll be up in a minute." She said reigniting the plasma torch. He left her to her repairs and returned to the cockpit to program Dodoma into the ship's nav and wait for the engines to cycle through their warm up sequence. Eira clanged up the ladder a few moments later and entered the cockpit somehow balancing two bowls of steaming stew in one arm .
"Replicators fixed, " she chimed sitting down in the copilots chair. Mando looked over his shoulder at her watching as she sat down trying not to spill the stew. He punched the final commands into the ship and the Crest took off. Eira was already half done with her bowl by the time they entered hyperspace. She sat the spare bowl of soup on the flat holo-screen navigation panel next to Mando. "Root vegetable stew just like grandma used to make," she said indicating the stew. "At least I assume my grandmother made stew like this. I never met her, she died during the seige." She indicated the still steaming bowl, "Eat it while it's hot, Mando." She swallowed the last spoonful of soup and got up from her chair. "Let me know if it's not right and I'll tweak the machine, I found her sweet spot and now we're friends."
Mando swiveled in his seat to watch as she left the cockpit, closing the hatch after her. He set the lock from his seat before removing his helmet. She had fixed the replicator, somehow piecemealing the parts together from whatever scraps she had found in the junkyard. He could actually taste each vegetable as the Maker intended. The subtle array of spices hit his taste buds like a thermal detonator and he groaned, actually groaned at the flavor. The bowl was empty far too soon and he found himself slamming his helmet back into place and leaving the cockpit. "Eira!" he called out.
She poked her head out of her sleep pod, "Is there something wrong with the food?"
"No," he set the empty bowl under the replicator and pushed the button for more. "It's good... Thank you."
She blushed, the apples of her pale cheeks turning pink. "You're welcome, Mando," she said, retreating to her pod.
"You're good at ...fixing things." He said as he strode over to her side of the bay and looked into her pod. She was studying maps and blueprints of some kind off an older model datapad that she had stolen from the Imps on Rhabat, his blanket spread across her lap.
"Yeah well…" she replied trying to hide the futher blush his praise caused, "I wasn't born a slave."
"What are you looking at?" Basic conversation skills were still elusive to him. It had been some time since he talked with someone just for the sake of it. His interactions were usually based on business transactions of some sort.
Eira typed something into the datapad and zoomed in on the rotating image of a building. "Researching the Imperial base on Dodoma," she replied without looking up. "Trying to find out how many troops they had there before the fall. See how likely it is I get killed before even making it inside."
"Hmmm," Mando said noncommittally. "What's at the base?"
She clicked open a new page, scanning a New Republic briefing, "Imperial Data Cubes, hopefully. It hasn't been completely abandoned. There's still Imps there, so they must be guarding something right? That's what Jotho said anyways."
"Who's Jotho?"
"Who's Jotho?" Eira repeated pulling her eyes away from the data pad. "Jotho was the guy I killed on Rhabat. Former Imperial Fleet Admiral turned defacto despot of Jankara settlement turned extra crispy color-colo." His helmet tilted almost imperceptibly but he didn't reply to that statement. "What?" she gave him a dark smile, "I told you what I do. What I'm doing. I'm owed blood, Mando."
"You're going after Imperials?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
She shrugged, "I am now. It's taken almost ten years and quite a few more dead bodies than the ones I left on Levine and Rhabat to get this close...If I get caught, killed, whatever, there's nothing linking me back to you. As far as the New Republic and the Imperials are concerned we've never met."
"I'm not concerned about that," he said, turning back to his soup.
Eira stuck her head back out of her pod, watching as he grabbed the hot bowl. "What are you concerned with?"
"Who's gonna pay me if those Imps kill you?" Mando replied climbing into his sleep pod and shutting the hatch after him.
"Glad you like the food," she mumbled settling back in her pod.
The next few days passed quietly. Mando kept his distance and Eira holed up in her pod memorizing the Imperial base's layout.The hours blended together. Occasionally they met at the replicator, Eira always interested in what he chose to eat. "Too bad there's no spotchka." She exclaimed. She missed hearing his flat, modulated voice. If she didn't know better he had been avoiding her. It had been days since he had stopped by her pod or let her into the cockpit to just sit and watch the stars rush past.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, "I prefer tea." He touched the replicator's controls and a mug appeared and began filling with steaming liquid.
"I would never have pictured the big, bad Mandalorian as a tea totaler." Eira said smiling up at him.
He held the cup out to her, "Would you like some?"
"I want nothing more in the galaxy." She replied taking the offered cup. Mando turned back to wait for the machine to ready his cuppa. Eira held the mug between her hands enjoying the warmth. The scent of the tea was familiar and her brow furrowed trying to place it.
"It's Kashyyykian, " Mando told her, noting her look of concentration. Eira took a small sip, using the mug to hide the look of surprise. It was definitely an odd choice of beverage.
She sipped down the hot, flowery tea. "You're kind of short for a Wookiee," she joked. His shoulders twitched and a quick, deep rumble escaped his modulator. He had just laughed, it was so sudden and unexpected Eira had almost missed it.
Mando straightened up taking his mug in one large hand. "I drink it because it reminds me of someone…" he said quietly like he was reminding himself not necessarily replying to her.
Eira suddenly felt the walls of the ship closing in, the floor tilting unsteadily under her feet. She clenched the mug tight enough to turn her knuckles bone white. "Who?" her voice caught in her throat and she struggled to find the words. The galaxy was too big, too much time had passed. And yet…the armor he wore was aged and worn yet obviously cared for, that deep voice, the firm directions she enjoyed ignoring just to see how annoyed he would get. She had felt inexorably pulled towards him since the moment he had sat across from her at the cantina…"Who does it remind you of?" she asked her voice hushed and tight. Trying so hard to keep her face calm and impassive.
Mando sighed. "It doesn't matter. She's gone."
He moved to step around her, taking his tea with him back to the privacy of the cockpit when Eira reached for him. Mando tilted his visor down, looking at her hand on his arm . "Wait, " she said softly, "Don't leave...drink your tea with me."
"I won't show you my face, " he said firmly.
She tilted her head up, looking into the dark T-shaped visor. "I'm not asking to see your face. Just stay here with me...I'll close my eyes, I'll turn away, you can blindfold me just stay and drink your tea. Talk to me."
He took a deep breath. Her stormy grey eyes searched through the steel and glass separating them. "I'm trusting you not to look…" he finally said, "Turn around."
"I won't. I swear on every star in the galaxy, " Eira gave him a relieved smile and turned away from him. She heard the low hiss of his helmet sliding off followed by the deep breath he took. She took a sip of her tea and heard a soft slurp as he did the same. "The tea's good, " she said quietly. He gave an affirmative hum.
Eira cleared her throat, she had so badly wanted to talk with him but was now stalled for words. "It reminds me of my mother…" she said softly after a few steadying breaths. "My mother's home world, Crann-Bethadh, was green. Her people grew beautiful, amazing things. They were one with the life force of the planet, it gave them everything they needed, it flowed through them and back into the soil, the rain, the air . Her uncle was a great sorcerer-"
"A sorcerer?" Mando interjected.
She waived her hand to quiet him, "It's her story not mine...Her uncle was a great sorcerer, he could use the life force that flowed through them, through the planet to do magic. Heal people, cure sick animals, prevent droughts, stop floods...Emperor Palpatine was afraid of people like her uncle. Those that would use the magic for good when all he wanted to do was control and destroy, " she paused to sip her tea. "One day a fleet of Star Destroyers surrounded Crann-Bethadh. They laid siege on a planet of farmers and villagers...Nothing grows there anymore. My mother was lucky to be evacuated. Most of her people were not so lucky. The survivors were known as the children of Bethadh. We are a rare sight in the universe now. I've never even seen anyone else that looks like me since my mother was killed…"
She felt him stand behind her. Felt the warmth of his body through the armor, the faint tickle of his breath on her skin, the feel of his gloves as they touched her hair. "I've never seen anyone who looks like you either, " he said quietly.
"Maybe I'm the last." She murmured into her cup of tea. "My mom joined the resistance. I was born on an Alliance fleet ship. We were always moving, running, trying to stay one step ahead of the Imps. We never had a real home, I never even stepped foot on hard earth until I was six or seven. But no matter where we were there was always tea. 'Home is wherever there is hot tea and warm conversation, " she recited the words her mother had spoken daily and held up her mug, "So thank you, Mando, for the small taste of home."
"Thank you for fixing the replicator. I haven't had a drinkable cup of tea in ages."
She smiled. "Do you believe in the Force?"
He took another sip of tea before answering. "The force of what?" His voice was deep and calm like the ocean, she wanted to swim in it, be surrounded by it, listen to him speak about anything and everything.
Eira smiled and shook her head. "The Force, Mando. The great power of the universe that links all living things together. My mother used to say that you can not fight the will of the Force. No matter what happens to you, what paths you forge, wherever the stars take you, you will eventually wind up exactly where the Force meant for you to."
"So you believe that magic led you to drink tea with me?" he asked.
"Yes. No, maybe, " she laughed, gods he was as dense as a Wookiee. "It led me, us here to this exact spot. You picked up my fob, you flew to Levine. I brought that Beskar with me on a...on a hunch, a feeling in my gut. I was hoping for a bounty droid, something or someone I wouldn't feel guilty about killing if necessary and taking their ship...but you picked it up. Why?"
Mando let out a deep breath that whispered through her hair, "It was the only puck Karga had."
"Gods you are sarcastic without that helmet on aren't you?" She muttered. "Who the hell is Karga?"
"Karga runs the Guild on Nevarro, " he answered simply. The mug slipped from her hands and shattered on the ground. It was the last piece of an impossible puzzle. Maybe this was the Force trying to redirect her, shift her path away from the vengeance and bloodshed. Or maybe it was just her shit luck as usual. "Wait! Don't turn around." Mando demanded when she bent down to pick up the shards cursing at herself in Huttese.
"I'm not looking…" she huffed hearing the hiss of him putting his helmet back on. "So Nevarro...I have an interesting story about Nevarro-"
His wrist-com buzzed and he glanced down at it. "I've got a message from the guild, " he said. "I have to answer this." He stepped around her where she kneeled on the floor picking up pieces of her broken mug.
"Wait, I need to talk to you some more," she said standing up.
"Later," he said dismissevly as he continued back to the cockpit.
Eira sighed and chewed her bottom lip. At least his Guild business would give her more time to decide how exactly to explain to Mando who she was. "So Mando, this is going to sound impossible but I know you...I know you as well as my own shadow. Please don't kill me...di'kutla he won't kill me…." She mumbled to herself, rehearsing her story so she would be ready when he returned. Except he didnt return, he stayed locked away in the cockpit. Eira stood outside the locked door listening to his quiet voice as he discussed business with whomever had hailed him. She finally gave up and retreated to her sleep pod to study her blueprints and evetaully fell asleep, the base layout still rotating on the datapads screen.
When she awoke the ship was silent and her bladder panged painfully. She hurried to the refresher door, passing the closed hatch of Mando's sleeping pod, and barely waited for the door to slide open before pushing inside. She found Mando waiting for his kaffee at the replicator when she was done in the reresher. "We land on Dodoma in fifteen minutes," he said.
"Fifteen minutes? Shit, my days always get messed up when I'm in hyperspace too long," she said brushing her hair out of her face. "I wanted to talk to you...I need to explain something to you-"
"Is it about my payment?" he asked flatly.
"What?" Eira asked surprised. "Your...your payment? No I...I mean-"
"You don't have the Beskar do you?"
She shook her head, this wasn't what she had planned to talk about. "I do… just not with me." He crossed his arms and let out a long annoyed sigh. "It's on Levine. I have Beskar, credits...That's not what I want to talk about. Mando I need to tell you something-" The ship dropped out of hyperspace and Eira knew she was out of time. If she let this chance at finding Seraphine slip through her fingers so would her chance at ever regaining her or her buir's honor. She followed him into the cockpit and sat in the copilot chair watching as he landed the ship in a small clearing. Dodoma was a planet of thick, wild jungle. The perfect place for an Imperial base to remain hidden from the New Republic. The ship landed with a thud and he lowered the ramp.
He swivled around in his chair to look at her, "Do you need backup?"
Eira tapped her fingers on the armrest of her copilots chair. "Will it cost me extra?" she asked.
"Yes."
"You aren't gonna blend in very well in that get up," she cocked her head and smiled at him.