Slightly shorter chapter, but it was the right place for a break.

Din was confident that Shand hadn't trailed them back to docking bay 3-5, but he still wanted to get the Crest in the air as soon as possible.

"Ship ready?" He called out to the mechanic as they entered the hangar. She turned to face them from where she stood near his ship.

"Yeah, just," she called back. Her brow furrowed as they neared. "You in some kind of hurry?" Her eyes drifted down to his arm. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not," Din retorted, and she huffed. He pulled out a handful of credits and passed them over. "That cover me?"

She glanced down. "Yeah. Yeah, I think you're good."

With a curt nod, he stalked up the ramp to the ship. Winta hurried after him. She hadn't said a word since the cantina; her face was still white, her lips pressed tightly together.

Din closed the ramp behind them and went straight for the cockpit, snagging a med kit from storage on his way past.

"Shouldn't you-" Winta offered quietly as he sank into the pilot's seat, hovering in the cockpit doorway behind him. "Your arm-"

"It's fine," he snapped, ignoring the pain and her worried expression. His arm throbbed, but he'd had worse injuries, and this one wasn't going to kill him. "Sit down."

She complied, remaining silent while he took off and programmed in their next hyperspace jump. Only once at lightspeed did he remove his gloves and reach for the med kit. He fumbled awkwardly with the clasp for several seconds, getting it open just as Winta started to rise from her seat, clearly intending to help. And Din did not need her help, of all things. He briefly entertained the idea of ordering her below, but dismissed it just as quickly, focusing instead on removing his vambrace and rolling up his sleeve. It wasn't as if he was taking off his helmet and, besides, he had some very pressing questions to ask the kid just as soon as he'd tended to his injury.

He examined the blaster wound. Despite himself, he was almost impressed. Shand's shot was clearly intended to disarm, not to kill, and her aim was impeccable. She'd hit him between his vambrace and his shoulder pad, in the small stretch of arm not protected by armor and in a spot guaranteed to impact his own shooting ability. He reached for the small bottle of bacta spray, letting out a slow breath at the immediate relief.

He bandaged the wound and fixed his sleeve - the vambrace could stay off for now - and then closed the medkit and set it aside. Only then did he turn his glare on Winta. Well, she couldn't actually tell that he was glaring, but from the way she cautiously watched him from her seat, chewing on her lower lip, Din assumed she got the idea.

"Explain," he ordered.

She looked down, twisting her fingers together. Nervous, then. And guilty.

"Now."

Winta glanced back up at him quickly, clearly noting the change in tone. She opened her mouth, gulping in a lungful of air before speaking.

"I have-" A pause. "Abilities." She was holding his gaze now, finally. "Orla called it the Force."

"Orla?"

"The woman who hired you to bring me to Takodana."

Din inclined his head. They'd never gotten to names.

"And what is the Force?" He pressed. Stars if he knew, and he'd seen a lot of strange things in the galaxy.

"I'm not really sure," she replied. Under his helmet, Din's expression hardened at the attempt at evasion, and Winta's eyes widened. "Honest!" She exclaimed. "I don't know."

She could read his expressions, he realized. Without seeing his face. He didn't have time to consider the implications of that statement, for Winta was still talking.

"Since I was little, I could… make things happen. Influence people into doing things. Affect their minds. Read their minds, sometimes, too. Until I met Orla on Kijimi, I didn't know what it was. I still don't, really. Or how to control it. But she said Maz Kanata could help me."

So he was smuggling a teenager with mysterious powers she couldn't control. Fantastic. But first things first-

"This is why the Empire is after you."

"They're not." Winta shook her head vigorously. "At least, I don't think?" She sounded less certain by the second. "But Orla said they would want to take me prisoner, if they knew."

Yes, Din could imagine the Empire might want someone with such powers on their side. Or dead. "Didn't it occur to you this was something I should know?" He demanded.

Winta shook her head again. "Orla said it was safer not to tell anyone," she explained. "And people… haven't always reacted well to it in the past. I've learned to hide it."

He fixed her with a hard look. "Then what was that at the cantina? That was you, wasn't it, influencing their minds?"

She nodded. "I thought we were in trouble!"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"We couldn't see anything in the smoke!" She insisted. "And they were shooting at you!"

"You couldn't see anything in the smoke," Din retorted. "I can see heat signatures through my visor."

Winta's mouth opened in a little "o". She clearly hadn't realized that. "I didn't think anyone would know it was me!" She pressed, clearly not willing to give up the argument just yet.

"You didn't think at all."

"I'm sorry!" She cried. "I panicked!"

"Well, don't," he snapped. "Panic." He took a breath. "You haven't 'learned to hide it'. You said yourself, you can't control it."

She looked like she was about to retort, but instead pressed her lips together and looked down at her lap.

There was one other thing she'd mentioned. Something he needed to know. "You said reading minds." Winta glanced up at him. "Have you been reading mine?"

She blanched, and that gave him all the answer he needed.

"For kriff's sake-" he cursed.

"Not intentionally!" She exclaimed. "A lot of times you're really hard to read, and I try not to, but sometimes it's kind of like you're shouting, and I can't help it-"

"Try harder."

It came out harsher than he intended, and Winta looked utterly crestfallen. For the first time, Din felt a twinge of sympathy for the kid. "Look. Kid." He waited until he had her attention to continue. "It's not your fault." She sniffled. "You look exhausted. Go lay down in the bunk."

She got to her feet without a word, only to pause in the doorway.

"I'm… I'm sorry I got you shot," she said quietly. Din didn't answer. What was he going to say? It wasn't exactly "fine", but he would be, and he suspected she knew that. "And thank you for not selling me to that woman."

"I'm just doing my job," he reminded her. "Which is to take you to Takodana."

What remained unspoken was the possibility that Shand might have offered him more money for Winta that what he was making to smuggle her, although Din seriously doubted it. In any case, he hadn't remotely entertained her offer.

Winta slipped out of the cockpit, heading below, and only then did Din allow himself to collapse back into his seat.

What was he going to do now?

Winta watched the approaching Takodana with even more enthusiasm than she had Tatooine.

"It's so green!" She exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Din supposed it was, especially in comparison to somewhere like Kijimi. Corellia had forests, he knew, but if she'd lived in the city she might never have seen them. He could hardly remember what it felt like to be so young, to have seen so little of the galaxy.

She was eager to exit the ship, no doubt looking forward to finally meeting Maz Kanata. Din was just glad his part was over. He could collect his payment and be on his way. Nevertheless, he was compelled to pause just before pressing the control to lower the ramp.

"Don't use your abilities here," he cautioned the girl. "Not in front of anyone other than Kanata." She nodded. "This place attracts all types, and you don't need to attract any attention."

Now she looked curious. "I thought you said you'd never been here before?"

"I haven't." Din glanced down at her. "But I've heard of it. Kanata provides a haven for anyone who needs it - smugglers, those looking to lay low." Not unlike you, he thought, but didn't voice aloud. "Takodana's neutral, so there shouldn't be any Imps, at least."

And with that, he lowered the ramp.

The castle was situated on the edge of a lake, three sides of the large structure flanked by water. The fourth opened onto the shore, a long open-air corridor leading down the peninsula to the main entrance. Din had landed the Crest further along the tree-lined shore in a small clearing, and he and Winta both scanned their surroundings on the short walk to the castle. She, in wonder; he, looking for any potential threat. He honestly thought she might trip as they walked up the corridor towards the door, staring straight up as she was at the flags hanging overhead. And the statue, mounted high above them, as though presiding over anyone who dared to approach.

The castle's main door led them into a large room. It was, cool, cavernous, and dimly lit, what light there was cast from the open door, a few windows, and lanterns set into the heavy, stone walls. The space clearly functioned as a cantina, not unlike the many others Din had visited the galaxy over. There were individuals of numerous species spread out at the bar and the various tables, occupied with conversation or with the food and drink in front of them. Heads turned as they entered, and Din didn't think he imagined the slight hush that fell over the crowd. Most of those present probably hadn't seen a Mandalorian before, or certainly not anytime recently, and he had the sudden feeling that perhaps this had been a mistake.

"It's not every day a Mandalorian walks through my door," a nearby voice called out. For a moment, Din struggled to identify where it was coming from, only then realizing the speaker was much closer to the floor. A tiny alien was approaching, scrutinizing him through a large pair of goggles. Come to think of it, she strongly resembled the statue outside. "I'm Maz Kanata, welcome to my castle." She turned to the girl beside him, as the conversation around them resumed at its normal volume. "And you must be Winta."

"It's nice to meet you," Winta replied easily, while Din merely inclined his head in a nod.

"We have much to discuss," Kanata addressed Winta. "But first, I imagine you'd like something to eat, and the Mandalorian and I have some business to attend to."

She showed them to a table and briefly took her leave. By the time she returned, a plate of food had been delivered to Winta, who paused in her curious regarding of the room to rapidly demolish it.

Kanata climbed into the seat opposite Din and set a cloth wrapped package before him on the table. "Thank you for delivering Winta safely. I think you'll find this to be the balance of your payment."

He unwrapped the cloth just enough to take stock of the contents. Seven neatly stacked ingots of beskar. He glanced up at Kanata and nodded.

"Then your responsibilities to her are concluded," she told him. "But you are, of course, welcome to stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you, but I should be getting back," he replied. Winta glanced up from her food, and Din was surprised to see a trace of alarm in her expression. She would certainly be safer here than she was with him.

Kanata glanced between them. "Might I convince you to stay the one night?" She prompted. "The cantina is an enjoyable place to pass an evening, and I'd be happy to arrange for some fuel for your ship."

Din considered. He didn't have anywhere to be immediately, just in search of the next job. He wasn't much for cantina entertainment and would probably sleep on the Crest anyway, but another twelve hours or so planet-side wouldn't hurt.

He inclined his head again. "Alright."

Winta actually smiled at him, and then immediately turned back to her food, hastily taking another bite.

Din still wasn't sure what to make of the kid.