There was so much noise. This was far from the first time he'd been led into a cantina for a job, even one this busy, but Din found he had no patience for it. The Armorer, Nala, was waiting for him and this was just a distraction.

He recentered himself to focus again. They were here for a hacker. Apparently Teena's part-time copilot was skilled with tech and could worm her way into just about any circuits.

Na'sara liked to use this cantina as a base for people to hire her out, so this is where they came to look for her now, amid the noise and lights and drinks and dancers.

Teena split the crowd as she walked with purpose and intent. Being armed to her teeth didn't hurt either. Din stayed to the outskirts of the main room to keep an eye out for complications. Dev was still on the ship, the kid would stick out too much.

He, and about a dozen others, reached for a weapon when a scream tore across the room, but the source was discovered easily enough. A blue skinned Twi' had squealed as she threw herself at Teena, wrapping her in a hug. He watched their animated reunion and quickly got an idea of Na'sara's personality. She was as loud and lively as the cantina she set up in. The younger woman was practically vibrating with energy as she bounced on the balls of her feet and threw her hands around in gestures, talking to Teena, who just smiled and chuckled and barely got in a word.

Reluctantly, Din went back to watching the room until the two came to collect him.

.

Predictably, the entire dynamic on the ship changed when 'Sara came home. She and Dev were in constant competition about the most ridiculous things. The three of them resumed their training in the hold, which cut into some of Din's private time but he could always go somewhere else if he wanted to avoid them.

She noticed the weight building on him again. Waiting was hard, but they needed an anomaly to slip into the hemisphere undetected. So he suffered the close quarters for the 13 hour jump to the system and then continued to pace and allow his anxiety to mount as they waited for an electrical storm

The ade were unaffected. They flitted from language to language gossiping about their time apart. They prattled on to Din, generally invading his space and privacy. They wrestled. They laughed. It was hard to tell that they were prepared for the mission, but she knew them and she trusted them.

Teena managed to walk in on 'Sara sitting on the table in the galley interrogating Din about his past and she decided to take pity on him.

"'Sara! Leave him alone. Didn't you spend months explaining to me that you are an adult now? That means you don't have the excuse Dev does anymore," she scolded.

"Oh, come on, buir! Shoot me for being curious. I've never met a Mandalorian before! I wanted to know why you hate them so much. I mean, besides the ones that- Well, they can't all- I mean-"

"No, not all Mandalorians are murderers. But it's easier to cope sometimes when you have a scapegoat," Teena answered while Din remained silent.

"Right," Na'sara fidgeted. "Sorry." She jumped down and scurried out of the room before Teena could even ask who she was apologizing to.

"You raised her?"

Teena startled at his question.

"Oh, uh...yeah, I guess."

His head tilted and she suppressed a scowl at his silence.

"She's only five years younger than me, so we have an...interesting relationship. Sometimes she's my baby vod, other times she's my exasperating ad. Depends on the day, I guess." [sibling, son/daughter]

"How long have you run the ship?"

"Since my parents died. I was...eleven then. Started out with a chaperone so no one would question me in a port. Picked up 'Sara just after my chaperone joined the rebellion, when I was fifteen."

"When did Dev come along?"

"Na'sara saw his mother die in the market while we were on a supply run and brought him back. That was when he was six, so nine years ago…?"

"You did good. They're proficient fighters." She chuckled at his choice of praise. "I've heard them float between at least three languages, what all do they speak?"

"We've got five languages on the ship, it's what they grew up with," Teena said with a shrug. She didn't feel the need to clarify that Na'sara grew up speaking Ryl, Dev grew up speaking Mirialan, Teena grew up speaking Mando'a, they all spoke Basic, and Togruti was reserved for the rare occasion Ahsoka came onboard. It was natural for them all to learn Ryl and Mirialan, but the ade were constantly picking up on Mando'a as she told them stories or cursed under her breath or called them affectionate names. To her knowledge they still didn't know what the language was, just that it was hers.

He was tense again.

"You'll see Nala soon," she smiled at him with a hand under his siget, "I promise."

She was surprised when he covered her hand with his own for a moment before they finished the preparations to drop out of hyperspace.