Tython is an uninhabited planet. Uninhabited planets are your favorite type of planets because they all have one wonderful thing in common: stars. So, so, so many stars are visible tonight that you almost feel dizzy looking up at them. Every time you see the sky like this you are moved. In the past, you believed there wasn't a single place or thing more beautiful in the entire galaxy. Now, you know were wrong. Very wrong.
As the Mandalorian stands underneath the night sky, his pure beskar acts as a perfect surface for the tens of thousands of stars to reflect off of. His glistening armor holds the heavens in such a dazzling way you forget how to breathe. He appears to be celestial, as if he has been sent down from above to guide you on some sort of transcendental awakening. To watch his armor mirror the beauty of the cosmos is almost poetic. By simply existing, by simply being so unapologetically sure of everything he is, by carrying thousands of years of tradition on his corporeal form, the Mandalorian emulates the most perfect parts of being alive in the Universe. The Force tries to teach you these divine lessons every day, but seeing the Manda'lor like this, in an ethereal form, is the closest you've ever been to understanding them. To solely be, without asking anything from the galaxy and without allowing the galaxy to ask anything from you, is the only way to begin to comprehend just how meaningful you are to the Force.
You shake yourself out of your sentiment by recalling the last time you were on Tython. The moons had drenched you in light as you buried a crate full of beskar you successfully captured from a collector's yacht. The woman in possession of the two complete sets of armor belonged to the Pyke Syndicate and was planning to display the pieces on her walls as if they were trophies she won in battle. You commandeered her vessel and purposefully crashed it on Florrum to have easy access to your ship docked there. When you mind probed the woman to find out who her seller was, you needed to repeat your mantra in your head fervently to keep yourself from tormenting her to death. Her twisted mind was one of the worst you had ever invaded and the hatred you felt towards her rushed through you like off-the-market bacta. Peace is attainable, but only through Darkness. Peace is attainable, but only through Darkness. You extracted the information you needed and then slit her throat in a mercifully painless and quick death. Over the course of the year spent hunting down beskar, you lived and breathed the new Code you had adopted. Sometimes, you were required to take unvirtuous actions to make progress on your quest and sometimes, you were able to unshackle entire villages from despots who acquired power after the fall of the Empire. Every ounce of beskar saved by you was done with devotion to a greater cause. Cutting up your enemies, unraveling corrupt governments on backwater planets, and giving power to the downtrodden were all pieces to your journey out of the Dark. Victory is not a craving anymore, your passion can be controlled, and your strength in the Force is drawn from the chaos of your unrepressed emotions. Championing peace is the service you are meant to offer the galaxy and collecting beskar set you off in the right direction. It was the first step of many. This is your Way.
You're rudely awakened by the sound of the Mandalorian banging on the door of your bunk. When you check the time on your chrono it reads 05:55, five minutes til sunrise. Why the hell Mando insists on getting started so early is beyond you. It's not as if you are on some sort of time constraint or anything. Well, actually, Mando and Fett probably are, but they never specified and you never asked.
"Get up."
"Kriff off."
He tries to open the door to the crew quarters, but it won't respond to his repeated commands. You had sneakily sliced the door's security panel the first day you were aboard the Kestrel in anticipation of this exact scenario; unwelcome visitor attempts to barge in unexpectedly. Like hell you were going to give the Mandalorian free range of his ship while you were around. The irony made you chuckle to yourself as you reprogrammed the controls. His ship, his crew quarters, his control panel, yet the buttons for the door are under your directive now. Best decision you've ever made.
"Did you kriffing SLICE my door!?" He yells in frustration.
You can't help the explosion of laughter that escapes your belly. Maker, the little moments in life made everything worth it.
"Calm down, Mandalorian. I'm awake now. Be ready in a few minutes."
He slams his hand into the metal wall, making you jump in your blanket. For a second you think he might punch his way in, but nothing more happens. A sigh of resignation reaches your ears before his heavy footsteps tell you he has left to wait by the hatch. You drag yourself out of bed and get ready for the long day ahead.
Mando is finished gearing up by the time you meet him in front of the armory.
"You got any shovels?" You ask with a sly grin.
"You buried all of it." He deadpans, probably very annoyed by this tiny little detail you 'forgot' to share with him till now.
"Safer that way." You bite the inside of your cheek to keep your laughter contained.
He hums and turns towards a storage closet to rummage through the random tools and boxes stuffed inside. After a minute, he pulls out two rusty shovels and hands you one unceremoniously.
"Why do you even have these?"
He opens the hatch and starts to walks away, "For the bodies."
When you reach the bottom off the ramp after him, you take off in the direction of the hill leading up to the Seeing Stone. It takes you several seconds to realize your beskar clad companion isn't following you. You spin on your heel and throw your hands on your hips in exasperation. He tilts his head to the side and gestures his gloved thumb towards his jet pack.
"Oh hell no!" You shriek, "I'm walking. I don't care how long it takes me. You are not flying me up that hill."
"Better grab some water then." He jets off in a dramatic exit, leaving you to cough on the dust he's kicked up behind him.
You do go back to the ship for some water and you are glad you do. It takes two hours to make the climb up the hill. Thanks to the seismic activity, the Seeing Stone has become far more difficult to reach than any of the other times you have visited. The hill literally gets bigger every time you make the trip. You are sweating under the bright sun and your legs ache from the exertion. Mando is loading the first camtono of beskar onto the hover sleigh when you finally arrive. You had left the sleigh behind on your first visit, using it's services several times since. The device could be sent to whatever coordinates you put into it. A smart investment. You take a seat in the cool shade and open a ration pack to munch on.
"What are you doing? Start digging." His voice is strained with irritation.
"Well... I accidentally left my shovel back at the ship when I went to grab water." You try to keep a straight face. You know how much this will set him off.
He lets out a low growl, "I'm going to go get it."
"Isn't that a waste of fuel?"
"It's a waste of more kriffing time to have you sitting around uselessly!"
"Bring me another ration bar then."
He jets off into the distance again, surely foaming at the mouth.
As soon as he leaves, you get up to kneel in front of the Seeing Stone. You place both hands on the ground at the base of the rock, take a deep breath, and extend your mind outwards. You feel the cold dirt surrounding the beskar below and begin to will the treasures towards the surface of the planet. In less than a minute, you unearth every single crate and camtono. Continuing to use the Force, you start stacking the treasures onto the sleigh in neat rows. By the time Mando returns with the shovel, you are levitating the last crate of beskar and completing the job with a wipe of your brow. He watches as you press a green triangle on the machine to send it back to the ship's coordinates. A long-suffering sigh filters out of his helmet as he turns in a circle to take in all the new holes in the ground.
"Nice work," he mutters.
You flash him a bright smile and joke, "You gonna give me ride back or what?"
He shakes his head slightly before opening his arms in an invitation. You realize the quip is being taken seriously despite your earlier snark and he is genuinely offering to save you the long trek through the heat. A peace offering, since he probably can tell you are dreading the walk back, even if you are too headstrong to admit it. How is this going to work exactly though? You will have to hold onto each other, tightly. The necessary closeness would be almost… intimate. Oh no. You can't back out now, you'll look like a kriffing idiot! He sighs again and jerks his head to say "come here". After you tiptoe towards him, he wraps an arm tightly alltheway around your waist. You squeak in response and he tilts his helmet at your feminine sound. You clear your throat and try to ignore how small you feel pressed against him. Wrapping your own arms around his neck, you shut your eyes in anticipation for lift off.
"Leg too." His low voice murmurs in your ear.
Your eyes fly open in shock at how suggestive the words feel and you have to physically restrain the embarrassing sound trying to escape you again. Heat rises to your cheeks, but you obey his command and lift a leg to press a knee against his hip. You're snugly anchored onto the side of him and his body being locked between your limbs makes you feel surprisingly secure. He chuckles sadistically and you know he is enjoying your fluster. He squeezes you once before blasting off, taking you both soaring through the air. You enjoy the flight much more than you should, considering how kriffed up your relationship with the man is.
