No words were exchanged as they walked through the rocky landscape of Arvala-7. The child's pram followed them thanks to the Mandalorian wiring it to his arm plate. Athena could practically feel the new levels of tension radiating off of him and she wouldn't lie, she also felt a little uncomfortable with their find. Who were they delivering the child to? What did they want with it?

The rule hung heavily in her mind. No questions.

"It might be hungry," she mused out loud.

"You know a lot about kids?" he scoffed.

She shrugged in response, her eyes scanning the cavern walls. "I have some experience in caring for them."

"I would think you had more experience in killing them."

Athena flinched back as if he had struck her, her muscles tensing for a fight. The Mandalorian regarded her coolly, not at all sorry for his brutal comment.

"I killed people, yes, and I did unspeakable things but I never, ever hurt a child," she snarled out. "Not once."

"That's not what they say about you."

A bitter laugh escaped her. "Who? The Imps? Of course they would. They wanted everyone to assume I was their mindless little killing droid. No emotion. Ruthless murderer."

"And were you?"

The amber lenses of her goggles stared directly into the visor of his helmet. "I did what I had to do to survive. Nothing more, nothing less."

With tight shoulders and clenched fists, Athena moved past him and stormed ahead of their small group. The Mandalorian glanced back at the Asset and grimaced under his helmet at the sad look on its little face.

He moved to join her but she held up her hand for him to stop. A shadow passed above and he glanced around to scan for danger as she pulled her spear off her back. His hand slid down to curl around his blaster when a Trandoshan lept at them. A tracker beeped on his arm and Athena reacted quickly, kicking the pram away from them as she raised her spear shaft to take the blow from the Trandoshan's axe. Another hunter lunged at the Mandalorian, pulling him away from helping Athena.

As if she needed help.

The former soldier ducked easily under the next axe swing and used the spear shaft to knock him off his feet. He grabbed her spear and flipped her onto her back but she just let out a grunt and kicked up, slamming her foot into the meeting point of his legs. He let out a howl and she pushed up with her spear, flipping up into a standing position before she spun around and slammed her foot into a third hunter's chest. He stumbled back, giving her time to twist the axe out of his hand and into the wall. With a quick movement, she stabbed him through the chest with her spear tip and slammed him into a wall.

Heavy arms wrapped around her middle and the first Trandoshan appeared to want a round two. He threw her to the ground and stomped towards her, ready to pummel her into the ground. Athena breathed in once, twice, and then lunged forward and jabbed the vibroblade she kept strapped to her thigh into his chest. Pushing the dead body to the ground, she wiped the blood on her pants and sheathed the knife before going to retrieve her spear.

She joined the Mandalorian's side, staring at the Asset who watched them with those wide eyes. He lowered his Amban rifle and looked back at the two others she had killed.

"Good?"

"Think so. You?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

They began to walk again and Athena grimaced at the feeling of burning along her calf. Glancing down, she spied a cut that must have happened in the middle of the fight. Shaking her head, she pushed past the pain and continued walking.

/

"When you're done with that, I could be in use of it," Athena commented dryly as she watched him cauterize the cut on his arm. She had been playing a little game with the Asset called "sit in your pram and stay there" for the past two minutes. It kept reaching out and wanting to touch them.

"Where?" he asked, looking her up and down for visible injuries.

"Small cut on the leg. I can do it," she explained and held her hand out for the cauterizer. He wordlessly passed it to her and watched as she tried to find a good angle to her leg.

"You're going to hurt yourself," he grunted. "Let me."

With a frustrated sigh, she handed the tool back to him and stretched out her leg so he could work on it. He could feel her muscles tense at the sound of the cauterizer starting and so he placed a hand on her knee to try and help keep her still.

"How do you know the Ugnaught?" he asked.

"Long version or short version?" she hummed, curling her fingers into the ground as he started on the cut.

"Any."

"Imperial war camps. He taught me a few things that proved valuable in my skill set. He also made sure I was fed and that they respected Arkash views."

"You were a warden at a war camp?"

She barked out a laugh. "Is that what they're saying about me now? I was a prisoner."

The cauterizer stopped and his helmet raised from looking at her leg to looking at her veiled face. "That's not what I've been told."

"That's what the Imps want you to believe. The great and glorious Athena, daughter of the Empire! What karking bullshit."

"Why were you a prisoner?"

"The Mandalorians taught you about Arkashan culture, but not about the history I presume. Arkash is...was known for its agriculture and industry. Which meant we were a target for all sides. The Imps got there first."

"They destroyed the villages." Not a question, but a statement. Uttered from someone who knew from experience.

"No. They killed anyone who fought back and enslaved those who surrendered. Our weapons were nothing against theirs. So we worked. We worked by day, trained by night. Then I was selected to fight and I joined their battles."

He set the cauterizer down and just looked at her as she told her story, her head tilted up towards the stars in the sky.

"You were a child."

"Yes, I suppose I was."

Her head tilted down to look at him, soft fabric and dust covered goggles covering her face and he came to realize the frustrations others have when looking at him. He wanted to know what she looked like in that moment and what she was thinking. But all he could see was beige fabric and goggles.

"I'll take first watch," he grumbled out.

"That is agreeable," she said, mocking the droid he had killed earlier. Helmet or not, his deadpan glare translated pretty well.

/

Her calf ached slightly as they walked through the desert and while she would never admit it aloud, Athena was grateful for the sight of the approaching ridge where they landed. However, the shrieks and babble of Jawaese grated on her ears.

She sighed at the sight of Jawas stripping the ship below and crouched down, her eyes following as the Mandalorian fired upon the tiny little Jawas.

"Oh come on, Mandalorian. They are just little thieves," she teased. The little sleep she got the night before made her Arakshan accent thicken and his title rolled around thickly on her tongue, slurring and pulling at the word in a way that brought some sort of feeling to his chest.

Frustration. Anger. Annoyance. His brain supplied.

Athena watched as he chased after the Jawas with the pod following close behind. The former assassin took the time to make her way towards the stripped ship. With a hum on her lips, she walked around the ship and the surrounding areas and collected any parts that were left behind. The woman made a few piles denoting what parts went where and rummaged through the Mandalorian's things before she found his less than stellar tool set. It might help him with on the fly repairs but nothing this large.

But those damn little Jawas took her bag too.

He found her seated in the cockpit as he made his rounds of the ship. She was on the floor, rewiring the communications port and front section with the few parts that the Jawas weren't able to take.

"What are you doing?" he asked, an accusatory tone dripping from his words.

"It appears I am repairing your ship," she teased. "Surprising, I know."

"And you know how to do this even when you yourself don't have a ship."

"I wore many hats before the Imperials brought me into their ranks, Mandalorian. Planet of mechanics, no? I cannot fix this on my own nor without the parts. But I might know someone who can."

"The Ugnaught."

"Yes, he knows these lands and he knows the Jawas. If not him, then I have no more ideas after that."

He sighed and then headed back downstairs. She nimbly followed behind, her feet light and soft as she landed on the first floor. Athena's form softened at the sight of the cooing Asset and she kneeled down, extending her hand to it. With an excited shriek, it tipped over trying to reach her and she quickly caught it, a laugh bubbling up in her chest.

"Careful, little one," she warned it as warmth coated her words. "Come, let us go back to the pod, yes? Safer for you right now."

Hands drenched in the blood of innocents gently picked up the little green child and cuddled it to her chest. She walked down the ramp past the Mandalorian and settled it in its pod. It cooed up at her as she wrapped its blankets around its little body and then tapped it on the tiny button nose.

"You might as well rest, little one. It's a bit of a walk to Kuiils," she hummed, stroking one of its ears. Its wide eyes slowly shut at her ministrations and it nestled down in its blankets, steady breathing soon indicating it was asleep. Athena pulled away from the child and glanced up at the bounty hunter who was watching them carefully.

"We should go. Make it before sundown," she announced, her normal bored and detached voice sliding over the gentle tone she had seconds prior.