Suggested Listening:
Tracy - John Powell (from Still) | …stars and reveries
Devil in the Church - James Horner & Simon Franglen (from The Magnificent Seven) | …pulled over
Nailin' the Kelvin - Michael Giacchino (from Star Trek) | …on the run
T Rex vs. Quetzalcoatlus - Anze Rozman & Kara Talve (from Prehistoric Planet) | …we gotta go
Anna and Albert - Joel McNeely (from A Million Ways to Die in the West) | …sorry's in the snow
Taking the scenic route was surprisingly pleasant — for me, at least. My seat was comfortable, and as I gazed out of the viewport at the stars, I felt an odd, unfamiliar sense of peace. For so long, staying still had felt like the most secure option, but now that I was on the move, I couldn't deny the strange feeling of safety. Alongside it, though, was a surprising, subtle stab of sadness. An ache for the realization that I hadn't felt any semblance of peace for as long as I could remember. It's not fair, said a little, child's voice within me. I shook my head to silence it — that kind of self-pity is pointless and weakening, thought grown-up me. I looked back out at the spectacular tapestry of stars.
We had been en route for at least an hour. The Frog Lady was asleep in the passenger chair next to me. Mando had disappeared downstairs to sleep — presumably in the tiny, cramped rack I had seen earlier. It was like a storage compartment, with a short, firm sleeping bench and a little hammock dangling above it — I assumed that was for the kid. Sweet, I had thought to myself with a smile. Then I had spied the open, exposed privy right next to it. … That'll be interesting.
Now, I was enjoying the quiet serenity of being the only person awake on the gently drifting ship. My tranquility was rudely interrupted, however, when something on the dash began flashing red and beeping loudly. I unstrapped and stood, trying to figure out what the ship was communicating. The doors whooshed open and Mando emerged, all-business.
"I didn't touch anything," I said, holding my hands up. "I swear!"
"It's a communication," He reassured, and sat in the driver's seat. He pressed a button and an authoritative voice filled the cockpit.
"Razor Crest, M-One-Eleven. Come in, Razor Crest. Do you copy?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a New Republic ship swoop alongside ours, then another on the other side — we were flanked. Anxiety stirred in my chest. In theory I should be able to trust the New Republic, but in the old days, I had firsthand knowledge that the people in charge were never to be counted on for morality, especially when money or power was involved. I knew that whatever my ransom was, it was a big one, and no uniform or standard-issue authority ship was going to assuage any suspicion. Mando looked over his shoulder at me and held a finger up to his helmet, indicating that I should keep quiet.
"This is Razor Crest," said Mando, holding down the communication button. "Is there a problem?"
"We noticed your transponder is not emitting," the officer's voice answered.
"Yes," confirmed Mando. "I'm pre-Empire surplus. I'm not required to run a beacon."
"That was before. This sector is under New Republic jurisdiction. All crafts are required to run a beacon."
I was surprised — I didn't remember the Outer Rim being so pedantically policed, especially in a nondescript old ship like this.
"Thank you for letting me know," said Mando. "I'll get right on it."
"Not a problem. Safe travels."
"May the Force be with you."
"…And also with you," transmitted the officer, and I let out a relieved breath… But then he continued. "Just one more thing…"
"Yes?" Asked Mando, a little annoyed.
"I'm gonna need you to send us a ping. We're out here sweeping for Imperial holdouts."
"I'll let you know if I see any."
"I'm still gonna need you to send us that ping," insisted the officer.
Mando paused.
"Well, I'm not sure I have that hardware online."
"… We can wait."
Mando looked at his dash, but didn't move. I swallowed, and balled my fists, nervously.
"Yeah…" muttered Mando. "It, uh… doesn't seem to be… uh, working."
"That's too bad," said the officer. "We can't confirm you're not Imperial, you're gonna have to follow us to the outpost at Adelphi. They'll run your tabs."
"Oh wait," said Mando. "There it is! Transmitting now…"
He flipped a switch and a buzzing, beeping sound filled the cockpit. The Frog Lady woke with a start, and croaked in alarm.
"Be quiet," Mando whispered, urgently.
"What's that?" Asked the voice, suspiciously.
"Uh, nothing!" Said Mando, brightly. "The hypervac is drawing off the exhaust manifold."
The Frog Lady looked over at me, confused. I held up a hand to her, indicating to just wait quietly.
A beat passed, then the voice returned.
"Carson," it said, I assumed to the officer in the other ship. "Can you switch over to channel two?"
There was an alarm in his voice that made my heart race. Why hadn't Mando wanted to transmit his information until his hand was forced? We sat in tense silence. I jumped as the ships next to us opened their guns with a loud mechanical shift. Uh oh.
The voice was back.
"Was your craft in the proximity of New Republic Correctional Transport, Bothan-Five?"
Correctional transport? Like a prison ship?
I stared at the back of his helmet, waiting for his answer with bated breath. Instead, he grabbed the wheel and we barreled forward, careening down toward the planet below us.
"What the hell?" I cried, grabbing the wall as we zoomed back and forth, zig-zagging into the clouds. He didn't respond — instead he circled a massive cloud… then I felt the engines shudder to a halt and we plummeted straight down, the icy, mountains getting closer and closer.
The Frog Lady and I screamed, trying to find something to hold on to. Just before we were about to hit snow, he turned them back on and regained control, flying us into an icy crevasse. I could see on the radar that the New Republic ships were hot on our tail. He deftly navigated the ice canyons, leading the ships on a wild chase — until the walls closed in around us and the ship was too wide for the pass. We bounced back and forth and sank down, hitting and skidding on the icy ground for a harrowing few moments, until we slammed into the side of a massive rock formation.
"Did we lose them?" I asked, rubbing my elbow that had smashed into the wall with the turbulence. Just then, a loud crack vibrated underneath us — the ice opened up and swallowed us, as the ship descended into the depths of a dark, yawning cavern.
There was a ringing in my ears, and my vision was pinhole, like when you stand up too quickly. The straps had done a good job of securing me in place, but they hadn't kept the shrapnel and debris from falling from the ceiling with the force of the impact, some of which had made direct contact with my head. As the cockpit came into focus around me and the ringing faded, I could hear the groans of the other two. The Frog Lady had fallen to the floor. Mando sprung out of his chair to help her up, making sure she was uninjured. Then he turned to me.
"Are you okay?" He asked with concern, seeing me rubbing my head. "Are you bleeding?"
"No," I responded, grimacing. "I mean, yes, I'm fine. No blood, just a bump."
Luckily the kid was fine, and the eggs were safe — the cylinder hadn't broken — but the ship was heavily damaged. There were holes and punctures all over the hull. I was reeling — partially from the head injury, but also from the fact that we had just outrun two Rebel ships who were very invested in capturing our mysterious, armor-clad captain.
"You two stay in the ship," Mando said to us, before disappearing out into the snow. "I'm gonna see if I can get things patched up before nightfall."
I looked at the Frog Lady, who was clutching her cylinder of eggs tightly.
"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded, and settled further into her seat. "Okay. I'll be back."
I stepped out of the ship. The air was frigid and smelled slightly sulfurous, and a hollow, groaning wind shivered through the cavern. I spied Mando heading to the front of the ship, peering closely at the damage.
"Hey," I hissed, catching up to him. He turned to me. I leaned my head in and spoke in a whisper. "What exactly was that? Are you some kind of criminal?"
"My business is my business," He muttered. I laughed, incredulously, and gestured around at the wreckage.
"I think it's safe to say it's all of our collective business, now."
"Hey," he said gruffly, pointing a finger at me. "I could say the same for you. For all I know you're wanted in three sectors." He strode away from me and started circling the ship, examining damage. I stormed after him.
"For your information, I'm not wanted. My situation is completely different!"
"Oh really?" He stopped and spun around, looking down at me. "Then why don't you contact the authorities? Why not ask for safe passage with a New Republic officer instead of making me your personal ferry service?"
"You offered!" I was stung. "I didn't even ask you to take me this time, and I wouldn't have agreed to your offer if I'd known the burden of irritation at my mere presence would cause you to careen into the nearest planet!"
His shoulders slumped, and he put his hands on his hips, wearily.
"Look," he said in a calmer voice. "I'm upset about my ship. And to be perfectly honest, I didn't plan on having a bunch of passengers right now. I'm sort of… in the middle of something."
I felt immediately guilty. He was right — he was taking me at my word that I was a safe person to have aboard, even though everything probably looked to the contrary. My questioning hadn't been fair. I looked over at the battered, mangled ship.
"This is fixable," I said, and started circling the ship myself. "You have tools, I hope?"
Mando looked around at me, obviously, like I'd almost insulted him by asking. "Yes, I have tools."
Sparks flew as we began slowly repairing the ship — the damage was worse than I had hoped. I had wrapped and belted a travel blanket around me like a makeshift jacket, borrowed some spare gloves and a spare escape pod helmet to protect my eyes, and was trying to no avail to fuse-patch a hole deep in a divot where the hull met the flank.
"Do you have a smaller welding pen?" I called to him on the other side of the ship.
"I could cut that one in half," came the response. I chuckled.
I heard the kid's little babbles echoing off the cave walls. I stopped welding and lifted my helmet.
"Mando?"
"That's the smallest pen I have, if you just wait I'll come do it myself."
"No…" I rolled my eyes at the insinuation of incompetence. "Is the kid with you?"
The clanging and whirring on his side of the ship stopped.
We came around the front of the ship to find the kid standing further into the cave.
"Hey!" Mando said, sternly. "Come back here!"
The child didn't move. We approached, and saw that he was staring into the shadows, concerned. His wide, dark eyes following a path of footprints in the snow — the Frog Lady had ventured deeper inside. Mando and I exchanged a worried look.
We followed the footprints into the ice cave — he had tried to stop me with a gruff "stay here", but as before, it didn't do much. It got progressively darker, so much that I had to squint to see, until we came to a clearing that was illuminated with a dull, pretty red glow. Round little stones dappled the fields of snow, at the center of which The Frog Lady had found a hot spring, and was bathing with her eggs in the steaming pool. Kriff, that looks inviting, I thought. And perhaps we should respect her modesty and avert our eyes? I don't know the rules of that in her culture…
"There you are," said Mando, relieved but frustrated. "It's not safe out here, we have to go back to the ship."
She croaked in protest.
"I know its warm," he said, more gently. "But it's getting dark fast, and I can't protect you in here. Let's gather these up."
He put the kid down and knelt to scoop up the eggs and put them back in their cylindrical carrier. I dropped to my knees in the snow and did the same — the water was indeed deliciously hot and soothing. The Frog Lady conceded with a croak and scooped up some eggs, tenderly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the kid pick up an egg in his little fingers, and bring it to his mouth. I was about to stop him, but Mando's reflexes were even quicker than mine.
"NO!" He put a finger out, scoldingly, without even turning his head. "No."
The kid, caught, begrudgingly dropped the egg back in the water.
"How many were there?" I asked the Frog Lady. She looked at me and croaked. I smiled, apologetically. "Will you let us know if there are any missing?" She nodded.
We put the last eggs in the cylinder and sealed it. Suddenly, the kid started jabbering, an edge of fear in his voice. I spun around to see him running back from where he had wandered, deeper in the ice cave. Mando was approaching him, looking for a threat.
"What is it, kid?" He asked. I walked over, squinting into the dark of the cavern, but froze when I saw movement. The rocks… weren't rocks. They were shaking, tumbling over, oozing… and something — some things — were crawling toward us. Things with lots of fast, spindly legs.
"Weeee gotta go," I said, backing away. The Frog Lady shot her tongue out and grabbed her clothes, hurriedly. Mando stooped to pick up the kid, but didn't move from his spot. Around us, I could see hundreds of little, clicking white spiders crawling toward us. The sight of them made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
"Mando, come on," I insisted.
Just then, a great roar rattled the icicles hanging around us, as a massive, monstrous spider-looking beast burst forth out of the shadows.
"Go, go, get back to the ship!" Mando shouted, hiking the cylinder of eggs onto his shoulder, and we took off at a sprint.
The thick-packed snow was difficult to run on, and the mother spider was right on our tails. The smaller spiders were swarming, coating the walls and beating us in speed. Mando tried to clear the path with his blaster, but there were too many. Behind us, the mother spider gave a heave and webbing shot forward, narrowly missing us. We forged ahead through the writhing path of spiders, lifting our feet as high as we could. The Frog Lady had dropped to all fours and was leaping ahead, frantically. Mando, next to me, was struggling with the eggs on his back, the kid in his arms, and the blaster in his hand.
"Give me the kid or the eggs," I panted as we ran.
"I got it," he insisted.
"Share the weight," I pushed back. "You'll have better aim!"
He hesitated a moment, then handed the kid to me.
"Be careful," he warned, and ran faster. I held the kid close to me, and felt his little hands grab the scruff of my shirt.
Just then, a massive leg pierced the ice above us and stabbed down, nearly skewering Mando. We dodged it and kept running. Mando reached into his utility belt and pulled out three small metal things that began blinking. He chucked them behind us and I craned my neck just in time to see the tiny bombs explode, halting the beast, at least for a moment.
Finally, the Razor Crest came into view.
"Get inside," Mando said, ushering us in. He stayed behind, and I heard his blaster attempting to ward off the oncoming swarm. Inside, the Frog Lady and I dashed up the ladder. The kid cried out in my arms, reaching back for Mando who had yet to follow us in.
"It's okay, kid," I panted, as much to myself as to him. "If you can hear the blaster, he's okay."
The blasts grew closer, and after a few moments, Mando emerged up the ladder, followed closely by an entire horde of spider creatures. I frantically looked around for a second weapon as he blasted as many of them as he could.
"This ship is full of weapons, why can't I find one when I need one?" I huffed, frantically.
Behind me I heard a new sound — a smaller, higher blast. I wheeled around to see the Frog Lady, clutching her eggs, pointing a tiny, pea-shooting blaster at two spiders that were descending through the holes in the ship right onto the child. With perfect aim, she took them out. I looked at Mando, who had witnessed it too, and widened my eyes. Impressive.
Mando's blaster rang out three more times — enough coverage to get the cockpit doors to close. Right before they did, he pressed a button on his vambrace and shot hot, orange flames through the gap.
Finally, the door sealed, and the room was quiet. We stood for a moment, panting. I scooped up the kid. Mando looked down at the Frog Lady, giving her a solemn nod of thanks. She gazed back, blinking her large, dark eyes, and nodded in response.
The moment of peace didn't last long, though — through the foggy windshield I saw the spindly shadows of spider creatures and heard the ominous tic-tic-tic of their feet covering the outside of the ship.
"Strap yourselves in," directed Mando. Then, to himself… "This better work."
The Frog Lady sat, clutching her eggs on her lap, and I did the same with the kid.
"I've got limited visibility," said Mando, warming up the engines with a firm push of the lever. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride."
The ship shuddered to life and we lifted tumultuously into the air — but only for a few seconds. With a deafening crash, we plummeted to the ground once more, as the mammoth spider mother clambered on top of us. We all stared, petrified, as it lowered it's immense face down and peered at us through the viewport, its eyes rolling. With a roar, it slammed it's mouth down on us, baring its rings of vicious-looking teeth. The kid squealed in fear. It was about to do it again, when I heard the sound of a blaster, and the sky lit up with jets of red light. Hit, the mother spider recoiled and slid off the ship, causing it to rock and shudder. I furrowed my brow as the blasts continued.
"Who is that?" I asked. Mando spun around in his chair.
"Wait here," he commanded, and left the cockpit, blaster drawn. This time, I obeyed. I moved up to the driver's seat and squinted, trying to distinguish any shapes. All I could make out were a few warped beams of white light.
The blasting ceased. Then I heard a muffled voice.
"We ran the tabs on the Razor Crest." It was the amplified voice of the New Republic officer who had pulled us over. I looked over at the Frog Lady, nervously.
"You have an arrest warrant for the abduction of prisoner X6911," he continued. "However, onboard security records show that you apprehended three priority culprits from the Wanted Register. Security records also show that you put your own life in harms way to protect Lieutenant Davan from the New Republic Correctional Corps. Is this true?"
My mind raced. He was involved in some kind of prison break? This man just kept getting more and more interesting.
"Am I under arrest?" I heard Mando shout.
"Technically, you should be," answered the officer. I inhaled, tersely, trying to figure out what the plan was if he was taken away in cuffs, but the officer continued. "But these are trying times."
"What say I forego the bounties on these three criminals," Asked Mando in a tired voice. "And you two help me fuse my holes so I can get off this frozen rock?"
"What say you fix that transponder and we don't vaporize that antique next time we patrol the rim?" Parried the officer. I heard the whirring of engines, and the light faded away — we were left once again with the darkness and the ghostly whistle of the icy wind.
Mando returned.
"Alright," he said, wearily. "I'm gonna repair the cockpit enough for us to limp to Trask. There's nothing I can do about the main hull's integrity, so we're going to have to get cozy in the cockpit. If you need to use the privy, do it now… it's going to be a long ride."
The Frog Lady and I looked at each other as Mando turned back around and descended the ladder. I placed the kid in the passengers seat.
"Stay," I said firmly, trying the same outstretched finger that Mando had used. The kid looked back at me and tilted his head, cooing. I sighed. "I'm gonna choose to believe that you know what I'm asking, and are saying 'yes, Kyra, I will absolutely stay put'."
I slipped down the ladder and stepped through the web-riddled, disfigured hull out into the cold. Mando was bent over, picking tools up out of the snow. All around us were the still, gnarled corpses of the spider creatures. Wordlessly, I swept around the ship and grabbed any tools or pieces of metal clutter I could find. When I came to Mando, he was reaching up, fusing a warped piece of metal to a hole in the base of the cockpit.
"I'm sorry about your ship," I offered.
"It just goes to show," He replied. "You're bad luck."
I opened my mouth to return a barb, but I detected a definite note of amusement in his voice. I guess not being arrested put him in a better mood, I thought. So instead I just raised my eyebrows, challenging him.
"Two ship repairs in two trips," he continued, with an audible wryness. "…And both of them with you."
"Typical," I replied, sardonically. "Blame the girl for your bad driving."
I heard a small chuckle escape his vocoder. His fuse pen shot a flurry of sparks as it knocked against the metal.
"Dank Farrik," he cursed, and dropped his arms. "It's the wrong size, I need the—"
He broke off when he turned and saw me holding up the smaller fuse pen that I had been using earlier. He slowly took it from me, his gaze lingering. I arched an eyebrow and tossed him a wry smile, before walking back to the entrance to the ship.
"I'll start closing the pressure gaps up there," I called over my shoulder, and climbed up inside. When I reached the ladder, I hooked a hand on a rung and paused for a moment, biting my lip in thought. I pressed my hand firmly against my sternum and rubbed, taking a deep breath and feeling my heart rate slow a little from the hare's pace it had been running. It's just the near-death experience, I told myself. That's all.
Only it wasn't all, and I knew it — I have always been terrible at lying to myself, and this was no exception. Mingled in my curiosity about my mysterious driver was a thin but strong thread of attraction. I had flirted with him just now — hell, I had hoped he was watching me walk away! That was something I reserved solely for turning one-drink patrons into three-drink tippers at the bar, not for some silly, confusing schoolgirl crush on a grumpy, faceless single dad. I didn't have time or space for any of that — not when my ransom was probably higher than any bounty he'd earned recently.
Somewhere buried deep within me, the tiniest ember was glowing — I vowed to snuff it out. With a deep breath, I made my way up the ladder and got to work.