Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone from the Mandalorian. I only own my OCs.

Chapter 9: Terra bound

Mando was currently carrying a very tired Amelia on his back after Amelia insisted she was way too tired to walk to the speeder on her own. Even though the speeder was only a few feet away from the cabin. Star had the half-asleep child in the pram following close behind them and DJ was holding his mother's hand. DJ was trying his best not to look tired but Mando could tell he was just trying not to fall asleep standing. Kaelyn took up the rear, carrying whatever they forgot to pack the night before.

Mando put Amelia down on to the speeder and helped Star into the speeder. Star took the child out of his pram and put him next to Amelia just as Kaelyn lifted DJ into the speeder. Kaelyn sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Everyone ready?" Star gave him a thumbs up and they headed off to the razor crest. On their way to the razor crest, Amelia had fallen back asleep and was using Mando's side as a pillow. DJ rested against his mother and eventually succumbed to his drowsiness. The child was too busy taking in the new sights and sounds to sleep.

Star put her arm around DJ while Mando put a soft blanket between his cold armor and Amelia's sleeping form. Breaking the silence, Star spoke one word, "Aksel."

Mando turned his head to face her, "What?"

Star looked at him and said, "Aksel. I think we should name the child Aksel. It means "peace of the father" in my mother's native tongue. I think it fits him because he has brought peace to your heart."

"Constantly having to look over our shoulders does not sound very peaceful to me." Mando said, then added, "but I like it." Star beamed and would've hugged Din right then and there if she did not have a sleeping child on her.

By the time the Razor Crest came to view through the trees, the sky was filled with the blues and purples of twilight. The twins were wide awake now and occupying Aksel with small toys that they had brought along. As they got closer to the edge of the forest, more the razor crest appeared, catching Amelia's attention. Amelia tugged on DJ's sleeve and said, "DJ look! Its the Razor Crest from the stories."

DJ looked up at the ship and tilted his head, "I thought it would be bigger. And shinier." Amelia looked at him with shock and asked, "Aren't you excited DJ? That ship is the Razor Crest that mommy and daddy had all of those cool adventures on. Sure, it looks a little old, but it belongs to our daddy, the Mandalorian." DJ just shrugged and continued playing with Aksel.

Kaelyn parked the speeder a few feet from the hangar doors. As soon as the speeder came to a full stop, Amelia jumped out, happy to finally be able to stretch her legs. It didn't take long for DJ to follow his sister's lead as he climbed out of the speeder with Aksel. As Mando helped Star out of the speeder, Star told her children firmly, "Hey. Stay close to the Razor Crest and watch Aksel. Do not wander off. Do you understand me?" The twins unanimously said yes ma'am and continued their impromptu game of tag.

Star sighed and looked at Mando, "I want to apologize in advance for those two, especially Amelia. They are going to be a hand full during this trip, especially being in close quarters for this long."

Mando lowered the hangar doors and said, "Aksel can be hand full too, don't let his cuteness deceive you. I cant leave him alone for a second without him getting into trouble." Star giggled and said, "Well hopefully with three adults here to watch them, they wont get into too much trouble."

While Kaelyn and Mando were busy loading up the Razor Crest, Star set up a campfire and was roasting a wild boar that they had hunted down earlier. After checking that the boar was ready, she called everyone over for dinner. As they all sat around the fire, Amelia looked over at her mom and asked, "Mommy, can you tell us one of your stories?"

Star placed her finished plate on the ground and asked, "Well which one do you want hear?" Amelia rubbed her chin as if in deep thought til a smile spread across her face. "I want to hear the story of how you and dad met."

Star smiled and started her story.

"It all started with a bounty." Star gently gripped Mando's knee. "I had never met a Mandalorian before. So, imagine how excited I was when this sexy Mandalorian sits at my bar, but your father was on a mission. He was after a really bad man, so to get closer to him, I decided to help him. As we worked more and more together, our relationship grew and together we saved my village. As we started to go off on more and more missions together, my love for him grew with each one." A small smile crossed her face at the memories of their past, of the missions and adventures. Exploring each other physically, emotionally, and mentally and slowly breaking down our walls to let the other in.

"Aw, that is so romantic. Kicking butt, taking names." Amelia jumped up from where she was seated and struck the air. "Our parents' story is filled with love, adventure, and drama, making it the best story ever!" Amelia said excitingly, her eyes filled with adoration for her parents. DJ sighed and face-palmed, his sister gets excited way too easily. Frankly, the reason he was so calm was probably because his twin was just so energetic. Amelia always tried to look on the bright side and she was so positive, even when they were under the Empire's control. Even though it confused DJ, he appreciates her positivity. Without Amelia, DJ doesn't know what would have happened to him.

DJ was brought out of his thoughts when his mother began speaking again. "Okay my elsklings, your father is going to lay down some ground rules. Make sure you pay attention please. Especially you Amelia." Star made eye contact with Amelia and Amelia sat down next to her brother.

Mando faced the children and said, "Okay first rule is, do not touch anything without your mother, Kaelyn, or I's permission. There are things in the Razor Crest not meant for children and you could get hurt. Second rule, you are not allowed in the cockpit by yourselves. Understand?" The twins simultaneously said understood. Satisfied, Mando gestured for the twins to follow him into the Razor Crest. Star picked up Aksel and followed them inside, leaving Kaelyn to put out the fire.

As soon as they were inside, the twins took in everything they saw. Sure, the twins had been in much better ships but this was their father's ship, it was legendary. Star handed Aksel to Mando and watched as they climbed up into the cockpit. She turned towards the twins and said, "Alright. Lets wash up and head to bed. Its already past both of your bedtimes." Both of the twins groaned in disapproval, they wanted to see more of the ship.

"Aww please let us stay up a little longer? Please mom?" Amelia said using her secret move, the puppy dog stare. DJ did the same, turning the puppy dog stare move into super cute puppy dog stare move. Now, this might have worked on any other adversary, but this was their mother and had a move too.

Star looked them both in the eye, took a deep breathe, let the twins wait for a little while longer, and said, "No." The twins pouted in defeat, Star used the fatal 'no' move. Star ruffled up their hair and got down to their level. "If you two go wash up and go to bed like good little girls and boys, I will let you explore the razor crest tomorrow. With supervision of course."

Grins split across the twins' faces and they hugged their mom tightly. "We'll be good. We promise!"

"Okay, now run along. Kaelyn has your cots set up in the cargo hold." The twins let go of their mom and sped walk half ran to the small bathroom.

Star stood fully and brushed some dirt off of her pant legs. She glanced at Kaelyn who was leaning against the wall that opens up into the weapons closet. "What's wrong Kae?"

Kaelyn looked over at her and said, "I mean no disrespect but have you lost your mind? We are going off with a Mandalorian that you haven't seen in six years. Back to Terra where the Empire kidnapped you and killed all those people. You brought Amelia and DJ knowing that there is still a target on all of our backs. Not to mention that the child and the Mandalorian also have a mountainous target on them as well." He walked toward Star til he was but an arms length away. "If you wanted to go on some grand adventure with this supposed love of your life, then that's fine. But you should have never brought those kids with you!"

Star punched him square in the jaw, nearly sending him to the ground. Star glared at him, fury in her eyes. "How dare you. Do you really think that I would have brought the kids with me if didn't think it was safe? What if the village was attacked and the kids taken when I wasn't there? Do you know how long it takes for a transmission to get out from that planet? By the time I would have heard about the attack, it would be too late and I would have lost my children." Tears began stream down her face as the memories of their imprisonment resurfaced. "How dare you. You know what we have been through better than anyone else. You know exactly why I brought those kids."

Star covered her face with her hands as she began to sob. Kaelyn's features softened and he slowly wrapped his arms around her. "Im sorry. I'm so sorry. I just get overprotective, that's all. Shhh. Shhh. Its okay, I'm sorry." He rubbed soft circles on her back as she cried into his shoulder. Once her tears had stopped flowing, Star hugged him back. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face. I know your just being protective. Your my best friend." Star pulled away and Kaelyn offered her a tissue, which she took gladly. "I better go up there and check on Mando and Aksel." Star started to climb the ladder to the cockpit when she stopped to look at Kaelyn, "Thank you. For always being here for us." Star then climbed the rest of the way up the ladder.

Mando was currently plugging in the coordinates for Terra when Star settled into the copilot chair with Aksel ,wrapped in his little blue blanket, in her arms. She was gently rocking him and humming a lullaby he had heard her hum to her little brother. Mando watched as Aksel's big eyes began to droop and as he tried to no avail to fight his own sleep. Star smiled gently at him and whispered softly, "Sleep now little one. Your family is safe." She soothingly rubbed his large ears and Aksel finally fell to sleep.

Mando looked at the pair and said quietly, "Your amazing, you know that. You have to tell me your secret."

Star leaned back in her chair and laid the child on her chest, giving him more room and comfort. She rubbed his little head softly, "Babies like to feel like they are still in their mother's womb. They like to feel warm and safe, as long as you project that assurance to them, they go right to sleep. I had to learn how to make the twins feel safe even when I was terrified. It took a lot of practice."

Mando gripped her knee gently then turned back to the controls and lifted them off the surface and into space. Once they were out the planet's orbit, they entered into hyperdrive and Mando put Razor Crest on autopilot. He leaned into his chair and turned to talk to Star but had fallen asleep with Aksel in her arms.

Mando sighed and gently placed a straying curl that had fallen onto Star's face behind her ear. Din gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek and settled back down into his seat. Din decided that he would sleep up here tonight.

Author's note:

elskling - sweetheart or love

Aksel - peace of the father

So this chapter was a little harder to write because I wanted to start sprinkling some of Star's mother's background into the story. That's why I started to integrate some scandinavian language into this chapter. A lot of my ideas for Star's mother's race was inspired by a mix of the Vikings and the Mandalorians.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.