Wren was moving quickly, far into the maze of tunnels within minutes. She knew them well, had made a point when she moved in to get to know her new home like the back of her hand. Her old training forcing her hand even now. She could hear her old masters words in the back of her mind - to know her territory well enough to travel it blind, dying. It was dark though, no-one within daring to light the torches with so many Stormtroopers at their door. More than usual. More than they'd ever sent before.

She was scared. She didn't feel guilty for it, there was nothing wrong with fear.

Moving past it, that's where courage was. Her old mentor had always told her, a true warrior understood their fear, acknowledging it as an old friend, rather than pretending it doesn't exist.

Her feet led her forward without thought. Right, Left, Left, Straight on. Up and up and up, the stairs making her thighs burn with the punishing pace she was keeping. She needed to get to the vantage point, needed to see what was happening outside, at the bay. She could see his footprints ahead too, thanks to the helmet. Could see where he'd moved to take a tunnel and had doubled back on himself, not knowing the codes for the series of doors that made up the ancient walkway. Why the tracker wasn't working, she didn't know - obviously still broken. Doors that she'd systematically repaired and made operational since taking up residence at the cantina, finding the old building atop one of the main entrances. She was thankful for the helmet as she tracked those footprints, the skidded lines where he'd had to change course, the slow, steady footprints as he tried to get his bearings. Lit up in her visor like algae.

Why couldn't he just follow simple instructions?

He'd aged in years, but not temperament - always ignoring orders, following his 'gut' instead of just listening and doing as he was told. A bright shaft of light burst through a natural opening in the stone ahead, and she blinked for a second before her helmet adjusted itself, tinting the path ahead so the glare wouldn't blind her. It was slow, too slow, and she knew she'd have to calibrate that later.

Not that she'd be wearing the familiar, comforting helmet again though…Just…it needed to work perfectly. She felt more comfortable knowing it worked perfectly.

If the current events weren't happening, it would be the perfect day. Bright overhead sun, a break from the rain that had surprised them that morning. The ocean was the same shade of turquoise as it had been the day she'd decided to stay, the sea air in the short curls atop her head as she'd stood with Molly and the good Doctor, letting the birds overhead echo her inner screams at what her life had been til then.

She waited, and watched, as the stormtroopers swarmed his ship - glad for the vantage point from her position in the hills that surrounded the marina. They'd always assumed the tunnels were some sort of leftover remnant of a time of prohibition - perfectly leading from the harbour to the old, crumbling cantina, but nowadays they were used to transport legal goods, and as an extended safehouse - leading from under the homes beside the bay high into the hills. They had awful storms in their small town, and she'd lost track of the times the sirens had led them high into the mountains in the dead of night, safe from the rapidly pooling water. They'd hidden plenty of less-than-legal people down in the tunnels over the years though, herself included; once or twice.

Din wasn't out there though, no…she scanned the horizon as the sun glared down at her, bright and hot. There were the dock workers, hands above their heads as the stormtroopers swarmed his ship like ants. She could see the bright flags above some of the residences; showing to those who knew the code that the residents were safe. No sign though of the telltale gleam of his ridiculously polished Beskar in the bright afternoon sun. She turned, grunting at the ache in her hips and legs from running. He wasn't out there, and tapping the side of her helmet to increase the focus, she could faintly see the footprints continuing on, scuffed and broken by what had to be the villagers footprints. She stretched, dropping her heels on the step before her til her calves began to loosen. She'd find him. She'd heard no blaster fire, hadn't come across any sign of a scuffle. He had to be safe. He had his weapons, but no shield for the Kid.

She'd taken one look at the bassinet after starting her decoding on the old mandalor tablet that Cara needed, wherever the woman had gone to, and had told Din that whilst she could theoretically fix it; she'd need to completely take it apart and figure out what needed ordering in to complete the job. Din wouldn't leave the Child, and wouldn't put him in harm's way, so would surely be avoiding combat.

Surely.

Wren turned and carried on through the tunnel passages, wondering how on earth he hadn't gotten himself completely lost, given that he didn't know the codes etched into the walls. How his legs hadn't given out from all the stairs. He probably did stairs like this for fun, knowing his training regimen when they were younger. She paused, gasping for breath before continuing onwards, ignoring the warning flash of her heartrate - cardio, the high impact nature of it - had always been the ruin of her.

A grunt echoed through the tunnel, and she knew she was heading the right way; nearly tripping over the baker and her family as they ran in the opposite direction, taking the steps two at a time as if their lives depended on it. "Are you okay?" Wren asked, picking the tall woman up off the dusty floor; worried by their speed, the panic in their eyes, the confusion she could see there.

The baker reached forwards, strong hands delicately resting on the side of Wren's helmet. "It's been so long since…"

Wren laughed; the confusion and brief panic making sense now. "Couldn't exactly go out in my apron, could I; wooden spoon in hand? Rice cooker as a shield? There's some fight left in me, gotta look after my home! Have you seen-"

The baker cut her off, breath coming in great heaving gulps now they'd stopped. "Back there, we saw him on the way. Felt bad for not stopping but what chance do we have against stormtroopers?"

Wren smiled, then remembered they couldn't see the reassuring expression; and gave them a nod. It was strange how in the small space of a few years she'd gotten so used to people being able to see her face; know what she meant when she spoke. "You did the right thing. Take the tunnel to the left and lock yourselves in; I'll go help him out"

She kept going, listening and pulling a gun from her holster just to be safe; then realising as she turned the corner and found him that it was entirely unnecessary. He was a vision. He fought fluidly, but roughly. Survival and brutality, rather than a dance. A fist here, a kick there; she knew he had the flamethrower on his wrist piece, the multi-missile launcher, but instead shot like an outlaw and fought like a brawler. And…she wanted in. She ran forwards, popping the button on the side of her hip that slowly released pain relief into her system; and landed full force against the chest of one of the stormtroopers - knocking him back and giving her ample position to knock him out with a swift hit to the temple.

Din turned, automatically raising his weapon and giving her only a small nod in acknowledgement before shooting the shot rapidly at the torso of a stormtrooper instead.

"Just like old times, eh Din!" she called out to him in Mando'a, laughing as she threw one over her shoulder; using his weight against him; and finished the job with a single shot to the head.

He didn't respond, instead of taking out the one on his side; whilst she shot the kneecap out on one that had tried to run at her, blaster-blade shining in the light from the entrance the stormtroopers had obviously come through. She usually loved the large expanse of forests on this planet, but right now; not knowing how many more stormtroopers hid within its depths…it was a source of annoyance.

"We've got two options" she started the moment the stormtrooper beneath her blaster stopped moving. Din turned towards her, armour shining. "We can hide the Kid with Molly, and deal with this" she gestured to the Forest. "Or…no. That's our only option" she gestured at him instead, gloved finger jabbing the air in his general direction. "Because you didn't listen to me"

She stepped forwards, feeling the fury bubble up within her. "I gave you a simple request, Din. Stay hidden. Stay in the tunnels. Let me live the life I've created for myself, safely!".

One of the stormtroopers groaned, and she spun, finishing him off with a rapid blaster fire before swinging right back to the Mandalorian before her.

"These idiots didn't know who I was, you do realise that? I put up with the stupid looks, the way their Captain would look at me like some sort of sex object. The way he sauntered in, knowing that he could ruin our way of life with a single order. But we put up with it to live our lives; lined his pockets in return for freedom" He said nothing, and she stepped even closer, hating that he was just taller than her, that she had to look up at him to tell him off. "And now, because they were looking for you and came back, and I didn't expect it, there are three dead stormtroopers in my Cantina!. Half the village is in safehouses whilst this blows over, and I'm-!"

He cut her off with a crushing hug.

"What are you doing, you maniac?!" she near screamed, arms pinned by her sides.

"This is how I remembered you"

She paused, cocking her head slightly in her confusion "Angry?"

"In your armour"

She sagged. "If you wanted to see me in it, you could have just asked. You didn't have to go renegade and force me back into it, you idiot"

He didn't speak for a moment, but remained tight around her, a vice. When he finally stepped back, she could feel the softness of his grip, and the crackle of the modulator once or twice before he finally spoke, voice low and rumbling. "We need to take out the Imperials"

"Yes, we do. But you can't take the Child into battle, you realise that, don't you?"

"Not without his bassinet"

"Let me press my burner beacon, Molly will come to get him"

"Wherever I go, he goes"

"Are you going to go into hiding with the villagers then?" When he didn't speak, she wanted to snark, angry that he'd caused this, angry that he hadn't just listened, that he'd put everyone's lives at risk bringing a mark here; a ship that was so obviously tracked. Angry that she'd had to ask for the hug in his ship; that he'd only grasped her willingly when she was once again dressed as he was. She signed, shaking her head - glad to be right. "I didn't think so"

She pressed the button, and he saw the blinking of the light on the top of the burner phone. "When this is dealt with" she began, spinning on the spot to face him. "I'm going over every inch of your ship looking for that tracker, do you understand?"

She could hear the infuriating amusement in his tone as he finally replied. "Yes ma'am"

"Urgh, god I forgot that you do…this" a voice came from the corner, and both helmets watched as the redhead came through a door Din hadn't even spotted, a piece of wall opening as if it was always a door. She reached for the Child, then quickly hugged Wren tight. "Be careful. Don't die, please. You know you could just give him to them?"

Din didn't react, just watching the conversation take place.

"I could never, but even if I could, I know you were listening from outside. He said if he found the Mandalorian that the first thing he'd do is come for me"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have told him you were a past fling of his" she questioned, deadpan; before turning, leaving Din with a wink as she scooped up the child. "I'll keep him safe, don't worry"

"You told a stormtrooper Captain that we'd-"

"Laid together, yes"

"...why"

"They'd gotten the transcripts of our conversions. All of them"

There was a quiet as the two paused, reloading their weapons. "We both know how many messages I sent you when you left. That you ignored all of them. Look at it from an outsider perspective…"

"You were the jilted lover" he finally answered, as they synchronised their helmet microphones and pressed forwards, whispers audible to only themselves now.

"It was the easiest explanation"

"It put you in the firing line"

"It wouldn't have, if you remained where I asked you to"

He sighed, the sound intimate through the connection. She realised quickly that his voice wasn't filtered through the modulator, and was deeper than she remembered. Deeper, and warm as fresh honey from the hive, trickling and irresistible. "I heard them. Didn't want them coming through the tunnels and finding the passage into the Cantina. Realising what you'd done"

It made sense, and she told him as such, sighing herself as she approached the landing site of the Stormtrooper ships. "What's the play here, then?" she asked, looking up at his helmet; aggressively reflecting the bright sun and green, swaying trees back towards her. He assessed the situation, pulling a rifle from his back and using the sight to better view the ships that had landed in a field with little care for the natural beauty of the site. "I have explosives. If we can fight our way onto the ships, we can take them out from the inside"

She nodded. "I'd like to take out the Captain if that's okay. Whilst I've accepted how he looks at me, I'm pretty sick of it. If I've outed myself, might as well get some joy from it"

"You'd kill him?"

She hesitated. "I'd like to, if I'm honest. But no. It would just bring the heat down on the village; he's the son of someone or other. Always lords it over us. I just need him to know who he's messing with"

"It's a difficult call"

"One you forced us to make, Din"

He was silent, and she looked across at him, wishing he could see the expression on her face. She chose to kick him instead, in the part of his leg he knew from her own armour would be softer. He moved backwards, helmet tilting as if to say 'really'

"How old are you?"

"This is when you usually apologise, Din"

"I'm sorry. I made a call, and it was the wrong one"

She nodded, satisfied. "Thank you. Now, let's go see if I change my mind about killing that arse"

They rushed forwards, and Wren realised she hadn't fought with another Mandalorian in years. They were well-matched, in sync. Punching and shooting and running forwards at the same pace, with the same training. It was like being teenagers again, before and after they'd taken their masks. Just the two of them, fighting with such unison she knew it brought glances from others around them. Breathing in tandem, him crouching, her rolling over his back like it was second nature. Ducking behind his wider form to shoot two of them with the gun he kept in his boot, hidden to anyone not as familiar with their armour as she. His hands found the retractable blade she had on her side, sliding it from its holster without a thought, letting the incredibly lethal, sharpened blade be an extension of his arm as another came towards them; shots bouncing from his Beskar when they managed to actually hit.

Wren laughed, rather than groaned, as another platoon came from the inside of the reasonably sized Imperial ship, and unclipped two grenades, launching them towards the group with less strength than she used to have. It didn't matter though, thanks to the downhill gradient of the hill; and the back of the platoon went flying as fire and shrapnel erupted from beneath their feet. The sword found its way back onto her hands, thrown through the air with hardly the need to look. He knew where she was as intrinsically as she did for him. Knew she'd catch the sword. Knew she'd need it to spin like a dancer, taking the head from a trooper coming from the rear.

This was why she'd requested him, all those years ago. They were partners in battle, and she'd hoped their superiors would have seen it, acknowledged it enough to allow the pairing, even with her deficiencies. Looking at him now though, shooting and battling through their enemies; she could see why they hadn't. He was incredible, a picture-perfect example of a Mandalorian, entirely built on battle-hardened skill and pride in their ways. He killed with ruthless efficiency, as she did. A mirror image of her soul, wrapped in bright silver Beskar.

She breathed more heavily than she used to though; as they emerged the victors. She'd taken wounds as much as he knew he had; from weapons and blaster hits and shrapnel; but they'd deal with it later… when the adrenaline wore off and replaced itself with tiredness and pain.

The ramp had begun to lift, but Din had a jetpack and didn't need to ask before anchoring her with a strong arm to his side and lifting them through the air and onto the Imperial ship. They cut through the door with ease, the thin metal and cheap construction no match for Mandalorian Laser cutters, built into both of their armour. Her foot came into the centre of the door and she took in its fall with satisfaction.

The Captain turned to face them in his seat, the gun in his shaking hand knocked out of place easily by Wren's own weapon.

"I knew you were still here," he said, desperately trying to look as if he didn't care that his weapon was lost - leaning back in a false mockery of relaxation.

"I never said I wasn't" Din deadpanned, stepping forward, seeming even larger then usual in the small cockpit.

"But I did" Wren stated, spinning the stolen weapon around an outstretched finger, stepping back when the captain surged forwards to reclaim it.

"You bitch" he shouted, words faltering as her armoured boot met his chest.

She removed her helmet, looking at it for a second before leaning down, levelling her eyes to his whilst keeping her foot on his chest in a way that she knew would look deeply uncomfortable to Din, given the level of 'bent-in-half' she'd achieved. She could see it in the slight lean of his body. She moved away, looking at the ship around them, knowing he wouldn't move, disarmed and faced with two Mandalorians.

"I should have just had you when I had the chance" he spat, leaning back and staring at Wren, eyes raking up and down her form; and she strode forwards, back towards him. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do this?" she asked, leaning back and not waiting for an answer before bringing her armoured fist across his cheekbone; snapping his head to the side with the force of the blow.

"Crazy bitch!"

Din held his gun to the head of the Captain. "Turn off your arm tracker"

The Captain spluttered, blood flecking from his lips at the action. "What?"

"The thing that tells your leaders that you're alive. Turn it off". The Captain didn't move, and din turned off the safety on the weapon and the other man quickly scurried towards his arm, flicking off the side button that connected it with the Imperial Mainframe.

"Come in Captain Leyte, do you read?"

"Go on" Wren smirked, "let them know you're fine"

"I'm here"

"Your readings have vanished, Captain, is everything okay?"

Wren crouched down, stroking his chin; and Din shifted next to her, keeping his weapon trained on the Captain's face; posture showing no emotion. Her voice came through the helmet gruff, almost genderless; but was a purr in his own ear where their helmets were connected.

"Tell them you're fine, that you've gotten a ping from off-world for a Rogue ship"

He relayed the message, glaring as he did so.

"Now, you have two options, Captain. You can leave here and never come back. You'll get base taxes, nothing that will change. You can come into the Cantina and eat, and you'll tell your people that all of these lovely stormtroopers died on a random asteroid, courtesy of a naughty rebel attack whilst you were safely in your ship…or you can die"

He leaned back, spitting in Wren's face; and Din almost hit the trigger, but remembered her words about wanting to be the one, and held back, hating the sneering smirk that the captain gave. He reached down to quickly hit the button to talk on the communicator, but Wren was faster; flicking her hand and slashing his throat with the dagger that came out of her wrist piece with whisper-quiet speed.

She stood, tearing part of his perfectly, annoyingly tailored jacket off to wipe the blood from the visor of her Mask.

"Let's load the troopers back on and send them into the asteroid belt" she sighed, rolling her shoulders. "I'll ask some of the lads to come handle it, then we need to hide for the night"

"Why?"

"Just in case. The dock will open back up, but everything else closes. If there's a flyby, the lights are on; people are on the docks, but it's a religious holiday and the village is closed. The Child stays with Molly, and we hide out in the Cantina; keeping the lights on dim"

"It looks occupied, but closed"

"Exactly"

"You've done this before"

"Every time this tosspot landed looking for a payout or an excuse. Did you know that our little town has a remarkable amount of religious holidays?"

Din looked down at him, expressionless; as Wren lifted her communicator, giving the update in code to the leader of the docks and striding from the ship back towards the Cantina. Din startled slightly as a stone lifted, revealing a manhole beneath that a few young men emerged from, nodding to the two and heading towards the ship. "We've got the three from the Cantina, Wren" one called out, and she shouted her thanks before leading Din into the darkness the three men had emerged from. "Lin is an amazing hacker, he'll have the entire group as showing as alive again and with a message to the leaders about a system blip in no time. They'll register as dead when they hit the asteroid belt, and it'll never be safe to retrieve the bodies"

"You've been planning this" he finally said, as they navigated the darkness of the tunnels, far more cramped than the wide, spacious ones of before.

"Not this specifically, but an emergency situation, definitely"

They walked quietly for a mile or two before finally hitting the wide section he'd started in, emerging into the familiar sight of the Cantina kitchen. Wren climbed the ladder slowly, the stress of the combat weighing on her body as it began to slow. She'd ache later, and knew a bath would be in dire demand tomorrow.

"Sit, and we'll talk"