Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The ship shook as it met the ground, but both of its occupants had grown used to such and remained unbothered, the child largely due to his guardian’s unmoving stoicism. The Mandalorian had been traveling in that starship for the better half of a century, his new young companion had been with him for just over three months and Dyn was proud of how well the child had taken to it.

The youngling chirped as the flight deck opened to let them off onto the new planet. A planet that would serve as their home for the next three weeks… Approximately. Dyn never knew how long it would be until the bounty hunters came calling. The longest so far had been two months, but Dyn wasn’t planning on staying anywhere that long again, the little one tended to get too attached to other inhabitants.

But maybe Glee Anselm would be different, maybe they could stay here longer, if he could keep the kid from making friends. After all, even when the Mandalorian was a hunter, the mostly ocean planet wouldn’t have been at the top of his list for places to search. Who brought an air-breathing toddler to an ocean planet?

The Mandalorian grabbed the child by his scruff just before he waddled into a rather deep puddle.

“A crazy person, that’s who,” Dyn muttered as he lifted the child into his arms and went to seek out lodging.

It was less than four days when the Mandolorian saw the first hunter wander the streets of the small town he and the child happened upon. Dyn was out on a walk with the kid when he saw her, a Basilisk female pacing down the cobbled streets, a blinking tracker in hand.

He swung into an alleyway, the child behind him, and loosened his rifle strap, one hand on his blaster. He eyed the buildings carefully, hoping no innocents would decide to poke their heads out.

The Mandolorian was ready for a battle, but no fight ever came.

The hunter continued on down the empty streets, following the tracker away from them. He eyed her suspiciously. Whoever she was looking for must have a hefty price on their head if she was ignoring the second tracking fob, beeping on her belt. Dyn couldn’t help but wonder who it was that had her so captivated. But he couldn’t follow her through the streets, not with the child.

Dyn looked down at the kid by his feet, watching as it lifted one small hand, pointing at the ragged wall, then the sky.

Not the streets then, the roof.

Dyn stalked the hunter down the streets. The twin suns beat down on his armor but he was unbothered by it, too busy staying on the hunter’s tracks and worrying about the child clinging to his shoulder.

He jumped over a gap between roofs, landing silently on the other side, and ducking behind the decorative ledge the lined the buildings in case the hunter heard him nonetheless. Eventually, they came to the end of the shop-lined streets and to a marked intersection signaling the start of the residential area.

On the corner sat a house.

It was a relatively small house, colorful in the midday suns, a herd of small Nautolan children chasing each other in the gated front, laughing loudly with childhood joy. From his perch, Dyn could see two older Nautolan, parents he presumed, sitting on the front porch, watching the young play, a slightly older child sitting at their feet, a book in its lap. From his perch, he could see the hunter approaching without caution, a loose blaster in one hand.

The Mandalorian drew his own blaster, though he was unwilling to shoot with children running nearby. The other hunter didn’t seem to have the same hesitations as she lifted her blaster, not aiming directly at any of the children but making it clear she wasn’t to be messed with.

The laughter of the children dimmed then disappeared as, one by one, they noticed the approaching stranger, the mother on the porch stood.

“Excuse me,” Thr Nautolan woman said, voice strong and unwavering. “Can I help you?”

The hunter drew closer, nearly at the gate. The children in the yard ran around the side of the house with silent fear. The one on the porch stood beside its mother, one hand on her arm. Dyn couldn’t help but admire its confidence.

“The child,” The hunter’s voice came, loud and gruff. “The special one.”

“All of my children are special, hunter, you’ll have to be more specific.” The woman called. Dyn bit back a smile.

“Don’t play with me, woman,” The hunter aimed her blaster at the mother, “I do not plan on going back empty-handed.” The woman narrowed her eyes, her head held high.

“And I don’t plan upon giving up my child because a good for nothing aims her blaster at me.” The child stood on its toes to whisper something to its mother but she shook her head. “Hush now, Marii, this one is no different than the last.” Mando could barely make out the woman’s lowered voice. She seemed sure, but as Dyn watched the hunter’s finger lower to her trigger, he was not.

He stood, setting the child at his feet.

“Soften my landing, if you could?” He whispered to the youngling. He chirped in what Dyn hoped was understanding. Dyn had come to accept the young one’s oddly strong power, he felt guilty asking the child, knowing how exhausted he tended to get.

Nonetheless, the Mandalorian stepped off of the roof.

All eyes flashed to Dyn as he landed on the ground, relatively gracefully thanks to the child still tucked behind the roof’s ledge, safe out of sight.

“What do you want with the child?” The Mandalorian asked, ignoring the blaster that was now pointing at him. Instead of a response to the posed question, however, the hunter smiled at him.

“Looks like I’m getting three bounties today,” She hissed, taking a step away from the family and toward her new challenger. “Where’s the little one?” She asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

The Mandalorian didn’t answer, instead, he looked at the mother and her child one more time, nodding to the side of the house and the children hiding there, waving his hand at his side, trying to tell her to take them and run.

“I’m sure the one on my head outweighs that on the child’s.”

“Your employer was quite upset with your betrayal.” The hunter said, still scanning the terrain around them, presumably looking for the child. The Mandalorian took a step toward her, unlatching the strap of his rifle, leveling the forked end at her.

“Glad to know he cares so deeply,” Dyn said with a sly smile the hunter couldn’t see. And with that, he advanced.

The threat of the blaster didn’t last long, the Mandalorian quickly disarming her of it when she came in range. But the hunter was a commendable opponent in hand-to-hand, landing a few hits. She hissed insults at him each time he avoided her, but the Mandalorian stayed quiet and unbothered, letting her tire herself out before going on the defensive. The child remained on the porch, alone now, the mother had disappeared.

The hunter pulled a knife from her boot, but Dyn didn’t pay attention to it. Instead, he watched the child, the way it eyed his attacker, the twitch of its finger just before the hunter lost grip on her weapon. The knife clattered to the cobblestone beneath Dyn’s feet. He nodded to the child before turning back to the hunter, it was time to end the fight.

He just wished the child would turn away so he could do so without scaring it.

But after dodging a few more jabs, the Mandalorian decided that wasn’t going to happen.

He grabbed the hunter’s arm on her next swing, stepping under it and throwing his weight forward, flipping the hunter over his shoulder and sending her to the ground, her head connecting with the stone with a loud crack. She groaned and the Mandalorian quickly flipped her over onto her front, pinning her arm behind her, keeping just enough pressure off to not break it, but able to do so if he wanted.

“I’m going to let you live,” Dyn said, leaning into her so his helmet was next to her ear. She grunted and struggled, bitting out a slurred ‘coward.’ Dyn put more weight onto her arm and she stilled with a gasp. “I’m going to let you live, you’re going to go back to your sponsor and tell him this child is mine. Phrase it right he might let you live as well.”

“I’ll find you again,” The hunter threatened beneath him. Dyn rolled his eyes.

“You won’t want to.” He said, slamming his body against her’s. The bone snapped in his hands.

The Mandalorian watched the hunter disappear back down the street, her arm clutched to her chest, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She was leaving, but it wouldn’t be long until another came to try their hand and, chances were, they’d get the child. Dyn couldn’t stay and watch over them after all.

The Child appeared at his feet, wide black eyes peering up at him, green ears perked at attention. Dyn smiled behind his mask as he felt the little child look over him, checking for damage he’d assume. He strapped his rifle to his back and knelt to do the same, worried the youngling hurt himself descending from the roof.

“Thanks, kid,” He said quietly, patting his head once he decided his companion was unharmed. A door slammed and wood creaked behind him and Dyn looked over his shoulder to see the woman descending the porch stairs, her arms clasped behind her back. He turned back to the kid. “Stay behind me, out of sight.”

The Mandalorian stood, taking a step toward the house. The woman’s hands came free, her left lifting an old blaster to point at him.

“Stay where you are Mandalorian.” Her voice was just as steady as it had been earlier. “What’s your business here,” She asked, more of an order than a question. He raised his hands, halting in his steps.

“I wish you no harm,” Dyn called across the gap between them. “I saw the hunter, I wanted to know who she was tracking.” The woman eyed him skeptically.

“You said you have a price on your head. Why? You must have done something awful to-” Her words stopped, her eyes dropping to Dyn’s feet. He sighed and looked down as well, already knowing what he’d find.

The child was glancing between his companion and the woman, his fist twisted in the Mandalorian’s cape. He gave Dyn a mostly toothless smile when he saw him looking down at him and lifted his arms, a motion Dyn had come to learn meant he wanted to be lifted.

“I told you to stay hidden,” Dyn chided despite the warm feeling in his chest as he bent to pick up the child. “I refused to give them the child,” Dyn answered the woman’s question as he turned back to her. She had lowered her blaster, unwilling to aim at a child, he assumed.

“Would you like to come in?” The woman asked. The child cooed.

“I can’t offer you protection,” Dyn said blandly. The woman looked him up and down.

“And we don’t need it.” The woman said, lifting her blaster again, this time wiggling it slightly in show instead of as a threat. “But the least I could do is offer you and your child a drink for your service.”

Dyn looked to the child in his arms, noticing that he looked extremely exhausted, then back to the woman and nodded once. Even if he did not drink, the child could use a quiet place to fall asleep.

Not five minutes later, the Mandalorian realizes how foolish he was to have thought a household full of children could ever be quiet. That didn’t seem to bother the child, however, because soon after he drank the milky mixture the woman had brought out for the child, he was fast asleep in the crook of Dyn’s arm.

The woman smiled at the child, pulling one of her own—the child the hunter had been there for—to sit next to her on the bench she occupied. The child, a young girl Dyn now realized, went willingly, cuddling next to her mother and casting her carefree siblings weary glances. She seemed… scared, her blue speckled skin pale, her shoulders hunched in. Dyn looked back to the mother, Ya’nes, as she had introduced herself.

“This is the child the hunter was here for, yes?” Dyn asked, keeping his voice soft. “Marii, was it?” Ya’nes nodded. The Mandalorian noticed her hold tightening on the child, protective even if she believed he wasn’t there to take her.

“She wasn’t the first to come, but we’ve been able to fend them off.” The Mandalorian nodded, studying the child as her watchful eye moved from her siblings to the window, waiting for another hunter to appear on the cobbled streets.

“Thank you for your help, Marii,” Dyn said, placing his hand on the table. “You’re very brave.” The girl looked at him.

“They threaten my family.” Her voice was melodic but quiet. She was trying her hardest to be small, unnoticed, Mando realized.

“You’re a protector,” Dyn said, making his voice stay light, happy, unthreatening. The girl nodded. “How old are you, Marii?”

“Eight.” She said, lifting her chin high, obviously thinking she was old enough to protect her family. Old enough to know the world. She wasn’t.

“And you know how to use the Force.” It wasn’t a question, the Mandalorian had already seen her do it first hand. She nodded. Dyn looked back to her mother.

“How many hunters have come?” He asked. “How often?” Ya’nes bit her lip, then sighed.

“Six.” The hand not on her daughter’s shoulder tapped the table between them. “At least once a week, but they’ve been more frequent lately.” The Mandalorian nodded.

“You’re lucky to have been able to fend them off for this long. They’re going to get more and more…” Dyn couldn’t think of the word. There was a time when he would have said talented, but not anymore. The child moved in his arms, shifting closer to his chest plate.

“Ruthless.” The girl’s quiet voice said. Mando nodded.

“Are you afraid?” He asked her. Marii thought on the question.

“Not-” She started, looking back to her siblings. “Not for myself.” The Mandalorian’s mouth went dry.

She was so young. She should be afraid. She shouldn’t have been standing on that porch. She should have been hiding behind the house with her siblings or clinging to her mother’s skirt as she went to collect the younger ones. She should be afraid.

Dyn shook his head slightly and closed his eyes beneath his helmet, taking a deep breath.

“They’re going to keep coming as long as she’s here.” He said, one again shifting to Ya’nes. “I can’t stay to help, now that they know I’m here they’ll start coming in twice the numbers. I’m leaving tonight, and I have room to bring her with me if you’ll allow it.”

The mother didn’t even take a breath.

“Absolutely not.” She said, shaking her head and pulling her child into her chest. But Marii didn’t go willingly.

“Mother-”

“No, Marii.”

“I will not try and convince you, other than to say that you alone cannot keep them all safe. Not so long as she’s here.” The Mandalorian spoke up. Ya’nes hesitated, so he continued. “I can keep her safe until I find a way to get the bounty off of her head. Once we’re off-planet I’ll send the Guild a message that I have her. A few more hunters will come, but your family should be safe.”

“My family will be separated, and I’ll have no clue where she is, if she’s alive.”

“He’s a kind man, mother.” Ya’nes looked down at her daughter.

“Kindness is not everything.”

The Mandalorian nodded, he wasn’t going to get any further in this conversation.

“Thank you for your hospitality, ma’am,” Dyn said, standing, sleeping child still in his arms. He turned and stepped away, then paused, looking over his shoulder. “A piece of advice, next time you see a hunter,” he said-

“Shoot it on sight.”

Chapter Text

The dual suns had set by the time Dynn was finally prepared to take off, their fading light painting the temperate sky yellow and pink. As Dynn cast one last look at the planet’s surface, thinking of the child and hoping for her safety, a small black shadow streaked across his landing field, toward his ship.

The Mandolorian’s hand fell to his blaster, but he didn’t pull it. He had a feeling he knew who it was. The shadow came to a stop in front of him, the last of the suns’ light silhouetting the small being’s body.

“Child, what will your mother think when she realizes you’re missing?” Dynn asked, his voice soft and unthreatening as he descended the ship’s ramp. Marii looked up at him when he stopped in front of her, black eyes too shadowed to make out, but Dynn could tell that she was set in the decision she’d made when running from home. She was going to come with him and, unless he wanted to drag her home himself, there was nothing he could do about it. Dynn sighed.

“Did you at least leave a note?” The child nodded, and Dynn wasn’t sure he believed her. Despite this, he turned on his heel, walking back into the belly of his ship. “Come on, then, it’s time to find our next temporary home.” He heard the child start to walk behind him.

Dyn had been planet hoping with the Child and Marii for seventeen days before he realized they would soon need to fuel up. Something that he did not have the credits, Imperial or otherwise, to do. He would have to pick up a bounty.

Marii had proven herself to be surprisingly quiet, none of the complaints or whining that the Mandalorian would have expected from a child her age. Instead, she entertained herself with playing with, and caring for, the Child. Dyn was thankful for this, it allowed him to fully focus on the task of keeping his charges safe.

There were still times, however, that Dyn would sit in the pilot’s seat and hear the slow pitter-patter of the Child’s feet as it waddled up to the man’s side. These times, Dyn would reach down, scooping up the Child and placing it down in his lap. He would smile behind his mask as it sat contented and quiet until it fell asleep watching the stars flash by. Dyn was even more thankful for those moments, when the Child’s affection was solely on him and the Mandalorian was assured that his place hadn’t been taken by the Child’s new playmate. Marii may have come to be the Child’s caregiver, but Dyn was was still its guardian.

Dyn set the ship to jump, selecting an outer-ring planet that was relatively well-trafficked where he could find a job but still hopefully remain unrecognized to drop out near, and stood, the beskar of his armor settling quietly. He made his way to the ladder, dropping silently down into the belly of the ship where the children preferred to play most days.

Marii sat on the floor, levitating the mid-sized charm that was tethered around the Child’s neck. The Child itself stood motionless in front of her, staring at the floating metal with big eyes, before slowly lifting a small hand and snatching it from the air in a surprisingly dexterous move. Marii let it grab the signet, making no move to shift it out of the Child’s reach, but as soon as the Child opened his hand to make sure it had it, the signet was floating again. Dyn watched a small smile grow on Marii’s face as the Child giggled and reached for it again and the game repeated itself.

The Mandalorian leaned against the ladder, crossing his arms across his chest as the children played for a few more minutes. He’d have to get them some toys, and something for Marii—a holo-pad maybe—something just for her to keep her mind sharp and give her something to do other than playing with the Child. Maybe if Mando could get a big enough job he could fuel up and find something for her. But before he could do that, he’d have to find a place safe for his charges to hide, a place far enough from civilization that it would take time to follow their tracking signals. A place he could leave them without the worry of coming back to find nothing, or worse.

In all honesty, the Mandalorian wasn’t sure if such a place existed, but maybe if he looked hard enough, chose carefully, there’d be an abandoned cottage or moisture farm that would be safe for one visit while he found a way to provide for them. He just hoped that, should a hunter come looking, Marii would have the sense in her to run, instead of standing bravely and defiantly as she had last time.

The girl looked up as he thought of her, unsurprised to see him as if she’d known he’d been there the whole time, and perhaps she had. Dyn had no question that the Force was quite strong with her, she always seemed to know where everything and everyone was around her without having the search. During one of the many times he had seen her play hide and seek with the Child, Dyn realized that even though she made an act of finding it, she always knew straight from the count where the Child had waddled to. Dyn lost track of the Child more times in one day than Marii did in her entire time with the inhabitants of the Razor Crest. Not that Dyn was a bad father-

The Mandalorian’s thoughts stuttered to a halt.

He couldn’t be a bad father. He wasn’t a father. The Child was his charge not his… Son? At this point, Dyn was relatively sure the child was male but- not the point. The Child was his foundling, just as the Armorer had told him, his responsibility to return to its people, his problem to protect until he found them. But the Armorer was wrong in calling him its father.

‘Then why have you yet to start the search for its people?’ His conscience asked in the voice of the Armorer. ‘Why continue to care for it as your own instead of following the Armorer’s orders and returning it to its place?’

Because his people are the enemy. Mando thought. But were they? They had been. Once. But wouldn’t that just give him more reason to want the Child out of his hands? Or was he simply trying to protect it, change what it might become?

‘You love it.’ The Armorer told him. ‘But you must return it. The time is coming when you will die and it will still be a child, defenseless and oblivious. Return it to its people and it will be protected and prosper. Keep it and it will die with you.’

Dyn’s attention returned to the children. Their previous game had ended, now Marii was levitating a large discarded lighting tube from Mando’s scrap pile, making it light up—orange, then yellow, then green, shifting through the rainbow though, notably skipping red—Mando could barely see the Child’s face, but he could tell it was alight with amazement.

Dyn knew. He had to take the Child back, he had to find its people.

The Child’s hand lifted, amazement shifting into something like determination. The lights started flickering faster, Marii’s head snapping to look at the Child, her own hand lowering. She looked panicked, glancing back at the Mandalorian before reaching out for the Child’s hand.

Just before she touched him, the tube exploded.

Dyn heard a scream just below the sound of the explosion. A word, but he couldn’t make it out.

The tube’s explosion had spread to possibly a dozen others that sat in the same pile, and even a few that were functioning and in place to light the ship. There was smoke and raining glass shards, sharp enough to cut either of the children’s skin, a shaking of the ship and the flicker of the light tubes that resisted the blast. Mando couldn’t see through the smoke, the heat-sensing setting on his helmet had too much interference from the shrapnel of the explosions. He couldn’t locate the children.

He walked slowly, carefully, to the place he remembered his charges sitting, not wanting to step on them if the force of the blast had moved them. But they weren’t there.

He cursed as dread began to fill him. He thought of the poor girl’s mother, her siblings. He thought of the Child and the trust it had placed on Dyn since the beginning. Had he failed them both? Failed to protect them from such a foolish, preventable accident?

The smoke began to clear and Dyn searched the floor that he could make out, not seeing a sign of either child. His heart rate picked up. He had trained himself to stay calm, to remain uncaring and cold. But these were children. Children that had been in his care. Children that, though he refused to admit it even to himself, he had begun to think of as his own. The uncaring and cold had disappeared long ago, and he was close to losing his calm.

Then, a small flicker of blue out of the corner of his eye. Opaque and weak against the wall.

He rushed over, dropping to his knees beside what he could barely make out to be a small bubble. Inside, the forms of both children, both seemingly unmoving, but breathing. Asleep? Or, more likely, passed out. Dyn sighed in relief. Then Marii shifted.

She looked up at him, her eyes fighting to stay open, her whole body, Dyn could now see, shaking with effort. She noticed him after a second too long, as if she had just comprehended that the shape of him was, in fact, him, and smiled weakly.

The bubble flickered once as Marii’s body sagged against the wall, then disappeared entirely. As it did, Dyn could finally clearly see the bodies of his charges, alive and physically unharmed. Marii’s body laid atop the Child’s, shielding it, Dyn realized after a moment. He couldn’t help but smile. After all the terror, after the horrifying scream the most definitely belonged to her, after using all her energy to protect herself and the Child, the little girl still placed herself between it and any harm that may try to affect it.

They would be fine, Dyn was sure of it.

Even after he was gone.

The Mandalorian put the Child to bed first, after checking it over for injuries and finding none. He called the cradle over with a press of the button on his wrist, wrapping the Child in the blanket and closing the lid. Then he scooped Marii up, her small body distressingly limp in his arms, and placed her into the cot she’d claimed as her own, pulling the rumpled blankets from the bottom of the bed to cover her. He rolled his eyes at the state of the blankets, realizing he’d have to be more strict about her making her bed in the future, but decided to worry about that another time.

Dyn felt her forehead, checked her pulse, counted the seconds between each breath, but she seemed fine, save for a scratch or two on her arms and hands.

He fixed her blankets one more time before stepping away from her cot.

“Thank you, Cabur’ika.” He whispered, pulling the make-shift curtain he had installed a few nights before shut and turning to asses the damage as the Razor Crest rocked into light speed.

It was thirteen hours later when Marii awoke. The Child was still asleep in its bassinet, the ship tidied and still in warp when the little girl ascended the ladder and climbed onto the co-pilot’s seat. She sat quietly for a few moments before Dyn heard her sniffle. His head snapped to her to see her wiping viciously at her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” She whimpered, her voice weak. “I shouldn’t have-” The girl held back a sob, her little body still shaking with it. “Please don’t send me home.” Dyn stood from his chair, giving his undivided attention to the crying child in front of him. He knelt in front of the girl, placing a gloved hand on her small shoulder.

“I’m not sending you home, Marii,” Dyn told her, voice quiet and clear as he tried his hardest to calm her. “You did a good job, you protected him and yourself.” The girl refused to look at him as she continued to cry, shaking her head.

“You feel m-mad,” She stuttered between heavy breaths. The Mandalorian startled at this. He had forgotten that the child was Nautolan, despite her blue skin and the many tendrils cascading down her back. He had forgotten she could sense him, his presence, his mood. And he assumed this was only enhanced by her Sensitivity.

Not only was he surprised to remember the child could sense him, but he was surprised to become conscious of the anger that had been sitting in his stomach like a heavy stone since he began to return order to the Razor Crest. But he was not angry with the child, never either of the children.

Dyn took a deep breath and squeezed the girl’s shoulder softly.

“If I am upset with anyone, it is with myself for leaving dangerous materials lying around like children’s play toys. Not with you, Cabur’ika. You both are safe, that is all that matters.”

The girl looked up at him, big black eyes shining with unshed tears.

“He is okay?”

Dyn smiled beneath his helmet at the girl’s worry over her little friend and nodded, glad that the tears seemed to finally have stopped.

“Yes, child, he is okay.” Marii nodded as well, her bottom lip quivering slightly and the Mandalorian hoped she wasn’t going to start-

Tears began to fall again as the girl threw herself forward against Dyn’s chest plate. He cringed at the clang the action produced, but Marii didn’t seem to be harmed. Hesitantly, Dyn wrapped his arms around the small girl, unsure what to do.

Caring for the Child was easy, he cried when he was hungry or tired, stopping when he was sated. The girl was different. She got scared and sad and was able to understand what these emotions meant, she cried because of them. And Dyn didn’t know how to make her stop.

In the end, Dyn didn’t try to stop her. He let her cry, trying to hold her how he imagined her own mother or father would have if they had been there, stroking her back softly. Eventually, her breathing slowed and became steady. It wasn’t until a few moments after he’d expected the young girl to pull away that he realized she had fallen asleep, all the remaining adrenaline in her system now thoroughly drained. Dyn sighed and lifted her for the second time in as many days, descending the ladder one-handed and once again laying her in her cot and closing the curtain.

He checked on the Child in his own bed. Still asleep, as he expected him to be for at least two more hours. He called the bassinet to follow him back into the cockpit, nonetheless, not wanting the Child to bother Marii when he awoke.

The Child presented a… unique set of difficulties. But the girl was entirely different and, in the Mandalorian’s opinion, proving to be even harder to care for.

Emotions. Dyn was not particularly well versed in those. But he supposed he’d have to learn if he was going to properly care for the girl as he promised her mother—and himself—he would.

Maybe he could find someone to help him, someone he could trust to watch over them when he went on missions, someone that could give them a sense of Home.

But they would be dropping out of light-speed soon and then they would be on planet. The children would have to look after each other this one time before he could find such a person.

And somehow, as images flashed in his head of exploding lighting tubes and flickering blue shielding bubbles, he had faith that they would be alright.

Chapter Text

The lush green forests of Takodana stretched out beneath the Razor Crest as the Mandalorian looked for a good place to land. He wanted it to be out of the way enough that Hunters had trouble following their tracking fobs, but close enough that Dyn could make a hasty retreat should there be trouble. Eventually, he decided on a particularly dense stand of trees and dropped the Crest low enough to fly beneath the canopy. Tucking in just enough so they couldn’t be seen from the sky, the Mandalorian set the ship to land.

As the landing gear touched the ground shakily, Dyn turned in his seat until he was facing Marii. Big black eyes stared back at him. He sighed.

“This is an awful idea.” He grumbled to himself, looking between the two literal children he was about to leave alone. With prices on their heads. On a planet covered with Bounty Hunters.

But he didn’t have a choice. They needed money and this was one of the only planets that could give them that without them being immediately met with blaster fire. There were enough people here with bounties on them, two more wouldn’t be noticed.

‘Don’t give yourself false hope, don’t let your guard down.’ Dyn sighed again and steeled himself for what was probably going to be the worst day of his life.

“Okay Marri, I’m going to give you some very important rules, for your safety and for the Child.” He said, even though he still wasn’t quite ready to leave his kids behind. The youngling nodded. “Don’t do anything that will exhaust you, that includes entertaining the Child with the Force.” He stood from his seat, gesturing for the girl to follow him into the belly of the ship while he prepared himself. “Stay on the ship, it should be strong enough to hold off any blaster fire if it comes until I return.” He waited as she descended the ladder, grabbing a loaded burlap bag from the wall and turning to his weapon compartment. “Don’t open the bay door for anyone, that includes me, I can open it myself.” He looked over his shoulder to see the girl watching him intently, nodding her head at each rule he listed. He grabbed a blaster from the rack, hating how heavy it felt in his hands.

“If something should happen and someone gets into the ship I want you to run.” He said finally, kneeling in front of her so he was at eye level. He tried to make eye contact through his helmet, and though Marii couldn’t see his grim face, he knew she could sense how serious he was. “Do not stay and fight, do not try and protect the ship. Take the Child and run.” He handed the girl the bag.

“Rations and blankets, take them with you.” Marii took the bag willingly. Dyn looked down at the blaster in his right hand, tapping the barrel against his free palm as he thought. ‘You were holding a gun at her age. What’s the problem?’ The Mandalorian in him asked. A new side of him, a different conscience that had been growing steadily ever since he kept the Child, and had little care for the Code protested.

‘She shouldn’t have to. We’re supposed to protect her from this.’

A war raged within him, but there was one thing both sides agreed on, she needed to have some way to defend herself.

His shoulders dropped as he brought one hand up to rub exasperatedly at what would be his temple, if not for his helmet. Then he held the blaster out to the young girl, grip first.

“Did your mother teach you how to use one of these?” He asked. Marii took it with steady fingers, studying it carefully.

“Yes. Ours was different though.” She said, voice not shaking like it should be. She wasn’t scared. Dyn was starting to think this girl really was fearless. The Mandalorian nodded.

“It’s the same concept.” He said, moving so he was kneeling next to her instead of in front of her. “Flick off the safety, point, pull the trigger.” He worked her through the motions.

“It’s easier than it should be to take another being’s life.” Marri said, she sounded older than she should. Dyn couldn’t help but chuckle as he shook his head.

“Yes, in theory.” He patted her head and stood. “But it’s harder when there’s someone on the other side of the barrel.” He pressed the button on the wall, letting the bay descend as he walked over to where the Child was sitting in the bunk.

“Stay out of trouble, kid,” He said, flicking one of its ears softly. He turned away before the Child could reach for him, before he started overthinking this all again. “You’ll be fine.” He said, mostly to himself. He saw Marii look up at him and nod.

“You’ll be back before trouble comes.” She said determinedly. And the Mandalorian realized that it wasn’t that she was fearless, she just had faith in him to keep her safe. His heart tumbled in his chest as he started to descend the ramp. If only he felt the same certainty. He turned when he reached the bottom of the ramp to see Marii at the top, the Child in her arms, both were watching him.

“No one in or out.” He said, lifting a finger at them. The Child cooed and Marii smiled and nodded. The Mandalorian took one last look at them before pressing the button on his cuff. The bay door closed, the latch caught, and Dyn stood alone in the woods, trying to forget the fact that he was leaving his charges stranded.

Trying not to think about what would happen to them if he didn’t make it back.

The Mandalorian had worked with the Pirate Queen in the past. Well, he’d worked for her, that is. He didn’t trust her, but then, he didn’t really trust anyone so that didn’t mean much.

Despite his lack of trust in her, however, Dyn had come to the conclusion that she was one of the few beings in the smuggling rings that could help him. She didn’t seem like the type to sell out children for profit. He tried to ignore the fact that he wasn’t always the best judge of character.

Dyn pulled on a cloak, trying to hide his beskar armor as much as possible. It wasn’t the most lowkey garb, and it definitely didn’t allow him to move about unnoticed. He tugged the hood to cover his helmet and walked into the castle.

Inside was poorly lit, but the Mandalorian’s helmet adjusted quickly. There was a good sized crowd scattered around the front room. Some beings sat at tables, eating charred meat and drinking some kind of booze, others yelled across betting games, insulting their opponents, or leveling accusations of cheating. In the far corner a fight was breaking out, but no blasters were drawn, luckily. Only a fool would draw his weapon in a place like this.

On the other side of the room from the fight, separated by a large fire pit, was a bar, the Mandalorian could just make out the head of the small woman who stood behind it. Few eyes tracked him as he crossed the room to the bar and Dyn let himself breathe finally — the room was too loud to make out the new beeping of the dozens of forgotten tracking fobs.

“Mandalorian.” A voice greeted him just as he reached the bar. He looked over the top to see Maz stacking bottles beneath the counter. She hadn’t even seen him, but she knew he was there. “I didn’t think you’d be gracing my doorway again so soon.”

“Queen Kanata,” Dyn started. Maz lifted a hand and waved away the formality of the title. “I’m looking for a job, something quick and lucrative.” He said, cutting straight to the point.

“I heard you kept a query.” Maz said, completely ignoring his request. She finally lifted her head and squinted at him. “Isn’t there something in your code against that?”

“I kept my word and delivered the Child.” Dyn grumbled, tapping the counter with a covered finger. “I made no promise against taking him back.” Maz smiled at him and nodded sagely.

“A clever trick, Mandalorian. Where is he now?” Dyn prickled at her curiosity to know where the Child was. He narrowed his eyes beneath the helmet.

“They’re safe.”

“They?” Maz asked, but she didn’t press further after Mando only nodded. Internally, he chastised himself for his mistake. “You don’t seem so sure about that.” She said instead.

“As safe as can be.” Maz looked behind him to the smugglers and hunters that filled her castle.

“It won't be long before they take notice.”

“Well then, I better get a job quickly.” He tilted his head slightly. Maz looked up at him, considering.

“There’s a slaver here. I want him gone.” She stated simply after a moment longer.

“And his cargo?” Maz narrowed her eyes at the question.

“The beings he’s kidnapped are in his ship. I set a server girl out there to get information, there’s an ex-pilot among them who can fly them home.”

“So all I have to do is kill the slaver and set them free?” Maz nodded. “How much?”

“Well that depends.” The Mandalorian was about to argue for a set fee when she continued. “What do you plan to do with the children?” He froze at the question, staring at the small woman.

“If you think I’m giving them to you-” He started, but she lifted a hand to silence him.

“Just answer the question, Mandalorian.” Dyn glared at her, but relented.

“I’m trying to figure out how to get them off the Hunters’ ledger. Then the girl goes back to her mother, and the Child… to the Jedi, if I can find them.”

“The girl’s not Force Sensitive?” Maz pressed, flicking down her glasses and peering at his helmet as if she could see beneath it. Dyn shook his head.

“She is, but she’s got a family who misses her.” Maz opened her mouth to ask another question, but this time Mando held up a hand to silence her. “I will not give you any more information on them. How much?”

“How much do you need?” Maz asked instead of answering, a smile growing on her face.

“Was that a test?” Maz laughed and nodded.

“Answer the question, Mandalorian.”

The slaver was an easy target. Drunk off his ass and looking for a fight, all the Mandalorian had to do was bump into him and the Hutt-spawn was challenging him to a duel. Or that’s what Dyn assumed he was saying, his words were too slurred to be sure.

Luckily, the slaver had little friends in the castle, and no one other than Mando heard him utter the challenge, so the two went out back alone.

There was no duel, however. As soon as the Mandalorian had him outside and out of sight, he easily knocked him out. By the time the Mandalorian was finished with the slaver, the scene seemed as if the dead man had grown a conscience and eaten his own blaster. Not that anyone would care. No one would even notice his coin purse and control cuff were missing.

With the slaver dead, Dyn went about finding his ship. Luckily, Maz had pointed him in the right direction, making this task just as easy as the first.

He opened the door with a press of one of the buttons on the commandeered control cuff, bracing himself for what he’d inevitably find inside.

As he entered the ship, he was met with the sink of decaying flesh, rotten food, and shit. It was pitch black, but his helmet once again allowed him to see. There were upwards of twenty Togrutans chained to the walls — men, women, and children— crumpled in the corner was at least one body. Dyn hoped it was only one body. Chains rattled as children were pushed behind some adults, while others stood at the ready despite the chains restraining them.

Dyn held up his hands, palms out.

“I mean no harm,” He said quietly. The people didn’t relax, not that he was surprised. “Your captor is dead. Which one of you is the pilot.”

An old woman stood from behind the line of younger adults, stepping as far forward as her chains would allow her.

“That would be I, Mandalorian.” She said, her voice crystal clear and steady. She seemed less concerned about him than the others. “Are you to set us free? Or am I supposed to pilot this ship in chains.”

Dyn smiled and pressed another button. The shackles hissed open, dropping to the floor.

“Are you also their leader?” Dyn asked the old woman as she drew closer now that she was free. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“We never got around to discussing our democratic roles, but I suppose.” Dyn chuckled slightly at that, quite surprised by the woman’s humor despite her situation.

“If you don’t mind me saying, Ma’am, you seem oddly relaxed for your situation.” The woman smiled at him.

“Being a rebel pilot gets you into more sticky situations that this,”

Dyn held back his shock and nodded.

“I suppose it would.” He held out the control cuff and the slaver’s coin purse to the woman. “Incase you need to refuel. Fly safe.”

“May the Force be with you.” She said as he turned to leave. He nodded in return and left the ship, hearing the ship come to life as he walked away.

Maz greeted him with three purses of credits and a smile.

“You keep those kids safe and, when you can, find General Organa on Chandrila. She’ll know where you can find the Jedi.” Maz told him, pushing the purses across the counter. Dyn stuffed them into his bag, nodding as he listened to the information.

“Thank you, Maz.”

“What, no more ‘Queen Kanata’?” She said with a sly smile.

“That was for formality's sake.” Maz laughed and shook her head.

“You come back if you need anything else, I’m sure I can find the odd job for you.”

Dyn nodded and thanked her again. Then turned and slipped out of the castle, leaving with far more money and information than he’d expected.

The ship was as he’d left it just hours before. He was glad to see no Hunters seemed to have even taken notice of the Crest, let alone tried to break in. Dyn walked the perimeter in the trees before approaching, making sure no one was lying in wait for him to open the loading bay.

When he’d decided it was clear, other than the odd Convor, he finally approached the ship. As he did a sense of dread settled onto his shoulders.

He looked behind him, checking one more time if someone was following him. No one. He sighed and decided he must be imagining the feeling. Marii and the Child were fine, the bay is still closed, and there is no one near the ship.

He pressed the button and let the loading bay open, dropping his hand to his blaster despite the reassurance.

The ramp touched the ground Marii standing at the top, her blue skin shining in the late day sun, her black eyes as steady and dry as ever. Even despite the blaster pointed at her head.

Chapter Text

Dyn eased his hand off his blaster, exaggerating his movements to not spook the person with the blaster. Terror spread through his chest. If Dyn were to guess by their stature, he’d say they were a young female with a humanoid figure, but a heavy hood was drawn low to mask their features.

“Let the child go and I’ll give you whatever you want.” He called, speaking loudly enough to be sure the being could hear. Hidden from view by his helmet, his eyes scanned the belly of the Razor Crest, frantically looking for his second charge, praying it had not been harmed.

“Your ship.” The being spoke, and Dyn was further assured that they were a youngish woman. He took a step forward, testing the water. The being stiffened, but their finger did not stray to the trigger, staying a safe distance away to avoid accidentally firing the blaster. Dyn found the barest amount of comfort in that and took another step forward, his feet almost meeting the metal of the ramp.

“I can’t do that. We’ll be stranded.” Another step. This time their finger twitched.

“Come no further, Mandalorian, I’m not naive enough to think you won’t take me down the first chance you get.”

“Can you even fly this ship?” Dyn asked, with another step forward. “And with all due respect, miss, you should want me closer. There are more options then that don’t include your death.” He took another step forward, metal meeting metal, and heard the being growl slightly. Dyn could feel her glare on him.

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Let the girl go.” Dyn insisted, once again moving up the ramp. The being’s covered head tilted, Dyn could see the lower half of their face was also covered by a cloth mask.

“She’s a sweet thing, let me in without any fuss.” Their foot tapped. “You shouldn’t leave her alone on a place like this. There are unkindly folk about.” Dyn dropped his gaze to Marii who now looked sheepish. They would have to discuss this later. Once he got them out of this easily avoidable situation.

“Like you?” A step.

“Like the man you just murdered.” They snapped. Their hand moved slightly as they did, their sleeve slipping down to reveal their wrist. Bruises circled it, dark and purple rings just below newer, slightly green grip bruises. The realization hit Dyn hard.

Suddenly, he could see the way their fingers shook, despite the fact that they held his blaster like they knew it. He could hear the way their voice wavered, whether with fear or exhaustion he didn’t know. Their unused arm was held just below their chest as if it were injured. Dyn wondered what shape the rest of them was in.

“Your people just left, I can take you to meet them.” He offered, his ascent on the ramp stopping completely.

“They weren’t my people. If you think he was the only slaver on this hell hole, then you’re the naive one.”

“I can take you where you need to go, but you can’t leave the girl here and it’s my job to keep her safe.”

“Well clearly you’re not very good at your ‘job’.” They hiss, their hand clenching on the grip of the blaster.

“I’d take offense to that, only it’s a rather difficult and I’m actually not sure many people could do it.”

“Not alone.”

The Mandalorian’s hands dropped slightly at that. “What’re you suggesting?” He asked.

“Take me with you.” They said. “I need passage and you could obviously use some help.” Dyn stared at them for a long moment, unseeing as he tried to process their offer. He was so distracted he didn’t notice their body stiffen.

“You are aware you’re currently holding a blaster to the head of my charge.” Only, they weren’t. Not anymore. Now the gun was pointed solely at Mando. They pulled the trigger and the Mandalorian dropped, not realizing until there was a groan from the treeline that the blaster was never truly trained on him.

“We need to go.” The being said, the blaster still pointed at the trees. Dyn didn’t miss the way they quickly pushed Marii behind themself with a surprisingly gentle hand. Another shot was fired as he stood and quickly made his way up the ramp, hitting the button to close it as he ran.

He pushed past the would-be pirate and scaled the ladder in a second, looking like nothing more than a silver flash of metal. He dropped into the pilot’s seat, flicking switches and pulling levers to prepare for take-off. Dyn heard the being settle into the seat behind him and Marii into her own. Just as he was starting to worry about the Child, a coo came from his feet.

And there it was, reaching up for him. Dyn scooped it up, passing it back to Marii.

“Hold on tight, this may get rough.” He said as blaster fire started to shake the ship.

“Holy shit, there’s another one?” The being asked, astonished. “How many children do you have?”

“Just the two.” Dyn muttered, not sparing much attention as he pulled back on the controls and the Razor Crest left the ground.

Blaster fire followed them, but soon Dyn cleared the canopy and they were out of range. They continued to climb as he took the ship out of atmosphere.

Once they were safely in lightspeed, location set to some remote planet on the far outer ring of the Galaxy, Dyn turned to Marii, ignoring his new passenger completely.

“Marii.” Was all he said as he fixed his gaze on the girl. She was slouched in on herself, looking down at her hands. The Child sat at her feet.

“You’re angry.” Her voice was soft, not scared but worried maybe. She was right; the terror he had felt when he’d seen that blaster pointed at her had faded into anger as soon as they broke the atmosphere. He took a breath, knowing it did no one any good if he couldn’t control his anger.

“Yes. You put yourself in danger, you put the Child in danger. I gave you four rules, that’s it.” Marii looked up at him, a determined light in her eyes. Dyn wondered when he had become able to read her features so easily. He supposed it wasn’t hard, though, considering she was almost always fearless and determined.

“She felt scared.” The girl argued. Dyn sighed because of course that’s why Marii let her in.

“Scared people can be the most dangerous, Cabur’ika..” He pushed out of his chair, standing in front of her and placing a gentle hand on her head. “You cannot protect everyone.” Her shoulders slouched further.

“Yes, Mando,” She muttered, still too stubborn to want to agree. Dyn couldn’t help but smile as he patted her head.

“Go to your bunk and get some sleep.” He said, stepping away to give her room to stand. “And take the Child, if you would.” She nodded and bent to grab the little one, who only gurgled and went willingly. Dyn took its hand when he stretched it out to him and squeezed it lightly. Only once they dropped down the ladder did the Mandalorian finally turn to the stranger.

He held out his hand, palm up, waiting not so patiently.

“Blaster.” He ordered when she made no move to hand it over.

“I think I’ll keep it for now.” She argued. Mando only stared in return, standing there stoically. She sighed and picked up the blaster from her lap, placing it carefully in his hand. “Fine.”

Dyn dropped the blaster on the pilot’s chair, not turning his back on the woman as he continued to stare. She shifted uncomfortably, he black hood drawing back very slightly.

“Thank you for allowing me to stay.” She said eventually.

“Had I gotten the chance I would have left you there to the smugglers.” He said, stoically, trying to keep his cool, even though it was a battle he saw himself losing. She looked between him and the ladder the children had just disappeared down.

“Somehow I don’t believe that’s true.”

His hand slammed onto the seat back by her head, he leaned in until his helmet was face to face with her black covered features.

“You had a blaster pointed at a child. My child.” He growled. “Don’t assume you know what I would have done had the situation allowed it.” She nodded, and though she had flinched back, Dyn realized she was meeting his gaze in a way that would have been dead on, had it not been for her hood and his helmet.

“I won’t cuff you.” He stated, regaining his calm slightly and pulling back. “But you will sleep in the cabin with the door closed and locked.” He grabbed the blasted and descended the ladder, not waiting to see if she followed.

Once she was settled in what had been his bed, Dyn tossed her a first-aid kit to care for whatever she was hiding beneath that hood, and closed the door, settling in for a long night of little sleep.

His passengers breathed deeply as he fell into a state of half sleep, waiting for the woman to appear with another blaster.

Around halfway through the night Dyn heard Marii stirring in her bunk. The curtain was pulled aside and he could feel her heavy gaze on him.

“She was never going to shoot me.” She said quietly, barely audible over the humm of the ship. Dyn looked over his shoulder to see her sitting on the edge of her bunk, her legs dangling and swinging. How could she be so unafraid yet so oblivious even with a blaster trained on her by a desperate runaway.

“You don’t know that.” He said simply. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Yes I do. She told me so.” Marii was sure of herself and Mando didn’t know if he had the heart to tell her that sometimes people were just very good liars. That not everyone kept their word like a Mandalorian.

“She said you wouldn’t have let her stay otherwise.” Dyn cocked his head at that.

“I wouldn’t have.” He said, and maybe that was true three months ago. Now? He wasn’t sure. Marii narrowed her eyes at him, presumably able to sense his hesitation. “She puts you in danger.” Dyn thought that if Marii could roll her eyes she would.

“We put us in danger. Maybe she can help you keep us safe.”

She was right, of course, it would be nice to have another adult around who could hold a blaster and maybe even fly the Crest. He turned away from her, once again facing the cabin where the woman slept.

“If only she hadn’t introduced herself with a blaster to your head.”

Dyn banged on the cabin door a few hours later. He needed to get back to the cockpit, but there was no way he was leaving the stranger alone with his charges.

He heard a muffled yelp. A few seconds later the door slid open. She sat on the bed, her hood and mask now removed.

She was human. Maybe late twenties, in a baggy black shirt and men’s slacks that were at least two sizes too big. Dark hair framed her face in thick coils, a scar came out from the hair just over her ear, following along beneath her sharp cheekbone before coming to a jagged end. Her eyes shone carmel brown and frenzied, a black bruise surrounding her right eye. Her full lips were pulled into a grimace, reopening the split in them.

For a second, Dyn forgot who the woman was, forgot that she’d appeared on his ship like the Angel of Death, holding a blaster to Marii’s temple. For a second all he could process was that she was hurt and scared and lost to all who knew her.

He took a step forward and reached out slowly, his gloved hand gently grabbing her chin. He was surprised when she didn’t flinch away. But then, he could tell by the set of her jaw and the steel in her eyes that she was a fighter.

“Did he do this to you?” Din asked, knowing she knew who he was referencing. Wishing he’d killed whoever had taken her as well. She shook her head.

“The creep I took the clothes off of.” Her voice was deep and melodic without the mask muffling it, or the front she had put up earlier.

Earlier, when she had held a blaster to his charge’s head and threatened to kill her. Mando’s common sense finally caught up as he tore his hand away suddenly, turning on his heel, not bothering to care about the confusion and fear that crossed the strangers face at his sudden change of character.

“Up.” He ordered. He grabbed his rifle from where it leaned against the wall, hearing her bare feet as they met the metal of the ship. He gestured to the cockpit ladder, not even sparing her a glance until she was scurrying up it.

He followed her up, squeezing past her in the narrow room and sat heavily in the pilots seat. Dyn could feel her eyes on him as she hesitantly followed his lead, perching on the edge of the seat to his right.

They sat in silence for a little while, Mando focusing on plotting out their journey and trying to decide where to stop next. They still needed fuel so it had to be somewhere with a port, and the needed rations, so a populated market as well. Maz had said to head to Chandrila, but he needed to get the bounties off the children’s heads first. He didn’t want to walk into an unknown future while he still had hunters on his tail-

“I suppose I should tell you my name?” The woman said from behind him. He hadn’t for a moment forgotten she was there, he had been aware of every shuffle of cloth as she moved, every time she cleared her throat awkwardly, every breath she took. Nonetheless, Dyn was still surprised to hear her speak.

He shrugged.

“Do as you will. I’m leaving you on the next planet.” That was another thing he had to take into account. He needed a planet that would be safe enough for the woman, and one that gave her the ability to start new. He shook his head, why did it matter?

“Avya.” She said and they lapsed into silence again. Then- “You shouldn’t hold this against the girl. It’s not her fault I tricked her.” Dyn huffed out a laugh.

“You can’t trick Marii, so I wouldn’t suggest trying again.” He turned in his seat to look at the woman: Avya, he now knew. “She knew what you were doing, and she let you because you were scared. You took advantage of her kindness.” Avya at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

“But you’ll keep her?” She asked. Dyn narrowed his eyes beneath his helmet.

“She made a stupid mistake.” He said. Avya opened her mouth but he continued. “But she’s a child, it’s within her rights to do so.” He turned back to the console.

“She’s your child.”

“She’s my charge.” Mando argued. “Touch her again and I’ll put you in carbonite.”