Wrest Pin | The Mandalorian

Chapter Seven: The Crash

The thing about their entire ordeal earlier – it couldn't have been the worst thing to happen.

Evangeline had thought the worst of the worst was going to be the humiliating ride back to Mos Eisley on the back of the speeder – and knowing there would be the most painful and uncomfortable silence. None of it was something she expected when they had first arrived on Tatooine. The Mandalorian they met not being a Mandalorian at all – a giant dragon – a terribly awkward...encounter. And the heavy weight and tears to go with it. Not to mention her brief and severing moment where she had been torn from reality enough to want to go wandering across a desert planet alone with only the blaster Mando had given her.

Nothing – nothing had gone as expected.

But it only got worse, and she supposed it was her fault for thinking she couldn't feel any more awful than she already did. Sitting there – having to hold onto Mando as they made their way through the suns and the heat. The baby not seeming as excited for this ride, maybe because the argument earlier had let on something bad had happened. Evangeline struggled with the heavy set on her chest – knowing very well the blows of Mando's words were going to sting for some time to come. She hadn't expected anything – nothing. Not...feelings...not anything of the sort. But she had not expected regret.

She wondered what he saw of her. Why he seemed to think he had done something terribly wrong. She was nothing of a saint...more sheltered would be a better word – and not due to sheltering parents, but due to an upbringing on a semi-peaceful planet with a family that loved her. But she didn't see how that made things wrong – how it made him wrong for what had gone on. She had allowed him to – do what he did. She had allowed it to happen.

Evangeline didn't get much time to consider too deeply, even though a lot of the ride was skimming over the thoughts. Just when she truly started to consider everything that had happened – something else happened...the thing that made things worse.

She didn't really know what it was. She didn't see it exactly, but whatever it was – they hit something. It sent the speeder bike soaring and Evangeline could barely even process she was in the air before she was hitting her back on hard sand – the wind knocking out of her almost instantaneously...

She gasped, the sky spinning as she heard the sound of several things hitting the ground, flinching heavily when a boom exploded across the space. Her mind raced to catch up with her body – but her body was gasping, heaving, struggling to find oxygen until finally – finally the spasming in her chest stopped and she could inhale once more. She wasn't sure how much time passed, but she rolled onto her side – her ribs screaming in pain as she tried to focus her blurry vision and ringing ears to what was in front of her.

All of their objects were strewn on the ground, the speeder bike smoking in the distance. Evangeline's heart leaped into her throat when she realized Mando was – Mando was fending off several attackers...Three or four she could process through the jolt of her mind. Instantly on reflex alone, she started to stagger to her feet, eyes searching desperately for the baby, whom she eventually saw also trying to gain his footing with a perplexed look on his face.

She glanced at Mando, who was busy with the assailants. Hurriedly, she started to move towards the baby, only to feel someone grab her by the back of her cloak. Evangeline was whirled around to face the person, their grip tight and unmoving as she squirmed. It was a human man, with some kind of contraption on his face. Evangeline let out a grunt as she tried to yank away.

Evangeline reached behind herself to grab the blaster Mando had given her, but before she could, she was knocked to the ground with a hit to the side of her face. Evangeline groaned and coughed on her side, back in the sand – and she wondered for just a moment why when men hit her it was always in the same place – the exact same cheek as the attacker in the fighting pit. Evangeline tried to move away, but this time –