PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXXVII

Arvala-7 was somehow hotter and more desolate than Tatooine. The only reason I even remotely enjoyed the little trip was because I found the Ugnaught, who we learned was named Kuiil, to be a quite reasonable person, and I greatly enjoyed talking with him.

But the droid he had with him was very unsettling. It was an intimidating IG unit, originally designed to do one thing.

Kill.

But Kuiil insisted he had reprogrammed it to nurse and protect instead of hunt the child. And from what I could tell, the droid would not harm us. But Din was still extremely apprehensive around the droid, reluctant to trust Kuiil's handiwork.

But now, I stared up at the droid as it poured another round of tea for everyone. It slowly made it's way over to me, balancing the kettle on the tray it was holding while handing me a clay cup. I wanted to decline, but I would have to admit, tea sounded delicious after spending a few hot hours in the scorching sand dunes of Arvala-7.

While Din and Cara sat across from each other around a makeshift table we made, Kuiil moved to take a seat on the floor next to his bluurgs, which were caged up in the extra space in the cargo bay.

The IG unit had finished pouring my tea, and I thanked it as I asked him to hold my cup. Then I lifted my arms up to remove my helmet, getting it gently on the floor before thanking the droid again for holding my drink.

"You are welcome, Mandalorian," The droid said in its robotic voice, "It is a pleasure to serve." Then it left me, walking towards Din and Cara to see if they would like a drink. But when I turned to look at them, they were in a heated arm-wrestling match.

Din looked stoic, but his body was tensed with effort as his arm started to shake. Cara's face was scrunched up as she squeezed
his hand tighter. "I've got you, Mando," She hissed with a ghost of a smile on her face, "Give it up."

Din let out a strangled laugh. "Care to double the bet, then?" He asked, his modulated voice laced with effort. Cara just laughed in response.

But neither of their hands moved in either direction. As the next few seconds ticked by, I debated on which one of them I wanted to lend a helping hand to. I first thought about helping Din, but if Cara won...

I discretely lifted my hand, using the Force to help nudge Cara to victory. As soon as the back of Din's hand hit the tabletop, Cara shouted with a large smile plastered on her face, "Ha! I knew I'd win!"

As she continued to rub her victory in Din's face, he turned his head slightly to look at me out of the corner of his visor. I just raised my eyebrows at him, forcing myself to hold in my laugh as I sipped on my tea. He shook his head slightly as his shoulders drooped, and I quickly looked away from him as he pushed himself out of his chair.

As he stalked across the bay towards the ladder, he glanced down at me with a heavy stare as he said, "I'm going to check our position."

As Din's form disappeared into the cockpit, I glanced back at Cara. She had a sour look on her face as she asked, letting out a huff as she plopped down in her chair, "What's his problem?"

I perked my eyebrow at her. "Don't worry about him," I said, letting a small smirk cross my lips, "He's just mad he lost to a girl."

A satisfied smile spread across her features. "Poor baby," She crooned, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her chair. Then her mouth opened wide as she let out a large yawn. She tilted her head back, leaning it against the wall of the bay as she said, "Wake me up when we get there."

I snorted. "Yes, ma'am."

As the minutes passed by, I continued to sit in the middle of the cargo bay and listen to Cara slowly drift off to sleep. Din hadn't deigned come back down from the cockpit, and the child hadn't made a fuss since we laid him in his compartment after takeoff. So that left just me, Kuiil, and the bluurgs.