Flesh, Bone, & Beskar

Deal

Space is too silent.

You sat in the cockpit and looked out at the vast, never ending streaks of stars that whizzed by the ship, faster than you could even imagine. You kept checking the navigation controls and adjusting the ship when needed, but you still had a few hours to go and you were getting restless. There was only so much you could do as you waited.

The Mandalorian had still been unconscious when you last checked on him. You carefully checked for a pulse, and his breaths could still be heard through the helmet. You found some spare, raggedy blankets tucked away in a small closet, so you laid one under his helmet and draped another over his body. It was far too small to even cover his legs, but you figured it was better than nothing. You took a different blanket and settled into the cockpit again.

Staring blankly into the tunnel of stars, you felt the tiredness of the day tugging on your limbs. Truthfully, you were a little scared of falling asleep on a stranger's ship. What if he woke up before you? What if you didn't hear him climb up to the cockpit and he found you, a wanted woman, sleeping in his ship, flying away to another planet?

Still, as you thought of the endless 'what-ifs', you thought about how easy, how nice it could be to curl up on the floor, close enough to the door that any footsteps would surely wake you up.

You'll hear him if he wakes up before you, you thought to yourself. He's wearing a beskar suit, for Maker's sake.

You looked back to the small navigation screen. There was still a few hours before you'd land, and if he did wake up, you would be able to hear him. You'd feel his footsteps throughout the ship before he even got to you.

With a small sigh, you took the blanket and unfolded it as you slid down the wall to the cool floor. Adjusting your position so your foot was right in front of the door, you laid back and rested on the floor, staring up at the dull metal ceiling.

You'll hear him when he wakes up,  you reminded yourself as you closed your eyes and wiggled your arms to hold the blanket as close to your body as possible. It was just warm enough for you to be content, and you dozed off to the silence in the cockpit.

-

You knew this was a memory. A nightmare, even. A flashback to the past that you never could quite escape from, no matter how far you ran.

You opened your eyes to a grey sky, streaked with smoke and exhaust from passing ships. You could feel the dirt and rocks against your skin as you worked your elbows back and propped yourself up, blinking and taking in your surroundings.

It was Prakith. It had been years since you had been here.

With uncertain breaths, you looked around at a ruined planet. Homes were still smoldering with the remnants of flames. The ground was littered with possessions of the locals who had long since fled their small village. You could feel a weight pressing on your chest as you were reminded, once again, of a battle that you were caught in the middle of.

With the flames and embers still crackling nearby, you pressed your hands into the ground and rose to your feet. You could see the deep ruts in the grass and mud from the tanks that had desecrated the land and ran its people away. You took a few trembling steps forward to see the rest of the village.

It seemed like most of the townsfolk had evacuated. Their footprints were still embedded in the dirt where you now walked.

There was a gentle breeze, and it carried the scent of burning wood and mud. You rubbed your nose, trying to get the smell away and out of your memory as soon as it had come.