Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 55: Preparation

Daedalus woke without a headache somehow. He thought he had drank enough spotchka for the entire Tribe, but apparently not. The Phoenix sat up in bed, stretching his arms wide and let out a groan. Leaning over Din, he grabbed his engagement ring and slipped it on his finger. The kyber crystal glistened gently in the pale sunlight, creating a small rainbow on the wall across the room. Daedalus smiled and laid down on Din's chest.
The Mandalorian moaned and placed a hand over his eyes. "Can you close the shades please?", he urged.
The Phoenix chuckled. "So you're the hungover one this time, huh?"
"Just close the blinds."
Daedalus kissed his fiancé on the forehead and did as he asked.
While he was up, he put his armor (minus his helmet) on for the day
"You're not coming back to bed?", Din asked softly.
The Phoenix smirked and ran a hand down the Mandalorian's face. "I guess you'll have to wait till tonight," he whispered.
Din groaned and covered his face with a pillow.
Daedalus left the bedroom and made his way outside the ship. He wandered through the camp until he found Ki'na polishing her staff near the center of camp.
"Hey kid," she called. "Ready to train?"
The Phoenix nodded. "Yes ma'am."
The two of them made their way outside camp to their usual training spot. It was a small clearning in the forest with some ruins similar to those on the hill where Din proposed.
"Why don't we trade weapons today?", Ki'na suggested. "You can never be trained with too many weapons."
"Fair enough," Daedalus posed, handing her the Darksaber. He took her staff, which made of beskar and had blaster components built into the end. "This thing set to stun?"
She chuckled. "Do you think a Mandalorian would even make a weapon to stun?"
With this, she ignited the saber and charged him. He deflected her strikes with the staff, and flew backwards with his jetpack. He fired at her with both his gauntlets and her staff. She spun the Darksaber around herself in a floral pattern, deflecting a majority of the shots.
Daedalus dropped to the ground, and Ki'na began firing a volley of shots at him. He dove behind a tree for cover, and when the moment was right, he shot his fibercord whip at her, which wrapped around her arms and chest, causing her to drop the Darksaber and her blaster.
The Phoenix ran out from the tree, to which Ki'na propelled herself backwards with her jetpack. Daedalus grabbed the Darksaber and ignited it. "You have nothing! Yield!"
Lifting her leg, she pulled a vibroknife from a sheath in her boot. Twisting her hand around, she cut the wire wrapped around her.
"Think again," she teased, holding the knife out in front of her.
The Phoenix scoffed. "A knife against a lightsaber? I don't want to actually hurt you."
"You won't," Ki'na joked.
Daedalus shrugged and charged her. The ground around them was full of vines, and he stumbled slightly on them running towards her.
All of a sudden, he found himself being lifted into the air by his leg.
"What the—," he exclaimed.
Ki'na flew up beside him on her jetpack, and hoisted him up by his neck. "Yield," she demanded flatly.
Daedalus nodded in response and she cut the vine around his leg, sending him flying down to the ground. He landed in a tangled heap on the jungle floor.
"Hangman's Tree," she informed, setting down in front of him.
She extended a hand to help him up.
Daedalus ignored the gesture and helped himself up. "I would've had you," he grunted.
"Hey," Ki'na grabbed his arm. "The environment can be your greatest weapon in dire situations. Remember that."
The Phoenix brushed it off and retrieved the Darksaber where he had dropped it. "Not every location is going to have deadly plants either."
He began to walk away, slightly frustrated at his defeat.
"Mission briefing in 30, be there," Ki'na called behind him.
Daedalus left no reply and went back into camp.

———

Din eventually rolled out of bed after Daedalus left, head throbbing. Holding a hand over his eyes to keep his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he slipped on his helmet and made the visor as opaque as possible. He slipped on the rest of his armor and made his way to the ship's small kitchenette. He brewed a small pot of coffee and drank it until he thought he would puke. Today was definitely not his day.
He made his way out of the Crest, and was saddened to find a clear, bright sky. A horn rang out across camp, signaling everyone to head to the camp center for briefing. The Mandalorian stumbled to the tent, where he found almost the entire group huddled around the holotable.
There were about 20 Mandalorians in the Tribe, each one donning their own customized armor. It was quite the sight, and it filled Din with a feeling of pride. He found Daedalus standing beside Ki'na, and took his own place next to the two of them.
Ki'na illuminated the holotable, which projected an overview of Mandalore.
"On a recon mission, we found that the Empire is still mining Beskar from the planet's core," she informed.
The hologram zoomed in on a smaller section of the planet.
"We can only assume that the Beskar we found on the transport is coming from the Versi Mines, the primary mine on the planet," she continued. "Not much is known about the quarry, as no Mandalorian has surveyed it since the Empire took it over."
"What exactly is the plan, then?", a random male Mandalorian questioned.
"Patience, Pollux," Ki'na snipped. "The Empire has been stretched too thin the past decade to hire miners, I'm sure they're taking Mandalorians hostage and forcing them to find the Beskar. Our goal is to free whatever slaves we can and bring the mine under our own control. It will be our new base."
A few hushed murmurs rippled through the group.
"So we're leaving Ithor?", another Mandalorian asked.
"Indeed," she asserted sternly. "Taking the mine is the logical next step in reclaiming Mandalore for ourselves."
The Mandalorians exchanged looks, both of excitement and worry.
"Are we really ready to take back the capital? There's not very many of us and if the Empire is still—," a female Mandalorian started.
"Silence, Yeila!", Pollux blared. "It is our birth-given right to preside over Mandalore. We are the Children of the Watch, the most feared warriors in the galaxy. If we say we're taking the mine, we're not leaving until it's ours."
The other warriors remained silent. Pollux's outburst seemed uncalled for, but worked as a motivational tool for the team.
"It's settled then," Ki'na exclaimed. "We are leaving immediately to reclaim our Beskar mines. This is the way."
"This is the way," the entire group echoed.

———

i finished the painting :D

reference pic btw