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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Tess peeled open her eyes slowly as the faint alarm continued to ring inside her ears. She leaned her head back, cracking her neck, looking around at her surroundings. The girl jolted upright, wincing as her chest gave a faint twinge. The stars outside twinkled brightly, swirling nebulae of blistering stardust, a cataclysm of space and time and matter culminating together into one, harmonious galaxy. Tess rubbed her eyes tiredly and yawned, her nose wrinkling.
The child in her arms cooed, tugging on her jacket as Tess sat up straighter, her exhausted limbs stretching heavily. The seal on her chest heaved as she moved. Tess' eyes widened when she realized that her ribs no longer ached. Her lungs, which had been filled with tar-like substances pulling her chest inward, had disappeared. She frowned for a moment, experimenting with holding her breath, then releasing the air through her nose. She felt nothing. Tess smirked softly, savoring the feeling of her body healed. Her limbs, pulled taut from years of mistrust, were finally set into place. Her veins, for so long filled with black, filled with discarded blood that only flowed because it had to, now raced along her veins, elated to be noticed once more.
Tess became aware of every part of her body, from her hair, it's curls died down to become straight. Her legs, strong and nimble, one metal calf, and the other of flesh. Her teeth and mouth and lips and eyes, all features that found comfort in destruction, now lay silent. It was as if, for the first time, Tess had finally awoken from a wakeful slumber, the final layer of her intricately woven facade peeled back, stripped down to reveal what she really was; flesh and bone and human.
Tess Oprin was human again.
She turned her attention to the front seat, where Mando had awoken with a start, his steel plated shoulders shifting as he flicked the switches on the console, moving his hands to steer their half broken ship. It was then that Tess saw the planet ahead of them, the wide sphere of pastel blue and forest green. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Looks like we made it." the Mandalorian said, his voice light. He turned his head back to see the girl, half dazed from her long sleep, sit up and watch him. The child in her arms rubbed it's own eyes, gurgling happily. Tess petted it head's absent-mindedly, only half paying attention to her actions. The Mandalorian's smile was as bright as the sun under his helmet.
