DEFIANCE | The Mandalorian

XIX

The ferryman's boat was daunting, to say the least. It was small, but the large gate in the floor that opened up to the sea below was extremely off putting. I quickly glanced out over the side of the ship. The water was a deep navy blue, the crashing waves slamming into the side of the boat and spraying up over the side rails.

The air was heavy and smelled of salty water, and I scowled at the film of brine that covered my armor.

But what really made me upset was we were only an hour into our trip and my legs were already wobbly from the swaying of the ship.

Standing next to Din near the center of the boat with the child floating in its pram between us, both of us intently watched as the ferryman's crew worked around the ship, yelling at one another as they pulled on ropes and cleaned the deck. Din seemed to trust the Quarren enough, but something about him put me on edge.

Instinctively, my body tensed when the captain we met at the inn approached us, a long, skinny metal rod in his hands.

He asked, tightly gripping the metal, "You ever seen a Macamore eat?"

I blinked at him from behind my helmet, consciously telling myself not to ball my hands into nervous fists at my sides. I had no idea what a Macamore was, and I had a gut feeling I didn't want to find out.

When neither of us responded, the ferryman's motioned to the grate in the center of the fishing deck and continued, "It's quite a sight. The child might take an interest."

At the sound of his name, the kid anxiously glanced up at me, blinking at me once before turning his large eyes to Din. He cooed once, and Din's shoulders caved in a fraction of an inch at the child's pleading look.

"You guys should take a look," The Quarren continued. "Come on over here. The view is better."

The captain motioned for us to follow, stepping a few steps closer towards the edge of the barred grate. Dread and worry began to pool in my gut, but I suppressed the feeling as much as I could.

I followed a step behind Din as the pram floated next to him. We stopped a little too close to the edge of the grate for my comfort, but seeing that Din seemed at ease, I bit my tongue and didn't say anything.

Metal creaking sounded, and Din and I both quickly glanced up to see a crane holding a net full of fish over the grate. Then a sharp buzz echoed and the net opened, the fish inside splashing down into the water below.

The pram slowly inched closer to the grate. Out of instinct, I flung my arm out to stop it from going any further.

When the Quarren ferryman glanced my way, I lifted my gaze to his and said, "I think we're close enough."

The captain only blinked at me with a certain gleam in his eye as he pulled on a nearby lever. The metal floor beneath our feet shook as the grate groaned open, and I took a small, hesitant step back when the water below bubbled and churned.

The Quarren hummed in thought. "She must be hungry," He said, hit grip on the metal rod tightening even more. "Oftentimes, we'll feed her in the early morning, but we missed that 'cause we're goin' out of—"

Before the captain finished, he swung the metal rod in his hand out with the force of a fighting brute. I didn't even have time to react when he hit the pram floating on the other side of Din, causing it to hover over the opened grate of dark, churning ocean water.