Across the Universe | D. Djarin

Ambush

I wrinkled my nose as Din placed a pound of Krayt dragon meat on the back of the speeder bike. The child cooed and stared at the meat hungrily, our different reactions almost made me laugh. Din had brought the bike over so we could get ready to go, the Tusken's had insisted upon us taking some of the dragon meat.

All of the Tuskens were hunkered down in the dragon's carcass. The area that used to be its stomach was now being hacked at by the Tuskens. If I was being honest, it was kind of gross.

Din then began to wrap the piece of meat in a large white cloth to keep it from getting contaminated on the way back to the crest.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to explain." Din said to Cobb as he carried his armor over to the bike.

"No need. This was well-earned." Cobb said as he handed the helmet over to Din.

"It was my pleasure." Din said as he shook his hand.

Cobb Vanth then turned his attention to me and held his hand out. I placed my hand in his and he gave me a firm handshake.

"You take care of this one, okay sweetheart? He's gonna need it." Cobb Vanth joked lightly as he let go of my hand.

"I will." I laughed, I think it was the first time I've been called sweetheart by a man and did not want to hit them.

Cobb Vanth then looked between Din and I. "I hope our paths cross again."

"As do I." Din Said as I nodded with a small smile.

"Oh, and you tell your people I wasn't the one that broke that." Cobb Vanth said. He then turned and walked away from us.

Suddenly, all of the Tuskens began to yell in celebration. I looked over and saw one of them holding up a white ball while the others cheered for him.

"Ready to go?" Din asked me, I turned away from the strange scene to look back at him.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I nodded

Din climbed onto the speeder bike first and it was in that moment that I realised how close we are going to be sitting...while he's covered in green dragon slime.

I sighed as I swung my leg over the back of the bike. I hesitated for a moment before I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Next time you plan on getting eaten by a dragon, let me know in advance so I can get my own ride." I said as I scrunched my nose up at the feeling of it under my fingers.

"Got it." Din chuckled as he started up the speeder bike and we took off, moving quickly away from the abandoned sarlacc pit.

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The three of us sped quickly across the deserts of Tatooine. I felt like I wanted to fall asleep but the aggressive winds and the fear of falling off kept me awake. I kept almost laying my head on Din's back, until I remembered that he was still covered in slime.

The journey so far had been absolutely fine, until a rope suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. I felt like my soul left my body as the speeder flipped. My grip on Din's waist quickly loosened as we were all flung from the bike.

The combination of the sudden stop and the fast speed we were going at caused me to land hard on the sand below. I grunted as I heavily landed on the ground below. I rolled three times along the ground before I came to a stop. I went to stand up again but I saw the speeder flying towards me. I quickly ducked down and covered my head with my hands.

Once the speeder had passed overhead, I pushed myself up onto my feet. A blaster shot sounded from behind me and I spun around. Two men had their blasters aimed at Din, apparently pegging him as the biggest threat.