Across the Universe | D. Djarin

Spiders

"Wake up, mandalorian." A deep, robotic voice called out. I jolted from my sleep and gasped lightly. Din still had his arm around my shoulder, though his other hand was aiming his blaster towards the source of the noise. He had tightened his grip on me at the prospect of a threat. Pulling me even closer to his side than before.

"This cannot wait until morning." The remains of Zero briefly sparked to life as it spoke.

"Do not be alarmed. I bypassed the droid's security protocols and accessed its vocabulator." My eyes drifted over to the lady who was holding a mic under her mouth. I raised my eyebrows slightly, feeling impressed by what she had done.

"What the hell are you doing?" Din asked.

He gestured towards Zero. "That droid is a killer."

"These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed to." The lady said through Zero.

"Look, Lady, the deal is off. We're lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives." Din explained. I felt a resigned sadness for the lady and her eggs.

"I thought honoring one's word was a part of the Mandalorian code. I guess those are just stories for children." The lady said

Silence fell over the hull as Din considered her words. The child broke the silence by cooing quietly. Din turned his head towards him and looked at the child for a moment. He then sighed heavily and looked towards the lady's eggs. I knew then that Din was going to help her. What other choice did we have other than to try and fix this situation.

Din suddenly removed his arm from around my shoulder. I frowned slightly from the cold feeling that it left behind. I fought the urge to raise my hand and rub my shoulder from the absence.

Din grabbed his pauldron from the ground beside him and quickly fastened it back into place with skilled hands.

He then grabbed the child who was still snuggled under his cape and placed him on my lap. I wrapped my arms around the child as I watched him stand up.

He reached over the hull and grabbed a box of tools to start fixing the ship.

"This was not a part of the deal." Din said with an annoyed tinge to his voice. He then walked over to the hole and pulled aside the blanket, stepping out into the freezing cold air.

The cold draft hit my body and I shivered, instinctively curling into myself and the blanket that was around my shoulders. I had hardly had the chance to acknowledge the fact that I was awake by the time Din had left. I felt myself longing for his company even though he was just outside.

A tense silence fell over the hull now that he had left. I tried my best to ignore it and placed the child on the floor beside me. I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep knowing that Din was out there trying to fix the crest by himself.

I pushed myself up from the floor and stretched my muscles. Sleeping upright on the hard floor wasn't convenient.

I scanned the mess of the hull quickly in search of a specific crate, the one that contained most of my belongings. I spotted the familiar crate on the other side of the hull, it had been knocked over onto its side in the crash.

I stepped over fallen objects and crouched down beside the crate. I grabbed hold of the sides of the crate and pulled it upwards so it was facing the right way again.

The crate was almost frozen shut from the cold temperatures. I pried the lid open and rifled inside it until my hands landed on my long coat. I slid my arms into the soft material and shivered at how cold it was. I really hope that it will warm up with my body heat quickly.