𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐'𝒂𝒅

{| 𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 |}

The calming noise of the forest at night soothed the young girl to sleep long ago. Within the cover of her small makeshift tent, she lay curled upon the thinly covered floor underneath the warmth of her patchwork blanket. It may not look pretty, but she was proud to call it hers.

Her face twitches upon hearing the rumbling of a ship engine. Groggily, she peeks out of her tent with her blanket still wrapped around her shoulders and spots an outline of a sputtering ship flying over her head and into the small town that resided near the forest.

She rubs her eyes with a heavy yawn and grabs her dark tattered cloak from the floor, swiping off the excess dirt and tying it around her neck. The crisp air tickled her face when she exited her tent, the ground beneath her toes feeling even colder as she began walking her path towards the town.

She tilts her head up to the sky and notices the moon still bright and at its highest point, signaling the late or early hour someone could possibly fly in for a repair.

Approaching the mechanic bay, she enters through the back door quietly and peeks around the corner.

A mid-sized star ship landed gingerly within the cove. The exterior was primarily gray, marred with exposed wiring, scorched plates, and harsh dents. Though the weathered and worn out metal-plating suggested this ship has been through more and worse.

The ramp of the ship suddenly lowered, and a figure walked out to meet the owner-Blorn, who also wasn't entirely happy to be woken up at this hour, but was scarcely polite upon recognizing his attire.

The girl was intrigued by his choice of wear. A chrome helmet with a T-like visor concealed the entirety of his face while red chipped pieces of armor covered his chest, arms and legs. Not a sliver of skin was exposed as a layer of clothes covered what the armor could not with a cloak trailing behind him, flowing with every step with the ends tattered in tiny holes.

Without even noticing her presence she already felt intimidated.

She eavesdrops on their exchanged words. Discovering that his repairs could take a full day to complete; possibly into the next morning as the man insisted on doing the repairs himself. Which gives her more than enough time.

The masked man gives Blorn a single nod and hands him a handful of credits before returning back into his ship while Blorn goes to his office.

She remains low behind crates and large ship attachments; pulling her hood over her head blending into the dark shadows.

The masked man exits from his ship down the ramp with a box of tools in hand going to immediately work on the exposed wiring.

The girl waits until he walks farther away from the open ramp to check on Blorn through his office window. The man had fallen back to sleep in his office chair.

Carefully and quietly, she walks up the ramp into the hangar of his ship scanning the walls and items within. She keeps her ears strained for nearby footsteps while constantly checking behind her towards the open entrance.

She didn't test her luck with opening any of the crates or closets. Luckily, she was able to notice a container on one of the higher shelves. Standing on her toes, she brushed her fingertips near the edge of the container and managed to pull it off of the shelf and allowing it to fall into her open arms.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the length of the container as the end of it hit against the wall on the way down.

She quietly gasps and clenches her eyes closed, clutching the container to her chest. The girl silently hoped to the maker that he didn't notice. However, a pair of footsteps began to vastly approach the ramp.

She didn't hesitate to stuff a handful of the contents into her pouch and sprint out of the ship, narrowly dodging a gloved hand that attempted to grab the end of her cloak.

"Hey!"

She didn't look back. She didn't slow down.

It was still dark, but the sky was notably lighter. Signaling the sun was about to rise.

She had to escape him before the sun came up.

She ran through the dirt roads of the town, weaving between and behind the spaces of the establishments.

The steps of boots faded behind her, but she didn't even spare a glance. The girl continued to run until her body forced her to slow down. Head spinning and vision fading, she stumbled into the forest and collapsed against one of the trees, panting heavily to soothe her burning lungs.

Yet after her heart rate slowed her head continued to spin, and black spots danced in her vision. She fought against her heavy eyelids threatening to close, aggressively shaking her head to stay awake.

Noticing the sun rising, she shakily pushes herself to her feet and prepares to run back to her tent before a sudden force pulls her back by her cloak, choking her slightly.

Her hood was yanked off her head and she was turned around by her shoulders. A silver helmet with an uneasy blank visor stared her down intensely. The grip on her shoulders momentarily loosened before firmly holding her, ensuring she wouldn't escape.

"What did you take."

The modulator within his helmet enhanced his voice to an intimidating tone that yells 'shoot first, demand answers later'. The numerous weapons on his body further proved that statement.

Her body began to tremble.

Seeing the young girl's obvious distress and reluctance to answer Mando lessens the threat within his voice. "If you show me what you took. Slowly. I won't hurt you."

The look on the girl's face expressed uncertainty; her hands fiddling with the ends of her cloak.

"Okay, look." He pulls his hands back and lowers them to his sides while taking a single step back. "I promise I'm not going to do anything as long as you promise to show what you took from me, okay?" He firmly says.

The girl hesitantly nods and lifts her hand with her pinky up. Mando quietly sighs and wraps his own around hers, solidifying their promises. With the same hand, she slowly reaches into the pouch attached to her hip and pulls out multiple ration packets.

"Is that all?" Mando skeptically asks, expecting something more valuable but the girl avoids eye contact and nods. Suddenly, an aggressive growl rumbles from her stomach and she pulls the packets close to her chest.

"Can I at least keep one?" She asks in a mumble, still directing her gaze away from his visor. Deciding to keep one in her pouch in case he rejects her request.

Before he could answer, he notices her eyes widen at something behind him from above, and he turns around with his blaster drawn only for it to be knocked away and his body tackled to the ground.

The girl throws herself to the side avoiding being crushed. The masked man struggled against the large feline creature, pushing against its neck to avoid its snapping teeth that attempted to reach for his unarmored neck. It scratched at his armor in frustration, succeeding at tearing some of the fabric underneath and nicking the skin.

She pushes herself back in fear, watching the feline raise its sharp tail in the air, and the spikes along its spine flexing upward, indicating it's about to strike. Hastily, she looks around to find the discarded blaster, spotting it on the dirt ground.

She grabs it and instantly fires, underestimating the recoil. Her arm was harshly forced back and she dropped the blaster. The creature yelped in pain as the shot burned into its hind leg, adverting its attention to the young girl.

With a snarl, its sharp tail whipped around and sliced at her face. She covered her face with a cry and suddenly felt a puncture into her stomach. Her hands immediately went to her abdomen, feeling the warmth of blood spread throughout the brown fabric of her shirt.

She didn't acknowledge the open wound on her face, nor the taste of metallic on her tongue. Her teary gaze was focused on the feline who prowled closer to her before leaping.

A blaster shot was fired and a large weight collapsed on her. For a moment, the girl was comforted by the warm soft fur, but the pain within her stomach amplified and she let out a weak groan before falling unconscious.

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