The Princess, The Pea And The Bounty Hunter

Chapter Three: Filthy...

"Oh, my goodness...!" Litha exclaimed as she reached the top of the ladder, only to be greeted with the sight of a little green babe draped in beige...

As she finished climbing in, she couldn't help but to drop her bag and sit on the floor with the little fellow, "By the Force, you look just like my Master!" she beamed as the little one came toddling into her arms, "Aren't you just the most magnificent little man I ever saw...!" she cooed to him as she took him up and pressed her forehead against his.

Mando couldn't help but to pause at this interaction, "You know what he is...?" he questioned with interest, closing off the airlock behind him before making his way up toward the cockpit where the girl followed.

"Of course! He's the same race as Jedi Master Yoda. They're an ancient people with strong ties to the Force that live for nearly a thousand years..." she halted a moment to climb the ladder behind Mando, "...Where in the Galaxy did you ever find him?" she inquired and that's when he stopped beside his pilot's chair.

He didn't want to lie, he really didn't...but standing with a politician, he needed to choose his words wisely, "I was hired to collect him for an Old Empire fanatic...they were going to experiment on him, unknown to me. They even tried to pay me off with the beskar I'm wearing..." he hesitated for a moment, guilt evident in his voice, "...but I couldn't leave him behind. So, I took my payment, took him back and shot up the Bounty Hunter's Guild... my Guild just to get away," he confessed and Litha realized as she looked down at the babe in her arms.

"They wanted him for his gifts," she said then, knowing that keeping secrets the child wasn't even old enough to tell or understand would do no one any good, "His connection to the Force via the midichlorians in his blood. It's the same reason the Empire wanted Anikan Skywalker and his son Luke after him," she elaborated and Mando turned to look at her in shock.

"You...know an awful lot about the Force for a politician," he pointed out warily, though she would not deny this.

Litha nodded, adjusting her hold on the babe in her arms, letting him hold on to one of her fingers as a pained sort of smile came to her now, "Every politician has their secrets...mine just happens to put me in the same situation as this child, because..." she waved a hand over her chest and a necklace came to float out from underneath the collar of her suit.

The pendant was a violet crystal wrapped in a net of black wire which was held firmly by a spiral of thicker wire of the same color at the top, strung upon a black chain, "...Because I am a Jedi...trained by Master Yoda and...and, uh..." she couldn't say it. She couldn't bring herself to say his name.

"And who?" Mando questioned rather sharply then.

"And a Zabrak warrior," technically, this wasn't lying...

Mando bowed his head then, "Not too many of them left in the Galaxy after what the Night Sisters did to their race...good fighters though," he respected them, at the very least and this relieved Litha as he took a seat to prepare for take off...

She would have to find a way to tell him the whole truth, eventually...

***

After remotely blowing her ship and jumping to hyper space, Litha would take time to get acquainted with the little one...

"It's cozy, huh, buddy?" she cooed as she carried this little green baby in her arms, "Now, where is..." she paused to look around the lower deck, finding what looked like a tiny kitchenette after a bit of looking... finding it buried beneath a belt of grenades, two ruined shoulder plates and...what appeared to be a half eaten candy bar.

"Mando, your kitchen is a hazard!" she exclaimed as she cleared away the mess, setting the little one on the counter.

"I live alone and the kid's too little to reach! I don't think about it!" he called back from the cockpit above while she worked to scrub out the sink, "Are you-" he realized, "Are you cleaning my ship?!"

"It's filthy!" she hissed up at him, filling the sink with warm water before fetching her toiletries from her duffle bag.

Mando growled under his breath before shouting, "It's mine!" while she helped the little one out of his robes and into the soapy water.

Litha rolled her eyes as she lathered a bar of sweet smelling soap with a soft cloth between her hands, "So is this small green child and he's dirty, too! He's getting a bath!" she scolded the Mandalorian before getting to work on the little one...

Careful to keep soap and water away from his adorably large brown eyes and floppy ears...