Against the Odds

Chapter 5: The Haunted

This one is a doozy :)

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Vella and the Mandalorian sat in the cockpit staring at a star chart, looking for the next docking point on their journey to where Din's lead was. A lead to a search Vella still had no information about, nor did she think she would. After she fully healed and Din got whatever he was looking for from this lead of his, they'd take care of her crew and go their separate ways.

The two knew they would run out of credits by the time they could go up against her ex-crew so they decided to take a job if they found one and hopefully that'd last them. So their next refueling stop would hopefully come with a little extra credits. If things went according to plan, which they rarely did.

Vella's eyes watched the Child as he rested on his father's lap, carefully grasping at the holographic stars and wondering why he couldn't grab anything. It didn't discourage him from trying though, Din kept having to get a better hold on the kid so he didn't slip off and fall.

A small smile graced Vella's lips as she felt his playful attitude almost put a sweet feeling through the Force. She had to admit, especially to herself, that it would be hard to leave him. She let out a quiet but deep breath. She knew she'd be able to leave, she always was.

"What about Ord Mantell?" Vella asked.

"That's old Black Sun territory, too risky," he disagreed.

"No, it was Black Sun territory. The whole syndicate is gone, where's your optimism?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"I don't have any," he replied flatly.

Her brow somehow raised farther. "I'm beginning to understand that."

His visor stayed facing her in what she assumed was a glare. She knew exactly what that look meant. "Alright, fine," she chuckled, shaking her head, "we'll find somewhere else."

Neither, of course, made any immediate suggestions. Their eyes danced from one planet to the other, skipping the ones they found any serious grievances with. But finding one without any grievances was proving to be a difficult task for the ex-rebel slash secret Jedi and a Mandalorian bounty hunter.

She never would have guessed the reason for his lack of optimism, in this instance especially, but she could tell it was serious. Fear and anger spilled through the Force from him even if she could see nothing of the man himself. "Are you alright?" She asked softly.

His helmet tilted up to meet her gaze. "Fine."

Vella's eyebrow raised but she didn't press the subject, turning back to the chart. He was lying and they both knew it. But she didn't know why, and very much doubted she ever would.

Din thought back to the Empire, what they'd done to his people. And now, with all that'd happened recently, the Empire was slowly revealing it wasn't as destroyed as had earlier been thought. Black Sun could be just as alive, and in fact thriving in the chaos of changing powers. He wasn't going to take any chances.

Vella stared at the chart but her eyes slowly drifted back towards the Mandalorian. The question was quite literally on the tip of her tongue even if she already knew his response. Not that it would stop her from asking.

"So, what happened to your buddy-buddy relationship with the bounty hunters guild?" Vella asked. She couldn't physically see the glare he was sending her, but she could feel the hole it was drilling into her head.

Din hadn't forgotten about the first time he laid eyes on her. She had no importance to him then so he paid no mind to the woman who watched him intently in that bar on Nevarro. Little did he know that seemingly insignificant woman was going to turn into such a menace in his life. And he wasn't sure how he felt about it. With every life threatening encounter he was raising his price rate and questioning his choice to even get involved.