Lone Wolf

The Smuggler

Kella didn't need to worry long. They reached the ship in under an hour, but when she first saw it, she couldn't help but wonder if the thing would fly. The lowest quality ships on Paraluxe were usually the transports that brought goods from the core planets, and those were top of the line compared to this. Kella reined in her facial expression before her new friend saw. Men had a tendency to get emotionally attached to their vehicles.

He must've noticed anyway because he said, "She may not look like much, but the Razor Crest is a good ship. She'll get us where we need to go. Speaking of which, where can I drop you?" He carried the stolen loot up the ship's loading ramp, grunting from the effort.

Kella trailed behind. She wasn't sure how to answer. Her routine up to now had been completely predictable: work, eat, sleep, repeat; but leaving had been a split second decision. She'd read about a thousand places that sounded better than here—worlds with endless forests and tropical beaches, worlds rich for farming or booming with commerce. In this case, the most important consideration was to choose a planet that wouldn't extradite her back to Paraluxe for abetting a robbery. Maybe something in the outer rim? Aloud, she said, "Uh, I'm not sure... Where are you headed?"

Mando sighed. This was just what he needed, another dependent. The sooner he dropped the girl off, the better. "We're going to rendezvous with the buyer for that," he motioned with his thumb at the vase, "and then I have an errand to run." Mando hit the control to open the door of his small bunk room. It slid open, revealing a tiny creature with long green ears and big, dark eyes. Mando greeted the child, "Hey bud, did you have a good nap?"

Kella froze. She had never seen anything so adorable. Its eyes blinked sleepily and the little arms stretched upward as a huge yawn came out of its tiny mouth. When its eyes turned to take in Kella, she waved and said, "Hi sweetie!" The little one blinked again, babbled something in baby talk, and toddled toward her with a grin. Kella didn't even try to stop her squeal of "Awww!" She knelt down to the child's level and he came right up and began playing with the metal clasps on the sides of her boots. "What's your name little guy?" she cooed.

She had almost forgotten about her host until he answered, "He doesn't have a name yet." The man started up a ladder to what she assumed was the cockpit. "You should both come get strapped in. We need to leave before anyone comes looking for us." He disappeared to the upper level. It struck Kella for the first time how clear his voice sounded despite the helmet. It must have a good quality speaker.

Kella smiled at the toddler. "No name, huh? If it's okay with you, I think I'll call you Sweetie because you're sooo sweet." He seemed alright with that and lifted his arms to be picked up. She carried him up the ladder and found the cockpit easily. There was a baby-sized, hollow silver orb that had a blanket in the bottom. It must've been his spot because the toddler leaned toward it to be put in. Kella sat in the passenger chair and buckled up. The ship started noisily with a shudder, but otherwise seemed space worthy. Once they passed the atmosphere and the view outside was just black space and stars, she found herself examining the back of the pilot's head. It was a bit unnerving that she still didn't know what he looked like. She cleared her throat and asked, "Don't you ever take off that helmet?"

He didn't turn to face her. "No," he said. "I'm Mandalorian." As if that explained everything.

"Mandalorian?" she asked. She'd never met one but thought she remembered reading about them. "How can you fit all those arms in there?"

He sighed deeply. She'd noticed he did that a lot around her. "You're thinking of Amadolians. I'm Mandalorian; we don't reveal our faces to others." Maybe Kella had never heard of his people, but she figured if he never removed his armor, they were likely a warrior race. Or in his case, warrior thieves. He took a deep breath and addressed her again, "So, Miss, I think it would be—"