Another Galactic Adventure

04. The Failed Mutiny

A space oddity. A bundle of green and brown, old but young, sat calm amongst the crowd of mercenaries. Its black eyes gazed at them all, shifting from side to side until it stood up in a panic. A whimper escaped its throat as its tiny hand pressed against the wall.

Mayfeld, who had pushed Burg away from the door, was the first to have full sight of the child. He outlined the small figure with his eyes but couldn't understand why a small baby looked so old. This was a baby, after all, and babies were smooth-skinned and dumb and fragile.

This was but a lump of wrinkles.

Xi'an, who was standing behind Mayfeld, placed her slim fingers on his shoulders to hold herself in place. She had stood on her toes, squeaking her boots, to get a closer look. Seeing the baby made her grimace.

"What in the world is that?" Mayfeld's hands seemed to gain a mind of their own as he reached for the child. Being a baby, he expected it to be lightweight and squishy. Most babies, no matter the species, were as such. "Is... Is it a pet you keep around here or something?"

The child remained in the air, looking to each pair of eyes that were glued onto its ears. Its whimpers stretched throughout the entire hull. Annalisa remained in the restroom after having been pushed onto the ground close to the toilet. She was lucky her braid didn't fall into the bowl. A low growl rumbled in her throat as the urge to push everyone away from the baby grew. Instead, she blew a strand of hair away from her mouth before speaking.

"He is a child and I ask that you—"

As Annalisa pulled herself out of the bathroom, she realized the Mandalorian had blocked her path. He stood with his back to her, completely still in that armor of beskar. She couldn't see out the doorway, thanks to him. That cape of his stood watch, ensuring she couldn't escape the sorry excuse of a fresher.

"Mandalorian, please." Her hand near his back, warm from the heat his cape harbored, she thought to push him. "This isn't funny."

That stoic helmet of his turned just enough to see her face. It was difficult to tell what the Mandalorian was really looking at. From a normal point of view, his helmet was directed at Mayfeld and the child. For Annalisa, she could feel his line of sight. It was an invisible line, a laser almost, pointing right at her.

Her arm slowly fell from the Mandalorian's cape as she averted her eyes.

"Maker, why do you have to be that way?" the Jedi muttered. She backed into the fresher, standing next to the mirror inside. Arms crossed, all that was missing from her demeanor was a pout.

In the hull, Mayfeld continued his conversation with himself, asking all sorts of questions of how this strange child came about. He pondered if the Mandalorian had stolen it from its mother, or if he had bought it off of someone. In the end, the mercenary settled that it was the result of a fling between Xi'an and the hunter.

"Oh, please," the purple Twi'lek cackled with a lifted hand, "we could never make that. We had fun trying. A lot of fun."

A seductive wink directed at the Mandalorian, complete with a licking of the lips, made the others in the hull laugh. All except for Annalisa, as a lamp had been lit over her head. Her broody mood had evaporated as her freckled face peeked out from behind the Mandalorian's shiny armor.

"You two have been intimate with each other?" Almost breaking into laughter herself, her toothy grin matched that of Xi'an. The Mandalorian in front of her seemed to disappear just as she had to him. "How? He's so—"

"Quiet? Shy?" With the strut she took on as she played with her lekku, it was clear she was enjoying the current conversation. She stood in front of the Mandalorian, staring into his visor with wide eyes. "Oh, I know. I actually quite like him that way."