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hottpinkpenguin · 11 days

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Reasons, Ch.6 - Cassian Andor series

Female reader insert Summary: You're a droidsmith on Ferrix when a handsome stranger walks in one day with a hopelessly damaged droid. You agree to take on the repairs for the stranger, a decision that will change the direction of your lives forever. Word Count: 2,260 Content Warnings for: canon-divergence; cursing Taglist: @mithicakurogo @nonniecannie @freerangesweets @zbeez-outlet @chicken-fifi @queerponcho @theatergirlmgm @oh-yeah-i-exist @shakespeareanlead @idontevenknow1359

The sound of waves licking the sandy beach below had become a steady soundtrack that pounded around your head all hours of the day and night. You’d at first been mesmerized by the planet Niamos - to think, its inhabitants lived within full eyesight of an ocean at all times - but now, almost three and a half months after your frenetic arrival, boredom mixed with fear had gotten inextricably mixed with the sounds and smells of the ocean and you realized that you hated it here. Especially without Cassian.

He hadn’t stayed long, maybe two days. He’d dumped you in this beautiful, empty house and left with barely a word…

“I need to see my contact on Coruscant.” His dark eyes were red-rimmed from lack of sleep and cold. “Need to sort out safe passage for you. Get forged papers, new documents. It’ll take a while.”

You’d breathed in a heavy, long breath. Exhaustion had settled deep in the center of your bones, but what choice did you have? You were a fugitive now.

You nodded numbly, looking longing out through the perpetually-open wall of glass at the ocean stretched out to the horizon line.

“I’ll go pack,” you replied, sliding out of the chair you were in and heading towards the bedroom you were staying in. “Won’t take long.”

Cassian caught your hand as you turned away. His touch sent electricity ricocheting up your arm, stealing your breath. You turned back to him, wondering if you looked as hopeful as you felt.

“I’m going alone,” he clarified. His voice sounded sad and far away, but those dark, bottomless eyes revealed nothing.

You didn’t know what to say. What to ask. Where would you stay? Here, you supposed, only because there was nowhere else to go. You’d realized very quickly that the Galaxy was massive, and you’d never left Ferrix before. The only person that you knew out here was Cassian, and laying claim to ‘knowing’ him felt like a lie. You felt that now more than ever. You didn’t really know him at all.

You felt yourself give a shrug. Half resignation, half confusion. Cassian watched you quietly as you slid back into the chair, your eyes returning to the waves. Each time a new wave boiled up from the ocean depths, crested, and then crashed in a spray of foam on the seashore, you felt a new emotion rise up and crash open inside you. Grief. Rage. Despair. Terror.

You don’t know how long you’d sat there, staring at the sea. After a long while of sitting still and thinking, you said the only thing that really mattered to you anymore. “Don’t forget to come back for me.”

Cassian hadn’t said a word after that. He’d simply slipped out the door without so much as a backwards glance. Leaving you to the empty house that looked out over the empty ocean…

The realization that Cassian wasn’t coming back for you had hit you somewhere around week seven. He hadn’t left a way for you to contact him, or vice versa. He hadn’t sent anyone to check on you. He hadn’t squirreled away a secret note or some small token of his remembrance. It was like he’d never been here at all. And that was by design. He was covering his tracks. Sure, you were on the run. But so was he.

You wondered where in the escape things had gone sideways. He’d seemed so deliriously guilty about getting you tied up with the Empire when he’d broken into your home on Ferrix. He’d been tender in taking care of you after hyperdrive sickness, and then he’d brought you here. To safety. Because he cared… right?

There was one moment that everything had pivoted. You could barely bring yourself to think of it. Your cheeks burned with embarrassment (and desire, if you were completely truthful) each time you relived that kiss. It had to be the kiss. You’d crossed a line, you told yourself. Cassian was just trying to save your skin, and you’d gone and made it some sort of tragedy-romance mashup of bad luck and bad decisions when you’d slapped your lips on his. I’ve always been a good actor. You’d never forget those words. He’d been acting as the good guy, trying to make up for his wrongs by pulling you out of Ferrix. But that’s where it had ended. You’d fallen for his show, and you’d ruined everything. And now, you were alone. Just you and the ocean.

Three and a half months was a long time to be by yourself. You’d managed to get by on the credits you’d had the sense to pack before fleeing your home, but that supply was dwindling. Pretty soon you’d have to make a choice: go home, or set up shop here. You’d have to fix droids. It was all you knew. But setting up shop somewhere new was bound to be fraught with challenges. You didn’t know the market, didn’t have a customer base. There were bound to be other droidsmiths on Niamos, so you’d be making enemies while you were bowing and scraping, taking whatever anyone would throw at you, all in the name of buying trust and goodwill and maybe, hopefully, a repeat customer.

But worst of all, setting up shop here felt final. Setting up shop here meant that you wouldn’t be leaving. That this was home now. And, at the end of the day, that meant that Cassian wasn’t coming back.

You hated him for leaving you, but not enough to give up all hope. Not yet. You counted the credits you had left. One more week, you thought to yourself. If he’s not back by then, I’ll start looking for shop space.

An empty promise, you knew. You’d made the same one for the last four weeks.

* * * * * * * * *

Cassian felt fire burning in his veins as he held Senator Mothma’s gaze, her last words hanging heavy in the darkness between them.

“I cannot afford to wait another week,” Cassian growled through gritted teeth, his hands trembling at his side. “It’s been almost four months already, Senator.”

Senator Mothma fidgeted uncomfortably with the large hood that obscured her face from the ambient light of a Coruscant night. They were quite alone in the rancid-smelling alley that Cassian had chosen for their meet-up, but the hum of the city-planet rang in their ears. A reminder to be quick, and be on their way.

“I’m sorry, Cassian, I truly am, but I simply canno-”

“Senator, with respect, I am tired of your apologies.” Cassian was pacing now, his voice breaking free of the constraints of whispering. His temper was fracturing with impatience. “My contact on Niamos is in constant danger, and you’ve kept us waiting for four months for papers!”

“Cassian, please.” The Senator cast a shifty glance around. No one was listening, but the last thing either of them needed was to make a spectacle of the exchange. A Senator caught in a clandestine midnight meeting with a known Rebellion agitator would do neither of them any good. To say nothing of the warrant for Cassian’s arrest and the bounty price of half a million credits on his head. Or the Senator’s deeply scrutinized allegiances and alleged ties to the Aldhani incident.

Cassian tried to calm himself, but he was beyond reason. All he could see was your eyes, the way you’d crumpled when he’d told you he was coming to Coruscant alone. It had nearly broken him to leave you there, but the brutal calculus of life as a wanted criminal demanded the utmost adherence to scruples. Cassian couldn’t risk your life just to keep you near him. It would have been easy - too easy - to delude himself into thinking that the safest place for you was by his side. Right where he wanted you. But he’d already proven himself near-fatal to you, almost getting you good and shot on Ferrix just by trying to pay off his massive debt with some traced credits. And all that had been before that goddamned kiss. After that, he was sunk. Totally enraptured. He knew it from the instant he felt your lips on his. No, he was in far too deep. If it was the last thing he did, Cassian Andor meant to make good on his promise to you: he needed to get you set up somewhere safe and then make it so that you never saw him again. It was the best way - the only way - he could see to keep you safe. And as badly as he wanted you, he wanted you alive. More than anything, that was what mattered.

He reminded himself of all of this, one painstaking bitter pill at a time. Slowly, incrementally, he felt the fire begin to burn off as his mind cleared to reason. When he finally felt calm enough to speak, he rounded on Senator Mothma.

“Senator, it gives me no pleasure to do this, but I simply cannot wait any longer. If I don’t have the papers I’ve requested - and paid for, mind you - by tomorrow, I’ll have to take matters in my own hands.”

Senator Mothma inhaled, her chin jutting out proudly as her eyes simmered. “And just what does that mean, Cassian?” Puffed up and haughty, but Cassian saw a flicker of fear in the back of her eyes. She knew a threat when she heard one. And Cassian had been honest about one thing: it really didn’t give him any pleasure to play this hand with the Senator. She was a noble woman, strong in her beliefs and an astoundingly deft political operative. Smart and confident. Cassian respected her immensely. But, when all was said and done, she was proving to be a hindrance. Cassian had promises to fulfill. Or rather, promise. Singular. Your safety. He was determined that nothing - not the Senator’s delicate political situation, not an outstanding warrant for his arrest, not an entire garrison of Imperial Storm Troopers - would stand in his way.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to find out, Senator.”

For a few tense seconds, the two of them sized each other up in the hazy darkness. Cassian’s gaze was steely, his resolve never stronger. Three months, three weeks, two days. His internal clock screeched like a tea kettle. Too long.

After a few breaths, Senator Mothma deflated slightly, her head sagging on her proud neck. The way she crumpled, like a kite that’s lost its breeze, reminded Cassian of the way you’d looked as he’d left you alone by the seashore on Niamos. The memory brought the threat of tears to his eyes.

“I’ll get them to you,” the Senator agreed. Her voice sounded stretched and thin. Cassian felt a pang of guilt for having to push her to this. He knew what she was risking - her career in the Senate, her daughter’s and husband’s safety, her own life - to get these forged identichips. Ever since the Empire had assumed power, identichips had become mandatory for Imperial citizens to carry at all times. Forged chips had quickly flourished as one of the most lucrative corners of the black market, but the Empire had expended considerable effort on quashing that enterprise in its infancy. Those willing to alter identichips were few and far between now; those willing to forge entirely new ones, even fewer. Only the very wealthy had enough credits to realistically purchase such a service, but forgers made themselves extremely scarce in efforts to avoid Imperial imprisonment. Not that Cassian blamed them - wasn’t that the fate he was trying to save you from, after all? - but their secretiveness had proven an unexpected time suck on his plans. Months had dragged by before Senator Mothma had even made contact with one, and now her order hadn’t been delivered on schedule. Cassian wasn’t sure what it would cost her to extort the identichips tonight, but he couldn’t allow himself to backtrack now.

“Thank you.” He exhaled heavily, unsure if he felt relieved or more terrified than before. He’d been focusing for so long on getting the identichips that he hadn’t let himself think too hard on what would come after. Were you still on Niamos? Would you still want his help? Had the Empire found you? Were you still alive at all?

Unwilling to follow those thoughts any further, Cassian simply handed Senator Mothma a small strip of paper with a ship’s name and docking location scribbled on it. “I’m leaving at midday tomorrow,” he told her as she crumpled the paper and slipped it into the pocket of her robe. “Make sure my chips are on board by then.”

She nodded again - a sad, completely exhausted acquiescence - and turned on her heels, vanishing into the foggy street. Cassian watched as she left, listening to the sound of her retreating footsteps. She was walking away with the power to make or break him, Cassian realized. If she didn’t deliver those chips, and Cassian couldn’t get back to you…

He wasn’t sure what that would mean for him, except that his heart turned to ash in his chest whenever he thought of that possibility. Steeling himself against the mix of dread, relief, and adrenaline sitting on his shoulders, he turned the collar up on his coat and turned in the opposite direction from the Senator. He threw up a silent thought for you - all alone by the seaside in a beautiful, empty house - hundreds of thousands of miles away, but somehow still the closest thing he had to home.

*more chapters coming soon! please let me know if you'd like to be tagged for future chapters

#cassian andor fanfiction #cassian andor angst #cassian andor imagine #cassian andor #cassian andor x reader #andor imagine #andor #diego luna x you #diego luna x reader #diego luna fanfiction #diego luna imagine #diego luna

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swan-of-sunrise · 1 year

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Taking Care of Business (Chapter Thirty-Two)

Summary: Din and (Y/N) try and ultimately fail to repair IG-11 and after a discouraging visit to a droidsmith's workshop, they decide that their best chance at repairing the loyal droid lay with Peli Motto.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: So, how did you guys like the season finale? I thought it was pretty good and it gave me lots of ideas for the future of this fic lol but until then, we’re still on Nevarro for the moment. Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Two The Droid (Previous Chapter)

“If I knew that you were this skilled at rewiring I would’ve had you work on the Razor Crest much more often,” Din remarked as he worked alongside (Y/N) to repair IG-11; there wasn’t much of the droid left in the wake of its self-destruction to work on, but the wiring was complex and thanks to his wife’s precise touch, she could handle even the most delicate wires without inadvertently damaging them more than they already were.

(Y/N) smiled but kept her eyes focused on her work. “Just like a bounty hunter to suggest that. Would you have had me clean your weapons and carbon-freeze all your bounties for you, too?”

“Perhaps it’s better that you stuck to flying the ship; I hear that smugglers tend to think that anything outside of piloting is too taxing on them.”

His wife glanced away from her soldering long enough to give him a playful glare and as she went back to work, she mumbled under her breath, “Keep talking like that, and I might just have to put a stop to our usual nighttime activities; you know, since apparently anything outside of piloting is too taxing on me.”

Beneath his helmet, Din smirked at the captain’s teasing threat. “Mir’sheb.” While they both started to finish repairing the droid’s wiring, his smile slowly faded and he was filled with a familiar sense of guilt.

Their honeymoon on Naboo had been an absolute dream; they spent their days playing with Grogu and exploring the Lake Country of (Y/N)’s beloved homeworld, and their nights were spent locked in each other’s passionate embrace. But, as with all dreams, it came to an end when Din decided to seek out the Living Waters and atone for his transgression against the Creed. He felt guilty enough as he explained his plan to his wife, but his guilt compounded when she readily agreed and he spotted the quick flash of disappointment in her eyes before she could hide it. (Y/N) had lived a life that was nothing short of traumatic; she never knew her father, she’d lost her mother and was forced to flee her homeworld of Naboo when she was only twelve, she spent her adolescence engulfed in the dangerous life of a smuggler, and she’d witnessed the horrors of war firsthand as she worked to save thousands of lives on behalf of the Rebellion. If anyone was deserving of peace, it was her and yet, she chose to marry a Mandalorian apostate and become the co-caregiver to a powerful Force-wielding foundling. One day I’ll earn the love and trust she’s given me, he silently vowed as he studied her beautiful features, and one day she’ll have the peace she’s always desired but never truly experienced.

“There,” (Y/N) straightened and set down her soldering gun before removing her safety goggles and wiping the sweat off her brow. “He’s hooked up to power.”

“Let’s see if we can wake him up.” Din leaned past Grogu, who stood on the work table and had watched their progress with curious eyes, and held two exposed wires together until they finally sparked and smoked; when IG-11 remained motionless, Greef shot him a knowing look but Din remained hopeful that the droid would wake. After a tense moment, the droid’s hand began to twitch and his lights flickered on as he started to sit up, and Din started to smile underneath his helmet.

The High Magistrate chuckled in amazement. “There you go!”

(Y/N) beamed and Grogu let out a delighted coo as IG-11 struggled to speak. “Sub-paragraph sixteen-teen-teen…of t-the Bondsman Guild protocol w-waiver…” Din froze and his heart hammered in his chest as the droid’s familiar words. “Immediately produce said…the bounty is mine. Asset to be terminated.”

IG-11’s lights turned red and he lunged towards Grogu, but Din quickly scooped the child up into his arms and backed away; the droid rolled itself onto the ground and started to crawl towards them, and Din was forced to draw his blaster and fire. The blaster fire did nothing to deter IG-11, so he looked up and over at (Y/N). “Alor’ad!”

(Y/N) held her arms out and caught Grogu after Din tossed him across the room, cradling the child against her chest and drawing her own blaster as IG-11 started crawling in her direction. Greef wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her backwards as he shouted, “Mando, shoot it! Shoot it!”

Din and (Y/N)’s blaster fire started to slow the droid down, but it wasn’t until Greef’s protocol droid shoved a metallic bust of its master onto IG-11’s head that the droid finally shut down for good. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and Din holstered his blaster with a weary shrug. “Now that’s using your head.”

His wife groaned at his terrible joke and shook her head in exasperation before giving the protocol droid a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“I think he defaulted to his old programming…”

Greef huffed out a humorless laugh. “You think? Come, I may have a solution to your problem…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There’s still a chance we could bypass IG-11’s old programming and rewire his circuitry,” (Y/N) remarked as she handed Grogu a piece of candy. The three of them walked down one of Nevarro’s less crowded streets, with Din pushing a hover-cart piled high with the droid’s parts and Grogu seated next to them and both Greef and (Y/N) walking alongside it. “It’ll be a two-person job, of course. One doing the rewiring while the other prepares to smash its head in just in case…”

“That’s too big a job for you two to do by yourself.” Greef gestured at the city surrounding them and smiled. “Fortunately, Nevarro has attracted the best droidsmiths of the Outer Rim; they’ll have IG back to his old self in no time!”

Beneath his helmet, Din grimaced in doubt. “Are you sure they’re up for it? I don’t think we can handle him with all his limbs if things go scud.”

“Why don’t you ask ‘em for yourself?”

Din frowned and glanced around the empty street. “Who?”

“The Anzellans.”

(Y/N) nudged Din’s arm and gestured to the base of the building beside them; there were two doors, one small and one slightly larger, and standing outside of the smaller door was a grumbling Anzellan with safety goggles resting on his wrinkled head. “Whadda want?”

Greef took a knee – careful not to get too much dirt on his High Magistrate robes – and pointed to the hover-cart. “Could you take a look at my friends’ droid and see if you can’t fix it?”

“C’mon, c’mon,” The Anzellan pointed to the larger door before disappearing back into the building.

Shrugging, (Y/N) got down onto the ground and crawled into the droidsmith’s workshop and as Grogu hopped down to follow, Din shot Greef a look; the High Magistrate simply shrugged and nodded towards the opening. “I promise you, these are the best droidsmiths that money can buy. Just give ‘em a chance, hey, Mando?”

Din heaved a sigh but relented, crawling into the workshop after his wife and foundling and doing his best to sit comfortably in the cramped space while Greef shoved the remains of IG-11 in for the Anzellans to examine. While they waited for the crew of droidsmiths to finish with their assessment, (Y/N) pulled out the knapsack she was making for Grogu and worked some more on it and Grogu, unused to seeing creatures that were his own size, watched the Anzellans work with unabashed fascination in his wide eyes.

After several minutes of unsuccessful soldering, the head droidsmith shook his tiny head in disappointment. “No. Can’t fix. No, no, no. The broken.”

“…Um, okay…”

“The broken. It broke.”

Din sighed. “I don’t understand. Do you speak Huttese?”

“Mando, he said he can’t fix it,” Greef called out from his spot at the workshop’s entrance.

“That’s no good, I need this one.” He pointed at the droid’s remains and then back at himself. “This one’s my friend.”

The Anzellan merely shook his head. “It no friend anymore. Memory circuit broken.”

“He says the memory circuit is shot!”

(Y/N) scooted forward and gave the head droidsmith a patient smile. “Can you put a new one in?”

“No, no, no, no. Not work,” The Anzellan declared and the other droidsmiths chattered in agreement. “Don’t make new one. Very hard to find.”

“He said they don’t make ‘em anymore! They’re very hard to find!”

Din’s jaw clenched in annoyance at Greef’s translation. “I got it.”

“Buy new droid, this one poodoo.” The droidsmiths all burst into laughter.

As (Y/N)’s hand gave the unarmored part of his arm a gentle squeeze of support, Din asked through gritted teeth, “Can you fix it without the memory circuit?”

“Yes, but IG no think.”

A sudden thought came to Din’s mind and after considering it for a moment, he followed the Anzellan’s statement with another question. “What if we find you the part?”

The lead droidsmith nodded. “Okay, now. Then no problem. We fix.”

(Y/N) was smiling as she turned to face Din. “You’re thinking of paying Peli a visit, aren’t you?”

“If anyone’s got an IG memory circuit, it’s her.” He rested his gloved hand atop hers and nodded. “We’ll visit her after we go to Kalevala-”

“No! No! No! No! No!” They quickly looked over to see Grogu pulling the lead droidsmith into a tight hug. “No, down, down!”

Din stretched an arm out across the workshop to separate the two. “No, Grogu, he’s not a pet.”

“No, squeezie, not squeeze! Not squeeze!” When Din set the droidsmith down away from the child’s eager arms, he shook his head and scolded, “Bad baby! Oh, he’s a bad baby!”

The captain winced and gave the Anzellan an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. He’s young.”

“Bad baby, bad baby.” Grogu waited for a beat before lunging at the screaming Anzellan again. “Oh!”

“No, Grogu!” Both Din and (Y/N) reached out to grab the overexcited foundling and once he was safely nestled in (Y/N)’s arms, he finally started to relax his tense shoulders; after a quick trip to see an old friend on Tatooine, IG-11 would be back online in no time and they’d finally be ready to visit Mandalore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Greef watched as Din and (Y/N) climbed up into the starship and prepared for take-off. “We hope to see you three back here soon.”

“Keep IG-11 safe until we get back with that part,” Din requested as the captain input their coordinates for Kalevala.

The High Magistrate nodded but remained unconvinced of their plan. “If the Anzellans can’t find it, I don’t know who can.”

“Usually I’d agree, but I wouldn’t bet against Peli Motto,” (Y/N) remarked with a bright smile. “It was good to see you again, High Magistrate.”

Greef returned her grin with one of his own. “Safe travels.”

After sliding the windshield into place overhead, (Y/N) powered up the starfighter’s engines and eased the ship up into the clear blue sky. “All right, next stop: Bo-Katan.” They exited Nevarro’s upper atmosphere and the lights illuminating the ship’s dashboard began to flicker. “Dank farrik…” She gave the dashboard a light smack to fix it and chuckled as Grogu crawled into her lap with an inquisitive coo. “It’s okay, little guy, sometimes a planet’s atmosphere messes with a ship’s power. Our maps and charts are still functioning, so we’re good!”

“Being a Mandalorian’s not just learning about how to fight,” Din commented, resting one hand on his wife’s side and rubbing the child’s large ear with the other. “You also have to know how to navigate the galaxy, because you never know where you might be headed next.”

Grogu babbled in interest and looked between them both as (Y/N) began pointing at the various indicators on the ship’s dashboard. “This here’s your hyperspace map; you see how it shows the asteroid field we’re flying past? You determine your range by looking at your fuel gage, that’s right over here. And this-” An alarm began to blare and the cockpit was lit up with a red warning light. “Is your enemy proximity warning indicator.”

Din’s brow furrowed as he glanced around the empty space surrounding their starfighter and spotted the three snubfighters approaching from behind. “Hang on, kid, we got pirates…”

“Avast, Mandalorian!” The familiar voice of Vane the Nikto came through their ship’s communication radio. “You can’t just sneak away after cuttin’ down four of my brothers in cold blood. We’re Pirate King Gorian Shard’s men, now you’ll answer to him.”

(Y/N) rolled her shoulders and flexed her fingers in preparation before taking hold of the starship’s controls and replying, “Gorian Shard should stick to hijacking and ransoming.” Grogu slipped under the captain’s satchel strap and without warning, (Y/N) jerked the controls to send them shooting off into the nearby asteroid field.

Although he trusted (Y/N)’s piloting skills and had witnessed her pull off some remarkable flying in the past, he sat back and anxiously watched his wife dodge asteroids as the three pirates began firing at them. She steered the ship into a rapid corkscrew spin, and Din was forced to hold a giggling Grogu down to prevent him from falling out of his makeshift seat-belt; the three pirates continued their pursuit through the floating asteroids and as she smoothly exited the turning maneuver, the enemy proximity warning indicator sounded off while three more pirate ships approached from the side.

“Three more…” (Y/N) murmured under her breath but if anything, she sounded almost bored by the pirates’ attempt to lure her into a dogfight. Another sharp jerk of the controls sent them darting around more asteroids and after ducking under a particularly large one, she bent down to press a quick kiss onto Grogu’s wrinkled head. “Hold on tight, little guy.” She flipped the starfighter upside-down and sped over the top of the asteroid, firing at the unsuspecting pirates and managing to hit one of them, flying further into the asteroid field as the ship crashed into another asteroid and exploded. The five remaining pirate ships pursued them but with the dexterity of a true smuggler, (Y/N) maneuvered the starship behind a sizable asteroid without them noticing and waited for one to pass by before shooting it down.

“Head for that asteroid due east, it’s got a hollowed-out center,” Din suggested as he pointed to the asteroid floating in the distance.

(Y/N) sped off in its direction and flew the ship through the hollowed-out center, coming out of its other end just in time to shoot down a third pirate ship as it flew past. “Good call, sweetheart!” Twisting the controls to the side, the captain spun the ship around an asteroid and appeared behind the remaining three pirate ships, managing to shoot two of them down and race after the final ship but before she could shoot it, they came out of the asteroid field and were met with the sight of an enormous Cumulus Class Corsair before them. “Dank farrik,” (Y/N) cursed and Din’s eyes widened when he noticed the starship’s guns all pointed at their starfighter. “They’ve got a target lock on us…”

“Stop where you are, Pilot,” A grizzled voice came through the communication radio. “You’re outgunned.”

(Y/N) shifted in her seat but calmly replied, “It’s ‘Captain,’ actually.”

“Ah, Captain (Y/L/N), I might’ve known it was you!” Din’s brows shot up in surprise but he remained silent as the voice continued. “Turning your back on the smuggling life only to take up arms with a Mandalorian, I see.”

“We have no quarrel with you, Gorian Shard.”

“Ha! What a kind sentiment from a woman who just destroyed five of my fighters. Surrender your ship, and I will spare your lives…for old time’s sake.”

Din didn’t have to see his wife’s face to tell that she was rolling her eyes at the Pirate King’s offer. “Little guy?” Grogu cooed in interest as she flipped the cover off the Kineso-switch. “Never trust a pirate.”

With a push of the button, the starfighter shot off into space and past the Pirate King’s starship; while the child giggled in delight, she finished charting their course and launched them into hyperspace. “Well, that was exciting,” Din remarked with a proud smile, removing his helmet so that he could press kisses along her temple and down her cheek. “So, you had dealings with the Pirate King while you were a smuggler?”

“Only a handful, but Gorian Shard’s unpleasantness makes them pretty hard to forget.” (Y/N) took his helmet and held it upside-down so that Grogu could crawl inside, then turned her head to finally meet his gaze. “And apparently, I must’ve made quite the impression on him back in the day, otherwise he never would’ve remembered a scrappy smuggler like me.”

Din smiled at that. “You underestimate yourself, alor’ad. Everything about you, from your expert piloting skills down to your beautiful features, makes it impossible for one not to forget you. And speaking of your piloting skills, I’d happily show you just how much I admired them if we were alone right now.”

The captain grinned and kissed him as her fingers threaded through his hair, and she smiled against his lips when she finally pulled away. “In that case, can I possibly get a rain-check on that offer?”

“Mm-hmm,” He hummed and gave her another sweet kiss. “You can have whatever you want, alor’ad.”

While the starfighter traveled through the peaceful and quiet hyperspace and Grogu napped in his father’s beskar helmet, Din and (Y/N) spent their brief moments of calm engulfed in a world all their own, engaging in murmured conversation interspersed with plenty of kisses. It wasn’t much, of course, but it was time spent that Din cherished with all his heart, even more so as they came even closer to completing their newest mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is Kalevala,” Din spoke to Grogu as (Y/N) piloted the starfighter through the planet’s cloudy skies, smiling to himself when the child babbled in interest from his compartment in the back. “It’s another planet in the Mandalorian system, and that is a Mandalorian castle.”

(Y/N) whistled lowly as the grand Mandalorian castle perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean grew closer. “And here I thought my people were the dramatic ones when it comes to architecture…”

The starfighter lowered gracefully onto the castle’s landing pad and once the engines switched off, the windshield slid open and they were both pelted with rain as they climbed down. After releasing Grogu’s pram from his compartment, they walked up the stone steps and past a footman droid, entering the eerily silent castle and making their way down the main hall. Bo-Katan Kryze lounged across her throne, her expression blasé and almost disconnected as she looked away from the nearby window to fix their trio with a stare.

Din anxiously wet his lips before calling out, “Bo-Katan. It is Din Djarin and (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” They came to a stop before her throne’s dais. “We are here to join you.”

Bo-Katan’s expression didn’t change. “There’s nothing left to join.”

“What of your plans to retake Mandalore?” (Y/N) asked in confusion as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“When I returned without the Darksaber, my forces melted away.”

With a slight sense of guilt, Din exchanged a brief look with the captain standing beside him before glancing back up at the somber Mandalorian. “Where is the stolen fleet?”

“Making their way through the galaxy as mercenaries,” Bo-Katan replied, her eyes flicking over his form as she continued. “Do you still have the saber?”

“I do.”

“Then you lead them. Wave that thing around and they’ll do whatever you say.”

Din weighed his next words carefully. “So, you gave up your designs to retake Mandalore?”

The Mandalorian’s eyes hardened. “Your cult gave up on Mandalore long before the Purge. Where were you then?”

“Are you seriously blaming my husband for a massacre that happened when he was only a foundling?” (Y/N) demanded, her (Y/E/C) eyes filling with a dangerous gleam as she stepped forward. “Perhaps you should reflect on the failures of your homeworld’s leadership before placing the mark of blame on others.”

Bo-Katan hardly flinched at (Y/N)’s scathing retort. “The Children of the Watch and all the factions that came before fractured and shattered our people. No matter what conclusions can be drawn about my family’s leadership of Mandalore, Captain (Y/L/N), that remains an unmovable fact. Go home. There’s nothing left.”

(Y/N)’s jaw clenched but Din spoke up before she could. “We are going to Mandalore so that I may bathe in the Living Waters and be forgiven for my transgressions.”

“You are a fool,” She shook her head in derision. “There’s nothing magic about the mines of Mandalore; they supplied beskar ore to our ancestors and the rest is superstition. That planet has been ravaged, plundered and poisoned.”

“You said that the curse was a lie,” Din countered, his own irritation beginning to rise. “Make up your mind.”

Bo-Katan took a deep breath. “If you want to go to the mines, be my guest. They’re beneath the Civic Center in the city of Sundari.”

“Thank you.” Din placed a hand on the small of (Y/N)’s back and nodded. “And we will find out of the planet is really poisoned.”

They turned and as they walked back down the main hall, Din’s hand drifted down to slip into (Y/N)’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze as they walked out into the pelting rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mando’a Translations:

Mir’sheb-Smart-ass Alor’ad-Captain

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! Oh, and I’ve created a Spotify playlist of all my favorite music from the world of Star Wars, so if you’re interested in checking it out the link is down below!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KuSKJhVOPPvxdJ9YHeo4M?si=2977ff31bf0c4bdd

Chapter Thirty-Three

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty @sinon36 @seninjakitey @thatonedindjarinfan @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mostclevermiss @momc95 @welcometothepedroverse @sarahjkl82-blog @elinedjarin @itsnottilly @crowleysqueenofhell @goldielocks2004 @wondergal2001 @groovy-lady @impala1967666 @fluffy-canada-pancakes

#taking care of business #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #grogu #the child #baby yoda #greef karga #ig-11 #bo katan kryze #vane #star wars #din djarin x f!reader

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dindjarindiaries · 1 year

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Security - Chapter 53: The Burden

summary: The venture to Nevarro leaves the Djarin clan with more than they originally bargained for, and a trip to an old ally quickly turns sour.

warnings: canon-typical violence, references to trauma, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

word count: 5.192k

rating: T

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chapter 53: the burden

Waking up the next morning is almost cruel for Astra. It’s the first time she’s gotten to peacefully awaken in her husband’s arms for much too long, thanks to the miraculous lengthy slumber of their two children. Din rouses at the same time she does and kisses her enough to make up for whatever time they’ll lose on the journey ahead. They manage to drag themselves out of bed and prepare themselves as well as their children for the day’s adventures.

Greef is already in his office with IG-11’s parts when the Djarin family stops by. Din pushes the hovercart while Grogu sits atop it and lets the empty pram float by his side. Astra and Zora trail behind the magistrate and his old friend, the youngest Djarin babbling as she plays with Astra’s tunic.

“Say ‘Papa,’” Astra encourages her in a soft voice. Zora coos and smiles just at the sound of her father’s title. Astra takes one of her tiny hands and waves it at Din’s back. “‘Hi, Papa!’”

Zora giggles and waves on her own. “Baba!”

Din turns his helmet over his shoulder for a moment to face her. “Hi, Zozo,” he responds with warmth and a smile Astra can hear. He lifts a gloved hand to pat her head before he faces the way ahead again.

“Now, say ‘Mama,’” Astra continues. She points to herself. “‘Hi, Mama!’”

Zora makes a long mmm sound with a focused knit in her brow. Astra laughs and kisses her forehead.

“So close, Zo.” Astra points at Grogu. “Say hi to your brother. ‘Hi, Grogu!’”

Zora exhales a few sharp excited breaths and claps her hands together. “Go!”

Astra grins at her daughter. “That’s it, Zo! ‘Grogu!’”

“Go!” Zora cheers. Din steals another look at them, his helmet tilting in admiration of the adorable sound. “Go!”

Grogu’s ears lift on his head as he lets out a long coo of understanding. Din pats his head while Astra’s smile only grows wider. There’s not a single thing she wouldn’t do for this precious family of hers.

“You’ve got quite the family here, Mando,” Greef says with hardly disguised warmth. “That’s why this is too big a job for you to do by yourself.” He gestures to the parts of IG-11. “Fortunately, Nevarro has attracted the best droidsmiths of the Outer Rim.” Greef stops and nods at the wall to their left. “They’ll have IG back to his old self in no time.”

Din shifts his weight. “Are you sure they’re up for it?” He lifts a hand towards IG’s parts. “I don’t think I can handle him with all his limbs if things go scud.”

Astra smiles; His censorship. It’s something he’s been working on around the kids, one of the smaller yet noticeable things Astra can observe about his sweet parenting. Meanwhile, Greef points at the wall again. “Why don’t you ask ‘em for yourself?”

Din’s visor faces Greef. “Who?”

Greef extends a hand towards the ground. “The Anzellans.”

Din and Astra both look down to see a nine-inch Anzellan waiting outside a small doorway. He looks up at Din and tilts his head. “What do ya’ want?” the Anzellan asks in his high-pitched voice.

Grogu widens his eyes and coos in curiosity with a hand extended. Zora’s still too caught up in Astra’s tunic and her babbling of Baba, Mmm, Go! to properly observe the Anzellan. Din takes a step back and Astra has to hold back a laugh at his utter shock. “I, um… my droid.” Din gestures to IG-11’s parts. “I need help rewiring him.”

The Anzellan glances back and speaks a few words in his own language. He faces Din again and nods. “Can fix.” He points inside the small workspace. “Come. Come.”

Din looks between the Anzellan and Greef a few times before he points to himself. “Me?”

Greef laughs. “Yes! Their work will be quick.”

Din tilts his helmet and glances at the small doorway again. “I can’t fit in there.”

“You can.” Greef turns his head to look at Astra. “But I don’t think your whole family will.”

Din’s visor meets Astra’s gaze and she speaks before he can. “It’s okay,” she assures him. “You and Grogu head inside. Zora and I will explore the bazaar.” Astra gestures with her head to the marketplace that’s further down the street.

Din tenses, though his gloved fingers flutter at his sides. He takes a step closer to her. “Are you sure?” When Astra nods, Din releases a gentle sigh and rests his helmet against her forehead. “I won’t be long.”

“And we won’t be far.” Astra offers him a reassuring smile. “Good luck with IG.”

Din lowers his voice for privacy and gives one of her hands a squeeze. “I love you.”

Astra’s grin widens. “I love you, too.”

Din takes one of Zora’s tiny hands next and gives it a squeeze. “And you too, Zozo.”

Zora smiles and claps her hands together. “Baba!”

Din swings his helmet away from her in pure and utter adoration. He gives her tiny hand one more squeeze before he and Grogu make their way closer to the Anzellans’ workshop. Astra chuckles to herself at the way Din and Grogu have to crawl inside, the former barely fitting given all his layers of armor. It’s only once they’ve disappeared inside that Astra and Zora make their way towards the bazaar.

“All right, angel,” Astra says to her daughter, smiling at the curious coo she earns in response. “Let’s find a gift for Papa and Grogu.”

Zora squeals with delight and claps her hands together once again. Astra smiles and gives her cheek a kiss.

“I’m excited, too!” Astra glances around once they reach the heart of the bazaar. Stalls with all kinds of products line the street, from exotic fruits to handmade jewelry. The way this marketplace flourishes reminds Astra of her home planet long ago, during its own golden age. She holds Zora closer. “Where do you think we should start, Zo?”

Zora furrows her brow, her brown eyes observing their surroundings just as her father’s would. Astra’s patient as she waits for the telltale point of her daughter’s small finger towards one of the booths. Astra turns and sees that she’s chosen one of the exotic fruit stands, which comes as no surprise given her son’s love for food.

“Good choice.” Astra approaches the booth and greets the Rodian merchant. “We’d like to try one of your fruits, please.”

The Rodian spreads his hands. “Of course! I’ve got quite a few here.”

Astra and Zora share a look. “What do you recommend?”

“Well,” the Rodian begins, reaching somewhere inside his stand, “this dessert made from the jogan fruit always comes highly praised.” He reveals a dessert that’s encased in a cold container. The Rodian opens it and shows off the delicate dollop of purple creamy fruit. Zora releases a loud coo of delight.

“Can we try it?” Astra reaches for the credits tucked in a pouch on her belt.

The Rodian pushes the dessert and a utensil forward. “Be my guest!”

Astra sets her necessary pile of credits down and picks up the utensil. She offers a small scoop to Zora, who samples the dessert with a gleeful coo of approval. Astra tries some for herself and shares her daughter’s enthusiastic reaction. The taste is sweet yet tangy, offering a perfect punch of what anyone could want from a fruit-flavored treat. “I see why it’s so highly praised,” Astra tells the Rodian. She lets Zora finish the dessert. “Can we take two to go?”

The Rodian agrees and begins packing their order. Astra turns to Zora and laughs as she wipes some of the purple-colored fruit remnants away from around her mouth.

“What do you think, Zo? Will Papa and Grogu approve?”

Zora taps the corners of Astra’s mouth as they remain curled up in a smile. “Baba!”

“Yeah,” Astra agrees as she sets down more credits, “I think it’ll make him smile, too.”

The two Djarins finish with their order and move on, the small pouch now hanging from Astra’s belt. They explore more of the bazaar despite their small mission already being complete. Astra even manages to find some fish cracker snacks for Zora and Grogu, building up the future supply that she’ll no doubt need for their hungry children. The last thing Astra grabs are some medical supplies she can fit in the extra spaces on her belt, an emergency kit she’s been meaning to create as they begin their journey.

Astra and Zora return to the Anzellan workshop and find just what Astra should’ve expected: chaos. Greef’s kneeling down on the ground and speaking through the tiny Anzellan door and she can already hear the familiar tone of Din’s voice as he responds to him. The closer they get, the more Astra can hear them.

“. . . You should get a new one,” Greef’s in the middle of saying.

Astra lifts her brow as she and Zora approach. “What’s going on?”

Greef looks up at her and stands to his feet with a huff of effort. “The Anzellans are saying IG’s not fixable,” he explains.

Astra twists her lips. She looks at the Anzellans’ door. “He must not be happy about that.”

Greef shrugs. “It seems like he’s working it out with them right now.” He lifts a finger at Astra. “If you’ll give me a moment.” Astra nods and watches as he kneels down again. Greef listens for a moment before he speaks to Din again. “If you can get a new part, he says he can fix it.”

Astra waits for Din’s response, but all she hears is the sound of an Anzellan screeching. “No, Grogu,” comes Din’s scolding voice. Astra and Zora share a look before she kneels down at Greef’s side. Inside the workshop, Din looks like a giant reaching towards their son, who grips onto an Anzellan for dear life. “He’s not a pet.”

“No squeezie!” the Anzellan protests. “No squeeze! No squeeze.” Din separates the Anzellan from Grogu and the tiny mechanic fixes his goggles. “Bad baby! Oh, he’s a bad baby.”

Astra suppresses a laugh with one hand at the scene. “Sorry about that,” Din apologizes. “He’s young.”

“Yeah, bad baby,” the Anzellan continues to rant. Grogu looks at the Anzellan and Astra already knows what he’s going to do before he lunges for the mechanic once again. “Oh!”

Din sighs and reaches forward. “No, Grogu.”

“Come here, Grogu!” Astra tries to draw their son to her. “Your sister and I got you something!”

Grogu’s attention is successfully stolen from the Anzellan at the sound of Astra’s voice. He waddles to the doorway and greets Astra and Zora with a gleeful coo. Zora offers the same as she extends her tiny arms towards him. “Go!” she cheers.

Grogu’s ears rise as high as they can on his head as he hugs her just like he’d hugged the Anzellan. Astra grins and supports Zora with one hand as she runs along Grogu’s ear with the other. “You and your father have special treats awaiting you,” Astra tells him. “But you’ve got to be on your best behavior. Okay?”

Grogu pulls away from the embrace with his sister and coos in understanding. His ears fall a bit and Astra pats his head.

“It’s okay. Just make sure you’re listening to your father and I.”

Grogu nods and lets his ears rise higher again. Astra looks beyond Grogu to see Din crawling his way out of the small workspace. He grunts as he heaves himself back to his feet and Astra does the same, earning a protest from Zora as she’s separated from her brother. She sets her back in the pram and does the same with Grogu, keeping them occupied while she approaches Din.

“So,” Astra begins, relieved by the presence of her husband even after such a brief separation, “what did I miss?”

“They’ll fix IG,” Din answers. “We just need to get them a new memory circuit.” Before Astra can question him, Din goes on. “I’m sure Peli’s Jawa friends can help us with that.”

Astra nods. “That’s true, and I’m sure the ship could use some touch-ups before we set out to Mandalore.”

Din sets a hand on her back. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.” His visor falls to the pouch on Astra’s belt. “Now, what’s this about ‘special treats?’”

Astra grins at him. “You’ll see.” She points at the Anzellans’ workshop. “I think we have some business to attend to first.”

Din circles his hand on her back and nods. “Way to keep us on track, rid’ika.” He looks over at Greef. “We’d best be heading out, now.”

Greef gestures to the way ahead. “Please, let me escort you.”

The magistrate leads the way for the Djarin family through the busy streets of Nevarro. A bittersweet feeling rushes over Astra as she looks around and prepares to leave it all behind. It’s not much different than the feeling Sorgan gave her so long ago when she and Din first had to leave. The promise of a home is left here, and as hard as it is for her to move on from it, supporting Din and his redemption is her priority. Nothing is more important to Astra than the happiness and health of her family, the home she gets to take with her all over the galaxy.

Din invites Astra even closer to her side, as if he’s read her thoughts. His gloved hand laces through hers as he looks over at her. “I’m sorry we have to leave,” he utters his genuine apology.

“No more apologies,” Astra remarks, giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m the one who insisted upon going on this journey with you. No place is a home for me without you.” She lifts their entwined hands to her lips and kisses his leather knuckles. “Your redemption is our priority. Our home will come in time.”

Din tilts his helmet, his armored chest rising and falling in a deep breath as he swings his helmet away from her. “If it was the Crest we were headed back to… I’d properly thank you for that.”

Astra laughs and rests her head against his arm. “I understand.” She lowers her voice to keep their conversation even more private. “But last night was enough for me to know.”

Din’s visor snaps her way again. “It wasn’t nearly enough, cyar’ika.” He lifts his free hand to hold her chin. “Until I get the opportunity to love you the way you deserve each and every day, it’ll never be enough.”

Astra beams and turns her face away from him in shyness. “You love me in many different ways, riduur.”

“I do whatever I can.” Din swings their arms back-and-forth in a subtle motion. “But you deserve the best.”

Astra’s not given the opportunity to respond as they make it back to the starfighter. Greef watches as the Djarin family steps inside, Din taking Grogu and Astra holding on to Zora. The youngest Djarin is sound asleep thanks to the comforts of her jogan treat. Astra cradles her close and watches as Din checks in on everyone before he gets himself settled with Grogu.

Greef nods and looks between Din and Astra. “We hope to see you soon,” he says to them.

Din returns the gesture. “Keep IG-11 safe until we get back with that part.”

Greef takes a quick glance over his shoulder and offers a hopeful smile. “If the Anzellans can’t find it, I don’t know who can.” The two friends nod at each other once more. “Safe travels.”

Grogu waves at Greef as he backs away from the ship. Astra chuckles to herself while Din powers up the ship. In just a few moments, they’re headed away from Nevarro, returning to the endless sea of stars. Astra takes a deep breath and plants a kiss in Zora’s curly hair. She’d follow her husband all over the galaxy, but that never makes their return to the stars any easier.

Din’s voice startles Astra when it comes through the intercom. “Before we head to Peli’s, I’d like to check in with Bo-Katan,” Din informs her. “We can tell her of our plans.”

Astra swallows her nerves and responds. “Sure, Din. Whatever you think is best.”

“It’ll be quick.” Din pauses and Astra can hear Grogu’s curious coos. Her chest flames with warmth when Din begins to speak to him. “All right, buddy, listen carefully. Being a Mandalorian’s not just learning about how to fight. You also have to know how to navigate the galaxy, because you never know where you might be headed next.”

Astra strains herself somewhat to see past Din’s helmet. Her lips widen in a smile when she sees Din pointing out his console stations.

“This here is your hyperspace map.” Grogu releases a long coo. “You determine your range by looking at your fuel gauge. And this…”

Din gets cut off by a rapid beeping tone. Grogu whimpers with worry and Astra has to keep herself from doing the same.

“. . . Is your enemy proximity warning indicator.” Din glances over his shoulder to locate the threat. Astra’s gaze follows his, a concerned knot securing itself inside her stomach. “Hang on, kid. We got pirates.” Din takes another look back at Astra. “You too, rid’ika.”

“I’ll try my best,” Astra assures him. She clutches Zora tight enough to make the sleeping child huff with a surprised breath.

A familiar voice announces itself over the intercoms. “Avast, Mandalorian,” the pirate Vane says. Astra’s blood runs cold in her veins; They waited this long for us? “You can’t just sneak away after cuttin’ down four of my brothers in cold blood.”

Astra kneads her fingers against Zora in gentle yet anxious motions. She wonders if Vane’s even aware of her and Zora’s presence.

“We’re Pirate King Gorian Shard’s men,” Vane continues, “now you’ll answer to him.”

Din’s quick with his witty response. “Gorian Shard should stick to hijacking and ransoming.”

Astra can see Grogu nestle himself underneath Din’s bandolier, and just a moment later, Din’s pushing the starfighter forward. Zora stirs on Astra’s shoulder at the motion, even trying to lift her head. Astra sets a hand upon it and urges it back down. “It’s all right, Zo,” Astra assures her, despite the way their ship begins to spin over and over again to avoid getting shot down. “Papa’s got it.”

Zora wriggles in Astra’s grasp, either curious or concerned about what’s going on. “Baba!” she exclaims, her voice muffled.

Din can still hear it. “I’m here, Zozo!” he reassures her through the intercom. More beeping from the console cuts off anything else he was going to say to his daughter. “Three more.”

Astra closes her eyes and heaves a deep breath. A dogfight wasn’t the ideal way she saw this journey beginning. Zora fusses and Astra puts all her focus into keeping herself calm. Din’s always composed in these situations; the unease Zora senses can only be coming from her mother. Astra reopens her eyes and upon seeing Din weaving them through an asteroid field, she hides her face in her daughter’s head.

She’s surprised to find that as the dogfight goes on, Zora’s worried coos turn to soft laughter, just like her brother’s that make their way through the intercom. Astra can’t help chuckling and shaking her head. Only her and Din’s children would find this kind of dangerous chaos amusing.

Bright flashes of explosions outside the viewport draw Astra’s attention back to the fight. Din’s taking out their fighters easily, which brings a victorious smile to Astra’s lips. Despite her worries, she truly never doubted her husband’s piloting abilities. He’s the best she’s ever flown with, and when it comes to his family’s safety, he doesn’t mess around.

Soon, only Vane’s fighter is left. Din pursues him with no mercy, weaving through each obstacle with ease. Astra holds her breath as she waits for Din to take the final shot that will end this crisis, but when Din pilots the starfighter around one of the larger asteroids in his pursuit, all Astra can see is a ship that’s much too large to avoid. The alarm beeps and Astra keeps Zora close, her eyes widening when she sees guns from all over the ship engage.

“Dank farrik,” Din curses with a sigh. “They have a target lock on us.”

“Din…” Astra warns. Zora whines from her place against Astra’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Din takes a calculated breath. “Just… hang on to something.”

Astra does as he says while a new voice comes over the comms. “Stop where you are, Mandalorian. You’re outgunned.”

Din responds with his signature amount of composure. “I have no quarrel with you, Gorian Shard.”

“Ha! What a kind sentiment from a man who just destroyed four of my fighters.”

Astra bites her tongue to keep herself from responding to the pirate. Din also says nothing, letting the Pirate King continue.

“Surrender your ship and I will spare your life.”

Din looks down at Grogu and glances over his shoulder at Zora. “Kids?” Both Grogu and Zora coo at their father. Astra raises a curious eyebrow. “Never trust a pirate.”

With that, Din activates the starfighter’s sublight thrusters. Astra closes her eyes and resists the urge to exclaim a curse aloud as both Grogu and Zora giggle their way over Gorian Shard’s ship. Din gets them into hyperspace just moments later, and as soon as the piloting’s out of his control, he nearly turns his whole body around to look at Astra and Zora.

“Are you two okay?” Din’s tone is laced with the concern he can reveal now that it’s safe for him to do so.

“We’re fine,” Astra assures him with a smile. She lets Zora sit up from her shoulder and their daughter coos and presses her hands against the transparisteel that separates them.

“Baba!” Zora cheers as she bounces herself with excitement on Astra’s lap.

“Zozo!” Din exclaims back at her.

“Baba, Baba, Baba!” Zora presses even more against the transparisteel as she starts to realize she can’t get through. Her exclamations of joy quickly turn to cries as she tries to get to her father. “Baba…”

“Oh, baby girl, I know.” Din faces forward and checks the console. “We’ll be out of hyperspace and on planet in just a few minutes, okay?”

Zora looks at Astra with a wobbling lip. “Mmma,” she whimpers. She points at the transparisteel. “Baba… Go…”

The warmth that floods Astra’s chest is incomparable as she gives her daughter an encouraging smile. “We’ll be reunited with them in just a few minutes, angel.”

Zora continues to pout, but ultimately lets herself fall back into Astra’s arms. The starfighter jumps out of hyperspace moments later, revealing a planet of swirling blues and greens. “This is Kalevala,” Din announces, likely to a curious Grogu. “It’s another planet in the Mandalorian system.” Rain starts to hit the transparisteel as they continue their descent. Astra can see the structure they’re approaching just as Din mentions it. “And that is a Mandalorian castle.”

Astra’s lips spread in a bittersweet smile. She’s heard of the planet before, back when she was a child. Her parents had visited on diplomatic business, though Astra had still been too young to attend with them. The castle is somewhat reminiscent of the many Astra visited with her parents once she was older. She can only hope that whoever dwells within it will maintain their sense of diplomacy.

Din lands the starfighter and opens his canopy without a moment to waste. Grogu gets the pram ready while Din helps Astra and Zora out of the ship. He keeps Zora tucked in his arm and shields her from the rain as best he can with his cape. Astra stays close by his side as their family makes their way past the service droid and up towards the castle. She forces herself to take a deep breath, though the thoughts of an unwanted duel plague her mind and heart.

The Djarin family comes upon a long corridor that leads to an occupied throne. Astra moves even closer to Din’s side and he accepts her there, brushing a hand over her back for comfort. His hand returns to his side once they get closer, their footsteps being the only noise heard until Din finally announces their arrival.

“Bo-Katan,” Din calls for her. “It is Din and Astra Djarin.”

Bo-Katan looks at them, unimpressed from where she sits—no, lays—upon her throne. Astra swallows hard and raises her chin as her and Din stop in front of her.

“We are here to join you,” Din finishes.

Bo-Katan doesn’t move as she takes a long pause. “There’s nothing left to join.”

Din and Astra share a confused look. “What of your plans to retake Mandalore?” he asks her.

Bo-Katan raises her brow. “When I returned without the Darksaber, my forces melted away.” Astra tightens her hands into fists at her mention of the weapon that hangs from Din’s belt.

“Where is the stolen fleet?”

“Making their way through the galaxy as mercenaries.” Bo-Katan gives Din a quick once-over. Astra circles her jaw. “Do you still have the saber?”

Din looks down for a moment. “I do.” His visor returns to Bo-Katan.

“Then you lead them. Wave that thing around and they’ll do whatever you say.”

“You would know,” Astra mutters to herself.

Din moves closer to her side, a gentle warning. He keeps his attention on Bo-Katan. “So you gave up your designs to retake Mandalore?”

Bo-Katan waits a beat before answering. Her words bring an anger like fire to Astra’s veins. “Your cult gave up on Mandalore long before the Purge. Where were you then?”

Din’s visor starts to fall as Astra’s vision becomes a red haze.

“The Children of the Watch and all the factions that came before fractured and shattered our people.” Bo-Katan pauses and looks between both Din and Astra. “Go home.”

“We don’t have a home to go to,” Astra speaks up before she can stop herself. Her tone is as fiery as the rage she’s fighting to suppress. “Much like you, we’ve both lost our homes. He’s lost his not once, but twice. We know well what this loss feels like.” Astra gestures to where Bo-Katan continues to remain laid out on her throne. “But we didn’t sit around, wait for people to feel sorry for us, and blame others even when plans changed. We decided to move on and do something.”

Bo-Katan remains unfazed. She sits in the silence and gives her head a small shake. “It’s pointless. There’s nothing left.”

Din speaks before Astra has the chance to. “We’re going to Mandalore,” he insists, “so that I may bathe in the Living Waters and be forgiven for my transgressions.”

Astra’s jaw tightens when Bo-Katan suppresses the urge to laugh at him. “You are a fool. There’s nothing magic about the mines of Mandalore. They supplied beskar ore to our ancestors and the rest is superstition.”

“Have you ever considered that there may be beliefs other than your own?” Astra snaps, unable to help herself any longer, “Just because they aren’t yours doesn’t mean they’re not correct.”

Bo-Katan doesn’t miss a beat with her response. “Have you ever considered that the man you’re defending left you, his wife, stranded alone on a boat over these same beliefs?”

Astra makes a move towards Bo-Katan, but the quick grasp Din takes on her arm stops her. She looks at her husband with poorly concealed fury. Zora whimpers from her place against Din’s armored shoulder as he tilts his helmet at her. “Don’t defend that action of mine,” he murmurs. “She’s right.” Din turns his visor towards Bo-Katan. “I should be speaking for myself.”

Astra forces herself to take a deep breath for composure while Bo-Katan continues. “Like I said before, there’s nothing left on Mandalore. That planet has been ravaged, plundered, and poisoned.”

“You said that the curse was a lie,” Din reminds her. “Make up your mind.”

Bo-Katan takes a breath. “If you want to go into the mines, be my guest. They’re beneath the civic center in the city of Sundari.”

Din nods at her. “Thank you.” He looks at Astra and nods. “And we will find out if the planet is really poisoned.”

With that, Din turns to walk away from the throne. Astra follows, though she doesn’t start to relax until Din sets a hand upon her back and keeps it there. Bo-Katan says one last thing in a tone that makes Astra fight the urge to turn back around. “Goodbye, Din and Astra Djarin.”

Silence sits between Din and Astra until they’ve made their way back to the starfighter. They pause at the bottom of the stairs and face each other. Astra sighs and holds her arms, a strong wave of shame overcoming her. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes to Din as she avoids his visor. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just…” Astra huffs and holds her arms tighter. “I know how much your Creed means to you, and to hear her say those things is just… it’s not okay.”

Din sets Zora beside Grogu in the pram and holds Astra’s face between his gloved hands. She meets his visor and the look alone brings her an overwhelming warmth of comfort. After a long pause, Din speaks in a soft and genuine voice that crackles through his modulator. “Thank you.” He pulls her into an embrace, tucking her head under the lip of his helmet as she holds tight to his middle. “You said all the things I wasn’t brave enough to.” He sighs and buries his helmet more into her. “Thank you for the way you love me and my Creed.” Astra can hear Din’s hard swallow. “Even after what I did to you.”

Astra pulls away from the embrace to hold his helmet between her hands. “I understand, Din. We talked through it long ago. You don’t have to carry that burden any longer.” She presses his helmet to her forehead. “I promise.” She kisses his visor. “No matter what anyone says, it’s you and me against the galaxy.”

Din holds her face in return. “I agree.” He lets himself release a soft chuckle. “But let’s just start with Mandalore.”

Astra laughs with him. “Sounds good to me.”

With that, the Djarin family prepares for one more stop on their journey to Mandalore. As the starfighter takes off, Astra prays to the stars that the hardest part of their adventure is past them, though she knows it’s a naive hope to have going to a planet that very well may have nothing but disappointment and danger to offer them.

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pod-together · 8 months

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Pod-Together Day 4 Reveals 2023

something like a prayer [text, audio] (The Magnus Archives (Podcast)) written by Lua, performed by semperfiona Summary: It’s a never-ending prayer: his heart belongs to her. . . . It’s a never-ending prayer: his heart belongs to him.

A Lesson in Binary (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types) written by cac0daemonia, performed by Flowerparrish

Angelic Rage Generates Humdingers (ARGH) (Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens (TV)) written by Sodium_Azide, performed by Djapchan and Sodium_Azide Summary: Their bosses have less than no idea about the best way to actually get things done, so this cooperation with The Enemy is important in a couple of ways. Face-to-face conversations are easy, but few and far between. The humans have invented plenty of ways to communicate long distance-it will probably be fine. In which Crowley's handwriting is the true enemy, and Aziraphale somehow invents the Twitter thread via actual birds.

These Are the Words You’re Looking For [text, audio] (The Mandalorian (TV)) written by bluegeekEM, performed by blackglass Summary: The droidsmiths were onto something when they created the IG-11 mecha, so Din turns to them and Greef for help once again. (And again. And again...)

A Nightmare within a Dream (Hannibal (TV)) written by poppetawoppet, performed by NotBatman52 Summary: A Princess Bride fusion, as every fandom deserves at least one.

Illness of the Heart (The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien) created by Sivan325, PolynomialPandemic, and Juulna Summary: Gandalf could hear a very distinct coughing sound and when he stepped inside the room, there were green leaves everywhere. He stepped closer to examine the prince, and it was then that he noticed a symbol, inked over the prince's heart; a sword, a bow, and an axe. The elf prince looked paler than Gandalf had ever seen him.

The Great Globe Itself Job (Leverage) written by shadowsong26, performed by Shakespeare_stole_my_url and Wereflamingo Summary: So this is the Leverage team, going about their business--in the style of William Shakespeare.

The Art of Not Letting Go (Ted Lasso (TV)) written by rockinhamburger, performed by klb Summary:Beard takes a deep breath and gives in to the impulse he’s been restraining for weeks: “But with your permission, I'd love to run off this plane and into her arms.”

Ted’s eyes widen now, and Beard watches anxiously for hints of how he’s taking this. Ted leans back in his seat and closes his eyes for a few moments, like he’s doing some internal reflection. Then he opens his eyes again, looks at Beard, and says, soft and quiet, “No.”

No. The no hangs in suspension as Beard struggles to make sense of it, that’s how sure he was Ted would say yes. He’s too surprised to speak. He must be taking too long because Ted shifts forward, expression conflicted. “Now, obviously you got free will, Beard. I’m not about to tell you what to do. You’re free to make whatever choice you want, so if you wanna stay here… stay with her? I trust you to make good choices, and I’ll support whatever you choose.” Ted lets out a slow, emotional breath. “But if you’re asking for my permission, I--” He visibly swallows, “I’m not giving it.”

The Ones Who Need Us (The Ones We Need) [text, audio] (Good Omens (TV)) written by estelraca, performed by justaphage Summary: Aziraphale and Crowley haven't just had each other through the years. The problem is that pets (and people) just never last long enough.

Once a great love (Original Work) created by Colourofsaying, Flowerparrish, Hagar, jennisaisquoi, kittona, MsTiggy, Rambling_Company, sapphoenyx, stargateinmybasement, and bluedreaming Summary:“Once a great love cut my life in two. The first part goes on twisting at some other place like a snake cut in two.” -Yehuda Amichai Far out in the Asian Badlands, Colonel Dr. Baek needs to keep alive a psychic who just lost her supporting partner, and solve a seemingly-unrelated medical mystery.

I Am Not There (I Did Not Die) (The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir) written by zombified_queer, performed by CrimsonMoonn Summary: After everything that's happened, John Gaius, the Emperor Undying, takes a moment to read the letters his Saints have sent and kept secret behind his back.

#podfic #fanfic #the magnus archives #star wars the clone wars #good omens #the mandalorian #hannibal #lord of the rings #leverage #ted lasso #original fiction #the locked tomb

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accursedkaleeshi · 9 months

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I was procrastinating on two pieces so hard I drew something else. Here is Ayaan! Daddy's little droidsmith, the chatterbox herself.

650 words about getting her ingdore under the cut!

At the start of the clone wars Nute Gunray (salty that Grievous stole his flagship) & San Hill (just a sociopath) convinced Dooku to let them send a small attachment of droids to "capture" Bryaru. Dooku had just killed her father to put his own guy in his gracious Separatist senate spot & Dooku was aware that a particular few of Grievous' wives were befittingly temperamental. So he was like "you idiots can try but don't let that shit come back to me"

So like a handful of B1s & a couple B2 battle droids are deployed in the general area they knew GG's house was. They lost a couple droids to the jungle but showed up the compound. The last time droids were there it was to escort the wives to Hill’s cruiser so they could behold their 87% dead husband. The poor stupid B1 in charge barely got out a jovial “Hello-!” before Mertenzi put a harpoon through it.

The flimsy B1s didn’t stand a chance. The B2s were harder to take down, however. Seeing their mothers puzzling how to proceed with minimal rocket damage to their family & property, Ìgira had just the plan.

Ìgira (12 years old) & Ayaan (7 years old) escaped hearth lockdown to run to dad’s workshop. Neither of them were very impressed. Why would they send droids to dad’s house? Their dad had been troubleshooting these same droids for Ayaan’s entire life. That was stupid. Two grown corporate lifeforms were about to lose their expensive battle bots to two wild space jungle kids.

Ìgira dug through his father’s old datapad. The Bank had always sent Grievous home with a prototype B2 super battle droid for “security”. Grievous did not like this & did not want the thing on his planet. So, naturally, he had a list of commands it would take to render it inert & leave it in his ship.

Ìgira found these commands & gave them to Ayaan, whereupon they booked it back to the front of the compound. One B2 had its wrist rockets trained on the nearby asiil pen, assessing chicken threat levels. The other was repeating its primary objective to the mothers hunkered in the foyer. Mertenzi shrieked when she saw two of her children standing out it the open. Ìgira gave her thumbs up. It was not comforting.

He seemed very sure of this plan. Not only was Ayaan the chattiest of all his siblings, she knew how to read out technical jargon. And she was very loud. It would be easy. As long as these droids still accepted vocal command prompts. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that said feature might have been dropped for security concerns.

“Unit!” Ayaan had barked in a very Grievous-like manner, “State primary objective!” There was a very tense couple of seconds while the mothers that did not understand Basic were baffled as to why their small child was yelling at these droids. The B2 at the door stopped its diatribe, did an about left & restarted its directive from the top. This included its designation. Ayaan was able to use its designation to issue a standby command, which was a long string of numbers & letters. That was when she learned, around the same time as clones around the galaxy, that a B2 super battle droid was only as good as its commander.

While Ayaan bossed the other droid into standby, Mertenzi had reloaded & demolished the first with her harpoon gun. Ìgira & Ayaan managed to convince moms to let them shut down & dismantle the second one after Ayaan asked it a hundred questions, as children do. Ayaan’s ingdoré is made from this droid. It took her quite a while to grow into. She still tried to wear it around sometimes. It made a very satisfying gong sound when she ran into doorjambs.

#scribbles #about his family #igira #ayaan #blys'aan

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keithachum · 1 year

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lil concept thing i wanted to whip up for a droidsmith character in star wars, kind of a scrap-collecting kinda guy who loves to mix and match parts and seeing what happens... he needs a name 🤔

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spaceorphan18 · 1 year

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@ckerouac - I'm curious as to what you're thoughts are on Mandalorian!

I watched the first episode and hmmm...

First of all, I wonder how much I missed not watching Book of Bobba Fett. I kind of was aware that Grogu did some jedi training and then went back to Din. But was there more? I feel like I was missing something.

After watching Andor - which was beautifully written, I did feel like this felt a little clunky at times? In the way that I feel like Star Wars usually ends up a little clunky.

Not that this is new to the show - because this is how the show works, it felt too much action, not enough plot.

That said - Baby Grogu is the best and I love him and Din and Grogu continue to be a great combo.

I'm also intrigued by, what I'm assuming, is the large arc of going back to Mandalore. I liked the last scene as it set in some mythology seeds - and I'm super curious as to the unfolding of that.

Also, the little creatures working as droidsmiths were hilarious.

But I mostly felt like the entire episode could have been overall a couple of scenes. :/

#eesh - sorry #i'm being harsh on what i know is a slow burn show

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croy-on-a-working-vacation · 1 year

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The perfect sound bite to go with a running joke my squad had on the cruise: that Sammie was nearly impossible to track down 😂

This was especially a tough break for our squad’s droidsmith who was just trying to fill a service ticket 🥲😆

#galactic starcruiser #star wars #star wars galactic starcruiser #halcyon #halcyon starcruiser #disney parks #disney world #star wars sequel trilogy #star wars tiktok #tiktok #sammie #sammie star wars #Sammie the mechanic #Galactic Starcruiser Tiktok

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horatio-fig · 1 year

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The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 - The Apostate.

I never do these ‘My thoughts on’ posts coz I figured no one cares, but Don't knock it til you try it, I guess. Here are some thoughts I had watching it -

An Alligator ruined that kids little party so I will be calling the covenants new planet ‘Space Florida’ until told otherwise.

Did Din see they were in trouble and rush in to save them, or did he sit back and watch for a while as he tried to remember if this was part of the ceremony.

When The Armorer first said the whole ‘bathe in the living waters’ thing and Din was like ‘but there’s no water?’ I thought it was Mandalorian Idiom like ‘when pigs fly’

I low key hope there are no waters and Din has to realise the only think that makes him Mandalorian are the friends he made along the way or something like that.

I love the Purrgil (I could do without everyone who recognises them from Rebels acting like they’re the only person who’s seen Rebels however) I just love Star Wars, so anything remotely related to the world of Star Wars and I'll lose my shit. If I see a Loth-cat, I hear the word caf, if they reuse a planet, I love it.

They gentrified the pirate cove. The bastards.

Of all the side quests Din has been offered ‘become a Thane of Nevarro, you can even purchase a house’ is my favourite.

The episode paused to give us a truly batshit ‘let me drink in the school’ Monty Python sketch and I request they do this once an episode.

I saw a lot of articles demanding to know what happened to Cara Dune but honestly, they all had the same energy as my Grandma asking ‘are you still friends with Susan from your year 9 English class?’ Like, we worked on a group project years ago and last I saw she was posting shitty all lives matter takes on Facebook.

Considering the First Order is kind of supposed to be a look at this right wing resurgence. (The enemies where once nazis and now they're angsty little white boys who wanna be nazis) it could have been interesting to have Greef be like ‘hey you still friends with Cara?’ and Din go ‘she started saying stuff like ‘I don't always agree with the First Order but every now and then they say what we’re all thinking’ and now we don’t talk anymore”. But, I understand the importance of separating a character from an actor so it’s probably better they don't do that.

I’m glad they didn’t bring back IG-11. I kind of don’t want them to cheapen his heart wrenching death scene, but this is Star Wars, when has death ever meant anything? Can't wait to have him back.

90% sure Grogu was trying to eat the Anzellans

If this season doesn't win an Emmy it’s because they cut out a scene where Din crawled on his hands and knees to get into that droidsmiths.

I hope Din teaching Grogu how to fly becomes a Chekov's driving lesson and Grogu has to fly the ship to save the day.

That dogfight with the pirates was pure Saturday morning cartoon and camp and it’s why I love Star Wars.

I have never been sure if Mandalore was a planet or a planetary system so this episode did kinda clear some of that up. (And it’s always fun to see more Mandalorian places)

Bo-Katan's hair is giving me Halloween Store Ginger Spice Wig realness and I’m sort of into it. I also love how all the other Star Wars ladies are infamous for constantly changing hairstyles and she just went ‘nah, this is the one’

Bo-Katan sitting/slouching/laying on her chair is me every day, sprawled on out the sofa trying to figure out why have back problems. Finally, the representation we need.

Overall, solid first episode. It kind of felt like when you start up Skyrim again after not playing for a while and just spend the first hour or so just remembering where you got up to.

I enjoyed the different in tone to this episode. The first episode of Season 1 showed a lone ranger type, mowing down enemies and having no time for people like Greef. In this episode he is much less bloodthirsty and we see him catching up with multiple friends throughout the episode. I understand the need to up the drama and stakes with every season, but it's also nice to see your character get to enjoy the benefits of their success and character development.

I know some people are mad that the show had no planned ending and will keep going for as long as they want. People have been saying this will make the show ‘aimless’ but the Mandalorian has kind of always been an aimless wander through the galaxy, picking up friends and questing and I think this episode show cased that.

Finally, I saw a review saying that the Mandalorian premiere fails to match the high bar set by Andor and it pales by comparison. That's like saying winter isn't as warm as summer. They’re different things, that do different jobs in the franchise. (Also, I remember when Andor premiered and there were plenty of revies saying it was no The Mandalorian)

It’s too cakes! Two amazingly good cakes! Andor has a prison break episode and it's a gut punch of a saga that makes you feel the need to go for walk and appreciate your freedom after you watch it. The Mandalorian had a prison break episode and it was a fun romp of double crossing and cartoon violence. And we get to have both, and it’s great and I just love Star Wars in all shapes and sizes.

I have more to say but I'm gonna leave it there, I might do one of these for the next episode, but we’ll see. All in all, it was a good solid The Mandalorian episode and I am a fan.

#I have thoughts regarding gatekeeping and that but I got save something for the thesis 😚#Might do this again might not might call it horatio finks #the mandalorion spoilers #the mandalorian s3

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deafblindshorty · 1 year

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Watched Moon Knight for the 60th time

I noticed some similarities the Moon Knight system has with both Poe and Rey from Star Wars.

Let's start with Marc and Poe:

-Both Poe and Marc ran away from home at 16/17 (Marc was WAY more justified, but still)

-Both joined shady groups (Poe, the Spice Runners of Kijimi, Marc, Bushman's mercenary gang)

-Both were left for dead in a desert

-Both have a high kill count (but so do a lot of fictional characters, actually...)

-Both went on "fetch quests" and ended up losing the thing they were questing for (The map to Skywalker in TFA and the Wayfinder in TROS/the scarab leading to Ammit's tomb)

-Both have similar witty banter ("So who talks first?"/"What are dancin'? We fightin'? What are we doin'?")

-Both are badass drivers (Well, pilot in Poe's case)

-Both kept secrets from their friends because they were ashamed of it.

-Both have issues with jealousy (Poe with Zorii in Free Fall, BB-8 and Leia in the ST [Rey "stole" his droid and his mentor]/Marc with Layla)

-A little dark, but... both were indirectly responsible for the death of a family member (Poe ran away from home, his father, Kes tracked him down and he ended up bitten by a poisonous alien creature. We still don't know if he's alive, but still... And Marc brought his brother into a rainy cave where he drowned)

-Both tried to rescue prisoners of their respective gangs, but were sliced up/shot (Poe in Free Fall, Marc in his backstory)

-Both tried and failed to convince their respective higher powers of threats (Poe tried to convince the New Republic that the First Order is a threat, Marc tried to convince the Egyptian Ennead that Harrow is trying to release Ammit)

-Their love interests (Past love interest in Poe's case) have a family friend who is a bit on the criminal side (Layla has Lagardo who is a forger, Zorii has Babu Frik who is a black market droidsmith)

Poe and Steven:

-Both dealt with a bad boss (Holdo/Donna)

-Both kept messing up their comrade's respective missions because they weren't told everything

-Both...ah...were "mind raped" by their respective villains (Well, Poe was. Steven's scales were read by Harrow)

-Then Steven was kidnapped and questioned about the MacGuffin by the same villain like Poe was

I don't know enough about Jake to make any similarities.

Poe even has a few things in common with Layla:

-They both want to follow in their late parents' footsteps (Rebel pilot/archeologist)

-Both were calm and helpful when their friends couldn't figure out an escape plan (Steven in Summon the Suit when they barracaded themselves in a room in Harrow's cult lair/Rey in the short story Through the Turbulence in Stories of Jedi and Sith)

-Both made badass rescues of their friends from the bad guys (Layla in Summon the Suit, Poe in TROS)

-Both made friends with (Well, I assume Marc and Layla were friends before they got married) people who have ties with people responsible for their parents' death (Marc worked for Bushman who killed Layla's father. Rey (who hadn't even been born yet, but still) was Palpatine's granddaughter. Poe's mom fought the Empire as a pilot. She eventually developed bloodburn and died of it)

-Both went to their old shady friends for help against the big bad which ended badly (Layla reached out to Mogart, an artifact thief which lead to an all-out battle. Poe reached out to Zorii, which lead to her wanting to turn Rey in to the First Order for a bounty, then her planet was destroyed.)

Rey and Marc:

-Both wear white hoods (Marc's Moon Knight suit, Rey's outfit in TROS)

-Really minor, but, both caught red pieces of fabrics and had shocked looks on their faces (Rey caught a marker ribbon and was suddenly struck by a vision, the teen cultist Marc was holding over a ledge cut his scarf that Marc was holding and threw himself off).

-Both had connections with people they hate, but they eventually helped them. (Rey had a dyad connection with Kylo/Marc was Khonshu's avatar)

-Both have secrets they're ashamed of (Marc blames himself for his brother's death and his mother abused him, Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter)

-Both ran out on their friends because of their shameful past and because their mother-figure died (Marc ran out on Layla and Frenchie because of Khonshu after his mother died, Rey left her friends because she's a Palpatine after Leia her mother figure dies)

-They were killed by evil cult leaders (Harrow shoots Marc dead and Rey defends herself against Palpatine and is killed)

-Both returned to life and healed with help from people they hated and had connections to (Khonshu healed Marc when he returned to life, Ben gave up his life force for Rey)

-Both engage in a beam-of-war with evil cult leaders (Rey deflected Palpatine's lightning with by crossing two lightsabers, Marc deflected Harrow's...uh...beam with his arms crossed.)

-While engaged in battle, their friends rush to help, but they both push their friends back (Finn rushes to help Rey while she's fighting with Kylo but Rey force-pushes him back/Layla rushes to help Marc with his beam-of-war with Harrow, but Marc pins her to an overturned car with one of his crescent darts)

-Both have golden weapons (Marc's crescent darts, Rey's golden yellow lightsaber, which she didn't get until the end of TROS, but still)

-Palpatine drained most of Rey's life force which was painful for her, Harrow starts to disintegrate Marc, which was painful for him.

-Both were forced to face their pasts by their enemies (Marc by Dr. Harrow and Rey by Kylo)

-Both looked helplessly up at the losing battle (Marc looked helplessly at Ammit defeating Khonshu and Layla under fire. Rey looked helpless at Palptatine shooting lightning at the Resistance fleet)

-Both have a surprising twist at the end having to do with a new name ("Meet my friend, Jake Lockley." (Marc's third alter), "Rey Skywalker.")

Rey and Steven:

-We see their daily routines when we first meet them.

-They have friendless backgrounds

-They have bad bosses

-Their lives were upended and they were dragged into the main conflict

-They stole a vehicle and were chased by the bad guys (and the owners of said vehicles run after them yelling "That's mine!")

-Companions of one of their co-leads find them (BB-8/Layla)

-They have connections with someone they hate (Kylo Ren/Marc)

-They cope by pretending (Steven pretends his mother is alive and they have a good relationship/Rey pretends that her parents are still alive and are coming back to her)

-They are both frozen at one point (Rey was frozen in place by Kylo, Steven was frozen in sand)

-They are both kidnapped and interrogated about the MacGuffin (Rey and the map to Skywalker and Steven and the scarab)

-They are both encouraged to use their respective powers, but can't (Poe encourages Rey to use the force when she had trouble accessing it in Through the Turbulence, Steven... well, Layla think's he's Marc, still, but she encourages him to summon the suit.

-They both use their friends' advice to channel their skills to help said friend who's in danger. (Rey takes Poe's advice to channel the force to save him from giant aliens in Through the Turbulence, and Steven channels Marc's skills in order to save him from the dead in the Duat)

-They both figure out how to get to the MacGuffin by studying ancient text (Rey with the ancient Jedi text and Steven with his Egyptology books)

-Both have arguments with their co-leads (Steven and Marc and Rey and Poe)

-"Huh. I like this." (Said by Steven in Summon the Suit)/"Whoo! I like this!" (Said by Rey in The Last Jedi)

-They were both killed by an evil cult leader (Rey by Palpatine [sort of] and Steven by Harrow)

-Their co-leads get mad at them for "Stealing" their companions (Poe is mad Rey stole BB-8 [in Through the Turbulence], Marc is mad at Steven for kissing his wife)

-They are both forced to face the truth about their pasts (Rey by Kylo and Steven by Harrow)

-They learn horrible truths about their families (Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter and Steven's mother was abusive to Marc)

-They both accept their connection with the person they hate and fight side-by-side with them. (Rey accepts her dyad connection with Ben and force-transfers a lightsaber to Ben and Steven accepts he's an alter and fights alongside Marc switching out occasionally)

-They are both "very British" (They have British accents and all)

-Both their journeys came full circle (Rey slides down a sand hill on a desert planet, Steven wakes up to "A Man Without Love" playing.)

-There's a twist that has to do with their name ("Rey Skywalker"/"Jake Lockley" (Steven's third alter))

Finn and Marc:

-Both rescued prisoners from their respective evil gangs (Poe from the First Order, the archeologists from Bushman) and they ended up dead (Poe was thought to be dead)

Finn and Steven:

-Both dealt with mean girl bosses (Phasma and Donna)

-Both tried to get away from their co-leads' mission (Steven tried to run from the Scarab mission and Finn tried to run from the Resistance)

-Both developed a strong attachment to their female leads (Finn and Rey/Steven and Layla)

-Both lose their trust in their companion because he kept a dark secret from him about their criminal past. (Steven doesn't trust Marc because of his mercenary past and he slightly mocks him about the room full of dead people being Marc's room. Finn mocks Poe about his spice runner past)

Finn and Layla:

-They both rushed after their friend to help them in battle but were forced away by them (Finn goes after Rey who was fighting Kylo, but Rey force-pushes him away. Layla rushes to help Marc when he was fighting Harrow, but Marc pins her against an overturned car with his crescent darts)

-They're both extremely protective of their friends (husband in Layla's case)

-They channel the same power their love interest/friend has and it helps them win the day. (Layla accepts being Taweret's avatar, Finn uses the Force)

Whoo! That was long and took half the day!

There was also a C-3PO vibe from Steven ("Oh. Sorry." Said when he fronted as Mr. Knight during the battle at Mogart's in ep3) and a K-2SO vibe from Marc ("Doesn't sound bad to me.")

#star wars #moon knight #marc spector #steven grant #layla el faouly #rey skywalker #poe dameron #finn (star wars)

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hottpinkpenguin · 1 year

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Reasons, Ch.1 - Cassian Andor series

“So… what exactly happened?” you asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the customer. He had the look of a hunted man, his dark eyes darting around your repair shop as if he expected the walls to jump out at him.

“I told you already,” he replied briskly, pushing the droid towards you. “He fell in a… hole. Of sorts.”

You looked down at the oil-soaked pile of scrap that had at one point been a droid. It was completely motionless on the counter between you and the customer, oil seeping out from under its red plates.

“Uhuh… a hole… of sorts.” You couldn’t imagine what type of hole could cause a massive degradation of the droid’s central coolant system, but then again, as your father always said, money is money, doesn’t matter where it comes from.

You looked back up at the jumpy customer again. His eyes were so dark you couldn’t see his pupils in them, his hair disheveled and falling in front of his eyes. Roguishly handsome with the paranoid energy of a criminal. Just your type.

“Can you fix him or not?” he demanded. You detected a hint of desperation in his voice as the man inched the droid forward another few inches. “If not, I’ll take him somewhere else.”

You snorted as you turned on your headlamp and bent over, inspecting the droid more closely. A groundmech salvage unit, you noted.

“You won’t find anyone else who’ll work on a droid in this condition, I guarantee you that,” you replied. You tested one of the exposed wires at the droid’s ocular sensor: no current. Probably meant the whole internal circuitry was fried.

“This’ll be an expensive fix,” you noted to the customer with the dark eyes as you continued your inspection. He didn’t react, just shot an impatient look over his shoulder at the shop door.

“And this is a discontinued model.” You switched off your headlamp, standing up to eye level with the customer. “Might take a few weeks. Parts will need to get shipped in from the Outer Rim.”

“That’s fine,” he replied, running a hand over his beard as he surveyed the droid. “I can pay, whatever it costs.”

You nodded, pursing your lips. “Yeah, everyone says that. I’m talking more credits than most people make in a lifetime, a few thousand at least. Honestly, this droid is better off as scrap.”

The dark-eyed customer fixed you with a hard stare. You narrowed your eyes in response, your hand flicking towards the blaster you kept strapped to the underside of the counter in front of you.

“He’s not scrap,” the man uttered, his voice dropping low. “His name is B2. And like I said, I can pay. Doesn’t matter the cost. Just get it done.”

You studied the man the way your father had taught you, soaking in the details you’d overlooked when he first walked in. There was a faint scar at his hairline above his right eyebrow: a blaster shot, and an old one, based on how faded the scar was. He was dressed in unremarkable clothing, practical and weathered. His hands were splayed out on the edge of the counter, steady and relaxed, although you didn’t doubt that if you moved for your weapon he’d outdraw you easily. The nervous energy that had kept him on tenterhooks since he’d strode into the shop was gone; he held your gaze with a cold and calm detachment.

After a few moments, you nodded your agreement, lifting the droid and placing it on the workbench behind you.

“Check back in two weeks,” you told him as you opened the ledger you used to keep track of your customers. “Name?”

The dark-eyed man hesitated before he replied. “Andor. Cassian Andor.”

You nodded, jotting his name and the droid’s model and serial number on the ledger.

“Alright Cassian. Two weeks. I’ll be able to give you a better estimate once I can take this guy apart and look at what’s going on.”

Cassian held your gaze for a moment before he turned and left. Your eyes followed him out, noting the way he looked both ways down the street before darting out of the shop. The door clanged closed behind him, leaving you and the silent droid alone in the dim light of your shop.

----------

Two weeks to the day later, and the bell for the shop door rang, interrupting your concentration. You looked up to see a familiar pair of dark eyes.

“How’s my droid?” Cassian asked you. His voice sounded thin and watery, and you noticed dark purple circles under his eyes.

“Better than you, it looks like.”

Cassian chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes and slid off his face as quickly as it arrived.

You motioned for Cassian to walk around the corner of the counter and follow you to the backroom. He did so, his movements smooth and cat-like. You turned on the bank of lights that illuminated the large, cluttered workroom. Your re-programmed pilot droid turned shop assistant X8 chirped at you by way of greeting.

You led Cassian to a table towards the center of the room, where B2 was tipped on his side with his red body plating removed.

“I thought you fixed droids, not stripped them,” Cassian observed. Even through the exhaustion, you could hear his attempt at humor. You laughed a bit louder than the weak joke warranted. Cassian smiled in response, a bit warmer this time, and for half a moment he didn’t look so haggard.

“Your droid had a tear in the main coolant coil,” you told him, pointing to a piece of corkscrew-shaped machinery protruding from B2’s central console. “Soaked pretty much everything, so it needs entirely new circuitry. It overheated without coolant and melted through the lubricant tubing. Hence the oil. None of that is too expensive and I’ve got plenty of spare parts. The labor time is what’ll cost you on that end.” Cassian’s expression was serious as he followed your explanation with interest. “But this is a problem.” You held up a flat, dinner-plate sized chip, its surface riddled with metallic wires running through it like veins. The chip was stained dark from the lubricant oil that had coated it, and one edge of the chip was warped from where it had melted.

“The binary processor,” he commented, his eyebrows knitting together.

You nodded. “You know droids?” Not many people would recognize a binary processor, especially not a half-ruined one. Buried deep in most droids’ mainframe architecture, detaching a binary processor was something only skilled technicians were able to do.

“Not enough to fix this guy,” Cassian replied, looking down at the disassembled B2. Worry and sadness flickered across his face.

“How much?” he asked after a moment. “How much will it cost?”

“Cassian, these things are worth more than Kaiburr out here.” You handed the ruined binary processing chip to him. He took it gingerly, turning it over and inspecting it carefully. “Take my advice. Scrap it.”

Dark anger flickered in his eyes as he looked up at you.

“I’m not paying you for your advice,” he hissed. “I’m paying you to fix my droid.”

“You’re paying me for my expertise,” you corrected sharply. “And I know droids. This one’s a lost cause. You’ll pay eight times its worth just for that one processing chip.”

Cassian slammed his hands down on the workbench, rattling B2’s disassembled parts and making you jump. X8 squeaked in shock behind you.

“You don’t know what this droid is worth.” Cassian advanced on you, an accusatory finger pointed at your chest. You cursed yourself for leaving the blaster at the front, backing away from him until your backside bumped against the wall. “Name your price and I’ll pay, or I’ll find someone else who will be happy to take my credits!” Cassian was so close you could see flecks of hazel in his irises and feel his breath fan over your face.

You hesitated, watching as the anger began to dim in his eyes. After a moment, he backed away from you, his hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

“I’m sorry,” he stammered as his gaze dropped to the ground. “I’m… uh-”

“Exhausted,” you volunteered. He nodded heavily, running a hand over his face as if he were trying to wipe away the fatigue.

“I just… I need him fixed. Please. If you’re able.”

You bit your lip as you considered his request. You’d be able to fix the droid, although you’d be lying if you said you didn’t resent the time and energy it would cost you. Certainly not worth the unremarkable model.

“Why’s this droid so important to you?” you asked softly.

Cassian’s expression glazed over like ice as he looked at the heap of parts he was so passionate about resurrecting. “He’s family,” he offered after a few moments of quiet.

You’d met plenty of customers who were dependent on their droids, but it was unusual in Ferrix to find someone soft enough to actually be attached to one. Life on Ferrix was hard, and it didn’t leave a lot of room for sentimentalism. Apparently, Cassian Andor was the exception to that rule.

You sighed, already knowing that your mind was made up.

“I’ll fix it,” you said. “I think it’s crazy, and I don’t want to know where you get the credits. I can’t afford to keep this droid at the top of my list, it’ll set me back too far on the other customers. If you can give me a few months and pay me in installments, I’ll do it.”

Cassian gave you an almost-smile, his shoulders relaxing down from his ears. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, just pay me.”

He nodded gratefully. “When do you want the first payment?”

You did a few calculations in your head, quickly running through the anticipated costs as well as your unusually long customer list.

“Two months.”

Cassian swallowed his disappointment: he’d clearly been hoping for a faster turnaround.

“I’ll be here,” he replied, somewhat deflated. He turned to leave.

“One month,” you called out after him, a small and insistent voice in your head screaming that two months is too long.

He paused, halfway turning back towards you with the first real smile you’d seen since you’d met. “One month,” he agreed.

This time when he left, he shut the door softly behind him.

*read chapter 2 hereIf you'd like to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know

#cassian andor #cassian andor imagine #cassian andor x reader #cassian andor x you #cassian andor x y/n #cassian andor fanfiction #rogue one imagine #andor fanfiction #diego luna #diego luna x reader #diego luna imagine #diego luna x you #diego luna x y/n

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