CHAPTER 17

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

THE TINTED UNSPOKEN!

*:･ﾟ✧

Cleaning and assembling her sniper rifle at the very bottom of the Razor Crest, Gaia's nimble fingers meets a sudden halt. Her curious gaze is drawn up and away from her weapon, eyes falling unto Dawnbringer leaning against the wall of the starship. She then peers toward the ladder. There's a deepening pit resting in her stomach like a sinkhole, and she hopes Mando is not too distracted with steering the Razor Crest for her following words to just waft rashly by.

"Mando?" she calls out," I think—"

Gaia lurches forward, briefly jerked out of her position as the sniper rifle parts are scattered across the floor like puzzle pieces. "Mando!"

Gaia bolts upright — a great rumble conveying throughout the whole of the Razor Crest — and stumbles her way up the ladder. The vast tremors carried amongst the starship's skeleton has her tilt roughly against the walls, nearly thrown head-first into the cockpit and face-planting. She maintains her balance despite the struggle, unruly hair dangling like a curtain over her eyes while she clings to the pilot's chair with a death-grip.

"What's happening?!"

A voice, distinguishably male, filters through the Razor Crest's main radio — pure static in her ears. "Hand over the child, Mando! . . ."

An agitated twitch creeps up Gaia's body and is only cast aside when the violent tremble of rained fire strikes the Razor Crest's right wing. Gaia's Sombra Uniform feels tight against her limbs and it's constricting in the most awful way, burning as if licked by a thousand suns. She can feel the sweat building on her forehead, wondering if this is where their defeat shall be known. Still, she has full faith in her companion nonetheless.

"—I might let you live."

A muffled snarl clatters between Gaia's teeth like razors. "Shut the fuck up!" she bellows.

Another bolt clashes against the Razor Crest, but this time at the very rear. The affliction is so great the starship's balance becomes wholly deterred — thrown into a spin of panic. Gaia slides to the floor at once so as to not fall over, and prehends the Child's asserted chair for dear life while not daring to let go, holding her breath in shy uncertainty.

A frightened whimper can be heard flying past her, and Gaia looks to The Child seated within his makeshift box. His wide, round eyes are focused entirely on her in his moment of dread, curved ears laid flat against his head;he's just as scared as she is. Knowing this, she reaches out to him and gently places her gloved palm atop his head. He attempts to hold her as well, but is thrown off by the next big quiver ricocheting against the cold walls.

An alarm, blaring into every single nook and cranny, commences like an impending omen. Mando's attention switches from button to button on the control board, trying to regain charge in the chaotic, wobbling aftermath.

Gaia views at the back of her companion's chair. "At this rate, he's going to kill us!"

"I know!"

"Then do something!"

"What! What do you want me to do?!"

Gaia motions wildly with her free hand, blurting out, "Anything! I believe in you!"

Mando's breath hitches sharply in his throat, eyes glancing back to Gaia for reassurance. And sure enough, there it is, flickering so openly in her dark eyes, gleaming with confidence for him. Never once does she break eye contact with him, her trust displayed as it is shown, naked and strong.

"Hold on!"

Gaia yelps as the Razor Crest whirls through space. Everything is turned upside-down for a fleeting moment, allowing them to evade the bounty hunter's relentless attacks as she more or less throws herself to The Child in order to hold him down. A beat passes by and then the man's voice trickles through the radio once more in high provocation, stinging their ears.

"I can bring you in warm," he probes brazenly, "or I can bring you in cold."

Gaia is almost flung into the back of Mando's chair as the Razor Crest brakes in the echo of the Mandalorian's famous tagline. Her stomach flips over in a repetitive pattern — a final tremor grazing the Razor Crest as their direction is reversed altogether, sailing right underneath their enemy and behind him.

"That's my line."

Gaia is unable to see what happens next, but the mere explosion — albeit faded — rising outside like a sigil is enough for her to know.

They're safe again.

For now.

The Razor Crest is scarcely functioning at this point. Multiple alarms are beeping and complaining loudly in the cockpit, causing Gaia's eyes to skitter around like a perturbed sparrow. A light hue of red is showered over them until it disperses entirely, shrouding them all in blinding darkness as the engine shuts down. Their only light source is the glowing stars strung to the far horizon.

Mando fiddles with the control board in a testing manner yet there's a lack of response.

From beside Gaia, The Child's innocent giggle strokes her ears. It's an honest sound, one she cannot be mad at despite their unfortunate situation. She evokes a trampled sigh — engine sputtering uselessly — and comes to stand on sure legs once affirming The Child to be unscathed. Gaia moves toward the ladder, poking her head through the opening as if spying for danger. As presumed, nothing but the shadows are there to greet her. She clicks her tongue in annoyance. Withdrawing and clutching the back of her own chair, she faces a persistent Mando. He's still pressing buttons and whatnot, admitting defeat a few seconds later and twisting towards Gaia.

"We're not stuck here, are we?" she inquires.

"No."

Mando leaves his chair in a calm fashion, walking purposefully closer to Gaia. She tenses with the proximity being reduced this fast and instinctively takes a small step backwards. She gulps nervously — her back colliding with the steely wall in her retreat. Mando appears to be so close that it would be considered arguable, catching her in such fluster she's completely disregarding the fact that he's meaning to reactivate the engine.

Gaia watches realisation overcome him like a ghost. His actions cripple, bated breaths fanning the inside of his helmet. Mando is a witness to her being rooted in place, wide-eyed, and it gives him a total of two options.

One, he's going to ask her to move.

Two, he's going to reach for the button that will kick the engine into function, allowing the closeness between them to speak for him.

Mando has a serious covet for the latter, but he's unfortunately quite unaware if that is what Gaia would also prefer — to be this close. Should he choose to do so, he might make her deeply uncomfortable and that is far from what he wants. Although, what if she wouldn't mind? It would make him ecstatic beyond words:a reply so silent yet so boundless it could change things for them both, however small it may be. A paltry hint.

Slowly — almost impulsively — Mando leans forward. His armor-clad body is mere inches from Gaia's in a cosmic moment, visor locked solely unto her while his arm extends toward the wall, hand coming to linger right below her waist. And much to his surprise, her expression eases like the recoil of a trigger.

Instead of being intercept amid shock and startlement, Gaia seems to relax. The look on her face — so clement and gentle — has Mando nearly forgetting to actually press the button his fingers are currently resting on, and when he does, he moves away. He's regretful, of not having the courage to initiate something which could've been so much more. He just barely misses the glance of disappointment stirring across Gaia as he makes a return for his seat, feeling the thuds of his eager heart brutally beat at his chest.

Never before has he done something so bold to such a beautiful woman.

Gaia brushes some of her hair to the side, letting her thoughts and flaring skin settle. Her gaze sweeps, glimpsing The Child observing her intently as the control board and lights within the cockpit blinks to life.

'What?' she mouths quietly.

The Child whines softly as he looks at her. She quirks an eyebrow and reaches for her cheek, a springing warmth seeping through her much-colder hand. She retracts it quickly afterward, and steps closer to the front by Mando. She views at the screens to distract herself, skimming the displayed solar system dotting their surface while the Razor Crest starts ahead for the nearest inhabited planet:

Tatooine.

▲▽▲

Gaia is leaving her sword behind for once, since dragging both that and her sniper rifle along is turning out to be somewhat of a hassle lately. Her sniper rifle is much more efficient when it comes to battle since most people choose to carry short-range blaster pistols and such around nowadays. Although, for now, she's not carrying a sword or any other weapon around, but more so a green little creature all bundled up in his blanket.

Gaia watches The Child sleep soundly in her arms while remaining down in the lower chamber of the Razor Crest. She looks nervously to the compartment meant to hide him, then facing Mando. "Are you sure he's going to be all right while we're gone?. . ."

"Yes. Do you want me to say it again?"

Gaia bites down onto her soft bottom lip, feigning evaluation before nodding. "Please?"

Mando heaves a sigh. "He's going to be fine. I'm sure. We'll be back before you know it."

Satisfied, Gaia steals one last glimpse of The Child before placing him tentatively down into the compartment, watching him lie relatively still and peaceful. She rubs her forehead with the heel of her hand, anxiously and swiftly withdrawing before she may change her mind. Leaving The Child to his own like this is fairly new to her, seeing as he had usually tagged along whenever they were out and about. The Razor Crest is the safest place for him to take refuge, on the other hand, and knowing this is where he'll be, she's somewhat comfortable departing from him.

"Ready?"

Gaia looks at Mando. He's waiting for her by the lowered ramp, sunlight dipped at the ground outside like a pool of gold. "Ready."

— Author's Note —

So I may *cough* have drawn the shootout scene and everything else after that out *cough* a bit too much, but did it make me sigh dreamily when Mando stepped up and approached Gaia to silently flirt with her?

Hell yeah.

(I'm also living for Gaia going all 'mother hen' on Baby Yoda and caring for his wellbeing like her life depends on it, and you may quote me on that!)