Life aboard the Razor Crest was...frankly, monotonous. At least for the first stretch of their voyage together. Not that the thief had been anticipating unending action the moment she agreed to help watch the little alien baby. Even a bounty hunter had to have some downtime. But, still. She hadn't realized it would be like this.
All week began by a very warm and touchy green child snoozing somewhere on or near her person. How he consistently managed to find his way out of wherever the Mandalorian kept him at night was beyond Anwyn. Truthfully, it was pretty jarring and concerning, but he had yet to hurt himself because of it so...small mercies?
With the child in tow on her hip, the brunette would groggily stumble up from the cargo hold and head to the kitchen, fumbling her way through making a cup of caf to wake her up for the rest of the 'day.' Really, calling them days wasn't appropriate, she supposed. In the midst of hyperspace, there was no sun cycle to definitively track that sort of measurement. It certainly made the journey feel all the longer.
Sometimes the Mandalorian would be there putting away his empty cup, sometimes not. If he did happen to be there when she walked in, they would exchange silent nods by way of greeting, her not quite awake enough to engage in meaningful conversation and him because that apparently was just the way he went about things. That awkward, uncertain tension still lingered about between them, neither sure where they stood in terms of social interaction yet, but Anwyn was still confident they'd get there eventually. Time would tell.
Once Anwyn felt moderately awake, usually by her second cup of caf, she'd find herself in the cockpit to see the progress they'd made. The nav screen was bright green and promised that they were indeed getting closer to their destination: Naboo. The bounty hunter had been hesitant to choose such a high-density destination, but it provided them with somewhere to go after having escaped Bothawui, and he'd been confident he would be able to find work without difficulty.
The rest of her time awake was spent trying to occupy herself while also keeping an eye on the kid. There was a disappointing lack of stimulating activities to do on the ship, meaning she'd had to get creative with ways to pass the time and to keep his attention. Most of them ended up being in due part the kid himself, finding ways to escape her sight and give her numerous spikes of chest-aching anxiety every time she turned around to find him missing once again. How on earth had the Mandalorian managed up until now?
Locked doors didn't seem to prevent him from moving about the ship as he pleased, though thankfully not into the most dangerous areas of the ship. However, she had spotted him reaching for the carbonite chamber once when he'd stumbled away from her supervision in the cargo hold. Honestly, was he trying to get himself hurt?
The Mandalorian only shrugged when she brought it up to him that the ship wasn't exactly the most kid-friendly environment. "There isn't much I can do about it." He'd said.
Figures.
By the time they'd docked the Razor Crest in Naboo's spaceport, Anwyn was well and truly bored. But also stressed. The kid had been a handful without much to distract him along the way, and she'd vowed to find some way to fix that while they were planet side.
The Razor Crest's cargo ramp lowered with a loud metallic grind, slowly revealing the port bay to the three occupants aboard. It clanged against the dirt ground and locked into place. Anwyn kept a grip on the child, eyeing him warily, as if he'd try to disappear from her sight again now that they were grounded.
Several rusting repair droids, as well as a human male stood at the edge of the white circle of paint marking the landing zone, watching his newest arrivals with mild interest. He seemed a bit young to be in charge of a place like this-surely he was no older than 20 or so cycles old, what with that unruly mop of brown hair and a look in his eyes that indicated he hadn't seen too much of the galaxy yet-but looks could be deceiving.
His eyes narrowed, glancing between the two adult occupants with what she presumed was suspicion. Surely the sight of a Mandalorian was as rare here as it was anywhere else. She wondered if he'd say anything about it.
They descended the ramp and met the bay worker at the bottom. He looked behind them, inspecting the ship in that scrutinizing way only someone with a lot of knowledge on them could. "Haven't ever seen something like this before...What kind of ship is it?"
"A good one." Was her companion's stern and modulated reply, giving nothing away. Was there really a need to be so vague? Raising a brow, she kept silent, gently bouncing the kid up and down on her hip to keep him from fussing.
The man wasn't impressed, rolling his eyes, but eventually decided to drop it. "Not much of a talker, I see." His gaze wandered to the outer sides of the ship, taking in everything he could with a tilt of his head. "Well, looks like the hull is still in good condition, just some nicks and such from debris. Want me to polish those out for you?"
"No. Just docking fare." He dug into the small pouch at his side and withdrew a handful of credits. "I'll be looking for work here. If it's not enough, we can get you the rest soon."
"This all you have?" He asked, and the bounty hunter nodded. The man took the offered currency and counted it out, before finally shrugging dismissively. "This should cover you until tomorrow evening. Anything past that you'll have to hand over before leaving."
They nodded their agreement, and the bay technician and his droids left the three travelers at the end of the ship's ramp. The 'T' of the bounty hunter's helmet was fixed on the droids until they disappeared from view, strangely enough.
Anwyn turned to her companion then. "So...are we under orders to stay with the ship?" She asked, expecting as much given their interactions thus far. This was the first time their work dynamic would be put to the test, a first show of what his expectations were when planetside. She could certainly see him as the paranoid type who wouldn't want the ship unguarded. Plus, it was better to know now just how much of a risk it would be to sneak off while he was away.
Unexpectedly, his helmet shook a swift negative. "If this were hostile territory, then yes. But we should be safe here, so long as we keep a low profile."
"Oh. Great." She said, blinking back her surprise. That went better than expected. "Then, I'll head into the market and get a few things for me and the kid. Might have to steal a purse or two to pay for them, but-"
"Here." He said, reaching back into the credit pouch and offering her some. "We don't need any issues with the authorities. Get what you need without stealing it."
She detected a hint of exasperation in his tone, mostly masked by the helmet's modulator. The side of her mouth quirked up as she accepted the credits. "I thought you gave all you had to the bay technician?"
"If I did, we wouldn't have enough to restock our supplies." He quipped quietly, and she nearly chuckled. With that, he turned on his heel to leave, cape fluttering with the movement. "I'll try to be back by tonight. Keep the kid safe."
"Sure thing." She said with a little wave, watching him leave the docking bay. The child watched from his spot against her side, then held up his little hand in what Anwyn thought was an attempt at a wave goodbye. She grinned, then propped him higher up on her hip.
"Alright, kid. Let's get something to carry you around in, yeah? You're heavier than you look."
Now strapped with a baby carrier she'd negotiated a good price for with one of Naboo's merchants, Anwyn adjusted the strap across her shoulder until it was comfier for her and the kid. It left her hands free but kept him on her hip and unable to wander away by himself, but wasn't over encumbering or so thick that she'd overheat in Naboo's constant warm climate. The baby cooed from beside her, and she looked down with a smile to see him looking at everything around him.
"You won't tell the Mandalorian, right?" She asked, stuffing the remaining credits from the unsuspecting Hrakian's pouch into her own pocket before tossing the leather item behind a few barrels. The green child cooed some more, but Anwyn chose to take that as agreement. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."
Fading into the crowd of people, she started looking around for other stalls to purchase supplies. In addition to low food and other items, their caf rations were uncomfortably low. The brunette didn't know if she'd be able to survive another week-long light speed journey without some. Even though he hadn't said anything to the affect, she suspected the Mandalorian depended on the stuff just as much as her.
The feeling of anonymity within the crowd was comforting, just another face in the sea of people, and it left her feeling relaxed. Not completely off guard, but less paranoid that there would be someone watching her every move. It would be difficult to track a single target in the masses. Naboo was supposedly Imperial-free anyway, having been a major point of interest during the rebellion, but she wasn't going to put it past a bounty hunter or two to recognize her from some of the prices on her head throughout the galaxy. The cons of being a con, unfortunately.
She spotted a novelty stall down the way, and navigated her way to it, spotting some hand-made dolls and toys that were big enough for the baby to play with without risk of swallowing something he shouldn't. A wrinkly-face human woman sat behind the counter, peering up at her expectantly when she approached.
The toys were well-crafted, colorful items that clearly were meant to be enjoyed rather than put on display. All unique, sporting slight different features and shapes. From creatures to people, to what she assumed to be significant relics in Naboo's history. The roughness of the material in some portions of the dolls and toys made it obvious it was durable, which was exactly what she was hoping for.
"All handmade. A family tradition, passed down through generations." The woman offered up, gesturing to the trinkets pinned to the stall walls behind her.
"See any you like, little guy?" Anwyn directed to the green child in her carrier. She turned so he could see the wares, watching as his eyes flicked back and forth over the various faces and shapes. His ears rose and fell with curiosity, before his tiny 3-taloned hand reached up at one of them. The older woman turned to see which he had gestured to, smiling as she plucked the yellow and brown striped thing from the wall.
"Ah, very nice. Mee fish, from deep in the lakes of Naboo." She explained with wisdom. "Poisonous and armored with hard scales. Indicates resilience."
Her hands extended the toy to the child, who eagerly grabbed it in his hands. He cooed with excitement, raising it up high as children do. He clearly liked it a great deal.
"How much?" The brunette asked, watching the kid with a pleasant smile.
"600 credits."
Her brows shot up at the mentioned price, her head jerking towards the woman in shock. She opened her mouth to say something over such a hefty price, but then realized that the green baby had already stuffed the fish plush into his mouth and slobbered all over it. No way to return it now. So, she dug into her credit pouch and produced the amount due without a word. Her stolen credits were almost entirely gone.
"Many thanks." The woman said with a cunning gleam in her eye, no doubt knowing exactly what she'd done when she'd handed over the toy to the kid. Anwyn turned away, feeling swindled, trying to justify it with the idea that she'd meant to buy him a toy or two anyway. At least it wasn't an impulse buy. But the further she walked away, the less it made her feel better.
"You'd better treat it well for that price." She muttered to the kid, who obliviously chewed at the fish's swooped fin with a smile.
A few more stops at various market stalls, and she'd purchased all that she'd hoped to, caf rations included. The smell of the stall's fresh grounds alone had been mouthwatering.
Their shopping finished, she'd returned to the ship to store what she had bought. The kid still chewed happily on his toy, his attention so preoccupied that he barely fussed at all, save for when he dropped the thing on the ground by accident and started sniffling.
The rations and supplies having been put in their respective places, she readjusted the bag on her shoulder.
"One last stop before we wait for the Mandalorian to get back." She said to the baby, stepping down from the Razor Crest again to return to the market area.
On the furthest side of the market street, she'd seen the universal symbol for a clinic while doing her shopping. Filing the location away for later, she made a beeline back to it now that her hands weren't full of supplies.
The doors opened with a gentle hiss, the sterile white interior a stark contrast to the brown and green copper buildings outside. The infirmary lacked all culture, replaced instead by technology and sleek modern design.
A front desk was occupied by a female who looked all but human, save for her bright, nearly perfect blue skin and deep red eyes. Anwyn had no clue what sort of race she was, but she thankfully spoke Galactic Basic. "Welcome. Are you in need of services?"
"Yeah, actually. A blood test." She responded, leaning against the counter casually, careful not to bump the kid's head against it. The woman typed a few things into her terminal, before looking back up at her.
"Name?"
"Anwyn Kallos."
"Reason for your diagnostic?"
"Lineage search."
"One moment." A few more seconds of data input later, the woman gave Anwyn another smile. "Payment is taken upfront, and the diagnostic cost is on the holopad."
She grabbed the rest of her stolen credits from her pouch and handed them over to the woman, who accepted them gracefully. "Please remain here a moment. A medical unit will be with you shortly."
"Thanks."
Anwyn took a seat on one of the white chairs against the wall of the building, wondering why comfort had seemingly been forgotten in their design. The air she breathed in felt filtered, heavily sanitized in some vent somewhere before spat out the other end. Clean, but manufactured.
She was the only one in sight, other than the blue lady, of course, so thankfully she didn't have to worry about people wondering her business. And the receptionist didn't look particularly interested in her at all. She looked down at the baby, who was still playing quietly with his toy.
"When's the last time you had a toy, huh?" She asked to herself, not expecting nor receiving an answer other than his idling coos. Unable to help herself, she brushed at the fine hairs on his head, smoothing them down so they weren't going in crazy directions. "You're real cute, you know."
Those eyes turned to her now, as if he could understand exactly what she was saying. Anwyn's fingers paused, wondering exactly how much of everything he could actually understand. She'd had the same thought back when she'd snatched him away from the Imps, but now it came to her again, stronger this time. What did the little guy think of all of this?
A door suddenly opened up across the room, and a humanoid-shaped medical droid stepped into the lobby.
"Patient: Anwyn Kallos, we are prepared to see you now." It said in a robotic voice, it's eye ports blinking with each word. She rose, following as it turned in place and started back the way it had come from.
The door shut behind them, and the droid continued until it turned into a small room with medical table set up in the middle. "Please, take a seat." The droid instructed with an extended metal limb, and she did as asked. She set the bag with the baby in it on the table beside her.
"Diagnostic request: blood sample for biological comparison. Is this correct?"
"Yes." She replied, and the droid beeped an affirmative.
"Extend appendage, please." It chirped in monotone. Anwyn rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, finally offering her forearm to the droid with a small worm of apprehension. No matter how many times she'd done this, she always got nervous when it came to the part with-
A metal clamp gripped her by the wrist, preventing her from moving. "Try to relax." It said as the other limb drew closer, a small needle protruding from what would have been it's finger. Its bedside manor fell a little short thanks to the robotic filter. The brunette bit her lip, watching closely as the droid jabbed at a point close to the bend in her elbow, the sharp pain nearly making her flinch.
The baby had stopped playing with his toy, instead deciding to watch as Anwyn sat still so the vial within the droid's 'hand' filled with her blood. She looked down at it, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, we're almost done. I'm alright."
He only gave her a worried look with those huge eyes, but she reached down and presented him with his toy again, which caught his attention once more.
Seconds passed, before the droid extracted it's arm and released her wrist. She pulled it back with relief, rubbing the point where the needle had been inserted. It had already closed, thanks to the bacta solution along the outside of the needle.
The droid turned to a machine nearby to the medical table, inserting the needle into a predesignated port for the blood vials to be dispensed, a whirring noise starting deep within the machine. It finally turned back, arms back at it's sides.
"Sample collected. Analysis in progress." It said, and Anwyn nodded to herself.
Several minutes of silence passed as the machine did it's work. Anwyn kept the baby occupied with it's toy, glad that he'd behaved so well up to this point. Compared to the little monster she knew he could be while in hyperdrive, she was pleasantly surprised by his good manners.
The screen on the machine suddenly changed, a chart of her blood workup on display. She couldn't decipher what any of it meant, but that was what the droid was for anyway.
"Analysis complete. Comparing to Naboo genetic records..." It paused, and Anwyn could have sworn the silence stretched longer than normal. "...Result: No biological match." The droid finally deduced, and Anwyn sighed heavily.
A wave of disappointment went through her. It was her expectation, but still, she'd been hopeful that this time around...damn. Naboo was densely populate. She'd hoped that maybe, seeing as it held so many people...that it might be the one. She felt a little hand touch her elbow, and she looked down to see the kid staring up at her. She couldn't quite tell what it was feeling, but somehow she thought he was trying to comfort her.
"I see." She said sadly, already slinging the bag with the child over her shoulder again. "Well, it was worth a shot, I guess."
"Error: Anomaly detected in blood sample." The droid continued interpreting, one of the bars on the screen marked with red. "Designation: unknown. Unidentifiable value, further analysis recommended-"
"No thanks, I'll be on my way." She said in frustration, pushing off the table and out the door of the examination room before the droid could try changing her mind. She just wanted to go back to the ship and be done with this place. Behind her, the droid continued to spout robotic suggestions, but she pushed through the door to the lobby and didn't bother looking at the receptionist on the way out.
By the time the Mandalorian got back to the Razor Crest, night had fallen. Anwyn heard the hydraulic release of the cargo bay ramp, and watched it descend to the ground warily. A silver helmet appeared in view, and she relaxed against the box she was propped up on. He stepped aboard, no bounty in sight but his credit pouch clearly bulkier from when he had left the hangar that morning.
"You manage to find some work?" She asked curiously, and he nodded, stepping past her and the child who played with his toy a few meters away to put his weapons in the locker.
"Tracked a bail-jumper on the other side of town." He explained, finally snapping the locker closed and approaching. Then, he tilted his head at the child and pointed at the yellow object he held. "What is that?"
"His toy. Cost me more than I'm willing to admit, but he seems to like it." She answered, looking at him again with fondness. "He picked it out himself."
"Hmm." He muttered, staring down at it. "He didn't give you any trouble?"
"Nope." She reported, standing and stretching out her back with a few pops.
The child looked up and saw his bounty hunter caretaker, smiling and raising his arms up at him, clearly wanting to be lifted.
"Come here..." He abided the child's wish, picking him up and looking him over with a critical tilt of his helmet. "Anything happen while I was away?"
Remarkably, the child looked her way with his wide eyes of his, as if imploring her to speak the truth. She met his gaze, somehow resisting those eyes. Her elbow and wrist still stung a little from the needle and clamp, but she didn't reach for it like she was want to do. Instead, Anwyn only grinned and shook her head.
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
