Y/N's P.O.V.

"It hasn't grown much." Kuiil muttered as he looked at the child. It had been a few months since we had seen the Ugnaught and he was right, the child really hadn't grown much.

"I think it might be a Strand-Cast." Mando sighed as the child held my hand softly. He had been placed in a temporary carrier and every time I tried to move away, he just tightened his little hold and pulled himself along with me. I had given up trying in the end, just deciding to sit next to him.

"I don't think it was engineered. I've worked in the gene farms. This one looks... evolved. Too ugly. This one on the other hand looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora."

"This is Cara Dune. She was a shocktrooper." I introduced.

"You were a dropper?" Kuiil pointed to her stripes and she looked impressed.

"Did you serve?" She asked softly.

"On the other side, I'm afraid. But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt and now I serve no one but myself." Kuiil nodded. An IG Unit let itself in and the three of us grabbed our blasters, standing up. I pushed the child behind behind me, keeping him out of sight.

"Would anyone care for some tea?" The IG Unit spoke and I looked at Mando and Cara, unsure of what was happening.

"Please! Lower your blasters! He will not hurt you." Kuiil insisted.

"That thing is programmed to kill the baby." Mando explained, none of us moving.

"Not anymore." Kuiil muttered.

"It was left behind in the wake of your destruction. I found it, laying where it fell. Devoid of all life. I recovered the parts and staked it as my own in accordance with the charter of the new republic. Reconstruction was quite difficult, but not impossible. It had to learn everything from scratch. This is not something that can be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience, repetition. I spent day after day reinforcing its development with patience and affirmation. It developed a personality as its experiences grew."

"Is it still a hunter?" I asked cautiously, lowering my blaster.

"No, but it will protect." Kuiil nodded.

"Tea?" The droid offered and Cara took it.

~

"So..." Cara looked at me with a smirk.

"What have I missed whilst you and Mando have been travelling around the galaxy?"

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"I mean, have either of you made the first move yet?" She pushed and I sighed.

"Cara, no. I told you, that's not going to happen." I shook my head.

"Why not?" She looked at me like I was crazy.

"You're basically raising a kid together and I noticed there's only one sleeping chamber on this ship-"

"We take turns." I muttered.

"And we're not raising the kid together, we're just protecting him."

"Protecting him. Feeding him. Cleaning up after him. What does it matter? You're raising the kid together, whether you realise it or not." She smiled at me.

"You two would be amazing together, you're both strong fighters and protective over the things you care about-"

"Can you just drop it?" I sighed and she stopped for a few moments.

"Why?" She pushed a little further.

"You've lost so much and you've been through so much pain, why can't you just open up to him?"

"It's not as easy as that." I mumbled.

"I've done a lot of bad things, things that go beyond bounty hunting. I've hurt people that I care about and I can't let that happen again." Her eyes were filled with understanding and sadness, but I just shook my head.

"That's why after this- after we kill the imperials and the kid is safe- I'm leaving."

"Leaving? What do you mean, leaving?" She asked.

"Mando can look after the child without my help, he won't need me to help protect the kid, so there's no point in me sticking around." I shrugged.

"Maybe I can get back in with the guild, or I can find a small job on a small planet and retire." I laughed slightly.

"Well, I don't know what I'm doing after this job. I don't think I'm going back to the Sorgan, so maybe I'll come with you." She offered with a small smile. There was a loud growl from one of the Blurrgs, catching both of our attentions.

"I'm going down to talk to Mando."

"Cara?" She looked at me as she stood up.

"Can we keep this between us for now? Don't tell Mando I'm leaving, not yet."

"Yeah, of course." She gave me a sad smile, before going down to the hangar. I let out a sigh, taking a few minutes to consider what I had just said.

I meant it, I really planned on leaving after we ensured the child's safety.

Cara was right, Mando and I would be good together, but the more I considered it, the more I realised the feelings that I had started to get towards him.

"No, no, no! Stop! We're friends. Friends. Cara is my friend!" I heard Mando say harshly and I moved down to the hangar quickly, seeing the woman holding her throat and gasping for air, whilst Mando held the child.

"That is not okay." Cara muttered.

"Very curious..." Kuiil muttered.

"Curious? It almost killed me!" Cara looked at me in shock.

"The story you told me of the Mud Horn now makes more sense." Kuiil nodded, looking at the child carefully.

"What is it?" I asked carefully.

"What it is, I don't know. What it does, this... this I've heard rumours of." Kuiil explained, seconds before him and Cara started arguing.

"I'll tell you what. I could really use your craft work right now." Mando placed the child down in his carrier.

"Can you pad this container so the child can sleep better?"

"I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one's hands."