#aliit

Boost always knows when Sinker is home, because the house suddenly becomes a lot louder and more full of brighter colours. If he's honest with himself, there's been a few times where it's been a little annoying... but right now, he's just happy to not be home alone, any more.

"Baby!" Sinker coos, bouncing over to the couch and draping over the armrest to give Boost a noisy kiss on his cheek. "Mwah! How's my darling?"

Well, his darling was about to go and sit in the closet for a few hours, but he doesn't want to say that and bring down Sinker's own mood. It's obviously good, and while good days aren't exactly rare for Sink, it's not Boost's place to spoil things.

"Doing okay," he says. His phone buzzes in his hand with a text from Comet, saying he's on his way home, and he swipes away the notification.

"You sure?"

"Mm."

"Hm."

It's an uncharacteristically short and quiet response. Boost looks up just in time to see Sinker unceremoniously wiggling his way over the armrest in a way that kind of makes him look like he's trying to do the worm, or maybe give himself the Heimlich.

"What are you doing?" he can't help asking, because it's generally best to get ahead of Sinker's ideas, when he can.

"You sound like you could use a hug."

Sinker wraps around him like some sort of cephalopod. Boost lets his arms get pinned to his sides as his best friend's weight settles in his lap, weighing him down against the cushions.

"Okay, Sink," he says. And at first it's kind of just to make him feel like he's helping, but really... He tilts his head sideways, letting out a soft sigh. Yeah, it does help.

"You having a rough day?"

"Kinda."

"Well, I'm proud of you." Sinker kisses his forehead. "And you're doing a great job, I bet." A kiss to his nose. "And Comet will be proud of you, too, when he gets home." A kiss to his chin.

"You think so?" Boost can't help asking.

"Of course! You've done a lot to be proud of."

‘Mando. I got your transmission. Wonderful news! When you get back, deliver the quarry directly to the client.’ the older man said scratching at his greying beard before continuing.

‘I have no idea if he wants to eat it or hang it on his wall but he’s very antsy.’ with a flick of a switch the hologram of the man was gone and the Mandalorian had begun his descent to Nevarro.

Feeling that the kid was being far too quiet for his liking, Mando looked back at him again and sighed. “It’s not a toy.” he fussed sternly as he saw that the child had once again grabbed the knob and was gnawing on it. Setting it back on the dashboard Mando grabbed the child by the scruff of his clothing and placed him back in the hoverpram.

After landing in the port Mando and the child headed for the cargo hold to head out, as the ramp was descending Mando could have sworn he heard something. Shifting his gaze to look around the haul he didn’t see anything obviously amiss and just assumed that the noise was something that shifted during flight. Thinking nothing else of it Mando and the child walked out of the Razor Crest and headed into town.

Upon arriving at the client’s temporary accommodations, the mandalorian banged his fist in the steel door. A TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid emerged, scanning a card the mandalorian held up to it before opening the door. Two stormtroopers emerged, they took one look at Mando and the child before nodding to each other and leading them inside.

After dropping off the child and receiving his bounty, a pod full of small beskar bricks which were no doubt stolen, Mando headed to his covert intent on getting a new set made from the material. While he and Boaz had done the best they could, repairing his armor, the durasteel was at its limit and he needed to replace it with something much sturdier.

Reemerging from the shadow of his covert the mandalorian entered a tavern where the Guild operated, new pure beskar cuirass shining in the warm sun’s light.

“Mando!” Greef’s booming voice cut through the tension of everyone staring at him in the tavern. The older man had a bright smile on his face as he waved the Mandalorian over to his table. “They all hate you cuz you’re a legend!” he laughed as he and Mando both watched the occupants of the tavern watching them from the corners of their eyes.

“How many of them have tracking fobs for the kid?” Mando asked not wanting to beat around the bush.

Greef scoffs before picking up his cup from the table “Damn near all of em! But none of them could close the deal. Only you Mando!” with a pat from his hand on the table he gestured for Mando to take a seat at his table. “Sit down my friend! Take a load off!” unstrapping the rifle on his back the mandalorian sat down with him who was sipping his spotchka in heavy gulps. “They’re all weighing the beskar in their minds, thinking about how to take it from you.” the man said as he waved his arm around the full room gesturing to all the bounty hunters that were still silently eyeballing them.

“But not me! No, I celebrate your success!” Greef clarified, setting the now empty cup down, calling for another “Your success is my success, hell even I’m rich!” he chuckled briefly, pulling two bricks of beskar from his coat to show off.

“Now what can I do to show my gratitude to my most valuable partner?” the mandalorian wasted no time, getting straight to the point he said. “I want my next job.” cocking his head to the side Greef looked mildly surprised. “Next job? So soon?” Mando nodded his helmet causing the older man to chuckle. “Take some time off Mando! Enjoy yourself. Why not go and visit some of the lovely ladies down at the old Rhodes Parlour House.” the Mandalorian looked at him and said nothing so Greef continued. “If that’s not your cup of tea I can take you to the Twi’lek healing baths.” he said with raised eyebrows.

“I want my next job” the faster Mando got the puck the faster he could get out of there. “Yeah alright fine.”Greef said as he emptied a small sack full of bounty pucks onto the table in front of them. “Take your pick, these are all far away” Mando shuffled through them a bit before picking up one “The further the better” Picking up the bounty puck of a noble mon calamari who had skipped bail Mando nodded his head in farewell and left the tavern, heading back to the Razor Crest.

Upon entering the ship Mando started switching on switches and pressing buttons, powering up the engines like a ritual as he became preoccupied with his thoughts. He had so many unanswered questions floating around in his head. What were they going to do with the kid? What is the Empire even doing here? And why was Greef so casual about working with them?

He thought better not to ask so as to not draw suspicion to himself. As he reached forward to pull a level he froze, this was the same lever the kid was playing with, the one that didn’t have the metal knob because he couldn’t keep it outta his cute little mouth. Screwing the ball back on Mando was lost in thought again for a brief moment before he began shutting everything back down and left his ship in a hurry, he knew what he had to do and he’d do it even if it killed him.

Heading from the port Mando walked, feeling uneasy, he was already on edge thinking about what he had to do but he also noticed a strange atmosphere in the air around the small town, as if something wasn’t right. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but the further he walked the worse the feeling got. Now within eyesight of the Crest, Mando was suddenly alert as he watched a gloved hand reach out from a dark alleyway, snatching up an unsuspecting Rodian from where he leaned on a building nearby, no one else seemed to have noticed but him.

What the hell?

Crossing the street and following as stealthily as he could Mando watched from the shadows as a dark hooded figure dragged the Rodian further down the side streets, hand over his mouth to muffle his cries for help until the figure turned one last backstreet reaching a dead end. Mando silently watched as the figure roughly threw the Rodian into a pile of garbage, pressing their boot against their chest pointing a blaster to his face. Figuring he had come across someone else collecting a bounty, he was just about to mind his business and turn around when the figure began to speak.

“Where is the Mandalorian?”

He knew from the voice that it was a woman, a woman that sounded eerily familiar to him but couldn’t put his finger on who she was or why she was looking for him or if it even was him she was looking for.

“I don’t-I don’t know who you’re-!” the Rodian panicked as he waved his arms around, the figure dug her heel into the Rodian’s chest even harder, pressing her blaster directly to his forehead powering it up “Oh Maker! Please! Spare me!” he cried.

“Shut up and answer the fucking question!” she pressed the blaster even harder no doubt leaving a mark. “Tell me before I kill you!”

Having seen enough, Mando emerged from the shadows his own blaster drawn, he roughly grabbed the figure by her shoulder tossing her to the ground intending to stand over her with his blaster to her head but before she hit the ground she had somehow pulled a vibroblade from her boot and had it at his throat. During the scuffle, her hood had fallen as the Rodian brushed past them in a hurry, and as clear as day Mando could see Boaz glowering back at him, her dark eyes seething.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks, pocketing his blaster and pushing her blade away from his neck. “What’s it look like? I’m looking for you.” she said, putting the blade back into her boot.“Why?” How did she even get here? “You know why. I'm here for the kid. You got your shitty little reward for him right? That's where you got the new set.” she said gesturing to his new beskar armor “I'm gonna go get him.” Feeling a headache beginning to come on the mandalorian placed a hand on his face and sighed before continuing to interrogate her. “How did you even get here?” he pressed.

“I was on the Crest.”

“What?” snapping his head up to her Mando was sure that if his jaw could hit the floor right now he’s sure it would. Why hadn’t he noticed her?

“For a mandalorian you sure as shit aren't very conscious of your surroundings,” she smirked darkly crossing her arms over her chest like she just won some type of contest with him. He shook his head once again thoughts running a mile a minute “Ok so what you just left? What about Kuiil?” she wouldn’t look at him when he asked about him so he was sure she had left without telling him.

“You’re wasting my time.” she was dodging the question. “Answer the question Boaz.” she sighed before uncrossing her arms looking him dead in his visor as she continued to avoid answering him. “Look, you can either tell me where the kid is or I’ll beat it out of you if I have to.” there was no doubt in his mind that she could really fight him if she wanted to but he was getting real tired of her attitude.

“Would you stop trying to fight me for one damn second?” he snapped, he really was losing patience with how much time he was wasting on her but he reeled his own anger back as he saw her swallow thickly. He could see that she was listening but still wasn't going to back down from him.

“He's with Imps, you’ll get yourself killed if you go alone.” Mando started to explain, before he could even get another word out he felt her shove him into the wall behind him.

“You turned him over to Imperials? What the fuck is wrong with you?” she spat as her hands tightened around the vest of his carapace. He put his hands over her shoulders flipping them around so that he now had her pressed against the wall.

“Look I not-”

“I knew you were a chakaaryc the minute I saw you! Just like the others!”

Okay, that hurt.

“”Boaz-”

“We should have never trusted you! He’s just a kid! He doesn’t deserve this!” Boaz snarled as she shoved him off of her, going to pick up her forgotten blaster from the ground. She turned to glare at him one last time before walking off, intent on finding the child on her own, until Mando’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“I’m getting him back.”

“What?” she stared back at him as if he had just spontaneously grown another head. “I was already going to go back for him.” he approached with his hands out in front of him, ready to defend himself if need be “I could use your help.” Boaz looked down to the ground weighing her options as she chewed her bottom lip before looking back up at him. This was the first time that she had noticed that he was a full head taller than her. “Why should I trust you?” she asked, the question coming out almost like a whisper. Mando had never heard her speak so softly

“I’m your only chance here Boaz.” he offered one of his hands to her to shake, after looking off to the side again once more weighing her options she firmly took his hand and shook it, finally agreeing to rescue the kid together.

After the two came up with a plan together they wasted no time sneaking down back streets to get to where Mando knew the kid was last at with the client. As they approached the building, Mando looked around, making sure they weren't followed, before leading them to the back entrance. While the mandalorian scoped out how they were going to get in, Boaz kept an eye on their surroundings, blaster at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a familiar shape sitting in the dumpster behind them, getting closer to it she gripped her blaster even harder making her knuckles turn lighter, it was the kid’s hoverpram discarded like a piece of trash.

“Mando” she called him over somberly, unable to rip her eyes away from the object. When the Mandalorian came over he froze seeing what she was looking at. He hesitated for a moment looking between her and the pram not recognizing the emotion in her eyes, then put his hand over her shoulder attempting to reassure her. “We’ll get him back.”

“I hope so.”

Boaz stayed behind the building, in case anyone tried to slip out, as Mando went to a nearby roof for reconnaissance. When he returned he wouldn’t tell her what he found out but she knew it was nothing good. Pounding on the front door, Mando ripped the TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid out of the wall, tossing it as he signaled for Boaz to stay hidden. Two stormtroopers emerged, going to check the perimeter, while they walked any the two mandalorians circled back to the back entrance. Mando placed a hand bomb on the back wall and blew it out, causing the alarm to sound, Boaz knew this is where the fight was about to happen as she powered up her blaster following Mando inside. The smoke from the explosion clouded much of the room, the remaining troopers not able to see much through the debris.

As they circled around blasters and flashlights in hand trying to see what had caused the explosion they were swiftly taken out by blaster fire to the back. Mando emerged from the smoke just as another trooper came through the door, blaster ready to fire, but before he could pull the trigger, Mando saw a short figure jumping to wrap her legs around his torso, stabbing him with her vibroblade in the exposed parts of his neck. When the trooper dropped to the floor Boaz wiped her blade on her pants, and continued further into the room, her blaster back in her hands.

Mando quickly spared a glance back to the dead trooper as he followed her, even though he himself had killed the other two he knew this was different. She wanted them to feel it.

Once the pair reached the next room Mando shot a grappling hook at the unsuspecting trooper in from of them grappling him to them as he sank his vibroblade into his back, just ahead Boaz was pulling her knife from another storm troopers chest having shot one with her blaster and stabbed the other who had knocked it from her hands. From behind her, Mando had shot at the panel of a door, instantly overriding its security protocols causing it to open.

Upon opening Boaz wasted no time shooting the trooper behind the door swiftly in the chest. Beside where the now-dead trooper was stood a small man with glasses trying to cower away and cover something on the examination table behind him at the same time. Boaz immediately rushed up to him grabbing a handful of his shirt while holding her blaster to his head.

“No, no no please!” the man begged, “He’s just a child please don’t hurt him!” Boaz shoved him to the ground and continued to hold him at gunpoint as Mando shot down the droid that was floating above the unconscious child that was about to extract his blood. The Mandalorian pocketed his blaster and got to work trying to crack open the machine that had him strapped to the table. Seeing the kid knocked out as he was both made Boaz’ heart heavy and full of anger at the same time, tapping the blaster to the man’s head to bring his attention back to her she practically growled at him with pure rage.

“What did you do to him?”

She shoved him to the ground where he attempted to hide behind some crates that were in the lab. “I-I protected him! I swear! If it wasn’t for me he’d already be dead please!” He said, covering his head in tears, Boaz had every intention of shooting him right then and there but was stopped when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up behind her she saw Mando with his hand resting softly on her shoulder, and the kid, yawning still asleep, in the other, and at that moment she felt like all the weight of the world had temporarily lifted from her shoulders.