Personal

Though the heavy Inskako rain had let up for a short while, it once again began to storm above the heads of the Wanderer and Mari, however, their X-34 landspeeder was custom-made for Inskako's gloomy, wet weather conditions. X-34s were usually topless, but the ones in Inskako had roofs to protect passengers from heavy rain or hail.

Inside the X-34, both girls were silent, not speaking a word to one another. With her single hand on the steering mechanism, the Wanderer's eyebrows were scrunched, and her eye was squinted as she did her best to see through the barrage of rain droplets despite her impaired vision. Though there were wipers on the front glass window, the rain was coming down faster than the wipers could fully clear them away.

Meanwhile, Mari sat with her arm propped up onto the side of the landspeeder, her chin resting on her hand. Occasionally, she'd glance at the Wanderer, looking at her features and accessories with curious eyes.

At first, she noticed the Wanderer's scarred hand gripping the steering mechanism before she then took notice of the Wanderer's toned arm. 'She's so muscular...' she thought to herself as she then took a look at her neck and face.

Sensing the girl's staring, the Wanderer's single eye glanced over, prompting Mari to once again look away. By that point, the Wanderer had caught her staring multiple times over, which was starting to become an annoyance. "You gonna keep looking at me or are you gonna say what's on your mind?"

It was clear that she was irked by the tone of her voice alone. The frown on her face made it all the more evident, though that scowl was usually permanent for the Wanderer.

"Are those real?" she asked, referring to the kyber crystals hanging from the Wanderer's ears. She'd heard the legends and had limited knowledge of what exactly kyber crystals were, however, she knew that red ones came from a Sith's lightsaber.

"Are what real? The kyber crystals? Yes, they're real." the Wanderer told her, still squinting as she continued to drive through the rain.

"Did you... kill Sith for those?" Mari had a fearful expression on her face, glancing at the killer in the landspeeder with her. She knew the woman was a killer, but a Sith killer was something nearly unfathomable to most.

"These two are from the same Sith." The Wanderer had a somber look on her face as if she were recollecting the past, compelling Mari to ask another question. "Did you know them?"

"Yeah... I knew her." The Wanderer answered with a tone that was equally as grim and somber as the expression on her face. However, her tone and expression changed back to the dignified, confident expression that the Wanderer kept as a facade. "Killing her was the best decision of my life, I can tell you that much."

"Was she strong?" Mari asked.

"She was." the Wanderer replied before swiftly changing the subject. "How'd you meet this Fletsnow fella anyways? He ain't from 'round here, so how does he even know you exist?"

Immediately, Mari's demeanor changed. Her body slumped further into her seat as she turned her head away from the Wanderer, glancing out of the speeder's window. With a defeated voice, Mari answered. "I was running an errand with my father in Kyotara... He saw me and immediately asked my father for my hand in marriage. I told him no, then I ran off..."

Mari paused for a second, compelling the Wanderer to glance over with her lone eye, though all she could see was Mari's silver hair. "Later on, my father scolded me for how embarrassed he was. He told me that I was throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He told me I could become a princess. He said I could bring fortune to the village and my family..."

Though her face was hidden from the Wanderer, tears began to fall from one of Mari's golden-colored eyes. "The next thing I knew, I was engaged to a man I barely knew and would be shipped off like cargo to marry him."

"Mm. Explains why your father was actin' as if he couldn't wait for you to leave." The Wanderer told her. "You don't even wanna marry the man, huh?"

"I want to help my village. They spent everyone's fortunes making this dress for me, so this is the least I could do. If I marry him, my village will no longer live in poverty." Mari wiped her face and turned to face the front of the speeder, acting as if this whole marriage ordeal wasn't eating her up inside.

The Wanderer looked at her, seeing past the facade with just a moment's glance. She almost felt sorry for her, but in the end, the girl was nothing more than goods that needed to be delivered. Whether or not she wanted to be married wasn't her business.

There was a brief silence between the two, a sort of awkward one for Mari. Wanting to break the silence, she rose a question to the Wanderer. "Have you ever been married?" Mari asked her.

The Wanderer scoffed and then laughed at the absurdity of the question. "How old do you think I am, girl?" The Wanderer, though not as young as Mari, was fairly young herself and was a bounty hunter, so being married was far beyond the realm of realism.

"Oh- No, I didn't mean it in that way! I meant, have you ever had a special someone." Mari stammered her way through correcting her question, though once she glanced at the Wanderer, it was clear that she struck a nerve.

The Wanderer didn't say anything for a second or two, she just remained glancing forward with a lost look in her eye. Once again, she seemed to be visiting the past in her own head, seeing the so-called special someone.

"Enough personal questions." the Wanderer told her. She hadn't realized until then that she hadn't thought about that person in a very long time.

"I'm sorry..." Mari apologized, which then led to yet another silence between the two of them for nearly half an hour. Though the rain was still heavy, the two of them could make out that they were speeding down a road through a forest of sorts.

Not wanting to crash, the Wanderer slowed down and leaned in closer to get a better view. The rain was still falling harshly, though the trees managed to block some of the rain, and the fog was growing thicker. The Wanderer could barely see just a few yards in front of her, despite leaning in close to the windshield.

Suddenly, a loud bang could be heard coming from the back of the landspeeder and it came to a sudden stop, causing both of the ladies to jolt forward in their seats. "What in the?" The Wanderer muttered, looking over her shoulder to try and see if she could spot the source of the sound, however, the back windshield was completely covered in rain droplets.

The Wanderer pressed on the accelerator, but the vehicle did not move, feeling as if it were being pulled by something. "What's happening!?" Mari asked in a panic, looking at the Wanderer with wide eyes who still exuded calmness.

"Might be pirates. Sit tight, Mari." the Wanderer flipped a switch and the roof of the speeder started to open, the rain from the outside began pouring inside.

Swiftly, she jumped out of the speeder before giving orders to Mari without looking back as she placed her straw hat on her head. "Shut it. Don't open it 'til I say." Doing as she was told, Mari flipped the switch back to its original position, and the roof began to shut.

As rain fell, obscuring the Wanderer's vision, her clothes fluttered backward from the intense wind. With her eyes squinted, she looked at the back of the speeder, spotting a grappling hook attached to the back of it, leading into the dense fog in front of her.

Before long, she could spot three silhouettes emerging from the fog, each of them appearing to be wearing armor of some sort with capes hanging from their shoulders. She could also see that they were armed, each holding a blaster in their hands, though they were not aimed at her just yet.

Soon enough, these three figures were fully visible to her, each wearing matching armor, though they each had their own unique color scheme. Leading the group was seemingly a woman, wearing green plate armor, having cloth gaps in the underarms, elbows, underarms, neck, and groin so as to allow for a full range of motion.

Behind her, were two men, both having plated armor in the exact same fashion, though one wore burgundy and the other wore dark blue.

Covering their faces, they wore helmets. With just one glance at those T-shaped visors on the front of them, the Wanderer knew exactly what type of warriors they were.

"Mandalorians..." she muttered, placing her thumb on the hilt of her lightsaber.