Chapter One

Vae-Lez had to get off this planet. For one it was covered in deities-damned ice and snowstorms, a climate that Lez wasn't built for. The cold made him sluggish and clumsy. And for another, it was crawling with unfriendly people. Lez may not have had a bounty on his head yet, but he was pretty sure he was getting close to one.

It's not like it was his fault, though! He hadn't meant to steal an ex-Imperial ship, nor had he meant to crash it into this ball of ice. He had a perfectly good reason to have done what he had done, and the entire chain of events leading to this moment (really leading to every moment of his life) had been one giant accident after another.

He hadn't meant to leave his home, he hadn't meant for his planet to be blown up, he hadn't meant to spend four years of his life on a trading barge, he hadn't meant to piss of a bunch of Imps, he hadn't meant to live on the run, he hadn't meant to become a thief, and he hadn't meant to get on the bad side of the Guild. He also hadn't meant to get on the bad side of the Imps, but oh well.

And he definitely hadn't meant to get his commandeered ship, his only way off this iceberg, eaten by a giant sea monster-thing that was yet another downside to this planet. And now he was holed up in a little bar, slowly building up his credits until he had enough to barter his way off with some poor sap who he'd probably kill for their ship and credits before getting the hells out of this system.

-

A fight broke out between some large, intimidating men and a blue Mythrol in the corner. Lez pulled his hood further down and clutched his drink tighter. He didn't need any unnecessary trouble. He already was enough trouble for himself, he didn't need any extra. The fight escalated, and Lez winced in sympathy. Not enough sympathy to want to step in, no, but he knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of too many brute fists to be impartial.

The door 'wooshed' open and everything briefly quieted as a man in a Mandalorian helmet walked. His armour was Mandalorian style, but compiled of a mis-matched collection of plates, none of which looked to be made of beskar, layered overtop thick clothing and a cloak for warmth. He carried a spear-rifle concoction on his back and a blaster at his hip.

Lez watched from under the hood of his own, stolen cloak as the Mandalorian knocked over a cup, shattering it on the ground and angering the man who had been leading the fight against the Mythrol. The bartender tried to ease tensions by offering a new drink, which the Mandalorian used to start his own fight. Lez snickered. Gotta hand it to the guy, he was something else.

Lez used the distraction to make his way through the crowded bar, slipping his hands into pockets as he went, no one noticing the missing credits in the face of all the excitement. Lez couldn't help the chattering swear that escaped his lips as he slid out the door into the cold. The wind, however mild, was freezing and Lez's boots weren't thick enough to keep the icy-ness from seeping into his toes. He pulled his hood close, the snow sneaking in through the holes he'd ripped for his horns to poke through.

Lez made his way to the Kubaz who was in charge of renting out speeders. "How much for a ride?" Lez asked, lips feeling numb despite it only having been a few minutes. The Kubaz asked him where he was going. "Uh, the nearest ship." The alien began protesting, something about thievery, but Lez poured a small pile of credits into his hands. "How about I double the price and you get to stay alive." Lez growled, already feeling the weakness in his legs that came with being partially cold-blooded. The Kubaz eyed the credits, then Lez's sharp claws before nodding. He played his little flute and a speeder driven by a little R-unit pulled up. Lez nodded to the Kubaz and climbed into the back of the speeder. The Kubaz passed on Lez's instructions to the droid and they were off across the ice.

By the time they made it to a stop, Lez felt like his muscles had been replaced with sand- stiff and unstable. The ship the droid had brought him to was an old Razor Crest, pre-Empire. It looked pretty beat-up and patchy in some places, but overall sturdy. Lez thanked the droid as he climbed out, steadying himself for a moment. Damned ice planet.

After a quick investigation of the exterior of the ship, Lez pried a panel off the side by the door, numb fingers shaking so much he could hardly connect the right wires, but before too long, the door opened for him and he replaced the panel as best he could before scrambling into the slightly-less-cold, substantially-less-windy interior of the ship.

He rushed to close the door behind himself, trapping the snow and cold outside. Lez gave himself a moment to rest up and regain his mobility before moving off to investigate the ship. He'd been in a lot of ships, but never a Crest. The cockpit was smaller than he thought it would be. The lower floor was where the bathroom was housed, and a small sleeping space that looked bare but comfortable. A closet that held an impressive amount of weaponry made Lez begin to worry just whose ship he was on. And then he saw the carbon prisons. There had to be about a half dozen of them!

"Shit," Lez muttered. A damned bounty hunter. He was on a gods-damned bounty hunter's ship. "Well, it's official," he muttered, backing away from the prisons. "The universe wants to kill me."

He knew there was no way in hells he could stay on this ship, he would be found out and turned over to some kind of authority, but if he left, he'd freeze to death before he reached any kind of shelter. As Lez debated over what to do, he heard the 'whoosh' of the Crest's door opening, accompanied by frightened shouts. Lez panicked. He managed to smoosh himself in the back corner, behind a pile of crates and under some tarp netting, carefully making sure none of his appendages were showing before something heavy hit the ship and it started to shake and tip.

Lez gripped the wall behind him as he felt the engines struggle out of whatever had a hold on the Crest. He relaxed when he felt the ship jump to hyperspace. He could hear a voice drifting down from the cockpit, one he faintly recognised but couldn't put a name or face to. After a little bit, there was shuffling from the ladder and Lez watched as the Mythrol came into view, shouting up that he'd found the bathroom.

Lez watched in complete silence as the Mythrol opened and closed the closet- Lez couldn't see what was in it- and shouted something to the pilot about moulting. He began to poke around the area, soon enough discovering the carbon-imprisoned bounties. He gasped, realising exactly what he was in for, but Lez was preoccupied with the figure that had snuck up behind the alien.

It was the Mandalorian from the pub. He made quick work of the Mythrol, and Lez flinched at the 'hiss' of the carbon. He clasped both hands over his mouth to silence his breathing as the Mandalorian tipped his helmeted head in Lez's direction. Lez didn't dare move or even breathe until the man had walked away, disappearing back up the ladder. He let out a quiet breath of relieved air and relaxed slightly. At the wrong moment, it seemed.

The ship jolted as it came out of hyperspace abruptly, and Lez was tossed into one of the crates, knocking it and himself over with a heart-stoppingly loud sound. Lez scrambled to right himself, only to come face-to-face with a double-pronged pulse rifle spear, inches from his nose. He froze.

"I knew there was someone there," the Mandalorian said, his voice low and rough. Lez swallowed, heart beating so hard he suspected he could die of fear before the Mandalorian could kill him. "Take your hood down." He demanded, gesturing with his weapon. Lez flinched, and when he brought his hand up, it shook slightly. He had to use both hands to manoeuvre it over his horns and he ended up ripping it more, but in the face of impending doom, that didn't seem to matter as much.

The Mandalorian tilted his head, studying Lez. (At least, that's what Lez assumed. He couldn't really tell.) "What are you?" Lez hesitated to answer the question, but flinched back as the spear was thrust forwards slightly. "What are you doing on my ship?" The Mandalorian's voice was harsher now, and Lez was so full of adrenaline that he blurted the first thing he thought of.

"I'm...a tourist." 

pickles >>>>> falling in love, amiright?