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Tess did not work well with the townsfolk.
If she was being honest, it wasn't entirely her fault. While it was true that Tess hated working with others, and wasn't the most forthcoming, she was genuinely trying to work with them, if only for the sake of killing the dragon. No, the real problem with making the explosives came from the townsfolk themselves. Almost none of them wanted to get close to the girl, standing on the outskirts of the makeshift workshop set inside the bar. The Weequay had been courteous enough to let Tess work in the building, bringing out his own tools to help the girl, as all of hers had perished in the destruction of her shop.
While Tess sifted through the box of supplies, her heart ached more and more as she pulled out each wrench and welder and box of bolts and screws. As her fingers grazed over the metal, cool to the touch and ready to be used, her lip puckered. She once had a box just like this one. It was a mess, a kit of scattered tools thrown together into a perfect chaos that was entirely Tess' own. One time, Jo had watched as Tess sorted through her supplies, peering over her shoulder as she placed the grease-stained rag she'd had since she'd moved to Mos Pelgo over the collection of objects thrown into the metal tool-box. How do you know where to find everything, Jo asked. Tess had merely shrugged and snapped the case shut, clicking the locks and pushing it under her worktable. There it would stay until she had use of it again. I just do, she'd finally replied.
While most of the Weequay's tools were rusted over, and not as well cared for as Tess' own, she supposed it would have to do. Tess finally looked up from where her organization was finished, and almost moved back when she saw the half a dozen pairs of eyes trained on where she sat on the floor in front of the counter. She'd forgotten there were other people in the room. Tess looked at each in turn. Jo and Jynna were there, sitting together right at the front of the room. Jo smiled at Tess when they locked eyes, and Jynna simply gave her a curt nod, graying hair falling over her tempered, wrinkled features. Tess nodded back. The others were the people Tess knew the least. She'd picked them out of the crowd after her slight outburst in front of the whole town, peering at each in turn, trying to find the one who looked the most scared of her. If they were frightened, Tess thought, then they would be more likely to listen. That was something she needed if they were going to get all this done before the raiders arrived.
Then everything would become chaos. She could already tell.
Someone cleared their throat a little to the side of Tess as she stared blankly at the people before her, taking in their mix of glares and terror-filled eyes. They hadn't even begun and it was already getting off to a bad start. Tess looked over to where the voice had come from, and she locked eyes with the Mandalorian, who leaned against the back wall, hands fiddling in front of him. He raised a brow as Tess shot him a warning scowl. Let me do this, her eyes seemed to say, my way. The Mandalorian said nothing more, only continued to watch the scene unfold. Despite wanting to help the girl —he'd been ready to defend her when the townspeople had been outraged— the Mandalorian couldn't deny that the idea of Tess having to work with others made him chuckle. She was an independent soul, he'd come to realize, and watching her struggle to communicate with others was amusing, to say the least.
