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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
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MOS Pelgo was just like any typical town on Tatooine; though Artemis could feel a disturbance in the air. There was something the people feared. Artemis could feel the people watching them. They were curious and she knew not many travelers came here.
Din got off the speeder and offered her his hand. Artemis, though knowing she was perfectly capable of getting off on her own, accepted his hand nonetheless and slid off, too.
Her feet touched the ground and the turned her head to look over her shoulder to Grogu. "You okay, buddy?"
Happy babbling came from him and Artemis knew he was just fine.
"Let's head into that cantina," Din said, nodding at the cantina a bit further along. "I'm sure there'll be someone who knows where we can find the Mandalorian."
"Right behind you," Artemis replied, as she pulled her hood up.
The two of them headed inside and halted as they eyed their surroundings. It was dark inside but Artemis' eyes adjusted almost immediately. Looking around, she noticed there weren't many customers—there certainly was no Mandalorian.
"Can I help you?" the bartender questioned Din.
Artemis turned around and noticed that the bartender wasn't in awe with Din and his armor. Perhaps he had seen it before. This gave Artemis hope.
"We're looking for a Mandalorian," Din said, placing his hands on the counter desk.
"Well, we don't get many visitors in these parts," the bartender said. "Can you describe him?"
"Someone who looks like me," Din said dryly.
"Mmm," the bartender said, eying Din up and down. "You mean the Marshal?"
"Your Marshal wears Mandalorian armor?" Din questioned, surprised.
The bartender grunted and nodded at the entrance. "See for yourself."
Artemis twirled around, eyes wide as she recognized the man in the doorway—or at least, who she thought he would be. Her hands were already on the vests of her lightsabers before she could feel that it wasn't him. It wasn't Boba Fett.
Din, who had noticed the change in Artemis, stepped automatically forwards, shielding her from view.
"What brings you here, strangers?" the man asked.
Din eyed him up and down. "We've been searching for you for many parsecs."
Artemis wanted to tell Din that he wasn't a real Mandalorian, that he wasn't even the true owner of the armor he wore, but she was still too surprised to say something. Plus, she didn't seem to get bad vibes from him.
"Well," the man said, stepping into the cantina, "now you found me. Weequay," he added, looking at the bartender, "three snorts of spotchka."
The bartender dove after his counter desk and reappeared with a bottle containing blue liquor and three cups. Artemis could sense Don's confusion, knowing they couldn't remove their helmet—so what's the point of drinking?
"Why don't you join me for a drink?" the man said, turning away to walk to a table.
Din and Artemis turned around and watched him sit down before removing his helmet. As she had suspected, it wasn't Boba Fett.
Waves of shock rolled off Din as he stared at the man's face.
"I've never met a real Mandalorian," the man said, giving them a friendly smile as he eyed Din up and down.
Din did not reply.
The man chuckled. "Heard stories." He opened the bottle. "I know you're good at killing." He filled his cup with spotchka. "And probably none too happy to see me wearing this hardware. So I figure only one of us walking out of here." His blue eyes darted towards Artemis and Grogu. "But then I see the woman and this little guy, and I think, maybe I pegged you wrong."
"Who are you?" Din asked.
"Never mind that," Artemis said, taking a couple steps forwards. "How did you get that armor?" Her voice had dropped dangerously. "I know who wore it before you and let's just say we don't necessarily got along."
That was the understatement of the millennium.
"I'm Cobb Vanth," the man said, eying her intently and frowning slightly, "Marshal of Mos Pelgo and as for the armor, I bought if off some Jawas." He drank from his cup.
"Hand it over," Din almost growled.
Cobb chuckled. "Look, pal, I'm sure you call the shots where you come from, but 'round here, I'm the one tells folks what to do."
Artemis could sense Din becoming irritated by the second as he took a step forwards. "Take it off. Or I will."
"We gonna do this in front of the kid and woman?" Cobb questioned him, gesturing at Artemis and Grogu's head that appeared over her shoulder.
"They've seen worse," was all Din said.
"Right here, then?" Cobb questioned him.
"Right here," Din repeated.
The tension in the room was thick and it made Artemis uncomfortable. She understood Din, but she wouldn't allow him to kill an innocent person, though she could hardly say this Cobb Vanth was innocent, he hadn't done them any harm. He hadn't killed the previous owner either—Artemis and her friends had taken care of that.
Cobb sighed and stood up. Both men faced each other, their hands wavering over their blasters.
"All right, break it up," Artemis said, standing between them and ushering them back. "Killing each other won't do anyone any good."
"Stay out of it, Rogue," Din said, though Artemis could tell his attention was still on Cobb.
"Yeah," Cobb added, not taking his eyes off Din, either, "I would hate to see you get hurt, lady."
Artemis sighed. She would use the Force if she needed to. "Guys, I'm sure—"
Suddenly, a rumbling was heard outside of the cantina. The three of them looked up as klaxons started ringing. Cobb gestured for them to stay put before heading towards the entrance of the cantina.
Artemis and Din exchanged a glance before heading out after him. Outside, several Mos Pelgo residents hastily fled into their houses. Artemis could feel the terror that was coming to this town.
The ground kept on rumbling and alarms started to go off. Artemis narrowed her eyes as she tried to see whatever it was that was coming towards them.
A large monstrous shape swam under the sand, stirring up the ground beneath. Artemis watched it pass them in horror—never having seen anything quite like it in her life. Her green eyes followed the thing as it swam through the town towards a bantha that was drinking water from a through just outside the town. It devored the animal in mere seconds—showing it's true form for a short period—before disappearing into the sand once more. Artemis blinked as she recognized the thing to be a krayt dragon. They were in more trouble than she had realized.
"Maybe we can work something out," Cobb eventually said.
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"That creature's been terrorizing these parts since long before Mos Pelgo was established," Cobb explained, as the three of them walked through the small village. All around them, people were trying to fix the damage that the krayt dragon had caused. "Thanks to this armor, I've been able to protect this town from bandits and Sand People. They looked to me to protect 'em. But a krayt dragon is too much for me to take on alone."
He turned around to face him and Artemis didn't need the Force to know what he would say next.
"Help me kill it and I'll give you the armor."
Din hesitated for a couple of seconds and glanced at Artemis, who nodded. Though she knew he was only doing it for the armor, she couldn't just let these people live in fear. It was her task to bring peace to the galaxy.
"Deal," Din said. "We'll ride back to the ship, blow it out of the sand from the sky, use the bantha as bait."
Cobb looked grimly. "It's not so simple. The ship passes above, it senses the vibrations, stays underground. But I know where it lives."
"How far?" Din asked.
Cobb turned his head to look at the horizon. "Not far."
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Once more, Artemis sat behind Din on the speeder. Din had offered her the front seat, but she declined, knowing he liked flying it more. Behind her, Grogu was still sitting in a bag that hung onto her bag.
"You don't understand what it was like," Cobb began as they raced over the sea of sand. "The town was on its last legs."
He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at them. "It started after we got news of the Death Star blowing up. The second one, that is. The Empire was pullin' outta Tatooine. There was blaster fire over Mos Eisley. The occupation was over."
His face became grave. "We didn't even have time to celebrate. That very night, the Mining Collective moved in."
He looked back forwards. "Power hates a vacuum and Mos Pelgo became a slave camp overnight."
He paused for a second. "I lit out. Took what I could from the invaders. Grabbed them camtono. I had no idea it was full of silicax crystals."
He chuckled. "I guess once in a while, both suns shine on a womp rat's tail. I wandered for days. No food, no water. And then . . . I was saved."
He then proceeded to tell them how the Jawas saved him. "The Jawas wanted the crystals. They offered their finest in exchange. And my treasure brought me more than a full waterskin. It bought my freedom."
Word count: 1587
I hope you enjoyed it and tell me what you think of it! :)
Published: October 23rd 2021