Under the Beskar

A Desert Wasteland

It definitely felt awkward this time. Boba had spent the entire morning avoiding Din and Nia. At the same time, Din was behaving a bit possessive of her. As soon as they approached Boba's land speeder at the palace, Nia felt a firm hand wrap around her bicep as Din yanked her away from Boba as the group climb onto the speeder. Oh maker! This is going to be a really long day!

The Tatooine dessert was as hot and harsh as ever, and Nia was glad she brought her hooded poncho. Boba, Bossk, Din, Fennec, and Nia all ride out to meet up with Cobb Vanth at Mos Eisley, which was still the same sleazy shit hole it always is. According to the marshal, Adwin Charu, a Red Key employee, is said to come to the Chalmun's Cantina regularly to gamble and drink. As the team pull up to the walkway leading to the cantina, everyone gets out to greet Cobb, who was leaning against the wall of the building.

"Good morning everyone," Cobb says in his usual charming voice and smug smile.

"Vanth, nice to see you again," Din replied as he holds out his hand as the two men share a handshake.

"He's inside," Cobb says flatly.

"Let me speak with him," Nia suggested, which caused both Din and Boba to glance at her in protest. "You two will only intimidate him and he may run off before we could interrogate him," Nia says firmly.

"Interrogate?! I'm hoping to kill him," Boba sneered, speaking for the first time since leaving the palace.

"At least let me walk in first before you boys barge in with pointing your guns at him," Nia says as she takes a step forward, but suddenly she feels a firm grip on her forearm, preventing her from moving. Nia looks over her shoulder to see Din giving her a disapproving look under his helmet. No need to see his facial expression, or use the Force, to understand exactly what he is trying to tell her.

"I just need to touch him, it could give me some insight to the location of their secret hideout," Nia says firmly, trying to convince the armored man in beskar to let go of her arm.

"No," he ordered with a growl.

"You know that I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. I just need to get close to him," Nia says as she looks up at Din, meeting his eyes under his helmet. With a heavy sigh, Din grits out 'fine' as he releases her arm.

"He's sitting in the back with one of his bodyguards," Cobb says softly as Nia nods her head and walks inside.

Once inside, Chalmun's was as packed as ever as Nia looked around warily. The crowd inside had changed. Larger humanoids and aliens, and a more shifty looking patrons is gathered at the bar, but everyone's attention was soon focused on Boba the second he walked in. The entire cantina fell deathly silent as the King of Tatooine, in his infamous dark green Mandalorian armor and blaster rifle in his arms, steps up beside Nia by the front entrance. His power and influence is a fucking turn on, there's no doubt about that.

However, the tension in the air got even heavier the moment Din enters the cantina in his shiny beskar holding his Amban phase-pulse rifle, followed by the infamous assassin, the Trandoshan bounty hunter and then the marshal of Mos Pelgo. When Adwin and his bodyguard see this, they were on high alert as the two men reach to grab their blaster rifles.

Suddenly, Adwin jumps to his feet and aims his rifle at Boba. His bodyguard also does the same and readies his own weapon at any who decide to make a sudden move. In response, both Boba and Din lift up their rifles, then unintentionally step in front of Nia, before aiming their weapons at Adwin and his men. Bossk, Fennec and Cobb also do the same as they take out their rifles to defend the team. Under these circumstances, now there's a stand off between the two groups as each person is ready for a gunfight, but Adwin and Nia were the ones to speak first.