Bounty hunting is a complicated profession

Mos Pelgo

The trip to Mos Pelgo was thrilling as going in a speeder at such velocity through the desert dunes was very exciting, for the first hour or so. After a while though, the ride started to become uncomfortable to say the least. Furthermore, being under the heat of the two suns for so long was suffocating and you started to feel slightly lightheaded.

Thank the universe Peli had been there to advise you and give you a change of clothes, otherwise your skin would have been burned from the heat. The scarf and the goggles had also been a good call because the sand hitting your face or eyes at that speed would have surely hurt.

What you couldn't comprehend was how Din wasn't dying from the sweltering heat. He was covered from head to toe not only in thick layers of clothing but also in a beskar armour that was getting hotter and hotter by the minute. At one point, shortly after leaving Mos Eisley, you had brushed his chest plate when readjusting your position in the speeder and it was already scorching hot. You didn't even want to imagine how it would feel now, after hours under the heat of the suns.

By the time the suns were beginning to set, he started to reduce the speed.

"Nights get very cold, we should stop and rest." He told you and you nodded in agreement, looking forward to getting off the speeder and stretching your now stiff body.

He stopped the speeder on a plain behind a dune, where several ironwood trees lay. The trees were dry and dead, making them perfect for firewood, so you took the opportunity to stretch your legs while gathering some of it.

Din had barely had time to light the fire when you felt a presence nearby and as you alerted him, three humanlike beings appeared out of nowhere. They were waving stick-like weapons at you menacingly and yelling something in an unknown language. You got distracted looking at their appearance because, just like Din, they were covered from head to toe but rather than clothes they wore rough wrappings all over and, instead of a helmet, their faces were covered with mouth grilles and eye coverings.

That's when you noticed that, aside from yelling, they were also moving their hands and that you understood what they were signing. Suddenly it all came together, they must be the Tusken raiders whose sign language Din had taught you.

"This is Tusken land." One of them was saying. "You can't be here."

"We're passing by." Din told them. "We're on our way to Mos Pelgo. We've met before." He added pointing to the binoculars one of them had hanging from his neck.

"That was then, this is now." He said.

Din nodded and turned to the speeder to take something out of the saddlebag and hand it to the Tuskens. It was a blaster gas canister and they seemed happy enough about it because not only did they grant you passage through their land but also engaged in a casual conversation with you, sitting around the bonfire and sharing their food and drink.

They were curious about the last time they had crossed paths with Din and about why you were going to Mos Pelgo. You were trying to nicely refuse the drink one of them was offering you — which tasted awful — when another one gave you the perfect excuse. He was complaining at Din about the binoculars, saying that they didn't work properly and you offered yourself to take a look at them.

After a quick look it was obvious some wiring was not fused properly since, depending on how you moved the device, it worked but in a jerky way. You didn't have any tools with you but you were handy. Reaching out for Din's boot, you took out his dagger and used it to unscrew the bolts and access the circuit card.

They kept talking while you worked on the binoculars but you had no idea about what because you couldn't look up. When you finally found the faulty coupling, you turned to Din yet again and rummaged through his tool belt in search of the cauterizer he always carried. You were so engrossed in the work at hand that you only realised how extremely close you were to him when you had already made the move. Your heart began to beat so fast and hard against your ribs it almost hurt.