Arani Jakal was not ready to be stranded on an unfamiliar planet, causing her whole life to change. But in the chaos, a friend or two popped up - seemingly from nowhere - wishing to help. Ari gladly accepted and quickly became part of a small town...
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MOS PELGO was a very small and sleepy town, so much so, that it did not even show on modern maps. It was a mining town, the days long and the suns hard on the people's backs, but the turmoil was worth it. Nothing exciting had happened in town since the Marshal came back with a full Mandalorian suit. It gave them relative protection against the Tuskens and Krayt Dragons, who terrorized the low-population towns as they were easy targets.
Arani Jakal came to the town by complete accident. She came to Tatooine on a business endeavour but when her ship entered the planet's atmosphere, one of the wings blew up and the engine stalled. The ship crashed a few miles from Mos Pelgo, and in a matter of hours, she was found by Raiders.
The Sand People had kept her hostage for days, out in the hot sun. They were kind enough to give her food and drink although that was it. It wasn't until the fourth day, that they realized she wasn't from the planet, her ship had valuable cargo, and no one came to search for her.
The Tuskens came to question if keeping Arani was worth the effort. They debated among themselves before bringing the situation to their elders. Finally, on the seventh day, they came up with an answer: drop Arani off at the doorstep of the closest village. They hurriedly ushered Arani up onto the back of a Bantha, slipping off as she was nearly passed out and hit the ground. Her head swam and her vision darkened, slipping away before she knew what they planned to do with her.
Holding on tight to Arani, one of the Tusken leaders led his tribe to Mos Pelgo. Keeping a distance, he left the others and snuck through the town under the cover of night, dropping Arani off at the door of the only cantina in town. The Raider quickly questioned why they let her live. It wasn't as if they never held a prisoner before, something inside them all felt that she needed to live, to be given a second chance. And that is what he did once his hand left the gun holster. Without a glance, the Tusken vanished, leaving the girl to question everything once she awoke.
Taanti, the bartender, came to find the unconscious girl early the next morning when he went to open the saloon. Fear and curiosity ravaged his brain as he took the young lady to his boss, the town's marshal, Cobb Vanth.
The Marshal was perplexed, to say the least. No one new ever came to the town and a very little left. Here was an unconscious woman, left on Taanti's doorstep, dressed in clothes fit for a colder climate, yet her natural olive tone was red and raw from days in the sun without a head covering. She must have wandered long and far, for many days judging by these facts.
Taanti laid Arani down on Vanth's sofa and walked away without a word, knowing his friend was in deep thought.
Vanth took in the girl's appearance more. Looking closer, he brushed her sand-matted hair aside. Her lips were cracked and a meek shade and her nose and cheeks were carmine with skin starting to peel. Vanth felt for the young lady, when she awoke she will be very sore and very confused. He'd seen it many times, often with other miners, they'd spend too much time out in the sun without proper covering and not enough water. Sun poisoning and dehydration were sadly all too common on Tatooine, Vanth just hoped he could nurse her well enough that there wouldn't be any repercussions.
The girl lay on the sofa in his sitting room for the next two nights. Every time he passed her, Vanth would shake her ever the slightest, the thought of her never waking up had taken hold of his mind. But on the third night, at about one in the morning, a shocked scream came from the girl.
Vanth woke from his sleep and rushed to meet her needs; falling onto his knees in front of her and taking her shoulders in his hands and brushing her sweat soaked hair aside.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright. You're okay, miss," he whispered.
The young woman's nerves were in shock and she trembled, a tear falling down her cheek. "W-where am I?" She mumbled, her voice rough with disuse.
"Mos Pelgo, Tatooine. I'm Cobb Vanth, the Marshal."
"Arani Jakal."
Vanth smiled, glad to finally put a name to her face. "Lovely to properly meet you, Arani. Would you like something to eat?"
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SITTINGACROSSFROMARANI in his kitchen, Vanth watched her eat, trying to piece together a story he knew nothing about. The brunette girl shyly stared back, quietly picking at the bantha meat and pallies. She shifted in her chair and folded her hands in her lap.
"I . . ."
"Take your time, sweetheart, we've got all night."
"My ship crashed . . . I was supposed to land in Bestine but when I entered your atmosphere, one of the wings blew up and the engine failed. I guess that was a couple of days ago - sorry, how long was I passed out for?"
"Two - almost three days."
Arani nodded. "What's the date?"
"The 23rd."
Arani groaned and banged her head on the table. "I crashed landed on the 13th. What happened in those seven days I was unaccounted for?"
"Wish I could tell you, love, but you showed up at Taanti's doorstep three days ago. Don't fret about it too much, I'm positive the answers will come back to you soon."
"I sure hope so. In the meantime, do you think I could wash up?"
Vanth had to admit, Arani was beautiful and the absence of sand and sweat enhanced its naturalness of it. Showering did her a great help, and she looked much more healthier when he saw her fifteen minutes later. The burn across her nose and cheeks had dissipated slightly from his constant application of bacta spray. He had no women's clothes laying around so she had to borrow his, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't turn him on.
But he pocketed the notion. Arani needed to be comfortable and feel safe around him until she was ready to restart her life; she didn't need his advancements when she couldn't even remember how she came to his town.
The mystery excited him, what was this lily flower doing in the scorching desert? Nothing this eventful happened since his own near-death experience in the wilderness of Tatooine.
Vanth was about to question her more when a muted rumble shook the floorboards. It quickly became more aggressive and Arani fell against a beam, trying to hold herself up.
"Vanth! What's going on?!"
The Marshal skillfully rushed to her, placing his hands on her waist and back to keep her from tumbling. "It's a Krayt Dragon, it's been terrorizing the town longer than I've been around."
Arani's amber eyes grew in size and started to the front door. "Are we going to be safe?"
"As long as I'm wearing my armour and we don't provoke it or go outside."
Arani nodded. "Right. How often does this occur?"
Vanth shrugged. "It's more on the spontaneous side."
"And it eats people?"
"Yep."
"Great." Armani's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled. She would have given herself another concussion had not Vanth been keeping a firm grip on her. The events through the week into that day had been too much for her, passing out was the only solution her body gave her to give herself some sort of feeling of control.
Vanth huffed and lifted her into his arms once the Dragon had left. This was going to be a very long day, and maybe even week.
