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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⊱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰
THE PYKES CAME when everything was at a standstill. The part of the city they were in was evacuated, the only ones there who would get hurt were the ones fighting. Fennec had yet to return but Cad Vane was nowhere in sight, as long as they did not fire, they would be alright.
"Any word on the others?" Din asked.
"Would be a miracle if any survived. All three gotras of Mos Espa turned on us."
Din could not find it in him to blame them. "It was the smart move."
"It was. I suppose you'll be heading out."
"I'm not."
"You should."
"It's against the Creed. I gave you my word. I'm with you until we both fall." It's the only thing I can do. There's nothing more I can lose. Is what he wanted to say, but could not.
"You really buy into that Bantha fodder?"
"I do."
"Good."
The two returned their gaze to the group of thugs outside.
"The way I see it, we have two choices. We wait until they get into position and launch a siege on their terms."
"Or?"
"We rush out there, catch them unaware. Then we can escape to your ship at the palace."
"I can't abandon Mos Espa. These people are counting on me."
Din took in a breath, steadying himself. he was being reckless, but he had no life to lose. "Okay, then. We'll both die in the name of honour."
"You sure you wanna stay?"
He pulled out his blaster. "This is the way."
The majordomo stood from his spot. "If I may offer an alternative? Shall I continue? I'll continue. You may not know this about me, in fact, how could you, except perhaps what vestiges remain of my accent, but I was educated on Coruscant. Not that makes me better in any way."
"Get to it," Fett snapped.
"Yeah, uh . . . I attended finishing academy. My parents were not wealthy by any means. I specialized in Civic Council Negotiations. Now, if you would feel confident empowering me to negotiate on your behalf, I'm fairly certain we would be granted passage off-world with, at worst, some theatrical symbolic, grovelling gestures and an exchange of funds."
"Very well. Give me your tablet. I will write out my statement and what I am willing to pay."
The man did as he said, handing Fett his tablet. "I shall go as your emissary. I have no compunction whatsoever genuflecting or even grovelling if needs be, which would save you from any potential bruising of ego, so to speak."
He handed the item back over. "Now go before I change my mind."
"Yes. Excellent. Salutations! Salutations! I am unarmed but for this tablet bearing the terms of surrender."
Din glanced at Fett, unsure if the Twi'lek would lead them away from conflict or into it.
"I wish to present to whomever spokesperson is empowered to deliberate an acceptable outcome in the eyes of the Oba Diah high council," he continued.
Fett nodded and they snuck out the back of the building, hiding in plain sight, ready to fight when the moment allowed.
"'. . . following offer. Nothing. You will leave this planet and your spice trade. If you refuse these terms the arid sands of Tatooine will once again flourish with flowered fields fertilized with the bodies of your dead.' His words."
The Pyke aimed his blaster, ready to shoot the Majordomo but, at the last second, switched it, shooting upwards. Fett hopped off the roof, dodging the blaster shot, and killing the Pyke in return.
The two men landed when about six remained, thinking they still had the upper hand. But then a wave of hidden sharpshooters revealed themselves. One by one, as swiftly as possible, they took them out. yet, there were still more.
Din turned, killing one who had tried to sneak behind them. In a matter of seconds, Din was on the ground, all fire directed towards him. But he recovered and launched his whistling birds, all twelve hitting their intended targets.
"They just keep coming."
Din did not answer Fett, too many things were happening. The two men spun back around, taking down the same Pyke who sat on a roof. But the kill was proven almost useless. Another wave of fighters entered the battle, knocking the two Mandalorians down. It seemed to be the end for them until a Pyke died from someone else's blaster.
A cruiser came from around the corner, full of people, all brandishing weapons.
"The people of Freetown," Fett huffed in amazement.
With newfound hope, the two jumped back into the thrall. Taanti parked the vehicle and the people climbed out, dashing behind it for cover. Din and Boba joined the group and soon the Pykes went into hiding, the sound of blaster fire dissipating.
"I'm sorry about the marshal," Din said to Taanti.
"They gunned him down in cold blood."
"You didn't have to come here."
"Yes, we did. The planet deserves better."
The sound of speeders caught their attention and they all turned, finding the rest of their flank coming their way. Skad's bike was shot out from under him and he was tossed into the air, landing in front of the vehicle. Thankfully, he was not hurt and Drash came to his rescue, helping him up.
"Are you all right?" Fett asked them.
"Got pretty hairy back there," Drash said.
Skad glanced at the group. "Where'd all these sand scurriers come from?"
Without taking her eyes away from the fight, Jo answered. "We're here to save the tails of some city rats."
Fett looked at her. "Save it for the Pykes."
Suddenly, Krrsantan came from around the corner. Everyone from Freetown stopped shooting and watched as the Wookie fought off four Pykes. A sniper from a roof shot at him but he turned, picked up his gun, and shot the criminal. Santo struggled to make his way to them, taking hits constantly.
The others opened fire, trying to protect him, as the Pykes ambushed him, but he eventually fell.
Fett glanced at Din, telling him to cover him, and then ran out, helping Krrsantan up. Din followed, doing what was asked of him, taking down three Pykes before retreating back to the cruiser.
"They're falling back!" announced Taanti.
There was cheering and hollering but Din knew better. Switching his helmet to heat mode, he found a large droid coming for them. "I wouldn't celebrate yet. We got problems." As the first one turned the corner, another came into view. "We got real problems."
