Armored Passion | The Mandalorian

|6|

"Damn, that thing can really move," I mutter under my breath, my eyes flicking over to the speeder that Vanth was riding. I admired the speeder for a little longer before honing back in on whatever Vanth was talking about. I was hoping that he would let me take a look at his speeder after this job because I was desperate to figure out how the inner-turbine size was managing to hold up the large panels it was cased in. 

"You two don't understand what it was like. The town was on its last legs," he says, shaking his head a while his hazel eyes continued to scan the sandy terrain in front of us. He looks back over to Mando and me, shrugging his shoulders before speaking again. "It started when we got news of the Death Star blowing up. The second one that is."

I tense up and my arms tighten around Mando's torso. He obviously notices since he takes the time to glance over his shoulder to look at me. I quickly avert my eyes, not wanting to meet the blank gaze of his visor. He hums quietly and reaches one of his hands down, resting them on my clasped hands that were resting near the middle of his torso. I relax into him a little more, finding comfort in his subtle touch. 

"The Empire was pulling out of Tattooine. There was blaster fire over Mos Eisley. The occupation was over, but we didn't even have time to celebrate. That very night, the Mining Collection moved in," he continues, shaking his head, "Power hates a vacuum and Mos Pelgo became a slave camp overnight."

A quiet sigh escapes me as I close my eyes, my cheek slowly resting against the pack on Mando's back. Even though it was just another mining settlement like all the rest, they each resembled everything the Empire had ever tried to establish.

Order.

"I lit out. I took what I could from the invaders. Grabbed a camtono. I had no idea that it was full of silicax crystals," he says, letting out a small sigh, "I guess every once in a while, both suns shine on a womp rat's tail... I wandered for days. No food, no water."

I think back to when I had been left on that treacherous planet. How I had barely managed to even heal myself with the little energy I still had left in my dying body. How I stumbled around for days in the forest like Vanth had in the desert, trying to find some source of food or water while trying not to get found by the mysterious race of savaged that had tried to kill us. 

I grimace and lean into Mando a little more, happy that the time spent there had passed and that I was back here with him. 

"And then, I was saved."

I had ended up finding this old broken down ship in the middle of the thick forest, completely encased in leaves and strong vines. It took me a while to actually get it out of the thick brush, but I had managed to do it and get the job done. Of course, I had to fix it up, saying that it was in the shittiest state it could be in, but I had managed to fix it up in a day's time. Then, I got the hell out of there with the little fuel that was still sloshing around the small metal tank. 

I had thought of just flying back to Nevarro in hopes of getting help from Cara and Greef, but Leia and Han happened to be so much closer and the ship I was flying felt like it was going to crumble within seconds of takeoff. So, I opted for the closer option in hopes of living to see another day. 

Now that was a horrible ride. 

"Of course, the Jawas wanted the crystals. And then they offered me their finest in exchange. My treasure bought me more than a full waterskin. It bought me my freedom," Vanth finishes, letting a small hum trail his words as he finished with his story. 

"Well, it sounds like you really kicked those bandits asses," I say, opening my eyes back up to look over at him. He smiles and shrugs his shoulders, but his smile was short-lived as his head snapped back to the path set in front of us. He holds his fist up and we come to a sliding stop, turning the speeders and rushing to take cover behind the metal framing. I furrow my brows and my eyes flick between the two men as they both drew their large rifles.