𝐕𝐈𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 ── ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴᴅᴀʟᴏʀɪᴀɴ

0.3

THREE.
the tough atmosphere

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"That creature's been terrorizing these parts since long before Mos Pelgo was established," Cobb explained, leading Din and me through his small town. I observed the sad place, examining the people fix and repair broken objects that were knocked over by the krayt dragon. Cobb pointed to the armor on his body, "Thanks to this armor, I've been able to protect this town from bandits and Sand People -- they look to me to protect 'em. But a krayt dragon is too much for me to take on alone." He sighed and stopped walking, leaning his arm against a block of cement. He turned to me before slowly shifting his gaze onto my Mandalorian partner. He pursed his lips before speaking up again, ".. Help me kill it, I'll give you folks the armor."

Din and I glanced at one another for a brief second. Din shrugged, "We'll ride back to the ship, blow it out of the sand from the sky; use the bantha as bait."

"Not so simple," Cobb scoffed. "The ship passes above, it senses the vibrations; stays underground." 

".. Well, do you know where it lives?" I asked the Marshal, raising an eyebrow. He looked over at me, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Sure do, sunshine."

"How far?"

Cobb inspected the land in the distance, his eyes scanning the area, ".. Not far."

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I squinted my eyes, slightly flinching at the grains of sand flowing past me. I accelerated my bike a bit forward and caught up with the rest of the guys, the warm wind rushing passed my ear. Cobb was ahead of both Din and me, leading the way. 

"You don't understand what it was like; the town was on its last legs." Cobb began to say loudly, briefly gazing back at us. "It started after we got news of the Death Star blowing up -- the second one, that is."

I felt my breath hitch in the back of my throat, my arm throbbing as I remembered that day. The day I confronted Derek, the day Luke had made a promise that he couldn't keep, and the day.. I abandoned everything.

"'.. The Force will always be with you.'" I muttered under my breath, repeating the same words Luke had told me before we parted. The pain in my arm only grew the more I thought about it; all I could do now was try to ignore it.

"The Empire was pullin' outta Tatooine; there was blaster fire over Mos Eisley -- the occupation was over," Cobb said, pursing his lips. "We didn't even have time to celebrate. That very night, the Mining Collective moved in. Power hates a vacuum and Mos Pelgo became a slave camp overnight."

I tightened the grasp on my bike's handlebar, listening to Cobb's story. He continued, "I lit out; took what I could from the invaders. Grabbed a camtono -- I had no idea it was full of silicax crystals. I guess every once in a while, both suns shine on a womp rat's tail." He turned to face me, "I wondered for days: no food, no water. And then.." He huffed. "I was saved."

Cobb seemed dazed for a moment, staring into the distance. He shrugged, "The Jawas wanted the crystals. They offered their finest in exchange, and my treasure bought me more than a full waterskin," He briefly glanced down at his armor, "It bought my freedom."

Silence had filled the air once Cobb shared his story, and we continued on with our journey, the wind howling in our ears. We eventually entered a small area with rocks all over the place -- dusty mountains and cliffs bordering our passageway.