CHAPTER FIVE. 

THE STORM 

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Tess Oprin had only ever been truly frightened once before in her life.

She'd only ever been gripped by unsteady breath, widened eyes, and an ever racing heart once, and after that day, she'd vowed never to feel it again. She made a promise that she would push away her fear, push down the roiling stomachs and scrunched fists and nails dug into skin. She told herself that she would never go into a fight, never do anything outside of herself, just so the pain and terror couldn't take hold of her again.

Now, as she stood beside the Mandalorian, the child still latched onto her —this time comfortably held in one of the girl's arms— Tess felt the fear take her. It swept her off her feet, poisoned her mind with black agony that seemed to ooze like tar over the gears in her brain. Everything shifted in and out of focus, the earth quaked beneath her feet, and Tess thought she was going to throw up. After they'd left the sight of the dragon, bile had risen to her throat. She hadn't noticed that both the Mandalorian and the Marshal needed to help her down the cliffside, placing comforting hands under her forearms to keep Tess from slipping off the edge.

The Mandalorian would never forget it.

He would never forget how violently the girl had been shaking under his hand. Her body heaved and thrashed and her eyes darted quickly around at an unsteady pace. She had been so scared, the Mandalorian didn't know what to do. So far, he had never seen the girl be frightened, not when the dragon destroyed her shop and she almost perished in the flames, not truly when the raiders appeared from the rocks, and not even when Vanth and the Tuskens had almost gotten into a fight (something he'd come to realize Tess would avoid at all costs). She'd always responded to the dangerous situations with hardened steel eyes and determination like he'd never seen before.

When the dragon erupted from the sands and ate the Tusken whole, Tess had been scared, he could see it plain on her face. The only thing he couldn't figure out was what exactly she was so frightened by.

Tess revealed nothing as she watched the group of Tuskens speak with the Mandalorian. They were all standing around a small replica of the dragon's lair and peered with concerned eyes at how large the dragon was compared to the six small rocks representing people in front of them. Doubt crept along Tess' bones as she listened to the Mandalorian speak in the Tusken's foreign tongue.

"What are the bones?" Vanth spoke up, and immediately the entire group of Tuskens stopped and turned to him. Tess was slightly unnerved as she looked down at the scale, feeling many pairs of eyes on her and the Marshal.

"The krayt dragon." both Tess and the Mandalorian said in unison. They whirled on each other in surprise, and the moment their eyes locked (though Tess couldn't tell because of that retched helmet) they looked away. Tess fell silent once more and let the Mandalorian finish. She fiddled with her hands, rubbing them together, trying to ease the cramps that blossomed across her muscles. It was slightly difficult to dispel the pain, however, as the child was still in her arms.

"And those little rocks?" the Marshal asked.

Tess' eyebrows scrunched worriedly. "That's us." the Mandalorian said. Tess snorted, and the Mandalorian looked at her in surprise. It was the closest thing he'd ever heard to a laugh coming from her mouth. As he looked at her, the Mandalorian wondered if she had even made a noise at all, because she looked as emotionless as ever. She was impossible to read.

"It's not to scale." the Marshal said incredulously.

"I think it is." The Mandalorian replied. Tess didn't say anything. The Marshal's eyes widened in confusion. His eyebrows knitted together and his perfectly sculpted face twisted slightly.

"Can't be. That's too big." he said. The Mandalorian turned back to the Tuskens and spoke with them once more. The raiders seemed to be growing more agitated, their voices growing louder, and for a second Tess' breath caught in her throat. She turned slightly to the Marshal, eyes like daggers.

"Are you sure?" she practically growled. The Marshal looked at her, concern plain on his face. He said nothing. He didn't know what he could say to get the girl to stop looking at him as if he were something foul and loathsome. He sighed and looked to the Mandalorian. The warrior had noticed the interaction, but did not comment on it. It wasn't his palace to get involved with the mechanic and the Marshal.

Instead he answered Vanth's statement. "It's to scale." Tess raised an eyebrow. She liked it when she was right.

"I've only seen its head and neck." The Marshal said. "It's bigger'n I guessed." As the raiders continued to speak to each other, Tess worked out the plans in her head. Her mind was on the mechanics of the operation; how much firepower they would need, the amount of ammo, and if using explosives would even do the job. Tess looked up at the Mandalorian.

"It's not going to work." she said. The Mandalorian looked down at her. Underneath his helmet, his face was stiff with shock. "If you want to kill that thing, you'll need enough explosives to load 5 or more banthas."

The Mandalorian nodded solemnly, agreeing with her estimation.

"We don't have enough people." she finished plainly. The Mandalorian peered at the girl in interest. Just the day before Tess had made it clear that her plans would work, that whatever she did would be enough to defeat the dragon, and the Mandalorian had believed her. He believed that this icy girl could do anything, if Mando was being honest.

But ever since seeing that dragon again, Tess hadn't been the same. Her face cracked every once in a while. Whether it be a short gasp or a vigorous nod of the head, Tess was showing more emotion than she'd ever done before.

It scared her. She was scared. She was frightened of herself, she was frightened of the emotions she'd felt back up on the ridge, when the dragon had eaten the raider and she'd been frozen in dread, too caught up in her own thoughts to notice the Marshal's hand on her shoulder or the child clinging to her shirt. She'd been too scared thinking about the dragon to keep her mask of indifference placed firmly over her hardened features. She was like a marble statue being sheared off layer by layer, a rock trying to weather the battering of waves and losing.

Tess was losing. She was losing the battle for herself.

"Might be time to rethink our arrangement." The Marshal stated solemnly. Tess snapped her head up to the Marshal, eyes blazing. Rethink their arrangement? What did the Marshal think that meant?

"No." she said. The Marshal looked at her, and his eyes softened.

"Tess—"

"No!" she exclaimed incredulously. "We're not backing down." Her words sunk like stones, like a punch to the gut, and the Marshal was very close to keeling over from the pain. She had so much decision in her eyes that he didn't want to be the one to break it, but the odds they were looking at weren't bright, and he cared about the safety of the Mos Pelgo people more than anything in the world.

From where the Mandalorian stood, he could see the good and the bad to each side. He knew that the Marshal just wanted to keep the town safe, and he was well aware of the man's distrust towards the raiders. He also saw what Tess wanted. The Dragon had destroyed her mechanic shop, a place he'd come to understand was her home, her everything, and she was a girl who didn't back down, not when she blazed with revenge so violently. If they were able to destroy the Dragon once and for all, it would never terrorize the lands of Tatooine again, but if they backed out on their arrangement, countless lives might also been spared in the fight.

Though, as he looked at the girl and the Marshal, two beings that had lived on Tatooine their whole lives, two people who'd lived beside each other for years, who knew each other better than he did, but who also were so different in so many ways, he realized his decision.

The Mandalorian couldn't say no to Tess, and so, he turned back to the raiders and made his proclamation.

The Tuskens replied earnestly, and both Tess and the Marshal waited for the verdict. After a moment, one Tusken leaned over and poured dozens of more rocks over the sands. Tess crossed her arms, wondering what it could mean.

"That's more like it." the Marshal said, clearly relieved they would have more reinforcements. Tess wasn't as convinced. She moved her eyes to the Mandalorian's helmet.

"What did you do?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. It seemed only the Mandalorian could hear her. He gazed at her, unsure of whether she would be glad or angry at what he was about to say next.

"I volunteered your village." Tess and the Marshal froze. Her insides squirmed and her breath constricted as she looked from the Mandalorian to the Marshal and then back down to the little rocks in the sand. Each one represented a human being, a person from her town that walked and talked just as she did. While Tess barely knew the townspeople by name, she still understood that they were less fighters and more miners, farmers and tradesmen. Just like her.

It was a sickening thought.

Tess left the group and wandered off. The Mandalorian walked after her. He could see her apprehension, and as Tess walked over to the speeder bikes, placing the child in the little bag Mando had designated for him, he spoke up.

"You don't think I should have volunteered the village." Tess paused. She placed her hands face down on the seat of his bike, and he watched as her hands began clenching at the fabric, knuckles turning white. Her face showed none of the strain, but he knew it was there, boiling underneath her skin.

"No." she finally spoke, her voice hoarse, sounding a bit like the Mandalorian's. "I don't."

"If I didn't, then we wouldn't have enough reinforcements to fight the dragon." he reasoned. "The Marshal would have backed out."

"I know." she spoke calmly, but they sounded wrong coming from her. They were not laced with sharp edges and did not barrow under his skin as her voice did when she spoke with him last night. Tess finally turned to the Mandalorian, and he was surprised to see a hint of a smirk creeping along her lips.

"I just think they're a bit useless." she said with a finality that brought an end to the conversation. Tess did not pause to see the Mandalorian's reaction, only turned and walked over to where the Marshal was now sitting on his speeder bike. She climbed on and they began to speak in low voices.

The Mandalorian could not hear what was being said, but he watched as the Marshal's face softened and he offered the girl a faint smile. Tess pulled strands of hair behind her ears and shook out one of her hands, trying to ease the cramp clinging to her muscles. The Mandalorian eyed her carefully, searching for any signs of the fear he'd seen back at the cave of the dragon. He couldn't find a trace.

She was an expert, he had come to find, at masking her features, just as he had learned to do. She knew how to make it look like she wasn't scared, like she wasn't frightened or breaking underneath. The Mandalorian had learnt that as well.

As he mounted his speeder bike and revved the engine, Tess' words rang clearly through his mind. I just think they're a bit useless.

When the two speeder bikes raced off into the distance, into the sand and the sun and the blazing heat, the Mandalorian found himself grinning from ear to ear underneath his silver helmet.

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Tess hadn't told the Marshal she was sorry. She hadn't told the Marshal anything close to an apology, in fact. Tess was still angry at his behavior the previous night. She still seethed with the awareness that he had almost incited a battle between them and the raiders. She still thought that he was over-dramatic and far too proud.

But after the sighting of the dragon back at the cave, Tess was in a forgiving mood. When she'd gone up to the Marshal after speaking with the Mandalorian and climbed onto his bike, the Marshal had started and turned around cautiously. He'd eyed Tess with troubled eyes, and Tess stared back at him blankly.

Then finally, after a moment, she'd spoken. "I'm going to need a place to work." she said. "A space where I can make the explosives in order to save that miserable town."

The Marshal said nothing, so she'd continued. "And it is a miserable town. It's dirty and too small and out in the middle of nowhere, and it's people are practically useless, save for a few." Despite her insults, the Marshal had chuckled at her words.

She'd then taken a deep breath. "They're lucky they have a good Marshal." he'd smiled. "Because otherwise Mos Pelgo probably wouldn't be here anymore."

The Marshal looked into Tess' eyes, teetering storms of grey and cobalt blue. Tess said nothing more, only looked out across the dunes and prepared for the ride back to Mos Pelgo. The Marshal looked back ahead, and he smiled to himself.

Softly, he'd whispered. "Thank you, Tess." and they'd been on their way. Tess hadn't replied.

To be honest, she didn't know where the words had come from. They felt strange on her tongue, bitter and viscous like plaster. Saying anything that didn't feel like a stab to the heart made Tess uneasy. She looked out across the plains of Tatooine as they rode, swirling sands lifting off the ground from the gusts of wind that pushed them this way and that. The beating suns made sweat break out across her brow, encircling her head in a golden halo, giving her hair a sheen of pure white. She couldn't tell, but the sun also changed her eyes. Blistering storms of ice and cold, the sun made it look as if Tess' eyes were in fact burning. It was like lightning flashed across her pupils, enhancing the swirl of grey and blue to make it look as if a summer storm were dancing across her eyes. The Mandalorian thought that she had never looked more powerful, here under the suns of her home.

The Mandalorian also noticed how the light didn't dampen her frozen demeanor, and instead enhanced it. But this was the nature of Tess Oprin. She never seemed to obey the natural laws. The Mandalorian sped his speeder bike up a bit to come in line with the Marshal. Tess glanced over at him, and they locked eyes. Her mouth slightly twitched, and she tapped the Marshal's side twice. The Marshal gave nothing away, but he slowly started to speed up as well, moving ahead of the Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian, despite himself, smirked, and together, both the Marshal and him revved their engines and sped along the sands, spewing grains of sand behind them, racing across the dry seas of the sandy planet.

Tess didn't smile, but her heart thrummed at the adrenaline. Everything almost seemed... peaceful.

She shook her head slightly and got a grip of herself. No, she had to remember what they were doing. She had to remember that there was an enemy out there, a terrifying, horrible monster that had destroyed her life and gotten her involved in a fight she'd vowed never to get involved in. The dragon was far worse than she'd thought, and now was no time for easing the pain riding up through her body. She pushed the calm to the knot under her ribs, and frowned.

After a while of riding, the Mandalorian dared to speak. "What happened with you and the raiders?" Tess looked back from where she'd been staring off into space. "Why do you and the town distrust them so much?"

The Marshal sighed and looked back to where Tess was watching the Mandalorian. She looked up at him and they shared a quiet stare. The Mandalorian raised an eyebrow.

Then the Marshal turned to the warrior. "They attacked us less than a year ago." he said solemnly. "Killed half a dozen of us by the mining camp." Tess looked down to the Mandalorian's speeder bike, suddenly becoming very interested in the gears of the machine.

The Marshal continued. "I'd say I took down about twice as many Tuskens." the Mandalorian nodded slowly. Tess looked out into the distance, and soon a small outcropping became visible. Dark shapes took form, silhouetted against the bright suns. Mos Pelgo. The place she'd lived for more than five years now. In a way, her home.

No, she thought, the shop was my home, now it's gone. She gulped slowly, now you don't have anywhere.

"They'd attacked before." she found herself speaking up, voice a thunderous applause, hoarse and rough, like sand running through cracks of concrete. "Several times, they just didn't kill anyone."

The Marshal nodded in agreement. "They took our mining equipment. Our food and some of our harvest." he pursed his lips. "In retaliation, we cut off the water supplies." Tess nodded. The Mandalorian looked between the two. On the Marshal's face, a hint of guilt played on his perfect face. Wrinkles lined the edges of his oval eyes, and his brows knit together in worry. He was starting to regret inciting a fight between the town and the raiders, just as Tess had blamed him for doing.

The Mandalorian then looked at the girl. She was as solemn and placid as ever. But underneath, she was trying not to show the damage done to her.

They grew closer to Mos Pelgo with every beat of silence. Tess found herself shifting in her seat. For once, the quiet was like a burden. It weighed her down and made her head swim. It was unusual, as Tess was a girl of silence. She enjoyed the sweet nothingness of soundless noise. She didn't mind breaking up a conversation to then work without talking while the person was still in her company, she'd done that with Jo countless times.

But now, now it appeared as if something else lined the seams of silence around the three people. Something sinister, waiting to pounce and pull them all down. From the Mandalorian, it was a thousand unspoken questions he dared not speak out loud. For the Marshal, it was the heavy weight of indecision, a blanket of concern that he wasn't doing the right thing for his town. Should he trust the raiders, should he have let the Madnalorian get involved, or should he just have continued protecting his people as he had always done?

From Tess, the silence was all the fear and pain and damage she'd endured over the years. The silence was a weight of memories and emotions she'd spent so long burrowing deeper and deeper into her chest. She'd pushed everything away from her heart, pushed her past and her compassion, pushed her smiles and laughs and happiness. She'd pushed it all away to feel safe, and now it seemed like something had switched on, a button pressed, and everything came rolling back up, knocking her off balance and causing a split to break inside her head. Inside her heart.

Tess Oprin, the fury, the heartless, was being split into a thousand broken pieces. She hated it. She despised it. She wanted to knock herself out again, to find the sleep she couldn't last night. She needed to battle nightmares she knew she could win, she needed to feel protected, feel safe in her own mind. Yet again, none of her wishes were granted.

"The town respects you." the Mandalorian finally spoke up, and Tess was relieved he had broken the silence. Now she had something to focus on instead of listening to the slow sound of her heart beating. "My guess is, they'll listen to reason."

She couldn't disagree. The Mandalorian looked to her, and paused, determining if he should speak the words bouncing around his mind.

"You too," he said. Tess snapped her head in his direction. "They will need to listen to you."

"What?" she asked.

The Marshal turned his head slightly to look at her. "He's right Tess."

"What do you mean?" Tess cut in. "you want me to talk to them?"

The Mandalorian nodded his head. "If you're going to be making the explosives, you'll need the town's help."

"I can do it myself." Tess replied stubbornly. Just the mere thought of working with the others locked the air inside her throat, compressing her throat.

"Tess," the Marshal added. "Mando is right. You can't make all the explosives yourself. We don't have that kinda time." he looked at her over his shoulder. "You're gonna have to be up there with me when I talk to them."

Tess frowned, her brows as sharp as knives. "No."

"Yes," The Mandalorian said. Tess turned to him, and he almost flinched as her piercing gaze seemed to burn holes through his armor.

"I didn't ask your opinion." she pointed out.

"Tess," the Marshal warned as Tess continued to glare at the Beskar-clad warrior. The Mandalorian held her gaze, despite how it felt like she was physically hurting him. The Mandalorian could see a leader in Tess, no matter how much she tried to deny doing anything for anyone other than herself. Tess might not have worried about the people of the town, she might not have even worried about the Marshal, whom the Mandalorian guessed was the only person she'd ever grown close to, but somewhere deep down, he knew that Tess Oprin cared. She cared if the town perished. She cared if the Dragon won out and continued to terrorize the town. She cared.

And so did the Mandalorian, which is why he held her gaze and spoke with calm, clipped words. "They have a leader, Tess, what they need is someone to convince them. Someone more." You're that person. He left the last words unsaid, but they were as clear as a crystal glass, and Tess' face fell when she heard the silence following the Mandalorian's comments.

She hated it, but knew he was right. Tess was probably the only person in all of Mos Pelgo that could scare anyone into submission. A young girl no one wanted to be around, a storm they didn't want to cross. A monster they didn't want to awaken. Tess was that beast, and if they were going to be able to convince all of the town to help in killing the dragon, they would need her to scare them. They would need Tess to force them.

Tess blew out a frustrated breath and looked between the Marshal and the Mandalorian. Vanth looked ahead when his eyes met Tess', but not the warrior. He held her gaze, eyes squinting into her own. Tess didn't like that she couldn't see his face. She hated that she had no idea what he looked like underneath all that armor.

Then again, it was similar to her. Her frozen exterior was a mask, a sheen of armor to protect her from others, just like the Mandalorian.

Tess sighed. "Fine." the word strained to release from her lips. They cut like a knife to the heart. Tess turned back to watching the sands, turning away from the eyes of the warrior that talked to her like he knew who she really was. She tried to forget the way he'd spoken to her the previous night, how he'd seemed to genuinely want to know her, how he'd caught her as the child healed her leg and didn't take his eyes away from her own when she glared at him.

It was as if the Mandalorian actually did want to get to know her. It was as if he didn't care about her cutting frowns and heartless facade. He didn't care that she was angry, that she was emotionless.

He didn't care.

It confused Tess. It made her squirm with unease, made her hands ball into fists then release. It felt as if every protective layer around her was slowly pulling away, just by the way his words didn't have a hint of fear in them. It confused Tess to no end, and as they entered the small town of Mos Pelgo, speeders bikes parking outside the bar the Marshal had carried her into only days before, Tess found herself completely dumbfounded.

She took the Marshal's hand as he helped her down the speeder, feet landing onto the soft sand with a quiet thunk. She looked down at her metal leg, where not a hint of pain thrummed within the cogs and screws of the steel. Her knee ached slightly, but other than that, she felt completely fine.

Not only that, she felt. That was what confused her most. It was faint, a mere whisper of what normal beings had, but she was feeling nonetheless. She could feel the thrum of her heart inside her chest, feel the heat of her cheeks in the blazing sun, feel the pair of eyes trained on her back. She could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins, a quickening beat of ragged breaths leaving her body. She could feel.

"Remember," the Mandalorian spoke up as Tess was about to walk inside the bar, ready to have a tall glass of anything other than water. "They'll listen to reason."

Tess peered at him, brain trying to figure everything out and failing. "I wouldn't be so sure." She walked inside, leaving the Mandalorian sitting on his speeder bike, eyes trailing after the young girl.

Minutes later, Tess found herself standing next to the Marshal, arms crossed and body tingling from the feeling of having dozens of pairs of eyes trained on her. She stood a little to the side, but was still the focus point of the entire town of Mos Pelgo.

It was an insult. It was torture at it's finest having all the people Tess had spent years trying to forget suddenly have their attention snagged to her. Their eyes were a mix of anger and confusion, of wonderment and fear at the little girl they'd once called a monster, once compared to the dragon that was slowly destroying their town. Tess kept her gaze level with each of them, staring at one person in turn, and every time, when her steely gaze met theirs, the townsfolk looked away.

They did not want to be in the same room with the mechanic, she was as unpredictable as a sandstorm, and just as deadly. Tess did not relax at the sight that they still wanted nothing to do with her. In fact, it only made her more tense.

Vanth finally spoke up and gestured to Mando on Tess' other side. "This here is a Mandalorian." he said to them. "You know what that means?"

The Weequay bartender that kept the building they stood in spoke up. "Well, we've heard the stories." he said. Tess couldn't tell if she'd heard his name before, and if she had, she probably hadn't cared enough to remember.

"Then you know how good they are at killing." Vanth replied. "Now, this one's got a problem." as the Mandalorian moved his head to look at Vanth, he noticed that Tess' hands were shaking. "I got a suit o' salvaged armor and the Mandalorian creed says it's his to take." At this the people started murmuring among themselves, giving Mando dirty looks at the information. The Mandalorian said nothing, but Tess found herself teeming.

"Listen." she said, voice ringing out across the hall. It was loud and clear and crackled with energy, and the townspeople grew silent. It was as if the whole world had pressed mute at the girl's words, and Tess looked out at them, eyes never wavering. They winced. She didn't.

The townspeople listened.

"But," the Marshal continued, peering at Tess gratefully, though the girl did not return the sentiment. "I've got a problem, too." He pointed out of the bar into the sands of Mos Pelgo. "The krayt dragon has been peeling off our pack animals, sometimes taking our mining haul with it, and just recently destroyed one of our shops." He glanced at Tess, who's hands curled into fists at the memory of that day. The townspeople seemed to remember as well, and they shared looks with each other, whispering about the girl who'd just lost everything. The Mandalorian bristled as he catched some of their words. They had nothing nice to say about her, and it caused his brows to knit and he took a step closer to Tess. She didn't seem to even see him, her eyes were trained on something far out in the distance, past all the townspeople heads, probably past time and space itself, just peering out into a lifeless nothing.

"It's just a matter of time before it grows tired of banthas and goes after a couple of you townsfolk or even, so help us, the school." The townspeople began murmuring again, women shaking their heads, tears brimming their eyes at the thought of their children being eaten by a great beast. Tess frowned. She'd already almost been eaten by the thing, and no one had mourned for her. No one would have if she'd actually died, they would have said good riddance and went about their day. Tess let out a low breath and gulped in fresh air, trying to breathe normally.

The Marshal was the only one that had respected the girl enough to go in and save her from the crumbling building. Tess thought of Jo, and how the girl always seemed to be a ball of happiness, having enough compassion to bring Tess food when she forgot and stayed with Tess as she worked. But even then, Tess knew Jo was still afraid of her, that was why the girl left Tess alone when she wanted it, why she always tread lightly as she entered the shop. Jo might have been Tess' friend, but she wasn't immune to the girl's icy stares and blunt remarks.

"As much as I've grown fond of the armor," the Marshal said. "I'm even more fond of this town." Tess looked down at her feet, while the Mandalorian looked at Tess. "The Mandalorian is willing to help us slay the leviathan..." he paused, then continued. "In exchange for returning the armor to it's ancestral owners." The Mandalorian nodded towards the Marshal, and Tess took a step back until she was beside the bounty hunter.

"Well that settles it." the Weequay called out.

Tess peered up at the Mandalorian and whispered. "You're lucky." he looked down at her. "I thought you were gonna have to kill the Marshal for that armor."

The Mandalorian smirked. "I hoped it wouldn't come to that." he whispered back. Tess moved her head slightly to the side, and something passed across her face that the Mandalorian could not discern. It looked like a mix of confusion and awe, but there was something deeper, something... angrier. The Mandalorian frowned, his face matching that of the girl in front of him. Had he said something wrong?

Tess looked away, not saying anything else.

"There's more." the Marshal's voice rang out clear and true, and all the townspeople sat up at this new development. Despite herself, Tess smirked slightly, intrigued by what the townspeople's reaction would be the news.

"We can't take on the krayt alone." the Marshal's voice grew soft, as if he were reluctant to speak his next words. In this case, he was. "And the Sand People are willing to help." There was a large clamoring, and several of the townsfolk got up, pointing fingers at them with angry faces. The people shook their heads, refusing to even believe what the Marshal was saying.

One man slammed his fist onto the table. Tess peered at him, and realized it was Tofta, the man Jo had said was teaching people hand-to-hand combat. His long dark beard and rage-filled eyes did nothing to make Tess respect him at all. "They raid our mines!"

"They're monsters!" the Weequay spoke. At this, Tess took a step forward, ready to shut them all down, but the Mandalorian caught her forearm. She whirled on him, eyes full of icy rage. He held up a hand and let go, then turned to the townspeople.

"I've seen the size of that thing." he said. "It will swallow the entire town when the fancy hits it. You're lucky Mos Pelgo isn't a sand field already." He turned to Tess, then back to the crowd. "I know these people. They are brutal. But so is the Dune Sea. They've survived for thousands of years in these sands and they know the krayt dragon better than anyone here." the townsfolk grew quiet. "They are raiders, it's true. But they also keep their word. We have struck a deal."

Tess was looking at the Mandalorian. He could feel her eyes on the back of his head. "If we are willing to leave them the carcass and its ichor, they will stand by our side in the battle." at the last word Tess gulped slowly, the thought of a fight making her lightheaded. "And vow never to raise a blaster against this town until one of you breaks the peace."

No one spoke. Everyone sat silently, peering at each other, contemplation plain on their faces. Tess crossed her arms again and waited. She knew that if they agreed, she would need to speak with them, communicate with them in order to prepare the explosives for the fight. It made her stomach do somersaults, made her palms sweat underneath her gloves, but she kept her face perfectly still. It was a small price to pay, she thought, in order to kill the dragon and bring quiet back to her raging heart.

The Weequay finally spoke up. "Alright." he said. The townsfolk nodded, as did the Marshal. Tess let out a breath.

"Good." the Marshal said, then continued. "We'll need explosives, lots of 'em." he looked to Tess. "This will be a group effort, a town effort. The Sand people are willing to bring all their banthas to carry supplies to the site, but before they arrive, we'll need to make the weapons."

Tofta scoffed. "We have them." he was talking about the crates of grenades stacked near the edge of town. Their purpose was the raiders and only the raiders, and his words made Tess step forward.

"Those aren't enough to break the hide of the dragon." she said. "We'll need to make our own."

The Marshal nodded, then spoke carefully to the group. "Tess here is gonna be leading the operation." the townsfolk glared at her. "She'll be responsible for making the charges... and she's gonna need your help. She'll be teaching you how to make 'em."

The crowd erupted into protests. Tess took a step back, and the Mandalorian instinctively took a step in front of her. The Marshal was trying to calm them down, but that seemed to be the last straw for the Mos Pelgo people. They pointed fingers at the young girl, eyes blazing with a fire that had been burning for years.

Tofta's voice rose above the rest. "You think that girl is gonna let us help? She don't even like the town! Why's she in charge of making the weapons!?"

Another yelled. "Haven't you seen her, Marshal!? The mechanic doesn't fight!"

"What has she ever done for this town?!"

"She doesn't care!"

"SHE'S HEARTLESS!"

That was the last straw. Tess shoved the Mandalorian out of the way —though he was about to defend her— and stood in front of the people calling her name. Hands at her side and eyes like a raging storm, Tess' glare was like ice and fire and a hurricane that would wipe the entire universe away.

"LISTEN!" she yelled. Everyone fell silent.

Tess seethed, her bones creaking against her skin, flesh and blood all sweltering, energy trying to burst through he skin. "You're right." she said. "I don't care, I've never cared. I live in this town because I have to and that's that. I would leave in an instant if a better opportunity presented itself but guess what, it hasn't."

The Mandalorian was frozen, and he looked at the Marshal, who had the same shocked expression on his face.

"Call me what you like!" Tess continued. "I'm heartless! I'm a callous! I'm a monster!" The townsfolk looked at eachother. "But I'm also a mechanic. The best mechanic this town has and that dragon that you say I won't fight destroyed my shop! It destroyed everything I had left!" She looked to each in turn, her sinister stare lingering on the greasy-haired Tofta the longest. "I may not care about any of you, but I do care about destroying that beast. So I'm the one in charge of the explosives, I'm helping to kill the dragon, and you're gonna have to listen to me, however much it pains you because believe me, it pains me far worse."

The room was silent. No one spoke, no one moved, they were all frozen with shock.

Tess crossed her arms. "You're gonna have to trust me, and I'm gonna have to trust you." She turned her gaze back to the Marshal. "And if anyone here can't do that, then you can leave right now."

No one left.

Tess smirked slightly at the lack of movement, at the lack of sound.

For a moment, she didn't say anything. Then, her voice as clear as the calm of the world after a heavy storm, she said. "Let's get to work." 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE. 

Okaaaayyyy so this was an absolute beast to write oh my goodness! This is probably the longest chapter so far and it was by far the most difficult to get out on paper! I don't know, I just wasn't really feeling super inspired while writing but I'm still pleased with how it turned out. this chapter was absolutely necessary to bring up Tess' internal conflict and set up how she's going to aid in the fight against the dragon (that's coming next chapter so BE READY it's going to be so great!). the fear she's begun to develop as well the FEELINGS that are going on inside her heart literally have such a big role in this story so I know it was probably a little boring to listen to descriptions of her being "like a storm" and no one "wanting to meet her eyes" but it's necessary for her character, so please bear with me! 

ANYWAYS what did you think of this chapter?  Did you enjoy how the Mandalorian was ready to defend Tess and how he noticed she was scared? What did you think of Tess making up with the Marshal? AND most importantly, what are your thoughts on Tess' final speech to the townspeople? HONESTLY that's my favorite scene because Tess is just so badass and it really showed the divide between her and the rest of the town! 

As always, feel free to vote and comment your thoughts on this chapter, I always love reading them, and until next chapter (where things start to ramp up) 

Love, Mal