Ask Tatooine The Sands Of My Father...

[Mu'hjah Fairuz]

Theme ​

As the twin suns of Tatooine hung low in the cloudless sky, casting an ethereal glow upon the vast expanse of golden sand, the desert landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see. The air was dry and arid, with a hint of ancient secrets whispered through the shifting dunes. Towering sandstone cliffs, weathered by countless sandstorms, stood sentinel against the relentless winds, their jagged edges contrasting against the smooth curves of the sandy sea. The silence of the desert was broken only by the occasional cry of a native creature, echoing in the distance. Tatooine, a world of extremes, revealed its desolate beauty in the intricate patterns etched upon the sand, rippling like waves frozen in time. Amidst the vastness, isolated settlements dotted the horizon, their domed structures protecting inhabitants from the scorching suns and embodying the resilience of those who called this unforgiving planet home.

Su'nil was right. With its mystique and solitude, the desert of Tatooine stood as a true testament.

Stepping off the freighter, Mu'hjah momentarily knelt amongst the blistering sands. Grasping at the granules beneath her, she uttered a prayer in homage to her father's ancestral home. The journey had been long and arduous; yet with every obstacle, the pit fighter met each challenge with fierce determination. Without any further delay, she moved on, into the shambling market. Despite the setting of the suns, the heat alone was merciless. Even with her respirator, Mu'hjah could still smell the swirling dust mixed with the pungent scent of various alien spices. The settlement had a labyrinth of winding streets and makeshift stalls, each one adorned with vibrant awnings and alien symbols. The buildings were weathered and worn, with sand-scoured facades and faded signage, bearing testament to the harshness of this desert world. The occasional moisture vaporator stood tall, a stark reminder of the planet's aridity.

Aliens of all shapes and sizes traversed the market, their unique appearances and languages forming a harmonious cacophony. Jawas, their glowing eyes peeking out from beneath their tattered robes, haggled and traded with customers, their sandcrawler parked nearby (laden with goods). Their droids tittered along close by, beeping and whirring as they attended to their assigned tasks. The smell of sizzling meat wafted through the air, compliments of a stout Twi'lek chef who was expertly grilling a variation of meat over an open flame. Passing by each and every stall, the Tusken (garbed in blue) eyed the fascinating array of wares. Admittedly, she was captivated by the shimmering fabrics of Tatooine's traditional garb, their vibrant colours contrasting against the sandy backdrop. A stall nearby offered an assortment of strange artefacts, including ancient weapons, alien trinkets, and mysterious relics, each with its own story waiting to be unravelled. With each passing moment, she was drawn deeper into the maze of stalls. A cantina on the corner beckoned with lively music and the clinking of glasses, offering respite from the scorching sun. Mu'hjah, however, continued moving, her ears absently catching snippets of conversations spoken in alien tongues; there were tales of smuggling, daring escapades, and rumours of hidden treasures.

Yet all sounds fell silent when the inhabitants began to take notice. It was, after all, a strange occurrence - a lone Tusken wandering out in the streets. The people of the sands favoured their hereditary dunes; they were also known to attack anyone foolish to venture out into them. Their viciousness was legendary, as was their brutality. Perhaps that is why the marketgoers gave Mu'hjah such breadth. Others, however, were not so tolerant. Whilst glancing over some (rather poor quality) weapons, a human male decided he wanted a fight.

"Oi, we don' like ya kind 'round 'here..." When no reply came, he decided to push his luck further by grasping at Mu'hjah's shoulder. "Hey! Imma talkin' to you! You're notta welcome 'ere-"

The outlander didn't give him a chance to finish his otherwise hasty words. Taking hold of him by the scruff of his rags, the Tusken proceeded to slam her metal-masked-covered forehead into the face of her annoying acquaintance. Not just once, but twice - just for good measure. A sucker punch to the gut then followed. Naturally, the offending human doubled in pain, leaving Mu'hjah with nothing else to do but scan the wares and weapons of a particular Toydarian.

The winged vendor, not wanting any trouble, tried to wave the Tusken on. "No barter. No barter. You understand? I take only credits." Imagine his surprise however when Mu'hjah produced exactly that. Yet another oddity, considering the people of the sand rarely engaged in trade or commerce. Where had the stranger acquired such wealth? No skin off his stout; money was money at the end of the day. "Yes, yes. Have a look. Only the best here, my friend. Might I suggest the E-10 blaster rifle? I give you a very good price. The best price."

@Darasuum
@Kotii Solus

 

[Kotii Solus]

Black Hand had come and gone from Tatooine many times and even called it home for a bit. Mysha Kelborn still had a forge on the planet which provided him incentive to return recently. The outer rim world was known for being the wild edge of civilization but that had its perks. The man had come to Mos Eisley to peruse black market wares. There were some rare items he wanted to ask around about or see if he could purchase.

Kotii had a new helmet since he had last come to Tatooine and thus, few people would recognize him from armor alone. Many people could not tell most Mandalorians apart and likely doubted any affiliates of Kotii would dare to come to Tatooine. Preef Callo himself was known to use Mandalorian enforcers from what reports had said so his skin was relatively safe for the time being as long as he did not walk down the main streets of Mos Espa.

Most of his travels on the planet had been with Sector Rangers and had been conducted in the Dune Sea except for a few rare occasions. While the world was technically a part of the Hutt's domain, it was not heavily patrolled or monitored like the core worlds. For this reason it also allowed for criminal activity to flourish and this was especially the case in the hive of scum and villainy known as Mos Eisley.

The Mandalorian strode with calm and slow pace as his stoic visor panned from one merchant stall to the next. Even more odd than perhaps a Mandalorian walking the streets was a Tusken Raider. Just as he wondered if they were going to encounter trouble, a bigot made himself known before swiftly earning a series of injuries.

Black Hand approached the Toydarian stall beside the Tusken Raider, stepping over the groaning man to do so. Kotii's tusken and sign language was a bit rusty but he would still give it a shot. <"Get a good deal and test those before you rely on them."> The Toydarian's expression shifted towards the newest arrival and tried to keep his best salesman expression. It was strange enough to have a Tusken Raider pay with credits but then a Mandalorian speaking the Tusken tongue was a rarity as well. Kotii combined it with hand signs to compensate for his poor accent and pronunciation. <"Those are probably at least a century old."> He recognize the types of weapons and where the Imperial markings had been scratched away. They were probably salvaged from an old base from the Galactic Empire.

Looking towards the Toydarian, the Mandalorian switched to Galactic Standard Basic, not allowing the floating shopkeeper have a sense of comfort. "These have to be your least impressive weapons. What else do you have?" He spoke in a tone that hinted he was unimpressed with the current display. "Uh well uh, it depends, it depends. How much are you willing to buy, Mando? You only have two hands, after all." Kotii shrugged his broad shoulders in response, standing taller than the flying Toydarian. "Then show me what you think I can carry." There were disruptors, rocket launchers, flame projectors and more that could be carried by a single person. "Okay. Let me see....let me see..." The arms dealer pulled out a datapad and scrolled through, checking his inventory to see if he actually had anything that could interest the Mandalorian.

@HoneyMagpie

 

[Mu'hjah Fairuz]

Mu'hjah was quite surprised; not many knew Tusken sign language, not unless they needed it. What was even more strange was for a Mandalorian to know it. The style of armour was iconic enough; she'd recognise it anywhere.

Reaching out, ever so slowly, the blue-garbed raider would trace the shape of the helmet's visor. Mu'hjar, of course, did not directly touch it. To many, the armour was sacred; she wouldn't tolerate it if someone took such liberties with her. Still, she couldn't resist but confirm what she already knew. “Verd...”

Admittedly, Mu'hjah knew very little of Mando'a. Anything she did know was picked up through intermittent conversation. A Mandalorian had appeared one day in the fighting pits; not as a combatant though. Instead, he was hunting a bounty, as was to be expected. Her father and overseer, Su'nil, had tried to befriend him in the hopes of garnering some favour with the warrior. It was, however, short-lived. The Mando got his quarry and left the fighting pits without so much as a second glance. Mu'hjah couldn't blame him; few could stomach Chagar IX. The place was as foul as it was frenzied, but it was she had ever known.

Until now. She had travelled the great expanse of the galaxy, enduring space and its frigid embrace. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience - another day or two on the transport and she might very well have frozen to death.

Looking back at the weapons on offer, Mu'hjar noted the Mandalorian seemed rather objectionable. Were they really that outdated? Shed dare not doubt him; hadn't Su'nil once said weapons were part of the warriors' religion? No one else would know better. Taking stock of her own possessions, she wondered what the stranger would think. Her pike was a shoddy piece of work; a culmination of several metals all welded together. Not to mention her long-barrelled blaster - the scope was beyond proper calibrating. It was just easier for her to overcompensate the error and shoot crooked. These pieces were far from perfect but, for the most part, they'd served her well.

Still, she'd be a fool not to upgrade. The galaxy was big and vast; it would chew her up and spit her back out if wasn't careful. Su'nil had told her as much, on more than one occasion.

"What would you choose?"

Though Mu'hjar was speaking to the Mandaloian, the Galactic Standard Basic caught the Toydarian completely off guard. Native, biological Tuskens couldn't speak such languages; their physiology wouldn't allow it. That's when it seemed to click. The woman was apparently one of the few adopted by the sand people. There had been rumours, and legends of such people, but unless they were physically unmasked there was no way of telling. Tuskens weren't known for their hospitality. Usually (when kidnapping other sentiments) they would ransom their prisoners, perhaps even torture them as part of some rite. But adopting an outsider?

"Strange. Very, very strange..."

 

[Kotii Solus]

The Tusken woman surprised the Mandalorian by speaking a word in his language, verd. After a pause he nodded his head. Indeed, the echani-offshoot was a warrior and much more.

“Here…ah-have a look see.” The Toydarian said with some enthusiasm. “This is my limited stock. Each of these are one…okay maybe two or three of a kind but all very rare. I don’t normally show this stuff on the street because most skugs can’t afford it, ehehehe.” The floating merchant smiled as if he had said an ideal compliment, implying the Mandalorian and the Tusken were wealthy customers. This also hinted that the shopkeeper had a warehouse or storage of some kind elsewhere that had these weapons.

Turning his head, Kotii looked the stranger up and down to get an idea of what she was going for. Black Hand took the datapad offered and held it for the stranger to see. Scrolling through each he would skip past some that were of little to no interest of Kotii. There were however some that would be nice to buy and add to a personal collection like an amban pulse-phase blaster and a PIPE rocket launcher. Even Mu'hjah would probably find those weapons worthy of raising an eyebrow.

His black gloved cybernetic pointed at the display on the first blaster he would recommend. <“He has a few cycler rifles if you fancy slug throwers.”> Some of them were probably previously owned by Tusken Raiders and acquired by potentially questionable methods. But it was not up to Kotii to question the merchant in this case. <“This here is a Deucalian slugthrower and has a larger ammunition capacity but shorter range.”>

The man continued to scroll until he saw a familiar weapon. <“I really like this...type.”> He struggled with the words for a moment and pointed at the Zok-10 which was the same model rifle he carried on his back presently. <“It hits hard and the bolts fly very fast.”> He was very pleased with the performance of the heavy long blaster. <“There’s this one which is like three weapons in one.”> He showed the traveler a DC-17x on the display. <“It might need more attention than your average weapon though. There is a lot of sand on this planet.”> He stated what he took to be obvious.

Before he continued he would ask a more clarifying question towards the Tusken. < “Do you mind if I ask what you’re hunting?”> It could help decide if he continued recommending sniper rifle and long blasters or suggested something else. The Tusken Raider might notice a blackwell BM-548 blaster rifle was more appropriate for short range urban engagements while an EE-3 blaster carbine was the type of weapon used by the famed Boba Fett and a common sight among Mandalorians when not using Westar or Galaar style blasters.

Kotii had recently been on the look out for weapons that were more suited for fighting force sensitive enemies. They were always the most difficult to counter when it came to hunting and combat. But even heavy blasters have their place in the Black Hand's heart though he usually keeps them set to stun to prevent deflection. Solid projectile weapons, explosives, scatter blasters and other more niche weapons were what the badger was looking for as well.

@HoneyMagpie