High time for a showdown

[chaotic_lawful]

Returning from a job with his usual supply of water -and this time some munitions- to find the mine running a skeleton crew had been disconcerting, sure he'd been gone longer than usual, almost a week, but that shouldn't have been enough time for something to have happened.

A runner from town, one of the teenagers, caught up to him as he was disembarking, explaining that the Tuskens had warned them early that morning of a Red Key convoy incoming, maybe as many as ten vehicles, which could mean as many as sixty men, but no one thought it would be any more than thirty, they didn't think Red Key had that many employees left, unless they'd been recruiting, or had gotten reinforcements from somewhere else.

The kid led him straight to the cantina, and Din relaxed a little at finding they were taking the potential threat seriously, working some kind of strategy, which was why, setting the few boxes of slugs he'd gotten ahold of on the edge of the table Cobb was using, he only asked: "How can I help?"

Comments

[heypartner]

"First thought? Blast 'em out of the dunes with that ship of yours." Cobb took a deep breath, relieved to see Din back. They could've handled it without him but a fight would go better with the town Mandalorian around. "But I'd rather we use the hold to hide the kids and the elderly. Mind showing Jyssa how to work the guns just in case she needs to defend the ship?"

If Red Key got through they'd take the kids for slaves and just execute those too old to work. Cobb wanted to tuck the vulnerable away.

"If you hadn't made it back I was gonna send 'em with the Tuskens." Now they might be able to use the Tuskens as reinforcements. They didn't really have an alliance that said they'd defend each other though. "Foreman says we can spare a few explosives as landmines and blow up a few of their transports then long range guns on the edges of town."

[chaotic_lawful]

"I can." He agreed with a nod, "They're easy enough." Which meant that it wasn't likely to be a long lesson, but one he'd give, along with the forward thrusters, just as a backup plan, sure it would send the ship skidding forward a little, but that was a small price to pay for torching anyone who still managed to get close enough to be a threat.

Chances were she wouldn't actually need to use either, but better to know how and not need to than it was to need a backup plan and not have one.

"I didn't see anything on my approach." Which likely meant they were coming from he other direction, but also meant that they hadn't yet been close enough for him to notice, which probably meant they still had an hour or so.

[heypartner]

"Not even sand clouds in the dunes?" Cobb nodded as he considered the information. That meant they weren't coming from the south, Mos Eisley's direction. They'd probably come around from the west, open dunes allowing them to approach fast and where their allied Tuskens usually roamed.

Might not have enough time to bury explosives then.

"Get started on the landmines," he ordered the foreman. "Put 'em west. Seems the most likely approach. As soon as you see dust on the horizon you fall back."

"Got it." The foreman gathered his crew and off they went.

"Jysaa, Jo, gather up the kids and the old folks. Get 'em to Mando's ship." He looked at Din, his expression hard and jaw set. "When they're safe, you come on back. I've got a real bad idea for this."

Which would be standing in the center of town as Red Key approached so they focused on him and not the town.

[chaotic_lawful]

"You know I like bad ideas." He replied, clasping Cobb's shoulder for a moment, "I'll be back soon."

It didn't take as long as he would have thought it would to daisy-chain the kids and the oldsters together, nobody needing much more explanation than 'they'll be safe on the ship until this is over'. Moving along the ravine instead of the ridge made for easier movement, but also making sure no one was an easy target, just in case. A quick lesson on the guns and on the thrusters followed, thorough as he could be without taking too much time, and reasonably sure that Jyssa would remember the controls if it came to that.

All said it was almost twenty minutes before he was back in the cantina, having retrieved a few weapons from the ship as well, including a replacement disruptor rifle, though he hadn't had reason to use it yet, and had mostly gotten used to working without it, "What's this bad plan of yours?"

[heypartner]

While Din helped the young and old get safe Cobb got his people in position. They found rooftops and doorways to post up in with their rifles and blasters. He made sure that folks with any sort of grenades were on the outside of town. He wanted as little damage to the town as possible but they'd probably have to do some repairs after all this.

One last stand for the town, Cobb hoped, and then they could have a little bit of peace.

"Act as bait," Cobb said with a little shrug. He had a few pieces of old durasteel now. A few more scavenged Stormtrooper plasteel. It wasn't beskar but it was something. "I meet 'em at the edge of town, keep their attention on me so they don't look too close at where I've got folks set up. Then in the middle of the asshole's speech about how he's gonna end me open fire."

It put all the risk on Cobb and very little on the townfolks. As little as possible, he hoped. "Already promised Red Key once I'd die for this town. Gotta keep a promise."

Though he hoped he wouldn't die here today.

[chaotic_lawful]

"As far as bad plans go that is one." He replied with a nod, though even though it was, undoubtedly, a bad plan, it wasn't a terrible one. It was one that made sense, even.

"Make sure folks have taken the marksmanship lessons seriously, while you're at it." Not that anyone hadn't, he knew that much, while this wasn't exactly what they'd been preparing for it was a possible situation where the practice would come in useful.

Though the most important question was: "Where do you want me?" Din had a sinking feeling that Red Key was incoming now because of his presence, word had already begun to spread about another Mandalorian out towards the dunes and it also made a certain amount of sense that Red Key would want to check and make sure it wasn't the Marshall again.

[heypartner]

"They know what they're doing." Cobb had faith in his people. They knew they were fighting for their lives and their town. If Red Key kept any of them alive they'd be slaves again. No one in the town wanted that. They would all rather be dead than slaves again.

He studied Din for a moment, his gaze intense. Cobb wanted him at his side but that wasn't the best place in this situation.

"Can you drop down from the sky?" he asked with a nod towards Din's jetpack. "Get behind them with that thing."

That would be the most useful place for Din. The element of surprise. If the Red Key assumed he was the Mandalorian rumors were about Din would be a huge surprise. An ambush they wouldn't expect. And Cobb trusted Din could be in the middle of it all without heavy danger.

[chaotic_lawful]

He nodded once, "I can." He actually liked that part of the plan, cutting off any kind of easy retreat, "You take the disruptor. Safer if that's pointed out of town." Not that Din was likely to miss if he was the one that had it, but it was unwieldy for a drop-in entrance, and more importantly: he'd feel better if Cobb had it for defensive purposes anyway.

"I can wait on the roof of the parts shop. They won't even see me." Mostly because that roof had a lip to it, because it also housed one of the solar generators, and while it wasn't the first building on the way into town from that direction, it was still close enough that he'd be able to cut off any backing-out plans Red Key might decide they had, "What's the signal?"

[heypartner]

Cobb chuckled. "When I start shooting."

He was meant as a distraction and... well... he'd also be a target. Walking out to face them down he might just get blasted as soon as they had him in their sights. Cobb didn't know but if it kept the Red Key from taking the town... it was worth it.

"Everyone get in position. We don't have much time." He shared a look with Din and then found himself grinning. "You're gonna take care of the town for me."

If he didn't come out of this alive. He trusted Din would make sure the two survived this and that the people had a home after. Issa-Or would be Marshal after him and do a damn good job. But... well, he trusted Din would hold them all together until that time.

[chaotic_lawful]

He nodded once at the response, "I like it. Simple, easy to remember." Also definitely easier for him to hear than waiting for some key phrase which he might not hear at that distance.

The rest, however, had his brow creasing if only briefly, reaching over to clasp Cobb's shoulder just nodding once, "Of course." A brief pause, "Just as long as Issa-Or actually steps in as Marshall." A quiet, half-thoughtful sound, "Until the place is big enough that she has to be mayor, doubt anyone would run against her, then I'd step in as Marshall, but only then."

He actually jostled Cobb with that hold a moment later, just once, "You won't die. It's a stupid plan, but not that stupid."

[heypartner]

This whole thing was simple in Cobb's mind. Either they've drive off the Red Key for good or Mos Pelgo would finally, truly be wiped off the map of Tatooine. This felt like a last stand, more so than when Red Key first showed up in town.

"Oh, she'll be Marshal. Don't you worry about that." Issa-Or had the right. "She's positioned on the roof of the school with her rifle."

She was the best sniper the town had. Cobb was brilliant with a blaster but with a rifle in her hands Issa was the better shot. If someone so much as twitched towards a weapon she'd put a slug between their eyes.

He chuckled. "We'll see about that. I've been known to say some stupid things before."

[chaotic_lawful]

He made a thoughtful sound at that, "Does that mean she should have the disruptor instead?" Letting Cobb have it for defensive purposes was good, but letting Issa-Or have it for the purpose of defending Cobb from running his mouth was potentially better.

He'd only seen her shoot a handful of times, but trusted her to show the weapon the respect it deserved, and he supposed really it all came down to whether or not she was comfortable with it, he knew some people were against that kind of wholesale vaporization -as opposed to just being shot whether it was a slug or a blaster bolt- just on principle, and he wasn't sure if she was one of them.

[heypartner]

"You can offer it to her. I'm always better with a blaster." Cobb could handle a rifle but with the standoff he was about to make a fast draw weapon like a blaster was more useful. He'd have to shoot and run for the nearest cover so a big weapon could slow him down.

It was on the tip of his tongue to say more. Something more but there were still townsfolk around them and he was a private man. Didn't matter that the whole town knew he and Din were an item he still wanted to keep their private business private.

"Take care of yourself, Mando," he said with a nod and a look that hopefully said everything else unspoken between the words.

[chaotic_lawful]

He just nodded once, "I'll see if she wants it, then help with the mines and get in position." Not that Cobb needed the list, but Din wanted to make sure the other man knew where he was going to be at any given time.

He made a quiet sound at the statement, clasping Cobb's elbow briefly, "You too, Marshall." After all, Cobb was going to be the only focal point for a minute or two, and while Din didn't regret agreeing to the plan, he was still relatively concerned.

But it was something he was going to have to set aside for the time being, just picking up the disruptor rifle on the way out the door.

[heypartner]

They'd say more later.

It was stupid and superstitious but Cobb didn't want to say too much now. It wasn't just the crowd. If he said too much the Universe wouldn't have a reason to keep him alive. It would let him walk away from this one because there was still more he needed to say. Especially to Din.

Cobb busied himself getting the rest of the town ready. When the first dust clouds appeared on the horizon everyone moved into position. He strolled casually down the center of town and stopped at the entrance with his hands on his hips.

The transports came into view and kept coming. Maybe they wouldn't be stopping to threaten him after all. That was fine with Cobb. The transports hit the buried explosives and one crashed. The others split off and the rest of the explosives only clipped them. One less transport was still good.

"Movellan, looks like that healed up nice!" Cobb called as the Weequay appeared out of a hatch. The word FREEDOM was carved into the man's forehead. He had a few seconds to admire his handiwork before the man opened fire.

The first shot went wide. Cobb drew and fired back. The second shot caught him clean in the shoulder and the third in the gut. He almost went down but managed to stagger his way to a building for cover. Fuck, he missed the beskar.

[chaotic_lawful]

Din waited until the firefight started, but only barely, he'd been ready to spring before then, but stuck to the plan. As did everyone else.

For a few minutes it was a brutal near-chaos. Once Red Key realized that their easy escape was effectively cut off, they fought all the more ferociously, not that it mattered much considering that the citizens of Mos Pelgo fought back just as hard, or harder, fighting for each other and what they wanted to achieve, not simply fighting for their next paycheck the way the Red Key operatives were.

Issa-Or had accepted the disruptor, to Din's surprise, and had put it to use disabling the first vehicle that made it as far as the school, which then prevented any others from getting that far, which when combined with the impossibility of backing out turned that section of the street into a kill box. Not as tight of one as Din would have liked, but one that worked all the same.

In the end it wasn't a decisive victory, but it was still a victory and that was something to be proud of.

The first order of business was to gather the injured into the cantina, because even though they had a town doctor, they didn't really have a clinic, and the cantina was the safest place to put everyone save maybe for the school, but the cantina was closer.

[heypartner]

What was the point of Stormtrooper armor if it couldn't defend against a blaster bolt? Cobb looked down at his singed and bloodied armor. Yeah, at least it was a clean shot and the blaster slightly cauterized the wound. A slug would've been a lot worse.

"Marshal!" Tycho, one of the young-adults sprinted from his cover and stopped in front of him.

"Kid, you ever run through a firefight like that again I'll shoot you myself," Cobb growled at him. Tycho ignored him and yanked off his headscarf to tied around the wound on his shoulder. Cobb cursed at him but didn't stop him.

"I thought Mando was teachin' you better than that," he complained.

"He is."

This stupid town. Cobb loved them all so much. He almost laughed and let the kid work on him. It wasn't great first aid but it would be enough to hopefully see him through this without bleeding out.

And made it he did. The town saved itself with Cobb taking a few shots from the alley where he found cover. When the world settled down he staggered to the cantina with Tycho's help. And then promptly made a fuss at everyone trying to tend to him when there were more injured folks to consider.

Yeah, he was a little woozy but he wasn't going to die on anyone soon. "Just get me a drink and I'll be fine," he muttered at Issa-Or. "Get the clean up going. Make sure nothin' caught fire and we missed it. And get those explosives out of the ground before some stupid bantha walks over one."

[chaotic_lawful]

Din, with Issa-Or's help, fell into sorting teams of the least-injured, one for disabling and digging up the remaining mines, one for getting the Red Key vehicles out of the middle of the street, and another, those with the strongest stomachs and the strongest arms, for checking the bodies for anything useful and then hauling them out to the ravine where the remains would be picked clean by the following morning.

That done, everyone left in the cantina was either performing or receiving triage, and after suggesting just using one of Red Key's own vehicles to haul their remains off, Din made his way over to Cobb, studying him intently for a moment before stating: "Bad news. Doc says you're going to make a full recovery. Means the town's still yours."

He shook his head as he settled across from the other man, "Once the charges are dug up, I'll go get the group from the ship. You should come too, they'll believe an all clear from you more than from me." While he was reasonably sure they'd actually believe it just fine from him alone, but he wanted, needed, to maximize the time he had with Cobb, and while he wouldn't say anything until they were back at the homestead that evening, probably not even until after they'd eaten.

Because despite the fact that he'd just gotten back from a job that had taken longer than expected, he was already certain that he'd have to go again. He'd just watched Cobb do more for his people in a matter of hours than Din had done for his own in months as Mand'alor, and that needed to change.

[heypartner]

The doc took awhile getting around to him which was fine with Cobb. He watched his people, checking to see who was injured and how bad it was. They lost two young healthy men but the Red Key lost more. They wouldn't be coming back, he imagined, after a stand off like this.

When the doc did get to him Cobb was quiet as he packed and bandages the wounds. He would need new armor. Maybe they could invest in something better than scavenged.

"Well, shit, I was hopin' to retire." Cobb grinned as he looked him over. It didn't look like Din had even broken a sweat with this siege. He couldn't even see a scuff on the armor.

He grunted as he got up, pressing a hand over the bandage around his middle. That would hurt for awhile but as long as he kept it clean and didn't push himself too much it would heal. Just another scar to add to the collection.

"Let's take a walk around the town check the damages." He put a hand on Din's shoulder and squeezed. Once again he'd been right. His luck held and gave him a chance to say more to Din later. When they were alone.

[chaotic_lawful]

He had one scorch mark on a thigh plate where a shot had gone wide, but nothing serious, it wouldn't even need anything more than buffing to remove.

He nodded, "We can do that on the way to the ship. Again on the way back." Just in case there was anything smoldering that they didn't notice at first, though he doubted that would be the case, especially with people out on the street already.

He offered Cobb a hand up, "The transport Issa-Or disabled swung into a vaporator, just knocked it over, didn't look hard enough to cause damage." And if there was, it would be to the fins, and anyone with or adjacent to a vaporator knew how to repair those because they'd pop off if the wind changed too quickly.

[heypartner]

"Yeah, those things are meant to fall over." It was easier to put them back up and fix any loose wires after a sandstorm but if they were bolted down and snapped well that was a bigger problem. The town would know how to handle those.

He squeezed Din's hand as he got up and then squeezed his arm. He was real glad to see him alive and uninjured though it was exactly what he expected.

"Come on, let's get those kids home." He straightened up and walked out of the cantina. The doc wanted him to take it easy and he would after they had checked on the and gotten the kids home. Cobb focused on that now instead of thinking about what he would say when he and Din were alone.

If he overthought it he would get too nervous to say anything and damn it, it was time.

[chaotic_lawful]

There were a couple of small fires being seen to by the reclamation team, which Din was glad for, both that they'd already swung into action there, and also that it was nothing serious.

When they got to the ship he circled around to the front so that he could be seen through the viewport before palming open the side hatch, the one that sat between the cockpit and the living quarters -such as they were- at the midship, turning easily towards said living quarters and the cargo hold beyond where everyone was still waiting, "Who's ready to help carry supplies back to town?"

It was easy to divvy up the smaller boxes of various supplies from the larger crates, aside from the one crate that was mostly water but a few other odds and ends for the Tuskens, the same as he always brought back, which he hoisted himself, and the case holding the portable transponder array that he handed off to Cobb. It wasn't obvious what it was, the crate it was in looking much the same as any of the others, and Din would help him get it set up once they were back at the homestead.

He also made sure to pick up the portable cargo-lifters as well, looking like some piece of climbing equipment, as they were meant to just stick onto the outside of a crate, just in case anyone got tired of carrying before they got back to town.

[heypartner]

The children all rushed around them shouting questions and hugging their legs. Cobb settled them down with a little of the story but being useful and helping was a much better distraction. He was glad Din had a plan.

But he needed one of the cargo-lifters fairly quickly. His injuries bothered him pretty quickly even though he would like to ignore them. It did give the kids a good chance to tease him which helped chase away any lingering fears. Only one of two asked if he was absolutely certain he'd be okay.

"Of course!" Cobb smiled at Din. "Got our Mandalorian here. You know he'd never let anything happen to me."

The kids trusted that.

He stopped at his house on the edge of town to drop off what Din got for them. Then he followed the kids to make sure they all found their parents and were safely home again. It was a damn good feeling watching them all be reunited.

[chaotic_lawful]

Watching those reunions both warmed Din's heart and strengthened his resolve as to what he had to do next. But that could wait until after they'd eaten, even after the transponder was set up, probably on the roof, as if having a way to contact him might ease the sting of his having to leave again so soon.

He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but he also knew that if he let himself stay longer he'd put off going to look for his people once more, and that was something he'd done enough of already.

Though on the walk back to the homestead, what he said was: "Brought you something, it's in the crate you were carrying. I'll handle dinner while you take a look at it." All of the parts for the transponder -including a solar-cell battery pack- were there, along with a weatherproof casing if it was going to be somewhere that had weather other than 'dry' and 'hot' but even then it would help keep the grit out.

[heypartner]

"You sure? I can cook." Din's cooking had improved while he was here but Cobb was still better than him. Din could handle the tech and Cobb could cook if that would be better for the other man.

They reached the house and Cobb watched from a distance as kids rushed in to find their parents, uncaring about any remaining carnage and disaster. The town had survived again and they would keep going on. Freetown might finally live up to the name.

"Unless you think I need lookin' after?" He leaned a shoulder against the post that held up the awning over where he kept his speeder and studied Din. Who knew this would be his life when Din first rolled into town? Who knew he'd want it to be his life?