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Shortly after the Twilight Dreams touched down just outside of Mos Espa, Joren took his first steps off of the ship's boarding ramp and onto the sandy surface of Tatooine and was surprised by the scorching heat that greeted him. Although he had known that the desert planet was hot, he had not anticipated just how hot the planet truly was. As he led the others away from the ship, which they had landed on the outskirts of the city to avoid any attention being drawn to themselves, they decided to head into the spaceport to try and figure out exactly what it was that they were doing, and what their next move was. 

Initially, Dono and Kelsa had been against coming to Tatooine. They both had argued that leaving one Hutt controlled world for another was not the best idea, and Joren could see their point. However, he had argued that it wasn't the Hutts that had chased them off of Nar Shaddaa, it was the Kath Hounds and the Empire, neither of which existed on Tatooine. 

However, the truth was that Joren didn't know why he had suggested that they come to this planet. And even if he did, he didn't know that he could explain it to his friends. He wondered just how he could tell them that a voice had called out to him through the vastness of space and beckoned him to come. Though it hadn't been a voice that had called to him, had been more like a feeling. He knew that it sounded crazy and he couldn't explain it. 

“So, where are we going?” Kelsa finally spoke up, breaking the silence. 

“Mos Espa spaceport, it's what passes for a capitol city around these parts. Keep your heads down and try not to bring attention to yourselves-” Dono said without breaking stride. “-This place can be rough.”

“So, we should feel right at home.” Nyna said as they continued toward the spaceport, which appeared to shimmer before them in the heat. 

Once inside the spaceport, they walked down the sandy streets passing numerous adobe style buildings and found themselves in an outdoor market place. They passed by the citizens of Mos Espa, many of whom had rough and weathered skin due to years of exposure to the desert elements and the twin suns, as well as numerous beings of various species who were mingling throughout the marketplace. Up ahead of them was a food stand which had a variety of what looked to be relatively freshly killed creatures strapped up on display, and while the critters didn't look all that appealing, the smell from the stand certainly was. The crew continued past the food stand a little ways and found themselves in front of a small eatery. The establishment, called Akim's Munch was a small diner with a number of tables inside, and several more outside around the side of the building. Used to watching his surroundings, Joren took note of the patrons that were sitting at the outside tables. There were several Weequay scattered among the tables as well as a few Bith. However, the one character that stood out was a lone Mon Calamari. The sight of the aquatic creature sitting alone at a diner on the desert planet struck Joren as ironic, if not outright odd. However, as strange as it was, Joren was just about to suggest they stop for a bite to eat when something else caught his attention. 

Not far from the diner a group of Rodians had surrounded a young woman. Joren watched as the woman tried to get away from the reptile like aliens, only to be pushed back. There seemed to be a heated exchange by the young woman, who appeared to be about the same age as Joren and the others, and the Rodians, though Joren couldn't tell exactly what was being said. 

“No, don't even think about it.” Nyna said as Joren began drifting toward the confrontation. 

“We can't not do something.” Joren replied as he took another step towards the woman and her “friends.”  Though Nyna knew that a public confrontation would draw attention to them, potentially even the attention of a Hutt who had connections to the crime lords of Nar Shaddaa, she also knew that Joren was right. Who knew what the Rodians wanted with the girl, and Nyna nor her friends were capable of standing by while they did whatever it was they had in mind for this girl.

“So much for keeping a low profile.” Nyna said as she followed Joren and Dono as they began walking towards the source of the confrontation. Joren and Nyna led the way as Dono and Kelsa followed close behind them. 

“Hey, back off slagchucker!” Nyna exclaimed toward the Rodians as one of them shoved the slender young woman. The sudden outburst caused the Rodian thugs to turn their attention away from the young woman and to the intruders. 

“Mind your business.” One of the Rodians said in broken basic as he stepped aggressively towards Nyna and Joren.

“Hey, no need for that friend. Take it easy.-” Joren said as he put his hands up toward the group of aliens with his palms facing forward. “-Now, let the girl go and we'll be on our way.”

“No, she has to pay for what she did. Now you leave or you pay too!” Another of the Rodians spoke up as Dono made his presence known, drawing a blaster.

“Sorry.-” Dono said as he came to a stop before the Rodians. “That's not going to happen.” He finished as he pointed his blaster at the Rodian who appeared to be in charge. 

The Rodian reached for his blaster, however, before he could Dono fired to blast bolts into his chest. As the Rodian stumbled back and began to fall, one of the others rushed toward Nyna brandishing a durasteel club. He swung the club before anyone had a chance to react, hitting her in the head and knocking her to the ground. 

“Nyna!” Joren shouted as he raised his blaster and opened fire on the Rodian with the club, hitting him several times in the upper arms and chest. 

As the melee began, Kelsa ran toward the young woman who had been the target of the Rodians' ire and grabbed her and led her out of harm's way as Joren and Dono fought off the remaining Rodians. The fire fight was over before it really began. When the dust had settled, the six Rodians lay sprawled out in the street. 

Joren holstered his weapon and made his way over to where Nyna lay. He bent down and slowly helped her up. Though her head was pounding and she was a little unsteady on her feet, she seemed to be alright. Joren was helping Nyna try to steady herself, the young woman who had been been the subject of the Rodians' ire approached. 

“We should really get going.” The young woman said as she reached them.

“Probably a good idea. Who knows what we just stirred up.” Joren agreed. 

“My place is just outside of town. It's just a short walk from here.” She told them.

“That's alright, our ship is on the outskirts of the city.” Dono said as Nyna stumbled a bit as Joren still held on to her, keeping her upright. The young woman watched as Nyna struggled on her feet and then shook her head at the Mandalorian.

“Those guys that you took out.-” She said motioning to the dead Rodians that littered the roadway. “-They're debt collectors for Sladoba the Hutt. He won't be happy when word gets out that you slaughtered his guys, and from the way that word travels around here, I'd say he's probably learning about this whole fiasco right about now. So, you can take your chances and head all the way back to your ship with someone who can barely walk straight, or you can come with me.” 

Dono was about to raise an objection, however, Kelsa spoke up before he had the chance.

“She's right.” Kelsa said.

“Kelsa, we don't know her.” Dono said.

“And she.-” She said pointing emphatically at Nyna. “-can't walk straight. Let's go with...” She paused as she shifted her gaze to the young blonde woman.

“Breia.” she said.

“Breia to her place, get Nyna some time to rest, and we can get back to the Dreams tomorrow.” 

“Not a bad idea.” Joren said as he turned to regard Breia. “I'm Joren, this is Nyna, Dono, and you've met Kelsa.” He said as he pointed to each of his friends. 

“Nice to meet you all, now we should go.” Breia said as she led the others away from the scene of the shootout. 

As they began walking toward the edge of town, Joren stopped short. There was something there with them on this world, something that felt dark, cold. It was something that Joren had never felt before, and if truth be told, he hoped to never feel again. 

“You okay Vod'ika?” Dono called to him.

“Yeah...yeah, I'm coming.” Joren said as he rejoined his friends. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something, or someone, was watching them.