A brief conflict flared up in Freetown on the planetary surface of Tatooine. This clash involved the Red Key Raiders, under the command of the Weequay Lorgan Movellan, and the residents of Freetown. Among these residents were Mayor Cobb Vanth and several Tusken Raiders. The Red Key Raiders succeeded in capturing the town and its people. However, the Tusken Raiders, who had previously formed an alliance with Freetown, launched a surprise attack and drove the raiders out.
Following the demise of Jabba Desilijic Tiure in 4 ABY, the world of Tatooine experienced a surge in lawlessness. The Red Key criminal organization sought to establish a foothold on Tatooine by creating a resource extraction operation. Their efforts were met with resistance from a mysterious, law-abiding individual named Cobb Vanth, who came into possession of a suit of Mandalorian armor.
By 5 ABY, Cobb Vanth had become the established leader of Freetown, which was once known as Mos Pelgo. Freetown became a sanctuary for locals who opposed criminal activities. Vanth also disrupted a Red Key scheme to place a Huttlet on the town's palace dais. Vanth enlisted the help of Jabba's former animal caretaker, Malakili, to care for the Huttlet and train a pair of rontos in exchange for shelter. Vanth and his fellow citizens, including the Twi'lek Issa-Or, actively fought against Red Key's attempts to encroach on their territory. On one occasion, they eliminated two Red Key criminals, one of whom was Bivvam Gorge.
In addition to caring for the Huttlet (who was named Borgo) and the rontos, Malakili played a role in Vanth's agreement with the Tusken Raiders to safeguard Freetown. This agreement involved providing the Tuskens with water and a gem obtained from the inside of a krayt dragon's stomach. The Hutts considered Freetown to be sacred and shared the townspeople's aversion to slavers and criminal groups like Red Key, which also laid claim to the area.
Freetown's defiance of Red Key eventually caught the attention of the syndicate's criminal overlord, Lorgan Movellan. Lorgan gathered a group of Red Key raiders, including the Gran Yimug, the Rodian Gweeska, the Ithorian Vommb, and the female Trayness, to launch an attack on the town. They successfully breached the town's defenses and took its inhabitants captive, including Mayor Vanth, Malakili, and the Huttlet Borgo. After gaining control of the town, Lorgan confronted the captured Vanth and mocked his failure.
When Vanth questioned Lorgan about his motives for wanting Tatooine, Lorgan revealed his desire to exploit the planet's resources, including dilarium oil, silicax oxalate, and its people for forced labor. Despite their defeat, Vanth remained unyielding. Lorgan then announced his intention to take the Huttlet Borgo and sell it back to the Hutt clans. Lorgan's henchmen, Vommb and Trayness, brought Borgo and his caretaker Malakili forward. Malakili comforted the frightened child and whispered something in his ear. Lorgan noticed this and ordered Trayness to strike Malakili in the head. In response, Borgo emitted a piercing, hearing-damaging scream.
Unbeknownst to Lorgan and his Red Key raiders, this was the signal for the Tusken Raiders to launch their attack. The Tuskens opened fire on the Red Key guards stationed on the wall, killing several of them. The leader of the Tuskens then charged into the town on a large bantha. He snapped the neck of a Red Key raider with his gaderffii stick before dismounting and eliminating several of Lorgan's men with his cycler rifle. In accordance with their agreement with Freetown, the Tuskens spared the townspeople from harm.
With his forces routed, Lorgan attempted to attack Vanth, but the lawman overpowered him. Reminding Lorgan that Freetown would always fight for freedom, Vanth etched a message onto the criminal kingpin's face. Relations between Freetown, which was later renamed Mos Pelgo, and the Tusken Raiders would eventually deteriorate. However, the town citizens and a tribe of Tusken Raiders were compelled to set aside their differences to defeat a giant krayt dragon in 9 ABY. As a result of their alliance and the assistance of a Mandalorian mercenary named Din Djarin, the beast was slain. Vanth then gifted his Mandalorian armor to Djarin as a token of gratitude. Sometime after this event, Mos Pelgo once again adopted the name Freetown.
The Freetown Skirmish is featured in an interlude chapter of Chuck Wendig's 2017 Aftermath: Empire's End, which is the final book in the Star Wars: The Aftermath Trilogy.