Tatooine's Open Terrain

Grinning cheerfully, Honon tells Ellie, "Yeah, you know, I can't imagine you leading a clan, much less . . ."

Elbowing her brother in the ribs before he plants his foot further in his mouth, Kateri shakes her head with a sigh.

Rubbing his ribs, Honon explains to Ellie, "I just mean it's weird to think of you leading a Mandalorian clan at all, you know? Frowning, he tries again, I mean, it's just that, I always thought we'd all be Jedi together." Falling silent as Sanden and several Sun Knights appear and begin speaking with Ruubin, Honon looks as irritated and discontent as Ellie with the exchange that follows, but manages to hold his tongue all the same.

The Jedi from the Corellian academy, deferring to Ruubin's leadership as he was the one that initiated the mission that has brought them all here, similarly refrain from participating in the exchange with Sanden, though they do make note of all that is said so that they can make a complete report to the headmasters, who will undoubtedly be interested to learn of the activities of the Sun Knights in light of the fact that it sounds as though they have every intention of continuing to pursue their illicit endeavors.

Kaiya smiles when he twin greets her and points out that the circumstances of their meeting are less than ideal. Nodding when Ellie goes to speak with the younger version of herself, Kaiya gives them some space to do so without interruption, hoping that she and her sister will be able to spend some time together at some point so that they can catch up after having been apart for so long. When the time comes to depart, Kaiya follows her twin as she makes her way to the Gladiator.

Hyatt and Vaayla, not trusting that the Sun Knights will truly allow them to depart without further conflict, subtly assume a rear guard position as everyone begins heading outside after Ruubin indicates they should all move out.

Honon, grinning when Ruubin says they all did well, turns to Kateri and asks, "What do you think? The Gozanti looks roomy, and I'm guessing that Kaiya and the Ellies will want to have some time to themselves."

Patting Honon on the shoulder, Kateri says, "Sounds good to me." While she would like to have some time with Ellie, whom she has not seen since their unexpected encounter on Umgul, Kateri agrees with her brother's assessment that the twins and the clone of Ellie would probably rather make the journey to Corellia together and without any distractions.

Hyatt and the other Jedi from the Corellian academy follow Kateri and Honon as they board the Gozanti crusier.

The desert sands were gently rustling in the morning breeze. A single sun began to peek over the horizon as the cool of the night began to quickly recede.

The southern hemisphere of the planet was a solid wasteland, barren and void of most life. It was the perfect place for a secret outpost nestled in the shadow of a mesa. Out of the rocks trickled a miniscule amount of moisture placed there as the southern winds raced northward from the pole, collecting and condensing every bit of moisture it could capture. The southern face was damp on the surface, but that would soon evaporate once more as the suns glared down from above.

At the base of the mesa lay the remains of multiple crawlers. These were not like the ones inhabited by the Jawas of the north. These looked like beetles, with treads at the ends of six outstretched legs. Long antennae stuck out of the cockpit. Originally used to broadcast light out and down at the path being taken, now they lay broken with most snapped off next to the fuselage. Harvesting equipment extended down, propping up the heads of the silent beasts. The harvesters had been harvested themselves of any usable parts, save for the metal they were made of.

The half dozen beasts lay scattered at the base of the mesa, forever unable to ascend the slopes one more time. They stood guard now; a testament to a people now forgotten.

The silent sands gently warmed in the heat of the oncoming morning.

The clan gathered around another fire. Three nights they scouted the area around the fallen machines, searching for any signs of life. Nothing was left from the broken behemoths: no computers, no technology, no food nor water. The crawlers were empty husks, and the Tuskens were satisfied. There, they decided they would make for a sufficient camp before setting off once more.

The fire burned bright against the silver shelled crawlers, casting bright shadows across the campsite. The hulls were sandblasted bare but had many centuries before the sand broke through. Storytellers began reciting and singing their tales of old with a practiced and perfect tempo. The clan nodded and swayed as they sang along in their minds to the tales they were all too familiar with.

As the practiced verses came to an end, the head storyteller began telling the tall take of the great living beasts that now provided shelter to the clan. She made up a story of the two mates wandering the wastelands searching for refuge before stumbling on a pair of lost calves. The mechanical family wandered together until they came to this site. Weary from wandering, they stopped and made the mesa their home. It was here that they found a trickling of water, and enough food to suffice them until they wanted to move on. Here they grew comfortable, and a dozen solar cycles turned into hundreds.

As the storyteller continued to weave an intricate parable of life and death across generations, she continued to integrate the clan's own story into the narrative. Soon, everyone around the fire understood the meaning and began nodding. They knew they couldn’t get comfortable in the shadow of the mesa for long. Stagnation would lead to the clan's demise. The seed was planted to keep moving along and let the dead beasts rest and rust in the twin suns' light.

Dee awoke with a yelp. Sitting up she was immediately hit with a pounding headache that made her fall back against the floor. Looking around through squinting eyes, she saw the dimly lit structure of the shuttle around her. Her arms and legs were bandaged as was her right shoulder. Reaching up, she adjusted the bandage that was compressing her boob a little too much. She laughed as she winced through the pain that was registering all over her body. AVI did you have to leave me buck-ass naked in here all alone?

A hologram appeared next to her I am here. It was trouble enough to move you gently back here, let alone remove your garments and tend to your wounds in the most respectable way possible. Dressing you once again only to have to remove those garments again and apply new bandages would have been unnecessary trouble. Besides, you're too pretty.

Dee let out a deep laugh, immediately followed by a coughing fit, and she yelped in pain and doubled over onto her side. Kriff you. Goddess helps me I hurt. How long was I out then?

Only a day. You are about due for another round of IV.

Dee chucked and wearily got to her feet. I think half my problem is my bladder is about to explode.

Unfortunately, that is the third reason you are without external garments. Dee paused, partly due to the pain, partly in confused and mild disgust. She shuddered and made her way to the torn opening on the side of the shuttle where the wing used to be attached. Do not wander far.

I’m going just around the corner; I will be right back

Stepping out onto the still warm sands in the cold of the night made her grateful AVI had prepared the shuttle a little for her comfort. She dug a little hole and crouched down. Her head pounding, she winced at each pulse. Another world she was trapped on. At least this one had potential.

Looking around at the endless sand sea, she wondered if the First Order would find her here and glass this part of the planet. Not that such a procedure would be new here. However, three days and no signs of anything was better news than any.

She righted herself as best as her aching body would allow her, and she started to head back into the shuttle when her stomach began to feel queasy, and her mouth began to water overly so. The feeling passed, and she shook it off.

Dee crawled back up into the shuttle and fell back onto the pad she had awoken from. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was better than the hard metal floor. Grabbing the IV, she prepped the fresh needle and inserted it into the catheter AVI had fixed to her arm. The cool fresh liquid was a wonderfully hydrating feeling, and she soon found herself drifting off again.

The next day dragged on for Dee. Everything she ate came back as if her body were treating it as a toxin. She was unable to keep anything down except water, and even that was a struggle. She went to sleep hungry and weak.

The following day went just as well, and the day after. Several days passed and her supplies were starting to run low. AVI attempted a few things to try and help her regain her strength before they headed north, but the lack of nutrients was making her weak, and her injuries were refusing to heal in her current state.

As the twin suns set on the horizon on another day, Dee struggled to open another package of food at another attempt to keep something in her stomach. AVI walked over and took the package and looked at it. She sat, defeated and weak.

Dee, it says this is incredibly spicy. Are you sure you want that if it comes up?

AVI, everything hurts coming up.

Her voice was hoarse and quiet. She winced as she said it — days of purging after every meal had worn her throat raw. Her gums were sore, and her sense of smell and taste were almost worn away. She gingerly raised an arm to take the opened package from AVI, and she slowly took a bite of the food. She wasn’t sure what it was, where it came from, or really what the flavor was if anything, it had spice, and she was not looking forward to revisiting it in a few minutes.

With the package only a quarter of the way done, she set it aside and leaned back against the bulkhead. She closed her eyes and waited for nausea to take over her once again.


The heat of the morning was starting to waft into the open hole of the shuttle and Dee opened her eyes. She looked down and all around but didn’t see anywhere that she had gotten sick.

AVI, I think I am finally over it.

I see that. I think whatever was in that food helped pull you out of it.

Dee was already digging into the cold mush. It was the best tasting and spiciest mush she had ever eaten, and she was never more grateful for mystery mush in her life

The ride through the night was long and boring. The desert cold was just starting to pierce her armor when she passed the first vaporator on her journey. Seeing the first elements of civilization in months was almost too much to handle, and she let out a little yip.

She passed more of the structures before coming to the first farm. The buildings came and went, and a half hour later she passed another farm, and then another. Lights on the horizon pointed to a hint of civilization, and she watched as a massive transport ascended into the morning sky.

The walled city was small, probably only a few hundred inhabitants. The gate to the city was shut and guarded by a couple of droids. Dee pulled the bike to a stop at the gate and was approached by one of the guards. It beeped lines of binary at her, asking what her business was. I need to hire a transport. I'll need to trade for it though since I don’t have much else to my name at the moment. The droid paused and waved over to its counterpart who went to open the gate. The guard by her beeped more binary at her telling her to go to the tavern by the port and to keep all weapons stowed away. It welcomed her to Mos Arno, the southernmost settlement still operating on this side of the planet.

Picking up her feet, she gently coasted into the small town, slowly and quietly maneuvering through the sleeping city street. There were only a few buildings that looked populated; many looked vacant, and a couple was dilapidated.

Pulling up to the building, she slipped in through the open front door and down into the vacant room. She called out in the dim lighting, and a protocol droid wobbled over to her. Greetings, I am T-67a. How may I assist you?

She opened up her helmet and breathed in the stale, dry air. Hey, I am needing to rent or have someone fly me around today. I have a crashed ship just south of here that I need to get supplies from, and I need to get to one of the major ports in the north to get a ride off-world.

The droid continued looking at her through a gaze of permanent shock as it twitched to the side. Let me get my master; he will have what you need. Wait here I will be right back.

As the droid hobbled off, Dee began to wander around. The wall was decorated with framed images of what looked like a bustling mining town. She made it halfway around the room when she came across an image of what looked like the bug-like crawlers by the mesa. Four of them were frozen in time as they scoured the sands leaving long trails behind them.

In our heyday, this town was booming. Dee spun around as the man leaned against the counter. Now, we probably won’t last another generation or two before everyone moves away. My droid says you crashed south of here. How far south?

The mesa, or near to it.

The man paused and looked her over with concern. Must'a crashed upwind of the mesa. That area is toxic.

Yes, I know. That’s why I came here as soon as I could walk. I need to get the rest of my supplies out of my ship, and I need to head to one of the ports in the north to get off world. I don’t have a lot on me, but my bike won’t be useful to me after today, and whatever food and medical supplies I have are up for barter as well.

You won’t find many who will want to travel with you south of here. You can use my ship. Six Seven here will drive it for you. Let me see what bike you have. She followed him out, and he looked the bike over. Pre-empire? Where did you get this?

Lost temple on a forgotten moon. Did some exploring around and put it in the broken shuttle.

What'd you crash-land there too? Dee didn’t answer; only bashfully looked away.Don't you dare touch the controls on my ship.

The protocol droid came out to join them, and he whispered something to it. With a twitch, it turned to face him after he had said his peace, then it turned with a twitch toward her. This way, miss.

She mouthed the words "thank you" back toward the man whose name she didn’t catch, but he had already disappeared back inside. She followed the hobbling droid over to the port where they boarded a ship. She looked at it with confusion, since its make didn’t look like anyone particular ship. Instead, it appeared to be a Hodge podge mix-up of various ships to make something that she hoped would fly. I don’t think I would want to touch the controls of this monstrosity.

Apparently overhearing her, the droid continued up the ramp without looking back How rude!