STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- The Hunted

"Make it quick," Farstrider says. "I'm guessing you've landed right in the middle of one of their damned holy grounds. Seems fate's against you, friend."

No sign of the Raiders, but leaving would be superb.

Eerin, what are you grabbing?

Electro-halberd, sonic blaster, rocket launcher, and food!

And then we can be off.

Kyle has little more to take than his pistol and his wits, so we'll carry on!

Farstrider has modified his speeder to have a greater mileage and heat resistance, perfect for long-distance travel across Tatooine's scorching sands. However, this means less sitting space and Eerin, being a large bug, has to ride in the cargo area in the rear while Kyle rides shotgun.

As you make to leave, an animalistic cry echoes across the desert.

"That would be them," Farstrider says. "I came just in time."

With that, the speeder leaves the Last Laugh behind, half-buried in the sand.

"So... what happened to ya?" Farstrider asks.

"We crashed." Kyle answered with a little mroe sarcasm than he intended. He softened the tone a little and explained, "We took some damage leaving another planet, and our hyperdrive finally blew out. We need to find a new one in town."

"Whew. Best of luck to ya, then."

"Thanks, I'm sure we're going to need a lot of luck on this planet."

"Thing is, hyperdrives are pretty rare, and the locals don't have much use for credits."

"Yeah, I about figured as much. We're pretty handy fellows though, hopefully we'll find some way to get one."

"You'd have to be the luckiest fellows this side of the Dune Sea, really," Farstrider says. "I don't mean to get your hopes up, but that's the truth of it."

He seems hesistant about something.

"Well, I know it's a tall order, but it shouldn't be that bad. Should it?"

"Might be. How often do you deal in Mos Eisley?"

To be honest, not much, Kyle. Your work is with the Hutts, not the locals. While you try to avoid it, any repair work you have done by the Hutts is done on credit. You doubt they would give you a hyperdrive just on credit, though...

"Well, can't say that I have. But like I said, We're pretty handy individuals, we'll come up with something."

"As I've said, best of luck."

The drive to Mos Eisley is a great distance from your crash site. Farstrider assures you that the Tuskens won't mess with your ship, but the Jawas you might have to worry about. He promises to make a check-up on your ship when he returns to his moisture farm on the outskirts of the Dune Sea.

Part of the way there, you spot something off to the left of your speeder, Kyle. Looks like... smoke!

Kyle squints his eyes to try to focus on a dark shape some distance away. He nudges Farstrider and points. "That look like smoke to you?"

"...yeah," Farstrider says. He hands you a pair of electrobinoculars.

Through the scopes, you can see a landspeeder stopped at the base of a dune. One of the engines seems to be smoking heavily.

Kyle relats what he sees to Farstrider. "It's your call."

"See if you can spot survivors," Farstrider replies. "I won't go no further if there's a heap of dead-uns nearby..."

Kyle will comply with Farstrider's request. He adjusts the macrobinoculars as best as he can and slowly scans the area of the wreckage to see what he can see...

Looks like the speeder is intact, but one of the engines is severely damaged and on fire. It is hard to make out details; the dune is far enough away that the electrobinoculars have reached their limit. But you find more as your view pans up from the landspeeder to the dune itself.

You spy three figures, somewhat fuzzily, about half-way up the dune...

The bluriness of the binoculars bothers your eyes, so you take a moment to readjust and zoom in again.

The first figure is a Tusken Raider, having rolled somewhat down the dune. The other figure is a Mirialian bounty hunter in full armor. The third is a lanky fellow in leather civilian wear, wielding an enormous assault rifle.

He ducks into some strange hatch in the side of the dune, but the bounty hunter turns and notices the landspeeder zipping across the desert...

He lowers the binoculars. "Grrahhh!" is the only thing he can get out at first. "She's everywhere I go! It's that bounty hunter again. Looks like she crashed the speeder and got jumped by at least one Tusken. Friend, I hate to ask this," he looks at Farstrider, "But we really need to get over there."