STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- The Hunter

"I met a few. Though you don't exactly work for the Empire anyway." Rylis says, shrugging. "I still don't kill unless absolutely necessary, though. I prefer to leave people to do their own dirty work."

"I'm a trained assassin, so I've got quite a different view there, haven't I?"

"Obviously. Most assassins I know like to stand back and shoot from a safe distance. You don't seem to be that type, for some reason."

"I'm willing to bet that most assassins you know prefer that tactic because they are the crumbiest fist-fighters this side of the Ison Corridor..."

The drive out to the supposed location of the Last Laugh is a tremendously long one. Snith says he considered flying to a town closer to the landing site, but the likelihood of finding a speeder to take you to your location would have been nill. And flying to the landing sight would have simply alerted your quarry to your presence. If Kyle was feeling particularly unfriendly, the Last Laugh is armed with a pair of anti-starship turret emplacements...

While you're pondering all this, an energy-encased bullet tears into the front of the speeder.

"What the hell was that and where did it come from?!" Rylis says, looking around to see where it came from.

The barren desert all around you; no great cover that could hide your assailant, but no sign of... anything or anyone. You're not sure which direction the shot came from, either.

"No clue!" Snith says, reaching for his pulse cannon.

"Keep a look out!"

Speeder still seem to be okay? Because if so, time to pick up the speed a bit. Rylis has the pilot tricks to do so and be okay.

Seems to be working just fine... until the second bullet enters one of the thrusters, punching through its casing. Flames and smoke trail from the damaged engine.

The shot came from your right side.

"To the right!"

Rylis will look over to her right side, while trying to keep the speeder going.

The next shot pings off the hood again, kicking up flakes of paint and granules of metal as it hits and sparking as the energized casing dissipates. No harm done.

But both of you see where it came from. A dune to far to the right, partway up. The range is too great for Snith's pulse cannon.

"Should we go see what's shooting us, or keep going?" Rylis asks Snith.

"I'm curious," Snith says. "Dunes don't normally shoot people."

"I figured you'd say that...though weren't you the one warning me about Sand People and other things in the desert earlier?"

I guess we're going to go and check it out!

"This is different," Snith says, somehow justifying his verdict on the situation.

Anything you want to try in approaching this dune? Snith advises that a direct drive towards it will result in dead engines and dead passengers.

I vote for a high-speed approach, while steering rather erratically to swerve around. After all, they can't hit a moving target 😛

Evasive crazy driving. Gotcha.

The damaged engine whines as you push the speeder to go faster, sailing over the sands as you bear down on the dune. Something catches a glint of the suns at a midpoint on the dune... and that is where the shot comes from that shatters the windshield.

"Evasive!" Snith shouts. "Be evasive!"

"This thing isn't exactly in the best shape, you know!" Rylis shouts back.

Sigh, you totally missed the reference there...but yes. Crazy evasive driving. More on the evasive than on the crazy, if possible. Lots of weaving around the dunes and stuff.

More evasive than crazy pays off, as the bullets thud into the desert sand and not your face, which you're sure the sniper is aiming for.

You reach the dune. The sniper has stopped firing.

"Ready to check it out?"

Where on the dune did the shots come from?

*pokes at Rex*

ermm

C'mon Jordan 😛