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Star WarsStar Wars InsiderN 74Pearls in the Sandby Veronica Whitney-Robinson###############################################################################"What are you talking about, Ackli?" one of his Zabrak friends murmured while Sipping at his almost-empty tankard."I saw them," he hissed, leaning so far across the filthy little tabie that he looked as though he was sleeping on it, "I found krayts."At the mention of the fabled dragons, supposedly four to five times larger than the oldest of banthas, the few patrons of the tiny tavern in the remote outpost grew silent. Most dismissed the Mon Calamarian's claims, saying he was drunk or had heat stroke - or both. But a few pricked up their ears, including two robed figures near the back of the cantina. As soon as she heard the word "krayt," Dusque Mistflier pulled back her desert robe, revealing a full head of long, sandy-brown hair. She narrowed her gray eyes and strained to hear the Mon Calamarlan better. The human was intrigued."I saw them," he said, talking more to his tankard now than to anyone else in the cramped cantina, sensing even in his drunken state that no one believed him. Most of the other patrons had gone back to discussing other topics, from the latest moisture-vaporator model to the increase of Tusken Raiders east Of the tiny outpost of Mos Taike. The topic of dragons was not a new one; the inhabitants of Mos Taike and indeed a good portion of Tatooine had heard of their existence. Not many spoke of seeing the creatures, however, because not many survived such an encounter."And I saw where they go to die," Ackli said so quietly that the declaration was nearly lost beneath the mournful whine of the lone slitherhorn player, who continued to play whether or not anyone watched him. As before, several heard Ackli's claim and wondered at the Implications.One of the Zabraks in Ackli's company, his face covered with a variety of tattoos, propped up the Mon Calamarian, none too gently. He-demanded, "Could you find the place again?"Ackli brushed the Zabrak's hands away as though he found them offensive. "'Course I could. I could do it with my eyes closed." As If to prove the point, he closed his eyelids and opened them again."if he's telling the truth ..." the Zabrak said to the other Zabrak sitting at the small table with the Mon Calamarian.",.. then there might be bonei or nests,1' the other finished for him, "and we both know what that might mean."Even from her booth, Dusque could hear the absolute greed in the two Zabraks' voices. She turned to he; companion, who was lowering his own hood."Did you hear that Tendau?"As soon as his domed head was visible, the Ithorian regarded Dusque with a look she knew well: one of caution mixed with reproach and resignation,"I suspect I do, child," he replied slowly, his voice echoing oddly from his twin mouths.The young woman leaned closer to Tendau's tall frame and whispered, "If they do know where the krayt graveyard is, imagine what that might mean!" She no longer bothered to disguise the growing excitement in her voice."Oh, I am imagining what it might mean, make no mistake," the Ithorian said. "Being consumed by krayts, running from greedy treasure hunters...""It will be fine." She laid a delicate hand against his long fingers. 'This is a real opportunity. Can you picture how impressed Willel will be when we return with genetic samples of canyon krayts? And, just maybe, we'll find that precious item everyone who has ever followed these animals hopes to discover."Tendau smiled at her genuine eagerness, and Dusque knew she had just about won him over. "We've got enough samples and tissues from feral banthas and bocatts to more than satisfy Willel's request," she said. "It wasn't as if it was the most challenging of missions anyway. Just sandy," She tried unsuccessfully to comb her fingers through her caked hair for emphasis."And we won't have another chance to go out again for weeks," she added. "I think the next thing on the agenda is s trip to Naboo for some sort of creature-handler event. You and I both know how boring that will be, watching a bunch of novices who think they understand the nuances of animal behavior strut around with their beasts,""Not the most glorious of assignments, I agree," Tendau said, "But this - ""- is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Dusque."And if the Mon Calamarian is mistaken!"'Then we'll have added only half a day or so to our trip, and no harm done." She flashed a big grin as she heard the Ithorian sigh, Dusque knew she had persuaded him,"All right," he said, "but I hope we will not regret this.""We won't," she assured him, "I'm certain of it."***Dusque and Tendau followed the two Zabraks and the now-sober Mon Calamarian for several hours. As soon as they had left behind the few tiny buildings that comprised the isolated post of Mos Taike -a place so small there wasn't even a shuttleport - there was little else except sand and wide open space to distract them.Although Tendau was bulky and had some difficulty maneuvering over the dunes, he kept pace with the smaller, lighter Dusque. Even though their light-colored cloaks and environmental suits offered protection from the suns as well as camouflage on the sand, Dusque could feel a small trickle of sweat roll down between her shoulder blades. If she was already beginning to feel uncomfortable, she could only guess at what the Ithorian was suffering, with his larger frame and somewhat delicate feet. In all their years of service to the Empire as bioengineers, however, Dusque had never once heard him complain of hardship. Tendau's love of all the creatures throughout the galaxy had driven him from his herd ship Co service in the Empire, where he could unravel the secrets of nature down to the genetic level. Dusque knew he was willing to sacrifice much for that prize,And for some reason Tendau had taken a liking to Dusque, the only woman in the elite circle of bioengineers. Her other colleagues tended to regard her with disdain, and she always felt as though she had to prove something to them. She felt as though she were perpetually the new recruit to their ranks and could never hope to bridge the gap between their experience and her own expertise, no matter how hard she tried. The other bioengineers made Dusque feel that she could not rise to their lofty level - not ever.It was different with the Ithorian, Perhaps it was simply because they were both strangers on a strange world that they had forged a friendship in the sterile environment of their profession. Or maybe it was because they both were genuinely fascinated by nature and what made things tick that they had bonded. For whatever reason, they had become good team and were fortunate enough - or were both disliked enough - that they were assigned to missions together on a regular basis.The missions they received were not the best. Typically they found themselves collecting mundane genetic samples of less-than-unusual creatures in some of the most backwater locations in the galaxy. Dusque always listened to those around her, however, and she had more than once stumbled across tales of a creature of unusual size or rarity because of her careful observation. She always managed to convince Tendau to come along with her and she found that the prizes she discovered were enough to mollify those in charge enough that they overlooked her transgressions. She preferred to ask for forgiveness rather than for permission when on assignment.The twin suns of Tatooine beat down mercilessly upon the golden sands. Everywhere she turned, Dusque saw only gold and blue in endless expanses. She lowered her hood and wiped the sweat from under her long hair. She turned toward Tendau and saw that he had followed her cue and removed his hood as well,"How are you doing?" she asked.'I'm -"' Before he could get out another word, he was interrupted by the whine of la serf ire."That sounded like it came from over that dune," Dusque said. She pointed toward the last direction in which they had seen the trio of looters heading, She ran toward the blasts. "C'mon."As they headed cautiously up the dune, Dusque saw a woolly beast with large, curved horns swing it's head up from the other side of the crest-"Banthas," Dusque whispered as she slowed her pace, "and blasters.""It can only be Tusken Raiders, "Tendau said, drawing up alongside her."Sand People," she hissed, Dusque was well aware of the Sand People's ferocity and penchant for cruelty.They-dropped to the ground and crawled along the hot sand the rest of the way up to the ridge. From their position, they could see a group of three Tusken Raiders with five tethered banthas near an impromptu camp. Two of the three Tuskens had drawn their rifles and were firing on the three fortune hunters from Mos Taike."Those greedy idiots stumbled right into them," Dusque said."And they don't seem to be faring very well," Tendau observed.Dusque looked around and saw little that could help the situation, She had only a simple Twi'lek dagger, and she knew that Tendau had only a survival knife. Neither of them carried any other type of weapon - certainly nothing that would match a Tusken rifle or gaffi stick. She would have to think of something else. Scanning the scene, she saw only one thing that might work."Tendau," she said quietly, "slip down along the south side, and I'll go down the north side. We've got to cut those banthas loose and get them running."The Ithorian smiled at her plan. "It is about all we can do," he whispered back. "I hope it works.""So do I."With that, she started sliding down one side of the ridge as Tendau slid down the other,... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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