Far away in the edges of the outer rim, on a small desert planet, the sun begins to rise. Over the dunes, the morning light starts to shine over the golden sand. A dune hopper emerges from its hole and stretches its glide wings. It starts to run forward over the hot sand. In a single bound, the dune hopper takes to the air and begins to glide over the desert. From above, there's not much to see. Not much is able to survive the harsh wastelands. The dune hopper ends its glide and lands on the edge of a cliff. Just beyond, a small outpost begins to awaken in the morning heat. The hopper takes off again towards it.
The settlement was small. It consisted of two rows of ten simple buildings with a single dirt road in the middle. To the side was a little moisture farm. From above, the dune hopper could see the local inhabitants starting to go about their daily business. They were coming out of their homes and walking about to warm up in the sun. They were all humans, just trying to scrape out their existence in the galaxy.
At the far end of the outpost, a young woman dressed in a white sundress came out of the local cantina and stretched her arms in the morning air. Her features were soft and her tanned skin seemed to glow in the light She had beautiful curly, brown hair that blew in the wind. She smiled and waved at the others in the street. The woman turned and walked back into the cantina. It was a small dimly light place with only a few tables and a bar. In the corner was a small piano that was being played by a silver droid. She walked back to the bar and began to wipe cups as she sang with the piano.
Outside, a young man was walking about the perimeter of the town. His face was scruffy-looking and was dressed in a large gray coat with a large brimmed hat on his head. He was looking out into the distance with a pair of binoculars, keeping an eye out for any danger. The sun was getting high and the desert was beginning to scorch. The man walked back into town to cool off at the cantina.
As he walked through the entryway, the young woman looked up and smiled. She brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned up against the bar. The man took his hat off and walked up to her. The girl pulled out a special glass and poured him a drink. She held it up and shook it slightly, then pointed at her cheek. The man smiled. He leaned in and as he puckered his lips, he grabbed the cup out of her hand. He laughed and tried to drink. She raised an eyebrow and stared at the man before her. Faster than he could react, she raised her left hand and planted it square on his cheek. The glass went flying across the room and broke against a wall. The piano stopped and the droid turned to look at what was happening. The man stood there rubbing his now red face. He smiled again and walked behind the bar. She was standing there with her arms crossed and her right foot tapping on the floor. She glared at him with a "what are you going to do now" kind of look. He grabbed for her and pulled her close to him. Their faces were almost touching, and their eyes were locked on each other's. They both smiled and leaned in to kiss, but as they did a loud bang was heard outside. They turned their heads towards the door. The man looked to the woman and nodded his head for her to go upstairs. He left her and walked to the edge of town. He looked out into the distance with his binoculars. His eyes got wide. Sweat dropped from his forehead. They were here.
They appeared as shadows on the horizon. Twenty of them, hovering over the burning sand on swoop bikes with a huge cloud of dust trailing behind them. They were a swoop gang. A swoop gang made up of twenty of the vilest Niktos in the galaxy. Their horned heads and scaly faces were darkened by the harsh sun. All were dressed in black clothes and on each side of their belts they had a blaster. This gang was not to be messed with. They were armed, dangerous, and on their way to the outpost.
Back in town, the locals were all gathering at the entrance to the outpost. They were all staring out into the distance and waiting. The outpost was their home, and they were going to protect it. The man was standing out in the front of the crowd. He had his blaster ready and it was not set on stun. He turned and looked back to the cantina. The woman was standing in the balcony of the second floor looking back at him. Her face was serious while her hair blew gently in the desert wind. Behind her back she held an old Wookiee bowcaster. The man smiled and shook his head.
High above, the mid day sun was directly over them. They were starting to sweat, but not from the heat. They were sweating out of fear. The swoop gang was almost at their feet. They could hear the buzz coming off their engines and the dust trail was starting blow towards the outpost. The man raised his hand and most of the locals went back into their homes. Only five of them were left in the road. They all stood in a straight line to face the oncoming danger. The gang drew closer. They could now see each other's faces. The Niktos started to laugh as they saw the pathetic humans in front of them, but the men stood strong.
They arrived in a loud roar as their bikes sped into the outpost. They drove them in circles around the men, laughing and waving their blasters in the air. The man caught the sight of one Nikto on the outside of the circle. His bike was off and he was standing on the ground in front of it. He had a red jacket on that was torn at the sleeves. On his back was a black blade of some kind, most likely a vibroblade. He wasn't laughing. His head was down and his eyes were closed. He was the leader for sure. A blaster went off into the air and the man and the leader looked up. One of the gang had fired at a boy standing in the window of a building. The men drew their blasters and aimed at the gang. The bikes stopped and all twenty of the Niktos had their blasters pointed back at the men. The air was still. In the distance the sound of a crying dune hopper could be heard. The leader cracked his knuckles and pointed at the men. He counted each one on his fingers and then laughed at this hand. It was five against twenty. There was no chance, but the men stood firm. One of them, though, was breathing heavily and his hand was shaking. His nerves were getting to him. He kept on moving his head from side to side and switching his gaze to another gang member. One of the Niktos jumped at the man. He reacted and shot. The sound of his blaster echoed through the buildings. The man broke his gaze from the leader and quickly turned to his friend. There was shock in his face. Another blaster went off. A streak of green light passed the man's face and struck his friend in the heart. There was no time to think. The man whistled and the four remaining men started firing while they raced to end of the road. The swoop gang shot back. A fire fight had begun. The air was filled with flashes of blue and green. Blaster fire hit everywhere. The people inside the buildings hid and sheltered themselves from the danger outside.
As the battle continued, it began to sound like a war zone in the center of the outpost. The man was standing in front of the cantina firing two blasters at the gangsters. Blaster fire flew towards his head. He tilted slightly and it missed. Without missing a beat, his blasters kept on firing. On the ground lay the bodies of the other four men and at least seven Niktos, all dead. The man locked onto a swoop bike with three gang members hiding behind it. He aimed at its fuel cells. In a gigantic flash, the bike exploded and the three aliens went flying into the air. The man smiled slightly. The swoop gang leader did not look pleased. He raised his arm and pointed at the man. Two other Niktos jumped onto their swoop bikes and raced at full speed towards the cantina. The man aimed his blasters at the two. He fell for the trap. He was too distracted to see that the leader's golden blaster was aimed right at his face. The leader squeezed the trigger. Out of nowhere, a green bolt hit the leader's blaster and it exploded in his hand. He hunched over with his arm pulled to his chest as he screamed in pain. The other Niktos turned and huddled around the leader. He looked up. His eyes were filled with hate and anger for the person that had hit him. In the second floor balcony, there she was, the woman. She was smiling. Her white dress blew gracefully in the wind. In her hands she held a black bowcaster and aimed it at the leader. The leader screamed into the air. The other members ran towards the cantina to get the girl. The man ran to entrance of the building to stop the ten Niktos from going in. He was ready to die to protect the woman.
From the desert the wind picked up and from the distance a strange whistling filled the air. The sky turned dark and odd swirling clouds appeared out of nowhere. Red flower petals began to fall from the clouds. The Niktos stopped in their tracks and looked around to find the source of the whistling. The man took the chance and ran inside to the woman. The falling petals dumbfounded the leader. He stared straight into the sky. Around him the sound got louder. He could feel a strange presence next to him and looked to his left. A man with a straw hat was calmly walking past him from out of the desert. The leader was filled with confusion as he just watched the new arrival walk past him. The man in the straw hat looked young. He was wearing a light gray robe with a black cape that blew in the wind. On his back, he carried a long silver pole as tall as him. He had almond shaped black eyes and short curly hair. His calm and emotionless face was light, not fitting of a desert dweller. The leader could tell that the man in the straw hat was an off-worlder.
The tension in the air turned thick. All the members of the swoop gang were glaring down at the man in the straw hat. He walked slowly into the center of the street. The man in the straw hat turned slowly to face the swoop gang. He raised his hand and motioned for them to attack. Five of them ran towards him. The man in the straw hat cracked his neck. Out of nowhere the wind blew violently around him. It spun and picked up the sand and petals creating a crimson sandstorm. The Niktos were caught in the middle. Amidst the roar of the storm, a low humming could be heard. The man and woman looked out from the cantina. In the cloud of flying sand, they could see the dim green lights of the swoop gang's blasters firing blindly, but there was something else in there. They could see a red line of light streaking wildly in the air. The man and woman were amazed at the sight before them. The leader was not. He grinded his teeth and leered at the sandstorm. He was going to end this now.
After a few moments, the wind died and the dust cleared. The man in the straw hat was standing in the exact same place, except in his left hand he held the silver pole that was on his back. Around him, pieces of the Niktos lay on the ground. The leader looked down at the ground in horror. His swoop gang was almost gone. He yelled and the rest of the gang rushed to attack the man in the straw hat. His face did not change. It remained calm as he twirled the silver pole in his hand. The man in the straw hat's movements were fluid and powerful as he struck each Nikto. They all remained standing in place, as if frozen. Red petals continued to fall from the sky. The man in the straw hat stood in the middle of the Niktos with the pole pointed at the ground. He tapped the ground lightly. The gang members were slammed outward by an unseen wave of energy. The red petals twirled in the air. The man in the straw hat spun the pole behind his back and turned to face the leader. The leader could not see the man in the straw hat's eyes. His hat was covering the top part of his face, but what he could see was the hint of a smile on the man's lips. The leader began to laugh maniacally. He was broken and in a last ditch effort, he reached for his black vibroblade. It glowed a dull orange around the edge of the blade. He pointed it to the man in the straw hat. His evil laughter filled the air. The man in the straw hat looked up. The leader could now see his eyes. They were calm, yet seemed to stare into the Nikto's soul. He brought the pole around and turned it on its side. Then from one end, a crimson beam of light ignited. The crimson blade hummed as the petals fell upon it and incinerated. The leader's throat got tight. He couldn't breathe. The man in the straw hat had a lightsaber.
The man and woman inside the cantina were watching the events before them. The got up and walked out into the road. Never before had they seen such a sight. The leader saw them and yelled at the top of his lungs. He rushed to attack them. The man in the straw hat disappeared into the air. The leader swung his vibroblade back as he ran towards the couple. The woman looked up and so did the leader. The man in the straw hat was falling down towards the leader with his lightsaber pole pointed at the leader's face. The Nikto reacted and spun out of the way. The man in the straw hat landed on the ground with great force. He sent petals flying in all directions. To the man and the woman, it seemed as if it was all playing out in slow motion. The leader lunged forward and slashed. The man in the straw hat swung his lightsaber pole upward from the ground and parried the attack. In a brilliant display, the two dueled, each parrying and defending against the other's attack. The crimson blade flashed and sounded with each strike to the vibroblade. The movements were so quick. They seemed to be merely blurs or red and black. The leader slashed at the man in the straw hat's neck. He flipped backward to avoid the attack. The man in the straw hat landed and spun the pole to point the blade at the ground. The leader brought the vibroblade up by his face. He was breathing heavily. He glared at the man in the straw hat, whose face was still somehow relaxed and tranquil. The leader grew even angrier. He closed his eyes and screamed as he ran forward. The man in the straw hat saw his chance. He swung his lightsaber upward and knocked the vibroblade out of the leader's hand. In one single movement, the man in the straw hat swung his pole horizontally and slashed at the leader's torso. The leader gasped for a single breath. The Nikto's eyes grew wide as they rolled into the back of his head. He fell back and fell onto the ground. His life was ended.
The man and the woman stood in the street staring at the bodies on the ground. They could not believe what they had just seen. A light breeze blew into the outpost. They looked up to see that the sky had cleared up and that the sun was again blazing over the hot desert. The red petals faded and disappeared. They looked around and saw no trace of them. It was as if they were never there. They looked at each other and then to the man in the straw hat. He had already turned to face the desert and was walking back into the horizon. The woman yelled at him for his name. He stopped and turned his head slightly. Another sandstorm picked up. The man and the woman covered their face with their arms. It lasted only a second and when the dust cleared, the man in the straw hat was gone. The man and woman looked at each other again. They had heard a whisper in the wind. Three words. "Chalon Ko. Jedi."
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