The Second Trial: Arrival
The journey would last seven long years.
Though close inspection of the Yuuzhan Vong's systems and thorough interrogation of prisoners had yielded the rough position of their point of destination, many of us remained unsure whether the coordinates we received would actually lead us anywhere or not. The disgusting organic computers the Yuuzhan Vong used were completely unreliable, and all of the prisoners did not survive the first rounds of interrogation. (I have a hard time imagining why.)
What we felt when our sleep pods deactivated and when we discovered habitable planets was beyond description. Crewmen and soldiers on every ship celebrated and paid their respects for the glorious occasion. We had just stepped foot in a foreign galaxy, and made history in doing so. Preliminary scans showed that the planets we found were habitable, but just barely. None of them were suitable for occupation however. Leaving the main force in this system for the time being, scout ships were sent out in all directions. It was another three days of scrupulous searching until we found a planet suitable for our purposes. It could support life, had terrestrial lifeforms, was apparently secluded, and most importantly, had signs of civilization.
The world itself, I chose personally for its unique attributes. It was a bearable planet where we could use as a base, yet conditions there were harsh enough to keep our forces stationed there on edge. The endless desert, scorching heat, fierce sandstorms, and numerous other natural hazards provided many exciting challenges for us. However, it is almost impossible to keep the Unggoy happy, since unlike the rest of the races in the Covenant, they come from a very cold and humid planet. The heat and dryness here is like anathema to them. I had considered taking them off the planet, but their numbers were needed for proper security. There was also the suspicion that some of the officers took a perverse delight in the Unggoys' suffering but there in no proof of this.
As for the signs of civilization I had mentioned earlier. There were several small population centers scattered throughout the planet. It wasn't difficult subjugating these centers. The natives living there gave almost no resistance, though a number of them tried to flee the planet and were subsequently pursued and captured. With the population centers secured it was time to find a suitable headquarters. Fortunately, I had found an abandoned palace-like structure in the middle of the desert in the area the natives dubbed the "Dune Sea" (a fitting name for such a vast area of sand). According to the stories we heard, this palace was once home to an individual called "Jabba the Hutt". He was apparently some sort of local, but very powerful, lord who was killed quite some time ago. It took weeks for reconstruction crews to convert the remains of the palace up to Covenant standards.
Meanwhile, many of the natives were quite uncomfortable with our sudden incursion onto their planet as can be seen in this report from one of the Elites on patrol.
Being stationed on a planet such as this proves to be a unique challenge. By day, the dangers are often limited to the occasional bandit or drunkard. Usually, the days are so hot, my patrol often limits itself to the town of Mos Eisley and the surrounding wastes. Personally, I despise having to inhabit this area day after day. This town is nothing but a hive of scum and villainy, filled with nothing more and third-rate thieves and beggars. However, the drink is decent, and the town provides shelter against Tatooine's voracious sandstorms. I recall one instance where I saw a lekgolo get shredded to pieces in front of my very eyes in the middle of such a storm. Consequently, its bond brother went mad and charged off into the desert. It was never seen again.
As for relations with the natives, things are strained at best. Like the Covenant, these people appear to be an amalgamation of alien races living together. However, their ideals do not seem to match ours. Most of the people in the towns are extremely fearful of us, often avoiding us whenever possible, and shooting suspicious and sometimes even hateful looks at us. More than once I would have to refrain from striking a child for throwing objects at me. In contrast, the moisture farmers out in the desert often keep to themselves, and mind their own business as long as we mind ours. Finally, there are the odd little creatures called Jawas. Behavior-wise, they are very similar to our huragok, always interested with technology, and always picking apart whatever they could get their grubby little hands on. I literally had to throw them off me as they tried to take apart my armor.
Night, however, is far worse. Temperatures drop drastically to the point where water, if there were any, would freeze. The enigmatic Sand People would roam freely, and the squeals and cries of countless desert creatures can be heard. Often, the unggoy are too fearful to step foot outside, and many Sangheili are hesitant to venture out by themselves. This is a deceptively dangerous world, and I for one would look forward to finally moving on to a more agreeable world.
As the account also mentioned, many of the troops were anxious to leave this backwater system and explore the uncharted stars. However, I had second thoughts about making such a move. It was obvious that there was some kind of intergalactic civilization inhabiting this galaxy, and it would have been foolish to send troops out aimlessly with little idea what was out there. First, we started with rigorous and methodical interrogation of Tatooine's inhabitants. Surprisingly, quite a few of the inhabitants had been offworld. I never would have thought that they would have gotten anywhere with those flying junkheaps they call spacecraft.
Several days later, it was apparent that word of our arrival had reached outside of this system. Our picket ships standing guard on the edge of the system managed to detect a sizeable fleet of unidentified ships. Fortunately for the pickets, the fleet stopped at the edge of the system and disgorged three ships, one medium-sized transport craft and two escort fighters. Though the threat the three ships posed was negligible, nevertheless ships were sent in case they proved hostile. The ship identified itself as the Millennium Falcon and even though our translation systems were still being perfected, we managed to discover their intent. We were being offered a chance to meet and negotiate by a person named "Luke who Walks on Sky.'
I would remember him for a long, long time.