Previously: The team has received orders: Move to point beta, where Yamamoto will verify the location of the rebel forces, by speaking to his rebel contacts out in the desert. First however, they have to cross the desert.

"This sucks." Azarola's voice came through, barely, on their earpieces, the howling sandstorm nearly swallowing his words whole.

"Is that your professional opinion?" Hummel quipped.

They could barely see a foot in front of them, and right now, the desert's thermal signature was too flat for their goggle's thermal vision to help. They could only follow Hummel as he looked underfoot, to make sure they were still on the dirt road.

"Stop, stop." Fortune said, she had most likely lost sight of the dewback in front of her.

Hummel brought his dewback to a stop,and checked behind him. He could see the head of Yamamoto's dewback, poking out of the sand wall. "Ok, we all stopped?"

"Yep." The responses came down the line.

"Ok," Hummel continued, "Helen, move forward ten paces."

He waited, since the sand blocked his sight, he could only use his wandering thoughts to fill the time. The sand was too thick, and blocked their transponders, meaning that their HUD's were failing to show where the other squad members were, they had to stay close and maintain visual contact.

"I see him." Fortune said.

"Good," Hummel replied, "You, can see her?"

"Yep." Yamamoto responded.

"Azarola," Hummel continued, "you good?"

"Yep, how much longer we goin'?"

"That's a good question," Yamamoto said, "this sand's getting dangerous."

Hummel let the reins go slack. "Well let's see, Azarola, what's the distance to that beacon?"

"I don't know, you'll have to let me dig through this pack that you crammed full of shit."

Despite the sand, Hummel's human curiosity got the better of him, he tried in vain to peer through the sand.

"Got it," Azarola continued, "we're, uh, 2.5 out."

"HUD," Hummel barked, "bring up map grid, TA-PRT, 534781." His goggles brought up the map, in the corner of his vision. The grid was highlighted. "Yep," Hummel continued, if we set the beacon back at around 540560, then we just need to go for another 500 meters then we camp, sound good?"

"Yep," Azarola chipped in.

"Wasn't asking you."

"That sounds satisfactory." Said Yamamoto.

"Good, then let's go."

They continued, then, to follow the road.

"Can't we just camp here?" Azarola asked, "we could have the dewbacks around in a circle to shelter us."

Hummel peered through the sand, trying to keep sight of the dirt road. "And camp in the middle of the road? Our mounts would be completely exposed to the elements, we'd have no natural cover when the storm clears an-"

"Alright, alright, I get it."

"Unless you need something, keep the channel clear, I'm tryin' to focus."

After about a half hour, the road banked to the right, that was their cue. Hummel pulled out the compass from his tunic, which showed they were still travelling at a Northerly heading. Their prospective campsite was near exactly Northwest from this turn in the road. "Ok everyone, we're turning here, just follow the one in front of you. We're leaving the road, so yell the second you lose track. If anyone gets lost, just stop where you are, you can use a flare when the storm clears."

He yanked the reins, the dewback ponderously turned with them, and they slowly changed course. The evening had turned to night, the dewbacks would want sleep soon, and the dust storm had tired them even more. Still, they had little distance left to travel, the site was only a couple hundred meters off the road.

"Y'know," Fortune began, "freak sandstorm and you still say I'm crazy."

"This again?" Azarola replied, as the ground beneath them began to form a slope, "you always have a bad feeling about something."

"Yeah? And I usually have to bail your ass out of whatever shit you've gotten yourself-"

Hummel spurred his dewback on "what did I just say about keeping the channel clear?"

"Sorry." Fortune said.

Not too long afterwards, the sand began to thin, as the slope levelled out. A tall silhouette could be made out, a tall thin rock formation, and a shorter, much wider one to the left, that was still about two men high.

Hummel stepped off his dewback, "here we are."

The rock formations would keep them sheltered from the sand, and from prying eyes to the North and East. Unfortunately, someone was already here. Still, Yamamoto was just coming up behind him, they wouldn't have any difficulty muscling this stranger off site. The stranger stood, seeing the four ride through the sandwall toward him.

Hummel unslung his blaster and approached.

"Hey there!" The stranger yelled over the storm, "it's alright! I'm no raider."

Someone seized Hummel's shoulder. "Relax Sergeant." Yamamoto said.

Behind him, Fortune was helping Azarola dismount, catching him as he fell, his foot caught in a stirrup.

"Alright, hey!" Hummel shouted, "you two quit messing around!" He shouted at the them. He fumbled for the reigns and lead his mount toward the stranger.

The stranger beckoned, "take a seat!" Indicating the dull campfire next to him. Yamamoto left them to make introductions with the stranger, while the three lead the dewbacks past him, to shelter them by the rock shelf. They took the filters out of their mouths, settling the bandanas back on their necks.

"So this is the place?" Fortune asked, even when they were close, she still had to raise her voice over the wind.

"Yep." Hummel grunted, taking a sleeping bag and one of the saddlebacks from his dewback.

"Quite a place." Azarola grumbled.

They sat by Yamamoto and the stranger, forming a half circle around the scattered campfire, their backs to the gust. Yamamoto introduced them, "this is my cousin, Hummel, and Helen, and, Azarola."

"S' good to meet ya,'" the stranger said, "I'm David."

"Yep." Hummel said.

"You offworld?"

"Yep."

"Yes, they're visiting for a while before they buy passage to the core worlds." Yamamoto said.

"Oh yeah?" David asked, "you're headin' away from the spaceport."

"I know, we have some relations up North." Yamamoto clarified.

"Really? There's not many people up there, maybe I know 'em."

"Ah, you probably don't, news travels slow out there, you know that. There was just a big transfer of land apparently, I don't know if maybe you've heard of it?"

"No. No I'm afraid not."

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, they mostly spent the next two hours in sullen silence, no one seeing the point to yell over the storm. Eventually though, it dissipated, leaving both them and the dewbacks intact.

Yamamoto stirred first. "Best get some rest then."

Hummel stood, "I'll take first watch."

"Me too," Helen said, getting to their feet.

"Well I appreciate that." David said.

"As do I," Yamamoto said, "make sure that message is sent."

"You sure you don't want me to?" Azarola asked Fortune.

"I'm fine."

The night had become serene, just as quickly as it had grown chaotic. After they all worked to get the fire going again, everyone settled into their sleeping bags, while Fortune and Hummel took positions on opposite sides of the camp. Hummel sat at the top of the rock shelf. The road was less clear now, the desert sand had spilled over the path. The walls of Mos Eisley looked stained with fresh red dirt, but ultimately, the sandstorm hadn't done any real damage. Watch was easy enough, the three moons were set in a clear night sky, bathing the desert in a cool blue light, and hopefully, it would illuminate any potential threats.

Hummel glanced back at the camp, to make sure that the stranger was asleep.

"Red to Watchtower, Red to Watchtower, come in, over." He said in a near whisper.

"Watchtower, receiving over."

"Red has arrived at point alpha, acknowledge, over."

"Watchtower copies all, when can you expect to arrive at point beta?"

"Uh, around midday."

"Copy, anything else to report?"

"Negative, Red out."

So Hummel spent his time looking over the desert. Since the sand settled, nothing moved, at least, nothing he could see. There were only echoes on the wind.

"Hey," Fortune whispered, taking a seat next to him.

"Is it clear back there?"

"Yeah, coming over to make sure you didn't fall asleep."

"I'm fine." He set the zoom on his goggles, trying to see as far into the desert as he could. Unfortunately, given the long sight lines in the desert, everyone, and everything, had learned to hide well.

"Great, didn't expect to bump into that other guy." Fortune said.

"Yeah, we need to get rid of him."

"What? Why?"

"He's compromising the mission."

She scoffed, "he's not onto us, w-" a distant echo cut her off, stretched out like a howl, but far too guttural. It could be anything, the distant twisting the sound into strange, eldritch shapes. "Well, we're probably safer with another gun at the camp."

"Mhmm."

"Not to mention he's safer with us than out in the desert."

Hummel shifted, looking her in the eye, "and why is his safety our problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he help us do our job?"

"He could be a good guide, or-"

"I have a map."

Fortune could only watch him for a moment as he watched the desert, completely nonchalant. She stood, and he still showed no reaction. "You know, you're kind of an asshole." She said, and turned to leave.

"Richards."

She stopped, sitting on the edge of the shelf, ready to climb down.

"We come first," Hummel continued, "for their sake, if that's how you want to spin it."

She made a move to drop down, but only ended up sitting ponderously over the edge.

"You shouldn't stick your neck out for these people," Hummel continued as he kept scanning the desert, "first off, especially out here, anyone could be a rebel, and second, if we're all dead, who's there for them then?" He turned from the cliff edge, "do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Sure. You got burned, and now we all have to be cowards too." She said, and dropped from the edge, moving back to the other side of the camp. "Watch your own back then."

Hummel got back to the watch. The war would prove her wrong, he thought. The war would prove all of them wrong.