A great plume of dust rose over the hills north of the Manowa prairie. D'nia steered her skiff within the swirling cloud of dirt and debris. She wasn't sure if it was the girl or the oaf that didn't care if they were followed, but D'nia wasn't nearly so careless. At least not after the first coughing fit had forced her to stop to protect her face. She'd ruefully wrapped her head and face in the canvas tarp she used as her stall's sunshade. Thus protected, she continued north, position obscured by the dust, worrying what damage it was doing to her skiff's engines.

The skiff continued to follow the trail left by Weram and Abero, tracking steadily northward. The engines guttered for a moment as it entered the highland mist before coughing out several chunks of steaming mud. D'nia blinked a few times at this development.

Cleared of debris from the intake the engines once again breathed healthy. D'nia shrugged. She hit the accelerator and continued her journey.

The display on her skiff showed the trackers position just Northwest of her. Her macrobinoculars were useless in the mist so she throttled the skiff down, straining to hear sign of her quarry without alerting them.

There, quietly in the mist, she drifted.

The sound of blaster fire, far too close for comfort, startled D'nia into action. She mashed the accelerator wide open and sped toward the source of the sound, hoping to arrive before Abero hurt himself or anyone else.

As she closed in on the tracker's position she heard what was clearly Abero's voice shout, "STOP SHOOTING! THIS SPEEDER ISN'T EVEN MINE!"

D'nia had no time to ponder the many possible reasons someone might want to shoot at Abero, as her approach caused the blaster fire to turn in her direction. Swerving to avoid being hit D'nia finally got a look at the whole scene.

In front of a low building with a wide entrance, Stormtroopers were firing at Abero, who was trying and failing to escape in a speeder that looked like a child's drawing come to life. Two other Stormtroopers and an Imperial commander were now firing at her skiff. The pink-skinned girl was taking D'nia's sudden appearance as opportunity to break away from her captors and run for the trooper that was holding their supplies.

D'nia flew the skiff around the side of the building and turned around. She began to wonder what Abero could possibly have done to earn the ire of an Imperial Stormtrooper squad when something thunked into the back of her skiff. A DUM series droid waved at her as she flew back toward the melee. He grabbed a shiny object and threw, aiming it toward one of the Imperial transports. She reached for the droid, until she realized what he had thrown. D'nia wrenched the skiff away and ducked as an explosion consumed the transport and threw everyone from their feet.

D'nia hurried to put the skiff between the Stormtroopers and Weram. The Devaronian girl struggled to her feet and tossed her her bag into the skiff along with the lone Stormtrooper's blaster. She noticed the droid in the skiff as she climbed aboard.

"Great work,P-0! You really saved our skins," Weram praised.

P-0 took a sweeping bow, but tipped onto his head as the skiff lurched forward.

"We have to turn around and grab Abero," said Weram.

"Have to?" D'nia complained.

"The Imperials will interrogate him if we leave!" Weram pleaded.

Ughhh D'nia sighed heavily and whipped the skiff around.

Weram took aim with the Stormtrooper's blaster and started shooting, sending the troopers near Abero diving for cover.

"Get in!" Weram shouted, as D'nia pulled the skiff up to the speeder.

"I can't leave this here! I have to bring it back!" Abero yelled.

"It's not moving. Unless you want to be not moving too, get in!" D'nia said, grasping hold of Abero's shirt and hauling him into the skiff.

The skiff lurched back into motion as D'nia accelerated past the Stormtroopers.

"After them!" the Commander shouted.

Three troopers climbed aboard the second transport and took off in pursuit. The remaining troopers formed up and began firing on the skiff.

"A little help here!" Weram screamed. She braced herself in the rear of the skiff and returned fire.

"With what!?" Abero searched frantically.

"My rifle is under the left side storage panel," D'nia said. Abero dove to the skiff's floor and retrieved the weapon. He kneeled and fired toward the transport. A loud bang sounded as the barrel crackled with energy, sending a projectile speeding towards the Imperial transport.

Where it bounced off the armor panels harmlessly.

"What is this, an antique!?" Abero yelled.

"It's a slugthrower," D'nia replied.

"Why don't you have a blaster like a normal person!?" Abero said incredulously.

"You don't have a blaster either, genius!" D'nia retorted. "Besides, I don't usually do stupid things like antagonize lorkroks or the Imperial Legion!"

While the two argued, P-0 mounted the rear hull of the skiff. He raised an arm toward the troopers and the pursuing transport, like he was taking aim. Then he beeped twice, pointing in a mock shooting gesture.

Two more explosions erupted, completely destroying the transport and Yansk's speeder and throwing the remaining troopers to the ground.

"Yes!" Weram cheered. "P-0, you are awesome!"

P-0 held his hand up to his optic sensor and whirred, as if blowing the "smoke" away from the barrel of his "gun."

D'nia looked at him and Weram, more than a little horrified.

The blood had drained from Abero's face, leaving him ashen and sweaty.

"I'm dead. Yansk is gonna let Reesha kill me."

"Yansk? Reesha?" D'nia asked. "That was his speeder?" Abero nodded piteously.

"I thought Reesha liked you?"

"Yansk said she just wants to eat him," Weram offered.

"Ah, that makes sense," D'nia replied. "He has that effect on women."


Imperial Commander Dars struggled to his feet. "TK-2790, report."

A nearby Stormtrooper stood and saluted. "Three troopers were in the explosion, TK-5656 is surveying the wreckage for survivors. All other units are present and accounted for."

"Except our prey escaped and we have no transport," Commander Dars grated.

"Yes commander," the trooper agreed. "I've already signaled to base for replacement and reinforcements."

Commander Dars nooded, still seething.

TK-2790 continued, "Should I report to the in-"

"You leave those mystics out of this!" The Commander erupted. "I will resolve this without their meddling for once! Is that clear!?"

"Understood sir," the trooper said, saluting again.


Two red orbs hung low in the sky over Hon Manowa. As the first of the regulars walked in, Yansk sat heavily next to his sister.

"Almost sundown," Reesha observed.

Yansk rumbled his agreement.

"You know you're never going to see that speeder again," Reesha continued.

Yansk rumbled agreement again.

"So what's your problem?" she inquired. "It is over now. You were never going to find a buyer for that speeder. It was hideous."

Yansk nodded, not looking at his sister.

"And Abero will be too busy hiding from me to bother you here, just like you said. Shame too." Reesha closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her about. "He always smells so... Delicious."

"You are incorrigible," said Yansk, rolling his eyes.

"Incorrige me then," said Reesha, with a rasping chuckle.

Yansk groaned, the sound like gravel. "I wasn't trying to get the boy lost."

It was Reesha's turn to eye her sibling.

"He already was lost.

But he came in today with fire in his eyes again," the Trandoshan continued. "Sure he was a nuisance, but he has potential. He should want more for himself than what he can grasp without effort."

"You wish for me to help him," it was a statement, not a question.

Yansk let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yes."

"Then I will go, brother. Do not worry." Reesha stood, but paused at the exit, grinning suddenly. "And I'll be gentle when I have my way with him."

"See that you are!" Yansk rasped as she walked away.

"And be safe, sister."