The two guards returned to their office after sweeping the entire prison complex for the Jedi. Soergg the Hutt was waiting for them.
"The two Jedi have escaped, Bossban," said the first guard. "They stole a pair of sadains and rode out into the plains. They've got the head start, we'd be hard pressed to catch them."
The Hutt looked thoroughly displeased. "This is an unfortunate turn of events."
"Bossban," interrupted the other guard. "They won't survive for long out there. They took no provisions or supplies. They'll probably be eaten by shanhs within a day."
Soergg nodded, but still looked angry – the Vong Warmaster would not be pleased by the news, but as long as they died and Soergg was able to provide proof, Tsavong Lah may at least kill him swiftly.
"They'll come back," said the first guard. "They need their ships."
The other guard frowned. "Not if they go to another of the cities and enlist their help."
"Or the help of the Alwari," conceded the first.
"Enough of this." – Soergg cut them off. – "Leave me."
Bowing, the two guards took a hasty leave.
OO
The grassy plains spread out before them as Kyp and Phaelon galloped the sadains further away from the city and into the setting sun. It would have been a very beautiful scene, but they were in too much of a hurry to appreciate it.
They galloped for nearly an hour before bringing their animals down to a more steady pace. By that time, it was nearly dark and a cool wind was whipping across the prairie. Phaelon hugged her arms closer to her and shivered; the worn flightsuit wasn't made for this, and the robe wasn't helping much.
Finding a small pond – more like a large puddle – they decided to stop for a few hours of rest. After watering their mounts, they tied them to two sparse trees nearby, and settled down to discuss their options.
"So, we're lost on a foreign planet that's about to be taken over by the Vong with only two whatever as transportation and nothing in the way of supplies," said Phaelon, summing up their problem.
Kyp nodded. "What do we know about Ansion in general?"
"There're few cities; little technology; lots of little nomadic tribes; everything is based on tradition." – Phaelon racked her brain for more. – "Their file wasn't all that extensive."
"And they know we need our ships to get off this forsaken rock." – For one of the few times in his life, Kyp looked thoughtful. "They're probably counting on us getting eaten by something out here."
Phaelon scoffed. "They've got good odds on that. There's a lot of strange flora and fauna that wouldn't mind taking a bite out of us. Not to mention the nomads."
Something twitched in Kyp's face – worry? "They eat people?"
She shrugged. "We can hope they don't follow every tradition."
"What are our options?"
"Go back and take our chances with the Hutt and the city-dwellers. Or keep going, take our chances with the plains and hope to find another city or some friendly nomads," she returned cynically.
"Wonderful," he sarcastically commented. "You're exhausted, so let's sleep on. I'll take the first watch."
She raised an eyebrow. "How do you chart that one?"
He smirked, and for some reason it was very infuriating. "Because, I can feel your Force-signature and know you weren't sleeping during those hyperspace jumps."
She scowled, but curled into a ball with the hood of her robes as a pillow. "You better wake me in a few hours," she threatened, hating to admit that she was in fact very sleepy.