05: Panther Call
"I'm letting her stew," Kimura explained. "She knows what we're threatening now. In a few hours she'll be ready to tell us everything."
He stood at the head of a long table lined with nobles and officers of varying ranks, silhouetted by Alderaan through the viewport behind him and more menacingly by Darth Nochichi drifting near his right shoulder. Many speculated that the Empress was merely a figurehead and it was the Moffs who truly ruled… they were completely wrong, but sometimes Kimura was almost convinced himself.
"Are you sure this will work?" an Admiral asked. "She'll probably lie."
"That's what he's here for," Kimura replied, gesturing at Nochichi. A young Moff chuckled, but the alien didn't react. "In an hour-and-a-half we'll know where the Rebellion's base is."
"Yes!" that same Moff cried, "And then we'll crush them with the power of the Death Star!"
"Even the power to destroy worlds is insignificant to that of the Force," Nochichi reminded. Everybody cringed when the young man laughed; the Sith Lord's lessons were rarely gentle. "Ha! With weapons like this, the Empire doesn't need your outmoded religion anymore, Darth."
Darth Nochichi drifted around the edge of the table and the other turned in his chair at his approach. He stared down at the impudent Moff and slowly turned red. His armor and cloak were as dead black as ever, but he had changed in some indefinable way that made one imagine swirling orange and crimson light. "Um…"
"Tell me something…" Darth Nochichi said casually, producing a menacing metallic cylinder. He moved one end of it along the noble's face under his eyes. "What would happen to you if I cut your face in two, like this?"
"I'd… I'd, uh, die."
"Yeah, you'd die. Or something." The way he said that last made it clear that he had 'something' in mind and that it was very unpleasant. Nochichi replaced the cylinder at his belt and drifted away. Everyone was completely silent until the door hissed shut behind him.
"Great, just great!" Kimura whined. "Now he's going to go brood. That's it for the meeting; I've got to catch up to him before he strangles half the crew."
"What's going on?" Chiyo asked groggily. Instead of answering, Kagura poured a little more water down her throat and looked over her shoulder, grimacing at what she saw. The Tusken that hit Chiyo had gone through her pockets, then, leaving her for dead, had gone back to his fellows and told them about the landspeeder.
Kagura had thought to try and get to it first, but she could barely move herself, let alone an unconscious companion, and those banthas were frighteningly fast. It took them less than a minute to galumph across the sands and surround the more modern conveyance.
"Wh-what are they doing?"
This time Kagura answered, staring through one half of the broken binoculars. "Looks like they're trying to take the radio."
"Oh… they… have the speeder."
"Yeah."
"Oh, no… we are dead."
Kagura smirked at that. Some things didn't change no matter what planet you were on. "Look, I'm sure that your uncle will understand…"
"No, you don't understand. Do you know how far we've come?" Kagura shrugged. The younger girl sat up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "At least four-hundred kilometers. We'll never make it back with the water we have."
"Oh." That was bad.
"Why didn't you…?" Chiyo asked, gesturing at the soldier's blaster.
"Yes, that's right," Kagura said sarcastically, "I'll go down there and blaster-whip them all into submission."
"What?"
"Your uncle took the power packs out... I guess that's why he was so confident I wouldn't blast him."
So there was nothing to do but settle down and watch the Tuskens squabble over what they found in the vehicle. Sure enough, the radio came out with a hideous plastic wrenching sound and three of the Tuskens fell on each other trying to claim it. The other two stood back and watched until some disagreement rose between them and they started throwing punches as well.
"You're saying these guys had a civilization?" Chiyo asked.
Kagura sighed. "We have to do something… any ideas?"
Before her companion could answer a haunting, unearthly yowl rolled over the dunes, making everybody in the area except Kagura give a mighty jolt. The Tuskens forgot all about the radio and piled onto their mounts, kicking up great clouds of dust as they galloped away.
Chiyo whimpered.
"What the hell was that?" Kagura asked.
"That's a sand panther call…" Chiyo replied, trembling. "They travel in huge packs and their claws have bacteria!"
"Um… bacteria?"
"It makes you bloat up…" the way she shuddered, that was obviously the worst part for her. "And then they tear you apart and eat you."
"Well, when it rains it pours," Kagura said lightly, expertly flipping the blaster so that she gripped it by its barrel. "Can you help me up? I lost my crutch trying to get up here."
"Y-you're going to blaster-whip a pack of…? Wait, hold on."
What came into sight far below was not a horde of feline killing machines, but rather a single figure wrapped in a dark brown cloak and hood. It dusked quickly towards the speeder and looked inside.
"Hey!" Kagura called, holding the empty blaster properly and training it on the stranger. "We need that!" The figure threw back its hood, freeing an impressive wash of shining black hair, and regarded Kagura with cool, dark blue eyes that passed over her blaster with Olympian unconcern.
Chiyo tugged on her sleeve. "Put that away!"
"Just being cautious," Kagura muttered, holstering the useless weapon. Chiyo helped her down the incline towards their rescuer. "You know, she looks familiar."
"So you threatened her with a blaster?"
Kagura ignored her and looked the newcomer over. She was imposingly tall, but with a gentle, deferential bearing. "You're injured…" her voice was deep and soft, now laced with concern. The soldier was certain she'd seen this woman before.
"It's not a big deal."
"I can help you. My home isn't far." A question mark hovered in her voice.
"Sorry," Kagura said before Chiyo could accept. "I have to get to Kenobi's."
"Ah… I haven't heard that name in a long time."
"Oh!" Chiyo jumped even more than she had for the panther call, making Kagura grunt softly in pain. "You're… (sorry) are you…?"
"I'm Nanashi Sakaki, Jedi Apprentice." Sakaki smiled softly and offered her hand. "I've been waiting to meet you, Ms. Mihama."
