XI: Enter Mos Eisley
It had been about three weeks since the Battle of Hoth had ended. A lot of action had occurred since: Rebels blasting their way out of Echo Base, more than one chase through the nearby asteroid field, then the action shifted to the nearby planet Bespin. Darth Vader had lead a force of stormtroopers to occupy the planet's capital of Cloud City, laying a trap for a certain smuggler. Rumor had it Vader wasn't quite himself after leaving the Anoat system; perhaps something had happened while he was on the planet. Almost as soon as he had left the system, a large Rebel force attacked in an attempt to liberate the city. They managed to push the Imperials out of Cloud City and the surrounding tibanna gas platforms.
Just like at Hoth, though, Kol had seen just about none of that action. He had stayed on the Tyrant like a good soldier for the remainder of the battle, and when it was revealed the Tyrant would not be stationed at Bespin, Kol had taken the chance to catch up on his sleep. When he awoke, the Executor had also left the Anoat system, and naturally, every other Star Destroyer in Death Squadron had followed suit. They were on their way to Coruscant, the Imperial capital.
Kol hadn't even taken three steps out of his room when an officer stopped him. "KG-742."
"Yeah, that's me."
"I have a message from Captain Lennox, he wishes you to spend time off the Tyrant until it is called into active combat duty again."
"…Uh-huh. Vacation, huh?" He looked at the wall, holding his chin in his hand. "Where will I spend it, though?"
The officer lightly sighed, already able to tell Kol would be as bad as GM. "We're nearing Kinyen. The Captain says he'll stop there and allow anyone on… 'vacation', as you put it, to take a shuttle to where they wish to stay until they are recalled."
Kol, having spent many hours in space beforehand, already knew most of the planets nearby. "Tatooine's quite a bit far off from here, isn't it"?
"Huh? Oh. Yes, it is a large number of lightyears away from our current location."
"Alright then, guess I'll stay there." Kol turned to go back into his room to wait for the Tyrant to temporarily exit hyperspace.
The officer stopped him. "But no shuttle will be leaving for Tatooine!"
Kol looked back towards the officer, smirking. "Who says I'm taking a shuttle?" The door closed before the officer could protest anymore.
Days later…"Kol Kotha, requesting permission to land."
"Docking Bay 87 here. Re-state your name and ship class."
"Kol Kotha, KSE-12a." A short pause as the guy on the other end got over his shock.
"Affirmative. Permission to land granted at Bay 87."
Kol guided his ship into the port, landed it next to a T-16 Skyhopper. After paying a fee of 30 credits to an official, he first decided to find a cantina. After about an hour of mindlessly wandering about the city, he finally had the sense to ask for directions. The first person he asked directed him to the nearest one, right across the street.
Kol would have collapsed right in the doorway of the cantina, but that would have drawn the attention of everyone inside. He didn't want that, especially since he was now an Imperial and the Empire didn't exactly have a strong presence on Tatooine. He ordered a glass of blue milk and sat on his own at one table.
Things quickly got boring. No one seemed to be really doing anything. There were a few sabacc games, but Kol had to admit he has absolutely no luck at the game. He had heard stories of smugglers losing their heavily modified ships in sabacc games, and he wasn't about to risk losing his Dagger in the same way.
Kol wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden roar of swoop bike engines. Kol, sensing adventure, stood and walked back outside in time to see a trio of swoops, Flare-S models. The group seemed to be a mixed bunch of Human and Cerean. One of them, probably the leader, announced their intention. "Skywalker is hiding at Kenobi's old place. Jabba will pay extra to the one who blasts his bones!" He zoomed off with the others following shortly.
Kol tried to think about what he just heard and what he should do. Before he could truly clear his head and think straight, he heard another voice, nearby. "…He can't handle all of them!" He looked towards the source of the voice and saw an oddly dressed fellow, running off to find his swoop.
"Hm… Skywalker… Kenobi's place… this could be useful."