Tatooine: The Sandcrawler hit a small dune and briefly went airborne before landing back on the ground as it continued accelerating faster and faster towards the distant but finally visible Mos Eisley. The Sandcrawler was almost effectively out of control as it swayed dangerously to each side with each small course change to try and avoid the various dunes and rocks on each side of its path.
"Shouldn't we be going slower?" asked Delta a little fearful as she gripped onto the sides of the chair to avoid from falling off as Neva Kee and Zoda continued racing around the bridge while pressing various buttons.
"Tell you what," said Zoda wanting to be amicable. "You pay us, we go slower. Otherwise…"
Delta knew she had no money on her and the aliens knew the same and so she crossed her arms in frustration only to slide out of her seat as the Sandcrawler once more surged forward.
And then an alarm began blaring.
"Oil temperature gauge?" inquired Zoda hopeful. Neva began chuckling at that.
"Yeah that's it exactly," he agreed hysterical.
"Don't be stupid!" shouted Delta making her way to the blinking console. "It's the threat detector!"
The two aliens rolled their eyes at her hysterics.
"I miss Keira," lamented the Jedi as laser blasts erupted all around them.
Jabba's Barge: The Hutt watched with interest as the Firesprays ripped the area around the Crawler to shreds before hammering the top of the Crawler.
"Not shooting to kill yet definitely shooting," said the Hutt perplexed before turning to his crew. "Bring us alongside them!"
The crew was frightened by that request but more terrified if they didn't obey the Hutt's orders and so the Barge accelerated as well while drawing ever nearer to the crawler under siege.
Space: A Royal Cruiser descended towards Tatooine complete with escort.
"Sir, may I please remind you that Tatooine is a self-professed wretched hive of scum and villainy!" protested the senior aide. "Just let the Mandalorians take care of it!"
The King of Chrona, a regal man yet fierce and not one to be crossed looked at the aide sternly.
"I gave them their chance and they have yet to produce results so I am forced to step in to retrieve my wayward child personally," the King stated firmly. Even at this distance, small pinpricks could be seen blossoming headed towards Mos Eisley.
"But if the rumors are true and Zo-," began the aide when the King shot him a stare that chilled him to the bone.
"You do not talk about him whether in my presence or not," said the King darkly. A brief sound of laughter was heard as the King turned to face the only civilian in the royal chambers of the ship.
"You have something to say?" asked the King harshly. The woman gave a knowing smirk as she shifted her bag of golf clubs while leaning against the far wall.
"Just because you want to deny his role in all of this doesn't mean the truth will suddenly alter itself to accept that fact," she stated before glancing over at the image of the surface. "And I'm going be there when you learn that."
The King studied her before turning to the screen.
"Your job is to insure that she is intact and that is all. Is that understood?" he stated. The woman sighed before throwing her hands in her pockets, shaking her head in shame, and heading for the exit.
"Rock on," she stated with a knowing grin before exiting the room to the King's chagrin.
Desert: The Sandcrawler was still being hammered as Jabba's sail barge pulled alongside it.
"Whu-oh," said Zoda looking out the window at the vessel. "I wonder what the implications of this are."
"Find out would you?" asked Neva Kee as he concentrated on driving the vehicle as a laser blast disintegrated part of the ceiling.
"Right," said the Jedi as he steeled himself for the coming jump. He was just about to go when Delta once more interfered.
"You can't provoke Jabba the Hutt, if he finds out I'm here…," began the woman when the Crawler once more rocked from the Firesprays' continued attacks.
"I think he already knows someone's here," commented Zoda lightly. "But Jabba typically doesn't interest himself anymore in capturing people and ransoming them off. Not after what happened the last time."
Neva Kee and Zoda both shuddered involuntarily; reminded of that situation where they had been called in to deal with at Jabba's Palace and things had gone noticeably awry.
But they couldn't focus on that right now and so the Jedi blazed out of the Crawler's bridge hurtling towards the barge below.
Mos Eisley: The King strode boldly across the various streets and bazaars headed for the edge of town as his guards did their best to protect him from however many threats may have existed on the city streets.
"Just for the record if you get hurt out here my company isn't paying for it," said the woman. "Accidental not intentional damage is covered under your health plan."
The King said nothing, he just continued onwards towards the edge of town where explosions could be seen above the short rooftops.
Sail Barge: "Well, well, well, look who it is," said Jabba nonplussed. The Jedi had his lightsaber gripped tight to him as the various guards aimed their blasters at him.
"Hey Jabba what brings you to these parts?" asked the Jedi earnestly.
"Your as-," began the Hutt when the Jedi laughed.
"I meant besides that," he stated. The Hutt shrugged as an explosion tore out another chunk of the side of the Sandcrawler next them raining more debris over the barge's deck.
"Going on vacation assuming you don't ruin it first," the Hutt admitted. "But perhaps I should have my gunners train their weapons on your vehicle first."
Zoda nodded his head. "You probably should I mean it would be embarrassing to be beaten to Mos Eisley by a Sandcrawler."
Jabba turned beet red at this. "Your rust bucket is no match…"
"…For your rust bucket?" asked the Jedi raising another nonexistent eyebrow accompanied by a big smile. "See you in Mos Eisley…if you can make it."
With that he was gone, soaring back into the Crawler as Jabba turned to his crew.
"If you thought your lives were on the line before…," he threatened and then moved to the rear of the ship and grabbed a hold of the wheel. "Full speed to Mos Eisley!"
Bridge: "Well?" asked Neva curious. Zoda dusted himself off as a concussion missile exploded nearby blowing out the remaining windows.
"You've got the speed, you've got the power...," he began. Neva's eyes widened at that before looking over and seeing the barge pull ahead.
"To cruise the world," the diplomat finished knowingly. "Though I'm guessing it's Mos Eisley in our case."
The Jedi snapped his middle finger and thumb together before raising his thumb in agreement.
"Let's roll," the diplomat agreed as he slammed the accelerator forward. The vehicle swayed even further from side to side.
"You will do no…," began Delta before she clung tightly to the chair to avoid spilling out the window.
"Listen lady, either pay up or shut up," Zoda decreed as he steadied himself on the console in front of him as the city that never didn't steal grew closer and closer.
Mos Eisley: The woman was interviewing a citizen whose landspeeder's hood had been crumpled by an out of control surfboard.
"Well?" asked the citizen desperate. The woman took a couple photos of the damage and then pulled out an electronic device and entered some things into it. The device beeped and a credit chit emerged.
"50 Truguts," she stated and moved to leave.
"But the damage was-," began the man protesting when the woman whirled to face him.
"The way I see it, you were speeding," she stated. "If you had been going the speed limit you wouldn't be in this mess so be glad you got anything at all."
She then walked over to the vehicle and yanked the surfboard out of the ground and attached a rope to it so she could drag it while it hovered behind her. She then grabbed the roof of the golf cart and placed it on top of the board and headed towards the King and his troops.
Outskirts: Small landspeeders and patrons raced to get out of the way of the two large vehicles while missiles and laser fire flew everywhere. The Sandcrawler and Sail Barge continuously jockeyed for position.
"This is going to be close," said Neva Kee looking once more through his rangefinder at the city.
"We should be able to make it," said Zoda assessing their odds with Treadwell. Neva Kee nodded before something hit him and he turned and looked at the Jedi bizarrely. The Jedi looked at him confused and then at Treadwell before he instantly panicked.
"I guess you calculated the odds for my sake," said the diplomat trying to calm him down. The Jedi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, I guess I did," he said.
"Well answer this dummy, where is the finish line?" demanded Delta as all she saw was a city looming ever larger. "Or are you just planning on running smack dab into the middle of the city?"
The two aliens and Treadwell snapped their heads forward to see the city even larger than before.
"Ummm," began the diplomat before turning once more to the path in front of them. "That's a good question. Zoda?"
The Jedi thought about it before picking up the radio. "Hey Jabba, what do you want your loosing point to be?"
"I think you mean winning point," the Hutt gloated. At the moment the Crawler was a good third length ahead of the barge.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Zoda doubtful. The Hutt's hand moved towards a red dot next to the wheel.
"With this!" he shouted as he pressed the button. The engines on the barge suddenly glowed blue and the craft erupted forward at well past breakneck speed and quickly overtook the crawler.
"My nitro, NO!!!!!" shouted Zoda in vain as he watched their lead vanish.
"Congrats Zee, we've lost!" declared Neva Kee a little frustrated. The Xamster sighed and was reaching for the brakes when an out of control missile ricocheted off of the sail barge and exploded underneath the crawler. This had the unfortunate effect of blowing out the brakes of the crawler as well as causing Jabba to loose control of the wheel of the barge so that it spun around in front of the barge and was now traveling in reverse directly in front of the crawler with Mos Eisley less than half a mile ahead.
"Oh great!" said Zoda throwing his hands up in the air. "Now we'll never win!"
Trial: Not a single sound was heard in the courtroom.
Mos Eisley: The King watched the rear of the sail barge through his binoculars in confusion as a throng of citizens watched with dread on their faces about what they knew was to come.
And it came quickly. Jabba's sail barge had a built in safety mechanism to prevent it from crashing into any more buildings after Zoda's earlier stunt and so it came to an abrupt halt flinging the crew and the Hutt off the rear end. At the same time, without any other options, Neva Kee threw the wheel to try and avoid colliding with the barge. Unfortunately, at the speed they were going, the Crawler couldn't completely avoid the barge and so it went racing up the side…
…And went airborne.
"Oh hell," said the woman from earlier as a shadow fell over her as the sand crawler began to twist in the air. For those in its coming path, they screamed in terror when the crawler miraculously froze in midair. The citizens didn't question it, they just ran out of its path while onboard, Zoda strained against all odds to keep it in place.
"Out with it!" shouted Neva Kee seeing the Jedi's huge grin.
"Those Alien boys had better…," he began mimicking the balladeer.
"Shut it!" concluded the diplomat. Zoda chuckled.
"Suit yourself," he decided as he was glad to let go and relax as the crawler flew forward and crashed on its side into the center of town, skidding along its side, and then coming to a halt while from the front came Treadwell pulling the golf cart and its occupants inside. The droid instantly came to a halt and the golf cart with it as the two aliens went flying out the front before skidding to a halt directly in front of the king.
"Oh no," Zoda lamented as the King glared at both of them.
"Daddy, get me off this planet!" shouted Delta rushing into his arms. "I'm sorry I left Chrona, I swear it'll never happen again. Anybody who would want to go anywhere with these two would have to be crazy!"
"Yeah I guess so," said a familiar voice to Neva Kee and Zoda as the woman with the clubs appeared. "But I'd say the rewards were worth the risks. Not many people can say they went flying through the air on an overturned Sandcrawler."
"Oh no, not you!" shouted Zoda refusing to look up at her. "My day was going great until you decided to show up."
The woman laughed as she looked at the sandcrawler that Jawas were pouring out of.
"I'll bet," she agreed lightly. "Hey Neva, how's it hangin'?"
"Alright Keira, yourself?" responded the diplomat. The woman shrugged lightly.
"Took a long vacation, went back to work, got promoted, found out you two were at it again and I finally tracked you two down and here I am," Keira Kiley revealed. "Anyway, she's fine let's go."
She and Neva headed off while Zoda looked at the king expectantly.
"Since we did bring her back to you…," he began. The King silently flipped him a coin and instantly grabbed his royal blaster and fired at him. But the Jedi was gone and so was the coin. All that was left was some writing in the sand.
Better Luck Next Time! –The Big Z.
The King brushed it from the ground with his foot.
Trial: "So we replaced the battery and went on our 'merry' way," continued Neva Kee.
Bar: Neva Kee was drinking a vodka martini while Zoda spun his straw in his ice water.
"Lousy no alcohol rule," the Jedi grumbled as his head slumped down onto the counter and he began pounding it in frustration. Keira looked at Neva questioningly.
"We had a problem on Hapes once," was all the diplomat was willing to admit to. "And alcohol doesn't affect my alien physiology in the slightest so I just do it to tee him off…so to speak."
The alien downed his drink before holding up his hands casually. He then pulled out his mixer and made another as Zoda crammed a hamburger into his mouth.
"What are these anyway?" asked Keira as the bartender served them a plate of strips of food.
"They're called French Fries, made from potatoes," answered the diplomat. "We imported the potatoes and the bartender makes them for us when we show up, along with our cow burgers."
"Oh," said Keira not really understanding a word he said.
"It's an Earth thing," the diplomat conceded.
"Ah," said Keira now understanding. At least as understanding as it got with that world.
"And why are you here?" asked Zoda with his head still on the counter. "My life was miserable enough before you showed up."
"Good," said Keira pleased as she had a sip of her drink. "As for me, you keep breaking things and someone's bound to investigate."
Zoda groaned. "Yeah but you didn't need to show up again, you know all the destruction is legit. So why are you here?"
Keira nodded and admitted. "Neva asked me to come."
"Guess that explains why I tried to kill him earlier today," responded the Jedi pushing his glass over. "Oh well let's go."
The two spun away from the counter and headed for the exit.
"Aren't you two gonna pay for your food?" Keira called after them as she fished in her pocket for some credits.
"You ever hear of a tab?" Zoda shot back at her.
"Am I on it?" Keira asked.
"Screw you!" came the response from beyond the entryway. Keira grumbled at him as she fished for more creds.
"C'mon K, let's rock and roll!" came Neva's voice. "Forget the money, tab it!"
Keira grabbed a roll and stuffed it in her mouth as she threw on her jacket and ran out the door. Outside, Neva Kee was going through a massive junk pile that Zoda had collected onto a hovercart that he had hooked to Treadwell.
"What is all this?" he asked bewildered looking at some burnt cables that had been salvaged from the crawler's hold.
"Something for me to do when we finally get back to the farm," was all the Jedi was willing to admit to before he ordered Treadwell to leave.
"Terrific," said Neva Kee ominously as Treadwell rolled off into the horizon before making for the golf cart that had the battery replaced and the roof welded back on. He got into the cart and Zoda did, but Keira found herself restrained by an invisible force.
"Hey what's the deal Z?" she asked perplexed.
"This is an exclusive golf course so pay up," the Jedi pointed out. The woman looked at him doubtful.
"Neva?" she asked. The diplomat pondered this.
"He does have a point," he conceded. "Besides, I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened the last time you went golfing with us."
The thought of standing on that asteroid at the end of the black hole watching with anticipation as to which golf ball would enter the event horizon first only to have Keira's golf ball soar in from out of nowhere and beat both of them had been rather annoying, not to mention embarrassing.
"Ha, ha!" said Keira in triumph as a broad grin spread across her face. "So you are jealous!"
The aliens gave her a perturbed look.
"Just get in," the diplomat growled. Keira smiled even wider as she hopped onto the back as Zoda secured his board to the roof and the cart moved out of the city and into the setting sun.
Trial: "The human adventure is just beginning," quipped Zoda as Neva Kee groaned.
"That's Star Trek you hack!" shouted Neva Kee before conceeding. "But he's right, it was."
"And finding that katamari ball didn't help things either," the Jedi foreshadowed.
"Forget the damn ball, how did you end up teaching that class at Tatooine U?" said the Judge looking at his notes.
"All in good time my friend, all in good time," said the Jedi with a slight grin. "Good things come to those who wait after all."