Ben Neluenf would have been proud

[Lilla Syrin]

On the outskirts of the galaxy was a planet called Tatooine. Far away from just about everything, this hot desert world was home to only a few creatures and a relatively small population of humans, most of whom worked on moisture farms. The balance were either criminals – or scraped a living whilst remining morally solvent.

Of course, everyone’s ethical compass was different. And right now Lilla’s was being tested as she fled one of her more daring raids on a stolen skyhopper. Technically she would argue it was borrowed and not stolen – and further, she’d argue it was pilfered before she ‘acquired’ it. How it would end up back in the hands of the rightful owner she was less sure.

But right now she had two more burning issues. The first was what to do with the spice that she did not instantly realise was its secret cargo. And the second was negotiating Beggar’s Canyon without being caught – or dying.

And yet a small part of her – potentially too large a part – was thrilled at the chase.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

As she steered toward Beggar’s Canyon and the skyhopper zoomed over the sands of Tatooine, the rocky walls of the canyon rose in front of her, and soon she was dodging the craggy peaks.

Sadly the chasing speeder bike was gaining. Which is why she was heading towards the canyon. Out on the flat she had no chance of outrunning the gang member. If she could just outrace him through the canyon, she had a chance his bike would be damaged and she could escape.

As the skyhopper shot around a corner, Lilla’s eyes widened. She had reached a sharp turn! She swerved hard to the left, but the skyhopper skimmed the rocky wall. Her piloting skills were above average, but the vehicle was no match for the speeder bike’s pace or handling.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Three turns later, the skyhopper bumped the wall again and this time Lilla was almost thrown from the seat, and she hung on for grim life as she heard the unmistakeable sound of an explosion behind her.

Craning her neck, she saw the wreckage of the speeder bike and a now deceased gang member littering the canyon floor.

With a whoop of delight, Lilla’s attention snapped back to what was in front of her just in time to see the canyon wall a matter of centimetres ahead.

In a burst of flame, the skyhopper fell to the canyon floor.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Fortunately, Lilla fared better than the bike’s pilot. She climbed out of the wreckage a little shakily, but pride aside, she was unhurt.

Smiling to herself, Lilla contemplated grabbing the spice in order to sell it but decided against it. Dealing in Mos Espa would attract even more heat than stealing the shipment in the first place. Sighing and deciding which was the quickest way to walk back to Mos Espa, Lilla was suddenly aware of not being alone.

Glancing around, she realised she was surrounded by a group of scavenging Jawas! The strange little creatures combed the desert in search of junk – old ships and scrap metal – which they fixed up and sold. And right now they were after the wreckage of the two vehicles – but given her history, she understood they would consider her a valuable commodity too. And a quick check would reveal her as a runaway slave.

So Lilla ran for it. She figured the Jawas would prefer to focus on what they had over what they might get – and she was right. Pretty soon she was sure they had given up any hope of following her. Which is when more dangerous visitors appeared.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

“Sand People!”

These could neither be scared off nor outrun, and Lilla knew it. She glanced around and spotted a nearby boulder. Hiding behind it, she wondered if they’d spotted her.

Peeking out from her hiding place, she saw a band of the nasty-looking nomads climb off their giant, hairy banthas and begin to spread out. Lilla figured they’d been drawn to the two crashes and were no doubt looking for survivors.

Lilla kept her nerve and silence and finally the Tusken’s passed her hiding place and she calculated they would be too far away to see or hear her if she began to move again.

She glanced up. She’d delayed so long, it was now getting dark. Glancing around, she knew her only chance of survival in the night was to make camp.

In a few minutes, she’d found a likely looking cave and wondered how far back to go, in order to be safe.

Just then, a terrible roar echoed off the canyon walls.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla’s eyes went wide. Jawas she could deal with. Tuskens she could just about manage by avoiding them. But a Krayt Dragon?

She looked around nervously. Krayt Dragons were by far the fiercest native animals on Tatooine. They attacked almost anything they could eat! And a human was a decent sized meal.

Suddenly, one of the terrifying beasts rushed out of the darkness – straight at her.

Panicked, she looked for an escape. But the canyon rose straight up behind her, and the dragon blocked the path in front. There was no escape.

At that moment, a mysterious figure appeared out of the darkness. Lilla could not tell if it was a man or a woman as they wore a hooded robe.

In a simple gesture, the figure held their hand up in front of the dragon. Strangely, the dragon reared up fearfully, then scurried into the darkness.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla remained silent. She was delighted to have avoided the Krayt Dragon, but anyone that could deal with one so easily, well they were an even more formidable foe.

“Who are you?” Lilla asked.

“I live near here,” the stranger said, avoiding the question. It was a woman’s voice.

“How did you do that?” Lilla asked, still amazed by the dragon’s departure.

The woman stepped forward and Lilla could now see her features. She had a kindly face and smiled. “You had better get some sleep,” she said. “We have a long day in front of us tomorrow if we’re going to get you back to civilisation.”

There was something familiar about the woman, but Lilla could not identify it. She was sure she had not met her previously yet there was an odd sense of recognition. And, unless Lilla was mistaken, the woman had sensed it too.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Early the next morning, the two started the long journey back to Mos Espa. Conversation was sparse and Lilla appreciated that. And she suspected the woman did not want to be questioned either.

Before long, they came across a herd of wild dewbacks. Lilla noticed that the still unnamed woman was starting at one of the big creatures. A second later, it walked right up to them!

Riding the dewback, Lilla and the woman made quick progress to Mos Espa. Lilla was relieved and apprehensive in equal measures. It was not as if she was returning home, or about to be reunited with friends or family. But she was returning to normality – which was a comfort up to a point.

When they were a few minutes from the outskirts, the woman climbed off the creature’s back and indicated Lilla should follow suit. The dewback quickly kicked up dust as it returned from where it came and the woman bade a quick goodbye to the young girl, her lilac eyes offering a strange reassurance as she turned to head home herself.

Lilla took a few steps towards Mos Espa and finally plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been on her lips since they’d met. “Who are you and how did you find me?” she asked, but as she turned to face the stranger, the cloaked woman was nowhere to be seen. She’d disappeared into the desert landscape as quickly as he’d appeared in Beggar’s Canyon the night before.

Lilla wondered if the whole thing was an hallucination. Maybe she’d inhaled some of the spice by accident? Either way, she was here and Mos Espa was here and she was still alive.


As Lilla reached the first building, the cloaked woman popped into her mind. It almost felt as though she was watching over her, and would always be with her…