Private Tatooine Trouble

[Castor-Kama]

Image Credit
Tatooine, Western Dune Sea
​

Tatooine, a place Castor-Kama had rarely ventured to but each time he did, he found something that piqued his interest. From great views to weird droid parts the planet never ceased to amaze the Geminaie.

Castor was crouched in front of a droid, surrounded by Jawa. Near the group a sandcrawler sat.

"Woah, this Droid is amazing! Did you make it yourself?" Castor-Kama asked a Jawa as he poked and prodded the weird looking astromech. A Jawa nodded and responded with enthusiasm clearly happy to be praised for his work. Castor smiled. "Well, I think it's awesome. I would gladly take the droid off your hands." Castor said as he patted it. "But I'm guessing you wouldn't accept a few trinkets for it." Castor said as he stood up.

"So I'll bid you farewell my scavenging friends." Castor gave a small wave as he made his way to his landspeeder. He was planning on going further into the Dune Sea to see if he could find something interesting. As he powered up the speeder he would grin.

"What's going to happen today?" He asked himself as he rode through the desert.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Rook looked at her ship in disgust. The stupid thing couldn’t even travel half the galaxy. And where had it landed her? Tatooine. “Of all the forsaken places” she muttered.
She had been to Tatooine once before- though a long time ago. She didn’t like it. Her ship was now a twisted scrap pile, flames licking at its hull. “It’s of no use to me now- stupid-“ She broke off into a bout of profanities. She scanned the remains with her cybernetic eye, which had been modified for such things. Yup. Reactor leak. Rook shook her head. That was the last time she trusted a Devarion. She turned around to face the rolling dunes of Tatooine. “Yay. Sand.” Rook started forward, knowing the long walk ahead.

 

[Castor-Kama]

Soon enough Castor would see smoke rising above a dune. 'Interesting, just the adventure I was looking for.' Castor thought as he pulled in closer to what he perceived to be a wreckage. As he reached the crash he stopped his speeder and hopped out; scanning the area for anything strange. The explorer grinned as he would spot a woman turning towards the vast expanse before her.

Castor began to make his way to her. As he got closer he'd greet her with a wave. "Isn't it beautiful?" He'd say as he turned his attention to the flames which crawled along the remnants of the ship, watching them with wonder. "The flames have nothing to wory about, yet us mortals sit here worrying of dinner and death. Strange isn't it?" He said with a chuckle as his gaze returned to the woman. "So you a scavenger? Or perhaps the owner of this wreck?" Castor asked tilting his head slightly.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Wow- that statement was just- wow.

Rook turned her gaze to the new person who just greeted her. She studied him for a second before answering."I own the wreck."
Rook did not offer any other information. She glanced back at said wreck which was, according to her scans, quite ready to explode.

Now that would be beautiful. The visitor had been coming from the west, perhaps there was a settlement there.
She needed to get off this world- if only for her sanity.

 

[Castor-Kama]

He watched her quietly as the woman studied him. Then after a moment she'd answer, saying that it was indeed her wreck. She didn't say anything else. Castor-Kama nodded. "I see. And you plan on walking into the unknown?" He asked with a smirk. He turned his attention to the wreck. Slowly inching closer to it, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What kind of history has she seen? What stories does her battered hull tell? I wonder. Each scratch a memory. Good or bad. The story of her life." Castor said aloud as he began to walk into the wreckage, examining each scrape and scratch on the ship,

It was unknown to him that the wreckage would soon explode. For he ignored the flames that slowly began to grow.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself." He said as his head turned in her direction. "I'm Castor-Kama." He said as he went back to looking at the wreckage with childlike enthusiasm.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

"Uh-huh." Rook walked over to what would seem like the stupid man.

Why the Kriff would he walk into a crash that could explode?!

Her answer came as he spoke in more poetic words. Going on and ON about the story of the ship. A ship is a ship. And this ship was a wreck. Full-stop.
But he looked into every crack and crevice with enthusiasm.

Great.

She followed him into the ship- for some reason unknown to her. She should just LET him explode. But she reluctantly followed. He came across a room that was mostly intact and he moved to go in there.

"Get out of there. And here in general." Rook said shortly. According to her most recent scan- that room held a poisonous gas leak.

 

[Castor-Kama]

He barely heard the woman trail behind him as he came across a room that was relatively intact. Just as he was about to enter, the woman would utter a warning. Castor didn't stop at first, then the smell hit him. Gas. The Geminaie stopped in his tracks. While he was confident in his abilities to be able to breath the gas in without any trouble, gas near flames was never good. With an exaggerated sigh he stepped away.

"Fine fine." He said in mock surrender as he turned and began to walk away from the wreck. Motioning for the woman to follow. "There are many more things to explore. Many more stories to be told." He stated as he walked towards his landspeeder. The woman following him didn't seem to be very much of a talker. Interestingly enough Castor didn't mind. As he reached the speeder he'd turn to the woman. "Get in. I don't expect you to walk to civilization. Plus the Tusken Raiders out here are no joke. But in return as payment: tell me your name and your line of work." Castor said, hoping to gain more information on the woman. But mostly it was to hear something interesting.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Rook stifled another sigh. This guy and his cryptic-ness. She followed him to his landspeeder when he turned around, requesting her name and line of work in payment for a ride.
I have decided. I don't like Castor.
Rook considered lying- but that wouldn't get her anywhere. She looked over him again. Castor seemed relatively harmless- but she couldn't judge by appearance. So Rook begrudgingly answering, "My name is Rook, and I'm a Slicer."
As she finished her statement the ship behind her exploded, just as she calculated it would.
She looked over her shoulder and laughed. She was right- it was beautiful. Debris rained from the sky and Rook sidestepped one piece of falling metal.

 

[Castor-Kama]

Castor-Kama smiled as she gave in to his request and stated that her name was Rook, and she was a slicer. Interesting. Castor slapped the side of his speeder and smiled. As he did, the wreckage exploded, sending debris everywhere as a plume of smoke and flames erupted. Glancing over to Rook, he would laugh. "Wow. And the show begins!" Castor-Kama stated as the woman deftly avoided a piece of shrapnel. The exporer held a hand above his eyes as sand kicked up.

"Great! Hop in." He said with a grin as he jumped into the pilot's seat and began to power on the vehicle. It was apparent that the woman didn't like the Geminaie too much.

As soon as Rook got in, Castor punched the acceleration and gunned it out of there. He would glance over to Rook and give a nod. "So Rook the Slicer, where are you from? From the looks of you, you probably aren't from around here." He said with a sly smile as he sped through the desert before them.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Shuuuuuut uuuuuup!

As soon as Rook got in the speeder, Castor-Kama started it up and zoomed away from the crash site. The annoyingly amiable guy glanced over at her and gave a nod, asking her where she was from before commenting that she obviously wasn't from around here.

"Around," Rook replied, not caring that it wasn't the answer he was looking for. He could go eat sand if he wanted that information.

She wasn't about to spill that she was from Coruscant, only during the Clone Wars period. Rook turned her gaze to the rolling dunes- at least she wasn't walking them on foot. The sand would get everywhere. And it was SUCH a PAIN to get them out of her cybernetics. She vaguely wondered how long it would take to get there. But asking would lead to conversation. NEEDLESS conversation.

 

[Castor-Kama]

Castor-Kama barely noticed her seething irritation as she sat quietly. She barely answered his question, but it was her answer which made him laugh. "Around? I've been around, not as much as I'd like but the galaxy is a large place." Castor said with a grin. He glanced over to Rook and noticed her attention was on the vast dunes.

"Apologies, I tend to get carried away. Rarely meet new people." He said with a small smile. "Anyway, seeing as your ship's destroyed, I was wondering if you need a way off Tatooine?" He asked as he focused on piloting again.

She was odd to say the least. Castor-Kama wondered what she went through to have put up so many walls. 'Strangers are...interesting.' He thought to himself.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Rook did need a way off this desert- but was she going to admit it...

No kidding he rarely meets new people! Can't he leave a girl in her silence?!

So Rook begrudgingly took her eyes off the piles of sand and to Castor-Kama, "I do."

She had studied the new Tattooine. Surprise!! Nothing had really changed. Which meant she couldn't use anything to her advantage. So she needed to get out of here.

 

[Castor-Kama]

After a second or two of silence Castor-Kama caught Rook's glance. She spoke two words. She did need a way of the planet, to this he would smirk. "Don't worry, I got you covered. Got a ship over at a landing pad in Mos Espa. It's not much, but it'll get you to wherever you're heading." He said with a simple nod.

Soon enough the silhouette of Mos Espa would come into view. "Ha! Is there any city more intriguing than Mos Espa? I think not! There are so many stalls, endless things to find. Each with a story of it's own." Castor rambled.

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

This guy. He smirked and told her that he had a ship that could get her wherever she needed to be.

Good, I've got a few jobs lined up that I can't be late for.

Then Mos Espa came into view and Castor started rambling on about how it was 'The most intriguing city'. Rook snorted lightly- he had obviously never been to Coruscant, or about any other city, "You'll have to convince me that this place is ANYWHERE near interesting." She said with a slight smirk.

 

[Castor-Kama]

Castor laughed at the woman's reply. "Oh ho ho! So Rook knows more than a few words?" Castor joked as the city got closer. "You seem too set in stone for me to convince you Ms. Slicer. I don't think it'd be easy." He said as he began to bring the speeder through the streets at a slower pace. He'd look over to her and smile.

"Look, you can't tell me that you're not at least a little bit intrested in how Jawa fix things here, or what's under their hoods? Lies. I think you're lying. You actually love Tatooine, but don't want to admit it." Catir said with a smirk

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Rook almost laughed at his reply, so he could do more than drone on. She settled for a small smile as the speeder started to slow.

Then Caster spoke again- smirking. Claiming that she lied in saying she disliked Tatooine.
Where the kriff did he get THAT idea from?! I do NOT love Tatooine!

Rook snorted lightly, "You must be out of your mind to even like Tatooine. "

Rook couldn't deny that the secrets of Tatooine pulled at her, how much information was here on this planet? So much unknown... But to admit that to anyone? She'd sooner have a pet Sarlacc.

 

[Castor-Kama]

The look on Rook's face was priceless to say the least. He would smile and shake his head at her remark. "Out of my mind? Maybe. But you're the one that crashed here, not me. It was like you were drawn to the planet." Castor said as he pulled the speeder to a stop. "Maybe just maybe she was born here and just wanted to come home." Castor said in reference to the ship.

"Alas, we may never know." The Explorer said with a sigh. He would laugh right after as he jumped out of the speeder. "So, my ship's in there, where are we heading?" He asked as he felt the barrel of a blaster touch his back.

"Hand o'er all yer credits!" A rough voice said. Castor froze and brought his hands up, looking to Rook. "A little help?" He asked, hoping she wasn't all talk.
Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

And there he was. Droning on and on about the ship and her being crazy.

Ah well. Guess I’m stuck with im’ for now.

He asked where we were heading before freezing. Rook had noticed the thuggish looking person is the shadows. She hadn’t done anything, because in the long run, he was nothing. A bug to be wiped of a windscreen.

The thug ordered him to give up all of his credits- pressing a blaster against the small of Castors back.

“A little help?” He asked, looking expectantly at her.

Rook stood their for a beat before lunging, knife hidden in hand. The thug was only a street thief- his only use intimidation. He never saw it coming before he was on the floor.

“There.”

 

[Castor-Kama]

He sighed with relief as he heard the body drop. Rook said only one word before falling silent. "Much appreciated." Castor-Kama said as he looked down at the body for a second. Eventually he looked back up to Rook. "You know, I could've handled it if I wasn't caught off guard."

Castor laughed as he began to make his way to the landing pad, where his light freighter had been stored.

"As I was saying. Where are we heading?" Castor asked

Rook.the.slicer

 

[Rook.the.slicer]

Castor-Kama looked at the body as it fell for a moment before speaking. Claiming that he could have handled it had he not have been caught off guard.

Likely.

Then he laughed and headed towards the freighter, again requesting their destination.

“You fail when your caught of guard. That is your fault. Don’t get caught of guard, then you can tell me you can handle it.”
Rook said, ignoring his last question.

She didn’t have any specific place to be- besides of this force-forsaken planet. But she was tempted to say Coruscant, just to prove what a dump Mos Espa was.

Yes- She thought with a small smile- That would be amusing.