After a simple meal, the two of them entered meditation. Outside, the wind had picked up—not rain, just gusts of sand whipping against the w
After a simple meal, the two of them entered meditation. Outside, the wind had picked up—not rain, just gusts of sand whipping against the walls, sounding like raindrops. But soon, everything quieted again.
A long while later, Amir finished meditating and stepped outside the hut. The night air was cool, and the sky above was filled with stars—something he could never see on Coruscant.
Amir was entranced. He lay down on the sand, gazing upward. Watching from the ground was nothing like viewing the stars from a ship. In a ship, the stars felt tangible—something you could reach. But on the ground, the sky was an endless dream—the most romantic of them all.
At dawn, after a hot cup of blue bantha milk, Amir and Obi-Wan prepared to head into the city. Amir sent a quick message to Kaien to check in.
Obi-Wan rode a dewback, a four-legged white creature with great stamina and a steady gait, commonly used as transport in the desert. Farmers often used them to haul goods.
Luckily, a nearby bantha had provided their breakfast. These long-haired creatures with massive spiral horns were also common on Tatooine, and wild herds could often be found.
Amir cautiously approached the bantha. They were docile and easy to tame. With Obi-Wan's guidance, he soon climbed atop the woolly beast.
Beneath the twin rising suns, the two of them made their way slowly toward Mos Eisley. Desert creatures were unlike those in jungles—rarely active, always conserving energy. They moved slowly, deliberately.
Walking in the soft sand, you had to follow the same principle: no rushing, every step steady.
Along the way, Amir saw many other creatures—giant long-necked reptiles, and pudgy, round-headed lizards ridden by Imperial desert troopers. Amir couldn't even name most of them.
"Master, once you've finished shopping, meet me at Docking Bay 94. That's where my ship is—she's a great ship, you'll recognize her right away."
"Got it," Obi-Wan answered casually from atop his dewback.
Amir received a message from Kaien telling him to meet at the cantina.
Walking into the city once more, Amir couldn't help but marvel at its scale.
From a distance, Mos Eisley looked like a patch of order amidst a sea of chaos. But up close, chaos was embedded deep within its order.
Still, he couldn't deny the port city's prosperity: domed desert buildings, alien creatures of all shapes and sizes, and starships constantly shuttling across the sky.
Unlike Coruscant—where humans and humanoid species made up the majority—Mos Eisley was filled with the bizarre and exotic.
From the transports to their pilots, everything here was wild and strange.
Many of the species Amir had only heard about—he now saw with his own eyes.
He rode the bantha to the cantina and left the mount by the roadside. This was his first—and likely last—time riding one. Then he stepped inside.
A pungent mix of smells hit him at once: perfume, alcohol, unidentified beverages, and the rank odor of Jawas. Amir wrinkled his nose.
But he quickly adapted and made his way to the bar.
No one paid attention to the newcomer. Everyone was busy eating, drinking, and chatting.
A Bith musician was playing a unique melody with his wrinkled lips while dancers twisted and moved nearby.
Amir scanned the room, amazed. It could pass for an Outer Rim zoo—every strange species imaginable was here.
Kaien hadn't arrived yet, so Amir took a seat at the bar.
"I'll have..." Amir looked around at what others were drinking, swallowed nervously, and pointed at a jar behind the bar. "That one."
He tossed a small credit chip onto the counter.
Regular civilians might have trouble spending credits, but not people here.
This place welcomed everyone—criminals, pirates, bounty hunters. There was always someone willing to spend.
Soon, a clear-looking drink was placed before him. Amir took a sip and exhaled in relief—it was just regular tea, and pretty good.
While waiting, he listened to the surrounding conversations.
Most of it was gossip: some famous freight company had been raided by pirates; the Empire was deploying forces to suppress the uprising on Corellia...
Gossipy or not, the intel was surprisingly sharp. Especially since the Empire controlled nearly all media, this kind of street chatter was rare and valuable.
As Amir listened intently, a man wearing a cowboy hat sat down beside him.
He had changed quite a bit—Kaien's beard had grown so much Amir nearly didn't recognize him. How could facial hair grow this fast in just a few days?
"How are you holding up?" Amir asked.
"Worse than expected. The Empire does nothing in the Outer Rim—worse, they're in bed with the local syndicates," Kaien said in a low voice. "I even helped a group of bounty hunters hijack a shipment recently. Imperial cargo, no less."
"Breaking away from the Empire only to rob it? That must've felt great," Amir grinned. He was certain the cargo theft being gossiped about earlier had involved Kaien.
"It felt... strange. But after these last couple of days, I'm really glad I left the Empire," Kaien sighed.
"What changed your mind?"
"Ever since Governor Tarkin took over the Outer Rim, disasters have piled up. Many of them were directly caused by the military. I... I don't even want to imagine what I might've done if I'd stayed."
"What's your plan now? I happen to know a resistance group with a lot of potential. One of my friends already joined them."
"They'd welcome a skilled pilot—especially one with his own ship."
Kaien thought for a moment. "I'll look around on my own for now. I've gathered a lot of intel on Tatooine that I still need to verify."
"That's fair."
"You mentioned a resistance group? The one you believe in?" Kaien asked.
Amir briefly explained Ahsoka's faction—what little he could say. There were some things he just couldn't explain.
"Alright. If I decide to fight back against the Empire, I'll check them out."
"So why are you here, Amir?"
"To study," Amir grinned. "Weird, huh? Dropped out of the Imperial Academy just to come to Tatooine for more schooling."
"Study? On Tatooine?"
Finishing his drink, Amir stood up. "Let's walk. I'll show you my ship!"
"Your ship?" Kaien's eyes lit up.
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