She's a Rebel [Star Wars | Luke Skywalker] *EDITING*

In the Garage

I make my way to Beggar's Canyon, speeding quickly over the scorching sand, and I glance around nervously at my surroundings. Nothing except empty desert; Mos Eisley and Luke's homestead being miles behind me. I descend into the canyon and manoeuvre my way between the precarious rocks and crevices.

It turns out I'm a little rusty at flying through canyons in small speeders, and I skim the side of the left turbine engine against a rock, with a loud crunch. I veer the steering wheel away from the rocks, thinking it best to fly over the cliffs instead of attempting to speed through the narrow canyons. I ascend out of the canyon and head towards the cliff.

Suddenly, a loud shot rings out, and a bright red laserbolt hits the duraplex windscreen, and I swerve to the right.  

Another laserbolt hits the same turbine engine that hit the rock and I come to a stop and hop out of the speeder, landing on the right side. I duck behind it, grabbing my blaster from its holster. I look up over the speeder, and another shot is fired in my direction, skimming the metal merely an inch above my head.

"Tuskens!" I hiss under my breath, looking up over the speeder again to see if I can catch a glimpse of them. I spot two of the savages hiding behind a cluster of rocks a few yards away, and I grimace as I look at them. 

They seem much more grotesque than how I remember them, their large heads wrapped in yellowing bandages, with four single spikes protruding from the wraps. Their eyes are replaced by long, silver eyeglasses, and their mouths are obscured by a leather-wrapped opening that acts as a filter to the harsh Tatooine air. One of them waves a gaffi stick - a pole weapon with a spike or blade at one end - at me, his battered robes fluttering, attempting to scare me away from their land.

Another shot rings out, causing me to duck down behind the speeder again. I then hear a loud groaning sound, and look towards the direction of the noise to find a Bantha, a large, hairy beast with long, spiral horns either side of its head, stomping towards me. 

The Tuskens continue to fire on me, and the Bantha begins to gain speed. If I don't move, I'm going to be in serious trouble. 

There's a short break in the Sand People's fire, and I jump up quickly, aiming and firing my blaster in the direction where they're hiding. I don't necessarily want to kill either of them, but they're trying to kill me, so if I accidentally hit one I'm not going to be too upset.

I hear a one of them crying out in pain in their unintelligible language, and the other yelling in anger. I fire two more shots before jumping back into my speeder, and I fly out of Beggar's Canyon.

It seems my little mistake and the laserbolt has broken one of my turbines, as I'm travelling a lot slower, and I'm dipping to the left. I turn round to find a hole in the turbine, and thick, black smoke is pouring out of it.

"Dammit," I whisper to myself, turning back round and staring at the horizon once again. "Sorry, Dex."

I decide to fly to Luke's homestead now instead of waiting until nightfall. One of my turbines is broken, which means I'm travelling slower, so I'm using more fuel and more energy, as the other two turbines attempt to compensate for the damage to the left one. I'm going to run out of fuel soon, regardless to whether or not nightfall is approaching. I'm going to need help.

Besides, I can act the 'Helpless Damsel in Distress' to gain their sympathy. I've stayed undiscovered by the Empire for four years. I think I can manage an old moisture farmer, his wife and their nephew.

The small homestead begins to come into view. I veer towards the garage and slow down, just shy of the first moisture vaporator. I have to make it look like I'm in trouble. Well, I am, kind of, but I'm not in too much trouble. Not yet, at least.