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Chapter VII - Homebound

Slowly I feel myself wake up from a sleep I hadn't even realized I'd fallen into, the first thing my eyes lock onto is the endless sands outside of my viewport that stretches beyond the horizon. Twin suns barely past the line of the far-off horizon, as the shuttles lowers itself closer to the surface of the desert planet, I start to see the growing sights of a large settlement. I narrow my eyes at the growing town, leaning so close to the viewport my breath fogged up the transparisteel.

It can't be...

But surely enough, the closer we get, I start to see the outlines of the Mos Espa Grand Arena growing larger and larger, I can even see the vague outlines of people walking about the streets outside of it. My eyes widen at the sight.

Out of all the shuttles in the galaxy.. I just had to pick the one that brought me to Mos Espa, of all places.

I shake my head slowly as I move away from the window, leaning back into the rugged seat cushions of the shuttle, closing my eyes with a deep sigh.

I'm back home.. Never thought I'd ever say it again, much less think it.

The curious bleeps and trills of an astromech pulls my focus away from my thoughts, opening my eyes I turn to see my astromech twirling their dome around as a sign of nervousness. I pat Effree on the head comfortingly, sending them a small smile when I notice that their photo receptors turn to face me directly.

We sit patiently waiting for the shuttle to touch down at the spaceport below, the few people that are onboard the shuttle seem to be hanging on the edge of their seats, I doubt it's because they want to explore Tatooine.. Maybe they're using Tatooine as a middle stop?

That makes more sense than people going there willingly, me and Effree not included.

The shuttle lands roughly, throwing a lot of people of balance as they try standing up from their seated position, I even see one zabrak faceplant the seat in front of him in his haste to leave. I wince at the sight before disembarking the shuttle myself, breathing in the familiar hot and dry air, I lead my astromech friend out of the spaceport with a tight grip on my bag. I stop outside to survey the crowds beyond the opening of the spaceport, it looks like it's a busy day today in Mos Espa, I wonder what could be happening?

I change my focus back onto my curious looking astromech, domed head swiveling around every few seconds to eye up the people passing us by. I place my only free hand onto my hip as clear my throat, gaining the attention of my companion.

"First things first, we need to acquire a large flask of water and cloak for me," I list of the things using my fingers. "Second, we'll need to visit a droid repair shop in town." that gains me a confused string of beeps and trills, I shake my head with a smile.

"No, Effree. I'm not selling you for parts, I haven't been here for a long time, might as well see how my family is doing while we're here." I end with a shrug, deciding to walk down the main street leading into the town's market place, Effree lets out a confused series of beeps that make me sigh. "Not all my family is dead, and not all who I consider family, are family by blood.." I reply with a raised brow aimed at my companion, they respond with a curious trill. "Oh, they were a couple of slaves I grew up with.. Shmi was a good friend of my mother, and she was like an aunt to me... Anakin, her son, he was my best friend. I'm just curious to see what happened to them, y'know?"

I get an understanding beep from the astromech, I nod my head while taking a deep breath, where do we go first?

Eyeing up every stand in the large market place, I see people of many different species, some identifiable, and some I've never even seen before. The smells that fill the air make my nostrils twitch briefly, it smells of spice and of people who haven't bathed in weeks. Seeing as it's Tatooine, that shouldn't be as unsettling as it is.