Ben Kenobi

Jundland Wastes

Cam pilots the landspeeder through the desert. The barren landscape stretches for miles, the colors muted and subdued. The sands seem to shift and swirl in the wind, creating an ever-changing pattern. A sandstorm is starting to pick up. She stops the speeder to look at her map.

"It should be right around here..."

There is no sign of any abode around her. Just rocks and sand. She tries to start the speeder up again. It won't start.

"Damn it!" She hits the steering wheel in frustration. She gathers up her things, including a small bottle of water, in a bag. She puts on goggles and covers her lower face before stepping out of the speeder.

She ties a long coil of rope to the speeder and attaches the other end to her belt. She slowly reels it out as she walks away from the speeder.

She scans the horizon but there is still no sign of any civilization.

She is so focused on the horizon she doesn't notice her feet sinking into the sand until it is too late.

She tries to pull her feet out but only sinks deeper. She is soon up to her armpits in the quicksand. Her arms flail and she sinks deeper. She lets out a cry before the sand covers her head.

The sand is still for a moment. Then the rope starts to reel back in, pulling Cam out of the sand. As soon as she is back on firm ground she collapses, gasping for breath.

She gets up and follows the line back to her speeder. The wind is picking up even stronger.

She finds the speeder and gets back in. He tries to start it up.

"Come on... please..."

It finally starts up. She turns the speeder in a circle and heads back the way she came.

She looks down at her map. She is going too fast and not paying attention to the terrain.

The speeder crashes into a rock, sending debris flying into the air. The metal vehicle screeches and bends upon impact, flipping over onto its side.

Cam tumbles out, stunned but not seriously hurt. She screams in frustration. Once she has let her frustration out she starts taking her supplies out of the downed vehicle. But then she hears a roar.

A towering wall of swirling sand, whipped into a frenzy by the raging storm, looms ahead of her. She can feel the grains of sand stinging her skin as she quickly grabs her pack and breaks into a sprint in the opposite direction. The deafening roar of the wind and the relentless assault of sand particles only drive her to run faster, heart pounding in her chest.

Then, like a mirage, a hut appears out of the dust. It had a domed roof and a moisture vaporator beside it. She heads towards it.

Cam reaches the door of the modest stone building. Her heart races with fear and determination as she reaches for the door, frantically pounding on it with her fists. Every muscle in her body tenses as she waits for a response, her breaths coming in quick gasps.

"Let me in!" she screams. There is no answer. She bangs her fists again. "Please! I need help!"

She turns to see the wall of sand heading towards her. She closes her eyes, bracing for impact.

Suddenly the door slides open behind her and she tumbles inside. The door slides shut again, plunging the room into darkness. Cam picks herself up off the floor and looks around, her eyes blinking as they adjust to the dark.

"Hello?" She walks past a storage chest and a table, towards the kitchen. The storage chest is made of rough wood, its lid slightly ajar to reveal rows of neatly folded fabric and supplies inside. The table is small and worn, with visible scratches and stains from years of use. In the kitchen, the smoke from the stove fills the room with a thick haze, obscuring any other objects or furniture within.