"Wah-wah oiy wah-wah?" a Tusken stepped forward, speaking while making a series of sharp, emphatic gestures.
Amir looked back at Chaihoun behind him.
[We come from the town over there. We want to discuss something with you about the krayt dragon.] Chaihoun said in Tusken.
The Tusken representative showed obvious interest, and the others around him also calmed down.
[What do you want to do?]
Chaihoun turned back and gave Amir a confident smile that clearly said leave it to me, then continued:
[We want to reach an agreement with you. We are willing to help you hunt the krayt dragon in exchange for peace between your people and the town. If you agree, then we need all the knowledge you have about the krayt dragon.]
[Outsiders, I do not believe you can threaten a krayt dragon.]
Chaihoun turned and translated for Amir. "They don't think much of our chances."
Amir thought for a moment, then said, "Tell them we don't need them to believe in us. All they need to do is tell me everything they know about the krayt dragon. If we succeed, the body is theirs, and from then on neither side will trouble the other again. If we fail, they lose nothing."
Chaihoun repeated it word for word.
The Tusken Raiders withdrew, gathered together, and discussed it for a long time in a flurry of rough, ululating speech. Before long, their chieftain came forward.
[If you truly mean to deal with the krayt dragon, then all of us will help.]
The Tusken Raiders sounded resolute.
Chaihoun looked excited as he translated it for Amir and Wove.
Amir was a little surprised. He had not expected the Tusken Raiders to hate the krayt dragon this much, or perhaps obsession was the better word.
An entire tribe mobilizing would be no small advantage.
[Come with us,] the chieftain said to the three of them.
Amir followed the Tuskens into their camp.
[What can you provide?] the chieftain asked Amir.
With someone translating, Amir found it easy enough to speak with him.
"I can bring a large amount of explosives," Amir said. In Mos Eisley, the raw materials were easy enough to buy in bulk. With a bit of time, he could manufacture a batch of very powerful charges, something the Tusken Raiders would have difficulty acquiring on their own.
[We have our own tools. Harpoon launchers with chains, weapons, poison!] the chieftain said seriously.
"Tell me what you know about the krayt dragon," Amir said, going directly to what he most wanted to know.
[It… We found the lair of the krayt dragon nearby by following traces.]
The chieftain had said a great many things before that, but from Chaihoun's translation Amir had not heard anything particularly important until the last sentence.
The most troublesome part of the plan was how to lure a creature as perceptive as a krayt dragon into a trap. If they knew where its lair was, everything would become much easier. They could prepare an ambush in advance.
Amir wanted to inspect the location of the lair first and decide on a detailed plan based on the terrain.
The Tusken tribe agreed. They did not all go. Instead, the chieftain and one particularly strong subordinate accompanied Amir.
That made five of them in total. The two Tuskens mounted their Banthas and slowly led the way.
After traveling for half a day, they finally reached a canyon.
[There is an old Sarlacc pit here that has already been eaten out. It moved into it only recently,] the chieftain explained.
As they drew closer, Amir began to find the place familiar.
More than ten years later, the Mandalorian would kill a creature like this one. The more Amir looked around, the more certain he became that it was the same beast.
Given the growth cycle of a creature like that, ten years would likely leave very little visible difference.
Which meant that, even now, its size must already be terrifying.
The group climbed to a rocky rise. With stone underfoot, the Tusken Raiders seemed to feel a small, false sense of safety.
Even so, they absolutely refused to go any farther.
[It is inside that cave. Most of the time, it sleeps.]
Amir looked over the terrain, working through possibilities in his mind.
From everything the Tusken Raiders had said, it was obvious that the krayt dragon's way of feeding was its greatest weakness. If they could send a Bantha packed with explosives straight into its mouth and detonate it after it swallowed, then no matter how strong the creature was, it would not be able to withstand the massive internal damage.
And yet, through the Force, Amir sensed that the enormous creature in the cave ahead was calm. It did not radiate the madness others had described. He did not dwell on that, though. No creature was born evil. Most living beings were probably calm most of the time. They would not be broadcasting frenzy every waking moment.
When they had eaten their fill and were at rest, there was no reason to be angry at empty air. Lying comfortably in their den was naturally preferable.
After recording the coordinates and having BD-4 capture the surrounding terrain, Amir did not linger. The group began the return trip.
Once they had confirmed the details of the cooperation with the Tusken Raiders again, Amir boarded the ship and returned to Mos Pelgo.
After dropping Wove and Chaihoun off, he flew back to Mos Eisley. He already knew the city well by now, so gathering materials there was simple.
In the port district alone, Amir found two places selling surplus munitions, though none of it was high-grade. Most of it was outdated secondhand military stock from one local power or another.
After scavenging a pile of raw materials from various places, Amir rented a warehouse, brought out his equipment from the Traveler, and began taking things apart and rebuilding them.
He had done this countless times before, so the work came naturally. The only thing to be careful about was gentleness. One rough move, and it would all go up in smoke.
By the time he finished a few bundles of custom-made explosives that afternoon, Amir stretched in satisfaction, picked up some takeout in the city proper, and returned to Obi-Wan's hut.
"What were you doing all day, Amir?" Millisyn rushed over the moment she saw the bags in his hands and took them from him. "Smells so good!"
"A friend asked me for help." Amir went to the table and handed out the food.
"The Devaronian?" Obi-Wan asked as he opened a wrapper.
"Yes. In Mos Pelgo. He found a moisture farm there, but things are bad. It's under Imperial control, and there are Tusken Raiders and a krayt dragon causing trouble on top of that." Amir started eating in earnest.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Since the rise of the Empire, most people's lives have not been peaceful. Remote Tatooine is relatively calm by comparison. There are very few Imperial troops stationed here. Most of the real authority is still in Jabba's hands."
Amir had indeed not seen many stormtroopers on Tatooine. Only a few stood guard in the major places, more for appearances than anything else.
"We reached an agreement with the Tusken Raiders. We're going to hunt the krayt dragon together. If we succeed, they take the body, and after that the town and their tribe leave each other alone. I spent the whole day running around because of that. I already found the location of the krayt dragon's lair."
Obi-Wan looked surprised. "Does it really require that much effort?"
"The krayt dragon itself is a huge threat to Mos Pelgo, no less than the Tusken Raiders. That beast regularly comes into town to devour Banthas and other animals the people raise. It's just that no one there has ever even considered trying to kill it," Amir said.
"I once saw a krayt dragon. It was immense and powerful. Killing one is not easy, and if you fail, escaping afterward is even harder. The desert is its home field," Obi-Wan said, worried.
Amir briefly explained his plan.
"I've already prepared a large amount of explosives. We strap them to a Bantha, let the dragon swallow it, then detonate it from inside. The chances of that working are high."
Obi-Wan thought it over and then nodded, apparently accepting the idea.
Millisyn raised her hand. "I want to go too, I want to go too! I've never seen a giant dragon before!"
Amir hesitated. He had never seen a krayt dragon himself. He did have confidence in the plan, but he could not guarantee the safety of everyone around him.
"I'll protect Millisyn," Obi-Wan said, patting Amir on the shoulder. "I'll go with you."
-
-
-
-
-
STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST
🌌⚔️ STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST ⚔️🌌
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📢 THE FORCE CALLS AGAIN! 📢
Star Wars: Relics of the Past has 100+ chapters ahead available on Patreon! 🌠🛰️
Ancient secrets, forgotten relics, Jedi echoes, and buried truths wait in the shadows of the galaxy.
✨ Some things were lost for a reason.⚔️ Some powers should never be awakened.🌌 And some stories begin long after history tried to erase them.
Follow the trail of ancient relics before the rest of the galaxy catches up.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🛑 ALSO AVAILABLE ON PATREON:
🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System🧠 My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator🤖 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?🛡️ Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore🏰 Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔗 Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 Patreon Name: SrMagnus🐦 X / Twitter: https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ Let the Power Stones guide future updates!