Young Writers Society

Sirejj watched as the sun set over the mountains and the shadows crept over the barren valleys. Finally, some cover. This part of the planet was completely barren and littered with caves and hidden crevices, but the scorching sun kept most wildlife in their dens until nighttime. As soon as the sun set he could feel and hear the creatures awakening and leaving their holes to hunt. One specific hole was of particular interest to Sirejj as he watched from a crevasse with a pair of macrobinoculars. He had been watching this area for several days now, and suspected that at some point, his quarry would finally leave their den.

"Must be an entrance to some kind of base." He thought. He could spot a scarce few sentinel receivers set up around the crack in the cliffs. It was guarded, and if he approached, he'd have to track them in the tunnels, and digging around in the dirt wasn't something he planned on doing if he could avoid it. No. He'd wait. This was the only practical entrance to that particular cave system, all others were barely cracks.

Now if only they would leave their base before any unwanted visitors appeared. Ryloth's fauna wasn't particularly friendly.

@Grandwild

"We ought to move now," the boy at Tarkin's side whispered. He was young, only in his twenties or so, but Tarkin had been told he was the best tracker on Naboo. Thus far his skills had been mediocre, and his stomach was bigger than his brain. Rations were already running low despite Tarkin's best efforts.
"If we move now," Tarkin said from where he lay flat against a mountain ledge, "that would startle the prey into running. We wait until they're out in the open and then we move. That way there's no risk of sheltered fighting quarters."
The boy wiped some sweat from his brow. "We've been out here for hours, sir, longer than any sensible animal would be. The sun shields can only do so much."
"You're welcome to go back to the camp, then." Tarkin remained still, eyes trained on the cave a few thousand feet away as he again regretted taking this mission. He'd needed to get away, back into the elements while Palpatine fawned over his newest protégé, Admiral Yularen. The mustachioed yes-man had been promoted after Tarkin had made a grievous misstep with a prisoner, but that didn't bear thinking about. Anakin Skywalker would have done the same for similar reasons.
The idea that Yularen was sitting in the council room right now in his crisp new uniform turned Tarkin's stomach, and he settled himself further forward on the ledge so he could get a better look at the cave. No sense in dwelling on that part of the past. He could claw his way back up just like he always did. He was a survivor, and that's what had gotten him here in the first place. He'd prove that he was man enough to be reconsidered.

There. A flash of metal. Armor, blaster...didn't matter. Someone, clad in some makeshift camouflaged cloth, carefully emerged from the ground. The description fit the target, and as it looked like only one person inhabited that little base in the ground, there were few other possibilities. Sirejj placed the macrobinoculars back into their pouch on his belt and picked up his staff. Time to move. He silently but swiftly made his way down a path onto the flat ground. He spotted the figure moving on foot to the south. There was a patch of trees that direction, perhaps he had a vehicle hidden there.
As he moved he heard the howls of some creatures pick up from the hills. Ryloth wasn't so much unlike Dathomir, if it was a bit darker, colder, smellier, and emanated a life spirit of its own, it would almost be home.

"Give the rifle," Tarkin murmured, reaching behind him. The cool, heavy metal muzzle met his gloved hand and he hefted it forward, pressing his eye to the scope. He could see the quarry moving toward a forested patch north of their little ledge. He was out of range of the rifle at the moment.
"We're moving," Tarkin said after a moment, sliding back and crawling back the way they'd come. "Move fast and stay silent. Head for those shrubs under the other cliffs and keep your blaster trained on him; I'll cover the other side." The boy nodded and followed after him.

Sirejj was gaining ground. It was quickly getting dark but he had no trouble seeing through the shadows. He travelled light and moved with the shadows across the landscape, still not forgetting the possibility a creature or person may be watching. He finally came upon the tracks and grinned to himself. They showed up clearly on the dusty ground.

Tarkin and the boy made quick work of climbing down and positioned themselves in the brush. Tarkin checked the scope again, turning on the night vision. There were predators starting to emerge in the distance, he could hear them.

Sirejj heard them too. He had to move quickly, before he was targeted or his quarry was stolen by a hungry beast. He could see the trees ahead of them now and caught sight of the figure moving quickly towards them.

Tarkin was in range at this point. He scanned the trees and caught a flash of movement. It was someone else--not the prey. His brow furrowed, and he followed.

Sirejj had a feeling something was watching him, but with all the predators roaming the landscape, that wouldn't be unreasonable. He lightly leapt from one rock formation to the next, gaining ground. Without a ranged weapon, he had to get close enough to engage the person. His dark garment and skin tone blended well with the shadows. The only thing that stood out were his bright eyes. He could feel his target grow closer. It was almost as if he could hear their ragged breathing.

Tarkin resolved to keep an eye on the quarry but moved toward the other figure. He could see nothing but a pair of eyes. Leveling his rifle at the eyes, he looked through the scope.

Sirejj caught a small glimmer of light from the corner of his eye and instinctively ducked behind a rock. "That's a rifle..." Last time he checked, lyleks and gutkurrs didn't carry those around. He crept on all fours behind some rocks and tall, dry grass, still wanting to gain ground on the target without being seen. But if he was seen, whoever it was would have to be a bloody good shot to hit him if he kept moving.

Tarkin jerked the rifle down as the figure ducked, and he sat still for a moment before creeping forward. Whoever this was was suspiciously close to his quarry. A bounty hunter, maybe?

Sirejj growled. Past interferers with his hunts hadn't escaped him alive. It was more than money, especially with this one. While the reason for his capture was a disagreement with the spice traders, this bounty in particular was Imperial scum. And anyone who served Dooku was a coward and a murderer.

He heard the growl and slowly flicked the safety off of the rifle, easing it forward and being careful to keep the light down this time. The quarry was somewhere to his left.

A cloud of dust tinted green arose from where Tarkin had last seen Sirejj. There was a flash from inside it and Sirejj, deliberately contriving this illusion to act as cover, dashed for a spot of cover closer to his watcher.