CHAPTER THREE
the kryat dragon
11 BBY, Anchorhead
Tatooine
Womp rat hunting is a fun game for most kids on Anchorhead.
According to Arrik Darklighter, the more womp rats they get will win the game and with the amount of womp rats that the winners will be an equivalent of credits. Kaileen couldn't believe she just heard and it's no wonder most kids participated in it because it involves money.
"I understand now why Biggs is very competitive." Kaileen whispered to Luke who's still uneasy of the thought that she'll participate. This girl is driving him nuts! Luke changes the topic, "Can we go home? Your mom might be looking for you."
The girl raises her eyebrows and looks at the boy beside her, "We're not backing out to this, Skywalker."
"I think you have more credits in Naboo rather than winning this competition." Luke reasons out.
Kaileen tries to conceal her laughter and says, "I don't care about the credits. I want to prove to Biggs that I can do it."
The sandy haired boy now understands the nervousness and worry of his Uncle Owen whenever he sneaks out to hunt womp rats or just being with Arrik Darklighter. As he tries to convince the Nubian girl, he's interrupted by Camie who is mingling with Laze the whole time. With certain teasing and mischief, the girl asks him the new comer; "Been seeing you with a new girl, Luke. I'm quite jealous."
She pouts on him while Laze snickered at what the girl is doing. Obviously everyone in Luke's age group knew his crush on Camie Marstrap, and yes, Camie knew his feelings. The only person who is oblivious about Camie knowing his feelings already, of course, is none other than himself. In which Deaks and Windy find it weird on how Skywalker doesn't understand Camie's teasing.
Luke stumbled over his words, not knowing how to reply back because Camie rarely talks with him; "I...umm...she's a family friend from Naboo."
Camie Marstrap, the only daughter of prominent moisture farmers, has always been the prettiest girl on Anchorhead. Boys fawn over the brunette and she revels the attention she gets but as she saw Kaileen Gozen, she knew that she's going to be a competitor. Envy did succumb to her mind as Laze is quite interested in the Nubian girl.
But their interaction was cut short by Lorrae Whitesun, making Marstrap roll her eyes profusely. Of course, the nosy cousin of Skywalker would interfere, "Scared by the Nubian girl that she might fancy Laze?"
"Back-off, Rae." Camie warns the girl but then, there's no denying that Luke's cousin is taller than her so the intimidation tactic of Marstrap didn't work, in fact, it's obvious in her eyes that she's quite scared of Luke's spunky cousin. Lorrae is quite notorious in the Anchorhead for being a good shooter (along with Luke, Deaks, Windy, Laze and Arrik). The last season, Lorrae and Luke tied to the womp rat hunting, and of course, Aunt Beru kept that secret so that the kids could enjoy their hard earned credits.
"You couldn't even properly shoot a decent womp rat. You would be a cry baby to Laze so you can get his attention!" Lorrae exclaims, making everyone around them gasp loudly. From the background, Windy and Deaks couldn't help but to laugh out loud.
Both boys earned a look at Camie but they didn't care. It's a known fact that Camie Marstrap prefers to be a damsel in distress so her dashing knight in shining armor Laze Loneozner would save her. A classic move to the Marstrap whenever it's womp rat hunting season. For most of the boys, it's getting annoying and Luke's closest friends exclaim that she should be banned but of course, Arrik just gave the girl a chance because the Darklighters are close to the Marstraps.
Luke wants to simmer down the tension between Lorrae and Camie but both girls might have a showdown. Kaileen notices the commotion and goes hurriedly to the other kids, wanting to know what's going on.
"The womp rat hunting hasn't started yet but we have now an appetizer." Kaileen jeers, making Luke want to faint in the middle of the commotion. She's truly unbelievable and why in the world is this entertaining for her.
Arrik Darklighter goes to the girls and tells them, "Please, let's stop this nonsense. We'll be spoiling the fun and the fact we have a new guest today."
Camie glances at Kaileen who doesn't have the idea on why her and Lorrae had a fight. The girl rolls her eyes to the Nubian and goes to Laze. Kaileen is utterly confused by the attitude that Marstrap demonstrated to her. Are girls on Tatooine like this?
Lorrae taps her shoulder and says, "Don't mind her. She's just scared like a Lothal cat whenever she tries to aim on a womp rat. One time, she almost shot Windy just to impress Laze."
There's confusion across Kaileen's face, she couldn't understand what lengths can this girl do just to get the boy's attention. The fact Luke Skywalker moons over to this girl makes it more bewildering.
"I don't even know her, which makes it even more funnier." Kaileen exclaims as she looks at Luke's cousin.
The girl with the same hair as Luke gave a laugh and didn't have any second thoughts to introduce herself, "I'm Lorrae Whitesun, by the way. If you know Aunt Beru, I'm her sister's daughter."
Kaileen shakes her hand in return and introduces herself, "I'm Kaileen Gozen but you can call me Kai. I've heard you through Aunt Beru."
"It's nice meeting you, Kai. I bet we will have a wonderful time together."
Kaileen smirks at her, knowing full well that Lorrae Whitesun is more challenging than Biggs Darklighter. This would be fun, she thought.
Luke shakes his head in disapproval as he sees the two girls. They look as thick as thieves and the fact that Lenna has the same mindset as Kaileen, there's no wonder they clicked fast and that's what Luke worries about the most.
There's more competitiveness between the girls and the boy surely knows that he's now in a deep end. He hopes that his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru won't be grounding him for a year.
Awe is etched in Kaileen Gozen's face as she sees the T-16 skyhoppers prepared by Biggs and Arrik. The ships are not far from Tosche Station. She silently thanked her brother Yuri for letting her teach about spaceships. To say the least, Kaileen doesn't really care what kind of spacecraft they will use, as long as it's easy to navigate and fly (except the Tie Fighters of the Empire because it's way more dangerous due to its flexibility than starfighters).
She did ride one of the skyhoppers with her brothers and they were on the outskirts of Gatalenta, all because of the influence of Amilyn Holdo who also loves to fly spacecrafts and would have mini competition with her brothers.
Kaileen hoped that her skills weren't rusty.
As Arrik introduced the newly repaired three-man skyhoppers to them and announced, "I believe I won't be explaining much what will be the mechanics of the game."
The teens went to their skyhoppers along with their teammates so Lorrae tells Kaileen that she'll be part of her team and while Luke is having second thoughts whether he will join Deaks and Windy, Lorrae tells her cousin; "I know you're itching to be with us, Luke."
Deaks and Windy look at each other, they both know where this is going. Luke grimaces at his friends and says, "I really need to look out for Kai. I need to bring her back in one piece."
Windy rolls his eyes playfully, "This is what happens when you're lovestruck, Skywalker. Your rationality leaves your body instantly when a pretty girl passes by and eventually forgets your best friends."
The boy knew that they're taunting him. It's always been typical because he and his friends always banter. If Biggs add up to the equation, it's going to be chaos. Luke assures his bestfriends, "The moment she goes back to Naboo, I'll let Aunt Beru make you some Bantha Blue cheese."
A grin formed across Deaks face, he pats the shoulder of his dear friend; "Now, that's what I'm talking about! Go and take care of the little Nubian."
"Oi, I'm not little, Deaks! Do you want me to kick you on the shin?" Kaileen exclaims as she hears him.
Both boys laughed and hurriedly went to their skyhoppers. Kaileen crosses her arms as she eyes at the boys who just made fun of her height. Of all things, the insult they can give her is her height. It reminds her of constant teasing from her brothers who would always call her "small Kai" or "mini Kai." Boys with their annoying teasing of her height are getting on her nerves!
Lorrae tries to contain her laughter and just tells her new friend, "They suck at womp rat hunting, Kai. So don't stress it out."
Boys are really all talk, Kaileen thought. "Deaks and Windy will surely pray in the Force when the game starts."
"You're really a handful, Kai. How in the world did Luke survive with you? I thought I'm going to be having headaches because I usually look out for him. A courtesy from Aunt Beru." Lorrae tells her as the three of them enter the skyhopper.
Luke responds to his cousin as he's embarrassed by what she said to Kaileen, "Hey, you're not my babysitter, Rae!"
The Nubian couldn't help but laugh at Luke's reaction. So he's also a rebel? It's something that she couldn't decipher because Luke Skywalker looks like an obedient boy who always helps his Uncle Owen's chores. Angelic and a delicate boy, according to her mother and Aunt Beru. It seems that looks can be deceiving, mostly to the starry blue eyed boy.
"And you're also not my babysitter, Skywalker." Kaileen remarked as she crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows to the boy.
Luke groans under his breath and lets Kaileen go to her seat. She's the bane of his existence and he just hoped this will be over and done with. Every minute with Kaileen Gozen is a torture! Maybe the Force is giving him a lesson due to his recklessness. The boy silently begged the Force that he'll be a good son the moment the game finished. He will do all the chores and help his Aunt Beru to milk the Banthas.
Just let this game be smooth sailing, Luke wished.
The T-16 was equipped with an and a fully pressurized cockpit, allowing it to operate at trans-orbital altitudes. From Yuriah's explanation to her, T-16 skyhoppers are high-performance airspeeder capable of reaching a planet's troposphere, T-16 skyhoppers were fast and maneuverable - a combination that could be dangerous for young pilots.
Maybe this is the reason Luke loves T-16s because of the velocity whenever he's in Beggar's canyon. Meanwhile, Lorrae prefers understanding X-wings, due to her interest in entering the academy for pilots on Coruscant.
Civilian versions of the skyhopper were armed with , and were equipped with though many law-enforcement agencies and militaries throughout utilized modified T-16s due to their overall good performance. However, because it was armed with only a single mounted , it was often overlooked by the military.
Kaileen finds herself comfortable in the cockpit beside Luke - in which he's the one who insisted to his cousin that he'll be seated beside Kaileen. Luke tries to give the girl a quick lesson on how to use the controls but Kaileen cuts him off, "Don't break too much sweat, Skywalker. I know how T-16s work because I rode one with my brothers when I was at Gatalenta."
Lorrae yells at them; "Turn on the repulsorlift generator, Kai!"
"On it, Rae." She says as Luke keenly watches her switching the controls in front of her, as if she's a veteran to the craft. Maybe he underestimated Gozen.
The skyhopper shook, making everyone in the cockpit feel its sudden tremor. The beast is now alive and ready to kick off for the game. Luke remained silent as he prepared for the stun cannons while Kaileen checked on the ion engine's state. Of course, she wouldn't want the ship to blow them in smithereens.
From the intercom, she hears Arrik's voice, "Everyone ready?"
Luke responds to Arrik and tells him, "We're ready, Arrik. Over and out."
There's silence for a moment as they know that Arrik is checking if everyone is ready for the competition. Then finally, he speaks once again; "Everyone is now ready for this season's womp rat hunt. In every aim you have in your T-16s, we made sure that in every successful hit you have with a womp rat, you'll have a point-"
Lorrae says with excitement, "Now, that's what I'm talking about. Biggs will never cheat on us."
"Be quiet, Lorrae!" Luke tells her and all of them listened attentively, "-we made a system in the skyhoppers so when I'll get the data right after the game, I get the tallies automatically."
Right after a brief explanation in the skyhoppers, it's already evident that the seasonal womp rat hunt is becoming more competitive. Why can't we have something like this in Naboo, Kaileen thought. She's only into Dejarik chess but it's usually not fair because of Elyjah Naberrie.
"May the Force be with you all and happy womp rat hunting!" Arrik tells them in the intercom and right after his remarks, their T-16 lifted up from the lavender skies and binary sunset of Tatooine. Like the usual route in their womp rat hunting, all of the skyhoppers went to the Beggar's Canyon, a little bit far from Anchorhead and a dangerous territory due to Tusken Raiders and the Krayt Dragons that might be lurking in the caves.
Luke notices that Kaileen is a lot more serious, he has never seen a girl who took this competition seriously. He's becoming more interested in what kind of girls there are in Naboo or rather- he's becoming more interested in Kaileen Gozen. Why did his Aunt Beru not tell much about her? Well, he knew that she has godchildren in Naboo but he never thought that she has a chaotic and adventurous goddaughter who is 4 '7 but has a spunk and an ego that can tackle down a Bantha.
Earlier at Tosche Station, Laze did ask him who she is and there's that sense of protectiveness to Kaileen. He knew Laze's way of girls - the reason Camie Marstrap is wrapped around his finger; or most of the girls in Anchorhead and Mos Eisley.
In a stern voice, almost like a warning, Luke tells him; "Don't you dare go anywhere near her, Laze."
Loneozner is surprised by Luke's reaction, he has never seen him act that way before. Laze raises his hands as if he's defeated, "Skywalker, it's just a harmless question. It seems she's your girlfriend then?"
But then, all he got was Laze's teasing that Kaileen Gozen is his girlfriend. Of course, that's the most insufferable thing he ever heard in his life and he wishes that Loneozner would just drop it.
Luke already felt left out in Tosche Station, sometimes he would be a laughing stock due to his Uncle Owen's strict chores that neither kids of his age aren't doing heavy chores unlike him. Also, the only kid who has curfew and Luke feels embarrassed to see his Aunt Beru waiting for him at Tosche Station when it's late in the evening, even though Luke already explained to them that he can go home with Biggs or Windy.
But at least, he has Biggs, Deaks and Windy who have been with him ever since they were little.
"Luke! Rae! I got womp rats on sight between the canyons!" Kaileen blurts out while her eyes are focused on getting the first set of womp rats so they can have many points.
"Let's give them hell, guys!" Lorrae shouts in delight, making the other people in the skyhopper seem in high spirits. Luke glances at his teammates but his blue eyes land on the Nubian girl who is having fun. Compared to the boredom they had in his home, Kaileen is in a state that is rushed with happiness. He is slowly not regretting taking her to the womp rat hunt, rather than staying at the homestead with nothing to do except hoping that the day will just end.
"Turn on the cannons, Kai! Shoot our first womp rat for today!" Luke tells Gozen who has no second thoughts and takes the shot smoothly, earning their first point.
"Way to go, Kai! Luke, get the other womp rats before they come here." Lorrae instructs Luke who is currently navigating the canyons. The Beggar's Canyon is a labyrinth and despite Lorrae's photographic memory of the place, there are some erosion and movements of the very soil that some rock formations looked different.
Luke shot down eight more womp rats before Laze's and Windy's skyhoppers arrived at their current position. The children abruptly left and flew the T-16 skyhopper farther away from the party, hoping they could instantly find a band of womp rats. Unlike earlier, their team is having a hard time to find womp rats which is peculiar for Lorrae and Luke.
"Why is it peculiar?" Kaileen asked them.
"The explanation for it might scare you, Kai." Lorrae tells her, Luke glances at his cousin and hopes that Kaileen wouldn't panic.
"Then what is it? Don't sugar coat it because I'll find it rather childish and annoying." Kaileen says to Lorrae.
Lorrae sighs heavily while her eyes are still focused on what's ahead of them. "Do you know Krayt Dragons, Kai?"
"No. What is it?"
"There are carnivorous reptiles. Here in Tatooine, there are two types of Krayt dragons. There's a smaller kind called the canyon dragon and the bigger one or the dangerous type, the greater dragon. The reason I'm telling you this is because the usual signs are that there is a nearby Krayt dragon living and probably, eaten by the womp rats."
Kaileen leans her back against the seat and tries to calm herself down. She should've listened to Luke's advice of going home. Her mother will surely put her on house arrest when something stupid happens to her. Or worse, her mother would let her live with their relatives on Coruscant for an early training in the apprentice legislature with Admiral Amidala.
The raven haired girl tells them, without any hint of nervousness and panic; "I think it seems impossible that I'll be seeing a Krayt dragon out of nowhere."
But before Lorrae is about to speak, Luke shouts at the girls that a large creature emerges in between canyons. Rocks and sands scattered like fireworks as the creature slowly revealed itself to them. The T-16 didn't move as they all watched the Krayt Dragon and as they tried to catch their breaths from what was happening, Luke knew that the creature saw them and from their vantage point, he told them; "We need to head back to Anchorhead. With or without the credits!"
Lorrae and Kaileen didn't have second thoughts as they fly back but as they're about to leave, the emergence of the largest Krayt Dragon they have ever seen is causing massive earthquakes to the Beggar's canyon, making their T-16 dodge the rocks and filaments flying towards them. They heard a loud roar from the distance, they knew that the Krayt Dragon was a territorial creature and they're being hunted because the three of them disrupted the long asleep dragon.
"Kriff!" Kaileen curses under her breath as a big rock almost got their T-16. She hopes that she can wake up from this death defying dream.
Before they're about to make a shortcut out of the Beggar's Canyon, there's a malfunction in the system as they hear a long and loud warning sign. Kaileen can hear the ion engine let out a whizzing sound, as if the engine was badly hit from a rock debris when the Krayt dragon revealed itself or much worse.
They heard Arrik Darklighter on the intercom deploying landspeeders and skyhoppers toward them, rescuing them from the imminent Krayt dragon. Arrik added, "Don't do anything jackass you kids. This is a Kryat dragon!"
Running might be the only solution to get away from it but Kaileen and Lorrae have other things in mind. They see some skyhoppers of other kids who were hunted down by the Krayt dragon, thinking it was them. Luke knew that the ship contained Laze, Camie and Biggs so Lorrae tells him, "This is your time to shine with your oh-so-beloved Camie Marstrap, Luke."
"Arrik told us not to do anything reckless! We need to leave!" Luke panicked.
"We will not leave them behind and they need our help, Skywalker!" Kaileen rebuffed as she no longer cared for the rules or Arrik's advice earlier. Lorrae and Kaileen controlled the ship despite its current state as they nose dive in between canyons. Lorrae instructs Luke to change the intercom to Laze's ship and informs them they're coming in.
"Laze, go upward as we try to divert the attention of the dragon." Kaileen tells him through the commlink.
"Have you gone crazy, Gozen? I need to propel the engine so that we can shoot through the sky." They can hear Laze's heavy breathing as if the boy faced the difficult combat of his life.
Lorrae rolled her eyes and almost shouted the commlink, "Do you want to live or die, Loneozner?"
"No, ma'am." The boy said at the other end, feeling inferior to Whitesun who know how to boss around from a tight situation such as this.
"Then do it, Loneozner while we try to get the attention of the Krayt dragon."
Despite having no response in the commlink, it's already a silent agreement that Loneozner will be doing what Lorrae and Kaileen instructed. Meanwhile, their skyhopper is still having issues and Kaileen lets Luke facilitate the real-time updates of the ion engine. The farm boy tries to make a few clicks of the controls so that the engine will not explode at any minute while the girls are combating the Krayt Dragon. At least he's biding time for them.
"We don't stand a chance with this thing! It's fast and knows how to move." Lorrae tells them as she tries to target the Krayt Dragon but misses another shot.
"Realistically, the T-16 might not survive back to Anchorhead. I suggest we hide in a cave and let the Krayt Dragon not track us down." Luke suggested, making Kaileen look at him in disbelief, "But the possibility that it might track us down and trap us in a cave?"
"If we will stay on air with this half-dead skyhopper, we really don't stand any chance to live. I'm surprised I can handle the ion engine even though at any moment, it'll explode."
The Nubian tries to reason out but then, there's no guarantee if they can survive from this. Luke is right and Kaileen can't believe that she easily admitted it. Lorrae has no choice but to comply and use the ship's remaining fuel and energy to find a cave that'll be their temporary refuge. Not far from the Beggar's Canyon, Luke points out the Laguna caves that can perfectly fit the skyhopper and a perfect hideout for a moment.
The Krayt dragon finally loses its sense of navigation as Whitesun enters the caves and even though they turned off the engine and the lights of the skyhopper, they can hear the loud roar of the dragon echoing through the chambers and shaking the very earth.
"We will surely piss it off more." Kaileen hoarsely whispers.
"From the looks of it, yes." Luke responded as his eyes never left the front of their cockpit, waiting for the Krayt dragon to leave.
It's a waiting game when the Krayt dragon tries to track them even though the creature has no idea where they went. Kaileen leans her back on the seat as she sighs heavily, every second in the cave is becoming a torture. Lorrae told them that they're in the cave for five minutes already but for her, it felt like a millennium.
Even though they felt more comfortable, they could feel a sudden quake from the caves. They can hear the womp rats squeaking in agony as they run to the entrance.
Fear is already evident in the eyes of Lorrae and Luke, the raven-haired Nubian whispers through the darkness, "Is there another Krayt Dragon in here?"
Words didn't escape from the lips of Whitesun and Skywalker but Kaileen knew the answer. The girl forgot to breathe as the cave became claustrophobic for her even though they're still inside the skyhopper.
"We need to leave now." Luke says, almost out of breath as the boy is now beginning to panic.
"I guess that's a good idea." It's the only thing that Lorrae can say because her brain is now in a flight or fight mode. But of course, the girl prefers to leave the wretched place before the other Krayt Dragon finds them.
"Calm now, guys." Kaileen softly says as she starts flicking the controls in the console.
But they felt the cave tremble once again. Lorrae quickly turned on the ion engines and as the skyhopper lit the dark cave, they were surprised by the large lizard creature gawking at them. Kaileen's eyes widened by the suddenness and before they could comprehend, the creature moved faster to them and revealed its jaws by trying to devour the ship in its mouth. Lorrae, Luke and Kaileen start screaming as the Krayt Dragon is slowly crushing the skyhopper slowly.
"Grab your backpacks, guys!" Luke tells them even though the boy is already scared by what's happening.
Lorrae removes herself on the seat but as Kaileen tries to vacate, her seatbelt is jammed. The Krayt Dragon saw the child who is all alone and much more determined to eat her whole, Kaileen screamed as she panicked on pulling off the seatbelt but to no avail. Tears form in her eyes as death is already clear in front of her.
Is this her death?
Luke notices her struggle and quickly pulls out a small knife that he carefully hidden in his waist pocket. Kaileen is holding Luke's arm as fear washes her and she hears him, "I won't leave you, Kai."
As he finally breaks the hard fabric, Kaileen quickly wraps her arms around the boy. Luke can feel her body shake from fear then the sand haired boy looks at her, "There's no time for this. We need to leave."
She nods, her eyes are still puffy from crying. Luke holds her hand and quickly leaves the already wrecked skyhopper. Lorrae is already holding a glow stick so they can navigate inside the cave.
The trio runs inside a cave that leads to nowhere, they can still hear the Krayt Dragon chomping the skyhopper. There goes the 14,000 credits of Arrik Darklighter, Lorrae thought as she quickly steals a glance to the remaining remnants of the T-16 that is now lying on the ground.
Lorrae leads the way while Luke is holding Kaileen's hand and the girl holds him close as she's scared from what's going on.
From minutes of running in circles, they're now in a dead end. Panicked is stricken to the trio, Lorrae tries to find a small opening but she finds nothing. The boy embraces Kaileen who is now holding the glow stick, the two of them are a lot more terrified.
"There's no way out." Lorrae murmurs.
Silence beckoned once again as they heard a crack of a plasma at the other end of the tunnel. The trio hold on their breaths; Lorrae holds on a big rock that she just picked at the ground, Luke is ready to attack with his small knife while Kaileen is still holding the boy's hand while she's holding a long baton that she carefully hid in her bag.
Fear might succumb to them like the darkness of the cave but that tinge of bravery is evident. The children are ready to risk their lives even though it's deemed impossible to escape from an enclosed space.
But from a far they saw a long blue saber emerge at the end of the tunnel, illuminating the seemingly dark. Luke suddenly realizes who it was.
"Old Ben?"
author's note:
listen, i don't care if luke did meet obi-wan early on but in the mf comics, they did meet when he was a bebe so don't call me out and i'll be having canon divergence on the obi-wan kenobi series because i'm annoying lmao
foremost, sorry for the prolonged update due to irl shit but damn this took me only a day to write haha and i miss my kids! anyways, see y'all to the next update <3