Iqbal had found the place and now they landed. There was no more energy left for a liftoff. No more than an castaway's ledge of black volcanic rock amid the endless see of sand, undisturbed by even the slightest human intervention. The storm had renewed the face of the planet.

As the first moon had just set, the rolling dunes began casting long shadows beneath their crests, chequering the sand into silver and dark blue, until horizon. There was a waft of spice in the air, so there may have been a bed of it nearby.

It felt like the end of the world. If the help wasn't about to come and they would die here, there would be a sense of closure to it. Apart from some poverty grass that had found what it needed to grow here, it was a lifeless rock. Or rather, they were the only life on it.

"Now we wait." she sighed. "We're off of the sand, at least."

"Yes, we wait and we find out how reliable this stranger is. If he wanted to harm us, all he'd have to do now is leave us to the desert... But I'm sure someone will show up with those power cells." Dorian finished with his usual optimistic smile. He'd learned long ago that it didn't help to worry about something you had no control over, it made no difference. That energy was better spent focused on things you could control.

Bomilcar seemed dark. He was usually quiet an tended to be an observer. But he was well and truly put out. Eyes that might normally scan the horizon instead find sand near his feet.

Iqbal used the moment of waiting to check his lasgun and set up a sniping position, just in case.

Cuyler laid back and looked up at the sky.

"Who do you think the harvesters were?" she asked no one in particular.

"Bald. Cruel eyes. Worse smile. Sadistic asshole," he says. "Won't forget. Will kill him."

"You saw the pilot?" She looked over at him.

Dorian nodded along with Bomilcar. He could commiserate with the younger man. While Dorian wasn't specifically in the business of guarding bodies, he had experienced his fair share of loss over the years. There weren't any magical words to make it better or remedies to take away the hurt.

For Dorian, it was just a matter of learning to move on. Again, energy better spent focusing on things you could control. One of those things being Justice, or revenge if you like. Some people try to say taking revenge won't change anything and won't make you feel better. Those people probably never felt the sweet release of taking the life of someone who had hurt you or yours.

"Yes," he confirms to Cuyler. "Won't ever forget. Need to find."

"Thopter." They heard Iq's bark. There was indeed some buzz behind the smooth howl of the wind.

Cuyler immediately began searching the sky.

There was indeed a single thopter, visible against the pale shield of the Second Moon, approaching their location.

Bom rose, ready to meet them. If things were about to get tense or go poorly he wanted to be prepared, but he suspected Cuyler knew what she was doing.

The thopter was definitely heading their direction; if undisturbed, it would land quite precisely near theirs. The man stepping outside would reveal a broad smile just as he dropped his stillsuit's face flap for ease of speaking. He had the looks and the manner of a suave buccaneer.



"So you're the stranded ones! Looks like you're mostly unharmed though, so it's not all bad."

"That's us." Cuyler smiled. "We're fine, save for the lack of power."

"I have this battery that'll recharge your cells. It's gonna take a bit." He looked around as he trudged something out from his thopter's bowels. "Nice view here, eh? It's always prettier after the storm. Very pristine. Feels like being the first ever person here. Name's Remy by the way. Staban sends his regards. You know, the guy some of you let go in Arrakeen."

"I hope he's feeling better." she said. "I'm Cuyler."

Bomilcar did not know anything about what they were talking about. "Who?"

"The explosion on the day we arrived." she explained. "We chased down and captured a man we thought might have been responsible. He told us what he knew and we let him go, after he promised a favor from someone else."

Cuyler Gray wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:19 pm

"I hope he's feeling better." she said. "I'm Cuyler."

"His father's hard on him. But such is the way of things, eh?" Remy shrugged, pulling the cables out and looking for someone amid them who was the techiest to plug things up. "He's alive, and that's what matters."

Bomilcar was not a techie by any means, so he didn't volunteer. He just nodded understanding about the situation they spoke of.

There were two things Dorian was comfortable plugging into something or should he say someone else and neither involved power cells. As such, he held his hands up as if to say, 'Don't look at me.'

Iqbal, seeing no enthusiasm to do the job on the part of any of the auditors, reflected internally upon them in no kind terms and stepped out of the shadow to handle the matter, holstering his lasgun.

"Never too careful, eh?" Remy said, watching the Sardaukar with some respectful wariness, putting away his own weapon so that provocation is not implied. "I did hear the Emperor's killers are assisting you. So how's the whole audit thing going? Are you any closer to phasing out the Blues out of here?"

She had been looking the thopter over, with no idea what she was looking for. She was grateful that Iqbal stepped forward..


Turning her attention to Remy, she shrugged. "There's not much we can say conclusively yet, but it has been an interesting investigation."