Hey guys. It’s been a REALLY long time since I touched this. I’m going to reworking the plot details for these stories. Episodes 2 and 3 will mostly stay the same, but Episode 1 will change drastically. I’ll put that up hopefully this weekend. For now, enjoy this little preview I’ve written so far for Episode 1. Please let me know what you think about it. Thanks.
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Shmi panted as her feet clapped on sand and rock. Tatooine’s twin suns bore down on her from high above, its heat entering through the many tears in her rags. Her skin and hair perspired and stained the already-smelling fabric with stink of sweat. She eyed the formation up ahead of her that grew, turning into a large dune.
It was only a few steps away when Shmi let her sore legs give way onto the ground. She scooted under the dune’s shade and sat there, giving in to her tired body. Already, her feet swelled, her chest pounded, and her lungs wheezed. Shmi wondered if she could go on, let alone go any faster.
Through her pains, Shmi heard a small voice whisper, “Mom?”
She let out a few pants before she finally managed to ask, “Yes?”
“Will be at Mos Espa, soon?”
Shmi glanced to her boy clinging close to her. Though the rags covered his face, those beautiful blue eyes stared at her, and her heart sunk seeing the fear in them.
Shmi hugged her son and rested her chin atop of his scalp. She whispered back in a soothing tone, “Don’t worry. Mos Espa’s not fair away now. We’ll be there soon.”
While her son looked away, Shmi’s heart ached. It hurt to lie to her child. It hurt more that he saw the truth behind it. He always had that way with her, bless him.
He had to be given some hope, something to keep him calm. The port city of Mos Espa was still a long ways away, and running for so long and so fast in broad daylight left Shmi’s body taxed. Though she wasn’t as fast or strong as the other slaves, she kept her son and herself safe. Now, all she wanted to do was rest.
When Shmi’s pains slowly went away, small hands tightly gripped at her tunic. “Mom! It’s them!” she heard.
Shmi’s mind rang in alarm. Already? She thought she lost their trail awhile back. “Wait here,” Shmi said and rose on her sore feet to leave the boy alone.
She peeked over the dune’s edge to see a large creature, a Bantha, slowly trail it wooly body on the desert. Its tusks stuck out threateningly, much like its riders with their desert robes, rifles and gaffi sticks.
Sand People, Shmi fearfully recognized. The feared natives of Tatooine often hunted the ‘invaders’ of their planet, which happened to include the two humans hiding at the dune.
There was only one, fortunately. Its bandaged-wrapped face and goggles turned right and left, but nowhere in the direction of Shmi, her son, and the dune they hid by.
She retracted back into the dune, back to her boy. “Mom, they’re…”
Shmi cut him off. “I know. We have to run now. Can you make it?” A nod answered her. “Good. We’re going!” She grabbed the little hand into hers, and began to run…