Part 1

  The rain subsided into a few gentle, occasional sprinkles. The clouds remained overhead and every so often thunder rumbled threateningly.

  Carlo and Charles had taken shelter, as inadequate as it was, under the old Jedi traveling cloak. Surprisingly, it was quite waterproof but it did little to keep out the cold and wind.

  Charles did manage to slip off to sleep for a short time. The fathier stayed beneath the tree to which it was tied looking somewhat forlorn.

  As the sun rose, Carlo stood and stretched. He was stiff and sore from the previous night’s excitement and from spending much of it on the muddy ground.

  Carlo went over to the fathier and removed a supply bag from the saddle. He brought it over to where Charles was now waking and stretching himself.

  Carlo sat next to the boy and opened the bag. He pulled out some dried meat and handed some to Charles before eating some himself. The meager repast was followed by some water from one of the bottles also contained in the bag.

  When he was through, Carlo refilled the water container from the still rushing stream, careful not to fall into the current.

  He returned to the fathier and secured the bag to the saddle. He then untied the lead rope and allowed the animal to graze on the grasses at the edge of the tree line.

  When the fathier appeared somewhat satisfied, Carlo lifted Charles into the saddle and led the beast by the rope along the rain swollen stream. As he went he kept a keen eye on his surroundings in an effort to search for the missing droid. For most of the night he’d nurtured a glimmer of hope that VP16 would emerge from the darkness undamaged. Unfortunately it had been in vain.

  As they traveled along, Carlo hoped that the droid would also follow the stream to the base of the mountain and that they would meet up at some point. Of course he had no actual knowledge of what the droid would do under these circumstances. It occurred to him that it would have been prudent to discuss a course of action in the event of a separation but it was a little late for such thoughts.

  Their progress was slow. Carlo kept them a fair distance from the edge of the flowing water to avoid a repeat of their unintentional swim from the night before.

  The bank was muddy and slippery. Carlo’s footwear was more suited for the sands and lowlands than mud or slick terrain. More than once he narrowly avoided a fall by grasping the fathier to keep from going down.

  The further they went down toward the lowlands the trees thinned and there were more of the thorny bushes that tended to propagate the lower elevations.

  The stream widened and became more shallow proportionally. The terrain became more rocky as they descended in elevation as well. Thankfully the fathier didn’t seem to have any trouble with the changing landscape. Carlo was increasingly impressed with the beast’s ability to adapt to the different terrain.

  As the sun was rising high in the sky, the rains had stopped completely and the clouds had thinned out considerably. The rocky ground was giving way as well to more loose soil and off in the distance Carlo could see sand dunes rising against the horizon. The stream had faded to a mere trickle but it was still enough for Carlo to replace the water in their bottles.

  Charles rode without complaint. In fact he’d said nothing despite Carlo’s occasional attempts to engage the boy in conversation. It was strange. Carlo often saw the young man with a far away look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t really paying attention to his immediate surroundings. Carlo felt a kind of sorrow when he saw that look. At other times he simply felt a growing sympathy for him. Charles had experienced some kind of trauma. Of that, Carlo was sure. He had the increasing feeling that there was more to it than the bear attack and their near drowning in the flash flood. Certainly it was not physical as Charles had no outward injuries. It must have been some kind of emotional or mental damage. Perhaps it had been both.

  Carlo, of course, held no illusions about his ability to give the malady a diagnosis or even a proper description. He was equally sure that Charles would improve if he could be brought back to his family and more familiar surroundings.

  In any event, Charles was compliant with instructions and followed directions without any kind of resistance. Carlo was grateful for that at least. He was on guard for the next danger to present itself. Having the boy able and willing to follow his directions at an instant could very well save his life if they were again threatened by a predator or a natural hazard like the flood.

  Luck had been on their side with both of those incidents. Luck? Or perhaps the Force? Carlo was starting to think it was more the latter than the former.

  Lost in ruminations, Carlo finally took notice of several humanoid figures highlighted against the blue sky standing on a distant dune. When the implications did register in his mind, he pulled Charles from the saddle, and whispered harshly, “Stay down and stay quiet!”

  He suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

  Carlo tried to coax the fathier to its belly but the big beast would have none of it. Carlo ultimately maneuvered the animal behind the nearest large desert thorn bush.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Carlo himself kept the fathier between him and the unknown group on the far dune. He reasoned that the bush and the fathier may keep him concealed, especially at the long distance.

  He was so concerned about the possibility of a dangerous encounter that he nearly forgot about the macrobinoculars in his bag. He opened the bag and fished them out, all the while keeping the group of tiny figures in view.

  Charles, evidently sensing Carlo’s anxiety, scooted as far under the thorny bush as he could do comfortably and pulled his knees up to his chin.

  Carlo raised the macrobinoculars to his eyes and focused on the distant figures on the horizon. They were indeed at such a distance that Carlo could make out no real details. They appear to be engaged in some sort of activity at the top of the dune, they did have long handled tools, perhaps they were digging?

  More important, at least to Carlo, was that they didn’t seem to have noticed him nor did they seem to be paying any kind of attention to anything other than their current task.

  Carlo watched the group for a period of time, long enough to be somewhat assured that they were not interested in him or anything in their direction.

  Carlo took a moment to scan the rest of the area. The trees had given way entirely to the thorny bushes and by the distance of the small group on the dune, there were even fewer of the bushes. The stream had faded well before that distance. It was truly the start of the desert but not one he recognized. Carlo could find nothing familiar either before them or behind them. He did have a fairly good idea that they were south and west of the town of Utopia based simply on the direction from which the sun had risen and the position of the highest of the mountain peaks. He was also fairly sure they were a substantial distance from town. Depending on the terrain they might encounter on their journey back, it might even take a couple of days to reach the town.

  Something had happened on the dune. Carlo refocused the macrobinoculars and his attention on the small group of what he was now sure was about eight to ten individuals. Probably dressed in desert garb based on the muted colors. The one thing Carlo was certain of was that he did not want to meet these guys on their terms. It would be on his terms or not at all. Carlo did have another feeling about all this: curiosity. What have they been doing up there?

  Carlo didn’t have long to wait before the group disappeared out of view, one by one, over the far side of the dune. He watched and waited but they didn’t return.

  Carlo took a moment to scan the area again both with and without the macrobinoculars. It appeared they were alone in the forbidding landscape once again. Carlo allowed himself to breathe a little more freely.

  Carlo knelt on one knee and reached for Charles who was still under the thorny bush. Charles reached up without a sound and took Carlo’s offered hand.

  When Charles was back on his feet Carlo lifted him back into the saddle. This time he swung himself up behind the boy and he pointed the beast toward the dune. Curiosity overpowered the bad feeling. He had to at least see what was going on out there. Then they could head back to Utopia.

  The dune was so far away It took most of the rest of the afternoon to cover the distance. They stopped every so often to rest the fathier and each time they did, Carlo used the macrobinoculars to survey their surroundings. The group from the dune did not reappear. He saw no other people and could not even see any sign of civilization in the presumed direction of Utopia.

  The sun was getting low indeed when they made it to the top of that far dune. When they’d reached the base of the dune Carlo had dismounted and drawn the lightsaber from his belt. He’d led the beast with Charles still riding with the saber at the ready, although he left it deactivated.

  At the top was a cairn made of small, yellowish rocks. Nothing else had been disturbed in any visible way.

  Out came the macrobinoculars and Carlo looked out over the sands on the far side in a sweeping arc. Nothing but undulating sand spread out before them. No sign of the group that had once stood on that very spot. Of course, they’d had an entire afternoon to disappear into the waste.

  Carlo briefly scanned the opposite direction as well, again toward Utopia and back in the direction they’d come. There was nothing in Utopia’s direction. Likewise he saw nothing back from where they’d come. That was the most disappointing as Carlo had hoped to see VP16 following behind.

  Once satisfied that they were alone on the sand, Carlo stopped to examine the cairn. It was nothing more than a short pile of flat sandstone rocks, likely collected from around this very area. But placed on the topmost stone was a metal ring small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Its brushed metallic glint reminded Carlo instantly of VP16.

  Charles dismounted the fathier and moved to stand beside Carlo. He reached down and picked up the ring. He turned it over and over again, appearing to examine it with a sort of vague interest.

  Carlo watched the boy play with the tiny bit of metal. The group that had built the cairn had left this piece of metal behind for a reason. They been digging up here, Carlo was almost certain of that. What if the ring was a piece of VP16?

  Carlo put the saber back on his belt and kicked over the cairn. He hit his knees and began digging. It was slow going, digging in the loose, dry sand by hand. He had no tools to use. He’d moved a good portion of sand on his own when Charles put the ring in a pocket and knelt down to help him. They dug until the sun slipped below the horizon at which point they stopped for a short break to eat and drink. Then they returned to their task, Carlo hoping to uncover whatever the group of desert dwellers had left behind.

  The three moons were high in the night sky. The night air was noticeably cooler but Carlo was still perspiring with the effort to excavate whatever had been left behind. Charles had long since stopped digging and was now sleeping fitfully a short distance from the hole. The fathier also rested not far away. Carlo was about to give up for the night when his hand hit something hard. His adrenaline surged as did a vague hope that he dared not articulate even to himself. With care Carlo brushed away the sand and then with both hands pulled the metal object into the feeble moonlight. It was a head, a metal head. Carlo turned it over in his hands and the sand fell away from the facial features. It was VP16.

  Carlo sank backward, sitting down in the sand with the droid head held in front of him, held in both hands. The droid’s eyes, normally backlit with a yellow glow, were dark. A few wires protruded from the base of the head where it would have connected to the neck. Was he dead? VP16 was a mechanical man not a living being. It made sense to Carlo that the droid could perhaps be reactivated. But where was the rest of his body?

  Carlo set the head off to the side and returned to digging with renewed effort. He kept at it until the moons were at their highest but he found nothing else.

  Almost satisfied that there was nothing left to find, Carlo climbed out of the sand pit and picked up the droid head once again.

  He lightly slapped the side of it, “VP16! Come on! Wake up!”

  There was no response.

  Carlo sighed. He’d not expected anything to happen but it was worth a try, he supposed.

  He walked over to the fathier and slipped the head into the bag. He took a small sip of water and then put the bottle back into the bag. He knelt next to Charles and patted his head before laying down and covering them both with the Jedi cloak.