Fiction: Riddles in the Sand: Part 1 - Paths Converging
Just over a year ago, we found ourselves in the midst of an extraordinary photoshoot on the expansive Jean dry lake bed, just a stone's throw from Vegas. Surrounded by a landscape so eerily reminiscent of Tatooine, we were clad in some truly amazing Star Wars outfits. As I directed and captured the shoot, an intricate narrative began to unfold in my mind - one that now, I've decided to share with you.
The following tale, the result of my imaginings, gives life to the characters we portrayed that day. Over the course of three parts, it expands on the visual narrative we created and deepens the context behind each frame. So without further ado, I present Part 1 of 'Riddles in the Sand'. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed imagining and writing it.
The cantina in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, pulsated with the cacophony of alien tongues and syncopated rhythms of local music. Bilk Zephyr, a grizzled smuggler with a past as scarred as his face, sat opposite a jittery Quarren in a corner booth. His nonchalant countenance was belied by his hand, casually poised on his blaster pistol.
"You'd have my credits if this blaster found its way up your nose, wouldn't you?" Bilk sneered, his words carrying an undertow of menace.
"I'm sorry, Zephyr!" The Quarren pleaded, its beady black eyes blinking frantically, tentacles writhing with anxiety. "I can't pay... but I've got something even more valuable. The location of a Jedi artifact, a cube teeming with ancient wisdom."
Bilk's brow furrowed, the prospect intriguing him. He had sizable debts, particularly to the Hutts, and he held no illusions about the Quarren's ability to pay him back. "This better be worth it," he grumbled, accepting the deal.
Unbeknownst to them, Malice Obsidaura observed from a nearby table, a wicked grin unfurling across her lips. Once Bilk had left, she shadowed the Quarren into the veiled recesses of an alley. With a fluid movement and a frigid glare, she employed the force to extract the information from him. When he had surrendered the location, she coldly dispatched him, leaving a terrified Quarren witness hidden in the shadows.
Meanwhile, in a quaint dwelling elsewhere in the city, another Quarren, tentacles flailing in distress, relayed the gruesome ordeal to Sun-Nobi Zhanshi, a Jedi with a jovial exterior but formidable prowess. The room thrummed with tension as Brash Kinetix, Sun-Nobi's zealous apprentice, interjected, "Are you sure the woman wielded lightning? From her fingers?" He instinctively reached for his lightsaber.
"Find tranquillity, Brash," Sun-Nobi's voice echoed around the room, as calming as the hush of the Tatooine evening. "First, we must ascertain why she was interested in their cousin."
The Quarren shared an ancestral tale of a dissenting Jedi who had dwelt on the moon Solis Krayt, whose philosophies deviated from mainstream Jedi thought, but who had nonetheless fallen in the Empire’s relentless purge. "My grandfather, who was said to possess some latent Force sensitivity, resided there before... before the purge. An ancient temple was there, rumoured to be the repository of Jedi secrets."
Fired up by the story, Brash shot up, “We'll hunt this woman down! She is unmistakably an agent of the Dark Side!”
Sun-Nobi gave a sagacious nod. "We'll embark on a journey to Solis Krayt, to unearth the truth of these legends. Remember, Brash - we are Jedi. We act, not react. Ready yourself for our journey."
With these words, a new adventure was set in motion that would lead them to Solis Krayt, a place of hidden secrets, wind-swept dunes, and forgotten temples, all under the watchful gaze of a distant planet, its blue oceans glistening under the light of a foreign sun.
