Chapter 1: Lakebed

“They’re catching up! Run faster!” Captain Santels was grappling with the challenge of safely evacuating his crew onto his ship, the Mukha, situated approximately 600 feet away on the dry lakebed. He was having difficulty trying to point his weapon to aim while running backwards; he twisted and spun while covering ground as fast as he could.

Strung out ahead of him (closer to the ship) in the lead was Darlen, 6-1/2 feet tall, whose long legs had helped her cover a lot of ground. Saleye, who was half her height, was with her. On planet Earth, she would be considered a dwarf, but she kept up with Darlen because her running style was blazing fast.

Behind them, pumping and wheezing, was Kelton, who was regretting his poor physique and lack of conditioning. At the back, Lenk partnered with the captain, plinking away with their sidearms while bright flashes of light flared from their muzzles. Physically, Lenk was like the Captain, except for his electric blue hair color, somewhat diminished by a coating of dust from the lakebed.

Suddenly, the ground heaved up into a berm high enough to cause the two women to lose their footing and sprawl onto the alkali surface. One by one, the three men caught up and flung themselves over the new rise for shelter from their pursuers’ fire.

Darlen hocked and spat, trying to get the awful grit out of her mouth. “What the hell happened?”

“Gopher,” said Kelton, still out of breath.

“GOPHER?”

“Yes, Darlen, a gopher. On this planet, they’re twice as long as you are tall.”

Incoming fire from the pursuing Imperial squad caused small explosions of dust off the top of the berm. Santels said, “They’re getting closer. You three need to run for the ship, while Lenk and I hold them off. Go. NOW!”

The two men spun around and began laying down fire at their pursuers, still distant enough that their silhouettes were shimmering in the heatwaves rising from the baking surface. Santels took a quick look over his shoulder, seeing Kelton finally reach and ascend the dropped ramp of the Mukha, small explosions showing on the ship’s structure around him.

“Time to go, Lenk. Keep separated and weave as we run.”

When the two of them at last sped up the ramp and were out of sight, there was the sound of a ringing bell, like you would hear between classes at school.

“Cut! Alright, that’s lunch. Thanks, everybody.”