Chug tug tug...
The "chugging" sound of the old engine of the slightly backward dune hoverbike has been lingering in the ears of Anakin and Padmé, and it seems to have become the only theme in this monotonous sand sea world. The song is average.
"..."
Anakin remained silent and did not dare to stay at the crash point of his ship for long.
After he neatly snatched the hoverbike under the two of them from the hands of the stupid sand people who wanted to take advantage of the situation, he and Padmé left immediately, and were already in this endless stretch of land. The golden sand sea has been galloping at a very fast speed for about two to three hours.
However……
Even after so long, even though they were running forward in a straight line at almost the speed of sound, but now looking back at the surroundings, except for the biting wind and the endless sea of sand, there was still nothing. That endless sea of sand!
If ordinary people dare to drive so fast in a planet with an atmospheric environment without protection, they will definitely be injured or overturned by the strong airflow! However, Anakin is not an ordinary person. He is a Jedi Knight. Even if he is just an apprentice now, he can use his force, which is stronger than the average Jedi, to break through and block those who are attacking him and Padmé. The airflow between the two of them made them feel a little more comfortable.
'Um……'
'Anakin, are we going too fast? '
Yes, from Padme's point of view, she and Anakin were indeed flying a little faster. They were basically flying, and they were flying too low. She was afraid that the other party would not have time to react and hit them head-on. On a certain sand dune!
If that were the case, then she and he would probably die in a ridiculous traffic accident after escaping the dangerous disaster of the plane crash? Of course, she would never say those words rashly, because she felt that she should choose to trust Anakin. She felt that the other person would understand the importance and take her away from danger.
'All right……'
'How long do we have to fly, and where are we going? '
Looking around, the only thing that made Padmé feel a change was that she and Anakin were not spinning in circles, except for the straight line behind them, which was formed by the two people whizzing past. Apart from the yellow sand and smoke, there really is no other reference!
There are absolutely no green plants, no villages or cities, and no passing business trips or spaceships. Not even the barbaric sand people Anakin mentioned, who like to steal, murder, kidnap and torture, are here. Never seen again.
And if it weren't for the fact that the atmosphere here could be directly breathed, if it wasn't for knowing that this was Tatooine, or for not seeing the group of Tusken sand people who were easily killed by Anakin before, and the captured car used for transportation. If it were a suspended motorcycle on the sand, I'm afraid she would still think that the two of them were on a dead, wild planet, right?
"..."
"Anakin, I just saw something like someone chasing us?"
"Hey! Did you hear what I said?"
finally……
About an hour later, Padmé, who was suffering from the dry sand and thirst, was holding Anakin's thick and muscular waist tightly. After hesitating for a while, he said in a weak tone that was a little unsure.
Because, several times, she did seem to vaguely see something behind the two of them. It seemed that someone was really following her and Anakin, but...she was not sure whether it was a person or an animal, or just... Is it her imagination?
"Ah!"
Anakin was noncommittal and continued to drive forward on the hoverbike, and looked at the fuel gauge on the dashboard with a frown.
"Did you just find out?"
"Padmé, you read that right, there is indeed someone chasing us from behind, so I have to keep this speed!"
Anakin said calmly.
It was not difficult to judge from his tone. Padmé realized belatedly that he already knew it! It's just that he is too lazy to pay attention to those guys who can't catch up with the two of them for the time being. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that those guys deliberately followed from a distance, and were not prepared to rush up easily before they had a certain numerical advantage or formed an encirclement?
"But……"
"Anakin, how many of them are following us? I seem... I seem to have seen several different groups of guys, and they don't seem to be sand people..."
Yes, Padmé is very sure that the Sand People's clothes are not like that, and the vehicles those guys ride are a bit too advanced, at least compared to Tatooine, which is wild and backward and only sells second-hand goods. It's like that.
"snort!"
"Of course they're not sand people, they're bounty hunters!"
Anakin snorted coldly and directly revealed the identities of those who came.
"As for their number...the force tells me that there are probably more than a hundred at the moment?"
"Anyway, what I have seen so far is that there are almost six different teams of bounty hunters chasing us around. The smallest team has less than ten people, and the largest team has dozens of people!"
"Besides, they have several spaceships heading forward..."
Although this might worry Padmé, Anakin, after hesitating for a while, honestly told everything he knew.
as expected!
Just as Anakin finished speaking, bloated spaceships appeared vaguely in the distance, and then they followed dozens of vehicles on the ground and appeared openly in front of Anakin and Padmé. In the yellow sand that was raised behind them... Soon, more teams appeared in the surroundings, and successfully caused the yellow sand to roll about a kilometer away behind the two of them, like a sandstorm, and gathered towards the two sides. People came.
Fortunately, the Sandman's hoverbike sitting under Anakin and Padme seemed to have undergone some illegal modifications, and with the blessing of Anakin's Force, its speed was slightly slower. They are not slow at all, they are actually slightly faster than the pursuers behind them, and even those bloated spaceships whose speeds are severely restricted and hindered after entering the atmosphere are completely unable to catch up?
"!!"
"Ah! There really are so many of them!"
"What do we do now?"
Finally, after seeing that there were indeed so many enemies, and that they no longer lurked and followed them, but began to pursue them openly and wanted to surround them, Padmé became a little anxious.
"What else can be done?"
"Keep going forward, and then find a place to destroy them!"
After taking a look at the broken rearview mirror and seeing that the enemy seemed to be trying to surround himself and Padmé, Anakin gritted his teeth and said with murderous intent.
'ah? '
'But, Anakin, can we defeat them with just the two of us? Also, do you have any extra weapons on you? '
"No!"
"We Jedi always only carry one lightsaber!"
'! ! '
'then what do I do? ! '
"..."
"Don't worry, Padmé, I will protect you, I promise!"
'But I always feel a little uneasy...'
'How about, Anakin, let's divert to Mos Eisley now. Is it far from here? '
"Why go there?"
Anakin felt a little curious and didn't know why the other party suddenly said this.
'Because there are a lot of people there and it's the largest spaceport, so they shouldn't dare to mess around! '
'What do you think? '
"No……"
"You are wrong, Padmé. Mos Eisley is not only the largest spaceport, it is also a pirate city! Let them know that if you get to Mos Eisley, you will be more dangerous than outside. , because everyone inside might want your life!!"
'What about to Mos Espa? '
"no!"
"It's too far, they won't let us go there, and we don't have enough fuel."
The people Anakin talks about are obviously the group of bounty hunters who are hunting them down and ambushing them in the universe and shooting them down!
"Then where are we going now?"
This won't work, and that won't work either. Padmé was a little anxious.
"Padmé, will you believe me?"
'certainly! '
"Then don't ask anymore!"
"I can only tell you this: I met a group of friends in a Sandman village on the planet Tatooine... I think, after so many days, they should be able to help us."
"And that place is not far away, just ahead..."
After a moment of hesitation, Anakin said evasively.
"friend?"
"Are they those sand people?"
Padme asked loudly against the wind, because she had just seen Anakin kill several sand people and snatch their motorcycles. She also said that none of the sand people were good people, but Why are you saying you have friends in a village of sand people now?
"no!"
"But don't ask yet. As long as you know that I will protect you with all my strength, that's fine!"
Anakin was not going to explain, and now was not the time to explain, because the bounty hunters began to speed up and catch up. He had to go all out to deal with it and try to reach the place he just mentioned before the opponent's encirclement closed. destination, otherwise, he and Padme would be really in danger.
Once caught up by those bounty hunters, in this desert without shelter, he had no confidence in ensuring Padmé's safety, not even his own life!
"..."
"Okay, Anakin, I believe you!"
There was no way, seeing that the other person didn't want to say anything, Padmé didn't force it, she just hugged the other person tightly, and then pressed her cheek tightly against the other person's back, listening to Anakin's strong voice The steady heartbeat of the body and enjoying the unknown and inexplicable sense of security brought by the other person's assurance that he was a Jedi Knight.
"Um!"
"Don't worry, it's not far. It's just ahead. We should be able to get there before dark!"
He looked at the sky, and then at the enemy who was chasing after him crazily. Anakin, who had lived here on Tatooine since he was a child and was extremely familiar with the time and environment here, silently calculated the time when it would get dark, and then stopped. He continued to talk to Padmé, but squinted his eyes and concentrated on controlling the suspended sand motorcycle. With a slight twist of the steering wheel, he turned towards a certain place in his Force perception.
The situation between him and Padmé is indeed very dangerous now, because he really has no confidence in fighting so many bounty hunters, even if it were Obi-Wan or his teacher Qui-Gon Jinn here!
But fortunately, when Anakin came to Tatooine, due to some coincidences, he had already arranged some interesting little things on the planet. Although the time was not very long, he believed that, So many days are enough for them to provide him with the necessary assistance and eliminate those bounty hunters who want to surround or capture them alive!
Even if he has never really tested their power, even if it will be his first time to test them, his force has told him more than once that his 'friends' are very powerful, very powerful. !
…
At night, although the stars all over the sky can be clearly seen in the sky of the Tatooine desert, the ground is extremely dark. Looking up, the sky and the earth are quiet, without the sound of any animals or insects or birds. , and there is no fire or light belonging to civilization, as if this place is really a wild planet without any life.
And at this time...
A group of bounty hunters with various goggles on their faces and heads quietly surrounded an equally quiet building composed of many domed mud-sand buildings and tents, but strangely there was no trace of anything at all. Abandoned village where sand people live.
'...'
'Those two targets, are you sure they went in? '
'Yes! Boss, we chased and saw them go in! You see, the current positioning device also shows that the bitch with a very valuable head is inside. This time we are rich! '
'Well, good...'
'But what do other people say? '
'They have already negotiated, saying that whichever team captures the bitch can directly share half of it, and the one who kills the Jedi Knight can share an additional 10%, and everyone will share the rest equally! '
'very good! Very reasonable! '
'So……'
'At any cost, you must capture that woman alive or get her head! ! '
'yes! ! '
'The others are keeping their appearance, but don't let them get away! '
'Don't worry, we have set up the anti-aircraft guns, they will never be able to escape! ! '
'snort! '
'attack! Watch out for that Jedi! '
'yes! '
'Yes, Boss Harding...'
Soon, this group of bounty hunters who surrounded the village and seemed to have reached some kind of agreement began to move in the dark, carrying various advanced night vision instruments and weapons, towards the village under the command of a tacit understanding. Not far away, I walked over to the abandoned village of the sand people hidden among the sand, boulders, and ravines and canyons.
'Well? ! '
'What's the matter, Boss Harding? '
'No! '
'Nothing, I seem to see something in the distance...'
The bounty hunter known as Boss Harding was confused and activated the life detection instrument on his eyepiece to scan the distance, but found nothing.
Then, he turned his head again and swept towards the village. After discovering that the life signals of the target woman and a certain ridiculous Jedi Knight were still clearly displayed in his eyepiece, he nodded with satisfaction and never looked back. Never mind the little sound that they just discovered coming from behind their circle, which sounded like the rustling of the wind across the sand dunes.
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(..)nnn…..
