A blur of light, and color

The ship hit some turbulance as it passed through the upper atmosphere. Niome was playing it fast, and loose, intending to get too deep before orbital elements could react. In the cockpit she was an ace. Jarek hung on to a handle in the roof, and although he was quiet about it, was clearly disquieted. He had faith in his partner though, afterall, he'd trained her himself. Below the ship, dunes stood high, like ocean waves in an oblique orange. Streaks of shadow painted the sand beneath them as the suns set. Tatooine was almost beautiful in its vastness, it easily rivaled space.

She slowed descent as they fell below the altitude clouds would usually be. Tatooine was a dry hellscape, so vision was unimpeded. The ground was distinct through the foot level windows, and the sensors told Niome she was in the clear, she spoke over the roar of the reactors, "We're in, and it doesn't look like anything saw us. I'm taking us to the coordinates where our query went down. Once we're on the ground we should be untraceable. Conceal the ship, one day trip after the bastard, and we get paid."

Jarek only offered a nod, scanning the horizon below. Niome questioned, "You think we'll see him from up here? Sand might've eaten the wreck." Jarek couldn't answer nonverbally. He responded matter of factly, "No, it'd take a month for this desert to make a bulk hauler vanish. If we're lucky we'll find him baked in the cockpit, although we won't be getting the bonus for his stolen cargo."

Niome watched the ground below comfortably. Something gleamed a few kilometers off the bow. Jarek was watching her as she pointed it out, "Something metal there, might be the query." Jarek watched her, Niome could see out of the corner of her eye. He spoke simply, "You're behind the controls, your call. We're nowhere near the crashsight coordinates now though." It was Niome's turn to nod.

"You're behind the controls, your call." There was a deafening boom.