Mos Espa

Mos Espa was nearest. Drash grimaced, but turned her bike, doing her best to focus on the journey rather than dwelling on what awaited her at her destination. The town was, well, a town - far more populated than the environs of the palace. Still, with the choice being that, or waiting to be caught by visiting dignitaries...

She was either going to bike to the middle of nowhere, or bike to a town, and if she was going to a town then it might as well be one where she had a place waiting for her. Going through blocks of buildings either way was going to be...

Cheeks flushing, Drash renewed her efforts to focus on just the journey. The bike hovered a few inches over the sand, the artificial cooling systems in the machine keeping it from overheating under the constant sunlight. Unfortunately, it still made her all too aware of every spot it was in contact with, her bare legs pressed against metal that felt far colder than it ought to be.

And she was far too much in the open. The wide expanse of sand stretched out around her, without even the slightest speck for cover. The only saving grace was that the openness meant nothing could sneak up on her, as she crested a dune.

Still, she saw smudges in the distance. Possibly other bikes, or travellers - maybe even Tusken, if they were daring enough to come in this close. Normally Drash liked that feeling of coming this far out, seeing the wide-open land. Now it just made her face burn, and she just had to hope no-one was looking around with macro-binoculars, or guessed what the flesh-coloured smear on her bike meant.

She turned, heading for a more secluded route, carefully navigating to never near any of the other specks. There were a few rock formations that way; it was a fun route for smaller craft, though rarely travelled, thankfully. And if nothing else the rocks would at least feel like cover.

The bike still hummed. She shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, bare core pressed against the motor. She adjusted position as best she could, wriggling, while still trying to keep the bike level one-handed.

She squeezed past a huge rock formation, slipping through the shade with a sigh of relief. She kept close to the huge stone for a few minutes. It wasn't much, but at least she didn't feel like she was naked in the open quite so much.

When she finished turning around it, she could see Mos Espa - the city stood out, a rough patch of brown just the wrong colour to blend in with the sand all around it. There were patches of darkness, interspersed with glimmers of light, and tracks and vehicles spread outwards from it like a web on the desert.

Drash slowed, keeping close by the rock formation. She adjusted herself again, uncomfortably flushed, and glanced back over her shoulder with her perpetual nerves at someone drawing closer to her. She couldn't hear footsteps, or any other engines, at least.

Then she looked out to Mos Espa and took a deep breath. Better than waiting at the palace and Fennec's inevitable reaction if she was caught there, but the increasing population density as she got closer to the city made her squirm. Drash squinted, wishing she had her fellow mod's eye to better make out where she was going.

Now she just had to get in... And _then _she could worry about navigating the streets.