Opening the first page, I come across a small preface written in a soft hand with round curls. The letters were even and sweeping, as if the author had carefully drawn each one.
Grunting vaguely, I turn the page, immediately becoming glued to the written words, reading into every line.
A tattered diary.
I don't know why I'm doing this; maybe because it's easier to express my own fears and thoughts this way? Papa said that sometimes paper is the best conversationalist...
Chapter One.
My name is Natsuki. I live on Tatooine, where harsh sands and jagged rocks form a single, brutal reality. My home is a small settlement where we work on water purification and moisture farming just to survive. We, like many others, live in a constant struggle with nature, which spares no one. I have three older brothers, each carrying his own cross, but Kanta meant the most to me—my best friend... Fool. Pervert. Moron.
Kanta was a real oddball, despite his flaws. He was a freak and a goofball, always coming up with funny jokes even when sandstorms surrounded us. His inexhaustible laughter was a light in this merciless world. We spent days fantasizing about a better life, about how maybe one day we could leave this hell and find a more favorable place where we could dream and be happy.
Unfortunately, as he got older, he became increasingly interested in what was under girls' pants... But I'll still consider him my friend.
But happiness isn't for us. When Kanta's father died, he grew darker. I saw his smile fade, and one day he made up his mind—he left, leaving me alone with my dear but sometimes uncomprehending brothers. It was a turning point in my life. This desert world gained another void.
Chapter Two.
Some time later, I gathered all the courage I could find. My brothers and I decided to leave our settlement and set out to conquer the desert. Each of us strove for something more, certain we could find light where there was none.
My brothers were my protectors. We struggled, fought the sands, the dunes, and sometimes local bandits. We won, but we also lost. Every step in this restless world taught us that life is a constant struggle.
But soon we realized that Tatooine is not just a physical trial. It is hell on Earth, not only because of the heat and wild fauna but because of the people who, like us, crave something more but harbor hatred for one another. Disappointment grew every day, and one day I sadly realized that the struggle for a better future could turn out to be even more brutal than the desert itself.
Chapter Three.
Everything changed when we met an old man at the edge of our path. His name was Kaoru. He was rich, wise, and possessed power that many could only dream of. But his eyes hid dark secrets. Although he wanted to present himself as a kind man, I felt something sinister in him. Despite this, his ideas about Tatooine, about how it could be changed, were inspiring.
Kaoru spoke of his plans to improve life on Tatooine: purifying water, planting greenery, creating safe havens for everyone. But his methods raised doubts. Power was in his hands, but he used it to achieve his goals in a destructive and corrupting way. He could do good one day, but evil also lurked behind his welcoming smile. And that inspired fear.
The time spent with him opened our eyes to the real Tatooine—not just its ruthless nature but its inconsolable inhabitants. My brothers and I realized that our path could change not only us but others if we were part of that change. As contradictory as it sounded, we decided to serve Kaoru and help him in his endeavors.
Chapter Four.
Working alongside Kaoru, we immersed ourselves in his world. It wasn't easy. We witnessed not only his good deeds but his dark sides. And although I admired his determination to change this grim world more and more, I also saw how his methods caused harm.
Everything happening around us became increasingly tangled. My brothers and I began to realize that balancing on the edge of good and evil sometimes required making difficult choices. We all sank into troubled thoughts, realizing that this courage should be directed not against opponents, but against oneself.
Chapter Five.
Living on Tatooine became a new trial for all of us. Every day brought new dangers, new choices. Gathering people around Kaoru, we aimed to create not just a better future for ourselves, but for everyone who had been with us before. But with every success came failures, and sometimes we had to retreat.
Unfortunately, the desert did not forgive weakness. My brothers became rivals in this difficult game as we set out on a path with such complex moral choices. I watched them begin to change, how the weight of responsibility knocked them off their feet. My only hope was that we could stay together and not lose ourselves in this endless cycle of malice and nobility.
Chapter Six...
In our wandering, we met various people—those who supported us and those who wished for our downfall. The desert became a place where you can never trust even those close to you. Over time, my brothers began to realize that the methods we proposed for improving life were still under the control of darkness. We witnessed the rise of small communities that declared us enemies, and I even barely managed the guilt of supporting a man consciously moving along the path of evil.
At every stage of our journey, I understood—our choice shapes not only our destiny but the destiny of the entire planet. This discovery spun me in a dance of desire and fear: the fear of losing my humanity, my brothers, Kanta, and all those I loved and knew.
Final Chapter...
We continued our journey, and every step led us into a darker labyrinth. But by the end of this story, when all seemed lost, how good it is that we didn't give up. Together with my brothers, we found a way to overcome our pain and fears. We made decisions that created opportunities rather than destruction.
Tatooine was still hell, but we became part of something bigger—the realization that even in the darkest places, there is a possibility for growth and peace. In the end, I was greatly helped by hope and the truth from which a future should be built.
Soon all this must end. We have reached the home stretch of all our affairs. All those horrors, meannesses, and all the filth we committed before... Soon it will not matter.
Kaoru says his plan is almost complete and only the simplest part remains compared to what has already been done. War. Fast, brutal, and merciless. A war that will build a new Tatooine on bones and blood.
***
Setting aside the small, tattered diary the girl had bashfully handed me yesterday in the cantina, I stared at the setting sun.
Abstract sentences, many beautiful words, but...
I truly felt all the emotions the girl had poured into writing those lines.
After all, I had experienced something similar myself. Perhaps that was why she gave the diary to me to read, rather than to her dear childhood friend, with whom she preferred to just chat.
"Yeah, the girl has grown up and changed a lot."
Glancing at the girl who, with a nostalgic, slightly sad smile, was listening to my younger brother's stories along with her older relative, I realized that calling her a girl would be incorrect. Especially considering she had managed to earn herself a nickname in the great sands of Tatooine.
"Somnia..."
Rolling the word on my tongue, I smirked at the sky, feeling the irony. In Aurebesh—the pan-galactic language, and even in our Tatooine dialect—her name has a simple and clear interpretation:
"Dream."
When you say that, you expect to see a naive girl chasing the wind, but...
Again, you only have to look at Natsuki to realize... she gave up on dreams long ago and now lives for her goal. Even as I read, I felt how much Somnia had changed and how much she had to endure.
From the first lines, you see a teenage girl, naive and foolish despite the harsh living conditions. Having seen nothing but her settlement, she is full of hope...
But by the end of the diary, Natsu's... Somnia's handwriting had changed. It became angular, sharp, and hurried. Even columns, aggressive, strict, without the sentimentality and foolishness found at the beginning...
And outwardly, she had also become different. Wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. A couple of toughened scars on her arms, neck, and face. The corners of her lips no longer turned up, having settled firmly downward, showing that the owner rarely smiles.
"Yeah..."
"Heh, and you're still the same." Sitting down next to me, the girl's older brother handed me his flask, sprawling out beside me on the sand. The weather was perfect right now. The first sun had already vanished behind the horizon, while the second slowly sank into darkness. "I admit, I didn't believe it for a long time when I heard what they call you now."
"It's all rumors..."
"Yeah, they already told me."
Smiling awkwardly, I scratch the back of my head, realizing I won't be able to convince him otherwise. Taking a swig of the swill from the flask, I grimace at the strength of the drink. Cacti, hubba-gourd, alcohol, and some other nasty stuff whose taste I couldn't quite identify.
"Maybe you shouldn't have revealed yourselves?"
"Maybe... But the deed is done, and my sister," glancing at the girl who was still listening to Kanta's boastful tales, Seth rolled his eyes, laughing into his fist, "it'll be better for her this way. When she found out who she'd be working with, she was beside herself, always on the verge of doing something stupid..."
"Well, they were good friends before, so I'm not surprised by that reaction..."
"Yeah." Looking at me with an unreadable expression, Seth let out a tired sigh but said nothing more on the matter. "Well, alright. As pleasant as the meeting is, we still have work ahead of us, so I suggest we get to it."
"Are you finally going to start communicating with us normally?"
"Well, sorry. Somnia talked us into not giving ourselves away until the last moment and only when the job was done..."
"Forget it," I didn't give it any importance. My brother's friend was a girl, and that said it all.
Of course, after Super Earth, all the local women seemed strange to me. There, they were just pieces of meat like me. Mostly craving sleep, food, and super-freedom. But here...
They have feelings, emotions, opinions, and that logic famous throughout the male world. I had managed to forget about all that, and at first, it was wildly unusual.
Suddenly, someone tugged at my sleeve from behind.
Turning around, I meet the bright yellow eyes of the Shorty, peeking out from the black void of her hood. Realizing she had my attention, and Seth's as well, the little Jawa handed me the restored blaster, the barrel of which looked more like a club.
"Is this some kind of last resort?" Weighing the heavier blaster in my hands, I aim instinctively at a small pebble a couple of meters away. "It's huge, damn. Can't you make it like it was?"
"Fool." Slapping my hand, the Jawa snatched the blaster back, then began rapidly explaining the reasons for such changes. "It's against the heat. Lasts longer. Shoots longer."
"Heavy is good," Seth suddenly chimed into our conversation. Philosophically swirling the contents of his flask, parodying a wise look as he stared into the distance, "heavy is reliable. Even if it doesn't fire, you can always hit them over the head with it."
"O-o-okay..."
Looking at the dissatisfied Jawa, I realized I was definitely in the minority on this issue. To me, a weapon didn't have that kind of value where you had to coddle it. In the war against the enemies of Super Earth, you picked up whatever could shoot.
Out of ammo? Grab the next one.
Broken? Pick one up from the corpse of another Helldiver.
Doesn't work against a certain type of enemy? Then call down the biggest crap from orbit and blast it so hard the enemies in the next system feel their balls shake from fear!
"Though, whether it was the cyborgs or the giant bugs—they didn't have balls in that sense..."
Giving in to the victor, I raise my hands conciliatorily before me, to the satisfied purring of the Shorty. Foisting the blaster and a couple of tibanna cartridges on me for good measure, the Jawa hopped back to her part of the camp, where she began unhurriedly packing and preparing to head out.
"I think it's time for us too."
Following my gaze, Seth rose to his feet, brushing the sand off himself. The guy combed his unshaven square chin with his fingers, then sniffed with his crooked septum.
His brow ridges met dissatisfiedly at the bridge of his nose, but he didn't have time to say anything before Kanta's piteous howl rang out behind me.
Looking back, I caught a scene that didn't surprise me at all.
Hopping in a crouch, my younger brother was clutching his crotch, sweating profusely and threatening to pop his eyes out of their sockets. It seemed even his hair stood on end from such an execution.
And beside him, frowning tensely to hide a smile, stood Na... Somnia. Crossing her arms over her chest, she was tapping her foot in army boots. Apparently, the very foot she had used to clock Mizuna's son in the balls.
"How glad I am that you haven't changed at all." Her slightly raspy voice was full of irony and a kind of nostalgic warmth she carefully hid behind a stern face. Seeing Seth and me staring at her, unable to hide our smiles, the girl's cheeks reddened slightly as she turned away to hide her shifting eyes. "Stop grinning. We have work to do."
Proudly marching past us, she grabbed her helmet and backpack, hastily throwing the latter onto her back, which caused her to get tangled in her rifle strap; she was now hurriedly trying to free herself, blushing deeply around her ears and neck... But she still didn't turn to us, so Seth had to take action.
"Eh... She might have grown into a huge Bantha, but it's all the same. Alright, I'll go help her."
***
Sitting in a huge chair, one of the richest men on Tatooine was steadily sipping purest water. Without the aftertaste of mushrooms, dirty filters, or other impurities, it brought him even more pleasure than the most expensive alcohol in the world.
Finishing the last drops and setting the glass aside, Kaoru rose from the chair, unhurriedly walking through his dwelling. A spacious house made of heat-resistant coating. A spring connected to it so he always had direct access to clean water.
Several green plants stood in every corner of the house, showing true prosperity and wealth, especially for those from a desert planet.
Standing near one of the flowers, Kaoru thoughtfully examined its broad leaves hanging toward the ground. Biting his lip, he reached his hand forward, wishing to touch the mythical flower from a distant planet in another part of the galaxy, but a second before achieving his goal, a familiar voice called out to him from behind.
"How many times do I have to tell you, don't touch my flowers." Mechanical, rattling, with wheezing and strained notes. A true hellish nightmare from the abyss itself. "This is the last warning. If I see you reaching your crooked claws toward them again, I'll scalp you."
"Yes... Of course... Forgive me..."
Swallowing thick saliva, dripping with sweat, the old man slowly backed away, shifting from foot to foot and afraid to move an inch. His entire body felt as if it had turned to wood, and his brain worked feverishly while his heart quickened its pace.
"What news? Is everything ready?"
"Yes! Yes, master." Bowing from the waist, Kaoru was afraid to look up, so he stared at the floor until his master's feet entered his field of vision. "I spoke with him personally; he said everything will be in top form. And the Assassins have completed their task."
Under heavy, lumbering steps, the floor of the dwelling groaned as Kaoru's master walked around him in a circle.
"And the slug's people? Did they take the bait?"
"Oh, yes, master. The pirates are furious and ready to strike at the first signal."
"Excellent." Walking around Kaoru, his master sat in the chair he had previously occupied. The brim of his hat covered the upper part of his face, but even so... having dared to lift his face, Kaoru was met with a ghastly steel mask. The figure wrapped in a cloak creaked with armor, and the frightened magnate quickly returned his eyes to the floor. "Soon it will all be over and it will be as before... Just a little bit left."
***
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