Starshadow I

They had come the second night. 
We had heard nothing except the crackling of the campfire, and the soft howling of the desert wind, that night. They had crept upon us like spirits, and disappeared without so much as a whisper. We found no sign of Ensign Korrin, only drag marks, and bloodstained sand. 
The third night we had doubled our watch, and I saw them just before the second sun had dipped beneath the horizon. Many pairs of eyes, barely visible but for the last flash of green light amongst the swirling dust storm of twilight; one by one disappearing into the ether until but one remained, its gazed locked upon mine before it too faded into the darkening wasteland. As the light of the suns vanished and darkness fell upon us bringing with it the barren breeze and chill of night, a single howl pierced the veil, then answered by a chorus of howls and growling yips from all directions, buffeting our island of flickering of light in the sea of darkness like heralds of a coming storm.
Five days ago the Starshadow had preapred to depart from Ryloth, carrying precious cargo. The Gozanti class cruiser was unusually light, loaded with only a handful of unmarked crates bound for Milagro under heavy guard. The entire crew was under strict instructions - no one was allowed in the cargo bay. Lieutenant Thalia made it abundantly clear that the penalty for failing to adhere to her order would be...steep. I was curious, naturally, but my duties as a deck officer meant I wouldn't have time to snoop - even if it was allowed. The cargo was loaded with the utmost secrecy, with only Lieutenant Thalia allowed to supervise and ensure it was secured. On the bridge, Ensign Korrin, a brand new Imperial Officer fresh from the Academy, fresh faced and all too eager, was assigned to shadow me as a junior deck officer. Crewman Kell, a gruff but competent helmsmen, and Petty Officer Third Class Draegon, a discplined and fiercely loyal senior operations specialist, made up the rest of forenoon-watch. 
On the fourth day we departed from the spaceport, escorted by a flight of TIEs until we reached the jump point. As the stars lengthed and then gaveway to the deep blue tunnel of hyperspace, we settled into our routines. With a small crew of twelve, and no stormtrooper or TIE complement on board, the watches kept to themselves until it was time to change over. The fourth day had passed without incident. Ensign Korrin was settling in to the routine, doing well thus far for his first voyage. Kell, despite his usual misgivings for officers, had taken a shine to the him. Even Draegon, ever serious and attentive to the smallest of customs and courtesies, couldn't help but like him either. Everything was running smoothly, or so it had seemed. Kell reported higher than normal heat readings from the hyperdrive. Myself and Draegon had assured him that it was not unusual for the Starshadow - the ship was built during the Naboo crisis, afterall. 
Three days ago, in the middle of our watch, the heat readings spiked suddenly. Before we could shut it down and sound the alarm, the unmistakenable sounds of the hyperdrive ripping itself apart tore through the ship, followed by the shaking and shuddering of the hyperspace tunnel collapsing. As the Starshadow abruptly dropped back into realspace, the sounds of metal tearing and the automatic wail of the alarm filled the bridge. Kell tried desperately to right the ship as it lost steering thruster control, while Draegon began to try and shut down damaged circuits and coolant pumps. Korrin, unsure of what to do, looked at me with a mix of shock and fear. I grabbed him roughly, placing him at a comms station and ordering him to begin sending distress calls. Several of the other enlisted had made it to the bridge. Draegon's screen, a readout of the ship's full systems, was growing more and more red as they began to suffer a cascading failure. I looked away and to the viewport, seeing the looming sandy beige and rustic red planet we were now careening towards. Tatooine. 
With Draegon's screens now flashing almost entirely red, Kell yelling obscenities and Korrin screaming mayday into the commlink, and Leiutenant Thalia nowhere to be seen on the bridge, I made the hardest choice. The only choice. Taking the comm from Korrin, I switched it to the ship's internal comm. "Attention All Personnel, this is Sub-Lieutenant Draven, Abandoned Ship. I repeat, Abandon Ship."
My watch all made it aboard the escape pod. With a hard jerk and series of shaky adjustments, we dropped away from the Starshadow as it fell towards the planet. In the viewport we could see the extent of the damage. The entire rear side had been blown apart, the engines ripped to shreds. We had had no hope of saving her. As we too fell towards the planet's surface, Kell began to mark our position - well within the Dune Sea. We again felt a hard jerk as the landing thrusters fired, before a hard thud as we hit the sand. The pod rolled to its side, tumbling presumably down a large dune before coming to a final stop. As we clambered out of the pod, we saw the Starshadow diving into the sea, disappearing behind the dune. Several seconds past before we could hear the far off explosion and crumpling metal of the ship hitting the planet. Tens of kilometers away. 
We spent the first day taking stock of our situation. Tatooine had no local garrison. The system didn't even have a garrison. The closest one, as we could figure, would be a week away at best unless there was a nearby patrol. But, as Draegon pointed out, our voyage wasn't marked or reported to any higher command. We had only sent a distress signal for a few minutes before abandoning ship. At best, we were an anomaly to the rest of the galaxy. We wouldn't be overdue for at least four more days. So unless one of the pods was lucky enough to land in downtown Mos Eisley, chances were slime that anyone was coming anytime soon. 
The escape pod had enough supplies to last a month. Rations, an emergency beacon, a water tank, various camping gear, and environment suits. It even had two blaster rifles and suvival axes. Running out of supplies probably wouldn't be an issue. Shelter though, would be. The Dune Sea lived up to its name - a vast, undulating sea of sand dunes stretching out as far as the eye could see. There was nothing to build with, and the only place to hide from the wind - a low grade sandblaster - was inside the pod itself which would become a sauna in the mid-day sun. The pod had several tarps, and a few pieces of metal from inside the pod and a single collapsible fishing pole worked to craft some makeshift windscreens. It wouldn't keep it out fully, but it did allow us to build a fire for the comparitively freezing nights. 
Being a Hutt planet, and home to notoriously dangerous Tusken Raiders, we drew lots for watches. I had arguably the worst watch, the afternoon. Kell had the forenoon, Draegon the evening, and Korrin had the morning. The first day was rough. It was an adjustment, having to suddenly aclimate to Tatooine's twin suns. Rationing food and water, things none us except Korrin, who had gone to the Imperial survival course TIE pilots must attend, was used too. In this desolate wasteland, Korrin had come into his own. For the first time, he knew exactly what to do and had more experience then the rest of us. That experience however, had not saved him.
The first night was quiet, the only sounds were the fire crackling, and the wind whispering in the night. 
That third day in the desert, discovering Korrin's demise, we knew for the first time true fear. There was no sign of what had taken him. Not a sound. Not a word. He had disappeared into the night without a cry. Whatever had taken him, it had taken him swiftly. We searched in vain around our campsite for half a kilometer, but the sandy wind had covered whatever tracks there may have been. We armed ourselves, and revised our plan. We could not maintain a watch forever, and whatever had come had come at night and avoided the tortureous suns. We decided to double the watch at night, taking turns to sleep. We did not know what had taken Korrin, whether it had been Tusken Raiders or creatures.
That third night we knew. We were being circled, hunted like a herd of bantha. The howling and growling yips began to deafen the wind, sending shivers down my spine. 
"What do you think they are?" asked Draegon, gripping the blaster rifle in her hands. 
"Anooba."