Tabraile belly-crawled through the sand to the top of a high, black dune. "Keep your head down." The desert floor shifted abruptly beneath his hands.  

"Is this some sort of earthquake?" Anayera asked anxiously.

The electrical aberration grew with intensity and caused the hairs on Tabraile's arms and neck to stand erect before discharging the static into the surrounding air. "Hurry or you'll miss it."

Wearing a rijani dueling skirt and a black crop top that exposed a shoulder and her taut stomach, Anayera scurried up to the edge of the ridge beside him. She peeked over the dune into a sandy basin. A trio of native children were perched on an opposite ridge fifty meters across from them.

"Are we here to spy on children? This is your adventure?"

"Wait for it," he whispered.

Anchored by a small anvil cloud, a powerful streak of lightning shattered the stillness beneath the morning skies. Charged with energy, the bolt struck the desert floor with such violence it sent tiny temblors through the ground. Molten sand and slag erupted into the air like shrapnel.

Dressed in traditional red robes, an Ibhaan'I girl of twelve sprinted down the far ridge and into the basin. Carrying a knife in one hand, the child ran to where white smoke poured from the strike. She dug furiously at the scar in the ground and grabbed something in the hem of her robes.

A deafening clap of thunder shook the basin. It so startled her that she stumbled to her knees. The girl recovered quickly and sprinted away with her prize. Diving over the ridge, she narrowly escaped as another bolt of lighting struck the ground along the path where she had been.

Anayera stared, her mouth agape in horror. "Is this what Socorrans do for entertainment?"

"Not entertainment," Tabraile said. "Money."

"She could have been killed. What's so valuable that it's worth risking their lives?"

"Carrigtye. Crystals made when the lightning strikes the sand."

"Crystals?" Anayera's softened her reproving tone. "Do they work in lightsabers?"

"Why do you think I brought you here?" he said with a grin. "Socorro looks like a desert world, but there are thousands of water troves beneath all this volcanic ash."

"Those reflections I saw on the dunes early this morning? That was water?"

"Naturally filtered through the sand and untainted. One of the best kept secrets of the galaxy. That's where Elba got those berries you loved so much. The underground caves are full of them. They're the main ingredient in making Socorran raava." He winked at her. "But it's dangerous business because it's the water that brings the lightning storms."

Undaunted by the power, Anayera stared on as a powerful bolt ripped down from the skies and struck the basin. A deafening chord of thunder followed. "Elba mentioned something about this. What was the term he used?"

"Ibhidi katoi taranau—bid against the thunder. It's a rite of passage among the Ibhaan'I."

"Ibhidi katoi taranau?"

Tabraile eagerly licked his lips. "The lightning strikes, and you have seconds to get to the carrigtye before the next hit."

"Why not wait until the storm passes?"

"You felt those tremors, didn't you?" he said with a shrug. "If you don't collect them shortly after a strike, they're pulverized and turned to ash. The thunder is your warning. If you don't run out of the area fast enough ... that happens."

Tabraile pointed to a younger child, who dashed across the sand to claim a prize left by the lightning. Ignoring the thunder, the boy took too long digging out the crystal with a knife too big for his hands. A bolt of lightning struck a meter away from him and sent him wailing to the ground. Disoriented but alive, he scrambled back on all fours and escaped to the ridge where his companions were sheltering.

Anayera stood up to run to him, but the Socorran pulled her back down to the sand. "Tabraile, he might be hurt."

"You only get hurt if you get struck. Near misses don't count." He secured his gloves at the wrists and pulled out a karambit knife from his boot. "Keep your head down."

Poised in a sprinter's starting position, Tabraile waited for a lightning strike and then launched himself down across the dune into the basin. Sliding to a stop, he squinted through the acrid smoke and stabbed at the hardened scar with the curved blade. He dug out the crystal and picked it up in his hand.

Generated from the intense heat of the strike, the thunder boomed. The vibration sent tremors through the ground and signaled the next impending strike. Before the lightning could find a target, Tabraile raced back to their ridge and was gone before the next bolt could hit the ground. From the other side of the basin, the children cheered and clapped.

Panting to catch his breath, Tabraile slid down the dune on his back and opened his hand. The carrigtye was still smoking from the violence of its birth. Three centimeters long, the crude, black crystal shimmered in Socorro's sun.

"It's beautiful," Anayera whispered, reaching for it with her bare hands.

"Careful," he said, closing his fingers over it. "They're very sensitive and attune themselves to whomever touches them."

"This is how you spent your childhood?"

Tabraile laughed. "Most of it. When I wasn't boosting power cells from landspeeders or hustling Rishi honeystix in the cantina."

Anayera took the karmabit from his hand and positioned herself at the edge of the dune. Perched like a bird of prey, she waited until the lightning struck and raced down into the sandy depression.

"Anayera!" Tabraile shouted after her.

She slid to a stop above the smoking scar and stabbed vehemently at the dune floor. Wresting the crystal free, she cringed when the thunder roared at her. Anayera closed her eyes and sprinted back to the dune with the crystal clutched in the hem of her rijani. The children on the opposite ridge chanted their appreciation.

"Are you insane!" Tabraile snatched the knife from her hand. "You could have been killed!"

"Only if I'd been struck. Near misses don't count," she reiterated his words. "Tabraile, don't be angry with me." Anayera pinched at his frowning lips. "I want to help those children gather crystals. I've done so much wrong in my life. Wrongs I can never undo." She shrugged. "This might be my chance to give back and do something right."

Across from their ridge, the third child prepared to make a bid into the basin, but then retreated in fear. The lightning struck and the three cowered behind the dune.

Tabraile flipped the knife in his grip and handed it back to her. "You know we could just give them what's left of your Parlak winnings. That much money would last the village an entire year."

Anayera tied her hair in a bundle at the nape of her neck. "Where's the fun and adventure in that?" She took his knife and crawled to the top of the dune.

                                                   ~ ~ ~

Anayera was fast and agile, and she was remarkably beautiful, especially in motion. Tabraile was mesmerized. The smile on her face, despite the danger of being struck by lightning, was contagious. Barefoot and sprinting, she leaped out of the basin, tucked her lithe body, and rolled over the dune into his arms. The Ibhaan'I children that had joined forces with them performed an impromptu dance to celebrate her bravery.

"That was a close one," Tabraile said, trying to hide his concern. "Do I need to remind you that people have died doing this?"

"I've never felt more alive!" Anayera gushed. She kissed him on the lips.

Ignoring the children giggling and gesturing behind them, Tabraile stared down at her in anticipation, his desire awakened and rising. She kissed him again, more passionately, and wrapped her arms about his neck. He drank in the sweet taste of her, his body aching.

Dropping the oilcloth, he sent their stockpile of carrigtye crystals rolling in the sand at his feet and barked a stern command in Socorran. With squeals of terror and glee, the Ibhaan'I children scurried around them to retrieve the crystals and promptly retreated into the desert.

"What did you say to them?" Anayera asked, staring into his eyes.

"I told them to scratch gravel, or I'd take the carrigtye for myself."

"Tabraile!"

"I didn't mean it." Brushing back a stray loc from her forehead, he scrutinized every centimeter of her face. "They can have them all, except this one." Tabraile held up the biggest of the stones that he had captured after a particularly violent strike.

With a mischievous grin, Anayera undid his gunbelt and tossed it to the sand. Cocking her head to the side, she took him by the collar and sank down to her knees. Leaning her back into the sand, Tabraile returned her kiss with equal passion and longing. She didn't resist him and wrapped her muscular thighs about his waist as he knelt down over her on the dune.

Pulling off his glove with his teeth, Tabraile pressed the carrigtye between their bare hands. The crystal thrummed with energy, a white glow emanating from the center of the stone and between their intertwined fingers. As the lightning storm waged on in fury in the basin, they made love on the hot slope of the dune.