"Well...this was fun." Neil said without spirit, looking vacantly out into the desert sands. It stretched as far as the eye could see, and without batting an eye. He seemed to have lost his spirit, and it was further evident when he was almost violently grabbed by Saxon by the neck, lifting him up seemingly into the sun. Neil didn't bat an eye other than looking somewhat surprised at the sudden 'attack.' 

"Wait, stop! What are you doing?" Taya asked, trying to move across a small rise in the sand to get to Saxon, though she didn't know what she would do if it came down to it. Saxon and Neil didn't acknowledge her. Saxon pulled Neil down face to face with him, his bestial breath filled Neil's senses. 

"As usual, all of this is because of you. I wouldn't doubt if I killed you here and now, our fortunes would improve." 

"You're probably right." Neil said, clearing his throat. He knew Saxon could simply squeeze and pop his head clean off. He wondered what Junebug and Taya would do, though he guessed it didn't matter. He'd be too dead to see or care. He almost felt that way now, truth be told. He'd saved their lives, but they wouldn't have been out here in the first place if it wasn't for Neil. He got Sven to get them into this wild goose chase and now they were in a desert of unknown size and dangers. "Hey, when you kill me can you be sure to drink my blood to stay hydrated?" 

"Put my pilot down." Junebug told Saxon, placing another clip in the receiver of her gun and aiming it his way. Saxon looked like a crocodillian then, eyes almost emotionless, yet somehow you could tell it sought to attack at any moment. Neil's voice spoke up next. "Aim for the lower back, just above the hindquarters. He's less armored there." Saxon's teeth gritted, and he shook Neil, silencing him. Still, after a few brief moments, he tossed Neil to the ground and shrugged his shoulders, though the move was an alien way of stretching the excess energy he had left in his system. 

Neil hit the ground and blinked, his eyes stinging from the sand and the intense light that beat down on them. What did they have, one gallon of water left, between the four of them? Taya fell to her knees in relief. "Thank the stars." she said, sinking into the sand as if she was sinking beneath waves. Behind her, Neil lifted his head from the sand. 

"How long is the day cycle on this planet?" he asked. 

They all look at him. Well, Sayeeda and Taya did. Neil remembered on his own when they had flown in. 34 hours. "Wait no, what direction did we move in from Caneks?" 

"Southwest." Junebug said. 

"Once the stars are out, we can make it back." he said, as if he had just received a revelation. 

"How would that work? We don't know this planet's constellations, Neil." Taya replied, shaking her head. Neil's look buttoned her lip. 

"I do, though." he said, tapping his head. 

"Why not, we have nothing else we can fucking do." Junebug said, falling onto her back in the sand and covering her eyes with her forearms. "But even if we get our bearings, we'll probably still die." 

Hours later, the sun had dipped below the horizon agonizingly slow. Neil did his best not to watch it set. He needed his eyes good for the constellations. Saxon had taken residence in a smaller dune of sand about a dozen paces from them, having basked in the sun like any cold-blooded creature would. Taya and Junebug sipped their canteens fleetingly, talking to each other. Or, Taya talked and Junebug replied with the odd curse or slur, or gave a violent anecdote that had Taya skipping to different topics so she wouldn't need to dwell on it. 

The sky lit up with stars almost as soon as the Sun had disappeared, and just as Neil had thought, they were as bright in the desert as they ever would be, no matter the planet one was on. He saw the two headed serpent, Zahhak to the left, and just below it was the strong man, Enkidu, bare chested and wild haired. But of course, right of them was Jawzarh, the largest and brightest collection of stars that formed a great dragon. He still had no idea how such information was in his head, but he wasn't going to question it. 

"I know where we're going." He said, triumphantly. The sense of elation was pure ecstasy. Maybe they could make it out of this shit hole. They might not have the money to make it off world, but Neil had done shady things in the past to get what he needed. He knew they could figure something out once they made it back to civilization.

They walked all night where Neil indicated north, knowing they would come by a bedouin path at some point. Travelers riding the strange beasts they had seen in town, But when the sun rose again, they had no found a thing. Junebug did well keeping people moving, joking with Neil and reassuring Taya. Saxon moved without complaint or slowing, but he refused when Neil and Junebug asked him to let Taya ride on his shoulders. 

Another night and day passed, and they still had found nothing. No shelter, or sign of passage. Saxon began to mutter that Neil had no idea where they were going, but the others knew better logically. They had gone southwest via transport, moving many kilometers an hour and had gone for several days. They had far too many miles to think about between them and the town, but still, they should have come by a sign of some habitation, and the lack of food and water had everyone on edge.    
[@Penny]