Deep in the Outer Rim Territories, a lone Jedi starship was caught in a fierce fight with a pirate ship. Weaving around each other, they fired showers of shots until finally, the pirate ship exploded. With a perfectly executed barrel roll, the Jedi starship sped into the starry expanse of space.
In the cockpit, Obi-wan Kenobi clung desperately to his chair. He absolutely hated flying, especially when Anakin Skywalker was the pilot. As the ship flew straight again, Obi-wan turned to Anakin. "Must you always show off?"
"Always," Anakin replied with a smile. He reached up to play with some pilot controls and Obi-wan sighed.
The Jedi, along with Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka Tano, were sent on a mission to recapture an escaped criminal. The young boy Boba Fett had escaped the prison on Coruscant with the help of some pirate friends. The Jedi had found him on a pirate ship, putting him under arrest and taking him into custody. He now sat in a chair behind Anakin, near the back of the cockpit. Ahsoka Tano sat on the other side, behind Master Kenobi.
Ahsoka sat with her arms crossed, not happy about having to sit next to Boba. He was a criminal, and had been giving her nothing but insults the whole time she sat there. She leaned forward to look at Anakin's navigation controls. "Can we go into hyperspace now?"
"Sure," Anakin replied cheerfully. "Just let me turn this on..." He pressed a button, then put his hand confidently on the hyperspace lever. "Now, here we go! Hold on!" He said with a smirk, pushing it forward.
The hyperspace drive stuttered, then failed.
"W-what?" Anakin's eyes went wide, and he tried pushing it forward a few more times. The hyperspace drive was not working. Obi-wan put his face in his hand.
Anakin frantically tried to press some buttons. "It should work! I don't know why it isn't!"
Obi-wan spoke up. "I think in the battle the pirates hit our hyperdrive."
Anakin, looking extremely confused and angry, finally said, "We'll have to fly back without it, then."
"That will take forever!" Ahsoka exclaimed.
"I know, Snips, but we have no choice," Anakin replied. He started to pilot the ship manually, but soon, the ship started to slow to a stop.
"No! No no no no!" Anakin slammed his hand on the dashboard. Obi-wan put his face in his hands again.
"Out of fuel?" Anakin tried to make the ship go, but it wasn't going. "R2, why didn't you tell me we had no fuel?" he exclaimed angrily.
R2's beeps could be heard from the dashboard, and Anakin slammed his fist down again.
"So we're stuck in the middle of nowhere?" Ahsoka yelled.
"Shut up, Snips!" Anakin fell back into his chair, running his hand through his hair.
Boba sat silently the whole time, his eyes glaring out the window. Ahsoka was furious. She couldn't stand being stuck in this tiny little ship with her two masters and this murderous criminal. They needed to find a way back!
The ship sat in space for a while, floating silently. Suddenly, the intercom beeped. Anakin sat up, then pressed the comm button.
A female voice came onto the intercom. "Jedi starfighter, do you need assistance?"
Anakin glanced out the window, seeing a sleek starcruiser coming up beside them. "That must be a ship from a nearby planet," he said to the others. He then answered the call. "This is Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi. We have no fuel and no hyperdrive."
"How many on the ship?"
"Four."
"What is your destination?"
"Coruscant." Anakin glanced at the starcruiser again. It was silvery-cream and looked luxurious and roomy.
Obi-wan whispered, "Are you sure this is the best idea? Trusting a starship we don't even know?"
"Relax," Anakin replied.
Finally the starcruiser replied, "I'm docking with you now. Prepare to board." The cruiser flew towards them and connected to their ship with a small enclosed airlock. The Jedi, along with Boba, got up and made sure the airlock was set. Then, the door opened, and they stepped into the airlock, waiting for the other ship's door to open.
The door slid open, and in the doorway stood a young girl, about 16 years old. She had long, golden hair flowing down to her waist, and her eyes were a deep blue. She wore a white shirt with a dark blue jacket, matching pants, and boots. A blaster hung at her waist. She stood with her hands on the sides of the doorway, a small smile on her face.
"Well, well," she said, glancing at the Jedi. "Jedi in need of assistance? How in kriff's name did that happen, I wonder?"
Anakin spoke up. "I'm sorry for the inconvience, miss, but we need a ride back to Coruscant."
"No problem," the girl stepped back, welcoming them in. "Welcome to the Lexel Glider."
The Jedi and Boba stepped inside, finding themselves in a petite, well-lit entrance hallway with metallic tan walls, ceiling, and floor. There was a door on either side of them, probably leading to storage rooms. In front of them, the hall opened up to a circular central room with couches, skylights, carpets, and a little drink droid.
"Classy," Ahsoka muttered, gazing around in awe, while Anakin and Obi-wan turned back to the girl.
"My name is Anakin Skywalker, and this is Obi-wan Kenobi. We're Jedi."
The girl smiled. "I'm Nari Vao. Make yourselves at home. My droid, A8, will show you around."
Anakin smacked his head. "R2! We forgot him!"
"Don't worry, we'll pick up your droid," Nari said. R2 was still on the ship's wing. "He can come in through the airlock."
As R2 came in, A8, a small droid about R2's height, led them to the other side of the circular room. In front of them was the doorway to the cockpit, and more little hallways extended to the left and right. They turned to the right, then went through a door to a spacious room with bunk beds built into the wall.
"This is the guest quarters," A8 stated. He then left the room, and the Jedi quickly followed. Nari sat in the cockpit with another droid, a large, buff-looking security droid. The cockpit was large and carpeted, with a holographic star map floating in the center of the dashboard.
"Are we going straight to Coruscant?" Anakin tentatively asked.
"Yup," Nari replied. "With hyperspace, it will take three days to get there." She turned around, her eyes on the two Jedi. "Are you comfortable with this ship?"
"Yes, thank you," Obi-wan replied. "We will pay you once we reach Republic space."
Nari set the coordinates for Coruscant and pushed the hyperdrive button. The ship sped into hyperspace.