A DAY AT THE RACES: ROCKET SLEDDING

Chapter 1

Dawn was inching its way into the sky on Coruscant. Jarik Solo was sound asleep. It was the day of the rocket sled races, and he would be up soon enough. So it was with some annoyance that he picked up his comm, which had just gone off.

"Jarik, it's Ani."

Jarik loved the brother who was the closest to his age. "You here yet?"

"In orbit."

"You got any idea what time it is? I gotta race today." Jarik's voice displayed his sleepy annoyance.

"Jarik, you can't race today."

"Why the hells not? I paid the entry fee. I've been working on the sled all year long! So why can't I race?"

"I've seen it through the Force. You shouldn't go. You'll get hurt."

Jarik sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Ani, bro, I love ya but you're calling me at this obscene hour 'cause you had a bad dream or something?" If there was something that Jarik couldn't grasp about his three older siblings, it was the Force. And sometimes they downright annoyed him with it. This was one of those times.

"Jaina had it, too. She comm'd me."

"What's Jacen say?"

"Dunno. He's asleep."

"Yeah, well I was."

"Jarik, you're only nineteen. I don't wanna lose you."

"You and Jaina are all weird with that. Sorry, bro. It's race day and I'm not gonna be a no show. Especially when I put up eight thousand credits to enter."

Anakin audibly sighed. "See you in about an hour."

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Jarik was nearly asleep again when his comm went off.

"Screw it," he muttered as he picked up. "Jace, what's up?"

"I've been talking with Jaina and Ani and we've all felt the same thing."

"Like I shouldn't race today or something like that?"

"Jarik, do you think we'd tell you not to race if we weren't serious?"

"I dunno. Did Mom pay you off?"

"I'm not joking, Jarik."

"So am I gonna die or something?" Jarik asked scornfully.

"We don't know that. But we've all got a really bad feeling about this."

"You've got a bad feeling about this and I'm supposed to chuck 8K out the window, not to mention spending a year on the best rocket sled design possible. Jace, you've always been my main man and you've always been straight with me."

"I am being straight with you."

"You coming to the race?"

"I took the day off for it, but hey, we can do other stuff."

"I'm racing, Jace. End of discussion. You wanna talk about the Force, call Uncle Luke."

"Just think about it, okay?"

"See you at the races, bro." Jarik ended the call.

Might as well get some kaf going on, he said, loping towards the kitchen.

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Han was awakened with a start. Leia was murmuring something incoherent that was clearly upsetting her.

"Leia! Wake up!" Han shook her until her eyes opened. He looked down on her, his face lined with concern. Her eyes snapped open. "Bad dream."

"Very bad." The look of anxiety covered her face.

"Alderaan?" Although her nightmares over her home planet had lessened over the years, she still had them once in a while.

"No."

"Can you tell me what it is?" Both were now sitting up in bed, Han gently stroking her hair.

Leia closed her eyes. "It was...Jarik."

"Jarik? How so?"

"Han, don't let him race today. Please. Talk him out of it. He listens to you."

"You serious? Besides, you've said it yourself: some of your visions are just warnings or reflect your own fears. Let's face it, we were terrified when Jaina served in the Navy, and you've always been anxious about Jarik's racing."

"This was different. I've never had anything like this any other time he's raced."

Han embraced Leia. "Racing's a risky business. And nobody embraces risk more happily than Han Jarik Solo. I can try to convince him, but I think we know he's not gonna go for it."

"Just try. Please."

Han sighed. "I'll talk to him."

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Han headed for the kitchen. The smell of kaf was strong, and Jarik and Anakin were in the kitchen each with a cuppa.

"Hey Dad," Anakin greeted his father.

"You fly all night?" Han asked him.

"Yep." Anakin frowned, though.

"Ani's trying to talk me out of racing," Jarik said to Han.

"Your mom wants me to talk you out of it, too," Han said, grabbing a cuppa kaf. "You guys make this strong enough?"

"I like my kaf to taste like kaf," Jarik said simply.

"Finally. Someone in this family can do it right," Han said. "So Anakin, you having bad dreams about this race?"

"Yeah, and Jacen and Jaina are seeing the same thing," Anakin explained.

"You sure you're not just giving each other ideas?" Han was skeptical of the three on the same page. Four, if he counted his wife.

"Dad, Jarik, it's not gonna end well," Anakin said.

"How bad are we talking about?"

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

Han sighed. "Anyone bothered to ask Luke?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he'll say the same thing." Luke, Mara and their kids weren't going to be able to attend.

Han could hear Leia's comm go off. "How much you wanna bet that's Uncle Luke calling Mom?"

"It's a better bet than Jarik racing," Anakin said. "Seriously, bro, don't do it." Anakin was pleading.

Jarik said nothing. "You guys say something's gonna happen, but you're not telling me what."

"Well, it's not real clear, the future's always in motion," Anakin shrugged. "But really, don't do it. I mean, really, what'll I do without someone to laugh at?"

"Ani, man, you helped me design the sled. You're a killer engineer. I know you can't make it completely safe, but I trust you. I mean, it's not much of a competition if it's totally safe."

"That was before I started seeing things going wrong," Anakin told him. "I wish I'd known sooner."

Leia stumbled into the kitchen, her hair wet and wrapped in a towel. She looked miserable.

"Mom, these guys are telling me not to race today, but they're not giving me very good reasons for it," Jarik tells her. "You believe in me, don't you?"

Leia accepted the cup Han had poured for her. "Jarik, it's not about whether I believe in you or not. It's just...we've all had some frightening dreams about this."

"You think I'm never scared when I race? What kind of moron do you take me for? Dad, you told me, if you're not kinda scared before a race, you're a complete kriffing idiot."

"I did tell you that," Han conceded. "It holds true."

"I don't expect you guys to understand the rush," Jarik said. "You guys have the Force. You see stuff and feel stuff I don't. I don't have that. I know you probably think I'm a loser. I'm 19 and I live with my parents and I make money racing. And you know what? I like it."

"No one ever called you a loser, Jarik," Anakin said to him. "You're a cool dude and you know it."

"Then why can't you respect my decision to race today?" Jarik asked them.

"We do respect your decision, but we've all felt something awful, and we feel obligated to inform you," Leia said, resignation coloring her voice. "It's our hope that you'd take it under consideration. Han?"

"You gotta make your own decisions, kiddo." Han said. "I can't keep you from racing, but you might want to consider what your mom and brothers and sister tell you."

"I've considered it, and I'm gonna race. Hope you guys'll be there. I gotta get ready."