The Tabus Maneck Chronicles:

Story: New Horizons

Rating: K+ (violence)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Star Wars franchise, and this is strictly written for my enjoyment and those of the readers. This is strictly non-profit and does not intend to infringe on any copyright or plagirism laws.

(The story is set around the time of the Galactic Civil War around a couple of years prior to the Battle Of Yavin. Most, if not all, of the main cast from the films will be absent from these stories, although characters such as Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Jabba The Hutt and various bounty hunters may make appearences in subsequent additions. Comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.)

Launch was merely seconds away as Tabus Maneck strapped himself into the seat of his cockpit. A lurch was felt as the engines cut through, giving Tabus the fear that he'd soon be re-encountering the Muja fruit he had eaten some hours before. His ship, the Starchaser, was a modified YT-700 freighter Maneck's father had won at a podrace down on Malastare. Tabus was just a boy when Podracing was outlawed by the Empire he had grown to despise, but he remembered the excitement that watching his father had solicited in him. A keen sense of adventure had run through Tabus from the beginning, even if he found it to be a needlessly bloody sport.

Feeling his hands grasp at the controls as he steered out the hangar, he felt his grip was slacker than it once was. Tabus wasn't exactly an old man, but he had seen a great deal in his thirty-six years. This came at a price, the odd wrinkle or grey hair gave him the appearance of a man several years older, but his enthusiasm for adventure was still that of man much younger.

"Unit number 3-2-8-17" Barked the voice from over the ship's com. "You are in clear violation of the Empire. Land now, and face court martialling." Tabus simply shut off the com, wanting to hear no more of the fighter pilot's banal request. His plan after all had been smart. Enlisting the help of an old smuggling friend David Odasion, a human from Sapella to intentionally get the ship impounded. Maneck managed to stow away and make a lucky escape. Odasion however had made the unfortunate mistake of being on the wrong side of a blaster pistol.

A dilemma lay ahead with two different escape hatches for Tabus to use to leave the Star Destroyer. Either a large exit where many fighters were currently massing or a far smaller port, virtually deserted. Almost pausing for thought under the intense situation, Tabus instead exhaled in excitement as he roared forward. Moving towards the larger of the two escapes, he fired on a sensitive section of hull plating at an odd angle an old trick he once saw used by ships being apprehended soon after take-off on the Kessel Run, but very rarely accomplished. Kessel's surface, weak thorough mining, was often so delicate that the routes would often cave in destroying most crafts that dared past through.

Ducking through into the open space, most fighters simply retreated or tried to find another route. Those that further attempted to intercept Maneck were mostly consumed in flame after cutting the pass to sharply or not sharply enough. The few survivors carried on their pursuit at an alarming rate. The battered state of the Starchaser meant that the much of the ship's systems weren't advanced by themselves. This included weapons. But thanks to a series of navigations, Maneck was more than capable at fighting off the remaining fighters. Pulling up a console on his desk he proceeded to scroll through the weapons. Selecting a cannon facing to the rear of the ship (as most of his blasters lacked an ability to rotate on their axis) he prepared to fire, before being off-put by an incessant beeping.

Ahead was another dead end and a sharp corner pointing downwards. Maneck had to act, and had to act fast. The sudden jolt of sweet fearlessness hit him and he swooped downwards, wildly firing behind him. By sheer luck, it seemed that most of the TIEs were vanquished. Until one veered into his view.

"Miserable Womp Rats" Maneck muttered as he glared. He was disappointed that his adversaries were not entirely vanquished. Disappointed but also fairly pleased that his near-sadistic pleasure that he took in eradicating these Imperial pests was not quite through. Feeling an almost out-of-body experience overtake him from his leather chair, he roared off like a bullet towards an exit. Pulling towards the small gap of open space before him, he lurched at an open air into the cold dark abyss. All that followed was a white-hot blast as his final pursuer smashed into one of the Star Destroyer's walls. Maneck let out a sigh of relief. He knew that most pilots were had less-unusual maneuvers removed from their minds in the use of protocol and standard procedures.

Tabus let that leave his mind as he set a course for Rasapan. No longer a slave to his Imperial past.