Note: Just a short story that takes place post-NJO and features a bunch of canon EU characters plus an original one (who originally made his first appearance in a much longer/different story than this one) as they make an escape on what's supposed to be a vacation. Written: 01/30/2004.
E chu ta!
The sound of their breathing was the only thing that was letting its presence be known as the two- no... three ran down the long durasteel corridor.
"Come on, sweetheart." The man turned and ran backwards, in front of his wife who despite her condition, was doing a damn fine job of keeping up. The two were dashing down the hallway, one in front of the other. The man held a blaster high in his left hand and he hovered his right hand over his belt, where his lightsaber hung, clipped on his leather belt. His eyes were wide and alert, ready for anything that might show itself.
The abandoned wreckage of one of the old rebel bases was now home to a group of vicious smugglers and they were on the 'mission' to stop them. Basically a peacekeeping mission that was never planned; they were on vacation to escape the troublesome toils of everyday work, politics and boredom. They wanted to go away and relax.
And they did.
...until they found out about the smuggler's base near their vacation site. His wife was told there might be some danger so she probably should stay back at the Inn, but she knew how mischievous her husband was, and how easily the big lug got into trouble. He was just like his father.
"Stop!" He hissed, as he halted at a corner.
She came to a stop behind him as he peeked his head around the corner, and she followed suit by leaning over his back and peering around the durasteel.
The hangar.
A few of the ships the group had brought to the planet on their vacation had been stolen and held in that hangar.
Now it's time to fix that.
The man smiled as his comlink went off and switching his blaster for it, he grabbed it up off of his belt. He heard a smooth voice with a twinge of a Hapan accent.
"Hey foolish mortal."
"Where are you?"
"A corridor somewhere, looking out to the hangar. I can sense you across the way... in front of the Rock Dragon." The voice paused. "How's Tenna?"
The man held the comlink up to his wife's face, her expression contorting into one of surprise at the sudden need to respond.
"I am fine. A bit tired."
"You?! Tired? Corellian Hells... we have to get back to our vacation. You need rest."
The man smiled and pulled the comlink back to his own face, "You talk to Lowie and Zekk?"
"All done, I spoke to Jaina and Kyp too. They're setting some pretty nasty traps for the ringleader. And Jag, Tahiri and Tesar are in the next hallway over from me and Alema."
"So we're ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be, Solo."
"Then let's get the kriff out of here." Snapping his comlink off, he shot a glance back to his wife before letting a lopsided grin cross his face. "Ready, love?"
"Ready, Master Solo."
Leaning back again the durasteel, he crossed his arms over his chest and placed the bottom of one foot against the wall behind him. "'Master' Solo, I like the sound of that." He began waggling his eyebrows.
She took her right hand and planted it firmly into his arm, giving him a playful shove. "I meant it in the Jedi sense, since you are a Master now."
"I'm sure you did, Your Majesty." He nodded, the sarcasm dancing in his mahogany eyes.
With a sterling eye roll, the former Queen Mother of Hapes smirked and yanked the T-21 repeating blaster off of her husband's belt. Her husband had matured since the very first time they had met. Both now in their late twenties, they were married and ready to settle down. Tenel Ka knew full well though, that would never happen.
She was married to a Solo.
"I told you that you should've brought your lightsaber with you." Jacen Solo bit his lip and trailed his eyes down to his wife, who was a few inches shorter than him.
"And I am telling you that I shall be perfectly fine with this." Holding up the dull metallic blaster, a sly smile tugged at the corners of her lips. The weapon contrasted with her new set of scaled armor that she was now clad in.
"Then let's go." The grin never left Jacen's face as he leaned forward and planted a small kiss on her lips. He then brought his hand up to his mouth and kissed his fingertips, lightly placing them on her belly, which was starting to grow.
"Be careful," he whispered, over the hum of the generators.
"I always am."
Jacen closed his eyes and gathered everyone into a Force meld, before giving them the signal to go.
And the smugglers were taken by surprise.
Hapan Admiral Gadell Vessau and the twi'lek Jedi Knight Alema Rar emerged from an opening directly across the hangar from them, lightsabers blazing, blaster bolts ricocheting. Both had expressions of steely seriousness across their faces as they fought through guard after guard towards Gadell's Hapan Cruiser, the Glass Dance.
Chiss Pilot Jagged Fel, along with the spunky Jedi Tahiri Veila and the barabel Jedi, Tesar Sebatyne landed on the ground casually, after jumping off of the stack of metal shipping crates they were perched atop. Jag didn't have the Force, so he wasn't included in the battle meld. But he knew everyone he was with so well that he could guess their actions almost exactly. They followed Gadell and Alema to the Hapan Admiral's cruiser, since Jag's ship wasn't one of the ones that the smugglers swiped.
Sending a thumbs up to Jaina Solo, Jag stood between Tahiri and Tesar who were busy blocking blaster fighter that was being shot at the pilot, while he effortlessly picked off the guards one by one. Their side of the hangar was clear. Alema was starting up the Glass Dance while Tesar entered the ship and followed the narrow hallway up to the cockpit to join her. Jag shot off some blaster fire towards the other side of the hangar in an attempt to lure some of the guards off of the rest of the group's back. He was hunched down on the landing ramp, with Gadell standing behind him.
Tahiri was out in front, still blocking blaster fire with her bright blue lightsaber.
Yelling over the din of the battle, Gadell lightly kicked Jag's shoulder, "Get on the ship! We're getting out of here!"
Nodding, Jag holstered his blaster and dodged a bolt on the way into the safe haven of the interior.
"Tahiri!"
Tahiri just kept on waving her lightsaber, as if she was in a trance, blocking bolt after bolt.
"Tahiri!"
"Hmm?" Turning her head, her guard went down for one second, giving a stray bolt enough time to graze her arm. Falling backwards, she tumbled to the ground, her blonde hair waving wildly as she crashed.
"Kriff!" Gadell bolted down the ramp to her, noting that all the blaster fire was concentrated on the other half of the group now. "Tahiri?" He stood over her, peering down to her serene face.
Green eyes shot open and a giggle erupted from her system as she stared up to the Admiral. "I was almost a goner there, wasn't I?"
Joining in her laughter, Gadell helped her off of the ground and they both fled up the ramp into the ship, cackling and playfully shoving each other all the way.
In the cockpit, Alema stared down at the remaining members who were warding off guards, trying to make it to their respective ships. Kyp, Jaina, Zekk and Lowie were all blasting their way to the Millennium Falcon, while Jacen and Tenel Ka were opening the hatch to the Rock Dragon.
"Should we help 'em?" The twi'lek inquired.
"They'll be fine." Jag let one of his rare grins cross his face as he patted Tesar's shoulder, "We should start the ship up."
The barabel nodded as he flipped a few switches here and there, "Done."
Back in the dilapidated hangar, Zekk and Tenel Ka managed to get the hatches of their ships open at roughly the same time.
Grabbing the blaster out of her teeth with her right hand, Tenel Ka spun around and managed to clip off a few more guards before Jacen grabbed the laces on the back of her armor and pulled her into the ship.
Lowie was the first into the cockpit of the Falcon and he started the ship up. Han Solo had let them borrow it for their vacation.
"No scratches!" He had said.
"How would you know if we scratched it anyways, Dad? It's dinged up enough as it is!" His only daughter had replied.
"No scratches? What was Dad thinking?!" Jaina climbed into the cockpit beside Lowie, as Kyp and Zekk cleaned up more of the smugglers that were being called into the hangar by the general alarm. "This is Jaina Solo we're talking about!"
Kyp called up to the cockpit from the back, "Everyone's ready! Go! Go!"
Lowie growled a chuckle and Jaina joined his glee as they pulled the ship off of the ground and turned it towards the large opening, towards the sunlight and the vast expanse of green fields.
All three ships lifted off of the ground at the same time, and as their altitudes slowly grew, Zekk grabbed onto the sides of the open hatch and leaned out, yelling a curse to the smugglers, a curse that reached every world, one that everyone knew.
"E chu ta!" And cackling he shut the hatch.
The Falcon filled with chuckles, as did the Glass Dance and the Rock Dragon.
Skating over the fields back towards the quaint capital city, behind their two sister ships, the Rock Dragon was the calmest of the bunch.
Jacen Solo relaxed in the pilot's chair as he casually stared at his wife, who watched the fields ahead.
"Stealing ships back, cursing, blasting our way through legions of bad guys..." Jacen leaned forward and placed his left hand over his wife's abdomen. Tenel Ka looked down to her husband, a questionable expression showing, until she realized he was speaking to their child.
"...you're gonna have lots of fun in the Solo clan."
A smile appeared on Tenel Ka's face as she ran her right hand through Jacen's shaggy mop of brown hair. She knew that the 'Solo clan' meant everyone. Not just their immediate family.
Looking back to the ships ahead of them, she felt a sense of togetherness and pride.
What am I saying? This is a family.
