Chapter 3

About halfway there we stopped at a smuggler's hideaway on an asteroid somewhere. Xeemo was asleep, so I left the ship alone to see about getting fuel, directions, and more provisions. I was greeted in the docking bay by a rather rotund humanoid from Corellia named Kyp Darwento. He spoke loudly, but nothing hostile or condescending ever came from his baritone voice or from beneath his overgrown beard. Kyp led me to a waiting area while the Y (who I had taken to calling "Lil") was being refueled and stocked. I found a Vidphone along the wall and used it to contact Yarg's place. P'larksak and Shib answered the call together (I didn't even know they were going out!). "Heeeeey, long time no see, Lef!"

"I just left half a day ago, you guys, come on!"

"Yeah, well it's weird not having you and Xeemo around. Where is the maiden, anyway? That is, if you two haven't done anything yet…" the Trandoshan teased.

"We both agreed on marriage first, remember?"
"You know I'm just kidding! But seriously, why isn't she with you? Where are you, anyway?"

"Oh, she's sleepin' in the ship while it's being refueled and stuff. I docked at this place Yarg gave me some coordinates to. We're headed to the Dantooine system, or whatever it's called. Where's Yarg?"

"Busy with a customer," replied the tiny Bith. "And we (he looks pointedly at P'larksak) should be working too."

"Guess you're right, babe. Sorry Lef, but this is quits for us. See you on the wanted posters!"

The screen went blank and I stood there for a second thinking about everything I had left behind on Nar Shaddaa. Then I smiled and joined some other pilots (mostly smugglers) who were gathered around tables chatting. I sat down at the nearest vacant spot that I could find and watched in fascination as four of the other five beings were engrossed in a heated game of Sabacc.

"I'll see your thirty credits and raise you twenty," said a male alien with pink skin and long red hair.

"I call," declared a Corellian female who sat beside the first player. "Idiot's Array!" She smiled smugly, assured that no one would have the only hand to beat hers, a pure sabacc.

"You're cheating!" accused an obviously outraged human male, about twenty years the female's senior. "No one can get three Idiots in a row! That kind of luck, (as my dear old mother used to say, may she rest among the stars), can only be made! Let me see those cards!"

Before any of the others at the table knew what was happening, the man lunged across the table at the young woman, grasping wildly at the cards she had spread out on the table before her. She screamed in surprise, and quickly drew her blaster simultaneously. The middle-aged smuggler caught the stun blast straight in the chest, and was blown back onto the ground at his side of the table.

"What's all this? What's all this?" questioned a droid that had an imposing presence and seemed to be some form of security for the outpost. "I'll have no tomfoolery with blasters or physical assault in my jurisdiction, thank you very much! The Captain has ordered you both to the brig, while he and myself will make sure you, Miss Rupazel were not in fact cheating at sabacc. Here are your shackles," it said while putting binders on the woman. "And wait a moment while I pick up Mr. Gorgog… there we are! Now follow me to the brig!"

The security droid walked down a hallway that branched off from the room, while a reluctant Miss Rupazel followed slowly behind. I stood, and without knowing exactly why, felt compelled to follow after her.

I heard her muttering something about being innocent for cheating and how the blaster was only used in self-defense. I agreed with her mentally, and she suddenly looked over her shoulder at me.

"Who in the blazes are you?" she asked, eyeing me up and down. "Never seen you here before. How old are you, kid?"

"Um… I'm Lef… I'm uh… eighteen…" I stammered. "I…"

"Well, I can see that you're a wonderful conversationalist, but right now I've really gotta be going to the brig. See ya!"

She sped up in her haste to leave me, and I sadly kicked myself mentally for behaving so stupidly. With nothing else to do, I returned to the ship to oversee the refueling.

Upon my arrival I was astonished to discover an unhappy Kyp waiting for me in the bay, Xeemo's unconscious form draped over his beefy arms.

"So you're the ones the troops are chasing!" he declared as two stormtroopers marched out from behind my Y-wing. "You better come quietly, or your alien filth of a girlfriend buys it!"

I had no choice. The stormtroopers dragged Xeemo and escorted me down to the brig where they would "hold us resistors until their transport arrived. As fate would have it, our cell was directly across from the one the security droid had deposited the supposed cheater in. She looked at the two of us in sympathy and asked, "What're ya in for?"

"I don't know, miss," I answered. "Some troopers just showed up and Kyp threw us in here. Do you know what's goin' on?"

"You can cut that 'miss' garbage, Lef," she replied with attitude. "The name's Nez, and I'll liken ya to remember it. At this point, hon, I don't know even as much as you, probably less, and if the Empire's got you two in its sights, well… all I can say is good luck and pray for your unfortunate souls… normally, but it just so happens that I know the code to open these here doors, and I could relay them to you via this here note in my pocket, then maybe you'd have a chance at getting out of here on that fancy ship of yours… but it's gonna cost ya."

"Fine," I groaned. "How much?"

"500 credits and passage with you on your ship, mine's too easy to trace, you see."

I thought it over. 500 wouldn't completely wipe me out, but it was more than I wanted to spend on this stranger. Also there would barely be any room in the cockpit for respiration if we took on a third passenger. But on the other hand, if the Empire suspected the two of us rebelling, we would be tortured without mercy and most likely killed or imprisoned for life.

"You got a deal, Nez," I said with as much confidence as my voice could muster. "Now you slide me the note, and once our doors are both open, we make a run for it."

"Way ahead of you, pal," she slid me the note and waited patiently before my door, hers having been open for about a minute now.

"Let's move it, flyboy," she ordered as the door to my cell finally responded to Nez' code.

I carried the still comatose Xeemo in my arms while Nez ran ahead, charging into the hangar waving a blaster she had expertly swiped from a sabacc player in the lounge area.

"Death to the Empire!" she shouted as red bolts of energy shot out of the blaster, leaving random scorch marks on the walls, ceiling, and ships. The two stormtroopers were still guarding the Y when Nez burst in, but once they heard her blatant arrival, they were all business, returning fire and ducking behind one of my ship's sub light engines. With the accuracy of a trained sniper, Nez took out both soldiers before either had time to radio the situation to their base Star Destroyer. Nez smiled and holstered the blaster in her once-empty side pocket and raced to the cockpit, myself trailing behind slowly, struggling under Xeemo's weight.

I deactivated the lock with my remote key that was attached to my sleeve, and Nez just hopped right in. I followed and dumped Xeemo's sleeping form on Nez' lap, much to her protests. Edgy, worried, and deathly afraid I started the engine and we set out into the stars.

"We're not off Endor yet," Nez so perceptively pointed out. "You see that there Star Destroyer? If we want to make it out alive, you'll have to outrun it for a while until your fancy computer comes up with coordinates for a jump. Think you can handle that?"

"Watch me," I whispered as I gunned Lil's engines for all they were worth (about 6,000 on the black market).

To make a long and exciting story short, we succeeded in jumping to hyperspace blindly while keeping the megalith off our tails. Once we were safely cruising, Nez and I let out our collectively held breath and relaxed.

"So," Nez energetically slapped my shoulder. "Some fancy moves you pulled there, Ace. Where'd you learn to fly like that?"

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" I playfully nudged her back. "Those stormtroopers never knew what hit 'em!"

"Yeah, well, you pick up a few things when you have to cart stuff all around our troubled little galaxy. I'm a smuggler by trade, and runnin' into Imperial soldiers is just as natural as sand on Tatooine. Nothin' like a good blaster at your side, I tell ya. But enough about me, you dodged my question. Where you get chops like those?"

"Born and raised on Nar Shaddaa. Worked and flown smaller ships all my life. Not much to tell, really. Xeemo here and me used to work in the same garage until I got enough money and could afford this fighter. We took off in search of the Rebel base on Tatooine, but, well, you see where we are now," I shrugged. "Pitiful, huh?"

"Aw, I wouldn't say that," Nez knuckled my cheek. "Got this far, didn't ya? And since I'm here, I figure you've got much better chances. But as far as the Rebellion goes… can't say I agree with you there. You do know how futile it all is, don't ya? I mean, the Empire? Kind of a big piece of Traladon steak to swallow, if you know what I mean."

I just shrugged and checked the instruments, as Nez babbled on about the empty-headedness of the Rebel Alliance, inserting a polite 'no offense' at the end of every other sentence. A few hours and a quick nap later, I pulled Lil out of hyperspace and into Tatooine's orbit, scanning visually and electronically for Imperial craft.

We were given landing clearance at a port in Mos Eisley, and I shook Xeemo awake when the Y settled.

"Where are we?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her insectoid irises. "Why am I behind the seats?"

"Well… you should probably explain this, Lef." Nez looked at me.

"Wait a minute! Who's this hussy?" Xeemo demanded hotly.

"Hey, hey," I tried to calm the two irritated females. "No need to shout. Xeem, this here is Nez. She was kind enough to break us out of the box, and shoot up some stormtroopers for us, so I don't think it would be wise to yell at her. Nez, this here's my girlfriend Xeemo. She fixes droids and ships. Um, you two get to know each other while I go and settle the hangar's manager person. Um… yeah."

I left the ship, not too quickly to arouse suspicion, and Nez and Xeemo held their own conversation.

"So," said Nez.

"So," said Xeemo.

"You're his squee, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Huh… Y'know, you two actually make kinda a cute couple."

"Thanks."

"No I mean it. You go well together. Sure you're from different planets, but yeah, you're cute."

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"Anyway, thanks for busting us out, Ms. …Rupazel, was it?" Xeemo extended her hand.

"Call me Nez, girlie," Nez grasped Xeem's green hand in friendship. "Yes sir, I do believe we'll get along right well."