This is a story, based on a character sketch for a Star Wars tabletop RPG. The scenario is"what if Luke and Leia did not happen to be the main characters?". The time frame is BBY -4. FANFICTION on a character sketch, gotta love it! Enjoy or do not Enjoy, but do not Try to enjoy.

Smuggler's Run

2.9 BBY

Upon landing on Skip 2 at a Longrun Shipping Dock the passengers debarked. Jahn strode firmly toward passenger docks when he stopped as if he had dropped an anchor. The three women behind him all crashed together getting Jahn to turn to them.

"This store interests you too?" Jahn asked eyebrows raised at Shay Lin, Kae'Shan and L'Arel DeShaw.

"Well, we are free for the first time in what?" Kae began.

"Ten years, although I know I sold myself into the trade for the experience. Ten years interest, compounded daily…. Yay, gotta love Christophis!" Shay finished.

"Well I have one purchase and am following a hunch." With that Jahn pointed to a Kyuzo war helm and bargained with the owner for it. Wearing the helm and stuffing a black cloak in his pack that he acquired for a small amount more. Thanks to Shay flirting with the owner he still had credits left over from his inheritance.

"Are you three going to follow me?"

"Do you know where you are going?" L'Arel asked while fixing a blue bow in her white hair.

"Just following a …. Hunch." Jahn replied as he continued walking turning this way and that until he reached the freighter they had signaled for help when the Zygerrians struck.

"I know this boat" L'Arel exclaimed "This is where you want to go?" Jahn nodded and the other two girls started to defend themselves from handsy spacers while they waited at the freighter. The wiry old Maskri woman went to the Kyuzo guard and stood by him.

"Ship's master here?" getting no response "Tell her old buddy Lay is here and would like to speak with her."

An armed man and an short bald odd female made their way out of the crowd seeing the bunch in front of her then… "L'Arel! You frigid girl! What brings you to my door?" L'Arel pointed to Jahn.

"He did, we just came along for the ride." Jahn removed his helm and bowed.

"At your service Captain." Shay and Kae looked at him like he was a fool and gonna get them killed.

"Manners, out here? Last time I saw such manners some young buck called Petre displayed them."

"I wish it were him, he gets to rest now." Jahn answered.

"I saw, I miss not much. Let me have a look at you." And she adjusted her glasses and grabbed his face. "Malcomb, you need a helper, start training this boy." She swatted him on the fanny, a gesture moving him along but he stayed put.

"Boss, before we begin, do you have a job for those two pilots?"

"Pilots eh? They with you?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am, we promise to do well."

"Did not answer my question, are you following this boy?"

"We owe him our freedom and life."

"Was that so hard?" The woman continued "That will work for now. Grab yer gear and get us ready to get underway. Zuvio, you and Mal take the boy and get our load." She looked at the pilots "Girls take his sack aboard for him and put it by the tech bench." Then she looked at Jahn "No blaster?"

"I sold it for berth, I should have gotten a refund." Jahn answered to her laughter.

"Well boys, go get what we are supposed to pick up."

"Boss, you have an inventory?" Jahn asked looking the woman in the nose.

"A bill of laden? Kidding?" then she got thoughtful looked at L'Arel and back to Jahn before handing him the list. "We are getting this and this only. Any unpaid for changes will void the contract. But see if you can upsell the additions Malcomb, should they change items." The men nodded and walked their way to the loading dock.

"Kanata's crap, over there. No opening the crates." Zuvio and Malcomb were about to grab the stuff when Jahn stopped them.

"Keep that box, unless you wish to repack it. Its not on Boss's list." Jahn answered "and its got a tracking beacon active."

"Who do you think you are kid?"

"The guy that removes your ability to reproduce if you do not repack the box if you do not mind." He pointed to a dockworker "That turkey put the beacon in, that or incontinence is a trait on your hirelings." Others now noted the puddle underneath him.

The dock became alive with activity as the man was cornered and taken away. Then the man looked at Jahn who merely took out a knife and cleaned his fingernails still not looking at him.

"Don't forget to inventory the gear Zuvio when they repack it." He spoke to the Kyuzo and put his own war helm at an angle.

"This a new hire Mal?" the dockmaster asked.

"First day too." Malcomb added.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind next time." And Jahn tilted his head up.

"What you will keep in mind is I am a great friend or one hell of a pain in the ass if you screw with me." Then he looked the man in the face "Crossing me, is not recommended by the last crew who did, word will get around about that soon."

Without further drama the three left with a full repulsorlift and the two crewmen had their blasters out keeping people from the cargo. Malcomb was a bit grumpy for some reason and terse with anyone getting close to the load. But nothing happened even through loading the cargo, although Malcomb's mood did not get any better. Jahn when finished looked for the Boss.

"Boss, I need to borrow Shay and make a few purchases before we depart."

"To buy what?" Maz Kanata asked.

"I am thinking three blasters and a couple of brushes, paint, pencils, charcoal, two canvases and a very large mirror." Jahn checked off.

"This is an activity for your free time, so only enroute right?" she asked.

"But of course Boss."

"You have thirty two minutes, SHAY! Go with him." Before she walked to her chart station and motioned Zuvio over.

"Shay, that money you mentioned, may I borrow some at say 25% interest?" Jahn asked.

"Daily or monthly?" Shay answered.

"Straight principle, don't get usurious." Jahn popped back with a smile that caused a grin.

"Yes." She answered.

Jahn and Shay left the ship on a mission, they stopped at a gun dealer and negotiated for three E-11 blasters she paid for. He gave her one before they followed the twists and turns on his vision to the little shop he had in mind.

Jahn swiftly spoke to the owner and between Jahn haggling and Shay flirting he purchased a box of decorating supplies and one large mirror in a box. Looking around Jahn added nine more small items that caught his vision. They rushed back laden with purchases Jahn lashed together almost like a net in some strange way.

Along the way two somethings soundlessly dropped and rolled away from him. A commotion behind them occurred as two toughs fell down to laughter. Shay was looking back with a smile and they made it as the ship was powered up to leave.

Two days later into the trip, Maz went back to watch Jahn surreptitiously while he was working in the hyperdrive engine bay. His work on board was exemplary to her, even though Malcomb seemed to have nothing but complaints. Kid is too unschooled, Kid did not know what a meter was, or tools, or theory. He had to be led to the simplest solution. She watched them in full enviro gear to see the problem and the interactions. Her life and business depended on it.

"Kid I don't care how you FEEL, the proof is in the measurements and performance." Malcomb barked over a series of short fire extinguisher bursts.

"Sir, if this part here gets overheated what does it do?" Jahn asked calmly two bursts from a fire extinguisher sounded.

"I am never defenseless, because the Force is my shield." Maz felt the invocation as it surged toward Jahn.

"Explode, told you that! But the readings.." more extinguisher bursts.

"Are faulty, we need for me to calibrate the sensors while the drive is running. Otherwise this part.."

"The field injector array…" Malcomb replied with condescension.

"Will fail catastrophically killing us all." Jahn finished. "What do the external meters I just rigged up read?"

"Let me see if you attached them right…." Malcomb wearing his full enviro suit ducked his head in then jerked out of the area "STANG! ENGNEER TO PILOTS THROTTLE BACK ONE THIRD NOW!" clicking the com link off "Kid you get out of there the radiation.."

"just feed me information! I am fine!" she heard some tools working away "Now what do they read?"

"In tolerance and nominal."

"Then power up again and I shall…. tweak …. adjust the injectors and containment."

"You come out of there looking like a fried Weequay and the boss is going to have my ass!" "Engineer to con, resume normal running." He watched the meters "Jahn, what did you just touch?"

"If I knew I would tell you, otherwise just trust it was something the Force told me needed calibration. Because our meters were out of calibration, this spot was not. You have a wide range of adjustments down here and a big operational range." A pause while more was happening below "Let me fix the calibrations so Shay and Kae do not think we are going to blow." More work below happened.

"Instruments at my station read normal, and match our remotes now."

"Environment?" Jahn called between things clanking around getting re assembled below.

"Safe and secure" with that Malcomb removed the helm as tools rapidly started populating the area outside of her engine bay. The boy's Kyuzo helm made an appearance before he floated out of the engine bay and started securing the hatch access. As he touched down the Force started stilling around her allowing Maz to take a breath.

The boy removed his helmet and set it on the deck walking over to her engineer. He whispered something that stiffened his back before Malcomb turned around.

"Boss! How are you today?" he asked nervously.

"How is my boat today Malcomb?"

"We had an issue, its fixed. Other than that everything is shiny."

"Shiny? Were we in danger?" Malcomb did not answer verbally just had his face drop.

"Boss, its all right, just had overdrive boost out of calibration, its fixed." Jahn said as he started stripping off the enviro suit. "We will be in early and safe to the drop and then to port."

"Jahn, see me near your art project when you are done here." She said turning toward the berthing area at Jahn's nod.

She thought about the uneasiness she had felt since entering hyperspace. The ringing in the ears, it seemed Jahn sensed it more acutely than her and it was her boat. She was used to feeling when the boat was good bad or needed something. She tried to pinpoint it when Jahn reached the berths.

"Its love." He answered as he walked over to his bunk carrying the suit to store it in his pack.

"Excuse me?" she asked worried he had penetrated her mind.

"Love keeps a ship flying, tells you when its hurting, keeps you safe even when you have no business being so." he mentioned as if off hand and busy with his duffle.

"Sha though you may be even Jedi have problems with the sense of the mechanical."

"Your love of your ship infuses it. While not living, it makes it work. You care, your care echoes in the ship, it echoes in the Force. You will that into existence, I just listened."

Maz sat down and looked deep into him, she still could not tell what his eyes told her. It was new and different. "So what stirred you to action?"

"The same things you noticed, at the same time. I just did not have a business to plan." At this an easel with the Huge covered mirror was released from its hold downs on the ceiling and floated into place before him. For some reason he was painting and sketching on the mirror and would not show anyone any of his work. He always covered and secured his work daily, demanding that no one look at it. "For that will change it." He repeated often.

"What are you working on there?" she asked.

"A solution, to three problems at least that is what I see, we will know more in two weeks and its unveiling." Jahn summoned his art supplies to him to begin again.

Notes, I do not own Lucas or Disney property and have just injected the bare minimum so far. It is lazy yes, but the characters fit. I do not own them and receive no compensation for them, nor will accept any unless I become a screenwriter for them LOL. I did paraphrase the line at the end of "Serenity" but I believe Joss Whedon got that from a poem. Google search produced too many references.

I also took and basically modified some Tagalog terms to fit an isolated founders language. Gender terms are not differentiated too much. Asawa = spouse, ko= my, Kuya= brother, Ate =sister but drawing it out in a kooyaah or ahhtay is a greeting, like hey bro! in mixed company kuya seems to work and sometimes I screwed with spelling etc. Just adding a bit of texture. Mgabata = mga bata= children.

I have asked permission to use the "landscape" and some Characters from Mechalich, I have received approval. Mechalich owns them, not I. I hope I can make these additions at least as good as a Thieves world Borrow. I used few Canon personalities so far, basically just two Maz Kanata and Zuvio. Check out the Tales from the Kalat Arm and The People's Armor here by Mechalich, they are quite awesome.

And lastly, since I did think Jedi were a bit stuck up, I believe the term is hidebound, rigid, unable to understand their own prophesy (This is what I am driving the story at, those that bring balance to the Force). I chose this Kalat Arm and Zeison Sha backstory for the character. It appealed to me, added conflict. I hope to make it a long long way bringing balance and up to date all the way to Rey-Finn and Kylo Ren. (except in my vision, those will be from different origins, hey, if Disney can scrap canon…which oddly is the metaphor of Jakku.)