Chapter Ten:
6 years later…
The "Tanative IV" cruised over Tatooine, firing laser bolts at an Imperial-class Star Destroyer. An explosion rocked the corvette as it got drawn in the belly hangar by a tractor beam. Suddenly, an escape pod blasted out from under the corvette, spiraling towards the sandy surface of Tatooine.
-o0o-
18 year old Riekan sparred with his Master in the heat of the day, the blue blade clashing with the violet one. Siri is now 55 years old, but she still looked young to most people, despite gray hairs appearing and wrinkles showing on her cheeks. Obi-wan sat on the ground, watching his wife and son fight. He too looked young to most people, retaining most of his auburn hair. But he also started to get gray hairs and a wrinkled face. Suddenly, Obi-wan heard a sonic boom and saw what looked like a meteor fall to the desert.
"I'll be right back!" Obi-wan shouted to his wife. But she focused on dueling her Padawan/son, so she paid no mind. Obi-wan jumped in the speeder and raced to the crash site. When he reached it, he found an escape pod resting in a dune and climbing out of it were two very familiar droids.
"Artoo? Threepio? What are you two doing here?" Obi-wan asked.
"Oh my! Master Kenobi? Is that you? It's good to see you again!" Threepio exclaimed.
"What are you two doing here?" Obi-wan questioned.
"We're terribly sorry, Master Kenobi, but our ship was attacked by the Empire. Princess Leia told us we needed to escape because of an important plan." Threepio explained.
"Important plan?" Obi-wan questioned again.
"Artoo has it in his circuits. He will show it to you once we're safe." Threepio said.
"All right, get in." Obi-wan said. Threepio climbed in and Obi-wan hoisted Artoo into the speeder. Then Obi-wan jumped into the driver's seat and accelerated home as fast as he can.
-o0o-
The stormtrooper detachment landed near the crash site, searching for signs of passangers.
"There was someone in the pod." A stormtrooper said. Another one found a part of C3PO's leg covering.
"Look sir! Droids!" He exclaimed.
-o0o-
Obi-wan arrived to the hut and jumped out, helping Artoo get out as well. When he entered the hut, everyone was around the table, eating lunch.
"Everyone finish quickly! We must leave now!" Obi-wan said.
"Why?" Siri asked.
"We're going on a mission. And the Empire is on their way here." Obi-wan said. Everyone wolfed down their meals and cleared the table.
"Artoo, explain the plan." Obi-wan said. Artoo gave some beeps and started to run a holorecording. A young woman appeared.
"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father during the Clone Wars. We have stolen the plans for the Empire's new weapon named the Death Star. We have sent a ship to Alderaan to hand the plans to the Rebel Alliance, but our ship has fallen under attack and our mission there had failed. I need you to take this droid to Alderaan yourself. Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." The recording ended there.
"Who is she?" Riekan asked. "She's beautiful."
"Master Riekan, this is Princess Leia Organa, the adopted daughter of Bail Organa, an important Rebel leader." Threepio said.
"Now she wants us to get to Alderaan. Okay then, we have our first off-world mission." Sami said.
"This is going to be fun." Ahsoka said.
"Hey! Don't jinx us!" Siri scolded. Ahsoka raised her hands as if she said 'Okay, okay.'
"Enough! Everyone in the speeder!" Obi-wan commanded. The Jedi and the droids climbed in the speeder (Artoo having help again) and raced off to Mos Eisley.
-o0o-
The stormtroopers reached to the now-empty residence of Obi-wan Kenobi and his family.
"Someone had lived here." The leader commented.
"Sir! These plated in the sink are still wet!" Another trooper replied.
"Hmm…They must have left minutes before. Quickly! The nearest settlement is Mos Eisley! We can catch them there! You four, get into speeder bikes and stop anyone heading to the city!" The leader ordered. 4 troopers saluted their leader and jumped into several speeder bikes, heading to Mos Eisley.
-o0o-
The Jedi caught sight of Mos Eisley, their point of departure. Suddenly, Obi-wan heard speeder bikes behind them and stopped their speeder just as Luke jumped out, activating his lightsaber in the process. The surprised stormtroopers fired on the Padawan, but Luke deflected the shots back at them. One of the shots hit a stormtrooper, causing him to fall off dead and his bike to crash into the sand. Luke then swung his lightsaber to the left, just as a bike passed him. The lightsaber sliced the forward array off, causing that bike to go into a spin and crash. Two speeder bikes turned around and headed for Luke on a second pass, but the young Jedi nudged a bike into the other using the Force, causing the bikes to collide and explode into a fireball.
"Nice job, Little Skyguy. Next tme, leave some for us." Ahsoka quipped as Luke deactivated his lightsaber and hopped inside the speeder once again.
"Just saving the day, just like my father used to do." Luke grinned.
"Now let's get out of here before more show up." Sami said, scanning the horizon for more enemies. Obi-wan pushed the gas pedal once again, speeding towards the bar Siri worked at. Once they reached there, Lex the bartender stepped out, greeting the group.
"Hey Sam! How do you do? Are you looking for overtime pay?" He asked brightly.
"Hi Lex, I have bad news." Siri said. "I'm going to have to quit. My family and friends are running from the Empire and we need to get out of here."
"Oh. There is a great pilot at the corner over there who can take you to wherever you need to go." Lex pointed at a smug man and his Wookie friend. "By the way, here's your good-bye check." Lex handed Siri a paycheck.
"Thanks Lex. You're the best." Siri said, smiling to him. Lex went back behind the counter, cleaning off some used mugs. The six Jedi walked to the table where Lex pointed to and sat down around them.
"We need a ship to Alderaan. Can you help us?" Obi-wan asked the pilot.
"Depends on how much you pay me. By the way, the name's Han Solo. My friend here is Chewbacca, or Chewie." The pilot said. The Wookie gave a grunt in greetings.
"We will pay 2,000 now and 15,000 once we reach Alderaam." Obi-wan said. Solo widened his eyes. He turned to Chewie.
"17,000! These people must really be desperate! This can really save our necks!" Han whispered to Chewie.
#They might be part of the Rebellion. Let's help them.# Chewie said in his language. Han turned back to the Jedi.
"You got yourselves a ship! Meet me at docking bay 84." Han said.
"84." Obi-wan repeated. Then the Jedi left the bar.
-o0o-
The Jedi reached the docking bay Han told them. They got 5,000 credits off the speeder they sold. Han was standing underneath his ship, making some final adjustments.
"This here is the 'Millennium Falcon.' She made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs." Han boasted.
"What a piece of junk!" Luke exclaimed.
"Are you sure this rust-bucket can fly?" Riekan asked.
"Just get in. As long as we get to Alderaan, this 'piece of junk' might earn your respect." Han said, frowning a bit. Suddenly, a battalion of stormtroopers burst into the docking bay.
"Stop them!" The leader shouted. Obi-wan, Luke, and Sami were the ones left outside, so they ignited their lightsabers and deflected the lasers back to the troopers as they backed into the landing ramp. Han watched in astonishment. His passengers were Jedi!
"Han, get this thing moving!" Sami yelled. Han broke from his amazement and started the ship for takeoff. Then, he closed the landing ramp as the last person went inside.
"That was too close." Siri said. The others had to agree. Once the ship was in space, they were immediately attacked by a pair of Star Destroyers.
"I thought this ship was fast!" Luke said, annoyed.
"Watch your mouth kid, or you'll be finding yourself floating home!" Han shouted.
"Try me!"
Then, before Luke could do anything, the "Falcon" jumped into hyperspace.
TBC…