A/N: Again, sorry, everyone, for the lack of update. I was totally, completely, and in all other ways uninspired. And then I watched the trailer for Star Wars 1313. And got an idea. But wait? What is Star Wars 1313? Go ahead. Go watch the trailer. I'll wait.
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Awesome, right? I know. Anyway, this chapter (part of it anyway) was inspired by the trailer. Or the making of. Or whatever.
And also, this chapter sets the breaking point from the trilogy we all know and love. Things are going to be very different from here on out. AND there will be more action in the upcoming chapters. Not a lot of action in this one, just a lot of setting the stage. Anyway, please enjoy. :D
Disclaimer: If I own Star Wars, I wouldn't be writing about it on . I would be doing other, awesomer stuff with it...
The closest planet to her location was Coruscant, and that was the last planet Ahsoka wanted to land on, but she didn't have much of a choice. Heading away from the Capitol, Ahsoka landed the TIE on an abandoned dock, hoping beyond hope that no one had spotted the lone TIE. But with a city made of up thousands of buildings and millions of inhabitants, she wasn't surprised when she heard the sirens of the Coruscanti police.
Ahsoka gripped her lightsaber and left the TIE, staying close to the ground, trying to remain invisible until the very last moment. Her plan was to wait until the police speeders were closer, hijack one of them, and get the heck away. When the speeders stopped before they reached the landing pad, Ahsoka knew she needed a new plan, and fast.
"Blast it all," she muttered under her breath. Ahsoka peered down over the edge of the landing pad at the speeders going about their business underneath her, and instantly thought up a new plan. All she needed was a distraction. Ahsoka moved as far from the TIE as she dared, and then threw all of her might and concentration into pushing it off of the pad with the force. When the ship flew off the landing pad, the police speeders went after it, and Ahsoka jumped off the pad on the other side.
Ahsoka concentrated on the force to keep her stable, to keep her calm and to keep her from hitting a speeder and breaking her neck. Gracefully, Ahsoka landed in a speeder with an open cockpit.
"Hey! Stupid drunk driver! Get outta my speeder!" the driver yelled.
"Move over," Ahsoka said, forcing the driver to move, and she took over the controls, ignoring his cries of 'speeder hijacker', and 'when we land, you're gonna get a piece of me!'
Ahsoka brought the speeder just above the lower level and then turned to the pilot. "She's all yours." Before he had to reply, Ahsoka jumped out of the speeder and landed on the ground. Standing up, she straightened out her shirt and casually walked away from the crowd gaping at her.
Being stranded on the Imperial capital was not where she wanted to be. Seeing a Cantina up ahead, Ahsoka made a b-line towards it, careful to make sure that she wasn't being followed.
Ahsoka went up to the bar and ordered a drink. She kept her head lowered and didn't look anyone in the eye, not wanting them to have any reason to remember her.
That is, until a large Trandoshan sat next to her. Ahsoka bristled.
"You look tough," he whispered to her.
"And you look drunk," she replied.
"I'm looking for people to pull off a job," he hissed. "In Coruscant's underworld. You interessssted?"
Ahsoka frowned. "What kind of job?"
"If you're interesssted, come by my office and we'll talk." He shoved a datapad into her hands before shoving away from the bar and walking out of the cantina.
Ahsoka watched him go, and then looked down at the datapad. Well, it could be a trap. And it could be a way to earn some credits to get off of Coruscant. Either way, it was a risky deal.
And she was going to take it.
"Chewy look out!" Han yelled and jerked towards the wookiee, but it was too late. Han watched as he co-pilot and best friend went down, bowcaster dropped unceremoniously beside him.
"Chewy no!" Han yelled, and turned towards the shooter. "You lied to me, you kriffing son of a schutta!"
The shooter lifted his hands. "Now now, no need to get upset. This is just business. You told me you would get the shipment done on time, and now here you are. No shipment. No credits. And now? No wookiee." He leaned closer to the smuggler and smirked at him.
Han lunged at the man, but was held back by a guard.
"Enough!"
Both Han and the shooter turned towards the owner of the voice. An older woman with an elaborate dress seemed to have witnessed the entire thing.
"How dare you cut down that Wookiee, all because your 'friend' here didn't get you your credits?" The woman walked over to Han and said, "how much do you own this man?"
"A lot, but look, I can pay him-"
She cut him off. "I think this should be enough to pay your friend and for a decent burial for your Wookiee. Now please. Stay out of trouble."
Han stared at her dumbfounded. "Yes…thank you…"
The woman and her entourage walked away, and when they were out a earshot, Han let out a whoop. "Stang, I didn't think that would really work," he said, looking over the credits.
"I told you it would. Now. Don't forget you really do own me some."
A low rumble from their left caused Han to look over. "Yes, it's safe Chewy. You did beautifully." Han walked over to the other man and handed him his share of the credits. "Lando, remind me to never doubt you again."
Lando laughed. "That's what I keep telling you."
Chewy walked over to them, arms crossed. He turned to Han and growled.
"Okay, next time we decide to pull a con on some rich lady, I'll be the one that gets shot," he said.
"So. Jabba the Hutt is paid off, you got some traveling credits. What's your plan now?" Lando asked Han as they moved away from the scene of their con.
Han" shrugged, and Chewy hit him with a rather large paw. "Ow! Alright, Chew!" He lowered his voice. "Me n' Chewy were thinking about joining up with the rebels.
Lando stared at him, and then began to laugh. "Han ole' buddy, you're not serious are you?"
Han crossed his arms. "Maybe I am. Okay yes. Yes, I'm serious. What's wrong with that?"
Lando's laughing died off. "I just never saw you as a freedom fighter, that's all."
Han rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, things are different now." He was about to continue when there was a beeping coming from his comlink. "Hey. That's funny. It's Luke's signal, but I'm not getting anything from it."
"Who is 'Luke'?"
Han began fiddling with the comlink. "He's one of the rebels I met. Good kid." After a moment, Han swore. "I'm not getting anything from this. And I have a bad feeling about this. Chewy, go start up the Falcon."
Chewy growled an affirmative, and headed towards the docks.
Lando turned to Han. "What's going on?"
Han shrugged. "I have no idea. But I'm gonna find out." He paused, and then said, "come with us."
Lando laughed again. "Me? You've got to be joking."
"Fine, have it your way," Han said, and began walking away. Mentally, he was ticking down the seconds, and when he just finished with 'one', Lando was in step with him.
"Right on time, buddy," Han said, grinning.
"Don't let it get to your head. I'm just coming along to see that you don't get yourself killed in this."
Han laughed. "Whatever you say, Lando."
The trip to the rebel base was filled with playing dejarik, fixing the Falcon's various components and explaining again why they were going to the Rebel base.
"You think they moved on us?" Han asked Chewy after Lando went to the fresher.
Chewy shrugged.
"Yeah, me neither." He sighed. "Still. I can't help but feel like somethings up. That Luke's in trouble or something."
Lando reentered the room. "I think we're coming up to your rebel base. The Yavin system? I never woulda looked there."
"Why's that?" Han asked.
Lando sat down and leaned back into the bench. "Well, I heard something a few years ago about one of the moons being haunted by a sith ghost or something."
Han stared at his friend. "Just a bedtime story," he decided after a minute.
Lando shrugged. "Still, even if it's just a rumor, I wouldn't want to put my organization there."
"No, you would want it on some glorious place so that everyone could see it, like Coruscant, or Naboo...or Bespin."
Lando laughed. "Okay, you got me there."
As they neared the planet, Han's ship comlink began to beep. He walked over to it and flipped it on. "This is Captain Solo of the Mell-"
"Han!" It was Leia's voice.
"Leia! What's going on? I got a weird signal from Luke and-"
She cut him off again. "Han! Luke is gone!"