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Han and Leia were both sitting in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, gazing out the viewport. Leia bit her lower lip. "You sure you know how to do this? This isn't just one of your crazy smuggler's tales, right. I mean, you actually have flown this before?"
Han patted her arm reassuringly, "'Course I have. I even used to hold the record, before some nobody supposedly broke it." Though Leia didn't seem to be calming down much, Han continued, "The Kessel Run is an essential haul for all smugglers operating out of Nar Shadda. I've flown this thing so many times, I could probably do it with my eyes shut." Leia shot him a skeptical glance. "I remember the first time I flew it, I was scared to death. But then I realized how exhilarating it was, and it was worth the trouble." Leia nodded her consent. Obviously, Han was adamant about taking her with him on the (in)famous Kessel Run. She decided she might as well enjoy it.
Han fired up the sublight engines, and the Falcon along with her two passengers headed into the first leg of the run. As Han had explained to Leia several times, the Kessel Run was made up of two legs. One half was called the Maw, and consisted of hundreds of collapsed stars forming blackholes in mass form. In order to get through it, a ship's captain would have to pilot around all of these blackholes without being sucked in by their all-consuming darkness. The second half, the Pit, was really just an enormous asteroid field that had all of the little quirks expected of such areas. From the direction they were going, the Maw would be their first leg. As the Falcon glided closer and closer to the Maw, Leia could start to make out little dark spots blemishing the star-speckled pattern of space. The further into it they got, the larger the spots became. Leia was awe-struck by just how many blackholes were around them. She tried to keep the eminent danger of this out of her thoughts.
Han piloted skillfully, a look of full concentration set on his face. In his peripheral vision, he could see Leia, jaw slightly unhinged, staring out the viewport. He grinned, "Pretty amazing, huh princess?" he asked.
Leia nodded slowly. "This is really something. Even with all the traveling I've done, I've barely ever seen a collapsed star. This place has them by the gross!"
"Told ya you'd like it, didn't I?" Han said confidently. The ship was getting close to exiting the Maw and entering the Pit now. Han began to relax a bit at the controls. The most dangerous part was over. The Pit, while potentially deadly, was fairly predictable once you had flown the run a dozen or so times. And Han had flown it well over that. As the Falcon edged past one final blackhole, Han took the time to gloat his success, "That was a real smooth run, 'specially for someone who hasn't flown it in a decade. Don't you agr-"
A sharp jolt which shook the Falcon cut Han off mid-sentence. "What the... what happened?" Han asked, as he picked himself off the floor and settled into the pilot's seat from which he had been dumped.
"It appears, Captain, that we've been hit by an asteroid." Leia said in a weary tone. Somehow she knew they weren't going to get out of this one so easily.
"But there are no asteroids this close to the Maw! I know every blasted rock in the field, there's no way that-" Han's face paled in sudden remembrance. "Stang! How could I have been so stupid! I forgot about Domilate's Blunder!" He cursed himself again, this time in a language unknown to Leia.
Leia was almost afraid to ask, but she had to. "What is Domilate's Blunder?"
Han rubbed his forehead in agony, as he checked the instrument panels on the control board. "This real hot pilot, Faco Domilate, decided comin' through this part of the Maw would shave off enough distance that he'd be able to break the record. What he didn't know was that in this previously unnavigated region, asteroids from the Pit actually entered the Maw. Domilate was so engrossed with the blackholes that he neglected to watch out for asteroids, figuring that there wouldn't be any just yet. A big rock plugged his ship right on the port side, and pummeled it into a trillion tiny pieces. Since then, this region's been known as Domilate's Blunder and is, for the most part, avoided." Han told his story as he checked the readouts of the ship.
Despite her misgivings, Leia tried to remain optimistic, "So, we were hit by an asteroid. We're still in one piece, more or less. So why don't we fire up the sublights and get going? They're not damaged, are they?"
Han shook his head, "No, no their fine... We've just sustained some outer hull damage and been knocked off course a little but-" Han froze. His face turned white as the plains of Hoth.
"What?" Leia asked. She looked at Han, then said more insistently, "What?!"
Han licked his suddenly dry lips. "We, we're uh, caught in the pull of a blackhole." He swallowed.
"Well, can't we get out of the pull?" Leia asked urgently.
Han shook his head slowly, "Blackholes pull in everything. Dust, light, gases... even time supposedly." Leia paled too as this sudden revelation sunk in. The Falcon began to slowly increase it's speed toward the blackhole. Han reached up and grabbed his emergency restraining belt, and Leia followed suit. "Hang on," Han said grimly, as their ship increased it's acceleration toward the ominous pitch black mass. "It could get rough."
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Han and Leia were both sitting in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, gazing out the viewport. Leia bit her lower lip. "You sure you know how to do this? This isn't just one of your crazy smuggler's tales, right. I mean, you actually have flown this before?"
Han patted her arm reassuringly, "'Course I have. I even used to hold the record, before some nobody supposedly broke it." Though Leia didn't seem to be calming down much, Han continued, "The Kessel Run is an essential haul for all smugglers operating out of Nar Shadda. I've flown this thing so many times, I could probably do it with my eyes shut." Leia shot him a skeptical glance. "I remember the first time I flew it, I was scared to death. But then I realized how exhilarating it was, and it was worth the trouble." Leia nodded her consent. Obviously, Han was adamant about taking her with him on the (in)famous Kessel Run. She decided she might as well enjoy it.
Han fired up the sublight engines, and the Falcon along with her two passengers headed into the first leg of the run. As Han had explained to Leia several times, the Kessel Run was made up of two legs. One half was called the Maw, and consisted of hundreds of collapsed stars forming blackholes in mass form. In order to get through it, a ship's captain would have to pilot around all of these blackholes without being sucked in by their all-consuming darkness. The second half, the Pit, was really just an enormous asteroid field that had all of the little quirks expected of such areas. From the direction they were going, the Maw would be their first leg. As the Falcon glided closer and closer to the Maw, Leia could start to make out little dark spots blemishing the star-speckled pattern of space. The further into it they got, the larger the spots became. Leia was awe-struck by just how many blackholes were around them. She tried to keep the eminent danger of this out of her thoughts.
Han piloted skillfully, a look of full concentration set on his face. In his peripheral vision, he could see Leia, jaw slightly unhinged, staring out the viewport. He grinned, "Pretty amazing, huh princess?" he asked.
Leia nodded slowly. "This is really something. Even with all the traveling I've done, I've barely ever seen a collapsed star. This place has them by the gross!"
"Told ya you'd like it, didn't I?" Han said confidently. The ship was getting close to exiting the Maw and entering the Pit now. Han began to relax a bit at the controls. The most dangerous part was over. The Pit, while potentially deadly, was fairly predictable once you had flown the run a dozen or so times. And Han had flown it well over that. As the Falcon edged past one final blackhole, Han took the time to gloat his success, "That was a real smooth run, 'specially for someone who hasn't flown it in a decade. Don't you agr-"
A sharp jolt which shook the Falcon cut Han off mid-sentence. "What the... what happened?" Han asked, as he picked himself off the floor and settled into the pilot's seat from which he had been dumped.
"It appears, Captain, that we've been hit by an asteroid." Leia said in a weary tone. Somehow she knew they weren't going to get out of this one so easily.
"But there are no asteroids this close to the Maw! I know every blasted rock in the field, there's no way that-" Han's face paled in sudden remembrance. "Stang! How could I have been so stupid! I forgot about Domilate's Blunder!" He cursed himself again, this time in a language unknown to Leia.
Leia was almost afraid to ask, but she had to. "What is Domilate's Blunder?"
Han rubbed his forehead in agony, as he checked the instrument panels on the control board. "This real hot pilot, Faco Domilate, decided comin' through this part of the Maw would shave off enough distance that he'd be able to break the record. What he didn't know was that in this previously unnavigated region, asteroids from the Pit actually entered the Maw. Domilate was so engrossed with the blackholes that he neglected to watch out for asteroids, figuring that there wouldn't be any just yet. A big rock plugged his ship right on the port side, and pummeled it into a trillion tiny pieces. Since then, this region's been known as Domilate's Blunder and is, for the most part, avoided." Han told his story as he checked the readouts of the ship.
Despite her misgivings, Leia tried to remain optimistic, "So, we were hit by an asteroid. We're still in one piece, more or less. So why don't we fire up the sublights and get going? They're not damaged, are they?"
Han shook his head, "No, no their fine... We've just sustained some outer hull damage and been knocked off course a little but-" Han froze. His face turned white as the plains of Hoth.
"What?" Leia asked. She looked at Han, then said more insistently, "What?!"
Han licked his suddenly dry lips. "We, we're uh, caught in the pull of a blackhole." He swallowed.
"Well, can't we get out of the pull?" Leia asked urgently.
Han shook his head slowly, "Blackholes pull in everything. Dust, light, gases... even time supposedly." Leia paled too as this sudden revelation sunk in. The Falcon began to slowly increase it's speed toward the blackhole. Han reached up and grabbed his emergency restraining belt, and Leia followed suit. "Hang on," Han said grimly, as their ship increased it's acceleration toward the ominous pitch black mass. "It could get rough."
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