A/N: Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about leaving you with a cliffy for so long. I've just done some editing. (I'm still editing)
For all the legal stuff: see first chapter.
~&~
Shifting Sands
by
Devon
~&~
"Time's currents are an endless flow of change, drifting like the dunes. We are forever shifting sands." ~ Catherine
~&~
Idly, Billy stirred the strange sludge he had been given. Every so often the spoon would find its way into his mouth. But even then he did not pay much attention to it except to remind himself to chew. His mind was elsewhere, running over all of the possible explanations that Liam could give him. Despite his ignorance in most things, he knew quite a bit about the Jedi. One of his friends on Retaw Kcab, where he had worked before Teh Almanac had stolen him, had been obsessed with the Order.
He shoved the spoon into his mouth. There was nothing on it. Billy looked down at the bowl, which was now empty.
"Humph." He stared at it and the bowl blurred as his mind raced back to the lightsabers. What could have scared a legendary Jedi into hiding? The sound of a chair scrapping against the floor entered his consciousness but his mind filtered it out as unimportant background noise and he continued to stare at the empty bowl in front of him. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he jumped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He craned his neck to look up at the cause of his fright only to find Liam's grinning face towering above him. A relieved sigh escaped his lips.
"What planet where you on?"
"Huh?"
"You were GONE."
"I was just thinking about somethin'."
"I could see that. Their showing a holovid next door if you're interested. It's some documentary about the Sandpeople but I think I'm gonna to hit the sack." Liam headed towards the door. Billy hurriedly placed his bowl in the dishwasher and followed him out of the cafeteria, as he did not want to get lost on his first day.
~&~
Liam dropped onto his bed with a contented sigh.
"Well?" Billy asked. His impatience getting the better of him.
"Well what?" Liam's brow creased feigning ignorance.
"Why can't I speak to anyone about the lightsabers? What are you hiding from?" Liam sighed again except this time it had an air of annoyance to it. He watched Billy, contemplating him. Wondering if he was whom he said he was though a slave belonging to a Hutt would be too devious for the Empire but he could not help being cautious. It was, after all, in his training. An oppressive silence grew between the two as the seconds ticked by. Finally Liam spoke. He spoke slowly choosing his words with great care.
"Why do you want to know about the lightsabers?"
"Lightsabers are the weapon of the Jedi?" It was more a question then a statement and at Liam's nod of conformation Billy continued. "Well...um I... ah I want to know what could scare a Jedi." Billy finished nervously staring at his feet all the while thinking, *So I can avoid it! * Liam's intense gaze never left Billy, he reached out with the Force trying to gauge whether he could trust the youth before him but he found that his senses were clouded.
"How did you become a slave?" He guessed the boy had been a slave all his life and thought it a simple question but Billy's reaction proved him wrong.
Billy blinked he hadn't expected that. He felt as if he had just been hit. The colour ran from his face leaving him pale and sickly looking. His pulse quickened and his breathing became shallow. He rubbed his sweating hands on his pants. He sought Liam's eyes and for a moment he held them with his own before quickly dropping his gaze. Staring intently at the floor, he opened his mouth to explain and found he could not form the words. If he could not relive his short past in his mind how could he face it by speaking it aloud? He had learnt the hard way not trust every compassionate stranger because they were rarely what they seemed. Deep inside, he knew Liam to be different but he couldn't speak the past, yet. A memory surfaced in his mind and waves of fear ran through him causing him to shake involuntarily. Swallowing hard he pushed it away, back to where it had come from and for a second time he attempted to speak.
"I...I can't" he said softly.
"Why not?" Liam demanded defensively unable to keep the suspicion from his voice.
"I...I," Billy fumbled for words, "I don't tru...know you well enough." He looked up at Liam expecting to see the suspicion he had heard earlier. Instead Liam's features were relaxing into a rueful smile. His eyes full of understanding.
"Now you understand my problem." He said simply, then as an afterthought he added. "Get some sleep you have a long day ahead of you." Billy nodded, relieved to be let off the hook. He dropped onto his bunk and snuggled beneath the covers and fell into a much needed dreamless sleep.
~&~
Liam watched the sleeping figure on the other bed. He had much to think about now, most of which revolved around Billy's reaction to his question. Perhaps the Empire had become more devious.
He waited a few more moments just to be sure that the boy was asleep, then he slipped quietly from the room. He roamed the base's maze of passageways until he found their resident Healer.
"Shay, I need you to do something for me."
~&~
A hand shook Billy's shoulder impatiently. He groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. Liam yanked Billy's blanket back letting cold air come into contact with warm flesh. Billy reached down for the blanket, which had so inconveniently removed itself and put his hand into something ice-cold. He lifted his head from its hiding place to see what it was and found himself looking up at Liam's grinning face. His eyes moved down to his hand to find it in a bucket of ice-water which was in the process of being tipped up, its contains lapping ominously at its rim. A few droplets sloshed out onto the bed covers, forming little balls of water on the cotton before finally seeping through. Billy looked back at Liam, giving him an irritated glare.
"I had to get you up somehow. Besides you've already slept in for an hour."
"What time is it?" Came the groggy reply
"Six. Now get up we're late."
"Six?" Billy lifted his hand to smother a yawn, "Six, Less an hour?" Suddenly his eyes were wide open at the thought of the offending hour.
"FIVE!" Liam nodded in a hopeless attempt to conceal his amusement. "FIVE IN THE MORNING?!" Liam nodded again knowing that if he spoke he would not be able to contain the laughter that bubbled up inside him.
"ARE YOU INSANE?"
"Just...get...up." Liam said amongst stifled laughter. Billy gave Liam a look that could kill before dragging himself off of the bed, still grumbling.
"Expect me to get up at five in the morning, not even the slave traders were this cruel!"
A head poked through the open doorway.
"What's going on in here?" Liam turned to face the speaker before replying,
"Morning Asphalt. He's not a morning person." He indicated the back of the figure who was retreating into the bathroom, still grumbling.
"Ahhhh. Not a morning person? This is going to be interesting!" The figure left and they could hear her laughter echo down the corridors.
"Billy, I'll meet you in the mess in half an hour and if I find that you've gone back to bed you'll become intimately aquatinted with the contents of that bucket." Liam closed the door and waited until he had turned the corner before almost collapsing with laughter.
~&~
An hour later Billy found himself standing on the cold tarmac waiting impatiently for the sun to rise. He was cold and his hair was still wet because he had foolishly thought that Liam would not carry out his threat. He shivered as the wind had picked up causing sand to cut through the air like knives. Billy's clothes billowed around him. He tried to pull the light tunic closely around his body, in a vain attempt to protect himself from the stinging sand but his hands were numb with cold and he kept losing his grip on the soft fabric. The first light of the false dawn slowly filled the sky and the base's lights were switched off in order to conserve electricity. Billy turned away from the horizon where the sun would appear to focus on the giant hanger door, which had began to open and the ground crew rolled a huge ship from its bowels.
"It's a Bateleur..." Billy jumped even though he recognised the voice, that broke the early morning silence. "...X-wing class, similar to the T-65 starfighter but with a few modifications. We call it Amon, means hidden one, because of the cloaking device." They walked to the large plane and Billy ran his fingers along the side, testing the cool metal surface. "Okay lets go inside."
"I thought you said I was going to start my training?" Billy did not take his eyes away from the sleek craft. Liam chuckled.
"You are but first you have to meet the people who are going to teach you about her. You'll have to know how she works before we let you anywhere near her and we have to find you a call sign, don't want anyone recognising you." Billy nodded and touched the fighter one last time.
"What's your call sign?" Billy turned away from the craft and they walked towards the main buildings.
"Argon. First things first, you need to go for a flight medical." He showed Billy to a door at the end of a corridor. "You'll find Shay, the base Healer, in the infirmary through there." He pointed at the door.
"What exactly does this entail?"
"They'll test your eyesight...um do a few scans, give you a couple of injections, maybe take a blood sample..." Liam looked at Billy who had suddenly gone very pale, "what?"
"Did you say injections?"
"Yes"
"Thought so." He said nodding
*THUD*
Liam looked down at Billy in shock. The boy had passed out at the thought of a couple of injections and he hadn't even seen the needles yet! Then again, perhaps it was best that he didn't see the needles.
~&~
Billy walked onto the runway he had finished his medical and was tired of being prodded and probed. Admittedly, he had not been awake for most of it but he was still tired of being prodded and probed.
He climbed to the top of a pile of scrap metal which may have been a ship at one time, he would have to ask Liam. He scanned the area intently, looking for his afore mentioned friend as he was eager to start his training. He spotted a pair of boots protruding from underneath Nova Beta.
~&~
Liam glared up at the underside of his ship in frustration. As far as he could see there was nothing wrong with it. Yet he knew differently. Something had to be, how else could he explain the sudden loss of control he had experienced before he had started the landing sequence at Mos Espa. He glanced towards his feet looking for a wrench and came face to face with a pair of brown boots.
"That was fast. What's the verdict? Are you fit for flying?" Billy's jaw dropped, and for a moment he opened and closed his mouth without making a sound then he started spluttering and gesticulating.
"What did...I mean how did..."
"Never mind. Everything all right?"
"No, that was just..."
"I meant your check up." Liam interrupted sounding a little bit impatient.
"What?... Oh yeah... everything came up negative, I'm as fit as a fiddle." A strange look came over Billy's face. "Where does that come from anyway?" Liam shrugged.
"First time I've heard it. Stop brooding." Billy raised an indignant eyebrow.
"I do not brood! Feel slightly depressed, maybe even mope but I do not brood." He tried to keep a straight face but he could not stop the smile.
"Whatever you say." Liam slid out from underneath Nova Beta. "It's time to start your training." Billy's smile turned into a grin as he suddenly had visions of whizzing through the air in the incredible craft which was parked a few feet away. He started to walk towards it but Liam grabbed his arm. "Not so fast. First you have to learn then you can fly her."
"Okay."
"Now you're moping." Liam observed
"Humph." Laughing Liam showed Billy to an auditorium where he would learn about flying, engineering, survival and anything else he might need in a two month course.
Billy surveyed the room. It had about six rows of empty seats and each row was raised higher then the one before so that each seat had a good view of the board and screen in front. It had no natural light and would have been quite dark if not for the four high power lights overhead. The room was empty except for one person, a girl. She was about his age, perhaps a few years older. She had long auburn hair which was tied in a braid down her back. She turned to face them. She had high cheek bones and a pale complexion which made her hazel eyes stand out. She smiled. Perhaps the pre-flight training was not going to be so bad after all.
"Billy this is Asphalt. You met her this morning... remember." Liam smirked
"Hi." Billy felt himself turn bright red. Great!
"Hi. So you're the one who was yelling this morning." She exchanged a look with Liam who almost burst out laughing again.
"Asphalt is also new here so you'll be training with her."
"And I'm Lore." The gruff voice came from behind them. Startled Billy turned to face the speaker. "I'm the teacher." He shook Billy's hand.
"You can close your mouth kid... I have some things I have to do so I'll meet you in the cafeteria for dinner once you're done."
"Okay, I'll catchya later."
~&~
"...I'll teach you how to survive..." Liam heard through the door as he walked away from the auditorium in search of Shay. He did not have to look for long because Shay was still in the infirmary finishing some paperwork.
"Shay."
"Yes? I'll be with you in a minute." He hurriedly wrote one last sentence in his illegible scrawl before looking up to see who had spoken. "Liam, I have the blood sample you asked for." He reached into his drawer and pulled out a test tube which he handed to Liam.
"Thank you." Shay nodded and carried on with his paperwork.
~&~
Liam carefully put a drop of Billy's blood onto a slide and inserted it into a computer. There were a number of things he wanted to check, first on his list was a midi-chlorian count, then he wanted to search the Jedi Temple's old Data base to see if Billy had been taught there. Luckily the computer was multi-functional so he could do both at the same time. The midi-chlorian count came through first and it was quite high which he had expected.
He checked on the status of his search: 50% complete. Liam tapped his fingers impatiently, willing the computer to hurry up. He watched the percentage increase as the little box in the centre of the screen filled: 52%...53%...tap...tap 56% tap 60% tap tappetty tap tap 61%. He clicked on menu and swivelled the mouse to games where he called up his favourite game of the moment, Trogorian poker: normal poker except the computer cheated. He arranged the desktop so that he could still see the status box while he played. He hit deal.
* Sith!* It was not a good hand. He exchanged his hand, even worse. 70%. Threw in two cards. He smirked that was better. 75%. He called, all four of his opponents had full houses some of which were duplicate. * Double Sith! * 90% Not long to go. He asked for another hand and almost cried. He was glad that he was not betting real money. He changed three cards. 100% Beep beep beep. He would have to continue his game another day. He closed the game and acknowledged the completed search. The beeping stopped and a file appeared on the screen.
Liam skimmed through the information before him: William...born...unusually strong in force...care of Jedi Master Yoda. He raised an eyebrow. Master Yoda had looked after Billy until he had been old enough to live in the creche, that was odd. He continued to read. Good student...apt at the lightsaber. Doubt whether to continue his training. Liam rubbed his chin lost in concentration. Controlled by emotions...fear, anger. Kidnapped at age twelve by Sith. Interesting. Ship crashed on remote planet called earth. Sith was killed in the accident. Decided to leave William on earth were he could do no harm if he fell to the dark side.
Liam reread the last section. Like most things it answered a few questions but created far more than it answered. Liam sighed, he still had a lot to think about.
~&~
Billy yawned, he could not help it. After all, he had had a long day especially for someone who usually only got up at around eight. He was still appalled at the idea of getting up at five. He blinked and tried to refocus his attention on what Lore was saying but it just wasn't going in no matter how hard he tried to concentrate.
"Billy! BILLY." He jumped at the sudden sound of his name.
"What?"
"You're not listening! This is important! It could save your life someday." He sounded irked
"I'm sorry. I'm trying, I really am." Lore shook his head and looked at his watch.
"I think we can call it a day. Read over the last bit again and I'll quiz you on it tomorrow. It's that important."
"I'm really sorry..."
"Just get a good night's rest so you can stay awake tomorrow."
"Thanks." Billy left the auditorium he had half an hour to kill before he had to meet Liam so he headed for the hungers. He would spend the time with the current love of his life, Amon.
~&~
Billy walked into the cafeteria where Liam had said he would meet him once his training had finished. He moved his gaze from table to table but Liam was not sitting at any of them. He spotted Asphalt sitting at a table a few feet away. Her hair was loose now and it cascaded past her shoulders in an auburn wave. For a moment every coherent thought left him. They returned hesitantly a few moments later when he realised he was staring but no one seemed to have noticed and he walked towards her table before anyone did.
"Hey Asphalt. Um... have you seen Liam anywhere?"
"I think I saw him in the computer room playing Trogorian poker or something."
"Thanks." Billy started towards the nearest door.
"Billy."
"Huh?"
"It's that way." Asphalt pointed in the other direction smiling. Billy blushed.
"Right. Thanks." He turned and walked straight into a man who was walking behind him. Plates of food flew everywhere but mostly over him.
"Watch were you're going." was followed by a torrent of swear words ranging for English to Huttese.
"S s sorry." Billy managed to stutter as he stooped to help clean up the mess and accidentally cracked his head against that of the man. This was followed by even more choice words and his hand was waved away as the man reached for the last plate. The man stomped off leaving Billy standing there, the whole room had erupted with laughter. He felt blood rush up to his cheeks and he darted for the door Asphalt had pointed at.
Once through the door he recognised the corridor as the one that lead to his quarters. He made a quick decision to shower before continuing his search for Liam.
"What happened to you?" Liam stepped out of a door on Billy's right, sporting a massive grin.
"I...uh.. had a...uh small accident in the cafeteria."
"I see. I don't suppose you want to go back there then?"
"Not really no."
"Nor would I. Tell you what why don't you go and get cleaned up and I'll fetch something to eat and bring it to the room." Liam said taking pity on the boy.
"Thank you." Liam just smiled shaking his head.
~&~
Liam walked towards his and Billy's quarters carrying two take-away containers of curry and a bottle of a bluish, black liquid. Bubbles formed at the bottle's neck with every step.
He stopped outside their room and quickly scanned the halls before using the Force to open the door. Once inside he nudged the door closed with his foot and gave it an extra tap just to make sure it was closed properly.
"Grubs up." He called to the back of the person lying on one of the beds...no reply. Liam walked across the room to investigate. The edges of his mouth lifted in a small smile. Billy was asleep. His bare feet were hanging off of the bottom of the bed, his one hand was lying above his head and the other was resting lightly on the floor. Billy's face was turned towards the wall, his mouth open slightly to let out his soft snores. It was obvious that the boy had little experience with desert nights. Billy was only wearing a pair of white boxers and sleeveless vest. Liam reached across his sleeping friend and pulled the ruffled blankets over Billy so that he would not freeze. He shook his head he would have to speak to Billy about making his bed.
Liam went back to where he had left the curry and pressed a button just next to the table. A rectangular portion of the wall slide up to reveal a kitchen. He stepped into the room and put Billy's dinner in the fridge before grabbing a glass from a cupboard and a fork from a drawer then he sat down at the table to eat his curry.
~&~
After his first lesson Billy found that the days seemed to blur into weeks and the weeks into one long endless pattern. Each morning started with the same unpleasant wake up call which was followed by him scampering through the halls late for his training. There had been no more unfortunate incidents in the cafeteria because Billy had discovered that he was quite a good cook and that their kitchen was well stocked. At the moment he sat at the kitchen table, peeling potatoes. He casually glanced at the calendar across from him and gaped. He had been on the base, foxhole, for a day short of one and a half months. Billy continued to look at the calendar as he started chopping the potatoes. He felt a sharp pain in his little finger and looked down to see what had happened. The knife blade and potato he had been chopping were covered in blood. He had sliced his finger open while marvelling at how time seemed to fly. He ran from the kitchen to the refresher where Liam kept a first aid kit. He turned on the tap and thrust his finger under the running water. He cried out in pain as the cold water came into contact with the open wound. Quickly he searched through the first aid kit for some anti-septic cream and a plaster. Once he had found the items in question he pulled his finger out of the water and dried it on a piece of toilet paper. He rubbed the cream into the wound and then pressed the plaster over the top. Once satisfied that he had done a good job he slowly put the kit back and headed for the door. A horrible screeching noise filled the room and Billy saw smoke billowing out of the kitchen.
He rushed through the kitchen door to find flames covering the stove. He grabbed the bowl of water he had been using to wash his peeled potatoes and threw it over the stove. The flames disappeared in an impressive display of smoke and noise.
Liam burst into the kitchen with a fire hydrant. He stopped at the door and spoke into a portable radio and the alarm stopped.
"What happened?"
"I cut my finger," Billy held up his pinkie as proof, "and forgot to turn off the stove when I went to bandage it." Liam laughed and Billy sighed this was not going to help his reputation.
~&~
Billy sprinted down the hallway and away from his quarters. He was late...again because he had overslept...again. He saw the sign a moment too late and slipped on the wet floor. He skidded around the corner, using every skill he possessed to prevent himself from falling over. He cursed silently when he saw that the path ahead was blocked. Typical! As soon as he was in a hurry, EVERYONE decided to use the fastest route to his classroom!
He elbowed his way past several people, muttering apologies as he went. He was almost at the front of the crowd when he came up behind a large burly fellow whom he dare not touch. The crowd shuffled forward slowly as everyone struggled to move on in rows of three when the passage was built for only two commuters at a time. Billy struggled to move to the front. Today was his one and a half month anniversary of being a member of the rebels and he had only managed to get to class on time once, that he remembered. Lore was going to have his head he was sure of it. He slipped in front of the big man ahead of him one more person and he was in the clear. He squeezed through a gap and ran checking his chrono at the same time, quarter past seven. He was very late. Rounding the corner he bumped into someone.
"Jeeze kid where're you going?"
"I'm late for class." Lore threw his head back laughing.
"What?"
"It's your day off." He laughed.
"I forgot." Billy said sheepishly. Lore walked off still laughing and Billy knew that this was going to be all over the base. He had already earned a reputation as a klutz and there were bets on how long he would survive as a pilot. The worst part was that there were ten to one odds he would not live past his first battle. He turned away from where Lore had disappeared. He had the hole day to himself and nothing to do. He grinned. It was time to go and pester Amon's mechanics. Again.
~&~
An alarm sounded just as Billy entered Amon's hanger and someone threw a flight suit at him. He caught it and looked up at the mechanic expectedly.
"Put it on!"
"But I'm not..."
"Have you flown before?"
"Yes but..."
"We need all the pilots we have. We need you to fly." Billy still looked a bit sceptical. "Our freedom depends on it." Billy nodded and looking a bit dazed he climbed into the orange suit. Time seemed to slow as he watched a droid being lifted into Amon and his heart started racing. He continued to watch the ship after the droid was in its place.
"Droid can't fly by itself." The mechanic muttered as he ushered Billy up the ladder. Billy wriggled about trying to find a comfortable seat. Hands reached over his shoulders and proceeded to fasten all the various harnesses that would keep him in the chair. He just managed to put his helmet on before Amon's canopy closed then he taxied onto the runway and followed the rest of the fleet into the air.
Billy focused on the controls in front of him. He closed his eyes trying to picture the flight simulator he had done the day before. He looked at the controls again and did a mental check list of what he knew and what he would have to figure out later. He was in for a rough ride. Billy took a deep breath trying to calm himself but his heart was still racing at a hundred miles an hour.
He looked out of the canopy. His eyes were assaulted by a multitude of stars that left him gapping. He had never had much interest in his surroundings when travelling but now he wished he had paid more attention. Then again were there any windows in a ships hold?
"Red five this is green leader. Come in. Over." There was a loud thud as Billy's head collided with the canopy. A voice crackled over the radio as red five signed in. This was followed by various call signs being flung across the air.
"I'm here." Billy called into his mic. The radio crackled for a long while before a calm familiar voice echoed across the airways.
"Where's here?"
"In Amon."
"How?"
"The ground crew told me you needed another pilot and..."
"I sense a miscommunication somewhere."
'So we've got ourselves a rookie flying with us today?" A new voice entered the conversation.
* Rookie? Their calling me Rookie! * Billy felt insulted even though he was a rookie.
"Rookie this is Green Leader. Welcome aboard. Over"
"Thanks Green Leader. Over." He was glad that he sounded more confident then he felt.
"Good luck kid and may the Force be with you. Over 'n out."
They flew on in silence as they made their way into a swarm of imperial fighters. A shout came over of Billy's radio, coursing his head to meet the canopy for a second time. He was going to have a migraine by the time he landed. If he landed.
"Rookie. Bogies seven o'clock" Billy turned to see where they were.
"Sith!" Eight or nine fighters were flying towards him. They had obviously heard that he was a rookie and were looking for an easy kill.
"Okay, calm down. It's not as bad as you think. You've flown ships before, you're a pretty good pilot and they don't know what you can do. They'll probably underestimate your skills. You will survive this..." He looked over his shoulder and then quickly returned his gaze to the empty space in front of him. "Sith! Who am I kidding? I've never piloted anything this big or fast before! I'm gonna die!" He dodged the first round of laser fire and looked back at his opponents.
"Uuuugly! I can't let them be the last thing I see before I die." Red laser blasts shot from the ship closest to him. Billy dodged them, racking his brain for one of the manoeuvres Lore had shown him on the flight simulator. His mind was blank and his panic rose along with his already fast pulse rate. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and counted to ten.
"Damn! They're still there." He said when he reopened his eyes. Suddenly, as if the realisation that he was not hallucinating kicked in, all of his training came back. He pulled the throttle backwards decreasing his speed. Then once Amon's tail was almost touching the other fighters he braked coursing them to fly right past him. He pulled the trigger and a stream of green light shot out in front of him which raced wildly across the sky before he managed to correct his aim. Then one of his adversaries burst into flames. One of the others tried to dodge the lethal fire and flew into another imperial ship; both craft exploded.
"Thank you beginners luck!" He punched the air in jubilation. "Ow!" He had forgotten about the canopy. Billy shook his sore hand but hurriedly put it back on the joystick as fire zoomed past his head. He looked over his shoulder, and sighed in relief. There was only one ship behind him. He tried the braking trick again to see if he could fool his pursuer. Much to his disappointment the ship stayed with him. Billy tried to flip over the top of the plane in a half-circle but he could not shake it. Blaster shots jolted the ship as they broke through his reflector shields and embedded themselves in Amon's hull. A calm emotionless voice filled the cockpit.
"Shields 70%." In desperation, Billy headed for the atmosphere of one of Tatooine's moons. It had a rocky surface and the ground was littered with deep canyons. It was a dangerous place to fly and Billy cursed his stupidity at agreeing to join the battle in the first place.
He flew through the grey terrain towards a large ominous gorge. Within seconds he had entered the canyon. The walls passed by him in a blur and he had to dodge large rocks which jutted out into the valley. He pushed the throttle forward increasing his speed, until he flew so fast that could not think about his next move. He could only act. Billy's opponent fired a couple of blasts after him before pulling up just before the entrance to the canyon thinking that it would do his job for him.
Billy pushed the joystick forwards, coursing Amon's nose to point downwards. Laser fire flew above the cockpit striking the wall next to him. Rocks, loosened by the blast, tumbled down into the chasm. The fighter barely managed to avoid the falling missiles. Suddenly the walls closed overhead so that the only way out was a thin gap ahead of him. Billy judged that Amon was just small enough to fit through the gap.
Amon raced towards the small opening in the canyon wall. All of Billy's attention was focused on surviving. He prayed that the opening was not a dead end. If it was it would give a whole new meaning to the phrase.
He entered the gap. He went down towards the base of the cavern to avoid the large ragged rocks that protruded from the walls above. As he reached the bottom he had to fly up again as another large rock blocked his path. He found himself flying through a thin gap between two rocks. For a moment his life flashed before his eyes and then abruptly the passage stopped and Amon shot out into open air, high above the next section of the ravine. Grinning with relief Billy wiped sweat off his brow as headed back towards open space.
He catapulted out of the moon's atmosphere and was greeted with a shock. Instead of the fierce battle he had expected, the sky was empty. Numbly he reached for his radio.
"Foxhole this is Rookie. Where is everyone? Over."
"Rookie this Foxhole. Glad to hear from you kid. Everyone's home. Over"
"I'll see you in a minute. Over and out." He headed towards Tatooine's atmosphere. The battle was over, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and he was going into shock.
*I just killed someone. It was in self defence. He'd probably killed many people. I felt him die! Why don't I feel anything? Oh God what's wrong with me?* Billy starred out of the canopy. deeply troubled.
~&~
Billy found himself in a strange room; he was lying on a table with a bright light over head. The table felt cold to his bare back. He heard voices of the invisible people who surrounded him. He felt a sense of panic rise inside him. He forced his eyes open despite the glare from the light. A flash caught his eye and a needle came into view; he was transfixed by the syringe. He watched as the hand holding it gently pushed the plunger up causing tiny droplets to appear at the needle's tip. The hand brought it towards him in slow motion. His panic consumed him and he tried to get away; to run from the pain he knew was to follow. The needle moved closer and closer. Laughter echoed in his ears as he struggled helplessly against the shackles which held him in place. A rough hand gripped his arm tightly, stopping its movement. Billy felt the cold steel of the needle enter his arm and a chill ran down his spine and he gritted his teeth waiting in petrified anticipation for the pain. He was not disappointed, the liquid flowed through his veins followed by excruciating pain which ripped a scream from his throat and left his breathing ragged but he knew that it was far from over.
"An unfortunate side affect." A voice said unsympathetically, in fact it sounded quite pleased. Billy's struggles started to slow until they eventually stopped. Once the injection had taken full effect, paralysing him, the people around him began their work. Billy's terrified eyes darted from face to face and then they moved to the expected scalpel as it moved through the air, its sharp blade gleaming in the light.
~&~
Billy woke. He was breathing heavily and his sheets were drenched in sweet. He looked down at his hand and moved a finger. Relief flooded him, it was just a dream. There was no bright light, no scalpel and no people. He was safe. Slowly his breathing returned to normal and he looked across the room to where Liam was still sleeping peacefully. Billy sighed.
"That is why I can't answer you're question." He whispered to the sleeping form on the other bed.
~&~
Billy walked onto the runway and passed the pile of scrap metal for the umpteenth time. He still meant to ask Liam about it. He had been allowed to sleep in after the battle the day before. It gave him a much needed rest which he was grateful for. He yawned and smothered it with one hand. He noticed Nova Beta standing on the tarmac and looked around for his friend. He saw his Liam talking to Asphalt and some of the ground staff.
"Hi. Where're you going?"
"Mos Espa."
"Can I come?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea. I have to go and see Skulie Bakar..."
"Oh."
"Skulie probably still thinks of him as a slave right?" Liam nodded. "Well then he probably won't look at him twice as long as he keeps his wrists covered." Asphalt pointed out.
"Long sleeves in this weather?"
"I don't mind."
"You will when we get to Mos Espa."
"Please."
"Go on Argon." Both gave him pleading looks and Liam rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.
"Fine get in. There's a spare tunic inside." Billy bounded up the ramp after Liam who dug around in a compartment just to the right of the door. He pulled out a rather crumpled long sleeved tunic and tossed it at Billy.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Don't put it on yet wait until we get to Mos Espa otherwise you'll cook"
~&~
Skulie Bakar paced back and forth wondering what was he going to do. Teh Almenac had cheated him. The slave trader had left the planet less than an hour after he had lost the bet taking everything with him. How was he going to pay Liam? Sculie scowled as he thought of Teh's betrayal and ripped the head off of his lunch and chewed vigorously. Eating always made him feel slightly better. It seemed to have a therapeutic effect on him. He needed to clear his head so that he could find a way to stall the human. He sat down heavily with a loud thump when he heard the knock signalling Liam's arrival. The doors opened and Soothes stepped into the room bowing low in respect as two figures walked past him.
"Liam." Sculie greeted the man through gritted teeth. He felt outraged that Liam should bring the slave. It rubbed salt into old wounds.
"Sculie. Do you have the six thousand credits?" Sculie smiled typical of Liam, blunt and to the point. He wished that the man was like other traders who waffled away time as they negotiated while eating his food.
"I have four thousand. Unfortunately the man who owes me the rest fled the planet." He never took his eyes off of the slave.
"I see. Sculie, next time I will have to tell the authorities about your lack of co-operation." Liam now had the Hutt's full attention. Sculie was flabbergasted.
"LACK OF CO-OPERATION?" He roared. "I'VE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO GET YOU THE MONEY."
"Then where is it?" Sculie's jaw slackened and fell open as he starred incredulously at Liam.
"I already told you what happened to the money! I've only managed to track it now. It should take me another three weeks at least before I can get it back."
"Three weeks?"
"Yes."
"Three weeks, until then" Liam bowed his head and turned to leave the slave following closely behind him.
Sculie watched their retreating figures. Where was the money? Perhaps he had overrated the human's intelligence. A plan started to form in Sculie's mind. Maybe he could fool the stupid creature.
~&~
A streak shot across the desert only a few feet above it's surface. Liam followed the contours of the desert floor rising over one side of the dunes and down the other. He looked at the instrument panel and was surprised to find that they only had half a tank of fuel, just enough to get them home. Someone had been "borrowing" fuel.
"Damn it's hot!" Billy stated matter of factually rolling up the sleeves of his tunic.
"I told you, you would regret wearing long-sleeves."
"So, you're not above an I told you so?"
"Of course not." Liam paused grinning mischievously. "I told you so." His grin soon left his face as the ground in front of them erupted in a fountain of sand. Liam swerved to miss it and another shot caused sand behind them to travel skyward. Billy lent forward and grabbed the radio.
"Base this is....Nova Beta we're under attack!"
"Nova, this is Foxhole. What is your position? Over."
"Where are we?"
"We're over the Julad wastes, forty degrees east, sixty south."
"Gotcha. Foxhole we're over the Juland wastes forty degrees east, sixty degrees south. Over." There was a loud explosion as a blast broke through the ships shields.
"We're sending help. ETA in about ten minutes. Over."
"Roger. Over and out." Billy's voice sounded more then a little worried.
"How long?"
"Ten minutes." Liam pulled back on the joystick letting a blast pass beneath them.
"I don't think we have ten minutes." Liam looked over his shoulder as he spoke. Four imperial cruisers were chasing them. One of them launched something from its right wing.
"It's some kind of missile." Billy pointed at the image on the radar screen. Liam nodded and swerved to let it pass by. The missile continued to follow them. The distance between them closing all the time. Liam pulled back on the joystick causing Nova Beta to rise higher into the air. The missile changed its direction again to follow them.
"Heat seeker!" He muttered his voice filled with a mixture of annoyance and frustration.
"Bad?"
"Very." Liam pushed down on the ship's controls and the ground rushed towards them. "We're not dead yet. Our only chance is if we can confuse our signature with the ground. Hopefully the heat from the surface of the dunes will scramble its senses and Force willing, it should miss us." He explained why he was flying into the ground to ease his frightened companion.
Billy nodded, taking in what Liam had just said and trying to force himself to see it as logical, as the only way they could survive but the blur of the oncoming ground and all the "hopefully"'s seemed to circumnavigate the logic centre of his brain and head straight for unbridled fear.
He clutched the seat, digging his nails into the cushion, his knuckles turning white. The ground was still coming towards him at an alarming rate. He stole a glance at Liam. His friend was still leaning hard on the controls, making the craft go down. Billy gulped. It took every ounce of will power he possessed to stop himself from wrestling the controls from Liam's grasp and pulling the plane out of its dive. Instead he closed his eyes and repeated a frantic mantra silently to himself over and over again.
* He knows what he's doing. We're not going to die.* Suddenly he felt the sensation of his stomach being left behind somewhere near the planet's surface because Liam had pulled sharply out of the dive. The missile hit the dunes just underneath them.
"I told you!" Liam cried in victory.
"That was too close." Billy opened his eyes sighing in relief. He slowly unfurled his fingers and flexed them trying to get the blood to flow back to their tips. He was glad that he had left his stomach back on the dunes because he felt certain that had it still been with him he most probably would have lost his lunch.
Their relief was short lived. Blaster bolts rocketed the ship throwing them against the controls. Liam's head struck the dashboard and he felt something warm trickle down the side of his face. Somewhat dazed he moved his hand to his face to where he could feel the stream. He pulled it away again and shakily positioned it in front of his eyes. Red. Slowly his hand started to move further and further away from him and he tried desperately to hold onto his consciousness but the world continued to recede. Soon the darkness engulfed him and he knew nothing more.
~&~
Billy looked at Liam, horrified by his friend's still figure. His hands acted without thought and he grabbed the joystick in front of the co-pilot's seat and tried to pull the craft up again but the dead weight of his friend made the task impossible. They had been flying so close to the ground already and were running out of time.
A huge jolt ran throw the ship and the sound of breaking glass filled it as the windscreen shattered. The impact sent Billy flying forward in a shower of glass. He landed face down a few feet from the craft and immediately flung his arms up to protect his head from the glass that was raining down around him.
Once he was certain that it was safe, he climbed gingerly to his feet then waited for the world to stop moving before he walked, swaying slightly, towards the ship. He found Liam still in the craft slumped over the consoles and strapped to the seat by harnesses that Billy had forgotten to use. He reached across the broken glass into the cockpit and pressed his index and middle fingers against Liam's neck looking for any sign of life. He felt the slow thump, thump of his friends heart beat and released the breath that he had not realised he had been holding.
"Get up. Put your hands in the air." A robotic voice barked behind him. Slowly Billy rose to his feet and lifted his hands above his head. "Turn around slowly." He moved his feet in a small circle as he slowly obeyed the command. He found himself looking down the barrels of at least sixteen blasters. The robot who had spoken signalled to two of its counterparts and Billy guessed that it was the leader. The two robotic creatures moved towards him and he felt all hope dissolve when they took the blaster that had been strapped to his thigh.
"What about that one." The one with Billy's blaster asked its leader indicating towards Liam.
"Scan him."
"He's dead." Billy held his breath hoping that his metallic captors would believe him. The leader looked at him for a moment before nodding. Billy felt the cold nose of a blaster press into his back and he was pushed to one of the imperial ships, which had landed close by.