"Hey, could you hand my the hydro-spanner please?" Jaina asked from her perch on the Falcon.
I had come here with her dad to help work on his ship, which from what I had been told from the President of the New Republic, Leia Organa Solo wife to Han, that the Falcon always needed repairs. If one thing got fixed than another would break down. Since I would have had nothing better to do at the Solo house other than sit and listen to the droid babble on and on, I came with them.
I came here three days ago and had come to know the Solo family well. I considered them all good friends. They were great people. I couldn't wait to meet Jacen and Anakin, Jaina's brothers. Jacen was Jaina twin. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a twin. Twins have a special bond, or so I've heard.
" - You hear me? Hello?" Jaina was waving her arm back and forth.
I blushed slightly and bent down to retrieve what she'd asked for. "Sorry, here." I tossed the tool up to her and she snatched it out of the air with lightening fast reflexes. The Force. She'd told me about her powers. How she can sense stuff and move really fast. Sounds like a cool thing to be able to do. "When will be able to leave?"
"As soon as my mom is ready to leave, and the Falcon is ready." Her expression revealed a minute amount of disgust. It looked like a very controlled scrunching of her face. "My dad needs a new ship, that's what he needs. But, don't tell him I said that."
She broke out into a grin and swung down off the ship with cat like ease. I turned to see what she was running to. She was scurrying towards a man of medium build. His hair was blonde, a sandy blond, and he had blue eyes. He wore a black flight suit; clipped to his belt was a silver tube-thing.
"Uncle Luke!" Jaina said as she wrapped herself around the man.
Han Solo stepped out from under the ship, wiping his greasy, black coated hands on a rag. "How ya doin' Luke!" He said in a cheerful voice with a crooked grin that I had grown accustomed to. "Anakin hadn't gotten himself in trouble again, has he?" Anakin, I had learned, was capable of getting himself into a lot of mischief. He and Jacen were at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4.
"No, Han. Anakin and Jacen have been a lot of help at the academy. Leia had told me you might need my help. I never dreamed of having to help you fix the Millennium Falcon." His tone was teasing.
I crouched into the shadows, willing to just watch the family exchange of hellos. However, Han had other ideas. He called me over and I stepped out of the shadows and walked over to the group. I smiled at Luke.
"This is Brin," Han explained to Luke. "Brin, Luke." I nodded my head.
"Hello," Luke stayed back, understanding my uncertainty. "Leia told me that your looking for your father, is that right?"
I nodded my head. Could he find him? Han said that Luke would be able to help me.
"You saw him in a vision?"
Again, I nodded my head. How much had Leia told him? "A dream."
"I may be able to help you there." Luke's honesty surprised me. I squinted my eyes, trying to see the underlying emotion. He looked pretty sure of himself. There was no hesitancy in him.
"How?" I asked.
"By using the Force I can reach inside your mind and see the dream you had of your father. From there I can easily sense what planet he's on."
"Really!" I exploded. Then, "I mean, it's that easy?"
"Yes," He smiled. "That's pretty much all there is to it."
"When?"
"You mean when can we do it? How about right now?" He looked to Han. "If we could use the ship?" Han nodded and gestured us to the ramp with his arm. I followed Luke hesitantly. What would reaching into my mind do?
Inside, the Jedi Master asked me to sit down, the very seat I had first sat in when I came here off the street. He asked me to close my eyes, try and make my mind blank. No thought at all. I looked at him in confusion, than to Jaina - was I really supposed to do this? - She nodded her head.
I hardened my features and closed my eyes. Concentrating on my nervous breathing, my breath slowed along with my pounding pulse. My body seemed to go limp and I vaguely felt someone touching their fingers to my forehead. A bright white light exploded in my mind. I drew back in surprise, but relaxed when I heard someone whisper soothingly, either outside my head or inside. I felt Luke probing my brain, a little pressure here and then a little pressure there. Then it changed, grew more painful. Luke pulled away and I opened my eyes.
Luke was grinning. "Interesting. Were you trying to resist me?"
I shook my head. "Well, maybe at first. Is there a problem?"
"A bit. You're locked up pretty tightly. Let me try something else. Listen to the hum of the ship. Focus on it. That might provide an opening."
I shrugged my shoulders and again closed my eyes. I listened to the ship's engines hum, concentrating hard on them. I remembered all the times I spent on my father's ship. I always listened to the ship to help me sleep. It was a comfort, like listening to music, or having your mother sing or read a story to you.
It barely registered with me that Luke was probing my mind again. Whatever mental defenses I'd had, slipped down like falling water when I was remembering my father's ship. Luke had slipped past them, bouncing against my memory. He then swerved sharply and I felt as if a knife had been driven into my mind. My head snapped back painfully, bringing me fully aware of everything. I gasped as I felt my back hit hard against something. All the breath was knocked out of my lungs forcefully.
I quickly recovered and opened my eyes to see Han leaning over me. I saw against the other side of the lounge Jaina helping her uncle up to his feet. My eyes went wide. What the hell just happened? I looked questioningly at Han. "What happened?"
He helped me up and asked if I was okay. Being confused, I couldn't really decide if I was okay or not. My head pounded and my back ribs ached. I dumbly nodded my head.
"I found where your father is," Luke said as he sat down gingerly.
No longer curious as to what just happened, I dropped into a seat opposite him. "Where?"
"Straaton -
Before he could finish his sentence Han interrupted, "Straaton! That's way out on the rim, in wild space. Are you sure? It would take more than a week just to get there."
Luke nodded his head. "I'm sure Han. It was as clear as the nose on your face."
We know where he is? I refrained from jumping out of my seat in joy, instead I asked, "When do we go?"
"Once Leia is ready, the Falcon is ready, and we are stocked to go," Han listed. "Tomorrow morning we should be done with pre-flight evaluations."
I smiled.
The rest of the evening had crawled by. I didn't sleep. Finally, we were on our way. We roared out of the docking bay and jumped to hyperspace. The stars were a welcomed sight. A sign that I would see my father soon. A week. After all this time, I would finally see him.
I sat in the lounge fidgeting with the holo-board. Luke and Chewie were in the cockpit with Han, Jaina had left to get something to eat out of the galley. Which left me alone with President Leia Organa-Solo herself. She was much more beautiful in person. I had seen her lots on the vids at the orphanage.
"You know," Leia started. "You can play a game with that thing if you want.
I glanced at my fidgeting fingers and smiled goofily. "I don't know how to play."
"Would you like to learn? I'd let you win the first few times."
Let me win? I frowned. "No, uh-uh. No one lets me win. You play the way you always play. I'll take my chances."
"The odds are against you," she said with a smile.
"No one tells me the odds," I bantered back.
A strange look came over Leia. "You're Corellian?" She asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing, it's just Han says that. He's Corellian, also."
"Oh," I said. I was suddenly extremely tired. So tired I could feel my pulse slowing and my eyelids growing heavy. I tried unsuccessfully to hide it, but Leia saw and asked if I was all right. I mumbled something as everything blurred. That was all I remembered. I fell asleep.