CHAPTER 5: The Smuggler's Moon
"Alright, what's going on here, Princess? This has a LOT more to do with than you just joyriding around the galaxy, or am I wrong?"
Raa'chel shifted uncomfortably under Ash's reproving gaze. Ash had been under considerable distress since they had gone to lightspeed. The sudden lurch of the Corellia Star had turned out to be the impact of a TIE fighter's charred and smoking solar panel breaking apart and lodging itself into the hyperdrive section. This had the effect of causing a slow leak in the hyperdrive actuator.
In short, the damage had brought the Star out of hyperdrive. When a Star Destroyer is chasing you, you do not want to be a sitting duck.
Since then, Ash and Kowe had been hard at work trying to get the ship's engines back to stable. So it was immediately after Kowe had mistakenly shocked Ash with a power torch that Ash had cursed aloud, stopped work, and demanded the truth from Raa'chel.
Raa'chel sighed heavily. This was going to be harder than she thought. The Rebels were outlaws after all, and she was certain Ash would turn her in once he knew what she was after.
But then, he hadn't shown any loyalty to the Empire thus far. She had no choice but to trust him.
She opened her mouth to reply when Kowe's furry head appeared from the maintenance pit, next to Ash's grease- stained one. He tapped Ash on the shoulder and chirped, "Scuda jeyut!" Ash replied by sighing heavily and saying, "Yea alright. I'm coming." Then both their heads disappeared under the deck grating.
Raa'chel figured it was best to leave them to their work. She stood up, stretched, and decided to explore the ship.
Her footsteps echoed down the dimly lighted hallways of the Corellia Star. She kept reflecting on how everything had changed in the past few months. These thoughts only served to depress her. She stopped her pacing while she was next to an open cabin door. Curiously, she opened the door and peered inside.
It must have been the captain's quarters. It was significantly larger than her cabin, and yet it was sparsely furnished. Raa'chel looked around at the few items in here; Ash's longcoat hung from a hook on the far wall. A pitiful desk sat in the room, accompanied by an equally pitiful chair and computer. It was almost militaristic in furnishings, with almost no decoration, except-
It was then that Raa'chel saw the holograph lying on Ash's bunk. She looked behind her and listened. Ash and Kowe were still working. Gingerly, she picked up the holograph and activated it. It was someone Raa'chel did not recognize. A woman, young and fair, stared back at her with deep grey eyes. Then the holographic lips began to move.
"Ash," she said, "I needed to send you this." The woman paused; whatever this was, it was hard or her. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer. It's been six months and I- I'm sorry, but I'm not going to wait for you anymore. I've found someone else. I am truly sorry, but I need someone who's not going to spend the rest of their life running from the Imperials. I need stability. And you can't give me that. I hope you understand. I love you."
With that, the hologram disappeared.
"Sedara."
Raa'chel dropped the hologram in surpise and spun around. Ash stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. His face was set in a mask of stone. Raa'chel looked into his eyes. They looked lifeless.
"What?" Raa'chel asked.
Ash came into the room, bent down and picked up the hologram. "Her name is Sedara," Ash began. His eyes lingered for a moment on Sedara's last letter to him. He set the hologram down on his desk and turned back to Raa'chel. She looked positively embarassed about the situation. She was about to apologize when Ash spoke again.
"Why were the Imperials after you?"
Raa'chel closed her mouth again. He didn't want to hear an apology. "Alright. I'm trying to locate the Rebellion. I was hoping they'd be able to help me liberate Kalaador. I didn't want to tell you at first, because-"
Ash put up his hand to stop her. "I know, you didn't trust me. That's unimportant."
Ash paced the room for a moment. Raa'chel hoped inside that she was right to trust Ash. Finally he looked dead at her and said, "Hyperdrive's damaged pretty bad and we need parts. The closest system has an old friend of mine on it. It just so happens, that Timon's a Rebel," Ash then paused, and said, "among other things. I'll put you in touch with him."
Raa'chel smiled again and said, "Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate all the help you and Kowe have given me." Raa'chel gestured to the holograph and added, "And, I'm sorry about going thru your things. It was rude of me."
Ash replied, "Don't worry about it. Let's just get to Nar Shaadaa."
+ * * *
+
+ Nar Shadaa was known as "The Smuggler's Moon." It
orbited Nal Hutta, homeworld of the vile Hutt Crime Syndicate. A lot of unsavory characters frequented Nar Shadaa, making illegal trade runs or petitioning the local Hutt crimelord for a favor or two. This made Nar Shadaa very dangerous. But it did have an advantage. The Hutts did not welcome the Empire on its turf, and the Empire was content to allow the sluglike race its free hand in underworld politics and dealings.
The Corellia Star flew its way thru the steel and glass maze of buildings that smothered Nar Shaadaa's landscape. Everywhere that Raa'chel looked from her seat in the cockpit, she saw a veritable garden of skyscrapers and starports. All around them flew airspeeder and starship traffic, all going to whatever activity (legal or otherwise), had bid them to the Vertical City.
A com light flared on the Star's console. Ash flicked the switch into the "on" position.
"This is Docking Control to incoming YT-1210 freighter. Please identify," the com officer said thru the transmitter.
Ash pressed a few buttons on the overhead panel before responding, "Freighter Corellia Star requesting docking clearance for repairs. Captain Ash Jerjerrod speaking."
"Request granted, Captain Jerjerrod. Please proceed to docking bay six-oh-four."
Ash then switched off the com. He motioned to Kowe to find the correct docking bay on the navcomputer. It was then that Raa'chel had to ask, "What was Sedara waiting for?"
Ash paused, and the looked to his Ewok companion. Kowe took one look at his captain's stony face and quickly turned his attention back to the navcomputer.
Ash sighed heavily and said, "I was serving time on a labor world for smuggling. Sedara and I were planning our wedding when I was arrested. I asked her to wait for my year sentence to be up. She didn't."
Raa'chel then understood why Ash was so secretive. He had been hurt before. She could certainly understand loss. "I'm sorry," she said.
"It's not your fault," Ash said simply. He then turned back to his piloting duties.
The Corellia Star approached docking bay six-oh-four and hovered over it. Slowly, the ship descended and extended her landing gear. With a soft thump, the Corellia Star had landed gently on Nar Shaadaa.
***
The soft squeak of the glass being cleaned by a soiled rag was just one of the many sounds that permeated the "Rimmer's Rest." A tavern/inn combination, the "Rest" was just one of the many private establishments on Nar Shaadaa, but unlike the many businesses that were swallowed up in this monument to progress, the "Rest" had flourished.
The Rimmer's Rest had only one employee. His name was Elmer. The grizzled old man behind the bar hucked a wad of spit into the glass he was cleaning. His rough right hand and cybernetic left worked the filthy cloth over the glass and spit, shining the container to what Elmer must have believed was clean.
A waft of greenish smoke drifted into Elmer's nostril from the end of the bar. Elmer began to choke on the hazy smoke and began a series of dry, hacking coughs. He looked up, following the trail of smoke back to it's owner. He was hard to make out in the smoke, but the red glow from the cigarillo clutched in his yellowing teeth made out a few harsh lines. They were battle scars.
Still hacking, he choked out, "Drink, mister?"
A sound like the tearing of sheetmetal emanated from the smoking specter. It took Elmer a moment to realize that this was the man's voice.
"Whiskey."
Elmer took a step back, and after a tense moment, reached for the glass he had been cleaning. He was the startled into dropping the glass on the floor when the man spoke again.
"No, the whole bottle."
"Alright, what's going on here, Princess? This has a LOT more to do with than you just joyriding around the galaxy, or am I wrong?"
Raa'chel shifted uncomfortably under Ash's reproving gaze. Ash had been under considerable distress since they had gone to lightspeed. The sudden lurch of the Corellia Star had turned out to be the impact of a TIE fighter's charred and smoking solar panel breaking apart and lodging itself into the hyperdrive section. This had the effect of causing a slow leak in the hyperdrive actuator.
In short, the damage had brought the Star out of hyperdrive. When a Star Destroyer is chasing you, you do not want to be a sitting duck.
Since then, Ash and Kowe had been hard at work trying to get the ship's engines back to stable. So it was immediately after Kowe had mistakenly shocked Ash with a power torch that Ash had cursed aloud, stopped work, and demanded the truth from Raa'chel.
Raa'chel sighed heavily. This was going to be harder than she thought. The Rebels were outlaws after all, and she was certain Ash would turn her in once he knew what she was after.
But then, he hadn't shown any loyalty to the Empire thus far. She had no choice but to trust him.
She opened her mouth to reply when Kowe's furry head appeared from the maintenance pit, next to Ash's grease- stained one. He tapped Ash on the shoulder and chirped, "Scuda jeyut!" Ash replied by sighing heavily and saying, "Yea alright. I'm coming." Then both their heads disappeared under the deck grating.
Raa'chel figured it was best to leave them to their work. She stood up, stretched, and decided to explore the ship.
Her footsteps echoed down the dimly lighted hallways of the Corellia Star. She kept reflecting on how everything had changed in the past few months. These thoughts only served to depress her. She stopped her pacing while she was next to an open cabin door. Curiously, she opened the door and peered inside.
It must have been the captain's quarters. It was significantly larger than her cabin, and yet it was sparsely furnished. Raa'chel looked around at the few items in here; Ash's longcoat hung from a hook on the far wall. A pitiful desk sat in the room, accompanied by an equally pitiful chair and computer. It was almost militaristic in furnishings, with almost no decoration, except-
It was then that Raa'chel saw the holograph lying on Ash's bunk. She looked behind her and listened. Ash and Kowe were still working. Gingerly, she picked up the holograph and activated it. It was someone Raa'chel did not recognize. A woman, young and fair, stared back at her with deep grey eyes. Then the holographic lips began to move.
"Ash," she said, "I needed to send you this." The woman paused; whatever this was, it was hard or her. "I'm sorry, but I can't wait any longer. It's been six months and I- I'm sorry, but I'm not going to wait for you anymore. I've found someone else. I am truly sorry, but I need someone who's not going to spend the rest of their life running from the Imperials. I need stability. And you can't give me that. I hope you understand. I love you."
With that, the hologram disappeared.
"Sedara."
Raa'chel dropped the hologram in surpise and spun around. Ash stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. His face was set in a mask of stone. Raa'chel looked into his eyes. They looked lifeless.
"What?" Raa'chel asked.
Ash came into the room, bent down and picked up the hologram. "Her name is Sedara," Ash began. His eyes lingered for a moment on Sedara's last letter to him. He set the hologram down on his desk and turned back to Raa'chel. She looked positively embarassed about the situation. She was about to apologize when Ash spoke again.
"Why were the Imperials after you?"
Raa'chel closed her mouth again. He didn't want to hear an apology. "Alright. I'm trying to locate the Rebellion. I was hoping they'd be able to help me liberate Kalaador. I didn't want to tell you at first, because-"
Ash put up his hand to stop her. "I know, you didn't trust me. That's unimportant."
Ash paced the room for a moment. Raa'chel hoped inside that she was right to trust Ash. Finally he looked dead at her and said, "Hyperdrive's damaged pretty bad and we need parts. The closest system has an old friend of mine on it. It just so happens, that Timon's a Rebel," Ash then paused, and said, "among other things. I'll put you in touch with him."
Raa'chel smiled again and said, "Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate all the help you and Kowe have given me." Raa'chel gestured to the holograph and added, "And, I'm sorry about going thru your things. It was rude of me."
Ash replied, "Don't worry about it. Let's just get to Nar Shaadaa."
+ * * *
+
+ Nar Shadaa was known as "The Smuggler's Moon." It
orbited Nal Hutta, homeworld of the vile Hutt Crime Syndicate. A lot of unsavory characters frequented Nar Shadaa, making illegal trade runs or petitioning the local Hutt crimelord for a favor or two. This made Nar Shadaa very dangerous. But it did have an advantage. The Hutts did not welcome the Empire on its turf, and the Empire was content to allow the sluglike race its free hand in underworld politics and dealings.
The Corellia Star flew its way thru the steel and glass maze of buildings that smothered Nar Shaadaa's landscape. Everywhere that Raa'chel looked from her seat in the cockpit, she saw a veritable garden of skyscrapers and starports. All around them flew airspeeder and starship traffic, all going to whatever activity (legal or otherwise), had bid them to the Vertical City.
A com light flared on the Star's console. Ash flicked the switch into the "on" position.
"This is Docking Control to incoming YT-1210 freighter. Please identify," the com officer said thru the transmitter.
Ash pressed a few buttons on the overhead panel before responding, "Freighter Corellia Star requesting docking clearance for repairs. Captain Ash Jerjerrod speaking."
"Request granted, Captain Jerjerrod. Please proceed to docking bay six-oh-four."
Ash then switched off the com. He motioned to Kowe to find the correct docking bay on the navcomputer. It was then that Raa'chel had to ask, "What was Sedara waiting for?"
Ash paused, and the looked to his Ewok companion. Kowe took one look at his captain's stony face and quickly turned his attention back to the navcomputer.
Ash sighed heavily and said, "I was serving time on a labor world for smuggling. Sedara and I were planning our wedding when I was arrested. I asked her to wait for my year sentence to be up. She didn't."
Raa'chel then understood why Ash was so secretive. He had been hurt before. She could certainly understand loss. "I'm sorry," she said.
"It's not your fault," Ash said simply. He then turned back to his piloting duties.
The Corellia Star approached docking bay six-oh-four and hovered over it. Slowly, the ship descended and extended her landing gear. With a soft thump, the Corellia Star had landed gently on Nar Shaadaa.
***
The soft squeak of the glass being cleaned by a soiled rag was just one of the many sounds that permeated the "Rimmer's Rest." A tavern/inn combination, the "Rest" was just one of the many private establishments on Nar Shaadaa, but unlike the many businesses that were swallowed up in this monument to progress, the "Rest" had flourished.
The Rimmer's Rest had only one employee. His name was Elmer. The grizzled old man behind the bar hucked a wad of spit into the glass he was cleaning. His rough right hand and cybernetic left worked the filthy cloth over the glass and spit, shining the container to what Elmer must have believed was clean.
A waft of greenish smoke drifted into Elmer's nostril from the end of the bar. Elmer began to choke on the hazy smoke and began a series of dry, hacking coughs. He looked up, following the trail of smoke back to it's owner. He was hard to make out in the smoke, but the red glow from the cigarillo clutched in his yellowing teeth made out a few harsh lines. They were battle scars.
Still hacking, he choked out, "Drink, mister?"
A sound like the tearing of sheetmetal emanated from the smoking specter. It took Elmer a moment to realize that this was the man's voice.
"Whiskey."
Elmer took a step back, and after a tense moment, reached for the glass he had been cleaning. He was the startled into dropping the glass on the floor when the man spoke again.
"No, the whole bottle."