Te Rechu'son moved slowly through the blackness of space, its engines humming softly. It was in no hurry; the cargo and passenger ship still had plenty of time to meet at the rendezvous point in the Dantooine system. The ship was one of the few Twi'leki made ships and as such carried Twi'lek passengers and crew. The ship carried generators, tools, and communicators (of excellent make) along with various other useful products of interest to the galaxy. Te Rechu'son's main focus was to promote trade in legitimate supplies and technologies, not the supply of the addictive spice ryll, or in slaves. It did this in part to ease the veracity of slavers and drug dealers to their planet Ryloth and to attract more 'civilized' businesses and species. It was to little avail although the ship and its crew tried their best. No matter how many legitimate businesses and trading opportunities they opened up, hundreds more slavers and delinquents moved onto their planet causing havoc and all but erasing the deals they had made. Ryloth was not safe. Not since ryll had been sold off planet, and powerful, rich beings had decided that an attractive Twi'lek slave would impress their peers. Twi'lek slaves, particularly females, seemed to be all the rage amongst the rich and corrupt.
Today, along with its usual cargos, the ship was carrying over one thousand Twi'lek passengers off world to safer settlements that had been set up on the planets Dantooine and Yavin 4. Most were sad to leave their homes and their world behind, but it was far better than seeing the destruction of their families or being turned into slaves. Not for the first time, many of them found themselves wondering when the Empire would step in and stop the ravaging of Ryloth.
Van Rentua was a navigator and mechanic for Te Rechu'son and he was pleased at how many civilians had decided to leave their criminal infested cities and look for a better life. His people were not warriors, although they could defend themselves when they had to. They preferred subtle actions and cunning to open combat, the former often proving more effective. But both the Twi'leks and their cities were poorly equipped to deal with these threats on such an extreme level. They hadn't had time to adapt. He was eager to get them to their new settlements, although the captain kept the ship at a slow and comfortable speed. The ships destinations had been entered into the Navigation computer and Van had decided to check on his mother in the civilian areas. He guessed she was at one of the cafeterias, and feeling hungry himself he double checked the coordinates and left the cockpit.
He walked briskly down the well lit corridors, touched a control with a clawed finger and the door slid open with a slight grinding noise. He made a mental note to apply some lubricant to it after his lunch. The cafeteria was flooded with the voices of nearly a thousand Twi'leks, gathered in family groups, standing in line or simply sleeping away the long ride to Dantooine. The different shades of their skin made the floor look like a cascade of moving color. Making his way through the crowd, he eventually spied his green skinned mother sitting near one of Te Rechu'son's viewports gazing out at the stars. She had a plate of native fungi and plants in front of her but seemed more intent on her star gazing than her food. As he seated himself, her red eyes turned to him and her lekku curled in a way that showed she was happy at seeing her son. All Twi'leks possessed two tapered, prehensile growths at the back of their skulls which they called Lekku or Tchun Tchin. Subtle movements of the Lekku conveyed many meanings and were part of the Twi'lek language. Two Twi'leks could carry on a conversation entirely with their lekku and their conversation could remain completely private to those outside their species.
"You should eat. Space can be tiring and you need to keep up your strength." Van said, his lekku curling in concern.
"I've been in space before, and I'm still here aren't I?" She pointed out. "Besides, digesting the scenery can be just as satisfying as any food."
He couldn't help but smile. "But you're not as young as you were the last time you were in space. And scenery only fills the eyes not the stomach." He pushed the plate closer to her.
"You live to remind me how old I'm getting don't you?" Her lekku twitched in mock annoyance. She examined her face in the reflection of her eating utensils. "I don't look that old. At least not as old as her." She pointed to a particularly old and shriveled looking woman who was busy signing her lekku to no one.
Van grimaced. "On second thought, you're the picture of youth." She could tell he was kidding.
"I knew I kept you around for a reason. Here," she shoved her plate of food towards him. "You're hungry and will have to get back to work soon. I can get more anytime I want."
He accepted the plate and began eating. His mother leaned back in her chair watching him. "So tell me, what's this new world like?" She said, folding her arms behind her head and gazing back at the stars. He didn't miss the note of worry in her voice.
"It isn't close to Tatooine if that's what you mean. The terrain is much the same, harsh, dry. But then again that's a bit like home isn't it?" He tried to change the subject. "I think I might stay there for a while, to help you get situated...make sure everything's going well before I go back to Te Rechu'son. I'll send you part of the credits I earn as well." He knew the subject of Tatooine distressed her. She herself had once been a slave to one of the criminals there, a Hutt if he remembered correctly. She told him she'd managed to escape, but that was all, and he didn't press the subject.
"Such a good son to send me your credits." She sighed.
"Well you're too old to work anyway." He got ready for the explosion.
"To old to work? To old to-hmph!" She made a particular sign with her lekku, that caused him to nearly choke on the piece of fungi he had in his mouth.
"I didn't know you had it in you to call your own son that." He smiled.
"Well my son asked for it." She huffed.
"I was kidding." He decided to play it safe.
"Ah, well you need a more colorful vocabulary anyway."
"I work on a ship mother, my vocabulary ought to be glowing."
"Oh really?" Her lekku curled in warning. "Care to demonstrate your stellar vocabulary in front of me?"
He quickly glanced at his watch. "I would, but coincidently, I think I should be going back to work...important things to do." He stood and smoothed out his robe. "I'll come see you later tonight." She nodded and smiled. Van curled the end of one of his lekku around the end of hers, their version of a hug before turning to go. As he walked back into the corridors, he decided to go make a quick check on the engines which were located two rooms away from the cafe before heading back to the cockpit. As head of maintenance, it never hurt to be cautious with things like engines and hyperdrive.
The entry door for the engine room was blast shielded and was able to seal itself incase something went wrong and then engines became unstable and dangerous to the rest of the ship. Van keyed in the entry code and stood back as the door unsealed itself and moved smoothly and soundlessly back into the wall. At least that door didn't need lubricant. He walked casually over the display screens showing different parts and heat levels of the engines. The readings glowed blue and green. He scrolled down the list of engine parts, checking the efficiency at which the engine was operating. Everything looked fine and he was satisfied now to return to the cockpit. As he turned away from the computer screens the ship suddenly lurched violently and threw him back against the wall. Alarms of all types began to sound.
With a groan, Van sat up and rubbed the bony protrusion at the back of his skull. He saw blood on his hands. Panic suddenly began to well in him. What had caused the ship to jolt like that? He got quickly to his feet, intending to check the engine readings again, fearing he had missed something. He fell over again as the ship lurched, this time in a different direction. It wasn't the engines. Suddenly a voice came over Te Rechu'son's intercoms. It was the captain. He could barely hear it over the wails and screams of the alarms. "All crew, all occupants get to emergency shelter areas immediately. Imperial fighters ha-"The voice was silenced as another blast shook the cargo ship to its core. Van felt a lump of cold dread in his stomach and his panic doubled. The Empire? What on Ryloth? He rushed to the door and keyed in the code. He had to get out, he had to find his mother and get her someplace safe. What was safe from the Empire? He tugged on the door, surprised that it hadn't opened with his key command. It didn't budge. "No." He said to himself. "No!" The computer in the ship had sensed an air leak and had sealed the engine room from harm. He was trapped. He pulled on the door again, with all his might, keyed the command again, trying to manually override the system but the door stayed put. Another blast and he was thrown to the ceiling. He landed on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. He stood painfully and clutched his side, wheezing as he ran back to the door. He pressed his face against the view port in the door. He could just barely make out the entrance to the cafeteria from here.
His lekku lashed in horror as he saw what the Imperials were doing to Te Rechu'son. They were opening up air leaks in the hull. They were using heavy artillery to wear down the shields, but then switched to light cannon fire to open up vacuums all throughout the ship. Everyone on board was suffocating. And he couldn't get to them. He couldn't get to his mother. Screaming he punched the control panel. "Let me out!" he shrieked at it. More blasts, more air leaks. Think! He told himself. Even if he got the door open, he wouldn't last long. He ran to a storage compartment and pulled out several air masks. He glanced out the doors view port again. Gravity was beginning to become unstable, things were beginning to float as the air rushed out the hundreds of holes in the hull. He could see Twi'leks clutching at their throats. Children collapsing at their parents feet. "NO! God damn it! WE'RE UNARMED!" He screamed. He could feel himself shaking. The whole ship was shaking. More blasts, hundreds of them, they were firing a continuous stream now. He slammed back to the ground, into the computer monitors, into pipes and equipment. He managed to drag himself back to the door and looked out. The laser fire was turning the objects it struck into shrapnel. He winced as several Twi'leks were torn into pieces. He ripped off the cover to the control panel and began grabbing wires trying to hot wire it. He lurched backwards at another blast into the corner of an engine casing, slashing open part of his lekku. He screamed as the nerve ridden organ ripped. Dots swam before his eyes, but he kept pressing wires together. He had just enough sense to grab his air mask as the doors finally slid open with a hiss as the air pressure in the room destabilized. It was silent. The alarms had stopped. The blasts had stopped. The voices had stopped. He immediately felt himself begin to lighten. The air was gone. He saw the blood from his lekku hanging in droplets in the void. Van had only one thought; he had to get to his mother. She might still be alive. She had to still be alive.
He pushed off the corridor with his feet, floating towards the ruined cafeteria where just minutes ago people had been eating with their families. The door was half floating, connected by only one hinge. It opened as a body floated through, its face still twisted in horror and pain. Van felt his stomach rising. He brushed past the body, its appendages swinging grotesquely. The café was a grave yard. He could see the blackness of space through the hull itself. The bodies were everywhere floating in the feeble light the stars gave. Droplets of blood flecked his pail olive skin as he 'swam' through it. Where was she? Panic was rising in him. He was on the verge of hyperventilating. More bodies collided with him, some of them only vaguely resembling the Twi'leks they had just been, flesh peeled away, organs sliding out into the blackness. A wave of nausea overcame him but he held it back. His foot collided with a young woman, causing her infant to come out of her dead grasp, its small face open in a silent, blank howl. Van began to shake violently and he could feel fear beginning to overtake him. Then he saw her. She was floating near her table. He scrambled wildly over to her, clinging to some dim hope that she was still alive. He grabbed one of the air masks he'd taken and took her shoulders, spinning her towards him. He knew at once she was dead. Most of her jaw was gone and her neck was nearly torn away, part of the view port she'd been sitting next to, admiring the stars, had impaled her. Her glossy, lifeless eyes stared at him. He couldn't take it. He pulled his air mask away and retched, his body heaving. His hands could barely function enough to put the mask back on. In horror he backed away from the mutilated corpse that was his mother. He backed into more corpses, their eyes starring.
Finally he screamed, in terror and in pain. He couldn't think, but his body was moving him someplace nonetheless. He was back in the corridor, down another one. After a blur of minutes he was in the cargo bay near the jettison for the escape pods. Abruptly Van came back to his senses. He wasn't trapped. If he could make it back to the café, he could get his mother, maybe he could save her with the aid tools in the pod. She's dead. The thought nearly floored him. He'd been in such a state of shock he hadn't allowed it to sink in. It had now. All the strength in him left and he collapsed in the pod. He shook as he cried his pain. He cried until he was exhausted from it. Survivors. The thought came to him. You might not be the only one. Weakly he pried him self up and stumbled over to the control panel for the pod. He clicked on the sensor, hoping it would pick up some heat forms, someone still alive. He scanned the first floor and cockpit. Nothing. His crewmates were dead as well. The second floor: Nothing. The third. There were three red shapes. Three had made it. He forced himself to check the other ship levels as well. Nothing. Without pausing he grabbed the air masks and left the pod.
Again the sensation of weightlessness came to him. He could also feel the temperature dropping rapidly, and returned to the pod to grab some heat blankets. The survivors wouldn't last long in the coldness of space. Van kicked off from the pod angling down the massive hangers corridors.