"Go down to the end of the road and park" said Luke The girl was clearly totally embarrassed by his implications, he found her blush quite amusing. Sam listened to his orders and parked. She shut off the engine and turned to him. "You know just between you and me your cute and all, but you are so not in any condition for any of those types of activities," said Sam.
He laughed at her reply. "No, it's through those trees," said Luke. He tried to open the door latch and was having no luck doing it. "Here let me help you," said Sam. She opened the door and he staggered out. Sam followed him out and closed the door behind her. He tried to walk and was staggering slightly. Sam put her shoulder under his and helped him walk. They walked for a few minutes maybe longer. She was too busy trying to keep Luke standing. They entered a clearing and Sam's mouth dropped open.
In the empty space was a ship all right. It looked like some sort of high tech stealth fighter. It was all sweeping lines and smooth arcs. It vaguely resembled a metallic bird or some exotic weapon.
"Holy shit!" said Sam Luke laughed at her. "What's the matter, never seen a star ship before?" said Luke Sam's mouth dropped open and she gaped in shock. "It's a space ship?" she said in a breathless whisper.
"Yep, now if you don't mind I have to be going," said Luke He touched the side of it and a small ladder rolled out of the things side. Luke tried to climb the ladder and nearly fell off of it.
Sam debated on what to do next. Was that freak gone at her house? Did she even have a house anymore? She saw Luke almost fall off the ladder for the second time. She swore, the guy would never be able to fly in that condition, especially not with one hand. She swore again and headed for the ladder. She climbed up the side and reached Luke quite quickly.
"What are you doing?" said Luke "Making sure you get home" said Sam "I've got it, I'm fine really" said Luke Sam snorted "No your not, you can't even stand" said Sam "You certainly can't fly that thing" said Sam.
He was trying to open the canopy one handed and it refused to open for him. Sam hit the other latch and the clear dome slid back revealing two seats. Sam sighed, if he actually succeeded in taking off in that thing there was no telling how long he could keep it in the air.
"Get in the back seat" said Sam "Why can you fly?" said Luke "Nope but you do and I'm a real fast learner" said Sam "This is a very complicated craft" said Luke "What's to know keep the yoke steady and remember which direction is up and what's down" said Sam "I thought you said you've never flown?" said Luke "Do video games count?" said Sam.
Luke sighed he was beginning to feel dizzy, maybe she was right and he shouldn't fly. "All right but you need to put a flight suit on" said Luke He pulled out the spare for the gunners mate chair in the back from behind the seat. Sam climbed down and slid the strange fabric over her clothes. It was huge on her so she rolled up the pants legs. Luke eyed her dubiously, she looked ridiculous in the oversized suit.
He handed her a small clip like thing. "Attach it to your collar, its your helmet and air supply" said Luke He pushed on the one on his collar and a strange bunch of clear plates enclosed his head. Sam hooked the thing on her collar and pushed the button. Her head was suddenly encased in a weird bubble. Luke climbed into the back seat and Sam took the front seat.
"Hit the canopy controls, there right there," said Luke He pointed to a blue button. Sam hit the button and the dome slid shut. She swallowed, this was it she was going to fly, for real. No reloads if she crashed, just a huge splat. It was incredibly daunting.
"Fasten your flight harness," said Luke. Sam looked at the seat. On it was what looked like a five point racing harness. She fastened it and waited expectantly. The control board was a mass of unknown buttons and none of them marked in English.
"Now we fire up the engines, start with the repulsors, those will get us above the tree line" said Luke "They go up?" said Sam "Yes among other things" said Luke. He showed her where the buttons for those were and she pushed them. She felt a strange thrumming sound coming from below her. It was making her butt vibrate and it tickled.
"Now pull back gently on the controls" said Luke. Sam did so slowly she didn't want to take any chances of damaging the craft by accident. The ship slowly left the ground and rose above the trees. It was nearly sun up and the sky was starting to turn gray. "As soon as we are clear of the trees, you'll need to switch to the main engines," said Luke
He told her to push a few more buttons, so she did. The thrum was replaced by a roaring sound.
"Whoa loud" said Sam "Not really, we're just on top of them" said Luke "Now wait a few seconds more, than slowly depress the long pedal at your feet" said Luke Sam waited until she was sure she was above the trees and then gently pressed down some on the pedal. The ship jolted forward and Sam barely kept the control yoke steady. "Now you want to start climbing before we meet some taller trees," said Luke.
Sam pulled back slightly and the craft climbed higher. They were skimming across the treetops when the alarm went off "What the heck is that?" said Sam
"Those are your sensors, that button kills the audio alarm" said Luke "Now hit the buttons above the blinking lights and see what they are telling you" said Luke She did and symbols scrolled across a miniature screen. She couldn't read the words, but she recognized the picture of the F14 on the screen.
"Oh shit, the Air Force!" said Sam "Will they shoot us down?" said Luke Sam sighed "More than likely, we're a UFO" said Sam "Are they able to leave your atmosphere?" he asked "Ah no, nothing we have can do that except the space shuttle" said Sam "You only have a shuttle?" said Luke
"Ah yeah why?" said Sam
"No reason" said Luke "What is an UFO?" said Luke "Ah that's an unidentified flying object" said Sam "and they usually shoot these down?" said Luke "Yeah like dur; they could be spies or something" said Sam "we are not spies, will they still shoot us?" said Luke
"Ah I really don't want to find out, do you?" said Sam "No not really, can you evade them?" said Luke "Yeah if I can keep climbing and hope they don't get a lucky shot before I do" said Sam "You can always shoot back" said Luke Sam debated it, then looked at the buttons in front of her.
Whatever this ship was packing, it was probably a sure bet that those planes weren't a match for it. It felt to Sam like attacking someone with a bazooka when they are holding a butter knife. She decided against that course of action and depressed the pedal some more.
It was a safe bet this thing could also out run them. Luke looked back at the two fighters behind them. He had the countermeasures prepared just in case they did fire. He was proud of Sam for not simply shooting them down. Sam continued to speed ahead of the fighters and to climb.
Then they fired at them. Luke released two chaff bursts. Sam turned the yoke quickly and rolled the ship out of the way. "Holy shit, what were those?" said Sam "heat seekers, fortunately they like the chaff better" said Luke. Sam pulled back and started to climb again.
"You need to activate the atmospheric controls," said Luke He pointed out another set of buttons for her to push. The fighters followed them as high as they could, then broke off pursuit, when they reached the outer atmosphere.
"Put your nose down some and keep her steady we're clear of the atmosphere" said Luke Sam did as he said and was awed by the view in front of her. They were now in space, the planet was below them. Like some giant sized painting it hung in front of them.
"Now point our nose that way and activate your com system" said Luke "com system?" said Sam "Yes, I was supposed to meet someone this ship doesn't have a sub-light drive yet, so Han is meeting us" said Luke "Ah okay and then we'll do what?" said Sam "Then we will hook ourselves up below him and get a ride out of this system" said Luke "The star system?" said Sam "Yes what else did you think I was talking about?" said Luke
Sam was somewhat shocked yeah she should have expected this. "You've never left your world before have you?" said Luke "Ah no, most people don't unless they work for NASA" said Sam "NASA?" said Luke "The people with the space shuttle, it's a government agency" said Sam
"How far do they usually travel?" said Luke "Usually only as far as our moon" said Sam "Your going much farther than that, does it scare you?" said Luke "I'd be lying if I said no, but that doesn't mean I want to turn back" said Sam "Good cause we don't have enough fuel for that" said Luke The subject was making Sam nervous so she changed it.
"Ah so where exactly are we supposed to meet ah… Han?" said Sam "Out past the planet with the rings" said Luke. Sam suppressed the urge to gulp nervously. Holy shit they were going far. Farther than anyone from earth had ever been. She had never really thought about what she was doing when she climbed into the cockpit with Luke. She decided she really needed to think about something else, before she hurled in this bubble she was wearing.
"So what gives with the glowing sword thingy?' said Sam. He chuckled "Its called a light-saber and it's the traditional weapon of a Jedi" said Luke "what's a Jed eye?" said Sam "The Jedi are the guardians of peace throughout the galaxy" said Luke, or at least they would be if the galaxy was at peace, thought Luke. "If its supposed to be a Jedi weapon how come that guy had one, he didn't look at all peaceful," said Sam
"No, no he wasn't one of us, he was a Sith the enemies of the Jedi" said Luke. The last word came out in a gasp. "Are you all right back there?" said Sam "Yeah fine, just bumped something" said Luke "Please, just pay attention to your flying and we'll be fine" said Luke
"Ah Luke?" said Sam "Yes Sam" said Luke "I never got to thank you for saving my ass back there" said Sam "Your welcome hon, and your already thanking me by helping me get home" said Luke "It's the least I can do, besides your too cute to get splattered" said Sam "You think I'm cute?" said Luke.
His tone was teasing again, but she had the distinct impression that the Jedi was blushing behind that mask. "Yeah I think anyone who's not a lesbian would say that, why am I making the Jedi blush?" said Sam. He chuckled at her "Maybe, but thank you all the same, your not so bad yourself" said Luke. Sam smiled, so he was interested.
They were coming up on an asteroid belt. "Oh great now what?' said Sam "You steer though them, carefully, use your instincts and you'll do fine" said Luke. Sam took a steadying breath and tried to calm her racing pulse. She slipped into an almost trance like state. She began maneuvering them through the asteroid belt. It wasn't until they exited the other side, that Sam sighed in relief.
"Very good" said Luke. He was mildly surprised, she had handled the craft so well. He had expected a much bumpier ride from a beginner.
Sam was handling the craft like she was born to it. Sam could see Saturn ahead of them and it looked beautiful. Sam had been worried all through the asteroid belt. Until she realized how easily the craft maneuvered, it could probably turn on a dime literally.
"Yes it is beautiful out here, I can show you so many beautiful worlds, would you like that?" said Luke. Sam smiled "Sounds like a date" said Sam. Luke just smiled, but didn't answer her.
"So where exactly are you from?" said Sam "Tattooine, it's a desert planet, my guardians were moisture farmers" said Luke "Moisture farmers?" said Sam.
She wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded dull. "All of its desert?" said Sam "Yes, it has two suns and not much else" said Luke "Sounds horrible, no wonder you left" said Sam "I almost didn't, I almost ended up becoming a moisture farmer too" said Luke "What stopped you?" said Sam
"My dad, he came and got me" said Luke "Your dad?" said Sam "Yeah he was a Jedi, and after Uncle Owen died my Aunt Beru had just given up on everything" said Luke "Some people do that when they lose someone" said Sam
"My mom reacted the same way after dad died, she's never really gotten over it" said Sam "Your dad died?" said Luke. "She remarried last year though," said Sam "Yeah he was in the gulf war, he was an army ranger" said Sam
"I'm sorry" said Luke "Its okay at least you have a dad though right" said Sam "Yeah he's all the family I have left, him and my sister" said Luke "You have a sister?" said Sam "Yeah this is her ship, I borrowed it remember" said Luke
"What about your mother?' said Sam "She was murdered when I was a baby, he was going to kill us too until dad stopped him" said Luke "Him who?" said Sam "Vader, my father's former master, he went mad and joined the Sith" said Luke
"Oh my gawd! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories" said Sam "They were worse for my father, so bad my aunt and uncle raised me" said Luke
" His friend Bail took in my sister, until he could handle it" said Luke "Ouch poor guy, he must have really been hurting" said Sam. This time Luke changed the subject, he would have to swear her to secrecy later.
"You've never seen technology like this have you?" said Luke "Only in sci-fi movies" said Sam "I didn't think stuff like this really existed" said Sam
