"You know how to fly?" I say to my brother who appears to be entering a panic attack over what we just witnessed. He looks at me with slightly more horror than I would have hoped after asking somebody whether they could get your asses away from somebody who would probably kill you, but this is my brother. He is the biggest drama queen in existence.
"I know the basics. That's it! They don't teach padawans full piloting skills! It's not in the handbook!" He replies frantically, beginning to pace as the door to our ship closes.
"What handbook?"
"You know... The Jedi handbook."
"There is no handbook."
"Of course there is!"
"There is no handbook."
"Fine! But that doesn't mean I can fly this thing!"
I sigh as I cup my face into my hands. I know very well he could at least get the ship out of this derelict station if he put his mind to it, it's just a matter of calming him down.
"Bardo, you can either move this ship or we will get beheaded."
Shit. That probably wasn't the best way to calm him down. Still, he gulps and zooms across to the pilot seat, putting on the headset and frantically tapping away at random buttons. I drop the Queen of Rattatak who appears to be awakening from her woozey state induced by the Sith lords drugs into a seat and strap her in, and then do the same for myself.
"Don't blame me if I crash and we all die!" Bardo screeches, awkwardly turning the ship to face the other way. I shake my head at his terrible flying skills before remembering he knows more than me, and I make a mental note to find a new pilot on the first planet we land on.
And that's when I see it. In the corner of my eye, a figure.
The Sith lord.
The sight before me almost makes me sick.
"Bardo." I whisper, and his head snaps to the direction I am looking. All of the colour drains from his face, and I hear the Queen of Rattatak quietly gasping behind me.
The grin on the Sith lords face is the worst part. In either hand he holds the heads of Swelina and Falo, blood dripping from where the neck was severed from the body.
"I'll kill him." I mutter, "But not now."
Bardo looks at me and understands what I'm saying. He turns the ship around completely and it flies off into space.
"So, where exactly are we going?" Bardo asks, seemingly having gotten used to piloting the ship.
I'm completely stumped. Billions of planets, but not a single one pops into my head.
"Er..." I begin to mutter, before giving up and slipping back into my seat.
"Mos Eisley."
Now, completely awoken, and with a stern look upon her face, the Queen of Rattatak says the first words since being aboard our ship.
"Good morning to you too. And why exactly should we go there?" Bardo says sarcastically, and I'm about to yell at him for being so rude to somebody so high up in the political hierarchy of the galaxy, however she replies before I can.
"Do not be rude to me boy. I could shoot a blast through your skull quicker than you could blink. And you need to go to Mos Eisley because well, what good are padawan lightsabers going to be against the strongest forces of evil in the galaxy? Plus... you don't look exactly," she stops mid-sentence to think of the correct words to say that won't offend us, "You don't look exactly rich. And of course as you're planning to go after this Sith lord you can't go back to the Jedi academy as you know very well they'd keep you under lockdown. So you can either go to the cheapest market in the galaxy in Mos Eisley, or you can go to the most expensive stores wherever else and probably be able to afford one pair of goggles."
My jaw drops almost simultaneously with Bardo's. The fact she can formulate a plan for two people she has never met and has no clue about after just waking up from the most toxic sleep-inducing drugs in the galaxy baffles me.
"Oh don't look so shocked, The Rattataki are a race of war. I've had to formulate war plans in split seconds for years." She adds, unstrapping herself from her seat.
"Where's the armory?" She asks, heading for the elevator. I look at her with a look of confusion, surely the armory isn't the best place for a queen?
"Well if I'm going to help you fight I need a weapon, don't I? And all Grade-B ships have to be equipped with at least ten guns before they leave their station. It's common knowledge of the galaxy."
Bardo points her in the correct direction, and she gives us a firm nod and then walks away, her heels clapping against the metal surface of the ship floor.
"Mos Eisley it is..." Bardo grunts, returning to the piloting.
"Geez this city is big!" Bardo gasps, turning on his heels and running back into the ship. He re-emerges several seconds later having taken off several layers, 'Warm too. Sweating is a sign of weakness. And Jedi can't be weak right?"
I grunt at his lack of understanding of what weakness truly is within the Jedi order, and walk off on my own to see what I can find. The Queen of Rattatak, whose name I am yet to learn has gone off to the embassy to tell them to inform the people of her country she is all good and ready to be picked up from Mos Eisley. I'll almost be sad to see her go, as she's the only reason I didn't ring Bardo's neck throughout the journey.
There are thousands of shops throughout the market of Mos Eisley, a fancy dress stall being run by a dolled-up Hutt, two twin Twi'lek sisters running a gift stall with fascinating ornaments and jewellery, and an elderly Kage with no legs and only one eye selling guns that look like they could destroy an entire planet with one blast.
Only in Mos Eisley.
None of the stalls really seem of interest to me, although I know I'll have to buy myself a new lightsaber somewhere if I'm to have any chance of battling anybody. Padawan sabers tend to be rather unreliable in battle.
I notice Bardo haggling with an angry looking Togruta and instantly decide to walk over to get him out of any trouble he's managed to get himself into.
"Look, why can't you just sell them to me for fifty credits! It's not like it's that much of a drop?" He screeches, his face brightening up like a ready-to-be-picked tomato. The Togruta looks at me and then back at him, shaking her head.
"Because the original price is eight-hundred credits. You're not going to get a leather jacket of this quality anywhere else in the galaxy! So if you really want it you'll have to pay up!"
He begins to get agitated and I almost think he's about to burst into tears, before a familiar voice behind us perks up.
"I've got this, I'll buy it."
We turn to see the Queen of Rattatak, whose name I still still don't know, pulling the correct amount of money out of her cloak pocket and handing it over. The Togruta smirks and throws the jacket at Bardo's face.
"Thanks." He grunts, storming off.
"Ignore him," I say, "He's still stuck in a child's mindset."
"It's the least I could do, you two did save my life after all. And so I have come to the decision that I am willing to offer you my services."
I look at her, astounded for a second before what she said registers in my brain. Having a queen on board our team doesn't just mean an extra fighter. It means an entire planets army at our services, never mind the political advancements we could make with somebody as experienced as her.
"Are you serious?" I gasp, sounding slightly more shocked than I would like, I cough, and then re-word my sentence, "Of course, but only if you're sure."
"I know you have a serious mission. And I'd be more than willing to help. You saved my life, like I said," she grins, "So I, Loyus Montani, Queen of Rattak, am willing to offer you my services. I may not be the strongest looking woman and though I do have a few extra years than most fighters, I'll have you know I'm just as experienced with a blaster as the generals in my armies are. And I'll have you know, they'll be willing to fight for you as well."
I'm truly shocked, so much so that I don't know what to say.
"Well, I'll go buy myself a few things to make whichever room I am assigned my own, and then I'll meet you on the ship. Good day." She nods, pouting her lips and walking away into the market.
I can't take my gaze off of her. Did I really just bag us the Queen of the most violent race in the galaxy? I'm about to question my decision when there's a crash and a screech from behind me. I spin around, and notice an Ewok, no doubt still a baby, zooming past me. Behind him, an angry Zabrak is keeping up a chase and screaming something about the Ewok stealing. I laugh at how funny the sight is, the baby Ewok managing to outsmart a Zabrak, which are supposedly one of the smartest species in the galaxy.
The Ewok hurriedly looks over his shoulder, and using me as a jumping platform, throws whatever it is he stole into the air. I'm startled by a second but allow my eyes to follow the piece of machinery in the air, and it lands in the hand of a very attractive young man, who runs, only much faster than the Ewok so the Zabrak cannot keep up. I look back to the Ewok, except he is now nowhere to be seen. I shrug my shoulders and walk over to a lightsaber stall, eyeing up what I could possibly be using in my next battle.
"I'm sorry, but may I ask your name?" The stall owner, a Zabrak, this time female asks me. I am hesitant, but in the end decide to oblige.
"Beka Fenn. And may I ask why?" I reply.
"Ah! The Queen of Rattatak informed me you'd be coming! Yes, yes I thought it was you after she pointed you out to me I just had to make sure! Now she's already payed me, so you may have any lightsaber your heart desires!"
I'm taken aback once again. How does Loyus know everything?
I take a look before picking. I'm going to be stuck with this saber for a long time, so I need to make sure it's one I like.
"May I test this one?" I ask, picking one with a silver handle with roses carved into it.
"Of course! The light will only be white at the moment, but you may pick any colour crystal you choose! For free, once again, thanks to your friend the Queen of Rattatak!" The stall owner exclaims, seemingly more excited than me, which is saying something, except I am able to contain my emotions.
I take a breath and ready myself. This is the first time I will be initiating the weapon I will be using to exact my revenge on the Sith.
I press the button.
ZZZZEEERRRMMM!
The lightsaber switches on.
Everybody in the market turns around to look at me, each of them grinning. A Jedi is always welcomed in these places.
"I'll take it!" I shout, turning back to her. She holds out a box with several different crystals in, and I opt from the glimmering purple one. She inserts it into my lightsaber, and just like that, I have my weapon.
A purple lightsaber.
They say a Jedi's weapon defines them as a person.
Purple is supposedly calming, serene and relaxed.
That saying is bullshit.
I smile at the shopkeeper, and eye up the other stalls. I still have some credits myself, and I intend to spend them. What else do Jedi's need?
Unique clothing. Of course.
I walk over to a Jedi clothing store being run by a robot. The robot, seemingly unable to speak, simply nods at me.
I remember what my mother used to wear.
Plum tunic, black jacket, black pants tucked into shiny black boots.
I pick out the exact same outfit. My mothers spirit has to live on somewhere right? Other than in my fighting. At the Jedi academy they said my skills with the force were the best they'd ever seen. Of course, that was simply because my mother had been the best human user of the force the galaxy had ever seen. Bardo inherited our fathers incredible lightsaber skills. Of course, Bardo is still prominent with the force, but no as much as I, and the same for lightsaber skills but the other way around.
I put my new clothing into my bag, smile at the robot who registers it and gives me a firm nod, and then walk away, preparing to return to the ship. Bardo stumbles over with several bags stuffed with various items which all look completely pointless, lightsaber excluded.
"Which saber did you get?" He grins, pulling his out and switching it on. Out of a simple black handle with silver bars across it comes a long bar of blue light, and he digs in his back and pulls out another, with matching markings.
"Dad was a duel-wielder right? So why can't I do it?"
And with that he switches on the other one, which produces a bar of orange light. Almost everyone in the market looks on with awe, obviously assuming that Bardo is some sort of Jedi master.
Not yet, I think to myself, switching on my own saber.
"Purple." I say, admiring my own saber, "I'll probably be more reliant on the force than anything else though."
He appears to be ecstatic at our new purpose, as he puts his sabers away. I think of how dangerous what we're doing is. We've gone completely off the radar from the Jedi academy because we both know there is no way they would let us go after a Sith lord on our own. Except we won't be on our own, at least I hope. If the Queen of Rattatak is so happy to join us then why shouldn't others be?
"There's just one last store I wanna look at. A few guys down there," He says, turning around and attempting to point while still holding onto three bags in the same hand, "Said that there's an awesome mechanic oddment store somewhere. We just gotta find it. I thought maybe we could find something to upgrade the ship with!"
I cringe at my brothers utter lack of knowledge. Firstly, there is no way we would be able to afford anything to 'upgrade' our ship with, never mind the fact that you can't just upgrade an entire ship with oddments. And even if you could, who would install it?
I decide not to crush his excitement, however, and follow him over to the store he had in mind. I notice it's being run by the baby Ewok I saw from earlier, and I'm about to comment on how strange it is that an Ewok this young would be running a shop all on it's own when I see him. The guy from earlier that had pleased my eyes. And by that, I mean by being attractive.
"Can we help you?" The man says with a grin, pointing to various things on the table.
"And this one," He starts, "Can make your ship do lightning jumps."
"But it was stolen, right?"
"Errr..."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." I chuckle, as our eyes meet.
It's almost as if there's an instant connection, as if just by our eyes meeting I know everything about him. Perhaps it's part of being so good with the force, or whether it's just what they call intuition, who knows.
"So why exactly are you wasting your talents away working on a washed-up old stall in this crappy old market?" I ask, folding my arms. The Ewok seems offended by my comment and starts yelling, although I'm unable to decipher it as I'm guessing he still can't talk properly due to still being a baby.
"Well...I don't know. What talents would you be talking about?" He replies, mimicking me and folding his arms.
"Well it's clear you're both good with mechanics. I can see you're making technical oddments out of well, nothing..." I say, pointing to the sheet of metal and strings that look like they've been pulled from a guitar that he's attaching to a motherboard.
"Well, I also pilot, if you must know."
The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them.
"Then join us."
Bardo looks at me with confusion at asking a complete stranger to join us, but for some reason I instantly trust him. Or maybe it's just the idea of having a fluffy baby Ewok on board that does it for me, but what the heck.
"I don't even know your name!" He laughs, clearly thinking I'm joking.
"Beka Fenn. And this is my brother Bardo. And yes, I am being serious. We're on an important mission and don't have a pilot. Or one that's good at what he does, anyway." I smirk, nudging Bardo. Bardo shoots daggers at me from his eyes, and then goes back to admiring the mechanical oddments in front of us.
"Tarth. Tarth Bynar. And this is my buddy Mak." He says pointing to the Ewok. I smile at them both, and point to our ship.
"Well, we're going after a Sith lord. And you can either stay here and steal from other people to make a living and risk execution or you can come with us and have a wonderful adventure. What's it gonna be?"
At first, he looks reluctant, but it's a clearly an offer he can't turn down. I think he feels it too, the instant trust we have for each other. I don't know what it is but I feel like I've known him for years already in the few minutes we've been speaking. The Ewok, Mak, turns to him and starts babbling in his babyish lingo and Tarth seemingly understands every word of it.
"Deal. I'll be your pilot. But Mak has to come too."
"Do you really think I wouldn't want little Makki on board my ship? Look at him. He's adorable." I grin, stroking his head. At first he appears embarrased but as with all fur creatures he succumbs to the stroking and begins to smile.
"I'll meet you on the ship." I say, and strut away, followed by Bardo.
"So, where are we going?" Tarth asks, putting on the headset.
"We could go to Rattatak, if there's nowhere else to go. Of course it's entirely up to you." Loyus says.
"I've always wanted to visit Hoth." Bardo adds, looking at the galaxy map.
"Me-mop-de-kan-jo-le-ha-bo-dor!" Mak says, and Bardo, Loyus and I all look at each other completely confused as to what he said.
"Mak says he wants to show you around Endor at some point." Tarth says, and Mak jumps around and nods.
"So, Captain Beka Fenn. Where to?"
I grin, fold my arms and walk over to the front of the galaxy map.
"Somewhere awesome."
No, I just won't let it go,
Just can't let it go,
Just won't let it go!
No matter what,
It's in my blood!
I just won't let it go,
Just can't let it go,
Just won't let it go!
It won't die,
This dream's alive,
And I won't let it go...
I thought I'd try your way,
But I went down in flames,
I should a seen it comin'...
Life is more than sitting back,
Oh I'm on the attack,
Yeah I am off and running...
Listen,
You're always missing,
Blind to my vision...
I just won't let it go,
Just can't let it go,
Just won't let it go!
So all of these chapters are gonna be named after songs. This one was Let it Go by Cherri Bomb.
So what did you all think of the first chapter?! Let me know in a review. And what do you think of Loyus, Tarth and Mak? The latest additions to the crew!
Submissions are still open so get submitting, oh and heres a few guidelines:
- Be creative, but be realistic too. Also, make them unique!
- I don't want all of them to be young. If there's a range in the age they're more likely to be accepted.
- Give them an incredible backstory! Nothing generic.
- I know I said submit anything but I need a few Jedi's on the team!
Thankyou very much, please keep reading, I love you all for reading, if you are reading...
Okay so I'm gonna ask a Star Wars related question every chapter and for the first person to get it right every time gets to decide something not completely plot-changing that will happen that I will work in somewhere. Sound good? So for example you could say that they will have to fight of a Wampa while on Hoth or something.
So the question for this time is: What race was Luminara Unduli? I know it's pretty easy but I thought I'd give you an easy one to start with.
Also I'll ask a random question and post all of your answers at the bottom here just for fun! So this one is: If you were in the Mos Eisley market, what kind of lightsaber would you buy and what sort of outfit would you wear as a Jedi/Sith?
Thankyou, I love you all, keep reading, get submitting, enjoy, PM me for anything if you ever need it, GOODBYE! :)