Chapter Four: Arella

It was a leveled mess. Legolas Thranduilion gazed sadly on the wreckage of his home, tears beginning to blur his vision. Three months. Just three months ago the apartment complex had been ripped apart by what people thought was a time bomb. It could have been any kind of bomb, but people thought a time bomb was more likely the cause of this destruction. Legolas hung his head as tears began to run down his cheeks. There was nothing left for him on Coruscant. Nothing at all.

As he stood there, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs, there was a scream and blaster fire. Legolas whipped around and scanned the area. A young girl, not much younger than him, was speeding down the walkway as fast as the crowds would let her, and behind her were twelve blaster wielding Nikto. Quickly wiping his eyes and face dry, Legolas hurried to help her. He stumbled over chunks of durasteel and duracrete, raced around chunks stresscrete, and finally hit the walkway. Blaster fire erupted behind him as he pushed through the crowds after the girl. He reached her just before she ran past an alleyway, grabbed a hold of her, and pulled her around the corner. She went to hit him, then saw he wasn't much older than herself.

"Calm down. I know a place we can go." Legolas told her.

"We? Who said anything about we?" She demanded as she looked him over.

"Offworld. Now, let's go." He sighed. He grabbed her arm, but she yanked it out of his grasp.

"Where offworld?" She asked.

"Endor's rather remote, isn't it?" Legolas asked.

"You have a ship?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes." Legolas replied.

"And you know how to fly it?" She asked. The real answer was no, but she didn't really need to know that. Not just yet, anyway.

"Of course I." He replied. The girl nodded in resignation. The exited the alleyway and came out close to the spaceport where the starship was located seconds before the Nikto came blasting into the alleyway.

"Why are those Nikto after you, anyway?" Legolas asked breathlessly as they climbed the steps up to Galactic City Spaceport.

"What are you doing here, kids?" The man at the door asked.

"We've come to see our cousin. He leaves his ship here a lot and we heard he was working on it today." Legolas replied, mustering up all the calm he could. The man regarded them for a moment before nodding. Legolas thanked the man before pulling the girl up the steps and into the spaceport.

"Where's your ship?" The girl asked. Legolas stopped for a moment.

"Hanger 14." He told her, not knowing how he knew. He just knew that was where he would find the ship. They hurried past hundreds of people, past a few hangers, landing bays, and dealers before finally reaching Hanger 14.

"Over there." Legolas told her, pointing at the Horizon-class Star Yacht at the back of the hangar. They hurried over to it just as the sound of blaster fire reached their ears.

"Kriff, those Nikto are fast." Legolas muttered as the girl sped up. The boarded the ship and Legolas strapped into the pilot's seat.

"H-16." The girl said as the blaster fire got louder.

"What?" Legolas asked.

"H-16! Endor's coordinates!" The girl exclaimed.

"Oh, right." Legolas replied hurriedly. He plugged in the coordinates and took off out of the spaceport.

"You do know how to fly this thing, right?" the girl asked. Legolas shook his head as they broke through Coruscant's atmosphere and into space.

"No." He replied. They suddenly jumped into hyperspace. "Not that it matters now. We have about 48 hours before we reach Endor." He added. The girl was looking at him in utter disbelief.

"You don't know how to fly this thing, yet you risked getting gunned down by twelve Nikto bounty hunters just to fly me off world in a ship you don't know how to fly?" She asked.

"Just be glad I actually did it." Legolas retorted. They were silent for a while. Then, the girl spoke.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Legolas. Yours?" He replied.

"Arella." She said.

"Why were those bounty hunters after you, anyways?" Legolas asked. Arella was silent for a while.

"You'll think ill of me." She finally whispered. Legolas snorted.

"I just saved you from twelve Nikto bounty hunters. Kind of hard to think ill of someone I did that for." He retorted. Arella remained silent, so Legolas watched the stars flash by. Every so often, he would glance at the girl, but she didn't seem to notice. Something nagged at the back of his mind. It could be what Obi-Wan had told him about his parents, his real parents, or why twelve Nikto bounty hunters were after a girl not much younger than himself when one should be enough. And what had they wanted with her, anyway? Was she a criminal? Did she know something that she shouldn't? And when was he supposed to go to his birth home, anyway? Would his parents even want him back when they were the ones who had given him up in the first place?

He supposed they would, since Obi-Wan said they had only sent him away to protect him from his father's enemies. But, he still had to wonder. And would he even fit in? The galaxy was most likely far more advanced than his birth land, even though he had barely any memories of that place. Only one to be exact. He would know so much more, perhaps even speak differently than the pothers. Maybe they didn't have droids or starships. Maybe they didn't have any technology at all. Suddenly, the thought of going back to his father and mother in Mirkwood sounded a lot worse than he knew it should.

****

They slept and ate the little food that Jamar had stored in the back and watched the stars flash by for the next fourty-eight hours, but hardly ever spoke to each other. Legolas got the feeling that Arella wasn't quite used to people talking to her, or to people saving her. That was odd to Legolas's innocent mind. He wouldn't wonder why someone had saved him from twelve Nikto bounty hunters and flown him off planet. But, this girl wasn't him. He really wanted to find out what danger the girl was in, how serious it was, then figure out how to keep her away from those bounty hunters.

The second day came and went and soon they jumped out of Hyperspace. Legolas and Arella looked at Endor for a few minutes before Legolas flew the ship down to Endor's surface.

"I thought you said you didn't know how to fly this thing?" Arella commented nervously.

"I don't." Legolas replied. "But I will try to make this landing as smooth as possible. How hard can it be?" He added. Arella gave him a look, which he ignored. His father had always told him that by trying ti be careful, you could screw up what you were trying to do. So, he flew casually, watched out for trees and other obstacles that could pose a threat until finally landing in a clearing.

"There," Legolas said as he unbuckled. "A happy landing." Arella followed him out of the ship and into the clearing. It was temperate and forested, but it did not look at all friendly to Arella. As inconspicously as she could, Arella leaned over and took a small vibroblade out of her boot. While Legolas was minding his own buisness and observing the area, she pressed it to his back. Legolas froze.

"Now, how do I know you haven't led me into a trap?" She demanded dangerously. Before anyone could do or say anything, something sped through the clearing, grabbing Arella's vibroblade in the process, and back out.

"Hey! Hey, that's mine!" Arella shouted after it. Legolas sped after the thing, Arella hot on his heels.