Chapter 5:
"How's the hyperdrive coming?"
"We are almost finished, sir."
Han sighed in relief. He had to admit, buying an additional droid had been helpful in speeding up repairs. From the reports he had overheard on the subspace radio, the Empire was getting close.
"BLAM!"
Too close.
"Han! What's going on?!" yelled Leia.
"We're in trouble!"
Tripping over the tools lying about, Han scrambled toward the cockpit.
"Chewie! Get us out of here!"
"AAAAARGH! GAAAAR AAAGH!"
"What?"
C-3PO spoke up. "He said that the Empirical ship has locked onto us with a tow cable!""
"I KNOW WHAT HE SAID! CHEWIE, GET—"
Han was silenced by a loud "THUD," followed closely by grating the sound of metal grating against metal. After a second's pause, sparks appeared around the perimeter of the Falcon's maintenance hatch.
"They're boarding us." Leia whispered in horror.
A muffled male voice rang out.
"This ship and its passengers are wanted by the Empire. Cooperate and you will not be harmed."
"Not without a fight." Luke pulled his lightsaber from his belt.
"Leia!" Han smoothly tossed the Princess a blaster from a concealed stash in the wall—none too soon, as the hatch was blasted open, filling the room with sparks and smoke. The doorway filled with blaster shots, burning the walls behind the Falcon's crew. Han and Leia wasted no time in shooting back, and Luke started deflecting blasts with his lightsaber. With a growl, Chewbacca charged in, clutching his crossbow.
"R2, 3PO, Data!" Han shouted. "Get out..."
BLAM BLAM BLAM!
The astrodroid and the protocol droid, who were rolling and shuffling to the door of the engine room, stopped and looked back. Instead of running for cover, Data had grabbed a blaster and fired three direct hits.
He then turned to Han. "Excuse me, sir. What were you saying?"
Han stared at Data, mouth open. He leaned toward Luke.
"He's a battle droid?"
Luke grinned back. "An android."
Another series of blasts interrupted their conversation. Data, Luke, Han, Chewie and Leia began advancing toward the Emperial ship.
"Try to take their cockpit!" Leia shouted. "If we can get in, we can detach the tow rope and get out of here!"
They fought their way toward the ship. Chewie's animalistic viciousness, Data's mechanical efficacy, Han's speed, Leia's precision, and Luke's grace allowed them to plow straight through the defending group of clones.
The group maneuvered their way into the cockpit. Chewie and Leia had had the crew against the wall with their hands up within seconds. As Han blasted the door panel, Data sat down at the controls and quickly managed to release the tow rope and reset the passwords for the controls, thus locking the ship's crew out of the computer system.
"We are free to depart." Data said.
"Let's go!"
Luke quickly carved a hole in the cockpit door, and they made their escape.
Upon reaching the controls of the Falcon, Data, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Leia found that R2 and 3PO had already set the calculations for the jump to lightspeed.
"Punch it, Chewie!"
The ship soared away, leaving the Empire's ship behind with nothing but an inaccessible cockpit and wild story for their superiors.
"That..." Leia panted. "That was waaaaay too close."
"Oh relax, Your Worship!" Han chuckled. "The Falcon and her crew remain undefeated!" He turned to Data. "The entire crew. Welcome aboard, buddy."
Chewbacca growled in approval.
"Thank you...Captain."
Leia spoke up. "We should head to the nearest rebel base, and tell them that the Empire is occupying a new sector."
"Alright. Data, I'd like you to double-check the hyperdrive. Make sure it's going to STAY in working order. Chewie, lay in our course."
"Acknowledged."
"Graaaagh."
Data walked out of the cockpit, and had begun running the scans and tests on the hyperdrive when he heard the engines fire up. The ship may have been different, but the sensation of rapid acceleration was familiar, causing a related memory to emerge in his thought process.
"Engage." Data whispered.