Disclaimer:  You all know the drill  J

AN:  Thank you everyone for your reviews!  I am glad to see so many of you are enjoying the story.  So without further ado…here you go!

Ari awoke to the low humming of the engine and the small vibrations through the floor. She opened her eyes slowly, yet it was still as dark as if she had kept them close. Her usual sparkling sapphire eyes were still somewhat red in the darkness, though it wasn't seen. She stretched slightly, her muscles sore and stiff from her uncomfortable sleeping position and being tense for so long. She felt more awake, yet strangely hollow inside.

She slid up the wall and listened for any movement of any of the Falcon's passengers. She did to block on the whine of the engines and focus on the other sounds.

There was a low humming sound, much like the one that her mother's lightsaber had made. She was curious and touched it to be reassured she still had it. There was also a swooping sound of some machine with small blaster like sounds, followed by sizzling sounds as if it had hit and been reflected by something else.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him." Ari smiled. It was Ben Kenobi. He was talking about the Force. The same the Jedi had spoken of. She was instantly curious and intent on listening to him.

"You mean it controls your actions?" Ari felt her smile widen. Her heart seemed to scream Luke's name at hearing his voice.

"Partially. But it also obeys your commands," Ben replied. There was a small pause as the humming changed to a whine and there was a small grunt from Luke.
'What is he doing up there?' Ari asked herself.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Ari could hear the laughter in Han's voice and she bristled.

"Just you wait. I'll show you hokey," she muttered.

"You don't believe in the Force, do you?" she heard Luke ask.

"Kid. I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything. There's not mystical energy field that controls my destiny."

Ari held back a scoff. She waited for Ben to say something, but he didn't. She could hear Han mutter something else about it all being simple tricks and nonsense until Ben answered, pleasantly.

"I suggest you try it again, Luke. This time, let go of your conscious self." There was a pause as Ari strained to listen and heard the almost silent footsteps as Ben crossed over to where she assumed Luke was standing. "…and act on instinct," Ben finished.

"With the blast shield down, I can't even see. How am I supposed to fight?" Luke asked.

Ari leaned closer to hear better, interested. Ben was teaching Luke how to fight with a lightsaber and use the Force. At that moment she remembered about what the fight between her parents, Owen and Beru. "They knew we were sensitive to the Force," she breathed, the realization was a shock. "They knew we could have been Jedis…"

"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them," Ari heard Ben tell Luke. The humming sound continued and turned to a whine and she could hear what sounded like a blaster bolt and Luke gave a small yelp.

"Stretch out with your feelings," Ben instructed. This time there was a long moment of the lightsaber's hum then a rapid blast of three blaster shots that hissed. It sounded like Luke had blocked it.

"Good job Luke," Ari grinned from her hidden place, before slapping a hand over her mouth, afraid he might have heard her.

"You see, you can do it," Ben told him, smile evident in his voice.

"I call it luck," Han snorted

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck," Ben replied, calmly.

"Look, going good against remotes is one thing. Going good against the living? That's something else," Han remarked as a soft warning siren started and Ari heard boots on the floor above, probably Han's. "Look's like we're coming up on Alderaan." Ari heard him walk towards the cockpit, followed by someone else, Chewie, she assumed, leaving Luke and Ben still above her.

"You know, I did feel something. I could almost see the remote," Luke was saying in amazement.
           "That's good. You have taken your first step into a larger world," Ben answered.

Ari heard them start to wander away and then started to push up on the compartment paneling, knowing that it would be a good time to make herself known to the rest of the group. She started to push it up as she felt them drop back into real space.

At that moment, there was a shudder as something hit the ship, causing Ari to get flung back, the paneling slamming shut.

"What the…?" she muttered as something hit again and again, as she sat, unable to get to her feet in the small compartment.

Another small alarm started and Ari sighed. "Oh great, now what?" she asked as she got to her knees to possibly try and get out. The ship was rocked again and Ari heard the distinct cry of an Imperial TIE fighter outside. "The Empire," she spat.

She could feel Han's ship speeding up and shook her head. "He's going to get us all killed." She waited a moment then heard the whine of the engines getting thrown into reverse, yet felt the ship still moving forward, shuddering so madly, it was amazing nothing came loose. That could only mean one thing.

"We're stuck in a tractor beam," she breathed as the engines almost screamed in protest, unable to shake the pull. A minute passed and then the engines cut out, leaving the ship eerily silent for just a brief second.

A few moments later she heard footsteps coming back towards her, fast. "Ok, I doctored the ship's log and shot off some of the escape pods. They will be thinking that we jumped ship right before going to hyperspace," Han was saying. "Ok, now everyone here are some compartments.

There was a distinct scraping sound. "Alright everyone, let's get going."

"You are going to keep us in smuggling compartments?" Luke asked a bit shocked.

"Would you like to stay in plain sight when the boarding party shows up? Be my guest," Han snapped back.

"Luke, just get in," Ben kindly instructed. Luke sighed and Ari could hear movement through the wall.

"Chewie, you get into one of these as well. And help those droids in," Han instructed.

"Are you sure this is entirely safe Captain Solo? I surely do not think that-" C-3PO started to say in his still proper voice.

"Would you just shut up and get in?" Han barked then paused. "Unless of course you want the Imperials to find you. They might enjoy breaking you apart piece by piece," Han replied, sounding casual.

"I see your point Captain Solo," C-3PO replied after a hesitant pause. "Come R2," he said as his metal body scraped trying to get into the compartment. R2, gave a small beep as Chewie jumped in as well, grabbed R2 and placed him down before climbing out.

"R2, move over a bit, I can hardly move in-" C-3PO was saying. Chewie gave them a low groan to quiet them before sliding the paneling back over. "How very rude," C-3PO muttered, his voice muffled slightly.

Ben lifted the lid of the third compartment that Ari was hiding in. The sudden light after being in the darkness for so long, blinded her, eyes watering as she threw a hand up to block it. She stumbled to her knees, crashing into the shadows, afraid to be seen.

Please keep reading and reviewing!