Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. However, Ari and her family are mine. If you would like to use them please ask first.
AN: Just enjoy it! And thank you all for the awesome reviews!
Ari went to stretch out all her muscles, rolling her shoulders to get rid of some of the stiffness that seemed to be deep rooted in them. She lifted her hands over her head until she was up on her toes before her heels fell back on the floor with a soft sigh.
Deciding to get some idea of the ship she was supposed
to protect, she wandered around, noting the different rooms and did her best to
remember them all.
Ari found herself wandering through the
cockpit, her fingertips brushing ever so lightly over the controls as she
did. With a glance through the window, she noted that the ship was in a
hanger bay with metallic walls, ceiling and floor. Dark in color it
seemed almost strange to see the white lights that didn't seem to reach through
the entire docking bay. Glancing up slightly she shrank back as she saw
the gleaming white uniforms of two stormtroopers slightly above her in the
docking bay's control room.
On second glance though, she noted that
their helmets were off and she could see that one was that of Captain Solo, the
other, that of Luke. She could almost see the determination in his face
as he walked with purpose across the room, Han at his side with Chewie.
Then they were out of sight and Ari was taking a guess that they might have
left the room.
"Be safe," she whispered after
them, her voice loud and foreign in the now silent ship. She took one last look
at the seemingly empty control room before doubling back through the deeper
interior of the ship as she took a second look around the ship for anything she
might have missed the first time.
Finally, she sat down with a sigh at the
bench around a digital chess-like game table close to the hidden
compartments. It was on this table that she placed her pouch,
pulling out the lightsaber from among its other contents. While she had used it
on Tatooine, it still seemed foreign to her. She held it in the palm of
her hand, looking at it curiously before igniting it. The blue/purple
energy beam shot out wit a hiss then hummed as if alive.
Ari moved it in her right hand, clumsily
at first, cutting it through the air, first left then right with a flick of her
wrist. The saber's hum seemed somewhat familiar as she gripped her other
hand around the hilt, then quickly swung to the left, right foot in front of
the left, about shoulder width apart. The force of her swing made her
side step having thrown her balance off.
With a small frown, Ari furrowed her
eyebrows, concentration on the weapon she held as she practiced a slower parry
followed by a thrust. She did this for another minutes or so until the
distinct clip march of heavy boots was heard outside the
ship.
Ari deactivated the saber, clipping it
next to her blaster as she tightened the drawstring on her pouch, tying it to
the other side of her belt, grabbing her cloak she had discarded on the bench.
They started up the ramp and Ari froze for
a minute then dashed the other way, sliding into a small crevice she had
discovered her second time through the ship.
Wrapping herself in her cloak to hide into the shadows more she made it just as
two troopers appeared, motioning to the others just out of her line of view, to
go the other way.
"Spread out," the metallic,
emotionless voices commanded and footsteps started then faded as the second
group left.
Ari reached her hand town, touching the
smooth cool metal of the lightsaber, but moved her hand to rest of the butt of
her blaster.
She hesitated,
thinking about shooting as the men glad in white searched the area, though she
knew it would more than likely not be a soundless struggle, which would cause
the other troopers to come and investigate. Also, she had never shot
another living creature, not even a womprat like the others back home, though
remembering her family's death, she felt the anger swell in her, burning
through her veins.
"Calm your anger. Take a deep
breath and let it out, letting your anger go with it. Do not let your
anger or emotions to control you."
Ari heard the voice and whipped her head
around, looking for the source. It had sounded like words her mother had
told her when Ari had gotten angry with Jett. Yet, the voice was not that
of her mother's. In fact, it sounded much like Ben's voice, but Ari was
sure it couldn't have been since she had seen him get off the ship. 'Or
did he?' Ari asked herself, her sapphire eyes still looking, her hair brushing
her cheek each time she turned even just a bit.
The troopers didn't seem to noticed the voice or even Ari's movements,
continuing their searching, pawing through contents in crates, dumping them on
the floor.
Still a bit surprised, Ari could feel her
anger ebb out of her with each breath she took, leaving just determination to
do her part, just as she had promised Ben.
"Any sign of the Rebels or
droids?" one of the troopers asked over his built in helmet communicator
to the others, breaking Ari from her thoughts.
"No, sir," another man answered,
his reply was somewhat muffled since it came through stormtroopers' helmets.
"Alright. Disembark after getting the
device in place."
"Yes, Commander."
'Device?' Ari wondered, tilting her
head to the side slightly, wonderingly.
The Commander, as he had been called
paused to grab an item from his belt.
"What are you doing with that?"
the other asked, sounding shocked, even for a stormtrooper.
"The Grand Moff Tarkin ordered that
the Rebels are not to be allowed to escape," the Commander answered,
pushing something into what he held, making it beep a few times.
'Force be with them,' Ari's heart
hoped that they would be alright.
"But, Lord Vader said nothing about
that. He said he wanted them to just think that…"
"I am quite aware of Vader's orders
for the Rebels and tracking device," the Commander interrupted.
"But my orders are direct from Tarkin." He hit a button on the
device he held, attaching it to the wall across from Ari and she held back a
gasp as the man stepped back, reveling that her fears were not irrational.
AN: Ohhh…what could it be? Please just continue to read and review.