A/N - Woot! Chapter 2 done. I spent a bit of time on this one, including a big brainstorm to see what path I wanted the story to take. Hopefully I made the right choice!
5 Hours Earlier, Kashyyyk Imperial Camp B3
"I want these walking carpets in that prison camp within the hour, no excuses!" barked the Sergeant, who could be identified as 'Joula' from the tag on his rank badge. "And for the last time, stop that incessant wailing!".
Hundreds upon hundreds of Wookiee slaves were being transported to a new camp, as B3 had reached its capacity. Misery filled the air and Sgt Joula simply looked down from his ship, onto the new workforce. He smiled grimly.
Content with how the operation was proceeding so far, the officer decided it was time to relax. Grabbing a small glass from his desk, Joula wandered over to the window again, savouring in the sight of lost hope and forgotten dreams. At least, until an explosion rocked his vessel.
A/N - Just to say, all Wookiee speech that is translated will be in this format: "!Speech"
"!Explosives Primed." growled Yakyuk, one of the more experienced Warriors on the team, "!Brace Yourselves!". Yakyuk pressed the glowing red button on his portable detonator and the wall of the compound was blasted open. Roaring in delight, the 8-Wookiee team ran through, aiming for the long convoy of furry beasts ambling towards the prison ships. Throwing around the troopers like toys, the warriors soon ripped the thin Imperial escort to pieces and began setting their brothers and sisters free.
"!Almost everyone now." thought Yakyuk as he looked up and saw roughly 15 more prisoners remaining. His attention was stolen though, by a group of about 40 troopers, led by Sgt. Joula, adorned in grey battle uniform. The proud warrior raised his Bowcaster and took aim at the inbound soldiers, unleashing a torrent of energy from his weapon. His momentary distraction worked as he saw his opponents being obliterated by the rest of his team, in much the same fashion as before.
When all the troopers were dead and buried, Joula frowned, muttering "Useless fools." And he attempted to escape the wrath of the Wookiee warriors by taking a prisoner hostage. Grabbing his E-11, he ran over to the nearest one and grabbed its arm.
"Spare me or the furball gets it!" He yelled in desperation. A tense moment followed, with Joula sweating nervously and Yakyuk and the team growling at each other.
The smug look on the Imperial Officer's face was changed when he felt cold metal up against his back. He slowly turned to see a fresh-faced Lieutenant returning the same smug look.
"What are you doing, soldier?! I will not stand for this!"
"And I don't think you're in much of a position to talk, Sir." replied the lower ranked officer.
"I've always loathed you lot, 'High-flying commanders'" He continued in a mocking tone. "So now, I think I'll actually help someone for a change, like this Empire said it would."
He pulled the trigger on his box-like pistol, red energy erupting from its tip, and splitting Joula's back open, penetrating his lower heart. Overcome with shock, the Sergeant gripped his chest and fell to the floor, dead.
The Wookiee hostage yelled loudly "!An Imperial traitor has saved me from death!" the young Lieutenant offered a weak smile up to the furry beast. "!I am forever in your debt, young...!"
"Solo, Mr. Wookiee. Han Solo. And might I ask your name, sir?"
"!My name, young friend, is Chewbacca. Servant of Jedi Master Yoda during the Clone War."
"Then, Chewbacca, we better make ourselves scarce, the Sarge's ship will be sending reinforcements any time soon." excited about his new found ally, Solo headed off into the fording forest that surrounded the camp, Chewbacca and Yakyuk's team in tow.
Roughly 3 miles into their hike, the Wookiee commandos broke off from the other two, leaving for the resistance's headquarters deeper into the jungle. Han had declined an offer to stay with them, saying that he needed to find a ship and leave the planet soon. The Wookiees accepted his choice, and Chewbacca followed him into the overgrown forest once more.
"And it was just after that Chewbacca and I came across your tongue-tied kid here."
"!Well, it wasn't just after, was it Solo?"
"No, I suppose not. We did run into that Gundark on the way."
"!Not much of a problem though. Without arms they don't pose much of a threat." boasted the Wookiee.
Han and Chewbacca were busy explaining their story to the rest of the Ghost crew, after Ezra forgot that they might want to know if an Imperial officer walked onto the ship. Still gobsmacked, the kid stood in the corner of the common room, where everyone was, rubbing his temples.
"Well, I don't sense anything off about either of you or your story. And the pair of you seem to despise the Empire just as much as us." Kanan said, satisfied that the unlikely friends were genuine.
"Let's not forget they managed to shut Ezra up for five minutes, too" joked Sabine, nodding to the confused boy. "That takes some doing." she beamed, having already taken a liking to the ex-Imperial.
"What can I say, it's a gift?." Han smiled back.
"!Ever the smooth talker..." the Wookiee growled lowly.
After a short pause, Han continued,
"Anyway, I still don't know your names. And I've pretty much shared my life story with you!"
"Well, let's start with tongue-tied over there. His name's Ezra, but most of us just call him 'kid', cos he's the youngest, and most excitable." explained Sabine, still beaming.
"Hey!" Ezra warned, trying to imitate a serious tone.
"Anyway, the Twi'lek over there by the door, that's Hera, our pilot. Ponytail sitting next to me is Kanan, and the Purple menace is also known as Zeb."
"And what's your name, darling?" quizzed Han.
The remark left Ezra scowling, but also dazed. How could someone be so confident?
Sabine blushed slightly, and replied "Sabine, my name's Sabine."
She said that to me first! Thought Ezra loudly, deepening his scowl. Han noticed the twisted expression on the kid's face.
"Got a problem over there, kid?"
Hera butted in "No, he's just jealous," she lowered her volume "He likes Sabine." she grinned, looking back over at Ezra, whose frown had turned awkward, as he tried to look away and hide his red face.
"Maybe..." replied Ezra weakly.
"Oh c'mon kid it's so kriffin obvious. You got a crush on 'er!" joked Zeb. Humiliating Ezra was his forte. Both the Mandalorian and Lothal teen blushed profusely, and Ezra's frown turned upside-down. Sabine glanced at Solo, to see him chuckling at the teenage pair. Young love, so cute. He thought to himself.
"So, why are you here?" Han spoke up.
"Well, it's kinda of a long story, but you might be able to help us with that." Kanan began to explain.
I enjoyed writing this one, and just in case you didn't know, the first segment in the camp was a more detailed version of Han's description. And Kanan was referencing to the resistance at the end there.
But there's much more to tell in this story, as I plan to take it quite far into the future, following both Solo and Chewie, as well as the Ghost crew.
:) Happy reading! (Please leave feedback, and also check out my other story: 'Use the Force, Bridger', for a dose of awkwardness and humour.)