Reborn: Flight of the Falcon
In the dark corner of the cantina, Gandalf, Obi-Wan, and young Luke sat at a table opposite the shady Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca. To Gandalf, the pair seemed extremely untrustworthy, though they were just another pair of smugglers willing to make some good money to Luke and Obi-Wan. Solo, who to Gandalf came off as a little uncouth and arrogant, had a head of wavy, brown hair and a white shirt on, which was covered by a black vest. A scar lay across the chin of the scoundrel known as Solo, one that seemed to have been there for many years. Gandalf knew many, many men like Han Solo, men that were always in the league of troublemakers, but had potential to be much more. The scoundrel spoke with a sort of wise-cracking swagger, a kind of arrogance that made him come off as someone who thought that he could easily tackle any situation with little effort, which, of course, was yet to be seen by the two old souls and the young Skywalker. Han, surveying the group quickly, decided to open up to them a bit about who he was, and how he handled things. The group could tell that the scoundrel wasn't the most trusting of individuals, but once Han got a good look at everyone, he realized that he was in a trustworthy company.
"I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon," Solo claimed, as he made a slight nod over to his hairy counterpart. "Chewie here tells me you're lookin' for passage to the Alderaan system."
"Yes, indeed, if it's a fast ship," Obi-Wan noted. To Han, this nearly felt like an insult. He was proud of what he had, and the things that he'd been doing with his pal, Chewie, over the years.
"Fast ship?" retorted Solo, with his hands on the table separating the two distinct parties. "You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"
Luke rolled his eyes at the rogue, while Gandalf looked to be a bit agitated, as well.
"Well, should we have?" Gandalf asked, in response. The old wizard knew that the man was cocky, and was willing to expose that trait.
"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs," claimed the smuggler. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, knowing that the gruff man didn't understand what a parsec actually was. "I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind ya. I'm talkin' about those big Corellian ones, now. She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"
Obi-Wan and Luke looked at Solo with disbelief, along with Gandalf, who thought that the mercenary was just babbling on about how good his transport was. He thought that Han was doing this just so he could make a good impression on the group, though the wizard tried to pay it no mind, and remained as calm as ever, wishing he could have just a few good smokes from a pipe, again, like he did with his old friend, Bilbo. Obi-Wan briefly looked around the group, remembering the two droids that were waiting outside.
"Only passengers," the former Jedi answered. "Myself, my friend Gandalf, here, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."
Han liked the old man's answer, knowing that the group weren't the most insignificant people in that bar on that day, no doubt because of the fight that Luke unintentionally started. He responded to the statement with a small smirk, wanting just a little more information. "What is it? Some kinda local trouble?"
"It's safe to say that we don't want to be entangled with Imperial forces," noted Gandalf, who acted as if he knew how this world ran for many years. Han Solo looked at the old wizard as if he were correcting that statement.
"Well, that's the real trick, isn't it, old timer?" he asked, rhetorically, as he sat back a little. "And it's gonna cost you something extra."
"Well, how much?" responded Luke, hoping that it wouldn't end up being too large of a cost.
"Ten thousand, all in advance," Solo stated. Obi-Wan began to figure out a good bargaining price, while Luke was shocked by what Solo had said.
"Ten thousand?" asked Luke, in disbelief. "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"
Solo looked at the young man, as if he were a bit untalented.
"And who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" laughed the smuggler with a grin. At this Luke became both angry and a bit arrogant, wanting to leave the presence of Solo, quickly.
"You bet I could! I'm not such a bad pilot myself," Luke claimed as he got ready to stand up, looking for some support from Obi-Wan and Gandalf. "I don't have to sit here and listen…"
A nod from Obi-Wan cut the boy's protest off, obviously motioning for him to remain calm. The old, former Jedi began to haggle with Han, who needed to know how they were going to pay. It was at this point that Gandalf felt another presence that was protruding from Obi-Wan, albeit a minuscule one.
"We haven't that much with us, but we could pay you two thousand now, and fifteen when we reach Alderaan," Obi-Wan proposed. Gandalf was surprised by the old man's bargaining skills, even if he was in control of the situation, a bit. Luke, however, looked at Obi-Wan like he was crazy. Han's eyes widened a bit, realizing the opportunity that this job had turned into.
"Seventeen, huh?" Solo responded, in thought. He pondered the bargain that had been placed before him, and finally came to a conclusion. "Okay you guys got yourselves a ship. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking Bay Ninety-Four."
"Ninety-Four," repeated Gandalf and Obi-Wan as the nodded back to Han, who looked as if he were obviously excited, but then looked over the heads of the group members, noticing a squad of four stormtroopers that were investigating what happened during the scuffle that happened earlier in the bar. The bartender pointed towards Han's table, but by the time the stormtroopers arrived there, the group had left the cantina. Han nodded to the troopers as though nothing had happened here, and the troops moved on. The excitement that Solo had felt earlier had begun to re-appear in his voice, as he began to collect his things and check what he had for the tab.
"Seventeen thousand! These guys must really be desperate." Solo said to Chewie, with joy. "This could really save my neck. Get back to the ship, and get her ready."
Chewbacca smiled and growled back to Han in both happiness and agreement as he left the bar. After Han had collected everything he needed, the smuggler stood up from the booth and began to take his leave, but not before he saw a familiar face and felt the cold, hard muzzle of a blaster pistol against his chest. Close in front of Han stood a scaly, green Rodian called Greedo, who looked at the smuggler vengefully, while the Corellian smuggler tried to improvise. Greedo was a bounty hunter and a gangster who worked for Jabba the Hutt, and was an old rival of Han's for many years. The Rodian spoke to Han in the Huttese language, a foreign tongue from the usual Galactic Basic, but still one that was widely used on Tatooine and many other systems.
(Author's Note – Greedo's Huttese dialogue will be written first, followed by narration and the English/Galactic Basic translation. Why use the language? Because it's authentic. Why put this scene in here? To prove a point. See the note after this scene is over.)
"Oonta goota, Solo?" Greedo sarcastically asked. "Going somewhere, Solo?"
"Yes, Greedo, as a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss," Han explained, as he was forced by Greedo back to the booth by the table. Solo sat down again, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. He thought quickly to himself as he looked at Greedo. "This guy's been out for me for a while. Greedo, just know that you had it coming."
"Somepeetchalay. Vara trahm ne tach vakee cheetha. Jabba wanin cheeco-wa rush anye katanye wanaruska, heh heh heh. Chas kin yanee ke chusoo," laughed Greedo, who looked eager to shoot the smuggler dead. "It's too late. You should've paid him when you had the chance. Jabba's put a price on your head so large, that every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you. I'm lucky I found you first."
"Yeah but this time, I've got the money," Han calmly claimed, sitting back in the booth, comfortably. The smuggler continued to think about the situation, knowing that they always end with him talking or shooting his way out of things, and he wanted to continue that working tradition.
"Enjaya kul a intekun kuthuow," responded Greedo, willing to strike a deal. "If you give it to me, I might forget I found you."
At this point, Han had to stall. He kept finding a way to cool Greedo down, so that he might catch the Rodian off guard, in order to take him out. Han put his hand up to the wall behind him, scratching it with a finger against it in thought.
"I don't have it with me!" Han tried to explain, looking back at his hand and then again to Greedo. "Tell Jabba –"
"Tens hikikne. Hoko ruya pulyana oolwan spa steeka gush shuku ponoma three pe," interrupted Greedo, while Han slowly released the bindings to his pistol holster, with great caution. Greedo spoke a little more fiercely this time, thinking that he caught Solo red-handed. "Jabba's through with you. He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser."
"Even I get boarded sometimes," Solo rebutted, as he gripped his trusty DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. He lifted the blaster from the holster and positioned it just at the right spot to get a proper shot off at Greedo, who sat against the wall across from Han, growing even tenser as the conversation went on. "Do you think I had a choice?"
"Tlok Jabba. Boopa goompah-kne et an anpaw," said Greedo, who was eager to see what his boss thought of the situation. "You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship."
Han now had his hand back down at his side, hoping to find a good chance where he could shoot the gangster, like he was planning to. He was not a smuggler to be trifled with. Han Solo was known throughout the galaxy as a rough-and-tumble rogue that walked his own path – a path that was as consistent as it was brutal. What Greedo had just said was not a part of his plan, however, and it got Solo even more agitated. "Over my dead body."
"Ukle nyuma. cheskopokuta klees ka tlanko... ya oska," Greedo laughed, as he looked at Han like he was nothing. "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
"Yes, I'll bet you have," Han said, with a cunning arrogance. Han then fired his gun with a swiftness that not even Greedo could beat. A cloud of smoke came from the blast as the loudness of the gunfire caught the attention of everyone in the cantina. The shot hit the Rodian near his stomach, killing him almost instantly. Greedo, who was never even able to get a shot off before his quick death, fell to the surface of the table in front of Han, with the head of his dead body hitting the hard wood straight on. As the quiet banter of the different aliens in the bar gradually grew, Solo got up and walked over to the bartender, handing him the tip. "Sorry about the mess."
With a nod, the smuggler left the cantina unscathed.
(Author's Note – The point here is that Han shot first, and that isn't going to change for me.)
Luke, Gandalf, and Obi-Wan met up with See Threepio and Artoo Deetoo outside the cantina, and they headed off to Docking Bay 94, on the other side of Mos Eisley. Along the way, Luke came to an old Toydarian's vending shop, hoping to sell his speeder for a good price. The bazaar around him was filled with food stands, junk traders, and weapon vendors, and the shop that was closest to Luke was the one he'd try to make a bargain with. The grumpy old Toydarian that owned the little shop flew up to Luke, ready to see what kind of exchange would play out during this encounter. The winged creature talked with a slurred, but knowledgeable dialect of Galactic Basic, in which he had used for many years.
"Oh, hello there! I give you welcome to my shop!" the creature shouted. "Now what you wanna buy, eh? Some parts? New cylinders? A racer? We got everything, here!"
"Actually, I'd like to sell this speeder, here," said Luke to the alien as he revealed his old transport vessel. "How much do you think I can get for this?"
The grey alien flew around the small, red, speeder with a finger on his chin, surveying it.
"Old X-34, eh? Haven't seen one of these in a while. Where you buy this?" the alien asked.
"I got her at an old junk shop up in Anchorhead. She's got really nice repulsors, and her engine's been modified," Luke stated. This angered the Toydarian a bit, and he looked at Luke, grumpily, as he flew up to the young man's face.
"Modified?! You can't-a come in here with your modified speeder and try to get a good bargain outta my mouth! Who you think I am, eh?" the creature yelled. "You'd better show old Watto, here, that the speeder's worth something, or else I go call Empire."
Luke, desperate to get something out of the speeder, was eventually able to sell it for a mere two thousand credits, though the old Toydarian still disliked the trade. To the Docking Bay the party went, and as they passed multiple battalions of menacing stormtroopers, the large building that was their destination came into view. Gandalf became more and more weary of the stormtroopers' presence as the group walked on, knowing that the droids walking behind him were sought after by the terrible Empire. Chewie approached the group, motioning for them to follow him into the Docking Bay. As the group followed Chewie's request, they saw a giant slug slither away from Han into a ship, followed by a few guards and scoundrels, including the notorious Boba Fett. Han, looking agitated for some reason, collected himself as he walked up a gang plank into his ship, which was a large freighter with multiple different parts of space junk attached to it. Gandalf looked up at the vessel, never seeing anything so strange in his life, while Luke, on the other hand, looked up at the ship with both disbelief and contempt.
"What a piece of junk!" Luke claimed. Gandalf looked at the young man, strangely, as he didn't know the standard of transportation in the galaxy.
"Compared to what?" asked the wizard, as Luke assessed the ship's features quickly.
"Well, just look at it! It looks beaten to a pulp and worn beyond repair," explained Luke, as Han came out of the ship to talk to the group and try to justify the hardiness of his greatest possession. "I'm not sure if this thing can even start up properly without the engines blowing themselves to bits from exhaustion."
"She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid," Solo explained, with swagger. Luke scratched his head, wondering how exactly a worn out ship such as this could ever even reach lightspeed without breaking down. "I've added some special modifications, myself."
Chewbacca rushed up the ramp of the freighter, urging his captain and the others to come aboard. Han looked back at the creature, nodding in agreement. The smuggler looked back at the group and began to speak to them in a bossy, yet business-like tone.
"We're a little rushed, but if you'll just hurry aboard, we'll get out of here."
The grinning Han Solo walked beside the gang plank, motioning for the passengers to walk onto the ship, to which they did. As they walked on board, Threepio greeted Solo, ever the good servant. The group walked into the ship, which had many different devices, modules, and rooms placed throughout it. Gandalf was easily baffled by how strange the environment was, and was unwilling to touch any of these awkward instruments that surrounded him. Outside the ship, Han checked to see if the coast was clear to start up the ship, but then heard something that he simply didn't want to hear: the loud voice of a stormtrooper, giving orders through his helmet. A large squad of the Imperial grunts came into the docking bay, ready to shoot down the vessel. Han, not understanding why stormtroopers were after him, quickly yelled for Chewie to start up the ship, which the creature did. The commanding trooper ordered for the squad to fire upon the ship, while Han quickly returned the fire with his trusty DH-17. Hanging on to the ship for dear life as it took off, Han stood on the gang plank of the ship, firing back at the armor-clad, grounded troopers. When the coast was clear, the smuggler ran on board and hit the switch that brought in the gang plank. The others in the group were all strapped in safely for takeoff, with Gandalf looking the most uneasy.
"Chewie, get us outta here!" shouted Han, as he looked to Gandalf. "Don't go dyin' on me, old man, this place smells bad enough, as it is! The rest of you, try to keep yourselves occupied. Welcome aboard the Falcon."
The smuggler sprinted to the cockpit, and began typing in the coordinates of their destination as the ship sped off into the cold reaches of space, where the galaxy stretched on and on, waiting to be revealed to Luke and Gandalf. The young man and the old wizard, although being two different individuals, were just beginning to experience something entirely new alongside one another: a wealth of adventure that could only be found in the rest of the galaxy, far, far away.