Chapter 3: A journey begins
The group had just left old Kenobi's hut when they stumbled upon a destroyed sandcrawler and its crew of Jawas completely massacred.
They stopped to inspect it. The big vehicle had been hit with a mix of heavy weapons and simple blaster rifles, and highly powerful, even.
"It must've been the Sandpeople." Luke commented. "There's gaffi sticks, Bantha tracks." and planted one of said sticks in the terrain after inspecting it. "I've just never heard of them hitting anything this big before."
Ezra and Jaral were inspecting the sandcrawler and agreeing that it wasn't the Tusken who did that, though Obi-Wan spoke first.
"They didn't. But we're meant to believe they did." he explained. "These tracks are side-by-side. Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers."
"And these burns could not have been caused by their slug-throwers." Ezra added, pointing at the scorched parts at the base of the vehicle.
Jaral then went to analyze the footprints and didn't take long to notice their shape. "There's no doubt. Imperial stormtroopers did all of this."
Luke was confused. "But why would imperial stormtroopers slaughter Jawas?"
Ezra kept looking at the debris lying around, until he found something that triggered a terrible suspect in his mind.
"Look." he exclaimed, prompting the other Humans to get closer.
"These pieces were part of our escape pods. The Jawas must have scavenged it."
Even Luke didn't take long to understand what had happened and realize the truth.
"But if they were following your tracks, then that would lead them...home!" and suddenly dashed toward the speeder.
"Luke, wait! It's too dangerous." Obi-Wan yelled.
Jaral tried to sprint toward him, but Luke was much closer than them to the already powered speeder and he quickly sprinted away with it, heading toward the farm.
"Karabast!" the woman grunted, but Obi-Wan went to put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"Don't worry, he will be back."
Jaral sighed and decided that she could do nothing, at the moment.
However, she and Ezra did have some questions for the old Master. So she turned around and motioned Ezra to join the two of them; she ordered 3PO and R2 to start piling the corpses so they could burn them and then she started the questioning.
"Master Kenobi. I'm sorry if I sound meddling, but Bail Organa had promised us that you would answer our questions about this whole business."
Obi-Wan didn't seem surprised. "Yes, I suppose I owe you an explanation, after all you've gone through. But first, tell me, young Bridgers. What are your impressions?"
"Well, it's clear that you stayed here on Tatooine to watch over Luke." Ezra said. "However, what we were trying to figure out was why would you care so much for Leia. Unless…" he added, as if he already had the answer to that.
The gaze of the siblings clearly indicated that they had strong suspects that they only needed to be confirmed. Obi-Wan was sincerely impressed, making an approving nod to the siblings.
"Your instincts guide you well, young Padawans. Your Master really did raise you well." he said with a point of melancholy in his voice.
"Yes, he did." Jaral said, a bit hurt at the sudden remembrance of Kanan. "But...does that mean that we are right? Luke and Leia are…?" she wasn't sure if she wanted to conclude, but luckily, Obi-Wan didn't withhold the information.
"They are twins. They are both the offspring of Anakin Skywalker."
"You mean...Darth Vader?" Ezra whispered.
Obi-Wan didn't seem to expect that question. "You know about him?"
The siblings nodded. "We faced him on multiple occasions, but it was on Malachor that Ahsoka inadvertently revealed it to us."
Ben's eyes went wide. "You met Ahsoka Tano?"
The two found that reaction a bit awkward. "Uhm...yes. I understand you were a close friend to her?"
Kenobi sighed. "Not as much as I should have…" he said before making a pause, looking downward with a bit of shame in his eyes. "How is she doing?"
"Eh...she's alive." Ezra said. "We don't know where she is at the moment, but she's alive."
Obi-Wan chuckled. "Yeah. Sounds like something she would do."
After a brief silence of contemplation, Obi-Wan talked again. "Anyway, if you fought with Vader, then you know how powerful he is. Luke and Leia do have the same potential in the Force, and that's why we separated them at birth, so we could hide them better."
"Karabast." Ezra mumbled. "Why did we leave Leia on that ship?" he asked to no one in particular, frustrated.
"She made her choice, Ezra." Obi-Wan reassured him. "You have nothing to blame yourself for."
That didn't seem to have much effect on Ezra's sense of guild, but the young Jedi retained his cool.
"Ok, that's enough for now." Jaral concluded. "Let's free these pour souls from their dead shells."
The two men agreed and they started helping the droids forming various piles of dead bodies and setting fire to them.
Such task kept them occupied for almost an hour, because the bodies were littered all around the area and even nearby, probably because some of the small aliens had tried to flee, only to be brutally hunted down. To the siblings, this was just a testament to the senseless cruelty of the Empire. What purpose could the stormtroopers have in killing these guys, when they could certainly seize the remainders of the pod without much of a fuss?
And especially, when Luke finally came back, with his face clearly telling what the fate of his uncle and aunt had been, it showed once again that the Empire was nothing but a destructive force.
When the young farmer stepped outside of his speeder, the three Humans got near him and the siblings expressed their condolences.
"There was nothing you could've done, had you been there." Obi-Wan said. "You'd have been killed too, and the droids would now probably be in the hands of the Empire."
Luke took a moment to absorb those words. Then he looked at the old Master in the eye.
"I want to come with you to Alderaan." he said in a tone that was incredibly calm, given the circumstances. "There's nothing for me here now." he added, looking around briefly. "I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi, like my father."
Obi-Wan gently rubbed one of Luke's arms and gently pushed him toward the speeder.
The siblings followed. Through the bond, they couldn't help but ask if all of this happening was the will of the Force. Because if it was, then the Force had been quite harsh on Luke.
Still, with the farm destroyed, Owen and Beru dead, Luke pushed the speeder with his new companions forward. The trip was quite long, as it took three hours to reach Mos Eisley, mostly because they had to go slowly so that nobody would accidentally be tossed down on the road.
Eventually, though, they took a dirt road from which they could see Mos Eisley in the distance, and they stopped to assess the situation.
"Mos Eisley spaceport." Obi-Wan commented. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
"I survived to Cantonica, I think we can handle this." Ezra said to lift their spirits up, but he didn't sound too arrogant, which impressed the old Jedi Master.
"Still, we better be cautious." Jaral said and activated her armor, which startled Luke.
"What...what is that?" he asked.
"Technology of the Milky Way galaxy." Ezra replied. "We'll show you better once we're safely out of the planet." and he activated his own too.
The siblings used their rangefinders to observe the small settlement.
"There is an imperial shuttle at one of the hangars." Jaral noted. "It's safe to assume they're locking down the area to find us."
Ezra pondered for a moment, then went with his suggestion. "They're looking for me and Jaral, but you guys shouldn't have any problem getting past the checkpoint. You leave us at the edge of the city and we will proceed on our own. Just like the worst times of our lives." he quipped, referring to their past as street rats.
"Sounds like a plan." Obi-Wan agreed. "The best freighter pilots can be usually found at the local tavern. We'll recover you after we get past the checkpoint, then we will proceed together."
"As you say, Master Kenobi." Jaral concluded. "Come on, there's no time to waste."
The siblings jumped at the point they agreed on, deactivated their armors and then quickly vanished into the darker alleys of Mos Eisley.
They followed the speeder with their eyes for a short while, until that was stopped by a patrol of four stormtroopers. Ezra and Jaral heard that the soldiers didn't question the droids at all, only demanding Luke and Ben's IDs, but the old Master effortlessly used the Mind trick to pass without a problem. He made it look so easy that the siblings were honestly impressed, realizing they still had a lot to learn.
Nonetheless, after passing the checkpoint, the two rejoined the group aboard the speeder and they kept faring until they reached the tavern.
After Luke chased away a Jawa that started to pat the speeder even before its passengers got away, Luke turned toward the Jedi.
"I can't understand how we got past those troops, I thought we were dead."
"It's called a Mind Trick." Ezra intervened, making Luke turn. "A weak-willed mind can be easily influenced by using the Force. Making them forget what just happened is one of the things we are able to do."
Luke nodded, clearly not understanding entirely that concept.
Jaral looked at the tavern, finding it not very impressive.
"You think we'll find what we need here, Master Kenobi?" she asked.
"Most of the best freighter pilots in the galaxy gather in places like this." Obi-Wan explained.
Jaral shrugged. "We already have the best freighter pilot back home, let's hope we can find the second." she quipped, referring to Hera and smirking at imagining how her second mother would have felt.
Obi-Wan smirked as well. "Let's hope the Force will grant your request. Anyway, be careful, youngsters. This place can be a little rough."
"I'm ready for anything." Luke said boldly.
Ezra, though, calmed him down. "First lesson as a Jedi, Luke: beware of overconfidence." then he noticed that Luke had his new lightsaber still hanging from the belt.
"And conceal that." he added, prompting Luke to try and hide the weapon as best as he could with his farmer tunic. The siblings had already retired their hilts into the omni-tools, while Obi-Wan could hide his own lightsaber under his long robe. "It's true that they're looking for me and Jaral, but it's better not showing everybody there are lightsabers around."
"I agree." Obi-Wan said.
Then the entire group walked through the threshold of the entrance, since the magnetic door was locked in the open position to let customers in.
Obi-Wan was the first to venture into the crowd surrounding the counter, after he instructed Ezra and Jaral to protect Luke and the droids.
However, as they were about to reach the counter, as well, the bartender turned to them.
"Hey. We don't serve their kind here."
"Excuse us?" Ezra asked cordially.
"Your droids, they'll have to wait outside. We don't want them here."
"All right, apologies." the young man said.
Jaral turned toward 3PO. "Wait for us at the speeder, 3PO, we don't want troubles."
"I heartily agree with you, Lady." the protocol droid replied with a sincere voice, then he and R2 complied with the order.
After the droids were gone, the three young people approached the counter, placing themselves next to Obi-Wan, ordering something non-alcoholic while listening to the music played by a band of Biths on a small platform at the edge of the bar, while seeing aliens of all sorts sitting at the tables and speaking a babel of languages. That Jinx didn't bother to directly translate, since nothing they said could interest the siblings.
They started to drink. Jaral was on the left, Luke at the center, Ezra on the right. Probably because she was a young woman, an Aqualish with a dangerous appearance suddenly pushed her shoulder from the side. He didn't manage to push her down, since she was a Legionnaire, but still, she turned around and the Aqualish gurgled something in his language.
"Where do you think you are, Princess?" with a very provocative tone.
Jaral could feel that Ezra was ready to punch the shit out of that guy, but she ignored the alien and used the bond to calm her brother down.
A moment later, a finger tapped on her shoulder. She turned around only to see a Human male, his right part of the face horribly deformed.
"He doesn't like you." the man said to her, referring to the Aqualish.
"That's his problem." Jaral replied, slightly nervous about it, and returned to drinking.
But the man forced her to turn again with a pull, and now Jaral was becoming really pissed herself.
"I don't like you either." the man said. "You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on 12 systems."
Jaral simply turned back, calling in all her self-control, and sipped again from her glass, not wanting to draw more attention that that guy was already drawing toward the group.
Which made that thug even angrier. He snarled and tried to grab Jaral's shoulder again, but his arm was stopped at a middle point by Ezra's hand, who gripped his wrist with such strength that everybody could start hearing the bones creaking.
The Aqualish was taken aback for a moment, since Ezra was bigger than both of them.
"You touch my sister again, and I'll squash what is left of your face." Ezra threatened with a calm tone, while the man struggled to free himself and moaning for the pain.
The Aqualish pulled out his blaster pistol and pointed it at Ezra, but Jaral was ready to intervene. He threw a chop-hand on the alien's wrist, making him lose grip over the weapon, then punched him straight in the face with the other hand. The Aqualish immediately slammed on the ground, while Ezra tossed the human against his companion lying on the ground.
"Now get your butts out of here before I kick them." Ezra commanded.
The two didn't hesitate to obey, standing up and limping quickly toward the exit.
As the other patrons of the local turned back to their own businesses, the siblings also went back to the counter to talk with Obi-Wan, noticing that the old Master was talking to a Wookiee, who held his bow-caster hanging on his shoulder.
The old Master took the three youngsters aside and explained what was happening.
"Chewbacca here is first mate on a ship that might suit us." he said with a whisper.
After that, the Wookiee brought them to a table where a man in his 30s was sitting. He had brown, medium hair, hazel-green eyes and light skin.
He wore a black sleeveless top over a white jacket, blue trousers with a red stripe and boots. At his belt, a holster hosted a DL-44 pistol, much like Ezra.
In fact, when the man saw Ezra's pistol, he quickly commented. "Nice choice." pointing at the holster.
Ezra smirked and acknowledged the compliment, hoping that the friendly opening might have led to a successful occasion for them.
The man sat together with his Wookiee companion on the opposite side of the table, with their backs to the wall, so they had them covered, and presented himself.
"Han Solo. I'm the commander of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."
"Yes, indeed." Obi-Wan said. "If it's a fast ship."
"Fast ship?" Han asked as if that was a joke. "You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, partially confused. "Should I have?"
"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."
The siblings looked at each other. Even if the commander was clearly boasting, his aura told that he was sincerely convinced of that claim.
"If that's true, then I guess it might be on par with our old ship." Ezra commented.
"Uh. Which ship?" Solo asked with suspicion.
"A corellian VCX-100 that we served with for a while." Jaral answered.
"Ah." Solo said impressed. "Yeah, that's a solid model. Your captain had good tastes, young lady. So, what's the cargo."
"Only passengers." Obi-Wan said. "The four of us plus two droids…" he leaned forward and gave a serious gaze to the commander. "and no questions asked."
Solo grinned in amusement. "What is it, some kind of local trouble?"
"Let's just say we'd like to avoid any...imperial entanglements."
"Well, that's the real trick, isn't it?" Solo asked, looking at all four attentively. Then he gave his price. "Ten thousand, all in advance?"
Luke was shocked. "Ten thousand? We could almost buy our own ship for that."
"But who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" Han asked with a bit of mockery.
"You bet I could." Luke replied. "I'm not such a bad pilot, myself…"
However, Jaral gently put a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to calm down. Then she looked at the commander with a calm demeanor.
"Ten thousand just for passengers is quite the price. You can't allow yourself to demand so much if you're stuck in a place like this. So, if I have to guess...you owe money to somebody, and you need those bucks really quick."
Solo didn't reply, but his confident face seemed to show some cracks.
"Brother…" she said.
The siblings had already conceited the plan through their bond, so Ezra showed their best card: a rare 5000 credit bar.
Solo looked at that with stunned eyes as Ezra put it on the table and swiped it toward him and Chewbacca.
"Take this as a gift and a proof of our good will." Jaral said cordially. "We are not rich, but the people we work for are, and they will give you enough credits that you will be able to repay your debts and live without working for the next two years."
Han took the bar and tested it. After realizing it wasn't a fake, he chuckled.
"Well, how could I ever say 'no' to such a charming and convincing lady?" he said with a flirting tone to the young woman.
She, on the other hand, huffed amused. "Easy, sir. I'm already married to a much more reliable man." she said, having both Obi-Wan and Luke watch with questioning eyes.
"Well, that's a pity." Han replied in tone. He put away the credit bar and declared. "You guys got yourselves a ship. When do you want to leave?"
"Just give us half an hour to cover our tracks and we'll be ready to go." Jaral said.
"As you wish, Milady. Docking Bay 94."
Jaral made a polite nod and stood up, prompting the others to follow.
By 'covering their tracks', Jaral meant that they needed to sell Luke's speeder, so they could have some more cash for the travel in case of emergency, while the siblings used the time Obi-Wan and Luke took for the sale to get to a weapons' merchant and refill their tibanna canisters and also buy some thermal detonators.
Then they rejoined Luke and Kenobi, who had just finished the sale at the local speeder dealer. Luke didn't seem particularly satisfied.
"Look at this." he said, showing a total of 3.200 credits. "Ever since the XP-38 came out, they just aren't in demand anymore."
"Calm down, where we're going, you won't have financial problems of any kind." Ezra reassured him as they started to walk toward the hangar bay that Han told them.
"I'll go find the droids." Jaral said. "You proceed toward the ship."
"Don't get lost." Ezra quipped.
Jaral got into a dark corner to consult her omni-tool, since it would've been attracting attention in the crowded street. He quickly locked on the droids' signal, finding out that there was also a stormtrooper patrol coming right toward her. Still, using her skill as a street rat, she easily let them slip past her without them noticing anything and the young woman proceeded toward the droids.
"Oh, Lady Bridger. Am I glad to finally see you." 3PO said.
"Sure you are. Come on, we need to get to the ship." she exhorted.
The three quickly reunited with the rest of the group and proceeded toward the hangar, which was still quite far. However, Jaral was looking around, an uneasy feeling tingling in her neck.
"Guys, don't look back." she whispered from the tail of the formation, gaining the attention of her companions. "I think someone is tailing us."
"Imperials?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Probably an informant." she replied. "We should try and lose them."
"There's no time." Ezra objected. "We're almost at the hangar, and if they lose us, they will inform the stormtroopers anyway. I say we get in and hope Solo's ship is as fast as he boasts."
They kept walking while Obi-Wan thought of the answer.
"I agree with Ezra. We need to move fast."
"All right." Jaral said. "Let's get on the move."
They sped up their pace, though there was only so much they could do, because there were lots of people in the narrow street. Still, they reached the door of the docking bay, where Chewbacca was waiting for them and led them inside.
The group entered the circular bay and finally found themselves in front of the Millennium Falcon. The siblings recognized it as YT-1300f light freighter. A corellian ship, just like the Ghost, though this one didn't exactly give the idea of being structurally intact.
A sentiment that was shared by Luke, apparently, cause he commented loudly "What a piece of junk."
Han, who was calibrating a few pieces under the main reactor, seemed understandably offended, but replied calmly.
"She'll make point-5 past light speed." as he approached the group and Chewbacca walked up the ramp to enter the ship. "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself. But we're a little rushed, so if you'll just get on board, we'll get outta here."
Obi-Wan and Luke complied, but Ezra and Jaral waited a moment.
"How long will it take?" Ezra asked, pointing at the open section of the hull where Han was working on.
Han assessed the situation quickly and replied. "Two minutes."
"Too long. There are stormtroopers coming this way." Jaral replied, and she and Ezra stepped closer to it, finally revealing their omni-tools and analyzing what was left.
Han was confused and a bit nervous that strangers were suddenly touching his ship's engine. "Hey, hold on, what do you mean by…"
"There, we're ready to go." Ezra declared as the siblings deactivated their holographic computers.
Han noticed that the power converter he was adjusting now had the blue light, meaning that it was ready.
"Wait, those glowing orange things...are you two…" he asked, but Ezra suddenly pushed him behind his back.
"Watch out!"
"Blast them!" a voice said from the entrance. A group of stormtroopers had arrived with their heavy blasters and opened fire after the order was given.
In the blink of an eye, the siblings materialized their armors, with Ezra summoning the directional shield of the omni-tool to save Han from the first volley.
Jaral took out her TL-50 and fired back, the superior firepower of her weapon cut down two troopers and hit some of the lights of the hangar, causing small explosions that threw the patrol into confusion.
Ezra then grabbed one of the thermal detonators and threw it from behind his shield. The troopers scattered away in search of cover, which allowed Han and the siblings to put down their weapons and rush aboard the Falcon.
"Chewie, get us out of here!" Han screamed as he stepped into the corridors of the freighter.
Obi-Wan, Luke and the droids sat in the lounge, where there was a small sofa with a dejarik table in front of it. While 3PO was complaining again, the siblings followed Solo inside the cockpit, which was on the right side of the oval-shaped ship. Since there were two seats for passengers, they sat there while the Wookiee lifted the ship and the stormtroopers still shot at it from outside, but their infantry blasters weren't enough to pierce the hull of the freighter.
The Falcon sped toward orbit unchallenged, as the imperials had decided to leave their fighters in orbit aboard the Star Destroyers. After a small turbulence, the ship was now in orbit. The siblings dematerialized their armors and followed the situation attentively.
The sensors quickly alerted the crew that two Star Destroyers were catching up.
Han gave another quick look at the siblings, who understood that he had probably guessed their identity, at this point. Then the smuggler stood up to work on the consoles behind his back.
"Chewie, hold 'em off. Angle the deflector shields while I make the calculations for the jump to hyperspace."
"We can speed up the process…" Jaral suggested.
"Easy, honey, we just met. And nobody messes with my ship." Han sternly replied as he inserted the coordinates for Alderaan into the navicomputer.
It was an older model, and the trip was going to be quite long, so while the machine started the calculations, the Star Destroyers were already in range, and started firing against the freighter, whose shields seemed to sustain the damage.
Han sat back in his pilot seat, after tapping Chewbacca's arm and saying "Stay sharp. They're gonna try and cut us off."
Luke and Obi-Wan rushed into the cockpit and Luke spoke.
"Why don't you outrun them? You said this thing was fast."
"Watch your mouth," Han replied. "or you're gonna find yourself floating back home."
"Hey. Let's keep calm and just focus on the imperials." Jaral sternly ordered with her commanding tone, which seemed to scare the two bickerers enough.
"How long until we can make the jump?" Ezra asked.
"Just a minute more." Han said, consulting the navicomputer.
The ship shook again, hit by the turbolaser bolts of the Destroyers.
"Assuming this ship can withstand another minute." the young Jedi commented.
In fact, a dozen seconds later, a red alert started flashing on the commands, signaling that the shields were critically low.
"You two go strap in, I'm gonna make the jump to hyperspace." Han ordered to Luke and Obi-Wan, who were standing up instead of being sit, and they compelled.
Han then ignited the hyperdrive and the siblings quickly recognized the familiar humming, right before the stars started to distort outside of the viewport and formed the also familiar blue tunnel of hyperspace, as the Falcon finally left the system, starting their trip toward Alderaan, which was going to take almost 20 hours.