Kyle landed the Raven's Claw in an empty docking bay of the Mos Eisley Spaceport. Jaden traded the cool interior of the Claw for the harsh, blistering twin suns of Tatooine. She shielded her eyes.
"Master Skywalker grew up here?"
"Yep, not exactly the ideal spot to spend your childhood but, he had no choice. When his mother died in childbirth, Obi-Wan Kenobi took him and hid him here with his uncle and aunt, while Princess Leia was adopted by the king of Alderaan."
"That's very sad," Jaden said, and almost added "unfair" that Luke had to be raised in harsh conditions while his sister was raised in the cushy life of a princess. But then again, none of her fellow students had it lucky either.
"Of course, Alderaan was sadly destroyed by the Death Star, so Leia's not really the princess of anything now. Her official title with the New Republic is Senator Organa, but to us Rebels, she'll always be our Princess."
Jaden smiled at the sweet sentiment. She'd heard countless tales of the heroes of the Rebellion and often wondered what it was like to serve under them, to watch them lead in the fight against the Empire.
They entered a docking bay where smaller vessels were parked, lined up in a row.
"Luke's info was good," Kyle commented. "These are definitely freelance cargo ships."
They made their way to another docking bay door and came upon a sight to behold.
A large, gray, YT series Corellian light freighter, with several modifications (mostly illegal) was parked in the middle of the docking bay. The ship was old and had seen many planets and countless fights, but she still held, standing like a scarred and glorious old war hero who still had plenty of fight left in them. The loading ramp was shut and all things considered looked to be locked up tight.
Kyle whistled. "Well I'll be, the Millennium Falcon!"
Jaden's eyes widened. "I heard about that ship! I mean, this ship. It's the one that made the Kessel Run in less than, what was it? 11? No, 12 Parsecs?!"
"Yep, that's her," Kyle answered, then raised his voice to call out: "Han? Chewie? Anybody here?" All was quiet, no answer. "I guess they're out."
They turned to leave but a sudden sound, like someone knocking on a window came from behind. By the time they turned around, Jaden just saw a flash of something, a hand maybe? moving away from the cockpit window. A moment later, the loading ramp lowered.
"I guess someone's home after all." Kyle folded his arms and watched as two small feet, then legs appeared at the top of the gangway, then made their way down the ramp. It was a child. Jaden and Kyle took in the sight with astonishment. He couldn't have been more than ten, with feathery dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wore knee high brown boots, dark navy pants with a red stripe running up the side of each leg, and a cream colored shirt under a black jacket with a hood. How he wore all that in this heat, Jaden would never understand. She guessed it was why he stayed inside the ship.
"Hey! Are you Jedi?" He asked, trying to look grown up and serious but failing.
Kyle grinned. "Yes we are. We thought your dad and Chewbacca were here. I'm Kyle by the way, I work with your Uncle Luke."
Dad? Jaden didn't know the legendary Han Solo had a son.
"Cool!" The boy said. "I'm Ben! Dad and Uncle Chewie stepped out for some business, but I'm not supposed to talk about it, he told me to stay in the Falcon and wait." Ben groaned. "He never lets me have fun!"
"He probably had a good reason to have you stay here. You know that Mos Eisley is a swarming hive of scum and villainy don't you?" Jaden could tell Kyle was thoroughly amused by this child.
"Exactly! That's why I didn't wanna stay inside the ship!"
"Well, you should get back inside, Jaden and I here need to get going," Kyle said.
Ben begrudgingly made his way back up the loading ramp, turning only to wave goodbye to them. Jaden almost felt sorry for him, it wasn't hard to sense that he was already strong in the Force.
"If his parents know what's good for him, they'll let Luke train him, and soon. He's got more than enough feistiness to go around," Kyle said as they made their way back to the docking bay door. He shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling about all this. The cargo ships, Han and Chewie MIA on business." He glanced back at the Falcon, rubbing his chin in consternation. "Listen. Stay here and guard the entrance to the docking bay. If anyone tries to enter or leave, detain them. I'll head over to the Krayt Cantina and ask around. I know some people there."
Jaden nodded. "I can do that." I hope. Kyle exited through the door, leaving Jaden all by herself. She stood in front of the door, unsure of what to do, should she just stand like that or in a different way? She looked behind her at the Millennium Falcon, wondering if young Ben was watching her. She went and stood to the side of the door, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt. She held it in her hand at her side, ready for (almost) anything. As the minutes passed, she found herself leaning against the wall, arms crossed. It was really fifteen minutes after Kyle had left when the sound of blaster fire startled Jaden out of her calm, heat induced stupor.
She leapt away from the wall, igniting her saber and stepping to the side, waiting to confront whatever was behind the door. Sure enough, the door slid open, and a huge, furry creature wielding a bowcaster emerged, roaring the instant it saw her. It was a Wookie, Jaden realized, and its roar was a question, not a threat.
"A Jedi? Me? No, not yet." She felt relieved at having learned a little of some of the galaxy's many languages. "I'm one of Kyle Katarn's students. He's talking to some locals. We're investigating a cult that's been cropping up everywhere." Realization suddenly dawned on her. "You must be Chewbacca. Why are you here?"
Chewbacca responded with a series of growls and grunts. Jaden's eyes widened at the words she was able to pick out.
"Leia Organa? Wow… it must be important business." The Wookiee simply nodded his big shaggy head, turned and smashed the control panel next to the door, barring anyone from getting in.
At the Cantina…
Kyle entered the low lit room of the Krayt Cantina, the smell of death sticks and hard liquor a permanent staple. He walked with ease and swagger down the steps, eyes gliding across the room for anyone familiar.
"Katarn!" A voice, half slurred, shouted from the bar.
Kyle put on a big smile, "Al! Didn't think I'd ever set eyes on you again! How long's it been? I woulda thought you'd been swallowed and digested by some Krayt Dragon or tossed by the Hutts into the Sarlacc pit already. How've you survived in this town for this long?"
"'It's a long story." Al slurred, he had a greasy mop of dark hair and wore even greasier clothes. But he was the best greasy informant Kyle had ever known. When he wasn't drunk, that is, sobriety was something he rarely saw on Al. "Why dontcha 'ettle dow here and I'll tell ya 'bout it? And 'ow's Jan by the way?"
Kyle ignored that last question. "Hmm, tempting, but you see Al, I'm here on business, a bit of a hurry too, I'm looking for information about a-" Kyle looked this way and that, then leaned in, trying not to inhale Al's stench. "About a cult. A Sith cult to be exact, associated with the name of one Marka Ragnos. Heard they might be tryna hire some mercs here."
"Ooooohhh," Al said, leaning in and grabbing the front of Kyle's shirt. "Then boy do I have 'some news for you!" He pointed his big greasy finger at Kyle. "But firs' let me buy ya a drink!"
Kyle pulled back slightly, trying his best to control his gag reflex. "That sounds nice but I really can't-"
"No! I 'nsist! Bartender!" Al raised his hand and waved wildly. Kyle sighed. This was going to take awhile.
"One Ruby Bliel please." He told the bartender.
Jaden and Chewbacca approached the Falcon. The loading ramp opened and Ben Solo came flying down it and into Chewie's arms. "Uncle Chewie!" He yelled and the Wookie picked the boy up in one arm, the other still holding the bowcaster and spun him around. Jaden stepped back to give them space. Their relationship was something very close and truly sweet to behold. The Wookiee set him down and Ben turned to Jaden.
"So what's going on? How can I help?"
"It seems like some mercenaries who are docked nearby don't like that Chewbacca is poking around for your mom," Jaden said. "And if I had to venture a guess, I'd say they're connected to what my master and I are looking into."
"And that is…?" Ben asked. Jaden shook her head, remembering she was talking to a child, not a grown up. Not that she thought kids weren't smart but, she didn't want him involved more than he was now, and there was no way she was putting him in harm's way.
"Sorry Ben, I can't talk about it now, Chewie and I need to check out the rest of the facility and make sure everything's okay."
"Maybe I can help!" Ben pleaded, "I won't get in the way, I'll do what you tell me just please let me do something fun for once!"
Chewie put a furry hand on his head and made a series of sounds only a Wookie could make. From what she could understand, Chewie seemed to be telling Ben to do what Han, his dad had said and being in a dangerous situation wasn't 'fun.'
Jaden looked around the outside of the ship, her eyes settling on the cockpit. "I may have a solution." Ben looked up at her hopefully. Jaden looked to Chewbacca seeking permission. He bade her to continue. "Well, if you have a comlink of your own Ben…"
"I do!" He said excitedly, immediately understanding.
"...Then we could all tune to the same frequency and stay in communication with each other. Ben can stay in the Falcon, with the doors locked, safe and sound up in the cockpit. You can be our lookout and let us know if anything changes or if someone unsavory enters the area that could be a threat."
"Got it!" Ben said, "Shouldn't we call your master? You know, for backup?"
"Hmm, well he's looking for information right now…" Jaden wasn't sure, she felt that maybe she and Chewie could handle themselves okay. Things didn't seem to be too extreme that required his help. Yet.
"Chewie and I can handle this," she decided. "We can always call Kyle as a fail safe."
Gesturing to the Falcon she said, "You should go ahead and get inside, don't forget to lock it up tight."
"On it!" Ben turned on his heel and ran back up the ramp. A moment later it closed, another minute and a call came on Chewbacca's comlink. "Chewie are you there? It's me, Ben. Or should we use call signs?"
Jaden smiled and tuned her com to the same frequency. "I think we can use our own names, Ben. Chewie and I are headed out. Stay in touch only if something changes. We'll check in every ten minutes."
"Okay! Over and out!" It was quiet for a second and then, "This is really cool by the way. Thanks for letting me be a part of your team, over! I mean over and out!"
Chewie made a grunting sound, and said something about kids and how much you gotta love 'em. Jaden smiled, the kid was bursting with energy, something that her nineteen year old self wished she had a little more of. He also reminded her of a certain someone back at the Academy. I wonder if this was what Rosh was like at this age.
They moved inside of the corridors connecting the various docking bays to each other, coming across no one until they came to a staircase going up…
"E chu ta!" A deep alien voice said, followed by the sound of something dropping down the stairs. Jaden had seconds to recognize what it was. "Detonator!" She yelled and hurried back through the door they came in, Chewie following, barely clearing the doorway for cover when it blew.
"Holy-" Jaden began, but was cut off as baster fire rained down. Igniting her saber, she deflected as Chewbacca fired back, it was thankfully a small group of mercenaries. But how many other groups like these posed a danger to them?
The way clear now, they hurried up the stairs, coming out onto a long walkway above the Millennium Falcon's docking bay. Ahead, as if to answer their unspoken question, a door opened and out ran a Rodian Bounty Hunter, armed with a rifle of some kind that Jaden had never seen before.
Chewie let out a warning, firing off several rounds to keep the Rodian from aiming properly. Jaden decided to try out her skill in the Force. Running hard, she plowed forward, lightsaber held in front defensively. As she reached him, the Rodian dropped to his knee and fired. The laser blast almost landed, singeing the fabric of her upper arm before she swung the killing blow. She kept going, jumping over his body, looking back to see Chewbacca coming up behind. They raced into the room, some kind of control center, stopping short when they realized it was empty, but voices from behind a corner told them otherwise.
"Is it just me, or are the Rodians kinda creepy?" Said one voice, Jaden's hand flew to her mouth to keep from laughing, the statement had caught her so off guard.
"I know what ya mean, those weird antenna things right?" A second voice answered.
"Yeah, that and the nose. Pretty spooky."
"Yeah, what is that?! On second thought, I don't wanna know." Jaden choked on another laugh, releasing a chortle that sounded like a dying Womp Rat.
"Who's there?" The first voice called.
"It's the Rodian guy, I just know it!" The second said in a not so quiet whisper. Jaden looked up at Chewie who just gave a furry shrug and they came into view of the two mercenaries who looked very confused. Jaden's lightsaber glowed purple on the walls. "Care to explain what's going on around here and why you mercs are attacking us?" The only answer she got was blaster fire.
After taking care of the mercs, Jaden turned to Chewie. "We need to check the rest of the facility and see just how many of these mercs there are!"
Chewie huffed in agreement and they hurried down into an empty docking bay. They startled a Rodian who stood near the door. He cried out and ran for cover behind a nearby crate. All around the bay, human, Rodian, Gran, and Trandoshan mercs turned at the disturbance.
"Sithspit!" Jaden muttered, and the mercs opened fire. They ducked behind some nearby crates and cargo that was spread out across the bay.
"Jaden, Jaden can you hear me?" Ben asked over their coms.
"We're a little busy here!" Jaden said, popping up from behind a crate, deflecting a blaster bolt, ricocheting it into the far wall.
"I know, I can see you and Chewie are pinned down in the mercs docking bay."
Jaden rolled behind another bit of cover, Chewie following after. "Wait, you can see us? How?"
"I um… hacked into the spaceport's security monitors," Ben answered tentatively.
Before Jaden could even question the ethics of it or how a kid his age had learned such a thing he continued. "Look, there's about five mercenaries in that docking bay with you. I'm checking the rest of the cameras to see just how many more of them there are in the facility."
"Grrraaaaagghhhh!" Chewie said.
"Good idea! We won't be such easy targets inside!" Jaden spotted a door nearby. Holding up her saber, she covered Chewie as they raced across the bay, managing to take down about half of the mercenaries.
Instead of inside, they found themselves in the docking bay that housed the cargo ships she and Kyle had seen. It was mysteriously empty and quiet. Suddenly, from the walkway above, a thermal detonator came flying at them. Jaden and Chewie dove in opposite directions.
"We need more cover!" Jaden shouted. "Let's get back to our ship!"
Chewie roared in agreement and fired on the grenadier, the Gran fell forwards and landed hard on the sand. As they headed across the bay towards the door Jaden remembered coming through earlier with Kyle, they heard a sound from above. Looking up towards the central tower in the middle of the complex, Jaden saw a strange blue and white light emit from one corner of the round tower. It was shining on the bay the Raven's Claw was parked in. The same sound came again, but she couldn't see where it came from.
"Guys, you're not gonna like the sound of this…" Ben said. "Someone activated a tractor beam on the Falcon! I also saw on the control tower's monitor that someone's messing with the controls to the doors of the docking bays on this side!"
"So that's what it is, I think there's one on the Raven's Claw as well." Jaden said. She looked up at Chewie, "We can't get to the ships, then. The whole place is locked down!"
"Try to get into the control center at the top of the tower," Ben suggested, "It's the only way to turn off the tractor beams."
"You mean you can't hack them from the Falcon?"
"Hey," Ben said, and Jaden got a mental image of him shrugging in defense, "I'm only nine and a quarter, I can't be expected to master all of technology yet!"
"Grrr Aaaahhhh," Chewie said, meaning "Kid's got a point."
They both headed to another section of the docking bay, towards a door leading back inside. A couple of crates stood near it.
"Grraaaaaa," Chewie cautioned Jaden with a fuzzy hand on her shoulder, meaning the crates were explosive.
"Got it," Jaden stepped back and made to move far around them and to the door. The sound of another door opening made her and Chewie turn around. Several mercenaries entered the docking bay.
"Get down!" Jaden hissed. Chewie ducked behind a non-explosive crate while Jaden blocked and deflected blaster fire that rained freely. Finally, she jumped to the side, somersaulting to a stop beside Chewie.
"I'll disengage the tractor beams if you think you can hold these guys!" Chewie responded he could and Jaden counted to three. She jumped up and sprinted across the exposed area, through the door and passed the explosive crates. Behind her, a Trandoshan hefted a rocket launcher onto his shoulder and fired at the crates. They blew up, causing debris to fall and block the door.
Jaden found herself in a room alone, a set of stairs to her right. Saber at the ready, she made her way up the stairs and through the door at the top of them. The first thing she saw was blue laser tripwires set between some stacks of crates. She carefully moved around the crates, realizing they didn't continue but were for show. She hurried through the room, looking around different boxes. She took down the three mercs who tried to take her by surprise.
After taking down a Rodian who stood guarding one of two doors at the other end of the room, she passed through into one with a single lift in the middle of it. She brought her comlink to her lips.
"Ben, do you read me? I found a lift into the tower, I should have those tractor beams down in no time."
"Awesome! Let Chewie know when you do, it looks like he's almost down taking care of those mercs."
"Got it, over and out." Replacing the com in her pocket, Jaden stepped onto the lift.
It took her to the very top of the control tower. It was a circular room split in half by a dividing wall with a door in each one on either side of the elevator. Large windows in each of the four sections looked out on each of the four docking bays. Jaden glanced at the control panel in front of her then looked out the window. An overhead view of the Millennium Falcon was spread out below her, a beam of that pale blue light casting down onto it. She flipped a switch on the control panel and the light disappeared.
"Okay, that's it for the Falcon. Now for the Raven's Claw," Jaden said to herself, she turned and, if she was correct and not completely turned around by this place, headed through the door behind her where the controls for the Raven's bay hopefully were. She almost bumped into someone as she entered, a person clad in coppery colored fabric, the impression of a curved symbol on their shoulder…
Jaden jumped back, saber out. The figure, clearly a cultist like the one she'd faced on Yavin IV, ignited a lightsaber of his own, crimson and menacing.
"Come on, fight me!" He taunted. They crossed sabers, dueling in closer quarters than the wide open grassy clearing where she'd had her first battle. A few close calls kept Jaden on her toes as she looked for an opening, a chink in her opponet's armor, just like Kyle had taught her.
Damn, I wonder what he's up to.
Meanwhile, at the Cantina…
"Hahahaha, ha!" Kyle slapped Al on the back. "And then Jan and I swooped down and got the hell off that planet! And that's the last time I ever messed with spice!" Kyle downed the rest of his drink, his third Ruby Bliel. He could hold his liquor better than anybody, but boy, was it taking its toll on him. If he wanted Al to give him any info on the cult, it'd have to be soon.
"Ah well, 'tha's the 'stuff Kyle!" Al hiccuped, "Now you 'slaid you wanted some info on 'his cult?"
Kyle became serious. "Yes, Al, I do. It's important."
"Okay okay, 'slo, the one you're gonna need to talk to is Ol' Jim over there." He raised an inebriated finger to indicate a middle aged man sitting off in a corner by himself. He wore light colors and tough fabrics, dirtied from an honest day's work. A moisture farmer no doubt.
"Him?" Kyle asked skeptically. "I thought you said you had the info?"
"I do!" Al said loudly, "And I just happen to know of 'someone who can 'elp you!"
Kyle put his face in his hand. "Thanks Al." He got up to approach the man who'd been pointed out to him.
"Hey, what about another drink, for the road!" Al called, but Kyle didn't answer, he'd had enough Al-cohal for one day.
Jaden turned off the second tractor beam, not glancing down at the corpse of the Dark Jedi she'd finally managed to overpower.
"The tractor beams are down Chewbacca, I'm on my way!" She said into her com, then headed back to the lift. It took her all the way down to ground level. The room was empty, four different doors leading to the hallways connecting the docking bays were spaced evenly around the room. Jaden paused, trying to think of which one led to where she needed to go.
A soft, "Grrrrrrrrerrrrrrrr" came from behind a door facing the back of the lift. She ran to it as it opened up, revealing Chewie, bowcaster in hand, still in one piece.
"Good to see you too! Let's go!" Jaden rushed past him and they headed through the door into the Falcon's docking bay.
She looked from the left to the right, her com grasped in one hand, lightsaber in the other. "Ben, whaddya got, are there more mercs in the facility?"
"I don't think so, I'm not seeing- Look out!" He screamed.
Jaden caught a flash of metal hidden among the nearby crates. Twisting her body in that direction, she dodged the onslaught of laser blasts. Chewbacca opened fire on another merc that made an appearance. Rushing at the mercenary while running in a zigzag formation, Jaden easily took down the merc. Together, she and Chewbacca made short work of the remaining mercenaries.
"Ben, it's okay to come now!" Jaden called, still panting from the exertion she felt. The loading ramp lowered a few seconds later, the boy hurrying down it.
"That. Was. Amazing!" He cried.
"Well, we couldn't have done it without you." Jaden smiled down at him, tousling his thick dark locks. "You also saved my life back there. Thanks."
The door to the bay opened, and Kyle entered, joined by a man close to his age, probably a few years older, sharing a resemblance to the boy standing next to her.
Ben's father.
They stepped over a mercenary's body and looked around.
"Oh, did I miss something?" Kyle looked over to Jaden, a gleam in his eye.
Chewie stopped what he was doing repairing a small part on the side of the Falcon that was damaged by blaster fire and greeted Kyle with a wave. He and Jaden closed the distance between the two men and themselves.
Kyle laughed. "Good to see you, too, Chewie! Guess these mercs didn't want us here."
"Dad you're back!" Yelled Ben as he came back down the gangway. He dropped whatever part Chewie had sent him up to get and ran to his father's side.
"Hey! Did ya stay outta trouble?" Han gave him a brief hug then a noogie. Suddenly, as if inspired by Han, Chewie grabbed Jaden from behind and hugged her tightly, the air going right out of her as he rubbed her head with his massive, hairy hand. Jaden didn't know whether to be frightened or to laugh at the hilarity of the gesture. It didn't last long and she shrugged away rather quickly. Kyle just chuckled.
"Heh, that's high praise, coming from a Wookiee." Jaden made it to her master's side, then, not wanting to be rude, turned back to face Chewbacca.
"Thanks… I think."
Kyle looked to Han. "Oh, Han, Jaden." He gestured to her. "Jaden, Han Solo." Then back to Han. "We ran into each other on my way back from the Cantina." Jaden noticed a not so great smell around Kyle when he spoke. Had he been drinking? He lightly hit his chest with his fist as though to break up air bubbles trapped there and burped slightly. Either that or he'd been drinking too many translucent sodas. She left it alone for now and reached out to shake Solo's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you," she said.
"Mine as well, Kyle told me a lot about you, at least in the time it took to get here from the Cantina." For someone more than twice her age, Han had a charming smile and Jaden didn't realize she was blushing.
"These mercs aren't cheap; someone in this cult must have a lot of credits. Or worse, it's backed by the Remnant." Kyle looked around at the small battlefield. "What you told me from Leia's end really helps, turns out the problem we're dealing with is one and the same."
Han nodded, "Looks like it." Jaden waited for them to elaborate. They didn't.
Kyle turned to her. "Listen, we gotta get word back to Luke and tell him what's going on." He looked at Han. "Can you and Chewie tell Leia about the cult?"
"GRRrrrrrraaagghhh!" Chewie replied for them.
Jaden shifted her feet, looking up at the large beast, "If he hadn't shown up when he did, I'd have been in a whole lot of trouble." She smiled at the Wookiee.
Kyle put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, well, the way Chewie tells it, you held your own. Nice work." He then glanced at the young Solo. "And I have a feeling you weren't just held up inside the Falcon either."
Jaden spoke up for him. "Actually, he was on the ship the whole time with the doors locked. He was our lookout."
"Yeah and I hacked into the security monitors and saved Jaden's life!" Ben piped up.
"You did what?" Han looked at his son in confusion, then to Jaden.
"He really was a lot of help," she shrugged. "But to be fair I didn't ask him to hack the cameras."
Chewie intervened to tell Han he should be proud of Ben's initiative and a job well done.
"Well…" Han said, not fully convinced. "I guess no one got hurt."
"Except the bad guys!" Ben said. "Now can I get to go to Uncle Luke's Academy and train to be a Jedi like Jaden? Can I please, Dad?"
Han looked uncomfortable, Jaden saw, like they'd had this talk before. "We'll see. We should probably get you home and talk to your mother about everything that happened today." He carefully guided Ben towards the Falcon and up the loading ramp, stopping only to wave goodbye, with Chewie being the last to go, giving a big roar of thanks and a furry wave.
As Jaden watched them disappear onboard the Millennium Falcon, a cold sensation ran down her spine and settled into the pit of her stomach, twisting it in knots, a feeling of clammy darkness wrapping itself around her, then dispersing as quickly as it came. She wondered what it was about. Ben and his dad maybe?
"Well, that's gonna be an awkward trip home," Kyle said, breaking her out of the frightening moment, completely unaware. "Let's get back to the Raven's Claw, we've gotta get to the canyons west of here." He turned and strode quickly towards the exit. Jaden ran to catch up.
"Wait a minute! What about what you and Han were talking about? What was that? And did you get the info you needed and more importantly, have you been drinking and should I drive?" She stopped suddenly, wondering if she crossed a line. Kyle just laughed.
"I'll tell you on the way what we were talking about. Yes, I got the info I needed, and yes, I did drink three Ruby Bliels. Though, while not enough to inebriate me, definitely gave me a small headache. Trust me, I know how to hold my liquor and three of those sweet things isn't enough to get me buzzed."
"Um, okay? But, uh, should I be…." Jaden wasn't really sure if she should say it.
"Should you be worried? No," Kyle said. "I don't have a drinking problem if that's what you're concerned about. I was following a lead with a so-called friend. I thought getting a drink would expedite the process but it did not. I guess I got carried away because he didn't have squat, but he did know somebody who did so I guess it wasn't a total loss. Still, I am sorry to have given you cause to worry." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she nodded.
"Thank you," She said and they continued onward to their ship.
"Anyway," Kyle called back. "I talked to a moisture farmer who told me he'd recently overheard a group of smugglers talking about a Sith cult in another local bar the other day and he had his R5 droid record the conversation."
"Great!" Jaden exclaimed. "So are we going out to meet him and listen to it?"
"Unfortunately, no," Kyle replied. "He got scared and sold the droid to some Jawas yesterday. He happened to be in the bar because he was getting one last drink before leaving Tatooine for good, but he did tell me which group of Jawas he sold it to and where they were. We need to get a hold of that droid before the Jawas wipe its memory. They shouldn't have gone too far in the last day. But we've got to locate those Jawas, purchase the droid, and get it back to the Academy."
"Okay, sounds easy enough."
"Not really, we may know the direction they went, but those canyons are still a labyrinth of twists and turns and dead ends. We're gonna need some more help on this one." He pulled up short as they reached the Raven's Claw. "I sent a message to Rosh with the coordinates of the spot we're heading to and he'll meet us there." They both climbed up into the cockpit and lifted off, Kyle turned to Jaden to add, "This should be a total blue milk run, kid. But it'll give you a chance to pick up some negotiating skills!"
As they flew over Mos Eisley, Jaden secretly hoped it would be a long time before she ever had to return to that wretched place again.
Author's notes
I do not own any of the characters, situations or parts of this story that belong to Star Wars, all rights go to Disney and Lucasfilm.
I'd like to thank my proofreaders/editors/typo hunters: Ashlyn and Bekeh. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR HELPING MAKE THIS STORY BETTER THAN IT WAS BEFORE! I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR YOUR INSIGHTS, REACTIONS AND OPINIONS!