The Heart of the Galaxy: A Star Wars Story (with Legends)

Chapter 27 - Escape Pod

"Millennium Falcon to Lion Rampant escape pod. Do you copy?"

Mirax Horn switched on the comm. "We read you, Falcon."

"I'm sending you landing coordinates that will put you down near our ships."

Tapping a screen, Mirax checked the comm console. "Coordinates received."

The small ship gave a sudden lurch.

"So much for taking the scenic route," Corran groused. "Looks like the droids found us anyway."

The droid ship fired again. Corran pulled the ship into a sharp roll, attempting to evade their pursuer. The droid ship followed, firing again and grazing the side of the pod.

"Not bad flying for a computer," grunted Corran.

"It's no match for you, Dear," Mirax teasingly assured him.

Corran dove under the droid ship, coming up behind it and momentarily gaining the advantage. Another violent shudder rocked the ship as the droid's aft guns caught the pod. It sped forward to relative safety as the Horns were thrown forward into the viewport.

"Mirax! Corran!" Natasi unstrapped and stepped to the console where the couple slumped. She placed her hands on their necks, seeking a pulse. To her relief, both were still alive.

Yantahar slipped up beside her. "I don't think they're going to wake up for a while. We've got to land without them, Dearest."

Valin and Jysella stared at their unconscious parents. Jysella whimpered softly. Natasi turned her gaze to her own children. Eramuth and Niasi watched her with eyes full of trust. Baby Naala gurgled and cooed, too little to grasp the severity of the situation. Why should she be afraid when her mother, her source of food and comfort was with her?

"You can land us, can't you, Dearest?" Eramuth asked in a small voice.

Natasi looked at the console. I don't need my wife having another extended stay in a medcenter. Leave the flying to Corran and Mirax. She drew a breath, felt the tightness in her chest. Then she heard Niasi's voice.

"Dearest will take care of us."

Easing the Horns to resting places in the floor, she prepared to grasp the yoke. "If a computer can fly a ship, surely I can, too."

She stopped as her own words struck her. She didn't have to fly the pod. All she had to do was program the nav computer to take them to the landing coordinates Han Solo had already given them. She checked the comm console and found the coordinates still flashing on the screen.

Quickly dropping into the navigator's chair, she hit the button to ready the nav computer. The screen was blank. She tried again. Still nothing.

"What's wrong?" Yantahar asked.

"I just need to fix the computer so I can tell it where to take us. It will only take a minute." A minute was all the time they had before the droid caught up to them again.

Kneeling, Natasi inspected the computer systems underneath the console. The cover plate was bent from the impact of the droid ship's blaster bolts. Through a gap in one corner, she could see several loose connections.

She grasped the edges of the cover and tugged. It didn't budge. She pulled harder. The durasteel plate refused to come free.

"I can get it off." Yantahar put his soft hand on her shoulder. "You're going to hurt yourself, Dearest. Please let me help."

Natasi opened her mouth to tell him not to use the Force, then a cold chill washed over her. She had no choice. The cover was jammed and she had no time to waste fighting it. She nodded wordlessly. Backing up, she turned away and closed her eyes.