The Tatooinian

The Escape

A New Faith Chapter 2

"So what brings you back to Mos Eisley?" Mena asked, jogging to keep up with the tall pilot and the even taller Wookiee.

"Business trip," Solo responded, offering no further explanation.

"What's your trade?" Mena inquired. "I don't usually see you playing shuttle driver for farmers."

"Transport, kid. Why all the questions?"

"Just trying to get to know the man I'm trusting to fly me to Alderaan."

"A terrible man to trust, really."

"Thanks for the warning."

"SOLO!"

The deep shout of a stranger from within the docking bay interrupted their conversation.

Solo and the Wookiee paused, peering into the docking bay at the half-dozen armed men surrounding a beat up old Corellian freighter. Prominent among them was a large, slug-like creature. A Hutt. His imposing manner implied him to be the leader of the group, and Mena took him as the man who had shouted for her newly-found pilot.

"Right here, Jabba," Solo announced, walking towards the group with his head held high. "Been waiting for you."

The corners of the Hutt's grotesque mouth rose in a sickening smile, and he pridefully shouted something to Solo in a language that Mena could not understand.

"You didn't think I was gonna run, did you?" the pilot replied, strolling towards this 'Jabba' character.

"Han, ma boogee," Jabba began suavely. Mena stepped forward to follow Han, but the Wookiee held her back, shaking his shaggy head.

The Hutt placed an arm around Solo, guiding him along as he spoke. Mena couldn't quite understand the conversation, but she took Han's delivery of a dry compliment as Jabba and his henchmen left the bay as a sign of peace.

The Wookiee purred a question at Solo, and the latter looked up sharply.

"What? He left with no trouble, didn't he? We'll pay him after this job and it'll be back to business as usual." Solo assured his first mate.

"Transport, huh?" Mena asked, glancing at the two men.

Solo smiled dryly.

"Yeah, kid. Transport. What we carry and who it's delivered to, I didn't say," he said before lowering a ramp and entering the rusted ship.

The ship was... functional. Aesthetically pleasing? No. But functional. Mena ran her hands down the smooth walls of the stark hallway, then reached a homier room with helmets and other gear scattered about. She paused above a checkered game board, remembering the fights and blaster fire that had ensued over games like that one back at the cantina.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a young voice, shouting, "What a piece of junk!"

Mena approached the entrance of the ship as Han lectured the offending figure. Looking past the tall pilot, she caught sight of the blond boy from the cantina. With him was the old man, and both seemed doubtful of the ship's capabilities.

"I trust her," Mena piped up from behind Han, drawing the attention of the two newcomers. "The ship, I mean."

"Don't you work in the city?" the blonde boy asked, eyebrows raised. "What are you doing on a freighter?"

"This is our new helping hand for the trip, er-" Han paused.

"Mena," she supplied.

"Mena. She'll be keeping an eye on the ship and disembarking along with the the two of you and your droids when we reach Alderaan." Solo said.

Mena took a look at the two droids. The first, a gold humanoid unit was glancing about the docking bay, clearly unimpressed by its surroundings. The other, a blue astromech, was whirring excitedly and nudging the other droid forward towards the ship.

The two men accompanying the droids still had their eyes on Mena, the older man bemused, the younger man confused. The latter opened his mouth to ask another question, but Solo interjected.

"There'll be time to get to know each other later, but we're a little rushed, so if you'll hurry aboard we'll get out of here."

The boy shrugged, then followed the Wookiee up the ramp with his companions.

Mena smiled at the guests as they passed her and boarded the ship, but their introductions were halted by a cry of "Stop that ship!" followed by the sharp ring of blaster fire. Mena's head snapped towards the door just as Solo ran inside and slammed the entrance shut, shouting to the Wookiee who had strapped himself into the copilot's chair.

"Chewie, get us out of here!" Han shouted as he ran towards the cockpit, quickly followed by Mena. She stood behind the pilots and watched as the docking bay fell farther and farther away, finally disappearing into the orange surface of Tattoine. Mena stared as the planet that had been her home -no, her prison- for so long faded into space. Her wonder at her newfound freedom, however, was cut short by a flash of light just outside the cockpit window.

"Here's where the fun begins!" Han exclaimed gleefully as the two passengers stared nervously out the window.

"How long before you can make the jump to hyperspace?" the old man asked, eyeing an Imperial cruiser that had followed the creaky ship out of Mos Eisley.

"It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navi-computer." Han replied, deftly pressing the flashing buttons that covered the cockpit.

"Are you kidding?" the boy cried, rocking with the battered ship. "At the rate they're gaining-"

"Traveling through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy!" Han interrupted. "Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova, and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

The boy's eyes fixated on a glaring spot on the controls.

"What's that flashing?" he asked anxiously.

"We're losing our deflection shield," Solo replied. "Go strap yourselves in, I'm going to make the jump to light speed."

Mena, the old man, and the boy scurried to secure themselves as Solo reached for a lever on the dashboard. Mena strapped in and looked up in awe as Solo pulled down the level with exhilaration. The ship was soaring past stars, moving so quickly that light became brilliant rods of snowy white just outside the cockpit window. The vast expanse of space was flying by, and Mena was free.