Star Wars : Chapter 8 : Enter, Han Solo!

Luke pulled up to the wrecked sand-crawler, where Threepio and Artoo were stacking the dead Jawas on a funeral pyre. Ben saw the expression on his face, and knew what had happened from that alone. He walked up to him, to offer what solace he could.

"There's nothing you could have done, Luke.", he told him, and to his surprise, he wasn't crying. "You'd have been killed too. And the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."

He looked up at him. "I want to come with you to Alderaan." He said calmly, "There's nothing left for me here. I want to learn the ways of the Force, and become a Jedi like my father."

Anakin smiled at the determination that his son had shown, and now that he had found his calling to be a Jedi, he was saddened that he wouldn't be there to train him. Luckily, Obi-Wan is still there for him.

The Masters present were impressed on how Luke controlled his anger and his grief despite not being raised as a Jedi youngling, as such losses that held so much attachment would surely lead to the Dark Side of of the Force.

Ben simply took him shoulder, the fact that he was getting his way overshadowed by the reality of Luke's situation. After the last of the Jawas was put to rest, everyone piled into the speeder and they took off. A few hours later, they sat on a ridge overlooking a bustling metropolis in the middle of the desert.

"Mos Eisley Space Port." Ben said, "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

"I'd be surprised if Jabba is still alive at this point.", Anakin mused.

The town itself was madness. Droids were everywhere, doing all the heavy lifting in the sun, while the meatbags toiled in the shade, acting as merchants and laborers. 

Speeders filled the streets, and low-level aircraft buzzed overhead. One individual on a speeder biker almost crashed into some kind of brachiosaur animal carrying a pair of Jawas, but swerved at the last minute. 

The animal reared back, throwing one Jawa off, while the other held on for dear life as he hung from the reins.

As they approached the center of town, they were stopped by a team of Stormtroopers. Luke complied, not wanting to cause any trouble, and the leader of the troopers approached him.

"Imperial Checkpoint. This could be a problem.", Plo Koon mused.

Kit Fisto interjected with confidence. "Remember, Master Kenobi is with them."

"How long have you had these droids?", the Stormtrooper commander asked.

"Three, four seasons." he lied.

"They're up for sale if you want them." Ben added.

"Obi-Wan!", Anakin and Ahsoka called out in disbelief.

"Calm yourselves. Part of this, is Master Kenobi's plan.", Yoda pointed out.

"Let me see your identification." He ordered.

"You don't need to see his identification." Obi-Wan said with a small grin, making a small gesture with his hands.

"We don't need to see his identifications." The trooper said to his men.

Anakin and the rest of the audience laughed at this, knowing this was the Jedi Mind Trick. "Classic Obi-Wan Kenobi!"

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"These aren't the droids we're looking for."

"He can go about his business."

"You can go about your business."

"Move along."

"Move along." He waved them forward, his squad backing up from the speeder.

"Crafty as always, Master Kenobi.", Luminara praised.

"Move along." Luke happily complied and didn't speak again until they stopped outside a collection of stone buildings.

"I don't get how we got past those troops, I thought we were dead." He said, shooing a Jawa away from his speeder.

"The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded." Ben said, expecting that to count as an explanation.

"Luke can learn much from Master Kenobi at this case.", Shaak Ti stated.

"Well, let's just hope I'm not having an Anakin 2.0. I'd rather not deal with the whining inherited from his father", Obi-Wan joked with a smirk.

"Hey!"

Accepting that that was the best he was likely to get, he looked at the building they were headed to. "So, do you really we're gonna find a pilot here who can take us to Alderaan?"

"Well, most of the best freighter pilots can be found here. But, watch your step. This place can get a bit rough."

"I'm ready for anything." Luke said, patting the lightsaber hanging from his belt.

They walked in on a bustling cantina, filled to the gills with people, though only a few were actually human. The vast majority were aliens, no better way to put it. Vast majority of the patrons were leaning against the bar, drinking and smoking, while more filled the tables lining the walls.

"Other than pilots, what else can they find?", Caleb asked.

"Bounty Hunters, delinquents, mercenaries, thugs, you get the idea.", Rex answered the young Padawan.

Luke entered with Threepio and Artoo close by only to be stopped by the bartender.

"Hey! We don't serve their kind here." He said.

"What?" Luke asked, confused.

"Your droids! They'll have to wait outside, we don't want them here."

"Why don't you wait by the speeder? We don't want any trouble." He said to Threepio.

"I whole-heartedly agree, sir." He said, walking back up the stairs and leading Artoo outside. Luke meanwhile, walked up to the bar, taking a spot between Ben and two thugs. He caught the bartender's attention and asked for whatever Ben was drinking.

He looked around the room, just innocently people-watching when he was forcefully turned to face a thug who spoke at him in a language he didn't understand. 

Not knowing what had just happened, he let it go and turned back to his drink. No sooner had it touched his lips than he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see it was another man, with a disfigured face."He doesn't like you." he said, pointing to his sneering partner

"I'm sorry." Luke said, trying desperately to make himself invisible.The other man made Luke look at him. "I don't like you either. You better watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence in twelve systems."

"Go ahead and say that out loud to a place full of Bounty Hunters. Be my guest.", Mace sarcastically said out loud to the criminal.

"Well if he has escaped that much, he may be too overconfident.", Obi-Wan added.

"I'll be careful." He said, wishing they would go away.

"You'll be dead!"

"Leave him alone!", Ahsoka called out for her master's son, not seeing him doing anything wrong.

"This little one isn't worth your time." Ben said, intervening on Luke's behalf. "Now, let me buy you a drink."

With a roar, the criminal shoved Ben to the side, throwing him into a table. Ben went for his lightsaber, while the thug went for a blaster. Ben managed to parry the first shot and reversed into a slash, the blue blade cutting off the thug's arm above the elbow and cauterizing the wound to prevent blood loss.

"Master Kenobi, you will get yourselves caught!", Luminara reprimanded the Jedi Master.

"If it's to help Luke, I wouldn't mind.", Anakin interjected.

Calmly, he returned to a standing position, daring anyone to try something, anything. When nobody did, he deactivated his saber. The other patrons returned to their business, the music resumed and Ben helped Luke to his feet. A large hairy Wookie was also beside him.

"Wait...it's Chewbacca!", Ahsoka pointed out at the hairy Wookie.

"You know him, 'Soka?", asked Plo Koon, curious.

"I met him once at Wasskah. We escaped together from Trandoshan slavers.", she stated.

"Thanks." He said with a grunt.

"Chewbacca here, is first mate of a ship that might suit us." He urged.

Outside, Threepio and Artoo were waiting by the speeder. A squad of Stormtroopers had arrived nearby and were talking to some locals. Neither could quite figure out what they were talking about, but the pointing didn't seem good."I don't like the look of this." Threepio said to his counterpart, who whistled in agreement.

"They have to get that ship, and fast..", Ahsoka urged Luke and Obi-Wan on screen.

Back inside, Ben, Luke and Chewie sat down at a table across from a pair of smugglers. One was fair-skinned man with a scruffy haircut, had the appearance of a mercenary and a rogue pilot.

"Han Solo. Captain of the Millennium Falcon." He introduced himself as he sat down. "Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."

"I don't trust him.", Anakin said with a stern look towards the man.

"You looked at him for more like five seconds, what makes you say that?", Ahsoka asked, bewildered.

"Instinct. Though I don't know what kind.", the Jedi Knight replied, having a feeling that he would be involved at his son's life at some point. Padmé felt the same way, though not vocally.

"That's right, if it's a fast ship." Ben said.

"A fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

"Should I have?"

"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs." Seeing their looks of disbelief, he got a little irritated.

"That's impossible!", both Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin said at the same time. Being starpilots themselves, they knew that was no easy feat nor had anyone accomplished that.

"What are parsecs?" Caleb asked.

"It is a unit of astral distance measurement." Master Bilaba told her Padawan.

"So this Kessel Run usually takes 12 parsecs to complete, and he claims to have done so in less?" Ahsoka asked.

"Maybe."

"So, he cheated." Anakin guessed.

"We do not know. He may have took a shorter, albeit far more dangerous route than the norm.", Shaak Ti replied.

"I've outrun Imperial star ships. And not the local bulk transports, I'm talking the big Correllian ones, ya hear? She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"

"Just passengers. Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."

Han chuckled at that. "What is it? Some kind of local trouble?"

"Let's just say we'd rather avoid any Imperial entanglements."

"Well, that's the real trick isn't it?" Han said, leaning back, "And it's gonna cost you something extra. 10,000. All in advance."

"10,000?" Luke said in disbelief, "We could almost buy our ship with that."

"And who's gonna fly it, kid? You?" Han teased.

"At least he doesn't demand to much!", Anakin called out to Han's way of making money.

"He's a smuggler and a mercenary, Skywalker, of course he'd ask that much.", Mace said in a deadpanned tone.

"You bet I could! I'm not such a bad pilot myself. Let's get- " he began to stand up to leave, but Ben pulled him gently back down into his seat.

"He turned back to Han with a smile. "We can pay you 2,000 now, plus 15 when we reach Alderaan." He offered.

"17?" Han had a hard time believing the old man really had that kind of money on him. When he nodded back, he began to grin. "Alright, you got a deal. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking bay 94."

"94." Ben said, to make sure he would remember.

Han looked across the room. "Looks like someone's taken an interest in your handiwork." He nodded in the direction of a pair of Stormtroopers who were talking to the Bartender. As they passed the table, Ben and Luke were gone, with only Han and Chewie sitting there staring at them.

Once they had passed them by, Han's smile returned. "17,000! Man, those guys must really be desperate. This could really save our necks here."

Chewie growled with an arched eyebrow.

"Fine, fine, my neck. Just get back to the ship and get her ready." As Han was about to leave the table, a green alien with spikes in place of hair came up and placed the barrel of a gun against his chest.

"I'm betting he's got a lot more of his shoulder.", Rex states at seeing the smuggler's current run-in.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was the most wanted man in the galaxy.", Kit Fisto joked.

"Going somewhere, Solo?"he said in his native tongue.

"Yes, Greedo, as a matter of fact, I was just about to go see your boss. Tell Jabba I've got his money." Han kept backing up until he was seated again.

"Looks like Jabba is still alive here.", Anakin mused.

"It's too late. You should have paid him when you had the chance."Greedo replied, taking a seat across from him, the gun still pointed center of mass.

"Jabba's put a price on your head so large 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." He assured him, calmly putting his legs on the table.

"If you give it to me, I might forget I found you."

"I don' have it with me, tell Jabba- "

"Jabba's through with you!" Greedo said, "He has no time for smugglers who drop their cargo at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser."

"Even I get boarded sometimes. Ya think I had a choice?" he threw back. Unbeknownst to Greedo, he had calmly and quietly drawn the blaster pistol on his hip and had it aimed at his chest.

"Tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship."

Han's entire expression darkened at that. "Over my dead body."

"He has struck a nerve.", Obi-Wan stated, seeing the change of demeanor.

"That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"Yeah, I'll bet you have!" a second and the sound of blaster fire later, Greedo lay facedown on the table, his body smoking from the hole the blaster left in him. Han was none the worse for wear and casually stood up. He tossed a coin to the Bartender. "Sorry about the mess." he said as he walked out.

"Had a lot on his shoulders, Indeed he has.", Yoda stated.

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