Lina scanned the horizon and spotted a large plume of black smoke. She pointed it out to Ben.
"I didn't think there were any forests nearby."
Ben saw the plume. "That's not a forest fire. Luke, head towards the smoke."
Luke turned the landspeeder towards the plume. As they approached, a large metal vehicle came into view. Lina stared in awe at the vehicle. It was a Jawa Sandcrawler.
"That is a big vehicle," Lina whispered.
The three humans started poking around the wreckage.
Luke picked up a strange looking weapon and shoved it into the ground. Lina kept herself from crying, as she looked upon the dead bodies of the Jawas. Ben sadly stroked his chin.
Luke said, "I never heard of Sandpeople attacking something this big before."
"This wasn't the work of Sandpeople. That's what someone wanted people to believe. Sandpeople ride single file to hid their numbers. These tracks are side by side. The blaster bolts are too precise to be the work of anything other than Imperial Stormtroopers."
Luke frowned, "Why would Stormtroopers attack Jawas?"
A look of horror came on Luke's face. "These are the same Jawas that sold us the droids. If they tracked them here, then..."
Luke rushed for his sandspeeder and blasted off.
Ben called after him, "Luke, no! It's too dangerous!"
Lina sighed and found a shiny bit of metal. She quietly cast a spell to see what was going on at the Lars household. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall.
Lina thought, "They had nothing to do with this. Why kill them?"
Sighing heavily, Lina helped 3PO and Ben pile the Jawas up and set fire to the bodies. Soon, Luke came back with misery etched on his face. Lina shook her head and looked away.
Ben said, "There was nothing you could have done, Luke. If you were there, you'd be killed also and the droids would be in the hands of the Empire."
Lina turned back to Luke and shrugged. "I'm sorry. I really am."
Luke shook his head; "It wasn't your fault."
Lina said, "Let's get to my house and get some funds."
Luke nodded. The group got back on the sandspeeder and made their way to Beggar's Canyon. At Lina's house, they found several dead Stormtroopers. Some looked like they had been flash frozen and shattered. Others looked like they were burnt to a crisp. Lina did some quick chanting. She breathed a sigh of relief that her defense weren't breached.
"I'll be right back," Lina said.
As the two men watched Lina enter her home, Ben asked, "What kind of defense grid does she have up?"
Luke shook his head, "I'm not sure. This must be why the Sandpeople never bothered her after their first encounter."
Ben shook his head in amazement. Lina came out carrying several large bags. She put the bags down and opened them up. The two men looked at Lina in shock.
Luke blurted, "How can you carry that much without killing yourself."
Lina winked. "Practice. Lots and lots of practice."
Ben sorted through some of the bags and pulled out five gigantic crystals and stared at them with tears in his eyes.
"All known Jedi Holocrons," Ben whispered. "But not these. I heard that Jabba used to hunt Jedi for sport. I guess this proves it."
Lina looked at Ben. "Those are Jedi Holocrons?"
Ben nodded. "Yes."
Lina took the Holocrons from Ben and said, "Give me a minute with them."
Lina pulled out her recording devices and muttered a small spell to copy the information inside the Holocrons into her devices.
Lina thought, "The guy is a priest for his religion and these are holy objects for that religion. He can have them back after I'm done with them. Holy objects are usually more trouble than they are worth."
Lina handed the Holocrons to Ben. "Here you go, priest. This is as far as I'm going with holy objects."
Ben smiled and said; "Thank you, but I should leave them behind. Here they will be protected by any sort of theft."
Lina picked up the Holocrons and carried them back to her library. She placed each Holocron on a separate shelf, and labeled each one. Stepping back, she surveyed her small collection of books and Holocrons.
"It's starting to look a bit better as a wizard's lab," Lina said to herself.
She made a quick decision and stuffed one of the Holocrons inside her cape. Lina returned to where Ben was sorting through the various bags of treasure. A very, very small pile of gems was separated from the rest. Lina blinked, because there was another pile of gems nearby. She pointed at the large gems and then at the minute pile in confusion.
Ben said, "The gems in the small pile are the type used to make lightsabers. I'm now trying to sort a small enough pile of valuables that can be used to purchase a ride on a ship, without costing Luke or yourself the chance to make a lightsaber on your own. Some of those gems are before the Thought Bomb went off."
Lina pulled out a small leather pouch and dumped the lightsaber gems into it. She nodded, as Ben tossed a lot of the treasure back into the sacks, leaving a small pile of gems and valuable metals.
"This should be enough. If we take anymore, we'll attract unwanted attention," Ben said.
Lina took the sacks back into her vault and returned. As she passed through the front cavern, she muttered a spell to keep the plants in suspension, until she got back. After she made sure everyone was far enough away, she reset the wards on her home. Ben stared at her.
"What are you?" Ben asked. "I feel tremors in the Force as you do things. Are you a Jedi?"
Lina grinned. "Luke told me people thought you were wizard, but it turns out you are a Jedi. Ironic isn't it?"
Luke stifled his laughter, as Ben stared at Lina
Ben cleared his throat. "Right. Okay. A wizardress? I'm not sure what to think of you."
Lina just smirked.
_______________________________________________________________________
The landspeeder made its way to Mos Eisley without any fuss. The landspeeder was stopped by a patrol of Stormtroopers. Lina wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"That armor looks bulky. It might not be that good in a fight," Lina thought.
Lina watched with interest as Ben got them past the Imperial patrol. The three humans got out and Lina looked around. Lina listened with half an ear to Ben's explanation of the Force being used on the Stormtroopers. As Lina followed Ben and Luke to a cantina, she noticed a sign.
"Luke, hold it," Lina called out.
"What is it Lina?"
Lina pointed to a sign on the edge of the cantina's door. "I think taking your droids in there would be a bad idea."
Ben read the sign. "No Droids Allowed. That was a good catch. We don't want to offend the local patrons."
Luke told the droids, "Stay by the landspeeder, while we find a ship."
3PO replied, "Of course, Master Luke."
Ben said, "Maybe you should stay outside as well, Lina."
"I can handle myself."
The trio of humans entered the cantina. Ben separated from Luke and Lina, as they headed for the bar. Before Lina could order anything, a thug started in on her.
"What is a small waif like you doing here?"
Lina said, "Ordering a drink. Now, leave me alone."
The thug said, "I don't like your response, missy. How about you come with me and we can talk about in bed."
Lina snarled, as she pulled the man down to her level by the collar of his shirt. "I have heard some very sleazy lines in my time, but none so stupid. Since you won't leave me alone, I'll have to make a lesson of you."
Lina tossed the man one-handed across the room. She noticed with amusement on how he landed, as every male in the room winced. Lina glared around the room, and the cantina goers quickly returned to their drinks.
Lina muttered, "That would usually start a bar fight. Must be a very jaded lot here."
Luke stared at Lina. "What were you trying to do?"
"Get that idiot to leave me alone," Lina said in a normal tone of voice. "Hey bartender, do you have some sort of fruit juice for me and my friend?"
The bartender quickly poured two glasses of chilled fruit juice and handed them to Lina. Lina paid the barkeep for the drinks, and the two of them left the counter. Ben and a walking rug approached them. Both of them were trying to hold their laughter in.
Ben said, "You were right. You can handle yourself in a place like this. This is Chewbacca. He is First Mate on a ship that can take us to Alderaan."
Lina scratched her head, as she thought, "Chewbacca? Where have I heard that name before?"
The group made their way to a table, where a handsome black haired man was sitting. He took a look at Lina and gave an amused snort.
"Lady, you are a real piece of work. You are the first person who has gotten him to leave a girl alone on the second try."
Lina shrugged. "I've dealt with people like that before. Usually when I toss them like that, it starts a bar fight. At least I get a free floor show when I do it."
The man chuckled. "At any rate, my name is Han Solo. I heard that you were looking for a ship."
Ben spoke up, as Lina sipped at her fruit juice. She tried recalling where she heard the name before. She idly reached into her cape and pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it. She got a wicked gleam in her eyes, as she saw the names on the piece of paper. She waited as the bargaining continued. She saw Ben grab Luke's arm and was about to counter-offer.
Lina said, "I have a better idea. You will give us the ride to Alderaan and I hand you this piece of paper."
Han gave an amused snort. "You don't know how to bargain, lady."
Lina turned the paper, so Han could read it. "I found this piece of paper in Jabba the Hutt's treasure vault after I killed him yesterday. Since I have the paper, you owe this debt to me. So, what do you say? The trip for the piece of paper?"
Han and Chewbacca looked at each other stunned and then stared at Lina.
Han whispered, "You killed Jabba the Hutt?"
"I wish he wasn't a humanoid slug. Yes, I killed him."
Chewbacca growled at Han.
Han ran his hand through his hair. "I know. I know. All right. You have yourself a deal. Docking Bay 23."
Lina said, "I'll hold onto this piece of paper until we are safely underway."
Lina gave a salute with her glass and emptied the rest of the fruit juice. "So nice doing business with you."
Han watched Lina and her group leave.
"That girl has some nerves. If that's fake."
Chwebacca growled.
"I know. It's not a fake. I could tell that just by looking at it. That was Jabba's special paper."
Han was about ready to leave when Greedo confronted him. Han sat down, and slowly slid out his blaster.
After hearing Greedo talk, Han shook his head. "Jabba's dead, Greedo. He won't be giving any reward. My contract is being held by someone else."
In his language, Greedo said, "Then I guess I'll have to take your ship as payment for my services."
Han had his blaster fully pulled out. "Over my dead body."
"Exactly. I've been waiting for this."
Han said, "Yes, I bet you have."
Han fired his blaster and Greedo fell face first onto his table. From across a crowded room Lina smirked and left the cantina.
Lina thought to herself, "I can deal with this guy. At least he understands the world is cruel. I was right, he just fell in with the wrong crowd."
Lina approached Ben and Luke. Luke was looking down and trying to stifle his laughter. Ben gazed at Lina thoughtfully.
"Captain Solo is probably a bit upset with you," Ben said.
"He'll get over it. His debt to Jabba will be canceled and he can find some other way to make money."
Ben rolled his eyes skyward. "I first thought you might not be ready for Mos Eisley. Now, I wonder if Mos Eisley is ready for you."
Lina smirked. "Probably not. We have a ride without spending any money. All I'll be out is a piece of paper that is probably not going to be worth much after a few days."
"Why do you say that?" Luke asked.
Ben answered, "The news of Jabba's death has yet to spread. If she had waited, then Han Solo would have thought himself free of all debts."
The group of three people and two droids made their way to Docking Bay 23. They soon met Captain Solo. Lina waited until the other four were on board the ship and then walked past Han Solo. As she did, she pulled out the piece of paper and handed it to him.
"Here you go. As per our agreement," Lina said.
Han took the piece of paper and gazed long and hard at it. He quickly crumpled it and stuffed it into a pocket. He looked up, just as some Storm Troopers came into the docking bay.
"Chewie! Fire up the engines!" Han yelled, as he ducked inside the ship and raised the gangplank.
The Millennium Falcon blasted its way out of the Mos Eisley spaceport.
Han made his way to the cockpit of his craft and looked at one of the viewscreens. "Imperial Star Destroyers. Our guests must be hotter than I thought."
Chewbacca growled several things at Han.
"I know. I know. My debt got canceled for this. Now we just have to live long enough to enjoy our new found freedom."
Lina watched as Luke asked questions about the ship, that she would have asked. The Falcon made the jump to hyperspace and safety.
Lina said, "That was fun. Can we do it again?"
Everyone stared at Lina.
Han whispered to Chewbacca, "She's crazy."
Lina said, "I'm not crazy, Han Solo. I just enjoy life to it fullest."
Han stared. "You heard me?"
"I also heard your little conversation with Greedo. Where you blasted him saying 'Yes. I bet you have.' I have very good hearing."
Han just stared, as Lina stood up.
Lina said, "If you don't mind, I'd like to get something to drink. Deserts are not conductive to keeping from one feeling thirsty."
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(Posted Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:11)
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