The Chronicles of Cordelia Solo

Chapter 11 - A New Hope

Cordelia hears footsteps approaching and sets down the rag she was using to clean. She turns and spots the two from the cantina walking inside along with the two droids. 

"Hello. I'm Cordelia Solo." She introduces, holding her hand out to the old man. 

"Ben." He says, shaking her hand. She turns to the boy.

"Luke." He says. 

"It's nice-" Cordelia's interrupted by the sounds of blasters. She rushes past the two towards the ramp. "Han, get your ass inside!" She yells, spotting him firing back. He runs up the ramp and closes it, running past her.

"Chewie, get us out of here!" He yells. Cordelia follows him, taking a seat with Ben, Luke, and the droids.

"Oh, my. I'd forgotten how much I hate space travel." The protocol droid says.

"Don't worry, Han's a great pilot." Cordelia says. Once they've left Tatooine she leaves the table and enters the cockpit, Luke and Ben following.

"Stay sharp. There's two more comin' in. They're gonna try and cut us off." Han says.

"Why don't you outrun 'em? You said this thing was fast." Luke says.

"Watch your mouth, kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose 'em." He says. The Imperial Cruisers begin firing at them. "Here's where the fun begins." He says. Cordelia rolls her eyes at him.

"How long before you can make the jump to light speed?" Ben asks.

"It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer." Han says.

"Are you kidding? At the rate they're gaining?" Luke asks.

"Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops, boy. Without precise calculations, we'd fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova, and that would end your trip real quick." He says. 

"Focus more on the flying, less on the insults!" Cordelia scolds her brother.

"What's that flashing?" Luke asks, pointing to the light. Han smacks his hand away.

"We're losing a deflector shield." He says. "Go strap yourselves in. I'm gonna make the jump to light speed." Luke and Ben leave the cockpit and Cordelia buckles into her seat behind Han.

"You don't have to be such an ass all the time, Han." She says once they've made the jump.

"Sorry, Bug. It's part of my charm." He replies. She laughs, shaking her head.

"You're an idiot." She says, standing from her chair. She joins the others, Chewie behind her. They sit at the table with the droids, who were introduced as R2-D2 and C-3PO. Chewie starts a game of Dejarik with the two and Cordelia leans her head on his arm, watching the match.

Luke trains nearby with his lightsaber while Ben watches. After a few minutes of watching, Ben grabs his chest and moves to sit down.

"Are you all right? What's wrong?" Luke asks, stopping and approaching him.

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." Ben explains. He rubs his forehead. "You'd better get on with your exercises." Luke returns to his old place as Han leaves the cockpit.

"You can forget your troubles with those imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun them." He says. Cordelia rolls her eyes at her brother.

"Sure you did, Han." She says. He glares at her as he sits in the chair next to Ben.

"Keep your big mouth shut, Bug." He says. She sticks her tongue out at him and turns back to Chewie's game.

"Don't everybody thank me at once." He mutters as the others stay quiet. "Anyway, we should be at Alderaan about 0200 hours." Cordelia sighs and shifts so her back is against Chewie's side, closing her eyes for a quick nap before they reach the planet.

"Now be careful, R2." C-3PO warns as he makes a move on the board. He takes out Chewie's creature and he growls. "He made a fair move. Screaming about it can't help you." 

"Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookiee." Han tells him.

"But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid." He says.

"That's cause a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose." He says with a smirk. C-3PO looks at Chewie. "Wookiees are known to do that."

"Don't worry, 3PO. Chewie's a big softie." Cordelia says, patting the arm Chewie has around her waist to keep her in place. He growls and she laughs, knowing his threat isn't real. "Love you too, Chewie." He growls again but tugs affectionately on one of her braids.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him." Ben says.

"You mean it controls your actions?" Luke asks.

"Partially. But it also obeys your commands." He answers. Luke yelps as one of the bolts shocks him. Han laughs and Cordelia opens her eyes to glare at him.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a blaster at your side, kid." He says.

"What did I say, Han?" She scolds. He sighs.

"Sorry, Bug." He mumbles. Luke deactivates his lightsaber.

"You don't believe in the Force, do you?" He asks.

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense." Han answers.

"And you? You're his wife, haven't you been to the same places." Luke asks Cordelia. She gags, sitting up.

"Gross! Han's my brother." She says. Luke blushes, embarrassed. "And I don't know about the Force. I don't know enough about it to draw any real conclusions." She answers. 

"I suggest you try it again, Luke." Ben says, standing. He grabs the helmet off the wall behind him and walks towards him. "This time, let go of your conscious self and act on instinct." He places the helmet on Luke's head, obscuring his vision.

"With the blast shield down, I can't see. How am I supposed to fight?" He asks.

"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." He says. Luke raises his lightsaber and goes back to his exercise, getting shocked again. "Stretch out with your feelings." Luke tries again and blocks the bolts. "You see? You can do it."

"I call it luck." Han says as Luke removes the helmet.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." He replies.

"Look, good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living, that's something else." He says. The console in front of him beeps. "Looks like we're coming up on Alderaan."