Stranger Times

Thirteen Parsecs to Kessel: A Star Wars Story

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His ship, the Infinity, waited at the dock with its cargo ramp already lowering as he approached.

At the top of the ramp his Astromech droid, a small cylindrical droid with a dark brown colour scheme, watched BoShek approach. The droid, officially 3XPN-DBL1, rocked back and forth, in an approximation of an irritable twitch.

"Good to see you too, DB," BoShek told it, as he walked past it into the ship. "Ship primed for takeoff?"

Db1 whistled back at him, an affirmation with so much sarcasm mixed in that even BoShek, who didn't understand the droid's language, couldn't miss the irritated undertones.

"Hey, don't sass me. I finally have something to challenge those circuits you house in that little trash can. We're going to Kessel. The hard way," BoShek told it, as he looked back out to the bay.

DB whistled appreciatively and wheeled backwards to turn around. As it drove back to the bridge to warm up the engines, BoShek took one last glance at the edge of the dock.

Surprisingly, he saw Miru as she stepped through a doorway onto the dock. She caught sight of him, waved with her free hand, and marched towards him a little faster.

Miru was carrying a heavy looking bag over her shoulder and stooped a little as she walked. BoShek hoped, among other things, that the bag contained his promised payment.

BoShek's heart stopped for a moment when he saw a flicker of shadowy movement at the doorway Miru exited. The figure that stepped out wore green armour, a helmet covered his face, and he wore the heavy Jetpack of a Mandalorian.

BoShek hissed in surprise, and his hand reached for his blaster.

"Miru! Run!" BoShek cried out as he drew his blaster. He levelled it at the infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter and started firing, holding his position at the top of the ramp.

Flashes of red crashed into the side of the building, spitting rock and smoke into the air.

With no nearby cover, Miru ran straight for the ship. BoShek lost sight of the bounty hunter but kept firing into the doorway. "BD, get the ground buzzer firing!"

Even as he spoke, red streaks flashed nearby, as blaster fire from behind the smoke crashed into the side of his ship.

As if his ship were responding on its own, a small cannon descended from beside the onramp and started firing. Under its cover, Miru ran up the ramp and past BoShek, clutching at the large duffel bag she was carrying.

Once she passed, BoShek set the ramp to close and ran for the bridge. "Find a seat and strap in, Miss Nadrinakar. We're leaving."

He ran across the deck, to the bridge, where his astromech droid was plotting a course.

"Do that as we fly, DB," BoShek said, as he sat down. "We don't have time to wait."

To BoShek's surprise, Miru followed him to the bridge and sat down in the co-pilot seat. "Who was that?" She asked.

"How have you never heard of Boba Fett?" BoShek asked incredulously as he engaged the lift thrusters and put the ship into a climb. Even with the antigravity, he could feel the thrust pushing him into his seat. The feeling of rushing away from the dock was comforting.

"Boba Fett works for Jabba the Hutt, but he contracts out to the empire. I know enough about him to know I'd rather not be in the same system he's in." BoShek added as they rose out of Corellia's atmosphere and into the void. "You're lucky we already shook on the price."

"Okay, we haven't had a great start. But we made it out." Miru replied. "Kessel is a big place, with a lot of criminals and smugglers. The two of us in this piece of junk should blend right in."