Star Wars IX- The Rise of Skywalker

Chapter 14- Flight of the Desert Skiffs

The desert skiffs were little more of a floating platform, extraordinarily durable and excellent for transportation, ideal for the harsh climates, but not really made for fleeing the First Order and its highly trained troops. Like floating ships complete with sails and adorned with the festival's colourful ribbons and flags. There were two; Poe and Finn were already mounting one with C-3PO, and Chewie was clambering on the other, followed by a rolling BB8, familiarising himself with the controls. Chewie had been on a sand skiff a long time ago, on Tattooine, and he'd never driven it. That particular adventure had required no piloting skills. He'd been bound, Han had been blind, and they'd spent the majority of their time horizontal rather than vertical. The craft had been dangling precariously over a pit of needle-sharp teeth, in which the Sarlacc awaited. Jabba the Hut's bounty hunters, all the while attempting to topple them by shooting at them and the engines. Chewie had been clinging desperately to the railings, holding his best friend by his ankle while they attempted to save Lando from a fate worse than death. Chewie recollected these memories affectionately, but he didn't recall from that brief time he'd spent on the barge if it was capable of moving at any speed other than a leisurely drift.

Chewie looked up from the mechanics of the desert skiff to watch Han's son and Rey exit the cave. He observed Ben Solo replace his gloves, and with a look at Rey and some words Chewie couldn't hear, Ben left. Chewie watched Ben walk through the sand until Rey boarded the vessel and stood at his side. He watched her check the controls as he had. Like Ben, the girl was a natural pilot. He yipped at her, a series of questions and statements. She sighed. 

"I'm sorry, Chewie. I know how you feel, and I felt the same," she turned to look at him, "but we can trust him."

Chewie wanted to believe her, believe that the boy he'd known, the boy he loved, was back, but he'd been alive a long time and seen the deceptions and evils those on the dark side would stoop to. He'd believe her when it was all over, when the proof was in front of him. He'd believe and forgive when Ben Solo returned with them to the Resistance and remained with what was left of his family, home to Leia, where Ben Solo had always belonged.

A laser shot narrowly missing his head brought a rather abrupt end to their conversation along with Chewie's melancholy thoughts as well as any familiarisation with the controls they'd been hoping to gain. The best way to learn something quickly, he'd found, was always via dire and life-threatening circumstances; one could accomplish the impossible and insane when choices and time were limited.

"Punch it!" Rey shouted as she blocked further bolts with her saber.

Poe and Finn shot past them, with C-3PO clinging on complaining.
"Oh, dear, this is not part of my standard operations. Why does this always happen to me?"

"Chewie, do you have any blasters I need to fire back?" Rey shouted as they took off with a jolt.

Chewie yowled at Rey as she blocked the trooper's fire while he attempted to catch up to Finn and Poe and fumbled with his weapons cash. Behind them, jet troopers and a few troopers on speeder bikes were in hot pursuit; thankfully, it was just a few scouts. They would need to get rid of them before they could return to the Falcon. The jet troopers' rocket packs allowed significant versatility, speeding in all directions; they were both manoeuvrable and fast. With only their armour and no transport of any kind, they were extremely vulnerable to fire.

"Oh, they fly now!" C-3P0 exclaimed.

"They fly now?" Finn turned sarcastically to Poe.

Poe turned to look at a jet trooper zipping up behind them and confirmed just as sarcastically, "Yeah, they fly now."

On their skiff, Chewie yowled a confirmation that, yes, troopers in jet packs were indeed another woefully real invention as he handed Rey a spare blaster, and she started to fire at the jet troopers.