CHAPTER ONE
"Hydrospanner."
Rikk-Deri sighed as he handed his co-worker a part-socket wrench, part-bit driver. The young female human he worked with used the tool to tighten a screw on the Air-2 racing swoop they had been repairing all morning.
After setting down the hydrospanner, his partner said, "Rivet gun."
"What am I, your Kowakian monkey-lizard?" The Rutanian rolled his eyes as he handed her the tool. "Besides, I don't see how anything could fix this piece of junk. Whoever owns it should take better care of it next time."
"Look, Peet gave us work to do, we're obliged to finish it. At least we're getting paid."
"Yeah. Twenty credits a week. Could buy us two small bantha burgers. Without the topato sticks." He let our another sigh. "C'mon, Serra. Don't you ever feel the drive for adventure?"
"Sometimes, but I have to ignore it. Brander." As Rikk-Deri handed her the tool, Serra added, "Peet hardly ever lets us leave the shop, except when it's closing time, and even then, we need credits just to survive out on the streets."
"You sure your old man couldn't, I don't know, support you or something?"
Serra shook her head. "He's a Jedi and a mechanic. He's no different than us... except for the Jedi part."
Rikk-Deri blinked. "Hey, that's right. Both of your parents are Jedi. How come you aren't-"
The Rutanian was cut off by the crackling of the garage's intercom. The gruff voice of their boss, Peet Brazos, spoke through.
"Solo, come to the front. Your dad's here."
* * *
"Interesting shop you've got here," Anakin Solo said as he picked up a hyperdrive regulator from a shelf in Peet's shop. "I thought they discontinued this brand."
Peet Brazos refrained from cringing. It wasn't because he hated Jedi- in fact, he held a good deal of respect towards them. But to him, it seemed like wherever a Jedi went, trouble followed them. Some may call it paranoia. He called it anticipation.
The Jillsarian was broken from his thoughts when the door to the front room opened and Serra Solo, the daughter of his Jedi visitor, walked in.
"Hi, Dad," the eighteen-year-old said. "What brings you here?"
Setting down the regulator, Anakin Solo glanced at Peet before looking at Serra. "You have been relieved of duty," he said.
"What?" Serra and Peet said simultaneously.
"Temporarily," the Jedi added hastily. "Just for a few days. A delivery needs to be made to Susevfi and I need a pilot."
Peet raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't you just... hire one? I mean, I'm sure the Alliance has plenty."
Anakin shook his head. "This is a personal delivery, with someone who... I would like Serra to meet."
Peet glanced between the two of them before sighing. "Sure. Fine. Whatever. I can make do without one employee for a while."
"Make that two."
The three of them turned to see Serra's Rutanian co-worker, Rikk-Deri, standing in the doorway to their garage.
Serra turned to her friend and smirked. "And just why do you wish to accompany us on this likely-boring trip?"
Rikk-Deri shrugged. "I just want to be somewhere roomier for once."
Peet grunted. "Fine, you can go with her. Though I expect you two to work overtime when you get back."
"Sure thing, boss," Serra said with a mock salute. Turning to her father, she said, "Ready when you are."
Anakin nodded. "Good. Our ship is waiting outside. Have a good day, Mr. Brazos."
Peet merely grunted as the trio left. A Jedi comes and I'm left short-handed. My point still stands.
* * *
As she walked alongside her father and Rikk-Deri through the busy streets of Coruscant, Serra Solo said, "This isn't really a delivery, is it?"
Anakin Solo said nothing, his dark eyes focused on the spaceport hangar they were approaching.
"I mean, who is this person you want me to meet? Some long-lost relative?"
"Of sorts."
Serra tilted her head. "Who, then?"
Anakin hesitated before speaking. "Your uncle, Jacen Solo."
Her eyes widened. "Uncle Jacen? Mom told me he vanished during the Glorian War."
Anakin nodded. "The last time I saw him, he was heading for Serenno. He then contacted me, saying that he would be leaving on a quest for an indefinite period of time. A friend of mine, Master Jaden Korr, encountered him on M'haeli, but that was the last anyone we know saw of him."
"So now he's on Susevfi?"
"Yes. Susevfi is home to an order of Force-users called the Jensaarai, who are on good terms with the Jedi Order. My guess would be that he's been exploring their teachings as well as others."
Serra said nothing as they reached the hangar in which her father's vessel resided. Before entering the hangar, Anakin turned to her and smiled.
"In a few years time, this ship will be yours," he said. "Your grandfather passed it on to me and your aunt a few years ago, but it's been decades since she's seen any use."
He then led Serra and Rikk-Deri into the hangar and the both of them gasped. Resting before them, looking both new and old at the same time, was the Millennium Falcon.
After a moment of silence, Rikk-Deri scoffed. "What a piece of junk."
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