Romeo & Twi'lek Ch. 02

You know what? I’m gonna upload the next chapter anyway. There is still no sex. I have one set idea for my next sexy story, but I’ve not started on it. It’s gonna be a little while, for sure. Please comment, guys! They’re my favorite part of uploading a story. Enjoy!

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“So, where should we start for the hyperdrive coil? And what should we do about the Jawa?” she asked.

“I’m not certain we’ll even be able to find one but our best bet is to ask whoever’s farm we just landed on if they know anybody. Let’s go check on the little thief. I almost forgot about him.”

Sahra nodded in agreement and we made our way to the maintenance closet we imprisoned him in.

“I don’t think a blaster will be necessary, Sahra,” I said to my companion after she drew her weapon and took a firing stance toward the door.

“He’s crazy! You saw how wild he got when we found him.”

“Yes, but I would rather not kill a Jawa. A punch was enough to stop him, he’s probably still out from it.”

Sahra bit her lip and eyed me and I felt unsure she wanted the creature to live. I crossed my arms and she sighed, holstering the blaster.

“Fine. But I’m going to be the one to punch him if he pulls anything this time.”

I nodded and slowly opened the door. Just as Sahra predicted, he was out the doorway like a wild animal. We were ready for him, though, and stopped him from getting very far from the closet. I tripped him, sending him into a tumble he never had a chance to recover from. Sahra scooped him up by the neck of his hood and lifted him off the ground, leaving him only able to kick and squeal in resistance.

“Enough, you little vermin!”

The Jawa didn’t heed Sahra’s warning and received a punch in the gut for his squirming.

“Oof,” the Jawa groaned.

He held his stomach and muttered his bizarre language to himself weakly.

“I told you! And that’s what you get,” said Sahra.

“I think he’s had enough. Ease your grip a little bit, or grab him from under the arms like a baby. Ok, little guy, tell us what you’re doing here.”

The little alien lifted his head up to look at me, forcing me to look a little above his hood because of the eerie glow of his never blinking eyes.

He chattered excitedly in his native tongue, seemingly weaving a tale no doubt as dangerous and thrilling as our own.

“Do you speak that?” Sahra asked me, the puzzlement clear on her face.

“No. Just give the ship a moment to translate.”

She looked around the ceiling and said, “Wow. This ship is weird, huh?”

“It’s not weird, it’s myst-”

“JAWAESE DETECTED. STANDBY FOR TRANSCRIPT.”

The Jawa whipped his head up, alarmed to hear a voice he couldn’t find the source of.

“It’s going to tell us what you said, Jawa. Just a computer,” I said to both of them.

“I don’t know how I got here!” the computer said, rather dryly.

We looked at each other and then our captive.

“Huh.”

“Well. Tell us why you tried to steal our credits then.”

The Jawa turned to Sahra but decided not to answer her directly.

He jabbered away to me and I struggled again to maintain eye contact with him, instead looking at Sahra until he was finished.

The computer recognized the language now and translated his speech much faster, only a few seconds delayed.

“I didn’t think about it! I just saw a lot of money and took it. But you hit me and throw me in cell, so it’s yours.”

I shrugged and said, “Checks out, coming from a Jawa. Are you going to behave now? Can my partner here release you?”

It took a moment for the Jawa to work out the words in his mind. He nodded vigorously once he understood, and spoke once again.

“Oh, yes! I am good. I will be good. Let me go and I will be your friend!”

I nodded to Sahra and she let him go, albeit reluctantly.

The Jawa fell flat onto his face once his feet touched the deck, having been in the air too long, evidently. He got up and brushed himself off but didn’t run away or attempt to steal anything from us.

“Thank you for keeping your word. Now, what should we do with you? We’re not going back to Tatooine.”

“We’re on Roon,” Sahra added. “Because of you, I might add. I hope you recall what happened in the Engine Room, because I won’t forget it”

The Jawa was scared of her. Now that he was free he stepped over to me, almost clinging to me.

“There, there,” I said, sliding him to the wall. “Do you want us to leave you on Roon? We’re kind of divided on how to handle this. I’m pretty sure my friend here would like to throw you out the airlock, though.”

His little mits disappeared into the darkness of his hood as he reeled, horrified.

Sahra only smiled a razor sharp smile, terrifying the Jawa even further. He squeaked a spree of syllables through his gloves, obviously attempting to appeal to us.

“I beg you! Don’t! I give you Dee’s word, I will help you! Serve you! I clean the ship when you sleep. Please, I promise.”

The pleading of the pitiful creature sounded surreal in the ship’s computer’s chosen voice.

“His name is Dee?” Sahra asked the room.

The Jawa nodded.

“He wants to be the ship’s janitor, as well. What do you think?”

Sahra crossed her arms and looked into the wrecked hyperdrive, scrutinizing the damage.

“If we find the coil, he can be our janitor.”

The little creature’s hood perked up at the prospect of Sahra’s mercy.

“But,” she added, “If we can’t, and we have to coast from planet to planet searching for one, you’re going in the mud right underneath us.”

Dee rubbed his hands together but stayed silent.

“Alright, the deals been struck. Dee, you stay here. Someone needs to guard the ship, and I’m not sure how the locals will react to a Jawa. Sahra, lets go.”

After retrieving a pair of boots from her quarters, and locking up the credits, we lowered the landing ramp. It fell to the mud with a solid smack. The heavy door sent mud flying a few meters away, before sinking partly into the mud. I cursed and buried my hands into my hair.

“Dee’s first mess,” Sahra laughed, slapping me on the back.

She jumped over the muddy lip of the ramp onto the sodden soil that bordered the mud field. I took a breath and leapt after her. I clicked the button on my control datapad and checked over my shoulder to watch the filthy door retract into the ship’s body. It was a shame to see Bo so filthy, my pride and joy.

Mission-minded Sahra lead the way. We saw some ramshackle buildings on a hill overlooking the ragged farmland. Tiny figures were already watching with arms clutching their farming tools. A starship would of course cause a stir on such a rural world.

We met their envoy halfway to their homestead. A lean man with a straw hat and bare, blackened feet introduced himself as Leeshaw, ‘Pa’ of the Dalese Clan.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said, offering him my hand

He considered it but spat into the mud instead.

“Beg your pardon, spacer. I’ve seen that gesture before, but it just isn’t our way.”

“Oh, of course. No problem, Mr. Leeshaw. My partner, Sahra, and I, are having some hyperdrive trouble. Would you happen to have some parts lying around or know anybody who does?”

The old farmer shook his head and swung his rake toward another hilltop shack to the north.

“I’ve never left this planet. Our neighbors, the Holcrits, their Pa’s been up there,” he said, indicating space above with the rake head.

Sahra frowned and kicked at the sodden soil.

“That’s unfortunate but thank you for the lead.”

Leeshaw bowed his head a touch and started plodding back to his family. I shrugged my shoulders and we made our way further into the world, toward the distant Holcrit Homestead. The going was irritating. Pockets of mud affronted our path, much to Sahra’s consternation and our boots’ frustration.

High stalks of the families’ crops shrugged aside their mucky surroundings and rose alongside us in messy rows. Whatever food they grew here, it was plentiful, though Sahra couldn’t discern what it was upon bending a stalk down for inspection.

Soon enough, the presumed Holcrits crested their hill and watched us approach. One figure lifted his arms up to his eyes, raising microbinoculars to his eyes. I waved but he remained frozen, watching us while his family skipped about. Sahra looked apprehensive but said nothing.

The Holcrits proved much harder to deal with, despite being altogether much more talkative. The man’s kids reached us before their father. They forfeited a greeting in favor of shrill cries and jumping all over us.

“Hello!” said Sahra, scooping up a little barefoot farm boy.

The boy immediately latched onto her Lekku, astonishing the Twi’lek and impressing his brothers.

“Hey! That is not very nice!”

I pat a little girl on the head as I passed her to greet her approaching father.

“Hello, Mr. Holcrit, I presume?”

“Ahoy, spacer. I am Holcrit,” the man croaked.

“Nice to meet you, sir. Your neighbor over there told us you had experienced space travel before. Our ship’s taken some damage, would you happen to have a spare hyperdrive coil?”

He looked me up and down, suddenly suspicious.

“Leeshaw told you I had one?” he asked.

“No, he only pointed us your way on account of your experience off-world.”

He spat much like his neighbor had but full of venom.

“Leeshaw needs to mind his business. Yeah, I’ve been off-world. I’ve got no ship to show for it now, though. I’m afraid you and your lady are out of luck.”

I frowned and turned to convey the bad news to Sahra, but instead spotted Leeshaw and his kin fast approaching on saddled beasts. The Holcrit children scurried back to their father before they arrived. I didn’t like the look on the men’s faces so I hurried over to Sahra’s side.

“Something happened. He thinks it was us,” she whispered severely.

“You’re probably right but remember that it wasn’t.”

Leeshaw hopped off his mount with the help of his sons, hobbling over to us with a scowl tearing across his weathered visage.

“You!“ he hissed, stabbing a finger into my chest. “You took advantage of our good nature and let loose a beast upon us.”

I noticed his sons wielded blaster rifles from the corner of my eye and held my arms out to calm the man.

“Leeshaw, what are you talking about, my friend?” What beast?”

Leeshaw seethed and pushed me aside, stomping up to the Holcrit man.

“Was it you who put them up to it, Trean? Finally leaving us all behind, huh? Going back up there with all you can steal no less.”

Sahra subtly wrapped her hands around her pistol grips. She winked at me, signaling her readiness to act. I only shrugged and moved to act as mediator between the locals.

“Dalese, what could you possibly have that I would want to steal? You’ve never been a day away from your farm your entire life.”

Their bickering fell to the wayside along with my confusion as to what could have ruled up the old man. There, among the scrap littering Holcrit’s farmyard was Dee. The little Jawa leaped up and down and waved to me like his life depended on it.

I pressed myself between the two men and tried my best to block our little friend from view with my body.

“Gentlemen, I’m sure there’s something reasonable behind this. I know our timing is unfortunate but I’ve always heard that Roon is a strange place, right, Sahra?”

“Oh yes,” she offered, a bit too enthusiastically. “The mud men.”

“Yes, the mud men.”

The native Roonans’ jaws hung open.

“Mud men?” Leeshaw echoed.

“There’s no mud men this part of the country. Not enough mud!” Holcrit informed us.

While they argued with Sahra and the sons, I snuck glances at the ‘beast.’ He dug through the trash, all the while carrying a little pouch over his shoulder. I tried my hardest to communicate that he should return to the ship with my face but it was unlikely he could see that well even if he understood the danger.

A crash.

Everyone stopped and searched for the source of the sound of metal on metal. Dee was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, but his mess made it very obvious that there was some truth to what Leeshaw believed. Before Holcrit could collar them, his youngsters were tearing off to investigate.

“You swamp rats! Get back here this instant!”

I took advantage of the chaos to hurriedly whisper the cause of our predicament to Sahra. She knew better than to voice her surprise but looked just as clueless as I felt on how to come out of this with a Jawa and a hyperdrive coil.

“Pa! Look!” one of his children cried out.

“What is it? Come away from there. Let me see.”

The man’s voice died in his throat as he examined what his son placed into his hands. Sahra and I stretched our necks to catch a peek but to no avail.

“What’d he bring you, Holcrit? Any sign of the creature?” Leeshaw asked.

Holcrit was at a loss for words. His shaking hands lifted an etched stone for us all to see. It was dull and an odd shape, but the carving that spanned the diameter of its face seemed to almost beckon me near. It seemed to have succeeded on Leeshaw, for he almost tackled Holcrit to the ground trying to snatch it from him.

“Get off of me!” he cried, burying the stone within his clothes as his assailant battered him. I attempted to intervene but the barrels of the Leeshaw sons’ rifles stayed my hand, forcing my other to stay Sahra’s who no doubt was almost clear of her holster.

We watched the old men struggle against one another in the mud much longer than I would have wished, had I not been forced to at gunpoint. Finally, Leeshaw rose, and behind him I saw Dee crawl out of one of Holcrit’s shacks holding a large cylindrical tube over his head.

“Pa! Pa, hurry, look! The monster!” the Holcrit children cried.

“Oh, now what?” Leeshaw griped, hardly able to tear himself away from his stolen treasure to look at what the children saw.

Orange embers flashed behind the house, but not quickly enough to escape undetected. Even Holcrit had seen it from the mud he was laid out in. Leeshaw shouted a sort of war cry and hopped as quickly as he could manage after the alien. His boys quickly surpassed him and picked their way through the debris.

The Holcrit children helped their father up, rubbing the mud out of his eyes whilst jabbering excitedly about the strange creature they discovered. He said nothing but made his way around the other side. We watched both parties disappear around the shack and waited for it to play out. The children seemed to be ecstatic from all the excitement that was seldom for a planet like Roon.

Telltale squeals of a distressed Jawa rose shrilly over the homestead. Blaster fire erupted shortly after, bolts of red flew wide into the sky in rapid succession before ceasing altogether.

Sahra drew her blasters and advanced toward the other end of the building.

“Be careful!” I warned.

Before Sahra could answer, a little brown blur zoomed past her onto the mud field. She whirled about and was almost knocked over by the pursuing farmers. I decided this was our moment and took off after the fleeing Jawa. The angry Roonans shouted after me and would have taken the disoriented Sahra had they not been so tired.

“Thanks for the warning!” she called out to me after she had taken off running.

“He has a coil, I’m pretty sure!” I shouted to her as she caught up.

The Jawa proved too light footed to sink into the bog that so effectively absorbed us. Only a couple meters in and we found ourselves almost wholly immobile, forced to watch Dee grow smaller and smaller against the enormous drab sky.

Loud, brutal huffing came upon us after I had just begun to wonder if we were still being chased. Leeshaw barreled past Sahra on the long legged creature he had arrived on, kicking mud up into my eyes rather gracefully. I heard him hoot and holler after the hellbent Jawa. We couldn’t hope to catch up with him.

Soon more wet hoof stomps could be heard bounding closer and closer to us. I felt profoundly afraid I would be run over and then it came to me.

“Split up!” I shouted.

Sahra yanked her feet out of the sucking mud and powered away from me. The rider started whooping, as I predicted, letting me know just how near he was advancing. I dug myself out of the muck just in time to jump.

The beast broke hard right, going after Sahra, the closer target. I shot out as if my tendons were only good for one last jump. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I launched toward the animal’s flank. Sahra dove out of its way, spraying mud out from under her sliding palms.

My hands gripped the filthy creature’s hide, covered more in bristle than hair. I dug my fingers into its papery skin and dragged myself onto its back, just in time to duck out of the way of the rider’s attempt to repel me.

Time resumed its natural flow and I saw Sahra jump up and shout something before I refocused on commandeering the beast. I freed my blaster from its holster and stuck it into the back of the man’s neck. He tried to whip his head around but I only pressed the barrel into him harder to stop him.

“Ride as fast as this thing can take it!”

“Damn you, spacer,” he grumbled, but complied with a whip of the animal’s reins.

I turned around and meant to wave to Sahra but found I wasn’t safe just yet. The second son was crouched upon his saddle, rifle brought to bear. I yanked down on my hostage’s collar and thrust my blaster out toward my pursuer. I wasn’t quick enough and my shot went wide as I ducked to avoid the projectile pass too close for comfort. I squeezed off a flurry of shots around the charging creature.

The look in its’ eye was one of unfocused terror. I was sure it had never seen a blaster discharge in its life, the simple beast of burden it was. It’s gallop slowed suddenly as it panicked, kicking up mud and attempting to get away from danger. The Leeshaw dropped his rifle into the mud as he fought to stay upright on his mutinous ride.

Satisfied the twirling farmhand was no longer a threat, I thrust the blaster back into the rider’s neck. Leeshaw had already run down the Jawa, and was carrying his limp form back to his beast. He was smiling at us, obviously unaware of my presence at his son’s back.

We closed the distance and to my surprise, the son didn’t inform his father he was being held captive, though he could have made any face or signal to reveal this to him. I hopped off the back of the mount, dragging the son down with me before he had a chance to sabotage my element of surprise.

“It’s over, Leeshaw. Put him down.”

“So it is yours!” he screamed. “Here to plunder our Roonstones and sow dissent amongst the simple minded farmers! I won’t let you get away with this.”

Leeshaw tossed the Jawa aside and pulled his blaster rifle from the saddle. I pulled his son flush to my body and pointed my blaster at the furious farmer.

“We’re not trying to do anything but fix our ship, and be on our way, Leeshaw. Now, put that thing down and let me get my little friend.”

He shook his head, eyes set on mine.

I was relieved to see Dee still drew breath, but I worried for how much longer. Only the mounts disturbed our staredown, snorting and absently shaking mud off their legs. I saw his finger scratch at the trigger guard, uncertain he could beat me in the draw but itching to find out.

I drew as fast as I could, and I’m certain I would have shot first if Sahra hadn’t charged through him on the third beast. Leeshaw was thrown like dice from a drunk’s hand into the mud. He tumbled until he was covered head to toe with the dark muck, not even the whites of his eyes could be discerned as he lay still and ruined.

Sahra’s beast screeched in alarm, thinking itself in danger. Sahra pet the creature along its bald scalp and thanked it for saving the day.

Leeshaw’s son tried to break away from me, concerned with the state of his father. I pushed him down onto his knees and returned the blaster to his temple.