Romeo & Twi'lek Ch. 02

“I was going to get him,” I said.

“He already got Dee, I couldn’t let the little guy die for nothing. Or you, for that matter,” she said, dismounting the creature.

She took the distressed farm boy and took up my duty. I shook my head and crouched down beside the exhausted Jawa.

“He’s alright. Just not used to all the excitement I’m sure.”

I helped him to his feet and supported him until he was steady. He thanked me, I assumed, and scurried over to Leeshaw.

“Hey, now, stay away from him, Dee.”

Dee disregarded my apprehension and babbled cheerfully to himself. He picked his way through the filthy man’s pockets with the hands of experts, retrieving the pouch and the Roonstone. My hand hovered over my pistol until he was hopping back to me. It was obvious Leeshaw wasn’t getting up any time soon.

“Let me see my Pa!” said the son.

Sahra looked to me and I nodded in approval, prompting her to release him. He trudged over to him and looked somewhat relieved by what he found.

The Jawa and I joined Sahra by her mount and looked through what he had gathered. Most of it was worthless junk that would captivate a Jawa but there was indeed a hyperdrive coil, intact if a little worse for wear.

“Sahra, welcome aboard the newest member of our crew!”

Sahra grinned and pat the Jawa on the head, crushing the high point of his hood. Dee passed the Roonstone into her hands and busied himself fixing the point.

“Look at this thing! They called it a Roonstone. Do you know anything about it?” she asked, examining the strange inscription with her fingers.

“No. Must be something from this planet’s ancient times. Has to be worth something somewhere, most likely.”

“Until then,” she said, handing it back to Dee, “you will be the custodian of the stone and the ship.”

Dee accepted the stone and put it back into his pouch like he had been given a scrap of food for later.

Our salvation in hand, we returned to the ship. We piled onto the farmer’s oblivious beast and rode it to his farm, leaving it there for the Roonan’s trouble and walking the rest of the way.

I got to work on replacing the coil right away, while Sahra took to the refresher. Dee watched me and helped with the repair somewhat, handing me tools and parts upon my request. I have never been one for stowaways but he was beginning to grow on me. The union of such a bizarre, tiny creature and the sterile voice generated by the ship’s computer endeared him to me in its novelty.

“I clean now. Where are supplies?” he said, handing me the last tool from the kit.

“Supplies? Oh. You’ll find them in a closet in the common room.”

He nodded and was on his way just as I had set the coil. The engine sparked to life and with it the gentle hum of its promise of space travel was resettled. I slapped the console in triumph and hurried to the Bridge to be free of the mudball that was Roon.

I opened up the galaxy map and plugged in Scarif to the navigational computer. The lush, tropical world beckoned to me like none other after experiencing Roon. I started the engine and kissed the surface of the bleak world goodbye. The landing gear, buried in muck, strained against its confines. Gravity defying engines shook the craft free and into the sky.