Small Change of Plans

Anne sat on the bench outside the park. The air smelled cold and sweet, it would start snowing soon.

She looked at a picture on her datapad. It was her parents holding her tight in her graduation outfit. She had graduated with honors, top of her class. Only a week ago but now, sitting here it felt like ages ago. Shortly after this photo she had sat them down to tell them that she wanted to take some time for herself, not go straight into the corporation they had picked for her. They were livid.

She thought her mom might cry, but she didn't. Her father's face had never been so red. Finally her father stopped yelling and looked like he was waiting on Anne.

"What?" asked Anne. "This swindler has little to offer you - a life beneath you. He has to go. You have a bright future that your mother and I have taken great care to groom for you.  His world and our world are not the same, Anne. He will not be welcome here or at any corporate function. You've had your fun, now cut your ties and get your head on straight. You start your job in a week."

Just as snow began to fall, Tech pulled up in front of her on a speeder. She threw her bag over her shoulder and hopped on behind him. She checked the time. In a few hours her parents would realize that she wasn't going to make it to her first day of work tomorrow. Anne had programmed the house protocol droid to display her letter to her parents that evening.  Tech drove towards the shipyard.

The Beginning

Anne was standing in the hall going through a datapad, checking all of her test answers to make sure they were correct. As she lifted her eyes after confirming which relay the probe droid's broadcast antennae connected through she noticed an odd man at the end of the hall.  He seemed to know where he was going, but his clothing was too ragged to be a student or teacher at this school. He carried a large black case. Anne quickly pretended to read her datapad as she realized she was standing there staring with her mouth open. Hopefully he didn't notice.  He walked right past her into the classroom she had just exited.

" Mr. Jones I have everything you asked for as long as you have what I required."   " I told you to wait for me outside. This is most unsettling. However, lucky for you I have your payment here."   Anne could hear the case being loudly placed on a desk and the cold snap of metal unlocking.   " Please inspect the cargo at your leisure. If there's anything else you or your friends need, don't hesitate to COM me."

Anne wondered what a teacher would need such a rough man like this to buy for him. She heard footsteps coming back out of the classroom and Anne held her gaze on her datapad. 

All of a sudden, she realized the man was in front of her and not moving. She raised her gaze to see him staring at her with a wide smile.
"Hey girl, is there a good cantina on this rock?"

Anne studied his face. That smile. 
"I'm no girl."

"Alright, woman, where should we go spend these hard earned chips?"

Another Life

"Anne! Don't forget your backpack!"
She always forgot something. As she ran back up the stairs she went over her mental checklist again. Today was her final in droid mechanics and she was going to be late. It was her favorite class and she was sure to ace the test, but not if she didn't show up.

As she ran down the hall her mind replayed the dinner discussion from the night before. Her parents pushing her to finish her applications to the corporations they had picked out. She was about to graduate from the best university on this side of the planet and her future was wide open. She could climb the corporate ladder and be making more than her father before she knew it.

Recuperating

Running. They were all running. They all ran aboard the antique vessel.
They all looked at her. GET US OUTTA HERE!
Her mind scrambled. She didn't know anything about the Outer Rim planets. No idea where they would be safe. Tech would know but he was busy getting this bird in the air.
Ummm... Let's just go back to the last planet we were safe. Back to the Hutt.
She did the calculations and a flash of stars whizzed by.
They land and are standing by the ship. She sees each of their faces.
They are all smiling at her, grateful to have their feet on the ground.
She blinks and now everyone is in a fire-fight with a bounty hunter.
His clothing looks familiar, but she can't place him. Everyone is shooting.
She sees each of their faces concentrating on the fight.
The huntsman runs and they pursue.
All except her and Dorge.
She thinks about how good they are with computers but how they are not as handy in a blaster fight as she walks to the bar to get a room.  It hadn't been very long since they were last here.  She sits at the bar and looks at the droid bartender.
He seems to have a look of pity on his droid face.
The neck band clicks into place.

Womanne awakes with a scream, her own hands around her neck trying to pull an imaginary slave collar off.

Getting Through the Day

Womanne lay on the cot in the Captain's Quarters. So far they had not been able to get a response from the rebel ship. She lay there hoping that when they did respond it would help show her what path lay before her. She lay there happy to be where she was - not on an Imperial slave ship, not on her home planet, not anywhere worse. Happy to be alive and traveling the Outer Rim.

She exited her room and overheard one of the boys telling Dorge that he could probably boost the COM's with the right power source. Yes! Perfect.  She could tell it was going to be a great day.  A group of them headed out and ran into a kid Dorge could lean on for info. Yes! A great deal on renting a power unit. Shaping into a fantastic day.  Womanne smiled as they walked back through the entrance of the ship yard, estimating they should have word from the rebels within the day.

Looking ahead they saw a couple of big guys on speeder bikes as they hear the J-9 droid's warning over their COM. Hmm. A slight damper to the day.  They tried to flank the guys but the kid's scared looks to them both only helped to point them out. These guys were waiting on them. One look at Dorge and you could tell what they were here for.

Looking them over Womanne could tell one was human, the one holding a blaster and yelling towards Dorge. The other a trandoshan, no blaster, but they didn't need one to cause a lot of hurt. Womanne flashed back to the gambling fights back at the Hutt's.

Shots were fired, Womanne drew her weapon and shot towards the Trandoshan as he seemed the scarier target.  Chaos ensued as the space port erupted into screams and running. The trandoshan scrambled off his bike and towards Dorge. Womanne kept an eye on him as she dodge bolts from the human.  She dodged most of them, taking a couple in the shoulder. Finally the reptile slumped to the ground but the human jumped on his bike and tried to escape.

Quickly Womanne evaluated her options. If this guy brought reinforcments they would be done for. If they took off now they would void the rental of the power supply and probably end up fried in space. The only option left was to grab the other bike and run this guy down. The boys in the ship took off trying to back her up and keep this guy from getting away.

He stopped in a blind alley. Womanne was very hesitant to follow him in, knowing he was trying to get the upper hand. She rode to the other end and tried to walk in behind him but this place was full of trash and every step seemed to crunch. Then she saw him right as she caught another bolt in her chest. She pulled her blaster but it hurt to hold it up. Her shot hit the wall above him and he looked up to make sure nothing was going to fall on him. When he looked back all he would see was her back as she got outta there.  She could hear the ship hovering ahead and only hoped they would stay and finish this. She was in no shape to stick around.

She jumped on the speeder and headed back to the space port. It was pretty much the only place to land a ship near here so this is where they would come back. She drove slow trying to not draw much attention. The ship was back as she pulled into the port. Dorge waited outside the landing ramp and told her that they got him and were bringing him back, alive. She gave the speeder to him and walked in and collapsed on her bed.

She was still alive. Yep, today was a great day.