"Come on out, Solo!" exclaims Jabba the Hutt. Clary exchanges a worried look with Chewbacca before Han appears in sight, jaw clenched yet assertive as ever as he nods to his boss. Clary's gaze scans the pirates standing around Jabba and she suppresses the urge to grab her blaster and do away with them all. Han steps farther away from the corner he appeared from as he raises his arms. Jabba the Hutt turns to face him; he is a slimy, slug-like creature that disgusts Clary to many extents. She never hated anyone as much as she hates Jabba—she knew if her brother didn't watch his mouth (and he didn't, often) he'd be in trouble.

"I've been waiting for you, Jabba."

"I expected you would be," Jabba gurgles. Clary was taught his language by Han when she was younger—it was the only other foreign language she knew, besides Wookie-talk.

"I'm not the type to run," Han replies, smiling.

Jabba slithers closer to him. "Han, my boy, there are times when you disappoint me...why haven't you paid me? And why did you have to fry poor Greedo like that...after all we've been through together."

Clary shoots Han a look—of course he did away with Greedo. Any servant that Jabba sent to scare Han into getting more money never worked out the way he planned.

"You sent Greedo to blast me," Han retorts.

Jabba blinks, pretending to be surprised. Clary narrows her eyes, feeling disgust as he continues, "Han, why you're the best smuggler in the business—you and your pretty sister, that is. You both are too valuable to fry. He was only relaying my concern at your delays. He wasn't going to blast you."

Han scoffs, meeting Jabba's gaze evenly. "I think he thought he was. Next time, don't send one of those twerps. If you've got something to say to me, come see me yourself."

Clary turns her gaze away, climbing up the ramp into the Falcon. The last words she hears is Jabba calling out, "If you disappoint me again, I'll put a price on you and your sister's head so large you won't be able to go near a civilized system for the rest of your short, pitiful lives!"

Plopping herself down in the pilot's seat, Clary glances back at Chewbacca. He makes his way towards the cockpit, giving Clary a curious bark. She forces a smile, nodding to him.

"I'm okay, Chewie. Promise."

Chewie yelps something as he shakes his head. Clary narrows her eyes.

"Hey, don't give me that attitude. You know I'm always okay."

Chewbacca mutters something again, but before Clary has the chance to say anything back, he turns, exiting the ship. Clary lets out a groan as she leans forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the control panel. Staring out of the big mirrors of the Falcon, she spots Han telling Chewbacca a few directions before the Wookie takes off. Han then turns, glancing up at the window, noticing Clary watching before he gives a salute. Clary smiles, mimicking it as she raises her two fingers when Chewbacca returns, the blond boy and older man from before following after him.

"What a piece of junk!" Clary hears the boy exclaim; if he shouts it any louder, she can bet all of Tatooine will hear him. She huffs irritably, leaning back in the chair. Clary hears Han's reply from nearby the boarding ramp.

"We're a little rushed, so if you'll aboard, we'll get out of here."

Clary hears the clanging of shoes as the group races up the gangplank. In no time they arrive near the entrance of the cockpit. Clary's gaze locks with the blond for a moment before she turns away as Chewbacca pushes past him, taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair. He glances at Clary, jabbering quick instructions. Clary smiles, saluting him.

"Yes, sir." She turns to the engine, flicking a few buttons. The starship gives a gurgle before the engines rev up and become an all-familiar hum. Before she even has the chance to look up, Han is rushing into the ship, slamming on the button to close the loading ramp. He rushes into the cockpit, nodding to Clary. As she glances out of the window she spots Stormtroopers taking their aim at the Falcon. They had arrived too late, however, as the ship rises in the air and flies out of sight. Clary hears Han sigh loudly in relief from beside her as she glances his way.

"Were you worried the bad Stormtroopers were gonna get us?" she asks, pretending to pout. Han meets her gaze evenly, rolling his eyes. Clary smiles, looking back at the controls.

"Just shut up and get us out of here," he instructs. Chewbacca chatters away, pointing to something on the radarscope. Clary glances at him before looking back ahead, pressing another button. "Clary—"

"Quiet, I'm working on it!" Clary snaps back, frantically typing information into the ship's computer as the Falcon pushes past the atmosphere of the planet; a few small beeps emit from the entrance of the cockpit, distracting her. Clary glances over her shoulder to see a small droid as it bleeps a little while longer before it turns, scurrying away.

"It looks like an Imperial cruiser," Clary states, glancing at the two huge Imperial star-destroyers that follow the Falcon in the black galaxy. She looks back at Han as he nods slowly, still leaning over his sister as he squints at the situation.

"Our passengers must be hotter than we thought." He glances back warily to the doorway of the cockpit before looking ahead once more. "Try and hold them off." He points to a lever as he adds, "Angle the deflector shield; do you think you can make the calculations for the jump to light speed or should—"

"I can do it," Clary replies, pulling the lever. Chewbacca flips another switch, yelping something in reply. Clary glances his way. "What? I said I can do it."

The Falcon continues to soar away from the Imperial ships. Before Clary has the chance to start the calculations in her head, she's interrupted as their passengers manage to squeeze their way into the cramped cockpit. Clary bites her lip as she starts and finishes her calculation in less than six seconds, muttering a few numbers under her breath. Inputting them into the control panel, she glances up as the two Imperial ships diverge so they're on either side of the Falcon.

"Stay sharp," she states. She leans forward, attempting to get a better look before pressing another button, speeding the ship but not jumping it into hyper speed. "There are two more coming in; they're going to try and cut us off." She glances at Chewbacca who nods in reply.

"Wait, you're the one flying this thing?" The blond boy stares at Clary, baffled. She glances back at him.

"Yeah? I've been flying since I was six. You have a problem with that?"

The boy bites his lip, meeting Clary's gaze evenly before glancing at Han. "I thought you said this thing is fast—why can't we just outrun them?" Without waiting for his reply, he looks back at Clary. "Maybe if she wasn't flying it—"

"You better watch your mouth, kid," Han snaps. Clary glances back at the two as he continues, "Or you're going to find yourself floating home. That's my sister you're talking about. She knows this ship like the back of her hand—I trained her myself," he adds proudly. "So if I say she can fly, she can fly. Got it?" Watching as the blond turns pink in the face, Clary turns, glancing back at the front of the ship. She presses the same button she had before and flips the switch near it.

"We'll be safe once we make the jump to hyperspace," she says glancing at Chewie. The Wookie barks in response as she looks back at the blond, meeting his gaze evenly. "Besides, I know a few tricks." Before she has the chance to turn, the Imperial cruisers start firing at the ship. The Falcon gives a sudden lurch at the ammo, shuddering as the explosion flashes from near the window. Han grins, leaning forward once more as he grips Clary's shoulder tightly.

"Here's where the fun begins! You ready, sis?"

Clary smiles, feeling elated from her brother's energy. "I always am."

The old man, who had been watching silently, finally speaks up. "How long before you can make the jump to light speed?"

"It'll take a few moments," Clary replies. "I just inputted the coordinates into the navi-computer."

At her words, the ship begins to rock violently as the lasers from the Imperial ships continue to hit. The blond scoffs.

"Are you kidding?" he exclaims. "At the rate they're getting—"

"You want to do the calculation again for me?" Clary interrupts, getting fed up with his attitude. She turns away from the front of the ship to meet his gaze once more as she adds, "Can you calculate the distance and time it will take in under five seconds in your head like I just did? I don't think so."

The boy opens his mouth to retort, but Han beats him to it.

"Traveling through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy," he snaps. Clary nods in agreement, turning back to face the front of the ship.

"Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip pretty quick, wouldn't it?" She doesn't bother to glance back at him as she adds quickly, "Don't doubt me."

The boy, however, manages to stand on Clary's other side, squinting at the panel. "What's that flashing?" he asks, reaching forward. In an instant Clary reaches her hand up and smacks his. He retaliates, glaring.

"We're losing our deflector shield," she answers. Han nods, smiling.

"And what does that mean, lil' sis?"

"That our lovely guests should strap themselves in, unless they want to plummet forward once I hit light speed," Clary replies. Han practically glows with pride as he glances back at the old man and blond boy.

"You heard her." Before Clary can press the button, Han leans forward. "Better let me take the lead." Clary glances back at him, mouth open to make a retort, but meets his gaze. Letting out a sigh, Clary reluctantly unbuckles her belt, rising to her feet as Han quickly slides into the chair. Waiting for his sister to exit the cockpit and enter the main room, he flips another button. As if the universe were taunting her, the only open spot was to the right of the boy. He seems to notice this as well as his jaw clenches, glancing the other way. Trying to ignore the spiking anger she felt towards her brother at not letting her continue to fly into light speed (which was one of Clary's favorite aspects of the Falcon), she straps herself into her seat.

"Looks like you got your wish, pretty boy," Clary says, sitting a little straighter. She glances towards the blond as he meets her gaze, eyes widening slightly when he realizes what she meant. "Han has finally taken the lead."

"I didn't mean it like that—"

"Of course you didn't," Clary interrupts, leaning back against the wall. "I don't blame you—not many girls fly starships. Not a run-down piece of junk like this one, but hey." She pats the edge of the worn out seat as she smiles to herself. "She's home."

An almost tense silence follows her comment as the boy clears his throat. "I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker."

Clary glances at him once more, meeting his gaze. When she realizes his attempts to be sincerely kind, she smiles slightly. She holds out her hand.

"Clary. Clary Solo."

Luke returns her smile as he reaches forward, shaking her hand. His hands are warm and seem to envelop her smaller, cold ones. Feeling warmth burn against her cheeks, Clary's eyes meet Luke's once more. They are blue and sincere, the prettiest eyes Clary has ever seen.

The ship gives a sudden lurch, signaling that it has successfully commenced into hyper speed. Clearing her throat, Clary looks away staring at her hands. The small droid from before lets out a short beep, gaining Clary's attention. She glances at him and rolls her eyes, laughing under her breath.

"He's a cute one," Clary comments. "For a droid, at least." She glances back at Luke. Blinking, the blond nods, laughing slightly.

"Oh, yeah. His name is R2-D2."

R2 bleeps once again, sounding hyper as he rolls back and forth excitedly. Clary laughs again.

"He's got a personality."

Spending a few moments watching the two droids that had joined them on the journey (Clary learned the other to be named C-3P0, who enjoys talking and boasting about how he can speak around 6 million different languages—fluent in both, might he add) as Luke unbuckles his seatbelt, rising to his feet. Clary watches him thoughtfully as he retrieves the lightsaber the old man had used back at the tavern; tossing a small seeker robot towards him, Luke practices around, attempting to slice at the small droid as it floats around, beeping.

Glancing back at the older man, Clary gives a polite smile. "Clary," she introduces, holding out her hand. He glances at her, watching her for a moment before a kind smile appears on his face. He shakes her hand.

"Ben."

"Is that lightsaber yours, Ben?" Clary asks, nodding to Luke as he jumps around, growing agitated with the seeker droid as it continues to beep, taunting him. He slashes around recklessly, missing every time. Ben nods.

"It was, but now it belongs to Luke." Clary glances back at him in time to see his expression falter, paling in the face.

"Are you all right?" Clary asks. Luke stops slashing around with his lightsaber as he starts towards Ben.

"What's wrong?"

Ben glances up, shaking his head. "I felt...a great disturbance in the Force...It's as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced." He rubs his forehead tiredly. "I fear something terrible has happened." Seeming to drift off in a trance, his gaze fixes on Luke. "You'd better get on with your exercises."

As Luke turns, Han appears from the cockpit, grinning.

"Well, you can forget about your troubles with those Imperial slugs—I told you we'd outrun 'em."

Clary give a small smile but feels haunted by Ben's words. Luke doesn't reply as he continues to slash at the small seeker bot as it soars back and forth. Han's eyes narrow as he leans against the doorway, arms crossed.

"Well, don't everyone thank me at once," he scoffs. His gaze travels to the table farther left, where C-3P0, R2-D2 and Chewbacca sit, engrossed in a game where three-dimensional holographic figures move along a chessboard. Clary smiles at the group, watching as Chewbacca whimpers in annoyance.

Han lets out a sigh, gaining her attention, however, as he starts back to the cockpit. "Anyway, we should be at Alderaan in about...0-200 hours." He meets Clary's gaze and gives her a quick wink before disappearing into the cockpit once again. Clary's attention travels back to Chewbacca and the two robots sitting around him, looking pleased with himself. C-3P0 nods to R2-D2.

"Now be careful, R2."

Not listening to his friend, R2 immediately reaches up and taps the computer sitting at the edge of the table with his stubby claw hand, causing one of the holographic creatures to walk to the new square. Clary watches a frown appears on Chewbacca's face as he begins to howl in anger at the tiny robot.

"He made a fair move!" 3P0 retorts, defending his small friend. "Screaming about it won't help you."

"Let him have it," Clary interrupts, nodding to Chewbacca. "It's not smart to upset a Wookie."

Chewbacca continues to roar in frustration as 3P0 turns to face Clary. "But, miss, nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

Clary laughs loudly. She notices Luke glancing her way, lowering his lightsaber, as Han calls from the cockpit:

"That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose!"

C-3P0 appears to have a blatant look of shock (or as close to shock as a droid can get), as he glances back at Clary, as if waiting for her to confirm it. She shrugs, gesturing to the riled up Wookie.

"The only reason why he's not ripping you two apart right now is because he favors me and doesn't want me to see his bad side." She smiles as Chewbacca meets her gaze, whining loudly. "Oh, don't deny it Chewie, you know you love me more than Han." She glances to her left to see Luke still staring at her thoughtfully.

"That's a lie and you know it," Han states, gaining both their attention. He nods to the game as Chewbacca angrily throws the pieces to the floor, in a middle of a fit. "See, he's already starting his tantrum."

"That's because you walked in, Han."

Clary hears Luke laugh at her reply and she glances back at him, smiling slightly. She feels her cheeks warm again when his gaze locks with hers once more before the seeker droid buzzes in front of him, gaining his attention once more. He raises his lightsaber, watching the droid with concentrated eyes.

"I suggest a new strategy, R2," C-3P0 is saying, raising his arms to Chewbacca. "Let the Wookie win."

R2 bleeps back, sounding exasperated as it whirls its head. The humming of the lightsaber seems to buzz within the room as Clary glances back at Luke. She notices Han leaning against the doorway of the cockpit once again, watching the young boy with an amused, smug expression.

"Remember," Ben says, "a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him."

Luke's blue gaze flickers towards him. "You mean it controls your actions?"

Ben shrugs. "Partially. But it also obeys your commands."

Glancing back at the small chrome, baseball-like robot, the seeker hovers slowly at eye level in front of Luke. It floats from one side of him to the other, before making a lightning-swift lunge, stopping a few feet within Luke's face. When the young Skywalker doesn't move the ball backs off, slowly moving behind him, then makes another quick lunge, this time emitting a blood red laser beam as it attacks. The laser hits Luke square in the leg, causing him to tumble over, lightsaber still gripped tightly in his hand. Han laughs loudly as Clary shoots him a pointed look.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid," he states, ignoring Clary's narrowed eyes.

As Luke rises to his feet, he meets Han's gaze evenly. "You don't believe in the Force, do you?"

Han snorts. "Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one "all-powerful" force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny."

Glancing back at Ben, Clary notices a small smile creeping on his face. Han continues, not noticing this: "It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense." He looks at Clary. "Back me up, why don't you? You're the one who believes in all facts and logic."