Hello all!! Thank you for staying with me this long!
I'm trying to start uploading on a more consistent schedule, and I am still deciding on whether  Wednesdays  or Fridays would be better! Let me know!

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Lots of quotes from the Sequels, and I had fun writing it! (It's kinda late, and it's not spell checked. Opps.) 

So long! (Literally, word count, 2070)

- Kena

   The ship shakes, shudders, as I slam my hand on the ignition, veering around, missing ships by inches as I try not to crash us into the wall. The Mercenaries leap out of the way as the ship spins, avoiding the huge silver wings. One isn't fast enough, and I listen to the thud of his body crashing along the side of the plane.

  I turn her to face towards the exit. I press the controls forward, gaining speed, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

  It feels exhilarating to fly again: to have this much power under my fingertips, to have the ship respond smoothly to each command. To have the cold metal of the controls pressed against my hands. To have freedom within reach just past the hangar's exit.

  "Hold on!" I shout over my shoulder at Nala as we clear the archway, the sand flying by, the wind from our engines causing it to swirl up in clouds of dust, spinning like whirlpools behind us.

  The bright light of the setting suns' glares into my face, and I squint my eyes as the golden-glow fills the cockpit. The Razor Crest roars and rumbles like an angry beast as we gain altitude, climbing up higher and higher, farther and farther away from the sand into the clear blue sky.

   I hear Nala whoop as the ship rattles, shaking and groaning as we exit the atmosphere, the inky blackness of space stretching out before us. Stars are pressed against it like gems on a cloth. My heart soars, and I let out a breathy sigh- a mix between a choke and a sob. Hope expands in my chest, and I let myself breath. The ship sounds steady, the consistent rumble under my feet a bit more violent then the Havoc Marauder, like a excited shake instead of a warm hug, but it is ever bit as comforting, maybe even more so, because freedom is at my fingertips. 

  I'm going home. To my family. 

   The beeping on my dash board draws my attention, and Nala's head peaks into the cockpit just when the sirens begin going off.

   Three ships— just small, red dots on the dashboard— come into view, and Nala lets out a petrified squeak.

  "Our trackers! They are following us!"

   I push the controls forward, and the ship whirls forward, but the dots are pressing closer: smaller attack vessels, faster than this rig can go. I glance up in horror— we can't jump into hyper speed. Some Nerfherder put a compressor on the drive. We need time for it to warm up. I hurriedly enable the shields as the emergency lights start flashing.

   I look up at Nala, who's trying to worry the tracker off of her neck, the red bulb blinking as if to mock us. Mine seems to grow heavier on my neck, like a noose.  I think of the tales the of the other slaves-- of the brave ones who ran, trying to escape. How they couldn't get their trackers off in time, how they were captured and dragged off to the Hutt's to be shamed and tortured. 
  

  And I exposed myself. I exposed the power that runs through me like an electrical current, the moment I held my hands out in my fury. I put Nala at risk when I let my anger take control. We won't be captured. I need to get to my family. 

"Here, Nala, take the controls!" I say, sliding out of the seat as the Twi'lek slips into my position. "I have to find a way to disable these trackers!"

  "Be quick!" She yelps as she veers the ship around. The engines rumble in my ears as I slide down the ladder, my feet barely touching the floor as I hurry to the weapon cabinet. The ship rolls to the left, and the quite hum of the shields absorbing the oncoming fire seems to amplify in my ears as I swing the twin doors open, looking around at the bare cabinet. 

  "Come on, come on." I mutter to myself, my eyes darting around the empty hooks. There's nothing, nothing, and panic causes the air to momentarily pause in my throat. Then I see the handle of a knife.

  I snatch it from the canvas bag, tilting the blade in the light. The yellow-orange veins of a vibro blade shimmer in the light, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from sobbing in relief.  

  I'm racing up the ladder, and Nala looks at me with wide eyes. The ship shudders, and the warning alarms seem to amplify--  our shields are failing. 

  "Here!" I say, pulling her head tails out of the way with my left hand. The alarms have my ears ringing, I feel lightheaded. I press the blade down on the thin collar, and the metal sizzes under the knife. It slowly glides through the collar, and I glance at the hyperdrive: it's warm, the green light giving me a whisp of hope. 

  The collar breaks, and I throw it to the floor, watching the electrical wires spark and the mocking red light slowly fade out. I press the knife into the Twi's hand. She's up in an instant, and I slide into the pilots seat, the red fighter on our starboard side seeming close enough to touch. Slamming the controls forward, I press my palm to the hyperdrive. The ship lurches forward, and I let out a silent prayer as the engines whirr, before we are launched into hyperspace, the stars flying past our viewport as tears pour down my face. 

  The collar falls off my neck, clattering to the floor, and I slide down with it, covering my face with my hands as wracking sobs shake my body. Nala is kneeling beside me, pulling me towards her chest and kicking the tracking collars to the corner of the cockpit. I cling to her like a life preserver, my fingers gripping her revealing slave-shirt in my hands. I think she kisses my forehead. 

  We lay a crumbled mess on the floor until we both become cold, our hearts no longer pounding in out throats, in our ears, in our chest. No longer pounding in our veins with each breath. She rubs a hand up my arm, reaching over me and pressing something to the dashboard; A coordinate to some place, and at the moment, I'm too light-headed to care where. As long as it isn't Tatooine, I'm happy. 

  "Let's go find ourselves some real clothes." She remarks, a smile splitting her beautiful face. "I'm sure we will find something on this pile of scraps."   

  I let her pull me to my feet, and I look up at her, rubbing my eyes. 

   "Thank you." 

   "I owe you one." She says, starting towards the ladder. I start behind her, but she whirls around, pointing a finger at me. "So you are a Jedi, not a spice runner! You lied to me!" 

  "I'm not a Jedi." I say, frowning. "I didn't go through Jedi training." 

 "Sorry, you are a force-sensitive-secretive-woman-who-traverses-the-galaxy-fighting-for-the-greater-good. That sounds pretty Jedi to me." She smiles, sliding down the ladder. "Maybe we will find you a Jedi robe once we reach Pabu!"

*** 

  "Are you sure this planet is safe?" I question, leaning forward in my seat, looking at the vibrant blue of the planet below us. It is fairly large, and looks to be mostly ocean, clouds swirling across the surface like cotton. We have been in hyperspace for hours, and it's almost humorous how much we both slept, until the quiet beeping of the ship let us know we were close to our destination. 

  "Pabu is the most peaceful planet you will ever find. Not even The Empire has touched this place yet." She sighs, and I glance at her. She is wearing tattered men's clothes, like I am, but they fit much better then the slave outfits. "I haven't been here in years." 

  I let my eyes trail back to the viewport. 

  "Is it your home planet?" I ask. 

  "No." She says. I can basically hear the smile in her voice as she speaks. "It's a place filled with refugees. People with nowhere, or no one else to go too." 

  "People like us!" I chirp, gently urging the ship forward through the atmosphere. I see Nala leaning forward, her long, nimble fingers splayed across the dashboard. 

  "Head towards that island, right there." She raise, pointing to a small, green dot in the distance. "There is going to be a mountain, with a flat strip on top. That's where you are going to land, next to a giant tower." 

  "Got it." I say, biting my lip in concentration. 

   As we near the land, flying in the clouds over the sky-colored water, I get a better look at the island. It's densely green, and even from this distance, I see the clusters of houses and trails along the steep cliff's base. The island is tall, more like a mountain jutting out of the sea, really. A tall, silver tower protrudes out of the top, and I hear Nala's sharp intake of breath. 

  "It's just as beautiful as I remember." 

    I see villagers, as small as ants, pause when they hear the sound of our approaching ship. I ignore them, eyes trained on the large, circular landing pad, occupied only by one other vessel. It's too my left, and I don't bother turning my head to look at it through my good eye. I just concentrate on landing on the south end of the landing pad, on the left side of the tower. 

  I bring her down, slow and steady, taking my time, holding my breath until the landing gear comes into contact with the earth. Nala is up as soon as we land, scurrying down the ladder, but I take a moment to breath, powering down the engines, shutting everything down, gently running my scarred hand over the dashboard. Thanking the Razor Crest for getting me out of there.

  I turn my head, observing the ship across the landing pad. My brain seems to stall at the familiarity of it all, at the narrow pointed bow, at the folded wings. 

  The Havoc Marauder stares across the landing pad at me, and two names fly through my head. 

  Omega. Hunter. 

   My family. 

    I have never flown down a ladder faster in my life. I bolt barefoot down the ramp, spinning in a circle, trying to see everything with my good eye. I run towards Nala, where she is speaking too a woman: she's tall, with chocolate colored skin and crazy hair. She smiles at me as I near, brown eyes crinkling at the corners. 

  "You must be Ava. My name is--" 

  "I hate to be rude, but where is he?" I ask, looking around. "Where is Hunter?" 

"Delta!"

  I hear my name shouted somewhere behind me, and I spin around. 

  Omega is bolting towards me, arms pumping at her sides, blonde hair pulled back from her face. My heart physically hurts-- it feels as if it has been ripped out of my chest, and I raise my hand to cover my open mouth. Her hazel eyes are focused on me, and even from here, I can tell how much she has changed. She has gotten tall-- she's grown, no longer the little girl I protected on Kamino. 

   "Omega!" I scream, running to meet her, and then we collide. Tears burn in my eyes. Her head is up to my chin, her arms threatening to crush my ribcage. I think she is crying, her face pressed into my chest as I hold her to me, pressing my face into her yellow locks. She smells like the ocean: like salt and sand and sea. 

  "You are dead. You died!" She sobs out, her body shaking as I kiss her temple. 

   "I hate to break it to you, love, but you can't get rid of me that easily."