Chapter 3

For the next few weeks, Rey and Jakson worked to put their plan into action. Rey scavenged for parts and Jakson devoted all his time to cleaning and repairing those parts. It took a few days to find a steady rhythm, but they soon had managed to build up quite an impressive supply of parts. The number of parts Rey brought to Plutt daily had increased as well, primarily because she was now scavenging for two. Unkar Plutt didn’t mind one bit, as he could see a marked increase in the number and usefulness of the parts he purchased from Rey. As such, he left Rey and Jakson alone for the most part, which was just fine with them. Yet despite this small victory, the couple decided not to push their luck, and refrained from being seen in public as much as possible. All things considered, life on Jakku had never been better...

“Almost ... there...” Jakson grunted.

“Unh ... holy fuck, don’t stop, Jak,” Rey moaned.

The couple had been making love for hours that evening, as it was the first night after Rey’s cycle. This allowed the couple to have as much sex as they wanted without fear of her becoming pregnant. When she had arrived home that evening, Rey practically threw herself at Jakson, riding him right there on the floor of his kitchen. After their first orgasms, the couple took a short break to devour some food, but was soon at it again. Though they had started on the sofa for about an hour, they soon decided to transition to the bedroom. Now late into the night, Jakson’s body was starting to tire from his many orgasms and the vigorous nature of their lovemaking. Still, as he stood at the edge of his bed, he found the strength to push through for one last glorious climax.

“Shit ... shit ... yes, yes, YES! OH REYYYYYYYY!”

“AHHHHHHHHHH! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!”

Breathless, the pair erupted in a giggle-fit due to the sheer amount of time they had wasted away that night. Jakson moved to lie down beside her, stroking her soft hair and kissing her forehead. Rey responded with a few sweet kisses of her own, moving from his knuckles to his shoulder and neck. Finally, she pressed her lips to his in a long, passionate embrace. As they parted, she gazed deep into his blue eyes, beginning to feel more courage than she had ever felt before. It was time. She knew she wanted to say it.

“Jak ... I ... I lo-”

“Shh! You hear that?” he cut her off.

“What?” she asked, alarmed by his mannerisms.

“Outside. It sounded like ... a swoop bike.”

“Let’s check the cameras.”

Jakson grinned as they moved over to his main computer, now outfitted with a security system, courtesy of Rey. She had managed to hotwire a few cameras and had connected them to his ship, allowing them to keep an eye out for approaching trouble. As Rey powered on the cameras, Jakson slipped on some clothes and holstered his blaster at his side.

“Got something. A pair of swoop riders out back,” Rey said.

Approaching the screen, Jakson’s heart sunk. “Shit ... it’s the Irving Boys.”

“Your former partners?”

“The same. But how the hell did they find me?!”

“Who says they found you? They could be here for any number of reasons,” Rey tried to argue.

As soon as she finished speaking, a loud thump came at the rear door of the ship. “Jakson! We know you’re in there!”

“You were saying?” Jakson mused to Rey. “Stay here in the bedroom, out of sight. I’ll handle this.”

“No! I’m going with you! There’s two of us and two of them!”

“Yeah, but unless you own a blaster you’ve never told me about, you won’t stand a chance. Stay here. Once I’ve got them distracted, get to your speeder and get out of here.”

Looking him square in the eyes with a stern expression, she told him, “I’ll not leave you behind.”

“I’ll be fine. Trust me,” Jakson replied with a wink.

As Rey dressed herself and retied her hair back into her signature buns, Jakson climbed the ladder to the top hatch. He cracked it open before crawling silently along the top of the shuttle and peering over the edge. With his blaster in hand, he soon spied his former partners below.

There they are ... Toursant and Vanver Irving.

The human twin brothers were each over six feet tall, and armed to the teeth besides. They had tanned white skin that was further darkened by the dirt and dust they accumulated. Their faces were obscured a bit by thick, dark brown stubble. Toursant carried a DH-17, capable of rapid-firing any foe into submission. Vanver, on the other hand, preferred to blow his enemies away with his modified CA-87 shotgun blaster.

“Maybe he ain’t here,” Toursant wondered.

“Naw, he’s here. Ya hear me, Jakson!? Get out here!” Vanver replied.

As they waited for a response, Toursant glanced around, catching a glimpse of Jakson on top of the shuttle. “Look! Up there!”

“Drop your weapons,” Jakson commanded, aiming his Bryar pistol at the pair. They did not, but his vantage point did cause them to hesitate.

“No way out, Jakson. You’re outgunned,” Vanver replied.

“Maybe, but you both know as well as I do that I’m sure to kill one of you if this comes down to a firefight. The only question is ... which one of you would survive?”

The brothers looked uneasy at this prospect; neither was certain that they wouldn’t be the one Jakson targeted.

“How’d you find me?” Jakson asked, taking advantage of their hesitation to buy Rey some more time.

“You really think we wouldn’t install a tracking beacon on board a ship like the one you stole?” Vanver answered.

“I deactivated it.”

“Yeah, but we had an override switch,” Toursant said. “Took some doing, but we finally managed to reactivate it and find ya here. Once we’re done with you, we’re takin’ our ship back!”

“And believe me, we ain’t here to take prisoners. You’ve cost us a hell of a lot of money, Jakson. But if we kill you ourselves, we don’t gotta lose any more of it to pay off your bounty,” Vanver agreed. “Ya shoulda just done your job.”

“No way in hell was I doing that.”

“We paid you good money to transport our cargo!” Vanver roared.

“Twi’lek girls are people, not cargo!!!” Jakson screamed, his anger exploding from within him. “I signed up to be a smuggler. I never signed up to be a slaver. I made that perfectly clear when you first hired me.”

“Whatever helps ya sleep at night. Just remember ... they’re all dead because of you, not us.”

“That’s a load of shit, and you know it.”

“Then it seems we’ve reached an impasse,” Toursant sighed.

“Guess so...”

As the trio continued their tense standoff, Jakson’s ears perked up at hearing the cargo bay door opening. He knew that Rey was powering up her speeder. The brothers looked at each other in confusion for a moment, allowing Jakson just the opportunity he needed. Taking careful aim, he fired two shots in quick succession towards the brothers’ swoop bikes, disabling both of them. They returned fire, but Jakson had already scampered to the side of the shuttle and jumped down onto Rey’s speeder with her.

“Don’t let ‘em get away!” Vanver yelled. Firing off a pair of shots from his shotgun blaster, he struck the wing of the shuttle, causing several fragments to break off and fall to the ground.

“Heads up!” Rey warned. She tried to swerve as best she could, but Jakson was still hit in the head by the falling debris. He managed to hang on, but soon fell completely unconscious from the blow.

“Hang on, Jak. Just hang on...” Rey pleaded, racing off into the desert.

Six months earlier

“An excellent ship, Jakson. She’ll do the job well.”

“She’s never failed me yet, Vanver.”

Jakson prepared to begin his transport mission with his YT-2400 light freighter, the Longshot. The life of a smuggler was always exciting, and he had seen some incredible sights in his travels through the galaxy.

“Are we ready?” Vanver called out.

“Yep. Cargo’s loaded on board,” Toursant replied.

“Already?” Jakson asked in surprise.

“Provides an added level of protection for you. You haven’t seen the cargo, giving you plausible deniability,” Vanver explained.

“Alright then, I’m off. Running late as it is...”

“Good luck, Jakson. And don’t worry; we’ll be following right behind you.”

Entering the ship’s cockpit, the copilot, a repair droid designated LE-MA5T3, welcomed Jakson.

“Leema, we ready to take off?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied. “The fuel tank is full, and our flight path has been charted, extending approximately sixteen parsecs.”

“Very good. Let’s get underway.”

The thrusters roared, the engine hummed, and soon the Longshot had exited the planet’s atmosphere. A short time later, hyperspace had been achieved. All the while, the Irving Boys followed behind Jakson, ready to provide backup should the need arise. Some time later, Jakson picked up an odd reading on his charts.

“Huh ... Leema, you see this? Looks like we have an unexpected meteor shower coming up shortly.”

“Indeed. It would be wise for us to exit hyperspace as we approach it to navigate it safely.”

“Agreed. I’ll inform my partners.” Hitting the comlink, Jakson radioed over to the Irving Boys’ ship. “We’ll be needing to exit hyperspace in a moment; got an unanticipated meteor shower up ahead.”

“Understood. We’ll do the same,” came Toursant’s reply.

“Roger that. Longshot out.” Taking a firm handle on the ship’s controls, Jakson prepared to make the necessary adjustments. “Alright, here we go ... now!”

Flipping the switch, Jakson cut to the ship’s sublightspeed engines. The Longshot lurched from the sudden change, throwing Jakson forward in his seat a bit. Still, he was a skilled pilot, and this seemed as nothing to him. As he relaxed, he could have sworn he heard cries of surprise, or perhaps fear, coming from the cargo area in back.

“Leema ... did you hear that?”

“It sounded as if someone was screaming, sir.”

Standing, Jakson replied, “Take the helm. I’ll go check it out.”

Drawing his Bryar pistol, Jakson crept through the hallways of his ship, ready for the first sign of trouble. Reaching the secret entrance to the cargo hold, he punched in the security code and slid away a hidden wall panel. Pausing, he could hear whispers and murmurs from within the hold.

“Freeze!” he commanded, stepping into the doorway with his blaster drawn.

“Don’t shoot! Please!”

Blinking twice, Jakson was surprised to discover a group of fifteen beautiful Twi’lek women of varying colors. They were huddled around the edges of the room, their fear evident on their faces. One of them stood near him, her hands up in a nonthreatening manner.

“Who are you? How did you get onto my ship?” Jakson demanded.

“We ... we were placed here by the Irving Boys,” their leader, a blue Twi’lek, said. “We are to be transported somewhere for work.”

Seeing the skimpy clothes the women wore, Jakson replied, “Work ... or enslavement?”

“They are one in the same, as far as we are concerned.”

“Oh no ... no, no, no, this cannot be happening...” Jakson grumbled.

“What is wrong, Captain?”

Sighing, he answered, “I was told I was to transport cargo, not people. Excuse me, I have to go call my partners...”

Arriving back in the cockpit, Jakson immediately reached for the comlink. “Toursant? Vanver?”

“Jakson? Everything ok?” Toursant replied.

“Deal’s off. I never signed up to be a slaver.”

“Jakson, don’t be stupid. Put your ship back on course ... or else.”

“You’re a real pair of bastards, boys. I’d say it’s been a pleasure working with ya, but I’d be lying. Over and out.”

“Sir?” Leema asked.

“The cargo we’re transporting ... is a group of Twi’lek slaves. I can’t do this ... I can’t...”

“Sir, you are clearly in distress. Perhaps you should lie down.”

As he finished speaking, the ship was rocked by a near miss of blaster fire. “Belay that suggestion, Leema. Get us out of here, I’m going to man the guns!”

“Understood, sir.”

Sprinting to the gun well in the center of the ship, Jakson smiled to himself at his preparedness. A ship of this size would normally need two gunners, but Jakson had managed to modify the weapons systems to allow either operating chair to use both sets of laser cannons. Climbing the ladder to the top cannon, Jakson strapped himself in and activated the targeting systems.

“There they are,” he muttered, spotting the Irving Boys.

As they approached in their Allanar N3 light freighter, the Fireball, Jakson adjusted the cannons and opened fire. The Fireball retaliated almost simultaneously, peppering the Longshot’s hull with blaster fire. After a few more volleys, the ship was rocked by a powerful hit.

“Leema, status report!”

“We are hit, sir, but flying strong. The shields are still holding. They appear to be attempting to disable us, as they are not targeting vital areas despite ample opportunity to do so.”

“They don’t wanna lose their ‘cargo’, it seems ... Well if they won’t go for the kill shot, I will!”

“You managed to stop him yet?!” Toursant yelled.

“Tryin’ to! He’s fast, and fighting back!” Vanver replied.

“Just careful where you hit him! We’ve got a hell of a lot of product on that ship, and we can’t afford to lose it!”

Vanver continued to fire in short, controlled bursts, peppering the non-vital areas of the Longshot with laser fire. He soon scored a hit, rocking the ship and throwing it off course a bit. Jakson recovered, retaliating with several volleys of blaster fire and concussion missiles.

“Shit! He’s firing missiles at us!”

“On it!”

Vanver fired the cannons with precision at one of the missles, destroying it. The second was avoided thanks to the deft maneuvering of Toursant, putting the Fireball in position below the Longshot.

“Alright, let’s see him get to us now!”

“Sir, they seem to have navigated below the ship, out of range of the upper laser cannons.”

“I’m aware of that, Leema! In fact, I was counting on it!”

Flipping a switch on his targeting computer, Jakson took control of the lower laser cannons remotely. As he did so, a camera in the lower gun chair projected the view from below onto a screen in front of him. He took care to not tip off the Irving Boys to his plan until it was too late for them to react. Waiting, they pulled closer to his ship, continuing to try and disable it. As they came within range, Jakson fired a volley of concussion missiles from the lower turret, scoring three direct hits on the Fireball.

“Got ‘em!!!” Jakson cheered.

“Direct hit, sir. Their ship has been damaged severely; one of the missiles managed to take out their shield generator.”

“Goddammit, we’re hit!” Toursant cursed.

“How bad, bro?”

“Shields are out, and ... oh shit. All thruster control is gone, too! I’ve got no control of this thing!”

“WHAT?!”

“We gotta bail out; we’re on a collision course with the Longshot!”

Hesitating for only a moment, the brothers soon grabbed what they could and made for the escape pod, launching as soon as they got onboard. As they hurtled through space, they watched through the porthole as their ship drew closer to the Longshot. Soon, it struck the bottom of the hull. Jakson’s ship began to break apart from the blow, both ships self-destructing on top of each other. Just before the ships were engulfed in a massive explosion, Toursant could have sworn he saw an escape pod flying out in the opposite direction of theirs.

“Sir, their ship is on a collision course with ours. Impact is eminent.”

“Oh god, no ... can we destroy it with the turrets?”

“There is not time, sir; the ship is too close. You must escape. I will keep us stable until you are away. It has been an honor to fly with you.”

Sighing, Jakson tearfully replied, “You too, Leema.”

Sliding down the ladder of the gun well, Jakson exited back onto the main deck of the ship, dashing to the cargo hold. Opening the wall panel, he immediately motioned for the Twi’lek women to rise.

“The ship’s going down; we’ve got to bail out!”

Just as he had spoken, the Fireball struck the Longshot, throwing everyone to the ground. Alarm sirens began to go off, and Jakson could hear the ship beginning to falter. Picking himself up, he helped the nearest girl to her feet, recognizing her as the one he had spoken to earlier.

“We have to go, NOW!”

“Is there enough space for us all?” she asked.

“I’ve got two escape pods, should be plenty.”

The Twi’lek followed him down the hallway towards the escape pod entrance hatch. Punching the control panel, Jakson’s heart sunk at what he saw.

“Shit ... launch mechanism has been damaged, only one pod is functional.” Opening the hatch, he motioned to the group of Twi’leks gathering behind him. “Get in. As many as are able.”

“Captain, there is not enough space for everyone,” their leader replied.

“I know, but I’ve got to save as many of you as I can. Get in, I’ll launch you to safety.”

The blue Twi’lek glanced back at her friends, and they all seemed to communicate in silence with their head tails. As she turned back to Jakson, she said firmly, “Either we all go, or none of us go. I will not abandon any of my sisters, and they feel the same. You are a good, honest man. You do not deserve to die when you attempted to save us.”

“If you think I’m leaving you here-”

“You have no choice,” she replied, forcing him back into the escape pod. Without a word, she closed the hatch and activated the pod, blasting Jakson off into space with a sad look on her face.

“No! Stop! Don’t do this!” Jakson tried to protest, but it was too late. He now saw his beloved Longshot through the porthole, beginning to fall apart before his eyes. As the two ships finally exploded, engulfing his copilot and those poor girls, a part of Jakson’s soul died with them...

“And that’s it ... now you know everything. After my escape pod landed on Jakku, I found an old warehouse owned by the Irving Boys and stole that freighter, intending to go on the run with it. As bad a shape as it was in, though, I wasn’t leaving this planet, and decided the best thing to do would be to head for Niima Outpost and disappear. The Irving Boys had placed a bounty on my head, saying I was completely responsible for killing all those girls. I knew every bounty hunter in the galaxy would be out to collect. Fast forward, and here we are...”

“With you, I doubt that’s everything, Jak,” Rey said, treating the cuts on his forehead.

“I’m just so sorry I got you into this ... you don’t deserve to get caught in the crossfire...”

“Jak, hush. Even if we weren’t romantically involved, I’d help you against the Irving Boys anyway, no questions asked.”

“Thanks, Rey.” Sitting up, he looked around Rey’s makeshift home, wondering if this might be the end for him. “They’ll be here soon. No way they won’t be able to track us, even with their swoop bikes damaged.”

“Perhaps, but they’ll have a hell of a time once they get here,” Rey said with a grin. “I’ve set up every trap imaginable outside my home. If it’s just the two of them, they won’t even survive the approach, I’d wager.”

“Maybe, but don’t underestimate them.”

As they spoke, the familiar sound of Jakson’s speeder bike approached from outside of the AT-AT.

“Ok, show time,” Jakson muttered.

Peering out from a crack in the hull with blaster pistol in hand, Jakson could see the silhouettes of the Irving Boys against the morning sun. They stood atop a hill, calling down to him.

“Jakson, come on out! Nowhere left to run; just take your punishment like a man!” Toursant threatened.

“How confident are you in your traps?” Jakson asked Rey.

“They’ve never failed me yet.”

Smiling, Jakson shouted back to the Irving Boys, “You want me? You’ll have to drag me out!”

Jakson watched with anticipation as the pair began to work their way down the hill towards the AT-AT. As they approached the feet of the vehicle, Rey pushed a button on the wall near her, activating a trio of shock grenades at the feet of the Irving Boys. They staggered and yelped in pain, the electric shocks taking them completely by surprise.

“The fuck was that!”

“Shit ... they must have this place hotwired,” Vanver surmised.

“Was that it?” Jakson asked.

“Not even close,” Rey replied.

Pressing another button, Rey activated a pair of mini turrets, which began firing upon the Irving Boys. They evaded and took cover behind the foot of the AT-AT, but were pinned down for the moment.

“Alright, enough of this shit,” Vanver seethed.

Gripping his shotgun blaster, Vanver waited for a lull in the laser blasts. When they paused, he popped up from his hiding spot and blasted one of the turrets to smithereens. After repeating the process with the other turret, the brothers had decided that enough was enough.

“Time to change the game,” Toursant said.