As the Stormtroopers prepared to follow the “borrowed” TIE fighter, Amaro Ahriman, gripped the hilt of his lightsaber so tight, the black leather of his gloves strained against the hold.
“Sir,” a Stormtrooper that wore the ranks of a Captain walked up to Amaro.
“What is it?” Amaro asked, rather annoyed.
“The fighter seems to be heading towards the town.” The Captain informed Ahriman cautiously. “We’re ready to go after the Jedi, if you wish.”
Amaro considered this. “Agreed, follow them.” The Stormtrooper raced off.
Amaro turned in the direction of the stolen TIE fighter. He was annoyed and yet surprised as well that a Padawan was able to get the damaged fighter working again. He had been prepared to kill them, but something had almost made him call off the attack. The last two Jedis to flee the temple had intrigued him.
One was a Master, Amaro could tell easily. The other one, the Padawan, had surprised him most of all. She was strong in the Force, to be sure. And yet, he sensed she was more powerful than other Force-sensitive children. Her Force presence was almost exactly alike to…Skywalker’s.
Amaro was going to go after her. No matter what it took.
Seraphina set the ship down gently behind a cluster of buildings. She exited the damaged fighter, followed closely by her master. The broken fighter would not be able to take them any farther. It was a miracle that Seraphina had been able to get the ship this far.
People streamed out of the buildings, expecting to see Stormtroopers, not two Jedis. “What are you doing here?” one of them asked.
Dabir Aven offered the man a slight head bow. “We were escaping the First Order in that TIE fighter. Unfortunately, in its condition, we cannot fly it anymore. Do you by any chance have a shuttle that we could borrow?”
The man nodded. “There is an old aircraft in the garage section of this building, though it’s been dead for years.”
“I’m sure my student here can get it working.” Dabir Aven said with confidence.
“It would be a miracle if you could, young Jedi.” He said to Seraphina.
Before the man led the Jedis into the garage, Dabir Aven used the Force to get rid of the TIE fighter. It was too dangerous letting the First Order know that they were here. Once inside the garage, Seraphina immediately spotted the old shuttle. Dust coated its surface and old scars covered the exterior. Seraphina ran a number of things that could be wrong with the ship in her head.
The man gestured to the old shuttle. “We were never able to get it working. If you can fix it, you get to keep it.”
Seraphina walked over to it. The first thing she would check was the ignition switch; then the engine. “I’ll need some tools.” She said.
Several people quickly brought out a box of tools and parts. Most of them Seraphina quickly dismissed. She grabbed one of the plastic buckets holding the tools and opened the door to the ship via the Force. She quickly entered the ship and made her way to the cockpit. Dust and dirt coated the controls. She checked the ignition; relieved to see that nothing was wrong with it. Then she moved to the engine; finding several problems there. After checking the hyperdrive system, she turned on the old ship. It rattled quite a bit before humming to life.
Seraphina poked her head out of the ship and grinned at her master. “It’s working.”
Dabir Aven nodded in approval and then turned to the man. “Thank you.” The man gave Dabir a head bow and then motioned for them to leave.
“The First Order will not be far behind.” The man said.
Dabir Aven ducked into the ship and sat down in the copilot’s chair. The doors to the garage opened and Seraphina punched a series of buttons. The shuttle lifted off the ground and took off into the evening sky.
“Set our coordinates for Naboo.” Dabir Aven commanded.
Seraphina raised an eyebrow. “Naboo, master?” She entered the destination into the ship’s navigation system.
“Yes, there’s someone there that I want you to meet.”
The Stormtroopers approached the building. Amaro followed, using the Force to see if who he was looking for was here. A presence in the Force, so bright that it made him sick, was nearby. The girl he was looking for was in the building. Amaro gestured for the Stormtroopers to begin searching the structure.
Before they could take another step closer to the building, a ship flew out from the open door of the garage level and took off into the sky. Amaro gritted his teeth as he felt her presence leave.
“Kill the people that helped the Jedi escape.” Amaro ordered the troopers.
He turned away and walked towards his own shuttle, ready to pursue his targets.