#I was listening to some covers on YT and suddenly came across this and got the idea

[riisinaakka]

~I’ll Make A Man Out Of You ~

Hey hey hey!! I was listening to some metal covers on YouTube the other day and since this singer happened to look like a non-curly version of Silver I jumped into the idea :D

So imagine Long John Silver singing this [“I’ll Make a Man Out of You“ (from Mulan) but it’s A METAL COVER by Dan Vasc] while "training" the troops in Black Sails s3-s4. So basically he’s just repeating what Flint, DeGroot, Billy, Anne or whoever actually knows what they are doing is instructing... and all the crews are really loving his way of telling things, so they gladly listen to him, lol. At the same time he’s taking a crash course in how to be a leader.

And if you want to add some sad meta stuff? Silver is building “A Man” out of himself too, instead of “just” being seen as a creature / cripple, a coward, a-not-joiner, a thief and so on, because he cannot be seen weak in front of the men anymore and now has to step up to play the part of the Pirate King... so it’s also a pep talk to himself.

OR! Imagine Flint singing the song (mentally in his mind if not aloud) while training Silver “to fight and not die”:

“Once you find your center / You are sure to win” 

*cut to Flint playfully knocking out the new crutch a few times so Silver can start getting used to fighting with it and find balance* Add some training montage on the cliffs and admiring smiles and glances! “Let’s get down to business!”  ;)

“You’re the saddest bunch [of lies] I ever met / But you can bet before we’re through / Mister, I’ll make a man King out of you”

Or just generally imagine Flint singing another cover version of the song (one fitting his vocals better?). Maybe already in s1 or s2 with his twirly mustache, sweaty ponytail and unhinged anger! >:D The song fits well his rousing speeches and him being better at everything than everybody else (and showing it too, lol) while promising to make them the princes men of the New World (and training them to fight against the civilization that is coming).

OR! (a long shot into the dark but I thought I would share it anyway...) somehow connect some later verses with Silver’s plan of returning Flint into “a mortal man” instead of the legend / god-like status of his name if you want to exaggerate or bring some fantasy elements in there... (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

I don’t know how to put all these swirling thoughts into words properly... but first he’s singing about how Flint must be all the Forces of Nature (hello superstitious Silver! and hello James holding on to the part of being Flint even if it’s destroying him because he feels like he has to!).

Then Silver could be sort of singing how to bring “Captain Flint” down, make him walk away from the war and live, crying out the verse “How could can I make a man McGraw out of you?~“ before finding one solution and reuniting him with his old love... reorienting him to the daylight and to the man he once was, so to speak.

Too much? Oops! (ʘ‿ʘ✿) Back to the lighter stuff:

* * * * * * * *

The other voices on the song can be:

“I'm never gonna catch my breath” - (DeGroot, grumpily)

“Say goodbye to those who knew me“ - (Vane, that growl! xD)

“Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym“ - (Rackham or Featherstone)

“This guy's got 'em scared to death“ - (Billy, pleased with his plan but not yet knowing how majorly he just fucked up)

“Hope he doesn't see right through me“ - (Max or Eleanor)

“Now I really wish that I knew how to swim” - (Rackham, watching how Anne leaves to do some watery guerilla stuff while he stays on the ship, alone ;_; )

* * * * * * * *

Plus, I find that “Be A Man” choir in the background hilarious (in a good way). Imagine the training montage with the crews and especially Teach looking so stern and trying to drill those macho ideals in them because “it’s the only way to be a proper pirate” or something pfffft.

Also imagine the bonding and tentative friendships with the pirates and the Maroons if they have some joint exercises. Some levity to the grim reality of the upcoming war, let’s have some shenanigans!

Anyway, the point was, imagine Silver having to adapt and play the part of the Pirate King and it somehow manifests as singing metal* and rousing the people that way! >:D

(ﾉ>｡<)ﾉ ♩✧♪●♩○♬☆ヽ(≧▽≦)ﾉ  (*and disney songs, lol)

You / We must be swift as a coursing river With all the force of a great typhoon With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon ~

Time is racing toward us till the Huns Brits* arrive    (*and Spain) Heed my every order and you might survive You're unsuited for the rage of war So pack up, go home you're through How could I make a man out of you?

* * * * * *

Lastly, maybe he gets swept by the high energy and the power of darkness the more he gets into doing it and ends up even enjoying himself sometimes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oooh, also don’t forget that the music would be played with hurdy-gurdies, clacking bones, broken pianos and such! 8D 

So yeah, some various thoughts happened *dumps these gleefully on your dash and continues enjoying the song * ☆ﾟ°˖* ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Here’s a quick bonus edit for the mood:

[im-a-star-boy]

The Needle

Ahaha, ficlet time babey, spoilers for Tommy’s lore stream, “Quackity’s New Nation. (lore)” on twitch, YT name yet to be posted

TW: Suicidal thoughts & idealizations

@panna-pan

.oOo.oOo.oOo.

Summary: The moment on The Needle in Tommy’s most recent stream, but a bit more dramatized & with raccooninnit

Word Count: 963

Date of Completion: Monday, May 31st, 2021

.oOo.oOo.oOo.

Tommy stared over the glass railing of The Needle and looked out over the rest of Las Nevadas. His tail swished back and forth as he looked over the edge quietly. Wilbur and Quackity were talking about prime knows what inside the building behind him, but different thoughts and curiosities kept running through his mind. Things the two had said and done when they were arguing from across the river.

"The one thing you tried to do when I was gone was that hotel, and it failed, you're in the right place, Tommy."

Wilbur hadn’t been wrong about that, but that didn’t mean anything, did it? He’d built that hotel, and he only lost it because he died. There was no other reason he lost it, surely. Not one.

He shifted his weight from foot to foot, thinking.

“I want to apologize to you, Tommy. I want to apologize.” Quackity had said. “This was very unkind of me,”

“Apologies mean a lot,” He had mumbled in reply. 

“I want to apologize to you, Tommy. This was very unkind of me, and this was not welcoming at all.” He’d repeated again.

“That’s very nice of you, Quackity, thank you.” Wilbur had replied.

He doesn’t know why, but the way Wilbur had accepted the apology that wasn’t directed at him rubbed him wrong. He glanced back at him. The brunet hadn’t apologized for the argument over the river either. 

He felt his ears lower, just a bit, as he shifted again. He looked down over the edge again. He hadn’t been wrong when he said it would be an easy place to jump off and end it.

He doubted he’d even feel anything if he fell from this high up.

He shook his head and facepalmed quickly before rubbing his temples. Fuckin’ stop that, you stopped thinking like that forever ago, stop it.

He remembered how both Wilbur and Quackity had been so quick to pull him away from the railings after he had said that. Wilbur had grabbed his arm and yanked him away, a bit harsher than necessary, and Quackity had tried to gently steer him inside before he’d shaken them both off.

He began circling the railings again, looking at the skyline of Las Nevadas and tuning in and out of Wilbur and Quackity’s conversation. He paused for a moment when he remembered the platform under the one he stood on. His ears pricked up a bit at the memory before glancing back at the two, still in deep conversation.

He hoisted himself carefully over the glass railings and onto the other side. He turned and crouched down and gripped the edge of the platform before glancing up once more at the two adults talking. He dropped down quickly, his arms shaking from holding his weight, before swinging onto the platform under. He prowled around the perimeter of the tiny platform. “It’s like my own little secret area,” He giggled to himself.

He paced the length a few times, his tail swishing a bit with excitement. This felt better than being up there. He didn’t quite know what it was, maybe it was the adrenaline that came with the lack of railings, maybe it was just that he had some cover over his head along with the same view, he wasn’t quite sure. 

His ears suddenly lifted as he heard his name “-on this, Tommy?”

He instinctively ducked a bit and listened as he heard Quackity’s voice quickly grow more frantic. “Tommy? Tommy?!”

Then he heard Wilbur yell, “Tommy?!”

He rolled his eyes and stood up. “I’m right fuckin’ here!” He called.

He leaned over the platform a bit and heard Quackity practically scream as he saw how close to the edge he was. “TOMMY!”

The man looked horrified as he saw him. “Come back up- come back up-”

Tommy raised an eyebrow before biting back a grin, deciding to be incapable. “Help me,” He could reach easily if he jumped, but he just wanted to cause problems.

Quackity quickly paced over towards a side of the railing with a gate that he hadn’t noticed beforehand. “Over here, Tommy, over here,”

Wilbur followed, his face knit tight with concern. “Careful, Tommy, careful,”

Tommy, with little grace, began crawling over towards where the gate was. He looked up at Quackity, who was now laid on his stomach to extend his arms out to Tommy. He reached up to find he was a bit out of reach. “I can’t reach, I can jump if you-”

“NO- no no, don’t jump, we’re gonna get you something, okay? You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna-”

“Move, Quackity, MOVE,” Wilbur snapped, trying to take his place.

Tommy bit back another grin and feigned distress as he yelled, “HELP!”

Something akin to panic flashed in Wilbur’s eyes as he dropped on his stomach and reached for the blond as well. He quickly reached up as Wilbur grabbed his arm and started pulling him up. “I’ve got you, I’ve got you,”

As he was pulled up, he dropped his facade of distress and grinned. “Oh, well, thanks mate, cheers.”

Wilbur, however, didn’t let go as he reached the main platform, and instead pulled him into a tight hug. Tommy paused at the hug and wriggled a bit. “I’m fine, Wil.”

Wilbur didn’t release him, instead carding a hand through his hair. “Don’t, do that again. Ever.”

Tommy paused in his grip before nodding. “Fine, whatever, now let go of me,” He grunted, pushing the brunet off of him and standing up.

Wilbur sat for a moment, still looking worried, as Quackity cleared his throat, seeming to still be shaking off his own distress. “Alright, alright, Tommy, inside now, come on, inside.”

Quackity made certain that Tommy walked inside this time.

[zabrak-show]

Blood of the Sith

Summary:

Kudra Deschain is a young pilot working for a trade company out of Coruscant. Her next trade route to Mustafar, ends up being a fiery life changing revelation to the dark side of the force, where she meets Maul, a Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious.

Notes:

This is pre phantom menace, by like maybe a couple years. I had fun writing this, but it's just for fun so hopefully no one takes this too seriously and gets mad at me for depicting Maul in a way they don't like, or not having some other random spec incorrect. I wanted to show a softer side to Maul. Probably NSFW, but there's nothing that graphic as I am a secret prude.

A huge thank you to my fiance for helping me out with some of the technical aspects as well as the story writing. And thank you to all my friends who have not only put up with me talking about my dumb Maul story for the past few months while I slowly chipped away at it, but encouraged me to continue. Sorry it’s such a slow burn, please hang in there I swear Maul shows up soon lol!!

7 chapters all together. 12.7k words (total for all 7 chapters combined)

Chapter 1

The metal floor plates quietly vibrated as the YT-1000 entered the Coruscant atmosphere. The pilots were a young woman with pale skin and long black hair, and a young male twi’lek with orange skin. They wore similar black jumpsuits and even seated at the helm it was obvious the twi’lek would tower over the woman.

“So Kudra, what are you planning to get yourself into now that we’re back from that mess?” The twi’lek asked with a smirk.

“Mess?” She replied, dodging the question, “I had everything under control the whole time.”

A green and gold astromech droid wheeled in to beep his counter and the twi’lek laughed and asked, “Your droid really loves to call you out. Why do you still keep that old thing around?”

Kudra busied herself with checking all the landing sensors and grumbled back, “That droid has proven useful on every run we’ve done. Plus, I like her sarcastic attitude.” She was cautious to not make it obvious the droid was her only friend and constant in her life the last 10 years.

“Have you set up the meeting then with Krass? After we land I won’t have much time to…”

“Yes Kudra,” The twi’lek cut her off and she shot an icy glare his way, “Krass will be ready and waiting for us so you can go off on your secret missions or whatever it is you do.”

Kudra sat in silence while they came into the landing bay. Why did he always get so mad she didn’t want to hang out with the team after a job? They just spent 2 weeks on this crusty cargo ship together. They both deserved to do whatever they wanted on their own.

As promised, Krass was there waiting for them, once they got off their ship. He was a tall weequay with leathery brown skin and knotted blonde hair. He always tried to look higher class than he was, which made him look tacky in Kudra’s opinion. He wore his usual worn out and dated long red leather coat with tarnished brass buttons and knee high black boots over canvas pants. He stuck out like a sore thumb on the landing bay amongst the muted flight suits of most everyone else.

Krass and the twi’lek discussed unloading the cargo and routine maintenance with the landing crew while Kudra checked in on L0-K1.

“Make sure these maintenance droids don’t mess anything up while I’m gone.” She said as she stooped down to wipe grease from the droid’s arm. L0 beeped and wheeled away.

Kudra stood in the back against the wall of Krass’ small, now crowded office. The whole team was probably over 40 people, but he only held the meetings for pilots, engineers, and copilots so 13 of them all together. A low hum of conversations between everyone enveloped the room until Krass spoke up to start the meeting. The room quieted and he gave his usual fanfare speech while explaining everyone’s next jobs. A sinking feeling hit Kudra in the gut as she realized her name hadn’t been called. She could not afford any time off right now, and as far as she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong lately. As it seemed like the meeting was wrapping up, Krass remembered her, “Ah yes Kudra, I haven’t forgotten you. You’ll be taking the Z95 to the outer rim for a small but important job.”

Kudra nodded her head, “Yes, Sir.”

Slowly, everyone filed out of the room and Krass caught her arm as she neared the door.

“Listen,I know you just got back, but if you can leave right away, it’d be a huge help. I’d consider your ship, the YT1000, paid in full after the job got done. If you do it right of course.” He finished sternly now forcibly grabbing the top of her shoulder.

“Sure,” Kudra responded coolly, “I can leave as soon as the ship’s ready. What’s the mission?”

He loosened his grip, “Top secret.” he stared into her green eyes as if to search for a reason he might be wrong about sending her on this mission, finally removing his hand from her shoulder and looking away.

“You’ll be going to Mustafar to trade with a mining collective there. In and out, easy peasy. It’s hotter than blazes there and not like some desert planet. It’s covered in lava so pick up some protective clothing, ‘fore you head out. I’ve already deposited more than enough credits for ya to prepare. Any questions?”

Kudra thought for a moment, “Naw, just load the information onto L0 about which landing bay to aim for and who the point of contact will be. Thanks for trusting me captain, I won’t let you down.” The weequay sprung to life suddenly and patted Kudra so hard on her back it made her cough. “Enjoy your night and I’ll let you know when the ship’s ready.”

Kudra pulled the covers up around her, pulling it off the naked sleeping man next to her in bed. She quietly packed her bags and got dressed. She debated on waking him up, and tripped over an Alderaanian wine bottle, spinning it across the floor and making a loud clank against a metal chair leg. Well, I guess that’ll wake him, she figured. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was really quite handsome, dark brown skin and curly brown hair with scruffy facial hair like he’d forgotten to shave.

“Hi gorgeous, are you leaving already?” he looked up at her from the bed.

“Yes,” Kudra responded plainly. “Apologies for waking you.” She started to pick up his clothes to hand him and he grabbed her for a kiss, causing her to lose her balance and fall into him, kissing him deeply and forgetting herself for a moment.

“I’m sorry” she said, pulling away, “this was fun. I do need to get going though.”

“Right,” he shrugged her off and got dressed in awkward silence.

Kudra made it to the ship bay just in time. Krass was waiting with L0.

“Ok, you’re all set with coordinates.”

“Great, thanks Krass,” she started to crawl up the boarding ladder.

“Kudra, wait.” She stopped and turned her head toward him.

“I didn’t mention it earlier, but” he paused to look around them as he handed her a small black velvet pouch, “this is very important and very secretive. Never take it off your person, until you meet your point of contact. It’s worth your very life.” He stuffed the bag in her hand and didn’t let go for a moment.

“So what, is this the actual cargo?” she looked at him skeptically.

“You could say that. Don’t let it into the wrong hands. It’s imperative it gets to our contact person.” he shook his hand holding hers and the pouch.

“Ok, I’ll make sure your old “friend” gets their prize.” she joked with a wink.

“Please, Kudra. This isn’t a joke. No funny business with the clientele this time. You won’t always have someone like me to get you out of your lovelorn messes.”

Kudra’s cheeks burned red hot and her heart raced. How dare he treat her like this, like some mischievous star crossed lover. She covered the anger up with her voice keeping it as cool sounding as she could, “Of course. In and out, business as usual.” She turned to crawl back up the ladder, and Krass was still standing there and yelled after her, “No. NOT business as usual! Professional this time please!” Kudra kept climbing, “Yup you got it Captain. You know I always get the job done one way or another.” She and L0 boarded the Z95 at last. She tied the bag to her belt and got ready for take off.

“What’s the worst that could happen, L0?” she asked the droid as they exited the Coruscant atmosphere. L0 responded, likely with an actual answer to the worst things that could happen and Kudra laughed.

After about an hour into their journey, Kudra remembered the weird encounter with Krass before they left. She opened the pouch to see what was so important inside. L0, beeped her opposition.

“Chill out, L0, I’m just seeing what it is that is so important. I’ll put them right back in the pouch.” She dumped the pouch contents into her palm. Two pyramid shaped, black and gold objects fell into her hand. She noticed there was some type of inscription on the sides of the pyramids. Somehow they felt heavier outside of the bag than inside of it.

“Wow, what do you think these are? Some kind of puzzle?” she asked L0 and the droid screeched a response.

“Ha ha yeah, I suppose my life should be worth more than a couple puzzles.” She slipped them back into the bag and tied it to her waist again.

“Alright, L0, we’re getting close. Narrow in on our coordinates before we get out of hyperspace.”

Kudra tied her long black hair back, revealing a portion of her head shaved and a tattoo of a convor. The ship came out of hyperspace near Mustafar, but in the middle of an electrical storm. The ship controls went erratic and every sensor that could beep started beeping.

“Woah, L0 what the hell is going on? I can barely get into a landing pattern.” Kudra weaved in and out with the barely working steering controls, trying to avoid the erratic lightning happening all around them.

“Why does this shit only ever happen in the outer rim?!” She was desperately trying everything as they started to enter the atmosphere, “L0 please fix our navigation plot, I can’t see anything!” L0 chirped, but the ship was struck by lightning, flickering their main power and everything went dark, the controls went dead.

“That can’t be good! I’ve gotta land L0, find me something to land on, find a way to SLOW us down.” Another lightning strike on the ship and power flickered on for a moment. Enough for Kudra to take some controls and slow the ship down. Everything happened so fast and she was doing everything not to panic and to just focus to try and find any type of solution. She had to use all her strength to try and guide the ship with what little power they had. All Kudra could see was lava. “Is there anything NOT lava on this dumb planet??” she screamed and L0 screamed back at her. She found a landing, but they were coming in way too hot. It was the best they could hope for, so she made the descent.

The initial impact onto the scorched ground completely obliterated one of the wings and most of the rest of the ship was torn up beyond recognition. They were sliding and spinning out of control until finally a bed of lava stopped the ship. What was left of the back of the ship was up in flames as the lava ate away at them. No time to think other than “escape” Kudra began kicking the canopy to try and free both of them. She was running on pure adrenaline as she could feel the ship slipping further and further into the lava, the flames getting hotter and hotter. It started to feel hopeless, so Kudra took a moment to focus every part of her on getting out of the burning ship. A deep breath in, eyes shut, and a strong kick thrusted the canopy off the ship and Kudra jumped out and fell onto the burnt ground. L0 flew out after her with a shriek and an ungraceful tumble next to her sounding like an empty can.

“Woah, L0, you look like shit.” Kudra coughed out, while starting to stand. L0 wheezed a response

“I know, I feel like shit too. Thankfully I have these ugly threads to keep me cool.” she looked down at the black and dark green thick formless robes draped over herself and then back at the ship melting and burning into the lava pool as she lowered her goggles over her eyes. The reality hit her again, and she realized how bad this was. The ship was gone. They were in the middle of nowhere on a lava covered planet. The ship let out a final death rattle as the lava engulfed it entirely and Kudra fell to her knees. Well, this was maybe the worst that could happen.

They started walking, with no real apparent plan other than to maybe find somewhere that wasn’t covered in lava.

“Do we even know how to get to the mining collective from here? What was the contact person’s name?”

L0 chirped the answer.

“Ok, I am choosing to ignore the distance we are from them, but Uane’s the name so we got that.” Kudra sighed deeply. She was too exhausted to keep up any sort of positive charade.

“We need to get out of this heat. Let’s see if we can find a cave over in those cliffs.” Kudra pointed off into the distance a series of cliffs that normally probably wouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes to walk to, but in this heat it was hard to say.

L0 beeped conversationally.

“Listen, I realize if I had taken Krass up on his original offer years ago, I’d be unhappily married but with a ship. And not here. That much I realize. What’s your point?”

Another prodding chirp from L0.

“Settle down? With Krass? Are you out of your mind? I do just fine on my own without looking after some useless old person all the time. This heat is really melting your brain, L0.”

L0 continued prodding Kudra with past mistakes she had made. Kudra wished she could punch a droid and have it do anything other than hurt her own hand.

“L0, what is your deal? We’ve been over this. Why are you always bringing up that deal on Corellia? The whole thing worked out a lot better, actually BECAUSE of me.”

L0 whirred in disbelief.

“Yes I stabbed Crix Harend! As you’ll remember he attacked me. At the time, I had no idea that was his wife in my bed.”

The droid buzzed on about this Correllian from Kudra’s past.

“I actually don’t think Crix ever found out about me and his brother. Anyway that was so long ago. Why can’t you let it go? We still managed to trade our cargo with them in the end.”

L0 wasn’t letting it go and starting to get on Kudra’s last nerve.

“Yes, because I slept with Crix too. What is with you right now?” She screamed at the droid.

They walked on and on in mostly silence now as Kudra was mad at L0 and also too exhausted and shell shocked to make commentary. As thankful as she was to have been warned about the heat and having the right clothing for this planet, something told her they weren’t meant for all day frolicking in the lush lava fields.

Mustafar felt like hell. Every breath was fire on Kudra’s lungs, every step reminded her of all the pain, mostly physical, but her mental game wasn’t so strong right now either. She trudged on and on, L0 whirring quietly behind her. At last, they found a cave to hide in. It wound pretty far back through some tunnels, but that was good. The further in they went the cooler and darker it got. L0 lit up the cave with a small flashlight attachment as Kudra made a makeshift pillow and blanket with her capes and passed out.

Next chapter

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

The Call of Resistance Chapter 5

Posting this one early for y’all :) 

Read on AO3

Chapter 5: The Two Strangers 

To say that I was afraid while riding alone on a speeder through the dangerous Tatooine night, with nothing but a staff and my abilities to defend myself, would be an understatement. In the darkness every bush was a lurking animal, every pile of rocks was a sentient laying in wait, and every sound meant danger. I seriously considered turning back to the safety of the village when I began to smell burning, and not seconds later I saw the warm light of flames in the desert ahead of me. They weren't raging or very high, so I knew I had found the crash site. 

I slowed the speeder as I neared, and what I saw was not what I was expecting. Crashes on Tatooine weren’t very common, since being so far on the Outer Rim doesn’t bring us many beings just passing through, but they weren’t completely unheard of. But those crashes were usually small crafts, either damaged or out of fuel. I had never seen a large, smoking freighter crash before. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I called out in Basic, wondering if I should try other languages as well. When I got no response, I called out again in Huttese and Bocce and waited for a response. Still nothing. “Hello?” I called again as I slowly neared the crashed ship, whose flames had gone out and was now just smoking. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard a voice call back from inside the ship,

“Hello? Yes! I’m in here!” Almost as soon as I heard the voice, a dark haired man came stumbling out of the ship, his face dirty and his clothes disheveled. I instinctively tightened my grip on my staff. 

“Are you alright? I saw your ship crash and wanted to make sure no one was injured.” 

“Yeah, we’re alright. Thank you.” Whoever this man was, I could tell he was nervous by his body language and the way he kept glancing backwards behind him, like he was looking for someone in the ship. But his voice didn’t display this, instead he sounded cool and collected. I didn’t know what to make of him. 

“We?” 

“Me and my co-pilot.” As if on cue, the distinct sound of a Wookiee could be heard coming from inside the now-smoldering ship. I had never met a Wookiee, but I knew their reputation, and it complicated things. 

“Is your co-pilot...a Wookiee?” The man shifted slightly and rubbed the back of his neck before flashing a dashing smile. Even in the dim moonslight, I could tell he was handsome. 

“Yeah, but don’t worry! Chew, um, he would never hurt a flii.” I was slightly reassured at his words, but something about his tone still made me cautious. Add that to the fact that this crash site could potentially be drawing the attention of the Sand People, and I was extremely on edge. 

“So, what’s the problem with your freighter?” As I stepped closer to the ship, the smell of smoke rushed into my nose and I had to stifle the cough that threatened to erupt suddenly. Smoke from the inside as well as the outside could only mean one thing, and I said at the same time the man did--

“The motivator.” 

He raised an eyebrow at me. “How did you know that?” 

“I’ve been flying ever since I was a kid, and I’ve been scrapping for the past few years. I pick up on things.” There were more noises from inside the ship which caused the brown-haired man to look back nervously. “Judging by the damage, and the fact that you crashed, I’d say the motivator is broken beyond repair. You may need to get another one.” The man clearly didn’t like this answer, and he rubbed his hand down his face before groaning in frustration. 

“I knew it.” He said quietly under his breath. As I stepped closer to the ship, I could see that it was an old model that was extremely beat up. No wonder it crashed. 

“Is this a Corellian Freighter? What model is this, YT-1350?” He gave me another quizzical look, as if he was trying to read me, before answering simply,

“YT-1300.” 

“1300?! No wonder this hunk of junk crashed, it’s nearly over 90 years old! Why are you even flying this thing?” The man’s demeanor suddenly changed, getting defensive. 

“Hey, this may be a hunk of junk, but it’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, and it’s seen us, and my friends, out of some pretty tough situations, so I would be careful before you judge a starship by its coverings.” I didn’t have time to react before he stalked away back into the ship, presumably to help the distressed Wookiee inside. Something about what he said triggered something within me, like a memory that I didn’t know I had, and I stood there trying to remember. It was so close, if I just thought a little harder….he said ‘fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy’. It was a Corellian YT-1300 Freighter. Why did those things stand out to me? Why were they important? Then all at once, it clicked. I had heard those words before. Spoken by my parents while telling stories of the War. Telling stories of…

Without thinking, I rushed inside the ship, following the path the dark-haired man had taken. I didn’t know where I was going, but it was as if my feet did, and before long I was standing in front of the man and the Wookiee. They were shocked to see me, but they were even more surprised by the words that came out of my mouth. 

“This is the Millennium Falcon, isn’t it?” The two shared a glance before the man opened his mouth to speak.

“And why, um, why do you think that?” 

“Because I grew up on stories about it. My parents were Rebels in the Galactic Civil War, and would tell me about the “Fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy”, the ship that saved the Rebellion many times. A Corellian YT-1300 Freighter modified so much it was hardly the ship it started out as. They would tell me about the brave pilots who flew it. About Han Solo.” I was suddenly overwhelmed by the possibility that I was actually standing in the ship of my childhood bedtime stories. The ship of my legends. “I know this is it.” 

Both the man and the Wookiee looked to the ground, the man letting out a sigh before replying,

“Yes. This is the Millennium Falcon.” 

My jaw dropped as he confirmed what I already knew within me, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. 

“Holy Banthas,” I suddenly had another realization, “You must be Chewbacca!” My dad never told a story about Han Solo without talking about his right-hand Wookiee, and it was like I was face to face with one of my childhood heroes. Chewbacca nodded and responded in Shyriiwook in response, and I let out a small laugh. I couldn’t believe what was happening. 

I didn't have much time to dwell in my excitement, because at that moment a loud popping could be heard coming from deeper in the ship. Swearing, the man took off running, with Chewbacca following him, and instinctively I did too. It was no doubt the motivator, I would recognize that noise any day. When I caught up with them, it was smokier than the rest of the ship, and all three of us were coughing. 

“Chewie, I thought you said you fixed it!” The man shouted as he frantically pushed any button he thought would help solve the problem. I couldn’t understand the Wookiee, but it was clear by his tone that he did not appreciate being blamed for this. 

“It’s still the motivator.” I said, causing the two of them to turn around. It was almost as if they had forgotten I was there. 

“No, the motivator caused the crash. Now that we're not flying, it shouldn’t be affecting the ship.” The man’s tone was annoyed and matter-of-fact, like he was absolutely positive he couldn’t be wrong. But he was. 

“Not if it’s overheating, then it would continue to be a problem. Causing smoke and popping noises.” And as to prove my point, another loud POP rang through the cockpit, causing Chewbacca to call out in protest.

“No, it’s not the motivator.”

“I’m telling you, it is.” 

“Not possible, sweetheart.”

“Listen, Flyboy, I’ve been repairing ships since I could walk. Especially old garbage heaps like this one, so I don’t know who you are, but I would listen to me if you want to fix it in time to get your ship up and running again.” He opened his mouth to say something else, his eyes blazing, but then decided against it and closed it quickly. His stare held firm, however, and the intensity of his eyes rivalled the fire that was burning minutes ago. Here, in the light of the ship, I could see my speculations outside were correct--he was very handsome. 

No time to think of that now, though, as the ship continued to fill with smoke, I knew I needed to cool down the motivator as quickly as I could. That would not be an easy thing to do, however. 

The man sighed deeply as I held my gaze firmly on him. 

“Sweetheart, I don’t even know your name. So forgive me if I don’t-” He was cut off by Chewbacca, and whatever he said did not make the man happy. “What?!” He nearly shouted. 

“What did he say?” The man ignored me, though, and turned towards the Wookiee in annoyance. 

“Well why didn’t you say that earlier?” 

Another response from the Wookie. 

I rolled my eyes, accepting that he wasn’t going to translate for me, and I began to look around for the motivator so I could open the panel and try and cool it. If he wasn’t going to listen to me and fix the problem, then it looked like I was going to have to do it myself. 

“Chewie said that you might be right.” It took me a few moments to realize that the man was talking to me, and I turned at him, no doubt my surprise clear on my face.

“Oh, so you’re done ignoring me?” I couldn’t tell if the man scoffed or rolled his eyes. 

“He said that the motivator has overheated in the past, and a similar thing happened then that's happening now.” I couldn’t help but smirk triumphantly. 

“Well look at that. Turns out the desert dwelling girl from Tatooine was right.” He definitely rolled his eyes at this, getting more annoyed by the second. He stalked over to one of the panels and opened it, causing smoke to billow out more than it already was. 

“Is that the motivator?” I asked, not fully expecting a response. At this Chewbacca said something, but judging by the man’s “Shut it, Chewie.”, I guessed it wasn’t something I was going to be privy to. 

“Yes, it’s the motivator.”

“Okay, you need to cool it down.” 

“Thank you, I never would’ve guessed that since it's overheating.” 

I was starting to wonder if I had made a mistake by coming to his aid, as he was making this situation significantly more difficult than it needed to be. 

“Just find something to do it.” I said sharply. “Do you have any Cooling Agent on this ship?” The man looked up at nothing in particular, deep in thought. There was silence for a few moments before the Wookiee spoke again. 

“No.” 

“Well, I’m not sure if you can fix it then. It might cool off on its own, but it’ll take a while. You likely won’t be able to take off ‘till morning.” This caused the man to slam his hand on the console and swear, which startled me. 

“That’s what I was worried about.” For the first time since I stepped onto the Millennium Falcon, the man's tone was genuine and, if I listened closely, a little fearful. It was vulnerable, his eyes had softened, and his brow was furrowed in concern. Seeing him like this made something inside me lurch, and I was speaking without fully realizing what I was saying.

“If that is the case, it won’t be safe to stay here with all this smoke. And you definitely can’t camp out outside the ship. You can come with me for the night, and in the morning if the motivator hasn’t cooled we can go into the cityport to try and find something to fix it.” I didn’t know who was more surprised--me at my own words, or the man and the Wookiee. He looked at me as if I had just sprouted Bantha horns out of my head. 

“That’s...kind. Thank you. But I don't think-” The man was once again interrupted by Chewbacca, who sounded insistent. This was followed by another sigh from him, who looked more resigned after whatever Chewbacca had said to him. “On second thought, we will take you up on that offer. If that’s not too much to ask.” He said the last bit with a little fire, shooting daggers at the Wookiee, which no doubt was because of whatever the creature had just said. 

“Oh, not at all. Plus, it’s much safer than staying out here. There’s no telling what the Sand People might do if they find this ship, and you two had better not be on board if they do.” This made the man raise his eyebrows in concern, but he didn’t make a comment about it. 

“Okay then. Let us, um, gather our things. You can wait in the loading bay, we’ll be right out.” I nodded as they left the cockpit and I followed, waiting for them to gather all that they needed for the night. 

Once alone, I finally had a chance to try and process all the information I had just learned very quickly. The fact that I was standing on the Millennium Falcon, I had just met Chewbacca, and I had invited him, and his partner, to take shelter in my home. I still had no idea who the man with him was, but I could only assume he was a member of the Resistance. 

Despite all the excitement and adrenaline that began to course through me, I also felt that all-too familiar pang of loneliness that followed me wherever I went ever since I lost my parents. How I wished I could share this moment with them, I wished they could see me standing on the ship my father always raved about, talked about as if it were a legend. Now, standing here, it seemed so much more...real than I thought it would. The familiar smell of metal that came with all ships, the comforting beeps and pops of the console. It hit me that with all the tales told about the Millenium Falcon, the countless bedtime stories passed down to younger generations, through all that time, it was still, at the end of the day, just a starship. 

Something about this revelation comforted me. 

----

“I don’t think I ever caught your name.” I said to the handsome, dark-haired man as I led them through the desert back towards my home. My grip on my staff was tight, and only half of my mind was on the question I had just asked, the majority of my thoughts on our surroundings. I was caught off-guard by the man’s initial response: a laugh. More of a chuckle, and it was almost as if he didn’t mean to release it. 

“I guess the two of us didn’t have the best introduction, did we?” I echoed his laugh, although mine felt heavier. I wondered if he was avoiding the question on purpose. “I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.” He stopped walking to turn and shake my hand, which surprised me. After a moment, I took his outstretched hand. 

“Novastra.” 

“Novastra...I’ve never heard that name before. It’s beautiful.” Poe’s compliment was so sudden I felt a hot blush rush to my cheeks, and I was suddenly thankful for the darkness surrounding us.

“Oh, thanks. Most people just call me Nova, though.” 

“Nova.” He repeated, softer. “Nice to officially meet you, Nova.” The bravado and confidence that I remembered from the Falcon was back in his voice and he continued walking. Chewbacca then said something that I, of course, couldn’t understand, but Poe ignored it, so I figured it couldn’t have been that important. 

“How much farther until we get to where we’re going?” Poe asked after a few moments walking in silence. 

“It’s not much farther. Our farm is on the outskirts of our small village, I’d say we’re only two or three klicks away.” 

“Your farm?” 

“I live and work on a moisture farm. It’s pretty much the only way to make money here on Tatooine. Well, the only legal way to make money, other than scrapping.” 

Chewbacca made another sound, this time longer and more agitated. I could tell by his tone that, whatever he said, he wasn’t happy. “What did he say?” I asked Poe quietly. 

“He said he doesn’t like Tatooine, that he told himself he would never come back. Apparently he has some not-so-fond memories here.” Poe looked apprehensive relaying this message, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. He clearly didn’t know that nobody hates Tatooine more than the people living there. 

“That doesn’t surprise me. Most people who make it off this godsforsaken rock alive never come back. That’s what I’m trying to do, anyways.” The moonslight was dim, but I could see as slight confusion washed over Poe’s face. 

“You want to leave?” I, once again, couldn’t suppress my laughter. 

“I’ve wanted to leave since I was old enough to know where I was. I can’t explain it, but there’s something about this planet...I just know this isn’t my home. There’s a feeling, an ache deep within me, pulling me away from here, out to the stars. I want to jump in a ship and not look back until Tatooine is a tiny speck behind me.” There was silence for a few moments. 

“Where would you go?” 

“Anywhere. Everywhere.” 

“Everywhere, huh?” The glint in Poe’s eyes was clearly visible.

“Yes. I’ve heard of these things...oceans? Whole vast stretches of water as far as the eye can see. I can hardly even imagine something that beautiful. I want to see an ocean.” I was so lost in my fantasy of escaping this prison of a planet that I almost didn’t notice the lights in the distance.

“Is that the village?” The man’s voice brought me back down to earth, out of the stars.

“Yes, that’s it. You see those lights over there?” I pointed to the lights on the farthest edge of the village. “That’s the farm.” 

“It looks...pretty big.” I smiled as I began to walk toward the lights.

“It’s bigger than average. The Mainvins own a commercial farm, so it’s larger than a family farm would be. But it’s nothing compared to the Darklighter farms, we own more than 20 all across Tatooine, the biggest are twice the size of this one.”

“We?” I was starting to see that Poe was very inquisitive, and picked up on a lot of things. 

I sighed before starting to explain. 

“My last name is Darklighter. My family on my father's side owns all those farms I was just talking about. But when my dad and his brother, my uncle, left the family business to fight in the Civil War, my grandparents disowned them. They wouldn’t even take me in when...when my parents died. That’s why I live and work on the Mainvin farm, they were my parents' closest friends.” 

“Oh.” Was all that Poe replied. We walked for a few more minutes in silence as the lights grew brighter and closer. I hadn’t planned on sharing that part of my life with the stranger, or my dreams about leaving Tatooine, but it was as if I were talking without my own control. As if something deep within me was guiding me in what to say against my better judgement. I didn’t like the feeling. 

It wasn’t until we were steps away from the door that a wave of anxiety washed over me. I knew Lux wouldn’t like this. 

“Okay.” I began as I stopped in front of the door and faced the two of them. “Before we go in, I have to tell you one more thing...I don’t live alone. I live with my best friend, Lux. He’s probably not going to be thrilled about this whole situation, but just leave it to me and I’ll handle him.” The two shared a look before Poe nodded. 

“I’ll follow your lead.” He said simply. 

“Good.” I tried to put on a brave face and mask the apprehension that was rising in me, but I knew I probably wasn't doing a great job at that. 

“Lux!” I called as I slowly creaked the door open. I wasn’t even inside yet before the yelling began.  

“Novastra Darklighter! I’ve been worried sick! You were supposed to be home hours ago! Where were you?” 

I could hear a small “oh” escape from Poe’s mouth as I stood looking at Lux with my back to the door, blocking my two guests as best as I could. It was pretty hard to block the Wookiee, though. 

“Lux, I know. I’m sorry. But I can explain!” 

“That’s what you always say, Nova, and I feel like your explanations never actually help.”

“Lux, I-.”

Lux shook his head as he moved closer to me. “Nov, you were supposed to be back from your meeting hours ago. I know you have to walk a long way alone, and you know I hate that. Just thinking about the Sand People, and something happening to—“

“—Lux, please, not now. This time I have a good reason for being late.”

“I’m all ears.” I took a deep breath and mustered the courage I would need to tell him that two strangers needed to stay in our hut tonight. Growing up on Tatooine doesn’t make you a very trusting person. 

“Well, right as I was about to leave Calrey and Kagara’s, a freighter crashed somewhere in the dune sea. It flew right over us and we all saw it start smoking. I knew I couldn’t just leave it there, so I went to see if there was anyone at the crash site that might need help-”

“-you did what?” Lux interrupted. “You went into the Dune Sea at night to...investigate a crash site?! Nova! There was no telling who could’ve been on that ship! This is not some peaceful planet like...like....Naboo! This is Tatooine! There could’ve been dangerous bounty hunters on that ship and you could be dead right now!” 

“Lux, I know. And I’m sorry for being careless, but I just had a feeling that I needed to-” 

“-Oh you and your ‘feelings’ Nova. I swear, I’ll never understand you.” Lux took a seat at the table and rested his head in his hands. I knew he wouldn’t be happy, but I would have never guessed that he would have this explosive of a reaction. It made me worried about what I knew was coming next. 

“Well, it wasn’t bounty hunters.” I said in a small voice as I shifted nervously in front of the door that I still had propped open. 

“Aren’t you lucky then?” I sighed as he looked up at me, his hard eyes softening ever so slightly. “I’m sorry I’m yelling, Nov. But you know how worried I get.” 

“I know.” 

“Well, despite it all, I’m glad that you’re alright and that we can just put this behind us.” I took in a deep breath, trying to push down my apprehension. Here we go I thought. 

“Actually...we can’t exactly put it behind us. Not yet, anyways.” Lux narrowed his eyes at me and I could tell he was getting defensive again. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Like I said, they weren’t bounty hunters or anyone dangerous. They were...Resistance fighters.” 

“Oh, Novastra.” Was all that Lux said as he put his head in his hands once again. 

“The motivator on their ship was overheating and it was unsafe to stay in there with all the smoke, and obviously they couldn’t camp outside in the Dune Sea, so I-”

“-You told them they could stay here, didn’t you?” To my surprise, Lux wasn’t angry. At least, he didn’t sound angry. He sounded more annoyed with just a hint of resignation. But I would take that over anger anyday. 

“Yes.” I replied sheepishly. 

“Are they standing outside right now?” He still had his head in his hands.

“Yes they are.” At this, Lux let out a deep sigh before slowly lifting his head. 

“Wonderful.” He shrugged. “Well, let them in. I guess they can sleep on the floor in here, I’ll look for some extra blankets.” I broke out into a wide smile as I ran over and flung my arms around him. 

“Thank you! You know you’re the best, right Lux?” I heard him let out a small chuckle, even though he was trying very hard to keep his annoyed demeanor. 

“Oh, I know I am. It’s you who needs to remember that. And you owe me one after this, Nova.”

“Of course! Anything!” I broke away from the hug and walked over to the door, which was still propped slightly, and opened it all the way. 

“Okay, you can come in now.” Both Poe and Chewbacca looked incredibly uncomfortable, and I immediately knew they had heard every word that was just spoken. Poe tried to put on a confident face before saying,

“If it’s too much trouble, I’m sure we can find somewhere else to stay for the night.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Poe, was it? There is nowhere else to stay. And besides, it’s really all right. Lux is...well, Lux. But he’s fine.” With that, led the way into our hut and I turned back to them just in time to see Chewbacca crouch down into the doorway. 

“Sorry, Chewbacca,” I still couldn’t believe I was talking to The Chewbacca, “it’ll be a bit of a tight fit for you.” He responded while shaking his head, and his tone sounded nice, so I wasn’t surprised when Poe translated, 

“He said it’s alright, and he says thank you for letting us stay here.” I smiled kindly at the Wookiee, 

“Of course, it’s no problem at all. Make yourselves comfortable, well, as comfortable as you can.” 

The two of them began to look around the room, not that there was much to look at, and I tried to think of something to say that could break the silence when Lux reentered with some blankets. 

“This is Lux Mainvin, the one I told you about.” I said to Poe and Chewbacca as I gestured toward the man who was clearly uncomfortable with two strangers in his house. 

“Here are some blankets, not that I think you’ll be cold or anything. You could lay them on the ground, though, it may make it more comfortable.” He awkwardly handed them a few old, worn out blankets that I had never seen before and Poe took them gingerly, flashing Lux a wide smile. I was caught off guard by that smile every time I saw it. 

“Thank you. And thank you for letting us stay for the night. Your friend, Nova, was very kind to let us. I hope we’re not too much of an intrusion.” Poe handed some blankets to Chewbacca and he began to lay them out on the floor. 

“Oh,” Lux began, clearly caught off guard by Poe’s civility, “it’s not that big of a problem, as long as you promise not to rob the place in our sleep!” I wasn’t sure how Lux’s sad attempt at a joke would land, especially because he wasn’t totally kidding, but Poe laughed along with him.

“We promise.” he replied as he stuck out his hand to Lux, who took it and shook it firmly. At that moment, Chewbacca also finished laying out his blankets and said something that I could only guess at, but that Poe confirmed a second later. “Chewie says thanks, too.” At this Lux’s eyes went wide, as he was hit with the realization I had while aboard the Falcon. 

“Chewie? Did you say Chewie? As in, Chewbacca?” Poe smiled as he let out a chuckle and Chewie said something that did not get translated. 

“Yes, The Chewbacca.” Poe flashed another one of his gorgeous smiles, “And I’m Poe. Poe Dameron. It’s great to meet you.”

“You see why I trusted them now, Lux?” I cut in. “They’re with The Resistance. They’re on our side.” Lux nodded his head slowly as he snapped himself out of his star-struck gaze. 

“Yes, I understand now, Nov.” There was silence for a few moments before Lux let out an over exaggerated yawn. “Well, it is late. We should all be getting some sleep.” We nodded in agreement and I turned toward the guests before following Lux towards the hallway that led to our rooms. 

“I hope you two can sleep well, and if you need anything, my room is the second one down the hall, don’t hesitate to knock.” I gave them a smile, which Poe returned, which made something inside me flutter, before saying “goodnight, then.” and turning towards my room. I found Lux standing in my doorway, which wasn’t visible from the space Poe and Chewbacca were settling into. 

“Just when I think nothing you can do could surprise me anymore.” Lux teased as he smiled at me. I playfully nudged his shoulder as I replied, 

“Oh, come on. They needed help, so I helped. It’s nothing you wouldn't have done.” 

“For a friend, absolutely. But for two total strangers! That’s just plain crazy.” He was smiling, but I could tell there was truth behind his words. As much as he tried to hide it, he was still uneasy.

“I know, it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do-” 

“-probably?” 

“-But, I just had this-”

“-do not say feeling-” 

“-feeling about it.” At this, Lux sighed and rolled his eyes, but his smile never wavered. 

“You and your feelings, Nov.” I smiled up at him. 

“You know me.”

“Yeah, I do.” He pulled me into a hug that I returned and settled into. Lux was one of the only people I allowed myself to have my guard down around. “I’m just glad you’re safe.” He added, a little softer. A little more...sincere. I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just stood there, arms around him, until we pulled away and shared another smile. He ruffled my hair after a moment and began to walk towards the door. 

“Goodnight, Lux. Thanks for always looking out for me.” He turned to look at me before replying,

“Goodnight, Nov.” 

As I settled into bed, I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. Two Resistance fighters were in my living room, and one of them was Chewbacca, best friend of Han Solo, both the legends of my childhood bedtime stories. As I finally began to drift to sleep, one thought kept replaying over and over again,

‘This just may be my ticket out.’