PART 1: NICTA EMERALD
As Nicta ran down the hall she could feel the changes in her body take place. First she felt her ears seem to move upward a little, then she felt the wings. The wings, if any thing, were the worst. Nicta could hear the Imps chasing her, now that she had her increased senses back she could hear, see, taste, and smell better. Oh, I hope Luke remembered were to meet me! She thought. By now she was a full Sentinal again. Good. She thought, now I can fly outa here.
Luke Skywalker was getting worried. "She should be here by now." he said. "What if she was caught?"
"Don't think of things like that," Han reassured," Maybe she just got delayed or some thing." Time was getting short and Luke was getting more worried than ever.
"I'm going after her," he said at last. With this he sprinted out the docking bay door.
"I hope the kid knows what he's doing. Cause I sure don't." Han muttered.
Nicta heard footsteps coming down the hall in front of her. But the weren't in rhythm, they couldn't be storm troopers. Suddenly she rammed head first into some one. "Luke!"
"Nicta!"
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be waiting at the ship!"
"Han is waiting for us. I thought something had happened to you."
"You brought Han? I thought I stressed it to you that I hated him!"
"Come on let's go, we don't have much time!" As Luke and Nicta ran down the hall together Nicta noticed that Luke had a small gash across his fore head.
"When we get back to the ship I'll fix that up," she said.
"Yea, OK." was all Luke replied. Back at the Falcon Han heard them approaching. Good, he thought, they're alright. He quickly started to ready the Falcon for take-off. Luke and Nicta burst into the docking bay and ran without stopping onto the ship. "OK, glad to see that you're all ready to get outa here." Han said.
TWO HOURS LATER...
"OUCH! That hurt!" Luke screamed.
"I'm sorry,Luke"Nicta replied without stopping what she was doing,"but you need to have this treated."
"What are you love birds doing?" Han asked. Luke gave him a sour look.
"What does it look like to you?" Luke growled. Suddenly the Falcon shook.
"What was that!?" Nicta yelped.
"I dunno. Maybe we're being shot at!" Han said surprised.
"It sounds like the first detonations" said Nicta, finishing the patch job on Luke's forehead. Neither Han nor Luke could hear a thing. They both knew, however, that Nicta's ears could here a far lower pitch then either of theirs. Not even the force would let Luke listen to some of the things that Nicta could here. "Get us out of here before this place blows. I can't believe you still have this piece of junk. I still say it's the ugliest ship Iv'e ever seen."
Obviously annoyed, Han defended his ship: "Hey she's the best ship in the quadrant, she completed the Kessel run in..."
"Yeah, yeah youv'e told me, and she's still a piece of junk, now get us out of here - those are just the class five charges, the real bang should be starting in a little while longer , I'm going in the back to stretch, it's been to long since I could..."
Han's fingers flew over the controls as he looked back at the Sentinal leaving. "I still don't like her", he muttered to Luke, "I can't believe you talked me into coming." He pulled the lever which begn the Falcon's forward motion out of the bay.
" It's been five years Han, it can't possibly be that bad." Luke had already sat down putting on the copilots head set. He was now examining the slick feeling of the cover skin on his fore head. It was already beggining to itch.
In the back Nicta was stretching. It was good to be Sentinal again. She had spent far too long in human form. She had dreaded changing back but now she knew that it had been worth it. She had felt so cramped having spent so much time in that restricting form. She began to stretch with her left leg, it felt so good after bieng so cramped, the ship jostled at that moment, well at least they were leaving this dump. Good ridance to Moff Remis she thought.
Sighing the stretched her fingers out to there full length. They were so much more beutiful like this. How could humans ever get buy with those short stubby things. Hers were so much more graceful and slender.
But the worst was the hair. Her scalp still itched from the implants which she had disgarded in her run. Just grooming it took forever. What a waste of time she thought. It was worth it though. Remis would never know what hit him. She looked at chronometer and smiled the explosives should be going just about... now.
The ship jostled slightly. Nothing like a reactor explosion she thought to herself. It was good to be sentinal again. She headed for the shower to wash off the rest of the flaking skin form her form of the recent past.
The Millenium Falcon had vanished into hyperspace after exiting the docking bay. Unknown to them, though, a probe droid tracked their exit vector. It sent a tight beam single to the Interdictor Cruiser Gorgon.
Han and Chewbacca were almost finished with a holo game when they were shaken out of their seats by a violent shudder that went through the ship. They raced to the cockpit and scanned the sensor board.
"We're being pulled out of hyperspace!!" Han shouted in a surprised voice.
Luke stumbled into the cockpit as another shudder shook the ship. "What's going on?"
"We're getting pulled out of hyperspace. Chewie, cut the hyperspace engines. Fire up the subspace ones and the shields."
As they exited hyperspace, Luke stretched out senses and told Han, "There is an Interdictor Cruiser along with two Star Destroyers. They are launching fighters now."
Just as he finished saying that, another shudder went through the ship but from a different source. Blaster fire!
"Luke, come on. Get to the lower quad gun."
As Luke and Han strapped in, Luke could see the star fighters. Luke could tell Han was worried now when he saw the type of ship following them: TIE Advanced.
"Oh, shit!" was Han's final reply before the ships were upon them.
Two of the enemy blew up when they strayed into the "Money Lane" as Han and the Wookie, Chewbacca, called the space right in front and right behind the ship for both quad guns could shoot there and Han and Chewie bet on kills.
Han shouted back to Chewbacca, "Head back toward the Star Destroyers and the cruiser! If they want to shoot us they'll have to brave their own fire!"
As the Millenium Falcon raced back toward the two fearsome Star Destroyers and the slightly smaller Interdictor, he said, "Luke, you better say your prayers!"
It became readily apparent that the Tie advanced was expendable when Luke saw a flash of green light slicing through one of the Ties. The blast from one of the ISD's continued through the small ship giving the Falcoln quiet a jarring.
Han could here Chewie groaning about the port shield having been shorted out. He must have been really woried because Han could hardly understand a word he was saying. "They'll be less apt to shoot on us once wev'e closeon the Interdictor," han yelled. Han squeezed the trigger at a Tie moving to quickly and at the wrong angle to hit. Han smiled as the Tie went into a role to avoid the shot that never had a chance of hitting it. He waited for a moment and heard Luke give a yell as he incinerated the ship that Han had directed into his line of sights.
Nicta was complaining about something as she sat dowbn beside Chewbacca. The wookie looked over and saw a gash in her head where she must have hit a bulkhead when the ship had been hit. A single trickle of blood had already started to dry on her smooth scalp. She seemed to be unconcerned with the wound as her long slender fingers began dancing over the control panel readjusting the shields to cover for the missing one as well as possible. Chewie would have done the same but then again he was a little busy right now. He pulled the Falcoln into a diagonal climb so that he could approach the Interdictor from a better angle. Try and avoid at least a few of those twin laser cannons.