Star Wars: 30 Years Later The Real Story - Chapter 10

– “Lando…?”- asked Rey while trying to remember where she had heard that name.

– “We’ll talk later about that”- said Lando whose hands had not stopped pushing many controls for a moment- “Can anyone of you fly?”

Rey was stunned for a moment since she did not know how to respond. Finn shook his head and used a very apologetic voice.

– “I’ve just controlled the weapon systems of a TIE fighter”- he said and Lando smiled to the boy while nodding his head.

– “Good!”- said Lando finishing to initialize the systems- “Then you can be of great help un the quad turbo lasers in the lower area. Just go to the end of the of the hall and go down the ladder.”

– “Yes, Sir!”- said Finn and went running while listening to the explosions and blasters outside.

– “What about you?”- said Lando.

– “I only have basic training”- said Rey a little embarrased- “not enough to operate a ship like this.”

– “Don’t worry, I’ll pilot.”- said Lando sitting down and configuring the systems to make their escape smoother- “I need a controller. The Millennium Falcon needs two people… the pilot who focuses in maneuvering and the system controller who prevents the from exploding in the air. None can do both… at least not in a combat scenario.”

– “I… well… I’m not sure…”- said Rey getting more and more nervous especially watching that the scavengers and stormtroopers were starting to focus more in them than in ther androids of Lando.

– “Do you know how to reroute the energy from a truster to another one and equilibrate the propulsion levels of the anti-gravity engine while mantaining internal the pressure of the ċȯċkpit?”

– “Yeah, in theory!”- said Rey knowing what he was talking about- “but I don’t know the levels for this ship.”

– “It’s ok, you’ll do”- said Lando making her sitting down to his right- “Just follow my instructions. Start by placing 30% of energy on the vertical thrusters and keep them balanced. The controls are there and…”

Meanwhile, Finn had arrived to the small cabin that had the quad turbo lasers. He accomodated in the seat and analyze the systems in front of him.

– “What’s that?”- thought Finn after sensing a very strong and penetrating smell that came from one of the wall of the cabin. He saw a protuberance that had a flammable sign stick on it.- “wait… are those the fuel containers?”

Finn confirmed with horror that the fuel containers that provided for the engine and weapon system was just next to the inferior quad turbo lasers where he was now. After a better sight, he noticed that the main fuel line was exactly next to the weapon system and went up to the center of the ship..

– “I wonder who’s the crazy person who designed such suicidal structure.”- he said knowing that this was not the time for such ideas.

He activated the systems and saw in the panel that the configuration was a little different from the TIE fighter system. He tested the commands and he was surprised to discover that the seat where he was, moved following the movements of the cannons.

– “Seriously?”- he blurted a little annoyed and he started to configure the system to adjust the stregngt of the movement while not reducing the aim capabilities.

Even though he was really annoyed at first, he was accostumed to be putting off his confort zone in his training so he did not whɨnė more than two seconds and he was already adapting to the situation and he started to practice to move in place until he got accostumed to the felling of being lrch from side to side while focusing on aim and shoot. Just then he felt the powerful sound of the thrusters and he knew they were prepared to take off.

– “I can do this… I can do this!”- he said to himself while preparing mentally for the next battle to come since definitely he had reached and passed his limits long time ago.

Meanwhile, Lando had explained the basics to Rey and she was trying to remember all the information he had told her in desperation. There were simply too many things and buŧŧons in front of her. Only remembering all their functions was already too much but now she had to use them to equilibrate so many things while Lando focus on poiloting. She was internally panicking but she knew that they had no time so she started to adjust the systems as Lando instructed.

– “You’ll do fine…”- said Lando smiling with that warm face and Rey wondered how he could smile in a moment like this- “And you won’t be alone… BB8!”

– “Bewp kak bip”- the little droid replied rolling to where they were.

– “You’ll be in charge of the mini calculations to help Rey.”- said Lando and Rey saw BB8 with surprise since she had forgotten that he was an astromech that was programmed to do those things.

– “Wapoop”- accepted BB8 while looking where to place himself.

– “Connect to that terminal to access the main server of the ship.”- instructed Lando when a blaster impacted in the ship- “and hurry…”

– “Wap woop bakik!”- said BB8 and immediately connected to the terminal after securing his position to the floor.

– “Now. Rey… let’s do this!”

Rey nodded and followed his instructions and she started to press the buŧŧons in the order he had told him to transfer energy when the window received a blaster bolt that surprised Rey.

– “Now or never, Rey!”- said Lando and Rey introduced the commands as fast as she could and soon the screen showed the information- “well done… now let’s go!”

Rey felt the powerful lift off from the land and she could feel that emptiness in her belly which she found fascinating and frightning at the same time. However, Lando seemed extremely normal as if this was so normal that was nothing to check.

– “Route the energy from the vertical thrusters to the rear ones”- said Lando flying the ship with extreme skill- keep a 10% on the vertical and activate the anti-gravity engine on my count.”

The Millennium Falcon took off in a crude and violent way which was definitely Rey’s fault, but with the help of BB8 and the skill of Lando they still managed to elevate and escape to the sky.

– “That was not bad at all”

– “Thanks”- said Rey paying attention to the panels in order to maintain the numbers in the optmal levels levels- “I think I’m getting used to it…”

– “Good”- said Lando maneuvering the Millenium Falcon- “because the fun part just starts…”

Just when Rey was about to ask the ship was impacted heavily by some torpedoes and soon after she could see six TIE fighters in persue.

– “Increase the power in the shields and make sure the damage levesls do not go more than 45%”- said Lando extremely calmly and he activate the communications systems- “what’s his name?”

– “Who?”- asked Rey who was still working on the shields.

– “The boy that came with you”

– “Oh… erm… Finn… his name is Finn”- said Rey and she returned to her task while trying to ignore the impacts that were saking the ship.

– “Ok… Finn! Do you hear me?”- asked Lando.

– “Loud and clear!”- replied Finn.

– “We’ll enter in a dog fight so try to shoot down as many as you can before they can call reinforcements.”

– “Yes, Sir!”- said Finn and Lando could immediately hear the turbo lasers shooting.

– “I like that boy”- said Lando placing his hands on the helm and preparing to enter combat- “Rey, just follow my lead and focus on the systems. I’ll stay low to confuse their systems and this will become crazy… so don’t panic and remember and try not to spill your lunch.”

– “Eh?”- Rey looked at Lando with inquisitive eyes but she was already trying not to slip from her chair.

The Millennium Falcon mader a sharp turn and started to fly among the dunes which made the TIE fighters to depend on their visuals more than their instruments.

– “Is there any big wreckage nearby which we can use as cover?”- asked Lando avoiding the shots from the TIE fighters.

– “There is one!”- replied Rey doing her best to balance the systems of the ship which had simply gone crazy and she started to feel dizzy and she was not sure if it was for the maneuvering or because of all the things she had to estabilize.

– “Place the coordenates on the screen and I’ll go there.”- said Lando and then he activated the intercom- “hey Finn, you can start shooting down the enemies whenever you want…”

– I’m trying, I’m trying!- said Finn who was shooting as best as he could but the movement of the ship plus the high evasio skills of the TIE fighters made his task extremely difficult.

In that moment, one of the attacks of the TIE fighters bypassed the shields and impacted directly on the ship’s armor.

– “Cheh…”- said Lando observing the damage alert- “BB8, take care of that…”

– “Bwep bap”- replied BB8 and he started to work on the problem.

In that moment one of the TIE fighters received a shot from the turbo blasters and fell to the ground.

– “Nice shot!”- said both Lando and Rey to Finn.

– “I think I got the trick of this!”- said Finn smililng but keeping the focus on his task and continue shooting.

It was in that moment that they entered an area here multiple star destroyers had fallen and the carcasses were left behind for the scavengers to dismantle. Lando entered to the area and started to fly in the middle of them with great mastery. However, the TIE fighter pilots were not afraid and followed him without stopping their bartrage of turbo lasers.

– “They are getting closer and closer”- said Rey feeling the pressure-“shields are at 51%”

– “Good, that’s better than I had imagined”- said Lando and Rey looked at him with unbelieving eyes- “unlock the gear L45 and acxtivate it at my signal.”

– “Now!”- he said and Rey pressed the gear without doubt.

Two small compartments opened in the rear part of the Millennium Falcon and from them two iron balls were thrown to the air exploding after a second in front of the TIE fighters. They shone with great intensity and the pilots of the TIE fighters saw a blinding light but more importantly, their systems became crazy for some seconds. The problem lasted for only three seconds but the effects were mortal for two TIE fighters which just crashed into some of the wreckage without noticing what had happened. The other two were more skillful or luckier and they managed to recover the system and resume the persue.

– “It seems the First Order is getting better at training their pilots”- said Lando using the precious time he had managed to acquire to look for his next move.

– “What was that?”- asked Rey who had just seen two enemies going down.

– “That, my child, is 8,000 credits vanishing in the air”- said Lando looking devastated for the loss of money he had been forced to make- “your friend is a really good shooter… keep on like that Finn!”

Just then Finn had managed to shoot down his second TIE fighter which left only two more on their tail. Rey started to believe that it was possible to defeat them. But then, a turbo laser impacted on the quad turbo laser cannons and Finn let an angry yell out.

– “They hit the cannons”- said Finn in a desperate way since he knew that now they will not be able to defend themselves- “it’s still operative but it’s stuck at 180º and can’t move them.”

– “That’s enough, Finn”- said Lando looking at the distance for an opportunity- “rest for now, youll have a chance! Rey, increase the oxygen a little and take a deep breathe when I say so.”

Before she could react, Lando veered the Falcon into the carcass of a star destroyer entering for one of its gigantic thrusters that had been dismantled. Rey could not stop a small cry by the surprise and she started to tremble watching how the Falcon moved inside the tight laberynth at maximum speed.

– “Are we really doing this?”- wondered Finn feeling a lot of sweat running through his forehead.

– “Are you crazy?”- said Rey finally while pressing her fingers on the seat- “we’ll crash!”

– “Not in my shift, kid!”- said Lando grinning like a madman- “This is not my first ride inside a big starship… but I wonder about those kids behind us!”

Just after he said that, one of the remaining TIE fighters could not continue the race and crash inside making the ship explode. However, the remaining pilot seemed to be extremely proficient and followed them shwoing great stubborness.

– “I see, if you want it like that… let’s play tough, kid!”- said Lando but he was not talking to Rey but to the pilot behind them- Rey! At my count, turn off the thrusters completely!

– “What?”

– “Just do as I say”- replied Lando not accepting any talk back from her- “Finn, prepare to fire when you see the chance.”

– “Ok…”- said Finn but then remember the situation of the weapons- “wait… how?”

Both Rey and Finn panicked and were absolutely confused about what was going to happen but they had no other choice than trust in the old pirate who had already helped them so much. He suddenly got off the star destroyer using a hole on the side of the massive starship and immediately ascended and made a dive with the nose totally vertical.

– “Now, Rey!”- he said and Rey once again obeyed by pulling the switch that controlled the potency of the thrusters while praying that Lando knew what he was doing- “Prepare to reactivate them again once I tell you!”

Rey was about to yell at him so he could explain what he was doing when he felt the horrible feeling of nothingness in her belly and had to focus in not fainting.

– “Be ready, Finn”- said Lando also feeling the pressure due to the diving the Falcon was doing.

Finn focused and then he saw the TIE fighter perfectly aligned to the aim of the quad turbo lasers. It was so easy that anyone could do it. He immediately pulled the trigger and blasted the TE fighter away.

– “Give us power, Rey!”- ordered Lando and Rey pushed the lever back to maximum and the thrusters reactivated just some dozens of meters away from the sand.

Lando recovered the control and made the Falcon recover altitude and finally they could breathe.

– “Yeeehaaaa!”- Lando shouted in exhilaration- “Return in 200 years rookies!”

After some seconds, Lando smiled brilliantly again and Rey started to laughed nonstop. Finn relaxed and started to laugh also feeling great happiness.

– “The First Order is still around”- said Lando after letting the kids to let off for a whie- “let’s go to hyperspace… Rey, enter the coordinates I’ll tell you and BB8 please make the calculations.”

Both Rey and BB8 ȧssented and prepared the information. After a while they were finally in open space and Rey could not stop dropping her jaw while watching the immensity and beauty of the universe for the first time in her life.

– “You’ll see it more often than you think, Rey”- said Lando feeling sorry he had to interrupt this moment- “jumping into light speed in 3… 2… 1…”

Wueiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Rey haven’t recovered from the amazing vastness of stars when she was surprised again by the hypnotic effect of entering to hyper space.

– “Wow!”- was the only thing she could say and started to look around with big eyes like watching an incredible show.

Lando smiled warmly remembering the time when he was just like her. He was really old now and he could not feel the same emotion like this innocent youngster.

– “Come”- he said pulling her arm- “we’ll have to wait like 4 hours to our destination so we’d better check on Finn.”

Rey followed him and she found Finn coming to them with a huge smile and without thinking about it, they both hugged each other laughing.

– “That was amazing!”

– “I know… we just went and showed them…”- said Finn but then he tumbled adnd was about to fall when Rey caught him and supported him.

– “Are you ok?”- asked Rey with a worried expression.

– “I’m fine…”- said Finn but Lando checked him and saw his state.

– “He’s physically and mentally fatigued”- said Lando helping him- “and I suppose you’re hungry. Let’s eat and then let him sleep a little.”

Rey helped also and they took Finn to the living area where there was a kitchen and some beds. Lando prepare a simple and fast food that Rey and Finn devoured with such ferocity that Lando started to believe they had starve for years.

-“Do you want seconds?”- asked Lando when he saw their devastated expressions once they saw their empty plates. He believed that he would need the supplies of ten people just for these two.

They were satisfied only after their fourth ration and afterwards, Finn just collapsed in the bed extremely fast. Rey placed a blanket on him and then she went to talk to Lando.

– “I’m sorry about your partners”- said Rey feeling a little guilty about the androids who had sacrificed for them.

– “It’s ok”- Lando said appreciating Rey’s concern- “All of them have a backup memory in a virtual cloud so once I return to my base, they just need a new body to download and they’ll be kicking again.”

– “Is that possible?”- asked Rey who has never heard of such concept.

– “My child, there are many things that are possible in this era”- explained Lando while checking the systems- “droids these days are in better a situation than us humans… I wished those stupid “droid-lives-matter” groups would just stop nagging around.”

– “Where are we going?”- asked Rey while smiling due to the last comment.

– “With a good friend”- said Lando- “sleep for now, I’ll wake you up once we arrive.”

After some hours, Rey and Finn were woken up and they saw a massive ship in front of them. The ship was a a big cargo ship and it could be as big as a star destroyer.

– “This is your base?”- asked Rey looking at Lando who simply activated the intercom- “here Millennium Falcon requesting permission to bard.”

– “Welcome, Commander Calrissien”- said a femenine vice- “you can use the route 45 for landing.”

– “Thank you, sweetie”- said Lando- “and I’ve told you to call me Lando.”

The voice did not reply and just cut the transmission. Rey and Finn looked at each other and smiled to this. Lando asked Rey to help him to dock and after 20 minutes they had landed and were received by a very busy and crowded hangar that was bustling with activity where multiple ships where being loaded with cargo and people ran from one side to another. Rey felt that she was once again in Jakku in their most active days.

– “You have guts to come here after what you did the last time!”- said a harsh voice and Rey saw a man surrounded by many armed man approaching them and it seemed it was not with friendly intentions. Rey started to worry about this friend of Lando.

– “Will we really be ok here?”- Rey thought while holding her quarterstaff more strongly.