The Life and Times of Jarik Solo

Chapter 2

The next morning, after collecting the information and getting the credits transferred to his account, Jarik headed straight for the ship he'd been provided, an L19 heavy freighter. As he walked, he took the time to admire the ship. A ship like this didn't come cheap, even a used model, and this one looked brand new.

As he walked into the freighter, he began to wonder exactly who he was working for. Obviously, they were rich enough to provide a beauty like this to a mere smuggler, and pay him for a simple shipment. Not for the first time, Jarik wondered why he'd ever taken this job. Sure, it may pay well, but was it worth it to have to deal with the Imps in the process?

Oh, shove it, he told himself. This job will get you so rich that you won't have to worry about anything again. With that thought in mind, Jarik ascended into the atmosphere, spirits high.

As he hovered above Nar Shaddaa, Jarik decided to review the datapad the Bothan contact had given him at the spaceport. Skimming over it, he realized that one very important aspect was missing: exactly how he was going to get past the Imperial patrols above Coruscant. Heart beginning to beat faster, Jarik flipped through the details again; surely he must have just missed the information. But before he could get all the way through again, he was interupted by two Y-wing starfighters coming at him for a forward assault!

Thinking quickly, Jarik turned his forward deflector shields full power, and fired his twin blaster cannons at maximum capacity. In one lucky burst of cannon fire Jarik managed to take out one of the fighters. With a loud whoop of delight, he turned to focus his attention on the remaining Y-wing. After the fighter managed to evade three of Jarik's shots, he quickly realized that he needed to make an escape, and fast. Just as Jarik was plotting in the hyperspace coordinates, a shot from the fighter hit his starboard side. Although the shot didn't cause much damage, it did shake Jarik, and cause him to pull the hyperspace lever- with coordinates incomplete.

As the bright points of stars blurred into the blue lines of hyperspace, Jarik allowed himself to panic. How could he have been so stupid as to grab the hyperspace lever? And, more importantly, who were the two fighters that were so obviously trying to blow him to smithereens? He hadn't committed any serious crimes or messed anything up too much lately, he knew that for a fact. These past few months had been slow- or as slow as his life could get. So why now? It didn't make any sense.

Unless, he thought, it has something to do with my current job. Somebody doesn't want me making this trip to Imp central.

The trip through hyperspace was short, only a couple of hours. As the lines of hyperspace parted around him to reveal bright, glittering stars, Jarik was very awake, and ready to respond should anything go wrong. He was lucky that those wrong hyperspace coordinates hadn't caused him to plummet right into a star, or worse, a black hole. But as he observed the green-blue planet in front of him, a large force jarred the entire freighter. He was caught in a tractor beam!
Eyes widened in shock and terror, all Jarik could think through the blaring alarms of his ship was, you've really stepped in it this time, Jarik! That black hole is sounding like a great option right about now!

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