Kenobi Chronicles

Episode 7 (part 2)

"I can smuggle you out on the next BRC shipment." Roken said as he cleaned a collection of new parts someone had pawned earlier that day.

"And when is that?" Kenobi asked, constantly eyeing the door. Every movement drew his attention.

"It'll be this evening. The shipment follows the Shiritoku Way. It will stop at Endor and then in Timora. Depending on how long you can wait, one of the shipments there could smuggle you all the way to a Core World."

"A smooth way to Alderaan then?" Kenobi breathed a sigh of relief. This whole ordeal was almost over.

"It depends." Roken shrugged. "The Path's contact in Timora is a woman named Talla. She works with the local smugglers and hunters to shuttle people through. She'll be the one who will get you on the right ship."

"And how do we find her?"

"You won't need to find her. I always send word ahead to ensure that she is ready for whoever is smuggled through. She'll meet you just outside the loading dock. If you can sneak out quietly, she'll handle the rest."

"Sounds simple enough." Kenobi said, looking towards the doorway again. He felt uneasy despite his success so far. Roken however seemed completely at ease.

"The Path is an efficient organization. We've gotten good at hiding from the Empire."

It was here that the young princess piped up, having finished her meal.

"My governess says that we shouldn't hide things from the Empire—they can't fix what they can't see."

Roken's great arms froze as he held his parts. His dark eyes turned to her in shock. Kenobi waved his hand, apologetically.

"Never mind her, Kawlen. What happens if Talla is not there—is there a place we can go to?"

Roken slowly continued his cleaning and turned back to Kenobi.

"You don't need to worry about Talla. She will be there. She set up the Path's course on this side of the Galaxy. There's no one better—"

"I think it's really unwise to do things like sneaking around and hiding—why can't we just go to the nearest Outpost? They would be more than happy to help us." Leia's words caused the air to grow cold.

Kenobi's jaw tensed. It was suddenly very clear to him that this little girl had only seen the galaxy outside her palace through the eyes of her (no doubt) Empire-appointed tutor.

"Leia—I believe you're about to learn a lot of things about the Empire that you didn't know before." Kenobi began.

"I'm sure everyone has their version they believe," Leia said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But the Empire has always made a great effort to protect its citizens across the galaxy. Why don't we—"

The young girl's words were cut off as Roken suddenly slammed the droid part he was cleaning down on the floor and stood to his feet. Kenobi instantly stood in front of Leia because for a moment, Roken looked as if he were about to strike the child. Roken's dark eyes glared at the pale figure, before suddenly turning away and walking into his shop.

"What's wrong with him?" Leia asked innocently.

"You are a stupid little girl—" Haja said from the corner where he had been napping. He lifted the piece of cloth he had lain over his eyes and spoke. "The Empire took his son—because he had Force Powers."

Kenobi watched as the color drained from Leia's face. Her eyes grew watery as she looked where the large man had strode.

"I—I should say I'm—" she muttered, her tone thick with tears, but Kenobi held her back.