Ben Kenobi

Battle for the Homestead

Ryj is working on the farm when he sees the family landspeeder kicking up a plume of sand as it heads towards him at full speed. Cam jumps out before the speeder has even stopped.

"Wow" Ryj says. "You did it again. You actually found--"

Cam cuts him off. "Gather everyone else. We need to prepare our defenses."

Ryj looks fearful. "Sand people again?"

Ben gets out and approaches him. "Worse. The Empire is coming."

Ryj hurries back inside. Ben and Cam follow him.

Later, the family are gathered around the dinner table as darkness falls. Ben explains what will happen to them.

"The Empire will be here by first light with a battalion of stormtroopers. They will ask you to leave and if you resist in any way, you will all be killed."

The family react in shock. Cam hugs Cylie.

"Our only advantage is surprise," Ben continue. "If we mount a defense before they get here, there is a chance we can overcome their forces. And you'll get to keep your home."

Hal is incredulous. "We're farmers. How can we defeat stormtroopers? Better to surrender."

Ryj joins in. "Dad's right. We can't win this. If they move us out, at least we have a chance. Or we can just leave right now, before they get here."

"We can't run," Cam says. "We'll lose everything. And what if they decide to come after us again wherever we move to? We have to fight."

Cylie looks at her sister.

"I say we put it to a vote," Cylie says.

Hal laughs. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm the head of this family. I say we leave."

His wife clears her throat. "Excuse me. We decide things together in this family. I say we stay and fight."

"Me too!" Cylie exclaims.

Cam pats her on the back. "Me three."

Hal sighs. "How did we raise the two most stubborn daughters in the Outer Rim? Fine. We stay. But I don't know how we can mount a defense in so short a time."

"I'll help you," Ben says.

Later, the family gathers everything that even looks like a weapon. Old blasters, rusty blades, hammers and other tools. Ben examines the weapons, looking unimpressed.

"None of these will do much good against stormtrooper armor," he says.

Cam nods in agreement. "But we don't have any other options."

Ben sighs. "I'll see what I can do to modify them."

Outside, darkness has fallen. Jen and Cylie place sandbags at the entrances to the huts while Cam and Ryj run trip wires around the perimeter of the farm.

"Do you really think this will work?" Ryj asks nervously as they finish setting up the last trap.

Cam shrugs. "It's better than doing nothing."

Ben joins them outside with Hal and they start rigging some makeshift explosive devices behind a rock. They string a tripwire and hide it in the sand.

Meanwhile, Cylie is practicing firing a blaster under Cam's watchful eye.

"You're a natural at this," Cam compliments her as she blasts several rocks off a bigger rock.

Cylie grins with excitement but then her expression turns serious. "Do you think we'll really be able to defend ourselves?"