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I don’t do these a lot because I don’t like to spoiler my stuff. But here’s the opening chunk of that still-untitled Post-66 Pirate AU idea I tossed out there a while ago.
If anyone had asked Hondo what he had thought when news of the Jedi purge reached his ears, he would have laughed and denied interest.
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If anyone had asked Hondo what he had thought when news of the Jedi purge reached his ears, he would have laughed and denied interest.
“There are so many more interesting things to worry about, after all, and I have only rarely had dealings with the Order.”
Behind closed doors, where he could scour the shredded, fragmented remains of the HoloNet -- mostly pirate (ha!) datanodes run by independent operators, who had protected their investments from the new Empire's grasp -- for the lists of confirmed dead, it was quite a different story.
Knightfall, they were calling it. Hondo had been familiar enough with certain Jedi to know the double-meaning held real truth; the war might be declared over, but the galaxy felt darker. Colder.
Hondo Ohnaka was not one to openly mourn -- as with his crew, he preferred to celebrate the memories than weep over the loss -- but seeing young Katooni's name on the list had left him feeling speared through the chest. Granted, he had only lured the children back in hopes of ransoming little Ahsoka for the kyber crystals, but Katooni had surprised him with her ingenuity. Ah, she would have made such a fine scoundrel! If he'd had more to drink than usual that night, no one had dared to comment on it.
It was a guilty relief to not find Ahsoka's name also on the list. She was a smart girl; she would be fine.
He kept telling himself that, anyway.
The day he found Skywalker's name on the list was the same day they abandoned the base on Florrum. Some Imperial twit had decided they couldn't tolerate the presence of honorable pirates and had chosen to flatten the base with an orbital bombardment rather than engaging in a proper fight. Too many of Hondo's crew failed to make it past the blockade to hyperspace; they had been forced to scatter and regroup at an old deadspace outpost nobody used anymore.
Because the Empire had shot it to pieces.
Hondo stared out the viewscreen at the broken station -- its hull deeply rent with charred gashes, surrounded by a haze of wreckage and void-frozen corpses -- and for the first time wondered if a future was even possible anymore.
From then, they were forced to remain mobile, never overstaying in a particular area. Pickings were growing slim, now: too many refugees with nothing worth taking, too many Imperial operations groups lurking the major exchange points. The wealthy increasingly remained in well-policed sectors like the Tion Hegemony and the Corporate Sector -- their private security forces blessed by the stinking Emperor in exchange for slavish loyalty.
Hondo was in his cabin running through the navigation charts -- painstakingly created over years, with new routes that bypassed the trade lanes -- about two months after Knightfall, when his comms specialist poked her head in the open door.
“Got a signal, Captain. It's a weird code, dunno where it's coming from.”
“Ho?” Hondo hopped up from his desk -- anything for a distraction from the increasingly depressing prospects of finding a sector in which they weren't (yet) known -- and followed her to the bridge. “Let us see what we have here.”
It took some time -- and some costly flying, breaking the remains of his fleet into smaller groups -- to triangulate the signal's source: a beacon dropped in an asteroid field on the outer reaches of an uninhabitable system. The code, however… oh, Hondo knew that code. He was one of perhaps only a handful of sentients entrusted with it, and assembling a response took the better part of a day. Their patience was rewarded when a small ship, barely more than a shuttle, emerged from its hiding place on one of the larger asteroids and made its cautious way out.
As hiding places went, it was a surprisingly effective one. One would have to be quite the pilot to make it through. Hondo commanded the hangar bay be opened and rushed down in time to see the battered craft settle in the tiny space between the other ships.
When the ramp finally opened, Hondo could have wept with relief. He restrained himself from running to the man who emerged warily, instead walking forward with his arms outstretched in welcome.
“My friend! It relieves me greatly to see you alive!”
General Kenobi -- oh, who was Hondo kidding, he had long since landed on more familiar terms with the Jedi -- cast nervous eyes around the hangar. “Hondo. I… had hoped that was your ship I'd spotted.”
Pressing a hand to his chest, Hondo gasped, “You truly hoped it was me? Obi-Wan, I'm touched!” Now in range, he reached out and grasped the human's shoulders. “You look dreadful, my friend. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but you smell dreadful as well. Does that tiny craft have only sonics? You must have been hiding there for some time! Come, come, we will find you something less, eh, aromatic to wear--”
Obi-Wan was protesting and finally raised his voice over Hondo's relieved babble. “Please! I need to talk to you first.” He pulled Hondo up the ramp into the shuttle, which was most definitely going to be stripped for parts and tossed back among the asteroids before they left this system.
Given the events of the past few months, Hondo could forgive his friend's paranoia. “What is it, Obi-Wan? How did you end up out here?”
The Jedi sagged into one of the few seats in the cramped lounge/galley. “I was trying to reach Tatooine, but there was an unexpected Imperial presence in the system. I got as far away as I could, but I'm almost out of fuel. And supplies.” He gave an exhausted laugh and scrubbed his hands over his unshaven face. “It's been a very long week.”
“So I imagine!” There was an additional smell in the air that Hondo couldn't quite place; he glanced around without being too obvious about it. “But why would you want to go to Tatooine, of all the dustballs? There are many more pleasant worlds to choose from.”
The Jedi ceased his fidgeting long enough to give the pirate a measuring look. “I was… on a mission, I suppose. But the Star Destroyers made me reconsider. You're not being pursued, are you?”
Hondo had to laugh; it came out sounding more cracked and fragile than he liked. “Us? No, no more than any other pirates now. We cannot stay in one place too long, you see.”
Obi-Wan was nodding as he spoke. “It might be for the best,” he murmured, more to himself, but Hondo tilted his head in curiosity. The Jedi shook himself and offered a small, half-hearted grin that didn't quite reach his exhaustion-bruised eyes. “Do you remember all those times you invited me to join your crew?”
Hondo’s heart leaped at the question, but he could play the cagey game, if that would set Obi-Wan at ease. “Of course! Your skills would be an invaluable asset -- and if I may say, you are every bit as conniving as a pirate should be, my friend. The life would suit you.”
The other man's mouth twitched with actual humor. “If your offer was in earnest, then consider me speculating. However, I have a… complication.”
“There are always complications.”
“Indeed.” Obi-Wan gestured for Hondo to wait as he went into the closet-sized cabin; he emerged a moment later with a blanket-wrapped bundle cradled in his arms. “This is my complication.”
Hondo stared at the sleeping… infant? He had never before seen a human so young or tiny. Carefully, he tugged part of the blanket back so he could see the chubby pink face. Something about the way Obi-Wan held the child suggested much more than simple protectiveness.
“Obi-Wan,” he said softly, “who is this?”
“One of the last Jedi younglings, rescued from the purge of the Temple.” It wasn't entirely true, from the way Obi-Wan's eyes shifted, but Hondo would let him keep the story. No wonder he clutched the bundle like it was priceless. “He must be kept safe from the Emperor. We had thought Tatooine would be beyond his notice, but it seems not. But it is very difficult to locate a ship in space….” He trailed off, glancing up at Hondo with cautious hope, even as Hondo filed the mysterious ‘we’ away for later questioning. “Staying with you might be safer.”
Hondo genuinely liked younglings. Oh, he would play the role of gruff disapproval, as expected, but in truth, he loved children. The thought of raising a Jedi child on his own ship was rather daunting, true, but…
He remembered little Katooni's youthful energy, her pride at her success in assembling that precious lightsaber. Her determination to absolutely show Hondo up. Having another determined little one, to teach, to nurture in these dark days after Knightfall… it sparked a little warmth in his chest. Or perhaps that was the result of the miniscule hand with its impossibly small fingers which had fumbled to grip Hondo's index finger. “He is as welcome here as you are, my friend. Does he have a name yet?”
Obi-Wan nodded. “It's Luke. His name is Luke.”
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Date: 2019-04-10 06:39 pm (UTC)From: