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______Allen felt something nudge him against his side. Something that felt somewhat like a sword…. Was it a sword? No, it felt more like a…a claw. A claw??! Allen groggily opened his eyes. " Serena?" he called out, groping in the darkness. A beam of light shone on top of him and Allen looked up slowly, before screaming at the alien face that was peering at him through the light of a candle.

______Allen scrambled up against the wall, eyeing the creature warily. He put a hand nervously to his side, looking for the hilt of his sword and encountering nothing but an empty sheath. The creature raised the missing sword in front of him, tilting his head curiously to one side, " Is this what you’re looking for?"

______Allen reached a hand out to grab the sword but the small green creature was too fast for him and brought the sword far beyond Allen’s reach. " Uh-uh," he said shaking his head," Not so fast my young friend. A sword is a very dangerous weapon."

______Allen eyed him nervously. " Who are you?!"

______" He’s Yoda, master of the Force," an old man piped up from where he was standing by the window, " Don’t be afraid. Most people feel the same way when they first see him, but that all changes in the end... you’ll feel like wringing his neck instead." Yoda glared at the old man and stuck his tongue out vehemently. He turned back to Allen and grinned. (if aliens like him could actually do that!) " That there is Obi Wan. You cam call him Old Ben Kenobi, if you like, with a big emphasis on the old, of course!"

______Obi Wan turned to look at his friend. " Excuse me but look who’s talking?! You’re probably billions of years old already. I bet you’re even older than my great, great, great, gre—"

______" Alright, hold it, hold it!" Allen said, putting his hands up. The two stopped bickering long enough to stare at him. " I don’t care which of you is the older one but I’m sure you’re both not old enough to forget where we are, so could someone please tell me where I am? Specifically I mean?"

______" You’re in my home, on the planet Tentoine," Obi Wan told him matter-of-factly before continuing his argument with Yoda. " Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Allen said loudly, interrupting their fight once more. " You mean to tell me I’m not on the planet Gaea anymore?!"

______The two companions blinked at him. " Gaea?"

______Allen smacked himself on the forehead, grumbling, " Oh man, where did that stupid pendant take me?! What in the world am I doing here in this dump?!" Obi Wan stared at him, open-mouthed and indelibly insulted. " Well excuse me, but I happen to have furnished this place with---"

______" Shut up, Old Ben," Yoda said, cutting his friend off and looking at the new-comer straight in the eye, " You’re here because we sent for you."

______Allen looked at Yoda incredulously. " You mean, I got side-tracked from looking for my sister, engulfed by this stupid beam of light and dumped in this rat-hole all because you sent for me?! What for?! Why me?!"

______Yoda eyed him seriously, " Because you were chosen to be a Jedi Knight."

______Allen glared at the green creature angrily and quickly dove for his sword. " That is one of the lamest excuses I’ve ever heard!" Allen said before charging at Yoda with the open blade. In one swift move, Yoda unleashed his own weapon, countering Allen’s attack. The blinding flourescent light caught Allen off guard and given the opening, Yoda quickly sent Allen’s sword flying into the opposite side of the room.

______" I told you you’d feel like killing him in time. Nice attack by the way," Obi Wan told him, snickering. Allen wasn’t paying attention though as he was busy staring at the light which quickly zipped back into its handle. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, afraid that he had just been hallucinating. " How did you--?" Allen began.

______" It’s called a light saber," Yoda told him, throwing the offending object on to Allen’s lap. He jumped, afraid that the green light would come flashing out again. When it remained closed, Allen slowly picked it up and examined it. It seemed like any ordinary tube and he wondered how the alien was able to use it as a weapon.

______Reading his thoughts, Yoda explained that the tube was used sort of like the sword, only it was retractable. Picking up the object, he opened it for Allen and handed it to him to try. Allen was surprised to feel a sort of strong power emanating from the sword and swung it around a few times like how he would do with a regular sword.

______" You look like a competent swordsman," Yoda told him critically, " but you have to tame yourself; you fight too much with the dark side. There is anger in your moves. You must get rid of that." Allen stopped to look at Yoda, struggling before hastily blurting out, " Well wouldn’t you be angry too if your sister was kidnapped from under your nose the second time?"

______Yoda frowned. " I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Still, you have to learn to control that anger, especially once you fight against the Emperor’s troops, or you’ll never win. To be a true Jedi you must learn control above all things."

______" Yeah…right," Allen said then sighed, " Okay, since you went through all that trouble to kidnap me and everything, can you please explain to me just why you sent for me and what the hell a Jedi is?!" Yoda nodded and sat down to explain the ways of the universe to the young, blonde swordsman. When he had finished the story, Allen shook his head sorrowfully. " Oh man, that’s bad. The emperor must be one crazed person! So what you’re saying is this Force of yours sent me to save the galaxy? That I’m your last hope?"

______Obi Wan nodded. " You’re our only hope. " Allen bit his lip, thinking deeply, before nodding his head. " Alright, I’m agreeing to this but---"

______" Alright!" Obi Wan whooped, giving Yoda a hive five, " First stop: Save the Princess!" Allen looked up in surprise, " Did you say… *princess?!"

______Obi Wan nodded. " Why? Is that a problem?"

______" No, of course not!," Allen said quickly, rushing out the door, " That changes everything! Hurry up you two! We don’t want the to keep the Princess waiting, do we?!"

______Obi Wan exchanged looks with Yoda , before hurrying out the door after the newly recruited Jedi.

______" Van…? Van-sama, are you awake?!"

______Van raised his head up as sunlight pierced his vision, causing him to lie back once more. "Where…where are we?" he asked, groaning. Meruru peered at him from above and shrugged, looking a bit like a frightened kitty herself. " I have no idea, Van-sama. I was about to ask you the same thing myself. "

______Van raised himself up to a sitting position once more and realized that he was sitting on a black leather couch in the middle of some sort of control room. Scratching his head, he went over to a large door that separated the room from another larger one. Opening it, he found himself at the head of some sort of…spaceship??!

______" Hey! You in there!" someone called out from below, " Get down here and pay your parking ticket, pronto! And bring that companion of yours too. We’ve got to do head check!" Van got out of the ship, looking around in confusion, Meruru right by his side. Where were they?!

______" Name’s Han, right?" the creature asked, looking like a cross between a giraffe and a duck. Van shook his head.
" It’s Van."

______The creature nodded and shifted through the papers, while Van took a look around at his surroundings. " Van Solo, is it?" the creature asked once more, snapping Van’s attention back to him. "Uh no, it’s actually Van Fanel…sir."

______The creature slapped his head and nodded. " Sorry sir, the desk clerk probably made another one of ‘em mistakes, stupid fool that he is! And this is your wokie?" he asked, pointing at Meruru. " What’s her name?" The cat-girl bristled at the comment and was about to scratch the creature’s face off, had Van not stopped her. " It’s Meruru, and she’s a cat-girl, not a wokie."

______The creature sighed and shook his head once more. " Stupid clerk," he mumbled. " And I suppose you’re with the Falcon?"

______Van stared at him. " What?!"

______" Falcon!"

______" Oh, you mean Folken," Van said and nodded. " Why?" he asked warily.

______" Nothing ,sir. Just for the records," the creature said, erasing all the names and writing down the corrections. " You can pay your parking fee by the bar," he told Van. " That comes with free refueling too."

______Van raised an eyebrow and watched as the creature walked away. " I think he means the name of the ship, Van-sama," Meruru said, giggling.

______" Huh?"

______Meruru pointed at the side of the ship where a small plaque glinted brightly. " Millenium Falcon," Van read slowly before blushing bright red. " I thought he was asking if Folken was my brother!" he said defensively, " how should I know he was talking about this ‘hunk-of-junk?!" Meruru laughed, swishing her tail before clambering up the top of the ship. " Well it is pretty cool, Van-sama. Is this really ours?!"

______" No," Van told her, motioning for her to get down, " This belongs to whoever the owner really is and I’m sure they’ll be pretty mad if you scratch the metal, so you better get down from there!" Meruru stopped and cocked her head to look at Van. " But you registered it under your name. Doesn’t that technically make this ours? Please, Van-sama! I’ve never seen a ship this big before!"

______Van’s eyes widened. " Oh no, you’re right! No wonder he was asking for our names! He probably thought this ship was ours! Oh man, we’d better get out of here, Meruru!"

______" But what about that parking fee they’re talking about?"

______" Meruru, this isn’t even ours! " Van said in a panic, " Okay, wait! I’ll just go find the guy we talked to and straighten things out okay? You just wait here and….just don’t do anything rash okay?"

______Meruru smiled innocently and swished her tail behind her. " Don’t worry, Van-sama. I’ll watch the ship for you." Van nodded and was off trying to find the registrar guy. Heading into the pub he encountered a few lookalikes but they all turned out to be pilots instead. Van was growing desperate when somebody tapped him on the shoulder gently. Turning around, Van was faced by a small rhino-like creature holding a large clipboard. " Van Fanel, right? You’re parking debt is way overdue. I hope you brought the money with you today."

______Van opened his mouth to speak but found it hard to explain his problem. " I’m sorry sir, but there’s been a mistake. The Falcon..err, Folken isn’t mine. I—"

______The creature glared at him. " What are you talking about, sir? It says right here that the ship belongs to you. You’re way overdue mister, either pay the debt or face the consequences."

______" I—I…"

______" Is there a problem here, sir," an old man asked from behind. Both Van and the creature turned around to face an old man standing beside them. " I couldn’t help overhearing," he told them both," but I take it you’re having a problem paying the parking fees?" Van opened his mouth to explain again, then sighed and finally nodded. The old man smiled. " Well, I’m in a bit of a rut myself. Tell you what, if you agree to drive us to a certain destination, I’ll finish paying off your debts here. Is that a fair deal?"

______By this time Van was desperate and he nodded. " Fair enough," he said slowly, his voice coming out a bit strangled. He’d explain the problem to the stranger later. Hopefully, the kind old man would be able to find the real pilot. The old man handed the money to the clerk and the two of them headed back towards the ship. Sticking a hand out, the old man smiled, " The name’s Ben Kenobi or you can call me Obi Wan."

______Van nodded. " Van Fanel," he replied absently. " Is it just you traveling?"

______Obi Wan shook his head. " Uh, no…I’ve got one other companion. He’s at the ship already." Van stopped and looked down. " Look sir, there’s something you should know…"

______" Call me Obi Wan," he said smiling.

______Van rolled his eyes and continued," Okay, Obi Wan. Anyway, this ship that we’re going to, well, it doesn’t really belong to me. There’s been a slight mix-up and the real pilot of the thing is around here somewhere." Obi Wan looked at him thoughtfully. " But it’s registered under your name right?" Van nodded. " Then it’s no problem," he said walking up the ship. Van stared in disbelief at his retreating back when a sudden ‘yowl’ from within the ship caught his attention. Running in, he kicked the door of the control room open, only to find Meruru in mid-wrestle with Allen over a small board piece.

______" Van! Fancy meeting you here!"

______" Allen! Thank god, we’ve found you!" Van said in relief, " Where are we?!"

______" Don’t look now but I think the real owner figured out the scheme," Obi Wan told Van hastily, pointing at two figures heading in their direction; one was human and the other one turned out to be this large furry animal. " We’re in trouble, alright. I think we better get out of here…fast!" he added as he pulled the door close. Van ran directly to the main controls and started trying to activate the ship. Walking up beside Van, Allen leaned against the chair and watched his friend’s desperate attempts to get the ship going. "Van, are you sure you can fly this thing?"

______" How bad can it be?" Van said desperately pushing at the many buttons in front of him. The pilots of the ship were getting closer and Van doubled his efforts to get the ship out of there. " It’s probably the same as a guymelef."

______" Look, maybe you should let me try, I mean I do have the Crusader and everything…"

______" Forget it, Allen," Van said firmly and pushed the big red button in front of him. The ship gave a sudden lurch which sent Allen and the rest of the group tumbling backwards. The last thing they heard as they took off, were two angry screams behind them before the ship launched itself into hyperspace.

______Dryden sat twiddling his thumbs over the absence of good purchases during the past year. He felt cheated and frustrated as he sat there with nothing else to do but stare at the ceiling and wait for the next shipment of dry goods for Astoria. He had been on a constant delivery of goods for all those who suffered from the Destiny wars for more than a year now and the constant monotony of going back and forth, back and forth with the same old thing everyday was getting to him. Sure he was glad to help, and jumped at every chance that would help him prove to Millerna that he could be a good husband. But part of him still craved for that excitement of newfound information, like a kid with a new toy. A part of him that never seemed to have gone away, even with his transformation for the better.

______The clock chimed once more, signaling that another hour had just passed and Dryden heaved a huge sigh as silence came almost after it. Standing up he paced around the room. He needed to do something; he needed a new purchase, a new toy--- something to keep him interested before next month’s shipment came in from the south. He thought about heading back to Astoria for an earlier visit when his chief officer came barging inside in a flurry.

______" Sir," he said breathless," The captain does not want to listen to me! The ship is reaching uncharted border grounds and he refuses to turn it around unless an order comes from you to do so. I told him how mad you would be but he still refuses. Please tell him off, sir. There’s a storm brewing in the east. I think it’s best that we hurry up and turn around before it catches us!"

______Dryden peered out the window before turning back to his officer, " Why, the sky’s as clear as can be, Orville. I don’t see what you’re so worried about." Orville fidgeted a bit from his position. " But sir, we’re passing uncharted borders. You’re father will be raging mad when he finds out we’ve disobeyed his instructions!"

______" Don’t we always?" Dryden said smiling calmly, sitting back in his chair. ‘ Besides, what’s a little adventure in our lives, eh Orville? Things have been getting pretty boring around here."

______" But sir…!"

______" We’ll probably meet other trading ships here, y’know. Father will be pleased if we got some new contacts. Relax Orville! Life’s too short for worries." Orville looked like he was ready to burst. Stamping his foot, he marched out of the room in a huff, unable to do anything about the dire situation he believed they were in. Dryden snickered as he looked out the window at the new background provided before him. Ahhhh, he thought, This is much better! Leaning back against his chair, he was pleased to find a couple of large ships heading their way. New trade! Maybe he would find something valuable among the collections this time. One of the ships Dryden recognized to be a ferry trading ship descended down beside them and Dryden hurried out the room, eager to see what they would offer to sell him.

______The entrance to the large ship opened slowly and Dryden cranned his neck to get a better look at the interior of the ship. Dryden was surprised to find two long-snouted creatures emerge from inside. They didn’t look anything like the ordinary Gaean merchants and Dryden couldn’t help it but stare. One of the creatures suddenly opened his mouth and began speaking in a language Dryden could hardly understand.

______" Say what?" he asked, wondering what language it was that they spoke. They repeated what they said once more and still he could not decipher what language they were talking in. The other creature noticed Dryden’s difficulty and stepped forward to point to a bag of rice and a carton of battery fuel. He then motioned to his ship and himself. Dryden pushed his glasses back and nodded.

______" So you mean to tell me you want me to trade rice and fuel with you….hmmm. What do I get in return?"

______The creature cocked it’s head to one side and then turned to say a few words to his companion. The other creature nodded and snapped his fingers twice. Another similar pair of creatures stepped out of the ship, dragging with them a small platform carrying some sort of hidden object. Giving them a nod, the two creatures pulled down the cover to reveal a well-polished chrome android. Dryden circled the robot, looking at it very closely.

______" Well, what exactly am I going to do with this?" The creature cocked his head in confusion and Dryden sighed and shook his head. They began to get flustered and the first creature began pointing to the rice bag again before going over to the second pair and snapping his fingers twice. Hurrying back inside, the second pair produced yet another covered platform. Pulling the cover down, they revealed yet another robot, this time in a tubular shape which looked more like a garbage disposal than a robot itself. Dryden stood thinking for a moment and as he did, he caught a glimpse of Orville frantically shaking his head ‘no.’ Smiling mischievously, he nodded his head at the creatures, agreeing with the deal.

______The creatures jumped up excitedly and in a flash they had their two purchases with them and were back in their ship in no time. Before Dryden knew it, the larger ship had gone and he was left with two larger robots to take care of.

______" Master Dryden!" Orville practically screamed, " Those were the rations for this month’s trip! All gone for worthless pieces of metal! Tell me, what exactly are you going to do with those robots?!"

______Dryden shrugged. " I don’t really know….but don’t worry, we’ll find some use for them sooner or later." Orville’s eyes bugged out and he looked ready to kill. " Master…Dry---" he started angrily before his words were interrupted by a large crash. The ship began trembling and Orville acidentally lost his balance, causing him to fall flat on the floor. The ship’s door suddenly crashed open and a dozen men in armored suits came barging in.

______" Where are the C3PO and R2D2 units?!" one of them screamed. Dryden looked up from where he was busy examining one robot and was immediately pinned to the wall as the soldiers began carrying the two robots…his two newly-acquired robots.

______" What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" he said angrily." Unhand me and my robots. You have no right t—mphg!!" One of the soldiers had clamped a hand over Dryden’s mouth and was ready to shoot him when the soldier beside him stopped him. " Don’t!" he told him, shaking his head," The boss might need him. Since he has the robots, he may be the only one who’d know how to operate them so we’d best bring him along." The other soldier shrugged. " Suit yourself."

______They dragged Dryden and the two robots right inside this large space cruiser. The last Dryden could hear was his chief officer screaming bloody murder and raging at them to bring his master back.

______What the hell is going on here? he wondered silently before they knocked him out of consciousness.