Read Online Star Wars Journal - Hero for Hire by Han Solo by Donna Tauscher - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donna Tauscher
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that knew how to take care of myself was having an argument with some new guy who wanted to be a hero or something.
So, I ended this conversation I was having with myself and started watching all these kids and ragtag pilots climbing into their fighters. They were ready for their suicide mission, pumped up. Even Artoo looked excited being plopped into the back of Luke’s X-wing. His buddy Threepio was trying to stay calm and be of some use to the princess. I was so keyed up I was imagining an emotional life for the droids. You can’t help but do that sometimes.
It’s funny how there’s never a right way to say good-bye to people.
I was hanging back like some shadow creature so Leia couldn’t give me her princess stare. But I was watching and listening to the beginning of the attack on the Death Star. I was imagining the shock of our pilots when they first spotted that enormous space station.
Listening to the incoming reports of Rebel ships being destroyed really shook me up. I knew Luke was out there watching his new pals being blown into nothing and still moving forward, waiting for his big chance. I could just see him and Artoo, courageous as ever, barreling around the Death Star.
It seemed like I could see the whole thing unfolding. Maybe it’s from being a pilot or from always being on the run, but I could sense where everyone was. Not just that, it was like I knew when a guy would make his next move. My mind turned into this giant computer grid.
I was going half crazy just sitting there. Not doing anything. So I left. What was the point in sticking around for the obvious conclusion?
I didn’t want to see Leia trying to be brave. I knew that every time a ship was destroyed, it would take a little light out of her. You know how someone seems a little less human when they lose people they love? A little more like a zombie?
Ahhh, anyway, it made my heart hurt just to look at her. She and Luke already seemed like they had known each other forever. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen when he went down.
Not to mention the countdown was on. Everybody was listening to this dismembered voice, “Death Star approaching. Estimated time for firing range, fifteen minutes.” How handy to know beforehand when you’re going to be annihilated. I was out of there.
DATA PAD ENTRY 13
Han: Chewie and I had the Falcon loaded. We boarded her without saying much. I was too busy talking to myself again.
We blasted off. I’d made it. I had the money to pay off Jabba. The Imperials were too busy to pay any attention to the Falcon’s exit. I had a clear ride ahead of me.
So what was the problem? I should have been feeling great. A free man again. But I couldn’t help myself. I had to monitor the battle going on back at the Death Star. Chewie and I were silently taking in the destruction of the Rebel pilots. Those boys were going at their mission with everything they had. They were standing tall against the Imperial forces and their TIE fighters. It really got to me.
It was tough going for the Rebel pilots—either they couldn’t get near the opening to shoot the big one down the shaft, or they couldn’t hit a target that small once they did. They were covering for each other at extreme risk. I couldn’t even keep track of how many pilots had gone down. It was last-chance time when they gave the word to Luke.
Suddenly, I knew we were heading the wrong way. We turned the Falcon around and torked at maximum speed to the Death Star.
Three new TIE fighters had entered the fray.
I had a bad feeling about those guys. Time was running out and it was up to the kid to pull off a miracle. They were closing in on him. I figured if there was going to be one last fight, at least it was going to be a fair one.
Luke was down there skimming along the trench in his X-wing with his computer turned off, ready to blast one down the chute by eye-balling it—if he could get the chance. Well, I was there to give him that chance.
So, I ended this conversation I was having with myself and started watching all these kids and ragtag pilots climbing into their fighters. They were ready for their suicide mission, pumped up. Even Artoo looked excited being plopped into the back of Luke’s X-wing. His buddy Threepio was trying to stay calm and be of some use to the princess. I was so keyed up I was imagining an emotional life for the droids. You can’t help but do that sometimes.
It’s funny how there’s never a right way to say good-bye to people.
I was hanging back like some shadow creature so Leia couldn’t give me her princess stare. But I was watching and listening to the beginning of the attack on the Death Star. I was imagining the shock of our pilots when they first spotted that enormous space station.
Listening to the incoming reports of Rebel ships being destroyed really shook me up. I knew Luke was out there watching his new pals being blown into nothing and still moving forward, waiting for his big chance. I could just see him and Artoo, courageous as ever, barreling around the Death Star.
It seemed like I could see the whole thing unfolding. Maybe it’s from being a pilot or from always being on the run, but I could sense where everyone was. Not just that, it was like I knew when a guy would make his next move. My mind turned into this giant computer grid.
I was going half crazy just sitting there. Not doing anything. So I left. What was the point in sticking around for the obvious conclusion?
I didn’t want to see Leia trying to be brave. I knew that every time a ship was destroyed, it would take a little light out of her. You know how someone seems a little less human when they lose people they love? A little more like a zombie?
Ahhh, anyway, it made my heart hurt just to look at her. She and Luke already seemed like they had known each other forever. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen when he went down.
Not to mention the countdown was on. Everybody was listening to this dismembered voice, “Death Star approaching. Estimated time for firing range, fifteen minutes.” How handy to know beforehand when you’re going to be annihilated. I was out of there.
DATA PAD ENTRY 13
Han: Chewie and I had the Falcon loaded. We boarded her without saying much. I was too busy talking to myself again.
We blasted off. I’d made it. I had the money to pay off Jabba. The Imperials were too busy to pay any attention to the Falcon’s exit. I had a clear ride ahead of me.
So what was the problem? I should have been feeling great. A free man again. But I couldn’t help myself. I had to monitor the battle going on back at the Death Star. Chewie and I were silently taking in the destruction of the Rebel pilots. Those boys were going at their mission with everything they had. They were standing tall against the Imperial forces and their TIE fighters. It really got to me.
It was tough going for the Rebel pilots—either they couldn’t get near the opening to shoot the big one down the shaft, or they couldn’t hit a target that small once they did. They were covering for each other at extreme risk. I couldn’t even keep track of how many pilots had gone down. It was last-chance time when they gave the word to Luke.
Suddenly, I knew we were heading the wrong way. We turned the Falcon around and torked at maximum speed to the Death Star.
Three new TIE fighters had entered the fray.
I had a bad feeling about those guys. Time was running out and it was up to the kid to pull off a miracle. They were closing in on him. I figured if there was going to be one last fight, at least it was going to be a fair one.
Luke was down there skimming along the trench in his X-wing with his computer turned off, ready to blast one down the chute by eye-balling it—if he could get the chance. Well, I was there to give him that chance.
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