Chapter 12 - Outmatched (2/2)

- ”Roger that”

- ”Open the chat with the enemy”- said Han and then he could listen the furious voice of Bala-Tik and Han could only imagine his face- So... still think I'm just and outdated old man?

- ”Shut up, Solo!”- exploded Bala-Tik- ”you were lucky that those bastards believed your bunch of lies!”

- ”Not lies... opportunities!”- said Han with a cool and confident voice.

- ”What, Solo? called to ask for mercy?”- said Bala-Tik in the other side of the intercom who changed the topic since he felt he was falling on Solo's rythm - ”If you give me the droid I could consider let you go in your beloved Garris City.”

- ”Ha! Keep dreaming kid! There's no person I've ever begged for anything!”- said but then Lando coughed saying the name of Leia- ”Shut it!”

”I'll never beg anything to anyone and less to a child like you who still stinks to his mother's milk...”- said Han with such contempt that even Lando felt he would feel offended in this was directed to him- ”I'm calling jhust to tell you that I'll jump into Hyperspace in the fastest ship in the galaxy to receive the reward that is rightfully mine.

He changed the commnication to hologram and showed Bala-Tik their image next to BB8 and Han started to taunt him.

- ”And since I'm in a good mood for the bounty I'm about to cash I warn you not to follow or you'll regret it... Understand?”- Han said with a very cold and serious tone that not many had heard from him- I repeat... Don't you dare to follow!

The threat was said in such a way and tone that Bala-Tik, who could be considered a very experienced and brave pirate, felt a shiver in his back.

- ”Of course if you do...”- said Han using a mocking tone- ”you'll save me the credits of your payment... so dio what you want, I'll win anyway... Now piss off, Boy!”

And after saying this, Han cut the communications and started to prepare the Falcon to enter Hyperspace in any moment.

- ”Now Han...”- said Lando after a sigh- ”Was that really necessary?”

- ”I don't want to have his death on my concience?”- said Han smiling- ”I suppose I've gotten softer with the years.”

- ”Pfft! What softer!”- mocked Lando- ”After what you say you know he'll definitely follow you!”

- ”I tried my best!”- said Han using a father-like tone- ”if he doesn't value a good suggestion and want to throw his life away then it's not my problem.”

- ”What about your lives?”- asked Lando

- ”Grrrr”- Chewee said with a worried tone.

- ”You have lived enough”- said Han finalizing the system setup

- ”Not me”- said Finn and Han sighed.

- ”Your name is Finn right?”

- ”Yes sir!”- answered Finn.

- ”Don't worry, Finn!”- Han said using his softest voice- ”I do this all the time and is very safe!”

- ”Don't lie to the kid!”- shouted Lando

- ”What does he mean?”- asked Rey who was now very nervous.

- ”Nothing!”- said Han- ”Prepare to enter Hyperspace.”

The pirates saw the Millennium Falcon dissapear in a estelle of light but even after some seconds of silence they did not know what to do.

- ”Captain, the Garris is about to enter hyperspace too”- informed ther subordinate and Bala-Tik woke up from his dizziness.

- ”Shoot everything we have and stop them!”- ordered Bala-Tik but he already knew that it was already too late.

The Garris City dissapeared at the speed of the light before the furious eyes of the three remaining fleets that had been left alone in the middle of the space.

- ”Do we have the coordinates of their destinations?”- asked Bala-Tik

- ”Yes, Sir”- replied the pirate- ”they are at opposite directions from each other. Which one should we follow?”

- ”Damn!”- Bala-Tik was paralized since he did not know if the droid was with Solo of if he had tricked them and send the BB unit on the Garris- ”To the hell with it! Let's go after Solo! Even if he does not have the droid I'll make sure he cannot enjoy the bounty!”

- ”But... Sir... what he said...”- said the pirate timidly remembering the warning Solo had told them.

- ”So what?”- spitted Bala-Tik- ”If we dont go, what will happen to our reputation... today I'll end Han Solo's legend for good! Follow!”

- ”Yes, Sir...”- said the subordinate with a scared voice but it was not sure if it was fear to Bala-Tik or Han Solo- ”Setting coordinates... and entering Hyperspace!”

Soon, they were flying inside the beautiful and luminous alternate dimension that allowed any sentient being to traverse the galaxy no matter how far they were. However, Bala-Tik was not in the mood to appreciate the spectacle and was just anticipating the clash he would have with Han Solo. The droid did not matter anymore... this was more personal now and he felt excitement at the perspective of having a glorious battle against a living legend like Han Solo.

- ”Coordinates reached!”- informed the subordinate- ”abandoning Hyerspace in 3... 2... 1...”

As soon as they left the Hyperspace their faces showed horror and shocked since they could never have imagined where had their targets decided to escape.

- ”EVASION MANEUVERS!”- shouted Bala-Tik but his response was already too late since his ship and many others in his fleet were received by gigantic asteroids which hit them with all their power.

- ”What the hell?”- he coud hear many vpoices from the other ships- ”where are we?”

- ”It's a fuċkɨnġ asteroid field!”

- ”FUCK YOU, SOLO! YOU'RE CRAZY!”- shouted Bala-Tik watching the fleet that has cost him so many years and credits to build explode and dissapear in seconds- ”GET US OUT OF HERE!”

However, this was easier said than done. The size of their ships which were their best ȧsset against Solo's Millennium Falcon was now their worst weakness to maneuver inside the asteroid fields. They were destroyed and the lucky survivors had to use pods to escape. Meanwhile, at a safe distance from there, Han and the rest of the people in the Millennium Falcon were also evading the asteroids with great difficulty and the damages were increasing by the second.

- ”Grarrrghewo!”- said Chewee with a very unsatisfied tone.

- ”Well... I told him not to”- said Han referring to Bala-Tik's problems- ”And don't feel pity for others when we are in the same situation!”

- ”Whose idea was it?”- asked Finn wh was trying his best to shoot down as many asteroids as he coud.

- ”If you have time to complain, shoot more of those damn rocks Kid!”- replied Han clicking his panel board while changing data by the second- ”Just shoot the small ones. I'm switching the energy from weapons to the shields so you'll have minimun power to clean the ones that you can.”

- ”This is insane!”- shouted Rey who was also having a very stressful moment.

- ”BB8! Help me with the calculations!”

- ”Beepap bobotik!”

- ”Do your magic, Chewee...- he said watching his loyal companion of thousands of battles- if someone can pull this off, it's you!”

- ”Grrrrr.... warooow!”

After an hour or so of intense maneuvering they finally abandoned the asteroid field and they could breathe a little. All of them just let their bodies relax on their seats while the Falcon was left floating.

- ”BB8... damage report...”- said Han with a tired voice.

BB8 beeped and informed him of the damages they had taken and Han smiled with a satisfied expression.

- ”Well... it's not so bad”- he said and put a hand on the Wookie nxt to him- ”you did it again my friend. You certainly haven't lost your touch...”

- ”Greaodating himself on his seat and entering the coordinates for hs next destination.

- ”So, what's next?”- asked Rey who seemedto have run a marathon.

- ”The information must be given to the resistance”- said Han- ”The communication relayer is damaged so we'll have to go to a safe place to send the data... hey, Lando... we managed to escape... how are the things over there?”

- ”You crazy dog!”- said Lando laughing- ”I can't believe you pulled it off.”

- ”It was a piece of cake”- said Han and Chewee complained loudly.

- ”I know, Chewee!”- said Lando with an annoyed voice- ”don't worry, I'll have him work in a mountain of paperwork when he returns...”

- ”Cheh! I won't return then!”- said Han and started the coutndown to enter the Hyperspace- ”I'll go with Maz in Takodana.”

- ”I'll send the information from here also just to be sure.”

- ”Ok, just be careful!”

- ”Ok, send my regards to Maz!”- said Lando

- ”I will”- replied Han- ”If she doesn't punch me first, of course.”

- ”You know you deserve it”- said Lando- ”good luck. my friend.”

- ”Hey, kids... prepare to enter Hyperspace!”

And like that Han, Chewee, Rey, Finn and BB8 continued their adventure to the green planet of Takodana.