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“Hurry up with that wrench, you big oaf!” Felix growled. He was inspecting his run-down starship, trying to make repairs as it sputtered black smoke from places that shouldn’t be smoking.
“I know, I know!” Sylvain called from the cockpit. Felix could hear his companion shifting things around in the toolbox.
“If you don’t know what I need, just bring the whole damn box!” Felix yelled. “We don’t have time for you to be taking all day with this.”
“Why are we in such a hurry again?” Sylvain grunted as he lifted the heavy toolbox and brought it to the front of the ship where Felix was standing.
“We’re in a hurry because our bounty is getting away again.” Felix glared at Sylvain, then sighed and shook his head. “Honestly, it’s a miracle I get anything done with a lug like you around here.”
Felix tightened a few screws and nuts on the starship, then stepped back to see if he had fixed it. For a moment, the smoke disappeared, and everything seemed fine. Then, the whole ship started to shake.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Felix groaned, then grabbed Sylvain and dove away from the ship as it exploded in a spectacular fireball. Shrapnel rained down all around the bounty hunter and his partner.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to catch up to our bounty anymore.” Sylvain said.
The most frustrating thing was that Sylvain thought he was being helpful. Felix slammed his fist against the ground, then pushed himself to his feet. “Dammit! This was supposed to be the bounty that got us a new ship. This stupid piece of junk couldn’t hold together for one more run!” He kicked a nearby piece of metal, then immediately regretted his action as pain crawled slowly up his leg.
“Where to next, boss?” Sylvain asked as he scanned the wreckage for any salvageable materials.
“I don’t know, Syl. Mos Eisley? Someone there should have something for us.” Felix dusted himself off then started walking toward the unsavory destination. “Come on, there’s nothing worth saving here.”
When Felix and Sylvain arrived in Mos Eisley, they went straight to the Cantina. Felix had found work at the cantina before, and had made enough to buy his first starship, though in light of recent events he might have been better off saving up for a different ship.
“Wait here. I’ve got a contact inside, but he doesn’t like strangers. If I’m not back in an hour, assume he killed me.” Felix pushed open the door to the cantina and scanned the room. There, in the corner booth, was Dimitri.
“What do you want now, Felix?” Dimitri asked, idly swirling his drink.
“I’m in the market for a new starship. Mine finally gave up. What do you have?” Felix had never been a fan of idle chatter in the first place, but talking to Dimitri made his skin crawl. The sooner this was over, the better.
“Ah, a new ship? You’re in luck! As it turns out, there’s a fancy ship up for grabs in a race. They call it the Millenium Falcon. She’s pretty run down, but she used to be top of the line.” Dimitri set his drink on the table and leaned forward. “Of course, I could tell you where the race is, but I need something in return.”
“Aw, anything for an old friend.” Felix said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Dimitri scowled, but continued. “Alright, I know you’re in a tight spot. The prize for the winner of the race is the ship and a million credits. If you win, you give me the credits, you can keep the ship. Hell, I’m feeling generous, you can keep a quarter for repairs. What do you say?”
Felix grinned. “Sounds like a deal. You just point the way, I’ll bring you your credits.”
“You sure this is the place?” Sylvain asked hesitantly as Felix led them to an abandoned launch site. “This place looks like it hasn’t been used in-”
“Step right up! Get your tickets to see the race of the millenium! Or should I say, the Millenium Falcon!” a middle aged man with brown hair was selling tickets, laughing at his own bad jokes.
“This is the place.” Felix said. He approached the ticket vendor. “I’m here to participate in the race. Dimitri sent me.”
“Oh, Dimitri.” The loud man chuckled. “He mentioned he had a pilot coming. Step on to the back. Race starts in thirty minutes.”
“Come on, Syl!” Felix didn’t wait for the red head to catch up. They needed to get a look at this ship before they were flying.
Felix ignored his competitors as he walked straight up to the Falcon. He looked over every inch of it, making note of the parts that might need repaired, and taking extra caution to see what was still working. When the first racer boarded the ship, Felix sat down and ran over the ship speculations in his head.
“Felix. We’re up.” Sylvain said, pulling Felix to his feet.
“Great. What’s our time to beat?” Felix looked around for a list of times from those who had already flown. “Three minutes? These guys are total amateurs!”
Felix and Sylvain boarded the ship and went straight to the cockpit. They adjusted all the settings to their liking, then pulled up to the starting line.
“Allllllright! Here we have it everyone, the final run of the day! Will they be able to take the lead? Or will they fail to get the highest score? Only one way to find out! Ready?” The announcer paused and slowly aimed a gun toward the sky. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled the trigger, and Felix and Sylvain shot off. Felix maneuvered expertly through the course that had been set up, dodging every obstacle and letting his skills be on full display. He cleared the course in on minute and thirteen seconds.
“Time! Well there you have it, folks! We have our winner! Felix and Sylvain, the ship and the credits are all yours! The credits are already loaded into the ship, so tell us, what do you-”
“Sylvain, are the credits really here?” Felix asked, ignoring the announcer.
Sylvain looked around, then lifted up an old smugglers’ hatch. “Yea, they’re here!”
“Great.” Felix didn’t wait to answer any more questions. He took off at top speed toward Mos Eisley. “Now let’s get Dimitri his money, fix up the ship, and get back to work.”