Legends of the Outrider: Book One

By Serena

A/N: First in a trilogy of oneshots, all in chronological order. They were originally written for different challenges on about what happened to Dash Rendar.

Setting: ANH

Disclaimer: Don't own Dash or Star Wars - I DO own Kelrax.

Dash Rendar was bored. Bored… bored… bored. He hadn't had a good job in over a month. His pay was running low. Come to think of it, so was the drink in his hand… Dash shook his head. This was getting to be pathetic. He needed a job, and he needed one now. Sitting around doing nothing in a bar on Tatooine – Tatooine of all places! – was just not what he wanted to be doing.

"Hey, mind if I join?"

He looked up to see a young woman wearing a hat that looked much too big for her, shorter dark hair, and bright green eyes standing there nervously. He glanced around for a moment and said in a bored tone, "Can't you sit somewhere else?"

She looked uncomfortable. "No…"

He sighed. "Fine. Sit."

"Actually," she piped up, plopping into the seat across from him, "I'm looking for a job."

His hearing suddenly improved. "What kinda job?" He tried to maintain that bored tone. So far, it was working wonders for him.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'll do almost anything. Well, within reason." The hat slipped forward, covering her face, and she pushed it back quickly.

Dash scowled. "Look, sweetheart, I'm a smuggler. I don't need another guy – or girl – on my ship slowin' me down. If you got a job for me, now, that's a different story."

"Well, I don't. Not unless you count smuggling me…" she trailed off, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Actually… could you smuggle me?"

Now his interest was peaked. "Why? Where?"

"No reason," she answered hurriedly. "I just, uh, need to get away." Once again, the large brown hat slipped in front of her face, and she hurriedly fixed it.

Dash, despite himself, felt a grin coming onto his face. "Get away from who?" He asked pointedly. "Your parents? A slave trader? An ex-boyfriend or fiancé?"

"How 'bout all three?" She said, miserable. Her small shoulders slumped.

His eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I can't talk here," she licked her lips and continued, "But I can pay you. Well. Erm, well, sort of well. I have two thousand credits."

He snorted. "That it? That's nothin', kid."

Her eyes flashed, and her lips pressed hard together. "Fine. Don't know why I even bothered." She rose to her feet.

"Don't know why you did, either." He threw her a lazy grin and placed his boots upon the table. He knew she would come back.

After a few seconds, she turned around, a desperate look on her pretty face. "Please!" She begged. "I don't have much time before they find me. You have to help me!"

"I don't have to do anything, green eyes." His smirk, he knew, was infuriating her. But he couldn't help it. It was so much fun being annoying!

"Then what do I have to do to get you to help me?" She demanded.

That smirk grew, and her eyes narrowed. "Don't even–"

"Dirty thoughts, green eyes!" He mocked, still smirking. "Don't worry. Wasn't suggestin' anything of that sort."

She sat back down and looked around nervously. "Then what?"

"Hmm," he leaned forward. "Let me think about it, and I'll get back to you."

"Time is of the essence," she hissed. "I can't stay here. It'll only be another few minutes before they find me! Before he finds me!"

"Then I guess he finds you," he shrugged carelessly. She glared, and he chuckled. "Fine, green eyes. I'll get you off the planet. Have to have a name first."

She blinked. "Um…" She paused, thinking.

"Time is of the essence," he chanted mockingly.

"Kelrax," she whispered. "My name's Kelrax."

His eyebrows rose. "Strange name."

"Wasn't my blasted idea. What's yours?"

"Dash."

"That's strange, too. Are we going or not?"

He held out a hand, and she reached out and shook it. He frowned and said, "Green eyes, I want the money first."

She blushed and handed over the credits, which he pocketed. Standing up, he slowly stretched, ignoring her furious glare. "Well, lemme go pay the tab, and I'll be right with ya." He left her sitting at the table and went up to the bar, using some of her credits to pay the bar owner. But he got to talking with the man, and it was only when he heard a scream and a familiar voice shouting, "DASH!" He turned. Swearing, he saw Kelrax being dragging away by three large men in dark uniforms. He rushed out of the bar, drawing his blaster pistol, and followed them outside, where they were trying to force the girl into a speeder.

Dash's attention was grabbed when he saw the crest on the speeder. Oh, great… I'm gonna regret this. He shook his head and fired at the men. One of them dropped the girl in the confusion, and she rolled away and lunged for Dash, who grabbed her roughly and shouted amongst the confusion, his eyes still locked on the men as he continued to shoot, "Go round back of the bar and wait for me!"

She obeyed and took off, disappearing into a darker alley.

"The girl's run off!" One of the men roared; and Dash's heartbeat increased as he saw the man taking out a high-powered rifle.

Time to leave this party.

Knowing it would be a good idea to create a distraction, he shot the engine of the speeder and flew down the alley after Kelrax, not bothering to glance behind as the speeder promptly blew up. He rushed to the back of the alley, but to his surprise, the girl wasn't there. "Damn it!" He looked around, but she was nowhere in –

"Hey, Dash!"

He whirled sharply around and saw to his astonishment and annoyance that she had found - or stolen – a swoop bike and was riding towards him on it. "You should've stayed!" He growled, but jumped on behind her. "Go!" As if on cue, as soon as he leaped onto the bike, he heard the roar of engines behind him and knew that her followers were still, unfortunately, following her. "Gun it!"

The bike took off, and he shouted, "Turn left up here!" She did so, and then he shouted, "Take this alley to your right!" Then, finally, he yelled, "Up here, go straight and don't pause for anything or anyone!"

The bikes behind were getting closer, and Dash knew that they had to make it to the ship before their followers could. The bike flew through a hangar entrance and into a smaller hangar bay, where a gleaming ship was resting. "Stop!" Dash ordered, and jumped off the bike. She did the same, and they both ran to the ship as the other bikes roared into the bay, shooting wildly at them.

Kelrax darted up into the ship, and after firing a few rounds on the bikes, Dash did too, closing the ramp behind him. "Leebo, take off!" He yelled to the cockpit.

"Take off what, sir? You know I don't wear clothing – after all, I'm only a droid­–"

"You'll be a heap of scrap metal in a minute if you don't do what I say and shut up!" Dash bellowed angrily, brushing past a red-faced Kelrax and striding into the cockpit. She followed him and sat down in the passenger's seat as the Outrider took off out of the hangar bay and flew into the blue Tatooine sky. Dash looked on, unimpressed, as the bikers down below tired to fire, but it was useless. The shielding would protect them.

Once in the upper atmosphere, Dash swiveled around in his chair and looked at Kelrax pointedly.

"What?" She asked, blushing.

"Lemme guess, you're the runaway fiancée of the infamous slave trader and Tatooine crime lord Hadge Naus." He looked her over, somewhat interested. "Decided to call of the wedding?"

"Don't laugh at me!" She cried, much to his surprise. "That man's a monster. I didn't want to get married to him – my parents forced me! They said that if I didn't that they would kill me."

"Little overbearing," Dash remarked dryly, flipping his blaster around his finger in a careless manner. "Why'd they say that?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. They've always wanted power, I guess. And they never really liked me, anyways. I'm adopted, you know."

"I didn't know. Well, now I do. Continue."

"There's nothing to continue. That's pretty much it. So now, I'm just trying to escape. I want to get as far away from Tatooine as possible. Go to a remote planet like Dantooine or something like that. Maybe hide in the lower sections of Coruscant."

He looked at her. "Dangerous galaxy for a girl like you."

"There's nothing else I can do," she snapped.

"Guess not." Their eyes locked for a moment –

A sudden shrill beeping rang, and Kelrax jumped slightly, startled. "What's that?" She asked, alarmed.

Dash turned around back to the console and swore. "Two unidentified ships approaching. Probably your boyfriend." He looked back at her. "You still up for this, Kelli?"

She nodded, uncertain. "Yeah. But can we escape them?"

"Course I can. My ship can run circles around those big pieces of junk."

"But what do we do if we can't escape them?" She pressed.

Dash grinned. "Then strap yourself in and prepare for the ride of your life."

The next oneshot will be during the battle of Hoth. Let me know what you think!

- Serena