Star Wars - Kenobi

over!”
    At once—and quite free from Jabe’s grasp—the landspeeder’s control stick slammed forward, causing the vehicle to hurtle ahead again. Kallie twirled and fell to the sandy street, buffeted by the jet wash from the twin engines. Aboard, the unrestrained Annileen fell backward into Ben’s arms.
    The boy grabbed the steering yoke in panic. The vehicle skirted over the top of a wheeled cart and ripped through an intersection, even as its young driver fought the controls. “It’s stuck!” he yelled.
    Annileen scrambled across the center console and helped him pull back on the stick. All at once it gave way, and the acceleration died. The vehicle floated to a stop in front of an illegally parked starship, whose owner, fearing the arrival of authorities, ran for his loading ramp.
    She fell back into the backseat, out of breath. Ben seemed rattled and wary, but otherwise intact. She clutched at her son’s sleeve. “Jabe, I told you to knock it off!”
    “I didn’t do it, Mom! It started on its own!”
    “On its own?” Annileen felt as if an artery had ruptured in her head. “You nearly killed your sister!”
    Rising cautiously, Ben raised his hand. “No, no. I saw it,” he said. “Jabe’s telling the truth. I saw the control stick. It slipped forward, on its own, while you weren’t looking.”
    Both Calwells looked at Ben. Annileen looked incredulous. Jabe was absolutely stupefied. “Th-thanks,” he said.
    “I don’t believe this,” Annileen railed. “Pricy landspeeders don’t just start driving!”
    “Still, that’s what I saw,” Ben said. “Jabe saved us.” He bowed his head slightly to Jabe, who looked at him in wonder.
    Aggravated, Annileen shook her head. “I’m gonna give that dealer a piece of my mind!”
    Ben put up his hand. “I don’t think that’s necessary—”
    Annileen glared at him. “What, you’ll save us from wild animals and Tuskens but not defective vehicles?”
    Ben was speechless.
    It was as harshly as Annileen had ever spoken to him, and she regretted it instantly. She sank back into the seat and tried to calm down.
    She looked about. They were in a neighborhood she’d never seen before. “Where are we?”
    Placing his hood back over his head, Ben scanned the area. “Nowhere near where we were,” he said, with what almost seemed like satisfaction. He was breathing easier now, Annileen saw, and it made her feel better. Until her comlink went off.
    “Jabe tried to kill me!” the tinny voice shrieked.
    “It’s all a dumb mistake,” Annileen told her daughter over the comm. “Stay where you are, Kallie. We’ll be back for you in—”
    Ben grabbed at her sleeve. “Annileen,” he said, pointing out of his side of the vehicle. “There!”
    She looked out to see a landspeeder that resembled Orrin’s, being driven by a Klatooinian. It parked near the Mos Eisley Inn, and Bojo Boopa emerged from the back. The other passenger door opened.
    “Orrin!”
    Annileen sank in her seat and watched, spellbound, as across the way two armed humans stepped up and frisked Orrin. His holster was empty, she saw, and the man made no move to oppose the search. He looked grim.
    “That’s the Gossam from the store!” Annileen said.
    Jabe reached for his blaster. “They’re mugging him!”
    “No.” Ben reached forward and touched the boy’s shoulder firmly. “I don’t think that’s what’s happening.”
    Then what is happening? Annileen wondered as the human and alien toughs conducted Orrin past the hotel and toward an alleyway. She looked at Ben. “Orrin’s not even supposed to be in town today!”
    Jabe started to move again, only to be stopped this time by Annileen.
    “Mom, they’re taking him away! We’ve got to help him!”
    “We don’t know what’s happening,” Annileen said. “It could be business. It could be nothing,” she added. But she didn’t believe it.
    She looked plaintively to Ben, who was already out of the vehicle. He walked to the driver’s side and spoke quickly. “You two get Kallie and return here. I’ll see what I can find out.”
    “You?” Jabe objected. “You’re crazy. You don’t even carry a blaster!”
    “And if one is necessary,” Ben said sternly, “that’s more reason you shouldn’t go.” His expression softened. “Orrin was one of the first people to welcome me here. If he needs help, I’ll get it for him.”
    Reluctantly, Jabe agreed. Ben waved to Annileen. “See you soon.”
    Orrin marched