After paying their berthing fees, Han and Chewbacca batten down the ship. Within minutes, Ord Mantell hangs below the Millennium Falcon’s portholes. Swirls of pink clouds over seventy percent of the planet hide its yellow soil from view. Where the surface shows through, it glistens with the lights of a million casinos. Dark, placid seas reflect the warm glow of its fifteen moons. Ord Mantell truly deserves its reputation as the Heart of the Bright Jewel.
Han turns his attention to plotting their course out of the enormous Bright Jewel System Cluster. No matter how he charts it, his options remain limited. The fact that he has to make Tatooine narrows his choices. He will have to exit hyperspace at least four times along the way to plot new coordinates one of those exits will have to come before he enters the Aldo Spachian Comet. Only a fool would fly through a comet in hyperspace; not even a fool would brave a hyperspace journey through the enormous gravity wells hanging to either side of the Aldo Spachian Comet.
His only real decision lies in whether or not he should take a shortcut close to the planet Mon Torri. The shortcut might save Han as much as a week of travel time. The nav computer lists Mon Torri as an undeveloped, mountainous planet. That means there will be little commerce nearby. It also means help will be a long time coming if he runs into trouble.
Chewbacca growls.
“Not now,” Han says, keeping his eyes focused on the nav computer.
“Ooouugh!” Chewbacca insists.
“What’s so important?” Han asks, looking up. He sees the streak of a small ship entering hyperspace. “Did you get a good look at it?” Han asks.
Chewie moans a negative answer. He tried, unsuccessfully, to track the ship on the Falcon’s flight computer.
“It looked like it headed for the Mon Torri shortcut,” Han says, “but it might not have been Alfreda. What do you think?”
Chewbacca grumbles a long answer.
“Who cares?” Han snaps. “Leia got herself into this mess. If she gets killed, it’s her own fault.”
The Wookiee grunts.
“Yes it is,” Han insists. “If she had stuck with us like I said, then Alfreda Good wouldn’t have kidnapped her.”
If Han takes the Mon Torri shortcut, Click Here
If he takes the safer route, Click Here