━━┛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗┗━━
━━┓'𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐫' ┏━━
━━ ★ ━━
. . . JUNDLAND WASTES, TATOOINE
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 back to Mos Eisley was a melancholy one. The engine roared as the kicked up sand in their wake. Cora sat in the back seat and she kept catching Obi-Wan turning around. She knew he wasn't looking at her. He was looking for the woman they had already left behind.
Cora smelled the acrid smoke as it came into view ahead of them. A giant, trapezoidal machine looked like it had been completely blown apart. The speeder puttered to a stop at the scene and Luke hopped out to investigate.
It was an entire group of Jawas slaughtered in one attack. Cora toed at piece of shrapnel with her thick leather boots. It looked unmistakably like it had been shot by a blaster.
"It looks like Sandpeople did this, all right. Look, here are Gaffi sticks, Bantha tracks. It's just–I never heard of them hitting anything this big before," Luke said, perplexed.
They didn't. But we are meant to think they did," Obi-Wan told him. "These tracks are side by side. Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers."
"These are the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio."
Obi-Wan ran a hand over the treads of the sandcrawler. "These blast points are far too accurate for Sandpeople. Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise."
A chill brushed up Cora's spine. Tamis's voice laughed in a memory. Those Imperial bastards couldn't shoot their way out of a paper bag.
Luke turned. "Why would Imperial troops want to slaughter Jawas?"
"The droid," Cora muttered. Louder, she repeated, "They knew about the droid, the plans that were housed in Artoo. They must have been tracking him."
"If they tracked them here, they might have learned who they sold them to," he was verging on panic now. "And that would lead them back home."
"Luke, wait," Obi-Wan said, but the boy was too fast. Before they could do anything, he started the speeder and headed off.
Cora blinked. They were surrounded by nothing but miles of sand.
"Do you reckon he'll come back?" she asked no one in particular.
"I certainly hope so," Threepio warbled. "My circuits will corrode if we have to walk to the nearest town!"
She stared at the Jawas that littered the wreckage. It reeked of death. "They had no right. This is what the Empire does, everyone is completely expendable to their whims. They can't get away with this."
Obi-Wan came up and stood beside her. "You remind me of someone."
"Who?"
He smiled genuinely at her, maybe for the first time. "Her name was Ahsoka Tano. She didn't have much love for the Jedi either, in the end."
Now Cora felt bad. She had been harsh before, on one of her self-righteous bents that Tamis always rolled his eyes at. "I'm not sorry for what I said about the Jedi. But I remember the stories my mum told me when I was little, about you and Wynn. She trusted you with her life."
He stared out at the horizon. "I never knew your mother as Wynn did, but I always counted her as a friend. After the death of Padmé Amidala, I don't think we heard from Lyranna again."
"She always hated Tatooine, but if she knows you two are here, I'm sure–"
"Cora, you must listen to me," he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What we're embarking on, it's bigger than you even know. I don't think I'll be returning to Tatooine."
"But–"
He just shook his head and began to walk away from her. "I know you're afraid of what you've done, what you've left behind. But sometimes that's what the future requires of us. A complete departure from the things we are familiar with."
Loss was written into everything about this man, and though she barely knew him, she understood it. She thought of him looking out into the distance on the speeder. Isn't that what everyone wants in the end? To have someone who doesn't want to turn away?
While they waited for Luke to return, they set to work piling the bodies of the Jawas onto a small funeral pyre. Cora whispered a quick funerary prayer even though she suspected the Jawas had no love for the gods of the Old Naboo. Then she extended a hand and called forth the flames, setting them ablaze.
Luke came back just as Threepio was carrying the last of the Jawas to the fire. Cora stayed silent and he barely regarded her as he walked past. She focused on drawing the fire higher, but she couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"My aunt and uncle–it was all just smoke by the time I got there."
"There's nothing you could have done, had you been there. You'd have been killed too, and the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."
A beat of silence. "I want to come with you to Alderaan. There's nothing for me here now." There was a new conviction in Luke's voice. "I want to learn the ways of the Force. Like my father."
★
. . . MOS EISLEY, TATOOINE
"𝐌𝐎𝐒 𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘 spaceport," Obi-Wan announced as the speeder slowed and they passed through a dilapidated archway. "You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
"All roads lead to Mos Eisley," Cora muttered. She had been on Tatooine for almost a full day, and all she had managed to do was travel in a large circle and become entangled with a pair of Jedi and a farm boy.
Luke scrunched his nose as he steered the speeder. He was a strangely talented pilot, maybe even better than Tamis. "Who even says that?"
"It's a very famous saying. You haven't heard it before?" Cora said sardonically.
"You're messing with me."
"You make it very easy."
The horizon was battered with the familiar rise of sandstone buildings. Machine smoke rolled over the sands, and ship engines flashed like stars in the daylight as they came and went from the spaceport.
A group of troopers signaled for them to stop. It wasn't too out of the ordinary; patrols like these were common in Theed, too. It had never concerned Cora much before, but they were now traveling with two very recognizable droids. She slipped her blaster from her thigh holster.
"How long have you had these droids?" they asked as the speeder came to a halt.
"About three or four seasons," Luke said smoothly.
Cora raised a brow. She didn't expect him to be a good liar. In her eyes, it was a virtuous talent.
"They're up for sale if you want them," Obi-Wan said earnestly. "My wife, she keeps saying we can't afford to have so many."
The trooper was unamused. "Let me see your identification."
Obi-Wan gave a small wave of his hand. "You don't need to see his identification."
He stiffened. "We don't need to see your identification."
It was a Jedi mind trick. Cora gritted her teeth. Nefas.
"These aren't the droids you're looking for."
The trooper turned to his platoon. "These aren't the droids we're looking for."
"The boy can go about his business."
"You can go about your business. Move along, move along."
Cora said nothing as they came to a stop in a small parking area. Fire bloomed in her chest, roaring in her outrage against the natural order of things. A Jawa ran up to the speeder and immediately began to run a hand on the hood appraisingly.
"Go on, go on," Luke said, hopping out and batting them away. He turned to Obi-Wan. "I can't understand how we got by those troops. I thought we were dead."
Obi-Wan had his hood on, so his face was partially concealed. "The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded."
"That's nefarious," Cora seethed.
Luke just grinned thoughtfully. "I think it's cool."
Cora glared at him. "There really is no hope for you."
Obi-Wan just sighed as if he had been given the job of babysitting two children.
"How are we gonna find a pilot here that'll take us to Alderaan?" Luke asked.
Cora pressed her lips into a thin line. "The cantina. It'll be the best place to find any pilots open to a charter."
Maro would know exactly how to find one, too. Unfortunately, Anika Rees had no uncle who lived on Tatooine. With Luke nosing around, it was too much of a risk to involve Maro.
They walked through a marketplace that boasted stall upon stall of fresh food and lukewarm beverages. The smell of cooked meat burned in the air and children darted between legs in an endless chase. A small Tooka hobbled through the middle of the street, plopping down on its hind legs as it searched for food. The cat-like creature looked impossibly skinny.
Cora had a fair amount of credits in the zipper pocket at her waist, so she stopped at the first stall they came upon that was selling fresh cuts of meat.
"Hello." She pointed at a medallion sized piece of beef. "How much for this?"
The man behind the stall gave her a toothy smile. "For such a pretty girl, it's on the house."
"Thank you," Cora told him, slightly uncomfortable. But free was free.
She grabbed up the small slab of meat and held it out discreetly next to her thigh. With a whistle, she caught the Tooka's attention immediately. Obi-Wan and the droids were a fair amount ahead of her, but Luke had hung behind.
"Don't tell me you're gonna waste that on the Tooka," Luke said, eyeing the meat in her hand.
"Why?" she asked. "I could have asked that man for something less raw if you're hungry."
He rolled his eyes, glancing over his shoulder. He had a petulant stance about him, even when he was walking. "Tookas are feral pests. They're basically invasive."
"I bet you know all about feral pests," Cora said sweetly. When he glared at her, she just winked.
The Tooka trotted happily at her heels. It yipped once, lifting its blue-furred head in anticipation. Cora tossed the meat and it tore into it with a fervor. Luke shuddered and Cora grinned.
"How do you know so much about Tatooine?" Luke asked as they set off again. "You seem like you've been here before."
"I have," she nodded, brushing her dark hair back over her shoulder. The breeze felt good on her neck.
"I don't know why anyone would want to come back to this place twice."
Her brow rose. "But you were so determined to stay."
"That's different. I had a responsibility to stay. Now–" he looked off into the horizon. His eyes were the same blue as the pale sky. "Now I don't have any reason to."
She sighed thoughtfully. "It's normal to feel guilt, but Obi-Wan is right. You couldn't have done anything to save them."
He just glanced at her and nodded once. Cora would have told him about her father's death and the story of how she had gone to jail. It might have made Luke laugh, or at least eased his sullen expression. He was handling the loss remarkably well, but Cora knew what it was like to feel alone and the guilt that would eat away.
But she was Anika Rees, and Anika Rees had no sympathy to offer, so they continued on in silence.
★
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀 was tucked into one of the more well-maintained areas of the spaceport. The awning was void of holes and there was even a neon sign that blinked above the door. MARO'S, it read.
"Watch your step," Ben warned as they approached the door. "This place can be a little rough."
"I'm ready for anything," Luke assured him, maybe a little too desperate for his approval.
"Don't be so sure," Anika patronized.
Her attitude certainly fit well in a place like this. Anika's sharp glare and the weapons stashed at her waist and in the holster at her thigh made her formidable even in the swamp of low-lifes that congregated in Mos Eisley. But there was something incongruent about her, too. Her dark hair was too glossy, her lips too full. Even the way she walked made her seem better fit for a palace than the sands of Tatooine. She looked like royalty spending a day running around as a peasant.
Maybe it was a requirement for rebels to be disarmingly pretty.
The cantina music was raucously loud, and it was packed. He had snuck off to Mos Eisley twice with his friend Biggs, but that was a year ago now. He didn't recall it being this overwhelming.
The droids were both waiting outside, and Luke had the sudden urge to run back out into the sun and join them. But he couldn't do that. For one thing, this felt like a test. He could feel Anika watching his every move. Old Ben was already near the bar talking to a hulking Wookie.
Anika stepped ahead of him, making a beeline for the barkeep. The man smiled at her with gleeful recognition, but Luke was too far off to hear the conversation. Just as quickly, she was back with two drinks in her hand.
"What is that?" Luke asked.
"Surely poisoned," she answered, handing him a glass. Then she leaned in and whispered, "It's water. You must be dehydrated."
He made a non-committal noise but drank it down. Now that he wasn't moving the exhaustion was hitting him square in the forehead. Noise around them seemed to rise. The Wookie that Ben was speaking to let out a horrifying laugh.
He and Anika stood watching, side by side so that their shoulders almost touched. "You don't understand Shyriiwook, do you?"
"No."
"Great," he muttered.
Out of nowhere, someone shoved into Luke's shoulder. He turned to meet the multiple-eyed gaze of the perpetrator, who promptly shouted, "Negola dewaghi wooldugger!"
Luke just turned back around. He didn't speak that language, either.
A hand tapped him sharply on the shoulder. A shorter man with a deformed face joined the belligerent monstrosity.
"He doesn't like you."
"I'm sorry?" Luke said incredulously.
"I don't like you either," the man told him. He grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. "You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence in twelve systems."
"Oh piss off," Anika said to him, annoyed. Luke widened his eyes. "Everyone here is wanted for something."
Luke put a hand on her shoulder and said to him, "We won't give you any trouble, is what she means. We'll be careful."
"You'll be dead!" he roared, throwing an elbow into Luke's gut. He doubled over and wheezed.
In the same space of time he watched Anika's fist connect with the man's jaw, and she sent him straight to the ground with a knee to the stomach. The Cantina music stopped. Everyone was staring. The man was no longer moving and his friend scurried off. Obi-Wan stood in front of them, the Wookie towering behind like a shadow.
"Anika," Ben addressed her. The noise of the cantina rose again around them when everyone realized nothing particularly exciting had happened. Luke thought Ben might tell the girl off, but instead he just sighed tiredly. "Wait until we have a ship secured before you start another fight."
Shamelessly, she said, "Sure."
"Chewbacca here is first mate on a ship that might suit us," Obi-Wan said, gesturing to the Wookie.
They followed the Wookie to the back of the Cantina where it was considerably quieter. They sat down in a booth across from a man dressed in a white, v-necked shirt with a dark vest. Modern fashion, Luke supposed. What passed for fashion on Tatooine was various shades of brown coarseweave.
"Han Solo," the man introduced. "I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan System."
"Yes, indeed. If it's a fast ship," Obi-Wan mused, goading him.
The captain rose to the bait. "Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"
Ben shook his head. "Should I have?"
"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs."
Anika frowned. "I heard that it was fourteen?"
Han turned to look at her. "Who was sayin' that?"
She just shrugged absently. "People talk. People lie."
Luke just stared at her, marveling at her unshakable confidence. On Tatooine, there was an unspoken rule that you kept your head down. Everyone blended into the sand, no one asked too many questions, and life remained as bland as the tan landscape. Everything about this girl was like a bright neon sign, electrifying everything into technicolor.
Han Solo frowned. "I've outrun Imperial starships. Not the local bulk cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now. She's fast enough for you, old man."
Ben only grinned, as if being called old man were a term of endearment. "I'm sure."
"What's the cargo?" Han asked.
"Only passengers. Myself, two droids, the boy."
Han grinned rakishly at Anika and Luke felt an unwelcome bolt of jealousy. "And her?"
"And no questions asked," Ben finished.
The pilot laughed and glanced to the side. "What is it, some kind of local trouble?"
Ben grunted. "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any Imperial entanglements."
Han stretched out his shoulders with languid ease. "Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? And it's gonna cost you something extra."
"Here we go," Anika muttered.
"Ten thousand, all in advance."
Her voice rose with its sharp, Core World accent. "You're mad!"
"We could probably buy our own ship for that much," Luke said.
Han scoffed. "And who's gonna fly it, kid? You?"
"I could," Luke threatened, leaning forward. Everything that he had seen in the last few hours tumbled forward with him. "I'm not such a bad pilot myself. We don't need to sit here and listen to this."
Ben just sighed, and Luke adjusted himself in the seat. He was in no position to be acting out like this.
"We can pay you 2,000 now. Plus 15,000 when we reach Alderaan."
Han's eyes practically lit up. "Seventeen?"
Ben nodded.
"Okay, you guys got yourselves a ship," Han said, trying to play off his excitement. "We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking Bay ninety four."
"Ninety four," Ben repeated thoughtfully as they stood up to leave.
Once they stepped back into the sun, Ben told him, "You'll have to sell your speeder."
Luke found that he was only vaguely upset. He had poured so much time and credits into the speeder, but it didn't matter anymore. "That's okay." He breathed in deeply. "I'm never coming back to this planet again."
★
𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐀 stayed behind with the droids while Obi-Wan and Luke hurried off to sell the speeder. Luke seemed reluctant to leave her behind, but it was impossible to tell if the concern was for her safety or because he didn't trust her. Probably the latter.
They were in the safety of a narrow alleyway. Cora slipped AJ out of the slim backpack that hung like a vest. It was like breathing fresh air to have the familiar machinery in front of her eyes again.
"Any news on the Princess?" Cora asked.
"None. The Imperials are keeping a tight watch on any information that gets released. All of the rebel reports are inconclusive," AJ relayed.
"No news is good news," Cora sighed.
"Is it?" AJ answered back. "By my calculation, no news puts the princess in impossible danger."
"Not helpful."
"I was programmed for honesty."
"I'll have to get Arlie to change that," Cora muttered. She removed the goggles and stowed them away.
Soon enough, Luke and Obi-Wan were back. They wove through the busy streets, heading towards where the ship was docked.
"If the ship's as fast as he's boasting, we ought to do well," Obi-Wan remarked.
"Sure, if his arrogance is fueling the hyperdrive," Luke muttered under his breath.
Chewbacca waited for them outside of the door to bay ninety four. He ushered them along quickly, and Cora had a suspicion that they weren't the only ones trying to outrun someone.
The Falcon itself was resoundingly unimpressive. Tamis would have probably lost his mind over the smuggling freighter, but Luke voiced Cora's own thoughts perfectly.
"What a piece of junk."
"She'll make point five past light speed," Han said defensively, stepping out from behind the hydraulics. "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself," he told them, stepping closer.
"That's so very reassuring," Cora smarted, lifting her nose with disdain.
But Han only grinned at her. His charm was in no short supply. "I don't think I caught your name."
"Anika Rees," she answered, smiling back. It was easy to smile; she knew about three ways she could have him pinned on the ground, and a fourth that involved a knife.
"Anika," he repeated. He had a smile like a salesman. "Well, we're a little rushed, so if you'll just get on board, we'll get out of here."
Cora glanced over her shoulder and saw Han shaking his head as they filed onto the ship. She knew what he saw. An old man traveling with two naive children and their droids. Easily duped, easily fooled. It was their perfect cover.
Luke coughed once as they entered the circular common space. "It smells like the inside of a shoe in here."
"I was going to say burnt bread," Cora said with distaste.
Suddenly, there was the unmistakable sound of blaster fire.
"This just keeps getting better and better," Luke muttered as they settled onto the rounded bench.
Han was running through the ship yelling, "Chewie, get us out of here!" He thundered down the hall and straight towards the cockpit.
"Oh, my. I'd forgotten how much I hate space travel," Threepio announced as the ship began to shake from the force of takeoff.
Artoo just squealed with pure joy.
━━ ★ ━━
a/n when I tell you I love cora grené so dearly know that I'm not exaggerating.
this is the first time I've written a love interest dynamic with the 'strangers' component and it's actually so fun to characterize cora and luke as they get used to each other!! cora slightly terrorizing luke is just going to be so key to their relationship. it's really just a back and forth of "I'm so done with you" x "I'm going to be so insufferable and you won't get rid of me no matter what"
I'm thinking weekend updates for this fic?? let me know your thoughts!!