Luke sat upon a roof, looking over the city of Mos Eisley. It was an abandoned building, one with the domes on top. But there was enough room for Luke at the edges. And it appeared someone else had used this spot before. There were 'adult drink' bottles everywhere. Although many of the bottles where Luke's he couldn't take all the credit. Luke was getting ready for a heist in the wretched city. One day he would get out of here. But that day was not today.
Today he was a thief. Not an easy title to live with, though. Especially with him having the ideals he did. Luke hated stealing, but he was good at it. And, hey, he didn't want anyone to starve on his account. Today Luke wasn't going out alone. It wasn't with a 'normal' friend though. Heck she wasn't really a friend. Luke's normal friends would never have accompanied him on missions like the one he was about to embark on. His normal friends had homes and family. Luke had nothing. He met them when he had went racing in his old T-16 at Beggars Canyon. He'd had some fun times there. Biggs was his favorite out of all of them. He had heard that he was leaving planet to go to the Imperial Academy. Luke almost wished he was old enough. Piloting had always been his dream, racing through the stars, shooting down enemies! What more excitement could one ask for? Luke wasn't sure if he'd like to be recruited in the Imperial Navy however. He'd heard Darth Vader, the commander of the entire fleet, was a major badass that would kill people for looking sideways at him. Luke ran his hand through his hair as he watched the suns set in to one of those sunsets that you would always remember. Around the suns the sky was a red-orange fading out into indigo blue one the other side of the horizon. The stars were starting to come out and dotted the sky. Part of him wished the sky would always stay like this. He might have hated Tatooine, but it always seemed... wise to him. Like the sands held ancient knowledge not even the Jawa knew about. He figured he was just full of it.
"Focus on the present." He said, reprimanding himself. As a street kid he had fast learned, if you don't focus on the present you get caught. And he couldn't get caught. He had a nest of younglings to take care of. Technically though he wasn't a street kid. But it was easier to call himself that. Luke had taken around ten kids, ranging from five to fourteen, into his old homestead. He was the oldest, fifteen, and the place had belonged to his late Uncle and Aunt. He was technically still a kid. He didn't feel like one though. He figured most fifteen year-olds didn't have to take care of ten kids. Or steal to feed them. The Wookie Chalmun was the closest thing Luke had to a father, he had given him a job. Heck, he had even took the time to teach Luke Shyriiwook! But he knew Chalmun couldn't scrape up enough credits to feed ten kids. With his job as a bartender/bouncer Luke could pay to feed half of them. With his... other activities, the others. He was painting his skin and hair. If someone saw him at the crime scene... he didn't want to be recognized. Working at a bar tended to make you popular among the locals. But if he got a bounty put on his head... he knew even the closest friends would trade him out for money. It was a sad truth. But one he'd learned to live with. After Luke finished he grabbed some broken glass from a bottle next to him.
'I look like a Zeltron!' He thought as he examined his now red skin and black hair. He shook bad memories off as he dropped the glass shard. 'Stupid Zeltrons. Can't take a freakin' joke.' As he jumped off the roof of the rundown building into an alley, landing on his military issue boots. He glanced up to the stars once more. Dreaming of the day he'd find enough money to get all the kids, and him, off planet. He planned to take them to Naboo. Luke shook his head once more. 'Focus!'
He had to go meet Chumi at their rendezvous point. Chumi was as human as Luke, but she certainly could be from another planet. She looked very exotic, and that was her greatest strength. Most people were willing to extend aide if the beggar looked as good as her. He took off to the rendezvous, anxious to see his girlfriend.
xXx
When Luke got to the sewer entrance he didn't see anyone. The entrance to the sewer was a large half circle, three stories high. There were buildings around it. Mostly inhabited by spice addicts and alcohol abusers. As he arrived Luke sensed immediately what Chumi was doing.. No one had ever been able to sneak up on him, so all the kids made a game out of trying too. Chumi had decided to join their game, he decided to play along with her this time.
"Ai'ushi?" He called out her code name for the week. He pretended to look around for her. Though he knew she was right behind him. In an ally slightly to the left.
"Ai'ushi Muscipula, where are you?"
"You're not a very good actor, Vulpes." Chumi came lurking out of the shadows, calling Luke by his own weekly code name. Luke spun around and beamed in her direction. She had painted her self a rich blue with light purple hair. She was wearing ratty clothing, but she had died it black. They were almost matching, except their hair and skin. Luke's shoulders sagged.
"I thought I was getting better!" He said in an I'm-obviously-joking tone. He had been trying. He just wasn't very good at lying. Stealing, however, he was very good at.
"Yeah, you have," Chumi said ignoring his tone. "You've improved from Gizka to Sandperson!" She said poking her pink tongue out at Him. Luke didn't find the joke very funny. His Aunt and Uncle met their deaths at the hands of Sandpeople when he was just nine. A man named Obi-Wan Kenobi had been able to save Luke somehow. But not himself. The young man smiled to Chumi but heart wasn't in it this time. She realized what she said and her eyes almost fell out of her head.
"Oh! Aw! Sithspit! Hey, Bud," She said. "You know what I m-" She knew she was wasting her attempts of a save and sighed. "So," She said changing the subject. "Where we hitting up tonight?" Luke smiled at that, Chumi was always up for adventure. Just like him.
"I found this shop in Mos Espa. It's a while away, but it's owned by a Toydarian. I've heard they're pretty wimpy when threatened." He grinned at his own cleverness.
"Mos Espa." Chumi said to herself in a whisper. "Near the slave quarters?" Luke had hoped she wouldn't bring that up. Chumi had been a slave once, something she never talked about. Something she could never go back to. She had ran away less than a year ago, and had somehow found a way around the chip they had implanted in her.
"Well, yeah. I figure if we don't do anything stupid we'll be alright." He said, shrugging off her concern. It would be fine, he sensed it would. And he had learned to trust his senses.
"If I was going with anybody else," She stressed anybody. "I wouldn't do it. But since your the luckiest boy I've ever met. I will." Luke's smile shined, it was always heavy though. He was only fifteen and had ten kids and himself to care for. "Let's head out!"
xXx
They ran. They ran from the lights and guards chasing after them.
"Sithspit, Vulpes! I thought you said it would be fine!" They were dodging trash cans and slaves alike.
"You can hardly blame me!" Luke screamed over the sirens. "How was I supposed to know the old bird had a security system like that?" He was thankful they had colored themselves so different from normal. The authorities would look for a Zeltron and... whatever Chumi was supposed to be. Instead of a couple of light skinned humans.
"You can always tell when someone has a security system, Bantha Breath! And you're the one who tripped it this time!"
"Resorting to name calling, I see!" He said with a laugh.
"Shut up, Idiot! We need to drop the crap!" Chumi was right. But Luke couldn't drop it. He had to feed the younglings. He pulled her to the side and ducked behind a building, safe for at least a minute.
"No." Luke said with resolve. He looked down. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't like it. He only used the Force in dire sitchuations. But, unfortunately, this was dire.
"Ai'ushi, drop the stuff. Get back to the base. I'll be there in half an hour." Chumi knew the homestead where they stayed was at least an hour and a half away, but Luke was a smart guy. The authorities were probably listening into their conversation, and he wanted to lead them off their trail. Chumi did what he asked. She threw down the parts, then... then kissed him on his cheek.
"See you in a bit, Vulpes Veritas." She ran away out of sight, and he knew she'd be safe. Chumi was very resourceful, they would meet up at his speeder. He touched his cheek where her lips touched. He shook his head. 'Stay focused!' Luke was going to try to lift all the parts... using the Force. He had levitated three things at a time before. But now he was attempting ten. He stretched his arm out... and the pieces rose! 'I'm doing it' Luke thought. He knew it was risky. He wasn't sure he could take all of it out of Mos Espa without getting caught. But he had to try. If not for his own self for the children. He was about to duck out of the building when the police hoverer came out of nowhere. Luke, knowing he would be safe, smiled for the camera before he ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Sometimes faster.
xXx
Luke escaped Mos Espa without being tracked. He had made it all the way to Mos Eisley before letting down his steal from the air. He was near Vuulaz's Emporium. The place he went to too sell his lifts. It was almost mid-night but the store was still open. Vuulaz was the owner, he was a Rodian. And the best thing about Vuulaz's Emporium was that he never checked for ID. Which was good because Luke didn't have one. He wiped his paint off earlier, just in case. Luke walked in, the stench hit him first,. He'd smelled bantha better than this rot!
"Hey Vuulaz, I got some stuff for you." He said with his nose cringing.
{Ah! More money you bring with you?} The voice came from an adjoining room. {Many much money, eh?} Luke never learned Huttese, but he, for some reason, understood it. Vuulaz came out of his office.
"Yeah, bunch of parts I came across."
{Ahh! I love the way you come across things, Lukay!} He said, mispronouncing his name. That was another thing good about Vuulaz. He didn't care if what he bought was stolen or not. The Rodian followed him outside to the junk pile. He studied it for a while before answering.
{I'll give you seventy for each piece.}
Luke had to work hard to hide his excitement. That would be enough to feed them all for the next month! Plus extra that he always put away for their passage off this gods-forsaken planet.
"That'll do." He said with a shrug and apathetic expression. They went inside. Luke followed Vuulaz into his office.
{So,} Vuulaz started. Luke groaned inwardly, he wished Vuulaz wasn't so insistent on small-talk. {How it goes at the Cantina?}
"Oh, it goes fine." The boy said, knowing the Rodian didn't really want to know. Luke watched with thirsty eyes as Vuulaz counted credits.
{What about that Chumi you've been dating?} Luke wished he hadn't told him about Chumi. Vuulaz was a nice man. But he got on Luke's nerves nonetheless.
"Chumi's fine I guess. She's a nice girl. I can't believe She'd been a slave." Luke wasn't hesitant to tell the Rodian about Chumi's illegally running away. Thieves don't rat on convicts. Or something like that…
{Ah... slaves aren't usually good for mates. Much too needy.}
"Are you almost done?" Luke asked trying to change the subject.
{Youngling should learn patience.} The 'youngling' only glared at him, thinking it would be bad if he pulled his modified DH-17 on him. {There you go, seven hundred credits.}
Luke's good mood returned at the sight of paycheck. "Thanks Vuulaz!" He stuffed the creds into his pocket and walked out of the store. He took a nice breath of fresh air, or at least the freshest air one could get in the armpit of the galaxy.
xXx
He saw Chumi before she saw him. She had also wiped her coloring off. He was carrying their groceries for the next month or so in his arms.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late." Luke said with a grin.
"Oh my gosh! Look at all that food!"
"Good to see you too, Chumi." He used her real name now that they looked like themselves.
Chumi helped him get the food into the speeder.
"This would... this will feed us for at least five weeks!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, Vuulaz gave me seventy for each piece. I have extra that I'm putting away for passage off this rock, too."
"Oh," She said with less enthusiasm than Luke expected. "How close are we?" They finished putting the food supply in the speeder and got in.
"Well I figure," He said as he turned the speeder on. "If we get to go where I want, one more thousand."
"Wow, you're so close..." She said looking off into the stars.
"We're so close." He said grabbing her hand and squeezing. She took her gaze away from the sky.
"We." She repeated.