Before you start reading this story, please make sure you read Crash Landing. Otherwise, literally nothing will make sense. Author's note at the bottom.
A dark-cloaked figure rushed through the marketplace, followed closely by another, shouting figure. Those who stood in their path had to move quickly, and turned heads as they passed by. If it was another thief, surely it wouldn't get far, but this figure was fast. However, it had been seen before, many times in fact, running through the courtyard, a prize in hand. No one knew who the figure was, but all they knew was that it was fast, and always evaded capture by the Palace Guards, by merchants, or anyone who tried to stop it.
Today, it was a merchant who had decided to run after it, as he had been the most recent victim of this thief, and though he tried, he was unable to keep up. Those who stood in its way were brushed by as though they were never even there, while they acted as barricades to him. He forcefully pushed those out of his way, trying to keep his eyes on the figure who held the fruit he had been selling tucked into its cloak. By the time he was able to make ti through the dense crowd of people, the figure was gone.
He growled. "Next time, I'll make sure you won't be so lucky," he hissed under his breath, stopping as the thief disappeared into the dense bush and forest at the end of the market hall. Everyone knew about the cloaked thief, but whoever it was never stole anything of true importance. It was almost always food that was taken and hidden under that cloak, and no one knew anything else about the thief. Everyone suspected everyone, and in a city such as Theed, it seemed as though no one could hide for as long as thief had. For months, the figure had frequented the market, never stealing much, but enough to vastly irritate the merchants and put some of the market-goers on edge. Because no one knew anything about who it could be, the thief was considered to be dangerous.
However, that was far from that case.
There were forests that surrounded Theed, and it offered great cover from those who tried to find wherever the figure had gone off to. Naboo's terrain, no matter how picturesque, had dangers all around, and only those who knew the terrain well could navigate it successfully. This thief was one of those.
The figure turned to look back at the market square, seeing just enough through the trees to see that everyone had returned to their daily business, and one frustrated merchant that had been beaten by one of the most recognizable thieves on Naboo. The figure brushed the hood back over its head, and revealed a woman, struggling to catch her breath, but happy that she had made it out unscathed. She glanced down at the few pieces of fruit she managed to claim off of the table before someone spotted her. It was always amazing how no one was able to see her come into the market, but her stealth seemed to help with that. She pulled the cream-coloured cloak around her shoulders, dropped the fruit into the concealed pockets. She had hit two other stands that day, but the people behind the counter had been so caught up in serving their other customers that they hadn't even noticed her sneak away with a prize of her own.
She began to walk carefully through the bright green woods, at least until the buildings of Theed disappeared behind her. The Naboo sun was masked by the thick vegetation, but the girl didn't mind. She was never one to enjoy heat or humidity, and the inside of the forest was relatively cool. It made wearing the cloak bearable, even though she needed to. No matter how much she could change her hair, or alter the colour of her skin, if anyone saw her true face, they would know who it was.
To them, she was known as Myra Thorne. She sported dark red hair which reached about midway down her neck. The time she spent in the darkness of the forest and hiding behind the hood of her cloak altered her complexion to a pale cream colour. To anyone who saw her from afar, they would think nothing of her. However, if they could see the marks on the sides of her face, and the thin scar on her wrist, they would know exactly who it was. She was determined to not let anyone in on who she really was. Her previous identity had to be buried. No one knew that the most wanted person in the galaxy was really the thief that stole fruit from the market halls of Theed.
Her accommodations were less than perfect. They were located deep in the forest, and unless you truly looked for it, you couldn't see it. It was a hut, camouflaged well in the green space. It was located at a place where the land suddenly dropped off, and the roof looked at though it was just an extension of the land. Below, it was covered by bushes, and resembled more of a dug-out cave than an actual hut. However, it had kept her safe for six months.
She swallowed as the thought crossed her mind, and her pace slowed. Six months had gone by, yet it felt like a decade. The Empire had been near-fatally wounded, and showed no signs of rearing its ugly head anytime soon. Only four life forms had made it off the Death Star II, and one of them was in critical condition, and showed no signs of ever returning to his former glory. As for the other three, it seemed as though they were fairly quiet, but there was always the possibility of it resorting once again. It had bene three years after the Battle of Yavin before the Empire had come back, and because of this, the Alliance still existed. She had nothing to do with them anymore, All ties had been broken the day that the Death Star II had been destroyed.
She walked carefully through the bushes that covered the entrance to her home, and smiled as she saw a familiar figure sitting with his back to her. His dark hair curled around his face as a light breeze wafted in through the open entryway. The inside of the hut was dark, only a small amount of light coming from a lantern that was set off in the corner on the table. "What did you get this time?" he asked, and she reached into her cloak, placing six pieces of fruit on the table. The other figure turned and smiled. "Good haul?"
"It helps when the merchants are distracted," she said. "I managed to get two from three stands before the third realized who I was."
He shook his head, smiling. "It's amazing to me how you're such a well-known figure, yet you still slip through their fingers every time," he said.
"They didn't even put up a fight today," she said, shaking the cloak off and folding it carefully around her arms before placing it on the table. "What about you? Anything new?"
"I think I've found something," he said. "Not much, but it's a start."
"Well, we've had nothing for months, so anything at all would be a welcome relief," she said, settling down at the table. "Anyway, what do you have?"
"Coruscant," he said.
Her face went dark. "Coruscant?" she repeated, her voice low and unchanging.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Just, not what I was expecting, that's all," she said, raising her head up to look at him. "You worry about me too much, Tyler."
"I have to," he said. He stood up and walked over to the table where she sat, a datapad clutched in his arm. "Look, if you don't want to go, you don't have to."
"No, I do," she said. "I know now that my sister exists, and now she might be on Coruscant."
It was the only thing that her companion, Tyler Norris, knew about her past life. She had kept fairly quiet about it all. He didn't know her past, only what had happened in the five months since they had met. He never pried, which was what made him ideal to have around, and he didn't leave the hut much. He much preferred to be the one who searched for hours on end, trying to find something about who this mysterious family member was.
He had confirmed her existence while researching the survivors of the Jedi Purge, and those who were born in the year 18 BBY. That was all she would give him to work with. She had been pushing it when she had asked for a list of all the Force-sensitives that had survived the Jedi Purge, but he had not asked questions. It was well-known that some had escaped. He had found nothing on a name, but the age and affiliation to the Alliance seemed to match up. On her own, she had dug up some information on the family tree, and her own questions had been answered. The mother of her sister, who also had no name, had two daughters, and one was labelled as missing. One that had been born in 17 BBY. When she had found that out, it had struck her, but she had to keep it concealed from Tyler. It had confirmed that the people she had grown up with were not her real family, and that she did have her own flesh and blood out there somewhere. Now, it was a matter of finding out who exactly that girl was.
"Do you want me to get the ship ready?" he asked.
"Not right now," she said, picking up one of her prizes from that morning's run. "I didn't steal this fruit for nothing."
He smiled. "Take it with us," he suggested. "We need to eat in space too, not just here."
She rolled her eyes. Something that she had learned about Tyler was his stubbornness was undeniable. As soon as he had a plan in mind, he was going to pursue it forever.
"If it makes you feel any better, you can go and start up the ship," she said. "But be discreet, for the love of the Maker."
"I'll do my best," he said. "You say that I worry to much, but so do you, Myra Throne."
She smiled, and he walked out of the small living space. The Imperial Shuttle that she had stolen and been concealed in the thick forest, and it was located about a mile and a half away. It was still amazing to her that it had not been found on any scanners. Naboo was affiliated with the Empire, but it didn't hide the fact that an Imperial Shuttle located in the forests surrounding Theed was conspicuous. However, it hadn't flown in months, and she wanted to keep in that way. Every time she had looked at it, it resurfaced memories of the night she wanted so badly to forget. However, when you had to adopt something new an live with it every day, you are reminded every day of what had occurred to get you here. For her, it was her identity.
Myra Throne. The name still seemed foreign to her, yet she knew that she needs to accept it. Her life would never be simple again, even if it had never been that way. She was a wanted woman, and nothing could ever change that. It tore at her heart, knowing that she had to leave just a beloved piece of her behind, just like she had on the Death Star. However, she knew that what had happened had not been the last time. She had not felt him die, and she knew now that he was alive, and he was looking for her. Because of that, she could not revert back to her old identity.
She could not be known as Anna Anara any longer.
The first chapter of After The Crash aaa i'm so freakin excited you have no idea. I'm writing this story for Camp NaNo this month so I hope to have a rough draft finished by the end of the month, and updates will probably be daily.
I totally procrastinated and only got a very rough outline together, but it's flexible. I don't have a specific word goal, as the outline I have can range from 75k to 100k depending on how much my characters want to get into trouble.
Also, Happy Canada Day! (it is almost impossible how I managed to get writing today, Free Agent Frenzy, Wimbledon Tennis, and my digital art that i have also procrastinated on were all competing for screen time.)