Chapter 1, Low beginnings

The sand was dry and gritty. It was almost as if some cosmic sadist had written her into some kind of torture. It had been over 10 years, and who knows how long before that, stints in cryo had made memory very unreliable.

Tatooine. The blasted and baked planet that had been her defacto home for that time, and kept her hidden and trapped.

"I'm a city girl!" Nala grumbled, mopping the dust from her eyes as she lugged the parts back to her sister's workshop. "I grew up on Coruscant." she mumbled bitterly as she ducked into the back door.

"What's that kid?" Molly was a red-headed firebrand. She'd taken Nala in after that day. She made a strange sister to the lanky Togruta. "You trying to convince the alley you're a Coruscanti again?"

Nala scowled at the bubbly human woman. "I am!"

"Sweety, you've been here for damn near 15 years. That makes you a local."

"You don't understand, you've never been anywhere else! I HATE this place! Why did he have to bring me here?!"

Molly sighed. "Because he wanted to keep you safe."

"But he's not my father he was - " Nala caught herself and swallowed hard, biting back the tears.

Molly put down the engine parts she had been machining and walked between the speeders and repair jobs, mopping her hands on a rag hanging from her pocket. She took Nala's arm. Nala tried to pull away.

"Sis, he's gone. You can't ask him now. But you're not, and you're family." Molly sighed "And you're all I've got left."

Nala flinched and looked away.

"What did you do?" Molly's tone was one of resignation. Nala had always been prone to bursts of impulsiveness.

"I signed the loan."

"You WHAT? Not with that sick scumbag?!"

With a miserable look Nala nodded

"So that's it then, you're leaving me?" Unsuccessfully attempting to hide the catch in her voice.

Nala whipped her head back, staring at Molly as if she'd been slapped.

"Molly! NO! What kind of a smuggler would I be if I didn't have a good mechanic!? You're coming with me!"

Molly barked with laughter, running a greasy hand through her shock of bright red hair. "Me? Sign on a freighter? No Fear! Besides, things are working well here. Or they were until the only apprentice who can assemble a sealed bearing quit…."

Nala sighed "You'll find someone who can do the job Molls."

"I did." Molly looked meaningfully at Nala

Nala's lekku twitched with embarrassment and discomfort.

Molly held up a hand. "No girl, don't go getting all distant on me. It's not like I didn't always know who you are, I knew you were going to want to up bricks and leave Tattooine sooner rather than later. I'll admit, I'm a little relieved that you didn't just sign up with one of those scum in Chalmun's cantina, or worse still, sneak aboard."

Nala looked a little hurt. "Hey! I wasn't trying to stow away! I saw a real astro droid!"

Molly quirked a half a smile. "Still not sure if I believe THAT story, but you're lucky the pilot did."

Nala folded her arms defiantly across her chest, trying to pin down the lekku that were announcing her embarrassment to the world again.

Molly turned and waved Nala through the workshop to the stairway. "Can't have my sister making her maiden voyage on an empty stomach now can I? I made that stew you love."

Nala, who had started to weave her way back through the chaos of speeders, engines, parts and tools, stopped, turning to look hard at Molly. "You knew!"

Molly looked at her from the doorway she was closing.

"Knew what?"

Nala sighed. "It takes you hours to make that stew!"

"Course it does, gotta cook it properly or it won't be edible!"

Nala put her fists on her hips. "Molly!"

Molly, returning through the workshop hooked her arm around Nala's elbow. "Yes sister?"

"But you kept trying to stop me."

"Yeah, had to try. But I finally worked out that it was better if I just let it happen where I can see it."

Nala looked confused, letting herself be pulled gently upstairs, becoming aware of the tangy smell of Mynock stew. Who'd have thought she'd actually come to like the taste of this meat?

"Look, I have a couple of conditions."

"Conditions for what?"

"You have to let me completely check it out before you go anywhere, even for a spin to the station and back."

"Conditions for what Molly?"

"And you have to keep checking in. I swore to look after you, and I can't do that if you are flying the galaxy in a bucket I can't even look at!"

"Molly!"

"If you don't do those things, I'll take my name off as co-signer."

Molly pushed Nala gently into one of the seats as she processed this

"Was that why he changed his mind?"

"You didn't think it was his charitable spirit and sense of community did you? The guy is a piece of bantha poodu!"

"I don't know … I just thought … Hey wait - that means you could lose the shop, lose everything! No Molly, I can't ask you to risk that!"

Molly pushed a bowl in front of her adopted sister. Plonking another one opposite her and sitting down facing the Togruta. "You didn't. In fact, I seem to recall many, rather clumbsy attempts to hide the fact you were even investigating the idea."

Nala's Lekku were squirming again.

"I'm sorry Molly…"

Looking at her best friend carefully. "Can you?"

Nala stopped mid sentence, Looking at Molly blankly. "Can I what?"

"Accept my terms stripe-head!"

"HEY!" Nala made an effort to look affronted, and Molly grinned at her. "Like I'd let just anyone into my engine room!"

Molly nodded in satisfaction.