Sorry for the lame beginning! Hope you enjoy!
Prologue
Jade Orion wondered if life would ever get better or of she was just on of those kind of people who would be stuck in the doldrums forever. While handing the drive through order out the window to her 352nd customer that day she tried to imagine herself in say, forty-three years.
She would be 60, fatter, have lots of ugly wrinkles, probably still be poor, but maybe she would finally be brave enough actually to dye her red hair a different color.
"Hey! This burger is cold!" the customer snapped. She saw him every day. And every day his burger was cold, didn't matter how you knew it had just been warmed up, or even freshly made, he wouldn't be happy until you took it back and warmed it up.
Truthfully she just took it back and waited a minute before returning the same warm burger.
"This is much better, why can't you people ever get anything right?" he drove off. How long until she could go home?
Closing the door of her tiny apartment, Jade leaned against it and groaned, she was home, but it was no better, home was tiny, home was empty. Home was lonely. Home was sitting there eating cold mac and cheese and wishing her landlady would call so she would have someone to talk to. Someone that is, besides the plant she had raised from a tiny seed, or her favorite star wars poster featuring Luke Skywalker.
Hey Tim," she greeted her plant, she didn't know what kind of a plant Tim was, but she was sure he was a good one. "Hey Luke, had a good day?" she addressed the poster. One of these days she would get a cat…
Chapter 1
The traffic was heavy and with the rain falling it made everything worse. "Come on!" she muttered impatiently as the light turned red and she had to stop. She glanced at the messily drawn map; she was never going to get there in time, they would be closed.
She had driven all the way to the city the minute she had gotten off of work, and she was going to miss it. She missed everything. Jade never did anything fun, so when she had heard about One of the largest private collections of Star Wars collectibles was going to be coming to the city near her, (sort of) she had had to go! It was one man's collection, and it had taken him a lifetime to gather, or so the pamphlet had read, stuff from original costumes pieces to toys never opened and a toaster that toasted a picture of Darth Vader's face into your toast.
And she was going to miss it.
The light turned green. Jade jammed on the gas and swerved around the car in front of her. "Two more blocks she muttered "then a left. Oh! There it is!" The building was a community building, a large on, but the parking lot was empty, and only one light shone in the window through the dark evening.
She had missed it. Figured. Pulling into the parking lot, the empty parking lot, she sat for a minute listening to the falling rain and her windshield wipers on her old car going back and forth, back and forth.
After a minute, she let out a sigh and turned the vehicle off, maybe she was at the wrong place and could ask and see if there was another one, or maybe, possibly... she clung to the tiny hope that they weren't yet closed. Stepping out into the rain Jade trudged up to the door, not caring how wet she got, trying the door she found it locked. Of course, well, she might as well go home, and try to get some sleep before the next day started, she had a long drive ahead of her still.
Hugging her arms across her chest and bowing her head into the rain, Jade started back to her vehicle. She had only taken a few steps however when the door she had just tried opened, spilling out faint light "who's there?" a voice called.
Shocked, Jade turned around "It's me, Um, Jade. I came to see the display, is it still open?"
"Well no, It's just me here now I'm packing up, come on in, and you can see what's still out." The man was older than her grandfather would have been, if her grandfather was still alive, but he had a sprightly step as he led the dripping Jade inside the building.
The lights were dim, and packing material and boxes were everywhere, but plenty of the displays were still up.
"Wow!" Jade breathed, forgetting how cold and wet she was. "Is that Luke's actual lightsaber!" she gasped, coming closer to examine the handle.
"Well, no, the man chuckled "if it were, it would activate."
"Well, yeah, if we lived in the star wars universe" Jade smiled
"But yes," the man said, "that's the model used for the movie."
"Amazing."
Taking up a broom the man started sweeping up packing peanuts "so, do you live around here?"
"No, quite a ways, I was sure I would be too late, but thanks for letting me in," she examined some original photographs.
"You love star wars then I guess?"
"Anyone who came and didn't would have to be crazy," Jade said with a smile
"Most likely."
"Yes, I loved star wars ever since I saw the first movie years ago. It was all I played, and I was sure I wanted to marry Luke when I grew up." She snorted "that was, of course, before I was old enough to separate fact from fiction…"
The older gentleman gave her a serious look "I suppose since you know so much about star wars that you knew it was written as a book first?"
"Yes, of course, I've read it," she smiled.
Setting aside his broom the man walked over to a box and reaching inside he took out a worn paperback book. "This is the original book, from the first printing, there is only about three estimated to be around now, all in collections." He held the book out to her, Jade hesitated.
"Go ahead, take it, read it."
"You would trust me with this?" Jade was shocked.
"I'm getting old, too old to enjoy it as much anymore, bring it back when you're done or find someone else to give it too."
"Thank you," Jade said awed as she took it, glancing up she saw he was giving her an odd look, almost amused, almost mysterious. "Who are you anyway?" Jade asked, frowning.
"Ben," he said with a smile.
"Thank you," looking down at the book in her hands; she opened the front cover. But instead of seeing words, beginning a story, there was a blinding flash of bluish light; she couldn't see a thing, then she felt as if she were spinning. Dizzy, she was never good at those fair rides!
The next thing Jade knew she was laying down, harsh light heating her whole body uncomfortably. She shaded her eyes "did I pass out of something?" she asked, slowly opening them. But instead of seeing the dim room with boxes around her, she saw a bright clear sky, without a cloud in it, and two suns.
Wait? Two suns? She must have hit her head when she fell. Sitting up Jade felt sand beneath her hands and was surprised to see that all around her was sand, for as far as the eye could see.
Was she in the desert? Whoa, this was weird, was she sick or something? Standing and brushing the rough sand off of her palms she looked around. That's when she spotted the small book lying on the ground next to where she had been. Bending to retrieve it, she realized she wasn't wet anymore, and that she was no longer wearing the jeans and comfortable green tee shirt.
Instead, she was clad in rough, and loose garments. An off white tunic sort of garment and loose pants complete with boots wrapped round with strips of cloth to seal the tops.
This was strange, she had fallen asleep and was having the weirdest dream… it sure was a hot dream! She wished she had a drink! And what kind of a dream didn't have anything going on? What was supposed to be happening? Just lost in the desert? She usually had bad dreams so probably some lions, or something would come out soon and give chase, although Lions didn't live in the desert, but who thought about that in dreams?
Finding she had a small sack with no water in it, she stuffed the book there and with a sigh, began trudging through the sand, maybe she would stumble across an oasis, it couldn't help to dream could it? Well, she was dreaming, so it couldn't hurt to hope.
She glanced up to try and gauge the time of day. It was either early morning or late evening, judging by the suns. She shook her head, but the second sun remained firmly in place. She wasn't seeing double was she? Focusing on the sand hills she squinted, no, not seeing double, but her vision was going fuzzy there.
No, that was movement, something was coming, the Lions perhaps? As the object it approached she realized it was some vehicle, good, maybe they could tell her what kind of a dream this was. As the vehicle got closer, she suddenly thought she recognized it. Was that seriously…?
By the time the vehicle, or should she say speeder, slowed to a stop next to her, there was no doubt in her mind as to what it was or who was driving it.
She stared, mouth hanging open, "Luke? Luke Skywalker?" she gasped.
"How did you know my name?" the blond teenage boy asked suspiciously, shading his eyes as he stared at her.
"And, if I may say so," the golden droid next to him in the speeder added "what are you doing out here without," he glanced behind her "anything?"
"Well, I-I'm lost," Jade stuttered, unable to get over seeing the face she had stared at on her poster for years actually alive and starring back at her.
"Lost? Where do you live?" Luke asked.
"Oh, long ways from here!" she laughed "the truth is, I don't even know how I got here!"
"Wow," Luke Looked concerned "I've heard of people hitting their head and losing their memory. Well, I can hardly leave you out here..."
he looked back at his speeder, which, with him and C-3PO was full "you can climb on the back there, and I'll get you to Mos Espa, orEsly or whatever, maybe we can call someone from there."
Jade stared at him dumbfounded for a minute. "Are you coming? I've got a droid to find," Luke asked impatiently. Jade didn't have to be asked twice, she clambered aboard quickly, finding a seat and a hand hold. This was the most amazing dream ever. She was on Tatooine and actually riding with none other than Luke Skywalker! She hoped she didn't wake up for a while!
