Okay people. This is a new story of mine that I'm writing when I have time or I'm frustrated with school or my novel or my other story. Speaking of that, yesterday was my last day of school. Yay! I have to go back in two weeks but at least it's a regular semester. A bit of advice, don't take summer courses. I'm never doing it again. Anywho, this is that story I was talking about in my profile. It'll be a finished story eventually, but I don't plan to update it as regular as my other stories. It's just a side project. Since my full summary wouldn't fit in the allotted characters this site gives, I'm posting it here for you.

Ten year old Luke Skywalker didn't think girls could be so fascinating until he met Leia one day in a junk shop and became her friend. Leia doesn't remember much about her life before she was four, before she was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery. She doesn't even know her last name. Luke is probably the closest thing to family she has and ends up being the only thing she'll ever have, especially when he saves her from being raped by a man her master has rented her out to three years after they meet. Now both of them are fugitives, on the run on a stolen ship. They become infamous in the empire for freeing slaves and that catches the attention of second in command to the empire, Darth Vader.

Tell me what you think after you read it. Read, Enjoy, and Review.

Chapter One

Happy Birthday to Us

"Luke," his uncle said and the ten year old boy looked at him.

"Yes Uncle Owen," Luke said sighing as he walked away from the window of the shop where a model ship was.

"Stop day dreaming and go over in that shop and see if they have that part for the evaporator that we need," Owen barked.

Luke sighed. His uncle always spoiled his fun. He slowly made his way to the shop and looked around.

"I'll be with you in a minute," the dog looking humanoid alien said from where he was standing over a girl around Luke's age.

Luke looked at her and tilted his head. She was very familiar to him, though he was sure he had never looked at her until today.

"Hurry up you stupid girl," the man said and kicked her in the leg.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm trying."

The girl hurried to put up whatever she was stacking and in her rush dropped the assortment of parts she had.

"Dumb girl. Better be glad I'm putting up with you. The only reason I am is because in a few years, you'll be worth a lot more to me than you are now," he shouted.

The girl didn't say anything as the man started over to Luke. When he left, the girl pushed her long brown hair out her face. Luke was startled by the rebellion and anger in her eye. Apparently, she was being forced into submission.

"You wanted something human," the man said and Luke blinked out of his stupor.

"Yeah," Luke replied and told him the parts that he needed. The man nodded and went to the back to check his inventory. When he was sure the man was gone, he looked at the girl and smiled.

"Hi," he said to her.

The girl glared at him for a moment as his reading him to see if he had any bad intention toward her. "Hi," she finally replied, her face softening although her frown was still present.

"I'm Luke Skywalker," he said holding out his hand when he got close enough to her.

She glanced down at his hand and then back at his face, opting not to take it.

"Leia," she replied coolly.

"Leia what?"

The girl shrugged. "Just Leia. I don't my last name."

"Why not?" Luke asked curiously.

"I don't remember it and no one ever told me," Leia replied.

"What about your parents?" Luke asked confused.

"I don't have any parents," Leia snapped. "And I haven't been anywhere long enough for them to care to give me a last name."

Suddenly it dawned on Luke what she was. He had heard about it, but he had never talked to anyone like her. She was a slave. He frowned. She sure didn't act like one though. She had a prideful way about her, like she was better than she actually was, something like royalty, not to mention she had a bad temper

"Girl," the man behind her snapped. "Stop bothering the customer."

"It's alright," Luke said quickly. "She wasn't bothering me."

The man ignored him. "Stupid girl," he snapped and slapped her. "You're still not done with that."

Leia's head snapped to the side, and she slowly turned her head back to him with fire in her eyes. Luke thought she might lash out at him, but she didn't. Instead she huffed.

"Don't rise up at me bitch. What you standing there for? Get to work!" he yelled.

Leia paused and while turning on her heal spat, "Yes master."

The man shook his head. "Damn girl. You'll only be good for one thing in a few years, and that's the only reason I'm keeping you around."

Leia ignored him as she did her work and the man turned back to Luke.

"It's not in yet. Come back in a few days," he said.

Luke nodded and ran out the shop to where his uncle was waiting.

"What took you so long?" his uncle asked gruffly.

Luke stared back at the shop and said absently, "He had to check for it. It's not in yet."

His uncle said something else, but Luke didn't care. He couldn't stop thinking about that girl, and it surprised him. Girls were horrible, but this one was different. There was something about her and he was going to find out what.

Xxxxxxxxxx

In a few days, Luke had practically begged his uncle to let him go into town with him. He would be there for a few hours since the speeder needed to be fixed (Luke normally would have insisted he could fix it, but it was too good a chance to pass up to get to town). His uncle said no first. He didn't have time to look after Luke who would probably be bored in an hour. But Luke insisted on it, and finally, his uncle relented.

As soon as they were in the city and his uncles had parked the car while waiting for the mechanic, he jumped out the car and made his way back to the junk shop. Unlike the last time, Leia was there by herself staring at the counter.

"Hi," he said.

She jumped up startled and said, "Hi. What are you doing here?"

Luke noted with happiness that the cold tone that had been in her voice days before was gone. Maybe it was because her master wasn't there.

"Oh I know," Leia said throwing her braid over her shoulder. "You want that part. It's not here yet."

"Actually, I'm here to see you," Luke said quickly. It was odd. He was usually very shy.

Leia gave him a pointed look. "You don't have a crush on me or anything, do you?"

"No!" Luke exclaimed with a blush. "I mean I like you…. Well I know I don't really know you, but not like that."

Leia stared at him with a hardened expression and then it softened. "I guess I can believe you," she said with a small smile. "So what do you want?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I'm going to be here for a few hours with my uncle. Our speeder needs to be fixed. I thought we could do something."

Leia looked at him like she was going to laugh at him again and then brightened.

"Okay. I'll have to ask my master when he gets back, but okay."

Luke nodded and sat in a chair near the door.

"So what do you do here all day?" he asked in effort to make conversation.

Leia shrugged. "Whatever my master happens to tell me at the time. Nothing specific. I'm just watching over the store for him right now."

Luke didn't really know what to say to that. He had so many questions he wanted to ask Leia about her life, but he didn't want to make her mad. Instead, he decided to talk about himself.

"My uncle runs a moisture farm. I'll never get what kind of satisfaction he gets out of squeezing water out of sand," Luke said shaking his head. Leia laughed. "Anyway, I just work on those with him all day and then go hang out with my friend Biggs. He has a speeder and sometimes he lets me drive it."

Leia smiled. "You probably haven't worked nearly as much as I have in my life. At least you can just stop and leave to go play with your friend when you feel like it. I have to ask my master if I can breathe."

Luke winced at the somewhat sour tone.

"I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. "I didn't mean it like that. I forgot."

Leia shrugged again. "It's okay. I've been a slave since I was four. No big deal. I'm used to it."

"You've been a slave on Tatooine that long?"

"I just got here to Tatooine. I've been on some other planets to. My last master got tired of my so-called freaky powers. I have to tendency to read people's thoughts sometimes and know when something's wrong so she blamed me when an accident happened on her farm," Leia explained. She wasn't usually this open. But there was something about this boy that made her want to talk. She could feel that he was nice, with a good heart. He wasn't mean and nasty to her because she was a slave like other people were. He didn't treat her like she was beneath him. He was actually concerned about her feelings. He had apologized to her. No one had ever done that.

"I can relate," Luke said in a dry tone. "I can do those things too sometimes. I always know when my aunt wants me before she ever calls me."

"I used to be that way with my mother," Leia replied with a distant look.

"Was she a slave?" Luke asked and Leia shook her head. He started to asked her how come she was one, when her master came in. The man spoke something to her in huttese and she rolled her eyes.

"I can't speak huttese, remember?"

The man started to slap her, but pulled his hand back at the last minute.

"Can't damage you too much," he muttered.

"Can I go now?" Leia asked looking down.

"Why?"

"You haven't given me anything to do. There is nothing to do. Can I go play with Luke?" she asked hopefully.

The man groaned. "Go on and get out of here bitch."

Leia smiled and Luke grinned as he stood up.

"Well what are you waiting for? Leave," he said.

The two young children left the shop.

"What do you want to do?" Luke asked and Leia looked around.

"I don't know," she replied. "I've never done anything with anyone before. I've never really had a friend."

Luke looked at her and felt a pang of sadness, not just from his own heart, but from Leia's as well. She seemed so sad.

"Well," Luke said determined. "I'll be your friend from now on. Come on. Let's go to the docking bays. There are always some cool ships there and something is always happening."

The two children ran through the streets and for the first time since she had been sold into slavery, Leia felt safe and secure.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come on Leia," Luke said to her as he nudged her. "There must be something you want to do on our birthday."

Leia scowled as she looked at Luke and continued to put up the tools.

"I told you Luke. It's not my birthday. I don't want to ruin yours. Besides, there's nothing I can do. I'm stuck here all day," she insisted.

"Good thing I brought a cake for us to celebrate with," Luke said pointed to the cake his aunt had made that was sitting on the counter.

"Oh Luke," Leia said laughing. "It's not even my birthday. This is your day."

"It is your birthday," Luke insisted. "We don't know when yours is so I'm sharing my birthday with you."

It had all started when Luke was getting ready to turn eleven two years ago. Leia had been very bothered by his talk of his birthday, and it hadn't gone from his notice. That and Leia's displeasure was practically smacking him through whatever power they both seemed to share. When she finally told him why she was angry (after they had argued, she had thrown sand in his face and shoved him, and he had yelled at her), she revealed that she didn't know when her birthday was, and so she just tagged a year to her age somewhere around the harvest. So Luke declared that he would share his birthday with her. She was always reluctant to agree and said she only did so to make him stop nagging her about it. But deep down, Luke knew she was grateful. Leia was just a little too proud to admit it.

Leia laughed and went to look at the cake when she finished putting her tools away. She licked some of the icing.

"I guess we'll be having this after dinner at my place," she said. Her place wasn't really a place as much as it was a big shed off to the back of the junk shop, but it had a small kitchen, table and bed which was more than what Leia had in the last three years.

"After we do something," Luke insisted. "I know! How about we go down the pod racing track and race through some of the obstacles? I can even teach you how to drive."

"Luke," Leia said patiently.

"Oh come on."

"You're not even old enough to drive a speeder," Leia said but she was smirking.

Luke gave her a dry look. "And what authority is going to stop us on Tatooine?"

Leia sighed as she grabbed the cake and started to take it to her small home. "If I say yes, will you stop nagging me?"

Luke would have hugged her if she weren't carrying the cake, but instead he waited for her to come back out and then grabbed her hand and took her outside.

"Wait. I have to tell Meyrin," she said.

"You're done with all your work Leia so what does he have to fuss about?" Luke asked.

"Everything," Leia replied rolling her eyes and looking at the speeder. "Are you supposed to have this?"

"It's old. My uncle has a new one. He doesn't even know I fixed this one. As far as he knows, this thing doesn't even work long enough to make it that far from home and he keeps it around to occupy me when I'm bored. I've made all kinds of modifications to the engine. It's really fast when I race it."

Leia frowned. "So your uncle doesn't know you've been sneaking into to town to see me?"

Luke smirked. "The way you talk, you'd think I was trying to date you or something."

"You know that's not what I meant," Leia said as she got behind the wheel.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked.

"You're teaching me to drive aren't you? It's probably safer here that doing on that death course," Leia pointed out.

Luke sat in the passenger seat as Leia put the speeder into drive and began to go. They went to the old podracing track and took turns flying the speeder. To Luke's surprise, Leia caught on to flying the speeder quickly and was almost rivaling him in skill… almost. Then again, he couldn't be too shocked. Leia was always a bit of a tomboy despite the way she carried herself like royalty sometimes, but Luke knew that was usually in response to the way Meyrin sometimes treated her. She wanted to irk him by making him think she thought she was better than a slave and superior to him. It work. Luke couldn't begin to remember how many times Meyrin had smacked her for not acting like a slave or backing down.

"Bet I can make that turn coming up at full speed," Luke told her and Leia gasped. It was a sharp turn.

"You wouldn't have the guts to try it," Leia challenged and Luke pressed the excelerator. "Luke. You're going to get us killed."

"Relax Leia," Luke said with a grin.

"Luke," Leia said with panic rising to her tone.

"Oh come on Leia. Don't be such a girl," Luke teased as Leia shut her eyes and Luke started to go into the dangerous turn.

When Leia didn't feel any impact and was sure she was still alive, she opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"You nerf herder," she snapped slapping Luke on the arm when they left the track. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

"This is coming from the person who likes to play tricks on her master despite the fact that he'll beat you within an inch of your life if he catches you," Luke said dryly.

"Meyrin acts like a real bastard sometimes but he's a softie on the inside. He's not going to do anything to me," Leia replied. "Besides, that's different."

"Whatever," Luke said and stopped. "Hey look, there's Biggs."

Leia glance over at looks older friend and the friends he was with before turning away from them.

"I don't mind Biggs. But you know I hate his friends," she said softly.

Luke winced at the memory. People were awful to Leia when they found out she was a slave. Biggs other friends had been particularly cruel to her and asked how useful could a girl like her be to her master. Then they all whistled and made knowing jokes, despite Biggs trying to stop them. Luke saw red and raised his hand to do something, anything. He wasn't sure what, but he was going to make something happen. But Leia stopped him, said it was okay and that she was used to it… That was after she slugged one of them on the nose. Leia had a nice hook too, Luke noted.

But Luke knew it wasn't okay. Leia had been hurt by their degrading comments and even though Biggs was a nice guy, whenever he was with his friends and Luke had Leia, he avoided going around him. Actually, he liked to avoid them when he was alone. They always made jokes about Leia.

"Come on," Luke said. "Let's go and have some cake."

"After dinner. I managed to snag some money from my master and changed the books so he wouldn't know," Leia said with a smirk. "I had enough to get some things to make a bantha stew. All I have to do is warm it up."

Luke pulled up behind the junk shop where Leia's small home was and then Leia stopped.

"What?" Luke asked and noticed where Leia was looking. A man was talking to her master about something to do with business.

"Who's that?" Luke asked.

Leia shrugged. "I don't know. Meyrin has been negotiating the terms for something with him lately. I'm not sure what."

"There you are bitch. I didn't tell you to leave," Meyrin said suddenly. Luke rolled his eyes.

"She has a name you know," he said to Meyrin who glared at him.

Meyrin turned to the other man who looked confused and said, "He's just a friend of hers I let her keep around sometimes. Bitch, come here."

Leia exchanged a look with Luke who shrugged. Leia went to stand next to Meyrin, in from of the man he was making a deal with.

"Here she is. This is Leia, the slave I was telling you about. She's around thirteen or so," Meyrin said looking at Leia expectantly. "Say hello bitch."

Leia scowled and raised her chin in defiance, but complied.

"Hi," she said.

The man raised his hand for her to shake and said, "Hello Leia. I'm Neanderan."

"You must not be from around here," Leia said opting not to take his hand. "That name sounds foreign."

"Excuse her," Meyrin said rolling his eyes. "As you can see, she's a bit stubborn, but I assure you not for long."

He pushed Leia away and Leia took that as a sign she was dismissed. Luke stared in confusion.

"Who was he?" he asked a little wary.

Leia shook her head. "I don't know. Some guy he's making a deal with I guess. There's something about him I don't like though."

Luke nodded. "Me too. I just have that feeling about him, like something dangerous about him."

Leia dismissed it and Luke followed her into her small place. She began to warm up the stew and took wooden bowls and spoons to place on the table.

"It's not much," Leia admitted. "But it's enough for us. If you want more, just ask."

Leia turned off the small stove and filled the bowls with stew. Luke looked at her.

"You know I don't have to eat anything Leia. This stew could last you for days. You need it more than I do. I get a good meal every day," Luke said staring at it.

Leia smiled. Luke was always so thoughtful. "It's okay. What good is food without sharing it with your best friend?"

Luke gave her a small smile and picked up his spoon. He slowly began to eat, watching Leia carefully to make sure she ate her share. She was thin already, even though she had gained some weight lately, but Luke attributed that to puberty. He scowled at that. Nothing much was changing for him, but Leia seemed to be growing up more every day and starting to get her womanly features. She was even a little taller than him now. But Leia was still a little too thin. Meyrin gave her enough food to keep her alive, but just barely.

"Biggs is going off to the academy soon," Luke said to start a converstaion. "So that means I'll be coming to bother you more often until I can go."

Leia sighed. "That's nice," she said.

"What?" Luke asked feeling her sadness.

"Nothing. It's just when you leave I won't have anyone," Leia said softly eating her soup.

Luke laughed and reached across the table to hold Leia's hand.

"You think I'm leaving without you?" Luke asked. "I'm thinking of asking my uncle can I look around for some jobs. I'm sure someone needs an extra hand and there are some repair shops I can probably work in. I'm gonna start saving money and then when I have enough, I'll buy you from Meyrin and free you. Then I'll go to the academy, graduate and you'll come with me to explore the galaxy."

Leia laughed a little before sighing. She looked out the small open window.

"If Meyrin will be willing to let me go…" she said trailing off. "This reminds me of home, where ever it was."

Luke looked out the window where she was looking at the stars. "It is nice, isn't it?"

"I remember my parents used to stand outside with me on a balcony and they would show me the different stars and which ones were planets. I always used to ask them to point out Naboo and Tatooine. I always felt connected to those two planets, like it was part of my blood. We were headed to Naboo in fact when they they took me," Leia added in a daze almost. "We were going to some memorial they were having for a former queen. Our pilot had been in on it. Our guards tried to keep us safe, but there were too many. I remember my parents trying to get me away on another transport that attached to our ship, but I got separated. I dropped my necklace and went back to get it. I didn't understand what was happening."

Leia referred to the necklace around her neck. It wasn't expensive. In fact, it was very common, made from a japor snippet. It was attached to a black leather cord, nothing extravagant.

"I think my parents realized I had gone before they even got off the ship, but it was too late. The pirates took me, and I never saw them again."

"That's all you remember before all this?" Luke asked gently and Leia nodded.

"That and I remember everyone used to call me princess. I think it was a nickname or something," Leia said leaning her face on her chin.

Luke knew she was done talking about it after that. It was a rare occasion that Leia mentioned something about her life before she was a slave and she had never told him the whole story and it wasn't often she showed the more vulnerable side of herself to him. Leia was tough, and Luke didn't know whether that was just her or if she had to be that way because she was a slave.

"You think they looked for you?" Luke asked finally.

Leia sighed. "I know they did, but it was probably impossible. I could have been anywhere in the outer rim and there aren't many laws out here prohibiting slavery. How would they have found me?"

Luke leaned on his hand and looked out the window with her. "I'll help you find them one day. I know you probably miss them."

"Yeah, I guess. I don't remember too much about them to miss them too much," Leia replied. "But I'm kind of glad it happened."

"Why?" Luke asked wondering if the heat had gotten to Leia. Who would be glad they had been sold into slavery?

"Because if it hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met you," Leia said trying not to laugh at Luke's previous concern and then said to comfort him, "Of course, I would have liked it if I didn't have to become a slave."

Luke smiled shakily and then looked at the cake.

"Time to sing Happy birthday to us," Luke said bringing the cake over.

"What about your family? Don't they want to do something with you?" Leia asked folding her legs unger herself.

"My aunt is making a big dinner for me tomorrow. She understands… Can't say my uncle was too happy though. He thinks I'm getting too attached to you," Luke replied shrugging.

"He's right you know?" Leia said softly and Luke put thirteen candles on the cake and lit them. "Meyrin can decide he's tired of me and sell me any day now."

Luke sat next to her and nudged her.

"That's not going to happen," Luke insisted. "Let's not think about that though."

"Yeah. You're right," Leia said smiling. "It's our birthday. Let's finish celebrating."

The two sang to each other and then blew out the candles before serving themselves slices of cake. Luke planned to leave the left over cake for Leia. She rarely got treats as it was anyway.

Leia had just put away the cake when her master came in the small place.

"Tell your friend to leave bitch," Meyrin said.

Luke huffed and rolled his eyes. "Are you dumb? Her name is Leia."

"Shut up kid and get out of here," Meyrin snapped.

"You may own Leia, as wrong as that is, but you don't own me. I don't have to-." Leia cut Luke off.

She glared at her master. "It's alright Luke. I don't want you getting in trouble. I'll see you tomorrow."

Luke started to argue. Something was wrong with this. Meyrin didn't too much like him but he had never thrown him out before unless he was interfering with Leia's work, which Luke admitted was quite often. He felt Leia's reassurance, despite the fact that she was nervous as well, and decided not to push it.

"Alright," Luke said. "I'll try to come see you tomorrow. I doubt it though. Maybe this weekend."

Leia nodded and Luke started to leave. He got in his speeder and noticed the suns had already set. His aunt and uncle were going to kill him. He could just make up the excuse that his ride was late. It was best he sped back home. It was dangerous to be out at night on Tatooine. He was sure if it weren't for Leia, he wouldn't be out at all. As much as Luke got into trouble, he didn't go looking for it. It just seemed to find him more often than not. But Leia faced far harsher realities than he did, and so it was worth it to spend some time with her. Besides, they were… connected somehow, bound by something greater that themselves. He couldn't explain it.

When Luke got to his speeder, he sped out of town and tried to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was maybe two miles outside the city when he felt it. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it felt like rising panic and suspicion before it was overcome with sudden terror.

Luke! A voice screamed in his head.

"Leia," Luke muttered and turned back around. He made it back to Meyrin's shop and Leia's hut in half the time it took him to get as far as he did (which would probably be a record) and parked outside the hut.

Another car was there and Luke recognized it as belonging to the man that had been there earlier making a business deal with Meyrin. He only stopped for half a second when he heard Leia's screams and pleads with the man to stop before he ran into the hut.

"Stop it! Leave me alone you bastard you…" Leia let out a string of other obscenities that on any normal occasion Luke would have been shocked to hear come out her mouth. She didn't exactly have the mouth of an angel since she got a lot of influence from the worst scum of the galaxy (She had to actually. Swearing was all some of Meyrin's customers understood), but it was never that bad.

The man had grabbed Leia from behind and held her to him as he tried to rip off her dress. He obviously was so wrapped up in what he was trying to do he hadn't noticed Luke and neither had Leia. It took Luke only a second to comprehend what he saw happening before he blindly leapt on top of the man and pounded him hard on the back with the intent of breaking his spine.

"What the fuck," the man said and let go of Leia. He backed up and swung Luke off his back onto the ground.

Leia crawled into the corner trying to control her sobs as the man hit Luke in the face.

"Luke," she cried as Luke tried to avoid the man who was twice a big as they were. Leia put her pain and terror aside as she looked around. She had to help him somehow.

The man had a blaster when he came in, Leia remembered, and he put it on the table with his belt. Leia crawled over to the toppled over table and grabbed the blaster. She looked at it and vaguely remembered trying to use one when the pirates kidnapped her. Not, it was before that. Someone had been teaching her what to do if she needed to use one in an emergency. It wasn't her mother but a friend of her mother. Why they were teaching a four year old how to shoot a blaster, she didn't remember. But she remembered them telling her to make sure they was no safety on it, set it to stun… no, Leia thought shaking her head. She was supposed to make sure it wasn't set to stun. Then she aimed and tried to predict where her target was going to move and…

Leia pulled the trigger five times. She missed the first time and almost hit Luke the second, but the last three shots got her attacker in his back. He turned around to perhaps lunge at her, but Leia shakiy pulled the trigger three more times getting him right in the chest.

His dead body slumped to the ground in front of Luke. Leia dropped the gun and ran to Luke who was slowly sitting up. He was sporting a swollen cheek and a busted lip, but other than that, he was okay.

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and cried.

"You saved me Luke," she muttered.

"It's okay Leia."

"No it's not!" Leia exclaimed. "You're hurt because of me. You-. Wait. How did you know that I was-."

"Bitch."

Both teenagers winced and Leia turned around to face Meyrin just as he snatched her up by her shoulders.

"What the hell did you do? Did you and your boyfriend do that freaky mind thing and you had him hidden her so he could kill him huh? You other master warned me that you had some freaky powers but I didn't believe him. What did you do bitch? Huh?"

Leia glared at Meyrin and struggled against him.

"Let me go you no good asshole," she snapped and then said something to him huttese that Luke had no idea she knew how to say. Her huttese had gotten better in the last three years, but he had no idea she knew how to insult someone like that.

Meyrin shot something back just as vulgar and slapped her. Leia fell to the ground and Luke saw red at Meyrin reached down to grab her again. Luke had never wished death on anyone, but in that moment, he wanted Meyrin to to just die. He wanted the slave owner to die for every time he insulted Leia, every time he had slapped her, and for attempting to let someone hurt her in the worst way possible.

"Die," Luke muttered in anger and suddenly the man was choking and gasping for breath prying at invisible fingers on his throat.

Leia scamper back next to Luke as she watched Meyrin choke.

"Die," Luke screamed and suddenly the man fell limp. Luke watch in satisfaction as the grip let go and he fell to the ground.

Both he and Leia stared for a moment and then both of them realized the gravity of the situation.

"Oh stars," Luke said standing up with her. "We killed them."

"Luke, what was that?" Leia asked shakily.

Luke shrugged. "I don't know, but I do know one thing. We have to get out of here."

"How?"

"Meyrin has a ship in a docking bay right? We'll take it," Luke said. "We have to leave Tatooine."

"That's the easy part," Leia said managing a little sarcasm. She turned her back to Luke and lifted up her hair to show a little round piece of metal in her neck.

"What's that?"

"My slave transmitter. If I try to escape or go outside a certain perimeter it explodes. Personally, I think that's a little too messy. I think it sends out a shock or poison. Either way, I can't go anywhere with this on," Leia said. "Meyrin had a control. He keeps it on the second floor of the shop in his living quarters. First we deactivate it and then we use the control to take it out."

"You know exactly where it is?" Luke asked.

Leia gave him a pointed look. "It's not like Meyrin just let me go looking through his stuff? I've never even been in his living quarters."

"We need to go up there anyway," Luke said stepping of the two dead bodies. "We need the clearance card to his dock."

"Where will we go Luke?" Leia asked trying not to show her fear.

"We can't stay hear. The huts will find out and you know how they think about slaves. One rising up against her master would make them put a bounty on your head. I could get away, but I'm not about to abandon you," Luke said climbing the steps to the second floor of the shop.

Leia scowled as she looked around. "It's filty up here. You have to wonder why Meyrin never sent me to clean up up here. Could use a maid…"

"Doesn't matter too much now," Luke replied stepping over some trash. "You look in those file cabinets over there and I'll look around here."

Leia began searching drawers and and the file cabinet. Then she went into one of the rooms. One looked like a home office and it was just as messy as the rest of the house.

"Leia," Luke shouted from another room. "I think I found it."

Leia ran to where Luke was. "Where?"

"It's in this safe. It's locked," Luke muttered to open the door to the safe. "You know any possible combinations."

"No," Leia admitted looking around nervously before she pushed Luke aside. "But I know a trick."

"What?" Luke asked as he watched Leia close her eyes and put her hand over the lock. It began to spin to the right, then twice to the left and the right again. The door clicked open.

Leia opened it and cried out in triumph as she took out the control to her transmitter along with the clearance card to the docking bay.

"Leia," Luke finally said as he got over his awe. "How'd you do that?"

"You won't believe how many cages and rooms I've broken out of with that trick. One of my masters was going to leave me in a hot room to suffocate for punishment. I don't think he wanted me to die, but that's what was happening. I thought about the lock and imagined it opening I guess you can say. It was like all of a sudden I knew the very mechanics of it and could control it without the key," Leia explained. "I can't really tell you what it is. Some kind of telekinesis I guess."

"Wow," Luke muttered. Leia snapped her fingers in his face.

"Come on. Don't just stand there. Here," Leia said giving him the control. "It's simple. Line this sensor up with the transmitter and press the first button to de-activate it and then press the second button so the transmitter will release it's hold on my spine and you can just pull it out."

"How would you know how to use this?" Luke asked looking at the remote.

"They thought I was sleep when it was explained to Meyrin, but I was awake and heard everything. I just haven't had the opportunity to look for the control," Leia said pulling her hair back.

Luke did as she said and a minute later, the metal piece that looked like a little screw was out her neck and in his hand. Leia was pressing a towel on her neck to stop the bleeding, and Luke grinned.

"You do know what this means right?" he asked.

"That we can get off the planet now," Leia said.

"Well yeah, but you're not a slave anymore. You're free!"

Leia blinked. "I'm free…" she whispered and then broke into a grin. "I'm free! Wow. It's been so long since I've been able to say that. No one to tell what to do and when to do it."

Luke slapped his forehead. "Ugh. We'll think about this later. We have to leave."

They started down the steps and then Luke remembered something. "We have no money. Where did Meyrin keep his cash?"

"I got what I could find in the safe," Leia said holding up a credit chip. "I'm not sure how much is on it."

"Then that's what we have to work with," Luke declared as they got in his speeder and sped toward the docking bay.

When they got there, Luke put the card in the slot and the door opened. Luke looked on in shock as he looked at the ship.

The ship was old and beaten, but it would get them off the planet.

"Luke," Leia said as she explored the old rusty ship. "Do you know how to fly this?"

"Sure," Luke said.

Leia frowned and came to the cockpit. "Let me rephrase it. Have you ever flown a ship in space before?" she asked.

"No," Luke admitted sheepishly. "But we have no choice. Besides, I just have this feeling. I'm confident in what I'm doing."

Leia rested her arms tensely on the armrest as the ship creaked and lifted into the air. She hoped it would hold together.

"I think this ship might only do us good for one trip," Luke said as they started to leave Tatooine's atmosphere. "Where should we go?"

"Somewhere no one will think to look for us," Leia said. "Somewhere far enough from Tatooine, but far from the Empire."

Luke winced. The last thing he wanted was to get tangled with the Empire. Everyone knew that was like a death sentence. They were on a stolen ship, Luke had run away from his guardians to take Leia to a safe planet, and Leia was practically an orphan. They would probably accuse them of being young recruits for a rebellion or something…

"How about Naboo," Luke suggested. "Obviously it had some meaning to your family if they always pointed it out to you. We'll figure out what we're going to do when we get there and we can see if we can start looking for your parents. And the empire never bothers Naboo. I learned about it in school."

Leia nodded a little hesitantly. "I guess. Do you know how to lock in the coordinates?"

Luke gave Leia a dry look. "My father was a pilot, a spice navigator, but a pilot no less. Flying is in my blood."

Leia rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to be all macho and put in the coordinates Luke."

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In the next chapter, Obi-Wan investigates the sudden disturbance in the force. Meanwhile, the situation Luke and Leia have gotten themselves into sinks in. When they get to Naboo, their ship is done for and they have to figure out what they're going to do next. However, when Leia is caught stealing food they somehow end up in the company of the Queen of Naboo and the Senator of Alderaan, Bail Organa who is there in memory of one of Naboo's greatest queens, Padme Amidala.

AN: So what did you think? Tell what you think in a review and fans of my other story don't worry. I'm still working on my other story. This is just a side project. Oh yeah and I know you're wondering why Obi-Wan doesn't sense Leia earlier, but it seems that in the movies Leia has an unknowing ability to hide her force signature being that Vader didn't sense it aboard the death star. Hope you enjoyed. Review please!