Author's Note: Thanks so much to Pirate Rhi! I never noticed that I had such major flaws in my story. Anyway, the entire thing has been rewritten. I tried to make Saryu more down-to-earth and lifelike. My other viewers, please review and let me know how the re-vamped version is and what I need to do to fix it!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mum, look! There's another one! Just look how pretty he is!" Her delighted cries echoed distantly as she chased after the butterfly dancing on the breeze. She waved her net, and was delighted when it circled back and chose to instead land on her outstretched palm. A radiant smile of victory and ecstasy danced on her young face as she closely examined the brilliantly colored creature. She laughed out loud and turned to give a victory wave to her parents, but was horrified to see them fading away. The insect was forgotten as a wave of desperation drowned her tiny body. Why couldn't she run fast enough? Try as she might, the child could do nothing but run as fast as she could and watch hopelessly as the darkness slowly consumed them. Fighting on wavering strength, she was determined not to let them go. She pushed herself harder, but the surrounding darkness pushed her back. Her strength gave out, and she toppled to the ground. All was lost, or so it seemed. An eternity passed before she finally sensed a faint and mysterious presence. A hand delicately lifted her chin, tilting her tearstained face upwards. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the brilliant light that shone down from above, piercing the darkness like an arrow. It was blinding and peaceful at the same time. A figure stood before her, its face and body enveloped in the light. All she could see was the white hand, gently encouraging her to stand. Tenderly, she grasped the extended fingers and the figure silently led her forward, out of the darkness and into a warmer light that beckoned them from a distance.
-------------------------
"AIEEEEEE!" An ear-shattering shriek split the arid morning without warning, and was immediately followed by several reports from blaster fire. Silence fell as the young girl sought shelter behind a cluster of boulders. Luckily, she had startled the Tusken Raiders, and they had missed most of their shots. Black burns on the front of the boulder marked a few of their well-aimed blasts.
"Damnit." She breathed. She peered at them through a spot between two boulders. They were still there, and they were still fiercely defending the swoop bike. She clenched her fist, and turned around, resting her back up against the rocks. How could she get the vehicle away from them? A suprise attack had failed to move them, and they'd retaliated by opening fire. She sighed. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She just remembered her trusty slingshot she had tucked into her pocket before leaving to explore. With a devilish grin, she scooped up a handful of pebbles and returned fire. A sudden roar signaled one of her shots making contact. Her laughter suddenly turned to a look of horror as she saw the savage warriors charging towards her, their gaffi sticks glinting malevolently in the twin suns. She let out another shriek and ran. She took cover behind a patch of brush and quickly sought shelter behind more rocks as they opened fire again. A metal clink drew her attention, and she let out another scream before running to seek other cover. She barely made it as the fragmentation grenade exploded, peppering the landscape with deadly shrapnel. She sighed, thinking she was safe behind more boulders. She was mistaken, and had little time to react as a shard of metal ricocheted off the rock in front of her. She quickly turned and ducked, hoping it had missed her. She was suprised as a sudden and feirce burning and stinging shot up and down her arm, along with the warm trickle of blood. She saw the hole in her arm where the piece was lodged. Wincing with pain, she tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and fashioned a turniquet. She turned and looked back behind her. The Tuskan Raiders were holding their ground. With a sigh, the young girl swept her blonde hair from her face and stood up. Her plan had backfired. So much for the bike. With a look of defeat, she cast a final glance over her shoulder and trudged slowly back to the shop, her home.
"There you are. What happened to you? You're filthy! And your arm... Let me see it!" Exclaimed a tall figure standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light inside.
"Shut up, Arayla. You're not my mother." Saryu snapped, edging past the redheaded girl. She dodged the arm reaching for her and continued down the hallway. Arayla sighed and placed her hands on her hips. Saryu ignored her. She was busy wallowing in her own self-pity. She hated losing. Her normally bright blue eyes had a sullen glaze to them. She was stubborn, however, and refused to give up. She paused in the hallway to remove the bloody rag. She fished for a pair of tweezers in a nearby drawer and took a seat on the counter. She drew in a breath and held it as she dug the metal piece from her arm. Closing her eyes against the pain, she quickly rewrapped it in a clean bandage. Grumbling, she left the kitchen. It was all those Raiders' fault. She had to get that bike, but she needed a plan. Drumming her fingers on the counter, an idea came to her. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she ran down the hall, bursting through the door that led into the junkyard. There waiting for here was a random assortment of wires and peices of metal resting on the steps. She took a seat and began fiddling with the scraps, just to pass the time.
As the first sun began to set, Saryu stood up. She dusted herself off and headed back inside. It was time to put her plan into action. Thankfully, Arayla was nowhere to be found. If she had been there that particular moment, she would've recognized the mischievous gleam in Saryu's eye and probably would have stopped her. She wasn't, and the child was free to cause mayhem out in the desert. She grabbed her slingshot off the hook as she slipped outside.
She was heading towards the same spot in the desert that she had been this morning. She noted with a wave of relief that the Tusken Raiders were no longer there, but as she neared, she recognized the incomprehensible babble of the Jawas. 'They're gonna scrap the bike!' She thought, clenching her fist. She paused for a rest behind the same boulders that she had earlier, to think of a plan. She'd come prepaired for dealing with the Raiders, but the Jawas were another story. At least with the Raiders, you always knew how they were going to react. She could come up with nothing, but she wasn't about to return empty-handed. In a desperation move, she leapt out behind the boulders and charged at the small creatures, shrieking like a banshee and flailing her arms wildly. Suprised, the Jawas let out a shrill round of gibberish before skittering away. The last one uttered a final word and waved its fist in a threatening manner before disappearing behind the rocks.
"Victory!" She couldn't help but let out an excited squeak. She went over and examined the piece of machinery. Luckily, the Jawas hadn't done much disassembling, or at least what she could see. She dusted her prize off and started it up. The swoop bike roared to life and hovered off the ground. She climbed aboard and hastily pulled back on the accellerator. The machine gave a powerful lurch forward, and Saryu flew off backwards. "Oww... That hurts!" She grunted, sitting up. She rubbed the back of her head and dusted herself off. The bike was a few yards ahead, laughing at her. She set her jaw and stood up. "Oh yeah? I'll show you!" Saryu roared in defiance. She ran to the machine and leapt on it. She clutched the bike tightly and opened up the throttle once more. Once more, the swoop gave a lurch forward. Saryu, however, was prepared for it and maintained balance. It flew over the landscape at an incredible speed. Saryu was delighted at how fast the vehicle moved.
She was halfway towards the shop when the machine vehicle began acting up. It sputtered and jarred terribly before grinding to a halt and falling to the ground. Saryu hopped off and looked it over. Upon closer inspection of the engine, she saw some nuts and bolts were missing. With a sigh, she pulled a spare screw from her pocket. She only kept one with her always. She jammed the screw in one of the empty sockets. It would have to do. She started it up again and it rattled to life. It sounded horrible, but it ran. She was preparing to take off when a loud thrumming filled the air. It drowned out the rattling of the speedercycle. Saryu turned her attention to the sky, just in time to see a large airship hovering her way. It was flying curiously low, and the little girl couldn't help but stare as it made its way across the landscape. There was a sudden beastly yowl, not too far behind her. She looked back, and had failed to notice the Tusken Raiders had returned. They weren't looking at her, but instead were focused on the airship above them. She watched as they raised their blasters and riddled the machine full of holes. Immediately, the ship lurched and began belching out smoke. It dropped drastically and seemed to be headed straight for her. She was too afraid to run, and could only watch as it soared seemingly inches from her head. The crippled peice of machinery continued on a few more yards before crash-landing in the sand. She blinked and watched as it sent up a wave of sand. Her bad mood was immediately forgotten as she put the swoop bike in gear and headed off towards the injured ship before the Tusken Raiders got to it first.
When she arrived, she saw the two hapless passengers standing around outside the ship. She pulled the bike to a rattly halt and left it idling while she approached the two.
"Need some help? I could probably help. I know lotsa stuff about ships n' stuff." She prattled cheerily. They looked at her. One of them was a young boy, around her age, while the other one was much older, probably his father or something. They were both dressed oddly, with long brown robes and grey-colored garments underneath. The older man approached her.
"It seems our ship was attacked by some Tusken Raiders." He looked skeptically at her. It was obvious he held little faith that a child would be able to fix their ship. However, he decided to give her a chance. "Will you be able to fix it?" He asked. He was still a bit doubtful of her abilities. Saryu grinned.
"Well, I can take a look at it. It couldn't hurt, could it?" She said innocently. Needless to say, this didn't help the man's suspicion. The young girl smiled and ran onboard the airship. She quickly found a seat in the cockpit and used the onboard computer to assess the damage. Once she had all the information she needed, she left the ship to inform its passengers of the needed repairs.
"I just need to run back to the shop to get some parts and scrap metal for it. You can come back with me to wait if you want. What are your names anyway?" She suddenly asked. The man waved her off.
"No, that's fine, we can walk. You may call me Count Dooku. This is my young companion, Qui-Gon Jinn." He introduced himself. Saryu's gaze fell on the boy once again. A warm smile found its way across her face.
"I'm Saryu Fargoln. Nice ta meet ya." She said brightly. She turned her gaze to Qui-Gon, who blushed and looked down. She then looked back at Dooku. "Well, I guess I'll see ya back at the tavern. Bye!" She said cheerily before heading off.
She had enough time to fix her new swoop bike and attatch a basket to the back before loading it down with scrap metal, wires, and other spare parts. A familiar whirring behind her drew her attention, and she turned to see a small welding droid wheeling past her. She plucked it up and tucked it into the basket before blasting off to the now-abandoned ship.
She immediately set to work, patching the holes and injured parts of the ship. She worked her way into the bowels of the ship, using her limited know-how to fix what she could. Luckily for her, there was nothing damaged beyond her repair. The little droid came in handy as well. When she was finished, she used the onboard computer to make sure the wiring was correct and the ship could fly. By the time she headed back to her waiting bike, the second sun was setting. Saryu gave a small sigh and headed back to the shop.
"Everything's in order. It just needed a few minor repairs and some re-wiring. She's good to go now." Saryu said, wiping an arm across her brow. She gave a smile of satisfaction to Dooku and his young charge, who still refused to make eye contact. "It's already after dark, so I guess you can stay here tonight." She added with a sly wink. She turned to the shopkeep. "Got any extra rooms"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Snarfiness. Hope it's better!