(2 BBY)
A blue-skinned Pantoran girl walked down the ramp of a white spherical ship, followed by a metallic grey, white, and red astromech droid propelled by one large rocket blaster at its base.

Looking at the rebel base among the lush forests of Yavin 4 ,Charm'aine Huong smiled.

"This is it, UL," She told her droid while putting her luggage on the ground.

《Do you even know where to register?》UL snarked, earning an annoyed expression from Charm'aine."

"You really know how to spoil the mood," she sighed. "I'll figure it out. I can ask, can't I?"

Just then, Charm'aine felt something bump into her, but it wasn't enough to push her onto the floor.

"Oh! I'm really sorry!"Charm'aine looked down to see a short girl wearing a simple bluish-grey Mandalorian armor, with a bright gold stripe across her chest. She was holding a bluish-grey Mando helmet, patterened with two metallic indigo stripes across the T-shaped visor.

"I didn't see you...I didn't mean it!" She said frantically, looking back up at Charm'aine while tucking her dark hair behind her ears with her free hand.

"It's okay," Charm'aine reassured, smiling. "Are you here to join the rebellion?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly. "I hate the Empire's guts, of course, but I've always wanted to pilot an X-wing fighter!"

Charm'aine grew curious. "Have you piloted anything else?"

"Well...some speeder bikes, stolen TIE fighters,and the training jets at the imperial academy I used to attend. That was actually the only thing I was good at." She stopped, looking embarassed. "I must have been rambling..."

Charm'aine had wanted to ask further, but she decided that now was not the time, and she shrugged instead.

"No, thats awesome! What's your name?

"I'm Kummi Zhan!" The girl said, grinning back at her. "What's yours?"

"Charm'aine Huong, but you can call me Charmy. Oh, and by the way, do you have any idea where to register?"

"Kummi shrugged. "No idea. I just got here a few minutes before..."

"What's in that?" The curious Mandalorian asked, while pointing to the bag at Charmy's feet.

"Oh this?" Charmy gestured to her sandy-brown pullstring bag that was her luggage. She opened it, revealing a middle-sized cardboard box and an indigo-blue toolbox that glinted and violet and blue in the afternoon sunlight.

"Just my stuff. Neccessities and tools mostly."

《Hey, hey!》UL, who had been overhearing the whole conversation, rushed in front of Charmy.

《You just knew her! What if she has bad intentions! What if she steals your stuff? You know how cun-》

"Sorry Kummi," Charmy explained while pushing UL away with her palm, covering half of his domed cap. "He's just my overprotective droid, U5-L1. I call him UL for short."

《I'm ! Not ! PROTECTIVE!》UL warbled loudly, which caused some rebels walking around the base to look at them.

"Just great. Now you've done it, you piece of scrap metal." Charmy rolled her eyes, glaring at her annoyingly hotheaded droid buddy she'd had since she was six. They were so close that they shared a sort of brother-sister bond. Still, she couldn't stand him sometimes

Then, seeing a female Togruta in rebel clothing walk towards them, Charmy and Kummi exchanged anxious glances.

"What are you two doing here?" The Togruta questioned, sounding slightly suspiscious. Kummi gulped at the sight of the Togruta. She had been told tales about just how ferocious Togruta can be, with their sharp senses, killer instinct, and their skills as hunters. She had heard that some of the most fierce males could rival the strongest Mandos in a fight.

Charmy took a deep breath, and looked straight at her eyes.

The dark eyes of the Rebel Togruta were not cold or stern. Rather, they seemed to be bright, strong, and filled with confidence. Charmy swore that she saw some tiny gold flecks in them.

"We are here to join the Rebellion," She stated as calmly as possible. "However, we are not sure where to register."

The corners of the Rebel's mouth went up in a smirk."I hope you two know what you are doing," She deadpanned. "But follow me. The Princess will see you now."

Charmy and Kummi exchanged astonished glances. The Princess? Leia Organa-in the flesh? Now?"She has not much matters to attend to today."

Both rebel wannabes nodded nervously, then followed, almost reluctantly, the Togruta rebel to the Princess's chamber, UL hovering silently behind them.


"When did you join the Rebellion?"

The Togruta gave Charmy the tiniest glance.

"About a year ago." She replied with her back facing them.

Charmy nodded slightly, resisting the urge for the word why to escape her lips. She didn't want to force her to divulge her private feelings to a curious stranger.

Then, the Togruta rebel suddenly looked over her shoulder, peering at Kummi.

"I thought Mandalorians never take their helmets off," she remarked. Kummi responded with a frown.

"I never really use it except in battle," She explained. "It can get really hot in here sometimes..."

The Togruta suddenly stopped at an elegantly decorated door.

"We're here." She stated plainly, seemingly ignoring Kummi's complaint.

"The moment they stepped in the Princess's chamber, Both Charmy and Kummi couldn't help but gasp.

Princess Leia Organa herself was sitting on a throne-like chair, smiling slightly with the sight of the Togruta. A regal, strong aura resonated off her, and neither wannabe rebel could really look her in the eye. Charmy thought that she looked like a white female lion.

"Kona Rys, I see you have brought two guests here," Her voice was a river floating with white lilies: deep, yet beautiful.

"They claim to be rebel volunteers, your majesty." The Togruta, Kona Rys, dipped her head modestly.

"Good. Thank you, Kona. You can leave us for a moment." She instructed. Kona gave a slight bow, then walked out of the room.

"Step forward, young volunteers."

Charmy and Kummi exchanged looks, then gingerly stepped closer towards the leader of the Rebel Alliance.

"What are your names?" She asked, her voice friendly and gentle, but never losing its formality.

"Charm'aine Huong, your majesty. And this is U5-L1, my droid. I'm a mechanic , and droids are my speciality. "Charmy gave a formal introduction of herself and UL while giving a slight bow, UL dipping his body.

"K-Kummi Zh-Zhan of Man-Mandalore..."Kummi stuttered, while fidgeting anxiously. She looked as she was about to cry. Seeing this, Charmy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"She's a pilot. And a really good one." She smiled confidently at the Princess. Kummi gave Charmy's hand a grateful squeeze.

The Princess smiled wider. "The Rebellion would be honored to have both of you here. Here are your holomaps-" she stood up and offered Charmy and Kummi one disk-like object."You can find the mechanics and pilot quarters using those. Thank you for choosing the right side, and welcome to the Rebellion." She smiled sincerely at the girls. "Go and settle down, make yourself at home. You may leave to your quarters."

Both newly ainonted rebels took the holomaps, bowed, and left the room.


"Thanks for helping me out," Kummi grinned at Charmy gratefully. Then her voice went somber."But I gotta get my luggage now. See you later." She started walking away, when Charmy called after her.

"Hey, I can go with you!"

"No thanks, I can manage."She gave Charmy one last longing glance Then she walked away, Charmy frowning while watching her go.


The mechanics' barracks was bustling with noise.

The mechanics were chatting everywhere, from sitting cross-legged on their double decker beds to standing around in the hallway. All of them had some sort of tool, or a gadget they were either tinkering with or fixing. Or both of the above.

Charmy suddenly felt small. She obviously wasn't the best droid mechanic here, let alone the best mechanic. She doubted that she would make any friends.

At least I have Kummi, she thought.

《You aren't backing out now, are you?》UL bleeped, with slight concern in his tone. He knew what Charmy was worried about .

"No. Definitely not." Charmy said determinedly.

Then, a girl with pale milky grey skin and dark purple hair seemed to have heard UL's bleeps, and walked down the metal stairs at the other end of her bed.

"Where did you get him?" The girl asked, her pink-red eyes peering at them curiously.

Charmy was momentarily surprised, by both the fact that the girl knew that UL was a he, and that she actually noticed her at all.

"I, uh, picked him up on a battlefield,back home on Pantora,"Charmy explained, a satisfied smile forming on her lips."He was all battered and damaged, so I took him back home and fixed him up a little. His name's UL."

"So you're a droid mech? I'm one too!" She replied excitedly, just as a small R2 model rolled up to her, hiding behind her legs and beeping softly.

"This is my droid, Roxy," she grinned as she gave the white-and-purple domed cap of her droid affecionate pats. "She's just a bit shy. Whats your name?"

"Charm'aine, but most people call me Charmy. What's yours?" Charmy grinned at the girl, who grinned back at her.

"I'm Yu'uki Kono, but call me Yuu!" She took Charmy's hand. "I'll bring you to meet the others!"

"Are there any droid mechanics here except you?" Charmy asked, slightly worried.

"Oh, trust me, the number of droid mechs are no less than any other mechanic. We even have our own bed sector! Now come on!"

Charmy followed her, feeling giddier than ever.

One thing's for certain: she was definitely going to love it here.


Kummi felt slightly lonely without Charmy beside her.

She had quite a few friends back on Mandalore. When she left for the Imperial Academy, some of her friends went with her, and she also met quite a lot of new group spent their free time soaring freely through the sky in rented jets every day, and they often lost track of time.

Sometimes Kummi would give anything to go back to those times.

The black-haired Mandalorian girl shook her head vigorously to shake off her nostalagia. Rebelling was her own choice, and she would never regret it.

She cleared her throat at the door of the pilot's quarters.

"Hi, I'm new around here, and I would like to know where to-"

"What do you want, Mandalorian?" One of the pilots demanded harshly. Kummi was horrified. "I-I was just trying to-"

"Leave!"

"You don't belong here, you bloodthirsty monster!"

"Hey, what's going on?" said a tall man with dark skin who had just arrived at the scene of the riot. He wore a classic orange pilots' uniform.

"Sir, Princess Leia has cleared my access to join the Rebellion as a pilot." Kummi explained, her voice thick, as if she had caught a cold.

"Well then follow me to your room, Mandalorian." The man stated, frowning. "Your jet will be given to you later."

Kummi dipped her head as she walked, doing her best to block out the other pilots' jeers, hoping no one would see her crying.


The canteen at the rebel base on Yavin 4 was apparently packed with people.

Rebels of every species were eating dinner while completely immersed in the conversation going on at their own tables.

A brown-robed Alderaanian girl passed Charmy's table, just as Yuu was telling a story about how she and Roxy barely escaped the clutches of the Empire.

"...As those droids were advancing on me, I thought that I was going to die for sure! But then Roxy sent out this electric pulse that disabled all the droids!"

The droid mechs whooped and cheered at that, with UL cheering the hardest. Roxy bleeped modestly, accepting the praise.

《I like her,》UL blooped dreamily to Charmy. Then noticing that her attention was elsewhere, he bleeped louder to call her.《Hey! Are you okay?》

"I'm fine," Charmy freplied halfheartedly, then she stood up. "Excuse me for a moment, guys."

Charmy walked over to the table where she saw Kummi sitting by herself, her head buried in her arms.

"Hey," Charmy wrapped her arm around Kummi. "What is it?"

"Go away." Kummi brushed Charmy's arm away. "I'm sure you hate me, like the rest of the people here."

Charmy gasped. "What makes you think that? Of course I like you!"

Kummi shook her head. "You don't have to force yourself to like me, a bloodthirsty Mandalorian." She looked up and gave the Pantoran a joyless smile.

"You're not bloodthirsty!" Charmy exclaimed."Who the kriff said that?"

"The pilots here have a bad history with the Mandos. It's no wonder this happened."

Charmy turned to the source of the voice to see Kona Rys sitting on the other side of Kummi.

"I'll confront those pilots. You be there for your friend." Kona advised.

"Th-thank you, Ma'am," Kummi mumbled, then burst into tears.

Charmy held Kummi's head close to her chest while smiliing at Kona.

"Thanks ma'am, really."

"Call me Kona," The Togruta rebel returned the gesture, and stood up."I have some lecturing to do."

As Charmy watched her go while comforting Kummi, a thought sprang to her mind.

Why do I feel like this is the beginning of something...awesome?


Hi readers! This is Charmy here! If you are reading this, thank you SO SO much for reading my story!

This story will mainly be OC-centric, and I know this may turn some readers off because they may see this as a Mary Sue story.

Feel free to offer comments and criticism about my story, because these helps me grow as a writer so THANK YOU SO MUCH for those who plan to comment or has already commented!

Until next time everyone!

(P.S: Spot the SAO 2 reference, and comment in this chapter's review section, and you will have a mystery prize!)