A/N: I'm just jumping back in time to Bastila's childhood (though she doesn't go with her father on hunts yet) – I shall continue the story in chronological order from here. I also took the liberty of giving Bastila's father a name and describing what Talravin is like since I didn't have anything to refer to...hopefully it turned out to be believable.
Talravin Part I
Talravin, my home world, was a densely populated planet. It was a comfortable place, but perhaps not the safest despite its deceptively welcoming atmosphere. Sentients of all races gathered in the various districts, bartering and trading in the crowded streets, and eking out an existence. Of course, that was not the only way to earn a keeping, but at the time, I was too young to know.
Like any other city, corruption and thievery were rife, especially in the lower districts where laws were only loosely enforced. The people of Talravin were always conscious of class distinction, and since my family was unfortunate enough to be living in the dilapidated Delradian District, we were still classified as 'lower class scum'. Because of that, we had little security, and so, it was a dangerous place for a young family.
People such as us were often exploited by the Hutts, being manipulated into borrowing large sums of money. If anyone was unable to repay these debts, the entire family would be sold into slavery. The only way to live a reasonably comfortable lift was to either become one of the Hutts' lackeys or to become a hunter. Maybe that was why Mother forced Father to become a hunter. I do see her reasoning in hindsight, but there still could have been better ways to earn credits.
Initially, my family didn't have the money to hunt anywhere outside of Talravin's Sewers, and there were slim pickings and high competition amongst the desperate. Nonetheless, father managed to bring home the credits on a weekly basis – just enough to eat, and some to put away for the future. Sometimes, he also brought home some trinkets that I could play with, though Mother was never pleased with this.
"Travis", my mother would say angrily, "You know better than to spoil the child! After all, you need to find a way to reclaim your ship – there is no need to waste the credits!"
"Relax, Helena, little Bastila needs some fun in her life, and just one toy won't have that great an impact on our debts", Father would always respond.
"But you know what Juba the Hutt is like! You know what he will do to us if we are even one credit under our payments! We might be killed, but what about Bastila? She's a poor defenceless girl – she could be sold into slavery- or worse!" she would begin to raise her voice, "We already have little enough with our furnishings scavenged from the streets, and our walls being ready to collapse around our ears, and you still wish to – to – indulge in this-"
"I will not let anything bad happen", Father would always reply stiffly, interrupting her; and that would be the end of the argument.
On one particular day, Father had come home exhausted from his latest hunt. As he entered through the door, he staggered slightly before collapsing onto the nearest couch – if 'couch' it could be called, so misshapen was its frame. I ran across the cracked and broken tiles with my usual greeting – a hug and a kiss while Mother hung back, her lips pressed into a thin line. Father gave me a weak grin and a hug and whispered into my ear.
"I have a little surprise for you – close your eyes and hold out your hands Bastila"
As I grinned and obeyed, I heard my mother walk towards my father though neither uttered a word. I felt my father place a cool object in the palm of my hand and I held my breath.
"Open your eyes, dear." He encouraged. Once again, I obeyed and looked down at the object in my hand. It was a necklace – the sort that the upper class snobs would strut around in. I squealed in delight and looked closely at it.
The necklace was of a simple design – a gemstone strung on a thin gold chain. This gemstone itself was held to the chain with thin gold filigree, expertly framing every facet in the crystal. It was elegant in its simplicity. Awed, I practically screamed,
"Thank you Father – thank you soo much!" I went to hug him again as he slipped the necklace over my head. Mother could no longer maintain her silence.
"Travis" she began, her anger obvious, "Where in the world did you find that?!"
Instantly, the atmosphere seemed to change, a cold dread passed over me.
"Bastila, give that to me!" she commanded, and I was too afraid to disobey.
"That's enough!" Father said loudly and snatched the necklace from Mother, making me whimper. My patents stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity – an unspoken war was underway. As I watched, I began to feel hot tears pouring down my cheeks.
"I'm sorry!" I bawled "I'll be a go-good g-girl – don't f-f-fight!" I stammered between my uncontrolled cries. Their reaction was immediate. Mother made her way to the other room, while Father knelt down and said gently,
"I'm sorry Bastila, Mommy and Daddy have to talk about grown-up problems. Here, take the necklace and wear it – why don't you show it off to your friends?" he dropped the jewel again about my neck and guided me to the doorway. I gave him a blubbering smile and nodded mutely.
As Father closed the rusty door, I moved away to the other side of the building where I would be able to remain unseen. Here, I could hear the sound of my parents shouting and I couldn't understand why my mother did as she did.
Maybe she's jealous of you. An unbidden thought entered my mind, but I refused to believe it at the time.
After the incident with the necklace, Father stopped giving me any more presents. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't hurt, but this was far better than watching my parents constantly shout at each other. Soon, life returned to its normal routine, though I rarely ventured out any more. Part of the reason was because of what happened the last time the children in the neighbourhood saw my father's gift.
As I was walking back to the front door of my home, three children had approached me: Derek, as well as the Twi'lek twins, Aimee and Sera. I knew them quite well and sometimes played with Aimee, but Derek was always unpleasant to deal with. Derek was a thickset lad who looked more like a slug than a human. He always liked to antagonise others if he didn't get his way. Consequently, although they disliked him, Aimee and Sera often followed in his wake – more to avoid his wrath than anything else. I had never been one to give him the satisfaction of bowing down to him, so when he saw me wearing the ornament, he eyed me with distain.
"Oi!" he called "What's a slum rat doing wearing such a fine chain?"
Father had always told me to be polite to others, no matter how rude they were. I know I found it difficult to maintain composure and rein in my anger but somehow I managed to answer politely enough.
"My father gave this to me as a present, but really, if you call me a 'slum rat' what are you? After all aren't you the same as me?" I couldn't resist saying that.
Derek looked too shocked to hear someone insult him, given his enormous bearing, and the two girls giggled nervously. I used that as my cue to run away while I could as I knew he would try to beat the necklace out of me if he could. No one insulted him and got away with it. In hindsight, this hierarchy amongst the children here really could be seen as a microcosm of the crime world in which we all lived – a world which I still live in.
Three years passed and things finally seemed to look up for our family. Father had finally managed to scavenge enough credits to buy a ship to get off this rock. Derek and his cronies too had left the Delradian District 'in search for better pastures'. I mostly stayed at home, while father went on his regular hunts, and mother stayed at home, making sure that father's hunts brought in enough credits. She was a harsh woman and often treated me coldly, and I grew to resent her altogether. All the same, she was my mother, and I loved her – at least I knew that she would never abandon me – or so I had thought.
A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter - I'll try to get to leaving the planet and more hunting adventures next time...hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading - concrit is always welcome!
