It's me again, back with another chapter for all you lovely people! Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited or just read the story in the last week - means a lot.
Shout-outs: Thank you to SerenityMoonPrincess for reviewing, and a cookie for being the only one this week!
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or any of its characters. Only Alice is mine.
Silence fell as the recording ended and the mysterious woman disappeared. Luke seemed slightly stunned. Ben was thoughtful, gazing into the middle distance, his eyes clouded. Alice leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "If this is a dream," she murmured, more to herself than the other two, "it's a really bloody long one." The sound of her voice, faint though it was, seemed to rouse Ben. He turned to Luke, smiling, "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you're to come with me to Alderaan."
"Don't go without me," Alice blurted out, sitting up straight very suddenly.
"Alderaan?" Luke said, sounding as though he was tearing himself out of a dream, "I'm not going to Alderaan, I've got to get home, it's late and I'm in for it as it is, bringing a strange girl back home."
"What's the matter, Luke," Alice asked, in a feigned sultry voice that made her sound like she was suffering from a severe head cold, "never brought a strange girl home before?"
"I need your help, Luke," Ben said firmly. "She needs your help," he tipped his head in Artoo's direction, referencing the woman from the recording, "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."
Alice could see Luke was tempted; by all of it. It was obvious he wanted to take the lightsaber and leave this planet and meet the mysterious woman who was calling for help. But still he resisted. Come on Luke! Be spontaneous!
"I can't get involved! I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it right now! It's all such a long way from here. Alice, you understand right?" And he turned his pleading eyes towards her.
"Uhh…" No?
"That's your uncle talking," Ben said. Luke huffed, and pushed away from the wall, turning away from them, "Well, my uncle's right." Alice glanced at Ben. He looked worried.
Alice waved a hand at him, unconcerned, "Chill, Ben. There are another two movies after this one. Obviously he comes with you to Alderaan."
"I beg your pardon?" Ben said, raising his eyebrows in a very stern sort of way that made Alice feel instantly guilty. What I say?
Luke didn't seem to care that Alice was possibly in trouble with Ben, and rounded on her, looking upset, "Not you as well."
Alice raised her hands defensively, "Listen, Luke. I know that we've only just met and you have no idea who I am, and I have no idea where I am or how I got here, and I honestly still have absolutely no clue who that guy is," she pointed at Ben, "but…well, I think he's right. I mean, you do want to get off this planet, don't you?"
"Yes…"
"Well, here's your chance! I mean, this is it – the beginning of your epically heroic journey; you'll be making a stand against evil, changing your destiny, and who knows, you might even end up saving the whole galaxy! How often is a chance to do all that gonna come along? Let me tell you from my vast experience," she poked him in the chest, "it's not often. This is definitely one of those 'grab it while you can' scenarios. Not to mention I'm not going anywhere without you and this definitely sounds more interesting than whatever it is that you normally do all day."
"But…what about my uncle? How am I ever going to explain this?"
"Learn about the Force, Luke," Ben said simply.
"Listen to the man," Alice agreed, nodding sagely.
He stared at both of them, and for a second Alice thought that they might have convinced him. But then Luke shook his head and moved to the door. Alice sighed, but got up to follow him when he paused and turned to look at Ben, "Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."
Ben looked disappointed, "You must do whatever you feel is right, of course."
Luke nodded once, and left the room to get the speeder ready, leaving Alice and Ben alone. Which was instantly awkward and uncomfortable, and inspired in Alice the instant desire to put herself somewhere else, "So…"
"Not so fast," Ben said. Feeling as if she'd done something naughty and was about to be told off by a strict teacher, Alice turned to face him.
The old man was staring at her shrewdly, his eyes narrowed. "You are quite the mystery, Alice Miller. From what I can tell, you have no notable power with the Force, and yet just now you seemed to be predicting the future. I think it's time I had a full explanation of who exactly you are, and where you came from."
Alice shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, "Well, you see, that's…it's a little difficult to explain."
He raised his eyebrows, "I believe I can handle it."
She laughed in surprise, covering the noise behind a slight cough when his eyebrows raised even further. "Right. Well. Yes. I'm Alice Miller. Hi. Hello. I'm from Surrey, England. Europe. Earth. The Solar System. The Milky Way. I'm nineteen and I've got two sisters and a pet cat and I've quite possibly gone crazy, because, and I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you're not real."
Ben blinked, then said, sounding just as calm as ever, "What do you mean by saying that I am not real?"
"It's not just you," Alice said, feeling rather upset all of a sudden, "it's Luke and Artoo and Threepio and that lightsaber thing and all of it. I don't know how to say this…but you guys are characters. In a story. A story that has somehow magically come to life, and I, for god knows what reason, have been dropped in the middle of it!"
"Do you know our story well?"
"Well…no, not really, no…I mean, I never actually, you know, watched the movies or anything…"
"Do you know how it ends?"
"Er…well, I could probably guess…"
"Do not," he said, suddenly stern.
"Alright!" Alice said, pouting a little.
"You must understand," he went on, somewhat more gently, "I speak as one who knows the danger of trying to interfere with the future. You cannot possibly know the effect your actions will have, to such an extent that, in trying to bring about a certain ending, an event opposite to what you intended may take place."
"You mean, like a self-fulfilling prophecy?" Please say he's never done an Oedipus.
"Exactly," Ben said, that odd shadow of old grief passing over his face again, "that is the first thing I must warn you about. The second is this. While these events may once have been a story to you, they are now real. You can be hurt. You can die. And what you do may alter the outcome of this tale."
"So why am I here then?" Alice demanded, "If so much is at stake, why did Fate or whatever choose to dump someone as useless as me into this stupid story?"
Ben shook his head slowly, and when he spoke, his voice was solemn, "That I cannot say. But I agree with you in that there must be some reason. Perhaps you were sent here to learn something that you could not in your own world."
"So…" Alice said slowly, "all of a sudden, plucking a girl out of her own reality and chucking her down somewhere else is the universe's idea of a learning experience?"
He smiled briefly, "It could be. But now you must promise me that you will not tell Luke any of this. Knowing how the story should end will put pressure on you to make it happen; that responsibility will weigh doubly on Luke."
Alice nodded, "Alright. I promise. If you promise that you won't leave me behind anywhere on my own. I wouldn't last a day. Like seriously. I couldn't even open the door to your food store."
"Very well," Ben said, "I will do my best to keep you with us. But," a little twinkle of amusement came into his eyes, "I think you will find that young Luke will be unwilling to abandon you anyway. He holds all his friends very dear, I believe."
"Yeah, well," Alice said, a tad nervously, "I'm not his friend yet. I'm just a mad stranger he happened across by chance. Why would he want to keep me around?"
Ben didn't reply. He just smiled at her.
"Ben, Alice? The speeder's ready." Luke leaned in through the doorway. Alice saw that he had clipped his father's lightsaber to his belt, and felt an odd mixture of guilt and excitement flash through her. Pushing it away, she said, "Can someone just remind me again what we're doing?"
"We're going to drop Ben in Anchorhead, then I guess I'll take you home."
And then I'll stay there until…what? Until I die? Okay, it's decided, I am not going to let him just keep me here for the rest of my life. We're going with Ben.
"Okay," she said, peaceably, "hey, Artoo, race you to the ship." The droid shrieked and trundled after her as she sprinted out of the door.
Somehow, Alice managed not to get lost as she dashed madly through Ben's house. She did, however, lose Artoo, and found him waiting for her by Luke's speeder, radiating smugness. "How did you do that?" Alice asked, panting, "There were stairs! How did you get up the stairs?"
Artoo whistled, and Alice waved a hand at him, "Fine. You win this round, you glorified Dyson."
Luke and Ben followed them at a more sedate pace, Threepio trotting along behind them, and Alice, though she had technically lost the race, couldn't resist the urge to gloat. "Come on slowpokes," she said, rolling her eyes as they came into view, "while we're young."
Luke laughed, and patted Artoo on the dome as he vaulted neatly into the speeder. Alice clambered in behind him, saying, "So, where are we going again?"
"I'm going to take Ben to Anchorhead, and then…I guess you're gonna meet my aunt and uncle." Alice grimaced slightly – time to try and do some more persuading: "Well, that sounds…great, I suppose…" She glanced at Ben who was climbing stiffly up the speeder's wing, "It kinda sucks that we won't see Ben again. I was even getting used to the beard." She glanced at Luke out of the corner of her eye; he was gazing at Ben, and an indecisive expression came over his face.
"What was that, young Alice?"
"Nothing, old man," she said, giving him a hand into the cockpit, "just discussing the plan of action. Right, Luke?"
The farm boy started slightly, and shook his head as though dragging himself back to the present, "Yeah. Sure. Well, if everyone's on board…Artoo? Threepio?" There was a bleep and a slight groan in response. "Then I guess we should go." He leaned forward and flicked several switches on the speeder's control panel. The engines revved, and they rocketed forward, the wind of their speed whipping back Alice and Luke's hair, which prompted a burst of giggles from Alice and resulted in Luke asking for the rest of the journey what was so funny.
BREAK
"Seriously though," Alice said, practically choking with laughter, "you look like a L'oreal model."
"A what? Alice, I don't get it-"
"Wait, Luke, I just thought of something-" her words were cut off for a moment by an unsuppressed stream of giggles before she managed to continue, "could you say: 'Because I'm worth it'. Please. Just say it. Just once. For me. Pleeeease..."
"Because I'm worth it," Luke repeated, blinking in utter confusion as Alice exploded into gales of laughter at his words. "Oh," she gasped, "oh, oh, stitch. Oh it hurts. Ouch…"
"Luke." Ben's voice, sharp and grim cut through Alice's laughter. "What?" She asked, puzzled by the sudden silence from her two companions, "What's- oh, god." There was smoke ahead of them, rising from the hulking wreck of what was presumably some kind of spaceship. As Luke cut the engine immediately, Alice fumbled her safety belt open and leaped out of the speeder, landing surprisingly gracefully, her feet throwing up little puffs of sand.
All around her, large chunks of metal shimmered prettily in the bright sunlight. Slightly dazed by the general heat or the day, Alice stretched out a hand and touched one of them, in what was perhaps one of the stupidest moments of her life.
The pain was instantaneous, and Alice jerked backwards reflexively, hissing. "Alice?" She turned away from Luke, cradling her burnt hand in front of her. Well, that was idiotic. Mental note. In future, do not touch hot metal space rocks.
"What happened?" He said, awkwardly touching her on the shoulder.
"Burned myself," Alice said sheepishly, "it's fine." She stepped warily around another hunk of debris and said, "So what is this then; spaceship crash?" She looked around for a sign of another ship, "Hit and run, maybe?" She lifted her foot to take a step forward, then stopped, her eyes stretching wide in horror, "Oh my god…Luke…is that…?"
Luke's face twisted as he gazed at the small body lying on the ground.
Alice swallowed thickly, suddenly all too aware of the sickly sweet smell of burnt flesh in the air, which up till now had been masked by the smoke. "Okay," Alice said, her voice wobbling slightly, "that's...phew. I do not feel well." Luke took her by the arm, hurriedly turned her away from the body and guided her back towards the speeder, "Just…stand over there. Don't look, okay?"
"Okay," she said, looking fixedly at the horizon and trying not to breathe through her nose. Luke patted her clumsily on the back, then picked his way through the smoking minefield to join Ben. She heard a mournful warble beside her, and felt Artoo nudge against her leg gently as if in comfort. Without looking down (just in case), she put her uninjured hand on the top of the droid's frame, steadying herself against the cool metal.
"Well, this is unpleasant," she muttered under her breath. Perhaps staying with Luke's aunt and uncle wouldn't be so bad after all. I could learn how to…knit.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Luke and Ben moving around and heard Luke say, "It looks like the sand people did this. Look, there's gaffi sticks and bantha tracks everywhere." She saw him pick up a stick, like the ones the sand people they'd encountered earlier had been carrying, and thrust it into the sand, "I've never heard of them hitting anything this big before."
"They didn't," Ben said calmly, as if he was the head of Alien CSI, "but we are meant to think they did. These tracks are side by side, sand people always ride single file, to hide their numbers."
"Hang on…these are the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio."
"What are Jawas?" Alice called, not trusting herself to look at them.
"They're…" Luke hesitated before saying, "they're the bodies."
"Oh," she groaned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand, "right."
Ben pointed at something else, saying, "And these blast points. Too accurate for sand people. Only Imperial storm troopers are so precise."
"But…why would Imperial troops want to slaughter Jawas?"
"That's bad, right?" Alice said to Artoo, "Imperial troops are bad."
"Indeed," Threepio said severely, "a group of mindless killers."
"Yeah, thanks Goldilocks, I wasn't asking you," she said, archly. Artoo looked between the two of them, and whistled anxiously. Threepio sniffed, and looked away, "I was merely confirming your statement."
"Well," Alice said, forgetting her queasiness in her irritation with the droid, "I think- Luke? What's wrong?" Running at full pelt, he skidded past her and jumped into the speeder, his hands going straight to the controls. "Luke? What is it?"
Ben was shouting too, "Wait, Luke! It's too dangerous!"
Without a word to either of them, Luke slammed the craft forward and accelerated away, skimming low over the sand dunes.
Alice spun to find Ben walking slowly and sadly towards her, "What did I miss? Ben? Where's he going?"
"He suspects that the Imperial troops will have found out from the Jawas who they sold these two droids to – and gone to look for them there. In this case, the buyers were Luke's aunt and uncle."
"So?"
He gave her a very serious look, "You should know that Imperial troops are bred to be perfect soldiers. They have been genetically designed not to question authority or to defy it. Their orders were to find these droids, and if they do not find them at Luke's home, they will have no qualms about torturing or killing whoever is there at the time."
Alice blanched, "So Luke's aunt and uncle…they're…?" Ben nodded slowly, and she felt sorrow grip her heart, "But…but he's already lost his parents! That isn't fair!"
"No," the old man agreed grimly, "no, it is not." He sighed, "Come. We should give the last rites to these Jawas."
"What does that mean exactly?" Alice asked, uneasily.
"We will burn their bodies, so that they may become one with the Force."
"Right," she said, feeling a little faint, "okay. I'll be with you in just a second." Ben patted her a little condescendingly on the shoulder, then headed back to where the little bodies of the Jawas were all scattered around. Come on Alice, she thought, you're not going to get very far in a film entitled 'Star Wars' if you can't handle a few bodies. So just man up and help him. Steeling herself, she took a couple of deep breaths (still through the mouth) and joined him.
Together, they created a small pile of bodies, which Ben then lit by using some kind of gadget to concentrate a beam of light on the topmost Jawa's robes; much like small children on Earth used magnifying glasses to scorch the ground. The fabric smoked then suddenly burst into flame. Staring at the slowly kindling fire, Alice didn't feel revulsion, she felt sadness. The Jawas were so little, like children. It was unfair that they had died just because they'd come into contact with Artoo and Threepio.
"So, I guess that they want Artoo because of that information the rebels put in his hard drive, or whatever," Alice said, her voice sounding uncharacteristically bleak in her own ears.
"Good," Ben said, approvingly, "you're keeping up."
"Yeah," she said, "surprisingly enough. And now what, we just wait for Luke to come back?"
"We hope that he comes back," Ben said.
"Oh, well, don't be too optimistic," Alice said reprovingly, her eyebrows shooting upwards. "Gosh, what is it with old people and a constant sense of morbid-ness? Honestly, Ben, you're just going to depress me if you keep on saying things like that."
He smiled slightly, "I apologise young one. I suppose the world you come from is a peaceful one, far removed from war. I'm afraid I've lost too many companions over the years to be able to see things the way you do anymore."
"Oh…" Well that didn't make me feel guilty at all. "I see. Ben?"
"Yes, my girl?"
"Do you think I'll ever be able to go home?"
He sighed, "I cannot say. And even if I thought it was possible, I do not know how it could be done."
"But…so what happens if we go with you to Alderaan? What happens if we live the story exactly and we get to the end and then…then I just stay here?"
There was a brief pause. "I'm sorry, Alice, but I cannot answer your questions. All I can tell you is that the Force converges around you – and so I do not think that what has happened was by accident."
"It does?" She blinked, startled, "Is that a good thing?"
Ben laughed slightly, "Who knows? It may prove to be."
"Well…yay for that, I guess." She turned to look at him, "Can I say something? About Luke's dad?" He gazed at her cautiously, "I suppose."
"…I know that Darth Vader is his father."
He jerked away from her, his eyes narrowing. "Then you really do speak the truth. You know our tale."
"Yeah…why didn't you tell him?"
Ben shook his head, "The time is not yet right for him to know."
Alice gazed at him, then said quietly, "You mean if you tell him now he won't come with you."
The old man met her eyes, and nodded, "Exactly."
"Then I won't tell him," she said, hating herself a little for saying it, "but if he finds out…"
"Thank you."
"I'm probably going to regret that, aren't I…?"
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