I've never been to Aldera.

But boy, is it nice! It screams cleanliness. It's so nice. Clean streets, nice people…why don't we live here?

"You look like this is your first time in the city," Alex noted.

"That's probably because it is," I replied absently as we walked along the streets to pick her Alex's friends. Two guys that walked past me winked, and I stared after them stupidly. Was that for me? It wasn't for me, was it?

I turned forward, my cheeks hot.

"Seems like you're a guy magnet," Alex teased me, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't see why. I'm not pretty."

Alex snorted. "You just told me that your friend hates you because you remind him of his beautiful former lover. So you must be pretty. Ah! Here we are…" she smiled as we stood in front of a small shop. She opened the door, and I followed, walking inside.

Holy crap. That's the first thing that went through my mind. Dumplings.

"Oi! Lily! David!" Alex called as I looked around. The place was pretty homely, but nice. Comfortable. I'm surprised there are places here. Everything at home is run down, torn, and just plan out of date. This place looks like a nice bedroom or something, except it has a big counter, chairs, and a stage for bands, probably.

I wandered over to look at the painting on the walls. They were pictures of foreign flora. Why can't I do that?

I didn't play attention to Alex chatting it up with her friends as I went along the wall, admiring them all. I want to do that.

I suddenly smelled something delicious behind me. Dumplings. I turned around and then jumped in surprise when a guy was standing in front of me, WAY too close to me, holding a plate of chili dumplings in his hand.

He smiled crookedly at me. "Dumpling?"

"Um…" I stammered as he winked. Then he picked a dumpling up and popped it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, gauging my expression. It was probably a combination a shock, horror, hunger…

"You're…Lee, right?"

"Yeah…" I said slowly, eyeing the dumpling he was putting into his mouth again. He was tall (most guys are, I'm kinda short), with dark brown…almost black hair, and blue eyes...and I have to say, a nice smile.

"I'm David," he said with a friendly grin, stepping back a bit. He looked me up and down. "David Pryell."

I snickered, and he raised an eyebrow. I shut up. "Something funny about my last name?"

"Sorry…" I said quickly. "It's just…" I smiled and laughed again. "It's just funny."

"What's your last name then?" he asked cheekily.

"Valara," I replied, my eyebrow raised as well. He flashed another smile at me. "Can I have a dumpling now?"

"Fine." I grabbed his plate and slithered away, eating the dumplings like the true pig I am. I heard him laugh quietly behind me. I turned around to look around the place. "Why's it empty?"

"We're closing temporarily while we go on this mission," a voice replied behind me. I turned around to see a woman walking to me, wiping her hands on her pants. She had red hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. "You must be Lee."

"That's me," I said half-heartedly. "You must be Lily."

"That's me," she said, echoing my response. She shook my free hand. "Enjoying the dumplings?"

"I love dumplings," I admitted sheepishly. "Especially chili ones."

"Well, you and I are perfectly alike!" Alex's voice rang out. I watched her appear from the back, closing a door behind her. "I love dumplings too. Got your things?"

"Right there," Lily said, indicating to a pile of bags on the floor that I must've missed. "So…" she took the empty plate away from me. "Why're you joining us, Lee?"

"Um…" I said awkwardly, looking down. "Alex kidnapped me, I guess. I mean, she knew I wanted to leave."

"She's got a sucky home life," Alex explained sympathetically. "The poor girl was tied down, handcuffed, whatever you call it. But she had to get out of there, you know?"

"Yes, I understand," Lily said, her eyes searching mine, making me nervous. I liked her, alright. But those eyes were piercing.

"My parents…" I walked away absently, my eyes drawn to another painting. "They're really…insecure. About me, I guess. I mean…they never let me leave the house, they don't let me talk to anyone outside of the family…Especially my mom. Ever since my aunt disappeared she's taken on this terrible personality. She threatened to denounce me from the family if I left the house again."

I heard breathing behind me. "You took the risk?" It was David.

"Well, I really didn't have a choice. Alex looked like she was going to drag me out of the house by my scalp if I didn't go!" I laughed, studying the painting I focused on. "I just hope she'll understand why someday."

"Hang on," Alex said incredulously. "You're not going back?"

"Heck no," I replied, turning around to look at her. "I'm out. I'm not going back now."

"Oh!" Alex sobbed, running over to me and embracing me tightly. "Our little Lee's a runaway! Lily, shouldn't we celebrate?"

Ain't she funny.

Lily smiled at me over Alex's shoulder as she suffocated me. "We have time for more dumplings…"

--

As we neared the Senate and the adjoining hangar my heart rate began to increase. What if I run into them? Then what happens?

Alright. Think positive, think positive, I reminded myself as I sat in the back with David. I exhaled.

"You look like you're having a panic attack," he noted, nudging me.

"Let her breathe, David. Her family's in Aldera," Alex said nonchalantly. "She's worried we'll run into them or something."

"Chillax," David snorted. "We'll be sneaky. 'Sides, we've got a private ship."

"We're Daily's, a galaxy-known dumpling making business," Lily added brightly. "We've got places everywhere."

I diverted from my meditation to stare at her. "Daily? Like David and Lily? You guys started it?"

"That's right," Lily said brightly, turning in the seat to look at me.

I frowned. "When'd you start the business?"

"A few years ago. I was…29 and David was…17."

"How'd you know each other?"

"School," Lily shrugged. "We went to cooking school for a while at Alderaan U."

Another place I'd love to go to. A University. Can you imagine what that must be like? I dream of going there one day.

"Oh."

"Alright!" Alex said, stopping the speeder. "We're here!"

Dread seemed to be in my face when I stepped out of the speeder, looking around the hangar. It was huge and metal, with the top seeming to stretch for miles.

"Stop!"

I turned around and my heart sank. Troopers. Exactly what I needed. What if one of them asked me questions and tried to send me home?

Five troopers walked towards us, their blasters drawn but held loosely in their hangs. Great. Any moment that could whip 'em out and shoot us down.

"Need identification?" Alex sighed. "Alright guys, pull 'em out."

Panic raced through my heart. I don't have any identification with me! Do I?

"Of course you do," Sela snorted. I turned my head to look at her. She was leaning on the roof of the speeder. "It's in your left pocket."

Slowly, daring to believe my hallucinations, I reached into my left pocket, and grasped something rectangular. I pulled it out in disbelief. I stared at the card.

'Lee Valara. Age 19. Location: Belleau-a-lir, Alderaan.' Beneath it was a barcode. Attached to it was my key to the house.

I resisted the urge to ask Alex how and why, but I shut up as one of the troopers approached me and held out his hand for the card. I placed it in his hand and tried to look through his mask.

"Lee Valara," the trooper said, startling me. He…or it, laughed. I blinked in shock. "Nice to see you again."

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. The trooper reached up and began to remove his helmet. I waited, my nerves tense. His helmet came off and he looked at me. They all are the same! Tan skin, black hair, black eyes, funny accent…

Hang on. This one has a scar on his eye…and an earring. The earring was a star.

My shock disappeared and I grinned at the trooper, who was smiling back. "Cyrus?" I whispered.

"Hi," he whispered back with excitement, his eyes sparkling. "I've missed you."

"Holy crap, how long have you been here?" I whispered back, aware that the others were watching.

"A while. Hang on, let me get back into uniform. I'll help you onboard," he muttered in my ear. He put his helmet back on. "She's clean!" Cyrus called, walking over to his friends. "These guys are members of Daily's Dumplings, and they are scheduled to fly to Tatooine."

"For what reason?" another trooper asked.

"Translation," Alex answered smoothly. "I am a Olys Corellisi translator, and so are Lily and David. Lee here is coming along with us because she is currently in training to learn the language."

"Is this true?" the same trooper asked me, turning to me.

"Yep. She's my mentor, I guess. I'm surprised I'm even coming along. A few weeks ago I couldn't pronounce a word."

"What about now?" he asked, walking over to me, his clunky uniform moving with him. "What can you say in that language?"

"Like you're proficient in it," I heard another clone mutter.

"Say something," he challenged me.

Me and my HUGE mouth.