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Intro: Naboo is free. Hundreds of battle droids and the bodies of brave men lay in the streets. But Naboo is free. I have seen death, bravery, kindness and evil in its worst form. I have learned of the need to have friends and have learned what it is like to lose a friend.

I have learned of love. Love of a friend, and love of one's world and country. Both of which should be important. I am writing this journal to show all of these things, and to proclaim my past so that others may know me as me, in case for one reason or another, someone tries to seek me out. This is a true story. I have left nothing out. I am Elaina Solo and I am sixteen years old. This is my story. ************************************************************************


Place: Planet of Tatooine, the town of Mos Espa

Mechanic's shop

I have been sold again. But in a most unusual fashion. This morning, I was cleaning the hyperdrives and making sure of things before the shop opened when Master Banoba finally showed up. He had been sleeping in, again, leaving me to make sure the shop was in good order. It was foolish and disrespectful of me, but I told him that if Dubaks slept as long as he did, the Tusken Raiders would have shot him, eaten him, and his bones would be bleaching in the heat of the twin suns! Too cruel Elaina!

He stared really hard at me and due to the fact that he was, rather a chubby man, not only his face, but all of the folds of his skin hanging off of it began to turn red. In my horror at my impudence, I still had to hold in my laughter at his appearance. Then his face relaxed and the folds jiggled slightly as he moved from side to side. He spoke, quite cooly. "It is a good thing that I am getting rid of you today. Otherwise, I would've turned you over to Jabba."



Then he walked over and tied my hands with a long piece of black cord. I was so astonished at what he had said, that I didn't even bother struggling. I was just turning it over and over in my mind at what my master had said, till it came to me. He was taking me to an auction block! An auction block is the worst place to be, the worst place to even dream of, for in an auction block, your whole identity is stripped from you. You become a number, a meaningless jumble of digits. Being sold to the spice mines of Kessel is always a possibility, as Tatooine is in a firm trade with them. It was possible and it could happen to me NOW.

But by the time my brain had processed this and it came to my mind to struggle, Master Banoba was already walking out the door, cord and purse in one hand and a fierce looking whip in the other. I knew he would use the whip if provoked, but I had to take a chance for my freedom. As we walked down the sandy streets, I began to stumble over the rocks in the road. Because we were traveling so fast, not all of the stumbles were intentional, most were quite real. My brain screamed over an over at me as Master Banoba pulled me up from the dirt yet again,


Do it!! Do it now!! Use the Force!! NOW!! Your life depends on it!!


But I shook my head and tried to ignore it. I could not do it here. Not now. Then I really would be in trouble. But I messed things up considerably when I stumbled on quite a large rock and fell down. Master Banoba had put up with most of my stumbles, but now he was really angry. Furious in fact. He threw down his purse and the cord and began to prepare himself to strike me as hard as he could with the whip. I was used to being hit and slapped, but non of my masters had ever gone so far as to whip me! I started to crawl away, for as you can imagine, I was terrified. Master Banoba laughed harshly and stepped on the cord. Now I was lying on the ground. Imagine it. Me, the person of prestige that I would become, then, lying in the dirt, my bound hands trying to cover my dirt streaked face, blue eyes wide with fear. Imagine it.

I was trapped. By this time, many of the passersby began to laugh and cheer. I was so afraid, that I didn't even notice them. It was then that I knew what I had to do. I had to use my senses, use the Force. It was the only thing that could save me now.
You taught me well, brother, now give me the strength to use it well. I pleaded silently.
Then I screwed my eyes shut, focusing in my mind on the whip. I knew it would do as I willed. I WAS strong enough. I had to be or I was done for. When I opened my eyes, the whip had flown from Master Banoba's grasp, and he was lying on the ground, dazed. It had worked. I had done it! I comprehended quickly what I had done, then slipped out of the cord, my eyes laughing at Banoba's fright. I began to run as fast as I could, my slave necklace flying up and hitting me in the face. I didn't look back.

Just when I thought that I would have my life redeemed I heard a grunt behind me. I began to run backwards so as to get a better look at my pursuer. I saw Master Banoba running after me, whip in hand. His chubby face was red and damp with perspiration. I angrily cursed the twin suns under my breath and began to twist back around so I could run faster. It would have worked, had a member of my eager audience not have taken the opportunity to trip me. My eyes widened as my feet fell out from under me. I shut my eyes and threw out my hands to ward off the sandy ground. I expected sand to fall into my face as I fell, but instead a strong grasp encirled me. I fell into the arms, my legs flying out from under me. I panted, staring below at the ground. Tall, dust worn boots met my eyes and I slowly raised them to take in the rest of the figure.


I slowly looked up into the person's face. It was a man, distinguished in appearence and noble. His shoulder-length brown hair hung about his face in a way that was slightly distinguished, despite it's worn countenance. His blue eyes seemed to stare deep within me, probing, searching. I quickly shielded my thoughts. As I looked up at him, a knowing look flashed in his eyes as he offered me his hand. I took the rough hand gratefully, my mouth opening to spill excuses and apologies. But the man simply shook his head and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I offer you protection." He said this gently, his deep blue eyes looking behind me at Master Banoba. I gladly took his offer, dashing behind his back, where I found myself face to face with a queer, orange, reptilian-like creature. The creature didn't say anything, but merely stared with his bright yellow eyes. I shuddered and turned away, focusing on my master.

Master Banoba stood in front of my protector, panting hard, his face red with rage. "The slave is mine!" He squeaked between breaths. My protector nodded slowly and thoughtfully, finally speaking in a deep, but gentle voice, "I will buy her from you sir." I don't believe I'd ever seen Master Banoba more shocked in his life. He stood still, his eyes wide. I knew exactly how he felt. I couldn't believe my ears. This man was a stranger to both myself and my master, yet he was offering to buy me only after meeting me for a few seconds. Of course, my brain contradicted, it is very much like being sold in the market place. The men there don't know you anymore than this man does. I had to agree. My logic seemed clear. But this man's was confusing. For all I knew he could be a feared space pirate, though I sincerely doubted it. The very idea of this seemingly gentle man being a pirate seemed totally unbelievable.

Master Banoba stood still, his face reddening once more as he blurted out his answer. "Buy her!" Master Banoba squeaked. "You can have her! She's not worth any kind of money!" With that, my former master gave me a wilting glance and stormed away. My new master bowed respectfully to the chubby man's retreating form. "Now," The man said as he drew me out from behind his back. "What is your name my friend?" His manner of speech startled me greatly and threw me off. I couldn't believe that I was actually speechless. This man obviously had never had a slave before, otherwise he would be treating me quite differently. But I answered him all the same. "My name is Elaina Solo, Master. I am 16 years of age, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for rescuing me!" I had to add my thanks in quickly, thinking that soon my master would come to his senses and begin to treat me like a true slave, with blows and smacks being part of the deal.


My new master smiled genuinly. "You are very welcome Elaina. My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. We should probably leave this street as we've already caused enough excitement to get us noticed." He said quietly, his eyes searching the relatively quiet town square. As we began to walk briskly away from the main street, I noticed Qui-Gon's companions. A young girl with a determined stride walked beside him on his other side. She was quite beautiful, long brown hair done in braids that swept her bangs away from her sparkling brown eyes. At a first glance, she seemed to me to possess more inner strength than a normal person would perceive. She glanced at me and a smile flickered across her lips as she fell behind to walk beside me. "The queer creature is Jar Jar Binks. You musn't mind him. He's quite strange actually." She whispered, motioning to the reptilian creature, who at that moment decided to fall over his own feet.


I held in a small laugh as I watched him, returning the girl's welcoming smile. "The astromech droid is R2-D2. I am Padme." She said quietly gesturing first to the droid then to herself. I grinned and held out my rough hand. Padme glanced at it in surprise, then her gaze softened as she took it gently. "Thank you for your friendship." I said quietly, with a small smile. Padme smiled and cocked her head slightly to the side. "What do you mean?" She asked lightly. "It is a custom. When one is kind to an outcast such as myself, it is only right that I accept your kindness." I said wistfully, counting how few friends I actually had. Padme's brown eyes widened. "Oh but you aren't an outcast!" She said in a shocked tone of voice. I grinned and turned away from her. "I'm a slave aren't I?"


Before Padme could answer, there was a loud commotion behind us. I whirled around to face the scandelous scene. Jar Jar was pinned to the ground by an ugly, but all too familiar Dug, named Sebulba. Sebulba, popular in podraces and equally as famed for cheating at them, was known well by me. The poor creature, though far larger than the Dug, was still outclassed, being apparently careless and clumsy. As I prepared to interject myself in the creature's defense, a familiar form got there before I did. Small of build, sparkling blue eyes and sandy blonde hair made Anakin Skywalker stick out among the darker citizens of Mos Espa. One who also stood out against Sebulba, his rival in the podraces. The small boy spoke a few words to Sebulba in Huttese, his eyebrows raised. The Dug left Jar Jar and instead focused on Anakin, but after a few sarcastic exchanges of words, he left Anakin and Jar Jar.


I smiled and shook my head as I approached my friend. Anakin looked up and grinned. "Hey 'Laina! You know this poor unfortunate?" Anakin asked amiably as I approached. I grinned and glanced at Jar Jar. "Yes I suppose I do. But not very well." I replied. "Well you better watch out for him. He's a walking time bomb." Anakin whispered. I laughed quietly under my breath, quickly silencing it as Qui-Gon and Padme approached. Anakin flashed them both a grin. "Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug, an especialy dangerous Dug named Sebulba." He remarked, glancing at Jar Jar. "Mesa hatin' crunchin'!" Jar Jar said, his tone one of anguish. "Thats the last thing mesa wantin'!" Anakin glanced at me soberly, but instinct told me that inwardly, Anakin was laughing hysterically.


"Still you were getting into trouble." Qui-Gon said, eyeing Jar Jar meaningfully. The creature looked away from Qui-Gon's piercing gaze shamefully. Qui-Gon then looked down at Anakin kindly. "Thanks my young friend." Qui-Gon then began to walk away and Anakin followed us, he and I catching up with each other. Anakin and I had both known each other as children and though the two of us were a good seven years apart, we both found things in common with each other, for we were all we had. The two of us really had no one else who understood our dreams and wishes. All we wanted was to be Jedi Knights. That was all. But no one understood. My father had been one, as had my brother, but both were gone. My father had disappeared, my brother killed. Anakin really had no one in his family like that, but it didn't faze him in the least. We both knew what we wanted and we wouldn't let anyone get in our way.


We walked until we came to Jira's stall, a dear old woman, one who we counted on for little treats whenever we could sneak away from our masters. She looked at us with a smile, her old eyes twinkling. Anakin gladly treated the lot of us to palaes. Qui-Gon accepted his gift with a smile, putting it in his pocket. But as he lifted his tunic, a flash of metal caught my eye and a long tube dangled in my vision. Anakin glanced my way and I met it, knowing what we had both seen. A lightsaber. Qui-Gon was no ordinary farmer.


"Oh, storms comin' up Ani! You better get home quick." Jira said worriedly, as she patted Anakin's hand. Then she began to pack up her stall as the wind began to blow harsh sand and grit into our faces. "Do you have a place to stay?" Anakin asked, looking up at Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon nodded reassuringly. "We'll go to our ship." Anakin frowned. "Is it far?" Padme smiled, but even she too looked concerned. "Its on the outskirts." The outskirts. I knew that we wouldn't get far before the sand would sweep up into our faces and blind us before we even got out of Mos Espa. And with the wind being the way it was I knew we didn't have much time. Apparently Anakin was thinking the same thing. "You'll never make it in time! Sandstorms are very, very, dangerous! C'mon, I'll take you to my place!" Anakin then grabbed Padme's hand and began to lead us towards his home. As we struggled through the storm I glanced at Anakin holding Padme's hand rather protectively against him. I then realized that they must have met at some point in time. Really I wasn't surprised. Anakin bonded with everyone who didn't oppose him and he always loved people who would listen to him.

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