Chapter 2

Lara climbed the stairs up to her sister's room. She was very careful to lift her crutches up on every step.

"Leia? Are you home?" she said, knocking on the durasteel door. Hearing no reply she balanced on her one good leg to press the door release. She hobbled into the apartment. She laid her crutches on the armchair and sat down on the couch. It wasn't long before Leia Organa entered the room.

"María? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to tell you that I'm no longer María Haro." Leia sat down on the couch beside Lara.

"You changed your name?"

She nodded. "I'm now Lara María Skywalker."

"That's wonderful. But I've got a surprise for you, too," Leia said.

"Really?" Lara said sitting straight on the couch.

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you 'till dinner tonight."

Lara slumped back onto the couch. "That's no fun to keep secret's from your sister."

"Actually it is. I've never really had a sister before. It's quite amusing to taunt you." She laughed and walked into the kitchen. "I'll see you at dinner. Tell Luke to come at 1600 hours."

"Fine." Lara grabbed her crutches and left the room. She hopped down the steps. She was nearly pushed over as a man ran up the steps, a younger man following him.

"Watch it Han!" she yelled menacingly. "Whatcha' in a hurry for? My sister?"

Han Solo turned around at the top of the staircase and glared down at her. "Very funny, Haro. But, no, I'm not running to Leia. I'm running away from this recruit."

"You wish!" she said back. "Haven't got anywhere to run to at a dead end!" Han looked around and saw that he was at dead end. "But then again, you are his superior officer. Just order him to stop." Lara suggested.

"You're right. I think I'll do that. Thanks, Haro."

"It's Skywalker!" she reminded him as she hobbled down the steps to her quarters.

"Since when?!" he countered.

"Since today!"

As she closed the door, she heard Han yelling orders at the young recruit. She snickered and pressed the lock mechanism.

"Hurry up, Luke!" Lara yelled at the doorway of Luke's apartment. "Leia's room is on the other side of the complex, and we're supposed to be their in 15 standard minutes!"

Luke finally emerged from his bedroom, toweling off his shaggy blond hair. He was wearing his black Jedi tunic and robe.

"If you were meeting Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, and Crix Madine, you wouldn't want to smell like ion exhaust like Han."

Lara smirked at his light comment and opened the door. They reached Leia's apartment in record time. 6 minutes, due to Luke carrying Lara.

"You ready?" she asked suspiciously as Luke cleared his throat.

"Aren't I always?" he said reaching for the door release.

The door opened and they stepped into the room to find it bustling with commanders. Lara saw Mon Mothma talking to General Crix Madine. Mon Mothma smiled and waved Lara and Luke over. Madine left and the two siblings joined.

"It's good to see you, Mon Mothma," Luke said, almost nervously, Lara noted. What was he up to? She hadn't seen him this skittish since the ride to Endor...

"Like wise, Master Skywalker," Mon Mothma replied. "Young Lara, what are those devices that are holding you upright? I believe that I have seen them before, but I cannot recall their name.." she trailed off.

"These are called crutches. On Earth, they have not yet developed such a wonder as bacta. I prefer to stick with my homeplanet's culture."

Mon Mothma nodded. "I hope that you recover quickly."

Lara felt a familiar presence in the Force. Her sister was walking toward them.

"Luke! There you are, I've been waiting for you." Leia embraced her brother and turned to Lara. "Mar-I mean Lara, I need you for a second, do you think you could help?"

Lara nodded. "Please excuse me," she said to Mon Mothma. She turned herself around on her crutches and followed Leia to a remote corner. Lara saw no other occupants except for a young recruit. He looked almost too young, and strangely familiar...

He's the recruit that was chasing after Han! she cursed silently. He was tall, almost as tall as Han, with a young face, black hair, dark brown eyes, and she well see that Han had yelled at him quite a few times from the hurt look in his eyes.

"Krys, this is my younger sister Lara. Lara this Krys Aida, a new slicer recruit," Leia said. "He's feeling out of place right now and he needs someone to talk to." Lara eyed her sister suspiciously. Was her sister setting her up with this Krys?

Before Lara could protest, Leia left the two alone in the corner. Lara's mind worked rapidly, trying to devise a conversation.

"So, where are you from?" she asked.

"Corellia." Lara nodded. Krys was silent for a moment. "Where are you from?"

"Earth."

"I've never heard of Earth before."

"Few people have. It's a planet beyond the Unknown Regions." Krys's jaw dropped.

"How did you end up all the way out there?" he said, shocked.

"I'm not exactly sure. It's a long and complicated story, and I barely know half of it myself. I've lived there as long as I can remember, so I can call it home."

"What's it like on Earth?"

"Well, where I lived, it was very green. Lots of trees, mountains, and rain. I like being here on Endor because it reminds me of it. I love the rain. But in other parts on Earth, it's varies from place to place. It could be mountains, deserts, forests, ice tundras, basically every type of geography there is."

"Wow. So, what is the government like on Earth?"

"I'd rather not go into the political details. It's a little confusing." Krys nodded and sat down on the repulsor couch behind him. Lara brought herself over to the couch opposite him and propped her crutches on the arm. She slowly brought herself down to sit on the couch.

"How'd you break you legs?" Krys asked.

"Darned Ewoks. Let's just say that it really hurts when you fall out of a net that was 10 meters above the ground."

Krys smiled. "I can understand that." He looked over to where Leia was chatting with Luke. "So you're Princess Leia's sister?"

"Yeah. I'm also Luke Skywalker's sister."

"So, if you were the sister of a Princess, wouldn't that make you a princess also?" Krys asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"She was the Princess of Alderaan. Does Alderaan exist anymore?" she shot back at him. He shook his head from side to side. "I didn't think so. You can't be a Princess if you're kingdom is destroyed."

"Sorry. I was just teasing..." he said, eyes cast down at his feet.

"It's okay. I just get a little edgy sometimes. People ask how it was growing up with Luke or Leia, but I can't answer their questions, because I don't know how it was to grow up with them. I just met them a month ago..." Lara trailed off, unable to continue.

"We can change the subject if you want."

"Sure. Thanks, Krys," she replied testing the name on her tongue. Maybe Krys wasn't that bad after all.

Dear Journal,

I could barely contain myself when I heard Leia announce that the Rebellion was funding an exploration back to Earth, and I was going along! We'll be leaving in a couple of days. It will take a while before we get there though. We have to make a side trip to Bakura, then travel past Bespin and Hoth to Tatooine. Then we'll head to Coruscant, and go through the Unknown Regions to Earth!
Only a few people are coming along. There's me, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Threepio, Artoo, Krys and some other people. Luke, Leia, Han Chewie, the droids, Krys and I will be on the Falcon. It's going to get crowded.

-Lara

"Leia! Leia, where are you?" Lara hobbled around Leia's suite now on one crutch. The holo projector in the middle of the room whirred to life.

"Lara! Thank goodness I caught you!" Leia breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" Lara asked curiously.

"We need you to start packing for the trip a little earlier than expected. The message that we received has been has been decoded. Bakura has sent a distress signal to the Empire here at Endor, but we picked it up first. They are being attacked by the Ssi-Ruuvi. Start packing your stuff, because we're leaving tomorrow first thing in the morning."

Lara nodded and stared at Leia's image hovering above the ground.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get packing!" Leia yelled.

Dear Journal,
We're finally off. We just made the hyperspace jump to Bakura. Han even let me punch in the coordinates. Right now I'm in the Falcon's lounge. Han said it should take about a week to get there. I'm attempting to show Krys how a pen works. I can't believe with all this technology, no one has invented the pen yet.
Somehow, I'm scared to go back home. I'm afraid that people have forgotten me. Or time has never passed since I've left. Or if 35 days here is really 35 years there.

-Lara

"This is too confusing!" Krys moaned, placing his hands over his ears.

"No it's not!" Lara countered. "You not understanding it is confusing me!"

"Hey, keep it quiet back there!" Han yelled from the rear of the ship. Lara rolled her eyes and took her CD player out of her duffel bag. She saw Krys watch her as she began to push buttons.

"Don't even ask!" she barked.

"Mistress Lara, may I inquire what you are doing with that device?" Threepio's mechanical voice trilled.

"I'm listening to music," Lara replied, placing the earphones on her head. She turned the volume on max and leaned her head back on the wall. Artoo- Detoo twittered.

"She is an adolescent, you dust bucket. That is how they behave around their elders."
"Luke, there's nothing to do. Please tell me that we'll be there soon!"

"Calm down Lara. I'm sure Han can find something for you to work on." Luke returned to his meditating. Lara frowned and stormed off to find Chewbacca. Why does it take so long to get to a planet?

She ran into Chewbacca turning a corner. "Hey, Chewie, where's Han?"

He growled and pointed back to one of the hidden compartments, where Lara could here several tools clanking to the ground and Han's yelp of surprise.

"The hyperdrive broke again? Okay, thanks Chewie."

Lara had walked about 5 meters when she realized that she had understood exactly what Chewbacca had said. But no one on Earth knows how to speak Wookiee, or even understand it, she thought, surprised. What's happening to me?

Dear Journal,

We've finally arrived on Bakura. I've been confined to my room because Leia doesn't want me getting in any trouble with the Stormtroopers. I tend to have a dark temper when it comes Stormtroopers. I'm so bored. I've actually started pacing the room, considering that there isn't much room to pace in. Krys has also been sent to his quarters for the same reasons as myself. R2 might come in every once in a while at twitter at me, but it's not like I'll twitter back. I'm not made of metal. This is going to be a long trip.

Lara