Luke stood in the center of the simple, modest kitchen, searching for anything he could take to True. Finally, he settled on some thin crackers, and a tall glass of blue milk.
Silently retreating back down the hall towards the garage, Luke paused, listening for his aunt and uncle. But the homestead was silent. Only the whir of the generator as it pumped air through the underground dwelling could be heard.
Luke returned to the garage to find True examining the V-35 landspeeder. She turned at the quiet sound of Luke's footfalls.
"I haven't seen one of these in ages," she said, motioning towards the V-35. Luke nodded.
"Out here we've got to make stuff last," Luke responded, setting the tray with the food and drinks on the edge of the maintenance console.
True wandered over, her head tilted slightly. "So what's your story, Luke Skywalker?"
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Me?" Luke laughed for a moment. "I should be asking about you," Luke kept his eyes fixed on True, but she avoided his look and turned away, ignoring him.
"What could you have done on Balmorra that would cause your father to be kicked off the planet?" Luke asked, not giving up so easy. He picked up the plate of crackers and the glass of blue milk and crossed the room to where True stood.
She turned and slowly slid her back down the wall. Luke followed her example, and once seated he passed her the plate of food and the drink.
"I'm afraid of what you'll think of me," True said softly, sipping the blue liquid.
Luke wasn't sure what to say. He didn't quite know how to reassure her that he wouldn't judge, or think less of her. Luke decided he'd bite the bullet and admit his feelings. That should be proof enough, he thought.
"I like you," Luke said, trying to convey with his eyes, and his voice, what he felt in his heart.
True looked at Luke like he was insane than shook her head as if in defeat.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," True said as she stood again, leaving the food and drink on the ground.
Luke remained seated and followed True with his eyes as she started pacing.
"I can't believe I'm going to tell you about this," she said softly, shaking her head. After a long pause and several deep breaths, she spoke.
"On Balmorra I was considered something of a troublemaker. I would race landspeeders, spaceships, water craft, anything I could get into. It was usually me and a couple of guys, usually sons of other workers in the shipyards. Because my father was one of the head designers, I had access to a lot of different ships."
"There was one kid, Palloe, the son of my father's boss. He was a horrible kid. Mean to everyone and used his father's position to take advantage of almost everyone who was what he considered beneath him. He did what he wanted, to who or with whatever he wanted. I avoided that kid. If he was around, I wasn't."
Luke envisioned a meaner version of Fixer, and understood True's reaction.
"Well, on the particular day in question my father had just completed the prototype flier (you know, the one I wrecked yesterday). So he and his team left work early, leaving the workshop open. When I got there that afternoon I found several of the regular guys I used to hang with talking over my father's new ship. So naturally I stuck my head in and boasted loud and clear about my father and his abilities and how the Emperor had requested my father do this particular prototype."
"After my monologue, there was applause from behind me," True's face darkened. "So I turned around and found myself face to face with Palloe. He had this look…" True balled both her hands into tight fists. "I wanted to punch the smug look right off his ugly face."
Luke was a little surprised at True's anger towards this kid. He watched her start to pace again, clenching and unclenching her fists while her blonde hair shimmered in the light.
"Basically, he taunted me. About my father, about the ship, about me…" True's voice trailed as she paused, a far off look in her pale blue eyes.
"I let him get to me," True turned to face Luke. Their eyes met and in his mind's eye Luke could see True standing before this kid, ready to defend her father's honor.
"So, we raced. I flew my father's new prototype, and Palloe flew one of his father's creations. Everything worked wonderfully in my father's ship, it was perfect. And I was winning. As we neared the end of the usual course we raced, something happened. I'm not even sure what, because there were no indications that there was any power loss in my ship. But suddenly I was losing speed and the left side of the ship was dipping. Palloe caught up to me, and through the windows of the cockpit I could see him jeering and laughing at me. It enraged me more, and I put all I could into what was left of my flight, trying to keep up, but it was no use, Palloe blew by me. I was still losing power when there was a sudden explosion in front of me, and I watched as Palloe ran right into a piece of machinery that hadn't been in the path before. I saw his limp body fall from the fiery wreckage," True stopped, her face betraying her conflicting feelings.
"Well, long story short-the maintenance man of the shipyards suggested to my father that we leave before things got, well, out of hand. So that night we packed our stuff and left. We're here, hiding from Palloe's father. Though I'm sure the Emperor was less than thrilled when he discovered we'd left. I think my father is afraid someone will come here after us," True looked at Luke, and shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
"It sounds like a tragic accident, not something you intentionally caused," Luke argued.
True sighed. "I know, but there were other things that had happened…" she replied cryptically, as she shook her head. "Like I said, I was a troublemaker. My father told me so many times to stop acting the way I did, but I couldn't. And now see it's happened again! I couldn't stay away from your little races here on this pitiful planet, and now I've wrecked my father's only way to get back to Balmorra. He was hoping to use that ship to get back on at the shipyards. Leaving me here, or dropping me off somewhere else of course," True stopped as if realizing she had said too much.
Luke couldn't imagine such a life. And as much as he was sure he drove Uncle Owen crazy, he knew that his uncle would never leave him here or somewhere else to live or be raised.
"Are you alone, with your parents I mean?" Luke asked, and True nodded in response.
"Well, I'm alone here too. I don't know my parents, or anything about them. I live with my Aunt and Uncle and all I know is that my Uncle and my father were brothers. But why the last names are different or what my father's name was, I don't know. My aunt and uncle won't tell me, and no one else on this planet will tell me either," Luke stopped, wondering if he sounded like he was feeling sorry for himself.
"You have one clue," True said and Luke looked at her questioningly. "Your last name?"
Luke shrugged. "It doesn't lead very far, I've already tried looking. Nothing beyond Tatooine, and the only Skywalker name I can find in any records is my grandmother, Shmi, and she's buried out on the homestead."
"Well, I don't know how to help you, then," True smiled softly.
A short time later Luke went to bed, and True bundled up to sleep in the seat of the landspeeder.
The following morning, Luke awoke with a start, remembering that True was sleeping in the garage. Bolting out of his room, he ran to the garage where he found the empty V-35, and no sign of True.
Luke stood in the center of the garage, confused. Running both his hands through his sandy blond hair, he retreated back to the kitchen where his aunt was already working on a stew for dinner, dropping vegetables of all sorts into a steaming pot.
"Morning, Luke," she smiled as he shuffled into the kitchen. "You're up a bit late today," she added.
Luke yawned as he nodded and sat at the table, eyeing the food before him. Grabbing a serving spoon he shoveled a large amount of the krayt eggs onto his plate.
"I see you're finally awake," Luke looked up as his uncle came into the room, already dusty from the morning chores. "The day's half gone, and you've got a lot of work today. I want you to get all the droids cleaned up and ready for the harvest. We're starting tomorrow."
Luke nodded as he felt his stomach sink at the prospect of the harvest. He hadn't realized it was so soon. That meant that Biggs would be leaving to the Academy, and Luke would be left with no friends to keep him company and more work on the farm.