When every stone from their collection had been splintered and flung into the scarecrow - mainly by Ami, although Ilyaa had managed to crack a small one again - the daylight was beginning to broaden. Dorullë's sun had already centered itself above the crater, signaling the approach of mid-day.
Dorullë, unique from every other planet in its solar system, had an almost zero degree axial tilt and a perfectly circular orbit, which meant that - except during solar flares - the northern and southern hemispheres of the planet tended to maintain a mild, spring-like climate year-round; the equator of the planet was mostly surrounded by semi-arid deserts and mountains that housed the native Bantha population. The sun always rose and set at the same times, giving the inhabitants a measure of security they would not normally have on other, less-predictable planets.
Set in their routine and dedicated to their caring host, the two girls set off toward Labellë at a brisk pace, making sure to avoid being seen exiting the woods when they reached the outskirts of the city.
A five-story-tall wall surrounded the city of Labellë, measuring 423 miles wide and 258 miles long, making it the planet's longest and most dangerous fence. The wall itself was twelve yards thick, its foundation sunk deep into the earth, and the poorest of the city inhabitants resided within its windowless corridors. The sacred forest of Yvwatzë followed its western wall, extending past both the southern- and northern-most corners of the barricade to form a silver and blue shield, protection from any earthbound enemies that dared approach the City of Merchants. In the event of an attack on the city, the wall was built to be easily electrified, produced a forcefield to cover the city, and the top walkways were lined with auto turrets big enough to take down Star Destroyers.
Except for the business owners and resident merchants, the city's population was highly transient - even the poorest among them stayed less than a year, as there were always ships willing to take on workers in trade for transport across the galaxy. Despite the busy appeal of Labellë and the wondrous natural beauty of the rest of Dorullë, they were so close to the edge of the Unknown Regions that most people were too frightened to stay permanently; in the event of an attack or invasion from deep space, Dorullë was one of the first defenses. And yet, neither the Empire nor, more recently, the First Order had deigned it important to establish a permanent military presence anywhere near the planet.
As the girls approached Mile Marker 137 of the Western Wall, they noticed several military-grade starfighters swoop down from the northeast.
"X-Wings." Ami stated. "Never seen any set down here before."
"Do you think it's the Resistance?" Ilyaa asked, her voice suddenly an octave higher, "Do you think they've finally come for us?"
Ami had been thinking the same thing, wishing it were true. Her gut told her otherwise.
"Nah… More'n likely they were stolen, or they're patch models made from a bunch of different fighter parts. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high."
Ilyaa's shoulders sagged and her pace slowed until finally she stood, head hung down onto her chest, several yards away from their entrance. Ami jogged back to her, a familiar knot of dread beginning to form in her stomach.
"Hey," she said gently, kneeling down to Ilyaa's eye level. "Listen, girlie. Life hasn't been a picnic for us. I want to go home, too, but we've still got to wait. If it was safe for us to go back, someone would've come for us. They're waiting. We're just too precious to risk, okay?"
Ilyaa jerked her head once, indicating comprehension, and silently wiped the tears from her face. "I'm just so tired of waiting!" she hissed, squaring her shoulders. After a few deep breaths, the moment passed.
"Let's get back to the cantina," she said, striding toward Door 137. "Tazer's has the best booze and gossip in the city, so they're bound to show up sooner or later."
Before she could stop it, a small chuckle escaped Ami's lips. "Who's going to show up? And who told you to say booze, child? You're nine!"
Ilyaa threw an angry glare over her shoulder as she knocked on the door. "The X-Wing pilots, obviously. And I say booze because I want to."
The door swung open, revealing a dimly-lit access tunnel through the heart of the wall. The floor was made of well-packed dirt, the walls curving up to meet a ceiling that was no more than seven feet tall. The access tunnel was originally made for repair droids to bolster the foundation in the event of an attack, but had become a frequent haunt for Ami and Ilyaa when they wanted to sneak out of the city and bypass security.
Behind the open door, two glowing blue eyes stared out at them. "Password," the droid demanded, moving its entire body to block the entrance.
"The First Order sucks." Ilyaa chirped, staring up at the gangly, red repair droid. Six of its ten arms were pressed flat against the walls of the tunnel to further barricade the entrance.
With a small flicker of its eyes, the droid turned aside from the path and let the two girls in. "Don't touch my tools," it demanded, and turned back to work on patching a hole in the tunnel wall.
"Don't put your tools in my way," Ilyaa fired back, but the droid continued to work.
Ami pulled a small glow rod out of a pocket on her black bomber-vest and held it out in front of them. The droid's tools cast long shadows down the hall, their appearance quite menacing in the low light. Her feeling of dread was getting stronger.
"Seriously, though," Ami said, carefully stepping forward, "Don't touch his tools."
"How dare you assume my gender," the droll voice piped, "I'm a female."
Ami rolled her eyes. "Fine then, don't touch her tools. Happy now?"
"I'm a droid. I feel no human emotion."
"Oh my goooods!" Ami breathed, speeding their movement up to a jog.
Ami and Ilyaa quickly reached the opposite end of the wall, opened the door, and peeked through into a dark alley. Several of the neighborhood's current beggars were lying on the ground asleep, but there was no other sign of movement or life. Cautiously, the girls stepped out of the door and into the city; already, the noise level had increased five-fold past what it was outside the walls.
"All right," Ami began, reaching into another pocket, this one on her cargo pants, "Get your transportation card and be prepared for the scans. You didn't bring anything back from the forest, did you?"
Ilyaa swept her arms out derisively, causing her pocketless white dress to ripple. "Yeah, I caught a tree frog and stuck it up my sleeve."
"Dang, child," Ami scoffed, "Who gave you this attitude? I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm the one to blame for the mouth, but I think I have a better attitude than that."
Ilyaa snorted, her yellow eyes sparkling with amusement, and the two of them walked out of the alleyway and across a deserted street. On the opposite side of the street, they took a set of stairs that led down into an underground Tube Transport Station. The station walls were covered in cold, gleaming white paint from floor to ceiling, creating the illusion of daytime even in the wee hours of the night.
At regular intervals, planted underneath intimidatingly dark tubes, there were small, opaque pods, each one big enough to hold two medium-sized beings. The girls approached a pod that was blinking the words "…TERRA SECTOR…75 STOPS…" and held their identification cards up against a scanner on the front of the vessel. The screen momentarily stopped flashing its destinations to show their names, ages, and races, and a tinny voice asked them to input their desired stop. As soon as Ami pressed the symbol for Rue Stiika/Ambian Stadium, a seam appeared and a door swung slowly open, allowing them to step inside.
Once inside, the door swung shut and two breathing apparatuses attached themselves to the girls' faces. The same tinny voice told them to remain calm, breathe deeply, and prepare for full body scans; all the while, the air that had slipped into the compartment during their entrance was being pulled out through the ventilation systems and replaced with a jelly-like substance that surrounded their bodies without touching them. An artificial gravity plate at their backs slowly increased, pulling them onto it until they were completely immobile.
Finally, with neither girl able to hear the computer's voice or see each other's faces, they felt a tug at the bottom of their feet which signified that the pod had been sucked up into the tube transportation system. Ami felt the beginnings of a massive headache, as was the norm when traveling the tube system, and was glad they were only traveling midway into the city and not to the East Wall - shooting through underground tubes at over 500 miles per hour, no matter how many precautions were put in place, messed with everyone's inner workings to different degrees. Most people preferred the Sky Cars if they weren't going far and had time on their hands.
After fifteen minutes of speeding under the city, the pod finally slowed to a stop. Air was once again ventilated into the chamber as the jelly siphoned out, and the artificial gravity plates adjusted back to the planet's normal psi. The computer voice wished them a good day and the door swung open, revealing a white underground Tube Station nearly identical to the one they left behind; the only difference was the amount of people that were now crammed into the tiny space.
Ami stepped out onto the platform and turned back to help Ilyaa, who could barely stand at this juncture, out of the pod. There were already dozens of people waiting in line for their turn, so Ami hoisted Ilyaa onto her back and aggressively pushed out of the crowd and up the stairs. Even though they'd only been underground for fifteen minutes, coming out into the open air felt like they'd climbed their way out of hell.
"Can you stand yet?" Ami asked over her shoulder, Ilyaa still clinging to her back. "It's really awkward trying to carry you like this when you're wearing a dress. Consider your modesty."
"Shut up." Ilyaa muttered, hopping down onto the ground. She seemed to wobble slightly as she took her first few steps.
"Did Tazer say anything about needing groceries or something before we left?" Ami said, trying to remember the events of the morning. The unfiltered sunlight was exacerbating her headache, which, combined with her growing anxiety, made it difficult to think straight.
"No, there was no note or anything," Ilyaa responded. "But the market is in the opposite direction anyway, and I don't feel like walking any more today."
"You said it, girl." Ami agreed.
The buildings in this sector were mainly businesses targeting the upper-class politicians who used Labellë as a clandestine meeting point. The security in the city was amazing, the First Order military force non-existent, and anonymity guaranteed for a reasonable price. There were shooting ranges, cafes, tailors & clothing shops, and even personal security offices that would loan you "deaf" mercenaries for protection. The newest and most popular business was a disguise shop that would temporarily change your features and give you falsified identification documents. It was an unspoken agreement among the residents of this sector that they "See nothing, hear nothing, know nothing." After all, who wanted to mess with such a hugely booming espionage economy?
Several minutes later, they rounded a busy street corner where they were confronted by a huge sign that read "Tazer's" in large, swooping blue letters. The sign hung from the fourth to third stories of the building so it was easily seen by low-flying Sky Cars, and there was a smaller sign hanging at the first story, just atop a set of artisan-crafted hydraulic doors.
Ami approached the doors and pressed her hand up against a scan pad, which unlocked them. She pressed a small green button next to the scan pad and the doors disappeared into their frame, revealing a grande entry hall with polished, mahogany floors and shining, gilded walls. On the opposite side of the entry hall was an ancient, gold-plated elevator that was activated by turning a crank inside; despite the fact that Tazer had the crank upgraded to have a hydraulic component so anyone could operate it, the patrons still expected someone to ferry them to and from the saloon level. During the cantina's normal hours, they hired a young Aqualish man to operate the elevator; he also doubled as a member of their personal security team.
The two girls hopped into the elevator and Ilyaa ferried them up to the top floor, which functioned as their living quarters. This level of the building had a different layout than the rest: the east wall, which faced out into the street, was comprised solely of windows; there were four doors on the north wall that led to Tazer's bedroom, Ilyaa and Ami's bedroom, a bathing room, and a room that Tazer kept locked at all times; the rest of this floor was open, but sectioned off by half-walls and carpets to designate eating, lounging, and cooking areas. It was a very comfortable place to live.
"Uncle Taze?" Ami called, crossing the living room to knock on his bedroom door. "You awake? It's well past noon."
A low, raspy grumbling sound could be heard from behind the door, followed by a loud thump that indicated something large had fallen to the ground. Ami knocked again and, when she received no answer, pushed the sliding door open. Tazer's hammock swayed in the middle of the room, empty, and multiple alcohol bottles lay upended beneath it. Toward the back of the room, the husky Toydarian could be seen struggling to get off the floor. It was obvious he'd fallen asleep at his work bench, which was a rather unusual occurrence considering how often he drank and tried to do paperwork at the same time.
"Unc, I told you I'd do that for you," Ami sighed, quickly jogging over to help her guardian off the floor. "You have two willing workers living here that you support and protect for basically nothing. You have to start letting us help you!"
"Aye, child," he responded, using his wings to propel himself into the air, "I promise I will, one day. These are such difficult matters for your young minds to comprehend."
"That's just an excuse," Ami shot back, following him out of the room, "You just don't think we can do it as well as you can."
The Toydarian twirled around, snout coming within inches of Ami's face. "Well, am I wrong? Can you keep my books as well as I can?"
Ami huffed. "Well excuse me! If you don't teach us, we won't ever be as good as you are! So no, of course we can't do it like you can - you've been at this for decades!"
Tazer threw his hands into the air and flew into the kitchen. Ami followed, arguing, while Ilyaa slipped silently into the peace of their bedroom.
"You keep saying that you need to take on an apprentice. Why can't you take one of us? We've been here for five years! We know what goes on in this business, and I'm almost to the age of maturity, so I'll be able to legally work for you. And Ilyaa's a smart girl, she could do things like transcribing, copying records, filing, checking receipts, stuff like that!"
Ami paused while Tazer flitted around the kitchen, preparing himself a large breakfast. She grabbed several compacted energy packets from a cabinet and tossed them onto the dining table for him in an attempt to speed him up.
"Are you going to answer me?" she queried. Tazer remained silent several minutes longer while he fried three large eggs and a Bantha steak. "Fine. Keep falling asleep on your work bench and ruining your records with your drool. We'll just keep mooching off you and taking advantage of your kindness."
A long, low sigh escaped Tazer's snout as he brought his finished breakfast platter to the dining table. "A 'good morning' would have been nice to start with, instead of bullying me as soon as I wake up."
Ami immediately felt pangs of remorse. Her dread was growing, and she could feel it beginning to cloud her judgment. "Uncle, you are falling apart! Your drinking is getting out of hand, you never leave this building any more, even your regulars are beginning to notice how weak and exhausted you are. I'm trying to help you. You can't keep doing it alone. You're getting old."
"Thank you for pointing that out," the Toydarian huffed through mouthfuls of food. "I didn't realize I was aging so rapidly."
Ami let out a derisive grunt. "Okay, I'm sorry if I hurt your elderly feelings. I'm sure they bruise easily." Again, immediate remorse. She really needed to learn to shut her mouth.
"Amidala Solo," Tazer gently said, "Do you believe I do not trust you? Or that I desire my business to fail after so many years of operation and the achievement of an impeccable reputation? I am not delusional, child: I know that my health and my sanity are rapidly decaying, but I would be sorely amiss if I were to think for one second that you and your sister were permanent members of my household."
Ami smirked. He had insisted on calling them sisters ever since they arrived here, while calling himself their uncle. He had also insisted on knowing their full names, despite the fact that her biological uncle, Luke Skywalker, demanded their identities be kept secret. It was Tazer's way of helping them keep their true identities and memories intact, and they were both grateful to him for that.
He continued. "The two of you are members of the transient population here on Dorullë. I don't care whether or not you believe you have conquered your denial, or how liberated you have deluded yourself into feeling now that you are sure you have been forgotten. I have known Jedi Master Skywalker since he was but a small child on Tatooine. Even then, he never reneged a promise."
Ami's eyes began to fill with tears, despite her efforts to the contrary. The more she tried to bottle up her feelings, the harder they hit when they eventually appeared.
"We've been here five years, Tazer," she whispered, turning her face away.
"Yes," her guardian replied, "And what of it? There are people who have been separated from their families for decades, for lifetimes, and still they never lose hope."
"Yeah, well they're just stupid and lying to themselves," she shot back, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Ah, you may believe that now, but when the day comes and you are being rescued by the family you believe has abandoned you, your tune will change. That day will come. Ilyaa Luun Rohena believes it to be, as should you." Tazer paused, finishing the last of his food. "Besides, I have already chosen an apprentice."
"What?!" Ilyaa hollered from the bedroom, zooming out to where the other two were sitting. "Who?! Who did you find?!"
Ami's jaw hung open, her chin jutted forward, demanding answers.
Tazer chuckled, the first genuine sound of amusement they'd heard from him in months. "A young Mirialan gentleman wandered in several nights ago seeking employment. He produced excellent job records, and even had a holo from his last supervisor recommending him as a loyal, hard-working young man with a nose for business. Of course, I spoke to the captain of the ship he came on, and received the same information. I offered him the job yesterday. He will begin this evening, and I have offered him living arrangements in the spare bedroom."
"What spare bedroom?" she managed to ask through her constricting throat, still shocked by her uncle's sudden revelation and desperately trying to push that familiar feeling of dread down beyond her consciousness.
"Why, the bedroom next to the windows, of course," Tazer rejoined, gesturing to the fourth door, the one he always kept locked. "It used to house an emergency stockpile of my most popular beverages, but I had him clean it out and hang a hammock for himself last night during cantina hours."
A light in Ami's brain suddenly switched on. "He's not here now, is he?"
Tazer just chuckled and flew down the service stairs to begin setting up for opening hour.
"I'm going to check!" Ilyaa whispered.
"No, Ilyaa, come back!" Ami hissed as Ilyaa, in her stockinged feet, slid over to the fourth door and stuck an ear up to it. After a few seconds of intent listening, she violently waved Ami over.
"What are you doing!?" Ami mouthed as she approached the door, careful not to make any noise.
Ilyaa pointed at the door and whispered, "Someone's in there!"
Ami gently pressed her ear up against the door. At first she heard nothing over her rapidly-beating heart, but after a few seconds the unmistakable sound of someone punching in an unlock code vibrated through the panels of the metal door.
With one movement, both Ami and Ilyaa charged into their room and silently slid the door shut. Heart pounding, Ami gripped their door with the tips of her fingers and created a slit just wide enough for the two of them to see out, Ilyaa squatting between her legs.
A tall, yellow-skinned man clad in tight, brown breeches, a loose, white tunic, and a black vest sauntered out into the kitchen area, his long, braided brown hair falling softly down his back. His feet were clad in black utility boots that shined in the light from the windows.
Ami suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to sneeze, and in her haste to try and bury it in one of the pillows on her bed, she tripped over Ilyaa and fell into a wooden night table, smashing it. Ilyaa squealed and stood, trying to salvage the situation, but lost her balance and tripped into their bed frame, which made a painful screeching noise.
Ami began to try and pick herself back up when she realized the door was open. She stared up, frozen on her pile of splintered wood, at the man standing in their doorway. His blue eyes flashed with twisted amusement as he surveyed the two girls sprawled on the floor, the geometric tattoos on his face creating the illusion that he was wearing a fancy mask. She hoped to high heaven that he couldn't hear how fast and shallow her breathing had become.
"Hello there," he rumbled. "You must be Nahala Dor."
He looked straight at Ami, eyes locking with hers. She didn't like him.
"Yeah, well, you got it wrong, buddy," she replied, shakily standing to her feet. "I'm Hero Chisum. And who would you be?"
"Riktorr Tolbey," he said, eyes sweeping the room and landing on Ilyaa, who was now perched on the top bunk of their bed, glaring at him. "You can call me Rik, if you want. I'm Tazer's new apprentice."
"Great." Ami said, picking up what was left of her night table. "Yeah, you're gonna need to get out now."
Once again, Riktorr's eyes flashed with that same look of twisted amusement. Ami hated it immediately. It was as if he knew something horrible and was immensely pleased with himself about it.
"Indeed," he responded, backing out of the room and pulling their door shut.
Ami listened to the sound of his boots clomping in the direction of the elevator, and when she heard the mechanism begin whirring she turned to Ilyaa, heart still racing.
"I'm getting a seriously dangerous vibe from this hooter," she said, "I think we need to play it cool around him, and no more trips to the forest for a while. Got it?"
Ilyaa nodded, still scowling. "I don't like the way he just looked at us. Gave me the creeps."
"Yeah," Ami agreed, "Me too. But I'm hoping against all odds that our first impressions are wrong."
"You know they're not wrong." Ilyaa scoffed, hopping off the bunk and onto the floor.
"Yeah… That's what I'm afraid of."