Chapter Two

"Who is that?"

Luke Skywalker looked up at the sound of Windy's voice, following his eyeline to the old café. Everyone else did the same. There was a young woman and a young man approaching the front door, but they all knew Windy meant the girl. She was wearing clothes that were not often seen due to the heat; it also suggested she was a pilot or even a captain. Her smooth brunette hair glinted in the sunlight as it fell down her back. She was even carrying a blaster, and not many of Luke's friends owned one, considering this girl looked about the same age as Luke, Deacon and Windy.

"Oh you used to work in that cafe, didn't ya' Windy?" Fixer asked him. "Is it opening up again?"

"Not that I know of," Windy replied, shrugging.

Deacon, grinning, noticed Luke looking at her as she disappeared inside, almost in awe. "Don't even think about it, Wormie. A girl like that won't be interested in ya'." Luke looked away quickly, slightly embarrassed.

"Lay off, Deak," Biggs Darklighter said sharply.

"She's not that pretty anyway," Camie said, scowling. Her arms were folded as she glared at her oblivious boyfriend Fixer.

"Is she planning on sticking around do you think?" Tank asked his friends, as they all lost interest in the market stalls around them. "I still haven't got a date for the Municipal Council's party."

Fixer laughed out loud. "Like she'd go with you. You're all dreamin'." He put an arm around Camie's shoulders. "I've got my dream date."

She seemed pleased again. "What about you Biggs? Who're you going with?"

"Kandji," he said bluntly, winking at Luke, who smiled and shook his head. "Hey, fancy a race?"

They had approached their landspeeders. One of their favourite things to do was race, the constant competition was one way of keeping their lives charged. And both Luke and Biggs had become excellent pilots; racing their spacehoppers through Beggar's Canyon meant they pushed each other to the limit.

Luke smiled widely, "Need you even ask, Biggs?" For now, his mind was taken off the stranger. Because he had felt something in his mind. Something he hadn't felt for a long time.

Mara was flicking through the old books and papers that belonged to the owner before he died, in her quarters below the café wearing her new clothes. It was the following day after her arrival, as she arrived into Tatooine in the late afternoon, and after dark it was apparently too dangerous to go out outside of Anchorhead due to the Sand People.

Luckily for her, the owner, Avilatan, had kept a record of absolutely everything. She copied down his previous suppliers, based on what sold best. Well, first he made an absolute killing making Ahrisa, a spicy food made of greens and soypro, a meat substitute. She would definitely get the ingredients for that. And then there were the popular snacks such as 'nausage', served with 'dustcrepes' (though Mara had no idea what these were), and Tatooine flatbread. Blue milk and a non-alcoholic version of Jawa Juice were just some drinks that used to be served here...it could take a couple of hours to get everything.

She also looked at his former employees. One boy was about her age, and maybe he was still unemployed, or would come back if tempted with higher wages. It was only a cozy little place so there would be no need to hire many people, and hopefully there would be no need to hire somebody completely new to it. The Rebel Base came first and the employees needed to be trusted to handle this place when she's not in.

She stopped her work and rubbed her temples with her fingers. It's back again. She grimaced and shut her eyes to block out the light. Why was it suddenly back again? Ever since she could remember, Mara had these headaches. Sometimes they were pretty painful, but usually they were just irritating. A burden. As if something was trying to burst through her brain, almost as if she was being called to inside her own head. The droids who examined her in the past could find nothing wrong with her - the diagnosis was that she was healthy.

Which was even more alarming to Mara.

She had first felt a twinge when she stood outside the café earlier. If only she knew what had set it off again. But what was trying to break through? It can't be anything good. Ever since her childhood her brain had been trained to fight it. Go away, go AWAY! She screamed inside her head, clutching the side of her face.

Eventually, as it always does, it began to fade away. Mara breathed slowly, cursing the migraine. That was her first one in such a long time. Sure, the dull aches always came and went, but never the pain. Not usually like this.

"Must be the bloody stress," Mara muttered, standing up with her notes, intent on getting the café up and running as soon as possible.

To the suppliers who were not based in Anchorhead for some of the food, Mara got into contact with them via hologram. When she had finished she explored the café upstairs, seeing she had a small office, a small bathroom for customers, an oval shaped area when the employees make the coffee and the food, and then a few communal tables and chairs in front of the breakfast bar; this bar separated the work area from the customers.

Mara looked around the place, feeling confident. This could definitely work. As soon as she visited everybody in Anchorhead that she needed to, things would be working in no time. Who knows, she might even have a bit of fun, make some new friends, have non-Rebel Alliance conversations. Be normal.

Exiting the café and locking up, she headed for her parked landspeeder, feeling the heat after a long time in her air-conditioned apartment. However, she was wearing much more suitable clothing and it wasn't quite so unbearable. Wondering how Roger was getting on with the new base, Mara headed to the contacts on her list, one by one striking a deal for a supply they provided, until all she had to do was find employees.

She shook hands with her final supplier of the day, who was an Eopie owner. They were the meat Mara needed for her Eopie briskets and Eopie cream pies. "Where can I find a Windy Starkiller?"

"Tosche station," the man replied without hesitation. "His friends usually hang out there." He peered at her notes. "You're looking for a water supply from the Lars' family too eh? Their nephew will be at the station as well, I expect."

After thanking him and listening to his directions, Mara headed towards Tosche Station, which was apparently a power and distribution station, so she wondered why a group of friends hung out there. Maybe one of them owned it. It was outside of Anchorhead, as Mara learnt that many people actually lived outside of the outpost, on their farms or homesteads. Eventually she pulled up outside it - it was the same style as most of the other buildings she had seen so far on Tatooine, an adobe building made of a low-grade stone. Walking briskly up the steps she rounded a corner, down another set of stairs and into a tucked away, narrow doorway, minding the step down. It was a dark room, but cool, and she was surrounded by supplies such as power converters, and an advertisement on the wall showed services provided such as vehicle repairs and equipment recharging. There were only two people in there, two guys, leaning against a table and talking animatedly. However they both looked up quickly as Mara entered, the older one looking a bit surprised and the blonde one looking at her curiously, though not unkindly.

"Hey," she greeted, approaching them, so they stood up straight. "To cut straight to it, is Windy Starkiller around here?"

"You don't hang around do ya'?" the older one joked. He wore a smart jacket and shirt tucked into black trousers. His clothes definitely matched his confident vibe that Mara could sense. He had wavy dark hair, and a moustache.

"Long first day," she explained, returning his smile.

"'First' day?" he repeated. "So you're sticking around?"

"Looks like it. I'm taking over Avilatan's Café in Anchorhead."

"Ah, well that would explain why you're looking for Windy," he said. "How did you-?"

"Hey guys…" Mara turned to where another doorway stood, as a young, dark-haired man was just walking through it. "Oh, hello."

"Windy, this kid wants to see you about something," the guy, who was now behind her, told him.

"Oh you're Windy Starkiller?" Mara asked him, as they approached each other.

"The one and only," he said, grinning and shaking her hand.

"I'm Mara, I'm the new owner of-"

"-Avilatan's. Yeah I know."

"How?" she asked, not masking the surprise in her voice.

"Oh we saw you outside the place yesterday," he said matter-of-factly.

"Makes sense," she mused. Windy sat down on a table, clearing some of the junk to one side and motioned for Mara to join him. They could hear the other two talking in the background. "So I was just wondering about your current employment...it would be of great help if you came back to work at the café."

"Consider me hired."

"And of course I...wait, what?" Mara stared at him for a second, wondering if he was joking. "Just like that?"

He shrugged. "I'm helping out my folks at their place, I don't have my own job. When do I start?"

"Wow, that was easier than I expected," Mara said, laughing slightly. "Can you come in tomorrow? I've got supplies coming in in the afternoon and I would appreciate the help."

"Already?" he said, looking impressed. "You really don't hang around."

"So I've been told."

"Tomorrow is fine," he confirmed, smiling again. He had a cheeky-chap charm about him.

"Great."

"Are you heading to Kay Tallon's place now?" Windy asked her.

"I am actually," she confirmed, standing up. "Oh, I almost forgot - is Luke Skywalker here too?"

Before Windy could reply, the blonde from earlier spoke up. "That's me." She turned and for the first time looked at him properly. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked...well, Mara didn't expect to find somebody with his disposition in Tatooine. He smiled kindly, looking slightly pleased she had asked for him.

"Oh hey Luke," she greeted, returning to him and his friend. "I just wanted to ask you about your family's moisture farm - would your aunt and uncle sell water to the café again?"

"I don't see why not," he said optimistically.

"Can I stop by sometime? I know it's your home and I wouldn't want to intrude," she said, feeling somewhat nervous. Why was she nervous?

A few more young people filed into the station, as the friends laughed and joked with each other. The moustache man joined in too. "Do you want to go outside?" Luke asked her, referencing to the loud chatter. Mara nodded and she stepped back through the narrow doorway and outside, her eyes adjusting to the bright light.

"Can you come by the farm tomorrow morning?" Luke asked her hopefully. "I'll let my aunt and uncle know. And you won't be intruding, so don't worry about that," he added as an afterthought.

"Sure. Thank you."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how come you've moved here?" he asked her curiously. "It's not often we see someone new."

"Oh...er, well Avilatan was a distant relation of mine, but I had never met him, and I inherited the café. I don't usually settle down in one place, I move around a lot…" The funny thing was, she felt like she could have told him the whole Anchorhead base plan there and then. She felt at ease around him.

He nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope Tatooine hasn't disappointed you too much so far," he joked.

"It's not all bad," she said quietly, looking up at him. He smiled in thanks, blushing slightly. She cleared her throat, "So I'd best be going. I've still got a few things to do before it gets dark."

He nodded. "Well it was nice meeting you," he told her honestly. "Oh, wait - I didn't catch your name."

"Mara. Mara Kanos," she told him, retreating down the steps. "Bye Luke."

She could feel him watching her as she jumped into her landspeeder and flew away, back towards Anchorhead, feeling that nagging ache in her head once more. She still needed to visit a couple more old employees and then finally visit the base, what she was actually in Tatooine for. She couldn't get too distracted by the business, and by meeting new people who weren't involved in the Rebellion.

Right?

It was late afternoon and Mara was now flying through Beggar's Canyon, with Roger by her side, as he directed her to the base. He had to chose a careful place, away from the detection of Tusken Raiders and of the local kids who fly through here for kicks. The canyon itself was absolutely massive, and she praised Roger on navigating it to find the best location. The towering walls and the constant twists and turns, not to mention what Roger called the Stone Needle, made it a thrilling ride. The Stone Needle was a very tall rock formation that looked like a huge stone tower, with a 'loop' rock on top of it - it indeed looked very much like a huge needle, but the inside of the loop was lined with jagged rock teeth. Apparently pilots would show off their piloting skills by 'threading the needle', but nobody around these parts had ever done it. Not in living memory, anyway. It was something legendary.

Mara approached a cut into the rockface, and flew inside, until they came to an undercover landing bay, where a few other ships were already sitting. They were Incom T-16 skyhoppers, ready and waiting to train rookie pilots within the canyon. Mara and Roger jumped out of her landspeeder, and headed further inside and underground, coming to a control room. Roger also showed her the room for downtime, the rec room, as well as some living quarters for certain trainees, and a small but communal canteen.

"Excellent," Mara said to Roger sincerely. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done so far, I'll be letting our superiors know of your hard work Roger."

"It's my pleasure Commander," he assured her. "It...takes my mind off things, keeping busy."

"I understand," she sighed. She too didn't want to think of the past too much. After her parents disappeared she took work where she could find it, whether it was scavenging, smuggling, or other odd jobs. Once she was kidnapped and sold into slavery, but owing to her self-taught skills she escaped soon enough. It wasn't easy being a teenager and growing up this way, but it showed Mara who her real friends were.

"And I can't take all of the credit," Roger said, smiling knowingly. "I had some help."

"Who?" Just as Mara asked the question, Turland Hack and Merrick Simms walked through the door. They were both in the thirties or forties, but the age difference didn't stop the friendship she had struck up with her fellow pilots.

"Hey Mara," greeted Simms, giving her a hug. She felt his stubble tickle her face before he released her. "How are ya' doing?"

"All the better for seeing you guys," she teased, hugging Hack; his usually long brown hair was tied up into a bun. "I didn't expect to see you so soon!"

"Well, we thought we'd help with the set-up," Hack explained. "After you and your crew found out that there was a huge superweapon being built, Mon Mothma is currently working out where we go from here, so there's not much action for anyone."

Mara nodded. "What the hell can we do in the face of the galaxy's biggest space station? Until we know what we're up against, that is. I told Leia before we left that we need to steal plans of some sort to figure this thing out."

"Speaking of the Princess…" Simms said slowly. "You know of course she's a member of the Senate. There's been some gossip amongst the diplomats that she might be a secret member of the Alliance."

Mara's eyes widened. "She didn't mention that to me before I left Yavin…"

"She received a hologram from her father, a warning, just before we left," Simms explained.

"She could put the whole of Alderaan in danger," Mara thought aloud. "And her father, as he's been a double agent for years."

"That's the worry. She's left Yavin for a while," said Hack.

"Blimey, I bet Mon Mothma had to force her to leave."

"Practically threw her into the ship," Simms grinned. "That princess never stops."

"She hated being an 'anonymous friend in the Senate', and now she'll hate going back home and not doing anything," Mara said thoughtfully, thinking of her friend. They all sat down around one of the screens in the control room, the beeping continuing around them.

"So is it true what they're saying? About your undercover work, finding out about the new superweapon?" Hack asked her eagerly.

"I don't know, what are they saying?" she asked. "Hardly anyone made it back alive so I can imagine there are errors in their stories."

"That you were posing as inmates at the Stars' End prison."

"That's right. We met Wookie slave labourers, and they told one of my team, a girl called Lynn, as she spoke Wookieespeak. They told us that they were working on a top-secret project which wouldn't be announced publicly until well after it had been finished. They had been building it for years and it still wasn't quite complete. When we escaped the prison, taking the Wookie slaves with us of course, our next mission was to rescue the other slaves who were on Toral, an imperial BFF-1 bulk freighter. After examining the documents we learnt of a the existence of a convoy of weapons, so we assaulted it and and obtained Imperial communications satellites." She paused and saw Roger, Hack and Simms listening to her intently. "We had had enough by this point, and Imperial ships were on our tail still. Most of the team was dead, some were injured so we headed for the AX-235 outpost and looked at the schematics we had transmitted. I'll never forget when I first saw the Death Star hologram. But, they weren't exactly detailed plans, with no way of finding out how we could possibly destroy it. Apparently the plans were separated, so the Alliance would have to take these plans from three different locations to get a complete picture."

They all sat in silence for a few minutes as they shouldered the news of a huge superweapon, potentially hovering above their heads right now. "After you left the outpost, you returned to the Alliance?" Roger asked her.

"We actually went to Dantooine first, and we found the message that they had relocated to Yavin," Mara explained. "And then, the very few who had survived, returned to base."

"Everyone was so relieved to see you Mara," Simms told her honestly. She smiled as she remembered Nolan and Talia jumping on herself and Ani, who made it back in one piece.

"Especially Antilles," Hack teased, winking at Mara.

"Oh shut up," she said, though smiling a little. Her smile faded and she sighed, "It was a hard few weeks."

"The Alliance owes you all a huge deal," Hack stated.

Shrugging, she said, "So how is Wedge? Still a show-off? I've only been gone a day or so and I'm sure nothing has changed there."

"Missing you again," Simms replied, so Mara's smile returned. "But seriously, he's an outstanding pilot. I think he's training starpilots at the moment with Porkins."

"He is outstanding," Mara agreed. "Not long after he first joined the Starfighter Corps he found a secret Imperial research facility, obliterating a whole shipment of prototypes."

"Well it's good these young 'uns can step up as we won't be around forever," joked Simms.

"As long as the Empire continues to hurt and piss people off, you'll be good there," Mara pointed out.

"Very true."

But they couldn't sit down and talk for long. When Mara had finished setting up the base, they left and headed back to their homes. Hack and Simms were, for some reason, staying in Mos Eisley, which she thought was rather unfortunate. Roger lived there too, having moved from the capital permanently. It was too heartbreaking to stay with the memories, and Mara realised why Leia took him on - because that's what she does. She rescues Rebel sympathisers, in more ways than one.

The day was not yet over for Mara and Roger. They headed into the basement of the café when they returned to Anchorhead and met with their black market contact, Ezra Bridger. He said he didn't care what he was selling to them and for what purpose, as long as they paid him for whatever weapons he could get his hands on. He was a broad-shouldered, well-built man with tattoos and scars and Mara suspected he may have Rebel sympathies.

"I don't sell weapons to just anyone," he told them firmly. "But Stern seemed straight and so do you, Kanos. I use the money to help free slaves and keep the weapons away from the bad people. Got it?"

Mara actually admired him as they shook hands. "I think Tatooine needs more people like you, Bridger."

She noticed his small smile. They finished their negotiations over days to meet (so Mara wouldn't be away at the base) and he left, leaving Roger. "You know, Mara, Tatooine also needs more people like you."

"And you," she added.

"But I believe that you're making a difference here, commanding a base," he insisted. "You're bringing hope to those who live in this desolate place, who otherwise wouldn't have made contact with the Rebellion."

Mara looked at him at his truly humbling words. And suddenly, it all felt worth it.

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Mara smiled widely and shook hands with Owen Lars, as they stood in the blistering heat atop the Lars homestead, standing next to one of the many moisture vaporators that was scattered across their property. It was actually quite far out from Anchorhead, and most of their home was underground. When Mara first arrived she peered into a huge living pit, a crater that housed a courtyard where you could access various rooms. There was a dome building which Mara guessed was the entrance to the rooms below.

They had done business over the water supply. Owen seemed nice enough, he definitely knew his stuff...he seemed like a tough but fair man, staid too. "So is Luke around?"

"Yeah he's in the garage working on our V-35. Want me to fetch him?" Owen seemed surprised she was asking after him.

"No, no, if he's busy. Just tell him I stopped by and said hello though would you?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Hope to see you soon, then."

They bade goodbye to each other and Mara strolled over to her landspeeder. But before she hopped in, however, someone called her name. "Mara!"

She turned around and saw Luke Skywalker briskly walking towards her, so she met him halfway. "Oh, hey Luke." He grinned. "I would have said hello but your Uncle said you were busy-"

"Oh I've just finished making some repairs," he explained, gesturing to their garage behind the entrance dome.

"So you've got good mechanical skills then?"

"I developed a knack for repairing things I guess," he replied, looking happy Mara was taking an interest. "But it's piloting and racing I like...well, most of us do. I can't wait to get out of here and fly among the stars."

"Where would you fly to?"

"Everywhere!" they laughed. "Have you been to many places?"

"Quite a few," Mara answered him. She wouldn't know where to begin. "I could tell you loads of stories."

"You should race with us," Luke said eagerly. "I bet you could show Fixer a thing or two. Have you got a spacehopper?"

She almost slipped up and said 'yes', referring the the ones sitting in the base. "No, I've got a ship in Mos Eisley but it's not for racing. I've only got the landspeeder at the moment."

"Well I'm sure you could borrow someone's hopper for a race," he said. "And we race in our landspeeders as well."

"Where? Out in Beggar's Canyon?"

"Mostly," he said brightly. "So will you join us soon?"

"Sure, why not? Sounds like dangerous fun," Mara said, feeling somewhat excited about taking on Beggar's Canyon.

"Sometimes it makes living on this planet bearable," he said truthfully. "How long are you planning on staying here?"

"Well it's not permanent...I'm not sure to be honest," she said. "What's your plans?"

"I'm trying to convince my Uncle to let me join the Imperial Academy," Luke said, sighing. "I've got to stay on here to help him out…"

"He doesn't seem the adventurous type, so I'm not surprised he wants to keep you where he can see you," Mara said, as they chuckled.

"Luke!" They both turned to see Owen calling for his nephew.

"Alright, I'll be right there!" Luke called back. He turned back to Mara, looking hopeful. "So, er … I think we're going to The Weary Traveller later on for a couple of drinks...do you want to come?"

"You want me to come?" she asked, surprised. She mentally cursed, as she sounded like nobody had asked her out before. On a normal social occasion. Well, nobody had ever asked her.

He looked surprised too. "Yeah...I'd like it, if you came."

"Ok, then I will. Thanks."

"I'd best get back to my Uncle," Luke said quickly, as if suddenly remembering he had work to do. "I'll see you later, then." They smiled shyly.

She returned his goodbye and headed back to her speeder once more. There was something about this Luke Skywalker, definitely. He was just...different to anyone she had ever met. He didn't seem like he had grown up on Tatooine. And that is probably down to damn good parenting.

And for some reason, she was looking forward to meeting him and his friends...more than she realised. And that dull ache in her head returned, asking to be let in. But she wouldn't let it in.

Author's Note: So that took stupidly long for me to update. Please forgive me! Instead of working on my dissertation I set aside two afternoons to get this written. However it is not properly edited so please excuse any mistakes. The most important thing is that hopefully you enjoyed it! I will aim to update again within the next week, essay work and shift work permitting. Please review :)