Disclaimer: I can claim no ownership of the Star Wars franchise, as much as I love it. I am a fan, not the creator.

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your support! I am so excited to have gotten this far into writing this story, and that most of you seem to be enjoying it. Here's a shout out to everyone who favorited/followed or left a review. You're gonna make me cry, you guys (happy tears, they're happy tears). I'll try to keep these notes short, because not many people seem to read them anyways. Happy reading!

"A meeting of the United Nations has been called to discuss these recent events and what courses of action…"

"...and fans of the franchise have become increasingly hostile…"

"...of Disney and LucasFilm have yet to comment on this predicament. However, Abrams and Lucas have released a statement…"

"...another ship was spotted taking off into the sky by…"

"...fatal wound was cauterized all through the hole that punctured her. There is no doubt…"

"It's all over the news." Alice sighed. "CNN, CBS, BBC and all that. And in all these magazines too, but the information isn't as accurate. This is what Miss Gallwood-sorry, Ashara-was afraid of."

"I don't care." said Ian. "She landed us in a whole lot of trouble, whatever she was and wasn't afraid of."

Alice glared at him. "She did everything she could, and then she died. Are you going to keep complaining, or are you actually going to help like you promised you would?"

He smirked at her, raising his eyebrows incredulously. "And what, exactly, are we supposed to do?"

Alice shrugged. "Find a way to get that Sith Lord off this planet without letting him know we actually have information about the future."

"Yeah, and that'll work out great." said Ian. "Now that people know that Star Wars exists, how long do you think it'll take for others to find out they have that magic Force-y thing? Summer led that Dark sider here. How do we know that more won't come now that the Force is real?"

"You are a right ray of sunshine, Ian." Alice sighed. "Now I remember why I didn't like you that much."

"I don't like you either."

"Come on. We have to get to school." Alice motioned with her hand, and Ian followed her out of the living room.

They couldn't even begin to imagine how much things were about to change.

Anyone who had ever resided in a Nar Shadaa prison was well acquainted with the smell: a mixture of exhaust, half decomposed garbage, sweat, and the excrement of several hundreds of species. It wafted through the floor grating, causing everyone to gag or (in Summer's case) their eyes to bulge out of their sockets in an attempt to breath it in. Eventually, however, Summer grew used to it, instead focusing on the numerous bruises she had received from training. It felt to her as if she had only two hours of sleep since she'd arrived, but whenever she asked for a break, she'd just end up getting clobbered worse than usual.

"Again." Ghedhrew ordered, her arms crossed, before she turned away to converse with one of the trandoshans. Summer wheezed and coughed as she tried to regain her breath. Falwin had knocked her flat on her back so many times she had lost count. She'd been at this training for what seemed like days, and she still hadn't been told what Ghedhrew planned to do to get them all out. She was grateful for the distraction, however, as the only time she thought about Ashara was in her nightmares. Sometimes, she would see her alive, but twisted with the anger and hate of the Dark Side. Other times, she saw her disfigured carcass, a raven pecking at the cauterized hole where a lightsaber had run her through.

Falwin held out a hand to help her up, and she nodded gratefully.

"Thanks." she panted, through the word probably was lost in between her greedy breaths. Falwin kicked her down before she recovered, and she found herself on her back all over again.

Ghedhrew called over to her. "Summer, if you aren't able to even dodge a simple maneuver like that, I swear, I will leave you behind!"

Summer sucked in an angry breath. She had been working herself down to the very bone here. What was Ghedhrew's problem? It wasn't her fault she couldn't fight! Well, maybe it was, but she just needed practice! If she had more time…

When Falwin offered her another hand up, she didn't take it this time, pushing herself up on her own. She put herself and immediately put herself on guard. This time, when Falwin kicked his feet out, she was ready. Shakily, she dodged, then circled her bound hands around Falwin's leg. The wookiee teetered on one foot for a moment, before he fell. Summer relished in a moment of triumph.

This turned out to be a mistake. Her bound hands still were looped around Falwin's leg, and his momentum pulled her down with him. She groaned when her head hit his foot.

"Sorry, Falwin." she apologized, detangling herself and straightening herself out.

"Don't apologize."

Summer jumped, turning to face the older woman, who had somehow gotten closer to where the fight was. Ghedhrew smirked.

"You just beat him in a fight. It seems goading works well for you. Well done."

Summer started. "Wait...You meant to get me angry?"

Ghedhrew shrugged. "Of course."

She started mumbling to herself. "I can't believe...so stupid...careless...lucky I didn't project." Images of Ian being pushed into a wall by invisible hands entered into her mind.

"Calm down, kid." Ghedhrew snorted. "You did well. Just make sure that you remember to extract your hands during the real fight, or you'll be dead."

"Al...Alright."

Falwin had gotten enough time to recover. He roared something to Ghedhrew, who looked reluctant for a moment.

"We have only hours left. She should use them to prepare."

The wookiee roared again. Ghedhrew let out a reluctant "fine," grabbed Ghedhrew's wrist, and pulled her to an empty spot on the floor.

"Lie down. Sleep. That's an order."

"Ghedhrew?" Summer asked hesitantly as she started on the first of her orders. "Can I ask you something?"

The woman rose her eyebrows, crossing her arms. It made the scars on her face stretch across her skin, making her look more intense than she already was. She said nothing, so Summer continued.

"Why are we all here?"

Ghedhrew's eyebrows rose further. "We're here because we're enemies of the Hutts. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually. Why are we enemies of the Hutts?"

Ghedhrew shrugged. "You crashed a republic escape pod onto a much beloved statue of some ancient hutt. I can't remember the name, so don't ask." She likely would have left it there, but Summer was still looking at her expectantly. She huffed. "Most of us are prisoners because we angered the most 'amazing and exalted' worms of Nar Shaddaa, and we are waiting to be shipped to Jabba the Hutt's palace so he can decide how we will be executed. He can't exactly use us as his slaves; we're too dangerous."

She sat up suddenly. "Jabba the Hutt's palace? We're going to Tatooine?"

"Lie back down!" Ghedhrew barked. "And yes, if the plan goes well, we'll all end up on Tatooine. So once we get there, keep your head down."

"What is the plan?" Summer asked.

Ghedhrew went back into her defensive stance. "Ask that again, and I'll gut you."

"I'd like to see you try." Summer shot back before she could help herself.

The older woman barked out a laugh. "Don't go issuing challenges like that to better warriors than you. But it's good to see you've grown some spirit, kid. Now get some sleep. They're going to take us to the transport soon."

Summer sighed, and relaxed. She heard Ghedhrew's footsteps echo across the floor, accentuated by the metal soles of her boots. Someone crouched next to her, letting out a short grumble.

"Thank you, Falwin." she mumbled, the corners of her mouth turned up as the wookiee put a brief, comforting hand on her shoulder before pulling away. She didn't think about the nightmares she'd inevitably have, or the odd looks she'd get from the prisoners when she came to. She simply turned on her side, and drifted away to an uneasy sleep. Then she was being shaken awake, a rough voice over her. When she grumbled, the person slapped her face harshly.

"Wake up!" someone growled. She blinked the light out of her eyes. "Huh, what?"

It was silent in the room. "Up, girl, or I'll make you get up." She realized that it was the man who had escorted her to the prison earlier. She attempted to scramble to her feet, but found that with her bound hands, this was rather tricky. She tripped over the hem of her skirt. The man rolled his eyes, grabbed her around the hips, and slung her over his shoulder. Summer wrinkled her nose as it was burrowed into the musty, dank fabric of his shirt. She turned her head to the side a bit, looking for Ghedhrew. She found her, standing calmly next to a pair of gamorrean guards. Ghedhrew did not make eye contact, but she was barely able to catch a subtle nod, the movement so minimal that Summer hardly saw it. Sighing, she resigned herself to a long journey.

When the man practically threw her into the ship, relief flooded through her veins. The door was slammed, and they were alone again. She could hear Ghedhrew muttering quietly to the rest of them, likely telling them the plan. Finally, the woman got to her.

"Stick next to me and Falwin. We're the most valuable targets to Jabba, and it wouldn't be good if his cronies got his hands on any of us." the woman whispered so lowly that Summer barely heard it, but she nodded. "Remember, don't let your opponent make you soft." Ghedhrew whispered. "One moment of hesitation, and you'll be dead."

Summer sighed, thinking of what Ashara would have said to that, but didn't remark on it. She had to be focused on getting out of there. Then she'd have to worry about getting off Tatooine…she suspected both goals were no easy feats.

Still. She was going to Tatooine.