I learned that climbing a bush is a lot harder than it looks, but my fear spurred me on. I had almost scaled the whole ten feet, but then the troopers caught up with me and grabbed at my legs. I kicked them off and reached the summit, then stumbled across and leapt into the street. My poor legs were getting more and more beaten up, and I could hardly run anymore. But having a large group of stormtroopers chasing you is great motivation to move as fast as you can, and I managed to make it to the spaceport, shooting at the troopers as I went. My aim still wasn't that great, though, especially while moving, so I don't think I actually hit anything.

I pulled out my comlink, hoping to contact Tal, but I must have landed on it in one of my many falls and broken it. I threw it on the ground in frustration and hammered on the door of Dock 133, praying that someone would be there at this time in the evening.

No one answered, and the troopers rounded the corner and spotted me. They rushed towards me and I was about to give up, but a voice called out, "Hey! Leave her alone!"

The troopers stopped dead - in surprise, I suppose - and stared at someone beyond me.

I whipped my head around, hoping to see Tal, but it wasn't him. Of course it wasn't: the voice was much too high. It was a tall, slender Twi'lek girl about my age standing outside of Dock 137, just a few hundred yards away. I ran to her as fast as my legs could manage.

"Need a ride?" she asked. I nodded fervently, and she opened the door to 137 and pulled me inside. She closed the door behind her just in time, and I heard the thuds of the troopers trying to get in.

The Twi'lek girl led me to her craft: a small, junky-looking thing that hardly looked like it had enough power to lift one person off the ground, let alone two.

She opened the ramp and climbed in, beckoning me to follow. I was unsure, but just then, the door of the port started to crack open. The troopers were getting in. I followed the girl into the spacecraft and closed it up behind me.

"Where are you headed?" She looked at me expectantly. I gave her the coordinates for a spot just east of the Resistance base. She typed them in, and we were off.

"I'm Tas'harhi, by the way," she offered calmly, as if she hadn't just saved my life. "What's your name?"

"Bellah," I gasped. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem."

I observed my rescuer. She had lilac skin with lighter slashes along her lekku, and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown. She seemed incredibly serene considering the event that had just occurred, and she smiled to herself as she flew the rickety craft. Her clothes were modest, only a soiled green jumpsuit and scuffed-up boots. I would've felt shy for wearing a fancy dress if it hadn't been so dirty and torn up.

We flew over the palace and my mind turned to Rosali and my parents. I was sure they were still alive, the stormtroopers had seemed to be after me specifically. I was still nervous, though.

"How is it that you have a ship of your own?" I questioned, trying to fill the silence.

Tas'harhi shrugged. "My parents weren't around much. They mostly left me at home to fend for myself, so one day I just left, and I took my dad's ship with me." She grinned at me. "He taught me how to fly, so I guess it backfired on him."

"Are you from Naboo?"

The ship began making sharp clanking noises, and Tas'harhi hit the dashboard with a large hammer that had been hanging up next to the pilot's seat. The clanking stopped.

"It's always doing that," she said cheerfully. I nodded, trying to smile. I was getting more and more afraid of crash-landing with every minute that passed.

"Anyway," she continued, as if nothing had happened. "No, I'm from Ryloth, the Twi'lek home planet. It's really nice there, but when I left home I decided I wanted to see the galaxy, so that's what I did. I've been all over the place, but this is my favorite planet so far. I love the lakes and the hills. It's so green here!"

I smiled. It was quite remarkable to me that this junky old thing could survive even one space venture. "Yes," I agreed. "Naboo is renowned for its beauty throughout the galaxy. I love it, too."

We lapsed into silence for several minutes until Tas'harhi said, "Oh, we're here. I'll land in this clearing and let you out."

"Thanks so much for the ride, Tas'harhi."

"Hey, you're welcome. If you don't mind me asking, though, why did you want me to drop you off out here? It's so remote. Where are you going to sleep?"

I looked outside. Sure enough, it was almost twilight. I'd have to hurry to the base if I wanted to get there before dark.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," I reassured her. "Thanks again."

I left the spacecraft and ran into the woods, clutching my blaster in its pocket. Then I remembered I'd left my Resistance clothes at home in my safe, along with my ID. Getting into the base might be harder than I'd expected.

The Resistance base came slowly into view through the trees, and one of the men on guard approached me and asked for identification.

"I left it at home," I explained. It was a weak excuse, however true, and I don't blame the guard for not believing me. He was about to bring me in for questioning when I saw Tal come out the door. I called him over.

He ambled toward us, his hands in his pockets, a curious smile playing on his lips. I explained the situation to him.

"Let her in, Rett," he said to the guard. "This is Bellah, she's with us."

Rett eyed me for a moment, then let me through. As we walked through the trees to the base, I told Tal the events of the afternoon, altered to fit Bellah Undarri's life, and explained that I couldn't go home anymore.

"Why were they after me, Tal?" I asked, hoping he'd have the answer to the question that had been tugging at my brain since I left the palace. "There must be plenty of people who have offended the First Order, so why me?" I realized the answer as I said it, and it was so obvious I could have slapped myself. I was a princess, and one who had attacked a trooper. Of all the targets, I was easily the most valuable.

We stopped walking, and Tal turned to face me. "It was probably just because you attacked those troopers a couple days ago. They found out where you lived and decided to take you prisoner or maybe even kill you. They like to do that. You're lucky you got away."

It all seemed like an over-reaction to me, but never mind. I'm sure the First Order had its reasons.

We opened the door to the base, but before we could go inside, a voice pierced the still evening air.

"Bellah!" It was Tas'harhi. She was stumbling through the woods towards the base, and Rett was trying to keep her from coming any closer. I went to meet her, but she stopped and stared at the base with wide eyes. Then she looked at me, and something seemed to click inside her head.

"You're with the Resistance?" she said quizzically.

I looked at Tal and nodded hesitantly.

"Who is this?" Rett asked.

"My name is Tas'harhi Wannen," she replied defiantly. "And I want to join the Resistance."

Tal was clearly amused. He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at her with a goofy grin.

"Hold on, what?" Rett, in contrast, looked thoroughly confused. "How did you find this place?"

"I dropped her off a mile or two from here," she explained, pointing a slender finger at me, "then I remembered I was going to ask her a question and followed her through the woods to this place. I can't even recall what the question was now. But I know I want to join the Resistance."

"Why?" I questioned. "You only just found out we had a base here, how could you make up your mind so fast?"

Tas'harhi shrugged. "I've been thinking about it for a while now, but I could never find out where to sign up. Exploring the galaxy, going on adventures, fighting the bad guys? Sounds like my idea of a good time!"

Tal and I looked helplessly at one another.

"I guess we could let her stay a couple days and see what it's like. Then she could decide?" I suggested.

"It can't hurt," Tal agreed. "Since she has already found the base, I don't see why not. I'll have to run it by Commander Olin first, though."

He went inside and returned a few minutes later, nodding. "Commander Olin said it's fine. Rather grudgingly, but he said it."

Tas'harhi hopped up and down and clapped, her lekku bouncing on her back. I led her inside to the women's sleeping quarters, where we selected beds and settled down for the night.

So now I have a new home, new friends, a new identity, a new life. Not exactly the life I'd looked for, but I guess you should be careful what you wish for. One day my friends might find out who I really am, but I hope that's far in the future. I'm scared of what they'll think of me lying to them.

I might document more of my adventures later, and I'm sure there will be plenty. But for now, this is Arabellah Oleid, alias Bellah Undarri, signing out.