Just to clarify, it's 0 BBY at this point so Luke is 19 and Kasya is 15.
And now the adventure continues...

Chapter 3

Kasya hadn't been to Mos Eisley in years. The last time had been when she 8-years-old and her parents decided to take she and Luke into the city for a family outing. Her mother had been a nervous wreck the entire day, always looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching them. Kasya had thought she was just being overprotective in the big city, but now she understood just what her mother was afraid of. Every person they passed sent a chill up her spine, each one more sinister looking than the last.

"What exactly are we doing here anyway?" she asked. As they walked, Kasya made sure to stay close to Luke. Her hand sought his, fingers clasping tight around his own as if he were her very lifeline, and in many ways he was, being her only living relative.

Luke was also being hyper vigilant now that he was Kasya's sole guardian. His eyes darted around the crowd, watching for anyone showing a particular interest in their little party. Luckily that seemed to be no one at the moment. Cities like Mos Eisley had a way of burning the curiosity out of anyone.

"We need to charter a ride to Alderaan," Ben explained. "A spaceport is the best place to find such a ride."

"But at what price, Ben?" Luke asked. "We don't exactly have enough credits to pay for passage."

The old man smiled fondly. "Then we shall have to barter for our ride. Here, this place looks promising."

'Promising for what?' Luke wondered taking in the crumbling exterior of the cantina and the less than upstanding clientele that lingered at its doors. Ben led them inside and left Kasya and Luke near the bar while he followed a gentle nudging from the Force to find them a transport.

Kasya stood awkwardly near the bar where Ben had instructed her and Luke to wait for him. She felt so out of place that she was sure she stood out like a Jawa on Mon Calamari. A few patrons spared the pair a passing glance, but most couldn't be bothered…with her anyway. Luke's presence seemed to bother a pair at the bar to the point that one of them decided to get physical. Before she knew what was happening, Luke was on the floor, Obi-Wan was holding a lightsaber of his own and one of the alien's arms was laying on the floor. There was a general sense of awe and surprise from the crowd, but no one made a move to intervene.

"You must be more careful," Obi-Wan chastised half-heartedly, pulling Luke to his feet. "Come with me—both of you—I think I've found a ship that meets our needs." He led them to a large booth in the corner of the dank cantina where a human male and a huge, hairy alien were waiting for them. Kasya couldn't help but stare at the alien having never seen such a creature before. He reminded her of the stuffed Ewok toy she had as a child only much, much larger.

The human caught her staring and chuckled. "His name's Chewbacca. He's a Wookiee. They're pretty temperamental creatures, you know. Best to not make any sudden movements. " Kasya nodded and slid onto the bench cautiously, her eyes still glued to the behemoth creature to her left. As if sensing her discomfort, Chewbacca threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side, wuffing in what she assumed was his version of a laugh.

"He likes you," the human pointed out, "be thankful." He flashed a warm smile before getting down to business. "I'm Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. My copilot tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system?"

"As long as it's a fast ship."

"Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

Kasya quirked her eyebrow, the wheels in her head spinning. "Wait…isn't a parsec a measure of distance? How can you decrease the distance between two planets?"

Captain Solo threw his hand up, brushing her comment off. "Not important, Squirt. The point is she's fast enough. What's the cargo?"

"Just myself, these two and two droids," Obi-Wan explained. "And no questions asked."

Kasya watched as Captain Solo and his hairy copilot tried to extract an substantial amount of credits out of old Obi-Wan and she was shocked to hear the old man not only acquiesce to the demand but offer a higher amount. In her opinion, no ship was worth that many credits regardless of how fast it was.

Solo instructed them to meet him at docking bay 94 and the party took their leave. They were able to sell Luke's speeder for a couple thousand credits and Obi-Wan assured them that he would be able to secure the rest of the fee when they arrived at Alderaan. Kasya had her doubts, but she knew better than to voice them at that time.

When they finally arrive at docking bay 94, Kasya knew now was the time to express those concerns.

"This is the ship we're taking?" she asked, taking in the large ship in front of her. It had obviously seen a lot of action but little repair work if the mismatched hull plates and patches were any indication. "I don't know if I feel safe traveling in that thing."

"This ship will make .5 past light speed. She's got it where it counts," Han pointed out. "Now if you'll all climb aboard, we can take off." He looked nervous, his eyes darting around the docking bay suspiciously, which did little to calm Kasya's nerves. She felt Luke's hand at the small of her back guiding her up the landing ramp when suddenly all hell broke loose. The sound of blaster fire erupted in the docking bay and Kasya found herself pushed bodily into the ship.

"Strap in!" Luke yelled to her and pointed toward the lounge area of the ship before continuing up toward the cockpit.

Kasya threw herself into the nearest seat and pulled at the crash webbing, securing it across her chest. She watched captain Solo and his Wookie friend come running on board, closing the landing ramp behind them, and barrel toward the cockpit. A few moments later they were lifting off, blasting past several other ships before finally breaking through the atmosphere.

Kasya let her thoughts wander, her mind finally beginning to come to terms with the events of the last few hours. Had it really only been a few hours since this whole fiasco began? Had it been only hours since she had last seen her parents alive? A lone tear slid down her cheek as that thought hit home and she finally realized that her life had changed irreversibly. She was an orphan now; it was just her and Luke against the galaxy now.

Her musings distorted time and before she knew it, Luke and Obi-Wan had rejoined her in the ship's lounge. "Everything okay?" she asked, swiping at the few stray tears that lingered on her cheeks.

"Oh yes," Obi-Wan said. "We should reach Alderaan in a few hours." The older gentleman took a seat on the opposite side of the table and watched as Luke once again took out the lightsaber and held it in his palm. "You need to practice with that, if it is to become yours."

Luke looked wary but agreed taking the remote that Obi-Wan handed him and activating it. The lightsaber blazed to life and stood ready for the random stun bolts the remote would throw its way.

Kasya sat off to the side watching the scene in a detached manner. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy over her cousin's new found destiny. Luke seemed to be finding his footing while she was sliding perilously down a slippery slope. Her parents were gone, her home left far behind while she was blasting off into space toward…who knew what.

"Seems like a waste of time to me."

Kasya jerked suddenly, having been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Captain Solo taking the seat next to her. "What's a waste of time?" she asked.

Han nodded toward the center of the small room where Luke was vainly attempting to dodge the remote's attack. "That hokey religion your brother is working on."

"It's not a hokey religion," she defended. "The Jedi have a long history in this galaxy…or so I'm told. I'm too young to remember. And he's not my brother."

Han glanced from Luke and Kasya and back. "You two aren't…you're not an item, right? Cause I gotta say, you're a little young to be running away with your boyfriend. I know it's not my place to have an opinion but—"

"Ew! No, no, no. He's my cousin not my…ew." She shivered dramatically and cringed. "And I think it's pretty cool what he can do." As the words left her mouth, the remote successfully broke passed Luke's meager defenses and speared him with a low level blast.

Han laughed. "Ancient weapons and hokey religions are no match for a good blaster at your side." He turned back to the young woman beside him and laid a hand on the blaster at his hip. "I can show you how to shoot if you'd like. It'll be more helpful in the long run anyhow."

Kasya couldn't help but smile; she'd been asking her father to teach her how to shoot for a few years now, but he had always refused saying it was too dangerous for someone so young. The memory of her father brought a fresh wave of grief over the young girl, throwing salt into wounds that were nowhere near healing.

"I'd like that."

Han reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just tell me when and where, Squirt." He got up to head back to the cockpit when Kasya's voice stopped him.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked.

"Call you what?"

"Squirt."

Han shrugged. "What would you like me to call you?"

Kasya looked dumbfounded for a moment. "My name? Or you can call me Kasy."

Han mulled the suggestion over for a few moments and then shook his head. "Nah, I'll just call you Squirt." He disappeared from the lounge before Kasya spoke another word.

A few hours later the reversion alarm sounded alerting everyone on the small craft that they would be entering real space in a few moments. Kasya secured herself on the couch in the lounge next to her cousin and waited for the jolt. It came less than twenty seconds later, followed by a series of stronger bumps and a string of curses from the cockpit.

"Is that normal?" she asked, gripping the sides of her seat so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. She probably should have picked a safer ship to have her first space adventure. Not that she really had a choice in the matter.

"I doubt it." A worried expression crossed Luke's face before he unbuckled his crash webbing and climbed to his feet. "Stay here."

Kasya watched him cross the lounge, nearly falling flat on his face when a particularly strong jolt shook the ship. Eventually he disappeared in the direction of the cockpit leaving her alone with the two droids. She sat there for a few minute nervously bouncing her legs and worrying her bottom lip before deciding to follow along.

The second she entered the cockpit, Kasya wished she had stayed put.

"What is that thing?" she exclaimed. A hulking, grey mass filled the ship's viewport, literally radiating an ominous sense of foreboding.

"It's a space station," Ben answered.

Captain Solo scoffed. "It's too big to be a space station." Han pushed the ship for all it was worth, but continued to advance toward the huge sphere.

"Why are we still moving towards it?" Luke cried. His voice echoed the panic that Kasya felt running up her spine.

"We're caught in a tractor beam," Han grumbled. "I'm shutting everything down. They're not getting me without a fight."

Behind the pilot and copilot's chairs Ben Kenobi nodded thoughtfully. "There are alternatives to fighting, Captain." He didn't wait for Solo's response before rising to his feet and making back toward the lounge. "Quickly!"

Luke shot a questioning look at his cousin before pushing Kasya out in front of him. Han and Chewie brought up the rear, both of them curious as to what their crazy passenger was scheming. They passed the lounge and finally came to a stop in the Falcon's entryway where Ben was busy taping at various floor panels.

"Uh…Ben? What are you doing?" Luke asked.

Before he could answer, Han stepped forward. "I follow you old man. Here." He moved a little further down the corridor and pushed his boot against the corner of a panel. After a short pause it popped loose and Han lifted it from the floor. "Everybody in."

Luke and Ben lowered the droids into one of the compartments while Chewbacca opened another and climbed inside. Luke lowered himself into the small compartment and looked up at Kasya. "It's a tight fit, but we'll make it work."

She looked into the tiny space and shuddered. Kasya wasn't a fan of compact spaces—not that she was claustrophobic—she just preferred wide, open areas.

"The other one is bigger," Han pointed out. "Even with a Wookie in it." Chewie huffed an annoyed response, but Han shrugged the hairy beast off. "C'mon, Squirt, I'll protect you."

Shooting a final glance at her cousin, Kasya nodded and moved to the other compartment. She sat on the floor, her legs dangling over the edge of the pit looking at the Wookiee waiting below her. Chewie extended his arms to the girl and Kasya reluctantly slid into them. He lowered the girl to the ground and when she didn't immediately leave his embrace, Chewie pulled her closer and ran a soothing hand down her back. Kasya was shaking, her fear getting the better of her though she tried desperately to will it away. Han slid in after her, pulling the grate over the camouflaged opening and settling on her other side. She was sandwiched between the two smugglers trying to steady her breathing and calm her racing heart.

Logically, she knew she had every right to be scared. She was being locked in a smuggling compartment with two people she had met only hours ago while their ship was being dragged into an Imperial space station, but she wasn't scared.

She was terrified.