As their shuttle moved through hyperspace, Leia tried her best to stay awake. Her head bobbed slightly and her eyelashes fluttered, but she still resolved to keep her eyes open. Just in case.

Sometimes when she was sleepy, talking to her father helped. So she decided to start a conversation.

"Are Ahsoka and Ben going to be okay?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Leia wrapped her arms around herself drowsily. Reva noticed and unclipped her black Inquisitor's cloak, hastily throwing it around her shoulders. Leia quietly tugged it around herself. It all felt vaguely familiar, like when Vader would take her out for short excursions in his personal spacecraft. Leia covered her eyes with the cloak, trying hard not to think too much about it. Reva looked over at her and frowned.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Leia said slowly.

Reva stared at her for a bit longer than usual with a strange look, as if she was thinking of something. Then, after a few moments, she turned to look forwards and crossed her arms.

"They should be fine," Reva said. "I've seen what a Jedi can do," she said begrudgingly. "They're tougher than they look."

Leia glanced over at her curiously, then looked back down at her hands. A few moments passed.

"Why did you decide to become an Inquisitor?" Leia asked bluntly.

Reva raised an eyebrow.

"That's a bold question for you to ask." Leia continued to stare at her. "Why do you want to know that?"

"I don't really understand what you get out of it," Leia said slowly. "Why would you agree to start killing your own people?"

Reva froze for a moment, then looked down. "I suppose that is probably what it looks like to you," she said finally. "Well, I can't say you're incorrect. I have some things that I'm not proud of." Leia blinked slowly. "When I was forced to leave the Jedi Temple, I was only twelve...at the time, I thought I was too old. Masters are supposed to choose their Padawans before they turn thirteen. But all of a sudden, I was no longer a Youngling. I was just another child living on the lower levels of Coruscant, starving and poor. All I could do was beg and steal and hope for the indifference of strangers."

"Don't you mean kindness?"

"No," Reva replied firmly. "I mean indifference."

Leia looked down.

"Perhaps you may not think too kindly of me after knowing this. But...I am fully convinced that if I did not join them, I would be dead by now," Reva replied. "And well, in my being alive, I have selfishly caused others to die in my place. But I don't really care what you think of me. Back then, I had no droid, no rich politician father, no former Jedi Knights...no Rebels waiting to rescue me. Nothing."

Leia inhaled sharply.

"Well, one family did take me in." Reva said bitterly. "But it cost them heavily. They paid the price for their charity with their own blood."

Leia squeezed her eyes shut and turned away, breathing heavily.

"All I had were the clothes on my back, the injury your father gave me, and the meager training I received at the Temple. But if I dared to raise my hand, I would have been slaughtered," she said coldly. "You have to understand, I didn't want this either. But soon I realized I could either be the one being hunted, or I could be the hunter," Reva narrowed her eyes. "I could either choose to put everyone I loved in danger by forming an attachment to them. Or...I could use my talents to join the Empire and protect them with my power."

"But you'd be putting other people in danger," Leia frowned. "It doesn't put an end to the cycle of violence. All it does is reflect it back onto someone else."

"Well," Reva drawled, "That's not my problem, because they're not mine to care about."

Leia closed her mouth.

"Either way," Reva said heavily, "It doesn't matter, because for all my efforts I have nothing to show for it. I don't have anyone I could call my own," she said bitterly, "And there is no one willing to claim me. I don't even know if my real family is still alive."

Leia stared at her, then she walked up to her. Reva stared at her as Leia quietly took the cloak off and draped it back around Reva's shoulders.

"Well," she said, "Perhaps the true reason that you tell yourself that you have no one to care about and no one who cares for you, is because it protects you and protects others from associating with you. But in reality, it doesn't stop you from hurting. It just pushes away anyone who you might risk getting attached to."

Reva blinked, looking up from the navicomputer and making eye contact with her. Leia just looked back into her eyes silently, as if she could read her every thought. Reva shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

Just then, the navicomputer screen beeped. Reva stood up and peered at it, her eyebrows furrowing.

"We're going to need to stop and refuel," she announced. "I'm landing the ship."

"But Vader's chasing us," Leia said fearfully. "We need to hurry and get to Alderaan as fast as possible!"

"I know that," Reva replied. "You have to understand, your home planet is right in the core of the galaxy. Right now, we are on the Outer Rim. It could take us days, even weeks to get there. We'd be lucky if we didn't run out of fuel before Corellia."

"Then where are we going to stop?"

"Vader will expect us to proceed in a straight path," Reva frowned. "I'm going to make a detour and head to Tatooine. No one will look for us there."

"How are we going to get fuel? This is an Imperial ship," Leia exclaimed. "If the sand people in Tatooine catch us, they'll try to shoot us down and sell us as slaves!"

"I'll land us somewhere in the sand on the outskirts of town. All we have to do is grab a tank and bring it to the ship ourselves. We'll be gone before anyone catches a wind of us," Reva replied.

The ship groaned slightly and thudded forward as Reva took it out of hyperspace. Now that it had entered the gravitational field of Tatooine, the ship bobbed slightly and orbited it. Leia put her face right on the transparent glass panes, smushing her nose against it so she could see better. They were now approaching a dusty-yellow planet, orbiting around two scorching-bright twin suns.

"Hold on tight. I'm landing us now," Reva grunted, pulling a lever.

Immediately, the ship's repulsorlift drives roared to life and started to propel them towards the planet.

"Careful," Reva warned. "The transparisteel can get pretty hot when the sand makes impact with it at high speeds. Don't touch it."

Leia immediately removed her face from the windows and Reva strapped her back into her chair. Seconds later, they were now soaring descending rapidly. Leia tried to see through the whirl of sand and dust, but it was too cloudy for her to distinguish anything. She held on tightly to the seatbelt of her chair as they moved through the outer atmosphere of Tatooine, doing their best to hold still patiently.

Once the ship had breached the atmosphere, Leia let out the breath she was holding and gazed around them. All she could see for miles around them was flat, empty sand dunes.

"There's no one here," she said.

"That's the idea," Reva replied. "No cliffs, no tents, no outcroppings...no Jawas or Tusken Raiders to pop up on us and steal our hyperdrive." She then stood up, tugging her cloak back around herself in a sort of makeshift poncho that did nothing to disguise her Inquisitor's uniform. "I have a speeder bike stowed away in the back that we can use. Come with me."

Leia nodded and followed her quietly. Reva walked briskly towards the speeder bike and easily lifted the heavy vehicle then set it down using the Force. She frowned, puzzling over the best way to fit the both of them for a second, then turned towards Leia. "You wear this," she said firmly, thrusting the helmet into Leia's hands.

"But I-"

"Wear it!" Reva snapped, and Leia obeyed. The helmet was still much too large for her small head, though. Reva motioned impatiently at her to come closer and adjusted the chin straps for her. "Better?" she asked.

Leia frowned, picking at the part where the chinstrap was digging slightly into her neck. "It hurts," she whined.

"Well, it'll just have to do," Reva said sternly. "Come on," she held out her hands to Leia. Quietly, Leia nodded and allowed her to lift her into the chair. Once she was comfortably seated, Reva climbed into the seat behind her and activated the engine. It revved to life with a loud purr. "Alright, ready princess?"

Leia gingerly placed her hands on the steering handles before her and tightened her grip on them. "Ready," she echoed.

With that, Reva slammed down hard on the gas pedal and they set off. Leia clung tightly to the front of the speeder, and for a few seconds Reva kept looking down at her and braking. However, once it became clear that Leia was smiling, she readjusted and increased the speed.

As they moved past the dunes, Leia gasped and pointed at a crest in the sand where some creature's enormous fin could be seen poking out.

"Look!" she exclaimed. "What is that?"

"Sand whale," Reva replied. "They're the main economy here. You'll get used to it."

Leia watched as the whale moved smoothly through the sand and eventually disappeared.

Soon, the sands parted and a small whaling town came into view. Leia squinted and wiped off her visor, trying to see past the clouds of whirling sand that the speeder's repulsorlifts kept kicking up.

"How do you keep the sand from getting in your eyes?" she yelled over the loud breeze.

"Force," Reva replied simply.

Leia rolled her eyes. She should have guessed as much.

Once they were at the entrance, Reva parked the speeder and locked it down.

"Where is this?" Leia asked.

"This is called Anchorhead," Reva replied. "It's just a few clicks away from Mos Eisley. We'll be safer here, it's nice and discrete. They'll have some fuel and water that we can take back to the ship. Remember, we are trying to keep a low profile, so try not to draw any attention-"

"Are you sure that cloak is going to work?" Leia asked. "It's not really doing much to hide your identity," she blurted out.

"Shhh," Reva hushed her. "If anyone asks, you have to tell them that-"

"You're an Inquisitor, who is going to question you?" Leia asked. "Just pretend you apprehended me and you're taking me into custody to have my Midichlorian count checked. There!"

Reva blinked and closed her mouth slowly.

"You're smarter than I thought," she narrowed her eyes. "Didn't expect that from someone of your size."

"Hey! I may be small, but I'm not stupid," Leia twisted up her face at her and held out her hand. Reva rolled her eyes and begrudgingly took it.

With that, the two of them walked into the town together. Reva grabbed the hood of Leia's zeyd cloth cloak and covered her head with it. A few of the locals eyed them strangely, but most of them looked away as Reva's glare proved to be just as piercing as the last time she had visited.

"What?" Reva asked when she noticed Leia staring at her as well.

"You've been here before," she said. "Everyone is already afraid of you."

"I was just doing my job," Reva retorted. Just then, they almost ran into a woman carrying some ceramic jugs of greenish-brown sludge that smelled awful. The woman glared at Reva and purposefully bumped her shoulder against hers, spilling some of the slop onto her. Reva balked and glowered at her as the woman briskly walked away.

"Did you see that?" Leia asked. "That lady had only one hand! What happened to her other one?"

"Yeah, well, she's probably just saving up to buy a prosthetic one."

Leia squinted at her suspiciously. "It kinda looks like she had it in for you. Did you do something to get on her bad side?"

"No," Reva lied. Leia turned away, not believing this at all.

Eventually, they finally arrived at the water stall that Reva was looking for. "Two cups," Reva ordered imperiously. "One for me and one for the child."

As they approached the vendor, however, they heard a growl from behind them.

"Back of the line, Inquisitor," someone grunted from behind them. Leia and Reva only had a second before a tall, dust-covered man shoved himself between them and attempted to cut in front of them.

Reva whirled around. "That's Grand Inquisitor to you," she snapped at the weathered sand whaler. "And excuse me, we were here first!"

Groff Ditcher simply looked at her with an unimpressed expression on his face. "Whatever," he replied apathetically before moving in front of her and grabbing one of the metal cups. The vendor simply nodded and allowed him to help himself to the hydro tank.

Reva's jaw dropped with indignation, but Leia yanked on her hand.

"He's not worth it," Leia hissed.

"He's using up all of our water," Reva sneered.

"Yeah, probably so he can bathe," Leia retorted. "Look how smelly and dirty he is."

Groff Ditcher suddenly stopped filling his water cup and turned around, facing them. Dardin Shull glanced between him and Reva nervously. The other people in line also began to shuffle away awkwardly.

"What did you say about me?" Groff glared at the small girl, drawing himself to his full height.

Leia also straightened her back and made eye contact with him.

"I said, you look like an ugly, stinky, gross Wookie," Leia replied, "Only I would much rather stand in the same room as a Wookie than you!"

Dardin Shull's jaw dropped. All of the sand whalers immediately looked away as Groff Ditcher's face grew red and a visible vein could be seen protruding from his neck. "Do you know who I am, little girl?" Groff Ditcher spat. "Do you know we do here on Tatooine with impertinent little runts who can't keep their mouths shut? I could have you shipped off and sent to Zygerria for speaking to me like that," he snarled.

"Well whatever it is, it can't be a worse punishment than looking at your face!" Leia yelled.

Groff Ditcher growled and started to step towards them. Dardin Shull looked over helplessly, and all of the sand whalers shuddered or closed their eyes.

Nobody talked back to Groff Ditcher. Not if they wanted to return home for dinner.

Reva snarled and reached for her lightsaber, but just then there was a faint whistling sound as something flew through the air and Groff Ditcher cried out, stumbling backwards and frantically pawing at his face.

Reva and Leia immediately swiveled around.

Across from them, a moisture farmer quickly slipped his hand back into his robes.

Reva opened her mouth, but she barely had a moment to react before Groff Ditcher roared angrily. "Who just threw that rock?" he demanded loudly. "I will have you terminated and blacklisted immediately! Come out and show yourself!"

Just then, Dardin Shull quietly cleared his throat. "Sir, if you're not going to pay for your water, then I'm going to have to ask you to move to the back of the line," he said.

Groff Ditcher turned around and glared at him. As the head of all sand whaling operations, he held an important position...but as a water vendor, Dardin Shull was even more integral. Ditcher grunted and slammed the water cup back down, causing most of its contents to fly everywhere. With a final angry glare, he turned around and stomped off furiously.

Reva immediately grabbed Leia and moved forwards. "Two cups, and a tank to last us to the Core system," she commanded.

"I don't have that much on me, sorry," Dardin Shull replied.

"What do you mean you don't have water, you stupid merchant? You're a water vendor, for crying out loud!" Reva snapped.

Just then, behind them, Reva heard someone clear their throat.

"If it's water you need," Owen Lars said quietly, "I can help with that."

Reva stared at him, silent with shock. She had never thought in a million years that the farmer she threatened would look her way, much less offer to help her. As she scrutinized him, trying to determine if this was some sort of elaborate ruse, Owen looked behind him and cleared his throat nervously.

"But, you're going to have to hurry. I'm afraid you got some people on your tail."

Reva hesitated. Leia looked between the two of them with a confused expression.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked Reva impatiently. "He said he's offering to help us, hurry up!"

Reva looked down at Leia. Then, she looked at Owen. He kept his back ramrod straight and stood completely still. "Fine," she replied. "But if you dare to turn us in-"

"I wouldn't," Owen interrupted her. "I know a thing or two about keeping a secret."

Reva begrudgingly nodded and pulled her cloak around her shoulders in a sort of poncho, hiding her face. "We'll follow you," she said.

Owen nodded and turned around. "Fine with me. It's only a short ride." Reva and Leia followed him as he brought them to his bantha and helped them climb onto it.

"Put your helmet back on," Reva said sternly. Leia ignored her in favor of patting the bantha, whose thick fur and woolly hide was fascinating to her.

"Careful, sweetheart," Owen warned her gently as he reached up and started to buckle her into the harness. "You need to hold on tight, just like this with both hands. Otherwise you'll fall off." Leia eagerly grabbed onto its fur and buried her hands in it.

"Why are you helping us?" Reva suddenly asked as she climbed on behind Leia and held onto her shoulders, making sure to steady her. "Did someone put you up to this?" she asked suspiciously.

"No reason," Owen replied. "Saw you had a charge. Got one myself."

Reva looked down at Leia, who was patting the bantha and cooing happily. "She's not mine."

"Yes she is," Owen retorted. "You got only one helmet between the two of you, and she's wearing it."

"It's just to hide her face."

Owen shrugged. "If you say so," he replied, grabbing the bantha's reins and starting to lead it away.

Leia grinned and looked around, watching as they trudged through the sand. "Where did you get him?" she asked Owen eagerly.

"He is actually a girl," Owen replied. "Easy mistake, since both the boys and girls have horns. We thought she was a male too when we first bought her, until we tried to breed her and realized it wasn't working. But we decided to keep her anyways."

"What's her name?"

"Berfa."

"Berfa," Leia said delightedly. "Berfa, Berfa," she repeated as she continued to pat the bantha.

"What a stupid name," Reva snorted. "Whose idea was it to call her that? It sounds like a child made it up."

"My son did."

Reva closed her mouth. Leia looked up at her, curious.

"I'm sorry," Reva murmured. Owen did not respond, but he did not need to. Farmers did not mince their words.

"She's a good girl," he said, speaking again suddenly. "But she's a bit old for the farm. I'm thinking of selling her next year and getting a land speeder instead."

"I see," Reva said quietly.

Soon, they fell into a slightly less tense silence. Leia leaned forward and buried her face into the bantha's soft wool, dozing off. Reva looked down and wordlessly covered her with her cloak again so the sun wouldn't burn her face. Owen continued to look off into the distance, occasionally whistling a farmer's tune to pass the time.

Within no time, the Lars homestead finally appeared before them. Reva groaned and rubbed her leg that had fallen asleep, thankful to be able to finally descend. She hesitated a few seconds before tapping her on the back. Leia groaned, but did not stir.

"Luke!" Owen called out. A boy's voice answered him a few seconds later, yelling from one of the small sun-bleached buildings. "Tell Beru that we have guests!"

Reva shuddered slightly. "Are you sure they'll be okay with seeing me?" she asked.

Owen shrugged. "If you try anything funny," he warned, "I still have a blaster stowed away for emergencies."

"Alright, noted," Reva replied, lifting up a drowsy Leia by her waist and shushing her as she started to fuss from being woken up. "Wouldn't want any trouble."