The Tax Collector

by melanieskywalker

Summary:

Rain Tarkin, a disgraced Imperial socialite, is exiled to Tatooine to collect taxes, only to collide with Luke Skywalker. Dragged into the chaos of events very loosely based on A New Hope, she’s forced to rely on the infuriating farmboy she can’t stop clashing with. Survival turns their hostility into tension that challenges her loyalties and her heart.

Notes:

Contains actual lines borrowed from Star Wars for the purpose of fan fiction fun only. Never for profit.

Chapter 1: Rain on Tatooine

Luke Skywalker stood impatiently under the meager shade of a moisture vaporator house, his nerves stretched tighter than a Tusken bowstring. Owen Lars, looking a good twenty years older than his age, waited beside him.

In front of them, through the thick and shimmering air, a sleek black Imperial ship was slowly descending upon on the sand. The twin suns were blazing that day and the temperature was fierce, even for Tatooine standards.

"Do we really have to do this?" Luke asked, huffing in frustration. "I mean a tax collector?"

"We make nice, be polite and give them no reason to look any closer at our operation." Owen's voice was calm, but held the same tension clearly visible in his posture.

"What's so special about this one?" Luke grumbled, lifting his hand above his eyes. "Seems there are better things we could be doing. "

Owen took a deep breath, reminding himself to be patient. He loved his nephew, but the boy had a grating habit of questioning every single thing to death.

"This one is of high value to the Empire," he started, carefully. "They've sent Tarkin's niece to do the job and they don't want anything happening to her."

"So, we're gonna babysit some Imperial princess while she bleeds us dry?" Luke didn't bother to hide his irritation. The mention of that name alone had already made his stomach churn. Everyone knew the story of the formidable Grand Moff Tarkin, the Emperor's top officer. And now his niece would be collecting the regional taxes from moisture farmers who could barely scrape enough together to keep their equipment running.

The ship's boarding ramp lowered itself to the ground and the door slid open releasing six white stormtroopers. They were fully armed and immediately pointed their weapons at Owen and Luke.

"Great," Luke mumbled under his breath.

"Hands up, now," one of them ordered. "We need to search you for weapons."

Luke sighed, following his uncle's lead, raising his arms above his head. The troopers wasted no time before they were on them, using their own weapons to poke and prod a little too invasively.

The first trooper nodded to the others. "They're clean. Miss Tarkin may proceed."

A second trooper then disappeared inside the ship, returning a moment later to stand rigidly with the other six.

Everything stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity.

And then finally a figure appeared at the top of the ramp.

Rain Tarkin was nothing at all like Luke expected. The other tax collectors had been older and more sterile in appearance. This woman was young, probably his age.

And to say that she was beautiful didn't quite cover it.

She stood there as if she didn't just own the ship, but the entire planet beneath her. Her glowing skin was a lighter reflection of her mother's rich mocha tone. Straightened brown hair had been streaked with expensive shades of blonde, and the tailored cream dress clinging to her frame looked completely out of place in Anchorhead.

Her eyes swept across the platform before they first landed on Uncle Owen and then on Luke. She looked at them in the way someone might look at a stain on their boot.

"Very funny, guys," she said addressing the troopers in the clipped accent of the core worlds. "Where is the camera?"

The stormtroopers didn't reply, standing silently on either side of the boarding ramp, their hands still close to their weapons.

“Oh, you don’t want to answer me?” she said sweetly. “Adorable. My uncle’s prison block has been dying for six new janitors. I’ll put your names at the top.”

Owen carefully stepped forward. "Welcome to Tatooine, Miss Tarkin. I'm Owen Lars and this is my nephew, Luke. We're honored to meet you."

"You're honored to meet a tax collector?" Rain Tarkin snorted, as she strutted her way down in spiked heeled boots that echoed loudly with each step. "You obviously don't get out much."

As she got closer, Luke couldn't help but notice the way the sun reflected the gold-amber streaks in her eyes.

"This really isn't a holomovie set," she observed as she looked up at the the deep cerulean sky. "You people actually live in this place?" The look on her face was one of genuine bewilderment.

"We call it home." Owen forced a smile and offered his hand to help her down. Rain smacked it away and immediately paid the price when the pointed heel of her shoe caught on something in the sand. She thrashed around awkwardly trying to free herself before taking a hard bellyflop to the ground. 

She lay there on her stomach for a moment, not hurt, but secretly mortified. The desert had never been more silent; no one wanting to be the first to acknowledge the situation. The quiet didn't last for long as Rain unleashed a series of curse words, caustic enough to make the most hardened of smugglers blush - language so disturbing that even the stormtroopers, briefly frozen in a terrified stupor, snapped out of it and rushed to her side.

Luke tried not to look directly at the spectacle in front of him  - two Bantha's trying to help an ungrateful Wampa might have pulled off a smoother rescue. Once the pair of unfortunate troopers had finally gotten her to her feet, their efforts were rewarded with an aggressive slap or two as well as a couple of derogatory names that likely left them in tears under their helmets.

Rain Tarkin did not like to look foolish in front of others, and fury was her favorite tool to mask her embarrassment.

"This is unacceptable," she yelled towards them. "How do you expect me to walk in this chaos?"

Owen's smile tightened almost imperceptibly. "I'm afraid the whole planet is sand, Miss Tarkin."

"Then do something about it!"

"We could carry you," he offered politely.

Luke had to bite on his tongue, hoping his uncle wasn't being serious. He'd sooner carry a Hutt across Anchorhead.

"You will do no such thing," Rain replied indignantly, before turning her attention back to the stormtroopers. "Why are you standing there like six gormless idiots? Find me some footwear. Now!"

Luke kept his head down scratching the back of his neck, trying to hide his smile. Fortunately for him, Rain was too busy trying to blame Owen for her humiliating fall, that she didn't notice.

"This place is a complete mess. What do you people even do all day?" She placed her hands on her hips. "A fifteen percent tax increase should motivate you to clean up some of this sand."

"That's impossible. It runs miles deep into the bottom of the planet." Owen thought she must be joking, but Rain held up her hand.

"Are you going for twenty, Mr. Lars? I'm not in the mood to listen to complaints. I just spent two days traveling in that garbage can with six of these discount stormtroopers. I'm tired, injured and this heat is unbearable."

One of the troopers appeared with a pair of men's shoes. "This is the best you could do?" she snapped. Do I look like a man?"

Before he could answer, she snatched one of the shoes from his hand and whacked him with it. Then, as if assaulting Imperial soldiers with footwear were as routine as breathing, she calmly plopped herself down on a rock and began unlacing her boots.

"The rate will be fifteen percent higher," she said to Owen as she put her feet in the flats that were way too big. "You'll pay it without complaining. That's how this works."

Luke felt a surge of anger rise in his chest. "And if we can't pay it?"

Rain's head snapped toward him, pure contempt in her expression. She looked him up and down slowly, taking in his worn boots and sun-faded tunic. The corner of her mouth turned up but she wasn't smiling.

"I'm sorry," she said, her tone suggesting she was anything but. "Did the help just speak to me?"

"I'm not…" Luke began, but Owen's hand shot out, gripping his arm hard enough to hurt.

"Luke," Owen said in a quiet warning tone.

Rain stood on her feet, her smirk growing. "No, please continue. You were about to tell me what happens if you can't pay, which is precious, really, because I'm quite curious as to what you think your options are." She gestured around them, with one hand sweeping across the empty landscape. "Will you file a complaint? Take it up with your local representative? Where exactly does he live? Under one of those rocks?"

"We can legally claim…"

"No, you can't, delusional squatter who thinks he's legitimate," she mocked. "There is nobody to complain to. Nobody cares enough to govern over your dust and desperation."

She started walking toward him, her feet slopping through the sand in her oversized shoes. She stopped in front of him, so close that he could smell her expensive floral perfume. She was the most physically beautiful person he'd ever seen, but it didn't matter. He disliked her more than anyone he had ever met in his entire life.

"I do hope you plan to change that unpleasant look on your face," Rain was a few inches shorter than Luke, but she still managed to pull herself up to level him. "I don't care to see you glaring at me while I'm staying at your homestead. Your uncle already agreed. Didn't you, Mr. Lars?"

Luke's head spun toward Owen, who wouldn't meet his eyes.

"The Empire requested…" Owen started.

"The Empire didn't request anything," Rain interrupted, stepping back and brushing imaginary dust from her dress. "I requested it. Because the alternative was the Imperial barracks in Mos Eisley, and I'd rather die than spend one night in whatever bacterial nightmare is likely growing in that establishment."

She looked at Luke again, the smirk back on her face. "Don't look so horrified, farm boy. I'm sure your little mud hut will be adequate. I'll try not to raise my standards too dramatically."

"It's not a mud hut," Luke said through gritted teeth. "It's a homestead."

"I promise you I don't care what you call it. I just need a place to board while I conduct my assessment of whatever taxable assets there are for this region." She called toward the ship, raising her voice after the troopers. "What are you dunderheaded fools doing? Where is my luggage?"

Two stormtroopers quickly emerged, struggling with four or five oversized trunks that probably cost more than one of their vaporators.

"This is insane," Luke kept his voice so low that only Owen could hear. "She's a nightmare. We can't…"

"We can and we will," Owen said firmly. "Keep your mouth shut, boy. You don't know who you're dealing with."

But as Luke watched Rain Tarkin supervise the unloading of her belongings with impatient gestures and cutting remarks to the troopers, he thought he knew exactly who he was dealing with.

A beautiful, spoiled, vicious monster who couldn't even pretend to be human.

Rain turned to him as if she could hear this thoughts. "Well? Are we just going to stand here waiting for our skin to wrinkle? Or is somebody going to show me to my accommodations?"`

Luke opened his mouth to say something he would probably regret, but Owen had already moved in front of him.

"Of course, Miss Tarkin. Right this way. We'll make sure you're comfortable."

"Comfortable," Rain rolled her eyes. "On Tatooine? Well. I suppose there's a first time for everything."

She swept past them toward the landspeeder, leaving the troopers to flounder around with her luggage and Luke staring after her in horror.

A life not easy was about to become a life unbearable.

---

The journey in the landspeeder was possibly the longest thirty minutes of Luke's life, and he thought nothing could be more painful than the afternoon he'd spent listening to his uncle and his farmer friends argue over who had the most efficient moisture vaporator maintenance schedule.

Rain Tarkin sat rigidly in the passenger seat, a silk scarf covering her nose and mouth. Every bump brought a new onslaught of complaints.

When they finally crossed the ridge and the homestead came into view, her scarf dropped from her face and she climbed out of the speeder toward the entrance.

"Where's the door? Please tell me there is one and not just some tattered fabric flapping in the wind."

"There's a door," Owen said.

"That's the first piece of good news I've heard since I left Coruscant."

Aunt Beru met them at the entrance, wiping her hands on her apron and wearing the smile she reserved for the most trying of occasions.

"Miss Tarkin, welcome to our home. I'm Beru. I hope your journey wasn't too difficult."

Rain folded her arms across her chest. "Difficult would be putting it mildly. "This planet is a dump, and your husband drives like he's actively trying to kill me. I may never recover from that ride."

Beru's eye's widened but her smile didn't waver, which Luke found genuinely impressive. He had been actively fighting the overwhelming urge to throttle Rain.

"Well then," Beru continued, keeping her tone even. "I should probably show you to your room. I'm sure you'd like to wash up."

"I'd like to burn these clothes, but washing up would be a start."

They entered the homestead, moving through the circular courtyard toward the modest dwelling spaces.

"I guess it's better than being outside." Rain observed as she looked around their home.

"Your room is this way," Beru said, leading her down the corridor.

Luke heard Rain's voice echo back. "Well, it's not much of a closet but I'll try to work with it. Where might the room be?"

"This is the whole room, dear."

There was a long drawn out silence.

Then came the clipped accent again. "Surely, it's not legal for people sleep in here?"

Owen caught Luke's arm before he could follow them, pulling him aside to the workroom, where he closed the door. He turned to face his nephew with an expression that Luke knew all too well. It was the one that meant a lecture was incoming.

"Not one word," Owen said.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were about to."

Luke crossed his arms. "She's the worst person I've ever met."

"She's Tarkin's niece."

"That's doesn't help her case."

Owen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Luke, I need you to understand something. That girl could have our farm seized, and get us shipped off to some mining colony before the suns set tonight. She has that kind of power."

"So, we're just supposed to let her insult us? Increase our taxes? Treat us like we're beneath her?"

"Yes," Owen said simply. "That's exactly what we do. Because the alternative is so much worse than you understand." He put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "I know you hate this. I hate it too. But sometimes surviving means swallowing your pride and being smart."

"This doesn't feel smart. It feels like abuse."

"The abuse will be a lot worse if  we lose our freedom to the Empire. Trust me on that one." Owen's grip tightened. "Give her no reason to look deeper into our lives, Luke. No reason at all."

Luke bristled for a moment, but then he realized his uncle was right. "Fine," he conceded. "But I don't have to like it."

"Nobody's asking you to like it. Just endure it."

A crash echoed from the guest quarters, followed by Rain's voice: "Who designed this refresher, a sadist? The water is brown!"

"It's the minerals in the water system," Beru called back patiently. "It clears after a moment."

"This is not going to work. I demand clean water!"

"I'm going to check the vaporators," Luke said, hurrying toward the door.

"Coward," Owen grumbled.

"I prefer the term 'survivor,'" Luke replied, grateful to put the sound of Rain's shrieking voice behind him.

---

Luke was halfway through a diagnostic on Vaporator Seven when he heard footsteps behind him.

"So this is where you hide."

Luke turned to find Rain standing in the doorway, transformed from her earlier appearance. She was no longer wearing the white dress that looked like it belonged at some socialite party on Coruscant. She had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and had changed into a simpler but still clearly expensive jumpsuit. She looked younger than before, and somehow softer. He soon found out that this was all just an optical illusion.

"I'm not hiding. I'm working."

"Sure, you are." She stepped into the room, looking around with curiosity. "What are these things?"

Luke gave her an odd look. "They're moisture evaporators. You know, the things you're supposed to figure out the taxes for."

"Shut up. I knew that," Rain said quickly, trying to cover her ignorance. "I really should have you arrested for insubordination."

"You're gonna have me arrested for answering your question?" Luke rolled his eyes, turning his back on her. "Is there something you wanted, or are you just here to threaten and insult me?"

There was a long pause. When Rain spoke again, her voice had lost some of its sharp edge.

"I thought about apologizing for my behavior earlier."

"And are you? Apologizing?"

"Not at all. I'm telling you that I thought about it. That's not the same and I'm not the least bit sorry."

Luke shook his head. "Well at least you're honest."

"Honesty is all I have left. My father stripped me of everything else and shipped me to this dust bowl as punishment." She leaned against the doorframe. "Do you know what I did to deserve this?"

"I'm guessing it was something terrible."

"I put a blanket around my head and pretended to be Emperor Palpatine at one of my parties. I do a great impression of him, my friends thought it was hilarious. But somebody filmed it and put it on the Holonet. And then my uncle saw it and… let's just say he wasn't remotely amused."

Despite himself, Luke almost smiled. "You do impressions of the Emperor?"

"Not anymore. Not after this barbaric punishment."

"Most people would be executed for something like that," he observed.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm not most people." 

"Oh, I noticed just fine, " Luke replied dryly, reaching for one of his tools to unfasten a bolt. He tried to ignore the expression on Rain's face which had suddenly changed to one that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

"So, here's the situation, farm boy, " she began. "I'm going to make your life miserable, because that's the way my life is and I see no reason why I should suffer alone. But I'm not completely unreasonable, so I'll throw you a bone." She leaned on the door frame in a pose that was almost seductive.

"You help me get through this whole thing quickly and without incident. And in return, I'll minimize the damage to your little farming operation."

"That's not much of an offer."

"It's the only one you're going to get." She pushed off from the door frame, moving closer toward him. "Think about it. So far, I've been nice. But that can change real fast."

She winked at him, not a friendly wink. More of a warning of what was to come if he didn't comply. Then without another word, she turned and left.

Luke watched her leave, her footsteps fading down the corridor. He turned back to the vaporator, his tools feeling even heavier in his hands.

If there was one thing he didn't doubt, it would be her commitment to his misery.

Chapter 2: When a Storm Hits the Desert.

Luke woke up the following morning to the sound of shouting and screaming coming from the courtyard. Alarmed, he quickly threw on his boots and rushed outside expecting to see a fire or something equally catastrophic.

Instead, he found Rain Tarkin standing over Aunt Beru with one hand on her hip, and the other holding what looked to be a very expensive hairbrush. She was wearing another impractical outfit for the desert: beige-colored pants and a blue silk top.

"That sludge muck you call water has destroyed my hair!" Rain was shouting at Beru as if Luke's aunt had shaved her bald while she was sleeping.

Beru stood there holding her composure as her knuckles were turning white from squeezing her cup of caf.

"I think your hair looks lovely, dear," she replied, keeping her voice even .

"Of course you do. The only thing you people are expert on is sand," Rain said scornfully. She then did something that caused Luke to see a thousand shades of red. The hairbrush she was holding went flying through the air as she hurled it towards the older woman, narrowly missing her by an inch.

Luke immediately placed his body in front of his aunt, so angry he could barely stop shaking. "I don't care who you think you are. You will never throw things at my aunt," he said wth a fury that would unnerve most people.

Rain as she had already stated, was not most people. Her sharp cold eyes immediately locked on to his. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You don't treat people like that."

"Like what? Like she works for me?" Rain stepped toward him, seeming oblivious to his threat. "Because she does work for me. You all do. Or did you forget that part?"

"We don't work for you. We pay taxes to the Empire."

"Which I represent. So yes, farm boy, you work for me."

Luke stood glaring at her, refusing to back down until Rain's nerve finally cracked. Pretending she wasn't bothered, she turned with exaggerated calm and walked over to the nearby mirror, where she started fussing with her long dark hair streaked with blonde.

"I'm not sure why I'm surprised by this water damage," she muttered, tugging sharply on a damp strand. "I mean, look at the mess you carry on your head. I came out lucky in comparison." She bent to pick up the hairbrush she had tossed. "What exactly do you use for a comb? Never mind. You probably don't even know what that is."

Luke's hand flew automatically to his hair, which was admittedly a sleep rumpled mess. "I know what a comb is!" he snapped, instantly annoyed at himself for taking her bait. "At least I don't need an hour to look presentable."

"Well that makes sense coming from somebody who's never looked presentable a day in their life." She turned from the mirror back to Beru. "Now, you were making my breakfast? No meat, no fat, and please try to keep the sand out of it."

"Rain," Owen's voice came from the doorway. He stood there in his work clothes, his face carefully neutral. "Perhaps we could discuss the day's schedule while Beru prepares your meal."

"Of course, Mr. Lars," Rain shoved past Luke hard enough that her shoulder knocked into his. "I would love to plan my day in a dust bowl surrounded by people taking advantage of my good nature."

Luke opened his mouth to respond, but Owen caught his eye and shook his head. The moment they left the courtyard, Luke turned to his aunt.

"It's alright," she said quickly.

"It's not alright. She can't..."

"She can." Beru's voice was quiet but firm. "And she will. So we endure it."

"For how long?"

"As long as we have to."

Luke watched his aunt return to the kitchen, her shoulders falling in a way that told him she was more upset than she was letting on. He wanted to march into the common area and tell Rain exactly what he thought of her.

Instead, he went to wash his face and to calm himself before he did something stupid.

When he finally made it over there, Rain was sitting at the table with Owen, her datapad in front of her, eating a plate of plain eggs and bread.

"Luke. There you are. Get cleaned up. We're starting the assessment in fifteen minutes."

"I am cleaned up."

Rain laughed as she looked him up and down. She then stopped, straightening her face. "Oh, you were actually serious. Well, I guess it doesn't really matter since we're going to be crawling around your little machines all day."

She jumped up, grabbing her datapad. "Meet me by the landspeeder. And bring whatever tools you need. I'm not making two trips because you forgot something."

She left without waiting for a response.

Luke looked at Owen. "I'm going to kill her."

"No, you're not."

"Then I'm going to dream about it."

"That you can do." Owen rubbed his face. "She's worse than I expected. Be careful. She's a spoiled child with too much power."

Luke grimaced, certain that the day would be one he would never forget.

---

Luke grabbed his tool belt and headed outside, where the twin suns were already beating down mercilessly. Rain was standing by the landspeeder, one hand shading her eyes as she looked at the distant vaporator fields with disdain.

"This is what you do all day?" she asked when he approached. "Stare at giant metal sticks in the sand?"

"Those giant metal sticks keep us alive."

"Whatever keeps your little mind stimulated." She climbed into the passenger seat. "Drive."

"'Please' would be nice."

"I'm not nice. Drive."

Luke got behind the controls, his jaw tight. The speeder hummed to life, and he guided it toward the nearest vaporator cluster, the wind whipping across the open vehicle. Rain immediately put her hand over her head.

"You're just determined to completely ruin what's left of my hair, aren't you?"

"It's wind. That's what wind does."

"Don't be smart with me, farm boy."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

They reached the first vaporator and Luke cut the engine. Rain climbed out carefully, looking at the towering structure with disinterest.

"Explain this contraption," she demanded.

Luke took a breath, trying to find patience he didn't have. "It's a moisture vaporator. It extracts water from the air."

"Did I ask how to use it?" she snapped, tapping something on her datapad. "Stop boring me to death with technical details. Give me the numbers."

"What numbers?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Stars above! How much water did it produce last season?"

"I'd have to check the logs…"

"You don't know off the top of your head? What kind of dilettante operation is this?"

Luke felt heat rising in his face that had nothing to do with the suns."We have twenty-three active units. I don't memorize every single one."

"Then you're inefficient. No wonder you're barely surviving out here." Rain made a note on her datapad. "Inadequate record-keeping. That's going in my report."

"We keep perfect records."

"Then you should be able to answer a simple question." She looked at him with her striking eyes. "Does the sun cook your brain out here?"

"You know what…" Luke began, angrily.

"No, seriously, I'm asking. Because I've been here two days and I can already feel my intelligence level plummeting. I can't imagine what happens after years."

Luke slammed his tool kit open with more force than necessary. "The logs are back at the homestead. If you'd asked me before we left..."

"You should have anticipated my question." Rain walked around the vaporator, her boots crunching in the sand. "But, that would require some degree of critical thinking skills."

Luke didn't trust himself to respond. He opened the access panel on the vaporator and began checking the internal mechanisms, focusing on the machinery rather than his temptation to do something that would get him in trouble.

Rain watched him for a moment, then made an impatient sound. "Are you going to explain what you're doing or are you going to just going to grunt at the machines all day?"

"I thought you didn't want the tech..." He stopped himself. "I'm checking the condenser coils."

"Riveting." She moved closer, peering into the open panel. "What's that for?"

"Intake valve."

"And that?"

"Filter assembly."

"And that?"

Luke straightened, looking at her. "Are you actually interested or are you just trying to annoy me?"

"Maybe I'm doing both," Rain smirked. "Its none of your business. Now, stop your whining and teach me what I need to know so I can assess the value of these tin cans."

"Why do you have to be so mean all the time?"

Rain's posture immediately stiffened. "Excuse me, Farmboy. What did you just say?"

Luke's temper had frayed to the final thread. He stood up and faced her. "I said why do you have to be so mean? You're nothing but a bully who..."

But he didn't finish his sentence before her hand came down on his cheek hard, leaving an angry red mark behind. It didn't really hurt, but it was hard enough to let him know who was boss.

Luke stumbled back in shock.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way," Rain said, her voice like ice. "I suggest for your own sake you stay in your place."

Luke stared at her, a look of fury and disbelief on his face. "You just… hit me."

"I corrected you. There's a difference." She turned back to her datapad like nothing had happened. "Now, stop being a baby. Show me the next unit."

"You can't just..."

"I can do whatever I want. That's the benefit of having power." She looked at him over her shoulder. "You should try it sometime. Oh wait, you can't. You farm dust and desperation for a living. How insensitive of me."

Luke's hands were shaking, and he wanted to walk away. But the warning Owen had given him flashed across his mind. If he did that, then it would be more than just him who would pay.

He closed the access panel with controlled force and headed back to the speeder without a word.

"Good. You're learning," Rain called behind him.

They visited six more vaporators before midday, each stop more tense than the last. Rain alternated between asking genuine questions and making snide comments deliberately aimed to get under his skin.

They finally took a break to get some water.

"So this is your life," she said. "Wake up. Fix machines. Go to sleep. Repeat until you die."

"Pretty much."

"How depressing." She took a long drink of water. "Don't you want more?"

"Doesn't matter what I want."

"Of course it matters. It's your life. Is this really what you see it being?"

"My aunt and uncle need my help."

"Sounds like a convenient excuse for someone who's too scared to try anything else. Let me guess. You're planning to marry the Bantha-faced girl of your dreams from the next farm over. She'll be popping out a whole litter of little moisture farmers before the first year is even up, and then the two of you can sit around deciding how young Buck will take over the family business."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that you're wasting your life." She leaned forward, her face closer to his. He could see her the wicked gleam in her golden brown eyes. "You could leave anytime you want. But you won't. Because you're too afraid."

"I'm not afraid."

"You're terrified," she said, smiling cruelly. "At least I admit I'm here against my will. You're here by choice, which makes you kind of sad."

Luke stood up, rage finally breaking through his control. "Stop acting like you know anything about who I am."

"I know everything about who you are. I've met a thousand boys like you on a dozen worlds. Big dreams, no action. All talk."

"That's rich coming from someone who lets their father dictate their life. I don't see you breaking free either. You're just another Imperial cog in the machine "

Rain leapt to her feet, her eyes flashing. Her hand flew up toward him again. This time Luke caught her wrist before she could hit him.

"Don't," he said, his voice low, a clear warning in his words.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them moving. Her wrist in his hand and their faces inches apart.

"Let go of me," she said, almost too calmly.

"Stop hitting me."

"Let. Go." Her voice got louder.

Luke released her wrist and stepped back. Rain rubbed the spot where he'd grabbed her; her eyes never leaving his face.

"We're done for today," she said. "Take me back."

"We still have..."

"I said we're done."

The ride back to the homestead was filled with enough tension to choke on. When they arrived, Rain climbed out without a word and stalked toward her room.

Luke stayed in the speeder, his hands still trembling from the encounter. Finally, he went to find Owen. His uncle was in the workshop, and he took one look at Luke's face and set down his tools.

"What happened?"

"She hit me."

Owen's expression darkened. "Hit you."

"She's insane."

"Luke."

"I can't do this. I can't spend every day with her treating me like garbage."

"You don't have a choice."

"I could leave. Right now. Just take the speeder and go."

"And then what?" Owen's voice was hard. "You think she won't report that? You think the Empire won't come looking? And when they do, what do you think they'll find?"

Luke stopped. "I know," he said quietly. "I know."

Owen put a hand on his shoulder. "A few more weeks. That's all. She'll finish her assessment and leave."

"What if she doesn't?"

"She will. Girls like that don't stay in places like this." Owen squeezed his shoulder. "You can endure anything for a few weeks."

Luke wasn't sure that was true. But he nodded anyway.

That night at dinner, Rain appeared looking perfect again, every hair in place, her expression calm and pleasant as she smiled at Beru.

"This looks wonderful," she said sweetly. "Thank you so much for preparing it."

Like she hadn't hit him earlier and nothing had happened.

Luke ate in silence, avoiding her eyes, counting down the days until she would leave and his life could go back to being miserable in the normal way.

But when he looked up, he caught her watching him across the table, and there was something in her expression he couldn't read. Something that wasn't quite the contempt he'd seen all day.

Then she looked away, and he decided he'd imagined it.

He had to have imagined it.

Because the alternative was too complicated to think about.

Chapter 3: Three Days of Rain Part I

DAY 3

Rain Tarkin seemed to become even more obnoxious following her first couple of days on Tatooine, and by the third day, Luke was ready to take his landspeeder and permanently disappear into the Dune Sea.

He had barely warmed up the speeder that morning when she appeared, looking like she had just stepped off the cover of an upscale Coruscant catalog. Decked in slim-fitting beige pants, a cream-colored silk tunic, and brown-blonde hair that cascaded down her back in a mane of untamed waves, she climbed into the passenger seat, the usual smirk on her face.

"Another day in the pitiful life of a farmboy - fixing machines that don't work on a planet nobody cares about," she sighed dramatically. "And I'm forced to witness it. Hurry along, let's get this over and done with."

Luke's jaw tightened, but he said nothing as he gunned the speeder toward the western vaporators.

“I hope you're not planning on throwing any more of those embarrassing temper tantrums," she said loudly, yelling over the wind. “I really don’t enjoy having to discipline you.”

“Is that what you call it when you hit people?” Luke yelled back.

“Please, I barely touched you. You should see the beatings my uncle used to give me when I stepped out of place.“

Five minutes later, they had arrived.

“There are plenty of other ways to let people know you're upset,” Luke said as he stopped the speeder. “You don’t have to hurt them.”

"Control others or be controlled by them," Rain replied, pulling herself out of the vehicle. "The galaxy respects strength and nothing else."

"That's not true," Luke said as he jumped out and started toward the machines.

"How do you think the Empire conquered the galaxy?" she asked, following him. "My uncle commands through fear. It works."

"At what cost?" he said, turning around to face her.

Rain rolled her eyes. “You tell me, farmboy. Do you like playing handyman to a moisture farm that would fall apart without you?”

“Do you ever take a break with the insults?” Luke's patience was reaching its breaking point. He reached the first machine, kneeling down to pull open a latch on the side of one of the vaporators. He loosened the bolts around a broken condenser coil. “What do you want from me?”

"I want you to admit that you're wasting your life here. That you're too scared to be anything other than Owen Lars' nephew who fixes vaporators."

"What…? Why do you even care?" He threw some of the freed bolts onto the ground.

“Who says I care?” Rain folded her arms as she watched him. “I’m just making an observation - you need to be careful, Luke Skywalker. Because if you’re not, you’ll die here. Old and forgotten, having never done a single thing worth remembering. What you do with that is on you.”

Luke stood up and hurled the old condenser coil to the ground. Without another word, he stomped back toward the speeder. Rain followed, a sly grin tugging at her mouth.

---

A few hours later, they were heading back to the Lars homestead. Owen was waiting for them when they arrived.  

"Luke, we need to go to Anchorhead. The Jawas have a few droids for sale, and we need to replace those units we lost last month."

"But I was going to Tosche Station to get a power converter," Luke protested.

Rain perked up immediately. "Jawas? You mean Luke's little sand-goblin friends? I want to come."

"There’s nothing there you would find interesting,”  Luke said, annoyed.

"I’m coming," she said sharply. "It's part of my assessment to see how you conduct business transactions." Her imperious tone was fully back in place. "Besides, I'm curious about your social life."

"They're not my..." Luke stopped himself, his hands raking through his hair in frustration as he exchanged looks with Owen.

His uncle just shook his head, a warning expression on his face.

"Fine," Luke conceded. "Keep in mind the Jawas don't take kindly to insults. Try to be polite."

Rain smiled sweetly. "I always am."

Luke seriously doubted that.

They headed back out with Owen, reaching the edge of Anchorhead where the massive sandcrawler was parked. The Jawas poured out of it, chattering excitedly when they saw potential customers.

Owen began the negotiations while Luke examined the droids for sale.

"Ugh, they smell," Rain said loudly, wrinkling her nose at the Jawas.

Luke's head immediately snapped up.

"Rain," he scolded.

"What? They do. You should tell them."

One of the Jawas jabbered something clearly unflattering towards her in Jawanese, but Rain was now too busy looking at the droids to notice. "They look like they came from a junk yard."

"They did," Luke said. "That's what Jawas do."

Owen eventually settled on a fussy golden protocol droid named C3P0 who immediately began complaining and an R2 unit that seemed surprisingly intact.

"This R2 unit has a bad motivator," Luke said, standing up.

Sure enough, the moment Owen tried to activate the R2 unit, smoke poured from its dome and it ground to a halt.

Luke was about to say something about it, but before he could open his mouth, Rain was already marching towards the Jawas. Great, he thought, exasperated, there goes any chance of peaceful bartering.

Rain stopped in front of the sandcrawler. "You want to try that again, little sandrats?" She demanded, towering over them with her hands on her hips in full Imperial mode. "Bring us a running droid, unless you want me to audit every screw and bolt you've ever collected. And they better have receipts."

Luke raised his eyebrow at his uncle, who looked just as bewildered. The Jawas started making apologetic noises as they nervously rushed around to find a replacement. They came up with a battered R2 unit with a blue and white dome.

Rain narrowed her eyes. "Well, that one looks worse than the other one," she muttered.

But when they activated it, the little droid beeped cheerfully and rolled forward without any issues.

"Fine," Owen said. "We'll take this one and the protocol droid."

"Did she just try to help us?" Luke whispered to his uncle as they returned to the speeder.

"Hard to tell," Owen replied quietly. 

As they took their seats in the speeder, Rain stood back shooting a glare at Threepio seated in the back. "Oh no, I am not squeezing in next to that shiny nuisance."

Luke couldn't help smirking. "Your only other choice would be to… sit on my lap."

"In your dreams, Farm Boy. Why can't it just walk back?"

"Because it won't," Luke said, grinning. "You could have it sit on your lap."

Rain threw up her hands in exasperation. "Why don't you sit on its lap, genius? And I’ll take your seat."

Threepio whirred nervously. "I… I do not sit on laps! That is highly improper and unadvisable!"

"I refuse to sit next to anything that just came out of the garbage," she said indignantly.

Luke patted his lap again with a mischievous grin, enjoying her discomfort.

Rain's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'd rather leap into a sarlacc pit."

"If that’s what you want to do,” he said smugly. “You're the one with the seating problem," 

For a long moment, Rain just glared at him. Then she got that calculated look that Luke recognized too late.

"Fine," she said crisply.

Before Luke could even process what was happening, Rain plonked herself onto his lap as if he were a perfectly ordinary chair. She sat up straight, her gaze fixed ahead, regal as a queen on her throne.

Luke's grin vanished instantly. "Wait... I didn't..."

"You offered," Rain said sweetly, not looking at him. "I accepted. Problem solved."

"That's not what I..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you not serious?" She turned her head slightly, one eyebrow raised. "Because I distinctly heard you pat your lap. Twice, actually."

Luke's face was turning an interesting shade of red. "I was joking..."

"Well, what an incredibly awkward situation you have created then"

"Rain..."

"Deal with it! I'm not about to squash myself against that grease-covered protocol droid that never shuts up." Rain adjusted herself slightly, making Luke stiffen. "Unless you'd like to explain to your uncle why we need to delay getting these droids back to the homestead?"

Threepio, oblivious to the issue, spoke up. "Oh my! How wonderfully efficient! I do believe Miss Tarkin has solved our spatial logistics problem quite admirably..."

"Shut up, Threepio," Luke and Rain said in unison.

Owen climbed into the driver's seat and fired up the speeder, shaking his head. "I'm too old for this nonsense," he muttered.

"Comfortable?" Rain asked innocently, her voice perfectly pleasant.

"Thrilled," Luke muttered through gritted teeth.

"Luke you're going to have to hold on to her," his uncle said firmly. 

Luke made a groaning noise of protest before awkwardly placing his arms around her waist.

"Your hands better not wander," Rain said smirking as they took off with every bump in the sand making the situation worse. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before trying to embarrass me, farmboy."

Owen chuckled and Artoo beeped and chirped his version of a laugh.

Luke tried to focus on anything other than the warmth of Rain's body against his. He stared determinedly at the horizon, willing the homestead to appear sooner rather than later.

Rain, for her part, sat rigid and perfectly still, though Luke could have sworn he felt her relax slightly as the journey wore on. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride, but the silence felt different than before - charged with an energy neither were willing to admit.

DAY 4

On the fourth morning, Luke was leaving his room when he overheard Rain speaking in an agitated tone on her comm. He paused for a moment to listen before going to the kitchen - deciding it was necessary for the sake of his uncle’s farm. Only fragments of her conversation were audible.

“I can’t do that, they're just simple farmers….”, then “they wouldn’t know anything, they're harmless… and finally, “I’m not disobeying, a direct order, I’m trying to tell you that…”

It sounded like her conversation had ended and he quickly continued to the kitchen to prepare his caf.

Rain followed shortly after wearing clothing that almost looked practical. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying.

Luke pretended not to notice at first, focusing on his drink, but he could feel the tension radiating from her.

"You should probably know that my uncle contacted me this morning," she said, without looking at him. "He wanted an update of the assessment."

Luke looked up at her, wary. "And?"

"And, I told him everything was proceeding normally. That I was nearly done with your farm and would be starting on the next one in a few days.”

She made herself a plate of fruit and sat opposite him. For a moment, she just stared at the food, pushing a piece of melon around with her fork.

"Are you okay?" Luke found himself reluctantly asking.

"What do you mean?"

"You just seem upset."

He could see Rain's defenses immediately shoot up. "Don't be ridiculous," she replied. "I'm a Tarkin. We don't get upset. I've been trained to maintain proper Imperial dignity, even in the most backwater locations with the most primitive of people."

But her voice wavered slightly on the last word, betraying her.

"Sounds like a lot of pressure," Luke said gently.

Rain's fork clattered against her plate. "It's what my uncle expects," she said, her voice quieter now, almost distant. "I owe it to him to do right. He took me in after my mother died, and my father was too bereaved to take care of me."

“I’m sorry about your mother.” 

Rain didn't answer. She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "We have work to do. The northern vaporators need inspection."

Luke wanted to push further, to ask more questions, but he could see her walls going up again, so he nodded and stood up. 

Maybe it was progress. Or maybe it was just another game. 

---

Rain was uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the day.

When they reached the first vaporator, she climbed out and asked appropriate questions - ones that didn't make him repeat the same thing over solely for purposes of her entertainment. 

"You’re different today," Luke said finally, checking a pressure gauge.

"I'm exactly the same."

"You haven't insulted me once in the last hour."

Rain crossed her arms, but the gesture seemed more defensive than aggressive. "Would you like me to? You've provided me with more than enough material."

"No, I..." Luke paused, wiping his hands on a rag before turning to face her properly. "I'm just trying to understand."

"Understand what?"

"You."

Rain's expression hardened, but Luke could see the uncertainty flickering beneath it. "What's to understand?"

He shrugged. "I think you're a person with feelings underneath it all, more than you let people think."

"I don’t have my own feelings, Luke, " Rain cut him off, but her voice lacked its usual bite. " They were decided for me before birth. Tarkin. Imperial. Powerful. I don’t get to be anything else."

"You could choose to be kind."

Rain's jaw tightened, and for a moment Luke thought she might lash out. Instead, she looked away, staring out at the endless desert. "Why are you trying to psychoanalyze me, farm boy? Are you looking for some soft pitiful female you can rescue?"

Luke finished his inspection and closed the access panel, giving himself a moment to think. "I'm not trying to rescue you. It just sounds like a lonely way to live."

Her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. “It is,” she said quietly.

Then, as if realizing she'd admitted too much, her Imperial mask slid back into place. "Enough of your sentimental conversation. Let's get this finished so I can get off this forsaken planet."

She didn't seem as angry anymore, more exhausted.

By midday, the twin suns were blazing overhead, turning the desert into a furnace. Luke finished the inspection on the last vaporator and wiped sweat from his forehead. He glanced over at Rain, noticing the way she was moving slowly.

"We should head back," he said. "It's getting too hot to work safely."

"I'm fine. I just want to get this finished." But her words were slightly slurred, her movements unsteady.

"Rain, it's over forty degrees. We need to..."

"I said I'm fine!" She spun toward him, and he saw her face was flushed, her eyes slightly unfocused. "Stop trying to mother me. I don't need you to..."

She swayed suddenly. Luke caught her arm before she went down, guiding her to sit in the shade of the vaporator.

"You're dehydrated," he said, his concern overriding any irritation. "Why didn't you drink any water?"

"I drank water." But even as she said it, she sounded uncertain.

"When?"

Rain tried to remember and couldn't. She blinked slowly, "I... this morning?"

"That was six hours ago." Luke grabbed the canteen from the speeder and pressed it into her hands. "Drink. Now."

For once, she didn't argue. She drank deeply, some of the water spilling down her chin. Luke watched her, concerned despite himself.

After a few moments, some color began returning to her face. She lowered the canteen, breathing heavily.

"The desert doesn't care who your uncle is," he said gently. "Out here, you follow the rules or you die. That's it."

Rain wiped her mouth, blinking as the world came back into focus. "Right. A lecture about the rules of the desert. This should be even more exhilarating than learning how these converted garbage cans make water."

"Well if you pass out, then I have to carry you back to the homestead."

"You couldn't carry me."

"I'd manage. But I'd complain about it the whole way."

Rain let out a genuine laugh, different than her mocking one. Luke found himself almost smiling back, caught off guard by the transformation it created in her face.

For just a moment, the hostility between them faded into something closer to understanding.

"You're not what I expected," Rain said quietly, her defenses still lowered from the heat and exhaustion.

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know. Someone more... simple or stupid. Easy to dismiss." She looked at him, and Luke felt something shift in the air between them. "But you're not stupid. You're just stuck."

"So are you."

"Yeah." Rain's smile was sad, but honest. "So am I."

They sat there in the shade, the twin suns beating down on the sand around them. The silence stretched between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable anymore. 

Do you ever feel like you're two different people? Like there's who you're supposed to be, and then there's... something else underneath?" Rain surprised him with her question.

"Every day," he replied.

She turned to look at him with another expression he didn’t recognize.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For the water. For not leaving me out here."

It was the closest she'd come to genuine gratitude, and Luke didn't know what to do with it. 

"You're welcome," he said finally.

He went to move, to stand up and suggest they head back, but she grabbed his arm, pulling on it so that he faced her. Their eyes met, and Luke saw something else in her gaze. 

Then she did the last thing he would ever expect - she leaned over and kissed him on the mouth.

He was in shock at first, frozen, but he didn't pull away. Instead, almost without thinking, he found himself kissing her back. 

When they broke apart they both looked stunned, breathing heavily in the close desert air.

"What was that?" Luke stammered, his heart pounding as he tried to catch his breath.

Rain stared at him, her eyes wide, her carefully constructed walls completely demolished. For a long moment, she just looked at him, something like panic flickering across her face.

"I don't know," she said finally, sounding genuinely confused.

"You kissed me."

Rain didn't say anything. She looked away, staring out at the desert as if it might offer her some explanation. 

"We should go," she said, her voice suddenly flat.

"Wait, we should talk about this," Luke started, reaching for her arm.

She pulled away, standing abruptly. "It was nothing, Luke. A moment of confusion in the heat."

The words stung more than he expected them to, and he couldn't hide the hurt expression on his face.

"Now can we go?" She turned around, stomping through the sand toward the speeder.

Luke let out a deep breath and followed her, feeling more confused than ever. As he walked, he touched his lips briefly, wondering if he had imagined the whole thing.

Chapter 4: Three Days of Rain Part II

Day 5

The next morning, Rain appeared at breakfast in a foul mood, snapping at Beru over the temperature of her caf and criticizing everything from the texture of the bread to the way Owen was breathing.

"You okay?" Luke asked when they were finally alone.

Rain's expression was cold. "I'm fine. I just remembered who I am and why I'm here."

"Rain…"

"Stop. Yesterday was a mistake. It won't happen again."

"Why not?"

"Because it won't. People like me don't have the luxury of vulnerability. And we certainly don't run around kissing the farmers we're supposed to be collecting taxes from."

"We're all just people, Rain. Including you."

"I'm a Tarkin!" Her voice broke slightly. "And that means something. It has to mean something or else I'm just... nothing."

"It doesn't have to mean being..."

"Will you stop!" she snapped, spinning on him. "We're not friends, Luke Skywalker. We never will be."

Luke lifted his hands in surrender. "Fine. Message received."

"Good. Because I'm reminding you."

He tilted his head, studying her. "Or are you reminding yourself?"

Rain's eyes flickered with uncertainty for a moment, but she said nothing.

---

There were only the vaporators on the north end left to do. They reached them around midday. Luke was still tense from the conversation as he climbed out of the speeder, heading straight for the equipment housing. He didn't wait for her.

"Excuse me," Rain called after him. "I didn't dismiss you."

Luke stopped, taking a deep breath before turning around. "What now?"

"What now is that I want you to stop making that sullen face."

"I'm not making a face."

"You look like someone handed you your future and it was just… more sand."

"Are you done?"

"You'll be the first to know when I am," she said walking toward him with her shoulders up. She stopped a few inches from his face looking at him with a smirk. "You really think that yesterday meant something."

Luke stared at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Rain placed her hands on her hips.

"You kissed me. You can't just pretend it didn't happen."

"I can do whatever I want, dust farmer." She poked him hard in the chest, moving closer in a way that was meant to be intimidating rather than intimate. "You're shaking. Why?"

Luke realized she was right. His hands were trembling with suppressed frustration. He forced himself to take a breath, to step back.

"Don't poke me."

There was silence as Rain's expression shifted from imperious to something darker. Then she found her voice again.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I'm telling you not to poke me."

The slap came fast and hard. Luke's head snapped to the side, and he felt the sting spread across his cheek. This time it was meant to cause pain.

"You don't tell me to do anything," Rain said, her voice ice-cold. "Do you understand?"

Luke touched his cheek, feeling the heat there. When he looked back at Rain, something in his expression must have shown his true feelings, because she stepped forward aggressively and raised her hand again.

"Don't even think about it," she warned. "Whatever you're considering right now, don't. Because I promise you, farmboy, you will lose."

Before Luke could respond, he heard the distinctive hum of another landspeeder approaching.

He turned to see Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles pulling up in Biggs' beat-up transport.

"Luke!" Biggs called out, cutting the engine and jumping out. "We saw you heading out this way, thought we'd..."

He stopped mid-sentence as he took in the scene: Luke's reddened cheek, Rain standing so close in a threatening manner with her hand still raised.

Wedge climbed out more slowly, his usually friendly expression darkening as he assessed the situation.

"What's going on here?" he asked, his voice carefully neutral but his eyes fixed on Rain.

"Nothing that concerns you," Rain said dismissively, not even bothering to look at them. "This is official Imperial business. Leave."

"Official Imperial business?" Wedge repeated, his tone skeptical. "Looks more like assault to me."

Rain's head snapped toward him. "Excuse me?"

"You hit him," Biggs said flatly, moving closer. "We saw it."

"I did no such thing. And even if that were true, he's under my supervision during this assessment. How I choose to manage him is my concern, not yours."

"That's not how it works," Wedge said, his jaw tight. "You don't get to hit people just because you're Tarkin's niece."

Rain's eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh, I can't? Please continue. I'm sure the law is your second language - right after complaining about equipment parts."

"We know enough," Biggs shot back. "And we know that what you're doing isn't right."

"Right?" Rain laughed. "Please. Right and wrong have nothing to do with this. Power does. I have it. You don't."

She turned back to Luke. "Tell these two desert-born wonders to run along and finish their play date somewhere else before they get in trouble."

"They're my friends, and they can do what they want, Rain," Luke said quietly. "Right now they're just trying to help."

Rain's expression hardened into something cold and furious. "I didn't think you had any, to be honest. Friends taller than Jawas, I mean. Interesting how their arrival suddenly gives you a backbone."

She closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps, her presence invading his space.

"Here's what's going to happen," she said softly. "Your little farmyard heroes are going to leave. Then you're going to apologize for embarrassing me in front of them. And after that, we're going to continue our work. Understand?"

"No," Luke said.

Rain's hand came up again, but this time Biggs caught her wrist mid-swing.

"That's enough," he said firmly.

Rain stared at him, shocked, as if she couldn't quite grasp what was happening. "Let go of me."

"Not until you calm down."

"Let. Go." Her voice rose. "Do you have any idea what I can do to you? To all of you?"

"Frankly, I don't care," Biggs said. "You don't hit my friend. I don't care who your uncle is."

Rain tried to wrench her arm free, but Biggs held firm. She lifted her leg to kick him in the groin, but just as she did, Biggs let her go and she fell flat on her rear in the sand.

For a moment, nobody moved. Rain sat there, staring up at them, looking stunned. Her perfect outfit was now covered in dust, her carefully styled hair a tousled mess, and her dignity completely shattered.

And then, to everyone's absolute surprise, her eyes filled with tears.

"You threw me," she said, her voice small and broken in a way that Luke had never heard before. She almost sounded like a child.

"I let go of your wrist. I didn't mean for you to fall," Biggs started, looking horrified.

"You pushed me!" Rain's voice cracked. The tears spilled over, running down her cheeks, leaving clean tracks through the dust on her face. "Everyone always pushes me around. My father. My uncle. And now you."

She was weeping loudly, her face buried in her hands.

Biggs and Wedge exchanged uncomfortable glances. Luke found himself taking a step toward her, some instinct overriding his anger.

"Rain…"

"Don't," she said through her tears. "Don't pretend you care. None of you care. Nobody does."

She sat there in the sand, crying, and Luke realized with uncomfortable clarity that despite everything she'd done to him, despite her cruelty and her viciousness, she was genuinely hurt. Not by the fall, but by something much deeper.

He crouched down beside her, careful not to get too close. "Are you okay?"

Rain looked up at him, her eyes red and streaming. For a moment, he saw real pain in her expression.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice still shaky but gaining strength. "I'm perfectly fine."

She wiped at her eyes roughly, smearing dust across her face. Biggs extended a hand to help her up, but she slapped it away.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, struggling to her feet on her own. "Any of you."

She stood there, covered in sand, tears still on her face, trying desperately to reclaim some shred of dignity.

"You're going to regret this," she said, but the threat sounded empty. "All of you."

"We were just…" Luke started.

"I don't care what you were just!" Rain's voice rose again, and she turned away from them, her hands shaking as she tried to brush sand from her clothes. "This is the worst day of my entire life."

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Rain turned and started walking away from them, toward a cluster of rocks in the distance.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked, worried.

"I need to be alone, " she said without turning back. " Just give me a few minutes. Now that you all got what you wanted - a big laugh at my expense. The least you can do is let me have some privacy."

"But…" Luke started.

"Just... leave me alone." Her voice broke again.

Luke watched her go, torn between following and giving her space.

Biggs put a hand on his shoulder. "Let her be," he said quietly. "She'll be back in a few minutes."

But Luke felt uneasy. He was bothered by the broken tone in her voice and the way she had walked away.

"Luke," Wedge said, drawing his attention back. "Are you okay?"

Luke touched his cheek where Rain had hit him. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"That's not okay, what she's doing to you," Biggs said. "Nobody deserves that kind of treatment."

"I know." Luke sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's just complicated."

"It's not complicated," Wedge said firmly. "She's abusive. Plain and simple."

Luke knew they were right, but he couldn't shake the image of Rain sitting in the sand, crying like a lost child.

"She's not... it's not that simple. Her uncle…"

"I don't care about her uncle," Biggs interrupted. "You deserve better than this, Luke. Don't make excuses for someone like that."

There was something in Biggs' tone that made Luke look at him more carefully. His friend seemed different somehow, more serious than usual.

"Biggs, what's going on?"

Biggs glanced at Wedge, who nodded slightly. Then he turned back to Luke. "This is probably the last time we'll get to talk like this," he said quietly.

Luke frowned. "What are you talking about? You're just going to the Academy. You'll be back on leave in a couple of months."

Biggs gave him a small, tight smile. "Yeah... that's not the real plan."

Luke stared at him, confusion turning quickly into alarm. "Biggs, what do you mean 'not the real plan'?"

Biggs glanced around, making sure Rain wasn't within earshot. He moved closer to Luke, his voice dropping.

"Once I get assigned to a starship during my training cruise... I'm going to jump ship. I'm not staying with the Empire."

Luke blinked, stunned. "Jump ship? Biggs, are you crazy? They'll throw you in a cell! Or worse!"

Biggs shrugged. "Maybe."

"The Academy is everything you wanted! It's the only way to become a pilot!"

"It's the only way to learn to be a pilot," Biggs corrected. "The Empire gives you the training..." He smiled grimly. "...and then you take those skills somewhere they actually matter."

A realization settled across Luke's face. "You're joining the Rebellion."

"That's the idea."

Luke crossed his arms, trying to hide the tremor in his voice. "You'll get yourself killed."

"Maybe. But staying here and doing nothing... that'll kill me faster."

Biggs looked at him intently. "And you know it would kill you too."

Luke looked out across the sand flats, jaw tightening. "I'm stuck here, Biggs. My uncle needs me. The harvest..." His voice broke slightly. "I can't just go."

Biggs rested a hand on Luke's shoulder. "One day you're going to get off this rock. I can feel it. You've always been meant for more than moisture vaporators."

Luke swallowed hard. "I wish I was going with you."

"So do I."

Biggs squeezed his shoulder once, then stepped back. "When your time comes, Luke, don't hesitate. Don't let fear or obligation keep you here forever."

Biggs turned toward his speeder, Wedge following.

"Take care of yourself, Luke," Biggs called back.

Luke watched them go, their speeder disappearing into the heat shimmer. Then he turned back toward where Rain had gone.

She'd been gone for almost twenty minutes now.

"Miss Tarkin!" Luke called out, walking toward the rocks. "Rain!"

No answer.

He walked faster, an edge of panic creeping into his chest. Rain wouldn't last long out here alone. She had no sense of desert survival, no water, no protection from the suns.

"Rain!" he yelled again, louder this time.

Still nothing.

Luke broke into a run, his boots sinking in the sand. He reached the rocks where she'd been heading and looked around frantically.

She wasn't there.

"RAIN!"

The desert swallowed his voice.

There was no response but the whisper of wind across sand.

Luke spun in a circle, searching for any sign of her - footprints, a glimpse of her clothing, anything. But the wind was already erasing her tracks, and there were a dozen directions she could have gone.

His heart was pounding now. She'd been crying, upset, not thinking clearly. She could have wandered in any direction. And out here, in this heat, without water...

"Rain!" he shouted one more time, his voice cracking with genuine fear.

The silence that answered was absolute.

Luke ran back to the speeder, his mind racing. He had to find her. Whatever she'd done, whatever she'd said, he couldn't just leave her out here to die.

He gunned the engine and took off across the sand, scanning desperately for any sign of Rain Tarkin.

There was nothing.

She was gone — vanished into the unforgiving heat, swallowed by the endless sand dunes.

 

 

Chapter 5: Into the Wastes

The twin suns scorched down on the desert sands as Luke's search for Rain spiraled wider across the dunes. He had been searching for over an hour when he realized he was running dangerously low on fuel and would have to return to the homestead. Reluctantly, he turned back and pushed the engine harder, his heart sinking as his eyes dropped to Rain's water bottle resting on the empty seat beside him.

He was running out of time to save her.

It was only a matter of minutes before he got home. Killing the engine he ran frantically through the courtyard, yelling "Aunt Beru! Uncle Owen!"

Owen emerged from the workshop, wiping grease from his hands. "Luke, why in the blazes are you making all that noise?"

"It's Rain," Luke panted, trying to catch his breath. "She's gone. She went off into the dunes by herself and I can't find her!"

A look of concern immediately clouded Owen's weathered face. "What do you mean you can't find her? Why would she just…?"

Luke's blue eyes widened, almost wild. "She was upset about something," he blurted, the words tumbling over each other. "I'll explain later, I promise. Right now we need to call the neighbors for a search party… everyone needs to know she's missing!"

"Whoa, slow down," Owen said, grabbing Luke's shoulders. "How long has she been gone?"

"Nearly two hours."

"Two hours in this heat..." Owen shook his head, his face turning grim. He turned toward the house. "Beru! Get on the comlink, call the Jundland settlers. Tell them the Tarkin girl might be wandering lost around in their area."

"Master Owen!" The distressed sound of C-3PO's voice interrupted from the workshop entrance. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but it seems we have another crisis at hand!"

"Not now, Threepio!" Luke warned.

"But sir, it's the R2 unit! He seems to have run off!"

Luke stared at the droid. "What?"

"The R2 unit was claiming to be the property of someone called Obi-Wan Kenobi. He kept insisting he had to deliver some sort of message, and when I refused to let him leave, he simply... well, he ran away!"

"You've got to be kidding me," Luke said, his voice hollow. "Artoo's gone too?"

Owen's jaw tightened. "When did he leave?"

"Approximately ninety minutes ago, sir," Threepio said miserably. "I tried to stop him, but R2 units are notoriously stubborn."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Luke said, thoughtfully. "I wonder if he means old Ben."

Owen's expression darkened. "Luke, forget the droid. Miss Tarkin is the priority…"

"I know!" Luke said desperately. "But what if she saw Artoo and followed him? She doesn't know the desert; she might have thought he was coming back here."

It was a thin hope, but it was better than nothing.

Owen studied his nephew's face, then sighed heavily. "All right. You take the other speeder and check the Wastes. But you take your rifle, and you're back before dark, understood? No heroics. If you don't find either of them in three hours, you come straight home and we call in the Imperial garrison."

"The garrison?" Luke's stomach dropped. "Uncle Owen, if they find out I lost Tarkin's niece…"

"Then you better find her first." Owen's voice said firmly. "Go. Now. And Luke, be careful."

Luke nodded and ran for the other speeder. Threepio shuffled after him anxiously.

"Oh dear, oh dear, Master Luke, perhaps I should accompany you? I am fluent in over six million forms of communication, which might prove useful if…"

"Stay here, Threepio," Luke said, swinging into the speeder and checking his rifle. "Help Aunt Beru with the comlinks. If I'm not back in three hours, make sure she calls for help."

"But sir…"

Luke had already left, racing toward the rocky canyons of the Jundland Wastes.

As the homestead disappeared behind him, Luke's mind raced through possibilities. Rain could be anywhere. She could be dying right now, and it would be his fault. He should have followed her immediately. He should never have let Biggs convince him to give her space.

The terrain grew rougher as he entered the Wastes, the flat sand giving way to rocky formations and narrow canyons. Luke slowed down, scanning carefully for any sign of movement.

"Artoo!" he called out. "Rain!"

Nothing but wind and the distant cry of a desert scavenger.

Luke navigated deeper into the canyons, his unease growing. He kept his rifle close, his finger near the trigger.

A flash of white caught his eye.

A small domed shape on the ridge.

"Artoo!"

Luke pushed the speeder forward, relief flooding through him. At least he'd found the droid. Maybe Artoo had seen Rain, or…

The speeder suddenly lurched as something struck it from the side. Luke fought for control, but the vehicle spun out, slamming into a rocky outcropping. He was thrown out, hitting the sand hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Dazed, Luke looked up to see a Tusken Raider standing over him, its stick raised high. The Sand Person's savage cry echoed off the canyon walls.

Luke tried to reach for his rifle, but the weapon had been flung too far in the crash. He rolled to the side just as the spiked weapon came down, missing his head by inches.

Another Raider appeared, then another. Luke scrambled backward, his heart racing. He was going to die searching for a wayward astromech and a girl who had called him a backwoods farmer with dust for dreams.

The first Raider raised its weapon again.

And then something unexpected happened

A small figure covered in sand appeared upon a rocky cliff above. Rain Tarkin stood there, her face sunburned and streaked with dried tears, her expensive clothes torn and filthy.

And she was holding an Imperial-issued blaster.

"Hey!" she yelled, her voice already hoarse. "Leave him alone!"

The Sand People didn't seem to hear her over their guttural cries, so she fired her blaster, instantly killing one of them with remarkable precision.

"Which one of you sack-wearing psychos is next? Move away from him! Now!"

The Raiders looked up at the new threat. One of them made a howling sound and started scrambling up the cliff toward her.

Rain fired at him until he toppled over backward, the back of his skull cracking on a rock. More of them had started climbing the cliff side. She kept shooting, but she was suffering from exhaustion and there were too many of them. In a matter of minutes, they would completely overtake her.

Luke was stunned that she was risking her life for him. Desperately he tried to get to his feet to run and grab the rifle. But, he didn't have a chance as he was stopped by a blood-curdling sound cutting through the canyon.

The Sand People froze. The sound came again, echoing off the rocks.

And then someone appeared from deeper in the canyon, an old man in desert robes, moving with surprising speed.

"Ben!" Luke gasped.

The Sand People took off, scattering hastily into the rock, their savage cries fading into the distance.

Ben Kenobi reached him and offered his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Luke. Are you hurt?"

"I'm, I'm okay. But Rain…" Luke looked up at the ridge.

Rain was swaying dangerously on the edge of the cliff, the blaster hanging loosely in her hand. Her whole body was shaking, and she looked like she might pass out and fall to her death. Even from this distance, Luke could see she was in bad shape.

"Get her down," Ben said with quiet urgency. "Quickly. Before she loses her balance."

Luke scrambled as fast as he could up the steep, rocky slope. As he got closer, he could see that Rain was a mess. Her lips were cracked and bleeding, her eyes completely unfocused. She was leaning forward toward the drop, seemingly unaware of what she was doing.

"Rain," he called, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. "I'm coming. Please stay still. I'm nearly there."

She looked down at him without seeming to recognize him for a moment.

He increased his pace, finally reaching the ledge where she stood over the long drop into jagged rocks. There was barely room for him on the tiny rock shelf, and he felt vertigo beginning to hit him.

Below him, he could see Ben watching, his face creased with worry.

"Luke, be careful!" he called up.

"I'm okay," he yelled back.

Luke balanced himself on the ledge as best he could, reaching his hand out tentatively to her. "You're safe now. I'm here," he said gently. "Take my hand."

"Luke," she whispered. "You came."

"Of course I came."

"But, after the horrible way I treated you..." Her voice was barely audible. "I was so stupid... everyone was laughing at me. Like I was pathetic."

"You're not pathetic. You saved me just now."

"I'm a disaster. I can't even run away properly!"

"Rain," Luke urged, still holding his hand out to her, "Please take my hand."

She nodded, lifting her hand toward his, but as she did, she leaned forward again in a terrifying manner. Then her knees buckled, and she started to fall.

Luke's hand shot out with lightning speed, instinct kicking in before thought. He caught her just in time.

She now hung suspended over the drop, her entire body weight supported by his one arm. One wrong move, one miscalculation of basic physics, and they were both going down.

"Luke!" Ben yelled, watching the scene from below in horror.

His heart hammered against his ribcage, and his hand around hers felt slippery with sweat. Carefully leaning forward, he struggled to stay balanced on the ledge as he slid his other hand down her arm, inch by painstaking inch, hoisting her back up. Fortunately, she weighed next to nothing.

Rain was barely conscious, muttering things that didn't make sense and groaning occasionally. She was burning up with a fever, her skin hot and dry to the touch.

"I've got you," Luke said, holding her firmly. "You'll be okay."

"Luke!" Ben yelled again.

"I'm okay. I got her!"

Getting the two of them safely back down brought a whole new series of dangers, physical strains, and balancing acts. Luke had to carry her the whole way, and it took some time to reach the bottom. By then, the suns had finally started to go down, but the temperature was still uncomfortably high.

Ben was waiting. He had already retrieved Artoo and was examining Luke's speeder.

"We can walk to my place," Ben said, glancing at Rain with concern. "It's not far. The young lady needs water and care immediately."

Luke adjusted his grip on Rain, who was now completely unconscious and limp in his arms, her head lolling against his shoulder. "Will she be okay?"

"If we get her cooled down quickly, yes." Ben's eyes were kind but serious. "You got to her just in time, Luke. Another hour..."

He didn't need to finish that sentence.

Artoo beeped anxiously, rolling alongside them as Ben led the way through the canyons. The little droid's dome kept swiveling between Luke and Rain, emitting worried chirps.

"I know, Artoo," Luke said quietly. "I know."

Luke's arms ached, and his heart pounded, but he didn't dare relax. Somewhere beyond the canyon walls, the desert still held its secrets. He had the sinking feeling this was far from over.

 

Chapter 6: Beyond the Ashes

Ben's modest dwelling, a cave inside the canyon wall, offered shelter from the sun and protection from predators. It wasn't fancy, but it felt like paradise in comparison to the open desert in midday temperatures.

Luke carried Rain inside and Ben gestured toward a simple cot where he carefully lay her down.

Ben immediately got to work pressing cool cloths to her forehead and neck. She mumbled incoherently the entire time, barely conscious, yet still aware enough to accept a few small sips of water, half of which dribbled down her chin.

"She should sleep for a while," Ben said, putting a small pillow under her head before finally stepping back from the cot. "The body needs rest to recover from such exposure. You did well to find her."

"I almost didn't." Luke said, sounding strained. "I was about to give up when I saw Artoo."

"Some things are meant to be found. Both droids and people," Ben said, looking thoughtfully at Artoo who was impatiently beeping in the corner, his head spinning around with excitement.

"Your little friend here has been quite insistent about delivering a message."

"A message? To you?"

"To someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi, actually." Ben's eyes twinkled slightly. "That's what he told your protocol droid, I believe. Of course, I haven't gone by that name in a very long time."

Luke stared at him. "Obi-Wan? You're Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"I haven't heard that name since... well, before you were born."

Artoo rolled forward, a panel opening on his dome that projected a beam of light in the air above him. The light formed into a hologram of a young woman in a white dress, her long brown hair swirled into an elaborate bun on each side of her head.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi," the woman said, her voice tinged with desperation. "You're my only hope."

The message began to repeat, the woman's plea echoing in the small space.

Luke couldn't look away from her. "Who is she?"

"Someone who needs our help, apparently," Ben said quietly.

"She's beautiful," Luke said, completely enamored by the image.

From the cot, there came a noise which sounded like a small scoff. Luke turned to find Rain awake and staring at the hologram as if it had personally insulted her.

"Of course," Rain muttered, her voice still hoarse. "Perfect hair. Perfect dress. Probably never slapped anyone or fell on her ass in the sand. Must be nice."

"Rain, you should be resting."

"I'm fine." She tried to swing her legs off the cot and immediately regretted it. She flopped back down with a groan. "Living my best life here."

An unreadable expression formed on Ben's face for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the hologram. "The message is incomplete. But it seems clear that this young woman is in trouble."

Artoo made some urgent beeping sounds.

"He says he's the property of Princess Leia Organa," Ben translated. "And that he was on a mission when he was captured and sold."

"A princess?" Luke's eyes widened. "She's a princess?"

A louder scoff this time. "A princess? Of course she is. I bet she can trip in public and people applaud. Meanwhile I sneeze once and a Jawa laughs."

"Rain!"

"Don't 'Rain' me. I'm on my deathbed. I've earned my bitter moments!" She turned her head slightly to look at the hologram, her expression sour. "Who knew my final memory would be of farmboy having a full meltdown over Princess-Way-Out-of-His-League."

"I'm not having a..." Luke sighed, not bothering to finish his sentence as he raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Ben watched, observing the dynamic between the two of them. If he thought anything, he chose not to say it at that moment. Instead he adjusted something on Artoo, who whistled again before releasing the final segment of the message.

The image reappeared, the Princess explaining their plight. The Empire was closing in. A new superweapon neared completion. Its stolen plans rested inside the astromech now standing beside them.

If Ben Kenobi was seeing this message, her mission had failed.

The droid was to be taken to Alderaan. Contact with the Alliance was required. The plans needed delivery. Guidance from a Jedi was needed once more.

As the projection faded, Ben's expression was solemn, while Luke kept staring at the place where the hologram had been, as if he wished he could bring it back.

For a long moment, the air was heavy and silent.

"Well, that was intense." Rain broke the silence. "Looks like she gave the old hermit quite the to-do list." She started to move around restlessly. "Can we go back now, Luke? I need the refresher. Not all of us can emotionally self-soothe with dirt the way you do."

Luke shot her a look full of warnings.

"What? What did I say now?"

"Rain," Luke said carefully, "you just heard a message sent to Ben about the Empire. Your Empire."

Rain looked at him blankly. "Okay, and? I didn't send it."

"Maybe not. But you being here complicates things," Luke replied dryly.

"You brought me here!" she said indignantly. "It's not like I had a say. I was unconscious."

Ben spoke up. "Rain, you must understand why we can't simply take you home," he said gently. "Not right now."

"Well then," she sighed. "I suppose I'll just continue smelling like Tatooine. Honestly, Luke, if you and your uncle had started sweeping up the sand on this planet like I asked, this wouldn't be a problem. I haven't heard a broom move between the two of you..." She stopped mid-rant, the blood draining from her face. "Stars... your uncle!"

"What about my uncle?"

Panic flickered across Rain's face. "Luke. We have to go to your home. Right now."

"I know. I heard you the first time."

"No. Listen to me." Rain managed to push herself upright, her voice free of the usual sarcasm. "My memory must have blanked when I lost consciousness. I heard a transmission earlier."

"What are you talking about?"

Rain reached into her torn jacket and pulled out a small device. Her hand was shaking. "When I got lost, I was going to use my emergency comlink for help. It's keyed to Imperial military channels."

Luke tensed as he looked at the shiny black Imperial-issued device. "You were going to call the Imperials on us?"

Rain sighed impatiently. "For help, Luke. When I was lost in the heat! You can judge me later. What matters now is what I heard." She looked down at the device, then fearfully at him. "And, I heard them talking about moisture farmers and droids. They said they were going to eliminate any witnesses."

"Witnesses to what " Luke said. "They don't know that my uncle bought the droids."

"No, they don't," Rain said quickly. "But it doesn't matter. They will sweep every farm in the area because they know the Jawas sold the droids to someone around there." Her voice started to shake. "Luke, your homestead is in that sweep zone."

The color drained from Luke's face. "No. That's not... they wouldn't..."

"They would." Rain sounded genuinely frantic. "They will check every homestead and kill anyone associated with those droids. Including me."

Luke was already on his feet. "You? Why would they kill you? You're a Tarkin, remember?"

"I'm a Tarkin who disgraced the family name." Her hand started shaking. "Luke, I think my uncle wants me gone. I think he placed me here where it would be easier for something to happen to me. Where it wouldn't reflect badly on him. Why else send me to the ass-end of nowhere on a pointless tax assessment?"

The pieces clicked together in Luke's mind with a horrible clarity.

"I became a liability," Rain said bitterly. "If they found out his niece was mocking the Emperor, he would lose everything, including his life." Her eyes filled with tears. "My uncle who raised me wants me dead. He just didn't have the guts to look me in the face and tell me."

Ben had been listening quietly. Now he spoke, his voice grave. "Luke, you should go. Quickly. Miss Tarkin can stay here until—"

"I'm going with him," Rain said, swinging her legs off the cot. She stumbled slightly but straightened herself.

"That's not a good idea," Luke protested.

"You'll need someone who can talk their way past stormtroopers." Rain's eyes flashed. "I'm still Tarkin's niece, even if he wants me dead. Those tin-can buffoons will listen to me."

"You're supposed to be recovering."

"I'm fine. We don't have time to argue over this, farmboy. For once in your life, just accept that I'm right."

Artoo beeped urgently, and Ben nodded. "Perhaps we should all go and take the droid with us."

"They're killing people over this droid," Rain said. "I don't think parading him under their noses is the best idea."

Ben's expression grew thoughtful. "If the Empire is looking for this droid, he would be safest in motion. And I sense... there may be things I need to see for myself."

Rain tilted her head, studying him. "You don't waste words, do you?"

"Let's just go," Luke said, his voice tense.

Ben caught his arm gently as they rushed to where the speeder waited. "Whatever we find there... you must be prepared."

Luke looked at him and nodded before he jumped in and gunned the engine.

As they sped toward the homestead, Luke noticed that Rain was busy doing something in the backseat with Artoo. The droid was beeping in alarm, clearly agitated.

"What are you doing back there?" he demanded.

"Hiding the droid," she yelled over the wind. "Your uncle left some stuff back here." She was trying to pull a brown cloak over Artoo's dome. "The troopers will think he's a Jawa."

"What the...?" Luke shouted, his patience completely frayed. "My aunt and uncle could be dead, and you're busy playing dress up with a droid."

"I'm trying to keep us alive," she said, continuing her efforts on Artoo whose beeps of protest were getting louder. "Trust me, stormtroopers are aggressively stupid. They won't notice. I've met furniture with better situational awareness."

She finally got the robe on the small droid, pulling down the hood and adding a pair of googles underneath. "One last thing," she said, shoving a scavenger-like sack into his grip.

"Now you look perfect," she told Artoo. "You're welcome."

Artoo let out a deeply offended whistle.

Luke ran a hand through his hair, breathing hard. "You're being ridiculous!"

Rain froze for a moment, clearly affected by his harsh tone and choice of words. "I'm not ridiculous. I'm trying to help."

Luke stared at the horizon, clenching his jaw. "Nobody asked for your help. What happens if we get stopped?"

"Then I talk," Rain cut in. "Stormtroopers don't question Jawas, and they definitely don't question Tarkin's niece."

"HE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE A JAWA!" Luke exploded, slamming his fist against the dash."

Rain flinched. "Calm down, Luke. It's a disguise, not a miracle."

They were nearly at the homestead and all the fear and panic Luke had been choking back was finally snapping loose. "Since when do you suddenly care about helping anybody but yourself? This is my family. My home."

"I know. I didn't ask to be here."

"You were sent here because your uncle didn't want you," Luke went on, the words coming faster, crueler. "You're Imperial. You've always been Imperial. And now you've become our problem."

A long uncomfortable silence followed.

Rain's face had gone very still. Her eyes shone as she blinked back tears.

Ben turned to Luke, putting his hand on his arm. "That's enough," he said gently.

Luke bristled. "Ben..."

"She is not your enemy."

Rain looked down at her hands, wrapped tight in her lap.

Ben's voice softened as he addressed her. "Miss Tarkin, you have every reason to be afraid right now. And every reason to help. I see that."

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Ben inclined his head toward Luke. "Fear makes us unkind," he said quietly. "But cruelty will not keep your family safe."

Luke looked ahead, not saying anything.

Rain wiped at her eyes quickly, as if brushing away dust. "I'm still helping," she said, forcing her voice not to shake. "Whether you want me to or not."

Ben offered her a small, reassuring smile. "And that is no small thing."

Artoo beeped furiously beneath his deeply unconvincing Jawa disguise.

The speeder surged forward, the tension between Rain and Luke about to further escalate.

---

They had reached the homestead. Luke was the first to see the black smoke rising into the orange sky. "No," he whispered. "No, no, no..."

He barely stopped the speeder before jumping out and running toward the courtyard. He was immediately hit by the smell of things that shouldn't be burning.

"Luke, wait..." Ben called after him, but Luke was already through the entrance.

The courtyard was a disaster. Burned debris scattered across the ground. Scorch marks on the walls. And there, near the door to the homestead, two shapes that Luke's mind refused to process at first.

Aunt Beru. Uncle Owen.

They were dead. Burned beyond recognition.

He fell to his knees in the sand, unable to breathe or think. The world narrowed to those two charred corpses, the remains of the only parents he'd ever known.

Something that sounded like a sob or a gasp escaped this throat.

Behind him, he heard Rain take in a deep breath, then silence.

Ben approached slowly and quietly knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Luke couldn't look away. His aunt, who had called him in for dinner every night of his life. His uncle, who had been hard and demanding but had raised him, fed him, given him a home. Gone.

"I should have been here," Luke finally whispered, his voice breaking. "Instead of chasing after..."

"Then you would be dead too," Ben said quietly.

Luke's hands dug into the sand. "They didn't do anything. They just... they just bought droids and the Empire killed them for it."

Rain stood at the entrance to the courtyard, staring at the devastation. "Stormtroopers, did this" she said, her voice hollow.

Luke couldn't answer. His whole body was shaking.

"They would have killed me," she continued, almost to herself. She looked down at her hands. "If I'd been here... that was probably the plan. Something quick and easy. No mess to clean up." Her voice cracked. "He really wanted me dead."

"Get out," Luke said in a low and furious voice.

"Luke..."

"GET OUT!" Luke's scream echoed off the walls. "You make everything about you! Always! Your uncle, your Empire, your..." His voice broke and he couldn't finish. Tears streamed down his face as he looked back at the bodies of his aunt and uncle.

Rain's mouth opened in shock, then closed. For a long moment she just stood there, frozen.

"You're right," she finally said, a devastated look on her face. "It is my fault. I should have seen what was happening, but I was too busy being a self-centered clown." Her voice was barely a whisper, "They didn't deserve this. You didn't deserve this." Tears were running down her face. "I'll leave. You won't have to see me again."

She turned and walked out of the courtyard.

Ben watched her go, then looked back at Luke who had turned away from him, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Luke," Ben said gently. "I know you're hurting. But this isn't her fault."

"I don't care," Luke said through his tears.

"You do care," Ben said. "I've been watching the two of you. You care about her quite deeply. And she cares for you."

Luke stared at him, his eyes red and wet. "Where did you get that idea? She does nothing but insult me and hit me."

"I've been in this galaxy a few more years than you have," Ben said with the faintest hint of a smile. Then his expression grew serious. "And I saw her on that ridge, firing at the Sand People trying to save you."

Luke put his face in his hands. "I just want my aunt and uncle back," he said, his voice breaking again. He looked at Ben with desperate, pleading eyes, as if the old man might somehow make it true.

Ben's expression was full of sorrow and compassion. "I know."

Luke wiped at his face roughly and forced himself to stand. His legs felt unsteady. He turned to look at the burned wreckage that had once been his home.

"There's nothing for me here now," he said, his voice hollow.

Ben stood as well. "Come back to the cave for tonight. Let yourself grieve. Tomorrow..." He paused. "Tomorrow, if you want to, come with me to Alderaan. Help me deliver R2-D2 and his message to Princess Leia. Learn about the Force." He hesitated. "Learn about your father."

Luke looked at him sharply. "My father?"

"He was a Jedi Knight. Like me. Before..." Ben paused. "Before the dark times. Before the Empire."

Luke stared at him, trying to process this on top of everything else.

"We should go," Ben said gently. "Before the stormtroopers return."

Luke nodded numbly. He started walking toward the speeder, then stopped. "Rain. Where did she go?"

"She walked off into the desert," Ben said, pointing to a small figure in the distance. "She's heading away from everything."

Luke closed his eyes. Even now, after everything, he couldn't just let her wander off and perish. "I'll get her."

"I'll wait with our disguised friend," Ben said, the slightest hint of amusement in his voice as he glanced at Artoo.

Luke started jogging across the sand. "Rain!" he called out. "Rain, wait!"

She stopped and turned. Her face was streaked with tears and sand.

He caught up with her, breathing hard. "Where are you going?"

"Leaving like you asked me to," she said in a small, meek voice he'd never heard from her before. "I know that nobody wants me around."

"You can't just walk off into the desert."

"What do you want me to do, Luke? Bury myself in the sand?"

"No," he said fidgeting uncomfortably. "Listen I shouldn't have yelled at you like that..."

"I deserved it," she said wiping at her cheek. " For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about your aunt and uncle."

"I know you are," Luke said quietly. "Come on. We need to get out of here before the stormtroopers return. You need to rest. Come back to Ben's cave for the night."

"You want me to go back? Why?" She looked at him with red, swollen eyes. "You hate me."

"Rain, I don't hate you. It's just... sometimes you're not very nice. Nearly all of the time you're not very nice."

"Then why do you want me to come with you?"

"Because I don't want to see anything happen to you." The words came out more honest than he'd intended. "And you saved me earlier from the Sand People."

"I just fired at them. Hardly heroic."

"It was something," Luke said. "Come on, let's go. Ben's waiting."

They walked back to the speeder in silence. Luke helped her climb into the back seat. As he started the engine, he didn't look back at the homestead. He wasn't ready.

As they pulled away, Rain's voice was small but clear. "Let's make them pay."

Luke turned his head for a moment. "What?"

"They killed your family. They tried to kill me." She wiped at her face roughly. "You want to hurt the Empire? I'll help you. I know how they work."

"Why would you help us?" Luke's sounded exhausted. "You're one of them."

"I was one of them," Rain corrected. "Not anymore. They made that clear." She looked back in the direction of the homestead, her face twisting with guilt. "I can't bring them back. But, I can help you fight."

“You don’t know how to fight,” Luke said. “Unless slapping counts. In which case, you’re terrifying.”

"I'll learn." Rain lifted her chin. "Hate me if you want. But I'm a good resource. Don't let me go to waste because you're proud."

Ben had been quiet this whole exchange. Now he spoke, his voice thoughtful. "The path you're choosing is dangerous, Miss Tarkin. Once you step away from the Empire, there's no going back."

"What do I have to go back to?" Rain asked fiercely. "My murdering uncle?" Her voice softened. "I'm just as alone as Luke now."

Luke wanted to refuse. He wanted to send her away and never see her again. But, he knew he didn't have the heart. "If you come with us," he said slowly, "you do what Ben says. No arguments. No attitude. Can you manage that?"

Rain gave him a bitter but genuine smile. "Probably not. But I'll try."

Luke nodded and looked over at Ben.

"I'll come with you deliver the message to Alderaan." He paused, "And then I want to learn about my father."

"Then we go together," Ben said simply.

Artoo chirped impatiently from beneath his Jawa disguise.

"Right," Rain muttered from the back seat. "Let's attend to the princess first. Wouldn't dream of keeping her waiting."

Luke almost called her out for already breaking her promise, but he was too tired. He just drove, the speeder cutting across the sand.

Behind them, smoke still rose from the homestead. Ahead of them, everything felt strange and uncertain.

 

Chapter 7: Passage to Mos Eisley

The cave was quiet, save for the occasional beep from Artoo and the low moan of the wind scraping past the rocks outside. Luke sat on the floor with his back against the cool stone wall, staring at nothing in particular.

Ben had insisted Rain take the cot again. She was out cold in seconds, exhausted from heat, grief, and everything else the day had decided to throw at them.

Luke couldn't get the image of his aunt and uncle out of his mind. He'd spent most of the night either in tears or talking quietly with Ben.

"You should rest," Ben said quietly from across the cave.

Luke didn't look at him. "I can't. I'm too angry. Or maybe I'm sad. I don't know which anymore."

Ben nodded, understanding. "Your uncle wanted to keep you far away from all of this."

Luke's hands curled into fists. "Fat lot of good that did."

"He was trying to protect you," Ben said gently. "In his way."

"Well, he failed." The words came out bitter and Luke immediately felt guilty for saying them. He wiped at his eyes furiously, tired of crying. "What was my father like?"

Ben looked guarded. "Your father was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a good friend." He paused. "He was also reckless, passionate, and absolutely certain he was right about everything."

"How did he die?"

"That's a story for another time," Ben said carefully. "When you're ready to hear it."

"I'm ready now."

"No," Ben shook his head. "You're not. But you will be."

From the cot, she moved. Both of them glanced over.

"What are we going to do with her?" Luke asked.

Ben turned the question back on him. "What do you want to do with her?"

"I don't know." Luke ran a hand through his hair. "She's rude. And hits you without warning."

"That may be true," Ben said mildly. "But she also risked her life to warn you. And she offered to help you fight."

Luke sighed. "She drives me insane."

"Yes," Ben said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I noticed."

He stood and moved deeper into the cave to prepare some tea.

"I trust you gentlemen have excellent reason for disturbing my beauty sleep?"

Luke felt a hand settle on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't heard Rain get off the cot.

"You're awake?" he blurted out, as she lowered herself onto the floor beside him. She was suddenly much closer than he was comfortable with.

"What gave it away?" she asked mildly. "The part where I'm not in bed with my eyes closed, or the part where I'm actively participating in this conversation?"

"The sarcasm," he said. "It's usually your first sign of life."

Rain gave him an odd smile. "Ah yes, the legendary desert charm. Carefully cultivated from years of sand, disappointment, and constant reminders that this is as good as it gets."

She moved closer to him, studying his expression. "It's all right, farmboy. I can understand why you're cranky. Don't worry. Help has arrived."

She held out her hand. "Take it."

"What?" he asked warily.

"My hand," she clarified. "Take it. I don't bite."

He had a comeback ready for that one, but after a moment he swallowed it and took her hand.

"Relax, I'm not coming on to you," she added softly. "I'm going to help you. I'm a professionally certified grief intervention specialist."

Luke's blue eyes widened in disbelief. "You are not," he said accusingly. "You can't be. That would require some kind of…" he broke off.

"Imperial childhood," she said. "Very emotionally repressive. Very thorough."

"I really don't need—"

"Hush," Rain said, squeezing his hand just enough to stop him. "Let me help."

Luke let out a defeated breath. "Okay. Fine. Go for it."

"You're welcome," she replied. "Now tell me a memory about your family."

He swallowed. "My aunt used to hum when she cooked. Always the same tune. I don't even think she realized she was doing it."

She nodded, patting the back of his hand. "That's… nice. Predictably wholesome, but nice."

Luke suspected there was an insult in there somewhere, but he didn't care. For the first time all night, the pain in his chest had subsided and he was grateful for the distraction, regardless of its form.

"I'd like to hear one of yours," he said, almost shyly.

Rain shrugged. "My mother used to hum the Imperial March while she beat the housekeeper with a paddle." She paused thoughtfully. "You could hear it if you listened carefully between the screams."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he said nothing.

"Those were the days," she continued. "I miss her so much."

"…How old were you when she died?"

"My housekeeper's still alive," she said flatly.

Silence.

"Oh," Luke finally spoke again. "I… I thought you meant..."

"My mother?" Rain smiled thinly. "You're too adorable."

"Then your mother…" he said, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"Was a monster," she said calmly. "Made my uncle look like a pushover."

He didn't think it was possible to be more uncomfortable, but she proved him wrong.

Rain noticed his face. "Relax. She lived a very long life." She paused, thoughtfully. "Far too long, if you ask me." She dropped his hand. "That concludes my intervention. I take it you feel well enough now, to function as required?"

Luke was still processing that one when Ben returned with his tea. "Miss Tarkin," Ben said politely. "You're awake."

"Yes, well, Luke already noticed. I assume there's a badge for that."

"I find the badge matters less than what one does with the knowledge," Ben replied evenly, leaving her with a confused look on her face. "I was wondering how familiar you are with Imperial operations. Protocols. Procedures."

Rain looked up at Ben, her natural wariness present. "I picked up a few things at some painfully boring functions on Coruscant. Why?"

"Because if we're going to Mos Eisley to find passage to Alderaan, we'll need to avoid Imperial entanglements. Your knowledge could prove invaluable."

"Mos Eisley?" She stared between them. "You're actually going through with this? Delivering this droid to Princess Demanding."

"We are."

"And you're bringing me?"

"You expressed opposition to the Empire," Ben said mildly. "Unless you'd prefer to remain here alone."

Rain glanced around the cave, then back at them. "In this sand-infested nightmare? No thank you."

"Then we should rest while we can," Ben said, getting up. "We'll leave at first light."

Luke nodded and moved back to his spot against the wall. She hesitated, then sat down on the floor near him.

They were silent for a while. Across the cave, Ben had closed his eyes and seemed to be meditating or sleeping.

"Luke?" Rain said quietly.

"What?"

"Thank you. For coming after me in the desert, today. I know you didn't have to."

"You're welcome."

"Don't get sentimental," she warned. "I haven't gone soft."

"I believe you."

There was more silence.

"Rain?" Luke said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"If you try to slap me again, I'm going to dodge."

She snorted. "I'll just aim better."

"You could also just stop hitting people."

"Why would I do that?"

Luke shook his head, a slight grin on his face. "Get some rest," he said. "Both of us should. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall next to him. Within minutes, her breathing had evened out into sleep.

Luke looked at her, then at Ben meditating peacefully, then at Artoo, finally powered down. A week ago, he'd been fixing vaporators. Now he was hiding in a cave with two odd traveling companions, carrying stolen plans to a princess on Alderaan.

For the first time since the fire, he dreamed not of smoke and death, but of hope, stars, and whatever else was to come.

---

The next morning, Rain woke to the sound of clinking and clanging. She groaned as she pushed herself upright, her back protesting after a night spent against a stone wall. "What is that noise?" she demanded. "Are you trying to disassemble the cave?"

"Fixing Threepio," Luke said without looking up. He was crouched on the floor, a mess of golden limbs scattered around him. "We found him in pieces in a trash bag back at the homestead."

"For a reason!" her voice jumped an octave. "Why in the stars would you resurrect that gold plated migraine?"

"Because he might be useful," Luke replied calmly, squatting to attach a wire to a detached leg. "And we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Well," she said. "We might as well consider the war won, then. We can annoy the Empire to death in six million languages."

Luke finally glanced up at her. She caught the corner of a shy smile before he looked back down.

"Lucky for us, one of those languages is binary. Artoo needs a translator."

"Artoo is just fine with his bleeps and bloops."

"Come on now," Luke said, returning to his work. "Threepio's not so bad once you get used to him."

Rain wandered closer, peering down at the pile of golden parts. "Can you at least position his off button to somewhere easily accessible?"

"You'd shut him off every time he tried to speak," Luke said, grinning as he secured another wire.

"Of course I would," she replied. "I value my sanity."

Rain got lost in her thoughts for a moment as Luke finished reassembling Threepio. There was something fascinating about watching the way his hands worked. Not that she would ever tell him that.

"There," he said at last, standing and brushing sand from his knees. "That should do it."

He pressed a button, and Threepio's eyes flickered to life.

"Oh! Oh my! Where am I? Master Luke, is that you?"

"It's me, Threepio. You're safe."

"Safe?" Threepio gasped. "The last thing I remember is those dreadful Jawas and then, oh dear, I appear to have suffered a rather unpleasant dismantling."

"You're all fixed now," Luke assured him.

"How absolutely dreadful," Threepio moaned. "Utterly dreadful."

"Wonderful," Rain rose to her feet. "He's even worse than before."

Ben emerged from deeper in the cave, already dressed and ready to travel. "Good. You're all awake. We should move out within the hour. The suns will be high soon."

"I'll get the speeder ready," Luke said, heading toward the entrance.

She moved to follow him, but Ben's voice stopped her.

"Miss Tarkin. A moment?"

Rain turned slowly. "Yes?"

Ben studied her with his unsettling eyes. "I want you to understand something. Luke has been through a tremendous loss. He's vulnerable right now, whether he shows it or not."

"I'm aware," she said carefully.

"Are you?" Ben stepped closer. "Because I've noticed the way you look at him when you think no one's watching. And the way he looks at you."

Heat crept into her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about." Of course she hadn't noticed his sandy, sun streaked hair, his electric blue eyes, or the fact that he was infuriatingly, unfairly attractive.

"Don't you?" Ben's expression remained unreadable. "I'm not warning you off, Miss Tarkin. I'm simply asking you to be mindful. Luke is important. More than you know."

"He's a farm boy from the middle of nowhere," she said, her defensiveness rising. "How important can he be?"

"Is that what you truly believe?"

Rain opened her mouth, then closed it. No, it wasn't. She'd seen the way he'd caught her hand when she nearly fell from the cliff, the way he'd come after her when she left, the quiet strength and innate goodness she mocked because she had no idea how to respond to it.

There was something about Luke Skywalker, something magnetic and rare.

"We're just friends," she said finally. "Barely even that. And that's all it will ever be."

"I think that's what you intend," Ben said softly. "But intention and outcome are not always the same."

Before she could respond, Luke called from outside. "We're ready when you are!"

Ben gestured toward the entrance. "After you."

Rain avoided Ben's gaze and quickly stepped out into the morning sun, squinting against the brightness. Luke had the landspeeder loaded and ready, Artoo in his cloak already secured in the back.

"Ready to go?" Luke asked.

"As I'll ever be," she said, her tone still reflecting discomfort from the conversation with Ben as she climbed in.

The journey to Mos Eisley took most of the morning.

Rain found herself wedged between Luke and Ben in the front seat, which meant her shoulder kept bumping into Luke's as they navigated the rough terrain. Each accidental touch sent an irritating little jolt through her, which she absolutely refused to acknowledge.

"What is Mos Eisley like?" she asked finally, needing the distraction.

"It's a wretched hive of scum and villainy," Ben said matter of factly.

"Rough. Dangerous. Full of smugglers, bounty hunters, criminals," Luke added.

"You call them criminals," she replied with an odd smirk. "I call them eligible bachelors with income." She shrugged. "Perhaps I'll find a husband."

Luke shot her a look, not entirely sure she was joking.

"So judgmental," she said, returning his expression. "It's not like I can afford to be picky anymore. I've been cut off by my uncle, shunned from Coruscant society, and left to fend for myself."

Rain stared out at the desert. "I need a plan to survive."

"And that's a terrible one," Luke interjected. "There are other things you can do."

She glanced at him, surprised, but for once she didn't say anything. They fell into silence again as the speeder continued across the dunes. The horizon passed with no sign of civilization in the endless wasteland.

Finally, in the distance, a sprawling, dusty collection of domed buildings and towers appeared that made up Mos Eisley.

"Well, it's true," she muttered. "Disappointment does have an address."

As they approached the outskirts, Ben slowed the speeder. "We'll need to be careful here. The Empire has increased its presence since the plans were stolen."

They passed through the main checkpoint without issue. Ben seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to avoid attention. She was surprised when a pair of stormtroopers waved them through without a second glance.

"You can thank me for Artoo's disguise later," Rain whispered.

"You were correct, Miss Tarkin," Ben replied with a half smile.

The streets of Mos Eisley were crowded with beings from a dozen different species. She had seen aliens before at Imperial functions, but this was wilder and more chaotic.

Ben parked the speeder in a relatively quiet alley. "We'll need to find a pilot. Someone with a fast ship and a willingness to avoid Imperial entanglements."

"Someone with rugged good looks and a leather jacket?" Rain questioned. "Trust me, I'm looking."

Luke shot her a look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What it sounds like, farmboy."

Ben pointed down the street. "The cantina. That's where they all gather."

As they walked toward the cantina, Rain became aware of the stares they were attracting. Or rather, that she was attracting. She'd managed to clean herself up somewhat, and the combination of her striking good looks and Imperial bearing had drawn many eyes toward her.

"Stop walking like you own the place," Luke whispered.

"I can't help it," she hissed back. "It's called posture."

"It's called asking for trouble."

"Let them try."

Luke grabbed her arm, pulling her closer. "Just... stay near me, okay?"

Rain was about to make a cutting comment when she caught the genuine concern in his eyes. She nodded, trying to ignore her rapid heartbeat as she felt Luke's hand slip into hers. "Okay."

This ridiculous attraction she had to farmboy had to stop now. Before everything went sideways and one of them got hurt.

She had no idea just how correct she would be.

And by that time there would be no walking away unscarred.

Chapter 8: The Kindest Thing

Contains actual lines borrowed from Star Wars for the purpose of fan fiction fun only. Never for profit.

The sound of alien instruments grooving to an upbeat but unfamiliar melody rang out as the group reached the cantina entrance.

"Threepio, you wait outside with the speeder," Ben instructed.

"Oh, thank goodness," the droid replied. "I'm not fond of such establishments."

"You too, Artoo," Luke added.

The little droid, still wrapped in the brown cloak, beeped indignantly.

"I know, I know. Just hang in there. We'll take it off you soon."

Ben pushed open the cantina door. Inside, the air was dark and musky, thick with the scent of spice and sour whiskey. A wide variety of species filled the room, humans included. Creatures with oversized heads and glossy black eyes lingered along one wall, while others bore scales, tentacles, or fur in a riot of colors. They ranged widely in size and ferocity, their voices blending together in a dozen different languages.

Yet despite their diversity, they all shared one thing in common.

Every hostile, suspicious gaze in the cantina turned toward the three strangers who had just stepped into their haven.

The music stuttered to a stop, leaving the room eerily quiet.

"They must be having a theme night," Rain's voice echoed loudly through the bar as she looked around. "I'm surprised they can afford such elaborate costumes."

"Lower your voice," Luke hissed, his hand tightening on hers as he guided her forward.

They made their way to the bar, Ben leading, where a human bartender who seemed to have a permanent scowl engraved on his face looked up.

"We need passage to Alderaan," Ben said quietly.

The bartender jerked his head toward a back booth. "Try the Corellian. Booth in the back. Name's Solo."

"Thank you," Ben said, sliding a credit across the bar.

As they started toward the back, two rough-looking aliens blocked their path. One of them shoved Luke's shoulder, pushing him back.

"I don't like you," the alien growled.

Luke moved his body in front of her. "Sorry."

"I don't like you either," the alien's grotesque companion added.

Rain's temper flared, and she stepped back from behind him. "The only person who gets to not like him around here is me. Now move."

The first alien turned to her, his small eyes narrowing. "You got a mouth on you, girl."

"And you've got a face that looks like the backside of an underfed Wampa," she shot back. "Yet here we are."

"I'm wanted in twelve systems," the alien snapped.

"Just twelve?" she moved forward, tapping at her chest in a threatening manner. "Try every system."

Luke pulled her back. "Rain…"

"Well, it's true. My uncle is probably looking all over the galaxy for me by now."

"Listen, we'll be careful," Luke turned to the alien, trying to de-escalate the situation.

"You'll be dead," the alien spat at them. He started to lunge forward, only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of Ben.

"This little one's not worth it," he said calmly. "Come, let me buy you a drink."

The alien didn't heed the subtle warning. The fight was over almost before it began. Ben moved with stealth precision, his lightsaber flashing once, severing the alien's arm, which hit the floor with a thump. Severed and twitching.

"He should have taken the drink," she said, staring at the arm. "While he still could."

Ben guided them to the back booth, where they found a relaxed-looking man sprawled out with his feet on the table. He was handsome in a scruffy, unshaven kind of way, with wavy dark hair and an easygoing demeanor. Sitting next to him was a massive Wookiee, who let out a low growl as they approached.

"Han Solo?" Ben asked.

The man looked up, his eyes quickly assessing all three of them before lingering on Rain. He swung his feet off the table and gestured for them to sit down, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Well, well. You definitely don't look like my usual clientele." His gaze remained fixed on her. "Not complaining, though."

"Most people don't," she replied stiffly. "You'll get over it."

"Confident," Han replied, leaning across the table to take a closer look at her. "I like that in a woman. Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. And you are?"

"Bored, Mr. Solo," she said flatly. She started to braid her long brown, blond-tipped hair, avoiding his direct eye contact.

Luke shifted uncomfortably beside her, his jaw tight. "We're here about passage to Alderaan. We just need a ship, nothing else."

Han finally looked at Luke. "Easy there, kid. Just being friendly." The Wookiee rumbled, something that might have been laughter. "That's Chewbacca. Don't mind him. He thinks everything's funny."

"Can you help us or not?" Luke asked impatiently.

Han leaned back. "Alderaan's not exactly a quick trip. Gonna cost you." His eyes slid back to her. "Though maybe we could work out some kind of arrangement."

"What kind of arrangement?" Ben asked.

"The usual kind," Han shrugged. "Ten thousand. All in advance."

"Ten thousand?" Luke sputtered. "We could almost buy our own ship for that."

"But who's gonna fly it, kid? You?"

"You bet I could. I'm not such a bad pilot myself."

"Luke," Ben said quietly.

Rain had stopped braiding her hair and was watching Han with a knowing look. "I imagine you think you're the best pilot since the invention of ships. Wasn't that your next selling point, Mr. Solo?"

Han grinned. "Sweetheart, I don't need to sell the truth. Got the fastest ship in the galaxy. Made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

"That must have been difficult," she said dryly, "with parsecs measuring distance, not time."

Han's grin faltered for half a second before returning wider. "Smart and beautiful."

"Beyond your limited imagination."

"Imagination is just the beginning," Han said with a smirk, leaning forward. "The flight takes a few days. Plenty of time to get to know each other."

Luke's hand curled into a fist. "Can we just discuss the price?" he asked, his voice starting to rise.

"Sure," Han said evenly, though his attention stayed on her. "I'll make it nine thousand. But on one condition."

"Of course there is," Rain muttered, returning to her braid.

"One dinner. On the ship."

"Absolutely not," Luke said firmly.

"I meant the lady," Han said, his eyes never leaving her face. "What do you say, gorgeous? One dinner? I promise I'm better company than farm boy here."

"His name is Luke," Rain said coolly. "And his company is perfectly adequate once you adjust to it."

"And yours is…?"

Rain gave up on her hair, now amused by the look on Luke's face. "Rain," she said finally. "And fine. One dinner. But if you try anything, you'll learn that I don't play nice."

Han's smile was triumphant. "Looking forward to it already."

Luke made a sound like he'd been punched. "Rain, you can't be serious…" He stood up, moving from the table, and she followed him.

"It's just dinner," she said, refusing to properly look at him. "And we're saving a thousand credits."

"I don't care about the credits!"

"You probably should," she snapped, finally facing him. "Because we don't even have the nine thousand. And we need to get to Alderaan. Or did you forget about your precious princess?"

Luke's face flushed red. "That's not… you know that's not what this is about."

"Then what is it about?" she challenged, taking a step closer to him.

"You know what it's about," he said, his voice dropping lower.

"I'm afraid I don't."

Luke stared at her, his blue eyes searching her dark ones intensely. "Rain, please don't…"

"Hate to interrupt whatever this is," Han appeared in front of them, his voice cutting through the moment, "but do we have a deal or not?"

Rain turned to him, her mask of cold indifference snapping into place. "We have a deal. Nine thousand credits for passage to Alderaan… and one dinner. That's it."

"Deal," Han said, extending his hand to her.

She shook it firmly, forcing herself to ignore Luke, who had turned away, his shoulders stiff with tension.

"We'll meet you at docking bay ninety-four in one hour," Ben added. "We'll pay you two thousand then and the rest when we arrive."

Han considered for a moment. "You got yourselves a ship."

"Make it two hours," he added, turning to Rain. "Got some business to finish first. And I'll need time to make dinner reservations." He gave her a sly wink.

"There are no restaurants on a ship."

"Then I guess I'll have to get creative."

Rain rolled her eyes and turned to leave, brushing past Luke, who was still standing frozen, staring at nothing.

"Come on," she said, stepping back. She found herself taking his hand again. "There's no time to sulk. We have things to do."

Luke sighed, looking down at their joined hands before conceding and moving with her. They pushed their way through the crowd and out into the harsh sunlight.

Threepio was waiting by the speeder, waving frantically.

"Oh, Master Luke! Thank goodness you're all right! There have been several stormtroopers asking questions..."

"Shhhh," Rain cut him off. "No more talking. From now on, you write everything down for us."

"But, Miss Tarkin… how do I? I must—"

She pressed a finger to her lips, then made a clear writing gesture in the air.

"We need to leave," Ben said urgently. "Now."

They piled into the speeder, riding through the streets, careful not to draw attention as they fled the city.

---

The city was a distant glow behind them by the time they cut the engine beneath a rocky outcropping. Ben removed the brown Jawa cloak from Artoo, the disguise no longer necessary. Safe, for the moment, they agreed to sell the speeder to raise the deposit.

It wasn't long into the discussion before Luke started to raise his objections again. "I can't believe you agreed to that."

"Saving us a thousand credits or getting Solo to agree to take a deposit?"

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Then say what you mean, Luke," Rain said, her frustration rising. "Stop dancing with it."

Luke struggled for words. "He was clearly just trying to…"

"To what? Flirt with me?" she snorted. "I've dealt with men far more dangerous than Han Solo. I think I can handle one dinner with a cocky smuggler."

"That's not the point!"

"Then what IS the point?" Rain demanded, folding her arms over her tunic.

They were standing beside the speeder now, Ben having diplomatically moved away to check on the droids. Luke was staring at her with frustration and hurt. "The point is..." he started, then stopped, running a hand through his hair. "The point is that you're... and he's... and I..."

"Very articulate," she said, but her voice had lost some of its edge.

Luke looked at her, and she felt something change in the air between them. He took a step closer, and suddenly they were standing in each other's space, close enough that she had to tilt her head back slightly to maintain eye contact.

"Rain," Luke said quietly, "I..."

"Yes?" her voice came out barely above a whisper.

His eyes dropped to her lips, then back up to her eyes. "I don't want you to have dinner with him."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Luke swallowed hard. "Because I want..."

He leaned in slightly, and she found herself frozen, unable to move. Her heart was hammering against her ribs so hard it almost hurt. Luke's face was inches from hers now. Her eyes started to close. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. Another second and…

Reality crashed back in like a bucket of cold water.

What was she doing? This was Luke Skywalker, the naive farmboy. He was too good and vulnerable and... innocent. Ben was right. She would tear him to pieces and spit him out without thinking.

Her eyes flew open and she stepped back abruptly, her voice coming out sharper than she intended. "Don't."

Luke froze, confusion and hurt flooding his face. "Rain…"

"Whatever you think this is…stop," she said firmly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you're clearly suffering from some kind of desert-induced delusion if you think that…" She stopped, shaking her head. "Look, you're sweet. Adorable in that wholesome, painfully earnest way that would probably be endearing to someone who isn't me. But I am me and I don't do this."

"What exactly do you think was about to happen?" Luke asked, his voice rising.

"Nothing was about to happen," she said firmly. "Because nothing is going to happen. You're not my type, farmboy. Too... good. Too decent. I prefer my men with a bit more edge. Like Solo."

Luke's face went pale, then flushed red. "You're lying."

"Am I?" she raised an eyebrow, forcing herself to maintain eye contact even though it was painful. "He's attractive, confident, has his own ship. What's not to like?"

"You're impossible," Luke said, his voice rough with barely contained emotion. "You know that? One minute you're…and then the next you're…I don't even know why I…"

"Are you really still hung up on that kiss? That's sad, farmboy. I barely even remember it."

Silence fell, and his face crumpled under the weight of her cruel words, so much so she almost winced. Maybe she had gone too far, but she needed to go far enough for it to hurt.

"Now pull yourself together," she said, her voice slightly gentler. "We need to sell this speeder."

Luke responded with such a look that she looked away. He turned his back to her, his shoulders tense and head down.

She watched him for a moment and felt queasy. This was for the best, she told herself. Better to hurt him now than destroy him later.

"We need to go, Luke," she said quietly. "It's nearly time to meet Solo at the docking bay."

He didn't respond or turn around. He just stood there, staring out at the endless sand. She waited for a moment, then walked back to the speeder where Ben was standing with the droids, pretending he hadn't witnessed the entire exchange.

"Ready?" Ben asked her, his voice carefully neutral.

"Yes," she said.

Ben studied her face for a long moment, and she had the uncomfortable feeling he could see right through her carefully constructed armor.

"You didn't have to do that," he said softly.

"I did what was kindest," she said, her tone flat. "He'll get over it."

Rain climbed into the speeder and stared straight ahead, refusing to look back at Luke's silhouette against the horizon. They had a ship to catch. That was all that mattered.

The fact that her chest felt tight and her eyes were stinging was completely irrelevant. Completely.

Chapter 9: Docking Bay 94

Luke climbed into the speeder without looking at Rain. Neither of them spoke as they headed toward Mos Eisley, Ben seated between them like a silent referee. His calm presence only made the tension worse.

"Master Luke," Threepio ventured nervously, "might I inquire as to why..."

"Not now, Threepio," Luke said, his voice tight.

The droid fell silent, visibly wounded. Artoo interjected with low, mournful beeps.

Rain moved uncomfortably in her seat, drawing Luke's attention from the rearview mirror. Their eyes met for a split second before they both turned away.

The speeder slowed as they approached a small settlement on the outskirts of Mos Eisley. A junk dealer's sign hung crookedly over a beat-up fence.

"This should do," Ben said quietly. "We can sell the speeder here and make our way to the docking bay on foot."

Luke cut the engine and jumped out. Rain trailed behind them as far as the entrance, then stopped.

"I'll stay here and watch the droids," she called as they continued ahead.

No one answered. No one even turned around.

"You're welcome!" Frustrated, she slumped down on the lower part of the fence, mindlessly tossing rocks in the sand.

"Miss Tarkin," Threepio said carefully, shuffling closer, "if I may be so bold… are you and Master Luke experiencing a… disagreement?"

Rain looked up, annoyed. "Where is the datapad I gave you?" she asked coolly. "We had an agreement. You write your questions down. All of them. You hand them over at the end of the day."

She picked up another rock. "And perhaps if you're well behaved, we'll answer one."

"But I'm a protocol droid," Threepio protested. "This is highly irregular. I must be allowed to talk. It's part of my function."

"Those are the rules, Threepio. They're not negotiable."

"Can I just..."

"How lovely, you're still talking," she said sweetly, clutching the rock tighter. She stood up, moving around him. His receptors flashed nervously.

"What is that you're carrying on your back, droid?"

"Miss Tarkin?"

Rain leaned behind him, tilting her head. "Oh! That's not good."

"What is it?" he asked, panicked.

"Looks like a desert bug," she said calmly. "And it's enormous."

"Oh my. Desert bugs interfere with my circuits. I may begin stuttering. Or worse..."

Rain sighed loudly. "Come here. I'll remove it."

"Oh, thank you. You're always so gracious and kind."

"I know."

She had already moved behind him, her eyes scanning rapidly for anything resembling a switch. There was nothing. She tugged open a panel, revealing a nest of wires.

"Useless," she muttered, pulling a handful out of the way.

"…Miss Tarkin?"

"It must have crawled inside," she said, prying at a second panel. It wouldn't budge. She smacked it in frustration.

"Oh dear," Threepio said as he suddenly jolted forward.

"Hold still."

"But Miss Tarkin..."

"Threepio! Please! I need to concentrate," she snapped. "Unless you want it laying eggs in your central processor!"

It had been some time since they had left, and by now Rain only wanted him back in one piece. Sweat beaded along her hairline as she tried to force the tangled mass of wires back through the open panel. They refused to cooperate.

She swore under her breath when the panel would not hold. The moment she let go, the wiring defiantly spilled out again.

"Miss Tarkin," Threepio said carefully, "I am beginning to feel quite anxious."

"That makes two of us."

"What do you think you're doing?"

Luke was standing there watching them with suspicion.

Rain jumped back, guilt written all over her face. "Helping," she said weakly.

Artoo made a disapproving whistle.

"You're trying to deactivate him," Luke said sharply. "Step away. Now."

"Really Luke, there is no need to get excited," she said brushing the sand off her tunic. "I'm the only one who has been making a consistent effort here to quieten him down. A situation from which we all benefit. I'm not expecting a thank you, but... "

"Rain, stop," Luke said, his tone warning.

He moved behind Threepio to repair him, his hands shaking as he worked. When a wire slipped from his fingers, he threw his pocket wrench on the ground in anger. "I really want to trust you, Rain," He looked up at her, his blue eyes burning. "I keep telling myself there's a reason you do these things. That maybe you're just used to solving problems a different way." He cast his glance back at the sand. "But I need to see some kind of change from you. Something that tells me I'm not an idiot for believing in you."

"I have changed, Luke... Surely you've noticed."

"But you still act like you're with the Empire," he said, gesturing at Threepio. "This is what they do. Destroy anything the moment it stops being useful. I thought you were better than that."

"I am," she said, the corners of her mouth dropping.

"Then start acting like it." He shook his head. "Or we're going to fall apart."

Moments later, Ben emerged from the junk dealer's establishment, having finished the transaction. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the scene before him: Luke's face red with anger, Threepio standing helplessly with wires sticking out, and Rain looking sheepish with her arms folded.

"We should move," he finally said, his tone even. "The docking bay is a twenty-minute walk from here."

---

They set off, winding through the back alleys of Mos Eisley. Ben led the way, followed by the droids, with Threepio whispering complaints about a desert bug crawling into his joints. Luke fell several paces behind, and Rain brought up the rear.

They passed through a narrow market street, the air thick with the scent of cooking meat and exotic spices. A group of Jawas scattered at their approach, chattering nervously.

Ben stopped at a vendor selling various technical equipment. "We should stock up on a few supplies before we leave. Luke, help me assess what might be useful."

Luke nodded and moved to join Ben at the stall, leaving Rain standing with the droids. He gave her a warning look. "Don't try anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said indignantly, flipping her hair back as she positioned herself near a narrow alcove between two buildings. "I'll just stand right here and try not to destroy the galaxy by existing."

Threepio shuffled closer to her. "Miss Tarkin, might I suggest..."

"Oh no," she said holding her hand up to stop him. "Both of you stay over there before I get accused of trying to dismantle Artoo."

After Threepio had moved away, Rain grabbed the small comm device from inside her pocket. Her fingers hovered over it, hesitating.

Then she activated it.

"Rain." Her uncle's cold, furious voice cut through the comm. "You have twenty-four hours to return to the Empire voluntarily. If you do, I will be lenient. You will face discipline, of course, but you will live. You will no longer be a mere tax collector. If you prove your loyalty, you could serve directly under me on a project of considerable importance, a station unlike any other in the Empire. Fail, and you will regret ever doubting me."

Threepio, standing nearby and trying very hard not to eavesdrop, overheard Rain's whispers.

"Uncle, please…"

The droid's optical sensors widened. She was talking to Grand Moff Tarkin.

Tarkin continued, "If you persist in this foolish rebellion, if you choose terrorists over your family, over the Empire, you will be declared an enemy of the state. Your name and image will be distributed to every bounty hunter in the galaxy. There will be no sanctuary. No mercy."

"I know."

"Think carefully, Rain. Your father would be ashamed of what you have become. Everything we have built, everything we have sacrificed for order and peace in this galaxy - you would throw it all away for what? A rebellion that will be crushed? A farmboy who can offer you nothing? Think of all the years I spent raising you, putting you in the top schools, making sure you had only the finest of everything. Do you have any idea where you would be if I had not intervened after your mother's death?"

Rain's shoulders slumped slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Twenty-four hours, Rain. After that, the offer expires and you're simply another target."

"I have to go."

Rain quickly turned off the comm. She stood there for a moment, staring at the device in her hand. Then she threw it on the ground and crushed it with her boot until it was in fragments.

Threepio, behind a low wall of crates, stumbled backward in his excitement and sent the entire stack crashing down. They narrowly missed a group of rough-looking aliens who were crouched on the other side, counting a pile of stolen credits.

Shouts erupted. Blasters were grabbed. The gang immediately disbanded and started scattering in all directions.The leader rounded on Threepio, jabbing a clawed finger inches from the droid's face.

"You clumsy pile of scrap metal!" he yelled. "You just exposed us to the whole damn town!"

"Oh my goodness!" Threepio gasped. "Are you alright, Sir? I'm terribly sorry…"

The criminal leader glared at him for a moment, then his face started to crumple in resignation."This is why I hate this planet," he grumbled, before angrily stalking off.

The droid paused for a moment, before making a mad dash toward Ben and Luke at the vendor stall.

"Master Luke! Master Ben!" he called out, his voice pitched high with urgency.

Luke looked up from examining a power cell, frowning. "Threepio, what..."

"It's Miss Tarkin!" Threepio interrupted, waving frantically. "She's been in communication with Grand Moff Tarkin! I just overheard her speaking with him!"

Luke's face went white then red. "She wouldn't," he said, shaking his head, but his voice lacked conviction. "Would she?"

Ben's expression didn't change, but his eyes grew sharper. "Explain, Threepio. Quickly."

"I heard her in the alcove! She was speaking with the Grand Moff. He offered her clemency if she returns within twenty-four hours! He said that he would be lenient! And she apologized to him, and it sounded very much like she was considering it."

Luke's jaw clenched. The words hit him like a physical blow. "She's been planning to betray us this whole time."

"We don't know that," Ben said quietly, but there was worry in his voice. "Where is she now?"

"She's still there, I believe."

Luke was already marching over there, his emotions a jumbled mess of anger and hurt.

Ben followed more slowly, his hand resting on his lightsaber.

Rain stepped out of the alcove just as Luke reached it, the crushed remains of her comm device scattered behind her. "I was nowhere near those crates," she began, defensively. "That was all Threepio knocking them over..." She stopped, seeing the expression on his face.

"Is it true?" His voice was barely contained. "Were you just talking to Tarkin?"

Rain's eyes widened, then flew over to Threepio, who was hovering anxiously behind Ben. "You were listening," she said, her tone accusing.

"Answer the question," Luke said. He took a half-step toward her, then stopped himself. "Are you still working for the Empire?"

"No! Luke, it's not what you think…"

"Then what is it?" Luke moved closer now, unable to stop himself. "Because Threepio says your uncle offered you a way back, and you were considering it."

Rain's voice rose. "And I told you Threepio talks too much!" she said, glaring at the droid. "I was listening to a message."

"You responded," Threepio spoke up. "I heard you apologize to him, Miss Tarkin."

"I was talking out loud to a recording, you ridiculous little tin man!" She spun to Luke, desperate now. "I was having a brief moment of sentiment for the uncle who raised me. You, of all people, should understand that. I was saying goodbye, before I got rid of the device."

"He gave you a twenty-four-hour offer to return?"

"That was sent thirty-six hours ago! I'm pretty sure I'm well past any forgiveness window."

"So why didn't you destroy that thing days ago?" Luke asked, gesturing toward the remains of the comm. "You kept it. Just in case!"

"Yes, I did," she admitted, her voice breaking slightly. "Because it was the last piece of my old life. Change is scary, and I'm not as brave as you think. But I did destroy it. That should tell you something."

"It tells me you've been one call away from running back to your uncle," he said, hating himself even as the words left his mouth. "Maybe you really don't care about any of this. About the Rebellion. About…" He stopped himself.

"About what, Luke?" Rain challenged, her own anger rising now. "About you? Is that what you were going to say?"

Luke's throat tightened. "It doesn't matter. None of it matters if you're still loyal to the Empire."

"I AM NOT LOYAL TO THE EMPIRE!"

Several vendors and customers had now stopped to look at them. Rain lowered her voice. "Now that I've informed all of Mos Eisley of this. What else do you want from me?"

"I want to know you're not lying."

"Lying?" Rain felt like she'd been slapped. "Since when have I ever lied to you? I've been nothing, but brutally honest."

Ben, who had been silent throughout the exchange, finally spoke. "Threepio, what exactly did you hear? The exact words, if you can recall them."

"Well, Master Ben, I heard Grand Moff Tarkin's voice saying…"

"Tarkin's voice," Ben repeated. "Not Rain speaking to Tarkin."

"Yes, but…"

"Could she have been responding emotionally to a recording?"

"I… well, now that you mention it, there was no pause between the Grand Moff's statements and Miss Tarkin's responses. Oh dear, I believe I may have made a rather big fuss over nothing."

Luke closed his eyes briefly, relief and guilt crashing through him. "So she really was just listening to a message?"

"Yes, for the love of the stars!" Rain said, exasperated, fixing a hostile stare on Threepio."You insisted on reassembling him. Now here we are!"

The droid's photoreceptor lights instantly came on.

"Oh no, I'm not listening to five hundred apologies from you," she cut Threepio off before he could speak. "If you're really sorry, then you will honor your regret with complete silence for the rest of the day."

Luke was still looking at Rain, his expression conflicted. "Did you mean what you said earlier?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

All of them were staring at her for an answer. Luke with his painfully honest blue eyes, Ben with his knowing look, Threepio still hiding behind him and even Artoo had rolled closer to hear her answer.

"I just told you, I don't lie."

Luke's face fell.

"But perhaps I could have been nicer in the way I informed you," she continued, noting his expression. " Do grant me time. This whole kindness thing does take some getting used to."

She turned and started walking away.

"Master Luke," Threepio ventured nervously, "I do feel I should apologize for the misunderstanding. I should have assessed the situation more carefully before…"

"It's fine, Threepio," Luke said, though his eyes never left Rain's retreating figure. "You did the right thing. If she had been betraying us, we needed to know."

"Come on, we need to go," Ben said gently. "If Tarkin did track her comm signal, we have very little time before more troops arrive."

---

They were all moving faster now, alert for any sign of Imperial troops. Eventually they emerged onto a wider street, the docking bays visible in the distance. A patrol of stormtroopers marched past, and they all tensed, but the soldiers paid them no attention.

"Almost there," Ben murmured.

They passed a cantina that looked similar to the one from earlier. Music spilled out into the street, along with the sound of laughter. A drunk Rodian stumbled out, nearly colliding with Luke.

"Watch it!" the Rodian snarled.

"Sorry," Luke said, stepping aside.

The Rodian leaned closer, his large eyes narrowing. "You look familiar. The Empire's looking for someone who looks like you. Farm boy. With a girl and an old man."

"You're mistaken."

"I don't think so." The Rodian's hand moved toward his weapon. "There's a reward..."

Rain stepped between them, pulling out the small blaster that she carried and pressed it against the Rodian's ribs before he could finish the sentence. “I love the confidence,” she said. “It’s wildly misplaced. Now run along before I redecorate you.”

The Rodian's eyes widened. He held up his hands and backed away quickly, disappearing into the crowd.

She lowered her blaster to see Luke staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"You didn't have to do that," he said finally.

Rain gave him an odd smile. "I'm not going alone with an elderly man to rescue a princess. That scenario is awkward on several levels."

Something flickered across Luke's face. "Right. Of course." He continued walking ahead.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be," Ben said softly. He'd moved up beside her again with his knowing eyes.

"I've made it easier," Rain corrected. "For everyone."

"Have you?" Ben's said quietly. "Because from where I stand, you're both miserable for no good reason."

"There's a very good reason," Rain said, her voice tight. "I'm Tarkin's niece. I'm damaged goods."

"You're a young woman who's terrified of feeling something real," Ben interrupted. "And Luke is a young man who sees past all your armor to who you really are. That's what frightens you, doesn't it? Not that you'll hurt him. That he'll see you for who you truly are and... stay anyway."

Rain's throat closed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Ben smiled sadly. "I've lived a long time, Rain. I've seen fear take many forms. Yours wears the face of cruelty, but it's fear all the same."

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Everyone's afraid of something." Ben started walking again. "The question is whether we let that fear control us or whether we face it."

Rain took a breath and followed him. They continued through the streets in silence, the ship pads growing closer. Docking Bay 94 now was in sight now, its massive doors visible above the surrounding buildings.

Just as they were nearly there, a group of stormtroopers appeared ahead, blasters slung loosely as they checked identification papers.

"What do we do?" Luke whispered.

"Stay quiet," Rain replied. "They're about to receive the full Tarkin treatment."

She straightened her posture and marched ahead, lifting her chin and fixing the troopers with a look that suggested they had already disappointed her.

The lead stormtrooper stepped forward. "Identification."

Rain stopped directly in front of him. "Does command know about this?"

The trooper hesitated. "Ma'am?"

"Are they aware that you're standing around being useless? Holding up traffic while fugitives actively escape the city?"

"Ma'am, we need…"

Rain leaned closer, almost whispering. "Do you have any idea how many reports I've read that begin with 'Stormtroopers failed to notice'?"

The trooper stiffened. "N-no, ma'am."

She folded her arms. "I see you have an attitude with authority. Give me your designation number, now!"

The trooper froze. "Why?"

“So I can include it in my report recommending you for permanent sanitation duty on Hoth,” she said calmly. “Along with the phrase, ‘Considers authority optional.’”

"…Ma'am?"

Rain gave him a cold smile. "You have exactly three seconds to decide whether your future lies in frozen fecal matter."

The trooper snapped to attention. "Clear them through!"

She turned to Ben and Luke. "Come along, gentlemen. We have a ship to catch."

Chapter 10: The Fastest Ship

Beyond the massive doors of Docking Bay 94 waited the ship that Han Solo had boasted as the fastest in the galaxy.

"That flies?" Rain stared at the battered freighter in disbelief. "I thought it was being towed."

Luke rubbed a hand over his face, exhaustion bleeding into irritation. "What a piece of junk!"

Rain moved closer to him, lowering her voice. "Are you sure he said ninety-four? Could every single one of us have misheard him?"

Han Solo was already halfway down the ramp, Chewbacca looming behind him, his grin unshakable.

"She may not look like much," he said, "but you're gonna love her once you see what she can do."

"What would that be, Mr. Solo?" Rain eyed the ship suspiciously. "Make a lot of noise, draw unnecessary attention, and somehow convince men like you that it's impressive?"

Han gave her a lazy wink. "Loud, reckless, and still standing. It's a winning strategy."

While they traded barbs, Luke drifted closer to Ben and the droids. "Do we really trust this guy?" he asked under his breath.

"We don't have much choice," Ben whispered back. "But yes, I believe he'll get us there."

Their conversation shattered under the bark of blaster commands. Luke looked up just as stormtroopers flooded the docking bay, their weapons raised.

"Stop right there!" one of them yelled.

"Chewie, get us fired up!" Han shouted, already running back to the ship. He pulled out his blaster and fired off several shots. "Everyone on board! Now!"

They sprinted up the ramp, pushing the droids ahead. Behind them, blaster fire shrieked through the air. Everyone was running except Rain, who walked at a normal pace, complaining about the indignity of rushing as she went.

A shot flew close to her head, barely missing by an inch. She stopped at the top of the ramp and turned furiously. "Careful! You nearly hit me!"

"Rain! Move!" Luke yelled wondering if she had completely lost her mind. He made a grab for her arm and pulled her inside just as the door started to close. Barely a moment later, the ramp had folded shut behind them.

The Falcon wobbled unsteadily before it lifted off, blaster fire pelting the hull. Han was in the cockpit, grabbing at the controls with Chewbacca roaring beside him.

"I know, I know!" Han yelled at him. "I'm going as fast as I can!"

Rain stumbled as the ship shook from side to side, catching herself against the corridor wall. Luke offered his arm again, allowing her to regain her balance.

"Strap in somewhere!" Han's voice echoed through the ship. "This is gonna get rough!"

They made their way to the main hold, where circular bench seats lined the walls. She dropped into one, fumbling with the safety harness. Luke sat as far opposite her as possible while Ben settled beside her, remaining calm despite the chaos.

Threepio was now wailing about their impending doom as Artoo beeped frantically at his side. Rain thought she was going to crack. It was only the idea of the pain of smacking metal that kept her from unleashing.

The ship bucked and shuddered until they finally broke through the atmosphere, where the motion eventually smoothed into something almost graceful.

Rain was the first to comment once things had calmed down. "Well, that exit was a bit dramatic!"

"You nearly got yourself killed!" Luke snapped. "What did you think you were doing back there?"

"Keeping my dignity!" she replied as if he had asked the most stupid question imaginable. "Rushing about and shouting like a lunatic is not really my style." She sat back giving him a sweet smile and a gentle voice. "But I understand your need for excitement, Luke. It doesn't make me think lesser of you."

Luke let out sigh of exasperation and unbuckled his harness, storming toward the cockpit."

"You see why it would never work," she said to Ben. "He's so moody sometimes. Such a contrast to my stark optimism."

Ben just gave her a tired smile before closing his eyes as if he knew something dreadful was about to come.

---

A short while later, the distinctive silhouettes of Imperial ships had started to form outside the viewport.

"We're coming up on a Star Destroyer!" Luke shouted from the cockpit.

Han's voice came back, tight with concentration. "Hold on, everyone!"

The ship jolted sharply, throwing Rain against her restraints. Then came the terrifying scream of TIE fighters.

"We can't outrun them?" Luke sounded agitated. "I thought you said this thing was fast!"

"Watch your mouth, kid, or you'll find yourself floating home."

Despite her fear, Rain couldn't help stifling a laugh at Han's response.

"Someone get to the guns!" Han was yelling again.

"Where?" Luke asked already turning to move.

"Top and bottom turrets! Access points are..."

"I'll find them!" he rushed back past her and disappeared down a corridor.

Rain watched him go, then found herself unstrapping her own harness.

"Rain," Ben said quietly, "you don't have to..."

"If I wanted to sit around looking useless, I would have become a stormtrooper," she replied patting him on the shoulder with a smirk. "But, thank you, Mr. Kenobi. Your concern is duly noted and appreciated."

"You know how to shoot?" Han's voice sounded skeptical as it carried from the cockpit.

"I'm a Tarkin," Rain said as she found the ladder leading to the lower gun turret. "I held a blaster before a rattle."

She climbed down into the turret, dropping into the seat. The viewport wrapped around her, giving her a panoramic view beneath the ship. The controls consisted of a targeting computer, triggers, and a rotating mechanism.

"Okay, sweetheart," Han's voice crackled through the comm. "Let's see what you've got. Here they come!"

A TIE fighter screamed past her viewport, dangerously close. Rain swung the gun, tracking it, and squeezed the triggers. Red bolts lanced out, missing by meters.

"Everyone deserves a warning shot," she muttered, adjusting her aim.

Above her, she could hear the sound of Luke's guns firing. His voice crackled excitedly through the comm. "I got one!"

"Don't get cocky, kid. Just keep shooting!" Han shouted back.

Another TIE came in, closer this time. Rain led the target the way her father had drilled into her during endless, merciless Imperial training sessions and fired. The bolts ripped through the wing panel. The TIE spun wildly, then vanished in a brilliant explosion.

"Now that's how it's done!" She whooped, throwing her fist in the air. "You're welcome, gentlemen. That one would've ruined your day."

"Not bad!" Luke said, and she caught the proud edge in his voice.

The Falcon shuddered as another blast struck home, setting off more alarms.

"They're coming in too fast!" Luke yelled.

Rain let out a small snort. "Fast is just another way to shield incompetence."

"And it's working, so shoot faster!" Han barked. "Both of you!"

The TIE pilots were more skilled than she anticipated. She started tracking another fighter that was zigzagging and fired at him. She missed, her shot landing too wide.

"Oh, come on," she muttered under her breath. "I'm trying to look impressive, not break a sweat."

A TIE broke formation and dove straight at her viewport. She could see the pilot's silhouette through the cockpit.

She fired.

The fighter disintegrated in a flash of light. Shrapnel rattled against the Falcon's hull.

"That makes two," she said triumphantly. "But who's keeping score."

"Nice shooting!" Luke said.

"Naturally. I was top of my gunnery class, my teacher always said I would ..." she started.

"Got one!" he yelled.

"Well that was rude," she replied, slightly annoyed. "We can all see that you did without you having to interrupt me."

"Is she always this pleasant?" Han's voice rang through the comm.

Luke bit his tongue.

"I'm being exceedingly civil for someone currently saving your ship, Mr. Solo," her sharp voice came back. "Perhaps, in turn you might focus on getting us out of here."

"Oh, I will. You're not getting out of dinner that easily."

Two more TIEs were closely circling them. Up front, Han was swearing up a storm.

"Any time you want to jump to hyperspace would be great!" Luke yelled.

"We're still in Tatooine's gravity well!" Han snapped. "You want to fly through a planet, be my guest!"

Rain locked onto a fighter rising beneath them. "I know that move." She squeezed the trigger again and again until the TIE erupted into fire.

Above her, Luke made another kill, shouting in triumph. "Another one down!"

"That's it!" Han's voice was triumphant. "We're clear! Making the jump to hyperspace in three... two..."

The stars suddenly stretched into lines, then exploded into the swirling blue tunnel of light. The violent shaking stopped again. The alarms went silent.

Rain let out a sigh of relief before climbing back up the ladder, her legs shaking. When she emerged into the main hold, Luke was already there, climbing out of his own turret access. Their eyes met across the room.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Luke's hair was disheveled, his face flushed with adrenaline and excitement.

"You did well," Ben said quietly, appearing beside them. "Both of you."

They looked over at him, still caught in the rush.

"You did great, Rain!" Luke said. "I didn't expect you to hit anything."

"Thanks," she said. "Low expectations make victories easier, don't they?"

Han appeared from the cockpit, Chewbacca behind him. "Not bad for a couple of first-timers," he said, looking between them. "Especially this one." His eyes lingered on Rain with new appreciation. "Knew there was fire under all that ice."

"I trust at some point there will be an end to these painful innuendos, Mr. Solo," she replied, brushing past him. "They're exhausting, and right now I just want to sit down."

Han gave her a cheeky wink before returning inside the cockpit.

She collapsed onto one of the bench seats. "Well, we survived our first battle, Skywalker."

Luke sat down across from her. "Could it be that we work well together?"

"Nah," they both said at the same time, laughing and breaking the tension.

Luke had started to look tired, the excitement replaced with exhaustion. Rain watched him staring into the hypnotic swirl of hyperspace.

Somewhere ahead was Alderaan, with a princess to rescue and a rebellion to join.

---

Rain was still lost in her thoughts when Han's voice broke through as he dropped into a nearby seat. "So... about that dinner."

She closed her eyes. "Stars. You're actually going to hold me to it."

"A deal's a deal, sweetheart." He grinned. "Besides, any woman who can shoot like that deserves a proper meal. I'll even break out the good rations."

"I'm overwhelmed," she sighed. "Truly. Please give me a moment to recover."

Luke made a noise of protest that sounded like a dying animal.

"Two hours," Han said, standing up and stretching. "Gives me time to clean up. Chewie, make sure nothing's on fire." The Wookiee groaned in response.

He disappeared back toward the cockpit, leaving the three of them sitting alone in the hold.

"I'm going to meditate," Ben announced, standing. "Perhaps you two should rest as well. It's been an eventful day."

He left before either of them could respond.

Rain and Luke sat in silence, the space between them growing again.

"You really were good out there," Luke said finally, not looking at her. "In the turret."

"So were you," she admitted quietly.

Another silence fell. She could feel Luke working up to saying something.

"Rain, I..."

"Luke. I can never be what you need me to be. Please accept it."

"I've never asked you to be anything except yourself."

"Right," she said skeptically, averting her eyes.

"At least tell me why you're so determined to push me away." Luke was giving her that intense look again. "I don't believe you barely remember our kiss."

"Even if I did. It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

"Why?" The word came out almost angry. "Why do you care, Luke? I'm Tarkin's niece. I've done terrible things. I'm not good like you are."

"I never said you had to be good," Luke said softly.

"That's not true. You nearly had a fit earlier over Threepio."

"You know what I mean."

"Luke, that was me being good! The old me would have just shot him with my blaster until he stopped babbling. We're two very different people. Can't you see that?"

"Rain..."

"I should go find where we're supposed to sleep," she interrupted, standing abruptly. "I need a nap."

Luke nodded, that same hurt expression flickering across his face before he hid it.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Me too."

Rain walked away, feeling his eyes on her back until she turned the corner. She found a small bunk room. It was cramped and smelled of engine oil, but it was private, and she closed the door behind her.

Only then did she let herself lean against the wall, her carefully constructed composure cracking.

"This is fine," she whispered to the empty room. "Everything is fine."

The ship hummed around her, carrying them all toward an uncertain future.

And Rain, for the first time in years, had absolutely no idea what came next.