ladyofleithian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladyofleithian) wrote2013-12-09 12:31 pm
ladyofleithian) wrote2013-12-09 12:31 pm
Entry tags:
Chapter Nine: Family Troubles
In which Owen and Beru meet Ben, Leia, Artoo and Threepio.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: This was another great chapter for me to write, if only because of fleshing out Owen and Beru, and some of the interactions between them, Ben, Leia, Artoo and Threepio. Also, the matter of sort of fleshing out the effects of the Empire -- shops closing, etc. And some of Owen's worries. Honestly, fleshing out Tatooine some more was one of the many reasons I enjoyed writing this.
To say that trying to break the news to both Owen and Beru was going to be difficult was no doubt an understatement, Mara thought if only wryly. It was long after Luke had gone home and C-3PO and Ar-Too were put away for the night that at the very least, Mara thought, she could think of how, exactly, to break the news to them. How she could really tell them, “Oh, by the way, Mom and Dad; Luke and I went on this adventure in the Dune Sea and we found two droids and two ambassadors that I think will need help getting back to their home planet. Is that okay?” Granted, Beru would probably be more forgiving than Owen – as Owen, nice as he generally was, could also worry too much, Mara thought. He really needed to stop worrying, really. She would have preferred it more than anything if she didn’t worry – but even so…
It was at breakfast that Mara found room to break the news. It was a typical sort of breakfast – Beru was pouring the blue milk, and Mara was trying her best if only to eat the red grain cereal that Beru had laid out for her. Not that it was necessarily easy. There was something about that that always managed to taste like bantha droppings, really. Not that she had ever had bantha droppings, but she could ever assume that in the heavily unlikely circumstance that she would need to eat bantha droppings – which would no doubt be never – this was what it would taste like.
All right, then again, it wasn’t the best of comparisons. But even so, it tasted really bad. Beru did the best she could, and Owen as well, but even so, Mara thought, it didn’t stop the red grain cereal from tasting like bantha poodoo.
It was in the midst of it that she heard Owen’s faint curse. “Stang it – just stang it.”
Mara raised her head from her breakfast. She was almost grateful for the distraction, really; at the very least, she could forget at least briefly about the matter of how-am-I-going-to-reveal-to-Dad-that-I-may-have-been-marginally-involved-in-some-sort-of-grand-Rebel-conspiracy-and-you-may-be-in-danger. She didn’t want to think about the Empire busting down their doors and arresting them. She didn’t want to even consider it. Owen and Beru, taken away someplace to no doubt be tortured or executed or –
She hadn’t seen it for herself. But in the times that she, Luke, Biggs, Camie and the others had gone to Ackmena’s bar, she heard the occasional whisper of those who had no doubt faced the Empire, seen its horrors. Talking about the Empire’s cruelty, in their working their prisoners to death in special camps, arresting traitors, and so much more. Even the tales that they had shared in regards to Imperial cells and whatnot, special tortures on the Death Star, were enough to make Mara shiver and wonder who would do such a thing.
The same sort of people who are nothing more than monsters. Owen had told her a few times that sometimes, there were people with no reason for their actions, who were nothing more than monsters. Mara didn’t want to think of people like that – it was during those times when she spoke with him in regards to things such as this – and she didn’t want to think of what sort of mentalities they would have if only to think that what they were doing was somehow acceptable, when really, it wasn’t.
Beru walked over towards the table in that moment. “What is it, Owen? What happened?”
“One of the shops down there closed.” Owen rubbed his head even as he put down his holojournal. “Apparently the Empire decided to go and close it down. I swear that they’ve just been getting pettier and pettier lately.”
Mara sighed. “What else is new?”
“I know,” Owen said. “But it’s just ridiculous.”
“They can’t have any jurisdiction to close down shops,” Mara said, “I mean…it makes no sense.”
“Tell that to the Emperor.” Owen lifted up his holojournal. “It was one of the holonovel stores. Apparently it was shut down for selling ‘seditious material’. The Empire doesn’t exactly tolerate people saying bad things about them.”
“Yeah. I think that goes without saying.” Mara sighed.
Beru walked over towards Owen, placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s frustrating, Owen. I don’t blame you.” She sat next to him now, turned towards Mara. “Are you all right, Mara? You don’t seem to be eating.”
“Well, basically…” Mara took a deep breath. “To make a long story short, I’m keeping two Rebel ambassadors in the house. And two Rebel droids.”
Owen put down the holojournal abruptly with a sort of slam. “Rebel ambassadors? And rebel droids? You…you’re not serious, are you?”
“I’m completely serious,” Mara said, “I’m mostly taking care of them until they’re okay.” She sighed. “They kind of crashed on Tatooine and needed a place to stay.”
Owen seemed to be taking several deep breaths. “Mara,” he said, “Sweetheart – I appreciate your kindness towards other people. I really do. But I’m just worried about it someday getting you hurt or killed. Or any of us, for that matter. This morning…that was a holonovel store. I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen if word gets out that there are Rebel ambassadors in this house.”
“I don’t know either.” Ben’s voice now. The ambassador now emerged from Mara’s room, dressed and cleaned. For all intents and purposes, he and Leia seemed a little less beat-up, at the very least. That was good. That was definitely good.
But from the way that Owen stared at him in disbelief, Mara thought, one would think that he was almost afraid.
“It’s very good to meet you, by the way,” Ben said. “You must be Owen and Beru Lars.”
Owen merely nodded. “We are,” he said. “How did you even get there?”
Leia was completely calm, considering. “Our escape pod crashed,” she said, “And we had to land here.”
“Ah. I see.” Owen still seemed almost baffled, almost as if wondering what would require them to end up in such a situation in the first place.
Beru, meanwhile, was friendly per usual. “Can I get you anything to eat?”
“That would be wonderful,” Ben said. “Thank you.”
Two servings of red grain cereal later, and Mara could feel the discomfort all but streaming through the room. “Dad,” she said, “They need help. I need to get them back to their home planet, Alderaan. They were on a diplomatic mission, but they were attacked – ’’
“We were wondering if there were any available spaceports,” Leia said, “So we could get home.”
Owen took a deep breath. It was all too clear, Mara thought, that he was already all but panicking.
“Mos Eisley is your best bet,” he said, “I mean…it’s a bunch of scumbags, but it’s your best bet. Just steer clear of Jabba and his goons. A lot of nutjobs reside in Mos Eisley, so…”
“We figured that,” Leia said, “And we will be all right.”
Owen then turned towards Mara. “Are you sure that you want to – ’’
Mara sighed. “Dad,” she said, “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just going to be a short walk, I swear. No need to worry.”
Owen rubbed his temples again. “Just be careful,” he said, “Like I said, there are a lot of nutjobs in Mos Eisley. And a lot in the known galaxy. You’re going to have to be careful.”
Mara merely nodded. “I know,” she said, “I’ll be careful. We’ll be careful.”
It was on the way back towards Mara’s bedroom that Ben turned to look towards Mara. “Is he always this overprotective?”
“Yeah,” Mara said. “He does that.” She sighed. “He means well,” she said, “But sometimes I swear that he can be completely paranoid – ’’
It was once they reached Mara’s bedroom that Mara’s blood suddenly froze. And for all she tried to tell herself to be calm, there was something in her that couldn’t help but panic.
Threepio and Ar-Too were gone.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: This was another great chapter for me to write, if only because of fleshing out Owen and Beru, and some of the interactions between them, Ben, Leia, Artoo and Threepio. Also, the matter of sort of fleshing out the effects of the Empire -- shops closing, etc. And some of Owen's worries. Honestly, fleshing out Tatooine some more was one of the many reasons I enjoyed writing this.
To say that trying to break the news to both Owen and Beru was going to be difficult was no doubt an understatement, Mara thought if only wryly. It was long after Luke had gone home and C-3PO and Ar-Too were put away for the night that at the very least, Mara thought, she could think of how, exactly, to break the news to them. How she could really tell them, “Oh, by the way, Mom and Dad; Luke and I went on this adventure in the Dune Sea and we found two droids and two ambassadors that I think will need help getting back to their home planet. Is that okay?” Granted, Beru would probably be more forgiving than Owen – as Owen, nice as he generally was, could also worry too much, Mara thought. He really needed to stop worrying, really. She would have preferred it more than anything if she didn’t worry – but even so…
It was at breakfast that Mara found room to break the news. It was a typical sort of breakfast – Beru was pouring the blue milk, and Mara was trying her best if only to eat the red grain cereal that Beru had laid out for her. Not that it was necessarily easy. There was something about that that always managed to taste like bantha droppings, really. Not that she had ever had bantha droppings, but she could ever assume that in the heavily unlikely circumstance that she would need to eat bantha droppings – which would no doubt be never – this was what it would taste like.
All right, then again, it wasn’t the best of comparisons. But even so, it tasted really bad. Beru did the best she could, and Owen as well, but even so, Mara thought, it didn’t stop the red grain cereal from tasting like bantha poodoo.
It was in the midst of it that she heard Owen’s faint curse. “Stang it – just stang it.”
Mara raised her head from her breakfast. She was almost grateful for the distraction, really; at the very least, she could forget at least briefly about the matter of how-am-I-going-to-reveal-to-Dad-that-I-may-have-been-marginally-involved-in-some-sort-of-grand-Rebel-conspiracy-and-you-may-be-in-danger. She didn’t want to think about the Empire busting down their doors and arresting them. She didn’t want to even consider it. Owen and Beru, taken away someplace to no doubt be tortured or executed or –
She hadn’t seen it for herself. But in the times that she, Luke, Biggs, Camie and the others had gone to Ackmena’s bar, she heard the occasional whisper of those who had no doubt faced the Empire, seen its horrors. Talking about the Empire’s cruelty, in their working their prisoners to death in special camps, arresting traitors, and so much more. Even the tales that they had shared in regards to Imperial cells and whatnot, special tortures on the Death Star, were enough to make Mara shiver and wonder who would do such a thing.
The same sort of people who are nothing more than monsters. Owen had told her a few times that sometimes, there were people with no reason for their actions, who were nothing more than monsters. Mara didn’t want to think of people like that – it was during those times when she spoke with him in regards to things such as this – and she didn’t want to think of what sort of mentalities they would have if only to think that what they were doing was somehow acceptable, when really, it wasn’t.
Beru walked over towards the table in that moment. “What is it, Owen? What happened?”
“One of the shops down there closed.” Owen rubbed his head even as he put down his holojournal. “Apparently the Empire decided to go and close it down. I swear that they’ve just been getting pettier and pettier lately.”
Mara sighed. “What else is new?”
“I know,” Owen said. “But it’s just ridiculous.”
“They can’t have any jurisdiction to close down shops,” Mara said, “I mean…it makes no sense.”
“Tell that to the Emperor.” Owen lifted up his holojournal. “It was one of the holonovel stores. Apparently it was shut down for selling ‘seditious material’. The Empire doesn’t exactly tolerate people saying bad things about them.”
“Yeah. I think that goes without saying.” Mara sighed.
Beru walked over towards Owen, placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s frustrating, Owen. I don’t blame you.” She sat next to him now, turned towards Mara. “Are you all right, Mara? You don’t seem to be eating.”
“Well, basically…” Mara took a deep breath. “To make a long story short, I’m keeping two Rebel ambassadors in the house. And two Rebel droids.”
Owen put down the holojournal abruptly with a sort of slam. “Rebel ambassadors? And rebel droids? You…you’re not serious, are you?”
“I’m completely serious,” Mara said, “I’m mostly taking care of them until they’re okay.” She sighed. “They kind of crashed on Tatooine and needed a place to stay.”
Owen seemed to be taking several deep breaths. “Mara,” he said, “Sweetheart – I appreciate your kindness towards other people. I really do. But I’m just worried about it someday getting you hurt or killed. Or any of us, for that matter. This morning…that was a holonovel store. I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen if word gets out that there are Rebel ambassadors in this house.”
“I don’t know either.” Ben’s voice now. The ambassador now emerged from Mara’s room, dressed and cleaned. For all intents and purposes, he and Leia seemed a little less beat-up, at the very least. That was good. That was definitely good.
But from the way that Owen stared at him in disbelief, Mara thought, one would think that he was almost afraid.
“It’s very good to meet you, by the way,” Ben said. “You must be Owen and Beru Lars.”
Owen merely nodded. “We are,” he said. “How did you even get there?”
Leia was completely calm, considering. “Our escape pod crashed,” she said, “And we had to land here.”
“Ah. I see.” Owen still seemed almost baffled, almost as if wondering what would require them to end up in such a situation in the first place.
Beru, meanwhile, was friendly per usual. “Can I get you anything to eat?”
“That would be wonderful,” Ben said. “Thank you.”
Two servings of red grain cereal later, and Mara could feel the discomfort all but streaming through the room. “Dad,” she said, “They need help. I need to get them back to their home planet, Alderaan. They were on a diplomatic mission, but they were attacked – ’’
“We were wondering if there were any available spaceports,” Leia said, “So we could get home.”
Owen took a deep breath. It was all too clear, Mara thought, that he was already all but panicking.
“Mos Eisley is your best bet,” he said, “I mean…it’s a bunch of scumbags, but it’s your best bet. Just steer clear of Jabba and his goons. A lot of nutjobs reside in Mos Eisley, so…”
“We figured that,” Leia said, “And we will be all right.”
Owen then turned towards Mara. “Are you sure that you want to – ’’
Mara sighed. “Dad,” she said, “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just going to be a short walk, I swear. No need to worry.”
Owen rubbed his temples again. “Just be careful,” he said, “Like I said, there are a lot of nutjobs in Mos Eisley. And a lot in the known galaxy. You’re going to have to be careful.”
Mara merely nodded. “I know,” she said, “I’ll be careful. We’ll be careful.”
It was on the way back towards Mara’s bedroom that Ben turned to look towards Mara. “Is he always this overprotective?”
“Yeah,” Mara said. “He does that.” She sighed. “He means well,” she said, “But sometimes I swear that he can be completely paranoid – ’’
It was once they reached Mara’s bedroom that Mara’s blood suddenly froze. And for all she tried to tell herself to be calm, there was something in her that couldn’t help but panic.
Threepio and Ar-Too were gone.
no subject
And those damn droids, why can't they just stay put? Haha!
no subject
And yeah. Those droids. XD Bless them.