LUKE SKYWALKER

Luke watched as Kaylira grabbed a variety of fine tools and headed over towards the busted R2-D2, who lay on a wooden table. She put a mechanic’s mask on to shield her face from flying sparks, but not before shooting one of her pretty shy smiles in his direction.

Well, he wasn’t going to make her a focus of his attention. He left the girl to her work, walking over towards Han and Leia, who sat nearby, playing with each other’s hands and murmuring secret things. He was suddenly a little envious of them, just in the slightest, but it was gone within a moment.

“Luke, I don’t like this much,” said Han, untwining his fingers from his sweetheart’s. “Why’s this kid so happy to help us? It makes no sense with the smugglers’ morals of the galaxy.”

“Han, those so-called ‘morals’ don’t apply to everything.” Leia smoothed a lock of her auburn hair down into the already flawless braided hairstyle that she had the rest of it up in. “To me, she just seems like a sweet young girl who’s been deprived of the companionship of people for too long.”

“Leia, you know about people. How old do you think she is?” Luke asked, only then remembering that he didn’t want to make her a subject of his interest.

His sister gave him a look, as if she knew what he was thinking, which wasn’t improbable. “Oh, I would say about a year or two younger than us, Luke.”

“So little? I thought she was a lot younger.”

She shook her head. “No. She’s just exceptionally slightly built for her age. It makes her look a lot younger than she is.”

Somehow, this conversation, which Luke could see was slowly turning towards Kaylira’s physique, was making him uncomfortable. As Han and Leia entered a debate about his ‘smuggler’s morals’, he took the opportunity to flee the scene and go back to check on Artoo’s repairs.

But she wasn’t there. The work had progressed, but the young technician was nowhere to be found. Suddenly his senses picked up the high-pitched while of an electric tool above him. Kaylira had made it clear that her guests were not to go up to the other platform under pain of death, but he had to investigate. He Force-jumped up to a branch just above it and landed soundlessly. And what he saw astonished him.

The platform, hidden mostly by the dense foliage, was larger than he had anticipated. And it was covered in half-constructed gadgets. His hostess stood a few meters below him, with a construction diagram spread out in front of her, but the writing was faint in color and he couldn’t see what it showed. She was working intently on something with a weld below him, but the angle she was at hid it.

Soundlessly, he jumped from the branch and landed behind her. I think I’ll test her, he thought. She has displayed the usual characteristics of someone Force-sensitive, but I have to be sure.

He let a barely audible sigh escape his lips. She whipped around, holding her construction project as a weapon. Luke was amazed when he saw it.

Kaylira was holding the most incredible lightsaber he had ever seen.