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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓

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It wasn't long after their meeting with the Queen of Naboo when they finally arrived at Tatooine. Aurora sat between Ric Olié and Obi-Wan in the cockpit of the ship with her eyes glued to the window as they approached the planet with two suns. A strange sensation washed over the Tinsley girl after they entered the atmosphere but she forced herself to ignore it. Her main priority had to be on the Queen and not on all the emotions she began to feel. Yet, the strange feeling only doubled as they got closer and closer to the surface of Tatooine.

As soon as they landed in the outskirts of a Tatooine settlement, Aurora stood up and walked out of the cockpit without saying a word. The brunette girl made her way through the halls of the ship in search of the Queen to get her orders. However, just as she turned down the corridor that would lead her to her destination, the Tinsley girl ran into something and stumbled back a bit. After regaining her bearings, Aurora looked up to meet the eyes of Padmé. The young guard didn't think too much about the handmaiden being so far from the Queen's quarters at first. But that was only until she noticed Padmé's sudden change of clothing.

"Going somewhere?" Aurora asked while continuing to gaze at the brunette girl in front of her with a hint of concern in her eyes.

"I'm going with the Jedi Master and the Gungan," Padmé responded in a tone that made her sentence seem like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know much about this planet."

"All the more reason to join them."

The Tinsley girl stared at her friend for a long silent moment, knowing that this was one of the worst ideas she'd had in a very long time. It wasn't long after that when Aurora let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Fine. But I'm going with you."

A small smile appeared on Padmé's face before the two of them turned and made their way back to the cockpit to tell Captain Panaka the handmaiden's plan. After a long debate with the Royal Guard, he finally caved and led the two girls down the hall they came from and toward the exit of the ship. No one said a word as the trio quickly walked along the sand to catch up to the Jedi Master, the Gungan, and the astromech. As soon as they were close enough to the odd-looking trio, Captain Panaka called out to them, causing them to stop and turn around to face them.

"Her Highness commands you take her handmaiden and personal guard with you," the Captain of the Royal Guard told the Jedi Master, who simply stared at them with a blank look on his face.

"No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain. The spaceport is not going to be pleasant," Qui-Gon stated, earning shocked looks from the two guards before he took a step away from them to continue his journey.

"The Queen wishes it," Aurora said, making the Jinn man stop in his tracks and turn his full attention toward the young guard, "she's curious about the planet, as am I."

The long-haired man just stared at the Tinsley girl for a long moment before letting out a slightly annoyed sigh. "This is not a good idea. Stay close to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Jedi Master turned and proceeded to make his way toward the town. Padmé instantly followed after him and walked alongside Jar Jar with R2-D2 trailing behind them. Just as Aurora was about to follow them, Captain Panaka grabbed her by the arm and held her back.

"Watch out for her," the man told the young guard while keeping his concerned gaze on the handmaiden.

"I always do," was all Aurora said in response before she sent him a small smile and rushed to catch up with her allies.

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After traveling through the barren landscape and over a few sand dunes, the five of them finally arrived at the spaceport of Mos Espa. A small smile formed on Aurora's face as she looked around at everything that surrounded her in awe. Because she was the Queen's personal guard, the Tinsley girl never had the opportunity to explore other planets, she barely had time to explore Naboo. That was the first time Aurora was able to take in everything around her without a care in the world since her parents disappeared.

And yet, despite the joy she was feeling, something still felt off to her. Aurora didn't know if it was her concern for her Queen being on an unknown planet or if it was something else entirely. No matter how hard she tried to ignore the strange sensation, the Tinsley girl couldn't evade the pit that continued to grow in her stomach.

"Moisture farms, for the most part. Some indigenous tribes and scavengers," Qui-Gon said, drawing Aurora out of her thoughts as they continued to walk through the spaceport, "the few spaceports like this one are havens for those that don't wish to be found."

"Like us," Padmé muttered under her breath just loud enough for them to hear while looking around at the world that surrounded them.

"Disen berry berry bad," Jar Jar announced before he let out a small shout. When Aurora glanced back at him, she found the Gungan trying to wipe something off his foot. She was just grateful she was unaware of what it was. "Oh! Icky icky goo!"

Aurora walked alongside Padmé and behind Qui-Gon as they continued toward their destination. The smile reappeared on the Tinsley girl's face at the sight of creatures both large and small she had never seen before. If she had more time, Aurora would do what she could to learn more about the animals, just like she did with her parents on Naboo.

The five of them walked a bit farther before the Jedi Master stopped in the middle of the sandy road, causing the four behind him to follow his actions. Aurora watched as Qui-Gon looked around at the world that surrounded him until his eyes landed on a small building to his left. He just stared at it for a long moment before he used his head to gesture in the direction of the structure.

"We'll try one of the smaller dealers," the Jinn man announced then began walking toward the building before any of his companions could respond.

A bell rang as soon as they entered the shop that was filled from floor to ceiling with spare ship parts and supplies. Aurora stayed beside Padmé as they looked around the building at everything that surrounded them. The two of them stayed behind Qui-Gon as they approached the counter where the owner of the store was sitting. As soon as his eyes landed on the group walking into his shop, the Toydarian flew toward them before speaking to them in a language Aurora didn't understand.

"I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian," Qui-Gon responded while the Tinsley girl tried her best to hide the confusion in her eyes.

"Ah, yes! Nubian. We have lots of that," the Toydarian told the Jedi Master before he turned around and began shouting in Huttese once again.

"My droid has a readout of what I need," the Jinn man continued speaking right as a young boy came into view and ran toward them.

The moment the Toydarian noticed the boy's presence, he began shouting at him in his native tongue. After the boy responded to the flying store owner, he climbed up onto the counter while the Toydarian turned his attention back to Qui-Gon to finish their conversation.

"So...let me take thee out back, huh?" the store owner said before turning around and heading toward the back door, "you'll find what you need."

The Jinn man began to follow after the Toydarian, only to stop in his tracks when he saw Jar Jar messing around with an object in his hands. Qui-Gon instantly grabbed whatever the Gungan was playing with and placed it back on the table. "Don't touch anything."

A small smile formed on Aurora's face as she watched Jar Jar stick his tongue out at the retreating Jedi's back. While the Gungan went into a smaller room in the shop, the Tinsley girl turned around to get a look at more of the things that filled the shop. Padmé was about to follow the Royal Guard's actions and explore a bit when a small voice cut through the air.

"Are you an angel?" the boy asked, drawing both of the girls' attention to him to find him staring at Padmé with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"What?"

"An angel," the blonde boy repeated while keeping his eyes glued to the handmaiden, "I heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They live on the moons of Iego, I think."

The smile on Aurora's face did nothing but grow as she watched Padmé take a few steps toward the boy before stopping in front of him. The handmaiden just stared at the boy for a moment longer before a matching smile appeared on her face. "You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?"

"I listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here," the boy responded to Padmé as he began to use a slightly dirty rag to clean a small ship part, "I'm a pilot, you know, and someday I'm gonna fly away from this place."

"You're a pilot?" Aurora asked with a hint of amusement in her voice that seemed to go unnoticed by the boy in front of her.

"Mm-hmm. All my life," he responded, making the Tinsley girl hold back a laugh as the smile on her face grew.

"How long have you been here?" Padmé asked the boy as she continued to study him with curiosity in her eyes.

"Since I was very little. Three, I think. My mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on the Podraces."

The smile on Aurora's face instantly fell after hearing the information the boy had just given to them. She and Padmé shared a quick look before their attention turned back to the boy in front of them. Both girls just stared at him until the handmaiden found the courage to continue their conversation. "You're a slave?"

"I'm a person, and my name is Anakin," the blonde boy responded with a glare.

"I'm sorry," Padmé told him in a soft tone before looking around at the shop while Aurora kept her eyes glued to Anakin. There was something about this boy that was strange to her, but she didn't quite understand why. Then again, she didn't have much experience with children since her duties tended to keep her within the palace walls. The Royal Guard's thoughts were soon interrupted when the handmaiden began speaking once again. "I don't fully understand. This is a strange place to me."

Before their conversation could continue, a loud bang cut through the air. The three of them instantly turned their attention toward the source of the sound to find Jar Jar messing around with a small droid. The machine walked around in circles for a moment then began walking down the steps that led into the main part of the shop.

"Where- Wheres yousa goin?" the Gungan called out to the droid as he began to chase after it, only to fall onto the floor after missing the first step. The machine let out its own version of a laugh as Jar Jar slowly got to his feet. After rapidly shaking his head, the Gungan grabbed the droid by its neck and lifted it into the air. "I got ya!"

"Hey!" Anakin shouted, drawing Jar Jar's attention to the blonde boy, "hit the nose."

The Gungan muttered something under his breath as he reached forward and tapped the droid on the nose, just like the boy said. That caused the machine to shut down and fold in on itself before falling onto the floor.

"I'm no longer surprised that he got banished for his clumsiness," Aurora muttered under her breath while watching Jar Jar stick his tongue out at the lifeless droid.

It wasn't long after that when Qui-Gon reappeared through the backdoor with a slightly annoyed look on his face and announced they were leaving. Aurora watched as Jar Jar added much more to the mess he already created before turning to follow the Jedi Master. Once she noticed that the handmaiden wasn't following, the Tinsley girl glanced back to see Padmé and Anakin sharing a few more inaudible words. The handmaiden then spun around and followed the Royal Guard.

After walking around the spaceport toward an unknown destination, the five of them huddled in the shade of an archway. Aurora stayed silent as she watched the natives of Tattooine walk around Mos Espa while Qui-Gon contacted his Padawan. The Tinsley girl chose to tune out the Jedi's conversation about how they lacked the means to purchase the part they needed for their ship. Instead, her attention was on an enormous beast walking through the spaceport that was either clueless or uncaring of the people it almost stepped on.

"Noah gain! Noah gain!" Jar Jar shouted, drawing Aurora's attention back to her companions to find the Gungan looking a the Jedi Master while pointing toward the roads of Mos Espa, "da beings hereabouts, cawazy! Wesa be wobbed un crunched!"

"Not likely. We have nothing of value. That's our problem," Qui-Gon responded before walking back out into the spaceport, followed by Aurora and the rest of their companions.

The five of them walked along the road and passed a couple of food vendors toward an unknown destination. Aurora stayed close to Padmé while her eyes scanned over her surroundings. The Tinsley girl knew they were safe for the time being, and yet her senses were on overdrive. Despite her never-ending curiosity for the Tatooine, all she wanted to do was get what they needed and get off the desert planet.

They barely made it past the food vendors when Aurora noticed that Jar Jar was no longer with them. The discovery caused her to look back in the direction they came to find the Gungan having an altercation. A small sigh passed over Aurora's lips as he called out to her allies and gestured toward Jar Jar. It wasn't long after that when they started making their way back toward the Gungan. Just as they were a few yards away, Anakin appeared out of nowhere and had an inaudible conversation with the alien attacking Jar Jar. As soon as their conversation ended, Jar Jar's attacker walked away from him and the young boy. A small smile appeared on Aurora's face at the sight of the boy before she and her companions stopped a few feet away from him and the Gungan.

"Hi," Anakin greeted while craning his neck to look up at Qui-Gon.

"Hi, there," the Jedi Master responded as he stared at the blonde boy with a hint of curiosity in his eyes before his attention landed on Jar Jar.

"Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo," Anakin explained while watching Qui-Gon help the Gungan to his feet, "he picked a fight with a Dug, an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba."

"Mesa haten crunchen. Das da las ting mesa want," Jar Jar stated with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Nevertheless, the boy is right. You were heading into trouble," the Jinn man stated in a calm tone before he looked back down at Anakin, "thanks, my young friend."

After the Jedi Master and the boy shared a smile, Qui-Gon turned and continued walking through the spaceport with his allies following behind him. As they walked toward their unknown destination, Jar Jar kept trying to convince Aurora that he did nothing wrong. His efforts brought another smile to the Tinsley girl's face while she kept in step beside Padmé. It wasn't long after that when Anakin appeared on the handmaiden's other side and joined them on their journey.

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"Here, you'll like these pallies," Anakin said to Qui-Gon, who was completely oblivious to the boy's offering as he looked around at the world that surrounded them. Aurora had to hold back her laughter after watching the young boy tap the Jedi Master a few times to get his attention. When the long-haired man finally turned his gaze toward the boy, Anakin held the pallies out to him once again. "Here."

"Thank you," the Jinn man said as he took the pallies and placed them in a pocket on his belt.

"Oh, my bones are aching," the woman announced as she looked off into the distance before her attention fell back on Anakin, "storm's coming up, Ani. You better get home quick."

The young boy sent the woman a nod in response before he turned and began walking away from the stand. They didn't make it very far when Anakin started a conversation to break the silence that surrounded them. "Do you have shelter?"

"We'll head back to our ship," Qui-Gon responded without a hint of worry in his voice.

"Is it far?"

"It's on the outskirts," Aurora told him after a smile formed on her face from the young boy's curiosity.

Anakin's eyes instantly widened in response to her statement before he looked up at them with concern in his eyes. "You'll never reach the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. Come on. I'll take you to my place."

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