The speeder flew through the jungle. Cal sat on the cargo bed, the wind rushing through his hair. Pennie sat beside him. Cal had one arm around her to keep her from flying off the edge. Denton sat in the pilot seat, controlling the speeder. Soon enough, they came upon the crash site. The ship had broken through the jungle canopy, digging a trench across that ground that must have been 50 meters in length. At the far side of the trench was a small one-person ship. It lay in shambles; wreckage was strewn along the length of the trench. Cal jumped off the speeder and ran to what was left of the ship. Denton was quick to follow. Cal climbed over the rubble and examined the wreckage. He noticed that the cockpit had shattered and climbed over to it. Inside, Cal saw a girl lying unconscious. She had long brown hair, and she looked to be not much older than Cal was.

“Come over here and help me with this. There’s a girl inside!” Cal yelled to Denton.

Denton rushed over to help pull the girl out. Denton had taken a prybar from the speeder, which he used to pry open the top of the ship. After a few minutes, Denton managed to open it enough for Cal to reach in and pull the girl out. Once Cal had gotten her out, Denton helped carry her back to the speeder. Together, they laid the girl down on the cargo bed. Then they both jumped back on the speeder and started to head back to the plantation.

Once they arrived, Denton parked the speeder in front of the worker’s quarters. Then, he and Cal carried the unconscious girl inside. They found an empty bed and laid the girl on it. One of the workers, the plantations doctor, came over to examine the girl. Soon after, Julia and Matthew also came in, curious about what was happening.

“You’re okay, right, Cal?” Julia asked.

“Yes, I am mom. Hopefully, this girl will be too.” Cal replied.

“Well, there are no obvious signs of any injuries,” said the doctor, “we will find out how she is in the next few days.”

The following morning, Cal went immediately to the worker’s quarters to check on the girl. He found her still asleep. He sat by her for a few minutes, not knowing what to do next. He looked at her. “She’s really pretty,” he thought, “I wonder who she is.” That question was on his mind for the rest of the day. “A strange ship with one passenger crashing on Theia.” He found that odd.

Around noon Cal was out working in the Aicherra fields. He was pruning the plants, making sure that they were all healthy. Occasionally he would come across a sick plant, and he would do his best to remove all the ailing parts. He had already spent a few hours doing this, but he was nowhere near done. When he was about halfway down the row, one of the workers, Christian, approached him.

“Cal, the girl just woke up!” Christian shouted towards Cal.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Cal responded. He finished what he was working on, then got up and walked toward the worker’s quarters. He entered the room where the girl was. He saw that she was sitting up.

“Oh, hello.” said the girl.

“I’m Cal. Who are you?” Cal asked.

“My name is Kyra. Who brought me here? Where exactly is here anyway?”

“I did. This is a plantation on Theia.”

“Theia? Oh great,” Kyra said sarcastically, “I need to get to the Taa system, in the neutral zone.”

“Well, you’re out of luck then. No one ever comes to Theia, at least not often.”

“It’s important. I need to get to Taa.”

“You could try Ander's Landing. That's the biggest city on the entire planet. If you’re going to find a ship, it’ll be there.” Cal said excitedly. “This might be my opportunity to leave!” He thought.

“How far is that?” Kyra asked.

“It’s a few hours by speeder. I’m coming with you; I hate this planet.”

“You don’t want to get mixed up in this, trust me.” Kyra warned.

“I just want to get off-world. Anywhere is better than here.” Cal retorted. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have some company anyway?”

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Kyra ignored his question and turned to look out the window. She was silent for a moment, and then she spoke.

“Fine, you can come, but you have to do what I say.”

“Fine by me. I’ve been doing that my whole life.”

“Good. How soon can we leave?”

“I’ll have to talk to my parents. Give me until tomorrow.”

“Ok fine, I’m leaving tomorrow evening, with or without you.”

“Sure thing.”

Cal turned and left the room. “She’s pretty bossy,” Cal thought, “Why does she need to get to the neutral zone? Why is it so urgent?” He didn’t know much about what was happening in the rest of the empire, let alone the galaxy. He had never been exposed to someone like Kyra. Cal decided to go to the workshop to look for his dad. When Cal found him, he was sitting at a workbench working on what looked like part of the irrigation system. Cal walked up behind him and stood silently waiting.

“What can I do for you, Cal?” asked Matthew.

“I want to leave. Not just the plantation but the planet. I just want to get out into the galaxy and make my own way. I’ll come visit, of course.” Cal explained.

Matthew sighed. “I knew this day would come. Of course, we’d like you to stay, Cal, but I understand the desire to want to go your own way. I can’t stop you, as much as I wish I could.”

“Don’t worry about me, dad. I can take care of myself. I’m going with Kyra, the girl I found; we’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Alright, Cal, make sure you tell your mother.”

“Of course, dad, I’ll tell her tonight.”

Suddenly, Denton burst through the entrance of the workshop. Denton gasped for air, clearly out of breath.

“Matthew, there are some soldiers. They’re looking for you.” exclaimed Denton.

Matthew got up. “Come with me, Cal. Let’s go see what this is about.”

Matthew walked out of the workshop, and Cal followed close behind. Together they walked towards the road that led to the city. Cal could see five men standing just before the gate to the plantation. Cal had never seen anything like them. They were dressed in black and red armor, and they held assault rifles. “Those must be imperial soldiers,” Cal thought, “What could they want?”

“Are you the owner?” asked one of the soldiers, who must have been the commanding officer.

“I am. What can I do for you?” replied Matthew.

“We’re looking for a girl. A ship crashed somewhere near here, and we found evidence that points to her being here.”

Matthew looked at Cal. “He was the one who found the wreck. Tell them about it.”

“There was no one there when we found it,” Cal said on a whim, “We searched the surrounding area but found only wreckage.” He didn’t know why, but he knew that nothing good would come from outing Kyra. He was looking forward to traveling with her. He didn’t want them to take her.

The soldiers looked at each other, then they all turned around and climbed on their speeder and started the journey back to the city. Cal immediately turned around and ran to tell Kyra about the incident. He burst through the door to her room.

“Kyra, there were just soldiers here looking for you!” Cal said, out of breath.

“Shit,” Kyra said, frantically turning to look out the window. “Are they still here? What did you tell them?”

“Don’t worry, they’re gone. I didn’t tell them about you. Why are they looking for you?”

“I told you that you shouldn’t get involved. All you need to know is that I need to get to the Taa system. Once they figure out that you are helping me, they’ll come looking for you too.”

Cal was silent for a moment, processing what Kyra had just told him. “She must be some sort of fugitive, then.”

“You’re not gonna help me now, are you?” asked Kyra.

“No, I will. I’ve helped you this far. I can’t stop now.”

“Okay. We leave first thing tomorrow.”

Cal woke up early the next day. He wanted time to get everything ready before Kyra wanted to leave. He had already packed before he went to bed, so all he had to do was find a speeder to use and load everything on it. He didn’t have much, just a bag of clothes, but that’s all he needed. Cal exited the homestead. Denton was outside, waiting for him next to a CX-4.

“Your dad wanted me to bring you into the city and see you off,” Denton said, “We should be able to fit everyone and the luggage on here.” Denton gestured towards the speeder.

“Oh, thanks,” Cal said. He appreciated that Denton would be accompanying them into the city. Cal had only been a few times, and he had no idea where to go first. Denton, on the other hand, had grown up in the city, so he knew his way around.

Soon after, Kyra came out of the worker’s quarters. Some female workers had given Kyra some clothes, so she looked like she fit in on the plantation.

“Are we ready to go?” Kyra asked.

“I am,” said Cal, “it’s up to Denton when we leave.”

“We can leave now. It’s a long trip.”

And with that, they were on their way to Ander’s Landing.