I did go on that mission with my dad, despite my mom’s protests. And actually, for all my parents’ arguing…nothing really happened. My dad got the records he was after, and the only dangerous part was he had to bribe one of the librarians to get what he wanted—and to let us leave with stuff we weren’t supposed to even touch in the first place.

But still. It was definitely the most exciting thing that had happened to me in my young life. Even at six, I didn’t have any trepidation about going. The danger of the unknown called to me—I craved that anticipatory thrill skittering up my spine more than I craved anything.

Okay, okay…I also wanted my dad to pay attention to me. And the only time he did that was when I was pretending to be interested in his Jedi doohickey research.

Of course…as I learned on that trip, the real reason he wanted me to go…well, it wasn’t because he sensed greatness in a six-year-old. It was because I was small enough to slip into hidden nooks and crannies, cute enough to distract the librarians when my dad was trying to pull stuff out of said nooks and crannies…and I had extra hands to help him carry the stuff he wanted offworld.

KORIN APHRA:

[like an echo of the past]

Well done, Little Boop! Now make sure you don’t drop that scroll, it’s very valuable.

APHRA (narration):

Really, my dad could have taken any small child with him on this trip.

Didn’t have to be me. I was useful, but not essential.

Buuuuuut…I’m pretty sure my dad carting his impressionable daughter to that crumbling library on the Fifth Moon of Thrinittik was the last straw for my mom—one in a very long series of straws.

I know there were smaller moments after that that factored in…but I think that’s when she decided.

And that’s how the great Chelli Lona Aphra ended up on the forest world of Arbiflux, counting dust motes on chatterplants.

SCENE 12

EXT. APHRA’S FAMILY HOMESTEAD. ARBIFLUX. THE OUTER OUTER RIM. DAY. FLASHBACK.

Atmosphere: There is a barren dullness to this world, but it has more of a wild frontier feeling than, say, Tatooine or Geonosis. Weird creatures are lurking around corners, wildlife is trying to break through the drought, and we should get a sense of a world not yet tamed. Perhaps we hear constant chitterings from the chatterplants as well—like crickets.

APHRA (narration):

The words forest world really paint a picture. Lush, verdant greenery.

Interesting beasties around every corner. Tangled woods, made for exploring.

That is… not what Arbiflux was.