Following the end of the Galactic Civil War, the planet of Lothal was able to return to its former glory. Sparing the presence of the Galactic Empire during the war, Lothal was generally considered a peaceful planet. It was sparsely populated, despite many species—Aqualish, Balosar, and Ithorians to name a few—having immigrated to the planet and helping populate it.
Lothal flourished as a farming community with its main exports being Doonium, one of the hardest metals known to the galaxy, and food. Capital City, Jalath, and Kothal were its three largest, most populated cities, and it did not appear that that would be changing anytime soon.
Located in the northeastern edge of the Outer Rim, Lothal bordered the Calamari Sector. A terrestrial planet, Lothal played host to farmland, grassy plains, low mountains, and spine tree forests. Though the majority of the spine trees had been cut down by the Galactic Empire for mining purposes during the Galactic Civil War, Lothal had been left relatively untouched by war and destruction since the Empire had left, and its inhabitants as well as its terrain had been given both the chance and time they needed to recuperate and grow.
Atris enjoyed living here. She found it to be a beautiful planet, both in appearance and in its warm and welcoming farming communities that had captured Atris’ heart. Lothal was, perhaps, her favorite planet she had been stationed at thus far. Life was quiet and slow placed here, yet there was always something to do.
The med-clinic kept her busy; from treating every day wounds from farming accidents, to life-threatening diseases, to even the occasional blaster or knife wound. It was not as exciting, perhaps, as the disaster zones she had found herself working in several years ago, but the work was still rewarding, and she knew that she was making a difference in the inhabitants of Lothal’s life.
Even when she wasn’t at the med-clinic, there was always something to do. Located on the outskirts of a small settlement, Atris resided only an hour outside the city of Jathal. If the stillness of the plains became monotonous and she craved excitement, she need only hop atop a landspeeder. Jathal was full of amusements to pass the time and entertaining new people to meet, but after a childhood spent in Mos Eisley, it was a rare occasion for Atris to long for the bustle of the city over the quiet of the plains.
During her free time Atris amused herself by searching for kyber crystals (of which the planet was known to host), scavenging through a few of the old Galactic Empire mines that hadn’t been torn down, exploring Lothal’s vast and changing landscapes, and lending a hand to local farmers who never turned down assistance.
The light pouring in through the small window of her room was no longer avoidable, and Atris sleep opened one brown eye and then the other. Stretching, she checked the time and saw that she had overslept by thirty minutes. Unusual.
Forcing herself up from the comfort of her reinforced cot, she swiftly went through her daily morning routine. Now prepared for what the day might hold, she checked her holopad for any communication from her aunt or uncle. No new notifications, it read. Strange, she thought to herself, struggling to pull her hair up as she let her mind wander. Her aunt and uncle had been inconsistent in their correspondence of late.
Pushing the curtain that served as the door to her room aside, Atris stepped outside of her small room located behind the med-clinic and into the welcoming rays of the morning sunlight.
Once inside the med-clinic, a humble setup that suited their needs, she saw it was busy that morning. A delightful occurrence, since the farmers were not among those to seek medical help first thing in the morning. Their work came first, regardless of any need for medical assistance. Atris found it admirable that the farmers were so dedicated to their labor, and she never minded going directly to them and making house or “field” calls when the need would arise.
“You’re late,” Shaal quipped, flashing her browned haired friend a playful smile. Shaal was a 5’8” Twi’ilek with beautiful azure skin and the magnetic personality to match. Shaal always stood out in the crowd, in part due to her beauty, but even more so, Atris believed, due to her ability to charm everyone around her. Shaal couldn’t help but make friends wherever she went, and Atris was thankful that the Jedi counsel had seen fit to send the two of them to Lothal. Shaal had been invaluable to Atris during their time here and proved herself time and time again to be a loyal fellow Jedi, healer, and friend. “I’ve had to run this whole place single-handedly all morning.”
“Single-handedly? Careful, you might hurt the med-droid’s feelings!” Atris quipped back, scanning the room with her dark eyes. Her gaze fell on the tall, sandy haired man in the far corner Med Unit. He was nervously playing with his hands and purposefully directing his gaze to anywhere in the room but Shaal. He was a local doonium miner who had had feelings for Shaal for months now but could never work up the nerve to tell her, despite it being painfully obvious. Atris felt for him and wished she could somehow let him know the interest was reciprocated by her azure Twi’ilek friend. “There’s your boyfriend,” Atris gestured quietly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to keep him waiting?”
Shaal did not have to turn her head from her work to know who Atris spoke of. “He is not my boyfriend,” she denied quietly.
“Then you won’t mind if go take care of him—“
“I’ll do it,” Shaal cut her off, snatching the Bioscan Unit from Atris’ hands and tilting her head toward the entrance. “Besides, there’s your boyfriend.”
In the entrance to the med-clinic stood a small dark haired boy with his mother. He was a regular patient of Atris’, and the two of them had become fast friends. “Ubuuli!” Atris grinned, crossing the small med-clinic and meeting the boy’s enthusiastic hug with just as much, if not more, enthusiasm. She stepped back and took in the boy’s appearance. He had several cuts and was limping. “What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”
“He was out playing grav-ball with his friends again,” his mother explained in a tone of loving exasperation.
“And yet you have still not taught me how to play,” Atris sighed playfully, fondly ruffling Ubuuli’s dark crop of hair and helping him atop a Med Unit.
“I will teach you to play,” Ubuuli insisted.
“Well, if there’s one thing I know—it is that Ubuuli Gungi is a man of his word.” Gently and carefully, Atris placed her hands around Ubuuli’s twisted ankle to begin the process of healing while he regaled her with his best stories of grav-ball.
“My dad says I’m just naturally curious,” Ubuuli answered seriously.
Atris laughed, her eyes twinkling. “I see. Then I suppose I can’t fault you too much, can I?” She closed the bottle of curative skin sealant. “There. How do you feel?”
“Much better—“
The med-clinic shook as a horrible scraping and screeching sound could be heard passing overhead. Ubuuli was pulled into the safety of his mother’s arms as Atris rushed outside, Shaal directly behind her.
Atris stared up at the sky, eyes wide as a ship descended toward the plains, doomed to crash and burn. Black smoke billowed from its engines painting a line of black in a previously clear blue sky. The ship was descending at a rapid speed, and Atris was unable to identify the make of the aircraft through all of the smoke.
Atris nodded and hopped atop a land-speeder. One flick of a switch, and she was racing across the plains in pursuit of the ship as fast as her land-speeder would take her.
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