Coming Home

Chapter 1

Part 1

"Major Tardun, I have secured the inmates in their cells, sir! Everything is ready for the lock down."

"Good job, lieutenant. Proceed."

The young officer left to carry out his orders and then he would be relieved of his duties for the remainder of the night. It had been a long day and he would be glad to retire.

Wolf Tardun continued to stare out the window, thinking that his young officer was still new to this place. But the novelty would soon wear off. It always did.

He had been stationed here on this Sith forsaken planet for twenty years. The third planet in the Helskan system was deep in Imperial space and no one knew of its existence. So it was rarely visited, and then only by supply ships.

The prison facility on Helska had been built by the Emperor himself to hide political inmates, or people His Highness wanted out of the way, but not dead yet.

Seconds later, the lights inside the cellblocks turned off and Major Tardun turned to stare down the corridors. In the distance he spotted the trim figure of Captain Marnel. The sight of the patrolling officer brought a tight smile to his face. The officer was one of his most talented men but he had potential for much more, therefore he couldn't understand why he had persistently refused a transfer.

Dacken Marnel had finished his first round of the compound and was preparing for another sweep. Everything was calm, as always, the silence giving him a comforting feeling. He didn't like the war. After three of his brothers had died in the fightings and one had defected to the enemy, he swore he would not partake in it. The day he was drafted had been the worst of his life.

No more than three months in the middle of the fights he was transferred to the penitentiary on Helska. He was glad to be here, away from it all. Now he could perform his duties as an Imperial soldier and still maintain his vows.

As he got to the end of the corridor, he checked the two opposing cells. The one on the right housed a senator – no one cared where he was from anymore. They were all equals here. No titles, no ranks, no social status – none of it mattered. All had fallen from the graces of the Emperor and had to be kept away.

The elderly couple in the left cell though disconcerted him. They were kind and compassionate, despite their rough appearances. The woman had warm eyes which reminded him of his mother and the man seemed harsh, but he had a kind soul.

He had asked them one day about the motive of their imprisonment, but they didn't know. It didn't surprise him. Most didn't.

Before he left, he approached the bars. He could still hear some faint movement.

"Good night madam, sir," he said in a low voice, almost like a whisper.

"Good night, young man," came the soft reply of the old woman.

As the captain's footsteps died in the distance, the man shifted in his bed to gaze at his wife. "You shouldn't be so kind to him. He's our captor."

"Oh, come on Owen. He's just following orders. And his blue eyes remind me of our dear Luke. I hope he's all right." She broke into tears, sobbing quietly in her husband's shoulder.

"Don't cry, Beru. I'm sure he's all right. He has to be." But he couldn't stop the lump that formed in his throat. Lucky for him, Luke was away the morning the Empire paid them a visit at their humble home on Tatooine. They were roughly taken away and they never heard from him ever again.

That had been almost twenty years ago. Since then, Owen and Beru Lars had been inmates on the prison world and they had no idea were in space it was.