Turns of Fate

Chapter 2

The Chancellor managed to get his pants back on before Anakin decided to lead Luke to the kitchens he kept asking about. As far as the Jedi was concerned, the boy was a bit of a nut. He was also endearing, in a strange way. Perhaps it was his adventurous streak, and the fact that the kid did not seem to realize the gravity of his situation. He had just insulted the Chancellor, used the force to humiliate the man, in front of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. The child should be more apprehensive of the repercussions.

But Luke, whoever he was, seemed completely at ease with himself. The other Jedi followed the pair down to the kitchens, where over a meal they began grilling the boy. Where did you come from? How did you get here? Who was your master? What are you doing here?

In order, Luke had answered, " From Tatooine", " Beats me," " Ben," and " How about you use your Force powers to tell me that?"

" This is good!" The boy declared , digging into his meal like the ravenous teenager he no doubt was. He was an amiable-looking youth, with a pleasant countenance, a short, slight stature and an aura mixed of childish energy and mysterious wisdom. His hair was blonde, like Anakin's, and he also had blue eyes. His skin was tan, no doubt from the desert suns, and he exerted a feeling of innocence and purity that many younger children on Coruscant already lost.

Anakin, reminded of himself when he was younger, asked, " How old are you?" He was sitting across from the teenager while the other Masters surrounded them, some sitting, some standing while whispering to each other.

" Fifteen." The boy said, with his mouth full of steak.

" Don't talk with your mouth full." Anakin reproached, feeling a perplexing instinct to protect the boy, not unlike the feeling he would often have when sensing his unborn child. The thought reminded him of his constant nightmares, and he sobered. Fifteen was very young. " Who was Ben?"

Luke inclined his head. He seemed to be tilting his head toward Obi-Wan, which just served to confuse everyone even more. Anakin knew some of them were wondering if Luke had been trained as a Sith, but there was no darkness in the boy. Only an untamed, playful spirit.

" Where are your parents, Luke?" Obi-Wan asked gently. " No doubt they are worried about you."

" They're dead." Luke said, a slight tremor in his voice, but he continued on flippantly, " So can't possibly be worried about me." There was a slight ring of falsehood about the statement, but not something that was definite. It seemed, rather, that the boy himself was a bit uncertain of the answer.

The Jedi glanced at each other. They had no idea what to make of this.

Palpatine was not in the kitchens, for the politician was still with the other senators in the halls above. Anakin frowned at the boy.

" Why did you do that to the Chancellor?" He asked Luke.

" He deserved it." Luke wiped his mouth with a napkin.

" For what?"

" You'll see."

Obi-Wan bent over to Anakin. " The Jedi Masters will discuss what to do with the boy." His master said to him. " In the meantime, keep an eye on him and make sure he does not commit more mischief."

To be frank, Anakin was not certain how he would stop the boy. Earlier, no one had sense the boy use the Force on the Chancellor. The teenager must have a lot of power to be able to pull off his trick without anyone sensing it. At the moment, however, Luke looked like any regular boy, who had a healthy appetite.

" I will, Master." Said Anakin. The Jedi Masters left.

The kitchens were mostly empty, except for a few Jedi padawans who looked at Luke curiously. Luke went on eating, but somehow Anakin could feel the beginnings of unease.

This boy is from Tatooine. Anakin thought to himself. He remembered the Tusken raiders, his mother, life back when he was a slave, and swallowed hard to control his anger. In front of him, across the table, Luke glanced up.

" You don't like Tatooine." The boy observed.

Anakin frowned. " No." He said. " But how did you know that?"

" Doesn't matter how I know. Just that I do." Luke said mysteriously. " Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One. The Force gave you a destiny too big for you."

Feeling an inexplicable anxiety gripping him, Anakin abruptly stood. " What do you know about me?" He demanded. " And how?"

Luke blinked. " Um...it's kind of all over the holonet?" He took another bite. " Not the fact that your destiny's too big though. But balance to the force, that's pretty huge for one person." He flicked his fork at the Jedi. " Don't crack under pressure, my friend."

Anakin watched speechlessly as the teen went back to his meal. The boy gulped down his juice and wiped his mouth for the last time. " Wow. That was a great experience." Luke then got up, abandoning his tray. " So they are discussing what to do with me, huh."

" Yes." Anakin followed his gaze, as Luke looked around. He noticed that Luke did not seem worried at all.

" You seem quite comfortable in your situation." Anakin observed. " Far from home, as you are. You are not the least bit alarmed."

" Oh, you missed the part where I was alarmed." Luke replied. " But it was pretty clear, the Force had something to do with my being here. So I decided, might as well go along with the flow."

Anakin lifted a hand to the back of his head, wondering what he was supposed to do with this child. The Jedi Masters took the task of deciding the boy's fate, but it was up to Anakin right now to keep him out of trouble.

Fortunately, it seemed like Luke had no interest in causing more incidents.

" So what's it like, living as a Jedi?" Luke asked Anakin.

Anakin blinked. " What do you want to know, exactly?"

Luke looked stumped by this. " I don't know. Guess I want to know more about you." He shrugged. " I've always wanted to get to know you, you know. Not just know about you, but really know who you were." He shrugged again. " Say, are you having nightmares yet?"

Anakin blinked, feeling a cold horror take hold of his heart. " What are you talking about?"

Luke made a strange face, like he just noticed something that was both surprising and awkward. " Oh."

" What?" Before he knew it, Luke's arm was in his grip. " What do you know about this?!"

Luke blinked owlishly up at him. The boy was small and young. It had not been that long ago when Anakin was his age, but somehow the boy looked so frail. His form was slight, and did not resist Anakin's hold on him.

" I thought passion was not the way of the Jedi," The boy said to him.

At these words, Anakin slowly let him go. Luke stepped back, looking solemn for the first time Anakin had seen him. The Jedi took a deep breath to calm himself down. " What do you know about the dreams," He asked again, this time with his eyes closed.

" Nothing much. Just that you tend to have them on occasion." Luke beamed. " Hey, can I see your room? You guys do have rooms here, right?" He started walking out of the cafeteria, prompting Anakin to hurry to catch up.

Who is this boy? What does he want? How does he seem to know things he should not know? All at once, Anakin's mind turned to his beloved wife, and the child within her. If this child knew about them...

" What do you know?" He pulled Luke to a halt. " What do you know about me?"

Luke met his gaze with his clear blue eyes. The sight of the sapphire orbs startled the Jedi.

" No more than you know about yourself, I bet." Luke grinned at him boyishly. He tilted his head. " The Force works in mysterious ways."

Anakin blinked. He could not shake the feeling that something was distinctly off about the boy. However, Luke had already turned around. He was, strangely enough, heading in the direction of the residence halls. They headed out into the Temple gardens where some of the Jedi padawans were tending to the growth. Above, the blue sky was filled with ships and shuttles. Luke glanced up as he walked, looking in open-mouthed wonder.

" This Ben," Anakin asked after a while, " Is he a Sith?"

" Oh no." Luke shook his head abruptly, but his eyes never left the busy sky. " Though Force, that would be bad news for you if he were, eh? I don't need to be a Sith. If I did decide to become one, I'd probably implode in an instant. The only reason why Darth Sidious lasted so long? It's because he's actually a pipsqueak guy."

" A...pipsqueak guy," Anakin repeated, stumped.

Luke burst out laughing. " You actually said it!" He did a few little hops of delight, stifling what could only be described as giggles. " Yes. The high and mighty Sith Lord that you Jedi are no doubt currently pursuing–just to be sure, you guys are looking for a Sith Lord, right?" He ignored Anakin's dubious nod to proclaim, " Well, even if you aren't, you will be quite soon, so there's no harm in telling you that you're about to look for a Sith Lord. All that explosive power he has with that Force lightning and what not? Purely because he's a wimp to start with. Otherwise, if you really allow your emotions to go haywire, they will blow you up. I kid you not." He then tilted his head. " Though it always puzzled us why Vader was...well, I guess he did blow up, in a fashion. So we're alright."

Despite his light tones, there was an obvious darkening of mood in the boy. Anakin had no idea what Luke was saying, but he felt a strange urge to connect with the youth. It was as if the Force was telling him that here was an answer to his problems. Perhaps that was what the boy meant, when he mentioned nightmares?

Padme's screams echoed in Anakin's mind, and the man felt his heart seize in desperation. He could not lose Padme. He would not know what to do. He could not bear it, if he lost his wife too. He had lost too many people in his life. His mother, the one thing he lived for, back on Tatooine. Qui-Gon, the one father figure he had trusted and came to emotionally depend on. Padme was the last of these people.

Luke was suddenly in his face. Despite the difference in height, suddenly Luke appeared almost as tall as Anakin himself. " You're off in la-la land, I see," The boy remarked. Then, with an impish grin, he added, " Are you in love?"

Among the young padawans, there use to be a joke that whenever a person is distracted, he or she must be daydreaming about someone they had a crush on. Since the Jedi were not allowed to love, this idea was absurd, but the joke was a dangerous one, easily leading to temptation by its constant reminder of what the Jedi could not have, so very early on, the Jedi Masters would banish this from use. It was a constant problem, however, so Anakin was no stranger to the jest. He was, however, not use to hearing it directed at him. It had been some years since he was last teased this way, and ever since he married Padme, the joke was more of an alarming reminder to hide his secret, rather than anything to laugh about. He gave Luke what must have been a startled glance, for the youth's smile faded after a few seconds.

" Practice your sabacc-face, my friend." The boy punched Anakin in the arm. " One might think a nerve's been touched." He walked away, and Anakin found himself struggling to command his legs to move, instead of standing where they were, frozen in fear. Who is this boy? What does he know? What does he want?

Luke, he sensed, was for some reason very uncomfortable, but the only reason Anakin knew was because of the boy's Force presence, and the feelings were very faint, as if the teen had been shielding himself. On the outside, no one could guess the discomfort the boy was feeling.

" Cheeks as red as the suns in the twilight!

Waist as thin as the needle's end!

Eyes that sparkle like the bright starlit night!

That is the girl I'm interested in!"

Luke whirled around, face beaming. " Oh come on! You know this song! Or were you too young to learn it when you left?"

He knows I'm from Tatooine. Anakin was starting to calm now. Luke seemed to know so many things, this hardly seemed to be surprising. And there was a small measure of comfort, something from that home that was not hostile and harsh. In his youth, he had sometimes sang songs with the other slaves as they worked, to bring a little joy into their otherwise miserable lives. Their masters would let them sing, not because they enjoyed the songs, but because they knew that the slaves needed some way to vent their rebellious instincts, and this was by far one of the least harmful ways.

When I grow up, I want to marry Mother. For she is the most beautiful woman in the world!

The happier days of his childhood in his mind, Anakin caught up to Luke, who was waiting for him, and the boy urged,

" Come on, I know all the lyrics. If you forget, Jedi Skywalker, just follow along with me;

Here, ye! Fair young damsel!

Pray tell, what's thy name?

That I may still sing to the stars at night before I sleep, hey!

Here, ye! Fair young damsel!

Pray tell, where you go?

That I may look there when the wind blows when I think of you, hey!"

" Children singing." Said a familiar voice. " Jewels of the earth."

Palpatine, his dignity restored, appeared at the side of the walkway. He had emerged from behind some tall plants, and at first Anakin had not noticed him. Luke broke off his song–Anakin had not joined him despite the boy's earlier invitation–and had the gall to approach the chancellor.

" If you like children so much, why don't you have one or two?" Luke asked cheekily.

The Chancellor was speechless. Behind him, some Jedi Knights were accompanying him in escort. They glanced at each other, baffled by the boy's audacity.

" Come to think of it, you're a bachelor, aren't you?" Luke grinned. " Hey, I didn't know that the Senate would elect an unmarried man to be the Chancellor. Politics must be pretty liberal in the inner rim planets! How did you even become Senator, if you were never married? Didn't people think that was a bit odd, an old guy like you with no wife or kids? Are you homosexual?" the boy made a face, " But then you'd have a husband!"

" Luke!" Anakin pulled the boy forcefully back with his hand. He bowed to the Chancellor. " I am sorry, Chancellor. The boy is..." He trailed off. Really, he had no idea why he wanted to defend the teen. Luke was a complete stranger to him before today–he was a stranger still. Perhaps it was because they both hail from Tatooine, but that did not mean he had to explain on the boy's behalf.

As Anakin tried to gather his thoughts, Palpatine seemed to exert an effort to maintain his calm. Anakin could not blame him. Luke was being rather rude. The Chancellor, no doubt choosing to be magnanimous rather than strict with the teen, replied, " Ah, I fear a man of my position has no time for such luxuries, young...Jedi. I aim to fulfill a higher calling."

" Oh, well said!" Luke laughed, though he sounded like he was gagging. " A fine answer for a politician such as yourself. I approve! I approve!" He then seemed to dance away from the group, down the path, reminding Anakin of a very young child, or a deer-like creature, frolicking among the flowers. " Sweet words, and sweet select actions–the optimal tools to win weak minds! Keep going as you are Chancellor, and you win all the idiots of the galaxy!"

" Chancellor," Anakin began in dismay, " I...I really cannot explain this."

" No need." Said Palpatine, his benevolent features contorted slightly in a fierce frown, and there was something distinctly unkind about his eyes. " He is a young rogue, no doubt ill-bred and of little consequence. He is no more harmful than a pesky fly."

Anakin decided not to mention that said 'pesky fly' had used the Force–without anyone sensing this–to pull down the chancellor's pants, something that could actually be quite harmful should the public ever get wind of it.

" What have you learned about him?" Palpatine went on to ask. " Who is he, and where did he come from?"

" He claims to have come from Tatooine. His name is, as you know, Luke."

" Just Luke?" The Chancellor frowned. " No surname?"

" He never provided us with one." Anakin replied.

" I see." Said the older man. " Very well." He then pasted on a rather fake-looking smile. Anakin was momentarily discomfited by it, before deciding that after the embarrassing incident earlier, it was a wonder the man had enough kindness in him to be as lenient as he was towards Luke. " Keep an eye out for the lad, young Skywalker." Said the Chancellor. " He seems to be in need of...guidance."

Anakin smiled. In truth, the Force seemed to be urging him to do the exact thing. " Yes sir." He replied.

The Chancellor then appeared to debate whether or not to speak further. He seemed to want to tell Anakin something. It made the Jedi wonder what the man came to the gardens for. After a moment, however, Palpatine apparently decided to let the matter drop. " I shall see you again very soon, young Skywalker." He clapped his hand on Anakin's shoulder. " Take care of yourself, and of him. See that he does not go astray with his...powers."

" Yes sir." Anakin inclined his head in salute.