Prisoner Cellblock – Death Star

Intense pain was the first thing that came to Leia's mind as she slowly came back to awareness.

It was a stupid idea to try and take on Darth Vader in hand-to-hand combat, despite having the increased stamina and strength that came as a result of endurance training sessions with Anton over the years.

The Force…or whatever it was…helped Vader to have the upper and Leia considered herself very lucky that she hadn't been killed; no doubt Vader had something horrible planned for her in the near future.

Alderaan was still standing and even if she was killed, perhaps the rest of her family, friends, and the Rebel Alliance would be able to defeat this monstrous Empire that had grown to glory from dust.

The droids were her only hope of the Rebel Alliance gaining some sort of ground over the Empire.

According to her father, there were events on Coruscant years ago that resulted in the death of hundreds of Jedi, the dissolution of the Old Republic Senate, and the disappearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi; her father knew that he was still alive but had always said that Kenobi was in hiding, mourning a great loss.

It had taken a great deal of research and talking to Anton, but Leia had managed to discover that General Kenobi's great loss was that of a friend known as Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker; an attack on the Jedi Temple had killed many and Jedi Knight Skywalker had died while trying to defend the temple.

Even though Anton was considered trustworthy by Alderaan and the Rebel Alliance, Leia had always felt uneasy about the explanation; she had felt that Anakin Skywalker might still be alive somewhere.

Pain suddenly shot through Leia and all thoughts escaped her mind as she slipped back into blackness.


Lars Homestead – Tatooine

The twin sunrises shone down on the open pit of the homestead as Owen Lars stepped out from the security of the house; the warmth of the suns made his aging heart and body smile…for a moment.

All was quiet; Beru was already working in the kitchen, Luke was still asleep, and Anakin…

Letting out a quiet sigh, Owen quietly made his way to the entrance at the top of the house; he was unsurprised to see Anakin outside, dressed in a brown robe, seated on a perch while he gazed out at the rising suns; there was no doubt that Anakin had experienced another sleepless night of horrid dreams.

"Owen," Anakin's faint voice suddenly spoke as Owen silently debated on what to do. "Good morning."

Owen bit his lip and slowly made his way over to where Anakin was sitting, "Another sleepless night, Anakin?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "I'm surprised that the crash didn't wear you out."

"Owen, I am always worn out, I just never show it in front of Luke," Anakin replied quietly.

Owen nodded and the two continued watching the sunrise silently, "Owen, would you think I was crazy if I said that I had a dream about you and Beru being in danger?" Anakin asked. "Tell me the truth."

"With what you've been through, you are anything but crazy," Owen replied. "Tell me about the dream."

Anakin sighed, "I'm not sure how to describe it," he confessed softly. "I just feel that you and Beru need to pack whatever you can and get far away from here as fast as you can….I don't know why."

"Beru doesn't like to travel," Owen stated, gazing at Anakin. "Are you sure about this?"

Anakin nodded, "You should trust me, Owen," he replied softly. "However, it is your and Beru's choice."

'I'll keep it in mind," Owen said gently. "Anyway, I notice that Luke's still asleep…"

Anakin chuckled, "Luke's never been an early riser," he commented, gazing at his step-brother.

"I was counting on him to come with me to Anchorhead today," Owen grumbled. "I heard from neighboring farmers last night that Jawas won't come out this far anymore because of rumors that there's some sort of haunting effect in the Jundland Wastes that spooks them. The Jawas take their sandcrawlers to the edge of the cities and sell their wares to the locals…I told Luke that they were coming out to the homestead, but I guess not…I need some help getting the droids."

Anakin managed a grin, "It's no problem for me to go alone, Owen," he stated softly. "I don't mind."

"Luke needs to take on more responsibility around here," Owen scoffed. "He's 20 years old and instead of helping me with farming or helping you, he spends his time in Anchorhead…chasing space dreams because of that Darklighter fellow he hangs around with..."

Suddenly remembering a recent argument that he and Luke had about Luke wanting to join the Imperial Academy, Anakin flinched and placed his hand on his chest; the old wounds were acting up again.

Owen frowned, "Do you need some bacta cream?" he asked, concerned by Anakin's sudden pallor.

"No, keep it for emergencies," Anakin whispered as he leaned forward. "Old injuries are just acting up."

Owen knelt next to Anakin, "Should I call for a medi-droid?" he asked, seeing the pain in Anakin's eyes.

"It will only cause Luke to worry," Anakin replied faintly. "He's still so young…I want to protect him."

Gritting his teeth, Anakin rose and brushed the sand from his farmer's cloak, "Not a word to Luke about this," he said in a firm tone. "I'll have something to eat and a brief rest, but then both of us will be going to Anchorhead with you to pick up the droids…You can wake Luke and have him do chores if you'd like."

Owen nodded, "Beru's making breakfast in the kitchen," he explained. "She'll tell me if you don't eat."

Anakin nodded and swallowing hard, he moved off into the house without a backwards glance.

Owen sighed as he followed Anakin; his step-brother had suffered a great deal, but still seemed afraid of something that couldn't be talked about…Why wouldn't Anakin let anyone help him?


Anchorhead – Tatooine

"I don't know why Uncle Owen could have come with you to the droid sale," Luke whined as he followed Anakin over to where the Jawa sandcrawler was parked on the outskirts of Anchorhead. "I wanted to go into town and see if Biggs came back from Imperial training yet…I want to also apply for the Academy."

They had borrowed eopies from a neighboring farm to get the droids, as Owen's speeder had malfunctioned a week earlier and had been sent to Anchorhead for repairs. During the journey in, Luke had again brought up the subject of the Imperial Academy and Anakin was none too happy about it.

For a moment, Anakin was silent; Owen had decided to stay at the homestead and keep Beru company, as she was under the weather; truth be told, Owen didn't want to risk running into Derrick and end up embarrassing his only son as the young man tried to make his own way in the adult world.

Anakin sighed, "Luke, as I have told you before, I don't want you applying for the Imperial Academy," he replied in a firm tone as they approached the Jawas. "It's not a life I want for you…it's very dangerous."

"I don't want to be stranded at Uncle Owen's farm for the rest of my life," Luke scoffed. "It's boring."

Fighting the urge to give Luke a stern lecture, Anakin began to communicate with the Jawas and motioned for Luke to be quiet as the small creatures unloaded several droids from the cargo hold.

Anakin's eyes widened as Threepio and Artoo suddenly came down the ramp and on to the sandy surface; he hadn't seen his droids in years and now he began to wonder if everything was well.

"Look at all these rust buckets," Luke commented. "Uncle Owen's going to hate anything we get."

Ignoring Luke's ignorant comment, Anakin moved over to the Jawa and began to negotiate for Threepio and Artoo in the Jawas' native tongue; he knew many languages and dialects from his time in slavery.

Impressed by Anakin's knowledge and polite nature, the Jawa murmured a reply and motioned for Artoo and Threepio to go over to where Luke was standing; the droids quickly complied without complaint.

Thanking the Jawa, Anakin reached into his pocket and handed over some of the money he had been saving since living on Tatooine and doing repair work for neighboring homesteads; Owen had given him money, but Anakin had given it back to him, saying that he could cover the cost of the droids this time.

Owen had thanked Anakin for his kindness and had asked that they bring the droids safely back to the homestead; Anakin had again warned Owen to be mindful, that things could change in an instant.

With that business completed, Anakin moved back to where Luke and the two droids were standing, "We will not make it back to the homestead before nightfall," Anakin said in a firm voice. "We will reside in Anchorhead this evening and I want you to take the droids to the droid shop and work on them there….the golden droid is named Threepio and the smaller droid is called Artoo….go quickly now."

Luke nodded, "Are you all right, Father?" he asked, concerned by Anakin's pallor. "You look tired."

"The walk to Sidi Driss Inn will wake me," Anakin stated. "Now bring the droids and come."

Threepio gazed at Artoo, concerned by the voice tone of the older man, but Artoo let out a very quiet beep as they moved towards town; Artoo remembered Anakin and knew that they were in good hands.

It didn't take Anakin, Luke, and the droids long to arrive at the posh inn and the combination of Anakin's charm and money was enough for them to secure a room for the evening, even with their droids.

Anakin then secluded himself in the room and sent Luke off to the repair station with the droids, promising his son that they would meet up at the cantina for an evening meal. Luke complied without complaint.

Unknown to Luke, Anakin had been having premonitions of what was coming….both good and bad and wanted the opportunity to meditate alone and communicate through the Force with Obi-Wan about the visions; hopefully, the visions wouldn't amount to anything….for Luke's sake, Anakin hoped not.


Droid Repair Station – Dock # 3 – Tatooine

Luke let out an aggravated sigh; it was a mistake for his father to purchase such irritating droids.

"Might I be able to help you, Master?" Threepio asked as he watched Luke try and coax Artoo out of the corner of the repair dock. "I don't know why Artoo is acting like this….he's never been this way before."

Artoo beeped anxiously, "No, Artoo, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't want to get my father to come help me," Luke snapped in a frustrated tone. "I need to put this bolt on you."

Artoo beeped again and Threepio toddled forward, "Now you listen, Artoo!" he snapped angrily.

A blue light suddenly shot out from Artoo's eye, revealing a young woman dressed in white; she looked as if she were in trouble and trying to ask for help, but the sound was not working for some reason.

"Can you play the sound so I know who she is?" Luke asked Artoo. "She's absolutely beautiful."

Artoo beeped and without warning, took off out of the corner, past Luke and Threepio, and out of the repair shop; Luke swore and threw the restraining bolt across the room in frustration; what a day.

Taking a breath to calm himself, Luke quickly put a restraining bolt on Threepio, "Let's start looking for Artoo," he said, knowing that if his father found out about the problem, there would be problems.

"Artoo couldn't have gotten far," Threepio commented as they stepped out into the streets. "I'm sure he just decided to go find some nourishment at the local cantina for his hard working Master."

Rolling his eyes, Luke sighed, "I'm really gonna get it for losing Artoo," he moaned, unaware that Anakin was approaching from down the street to see how Luke was coming with the droid maintenance.

"Luke, I was just coming to check on you," Anakin spoke in a semi-cheerful tone. "Where's Artoo at?"

Luke swallowed hard, "Artoo sort of took off on me," he replied sheepishly, avoiding his father's intense gaze. "I was trying to put the restraining bolt on him and this picture of a woman appeared. I tried to get Artoo to activate the sound, but he wouldn't….Instead, he took off out of the repair dock…"

Anakin was silent for a moment and then looked amused, "I had a feeling that you would run into difficulty with these droids," he said, a small grin on his face. "Luke, I wouldn't worry….things will work out."

Anakin Skywalker…..I didn't think you were still alive…I call myself Darth Vader…do you remember?

Intense pain suddenly shot through Anakin's body, as if Sith lightning were hitting him all over again.

Without warning, Anakin felt himself sinking to his knees and then suddenly, he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Father?" Luke asked as he struggled to keep Anakin from falling. "Father, are you all right?"

Taking a deep breath to relax, Anakin suddenly felt Obi-Wan's power enter his mind and shield it, "Luke, I'm fine," he replied in a faint voice. "I'm just very, very tired….I think I'm in need of some rest."

Luke nodded and in silence, he helped Anakin walk back towards the inn, well aware that behind them, Threepio was muttering about Artoo's careless endeavour out into the desert nightmare of Tatooine.


Death Star

Ignoring the bewildered look of Governor Tarkin, Vader growled and turned his gaze to the endless space that was outside of the secure weapon that had been constructed over the last 20 years.

Anakin Skywalker was indeed alive; he was also still very strong in the Force and needed to be dealt with.

The Emperor must have known, Vader reasoned; there must have been reasons to keep it all quiet…

Obi-Wan Kenobi still being alive put a damper on another attempt to find, capture, and seduce Anakin Skywalker to the dark side; there was no other way as far as Vader was concerned…Kenobi must die.

However, Vader also knew that if he acted rashly….No, the death of Kenobi could wait and would soon be at hand if he acted correctly; perhaps Princess Leia would be enough to draw Kenobi to his doom.

"Governor Tarkin," Vader spoke, his voice sterner than death itself. "Come here."

Already unnerved by Vader's intensity, Tarkin did not hesitate to join Vader on the platform that provided a tantalizing view of space; he didn't dare to look into the black mask that was Vader's face.

"I want you to set course for Alderaan," Vader ordered sternly. "I know that the Rebels are there and Princess Leia will try and protect them with her silence, but she is actually condemning them to death."

Tarkin nodded, the look of ecstasy on his face intense, "It will be the perfect way to show the Death Star's power to the rest of the galaxy," he replied in a brisk, eager tone. "I will see to it right away."

As Tarkin hurried off to carry out the order, Vader sighed; soon the Jedi would fall into eternal darkness.


Sidi Driss Inn – After Nightfall

"…No….no….please….no….don't…..stop…..please, I'll do anything…."

Alarmed, Luke shot up in bed and gazed over at the bed in the far corner of the room; his father was thrashing around wildly in his blankets and pleading for help as if he were in some sort of danger.

Threepio had turned himself off for the night, Luke knew, shooting a gaze at the golden droid in the far corner as he got out of bed and moved over to where his father suffered in a restless sleep.

"Father, wake up," Luke said in a hushed voice as he gently shook Anakin's shoulder.

There was a gasp and Anakin opened his eyes, "Luke, oh Luke," he whispered, seeing Luke standing over him instead of in the armor of Vader like the dream had shown. "Oh…my precious son."

Swallowing hard, Anakin sat up, "Father, you had a nightmare," Luke explained. "It's over now."

Suddenly feeling the sweat pouring down his face, Anakin breathed hard and lowered his head so that Luke wouldn't see the fear that was no doubt in his eyes; Luke, however, sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled Anakin into a tender hug….Luke also had a feeling that something was very wrong.

Instead of expressing concern vocally, however, Luke gently held his trembling father…his father needed him more than ever now; something was obviously going on that couldn't be talked about.


Jundland Wastes

Obi-Wan sighed and gazed at the dormant Artoo that sat in the corner of his dilapidated hut; the droid had no doubt been sent by Mace or Leia as a sign that the Empire was giving the Rebels intense trouble.

It was unnerving; he had the droid to deal with and he could also feel Anakin's struggles about the past, present, and future….Anakin should confide in Luke, but Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was both stubborn to the core and overprotective of the only child he had left to his name….it was only natural.

Letting out a great sigh, Obi-Wan used the Force to again connect with Anakin and immediately, he relaxed; Luke was holding Anakin as they both drifted off to sleep…the horrific nightmare forgotten.

No doubt that the nightmare involved at least something to do with the events on Coruscant, Mustafar, or anything to do with the Dark Side; Obi-Wan knew that Anakin had not come to terms with them yet.

With Artoo safe, Obi-Wan knew that in the morning, things would change….the time would be at hand.

Obi-Wan was certain that Anakin knew where Artoo had gone and there was no doubt in Obi-Wan's mind that in the morning, the former Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, would bring Luke towards the Jedi fate.

It was time….time to revive the ghosts of Jedi teachings long past and begin a new era…a new hope.

That was the agreement…when the time came…Anakin and Luke would be the new hopes of the galaxy.

However, Obi-Wan knew that he would need to provide much help to ensure the revival of the fighters.