Family Ties

Chapter II: Who You Really Are

Leia groaned as she sat up in bed, her head throbbing. A quick look at her clock told her that it wasn't even dawn yet. She threw off her sheets and threw her legs over the bed. Resting her forehead against the palm of her hand, she tried to ignore the pain in her head. It had been like this for several nights. She would wake up with a headache that had just appeared and it would be impossible to go back to sleep.

Through the fog in her brain that the headache had induced, Leia remembered that her uncle had wanted her to take the two droids up to Anchorhead this morning. It would be smart to get there early, before all of the traders and droid vendors made began to do business. She stood up and tried to shake off the dizziness. Once she was relatively sure she could stand, Leia got dressed and went out to the kitchen.

She made a quick pot of caffa and took two bacta pills for the pain in her head. Shortly afterwards, the throbbing subsided and she could think clearly again. The young woman went out to the garage and flicked on the lights. Artoo and Threepio were currently deactivated and sitting in a corner. She activated the smaller droid first, receiving several indignant beeps. Next she activated Threepio. The protocol droid greeted her fondly and turned to listen to the smaller one.

"Oh shut up," he snapped.

"What's he saying?" Leia asked.

"He did not approve of your decision to shut him down for the night. It's something he's not accustomed to."

"Too bad," she muttered as she went over to the work bench. She quickly found the key-chip to the family's speeder and took her uncle's E11 model blaster rifle. This early in the morning, there might be sand people out. "Let's go," she ordered.

She led the droids around the back of the garage where the old speeder was. Loading the R2 unit took sometime, but Threepio was easily able to maneuver himself into the passenger seat. Once the droids were strapped in, Leia buckled in and took the wheel.

The speeder shot off into the dune sea, towards Anchorhead. Hopefully the gate guard hadn't fallen asleep again.

Leia traveled for at least an hour, making slight small talk with Threepio as they went. The speeder pulled up to the Anchorhead gate shortly after an hour had passed. She hopped out of the speeder and walked up to a computer terminal next to the gate. Leia inserted her ID card into the receptacle. She waited a moment before a hologram of the gate guard appeared at the top of the terminal.

"You work on the Larrs Farm?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"State your business," he ordered.

"I need to have two of our new droid's memories erased," she responded.

"Alright," he replied as her ID was ejected from the terminal. "Don't cause any trouble."

Leia walked back to her speeder and watched as the gate slowly opened. She drove the speeder into the city and drove passed the guard's station. She navigated the streets, not having to deal with much traffic in the early morning hours. She pulled up next to the droid house and parked. Unloading Artoo was more difficult than it had been to load him.

In the distance, Leia heard the high pitched squealing sound of a rodian. She turned around and listened carefully. It had sounded like a pained cry. She reached into the back seat of the speeder and pulled out her blaster.

"Hello?" she called out.

She suddenly realized that the streets seemed to be deserted. A feeling of uneasiness began to well up in the pit of her stomach. The droid began to beep fervently, adding only more tension to Leia's mind. "What's he saying?" she asked Threepio as she kept looking around.

"He says that there are several non-human organics moving this way," the droid replied.

"Where?"

"Over there!" he cried as a band of men came out of an alleyway.

"Hey, check it out!" one called as he spotted Leia.

The men snickered as three of them broke off from the main group and started towards her. All three of them seemed to be scoundrels of some type, probably smugglers. They were all armed with D-34 Blaster pistols at their thighs. Leia raised her blaster rifle in warning. They stopped abruptly.

The three men stood about three feet from her; close enough for her to smell the alcohol on their ragged breaths. "This one's gonna put up a fight," one of the men said as he turned away and walked back towards the main group.

The other two thugs weren't so easily intimidated. They were bolder and far drunker. One of them stepped forward, forcing Leia to act. She fired a low charge shot at his stomach. It burned through his shirt, causing a mild burn on the abdomen. He yelped in pain as he clutched at his gut. The second man drew his blaster and pointed it at her. Leia saw that the power gauge was at its maximum. The man's actions spoke of like someone who was completely unaware of what they were doing.

Suddenly, the man dropped his arm and looked around, as if someone was talking to him. His face was completely vacant. After a moment he gave up his search. "Let's go," he muttered to the man who had been shot. The one who Leia had attacked seemed to consider charging her, but his face also went vacant as he began to look around. Seemingly agreeing with his partner, he turned and walked off.

Leia watched them as they went, considering the idea of just shooting them in the back. She reconsidered when she realized that the entire gang was making their way to the swoop track and didn't plan on bothering her.

"What happened?" Threepio asked Leia as he came to stand beside her.

"I'm not sure," she replied, scanning the area around her.

Her eyes were caught when she saw someone walking into the alley that the gang had just come from. "Wait here," she ordered as she began to walk towards it.

"Lady Leia!" Threepio called after her.

"Shhhhh!" she snapped.

Threepio fell back indignantly and watched as she disappeared from sight behind the closer of the two buildings that started the alley. Atroo beeped a question at him. "I don't know," he replied gravely. "But she told us to stay here." The small astromech droid beeped as it began to roll after her. "Wait!" Threepio called. "Where are you going?" The smaller droid didn't answer. Instead it continued to follow Leia. "Come back!" Threepio cried as he followed the smaller droid.

---------------------------------------

Leia followed the figure she had seen walk into the alley as he navigated through what was a maze of avenues and streets to her. She had no way of telling who this person was or what species he was. He was cloaked in brown and the hood was up. He seemed to know where he was going however. He walked quickly, though it looked somewhat strange, as if he was having difficulty keeping the pace. He rounded another corner and she followed. This one led them to a dead end, but at the end of the alley, Leia saw what had caused the squeal earlier. A young rodian was lying on the ground, bleeding from the rib cage area and looking as if he had beaten bluntly before being stabbed.

Leia watched as the figure walk up the rodian and kneel down beside him. Her view of the rodian was obstructed by the figure himself, but she could see that he was working with something. A moment later, she heard the faint squeal-like sounds a rodian speaking. She saw the rodian sit up and jabber at the figure. Although Leia didn't understand Rodian, she was pretty sure he was thanking the man.

The rodian and the man stood up and the rodian continued to jabber. Once he was finished, the alien started towards the exit of the alley. He stopped short when he saw Leia, blaster rifle in hand.

"It's alright," the man assured the rodian. "She won't hurt you."

The rodian waited a minute before it decided to believe the man who had saved him and ran off. Leia turned to the man in front of her. She recognized his voice, though she couldn't place it.

The man turned around and lowered his hood so that she could see his face. He was an old man with silky white hair on his head and course white hair on his face. Leia instantly recognized him. "Ben Kenobi," she said as the man approached her and offered her his hand. She took it and shook it fondly. She hadn't seen Ben in nearly four years, not since he had left his hut by the Jundland wastes.

"Leia," he said warmly as he pulled her into a hug. "What are you doing in Anchorhead so early in the morning?" he asked.

Before she could answer, they were interrupted by the sound of Atroo's warbling beeps as he rolled into the alley. Threepio quickly followed and began to try to explain what had happened to Leia. "Threepio, it's alright," she assured him before turning back to Ben. "These droids," she replied to his question. "My uncle wanted their memories wiped before the Darth Vader arrived."

Ben's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Vader?" Ben repeated. "I would think your uncle would have bigger things to worry about with Vader coming than these two droids."

"They claim that they were with the rebellion. Uncle Owen's scared that they might lead the Empire to us," Leia explained.

Ben nodded in understanding. "What if they contained information vital to the rebellion?" the old man asked.

"Uncle Owen says it doesn't matter," Leia replied. "He says things won't change even if the Rebellion takes over the Empire."

Ben chuckled. "That sounds like you uncle, but come. There may be other unpleasant people in this part of Anchorhead."

---------------------------------------

Ben Kenobi led Leia into his hut on the outskirts of Anchorhead. The two droids followed her closely as she went. Once inside, Artoo began to explore the new area while Threepio stood attentively beside Leia. Ben walked out of the room and down the hallway.

"What has your uncle told you about your father?" Ben called from down the hall.

"My father?" Leia called back. "Nothing, really. I know he was a cargo merchant on Desaan, but that's about it." Ben snorted. "He says they weren't all that close."

"I should say not," Ben agreed. "They barely knew one another. I believe they met all of once."

"Once? No, that's not possible," she said shaking her head. "Besides, how would you know my father?"

"I knew your father quite well," Ben replied as he came back into the room, a strange cylindrical shaped object in his hand. "I met him when he was boy and I knew him until he died."

"You knew my father?" Leia asked. Ben nodded. "Why didn't my uncle ever say anything?"

Ben shrugged. "Probably didn't want you following old Obi-Wan on some damn fool mission like your father."

"Obi-Wan?" she asked.

He smiled at her, only now realizing that she had never been told who he was; another sign that his old mind was beginning to slip. "Me," he told her. "My name is actually Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Oh," she said as she understood.

"Your uncle never really approved of your father, from what I gather," Ben explained. "He said your father should have stayed here on Tatooine and looked after your grandmother."

"Why didn't he?" she asked.

"Your father left Tatooine when he was nine," Ben explained. "He was taken to be trained in the ways of the Jedi, the peace keepers in the galaxy. He didn't learn of what happened to your grandmother until after it was too late."

"What happened?" Leia urged.

Ben shook his head. "It's not important. This is," he said as he held up the strange object he was holding. He handed it out to her. She took it and began to examine it. There was a small button on it that she depressed with her thumb. Leia let out a slight gasp when a blade appeared from one end with a snap-hiss.

"Your father wanted you to have that once you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. It's your father's lightsaber."

Leia was intrigued by the device in her hand. The weight of it hadn't changed at all when she had activated the blade, yet it was still there. "What is it?" she asked.

"The lightsaber was the weapon of Jedi," he replied. "It's not as clumsy or random as a blaster; a more elegant weapon, of a more civilized age. The Force is a Jedi's most depended upon possession, aside from the Force of course."

"The Force?"

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field that flows through the galaxy and guides all things. With the Force, all things are possible. Without it, nothing is."

"But I've never heard of it," she pointed out. "How can something so powerful never have been heard of?"

Ben seemed disturbed by the question. "I assume that that's the Empire's doing," he told her. "Once all of the men like your father were dead, they began to cover up their existence."

A new question arose inside of her mind, one that seemed like it should have been asked the moment she had discovered Ben's connection to her father. She closed down the lightsaber and looked at him. "How did my father die?" she asked.

Ben looked at her gravely. He sighed heavily and took a seat on the arm of a chair. "The Force is a powerful tool for a Jedi," he replied thoughtfully. "Some Jedi lose control and fall to the dark side of the Force. A young knight named Darth Vader fell to it. He betrayed and murdered your father."

"Vader?" she repeated. "Darth Vader murdered my father?" Ben nodded. "And Vader's coming here."

Ben shook his head urgently. "No Leia, you mustn't confront him!"

"But he deserves to die!" Leia snapped as she stood up.

"That may be true," Ben conceded. "But nothing short of a Jedi Knight could stop Vader now. And murder is not the way of the Jedi."

"It's not murder!" she insisted. "It's-,"

"Revenge?"

"Yes!"

"Anger, hate, revenge; these are the path to the dark side that Vader now walks," he cautioned.

"I'm not a Jedi, Ben! What does it matter if I act like one?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand yet," Ben replied. "But you will."

"Ben," Leia pleaded. "I have to! For my family!"

"Leia, there may come a time when you must face Vader," Ben told her. "But not until you are ready."

"And how can I get ready?"

"I can train you," he replied. "I can teach you the ways of the Force, but you must listen to what I say! You must learn patience. Your passions will be your downfall if you give into them!"

Leia didn't say anything for a moment. All of this new information had come as a bit of a shock. After a minute she nodded. She looked up at Ben, he eyes pleading. "My father was a Jedi?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then I want to become one. I want to learn the ways of the Force, as he did."

"Then I can help you," Ben said.

He put his hand on her shoulder and looked Leia in the eye with a reassuring smile. "I'm ready," she told him.