AN: This chapter shows more what hasn't changed than what has. Ah, well. It always takes me longer to edit script than to write, thus the delay in getting this out there. Now, to think on the next discussion...
Thank you everyone who's been reviewing.
Leia was not happy with the turn of events. Darth Vader, one of the most evil people in the entire galaxy, had just declared himself her father. What was worse was that she believed him. "Why should I believe that you are my father?"
"Well, a simple genetic test would tell you, but the Force is strong enough with you, Leia, that you should simply be able to tell."
The fact that he was right didn't improve her mood. "I have a brother?" she queried him, hoping the abrupt change of subject might throw him off a bit.
"Yes. His name is Luke. I believe he will join us at some point in the near future in an attempt to rescue you."
"From you?"
"Unless you plan on getting taken prisoner by the Black Sun or something, I imagine so."
She shuddered. The Black Sun was a thousand times worse to its prisoners than the Empire. "I think not."
"You sent an escape pod down to the surface of Tatooine."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"As you wish," he said, and was about to say something else, when his commlink went off. "Yes?"
"Lord Vader," a tinny male voice said, "The Stormtroopers report that the escape pod has droid tracks leading away from it into the desert. They await your instructions."
"The droids are of no consequence. The Princess has been cooperative in telling me the location of the Death Star Plans."
"Yes, My Lord. Shall I have them return to the Devastator?"
"Yes. We are scheduled to dock with the Death Star in twelve hours. I would rather not deal with Tarkin any more than necessary."
"We should have plenty of time, sir. Piett out."
Vader returned his attention to Leia, "The plans are with the droids, aren't they?"
"I am not going to tell you," she said defiantly.
"Well, it seems that this would be the method by which Luke would most easily get involved with outside events. Tatooine is not the best place to keep current with galactic events."
"How would you know?"
"I was raised there."
"The high and mighty Darth Vader was raised in the Outer Rim?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes. I was a slave until I was nine. I realized two weeks ago that I gave myself willingly into slavery again when I was twenty-three. I will not be a slave any longer, and I need your help to accomplish that. Yours and Luke's."
"I want to help you, but this is all so sudden.…"
She got the impression that if she had seen his face, there would have been a lopsided grin on it. "I've never been one to plan well, but I make it through alright. I've always had other people around me who have been better planners than I am. It's one thing I miss about …"
"You miss about what?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"About someone I used to know. He's probably dead," he said pessimistically.
"Who is it?" she asked again.
"An old Jedi Master, the one who trained me," he said, "I have begun to think that he was always right, I was just too blinded by my own arrogance to see that."
"And his name?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Vader said after a long pause.
Leia was shocked, very shocked. She couldn't think of a thing to say in response to that.
"Do you know something about him?"
It took her another few moments to compose herself. "He lives on Tatooine."
"That was your reason for coming here, then?"
She nodded.
"So, Luke has been living with Owen and Beru, and Obi-Wan has been watching over him, and probably training him in the Force. And you sent your droids down to the surface, with a message for Obi-Wan, to get the plans for the Death Star, which you placed within these droids, to somewhere that the Rebellion could use them. What droids did you send on this mission?"
Shocked at how easily he'd put everything together, she answered, "C-3P0 and R2-D2."
"And why in the world would you trust the pile of junk that I built when I was eight to do any such thing? Artoo I can understand, but Threepio? Please tell me you had him reprogrammed or something."
"I think he had his memory wiped about the time I was born, but I don't think anyone reprogrammed him."
"Well, that's a start."
"You built Threepio?"
"Well, yes. That is how your mother came to have him, and I suppose that when she died, she had both Artoo and Threepio with her. Bail must have taken them to give to you; Obi-Wan would have had no use for them. He never really got on well with Artoo."
"And now they are on their way to try to get him," she said, sounding defeated.
"Well, Obi-Wan was never unkind to Artoo, he just didn't understand how I could befriend a machine. He said to me once that he thought I was part machine."
"What did you say to that?"
"I said, 'thank you, master,' and he told me that it wasn't a compliment."
"Why in the world would he tell you something like that?"
"I think he was telling me that I was spending too much time in the company of droids and other machines. When I was your age, if I wasn't busy with one of the countless demands on my time, I was up to my ears in something mechanical. I'm not sure I've ever slept much, but especially not when I was nineteen."
"Why not?"
"Oh, among other things, that was when I married your mother. The Clone Wars started then as well; I was very busy at nineteen."
Vader's comm went off again. "Sir, the Stormtroopers are back on board. We are prepared to depart, on your command."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant. Inform the Death Star of our ETA."
"Yes, My Lord. Is there anything else?"
"No, that will be all."
"Yes, sir."
He returned the object to a pocket on his belt, and said, "You should sleep now as well. I have duties to attend. You will be allowed anywhere that Jaya is. Once we have docked with the Death Star, the ship will be emptied. You will be allowed to visit the other parts of the ship as long as you don't get yourself into trouble. You will not be allowed to make contact with anyone off the ship, but I don't see that as a problem for you, do you?"
The restrictions were much better than she thought she would be allowed to get away with, and much better than she had any right to expect. He did seem quite willing to allow her leaway. She didn't know if it would incite the violence that he was known for if she tried to do something less than honest with what he was giving her. "I can do that, but for how long?"
"Not long. I expect two days at the most."
Luke was in his landspeeder as he chased down the droid that Owen had purchased. The R2 unit was going to be a pain if nothing was done about it. He felt the sudden urge to look up, and found that the ships he had watched engaged in battle no longer winked in the sky. They were gone. Some part of him, for reasons he couldn't yet fathom, was sad.
"Old Ben Kenobi lives out in this direction somewhere, but I don't see how that R2 unit could have come this far. We must have missed him. Uncle Owen isn't going to take this very well," he told Threepio.
"Sir, would it help if you told him it was my fault?" the droid asked him.
"Sure," Luke said, brightening at the prospect of being able to get out of trouble, "He needs you. He'd probably only deactivate you for a day or so."
"Deactivate! Well, on the other hand if you hadn't removed his restraining bolt…"
"Wait, there's something dead ahead on the scanner. It looks like our droid…hit the accelerator," he told Threepio, pointing in the direction that he wanted to go in. It wasn't long before the two of them caught up with the rogue R2 unit.
Luke jumped out to stop the small droid. "Hey, whoa, just where do you think you're going?" he asked Artoo, who beeped a muted response.
Threepio laid into him then, "Master Luke here is your rightful owner. We'll have no more of this Obi-Wan Kenobi jibberish...and don't talk to me about your mission, either. You're fortunate he doesn't blast you into a million pieces right here."
"Well, come on," Luke said, heading back to the speeder, "It's getting late. I only hope we can get back before Uncle Owen really blows up."
"If you don't mind my saying so, sir, I think you should deactivate the little fugitive until you've gotten him back to your workshop."
"No, he's not going to try anything," Luke said certainly.
Suddenly Artoo jumped to life with a mass of frantic whistles and screams.
"What's wrong with him now?" he asked Threepio.
"Oh my…sir, he says there are several creatures approaching from the southeast."
Luke looked to the south with his rifle in hand. "Sandpeople! Or worse! Come on, let's have a look. Come on," he said, making his way up the canyon ridge.
As Threepio came up behind him, he said, "There are two Banthas down there but I don't see any…wait a second, they're Sandpeople all right. I can see one of them now."
Before Luke could react further, one of the Sandpeople appeared just in front of him. Threepio backpedalled until he fell from the ridge, and Luke fought with the Tuskan Raider, but was also similarly knocked back.
Obi-Wan Kenobi used the Force to project the cry of a Krayt Dragon through the area, and the Sandpeople fled from his charge. He sighed, wondering what had brought Luke all the way out to his home, or nearly so. He looked closely at Luke, both with his eyes and the Force, then he heard a quiet beep. He looked around, finding the source to be an R2 unit that was hiding in a crevice in the canyon.
"Hello there! Come here my little friend. Don't be afraid," he said to the droid, and it obediently moved toward him. The R2 unit's beeping mimicked worry as he approached Luke's fallen form.
"Don't worry, he'll be all right," he reassured the droid as he placed his hand on the boy's forehead, checking for damage. Finding only minimal damage, easily corrected, even by a warrior Jedi, he insisted to Luke's battered mind that he wake.
"What happened?" Luke asked as he sat up.
"Rest easy, son, you've had a busy day. You're fortunate you're still in one piece," he told the boy.
"Ben? Ben Kenobi! Boy, am I glad to see you!" Luke said excitedly, causing Obi-Wan to smile slightly. He'd never really gotten used to being called 'Ben.'
"The Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly. Tell me young Luke, what brings you out this far?" he asked seriously.
"Oh, this little droid! I think he's searching for his former master...I've never seen such devotion in a droid before...there seems to be no stopping him. He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours? Do you know who he's talking about?" Luke asked earnestly.
Obi-Wan pondered this for a moment, stroking his beard. "Obi-Wan Kenobi...Obi-Wan? Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time…a long time."
"I think my uncle knew him. He said he was dead," Luke said, sounding discouraged.
"Oh, he's not dead, not…not yet," Obi-Wan said, smiling again. Maybe this would get them off this, as Luke would put it, 'dustball.'
"You know him!" Luke shouted excitedly, getting up to go in search of this 'mysterious' Obi-Wan.
"Well of course, of course I know him. He's me! I haven't gone by the name Obi-Wan since oh, before you were born," he told Luke. The fact that it had been hours before wasn't particularly relevant.
"Then the droid does belong to you."
"Don't seem to remember ever owning a droid. Very interesting…" he said. It looked similar to the one that the boy's mother had once owned, but a sound came to his ears from the cliffs above them. "I think we better get indoors. The Sandpeople are easily startled but they will soon be back and in greater numbers."
Luke sat up, rubbing his head, and Artoo let out a most pathetic beep, reminding Luke of something. "Threepio!"
Artoo trundled off in the direction of the forgotten droid, and the two of them followed. They soon found that he'd been partially buried in a large sand pit from his fall. Luke flipped the switch on the back of the droid's head until the droid finally started.
"Where am I? I must have taken a bad step…" the droid said as his eyes lit up. Yes, these are the droids. I wonder what the galaxy has in store for us now?
"Can you stand? We've got to get out of here before the Sandpeople return," Luke said.
"I don't think I can make it. You go on, Master Luke. There's no sense in you risking yourself on my account. I'm done for," Threepio said. His fatalist attitude hadn't changed either.
Artoo beeped encouragingly at Threepio.
"No, you're not. What kind of talk is that?" Luke asked, as he and Obi-Wan helped the droid to his feet. Obi-Wan could feel the Tuskans returning.
"Quickly, son...they're on the move," he said, and the four of them headed for his home.
They reached it without incident, fortunately. He found some tools to help Luke fix the droid, and then he settled in for a few moments of deep thought while Luke worked.
"Your father owned droids much like these before he fought in the Clone Wars," he said, trying to sound as though he was just musing, but it was really something much more important than that.
"No, my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter," Luke said, letting what Owen had told him cloud his thoughts.
"That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved," Obi-Wan said. Not entirely true, but close enough. Owen thought that if Anakin had never left Tatooine, the galaxy would be a better place. But by the time that the two brothers met, they were both grown, or nearly so.
"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke deduced.
"Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father."
"I wish I'd known him," Luke said passionately. I wish you had been able to know my brother as well, son.
"He was the best star-pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself. And he was a good friend. Which reminds me…" I should give you Anakin's Lightsaber while I have the chance. It will allow you to know that I tell you the truth. He stood up and rummaged around in his chest as Luke finished with the droid. He found the lightsaber, and turned around and said, "I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did."
"Sir, if you'll not be needing me, I'll close down for awhile," Threepio informed Luke.
"Sure, go ahead," Luke said to the droid, and Obi-Wan handed Anakin's Lightsaber to his son, prompting the question, "What is it?"
"Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster," he said, and Luke activated the lightsaber, fascinated by the weapon. Obi-Wan continued, "An elegant weapon for a more civilized time. For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire."
Distracted by the sapphire glow, Luke asked, "How did my father die?"
Obi-Wan took his time in answering, knowing that his point-of-view on the issue would always be skewed, but that this was the only way he could look at it and stay sane, "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."
"The Force?" came Luke's curious prompt.
"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together," he said, repeating the first lesson he'd ever had on the Force.
Artoo's beeping interrupted them, but it drew his attention back to why Luke was there. "Now, let's see if we can't figure out what you are, my little friend. And where you come from."
"I saw part of the message he was…" Luke started, ever trying to be helpful. It was a trait he'd inherited from his father. Artoo started the recording with no further prompting from them.
"I seem to have found it," Obi-Wan said, sitting so that he could watch the recording.
Leia, for that was the only person it could be, started talking, "General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."
He picked up his pipe, puffing on it as he thought for a little while. Leia would need her brother's help more than she needed a Jedi Master's. "You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan."
"Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to go home. It's late, I'm in for it as it is," Luke said, and he even got up to leave the house.
"I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," he said, though he knew it not to be true. His Master, Qui-Gon had been about the age he was now when he'd come to Tatooine and found Anakin.
"I can't get involved! I've got work to do! It's not that I like the Empire. I hate it! But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."
"That's your uncle talking," he said. It was true, but Luke wasn't quite old enough to see it.
Luke sighed at the mention of Owen, "Oh, God, my uncle. How am I ever going to explain this?"
Obi-Wan didn't answer him, "Learn about the Force, Luke," he prompted the boy. It wouldn't take much to make the boy's curiosity eat him alive until he did.
"Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going." Luke offered. Obi-Wan just smiled.
"You must do what you feel is right, of course."