Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or Star Wars.
Luke and Darth were meditating after the workday in Darth's room. Luke was hoping for the safety of Dr. Jinn; according to his father, it was against a Jedi's nature to hope for anything negative or harmful.
Darth's room was surprisingly sparse. Except for the furniture, there were few personal touches: a professional portrait of Luke and Leia's mother on the wall, and a picture of Luke and Leia as infants on the nightstand. In the photo, they were asleep and wrapped in white baby blankets. Engraved on the silver frame was, "STARKILLER & STARKILLERETTE."
The only other personal memento was a teddy bear on the bed. Luke still couldn't believe that his father slept with a teddy bear. But then again, Luke was almost seventeen and still slept with a stuffed tauntaun.
After work, Darth Maul went straight to the airport. He bought another ticket to Tatooine for a flight that left within the hour, and a ticket from Tatooine back to Naboo for later that evening.
He didn't know how the cops found out, but if the cops were going to bust him tomorrow—he knew he was probably going to fail the lie detector test—he might as well finish what he started.
Maul didn't have any luggage as he boarded the plane to Tatooine. Weapons weren't allowed on planes.
Ben Kenobi, meanwhile, felt a disturbance in the Force.
Kenobi was still living on the same street that the Skywalker twins had grown up on. He had been living in his house when Anakin and Padme had moved onto the block with their twin toddlers. He had been Luke and Leia's physician and Anakin's meditation buddy for years.
The Skywalkers no longer lived in their house; in fact, it was up for sale. Qui-Gon Jinn was Kenobi's new meditation buddy; they met twice a week to share what was happening to them through the Force.
Tonight, Kenobi was meditating as usual, and he felt that something was wrong. Somebody was in trouble; Qui-Gon wasn't out of danger just yet. Kenobi felt a stirring in the Force. He felt that someone was going to attack Qui-Gon tonight, and possibly even kill him.
Kenobi picked up the phone. "Qui-Gon, it's Obi-Wan," he told his friend, using his Jedaist name. "I know you just got home from the hospital, but do you mind if I come over? I've felt something very dangerous and powerful in the Force. I need to share it with you."
"I guess, as long as you don't mind me relaxing on the couch. I'm kind of groggy."
"That's fine. Is your housekeeper there with you?"
"Yes, she is."
"Great. I'll be right over."
Ben hung up the phone, picked up his keys and wallet, and got into his car.
The plane landed in Tatooine at 7:32 PM. Darth Maul rented a nondescript black car and drove to the condo building where Dr. Jinn lived. He didn't have a weapon, but he didn't need one.
The parking lot at the condo building was underground, which was the best scenario in terms of witnesses. There were so many cars that nobody would remember seeing his. After parking in the middle of the lot, he walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor.
Last time, Darth had scaled up to Dr. Jinn's third floor bedroom window, but unfortunately, there was no time for that this time. He didn't have time to secure a hook and rope. He was going to have to break in to Dr. Jinn's condo the old fashioned way: with a credit card.
The elevator opened on the third floor, and the hallway was quiet. Nobody was out; they were all in their condos watching Jeopardy, drinking wine, and reading the paper. Darth didn't know the number of Dr. Jinn's condo, but he knew where it was located, based on where his windows were on the outside. Darth crept around for a few minutes until he found the condo he was looking for; Dr. Jinn lived in unit 35.
Before breaking in, Darth Maul put his ear to the door. He wanted to know if Dr. Jinn was in the room.
Drat. From what he heard, Dr. Jinn and some other man were having a conversation:
"What is the Force telling you, Obi-Wan?"
"The Force is telling me that I need to stay with you, Qui-Gon. You're in danger."
Inside the condo, Qui-Gon Jinn leaned back on his sofa. "Obi-Wan, did you have these feelings in the Force when I was attacked the other day?"
Dr. Kenobi shook his head. "No, Qui-Gon."
"Well, then, is it possible that your Force sense is a little confused? How often have you been meditating lately?"
"Honestly, Qui-Gon, I haven't been meditating much at all lately. I haven't been able to get calm enough, after you were attacked." He paused and sat down on an easy chair. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."
Listening at the door, Darth Maul made a quick decision. He was going to wait until Dr. Kenobi left Dr. Jinn's condo—and then he was just going to charge in. But what if Dr. Kenobi decided to spend the night, and Darth had to go back to the airport to catch the plane back to Naboo?
Not possible, Darth Maul decided after listening to more of the conversation. It was pretty obvious that Dr. Jinn just wanted to go to sleep, and was probably going to kick Dr. Kenobi out sooner or later.
Darth Maul looked up and down the hall, just to make sure that the hallway in the condo building was still empty, and then put his ear to the door once more.
Luke went to school online, but he still had homework. He loved to sit at his desk, which was in his father's study, propped up against one of the few windows in the house, and look out the window as he did his homework.
As Luke was meandering through trigonometry, he happened to look out the window and see a car careening down the road at odd angles. It was swerving from side to side. The driver was obviously either driving under the influence or a crazy person.
Luke watched in amazement as the driver swerved too far over to the right, struggled to correct himself, and ended up smashing into the rear end of Darth Vader's Cadillac Escalade.
"DAD!" Luke shouted, moving over to the door of the study and shouting out into the hallway. "SOMEONE JUST SMASHED INTO YOUR CAR! AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MANGLED YOUR NEW LICENSE PLATE!"
Darth Vader shouted a curse word, grabbed a weapon, and headed outdoors. Even though something was nagging at the back of his mind that someone he knew might be in trouble, Luke went back over to the window and giggled.
Up Next: Darth Maul Attacks Again
