Chapter Nine:
When he woke, it was to the serene sounds of... something. He couldn't quite describe what it was he was hearing, but he had never— to his knowledge— felt so at ease. Slowly his eyes opened, and he worked his way through blurred vision and a slight headache to see a slanted roof made of some sort of leather.
Frowning, Luke shifted his head to see what else was around, and to try to figure out where he was. Everything was above or level with him, so that meant he was lying on the floor. He felt a pallet of what seemed to be furs beneath him, and welcomed the warm change from before.
That was when it hit Luke that he was no longer in the cage.
With a croak, Luke opened his mouth to try speaking. He ended up coughing instead, and his dry throat scratched uncomfortably.
"Oh, you're awake!" said a sudden voice on his right, and Luke turned his head again to see a human girl move to his side.
"Get Tiru!" she called to someone Luke hadn't seen yet.
She knelt beside him and felt his forehead while Luke blinked slowly at her, studying the girl curiously. Her olive skin was set off by midnight-black hair and a few dark freckles. She had eyes that were a mixture of brown and green, and she wore some type of fur outfit.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
Luke worked his lips, trying to get some moisture back. She saw this and held up a finger. Turning, she grabbed a small cup and then reached behind his head to lift it up so he could drink.
Luke had never been so happy to have water sooth his throat.
"Th-thank you," he said, though his voice was still rough. It must have been from all the smoke and his screaming, Luke mused.
"Not a problem," she replied, her hands now moving up and down his body.
Luke shifted uncomfortably at the sensation of her warm fingers upon bare skin. "What are you doing?"
She lifted one brow. "I'm checking your bandages."
Luke frowned. "Bandages?"
She lifted a second brow. "Yes, don't you remember getting all these injuries?"
Luke lifted his head and peered upon himself... and promptly blushed through his recall. He wore only a cloth over his groin...
"Ah... yes, I remember now," Luke muttered. "But can I have a blanket to cover over with please?"
"When I'm done, yes," she said as she continued to work.
"What is your name?" Luke asked softly after she'd worked a few more minutes.
"Kira," she answered simply.
"Oh." Luke paused. "Thank you for helping me Kira."
Her lips curved into a small smile. "Of course."
"He's awake now?" asked a new voice that was definitely male.
Luke returned his gaze to the entrance and lifted his brow to see an older human boy there, dressed also in furs: but his were adorned with trinkets and branded with images. He held himself proudly, which led Luke to believe he was important around here... wherever 'here' was.
"Yes, and he's healing quite nicely," Kira said, going to one knee for a moment and then standing.
Luke assumed this was Tiru, and he waited to see what this boy would do. He looked to be about five years older than Luke. The young man walked over to Luke's pallet and peered down upon him intently.
"What is your name?" his voice was a soothing tenor.
Luke hesitated uncertainly. Could he trust these people? Yes they had healed him... but what did they want him for? Finally, he decided that he had nowhere else to go, and since he knew nothing of his past, he would have to take a leap of faith.
"My name is Luke," he replied quietly.
The other boy's eyebrows lifted. "Luke?" he repeated almost thoughtfully. "That's a good name."
Luke blushed lightly. "Um... thank you? Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name is Tiru," the boy said, kneeling beside Luke now. "I am currently the chief of the Denei tribe here on the planet we call Trichi."
"Trichi?" Luke echoed. "Denei?"
Tiru nodded. "Yes. Now, I must ask: why were you in a cage? Are you a criminal? Where did you come from?"
Luke swallowed nervously. "I... I don't know."
Tiru frowned. "You don't know? Which part?"
"All of it," Luke said honestly.
Tiru looked dubious. "All of it."
Luke nodded. "I don't know who I am other than my name..." he said timidly. "I... I can't remember anything before the ship I was in took off."
Tiru frowned. "Well, you did hit your head a few times..."
But Luke shook his head. "No, before that."
Tiru thinned his lips. "Okay then... what do you remember?"
"There was an older boy: he told me to enjoy my exile, and then... well, I woke up to a cage and bitter cold. Then we crashed, and I blacked out again until now," Luke replied.
Tiru studied Luke openly and intently for several long, tense moments while Luke tried not to fidget.
"You're telling the truth." Tiru finally decided. "You're eyes are clear when you speak, and I can see it in your demeanor. Do you have any intention of hurting my brothers and sisters?"
"Brothers and sisters?" Luke clarified.
"We see ourselves as more of a family than a tribe," Kira supplied helpfully. "But we're not actually related."
"Oh." Luke said, and then turned to Tiru. "I really wish I could remember who I was before... where I came from. I... I just know there's someone important to me out there."
Tiru looked truly sympathetic, almost like he understood. "I know, Luke. There probably is someone out there looking for you. But there are no cities or spaceports on Trichi. What you see is what we have. I'm sorry, but there is no way to contact anyone outside of this planet's atmosphere. Believe me, we have tried."
"None at all?" Luke asked sadly.
"This is your new home now," Kira said softly, laying a gentle hand upon Luke's part-bandaged, part-bare chest. "So you may as well accept that sooner rather than later if you ever want to be happy again."
Luke contemplated all their words seriously, knowing deep inside that they were correct. Finally he sighed and answered Tiru's original query. "No. I don't want to hurt anyone, and if I did before I lost my memories, then I am sorry."
Tiru nodded slowly. "And if we accept you into our tribe, our family, can you accept us in turn? Will you do your part to keep us fed and safe?"
"I'll do what I can, yes," Luke said. "But... I don't know anything..."
"We will teach you, Luke," Tiru assured him. "But you must also accept my leadership, and you will be given chores like everyone else. You will also have to adapt to our way of life."
"I promise to behave the best I can," Luke responded. "I don't want to cause anyone any trouble."
"Good." Tiru sighed and stood. "But for now, rest. I will have a meal brought to you, and fresh clothes. You will have to wear furs or leather now: we don't have cloth and such to make clothes like you had on before."
Luke nodded. "Alright. And thank you... for saving me."
Tiru inclined his head and left.
00000
Anakin walked through the door to find an empty living room. He stretched out with the Force and found his ladies in Luke's room. With a heavy heart, Anakin trudged in to join them.
"Daddy?" Leia's voice greeted him, and she ran up to hug him.
"Leia." Anakin dropped down to embrace her fully. After a moment he spoke again. "Let's have a seat."
Leia obeyed without question, sensing his mood, and she and Padmé watched as Anakin sat before them on Luke's mattress.
Anakin took a deep breath, prepared to tell them...
"You didn't find him," Leia said softly, already crying silently.
Anakin's shoulders slumped. "No. I did find out who took him, but he's now dead, and Artoo has not been able to retrieve the data from the Archive's terminal he used."
Padmé frowned at Anakin's bitter tone. "Who was it Ani?"
"Orin," Anakin gritted.
Padmé and Leia both gasped. "No!"
Anakin nodded once. "Yes. He wanted to take Luke's place, and when I refused, he took Luke away to get back at me. And he killed himself before I could get Luke's location... without turning to the Dark Side."
There was a long moment of silence while everyone processed the new information.
"You did the right thing Daddy," Leia said fervently, surprising both her parents. "It would have been wrong to force it out of him... and Luke would never want you to become a Sith just to find him."
Anakin's eye misted and his heart grew in size at her words.
He leaned forward. "This isn't over. We will not stop until we have found Luke. If we have to search every single planet one by one, then that's what we will do. However long it takes, we will find Luke. I promise." Anakin held out a hand. "The Jedi have agreed to keep their eyes and ears out, but we won't just sit idly by while they do that. We will use all our resources and free time to look. And we won't stop until he's home again."
Leia and Padmé shared a look, and then turned back to the patriarch of their little family. Leia placed her hand over her father's and then Padmé followed suit.
"Until he's home." Leia stated.
Anakin looked them in the eye. "There's one more thing: Orin blocked Luke's memory... all of it. So when we do find him, be prepared for him not to recognize us."
His wife and daughter swallowed at that, but then they squared their shoulders and nodded.
Anakin felt the first true stirrings of hope. "Alright then. Let's do this."
00000
It was another two days before Kira released Luke from what he now knew to be the medical tent. Luke was dressed in a simple pair of brown pants and boots, and a black tunic; all made from leather and fur.
Tiru led him from the tent, and Luke got his first true look at the planet of Trichi and the Denei tribe's home. It was situated in a forest, with the tents of varying sizes nestled against the trees. The camp was huge; Luke could already see that, with tents, and even a few wooden buildings he saw might be community center of some sort. He saw pens of birds and other small animals, and then here and there were fires and cooking set-ups.
One thing Luke also noted was that there were kids everywhere.
But no adults.
"Are there no grown-ups here?" Luke asked, looking around to confirm what he'd already seen.
"No," Tiru answered. "Do you recall two years ago when the news reported a missing ship full of school kids?"
Luke started to reply that he couldn't remember if he tried, when Tiru grimaced. "Wait, don't answer that. Sorry."
Luke actually chuckled, making Tiru lift an amused brow. This kid seemed to have a sense of humor on him. That was good.
"That's okay," Luke said.
"Anyway," Tiru went on. "Two years ago a massive field trip of Core-World students left on a field trip. Everything went just fine until we left Naboo for the Outer Rim. Our ship was ambushed by pirates looking to make a massive amount of money in exchange for a mother-load of new slaves to put on the market."
He waved at a young woman that greeted him as they passed. It did not slip Luke's notice that he was the center of attention anywhere they went. Then again, he was a new kid in their home, so why wouldn't they be curious about him?
"They killed all the adults without mercy, and began to round up the kids. They took a few kids before the rest of us managed to put up enough of a fight to get to the escape pods and shuttles. They caught the escape pods, but the shuttles managed to get away. However, we were shot down, and now here we are. This planet is so far out on the Outer Rim that no one knows it's here. We tried for weeks to get the shuttles' communications arrays to work, but it was no use.
"Finally we decided to just make the best of our situation, and we began to look for some place to call home. We all lived in relative peace for about a week before some of the kids got restless. Jauhz was the main issue: he wanted to lead us all, and there were many who wanted him to. But the majority did not, and they kicked him out of camp."
Tiru cleared his throat. "I had led the majority of the students off the Lucky Voyager and so a large group of my fellow students asked me to be their boss. However, there were others who also wanted to lead, and eventually we split into eight various groups. We called ourselves tribes, and each took up a place of residence and did whatever their group deemed they should.
"I have the largest group: there are one hundred Denei. The second largest— and by far the most dangerous tribe— are the Rykers, who are led by Jauhz. They turned violent and are the biggest bullies around. They raid other tribes for most of their supplies. Thus we all learn to fight so we can defend ourselves and our supplies, such as food and medicine."
"The Denei trades with the other tribes: it's the one thing we all have in common. Each tribe has something they specialize in, and they trade their abundance for what the other tribes have. The Denei usually provide food and clothing. The most respected tribe— in my mind at least— is the Saai, who have dedicated themselves to healing. They are mostly left alone because of this, even by Jauhz."
Luke took this all in with studious attention, eager to learn all he could and start his new life. He wanted to be helpful; wanted to have a place among his new family.
"What can I do?" Luke asked.
"Well, we will start you on learning about kilits," Tiru answered, gesturing to a herd of free-roaming equines at the edge of camp. "You will need one— everyone has a mount— and you will need to bond with it: they don't just let anyone ride them. Eventually you will also learn to hunt, how to make clothes, fight, and build things. Those are just a few skills, too. By the end of a few months, you'll have it down, trust me."
"How do you know for sure?" Luke inquired nervously.
"Because: out here, it's either adapt or be killed," Tiru said seriously, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder. "You must learn to become self-sufficient, yet you also need to learn to support the tribe. It's a fine balance, but once you have it down, you'll be all set."
Luke stared at the herd of kilits once he and Tiru stopped walking, and he thought long and hard about things. He wanted to remember who he'd been, it was true. But if there really was no way off-planet, would that matter? Or would it only be worse to remember and not be able to go back?
Besides, his past few days had been harsh and horrible; his treatment despicable. The Denei had been nothing but kind to him. How could he just walk away from them now? Aside from that, something about being here felt... warm and comforting.
He didn't know why, but he did know it was a good place to be.
With a deep breath, Luke took his first steps into a new life, ready to do his part and find his new place in the galaxy.
"I'm ready," he stated seriously.
Tiru grinned. "Then welcome to the Denei tribe, Brother Luke." He clapped Luke on the shoulder affectionately. "Now, let's get you a four-legged companion."
(A/N: This marks a shift in the story, just so you all know.)