Man, time seems to be getting away from me. Well anyway here's the next chapter and we are in the to now! Yay!
I changed some lines just for the heck of it and seeing that I should chance some lines anyway.
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Four or so years later . . .
Leia felt hot tears of bitterness run down her face. She had known that if she went on this mission there was a chance that she wouldn't be going home to her son but she thought that things would be, well flawless.
She quickly wiped the tears away.
At least the plans to the Death Star were on their way to Obi-Wan and from him to the Rebellion. But that knowledge did little for her emotional state. She had promised her son when she had left the base that she would be back; now she would be breaking that promise.
At least she had recorded a message saying good bye little Anakin.
At the moment she was hiding deep deep in the hiding from stormtroopers; her blaster at the ready. One of the stormtroopers saw her and ordered for the others to set their blasters for stun. She shot first and then tried to race away only to loose conscience.
When she came to stormtroopers were standing over her. "Get up." One of them ordered. She then noticed that she was wearing binders. But she carefully got to her feet and they shoved her forward. She was then marched down the corridors of the ship that Cher Antilles, a relative of Bail and the Senator of Alderaan was borrowing from Bail. Leia had never been close to Cher especially seeing that Leia had a son out wedlock and Cher was always snotty to her in some form.
As she was led around a bend Darth Vader appeared from a side corridor. Leia gritted her teeth; of all the Imperials to be caught by it had to be Vader.
"My lord," Leia began slowly, "what can I do for you?" "You can tell me where the stolen plans that were sent to this ship to begin with." He rumbled. "I don't know what you're talking about." Leia said carefully; Vader could sense lies like a Kath Hound could smell fear.
At that moment a group of stormtroopers passed them. Leia felt fear when she saw that they were dragging Cher's lifeless body behind them; a thin but strong wire around her neck.
"She committed suicide before we came aboard." Vader told her simply and Leia could sense the truth in his words.
Anger built up in Leia at the thought that Cher had killed herself instead of sticking around. Her suicide made them look as guilty as they were. There was no way that Leia was going to convince the Sith Lord of her innocence now.
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R2 felt strange knowing that he was back on Tatooine in so long. He would have been admiring the landscape if he didn't have an urgent mission. He had to find Obi-Wan and give him Leia's message. If he failed then little Ani would never hear his mother's last words as she told him how much she loved him.
The suns were beginning to set now and R2 was now wondering if he should have told 3PO more so that he'd have someone to talk to here. Well now it was too late seeing that he and the protocol droid and he had parted ways hours ago.
He knew that lifeforms were close by; he could pick them up on his scans and he could hear them disturb rocks.
He hoped that they weren't the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine. They would destroy him and then the whole Rebellion would be lost in a spice mine without a glowrod and/or a guide.
Suddenly a Jawa appeared and shot something at him. R2 could feel himself shutting down and wailed in protest.
When he came to he was in what appeared to be a droid collection and it was moving. He deduced that he was in a Sandcrawler and twittered in annoyance. No doubt he was headed in the wrong direction and only the Force knew what was going to happen to him.
He carefully made his through the open area and then he heard 3PO call out to him. R2 would have sighed with relief if he was organic. He cared about 3PO and was glad that the Sand People Hadn't gotten their hands on him.
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Luke watched as a hologram of a rather pretty young woman appeared and from the projector of R2-D2. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, your my only hope." She said before the hologram fizzed and started right back where it started when he accidentally activated it.
For reasons that he couldn't explain he was drawn to her and her plight.
"What's this?" he asked more calmly then he felt. Jawas were known from time to time to steal droids so if R2 belonged to someone then it should be returned.
"He says that it's old data, pay it no mind." Luke continued to stare at the hologram. It felt as if he knew her but didn't.
Who is she?" Luke asked, curious. He wanted to know why he felt as if he should know her.
"She might have been have been a passenger on one of our voyages but that's all I know about her." 3PO answered.
"Is there more of this recording?" Luke asked the two droids. "If there's a problem then it needs to be solved.
After a bit R2 beeped at bit. "He claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi: a resident of these parts and it's a private message for him."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Luke mused out loud. "Maybe he's referring to old Ben Kenobi, he's the only Kenobi that I know of around here. He lives out by the Dune Sea, a strange old hermit."
Luke turned his attention back on the recording. He knelt again in front of the astromech and tried to see if he could get the message to play from the beginning. The Hologram fizzed, disappeared and then she appeared again this time as if she was about to cry. "I will always love you Ani; don't you forget that I love you more than anything. Mommy's sorry little one." She then held up her right hand and lowered her ring and middle finger so that the pointer and little finger were the only ones still up and the thumb was out as well.
The message repeated itself.
Luke couldn't take it anymore. This young woman was in some type of trouble. Enough that she had left a goodbye message for her daughter.
"Are there more to these recordings?" he asked. He had to know. If these recordings were in the very recent past then there was a little girl out there somewhere that would soon or was without a mother now.
"He says that the restraining bolt has short circuited his recording system. If you were to remove the bolt he should be able to play back both messages."
Luke quickly grabbed what he needed and set to work removing the bolt. The second he did though the hologram disappeared.
Before he could comment however his aunt called him in for dinner.
Luke quickly shoved the tools he had on him into 3PO's hands and hurried inside.
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Owen Lars thanked his wife Beru after she poured him some blue milk. He was pleased to some extent with the transaction with the Jawas. The two droids were in good repair and should be ready to start working on the South Ridge tomorrow.
"I think that the R2 unit we bought might have been stolen." His nephew Luke informed him as the boy came in the dining room. "Why do you think that?" Owen asked Luke, slightly curious. Jawas were known to sometimes take anything wasn't bolted down.
"I stumbled across some recordings while I was cleaning him. He claims to belong an Obi-Wan Kenobi." Luke said.
Owen felt a flash of fear and anger at the mention of the name. Because of Obi-Wan his step brother was dead. Because of him and his hooky religion Anakin was dead. One of the many casualties of the destruction of the Jedi.
"Do you think that this Obi-Wan is related to Ben?" He heard Luke ask. "No, and I want you to take that R2 unit to Anchorhead in the morning and have it's memory erased. It belongs to us now."
"But what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for his droid?" The boy pressed. Owen decided that he would end the line of conversation. "He won't because he died about the same time as your father." "Did he know my Father?" Luke asked, hopeful curiosity in his voice. "Forget it." Owen ordered.
"Uncle, I have been thinking about our agreement." Luke began. Owen knew where this was going and there was no way that he was going to allow his charge to go off and be killed just because of who his father was.
"You mean that you want to go to the Academy?" Owen asked. "Yes, there's more than enough droids to take care of the Harvest and nearly all of my friends have already left." Luke pressed.
"I need you all the more during a harvest and next season I can hire some more Hands and you can go next year." He told his nephew. He would rather die a slow and painful death then allow Luke to meet his father's fate.
"But it's a whole 'nother year." Luke whispered. "But it's only one more season." Owen said, trying to smooth things over.
"That's what you said when Biggs and Tank left." Luke said as he stood up. "I have to finish cleaning the droids." He said as he left.
Owen watched the young man leave. He hoped that this would end well. But something told him that things were going to get worse.
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Owen was the hardest characters for me to write. We don't know much about him or his motivations so it's hard to know what he's thinking. So I did my best so let me know what you think of what I did with him.