Chapter 2
"Thank the maker! This oil bath is going to feel so good. I've got such a bad case of dust contamination, I can barely move!", the protocol droid exclaimed with relief.
"It just isn't fair. Biggs is right. I'm never gonna get out of here!", Luke whined to himself in front of the two droids.
"I can't blame him for wanting to get off that dustball." Anakin said with a hint of amusement.
"Is there anything I might do to help?", Threepio inquired as Luke glanced at the protocol droid. His frustrated look was replaced with a tiny smile creeps across his face.
"Well, not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest, or teleport me off this rock!", Luke said in frustration as he worked on Artoo.
"I don't think so, sir. I'm only a droid and not very knowledgeable about such things. Not on this planet, anyways. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure which planet I'm on.", the droid explained to the young man.
"Yep, his memory was definitely whipped." Enquired Ashoka.
"Well, if there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from.", Luke added as Threepio nodded
"I see, sir."
"Uh, you can call me, Luke"
"I see, sir Luke"
Luke laughed at the droid's formalities. "Just Luke."
"And I am C-3P0, human-cyborg relations", the protocol droid introduced himself to the young man before he gestured to the blue droid. "And this is my counterpart, R2-D2"
"Hello.", Luke greeted the astromech droid, who beeped in response. "You got a lot of carbon scoring here. It looks like you boys have seen a lot of action.", Luke mused at the two.
"With all we've been through, sometimes I'm amazed we're in as good condition as we are, what with the Rebellion and all."Luke gasped at what the protocol droid had said. "You know of the Rebellion against the Empire?!"
„ The center of this holocron, young Luke will be. Looking for adventure, he is."
"That's how we came to be in your service, if you take my meaning, sir."
"Have you been in many battles?", Luke asked out of curiosity.
"Several, I think. Actually, there's not much to tell. I'm not much more than an interpreter, and not very good at telling stories. Well, not at making them interesting, anyways."
"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.", the hologram exclaimed.
"Obi-wan? You´re still alive!" Anakin exclaimed with relieve.
"If Obi wan survived, let's hope the other Jedi did as well." Said Ki Adi Mundi. He too, was relieved at this.
"What's this?", asked Luke.
"Who is she? She's beautiful.", Luke asked the protocol droid. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, sir.", Threepio replied. "I think she was a passenger on our last voyage. A person of some importance, sir - I believe. Our captain was attached to..."
"Is there more to this recording?", Luke interrupted as he reached out for Artoo but the droid lets out several frantic squeaks followed by a whistle a whistle.
"Behave yourself, Artoo.", the protocol droid reprimanded him. "You're going to get us in trouble. It's all right, you can trust him. He's our new master."Artoo replied and beeped a long message to Threepio, who translated what the droid told him. "He says he's the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts. And it's a private message for him. Quite frankly, sir I don't know what he's talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles, but with what we've been through, this little R2 unit has become a bit eccentric."
"Kenobi huh… the only Kenobi I know is old man Ben. Not sure if they're the same person but Ben's a neighbour of mine… as much of a neighbour one can be in this desert anyway. He lives beyond the dune sea, a bit of a strange old hermit. He's an old friend of Uncle Owen and I used to see him around, but uncle says he's too lost in the past now after the sun fried his brain.", Luke explained to the droids present.
"I certainly don't know of any Ben Kenobi. After all, my origins come from Stewjon, not from Tatooine." Said Obi wan.
"I suppose I can take you to visit old Ben when I'm free. Gotta get to dinner first." Luke muttered before leaving the garage.
"You know, I think those droids might have been stolen." Luke said as he dug into his meal, an unappetising plate of muck that tasted as bland as it looked.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, the R2 unit is carrying a message for one. Says it's for an Obi-Wan Kenobi who lives around these parts. Although I only know of Ben Kenobi and there aren't that many others who live nearby." Luke said as she stared at her meal, missing his uncle's sudden sombre look.
"Do you know what that's about?"
"No." Owen answered in a curt voice and wiped away his expression.
"Maybe they're related?"
"No. Ben's just a crazy old man now. Bring the R2 down to the workshop tomorrow and have its memory wiped and that'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now."
"But… what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for it?" Luke asked unsurely.
"He won't, I don't think he exists anymore."
"Obi-Wan… died about the same time your father did." Owen said and immediately cursed internally at the slip up.
"This only confirms what I said earlier. After all, it is very likely for Obi wan and Skywalker do die together, as they are almost together on every mission." Said Mace.
"And Luke does look like you, Anakin." Obi wan shipped in.
"He knew my father?" Luke's head perked up excitedly at the thought that there was someone else who knew his father.
"I told you to forget it. Your only concern is to prepare the new droids for tomorrow. I want them working on the condensers on the south ridge as soon as possible."
"Owen knows more than he leads on." Said Ki Adi Mundi.
"He probably wants to shield Luke from harm." Plo Koon offered, defending Owen.
"I think those droids will be fine… and if they work out I think… I think I wanna submit my application for the academy this year."
"You mean the next semester before the harvest? But that's when I need you the most." Owen said, lying through his teeth.
"Surely you can stick around for one more season, then I'll make enough on the harvest to hire some more hands for next season. You can go to the academy next year, you must understand, I need you here."
"But that's a whole nother year! And you said the same thing last season too!" Luke complained, frustrated at his uncle. "It's just one more season."
"Yeah, that's what you said last year when Biggs and Tank left.", Luke put down his spoon and pushed her his empty plate away, no longer having the appetite.
"Where are you going?", Beru asked her nephew.
"It looks like I'm going nowhere. I have to finish cleaning those droids.", Luke promptly left the table, leaving Owen and Beru alone.
"I'll make it up to him next yea, I promise." Owen said to Beru and slumped in his seat.
"Owen, he can't stay here forever. Most of his friends have gone. It means so much to him. He is so much like his father." Beru told her husband who was unwilling to let go of Luke at the meantime.
"That's what I'm afraid of".
"Yeah, I too would be afraid of a Skyguy junior." Ashoka mocked her master playfully.
"But if he truly is my son, then where am I? If Obi wan is still alive, then I can't be dead!" Anakin was disbelieving.
There was a moment of silence, before Mace said what he wanted to say:
"So, know that we are all certain that Luke is Skywalkers son…Skywalker broke the code."
"I a possible future. He didn't break it yet. And after all, if Obi wan is not living in the Temple, maybe he and Anakin left the Order." Kit Fisto came to Anakin's defence.
"But why would they leave the Order?" Padme asked, trying to be as innocent as possible.
"Well, the Jedi don't seem to be actively fighting against the Empire. And I am sure that if we could, we would. "Kit Fisto answered her.
"So, you mean to say that… the Jedi lost…"
"And the Sith won."
"Let us stay positive." Ashoka said, not only for the others, but also for herself. If something happened to Anakin while she was not there…
"Oh!" Threepio said in surprise, jumping at the sudden shock.
"What are you doing hiding back there?" he asked as if to a guilty child.
"It wasn't my fault, sir, please don't deactivate me." He pleaded. "I told him not to go, but he's faulty. Malfunctioning. Kept going on about his mission."
"Calm down, Threepio." Anakin laughed.
"Dammit." Luke cursed and ran from the room, Threepio following behind. He ran back out topside and searched the horizon with another pair of binoculars.
"That R2 unit has always been a problem." Threepio said, walking up beside him. "These astro droids are getting a bit out of hand. Even I can't understand their logic at times."
"How could I be so stupid?" Luke said "He's nowhere in sight. Dammit!"
"Excuse me, sir, but couldn't we go after him?"
"It's too dangerous with all the sand people around. We'll have to wait until morning."
"Luke!" Owen called from within the house, "I'm shutting the power down!"
"Alright! I'll be right there!" he called back before groaning. "Boy am I gonna get it. You know, that droid is gonna cause me nothing but trouble. I can already tell."
The next day, Owen awoke to find Beru making breakfast and Luke nowhere to be found.
"Hey, you seen Luke yet today?" He asked his wife.
"Yeah, said he had some things to do, so he left early." She said as she worked on their breakfast.
"He took those new droids with him?" he asked.
"Dunno." Beru said with a playful slap to the hand that held the bacon.
Owen sighed and bit off a chuck of the meat. "Well, he better has those units in the south range repaired by mid-day or there'll be hell to pay."
Instead, Luke and Threepio were zooming across the desert in a land speeder.
"Look, there's a droid on the scanner, dead ahead." He pointed at the screen. "Could be our little R2 unit, hit the accelerator."
Luke stopped the speeder a few feet away from Artoo, who was waddling over some rocks.
"Hey, hey, where do you think you're going?" he said. Artoo whistled in response.
"Master Luke is your Master now!" Threepio scolded "We don't want to hear anything of this Obi-Wan Kenobi gibberish!"
Artoo whistled back in response. "And don't talk to me about your mission. You're lucky he doesn't blast you into a million pieces on the spot."
As Luke assured him there was no call for that, Artoo whistled again, with something akin to fear in the tone. "What's he saying?"
"There are several creatures approaching from the south-east." Threepio said, fear in his voice.
"Sand People. Or worse." Luke growled. He ran to his speeder and pulled out a rifle. "Come on, let's check it out."
"Well, there are a couple banthas down there, but I don't think- wait a minute…" a humanoid figure walked into view from behind a bantha, "They're Sand People alright, I can see one of them now."
"Hello there." He greeted to Artoo. "Come here, my little friend. No need to fear." Artoo whistled, looking at Luke. "Oh, don't worry, he'll be alright."
As if on cue, Luke began to stir and opened his eyes. "Rest easy, son. You've had a busy day." the old man said said as he helped Luke into a sitting position. "You're fortunate to be all in one piece."
Luke shook the cobwebs loose and got a better look at him. "Ben? Ben Kenobi? Boy, am I glad to see you."
"That guy could be a relative of Obi Wan. He could be your older brother or something. Afer all, he looks fat too old to be you in around 20 years." Anakin exclaimed.
"I will take that as a compliment." Obi wan joked with Anakin.
"Was meant as one."
"The Jundland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly." Ben told him, as he stood and helped him to his feet and sat him down on a nearby rock. "Tell me, young Luke; what brings you out this far?"
"This little droid." He said, pointing to Artoo. "I think he's searching for his former master, but I've never seen such devotion in a droid before. He claims to be the property of a Obi-Wan Kenobi." At the name, Ben's eyes widened, as if sudden memories flashed before him, and he took a seat of his own. "Is he a relative of yours? Do you know who he was talking about?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" he said, almost in shock. "Obi-Wan… now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time."
"I think my uncle knows him. He said he was dead."
"Oh, he's not dead. Well, not yet."
"Good to hear, that is."
"You know him?"
"Well, of course I know him. He's me. I haven't gone by the name of Obi-Wan since before you were born."
Anakin turned red.
"What did you say Anakin?" Obi wan turned to him, trying to look offended, and failing miserably.
"Well, uhm, at least you're alive Master. Who cares about the outside?"
"Let us hope that the other Jedi survived as well." This from Mace.
"Well, then I guess Artoo does belong to you."
"Can't seem to recall ever owning a droid before." He said, scratching his chin.
"What about your Arfour unit?" Ashoka asked Obi wan.
"I don't think that is relevant for Luke." Obi wan answered her.
"Or you forgot about him after around 20 years. I wouldn't put it past you." Anakin joked.
"But are you pretending not to know Artoo?" Ashoka asked.
"I didn't say that." Obi wan answered.
The droid's coloring did seem somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite- his musing was cut off by the howling of Sand People echoing off the walls of the canyon. "We'd best get going. These Sand People are easily startled, but they will come back, and in greater numbers."
Artoo whistled as the two moved towards Luke's speeder. "Threepio!", Luke called out from his less-than-stellar hide. "Where are we?" Threepio, wondered, "I must have taken a bad step."
"Can you stand? We gotta get out of here before the Sand People come back." Luke asked him.
"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."
"Quickly," Obi-Wan urged, grabbing Threepio under his arms, "They're on the move." Together, he and Luke lifted Threepio to his feet and made their way to Obi-Wan's place beyond the desert.
"No, my father didn't fight in the wars." Luke laughed off Obi-Wan's statements as he tightened some bolts on Threepio's shoulder, "He was a navigator on a spice freighter."
"Here we go…" Anakin said, excited, but also a little nervous getting to know about his future.
"That's what your uncle told you." Ob-Wan said. It was a statement, not a question, so Luke knew he could read him somehow. "He didn't hold your father's ideals, thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."
"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked.
"Yes." Obi-Wan chuckled, "I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father." "I wish I had known him." Luke said in a saddened tone.
It saddened Anakin that Luke never seemed to even know him.
"He was the best starpilot in the galaxy."
Anakin and Obi wan gave each other sad smiles.
"And a cunning warrior."
All off the Jedi, even master Windu could not disagree. They all lowered their heads, in honour of the deceased Knight. Ashoka vowed to never let that happen. Even if that meant coming back into the Order. She would protect her big brother.
"I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself." Obi-Wan said making Luke stutter bashfully.
"And he was a good friend."
Padme felt large tears flow down her cheeks. She was able to mute her sobs. Nobody suspected anything, knowing Anakin and her were good friends. Thinking, that that's the reason for her sadness.
"Which reminds me, I have something here for you." He stood up and walked over to a chest on the wall. "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle would never allow it." "He was afraid you might follow Old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did." "That's my lightsabre!" Anakin was quiet happy that his son had at least gotten something else than just his look.
Sir, if you'll not be needing me, I'll close down for a while." Threepio said to Luke. When he given him the go ahead, he leaned forward, his eyes stopped glowing and he simply sat there like a statue.
"What is it? "Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight." Obi-Wan 's eyes widened when he saw the weapon. "Woah!" was all he could manage as his mind swarmed with too many questions to keep track of.
"Not as random or clumsy as blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations the Jedi were protectors of peace and justice in the Old Republic." He sat back down before a grim tone overtook him.
"Before the dark times. Before the Empire."
"Maybe we will now find out more about what happened to the other Jedi and the Republic." Mace said.
"How did my father die?" he asked, sitting down next to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan took a breath before answering. "A young Jedi by the name of Darth Vader-
"Darth Vader was a JEDI?!" Anakin was shocked.
who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil-
"You took on another pupil?" Anakin was disbelieving.
"Skywalker, be quiet. We want to listen."
"Sorry, master Windu. It is just so much to take in."
helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father."
"Now, the Jedi are all but extinct."
Everyone gasped. "So, Darth Vader was not only a Jedi, but another pupil of Obi wan. But in the Order could it be?" Asked Plo Koon no one in particular. "I too find that all a little confusing as I did not have the intention of taking in another Padawan. I wanted to wait until the war is over."
"I for one am totally waiting for the second holocron so that we can end that Vader before he even starts." Anakin said, not wanting to wait until it is too late.
The others nodded. Though the Jedi masters disapproved of Anakin's anger, they said nothing, understanding his frustration.
"Vader was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force."
"The Force?" Luke asked, confused.
Obi-Wan smiled, happy to move away from that topic. "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together."
"A wise answer, that is Obi wan." Yoda complimented.
Aroo whistled, interrupting the conversation. "Now, my little friend, let's see if we can't figure out what you are and where you come from."
"I saw a part of a message he was carrying- " Luke said.
"I seem to have found it." Obi-Wan said. Sure enough, Luke turned around and saw the same holo-message from before being projected in front of Obi-Wan.
"General Kenobi," The image of Princess Leia said with a bow, "Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to aid him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret I am unable to bring you this message in person, but my ship had 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." The image faded away and Obi-Wan sat back, deep in thought. He looked at Luke.
"You must learn the ways of the Force, if you're to come with me to Alderaan." He said with a small smile.
„Start Luke's adventure, now, it will."
"Alderaan?" Luke said incredulously and then laughed lightly, "I'm not going to Alderaan. I've gotta get home. It's late, I'm in for it as it is!"
"I need your help, Luke. She needs your help." Obi-Wan pleaded, "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."
"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. Besides, it's such a long way from here."
"He wants to go, but is still uncertain.
"That's your uncle talking." Obi-Wan said matter-of-factly.
"My uncle. Man, how am I gonna explain this?"
"Well, I think his Uncle is not wrong. After all, for an old stranger to take your nephew off planet to fight an evil Empire, who wouldn't disapprove?" Said Shaak Ti
"Learn about the Force, Luke." Obi-Wan pressed.
"Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."
"You must do what you think is right, of course."
The Jedi hoped that Luke would change his mind, eagerly waiting for his story to continue.