Chapter 5: A Senator's Home

LJ had been right about the senator's home. Luke could hardly believe the sprawling structure, with its statues, gardens, and views across Imperial City, could possibly house just one family. Every resident of Anchorhead could have lived there with room to spare. As they came into land, Luke stared through the glass walls at a series of swimming pools linked by waterfalls. They used to tell stories on Tatooine about rich people on other worlds treating water like it was as common as sand.

The chauffeur came around to open the senator's door. As soon as he stepped out, he swore loudly and began pleading with someone out of sight. Luke tried the door on his own side, and found it was locked, so he shuffled over into the front so he could climb out behind the senator. The chauffeur immediately began to pull him off to the side, but Luke resisted, wanting to see what was going on.

"Sugarbun, please, let's just talk about this and not make any hasty decisions."

He reached out to hold the door open on the neighbouring speeder. There was a woman in the pilot's seat. She shoved his hand away and then shut the speeder door with a bang. A moment later, the senator was pushed back by the blast of its engine as it shot off into the sky.

A protocol droid approached then, carrying a comlink.

"Master Lerrod, your wife said to inform you she was going to her sister's," the droid said. "And your son's school left a message. They want to arrange a meeting to discuss some complaints."

"For star's sake, what do I have to pay to keep everyone happy around here!" He began to walk away and then glanced back, seeming to remember Luke was there.

"Come on, boy. I'll show you to your room."

Luke followed after him, imagining some master suite beside a garden. Instead, they entered an elevator and the senator pressed the button for the lowest floor.

"You'll have to stay down here," the senator explained. "Sorry about that. But my son—Chilee—he's going through a difficult transition right now and he wasn't happy with the idea of your presence here. I had to agree to make sure you slept down here."

"I don't mind, sir," Luke mumbled. He didn't bother to add that even the supposed basement level of the senator's home was a hundred times more luxurious than any home he'd visited on Tatooine. Or the Family Services centre.

"He actually wanted me to put you in with his pets!" the senator said, laughing. "You'd be best to stay out of his way. I'll have a droid bring your meals down. If you need anything else ... databooks, perhaps, just tell a droid."

Luke nodded. When the elevator doors opened, and he was led across to a nearby door, he found his new room was small but comfortable. At least there was no lock.

The senator started to leave, but Luke spoke up.

"Sir—what's a political campaign?"

"It is a show a politician must perform for the public in order to get votes."

"Oh. Um ... why do you need me for that?"

"You'll see when the time comes."

Luke watched him enter the elevator and then looked back at his room. It looked as if it had been furnished in a big hurry. The bed was of the portable, folding variety and wasn't made. Pillows and sheets were stacked at one end. He rummaged in his sack for his T-16 and put it on the side table, and then stepped back to admire it. For all the bareness of the room, the T-16 made it seem a little like home.

Luke turned to set about making the bed. He'd only got as far as shaking out the first sheet, though, when a distant roar caused him to jump in fright. He looked around, half expecting a Krayt dragon to come stomping down the hallway.

Perhaps he should go and investigate the mentioned pets. Luke followed the source of the sound, which led to a door along the corridor and opposite his new room. Luke hovered his finger in front of the door release. There was no warning notice, though, and surely if the senator was keeping some dangerous animals in a private zoo, he would have mentioned it. Luke did take care to step back as he opened the doors, however.

When he looked around the edge of the door, Luke gasped in surprise and horror. The first cage housed the source of the roar he'd heard earlier, but behind the bars was a person, not a pet. A Wookiee. He favoured Luke with another chest-shaking vocalization.

In the cage next to him was a furry, short creature with round black eyes. It snuffled at Luke as he came closer, and pressed its face against the bars. There was a note stuck on its cage reading 'the Ewok is allergic to dairy products'. The third and final cage held a spherical green ball, about the size of the Ewok's head. Luke assumed it was alive, but it could just be a cleaning sponge. Or perhaps a rare species of fungus.

The thought that he could easily have been occupying that last cage made him feel sick. He had to find a way to get a message to LJ. There was no way this could be legal.

"That's not him," Obi-Wan said, wearily.

Captain Antilles frowned, leaning closer to the news holo. "You're sure."

"Yes."

He didn't bother listing all the reasons why. They were obvious to anyone who knew the first thing about Jedi, never mind someone who had actually met the man the Empire was supposedly executing. They only had two stormtroopers guarding him as they led him out to the square in front of the senate.

"I wouldn't recommend going there," the captain said, turning off the HoloNet terminal. "The entire block is locked down. Vader has been seen in the vicinity. They won't tolerate any disruption to the Empire Day celebrations."

Obi-Wan felt a cold ripple in the Force at the sound of the name. Vader. Who had chosen that? Was it something the Sith Lord who now fancied himself as Emperor had spent years thinking up, while he'd manipulated and groomed young Anakin into becoming his apprentice?

He'd die before he'd let Sidious do the same thing to Luke.

The door chime broke the silence, and Captain Antilles walked over to open it. A woman wearing a simple white uniform entered at his invitation.

"Master Kenobi, this is Agent Gwen Bass, a member of the Alderaan secret service," he explained.

Agent Bass nodded in response to Obi-Wan's greeting bow. "Sirs, our droid successfully sliced into the IFS network." She held up a holo-generator and pressed a button. Obi-Wan felt a rush of emotion at the sight of Luke's face. "Is this the boy?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "Thank the Force. Where is he?"

"There is no name on his record and few details. He was at the facility at the centre of the disturbance last night. But he's not there now."

"Gone where?" Obi-Wan said, stepping forward. If only he'd come here immediately!

"We don't know. He wasn't taken by the rumoured Jedi who attacked the facility, and he's not in Imperial custody either. Our insiders at the palace report Vader is still looking for the Jedi and he has ordered a blood test on the children. Our agents are conducting a search in the blocks around the facility and it seems he was in the area a few days ago. Is he the type of child who might run away from a place like that?"

Obi-Wan sighed, remembering the amount of times Luke had roamed from the Lars homestead, often in search of adventure. "Yes, he is."

"You have spies watching the facility?" Captain Antilles asked.

"Yes, sir."

He turned to Obi-Wan. "Then all that can be done is being done, Obi-Wan. You should stay here until we learn more."

"No, Captain. I must go. That boy is our last hope." He glanced out the window at the sprawling surface of Coruscant below. "I would be grateful if you could lend me a ship."

Luke paced up and down in the corridor, feeling an increasing sense of dread. A droid had delivered some dinner, which he'd eaten quickly after going hungry all day, but now there was an ache in his tummy and he felt a headache coming on. Further exploration had revealed there was no refresher down here.

He did remember seeing one near the garage where the speeders were, and that was the only place he'd have a hope of finding his way to without getting lost. He half-hoped he might see the senator up there so he could ask about the so-called 'pets' but it was quiet on the upper level, and most of the lights were turned out, despite it only being early evening.

When he left the refresher, a figure appeared out of the darkness, creeping along quietly.

"Ah!" Luke jumped back, raising his hands. Then a small flashlight was switched on, and he found himself looking at the senator's wife. Judging by the bag under her arm, she'd come back for something.

"Sorry!" Luke said. "I … uh … I'll be going!"

"Stars, you're that kid, aren't you?" she said, turning on the main light. Now Luke could see her properly, he was surprised at how young she was. She looked only a little older than Biggs' cousin, who had been in her final year of school in Anchorhead. She didn't look old enough to be anyone's wife, never mind Senator Lerrod, who was clearly older than his aunt and uncle. She was also pregnant.

"Um, I'm not sure," Luke said.

"Listen, you should get out of here," she said.

"Why? Is it dangerous?" He suddenly imagined all kinds of horrible things the senator might be doing in this place. Maybe he was running secret experiments. "Why are there people locked up in the basement? What's going on?"

"That isn't the half of it," she said. "His son is completely unhinged and he won't do anything about it. Just buys him anything he wants. He said he wanted a pet Wookiee so he gets one. Then his boss goes to visit Lord Vader and is never heard from again and suddenly he's now the acting senator, and he's stupid enough to think the same thing won't happen to him."

"Lord Vader?" Luke said, surprised. "The one with the black mask? What did he do to his boss?"

"Who knows. Nothing would surprise me. They're all complete despots, and the closer you get to the Emperor, the worse they get. I was too naive to understand it when I met him, but now he expects me to let our baby be part of this!" She gestured at her tummy.

"What's a despot?" Luke said, confused.

"Never mind. Come with me. Quickly, before he comes back from the senate reception. I'll take you back to the Family Services centre."

"They won't take me back," Luke said. "He gave the administrator twenty thousand credits for me."

Her eyes widened. "You mean he bought you like a slave?!"

Another light came on then, and a man with a comlink stepped out of a nearby room. He sighed in an exaggerated way when he saw the woman.

"Back already?"

"I just came to get more of my things, Madden," she said, tightly. "Hasn't your shift ended? Figuring out how to embezzle more credits from the service bills again, are you?"

"Get out before I call the police," he said, coming forward. "You were never anything but a glorified mistress." He grabbed Luke by the arm. "Go back to your room. Who gave you permission to come up here?"

"There's no refresher down there!" Luke said, angry. "And you're holding people prisoner! Who are you, anyway?"

"Don't dare talk back to me, you young street filth." He pushed him into the elevator and pressed the button for the basement. "Mind your place."

Luke was left speechless. Street filth? Mind his place? For a moment he burned with humiliation and imagined going back up there and telling that guy exactly what he thought of him using nothing but Huttese swear words. But slowly the feeling passed. His life had felt like a sandstorm ever since that terrible night on the farm, but he was fast learning something about this uncaring new world he found himself in. He couldn't survive on his own. And if it wasn't for this small room in a senator's basement, he really would be back on the street. Or worse, dead at the hand of his aunt and uncle's murderer, who appeared to have followed him all the way from Tatooine.

When he reached his room, he was careful to drag the table in front of the door.

Obi-Wan looked up at the sound of a gentle tap. He stretched out to be sure of the identity of his visitor and then used the Force to open the door. His longtime friend, Dexster Jettster, filled the entranceway, carrying two trays and glasses.

"Oh, Dex," Obi-Wan sighed, reaching up to assist. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble."

"For my old friend, Obi?" Dex set out the trays and tossed Obi-Wan a fork. "I'd go to the seven hells of Corellia and back. I've missed you, old buddy. I never imagined you'd be still alive."

"I've missed you too, Dex. And I never imagined you'd still be running this place."

Dex chuckled, pausing only to take a large gulp of water. "They'd have to crush me with one of their walking war machines before they'd get me out of here. Now, tell me about this boy you're after. Maybe I've seen him."

Obi-Wan shook his head. He began to eat, beginning to realize just how hungry he was.

"He is Anakin's son."

"Anakin had a son? I thought all you Jedi were married to the Republic."

"Anakin took that a bit too literally. He was secretly married to a senator."

"You don't say!"

Obi-Wan continued to eat, thinking back on those painful memories. He'd known there was more than friendship between them. Why hadn't he told Anakin he could talk to him as a friend, not a Jedi and certainly not as a council member. There was always too much at stake.

"Luke has inherited his father's strength in the Force," Obi-Wan added. "I believe he is our only hope for restoring the Jedi Order."

"Then I'd say you need to get him back."

Obi-Wan nodded. He looked around at the well-kept room, wishing he could somehow see through every wall on Coruscant. Luke was behind one of them—the Force told him that much.

"Obi, if I can do anything to help—"

"I won't ask anything of you, Dex," Obi-Wan said. "And I'll be gone from here as soon as I can. I don't believe I will leave Coruscant alive."

"Now you're just being the pessimist."

Obi-Wan raised a hand. "Vader knows that I'm here. Not here, exactly, but on Coruscant. I cannot hide my location from him forever."

"You managed okay for over a decade, buddy," Dex said.

Obi-Wan smiled at Dex, appreciating his good-nature. The galaxy needed people like him in times like these.

There was a noise outside, and Dex stood up, leaving half his food behind.

"Better get back to the kitchen, my friend."

"Thank you for stopping by," Obi-Wan said.

"Hey, I've got six words for you," Dex said, squeezing himself out the door.

Obi-Wan smiled indulgently.

"May the Force be with you."

Luke found himself thinking about a game he used to play with his Aunt Beru while he pulled on his grey Family Services uniform the next morning. It was called 'what we'd be doing right now if we were a rich Core World family'. It would usually come up while they were doing some particularly boring chore, like cleaning moisture vaporator filtration tubes or sweeping sand out of the homestead.

Their imaginary world often involved Aunt Beru sitting beside a swimming pool, sipping from a glass of wine while Luke floated around in an inflatable spaceship. He always managed to work in a ship somewhere. Mostly, Uncle Owen would tell them to get their heads out of the clouds, but one long afternoon, Aunt Beru had expanded the scene to include Uncle Owen dressed in 'skin tight swim shorts' and the two of them had ended up kissing in a way that made Luke declare they were 'totally gross'.

He hadn't even been at the Lerrod mansion for a day and already he could see how far apart their dream was from the reality. They didn't even own any inflatable pool toys, never mind a spaceship one. Even if they did, no one seemed interested in having fun or relaxing. It was only a few hours into the day and already he'd overheard two raging arguments, and one seemed to end with the sound of glass breaking. He'd always imagined people with a lot of money would be a lot happier than this.

When he came out of the refresher, attempting to be as quiet as possible, the man with the grim expression was waiting in the corridor.

"The senator wishes to see you," he said, looking anywhere but at Luke. "Follow me."

The man led him through into a larger corridor, with floor-to-ceiling windows alternating with art panels. He came to a halt outside a room guarded by droids, and then gestured for Luke to enter. On the other side of the doors was the senator's office. It was a comfortable room in creamy tones, with a cabinet full of databooks and ornaments lining the wall behind the desk. He looked up as Luke stepped forward and then glanced to his right.

Luke followed his gaze and found himself looking at a boy who was a younger version of the senator. He was glaring at Luke like he'd stepped on his toe.

"See, this is the boy," the senator said. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"You said I wouldn't have to see him!"

"Boy, why won't you wait outside for a moment," the senator suggested to Luke, pointing back towards the doors.

Luke was glad to, but he was prevented by the senator's son, who pushed past him roughly.

"No, let me be the one to leave! I wouldn't want to interfere with your quality time together!"

He kicked over a pot plant by the door, spilling dirt all over the creamy white carpet. The grim-faced man, who had followed behind Luke, gave a quiet sigh and hastily put it back upright.

"Don't worry about that, Madden, I'll get one of the droids to clean it," the senator said, standing up. "Now, let's get on with business, shall we?" He appeared completely relaxed about the display they'd just witnessed, and Luke had to assume it was a regular occurrence. "Tomorrow is Empire Day and naturally I will be central to the occasion. My personal assistant here will escort you to the senate in the morning. I have a press conference organised."

"Empire Day?" Luke said, frowning in confusion.

Both men looked at him like he was overly dense.

"Is that a Coruscant thing?" Luke asked.

"Sir, perhaps a different boy might be more suitable. This one has clearly been plucked from some Outer Rim swamp."

"It was difficult enough to get this one!" the senator protested.

"I didn't come from a swamp!" Luke said, annoyed. "And the Outer Rim was a hundred times better than here." He looked down, regretting all the times he'd called Tatooine a boring rock.

"Never mind. Your ignorance might actually help sell this. Now, do you understand what you are required to do?"

"No," Luke said, still looking down.

"Mostly just stand there and look pathetic. Much how you look right now."

Luke frowned and forced himself to lift his head.

"There is a possibility the media—that's the journalists and reporters—may ask you a few questions. You will tell them you are grateful to me and my wife for adopting you, and before we were kind enough to take you in, you struggled to find enough to eat. Can you remember that, or should I write it down for you?"

Luke's annoyance over the pathetic remark had disappeared in the wake of his disbelief. "Your wife? Hasn't she moved out? And you've adopted me? I thought I was only staying here for three months."

"For star's sake, don't mention my wife's departure to the media, whatever you do. And of course we haven't adopted you … but the media don't know that, do they?"

"And it wasn't nice living at Family Services, but they didn't starve us." Luke looked up at Madden, hoping he might make more sense. "I want to go back there. You're right. Someone else would be better at this."

The senator had begun to pace. "I don't think you understand me, boy. I'm not asking you for the details of your mundane existence in government care. I'm telling you what you will say to the media."

"You want me to lie to them?"

"Exactly."

"But isn't that wrong?" Luke asked.

"No. Politicians do it all the time. We have to, in order to convince people to vote for us. Sometimes lying is necessary. Understand?"

Luke wasn't sure if he did, but he nodded anyway. If the senator didn't mind lying to other people, then he wouldn't mind if Luke lied to him, either.

"Now, do you remember what you are to tell the media?"

"That I'm grateful to you and your wife for adopting me and that they starved us at Family Services."

"No! IFS is an Imperial institution. If you imply they starve children, that will reflect badly on the Empire."

"I thought you told me to—"

"Change of plan," the senator said, raising his hands. "You will not speak at all—to anyone. You will let me do the talking. After the Senate, we will proceed to the Imperial Palace."

"The palace?!" Luke said, completely baffled. "Where the Emperor lives?"

"Never fear, you won't be anywhere near the Emperor." He sounded amused at the idea. "You will stay with Madden at all times. Except when I require you for something."

Luke nodded. This all sounded crazy, but it was a little exciting to think of going to the Imperial Palace. Maybe he'd be allowed to travel to the top of one of the towers.

"I only have these Family Services clothes," Luke said, gesturing at the grey pants and tunic.

"Those are perfect," the senator said, coming closer and looking him up and down. "We're going for sympathy here."

Luke was surprised. Aunt Beru would never have let him wear clothes like this while cleaning out the garage, never mind to the Imperial Palace. He wasn't going to argue, though.

"I'll send someone to come and get you when the time comes." He waved Luke away, but Luke still had a question. He was determined to ask it, even as Madden pulled him away.

"Sir, why are you keeping people prisoner in your basement? There's a Wookiee down there, and something called an Ewok, and … I don't know what the last thing is."

"They're just my son's pets," Senator Lerrod said, going back to his computer. "I suggest you leave them alone. He doesn't give them enough attention."

The Imperial architects who had converted the former Jedi Temple into the Imperial Palace had done a thorough job of erasing all trace of the former residents. So many walls and rooms had been renovated with the new decor that Vader could mostly fool himself into believing it was an entirely different place. Personally, he'd have rather it had been destroyed, but his master did like to relish in victory over his enemies.

But one room had remained largely untouched. His old room. He was meant to have sorted through all his crates of spare parts and tools years ago, but somehow he'd always been too busy. Somewhere deep inside, there was a hoarding streak that years of Jedi rejection of attachment to objects had never quite erased. Perhaps it was Skywalker's junk trade upbringing, which taught him to see value in unlikely objects, but he still couldn't bring himself to have it all removed.

He did hesitate beside the door on his way past. He had time now. This Jedi disturbance and Empire Day were keeping him from returning to Mustafar, and there had been little progress on the former. Blood testing of the residents had been completed and none of them were children of the Force.

But after a moment, he kept walking, past his old room, past the now empty rooms of Jedi whose names he still remembered but tried not to think about. Past his new room, which required the installation of a hyperbaric chamber and other devices to manage his medical needs. Finally, on to the balcony, where he could stop for a while and observe the sprawling cityscape.

Vader observed the ripples and eddies in the Force, trying to make sense of it all. The locus point he'd seen on Mustafar was still there, but it was now so large and bright, it dominated the landscape, bathing everything in blue and yellow. It was here, on Coruscant. But what could generate such energy? He'd never known a presence like that. Was this what the Jedi had come to find? He pushed at it, hoping to learn more, but it didn't react to his needling.

Then, without any prior warning, the previously rippling surface was shattered into an imploding mass of energy. Vader became tense, shaking slightly with the force of it, and he gripped the edge of the balcony with his gloved hands. When it finally began to settle, there was a new presence, occupying a space not far from the glowing locus.

Obi-Wan.

Luke fidgeted with his sleeve nervously, as remnants from the racket going on in the senator's office drifted towards him. He didn't know what was wrong with Chilee, the senator's son, but he had a feeling it was similar to the problems suffered by some of the older residents at IFS. They were so full of pain and anger, the only way they knew to express their feelings was by making other people feel the same way.

He glanced up at Madden, who was standing beside him. His expression was as stony and grim as every.

"I'm not going!" came another shout, emphasized with the sound of something shattering against a wall. Chilee came out of the room, followed closely by his father. Luke quickly moved so he was standing behind Madden.

"People are going to want to meet my son," the senator pleaded, following his son down the corridor.

"Then let them meet your new son," Chilee said, pointing in Luke's direction, despite his best efforts to make himself invisible.

"How many times do I have to say this? No one could ever take your place. Not the new baby, and definitely not some skinny waif from Family Services. What am I supposed to do to prove this to you? Do you want a new speeder?"

"I don't care about your kriffing harpy or her baby! Hopefully she stays gone this time!"

He disappeared into the elevator, swearing in several different languages. Luke sighed with relief, glad he hadn't been dragged any further into this.

"So I take it he won't be accompanying you to the Empire Day celebrations?" Madden asked, in a dry tone.

The senator had put his face in his hands. "The new one better be a girl."

Luke considered telling him about the girl at Family Services who liked to set fire to things, and then decided it might make things worse.

"He'll come around," the senator said, straightening up and gesturing to both of them to follow as he walked towards the garage. "I'll call him after the senate proceedings and see if he'll come to the palace."

Luke wondered at this. If he had ever thrown a tantrum like that with his aunt and uncle, he'd have been doing extra chores for a year. Perhaps it was different with fathers and sons. The senator seemed willing to do just about anything to keep his son happy. Would his own father have treated him like that?

At the sight of the speeders in the garage, Luke was stirred out of his daydream.

"Wow!" Luke said, pointing at a shiny red one. "What model is that?"

His question went unanswered though. The senator was speaking with the chauffeur. Luke found himself being pulled towards another speeder, which was older, but no less luxurious.

"You'll be riding with me," Madden said.

"Where are we going again?" Luke asked.

"Get in!"

Luke sighed and did as he was told. How was he ever supposed to understand anything when they never answered his questions? He'd been feeling nervous about this all yesterday, and it was steadily getting worse. He didn't like crowds. Especially crowds of adults who ignored him.

"You'll stay close to me at all times," Madden said, climbing in beside him. "Understood? And you'll not speak a word to the media."

"I know," Luke said. "He already told me."

"Make sure you listen, then."

Luke sighed, wondering for the millionth time how he'd ended up here. He missed his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru so much it made every muscle in his body hurt. He'd give anything to be back on Tatooine now. Helping his uncle fix the moisture vaporators and helping his aunt make cookies. To think he'd been dreaming of the day when he'd be old enough to leave and go to the flight academy.

His reminiscing disappeared in a flash when he happened to take a glance out the window. They were heading right for a massive dome shaped building. The speeder passed over a huge statue of the Emperor, lit from below by revolving red flood lights. Luke gaped at the sight, overwhelmed with awe. There were statues of Hutts on Tatooine, but none anywhere near that big.

"Why is he wearing a hood?" Luke asked, pointing at the statue. "I can't see his face."

Madden ignored him, but their driver spoke up. She was a younger woman with curly black hair.

"He always wears a hood."

"Always and always?" Luke said, leaning forward to talk to her. "What about when he's in the shower?"

She chuckled. "I don't think anyone wants to picture his highness in the shower, kiddo."

"Quiet," Madden said, pushing Luke back. "Land over there."

Luke was still staring at the statue.

Obi-Wan was disturbed from his meditation by a thumping, groaning mass of four-armed chef. The doors slid open, and a portable holovid entered, followed closely by Dex.

"I don't need any entertainment," Obi-Wan protested. "I'm quite comfortable, Dex. I insist."

"No, you don't understand," Dex said, bending down to plug the equipment into a power socket. His back made a varied range of clicking sounds as he straightened up. "Ah! Not as young as I used to be!"

A 2D picture formed on the projector, and Dex inserted a data tape.

"Was just watching the NewsNet," Dex explained, "and I saw something."

"Saw what, Dex?" Obi-Wan asked, standing up.

Dex pointed a fat finger at the image. "I cut off the start—sorry."

Obi-Wan recognized the hallways of the senate not far from the landing pads. A man was being interviewed.

"Who is that?"

"The newly acting Coruscant senator. But look beside him."

Obi-Wan leaned closer. The image was fuzzy and distorted, but that was unmistakable Luke. He was standing in the background, half in shadow.

"That's him!" Obi-Wan said. "How did you—?"

"Listen," Dex suggested.

"And is this your son with you?"

"This is an orphan I recently adopted with my wife," the senator explained. "When I heard about the senseless and brutal attack on the Family Services facility, I knew I had to help out in any way I could—"

"Thank the Force," Obi-Wan said. "That's the Senate. I'll see if Bail can get to him. Or that agent working for Captain Antilles."

"This is the funny part," Dex said, pointing back at the screen. "See when he's finished his self-glorifying story, the reporter wants to know the boy's name. Look at his face."

The senator looked completely blank. His minder stepped in front of the cameras and he was quickly moved on.

"That's when I thought I better show this to you," Dex explained.

Obi-Wan nodded, turning for his lightsaber. "Thank you, Dex. I'll contact Bail immediately."

"Vader has been seen there too."

"What?!" Obi-Wan looked up.

"The Emperor drags all his minions back to the capital for Empire Day, don't you know."

"Blast it!"

"If I were you, I'd wait until tonight," Dex said. "The blocks around the palace and the Senate will be full of people for the annual parade and fireworks display. The senator will be taking the boy back to his home, no doubt about that."

"If Vader doesn't decide to 'adopt' him for himself."

"Now there's a picture," Dex said, grinning widely. "Vader just doesn't seem like the fatherly type."

"If he knew who he was, he'd kill him, Dex. Kill him the first chance he had. And if he didn't, the Emperor would."

Dex bowed his head, while Obi-Wan paced.

"No," Obi-Wan said. "I have to go tonight. You contact Bail—explain the situation and make sure he has a ship standing by."

"And if you fail?" Dex enquired.

"I won't."