"The code is triple encrypted and was stored to a secret holofile via hololink in the droid's verbobrain. It took me five tries to even establish a trace on the connection that the hololink..."
Luke was no longer paying attention to what the pilot was saying. His attention was glued to the girl across the ship. He observed Swan as she stared out of the viewpanel at the nebula-like hyperspace. She had been staring out of that viewpanel for quite some time since Luke had explained to her who he really was and the nature of his mission. Understandably, the idea of a visitor from the future perplexed her and surely challenged the way she understood the universe and the Force.
"..and when that didn't work-" the pilot stopped, realizing Luke had tuned him out.
"Grievous."
Luke was pulled back from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry?"
"Grievous. The filename that the droid's info was sent to was titled Grievous."
"Grievous," Luke repeated thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound familiar."
"Whatever it is, it's seriously top secret. The file was destroyed as soon as the connection was established."
"Could the link point us to the source?"
"It very well could, and I'm very well on it," the pilot said, proudly. "I'll shoot you a holocall as soon as I find something, though if you ask me, I'm thinking it's some advanced bodyguard program of some kind."
That was no bodyguard, Luke thought to himself. Those droids were programmed to fight Jedi.
"Alright, we're coming up on Tatooine," the pilot said. "We're exiting hyperspace and switching to sublight engines… now!." The shuttle stuttered as it emerged from hyperspace. Luke leaned back on his seat and turned to see Swan still staring out at the stars. The pilot noticed and flashed Luke a knowing grin.
"Look, kid. I don't mean to get in your personal business, but if you're having problems with your lady friend over there, the best thing you could do is talk things out."
Luke grinned and looked down thoughtfully. He had given Swan some time to be alone with her thoughts, but now their mission was at hand. He needed to be sure she was ready for the hard trip ahead. "You're right," he said, getting up from his chair. "I'll go talk to her."
He approached and stood next to her, watching the stars twinkle around the twin suns. Neither moved for a few moments.
"You know," Luke broke the silence. "When I was a kid, my uncle used to tell me that if there was a bright center to the universe, we were on the planet farthest from it." He chuckled ruefully. "I think he was trying to discourage me from leaving Tatooine and exploring the galaxy, but at the time, it only fueled my hunger for adventure. Now I see he was trying to keep me safe."
"Your uncle," Swan said. "Was he a Jedi, too?"
"Oh no," Luke suppressed a laugh. "He was a moisture farmer from the day he was born to the day he-" He looked away.
"Did the Empire do it?" Swan asked.
"Yes," Luke nodded, eyes glued to the floor. "They were looking for a pair of droids that belonged to the Rebel Alliance that we had just bought. When they didn't find them, they killed my aunt and uncle. It was that moment that made me decide to learn the ways of the Force. Obi-Wan took me in and, well, it's all history from there."
"Luke," Swan said. "Do you think that if you go through with this. If you stop Anakin from falling to the dark side and the Empire from rising… Wouldn't that undo everything that happened to you? Everything that you achieved? All the friendships you've made?"
"I… have come to accept my destiny, Swan. If it is the will of the Force, I must stop Anakin from falling. Even if it means sacrificing my life in the process."
"What do you mean?" Swan turned.
Luke paused and gulped, thinking back on the vision he had encountered with Future Anakin.
"There are three things I need to do to prevent Anakin from falling to the dark side. First, I need to rescue his mother, who is in grave danger down in Tatooine. Then I have to find a way to prevent the Clone Wars from happening. And lastly..."
He sighed.
"My father was seduced by the Dark Side's power because he wanted to prevent my mother's death. I have to… prevent them from falling in love. If I can do that, Anakin will have no temptation. He will not fall to the dark side."
"But wouldn't that mean-"
"Yes," Luke nodded. "It would mean that I would never be born."
"But… But the future is always in motion, isn't it? There must be some other way."
Luke shook his head and looked away.
"There is no other way. I don't care what happens to me, Swan. I want to give you all the chance to live long and peaceful lives. I want to give the galaxy a chance to live without war or tyranny and if my life is the price, that is a price I am prepared to pay. But I can't do this without you. Can I count on you?" He extended his good hand out to her.
After a moment that seemed eternal, Swan nodded and took his hand in hers.
"You won't face this alone, Luke," she said. "The Force will always be with you, and so will I."
"Alright, strap yourselves in," the pilot called out, breaking their moment. "We'll be passing into the planet's atmosphere shortly and you do not want to be walking around when that happens."
Swan looked away at the stars one last time then smiled.
"Well then I guess it's time to put our Jedi training to the test. Let's go save the galaxy!"
(…)
The pilot had dropped the two Jedi in the outskirts of Mos Eisley. There, Luke had rented two Eopie's for the long trip and bought food and supplies, setting out in the direction of the Jundland Wastes. The two endured the scorching heat from the twin suns that baked the sands beneath them. When night had fallen, they stopped to rest.
After eating at a small campfire he had made, Luke pitched the tent he had bought.
"You're not coming in?" Swan said as she tucked herself in.
"In a while," Luke said, pulling out his macrobinoculars. "The stars are our map. I want to study them."
"Alright, but don't stay up too late. You'll need all the energy you can get for tomorrow."
"I'll come to bed soon," he promised.
Swan tucked her arms beneath her chin and after a few minutets, she drifted off.
"Rest well," Luke whispered with a smile, but she was already asleep.
Luke turned back to the stars with his macrobinoculars, scanning for the Sandman constellation. Hours later, the campfire had died down to smoke, washing everything in a midnight hue. Luke had walked several yards away and had perched himself atop the largest dune he could find. He scanned the starry midnight skies again, certain he had scanned that particular area several times already.
"Nothing," he said to himself. "I sure wish you were here now, Han. I could sure use your navigational skills right now."
A noise caught his attention. Luke angled the macrobinoculars in the direction where he had heard it and zoomed in. He could see two large, hairy objects in the shadowy distance. He thumbed the night vision button and his field of vision instantly turned from white to green.
"Are those… Banthas?"
His vision suddenly became pitch black. Luke jerked up from his macrobinoculars, just in time to see a large Tusken Raider swing a gaffi stick at him. He didn't have time to react. The large stone at the end of the gaffi stick connected with the left side of his head, knocking him unconscious.
All he could hear as his vision went black was the roar of dozens of Tusken Raiders all around him.
(…)
Something round and metallic poked him.
Luke groaned as he finally came to.
"Hey, mister," the voice of a young man said. "You alive?"
Luke panted and held a hand to his head as he sat up.
"A bit beat up, but I'm alright."
"Damn Sand People," the young man said, helping Luke to his feet.
The man was clad in tertiary colored robes. A small mustache outlined his young face and he held a rusty old blaster rifle in his left arm. The man was around Luke's age. His face was cut and dried blood caked his forehead and left cheek. His robes were marked with carbon scoring.
"Are you some kind of pioneer, merchant, explorer?"
"I'm a Jedi," Luke said. "I'm looking for… someone."
"That your camp over there?" the young man said. "The Sand people already took whatever you had in it."
"Swan!" Luke turned and ran through the burning sand back to the camp. The tent had been completely torn down and burnt. There was no sign of Swan or the eopies. Luke shuffled through the remains of the tent. Buried under the sand was Swan's lightsaber hilt. Luke picked it up and examined it.
"Someone you knew?" The farmer asked.
"Yes," Luke said.
"Yeah, us too. The Sand people are dangerous, mindless monsters. I hate to say this, but you may not find your loved one alive again."
"No," Luke said, feeling lightheaded. He reached out to the Force but could not feel Swan's presence. He collapsed weakly onto the sand. "Swan!" He yelled.
"Hey, watch it!" The young farmer said. "You want to let those kriffin' Tuskens know we're still here?"
He grabbed Luke's arm and swung it over his shoulder, pulling him up.
"Let me go," Luke panted.
"You're wounded and delirious from the heat. Our homestead's not too far from here. You can rest there and get something to eat and when your all rested up… then you can come back and look for your friend."
Luke wanted to argue, to fight back and go after Swan. But he knew that the young man was right. He would be more effective once he had rested. He followed the young man back to his landspeeder. Once he was inside, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
(…)
Luke opened his eyes to find himself in his old room. Everything was just the way he had remembered it. The oiler for the droids, the shifter machine at the end, even his old X-34 Landspeeder was parked in the garage connected to his room. Even his bed smelled the same as it always had all those years before.
Luke got up and walked around his old room, feeling a rush of emotion.
"Is this a dream?" he asked himself.
"Hello there," a young woman behind him said. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Luke said, rubbing the bruise in his forehead. "And kind of hungry, to be honest."
The woman smiled. "That's good, we prepared a little something for you. Come join us at the dinner table when you're ready."
Luke nodded, following the girl to the table where the man that had rescued him was already sitting.
"You look better already," the man said. "Have a seat."
Luke nodded and sat down.
An older man who was missing his leg approached the table on a hoverchair. His hair was ragged and his eyes were tired and sleepless.
"I didn't know we'd be having a guest this morning," the old man said.
"I found him on one of our passes by the Jundland Wastes. His camp had been raided by the sand people, too. I couldn't just leave him out there to die."
The old man nodded, staring down at the table.
"I am grateful for your hospitality," Luke said.
"It's our pleasure to help out a weary traveler. You got a name, son?"
"Luke. I'm Luke Skywalker."
The two men froze and Luke bit back but it was too late.
"Skywalker?" The old man said, thoughtfully. "Skywalker… Any relation to Shmi Skywalker?"
"I..." Luke paused. Would it be safe to reveal his true identity, even to this hospitable small farmer family? Luke didn't want to take the risk. "I'm sorry, the name doesn't sound familiar. I'm actually not from here. I'm a Jedi on a very important mission from the Republic."
"A Jedi," the man said. "Much like Shmi's son, too. I'm Cliegg Lars. This is my son, Owen and his girlfriend Beru. Shmi was my wife, but she was taken..."
Luke felt a rush of emotion as he looked at the young man more closely. In his young features he could in fact recognize his uncle Owen. Beru came in with a tray of blue milk.
"You must be famished," she said, sweetly. "Don't worry, Luke. The food's coming."
Luke finished the entire glass of milk, blinking back tears. A single tear betrayed him and rolled down his cheek.
Owen saw it, but must have assumed it was because of the raid earlier.
"Look, Luke," he said. "I know what I said back at the camp about never finding your loved one alive again must have been a bit callous. We're on the same boat here too. Our mother was taken by the raiders and we've been searching for her since. But maybe…" He glanced at his father.
"Well, Luke is a Jedi. Maybe with his help we can find mom and Luke's friend, too. The settlers say it's very likely that the same tribe is the one doing all the raids on our farms."
"I don't know, Owen," Cliegg Lars said.
"No," Luke said, wiping his eyes. "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be alive right now. It's the least I could do."
Owen's eyes brightened, but Cliegg stared thoughtfully at Luke.
"Tell me what happened," Luke said.
(…)
Luke stared out at the rising suns in the horizon. He breathed in the scent of the hot sand in the morning. The skies were washed in red, orange and blue hues. He remembered spending his afternoons as kid after his chores were done, just staring into the horizon and longing for adventure. He had never realized that the binary sunrise was just as beautiful as the sunset.
Owen approached silently and stood next to him.
"It's amazing what you've done with my old landspeeder," he said with a short laugh. "I thought that hunk of junk would never fly again."
"Nothing a little grease and a hydrospanner can't fix," Luke said and the two men laughed.
"Luke," Owen said. "This is a really brave thing you're doing for us. I wish I could go with you, but I have to stay behind and take care of Beru and Dad. Part of me wishes it had been Anakin who had taken responsibility to take care of looking for mom, but..."
"He's on an important mission, too," Luke said with a grin. "I'm sure he would be here if he could."
"What I'm trying to say is, thank you," Owen reached his hand out to him. Luke took it.
Luke turned and climbed aboard the landspeeder. It's engines whined as the speeder came to life.
"It was so good to see you again, Uncle Owen," Luke said under his breath. With a loud roar, the landspeeder took off into the desert.
(…)
With renewed strength, Luke spent the entire day searching for tribe in the desert. After hours of searching, the sun had begun to set. Night soon replaced the scorching heat. Luke reached out to the Force, asking for its direction. He opened his eyes and looked up at the stars. There, before his eyes, was the Sandman constellation. As Luke approached it, small dots of light began to appear in the horizon.
Luke's path ended at the edge of a cliff. He jumped down from the landspeeder, lightsaber hilt in hand, and approached the edge. There it was. The camp was moderately sized. About two dozen tents. Because of the late hour, most of the tuskens had retired for the night, the only figures moving about were the women preparing the food for the next day and the guards and their akk dogs.
Luke leaped down from the cliff, using the Force to cushion his descent. He landed silently and made his way across the shadows towards the tents. Human remains were displayed around the fires. Bones adorned the entrances of the tents. Luke shuddered to think that these could have belonged to their victims.
He reached out to the Force again and finally picked up Swan's Force signature. It was weak, but near. Luke used the Force to further mask his presence from the guards and sprinted to the tent where he had felt Swan. With his lightsaber, he cut a hole on the side of the tent and went in.
Swan had been tied to a stake. Her head was bowed and her hair covered her face.
"Swan!" Luke whispered urgently as he approached. Swan looked up. Her face was bruised and cut. Dry blood traced from the corner of her lip to her chin.
"Luke?" she said. Her eyes were terrified and filled with tears.
"It's me," he said, cutting the binds on her hands. "You're safe now."
When Swan's hands came free, she grabbed Luke's neck and pressed her lips against his.
Luke froze. The moment didn't last. Swan pulled away and instead wrapped her arms around Luke's torso. Luke could feel her trembling.
"I'm sorry. The other women," Swan said through tears. "They tortured them and burned them alive. I didn't think I was going to make it out of here."
Luke placed a hand on her cheek.
"It's alright," he said. "I've got you now."
The two held each other for a while.
"We've got to find Shmi," he finally said.
"I dropped my lightsaber back at the camp."
Luke smiled and pulled out Swan's lightsaber hilt from his belt.
Swan smiled back and took it.
"They won't catch me sleeping this time!"
The Jedi made their way through the night to the most heavily guarded tent. The guards there were distracted by the akk dogs fighting over human remains. They did not hear Luke activate his lightsaber and cut through the thick fabric.
Tied up to a stake with a crossbar was the woman from Luke's vision.
She looked up at them weakly.
"Help me," she whispered. "Please help me."
Luke rushed over to her side, cutting the rope around her hands and bringing her down.
"Shmi?" Luke said. "Shmi Skywalker? I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you."
The woman groaned in pain, unable to open her eyes. Luke glanced up at Swan. She placed a hand over the woman's eyes.
"She's not good," Swan said. "If we don't get her to a medical bay, we're going to lose her."
"Stay with her. I'm going to bring the Landspeeder around," Luke said. Swan pulled Shmi onto her lap, closing her eyes and using the Force to keep her alive.
Just as Luke turned, he came face to face with a masked tusken raider. It stared in surprise as well. For a moment neither moved, as the Tusken turned his head to Shmi.
It suddenly let out a shriek to alert the others and Luke lifted his hand, using the Force to choke it. The Tusken gargled, scrambling its fingers across its neck. But it was too late.
The entire camp had heard the guard's alert. Blaster bolts rained around them, cutting into the tent. Luke jumped to the side just in time to avoid the volley of blaster fire. The guard was not so lucky. It was caught in the crossfire and fell to the sand in a smoking heap.
"Stay here," Luke ordered. "I'm going to draw their fire away and get the speeder."
"Hurry, she doesn't have long!"
Luke waited until the Tuskens reloaded. He ignited his lightsaber and surged forward to the entrance of the tent. There must have been at least two dozen Tuskens firing at him. The red arches from the blasts lit up the night, kicking dirt up around Luke and scorching the tents.
Luke tirelessly brought his blade in a winding arc, redirecting the blasterfire back at the sand people. Suddenly, something jumped at him from the shadows. The akk dog dug its claws into Luke's boot, bringing him to the ground as the Sand People around him cheered. Luke grimaced in pain, swinging his lightsaber around and killing the akk dog.
A blast hit the hilt of his lightsaber, sending it flying into the night. Unarmed, outgunned and completely out in the open, Luke dove behind stacked crates as the blaster fire erupted around him. The blasts tore through the crates, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere. There was no way out. This was it. Luke braced himself.
The blaster bolts suddenly seized and Luke looked up to see two large Tuskens running at him. The moonlight glinted off the razor sharp ends of the gaffi sticks as the Raiders held them over their heads, savoring the kill.
The two raiders were mere feet away from Luke when a dark object landed between him and them. The two raiders yelped in surprise and pain as the sudden burst of energy through the air lifted them all up hurled them several feet away.
Relief, pride and excitement flooded through Luke as the shadow rose from its crouched position. The all too familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber cracked the air, the blade adding a shade of blue to the midnight mist.
"Get away from him, you monsters," Anakin growled. The majority of the tusken raiders had taken the women and children and fled in fear but a handful stayed behind, scrambling towards their fallen rifles. Luke jumped to his feet, glanced around and saw the light shining off his lightsaber hilt. Immediately he reached out his hand and the hilt flew from the sand into his palm. The reassuring weight of his weapon filled Luke with newfound strength. He thumbed the ignition, the bright green blade bursting out as father and son stood back to back, blades raised.
"So this is where the fun is," Anakin said dryly with grin.
"Anakin!" Luke said. "Boy am I glad to see you!"
"Owen told me you were out looking for my mother. Have you found her?"
"Yes, she's here and she's still alive."
"Well then," Anakin said, twirling his blade and bringing it over his head. "Let's make this quick."
Immediately the air erupted with blaster fire again, but this time Luke was not alone. Together, the two Skywalkers batted away the laser bolts, sometimes even redirecting them back at the raiders and hitting a couple. Luke glanced to his side. Anakin's blade was a blue blur as he deflected the laser blasts. Anakin's anger swelled palpably, adding to the ferocity of his attack, but Luke could sense him keeping it at bay. Within minutes, they had turned the tide of the battle.
When the firing finally seized, most of the raiders had either fled or had been cut down by the ricocheted blasts. The last of the raiders threw his weapon down at Luke's feet and fell onto its hands and knees in surrender. Luke took a minute to catch his breath but did not deactivate his lightsaber. Anakin deactivated his lightsaber.
"Where's my mother?" he asked Luke.
Luke pointed at the tent where Shmi and Swan were and Anakin went in. Luke turned his attention back at the Tusken Raider. "Go," he told him, pointing at the sunrise in the horizon where the other raiders had fled. "Find your family and never return."
The raider must have understood because it scrambled to its feet and ran, disappearing in the early morning sunrise. Luke deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it on his belt before making his way to the small tent. He entered and saw Anakin kneeling next to the makeshift bed that Swan had made for Shmi.
Shmi was still intoxicated from whatever the raiders had drugged her with. Her speech slurred and her eyes sometimes rolled to the back of her head, but at least the cuts on her face and body had been cleaned. Swan held a hand over her chest and one over her forehead, a faint light emanating from her palms. Her eyes were closed in concentration as she called on the Force to heal Shmi's wounds.
Anakin brushed her hair back as her eyes fixed on him.
"Ani?" She said weakly. "Is it you?"
"I'm here mom," Anakin's voiced trembled, betraying his emotion. He held her hand in his. "You're safe."
"Ani? Ani?" Shmi struggled but slowly she began to recognize him. "Oh, you look so handsome." She stroked his face gently. "My son, my grown-up son. I'm so proud of you Ani."
Anakin could no longer hold back his emotions and tears fell freely from his eyes as he tightened his grip on his mother. "I missed you," he whispered.
Luke looked away, feeling like he was intruding in a private moment. Shmi struggled for words.
"I love..."
Luke could feel despair swell in Anakin as his mother whimpered and began to slip unconscious.
"Stay with me, mom," he pleaded. "Please. Everything-"
"I – I love..." Shmi's eyes rolled and her hand sunk back against Anakin's arm.
"She's still alive, Anakin. I'm holding on to her but she's slipping," Swan reassured him. "We need to get her to a medical bay immediately."
Anakin's head was bowed as he silently wept. Luke moved over to him and placed a hand on his father's shoulder.
"Father."
Anakin finally looked up and nodded.
"Let's go."
They carried Shmi and carefully placed her in the landspeeder and took off for Lars Homestead. Anakin followed closely behind on a swoop bike he had arrived in.
AN:
Thank you so much for sticking around for another chapter of Past Awakening. I'm sorry it took so long to update. Holdiays, Vacation, and updating my other stories kept me from being able to write PA so I made an extra long chapter for you guys. So what did you think of Luke and Anakin finally teaming up and wrecking some Sand Peeps?
The next chapter will be somewhat short, as it will be the end of the second act and beginning of the third. I hope to see you all next time.
Questions, Comments, Reviews? Let me know and I'll tag you on the next chapter!
See you then!
