Disclaimer with the first chapter.
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TATOOINE.
The suns came down hot on the sands of Anchorhead. The man the locals knew as Ben Kenobi
fought sweat as a test of his own endurance, which he was glad to find still existed.
He tried not to think too strongly of fire.
There was very little activity in the settlement, as was to be expected. It was the time of
harvest, and the people of Anchorhead (if anyone was really *of* Anchorhead) were busy with
their vaporators and thirsting Tusken Raiders. But, of course, vaporators and droids broke
down, and the farmers and their temporary help required sustenance. The same reasons Kenobi
found himself waiting for the burly, obnoxious young man called Fixer who sat the counter at
Toshi Station to return with a simple igniter. Well, two of the three.
Young Luke Skywalker was reaching through a bin of connectors, searching for the correct one.
He did not allow himself a smile, though a victory was almost certainly in order. Four
standard months and Luke would pass into majority, slipping just under the scans of the Empire.
A girl stood on the other side of the counter from Luke, absently running her hand over the
connectors. Her attention was on the holonews with a desperation. He found it terribly
disheartening. The news itself would be the light of a dim, distant star: irrelevant once it
met her. He found himself hoping she would leave the planet, but he felt that her destiny lay
here.
He felt relieved when Fixer finally came back with the igniter, and allowed the igniter to
take the full of his attention.
Almost.
The girl gave a disgusted sound regarding the news. "I don't see how anyone could ..."
"It's not true." Luke Skywalker's clear voice, matured since Kenobi had last heard it, with
all the serene Jedi security that he should not have about some gossip.
Fixer snorted. "And you're an expert on royalty, now?"
_If you knew._
Kenobi swung his head round to see the last moments of the images of his former apprentice and
said apprentice's daughter. The rumors had returned.
He found strength in the faith of the son-and-brother, and walked away.
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On Naboo, under the water's surface where the core of the world met the core of the planet,
it seemed nothing ever changed.
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TATOOINE.
The suns came down hot on the sands of Anchorhead. The man the locals knew as Ben Kenobi
fought sweat as a test of his own endurance, which he was glad to find still existed.
He tried not to think too strongly of fire.
There was very little activity in the settlement, as was to be expected. It was the time of
harvest, and the people of Anchorhead (if anyone was really *of* Anchorhead) were busy with
their vaporators and thirsting Tusken Raiders. But, of course, vaporators and droids broke
down, and the farmers and their temporary help required sustenance. The same reasons Kenobi
found himself waiting for the burly, obnoxious young man called Fixer who sat the counter at
Toshi Station to return with a simple igniter. Well, two of the three.
Young Luke Skywalker was reaching through a bin of connectors, searching for the correct one.
He did not allow himself a smile, though a victory was almost certainly in order. Four
standard months and Luke would pass into majority, slipping just under the scans of the Empire.
A girl stood on the other side of the counter from Luke, absently running her hand over the
connectors. Her attention was on the holonews with a desperation. He found it terribly
disheartening. The news itself would be the light of a dim, distant star: irrelevant once it
met her. He found himself hoping she would leave the planet, but he felt that her destiny lay
here.
He felt relieved when Fixer finally came back with the igniter, and allowed the igniter to
take the full of his attention.
Almost.
The girl gave a disgusted sound regarding the news. "I don't see how anyone could ..."
"It's not true." Luke Skywalker's clear voice, matured since Kenobi had last heard it, with
all the serene Jedi security that he should not have about some gossip.
Fixer snorted. "And you're an expert on royalty, now?"
_If you knew._
Kenobi swung his head round to see the last moments of the images of his former apprentice and
said apprentice's daughter. The rumors had returned.
He found strength in the faith of the son-and-brother, and walked away.
------------------------------------------------------------
On Naboo, under the water's surface where the core of the world met the core of the planet,
it seemed nothing ever changed.
------------------------------------------------------------