Disclaimer – Lucas owns the characters in this story. He's hidden them away somewhere dark and dusty whilst he's got his mind on episode2, so I snuck in and broke them out for a quick jaunt in the sunshine. I wish I was making money from them, but unfortunately it's all in the name of 'fun'.
Setting – Eight years post Episode Three.
Note: this is an old, old story which isn't the finest piece I've ever written! I'm only leaving it here for posterity. It was written before the release of AOTC - hence Owen and Beru's background is somewhat different to the canon explanation for their relationship to Luke.
ANAKIN AGAIN?
Epsode Six - Deserved
Chapter One
"Welcome to Greenhome. You are now the property of the Great Garna the Hutt. Stand in line to receive your number."
Luke shook his head to try and clear the fog. Ouch! His muscles zinged with the after effects of the stun blast, twitching uncomfortably. Could things get much worse?
He opened his eyes, barely daring to challenge that thought. The other children were in line with him, walking into a large, dull building. Luke looked around and stopped suddenly, the boy behind him colliding with a curse, the first sound any of them had uttered.
Luke didn't turn to apologise, he was staring at the view to his right. He had been sure they had returned to Tatooine - you knew the feel of your home planet like you knew your own reflection - but suddenly he doubted that assumption. Out beyond the edge of the cliff Garna's men had them walking along, were huge swathes of greenery. Willowing plants on plateaus cut into the sides of a great canyon. There was a huge array of pipes between each platform, an irrigation system probably. And just visible amid the high, thin leafed plants were small figures walking between them, picking them and depositing leaves in baskets as low winds made the stalks churn like waves on an ocean Luke had never seen.
Why aren't they using harvester droids?
- Slaves are cheaper in the long run. Cost less to run too. Don't need to pay mechanics or buy oil baths.
He looked upwards and saw the sides of the canyon stretching out above him. This was a farm. Not a moisture farm, but an actual farm. And it was nothing like he'd ever seen on Tatooine. You couldn't grow plants here – it was too dry!
Luke didn't understand what was going on, and he was too young to understand the notion of either drugs trafficking or cultivation. He did understand the notion of child labour though, and knew now what he had been sold into.
The line had moved into an atrium of the large building, Luke still gaping at the platforms of plants being harvested below them. A droid grabbed his wrist and Luke's awareness snapped back to the interior.
The most you'll ever have is a number, burned into your arm so you'll never forget it.
He tried to snatch his skinny arm back, but the droid snapped what looked like a piece of flimsiplast around his wrist. Imprinted on it was a number. It moulded around his small hand and the droid released him. Luke pulled his right hand back and rubbed at the band, stuck to his skin. Number 1138.
No, I'm Luke Skywalker.
The line moved further into the building and Luke didn't let the despair show.
---
The small ship was low-terrain flying, avoiding any high-mounted ground sensors. Beru was in the rear, hair tied determinedly back, sorting through a stock of hand-held and rifle blasters like she belonged with the firepower. No wonder Padmé had made friends with her. Owen was copiloting even though Kenobi didn't need him there. He wanted to feel he was doing something. It was a fair flight from Mos Espa to where that transport had disappeared from his sights.
"She's a good ship, Kenobi." Owen said, not meeting his gaze, "Where did you get the cash?"
Obi-Wan had expected the question. Fortunately there were no lies that needed to be told here. "Yoda released the funds from the Council shortly before he disappeared. He thought I might need them some time. As usual, he was right."
Owen said nothing. The past kept on creeping up on them.
"Not got much in the way of weaponry." That was Beru.
"Hopefully, we won't need it." He flicked the small ship over another tall dune and lowered her back down again. On the scope, the Star Destroyer didn't even show, but Obi-Wan knew she was there, along with her commander. Vader's presence in his mind was like a cold hand at his throat.
Beru just grunted and sat behind her husband. "How much further?" She had changed into a trim black jumpsuit and looked nothing like her farmer alter ego, much more like the strong woman Kenobi had met a decade ago.
Owen turned to her, also redressed into something more sensible for taking on a group of armed slavers. "Nearly there, B," the man said. Kenobi had noticed the increase in the nickname from a past life. 'B' nodded.
"Here we go." Obi-Wan turned back to concentrate on the terrain as a canyon came into view at the exact spot the ship had disappeared.
Dusk had fallen and in the fading sunlight a ship rose from the canyon and climbed rapidly for space, red light glinting off her hull. It was the transport.
"Sith!" Obi-Wan swung the ship into reverse and threw power to the drives, rapidly stopping the ship and nudging her under the small cover offered by a large dune. Beru was leaning forward like she wanted to climb through the viewport.
"Follow it!" she hissed.
Obi-Wan waved her back down, and Owen placed a hand on her shoulder to lower her back to the seat. "No, they've dropped off their cargo, and that includes Luke."
"You don't know that!"
"I do." There was Jedi calm in his voice, which made her throw her hands up in the air.
"Fine!" She sat back in the seat, not quite in a funk.
Owen was fiddling with the scopes. "Okay, we're out of sensor range. Creep in there slowly. Quietly."
Obi-Wan nodded and brought he drives back up, shunting power slowly and lifting the ship over the dune, gliding her forwards.
A troubled look spread over his face and Owen narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"
Obi-Wan knew how much Owen hated to acknowledge to Force, so his gaze was kindly. "I can feel Luke," he said.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be using the Force, Kenobi," he growled.
"That's the point Owen. I'm not. Luke is using the Force, and his presence is as bright as Corusca right now."
"What?" Owen hissed, leaned dangerously towards the Jedi. "How? He doesn't even know the Force exists!"
"Luke is strong. You can't suppress a power like that, even with ignorance. He's been through a rough time, I think it's opened him up." He braced himself for Owen's tirade but the man just sank back into his seat as if defeated, his head in his hands. He felt the world crashing in around him, and Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"His father's son," Owen whispered.
"Will Vader sense him too?" Beru hissed. Obi-Wan turned to her and tried to look comforting. They had worked so hard to protect their young charge from the Jedi and their damned Force, and Luke had found it anyway. It had to be maddening.
"The Destroyer is on the other side of the planet, so I don't think so. Once its orbit brings it around here though... I wouldn't like to make any guarantees."
There was an ominous silence. Owen broke out of his reverie and made the calculations. He hissed and shook his head.
"How long, Owen?"
"What margin do you think, Kenobi?"
"At least a hundred kilometres. He is his father."
"An hour then, at best."
Beru slumped back in her chair, hand over her eyes. "We can't do it. It's all over."
Owen turned to her, and tried to comfort her, but he didn't feel any hope. "B, we can-"
She broke him off and sat straight-backed in the chair, leaning intently towards the Jedi pilot.
"Obi-Wan, promise me something?"
He stared intently, not needing Jedi senses to feel the tension that had descended suddenly. "What?"
She swallowed hard but kept his gaze. "If Vader comes down, if he's going to get the boy, promise me you'll kill him instead."
Owen started, Kenobi never moved. He had fully expected this. "Luke is a good child, he doesn't deserve to be manipulated by that monster," she continued. Her fists balled. "I'd rather remember him like he is – sweet, innocent, kind – than think about what Vader will twist him into." She looked down at the deck plates, "And I don't think I can do it myself."
Obi-Wan was touched, and for a moment couldn't think of the words. "You are truly are a wonderful mother to the boy. And still will be. I will promise you this, Beru. And I will not shrink from this, not now or ever. If there is any chance that giving my life can keep him from Vader, I will give it gladly." He sighed deeply, "And yes, I will kill him before Vader lays his hands on him. But... only ever as the very last resort." He smiled kindly. "You're not the only person whose heart that boy has wormed his way into."
He turned away respectfully as he saw tears in her eyes and set the ship down a few metres from the canyon edge. He powered her down, but left her ready for a quick start.
A few seconds of deep breathing. "I'm sorry Beru, but we have to move."
She wiped tears from her ruddy cheeks with her sleeve and nodded, taking comfort in the heavy blaster strung over her shoulders. "Right. Owen, arm yourself." She threw a blaster to him and headed down the landing ramp, the two men following silently.
Obi-Wan secured the ship in the frigid cold of the desert air, the sand rapidly loosing its heat to the atmosphere, and shivered despite himself. He found himself gripping the lightsaber in his hand and chastised himself, replacing it to his belt.
Owen and Beru were dark figures a few metres away, moving for the canyon edge, and the Jedi Master jogged to join them.
They reached the perimeter of the great chasm and Obi-Wan waved them back as he leaned over the edge in the rapidly fading light. Not faded enough yet that he couldn't recognise the scene below him. He turned back to the husband and wife team behind him, incredulous.
"What is it?" Owen asked, stepping forward.
"Something for the Imperials burn."
Chapter Two
Luke followed the others into another atrium and saw backpacks being handed out. His teeth ground together as he saw the outside, now dark, enticingly close. And covered by guards.
He was just a kid, what was he doing thinking about escape? Where was he going to run to? He took the pack from the man's arms and slung it over his shoulders like the others had, wincing at the bruises on his back it pressed against.
They were filing them out for the night shift, Luke still recovering from that spacer's stun blast. He walked, head bowed, thinking furiously. Yes he was thinking about escape. Yes he was thinking about doing something stupid. He was a Skywalker. His father wouldn't want him to just give in and be a slave, would he?
No.
He set his jaw, head still bowed. He might be a short eight-year-old kid. But he was wiry. And fast.
They were outside in the cold air, moving out to the tall fields of those green plants. And there was only a single guard until they made it there.
Run!
Not quite sure what he was doing, only having the distinct feeling that time was rapidly running out, he forced his tortured muscles to move. And move fast.
The boy put everything he had into sprinting away from the crowd, as silently as possible, knowing instinctively that the bare few seconds it took for the guard to get over the shock would count. He tore for the edge of the plant lines, the soil underfoot soft and making his feet sink into it, slowing him down
Keep running. Don't look back. Don't ever look back.
The guard was shouting, Luke heard the rustle of metal against leather as his blaster left his holster, wondering how he had managed to hear that. His footsteps boomed loud in his ears, the guards' cries of anger accented by the blaster fire that ripped up the ground where his foot had been a few seconds ago. Except Luke had dodged right, instinctively knowing when.
He wasn't thinking about that, he was just running. Dive, roll, turn it into a climb. Full power to the engines.
Thoughts from a much happier time came to him and he felt like he was flying, dodging the spray of fire as another blaster joined the first.
Right, left, duck! He saw the edge of the terrace approaching as his lungs felt they would burst.
Keep running! Don't look back!
His arms were trembling in sympathy with the fatigue in his legs.
Then he was there at the edge, skidding to a stop.
What now?
He whirled back to see the two guards approaching, a human and another species he didn't recognise. Despite the danger he realised something felt very different. It was a strange feeling, like having your eyes opened for the first time, like a light had come on. He was aware of so many things he'd never known to look for before. He knew the men were panting for breath, he felt the terror of the other children as they dashed back inside. He felt a comforting warmth from the other side of the canyon.
Jump Luke!
Luke whirled back to the edge, his eyes searching the gloom. Was that a dark figure in the distance? He didn't know; his eyes still hurt. He knew he had to jump, though. He backed up a few steps and blaster fire shot towards him and over his shoulder. The guards looked surprised, especially the human when a red beam spitted him through the shoulder.
Luke didn't waste time, didn't know who was firing back. He skidded backwards in the dirt, then propelled himself forward.
His foot hit the edge of the chiselled platform and he pushed hard, crying out in his mind.
Why did he feel like someone heard him?
Then he was flying through the air, falling in the pitch black between platforms, panic rising in his throat as the wind whistling down the canyon threw him around. His hands were grasping at the air desperately. Then his legs hit the ground and he crumpled some of the sharp-tipped plants under his weight. He came to a jarring halt against the wet earth as he heard shouts from above. He had fallen on his side when he landed, and he pushed wet mud away from his face and coughed it out of his mouth.
Keep moving! Father wouldn't want me to lie down and die here!
He lurched to his knees and then his feet as the sound of blasters and the lights of a speeder overhead, falling in the mud again. He peered upwards between the tall plants at the lights overhead, hair plastered to his head, terrified.
But he kept moving. He had to.
He dived from beneath the crushed plants and moved deeper into the dark foliage. This platform wasn't being harvested right now – there were no lights rigged overhead like there had been on the other one, and if he kept moving, he should be able to hide in their cover.
He crouched down as the searchlight of a speeder passed overhead, and in the light one of the hutt's goons leaned out with a blaster rifle trailed on the spot light. Luke tried to blend in with the ground; he was covered in mud anyway, so the tan clothing wouldn't give him away. He buried his head and the light past. Then he was up and running again through the plants towering above his head, pushing them out the way.
Another speeder, the repulsorlifts thrumming loud and brushing the plants into a mad frenzy like a storm on an ocean surface. Luke tried to hide his small frame as they brushed over them, the sound of the engines burning loud in his ears.
"Luke!" A voice called to him, barely audible over the speeder. It passed by and he ran on.
"Luuuke!"
The voice again, and this time he recognised it. It sent a thrill down him just to hear it and he cried out in delight. "Aunt Beruuuu!"
He clambered forward in the dirt as the speeder swept by. "Aunt Beru!"
He couldn't find her. He could hear her voice but with all the noise, he didn't have a clue where she was. He tripped, fell, got covered in more of the soft mud.
Another speeder sweeping over him. He looked around desperately for a way out.
---
Beru looked at her chrono: ten minutes left. She glanced around the huge plants, and looked upwards to the platform Luke had leapt from, saw Obi-Wan sweeping in with his saber, a sight not seen for a very long time, and Owen working with a blaster to take out the guards.
"Luke!" She called into the plants, gripping the blaster tighter.
Ten minutes, B. Get him and run.
"Luuuke!" she called again. A speeder shot overhead but didn't sweep its light over her. She took comfort in the rifle.
"Aunt Beruuuu!" a voice called back. A grin cracked across her face and she knew he was up and had survived the fall.
Obi-Wan had looked worried at using the Force to levitate Beru down here, but Vader's ship was rapidly approaching and they didn't have any time left for niceties. She looked up and levelled her blaster on a speeder, firing off a shot that bounced off the armour uselessly.
"Aunt Beru!"
She swor violently, then called out again. "Luke! This way!" She pointed the blaster straight up and fired shots into the sky like flares from a dying ship. Mud plastered her hair and she didn't know if Luke would even recognise her if he found her here. A speeder angled in on her position and she dived aside at the shots in her direction, rolling and firing back. It was amazing how easily she remembered how to fight after ten years.
"Luke!"
A small figure appeared ahead of her, sprinting through the thick plants for all he was worth.
"Beru!"
Another grin, this one aimed straight at her young nephew. He grinned back and ran towards her.
"Aunt, Be-"
She was so focused on concern at his appearance, she never saw the speeder sweep in and set off a volley of shots at the small fugitive. The ground blasted up between them in a shower of mud and charred plants. Beru threw a hand up to cover her face.
Luke!
"Luke!"
The boy didn't reply.
She clambered to her feet and ran forward, stumbling over the wrecked ground, hair falling from her ponytail and plastering her cheeks.
"Luke!" There he was, face down on the ground. The speeder came back around, seeing her in the open. Infuriated that they had hurt her boy, she threw herself onto her back and fired mercilessly at the speeder. She wasn't aiming well through her blind anger, but she hit the engines solidly, punching the energy beam through to spit the drive. The blaster kicked in her hands and she barely noticed it. The engines flared and exploded in a brilliant, incandescent fireball - the ruined hulk of metal around them falling like a stone to the earth in another spray of mud.
Beru ignored it and clawed herself forward to the prone child's side. She thought it a strange mockery of the boy that he was laid out on the earth staring at the stars like he so often did back at their homestead, hundreds of kilometres away now.
She dug her fingers down to his neck and held her breath. There was a pulse. She almost cried in relief.
Flipping him onto side and front, she looked for blaster burns. There wasn't anyway – the blast must just have stunned him. The mud and the dirt could obscure the smaller burns and bruises, but not something like a rifle burn.
She flicked the comlink on. They had agreed not to use them unless absolutely necessary. "Obi-Wan, I've got him."
"Can you get up here?"
"No."
"Get to the ship."
The link clicked off and she pocketed it. She took the other, small device from her utility belt and activated it. A slave drive. She knew that above her, at the top of the canyon, the ship the Jedi had bought was bringing itself to life and homing in on her.
She put the activated slave back and bent down over the unconscious boy's face.
He seemed strangely at peace as she lifted his face with her muddy hands and stared into the kindly features of a boy she had not seen in far too long.
I might not be your real mother, but I love you like a real son.
She pulled the limp boy into her arms, only then noticing the piece of plastic fastened to his wrist.
Tears stung her eyes as she brought the boy into her embrace, hugging him fiercely like she thought he might disappear again at any moment. Kneeling in the dark and the mud, she kissed his dirty face and brushed the blonde hair away from his eyes, seeing the boy's clean spirit shining through his grubby exterior.
She grasped the plastic and tried to pull it from him, but it was stuck to his skin.
"Don't worry." She whispered into his hair as the running lights of their ship descended quickly through the canyon towards the two small figures, "We'll get that off you. I bet they never could make you just a number, could they, Luke Skywalker?"
---
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, had not forgotten how to wield a lightsaber in his eight years of near solitude. The instinct came back to him easily and the blade was buzzing angrily in his hands. The blaster shots were easily swotted aside, and the grim expression on face came not from any danger the slavers might pose, but from the fear that even this small use of the Force might attract Vader's attention. He gritted his teeth and continued the fight, knowing there was nothing to be done about that now. Owen was answering the slaver's blasters with his own, his aim fairly accurate and absolutely determined.
His cloak flying out angrily behind him, Obi-Wan rotated on the heel of his foot and snapped a blaster bolt back its in his owner. The shock of his own blast coming back to hit him in the chest showed on the mans' face before he sank to ground with a sigh. Another shot, another block. Obi-Wan had lost little of his agility and he twisted quickly to block another.
His quick turn showed their small ship falling rapidly down to Beru and Luke on the next level down.
Then he was facing the men again. He leapt, cut, and pierced the heart of an alien that lunged at him with a vibroblade. Another death to add the list. Another pang of guilt.
Forgot the dead you've left; they will not follow you. His eyes looked up to the sky and the white dagger against the stars. But that's not true - sometimes they do.
"Kenobi?"
"I see it."
Another swipe, no time for regrets. These were slavers, pirates, pure and simple. Not at all like Padmé and Anakin had been.
His jaw set at the memory and he blocked another shot.
The loud thrum of repulsors and their ship rose above the edge of the plateau, ramp extended, running lights throwing red over the plants. Rising above it was one of the speeders sent after Luke after the child had leapt from the ledge, its weapons splashing against the armoured hull of Obi-Wan's purchase.
A flick of his finger and he locked the blade, cocked his wrist, set his feet and threw the blade. He didn't manipulate the blade with the Force as he could have done - instead he just hoped his aim was good.
It was. The blue blade sliced through the repulsor coils in the speeder's aft. The slavers tried to fire at the blade as it fell back down to the ground, but they were far too late. Obi-Wan smiled grimly as the repulsors died with a loud crack and the shocked faces of the men disappeared with the speeder, falling to a loud, thunderous explosion on the plateau below.
"Owen, now!" he called. He ran for the ship's entranceway, scooping the hissing saber from the ground and deftly deflecting another volley of shots that came his way.
This isn't good, if we leave these men here, Vader will know someone had a saber.
His hand went to the utility belt and reached into one of the pouches there, retrieving a small ball-shaped object. He flicked the timer of the thermodetonator on, setting its detonation for one minute. He saw the bulky, dark-haired figure of Owen lurching for the ship, trying to cover his back as he ran, dodging between the tall plants that offered a little obstruction to the slaver's aim.
Kenobi threw the ball far across the terrace and into the plants, burying it deep in the heart of the platform. Even if the slavers realised what that quiet ticking was, they'd never find it in time
He turned and followed Owen to the ship, cloak flying out and obscuring the gunmen's view of him. His saber knocked back any shots that got too close. Then he was at the edge, mentally counting down the seconds.
Up the durasteel ramp, rebounding of the wall. Saber extinguished, pushing into the cockpit to see Beru standing there with Owen, no one at the controls.
"Move!" he shouted, barrelling them out the way.
20 seconds.
Beru stumbled backwards in confusion, and Obi-Wan saw the small boy out of the corner of his eye, strapped into one of the back acceleration chairs, unconscious.
"Strap down."
He slid into the padded pilot's chair, hands flying at breakneck speed over the controls.
15 seconds.
"Do it!" he shouted as husband and wife hurried and clambered to obey.
Ramp up, full power to repulsors. Gun the ship around.
The acceleration smashed them back into their seats, Beru nearly falling out of hers as the Jedi hit the thrusters. Her muddy, burnt face took on a scowl before an explosion shook the small ship. The thermodetonator - it sent out a shock wave that quickly washed over the ship. Fire licked at her hull, but Obi-Wan had got her moving in time, and had control of her before the fire has started to recede.
"What in blazes was that?" Owen gasped, pressed back into the seat.
Obi-Wan glanced at the scope.
Sithspit! The Destroyer was right over the top of them! Where to? Up top, terrain flying again? But the Destroyer might see them.
Down the canyon, then. The sensors might not look for them that way.
"Thermodetonator," he said between gritted teeth.
"What?"
Obi-Wan didn't answer for a second. He had the ship at full speed, falling down into the canyon in a mad plunge, then he straightened her out parallel with the floor and she kicked forward again. Platforms of willowy, dark plants reached up like hands to grasp at the nimble little ship as she weaved between them and the Jedi, not being able to use the Force to guide the ship, couldn't look back at the man to give a clear answer.
"Owen, what's that Destroyer doing?" he asked between gritted teeth, not able to spare the glance for himself.
Left, right, up a bit, nose down. The plateaus were not logically placed and he had to dodge them as they came, only the front lights of the ship giving him any insight as to where they would turn up.
"Nothing yet," the man replied from beside him as he peeled himself away from the back seat and climbed against the g-forces into the co-pilot's seat – Obi-Wan had dialled down the compensator to give him a better feel for the ship.
"If she starts trowing out TIEs, we're in trouble," he said, swiping the ship suddenly and rolling her along her vertical axis. Long plant leaves scraped the cockpit window.
Beru was ominously quite – she's trying to wake Luke.
"Leave him," he said, then cut off to duck the ship below a suddenly approaching platform, and they were plunged into darkness beneath it. Come on, come on, don't have a solid rock face at the end -
They hurtled back out and the sky reappeared above. From Owen's silence he knew the man was gripping the edge of the seat with fear. This is nothing compared to what Anakin used to do.
He didn't need those thoughts, not now. He stowed them. "Beru, leave him. It's better he's unconscious. Vader won't be able to sense him then."
He juked around another platform in the pitch black, glancing at the scope. Twenty kilometres from the slave centre, still burning behind them.
"What about the children?"
"They were all inside."
The Jedi Master twisted the little craft, shunting power to her right drive, and she dove obliquely between two tightly spaced platforms, the wind whistling over her. He would have bet heavily that Luke would've loved to be in his seat. Another reason to keep him out.
"TIEs, Kenobi. From the Destroyer's aft."
"Hang on." He took the ship deeper into the foliage, it brushed over them as they scraped the bottom of the platform above. Why didn't they build this logically?
"Does he know?" Beru's concerned voice broke through his concentration.
"How many?
"Looks like half a squad."
"No, then. You'd be looking for them descend like a bunch of avenging angels if he knew." Kenobi twisted the ship again in the darkness.
"So Luke isn't that deep into the Force yet." There was distinct relief in the man's voice.
Kenobi was going to tell him the cold truth when another obstacle reared its head. Beru gasped and clung to her seat. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth.
A steel mesh screen, presumably some sort of heavy-duty stun net to keep the indigs' away from the plantation, abruptly ended the canyon. The Jedi threw the thrusters into reverse and pulled her nose up, drawing an awful creaking sound from her hull as she turned for the stars. "Hold on."
He didn't have to bother telling them; they were glued back into their seats by the force of the move. The ship rose above the mesh, riding parallel for a few heartbeats. Then they cleared the canyon. Obi-Wan twisted her roughly over the net, and they were falling back to the canon floor again, past the stun net.
"I'm going to be sick," Beru muttered at the manoeuvre and Obi-Wan tried to ignore his own nauseous stomach.
"Owen, is the transponder working?"
"No."
"Put it on."
The man stared at him as Kenobi levelled the ship back to the wide canyon floor, clear of the obstructive terraces and able to spare more attention to the couple. "What?"
"Trust me."
"Trust you?"
Obi-Wan winced at the edge in that voice. "I have the encrypt for that slaver's transport. With any luck, we stay hidden and all the Destroyer sees is a transponder signal, they'll think the slavers destroyed the complex. Put it on." Owen glowered, but he flicked it on. "Thank you," Obi-Wan murmured. He turned back to the canyon and slowed the ship a little. "Where are those TIEs?"
"Heading down to the complex."
"Any coming our way?"
"No."
"Good." He turned to the woman behind him momentarily to catch her gaze then looked back to the craggy terrain. "Beru, get Luke to the med station in the back. Is he badly hurt?"
She looked at him with sad eyes. "Not badly, I don't think. Just stunned."
Kenobi breathed a silent sigh of relief. The boy meant too much to loose him now.
Means too much to the future, or to you
He glanced at the scope – Fifty kilometres from the complex. It wasn't visible any more, and canyon was narrowing, coming to an end. Obi-Wan dialled the compensator back up and brought the ship up over the canyon edge as Beru unstrapped the limp child and carried him to the back of the ship. He set the ship straight and had her racing full speed across the desert.