Chapter 29: The game
"All right, Luke." Leia
said, coming up to him, "I've talked it out with Aunt Rogue, I am watching
your sabbac game. Even if you loose, you've won. I know I have."
Luke knew what Leia was talking
about, finding each other, as they were siblings they could talk to each other
about ANYTHING. "Thanks, Leia." Luke said, meaning it with all of his
heart.
"Hey, Kid I just talked to
Lando, the old pirate on the com-link, he'll meet us up at your place, if I am
right and the game is there we will watch, otherwise we will go with you."
"Thanks Han." Luke looked
at both, Leia and Han. "Looks like I have got the best friends, and sister
anyone could have." He said, teary-eyed, and giving both of them a huge
hug.
"Aww, its nothing, kiddo."
Han said.
All three of them, joined by Lando,
went to Luke's quarters, where Raque, and other friends of Raque and Luke's
where waiting. "Hey, Raq, what is the latest new from Tatooine."
"Man, we all thought you were
dead, until Liekiu, Binns, Seiko saw you. We thought the Imperials that burnt
the homestead got you too, and your com-link, thats why we shut it off."
"And I thought it just didn't
work from the distance."
"Did you know, we named the
Tatooinian Rebellion after you, Biggs, Owen, Beru, and the other Tatooinian
brothers." Raque said.
"Tatooinian rebellion."
Leia said, "Alliance leaders thought the Stormtroopers had packed, but
there was a rebellion."
Its okay, Princess." Raque
said, raising a hand, "We knew Tatooine was probably low priority for the
Alliance, but did you know you could have probably found more recruits on
Tatooine then anywhere else, maybe other the Calamari, but that was only 'cause
how big there population is, in the galaxy. Every Tatooinian that has been
approached by the Alliance joined. Since we knew it would be AGES before anyone
thought of us, Brotherhood leaders, took it upon themselves. Another week and
we would've had the Emperor. With the winnings, Skywalker, over here gave us we
bought ships, and flew to Coruscant, pretended to join the Empire, but actually
dug tunnels in the Palace, see the Emperor was only afraid of Jedi's he wasn't
afraid of being killed by anyone else. So he made his throne room walls of Cortis
Ore, a weak substance that can only achieve one thing, to block
lightsabers."
"You are wrong about one thing,
though, u were on our lists, why do you think so many of your people where
approached and trusted at the Center. Or did you think we told our secret
location to anyone. Problem, the Emperor also realized Tatooine's capability
for Rebellion, he put his fleets around Tatooine. You must have had a hard time
in the Rebellion, the emperor also had some of his best governors there."
"Nope." Raque grinned,
"Looks like we were right, Luke obeyed his oaths and didn't tell you.
Every male under 30 on Tatooine is a member, and bylaws state every family
member an honorary member.
So the entire Tatooinian population
rebelled."
After a few seconds. "Quit stalling,
Sacre, we want to see you loose." Rembre, another member, said grinning.
Luke surprised everyone, including
himself, by winning. "You-you-won." Raque said, stunned.
"Listen, don't equip the ship
with hyperdrive, its okay. Just don't keep it. Put it on a carrier and send it
here."
"What," Raque looked
shocked, "You thought I'd really keep your ship. I thought you had a
higher opinion of me, I've already equipped it, and its parked next to the
Falcon." Raque grinned, "To hunk o junk's next to each other. But, I
tell you, compared to Luke's ship the Falcon looks like a Star Destroyer,
though your ship is better equipped and MUCH faster."
"So, you tinkered with it and
put Binns new invention in it." Luke said.
"Yup. Consider it an apology
for blocking you out."
"Accepted. Come on, everyone
lets go look at the Ship I thought had been scrapped."
Everyone followed Raque to the
Spaceport where the Falcon was parked, and sure enough, right next to it there
was a ship that looked 8 different colors on the outside, though it was
patterned. "Would everyone like a ride in my ship." Luke said, after
a thorough inspection, which in Leia's mind was like Han and the Falcon.
Luke, with Leia as Co-pilot piloted
the ship to an orbit. "All right, Rembre, Raque, and the rest of you, what
is it." Luke said.
"I can't believe you forgot us
on Tatooine."
"Not forgot." Luke
corrected, "I just never had a chance to go back, and remember with
Leadership you guys where moving around so much. Plus, I thought YOU were the
ones who didn't want to know me. I mean, I thought, the Brotherhood and all its
Intelligence capabilites would know I was alive."
"Sacre, we thought all those
transmissions with your name was Imperial trickery, they'd learnt your name and
were trying to fool us. Sacre, I guess we can't blame you, but there is someone
who hasn't slept in 6 years."
Chapter 30: Sophwa
Luke thought, for a second,
"Sophwa." He asked.
"Exactly."
"Where is he."
"We left him on our ship until
we knew the reason you didn't come back, we didn't tell him about Binns et al.
seeing you awhile ago."
Luke broke into a run. "Who is
Sophwa." Leia asked Luke.
"Sophwa was one of my best
friends on Tatooine, he was like a big brother, like Biggs."
Leia was silent at the name of the
Battle of Yavin hero.
"He was also Biggs's brother,
Biggs was his only family."
"Oh no." Leia said.
"Oh, yes, don't worry Biggs died for a very good cause, justice for the
galaxy and Sophwa understands that."
"Sacre, is that you."
"Yes, its me." Luke said,
running inside the ship.
Sophwa and Sacre met halfway in a
hug.
"You-you are not dead."
Sophwa said, in Tatooinian.
"Of course not, here I am, in
the flesh." Luke said, smiling a roguish smile he had learnt from Han.
"You made the Brotherhood
proud, Luke, I have kept your Academy going."
In the meantime Raque had gestured
for Leia, Han, and the other brotherhood members to leave the ship. "This
could get mushy." Raque said.
"Why." Han asked.
"Well, Sophwa, and the rest of
the Brotherhood thought Luke was dead."
"You know, one of the dumbest
things you can do is give up on the Kid."
"Well, General Solo, what would
you do. You are coming over to see you friend, what do you, his homestead
burning, and a cremation fire. You see signs that indicate an Imperial carried
it out. Then, your heart stops, you notice something worse. Your friend's
com-link is gone. The one that was issued to brotherhood members, the one that
is fire proof. You realize more people are in jeopardy including commando
groups. Then you find out, your brother is also dead, same month. Then you get
reports this person is alive, you aren't sure if its a trap, or real. You feel
obligated to block the com-link, just in case Imperials got a hold if it."
"Ouch." Han said.
"Ouch." Leia agreed, able
to sympathize.
"Ouch is right." Raque
said, grimly.
Then Sophwa and Luke come out, an
arm slung around the other's back. "I am trying to convince Sophwa to stay
here, but he won't listen."
"And I am trying to get Sacre
to come to Tatooine." Sophwa countered, smiling.
"His first smile, since word
came the Empire was destroyed, and THAT had been his first smile since word of
Luke's apparent death, and Biggs's death came." Raque muttered.
"We both have different
destiny's, but we WILL still be friends, and meet." Sophwa declared,
looking Luke in the eyes.
Chapter 31: We know whose kids you
are.
Luke nodded, he had elected himself
to duty's by joining the Alliance. "Well, it is time for Raque and myself
to return to Tatooine, along with the rest of Brotherhood members other then
Luke. Remember Princess, the code says family members of Brotherhood members
are protected." Sophwa said.
Luke stared at Sophwa, his mouth
agape. "How long have you known about...my biology."
"Since a little after you were born
everyone on Tatooine knew, I had been hearing it since I was a child. And you
should have known that, think back to...certain actions. Even through that no
Tatooinian betrays another Tatooinian to an outsider. We had all been told by
Ol' Ben not to tell you, and we knew that his word should be obeyed. And you,
by blood Anakin Skywalker was born, ironically a slave, on Tatooine. I had to
find a graceful way to tell you I knew, now that you know."
"Incredible, so thats why...THE
OLD TATOOINIAN SAYING, FORME EVILIUS KIMIMIM SONTUS EVILIUS, SUT MARDENA
CHAHIYA DUNIYA KE BHALAI KE LIYE. (Child born of Evil people are inherently
evil, so do the galaxy a favor and kill them)."
"Exactly, the saying doesn't
apply in this case, but people applied it anyhow." Then Sopwha switched to
Tatooinian, "When you were...conceived your father was good, and your
mother..she is/was beyond good."
"Enough, talk in Basic, or talk
later." Han said.
"All right, so if you need us,
use the code Luke will give you. And call us." Sophwa said, and with a
farewell wave he spacewalked back to the Tatooinian ship, along with other
brotherhood members.
Luke then took the ship back to
Coruscant. "I guess the Tatooinian honor code really works." Han
said.
"It does." Luke said,
"Listen, lets change the subject."