Chapter
2
It was a day later before Luke first regained consciousness. Groggily he opened his eyes. He found himself alone in a room with unfamiliar walls, but the sounds in the room were all too familiar. He was once again in a Medcenter. I wonder what happened to me this time. Closing his eyes again, he shifted into a more or less comfortable position and attempted to go back to sleep. I must be extremely tired; to be able to fall asleep with my lightsaber on and cutting into my side, he thought sleepily just before he dozed off again.
Mara sat beside Luke's bed as he slept. She had felt him wake up earlier that day, but before any of them could reach his room, he had gone back to sleep. She was reluctant to wake him again, but they needed answers. He was tossing and turning as if in the grips of a terrible dream. She touched his arm and stretched out with a small tendril of the Force to him.
~Why are you still here? You
should have died a long time ago. I
should have just killed you when I had the chance. Well, there is no time like the present. ~
The fear and pain she received
forced her to pull back from him quickly. When her brain caught up with what happened, she realized that she had
witnessed part of his dream. The words
were so much like the words she had said to him many times in the past, but
this voice was not hers.
She hesitated before reaching out her hand again, but when she touched him this time nothing happened. "Come on, Luke, time to wake up." She gently rocked his shoulder, quietly calling his name. He snapped awake with a jerk. Throwing his eyes around in a panic, his gaze falling on Mara. He relaxed with a sigh.
"It was just a dream," she told him.
"A dream," Luke repeated, his voice a raspy whisper.
"It's over now, Luke."
"Where am I?"
"You're in the Medcenter on one of Karrde's ships. You were found unconscious in an ally. You took a shot in the side, and were brought here as soon as they found you."
"In my side?" He asked, confusion over taking any expression the news of being shot would have planted on his face. "Well that would explain why I thought I was sleeping with my lightsaber stuck in my side."
Mara smiled at his attempt at a joke.
"Leia will be in here in a few minutes," she told him. "She is going to want to know what happened."
"I could use a few answers to that question myself."
"You don't remember?" Mara asked, suddenly becoming worried.
"Huh? Oh no, I remember. Hum… I wish I could forget. I just can't figure out how it happened."
"That question has crossed my mind as well."
"I was standing not 100 yards away when she ran; I can't believe I didn't notice."
"Whoa," Mara said placing her hand back on his arm. "Back up a bit. What are you talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" He repeated, looking at her strangely.
"I was asking how anyone could get past your defenses to shoot you. What are you talking about?"
He sat back in his bed. "I would've thought you'd have all the details by now."
"It's not from lack of trying let me tell you," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You tracked me this far."
"Hah! That was easy. You filed a flight plan when you left Yavin. It's a good thing, for you that you did. If we had found you any later, there might not have been a reason to go looking. You were in bad enough shape when you were found you as it was. Once we got here though, it was practically a dead end. We show up and find your robes lying outside your shuttle, with nothing but a holo in the pockets."
"Outside the shuttle?" Luke asked, confused.
"Yes, in a pile in front of the shuttle. However, no one knew what that meant. Leia even went as far as to ask Gavin."
Luke's eyes snapped up. "Why ask Gavin?"
"Because Wedge said he knew you. He thought Gavin might be able to tell us who the girl in the holo was. That stubborn son of a sith! I think he deserved more then having his flight status revoked for a month"
"Why, what did he do?"
"What did he do?" Mara repeated, her voice rising in frustration. "He became all noble, and refused to answer our questions. He stood there and tried to lie to me. When he was confronted, he completely closed up and wouldn't tell us a thing."
"What were you trying to get him to tell you," Luke accused, sounding like he already knew the answer.
"Wait, I was the one asking the questions."
"So you were," he reluctantly conceded.
"Are you going to tell me what happened those two days you were missing?"
"I was never missing."
"Whatever."
"I would like to know that too," Leia pronounced, from her position at the door.
Luke sighed. "Hello, Leia."
"Glad to see you awake."
"No big deal. I just thought it was time to add a new addition to my collection of scars."
"That's not funny, Luke Skywalker, and you know it. So are you going to answer Mara's question?"
"Fine. I arrived on the planet, and left the shuttle. I never returned to it. While I was there, I became caught up in the chase for a fugitive who escaped on the way back from a trial. When I caught up with Nyela, I cornered her, but she had a little girl with her. Said she would shoot the little girl if I moved. When she finally let the child go, I turned to watch and make sure she made it out of the alley. I just couldn't get my saber around in time to block the shot."
"You didn't try to move out of the way?" Mara inquired.
"I did. That's why I took the shot in my side, and not my back. That's the last thing I remember. She must have taken my robes back to the shuttle, though I have no idea why."
"Maybe she figured she would leave a few clues so that someone would find you."
"Who knows."
"We'll have to ask her when she's captured again. Karrde's men are helping to apprehend her."
"Already?"
"Her name was part of what little we could get out of Darklighter," Mara growled, the bitterness she felt over the whole situation still evident in her voice.
"About that, Leia…"
"It's out of my hands, Luke," She told him as he tried to cover a yawn with his hand. "Come on Mara, Luke needs his sleep."
"This is not over Skywalker, but we will continue it a bit later. Rest well." With that, the two women left.
---
A half-hour later, as Luke shifted restlessly in his bed, he noticed Wedge peek his head into the room.
"You're awake," Wedge stated, sounding slightly surprised.
"That I am."
"I was told that you were supposed to be sleeping. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot," Luke said with a straight face, causing Wedge to laugh. "What are you doing here?"
"Corran and I were helping search for your shuttle," Wedge told him.
"Oh," Luke said, clearing waiting for more of an answer.
"Oh, you mean what am I doing here? We were assigned to watch out for your sister while she was on vacation."
"Oh. How fun."
"Not as boring as I would have thought. Can't you go anywhere without getting into trouble?"
"Sure I can, but this keeps life interesting. Honestly, it's been almost eight months since I have seen any sort of action."
"Well, that doesn't count. From what I hear, you haven't left Yavin in all that time."
"No, that's actually not true. I just don't announce it to everyone. I get off the planet about once or twice a month."
"Do you now? Where do you go?"
"Anywhere I want."
"And this time you just decided to take a trip to that dust bowl planet you grew up on?"
"Yes, something like that."
"So, if you would have known about this," he said pointing to Luke's side. "Would you have stayed home?"
"No. This trip was something I had to do, but if I had known about this, I would have been better prepared."
"Well, I'm not sure if anyone told you, but we have captured Nyela 'whatever her name is.'"
"Coramar," Luke supplied.
"Coramar, right. She is back in custody and wants to see you."
"Yes, I bet she does."
"Any idea what she wanted?"
"To kill me, it would seem."
"You tend to get that a lot, don't you?"
"That's the story of my life. Mara mentioned to me that Gavin is stuck onboard. What is going on with that?"
"He made a bad choice. I was forced to temporarily revoke his flight status, pending a further decision from his commanding officer. Me. He... ugh…withheld information in an investigation."
"Mara said he would not reveal information on the search for me."
"Yeah. He clamed up and wouldn't tell us anything. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it could have cost you your life."
"Wedge, I understand why he didn't say anything. He was doing that because he understood the situation."
"There are a few others out there that would like to understand the situation. Myself included."
"I know, but it's over now. I'm here, and there's no reason to punish Gavin."
"I wish it was that easy Luke. He was disrespectful, not only to a commanding officer, but the Chief of State. With others present in the room."
"Mara, Karrde, and Corran?"
"Right. I have to put something down."
"There are ways around it Wedge, and you know it."
"Yes, I know."
"So you'll do it?"
"Of course," Wedge relented. "You trying to take over my job again, boss?"
"No," Luke answered, confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Now you are looking out for my guys. You know I like to cut my guys slack when I can. They work very hard, and deserve a break every now and then."
"No, not taking over," Luke laughed. "I'm just trying to help out a friend. You know, this 'hero of the rebellion' thing comes in handy every once in a while."
"I seem to recall using that to call in a favor or two myself."
"I would like to talk to him though," Luke said, suddenly becoming serious again.
"Sure, I can send him over."
"Thanks, Wedge," Luke said. Making it sound like a dismissal.
"Take it easy."
Wedge left, and Luke found himself
once again alone in his room. Squeezing
his eyes tightly shut, he sighed. This could be bad.
Gavin walked down the hall towards the room number Wedge had given him. He had a good idea what Skywalker wanted, he was just unsure if he wanted to hear his reaction to the situation. He made is way inside the door to find Luke Skywalker sitting propped up on the bed.
"Gavin, come on in." Luke said, shifting into a more comfortable position.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Come on Gavin, we have known each other all your life, don't start this 'sir' stuff."
"Sorry, Luke," Gavin said, relaxing his stance.
"That's better. Have a seat."
"Thank you."
"I wanted to talk to you. I heard about what you did."
Gavin sat a bit straighter in his chair. "I suspected that you would. I was only trying to help. I didn't really tell them anything."
"No?"
"No, of course not. I told you that I wouldn't."
Luke smiled. "That took courage to deny information to such influential people. Not many individuals would have the guts to do what you did," Luke laughed. "I've seen entire groups of people give in to them. I thank you for being courageous and honorable enough to do so, my friend."
"I gave my word. That's very important to me."
"To me too. You upset a lot of people that day."
"I imagine I did. That wasn't my intention, I assure you. I did what I felt was right."
"Oh I agree," Luke told him. "Sometimes people forget that we keep things to ourselves for our own reasons. Perhaps you gave my overprotective friends and family a gentle reminder of such. I've noticed them becoming a little complacent lately. They've become so used to being handed everything the want, that having to fight to get it was probably a good thing. It's about time someone stood up to them."
"Sometimes you have to dive right in and stand up for what you believe. Then deal with the consequences."
"That sounds like something Biggs would have said."
"Yeah, I learned a lot from him," Gavin said, eyes downcast.
"Yes, well I talked to Wedge. He told me how he felt about your lack of suitable answers."
"I still wouldn't change what I did," Gavin stated, pride showing in his face.
"Even if it meant being grounded for a month? It's a high price for a pilot to pay for his word."
"Even if it means that I couldn't fly for 6 months. I was raised to believe that nothing should stand in the way of doing what's right."
"I knew you would say that," Luke said with another grin. "Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to you. I pulled a few strings. Your record should only read that you were given a warning for disrespect, or something like that. I doubt it will be anything too severe. I have a few of those on my record. I was just wondering, your word and everything aside. Why didn't you tell them? I mean, it's not like I told you to never talk about it."
"Not in those words, no. What you said was that you didn't want to be reminded. I didn't say anything because I remember the day it happened like it was yesterday. I'm not sure I'll ever forget it. Biggs' mad dash to the hospital, to find you sitting there, clothes covered in blood. There was so much emotion rolling around that room, I felt like I could reach out and touch it. Moreover, the anguish in your eyes…even at that age I could see how it hurt you. Then there was the fact that no one here knew what happened. It was just too personal for me to tell them."
"You know, I never thought about what seeing that would do to a ten year old. I know I've told you this before, but I'm sorry you had to see that."
"And I have told you before, there was nothing you could have done to stop it. Biggs was in such a hurry to go, after he found out about your call; he didn't even take the time to tell me to get out of the speeder."
"He was a good friend. You remind me a lot of him."
"Thank you," Gavin said with a smile.
"You know that all this might be for nothing, don't you?"
"Why's that?"
"I now have Leia and Mara on the scent of a mystery," Luke sighed. "Those two won't rest until they know what happened. If they get too bad then I guess I'll end up telling them."
"That, of course, has always been your choice."
"Yes, but it's easier to have that choice when they had no idea."
"It would make getting away for the Remembrances a lot easier if they knew."
"Don't need to tell me that," Luke agreed with a nod. "I have another year before that comes around again. I just hope the next one doesn't end up with me being shot. I would hate to have a repeat of this year."
"Well, do what you think is best. I'll never say anything if that's what you decide."
"Thanks."
---
Mara was back on Coruscant, Karrde having dropped the whole party off three days previously. Mara had stayed on the planet to arrange to sell the Wishing Star. Though it was nice to have a ship of that size, Karrde decided that it was too expensive to maintain, and asked Mara to try to sell it to the New Republic.
That fact didn't explain what she was doing in the halls of the Palace in the middle of the night, though. Mara had taken it upon herself to monitor Luke, as soon as she had found out he had returned to his apartment. She had been checking up on him regularly and he seemed fine, until now. She had woken up to a feeling that there was something wrong with him.
Arriving at his apartment, she let herself in. She rushed into Luke's room to find him still asleep in his bed. His blankets were twisted around his sweat soaked body, getting more tangled with every movement. She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers across his forehead. Well, no fever, that's good, she thought.
"Who's there?" came the sleepy voice next to her.
Glancing down she noticed he had yet to open his eyes.
"It's just me, Luke."
He cocked his head to the side, "Arielle?"
Mara sat back shocked. There was that name again, she thought. That was the girls name in the holo.
"No, Luke, it's Mara."
"Why are you here? You can't be here… Arielle, you can't be here."
"Luke, did you hear me? It's Mara." He moaned softly and turned his head towards her. "You are not here." Mara sat back, belatedly realizing that he was still asleep.
"You cannot be here because you're dead. I watched you die. I watched you die and did nothing to stop it. I stood there and watched both of you die."
Both? Now who was he talking about? He watched her die? Who was this girl? Mara wanted, more then anything, to know what was going on in this guy's head. He had said both…Mara suddenly realized what she was doing, and had the feeling that Luke would not be too happy to find out she had sat here listening to his dream. She got up and walked to the door.
"Who's there?" She heard the drowsy voice again. Smiling slightly she turned to get one more look at his face, to find a pair of sleep dazed eyes staring back at her.
"Mara, is that you?"
"Luke, you're awake," she said, surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
"You were dreaming, and upset. I felt it all the way over at my place. I came to make sure you were alright."
"Oh. Thank you," he said, propping himself up on one elbow.
"You are alright, aren't you?"
"I'm fine, Mara, just a bad dream. Even I get them once in a while."
"OK. Well I guess I should be going."
"I'm awake now anyway, would you like something to drink?"
Mara smiled. Always the gentleman, she thought. "No I'm fine, thanks. What I would like is to know how you are really doing, not what you want everyone to think."
"I'm fine."
"Luke, I worry about you."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? I worry, because you're my friend. I don't like to see you hurt."
"Thank you," Luke smiled. "I just wanted to hear you say it."
"As your friend, you know you can talk to me about anything," Mara continued, not completely hiding the smile his comment produced.
"Yes, I know. Right now there is nothing to talk about."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"Well, I don't want to keep you awake. You need your rest."
The Next Day.
Luke was standing on the balcony off his apartment, lost in thought. His arms rested lightly on the rail, as he was looking out at the view in front of him, but it was going unseen by the distressed Jedi. The breeze picked up, tossing his sandy blond hair around in a playful dance. First, the slightly long strands covered his eyes, and then blew off again. It was moments like these that proved to people that he was not as well as he would have everyone believe.
Something about this rattled him, Mara thought from her unnoticed position at the door. He's just too stubborn to talk to anyone. I should just let him suffer, why should I go out of my way to help him, when he has made it clear that he does not want my help… She looked up quickly, a thought running in right behind the last. Because he would do the same for me. He picked that moment to move; slowly turning pain filled eyes toward her. That did it. She took the last few steps and crossed to him, annoying or not, he was still her friend.
"Luke, look at you. You look terrible. Please, you need to talk about this with someone. This is eating you up. If not to me, then talk to Leia, or Han."
He closed his eyes, apparently trying to block out her words. "It hurts," he whispered. "I have been trying to bury it again. It hurts to talk about it. If I talk about it then I have to remember…" He turned around in frustration. "Just forget about it, Mara," he growled, the pain in his voice quickly turning to anger. "It's not important. It was a whole other lifetime."
"No, Luke, someone shot you. You could have been killed. That's what bothers me. What happened, did you let yourself get shot? Luke, this is important."
"It's over, and I'm fine."
"No, you're not!" Mara said, taking another step closer to him. "You're still in pain. You've been hurt one too many times and I am sick of it! Now talk to me or I walk out that door!"
"You'll never get him to talk that way," a male voice behind them stated. They both spun around to face the door, to find Leia and Han standing there.
Luke threw his hands up in frustration. "What, did I leave my door open today?"
"No, kid, but you did give Leia the access code. You know, Mara, threatening him is not a good way to get him to talk."
"He has just recovered from being shot, so I didn't want to inflict my other persuasive methods on him. I didn't think you guys would want to spend any more time with him in the hospital."
"Like I would have let you," Luke sent back hotly.
"Like you could have stopped me," Mara said, resuming her previous position mere inches from his face.
"ALRIGHT!" Han yelled, wedging himself between the two before they decided to prove who was right. "This is not solving anything. This is not the time to have one of your fights. Luke, your getting her upset will not chase her away this time. I won't let it happen."
Luke backed up and looked out over the balcony. For a split second, Mara thought he was considering it as a means of escaping them. Leia put her arm around her brother and lead him to a chair.
"Face it, Luke," she said. "The only way you're going to get rid of us is to tell us what you know." Luke sat there, looking at his hands.
"OK, look, Luke," Mara said, taking a seat across from him. Her anger was dying as fast as it had appeared. "You should know something. I didn't want to tell you, but I guess I should…before you woke up last night, I heard you talking in your sleep."
Dread filled his face. "What was I saying?"
"You were calling out Arielle's name. You told her that she couldn't be here, that you watched both of them die."
"I said a lot," Luke said, not meeting her eyes.
"Not really."
"Wait," Han interrupted, with a sly smile. "Mara, what were you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Not what you are thinking. I felt him, he was upset, but he wouldn't answer my calls, on the comm or through the Force. So I went to check on him, and found him asleep." Luke remained silent. "Luke, who is Arielle?"
"You're not going to let this go are you?" Luke asked, directing the question to everyone at once.
"No," Mara answered.
"Why not? Nyela has been caught, she's no longer a threat."
"For the same reason I told you a few minutes ago," Mara told him. "You're pretending everything is OK, and doing a good job of it. You always do. However, when I catch you when you think you're alone, I can see how bad this is affecting you. She may have been caught, but what happened before is still bothering you."
Luke sighed, seeming to give in. "I haven't told anyone about this since I left Tatooine. Her name was Arielle Skywalker."
"Skywalker? Another relative?" Han asked.
"You could say that…" He hesitated before answering, looking at all three of them in turn. "She was my wife."
"Your what!?" Leia screeched, almost rising from her seat.
Did I hear that right? Mara thought.
"Yes, you heard it right," Luke answered her unspoken question.
"But you couldn't have been more than seventeen in that holo," Mara protested.
"We were married when we were sixteen. She was killed two years later."
"Sixteen? Isn't that a bit young?" Leia asked.
"In most places, maybe, but on Tatooine no, not really."
"So," Mara asked tentatively, "when you said you watched both of them die, the other was…"
"My daughter, MaCayla. She was 6 months old."
"Luke, why in the worlds would you not tell anyone about this?" Han asked, looking like Luke had just told them that he had sold his body to science.
"Because, when I first met you two," Luke said, indicating Han and Leia, "there was too much going on. Too much had just happened to me. Not only to me, but you, Leia. You were too upset for me to bother you with too much, and Han, you just seemed like you wouldn't care. After a while, it just seemed better for me not to talk about it. I was even able to almost forget about it."
"But your records when you joined the rebellion…," Leia started to point out.
"When they asked me if I'd ever been married, I told them yes, but I had no proof. It's not like I was able to bring anything with me when I joined. The guy explained that it was really only so that they listed the next of kin. Since she was dead, it didn't matter, so he put no."
"I've asked you plenty of times since then about your growing up," Han told him. "All you ever talked about was your uncle's farm…"
"We lived on my uncle's farm. My uncle offered to let us live there when we told him we were getting married. My aunt and uncle were very supportive, even happy with our getting married." He hesitated a moment. "Leia, do you still have that holo?"
Leia reached into her pocket, pulled out her data pad, and handed it to him.
"This holo," Luke told them, "Was taken the day after our wedding. Her family sent this to me when they asked me to come visit."
"How were they killed?" Mara asked.
"It's…" he stopped, gathering his thoughts. "They were shot by her best friend."
"Nyela Coramar?" Mara asked, a few more pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"Yes."
"Was it an accident?" Leia asked.
"No, it wasn't, but that's what she said to the courts. I was there. She meant to do it."
"Oh, Luke, that is terrible!" Leia cried out.
Luke only looked at her. She rose from her seat and walked over to him.
"Leia, don't," he told her, standing up and walking back to the edge of the balcony. "There's something else I would like to show you, but there are a few calls I want to make first."
---
Luke opened the door a short time later to greet Corran and his wife. He then showed them into his already occupied living area. The room was full of all of Luke's friends. Han and Leia sat on one of the over stuffed couches set in the room. Mara sat next to them. Karrde had perched himself on a stool sitting against the dividing counter separating the living area from the rest of the house. Wedge and Gavin had taken both the chairs in the room, leaving Corran and Mirax the other couch.
Luke followed his company into the room.
"I'm sure you are all wondering what this is all about. I wanted to go through this only one more time. It's time to clear the air…" He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"As you all know by now, Gavin already knows this story. He withheld the information because that was what I wanted. The girl in the holo, her name was Arielle Skywalker…" He held his hand out to stop any comments. "My wife. I also had a daughter, MaCayla, who is not in the holo you all saw. Before you say it, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to. Nothing against anyone, the situation was just too painful for me to talk about."
He opened the cabinet standing against one wall. Reaching inside he pulled out a holovid.
"This is a holovid that Arielle's family modified and sent to me a few years ago." He put the holovid on as the murmurs quieted down. "It was supposed to go to MaCayla, when she was older. But she died along with Arielle." Luke looked around for a place to sit as the holovid started. Not finding an empty seat, he opted to sit on the back of the couch behind Leia and Mara. Leia patted his knee as he sat down, then turned to the screen.
---
It started out as just clips of Luke and a few teenagers laughing and joking with each other. Biggs was saying something that made Luke laugh. There were two girls in the picture. One was the same girl they had all seen in the holo, and the other was a bit shorter with short black hair. The two girls were laughing, and the blonde, Arielle, put her arm around Luke. Biggs patted Luke on the back, as the dark headed girl looked at them, no longer smiling.
---
Then it cut to a
view of a sign reading:
'Congratulations Luke and Arielle Skywalker!' and showed Luke and Arielle dancing in the middle of a huge room, with people on the sides watching and smiling.
Luke's aunt and uncle stood talking to another couple, and smiling at the two kids.
---
The recording cut to Arielle walking in front of the recorder, giggling as she made her way down a dark hallway. She opened a door to find Luke lying sideways on a bed, fast asleep.
"Look at that sleepy head," Arielle said, turning to smile into the recorder. "What does he think, just because uncle Owen gave him the day off he can sleep in the middle of the day? I'll take care of this." Arielle jumped on him, causing him to grunt as he woke up.
"Happy Birthday. Come on sleepy head, dinner's ready. There's even a cake for the birthday boy."
Luke looked at the recorder. "A cake? Aunt Beru?"
The picture shook as the person holding the recorder spoke. "Don't look at me. Your uncle would have my hide if I spent money on something like that."
"My mother sent it over," Arielle said happily.
"Oh yeah," Luke said, his eyes lighting up. "Let's eat."
---
The scene changed once again, showing that it was now light in the house. Beru and Arielle were both tiding up the kitchen when Arielle suddenly bolted from the room.
She returned a few minutes later and sat wearily at the table.
"Are you alright?" Beru asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just not getting enough sleep, I think."
"You still look a little pale," Beru noted, taking a closer look at her face.
"No, really, I'm fine. Just give me a minute and I'll be as good as new."
"How long has this been going on?" Beru continued to question, wiping off the table.
"Oh, a few days…" she once again bolted from the room.
When she returned this time, she gladly accepted the glass her 'aunt' offered her.
"Child! Does Luke know?"
"Does he know what?" Arielle asked, sipping at her drink, then shoving it away in disgust.
"Even you don't know," the older woman said in wonder.
"Know what?" she asked again.
"Let's go child. We should get you to the doctor."
"Why?" Arielle asked, panic flooding her voice. Beru didn't answer her, just gently escorted her towards the door.
"I'm fine," Arielle continued. "I just have a touch of something."
"Yes, I bet! Don't worry. I'll call your mother and have her meet us there." As they were about to exit the room, Owen entered.
"What are you doing here?" Beru asked him.
"I needed some replacement parts. Is everything alright?"
"Fine. Everything's fine. Where's Luke?"
"I left him in the fields working. If everything is fine, where are you going? Owen questioned, indicating the poncho in her hand.
"Oh, that. It's nothing bad. I just thought it would be a good idea to get Arielle checked out. She has not been feeling well. You might want to bring Luke back in early, though. I suspect his wife will have some good news when we get back."
"OK. Are you going to leave that thing running?" Owen asked, indicating the recorder.
"Goodness, I didn't even realize that it was running. I must have accidentally turned it on when I put it up there on the shelf." She walked over, and the scene ended, opening again with Arielle laughing and turning her back to the recorder.
"Come on Arielle, we have to get this recorded. You have to have it to give to the baby." Beru's voice came from behind the recorder once again. Arielle's face lit up with a smile.
"Sure!" Arielle said, suddenly becoming excited. "I still have the one my mom made of me. She has recordings of her and me up until I was 5 years old."
"Go on Luke, you too." Luke got up off the chair he had been sitting in. He put on a clearly forced smile, looking at his aunt. Walking over to his wife, he stood behind her. Wrapping his arms around her expanding belly, she threw her head back and laughed, and this time his smile was genuine.
---
Luke is sitting in a chair holding is newborn baby daughter.
"Look at that proud daddy!" Arielle said.
"She beautiful Luke, Arielle," Beru gushed. "With a beautiful name too."
Owen walked over to Luke and let the baby curl her hand around his finger. "Just think, little MaCayla. One day your dad will leave all this to you."
Luke smiled. "Someday." Owen beamed at that comment.
---
The scene changed
to show the family sitting at a table a few months later. MaCayla was sitting in a high chair,
surrounded by blankets to keep her upright. She turned to the recorder, and raised her clear blue eyes, like her
father's, to look at it.
Not seeming to find anything interesting, she continued to look around the room until she suddenly found something terribly fascinating about banging her tiny hands on the table, the way only a baby can. She then lowered her head just a bit too fast and the table caught her nose. She started to whimper until Arielle looked over at her, smiled, and kissed her daughters cheek. Tears forgotten, MaCayla anchored her hands in her mothers hair. Arielle just smiled as she disengaged the pudgy little fingers from her blond curls.
Luke looked on and smiled. Then he turned back to his uncle who was discussing the things that needed to be done the next day. Not paying attention, Luke set his hand down by his daughter. Taking this as an invitation, MaCayla took his hand. She put one of his fingers in her mouth, biting down with her toothless gums. She then started smiling when Luke looked at her, laughing and pulling his hand away.
Getting quiet all
of a sudden, MaCayla's head drops slightly and her eyes start to droop, like
she's about to go to sleep. Luke
caressed her cheek and smiled again.. She looked at him, and her face lit up with a smile of her own.
---
The scene changed again, MaCayla looked to be a few months older, about 6 months old. She crawled over, and stopped at Luke's feet. She squealed as he picked her up, and steadied her up in his lap. She instantly started bouncing up and down. She stopped and wrapped her short little arms around his neck, cooing happily. Arielle walked over and held her hands out to her daughter, who screamed happily and hugged Luke again.
"She's daddy's girl," Luke said with a smile.
"Well," Arielle said, playfully placing her hands on her hips. "Then Daddy can take 'daddy's girl' and get her ready for bed."
"Does MaCayla want to go to bed?" Luke asked, making a face at the child. She screamed again, bouncing up and down. "All right, let's go." Luke stood up, placing MaCayla on his hip and disappeared down a hallway.
---
It cuts to a clip of law enforcement gathered in front of a house and medical personnel going in every direction.
"It's still unclear as to the circumstances of this tragedy," a professional voice said. "We will report more facts as they become known. To repeat, a shooting has occurred in Anchorhead. Our sources tell us that officials have apprehended Nyela Coramar, a town resident, as the main suspect. The three victims are being helped from the scene of the crime. It is rumored that the three victims were a child, and her parents. Their conditions are unknown."
The footage continued, showing medical personnel pushing a gurney out of the house. Luke followed, clutching his daughter, both of them covered in blood.
He was talking to one of the medical personnel. What they were saying was not understandable. It was obvious he was trying to take the baby away from Luke, but he would not let go. He kept looking over at the gurney, which held Arielle, then putting his head down and hugging his daughter, who lay limp in his arms.
The scene changed to a hospital waiting room. Luke was there, his clothes were caked in blood, and a bandage was wrapped around his left arm. He sat, head in his hands, with his aunt and uncle sitting protectively next to him. Biggs sat at the other side, and other people are seen as well.
Luke bolted to his feet as a doctor came in. The doctor sadly shook his head, as he spoke.
Luke's eyes went wide and he fell to his knees crying. Biggs was beside him in an instant, wrapping his arms around his friend. Luke sat on the floor in shock. His aunt and uncle joined in the embrace.
"This young mans family, tragically ripped from his life by a single shot fired by a trusted friend," the same professional voice announced. "Our hearts go out to the members of this family."
---
The scene changed one last time, to a holo of Luke, Arielle, and MaCayla. The caption under it reading:
Dedicated to a loving Husband and Daddy.
In memory of
Arielle Skywalker -- 18 years old
MaCayla Skywalker – 6 months old
The holovid ended and the screen went blank. Not a sound was uttered, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.
"I've never seen all that before," Gavin admitted. "The news footage was on a lot for a while, but I never watched it."
Karrde stood up from his seat. "I can see now why he didn't want to talk about it."
"Where did Luke go?" Wedge asked, noticing for the first time that Luke was no longer in the room.
"He went out on the balcony," Leia said, glancing in that direction.
"How much did he stay for?" Corran asked, following her gaze.
"He left at the beginning." She started to get up, but Wedge stopped her.
"Please Leia, I need to talk to him."
Wedge walked out onto the balcony to find Luke looking out over the city.
"Is it over?" He asked, not turning around.
"Yeah, it just ended. Are you OK?"
Luke turned around and smiled. "Sure," He said, not a trace of sadness in his voice. Hopping up, he sat on the rail of the balcony. "I'm fine."
"Are you really, because I am sure there are a few people in there that can come out here and tell me that for sure."
"No Wedge, I'm not," he admitted, the smile falling from his face. "I just couldn't sit there and watch that. I've had that holovid for two years now, and never watched it."
"I'm sorry."
Luke sighed, looking out at the city again. "Don't be," he told his friend.
"But if I had known, I wouldn't have let them push Gavin so hard."
"No," Luke assured, turning back around. "This is Leia we're talking about. That holo alone was enough to get her started. And," he paused to think about it. "I think that is what Nyela wanted."
"Why is that?"
"Why else would she leave me alive and put my robes back by the shuttle where she knew they would be found. I would never claim to understand that woman completely. I'm sure I'll never understand why she has now tried to kill me twice."
"Jealousy?"
"It could be. I guess I'll never know. I've tried talking to her on a couple occasions. All she ever does is laugh. She hardly ever talks to me." Luke became quiet, lost in his thoughts.
"There are a lot of people in that room back there that want to talk to you," Wedge said quietly.
"Yes, I know. Lets get this over with." They walk back in the room. "Listen," Luke said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I don't want sympathy from anyone, especially you, Leia." Leia sat back in her seat. Her eyes watching every move he made. Looking around he noticed the same reaction on everyone's face. Not for the first time he regretted not telling them sooner.
"I dealt with that a long time ago," he continued. "I think one of the hardest parts was hiding it, so that none of you would notice. I guess…" he paused, bringing his emotion filled voice back under control. "I guess I should have told you a long time ago. At first, I could never seem to find the right time. Then, after a while, it was just awkward to come up and say, 'Oh and by the way, I was married once.' I guess when you come right down to it, I didn't want you to know. After all that was over, I let my aunt and uncle drown me in sympathy, and I never broke free from that. I wasn't looking for that again."
"The recording didn't say how they died," Karrde said.
"The black haired female, that was Nyela Coramar. She was Arielle's best friend. Arielle and I didn't notice it at the time." He looked at Wedge and smiled. "But I think she was terribly jealous of me whenever I was around both of them. Oh, she was nice enough. She acted like Nyela always acted. She would always offer to watch MaCayla whenever my aunt or Arielle's mother couldn't do it. It happened one day when I went with Arielle to pick MaCayla up. When we got there, Nyela would not give her to us. She got upset, saying we should not have a child, so she was keeping her. We got into an argument. I took MaCayla, giving her to Arielle, then told them to leave. Nyela then shot me. The shot grazed my arm, and then hit Arielle in the back. It went completely through her and hit MaCayla. The baby died instantly, Arielle hung on for a while, but there was nothing the doctors could do."
"Oh, Luke. I'm so sorry," Leia told him again. The tears in her eyes trying to spill down her cheeks.
"Luke, at the risk of sounding like an insensitive jerk," Corran said hesitantly, and then gaining more confidence as his wife urged him to continue. "I would like to point out that things would be a lot worse today, had she lived."
Luke whirled around. "What?" he asked, shocked.
"Listen, hear me out. I think I know what I'm talking about here. Had Arielle lived, I'm not even sure you would have ever left Tatooine. I can't say for sure, but it seems to me that it's what your aunt and uncle wanted. From what you have told me, I would say they wanted you to settle down so you would not leave the planet."
"He's got a point there," Mara added. "Even if nothing changed, and you did leave Tatooine. Do you think you would you have taken half the risks if you had a family to worry about? Would you have pushed to become a pilot, during the first Death Star battle, knowing you would probably be killed? Would you have surrendered to Vader, knowing the same thing?"
"I don't know. I would like to think I would, but I don't know."
"Maybe it was just the will of the Force, that she not live," Corran stated. "So that you were able to complete the things set before you."
Luke thought about it, a sad smile touching his lips. "If you think about it that way, it makes a twisted sort of sense. It would not be the only time something was taken away from me to ensure I completed my destiny. That doesn't make it any easier, but I can understand it a bit better… Well now you all know the big secret."
"Well all right then," Han said stretching. "So, this is the last thing, right? We know all your secrets from Tatooine."
A sly smile appeared on Luke's face as he looked at his bother in law. "Of course you do," he replied.
Han shook his head. "Why am I having trouble believing that?"
