Chapter Fourteen--Cain and Abel
Beru carried Luke over to the computer terminal and sat down with him on her lap. She had been working at home as a slicer for a few weeks, and though boring, the job brought in some much needed credits. Owen, too, had sought a job. To Beru's surprise, he had produced a galaxy pilot's licence--which meant he was qualified to fly just about anything in the Inner, Outer and Middle Rim. Another thing she had not known about him. They were beginning to mount up.
With the help of Captain Rijdan, Owen had landed a job as a short-jump shuttle pilot on Vaduz, a sister planet in the same cluster as Bakanir. He was too talented for the work, but his employers didn't care. Beru wondered if Owen did, but if so, he gave no sign. No complaints. No excuses. They needed the money. And if they were to make a clean get-away, credits were necessary.
To untutored eyes, she supposed, they appeared to be a normal, if dull, little family. Father scraping by in a job he hated. Mother working part-time at piece work for extras. Baby teething. But if genetic scans had been done on them the equation would have been different. One Jedi Knight, suppressor variety. Second Jedi Knight, active variety. One extremely Force-strong infant, with a disturbing bloodline, volatile variety. A recipe for disaster, unless they would afford to acquire the kind of cover documents that were both expensive and difficult to obtain. They were still using the ones Captain Rijdan had provided, and soon that would no longer be viable.
Beru sighed and looked down at the baby. Luke was chewing a teething ring with determined vigor. He had adapted to their new circumstances well, rather better than either of his foster parents. He still regarded Owen with reserve, but was no longer openly hostile toward him--a mirror of Owen's attitude toward him. They had accepted each other as a fact of life, not especially pleasant, but necessary. But there were still times, Beru though, that she felt as though she were the rope in a tug of war. They were both extremely jealous of each other's demands on her time and attention.
The marriage created by her impulsive lies and the Bakaniri elixir was no longer entirely a sham. In the bedroom, Owen was predictably awkward but not uninteresting. No elegance, but plenty of stamina. They proved to be more physically compatible than she might have imagined. She hoped it was some consolation to him for the turn his life had taken, for she could not see that he gained much else from their relationship. There was still no emotional intimacy between them. Since the cordial had worn off, he'd returned to suppressing his feelings, leaving her constantly guessing as to whether he was regretting his decision. Not that she feared that he would change his mind. She knew he would not.
She sighed. She wound up her work and put Luke on the floor. He had recently begun to walk a bit. It was early, she thought, though she didn't know for sure. He clamored to be lifted up, which she ignored, taking one small hand firmly in hers and encouraging him to walk. But walking was slow, and Luke already loved speed. When they went outside, he tried to pull her over to a speeder parked nearby. Beru corrected their route firmly.
"We're going to meet Da," Beru said.
Luke made a face, which Beru prudently ignored. As long as Luke and Owen remained on polite terms, she could stand it, she told herself. Owen, she had to admit, was giving fatherhood an honest try. It was not his fault that with him it took the form of instruction and discipline rather than affection. Yet such things *were* important, Beru admitted. She recognized, with trepidation, that she herself was unable to discipline Luke effectively. She could not bring herself to add to his losses, even in a small way. Which left the scut work to Owen. As usual, he assumed it without complaint. Well, she'd amend that, usually without complaint. But though they did not argue openly, Luke was the one subject on which they rarely agreed.
The port on Vaduz was not very busy in the late afternoon because the main passenger shuttles weren't due until a couple of hours later. Owen was piloting a freight flight, and so he had an early arrival time. Beru enjoyed the walk, despite having to adapt her pace to that of a toddler. Vaduz was chiefly an agricultural planet, and it supplied the heavily populated worlds in the cluster. A quiet, dull place. Beru did not mind the dullness, as long it remained quiet, with all that implied.
Owen's flight was a little late. Beru put in some time in window-shopping in the port stores. When she and Luke finally arrived at the pilot's station, Owen was signing off his flight schedule and arrival confirmation. He looked up and saw them. Surprised, he gave Beru a rare smile. Damn, Beru thought to herself, I'd hoped he was getting over it. Apparently not. She smiled back, tentatively. Owen, collecting himself, cleared his face of expression. Beru picked Luke up--he was a handy prop at times like this---and went forward. For the delectation of the two other pilots at the station, Beru reached up to kiss Owen's cheek. He accepted this, but did not kiss her back.
"Good trip?" she asked.
He nodded. Also for the audience, he ruffled Luke's hair, as Beru mentally prodded him through the Force to do. Luke accepted this without enthusiasm, but he did accept it. At another signal from Beru, Owen took Luke from her arms and carried him out, while Beru wheeled Owen's overnight carryall.
Outside, all three of them relaxed. Owen immediately put Luke down and took over the carryall. Beru rapidly secured Luke on top of the luggage, so he could ride home, which delighted the child.
"Everything alright here?" Owen asked, as they trundled Luke along.
"Yes, fine. You?"
Owen didn't answer at once, and Beru immediately tensed.
Finally, he said, "I think so. So far, anyway."
"You *think* so? What's going on, Owen?"
"I don't know. But I think we should move. As soon as possible."
Beru closed her eyes, briefly. "We nearly have enough money for the new passports. We have the connection for them all lined up on Bakanir. Why move now?"
"I can't explain it," Owen muttered. "But the passports'll be useless if we're not around to use them. We have to leave. I've already given my notice at work."
Beru opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it, abruptly. She nodded. Owen's ability to sense Force users, at least at a distance, was far greater than hers. There was no point in arguing with him; if he said they needed to leave, then leave they would.
But as it turned out, they were already too late.
When they arrived at home, a smallholding set in the fields outside the port, they found that they already had company. Obi-Wan stood in the shadows of the surrounding trees. He was very obviously waiting for them.
He had always worn his years well; now, he looked every second of his age, and more. His sandy hair was noticeably mixed with grey, as was his short beard. His face was lined. His eyes-Beru glanced into them briefly, and then looked away. She was frightened by what she saw there. He stepped forward silently. Beru scooped Luke into her arms and gripped him tightly.
Owen stepped in front of Beru and Luke, blocking his path. Ben stopped.
"Well, Owen," he said softly, "You're the last man I would have expected to lose his head over a woman. But we're never finished being surprised until we're dead, are we?"
Owen looked Ben straight in the eyes. "And you're the last man to lecture me on *that* subject, Obi-Wan," he said evenly. A hard flush appeared on Ben's thin face.
"And you, Beru," he said bitterly, still staring at Owen. "How long did it take you to seduce my brother? Not that I don't admire your tenacity. You really hate to lose, don't you?"
"Why does the woman always seduce the man, in your book?" Beru heard herself snap back at him. "Prejudice, or personal experience?" Ben's mouth tightened, and his eyes became hard points of light.
Ben's gaze then settled on Luke. Beru could not read his expression, but she caught a flicker of surprise and anxiety through the Force. He had not seen Luke since he was newborn. He may not have realized how much Luke resembled Anakin, both in appearance and Force signature.
"Let's end this, shall we?" he said, still very quietly, "Give me the child and we'll forget this ever happened. We can go on as we did before."
"And what do you plan to do with him?" Beru said. To her fury, her voice trembled. "Give him back to Amidala?"
"She's his mother."
"Why do you think I took him away from her?" Beru cried. "Do you think I kidnap children for the fun of it? She hates him! She thinks he's a threat to her and her daughter. Give him back to her, and he won't see his first birthday! Do you want that?"
"She won't hurt him."
"Do you intend to stand around and watch her?"
Ben closed his eyes briefly. "No. Standing between someone and their fate is a dangerous business, Beru. I did it with Anakin, and you see the results. I admit, Amidala was ill after the twins were born. But she's better now. I repeat-she won't hurt him."
"And I repeat--are you going to stay around to make sure?"
"He's not going back," Owen said, interrupting. His voice was expressionless.
"Beru--Owen, don't be foolish," Ben said softly. "The boy is nothing to you. Give him to me. You can come back with me, and see for yourself that he's in no danger. I need you both--I need your help. Don't forsake me now."
Beru felt oddly inclined to do as he asked. Return to the old familiar ways. Give up the difficulties and the anxieties of their new life. Let Ben make the decisions, take the risks. She shifted the child in her arms uneasily.
Suddenly, she felt a mild mental shock and she stumbled backwards. Ben staggered, too. She realized that he had been voice-manipulating her through the Force. She turned to Owen and saw that his face was hard and set. He was suppressing his brother's Force sense.
Suppressing a Jedi Knight of Ben's caliber would take immense control and concentration. Beru desperately tried to supplement Owen's efforts. The two men stood stock-still, locked in a fierce mental struggle.
It seemed to go on for a very long time. Ben sought to fight his way out from under the suppression, but Owen was equally determined to prevent him from doing so. Beru poured so much of her own Force-strength into Owen's defense that she felt faint. At first she didn't notice that Ben was moving, very slowly, to pick up a rock from the ground. Abruptly, he threw it--but not at Owen. It hit her high on the forehead. She cried out. Luke gave a startled yell. Owen turned to look at them--just briefly, but it was enough to break his concentration. Enough for Ben to pick up another, larger rock, with the Force, and strike his brother in the back of the head with it. Owen gave a grunt and collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Beru screamed shrilly. Blood was running into her eyes from the wound on her forehead. She scrambled over to Owen, still holding a wailing Luke. His eyes were closed, and blood flowed sluggishly from a wound on the back of his head.
"What do you think you're doing? You lost your temper!"
Ben came to stand beside her. "If I had lost my temper," he said calmly, "I would have killed him. He'll recover. Give me the boy, Beru. Right now."
He stooped and took Luke from her arms. Luke stopped wailing and started shrieking. A full-blown Force tantrum exploded in Beru's head, nearly blinding her. When her sight cleared, Obi-Wan and Luke were gone. Sobbing, she leaned over to examine Owen's injuries. He was still bleeding, and she couldn't rouse him. She shifted his head into her lap, and began to use Force-healing on him. It was a slow process because of her own injury. Eventually, his slate-colored eyes snapped open. He swore.
"Owen, are you alright?"
"He tricked me, dammit!" Owen muttered. "And I fell for it! Where is he?"
"He's gone."
Owen had closed his eyes. Now he opened them again. "The baby?" he asked.
"Ben took him."
"Why didn't you go after them, then?"
"And leave you to bleed to death?" Beru said angrily.
Owen stared at her. To Beru's surprise, he started to laugh.
"I'm glad you're feeling so cheerful," Beru said.
"I feel sorry for him."
"Who? The baby?"
"Hell, no--I mean Ben. He has no idea what he's getting himself into. That Sithspawned little demon will make him suffer and no mistake. I should know."
With Beru's help, he staggered to his feet, and dusted himself off. Then he took her by the chin and examined the wound on her forehead.
"Marked us both, didn't he? You alright?"
"Yes," Beru said. "What are we going to do?"
"Do?" Owen said calmly, "We're going to get the baby back. How long have they been gone?"
"About an hour."
"Did you see which direction?"
Beru shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. I have a feeling Luke will provide a clear trail to follow."