Author's Notes: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this chapter. It is the longest one in the story, and I started adding to it as I typed as well. I will try to post once a week from now on. Anyway, here's the next part if anyone is still reading. And thanks, IntelEwok, for the encouraging words. I really appreciate it.

The Lost Ones Part 2

Roon.

The path to Roon was a navigational nightmare. A thick belt of spinning asteroids and seething gases blocked the small planet from the rest of the galaxy. The tiniest piloting error could result in annihilation.

A few brave (or foolhardy) colonists had settled on the planet over the centuries by following comets' tails. A series of ice balls passed close to Roon's sun once every year and traced the only safe path to the planet.

The time of the comets had passed months before Anakin and Luke arrived. Likely no one else in the galaxy could have made it through successfully. Even for two Jedi, it was difficult.

Anakin and Luke sat at the controls, managing to be both fully attuned to the Force and fully aware of their of their surroundings at the same time.

"Incoming, starboard," Luke said quickly, but calmly.

In response, Anakin took the Angel on a tight spiral to the left, then dove under a looming rock and twisted sharply to avoid another. For over an hour the ship spun, rose, and fell through the deadly maze of asteroids and gases until finally they made it through and a small green and blue planet hung in space before them.

Father and son grinned at one another in relief. Anakin turned on a holographic map and pointed out a spot near the coast on a northern continent. "The port city of Nime is Roon's capital, and the largest city. We'll land there."

Luke turned on the transmission. "City of Nime, this is the Naboo Angel requesting permission to land."

The only response was silence. Luke waited a few minutes, then repeated the message with the same result. He looked at his father.

Anakin shrugged. "Probably have their communications turned off. Visitors are rare even during the time of the comets. We'll just have to wait until we're in sight. I'm sure they'll contact us then."

He was right. As the Angel drew near enough to make out the streets and buildings of Nime, the communicator abruptly came to life. A stunned, young voice demanded, "Unidentified ship, who are you? Where have you come from?"

"We are the Naboo Angel," Luke answered calmly. "We traveled through the asteroid field. We request permission to land."

"That's impossible!" the voice said sharply. "No one can make it through without the comets to guide them."

"We are Jedi Knights," Luke replied. "The Force led us through."

"Jedi? The Jedi are extinct," but there was doubt in the voice.

"Not quite. There are two of us on board. Please, do we have permission to land?" Luke repeated the original question.

After a long hesitation, the voice said, "Of course. You can land when ready. There's only one docking bay."

Anakin located the spaceport and set the ship down gently. He turned to his son. "Here we are."

"What do you want to bet that the whole town is going to turn out to stare at us and ask a million questions?" Luke asked as they slipped their Jedi robes over tan tunics and pants, and headed for the hatchway.

Anakin shook his head. "I don't have that much money."

But they were wrong. When they descended the ramp, they found only a young teenage girl waiting for them in the small, rustic spaceport. She had sunstreaked light brown hair pulled back in a braid, though the sea breeze had whipped strands loose about her face. Anakin and Luke immediately noticed two things about her. Her amber eyes were swollen and red from crying, and she was Force-sensitive.

"Hello," Anakin called. "We are Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knights of the New Republic. We've come from Coruscant."

The girl blinked in amazement. "What about the Empire? What about Palpatine?"

A shadow crossed Anakin's face at the mention of his former, treacherous master. He wondered fleetingly what these people had heard about Darth Vader.

Luke laid a hand on his arm reassuringly. "Palpatine is dead," he answered the girl. "There is a new democratic government in place now."

The girl just looked at them a moment, then asked, "Why have you come to Roon?"

"We are searching for two people and we have reason to believe they may be here," Anakin told her. "They would have arrived on an Imperial ship carrying political prisoners seventeen years ago."

"I suppose you should ask our mayor. He's at the mine shaft." The girl seemed to remember something because she quickly picked up a bag at her feet and began almost running down the street. "Come with me. Everyone's at the mine. There's been a cave-in and some miners are trapped. My father and oldest brother are among them."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Anakin said as they rushed along. "Perhaps we can help."

"I hope so. We know one of them is wounded and the mine is still unstable," she glanced over at them. "I'm Elissa Arixil, by the way."

If Nime was Roon's largest city, Luke had to wonder at the size of the other settlements. It didn't seem to be any larger than Anchorhead. The buildings were small and none was larger than two stories. It seemed to be deserted, but as the town gave way to grassy plains and the street became a dusty path, they could see a small crowd of people in the distance.

They were gathered by the side of a sloping hill at the mine entrance. Some were talking earnestly. Some were organizing supplies. A few people were crying, but quietly, and most wore set, stoic expressions. Life on this isolated world was harsh and the people had learned to be accepting.

"Elissa, what took you so long?" A woman with dark blonde, graying hair and a careworn face rushed to take the bag. "We've been waiting for you to bring back the medstuffs. The rescue party is almost ready to leave."

"Sorry, Mum," Elissa panted. "These two offworlders landed at the spaceport just as I was leaving."

At that, the woman gave them a hard stare, but then seemed to refocus on the current emergency. "Mayor Riffen is over there," she pointed to an auburn-haired man a short distance away. "Excuse us, we have to finish packing the first-aid kits." She and Elissa hurried off.

Anakin and Luke went over to the mayor and quickly introduced themselves. "I understand you're in the middle of an emergency. We are Jedi Knights and we'll be glad to help in any way we can," Anakin told the people.

"I don't know how you got here, but thank the Force you did," exclaimed Rifffen. "I've heard of the Jedi. If anyone can help, you can. There are five men trapped in the branch of a main shaft. At least one is injured. The problem is we're not sure exactly where they are. The maim shaft splits off to the right and to the left, and we don't know which side they were on."

"Have you been able to communicate with them at all?" Luke asked.

Riffen grimaced. "Not really. They have a comlink, but it's not working well. It keeps shutting off and even when we can speak with them, there's so much static we can't make out much."

"How long have they been trapped?" Anakin inquired.

"Not long. Maybe half an hour," The mayor sighed. "This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Most of the town has gone to Tawntoom for the Colonial Games. There are only a handful of people left, and we don't dare split up the rescue party. Shamunaars are waking up from hibernation this time of year and they're hungry. We've been trying to decide if the rescue party should head for the right or left tunnel. Unfortunately, the wrong guess could mean tragedy. The mine is still very unstable. There could be another cave-in at any time."

"Luke and I can check one tunnel while your rescue party searches the other," Anakin said, glancing at his son to confirm that the plan was all right with him. Luke nodded.

The mayor looked uncertain. "What if you run into a shamunaar? Two of you alone wouldn't stand much of a chance."

"What is a shamunaar?" Luke wanted to know.

"A large reptilian beast with sharp teeth and claws. They're voracious hunters and fairly intelligent," Riffen answered.

"We'll be all right," Anakin answered him.

After a moment, Riffen agreed. "Well, it would be an answered prayer if you could help. The entrance to the left tunnel is about three miles that way." He pointed in the direction. "Just follow the path." He turned to a young boy passing by. "Regan, go bring the supplies and an emergency kit to these Jedi."

It wasn't long before Anakin and Luke were hurrying along the path. They didn't speak, but concentrated on reaching the entrance as quickly as possible while also keeping alert to any sign of danger. But they had no trouble and before long they came to the entrance of a tunnel in the side of a hill, similar to the one at Nime. They lit their torches and entered.

The air inside the mine was dank and stale, and even with torched, vision was limited in the dark tunnel. They used the Force to bolster the walls and ceiling, but still had to pick their way catiously over the loose gravel and rocks covering the floor. Hours later, they were exhausted from the long day and had seen no sign of the miners. Their Force bubble weakened enough to allow a shower of pebbles to fall on their heads.

/I think we'd better stop and rest for a bit./ Anakin spoke directly in his son's mind to conserve energy and to prevent any sound from further disturbing the shaky ceiling.

/But, Father, time is critical./ Luke protested.

/I know./ Anakin agreed. /But we're both about to collapse from exhaustion and tired people make mistakes. I don't want to take a chance on either of us being injured in another cave-in because we're too tired to maintain the Force bubble. We won't be any help to anyone if we're injured ourselves./

Knowing that his father had a point, Luke reluctantly agreed. They sat side by side, leaning against one another. For a time they rested, drawing on the Force to replenish their strength.

/This reminds me of one time when I was growing up and I got lost in a cave on Tatooine./ Luke sent after a while.

/What happened?/ Anakin was immediately curious. He had an insatiable need to learn all he could about his children.

/Nothing, really. I wondered around in the dark for a while, before I finally found the way out. It was kind of scary, though. I was afraid I'd be lost in there forever. And the cave was supposed to be a krayt dragon's lair. I was afraid it might come back and find me./

/Why in the world did you go into a krayt dragon's lair?/ Anakin knew it was ridiculous to fear for his son's safety years after the incident, but he couldn't stop the terrifying thought that Luke could have died a horrible, lonely death before he had had the chance to get to know him. He shuddered at the bleak thought of how different his life would be if he had never known Luke.

/Oh, for the stupidest reason there is. Some other kids dared me to./ Luke replied.

/Luke, I thought you had better sense./ Anakin half-scolded.

In the darkness, Luke grinned and rested his head on his father's shoulder. He understood that the remonstrance stemmed from Anakin's great love for him. /I do now, but I didn't when I was twelve./

/You know, son, from what I've heard about your life on Tatooine, I consider it a miracle that you survived long enough to grow up and join the Rebellion./ Anakin teased.

/It probably was./ Luke cheerfully agreed. /You know, now that I think about it, I wonder if the Force led me out of that cave. I remember it being a terrific labyrinth. I don't think I would have been lucky enough to find the way out on my own./

/It is entirely possible./ Anakin grew silent, then asked. /These children that dared you, were they brave enough, or perhaps I should say foolish enough, to venture into the cave as well?/

His son shook his head. /No, they were smarter than I was. Actually, I did know it was a stupid thing to do, but I always wanted to fit in with them and I never quite did./

Even after all this time, there was a faint echo of old pain and loneliness in Luke's thoughts. Anakin reached out to smooth his hair in comfort. /Why not?/ His mind voice was very gentle.

Luke hesitated, suddenly realizing that he'd boxed himself into a corner. Anakin already felt such tremendous guilt over not being there for him in the past, and Luke hated to remind him and cause him any more pain, but he didn't want to lie, either, and even if he did, Anakin would know and be hurt by that as well.

/Oh, several reasons./ He finally responded. /Even though I grew up around Anchorhead, I was still kind of an outsider. Our farm was a long way from town and I hardly ever saw the other kids outside of school. They all lived closer to one another and could get together more often. Biggs Darklighter was the only one who ever came out to our place./

/Is that all?/ Anakin asked.

/And I was the only one without parents./ Luke admitted reluctantly. /Some of the other kids used to tease me once they realized I was sensitive about that./

A wave of guilt and remorse swept over Anakin so intensely that he couldn't breathe for a moment. Sensing his father's anguish, Luke sighed. He'd known he shouldn't have told Anakin about the other kids being mean to him.

Anakin wrapped his arms around Luke, wishing with all his heart that he'd been a true father for his children when they were growing up. /I'm sorry. I wish I had been there for you./

Luke hugged him back. /It's okay, Father. If I hadn't longed for you all my life, I might not have been able to save you. So, you see, everything has worked out for the best./

Anakin sighed. /I suppose so, but I hate that you've been hurt so much by my actions./

Luke stood up. /Come on, Father. Let's keep going./

They once again began making their way carefully along the mine shaft. Anakin shook his head and glanced over at Luke. /I still can't believe you went into a krayt dragon's lair./

/I guess it's a good thing you don't know about the skyhopper incident./ Luke mused.

Before Anakin could question him about that tantalizing bit of information, Luke caught his arm. /Father!/

Then Anakin sensed it, too-the presence of life-forms further ahead. Quickly, but carefully, they hurried on until they reached a mass of boulders blocking the way. By using the Force, they were able to move the obstacles to the side and suddenly they were face to face with a grimy, dust-covered man.

"Hello," Anakin spoke softly so as not to risk another cave-in. "We're here to rescue you. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but there is an injured person back here, my son. The rocks fell on his leg and crushed it. We were able to move him a short distance away, but it's going to be hard work getting him out," The miner replied. "I'm Taf Arixil."

"Elissa's father," Luke murmured.

The miner nodded. "Yes. Come on, they're over here." He led them to where the rest of the miners were gathered around a teenage boy who lay on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Easy, son," Taf Arixil said. "Help's here. We'll have you at the medcenter in no time."

Luke went to crouch at the boy's side. "Hi, I'm Luke," he said reassuringly. "I don't know if I can help you, but I'd like to try." He placed his hands on the maimed leg and closed his eyes. He wasn't at all certain if he could heal this boy, but he felt led to try.

The other miners watched in consternation and Taf took a step towards him, but Anakin stopped him. "It's all right. Luke won't hurt him, and he may be able to help."

They watched in tense silence until all at once the injured boy's face relaxed and he sat up. "It's well. How did you do that?"

Luke smiled at him. "My father and I are Jedi. I seem to have some healing abilities."

"Well, praise the Force!" Taf exclaimed. A curtain of gravel fell on the group.

"Time to go," Anakin announced. No one needed any more encouragement.

They swiftly hurried back along down the tunnel. Luke and Anakin used the Force to support the tunnel and prevent another collapse. Finally, they emerged into the outside air, blinking against the bright light.

The first thing they did was use the comlink to call Nime and let everyone know that the rescue was successful. Then they headed eagerly back down the path towards the city.

As they rounded a bend in the road, the group suddenly found itself face to face with an enormous gray beast with scaly skin, a long neck, and teeth that glistened like sharp knives.

"A shamunaar," one of the miners exclaimed. Luke and Anakin quickly ignited their lightsabers while the miners activated vibro-axes and hefted sharp picks.

The shamunaar lunged at them. Luke and Anakin swung their lightsabers and the creature drew back, then tried to sweep around them with lightning fast speed.

Anakin was closer. He rushed to intercept the beast even as a miner threw a pick which grazed the shamunaar's shoulder. Shrieking with rage, the beast darted forward, teeth bared. It was surprisingly quick and agile for a creature that size.

Luke raced towards it. The shamunaar paused for an instant and the young Jedi brushed his green saber against the beast's nose. Again, it howled in pain, but this time it retreated and eyed them warily. Apparently deciding that this prey was more trouble than it was worth, the shamunaar abruptly spun around and stalked off across the plain, searching for an easier meal.

"Keep your eye on it, just the same," Taf Arixil cautioned. "It could try to sneak up on us from behind."

But they had no further trouble from the shamunaar. As they made their way back to Nime, Luke and Anakin explained to Taf that his daughter had the ability to become a Jedi Knight like themselves and asked permission to train her at the lake retreat on Naboo.

Taf considered. "Elissa has always wanted to leave Roon, see the galaxy. I guess this could be a great opportunity for her. But her mother and I would have to come see this place before we approve. I can't send my only daughter to a place I've never even seen with two strangers, begging your pardon."

"Of course, we understand," Anakin told him. "Luke and I are on a mission now, but when it's over, we will return and take you all to the retreat. You can see what it's like and Elissa can decide if she wants to come. Would that be all right with you?"

"Yes, if Elissa agrees," Taf said. "I hate to see her go so far away, but I can't deny her the opportunity if she wants to go."

Back at Nime, they received a hero's welcome.

"We're very grateful. Without your help, we might not have reached them in time," Mayor Riffen said to the Jedi. "If there's anything we can do to repay you-"

"Perhaps you can answer some questions for us," Anakin replied. "We came here because we're searching for two women, Betta and Keren Colzin. They have blonde hair. Betta has blue eyes and Keren brown. They may have been political prisoners on an Imperial ship that came here seventeen years ago. Keren would have been a toddler at the time."

Riffen was shaking his head. "That ship never arrived. It was destroyed in the asteroid belt. A few people managed to get away in escape pods, but either the pods were also destroyed or the people died of injuries."

"How do you know this?" Anakin asked.

"I was one of the prisoners on board. I'm the only survivor. There were some very popular leaders on that ship and Palpatine was afraid of a public outcry if he executed us. Instead he ordered us sent to Roon, knowing full well that the chances of anyone surviving were slim."

Anakin and Luke were silent, not knowing what to say.

"I can tell you that I don't believe the women you're searching for were on board. I don't remember all the names, but there were no toddlers on that ship."

"Thank you for the information," Luke told him. "Would you like to leave Roon with us?"

Riffen shook his head. "No, thank you. I have a life here now and I'm content enough. But are you sure you don't want to stay and rest up a day or two before you leave?"

"Thank you, but I think we need to move on," Anakin declined.

So they said good-bye to the townspeople, told the Arixil family they would return to take them to Naboo, and boarded the Angel.

"What do we do now?" Luke asked as they entered the cockpit.

"Well," Anakin said slowly. "Oftentimes, political prisoners were used as slaves. Usually they worked on Imperial worlds, but sometimes they were sold to the Hutts as well. We're close to Nar Shaddaa. Perhaps we could go there while we're out this way. We could check out the slave auction records on Nar Shaddaa and just see if we find anything."

"Nar Shaddaa," Luke shuddered at the thought of the Hutt moon. "You know, Father, ever since my run-in with Jabba, I haven't been particularly well-liked by the Hutts. I don't think they're going to just let us walk in and examine their records."

"We would go in disguise, of course," Anakin started the Angel and they prepared themselves for the dangerous journey through the asteroid field. When they were finally safe on the other side, Anakin looked at his son with raised eyebrows. "So, you want to tell me about the skyhopper incident?"