WARNING: I've made some significant changes to the first parts of this story so you may have to reread before you get to the new stuff.
"Go ahead, have one," Beru offered the plate to the boy. Luke reached out and took one and popped it into his mouth and palmed another two slipping them away for later. Fluer cakes were his favorite. "Finished for today?" she asked, taking in his oil stained clothes.
"Yes Ms. Beru." he said with a nod, swallowing hurriedly.
"Wipe your mouth," she admonished and managed not to laugh when Luke dragged his sleeve across his mouth.
"Still here?" Owen asked as he descended into the kitchen. "It's getting late. Don't want to be out after dark Luke."
Beru had wrapped several of her cakes and handed them to the boy. "Here take some in case you get hungry on the way."
"Thank you."
"Don't forget to send a message when you get there," Owen reminded him. The boy had been making the trek to their mostiure farm by himself for almost a six months now, and was according to Obi-Wan incapable of being lost, but Owen knew that nature on Tatooine gave no second chances to the unwary. When he could Owen would drive Luke home, but today . . . "I'd drive you back but--"
Luke shook his head. Traders were coming, he knew that and Mr. Owen had to be there. "I can walk. Thank you." He nodded to Ms. Beru and hurried out the door.
"Don't forget the message Luke!" Owen yelled after him.
"I won't!" he called back.
****
It wasn't until the first strong blast of wind caused the house to shudder that Obi-Wan broke his meditations. He reached out and realized that it was late and Luke was not yet home.
Shaking his head trying to return himself to the here and now, he rose and made his way to the comm unit. It would not be the first time Luke had stayed the night at his Aunt and Uncle's house. It looked like a storm was brewing though one this late in the season was unusual. Owen had a good sense for these things and probably kept Luke there.
He keyed in the appropriate code and barely had to wait a few seconds before Owen's voice filled the room. "Luke? Luke is that you?"
Obi-Wan felt a strange tightness grip his heart. "Owen it's Ben. Luke isn't here. I thought--"
"Luke isn't home yet?" Owen asked anxiously. "He left over two hours ago! We've been waiting; I was going to call. The wind has picked up. Storm's brewing. It came out of nowhere. Where is he?"
Obi-Wan forced himself to be calm; he had to find Luke. "Not here. I'm going to head out and look for him."
"He could have tried heading back," Owen said. "I'll take a look around. But with the wind he might wander off and not notice."
"Luke knows the way home Owen." Obi-Wan insisted. "But he may have decided to turn back. I will contact you."
"Same here. Get looking Kenobi. When this storm hits, not even you will be much good searching. Find him Ben. Or so help me--" Owen didn't finish the thought. He switched off the comm, leaving Obi-Wan's house silent and echoing with the force of the wind outside.
Pulling his cloak on quickly and grabbing what supplies he needed, Obi-Wan hurried out into the makings of the storm.
****
Luke yanked his hood down low across his face and raised his arm to block the wind. He couldn't see anything, eyes tightly shut against the blowing sand, but his Master's house was *this way* and he was too far out to turn back now.
He'd heard that the sand could strip off your very skin, and this he knew was only the beginning of the storm. He had to find shelter and quickly. Veering off his self-set path, Luke let his growing awareness of the Force guide him.
Stumbling blindly over dunes, he walked and walked until the ground became rocky. Reaching out with one hand he felt the rough cut of stone and kept moving forward until he reached an opening. Gratefully he ducked inside, rubbing as much grit as he could off his face, and taking a deep breath of semi sand free air Luke realized suddenly that he was not alone in the cave.
****
Coughing and sputtering Owen rushed inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Beru was suddenly there taking his coat from him, pressing a cup in one hand and wiping the sand off his face with a damp cloth.
"No luck?" she asked quietly.
Owen gulped the drink down and shook his head. "If he turned back I can't find him. I don't care what Kenobi says, he's just a little boy and fancy tricks or no, anyone could get lost in that." Owen looked at his wife. "Any messages?"
"No," she whispered. "No news."
"What about the Darklighter boy?" Owen asked suddenly. "Maybe he went over to visit and forgot to tell anyone? Damn irresponsible--"
"Luke wouldn't do that," Beru admonished cutting him off. "He would go straight home and you know it."
Owen sighed and rubbed his forehead ruefully. "Should call 'em anyway to make sure."
"I already did," Beru told him hanging up his coat and taking the empty cup and dirty cloth back to the kitchen. "As soon as you left. They haven't seen him. It's up to Ben."
Owen punched the wall. "Damn."
****
A Raider. There was a Tusken Raider in the cave.
Luke backed up a step. Mr. Owen had told him about Raiders, about what they did to the farmer's mother. He'd taken Luke out to the edge of the farm and showed him the markers of the Lars family, their names obscured and nearly wiped clean by the scouring sand. He hadn't said anything to Luke, not even their names. Mr. Owen had only told him in a cold quiet voice that the Sand People had taken his mother and the only thing that had been recovered was her body.
Then he'd simply walked away and left Luke there staring at the worn headstones.
And here was one of them, a Raider hiding out in the cave he'd managed to find. He dared not take his eyes off the Tusken to look at the weather outside to see if the storm was passing, not that it was necessary with the wind howling behind him.
There was a low moaning sound that was not the wind or the Raider and Luke realized the Tusken had brought his Bantha into the shelter of the cave as well. The creature turned its great horned head towards him and snuffed once, twice in his direction and then settled down more comfortably on the floor. The Tusken was no so easily calmed. The lense eyes stared at him and slowly the Raider got to his feet.
Luke forced himself not to retreat. He had no weapons, nowhere to go, and no way to communicate. But if he remembered the horror stories Biggs had cheerfully told him the worst the Tusken would do to him would be killing him.
Well, there were worse things than death.
The Raider moved closer, silent. It peered at him and Luke wished he could see that face, see the eyes so he would know if he would be toyed with first or killed outright. A hand suddenly darted forward and latched painfully onto his hair.
Clenching his teeth in pain, Luke took a deep breath, reached for the Force and *pushed* the Raider away, pulling himself free. The Tusken stared up at him from the ground silent for an instant but then swiftly up on his feet and howling something in fury and waving his arms in the air. The Raider swung at him and Luke *felt* it coming and managed to duck but the second attack sent Luke crashing into a wall.
Raising his arms to block further blows, Luke was surprised when none came. He opened his eyes and found his sight of the Tusken blotted out by a mountain of wooly fur. The Bantha turned its head toward him and stared at him. Scrabbling back proved futile as the animal merely followed. It . . . liked him? Luke felt its, no *her* curiosity and instinct fill him. The Bantha would protect her cub.
The Raider procceded to rant and rave at the animal, pacing erradically about the cave. Luke peered as best he could around the massive creature, trying to figure out what was going on. The Tusken was angry but had not shot at the Bantha in an effort to get to him. The Tusken was . . . sad? Luke licked his lips and tasted blood. Ignoring it he reached out cautiously with the Force. // --sorrow, anger, fury, grief, hatred, vengeance-- //
The Raider continued to scream in tandem with the storm, but made no move to get beyond his mount to reach Luke, except the occasional shaking of his fist and brandishing of his weapon as he continued to stomp around the cave.
Utterly confused Luke stayed where he was watching spellbound as the strong emotions swirled around him and nearly jumped out of his skin when something wet brushed his neck.
The Bantha had leaned over and was now nuzzling his neck.
He glanced over at the Raider and found him on his knees spitting what could only be curses at him and the animal. Luke didn't even begin to understand, but this was where the Force had led him and if he was to be a Jedi he would have to trust in the Force, that was what his Master had taught him.
The Bantha once again knelt down in between boy and Raider. Luke huddled in the shelter of the beast and despite his best efforts to stay awake and keep watch on the Tusken the white noise of the storm and the warm rumbling of the Bantha lulled him to sleep.
****
It was strangely the sound of silence that woke him. Luke blinked and found himself surrounded by wooly fur that rose and fell like a shifting dune. Looking around he saw the other occupant of his cave refuge lying against the other side of the massive Bantha.
Wriggling, Luke sought to extricate himself without waking either animal or Raider and slip out before--
A low distant screaming sound broke the quite and Raider surged to his feet, weapon in hand, the Bantha rising as well.
*A krayat dragon!* Luke thought. They were said to live beyond the Dune Sea in the Wastes. Was he that far from his Master's house?
The Raider and his mount moved towards the entrance, the animal managing to remain between the two of them until the Tusken was outside and Luke was inside, the Bantha between them.
Luke watched half wary half in amazement as the Tusken leapt up on his mount and turned those lense eyes on him, weapon at the ready for a long moment.
The scream sounded again the Bantha began its slow gait forward. Her rider nearly dropped his rifle and yelled at her, but the animal headed out of the canyon away from the threat.
Which judging from the screeching cries was getting closer.
Swallowing hard, Luke edged back father into the cave. He couldn't fight a dragon, he didn't even have a lightsaber like Obi-Wan did. But he could hide. Quickly he ran towards the blackness of the cave, taking deep measured breaths, refusing panic. Finding a nitch in between two stalagmites Luke curled up making himself as small as possible and closed his eyes. Barely moving his lips he soundlessly took up the old familiar litany, unsure if it would work on a dragon, but it couldn't hurt.
"Go away, I'm not here, I'm not here, you can't see me, go away, I'm not here . . . "
****
Obi-Wan scrambled across the rocky bottom of the wide canyon, noting with dismay the fading specter of Bantha and Raider leaving the area in a rush. Imitating the krayat dragon call made sue he wouldn't have to deal with them, but he wondered if it was already too late. He had tracked Luke until the storm descended in earnest forcing him back to the house and with the dawn and the stilling winds had hurried back out to find his apprentice. Following his instincts and using the Force he had made it well past the dunes into the Waste, growing more anxious by the moment fearing that all he would find would be the body of his apprentice.
Once again he wished they didn't have to spend quite so much time shielding themselves not only from the Sith but from each other.
"Luke!" Obi-Wan called out, waiting until the echo died away before moving forward towards the opening he spied amid the rock walls of the canyon. Inexplicably he halted at the entrance. He felt a faint itch at the back of his neck. Someone was in there. Someone was using the Force to keep everything out.
Unable to stop smiling in relief, the Jedi Master pushed passed the rather insistent suggestion that he go away and hurried towards its source.
Obi-Wan found Luke unerringly in the darkness and reached out to touch his Padawan's shoulder. "Luke? Are you all right?"
The boy jumped at the touch, hitting his head against rock hard enough to jar a cry out of him. Instantly realizing his mistake, Obi-Wan knelt, drawing his lightsaber with a *snap-hiss,* letting the blue light of the blade illuminate his features. "It's me, Luke. Only me," he soothed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's all right now, you're safe."
Luke blinked owlishly at his Master, a look of recognition replacing pale desperation on his face. "Master." The word spoken with such relief was out before he could stop himself.
Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to blink. Luke never called him that.
Luke colored slight but then remembering his situation recovered quickly as he extricated himself from his hiding place, crouching now beside Obi-Wan. "There's a dragon. I heard it. It scared the Raider away. Did you fight it?" Luke asked with barely concealed excitement. He had watched his teacher practice with his saber many times but to see him in a battle, with a dragon no less . . .
"There was no dragon," Kenobi told him with a slight smile. "That was me," he said tapping his chest once.
"You?" Luke echoed in amazement as the Jedi urged him to stand and began sheparding his charge out of the cave. "But it sounded like a real dragon. How did you do that? Can you show--?"
"A lesson for another time, Luke," Obi-Wan assured him as the reached the shaded entrance. Switching off his lightsaber, Obi-Wan knelt down and examined Luke in the light. For a moment his hand raised to touch the vivid bruise on his Padawan's left cheek, wanting to brush the sand away from the bloody scrapes on his chin and hands, and bandaged the gash near his hairline but he stopped himself. Luke had flinched as soon as he caught sight of the movment towards him. He looked wound up so tight he was practically vibrating; he would crash and crash hard soon and then Obi-Wan would have all the time he needed to tend to his injuries. For now he tore off a scrap of his tunic and held it out to the boy. "You've cut your head open," he informed Luke calmly, watching as his apprentice pressed the cloth against the blooded matted hair.
Luke closed his eyes, exhaustion sweeping over him. For now he just wanted to be back at his Master's house, in his room, in his bed. There was no more perfect place in all the universe right now. His eyes opened reluctantly when he hear Obi-Wan rise to his feet.
"Let's go home, my young Padawan."
****
Obi-Wan had let Luke sleep until the next morning, doctoring his cuts and bruises while he slept. It was a sign of how comfortable the little thief had grown with him that he did not even stir during the whole process where in the past, just walking by Luke's room in the night had roused him.
He had breakfast waiting when Luke joined him, still stifling yawns trying to shake himself awake. It was a wonder the boy had managed to walk all the way back to the house at all. Kenobi figured it was the sheer determination to not be carried in any way that had made it possible.
Shaking his head with amusement Obi-Wan dug into his meal.
"Master?" a tentative voice broke the silence. Obi-Wan tried hard not to choke. Conversation during a meal initiated by Luke was rare, and he'd called him *Master.*
Kenobi reached for his cup and taking a long swallow clear his throat before trusting himself to answer. "Yes Luke?"
"Ms. Beru made some fleur cakes." Fleur cakes were Luke's favorite; anyone with eyes knew that. The boy pulled out a napkin wrapped bundle and placed it on the table between them.
Obi-Wan reached out and unwrapped the package. They were squashed, sand invaded, and very sticky. Bits of the tissue stuck to the mass like confetti. Hardly appetizing.
But it was a gift from his Padawan, and Obi-Wan had spent months trying to break through the impenetrable wall that Luke had surrounding himself. Compassion and caring for others was an integral part of being a Jedi. He, along with Owen and Beru, had worked for a long time to reassure Luke that if he finally dared put aside a deep seated need to protect himself from the universe and reach out to others he would not be hurt. Perhaps Master Yoda was right, perhaps Luke could indeed unlearn fear and learn trust again.
"Thank you Padawan," he said solemnly.
Luke nodded once in return, before sliding out of his chair and escaping to the kitchen with his empty plate.
Obi-Wan watched his Padawan's hurried exit before turning his attention back to the fleur cakes.
He ate the lot.
****
The metal cylinder was heavy in his hand. He gripped it with both hands trying to grow accustom to the unexpected weight.
"That belonged to your father. He wanted you to have it when you were old enough," Obi-Wan said softly.
Luke dragged his eyes away from the lightsaber to meet his Master's who was sitting across from him, watching intently.
"Mine?" Luke finally asked, holding on even tighter as if he expected it to be snatched away.
"Yours," Kenobi affirmed taking his own lightsaber in hand and gesturing outside. "I thought you would like to join my evening practice," he suggested lightly.
Luke was out the door before Obi-Wan had a chance to stand.
****
"No, Padawan."
Following his Master's lead, Luke deactivated his father's lightsaber with obvious reluctance. "But-"
"No," Obi-Wan countered firmly. "You are letting anger guide you. You cannot get angry. Perhaps this is the wrong time."
Luke's eyes widened in disbelief and he pulled the weapon close to his chest. "No, Master. Please teach me."
The Jedi eyed him carefully. "Why?"
Luke took a deep breath. His Master was giving him a chance to explain. He wouldn't take the lightsaber if Luke could convince him he was ready to learn this. "I want to know how to defend myself."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at this. "Really? From whom Padawan?"
"Just in case," Luke added hastily.
"In case of what?"
Luke shook his head, unable to answer.
"Come here," Obi-Wan motioned his apprentice forward who came to stand before him, staring up at him with blue eyes that were his father's, with Anakin's stubborn tilt to his chin, and Amidala's steel determination. "Luke if anything were to ever happen to me you would not be turned over to Ministry."
Luke scowled. "Nothing is going to *happen* to you. I would--"
"No Padawan," Obi-Wan cut him off sharply. "We've spoken about this. You cannot react in anger, in fear, or in hatred. Ever. Your emotions determine your path. A Jedi's path is none of these regardless of what happens. People hurt those you care about, and there is the Force. People die Luke, and there is the Force."
Luke ducked his head for a moment and stared at the sand as if it contained the answers he needed. "What about . . . punishing those who've hurt others?" he finally demanded, frustration seeping into his tone as he met the Jedi's eyes with a fierceness that was shocking. "Imperial law won't fix it. Someone has to--"
"Has to do what, Luke? Take revenge?"
"No! Justice! It's justice! They don't deserve-- someone has to-- They don't get to keep on . . ." Luke pressed the heel of his palm against his eyes taking a deep breath. Calm, Jedi were calm, he had to be calm.
Obi-Wan knelt. "Padawan if you strike in anger even if the cause is just, if retribution is due, their darkness will consume you. You will be no different from them. You will *become* them. There was another . . ." He stopped, unsure, unwilling to bring those memories to the surface, but maybe this way Luke would understand. He continued on in an almost hushed whisper, as if to speak louder would make the bloody past more real. "There was another Jedi who thought to use the Force to prevent and punish what *he* thought was wrong. He believe it was the right path, a Jedi's duty to hold judgement and act as executioner. And that is what he did. Thousands, Luke," he breathed, as he remembered the many dead. "He killed thousands thinking that this was his right, his place, that no one but him was powerful enough to make such decisions for a galaxy full of beings." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and sighed, putting aside the heavy weight of his failure for a moment. "A Jedi acts in peace, his motives pure and free from hatred and then and *only* then are their actions Justice and not revenge, for the good of others and not for themselves."
"How?" Luke asked hoarsely, as if the vision that had threatened to envelop Obi-Wan had somehow grabbed hold of him. "How do I stop . . . feeling this way? I can't just *forget--*"
"You shouldn't forget, Luke. I'm not asking you to like them. I'm not asking you to even forgive them. Simply let go of your anger, your hate and your fear. They don't matter any longer."
Luke stared down at the lightsaber, remembering the power in the blade, in his hands, for him to wield. So easy to just let go, and so dangerous. "I- I don't know how Master. I know I'm not good enough to be a Jedi but--"
"Don't say that Padawan. Ever. It's not true. You are worth this, you are worth everything I can teach and give you. Never forget that. Never doubt it. Never," Obi-Wan said firmly reaching out and placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.
Luke didn't flinch away.
"Yes Master." Sparing one last long look at his father's lightsaber he held it out to his teacher.
Obi-Wan shook his head and pressed the weapon back to Luke. "When you are ready, you will draw it again. And you will be ready Luke, I promise you. And I will show you how. You will learn everything Jedi and someday you will be able to let go."
Luke clutched the weapon in his hand tightly, swallowing once and then nodding. *As long as you're there.*
****
"Goodness, Luke!" Beru exclaimed, nearly dropping the full glasses in her hand.
Owen looked up from his breakfast, surprised at his nephew's sudden entrance. "Luke, what is it?" The boy actually seemed out of breath, an usual occurrence since he was doing God knew what out in the Dune Sea with Kenobi. It looked as if he'd run the whole way. Owen rose, and made to get his blaster.
"No, I'm sorry," Luke said, raising a hand to forestall the action. "It's just . . ." The boy seemed to struggle for words for a moment. "It's today."
"What's today?" Owen asked voice rising with impatience.
"Today," Luke repeated urgently. "The desert is going to bloom today. Soon. Now."
Owen blinked and stared at Beru who only shrugged and smiled. She turned her attention back to their pre-dawn guest. "Luke, did you tell Obi-Wan that you were coming this early?"
Looking slightly abashed, Luke shook his head. "No, Ms. Beru."
"Well then, let me comm him, while you and Owen go on out and make sure the vaporators are directed at the right place," Beru announced taking charge of the situation, sheparding both man and boy out of the door. "And thank you for coming Luke, catching it this early will ensure the crop won't fail. We may even manage a second planting. That was very good of you to run all the way over here."
Owen realizing what his wife was saying, was suddenly energized by the possibility of being prepared for where the desert would sprout green first. He managed to snag both glasses from his wife's hand and handing one to Luke, grabbed his coat with one hand, nearly running out the door. "Let's go Luke. Lead the way."
****
"A busy day?"
Owen refused to react, though the Jedi's presence was a shock. He finished wiping the sweat off his forehead. "If you're looking for him, try the kitchen. Beru's made his favorite." He smiled for a moment. "He's a good boy. He'd make a good farmer."
"Luke's not a farmer, he is his father's son," Obi-Wan reminded him. "No farmer could have done what he did today."
Owen snorted derisively turning to face Kenobi. "At least he cares enough about it to let us know with that precious Force of yours."
"I have not spent the last four months digging into the earth as he has. It was important to you and Beru, it became important to him. Besides I have something of an aversion to any type of farming larger than a garden," he finished wryly.
"What you are teaching his is *dangerous,*" Owen hissed suddenly angry.
The Jedi stared at him impassively. "You worry for his safety. You care for him."
"He is my *nephew.*" He looked away suddenly as if that admission was painful to say aloud. He let silence fill the room before breaking it, voice distant. "Beru and I . . . we can never have children." As quickly as the private truth had been shared, Owen shoved it away. "You cannot keep him hidden if you keep filling his head with these crazy dreams of yourss. Your order is dead at the hands of your own student. You are *using* Luke."
"The Empire cannot be allowed to continue," Obi-Wan responded emotionlessly.
"You don't deny it," Owen spat. "He's just a weapon, a tool--"
The Jedi was suddenly, swiftly only inches from the farmer, tense like a coiled spring. "Luke is *not* a weapon! Every future, every possibility was considered. We did all we could. But in the end it will not be enough," Obi-Wan said harshly. "Vader will know his son," he intoned with a deadly certainly that caused Owen to shudder despite himself. "I will protect him with my life, but if Luke faces him ignorant of the Force, ill-equipt, unready he will be destroyed or taken by the Dark." The fierceness seemed to vanish as quickly as it had bubbled to the surface. "He is my Padawan, I love him as I loved Anakin, as my student, like my own son. If I could take this burden from him I would."
There was no response to that, to that *knowing* he had seen in Kenobi's eyes of Luke's dread fate, of the Jedi's inevitable sacrifice for the boy. It frightened and awed him, though he'd be damned if he admitted it. Owen drew a deep breath and turned and began walking away. He halted at the door. "I will never agree with you Kenobi," he said quietly, knowing the man would hear "But if you take care of that boy, you've done good enough by me."
****
Luke lowered the microwelder and stared incredulously at Biggs. "You want to be a pilot for the *Emperor?*"
The dark haired boy rolled his eyes. "No, of course I don't. Don't be dense."
"Then why are you applying to the Academy?" Luke asked.
Biggs jumped off his seat on the worktable. "Because I want to fly. I thought that was what you wanted too."
"I do want to fly," Luke agreed quietly after a moment's thought remembering the stars, the vastness of space.
"Anyway I'm not going to fight *for* the Empire," Biggs informed him with all the condescension of someone three years older. "I figure I use this," he said gesturing at the application "to get off this dustball and then see what there is out there on my own." He balled up a cleaning rag and threw it at the tool bin, raising one arm in a silent cheer when it went in. "I don't want to spend my life working on my parent's farm trying to make things grow out of nothing. I don't want to live here forever when there is so much going on out there. You can't tell me that you of all people want to stay on Tatooine?"
Luke suppressed a wry chuckle. "Not forever."
"See? I mean how much fun is it racing Beggars Canyon when we could be flying, in SPACE!"
Luke reached over and grabbed the information booklet stamped with the Imperial Seal. "But this is like selling your soul. You don't think that the Empire will let you join up and then let you leave when you've got what you wanted do you? It wants career pilots."
"I want to be a career pilot," Darklighter countered before dropping his voice and leaning in close to Luke. "Besides there's rumors of a Rebellion being organized against the Empire. There is no way that us out here on the Rim will ever get to be a part of it unless we go to it."
The blond teenager snorted, "You think a rebellion would recruit out of the Imperial Academy?" Luke paused and answered his own question, thinking out loud. "If they were subtle, and very, very careful they could have trained pilots who know Imperial procedure but who would fight against it."
"Exactly. I'll make the appropriate comments that will be overheard and I'll get in touch with the right people."
"*Or,*" Luke countered "it will be a trick to flush out potential threats to the Empire and you'll be executed for treason."
"Ever the optimist," Biggs said deadpan. He stroked the beginnings of his mustache which was becoming a habit. "Oh, come on Luke. You can't tell me you aren't the least bit excited, that you don't wish you could go too?"
Luke turned back to the pieces of droid he was putting back together. "Maybe."
"Look," Biggs began "this is the early application. I could get you one--"
He shook his head. "No."
"Are you sure--"
"I'm sure." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering quietly. "It isn't time to leave just yet."
The taller boy shook off the shiver that seemed to run up his spine at Luke's words. "Whatever, buddy," he responded affably. Luke did things his own way. "Look, when you do get off this rock look for me. I just know that one of these days it'll be you and me out there fighting the good fight."
****
THE ADVENTURE~
Luke switched off the comm unit and without turning answered the unspoken question of his Master whom he knew had come in at the end of the conversation. "That was Mr. Owen. Two of his new droids ran off last night."
"Oh?"
Luke twisted around in his seat and rested his chin on his propped up arm. "I don't know. It's just sort of odd isn't it?"
Obi-Wan cocked his head to one side. "What do you feel?" he asked quietly.
Luke's eyes seemed to stare out beyond his Master, beyond the room, through even the walls. A stillness filled the air as he spoke in a hushed tone. "Darkness . . .cold . . . so cold. Death." Luke seemed to snap awake. "Will we die?"
The Jedi shrugged. "We will all die eventually," he answered pleasantly. "but there is not death, only the Force."
Luke mouth twitched up slightly. "I better get going then. No time to waste."