Chapter 4-Grunt Work
Damn ghosts, they never give you a straight answer.
It took Obi-Wan until the early morning to reach his ship after half a day of climbing to the top of the canyon. He spent the last hours of the blistering sunlight walking across a vast desert plain. The sight of the mountains was a relief, as were the sunsets, and finally after hiking up and down several steep mountain ranges the Jedi reached the obscure valley where he had left his ship and entourage. Damn the planet. I swear, I'd rather become Darth Obi than come back to this rock. He had trouble understanding why that boy Owen loved Tatooine so much.
Cliegg Lars was up. He rarely seemed to sleep lately. "Enjoy the Tatooine hospitality today, Jedi?"
"Oh, quite. My hair's scorched from the explosion, my skin's about to peel off thanks to those two damn suns, my entire foot is a blister, and I talked with a ghost."
"A ghost?"
"Ah, never mind. What are you doing up still?"
"Just savoring the desert air for the last time in who knows how long," Cliegg signed contentedly. "Despite your feelings towards it I'm gonna miss this place."
"Look, I'm really sorry I'm dragging you all along on this little crusade of mine. Trust me, I don't savor the idea of taking bystanders like you away from your home, but you won't be safe here. The Empire doesn't ignore details."
"Hey, don't trouble yourself. This is the least I can do for Shmi. And that dear boy, Beru really likes the kid you know."
"I can tell." It's gonna break her heart when Anakin gets back. Cliegg seemed to read his mind.
"She's gonna have to make sacrifices eventually. We all do. Kids are fighting and dying out there. We're lucky that all we need to do is to simply stay alive."
"I think you'll like Utapau. There's a lot of desert there too."
"Don't worry about us Lars, Kenobi. We'll be happy wherever we are."
The trip to Mustafar had been a waste of time. As Obi-Wan had told him, there was nothing left of the Separatist Command Center, at least nothing above the magma. Still, Bail Organa did not want to spare any details. Naboo had been a fruitless effort too. The transmissions sent by Darth Sidious to the Trade Federation fourteen years ago had been to the Droid Control Ship, the one destroyed by Anakin Skywalker.
The fact that holovid transmissions had been sent from Senator Palpatine's office to the Trade Federation during the blockade was extremely incriminating. More transmissions from the Supreme Chancellor's office to Genoisis, Serenno, Utapau, Kamino, and Mustafar certainly proved to be no coincidence, either. It was obvious to any impartial party that Palpatine played both sides, most likely controlled them, during the blockade crisis as well as the Clone Wars. Still, the Senate needed solid evidence. Records of the transmissions weren't enough; Bail Organa needed the holovids themselves. They would leave no room for doubt in the Senate's eyes. Organa's job was to convince the Senate that the Emperor didn't deserve their support. Actually deposing of the Emperor, of course, was Skywalker's job.
Bail had followed the advice Senator Amidala gave him the fateful day Palpatine shattered any remaining illusions of the Republic. He had voted for Palpatine. He had voted for the resettlement camps for non-human species in the Outer Rim. He had voted to repeal the rights of a fair trial for Rebellion Prisoners. He had voted to broaden the definitions of treason, to lessen the powers of the Senate, to increase taxes to unreasonable rates, and to plow all the excess revenue into the Imperial Military. All for the cover from Imperial suspicion, so that he could have free leave to gather the evidence he was scouring the galaxy for right now. Bail Organa asked forgiveness every night to no one in particular.
Some Senators did not share his patience or tolerance for tyranny. His close friend Senator Mon Mothma had resigned from her position. From her native planet of Chandrila she organized a fragile alliance against the Empire. Inspired by her courage, the planet had ceased relations with the Empire. Bail was surprised that the Imperial Navy hadn't paid Chandrila a visit yet. Bail set his hyperdrive coordinates for Genoisis. He couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"…and though we did not find the bodies we are certain, Your Highness, that neither one survived the crash."
The shadow on Admiral Tarkin's screen showed no emotion as he whispered in a voice as hoarse as death "You are certain of nothing, Admiral. The Jedi and the baby are both still alive and safe on Tatooine. You underestimate their abilities and overestimate your own."
Tarkin stood speechless, and yet he was certain his fate was already sealed. "Your Highness, I do not doubt your wisdom…"
"You will doubt nothing! I am not surprised that you have failed, Admiral Tarkin. I have foreseen it, and your failure is the will of the Empire. However, I expect you to succeed in your next mission. Block all routes in or out of Tatooine. They will try to escape. Let them, and track them. After you learn of their destination, report to me and then bring your fleet to Chandrila. Destroy the resistance there and wipe out the planet." The screen went blank.
Tarkin was a brilliant military strategist, but he could not see the point to the Emperor's orders. Either Palpatine was mad, or Tarkin himself was not intelligent enough, as the Emperor had insinuated. Perhaps the first theory was true, and certainly the latter was not. Tarkin took his mind off this matter and returned it to his recent failure. No, he told himself, not his failure.
"Captain Amarno."
"Yes sir," replied voice on the comlink.
"Arrest Captain Sueter immediately for treason."
"Yes sir."
The Emperor had shown him mercy, but Admiral Tarkin did believe in mercy.
Anakin sat serenely on a ledge near his ship. He was meditating, as he often did these days. There was not much else he could do. He had read what he felt all the relevant material in the Sith archives. He had gotten nowhere a voice told him inside. So he would meditate here in the dark and perhaps come up with an answer. Besides, Padme needed some time to herself right now.
The arguments were beginning to become more and more frequent. Anakin could tell the strain the dark planet was placing on Padme. It was more than just the darkness too. Padme must feel so helpless here. People around the galaxy were dying, her friends in the Senate were being persecuted, and she, Senator Amidala, the first to speak up over an injustice, the last line of defense for the oppressed, had been lounging around with her husband for the past year. Anakin wouldn't have characterized her work as lounging, but she wore her feelings on her sleeve and he felt her guilt of helplessness clearly. Anakin wanted to tell her how important her role was, accompanying him, but his own shame stopped his words. Besides, he knew that in her heart she knew the weight of her importance.
Anakin dwelled on his shame. Why did he need to be baby-sat? Why did he have so little discipline, so little control over his own emotions? Why was he so reckless to act on them? He felt like a child again, helpless to the events swirling around and within him. Helpless as he watched his mother die…no, such thoughts were dangerous. He held himself back from the ledge of the dark side. He would not let the fear rise to the surface. Anakin struggled to regain control and delved deeper into his meditated state.
It had been so long since he had seen the sun, felt its warmth caressing his skin. Padme too, and it must've been driving her crazy. Tomorrow, we will go to Chandrila, regardless of necessity. As he concentrated on his thoughts, a vision suddenly came to Anakin. He and Padme were on a ship. Their faces were expressionless, set in stone. They stared straight ahead. Suddenly, Anakin, watching the vision from a neutral vantage point, saw that the ship was headed straight into a sun, so bright and devouring. And yet, he and Padme stood frozen, ignorant of the sun, plodding straight ahead. And then they plunged into the giant yellow mass, and all he could feel was the cold, freezing them, numbing them.
Anakin snapped out of his meditation. It had been quite a disturbing vision, but all of a sudden, the vision appeared to be so distant in his mind. It seemed irrelevant, unrelated to the matter at hand…Sidious. He was already beginning to forget the details. No, he told himself, there was no meaning to what he saw, and Anakin slowly left the memory of the frozen sun gather dust in the inner recesses of his consciousness.
"Why, hello there Artoo." The droid beeped back at Obi-Wan. "Well, I guess I did do pretty well without your help back there. I'm quite surprised myself, you know."
A series of clicks and beeps rang back. "Yes, but I'm not surprised that they would want to hurt the baby. The Empire is a lot colder than the Republic."
Obi-Wan listened for another second to the droid. "Oh don't worry, it will be a short lived Empire if I have anything to say about it."
"A droid certainly seems to make for a good companion." Obi-Wan turned around to see Beru watching them with amusement, cradling Luke in her arms.
"Well, they're quite the amazing little robots. I swear they seem to be more human than, well, humans sometimes." Owen immediately came to mind.
"Yeah. I sometimes wondered if there was a person hiding behind C-3PO's casings. He was quite the character."
R2-D2 chirped something in agreement. "That he was. Although sometimes I get the feeling that this one here is smarter than the lot of us put together. If I wasn't so sure that droids aren't Force-sensitive, I wouldn't be surprised if Artoo were the Dark Lord himself, that has been manipulating us all this time."
Artoo beeped sharply in disagreement. Beru laughed, and even Luke seemed to giggle for a bit. "He's offended, I think."
"Or he's been caught, and he knows it. Are the others up yet?"
"Yes. They're having breakfast. I finished early."
"Well, I guess we should get ready to leave this planet then. I'm sure you'll return very quickly."
"I'm sure too."
The two of them along with the droid walked back to the ship. It was a new Mon Calamarian design, smooth, sleek, and skinny like a rocket missile, with no wings jutting out from the body of the vessel. It's name, the Indiana Jones was Mon Calamarian, translating into "Lone Warrior." Obi-Wan knew it fit him well, he being the last of the Jedi. He missed having Anakin with him, accompanying him on his missions. They acted and fought like one, never even needing to speak as the Force allowed them to communicate silently. He envied his old Padawan too. Obi-Wan could not imagine what the planet of Korriban was like, but at least Anakin had Padme with him. It was a kind of companionship he would never know, sighed Obi-Wan to himself morosely.
The Indiana Jones took off into the thin atmosphere of Tatooine. "Artoo, scan the area for Imperial Fleet." The astromech sat in the co-pilot's chair as none of the Lars had any flying experience. Obi-Wan hoped that the Empire had already left satisfied. They were doomed if they were detected.
R2-D2 finished his scan and sent the data to his Jedi master. "Ah, on the other side of the planet, I see. Not gonna be as easy as I had hoped, but we still may have a chance. Artoo, start setting hyperdrive coordinates to Utapau."
Suddenly the droid beeped with a loud urgency. "Damn, they spotted us. How many fighters are after us?" Beep. "Three? We better take care of them before they call for more help."
The one innovation that truly set the Indiana Jones apart from other types of fighters was its ability to aim and shoot missiles in 360 degrees, giving Obi-Wan a chance to eliminate the pursuers behind him before they could successfully target him. He aimed a missile towards one of the Imperial fighters and fired. Artoo chirped eagerly, and Obi-Wan knew that it was on target. "Two more. Keep working on that hyperdrive and I'll take care of the rest."
What the Indiana Jones lacked in maneuverability due to its design it made up for with pure speed, and as Obi-Wan fired another missile he set rockets at full thrust. The missile was true. "One left, Artoo!" Now, perhaps he could outrun his attacker before he had a chance to fire upon him.
The ship shook for a second. "We're hit. Artoo, what's the damage?" The droid sent the data to his screen. "Hmmm, must've just scraped us or something."
Owen came running into the cockpit. "What's going on? I heard something."
"No big deal. We're being pursued by a few Imperials. One of them got a hit on us but must've either scraped us or been a dud. We hit two of them and we're quickly outrunning the last one." Artoo beeped again, this time in triumph. "And it looks like the hyperdrive is ready. Hold on tight." Owen strapped himself in a seat behind R2 as the ship entered hyperspace.
"Job well done, Artoo. You saved our hides again." Too easily, perhaps. Obi-Wan had a bad feeling about their recent encounter.
The last Imperial fighter watched as the Indiana Jones disappeared into the darkness of space. He radioed the Executor. "Mission accomplished. Tracking droid was successfully planted onto the Rebel ship."
The droid that had been fired from the fighter traveled as quickly as a proton torpedo would but slowed itself down considerably as it approached its target. After the soft collision the droid attached itself magnetically to the ship, leaving the surfaced relatively unscathed. It was programmed to send a transmission immediately after its host exited hyperspace, then detach itself and self-destruct.