It was just a little before dawn. The Skywalkers, Han, and Chewbacca were making their way over to the hangar where the Millennium Falcon was located. It was a short trip by speeder, but due to the party's size they had been reduced to walking. This hot desert trek was not exactly what they had in mind.
"Ugh," moaned Luke as he hoisted his pack back onto his shoulders; it had been gradually slipping lower and lower throughout the journey. "My boots are getting full of sand! Why couldn't they just build the speeders a little larger?" he complained. Despite the collective glares of his father and sister, Luke used the Force to make it just a little easier to hold his luggage.
"So, what exactly is the Force?" said Han conversationally.
"You can't define the Force," Leia retorted, a tone of harshness in her voice. "The Force is in everything, rocks, trees, life itself. It binds everything together. It's also what gives the Jedi their power. Non-Jedi are unaware of its presence, but it's still there." She walked along purposefully, her pack swinging against her side.
"And as for what enables the Jedi to use the Force," Anakin added, "there are tiny structures in the bloodstream called midi-chlorians. Another way that some Jedi are found is purely by chance; most major homeworlds look for children who have incredible reflexes and skills that the Jedi possess."
"I get it," Han said. "Well, almost. I understand about what kind of power the Force gives the Jedi, but I still find it hard to believe that there really is one Force that binds everything together. You gotta admit, it's not an easy concept to grasp, and it's human nature to assume they're just a bunch of monks who know some fancy tricks and have flashy weapons."
"You wouldn't make a good Jedi," Leia muttered. "You lack the faith necessary for the training to be of any use. My father shouldn't have wasted his wisdom. Any explanations of the Jedi way would be lost on you."
"Aren't you being a little harsh?" Padme said gently. Han was looking off in the other direction, scratching his head.
"It's okay," he replied. "I can defend myself. Well, pardon me for not fully accepting and understanding a way of life that I have never experienced before. I shouldn't even talk to you, seeing as you're so much more important to the galaxy than I am," he finished, voice full of biting sarcasm.
Padme cast a nervous glance towards Anakin; he caught her eye and raised his eyebrows. A mutual feeling of concern passed between them. 'I'm worried about them,' Padme's look seemed to say. 'All I'm worried about is making it out of Tatooine with both of them alive,' Anakin thought back.
The constant bickering continued all the way to the hangar, with topics as diverse as politicians ("They're all at least half-decent, which is a lot more than you could say about yourself"), until they had nearly run out of things to discuss. And so they resorted to berating each other's argumentative personalities. Padme looked as if she was going out of her mind; Luke began to hum a tuneless melody in a vain attempt to keep his sister's harsh voice from echoing in his ears. Anakin said nothing, but remained ready to assume his Jedi role as a keeper of the peace at any given moment.
When they finally reached the hangar, Leia was finishing her speech on why Han's arguments against her were weak. Luke was grateful to have a question to ask. "I hate to interrupt," he lied, "but could you tell us where to put all this stuff?" He gestured towards the heavy packs.
"Come on inside," Han said over his shoulder as he approached a large, decrepit-looking ship that was dominating most of the space. Anakin was stunned; he had pictured something nice, roomy, or at least vaguely impressive.
"That's the Millennium Falcon?" Padme said, looking thoroughly disgusted.
"We paid thirteen thousand credits for this hunk of junk?" Leia said, almost amused. "I'd like to see you take it into hyperspace, but it probably wouldn't get off of the ground without exploding!"
"Yeah, laugh all you want," Han said sarcastically ("Who's laughing?" Padme muttered). "You won't find it funny when I get you to Coruscant in record time. Just come on in, there are some hatches inside where you can put your luggage. That's not what they're made for, but they'll do."
"I wonder what they're really made for," Anakin said aloud, but he never got his answer. The twins headed inside after Chewbacca, pausing to put away their own luggage and that of their parents before heading to the main part of the ship. Tools lay about in random boxes; it seemed as though the Falcon was a work in process.
"Where do you suppose we're supposed to sit?" Luke asked his sister.
"I don't know about you, but I want to be in the cockpit when we take off," she laughed, "just to see how 'well' Han does. What he doesn't realize is that with all that bragging, he was giving me the license to give him a hard time when he messes it all up." She smiled, thinking of the look on his face.
"What you don't realize," Luke replied as he checked his lightsaber yet again, "is that he's only giving you a hard time because he likes you. I've got a bad feeling about this, Leia, like you might be getting yourself into an even bigger mess. And you know what kind of life Mom and Dad lead," he said knowingly. "I really don't think that'd be in your best interest."
"Listen to yourself, Luke. You're starting to sound like Master Kenobi. 'I've got a bad feeling about this,'" she said, mocking her brother's concern. "I'm just picking on him, that's all. I'm not talking about leaving the Order; I don't like Han, Han doesn't like me." Leia made her way to the cockpit.
Luke sighed. He had just been looking out for his sister. Knowing a lot more about the way guys thought than Leia, Luke could almost be certain that Han had a crush on her. But his sister had a good head on her shoulders; all the Jedi masters were always speaking fondly of her. It was just the combination of his brotherly instinct and the trip to Coruscant that was making him jumpy. "The Falcon's about to take off!" his mother yelled.
Luke got up and followed her. No, it wasn't just him, he knew with a pang of dread. This whole experience wouldn't end well. He could feel his heart sinking as he thought of his family, falling apart. After all, sometimes even Luke Skywalker detested being a Jedi Padawan.