Chapter 8: Luke Skywalker
/What should I try looking up first?/
Luke had reread all of Podracer's letters, which he had saved on his computer. There were several things he could try researching but the young Jedi was doubtful. He had never tackled anything like this before and the job before him seemed vast and impossible. That and the galaticweb were just so huge! Also, how was he to know if the information posted there was accurate? If he understood it correctly, anyone could make a page and put almost anything he wanted on it.
/Maybe I need some help on this./
Should he ask Han to help him? Or perhaps even Leia? After thinking about it for a moment, Luke decided he could trust Han more. Being a smuggler, Han was probably better at keeping secrets. No doubt he'd know just where to look to find the information that was required. It would be extremely hard researching the extinct Jedi Order and whether or not they took infants from their families.
Or would it?
/Maybe I should start with something a lot simpler. Like the podrace./
Luke thought about it a moment, his slim fingers poised above his computer. It seemed plausible that even he could research something like that. He knew enough about podraces to know that humans didn't normally enter them. The sport was just too fast and too dangerous with human reflexes too slow. Anyone foolish enough to actually try ended up as a smear on a rock wall somewhere. So if his father had actually won a race years ago, it must have been newsworthy. Not to mention shocking! Luke smiled as he imagined the excitement his father must have felt at actually winning the race, the exaltation that had surely coursed through his young body. And the roar of the crowds!
/Even I could look that up, I bet!/
Luke typed 'Tatooine podraces' in the search box and waited for replies to appear on his page. His heart sunk at the sheer number of pages he would have to search through. Obviously, podracing had been very popular on his homeworld!
/I can't search through all those pages! It'll take me forever!/
The young Jedi thrummed his fingers on the desk, thinking. There must be some way he could limit the search, but how? Then he slapped himself on his forehead. He was so stupid! All he had to do was add his father's name to the search box and most of the pages would hopefully be eliminated! Luke did so and waited for the new result to display itself on his screen. Within moments is appeared and he studied them, and then just decided to click on the first one. He would go through them one at a time, hoping that at least one of the pages would contain what he needed.
As the first galaticweb page downloaded onto his screen, Luke felt impatient. This research was taking up valuable time that he could be spending getting to know his father!
/I have to do this! I can't allow myself to jump to conclusions, no matter how tempting they seem./
Luke smiled, knowing his Uncle would be proud of him for holding back like this. His Uncle Owen had been a practical man and would have scoffed at the idea of his father being back from the dead like this. Luke could almost hear his rough voice saying it was sheer foolishness and that he should get his heads out of the clouds and back onto the farm where it belonged.
/But I have never truly belonged on the farm no more than my father did. We both belong out among the stars./
He shook his head. This was getting dangerous. He was already thinking of Podracer.. No, Anakin.. As his father whether he was or not. The page was fully loaded now and Luke studied it with interest. It was about the Boonta Eve Classic and how a nine-year-old human boy had won the famous race. One Kitster Banai of Tatooine, who had apparently been Anakin's best friend and had seen the race in person, owned the page.
/This is it!/
To Luke's amazement, he could even download a file and watch the race on his computer.
/This is so amazing! Why didn't I try researching my father before?!/
The simple answer was that before he hadn't known his father had accomplished so many amazing things. Also, living out on the farm he really never had access to this sort of thing. Besides, it had been more exciting to go racing like a daredevil through Beggar's Canyon than searching the galaticweb in the town's small library. Luke waited impatiently for the file to download, wondering exactly what he would see. Would he actually get to see his father as a young boy or just the race? Luke had never seen a podrace so he was quite uncertain what to expect. His nerves tingled and he bounced up and down on his chair like a small child.
/Come on, come on! Hurry up already!/
He watched as the narrow bar at the bottom of his screen slowly turned blue as the file transferred to his computer. It seemed to be taking forever but when he checked him chronometer only a few minutes had passed. Finally the video was ready to play and Luke eagerly told it to do so. To his delight, the race started with the parade as brightly colored flags were brought onto the track. The young Jedi's eyes narrowed as he focused on a golden figure carrying a white and blue flag.
/Is that…3PO?!/
No, it can't be! Luke shoved his face closer to his monitor but the tiny figure had already moved on and the image shifted. Pulling back, he settled down to watch the rest of the video footage. The racers were being introduced and Luke waited to hear his father's name called. Then it was and the view shifted to focus on a young boy waiving at the crowd from the cockpit of his podracer. He had shaggy sandy blonde hair and wore thick goggles over his eyes. Besides that, Luke really couldn't see him very well. Soon after that, the race itself started. Luke's stomach twisted when Anakin's podracer had stalled out, leaving him behind. Even though he knew Anakin was going to win the race, it was as if he were witnessing the competition firsthand. The camera followed the racers through the dizzy curves, drops and dangerous stretches of the racecourse.
/That's Beggar's Canyon!/
Luke leaped out of his seat in excitement as he recognized the distinctive canyons he had raced his old speeder through. It was yet another connection he shared with his father. He held his breath as the third lap started and Anakin raced neck to neck with another racer. Then the other tumbled out of control and Anakin won!
/YES! We won!/
Luke danced around his small room in excitement until he started to feel foolish. Pushing a few strands of stray hair out of his eyes, he went back to his computer and settled himself down. How could he let a simple video of a race get him so out of control? Even if this young boy was his father, that didn't mean the man who was writing him was this boy, did it? So how could he determine if they were the one and the same?
/Maybe there's some clue in the video./
Pressing play again, Luke watched the tape from the beginning and once again saw the droid that looked so much like 3PO. And there, in another scene… was that a Jedi in the background near his father's podracer? He could only see part of the robes, but the coloring and style reminded him of Ben's clothing.
/Maybe everything he told me is true…/
At any rate, the real Anakin Skywalker had won the Boonta Eve Classic podrace on Tatooine. Luke closed the video and examined the rest of the web page. If only he could find out some information that only his real father would know! But how could he do that?
/If only I could email this Kitster and ask him about my father! Surely he could tell me things that an imposter wouldn't know!/
Luke smiled. His plan was brilliant! Then once he learned something, he could ask Podracer about it in a letter and see if the answers were the same. If they were, than Podracer really was his father, Anakin Skywalker! Searching the main page, he soon found an email address at the bottom and clicked on it. The only real flaw in his plan was that he didn't know if Kitster would bother replying to his message or not. The man might think he was some weirdo. How many people would email a complete stranger and ask for information about their father?
/I have nothing to loose by trying./
Dear Kitster Banai,
Hi. You don't know me but I think you knew my father, Anakin Skywalker. I never knew my father and would appreciate any information you could give me about him. Not too long ago I just discovered that he used to podrace and won the Boonta Eve Classic.
I grew up on Tatooine myself, out on the Lars Moisture Farm. I'm not sure if you ever heard of it? Anyway, my name is Luke Skywalker and I used to live with my Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Sadly, they're both dead now. I really would appreciate it if you could help me, as my uncle really never told me much about my father.
I know this must sound strange coming out of the blue like this, but I'm trying to learn about my family.
Thanks in advance for anything you can tell me.
Truly yours,
Luke Skywalker
He reread the letter a few times, and then sent it on its way. Determined he couldn't discover anything else from the web page, he book marked it for future reference and closed it.
/What should I do now?/
Luke had two possibilities. He could try to look up the info about the Jedi or he could go ask 3PO some questions. Of course, lots of protocol droids looked alike and just because it had reminded him of 3PO didn't mean it had been. The young Jedi laughed. He was jumping to wild conclusions! There was no way that could have been 3PO! Why, the odds were astronomical!
/This stuff with Podracer is driving me crazy!/
Yes, it was making him see connections everywhere, connections where no connections existed.
/I really need Han to help me research the Jedi stuff…/
That would be easy enough to explain. All he would have to tell his buddy was that he was trying to find any information on the old Order at all. Since Ben was dead, he had no one to instruct him, so the request shouldn't seem that odd to the smuggler. Of course, they probably wouldn't find anything at all. All the information had been destroyed with the Order years ago. But a few things may still exist, like if the Jedi had taken infants from families. If that had been the practice, it should have been common knowledge in the Republic and still should exist somewhere.
/But what should I do about Podracer in the meantime while I wait for Kitster to reply?/
Luke considered the options. He could either write his penpal a short letter or he could leave him hanging for a while and go see Han. The problem is, he didn't know how long the research would take and they would be moving soon to that new base.
/Maybe I should just send him a quick email./
He pondered that for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip. The problem was, Podracer had told him his name. Surely he was expected to tell his own name now, wasn't he? And if he didn't, how would that look?
/Bantha fodder! I'm boxed in a trap now!/
Getting out of the chair, Luke paced the floor in his small room pensively walking around and around. His body just seemed to be packed with all sorts of nervous energy, as if he had drunk way too many caf drinks. It was making him jittery.
/How the heck did I get myself into this mess? I just wanted a penpal!/
Leaving his computer on, Luke stormed out of his room and headed down to where the Falcon was parked. Hurrying up the open ramp, he called out for his friend. "Han! Hey Han, you here?"
"Luke?" Han said as he poked his head out from the cockpit. "What you doing up so late, Kid? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I was wondering if you could help me with a little project." Luke explained as he joined his friend in the tiny cockpit of the Corellian freighter. "I want to research the Jedi Order but don't know how to go about it."
"You still with that old man's mumbo-jumbo?" Han stared at him, concern in his brown eyes. "Luke, you know it's just some kooky old religion, right?"
"The Force is real, Han. I know it exists and I know it's hard for you to understand something you can't see." Luke stared into his friend's eyes, willing Han to help him. "Please, Han. It's important to me. My father was a Jedi and I want to be a Jedi, too. The problem is I don't have anyone to teach me, so I thought I could try researching the Order."
"I don't know, Kid," Han shook his head sadly. "I doubt if we'd find anything at all. As far as I know, all the stuff on that crazy group of wizards was wiped out years ago."
"But surely you must have heard things." Luke pleaded, passion burning in his eyes. "Tell me why you think it's a kooky old religion. Surely you must have a reason why you think that way."
"Well…" Han glanced down at his boots, and then peered back up at his friend. "I don't know if you want to hear these things, Kid. You seem to be really into what that old guy told you."
"Please, Han. Tell me. I want to hear the good and the bad." Luke told his friend.
"All right." Han settled himself in his pilot's chair. It was the place where he felt the most comfortable and secure. "I admit I think the whole thing is some scam. People just can't wave their hand and make stuff happen, you know? But that's what that old kooky religion use to teach. And well, Luke, I don't know how you're going to take this bit, but I even heard they used to kidnap babies and take them to live in that temple of theirs. I know that sounds terrible and you're convinced they were perfect and all… I just don't want to disappoint you right now. You have enough to deal with as it is."
Luke's blue eyes lit up. "Are you sure, Han? They really used to just take people's babies?"
"That's what I heard, Kid." Han stared down at his boots again. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but I ran into people before who were mad at them. You know? As a smuggler, I meet all sorts and there were a few who had bones to pick with that religion of yours. I guess from what I heard some people were happy and proud their kid was picked to go to that school, but other's felt differently, especially if the kid taken was their only child. Once they went into that temple, the family wasn't allowed any contact at all. If that was me now, I couldn't see giving up my child to be raised by some strangers. It's just not right…"
Luke smiled at Han and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks Han, it means a lot to me."
Waving goodbye to the smuggler, Luke headed back to his quarters in the Rebel base. If Han's information was correct, it appeared that Podracer was telling the truth. But like his friend had said, it was pretty common knowledge. The real answer rested on far away Tatooine with Kitster.
The young Jedi sighed. It appeared he would just have to wait a bit before he could write Podracer a reply. With any luck, Kitster would reply soon. In the meantime, he had packing to do for the move. Getting out a few containers, Luke got busy with packing his few belongings.
To be continued…
Author's Note: Sorry to leave you hanging again, but I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow! I thought I could get it all into one chapter but I can't and I don't want to make any chapter too long less someone has problems loading it on their computer. So I promise Luke's letter to Vader will be in Chapter 9 tomorrow!