Chapter 11: Luke Skywalker
Luke's mind drifted as his X-wing flew through hyperspace. The young Jedi was on his way to Hoth, the new inhospitable artic base for the Rebel Alliance. Bored, he glanced out of the transparent cockpit but only saw the shooting stars of hyperspace around him. The rest of his squadron was out there; he just couldn't see them. They had been given the choice to travel on one of the bigger ships the Rebels owned, but for safety they had decided to fly escort to the fleet. So far nothing had happened and Luke didn't expect anything to, either. No, it was just an opportunity to be utterly alone with his thoughts where no one could see him.
/Maybe it's better this way./
Yes, it probably was better. Who knew what expressions were running across his face as he thought of finally having a father again after so long. Of course, there was the little matter of him being a Commander aboard the Executor…
/If he's my father./
Luke shook his head in annoyance. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't the Alliance have waited just two or three days until moving? He was expecting another letter from Anakin, the most important one yet! He would finally find out if the man was really his father and here he was stuck inside his X-wing in hyperspace! And when they finally reached Hoth, it would be mass confusion on the ground. It would take hours to get everyone sorted out, rooms assigned, equipment hooked up…. in other words, he'd have to wait even longer before he would have an opportunity to read Anakin's letter! Impatience bubbled up inside him and Luke slammed his gloved fist onto the control panel.
/And I might have actually found a new teacher!/
Would Anakin leave the Executor to teach him the Jedi arts or would he refuse? The thought preyed on Luke's mind. He was so close to his new dream becoming reality, yet so much depended on what the other would do. Would his penpal trust him enough to be willing to leave the Empire? Yet how could Anakin trust him when everyone else had betrayed him in the past? Was he expecting too much from the man that might be his father, asking too much too soon?
Then a more sobering thought entered Luke's head.
If he really wanted Anakin to teach him, he'd have to meet him somewhere, in person.
/I'd have to be practically insane to do that!/
No matter how much Luke wanted to concentrate on the fact the man was his father; he was still an Imperial Commander. Where did Podracer's loyalties lie? Yes, so far everything he had told him had been true, but what of the things he hadn't told him? The things he had left out of the letters may prove to be equally dangerous, if not outright disasters. Hadn't he kept secrets from Podracer, things he had left out on purpose?
/I didn't tell him I was a Rebel…/
Luke tried to imagine what things Podracer might have left out, but he couldn't think of any big things. Had his penpal told anyone about the letters? He rolled the idea around a few times and couldn't see why his penpal would. His letters had made it clear he didn't have any friends, so why would he tell anyone? Besides, there was the possibility that they would get him in trouble, so it was highly unlikely he'd share them with anyone. But still…
/I could go to meet him and end up surrounded by stormtroopers./
It was a scary thought, but he'd have to face that possibility sooner or later. Actually, that could happen at any time. He was traveling with Rebels, after all. Most of them were wanted, with rewards posted for their capture. So far that hadn't happened to him yet, but Luke knew it was just a matter of time. How long would it take the Empire to get hold of his name and other information, to discover that he was the one that had blown up the Death Star? How would that affect him, to see his name and face on a WANTED poster? Then, he would officially be a criminal, a type of terrorist even.
/I have no idea how that would really affect me, but it'll be troubling to say the least./
Would the awards be big enough to attract bounty hunters? Would he have to watch his back every minute or chance getting a blaster stuck into his ribs? If so, what kind of life would that be?
More importantly, did he really want to live that kind of life?
/What happens when Podracer finds out I'm a Rebel?/
For Podracer would find out sooner or later, wouldn't he? How long could he really keep it a secret, especially if the man agreed to teach him? Would he being a Rebel affect Podracer's decision to teach him? Could he turn him down because of it?
/Would my father be disappointed that I'm a Rebel?/
The Empire seemed to mean a lot to Anakin and Luke didn't want to disappoint him, but who was right? The young Jedi couldn't help remembering Podracer's question, asking him if he were on the right side of the war. Things were just getting so confusing…all he wanted was to be a Jedi! Why must all these politics and wars get involved?
/I just wish it would all go away!/
If it would, then he could spend all the time he wanted with Anakin without all these other things interfering! Once again, Luke slammed his fist onto the control console, this time hard enough to make his fist hurt. Grimacing at the sudden pain, he massaged the fleshy part of his hand through his flight gloves.
/I shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me like that./
Still, it wasn't easy controlling them, either. He was beginning to feel out of control, like a flying missile on course for the Death Star with a guaranteed explosion ahead. Still, waiting was so hard!
/Stupid Mon Mothma! Why'd she have to move us NOW?! Uggh!/
His console beeped, alerting him that they were coming out of hyperspace. Luke gripped the controls and within a short time he landed his X-wing on Hoth. Almost from the moment he had entered the atmosphere, he had started shivering. The cold was unbelievable! He maneuvered his fighter into the already made hangar and pressed the button to pop the canopy. Nothing happened. Confused, Luke reached up with both arms and pressed up at the transparent covering. After a few moments, he heard a loud CRACK and the cockpit cover popped open, hunks of ice at the edges.
/Great! It was actually frozen shut! I'm really going to like this place./
Jumping out, Luke's boots hit the cavern floor and instantly slid out from underneath him. Arms twirling madly, he crashed to the floor and slid several feet before coming to a stop.
"Hey, Kid! You got to be more careful! This is ice we're walking on, you know. Ice is slippery. Best take it slow until you get used to it." Han stared down at him, a concerned look on the smuggler's face. He held out a hand. "You've been stuck in that cramped little plane a long time, why not come onto the Falcon and have something to eat?"
Luke reached for his friend's hand and allowed Han to help pull him to his feet. Still clinging to the older man, he tested his footing cautiously. His boots slid easily on the surface. The sensation was something totally new. Never in his young life had he encountered anything so slick and smooth, so slippery. "I suppose this stuff could be a lot of fun once you learn how to walk on it."
"Yeah, it can be." Han grinned. "Just don't get brash and try running on it!"
Luke laughed, dispelling some of the tension that had built up inside during his long flight. It was great to have a friend like Han, someone he could always depend on. Sliding his boots along the slick surface, he made it to the Falcon's ramp without falling. His stomach rumbling at the thought of food, he dashed up the ramp and closed the door behind him. The warmth hit him all at once, like a blast from distant Tatooine. It was wonderful! But the heat made him realize just how cold it really was out there. "I didn't think it would be this cold."
"Ha! It'll get even colder once the sun sets." Han grumbled as he set about getting a hot meal ready. "Trust me, when that sun goes down you don't want to be out there. Nothing and I mean nothing can survive out there in that cold."
"Han, can I tell you something?" Luke settled himself in a chair as he watched Han make a meal. Nervousness bubbled up within him as he thought of telling Han about his penpal. He so much wanted Han to understand! But would he? There was just no sure way of knowing…
"Of course, Luke! You can tell me anything. You know that." Han pulled two bowls of stew out of the cooking unit and set them on the table, then added a long loaf of bread. He shoved one bowl towards Luke, giving his friend a spoon. He parked himself on the other side of the table and spooned hot stew into his mouth. "So, what's on your mind?"
Luke tasted the stew and swallowed, it was delicious. Better yet, he could feel the warmth sliding all the way down to his stomach. "Han, I don't know how to tell you this…"
"Tell me what?" Han lowered his spoon into the bowl and stared at him, a puzzled look on his face. "Blowing up the Death Star still eating at you?"
"No, it has nothing to do with that, not really." Luke stirred the thick stew, the hot steam blowing up into his face. He lowered his expressive blue eyes, the lashes hiding them. Now that the time has come to tell Han, he didn't know if he could go through with it. He couldn't help think of how Anakin's friends had turned on him just because he had gotten married. How would Han react once he found out he had been corresponding with an Imperial? Would he react the same way Anakin's friends had? Would Han turn on him, report him to the Rebel Alliance leaders? Would they all whisper about him behind his back and give him odd looks in the hallway? He didn't want thing to change, he liked having friends he could count on in a pinch. But he wanted his father, too!
/I hope Han won't make me choose between him and my father, because I don't know what I'll do then./
"Come on, Kid. Tell me what's bugging you." Han leaned forward, concern in his dark eyes. "Something's been bugging you for days."
"Can I trust you, Han? I mean, really trust you?" Luke lifted his head to stare into Han's eyes with his hypnotic blue ones.
"Trust me?" The smuggler pulled back, surprised. He made an odd sound, halfway between a laugh and a cough. "What kind of question is that?"
"Please, Han. I have to know." Luke pleaded.
"Of course you can trust me!" Han answered, and then swallowed another spoonful of stew. "You know that."
"Promise me you won't tell Leia?" Luke added. The last thing he wanted was for the beautiful Princess to find out. She would be shocked and would probably jump to the wrong conclusion.
"Kid, if this about your crush on her…" Han blurted out, a sly grin on his face. "Trust me, there's no reason to blow it all out of proportion. Everybody knows."
/Everybody knows I have a crush on Leia?/
Luke felt his face heating up in embarrassment. How the heck had Han known? "But I never told anyone!"
Han laughed. "Kid, it was written all over your face!"
Luke gulped down several more spoonfuls of stew in an effort to hide his embarrassment.
"Now was that it or was there something else?" Han asked as he tore off a big hunk of bread.
"I think I found my father…" Luke stated calmly as he carefully set the spoon down next to his bowl. He was expecting Han to start acting up soon, once he told him the entire story. Just how Han would react, he wasn't sure. But just in case, it would be a good idea not to have anything in his hands when he told him.
"Your father?" Han stared at him blankly. "I thought he was dead."
"I thought he was dead, too." Luke admitted. The young Jedi leaned forward, excitement in his blue eyes. "This isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but just listen. I think I found him and he's alive, in the Empire."
Understanding dawned in Han's brown eyes and the smuggler relaxed a bit. "And you want me to go help rescue him, huh, Kid? Where's he being held?"
"No, Han. It's not like that." Luke sighed loudly.
"Then where is he?" Han asked, confused. "You're beginning to make me nervous, Kid."
"He's a commander onboard a Star Destroyer, on Executor." Luke blurted the words out, and then slumped in his chair. His eyes never left Han's face and he carefully watched every move the smuggler made.
/Please, Han. Show me I made the right choice in telling you./
"WHAT?!" Han leaped out of his chair, his mouth gaping open in shock. "Luke, you got to be crazy! I mean, there's no way that can be true! How the heck did you come up with such a crazy idea, anyway?"
"You see, Han. I've been writing to an Imperial." The young Jedi admitted.
"Are you crazy?" Han repeated as he stood there staring at Luke. "You can't write to an Imperial! You're a Rebel! What in the galaxy was going through your head to do something like that?"
"It's not like you think, Han." Luke remained calm as he watched the emotions play across his friend's face. He had expected this reaction. It was what Han would do later that he was concerned about. "He lived a very bad life, Han. And he's lonely. And I really believe he's my father."
"Oh, sure! Like out of a billion people what are the odds your own father would end up writing to you?" Han grimaced. He hurried around the table and knelt down by Luke, one hand on his knee. "Look, Kid. I know you always wanted to find your father, that it was important to you. But these are Imperials! They'll say anything to get you to do what they want. If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it. It's just some trap to lure you into their clutches. They probably know you're the one that blew up the Death Star!"
"It could be the will of the Force," Luke replied, growing excited again. "The same thing happened to Podracer, to my Father! He was a slave on Tatooine and one day a Jedi came there and freed him somehow! And he won his freedom by winning a podrace, the Boonta Eve Classic! I wrote to this other person who had a website about the race and he verified it!"
"Luke! You can't believe what some stranger said!" Han shook his head sadly. "I'm deeply worried about you, Kid. You don't even know this person from the website, do you?"
"Well, no…" Luke admitted. "But I'm sure he wouldn't lie! Why would he?"
"Luke, the whole thing could be made up!" Han blurted out.
"W…What do you mean?" Luke asked, confused.
"Look, Kid. I did a few cons in my day, OK? You know that, right?" Han gazed up into his friend's blue eyes. "Look, it pains me a lot to be doing this to you, but I don't want to see you get scammed by the Imperials!"
Luke nodded his head. He knew Han had held many jobs in the past, most of them being the shady sort you didn't advertise in polite company. His heart thumped quickly within his chest, yet he was afraid of what Han was going to say. He could already feel his throat tightening.
/Please, Han! Don't say it's all a lie! I don't want to loose my father when I just found him!/
"Well, this whole thing sounds like a con to me." Han continued to kneel next to Luke's chair. "Besides, no human can podrace! It's impossible!"
"But I saw the video! On the web page!" Luke desperately clung to that fact as if his life depended on it being true. "It was my father when he was nine-years-old!"
"Nine-years-old?" Han snorted. "Now I know it's fake! You've been had. There's no way a boy that young could win a race like that! That person running the web page is in on it, another Imperial. They set it up all ahead of time, knowing you'd go try to check the info. Trust me, Luke. Just forget about this guy pretending he's your father."
"But he knew stuff!" Luke insisted as he jumped out of his chair and started storming around the room. Han meant well, but he was breaking it all down, all his dreams of getting to know his father and becoming a Jedi. "He knew stuff about my family! And he verified my father's story of my grandmother! She was killed by Tuskan Raiders!"
"And did your Aunt or Uncle ever mention this grandmother to you?" Han asked gently.
"Well, no. But they hated talking about my father!" Luke shouted. He knew his emotions were getting out of control again, but this time he almost welcomed it. "My Uncle hated my father!"
"Luke, calm down!" Han motioned with his hands, hoping it would help. "This is exactly what the Empire wants you to do!"
"He said this would happen!" Luke cried, tears in his eyes. "He told me how all his friends betrayed him, even his teacher that he had known for twelve years! His own teacher tried to kill him and pushed him into a lava pit! I thought you were different, I thought I could trust you!"
"You can trust me!" Han ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to think of something, anything. "I just don't want you to get scammed! Can't you understand that? Listen to what you just told me, it's straight from a children's fairytale! You got your slave and suddenly a Jedi comes from nowhere and rescues him? Come on, do you really expect me to believe that? And I suppose he married a princess, too?"
"A queen…" Luke chocked out.
"See? It's straight from some fairytale and you fell for it!" Han moved closer to Luke and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Look, you want to really check out this guy's story, I'll help you. But it sounds like a big pile of poodoo to me."
"But I really thought it was true…" Luke wiped at his wet face. Could Han be right? Or did his friend have his own motives, like not wanting him to write to an Imperial.
"What we need is to find an information source that the Imperials didn't tamper with, one we know we can trust." Han hugged Luke, a worried expression on his face.
"And what is he's telling the truth and he is my father?" Luke asked.
"I don't know, Kid, I really don't know…"
To be continued…