Summary:
An accident reveals an old deception, and Darth Vader must make a decision that will change not only his life.
Chapter 23 - The Sandstorm
***
"How long, Luke? How long have you been spying for him?"
The accusation hung between the Princess and the young Jedi, and for a moment, Luke's calm mask slipped, betraying his own feelings of fear and pain. Fear that he might loose his friends when they learned who his father really was. The remembered pain he himself had suffered at Vader's hands, and the pain he felt for his friends. For Leia. Anakin felt all this with his son, and he wished, not for the first time, that he could undo the past, that he could somehow turn back time. But that was even beyond his power. For the first time, Anakin realized that Luke might pay a high prize for his presence. No, he vowed silently, I will not allow him to lose his friends because of me. But then he realized it might already be too late for that; the damage was done. All he could do now was try and diffuse the situation, and explain himself to the Princess later. Anakin had known from the beginning that gaining the Rebels' trust would be difficult, if not impossible.
"No, Leia, you got it all wrong", Luke entreated, but Anakin held up a hand to silence him: "I suggest you take care of the controls, Luke, before we ram the other skiff. There will be time to discuss this in committee later."
Luke whirled around. Anakin was correct; while they had been talking, the skiff had continued on its course away from the burning wreckage of Jabba's barge and was now coming dangerously close to the other skiff. Han, Chewie, and Lando were already scrambling down the far side of the stranded vehicle's hull to escape the impact that was only seconds away. Cursing in a very un-jedilike fashion, Luke worked the controls to bring the skiff to a stop. The skiff glided to a halt mere centimeters from its sister ship, and Luke allowed himself to relax slightly.
"You okay?" he called down to Han and the others.
"Yeah, yeah", Solo shouted back, jogging around the skiff. "Next time, keep a safe distance, kid!"
He stepped up to the skiff, hands on his hips. "Are you guys going to take us on board, or are you planning on a picnic in the desert?"
Chuckling, his problems momentarily forgotten, Anakin lowered the gangway and helped first Solo, then Calrissian and the Wookiee board.
He then turned to face Leia, who was glaring at him, apparently wishing she still had a blaster in her hand. "Luke is not the traitor here, your Highness", he began. "I am."
"Oh, really?" The sarcasm was evident in Leia's voice. "The Emperor's lapdog suddenly turns to bite his master? Somehow I find this hard to believe, Lord Vader."
Anakin winced at her harsh words, and Han stepped between them, placing his arms around the princess in a loose embrace.
"Give him a chance, sweetheart. He's really trying, ya know", he said, catching her gaze with his own.
"You too, Han?" Leia brought her hands up, breaking the embrace, and took a step back, placing as much distance between the two men and herself as was possible. "Are you mad? Have you forgotten who he is? What he's done?"
"Not likely, your worshipfulness." Han gave her one of his lopsided grins. "I just happen to believe in second chances." He threw a meaningful glance at Lando, who stood leaning at the railing, arms crossed in front of his chest. He, too, was looking daggers at Anakin, who in turn tried to appear calm and unperturbed. Which was not easy considering the fact that now, of all times, the unprotected skin of his scalp and face started to itch and burn under Tattooine's relentless suns. The tall Jedi cleared his throat.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to get out of the sun before I start blistering", he said.
Han nodded. "Yeah, my eyes could use a break from this, too."
"How are your eyes, Solo?" Anakin inquired.
"Almost as good as new", Han answered, turning to look at Anakin when his gaze fell upon the horizon. He squinted. "Except... the horizon looks a bit fuzzy", he finished lamely.
Both Anakin and Luke turned.
"Sith", Luke exclaimed, immediately giving his father an apologetic look.
"My feelings exactly, son", Anakin replied in a dry voice. "Looks like a big one."
Look shook his head. "Too early in the season for the really big ones", he said.
"Except in sun spot years", Anakin corrected. "Luke, how was the weather eight years ago?"
Luke made a quick calculation in his head and suddenly grew pale under his tan. "Uh-oh", he whispered.
Anakin nodded, his mouth set in a grim line, and moved over to the controls. "Let's get out of here and under cover."
"What? What are you talking about?" Leia demanded, exasperated.
"Sandstorm, your Highness. Extremely dangerous. If we're not under shelter before it hits us..." Anakin let the rest of the sentence trail away.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Leia asked. "I mean, it's just wind blowing sand and dust up in the air."
Anakin gave a short, humorless bark of laughter. "Wind at several hundred kilometers per hour, your Highness. Powerful enough to move sand and grit with a speed sufficient to grind flesh off the bones." He gave her a lopsided grin. "I used to live here as a child, you know. Even behind city walls, you would not stay outside during a sand storm."
"I've heard stories about travelers who got caught out in a sand storm", Han piped in. "Never believed them, though."
"Believe them", Anakin nodded.
"What stories?" Leia asked.
"Well... only their bones were found afterwards, polished clean by the sand", Han told her. "Of course, I've never seen it myself. It's just a story the locals tell."
"Not just a story, Solo", Anakin said. "I have seen those bones." He looked into the distance. "I was just a boy. The search party took me along because of my ability to find things." He took a deep breath. "It took us two days to find the remains. At first, no-one believed me when I said that those bones and scraps of cloth were what was left of the missing travelers. They thought I was making it up, to get home again. The remains did look like they had been in the desert for years." He paused for a moment. "Until my companions took a closer look, and identified one of the skeletons by an amulet the being used to wear. Only then did they believe me."
"Oh", Leia uttered. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we take shelter?"
"We'll never make it to the nearest city. Where are you staying?" Anakin asked.
"Ben's house", Luke offered, but shook his head in the next moment. "But we'll be hard pressed to reach it before the storm reaches us. The farm would be closer, but I don't know in what condition it is. I haven't been there since I came back."
"The Lars farm?" Veers asked from his position in the speeder, which was still hovering alongside the skiff. "We're staying there. And Jix here made certain we have enough food and water for the lot of us."
Anakin smiled. "Good thinking, Jixton. The farm it is, then." He started up the skiff's engines.
"We should take the canyon road. It's shorter, and the canyon will provide some shelter if we don't make it in time", Jix suggested, but Luke shook his head.
"No", he said. "The skiff is too large to maneuver the canyons. We would be trapped there. The open desert is our only chance."
"If you can find your way there, Commander", Veers pointed out. "I'm told one easily gets lost in the open desert."
Anakin laughed at that. "He's a Jedi, General. Of course he will find the way."
Veers still did not look convinced.
"I grew up on this farm, General", Luke added. "It was my home for eighteen years." He took the controls again from his father. "Just follow me."
"Let's not forget the droids", Anakin reminded him.
"Never." Luke smiled up at his father.
They picked up R2D2 and C3PO, who were upside-down next to the burning wreck of the barge, and were on their way, trying to outrun the sandstorm that loomed at the horizon.
***
They reached the farm just as the first fringes of the storm reached them, blowing up sand and dust around them, making it impossible to see more than a foot in front of them. Luke brought the skiff down and anchored it in the sand.
"Let's get inside, quick", he yelled over the howling of the wind. Veers landed the speeder lee-side of the skiff, where it would be protected from the worst of the storm by the larger vehicle's bulk. The whole group hurried to get into the protection of the underground farm buildings. C-3PO had trouble keeping up; for the whole of the flight, the tall droid had been uttering complaints and voicing his fears to everybody who would listen, and each and every one of his comments brought a fond smile to Anakin's lips.
Once Luke shut the door behind them, the noise died down to a bearable level.
"Okay, Anakin, spill", Han demanded, leaning against the wall. "What is it with you and Goldenrod here?"
Anakin smiled again. "His designation is C-3PO, isn't it?"
"Yes, Sir", 3PO piped in.
"And you were built here on Tattooine?" Anakin asked.
"Oh, yes, Sir", the droid answered. "My first master built me, Sir. His name was Anakin Skywalker. He left before he could complete me, though. I have always wondered if he was related in some way to Master Luke, Sir."
"I am indeed, 3PO", Anakin whispered. "Luke is my son."
"Sir?" 3PO queried. "You are Master Anakin, Sir?"
Anakin nodded, slowly. "You've always been a great pal, 3PO", he stated in a voice so soft that only Han and 3PO heard him.
"Great pal? This golden menace to sanity?" Han guffawed. "Now I know you're completely out of your mind, your lordship!"
***
To be continued