Luke and the others dug themselves out of the cave and headed back towards the top of the canyon. The trail was thick with sand, and the going was tough.
They finally crested the rim of the canyon, tired and sweaty, only to find a perfectly flawless and empty landscape before them. For a moment Luke felt panic-his beloved skyhopper seemingly buried.
The twin suns were slowly sinking in the sky, casting long, distorted shadows of the five youths. They stood atop the wall of the canyon, staring at the vast expanse before them.
"How the blazes are we supposed to get back to civilization?" Luke heard Fixer hiss.
Luke turned his back to the suns, his shadow falling before him. As he raised his hands to his head in frustration he caught a glimpse of something sticking out of the sand.
Luke started towards the sight, hearing the others question after him. Ignoring their inquiries, Luke fell to his knees near the protrusion, and began digging around it; excitement building as he realized it was his skyhopper.
"Help me," he said to no one in particular. True and Biggs dropped down and started trying to dig sand out from around the exposed dorsal wing of the tri-winged ship. It was a losing battle. The sand was falling back in faster than they could remove it.
"This is pointless, Luke. We aren't getting anywhere," True said, stopping.
Luke sighed and stopped as well, though somewhat reluctantly. He stared at the pitiful hole in the ground where they had attempted to unearth his skyhopper.
"Like you could dig out all that sand around your precious ship," Fixer laughed, "Genius!"
Luke resisted the urge to punch Fixer in the face, instead resigning himself to glare at him.
"He does have a point," True said under her breath.
Luke whipped his head, his ears unbelieving.
"Well, how are we going to get back?" She said, almost apologetically.
Luke sighed, then stood up and surveyed the desert horizon once again.
"I guess we start walking," Luke said.
Using the canyon mouth as orientation, Luke started in the direction of the Lars Homestead. True fell in step with Luke and Biggs appeared his other side. Luke glanced back and saw Winn just behind while Fixer and the other girl followed some distance behind her.
They marched on and the suns fell deeper in the darkening sky. Luke never realized how far it really was back to the moisture farm, and he began to realize that they wouldn't make it in time.
The first sun sank below the horizon with the second very soon to follow. Luke stopped, not sure he wanted to continue in the dark. His uncle's warnings about sandpeople suddenly didn't seem so silly. At this notion, thoughts of his grandmother flashed through his mind. Luke wondered about what True had told him. Uncle Owen had never really said how Luke's grandmother had died, but now it made so much sense and explained his uncle's fear and apprehension regarding the nomadic beings.
"Why are we stopping?" Biggs inquired.
"I think we should stay here, we might run into-," Luke started, but was cut off by the shrieking voice of the girl hanging on Fixer's arm.
"Look! Over there!"
Luke followed the pointing finger of the girl, and saw a beam of light in the distance. Soon the unmistakable sounds of the Lars' old V-35 landspeeder met Luke's ears and he felt remarkable joy at the sound.
It was only moments before the large, rusty speeder was upon them. Luke's Uncle Owen was behind the controls, his face contorted in a deep frown.
"Lucky this was in the garage," he said to Luke as the kids all climbed aboard spouting thanks and gratitude at the rescue. Luke nodded in response, feeling a little let down at the apparent apathy towards the situation.
After everyone had been dropped off, Luke and Owen were alone in the speeder heading back to the homestead.
"Your aunt is worried," Owen said, his eyes never leaving the desert before them.
Luke, while sorry his aunt was upset wondered absently if his uncle had worried about him at all. But Luke pushed his feelings of neglect away, focusing on the questions that had been plaguing him since he'd talked to True in the cave.
"Uncle Owen," Luke paused, than swallowing hard he forged ahead keeping his eyes on his feet. "Was my grandmother killed by sandpeople?"
Luke felt the landspeeder lurch. Turning, Luke found his uncle staring at him, his face pale and his eyes wide with a look of fear. When he realized Luke was looking at him, Owen quickly faced forward again, color slowly reappearing in his cheeks.
"Who told you that," he demanded, and angry fear evident in his voice.
"It doesn't matter who told me. Is it true?" Luke answered, feeling his own anger and resentment towards his uncle resurface. There was no way his uncle was going to divert his questions this time. Luke wanted answers.
Owen didn't answer for a long moment. Luke watched him; certain he was witnessing a battle of wills within his uncle. Finally, as they approached the warm lights of the homestead, Owen sighed. Stopping the speeder he dropped his hands from the controls. Still staring straight ahead, he confirmed what Luke had really hoped hadn't been true.
"Yes, it's true," he finally said.
"When?" Luke asked, desperate for more information now that he was finally getting answers.
"Maybe 25 years ago," Owen sighed, the reluctance to answer evident in his tone.
"Was my father here when it happened?" Luke fired back at his uncle.
Owen looked at Luke, complete surprise on his face. "Why would you ask that?" He said and for the first time Luke read real sadness in his uncle's weathered features.
Luke just shrugged and stared expectantly back.
Owen opened his mouth to answer but Beru suddenly appeared out the door of the homestead, her cries of joy piercing the night and interrupting Owen and Luke's moment of truth.
After many hugs and tears of gladness, Beru treated Luke to a dinner of his choosing and though he fought it like mad, Luke found himself exhausted soon after so he headed for bed. He was glad this day was over but still he brooded over his buried skyhopper. He wondered fleetingly if there was any way to dig it out.
As he was about to put out the light Luke remembered something else he wanted to ask his uncle. It was about the cloaked man. Silently cruising down the hall to the living area, Luke stopped as he heard his aunt and uncle talking in hushed voices.
"He was bound to find out sooner or later," Luke heard his Aunt Beru say.
There was silence. Luke heard his blood rushing through his ears as he took short, quiet breaths.
"He shouldn't ever have to know about it. That's my point. And now questions have come to him about his father. Yes, Luke asked me about him," Luke heard Owen say softly, once again detecting great sadness in his uncle's usually gruff and gravelly voice.
"Did you tell him anything?" Beru's voice sounded fearful.
"No! You came out just as I was about too. But I don't think we'll be able to divert him much longer," Luke heard Owen stand up. Retreating a few steps back into the hall, Luke listened again, hearing his uncle's heavy steps as he paced the floor.
"This is all wrong. While I'm glad that Luke was brought to us, I wish the rest of it could be erased from all memory and time. It makes me nervous to know that man is out there, lurking around, hiding under that cloak," Owen now sounded angry.
Luke wondered what he meant. Was the cloaked man his father? Where was he brought from? Hadn't he been born here?
"You know he feels responsible. He feels obligated to look after Luke, to make sure he's safe," the reasonable voice of Beru responded.
Responsible? Responsible for what?
Luke crept forward again, anxious for more information; more clues about his mysterious parentage.
"He should feel responsible. Luke would have a father if that man hadn't roped him into that…that…life," Owen was close to yelling.
"Owen, please! Luke'll hear," Beru hushed her enraged husband.
Luke shook his head. So the cloaked man wasn't his father, but what life was Uncle Owen referring too?
"I don't know how much longer we'll be able to hide the truth. It's closing in on us. And him and his blasted dream of going to the Academy. I can't keep promising him one more semester. Soon, he'll be of age, and I won't be able to stop him. I don't think he realizes…," Owen trailed off.
Luke stood in the hall, his mind racing. Going to the Academy had relevance to his father? What truth were they hiding from him?
"There's nothing we can say to prevent him from following his dream of becoming a pilot. Owen, there's no way to win this. Either we tell him and risk losing him, or we let him go and risk losing him," Beru's soft voice carried into the hall where Luke still stood, his own heart battling conflicting emotions.
Part of him wanted to rush the room and demand to know what they meant by their statements, but another part of him was fearful of what they were hiding. It would have to be pretty bad if they wouldn't tell him.
"One or the other will happen. I can feel it," Luke heard Beru add.
Luke heard his uncle sigh.
"Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday that Luke was a tiny infant, left in our care. Now he's a young man, on the verge of making a life for himself. Why am I so scared?"
Luke couldn't believe his ears. Was his uncle crying?
"It's because you love him. You love him like he was yours and mine. And in a way, he is. Don't be scared, Owen. I have faith and I trust that Luke will know the right path when it's laid before him," Beru soothed Owen.
Luke, unable to take any more, crept back to his room mentally making note of pointed questions he'd be asking his aunt and uncle very soon. He was tired of the secrets and the half-truths. He needed to know where he came from.