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Chapter Fifteen

Anakin spent almost the entire trip to Tatooine tinkering with the Daybreak's various systems. Fixing the controls, even with the hyperdrive engaged, had been easy. He'd had to make similar recalibrations about a year ago on a mission deep in Separatist territory. After the controls he'd moved on to the nav system, then the atmospheric regulators. No one bothered him while he worked, and for that he was grateful. He needed to use his hands. He needed to keep his mind busy. He needed to block out the constant ache in his side and forget about the circumstances that had led to his injuries.

At one point he could feel Tahiri Veila's eyes on him, like she was waiting for something. Did she know the truth about Darth Krayt? No, of course not. Hadn't Krayt – Jacen – said as much when he revealed himself? Ben hadn't told anyone the truth.

The pain in his side overtook him for a few seconds, and he gritted his teeth to get through it. So much for keeping his mind on his work. He pushed the atmospheric control panel back into the wall and picked up Ben's tool kit. By now they would be nearing Tatooine, and if his former homeworld wasn't enough to set him on edge, then the memory of his Force vision was.

Anakin stowed the tools in the main corridor and made his way to the cockpit. When the door opened, he was greeted with the sight of the brown desert planet in all its ingloriousness. Ben and Elias were seated, and Tahiri and Arden had taken the chairs behind them.

"I definitely sense a disturbance down there," Tahiri said, leaning forward to hover over Ben's shoulder. "You're sure the Tuskens are behind this?"

Ben hesitated a second before saying, "We'll find out soon enough."

Elias looked over at Ben. "How far from the camp should we set down?"

It wasn't Ben who answered, but Tahiri. "The usual distance. I don't sense any danger from the enclave, and if we get too close to the chaos, we might spook the Tuskens and make things worse."

Anakin remembered how long it had taken to get to the camp last time he'd been here, and the thought of waiting that long to find out what was happening made his skin crawl. Didn't Ben realize how urgent this was? Didn't any of them?

He suffered in silence, though, because as much as he wanted to park this ship next to the camp and rush in there lightsaber blazing, he knew Tahiri was right about spooking the Sand People.

His lightsaber. He'd completely forgotten that it was missing. He tried not to think of what Obi-Wan would say, because that made him think of the lonely little hut at the edge of the Dune Sea.

Anakin edged past Tahiri and leaned over Ben's other shoulder. "What happened to my lightsaber? When I woke up in the medbay they said I never had it with me."

Ben looked a little startled, then slightly guilty. "You don't remember?"

Anakin felt a pit open up in his stomach. "Remember what?"

Ben's eyes met his. "You lost it on Vjun. When we snagged you off that cliff it was already gone."

So that was it, then. His lightsaber was lost, his robes were back at Haven. Literally the only things he had left of his own were the boots on his feet. The last connection to the galaxy and time he had come from.

Anakin moved to the rear of the cockpit. Maybe it was better this way. Without his lightsaber he'd have one less weapon to hurt anyone with.

"Let her go, Anakin!"

He braced himself against the open doorway. What had Padmé thought of him in those last seconds before blacking out? How terrified had she been as he squeezed the life out of her? He couldn't breathe picturing it, and he realized he was going to be sick.

Anakin got to the fresher just in time, but since he hadn't really eaten anything for a couple of days, there wasn't much to come back up. When it was over, he washed his face and spent several minutes just staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Monster, he thought.

There was a knock on the fresher door. "You okay in there?" Valin Horn asked. Anakin wiped his face and opened the door, brushing past the older man as he headed for the ship's main hatch. It was still closed, so he sat down on the floor cross-legged and leaned forward to cover his head with his hands.

He swore he could feel the heat from the planet radiating through the hull of the ship. For a split-second he wished he could just catch fire, burn up until there was only ash, fade into nothingness. That brief agony he would gladly endure so as not to feel the pure torture of knowing what he had done to his wife and to the children in the Jedi Temple. And then the second was over, and he reminded himself that this was the only acceptable penance: to live with the knowledge of what he'd done in this world, to feel every ounce of pain, to know that if he hadn't been ripped from the past, he would have become a monster.

Maybe I've been one all along.

The click of the hatch opening startled him from his thoughts, and as he looked up behind him, he saw the others walking toward him. Ben was carrying a thin, gray jacket, which he tossed at Anakin.

"Wouldn't want you to get sunburnt," Ben said. Anakin caught the jacket and slid his bare arms into the sleeves.

"Thanks," he muttered, standing up. He followed the group down the ramp and found a banged up old speeder waiting for them. The pilot was the same tan, dark-haired girl – Kala Di – who had met them last time. Unlike last time, her face was grim.

"Mom got your message," she said, glancing at the group assembled behind Ben. "We should definitely leave the Daybreak here. I can take whoever wants to go to the enclave."

Ben nodded, eyes scanning the horizon. "What's happening?"

"The Sand People attacked a small settlement a few hours after you talked to Mom. We're safe for now. I'll explain on the way." She climbed into the driver's seat and waited for them to decide who was making the trip.

Tahiri spoke up first. "How far are the Tuskens from the enclave?"

"Several kilometers, at least," Kala Di replied.

Tahiri seemed to consider the answer a moment before turning back to face the rest of the group. "Elias, you and Arden stay with the ship. The rest of us will go."

Elias nodded, taking Arden's hand in his. "You got it, Master."

Anakin climbed into the backseat with Valin and Tahiri, sitting directly behind Ben. Kala Di shot off as fast as the speeder would allow. Even though the journey to the camp was no more than half an hour, it seemed to stretch on and on. The twin suns were high in the sky, baking them without mercy. Anakin found himself belatedly grateful for the jacket Ben had offered him.

When they arrived at the edge of the camp, Anakin noticed right away that he couldn't hear the children at all. He felt them, however, huddling silently in their tents. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Karanya running toward them.

"Thank the Force!" she said. "We have no idea what started it, but the Sand People are attacking settlers. I sensed a disturbance in the Force, and not long after we heard about it over the local comm channels. They haven't gotten close to us yet, but we need to be prepared."

"Thank you, Karanya," Tahiri said. She indicated Valin next to her. "Could you take us to check on Valin's kids and the twins? Then we can help you with the rest of the younglings."

"Of course," Karanya replied, still looking concerned. "But what about the settlers?"

Anakin watched as Ben and Tahiri shared a sad but knowing look.

"Right now," Ben said, "there's nothing we can do for them."

"The protection of this enclave has to be our first priority," Tahiri added.

Even under the burning Tatooine suns, Anakin felt suddenly cold. "You're not even going to try to help?"

Tahiri looked like she was about to answer him, but instead she turned back to Ben. "Comm if you need anything. I'll let you know how the boys are doing."

"Thanks." Ben waited until Tahiri, Valin, and Karanya had gone before answering Anakin. "It's too risky," he finally said.

Anakin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Risky how? We're Jedi, they're not. We could stop them easily."

Ben laughed, but it was a laugh completely devoid of mirth. "Easily? You think so? Huh." He shook his head. "Even if that were the case, it doesn't help us with our other problem – exposure."

"What do you mean?"

"If we go after the Sand People, we might as well broadcast our presence to the entire planet. How long after that before the Sith are on our tails again?" Ben took a deep breath. "Just trust me on this, Anakin. This is my world, my time. I know what I'm talking about."

Anakin wanted so badly to ignore Ben and run off to the settlers' rescue, but he forced himself not to act on that instinct. If he wanted to change – if he wanted a chance at redemption – he had to stop relying on his passion all the time, rushing headfirst into situations. Be more detached, like Ben.

"Fine," he muttered. "What are we supposed to do, then?"

Ben looked out at the horizon. "We wait and see if they spot us." He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Anakin. "I think I'll try meditating for a bit. Want to join me?"

Anakin scowled and broke eye contact. "No, thanks."

Ben gave him a look that Anakin could only classify as suspicious. His grandson sat down in the hot sand and closed his eyes. Anakin took a few steps away from Ben, and then he, too, sat down. His eyes roamed the camp before turning toward the open desert.

He could feel them out there, the settlers and the Tuskens. Farmers and their families fleeing in terror, only to be cut down. He felt their pain, their despair. It reached deep inside him, dredging up all the horrors he'd experienced in his lifetime. His mother being beaten by Gardulla's slave keeper. Watching Qui-Gon's body burn. The first time he took a life. The searing agony as Dooku's lightsaber sliced through his arm. Seeing clonetroopers under his command blown to bits and not being able to stop it. There were many more, some he hadn't even realized were there.

He tried to block out the pain, but instead of drawing away from the conflict in the desert, he found himself focusing on the other side of it. The Tusken Raiders' anger and hatred was almost as intense as the settlers' fear. At first Anakin recoiled from that hate, but it, too, called to something rooted even deeper inside him. For every painful memory that came to mind, there was another that inspired his wrath. He had seen so much death in the last three years. Jedi and soldiers senselessly killed by armies of droids. Innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. He hated the Separatists who hid behind those droids. He'd hated the Sith for manipulating the war and trying to bring down the Republic from within.

What a cruel joke it was that Palpatine had been a Sith Lord all along, and that Anakin had become his enforcer. The kind of man who would choke his pregnant wife to death.

Two more memories clawed their way to the surface, despite his efforts. Darth Krayt's face as he revealed Anakin's crimes, and the hologram of Padmé pleading with him to turn away from the darkness.

A sound pulled him roughly from his memories. It wasn't very loud, but Anakin would have known it anywhere. It was forever burned into his brain: the animal-like war cry of the Tusken Raiders. As he regained focus, he realized there was fire on the horizon.

He was on his feet without thinking, running through the camp to the place where the swoop bikes were kept. He barely noticed the pain from his injuries, or the fact that Ben was right behind him, shouting something he couldn't hear. It didn't matter anymore; he was done pretending he could be some stoic Jedi who let others dictate who lived and who died. He may not have been able to save Padmé, or Luke, or Leia, or the rest of his family. But he could save the settlers who were being massacred. That he could control.

He could only find one swoop, and it was tied to a stake at the edge of the camp. Smoke from the fires had begun to waft through the tents.

"Hey!"

Anakin spun around to find Ben about a body's length away. Now that he'd stopped running, his wounds seemed a lot worse. Each breath brought a new stab of pain.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ben said.

Anakin started to turn toward the swoop. "I'm going to help them."

"No, you're not." Ben reached out and grabbed Anakin roughly by the arm. "You can't give away our position."

Anakin looked at Ben in surprised disgust. "You'd rather let those farmers die? That's who we're supposed to protect!"

"I'm supposed to protect the Jedi. That means no helping, not against the Sand People, not against anyone when it could mean bringing the Empire down on these children."

The smoke had grown thicker, and the smell of it was making Anakin nauseous. He could feel the throb of blood against the insides of his wounds, and he wondered for a moment if they might split open again.

"I can protect them," Anakin insisted. "I've fought the Tuskens before."

"I don't care what you think you can do. We're staying here, and that's final." Ben turned away and began to walk back toward the enclave. A small crowd was starting to form at the edge of the encampment, no doubt drawn by the arguing and the anger they sensed. Anakin held his ground.

Ben walked several paces before he seemed to realize Anakin wasn't following him. Ben stopped, and as he did so, Anakin noticed the apprehension on the faces of the other Jedi. Finally, his grandson turned toward him and stared.

Anakin swallowed what little moisture remained in his mouth. "I'm going, Ben. And that's final."

Ben narrowed his eyes and crossed the distance between them in the space of a few heartbeats. Keeping his voice low, Ben leaned close to Anakin. "You'd put us all in danger, then?"

Anakin looked past Ben at the crowd, which was steadily growing bigger. "The only people in danger are out there." He gestured toward the smoke on the horizon. "Do you really think they'll turn us in if we save them?"

An icy expression crossed Ben's face. He stared directly into Anakin's eyes. "I know they will."

Anakin bit his tongue and shook his head before turning toward the horizon. The wind gusted around him, bringing with it the smell – real or imagined, he couldn't say – of carnage. "You're wrong," he said. "And I'm going."

Anakin backed up a few steps before turning away from Ben and the Jedi. He winced with each step, but around him the Force was crackling with energy, with anticipation. He knew what he had to do, and nothing was going to get in his way. Not his injuries, and not Ben.

He was almost to the swoop bike when Ben called out after him.

"You think that'll be the end of it? Kill one group of Sand People and that's it? Job well done, no repercussions?"

Anakin closed his eyes and tried to imagine Ben's words were a wave breaking against him.

"It doesn't end there," Ben continued bitterly, his voice loud enough for the other Jedi to hear. "They'll keep coming after you, and you'll have to keep killing them. And what do you do once you're finished? Go to their villages and kill their women and children? Hunt down each and every clan?"

The words were a wave, but instead of breaking against him they were drowning him; and all he could hear now were the strangled, grunting cries of Tusken men, women, and children as they fell under his blade. And try as he might to forget why he'd done it, why he'd slaughtered an entire camp instead of escaping into the night with his mother's body, the only thing he could focus on was the guilt and the rage and the fact that Ben was forcing him to remember it.

"Coward," he muttered.

Ben's response was sharp. "What was that?"

Anakin turned back toward the encampment and glared at Ben. "I said you're a coward."

There was an eerie hush as Ben once again closed the gap between them. "You can call me whatever you want. Doesn't change the fact that you want revenge, and you think this is the way to get it."

Anakin shook his head. "What revenge? This is about saving people!"

Ben gestured wildly in the air, his hands coming close to Anakin's face. "This is about you taking out your anger on the Sand People because you lost the fight on Vjun! This is about your mother and your wife and everyone you ever lost, and for some reason you think murdering Sand People is going to magically make it all better!"

Anakin went blank for a moment, all thought seared out of him by the precision laser strike of Ben's words, leaving him deaf and dumb beneath the oppressive heat of the twin suns. The seconds stretched on, and he felt himself heavy with sweat and fury and more pain than he knew what to do with. Then he did the first thing that popped into his head.

He planted both hands on Ben's chest and shoved him backward as hard as he could.

As he reeled from the attack, Ben looked straight into Anakin's eyes, completely stunned.

Anakin stood with fists clenched at his sides, the gate that held back his rage swinging wide open. "I am not a murderer."

Ben's fingers hovered near the hilt of his lightsaber as he fought to regain his composure. His expression darkened. "I'm sure Darth Vader said the same thing once."

Anakin snarled and threw up his hands, sending a blast of energy at Ben. The other man countered with equal effort, kicking up sand in every direction. The Jedi at the edge of the enclave gasped; some of the younger ones cried out in horror. As the sand settled, Anakin and Ben collided, each trying to wrestle the other to the ground.

They grappled with each other for several fruitless seconds. Anakin tried to use his greater height and weight to bring Ben down, but his wounds kept him from pressing the advantage. Ben butted his head against Anakin's shoulder, grunting as he worked to stay on his feet. "You think… this is the way… to keep from turning?"

Anakin managed to get under Ben and flip him over; but in the process he lost his balance on the shifting sands, and they both went down. Before he could get up, Ben tackled him, shoving his face into the sand. Anakin used the Force to propel himself upward in a quick burst, knocking Ben hard on his back. Anakin fell face up next to him, and for a moment he was blinded as he looked almost directly into one of the suns.

His vision cleared just in time for him to see Ben raising a fist. Pain from his injuries flooded his senses, but he ignored it and lifted both hands to block, catching Ben's fist and twisting his arm to deflect the blow. Then a new pain flowered across his jaw as Ben's other fist made contact. Anakin let go and raised his hands to defend himself; as he did so, something hit him in the side, and he thought for sure he'd just been ripped open.

"How does it feel?" Ben screamed at him. He climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. Then he reached down and grabbed Anakin by the collar, yanking his head and torso off the sand. "Do you feel powerful now?"

Anakin tried to pry his jacket from Ben's grasp. "Do you?" he spat out. Ben's face contorted at those words, and he raised his fist again. Anakin looked into Ben's eyes and smiled bitterly, tasting blood. "Go ahead," he said.

Ben hesitated for a moment, but then he gripped Anakin tighter and punched him hard, over and over. Anakin stopped trying to fight. This was what he deserved, after all.

"Enough!"

Tahiri Veila's voice carried across the sands to every Jedi and child listening. Ben's body was partially blocking his view, but Anakin could see her standing at the edge of the enclave, parting the sea of onlookers. Her blonde hair was loose around her face; blowing wildly in the breeze, it gave her the air of a woman gone mad.

She left the others behind, stopping when she reached Anakin and Ben. "Enough," she repeated, quieter this time.

Ben climbed off of Anakin and collapsed on the sand next to him. Tahiri crouched down near them.

"Look at you both," she said, her voice sharp and low enough that only they could hear. "You're Jedi Knights, and they're all watching." She looked back at the crowd and sighed, shaking her head. Her anger drained away, leaving behind the bitter taint of disappointment.

"I expected more from the blood of Luke Skywalker."

Anakin's stomach twisted at her words, and he couldn't suppress the sob that rose up in his throat. Beside him, Ben stared at the horizon. The fire was growing brighter.

Tahiri stood up, but instead of returning to the camp she headed toward the swoop bike. All around them the air grew still.

"You're going alone?" Ben said quietly as Tahiri mounted the swoop.

She looked back at them, first at Anakin and then at Ben. "I have battled Yuuzhan Vong warriors and Sith Lords. I think I can walk safely among my own people." She gunned the engine. "Don't come after me. I'll be back by nightfall." And with a burst of sand she was gone, speeding toward the fires in the distance.

Anakin lay still on the sand, listening to the frightened whispers of the other Jedi. His last awareness before passing out was of the intense heat and the feel of several pairs of arms carrying him away.

.

.

About an hour before nightfall, the fires that had blazed in the distance finally subsided, and though the blight that the massacre had left on the Force was still easily felt, it had lost some of its intensity. Ben took that to mean Tahiri had succeeded in making the Sand People halt their attack. While he was relieved that no more settlers would die tonight, he knew what that meant for the Jedi enclave. This would probably be their last night on Tatooine.

Ben trudged up a sand dune just southwest of the camp and spotted who he was looking for. Anakin was sitting atop a narrow, rocky ridge that jutted out of the dune for a few meters before vanishing under the sand. Ben climbed the rest of the way up to the ridge and stopped a couple of meters behind Anakin.

"Karanya's looking for you," he said. "She said you're supposed to be resting."

Anakin kept his back to him. "I am resting."

Ben pursed his lips. "In a bed. Not traversing the desert."

"I'm fine."

That was a lie if he'd ever heard one. Ben took a few steps forward and sat down next to Anakin. His grandfather was watching the suns as they began to sink below the far-off dunes. The wind was cooler tonight, cooler than he had ever remembered it, but that might have had more to do with the residual darkness that tainted the air than with the actual weather. Ben leaned forward and used his index finger to draw little circles in the dirt.

"I think you bring out the worst in me," he said, keeping his eyes locked on the circles. "Not you, exactly, but the idea of you."

Next to him, Anakin shifted. "What a relief."

Ben supposed he deserved the sarcasm. "I'm sorry," he said even though the apology sounded feeble to his own ears. "I shouldn't have… I wasn't…" He sighed and gave up trying to find the right words, the kind of words that would magically absolve him of all wrongdoing. Instead, he and Anakin sat in silence for several minutes, eyes on the horizon.

When Anakin spoke again, the bitterness had drained from his voice, leaving only resignation in its wake. "You shouldn't be sorry," he said. "You were right about me. I am a murderer."

Ben was startled by this admission. Deep down he still had a hard time separating this Anakin from the one who had lived as Darth Vader, but his grandfather seemed to be internalizing that connection to an even greater extent. "You're not a murderer, Anakin. You aren't—"

"I am, Ben. And I'm not talking about what I did as Vader."

If the air had seemed cool before, it was downright chilly now. "Then what are you talking about?"

Anakin kept his gaze forward. "Before, I told you I'd fought the Tusken Raiders, but that's only partly true. My mother was kidnapped by a tribe of them, and when I went to rescue her, she died in my arms. I could have left the way I came, without anyone noticing. Instead, I fought my way out. And when I didn't have to fight anymore, I decided to make the rest of them pay. I murdered the entire tribe."

Ben stared down at the circles he'd drawn.

—her mind calling out to his, telling him to go, to leave her behind—

—a wave of hatred meets a wall of light as the Sith break through, surrounding her—

—I love you, Ben—

—one last mental touch before he loses her forever—

He realized he was digging his fingers into the ground. "They killed your mom," he said, barely a whisper.

"I killed mothers, too. And children."

Ben thought maybe he should be horrified by that revelation, but he wasn't. What did that say about him? That under the same circumstances he would have done exactly what Anakin did? He had felt the despair and rage that came from losing loved ones, and each time it became harder not to lose control.

"You made a mistake," Ben said, "and that doesn't excuse what you did; but it doesn't make you evil."

Anakin shook his head. "Last week I executed a defenseless man, an unarmed prisoner. Was that a mistake, too?"

Ben closed his eyes. "Why did you do it?"

"Does it matter?"

There is no why. That's not the question you should be asking.

They weren't Jacen's words, exactly, but he could hear his old master's voice in the thoughts that flashed through his mind. Jacen used to question him – sometimes relentlessly – about what he knew and how he knew it. It had always frustrated him and challenged him, and at the time he thought it was making him smarter, making him a wiser and more thoughtful Jedi. Now it just seemed like a mess of riddles and questions and half-truths, and he sometimes wondered if there was anything he truly knew.

Does it matter?

"I don't know," he answered. And he didn't, really. He still didn't know, even after all these years.

Anakin paused, shifting ever so slightly beside him. Flexing his right hand. "He was a Sith Lord. The one who cut off my arm. Palpatine's apprentice."

"And he was defenseless?" Ben wasn't sure he believed that, but maybe it was because he didn't want to believe it.

Trying to bury your head in the sand again, Skywalker? And what good has that ever done you?

Anakin's voice wavered slightly. "I had just cut off both his hands and taken his lightsaber. He was an old man, and he was at my mercy, and I cut off his head." An ugly, bitter laugh scraped its way from his throat. "The Chancellor watched the whole thing. Grooming me, I guess. And I let him."

Ben didn't know what to say. He tried to imagine what that must have been like, standing before the Sith Master, being goaded into killing his apprentice… and he realized he'd heard this story before. History really did have a way of repeating itself, and in this case, it wasn't very subtle.

"This might not make you feel better," Ben said, "but my dad faced the same situation aboard the second Death Star. And he made the right choice."

Anakin's lips curved into something resembling a smile. "I know. I remember you telling me when we were in Obi-Wan's hut."

"I didn't tell you what my dad said to the Emperor."

For the first time since Ben had arrived, Anakin turned and looked at him. "What did he say?"

It had been one of his favorite stories when he was little. His dad had always tended to focus on the moments after, when Anakin Skywalker had returned to the light; but as much as Ben loved hearing that part, it was Luke Skywalker's stand against the darkness that stood out to him most.

Ben smiled. "That he was a Jedi Knight, just like his father."

The two men sat in silence, the rays of the setting suns warming them. Ben thought he saw tears forming in his grandfather's eyes, but Anakin turned away before he could get a closer look.

"Even at your darkest, your son believed in you. If he could see the good in someone as evil as Darth Vader, then I think you need to try to see the good in yourself. Not just see it, but embrace it. Because I think if you tell yourself you're a monster, that's what you'll become."

Anakin nodded slowly, drawing in a long, steadying breath. "Earlier you said I bring out the worst in you?"

"I said the idea of you." Ben's mouth started to go dry as Anakin looked to him for an explanation. It was so much easier to counsel others than it was to open up about himself. Why was that? What was so hard about admitting when things were hard, when he felt everything building to a boil and wasn't sure he could contain it anymore? Why did he try to keep it down so deep and then fool himself into thinking it wouldn't come back up? People used to comment on how alike he and his mom were, sharp and focused, never descending into despair or wallowing in their own tragedy, even when they had every right to. Protecting themselves, like Tahiri said. But he'd never seen Mom lose it like he had, not even when Dad died. What would she think of him now? What would both of them think?

Ben looked away from Anakin, eyes focusing once again on the circles he'd drawn in the dirt. "I used to want to be just like my dad," he said, his voice suddenly quiet. "Like most boys, I guess. Only my dad was a hero, and he was incredible and compassionate and noble, and who wouldn't want to be like him? But I wasn't like him, not really. I looked a lot like him, and people always looked at me like they were seeing him; but I knew I would never be him."

Anakin was very still, listening. Ben thought about stopping there, but he took a deep breath and kept going.

"After a while, I realized I was okay with that. I thought if I wasn't like my dad, it was because I was more like my mom. She was guarded, but so strong. Not just powerful in the Force, but resilient. It seemed like nothing could knock her down. And she cared about others deeply, even if she was careful in how she showed it."

Ben tilted his head up, staring out at the suns. Tatoo II was nearly gone; only a sliver of the blood-red sun remained visible above the dunes. Tatoo I had begun to deepen in color, its soft yellow-white glow turning slowly to gold. He closed his eyes, and her face flashed across his vision, as bright and fleeting as the afterimage following a burst of light.

"Sometimes we used to sit together," he said. "Just like this, in silence, watching the sunset or the sunrise on whatever planet or moon we happened to be on. And I've never felt more at peace than I was during those moments, because we understood each other. We didn't have to talk about all the bad stuff that happened. We could just be."

Any residual warmth he might have felt from gazing upon the suns left him in that moment, and the cool night air gusted around him.

"But ever since you got here, I can't help thinking… maybe I'm not like her. Maybe I'm not like either of them. Maybe I'm like you."

He finally looked at Anakin and found his grandfather's eyes on him, something nebulous darkening his gaze. "And that frightens you," Anakin said quietly, with a hint of the earlier resignation.

Ben held onto the breath he'd taken, then released it slowly. "Yes."

Anakin tilted his head to the side and looked away. "I would say that the worst in you isn't nearly as bad as the worst in me, but I doubt you'd believe me."

Ben looked down at the bruises forming on his knuckles. "Probably not."

Whatever Anakin was going to say next, it was interrupted by the distant whine of a swoop engine. They both turned toward the sound, eyes focusing on a fast-moving smudge on the horizon. It continued to grow larger until Ben could make out Tahiri's long coat flapping behind her.

"She's back," Anakin said.

Ben stood up and brushed the dirt and sand from his pants. "Guess we should get going."

They climbed down from the ridge and crossed a couple of dunes to get back to the enclave. When they arrived, they found Tahiri already there, speaking with Valin and Karanya. She glanced over at Ben and Anakin as they approached, her eyebrows arching slightly.

Ben pretended not to notice. "How did it go?"

Tahiri looked exhausted but unharmed. "The attack is over and won't resume," she said. Ben got the feeling that was all they were going to hear on the subject. "The settlers were grateful," she continued. "So grateful that I suspect by this time tomorrow all of Tatooine will know we're here. We have to leave tonight."

Karanya looked around at the tents that had been her home for a few years now. This wasn't her homeworld, but Ben knew she'd grown attached to it. "I'll get Kala Di and Dira, and we'll gather the younglings," she said with quiet firmness.

Tahiri turned to Valin. "Get the older kids and start packing up all the equipment."

"Got it." Valin and Karanya left to perform their tasks, leaving Ben with Anakin and Tahiri.

She drew in a long breath, as if it was the first truly deep breath she'd taken in a long time. "Ulin is on his way to help us evacuate. Ben, I need you to go through the camp and make sure we don't leave behind anything that could be used to find us. Elias will be here any minute in the Daybreak. I've got a couple of comms to make."

Ben nodded at Tahiri and watched as she disappeared into the darkness. He'd known this was coming, but it was still hard to accept that he was leaving Tatooine for good this time. He should have been glad to wash his hands of the whole planet – so why did he feel an ache deep in his bones at the thought of saying goodbye?

He looked out at the dark horizon, at the trio of moons already rising high in the sky. He glanced over at Anakin and saw his grandfather gazing at the moons as well. Their eyes met, and something passed between them in the fading light – an understanding born out of years of war, a sort of mutual mental shrug, as if to say, All right, that's that, time to get moving.

So they did.

.

.

Tahiri watched as Ben and Valin finished loading the last of the cargo onto the Daybreak. Most of the children were already aboard the freighter; the rest were filing onto Ulin's ship, the Happy Ho'Din. The slicer had only just arrived from Nar Shaddaa, and Tahiri suspected he'd been eager to get away from the empty safe house.

"Been a while, Ulin," she said as the older man strode down the ramp toward her. "Thanks for coming."

Ulin put his hands in his jacket pockets and shrugged, grinning a little. "I was just waiting for you to call." He looked over his shoulder at the open hatch. "You sure I've got enough room for everyone?"

"We might be a little cramped, but between the Ho'Din and the Daybreak, we'll make it work."

His grin widened. "You riding with me?"

Ben was passing behind Ulin at that moment, and he slowed down long enough to raise both eyebrows at Tahiri. She resisted the urge to glare at him.

"I suppose I will," she answered. She didn't actively encourage Ulin's affections, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the attention just a little.

After the children were all settled, the adults congregated in the space between the two ships, with Tahiri at the center. "Thank you for working so quickly," she said. "Karanya, Valin. You're with Ulin and me on the Ho'Din. Ben – you take the rest of your crew on the Daybreak. We're meeting up with Syal and Myri at the Zihrent base."

"We're not going back to Haven?" Elias asked.

Tahiri shook her head. "We can't afford to have so many of us in one place, especially if it's true the Sith have renewed the Hunt. Haven already took in the kids from Denon. The Zihrent base is practically empty, though, so there will be plenty of room for all of you. It should be an uneventful trip. I'll send you coordinates once we break atmosphere."

She hoped it would be uneventful. After everything they'd gone through the last few days, they could use a break. She found her gaze drifting to Ben and Anakin, standing next to each other as though nothing unusual had happened that day. It had been a long time since she'd seen Ben lose control like that. As much as she wished he would talk about it, she knew it would be futile to ask.

Tahiri took a long breath and looked around at the two crews. "May the Force be with you. Now let's get out of here."

.