Hi y'all! I wanted to post this chapter today because here in America, it's July 4th, aka Independence Day. Even though our country has done a lot of things that might not need congratulating in our past and present (to put it lightly), I still feel pride in today. So to my fellow Americans, Happy Fourth!

Anyway, I'm so glad that people enjoyed last chapter! Thanks to Isabelle Ashmore, CloneWarsNerd, MaybeImARebel, and Raion Shinz for reviewing.

Raion Shinz: I really hope that you won't disappear, because you're enjoying the story, but I do have LIGHT Luxsoka planned. I apologize, as I too have the 'OTP mindset' for ships like Kanera, Han/Leia, Obitine, and Anidala. I'm sorry that you can't read stories that don't have your favorite ship in it. But, I'd be interested to find out who you ship Ahsoka with! I hope you stay with the story.

Luke's ages in the chapter are 7 in 12 BBY and 14 in 5 BBY.

Disclaimer: Yeah, there are requirements. I don't own Star Wars. It is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm, but the plot of this story is mine.

(published 7.4.18)

Chapter Fourteen: Partial Truths Part 1

12 BBY

Tatooinian skies were bright in the day, yet deadly dark by night. This was where Luke Skywalker lived in his childhood.

It was a monotonous childhood. That was why he began to take an interest in ships. For the most inexplicable reason, Luke's father Anakin was worried when Luke asked for model TIE fighters for his seventh birthday.

"Luke… why do you want that? Why don't you get something else?" Anakin asked hesitantly when Luke brought up the topic.

"Because I'm going to fly away one day and be like the people in the white armor!" Luke said happily while running around with his arms outstretched. This just made Anakin more concerned.

The suns were beginning to set and Luke began to yawn.

"C'mon, big guy, let's go to bed," Anakin said, being quite tired out himself. He would joke to Obi-Wan often about how he hadn't gotten a full night of sleep since before the Clone Wars.

"I don't want to go to bed, I'm not - " Luke yawned. "tired." Anakin laughed.

"How about I tell you a story?" he offered.

Although his son protested, he finally gave in. Tucked into bed, Luke's eyes were still wide open.

"This story is about a boy, a bit older than you are right now, who was a slave. This boy - "

Luke asked, "Why was he a slave?"

"Because people thought they were better than him. Can I continue with the story?" Luke nodded. "This boy wanted to fly away, just like you do, but he couldn't."

"Why not?"

Anakin sighed. "Because he was a slave. I already told you that. One day, a man came to the boy's planet with a girl, an astromech droid, and the other guy who we don't talk about." He chuckled lightly to himself. "Anyway, they were stranded and needed a way to get back home, so they decided to get new parts. The man found me - I mean the boy - and he revealed that he was a Jedi."

"The people at the shop said Jedis were evil," Luke said seriously. Anakin worked at a mechanics shop that got a lot of customers; most of them were scum.

"Let's say this was... a good Jedi. The man said that the boy could become a good Jedi as well, but he was a slave, so he couldn't leave his planet." Anakin continued. "The Jedi decided to try and win the boy's freedom and the parts that they needed to get back home in a podrace."

"The people at the shop said they banned podracing. It's a-lee-gil," the tired boy tried to pronounce. "But people still try to do it."

"Illegal now, yes, but it wasn't then. The boy was able to win the podrace and be freed. Even though he had to leave his mother, he went to become a good Jedi. But then, the man who was a good Jedi and had promised to train the boy was killed by a bad Jedi." Hey, it's sort of the truth. "So, the good Jedi's apprentice trained the boy instead. The boy, who had been trained and was now a man, saw the pretty girl who he had met on Tat - his home planet. They decided to get married, but soon a war broke out."

"Where'd you get this story, Daddy?" Luke yawned, still trying to stay awake but failing.

"Word of mouth," he fibbed. "It's an old story. So the Jedi fought in the war with his Master and his Togruta friend along with a lot of other soldiers."

"What kind of soldiers?"

What's wrong with telling the truth? He'll learn about the Clone Wars eventually. "Soldiers who all had the same face."

Luke's eyes widened, although sleep was coming upon him. "How did the Jedi tell them all apart?"

"They all had different personalities. They were all separate people. Anyways, then the war was coming to an end and the wife of the Jedi told him that she was going to have a baby. They were overjoyed, and they had a baby boy." He looked down at the boy and saw him peacefully snoring. Anakin pushed a tuft of blonde hair from Luke's face. Making sure his son was truly asleep, he whispered, "His name was Luke."

The next day, Luke Skywalker was back to his cheery, energetic self. More cheery and energetic, though, because it was his birthday.

"Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben!" he yelled as he ran past his father. They had arrived at Obi-Wan's hut. "It's my birthday!"

The older man came into the light of the sun from his house and immediately smiled when he saw the boy. "Hello, Luke!" He gestured for Luke to sit down on a rock, surprising even himself when he heard his knees crack violently. It was astonishing how much he had already aged while on the desolate rock known as Tatooine; the suns were deadly. His voice was brittle. His skin had begun to wrinkle slightly and gray streaks lined his hair and beard. He was only… what, forty-five?

"Hey, Obi-Wan," Anakin called from the lower ground. "There's something wrong with my landspeeder, I'm just gonna fix it up real quick."

"Alright," said Ben. He turned to the boy. "Happy birthday, Luke."

"Thanks, Uncle Ben!" smiled Luke. "Uncle Ben?" His eyebrows raised in acknowledgement. "Why does Daddy call you Obi-Wan?"

"Well, ah…" White lie, just come up with a white lie! "Ben is just a nickname that I was given. Obi-Wan is my real name. But then I moved to Tatooine, and I thought that Ben was a more traditional name." Actually, Ben was 'Rako Hardeen's' name when reporting to Mace and Yoda about the whole 'plot to assassinate the Chancellor' debacle. How Obi-Wan wished he had let the bounty hunters kill Palpatine when he had the chance!

"So what should I call you?"

"Ben will do fine," he laughed.

Luke's eyes brightened. "Daddy told me a story last night."

"Oh, yes? What was it about?"

"It was about a boy that escaped slavery and became a good Jedi!" Obi-Wan's head snapped up.

"Oh, really?" he muttered.

"Yeah! And then he fought in a war with a bunch of people who had the same face, and his Master, and his Togruta friend. But I don't know what a Togruta is."

"You'll find out eventually," Obi-Wan smiled, thinking of Ahsoka. "What happened after that?"

"I fell asleep," said Luke embarrassedly.

"That's quite alright, young one," said Obi-Wan. "Now, how about I give you your birthday present?"

The young boy jumped up and ran inside the house. "Yes, please!" He eagerly took out his small model ship, no larger than a few centimeters.

It was not a model TIE fighter.

It was a model Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor, more commonly known as the Jedi interceptor.

Thus began the model ship collection of Luke Skywalker. And much to Anakin's dismay, Obi-Wan fully supported it.

Seven years later

5 BBY

Luke was finally allowed to work with Anakin in the shop, though he felt it long overdue. He was surely old enough.

"Luke, hand me - " The tool was given straight to the senior mechanic which cause a grin from the latter. "You're shaping up to be a better mechanic every day, Luke."

He returned the smile. "Thanks, Dad." He stood up and Anakin realized how much his son was growing. But however tall he seemed now, he probably wouldn't inherit his father's height.

An alien walked in and gave him some money for his farm hand droid. "Vor entye, Mr. Lars," said the alien.

When it had departed, Anakin said, "Huh. Mandalorian. Not a common language in these parts."

"Why?" Luke inquired.

"Mandalore is under harsh Imperial rule right now," Anakin explained. "It's quite risky to speak the language."

"I don't get it," Luke muttered. "The Empire is supposed to keep its citizens safe, right?"

Anakin sighed, "I suppose so."

"Well then, why is there slavery?" Luke asked. Suddenly, Anakin was jolted back to a memory: I'll come back and free all the slaves.

"I don't know, Luke," he responded. It was the partial truth; he knew that Sidious found delight in being racist and oppressing what he thought of as 'lesser races.' Why he enjoyed that was what he wasn't sure of.

A few more people dropped by the shop that day, handing over their droids with bad motivators and engine parts for speeders. The town of Mos Espa had become lazy ever since the Empire decided to roll in, but Tatooine was definitely not Palpatine's biggest target. Planets such as Jedha, Lothal, and Ilum were being slowly mined for their natural resources (though no one knew why), so Tatooine was basically left with one battalion of stormtroopers and a Star Destroyer. Drunkards were left to drabble in their cantinas and the wealthier citizens even got involved in gambling.

For some reason, Luke loved Mos Espa. It wasn't like the desert, where Ben lived, and it was more industrial. He loved mechanics, unlike his aunt and uncle in the desert, who were moisture farmers. He spoke to all of the pilots who came in demanding a hyperdrive or engine or astromech to be repaired. Luke recalled that one day a freighter pilot brought in his R7 model droid that was painted blue. His father's face had lit up, but then fell once again and went about fixing the droid. Luke never knew what the deal was with the droid.

Afternoon came quickly in the shop when Anakin received a message from Ben. It simply stated: I've found Jinn.

Luke's father's eyes widened and he began to scurry to pack things up.

"Dad?" Luke asked in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Anakin said, preoccupied, typing something into the sign on the door so that when you read it from behind the window, it said, 'Closed' in Basic.

"Why are you closing up? It's only 14:30!" said Luke. "And who's Jinn?"

His father gave a smile, though Luke could see behind his confident visage. "Nothing that concerns you. We're going to Ben's house. You're to stay in his house until I come to pick you up."

He shrugged. "Okay, but you've got to tell me what this is about."

Anakin scowled. "I don't have to tell you anything. Now, get on the speeder." With great confusion and anger, Luke trudged outside, where a ruffled Rodian was sulking.

"I need my droid fixed!" he stated.

Anakin closed the door and turned in the lock. "I'm sorry, sir, but we have to close up shop," he said.

Annoyance brimmed the customer's eyes as he kicked the sand and turned away. "Koochoo mechanic!"

Anakin's nostrils flared, but he kept his cool. On the other hand, Luke returned the anger. "You're a koochoo!"

"Luke." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his father. The Rodian huffed away, cursing in Huttese. They made their way to the speeder and drove away. Luke saw the horizon of Mos Espa as they drove away, sand blowing in his face.

He hated sand.

Anakin and Ben were gone for a while and by the time Luke's father came back, the suns were setting.

Anakin still refused to tell Luke what had happened when they were out in the desert, and Luke only pried for more information.

The only answer that he got was a few days after.

A humming noise filled his ears. After a while, Luke felt like he could trace it… and it was going right back to his house!

He walked home from school that day along with Biggs and Fixer.

"Hey, Luke, whenever you wanna come down to the power station, you're more than welcome to drop by, I mean, my folks know you - " Fixer said, but Luke could hardly concentrate. The ring was now a song, and he couldn't get it out of his head.

"Look guys, I think we should split here," he offered, eager to find out what the sensation was.

Biggs frowned. "Luke, we always walk home together. Your house, my house, then to Tosche."

Luke thought of a quick answer. "Yeah, but I just remembered that my dad needs me at the shop. Kriff, that's right, I've gotta hurry!"

Biggs and Fixer nodded and Luke ran on his way. Usually he tried his best to make a lie-that-wasn't-exactly-a-lie, but this time, he was straight up lying. In fact, Dad wasn't even home today after school. Anakin demanded that they were doing business for an old friend from Coruscant, but Luke knew better. I mean, in the desert? Why? Still, he didn't ask.

He panted at the door as the humming grew louder and louder. He followed it further, all the way to his dad's room. Luke began to rustle through boxes and piles that had been lying there for years, untouched. "Should I really be doing this? I mean, it's my dad's stuff…" he asked the silence and it seemed to grin back and nod in protest.

For a slight second, the humming stopped. He whipped his head around and located a brown box… Wood, it looked like. It began again and Luke smiled. He knew that this was the answer.

Surprisingly, the box was open and the lock looked a bit used. His father, or someone, had recently opened it.

The song stopped as the lid opened to reveal… a cylinder. Yes. Luke could tell that it had a cylindrical shape and some mechanical gears, definitely something that Anakin would have. But why was it kept in a wooden box in a nook of his room?

Luke reached to take it out. He took it in his palm and handled it. Suddenly, his eyesight went haywire and he was plunged into vision that wasn't his own.

A space station in front of a green-blue planet, a space battle waging.

A tall Zabrak, weilding a cylinder, like his father's.

A Togruta girl: "Fighter crashed. I saved the day. You're welcome."

A teenager, holding her head in her hands and growling for the voices to stop.

Black, with only a mad cackle and a hum and a red glow.

A baby boy wrapped in a white blanket being held in the arms of a man.

A woman's voice. "Luke."

Luke screamed and dropped the hunk of metal. He panted and dropped to the floor, not noticing the smoke curling off of his hand.

Once he composed himself, he muttered, "What just happened? What was that?" He stared again at the cylindrical object. It was obviously what had triggered the odd sensation, but what was it? "What's happening to me?"

"I think I can help you with that!" Luke whirled around to see a blue - yeah, blue - man standing (floating?) next to him.

Struck with fear, he backed up against the wall. The apparition continued to speak.

"Don't be afraid, young one. My name is Qui-Gon."

Yeah, I just did that! Actually, the last part with Qui-Gon was inspired greatly by a scene in LPK9's A Peculiar Dream when Qui-Gon comes popping out of a closet. If not for A Peculiar Dream, this story probably wouldn't have happened. I urge all of you to check it out.

NOTE: I am totally not the expert on every little thing in canon. I surprisingly only came to like Star Wars in the last 2 and a half years, so how much could I have done except looked on Wookiepedia and watched the cartoons twice? So DON'T come to me asking whether some aspect of Luke's life on Tatooine was a mistake. Apparently there was a Kenobi book, but I'm not sure it's canon, so I haven't gotten around to checking it out.

Anyway, after that long AN, make sure to review, follow, and favorite.

May the Force be with you and God bless! Happy 4th of July, for my fellow Americans.

-HH