Obi-Wan Kenobi looked up from a glass of blue milk, his eyes narrowing. Vader. He hadn't felt that presence in the ten years that had elapsed since the duel on Mustafar. It was time, then. He picked up his emergency commlink.

"Shmi. Come in, Shmi. It's me, Ben. I feel Vader's presence on the planet. Hide Luke. He wants me."

"What about you?" Shmi's voice crackled on the other end.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. It's me Vader wants. Do whatever you can to protect Luke." Obi-Wan turned off his commlink and picked up his lightsaber. Vader's presence was drawing closer, coming down to the planet's surface. Obi-Wan left his hut and began walking into the desert. The further he could draw Vader away from the moisture farm, the better.

. . .

Hands shaking, Shmi shut off her commlink. "Luke! Luke!" She looked around. Where was he? "Luke!" She went outside to see Owen and Luke pulling up in the speeder. "Luke, Owen, come inside."

"Couldn't get to Tosche Station." Luke grumbled. "Stormtroopers everywhere. And this piece of junk broke down on the way back."

Owen nodded. "It's the weirdest thing. They're everywhere."

Shmi took them both and hurried them inside. "It's Vader."

"Here? On Tatooine? I never thought he'd come here." Owen and Shmi locked eyes.

"He's coming for Old Ben." Shmi said to Luke. "He's trying to capture Ben because Ben used to be a Jedi. They might come here, they might question us. If anyone asks, you don't know Ben. You've never heard of the Jedi. You're just a farm boy. Do you understand?"

Luke nodded.

"Ok. They might capture me or Uncle Owen or Aunt Beru. They might hurt us. If that happens, I need you to stay quiet. Don't try and rescue us, understand? It's most important that you stay safe."

"Is it because I can use the force?"

"Precisely. Darth Vader will try to kill you if he finds out that you can use the force. If you need to, I want you to save yourself and run, understand?" When Luke nodded she added, "Go get your blaster."

Luke scrambled to his room, where he kept his blaster hidden in a box under his bed. Uncle Owen let him carry the blaster when they did farm work because all kinds of dangerous people who lurked in the desert. Uncle Owen would sometimes tell him the story of how his grandmother had almost been killed by Tusken raiders long ago. But when he was inside, the blaster had to be put away.

Once he had the blaster clipped to his belt, Luke straightened up and looked around. Old Ben had taught him to always, always use the blaster and not draw the lightsaber unless he really needed it. If Darth Vader was really coming, then Luke might need the lightsaber. He looked up and down the hallway, the snuck into the kitchen. His grandmother made him keep his lightsaber on a high shelf so that he couldn't grab it whenever he wanted. But she didn't realize that Luke's recent growth spurt made him just tall enough to grab it. Standing on tiptoe, he plucked the weapon from the shelf and tucked it into his tunic.

. . .

Obi-Wan knew he had to put as much distance between himself and the moisture farm as he could. Living close to Owen and Beru had enabled him to keep an eye on Luke, but now he was putting all four of them in danger. He hopped on his speeder and kicked it into high gear, going out into the desert. Once he'd gone several miles into the desert he stopped. Now was time to create the biggest disturbance in the force that any force-sensitive individual had felt since the fall of the republic.

He started by whipping sand into a tornado, adding sand and speed until the whole thing was a formidable tower twice his height. That wasn't nearly enough, so he reached out and took his speeder up into the tornado. That required more energy, more than he'd used in a long, long time. Panting, he raised his hands higher and held them there. He only had to hold this long enough to get the attention of a force-sensitive in the inquisitor squadron.

Using the last bit of his energy, he reached out for fellow force-sensitive signatures—there! A strong, dark force signature was moving towards him, and quickly. Whoever it was was probably coming by speeder. Obi-Wan dropped the tornado of sand and activated his lightsaber, feeling the presence draw closer and closer. It would end here—either he would apprehend this person here, or he would be captured and killed.

. . .

A knock sounded on the door. "Open up, in the name of the empire!"

Shmi closed the closet door—they'd hidden Luke inside—and went to open the front door. "Can I help you?"

The Grand Inquisitor, a tall, imposing woman with a long braid and a red lightsaber, sneered at her. "The empire is searching your home. Do not resist or you will be killed." She pushed Shmi aside and strode into the house, several stormtroopers following behind. They went all through the house opening doors and banging through rooms, even opening the closet where Luke was hidden. Shmi's heart caught in her throat, sure they'd discovered him, but they slammed the door shut again. Luke had had the sense to hide behind the items in there and with him being so small, they hadn't seen him.

The stormtroopers dragged the three they'd found—Shmi, Owen, and Beru—outside. The Grand Inquisitor stood before them, blaster and lightsaber at the ready. "What do you know about Obi-Wan Kenobi? Answer, or meet the business end of this blaster."

"Never heard of him." Owen smirked.

"You lie!' the Grand Inquisitor shouted. "I know you are lying. I sense that Obi-Wan is quite familiar to you." She aimed the blaster in his face. "I'll ask you one more time: where is Kenobi?" But then her face changed, her head turned to look west, and she lowered the blaster she was holding. "The force." She muttered. "Someone's using the force, out in the desert." She turned to the stormtroopers. "Take these three to the star destroyer and question them. They know Kenobi. I'm going to investigate in the desert."

. . .

Luke stayed hidden in the closet, not making a sound until he stopped hearing footsteps in the hallway. Then he carefully tiptoed out of the closet and down the hallway to the back door, away from where he heard the Grand Inquisitor shouting. Looking around the corner of the house, he could just make out the stormtroopers holding his family captive. But he remembered what his grandmother had told him and began to run, moving in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him.