Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

"Here, Mark, honey. This will help."

Luke was sitting next to his best friend on the Lars' living room sofa. Beru sat down on Mark's other side and handed him what was left of the Lars' supply of ice cream. Mark accepted the spoon and dug in. "Thanks, Mrs. Lars."

"But...but…" Luke was trying to think of something supportive to say to his friend. "Marilou only said she hated the movie. She didn't say she hated you, Mark." Mark's date with Marilou had ended in disaster.

Mark sighed and swallowed a mouthful of Rocky Road. "A bad date makes me look bad, Luke."

"No, it doesn't, honey. I think going to the movies is a terrible idea for a date, anyway," Aunt Beru shrugged. "Mark, I would take her out to dinner. Get a chance to know her one-on-one. That way, you'll know if your personalities really mesh."

Mark nodded and swallowed another mouthful.

"Which movie did you see, anyway?" Luke asked him.

"Oh, we're both into horror movies, so we saw Curse of the Haunted Parking Lot. Not a good choice, Luke."

Darth Vader had polished his helmet and ironed his black robes for his job interview with S.I.T.H.L.O.R.D. He felt his outfit needed something more, so he opened his closet and found the tie that Luke had given him for Father's Day when Luke was only five: it was an ugly orange tie with red polka dots. Darth had hated it, but had worn it periodically anyway, to try to prove to Luke that he liked it. Either way, it looked downright silly for a job interview.

He also found a scarf that Leia had knit him in summer camp. But it was stupid to wear a scarf in August.

He found a snazzy purple tie that he had worn when he was still going under the name of Anakin Skywalker. Somehow, the solid tie looked ravishing; Darth tied it around his black robes and stared into the mirror. Yep, it would do.

Naboo, Nevada was two hours away from Tatooine, in the southeast corner of the state. The drive there was simply dreadful; if a road trip took more than an hour, Darth rode in the D.E.A.T.H.S.T.A.R., which was the RebelCorp corporate jet that he had basically annexed as his own jet. However, borrowing the private jet while on leave from RebelCorp seemed downright disrespectful, if not frowned upon. Darth was forced to drive to Naboo in his Cadillac Escalade instead.

S.I.T.H.L.O.R.D. was housed in a basic one-story warehouse. When Darth opened the door to the lobby, he looked around for some sort of receptionist- and found himself staring at the ugliest human being he'd ever seen.

The young man was fresh out of college, with a face completely tattooed in red and black ink. His eyes were yellow; he had to have been wearing colored contacts. His ears, eyebrows, nose, and lips were pierced multiple times each, and his buzz cut was molded into what looked like horns on his head.

If Darth Vader hadn't been wearing a mask, he knew he would have been in huge trouble from staring so much.

"I'm Darth Vader," he told the ugly stranger at long last. "I'm here to see Darth Sidious for a job interview."

"Right," the kid murmured, looking down at a desk littered with memos. He was wearing black robes like Vader's, but he had a terrible body odor. Luke smelled better after a soccer game. "He's expecting you. Go on in." The kid pointed to a door straight ahead.

Vader arched his shoulders back and confidently walked to Darth Sidious' door. He knocked a couple of times before entering, only to find a verrrrry familiar face seated behind a desk.

"Palpatine," Vader gasped, breathing through his respirator. "I thought you were dead!"

"Did you see me die, Vader?" Sidious asked in his frail voice, brushing back a tuft of gray hair.

Several months ago, when Vader still worked for EmpireCorp, his boss, Edward Palpatine, had had a coronary and died. Vader hadn't known much about Palpatine at the time, except that he had become CEO of EmpireCorp after his brother, the original CEO and founder, had passed away.

And now, not only was he still alive, but he had been running an additional company on the side? Darth was in shock. This man was a corporate genius!

"No," Vader stammered. "No, I never saw you dead, I was just told by the other executives that-"

"Well, I'm glad I finally caught up with you. You have failed me, Vader. I expected you to put that RebelCorp out of business once and for all!"

"But Earl Jones-"

"I didn't care what Earl Jones did or didn't do. There's no need for an interview here; we have to get to work!"

"Aunt Beru, when does Leia come?" Luke couldn't sleep; he was in his aunt and uncle's bed again that night.

"I've told you a dozen times, Luke. Leia is coming next weekend to stay for good. She'll finally have her own bedroom."

"Aunt Beru, I need to see Dr. Jinn."

"Well, your next appointment is on Monday. Do you need to see him before then?"

"No, but I'm afraid I'll forget what I have to tell him."

"Write it down, Luke," Uncle Owen advised him. "Then you won't forget."

"Okay, Uncle Owen." Pause. "Uncle Owen, can you give me some more room? I'm squished here."

"Sorry, Luke. I barely have room myself."

"I need Timmy. Aunt Beru, can you-"

"Luke, if the three of us can barely fit in here, what makes you think we can fit Timmy?" asked Beru, exasperated.

"I can't sleep without Timmy," Luke pouted.

"Luke, just go to sleep," Uncle Owen mumbled, exhausted.

"But Uncle Owen-"

"Luke, you heard your uncle, now get to sleep!"

Up Next: Luke and Dr. Jinn