III.

"Don't worry dad," Ben Skywalker assured his father, "this is just a momentary digression. I'm sure we'll be out of here in no time."

"Right," the Jedi Grandmaster said, "let's hope so. You contact the comm officer on planet and get us a landing clearance. Try to land us in Mos Espa or Bestine. I'm going to go freshen up a bit."

"Okay dad, sounds good," Ben said. By the time he'd finished communicating with the on-planet officer and had landed his mother's ship, his father had come out of the refresher. "Wow dad, nice threads, and you look… not tired!"

Luke laughed, "Well thanks, son… I'll take that as a compliment. It wouldn't do for me to show up all scruffy looking." He smirked, thinking of what Leia had told him once. Before they'd married, his sister had had some doubts about marrying Han, and she'd confided in Luke. You know, I called him every name I could think of and he only took offense to one. Do you really think I can marry a man who doesn't object to being called 'half-witted' but does object to be called 'scruffy looking'? I mean, he either really is dense, or he's incredibly vain. Either way it's not looking good. Luke shook his head and laughed again.

He went to his quarters to look once more at himself in his full length mirror just to be sure he was presentable. His light brown hair, silver at the temples, was combed back; it was getting a bit long so, combed back, it looked like a Maridunian Tawny Cat's mane. His face was freshly shaven, and he'd changed into clean clothes. He wore fitted fatigues that highlighted his athletic body. They resembled those he'd worn when he fought his father for the first time on Cloud City, though this time they were a warm sand color instead of the drab light beige he'd worn then. Luke shuddered at the memory of the fight with Vader, but then took heart as he remembered he had grown so much since then. Even though he was no longer the official head of the Jedi Order, he still held the rank of Grandmaster. He was, to his knowledge, the most powerful Force user in the galaxy and so he had nothing to fear from his former home.

Luke took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. Plus, he thought, he looked rather distinguished in this outfit. The military-style clothing was practical in a few ways: the light color would help with the suns and yet the cut was imposing enough that it should make the less scrupulous beings of the planet think twice before trying to cross him. Pity that this was important on Tatooine, but it was. Mara, Luke thought, would've been proud of him for transcending his nature of being a "crummy dresser", as she'd once told him. Luke strapped his holster around his thigh and clicked the secondary clasp to the belt at his waist. He chose his favorite DL-44 blaster, checked the power pack, and then put it in place. He also grabbed his wife's favorite holdout blaster and tucked it into his sleeve. Finally he clipped his lightsaber to his belt at his side and tucked a lightweight, white scarf into his pants, leaving the majority of it to hang down and obscure the view of the hilt. He checked the mirror once more and then scowled at himself. Cut it out, Skywalker. You've never cared so much about your looks for the people you actually care about, and the slight chance you'll run into people you know shouldn't make a difference.

"So, even though you look great," Ben cut into Luke's internal dialogue from where he stood in the doorway of Luke's quarters, "how come you're not going to wear your robes?"

"Well, I want to look decent but I don't want to flaunt the Jedi stuff here. People out here in the Outer Rim have always been more suspicious of the government – they've especially been suspicious of anything to do with the Jedi – and I'm sure they haven't heard the news that I'm temporarily banished. If I show up in Jedi robes it's just going to cause problems. Plus, it's going to be hard enough for me to walk around here without people recognizing me. The Jedi robes would call more attention." He patted his lightsaber underneath the scarf. "Many people carry scarves around in case of sudden sandstorms so this won't look out of place. You should either do the same or tuck your lightsaber into a pocket."

"Makes sense. I'd better change out of my dirty flight suit too – I don't want to be making a bad impression on my dad's home world now…"

"Alright, Ben. You go change while I talk to Artoo. I'll have him run a diagnostic on the hyperdrive and see what parts we'll need to get."

Ben walked down the landing ramp a short while later wearing midnight blue fatigues and black boots. He carried with him a small satchel that held two canteens of water, a few ration bars, and a few other assorted items. He was surprised to find that his father was nowhere to be found. He reached out in the Force and very quickly learned that Luke was just outside their docking bay. And he was NOT happy. Ben grimaced. "This better be a short trip…" he muttered to Artoo. The droid stood at the top of the ramp of the Shadow and let off a series of hopeful sounding beeps and trills. "No, Artoo" Ben replied, "you stay here and guard the ship." Artoo trilled happily. Ben had a feeling the little droid hated the sand as much as his father did.

Author's Note:

- If I remember correctly the Fate of the Jedi books had it so Artoo wasn't with them on this trip but that made no sense to me. If Luke's going to be gone for potentially ten years, or at least a few years, there's no way he'd not have Artoo with him as a companion and because he'd be helpful. I think the books also had him not bring his x-wing and I think I'll have to change that too for the same reason.