It had been three days since Kareem had obtained permission for Luke to go with him to his home planet, Adamina. After learning that he was to be going, Luke could hardly sit still, and twitched and flitted about the house in excitement. However, Luke's aunt and uncle had made a request of Kareem. On Adamina, Luke could be known by his real name, but out in the galaxy, he must have an alias. They offered no reason why, but would not allow the boy to go until an alias was created, and so Sheridan Moonraider was born. They altered the boys appearance some, darkening his hair, knowing that as he spent less time in the twin suns his hair would darken anyway, and Kareem wove a small Force illusion to make his blue eyes seem to be a rich chocolate brown.
The flight plan was simple. They would leave Tatooine and go a short distance to Naboo, were Kareem would try to purchase a J-237 Nubian space cruiser. Once they had their ship, they would go to Adamina.
They left early, before the twin suns were over the horizon. Luke waved to his aunt and uncle from the cockpit as the ship slowly rose into the air before heading into space. This was an adventure, he realized, as Cedric perched on his shoulder, and adventures were never as fun to live through as they were to hear about. But he was finally going to be a healer, and with any luck, those 'adventures' would just be childish exploring for a while.
A few days later…
"Ground control, this is the Green Valley requesting permission to land." Kareem said over the com and they entered the Nubian atmosphere.
"Green Valley this is Ground control, may I enquire as to the nature of your visit?"
"Ground Control, the Green Valley is here to purchase a new ship, current space cruiser is too old and needs to be replaced."
"Roger that. Docking pad 237-S is available, please land there and enjoy your stay on Naboo."
"Thank you, Ground control." Kareem said, turning off the com unit. Luke looked out the view port. "What do you think of your first look at Naboo, Little one?" Kareem asks.
"I've never seen so much green! Will I be able to look around any? There are a few places I read about that I'd like to see."
"You'll be able to see some, so long as you're okay with taking R4 with you." The little astro-mech Luke had fixed rolled in with a whistle.
"That's fine sir. I'm also to use the name Sheridan, right?" Luke asked, looking at Kareem.
"Yes. Will that be a problem?"
"No. That's why I chose Sheridan. Maia calls me that sometimes. It means 'wild man' and whenever I start to get goofy she calls me Sheridan." Luke explained, patting R4 absentmindedly.
"Good. I believe that with the little training you've had, you'd be able to get away, and besides, Naboo has the lowest crime rate in the galaxy. So I'm not worried."
"Neither am I, then. I trust you." Luke said simply, before strapping in for landing. Kareem shook his head before easing the ship down.
After landing, the two split up, with Kareem headed to the area where ships were sold and Luke headed to the Nubian Cemetery of Heroes. Here the rulers of the Nubian people were buried, along with all those who had fought for Nubian and galactic peace. Many Senators and Gungans were buried in the Cemetery, but there was only one that Luke was concerned with. Padmé Naberrie, state name of Amidala, was buried here. He had seen a holo of her once, in school, while they were learning about the Trade Federations illegal occupation of Naboo. She had been mention often in their studies in of the Clone Wars, and Luke admired her very much. Here was a woman who stood to lose everything, but never backed down. He pictured the holo in his mind again, before bringing it up on his repaired holoprojector. The teacher had given him a copy of it. There, in the holo, stood the young senator, shortly after finishing her final term as Naboo's queen. Her brown hair was done up in an elaborate cone, wearing a equally elaborate gown of what appeared to be a light purple silk of some sort. She had just given a passionate speech in opposition of the Military Creation Act, the passing of which was followed by the Clone Wars. He was here to pay his respects to a woman he admired and perhaps, to learn a little more about her.
At the entrance were maps that could be downloaded for free onto a holoprojector to make finding people easier. After downloading the right map, Luke was off, walking through rows and rows of memorials and mausoleums till at last, he reached the appropriate mausoleum. Inside, lay Padmé Amidala Naberrie in eternal rest. He took a deep breath and held the small bundle of Hope flowers he'd brought from Tatooine closer before heading inside.
The Hope flower was the only plant that grew on Tatooine, but it was beautiful. Also known as Angle blossoms, the small white flowers had gold tips at the end of the five delicate petals. They grew together in bunches and one stalk held close to two thousand flowers. They were, as the name suggested, a symbol of enduring hope. Hope that someday, Amidala's dream of a better galaxy would be realized.
As Luke cautiously entered the tomb, the sound of heavy breathing, that of the one of the most feared men in the galaxy, met his ears. Standing at the memorial inside the mausoleum, with his back towards Luke, was none other than Darth Vader. As soon as Luke crossed the threshold, the masked black head turned.
"Who are you?" Vader's voice rumbled like a Tatooinian sandstorm.
"Sheridan Moonraider, sir." Luke answers cautiously, as he continues to towards the memorial where Lord Vader stands.
"Where are your parents?"
"I don't have any, sir, they died when I was very young." Luke answers. "I live, well, lived with my aunt and uncle, but right now I'm going to an off-world school. We stopped here to get a new ship as the one Mr. Kareem has is falling apart." He adds softly, finally standing next to the Sith.
"Where are you from?" Luke is confused as to why the man is asking but answers.
"Tatooine, sir."
"Tatooine!" Vader shouts, causing dust to shake lose from the heavy wooden beams.
"Yes sir. Not far from Eisley, just on the other side of it from Espa." Luke says. The dark lord of the Sith says nothing to him, and finally, Luke musters up the courage to place the small bunch of flowers with the others there.
"What type of flowers are those? I have not seen them before." Vader rumbles, startling Luke who jumps before answering.
"They're Hope flowers, sir. Also known as Angel blossoms. They're native to Tatooine, believe it or not. They grow in the canyons and such. Sometimes you can even find them at the top of the monolith peaks. I thought they were appropriate." Luke whispered the last sentence. Something about Vader's presence unnerves him, and it not because the man is a Sith lord.
"Why did you feel they were appropriate, young one?"
"Because, Lord Vader, she fought really hard for a better galaxy. Even, even when there wasn't much hope, she fought really hard. Even when she, she could have lost- everything, she still fought really hard for what she believed in. Not a lot of people can do that. We, we studied her, in Galactic History, read all her speeches and even watched a few holo recordings of senate sessions. She was a really powerful speaker.
"There are people now a days who don't even have the back bone to say, 'this is my opinion' in their own home. But Hope flowers always bloom, even in the heat of the twin suns. If a flower so delicate, that touching the petals cause them to whither, can bloom in such heat, then there's always hope. Sometimes though, you've got to fall really far to find it. After all, when you hit the bottom, the only place left to go is up. Other times, you've got to make a really hard climb to get to it. But Hope is there." Luke paused and looked up at the figure towering over him. "She gave people Hope, and even now, she still does. I thought it would be a good idea to give her a little Hope back."
Vader was very quiet, or at least, as quiet as his respirator would allow.
"She was beautiful." Luke looked up startled as Vader broke his silence. "Like an angle. She had thick chocolate brown hair that curled just right and skin like alabaster. Her eyes were a warm hot chocolate brown and they were so full of kindness. Her laughter was like music and she could light up whole buildings with her smiles. She deserved better than what she had."
"Does it matter what she deserved, as long as she was happy?" Vader looked at Luke.
"What do you mean?" He queered. Luke sighed.
"There's a tale on Tatooine about the wife of a moisture farmer who wants to have a better life. She and her husband goes out one day and find an Eopie that will grant them three wishes. The wife wishes for new clothes, a better house, and a prosperous farm that has the best quality moisture. The Eopie grants her wishes. Two days later, a rich prince from another planet who was forced to land there sees the woman. His servant wants the farm for his family. So the prince orders the husband killed, gives the farm to his servant, and announces that he is going to marry the dead farmer's wife. That night she sneaks out and finds the Eopie. The Eopie asks if she happy, and she says no and tells him what happened. Then she asks him to make everything as it was. The Eopie takes pity on her and agrees. When she gets home, everything is as it was before her wishes. The servant, seeing the poor farm, complains to his master; the master, seeing the poor farmers wife, withdraws his proposal; and the farmer waking up, kisses his wife after the prince leaves."
"What's the point?" Vader rumbled.
"Sometimes, what a person deserves isn't what's best for them. Sometimes they're given the life that they are so that they understand that life is a gift that you can't take for granted. Everyone has to die, eventually. The galaxy will come to an end. Science has proven it. Whether today, or tomorrow, or ten thousand years from now, everyone must die." Luke looked back at the memorial. It shows the senator as she looked in her last holo-message to her family. She's wearing a nightdress and standing side-ways, showing off her bulging stomach with pride, one hand holding the folds of the dress so the material doesn't hide the pregnancy, the other resting protectively over the child within her. Her hair is lose and cascades down her back in waves. Vader is right, she was beautiful, but Luke can't help but wonder, how would he have known her?
It didn't matter. Luke bowed to Lord Vader, who nodded mechanically like his breathing, before leaving. He paid his respects and learned something new. Padmé Amidala's full name was Padmé Amidala Naberrie Skywalker and that meant one thing. Padmé Amidala was his mother.