A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

G-Anakin13: Yes, I will put Tahiri somewhere in this fan fiction. She won't be showing up for the first quarter or so, but for the rest of it, she probably will. Anakin will be meeting her in an unlikely situation, though…

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Han Solo was in a state of what most people call "desolation". His youngest son was gone, his neighbor was accusing him of stealing his ship, and all of it had been Han's fault for not staying alert.

Leia would kill him, he reckoned, but it was just as well. Right now, the best thing to do was to keep her in the dark. Han being the experienced liar that he was, had managed to get off so far by telling his wife that Anakin had gone out to meet up with some old friends. The excuse wouldn't hold out for too long, though.

He cradled his heads in his hands, trying to figure out who he could turn to for help. He'd have to tell Luke, of course, but the man couldn't help him very much, what with his Jedi Academy and all. Chewbacca? No, he didn't have experience with children, or with any resources that could help him. Wedge Antilles? He was good at matchmaking but not at things like these…

Suddenly, he remembered someone from his former life. Someone who had a wide access to ships, trackers, bounty hunters. Someone who, despite Leia's strictly forbidding him to, he sometimes snuck out to the galaxy to chat with and have a drink.

He smiled.

Leia was out getting some groceries. The cleaning droids were busy. Making sure that nobody was in sight, he started up a wafer-thin laptop, messaging one of the few people that he could call a buddy:

To: Calrissian(at)cloudcity

From: SmugglerflyingSolo(at)cynet

Subject: Kid Most Wanted

Hey Lando,

Troubles at home. Youngest of the bunch has gone missing. He's also stolen a ship from my neighbor, worth 15 K worth of Credits or more. No clues to his whereabouts. Worse thing is, not even his mother knows. Stick your neck out for an old friend and meet me at the Mos Eisley Cantina in Tatooine. I have some issues I need to discuss with you.

Han Solo

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Luke felt something through the force. He wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but from what he could sense, it wasn't good. For most of the day, he felt uneasy, and was barely able to concentrate on his own classes.

Jacen, having some free time, was receiving a bit of training. He yelped as his uncle tried to show him some blocking techniques.

"Cripes, Uncle Luke, you almost sliced off my ear!" he yelled. "Are you feeling okay?"

He sucked in some air and bit his lip. "No, not really. Have you sensed anything lately?"

Jacen frowned. "Yeah, a few minor twitches, general unrest? Does that have anything to do with what you're feeling?" His uncle, already lost in though, did not answer.

Luke's fears were confirmed when he received the call. He was in the kitchen, trying to resolve some conflict between two junior students while attempting to fix the stove. It wasn't exactly the best time to call.

"Hey," Han Solo's uncertain voice sounded over the microphone. "Uh, just thought you might want to know…"

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"You what?" Luke yelled at the phone. Han looked away and covered his ears. The Jedi master was quite angry. "How could you just let him go like that?"

"I didn't let him go, okay? I was…busy, and he slipped past me." Han winced at Luke's tone. He had probably called at the wrong time.

"Did he do anything else, other than run?" Luke asked. His face was distorted by the terrible reception of the commlink. Han was in a community flusher, having to go somewhere to hide from Leia. The smuggler took a deep breath.

"Yes," he replied. "He stole my neighbor's ship and made off with it. The Tracking device that the man usually uses has been disabled. No guesses on who did it."

"The thing I don't get," Luke said, "Is why he did it. I thought he was all set to spend a quiet bit of family time with you guys."

Han's inbox alert beeped abruptly. He instantly logged on and checked his e-mail. Re: Kid Most Wanted

To:SmugglerflyingSolo(at)cynet

From: Calrissian(at)cloudcity

Subject: Re: Kid Most Wanted

Han:

I'm on it. Meet me there at 03:45 on day 27. Bring a full wallet with you.

Lando

Han smiled. Always the same Lando. Luckily, Leia had just received her paycheck. Hopefully she wouldn't notice if it went missing for a while…

"Han? Are you still there?"

Han picked up his communicator. "Yeah. Don't worry, Luke. I'll find him."

"Sure?"

"Um…sure I'm sure. I've already scheduled someone to help me."

And with that, he hurriedly closed the connection.

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Luke immediately called a small meeting with his family. Excluding Ben, of course. The ten year old was still miffed about his cousin's being sent home, and up till now had refused to talk to his father, who, as he called it, had "punished" Anakin unjustly. There was no need to fan the flames.

"Hurry up," Mara urged him. "I have a lot to do, so this had better be quick."

Luke took a deep breath and faced his family. "Okay…there's a problem. Anakin has decided to take off."

"Take off?" Jacen nearly exploded. "As in to run away, leaving us here to do all the work?"

"Don't get so worked up, Jacen." Luke cautioned. "How can you be a Jedi if all you do is get angry and complain?"

Jacen wasn't listening. Anakin's abrupt departure, partnered with the fact that he had boosted a ship and gotten away with it, had completely fueled his lust for revenge. "Why, that dirty little-"

"Anyway," Jaina cut in hurriedly, "What are we going to do? Does dad know about it?"

"Actually, he was the one who told me. You two might want to go back for a week and see if he needs any help with his search. Take the small ship out back, the one we use for shipping in supplies. Mara and I will manage till you come back."

"Thanks!" the twins said together, and before Luke could say anything more, they had zoomed off to their rooms to pack their stuff. A vacation!

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Anakin set the borrowed (to be more precise, stolen) ship on autopilot to Naboo. He hadn't been planning on a precise destination, actually. The thing was, he had never been to Naboo, though he had heard it was an excellent place for vacationing. As well as that, his grandmother Padme had once been its queen. Just because he was on a little joy trip from school didn't mean he couldn't learn a little about family history, as well.

He went onto the Cynet and checked out his e-mail. There were no new e-mails, save ten porn and free data pad Spam mails and one message:

To: Jedilikemyunclebeforeme(at)cynet

From: JainaminusJacen(at)jedicademy

Subject: So we heard

Anaboy:

Apparently you've run away. Dad told us, don't try to hide it. Just a note to tell you that if you have internet access on that top-dollar ship you stole, I hope you're reading this and feeling sorry. Dad sounded pretty desperate from what I heard.

People that don't know you've run: Mom, the other kids here, and Ben. Ben hasn't been himself without you. Anyway, come back soon or at least reply. I'll help to cover for the endless chores I'm sure you'll be getting.

And don't expect anything from JacenminusJaina. He's still mad at you for running away and leaving him here to do all your work. ;-)

Anakin deleted the message promptly. Something nagging at the back of his mind told him that Jaina was not telling the truth. He would not be going back any time soon. Besides, his family would know if he died. The force was a powerful means of conveyance.

In barely a few hours, Anakin could see the small planet looming into view within his display monitor. The craft had not done him wrong. For a little thing, it sure was fast. He smiled, settling back in his chair and enjoying the view from above.

He was just breaking into the atmosphere now. Time to prepare the landing gear. The craft was diving towards earth faster and faster, picking up speed. It was unnaturally fast. Anakin made an attempt to slow it down. Nothing happened. Suddenly, a red alert signal appeared on his screen.

"WARNING: LANDING GEAR AND BRAKING SYSTEM HAVE BURNT OUT. PROCESSING ATTEMPT TO LAND."

In a panic, Anakin did a quick check-up on his landing gear. Sure enough, it was no longer working. Did he have any droids to help him? There were three in the reserves. He sent them out as fast as he could, holding his breath. Unfortunately, at the speed that he was falling, the droids, meant to work on stationary crafts, were all swept off the ship. "Sith!" Anakin cursed. He switched the autopilot off and eased himself into the cockpit. Time for a little flying action.

He managed to ease the craft into a steady position. She would hold out, but not for too long. Fuel was running low. He would have to find somewhere to crash land. At the speed that he was going, it was not necessarily going to be a smooth ride.

He sighed with some relief as a large lake loomed into view. It was surrounded by trees and brush, but hopefully, he would land in the middle of the lake somewhere. Then he could swim out and make it to Naboo on foot.

He clenched his teeth and readied himself for the impact. First came the branches, breaking off and falling on the windshield. Then came a large scraping sound and feeling that nearly flung Anakin out of his seat. Then there was water. Then there was silence.

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"Arrgh!" Luke yelled as he felt a terrible pain splitting his head. It was as though he was being shaken in a blender. As he keeled over on the floor, cradling his head, there was only one thought going through his mind.

"Curse that stupid force."

A/N: So…how do you like it? R and R, please!