"Obi-wan Kenobi needs my help?" Leia said.

The ghostly Jedi merely nodded.

"I came here to Tatooine looking for him," Leia said. "I need his help! Now you're telling me that something has happened to him?"

"Look around you Leia," Qui-gon said. "What do you see?"

Leia raised a brow then reluctantly did as she was told. Who was she to argue with a ghost? Her eyes went straight to the carbon scoring on the walls from the blaster shots, as well as the long scorch marks that she now recognized as lightsaber burns. Her mind came to the same conclusion she'd reached when she first entered the hovel.

"There was a struggle, a fight," Leia said. "A fight between General Kenobi and an unknown attacker."

"Again you are correct," the ghost said.

For a moment she almost went to her next question, but instead she just shook her head and then peered at the spirit in front of her. "I don't understand what's going on. You said that in life you were Qui-gon Jinn, how can you be speaking to me from beyond the grave?"

"All things are possible through the Force," Qui-gon said. "And though I accepted my death at the hands of a Sith Lord, I did not become one with the Force, for I had learned how to retain my individuality upon death. It is known as the Way of the Whills."

"But you are dead?"

"The Force is Life, but in terms that are relevant to your understanding, yes."

"Is… is Obi-wan Kenobi dead?"

At this the spirit furrowed his brows and sighed. "I do not believe so."

"You don't believe so?" Leia said. "You mean you don't know?"

The spirit regarded her for a second then sighed. "Even though I am one with the Force, my sight is not infinite. I cannot sense Obi-wan in the Force, it is though he simply isn't there."

"Then he is dead."

"No," Qui-gon shook his head. "If he was dead I would have felt his passing. I would have felt him join with the Force. Instead, when I search out for my padawan, I sense… nothing."

"So Obi-wan is just… gone," Leia said. "Gone with the possibility that he might be dead but you can't tell."

"Essentially yes," Qui-gon said.

"Well that's great," Leia pursed her lips. "Some kind of spirit guide you are."

The corner of Qui-gon's mouth quirked up in a smile and he let out a small chuckle. Leia could only blink at the sight. She was having a conversation with a dead Jedi and he was amused by her sarcasm. This was beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

"While I do not know what has become of Obi-wan I can tell you some of what happened here, though you ascertained much already."

"He was attacked… by who? How long ago?"

"Some seventeen years ago, while Obi-wan had just begun his exile, he was caught unawares by a battle droid of some kind. The fight was brief for Obi-wan had been in the middle of mediation, learning the Way of the Whills, and this was like no droid ever seen before."

"The droid took him then?"

"I believe it did," Qui-gon said. "Though where to I cannot say. I followed his presence until he simply vanished from my sight."

"Seventeen years?" Leia said. "Obi-wan has been missing for seventeen years? And in all of that time you could not find him?"

"I searched for him as well as I could, even communed with a fellow Jedi and the Force itself but to no avail. The Dark Side clouds everything. When I realized that I could not find him in this form I resolved to return here and tie myself to this place. To protect it from intruders and continue to Obi-wan's vigil."

"It was you that I heard," Leia said. "You guided me here."

"And I put your companion to sleep so that we may commune uninterrupted."

Leia sighed and sat herself down on the chest. "Well at least I can thank you for that. I'm not sure what my father was thinking in hiring that man."

To her surprise, the spirit took a few steps and then 'sat' next to her on the chest, holding is hands on his knees. Leia pursed her lips as she noticed she could see right through his legs to the chest and floor below.

"Your father did what he felt was necessary to save you. And now it is for you to do what is necessary to save Obi-wan," Qui-gon said.

"I can't," Leia shook her head. "I came to this place because I needed his help! The Empire has created a weapon of such horrific power… I fear that only with the aid of a Jedi will we be able to stop it!"

"I am well aware that it was not in your mind to have to rescue a Jedi Master but that is the hand you have been dealt. All of us have a destiny Leia, it is up to us to decide if we will answer the call or not."

"But you don't understand, I can't leave Tatooine until I've recovered the data we stole from the Empire. If I don't complete my mission the Empire will be unstoppable," Leia said.

"That's your pragmatic side talking," Qui-gon said. "But believe me when I say that rescuing Obi-wan is of the utmost importance, even more important than finding your droids."

"Even if I decided to go looking for him, how am I going to find him?" Leia said. "You're the spirit of a deceased Jedi Master and you couldn't find him!"

"The Force will guide you," Qui-gon said. "If you listen, It will tell you what you need to do in order to find Obi-wan and save the Galaxy."

"The Force?" Leia said. "I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm the daughter of the Royal family of Alderaan, I'm a senator in the Imperial Senate and I serve the Rebel Alliance, but I know nothing of the Force."

"You are the adopted daughter of the House of Alderaan," Qui-gon said. "Your father was a powerful Jedi Knight. You have inherited his gifts and connection to the Force. If you can but still your mind, you will feel it calling to you, just as that lightsaber, your father's lightsaber, felt warm to the touch."

"My father?" Leia said. "You knew my father?"

"Yes," Qui-gon said as his voice grew wistful. "He was a brave boy, kind and compassionate. One of the finest pilots I've ever known and always willing to give without thinking of himself."

"I've… I've never heard anything about my father," Leia scooted closer to the phantom. "What happened to him?"

Qui-gon's eyes trailed from her to the window, where the night's sky was beginning to grow a pale blue. Dawn was coming. He sighed and then stood and faced her.

"Time is growing short," he said. "Your destiny lies at a crossroads today Leia. You will have a choice to make, the outcome of neither is certain and both carry a terrible price. On the one path you can save your droids but you will risk the complete destruction of the Jedi and the last hope of the Old Republic. On the other path you will risk the Empire gaining access to the stolen plans but will lead you to Obi-wan and the return of the Jedi. You must choose."

"I can't make a choice like that! Tell me which one I should do!" Leia stood but already the spirit was going more translucent, harder to see.

"Trust in your instincts Leia," Qui-gon said as his voice began to echo further. "I have waited seventeen years for this day and now it is come and I can release myself from this place."

"Qui-gon! You can't leave yet!" Leia rushed at the spirit but he simply vanished.

"The Force will be with you Leia. Always."

Even sitting in a thick canvas tent, with no exposed sunlight, Biggs knew dawn was approaching. Growing up in the desert you always knew when the heat was starting to change, when light was just beginning to brighten up around you. As a boy he always dreaded the sunrise because it meant getting up with the twin suns and starting to work on the moisture farm. Now… he'd trade even the worst day of farming for this.

He and Winter had said very little to each other in the course of the night. Partially because if they spoke too loudly, a guard would come in and threaten them, at one point even throwing Biggs around a bit. The other reason they spoke little was no more complicated than the fact that they could very well be dead in the morning and neither really knew how to handle it.

Sure, in the service of the Alliance they'd both faced death countless times, but never pending execution. Before it was always the outside possibility of death that just hovered over them, waiting for them to get sloppy or unlucky; now they actually had a deadline.

But with dawn coming and no plan in his own mind as to how to escape, Biggs knew he had to say something.

"They'll be coming for us soon," he said.

"Yes," Winter nodded.

"Um… do you have any ideas on… I mean… there's got to be a way out of this."

"Of course there is. Unfortunately that would appear to be death."

"Okay… sorry I asked."

"I had supplies I normally conceal on my person that would aid in escape," Winter said. "But they were in the speeder when we were captured and I didn't have time to retrieve them."

"What about this Hett fellow?" Biggs said. "There has to be a way to reason with him."

"I don't have to be a Jedi to tell when someone's gone off his rocker. We'd have as much luck reasoning with the desert. All we can do is wait."

"Wait until they kill us?"

"Possibly, or wait until an opportunity for escape presents itself."

"Well I don't want to wait around for them to come and bash my brains in!" Biggs said. "What if I hide by the door flap and then jump the guard when he comes in?"

"Typical flyboy," Winter said. "They left our gear at the speeder, we have no weapons and even if you could overpower the guards, we still have an entire tribe of sand people that would be attacking us, not to mention a crazed Jedi. You need to learn a thing or two about patience."

"I don't have that much time left to learn anything," Biggs said. "Winter, we have to-"

The door flap waved open and A'Sharad Hett entered, cutting Biggs short. With him, stood a small group of warriors; clearly an execution squad given the way they held their gaffi sticks. Biggs stood but immediately he felt his throat clench together and he struggled to breathe. The next thing he knew his feet dragged off the ground and he hovered a few inches above the ground.

"Let him go!" Winter was also on her feet, only stopped by a pair of gaffi sticks crossing in front of her.

"I could sense the violence in his heart, he was going to attack," Hett said then loosened his hand and Biggs dropped to the dirt. The guards then allowed Winter to push past them so she could reach him.

"Master Jedi," Winter said as she checked Bigg's for sign of injury. "I beg you on behalf of the Rebel Alliance to let us go! You don't have to kill us."

"The laws of my people demand it," Hett said. "For too long have I remained passive, content to maintain an uneasy peace with the outlanders. Once, I had further aspirations but a vision in the Force stopped me. Perhaps it was Kenobi. Now I feel as though those compunctions are gone."

"What… what do you mean?" Biggs managed to sit up.

"The outlanders and the Empire have tarnished this planet for too long. I intend to rally the Children of the Sand and drive them all off."

"You're crazy," Winter said. "You're going to drive the Empire off with a bunch of desert nomads?"

"And the Force," Hett said. "This morning we will inaugurate our campaign by spilling your blood upon the sand. My scouts have already indicated a rival tribe is close by, we will recruit them with tales of your death then we will begin with the outlying moisture farms."

"Luke…" Biggs muttered then turned his gaze back on Hett. "Can't you see that we are trying to get rid of the Empire too?"

"Only to replace it with another regime," Hett said. "No, I'm through debating, and waiting. You will either come with me now or you will be killed on the spot."

Biggs and Winter exchanged glances but knowing they had little choice, the two stood and could only watch each other helplessly as their hands were bound again by the leather cords. All the while Hett tapped his hand against his lightsaber like something about the entire proceeding made him nervous.

Once they were bound, the guards pushed them until they fell into a single file line with them and exited the tent. One of Tatooine's suns barely poked up over the horizon and the tuskens led them through the maze of different tents until they came to a central area where the entire tribe gathered.

The moment they entered the circle the tuskens lit up in a roar, pumping their fists in the air and howling as loud as they could. Hett held his gaffi over his head and the sand people only cheered more. Even with his face covered, the captives could tell that he was soaking it up.

Hett took his gaffi stick up in both hands and the crowd silenced. The guards then grabbed Biggs and Winter and shoved them front and center. Hett walked circles around them, all the while grunting and growling out something in their language. He had to stop a few times when the crowd erupted into cheers and waved their weapons in the air.

Finally Hett turned back to them and gestured with his gaffi. Biggs almost decided to make a run for it, but he knew that he wouldn't make it more than a few steps and he couldn't just abandon Winter. But still he cursed himself a little, always hoping that when he died he actually would have been smart enough to figure a way out of it.

The guards pushed them to their knees and Hett howled again, gripping his gaffi at the ready. But before he could go any further Winter stood up. The guards rushed at her but Hett held out his hand and they stopped.

"Master Jedi," Winter said. "I… you've obviously rendered your judgment against us and intend to carry out the sentence yourself, a very noble gesture. While I have no wish to die and carry no love for you as my executioner I can at least appreciate the nobility of performing the act yourself…"

"Indeed," Hett said. "But you didn't stand to tell me this."

"No," Winter said. "I stood because I want to ask… beg even for a last request. Surely you can grant me that."

"Depends on what it is."

"I only wish to say goodbye to my comrade."

"Do you think I'm a fool? I know trickery when I see it."

"No trick," Winter said. "You can stand next to us with your gaffi ready and listen to every word."

Hett considered this then glanced to the warriors nearest him. After a moment of consideration he turned to them and muttered something, then he moved to the crowed and bellowed loudly. When he finally turned back to them, amid howls and shouts from the sand people, he simply gave Winter a nod of the head.

Biggs watched as Winter knelt down in front of him and his mind raced with thoughts of what she actually intended to do. Was this really a good bye? Where they going to try and make a break for it themselves? His mind drew a blank.

"Darklighter," she said as she scooted a little closer to him, taking his hands in hers. "I want you to know that even though we've only known each other for a short amount of time… I really don't like you very much."

Biggs paused for a moment, noticing Hett leaning forward and chuckling for a bit. "Well… thanks? My feelings of general dislike toward you run fairly deep as well."

"You're so sweet," Winter cooed then leaned in so their faces were only a few inches from each other. "But here's the thing, even though I haven't cared for you much… I've never been kissed and… I don't want to die without ever feeling the touch of another on my lips."

"You're jok-"

Biggs only managed to get that much out as Winter's lips crashed against his. For a second his eyes remained wide open and he could hear the sand people shrieking all sorts of noises he couldn't comprehend. Then he felt his face warm and he started leaning into the kiss as well. Which was also the exact time he felt his bonds being cut.

Winter broke the kiss and flattened her face on the side of his, panting deeply. He managed to look down to see a small bone knife in her hands. When did she get that?

"Hett," she whispered in his ear. "Lightsaber. Now."

Biggs didn't wait even half a second. The moment Winter's face cleared his he rushed headlong at the deranged Jedi with Winter charging at him from the other side, her knife leading the way.

Perhaps if things had been allowed to play out from there, they may have succeeded in their attack. Very likely they wouldn't have because Hett was already drawing his lightsaber. The reflexes of a Jedi still remained virtually unmatched after all. But the Force had other plans for A'Sharad Hett that day.

Because Biggs and Winter never even reached him. The moment they put themselves on their feet, the entire camp rocked with an explosion; an explosion that brought with it accompanying blaster fire. In that instant, Biggs, Winter, and Hett all joined together in shock and confusion.

Shock and confusion that flew away the instant they saw the stormtroopers rushing into the village, blasting anything that moved. Over head TIE fighters screamed and dropped charges. Bigg's scarcely could take in the idea that he'd ever actually welcome an Imperial Raid.

"What have you done!?" Hett turned on them. "You've led the Empire here!"

"What? No! That's-" Biggs said but the deranged Jedi was already coming at him.

Winter lashed out at once, her hands moving almost lightning fast as she slashed at the Jedi's chest. Hett, while still in mid-swing at Biggs, could do little to fend off her attack save for jutting out his elbow. The blow was successfully deflected but Winter's momentum kept her, and the blade going forward and upward.

Hett jerked back and howled in pain as the blade slashed upside his face, splitting his head coverings. Biggs, in the meantime, had used the distractions to dodge out of the way and grip Hett's wrists. Blaster fire erupted all around them and as the head coverings fell away from Hett's face, Biggs managed to wrest the lightsaber from his grasp.

"Darklighter come on!" Winter said.

The stormtroopers were advancing, getting closer to their position. As deadly as the sand people were, Biggs had no desire to trade one captor for another. He made to run but Hett tackled him, pounding on him, trying to strangle him; his face now fully revealed, scarred and worn with age.

In an act of desperation, Biggs fumbled with the lightsaber, all the while Hett shrieked at him with a scream more inhuman and animalistic than anything that might have come out of the mouths of the sand people he claimed to be a part of. Winter charged at him but he flattened a hand out and sent her flying backward. Biggs scrambled to get away but Hett smashed a fist against his head gripped his throat with his bare hands.

Biggs could have screamed to see the man's eyes a sudden shade of yellow… almost not human anymore. He felt his neck popping around the man's fingers and he strained to get any oxygen past them. His thumb finally found the activator switch on the lightsaber and he mashed it down, at this point not caring which way the blade shot out of.

The green laser fired straight up, severing Hett's hand from his arm. The mad Jedi reeled back howling and clutching the stump where his hand had been. Desperate fingers suddenly gripped Biggs from behind and he whirled back but froze when he saw it was Winter.

"We have to go while the Empire is focused on the sand people!" she said. "They're stealing gaffi sticks and Bantha's but two humans will stand out."

Biggs nodded and pulled himself to his feet. Together the pair broke out into a sprint and Biggs paused just long enough to see Hett screaming out to his people for help, but them ignoring him altogether. A deep foreboding formed in the center of his stomach and he found himself wondering if it wouldn't have been better if he'd plunged the lightsaber through the man's heart.

He hated this assignment. He hated everything about it. He'd come to the conclusion well before now. He came to that conclusion from pretty much the first time he'd spoken to that uppity princess. And it all went downhill from there. At every step of the way she fought him, caused them to get into more trouble and further from actually getting her home and getting her paid.

Those were essentially his first thoughts as he woke up, feeling the already blazing Tatooine suns on him. He had no idea how long he'd been out or more importantly, why he'd gone to sleep in the first place. All he knew was it was now mid morning and he was sprawled on the sand, exposed to any one that might want to do him in. Like the sniper.

The Sniper!

He rolled over and surveyed his surroundings. A ridge of rocks lined the canyon in front of him, he wasn't exposed to sniper bolts. At least that was good news. Now he just had to figure out what in space was going on.

A sharp desert wind hit him as he turned around and laid his eyes on the adobe hut. Instantly his memory shot back to his last conscious thoughts. That crazy princess had led them there! Then he'd just… zeroed out. The wind gusted past him again and he had to blink away bits of sand as he looked at the hut and watched someone immerge.

In spite of breathing causing him to inhale bits of sand, he almost gasped when through irritated eyes he watched a Jedi exit the hovel. It had been a long time since he'd seen a Jedi but he recognized one when he saw one. Brown outer robe, hearty leather boots, sand colored robes.

Instantly he fumbled for his blaster but realized it wasn't strapped to his belt as he had to remove it to climb up the secret tunnel. He blinked away more sand and only then did he recognize the 'jedi'.

"What the hell are you dressed like that for?" he said.

"It seemed appropriate," Leia said and he narrowed his eyes at her. She then sighed and shook her head. "It was in a chest in this hovel. I decided that I preferred this to walking across the desert in nothing but a torn black body suit or battered stormtrooper armor."

"You just happened to find Jedi Robes in a chest in an abandoned hut in the middle of the desert…"

"I believe they were intended for me, or at least someone close to my size," Leia said. "It would appear that the original owner of this hut had some forethought."

"Original owner… what are you babbling about?"

Leia hesitated for a moment, her eyes even went to his blaster lying in the sand. But in the end she just shrugged. "Let us be open with each other yes? I will tell you everything about this hut and its previous occupier if you just level with me and tell me who the hell you actually are."

"You know who I am. I'm a clone."

"Yes you're a clone, but you're not just any clone. At first I wondered if you were Captain Rex as his whereabouts during the end of the Clone Wars was unknown. But the more I've known you, the more I doubt you were ever part of the clone army."

"Fine," he said. "It seems you've already put a lot of it together. I'm Fett, Boba Fett."

"The bounty hunter."

"Correct."

"My father hired one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the galaxy to rescue me."

"Your father may be a fool to think he could fight the Empire, but he isn't an idiot, he knew I was your best chance and he was more than willing to shell out the creds to bust you from the Empire. Now tell me who this hut belongs to."

"When we get off this planet my father will have much to explain to me. You have caused a great deal of trouble and pain to the Alliance."

"And now the Alliance is paying me to save its ass," Fett said. "Now who lived here?"

"Obi-wan Kenobi," she said. "Or at least it did."

Kenobi! Fett's mind jumped in surprise but he kept his face as passive as he possibly could. This was definitely a moment that he wished he could have his face covered as it usually was. Just so he didn't have disguise his facial expressions. Particularly because of what thoughts the idea of meeting Kenobi created in his brain.

Mace Windu may have been his father's killer, but Kenobi certainly played a role. If that Jedi hadn't meddled and chased them out of Kamino, they never would have been in a place where his father would have faced Windu.

In short… Fett had a sore place in his heart for Kenobi and now he was standing where the old Jedi had lived… which meant he'd survived the Purge. At least for a time. Assuming the princess hadn't gone officially bonkers.

"What makes you think that this belonged to Kenobi?" Fett said. "Could just be some random desert hovel."

In response, Leia cleared one side of her robes away and revealed a lightsaber dangling from her belt. Fett narrowed his eyes, not believing it for a second. As if to drive home her point, Leia drew the weapon and ignited the blue blade. Fett's eyes trailed toward the blaster again but by the time he looked back she'd deactivated it.

"Okay… so this home belonged to a Jedi," Fett said. "And you got yourself some souvenirs. Still doesn't change anything. We still need to get off this rock and I still want to know what the hell happened last night."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Leia said. "And right now I don't have time to convince you of the things I've seen and heard. Come on, into the hut, Kenobi kept some armor that may fit you."

Fett could only watch as Leia made her way into the hut and surveyed it before motioning for him to follow her. He shook his head, picked up this blaster and went after her. Something was very different about her now and he couldn't place it.

Once inside the hut he took a cursory look around to find it dusty but fairly well preserved. He would have expected an abandoned shack to have been gutted by scavengers and the elements but apart from Leia's footprints it didn't look like anyone had entered this place in years.

"There was a battle here," Fett said as he ran his finger along a lightsaber scorch on the wall. "Kenobi against some attacker? No body, so we can assume he survived at least long enough to leave the building."

"The armor is over here," Leia motioned to another room.

Fett nodded but his eyes kept darting about as he picked apart the dwelling for any clues as to what exactly had transpired. Once in the adjoining room he assessed the armor Leia had discovered. Mostly it was Jedi Issue armor that saw use in the Clone Wars. It wasn't much, such armor was designed to be sparse and only cover the most vital of areas as to allow maximum mobility for Jedi acrobatics. But among that there was also a helmet, one of ubese design by the looks of it.

All in all he would have preferred his own get up, or even the stormtrooper armor, but this was going to have to do. After a few minutes he managed to find the pieces of armor he wished to use, as well as finding a pair of boots that most certainly had belonged to Kenobi, Fett immerged to find Leia fiddling with an old comlink.

"Careful with that," Fett said. "That's a Hush 98 by the looks of it. It should be in a museum."

"Like everything else in this place," Leia said. "I've cleared dust out of its circuits and its powercell seems to be working, it just needs to self-charge. Hopefully when it's up and running we can make contact with someone."

"You know a lot of rebels on this dustball girl?" Fett said.

"No but surely there's someone nearby that will be sympathetic to two people lost in the desert, a moisture farmer perhaps."

"If you say so," Fett said then looked around. "You better pray you're right, you may have found us clothes but we still need water if we're going to survive out here."

"One thing at a time," Leia said as she fiddled with the comlink.

"I'm going to go scout about," Fett said. "See if I can't find a trace of our sniper last… what's this?"

"What are you talking-" Leia started but was interrupted by the comlink suddenly sparking to life with static and a voice.

"Hello? Hello is anyone out there?" a male voice said.

Fett gestured for Leia to give him the device but she just turned her back to him and answered.

"Hello?" Leia said. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes… thank heavens! We need help!"

"Okay, slow down, who is this?"

"My name is Biggs Darklighter, we're on the run from the sand people and we're stranded."

Fett walked up next to Leia. "Who's we?"

Instead of getting an answer there was a rustling on the other end and both could overhear some hushed arguing then nothing. For a second Fett wondered if they lost the signal but the transmission light indicated the comlink was still active.

"Hello," a female voice came. "This is Winter, my companion is overstating our need. Might I ask who we're talking to?"

"Winter!" Leia said. "Winter it's me! It's Leia!"

"Leia!"

"Princess Leia?" Biggs could be heard repeating.

"Winter where are you?" Leia said.

"We're… in the middle of the desert! Can't say where… the what? The Jundland Wastes. We were captured by sand people looking for you but have escaped. We managed to get to what's left of our speeder and recover some of our gear but we're being chased by sand people. Where are you?"

"Some hut near some canyons," Leia said. "If I can find a map or something maybe I can find you."

"A hut! You mean Ben Kenobi's hut?" Biggs could be heard saying.

"Leia, we're not far from you! Just a few kilometers southwest! We'll come to you!"

"No we'll come to you!" Leia said.

"Negative we-" Winter started but the roar of the sand people could be heard on the comlink and suddenly the signal scrambled.

Leia tried in vain to reestablish it but to no avail. When it became obvious that it wouldn't work she looked to Fett and then rushed out of the hut. He followed her shaking his head. So the Alliance's contacts had somehow bungled their way into the desert. Fantastic.

"We need to help them," Leia said. "If we run we can-"

Again she was interrupted. By a girlish scream not far off. Fett drew his blaster but Leia held an expression of shock and surprise. She held her hand up as the canyon below them echoed with the sound of metal crashing, sand people screaming and terrified beeps and boops.

"Artoo and Threepio!" Leia said and made to run toward the sound but then froze.

"What's going on?" Fett said.

Leia made to go the opposite direction then back toward the sound of the ruckus. Her brows furrowed and she bit her bottom lip while her fingers threaded together nervously.

"Tell me what's happening!" Fett said.

"I have to make a choice!" Leia said.

"What?"

"The fate of the Alliance or the fate of the Jedi," she muttered.

"Well, there are two banthas down there, but I don't see…" Luke said to C3P0. "… Wait a second. They're sand people alright I can see one of them now."

Almost as if waiting for Luke to finish his sentence, a tusken raider rose up from the rocks, blurring itself directly in front of the macrobinocular view. By the time Luke could look up at it, Threepio had fallen off the ridge giving out a girlish scream and the tusken raider howled in rage.

Luke did his best to avoid getting his head bashed open but it was no use. The last thing he remembered was seeing the tusken brandishing it's gaffi and going in for another strike. From there… things got murky.

He remembered hearing a lot of grunts and groans, he had the distinct impression of being carried then thrown onto the rocky ground and more grunting. Desperately he tried to rouse himself, tried to regain his faculties but his vision was clouded with pain and dizziness. Off… somewhere else he heard the sound of small items being tossed around and dropped to the rock.

Slowly he opened his eyes, straining against the pain to see the sand people arguing over the stuff he kept in his speeder. He tried to piece together a plan, an idea of what to do but his head still swam.

Then one of the sand people noticed him and started approaching with its gaffi in hand. Luke struggled to get away but his limbs protested every movement. Rough hands found his hair and he managed to get his eyes open long enough to see a bone dagger coming out. Thoughts of his Uncle and the horrible things they'd said to each other flooded his brain as he realized he was about to die.

But death never came.

Not for Luke anyway.

A blaster shot rang out and the fingers gripping his hair slacken as the tuske raider that assaulted him fell away with a hole in its head. The other tuskens roared but met a similar fate. One Luke didn't see die as it ran past him but he heard a snap/hiss and then a death howl from the tusken.

Again Luke tried to move, and this time had slightly better success but his head still felt like it was stuffed with cobwebs and he still had to blink from the pain every time he opened his eyes. He heard a feminine voice talking to Artoo, assuring him everything would be alright.

Then he felt soft hands touch his brow and the pain subsided a bit. Enough for him to look up at his savior. Had he not already been fairly incoherent he might have tried to think of something smart or brave to say. As it was, he could only stare up at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"Rest easy friend," she said. "You've had a busy day."

Luke sat up. "Who… who are you?"

"The name is Mara Jade, these your droids?"

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that has been reading and reviewing this thing. I love all comments and am so glad to hear people liking my little AU. Buckle up guys and girls, things only get crazier from here!