Chapter 14

Luckily for Luke the news didn't give the name of the 'hero teen pilot' who saved a woman falling from a speeder, so no one at school questioned him about it. They did, however, all marvel at the beautiful black speeder Luke flew to school the next day. Even the girls who generally couldn't care less about speeders could tell that Luke's was nice. It made sense because Luke was super rich, but to see the sleek machine parked next to the old clunkers everyone else's parents trusted them with was amazing.

Actually Luke felt a bit self-conscious about the attention even if he did know his speeder was beautiful. In a lot of ways he still thought of himself as a poor moisture farmer; they would not be half as impressed with his old Skyhopper, that was for sure.

When school let out Luke knew Pooja was going to be expecting him, but he had to go and give Coach an explanation. Mr. Raybag had already assured Luke that he'd been granted an exception from the sport rule for his lessons, which meant Coach Dug probably had heard, but he needed to hear it from Luke. As much as the words would hurt Luke had to go himself.

The team was probably all still changing because Coach Dug was alone in the gymnasium. Luke's hands touched the bars and vaults as he passed, longing to clasp them one last time and do one more routine. He truly did love the feeling of the flying he did during gymnastics, but nothing good could last.

"I remember the first time I saw you," Coach began, not looking up from his clipboard at Luke. "You were way too skinny to have near the kind of strength you would need, and yet I was thrilled to finally have a boy on the team. Then you showed me your handstand and I wanted to make a professional of you. When I learned who your dad was I knew that wasn't your future, and neither were you going to be a pilot." Coach finally looked up, and Luke realized he was crying a bit. "I'm proud of you for actually coming to speak to me. You always have been very responsible."

"I wish I didn't have to quit. I'll miss this so much," Luke admitted. "But the Emperor himself told me I needed these lessons and… Well hopefully I'll be done by next season, right?"

They both knew the lessons would never end, and Luke would never do gymnastics in an official context again. "Hopefully. Did you ever manage that one handed handstand?"

Luke laughed; that was actually part of the Jedi curriculum and he hadn't even known it at the time. Without thinking Luke kicked up into the handstand and focused to keep his balance using one hand. There were no little men to stand on him, but Luke focused on using the Force to raise some of the weights from the walls. When he finally came back down Coach was smiling.

"Don't be a stranger. You're always welcome here Luke," Couch told the teen actually giving him a hug. Coach never had his own kids, but he had had Luke. "Now get to your lesson."

"Goodbye Coach."

"Goodbye, your highness."

The title bothered Luke, and yet he knew that was not Coach's intention. No, he was honestly telling Luke that he deserved to be a prince, that he deserved to be the future Emperor. That's what these lessons were really about after all, and, despite his reservations about the title, Luke was glad to know Coach was behind him.

When Luke got to Senator Naberrie's office she looked furious, but it was not because Luke was late. "I cannot believe you didn't think to remind me that the anniversary of your mother's death is also your birthday! My sister pointed it out yesterday when I told the family about you and I felt like a complete fool. You should have invited us to the party!"

"I didn't have a party," Luke told her with a shrug, secretly glad that she was so insulted. It meant that she cared about Luke because they were family, even if they were also strangers. "My father doesn't like to mark the date anymore than I'm sure your family does. I'm alive every day, she only died on one."

It was a logical statement, but only upset Pooja more. "Don't be ridiculous. Yes her death hurts my mother and grandparents even after all these years, but they would much prefer to celebrate what she died bringing into this world. And that is why the whole family has made the trip to meet you and throw a party. We're going to my apartment now."

"What about my lesson?" Luke asked completely overwhelmed by the thought of meeting all of his mother's family. How many people did that even include? Did his mother have other siblings outside Pooja's mother? Luke didn't even know. He would be completely out of his depth.

Which was sort of the point. "Your lesson will be in how to conduct yourself at a party with family desperate to meet you after thinking you dead for 15 years!"

Luke was pretty sure that was not the kind of situation he needed to know about, but he obviously wasn't talking Pooja out of it. He was a little excited too, excited to finally know his family, his family he didn't know he had.

That family was not as large as they might have been, but totally overwhelming. The first person he met was Ryoo, Pooja's older sister. She looked a lot like Luke's mother, and hugged Luke immediately. "I would have brought my boyfriend Haren, but he couldn't get the time off on such short notice. You'll have to meet him though because he used to be a smuggler and has the best stories."

Luke was going to tell her that that sounded like fun, but couldn't before another woman knocked the breath out of him with a hug. "I always teased your mother about marrying Anakin, but I never thought she actually would! I'm your Aunt Sola. I am so glad you are alive."

Luke didn't know what to say to that, but again he didn't have to as he was busy shaking a hand. "I'm Darred, Sola's husband. It's very nice to meet you Luke. I always wanted a son, so a nephew is a welcome gift."

"You spoiled us rotten," Pooja corrected, laughing as she greeted her father. "Are Nanna and Poppa in the kitchen?"

"Of course," Sola told her daughter. "I'll apologize for my mother before you meet her Luke because she's going to take one look at you and try to fatten you up. Padmé was always small but our mother did her best to change that."

Luke had never had grandparents before. His father's mother was buried outside their homestead years before Luke was born, and his father's father… well actually he didn't know much about that. If the Jedi temple's records were correct there might never have been a father at all, and that simply didn't make sense to Luke.

Pooja led Luke back to the kitchen, where he was promptly hugged by the woman who could only be his grandmother. There were tears in her eyes as she pulled away, and Luke could feel her immense pain through the Force. Losing a child… it was unimaginable. Finding a long-lost grandchild… even more so. "There were many days after your mother's death that I wished I was gone as well," she told Luke holding his shoulder's tight. "I am so glad my wishes weren't fulfilled because meeting you makes it worth it. You look so much like her. I see Anakin in your coloring, but your mother was the soft one. I see her in the lines of your face. Oh I'm so glad to meet you."

"I am as well," the older man told Luke gripping the teen's shoulder. "You look like a sharp young man. I am Ruwee, my wife is Jobal. You're welcome to call us Nana and Poppa as Ryoo and Pooja do, but if you're more comfortable using our names feel free to. Poppa must sound pretty silly for someone your age."

It did sound a bit silly, but also endearing. This was a real family. Luke loved his father, Owen and Beru, but they weren't a family. This was a real family with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. It was wonderful.

"Now, I don't know how much traditional Naboo food you've had, but I've made all of your cousins' favorites and hope you'll enjoy it too," Jobal told her only grandson wiping her own tears and turning back to the pots.

"I'm sure it will be great," Luke told them, finally bringing himself to speak. He still felt a little bit awkward, but their truly loving nature was helping. "Thank you, all of you, for welcoming me. I never realized I had so much family."

"Well I'm sure Vader had perfectly good reasons for hiding you from your family for years after he met you."

Sola's words were low, and obviously unintentional, but no one missed the slip. Suddenly Luke was aware of a vast coldness running through his family. They all loved his mother, loved Luke as much as she was Padmé's, but they hated Vader. Perhaps they liked Anakin Skywalker, but they despised Vader, and Luke was pretty sure he did not want to know why.

"My wife can be tactless sometimes," Darred finally said breaking the tense silence. "But we're just glad that fate has finally brought you into our lives."

Sola nodded, but Luke could sense that was not really the case. They were all angry that Luke had been kept from them, much the same way his father had been angry at Obi-Wan actually. Let's just hope this ends better than that.

It was early for dinner, but they offered Luke a bunch of different types of drinks. "Tatooine doesn't really have signature drinks," Luke admitted well trying something called a Theedian Slurp. It tasted distinctly fruity, though what the actual berry was Luke had no clue. It was certainly good though, and so he had some more. "If there was something to drink besides blue Bantha milk I was happy."

"That must have been hard," Sola sympathized, relaxed upon seeing how much of her father's serenity existed in Luke. "I wish the Jedi had brought you to us instead of Tatooine. I'm sure your aunt and uncle did the best they can, but Naboo is simply a nicer planet."

"Tatooine's not that bad," Luke quickly defended his home world, despite having hated it when he lived there. Sola seemed to be insulted though, so he quickly calmed himself. "My Aunt and Uncle had no children of their own, so they really took care of me. I'm sure you would have too, but I was better hidden on Tatooine. The Emperor is from Naboo, so he might have visited there and found me. No one comes to Tatooine unless they're trying to hide from the Empire, so I fit right in."

"But in the end the Emperor and Vader found you anyways," Sola pointed out. "So really it made no difference at all. It was an odd thing to do, that's all. I met Anakin on a number of occasions, and yet from what I hear Anakin only met his step-brother once. You should have gone to us."

Luke again felt the need to defend the life he'd lived. He liked his life. "My Aunt and Uncle knew absolutely nothing about me or my parents, but they took me in because I was safest with those people Palpatine would never suspect. They worked every day to give me what I needed and help me survive on a horrible planet. On Tatooine you take care of kids, you don't force them to make life-or-death decisions about whole planets!"

"At least on Naboo we don't let children stay with murderers, father or not! If you had lived there I could easily get the courts to ignore his diplomatic immunity and grant me custody before you turn into a monster too."

"Mother!" Pooja cried as Luke got up to leave. He was not about to sit there and listen to someone criticize his father. Yes he killed people. Yes he made mistakes, but that didn't mean he was a monster, and it did not mean that Luke wanted to be living with anyone else.

"Luke wait," Pooja cried coming after her cousin. "I'm sorry, my mother says the dumbest things sometimes. There have just always been rumors that Vader killed Padmé so for them to have actually been married…"

"I don't want her to fight the courts for custody of me! I like living with my father. He's training me to be a Jedi and fly ships, and do loads of cool things. I love my father and he loves me. He's not a monster."

Pooja grabbed Luke's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. "I know he isn't. You're obviously not a bad person and he can't be either. It's just hard to change your beliefs after hating someone for so long. My mother will come around, and if she doesn't the rest of us still want you here."

Luke didn't want to go back in there, to listen to more comments, but he could feel his grandmother's anxiety. If Luke left she'd lose Padmé all over again, and that would certainly destroy her.

"Sister-in-law or not my father will kill your mother if she tries to take me from him," Luke warned Pooja his eyes calm but pointed. "And I will leave if she doesn't stop talking."

"I'll spike her drink. She's one of those people who is only loose-lipped when she's sober," Pooja promised leading Luke back inside. "She'll just be quite for the rest of the night."

Pooja must have actually done it because Sola made no further comments. The rest of the family was still on edge, but by dinner they relaxed. Luke could almost say he was comfortable around his family by the time they did cake and presents.

Luke could hardly believe that they had all gotten him a birthday present on such short notice, but they had. Pooja had a box of Senatorial holovids, all featuring Padmé, which she handed over to Luke. His grandparents provided him with vouchers for first class seating on any flight to Naboo, and the key to this lake house he kept hearing about. Sola, through Darred, presented Luke with a book of family photos, but Luke, selfish as it was, liked Ryoo's present best.

"I didn't have anything of your mother's, but I figured with the Skywalker reputation you probably like flying," she admitted as Luke unwrapped a glistening gift card. "It's right here on Coruscant. It's a civilian training flight simulation Academy, and there is enough on that card for you and a friend to spend a day learning to fly Tie-Fighters. I know your father might have already taught you but…"

"He hasn't," Luke assured her beaming. Oh Rickon would love this so much. "And flying is my favorite thing. Thank you so much."

"I'm glad you like it," his cousin admitted with a blush. "I had no idea what you would be like, but I figured that despite everything you'd probably be like most fifteen-year-old boys, and so I thought it was appropriate."

Ryoo was definitely one of Luke's favorite cousins, and he was glad that she got what the rest of the family seemed slow to realize. To them he was Padmé, Anakin, Vader's son, but to Ryoo Luke was his own person, a normal teen, and he really appreciated that. It made Luke feel like he actually was one, if only for a moment before someone drew another comparison between Luke and his parents.