Disclaimer: Same as before, I don't own SW that all is Lucas'. I do own all members of the Narabe family, Ari, Derin, Katri, Jett and Saber
"Ari…Arianna…" Ari rolled over with a small moan and grabbed her com.
"Hey," she spoke into it, her voice still husky from sleep. "Good morning."
"Good morning sleepy," he joked. Ari got up and was quickly changing as she talked to Luke about where they were each going to go.
"You sure you and 3PO will be ok out in the Wastelands alone?" Ari asked, referring to Luke and the protocol droid.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Are you sure you can cover the southern parts alright by yourself?"
"Of course," Ari smiled, putting the strap of her macrobinoculars around her neck and grabbing a small bag. In it, she put a small canteen of water, a small comm. unit that her parents could contact her with, and her palm sized personal data pad, that she used to record her thoughts and feelings, like a journal. She took it whenever she had the chance to record things in it.
"I'll check in with you in when I start to enter the Wasteland," Luke told her.
"Ok. Luke, be careful," she told him softly.
"I will. I'll talk to you soon."
Ari clipped her com onto her belt and quietly made her way outside. She heard a soft whine and turned.
"No, Saber. You stay here ok? I'll be right back. You know the Raiders are restless, so you have to guard the homestead," she whispered the canido, petting her. She didn't know if Saber understood exactly, but she didn't whine or attempt to follow. Just laid down and looked up with sad eyes. Ari gave a small smile and pet Saber a little bit more.
She then jumped into the older speeder and powered it up. She was afraid she would wake everyone else up, but luckily, no one did. She knew if her parents heard her, she wouldn't be allowed to go. She'd rather face some trouble later than have Luke be in even more trouble for the droid running off.
Ari scanned the desert as the suns started to continued to rise over the horizon.
"Ari?"
"Hey," she answered unclipping her com. "Any luck?"
"No, you?" he asked, sounding exasperated.
"No," Ari massaged her temples, the strain on her eyes from her search was starting to give her a slight headache. "Only sand."
"Well, I am going to go a bit deeper in and will check with you in just a bit."
"Just be careful," Ari replied.
"Yes mom," he laughed. Ari gave a small laugh.
"Talk to you soon."
More time passed, the suns continuing their movement across the sky. 'I am going to be in so much trouble…' Ari thought to herself.
"Ari, I have a reading. It might be R2. I will let you know in just a sec," Luke sounded hopeful. Ari hoped it was. She waited for Luke to com her back but he didn't. A fair amount of time passed and Ari grew worried.
"Luke?" she asked into the com. There was no answer. "Luke? Luke Skywalker?" There was still no reply.
She reached her hand under the seat of the speeder and could tell that the blaster was still there. She took it out and placed it on the passenger seat and quickly turned the speeder around. She kept trying to get a hold of Luke, but no luck. Ari knew it was dangerous, but headed towards the Wastelands.
All of a sudden she felt as if she had been hit by a bantha. Fear, sadness and extreme pain took over her body for a moment, and she screamed, losing control of the speeder for a few seconds. Then the pain ebbed away and she stopped the speeder, panting, shaking, though her blood seemed to run cold. She knew that this was what her earlier feelings had warned her about. Whatever it had been about, it had happened. She felt like she was about to cry, but didn't. Instead she pulled the blaster a bit closer, and hit the accelerator, which flung her back against the seat.
As she sped over the sand, her mind was reeling with possibilities. All she could think of was that something had happened to Luke. 'I can't lose Luke,' she kept thinking over and over. 'I should have went with him…by the Force, I can't lose him.'
"Ari?" a voice came over com.
"By the Force, Luke Skywalker!! Where have you been?" she demanded, not knowing if she was going to kill him or hug him next time she saw him.
"We have R2, but we had some problems with the Sandpeople…"
"Are you ok?" Ari asked, concerned.
"Yes. Ben showed up and scared them off. And Ari, there is so much I learned. My father was a Jedi! And he was killed by a Jedi, an old student of Ben's, who turned to the dark side," Luke exclaimed.
"He was?" Ari was surprised, not expecting that. All of a sudden the conversation she and Luke had overheard played back in her mind.
"Yeah, and Ben is Obi-Wan. He is a Jedi too. And he gave me my father's lightsaber."
"This is amazing Luke."
"And there is more. I am going to take Ben to Anchorhead. He is going to go to Mos Eisley from there to get a ship to take him to Alderaan. The girl in the message is the Princess of Alderaan! She asked Ben to bring R2 because in him, there are plans to help the Rebellion!"
"The Rebellion…" Ari breathed. It seemed to be coming closer and closer
"Ari?"
"Huh?" she asked, getting pulled out of her daydreams.
"I asked if you were ok. You sounded panicked when I got a hold of you."
"I just…I got a feeling. Worse than ever before. I felt a lot of pain, sadness, fear. And then of course you weren't answering. I thought something had happened to you," she admitted.
"I'm fine," he assured her gently.
"I know that now," she answered with a small smile.
"Listen, I'm going to take Ben, R2 and 3PO to Anchorhead. You should head home though. I will stop by later today."
"Ok. Though I might just pass you," she smiled.
"Then I might see you then."
"Yeah. Talk to you soon."
Ari started back to home, but her eyes that were scanning the land saw some smoke. Her curiosity got the best of her and she started towards it.
'I'm already going to be in trouble. What is a bit longer going to hurt?'
As she got a bit closer, she saw a speeder rush past her. It looked like Luke. She grabbed the com and asked, "Luke?" There was no answer. "Luke?" she asked again. She clipped it back to her belt, deciding to try it later. She went over another dune and saw a disturbing sight.
A sandcrawler stood still, smoke pouring out of it. There were pieces of droids scattered over the sand, as well as the bodies of dead Jawas. Ari looked and could see numerous bantha tracks, which surprised her. She always thought they trailed in single file. There were also a few broken gaderffi sticks scattered among the parts and bodies. She then saw a stack of Jawas in a pile, a fire lit on them.
At that moment, a gold human shape droid appeared, talking to a small R2 unit. They were followed by none other than…
"Ben?" Ari asked. The old man turned and smiled sadly.
"Arianna…"
"What happened?" she asked looking around herself.
"The Empire attacked. They were looking for these droids. They tried to make it look like Raiders, but made a few mistakes."
"Looking for the droids…" Ari trailed off. "So was that Luke I saw?"
Ben nodded in affirmation. All of a sudden, a cloud seemed to fall over Ari and she felt her blood go cold, despite the heat. She looked up at the suns. It would be about
lunchtime, when her family would be at the Lars'. She ran as fast as she could for her speeder.
"Ari, no," Ben called after her. All he got in response was the sound of a speeder as it started and then hurried as fast as it could back to the Narabe homestead.