CHAPTER VIII

The Force was in turmoil. The darkness around him was cold and crisp, its tendrils around him stained everything like ink in water – tranquil and beautiful. It wrapped around him like a comforting hug, whispering poison in his ears.

Luke stood still. Dazed, angered and scared. Time passed slowly and the more it passed the less certain he felt of anything around him. There was so much death surrounding him it was difficult to feel anything else. And beyond that...everything was as it should. The universe did not care of Galen's death. The Force didn't care. How could it? It was just a force of nature.

And yet the death around him had shook it.

He looked at the bodies around him with glazed eyes, attempting to understand what had happened.

Did I..?

He remembered the children playing at the back. He didn't remember killing them, but the bodies were there all the same. He felt sick.

"What have I done..?"

His voice, barely more than a whispered, went unheard. The Force had no answers for him, either.

Luke ran a hand through his hair, heart pounding in his chest. Would he ever stop trembling?

He'd killed them all. And for what? Their deaths had not brought Galen back. Their deaths had not eased the pain he felt. They had nothing to do with it. He'd killed them for no reason at all.

The Force felt warped and wrong. The dark side was cold and terrifying, yet Luke reached out to it and welcomed it with open arms to dull the remorse, the despair and the anguish. He couldn't tell if anything around him was real or not. He felt as if in a dream.

Only when he felt the nudge of the ship dropping out of hyperspace and heard the hum of the hyperdrive disappear did it occur to him to worry what would happen to the ship with no one piloting it. He walked up to the little bridge to find the door forced off of its frames and the crew dead. He hadn't really expected it to be otherwise, but his memory of ever coming here before was hazy. He didn't want to remember and shuddered at the deja vu the place gave him.

"Please don't damage me!"

Luke spun around, lightsaber back in his hand. A droid stood half hidden behind a console. He relaxed his pose a little, but didn't let go of his weapon. The droid would see him as an enemy.

"Why should I spare you?" he asked, hoping he sounded more intimidating than he felt.

The droid considered his words, its head tilting in mimicked confusion. "I don't know," it admitted. "You're a Jedi terrorist. I assume you want something."

"I'm not a Jedi nor a terrorist."

"Then why did you kill my crew and passengers? And why do you have a lightsaber?"

Luke regarded the droid. It didn't look armed and was likely only an assistant to the crew. He let go of the ignition button. "I don't know. I didn't mean to."

The droid stepped forward. "Are you malfunctioning?" it inquired.

Luke smiled at it humourlessly. "I might be."

He turned to the viewport. There was a planet in the distance. "That's Formos?"

"Correct," the droid confirmed. "The auto-pilot has brought us this far, but thanks to you I must land this ship alone."

Luke licked his lips nervously. He really, really had messed up. "Can you do that?"

"Technically, yes. It is not a ship meant to be piloted by one."

"Tell me what to do, and I'll help you."

"No. It's better I connect to the navigation system and take care of all the navigational roles."

He nodded. "All right. Do that then."

"I will," the droid said, but as soon as it did, its photoreceptors shot at the console behind Luke. Something at the console had began beeping demandingly.

Luke was instantly suspicious. "What's that?"

"Nothing," the droid said. "I'm sure it's nothing. Just a warning that we are closing the planet."

Luke wasn't convinced so easily. He walked closer. "This is the communications console."

"No," the droid denied. "That's– that's navigation."

"We're being hailed."

Luke inspected the console until he figured out how to get the sound from the deceased officer's headset to the speakers and opened the channel.

"Freighter Ebullient, this is Formos Imperial Space Control. We have received your distress signal. Colonel Quirt has deployed a squad for your assistance. What is your situation?"

Luke's eyes shot at the droid. "You alerted them..!"

"Of course I did," the droid stated. "My crew and passengers were killed by a Jedi terrorist.

"I'm not a Jedi terrorist!"

Luke grit his teeth as he leant closer to the microphone and flipped it on. "Negative. There's no distress. Everything's all–"

"Help!" the droid yelled. "He's the terrorist!"

Luke flipped the mic off instantly and Force-pushed the droid to the other end of the bridge. "Shut up!"

"Who's this?" the voice demanded. "Respond immediately."

"Kriff," Luke cursed. He might have aced piloting his skyhopper, but he could never land the freighter on his own. "You. Droid. You'll still have to land us. But not at the space port, not now that they're waiting."

"Freighter Ebullient, prepare to be boarded," the voice from console said. "We advise you surrender peacefully."

"I will not assist a terrorist," the droid the declared.

"No, but you will assist me."

"I cannot. My programming prevents it."

"Then I'll change it."

"No!" the droid refused. "I cannot allow you to modify my settings."

"Yeah, well... I really don't have time for this," Luke said. The droid tried to back away from him, but Luke held it in place with the Force and then pulled the droid to him.

"No! No, you cannot do this!" the droid protested as Luke opened a panel at the back of its head.

"Don't worry, I won't make any major changes. I'm just going to reboot you after I've made a tiny alteration. I won't touch your personality, I promise."

"You cannot-t-t-t!" the droid screeched in distress, but its voice faltered as Luke switched it off. He dragged the droid to the console, connecting it to the dataport so he could have its diagnostics on screen. It didn't take him long to figure out how to turn off the restrictions for whom it took orders from. All the while the voice over the comm demanded him to respond, demanded him to surrender.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as the droid was back online.

"Good," the droid replied. "All systems are running normally. Not thanks to you, I'm sure."

Luke rolled his eyes. He didn't have time to spare. The surface of Formos down below already filled the viewport. "Perfect. I need you to pilot us to the planet. You have to find a place to land outside the settlement without getting us shot down or boarded."

"I will do my best," the droid agreed to Luke's relief. It connected itself to the dataport Luke had just unconnected it from. The hum of the engines turned deeper and their course changed.

"Tell me where the security footage is kept," Luke ordered. "It needs to be destroyed."

"Would you like me to erase it?" the droid asked.

"Ebullient, you do not have permission to entre the atmosphere", the voice over the comm informed. "Repeat. You do not–"

"Yes. All of it needs to go. Do whatever you can to ensure it can't be recovered. And turn off all cameras before you do it."

"Understood."

Luke waited uneasily as the freighter continued to descend and broke through the cloud cover. The droid remained silent as it piloted them towards the planet's surface. On the monitor, Luke could see that another ship was approaching them.

"Ebullient, this is your final warning. Stop your descend immediately and return to orbit!"

"Do we have shields?" Luke asked.

"Yes, but this is a passenger freighter," the droid replied. "It's not designed to stand up to military weaponry."

"Doesn't matter. We just need to land."

As soon as the words had left his mouth the freighter shook.

"At this rate it may be a crash landing," the droid said with dismay.

"Did we lose anything critical?"

"Not yet," the droid said as the second shot hit them. The entire ship was thrown off course for a moment and Luke had to grip the back of a chair bolted to its place to stay upright. If the ship sent after them decided to shoot for real with full power the passenger freighter was unlikely to be able to withstand a single hit.

"Head for that clearing!" Luke exclaimed, pointing at a space between the woods far below. The ship turned sharply as the droid obeyed and they closed the ground at alarming speed. Trees scraped at the freighter and they hit the ground hard, but safe. Luke knew he wouldn't have much time.

"Quickly. Show me which way the settlement is," Luke urged the droid. He had an idea, but it was better to be sure. The map the droid pulled on the screen was crude, but he only needed to know which way to run. Before he could abandon ship there was only one more thing he needed to do.

"I actually feel bad about this, but..."

The lights in the droids photoreceptors died as Luke's lightsaber pierced the droid, destroying the essential parts that made it work. Luke knelt by its fallen form, taking a moment to find its memory and back-up systems, and destroyed those as well. He couldn't leave evidence. Oddly enough he felt more remorse now than he had when he had beheaded the Zabrak girl on Felucia.

He ran off the bridge and snatched his backpack on his way out. He was faced with fresh cool air unlike anything he'd ever known before. The ground was rocky, but overgrown with short, deep green twigs with tiny white flowers. Had he had more time, Luke would have wanted to pause to take a closer look at this planet, this new environment. But he had no such luxury. He saw a pair of TIE fighters make a flyover and he beelined towards the deeper woods.

It was a pain to hike to the Imperial occupied spaceport of Formos through the rocky forest terrain, knowing the Imperial military was looking for him. It was easy to accidentally walk slightly off course and he had to constantly check he was still going to the right direction. He could hear the ships pass above him and he knew they could easily see him with thermal cameras. A few times he could even hear the stormtroopers closing in on him, but he managed to gain more distance between them by taking advantage of the terrain. He could leap over a ravine a normal being would have to either cross at an alternate point or wait for a vehicle. He could climb down a steep slope where he was certain only the small hoofed animals already pasturing there would follow. It had been cloudy, but light outside when he began his escape and it was nearly nightfall by the time he could finally see the city. He was still being pursued when he made it there and he knew he didn't have much time. It would be far more easy for them to catch him here. He had to find himself a ride and quickly, but after sneaking around a bit it became evident that the task might prove difficult. All legal means of transportations were off limit. All traffic off planet had been suspended, and all ships would be checked before allowed to take off.

Luke slipped away, remaining in shadows. Heavy clouds unlike anything he'd ever seen were gathering above on the sky. He could hear rumbling in the distance.

Luke walked the streets until he found what he was looking for –a cantina close to the spaceport. There were people loitering at the doors and Luke passed them unnoticed, hood firmly over his head. It was very warm, almost hot inside and he could spot the culprit instantly. Behind the bar, raised a few steps above the rest of the space, was an open kitchen with a big, fiery oven.

Ripples of conversation in multiple languages filled his ears. He saw spacers, workers and prostitutes, just like he would have seen at any cantina in any of the bigger cities on Tatooine. Unlike on Tatooine, however, he spotted a group of people dressed in Imperial uniforms in midst of a game of sabacc.

He turned away from them quickly, trying to make sense of the surrounding people, of who to go to. He closed his eyes and listened, letting the Force guide him, hoping it would reveal him which of the many, many voices to listen to.

"–should've stayed on Kessel–"

Luke frowned in concentration, trying to catch the same voice again.

"–do with some easy money–"

There it was again, clear above the noise. Eyes still closed he took a step towards it.

"–gotta leave soon–"

"–is waiting–"

Luke opened his eyes and looked across the cantina. He saw an odd pair sharing a private booth. They didn't see him looking. Determined he walked up to the bar and once he got the bar tender's attention, discreetly pointed at the booth.

"Do you know anything about those two?"

The bar tender looked over his shoulder. "The guy with the Wookiee?"

"Yeah. Do they look like they might have a ship?"

The bar tender shrugged. "Some spacers as far as I know. Could be smugglers. We get all sorts here. Can I get you something? Juice?"

"No, thank you. I've got all I need," Luke replied, handing over a generous amount of credits. He slipped away from the bar and walked up to the secluded table shared by a Human man and a Wookiee. Both fell silent as the hooded boy clad in black stopped at their table.

"Aren't you a bit too young for this crowd, kid?" the man coolly asked in Basic, though Luke has noticed hims startle ever so slightly as their eyes met.

Luke ignored the quip. "I hear you have a ship."

"So what if we do?"

He'd been right then. They were spacers.

"Is it a good ship?" he wanted to know.

The presumed smuggler glanced at his friend and then looked back at Luke with an amused lopsided smirk. "Better than anything else you can get from this dump."

He saluted him with his pint and downed a generous amount of the drink. Luke nodded and leant closer. "How much for a ride off planet?"

The Wookiee growled, slamming down his (hers? Luke couldn't tell) pint noisily on the table.

"We don't do passengers," the man told bluntly.

"I'll pay," Luke assured. "I just need a ride off planet. Doesn't matter where."

The man's eyes glanced at the Wookiee. He stared down Luke, assessing him. "What's your name, kid?"

"My name doesn't matter."

"I've gotta call you something."

Luke considered his options. Skywalker wasn't a name that should be spoken carelessly. Should he use Starkiller?

"You can call me Luke," he decided. His first name ought to be common enough. And the time he'd taken to think would surely convince the two that he'd given a false name.

The man gave a quick look at their surroundings, then waved at the seat next to his Wookiee friend. "Have a seat, Luke."

Luke looked at the massive Wookiee. Sith or not, he'd never win when it came to raw physical strength. He thought of his lightsaber and took a seat. Across him the man leant against the backrest, making himself comfortable.

"So... A ride you say?"

"Yes."

The Wookiee spoke and the man clearly understood him. He hummed in agreement and nodded.

"And I guess you want to leave, shall we say, unofficially?"

"That's right."

The man looked past him at the cantina. "So you are why all honest traffic's suspended."

Luke fought to keep his composure. "And if I am?"

The man shrugged. "All the same to me. But it's not free."

"I told you I can pay," Luke repeated annoyedly.

"Imperial credits?"

"Uh-huh."

The man considered his words. "Hmm... I don't know, kid. Imperial credits are risky."

"Not these," Luke assured. "You won't get any trouble using them."

"Is that so? And where did you get them then?"

Luke smirked from under his hood. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

They stared at each other for a second or two until the smuggler burst out laughing. The Wookiee next to him howled and his furry paw slammed on Luke's shoulders.

"You're funny, kid," the man chuckled. "All right, you've got yourself a ride."

Luke laughed as well and reached to shake the hand the man offered.

"The name's Solo. Han Solo. This is my First Mate, Chewbacca," Solo said, waving at the Wookiee. "We're flying to Tatooine. That good for you?"

Luke couldn't believe his luck. Keeping his sabacc face he finally removed his hood. "That's all right. I can find transport there."

The smuggler nodded. "We'll be landing to a city called Mos Eisley. Anywhere you need to go, you can find someone to take you there. If you can pay that is."

Mos Eisley? And he'd thought Tatooine was lucky! Mos Eisley was practically home! His swoop was in Mos Espa, but he could easily hitch a ride to Anchorhead from Mos Eisley. They did that back and forth all the time with Biggs and Tank.

"Don't worry about that. I have money. What's your price?"

The man looked at the Wookiee again. "What do you think, Chewie?"

The Wookiee replied, Solo frowned, the Wookiee growled something in return and the man agreed. He turned his attention on Luke again.

"Three thousand and we'll drop you off at Tatooine," Solo offered.

"Deal," Luke said immediately. It was a lot of money, but he just wanted to get home. A brief look of surprise passed the man's face, and Luke could feel that he hadn't expected him to agree.

"In advance," the smuggler pressed.

"No. I can pay you half now, and half when we're there." When Solo said nothing, Luke narrowed his eyes. "I agreed to your price."

The man and the Wookiee exchanged looks. "Fine. But I want that fifteen hundred in advance."

"I can arrange that." Luke assured. "I don't have all that in cash, but I can make the transfer right now if you want to. I promise no one can trace those credits anywhere that would get you in trouble or I wouldn't use them myself."

Solo shook his head. "Not here. Too many eyes."

"Okay," Luke agreed. He didn't sense any deception, but even if the two tried, he still had his lightsaber. He looked at the crowd as he waited for his to be companions finish their drinks. No one seemed to pay any special attention to them and he wasn't in the direct line of sight for any Imperials.

"We better get going then."

Luke rose and followed the two. Chewbacca towered over him, so tall that he could have easily reached the ceiling with his hands. Looking up at someone so tall reminded him of his father. He felt a pang in is heart. He hadn't spared a thought to Galen since landing here. Would Father know anything, he wondered? Surely Father would have felt what he felt, too. Perhaps when he got home Erv would have some news.

When they stepped out of the cantina, water poured from the sky and violent little streams had formed at the sides of the roads. Luke stopped at his tracks. He had never seen so much water in his life. Those few times he'd ever seen rain on Tatooine had been practically miracles and it had been tiny, tiny drops of water he could barely even feel on his skin, lasting less than a minute. Now water hammered down on him, drenching him immediately.

"Come on, the sooner we leave the better," Solo hurried him. "Don't tell me you're afraid of thunder."

"...thunder?" Luke repeated, but his words were swallowed by a mighty rumble straight above them. Lightning lit the sky.

"Chewie, this is perfect. The storm will cover us. Come on, kid."

Luke hurried to follow his new companions. Pulling the hood over his head he splashed over the flowing water, soaking his shoes. He disliked the feeling immediately and as they navigated the streets he started feeling cold. Every time the thunder rumbled he glanced at the sky. By the time they finally arrived to the docking bays, he was shivering. They paused under a roof to wait for a pair of patrolling troopers to leave. Chewbacca shook himself, splashing water on them.

"There she is," Solo pointed out proudly. Through the rain Luke saw a battered ship he thought was probably a Corellian freighter.

"What a piece of junk!" he exclaimed before thinking.

"She may not look like much, but she's got where it counts," Solo huffed offendedly, but Chewbacca laughed. "Let's go."

The ramp led to a curving corridor. They were all dripping water, even Chewbacca who had again tried to shake off the water before stepping in. The first thing Solo did was to discard his jacket. Luke followed the example with his long black robe, being careful to conceal his lightsaber in its hidden pocket. Feeling a tiny bit lost he followed Solo and Chewbacca to the ship's cockpit. It felt small and cramped compared to Rogue Shadow's generous cockpit. He watched Solo and Chewbacca complete the pre-flight sequences with no particular hurry. Outside the rain hammered the ship. Luke watched in awe as the water hit against the viewport. Litres upon litres of water just rained down from the sky. On Tatooine it would be worth a fortune.

"Okay," Solo spoke, turning to look at him over his shoulder. "We're ready to leave as soon as I have my fifteen hundred."

"Give me your details and I'll make the transfer."

The man rummaged through the various compartments at his arm's reach until he found a datapad. Luke waited as still dripping wet Wookiee never let his eyes off him. He got the feeling that if he tried to swindle them, the Wookiee would rip his arms off.

Luke accepted the datapad and completed the transfer. Despite the knowledge that he had access to more or less untraceable credits, it nevertheless irrationally worried him that something would go wrong. Nothing did, though, and Solo grinned approvingly after double checking he'd received his money.

"Happy to do business with you, kid."

"Likewise," Luke agreed silently. He was itching to get away. Each time he shifted weight from foot to foot uncomfortably he could feel and hear the water in shoes.

The ship's main engines hummed to live and only then did Solo turn on any headlights. The radio beeped immediately when they lifted off. Chewbacca opened the channel.

"Millennium Falcon, return immediately. You are not authorised to take off."

Solo reached for the radio and turned it off without replying.

"Ever shot anything, kid?"

"Uh...yes? Animals. With a skyhopper."

"Good. There's a gun well right back there," he said, pointing towards the corridor they'd entered the cockpit. "Get down there and be ready to shoot. We're probably not facing heavy resistance, but they're going to send a few TIEs on our tail."

"Okay," Luke agreed with a nod. He discarded his backpack at the gun well entrance. Climbing down was a bizarre experience as the artificial gravity changed halfway, and suddenly the ground was right in front of him. Solo was flying at cloud level right below the storm. Luke could feel the winds attempting to blow them off course. Then they dived straight through the storm and above it, ascending faster and faster. Soon they had left the atmosphere and he could hear the engines switch from atmospherical to space. The planet disappeared from his sight, but they had already been quite far away from it. The hyperdrive vibrated through the entire ship as it turned on and then he felt the now familiar nudge as the ship made its jump.

Luke leant back at his seat with a relieved sigh. Once he'd thought he'd seen the TIEs pursuing them, but they had been too far away for him to want to try take proper aim. He was glad he hadn't needed to shoot down any Imperial pilots. Though he might never be one of them, he still dreamt of it.

"All clear, kid," he heard Solo's voice from the headset he'd never worn. Luke took it as a sign to leave the gun well. He was faced with both Solo and Chewbacca waiting for him.

"Lounge's this way. You want caf?"

Luke looked at him surprise and Galen's words sprung up to his mind: You're not making friends. He felt guilty immediately. How could he have forgotten about him, even for a second? He shivered again from cold and suddenly felt just overwhelmingly tired. He nodded.

"Sure. Thanks. That'd be nice," Luke replied gratefully.

He could drug you. He could poison you.

Luke dismissed the thoughts as he followed the men to the lounge and took a seat. He still didn't sense any ill intentions. Left alone he leant back on the seat, closing his eyes, reaching deep into the Force.

Where are you, Galen? What happened to you?

His eyes stung, but he willed away the sadness. There was no use being sad, was there? If something had happened, if someone had harmed or killed Galen, feeling sorry about it wouldn't change a thing. The only thing he could do was to find out who did it and avenge Galen. Anger was the feeling he needed. His brother would do the same for him.

He opened his eyes when he heard Chewbacca return. He had a large towel draped around his shoulders and he threw a blanket at him with a growl Luke didn't understand. He accept the blanket with genuine gratitude and thanked Chewbacca.

The Wookiee sat next to him, making growling noises and pointing at his feet.

"Sorry, I don't speak...uh...Wookiee?"

"Shyriiwook is the word you're looking for," Solo said as he entered the lounge. He set three mugs of caf on the small table. "Chewie said you should take off your shoes."

"Oh." Luke looked down at his feet sheepishly. There was water pooling on the floor around his shoes.

"Don' worry about it," Solo dismissed, clearly having noticed the boy's sudden embarrassment.

Luke followed the advice. He folded up his bare feet under him and enveloped himself with the blanket before taking his caf. Next to him, Chewbacca seemed to be already finishing his enormously sized mug. The Wookiee spoke to him again. Luke turned to Solo, who'd taken a seat as well, for translation.

"He wants to know if you play dejarik," Solo interpreted, pointing at the table.

Luke looked at it, realising its black and red square pattern made some sense to him. "I don't. Sorry."

Solo shrugged. "Too bad. I'm not a big fan, either. I prefer sabacc. How about a game?"

Luke shook his head. "No thanks. How long till we reach Tatooine?"

"'bout two, three hours. I don't like stressing the hyperdrive."

"You could go faster?"

"Absolutely. Falcon's the fastest ship in the Galaxy," Solo said proudly.

"Sure," Luke agreed solemnly. His thoughts still lingered on Galen.

Solo interpreted his tone differently: "I'm not joking. I've modified her myself."

"I'll take your word for it."

Luke sipped his caf silently. He wasn't a big fan of caf, but the hot drink was nice and warmed up his body. For a moment there was a blissful silence, but then Solo, who apparently disliked silence, had to break it.

"Hey, not that it's any of my business, but..." the Captain spoke. "You look troubled. Everything ok, kid?"

Luke looked at the spacer. His nails pressed hard against his palms and for reasons he couldn't quite fathom, he found himself telling the truth: "I think... I think my brother might be dead."

"Oh..." Luke could feel his confession had made the man uncomfortable. "Sorry to hear that."

"I will get whoever did it," Luke replied with fierce determination. He could feel the hatred towards whoever had done this boil up within him. He would find the culprit and kill them. Someone would get to experience his wrath.

Solo assessed him. "Kid, look. Not my business, but... There was a terror alert on Formos. Then up comes this kid who needs to get away no matter the destination. Can't help but to wonder."

Luke said nothing, so Solo continued: "Hokey ancient religions aren't for me, but I heard the word Jedi thrown around."

"I'm not a Jedi."

"Didn't say you were. I've travelled from one end of the Galaxy to the other and I've never seen anything that'd make me believe there ever was a thing called Jedi."

The Jedi were real, Luke wanted to say. He wanted to say he'd seen one –killed one. But it wasn't in his best interest to do so, and therefore he just shrugged.

"You're a bounty hunter or something?" Solo wanted to know.

Luke shook his head and sipped to caf to hide behind the mug. "Or something. Forget it. I shouldn't talk about it."

But Solo wasn't about to drop the subject. The man leant closer. "Listen... Luke, right? Whatever it is, it's not worth it. Get yourself an honest job."

"Look who's talking," Luke huffed. "You guys are smugglers, aren't you?"

Chewbacca burst into a roaring laughter that startled Luke. Between his laughter the Wookiee spoke. Solo dismissed him. "Yeah. Yeah we are. And it's a tough life."

Luke shrugged. "I don't mind."

When he was a child, he had dreamt of an adventure. Then his father turned up, sent Galen to them and everything changed. Suddenly he had a purpose, a goal greater than just being a farm boy dreaming of flying away. Luke couldn't imagine life without the Force, without trying to learn to master every aspect of it. Being a Sith learner was hard, but it was worth it. It had opened up a whole new world for him. It had made him strong and powerful.

Chewbacca spoke again and this time Solo appeared to listen. He hummed and nodded in agreement several times before turning back to Luke.

"How about this, kid. Come with us. We could use someone like you."

Luke's fingers curled up around the mug. He thought of his lightsaber hidden between the folds of his black robe and of the headless Zabrak girl. "You don't know a thing about me."

"I trust my gut. I'm a good judge of character."

Luke looked at the man. There was a part of him that wanted to say yes. A part of him would have wanted to throw everything away and go on an adventure with these strangers like he'd always dreamt of as a child. To go to the far end of the Galaxy and back like Solo had said, and find out what happened to his brother.

Luke shifted his eyes away from the man. He knew he couldn't. He had people waiting for him.

"Thanks, but... I can't. I need to find out what happened to my brother."

"We could help you out with that," Solo offered. "You meet a lot of people and hear things in this line of work."

Luke smiled a little, but declined: "You couldn't. I'd just get you killed."

Solo looked almost offended. "I'm a difficult man to kill," he said, placing his hand on the blaster at his belt. "I've had people try."

"Maybe, but you really don't know the type of people I'll be up against."

"I can handle it," Solo said self-assuredly.

"You really couldn't."

"And you could?"

"Yes," Luke replied, his tone taking a darker edge. "Trust me, I can take care of myself."

"Judging by the chatter on Formos I believe that."

"You shouldn't look too much into it," Luke warned.

Solo regarded him quietly for a moment. He downed what remained of his caf in one go and stood to leave. "Think about it, kid."

The suns shone brightly as they always did on Tatooine. The warmth that greeted him as soon as the landing ramp opened was welcomely familiar and in odd contrast to his still wet shoes and robes.

"Kid. Luke."

Luke turned around to see Captain Solo and his First Mate stand at the entrance looking down at him. He had paid, he had all his belongings. "...yeah?"

"Chalmun's Cantina. Remember that name."

"Chalmun's?" Luke repeated confusedly.

"If you ever need to find us that's the place to ask. It's not far from here. We stop by often."

"I'll remember that," Luke promised. He'd never heard of the place, but then again this close to the spaceport wasn't exactly the height of Mos Eisley's nightlife, so it was unlikely he and his friends would have stumbled by. He turned to leave.

"Good luck, kid."

Luke lifted his hand for a wave, but didn't turn back as he muttered "thanks," and walked away. The Sith need no luck, he thought. Only the Force.

Luke had no choice, but to call Uncle Owen for a ride from Anchorhead. It was difficult to say what his uncle's reaction to it was. Something seemed to startle him, but he said nothing. Luke didn't dare to ask about Galen. He still couldn't feel him and it confused him. Something horrible had happened, of that he was sure. And yet...though he could not feel Galen, the more time passed the more he could not feel the absence of Galen. It made no sense whatsoever.

"Luke!" Beru left everything and hurried to him. He embraced her back, fighting back tears. He couldn't let her see. He couldn't tell her. He wasn't even sure of what had happened –if anything had happened.

"I'm home," he said, smiling shyly.

"Oh, my boy, I was so worried," Beru murmured.

"I'm all right," Luke assured her. "There was nothing to worry about. I was never in any danger. I was just observing."

"I know. I can't help it, though. Let me have a look at you," she said and pulled away from him. Her hands cupped his cheeks and she looked at his face –shocked by what she saw. She blinked, then shook her head ever so slightly and smiled again, but there was sadness in her eyes.

"What?" Could she somehow see he wasn't telling the whole truth? Could she see the guilt in his eyes?

"Nothing, it's nothing," Beru assured him and let go. "Where's Galen?"

Luke swallowed, hoping Aunt Beru didn't notice.

"Father wanted him at Scarl," he said. It wasn't a lie. "That's all I know."

He attempted a happy smile. He couldn't tell them. He just couldn't. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"I hope so," Beru agreed. "It's quiet here without you boys."

Though it had only been little over a week, she had missed them terribly. She even missed PROXY. The droid had become a valuable companion and helper for her in the house while the boys had gone to school and Owen had been working.

"We need to arrange a party for him," Luke blurted out. "He, uh... We need to celebrate. When he comes back. Father, he– He knighted him! He knighted Galen! He finally said that Galen's his apprentice!"

"That's wonderful news," Beru smiled, but again there was a hint of sadness in her voice. About time, she thought to herself. She remembered well the few times Galen had confessed his insecurities to her –how he feared he wasn't good enough for Vader, how he yearned for some acknowledgement that he'd done well. The latter the boy had never said out loud in those exact words, but Beru could tell the boy was desperate for Darth Vader to recognise him as his true apprentice. He was always quick to hide behind his shell, swearing it didn't matter, explaining how he was proud to have Darth Vader teach him.

Beru yearned to tell him that he was an apprentice, but she had sworn Lieutenant Lekauf and Darth Vader she would never reveal anything she heard form them to either of the boys. Though she had never heard Vader call Galen his apprentice, Erv constantly referred to him as such when they were alone.

When Vader had visited almost five years ago, the first and only time since he turned their lives upside down by coming looking for Luke, Beru had confronted him and called Galen his apprentice to his face and he had never denied it.

"Look at him. He's your apprentice. You took him from his parents, you chose to train him. After all you've put him through he deserves your acknowledgement. You should show some appreciation."

The man she had once known as Shmi's little boy had stared down at her in silence for a long moment, but she had been determined not to back down. Vader had left Galen in their care, so she would stand up for the boy.

"I will once he has finished his training. I have no reason to praise him before that," the Sith Lord had said to her surprise. She had expected for him to brush her off completely. She had expected far crueler words. Knowing now that he had finally done something to prove them all that Galen truly mattered elated her.

"I want to get him those Ooo-Temiuk style cakes he really likes," Luke rambled. "The ones form that Rodian confectionery shop in Bestine."

"We'll get those then," Beru promised him. The way she looked at him still bothered Luke, and he pulled further away from her.

"What's wrong?" He could feel there was something. Did she know he was lying? No, she wouldn't go along if she knew. She wouldn't talk about cakes if she knew Luke had lied he'd been sent with Galen or that Galen might be dead.

"Nothing's wrong, honey. I'm sorry, it's nothing new, but just...it'll take time for me to get used to this. It's not bad," she reassured him, but her smile still did not reach her eyes. "You look very handsome."

Luke blinked at her. "What are you talking about..?"

"Your eyes, of course."

Luke frowned in confusion. He felt dread creep at his back. "My...eyes?"

"Didn't you know? They're yellow. Like sometimes when you've been training hard."

"What..?" He remembered the surprise on Solo's face when their eyes first met. Humans generally didn't have yellow eyes.

"I want to see."

Luke hurried to the closest mirror. True enough, his eyes still gleamed golden in the lights. He knew this happened to him often when he drew his power from the dark side, but he had managed to catch the sight only a handful of times himself. They always disappeared quickly. Luke stared at them in fascination, waiting to see the yellow clear off, but it never did.

He supposed he did feel more connected to the dark side than he normally did. There was darkness within him that hadn't previously been there and it seemed to have settled in. The darkness felt good. Comforting. He didn't want to let go of it least he'd forget how he'd felt when Galen's pain had echoed through the Force. In the mirror his eyes narrowed as he again felt the anger flare within. Whoever had hurt Galen would pay with their life.

"Luke?" he heard Beru call him. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm good," Luke replied over his shoulder. He turned back to the mirror one last time and met the gaze of his golden eyes. He wasn't lying, he realised. He felt good. No matter what, he would find out what had happened to Galen.

Finding out what had happened proved to be a lot harder than Luke had thought. Days went by and all he could do was wait, wallow in unease and discomfort and worry. He tried to distract himself by training. Another week passed with no news.

Aunt Beru got worried. Uncle Owen still said it was fine, but Luke could tell that even his uncle was secretly worrying. After three more days Aunt Beru said she couldn't take it and that she would contact Lieutenant Lekauf. Luke tried to speak her out of it, but she had made her mind. She knew immediately Luke was keeping a secret from her and Luke had no choice but to confess.

She was angry. Of course she was. Uncle Owen was, too, in his silent way. It was way worse than being yelled at. If anything, he seemed more disappointed than angry that Luke would have lied to them in such way.

Erv had no news. Even more so, he was unable to contact Galen. He tried to contact Galen several times with no response. Worse, he feared his messages weren't even reaching the Rogue Shadow. After it became evident that there would be no response from Galen, Erv took their last resort. Ever since becoming the link between the Lars-family and Darth Vader, he had been given means to contact Lord Vader directly strictly under the orders to never do so unless it was an emergency. He had never contacted Vader directly before, but with Galen gone for almost a month he finally agreed to it.

They got no response. As with Galen, Erv's message got nowhere. Whatever had happened, the direct line he had had to Darth Vader was gone. They were left completely isolated and on their own. Galen didn't return. Vader never contacted them.

As weeks went by, Luke immersed himself in his training. It was the only thing that seemed to keep the torrent of emotions within him in check. His eyes remained yellow.

"I don't understand," Erv admitted over the dinner table. He had finally towed in both Luke and Galen's speeders from Mos Espa earlier that day. Two months had passed since Luke's return. "I've heard nothing from Lord Vader. I've checked all possible news and nothing seems out of the ordinary, but I can't reach him and he hasn't tried contacting us, either. Something must have happened. Whatever it is, clearly Lord Vader is unable to move without compromising your security."

"It's my fault," Luke said quietly. "I should have never gone with Galen."

"Now, now..." Erv soothed. "While you certainly should not have gone with him, whatever happened isn't you fault. If anything, it seems that you being there helped him. Who knows what Mara Jade would have done had you not killed her."

His words did little to ease Luke's guilt. "Galen said Father would kill him if he found out I was there."

Despite Galen's certainty, Luke had never believed it. Hadn't wanted to believe it. How could Father do that? Why would he do that? But now, weeks and weeks later doubt had began to creep in his heart. What if Galen had been right? What if..?

Erv and Beru exchanged looks. The man sighed. "Lord Vader may make threats, but that's one he will never carry out."

"How can you be sure? Galen's known him all his life," Luke insisted, wanting Erv to convince him otherwise.

Erv straightened his back. "Because I know more about you boys than I am authorised to say. I dare say I know Lord Vader better than any of you do. And that includes Galen."

"But if he's dead, who else could have done it?" Luke snapped.

"It could have been a Jedi. Any of the Inquisitors or Palpatine's Hands," Erv reasoned. "Even PROXY."

"No," Luke denied with absolute certainty. "PROXY will never defeat him."

"In any case, we don't know what happened," Erv said, ever the voice of reason. "For now, it's too early to pronounce him dead."

"But I felt it," Luke insisted angrily, slamming his hands on the table so that the tableware clattered. To his right, Aunt Beru jumped.

"Luke."

The single solemnly pronounced word from Uncle Owen had Luke immediately regret his action. He slumped against the chair pushed back against the wall, eyes at his lap. "Sorry. But I... I know something horrible happened to him. I did feel it."

"That may be so, but it's not enough to draw conclusions," Erv concluded. He stayed at the homestead for several days, observing his training and taking notes for his reports for Darth Vader. Whether he did so because he truly believed he would get to submit his report to Darth Vader or just to make him feel better, Luke didn't know. He was grateful for the man's presence nevertheless. Erv's calmness seemed to soothe is own nerves, thought it didn't help when night fell and he lay all alone in his bed.

In his dreams he was floating. Water, he thought. He was immersed, suspended in water. Or Galen was. Both of them? He could feel an aching pain all over his body. He saw General Kota, and in his dreams he spoke the words Galen had said he'd spoken during their duel: Vader won't be your master for long.

He saw what Galen had described seeing: trees so tall they reached the skies. Trees again, yet different. Overgrown and murky. Snow. He felt the same pain and despair and horror he'd felt onboard Ebullient.

Shackles and darkness, Kota's voice rang in his ears. Rage.

His vision filled with green and the moment the lightsaber pressed against his eyes he was wide awake, short of breath and sweaty. He sat on his bed, still feeling the terror he'd felt in the dream. From there it didn't take long for him to start shouting in his sleep. He was reminded of the times when he was a child and how he would wake up from nightmares to find Aunt Beru in his room ready to comfort him. It made him feel small and weak.

"You're worried about him. We all are," Aunt Beru consoled him. "You used to have terrible night terrors when you were a child. I'm not surprised that they've returned."

For the sake of Aunt Beru Luke agreed. But he knew she was wrong. They were more than dreams. He knew there was some truth to them.

Kota, he thought. Somehow Kota was connected to all this. Why else would he be reminded of the Jedi in his dreams? He dreamt of cold, lonely darkness. Just floating in silence, alone and confused. Scared. Hurt.

"I dream of him, Aunt Beru," he whispered. He gripped the edges of his blanket, harder and harder –so hard that it hurt, but at least the sensation was real and right there. Controllable. Distracting.

"He's in pain. I feel it. He's scared and confused and alone."

As time went by the nightmares never left him. He barely saw his friends these days. He couldn't stop thinking of Galen, and hiding his yellow eyes was too much of an effort anyway. He never went to the leaving party thrown for Tank before he left for the Academy. He spent his days training and meditating. Sometimes he drove far to the southern mesas where he and Galen used to train their Force lightning.

Luke kept thinking of General Kota. Shackles and darkness.

What if Galen's fears had truly been founded? Could Kota be alive? And if so...surely the Jedi would hold a grudge against Galen. Galen had blinded him, hadn't he? What if Kota had gone after Galen? Perhaps his injuries had been far less severe than Galen had thought. Maybe Kota had ambushed Galen. Maybe, maybe, maybe. But it was all he had. The only sensible explanation he could come up with.

"Galen's alive," he announced with absolute certainty. Luke had meditated upon it for days and it had only fuelled his anger and determination. It was undeniable he had felt something horrible happen, but now he could not tell what it had been. His dreams seemed to point for one direction only: "And Kota's got something to do with it."

"Who's Kota?"

"A Jedi Father sent Galen to kill. But something went wrong. Galen told me that himself. Kota is alive. I don't know how, but somehow he's connected to all of this."

"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?" Beru tried to calm him. She did not want to admit it to even herself, but lately, Luke had begun to frighten her. She had never seen him like this. Luke was constantly on edge, ready to explode at slightest provocation. He did nothing but train with his lightsaber all day long. At night the dreams plagued him.

"They're more than dreams," Luke claimed tetchily. "They're visions. Galen and I, we're connected. I can feel he's in pain. He's frightened and alone. I need to help him. I need to find him."

His tone carried a heavy, desperate urgency. Beru could understand his need to do something, but... "Where would you start?"

"Nar Shaddaa," Luke replied without a slightest of hesitation. "I need to go there and find Kota. If I find him, I'll find Galen."

And so, albeit reluctantly, it was agreed. There was nothing they could truly do to keep Luke from going.

"I'll find him," Luke swore as he embraced Aunt Beru for goodbye. "I'll be back, I promise. With Galen."

Finding the destruction that the fall of the skyhook had left behind was easy to find. Even almost four months later the site remained a mess and everyone still talked about it. While a big part of the area had been evacuated successfully before what was left of the skyhook had crashed, hundreds of people had still lost their lives that day. Many more had been injured.

Luke spent his days speaking with people. He visited hospitals and emergency centres, trying to find anyone who might have seen Kota. There was nothing suspicious about him asking around. He was hardly the only one trying to find someone who went missing that day. At first all his leads led nowhere, but eventually he got lucky. In a small, dodgy looking health practice one of the nurses remembered a delirious man brought in with an injury that matched a lightsaber wound.

"Something hot had burnt away his eyes," the nurse explained. "He had some minor injuries, too, but I've never seen anything like that. The bridge of his nose had just melted away."

"Do you know where he is now? Is he local?"

"Don't think so. He didn't want to leave his name."

It didn't seem to bring Luke any closer to finding Kota, but at least he knew now that two days after the duel Kota had still been here. He continued his search in the area, speaking with shop keepers and residents for more clues. It eventually led him to a shelter where he learnt Kota had stayed for several weeks after leaving the practise. The staff remembered him well, though he had used an alias: Morra Yi. Luke was told that Yi had slept off some fever and seemed depressed afterwards. Once recovered some he had left against the staff's advice. They didn't know where he had went or where he had come from. They could only point him the direction he had walked off to.

"Yeah, I think I know who you mean," an Imperial officer of all people told him during his second week of searching. "He was begging over there at those stairs for a few weeks. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him recently..."

Through slums and suburbs, pursuing each lead no matter how small and trusting the Force Luke pressed on until eventually after days of hunting down the man he found himself at a worn down seedy looking cantina where a man fitting the description had been seen frequently the past few days. Few words exchanged with some regulars outside confirmed everything he'd heard and more. Luke only needed to step through the door.

Rahm Kota was inside.

Happy Life Day, lovelies. Thank you for sticking up with the story and reading this new chapter. If you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts.