Hey, everyone! Chapter four is up! I honestly didn't expect to be posting another chapter so soon, but these creative juices just have really been flowing!

I really loved writing this chapter, even though there is a bit of exposition. But it all helps the story along.

As always, tell me if I have made any mistakes. Peace out, mah dudes.

They found C-3po only a hundred feet from the speeder's location. He was splayed out on the rocky, dusty canyon floor, his limbs separated from his body by the long fall down. He didn't look too good; that was for sure.

The protocol droid's voicemitter still worked, though.

"Oh! Where… where am I? I must have taken a bad step!" 3po babbled, looking at Luke.

"No kidding…" Calvin whispered to Hobbes.

"Can you stand?" Luke asked. "We have to get out of here before the sandpeople return!"

"Luke," Hobbes said, "I'm pretty sure that he can't stand."

Luke sighed. "Erm… right. I'm just stressed," he explained, and turned back to 3po.

The droid began speaking again. "I don't think I can make it," he wailed pittably. "You go on, Master Luke. There's no sense in you risking yourself on my account."

He sighed. "I'm done for."

Off to Hobbes' side, R2 started beeping.

"I know, R2," Calvin stated. "What a drama queen.

"That's not what he said, my young friend," Obi-Wan interjected. "The sandpeople are coming back."

Under his fur, Hobbes paled. "Well then," he clasped his hands together. "Let's get out of here! Luke, you carry his arms, Calvin, take his legs, and I'll grab the torso and head."

"Hey," Calvin stopped. "Why do you get to do the heavy lifting?"

"Because I can lift the heavy things," Hobbes replied. "You can barely carry a suitcase!"

"Not true! I-"

Obi-wan interrupted. "Quickly now! They're on the move," he said, reminding everyone of the peril and effectively silencing the argument.

Calvin gave in, but Hobbes could hear him grumbling all the way back to the speeder.

Once 3po was loaded in the back, and everyone got in, Luke hopped into the driver's seat and cranked up the accelerator. Within a few dozen seconds, the speeder was out of the canyon and going faster.

Calvin leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his head. "Well," he began to say, "All's well that ends well!"

Suddenly, a loud and assertive crack sounded from the top of the canyon, and a bullet pinged into the back of the speeder, narrowly missing R2. Everyone jumped.

Hobbes turned to Calvin. "Maybe don't tempt fate," he suggested.

Calvin blew a raspberry. "Whatever, Hobbes! The fates don't stand a chance against me!"

Suddenly, a second bullet flew just above Calvin, shearing off a strand of his hair. Everyone ducked, and Hobbes looked at Calvin.

"Three strikes, and you're out, buddy."

Calvin gulped.

About fifteen minutes later, the landspeeder was parked right in front of a clay building; Obi-Wan's hideout. Calvin and Hobbes were busy checking their wounds, and Luke and Kenobi were talking to each other about several topics of discussion.

Luke and Calvin both had a gash on their forehead plus Calvin's minor concussion ('to add to his growing collection,' Hobbes had joked), and Hobbes himself had a few cuts and bruises from the fall. The two friends and R2 were occupied with putting 3po together, who kept complaining at the mistakes the two made.

"No! Not that way, you big orange lunk of fur! R2, stop telling these novices what to do!"

Calvin sighed. "R2, where is the 'off' switch on this guy?"

"Found it!" Hobbes exclaimed, and flicked the switch.

"Oh, don't you dare-" 3po powered off.

Nearby, Luke and Kenobi were talking.

"...No, my father didn't fight in the wars," Luke was saying. "He was a navigator on a spice freighter."

Obi-Wan smiled, but Hobbes could see a drop of sorrow in his eyes.

"That's what your uncle told you," Obi-Wan began. "He didn't hold with your father's ideals- Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked.

Before Kenobi had a chance to reply, Calvin jumped in.

"Hey, guys? What are the Clone Wars?" he asked, stopping his repair work.

Obi-Wan looked over, a quizzical look on his face. "It was a three-year long galaxy-spanning battle between the Republic," he held out one hand, "and the Confederacy of Independent Systems," he held out another.

"How did it end?" Hobbes asked.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Well, the Republic won, but at a terrible cost. The Jedi were exterminated, and under the control of the new Galactic Empire, much of the galaxy shifted into a nightmarish state of surveillance and order."

He shifted. "How have you not known about this war?"

Hobbes fumbled. "Ah…"

"They're from an extremely remote star system somewhere near the unexplored galaxy," Luke interrupted, unknowingly saving both Hobbes and Calvin from suspicion. "They said that their planet's name is Canadia."

Calvin and Hobbes began bobbing their heads.

After a moment's scrutiny, Obi-Wan nodded lightly, and turned back to look at Luke… though Hobbes could have sworn that he winked at both of them.

"Yes, I fought in the Clone Wars," he resumed. "I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father,"

His eyes twinkled suddenly. "That reminds me!" he exclaimed, and walked over to a lockbox.

"What do you think it is?" Calvin asked as Kenobi carried the box back over to the farmboy.

"We're about to find out," Hobbes replied.

As they watched, Obi-Wan unlocked the box and gently lifted out a handle of some sort. At least, it looked like a handle. Any resemblance of a blade was missing, although the handle appeared beautifully crafted.

"I have something here for you," he told Luke. "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it."

He stopped, and smiled. "He feared you might follow old Obi Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did."

He handed Luke the mysterious handle.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"Your father's lightsaber."

Calvin's head perked up at the mention of the word, 'Lightsaber'. Was it a special weapon of some kind? A rare, unique type of powerful tool?

"This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight," Obi-Wan went on. "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster."

Luke began turning the handle, probing its surface for some kind of button or switch. After a few seconds, he stopped, and flicked something.

Out of nowhere, a bright, blue blade of what appeared to be concentrated energy suddenly sprang from the hilt, bathing the darker areas of the dwelling in an azure light.

"Cool," both Calvin and Hobbes exclaimed at the same time.

"An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic," Kenobi explained, and sighed, a sort of darkness and guilt radiating from his body.

"That was before the dark times… before the Empire," he finished.

Calvin thought for a moment. "Huh. So these empire dudes are the bad guys?" he asked.

"You could say that," Obi-Wan said.

For a few minutes, silence reigned over the room's occupants.

"How did my father die?" Luke suddenly asked.

At this, Obi-Wan outright frowned.

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader… who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights."

He gave Luke a serious and pained look. "He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

"The force?" Hobbes asked, curious.

"Well," Obi-Wan started to say, still frowning. "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

Another few minutes of quiet followed, as everyone thought about what had just been said.

Suddenly, as quickly as it went, Kenobi's friendly demeanor returned.

"Now let's see if we can't figure out what you are, my little friend," he smiled, crouching down to inspect the blue astromech, "And where you come from."

"I saw part of the message he was-" Luke was cut off when R2 projected a beautiful girl flickering in a hologram.

"Whoa. Look, Calvin! It's some cute girl!" Hobbes whispered, grinning.

"Stop that attitude, or you'll get kicked out of G.R.O.S.S!" Calvin forcefully whispered back, then quietly muttered to himself. "That's a demerit."

The girl (probably 17 or 18, Hobbes figured), started speaking.

"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars," she began. "Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire."

She bowed her head. "I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack… and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed."

"I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit-"

Rebellion? Calvin perked up.

"-My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour."

She paused. "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Then the message ended.

For a third time, nobody talked as they took in what had just been revealed. Calvin was wondering how to get to wherever Alderaan (and the Rebellion) was.

Hobbes, on the other hand, was wondering who that teenager in the recording was. He also felt a little homesick.

Out of the blue, Obi-Wan began to talk.

"You must learn the ways of the force if you're to come with me to Alderaan." He told Luke.

Luke slowly turned to look at Obi-Wan, an expression of disbelief on his face, and laughed.

"Alderaan?" he began. I…I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to go home… It's late. I'm in for it as it is!"

While Kenobi did his best to win Luke over to his side, Calvin wrapped his arm around Hobbes and turned him his way for a private conversation.

"Hey, Hobbes," he whispered. "This right here is our ticket offa this planet. Let's go with Kenobi!"

Hobbes was concerned. "But what about Luke? I'd hate to leave him after how he's helped us!"

Calvin sighed. "Look Hobbes. Luke probably knows what he's doing. That's his decision," he whispered.

Seeing Hobbes consider the idea, Calvin pressed further. "Plus, there's a rebellion on Alderaan," he reminded the tiger. "That is the whole reason for why we came here; to learn how to rebel!"

Hobbes looked up at Calvin. "Calvin," he began saying, "After everything that just happened, the last thing that I want to do is fight in a rebellion. Besides," he paused for a second, then sighed. "I want to go home."

"We can't go home if we don't have cardboard for some sort of Dimension Traveler!" Calvin replied. "You know that! Cardboard is essential for my machines!"

"So?" Hobbes asked.

"There's no cardboard on this rock," Calvin explained. "But there may be some on Alderaan!"

Hobbes rested his chin on his hand as he mulled it over.

"Fine," he agreed. "But you have to get us home as soon as possible!"

"I promise," Calvin said, putting one hand over his chest. Hobbes raised an eyebrow, and motioned towards Calvin's other, concealed hand.

The boy frowned, and drew out his crossed fingers from behind his back. "Whatever. I promise."

Hobbes nodded, and both of them turned back to R2, Luke, and Kenobi.

"…you must do what you feel is right, of course," Obi-Wan was saying, evidently giving up on getting Luke to go with him. He turned to look at Calvin and Hobbes, who were quickly approaching.

"Hey Obi Wan," Calvin greeted. "My colleague and I have decided to go with you to Alderaan. We like this rebellion thing going on and we're gonna join.

"Well…" Kenobi thought about it.

Of course." he smiled. "I am glad to see such enthusiasm."

Wait, wait wait wait wait wait wait," Luke interrupted. "Calvin, Hobbes. Are you sure you want to go?"

Hobbes saw the problem immediately; it was in the farmboy's eyes.

"Look Luke, you're a cool guy, but… we have to move on. This is our chance to get off-world and get to where we wanted to go," he explained.

"But most of my friends have already left!" Luke pleaded. "If you guys could stay here for just another year, then… then…"

Luke stopped talking.

"Well," Calvin said, "Why don't you come with us? You said it yourself; you want to see more of the galaxy. And this way, you get to hang out with me!"

"And me," Hobbes piped in.

"No, I can't," Luke sighed. "I've got responsibilities. But thanks anyway."

He looked up, as if remembering something.

"Y'know," he began to say, "One of my friends told me that he was gonna join the Rebellion, too. He's going to jump ship and link up with them."

"And?" Calvin asked.

"Well… his name is Biggs Darklighter. If you join the Rebellion, tell him I said Hello.

"Will do!" Hobbes smiled, and looked outside. "Should we head back to the speeder?"

It was afternoon now, and the twin suns were hotter than ever. The sand burned, and sweat rolled off of everyone in the landspeeder besides the droids.

"Oh, my," 3po exclaimed. "I fear this heat has caused some of my wires to have short-circuited!

"I don't think it's that bad!" Luke yelled back so as to be heard over the noise of the speeder.

"Hey!" Calvin shouted. "What's that over there?" he asked, pointing at a giant, rusty hunk of metal off to their right.

"It's the sandcrawler!" Hobbes realized aloud.

The true picture of what had happened became apparent when everyone got off of the speeder to look at the once-impenetrable crawling fortress.

"Look at this!" Calvin remarked, aghast. "Laser bolts, smoke, and dead jawas everywhere!"

"It looks like the sand people did this, alright," Luke decided. "Look, there's gaffi sticks, bantha tracks, it's just…" he looked around. "…I've never heard of them hitting something this big before!"

"They didn't," Obi-Wan declared, crouching down over a set of bantha prints, "but we are meant to think they did."

"How so, Master Kenobi?" 3po asked.

Kenobi stood up, and motioned at the prints. "These tracks are side by side," he revealed. "Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers."

"These are the same Jawas that sold us R2 and 3po!" Luke realized.

Obi-Wan nodded, turned, and walked over to the smoking, blackened holes in the crawler. "And these blast points are too accurate and too powerful for their cycler rifles."

He faced the group. "Only Imperial Stormtroopers could be so precise!"

"Wait." Calvin said after a few seconds. "Aren't Imperials the bad guys? What are they doing on this chunk of nothing?"

Hobbes too, was perplexed. "And why would they slaughter jawas?" He wondered aloud.

Then Luke put two and two together.

"These are the same jawas who sold us 3po and R2! If they traced the robots here, then they may have learned to whom they were sold to, and that would lead them back… Home."

Luke pivoted and raced for the speeder.

"Wait, Luke! It's too dangerous!" Obi Wan shouted. But Luke had already jumped into the speeder, and within a few moments, he was out of view.

Everyone else stood in silence. They could only imagine what the farmboy would find back at home.

"Wait a minute! Wherever in the world is master Luke going? We're stranded!" 3po wailed.

Almost an hour later, Luke came back.

While he was gone, Obi-Wan suggested that they could do their best to clean up the massacre. Everyone had piled up the jawas and burned their bodies, and now stopped to watch in silence as Luke walked back toward them.

Hobbes could see the grief on his face; the sorrow, the stained tears, and knew what had happened. He felt a tear come out of his own eyes. Owen and Beru had done nothing, and now they were dead… no, slaughtered.

Obi Wan was the first to speak up.

"There is nothing that you could have done, Luke," he began. "Had you been there, you would have been killed and the droids would be in the hands of the empire."

Luke looked at the grizzled hermit.

"I- I want to come with you to Alderaan," he admitted.

"There is nothing here for me now. I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like- like my father."

He stopped, a new wave of tears reaching his face. And suddenly, he was surrounded by Calvin, Hobbes, Kenobi, R2, and 3po, who all embraced him in silent support. The hug lasted for minutes.

After everyone had stepped back, Calvin and Hobbes looked at each other and came to the same conclusion.

"Well then… Let's get going," Calvin said. "C'mon guys, we gotta get Bluester here to Alderaan and we are burning daylight… kind of literally!" Calvin ordered.

Everyone nodded, and soon the speeder sped off into the distance.

By the way, any sort of Review would make my day! Thanks!