"You must understand, Luke," Owen said, patiently. "The farm needs you."

Luke frowned, looking down at his food, not making a move to eat any more.

"This isn't what I want to do with my life," he said.

"Look," Owen began. "It's only one more year."

"Yeah, I know, but Biggs and Tank are leaving now and if I don't go with them this year I might never see them again," Luke said, pushing his plate aside. "And it will be a year, because that's how often the chance even comes up. Uncle – if you want me to stay forever, just say it! But don't keep stringing me along like this."

Owen frowned. "Luke-"

"Where are you going?" Beru asked.

"Nowhere, I guess," Luke replied, then stopped. "No, I – I am going. This isn't what I'm best at. You know that as well as I do – you don't need my help, it's just convenient. You didn't need me before. And when I'm gone, well – it'll save you on feeding me, won't it?"

He folded his arms, defiant, and Owen and Beru looked at him.

Then exchanged glances.

Beru touched her husband's arm.

"Maybe…" she began.

Owen's expression hardened, and Luke felt like throwing something on the ground to emphasize how he felt.

He didn't. He wouldn't – Luke wasn't that kind of person – but he was absolutely at the end of his tether.

There was a whole wide galaxy out there, and everything there would be… different.

"Uncle Owen?" Luke said, drawing the attention of his relatives. "Aunt Beru? I – I'd hate to do it, but… if it came down to it, I would just leave."

He sighed. "I'd rather get your approval, but it feels like you'd never give it. So… that's how it is, I guess."

Luke turned to go, ready to spend some time working on his landspeeder to burn off nervous energy, and Owen raised his voice.

"Luke," he said, and something in his tone stopped the eighteen-year-old.

"Uncle?" Luke asked, turning. "What is it?"

"I'm not saying yes," Owen replied. "Not today. Not yet. But… I am going to explain."

"What's there to explain?" Luke asked.

"More than you know, Luke," Beru said. "We've always wanted to keep you safe. You know that."

Luke wanted to reply hotly to that, but something about his aunt's quiet sincerity gave him pause.

"This is going to hit you hard, Luke," Owen warned. "And once you hear it – it can't go unheard. But it's something you'd need to know if you left… it's something that you need to know before you decide if you're going to leave."

Luke looked between aunt and uncle, mystified, then walked back over from the door and sat at the end of the table.

"What is it, then?" he asked. "I'm ready."

"Don't say that yet," Beru warned. "But it's your choice."

"It's your choice," Owen repeated. "So listen carefully."

He began to tick points off on his hands. "Your father was not a navigator on a spice freighter. His name was Anakin, and he was a member of the order of Jedi Knights – and, in the dying days of the Clone Wars, he turned against them, aiding in their almost complete destruction. He was a good man, when we knew him, but between then and your birth something twisted him around."

"There's worse," Beru added. "Anakin… he was born a slave, then freed by the Jedi, but now he's both slave and slave-master. An enforcer. I don't know how that happened, but you know what that has to mean about him."

Luke felt like falling off his chair.

"The name Skywalker isn't so well known out here, on Tatooine, but it's one that the wider galaxy will recognize," Owen went on. "Some of them will know who your father was. Some of them will put you in danger, even want you dead, because of who your father was… and some will want to turn you into a weapon, for them to use for whatever purpose you want."

The moisture farmer looked sad. "I wish you never had to learn that at all, Luke," he said. "That's why I wanted you to stay here as long as you could. It's the only safe place for you… but if you're dead set on leaving, you need to know. You need to know as much as possible."

Beru rummaged behind one of the light fittings, and pulled out an old comlink. Her husband took it, and examined it carefully.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll call Old Ben," he said. "The old hermit knows all of this. He's the one who brought you here… he's one of the Jedi himself. If you're going to leave, then the things he can teach you become the most important thing you could possibly learn."

His free hand touched Luke's.

"I know you're going to hate hearing this, Luke," he said. "But – please, stay around for one more year. Learn what Old Ben can teach you while you're still here, still hidden."

Owen's voice husked slightly. "Everything we've ever done with you has been to keep you safe, Luke. Every single thing. And… now you know."

Now Luke knew, indeed.

And, right now, while it was all still hanging there… he really wished he hadn't asked.

AN:

If there's no other choice...