"Are you trying to draw me to the dark side or something?"
-Luke to Darth Vader, Chapter 11
Chapter 2: Big, fat liar
Day 2 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
Luke groggily opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them, then turned towards the golden protocol droid.
"What is it, C3PO?"
"It's R2D2 Sir, I'm afraid he's run away. He said something about finding Obi-Wan Kenobi, whoever that is…"
With a start, Luke was awake. The events of the previous day flashed before his eyes – searching for R2, getting ambushed by Tusken Raiders, meeting Obi-Wan, learning about his Jedi heritage and then, and then – Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. All he'd wanted to do was get some power converters from Tosche station and yet the day had turned into an utter mess.
Luke was out of his bed in a matter of seconds and ran down the hallway to the kitchen. He ripped open the door and there – there was his aunt.
"Oh, good morning Luke. You're up early. Would you like to help me with breakfast?"
She was there. She was alive.
"Where's Uncle Owen?" Luke burst out.
"Why, he's still asleep. Is something wrong?"
"I… No. No, nothing", he stammered and walked back backwards, then closed the door and learned against it, breathing deeply.
His family was still alive. They were still alive!
Did that mean that everything was just a dream? The trip to Mos Eisley, meeting Han Solo, escaping with the Falcon and being chased by Imperials – all just a dream? But C3PO had said that R2 had run away. That had happened before, hadn't it?
"Master Luke", 3PO said as he came down the corridor. "What about R2?"
"I'm sure he'll be fine", Luke said hoarsely.
"But-"
"I'm staying here!" Luke called out and glared at the golden droid. There was no way he was leaving the farm now. If it was all just a dream – fine, he'd get into trouble for not restraining the astromech but he could go search for it with Uncle Owen later when less Tusken were running about.
If it wasn't a dream though but some sort of premonition… then the Empire was still searching for the droids. They'd find the Jawa sandcrawler that had picked them up initially and then they'd come to the farm.
But what should he do if they did come? He could just hand over C3PO but they probably wouldn't believe him when he said R2 had escaped. And anyway, the droids were carrying important information to help the Rebellion and that Princess was relying on someone getting it to them...
Luke didn't know what to do. He wished he could ask Ben for help. If this dream was a premonition, he was sure it had something to do with that mysterious Force he was talking about. But if he went to Ben's now, he wouldn't make it back in time before the Empire knocked at his family's door.
He could take his aunt and uncle with him to Ben but three persons was the maximum his landspeeder could carry. Actually, it was only meant for two. So they'd have to leave C3PO alone and couldn't fit Ben in there either… No. But if he took his aunt and uncle and brought them to a neighboring farm, the Darklighters maybe, they would be safe for now and Luke could come back and take C3PO to Ben's. Then the old man could see what he did with the droids, Luke wasn't about to get into another firefight. The whole thing had been a stupid idea to begin with and he'd only agreed because the image of his farm burned down had unsettled him so much.
But now that his family was alive again he realized how stupid it was to try and mess with the Empire. He had no obligation to help Ben or the Rebellion. It wasn't like it mattered if the galaxy was ruled by an Empire or a Republic, neither gave a wombrat's ass about Tatooine.
Then again, the chase had been pretty exciting, almost fun… And the prospect of becoming a Jedi knight like his father sounded much more appealing than life as a moisture farmer or even going to the Academy. Damn, what was he going to do?
At last Luke made his decision. He went over to his uncle's room and knocked.
"What is it?" Owen asked and Luke entered, seeing him sitting on the bed half dressed.
"Uh, the R2 unit has disappeared", Luke said. "The other droid said he wanted to find his Master. The Jawas must've sold us stolen goods."
"He's gone out into the desert!? Didn't he have a restraining bolt?" Owen asked angrily.
"Well yes but I removed it yesterday so it could go and work on that broken vaporator in the morning. He's been gone for a while. I thought maybe we could go over to the Darklighters and ask them for help in organizing a search party. By the time we're ready, Tatoo II will have risen and the Tusken will seek shelter from the suns."
"Yeah and then the Jawas will come crawling out of their holes and catch him." Own pulled up his pants and growled something under his beard.
"I'll take the speeder and search for it myself."
Luke thought very fast for an excuse to change his mind.
"But… The Darklighters have two speeders, it'll be faster that way. If we go there now we'll have three speeders. I'll take ours and search the area between our farms and Mos Eisley. I can get my power converters that I missed out on buying yesterday and if R2 has been picked up by Jawas or if his Master lives there, that's where I'm going to find him. Mr Darklighter and you can search the other direction together, that's safer if you do run into any Tusken stragglers."
"Well, I suppose we could do that. Tell your Aunt we'll just have some sandwiches."
"We should take her with us. To the Darklighters, I mean. She shouldn't stay here alone, it's not safe."
Own looked at him with suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
Luke went a little red. "It's just that… The Tusken. And I heard there were a lot of Imperials around. Just… Better safe than sorry?"
His uncle started at him for a long time.
"Yeah", he said at last. "Sure."
They packed some things together and ten minutes later they left. The ride to the Darklighters went without a hitch, though Luke had to listen to a small tirade about not taking proper care of the droids and he better dare not waste any time with his friends or in the junk shops, he was to search for the droid.
Luke had several snide comments on his tongue but he swallowed them all and held out, which only seemed to make his uncle more suspicious.
The Darklighters luckily agreed to help them and Luke took the landspeeder and made it back to the farm. There he picked up C3PO who fussed a bit about the change of plans and then went straight to the canyon where he'd initially found R2. Except from afar he could see some banthas and no droid so he avoided the area, took a wide detour and made his way directly to Ben's hut. He parked his speeder, took a minute to brace himself, then knocked at the door.
Old Ben opened the door and looked at him curiously.
"Luke? What are you doing here?"
"I-I'm searching for an R2 unit. Well, actually, I'm not, I know it's here but… It's complicated. Can I come inside please?"
"Of course. I hope nothing is wrong?"
"Everything is wrong", Luke groaned as he stepped inside.
"Tea?" Ben offered and Luke nodded gladly. There was a beeping sound then and Luke turned to see R2 in a corner.
Luke smiled at the droid. "So you made it here after all. Did you run into any Tusken or Jawas?"
"Bee-bee-bee-beep!"
"Both, actually", Ben commented. "He was captured by Jawas first, then Tusken chased away the Jawas and I chased away the Tusken. But tell me, how do you know this little droid?"
"My uncle brought him from Jawas two days ago. No wait… Yesterday, he brought him yesterday, on Benduday. He was talking about finding an Obi-Wan Kenobi, which apparently is you and so he ran away."
"I haven't been called that in a long time… and I don't remember owning a R2 unit but it seems the droid's master sent him to me with a message."
"The Princess' message, yes I saw it. You're a Jedi General from the Clone Wars and the Rebellion is calling for your help."
Ben looked at him calmly, then gave him a cup of tea.
"There was no mention of the Jedi in the message."
Luke nodded. "I know and this is where things get weird, Ben. Because all of this has already happened before. I remember it happening! I was woken up by C3PO, I searched for R2, was attacked by Tusken Raiders and then I met you and you… You told me about my father. That he was a Jedi Knight who fought with you in the Clone Wars till he was killed by Darth Vader. Then you wanted me to help you get R2 to the Rebellion but I wouldn't and then Stormtroopers killed my Aunt and Uncle and – and then we met Han and Chewie and escaped from Tatooine. That was on Primeday, yesterday. Except today it's Primeday again."
"Slow down Luke, you're not making any sense", Ben said. "What was that about your Aunt and Uncle?"
Luke shook his head. "It hasn't happened yet, and I don't think it will, not now. I told Uncle Owen to take my aunt and go to the Darklighters and search for R2 together. They won't be at the farm when the Empire shows up. I saved them – I think – but I don't know what's going on. It's as if I am living the same day twice. Is that a Force-thing or something? Have you ever heard of it?"
Ben stroked his beard and mused over his words for a bit.
"Well, to tell you the truth Luke – I've never heard about something like this. Sometimes Jedi can have premonitions, they can see things in dreams or during meditation, sometimes even during waking hours that are yet to come. Sometimes these visions show you a set future, sometimes it is a warning of something that can be averted. But they still have a dreamlike feel to it, they're not like memories of a previous day the way you describe your experience. Is this the first time this happened to you?"
Luke nodded.
"Well, whatever it is, it does seem like a gift of the Force. I can think of no other way how you would know about your father or my past unless someone told you and I very much doubt your Uncle would."
"That means the Empire is really after my family", Luke concluded with dread.
"They are after the droids. They'll probably search your farm but if you already made sure your relatives won't be there, they will be safe. When we leave Tatooine, chances are we'll get chased anyway and if the Empire has confirmation that the droids have left the planet, they won't bother coming back to the farm."
"Hold on, leave Tatooine? I never said I would leave with you", Luke protested.
"Of course you did, you said we escaped Tatooine with someone named Han and Chewie."
"Well yes, that happened in my dream – I mean vision but now that I have a chance to make sure my family stays alive, I'm going to have to stay."
Ben sighed. "But Luke, don't you see that this mission is greater than the both of us? It can't be a coincidence that the Force has warned you of what is to come. It is your destiny calling for you."
"I don't know about destiny. I always wanted to leave Tatooine and joining the Rebellion always sounded like a great adventure. But I lived through it, I discovered the price I'd have to pay and it's just too much, Ben. I'm sorry."
Ben leaned back in his seat and took a sip from his tea.
"You have to do what you think is right, Luke."
Luke smiled. "I knew you'd say that."
As before, Luke agreed to take Ben and the droids to the next city and as before they came about the sandcrawler and all the slaughtered Jawas. Even knowing that his family shouldn't be at the farm, Luke still got a bad feeling and insisted they stop at the Darklighters. They found Luke's aunt and Mrs Darklighter there who confirmed that the men were still out searching. Luke told them how the droids actually belonged to Ben and he was giving him a lift to town but that they had found the remains of the Jawa transport that showed signs of being raided by Tusken. The desert was not safe right now and if Owen returned he and Beru should stay at the Darklighters overnight. Luke would join them in the evening.
Once they reached Mos Eisley, they were presented with a new problem – they had to find a ship and pilot to get Ben off-planet. Luke was reluctant to sell his speeder as he'd done last time since he'd still need it but in the end Ben talked him into doing it anyway with the promise that he'd get enough money to buy a new landspeeder once Ben reached the Rebellion.
Negotiations in the bar went pretty much as before with the exception that Luke stayed away from the thugs in the bar and Ben didn't have to draw his lightsaber to disarm one of them. This brought them more time to reach the Millennium Falcon and as Luke watched the ship lift off, for once there weren't any Stormtroopers shooting at it.
Satisfied, Luke brought himself a room in a local motel to stay in for the night, intent on joining a caravan in the morning so he wouldn't have to cross the Imperial-infested desert alone on foot.
Content with himself in his day, he fell asleep.
XxX
Day 3 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
Luke groggily opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them, then turned towards the golden protocol droid.
No, wait a moment. 3PO was gone! He'd helped Ben and the droids to escape. Everything had gone perfect, too!
"What is it, 3PO?" he asked warily.
"It's R2D2 Sir, I'm afraid he's run away. He said something about finding Obi-Wan Kenobi, whoever that is…"
Luke sat up abruptly. It was the same day again. The same day! What was going on? Hadn't he done everything alright? Ben escaped with the droids, his family was still alive and Luke remained where he should've been. Or should he? Ben had said that it was his destiny to come with him, to become a Jedi but Luke had been too concerned about his family to go. Maybe the Force wanted him to go? Maybe that was why he was reliving this day?
Luke thought about the firefight, his encounter with the Tusken, the brawl in the bar. It had been thrilling but also quite scary. On the other hand, through the power of foresight he'd been able to prevent all violence on the next turn.
So maybe that was what he was to do? Help Ben with his mission without anyone getting hurt? That sounded like something a Jedi would do, didn't it?
His decision made, Luke started in his day. He convinced Owen and Beru to leave the farm, then took C3PO to Ben's hut.
"Luke? What are you doing here?" Ben asked when he saw him standing at the door.
"Hi Ben, I know about your mission to get R2 to Alderaan and I want to help you. Can I come with you?" he asked straight out.
"Ah, I don't think that would be such a good idea…"
Luke felt stumped. "Eh, what?"
"I don't know how you found out about the trip I'm planning to go on but it could be dangerous."
"Yeah, I know. I'm ready for that. So? Can we leave now? If we hurry we might make it to the bar before that crazy Aqualish and his friend show up."
"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, Luke", Ben said hesitantly.
Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll tell you on the way. You're going to Mos Eisley anyway, aren't you? We can take my landspeeder."
"Well, if you're offering a ride… Let me just get a few things."
Five minutes later they were all crammed into Luke's landspeeder.
"I had a vision, you know", Luke told him while he sped across the dunes. "A Force vision. Basically, I've already lived through this day once. Well, twice. I know what I have to do anyway. We'll go to Mos Eisley, I'll sell my landspeeder to get some cash that you can use to pay Han and Chewie from the Millennium Falcon to take us to Alderaan and off we go. You can teach me all about the Force and stuff, it will be fun. Just remind me that I have to send a message to my Aunt and Uncle, they kinda don't know that I'm running off."
"You had a Force vision? Really? I didn't even know you knew what the Force was."
"I didn't until the you in my vision told me. But my father was a Jedi too, wasn't he? Maybe it's in the blood. Did he ever have visions?"
Ben became very quiet for a moment. Then he whispered so Luke almost didn't hear him over the wind: "Who told you your father was a Jedi?"
Luke glanced at him confused. "You did. In my vision, I mean."
"What else did I tell you in that vision of yours?"
"Some things." Luke grew uncomfortable. "You told me about Vader too."
Ben took a deep breath. "So… you know the truth then. I have to say, you're taking it remarkably well. Is that the reason you want to join the Rebellion?"
"Part of it, yeah. Who knows, maybe it's my destiny to kill him. Vader, I mean. For what he did. That sounds like a destiny to me. Or do Jedi not do that? Did you ever want to take revenge on Vader for his betrayal?"
"Revenge? No", Ben said quietly. "Revenge is not the way of the Jedi. I wanted to stop him and I thought I did too. But he came back, fiercer and stronger and far more evil than before. He was… He was my friend. I had the chance to kill him and I didn't. Now the galaxy is paying for it."
"He deceived you", Luke said with bitterness but also some sympathy. "You didn't know. It wasn't your fault."
"I should've seen him falling. I should've paid attention to the signs. But I didn't. I thought there was still good in him, even after he killed so many innocents. I was wrong."
"Then he has to die. If there's nothing good left in him – he has to die."
"Revenge is not the-"
"Way of the Jedi, yeah, I get it. But it's not about revenge. I understand that you can't do it, you lost people you know to him and he was your pupil after all. But I… I never knew my father. I like to imagine what my life would've been like if Vader hadn't fallen but… It happened. I can't change that and I can't miss a man I never knew. It won't be revenge, it'll be justice." Luke looked over the desert then and he thought he saw the shadow of the sandcrawler, though he steered clear of it. He didn't want to see the carnage, not now.
"Well, " he muttered, "maybe it would be a little revenge."
"You're a very brave young man", Ben said, "and wiser than I gave you credit for. I would hate for you to carry that burden and if at all possible, I'll take it off your shoulders."
"You don't have to. I understand, like I said Vader was your pupil."
"He may have been my pupil", Ben said, "but he was your father."
Luke hit the brakes abruptly and his speeder let loose a wave of sand as it came to a halt.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop a moment", Luke called out and turned to Ben.
"What are you talking about? Anakin Skywalker was my father. He was a Jedi Knight. Vader, your pupil, turned to the dark side and killed my father. That's what you told me!"
For all but two seconds, Ben just stared at him. Then he smiled.
"Of course he did. That's what I said."
"No, you just said that… You said…" Then it dawned on him and Luke's jaw dropped.
"Are you… Are you saying that Vader is my father? That he is the Jedi Knight that you taught and that turned on the order?"
Ben's smiled dropped. "I'm sorry, Luke. In a way, Vader did kill your father. He stopped being Anakin Skywalker when he turned to the Dark side and took on that name."
"You lied to me!
"I did not. I don't know what you saw in your vision but-"
"I just asked you straight out if that was the truth and you denied it!"
"Well, from a certain point of view-"
"Get out!" Luke shouted and reached over to open the speeder door.
"Luke-"
"You too", the farm boy said to the droids. "Both of you, get out now!"
"But Master Luke", C3PO protested. "Alone in this desert, we'll surely be attacked by Tusken or Imperials or worse – Jawas! We'll be disassembled."
"I don't care, I said get out!"
Ben helped the droids out of the speeder.
"I'm sorry Luke. I didn't mean to…", he began but Luke just gave him one last glare and drove off.
All the way back to the farm Luke was seething. It wasn't just Ben – no, Obi-Wan, his name wasn't even Ben! – he was angry about, it was his family too. How much had they known? Had everyone lied to him? He wasn't the son of a spice freighter pilot, instead he had a greater destiny and the power to match it. But he wasn't the son of a brave Jedi Knight either. He was the son of a monster.
Was that why they hadn't told him? Were they afraid of him?
Obi-Wan had told him the tale about how Vader killed his father and while all the talk about Jedi and adventure and rebels and princesses was fun and all, what had really drawn him to the idea was the chance for revenge. He'd wanted to kill Vader – his father. And maybe he would have, never knowing the truth.
Did Vader know? Did he know that he had a son – did he care? Ben said there was nothing good left in him – but could he trust anything the old man said?
In any case, any desire Luke had to go adventuring with a bunch of Rebels had suddenly vanished. He just wanted to go home now, so that was exactly what he did.
Luke arrived at the farm feeling emotionally exhausted. He parked his speeder and went to the kitchen to fetch himself some water – and ran straight into a Stormtrooper.
"Freeze!" the armored man said and fumbled with his rifle as Luke had almost knocked him over when he rounded the corner.
Reflexively Luke raised his hands and froze.
"State your name and purpose!" the trooper demanded. Behind him, another two troopers came into the room and pointed their weapons at Luke.
"I, ah, I'm Luke Sky…watcher, Luke Skywatcher and I live here", he stuttered. What with everything he'd just learned about his heritage, he probably better not go around announcing his real name to Imperials.
"We are searching for a set of droids, a bipedal protocol droid and an astromech. Have you recently seen any such models together?"
For a second, just a second, a mean little part of Luke contemplated telling them. It would be easy. He'd just tell them that Ben was on his way to Mos Eisley and that he planned on hiring the Millennium Falcon to get off planet to Alderaan. Why should the old liar deserve anything else?
But then Luke was reminded of the message and the beautiful princess. Obi-Wan was her only hope.
"No", Luke said, "I haven't seen any droids."
"We know that the Jawas sold them to this place. You're lying to us!" the trooper accused him and raised his rifle. "Bring him in!"
He was dragged into the middle of the kitchen and then someone hit him with the blunt end of a rifle till he saw stars.
"Tell us where the droids are! Tell us now!" the troopers demanded.
"I don't know!" Luke insisted and got hit again for his trouble.
The next twenty minutes were the most painful ones of Luke's entire life. Every inch of his body was beaten. When the troopers shot a hole in each of his legs when he tried to run, he told them about buying the droids off the Jawas and how they had run away. When they pressed his face on the hot cooktop he told them about them talking about Obi-Wan Kenobi. When they started getting out the kitchen knives he told them everything, about Kenobi being a Jedi, about the message of the princess, about their destination being Alderaan, hell, he even told them about his visions and that his father was Lord Vader himself. They laughed at him and started setting the house on fire.
Half an hour later, Luke was dead.
XxX
Day 4 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
Luke groggily opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them, then turned towards the golden protocol droid.
So it began again. Another day – no, the same day over and over again. What was he supposed to do now? What could he do?
Luke ignored 3PO's prattling and spent half an hour in the fresher making sure he wasn't burned or cut anywhere. But all the injuries he'd received the previous day were gone. He could still feel the pain in his flesh, his bones but there was no trace of it now.
One thing he knew for sure. If Vader had any say about men like these then he was a monster for allowing them to treat anyone like that. Vader – his father – was a monster.
Without a single word to his family, Luke went to grab the hunting rifle his Uncle kept in the storage room and took the landspeeder into the desert. He hid it near the canyon where he first found R2 and set up camp there, waiting for the Tusken to arrive. When they did, he shot them, one after another, imagining them to be Stormtroopers. A few minutes later Ben Kenobi arrived. He looked around but didn't spot Luke, then went to check on the Tuskens, confirmed them dead and retrieved R2 from where he'd been hiding.
All the while Luke lay at the top of the canyon, looking down on Obi-Wan with his finger on the trigger. He wondered if this blasted day would end if he pressed it now.
In the end he didn't. Instead he called out to Obi-Wan, greeted him and recounted the conversation he had with him on that very first day, just pretending to look for R2. Kenobi took him with him to his hut and continued to tell him about the Force, the Jedi – and his father. He lied to him, straight out lied to him and didn't look the least bit guilty.
He gifted him a lighgtsaber - supposedly his father's and as Luke turned it in his hand, he couldn't help but ask:
"When did my father give this to you? When did he tell you to give to me?"
"That was shortly before he died, Luke", Obi-Wan said calmly.
"How did he die? I know, you said Vader killed him – but how? Where you there? Did he die through such a weapon, a lightsaber? Or was he shot? What happened exactly?"
"I don't think it would do you any good to know that, Luke."
"But I want to know. And I think I have a right to", Luke answered, no longer capable of keeping up the innocent act entirely. "My Aunt and Uncle apparently lied to me for my entire life. Will at least you tell me the truth? How did my father die?"
Obi-Wan hesitated for a long moment. Then he said: "He and Vader fought. With lightsabers, yes. It was on a volcanic planet. Then your father fell, right into a pit of molten lava."
"So he burned to death. That was it?"
"Yes."
Luke turned the lightsaber in his hands, then ignited the azure blade and regarded it.
"What was the planet called?"
"Luke…"
"I want to know."
"It's called Mustarfar."
"Mustarfar…", Luke repeated. He let his eyes glide around the room. He spotted Obi-Wan's brown overcoat hanging at the other end of the room and he knew the Jedi's lightsaber was in there. That meant right now, he was unarmed.
"So it was on Mustarfar… that you duelled my father… and failed to kill him." The blue blade was suddenly lying at Obi-Wan's throat. "That bit about the lava, was that a lie too? Or was he injured? Is that why he needs the breather? I heard he wears one all the time. Vader, I mean. My father."
"Luke, what-"
"You said he turned to the dark side and you tried to stop him. You sure it wasn't the other way around? Maybe you tried to stop him… and as a result, he turned."
"Luke, Vader is not your father. Anakin Skywalker is and he's dead. He's got nothing in common with Vader."
"Yes, my father is dead. But it wasn't Vader who killed him. It was you, wasn't it?"
Luke was standing and looking down at the sitting man as he held the lightsaber at his throat.
"Look into my eyes, Obi-Wan, and tell me that you don't blame yourself the least bit for his fall. Tell me that it's not your fault."
The old Jedi opened his mouth but nothing came out. He just stared at Luke and there was so much pain, so much shame and regret in them that Luke almost lowered the blade. Almost.
"I can't", he croaked and a single tear escaped his eyes as he lowered his head.
"Why did you lie to me?" Luke wanted to know, his voice cold as ice.
"You aren't ready, Luke. Someday you will have to confront Vader but I was afraid if you knew beforehand, you would go searching for him and he would destroy you. You're a good boy, Luke. But look what knowing the truth has made you do."
"You had no right! You had no right to keep this from me, you had no right to lie…! How is that the Jedi way, you're supposed to be heroes, how is that-"
As one often did when agitated, Luke started to gesticulate. He hadn't meant to do it but one thoughtless motion of his wrist and suddenly there was a gaping wound at Obi-Wan's neck.
Luke stared at the quickly darkening flesh as the old Jedi gurgled out some words he couldn't understand and gripped his throat.
Luke dropped the lightsaber in shock which shut itself off and fell to the ground with a clatter. Shortly after Obi-Wan fell to his knees, still clutching his open throat. There was no blood, just the smell of burned flesh.
Then the old hermit fell forward on his face, twitched one last time – and lay still.
Luke was breathing fast and starting to hyperventilate as he stared at his hand, then at the lightsaber on the ground, to the two droids who had shut off that were standing in the corner and back to the body in front of him.
He bolted.
Luke ran to his speeder and turned on the engine and sped back to his farm as fast as he could. Once he arrived there though only smoke and blackened sand greeted him and there were two burned bodies just outside the door.
Luke fell to his knees in front of what remained of his home, wondering what he'd been thinking not telling his relatives to get away when he had the chance. Of course, he'd thought the day would just start over. But what if it didn't? What if it didn't?
"No", Luke mumbled staring at the corpses of his family, "no, no, no… It can't be real." He raised his head and looked up at the rising moon.
"Start it again!" he shouted, his eyes burning with tears. "Start it again! I'll do anything just start it again!"
There was no answer from the sky, just silence and Luke fell to a heap on the ground and sobbed.
An hour later he had cried himself to sleep.
XxX
Day 5 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
Luke was wide awake the moment he heard the pratty voice but he stayed laying down for another few seconds with his eyes open.
"Thank you, Force", he muttered, having never felt so relieved. Then he threw back his blankets and got up.
This time, everything would be perfect, he decided. He would save his Aunt and Uncle. He would save R2 from the raiders but not by killing them, no, no killing, he'd use the stun setting on his uncle's rifle. Then he'd go to Obi-Wan, smile as the old man lied to him and bring him to Mos Eisley. He'd sell his landspeeder, avoid the thugs in the bar and get on board with the Jedi and the pilots. Then he'd join the Rebels and become a Jedi and never kill anyone ever again.
So that's what he did. And it worked too, he did everything perfect.
And then he woke up the next day not on the Falcon but in his own bed on the farm again.
It was the sixth repeat and Luke didn't know what else he was supposed to change. Nobody had gotten hurt, had they?
Well, that wasn't entirely true. There had been a group of Jawas who'd been slaughtered. Was he supposed to prevent that too? But how?
So he began making plans. He tried going to Mos Eisley very early in the morning and when he saw the troop of Imperials moving out, he hid behind a dune and started shooting at them. He managed to stun exactly one before he was hit in the head and woke up in his bed again.
So he tried again. And again. He would memorize where the trooper would aim if he moved around and after a week of trying he managed to take down the whole five-man squad. He rid them of their armor and bound them together, leaving them in their black jumpsuits in the burning sun.
Two hours later the entire city of Mos Eisley was wiped out by the turbo laser fire of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Apparently leaving your enemies alive to call for backup did have some drawbacks.
So Luke tried something else. After sending his relatives to the Darklighters he searched for the Jawa caravan and convinced them to take another route by practically gifting them his landspeeder. Once that was taken care of, he made it by foot to the canyon, which took him around three hours. He did arrive in time to save R2 from the raiders though and then rode a bantha to Obi-Wan's hut and got him and the droids to Mos Eisley. He sold both banthas and the Tusken's weapons to pay for passage. Satisfied he fell asleep on his cot in the ship, sure that this time he'd saved everyone.
XxX
Day 16 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
"Oh no, no, no! What now? I did everything right!" Luke protested. Ugh, what was going on? Why was he reliving the same day over and over again? It was not fair! … he needed a break.
So Luke went to warn his Aunt and Uncle – no matter what, he'd never leave before doing that, not again – and then he took his landspeeder to Toshe Station. He hung out with his friend Laze there the whole day, tinkering on the speeder with the new power converters he'd been dying to try out what seemed like a lifetime ago. In the evening they heard rumors about a ship from Mos Eisley breaking through the blockade of the Imperials but nobody knew any details. Luke just smiled and kept silent. Maybe he'd been wrong all along. Maybe he didn't have such a great destiny after all. Maybe he was just supposed to stay on Tatooine and know nothing of rebels and Imperials and princesses and Jedi.
XxX
Day 65
It wasn't ending. Luke didn't know what was going in but he no longer bought the vision theory. He was stuck in a time loop and he had no idea what had triggered it or how to get out. Nobody else seemed to share his experiences and nothing Obi-Wan had told him about the Force suggested that this was in any way normal.
So whatever it was he had to do to get out, if at all he was going to stumble over it by accident.
...which meant he was basically living an eternal holiday.
Luke started to grin. There was that one girl working in a droid shop in Mos Eisley that he'd never been brave enough to ask out on a date...
For about a week, Luke enjoyed the feeling of freedom. Every day he would make sure his Aunt and Uncle spend the day at the Darklighters and then drive up to Mos Eisley to have fun. He wasn't much of a party goer but that was mostly because he'd been raised to be cautious. Now though there were no ill effects to drinking himself into a stupor, no lasting drain to his purse if he hired a few scantly clad Twi'lek girls to dance for him and no consequences to robbing a whole pazaak table worth of criminals of all their savings. Except for a blaster bolt to the face but hey, their expressions had been totally worth it.
Eventually though, Luke got bored with the repetition. There was no real progress to anything he did. Nothing he did really mattered. His urge to do something productive and lasting grew each day. Eventually he decided he'd try learning a new skill.
So for a few weeks what he did was warn his relatives, save R2 and drag him away before Obi-Wan arrived, then sitting in a cool cave with the two droids and have 3PO teach him binary. He already knew a few basic commands but the protocol droid was fluid in a ridiculous amount of languages and was quite happy to teach Luke. And Luke was a good learner. Binary seemed to come naturally to him and it wasn't all that complicated a language if you knew what to listen to. After some time he was sure that he could at least understand basic information given to him in it and learn whatever else he needed by listening to R2.
Once he was confident enough in the language but bored silly by it, he opted to learn another skill – he learned to improve his shooting. First he practiced on Stormtroopers, then later the day on Tusken Raiders – all set to stun of course. When bored Luke had often shot womprats and he knew he was already pretty good but it was another thing when the target was shooting back at him. He got pretty good though – to the point that if he succeeded to sneak up on them, he could waste the squad of troopers who'd later kill his family in under three minutes. Of course by now he knew those special troopers very well, knew how and where they moved at which time and how to best defeat them so maybe it wasn't that much for an art – but still, he became a good shot. Even if he died a couple of dozen times before he got the hang of it.
XxX
Day 66 - Primeday
"Master Luke, Master Luke! Oh, it's terrible, please wake up!"
Luke yawed and stretched a bit, then got out of his bed.
"Master Luke, R2 has-"
"I know, I know. I'll take care of it later", Luke said.
He grabbed a sand-colored cloak and threw it over, then got to work. He took his landspeeder, like every day, and went to the meeting point of the Stormtroopers, like every day. He parked his speeder at a good distance and used the cover of his cloak to sneak up on the squad. Then he readied his Uncle's rifle, set on stun, and took aim. One went down.
The others shouted and jumped from their dewbacks, forming a circle.
Luke ducked, counted to six, raised his head again and another trooper went down.
Luke rolled to the side, avoided the salvo fired into the dune and moved aside seven steps until he raised his head again and fired two quick shots, both hitting a trooper each in the chest.
He dodged to the right again, picked up a grenade that landed at his feet right in that moment and threw it back into the group. Tear gas rolled over the dunes and Luke fired into the mist to where he knew his targets were, taking care of the other two troopers.
Then he stepped back and waited till the gas dissipated. Only then did he move to the troopers, bound them all together and loaded their stunned bodies onto the dewbacks. He smashed all the helmets including their comm- and tracking system, then mounted one of the dewbacks and led the small herd away. Around five miles south he stripped the troopers and buried their armor and weapons except for one rifle as it was better than his uncle's. He dropped the still stunned troopers and took his speeder to the canyon.
He'd found out that if he left the troopers in the middle of nowhere with no comm or tracking system, the Imperials wouldn't find out what happened to them and thus wouldn't wipe out the city because they suspected rebel activity in it. Luke always wasted quite a bit time on this but the troopers were good targets to practice with and they had killed his family at least twice so they deserved it.
Once at the canyon Luke used the superior Imperial weapon to take down the raiders harassing R2. He waited for Obi-Wan to come and pick up the droid, then after he was gone Luke went down to collect the banthas and gaffi sticks and rode to Mos Eisley. There he sold the animals, making a nice little profit and sat down in the cantina for a drink. He witnessed Obi-Wan entering the cantina and talking to some people till he stopped by the Wookiee. Luke waited until Chewie led him to Han, then went over to them.
"I don't think you heard me old man – no money, no passage!" Han insisted.
"You will get all the money you want and more once I am at Alderaan", Obi-Wan tried to convince him.
"Not a chance, without upfront payment I won't risk a flight. I mean, have you looked at the sky?"
"You're looking at a passage off planet?" Luke cut in. "I am too. I've saved some money. How about I pay your upfront fee and old Ben here takes care of the rest once we reach the destination, hm?"
"Luke, I didn't know you were here. You want to leave Tatooine? Why? And why now?" the Jedi wondered.
"Let's just say I got into some trouble with a few Stormtroopers. I would appreciate it if we left as soon as possible. Any destination you have in mind is fine with me, I just wanna get off this dust ball."
"How much have you saved, kid?" Han wanted to know.
"I've got a thousand ready for you right now."
"A thousand? That isn't very much."
"No but I'll pay you 15 thousand once we reach Alderaan. Passage for the boy and me plus one droid. And no questions asked", the Jedi added.
"That would make sixteen thousand… Well alright, I'm in. But I want the money now."
"Of course", Luke said smoothly, handing over the money he made by selling the banthas and weapons.
"Hey is that an Imperial rifle you have there over yer shoulder, boy?" Han commented when they stood up.
"I did say I got into trouble with a few Stormtroopers, didn't I?" Luke answered with a smile.
Han muttered something about bloody nutters and went to prepare the ship.
Really, there was no reason for Luke to board with them. He knew Obi-Wan would make it off planet with or without his help. Once he just listened in on them to see how he did it without upfront payment and it turned out Chewbacca howled down a whole tirade that Luke unfortunately didn't get. It convinced Han to fly Obi-Wan – for a total fee of twenty thousand after they reached Alderaan which was roughly twice as much as the Falcon was worth.
The only reason why Luke bought his way into the ship almost every day for the last two weeks was because he enjoyed the holo game of sabbacc that he could play with Chewie once they were in hyperspace. Maybe in a few weeks of predicting the Wookie's moves, he'd actually win.
So Luke sent a message to his relatives more out of habit than anything else that he was leaving Tatooine and where he parked the speeder, then set out with Obi-Wan to meet Han and Chewie.
Without the ruckus caused at the cantina on his very first day and one less squad to patrol the city, no firefight took place here and they only had to shot down a few TIE's once they got into space. Luke considered it good targeting practice since he was very hard trying to hit the solar panels of the TIE's and cripple them without actually making the whole craft explode and killing the pilot within.
Then, in the evening, like every day he sat together with Obi-Wan and was questioned about exactly which trouble he'd been getting into.
It was kind of a game to Luke by now to think up elaborate schemes to pull the old Jedi's leg.
"Well I was mugged and left naked in the streets of town when those troopers came and thought I was for sale. I activated one of the grenades I ripped from one of their belts and knocked them out with tear gas, then I stole their clothing and weapons", he told him once.
Or another time it went like this: "We had this school project of what we want to become when we're done with school and I dressed up like a Stormtrooper. But then real troopers found me and thought I had killed one of their own so they chased me through the whole town and out into the desert. Then we came across a group of raiders who shot down the troopers while I hid. Later I returned and picked up a rifle from one of the bodies 'cause I thought it would look awesome with my costume but then I saw another squad questioning my teacher when I went to school and I thought damn, the gig is up so I better run as far away as possible."
But his favourite story and the one he told now as well was this:
"My friends and I recently befriended a group of Jawas and we sometimes play rebels and troopers. This time we were the Rebels and we were stun-shooting the troopers without realizing that it wasn't Jawas but actual troopers – I did wonder why there were so big."
Obi-Wan made a very funny face at that.
Served him right, the big fat liar.
XxX
AN: Hehehe, this is what Luke's been doing all day. He knows the truth about his father now and is not a fan of Obi-Wan! Wonder how that will affect things.
After the last chapter was so dark with Leia dying all the time, I had to bring in some humour with Luke just having fun and playing games. He has zero idea what's going on after all. Do you?
Write me your ideas if you've figured out what's happening!