Shooting Star

Chapter 5: Jedi

Luke groaned, feeling his muscles protest at the harsh landing. He was alive. He was grateful for that, despite the pain. Luke groaned and pulled blindly at the restraints that pressed into his chest. Despite the near pitch black around them, Luke could hear Ben deftly moving toward him.

"We need to move," Ben said, already helping Luke out of his seat. Luke watched fascinated as Ben took out a round cylinder. A blue beam of light extended from it. It definitely helped him to see better. They quickly grabbed what little rations Luke had stored in the skyhopper. Just as Luke was going to ask about the strange light, Ben thrust the blue beam into the metal of the skyhopper, slicing a large hole big enough for them to climb out of.

"My skyhopper!" Luke said dumbly, watching the metal fall away from his precious vehicle. Then he realized his foolishness. As he stepped out of the hull, he noted that it was a miracle they hadn't died. The moons' light reflected off the smoldering remains. Luke was crushed to realize his prized skyhopper, his one source of freedom on Tatooine, was completely demolished. Ben motioned for Luke to follow him toward the edge of the mesa. Hooking a cable to the end, Luke was amazed at the agility with which Ben careened down the edge of the cliff. Luke followed. Ben stopped at a ridge and began to precariously edge his way toward the left. Luke followed, feeling pessimistic and anxious.

He could hear ships flying nearby, obviously attracted by the crash. Luke felt his heart sink. They were going to be captured anyway. His skyhopper was wrecked, his aunt and uncle could be in a lot of trouble, heck, HE could be in a lot of trouble, and it hadn't made any difference. They were going to find him anyway.

"What do we do now?" Luke asked miserably.

"Get away from the wreck," Ben murmured.

Luke thought they were significantly away from it already, but he didn't argue. They continued to edge their way along the side of the canyon wall. Luke felt ridiculously exposed. The ships could see them if they happened to shine their lights their way.

Squinting, Luke noticed a small divot in the rock's surface. It was nothing, truly, but there was something about it that gave Luke the strangest urge to head toward it. What was even stranger was that that was where Ben was headed. Once they got to it, Ben turned sideways and slipped inside what was the unmistakable opening to a cave in the cliff. Luke followed. Ben had turned on a light (not the blue glowrod from before), showing an extensive network of caves.

"Brace yourself," Ben said. Luke didn't have a chance to say anything before an explosion, followed by several smaller rocks falling behind them, covering the entrance they had just come from.

"What was that?" Luke asked, though he had a feeling he knew. "The fuel tank...?"

"Must have caught a spark and exploded," Ben finished for him. "Hopefully our pursuers will believe we perished in the crash and not bother looking for us. By the time they are able to get close enough to the scene, the wind will have swept our footprints away, and the one entrance we came through is hidden."

"But how do we get back out?" Luke asked. But again, he had a feeling he already knew as he looked at the labyrinth of tunnels before them.

"This way," Ben said. Luke had the strangest feeling Ben had planned everything this way…

"Governor," Lieutenant Tehax said, feeling his entire body tremble as he spoke into the comlink.

"Do you have Lars?" she asked, her usual calm demeanor pierced with the desperation she felt at pleasing the dark lord. They all knew what would await them if they failed Lord Vader.

"It...it appears he was shot down. His ship exploded."

There was a long silence over the comlink. Usually Tehax would have said something sooner to make sure the line hadn't gone dead, but he could, sadly, understand this was not a usual circumstance.

"He can't be dead," Governor Tour finally said.

"The ship was utterly destroyed," Lt. Tehax explained.

"Did you find his body?" she asked.

"We haven't been able to get into the hull. The ship is still smoking and the metal too hot to explore it, but we're almost certain he didn't make it."

"Be one hundred percent sure! Sweep the area!" Tour demanded. She cut the line.

Governor Tour trembled, even as she attempted to take deep, calming breaths. If she were a lesser Governor, she may have thought to disguise someone as Luke Lars. Others may think Vader wouldn't know the difference, which might even be true, but she knew that somehow the truth would come out.

Still, if she presented the facts as a heroically tragic tale, then it might matter. They could use the publicity of Lars's death to the fullest. It might even be better this way…

"Milady," her assistant said, her voice strained. "We are receiving another demand for an update from Lord Vader's flagship."

Tour had dreaded telling Vader about losing the boy already, but that now seemed better than telling him of his death.

"Tell them about the kidnapping and of our pursuit. Nothing else," she said.

Luke was amazed that old Ben had managed to find a cave suitable enough for their shelter. It had two broken down moisture vaporators, and it was clear that whoever – or whatever – had lived there had long since deserted the area, but it still gave Luke an eerie feeling, especially considering that he was sure Ben hadn't known about it before. And what was even stranger was that Luke had looked at the opening to the cave mouth, thought maybe they should try there, before thinking himself delusional. That he and Ben were sharing the same delusions made Luke wonder if they'd both hit their heads during the crash.

As Luke used his work light to get the vaporators back online, he hoped they wouldn't really be staying in the cave long enough to need the water reserves in the vaporators.

"We'll have to wait here until they stop sweeping the area. They won't be able to pinpoint our location as the sands have already swept our footprints away. And I'm sure they won't be able to see or get to this cavern without looking directly at it," Ben said. He sounded so certain.

"Yeah, but even if we wait here, it's not like they're gonna leave the skyhopper there. If the people after me don't dismantle it, the Jawas will," Luke thought dejectedly. He hated the thought of his precious skyhopper becoming spare parts for the Jawas. Sighing, he wondered at the entire situation. He really didn't know what to make of everything. His entire life had been turned upside down because he had saved the lives of those two reporters. Immediately he felt guilty. He didn't mean that he wished they had died, but he wished they had treated his life with more respect.

"Chin up, young Luke. Help is on the way," Ben said, again sounding so sure. Luke shrugged. "In the mean time, why don't we get some rest?"

"Yeah, not much else to do out here," Luke said, listening as the vaporator whirled back to life. Using the bedroll he'd had on the skyhopper, Luke unrolled it, tossed and turned a few times before making himself comfortable enough to sleep. Sincerely doubting he would be able to sleep with all that he had learned and with all that had happened to him he was amazed to find himself feeling suddenly tired. The next thing he knew, his body felt blissfully heavy as he drifted off to sleep...

Obi-Wan looked down at his young charge. It was amazing at the differences yet similarities between father and son. Surely the impatience was there, though he doubted the life of a moisture farmer would seem exciting to anyone. He couldn't chalk up Luke's desire to get up and go solely to genetics as it was likely circumstantial. The piloting skills, however, were very similar. Anakin would have been proud.

The lack of confidence – now that was something Anakin never had trouble with. He was always so assured he was more important and more powerful than a regular Jedi. While Luke might feel confident with his flying skills, it was clear he had no desire to be some sort of powerful figure. It was a good sign in that he would not want to seek power. Luke, unlike Anakin, had never felt completely powerless like Anakin's slave upbringing. On the other hand, Luke did seem to have an almost hero-like worship for his father, and now it appeared Anakin would be sharing that hero worship with the boy's mother.

That was not a good sign. Obi-Wan pondered how he would build Luke's own self-confidence without tempting him to desire more yet giving him the right amount of confidence that he didn't seek out the safety of other, seemingly more powerful, individuals. Luke was now in awe of his mother's capabilities. It would only be too easy for Palpatine to use the supposed friendship he had had to offer Luke guidance. Obi-Wan would need to make Luke feel powerful enough that he didn't need to accept such offers while not making him feel like he needed to seek out more power. It was a hard mix to create. He sighed and laid down his own bedroll.

On the bright side, he had a few ideas of how to keep Luke busy tomorrow. With the boy's own admittance that there was nothing to do, Obi-Wan was going to take full advantage of immersing Luke into Force training in the morning.

Lt. Tehax inspected the wreckage himself. There was something off about the entire situation. He had already interrogated the pilot who had shot down the ship extensively. He explained how the other pilot, who they now expected to be Luke due to his skills, had flown through what the locals called the Stone Needle. The pilot insisted that he had shot the plane in a spot that would have only damaged their ship; not the people inside.

And after inspecting everything, double checking what remained of the skyhopper, Lt. Tehax actually agreed with him. He fervently hoped Lars was still alive. What made him hopeful was that the one piece of metal seemed to have come off the ship in too cleanly a cut. It was like someone had sliced it open rather than it exploding outward. Not to mention the explosion itself had been lessened than usual. A closed cockpit with a fuel tank exploding should have burst due to the amount of pressure build up in a sealed cabin. Yet the evidence suggested that the hull had been unpressurized before the explosion.

Tehax knelt down, looking at the piece of metal that appeared to be cut away. No vibroblade that he knew of could make such a clean cut through such a thick metal hull – not to mention with how quick it would have had to have been made between the time the pilot shot Lars' down and when it exploded. Tehax frowned. If he didn't know any better, he would think it was cut with a lightsaber like Lord Vader carried. Except he didn't know of anyone who carried a lightsaber other than Lord Vader. Except...except the Jedi the Dark Lord chased.

Lt. Tehax stood up straight and looked around the area.

"Trooper!" he said, looking at the nearest storm trooper. "Run a reference of a description we have of Lars's kidnapper against a list of wanted Jedi or their relatives."

Lt. Tehax felt a strange rush of excitement. It was very possible that Lars was alive and well after all! Even if he was in the clutches of a Jedi, then perhaps if he helped kill the Jedi involved, all was not lost. It made sense now why Darth Vader was involved. If a Jedi were trying to interfere, then clearly Lars was of greater importance than anyone was letting on. The Jedi scum was likely trying to kill off the boy.

"Sir, we're having difficulty with our equipment. There seems to be a large sandstorm near Bestine preventing proper communications."

"Try sending the signal through Mos Eisley. It's closer anyway."

"Yes, sir."

Tehax tried comming Governor Tour and explained his findings and relayed his suspicions. It took him several tries to reach her, and the signal was extremely poor.

"I thought - Lars knew - neighbor," Governor Tour said, frowning.

"He only said that he knew them. I didn't...I didn't check to see if they really did know him or not," said, flushing. He really hadn't thought anything bad would come of it.

"I will inform Lo- Vader of our -icions."

The comm. feed cut off. Tehax had a feeling they wouldn't be able to reach the ship with a sandstorm interfering so badly. But it didn't matter. It would mean giving him more time to find Lars and gather more information.

When Luke awoke the next morning, it was to a strange smell. He felt disoriented, having rarely woken up anywhere else other than his homestead. Still, he was only disoriented momentarily before he stretched and sat up. Evidence of a small fire was off to the side, but it had obviously died out. Which was a good thing because the heat of the fire would have made the already arid heat of the desert difficult to bear.

"What's that?" Luke asked, watching as Ben cut up something near the since quieted fire.

"Hubba gourd. I already took out the juice and decided to try and roast it. It didn't look the most appetizing to eat raw," Ben said, with a small attempt at humor. Luke had tried it before. It wasn't too bad.

"Why don't we just use our emergency rations?" Luke asked reasonably.

"It's best to save them until it is truly an emergency as we don't know how long we will be out here. Here we have some food readily available. I found a few things growing around the cliffs that we could eat," Ben reasoned.

Obi-Wan began to gently explain about using the available resources in any given situation. Luke nodded thoughtfully. Obi-Wan smiled thinly. If Luke had been raised in the Jedi Temple, lessons like these would have been some of the first he would have learned. But living in the desert, thankfully, meant Luke already knew these things, even if he had never had to practice them before. He hoped to ingrain the basic survival teaching on how to use his surroundings to Luke as best he could without sounding too overbearing.

Luke noted that the breakfast wasn't really all that bad; it just wasn't what he was used to.

"I have something for you," Ben said as they sat around in silence, Luke looking around him feeling antsy, wondering if people were out looking for them. He was glad that Ben had broken the silence. Luke watched as Ben pulled out a round cylindrical item.

"What is it?"

"Your father's lightsaber."

"My father's?" Luke asked as he took the item from Ben's outstretched hand. This had been his father's! He held the lightsaber away from him and pushed the button, amazed as it extended a blue beam of light like what Ben had used the night before. He moved it around fluidly, relishing in the feel of it in his hand.

"While we're waiting, I want to teach you to be a Jedi, like your father," Ben said. Luke pressed the button again, looking at Ben eagerly. To be like his father...

"What do I have to do?"

"Learn about the Force."

Gunnery Captain Bolvan gave a sigh as he looked at the Dark Lord, Darth Vader. His eyes darted over toward Captain Wermis. He knew that both he and Wermis didn't particularly like delivering news to the Sith Lord. It was one thing to deliver bad news – it was usually easier to realize if the information would upset him enough that it would cause death for failure. Not that Bolvan feared that. In fact, Bolvan had been demoted from captain to gunnery captain because of his outspoken disagreements with Lord Vader's orders. He always carried them out, but Darth Vader had made it quite clear that he did not wish to hear his thoughts on any situation unless specifically asked. Whereas he had been demoted, Daine Jir had been promoted to Commander due to his outspokenness and bluntness. It was clear no one could predict Vader's actions or whims.

However, as of late, Darth Vader had been somewhat more erratic and even more unpredictable. Bolvan was sorely tempted to ask about the sudden, unexpected course. Vader had originally ordered them to Sullust to take care of the rebels they knew to be there. Yet now they were heading to Tatooine, apparently to locate one person. It did not fit with what he knew about Darth Vader. The man would much rather fight than play escort.

Bolvan's eyes darted across the bridge to Captain Wermis whom Bolvan served directly under. It was amazing that the man had survived the past few days as Vader seemed to particularly enjoy using the Force to choke the captain. It kept Captain Wermis in constant fear that Vader would one day actually choke him all the way.

Over the past seven years while serving on the Devastator, Bolvan had come to appreciate and understand many of his lord's decisions. Though why Vader kept Wermis around, the bumbling coward that he was, Bolvan didn't understand. And even if he didn't like it, he now knew better than to verbally question Vader. He took a deep breath, remembering the feel of the constriction on his throat. Today had been the first time Vader had used the Force to constrict his breathing. He considered himself lucky to be alive. The fact that he hadn't been killed made him wonder if Vader didn't hate him as much as he had initially thought. Bolvan would be grateful once the construction on Vader's new flagship was complete. He would definitely not be asking for a transfer, and most of his men had agreed they would rather stay away from Darth Vader.

It was times like these that Captain Bolvan secretly wondered if Darth Vader was as fond of Captain Wermis as the Dark Lord was capable of being. As far as Bolvan could tell, Wermis was one of the few who had survived being choked so many times. Then again, if what they said was true, Darth Vader's mysterious powers fed off of fear. Perhaps it helped keep him strong...? Bolvan could only wonder as no one dared ask the Dark Lord straight out, not something like that: not even Commander Jir. That was why Bolvan did his best to keep his own fear in check lest Vader started choking him to feed off his fear.

He clearly remembered telling Darth Vader that there was no cure for the Falleens when the flesh eating bacteria had caused the devastation on Falleen. He had expected Lord Vader to agree with his directive of obliterating the entire planet, ridding not only the potentially dangerous bio-disease, but also taking out the entire, pig-head, self-conceited species with it.

Vader had surprised him by ordering him to only scorch the ground in the contaminated area with the Devastator's turbolasers. It was strange to think that perhaps Vader wasn't the cold killer he had expected. There was a method to his madness, a method that only he appeared to be privy to.

But with their current situation as they headed to Tatooine, it amazed him that something Commander Wermis had apparently said concerning a holovid had affected Darth Vader to the point of such fury. He hadn't seen Darth Vader in such a rage for no apparent reason before. It was the first time he had found himself choked by Darth Vader. And he wasn't even sure that it had been truly an attempt on his life. Vader had merely choked him from answering. Something was happening. And what was more was that Vader hadn't acted on his rage. Instead his suppressed rage hung in the air, waiting to snap. And no one wanted to be around when that happened.

The fact that Lord Vader had not killed anyone recently despite his sudden increase in choking everyone had left people feeling more fearful than when he outright killed someone. There were bets going around on the Devastator when its commander would snap.

They all wondered why mentioning a documentary about a young moisture farmer on Tatooine could cause Vader to act so irrationally. First Darth Vader had choked the captain near death then released him, demanding more information. The fact that the Devastator and its crew were now heading toward Tatooine made Captain Bolvan very uneasy. Very uneasy indeed. The only possible indication was that this boy was indeed the child of former senator Amidala. As far as he or anyone else on the crew had been able to determine, the senator had been loyal to the Emperor. In fact, if anything, the Emperor seemed to have been friends with her. But why it would affect Vader so personally was a mystery. But it wasn't a curiosity strong enough to risk his life. That wasn't part of his duty. If he risked his life doing his job, that was different.

Bolvan, unlike Wermis, was not afraid to deliver bad news. He didn't like it, but he didn't fear what might happen to him merely for delivering a message. He knew that if he feared delivering the bad news, then Vader would only draw out his fear. Better to die quickly than to be made a fool of like Wermis.

"My lord," Bolvan said, addressing Darth Vader.

"Captain," Vader acknowledged.

"Governor Aryon has finally answered our inquiries about her progress. They claim a sandstorm made communication sooner impossible. She reports that the boy in question has been kidnapped by a local the family knew. The people there have said the man is a 'crazy old wizard.' They believe his name to be-"

"Kenobi," Darth Vader snarled, though he seemed unsurprised. As always, it amazed Bolvan the information Vader knew before he even stated it.

"Yes, sir. Ben Kenobi."

"No," Vader said. "His name is Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Bolvan said, the name sounded familiar. "Wasn't he a Jedi?" Bolvan said looking down at the information displayed on the datapad he'd acquired. Apparently Aryon's people had come to the same conclusion.

"Yes. Tell the Governor that Luke is to be found at all costs but to proceed approaching the Jedi with great care. The Emperor himself has become involved and wishes the boy to be brought to him immediately. Unharmed."

"I will inform her," Bolvan said, wonderingly. The Emperor was involved? Then perhaps it was as he suspected; Emperor Palpatine must have had a deeper friendship…or perhaps relationship…with the former senator. And if a Jedi was somehow involved, then perhaps that was the reason behind Vader's anger, and if a Jedi was involved, their current mission was reasonable after all. He turned away thoughtfully, wondering why it felt like something was missing from the story.

Darth Vader watched as Bolvan went to carry out his orders, inwardly seething.

The Emperor had demanded Vader bring Luke back to Imperial Center as soon as possible. His master's demands still rang in his ears. The boy was to be trained as one of the Emperor's Hands, as per a vision the Emperor had had. Vader hadn't asked if the Emperor had seen the documentary, and he idly wondered if his master had known about Luke beforehand. In fact, Vader wondered if Palpatine had some of his people make the documentary. It was the kind of thing his master would do; put certain information out galaxy wide that would cause people to wonder if Luke could be the son of someone important, building up the hype around him, the air of mystery so thick to purposefully place him in the public spotlight before unleashing his plans without anyone the wiser.

Even now, the thoughts and whispers of his crew centered around their mission to Tatooine. His transmission to Governor Aryon had been private. However, it hadn't taken long before someone had pieced together that their mission had to do with retrieving a moisture farmer – though possibly the son of a former senator – from the documentary. After that, the only benefit that had come from his crew's knowledge was that he had been able to make a subordinate contact Governor Aryon to keep him updated.

But what really made Vader seethe was that the Emperor had specifically told Vader that he was not to reveal his relationship to Luke when he eventually made contact. Eventually. The Emperor, as always, had plans that he had not yet told his apprentice. Palpatine did not expect Vader to obtain the boy on Tatooine, that much was clear, but he did believe they would meet. Vader vowed to prove his master wrong and find Luke. And he would honor his master's wishes and not personally reveal that he was the boy's father. That did not mean he would not somehow find a way to plant the idea in the boy's head.

Luke was his son. His flesh and blood. His to train. His to mold.

And not even the Emperor would possess what was rightfully his.

To Be Continued...

So sorry that it has been so long since my last update! Sadly, I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter, but I do have scenes written for future chapters. For those who are also Naruto fans, two new stories uploaded today. For any Detective Conan fans, I have a separate account called JelpHasNails where I'll be posting those fics (only one loaded so far). For all solely Star Wars fans, hope you enjoyed the chapter! XD ~ Jelp