"What is he doing here?" Owen Lars stumbled down the stairs to the dining area. He pointed a strong finger at Ben Kenobi, who was dressed in a desert caftan covered with a Jedi robe.
Kenobi's brown hair now sported flecks of gray, and his face bore wrinkles from the desert sun and the stresses of the Clone Wars. He did not move but held himself in a peaceful repose.
Beru said, "I invited him, Owen. Please, he's our only hope in getting Luke back."
"Luke's dead." Owen turned his back to his wife, looking for some water to quench his thirst and hiding the tears that welled up in his eyes.
Their visitor finally interrupted with his soothing voice. "No, he isn't. I would have felt it, Owen."
The stocky farmer pivoted to the Jedi Master and thrust his glass at the man. "Whatever you want to believe is fine, you crazy old wizard, but you will not stir up false hope in my grieving wife." He leaned on the table, threatening the man.
Beru stood up and placed a comforting hand on her husband's chest. "But what if he's right, Owen? What if Luke is still alive? I can't bear to think of him wasting away in an Imperial prison all his life. Please, Owen."
Lars lowered himself into a chair beside his wife. He placed one of his large, rough hands on hers. "Beru, this isn't good for you. You need to let Luke go. He's gone now. There's no way he survived that accident."
"I know he's alive, Owen. I've heard him calling out for me. I know he's alive." Tears fell down her face.
Owen turned on Kenobi, pointing a finger at him. "This is all your fault. I warned you when you first brought Luke to us that something like this would happen."
The Jedi Master closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. After a long moment, he looked Owen in the eyes. "I'm so sorry, Owen. I never foresaw this happening. The dark side has clouded the future for many years now. I would have prevented it had I known."
Lars settled back with a huff.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Obi-Wan asked.
"We were at the census in Mos Eisley. They were taking our retinal scans, fingerprints, and blood samples, when Luke sneaked out of the building and ran straight into an oncoming speeder." Owen's voice held no hope.
Beru whimpered as Owen recounted the scene. She took a tissue from her sleeve to blow her nose and wipe her eyes.
With emotion sneaking into his voice, Owen said, "When we got there, we found him mangled."
"What happened next?"
Owen glared at the Jedi. "An Imperial officer showed up and ordered a medical team. They took Luke up to the star destroyer. We haven't seen him since."
"It wasn't just any officer, Ben. It was Lord Vader." Beru's words were barely discernible through her sobs.
"Vader?" The Jedi leaned forward.
"Yes, and when he accused Owen of lying about our being Luke's parents, I had to tell him the truth. When he found out Luke was Skywalker's son, he stormed off, chasing after the boy. Oh, it's all my fault! I should have lied until I died. My poor—"
The homestead shook, sand blowing in through the open doorway and thunder rumbling through the dwelling. They all ran into the courtyard. The outline of an Imperial shuttle hovered above the homestead's outer walls, disturbing their peaceful evening.
The appearance of Vader at the entrance sent dread into each heart. His immense, black form stood out against the starkness of the thick, white walls of the building.
Kenobi challenged, "Vader."
A small figure ran around Vader, straight into the startled arms of Beru. "Aunt Beru! Aunt Beru!"
Beru held onto him, crying at his return. "Oh, Luke, you're alive." She kissed him on his cheeks and pulled him tight to her chest.
"I've missed you, Aunt Beru" was all Luke could say before the rumble of Darth Vader cut him off.
His aunt bent down, kissing the small boy on his cheek, stroking his tousled hair. She examined his arm and his head, finding no signs of his injuries.
"Obi-Wan, I should have expected to find you here." Vader rested his hands on his hips. "It's time for me to finish what I started eight years ago." The Sith Lord ignited his lightsaber, the red blade casting an eerie glow on the white stucco walls in the desert twilight.
Beru dragged Luke back against a wall. Owen moved in front of them both, protecting them and giving the two men space.
"I will not fight you, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, "and you will be forced to kill me."
Vader advanced on the Jedi. "If that is your destiny."
Beru and Owen gasped when they heard the name Kenobi had called Vader. Beru pulled Luke back even further away.
The boy struggled to break free from his aunt's grasp to see past the hulking figure of his uncle. Beru grabbed him tighter, refusing to let him go.
Luke watched the shadow of his father advance on the defenseless man, his friend Ben. "No!" He screamed as Vader raised his lightsaber above his head, slicing it at Obi-Wan's head.
The Jedi Master brought both his sabers from his belt, blocking the swipe just in time as he held the dual blue blades in an X above his head. The blades clashed against each other. The sound waves reverberated off the smooth walls of the courtyard, deafening the spectators. "It doesn't have to be this way, Anakin."
"That name no longer has any meaning for me." Vader stepped backward, withdrawing his blade, circling the other man.
Obi-Wan held both of his blades low at his sides, waiting for the Sith Lord to strike again.
"You are unwise to lower your defenses." Vader struck at his opponent again, down and then up, quickly to the left, and then behind his head. "If you will not fight, then you will be destroyed."
Luke's eyes were glued to the mesmerizing patterns—the speed, the control, and the power.
The two continued to swing their sabers, grunting and moaning, but neither made any viable progress for three long minutes. Then, as Obi-Wan brought his right saber up from behind his back in a downward vertical swipe, he slid his left saber parallel to the ground at Vader's legs.
The Sith Lord met both blades in one motion, slicing them apart. He had hit Obi-Wan's left blade so powerfully that it went flying across the courtyard toward Luke and his aunt and uncle.
The boy ducked to the right as Owen pulled his family to the side a few meters to avoid the flying blade. It hit the stucco wall, leaving a scorch mark across it.
The hilt of the blade bounced off the wall, falling to the hard-packed sand of the courtyard with a thud.
Vader kicked Obi-Wan to the ground. The Sith towered above the prostrate Jedi, holding his red blade to Kenobi's throat. "I am the master now."
"Only a master of evil." Obi-Wan swung his blue blade up, knocking the red blade away from his neck. As Vader regrouped, Obi-Wan jumped up, somersaulting into a defensive position on the other side of the dark figure.
"Impressive. Most impressive." Vader attacked the man again.
This time, Obi-Wan raised his blade before Vader could reach his full connection apex at shoulder level. Kenobi used the momentum to propel himself over Vader in a somersault, landing behind him and striking a parallel swipe at his chest.
Vader pivoted and blocked the move, but not before Obi-Wan held out his hand, pushing the large man to the ground with the Force.
"Enough, Anakin. I never wanted to kill you." Obi-Wan extinguished his saber. He sucked in large breaths, hunching over as the effects of the battle pummeled him.
He held out his right hand toward Vader. "I feel the good in you, the conflict. Join me, and we can destroy the Emperor and bring peace to the galaxy."
The Sith Lord breathed heavily through his respirator, his body stiffening at the proposal.
"Do it for your son."
Vader slowly stood, extinguishing his blade.
"Please, Padmé would have wanted this, Anakin."
At the name of his dead wife, Vader reignited his saber and attacked Obi-Wan again with quick swipes. While the prosthetics may have reduced his speed, Vader was still the master of the Djem So form of saber battle.
"How dare you mention her name." Vader pressed Obi-Wan into the wall near Luke and the Lars. "You betrayed me. You both betrayed me." The red blade pressed the Jedi against the stucco wall.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. She never betrayed you. She loved you, Anakin. You broke her heart."
"Liar!" Vader shoved his helmet next to Obi-Wan's face. "I am sick of the lies, old man. You hid my son from me, and you seduced my wife." The dark lord held him there for a long moment, only the sound of the blades and his ventilator resounding in the courtyard.
"How did she die? How did my angel die?" Vader's voice softened on the last question. "If you lie, that will be the last word that you speak, Obi-Wan." The dark lord clenched his Force fingers around the Jedi's throat.
Kenobi gulped. "She died in childbirth." Obi-Wan's eyes stared at the blade held at his throat.
"What else? You are holding something back. I can sense it." Vader moved the blade a centimeter closer to the man's neck.
"Daddy! No!" Luke broke free of his aunt's grasp. The young boy grabbed his father's right leg and cloak from behind. "Please, Daddy. He told the truth. Ben's my friend. Don't kill him."
Vader's helmet turned to his son. The boy stood on his boot, pulling at his cloak. His trousers glistened with his son's tears.
The Sith Lord extinguished his saber and stepped away from Kenobi. He stretched forth his hand to retrieve Kenobi's discarded saber. As he clutched it in his grip, Vader recognized it. "This lightsaber is mine. I am taking it with me, and everything else that belongs to me. Luke, get your things. We are leaving."
"Yes, Father." He hurried up the stairs to his room.
As Vader strode across the courtyard, Obi-Wan pleaded, "Anakin."
"It is too late for me, Obi-Wan. You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master." Vader exited the courtyard, leaving Obi-Wan and the Lars family to stare after him.
With a light-brown pack slung over his back on a broken Bantha-hide strap, Luke raced down the stone stairs set into the stucco wall, heading straight for his aunt and uncle.
Beru bent down and took him in her arms, kissing him on the forehead and embracing him.
"Will I ever see you again, Auntie?"
"I hope so. I certainly hope so. You will always be in my heart, Luke, and this place will always be your home." Beru kissed him again.
Owen placed his hand on his nephew's back. "Luke, I've taught you the difference between right and wrong. Promise me you will always do the right thing."
"I will, Uncle. I promise." Luke's eyes shined through his tears.
Obi-Wan spoke at last. "Thank you, Luke. You saved my life today. You have a powerful influence on your father. Use it. I know there is still good in him."
"I will." Luke exited the homestead.
"May the Force be with you."
Owen muttered, "That boy is our last hope."
Obi-Wan said, "No, there is another."
Luke hurried onto the shuttle, dumping his pack into one of the jump seats of the main cabin. "Daddy! Daddy!" However, Vader was not on the shuttle. Afraid that his father might have returned to kill Ben, Luke ran off the shuttle.
In the dim twilight of the desert sky, he saw a silhouette kneeling on the ground about a hundred meters away in the desert. He stopped, unsure whether he should proceed.
His father's grief overwhelmed the boy. He had to go to him.
Luke quietly approached the dark figure who knelt on the desert sand with his black cape swirling behind him in the evening breeze. Vader stared at the first moon as it rose.
The boy could barely hear the words, but he could not escape the sorrow.
"Mother, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've been back. Not a day has passed that I haven't thought of you." Silence passed as Vader waited for a response. "Mother, I need you. I don't know how to do this. I thought I would never get over the pain of losing you, and then I lost Padmé. And I am so afraid I'm going to lose Luke, too. I can't let Palpatine take him. How do I change?"
Luke stepped next to his father, grasping his arms around Vader's left bicep. Luke whispered, "I'll help you, Daddy." Then Luke kissed the side of Vader's helmet.
Did you know . . .
● The animated series Rebels falls after this story in the timeline.
● Anakin's lightsaber has a way of finding its way back to the Skywalkers.
Tell me what you think . . .
● What was your favorite part of this chapter?