#owen: luke could clearly help him out with his business

[multistoty]

“Please don’t go.” (From Leia @arandomnerdsrp358 )

This was not at all what she had planned the day to be. Anakin was off fighting off the sith as the kids journeyed back from Tatooine. They couldn't exactly stay long for fear of being caught. Spies lived everywhere though it was safer to be with family on the sand planet than Naboo where her mother lived and no doubt would recognize the former senator within moments. Owen and Beru deserved to know their nephew and niece. It helped Padme take care of the kids well when she was alone when all the remaining jedi were thrust into one mission or another. Owen had joyfully called them the terror twins when the babies had collic and clearly missed the force signature of their father. Those abilities would never be something she was entirely capable of understanding. Sweat had trickled down her neck as the insanity of the moment showed itself in the frayed edges of her braid. There were only so much she could tell the children about the current situation. Leia was a woman of valor without fear which was part of what was so insanely terrifying. The former queen would sooner die then allow any dark sider access to their children. the rage that Anakin would feel if he knew would have enough power to bend time. He didn't need any help with flirting that line after he had denied the Chancellor which was maybe why he sought the father more than any other jedi. They would be slaughtered if they didn't turn. Whatever connection they had through the force was no doubt it's own distress signal to the hero with no fear. Hopefully, he wouldn't be in danger for not being able to focus on whatever business he was on.Her force sensitive children were powerful and the parents had done their best to convince people that they had died. They couldn't take down Palpatine or his apprentice yet even with the practice their Uncle had given them which is part of the reason why when their ship started to get hit by blasts and began shuttering, Padme had brought her children to this escape pod. She had sent Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-wan the distress signal along with the rest of the rebels so the coordinates would help them. Not a plan she was proud of but the asks to surrender through their comms and the accelerating heat meant there was no time unless they wanted to die trying. Padme would rather die in the burning of this vessel instead of being used as some barter chip by the empire. It was part of why she didn't let Ani tell her were he was going. These children were the most powerful force users in the galaxy lighting up like a beacon. It didn't make it any easier for her to send her children out into space alone. Luke always listened when she spoke an order of this importance. His valor gave him time to think which was different than Leia who was diplomatic though spoke first. "My beautiful babies, I don't want to leave, but we have no choice. Tell your- tell your father and your uncle that I love them. I love you too. Everything is alright. I will be home to meet you before you even notice. Leia, please take care of your brother. You are the bossy one. I trust you my perfect little jedi. Please, do me proud."

#i'm guessing you want padme #lol #I am thinking of sending you hope they did a star wars episode and the two of them little or adult leia would be such an inspiration but #understand and I love our different aus and things #thanks for being a good friend lol

[karlajoyner]

Stressed Out (Sunset Curve x Reader)

A/n: So starting off I've made a master list that I'm posting real soon for you all to access my stories without the scrolling. In order to post it I have to update my post about my requests/taglist and soon because I do get a lot on that comments that ask for more Charlie or more Owen and I wanna give you guys that but I also wanna make sure that I get through the requests that you guys send me with plots and storylines. It just makes it like a thousand times easier to have something to work off of. Opposed to me coming up with my own storylines that I have to do a lot of reading on my own to get my gears working! But again thank you guys for the comments! And finally I wanna say thank you for sending in your requests and your feed back. It is much appreciated!

Disclaimer: Alex is bi in this one not taking away from the fact that he's gay in the show it just runs best for this storyline! There is no Bobby btw! Haven’t written a foursome with 3 guys before so it might suck ass. And it’s not much but it’s something so enjoy my fellow fantoms!

Warnings: Smut (18+)

————

I internally groaned walking into school. I wasn't the worst student. But by far I certainly was not the best. Which is why I had a reputation since I first arrived to high school.

That and I was in a band with 3 of my best friends. Who all happened to be guys. Hot guys at that.

Which automatically made me the schools slut. It was fine with me but the boys didn't like the label.

No matter how true it was.

"Hey y/n heard you gave Mike Dawson a blowjob this weekend. Just when I thought you couldn't be anymore of a slut"

"Mind your fucking business Hayley" I heard a familiar voice speak up for me. A smirk spreading on my face as I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder.

"Did she come to you right after Patterson? What's it like to be her sloppy seconds?" Hayley Becker spoke with a wicked evil smirk plastered on her face.

"Fucking amazing actually. God the long nights we have. It's so great" I heard another familiar voice from my left. A large hand intertwining my fingers with theirs. She rolled her eyes clearly not expecting my boys to speak up for me. But then again neither was I.

"Slut"

"Skank"

"Whore"

"Bitch" I spoke as the bell rang.

"Just watch your back y/l/n" She said before turning around and walking away.

"She will!" Reggie shouted after the dark haired girl. The three of us expectantly looking at our bandmate.

"What? I didn't even get to tell her we would too" I sighed shaking my head at the boy.

"Thanks for sticking up for me guys but I can do that myself"

"We know. But your our girl. And apart of this band so we're kinda obligated" Alex spoke as the four of us walked to first period.

"Your really not"

"Come on y/n you know we're still gonna do it"

"I know and I only let you today cause I can't deal with that bitch at this time of day. I mean seriously it's 8:00 o'clock in the morning. Does she not have anything better to do than spread rumors about me?"

"Apparently not. So you and Jake Mills behind the church?" Reggie asked.

"Didn't happen considering I was with you idiots all weekend. You know your the only guys I touch" I bit my lip hearing the three of them chuckle.

"Yeah well it better stay that way. I don't wanna hear Trevor O'Connor bragging about banging you in the boys locker room again"

"Schools golden boy?" I questioned.

"He tried starting the rumor yesterday during p.e but we quickly shut it down" Reggie explained as I stopped a few feet away from the science room to continue talking.

"So Hayleys boyfriend wants to bang me? Wow"

"Yeah but don't even fucking thing about" Luke said pushing me up against the lockers beside us.

"I wasn't. Unless you guys piss me off" I grinned pushing him off of me. Opening the door a few feet away and walking in.

"Gentlemen. And Ms. y/l/n. Your late"

"Sorry Mrs. Daniels we had to deal with something"

"And did this something give you tardy passes"

"It did not"

"Detention. All of you"

"That's nothing new to them Mrs. Daniels"

"Shut the fuck up Hayley" I scoffed taking my seat beside Alex.

"Ladies stop it before I send you to the principal"

"Yes Mrs. Daniels" Hayley and I spoke in sync.

"I can't believe Luke dated her" I whispered towards Alex glaring at the blonde bimbo.

"Jealous?"

"Why would I be? I already have him. And I could have her boyfriend too if I wanted him" I said taking down the notes on the board.

"Mrs. Daniels I can't focus on the lesson because they're distracting me with their talking" Hayley spoke pointing an accusing finger at us.

"We are not!" I shouted sitting up.

"Yes you are probably talking about who your gonna whore around with next"

"Yeah it's your boyfriend if you don't check yourself Hayley"

"Trevor would never do that!"

"I'm pretty sure he would"

"Ladies principal office right now" I scoffed standing up.

"Wait!" Luke shouted standing up. Everyone's heads whipping toward him. He made his way over to me groping my left boob.

I scowled at how hard he squeezed glaring at him.

"Dickhead" I muttered.

"Mr. Patterson! You too principals office" We looked at the other two boys expectantly. Alex immediately rolling his eyes before standing up.

"We could do this the easy way or the hard way Mrs. Daniels"

"If she goes we go"

"I cannot send you two away for absolutely no reason Reginald" Mrs. Daniels spoke challenging the boys.

I close my eyes preparing myself for what came next. Alex was quick to slap my ass while Reggie pulled me in for a sweet kiss. Immediately earning gasps from my classmates.

"Now I can do it. Office all of you! And detention today after school!"

I groaned walking out of the principals office with my bandmates.

"Detention for 3 weeks. Seriously?"

"To make it worse we have to spend 2 of those with Hayley" I spoke seeing the blonde talking with Trevor just a few feet away. Being sure to send them a harsh glare, I finally turned back to the boys.

"Hey you'll be with us everything's gonna be fine" Reggie said throwing an arm around my shoulder leading me away to our next period. That we conveniently had together.

"No it won't. I also have to chaperone the stupid homecoming with Hayley" I cried wanting nothing more than for the day to be done for.

That afternoon we spent in detention not leaving until late afternoon. Due to the fact that my detention went on longer than the boys.

I walked into the studio behind Luke not really in the mood to practice.

"What's wrong y/n/n? You seem down" Reggie asked as I plopped back onto the couch.

"I'm just tired is all. And a little stressed out"

"But we've gotta practice baby, for our next gig. Sunset Curves so gonna rock that book club" Luke said picking up his six string. I watched as Alex and Reggie sent him a glare, the boy immediately putting it back down.

"Or we could take a day off" He spoke coming to sit to my left while Reggie was on my right.

"That sounds amazing" I mumbled feeling Alex begin to massage my shoulders from behind. I craned my neck allowing him more access. Now feeling a little more relaxed than before.

"So tell us y/n/n why are you stressed out?" Luke asked as I shut my eyes.

"Well for starters I'm so gonna get my ass beat when I get home" I sighed feeling Reggie begin to rub my arm to comfort me. Something he did often with how anxious I got.

"And there's just nothing I want to do more than run your ex girlfriend over with a bulldozer" I mumbled hearing a chuckle escape their lips.

"Sounds like a plan" Alex said as Luke intertwined our fingers.

"We'll make a day out of it. Just us four and a bulldozer" He joked making me giggle. The laugh got caught in my throat as I felt a soft kiss on the side of my neck.

"Seriously guys? Not today. No way" I spoke opening my eyes.

"We just wanna help you relax"

"That's what you said last time. I couldn't walk right for 2 days" I mumbled the last part.

"We'll be gentle" Reggie spoke.

"I know you will Reg. It's them I'm worried about" I spoke earning a pointed look from Alex.

"Okay Luke"

"Am I that rough?" He asked a frown forming on his face.

"Sometimes" I admitted feeling a little bad.

"Gee I'm sorry baby" Luke spoke kissing the back of my hand.

"It's okay. I like it when I'm in the mood" I said watching as Alex walked around the couch.

"Well then boys why don't we help our girl relax for today" Alex said bending down in front of me. I bit my lip as he spread my legs open feeling a slight breeze hit my covered core.

"Well there's no need for your skirt or these" Alex spoke toying with the waistbands of both my skirt and panties.

I shimmied out of them with ease leaving me exposed to my best friends like I'd been many times before.

"She just gets prettier every time"

"And wetter"

"Mind if I taste baby?" Luke asked. I nodded my head, watching as he dipped his long fingers in between my folds. Moaning as he pulled them back up to see them glistening with my cum.

"So good" He whispered putting them in his mouth.

"Okay I want a taste now" Alex said opening my legs a little wider.

"Guys. A little help" I huffed as Luke and Reggie hooked themselves on each of my thighs to keep me still.

"Please" I begged getting more turned on by the second. The blonde didn't hesitate to latch onto my core. A loud moan escaping my lips.

"Oh fuck" I struggled to keep still as he moved his tongue skillfully through my folds. Lapping it inside and out as moans fell from my lips.

I whimpered as Reggie slowly began to rub my clit making the pleasure intensify.

"Use y-you're f-fingers" I mustered out Alex obeying my request sticking two fingers in my wet pussy. Picking up the pace. My eyes screwed shut as a familiar feeling of bliss coursed through me.

"Look at me baby" Luke muttered turning my head to look at him with his free hand. I opened my eyes looking into his blue ones covered with complete lust.

He was quick to smash his lips onto mine as the other two worked on building up my orgasm. Which wasn't far at the pace Alex was working on me.

"Holy shit!" I panted pulling away and throwing my head back at the amazing sensation of my orgasm hitting.

"You squirted princess" Alex grinned wiping away the liquids dribbling down his chin. I giggled at his swollen pink lips placing a quick peck to them.

"What now baby?" Luke asked rubbing his hand on my thigh.

I looked at the three boys before discarding any remaining clothes I had left. Watching as their eyes raked me up and down like many times before.

"Reg can you just fuck me today. I really need gentle" I begged as his cheeks turned bright red whenever I asked him to do something. Whether it was sexual or not.

"Sure beautiful" He smiled lopsidedly pushing his lips onto mine.

I sighed in content as he pushed me down on the couch. My head landing on Luke's lap giving me a little leverage.

"She's something else" Alex spoke to no one in particular.

"Your telling me" Reggie panted pulling away to undo his belt and jeans. I bit my lip looking up at the boy with the blue eyes. Who no surprise had a smirk plastered on his face.

"Condom" I heard Alex say presumably to Reggie. But I was too entrance in Luke's gaze wanting to include him. Upon hearing a ripping of a package I glance back at the boy who was hovering above me.

"I can do something for you after if you want" I bit my lip speaking towards Luke.

"It's okay baby. It's about you today" He said moving his hand down from my collarbone to my boob.

Reggie and I moaned simultaneously as he slowly entered me. Immediately stretching me out.

"So tight" He muttered beginning to move at a steady pace.

A squeal escaping my lips as Luke pinched my nipples paying close attention to each of them. He'd always been a boob guy.

I pulled Reggie down towards me our lips meeting in the middle as his speed began to increase.

Then there they were again. Fingers were now rubbing circles on my clit presumably Alex's sending my body into pure ecstasy.

I moaned loudly into Reggies mouth as I felt myself my inner walls clench around him. Earning a groan from the bassist. His thrust becoming more sloppy.

"Shit. Shit. Oh fuck" He cursed as his orgasm hit. Mine coming seconds after.

"Holy fuck Reg" I panted coming down from my high.

"That was pretty fucking hot princess" Alex spoke as Reggie got off of me to go throw away the condom.

"I try" I joked sitting up. Luke immediately removing his muscle tee and handing it to me.

"You do know this isn't gonna cover much up right?" I questioned him putting it on anyway.

"Who said we wanted you to cover up baby" He said pulling me under his arm. I sighed contently placing my hands on his bare torso.

"Anyways Reg why don't you go run her a bath inside the house" Alex suggested throwing me my panties that had been thrown onto the lazy boy.

"Got it!" Reggie said coming over and placing a chaste kiss to my lips before running out of the garage.

"I get to clean her up in the shower. Called it" Luke said as Alex wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Just as long as I get to put her to bed"

"Guys I've orgasmed twice today give me a break"

"Are you feeling more relaxed princess?"

Alex asked grinning at me.

"Much. Now if we could do that consistently for the next 2 weeks then I might be able to get through detention with Hayley without ripping her head off" I spoke earning a laugh from the two boys. Both of them knowing well that I wasn't joking.

————

Up Next: Carrie Wilson x Reader

Owen Patrick Joyner x Reader

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Alex x Male Reader

Luke Patterson x Reader

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

————

@lolychu @headheartbellarke @bookish0918 @kcd15 @ifilwtmfc @moviesbooksandfandoms @lovesanimals @lavender-writer @kaitieskidmore1 @morganayennefertyrell @iloveteenwolf @ghostofmgg

#alex jatp #charlie gillespie #flynn jatp #jeremy shada #julie and the phantoms #julie molina #luke jatp #madison reyes #owen patrick joyner #reggie jatp #owen joyner #savannah lee may #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson #luke x reader #sacha carlson #carrie wilson #nick x reader #nick jatp #jadah marie #alex x reader #booboo stewart #sunset curve #willie jatp

[lizartgurl]

Good Fortune (Twin Suns AU)

"Oof!"

Luke looked up from gathering mushrooms to see what his sister had found. Leia was on her knees with sand all over the front of her tunic, a scrape across her eyebrow, and a small trickle of blood from her nose.

"Leia!" Beru dropped her basket and grabbed Leia's shoulders, "Are you alright?" She grabbed the kerchief from her belt and used it to pinch Leia's nose shut.

"'M fine aunt Beru, but look at what I found!" Leia held up a lump of something or other, plucking it right out of the sand. It was too smooth to be any rock that Luke had ever seen before, even with wind and sand erosion.

Beru sighed, and smiled her worn smile. She kissed Leia's forehead, "I'm glad you found it, sweetheart." She removed the cloth to see how bad the bleeding was.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"It's a rock!" Leia declared with authority.

"I know that, but what kind of rock?" Luke asked.

Aunt Beru shook her head, "I'm not sure. Why don't we ask your uncle when he finishes this evening?"

"Okay!" The twins chorused. Leia placed her mysterious prize in her basket, suddenly empty of the mushrooms they were harvesting.

Beru smiled down at her niece and nephew. "Leia, would you please pick up the mushrooms you dropped?" She asked.

Leia flushed in the heat of Tatooine's twin suns. She looked down at her basket, the rock taking up the better part, and started to collect the loose mushrooms. They had wilted some in the heat, and she brushed the sand off with the hem of her tunic.

The three of them returned back to the domed house around the same time that Uncle Owen's speeder came back from the direction of Mos Eisley.

"Uncle Owen!" Luke cried, climbing up the side of the house to look taller. He waved his arms in greeting, and Leia fed off his enthusiasum, making even their exhausted uncle smile.

"How'd it go at the spaceport?" Beru kissed Owen's cheek in greeting as they all walked inside.

"Kriffers kept telling me my water was barely above a grade three," Owen sighed tiredly and Beru gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs, thought the twins were too busy throwing the sand from their boots at each other.

"Did you get a good price at least?" She asked, hopeful as ever.

"Nowhere near what it deserved," Owen watched the twins as they started to wrestle, "But it's enough for what we need."

Beru smiled.

"Now wash up and help me make dinner. I'm making mushrooms and biscuits." Beru said.

Once dinner was on the table, Leia and Luke wanted to hear everything about Mos Eisley. Despite his insistence that he was a terrible storyteller, the twins hung on Uncle Owen's every word as he described the different species and spaceships he'd seen at the spaceport. Rodians and Twi'lek, and even a couple Sand people who asked about the water he was selling. The suns had set by the time dinner was cleaned up, and Beru sent the twins to bed with full bellies.

Thirty minutes later, Luke wasn't tired at all, bouncing up and down on his bed with his pajamas on. Leia sat on her own cot, brushing out her hair as she read another book on her holo-pad.

"Do you think we'll ever get to have our own ship, Leia?"

She shrugged, "That'd be nice. Then we could take trips to other places."

"And Uncle Owen could start selling water on other planets!" Luke said, "It's perfect, he'd get more money and we could go with him and we could see the whole galaxy!"

"Unfortunately, that's not exactly how it works, son." Owen said, leaning against the doorframe.

"What do you mean?" Luke took one last jump and sat on his bed.

Owen sighed, "People don't need to buy water in other places like they do here. Other planets have more water than Tattooine."

"Huh?" Luke asked.

"What do you mean?"

Owen held out his hand for Leia's datapad, and sat on the bed next to her, pulling up several planetary holograms for the twins to see.

"This is Naboo. It's covered in trees and lakes that stretch on for kilometers."

"Trees?" Luke whispered in reverent awe, leaning forward so that he almost fell off his bed.

"What's a lake?" Leia asked.

"It's like an ocean, but smaller." Owen said.

"Oh. Huh."

Owen chuckled,

and pulled up another planet.

"This is Kamino, just outside the Rishi maze. It's not too far from here, actually. The entire planet is covered with water."

"Wow!" The twins's eyes grew starry as they took in the flickering hologram.

"Wow, Uncle Owen, how do you know so much about these planets?"

Owen answered Luke's question without thinking, "They were pretty big planets during the Clone Wars."

"The Clone Wars?"

"What's that?"

Owen paused.

"Leia, Beru said you found something today. Can I see it?"

Leia was smart enough to know that her uncle was changing the subject, but she was too excited to show off her prize to care very much. She ran to get it from her basket in the sandroom.

"Wow, sunshine, where did you find this?"

"I tripped over it while getting mushrooms!" Leia declared proudly

Owen chuckled and took the rock in his hand. It was surprisingly light for stone. Owen ran his thumb over the smooth surface, and made a little nick with his stubby thumbnail.

"Leia, I think you have something very special here." Owen said.

"Really?" Leia's brown eyes grew big with wonder.

"Is it a kyber crystal?" Luke asked, bouncing up on his knees.

"Leia," Owen said, "You've found some japor wood."

"Wood?" Leia almost went cross-eyed trying to comprehend the rare word.

"It's part of a plant that used to grow here. A tree was growing here a long time ago, and it dried out in the heat and died. But the Tuskens say it can bring you good fortune. A lot of them carve protective charms for their families."

Luke grinned, and tried to hide an excited squeal. "That is so cool!"

Owen smiled at Luke sadly, and Leia yawned. Owen weighted the piece of old wood in his hand a bit more.

"Leia, do you mind if I borrow this for a little bit?" He asked.

Leia nodded, and her yawn grew bigger. Owen chuckled, and finished twisting her hair back into a braid. He pulled down the covers for her, and turned to Luke.

"You need to get some rest too."

"But I'm not tired!" Luke said, taking his model T-16 off the shelf, clearly intending to jump some more in an effort to make it fly.

"Perhaps, but only little boys who go to bed on time get to come with me to Tosche Station tomorrow."

Luke's sky-blue eyes widened and he dove under his covers.

"Good night Uncle Owen!"

Owen chuckled, "Good night Luke, good night, Leia.

"I love you both."

#leia and luke lars #star wars au #lizart writes #star wars #leia organa #luke skywalker #beru lars #beru whitesun #owen lars #tattooine #yes owen is going to make them each a pendant from the japor #but it just felt right to end it here #twin suns au

[25centsoda]

AUSE Part 5/?

Sidious poured the liquid carefully into a small cup; this had to be timed just right. Couldn’t have the boy having too much of a reprieve from the tranquilizer his father insisted on keeping him on, or he might begin thinking he could do something as bold as plan to escape while he could think clearly. No, it was much better to only tease him with just enough time to do as the Emperor asked him to.

Handing the cup to the boy, he said, “Here, drink this.”

Skywalker looked at it dubiously for a moment, then downed it like a shot, throwing aside caution. He grimaced at the bitter taste, but Sidious could practically see that the boy’s brilliance in the Force, dimming after breakfast, was once again beginning to shine until it was almost painful to look at. As the brightness grew, so did his shields, tightly woven, keeping the Emperor out. No matter. Let the boy have this short reprieve; those shields will fall once the concoction wears off again.

“Feeling better?”

Skywalker nodded, then looked around, taking in the room fully for perhaps the first time. Sidious smiled to himself. This was all too easy.

------

As whatever the Emperor gave him began working its magic, Luke could feel for the first time just how vile the man was in the Force; he thought he was poisonous before, but now that he could tell the full force of it? Luke shored up his shields, blocking him out as completely as possible. Curiously enough, Palpatine didn’t protest at this.

“Feeling better?” was all he said.

Luke looked around the room, realizing how many Royal Guards there were lining the walls, and felt his stomach drop.

Now that he could think…

Perhaps this wasn’t the best idea. He’d removed one barrier, but there were too many to even begin countering with his limited time, resources, and allies. What if he only half paid attention at this meeting? No, no; the Alliance could use whatever information he could gather while he was stuck here. Maybe after--? But the Emperor was sure to keep him busy until this antidote of his wore off.

There was nothing for it. He would simply have to pay as close attention as possible in this meeting and hope another opportunity came up for him to use whatever information he could gather.

Finally answering the Emperor, Luke said, “Yes. What’s this meeting about, anyway?”

“The state of the Imperial Academies. If I’m not mistaken, my boy, I believe you yourself once applied to one.”

Luke flinched at the sudden reminder of his old life, images flashing through his mind of Tatooine, Owen and Beru, Biggs, all his dreams of the stars and his father coming to take him away…

How much had changed.

“As I said, I need you to watch carefully the emotions of the Academy Heads; I have a suspicion at least one might not be totally honest with me in his dealings. You will be a great help in confirming or denying that suspicion.”

Without saying anything further, the Emperor began walking out of the room and down the hall. After a moment of hesitation, Luke scrambled to catch up.

“So do you want me to...how do you want me to do this?”

“If you detect a falsehood, my dear boy, simply interrupt whoever is speaking and tell me. Otherwise, remain quiet.”

Luke nodded and turned his attention to the space around him. An entourage of Royal Guards trailed behind them, and more waited in the wings of the large areas they passed through. Luke rather suspected the Emperor was taking the opportunity to walk him through as much of the palace as possible on their way to this meeting; either to show it off or to confuse him more when he couldn’t focus long enough to remember later. Their footsteps echoed in the large spaces.

With all the turns they were taking, he certainly wouldn’t be able to navigate this way later; he only hoped the Emperor wasn’t wasting his limited time of being able to think. 

After a walk that felt longer than it surely was, they reached a set of intricately decorated red, purple, and gold doors, which were pushed open by yet more Royal Guards on each side to reveal a large, dark-wooden oval table. Around one end sat seven men in crisp grey Imperial uniforms with datapads neatly laid out in front of them. At the other was one large chair and, to the right of it, a chair like those the Academy Heads sat in.

Luke sank into the chair next to the Emperor’s and wished he was in a meeting with Alliance High Command instead.

-------

The meeting was, mercifully, short. All that they discussed was possible strategies to recruit more students for the Academies. One Academy Head made a request for more funding to provide standardized testing for students in the Outer Rim, but Luke quickly called him out for lying. The man had sputtered, and remained silent unless asked a direct question until the end of the meeting. After Luke spoke out against him, no one else dared to make any extra requests.

But now that the meeting was over, Luke was fading fast. The Force kept slipping out of his fingers, his shields crumbling as he lost focus, and his eyes were growing heavy. His skin was cold from the prolonged proximity to Palpatine’s darkness in the Force, the temperature dropping as his shields fell and he lost that buffer against it. The walk back to his chambers was a haze of winding hallways, until at last he was able to gratefully collapse into his bed, boots and all.

He missed the warmth of his father as he was dragged down, down, down into sleep.

-------

Luke laid still when he woke, with the feeling that while time had passed it had only been a couple hours, and that someone else was in the room with him. When his reach in the Force yielded nothing more than confirmation that he was still very much drugged, he grudgingly opened his eyes to see.

A solitary Royal Guard stood in the corner, helmet facing him, force pike in hand.

Luke cautiously sat up, watching the Guard to see if they would react. They didn’t move; he couldn’t even tell if they were breathing.

Keeping his eyes on them, he slowly moved to the edge of the bed, then got out of it. They stared at each other for a long moment, then Luke clumsily reached out in the Force again, this time managing to brush against the Guard. To his surprise, he met durasteel walls that pushed his weak brush away hard enough to make him physically step back.

“Uh, afternoon,” Luke said.

The Royal Guard didn’t respond.

“Um… Can I leave, or am I stuck in this room?”

Nothing.

Deciding to just try walking out and seeing what happens, Luke crossed the room and pushed the door handle down, watching the Guard for their reaction. The only change was a shift to better keep him in their sight. When he pushed the door open, there was no protest, so he took a few steps down the hall. Nearly soundless footsteps followed him, closing the door behind them.

“So, I guess you’re my escort then. Do you have a name, or something I should call you?”

They just stood there.

Luke’s eyes drifted to the side as he thought for a moment, pulling out the first name that came to mind. “Rakka?”

“...”

“I have to call you something, and you don’t seem to dislike it, so I’m calling you Rakka now.”

He began walking aimlessly, intending to explore as much as possible; the Alliance would surely like to know as much about the Imperial Palace as he could find out, once he escaped. Rakka followed a short distance behind him. Trying to remember the way to the meeting room just to see if he could, Luke tried to take a left turn down a hallway that seemed familiar, but when he took a step in that direction he suddenly found himself pulled back by the arm. He stared dumbly down at the red-gloved hand holding him in a tight grip, then up at the Guard’s helmet.

“Am I...not allowed that way?”

A nod.

“Okay, then…” he thought hard for a moment, sifting through the mental fog to find somewhere else to go. In a flash of insight, he remembered, and said, “Can you show me the portrait hall?”

Rakka pulled him to the right for several steps, then let go of his arm and kept walking. Luke followed, stumbling, tripping over his feet until his arm was released and he could catch his balance properly. The way to the portrait hall was simple, easy to remember - right, right, left - but it was long enough that by the time they reached it Rakka had to pull Luke away from swaying into what must have been a very expensive vase. He was fading again, but determined to stay on his feet until he saw whether or not there was a portrait of his mother here.

He walked past five large portraits before realizing asking Rakka would make the search go faster.

“Do you know if there’s a portrait of Padmé Amidala here?”

This time they simply walked without physically pulling Luke after them, towards the middle of the portrait hall. Upon seeing the painting, bigger than any of the others he had passed, Luke gaped.

His mother was beautiful.

Her hair was laid out around her, flowers like fallen stars scattered about the curls, hands clasped over a pregnant belly holding what looked like a small japor snippet, a dark blue cloak around her shoulders. Her dress was light blue and looked almost like water, her eyes closed and face peaceful.

At the - surprisingly gentle - prodding of Rakka, Luke sank gratefully onto a nearby bench, eyes never leaving the portrait.

“Hi, Mom,” he whispered.

#an unintended side effect #no beta we die like men #I've read this chapter too many times I can't tell if it's any good anymore but it exists #luke skywalker #sheev palpatine #star wars #royal guard #padme amidala #fanfiction #fanfic #my writing

[nix1327]

Supernatural Shobbs AU

I wrote this back in October and just now remembered it. Enjoy lol

Luke had always been proud to be a Were; even prouder to be a wolf. Since he was little, his father had always preached to him about the importance of pure genetics and how, when he married- because that was something all wolves should do- he needed to marry another wolf with pure genes. Even after his father had left and he had stopped listening to the Pure speech bullshit, Luke’s mother had still thrown around the idea that Luke should be thinking about settling down, having a family pretty soon.

After he had turned his father in and left Samoa to join the DSS, the idea that he should find another wolf to settle down with still rattled around in his head. Apparently it had prioritized itself pretty quick, too; Samantha was proof of that. And despite it not having worked out exactly as he had hoped, he wouldn’t have it any other way. If he’d never met Sam’s mother, he, obviously, would have never had Sam. And if Sam’s mom had never left, well, he’d never have met Deckard Shaw. So, it all worked out pretty well if Luke did say so himself.

The fact that Deckard was human was something Luke hadn’t really thought much about. Being around Deckard, he hadn’t had reason to think about it. It was like the man had all of the abilities of a Were, what with the way he kept up with the crew. The way he could keep up with Luke. And that- that right there- was the main reason he hadn’t ever considered Deckard’s humanness. No, Luke had been too busy thinking about how Deckard could keep up with him in other ways.

When the Hobbs family had first met Deckard, they’d all been a little preoccupied with saving the world to really get to know him; in other words, they never got the chance to really sit down and grill him. And after the whole world-saving business, well, Deckard had more than proven himself to the Hobbs clan. They had warmed up to him pretty quick after that. Really, Luke’s mom practically spoiled Deckard now. She liked to show her affection for the man who had “reigned in her wildest son” by making extra special kopai for him. Also by hitting said son with her flip flops, scolding Luke for not feeding Deckard enough. Needless to say, integrating Deckard into the pack was like mixing sugar with water, the Brit just dissolved right in.

And it’s not as if being human was a bad thing. It’s just a little different than the Were Luke’s mother had originally thought he’d settle down with. Anyway, it could be a million times worse; Deckard could be a vampire or something of the sort. Yikes, Luke’s nose wrinkled even thinking about those bloodsuckers. Yeah, his human mate was perfect just the way he was.

****

It was late October, getting close to Halloween. Luke and Deckard were at the Hobbs residence, helping Sam with her costume. She was going in sugar skull makeup to her friend’s Halloween party tomorrow night. Apparently, it was the biggest party of the year, and therefore everything had to be perfect. The black skirt had arrived on the doorstep just that afternoon, and Sam had been ecstatic to see that it fit. Now it was dark out and Luke was sitting with her in the living room, helping her develop the control to change her eye color to her beta color, so she wouldn’t have to wear contacts.

“Bloody Amazon,” Deckard said, walking into the warmly lit room.“Can’t even get the face paint order straight. They botched it up so that it’s not coming tonight. Won’t even be here in time for tomorrow night.” Sam’s ears perked up at that and she looked worriedly from Deckard and back to her father. Sensing the beginnings of a “teenage angst storm”, as Deckard liked to call them, Luke quickly began thinking on his feet and smiled at Sam in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

“S’alright, Sammy. We can just go to the store and get some tomorrow after you get home from school.” Luke could clearly see how Sam’s shoulders drooped and she brought out the puppy dog eyes.

“But I need time to practice with it, Dad! I can’t put it on for the first time when I go to the party!” Deckard took one look at Sam’s big, sad eyes and was already reaching for his jacket from the coat rack.

“I was headed out to run some errands, anyway. It’s no trouble to pick up some face paint too. Plenty of time to try it out and get to bed on time for a school night,” he said with a wink to the teen. Sam’s entire aura brightened and she gave Deckard a megawatt smile.

“Deck, you don’t have to do that,” Luke hated the way his words darkened his daughter’s face, but he didn’t want Deckard to have to make the trip all the way out to Walmart when he was headed that way tomorrow. He could pick up the goods then.

Deckard shrugged a shoulder and waved off Luke’s concern. “It’s no trouble, Big Bird. I’m meeting a bloke that’s got a new piece for me tonight anyway. I’ll just pick up the paint on my way home.” Luke frowned slightly at that, but knew Deckard could take care of himself.

“If you say so, Princess.” Deckard rolled his eyes at the nickname, but still leaned up to give Luke a quick peck goodbye when prompted before heading for the front door.

“Deckard.” Deckard turned at the sound of his name and Luke gave him a meaningful look. “Stay safe.”

Deckard gave Luke a lopsided grin and an, “Aren’t I always?” before opening the door and heading out into the chilly night.

Despite the normality of the situation, Luke had a bad feeling about it all. He looked out and watched Deckard drive away before shaking himself and getting back to coaching Sam in control, brushing off the slight wariness as a side effect of the waxing moon.

****

Four hours later, after having sent a slightly upset but more worried Sam to bed, Luke was starting to get a little worried himself; the unease was flowing back into him and chilling his veins. Deckard had only said that he was meeting up with a guy to buy a gun, then grabbing the face paint before heading home. That certainly shouldn’t take four hours.

Luke waited a couple more minutes, weighing his options before he got up and headed for the kitchen. With his mind made up, Luke ripped off a piece of paper and jotted down a note in case Sam woke up to an empty house. He grabbed his leather jacket and his keys before heading for the door.

Luke pulled open the door and screeched to a halt when he saw the fist that was raised, as if about to knock.

“Jesus,” Hobbs jumped about a foot in the air. “Deckard? You scared the shit outta me. I was just about to come out looking for you. When’d you get here? I didn’t see your headlights in the driveway. Did everything go alright? You get the face pai…” Luke’s ramblings faded to silence as he squinted his eyes and took his first good look at his partner.

“Deckard? Are you alright? Oh my God is that BLOOD!?!” Suddenly Deckard was falling and Luke was catching him in his arms, sweeping him up off his feet and bringing him inside, kicking the door shut as he went.

Luke laid Deckard down on the couch and turned on the overhead lights. The sight made his hackles raise and his eyes flash. Deckard was covered in blood. His jacket and white shirt were completely stained, and his neck and face were splattered with red droplets.

Luke’s hands immediately flitted around Deckard before descending down to his abdomen and working his way up, checking for any grievous injuries. In his attempt to find a wound that could be responsible for the copious amount of blood, Luke happened to overlook the small wounds.

“Hey. Deckard. Deck. Stay with me,” Luke patted the other man’s face gently and tried to get him to keep his eyes open. “What happened? Deckard. What happened?” Deckard’s eyes opened for a moment, wild and alert. As his gaze focused in on Luke, the wildness cleared, his body relaxing in Luke’s grip as he realized he was safe and protected.

“Hey, Twinkle Toes,” he whispered before his eyes shut and he fell into unconsciousness.

“Deckard! Wake up! Wake up!” Luke shook the other man none too gently but Deckard didn’t move. He was completely dead to the world.

****

The first thing Luke noticed, when he had reined in his emotions and shifted into work mode, was the smell. There was this faint whiff of something sharp attacking his nose. It was coming from Deckard. Hidden under all of that humanness, there was the faintest trace of the supernatural. This was new.

Luke had gotten used to smelling Hattie’s fae powder on Deckard after he came back from visiting London, or Owen’s Werejaguar musk after Deckard got back from some black ops mission. He was most familiar with the intimate, salty ocean scent of his own pack reflected back on him by Deckard after the man had spent a few weeks with him. He had never, in all his time around Deckard, smelled a hint of the supernatural within him.

Because of this, Luke ruled out the option of taking Deckard to human hospitals. He didn’t know if they were equipped to deal with something like this. But it’s not like he could take the man to a Supernatural Hospital; there was no record of Deckard being a Supe and they might think he’d been hiding it. For which there were many severe laws in place that punished this. The only option Luke really had left was one he wasn’t too comfortable with. But with Deckard on his couch, possibly bleeding out from a wound Luke couldn’t identify, well, he’d brave just about any situation to get his partner the help he needed.

****

One phone call, a sleepy conversation with Sam, and an hour later Luke was standing in his living room, wringing his hands as one of Mr. Nobody’s best Supernatural doctors looked over Deckard.

All of Luke’s instincts were screaming at him to attack the doctor and get him off of his mate, but Luke chained the wolf down and kept him on a short leash. Deckard needed his help right now, not an overprotective wolf man.

“You said this was his blood?” Luke was broken out of his thoughts by the kneeling doctor.

“Yeah. I’m certain it is. I can smell it.” Luke wishes he couldn’t.

The doctor made a humming noise that grated on Luke’s nerves and tested his patience. Thankfully, he wasn’t left waiting long before the doctor adjusted his glasses, opened his mouth, and started explaining.

“Well, the good news is that I know what’s wrong with him. The bad news is that, you being what you are, aren’t going to like it.” The doctor turned towards Luke, his eyes behind his glasses flickering back from their beta color. Luke’s hackles raised at his comment and he couldn’t help the growl that escaped.

“‘What I am?’ What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” the doctor said, getting up off his knees and taking his glasses off to look Luke right in the eye, “that you, a Werewolf, have a problem because he,” the man gestured to Deckard, “is a newly made Homo Nosferatu Vampiris. More commonly known as a vampire.”

Oh.

OH SHIT.

#deckard shaw x luke hobbs #hobbs/shaw #hobbs x shaw #deckard shaw #luke hobbs #samantha hobbs #supernatural au #werewolves #hobbs and shaw #fast & furious #shobbs

[omnivorousshipper]

Request = what if Deckard and Hobbs had a one night stand before the 6th movie and when Luke found out a about Owen he new that he had to track down Deck to help bring his brother in. Bonus Rowen if you please

I've been wanting to write a fic like this for a while now! Thanks for the opportunity friend!

Luke threw down Owen Shaw's file, letting Totetto and his crew look it over.

"Our target is Owen Shaw..."

Once Luke had explained everything and negotiated with the crew about their immunity, Dom looked up from where he was reading Shaw' file

"This guy have any family?" Dom asked

"Probably, why?" Luke asked, eyes narrowed

"Maybe we can use them as leverage. Most mothers keep in contact with their sons and don't like hearing that they're up to no good."

"I'll look into it." Luke said dryly

Now, a few hours later, Luke was going through Shaw's file, reading about his past. That's when he remembered what Dom had said. Scrolling through Shaw's info, Luke found two names: Magdalene and Deckard Shaw. Mother and brother of Owen Shaw

Pulling up their files, Luke could feel his heart jump into his throat

Because he knew Deckard Shaw

He could clearly remember the way the other man had smiled at him and invited him back to his hotel room. It had been an amazing night. One that Luke would never forget

And now, Luke was tracking Deckard's brother down

Shit

Thanking anybody that listened, Luke pulled out his phone and instantly found Deckard's

"Deckard? It's Luke. Can we talk about your little brother?"

~~~

Opening a candy bar, Roman took a bite as he and everyone else in the crew thought over how to catch Shaw. Hobbs was off to the side talking to Hicks, when suddenly, they all heard the elevator doors open

Everyone stood to look who was coming

Roman's eyes went wide

Because being dragged by the ear by a slightly shorter guy, was Owen Shaw

"Deckard!" Hobbs called to the pair

"Luke." The shorter man said, nodding. When he and Shaw got close enough, he let Shaw go, who glared at him and rubbed at his hurting ear

"I wasn't expecting you two so soon." Hobbs said, smiling and bringing the smaller man in for a hug

"Are you kidding me, Deck?" Shaw hissed at Deckard. "You shagged Hobbs?"

"That." Deckard said firmly. "Is none of your business."

"And it's none of your business what heist I'm pulling!"

"Well, I think that confirms that you two are brothers." Hobbs smirked

Roman blinked. And then had to bite his lip from laughing. Of course Hobbs would have been the one to hook up with Shaw's brother. Guy loved to rub salt into wound when he could

Roman couldn't help the loud snort that escaped him when Shaw took a step towards Hobbs, looking pissed off, and Deckard reached out and flicked his still red ear, making Shaw yelp in pain

But Roman instantly lost all of his humor when Shaw's angry eyes turned on him, no doubt hearing his laughter

And even though Roman could feel a shiver of fear go through him, he couldn't help but admire how gorgeous Owen looked when he was pissed off. Roman couldnt help but compare him to a panther

Roman knew the other man could easily hurt him, but he looked far too beautiful doing so

Hope you enjoy friend!

#shobbs #deckard shaw #luke hobbs #hobbs and shaw #owen shaw #roman pearce #rowen #asks #omni answers #omni writes

[spell-cleaver]

Prompt 4 with kid Luke and Hondo with a dash of Vader towards the end

This got longer than I expected and I think it’s still too short to do the narrative justice, but I hope you like it anyway :)

Han had been sitting listening to this Weequay's tall tales for an hour now, waiting for Chewie. He was getting bored.

"—and then, when I was much younger and sprightlier—but still very skilled and experienced, you understand, very good at my job—I encountered this young girl, Togruta—"

"I ain't interested in your exploits," Han cut in, because the rest of this had been awful but that was crossing a line.

"Oh, no, nothing like that, my friend! Not my type at all. Besides, if anything had happened, she would have shoved a lightsaber right through my head, and that would ruin this pretty face now, wouldn't it?"

Han rolled his eyes—then froze. Lightsaber...

"I've, uh," he said, rising from his seat in the booth despite the fact that the bar was still sans Chewie, "gotta go now."

"Oh no, stay, my friend! I have one more story for you before I have to go on to more adventures! It is about," he paused for dramatic effect and Han, despite himself sat back down and leaned in, "Lord Vader and a little boy."

Han was intrigued. He would later regret being intrigued.

.

Luke clutched Old Ben's hand tightly and tried not to cry.

He didn't succeed.

He cried—hard, big fat droplets rolling down his cheeks to splatter onto the floor of this cantina Ben had brought him into. Ben had dragged him to Mos Eisley, away from the burnt out homestead and his aunt and uncle's— their b—

He was here, and Ben hadn't wanted to take him in there despite the fact that Luke was a big boy now, he could handle anything.

But, even he had to admit, the atmosphere in this place was... scary. There were tall men everywhere, it smelled funny, and something felt... off, like he knew when a sandstorm was coming or that a vaporator was beyond fixing. He wanted to go outside, no matter what Ben had said about not wanting to risk that someone took him.

(Luke knew what that meant, even as young as he was. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's terror had never been hidden from him, and he knew about his grandmother.)

But finally Ben stopped talking to that human who at the... bar? He turned around, took Luke's hand and firmly marched them to the booth where that man had gestured, giving Luke a weak smile as he did. He looked distracted.

He'd made Luke sit with his back to the rest of the cantina, which Luke resented—scary or not, there were more species in here than he'd seen in his entire life!—but it meant that he got to watch Ben closely. He'd never spoken to him much, Uncle Owen'd hated him, but he'd been the one who'd shown up when he was hiding in the little secret trapdoor in the garage and he said he'd known Luke's father...

He was watching him closely. He saw the moment his face fell, his eyes bulged, and his lips moved silently.

Curious, Luke twisted round to see who had upset him, and saw a big tall alien—a Weequay? He'd only ever seen one picture of them, he wasn't sure—sashaying towards them, arms spread wide and braids swinging. Luke found himself grinning just at the sight of him; he looked like fun.

"Kenobi!" he called out, and he was delighted to see Ben, Luke could tell. Luke grinned wider—he must be a friend. "You are alive! I knew it, I knew it—you know, I tell people about my Jedi friend and they oh no, he's dead! You'll never see him again! But I knew it, no droid or clone or Imperial would ever take down the great Obi-Wan—"

"Shhh," Ben hissed, paler than Luke's clothes. "Yes, I'm alive. If you keep running your mouth like that, I won't be for much longer!"

The Weequay laughed a lot, though Luke was pretty sure Ben wasn't joking.

"That's my good friend Obi-Wan, always so modest," he said. "And no worries, before you ask—I will not sell you out to any of those nasty Imperials on this sleepy outpost. We are friends, are we not? And it's not wise to upset a Jedi," he shook his head sadly, "it's not good business."

Then he perked up again. "Now! It's been lovely seeing you, but I have a fine gentleman somewhere over here looking for passage to Alderaan!" His eyes scanned the surrounding booths. "Who do you think it is, that distinguished-looking man over there?"

Luke frowned. Glanced at Ben. He was staring at the Weequay and had somehow paled even further.

"Ben?" Luke prompted, finding his voice for the first time. The Weequay's gaze snapped to him and Luke felt his massive curiosity. "Didn't you say— are—" He swallowed at Ben's warning gaze but considered doggedly, "aren't we going to Alderaan?"

The Weequay froze, staring at Ben with his eyes comically large.

"Why, Kenobi," he said, "don't tell me you're the person looking to visit the planet of beauty?"

Obi-Wan said something. Luke was pretty sure it was a swear word.

.

The Weequay's name was Hondo, and he was awesome.

He let Luke play in the turrets—"Just shoot at a random point in space won't you, my boy, it'll all come in useful one day, eh?"—despite Ben's objections; he let him help with the jump to hyperspace—"I'll show you which buttons to press and you press them!—despite Ben's objections; and, most importantly of all, he told Luke stories about his father.

Also despite Ben's objections, but they were half-hearted at most. From the moment Luke's father had been brought up, he'd known he'd lost that battle.

"Your father? Oh, I knew him, little one, we were almost as close as me and Kenobi here were! Excellent pilot, excellent—"

"I thought he was a navigator on a spice freighter," Luke pointed out. Hondo was clearly in that sort of business himself; shouldn't he know the difference? Uncle Owen had made it painstakingly clear.

Ben winced. Hondo was surprised.

"At least, that's what Uncle Owen told me... But," he crowed, "if he was a pilot as well, then that's even cooler!"

He did not hear the small whimper of despair Obi-Wan gave when he called working on a spice freighter cool.

Hondo's eyes were wide. "Oh. Oh my. You didn't know? He didn't know?" He addressed the last part to Ben, who shook his head grimly—and a little pointedly. "Oh dear. My sincerest apologies."

"What don't I know?" Luke added dubiously, "That he was a pilot...?"

Ben sighed.

"Luke," he said gently, "come into the back room. We need to talk."

.

"My father was a Jedi?" he asked Hondo the moment he came back out. Hondo grinned and patted him on the head.

"Yes he was! One of the greatest Jedi ever to live, in my humble opinion. Second only to our beloved Kenobi, of course."

In the background, Ben sighed. "Don't fill his head with ridiculous ideas, Hondo."

"I would never dream of it, my friend! Are you going to train him to be a Jedi too?" He poked Luke's arm lightly.

Luke looked up at Ben and did his best innocent, hardworking and humble expression.

"...yes," Ben ground out, though he managed to make himself smile at Luke. "I will. If he wants—"

"I do!"

"Then yes," he smiled wider and patted him on the shoulder, "I will."

There was a beeping from the cockpit and Hondo jumped into action. "Looks like we are coming up on our destination, my friends!"

"Good," Ben breathed a sigh of relief and ushered Luke into the cockpit behind Hondo. "Once we reach Alderaan, I will get you your payment, Hondo, and then, Luke, there's someone I'd like you to meet—"

The streaks turned to stars but no planet loomed before them.

Ben froze.

"This isn't Alderaan," Luke observed mildly, but no one was listening to him.

Ben was shouting. "Hondo—"

"Now, now, you understand, Kenobi," Hondo said, turned around quickly, snapped his blaster up from his side and stunned him. "You were offering a wonderful sum, but someone else is offering more for your head and, well," he shrugged, "It's just good business."

Luke stared at him, wide-eyed and suddenly terrified.

He glanced at the scopes—Hondo had shown him how to use them. There was a massive, wedge-shaped ship to their left, just to the side of the viewports.

Hondo winked at him and put away the blaster. "Don't you worry, little one, no one is going to hurt you! It's only Kenobi that Lord Vader wants, I doubt he'll care about a little squirt like yourself, no matter how wonderful your father was!"

He was lying.

Luke's fear ramped up a notch. He felt... cold...

A little light on the console began chiming. Hondo flicked a switch and a holo appeared of a scary-looking figure—droid?—with a mask.

The voice thundered. "Ohnaka. You have Kenobi?"

"Of course, my lord. Hondo always delivers, doesn't he?" He wagged his finger in an odd way; Luke could tell that this Vader was not amused.

"Apparently so. But—" Vader stiffened. Luke, against his will, squeezed his eyes shut when that cold doubled, and it seemed to double around him. "You are carrying someone else on your ship."

"Oh, no one, just a little boy Kenobi picked up in his wanderings, a stray. Nothing to worry about, Lord Vader. Now, about my payment—"

"I will be the judge of what I worry about, Ohnaka. Bring him to the holo."

"My lord—"

"Bring him."

Hondo swallowed, the only sign of fear he'd shown, and it made Luke even more scared. He tried to duck when the pirate reached for him, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he was dragged in front of the holoreceiver.

He looked up and automatically met that dark lord's eye... plates? "Hi."

Vader tilted his head. It was a pretty big head, so the tilting was obvious.

"What is your name, young one?" he asked, curiously softly.

Luke had no idea what was going on, but his aunt and uncle had not raised a liar.

"Luke Skywalker," he said.

That... cold... constricted, making it hard to breathe for a moment, Then it was inside him, his head, poking and prodding where it shouldn't, where it was rude, and Luke gave the mental equivalent of a shove and a tongue stuck out at it.

To his surprise, it retreated. A whisper of amusement and surprise lingered.

On the holo, Vader had not moved his helmet to gaze at anything other than Luke.

"We have you on our scopes, Ohnaka," he said. The ship shuddered. "We have a lock on you and will tractor you in to a hangar bay. Then you can bring me Kenobi, and..." He hesitated, his stare seeming to triple in its intensity.

"And bring me the boy."

.

"And that, my good friend," Hondo finished, "is how ten years ago, I accidentally gave Vader his son, without even realising it!"

Han stared.

And stared some more.

Then he shook his head, more out of pity than disgust, and said, "I'm too sober for this nonsense."

He left, ignoring Hondo's squawked protests behind him and met Chewie outside.

Chewie roared a question; Han gave a short, obligatory laugh.

"Ah, nothing. I think he's gone crazy. Talking about this kid, who was supposedly Vader's son... it's a lotta nonsense."

Chewie groaned his understanding, then gave Han the best news he'd heard all day: they had a client.

"Oh really?" Han asked as they approached the docking bay the Falcon was in, seeing a slim figure already waiting for them inside. "Who is it?"

Chewie inclined his head; Han turned to look. The figure was a boy—adult on a technicality, he supposed—with two droids trailing him: a gold, annoying-looking one and a blue astromech. The boy smiled when he saw Chewie and Han, but he looked... tense.

"Hi!" he said. "My name's Luke Skywalker."

Han did a double take at the name—but no. Hondo's story was too ridiculous, too far-fetched. He wasn't even going to think it.

The boy, though—Lord Vader's son, if that tall tale was to be believed—sharpened his smile a little, eyes flashing a little gold in the light.

Vader, he remembered belatedly, was supposedly able to read minds.

Skywalker rested a hand on the astromech's dome; it curled slightly, nails digging into the finish, with either tension or anticipation.

"I don't suppose I can purchase passage to Alderaan for myself and two droids?"

Prompts from this post, but I’m closed to prompts for now.

#i love doing prompts but i wanna take a break from writing rn #so i have one more prompt and one more chapter to write #then i have a few weeks' break #so don't send anymore in unless you're willing to wait over a month for it #luke skywalker #hondo ohnaka #darth vader #obi wan kenobi #han solo #chewbacca #my writing #random words on a page #flash fiction #flash fiction: star wars

[andersunmenschlich]

Episode 9: A Father's Love

Tonight's episode is the statement of Julia Montauk.

...Montauk?

Well. Um. In any case, it seems this Julia's father was a serial killer who died in prison seven years into a life sentence. Apparently he used a shed for something murder-related?

When I think of sheds, I typically think of either storage or projects—rebuilding engines, tanning hides, constructing birdhouses... you know, that sort of thing. I suppose murder could be considered a project, but is it really the kind of project you'd usually do in a shed? I'd like something a bit more easily cleanable myself.

She says his killings were meant to fuel the magic of a cult.

Now, that's interesting.

What sort of magic, I wonder? Hmm. I guess that depends on the sort of cult. And was it fueled by the deaths themselves, or were those incidental? If, for instance, you had a victim with a healing factor, would it still work?

Moving on.... At least 40 people in five years! That's eight a year, how did he not get caught almost immediately? I'm impressed.

Julia Montauk says she had no idea whatsoever that her father was a murderer, and also that she's sure something other than the murdering was going on. Given that this is a Magnus Archives episode, I'm thinking she's absolutely right about that last bit.

So she tells us about her childhood.

Apparently the murder shed came with the house she still lives in, but they didn't use it at all until after the night her mother disappeared.

That night, she was having a hard time sleeping on account of having watched The Witches. I didn't know that was a film! I've read the book by Roald Dahl (though I don't own it), but I'd never heard that it was adapted for the screen. I don't remember a character named Luke, but it has been a while. Huh. Somehow I have the strange impression that the main character's name was "Boy," though that doesn't seem at all likely. Oh well: Julia Montauk.

She's lying awake in bed when there's a thump downstairs.

And then there's another thump.

She doesn't have a clock in her bedroom, so she doesn't know what time it is, but it's dark outside so whatever time it is it's clearly the middle of the night. Like every rational child who can't sleep because they're frightened and then hears an unusual noise, she decides to get out of bed and go see what it is.

...Julia Montauk is a little bit too much like me here. Does she want to get attacked by a burglar?

Anyway, she sneaks downstairs and sees that the kitchen light is on.

The kitchen is empty, the back door is open, and her mother's necklace is lying on the table. Her mother's necklace is interesting. It sounds like it has a silver Hand of Fatima as a pendant—only the eye is closed.

I own a lot of necklaces. I never wear them. That would be impractical. I don't even wear ties, and for the same reason: it strikes me as a very bad idea to carry your own personal noose around your neck. But despite this, well... I like necklaces. I don't like wearing them. But I collect them all the same, because I think they're cool. I have a large, black, beaded spider on a green, beaded chain. I have the claw of a dragon clutching a crystal ball. I have a real, functioning hourglass. I have a sword with something red and shiny set in the pommel. I have the head of a goat inside a pentagram, and a great many crosses.

I don't have a Hand of Fatima. Even so, I'm familiar with what that sort of pendant looks like, and in my experience the eye is never closed. Ever.

What this says about the cult Julia's mom is clearly a part of, I don't quite know.

But... well... if I'd ever run across a pendant like that one, where the eye in the palm of the hand was closed, I think I'd've been tempted to get it. The idea of an amulet against the evil eye in which the eye is open never made much sense to me....

Julia Montauk takes the necklace upstairs to return it to her mother, clearly not quite grasping that closing the back door is the important thing here.

Her mother isn't in bed.

She wakes up her father and asks him where her mother went.

He sees the necklace, hops out of bed, and starts getting dressed right away. This tells me that Mrs. Montauk must not have taken that thing off very often: he sees it off her neck and knows right away that something's wrong. Interesting. Hmm. Julia doesn't say whether he wears one or not. That strikes me as a rather important detail to skip over!

He asks her where she found the necklace, she tells him, and they both go to the kitchen where, for some reason, he decides to run the tap instead of closing the back door.

This family.

Oh, and the water coming out of the tap is bad.

So he was running some sort of test, then. And since he knew exactly what to look for... and the cult does magic... hmm. They don't summon a demon or something, do they? And its presence has some kind of effect on domestic water?

Then the kitchen light bulb blows out, which seems dangerous to me, all those slender little slivers of glass.

Clearly things are not going well for the Montauk family.

Mr. Montauk tells his daughter that everything's fine and sends her back to bed. She doesn't believe him, and I somehow suspect it didn't take his shaking hands to tell her that! But she goes to bed, because that's what you do when a parent tells you to go to bed, and she lies there until it starts to get light outside, at which point she falls asleep. Her father (having headed off with her mother's necklace) hasn't yet returned.

When she wakes up (too late to go to school, as might have been expected), he's still not back. So she just sits in the living room and waits for him, which I think is understandable.

He's gone practically all day, and when he finally returns he's pale and goes straight to the liquor cabinet, which seems to suggest that he wasn't out drinking all this time, because wouldn't he have brought back a bottle or something in that case?

He pours himself a glass of Scotch, sits down on the couch next to his daughter, and tells her that her mother is gone.

She understands the unspoken "forever" and starts crying.

Oh, Robert Montauk was a police officer! But he didn't go to the police for help finding his missing wife, which suggests to me that he knew where she was (more or less) and also probably that it was a bit out of local law enforcement's remit. By, I'm guessing, at least a couple of dimensions.

Julia Montauk says her mother used to have a lot of friends over, but somehow no one seemed to notice that she'd vanished.

Okay. Those were cult friends, weren't they? And they, like Julia's dad, know what vanished her mom and so aren't going to kick up any kind of big legal fuss because what would be the point... and also possibly because they're the ones who vanished her.

Of course everyone assumes the serial killer killed his wife.

That makes sense.

Meanwhile, the serial killer in question seems to be getting ready to embark upon his murderous career, because it's only now that he starts fixing up the shed, sticking power tools in it and a sturdy lock on the door, and telling his daughter that he's doing woodworking... but mostly it's quiet in there so whatever he's using it isn't power tools, and he only turns up little wooden things every once in a while. Also there's a kind of meaty smell, which strikes me as indicative of knife use: that's quiet, but using a knife won't stop whatever you're working on from making smells.

...Or screams, usually, so are the victims gagged? Drugged? Already dead?

Anyway, Julia Montauk's father spends hours in that shed during the day, and then he's gone most nights, too. But she doesn't worry about that, because she figures he's out on police business.

One night he comes into her room, thinking she's asleep, and quietly promises her—or himself, I guess—that he'll protect her: that he won't let "it" get her, too. He's crying, and his hands smell like blood and dirty water when he touches her face. Which doesn't seem sanitary to me, but I suppose he was too wrapped up in emotion to think about cleanliness.

So... is he feeding victims to this stagnant water demon?

He's wearing light gray overalls stained with something like tar, which sounds like a demony kind of thing to me.

He's also beat up a lot. "There was rarely a time when he didn't have some sort of plaster, bandage, or bruise visible," she says. She gets used to seeing blood around, and just assumes whenever she finds some it's his. And he starts staying home during the day.

He tells her this is because he's been permanently assigned night shift, but actually he resigned.

Makes sense—he's got a new job now, right?

And apparently the cult is paying him, because they've always got enough money. He stays home during the day, spends time with his daughter, only goes into the shed at night... sounds like a pretty good deal all around, honestly!

...Well, except for the victims, obviously.

There's one day he uses the shed during daylight hours, and it's the day Julia answers the phone and discovers that a "Detective Rayner" wants to speak to her father.

Wait.

Rayner? That name sounds familiar, hang on.

Joseph Rayner! That was the name on the dog tags found with Wilfred Owen's body in episode seven! Jonathan Sims said the name sounded familiar, too. Hmm. Well, I was -67 when Clarence Barry's statement was given, and when this statement was given I was 23, so that's quite a lot of time (almost a hundred years). Maybe it's a descendant or something.

"Detective" Rayner has an accent of some kind, and young Julia Montauk thinks it's German—but then she thinks a lot of accents are German at this point in her life, so who knows.

When her father hears that someone named Rayner is calling for him, he goes pale.

He takes the phone and puts it to his ear and just listens, and after a bit he turns to his daughter and tells her to leave the kitchen because this is a grown-up conversation (not much of a conversation with just one person talking, if you ask me)—and she does, but as she leaves, the light bulb at the top of the stairs blows out.

Sounds like a certain demony something is out and about.

Oh, and apparently it's out and about pretty often, because she says the bulbs in that house broke a lot (I note she's using the past tense, so could it be that they don't anymore?) and she was used to changing them.

So she turns around and goes back down the stairs to get a fresh bulb, at which point she hears her father's half of the conversation from the kitchen.

He sounds angry.

He says, "No. Not already. Do it yourself."

It sounds to me as though whatever it is he's feeding, it's hungry again. Maybe it's a demon. Maybe the cult's used up a bunch of magical power and needs more. Whatever the case, Rayner says something on the other end of the line and, after a while of silence, Montauk agrees to do "it" as soon as possible. He hangs up, gets himself some alcohol, and spends the rest of the day in the shed.

So, since he didn't go anywhere... was he keeping a victim out there? Or does the ritual require something he can provide himself, like blood or pain? Or maybe it just needs a body, but then I'd think he'd have to set up some kind of refrigeration out there....

Apparently what was left of the bodies didn't allow for much in the way of identification.

That suggests eating to me.

I'm going to go with the "demon" hypothesis, and say that this cult of the closed palm-eye summoned something that does their bidding but needs regular feeding.

Something that apparently doesn't like light and prefers water to be brackish?

I can understand the first part, personally, but the second bit doesn't suit me at all. I like my water clean and fresh, thanks! I don't think I could handle having something like that around, even if it did keep things nice and dark around me—dealing with stinky water on the regular is not my idea of a good time.

Ah, and Robert Montauk takes pictures. On film! I remember film cameras. My favorite thing to do was not advance the film and take a double exposure.

Apparently he takes quite a lot of pictures, but he doesn't want anyone else seeing them and, since he can't develop them, the canisters of used film just sort of stack up around the house. So Julia suggests a darkroom.

This seems like a fairly obvious suggestion, but apparently her dad hadn't thought of it.

He sets up a darkroom in the guest bedroom and (obviously) keeps it locked. Except for sometimes when he'll let her in and the pair of them will develop innocent, normal photos (photos she took), which sounds like a fun parent-child activity, doesn't it? Julia Montauk is ten or eleven at this point which, going off my own memories, seems about the right age for a first camera.

She says her father "seemed almost happy those last couple of years."

...I wonder why.

Hmm. My first thought is that he's trying to take pictures of the demon or whatever it is, but I can't see how that would make him happy—unless the "demon" is actually his wife?

Ooh, and then one day he leaves the key in the lock and Julia, curious, goes inside.

She says there were no developed photos in there, and she doesn't know where he put any of his pictures once they were ready, which is interesting. Was he hiding them somewhere? Giving them to someone? ...Not eating them, hopefully. We had quite enough of that with the notebooks in episode three.

Anyway, there are no fully developed pictures, but there are about twelve not-entirely-finished photos hung up to dry.

And they're of corpses.

Corpses with symbols inked onto their faces, which reminds me of the book-woman from episode four, uh... Mary Keay. Now, why would he be taking pictures of that? Especially since at first he didn't even have the ability to develop them?

Plus, it's weird that he left the key in the lock.

Julia Montauk says she sometimes wonders whether he did it on purpose. I don't know why he'd do that, either. Oh, and apparently none of the people were victims the police knew about, which tells me that there were definitely more than just eight victims a year! ...And also suggests that he might've been taking out other cultists? Because we know that the police weren't contacted when his wife died, don't we. But you'd think the cult would notice and object! Unless, I suppose, they were volunteering....

She keeps quiet for a few weeks, then confesses to her father that she went in the darkroom and saw his weird corpse pictures.

He hugs her and asks her not to hate him.

Then he says it'll be over soon and leaves, telling her to stay in her room until he gets back.

Julia Montauk strikes me as a very obedient child. She goes to her room, lies in bed, stares out the window at the street, and at 2:47 am when she goes downstairs to get a drink of water she discovers that the water from the tap is thick, muddy, brown, and brackish.

See, that's the sort of thing I would just find too inconvenient to live with.

Instead of going back to her room, though, she goes to the living room window and tries to see if she can spot her father coming back.

She can't.

What she sees are the lights going out.

One at a time, the streetlamps fail. The lights in whatever houses still have lights on go dark. It's a moonless night, and the darkness is moving towards her house, slow and steady—and then the lights in her house go out, too.

So far so strange, but not really worrisome. If I saw that happening on my street, I'd probably be pleased. I'd especially like to see those new LED streetlights go out! Those things are hideously painful. Really, what is the point of having a tiny supernova on each and every street corner except to torture people like me, who already can't go out during the day, thank you very much? You have the entire day, you horrible people. So you need special accommodations for night time, fine,  but if those accommodations are going to disable me why don't you just keep them to yourself? The day is yours already—at least leave me the night!

But then there's a knock on the door, which turns into pounding, and this is much less pleasant.

Panicking, young Julia Montauk calls the police.

She just manages to tell them where she is when the front door gives way... and this is interesting, because it seems to me that the front window would've been much easier to break and come in through, wouldn't it?

Well, perhaps the thing can't climb. It can growl, though.

She drops the phone and runs through the house out into the backyard, where she discovers that the shed is glowing "a dull, pulsing blue."

Sounds pretty. Anyway, it's not locked—so she pulls the door open and there's her father, apparently in the middle of some sort of sourceless blue spotlight, kneeling in the center of a fancy chalk circle drawn on the wooden floor, apparently playing at being an Aztec. He's got a dead man in front of him (a dead man wearing a Hand of Fatima necklace with a closed eye in the palm), a knife that was evidently used to open the dead man's chest in one hand, and the man's beating heart in the other.

He's also chanting.

The chant seems to be what's keeping the heart beating, and it also seems to have something to do with the blue glow: they're all pulsing in time.

The walls of the shed, meanwhile, are lined with shelves, and the shelves are full of glass jars, and each glass jar holds a single human heart, preserved in formaldehyde... and also beating to that same rhythm.

Geez louise, that's really pretty.

Meanwhile, the growling whatever-it-is has caught up to her. She can feel it behind her.

But just at that moment her father reaches the right point in the chant to stab the heart, and once he does everything stops and the thing behind her disappears.

She realizes she can hear police sirens.

Her father tells her he's sorry, and then he runs.

Evidently he got caught, put on trial, convicted, thrown in prison, and died seven years later, but all this is kind of skipped over because (so Julia Montauk says) everybody already knows that part. I don't! I'd like to know whether the cult was hunting him as well as the police, and what moves he took to avoid them both, and whether he decided he couldn't avoid being caught and let the police do it instead of the cultists, and....

Well, there are a lot of things I'd like to know, but I suppose they aren't really important to this story. Oh well.

Jonathan Sims says the dead cultist was named Christopher Lorne.

He also says that the 40 hearts found in the shed were arranged very precisely: a pattern of 11 on each wall except the one with the door, which had a pattern of 7. That's very tidy, and I approve. Oh, and that's all of the bodies that was ever found.

Well, that would make identification difficult!

According to Mr. Sims, the symbol on those interesting pendants belongs to the People's Church of the Divine Host.

He says it's "a small cult that grew around the defrocked Pentacostal minister Maxwell Rayner in London during the late '80s and early '90s," and that's where he recognized the name Rayner from. He also calls episode seven "statement 1106922." So the statements are already numbered? Or is this a designation he assigned to help make order out of chaos? Hmm. Well, that statement was given 11-6-1922... but only the last three digits of the year? If you're going to do it that way, you should put every digit in!

[sigh]

Anyway, Christopher Lorne was definitely a cultist. Apparently he had a family, but they hadn't heard from him in six years (which is probably how long he was in the cult). Maxwell Rayner vanished from public view when I was five, and the group fragmented, so this group....

Let's see, seven years before 2002 would make it 1995, when I was six. So this group would be one of the fragments? Seems right.

The house with the murder shed in the backyard is still being lived in today (whenever today is), but the new owners pulled down the shed and stuck a patio in its place, which to me suggests either a really large patio or a shed that's ridiculously close to the house, but this might just be because I've only ever seen patios that share a side with the house.

Ooh, and Robert Montauk's death sounds suspiciously supernatural.

Stabbed 47 times while alone in his cell? With the light bulb blown out? Dear me, that... that's very interesting.

You don't suppose he killed forty-seven cult members, do you? Maybe it was less a matter of feeding a demon and more a matter of helping people become a demon.... That doesn't explain his wife, though.

I don't know. Whatever the case, there's a lot of detail here, and I like it. This was a very good story!

And now back to packing....

#The Magnus Archives #episode 9 #commentary #late to the party

[asarahworld-writes]

Moments

Moments, when Anakin Skywalker felt the pull of the Dark Side.  And one when he felt the Light shine through.

**Pre-hologram meeting “on” Kashyyyk.**

AO3

“Is it possible to learn this power?”

“Not from a Jedi.”

Anakin looked up to the Chancellor, his mentor, his friend.  A non-Force-sensitive being who knew Sith legends.

“How?”

“How what?” Was it his imagination, or did the Chancellor’s tone sour when questioned?  Anakin was well-versed in reading the tone of a person’s voice – the effects of slavery on a person never healed, not when one’s survival had once depended on certain skills.

“How do you know a Sith legend?  None of the Jedi, not even Master Yoda, are versed in these matters.”

“Oh,” the Chancellor waved a hand, “you tend to pick up bits and pieces over the years. You see, Anakin, it’s not how I know the story that’s important, it’s the story itself that matters.  It was only through understanding the Dark Side of the Force that Darth Plagueis was able to learn, and more importantly, use that power to save others… those he loved.”

“And yet his apprentice still killed him.  Chancellor, excuse my bluntness, but why are you telling me this?” Obi-Wan had sensed something in the Chancellor, had warned the Council about it.  Anakin’s stomach turned.  His master was right.  The Chancellor was up to something.

“Because I thought it was something you needed to hear, young Skywalker.  There is more to the Force, and indeed, to life, than what the Jedi will tell you.”

Anakin was quiet, watching the ballet with feigned interest.  It was a strange relationship, the friendship between a Jedi and the Chancellor of the Republic.  Anakin knew there was some truth in Obi-Wan’s mistrust of the Nabooian politician that went beyond a general distaste of politics.

 ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

 **Palpatine having just murdered Master Windu**

“What have I done?”  Anakin stumbled back, collapsing onto a stool, watching in disbelief as the Chancellor, the Sith Lord, rose from the ledge.

“You’re fulfilling your destiny, Anakin.”  The Chancellor advanced and Anakin bowed his head, trying to centre himself.  “Become my apprentice.  Learn to use the Dark Side of the Force.”

“No,” Anakin muttered, his resolve weakening as the Chancellor drew nearer.

“It can save her, as you failed to save your mother,” the Chancellor stopped mere feet away.  “Senator Amidala.”

“You can save Padmé?”  The words tumbled from Anakin’s mouth before he had the chance to think.  “I can’t live without her.”

“If we work together, I know we can discover the secret,” the Chancellor said. Anakin’s hand twitched as if to draw his lightsabre.  “Look at me, Anakin.  Would you really pull your weapon on an injured man?”  Anakin hesitated, then turned the laser sword on to the Chancellor’s throat.  “Come now, Anakin.”

“No.” The lightsabre was not still. “You may be injured, but I have no doubt that you’re still dangerous.  You will go before the Senate and revoke the emergency powers.  Then there will be a hearing.”

“On what charge?”  The Chancellor asked, his voice sickly.

“Corruption of the government.  Murder. And if the Senate does not convict you, the Council will.  Terribly flawed though they may be, the Jedi are still the keepers of peace in the galaxy.”

“Kill me, and your wife will die.  Oh, yes, Anakin.  I do know about your ‘secret’ marriage, on Naboo.  You went to the Lake Country, a beautiful spot no doubt.”

Anakin’s minded was nearly blinded by an onslaught of memories of Padmé.  “How do you know about Lake Country?  There was only myself, Padmé, and two droids present.”

“As I have already told you, Anakin, the Dark Side of the Force can lead to many open doors.  Join me.”

“You speak with great certainty with a lightsabre drawn on your throat,” Anakin’s voice was steady.

“Do it. Kill me and you will be forced to assume my place in the budding Empire.  Let me live, and you will be the second most powerful man in the galaxy.”

ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

“I hate you!”

Obi-Wan Kenobi stared down at the smoldering man below.  “You’re my brother, Anakin.  I love you.”  Using the Force, Obi-Wan lifted Anakin from the molten rock.  “I love you, and I have failed you, and for that I am more sorry than you will ever know.”

“You took her from me!”

“Padmé? Anakin, she was terrified of you. There are limits to whom even the Chosen One can save!  She would rather die than have you like this!”

Obi-Wan’s phrasing drew Anakin from his rage.  “She’s alive?”  He rasped.

“Yes, of course, she’s alive,” Obi-Wan reached toward his brother.

“Help me,” Anakin rasped.  “Help me save Padmé’s life.  Senator Palpatine, he’s the Sith Lord.  He said,” he hesitated briefly, “he said that he could save her.”

“Anakin, I know that the Jedi, that I have failed you in the past.  I promise to do everything in my power to save Padmé.  She is a dear friend and,” Obi-Wan paused, clearly debating whether to continue, “and she’s told me the truth.”

The truth. Anakin didn’t know what the truth meant any more.

“The truth is that you and Padmé are in love and have been for nearly your whole lives,” Obi-Wan said gently.  “The truth is that you’re my brother and I have not supported you when you needed me. The truth is that Darth Sidious got into your head and manipulated you to suit his own needs.  The truth is that you are Anakin Skywalker, and you are a good person.”  Obi-Wan picked up Anakin’s fallen lightsabre and tucked it into his belt, before bending over his friend.  “The truth is that I hope we can save you, Anakin.”

ROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTSROTS

When Anakin awoke, he was naked.  His charred hand easily swept through the bacta, reaching desperately for his wife. Her name silently escaped his burned lips, air bubbles popping fiercely as they broke the tank’s surface.

Obi-Wan Kenobi lay a hand over the outside of the bacta tank.  When Anakin Skywalker had returned, so had Padmé’s life force. She had grown stronger as her due date neared, and she had cried with relief when her babies had been born alive and well.  Leia Amidala and Luke Skywalker were tiny and so quiet that Obi-Wan had been afraid if they didn’t lose Padmé and Anakin, they would lose the twins.

“Soon,” he quietly promised his brother.

Soon was relative.  Anakin’s burns were severe and no one quite understood how the true Sith Lord had manipulated Padmé’s life force to support him.  Padmé was on life support, improving every day, and Anakin spent more time in the bacta than out, healing his physical and emotional traumas. Obi-Wan spent his days and nights split into visiting each of the Skywalkers until, exhausted, he comm’ed for help.

It took two days for the Naberries to arrive from Naboo, five for the Larses to arrange passage and fly in from the Outer Rim.  Ruwee and Jobal immediately busied themselves with caring for the twins, being the only people in the facility who had experience with children. (They immersed themselves in their youngest grandchildren, with Sola and her children arriving later).

With six family members present, no Skywalker was ever uncared for.  Pooja and Ryoo Naberrie looked on in wonder as their grandfather rocked baby Leia to sleep.  Beru Lars learned to perfect heating a baby’s bottle and was the only one who could get Luke to stop fussing long enough to eat.  Obi-Wan Kenobi and Owen Lars took turns sitting up with Anakin, doing whatever they could to support their brother’s recovery, as Jobal and Sola Naberrie did with Padmé.

Eventually, Anakin Skywalker was released, emerging from the bacta tank a new man. His skin was badly scared, his hair patchy where it had been burned away, but he was healed enough that the med-droids released him.

“Padmé,” he gasped, his voice rough and scratchy from not having been used in so long.  He stepped forward and stopped, raising his robe from the floor to see the metal prosthetic leg.  Obi-Wan was at his side immediately.

“What do you remember?”

“The Chancellor…he’s the Sith Lord!”  Anakin said, the urgency in his voice only heightened by his concern for his wife.

“The Jedi have seen to his removal from office.  Anakin, what else do you remember?”  There was a sense of urgency underlying his friend and mentor’s calm.

“Padmé,” Anakin repeated.  “My dreams, they were like the ones about my mother,” his voice broke.  “And the baby.”

“The children are healthy.  Your families have been here, looking after them while you’ve been recovering.”

Children. He was a father.  He realized that Obi-Wan was still speaking.

“…didn’t know.  She named them.  Luke and Leia Naberrie-Skywalker.”  Anakin tried to lift his head, before realizing that of course they wouldn’t be waiting in the hospital room for him to wake up.  Obi-Wan must have sensed his thoughts, for he moved to the door.  A few minutes later, he re-entered the room with a woman he vaguely recognized as Padmé’s mother and a man he thought could have been Cliegg Lars’ son.  Anakin only had eyes for the blanket in Missus Naberrie’s arms.

“Anakin, this is Luke Naberrie-Skywalker,” Jobal said softly.  She brought his son closer, so close that Anakin could have reached out and touched him.  But he hesitated.  Luke was not the tiny newborn he had expected.  This baby was a few months old at the very least, with a mess of blonde hair on his head.  Jobal brought the blankets closer, and Anakin automatically took the baby.  His baby.  His son, little Luke Skywalker.  Something registered in his mind.

“Twins?”

His stepbrother entered the room, carrying another bundle of blankets.  “Leia Naberrie-Skywalker,” Owen laid the baby girl in Anakin’s free arm.  An arm that was made entirely of metal, much like his left hand.  That train of thought disappeared the moment that Leia’s large brown eyes looked into his own blue ones.

Tears were rolling down Anakin’s face when he finally looked away from his daughter. “Where is Padmé?”

“Recovering.  When you nearly died, so did she.  The two of you are linked, through the Force, Anakin.”  Obi-Wan rested his hand on Anakin’s shoulder.  “She is so strong.  Her doctor believes she will wake within the next few hours.”

“I need to see her.  I need to see Padmé,” Anakin stood, the twins still cradled in his arms.  Obi-Wan, already at his side, steadied him.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

There was an odd processional heading down the corridor, if anyone had paid any attention. A medical droid followed by a man clutching two tiny babies (a man unused to what were obviously new prosthetic limbs). Another slightly older man hanging on to the new father, physically supporting him.  His parents, and brother and sister.  (A family).

Anakin collapsed at his wife’s bedside.

“Padmé,” he murmured, laying his children on the bed beside their mother.

Obi-Wan watched with intrigue.  Against all odds, Padmé was beginning to stir.  The Force worked in mysterious ways, that much he knew, but to witness it in this way was completely new to him.

“Anakin?”  Though her voice was small and weak, there was no denying its power over the man kneeling at the woman’s side.

“Padmé.” Anakin’s head snapped up, his eyes feasting on the sight of his wife recovering.  Padmé’s hand moved, nearly imperceptibly, until it was resting on her husband’s head, buried in his hair.

“The twins?”  She breathed, feebly attempting to sit upright.  Her children were on either side of her and Anakin gently guided her hands so that they were touching them.

The Naberrie-Skywalker family was healing.  Together, as a family.  Anakin and Padmé.  Obi-Wan, and Ruwee and Jobal.  Owen and Beru.  Sola, Pooja, and Ryoo.  And perhaps the most important connection, Anakin and Padmé, and their children.

#sw fanfic #sw #anakin x padme #rots #rots au #sw au

[jordan202]

My Boys Drabbles: Just a Feeling (Part Two)

hey everyone, thanks for the amazing responses!

Chapter One is HERE

I hope you guys enjoy this one! 

.

My Boys Drabbles – Just a Feeling (Part Two)

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

“I am not staring,” Owen contradicted his wife.

Amelia had noticed that even though Owen had had his eyes fixated on her for the past minutes, his gaze seemed lost, as if his thoughts were wandering far from there.

“Right,” she playfully rolled her eyes, giving up having a reasonable conversation with her husband, and gently pushed the covers with the intention to get up so she could get on with her morning chores, but halfway through her movement she was captured and swiftly pulled back to bed.

“I was actually just admiring how pretty you are,” Owen declared with a shameless smile while tightening his grip around her waist.

“Oh, so you were staring?” Amelia raised both eyebrows but couldn’t help giggling when he covered the side of her face with kisses.

“Only a little,” Owen gave in, determined to make sure she didn’t leave the bed again for at least another hour.

Innocent pecks on the side of Amelia’s face were slowly replaced by much more demanding kisses that kept her busy until Owen decided to explore the length of her neck with his lips.

“I couldn’t wait for this all day yesterday,” Amelia confessed with a long, loving sigh as she ran her fingers through her husband’s hair.  

“Me too,” Owen mumbled against her skin before he captured one of her breasts between his lips, earning a moan in response.

“No, I mean it,” Amelia added when she finally gathered enough strength to come up with a coherent thought. “You were away for two weeks and when I saw you coming home by surprise the first thing I wanted to do was to be with you,” she took a long breath and exhaled slowly, too affected by the wonderful sensations Owen was provoking in her body to properly speak her mind. “But I had to go to work and even though I was focused on what I was doing there, on the back of my mind this was all I could think about…” she whispered with her eyes closed right before Owen moved to her top and kissed her, eager to please her with his touch as much as she was pleasing him with her words.

Even though they’d had amazing sex the night before, Amelia knew that the first time after so many days without seeing each other always felt a little rushed, almost as if their bodies were racing for physical release in a pace their connection couldn’t keep up with. And once it was over, they had both fallen asleep out of exhaustion quickly after. Personally, she had longed more for the following morning because she knew it was when they would take their time to put in practice what they had already perfected over the last years and then, once the sex was over, they would stay in each other’s arms not really doing anything other than being together, talking about nothing and everything. Amelia absolutely cherished those moments.

“Were you thinking about this when you were in the OR yesterday?” Owen teased his wife with a tender smile right before kissing the outline of her belly button, on purpose tickling her.

“Yes,” Amelia laughed with amusement at his provocation, even though they both knew he was joking.

“What about this?” Owen continued with his game, seductively running his forefinger on the outline of her panties before using it to pull off the object in an agonizingly slow pace. “Were you thinking about this when you were at work?” he asked seductively.

Amelia felt his warm breath against the skin of her lower abdomen. Closing her eyes, she unconsciously tilted her head back against the pillow and held her breath, anticipating the touch that surely would come next.

“Yes,” the neurosurgeon whispered, completely on board with his sweet persuasion.

“I bet you were thinking about this too,” Owen smiled, too satisfied with himself as he watched the reactions he was causing in her body when he kissed the smooth skin on the inside of one of her thighs.

“A lot,” Amelia agreed, already too out of her mind to be thinking clearly.

“Then I guess I have no other choice other than to…” Owen playfully bit her skin right before moving his lips upwards and causing an explosion of pleasure in his wife’s body.

Soon after, Amelia took her turn focusing on him and returning the amazing sensations her husband had given her. A while later, she was lying underneath him still recovering from the second orgasm Owen had given her that morning.

“You know, I have a confession to make,” Amelia smiled looking into his gorgeous crystal blue eyes. “Yesterday when you arrived and maybe this morning too I thought you still had your head in Charleston and the training camp, but after what you just did I have to give it to you,” she joked, unaware of how correctly she’d just read her husband. “You’re more present here than ever, aren’t you?”

“I am always here for you,” Owen grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles, unconsciously breaking eye contact with his wife.

He hadn’t told her about the discovery he’d made right before heading back home and Owen wasn’t sure he was going to. The situation was yet too confusing even for him and he wanted to dig more information about it. Not only that, but everything had happened years before he’d even met Amelia. So, if he wasn’t able to process how things had unfolded despite being there and actively participating in the event, how in the world could he expect her to understand or even help him? It was probably for the best if he didn’t get her involved, he thought. Amelia was likely to worry excessively for him by thinking he was too affected and Owen didn’t want to burden her with nonsense ideas.

“How about some coffee?” he suggested while touching his forehead to hers.

“I will take care of the coffee if you make your mom’s French toast recipe,” Amelia bit her lower lip, grinning adorably at him.

“Deal,” Owen kissed the tip of her nose and swiftly got up, heading to the bathroom and being promptly followed by his wife.

.

“You know, I am not sure if I have ever asked this,” Owen casually commented while taking a sip from his coffee half an hour later. He frowned while watching what his wife was doing. Amelia had just walked from the laundry room adjoined to the kitchen with a full basket of their children’s clothes and now she separated them in four different stacks with such speed and efficiency that it caught his attention. “How in the world do you keep track of whose underwear it is? You’re not even hesitating as you sort them out in piles,” he pointed out, visibly intrigued.

Amelia looked up to meet his eyes with a serious expression.

“I have a very complex system,” she replied mysteriously.

At first, Owen was inclined to believe her but he couldn’t be fooled. Not five seconds after his wife’s response, he spotted a mischievous smile growing on the corner of her lips and laughed, busting her. It was no secret that doing laundry was perhaps the only domestic chore that Amelia actually enjoyed doing. As she kept on separating and folding the boys’ clothes, once again she looked up at Owen and then explained with a playful smile.

“Lucas gets the blue ones, Tom the whites,” she pointed to the piles. Despite some pieces having stamps and different shades, Owen noticed they indeed followed the pattern of color, “Danny, the yellows and Robbie, the greens,” she explained with a proud smile.

Owen narrowed his eyes as he noticed that her system was far from complex and playfully shook his head in disapproval.

“Wait, is that how it has always been?” he tilted his head, confused. How come had he really never noticed?

“Yes,” Amelia laughed as she read the unasked question on his face. “That’s how it has always been.”

“Do they sell kids’ underwear by color?” Owen furrowed his brow, even more puzzled.

“No. I buy the packs and sort out the pieces among the boys according to the colors,” Amelia explained unaffectedly, still folding the clothes.

“But…” Owen was clearly intrigued. “They don’t wear the same size,” he pointed out.

“I know,” Amelia smiled charmingly. “Like I said, it’s a very complex system.”

“Oh, now I see,” Owen hid his smile behind the coffee mug and stood behind his wife’s chair, giving her shoulder a gentle rub before adding. “And what do you do with the grey ones?” he asked with a teasing tone. “Do you throw them away?”

Amelia looked up to meet his eyes, instantly noticing the amused expression on his face.

“I save them for emergencies,” Amelia improvised, unable to contain a fit of laughter when Owen gave her a pretend judgmental look. She moved a couple of feet to the side so he could take the chair next to her and read the morning paper. Only when she was done sorting out the clean laundry, Amelia interrupted his reading. “The kids are not up yet, do you want to go to April to pick up Tom and Luke or do you want to stay here with Megan and the twins while I go?”

“It’s not even nine in the morning yet, I seriously doubt Thomas and Lucas are up,” Owen wisely pointed out without taking his eyes off the sports section. “But I will give April a call and tell her to let me know when they’re ready so I can go surprise them.”

Since their oldest sons hadn’t been in the house by the time of Owen’s arrival, they had no idea their father was already at home.

Despite Owen’s resolve to go pick them up, once she was awake Megan insisted that her father stayed with her. When the little girl claimed that she missed her dad, Owen was incapable of saying no to her request to play with her in the living room, leaving to Amelia the task of picking up the oldest boys while he stayed at home with the younger kids waiting.

Amelia was in a good mood when she left the house later that morning but much to her dismay, her car wouldn’t start despite several attempts. Wondering what could be wrong with it since it had been working perfectly well until the day before, the neurosurgeon settled for taking her husband’s truck, which didn’t exactly please her considering how Amelia felt even smaller inside the big cabin.

But once she had Thomas and Lucas with her, her thoughts weren’t on Owen’s car but rather on how surprised the boys would be to come home and unexpectedly find their father already there. Amelia was having a hard time keeping the secret but once Owen welcomed her sons in their front yard, the boys’ happy faces reminded her that her struggle to remain silent about it had been totally worth it.

.

Hours later, after they’d already had Sunday lunch together, Amelia spent most of her afternoon alternating between some reading and helping out the twins with their homework for the following day. As soon as the boys were done with it, she found herself eager for some quality entertainment.

The neurosurgeon was distractedly going through the refrigerator, mostly because she was bored rather than hungry when she heard the sound of laughter mixed with metallic noises coming from the backyard.

“What are you guys doing?” she asked as she stepped outside holding a bottle of water in one hand, carefully inspecting the scene in front of her.

Crouched down by the grass, her husband and two oldest sons had their hands dirty with grease as they seemed absolutely engaged in whatever it was that they were doing with tools and a large car part.

“Dad is showing us how to replace a piston,” Lucas looked up from the car engine to his mother and then back to the heavy object.

Amelia didn’t succeed at getting any more than a quick glance from Thomas and Owen either.

“What happened?” she asked with genuine curiosity as she went around them and inspected the scene more carefully.

Owen finished dissembling a small part of the engine before he finally gave his wife his full attention.

“What happened is that someone forgot to add coolant to the car radiator, despite constant reminders,” he gave her a censoring look before adding, “and as result, the car overheated so now there is a melted hole in one of the pistons.”

A short silence followed.

“How unfortunate,” Amelia acted innocent, even though she was well aware that only in the past month Owen had reminded her at least three times to do preventive maintenance on the car. “When do you think you’ll be done?” she sneakily changed the focus of the conversation.

“I am not sure, we are still going to check the oil levels and replace the water pump which is pretty wrecked too,” Owen informed her, subtly shaking his head in disapproval as if unable to believe she’d actually failed to follow his instructions to properly keep the car in good shape.

“That sounds pretty boring.”

“It’s your car, Mom,” Thomas chuckled and gave her an incredulous look, believing she should be more interested in what was going on with the car exactly because it belonged to her.

“I know, that’s the whole point, why don’t we just take it to the repair shop and then we go do something fun?”

By the expression on Owen’s face, Amelia instantly noticed that she had asked the wrong question. The neurosurgeon wasn’t sure whether it was because he considered taking a car to a repair shop an insult to his fixing abilities or simply because she had dared to imply that what he was doing with the boys didn’t qualify as having a good time.

After a little more than a decade of marriage, Amelia was well aware that Owen was the kind of guy who would resist getting professional help for any chore around the house he considered himself able to do. That included mostly anything related to plumbing, carpentry, mechanics and any other kind of common house repairs. In the vast majority of the time, her husband actually succeeded in fixing whatever needed to be fixed or replaced and Amelia knew he took great pride in being able to do most things himself. And now that the boys were growing up, it had become a habit for Owen to try and teach them as much about those useful skills as he could.

“We are doing something fun,” Lucas looked at his mother with a confused expression, as if he couldn’t understand where her comment was coming from.

Seeing she was fighting a battle that was long lost, Amelia raised her hands in a sign of surrender and sighed heavily before finally walking back to the house.

“I will be inside whenever you guys get tired of that,” she informed them. “Take a shower before getting anywhere near me.”

“Only if you promise that from now on, you won’t forget to add coolant to your car,” Owen replied in a tone that was supposed to sound disapproving but couldn’t hide his amusement.

“Deal,” Amelia replied from a distance.

“You know what, I don’t even know why I bother,” Owen rolled his eyes as he spoke to himself, knowing too well that his wife was most likely not going to follow the instructions.

“Dad, she is never going to do it,” Thomas pointed out. “Why don’t you just do it and spare yourself the trouble?” the boy asked with the usual perfect logic.

“Because,” Owen replied, knowing that in that lesson he was just teaching his sons more than just about car mechanics. “If mom hadn’t forgotten to add the coolant, the car engine wouldn’t have broken and then I wouldn’t be here showing you guys how to do something you boys eventually have to learn to do yourselves. So, it’s the chance we have to squeeze the good out of something bad.”

“Yeah, but what if Mom had been in the car by the time the engine fried?” Lucas raised his eyebrows playfully. “I mean, that would seriously be a problem.”

“There can still be an upside to that, buddy,” Owen winked playfully, teaching their sons another valued lesson with a lighthearted smile. “Never underestimate the opportunities you have of saying I told you so in a marriage,”Owen added.

Their sons would never know about this but even though their mother was pretty upset to be cornered regarding the car engine at that moment, soon enough she would fall into her senses, take notice of the potential risks she’d inadvertently exposed herself to and realize that it had been her husband the one to rescue her from her own misdoings.

And Owen couldn’t wait for that part because while his wife was terrible at properly following rules and maintaining a minimum overall discipline level, no one was better than her at actually showing gratitude and returning affection. And with that, Amelia always made every trouble she put him through absolutely worth it.

.

Owen was so focused on finishing a straight suture line on a patient’s leg that he barely noticed when his pager went off.

“I am not sure I am overstepping, doctor Hunt, but aren’t you supposed to answer that?” the teenage boy asked, studying the concentrated surgeon who seemed deeply engaged in fixing the cut on his shin.

Owen was brought back to reality, noticing with alarm that he’d really missed the loud sound going off.  After informing the boy he wasn’t supposed to resume his workout practices for at least a couple of weeks, the trauma surgeon finally got to the pager, seeing his wife was requesting his presence in her OR.

Even though he’d been back to work for a couple of weeks now, Owen was aware that since his trip to Charleston, he’d found it a little more difficult than usual to adapt back to his regular routine, much more so than in any of his previous trips to serve the Army as a consultant.

The trauma surgeon refused to consider that the discoveries he’d made in the Post back in South Carolina might have something to do with his unusual lack of focus because Owen was convinced that there was no changing the past. There simply wasn’t anything he could do about what he’d heard, and on top of that, the subject was a matter of the past. That’s where it should stay.

With a heavy sigh, Owen massaged his left temple as he entered the elevator and checked his wristwatch. He would very much like to go home but to his dismay, he still had a meeting with the Chief Surgery to figure out what they would propose to the Board of Directors and other Heads of Department as a plan for remodeling a couple of rooms in the ER which were in desperate need of renovation.

“Hey, you paged me?” Owen held a mask in front of his face as he walked into the OR.

He noticed instantly that Amelia was caught up in the middle of a procedure, but everything seemed okay enough that she wasn’t facing any emergencies that might require him stepping into the field as he’d expected.

His wife took her eyes from the heavy equipment in front of her and looked in his direction. When Owen noticed the almost regretful smile on her face, he knew she was about to ask him to do something he probably wouldn’t agree with. He’d seen Amelia smile like that many times before.

“Are you busy downstairs?” Amelia asked with a sheepish smile that over the years had been adjusted with perfection to purposefully melt his heart. “Do you think you can leave a little earlier today?”

“I can’t, I have a meeting,” Owen replied with a suspicious expression, despite softened by her charming manners. “What do you need?”

When Amelia let out a heavy sigh that wasn’t meant to be audible, Owen realized that wasn’t the answer she was hoping to hear.

“I just got a call from the school reminding me about this parents/teacher meeting in the twins’ class that I had totally forgotten about… I was hoping you could make it,” she gazed at him expectantly. When met by his silence, Amelia pushed it with a shameless grin. “Well, can’t you?”

Owen looked his wife in the eyes to see if she really meant it.

“Amelia, are you serious?” he frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before? I would have cleared my schedule to go,” he explained patiently, trying to think of solutions. “Why don’t you just re-schedule it? I suppose the school will understand that we got caught up-”

“I already rescheduled it,” Amelia bit her lower lip behind her surgical mask, hoping Owen would take that lightly. “I just completely forgot about it,” she explained calmly.

The neurosurgeon knew how disciplined and organized her husband was and how much effort he put into making sure they didn’t miss anything important when it came to their kids, who were always a priority in their lives.

“When was this?” Owen looked at her with a furrowed brow. “I don’t remember you telling me about this before. If you rescheduled it, then-”

“They had asked me to go there while you were away in Charleston nearly a month ago and I had them change the date for a day you would be here so we could try to both be there,” she interrupted him and explained. “I know I shouldn’t have forgotten about it but amidst taking care of five kids on my own while you were gone, this one detail slipped my mind,” she pushed her case, knowing it would work like magic.

It went exactly as planned because the moment she said the words, Amelia noticed how Owen’s expression softened as he took a deep breath. Resorting to the guilt he felt for leaving her alone with the kids for two weeks whenever he went into one of his Army excursions always did the trick. Amelia mischievously smiled even though no one could see it. It was true that she supported Owen to pursue that second job and didn’t regret it, but in moments like these, she didn’t mind using it to her advantage.

“Alright,” Owen shook his head, knowing he couldn’t blame her for forgetting. Even though he didn’t like to be caught off guard with avoidable things that disrupted his schedule, he was well aware that Amelia actually made the impossible happen by juggling everything at home and at work. It was actually surprising those things didn’t happen more often and he shouldn’t be so critical that as parents, sometimes they got overwhelmed. “I will check with Bailey if I can push my meeting with her, but are you sure it’s okay that I go alone in this? Surely the teacher would want to speak to us both?”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Amelia explained, already with her eyes back on the surgical field. “It’s just a standard thing they are doing with first graders. Since their teacher is on leave and there is a new one, she is slowly getting to meet the parents and updating us on the children’s progress,” the neurosurgeon added as she made a move to control a minuscule bleeding vessel. “I already met her a couple of times while you were away and she has nothing but good things to say about the boys, I think this is just the opportunity for the school to have us together there but as you can see, I can’t make it in time.”

“Alright, I will figure it out, then,” Owen was already mentally calculating when would be the best time to meet Bailey without the delay ruining his plans and interfering with his Board Meeting later that week.

“If I finish here early I will come meet you in the school,” Amelia informed him. “Just so you know, this is the teacher Danny kind of has a crush on, so go prepared to hear many compliments.”

“Oh, it’s that one,” Owen remembered the countless times over the past couple of weeks when his son had spoken about the teacher with absolute adoration in his eyes.

“Yeah, be ready though, she is really nice but she talks like a six year old. No wonder why Danny is so dazzled. When you meet her you’ll see what I am talking about,” Amelia explained, already fully concentrated on the field.

“Alright, I will catch up with you later, then,” Owen informed her. “Call me when you’re done here.”

After dealing with Bailey and talking her into rescheduling their meeting, the trauma surgeon repeatedly checked his wristwatch to check whether or not he’d make it to his sons’ school in time for the meeting.

When Owen finally parked his car and made it to the first grade classroom, he was only five minutes late but it was enough that all the other kids had already been picked up by their parents and only his sons were waiting in the company of the teacher.

Through the glass on the door Owen noticed how a blonde woman crouched down to Robbie’s height said something that made the boy laugh. He then replied to her and the woman affectionately stroked the six year old’s hair before getting up.

Owen noticed how the twins seemed comfortable in the presence of their new teacher and the realization pleased him very much. So far, the woman was doing justice to the description Robbie and Danny had made of her for the past weeks. It was obvious both kids really liked her and she reciprocated their feelings.

As Owen gave a gentle knock on the door to announce his presence, his twin sons instantly caught sight of him and got up from their chairs to run in his direction.

“Dad!” Danny’s eyes were gleaming as he pulled his father by the hand into the classroom. “You came to pick us up!” the boy added, excited to show his father everything around. “Look, dad, that’s Casper, our class’ goldfish. And this is my desk,” he proudly pointed to it. “That right there is my...”

“Dad, come meet our teacher!” Robbie stepped in the way, interrupting his brother, just as eager for his father’s attention. “This is Ms. Whitman.”

Owen was finally able to actually enter the classroom and for the first time, he looked directly at the teacher their sons had spoken so much about, only to find out he was already familiar with the face.

The surgeon couldn’t hide his surprise as he found out that the woman teaching his sons was someone he knew, and too well. Even though time had passed, very little about her appearance had really changed.

Owen took a few seconds to recover from the shock of that unexpected encounter and only when he remembered he was inside his kids’ classroom he finally looked into the eyes of the woman he had once intended to marry.

“Beth.” Owen’s mind still tried to process the information as he slowly connected the dots. Ms. Whitman. Beth Whitman. First grade teacher. Of course. Maybe he should have suspected it sooner? “It’s really you.”

---

#omelia #owen hunt #amelia shepherd #myboys #myboysfanfiction #omeliafics #omeliafanfics #omeliafic #omelia fics #greysanatomy #greys anatomy #owen x amelia #amelia x owen #amenff

[notbecauseofvictories]

I read through your tags on works and saw mention of Luke becoming stranger after Yoda's training, of how people on Tatooine might react. So I wanted to ask about your thoughts on that, on farmers and neighbors and all who knew laughing bright child running through dusty streets becoming legend and hero and Jedi, and perhaps of older Tatooininas, ones that remember all too clearly that Skywalker is name of slaves since ebginning.

“I don’t think they’re staring at me,” Han says with a grim sort of certainty. He’s clutching his mug too tightly, his knuckles white around it, and even whiter where he’s holding Leia’s hand—Luke is too tired, exhausted down to his bones, to do anymore more than note it. Han holding onto Leia’s hand so tightly that his blood is chased out..

Luke blinks, and then exhales.

“I was…”

Kalix Darksky took their order—the Darkskys have owned this cafe since Luke can remember, but when Lando said, Hey, I could go for something to eat, and Leia, still dressed in the cantina-dancer rags said, I’m starving, Luke had found himself answering, I know where to go.

His hands were still aching from the lightsaber, how tightly he’d clutched at it as he’d killed them. (He didn’t have to, the lightsaber moved through them like they were just air, nothing there. And then there was nothing there.) His chest ached from—well, that too, but still he’d led their awkward little band to the Darksky cantina, because he didn’t know where else. 

“Luke?” Talesin Darksky had said, choked out. His eyes were wide as the sky they were both named after. “Luke, where…how…?”

“A table,” Luke had said, conscious of the hem of his black cloak dragging in the sand, and how Han was mostly draped over Leia; Lando’s still-bleeding side and Chewbacca, looming over them all. 

Talesin’s Darksky’s eyes were wide, he didn’t seem to be breathing.

“A table,” Luke repeated. “For my friends.”

“Of—course, sure,” Talesin said, and he’d moved by sheer instinct, his eyes still dark and trained on Luke’s face. Even as he’d led them back into the recesses of the dimly-lit cantina, he kept looking, darting glances from the corners of his eyes. “Let me know—”

“Thank you,” Luke said stiffly, and Talesin swallowed whatever he had been about to say. He bowed his head, and then he was striding away towards the kitchen.

Luke had collapsed to his seat, feeling as though all the blood had been very suddenly drained from his body. Han was still half-blind from the carbonite, even if he insisted he wasn’t, and he was staring somewhere over Luke’s shoulder. Thank—whoever for small favors, Lando seemed to realize this and announced that he and Chewie were going to help themselves at the bar, so it was just Luke and Han and Leia suddenly, the three of them.

“I was…” Luke tries again, and even though Han’s eyes are fixed somewhere over Luke’s left shoulder, Luke feels his skin prickle. “Yeah,” he finally chokes out.

“Yeah,” Han says with a half-shrug. “They’re not staring at me, that’s what I said.”

Luke’s sense of the Force is—humming, churning over and through the cantina. He can feel them, feel them, murmuring about him, staring. And it was different, stranger and heavier than it had been…before. (It’s not as though he hadn’t been an object of fascination, the Lars’ orphaned nephew who stubbornly insisted on wearing a slave’s surname. Even more when that nephew grew up odd and dreaming of the stars. But it had been light, the ordinary scrutiny of a small community where Irain Redstone dying her hair purple had been gossip for three cycles.)

“Maybe they’re staring at me,” Leia adds, with something of the old imperiousness, the princess, edging through her voice. However, when Luke looks at her, her eyes are warm.

“Why would they be looking at you?” Han asks, turning to squint at her.

“Well, I did kill a Hutt lord,” Leia says, flicking the tail of her long braid over her shoulder. (They ignore the unsteady note in her voice. The marks of the chain are still red on her neck, her hands.)

Han scoffs. “Sure, but they don’t know that.” 

Luke relaxes by increments as they argue back and forth—they’re not even arguing, really, their voices low and gentle, and Leia keeps smiling despite herself. But it’s a kind of normalcy they’re offering, from Yavin and Hoth and the cockpit of the Falcon and Luke’s grateful for even that.

They’ve progressed to debating whether Han would indeed look better in the cantina girl getup (“Are you saying I can’t pull off that shade of red? Luke, buddy, back me up here!”) when there’s a clattering and a sudden swell of noise from the entrance of the cantina.

When Luke looks up, Talesin is trying desperately to drag some woman away, his face contorted as though he’s speaking very quickly and too quietly for Luke to hear. There’s fear there too, and Luke wonders—

Talesin accidentally catches Luke’s gaze and goes ashen, freezing in place. The woman turns.

“Oh,” Luke says, because he isn’t sure if there’s anything else to say, except that. Leia looks at him sharply, and Han glances up, then he’s busy craning his neck to see who the hells Luke’s staring at.

“Do you know her?” Leia asks, but Luke is already getting to his feet.

He never really gotten along with his Whitesun cousins—too much older, they’d already been marrying, getting into trade or helping run farms by the time Luke was old enough to know them. Stiff conversation during the First Rainfall celebration and a gift on his life day, the occasional speeder ride when they were already headed into Toshe…Luke hadn’t known them well enough to expect  more.

But that didn’t stop something black and sucking, desperately glad and aching, from opening up in his chest as he stood in front of a woman who looked like Aunt Beru.

Younger, of course—Cousin Myon had been only thirty-some when he left, and her hair is still pure Whitesun gold. But here. Standing, alive and unburnt.

“We thought you died,” Myon says, taking an abortive step towards Luke. It is very quiet in the cantina. “With Owen and Beru, at the homestead. Everything was so badly burnt…”  

Luke swallows, shakes his head. “No, I was with Old Ben when it happened. He took me away, we…” He doesn’t know if there are any words to encompass it all—the hologram of a princess in white and Darth Vader, the Death Star and—Yavin and Hoth and Cloud City, Yoda and his father—

“I joined the Rebellion,” Luke says finally. He’s glad his voice doesn’t waver. “I became a Jedi, and I joined the Rebellion.”

The words ripple out, like wind over sand. Luke can feel them moving through the room, in and out of people’s heads. (They leave stranger shapes than he’d thought; he can see his dusty black outfit straighten, deepen to the color of night, his head held higher. The strange double-image of himself, outside himself, and taller.) 

Myon blinks, and opens her mouth, then shuts it again. “Oh,” she finally says. “What brings you back?” Home, she doesn’t say. It’s accurate, but the absence still stings.

“Jabba captured my friend.”

Han, because he’s Han, raises a hand in a lazy salute and grins. Myon blinks again.

“You’re still alive. What did you offer him?”

Her voice is hard, and accusing, and it takes Luke a minute to understand what it is she means. Luke is the youngest nephew, by marriage, but under the kin-ship laws of Tatooine he still could claim a stake in the Whitesun farms. Could use it as collateral. “No, no, we didn’t…offer him anything, I have nothing to offer. You know I wouldn’t—”

“He’s dead,” Leia interrupts, and Myon’s eyes go wide, when they take her in. “That’s what he’s trying to say. Jabba the Hutt is dead.”

It’s not what Luke was trying to say, but the cantina is so quiet he feels as though even just his breathing is intruding. Myon keeps glancing between Leia and Luke like she’s trying to look for the lie.

“Jabba the Hutt is dead,” Myon repeats.

Leia stands, and even in the bedraggled and torn cantina girl costume, she could be armored in white, standing in the Alliance command deck. She is close enough for her shoulder to bump Luke’s. (He could be burnt up by the fire of her, but he’s still just grateful—glad to have her here, beside him.) 

“I wrapped a chain around his ugly neck and choked him until he was dead,” she says.

Luke has to look away from the awe on Myon’s face. Belatedly, he notices Lando and Chewbacca at the bar, both of them watching the scene with hands too-casually resting on their blasters. Lando catches Luke looking, and raises his eyebrows.

Luke understands what he’s offering. He wouldn’t put it past Lando to have three escape routes in mind, an exit plan—but he can’t run from this. (Well, he could, but there wouldn’t be any point. His family finds him, is destined to find him, even swathed in black and calling itself by another name. Even from beyond the grave.)

Luke ducks his head, breathes out. “Would you want to sit down, Myon?” he asks, and when he looks up, Myon has turned all that awe on him. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”

#irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan #star wars #the warry stars #this is a thing I made

[tomeandflickcorner]

Star Wars: Episode 4- A New Hope

Ah, the movie that started it all.  I wonder if anyone who worked on this movie knew how much of a cultural phenomenon this movie would become.  How do you think they’d react if somebody told them that they would still be making Star Wars movies 40 years later?  Also, a friendly reminder I’m reviewing the Special Editoon version of the original trilogy.  Because it’s apparently next to impossible to view the Original Version outside of the VHS tapes, and I no longer have access to a working VCR.

The movie opens with Tantive IV being pursued by a Star Destroyer, right after the events of Rouge One.  (Kinda interesting how the Star Destroyer caught up with the Tantive IV, which we saw jump to lightspeed when leaving Scarif.)  As the text crawl informs us, the Tantive IV is carrying the stolen Death Star plans.  Though the text crawl states that Princess Leia is taking the Death Star plans back to Alderaan.  Which is rather odd, because isn’t she supposed to be on the way to Tatooine to locate Obi-Wan?  It would be one thing if they would have passed Alderaan on the way from Scarif to Tatooine, but they don’t.  She’d have to go WAAAYYY out of her way to reach Alderaan.  (I even confirmed this by looking up a Star Wars galaxy map.)  But I guess I should cut this movie a bit of slack, as George Lucas probably hadn’t really ironed out the details of Rouge One back then.

Speaking of Leia, why exactly is she called a Princess in this movie?  I thought Bail Organa was a senator.  Was he also the ruler of Alderaan?  Or do they just call her Princess because she’s a pretty young woman in a dress?  And before anyone can say that it’s because her mother was the Queen of Naboo?  Padmé wasn’t actually royalty.  And she hadn’t been queen for quite a few years by the time she gave birth to Leia.  Even if she had still been a queen at the time, nobody is supposed to know that Leia was Padmé’s daughter.

Anyway, it turns out C-3PO and R2-D2 are also on the Tantive IV.  And they waste no time in showing us how much of a whiny doom-and-gloom wimp 3PO is.  Though they don’t really contribute much to the story right away.  The focus just kinda centers on them as the Star Destroyer manages to catch up to the Tantive IV and a battalion of Storm Troopers board the spacecraft, quickly begging a shoot-out with the ship’s crew.  Though there is one moment when we see 3PO and R2 just walking across a corridor in the middle of the shoot-out and don’t even get hit.  Yes, I know about the whole ongoing joke about the Stormtroopers, but the Rebels were also shooting, too.  Eventually, the Rebels start to fall back with the Stormtoopers continuing to pursue them.  This is when Darth Vader boards the ship, deciding to personally oversee the retrieval of the stolen Death Star plans.

We then get a bit of a head scratching moment.  Even though 3PO and R2 were literally just seen together a few seconds earlier, R2 somehow managed to give 3PO the slip long enough to meet up with Leia. Showing herself to be a natural leader, Leia has taken into account that the Empire has caught them and has instantly come up with an alternative plan.  This plan involves transferring the disk containing the Death Star plans into R2 and sending him the rest of the way to Tatooine, along with a holographic message of her explaining the predicament she’s in, in the hopes that R2 can deliver it to Obi-Wan.  Upon receiving his mission, R2 proceeds to make his way down to the escape pods, in order to reach Tatooine.  Which is a bit puzzling.  Did R2 specifically program the escape pod to head to Tatooine?  I’m just saying, what if the escape pod landed on Ryloth instead? That would be a pretty big setback.

For some reason, 3PO ends up tagging along with R2.  Granted, he clearly felt it was a better alternative to getting shot at, but why would R2 seemingly want him to come?  Also, he apparently insults 3PO by calling him a mindless philosopher.  I don’t get what motivated him to call 3PO that. 3PO was just being a worrywart and telling R2 not to go into the escape pod.

In any event, the two Droids get launched out in the escape pod, with the Imperials deciding not to blow it up when they detect no life signs within the craft. Meanwhile, Vader and his forces have searched the Tantive IV for the Death Star plans to no avail.  Vader ends up interrogating Captain Antilles about the matter, only for Antilles to insist that they never received any transmission containing the plans, and that they’re on a diplomatic mission.  Vadar, however, does not buy this and ends up strangling Antilles to death before ordering that the ship be searched even more, with all passengers brought to him for questioning.  And that’s how the Stormtroopers locate Leia, hiding in the bowels of the ship.  Strangely enough, Leia only shoots at one Stormtrooper before she tries to run away by stepping out into the open.  Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to try and shoot more of them while utilizing her surroundings as improvised shields?  Maybe her gun only had enough juice for one shot?  Either way, she’s quickly hit by a stungun and apprehended. When she’s brought before Vader, Leia also tries to claim ignorance in regards to the Death Star plans, backing up Captain Antilles’ cover story that their ship is on a diplomatic mission. Which is quite ballsy, as she must know Vader had witnessed their ship leaving Scarif a short time ago.  Though it probably wasn’t a good idea of her to insist they were heading to Alderaan, considering Tatooine and Alderaan are in two different directions.  Regardless, Vader doesn’t fall for it, and decides to capture Leia on the grounds of her being part of the Rebel Alliance, disregarding his aide’s warning that keeping her prisoner might lead to Senate gaining sympathy for the Rebel Alliance.   To try and cover it up, Vader decides to make the Senate believe everyone aboard the Tantive IV was killed. He then proceeds to order his followers to track down the escape pod 3PO and R2 were on upon being informed that an escape pod with no life forms was launched during the attack, speculating that Leia hid the plans on the escape pod.

Speaking of the Droids, 3PO and R2 have managed to make it to R2’s intended destination of Tatooine.  And 3PO wastes no time in being a pathetic wimp as he immediately starts to complain about how he needs to rest before his joints freeze in place.  Even though we can see the escape pod lying a short distance away, meaning they probably haven’t even walked a mile yet.  3PO proceeds to moan and complain to R2, refusing to continue on in the direction they’ve been heading in.  Instead, he insists on heading off into the opposite direction.  Of course, he ends up getting lost.  And proceeds to blame his predicament on R2, accusing the Astromech Droid of tricking him into going the wrong way.  Guys, I’m starting to realize how fitting it was that the prequels told us C-3PO was built by Anakin.  They’re both whiny, unlikable brats!  Anyway, that’s when 3PO notices a Sandcrawler in the distance.  Hoping that the people driving it are friendly, he proceeds to try and wave them down.  Of course, it turns out that this Sandcrawler belongs to a troop of Jawas who are in the business of picking up stray Droids and selling them for a profit.

Elsewhere, R2 is making his way through a rocky area of Tatooine when he is also discovered and picked up by Jawas.  When they bring R2 to their Sandcrawler, it’s revealed that they’re the same Jawas that picked up 3PO.  What are the odds of that happening?  3PO and R2 had been traveling in opposite directions for probably hours.  The Jawas must have really covered a lot of ground that day.  (Also, wasn’t R2 capable of flying about 19 years ago?)

The following day, the Jawas arrive at the moisture farm owned by Owen Lars.  And it’s at this point in the movie where we start having to judge between convenient coincidence and fate.  Anyway, the Jawas bring out a collection of the Droids they’ve gathered up, including 3PO and R2 and present them to Owen and Luke. They’re looking to purchase some Droids that could help them out with their harvests, as well as a Droid that can understand binary language of the moisture vaporators and can speak Bocce, which is an interplanetary trade language.  Not sure why the Lars family would need to worry about communicating with beings traveling to and from the planet, due to them being simple moisture farmers, but who am I to question.  This is a world where a little boy thinks a Protocol Droid can be of use to his slave mother.

Eventually, Owen ends up purchasing 3PO and a red Astromech Droid.  An R5 model, from what I can tell.   And 3PO once again shows himself to be a bit of a jerk when he shows no concern about R2 getting left behind.  Until R5 suddenly explodes for no apparent reason, though Luke chalks it up to the Droid having a bad motivator.  It’s only then that 3PO suggests that they take R2 instead.  And he proceeds to act as if R2 should be grateful to him.  Grateful my eye!  3PO would have left him behind without a thought if R5 hadn’t malfunctioned.

Once the two Droids are purchased, Owen tasks Luke with the job of cleaning them up a bit. This discourages Luke, as he’d been hoping to take a trip down to the Tosche Station.  While he states the purpose of his outing would be to pick up power converters, Owen thinks that is just an excuse Luke came up with and that he’d really just wanted to visit with his friends, who apparently hang out there on a regular basis.

Luke’s main problem is that he really wants apply to the flight academy and hopefully join in the fight against the Empire, especially since his two best friends have already left for the academy.  But Owen never allows it, always insisting that he needs Luke’s help around the farm for just one more season, only for him to say the same thing the following year, too.  So Luke is growing restless, which is quite understandable.  While I can see where people are coming from when they say Luke is a bit of a whiner in this movie, I find myself sympathizing with him.  He wants to live his own life, but his uncle keeps making put off applying to the flight academy by making Luke feel obligated to stay and help out on the farm.  While I can see how it could be argued that Owen is trying to keep Luke safe, considering he probably knows about the situation with Luke’s parentage, this could also be interpreted as a mild form of mental abuse.  We’re talking full-on Cinderella Syndrome here.  Not that Luke is getting locked in the attic room where he’s forced to make friends with womp rats.  But the fact that Luke is pretty much constantly manipulated into thinking he has to stay and continue working on his uncle’s farm instead of leaving home like he wants to is quite similar as to how the Evil Stepmother made the protagonist of the Cinderella fairy tale story feel as if she had to stay and be treated like a slave in her own house.

Anyway, Luke vents about his frustrations to 3PO and R2 when he beings cleaning them up. When he finds out that the two Droids were involved with the Rebel Alliance, his interest in instantly awakened and he instantly starts showering them with questions.  But his questions are put on hold when he inadvertently ends up triggering the holographic message Leia had recorded into R2’s memory banks.  But because of the interference I’m assuming is connected to the restraining bolt the Jawas forced on R2 upon picking him up, only a small segment of the message is played on a loop.  Luke is immediately intrigued upon seeing the snippet of the message and tries to get R2 to play the rest of it.  But R2 refuses, stating that the message was a private one and he had orders to deliver the message to Obi-Wan.

Now, I wonder if R2 had any idea that Luke was the long-lost son of Anakin and Padmé. Considering that, unlike 3PO, he has maintained his memories of everything that happened during the prequel trilogy.  Then again, I can’t be sure.  After all, R2 wasn’t present when Yoda, Bail and Obi-Wan decided to send Baby Luke to live with Owen and Beru.  And it’s possible Luke is a common name in this universe.

Anyway, because of the restraining bolt, R2 cannot stop playing the message on a loop. He suggests that he might be able to play the whole message if Luke removes the bolt.  But this ends up being a trick, because once Luke removes the bolt, R2 is able to regain full control of his functions and he immediately turns off the message and feigns ignorance, acting as if he doesn’t remember anything about a message.  This frustrates Luke and annoys 3PO, who proceeds to try and bully R2 into dropping the attitude and simply show Luke the message.

This is another reason why I don’t particularly like 3PO.  He claims he doesn’t recognize Leia, but thinks she was a passenger on the Tantive IV’s last voyage.  But wasn���t Captain Antilles, the man who essentially owned 3PO and R2 since the rise of the Empire, a part of Bail Organa’s staff?  So it stands to reason that they probably interacted with the Organa family on a regular basis.  You’re telling me that 3PO doesn’t recognize her?  Is his memory banks being affected by his own restraining bolt?  What’s his deal?

Either way, Luke gets called to dinner at that point.  When he joins Owen and Beru, he mentions how R2 is carrying a recording and stating that R2 is claiming that it’s meant for an Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Though Luke fails to notice the pointed look his aunt and uncle share at that point.  When Luke starts to speculate if there’s a possible connection to a local hermit that goes by Ben Kenobi, Owen instructs him to forget about it and states he should simply have R2’s memory erased the following morning.  Initially, this concerns Luke, as he wonders what would happen if Obi-Wan came looking for the Droids, but Owen insists that won’t happen, stating that Obi-Wan died around the time of Luke’s father.  That slip of the tongue gets Luke’s attention, as he’s apparently desperate for any information he can get about his father, but Owen makes it clear the subject is closed.  (Dude, you’re the one who brought up the subject of Luke’s father.)

So Luke changes the subject, reminding Owen about an agreement they’d made in which Luke had agreed to stay and help on the farm for another season.  He suggests that, if their new Droids work out, he’d like to submit his application to the academy that year.  However, Owen shuts down that request, stating that he can apply next year. That’s not good enough for Luke, however, as he’s apparently heard this song and dance before.   So he heads off to stew a bit.  Once he leaves, Beru tries to reason with her husband, telling him that Luke won’t be happy living on the farm and they can’t keep preventing him from pursuing a path that he clearly wants so much.  Though she mentions that Luke has too much of his father in him to be happy living out his life on Tatooine.  Not sure how she can say that with such conviction.  Didn’t she only meet Anakin once?

After we get a money shot of Luke looking out on the setting twin suns, he returns to the room where he’d left 3PO and R2.  When he can’t find them, he tries to utilize their restraining bolts, which apparently causes a Droid to feel an electrical shock, judging by the way 3PO just jumps up out of hiding.  Dang, L3 was right!  Those restraining bolts ARE barbaric!  If you’re not seeing what I’m seeing here, just replace the Droids with Black people. That you can affix what amounts to shock collars on to ensure they won’t run off or anything.  This is kinda terrifying.  Yeah, I’m on L3’s side here.  They need to start introducing Droid rights into this universe.

When Luke sees that 3PO was hiding, 3PO instantly starts to apologies.  It turns out that R2 went off on his own when Luke was at dinner, insisting that he had to complete the mission to find Obi-Wan and deliver the message to him.  Upon hearing this, Luke hurries out of the compound, only to find that R2 is nowhere in sight.  Which is bad, as night is falling.  This is apparently the time of day when the Tusken Raiders are most active, so it’s dangerous to wander around after dark.  So they have to wait until morning to search for the wayward Droid.  This is particularly frustrating to Luke, as he’s most likely going to get an earful from Owen over R2 running off, since Luke was the one who removed the restraining bolt.  Though I guess Luke was able to keep R2’s disappearance a secret, because when morning comes, Owen and Beru seem completely ignorant to it. Luke simply told Beru that he had some things to do before he started his daily chores, so he was heading out early.

Eventually, Luke and 3PO manage to catch up to R2 by utilizing Luke’s landspeeder.  Once again, 3PO reprimands R2 for his actions, insisting that they should just accept the fact that they belong to Luke and his family.  (I’m guessing the restraining bolt 3PO is still wearing is making him act this way?)   But before more could be said, R2’s sensors pick up the presence of the Tusken Raiders.  They’d apparently saw Luke pass by on his landspeeder and proceed to follow in order to loot it.  Upon being notified of this, Luke grabs a sniper gun from the landspeeder and goes to investigate.  He and 3PO take up a perch atop a rocky outcrop where Luke scans the area for any sign of the danger.  But the Tusken Raiders end up getting the jump on him, instead, with one appearing before him without much warning.  As a result, Luke gets knocked out and 3PO, I guess, faints from surprise and tumbles down the mountainside, as we later see him on the ground with his arm torn off. As for R2, he seeks refuge in a conveniently placed cave that allows him to watch as the Tusken Raiders leave Luke’s unmoving figure lying on the ground and proceed to tear apart the landspeeder.

But then, the Tusken Raiders get spooked by a loud, screaming cry, which seems to have come from a hooded figure approaching them.  Personally, I’m not a fan of the cry that’s featured on the blu-ray.  I ended up looking up a YouTube video that compared the blu-ray version to the original and according to what I found out, the cry that scared off the Tusken Raiders was supposed to resemble to roar of a Krayt Dragon, a gigantic beast that supposedly travel the deserts of Tatooine. Just knowing that makes me dislike the blu-ray version even more, as it just sounds like some person making weird sounds.  At least the other versions of the screaming cry sounded like something other-worldy.

In any event, the Tusken Raiders are scared off, allowing the hooded figure to approach Luke and check him for injuries.  This mysterious figure is soon revealed to be the man Luke knows as Ben Kenobi the Hermit. When Luke regains consciousness, Ben starts to question him on what led him to travel out to such a dangerous area of Tatooine.  So Luke explains about R2, and how the Droid is insisting on locating his former master, an Obi-Wan Kenobi.  (Even though Obi-Wan never held any ownership over R2, so…..)

The moment he hears the name Obi-Wan, the old man grows quiet and reflective.  After a few moments, he reveals that he is Obi-Wan.  But he ended up answering to Ben around the point when he went into hiding on Tatooine.

Okay, far be it from me to question the wisdom of Obi-Wan, but….wasn’t the whole point of him and Baby Luke settling on Tatooine to prevent the Empire from finding them? So why in the world would Obi-Wan only change his first name while maintaining his true surname of Kenobi? Same thing with Luke, who we later find out was allowed to call himself a Skywalker.  You’d think that would have been a pretty big giveaway, wouldn’t you? I doubt Skywalker and Kenobi were common surnames.

Also, I guess it’s safe to say that R2 is able to instantly recognize Obi-Wan as Anakin’s former teacher and friend the moment he identifies himself.  But did Obi-Wan recognize R2 right away?  Because there are apparently a lot of Astromech Droids. And Owen clearly didn’t recognize 3PO, even though the Droid resided with them for quite a while, as was shown in Attack of the Clones.

Knowing that the Tusken Raiders would probably return before too long, Obi-Wan suggests they head back to his place so they can talk more.  After they pick up 3PO, of course, who decides to act like a drama queen again.  Once they’re indoors, Luke starts to learn that Uncle Owen is a big fat liar.  See, Luke had spent most of his life believing that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter.  It’s not until Obi-Wan starts explaining things that Luke learns about the Jedi Knights, and how Anakin and Obi-Wan once fought together during the Clone Wars.  For crying out loud, Luke didn’t even seem to have heard of the Force, even though practically everyone else in the universe is at least somewhat familiar with the Force’s existence.  Was Owen purposely keeping Luke in the dark?  If that was the case, I wonder how he would have responded if he found out Obi-Wan had spilled all the beans.  Though I wonder why Obi-Wan didn’t tell Luke all of this earlier.  It’s clear they crossed paths before, since Luke is able to recognize him on sight.  Maybe he was just waiting until the time was right and decided that, once he heard Luke mention his true name, he decided the cat was finally out of the bag and that it was time to come clean?

Obi-Wan even manages to present Luke with Anakin’s old lightsaber, which he’d been holding onto since the battle on Mustifar.  He explains to Luke that Anakin would have wanted Luke to have it when he was old enough, even though Anakin never mentioned what his intentions with his children would have been, especially since Anakin wasn’t even there to see them being born and probably thought they died along with Padmé.  Then again, I guess plot holes are bound to happen when you don’t come out with the prequels until over ten years have gone by. After examining the old lightsaber for a bit, Luke asks Obi-Wan about how his father died.  Either because Owen never bothered to tell him or because Luke has decided that, since his uncle had lied about everything else, whatever story he’d told Luke about the subject was probably made-up, too.  So Obi-Wan proceeds to tell Luke a version of the true story, stating that a Jedi called Darth Vader ended up turning to the Dark Side of the Force, joining forces with the Empire to betray, hunt down and murder all the Jedi Knights, and that Luke’s father was among the Jedi who were killed that day.

As Luke processes that information, Obi-Wan turns his attention to R2, and the message he’s carrying from Leia.  This time, since R2 knows he’s reached the person he’d been tasked to locate, he plays the full message without fuss.  In the holographic message, Leia explains her predicament, about how her mission to bring Obi-Wan to Alderaan to meet with Bail Organa cannot be completed due to her ship falling under attack.  She beseeches him to help bring R2 to Alderaan in her place, stating that the Droid contains information vital to the survival of the Rebel Alliance, and that’s imperative that it reaches Bail Organa.

Once the recorded message ends, Obi-Wan states that Luke should accompany him to Alderaan, no doubt deciding that the time has come to start Luke’s Jedi training. Especially since Obi-Wan’s not as young as he once was and could use the assistance.  It’s doubtful that Obi-Wan’s body is agile enough to execute those backflips and other acrobatics anymore.  But Luke immediately comes up with excuses as to why he can’t leave the planet, as his uncle has clearly maintained a psychological grip on him for far too long.  Instead, Luke offers to take Obi-Wan to Anchorhead, stating that the old Jedi is sure to find someone better equipped to help him there.  Obi-Wan is visibly disappointed, but he doesn’t go on about it, as he knows he can’t force Luke to go with him.  Have to wonder, however, why Obi-Wan didn’t tell Luke who Leia was at that point.  I know they were supposed to be separated for their safety, but considering the fact that Obi-Wan had just gotten through with telling Luke about his true birthright, you’d think he would have gone for broke and decided the cat was out of the bag in regards to everything else.  But then again, I guess it’s wise to not keep all your eggs in one basket.

On the way to Anchorhead, however, they stumble across a broken-down Sandcrawler, with a lot of slaughtered Jawas lying nearby.  In curiously, Luke stops to check it out and surmises the attack was the Tusken Raiders. However, Obi-Wan directs Luke’s attention to the fact that the tracks and the appearance of the blast points in the side of the Sandcrawler are giveaways to the fact that whoever attacked the Sandcrawelr had only tried to make it look like the Tusken Raiders were involved. He is able to determine the true culprits are Imperial Stormtroopers.  It turns out some of them had managed to track down the Tantive IV’s escape pod to Tatooine and realized that a pair of Droids had stowed away on the escape pod when thy discovered a metal ring that had apparently fallen off 3PO’s body.  Upon realizing that the Stormtroopers were behind the attack, Luke realizes that they had been looking for 3PO and R2.  And the moment he figures that out, he realizes that the Stormtroopers might have figured out who exactly bought the two Droids, which means his aunt and uncle are in serious danger.  Impulsively, he runs back to his landspeeder to get back home right away, ignoring Obi-Wan’s warnings that it’s too dangerous.  As to why Obi-Wan hadn’t volunteered to go with Luke in order to help out with his powers is anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately, Luke arrives home too late, as the Stormtroopers had already came and went. As such, Luke is greeted by the sight of smoke billowing out from his home, along with the heavily charred remains of two people we can only conclude were Owen and Beru.  With a heavy heart, Luke returns to the spot where he’d left Obi-Wan and the two Droids.  Upon seeing him return, Obi-Wan comforts Luke, clearly already knowing what he’d found upon arriving at the Lars’ homestead.  He assures Luke that he shouldn’t feel guilty for not being there when the attack had happened, as he just would have died, too.  (I wonder if Obi-Wan was thinking about Anakin at that moment, and how he’d responded when Shmi had been killed.  If so, I like the idea of Obi-Wan possibly trying to offer Luke the words of comfort he hadn’t been able to give Anakin in his time of need.) However, the death of his family leads to one good thing.  Luke ultimately decides that there’s nothing keeping him on Tatooine anymore, so he’s ready to go with Obi-Wan to Alderaan, in the hopes that Obi-Wan can train him as a Jedi along the way.  Although, I wonder if Luke was also following this path because he hoped he’d get the chance to avenge his aunt and uncle.  

At this point, there’s a brief pause in the action so we can see a bunch of Imperial bigwigs discussing the threat of the Rebel Alliance.   During this scene, Tarkin and Vader enter the scene to announce that Emperor Palpatine has managed to completely put an end to the Senate. How he managed to do that, I can’t be sure.  But they’re apparently hoping that the fear generated by the Death Star will be enough to keep the planetary systems in line.  All things considered, however, this scene is rather pointless, as all they really do is show that Vader has mastered the Force Choke Hold, which he directs at this one guy who gets a bit too mouthy about how insignificant the ways of the Force are, especially now that they have the Death Star.  Though they seem to be placing credit for the Death Star’s creation with this guy.  Granted George Lucas hadn’t created Galen or Krennic at this point, but even so.

Back on Tatooine, Luke, Obi-Wan, 3PO and R2 have reached Mos Eisley spaceport, in the hopes of locating a pilot that could bring them to Alderaan.  Though Obi-Wan advises Luke to proceed with caution, as the place has a reputation of attracting low-lives and criminals.  After a brief run in with some Storrmtroopers that are still looking for the two Droids that were on the Tantive IV’s escape pod, whom Obi-Wan are able to misdirect with the use of a Jedi Mind Trick, they head to a cantina that discriminates against Droids, where Luke somehow gets on the bad side of two criminals by…just sitting there.  Luke was just ordering a drink and looking around the place when these two thugs come over and start harassing him for no discernable reason.  Incidentally, these are the same two criminals who were on Jedah right before the Holy City got destroyed.  So I’m guessing they were already on their way off the planet when they briefly crossed paths with Cassian and Jyn.  Obi-Wan attempts to step in to prevent the dispute from escalating, but when the two thugs continue to act belligerently, Obi-Wan is forced to activate his lightsaber, quickly incapacitating the pair before they could do much harm.

Once that distraction is out of the way, Obi-Wan informs Luke he managed to cross paths with Chewbacca.  Some might be wondering if Chewbacca questioned Obi-Wan about Yoda, since the two had been friends during the events of Revenge of the Sith.  But at the same time, Chewbacca might have thought Yoda had died by this point. Even if he hadn’t I don’t think Obi-Wan informed him that he was one of the last remaining Jedi Knights.  Just that they had to reach Alderaan.  So he might not have made the connection.

Chewbacca manages to arrange a meeting between Luke & Obi-Wan and Han, who has grown to be a bit cocky since the events of Solo. He agrees to transport them and the two Droids to Alderaan, but states that the fact that they’d prefer to avoid any Imperial attention will cost them a bit extra.  He demands to be paid 10,000 credits upfront.  That price agitates Luke, as he feels that they could simply buy their own ship with that much.  Obi-Wan, on the other hand, is much calmer and proceeds to bargain with Han, stating that they’ll give him 2,000 credits to start out and then pay him an additional 15,000 once they reach their destination.  This offer is good enough for Han and he accepts it, instructing them to meet him at Docking Bay 94 when they’re ready to go.  Of course, Luke and Obi-Wan have to slip out of the establishment rather quickly at that point, since some Stormtroopers had entered the cantina to investigate reports of the earlier confrontation between Luke and the two thugs.

The reason why Han demanded such a high price then becomes clear when it’s revealed he’s in a bit of trouble with the notorious gangster, Jabba.  It turns out that Han was doing a smuggling job for Jabba, but ended up abandoning his shipment when he was in danger of being discovered by Imperials.  But with the 17,000 he’s been offered, Han is hoping to pay off his debt to Jabba.  All of this made clear when Han runs into Greedo, who had apparently been hired to find Han.  Greedo quickly corners Han as he’s exiting the cantina and proceeds to threaten him.  After a brief exchange, Greedo is shot dead by the blaster Han had been hiding beneath the table.  

And yes, in the Special Edition, an effect is added to show that Greedo’s gun fired off its own shot.  This is something that evidently led to this whole ‘Han Shot First’ debate.  Honestly, I just have one thing to say about this: Who cares?  It doesn’t matter!  The uber Star Wars nerds are really making a mountain out of a molehill here.  Trust me, there are bigger things to get upset about in these movie.

Also, in the Special Edition, we get a small scene of Han meeting directly with Jabba himself.  While I gather this scene was something George Lucas probably had always intended to include but hadn’t been able to with the technology at the time, it’s rather pointless.  They don’t reveal or establish anything we hadn’t already learned through the Greedo scene.  Not to mention how Jabba looks considerably smaller than he will in Return of the Jedi.  And there’s a pointless Bobba Fett cameo thrown in, despite the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be introduced yet.

Later on, Luke and Obi-Wan make it to the designated hanger bay with 3PO and R2, along with the money they’d gotten from selling Luke’s landspeeder.  But it turns out that they’d been followed.  Some Alien guy had been spying on them the whole time and reported them to some Stormtroopers, who appear on the scene a few seconds after they board the Millennium Falcon.  As such, Han and Chewbacca have to take off rather quickly. When they exit Tatooine’s atmosphere, they’re met by two Imperial Star Destroyers, which further complicates their escape.  But Han eventually manages to elude them by jumping to lightspeed, after a bit of technical explanation thrown in for the viewing audience.  Which makes sense because this movie was, for a lot of people, their first introduction into the Star Wars mythos.

Meanwhile, Leia is being kept prisoner aboard the Death Star, where Darth Vader has been trying to torture her into revealing the location of the Rebel base.  But Leia proves to be stronger willed than anyone anticipated.  Not even their attempt to probe her mind seems to work.  My guess was that this was the result of Leia’s Force Sensitivity, though it’s a puzzlement that Vader didn’t sense that about her then.  But Tarkin gets an idea, speculating that Leia might respond better to a different kind of persuasion.  As such, he instructs the crew of the Death Star to set a course for Alderaan.   When they arrive, he has Leia brought up to the bridge and informs her that, if she does not give in and reveal the location of the Rebel base, then they will unleash a full-powered attack from the Death Star directly on Alderaan.  And because it will be a full-powered blast, the attack would destroy the entire planet.  When Leia is informed of Tarkin’s intentions, she is horrified. Not only is Alderaan a peaceful planet with no weapons, it’s also her home planet, and the place where her adopted parents are currently located.  But Tarkin isn’t swayed by her pleas, simply instructing her to reveal the location of the Rebel Base.  As such, Leia gives in, announcing that the base is located on the planet Dantooine.

Unfortunately, Tarkin decides to proceed with the destruction of Alderaan, since Dantooine is far too remote a planet to make much of an impression on the rest of the Galaxy.  And the whole point of this demonstration was to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who might even think to challenge the Empire.  As such, Leia is forced to watch helplessly as the Death Star destroys Alderaan, thereby killing everyone on the planet.  Including Bail and Breha Organa. (Say, weren’t they supposed to try and keep the existence of the Death Star a secret?  That’s why they covered up the destruction of Jedha’s Holy City by blaming it on a mining accident.  So why did they change their minds and decide to openly reveal the Death Star’s existence now?)  

On the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan is overseeing Luke’s first lightsaber training exercise when he seemingly becomes lightheaded.  Noticing this right away, Luke asks him what’s wrong.  It turns out that the destruction of Alderaan caused a significant disturbance in the Force and Obi-Wan was able to sense it, in much the same way that Yoda could sense the Jedi extermination in Revenge of the Sith.  (I wonder if he also sensed the destruction on Jedha and Scarif).  However, Obi-Wan urges Luke to continue with his exercises as he tries to regain his composure.

While Luke continues his lightsaber training, Han steps in to chat with them.  After advising R2 to be careful in how he goes about in the hologram chess game he’s playing with Chewbacca, as Wookiees have a tendency to be sore losers (and does Chewbacca fall for the same trap he fell into when he was playing that game with Tobias?,) he goes on to state he doesn’t believe in the Force and dismisses the whole thing as a hokey religion.

Although, I do notice that Obi-Wan seems to smile a bit when Han claims that no mystical power is controlling his destiny.  Does Obi-Wan know something we don’t?  I wonder if it’s possible that Han might be Force Sensitive himself but never knew it.  After all, we do see him get out of some pretty bad scrapes throughout the original trilogy.  He’ll even manage to navigate his way through an asteroid field in Episode 5.  But because he’d simply chalk it all up to simply being lucky, he wouldn’t even consider all of that an indication of his Force Sensitivity.  Of course, if he is Force Sensitive, it’s most likely not as strong as it is with Luke and Leia.

Regardless, despite Han’s skepticism, Obi-Wan encourages Luke to proceed with his exercises, eventually blindfolding him in order to teach him how to reach out with his feelings instead of trusting his eyes alone.  Luke, being a prodigy on account of his father’s blood, is able to pass his first test with the lightsaber by correctly anticipating the trajectory of the little lasers the remote fires off, effortlessly blocking the with the lightsaber blade.

At that point, the Millennium Falcon’s computer notifies them that they’re approaching the location of Alderaan.  But when they emerge from hyperspace, they’re met with nothing but space rubble, as Alderaan had just been destroyed by the Death Star.  Right away, Obi-Wan is able to guess what had happened- that the Empire had blown up the planet.

Before they can fully process this revelation, a TIE Fighter flies past them.  This confuses them, as TIE Fighters are supposed to be a short-range fighter, and there’s no way it could have gotten this far out into space on its own.  But Han takes up a whole ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ attitude and decides to go after the craft and shoot it down, before the pilot could inform anyone of their presence.  This ultimately leads to the Millennium Falcon on a direct course for the Death Star. Which of course leads to the iconic line of “that's no moon.  It's a space station.”  

Unfortunately, just when Han is trying to turn the ship around, they get caught in the Death Star’s tractor beam, which pulls the ship into the Death Star’s hanger bay. In order to avoid being discovered, the six of them hide within these compartments hidden away in the floor, which Han usually used for smuggling purposes.  But while they’ve managed to avoid detection for now, they know they’re still trapped on the Death Star, as that tractor beam would prevent them from escaping.  Obi-Wan announces their best bet is to find the controls and disable them.  In order to achieve that goal, Luke and Han manage to knock out two of the Stormtroopers standing guard over the ship and don their armor, which enables them to make it up to the control room.  Though I’m not sure exactly how they managed to sneak Chewbacca, Obi-Wan, R2 and 3PO along without detection.  Especially since Vader had ordered the ship be carefully searched and guarded, no doubt because he sensed Obi-Wan’s presence. Regardless, once they get up there, Han and Chewbacca are able to get rid of the Imperials manning the control room. With the Imperials taken care of, R2 is able to hack into the computer and locate the location of the tractor beam terminal.  Obi-Wan then volunteers to go off and disable the tractor beam by himself.  Luke voices his desire to accompany his mentor, but Obi-Wan gently turns him down, informing Luke that he should stay behind and make sure R2 and 3PO remain safe, because if they’re discovered, other planets might meet the same fate as Alderaan.

Mere moments after Obi-Wan leaves, however, R2, who is still scanning through the Death Star’s computer, discovers that Leia is on board.  And, because the Imperial forces had already gone to Dantooine and determined that she’d lied about the location of the Rebel Base, she has been sentenced for execution.   This information horrifies Luke, and he immediately turns to Han for his assistance in rescuing Leia.  At first, Han isn’t interested in saving Leia, because he’s not interested in risking his life for some random person.  But Luke manages to convince him by pointing out that he’ll probably be rewarded handsomely for helping rescue her.  And so a rescue attempt is hatched.  Once again impersonating Stormtroopers, Han and Luke make their way down to the detention area, pretending to be escorting Chewbacca as their prisoner.  R2 and 3PO, however, remain behind in the control room and try to keep from being discovered.

When they make their way down to the detention area, they manage to take out the guards by utilizing this whole ruse in which Chewbacca pretends to break free from his restraints, and Han and Luke pretend to try and corral him when they’re actually aiming at the prison guards.   For good measure, Chewbacca even takes out the security cameras.  Once the final prison guard is gunned down, Luke proceeds to try and locate Leia’s cell while Han deals with the fact that one of the prison guards had attempted to contact someone during the attack.  This leads to that classic scene of Han trying to prevent anyone from coming down to check up on them, but to no avail.  So now time is of the essence.

Luke soon locates Leia’s cell.  At first, Leia is skeptical of him due to his Stormtrooper disguise.  But she immediately decides to trust him when Luke reveals he’s there with Obi-Wan.  Except he refers to him as Ben Kenobi.  Which leads to the slight issue of how Leia seemed to know that Obi-Wan went by Ben. Regardless, their escape route is quickly blocked off by Imperials.  And when Luke tries to contact 3PO with a comlink, they discover the whole Death Star is on high alert now, as their presence has been detected.

And this is when Leia shows the steel beneath the velvet.  Upon realizing these two boneheads haven’t come up with a proper escape plan, she takes matters into her own hands and creates an alternative escape route through the garbage chute.  One-by-one, Chewbacca, Luke and Han all follow her down there.  

Unfortunately, they’re now trapped, as the only door out of the trash chamber is magnetically sealed, so they can’t shoot their way out.  Han learns this the hard way, as his blaster bolt bounces right off and reverberates around the room for a bit.  Before they can think of a way out of their situation, some aquatic creature called a Dianoga attacks Luke by dragging him underwater.  To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what the point of the Dianoga was.  But my pal, @revanmeetra87, informed me that this creature has an elaborate backstory. According to her, the Dianoga is apparently Force Sensitive and was able to sense Luke was, too.  Apparently, the Dianoga wasn’t trying to drown Luke, but was initiating some kind of baptismal ritual designed by her kind for Force Sensitive individuals.  While this would present the question as to why she didn’t extend the same treatment towards Leia, perhaps the Dianoga would have gotten to her, next.  If the sounds of the trash compactor engines hadn’t scared her off, first.

Yeah, it turns out that our heroes landed right in the middle of a trash compactor, which starts up at that very moment.  In a desperate attempt at saving their lives, Han, Leia and Chewbacca start trying to stop the walls from closing in while Luke frantically tries to contact 3PO and R2 through the comlink.  Although, the movie decides to add some tension into the moment, because 3PO had ended up turning the comlink off because Imperials had been lurking outside the control room.  

This leads to a scene when I really start to think some of the Imperials are incompetent morons.  They end up discovering the presence of 3PO and R2 in the control room, but then they just let them leave when 3PO claims to be taking R2 down to the maintenance room to treat his overrun circuits.  Granted these Imperials might not have been informed that two Droids had possession of the stolen Death Star plans, but even so.  Anyway, it’s not until they make it down to maintenance that R2 reminds 3PO that he turned off the comlink.  And in the nick of time, because R2 now has barely enough time to shut down the trash compactor.  Of course, he manages to do so in time, so our heroes’ lives are spared.

Upon getting out of the garbage pit, we get a scene with Han and Leia essentially butting heads, on account of them both being headstrong people, and they’re both too accustomed to being the one giving the orders.  However, they can both agree on one thing- that it’s in their best interest to get back to the Millennium Falcon in one piece.  Of course, nothing is ever easy, and they end up running into some Stormtroopers along the way.   This results in them getting temporally separated, with Han and Chewbacca charging off in one direction while Luke and Leia head off in another.  Eventually, however, both groups manage to evade their pursuers and make it back to the hanger where the Millennium Falcon is waiting.  The problem is, their path is once again blocked by a group of Stormtroopers.  So how are they going to get past them?

The answer ends up coming in the form of Obi-Wan.  While Han, Luke and Chewbacca were off rescuing Leia, Obi-Wan had managed to navigate his way down to the tractor beam’s terminal and deactivated it. But when he was making his way back to rejoin the others, he finds himself face to face with Vader.  The two soon engage in a lightsaber duel.  Though it’s not nearly as impressive as their battle on Mustifar.  Though I suppose it’s understandable, as Obi-Wan is now considerably older, and it’s doubtful Vader’s life support/armor provides him with much mobility.  

Anyway, this lightsaber battle ends up catching the attention of the Stormtroopers standing guard, and they proceed to leave their posts for a better look.  With their way clear, Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca can proceed to hurry over to the ship.  And so can 3PO and R2, who just happened to be nearby.  But on his way to the ship, Luke stops in his tracks when he notices Obi-Wan and Vader’s duel.

And this is when Obi-Wan is a total boss.  He notices Luke watching and, seemingly knowing that Luke wouldn’t leave otherwise, he decides to simply allow Vader to kill him.  Which he does.  Of course, the moment Vader cuts him down, Obi-Wan’s body instantly vanishes, signifying the old Jedi has quite literally become one with the Force.

Of course, Luke is horrified at the sight of Obi-Wan’s death, but his cry of vehemence alerts the Stormtroopers to their presence.  This results in a brief shoot-out.  In the end, however, Luke is urged to get onto the ship and make his escape by Obi-Wan’s disembodied voice.  (And for some reason, Luke doesn’t seen that shocked at hearing Obi-Wan’s voice.)

Because Obi-Wan had managed to deactivate the Tractor Beam, Han is able to fly the Millennium Falcon away from the Death Star.  But they’re not out of the woods, yet, as a few TIE Fighters proceed to chase after them.  So before they can fully escape, Luke and Han team up to man the Millennium Falcon’s canons. They eventually manage to shoot all of them down and get away.

On a side note, I have to comment on the short scene when Leia is comforting Luke over Obi-Wan’s death.  I’m probably alone, but when I watched this scene again, it struck me how strange and surreal it was.  For starters, Luke seems more broken up over Obi-Wan’s death than he did about the deaths of the aunt and uncle who raised him.  I mean, did Luke have a long-standing relationship with Obi-Wan when he still thought he was simply Ben the Hermit?   Also, props to Leia for acting compassionate to Luke.  She could have very easily been all ‘oh, boo hoo, the old man you started mentoring from yesterday died.  It’s not as if you had to watch your home planet blow up, along with everyone you knew and loved.’  Leia really deserves more credit than she usually gets.

Regardless, once they’ve gotten away from the Death Star, we get another scene of Leia and Han butting heads.  Han comes in being all cocky, confident that they’ve just pulled off a pretty epic jailbreak.  But Leia isn’t as confident, as she is able to (correctly) conclude that Vader and the other Imperials allowed them to escape and are now tracking the Millennium Falcon.  Although Han believes it’s impossible for his ship to be tracked.  (Even though he should remember that Enfrys Nest managed to track the Millennium Falcon years ago.)  In a related story, if Leia is so sure the Empire planted a tracking devise on the Millennium Falcon, why would she then knowingly have Han fly right to the Rebel Base on Yaven 4?

Anyway, the scene continues with Han insisting that he doesn’t care about Leia and the rebellion, and he was only assisting in her rescue for the reward money.  The scene also kinda sets up a potential love triangle involving our three main heroes.  Which is pretty ewey for the viewers who already know about Luke and Leia’s connection.

Finally, they reach Yaven 4, where Leia is welcomed with open arms by the leaders of the Rebel Alliance.  They also offer her their condolences about Alderaan, which is probably the only time the movies acknowledge how much Leia lost.  But Leia is wearing her metaphorical business-first suit and proceeds to inform the Rebellion about the Death Star pans implanted within R2.

As such, we enter into the movie’s final act.  The Rebels are able to plan an attack on the deadly space station by utilizing the information about the Death Star’s weakness.  The plan involves deploying a fleet of X-Wings to attack the Death Star. One of the fighters has to aim a direct hit into a 2 meter wide thermal exhaust port that leads right to the main reactor.  A direct hit to this spot will set off a chain reaction that will result in the Death Star’s destruction.  Of course, time is of the essence, as the Death Star is on its way, having tracked them to Yaven 4.  And they plan to direct a full-powered blast at the Rebel-occupied moon the moment their trajectory is clear.  So, the X-Wing pilots have a time limit, because if they don’t destroy the Death Star in time, it will destroy the Rebel Base, and the majority of the Rebel Alliance along with it.

Luke ends up joining the pilots who will participate in the Battle of the Death Star, stating he’s had plenty of practice in hitting 2 meter targets when he shot at womp rats back on Tatooine.  As he’s preparing to be deployed, he encounters Han, who is in the process of loading up the reward money he’d gotten for Leia’s safe return into the Millennium Falcon.  Luke is crushed that Han is bailing with the money and tries to convince him to stay and help them fight, as they could really benefit from a pilot of his caliber. But Han is not swayed, stating he needs the money to pay off some debts, and that he views attacking the Death Star to be an act of suicide and not bravery.  Deciding that Han is not going to change his mind, Luke bids him goodbye, but he makes his disappointment in him clear.

Also, within the Special Edition, Luke also ends up crossing paths with Biggs, his closest childhood friend from Tatooine.  Though it’s hard to be too invested in this friendship, as we hadn’t seen Biggs at all before this point, and Luke only mentioned him twice in the beginning.  At least there’s an old deleted scene in which we see more of Luke and Biggs’ interactions.  Too bad that was cut from the final film.

Without further ado, the movie’s big space battle begins.  It’s a pretty standard Star Wars space battle, with X-Wings dodging the Death Star’s defensive cannons, as well as a trio of TIE Fighters, including one manned by Vader himself.  During the battle, Luke continues to hear Obi-Wan’s voice, offering him guidance along the way.  To make a long story short, a lot of Rebel pilots get killed during the battle. (And I do feel particularly bad for this one pilot.  It was a bit mean spirited of them to give the overweight pilot the name ‘Porkins.’)  In what was undoubtedly supposed to be an upsetting moment, Luke’s friend, Biggs ends up being among the pilots who are killed.  But the emotional impact is sorely lacking due to the fact that we know absolutely nothing about this guy.   All we know is that he was Luke’s oldest friend. In the end, only Luke and a Rebel pilot called Wedge are left.  But Wedge has to retreat, as his ship is damaged by enemy gunfire and can no longer be of much assistance.

In the end, it’s all down to Luke.  At first, he attempts to use his targeting computer to aim his ship’s missiles at the exhaust port.  But Obi-Wan’s voice urges Luke once again to trust the Force, instead.  Luke decides to listen to Obi-Wan’s voice and relies on his feelings while aiming his shot.  

However, without the rest of the Rebel pilots backing him up, Luke is vulnerable against the TIE Fighters that Vader and two other Imperial pilots are manning.   Interestingly, Vader is able to sense that the Force is strong with Luke.  Though it’s doubtful he even suspects that the pilot he’s targeting is his long-lost son. Which makes me wonder when he started to figure it out.

But just when Vader tries to shoot Luke down, he’s startled when one of the other TIE Fighters get hit from behind.  It turns out that Han had a change of heart after all and came back to assist in the battle at the last minute.  Thanks to Han, the TIE Fighters are either blown away, with Vader’s ship tail-spinning away in a random direction.  Now that Luke is in the clear, he is able to make the shot.  And because he trusted in the Force to guide his shot, it lands directly into the designated exhaust port.  As a result, the Death Star is destroyed in an instant.  And in the nick of time, as the Death Star had been seconds away from firing its deadly laser blast at Yaven 4.

At the Rebel base, Luke returns in triumph.  Everyone greets him with expressions of gratitude for his part in putting an end to the threat of the Death Star, with Leia leading the charge.  They also express their appreciation to Han for coming back.  However, it’s revealed that R2 was badly damaged during the fight, much to 3PO’s anguish.  Because in spite of his bad attitude at the start, I guess we’re supposed to realize the two Droids really were close friends.  But Luke is confident that they’ll be able to repair the little Droid, and he proceeds to walk off with Han and Leia to celebrate their victory against the Empire.

An undetermined amount of time later, an award ceremony is held, in which Leia presents metals of honor to Han and Luke for their actions during the Battle of the Death Star.  And, despite the movie’s attempt to draw out the tension by not revealing him right away, it’s ultimately shown that R2 is indeed alright.  The movie ends with the Rebel forces applauding Han and Luke, commending them.  Though I feel it’s a bit unfair that Chewbacca didn’t get awarded a metal as well. After all, he helped in the fight, too.  So where’s Chewbacca’s metal?  Also, I wonder where Luke got the suit he wore for the award ceremony.  Remember, he left Tatooine with only the clothes on his back.  So where’d he get that suit?  Do you think it actually belonged to Han, and he loaned it to Luke out of friendship?

So, does this movie hold up today?  For the most part, I say it does.  Even though there are a few plot holes.  And some of the scene transitions are a bit jarring, but I guess that should just be chalked up to the fact that this movie was made in the 70s.  Although, I do wonder what would have happened if the story had completely ended with this movie, with no other sequels being made. Because if this movie hadn’t received the kind of reception it did, they might not have made another Star Wars movie. Personally, I’m glad it didn’t work out that way.  Because while the movie does end on a triumphant note, it’s still rather open-ended. After all, Darth Vader is still out there, so there would have been no resolution to that plot point if the movie hadn’t taken off the way it died.  Not to mention the fact that the Empire probably still exists.

However, with every cultural phenomenon, there are bound to be some low points.  And that will be the focus of next week’s review.

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#star wars #star wars episode 4 #star wars: a new hope #star wars review #star wars franchise

[sideblog-slx99-azalea-maedre13]

“I’m pretty sure this is illegal.”

***

“I’m pretty sure this is illegal.” Luke eyed the crates in the cargo hold with a deep frown.

“Ah, yes? How about you mind your own business kid.”

Luke looked at the scruffy spacer, taking in the oil stains on his clothing. This wasn’t how he had pictured his first journey in space. Nor had he overcome the sadness at his aunt and uncle’s passing. He had been lucky to escape the Tusken raid while he was at school. Ben Kenobi, the old hermit, had picked him up, explaining to him what had happened.

Before he knew it, they were buried and he was orphaned, for the second time in his life. But Ben had helped him. For a few days he had stayed with the old man. He was actually really nice. Luke couldn’t help but wonder why Owen had disliked him so much. But he had been adamant that Luke couldn’t stay with him. Instead he had insisted that he knew a family on Alderaan that would be thrilled to take Luke in. At first Luke had been worried about moving in with total strangers, but the prospect of being able to leave this dustball was too good to pass up.

Ben had organized a transport for him and Luke had packed the few things he wanted to keep into a small bag. To his dismay his transport was a rather rundown cargo vessel instead of a gleaming shuttle and his pilot and the co-pilot, a wookie, seemed rather shady to him. And now, just an hour into their hyperspace journey Luke’s a cursory glance into a half opened box in the passenger compartment, he knew just how shady he was. He might be still young, but you don’t live for twelve years on Tatooine with knowing how spice sticks looked like.

“But what if anyone comes checking that the crates saying ‘bantha fodder’ don’t exactly contain…”

“An’ whose gonna check, kid? I eat Imperial cruisers for breakfast.”

***

Eating Imperial cruisers for breakfast clearly had not included Imperial Star Destroyers. Luke watched with a growing sense of foreboding how the massive ship came closer and closer until it swallowed them like a hungry Krayt dragon, their freighter’s engines not enough to escape the tractor beams holding them.

Luke sat in the cockpit, too paralyzed with fear to help Han, the pilot do whatever they could to get rid of the spice. He could only hope that the Imperials when they inevitably found the spice wouldn’t think he had anything to do with it. But he couldn’t help his mind running in circles of what would happen if they didn’t believe him.

With ominous clanking the vessel sat down in a hangar. Luke could hear Han opening the boarding ramp and talking to the Imperials.

“Hey, you. Get out for inspection,” the muffled voice of a Stormtrooper ordered and Luke got up. “Let’s see some identification, kid.”

Luke rummaged in his pocket for his ID chip and then followed Han and the Wookie down the boarding ramp. They stood in awkward silence as the Imperials noisily searched through the vessel. The trooper had handed over their IDs to an officer who had promptly left. Half an hour passed, then an hour. Luke shuddered slightly as a chilly gust swept over him, not for the first time since he had first set foot on the Star Destroyer.

Finally the officer returned and Luke waited with baited breath for the hammer to fall down on them.

“Very well, Mr. Solo,” the officer said, handing Han his identification and data-log back. “Everything checks out, you may leave.”

Han next to him seemed just as surprised as Luke. How had they not found anything fishy aboard that decrepit freighter? But neither of them would look a gift bantha in the mouth. Luke turned hastily to follow Han up the boarding ramp.

“Ah, Mr. Skywalker?”

Luke froze and turned back to face the man again, who eyed him with cool interest.

“I’m very sorry, but we will need to hold you for a little while longer. If you would follow me, please?” He gestured to the far end of the hangar.

Luke wanted to object, but no word would come over his mouth. What did they want from him? He thought of running up the boarding ramp, but in the corners of his eyes he could see the troopers stepping a little closer. So Luke had no choice but to follow the man.

“Is there a problem?” Luke asked timidly, halfway to the hangar bay doors.

“No, no problem at all,” the officer answered. “Just a routine check-up with my superior. It won’t take long and you’ll be on your way.”

***

#writing

[wingletblackbird]

You Just Stand Right Back Up

Prompt: Absent

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Owen questioned his foster-son who was looking down at his feet which were scuffing the ground.  “I’m waiting, Luke.”

“Can’t I just learn at home, Uncle? With Aunt Beru?” Luke plaintively replied, barely even glancing up at his uncle. Owen just sighed.

“You still haven’t explained yourself, son. Why haven’t you been in school the last few weeks? I shouldn’t have to find out from your teacher that you’ve been absent, Luke. Why haven’t you been in class?”

Owen was utterly at his wits end. Luke had always been a strange child to raise. When he had been really small, too young for him to remember it now, he’d had an imaginary friend he called his “sister.” Beru had indulged him, of course, and thought it was sweet. Owen had rolled his eyes, and shaken his head a lot. He hadn’t understood how you could talk to someone who wasn’t there. How could anyone, even a two year old, insist someone was there who wasn’t? Still, Beru’s nieces, and nephews had gone through similar phases, even if they weren’t so odd as Luke so apparently that was normal. Either way, a kid’s phase didn’t explain how Luke could answer questions you’d just begun to think, or how he would tell you he was sorry you were so sad when he had no business knowing what someone was thinking, or feeling with the uncanny insight that he did. It didn’t explain how he knew when a storm was coming, or when he thought someone was lying. Luke always just seemed to know. There was no explanation for a child knowing like that. Luke also had very vivid dreams. Owen was fiercely glad that he at least had Beru to help him with this. Beru always seemed to know how to nurture Luke through all his, Owen hesitated to say insanity, which allowed Owen to try and teach Luke the more important things in life. One of these was how to keep your head in the present, to stay grounded in reality. The boy was far too much a dreamer.  Sometimes, oftentimes, Owen just didn’t know where Luke went.

These days that was literal. His teacher had come to visit them at the homestead today, and that was how he, and his wife, had found out that their nephew had just upped, and stopped going to school. She’d asked them if there were issues on the farm, or if Luke was sick? It had been beyond embarrassing to explain that they actually didn’t know where their five year old boy was, and Owen was far past done finding out.

“I can do it!” Luke looked up determinedly. “I have been studying Uncle Owen. I take my datapads with me, and I study in one of the caves I found. I swear. You can test me, please, please, please—“

“Enough, Luke.” Owen interrupted harshly. “I asked you a question and I expect an answer. I don’t want to hear how smart you think you are, because if you’d really been smart you wouldn’t be back-talking me like this.”

Silence reigned: A stubborn, angry silence.

“If I don’t get an answer, Luke, you won’t see your starfighter toys for a month.”

Luke looked up again seeming terrified. Why he was so fascinated with models of ships bemused Owen too. It was utterly useless, and such a flight of fancy, (pun quite intended, thank you), but if it got Luke to talk…

“They don’t like me there.” Luke said quietly, but with undeniable pain and sadness, as he backed up to sit on his bed.

“What do you mean they don’t like you?”

“Promise you won’t get mad.” Luke gazed up at him wide-eyed. He seemed to be holding back tears. Owen tried not to show it, it wouldn’t do for the trouble-maker to get any ideas, but it did soften him.

“I promise I won’t get madder than I already am at you, Luke. Why don’t they like you?”

“I dunno.” Luke mumbled, and shrugged, refusing to look at him again. “Teacher introduced me to the class, and said my name was Luke Skywalker, and people started whispering. Then, after, when teacher was gone they said I must be real stupid, because only stupid people are slaves, and I told them I was freeborn, and proud of it, and that wasn’t true, because Dad and Grandma were smart. That’s how they got out. Right?” He looked up searching for approval. Owen nodded.

“Then this big boy comes up, forgot his name…” He looks up shiftily, and Owen was sure this was a lie, but elected not to press it. “He shoves me down, and says his father was killed trying to rescue Grandma, so obviously she was stupid, because she got caught by Tuskens, and I’d better not be stupid like that too, because I was slave-spawn, and I got mad and shoved back, but he was so much bigger, and everyone was watching, and no one cared he was doing it.”

Owen moved to sit down next to his nephew. The bed frame creaked. 

“This happen a lot?” he asked gruffly.

“Yeah,” mumbled Luke. “Every day, really. Then this girl, Camie, started calling me Wormie, because she said I was like a sandworm who curls up when something scary happens, ‘cause I’m a coward, and I stink, and now everyone calls me Wormie.”

“I see.”

“So, I just…stopped going. I mean, they don’t want me there, and I can just learn by myself like I used to do with Aunt Beru. Couldn’t I, Uncle Owen?”

Luke had turned his head, and was looking at his uncle with an impressively penetrating stare for a young boy. The depths of the blue revealing cornered desperation. Owen sighed again, and shook his head.

“I’m afraid not, Luke. You can’t teach yourself everything and Beru can’t teach you all of it either. You’re smart, and that’s why we agreed you’d go to school. It doesn’t hurt to get to know some kids your own age, either.”

“Yeah, it does!” Luke responded vehemently looking mutinous.

“Yes, maybe it does.” Owen continued undaunted. “But, that’s part of what you have to learn, Luke. People aren’t always going to like you. People are going to be mean. You need to learn how to handle that.”

“But…”

Owen held up a hand to forestall the many objections.

“Your grandmother was a very brave, and kind woman. People, and life kicked her down, but she kept standing back up. Sometimes you lose, Luke. Sometimes crops fail. Sometimes you get beat up, and you’re definitely going to lose people you care about. That’s just how it is. Life’s harsh. Best you learn that quickly. Being really brave, and really strong is getting up again, and again, because that way even if they kick you down, they still don’t win, because they can’t keep you down. That’s really what it means to be tough, Luke, and you’re going to have to learn it sooner rather than later.”

“I guess…I just…” Luke trailed off. “I dunno.”

“Well, we’ll just go to your teacher tomorrow, and talk to her about what happened and-”

“No!” Luke interrupted looking trapped. “Uncle Owen, you can’t. They already call me Wormie, and think I’m weak. I don’t want them to think I squealed too!”

“You ran away.” Owen said tonelessly, but dryly.

“Did not.” Luke muttered petulantly. “I just didn’t want to study with them is all.”

“Still, you have to. Listen to me, son. Look at me.”

Luke did.

“You’re the first freeborn Skywalker. That means that you’re free to choose what you want to do, and what you don’t want to do. No one owns you. Those boys and that girl can’t tell you not to go to school, and they shouldn’t be able to scare you away either. You’re allowed to be there just as much as they are. If they want to pick fights they can, but you’re going to stand your ground like man, and go right back, you hear me? You cower to no one.”

Luke nodded.

“Good. Now, I get your point about your teacher, and clearly she doesn’t seem to care about what the kids are doing to each other anyway, so I’ll teach you a few pointers, okay? And we’ll talk to your cousins about looking out for you at school. We can go tomorrow and then-”

“But, I don’t want them to think I’m soft.”

“You’re not soft, Luke. You’ve been ganged up on, and this family sticks together. Your cousins are in an older class, but they can definitely help you out now that we know. That’s what family does, Luke. You know you’d do the same for them. Family’s all we’ve got on this rock. It’s the most important thing. You hear me, Luke? You never turn your back on family.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. We’ll sort this all out tomorrow then.”

“Alright.”

“And next time something happens, you come straight to your Aunt and me.”

Luke nodded again, and Owen took a long firm look at his nephew who looked resigned to the decision, but not quite so desolate as before. Owen decided he’d made his point, and wrapped an arm around his boy.

“You’re smart and you’re talented, Luke. I might not get where you’re coming from most the time, but I do know that. They’ll say all what they want about you being stupid, and weak, but you’re going to show them all up, and no one’ll ever be able to believe a word they say, because you’ll show them different. Don’t let it keep you down, son: You just stand right back up.”

Luke nodded his head frantically, and buried himself in one of his Uncle’s rare embraces.

“I will. I promise.”

#starwarsfictober #Star Wars Fictober #Luke #Owen #Fic #Absent #Never done Owen's voice before #and he's such a minor character #Hopefully it sounds semi-sensible

[misskatieleigh]

lukebodhi, talking about family?

Bodhi’s hiding in the corner of the x-wing bay when Luke literally stumbles over him. Thank the force for good reflexes or Bodhi would have had to explain to Draven how he managed to cause severe head trauma to the savior of the Alliance.

“Oh kriff, sorry. I didn’t see you down there!”

Bodhi pulls his legs in underneath him, face burning with embarrassment.

“No, don’t be sorry! It’s totally my fault. I mean, I probably shouldn’t even be in here.”

Luke glances around the empty bay, a grin pulling up one corner of his mouth.

“I think you’re okay, everyone else is too busy celebrating that they didn’t get blown up today. Unless you were planning on sabotaging something - in which case, well.. That’s not what you were doing, right?”

Bodhi laughs, caught up in the joy practically pouring out of Luke, bright as the two suns they say light up his home planet somewhere on the other side of the galaxy.

“No sabotage, I promise. I just needed to get away from the noise a bit, you know?”

Luke nods, pointing to the floor beside Bodhi.

“I’m gonna sit, is that okay? Feels weird standing over you like that. Gee, I wonder if this is how Chewie feels all the time?”

Bodhi pulls his knees up to his chest, making room for Luke’s unassuming sprawl.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that, the Wookie scares me a little.”

Luke waves his hand through the air, knocking against Bodhi’s shoulder accidentally.

“Chewie? Nah, he’s a big softie. He’s just got a bit of a volume issue I think. Any way, I’m Luke - Luke Skywalker. I don’t think we’ve met before, are you one of the pilots?”

Bodhi ducks his head down, his shoulders practically touching his ears.

“Yeah, I know who you are, of course. I mean, I should, obviously, you’re the big hero, the man of the hour. Um, I’m Bodhi. Hi. Not a pilot - well, I am, just not one of these, I mean, I can fly a ship, but not, oh gosh.”

He’s rambling, he knows he’s rambling, but he can’t get his mouth to shut up. This might be a problem.

Except Luke is just grinning, and not in that mean way that some people have when they’re really just laughing at you. No, he just really seems genuinely happy.

“Bodhi! Nice to meet you. Wait, you’re not - are you? Are you the pilot? This is embarrassing. You’re the hero! I mean, we wouldn’t have had a chance against that thing if it weren’t for you. I mean, I’d probably still be stuck on Tatooine, wishing that something exciting would happen for once.“

His face turns somber for a moment, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. The movement shifts the medal hung around his neck and he picks it up and turns it over in his hands. "I’d probably be helping Uncle Owen repair something, waiting for Aunt Beru to call us in for dinner. I wish….I wish it didn’t have to be either or, you know? I’m supposed to be here, I can feel it, but I wish they could be here too.” 

 Bodhi reaches out, covering Luke’s hands with his own, while pulling a piece of flimsi from his vest pocket. It’s a picture, a man and a woman holding a small child. The pictures been folded over and over, a sharp crease wearing a line through the middle. The color’s faded, or else the lighting was poor, leaving the image washed out. Luke’s never seen a printed picture before, everyone uses holos these days, but this one has clearly been cherished for years. 

 “I know exactly what you mean. I wonder if they would even recognize me now. If I would make them proud, or if they’d wish I’d done something sooner.” 

 Luke turns his hand over, slipping his fingers through Bodhi’s and holding tight. “They are proud. I’m sure of it. Now, how about a little more celebrating? We’ve got to live while we’ve got the chance, right?” 

 Bodhi nods, letting himself be pulled up from the floor. He doesn’t mention that Luke’s still holding his hand. He’s warmer than two suns right now.

#Prompt fills #Bodhi x luke #Roguejedi #anonymous

[arielsojourner]

I love Luke goes back in time and saves everyone and leading a Jedi reform. I love Darth Vader going back and redoing his life. But what if they went back in time TOGETHER? I know it is implausible. Time travel always is but I just cannot get this plot bunny to leave me alone till I write out an outline at least.

So this is what I have so far: Luke and Vader in the Original Trilogy decide they are going to team up to kill the Emperor/free Vader and because of SOMETHING they end up being back in time together. After a few minutes of “WTF? Where are we?” Luke adapts faster than his father and decides, they will just have to do this now and save everything before it goes to hell. Yes he has “lost” his friends but he has his father and he can make a better life for everyone if Vader works with him. Imperial education *cough propaganda cough* being what it is on Tatooine (to the extent Luke even went through his Imperial home school courses), it is up to Vader to tell them where to go and what to do. They are on the Outer Rim during the Clone War sieges and they end up joining up with the 501st while Pong Krell is leading them.

I see: - Vader ending Krell with extreme prejudice and Luke allowing it.

- Luke focusing on the difference between Clone vs. Storm troopers and being disgusted with Krell and bonding with the 501st by just being the deadly ball of sunshine, sweet cinnamon roll he is. The clones pretty much adopt him and he adopts them.

-Vader wants to just vent his fury on everyone and kill Krell and then kill Palpatine. He could care less about the Order (he won't purge them, he won't be tricked into that again, but there is little love there, there is just enough for those precious few), he just wants Padme and Ahsoka  and Luke safe. (He doesn't know about Leia, neither does Luke; they went back in time before Luke went to Dagobah but after Jabba is dead and Han is rescued).

-Vader is so happy to have competent troops. Imperial troops are really hit and miss and so few clones remained after a few years in the ranks. He does miss the Executor and his Admiral though.

-Luke wants to get to know what the Order was like in its heyday but after seeing Krell and with Vader disclosing some of the campaigns of the Clone Wars and how the Order operates, Luke has decided that the Order is not for him, thank you very much. No attachment? Marriage and kids forbidden? To say nothing of only taking toddlers and the fact that the Republic is not the shining beacon that Leia always claims it was (Luke already had his doubts, he grew up in Hutt occupied space after all). He figures the Order is hardly likely to embrace him as a Jedi so he will be a Jedi on his own. He will help his father and defeat Palpatine.

-They will end this puppet war, free the clones, kill Palpatine, and ensure Anakin and Padme live happily ever after. Vader is satisfied in knowing that Padme is happy and alive (he cannot bear to even think of facing her, just knowing his Angel is alive and with Anakin Skywalker is fine by him). He has Luke who will not leave him now or ever. They will make a life together somehow.

-The clones while thankful are also a bit conflicted. Krell is dead, yay! There is a Force user, a red lightsaber, a Sith?! But he is hanging around someone who clearly is a Jedi (such a nice Jedi!) and they are working together. Is this our new Jedi general? But then, Krell was a Jedi and got them killed. Wait, did the Jedi just call the Sith father?!

-The Separatists are routed. Vader and Luke work seamlessly together. They are not the same as Obi-Wan and Anakin, how could they be? Luke's training is minimal (lightsaber forms, what are those? and by Order standards Luke in thought, deed, and existence is heretical to say the least) but his instincts and strength are astounding and as for Vader, just think "Vader Down" but times 100 because Vader is fighting with his son and Padme is still alive and there is still hope. Vader is no longer a slave to any man. He can make things right.

-Luke and Vader get to work on the clone control chips. Vader slices the program and Luke uses field surgery (learned in the hidden rooms on Tatooine doing emergency surgery on escaped slaves) along with Kix and others to deal with the physical reality of the chips.

-Perhaps  throw some EU Force use in there and have Luke just experimenting with the Force and figuring out how to use it to help the clones with their accelerated aging or like in the “Darksaber” novel, Luke asking Vader to work with him to literally pick up entire Separatist ships and throw them out of they star system. Vader is a bit stunned by Luke's innovation, but decides he is not going to tell Luke what the Force can or cannot do or be used for and just encourage his son to use it however he wants. With Luke having seen Vader in action and Yoda on Dagobah, he doesn't have any concept of what should be beyond him and working with the "Chosen One" makes them nearly unstoppable.

-Vader has Luke with him, having Luke Fall is irrelevant so long as he has his family with him. Plus Luke is what Vader always imagined a Jedi should be back when he was just a boy on Tatooine. Sometimes Vader thinks of the dreams he had of Jedi freeing everyone and wonders if it was Luke he was really foreseeing.

-Luke decides that with him being a Jedi and Vader nominally a Sith they will just have to command both sides of the war to stop fighting. Fake it till you make it, kind of thing. War is what Palpatine wants so they are just going to decide to stop. Sith love to play games where they win regardless of the outcome. The only way to fight a Sith is not to play the game. The clones can find new vocations (hunting slavers perhaps?) and the droids can be reprogrammed. Vader and Luke have 20 years of technological war time improvements they have lived through and they plan to bring that to bear on both sides of the puppet war.

-The Order starts getting bizarre reports from the front lines. Peace is breaking out, being enforced by Vader and Luke. Jedi teams show up to what they think are war zones and find peace. (details escape me, but just go with it!) Vader knows what will happen next and Luke is so unpredictable Palpatine is caught off guard. All his plans are falling apart.

-I want some Force sensitive clones. Perhaps if the chips are out and the aging fixed, one or two in each division or so has the potential to be Force sensitive. Luke is all for training them. Vader balks for a moment and then just decides to go with it. I see Fives as a Force user and Luke trains them enough to help free their brothers.

-Vader and Luke only use those names. They give no last names and no titles They frequently refer to themselves as father and son to the bewilderment of all.

-They run into some Jedi on a few of their missions. The Jedi are a bit confused by Luke and grow more and more suspicious but when Vader shows up behind him, a black sun of icy cold fire more than a few lightsabers are lit but Luke just stands between them and tells them that "Oh, him? Yes, he is a Sith, no you cannot kill him. Why? Because he will kill you and we don't need that, we are all on the same side here." Vader makes a sound that without his mask would definitely by a snort of derision "No, really father, we are nominally on the same side." "If we are on the same side son, tell the Jedi to put their blades down. I won't have them accidentally hurting you or I will tear them apart and paint the walls with their blood."  And Plo  or Aayala or Kit or whoever they are meeting is just  like "WTF? Are we, are we going to fight? Father, did you say father? Your father is a Sith lord and you are a Jedi? Jedi don't have fathers, well Jedi have fathers but they don't have fathers if you know what I mean." And Luke is all "Jedi have fathers. I have a father. Being a Sith or a Jedi doesn’t mean people don’t have fathers. Now we have more important things to talk about. The war is over because we say it is over so put down your weapons and let us just go about our business."

-And since Jedi don't attack unarmed people (not that Vader is ever unarmed; even without his lightsaber drawn he could kill them all), they just put down their weapons and Luke quietly, inexorably bulldozes them into following his lead, Vader looming over his shoulder, daring anyone to disagree with his smol but mighty son. "My son says we are now at peace and the clone troopers are free. Argue and I will choke you."

-They are not at peace yet, but Luke takes a page out Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's book of proverbs that used to have him rolling his eyes as a kid and one of them was if you keep insisting something is true, it becomes true. Granted his aunt and uncle were talking about having fun while doing his chores, but Luke is nothing if not adaptable. War is over because Luke says it is and Vader agrees with him, so there.

-Ventress joins their little band. Luke figures Yoda was wrong about the "dark side dominating your destiny" with regards to his father so he can just be wrong about every other dark side user.  Luke insists Vader can teach Ventress or they can all three of them learn awesome Force things together, just Luke will avoid the dark side, no dark side for him, thank you. 

-Luke and Vader take down Savage before Satine can be killed. I think Luke and Satine would get along well and Vader of course would inform Luke about Obi-Wan’s connection with her and I see Luke wanting to match-make, Order rules of attachment be damned. He wants Obi-Wan to be happy. Vader gets a vicious thrill out of how this will torture his old master. Luke plans to rehabilitate Maul too (think Maul from Star Wars Rebels) into his growing band of Force misfits - Vader, clone force sensitives, Ventress, maybe even Dooku, it is all good.

-Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ashoka keep missing Luke and Vader but Palpatine sends Padme into the mix, desperate to figure out what is going on with his carefully constructed Sith master plan. Vader gets one inkling that Padme is on her way and goes into stealth mode (he does have stealth mode, no shut up, he does. Just because he is 7 feet tall and has distinctive breathing doesn’t mean he cannot do stealth). He is still hovering near Luke, he is not leaving Luke alone but he cannot bear to see her see her, to have her see him: her plans to never ever EVER tell her who he is, just watch her from afar. Sigh.

-Luke is all earnestness and light when meeting her. He doesn't know ahead of time that she’s "mom" -Vader still cannot bear to give details other than to say she was his whole world --but he is intuitive and very powerful in the Force so he puts two and two together and is at his dotting farm boy best with her and Padme seeing peace is really happening, throws her full support behind this strange Jedi. Vader stalks them both and not so secretly foils whatever nonsense Palpatine had cooked up for their meet and greet event with large explosions. "Master Jedi, that explosion, don't we need to investigate?" "No, Senator, everything is fine. My companion is keeping up with all the security while we talk. Now what can Naboo do to ensure the sentient rights of the clones are honored now that the war is over? Do you think you could arrange a meeting with me and the Chancellor?" 

It is all just piecemeal and I don't think it could ever be coherent enough to be a full story (too many plot holes and character crack) but it is such a wonderfully tasty idea with all the substance of cotton candy I just had to share.

#sw au #star wars alternate universe #luke skywalker sweet cinnamon roll #Luke and vader #father and son save the galaxy #luke and vader save the galaxy #clone wars #luke skywalker #darth vader #clones