Star Wars: Exodus

(OOC thread here.. http://www.starwarsexodus.com/forum/vie ... f=2&t=8730)
(Master Thread here.. http://www.starwarsexodus.com/forum/vie ... f=5&t=8729)

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“I’m sorry…” the Teenager said…



“NO!”

Luke sat bolt upright, still feeling the force wave pushing them, the rocks pelting his back as the giant chunks of Tattooine rained down on them. It was dark, where ever he was, and cold. Very cold. Was he dead? Had he passed on through the Force? Was this the Afterlife? He looked down at himself, and realized that there was a bundle on his front torso. Reaching around his belt, Luke found his torch. Lighting it, looked at the bundle. It was a small Zabrak boy, maybe three years old. “Don’t be dead..” he said, as he put his hand under the Childs nose..

A steady breath came from his nose, and the Childs eyes squeezed tighter from the light. Luke took the beam from the Childs face, and felt around for the knot, and untied the bundle, releasing the child into his lap. Carefully placing the boy onto the floor grid, ensuring that the child wasn’t going to fall off anything, he flashed the light around him..

There was a central Console, which appeared to have six sides, with what looked like a center column going up into the recesses of the ceiling, which was moving very slowly, almost like a heartbeat. The walls looked to be covered in Round Shapes, each of them having a slight incandescence which darkened as the heartbeat thrummed on. The basic architecture seemed to be organic, with wild shaped supports and affectations, or at least he thought they were affectations. They didn’t look like they did anything of importance, but he was certain it would support him, which he did, helping him stand up. His muscles ached, and his shoulder was killing him. Luke rotated his shoulder, feeling for a break, or a dislocation.

His vision blurred a moment.. Dislocated. Defiantly Dislocated. He used the force to dull the pain, he would pop it back into the socket later, after he made certain they were safe, or relatively so. When he saw Taya again, he would have to give her a swift kick, he mused. Had they not gotten into that Swoop race, he wouldn’t have broken his shoulder in the first place. He scanned the floor with the E-Torch, and saw the Teenager that had rode with him..

I’m sorry..

Luke moved over to her, and knelt down, feeling for a pulse. He nodded, as her strong pulse could be felt under his fingers. She didn’t look injured, or at least not externally. She stirred under the light, and her eyes squinted open. “Don’t move.” Luke ordered. “You may have..”

She sat up, and looked around. “Were alive?” she said, and smiling, she shouted. “Were Alive!!” the teenager sprang up, and threw her arms around his neck. “THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!” She then kissed him hard on the lips. Luke surprise was evident as she separated from him. “Sorry..” she laughed. “ Sorry.. I’m just glad to be alive!” the teener said, a broad grin on her face. “I thought we were done for.”

Glad for the darkened state of the room, to hide his blush, Luke nodded. “Me too.” And flashed the light on the small boy. “The boys asleep over there, and he seems to be ok.” The teenager moved over to the small bundle, checking for herself. Small cooing sounds came from the boy as the Teenager woke him up. Luke sighed, “Let him sleep, He probably needs it..”

“OY!” Another voice came from behind the console. “Some other people are trying to sleep here, besides the boy.” Luke moved around the Console, to see The Doctor laying flat on his back, blinking from the bright torch light. “Are you Ok, Doctor?”

The Doctor sat up, and looked himself over. “I seem to be, or as alright as I’m going to get.” And took Lukes offered hand. “Seems everyone is in once piece..” and taking the torch from Luke, shined it onto the console. A few switches later, and the Roundels brightened, illuminating the chamber. Luke looked around. “What is this pla…OW!” as his shoulder was suddenly yanked, popping his shoulder back into place. The Doctor let his arm go. “Better?” Luke rotated and flexed. “Yeah, thanks.. Warn me next time?”

“Nope..” The Doctor said. “It’ll hurt more if you’re expecting it..” and put his spectacles on, peering at the console. “Were not moving..” Luke raised an eyebrow. “But we are..” he said. “I can feel it.” The Teenager walked up, holding the little boys hand as Luke continued. “And how did we get here, the last thing I remember was the explosion, and the displacement wave.. and something blue, flashing lights..” The Doctor motioned towards one of the passageways. “Go down the corridor, turn right at the intersection and go past the Swimming pool, there is a small kitchen. Just say ‘Blue Milk’ and the dispenser will get him something to eat.” He said. “Don’t turn left, or you’ll end up in the Wardrobe, and from there you’ll get completely lost.”

The Teenager smiled. “Thanks. I’m Raisa, by the way, and this is Tuller.” As Luke mouthed Swimming Pool?

“Yeh heh..” The Doctor said, not particularly paying attention to her. Luke gave her a grin. “He’s busy.” He said, and with a shrug. “Its going to be all right. The Doctor is a trusted ally to the Jedi Council. Why don’t you get Tuller some food, and try to remember where it is..”

She nodded, and walked the boy down the passage, leaving Luke and the Doctor alone. “Thank you, by the way.” He said. “We would be dead if it weren’t for you.” And looking closer at the console, trying to make heads or tails from it ”So, how did we get here.” He said. “That was you in that Blue thing, wasn’t it,” and leaned against the console. “Was that some form of Shuttle, or Lander?” While Luke was watching the Doctor working the console, he asked. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“Nope, Just the TARDIS.” The Doctor said. “And your welcome, and Yes, and no, not in that order.” He stood back, rubbing his chin. “We are moving, but not under our own power. Were riding on something, or in something..”

“How is that possible, this ship is immense?” He said, “and especially with the directions that you just gave to Raisa..” The Doctor moved around the opposite side of the Console. “What’s that thing Jedi are always saying.. Appearances can be deceiving? Well, the TARDIS is a perfect representation of that.” and stood back from the console. “This is bad..”

“What is.. what’s bad.” And moved around to look over his shoulder, and realizing that the console still made no sense. It had toggle switches, levers and knobs in configurations that made no connection to each other. Small monitors on each side showed simply vertex waves, and small bits of lights. “The TARDIS is horribly confused by something, as if its lost access to the Matrix.” The Doctor said. “And not regenerating as quickly as we should be.” And moved across the chamber to one of the free standing controls, “We need to find a Temporal Rift, quickly..”

“A What?” Luke said, shaking his head in disbelief. The Doctor rushed back to the console. “A rift in the Time space continuum, there’s a huge one here on Mos Eisley, but the problem is, its not where its suppose to be, and TARDIS doesn’t have the energy to hunt up another one..” he said, looking up towards the ceiling, where the ventral column disappeared into the ceiling. “Don’t worry, old girl.. I’ll find it for you..just conserve you strength..” Luke cleared his mind, tapping into the force and opened his eyes, allowing the force to give him true sight.

What he saw, surprised him and at the same time, made perfect sense. The luminous being before him was something other than human, possibly before mortal. His essence was both here, and not here, all at the same time.

“Doctor, explain to me what this Temporal rift looks like, Maybe I can help locate it through the Force.” He said. “Start by telling me who you are. You’re not a species that I’ve seen, regardless of your appearance. and I have a feeling that your answer will help me find what you’re looking for.”

“You first, Jedi.. You Tell me what you see..” THe Doctor said, grinning broadly.

“From my conversations with the Jedi Council, a being called the Doctor has appeared several times in history, at the darkest times. THe Republic believes that it was a title, but it wasn’t, was it.” Luke said, walking over towards the console. “It was you.. I can see it, in fact I could see it all along, but I just refused to believe it. You have lived ten very similar, but very different lives.” He said. “All the Doctor.” Leaning against the counter, he continued. “You have a very unique force presence, one that shouldn’t be possible.” Luke turned and with a broad gesture, announced “And this is your..”

“…His Time Machine.” Raisa said, bringing attention to her from both The Doctor and a much deflated Luke. “How did you..”

Rolling her eyes, Raisa Zephre came out, with Tuller in tow, holding a sippy cup. “C’mon, He was talking about a Temporal Rift, and his Machine needs it to refuel.” She then added for good measure. “Duh.” To which Tuller accentuated by too saying “Duh” but with a much cuter tone. The Doctor grinned broadly, moving over to the pair. “Hello, You must be Raisa, yeah?” and kneeling down “And your Tuller.” He touched the boys nose, who giggled sharply, and looked back at Luke. “She’s brilliant, really quite bright.” He said, standing up. “Very well. You are standing inside the TARDIS, which is Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It is indeed a Type 40 Time Machine, as well as a Space Machine, and Dimensional Machine.. Well…” He paused. “By Dimension I mean that in the broadest sense. Its..” he paused “Complicated..”

“And yourself?” Luke said, crossing his arms. “Who are you?”

“I...” he began, moving over to the console. “..am one of the Time Lords of Gallifrey, the oldest and most mighty races in the universe, sworn never to interfere, only watch.” He said. “We are the guardians of chroniclers of time and space..”

“And Dimension” Raisa added.

He made a thoughtful face, “Not so much, no.. But good try.” He said, pointing to her, and continued. “Well, there have been times that we must interfere, which are becoming more frequent.” he stated. “There are a number of Outside forces which have begun to cause mischief in your galaxy.”

Luke nodded. “The Daleks.”

“Correct.” The Doctor said. “This seems to have been dealt with by the Republic by using the Super Laser.” He stated. “I just hope that will be the end of it, that the Daleks will stay away from the Galaxy.” He said. “Now that you know all that, do you think you can find the Temporal Rift?” Luke nodded. “I think so, since I have a sense of you, now, and the TARDIS.” And walked towards the door, and stopped suddenly. “So, what’s out there?”

“Don’t know. It could be the Remains of the Jungland wastes, Mos Eisley, or deep space, where ever the TARDIS found as a safe spot.” The Doctor stated. He fiddled with some switches, and looked through his spectacles. “Breathable, or so it seems..” and smiled, crossing his arms and watching the Jedi.

Luke nodded, and approached the door. His hand dropped to where his lightsaber was, and a cold chill went through him. His lightsaber was gone. Looking down, he saw the remainder of the clip ring which kept it on his belt. It was gone, probably cut off by one of the rocks when they were attempting to outrun the blast. I should have updated the attachment ring, he thought to himself as he opened the door, peering out. He still wasn’t completely convinced of the Doctors story, but the force had told him that it was true, and their was no doubt that he was indeed something other than what he appeared.

“What is it, what do you see?” Raisa said, keeping the child behind her.

Luke Skywalker looked back. “It’s a Jawa Sandcrawler, Were inside a Sandcrawler.”

Raisa cocked her head. “How can you tell?”

Luke looked back over his shoulder. “Because I’m looking at a Jawa..”

The Doctor patted the side of the TARDIS. “Nice job, old girl.” And walked over towards the door, and exited, followed by Luke. Raisa began to follow as well, but was stopped by the Jedi as he poked his head back in. “You should stay here, and keep an eye on Tuller. He could get into a lot of trouble in here..” The girl nodded in agreement reluctantly, and Luke followed the Doctor. They were in the Droid storage area, where there the Jawa kept their inventory. Some of them looked worse for wear, and some looked to be on their last legs. They watched him walk by, with sad, pathetic motions, as if requesting aid. He felt the urge to fix them, to do some repairs on the more damaged ones, but there wasn’t time, as they needed to find this Rift. Luke looked back towards the TARDIS, and then did a double take. What he had walked out of was a Corellian Security Forces Street Shelter, normally used for constables who were on patrol in the metropolitan areas to recharge powercells, make contact with their home offices, and other official functions. Was that what he meant by appearances could be deceiving? Luke felt it was time to make contact with Galen, letting him know he was alive.

Looking for his comm, he realized it too useless, broken from the pelting he received from the explosions. It was then he realized how fortunate he had been. The Force had definatly been with him.

He left the Droid bay, and found the Doctor ahead of him, speaking with whom Luke assumed was the Crawlers captain. Three other Jawa’s surrounded him, attempting to sell his some trinkets, or some other piece of metal waste. The Time Lord looked up, and smiled. “They’ll let you onto the top of the Sand Crawler, so we can take a look around for the rift.”

“Slippery” one of them said. “Can we have your box!” another said. “Wanna buy a droid?” Luke was somewhat surprised that the Jawa’s spoke basic, as most of the ones he had ever met spoke Jawaese. “C’mon, Up you go..” the Doctor urged, “Oh, that is a nice bit there, isn’t it.” He said, looking at one of the machine bits the Jawa’s offered him.

Luke nodded, and mounted the ladder. “Look to the North..” the Doctor said as he breached the topside hatch. They were moving at optimal speed for this vessel, perhaps at a dizzying 30km an hour! He chuckled as he let the force flow into him, and realized there was something was wrong with how the Force felt. There was a general feeling of despair, of darkness. Granted, Tattooine had just been hit by a Super Laser, and a good portion of the Jungland wastes had been destroyed which would throw off the Force to some extent as a multitude of species were probably killed, not to mention the residual feelings from the Daleks. He looked to the North, as the Doctor had suggested, and found what he figured must be the Temporal Rift. It was beautiful, this glow in the force, as it was constantly changing, scintillating in a full spectrum of color. “I think your right, to the north…” he said down the topside hatch. “Its beautiful..” he said, looking at it again, scanning the horizon, and not seeing what he expected to see. He had expected to see a debris cloud, or some form of hole, as Galen had told him that the Laser would destroy nearly 300km of the Jungland wastes, which would have taken out Bestine, the Planets capital.

But there it was, Bestine. Undamaged, unmarred. Just as the Jungland Wastes was, as they were currently riding through it, and it didn’t look like pieces of it had been hit catastrophically by a Super Laser. This was impossible. He had been in the middle of the blast, the displacement wave from the blast. He had proof that it had happened on his belt, with his missing lightsaber, and the TARDIS inside the Sandcrawler.

“You knew where the rift was already, didn’t you.” Luke said, as the Doctor approached him from behind. “You wanted me to see this for myself.” The Doctor nodded. “Would you have believed it otherwise, had I just told you?” the Time Lord said. Luke turned. “What happened.. Where are we.”

“I don’t know. TARDIS uses the Matrix to find out where we are in time and space, but the Matrix seems to be out of sync. This is defiantly Tattooine, no doubt about it, but I don’t know when it is. Fairly current, I would say..”

“ How current?” Luke asked, not sure he wanted the answer. The Doctor looked out over the horizon. “Probably within a hundred years...” he said. “I asked Upkis to take us in that direction, and they’ll drop the TARDIS off there, so she can get a nice long drink from the Rift.” He said, but Luke could still sense that he was holding something back..


……………………….

The area began to look familiar to Luke Skywalker, as the Sandcrawler arrived at the location where he had seen the Rift. There was something disturbing the Jawa’s, however as they approached the Homestead in the distance, which was where the rift was right atop of. Both Raisa and Luke, who had taken places atop of the Sandcrawler, unable to withstand the smell any longer, knew this place at the Great Chott Salt Flats, on the outskirts of the Jungland Wastes as they got closer. It was the Lars Homestead, which looked to have been abandoned. From appearances, the sandstorms had covered much of the structures, and had submerged the central pit in a foot of sand. The SandCrawler’s powerful lifters dropped the TARDIS near the garage, on the surface. Hitting the ground with a resounding thud, it settled, and instantly the top light began to flash, with the sound that Luke recognized from earlier, and dematerialized from his view. The sound traveled into the pit, and rematieriaized in the center courtyard. From their pirch on the top of the Sandcrawler, they had an un interrupted view of the effect.

“Did I just see that?” Raisa said, as she saw the Doctor exit the TARDIS, with the little boy In tow. Luke nodded. “Yes, and I think we should keep this quiet.” The girl looked at him. “Why, Everyone should know about this. Its so amazing!”

“I don’t think he could do what he does if everyone knew about Time Travel, or some of the things we’ve experienced. I mean, we must be really far in the past for the Homestread to be in this much disrepair. I remember Uncle Owen mentioning that they had left on a trip to Naboo, when Taya was born, and he said that when he got back, the Homestead had been hit by a sandstorm. That must be where we are now, in that time..”

She looked at him. “When was that?”

“Seventeen years ago, which if that is the case, we should be safe here, at least for a while.” Luke told her. “They didn’t leave Naboo till after a month or so after my sister was born.”

She nodded. “I haven’t been born yet, but I’m on my way..” Raisa said, and chuckled. “It’s hard to wrap your head around, isn’t it,” and laid down, feet dangling over the side. “The Clone Wars are still going on out there, somewhere.” Luke nodded. “I guess so. My father is on the front lines right now, along with the rest of the Order. This was one of the bloodiest years of the War.”

One of the Jawa’s poked his head out. “You go now!” The scavenger said. “We leave this curse place”
Luke nodded. “Want a ride down?” he said, smiling. Raisa’s eyebrows beetled. “A ride?”

Luke picked her up, and jumped off the top of the Sandcrawler, using the Force to enable them to jump from the dizzying height, and land on the sandy surface with no more effort than jumping from a much lower elevation. Luke looked at her, smiling. Raisa’s eyes were wide, and he could feel her heart beating wildly. Luke put her down, feeling regret at frightening her. Raisa’s freckled face suddenly stretched into a wide grin. “Think they’d let us do that again?” she said, looking up at the top of the Crawler as it began to roll. “Doesn’t look like their interested in staying around..”

The two of them entered the Homestead central courtyard, as the Doctor was playing with Tullar. “About time you both made it down from up there.” He said, as he threw a red ball, to which Tullar laughed with glee, and chased it. The Child stopped, and threw it back towards the Doctor, which of course ended up to the left. The boy continued to chase it as Raisa went over to check on her charge. Approaching the Doctor, Luke sat on one of the duracrete posts. “I think I know where we are.. About 20 years in the past..” and told the Doctor of his hypothesis, to whit the Doctor just nodded, seemingly deep in thought. “You don’t agree?”

“I’m not sure..” he said, and looked around. “Where’s Raisa?”

A scream rang through the compound, as both Luke and the Doctor rushed inside the Homestead living area. Raisa was standing in the kitchen, backing away from what looked like a corpse on the floor, though now more bones than flesh, it had been here for some time. A black stain on the floor showed where she bled out. Apparently, the crime scene had been completely undisturbed, as the pots were still in place on the stove, covered in the remnants of fire retardant foam. It was Beru Lars.

Luke moved around the body of his Aunt, and into the living rooms, where he saw the body of his Uncle, likewise desiccated, holding what looked like his blaster rifle in his hand. Luke kneeled next to the body. This wasn’t possible. They should be on Naboo, and certainly not dead. This made no sense what so ever. On the right wrist was a Chronometer, the one that his uncle had always bragged about that he would never have to replace the power cells. Moving over the body, he turned the chrono’s face to be able to see the time, and date…


He let go of the chronometer, and moved away quickly, his eyes wide. His mouth was dry, suddenly unable to keep moisture in it, and he could feel the blood drain from his face. It wasn’t possible..

It was today’s date, only a few hours after the Super Laser had destroyed the Jungland wastes.

He had to calm himself, Luke knew. Pulling his feet under him, he closed his eyes…

There is no emotion; there is peace.

He had to calm down, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to digest this information.. He had to calm, center himself..

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

This was something new, never before experienced.. Accept what has happened, and discover the truth.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

He would be of no use to anyone, by over reacting..

There is no chaos; there is harmony.

Calm… Calm….


There is no death; there is the Force.

Luke opened his eyes, and saw the spirit of his Uncle, considerably younger than he would be currently, attempting to bring up his rifle, as he is hit my multiple projectiles, which appeared to be blades, probably from a Pnumo spike thrower, which was used by the Water Bandits, to whom his uncle Owen had said plagued the deserts, but had been routed by the Republic. Motion from his right brought his attention to one of the rooms, as a young boy, maybe 12 or 13, shooting what looked like a Pnumo in the direction that Owen Lars had been looking, and turned back into the room. Calmly, Luke stood, and entered the room where the boy went. On the floor was a considerably smaller skeleton of whom he assumed was the boy. Luke knelt down, and touched the skeleton, and felt a sudden rush through it, as if it was calling to him. He broke contact, feeling his hand go cold from the touch. Steeling himself, he stretched out through the force, and touched the boy again…

Images flashed in his mind, of this boy being raised here on Tattooine by his Aunt and Uncle, growing up a farmer, and always wanting to see what was over the hill, and then over the next. This boy wanted adventure, away from the farm. He wanted to feel important, He wanted to matter…

He could recognize the face, as if it were his own, because it was his own…

This was Luke Skywalker…

A hand touched his shoulder, bringing his out of his vision. “I think I know where we are..”


Luke and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, and bringing out a Key, the door slip open into the ceiling of the CorSec Box. “Where’s Raisa and Tuller?” Luke asked, leaning on the console. The Doctor began flipping switches. “She’s looking for a burial site for the Lars..” he said, and paused..

“And me” Luke completed his sentence.

“That’s not you, Luke. That’s another person, who just happens to occupy your imprint on this reality.”

“But what is this reality. What has happened to my Parents, my Sisters and Galen. The whole Jedi Order, for that matter.” He said, shaking his head. “How do we get out of here..”

The Doctor regarded the young Jedi a moment before answering. “We may not be able to leave right away. The TARDIS is an amazing machine, but we got here from the Super Laser interaction with the TARDISes Matrix. The Matrix is going to take time to replenish itself, and get a feel for where we are before we can consider leaving, which means were going to have to live here for a bit.” He explained. Luke nodded. “ Like coordinates..” He looked up, that he could get his head around.

The Doctor put his spectacles back on. “Don’t worry, I’ve been in worst predicaments, and came out somewhat less than unscathed..”

Luke glanced over at him. “How do you do it?” he asked. “How do you keep it all straight? How do you keep from going Mad.” The Doctor stopped, in mid action “Perhaps I am mad..” he said, “..but I think you’d have to be a little mad to do what I do.” And shaking himself out of it. “NOW!” he shouted, and began grabbing multiple small objects, . “We need to get this place up and running..” and stuffing them in his pockets, he then disappeared from sight, into the back of the TARDIS, the way that Raisa had gone. Luke followed, and was astounded by the displacement of the time machine. The Doctor went into one of the chambers, a large wood paneled room filled with various objects. and pointed towards where his Jedi Cloak lays. “Don’t forget your Robe” and moved out of the Chamber. “And grab that little machine in the corner.” Luke heard him say. He put on his robe, and looked at the machine, and looked around for a trolley, and finding none, attempted to lift it and finding it to be considerably heavy.

Luke cleared his mind, and with the force, lifted the machine above the ground and began moving it towards the TARDIS doors…

They split up the tasks to get the Lars’s Homestead up and running, which took well into dusk. As Tattoo II set behind the horizon, they were rewarded for their work with the hum of the main generators, and the lights coming on. They took the bodies of Owen, Beru and Alter-Luke to the area that Raisa had found, and buried them, near where Shmi and Cliegg Lars had been buried. It was solemn, with both Luke and Raisa speaking well of them, or at least their counterparts. It would later occur to them that they were alive and in Mos Eisley in their own reality. They felt it best to not sleep inside the house, as they had just buried the people who had died there, and decided that it was better to use the lower garage for their sleeping area. There was a Landspeeder inside, and a swoop, something that Owen probably used to get to the Vaporators in the farthest parts of the property. Luke found out that the Machine he had brought out was a Temporal Sustenance Unit, or simply put, a food machine. “It’s not particularly tasty, but it is somewhat palatable since I put in the sweetener module.” The Doctor stated.

It dispensed a package with a eight inch rectangle of a form of crumbly cookie, and a 16 ounce bag of green liquid. “All of the requirements needed for a meal is in that little packet.” The Doctor said, grinning wildly. “Handy little gadget, really. Pity it’s completely Bollix. After a time it tends to turn sour, and the packets end up tasting like waste.”

Raisa spit out the piece that was in her mouth. “Like now?”

The Doctor took a bite, and shook his head. “Nope,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s what its suppose to taste like.” And bit off another but, and chewed.. “Simular to an old dried up sock, but not as flavorful” he said, and took a sip off of the green fluid. “Well that’s rubbish as well.” And put it down, turning his attention back to the holoprojector. “Sort of like the water drained from boiled rammo sprouts”

“What are you doing, Doctor?” she asked, helping Tuller with his milk. He didn’t seem to mind the taste of the Protien Cookie, as it had been dubbed by Luke. The Doctor looked over, while applying with his Sonic Screwdriver. “Well, If I can get this to work, then we will be able to see what this reality has to offer.

He switched off the Sonic tool, and placed it in the center of them, and flipped the switch..

<< and Join the Ranks of the Proud>> were the first words that came from the Holoprojector. It showed a man wearing a grey uniform, standing with a Human male in Phase III armor, except they were all white, and a young woman in a grey jumpsuit. All of them looked fit and happy, and in the background was what they assumed was the Imperial Symbol. THe scene changed to the Icon of the channel, the letters IHV and below written out Imperial Holovision Network.

A pretty blond woman, wearing what appeared to be a expensive and tasteful attire, with a small broach that had the imperial symbol in it. <<The pacification of Ralltiir is still underway, as Imperial forces are combing the streets in house to house searches for Rebel Sympathizers and weapon casches. It was only a month prior that the Imperial Forces took possession of the planetary council by order of his Majesty, Emperor Palpatine. Imperial Stormtroopers heroically led the charge against the terrorist Rebels.>> Scenes of the Imperial Troops, wearing the all white Phase III armor were seen kicking in doors, and dragging entire families out of their domiciles. Another scene shows several individuals being executed against a wall by the Stormtroopers, as they were called.

The News Reader continued <<<On Coruscant, Imperial Storm troopers rooted out another cell of rebel sympathizers, who was reported to the authorities by their neighbors employing the Security Initiative.>> Luke watched as the Old Twi’lek Man and Woman was forced from a store front, followed by the troopers dragging a woman by her hair. The Troopers throw a Thermal Detonator inside the store front, which exploded spectacularly. <<The Security Initiative, which has been in effect Imperium wide for little over a year, before the Imperial Senate went on the Annual Holiday>> File footage of the speech was shown inside of the familier setting of the Republic Senate Rotunda. Emperor Palpatine walked out onto his Repulsorpod, with the Imperial Symbol emblazoned onto its front. The Emperor wore a heavy cloak, obscuring his face for the most part, but there were hideous scars visible where the hood did not cover. He was followed by a nearly 2 meter tall armored man. <<<We enter a new age of Security and Prosperity within the Empire, as we place a portion of its well being into the hands of your constitutes.>> the news reader spoke in voice over <<Darth Vader, the Commander of Forces laid out more of the details to the Senate>>>

Rythmic breathing could be heard as the armored giant spoke. <<Your Constitutes are to report any activity that is suspicious to their local Imperial Inquisitors office, and are not to approach themselves. The safety of Loyal Imperial Citizens are our chief concern..>>> The news readers face came back on screen <<<Lord Vader’s confidence levels went up nearly 20 percent following this speech, THe Dark Lords approval ratings hadn’t been as high since the Jedi Purges. And now, Sports!>>>

“Turn it off..” Luke said, and stood up and walked out of the Garage. Raisa began to stand. “Let his alone. He has to come to grips with it.” Raisa nodded, watching him as he went up the stairs to the surface. “Will he be alright?”

The Doctor waved the question off. “Oh, he’ll be fine.. “ and paused. “Well.. Everything that he ever knew was gone, and he has to come to grips that he is the Last of the Jedi..” and interrupted himself again. “Well.. Maybe not the last, but definalty close to extinction..” but looked at her. “But I’m sure he’ll be fine.” The Girl nodded. “Can we look up other things on that?”

“Oh, yeah!” he said brightly. “What do you want to know?”

“What happened to me? Am I going to run into myself?” The Doctor nodded at her question, and brought out the Sonic Screwdriver again. The Screen altered from broadcast Holovision to the Holonet. “Lets see, Raisa Z..E..P..H..E..R..”

“its R..E..” she said, scooching closer. He looked at her. “But that’s wrong. That’s not how you spell Zepher..”

“That’s how its spelled..” She said, rolling her eyes..

The Time Lord looked at her a moment longer, then imputed R.. E..

A simple obituary was shown for her, on the Bestine Hall of Records site. A single line.

RAISA ZEPHRE: SUICIDE: CASE CLOSED

“You won’t be running into yourself..” the Doctor said, and she smirked. “I doubt It was Suicide. Probably my Brother Joklyn, or maybe my folks murdered me..” She said. “Probably Jok.”

An uncomfortable silence followed, until the Doctor spoke up. “Want to talk about it?”

She leaned back. “My folks felt that I was a mistake, a horrible mistake. My Brother was their crowning achievement, to pass on the name Zephre to future generations, and I would just sully it.” She smiled.

“Why was that, your completely Brilliant” the Doctor said.

“It has something to do with my birth defect.. I was born with a higher count than was acceptable to my Dad.” Raisa said. The Doctor nodded. “So, your Midi-chlorian count was high, then..” The teenager nodded. “According to my mom, it was present in the female members of the Zephre line. My dad said he would beat it out of me, and later that job went to my brother. I found out that my dad murdered his own sister when she showed signs of it..” she looked at the Doctor. “So I hid it, and got some form of peace, but I could still see the hatred in their eyes.”

“I promise you, no one will hurt you again..” The Time Lord said. “And Ill tell you something else.. If you were my child, I’d be so proud of you I’d sing in the streets.” He punched her in the arm. She looked at him. “How about you, do you have and kids?”

“Oh yeah, believe it or not, I’m a great Grandfather.” He said, picking up the bag of green liquid. “My daughter is a Time Lord, like her old man, and my son took up a post in the Archives of Rassilion, keeping an eye on the Time Nexus. Not as exciting, but a good job on Gallifrey. I traveled with my Granddaughter Susan for a time, during my first and second incarnation, and she fell in love with a Human that was traveling with us.. She went Native, so to speak.” He said. “Some time during the Great Hyperspace War.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “Oh, I’ve had many companions in my time, Even a Jedi once, little green fellow named Yoda.” He said. “During my fourth Incarnation. Oh, what fun we had. I was mentoring a young Time Lord named Romanadvoratrelundar.. Ramona for short, since I couldn’t pronounce her name without breaking a tooth. We traveled for quite some time together.”

“How many incarnations have you had?” Raisa asked, fascinated by the story.

“I am currently on my tenth… Three more to go..” He smiled. “My fifth was my favorite, I think, Very much a pacifist. And a keen mind. My last one was interesting. He was the Warrior, and brilliant. He was also the most angry.. Frighteningly so, I might add. Didn’t like hair, as I recall.”

“Do you ever go back to Gallifrey?” She asked

“No, not often..” he said, making a face at the green liquid. “I was exiled for a bit, as I chose helping the Republic during the Sith Empire over my duties, and that got in the way of the non interference stance of the Time Lords. It wasn’t until after that when the Chronarchs disclosed their presence to the Chancellors and the Jedi.. After that, they posted me here, to make certain that nothing went awry.”

“Why did you come here in the first place..” Raisa asked.

“Revenge, mostly.. “ he said. “There was a Time Lord who didn’t agree with the Chronarchs policy, and promptly found others to his cause. They began to alter timelines, change little bits of events that would ripple outwards, causing complete collapses in the Matrix.” He said, and continued on. “I was a academic at the time, Studying the Histories and timelines of the galaxy.. My wife, Patience, was a Time Lord, a troubleshooter with the Celestial Intervention Agency.. Well, she was killed by the Renegade Time Lords, and sent back to Gallifrey as a warning.. Leave them alone..” he said, a cold chill running through Raisa as he spoke of it. “They Hulled her.. Put her outside of the TARDIS while in the Time Tunnel. She didn’t die strait away, but she was in her last incarnation, and she just.. aged.. nearly a thousand years in a matter of minutes..” and paused, as if reliving it. “I suppose I went Mad for a bit. I stole the TARDIS, and went after those responsible, with my Granddaughter, Susan.” And looked at her, smiling. “She was about your age, now that I think about it..” he said. “We did things that were unspeakable to do as Time Lords.”

“Did you get him?” She asked..

“No..” he said flatly. “But I will chase him until the ends of time..” and remained quiet. Tuller toddled over to the Doctor, and hugged him around his neck as though he felt the Gallifrians sadness, to whit the Doctor returned the hug to the tiny Zabrak boy, still in that dark place he was seeing..

Raisa broke the silence, feeling the need to change the subject. “Can we look up Tuller?”

The Time Lords smiled. “Absolutely.” And used the sonic screwdriver on the Holoprojector again, bringing up the same records that had given Raisa’s obituary…

TULLER WESTIN: CANDIUM INFLUENZA VIRUS: DESEASED:

It was followed by a date, which was shortly after his birth.

He rubbed the childs head, “Looks like your Unique!” being carefull of his small nubs of horns.

“They lost him here...” She said. “His parents were the best.. “ and looking at the boy. “He has no one back home. Both his folks were killed by the Daleks.” And the Doctor could see the wheels turning in her head..

“You can’t.” he said simply, turning off the holoprojector..

She raised an eyebrow. “Why not?” Raisa asked.

“What you you think of suddenly, a girl who was pronounced dead, brought your dead child to you..” He said. Raisa nodded. “Yeah, I can see your point..” though she really couldn’t. “He was a little baby when he passed. Do you think they’d recongnize him?”

“I said no..” the Doctor said. “Besides, we need to keep a low profile, especially from the Time Lords.”

“They’d notice our arrival?” she said, bringing the boy over to her, as he began to get sleepy eyes..

“Oh yes, All TARDISes are tagged, and tracked. If an sudden arrival of a unregistered TARDIS suddenly appeared in the time stream, then all forms of bells and whistles will go off. “ He paused. “In fact, I wonder why the CIA hadn’t shown up already..”

“The Celestial Intervention Agency, right?”

He gave her a wink. “Brilliant.” With that, she stood, and picked up the toddler. “I’m gonna go put him down. He’s had a busy day, with his parents being killed, Tattooine blowing up..”

“Forget it.” The Doctor said, fiddling around with the Holoprojector again, as she went to the Speeder, and placed him on the front seat cushion. “I know.” She said back…

……….

Luke Skywalker looked across the landscape of Tattooine, as the final glow of Tattoo I and II faded in the distance. He refused to believe that he was the last of the Jedi Knights. No, that wasn’t right either. He hadn’t planned to come to this reality, or any reality for that matter. The Republic didn’t exist any longer, as it was now an Empire, ruled by a the former Chancellor who had been stopped from his dark plans by his own Father and Master Windu, so long ago. There was no other explanation for it. His father and Master Windu must have failed against the Dark Lord Sideous. Because of that alternate turn of events, the Republic fell, and the Jedi were all but extinct.

The question was, what if they couldn’t return to where they belonged. What then. Should they just hide, keep out of the way of this universe, letting it sort itself out, or take an active role in its future. What would the Doctor do. Could he, in his incredible TARDIS perhaps set this time line straight? Was it even their right to do so.

He closed his eyes, and opened himself to the Force, looking for an answer..


…………………

In the southwestern edge of the Dune Sea, a simple hut overlooked the desert. Its lone dweller, an Old Hermit calling himself Ben awoke as if from a nightmare. Sitting up in his bed, he looked around, wondering if he was still in it. He got up, and moved across the Hovel, collecting a mug, poured himself water, and took a long draw. The cool water brought reality back into focus from the visions that still played in his head. What he had felt had to have been an echo of the past. His greatest failure in a long line of failures, he thought to himself.

Old Ben had gone off to Mos Eisley, with the best of intentions. It was there he felt the tremors, and left instantly, though when he had arrived at the Lars Homestead, they were all dead, killed by the Water Bandits that had plagued the Homesteads. He had shirked his duty, and the galaxy paid the price. It’s last hope was gone. Old Ben considered leaving, but it wasn’t in him. It was better to just pass on, quietly, to fade away.

He couldn’t have felt another presence, especially the one that he had thought he felt. It wasn’t possible.

Putting the mug back on the table, he moved on to the fresher, and pouring water into the basin, washed his face..

Is there anyone there?

Old Ben stood bolt upright, his eyes wide. He had felt it! Rushing to the window, he peered out into the night, and for the first time in a very long time, opened himself to the force, allowing it to flood into him, quenching a thirst that couldn’t be satisfied. It was a Jedi, and one that shouldn’t exist.

He began rushing around his Hut, collecting equipment that he hadn’t looked at in many years, and tossing them on the bed. With some hesitation, Old Ben pushed off the piles of useless clutter that had accumulated over the years, opened the ancient chest, pulling out the vestments he worn when he was a younger man, and his Brown Robe, the Robe of a Jedi Master.

At the bottom was the two last objects, one his, and the other belonging to his friend, His Brother, His apprentice and his failure. Ben pulled them both out, and pushed the activation stud..

The Snap Hiss of a lightsaber illuminated his dark abode, and possibly, his darkened soul. He stared at the blade, and nodded. Tossing it onto the bed, he hefted the other one, and hit the activation stud..

And nothing happened.

Bens brows beetled, and looked at the power indicator. It was completely depleted. Rolling his eyes, he plugged it into the power outlet on the generator, knowing it would take time for it to fully charge. Closing his eyes again, feeling for the presence again, hoping that he had not lost it already. But it was there, a very lively spot in the force. Smiling, he continued to prepare himself for this meeting.

And then he paused, as a realization came to him. If he felt this presence, so had others, and knew he had to hurry. THe Empire had kept hunters on Tattooine for some time, which Ben would have to take the chance of travelling at night, or early morning rather. He left his Hut to check on his Eopie, Digby, and prep him for the journey to the Homestead.

Time was of the essence, Old Ben felt…

..




The Doctor sat outside, in the courtyard of the Lars Homestead, or rather, had been the Courtyard. In its time, it had probably been quite lovely, well manicured and a pleasant place to spend evenings. Being build below the surface would have kept it cool in the heat, and would catch the breezes in the evening. He could imagine Luke’s younger version playing here, probably with a toy of some form, or having a catch with his Uncle. In his mind’s eye, he imagined Luke’s Aunt watching them play, probably preparing some form of sweet treat for them before they were off to bed, revitalizing them for another days work on the Moisture farm. Theirs was a pleasant, quiet life of labor and love, a life that was stolen from them, well before their time. The Doctor sighed, and shook his head. What a waste. Raisa had wanted to give Tuller to his parents from this reality, without knowing anything about them. Alter Reality versions can be very different than their analogs, for all they knew, they would be horrible parents. He had been to alternate realities before, which usually ended badly. The Doctor, as well as all of the Time Lords, could see the past, present and future, generally all at once when attuned to the Matrix, as they were connected to it. There were even some force sensitive’s who could see it, as a glimpse. Yoda, one of his former companions, had a particular knack with it. There were others in this galaxy who had the genes of the Gallifreyians who could view it, from Time Lords who had “gone native” so to speak, like his Granddaughter.

At this point, the Time Lord felt at a loss. The TARDIS had to recharge itself, and with its current delicate condition, It was unusable for its intended purpose. It would be safe, or relatively safe in any case. The bottom line, he couldn’t use the TARDIS, Not until it was recharged. The Time Lords would know they were here, but what he didn’t understand was why the CIA hadn’t made an appearance. Their appearance was enough to bring them. Pulling his spectacles from his pocket, he put them on his face, and squinted at the TARDIS, sitting at the spot of the Temporal Rift. Through them, he could see the wobbly shape of the small rift, the Nexus point for Tattooine. This backwater world had always had one, which was why it was such an important place to the Time Lords, and was the catalyst for many events in the history of the galaxy. In this reality, Tattooine was no different..

The Doctor knew that he would have to attune to the Matrix here, and the best bet was the rift. He stood, filled with the resolve of his people, and approached the TARDIS. “You and me, old Girl. We both need to attune to the matrix, don’t we..” and sat down, and leaned against his Time Machine..

He opened himself to the Matrix,


………………..

Luke was awoke from the courtyard, where he had finally fallen asleep, by the sound of rumbling and the sounds of powerful engines and tracks rolling along the surface. He stood, and rushed up the ramp to the upper level, and onto the sand floor. He cautiously looked out, and saw the Sandcrawler idling to a stop, in front of the homestead. The Homestead hadn’t been running for some time, which he would think would take the homestead from the route. They had dropped them off here, however, which may have put them back onto the prospective buyers list. The Jawa’s opened their ramps, and began to bring out their wares. Broken and damaged droids were toddled out, as were some that were in better repair. Power droids, and some cobbled together construction droids. One of the Jawa’s, whose name he didn’t remember off the top of his head, approached him. Luke waved him off. “We aren’t looking for a droid at this time, sorry for the trouble..”

The Jawa looked up at him, “Wi haz gud droids!” the small being said, and Luke was a little surprised that he could understand him. The Doctor had described it as one of the gifts of the TARDIS, for its occupants to understand languages, as long as they have traveled within it. “Yu bai lots!”

Luke shook his head.. “We don’t need any right now.. You can..” and noticed that among the garbage was a protocol droid, one that looked oddly familier, followed by an astromech which was likewise hauntingly noticeable. THe Jedi moved over towards the two, and feeling a possible sale, the Jawa followed quickly. Luke examined the protocol droid. “Good Morning, Sir.” He said as Luke looked at him. “Designation..”

“I am C-3PO, Human Cyborg relations, Protocol and Translator specialization.” The droid said. Luke smiled. “And this is my counterpart, Artoo Detoo.. he is.” And looking at him briefly. “A Plumber!”

These were his family droids, from his own reality. Threepio was mothers Senatorial Droid, and Artoo was his Father’s Astromech. This was almost unbelievable that these two droids would appear at this exact time when they arrived here. Was it a coincidence?

Or was the Force at work.. “These two, How much..”

………….

It hadn’t been cheap, Luke thought, but it was well worth it. The Jawa’s had taken much of the Garage that hadn’t been nailed or bolted to the floor, as well as a considerable amount of scrap, but he had the two droids. He would have to be careful, as to not let the Droids know of their Trans reality situation. Could he even use his own name? It had been apparent that this realities version of him was now buried up on the upper concourse, along with the rest of the Skywalkers and Lars. “This feels wonderful, Master Luke. Thank You!” the droid said, as he submerged completely under the oil, silencing him while the Oil bath cycled. Luke was concentrating on the Astromech, in any case. Artoo wobbled back and forth, insistent on something that he felt was terribly important. It was then he realized that the TARDIS’s gift didn’t extend to Droid speak. “Hold on, Artoo.” He said, checking over the droid for damage, especially where there was heavy carbon scoring. “You’ve been in a couple of fights, haven’t you.” The droid responded, with some familiar inflections that he found somewhat comforting. With the force, he brought another spanner to him, and returned to working. Artoo moved back, and whistled more loudly, his dome swiveling around.

“What do you mean, He’s a Jedi Knight!” Threepio said, ending the cleaning cycle. “There are no more Jedi Knights, Artoo..” He stated. “My Apologies, Master Luke. Your attire does resemble that of the Old Jedi Order, but as we all well know, the Jedi are no more.” The Protocol droid stated. “He is prone to whimsy.”

“Actually, he’s not wrong” Luke said, thinking fast. “I was taught from one of the Orders from the Kurita System, out in wild space.” He said, knowing that Kurita was where one of the fringe Orders had been in his own reality. The Order of the Krayt was a monastic order, refusing to return to the Jedi order after the Hyperspace war, though his father, Yoda and their Padawans, namely Galen and Himself had visited. Luke had been fascinated by it, and their complete adherence to Non interference...

Just like the Time Lords..

“I see, Master Luke.” The droid stated, “How fortunate that we have come to find you, as the Empire attacked our consular ship only two days ago.”

Luke looked up to the droid. “Who was the Ambassador?” he said, putting the tool down, and standing up. Threepio straitened. “I’m not certain, Sir. I believe it was the Princess of Alderaan.” Luke nodded. The Princess Winter Organa was known as an activist, much to the ire of her father, the Chancellor. Artoo whistled, rocking more insistently. “Shush Artoo! Captain Antilles is no longer our Master, This gentlemen is.”
“WHats he saying, Threepio.” Luke said

“He has a message for an Obi Wan Kenobi, a private one.” The droid stated. “I have no Idea what he’s referring too, sir.” Shaking his head. “He keeps referring to it. Perhaps he’s shorted out.” Luke’s felt his face drain. The Grand master of the Jedi Order was alive, and here on Tattooine. Luke stepped back in disbelief. The Force was dictating this moment, there was no other explanation. “I know the grand master, as I am here looking for him as well.” He kneeled in front of the astromech droid. “Can you show me the message?”

Artoo whistled, followed by a downward tone. He knew that sound. “He stated that its coded for him.”

Nodding, he crossed his arms across his chest. “Then we’ll have to get you both to him. Do you know where he is?” as the droid again answered in the negative. “That’s not the least bit helpful” Threepio scolded.

“Hello!” a cheery voice from behind them startled the little droid. The Doctor entered the Garage. “Who are you lot, then.” Luke smiled sheepishly at the Time Lord. “This is See Threepio, and this is Artoo Detoo.. They were..”

The Doctor stepped forward, and patted Artoo on the head. “Pleasure to meet you! Good Boy!” and rubbed the side of the droids body, and turned to Threepio, “And a true pleasure to meet you, as well!” and pulled his hand away. “Hmm.. Oily.” And paused, looking at the two of them a moment, with an off, manic eye. Luke wasn’t sure what was coming next. Would the Time Lord go off on a completely different tangent or a suddenly smash them to pieces. Luke was certain that he could stop him, if necessary, or at least he hoped he could…

“Right!” The Doctor said, stepping back. “Well, good.” grabbing Lukes arm. “You all stay here, won’t be a tick.” And dragged him out of the garage.

“What an odd, sentient, Artoo..” Threepio said to his counterpart…

“I’m sorry Doctor, but they are my family droids in our reality, I couldn’t…” Luke started, but was cut off. “Where’s Raisa, have you seen her, or Tuller.” He said frantically.

“No, not this morning, I thought they were inside the homestead..” the Jedi stated. “What’s wrong?” The Doctor continued. “How about the speeder, is it gone?” Luke again shook his head. “The Storage door was closed, I didn’t see the speeder. I slept out in the courtyard..” The Doctor rushed inside the garage, past the two droids and to the Speeder Door, a thin bulkhead to keep the sand and particulates from damaging the vehicle. He thumbed the activation switch, and his hearts sank. “Gone… Gone Gone Gone..”

“Is there anything we can help with sir..” Threepio asked the frantic man. The Doctor looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time. “Oh, right..” he said, remembering that the Droids were there. Luke followed him inside. “Where’s the speeder?”

The Doctor turned. “She’s taking the child to his parents, which is an abysmally stupid thing to do.” Luke nodded. “Because of the other Time Lords, this will bring their attention..” The Doctor nodded. “Yes!” and then shook his head. “Well, Actually no, they are the least of our worries, now.” He said, “There are Imperial Troops poking around looking for those droids.” The Doctor stated. “We need to get her before she get caught up in it and has to explain how a dead girl is walking around giving dead babies back to their parents.” And saw the Swoop. “I’ll go collect her, you stay here, and try to find out why the Imperials want the droids.”

“Probably for the message they have to Master Kenobi from the Consular ship that was attacked a couple of days ago.” Luke said, following him to the swoop. The Doctor brightened. “Obi Wan!” He said. “He’s here on Tattooine?” Luke nodded. “It seems so. The Droids were sent here to find him.” As the Doctor mounted the swoop, and grabbed a pair of goggles from the storage compartment on the side of the Swoop. The Time Lord tossed the Jedi a comm “When you see him, tell him the Doctor says hello!” and streaked off up the ramp, and across the desert. Luke watched him disappear into the distance.

The Jedi shook his head. This was going to get worse before it got better he felt…




……………………


It took little time for the Doctor to find Raisa Zephre and Tuller Westin. To his relief, they were sitting on a bluff, overlooking the Westin’s home on the outskirts of Anchorhead, close to Toshe station. The teenager turned back as the swoop came up behind the borrowed V-35 Speeder. Pulling the goggles off of his face, he approached the pair. Tuller giggled at the Doctor, pointing at him as he sat down next to them.

“I couldn’t do it.” She said simply. “Your words kept ringing in my head, and I realized how right you were. Tuller’s not suppose to be here, none of us are.” The teenager took her hat off, and ruffled her red hair. “They’ve come to grips with their lost child, so how could I even consider opening those wounds again.” And put the hat back on. “I guess I screwed up, huh.” The Doctor regarded her for a few minutes, then smiled. “NOo,” he said “not at all...” and put a hand on her shoulder. “You thought it through, which shows you’ve got a head on your shoulders. “and accentuated the point by poking her in the head. “I mean, you did scare us to death, but you didn’t upset the balance of time or space, which is a good thing.” and stood up, brushing off his suit. “That’s my job!” he said with a wide grin..



…….

Monis Westin sat across from her Husband Caynon, eating the afternoon meal, It was getting close to the Harvest for them, when the humidity would almost reach four percent. Their meal was in relative silence, with the exception of the occasional scraping of fork to plate. In general, they usually enjoyed a much livelier mealtime, as their conversations would turn into a lively debate. As of late, however, the melancholy had seeped deeper into their lives, and psyches. Once again, they’re attempts to bear a child fell into failure. It certainly wasn’t from lack of trying, but they were still unable to become pregnant. Caynon was always supportive of his wife, as the problem seemed to be that if they did indeed become pregnant, a miscarriage would occur. The most recent news from the medics put the final note on their dreams of a family. Another Pregnancy could kill Monis. It has been over three years since Tuller got sick, and passed on..

“There are a lot of Stormtrooper’s out on the western dune sea” Caynon said. “Their looking for something, that’s for certain.” Monis only nodded, and continued to push her food around the plate. He looked up, and smiled. “Maybe we can go into Mos Espa..” which seemed to not interest her in the slightest. The Zabrak’s lips tightened, showing his frustration. Not so much at Monis, who was the light in his life, but more so at the situation. It wasn’t fair, as they were good people.

He could hear a speeder approach, which was odd, especially at this hour of the day. Most who would visit was working. Monis managed to look up from her plate, as Caynon stood and walked towards the door. A thin Human in a blue and white pin striped Suit, with neck tie approached their home. The man was carrying what looked like a data board with him. Short haired and styled in a somewhat spikey fashion, he had a broad grin on his face. The human noticed him, and waved. “Hello!” he said. “Nice to meet you,” and exposed an Identification wallet. Caynon examined the credentials..

Imperial Ministry of Refugee Relocation Service. The imperial seal was emblazoned across it, and the Humans face was in one corner, alternating sides. The rank of Chief Inspector, with the name somewhat unintelligible was visible, under a heavy smudge, but DOCTOR was easily visible still. “I’m looking for the Lars Family.” He said, “Beru and Owen Lars. Perhaps you can..” he paused. “Ooh, that smells delicious..” and entered the house. “What is that.”

Caynon stepped aside, knowing better than to impede an Imperial Agent. “Kommerken Steak..” Monis said, sitting up. The Human smiled. “With Ootoowerges?” He said, looking at the plate. “Brilliant!”

Monis smiled. “Would you care for some.. We have plenty.”

“Does sand get in your underwear!” and enthusiastically sat at the table, before Caynon could interject. “My apologies, But your.. Who?”

“Yeeaaas..” The man said, and looked at the Identwallet, rubbing off a smudge. “Doctor I. M. Who!” And showed the wallet again. Caynon could now see the name clearly. Ignatius Morbert Who. Shaking his head, he sat as Monis served him one of the steaks, and a generous portion of the vegetables. “Oh, this is lovely.” And motioned them to sit down. “I have been lost for some time now, roaming around the homesteads looking for these people,” and took a bite, as his eyes rolled up into his head. “Truly wonderful, My compliments.” He state, chewing the well cooked meat. “NOW!” He said loudly, pulling up the data pad, “I really must find the Lars homestead. I have some very precious cargo for them to take custody of.”

Monis looked downward. “I’m sorry, Doctor Who, but I’m afraid that the Lars have been dead for some time now.” And looked nervous. “They were killed by Water Bandits.. It’s even said that their Homestead is haunted.”

“Ah.. “ he said, and put the fork down. “How horribly unfortunate.” The man pulled up his pad, and looked over it. “This is really horrible, The records are never updated, and we field inspectors never have all of the information we need to do our duties to the Empire.”

“What is this all about, Doctor.” Caynon asked. “is there anything that we can help with.” Leaning forward on the table. The Doctor looked at them. “Well, I don’t know..” he pondered. “They were listed as recipients of foundling children, refugees and orphans from worlds that have had catastrophic events, such as volcano’s, asteroid collisions, and such.” He said. “This boy is a particularly sad case. The Stormtrooper’s found him with his parents, still shielding him from harm even in death.” He said, and put on a pair of spectacles. “He’s around four years old, cute as a button. His head horns are already nubbins through.” Pantomiming his cute little horns.

“He’s Zabrak?” Monis said, brightening, looking at her husband. “Were Zabrak!”

THe Doctor peered at them through his spectacles. “Yes, So you are!” he said, smiling and pulling out a rather unique looking stylus, and began pulling up information. “What are your names?” Caynon told him, and the Human began working feverishly. “Ah.. Well. You have a boy around his age, we with IMORRS attempt to put our charges with childless families that particularly deserve, who may or may not be able to bear their own. That way we know that those we put them with will give them their complete and undivided attention.” He said. “Well, off to the Orphanage for him!” and closed the book. “Terrific steak, by the way..”

Monis’s lip began to quiver, and buried her face into her hands, sobbing. “Did I say something wrong?”

Caynon’s lip tightened. “Our son died a couple months after birth, from the Candium Virus. We have been trying to have another, but..” and stopped. The Doctor regarded them a moment. “So, effectively you meet the criteria. One second. Let me have my assistant, Sofia Phan-Vandervader bring him in..” and with that, moved to the door, and motioned to the speeder. Within moments, another Human wearing a breath mask and a small Zabrak boy entered the Home. The little Zabrak boy shouted “MAMA!” and rushed Monis, who hefted the child, hugging him tightly. Her husband smiled as the Doctor whispered into his ear. “I’ll get the paperwork started…”

…………………………

Several hours later, They returned to where they had hidden the swoop, and got out of the Speeder. Raisa took off the Breathmask, exposing a wide grin. The Doctor looked back to the Westin Home. “Well, that worked out nicely.” He said simply. Raisa tossed the breath mask back inside the speeder. “So, what did you give them?” she asked, putting her hat back on.

“Oh, the documents, and all that.. I speak bureaucrat rather fluently. The flimsy I gave them will fool anyone that it’s an adoption form. They shouldn’t have any problems what so ever.” He stated. Raisa smiled at the thought of Tuller and his family. They had always been kind to her, and she was glad that in this reality, they were no different. “Aren’t you afraid of the Celestial Intervention Agency, or the Time Lords, or even the Doctor form here?” she asked as he got onto the swoop, and put the goggles on his face. “Noo..” he said. “I don’t think they’re going to be a problem at all.”

“Why is that?” Raisa asked. “You were worried about them last night..” as she got into the Speeder.

He gunned the engine. “Because their all dead. As of this moment, as far as I can tell from communing with the Matrix, I am the only active Time Lord in this reality.” And hitting the accelerator, took off across the sands..

Raisa and the Doctor returned to Lars Homestead with little difficulty, with the exception that the Speeder was considerably slower than the Doctors swoop. They were surprised to find that Luke had been busy himself. He had managed to get the main power back on line, bringing energy back to the homestead main house with the Astromech’s assistance, and making it once again livable with the help of the Protocol Droid, with even the sonic shower in the fresher now usable. The Jedi had also arranged for some other food besides the bags of food from the Doctor’s machine. He explained that he had encountered a Womp Rat skulking about the Homestead, and using a Pnumo he found in the house, hunted, skinned and was now roasting on a spit over a large fire, again with Threepio’s assistance, ensuring that the meat was at a safe temperature to avoid becoming sick from the possibly tainted meat. Raisa related the story of how the Doctor was able to give Tuller to the Westin family, and how horribly slow the speeder was compared to the swoop. Luke had to agree, the swoop was horribly slow.

The Womp Rat meat wasn’t the best thing any of them had ever tasted, but it was palatable, and much more so than from the Food Machine that they brought out from the TARDIS. The three separated, with the Doctor moving once again to sleep alongside where the TARDIS sat, stating that the old girl had to conserve her energies for her regeneration. Luke opted for the master bedroom, since Raisa stated that she had used his Others bedroom when she was Lars border. The bedding had all rotted, as was the remaining mattresses and anything else that wasn’t made of stone, but it was comfortable enough, they all decided. Raisa had found some Impact padding that would service for a sleeping pad, and the Doctor retrieved some blankets from the TARDIS. The Astromech locked the main entrances, which would give some security against whoever may be interested entering the compound. Luke had told the droid that they would begin looking for the Grand Master in the morning, which seemed to satisfy the Astromech droid.

The Jedi stripped down to his undershirt, but kept his pants, since he wouldn’t know whether or not he would be needed in the night. He heard the sonic shower activate, and figured that it had to be Raisa using the facilities. He should probably use them, he thought as he got a whiff of himself. A full nights fighting at Mos Eisley, and the subsequent time he had spent here would defiantly warrant it. He sighed, and rested his hands behind his head, wondering if they would ever see home again.

What if they didn’t, what if they were trapped here, for the rest of their lives. There was no way he would be able to just stand by, do nothing against Chancellor Palpatine’s Empire. The Holo News had said that there was a Rebellion against it. Should he join it? Attempt to find whatever was left of his family here, if they still existed. The grand master was here, somewhere on Tatooine, and If he was here, then why? Why wasn’t he fighting against the Empire himself? Kenobi was a great Jedi, possibly one of the greatest outside Yoda. He rolled over in the bed, what of his own Master. Yoda had trained him to never give up, to persevere against the dark side. Where was Yoda. Had he died? Perished in a battle between Palpatine and his Empire?

He had searched for their essences, both Kenobi’s and Yoda’s, but to no avail. They were either dead, or hiding . Was the dark side so much stronger here? Luke wondered about the Darksider that was in the Holo, this Darth Vader. He had felt a deep chill upon seeing the armored Sith, and wondered if the day would come when he would face him, if they couldn’t leave this reality. Would he survive it.

He knew he wasn’t going to sleep now. He looked at his Chrono, and shook his head. Luke had been laying there for nearly an hour, and wasn’t even drowsy. Luke got out of the bed, and putting on his boots, moved through the Homestead, towards the living area’s doorway. By the door sat Threepio, who activated as he approached, his darkened photoreceptors lighting up gold. “Oh, Master Luke. Can I be of some service?” Luke shook his head. “No, Threepio, I’m just going out for some air. Get some rest, its going to be a very busy day tomorrow.” The Droid looked at him. “Would you care for company, sir?”

“No thank you, but I appreciate the thought,” and stepped outside into the chill of the night. He walked over to where the Doctor sat, leaning against his amazing machine. Luke wondered if he would ever truly understand this man, whose mind was on a completely different level than his own. He was shivering slightly in the cold night air, having kicked off his blanket. With the Force, Luke brought the blanket back around the Time Lord, and within moments the shivering stopped. The Jedi leaned against the TARDIS, and slid down its smooth face, thinking about what this machine had seen. He Opened himself to the force, again searching for a spot of light in this horrible dark place…

Hide Yourself…

He had touched something, or someone. He had to know more of who this was.

Who Are You.. are you in danger?

Luke waited for an answer, or at least an acknowledgement.

The Hunters will find you.. Hide yourself..

As quickly as the contact was felt, it was gone. Luke stretched out, to attempt to make contact again, and then stopped. Whoever it was, wanted to stay hidden. It was a definite light point in the darkness, which wanted no more than to remain in the shadows, but felt it important enough to step out to warn him. Luke closed his eyes, and shut his connections to the Force, pulling back in to himself. It felt so odd, not allowing the force to flow through him freely. This place was horribly unbalanced, with the Dark holding sway. He stood from the TARDIS, and walked across the compounds, who were these Hunters. Were they Sith, or other Darksiders? The True Sith had had the Rule of Two, which would account for Chancellor Palpatine and his Dark Lord, the armored giant from the Holo he had seen last evening.

He shook his head, it was almost too much for him to fathom. They were all strangers here, completely out of their element. Everything he knew didn’t exist here, and he didn’t even have his family to fall back on for support. He didn’t even know if his family existed here, and if they did, how different would they be.”

“Want some company?” Raisa’s voice came from behind him. Luke glanced back, “Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he said, and faced forward. Raisa stood next to him, wearing the blanket that the Doctor had given them earlier, and her boots. Whether or not she had on anything else he kept out of his thoughts. “Couldn’t sleep,” She said. “I can’t shut my mind off.” Luke smirked, “I know the feeling. I’ve been trying to sleep for nearly an hour.” He said, and saw Artoo peeked out of the garage. “Maybe I’ll finish cleaning the carbon off of him, He has a lot of it.” motioning towards the Droid. Raisa shrugged. “Better than standing out here,” and followed him to the garage. Artoo looked up from the center of the Garage, and if Luke didn’t know better, the Droid looked guilty. “Hit the tech scanner, so we can understand him.” He said as he grabbed a number of tools that he had found. They weren’t much, really, A couple of spanners, some picks and files, and a small driver.

“Ok, Artoo. Lets finish up the cleanup can’t have you seeing the Grandmaster looking like that.” Luke said, sitting in front of the droid. Raisa, with the Tech Scanner, translated the droids bleats. “He says please hurry. He must find Kenobi.” She looked up, smiling. “He’s really insistent.” Luke nodded. “Were going to head out in the morning, and start looking. Probably go to Anchorhead.” He told the Droid, beginning his task. “Kenobi has to get food, or other supplies. If anyone knows about him, it’ll be merchants,” and began scrapping off the heavy carbon with some of the picks. “This is pretty heavy scoring.” He said, pulling more from the scoring from his Manipulator arms. “So, when’s your birthday.” Luke asked. The droid squawked our more information. “He asks why that’s relevant.”
Luke smiled, and looked back at Raisa. “I meant you..” he said, chuckling. She joined in the chuckle. “Ok, why is that relevant?”

Luke began pulling more from his actuator arms. “Well, you mentioned yesterday that you were well on your way to being born when I thought we were seventeen years in the past.” He looked up. “How well on your way.”

She smirked. “It’s close, actually, about a month,” and pulled the blanket closer around her. “Not that I ever celebrated it. My folks weren’t big on birthdays...” She said. “Or rather my birthday at least, my brother got all of the celebrations in our family.”

Luke nodded. “Well, we’ll have change that. I’m sure that between me and the Doctor, we can give you a small celebration.” And started working on the droids data slot. The teenager rolled her eyes. “Let’s hope we’re not here when I turn seventeen,” And leaned back. The Jedi nodded, “We will be. The Force has us here for a reason.. A reason that hasn’t shown itself yet,” And began pulling on something jammed into the slot. Whatever it was, it wasn’t supposed to be there. Raisa cocked her head, looking at the young Jedi. “So, how ‘bout you?” she said, smiling.

He looked at her. “Me?”

“Your Birthday.. When is it?” she asked.

He nodded, smiling “It’s gone and past, actually. I turned nineteen around the time that I took the Jedi Trials.” He said, and rubbed the back of his head, where the Padawan Braid had been. “As for celebrations, If we’re all in the same place, then we’ll have a little get together. We save the celebrations for when we can all return to Naboo.” He said. “We had a getaway planned for next week, had this not all happened,” as attempted to pull harder on the piece jammed in his slot. “What is this!”

“What..” Raisa said, sitting up. “What did you find..”

“I don’t know. Looks like someone shoved something in his Data Slot.” And yanked it…

The Droid reared back, pushing Luke off balance, as his Holographic projector came to life.. A Human female form took shape in the holofield, in a long white dress. The woman sported a double bun hairdo. Raisa moved closer, to get a better look at her. The projected woman was young, maybe around her age and very pretty, annoyingly so, Raisa decided.. “She looks familiar..” And she noticed that Luke was looking at her transfixed.

<<Help Me, Obi Wan Kenobi.. You’re my only hope..>>> The woman said, and showed to be putting something into Artoo, probably the thing that Luke just dislodged. “So, who is she?”
Luke sat up. “My sister, Leia..”
….

The Doctor’s eyes popped open, and looked around. He was still here, in the Courtyard of the Lars Homestead. The Time Lord took to his feet, spanking the blanket out, and folded it carefully into a square. Not that he had expected to be anywhere else, but at least the Matrix hadn’t altered around him, which would have been extraordinary. Taking the key from his pocket, he tucked the blanket under his arm and entered the TARDIS. The sound that greeted him brought a smile to his face. “Well, Hello old girl. Feeling better are we?” and patted the Console lovingly. Tossing the blanket onto the floor, he began to turn the knobs and levers, bringing the temporal engine on line. He was rewarded with the rhythmic Thrumming of the Time Rotor. After listening a few moments, he reset the controls to their previous positions. He stood there for a few more moments, deep in thought. The TARDIS had enough energy to return to their own reality, but he had not point of reference. His commune with the Matrix was fruitless, as the time line was skewed, badly skewed. It was almost as if there had been a Paradox, which was causing the time stream to forge itself over and over repeatedly. The Matrix on Gallifrey was gone, which was true enough, but there was something that he had communed with. There were other TARDISes, but they were hidden. It was like the Time Vortex was blocked, or re routed. Before they went anywhere, it would have to be unblocked.

The door of the TARDIS opened, and Raisa entered. She smiled tiredly at the Doctor, and yawned. “Good morning to you too, sunshine..” He said. “You’ve been up all night?”

She nodded, “Yeah, With Luke. He was working on Artoo for ages..” and leaned on the console. “So, how’s your patient, Doctor.” The Time Lord smiled. “Oh, she’s going to be just fine. There’s some other little problems that we have to look into, but soon enough, we should be winging our way back to where we belong.” He stated. “Now we just have to find out what the problem is.” Raisa looked up at him. “Its not the TARDIS itself?”

“No, it’s something else..” The Doctor stated, and looked up at the young woman. “But we will find it, and we will sort it out.” Raisa shook her head. “It’s not me I’m worried about.” She said. “Its Luke. You and I, we could just stay out of the way, but that doesn’t seem to be his style.. I mean, They hunt Jedi here..”


“..Which isn’t what you should worry about, Raisa.” Luke said as he entered the TARDIS. “I want you to stay with the Doctor while I look for Kenobi.” Luke was in his Brown Jedi Cloak, torn and shredded from the fire storm created by the super laser. “I will try to be back before nightfall.” The Doctor grinned wide. “You should probably put your cloak into the mender. Its back in the Wardrobe if your interested.” The Jedi shook his head. “I really shouldn’t wait too long before striking out.” He said. “Besides, I don’t want to put the TARDIS though any unnecessary power commitments.”

“Oh, She’ll be fine. We can move back into her now, actually. Considerably more roomy,” And motioned for them to follow him. Luke’s lip tightened, unmoving until Raisa pulled him, grabbing his hand. “C’mon. It won’t take long.” And the pair followed the Time Lord into the bowels of the TARDIS. Moving past the rooms that he had already seen inside the wondrous machine, they were led to single spiral staircase, which as they ascended it, an immense room filled with clothing, props and gear was before them. Tapani Noble fineries, Old Republic era dresses and some he had never imagined. “WOW…” was all that Raisa could get out, as she looked at the lines of couture. Luke shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger.” barely hiding a smile. The Doctor gave him a eyebrow up look. “Oh, right.. Sisters.”

“The Mender is over there.” The Doctor said, as he pulled a cloth long coat from one of the hangers, and put it on. “Feel free to dip into the stock, my esteemed Companions!” he said, with a bow. “And while you’re here, I have something for both of you..” and began looking though boxes, throwing objects onto the deck. Raisa hadn’t heard him, as she was now diving into the racks of clothing, a gleeful smile on her face. Luke simply chuckled, and poked around a bit, more out of curiosity than anything else. All of the costumes looked authentic, and some of it he was certain was worth a small fortune. In one of the racks, he found what appeared to be a head dress, possibly pre republic in origin. On the front, there were three Chrystal’s dangling. Touching it with his index finger, it could feel its properties in the force. “Are you going to add to your collection while were here, Doctor?” he asked, as he felt the crystals with the force, feeling that they may work..

“Can’t, We wouldn’t be able to take it beyond TARDIS Real World Interface.” He said, looking through another box. Luke looked over. “Real World Interface, What does that system do?” The Doctor stood, perplexed. “It’s the front door.” And felt around in his pockets. “AH!” and pulled out two objects on chains. “You’ll need these, in case you need to get into the TARDIS if I’m not around.” And tossed one to Luke. The Jedi caught it, giving it a once over. It was round, and made of some form of metal. On the back was a series of indentions which looked similar to images in the Jedi Archives of systems and planet indicators. “This is the Key to the Real World Interface?”

“Yeah, the front Door..” and tossed another towards Raisa’s direction. “Thanks!” her voice carried, still in the middle of the clothing racks. “Don’t lose them” The Doctor warned, and patted his pockets again, and pulled out some small candies. “Oh! Jelly Babies!” he said, his face skewed in disgust. “I don’t know what I saw in these..” and tossed them in the small trash bin near the bulkhead. Luke nodded. “Thank you Doctor, but I’m heading off. I need to find Kenobi, and the morning in burning away.” He said as he began up the spiral staircase. “Luke, Do you even know where to start looking..” The Doctor said, moving behind him. “Not really, but I figure I’ll start in Anchorhead. Like I said before, he has to get supplies.” The Doctor paused, and nodded. “A good plan, actually, well done!” and continued to follow. “And what are you going to tell him once you find him.”

“The Truth.” He said. “The Droids were looking for him, and I am ensuring that they got to him.” The Jedi said, as he walked past the Console, across the access ramp to the TARDIS Doors. “If nothing else, then Ill have to wing it.” He shrugged. The Doctor did a double take. “Wing it? With Obi Wan Kenobi? Are you Thick!” Luke smiled, “My sisters say that to me all the time. I just don’t see the point in planning such an interaction in this case. He will know..” and jumped as a tapping came from the doorway. Threepio could be heard outside “Sir! Master Luke! There are Stormtroopers approaching from the southeast.” Luke opened the door, and the two exited the TARDIS. “It was only a matter of time.” The Doctor stated. “Where are they now.”

Artoo whistled his answer, to which the Doctor nodded. “So, less than half a kilometer and the troopers on foot..“ He said. “Probably a patrol, then.” Luke looked at the Droids. “Go and hide inside, and go to low power, they may not be able to pick up you power signatures.” The Doctor nodded. “I should be able to keep them at bay, but if needed, can you do you Forcey bit on them, yeah?” he said, “cloud their minds or whatever you Jedi do.” Luke nodded.

“GOOD!” the Doctor said enthusiastically. “Shouldn’t be a problem, then. Stay down here if things go sour..”

………

Sergeant Nigazza pulled the Small Troop Landspeeder near the Lars Homestead, knowing that this would be yet another complete waste of time. Nigazza and his seven man squad from the 37th Mos Eisley Detachment have been searching the Jungland wastes for the past three days, ever since the troops from the 501st arrived, looking for a pair of droids. So far, nothing had been found, no sign of any droids, no sign of an escape pod. Exiting the Transport, Nigazza motioned for two of his troopers, Ruzzo and Neelan to follow. Most of the settlers around Anchorhead believed the Lars Homestead was haunted by the former owners. From what he had been led to believe, Others have attempted to squat there, and either wound up being found in the desert, sand blind and mad, saying that they saw their ghosts, or just were never seen again. Probably because they ran into the desert..

“::Do you believe the stories about this place, Sarge::” Ruzzo said, a bit of mirth in his voice. Nigazza shook his head. “::Quiet down, Ruzzo::” He retorted. “::We check it out, and off the next stop::”

“::Unless we see a ghost::” Neelan said, somewhat more serious. “::I’d love to see one, tell ya the truth::” as the trio approached the entrance. Both the Sergeant and Ruzzo simply shake their heads at their compatriot, as Nigazza reached for the door latch.

“Nothing down there, I’ve already checked.” A voice came from around the side of the above level garage. “Just a entire Load of nothing.”

The three Stormtroopers spun and pointed their blasters at the sound of the voice, and saw a human male, tall and thin, approaching them. “::Who are you, Identification..::”

The Tall man pulled a Identwallet from his pocket. “There you are” holding it at eye level to Nigazza, in a somewhat lax manner. The Sergeant peered at the Identification, and after a moment brought his weapon to a less threatening position. “::Yes sir::” the soldier saluted. “::Put your weapons down, men. He’s Imperial Intelligence with the 501st::” Nigazza stated, “::My apologies, sir. We weren’t expecting your people out in this area, since it was so far away from the main search area.::”

“No harm done, Sergeant, speaks well of your loyalty.” The Agent said, looking around at the transport a short distance away. “I was playing a hunch, and it turned out to be a complete waste of time.” He turned back to the troopers before him. “Have you turned up anything.”

“::No sir, nothing from our patrol. We’ve been executing a Zeta pattern from here to Mos Eisley.::” He said. “::More than probably, were not going to find anything on the way back either.::” and motioning to the Pit. “::How did you get out here?::” he asked. “::We didn’t see a speeder::”

“Came out on a swoop, which was acting up on me. I’m letting it cool down in the Garage.” The Agent said. The Sergeant shook his head. “::That’s rough, sir. If you like, you can ride back with us..::”

The Agent looked as though thinking, then shook his head. “I don’t think so, actually. I wanted to poke about a bit more, just for my own curiosity..”

Trooper Neelan spoke up “::Looking for the ghost’s as well, sir?::” causing the two other Stormtroopers to turn on him, The Agent smiled wide, “You got me, Trooper. I heard the Stories, and It peaked my curiosity.” Neelan took an almost pleased stance, with his compatriots simply shaking their heads. “::We’ll leave you to it, sir::” Nigazza stated, and motioned his fellow Stormtroopers to follow. “::Good Hunting, Sir..::” and headed towards the Transport..

The Doctor watched as the Troopers swooped off across the desert, giving a wave as they continued to shrink in the distance. That was rather easy, he thought as he turned to go back to the homestead before more came to investigate the area. This location was beginning to become uncomfortably crowded. The Time Lord began the short trek back to the Homestead, and as he walked, he had that rather familiar feeling at the back of his neck, like there small hairs prickling up, the feeling of being watched. The question was from where, as the desert stretched for miles, with nothing to use as cover. Reaching into his pocket, he kept his hand on the comfortable shape of his Sonic Screwdriver, an wondered if a blaster round would pierce his back..

Luke Skywalker watched from the exposed Garage on the surface, and sighed a sigh of relief as the Troopers sped off. The Doctor was now moving back towards the homestead’s entrance, back to safety. There was still something wrong, he knew. The Force told him this, as he watched the Doctor shoving his hand into his jacket pocket, and gripping something inside. It was a force presence, a practitioner of the Dark Side and whoever it was, was close. Too close.

Behind him..

Luke ducked under the Force Pikes blade, with only the snap-hiss as its only tell tale sign of its existence. The Jedi spun off the wall as the blade gashed deep into the sandstone, and faced his attacker. His opponent was wearing dark armor, and closely resembled the Republic Chancellery Guard’s ceremonial attire with the exception of its ebon coloration and red visor. The Darksider wore over the armor a simple black tabard, which flowed as he surged forward, the Force pike again slashing across where he would have stood had be not leapt to the attackers off hand side. Luke’s hand instinctively dropped to where the lightsaber would have been had he not lost it. To Defeat this Darksider, who was attacking with a high reach weapon, he would have to get inside the guard of that Lightsaber pike. He would have to be more aggressive. Luke bowed like the wind, using the Vhodda techniques learned from Master Yoda to avoid the Lightsaber pike again, a style learned from one of the Old Masters compatriots in his youth. The unarmed Combat style went well with Luke’s preferred Ataru, and lent well with Soresu. Each dodge of the Pike brought him closer to being able to strike as the Darksiders attacks became more aggressive, and much more powerful. Another slash gave Luke the opening he needed. The slash was angled to cut him off at the hips, To low to go under it, which left him to go over it. Flow like water gave him the advantage as leapt over the blade horizontally, and smashed the palm of his hand into the chest of the Darksider, and giving a strong, focused force push, blew the Darksider back into the garage, leaving a deep indention in the sandstone. It was apparent that the Darksider hadn’t expected an opponent with skill, or at least these skills. Luke released another brutal strike into the armor, again slamming the focused strike into the chest. His intention was to take the air from the Darksider, not kill him. This man had answers, to questions that he wasn’t sure he had formulated in his mind. Before Luke could throw another blow, the Darksider countered his own force push, not the strongest he had ever felt, but strong enough to push him away, out of striking range, and brought himself back to his feet.


There was a single, devastating drawback to Ataru was the exhaustion that followed. To a non force user, the amount of energy expended would be crippling, to one that used the force, it was tiring. Luke was getting tired, which in this case could be fatal. What was worse, the Armor was made to take such trauma inflicted nearly useless against it. This Darksider was designed to hunt Force Users..

To Hunt Jedi..

The Darksider reached out to him, and with a surge of dark energy, attempted to close his throat. Luke retaliated by allowing his throat to close, accepting the attack and extending his own hand, grasping his arm and twisting it until he heard the bone snap. Luke’s throat opened, allowing air once again to his lungs. The Darksider moved away, clutching his arm as Luke threw another force push at him again, this time slamming him into the garage wall again. The Darksider slumped to the ground, possibly exhausted, possibly unconscious. He was alive, and breathing heavily, but steadily. Luke reached out with the force, and pulled the Pike to him. In his peripheral vision, he could see the Doctor moving towards him, yelling something and holding out his stylus. The Time Lord was referring to something below him. Luke looked down..

A thermal detonator..

Luke lept away from it, using a force push to separate them further. The displacement of the air hit him first, followed by the molten sand and finally the heat of the blast. Luke was considerably more lucky than his opponent, who took the full blast of the grenade. The Young Jedi’s ears felt odd, as they rang as he rolled to a standing position. Across the desert a group of soldiers moved towards them, their weapons leveled at them. There were four of them, apparently some form of special operations troopers. Their armor was black, like the Darksider and appeared to be larger versions of the armor that the earlier troopers had worn. The Doctor was pulling him away from the soldiers, towards the Homestead. Blaster fire erupted around them, which should have been deafening though Luke could hear nothing else, He heard one thing..

“JEDI!”

Luke could tell the direction of the voice, and looked that way. A cloaked figure riding an Eopie rode at top pace towards them, and threw something into the air. Luke reached out with the force, and brought it to him...

A lightsaber, and more importantly, Anakin Skywalker’s Lightsaber was in his hand.

He ignited the lightsaber, its bright blue blade instinctively swinging to reflect the blaster fire. The troopers began to advance, taking slow steps towards them. Luke’s ears began to accept sounds again as one of them stumbled back, but did not fall. The Eopie rider rushed through the fire, brandishing his own Lightsaber, reflecting back the fire with uncanny skill, and repositioned himself next to Luke and the Doctor. The stranger was reflecting the blasts back into the Troopers, which seemed to absorb into the armor. “What are these things!” Luke yelled out, unable to do anything other than reflect the blasts. This wouldn’t last long, he knew. With the energy he had already expended, he was tired. Soon, he would make errors. Fatal Errors. The Stranger in the Shabby Jedi Cloak yelled over the din. “Their Combat Droids designed to Kill Jedi. They have to be destroyed before they switch to slug throwers” As he returned more blasts, impacting uselessly on the armor. Luke heard what he said, knowing that slug throwers were something that they couldn’t reflect and yelled. “Doctor?”


“Already working on it!” the Time Lord yelled as he recalibrated the Sonic Screwdriver yet again. Pushing the cowling back into place, the Doctor pointed the Screwdriver at the head of one of the troopers, the one he had decided was the lead. Thumbing the activation switch, the sonic bream activated the Thermal Detonator on the troopers belt. The grenade exploded a moment later, eliminating the trooper and knocking over the one closest to him. The Doctor chose another, as the two Jedi continued to return their blasts. Another Explosion and there was only two left, both recovering from the explosions. The Stranger leapt high in the air and landed on the one that was still off balance, inserting his own blue blade deep into the cranium of the Purge trooper. Luke took another tactic, and threw the lightsaber at the one that was standing fully, as a shoulder mounted weapon locked into place. The saber slashed through the neck of the trooper, the head tumbling off of the shoulders in a shower of sparks. It fell to its knees as Luke brought the lightsaber back to his hand and readied for another attack.

The Stranger turned off his own saber, and approached them. Luke turned off the saber, and held it at his side as the Doctor moved beside him. Both of the Interdimensional Travelers had a feeling whom this was, but was still surprised by the look of the man that approached them. Obi Wan Kenobi looked considerably older than their own, and much worn. His eyes looked tired, as though all hope had gone from them, but they could see there was still some life to them. Kenobi had the look that Luke was familiar as he stopped in front of them. “You’re not supposed to be here, Time Lord..” He said to the Doctor, and turning to Luke. “And you’ve been dead for some time…”

…………………..

Leia Organa, Junior Senator from Alderaan and a member of the Royal family sat in silence in the Detention Cell on board of the ISD Devestator. She was cold, icy cold as she reflected on what had transpired only a short time ago. Leia had never been tortured before, as she was certain most people hadn’t, especially at the Hands of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Leia looked down at her hand, still shaking as she remembered the horrendous pain of being burned, and how odd it was to see her hands whole, and unblemished. It had been so real. The Interrogation droid had injected the powerful hallucinogen into her body, and the Dark Lord took her through the journey that led her to this moment. The Monster had interrogated her incessantly about her involvement with the Alliance against the Empire, which she had been able to fend away, keeping her knowledge of the rebellion from the Sith Lord. Leia was still uncertain of how she had done it, but she had, she beat him. Now if she could keep her hands from shaking, Leia could put back her masques in place, showing nothing but the pillar of strength that’s expected of her. The Princess hugged herself, and doubled over, trying to keep from shivering.

There was a sound of the hatch cycling brought her up to the fully sitting position, and crossed her arms across her chest. The look of defiance once again took over her continance as the cell hatch opened. Into the cell stepped a tall young man, maybe a few years older than her nineteen years. She had to admit to herself that the man wore the imperial uniform of the Imperial Security Bureau well, and his bright green eyes worked well with his red hair and freckles. The Lieutenant closed the hatch behind him, which she could see two Imperial Stormtroopers waiting outside.

He gave a slight bow. “Your Highness” he started. “We are moving you to new Quarters onboard the DS-1 Orbital Battle Platform.” The officer said, in a low, somewhat forced Coruscant accent. “I will attempt to make the transfer as painless as possible.” From his belt, he pulled a set of binders and motioned her to stand. Leia stood, and turned around. “Is that where I’m to be executed?” she asked rather curtly. The Officer placed the binders on her wrist, but brought her hands in front of her, and attached the second. “That will depend on how the Grand Moff receives you.” The officer said. “I would hope that you will be reasonable, and not provoke an unfortunate incident.” Gripping her arm in a gentle, yet firm manner, and Opening the cell hatch, the officer led her through the passageways of the Devestator, followed by the pair of Stormtroopers. “So, which Moff am I being presented to.” She said simply. The officer shook his head, and smiled. “Grand Moff Harld Saxxon.” He replied, just as simply. Leia nodded, knowing the name all too well. He was called the Mad Moff by in the outer rims, and deservedly so. There was a long list of horrors that he had inflicted on the galaxy as a high ranking officer in the Imperial Intelligence before he was promoted to Sector Governor. She would have to be cautious around this man. “So, your under his command, then.” Leia said, keeping her eyes forward.

The Officer nodded. “Indeed, Your Highness. I have been under his command for the last three years, and was appointed his personal aide last year.” He stated proudly. “I was leant to Lord Vader for this current situation, but I am looking forward to returning to my regular station.” and added. “Though, I must admit, I find working for Lord Vader enlightening.” He stated, a bit of mirth in his voice.

“So your learning to Torture, burn people out of their houses, destroy lives?” she said. “I can see where that could be enlightening.” The officer shook his head, “Something much more important, your highness. I am learning true loyalty. The Dark Lord appreciated those who are Loyal Imperials..” he said, and then more quietly “which doesn’t necessarily mean loyalty to the Emperor, but to the Empire, and her peoples.” Glancing at her, he concluded “I’m certain that you can understand my meaning.”
Did this officer just admit to her that he was an insurrectionist? There had been talk of a fifth column within the Empire, but she had only thought of them as misdirection’s, or Ill truths. Was the Dark Lord an insurrectionist as well? “I certain I don’t know what you mean, Officer..” she said. “My apologies, Lieutenant, what was your name?”

“Zephre..” He told her. “Joklyn Zephre. A loyal Imperial Officer.” He stated as the quartet entered the docking bay of the Devestator. Zephre took the princess to the Lambda Class Shuttle sitting on the Launch point. Turning to the Stormtroopers, he ordered. “Make certain that she is made comfortable. Secure, but comfortable.” The troopers saluted, and took her inside, leaving Zephre at the ramp. Turning from the shuttle, Lt. Zephre walked to one of the small passages across from the shuttle, and waited only a short time before the steady mechanical breathing of Darth Vader could be heard. Zephre went to attention as the Dark Lord approached him. “I salute you, My Lord” the officer said, giving a tight bow. The dark lord motioned him to stand and follow. “Were you successful, Lieutenant?” Vader asked as he approached the shuttle. “Seeds are planted, My Lord. I do hope they were successful, but only time will tell.” The officer told him truthfully.


“Your confidence seems to have wavered, Lieutenant. Perhaps my confidence will waver as well in your abilities to coerce the rebels primary base from her.” The Dark Lord threatened. Zephre nodded. “And well within your rights, my Lord. Her intellect is remarkable, which will make her more difficult to crack, but unfortunately, there is no other way using this method. There is the possibility that her Highness will see through my Charms, and pull away from me. If this is the case, then there will be no way to get information from her in this manner. In her mind, I have hinted that I am involved with the Fifth Column, as well as yourself.”

Vader stopped, which prompted Zephre to do likewise. “You have indicated me with the fifth column?” The Dark Lord said, in an incredulous tone. Zephre shook his head slightly as he answered. “I simply made a statement, and allowed the Princess to come to a conclusion.” He stated. “If she assumes from what was said that you are part of the fifth Column, then that is her error. If we get the information that is needed, then it worked most well.” Vader stopped at the end of the ramp. “A dangerous game you are playing with the Princess Leia Organa, Lt. Zephre. One, that if you succeed, will bring you considerable prestige within the inner circles of the Empire.” And pointed at the young man. “If you fail, you will explain your case to the emperor himself.”

Zephre nodded. “Understood, My Lord Vader.” He stated. “I have no intention of failing…”

……………..

<<<…Help me Obi Wan Kenobi.. You’re my only hope..>>> the Hologram of Leia Organa stated as she apparently was interrupted, and placed something inside the droid. Old Ben considered the hologram as he was watched by Luke, Raisa and the Doctor. The entire message mentioned Bail Organa, not by name, but by meaning. Leia Organa had grown into an impressive young woman. A young woman who was in great peril, the aging Jedi Master knew. What was confusing to him was the people who was now surrounding them. All of them dead in some manner or another. Luke Skywalker was killed some seven years prior, during an attack from Water Bandits. The girl Raisa killed herself a short time ago, at least a year or so. The Last was the Time Lord. The Doctor disappeared during the early days of the Clone Wars, after informing the Jedi Council that he had to return to Gallifrey. He had explained that there was a conflict with the Daleks which required his attention, and never returned. Since that day, there had been no more appearances of the Time Lords. They were just.. gone. It was quite a conundrum. Their story was fantastic at best, but not unbelievable. He certainly wouldn’t have put any stock in it if Ben hadn’t seen the TARDIS.. The Troopers had indeed been Droids of some form or another, the mechanical Purge Troopers, which seemed to bring some relief to the Doctor. Luke had taken them inside the Garage, and locked it tight. The Darksider hadn’t been as lucky, having been caught up in the explosion of the Thermal Detonator. The Burnt body was wrapped up, and likewise placed in the garage. The Lightsaber pike had been destroyed with its master, so they wrapped it up with its owner.

“What do you know about the woman in the Hologram, Luke.” Old Ben said, motioning to him. Luke leaned forward. “That’s my Sister, Leia Skywalker, a Jedi Padawan under Master Tano, or at least that’s how I know her.”

The Doctor interjected. “She is apparently not that here, is she Ben.” He said, leaning back. “What happened here.”

Ben shook his head. "A Sith Apprentice calling himself Darth Vader brought about the destruction of the Jedi Knights, including your father. Your Mother Padme was likewise killed, but not before she gave birth to your analog and Leia. You were separated so to not be found by the Emperor and Vader. Leia was raised by Bail Organa as his Daughter, and you were brought here to be raised by the Lars. I remained to keep an eye on you, and I failed.” He said, in a matter of fact tone. “The Last Hope of the Galaxy, at least this one, is Princess Leia Organa..”

“Then we need to go get her, right?” Raisa said, holding her chin in her hand. “I mean, if she’s the last hope and all..”

Kenobi smiled. “Just so.” He said. “The Plans she mentioned must take precedence, however. We must get this Droid to Alderaan, to Bail Organa, as quickly as possible. We will need to hire a ship to take us there.” He stated. “Our best bet will be Mos Eisley Spaceport..” and looked at the Doctor. “Unless the TARDIS is capable of taking us?”

The Doctor shook his head. “The TARDIS is still finding her bearings, it’ll be a bit of time before she will be able to move..”

Luke stood. “Then Mos Eisley it is..”

“Mos Eisley Spaceport, You’ll never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy..” Ben Kenobi said, standing on the bluff overlooking the sprawling Starport complex. It was no more than a hour away now, as it had been two days travel from the Lars Homestead. The Doctor moved next to the Aged Jedi Master. “Yeah.. It’s completely brilliant!” he said, his wide grin showing his excitement. “It’s so Alive!”

Ben made a face as he looked at the Time Lord. “I was going to say we need to be cautious.” The Doctor pursed his lips. “Oh, yes.. Of course..” and unable to keep his grin at bay, broke into the amused look again. Kenobi simply shook his head, and turned back to the speeder. Luke and Raisa had taken the Swoop, and had taken a separate route to Bestine the first night, meeting the Doctor and Kenobi at the Travelers’ Aide Society Hostel. The four of them had taken turns sleeping in the dorm style rooms, and keeping an eye on the droids as well as each other. The TA hostel wasn’t in what would be called a good neighborhood in Bestine’s capital, but they weren’t troubled, and were able to strike out early. Again, they took separate routes, to ensure that they wouldn’t look like a convoy. During the Trip, Kenobi had filled in some of the blanks that he was missing from the Clone Wars that it had ended four years earlier than it had in the Doctors dimension. The Jedi related the last time that he saw the Doctor, when he met the Jedi Council and informed them that he was being called back to Gallifrey, that there was an issue with the Dalek Empire. From then on, there was never another sign of the Time Lords in the Galaxy.

Luke and Raisa pulled up on the Swoop, and pulled the goggles from his eyes. “We had to avoid some Patrols moving to the east, it was pretty close too, but we got past.” He said as he stepped off of the bike, pulling down the balaclava and Sand poncho he pulled from the TARDIS wardrobe. Raisa had likewise pulled a Poncho, goggles, as well as a balaclava for the ride, and little else. This had surprised Luke, after seeing how excited she had been with the giant wardrobe. She was still wearing the Tatooine chic attire, right down to the wrap boots. She hadn’t offered an explanation, and he felt it best not to mention it. Perhaps there was nothing that fit. “Did you have any problems?”

The Doctor shook his head. “Not a bit. Straight line all the way.” and turned back to the view of Mos Eisley. Raisa moved forward. “So, that’s Mos Eisley..” she said, a slight smirk on her face, watching the activity. “Its huge.” The Doctor leaned towards Ben. “Do you want to tell her the Scum and Villainies bit?” Kenobi gave the Time Lord a second look, and got back into the speeder. “No, really; It was a great line” and moved around towards the driver’s seat. Luke kneeled next to Kenobi’s side of the speeder. “Master Kenobi, Thank you for the loan,” As he pulled the lightsaber from the hook on his side. Ben shook his head. “Please, Keep it. It was your fathers, after all.” And smirked. “Well, your analogs father, but still it stays in within the family.” Luke smiled. “Actually, It should go to Leia. I can’t take it with me when we leave.”

Kenobi nodded. “Just so, but I have a feeling you will need it far before she will. You can present it to her when you feel the time comes, and make good use to it until then.” He said, pushing it back to him. Luke nodded, and reclipped it to the belt loop. “So what’s the plan.” He asked.

“Quite simple. We get past the check points, and meet at Chalmans Cantina.” The old Jedi said. “We should be able to find a pilot to take us to Alderaan from there.” He stated. “We will need to sell the Speeders for capital, I’m afraid.” Kenobi crossed his arms. “We must keep a low profile, however. Those hunters were looking for Force users, so you must keep the Force in check. No extraneous exhibitions of your abilities.” He stated sternly. Luke nodded. “I shouldn’t have a problem, Master. “

“Ben.” He said. “My name is Ben..” Kenobi looked hard at Luke. “It has been for many years, and I would prefer that you use it, rather than Master, or Obi Wan, or any other affectation.” Luke nodded. “I understand..” he paused, nearly missing the cue. “..Ben.” Kenobi patted his arm. “Well done. Now, mount your Swoop, and let’s get underway..” Luke nodded, and stood. “C’mon Raisa, were moving..” Ben closed the hatch of the speeder, and the Doctor looked back at the droids. “Your both ready?”

“Oh yes sir, we are both secured.” Threepio stated, and translated Artoo’s binary. “Artoo is looking forward to no longer being in such an awkward position.” The Doctor smiled wide. “It shouldn’t be too much longer, just till we get to Mos Eisley.” And brought the speeder around, and began making the Journey towards the Space Port. “So, Ben..” The Doctor began. “It wasn’t water bandits that killed the Lars family, was it.” He said, looking over towards the old man. Kenobi looked back at him. “Let’s just say the Emperor has a very long reach.” He said simply, and remained quiet. The Doctor nodded. It was apparently a difficult subject for the aging Jedi, and the Doctor could approach the subject at another time.

That was long enough..

“The Emperors long arms must have know where the children were put, or at least had some clue.” He probed. “Perhaps there was something that tipped off his hunters..” glancing at Old Ben. Kenobi sighed. “Placing the boy here was an error, a terrible error.” He began. “I had found a young man in the desert, near death buried in the sands. I collected him, and took him back to my Hut, but unfortunately, he passed on. I had found that he was from Mos Eisley, according to his identification, and returned the body back to his family. It was then that I first felt the tremors, and left strait away. When I arrived, what I had feared had come true, and all of them were dead.” He said, looking at the Time Lord. “I felt horrible rage, such anger that I hadn’t felt before.”
“What did you do, Ben..” The Doctor asked, knowing the answer. Kenobi looked out of the window, watching the sand pass by. “I killed them all, except one. He had been hired by a Black Armored man, wearing a life support suit to direct the bandits to the Lars Homestead. I later found it to be Darth Vader, the Sith who had destroyed the Jedi Order.” He paused. “And then I killed him..” The Doctor nodded. “Anakin Skywalker.” The Time Lord said. “He is one of the nexus points in galactic history.”

Ben nodded. “Indeed.” He said. “After that, I pulled myself in completely, cut myself off from the Force and remained a hermit. I didn’t open myself up again until only a few days a go, when I sensed Luke’s presence.” He smiled. “I had thought, finally, there was a new hope.” and looked back at the Doctor. “Do you know what happened to the Time Lords?”

“Oh yes..” The Doctor said, a haunted look in his eyes. “I know..”

…..


The Swoop made its way to Mos Eisley Spaceport, moving it steadily towards the New Quarter Entrance, and the beginning of Dune Street. As Luke and Raisa entered the City Limits, before them was the wreckage of the Dowager Queen, a major landmark on the street, and would allow them to reach Chalmans fairly quickly. Last time Luke was on this street, it was night, and he had fought with four Daleks. He was hoping that this Dune Street wouldn’t also be a combat area. “Looks like were clear!” Raisa said into Luke’s ear, “I don’t see any Troopers.” Luke nodded, and continued on through the street. “It looks like there aren’t any Checkpoints on this Street. We got lucky..” and slowed the swoop down to a more conservative speed for the busy streets. The Star Port itself was alive with activity, with vessels coming in and leaving, probably taking cargo’s throughout the galaxy. Some would be legal, some wouldn’t.

Luke pulled the force into himself, essentially hiding his presence in it, just in case that the Hunters were still looking for them. He doubted that the ones that attacked them at the homestead was the only ones that were here. They were probably looking for Ben Kenobi, since he had been here since Luke was born. It was hard to believe that no one, within this Empire, had not found him in all that time. He only had to assume that it was Kenobi that warned him about the Hunters. He cleared his mind, better to think of this later.

One thing was obvious, though. Mos Eisley was still Mos Eisley. It was a place of Ill repute, where you kept one hand on your money pouch, and one on your Blaster. A sudden pounding on his arm caught his attention. “What Wrong?”

“Pull Over!” she yelled, and he brought the Swoop off the road. With his hand on the Lightsaber, he turned. “What is it? What…” and looked to where Raisa was pointing.
At the side of the street was a Blue CORSEC Box, out of the way, in a small ally. Raisa got off the Swoop, and ran over to it, with Luke following behind. “What’s it doing here?” she said. “I didn’t think it could be moved.” Luke shook his head. “Probably didn’t want to leave it at the Homestead.” He said. “Besides, it may not be the TARDIS.” She turned, and opened her shirt partially, showing her TARDIS Key, between her breasts. It had a slight glow to it. “See!” She said. “Its glowing and vibrating.” Luke checked his own, which was resting against his undershirt. It was indeed vibrating. “Ok, it’s the TARDIS” and pulled his comm. “Doctor, can you hear me?”

The Doctors voice came over the Comm. <<Hello! Nice to hear from you..>> the voice said. <<Are you already at Mos Eisley?>>

“Yeah, were here, and so is the TARDIS..” Luke told him. “Did you move it?”

<<<Nope, did that all on her own. I told TARDIS to find a safe spot to hide..>>>

“Well, the TARDIS succeeded” He said. “By the way, Dune Street is clear of Troops. You shouldn’t have a problem getting into Mos Eisley.”

<<Were going to need capital. Go and sell the Swoop, and meet us at Chalmans, snoop around a bit, yeah?>> there as a pause. <<< Ben says Hi!>> the Doctor said.

“Understood.. on our way,” and closed off the mic. “The Doctor is getting close, and he knows about the TARDIS.” And put it back into its pouch. Raisa nodded, and followed Luke back to the Swoop. It was idling on the street, where they had left it, though there were a few Jawas standing around the Zephyr-G, caressing it. “Hey, its not scrap.. Not for sale.”

The Jawa’s moved off, still looking at the Swoop.. “Pretty!” They said, and moved off towards another piece of scrap. Luke and Raisa remounted the swoop, and headed off down Dune Street, remembering from the night on Tatooine that he and Galen arrived. They had passed a Used Speeder Lot, near the Spaceport. Seemed as good a place as any to sell the old repulsorlift, he thought as he searched the area. Granted, there was no way of knowing whether the same establishes would be here in this reality, but he could hope. “Do you know where were going?” Raisa said into is ear. He glanced back. “Were looking for the used speeder lot Galen and I saw when we arrived on Our Tatooine. It should be close to here.”

“It’s a pity we have to sell this thing, it’s a fun ride!” She said, and from her voice, Luke could tell she was smiling. Luke smirked “I love swoops, their a blast.” And saw the Spaceport Speeders sign. He angled the swoop into the used speeder lot..

The Speeder carrying the Doctor, Ben and the droids entered the City limits of Mos Eisley Spaceport, and turned onto Dune Street. “From what Luke had said, this street was clear of Stormtroopers..” The Doctor said, completing the turn onto the main street. Before them, there was a group of ten Stormtroopers, with heavy weapons and were in the process of checking vehicles as they entered the city. “It would appear that young Skywalker was wrong.” Ben said, as it was now their turn.

>>Identification<< the Stormtrooper said simply, his voice coming through the vocoder. The Doctor brought out his Identwallet, and showed the Trooper the Psychic paper. “Hello!” he said, a broad smile on his face. “Fine day to be stopped at a checkpoint!” he said, leaning out of the window. The Stormtrooper handed him back the Wallet. >>Where’d you come from?<<

“Bestine. Lovely place, really.” The Doctor said, looking at his fingernails. “You should look into it out during your next Furlough.” And picked his teeth. The Stormtrooper’s helmet showed no interest in what the Time Lord was saying. >>How long have you had these Droids<< the Stormtrooper asked. The Doctor smiled “Oh, for a very long time, since..” and broke from that thought. “Well.. A good amount of time, really..” he said. “Is there a problem?”

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for..” Kenobi said to the trooper.

The Stormtrooper nodded. >>There aren’t the droids were looking for..<<
“We can carry on with our business..” Kenobi said again, In an even tone.

>>Carry on..<< The Stormtrooper stated, motioning them through. The Doctor smiled. “Have a nice day, Trooper,” and moved away from the check point. The Doctor looked to the old man “I would have gotten through, you know. I had them RIGHT where I wanted them.” Ben nodded tiredly. “Of Course, but we are on a time constraint.” The Jedi said. “We should make our way to Chalmans Cantina, with great haste.” He stated. “Hopefully, Luke was able to find some likely Candidates.”

They pulled the speeder up near the Cantina, and exited the vehicle. Kenobi looked into the back of the speeder. “Remain in the speeder, and keep the hatches locked.” He said, and closed the door. “It’s a pity that the speeder doesn’t have Polarizing Windscreens.”

The Doctor pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his coat pocket, and after turning a knob, directed it at the Speeder. The high pitched sound from the Screwdriver resonated the air around them, as the windscreen of the Speeder darkened, completely obscuring the interior. Once he got it to the darkest he could, he switched it off, and looked at Kenobi, and grinned wide. The Jedi simply rolled his eyes, and entered into the Cantina. The Doctor turned, and followed him with a slightly frustrated look on his face. He could at least act impressed he thought as he entered the relative cool of the establishment, behind the Jedi Master. “You have to admit, that was pretty impressive!” Kenobi looked over his shoulder, with a slight smile. “Of course it was..” and continued, much like someone would tell a small child “Your scribbles look exactly like our Daggit, Mr Fluffypants. I’ll place it right on the Refrigerator” and entered the throng of patrons. The Doctor pursed his lips, Oh, I will impress you, he thought to himself and took up behind Kenobi. “I don’t see the youngsters.” He said simply. The Doctor shook his head. “No.. No I don’t.” as they moved up to the bar. Kenobi raised a finger to the bartender, who nodded, and brought over two large drinks. The Doctor was pleased to find it was simply Water.

“I’m going to go poke around a bit, see if I can find them somewhere in here.” The Doctor said, to which Kenobi nodded. “Excellent, I will look for a pilot that will suit our needs.” And moved off. The Doctor likewise moved into the crowd, and began looking for his Companions. Perhaps they had returned to the TARDIS, but thought better of that, since they had stated that they would attempt to sell the swoop first. That’s where they must be. At least he hoped. Sipping the water, he moved across to an empty side of the bar. He recognized several of the Spacers in the cantina, as their Analogs had been members of the Tatooine Regulars, who had fought the Daleks. Through the crowd, he spied one he knew particularly well. The Corellian, Han Solo, the man who had taken charge of the Defense of the Starport, and in the Time Lords opinion, was solely responsible for the safety of the City. The Corellian was sitting with a young woman, his arm around her and downing a shot of something that looked noxious.
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, the Doctor thought and began moving towards the booth where the Corellian sat.

There was a empty chair across where he was sitting, which the Doctor took. “Hello there” he said, a wide smile on his face and plopping down into the chair. The Corellian raised an eyebrow. “No, please.. Have a seat.” He said sarcastically. The Doctor smiled broader. “Thanks, so much..” and leaned back in the chair. “You’re the Captain of the Millennium.. Um..” he said, trying to remember the name of the ship. He should have let Solo finish his sentence. Solo, however, completed his thought. “Falcon. Yeah.” He snarled. The Doctor snapped his fingers. “Right!” and continued. “You’re for Hire, yeah?”

Solo’s tone changed, as he leaned forward and removed his arm from the pretty woman. “You missed me by a few hours, friend. Sorry.” He said. “Maybe you should look somewhere else..” and leaned back. The Doctor nodded. “Well, that’s rather unfortunate, since I have a really REALLY large bag of Money..”

THe Corellian raised an eyebrow. “Big Bag of Money?” he said.. “How big of a Bag.”

“Oh, Its huge..” The Doctor smiled “Its.. Well.. “ he suddenly thought. “Its pretty good sized..” and then continued, making a shape with his hands. “About this big..” Solo considered a moment, making the same shape with his own hands, and expanded it. “Maybe, this big?”

The Doctor suddenly felt a sudden pang of regret, and made a much smaller shape. “More like this..” Solo leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “That’s a little too small, especially if I would have to reneg on my current assignment. Sorry..” he said, and cutting his hand across his throat. “Can’t Help you..” The Doctor himself leaned back. “Then maybe you can point me towards someone who can help me.” He asked, mimicking the Corellians pose, crossing his legs and dusting off his Trainers. Solo nodded. “Ok, cuz if nothing else, your entertaining.” He said, and pondered a moment. “How about Remmas Quinn.. He’s a good..” and paused, looking towards the door. The Doctor looked in that direction. A Human Spacer was being dragged out of the Cantina, completely plastered. The Doctor turned back to Solo. “Let me guess, that’s Quinn”

Solo nodded. “Yeah..” he stated, and looked thoughtful again. “You might want to look up Devon Vos.” He said, leaning forward. “He’s the Captain of the Infinity’s End. Devon’s a stand up guy, and he could use a big bag of money right about now..” and looked off towards a back table. “He’s at the end booth, in the corner. Tell him I mentioned you..” The Doctor nodded, “Clear Skies, Solo..” he said smiling and stood. Solo said, as if an afterthought. “Who pointed you to me in the first place..” he asked. The Doctor made an offhand wave into the crowd, “That fellow over there.. the Human,” and turned towards the direction that Solo had sent him, leaving the Corellian with the woman. The Doctor saw Kenobi in the crowd, and motioned to him. The Jedi moved towards him, though the crowd and met near the entrance. “I think we have a good Candidate for charter..” The Doctor said. Ben nodded. “Excellent. My own inquiries ended fruitlessly.” and regarded the Time lord. “Is he here in the Cantina, or at the Starport.”

The Doctor motioned towards the back corner. “Should be that gentleman there. He Came with a high reference, in fact. His name is Devon Vos.” To which he began moving towards the Booth. The Man that sat there was another Corellian, the Doctor noted and wore his hair long, tied into a high tail. One of his most obvious features was his eyes as they were a very unique color of green, which had the look of someone who had seen much in his life. Kenobi nodded, and began approaching the booth, followed by the Doctor. The man looked up as they got to the table. The Doctor gave the man a smile as Kenobi began “Captain Vos?” the old man asked. The man nodded, as Kenobi continued. “We have a business deal for you, if you’re interested.”

“Have a seat.” Vos said, motioning to he rounded seating area. Kenobi took the seat, and the Doctor grabbed an unused chair at another table. “You have me and an advantage, friend. I don’t remember meeting you before. How do you know me?” It was the Doctor’s turn to speak. “Captain Solo from the Millennium Falcon suggested you, said you’re a stand up guy.” He said, mirroring Solo’s words. Kenobi nodded. “Indeed.” He said. “We are looking to charter your ship, for a one way trip to Alderaan.” Vos nodded. “I see, what we are taking to Alderaan.” He asked. The Doctor leaned forward. “Four total, plus two droids.” He said, looking up, as if calculating. “About 535kg of weight, hardly anything.” Vos looked at the him. “How.. Exact.” He stated. “What can I call you.” Kenobi smiled. “You can call me Ben,” and looked at the Doctor. The Time Lord grinned, “Smythe..” he said. “Doctor Smythe, but most just call me the Doctor.” Vos nodded. “Fair enough, and the other ones, the 54kg and the 81kg? the rest I’m assuming are the Droids..”

The Doctor grinned. “Oh, I like him!” he said, looking at Ben. The Jedi simply clasped his shoulder. “Indeed.” Ben nodded. “ We are also looking to avoid answering unnecessary Questions.” The Corellian nodded. “That’s going to depend on who’s asking those questions. I don’t like secrets.” He said, and leaned back into the seat. Kenobi quirked an eyebrow. “Your an honest man. Quite refreshing this day and age,” And smiled “Were more interested in avoiding Imperial Question, if you take my meaning.” Vos looked up. “I can understand that, but I like to know what I’m getting into.” He stated. “Avoiding the Empire isn’t easy, or cheap.” And thought. “twelve thousand, plus whatever damage is incurred to my ship.”
“Fair enough. “ Kenobi stated. “Half up front is preferred, but I’ll take four.” And his attention seemed to be diverted to the bar. “That.. wouldn’t be your 54kgs, would it?”

Kenobi looked over his shoulder, and sighed. It was Raisa, at the bar getting dragged towards the door by a very ugly human on one arm, followed by an Aqualish male. The Doctor stands, as does Kenobi and began to move. “Wait.” Vos said, calmly. “Here comes your 81kgs.”

….

“These gents bothering you, Raisa?” Luke said, blocking their path to the Cantina’s back entrance. The Human smiled. “You should mind your business, Boy.. We have the death sentence on twelve systems.” and motioned for the Aqualish to move forward, whose hand on a blaster on his hip. The Ugly human had a long vibro blade pressed hard in her side. The Human had walked with a pronounced limp, which was brought about from Raisa, Luke felt. He glanced between the two. “She is my business, friend.” He said. “Let her go.” He said, his eyes not wavering in the slightest. The question was, what would he do? The Lightsaber would be too obvious, and he couldn’t guarantee that he could avoid harm to her. Narrowing his eyes, he got an impression of what he wanted with the young woman from the Human.

There really wasn’t a choice, was there..

Over the sounds in the bar, he could hear the bartender yell “NO BLASTERS!”

“You want to let her go, and leave without incident..” he said, in a calm voice, giving a slight point to the human with his forefinger. The Ugly Human shook his head. “I want to..” and shook his head, and snarled. “You’ll be dead! Je..” was all he could get out, as the blue blade from the lightsaber flashed for a second in his hand, and the human dropped to the ground with a perfect hole in his forehead, releasing Raisa and the Vibroblade. Raisa moved quickly to Luke’s side, opposite of the other sentient as the Vibroblade flew to Luke’s hand. The Aqualish leveled the blaster at him, and found his arm pinned on the bar by the Vibroblade. The Aqualish howled in pain, and pulled on the knife. The Jedi grabbed the Aqualish by the coat collar, and pulled him close. “I’m going to pull the blade out, and you’re going to leave..” He said, in an even tone. “IF you hurry, you may be able to find someone to stop the bleeding..” and pulled the blade free. The Aqualish clutched his speared hand to his chest, and ran out the back, the same direction that he was taking Raisa. Luke looked around, to see if either of the sentients had associates who would want revenge.

Apparently not, Luke thought as Chalmans once again took on the festive mood as the band returned to their instruments. Luke picked up the Pistol, and put it into the back of his belt. He turned to Raisa, in his more characteristic demeanor. “Are you alright?” She nodded, staring at the body of the human. “They walked up, and the human said that I looked like a likely candidate,” as Luke led her away from the remains. “Were they slavers?.” Luke nodded, still able to recall the Humans intentions. “Yeah,” he fibbed, knowing that the whole truth would do more harm than good in this case. She would defiantly be for sale, or rather her organs. Raisa looked up at him. “They were going to kill me, weren’t they..” she said simply, as Luke looked down at her, about to speak as the Doctor clasped Lukes shoulder. “We found a ship..” and looked at Raisa. “Are you alright?” concern showing in his eyes.

She nodded silently, still shaken. The Gallifreyan led them to the back table, where Kenobi and a Corellian were sitting. Luke recognized him, from the Tatooine Regulars. He didn’t remember the man’s name, but he remembered that Solo utilized him as one of his second in commands during the battle. Old Ben gave Raisa a reassuring shoulder squeeze as they sat. Vos looked at Luke. “You did the Galaxy a favor by getting rid of Dr. Evezan, Jedi.” The Corellian said to the young man, who seemed startled that the man knew what he was. “He would have had your girl friend sliced up and sold on the market before the end of the day.” And looked at Ben. “I told you I don’t like secrets, Master Jedi..”

Raisa looked at him, her eyes wide. “Sliced up?” her lips tightening. Vos nodded. “Cornelius Evazan was a Ripper Doc, and an Organlegger. He has a long line of bodies in his wake, and a large bounty on his head.” He said, motioning towards where the body was.. “I’m sure someone in Chalmans will be considerably richer by the end of the day.” And leaned back. “His buddy Ponda is basically a thug, who watched his back.” And looked at Luke. “That’s the guy who you stuck to the table.” Luke nodded, saying nothing. The Corellian leaned back forward onto the table. “You have yourself a ship. You can find the Infinity’s End at Docking bay 61, on the east side. I would suggest that you keep a low profile..”

Ben nodded. “Of course, Captain. We shall be there by the end of the day.. “ and stood, motioning to the group to stand. “I have no doubt that out arrangements will take no longer than that..” and with that, the group left, leaving Vos alone at the Table. After a few minutes, an older man sat across from Vos, holding a tankard. “Interesting people you come across..” he said. Vos smiled. “Tell me about it,” downing the last of his drink. “Those Jedi Knights are taking a big risk showing themselves. What’s your take on it, Draven..” Professor Artemis rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble. “The Old Jedi looks familiar, but I can’t place him right now. The Boy is probably his apprentice, trained in secret to keep the Empire out of their business.” With that he looked up at Devon Vos. “Speaking of Business..”

Vos nodded, and reached under the table, and pulled up a medium size soft satchel. “Got it right here, Professor,” He said with a smile. “Wasn’t easy to get, mind you. The Tapani Royal who had it wasn’t really thrilled to give it up.” With that, passed it across the table. Artemis smiled, and opened it carefully. “Oh, that’s beautiful..” and looked up. “Jedi Holocrons are rare at best.. This one looks completely intact.” Devon leaned back. “Completely Intact. Lady Paladon had kept it under plasteel on display in her bedrooms.” He said, smirking. Artiemis looked at him, quizzically, but the Infinity’s Ends captain gave him a look of ‘don’t ask.’ THe Professor nodded, and tucked the satchel under his arm. “Well, I should bet this out of here, before someone decides that its worth something. If you get the chance, find out more about the Jedi Master, and the kid. I’d love to get the opportunity to talk to him at length.” Devon nodded. “I can do that,” as the Professor stood. Artemis exited Chalmans, with a large Human falling into step behind him. Vos knew that his mentor and friend would be alright with Biss Camzatora with him. Draven Artemis would have been alright in any case, and in his youth, had been considered physically formidable. Now, he was just highly capable!

Chuckling, Devon left the tankard, and exited Chalmans. It was time to get the Infinity’s End ready for take off..

“You had little choice, Luke.” Kenobi told the young Jedi. “Had you not dealt with Evazan, Raisa and a good number of other people would be dead, their organs being sold to disreputable buyers.” Luke nodded, but still unconvinced. “My Father wouldn’t have approved. He had always said there was an alternative to taking a life, and it should never be taken lightly.” Kenobi smiled. “It sounds as if Anakin mellowed with age.” He said. “In his youth, he would have reacted similarly as you had. Did he train you?” He said, as they stood near the entrance of the Spaceport Speeders, where Luke had sold the Swoop. The Doctor and Raisa were dealing with the proprietor. The droids had been tucked into a unused storage bay, to keep them out of site from the Stormtroopers.

Luke smiled at the Old Jedi. He had gotten it through his head that this wasn’t the Grandmaster, and in fact, preferred this man to their his own. “I was trained by Master Yoda. In fact, I was his final Padawan, as he had planned to retire after I completed the trials.” He said, smiling at the remembrance. “My Father was forbidden from training his children. The three of us were trained by some of the finest in the Temple, though.” Kenobi grinned. “Three of you.. Well, well.”

“Yeah, I’m surrounded by Sisters.” He chuckled, as the Doctor and Raisa exited the lot. “Well, that’s done.” The Time Lord stated. Raisa smiled “We got a good price too! Almost eight thousand.” She said, nudging the Doctor. “He’s really good at Haggling!”

“Well,” The Time Lord Began, in mock modesty, “It’s really nothing. I’ve been doing it for some time..” and tossed the Cred Chip to Kenobi. “It should be enough to pay the Good Captain Vos.” Kenobi nodded. “Just So. We should make haste to the Captains vessel, as we should be on our way.” And with that, the Quartet moved off towards the Starport..

From the shadows, a hooded figure emerged. He moved along the walls and followed the four of them though the Starport..

……….

Leia Organa was being ushered though the monstrous battle station, under the watchfull gaze of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. The Young officer whom had taken her to the shuttle had not been present during the transfer from the Shuttle to where ever they were taking her presently. Where ever it was, it seemed to be very far into the Station. They had taken three lifts, and several stairways. Was this the battlestation? The one from the plans that she had sent to General Kenobi?

Was this the Death Star?

They approached a large Heavy power door, which oddly enough didn’t open strait away. The Dark Lord strode past her, and the two Stormtroopers that were holding her arms and hit the activation stud. The Heavy doors split, and slid up and down simultaneously, exposing a darkened room. The Stormtroopers moved her inside, and let go of her arms, turned and exited. She looked back over her shoulder, to see the Dark Lord activate the door again, closing it. She was alone in the completely dark room, Still bound hands and chained feet, with sound her only companion. It was an odd sound, a rhythmic thrumming, muffled slightly through the bulkheads and hatches.

VroooOOOn.. VrOOoooOOonn.. VrooooOOoon..

There was a bell in its background, she could hear it under the thrumming. It actually sounded mournful. She took a few steps forward, and tripped over a heavy cable, or what she assumed was a cable.

“Who is there..” a thin, thready voice met her. “Are you a new Tormentor?” The voice sounded old, possibly ancient. It sounded tired, and defeated. Leia shook her head. “No.. “ she began. “I’m a captive, like you..” Leia said. “Where are you?”

“In a cage..” it said. “The same cage I’ve been in for…” and paused, and she could hear a wretched sob. “I don’t know how long.. Maybe I’ve been here forever.” It said. Leia moved to a sitting position, listening to the voice. “What’s your name?” was all she could think to ask. There were probably better questions that would occur to her later, but for the moment, his name would give her fellow prisoner a connection. The thin voice choked. “I don’t recall..” it said, “I think I had one, at one time, but its been so long since I’ve used it, It’s importance has been made neutered.” It made another choking sound, which Leia thought may have been laughing. “I’m just so pleased to have someone to talk too.. Whats your name? Do you remember Yours?”

She smiled slightly. “I’m Leia..” and moved to stand up. “Do you know how to turn the lights on?” and put the weight on her legs, and stood up. “Maybe I can find a way to help you..”

“None can help me, Leia..” it said. “All that could are all gone.” And sobbed “All dead.. Dead in War..”

“I’m so sorry..” she said, moving in the direction of the sound. Leia ran into what felt like a birdcage, at least to her face. A single light came on at the touch. Inside the large birdcage was a being, she couldn’t tell what species it was, but it was impossible. It was small, this little being, and could now finally call it a He, as it wore no clothing. He shivered as if cold, his oversized head looking up at her. He was completely bald, even eyebrows were gone. Around its neck was a collar, which had a simple green and red light. The little creatures image broke her heart. “What can I do to help you..” the slats in the birdcage was wide enough for her to put her hand through them. She reached for him, as far as the slats and her binders would allow her too.

He looked up at her, and with effort touched her hand. “You already have, little one.” And gave her a toothless grin. “You’ve shown that there is still good in the galaxy.” She knelt next to the cage. “Oh, there is. When I leave this place, I’ll take you with me, I prom..”

“No..” he said, “No promises.. You can’t promise that.” And blinked. “You may try, but there is only one promise I’d like..” Leia nodded.
“Promise to Kill me.” He said.

She took her hands from the little creature, and moved back. “No.. I can’t..” shaking her head. “I couldn’t kill you..” and still backing up, ran into something. Or someone.

She shrieked, and turned. It was the young officer who had escorted her to the Shuttle. He looked at her sadly. “I wish you hadn’t seen this.” He said, and took her arm. “That little creature is to be ignored. He isn’t as innocent as he appears.” And with a small remote control, extended it towards the creature and pushed the only button. Apparent pain wracked the creature, which slumped to the bottom of the cage, unconscious, as Leia begged him to stop. Zephre looked down at her. “Who brought you here?”

“Vader..” She said, unable to take her eyes off of the creature. The Intelligence officer nodded. “That makes sense. Lord Vader keeps it here for just such purposes, through Sith Alchemy.” He said, putting the Remote control onto a pedestal. The lights were on now, so she could see the chamber. The cable she had tripped over was a heavy electrical conduit, which connected two large canisters. She could see there were eight total, all leading to the birdcage, or at least looked like a birdcage. It had cables connecting the top of the cage to the ceiling. “It reads minds, and is linked to the Dark Lord. Whatever it knows, he knows.” And gently pulled her from the room, and noticing that she couldn’t take her eyes from it. “Come along, I have to put you into a cell for a little while, until your head clears..” and took her from the room…

……………..


The Six companions arrived at the docking bay, designated sixty one. The main hatch of the bay was opened, and the Infinity’s End was resting on her landing gears. It was a classic YT-1300, and still appeared to be undergoing upgrades. The Sensor dish looked new, which was a contrast to the hard points which is was attached, and there was a mixture of old mountings and new emitters. The access ramp was lowered, but there was no sign of the Captain. The Doctor grinned wildly. “Oh, would you look at that!” and moved closer, looking at the ships ventral side. “She’s a beauty!” Raisa moved up behind him. “I’m surprised you like common ships, compared to the TARDIS.” She said. “I mean, this only goes through Space..”

“What do you think Hyperspace is.” He said, still looking over the ship. Luke shook his head. “At least the Infinity’s End looks like it’ll get us to where we are going. Did you see the one in bay 94?” he said. “It looked like it was about to fall off its struts.” Luke wished he had the Rogue Shadow right now, He didn’t like being ferried around the galaxy by another person. Ben gripped the younger Jedi’s shoulder. “That is more than probably by design. Most of these ships are used to smuggle cargos which the Empire and other governments wouldn’t allow. I have a feeling there was more to that ship than meets the eye.” Luke nodded. He could see that, as if he were searching for smugglers, he probably wouldn’t look at a ship that looks like it was about to explode. The Doctor finished his once over of the ship, moving back to join his companions as Raisa spoke. “So, where would Captain Vos be. He did say he’d be here, didn’t he?“ Threepio moved forward. “I’m certain it’s an oversight on the captains part. Shall I go and look for him, Sir?” he said, looking at the Doctor, who shook his head. “No, no.. Were just a bit early. I’m certain he’ll be here in a bit.”

“He is here.” A voice came from the docking bays hatch. “I hope you had a good look at the Old Girl, Doctor.” Vos said as he entered the bay. The Time Lord turned, grinning from ear to ear. “A very good look. Point 8 Hyperdrive?” He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Vos nodded. “Good eye, You know your engines,” And looking up at the ship. “Soon, she’s going to rival anything in the spacelanes.” He said, smiling. The Doctor crossed his arms across his chest. “Oh, your well on your way. Unfortunately you have those eyesores.” He said, Motioning towards the cannons. Vos quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t like weapons, huh?” Shaking his head, the Doctor stated. “Not particularly. Those who have them have a tendency to use them,” and looking at him, head askew. “Tool of the trade, I’m assuming.” He stated. “Well. With those engines, you won’t have to go shooting around using them.”

Vos chuckled. “Let’s hope so.” and started towards the ramp. “Let get aboard, and as soon as your all ready, we can put some space between us and Mos Eisley.” The group seemed to agree, and began moving up the ramp. Artoo shot up the ramp, followed by Threepio. “Good Day, sir.” To which Vos just nodded. The Doctor entered next, then The Red haired girl went up behind them. “Hi captain, How are..” as a bright flash of an blaster impact on the hull, and all turned towards the bay doors, especially Vos. A squad of Stormtroopers were entering the bay, weapons at the ready. “STOP THAT SHIP! BLAST THEM!”

“HEY! I JUST FIXED THAT!” Vos yelled at the top of his lungs, and fired back, hitting one square in the chest. Luke and Ben pulled their lightsabers, reflecting the blaster fire back at the troopers, moving back towards the ramp. Luke yelled over his shoulder. “We’ll hold them off, get the ship warmed up!” Reflecting another blast back at the trooper setting up a E-Web cannon. Vos, firing, backed up the ramp. “Give me thirty counts, and then get inside!” And with a parting shot, ran inside. Rushing down the ring corridor, he saw that the Doctor was already in the cockpit, his fingers flying over the console, and as if he had seen Devon Vos enter, moved over to the Co Pilots seat. “I’ve already brought the mains on line, and began the launch cycle.” Vos jumped into the pilots seat. “Good, play Co Pilot!” and brought began punching up coordinates. He also thought to hit the ventral camera, thinking how Artemis would want to have this documented. On the small monitor, Vos could see the the pair of Jedi backing up to the Infinity’s ramp. More Troopers were entering the bay now, and followed by another man, in a suit of armor that made Vos take a second look. The man was wearing armor head to foot, with what looked like blades on his fingertips. The Doctor glanced at the image, and his eyes widened. “This is bad.. THIS IS BAD!”

Old Ben threw more of the blasts back at the Stormtroopers, as the Armored man entered with the reinforcements. What was before him shouldn’t exist. Had the Emperor gone that far? Luke sent another salvo back towards the Imperial Soldiers. “That’s Thirty, Ben!” he yelled, and took a front position, and blocked the shots. The armored Sith took a very familiar stance, and brought out a spiked lightsaber, and in a reversed Shien Style reversed grip, activated the blade. Luke knew the stance all too well.

The same stance that his partner Galen used.

The roof of the Bay collapsed onto the troopers, and the Sith. “Get inside, you fool!” Kenobi yelled, and grabbed his collar, dragging him towards the ramp. Luke, shaken from the realization, turned and ran inside. Kenobi hit the intercom. “GO!” Before the ramp could close, the Infinity was in the air, and moving quickly away from Mos Eisley. The older Jedi, sitting on the deck, looked up at Luke. “What were you thinking?” Luke, leaning on the bulkhead, didn’t meet the older man’s eyes. “It doesn’t matter..” and held out a hand to Ben, who took it and soon were heading towards the cockpit. As they entered, they had broken through the atmosphere. The cockpit claxon sounds as a blast rocked the ship. Vos glanced over at the Sensors. “I do wish you would have mentioned just how popular you were with the Imps,” he said, “I would have charged you a lot more.” and looked to his temporary Co Pilot. “How’s your navigation skills.” He said, as the Massive Star Destroyer vectored in front of them, and likewise vectoring was an interdictor ship. If that particular Capital ship activated its fields, there would be no way to escape.

The Doctor grinned, and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver, and making a quick adjustment, points it at the Navi Comp. On the readout, the Course plotted from the manipulations of the Gallifreyan Tool. Another hit rocked the ship, as the star field lurched. “Jump at your leisure, Devon..”

Devon keyed a few toggles, and pulled back the Motivator…

The Star Field blurred, and streaked as the Infinity's End made the jump into Hyperspace.