Chapter One
Luke
Years later, I remembered...
"Hey kid, you got a minute?"
I turned and looked at Han, shivering slightly.
Putting a Tatooinian farmboy on a planet as cold as Hoth was cruel, although I
had only myself to blame, as I’d crash landed on the planet.
“Sure,” I replied. “What is it?”
I studied Han’s face carefully, frowning
slightly. He seemed to be sort of reluctant and secretive, as if he didn’t
want to tell me what he was about to.
He gestured for me to follow him, and he took me
into a small storage room nearby. He gazed downwards for a moment before he
looked up at me. “Command got some, ah, interesting information.”
“And they shared it with you?” I looked at him
skeptically, but he could see the humorous glimmer in my eyes.
“Actually, no. But I have my sources,” Han
grinned at me lopsidedly.
“So...?” I looked at him inquisitively.
“I think they planned to tell you eventually,
but—”
“You’re stalling,” I interrupted.
“Kid, there’s some guy running around the
galaxy with the name Anakin Skywalker.”
“What?” I blurted, jaw dropped and eyes wide.
“He’s supposed to be dead!”
Han seemed a bit uncomfortable. “I don’t make
up the information, kid, I just report it.”
I furrowed my brow, a flurry of thoughts running
through my head. “Why didn’t they tell me?”
“Scared you’d go off and look for him. They
want you to stay here...They need you here.”
The last sentence seemed to be almost choked out
distastefully, but I knew that deep down inside Han cared. “Why didn’t they
tell me?” I repeated in disbelief, feeling some of my trust slip away. I had
risked my life for the Rebellion, and Command would hold back this information
from me?
Han crossed his arms. “What do you plan to
do?”
“Look for him, of course!” I exclaimed. If
this man were my father...
“...And that’s exactly what they were afraid
of,” Han snorted, sounding disgusted with himself. “Kid, this is probably
just some fake. And besides, if you go out looking for him, they’re gonna know
someone told you, and it won’t be that hard for them to find out who.”
“Since when do you care what other people think,
Han?”
He didn’t answer, and it came to me. “Scared
Leia will think you’re a tattletale, huh.” My eyes narrowed. “Does she
know about this?”
Han began to look increasingly uncomfortable.
“Look, kid, I don’t know who all knew. I just know they didn’t want one of
their best pilots to leave them.”
“Han, I have to go...You understand that,
don’t you?” I gave him an almost pleading look.
“Can’t say I do, kid. But I’m not your
mother, and you can do what you want.”
“I need to think about this.”
Han nodded, and he began to move for the door. I
stopped him, placing my hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Han.”
“No problem, kid.”
I plopped down on my bunk. Anakin Skywalker. My
father. Could it really be my father?
Had both my uncle and Obi-Wan lied to me?
I could feel a little anger well up within me at
the thought, but I tried to push it down. Maybe they just hadn’t really known.
Maybe they just thought he was dead...
I tried to imagine what my parents might have
looked like in their youth...Nothing.
I tried again and—
I saw a young couple. They were laughing, and
they seemed happy...Yet there was something else in their expressions. Fatigue,
perhaps...And maybe sadness?
The man put his hand on the woman’s stomach
and smiled. He seemed proud.
My view changed. I saw one of the temples of
Yavin IV, and a man standing beside it. I couldn’t make out any details, he
just seemed to be a dark blob, but I could tell he wanted me to come to him. I
tried to move forward—
But I was pulled out of the vision.
I wiped a few beads of sweat off my brow and
glanced at the chrono. Stang! Three hours had passed.
But my decision was made. I had to go to Yavin IV.
That would be where I would meet my father. Somehow, I knew it.
“You’re sure, kid?”
I nodded at Han. “It’s what I have to do. Tell
Leia and the others that I learned from the Force where my father was. Tell them
that I will return.”
“And if we all leave Hoth before you come
back?”
I hesitated and looked at him. Though he tried to
hide it, I saw concern in his eyes, and I knew I could trust him. “Don’t
tell them, Han, but I’ll be on Yavin IV. If a while passes before I return, or
if you have to leave Hoth, tell Leia where I am. But only if you have to. I
don’t want anyone stopping me.”
“I understand, kid.”
I turned to leave, and he grabbed my shoulder. I
faced him, and he said, “Take care of yourself, Luke.”
“You too, Han,” I said.
And then I left, feeling like a thief stealing
away in the night. I told Threepio I had to leave with Artoo, and then the two
of us left in my X-wing. I didn’t tell Leia goodbye because I knew if I did
she would probably convince me to stay.
And I wanted so much to go.
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