YEAH, MOST OF THE NAMES AND IDEAS AND STUFF CAME FROM LUCASFILMS, WHO GAVE ME NO PERMISSION TO DO THIS, BLAH BLAH BLAH. GIVE ME SOME CREDIT FOR SOME NAMES, ALRIGHT? ISN'T ALDIRA A COOL NAME? THE PLOT'S MY IDEA, I WROTE THIS . . . SO ©KRISTEN MORRISON.

Black. Darkness. Darkness...

A sudden flash of light...

Then a figure stepped forward. It looked straight on, shining globes of light in its eyes. A master at the Force, it looked on and, controllinglike, said, "You will go to Tatooine."

There'd been questions, but there hadn't been time to ask them. The light disappeared...

Luke sat up immediately, shaken and excited from the dream. He threw the covers off; the heat of the room was getting to him. No, not the heat...it was the dream. The dream that had just woken him up at midnight, sweating, wondering what direction in which to turn.

Had it been Yoda? Or Ben? But whoever had just spoken to him, it had been somebody to trust. And that hadn't been a comment, it was a command: "Go to Tatooine." He had been told to go many places before, and none of them had been wild chases. And he knew what his next action was going to be.

He was going to go.

Within minutes, he had bathed, dressed, and headed out of the door to find Artoo.

• • • • •

It had been the longest time since Luke had even gotten close to the Tatooine system. Nevertheless, he hadn't wanted to go back. He began packing up gear and food to prepare to leave for his old home planet.

Artoo had even argued. He hated the idea of setting out to uncharted teritory, where he could easily wound a motivator or clog a thruster. Just like he had several years ago, Artoo protested for long hours while Luke was packing, telling him that they could get stranded, or what if Imperials tracked them down. Luke reminded him of Yoda. That hadn't been a false lead, had it? Artoo stubbornly backed down, but groaned in his little droid way.

Finally when the X-wing was prepared, Luke grabbed a comlink from the cockpit. "Hello, Leia, do you copy?" he shouted into the little machine.

A small, mechanical voice came back at him. "Yes, Luke. What's going on?"

"Well, I'm goin' to Tatooine."

He was reproached very loudly: "WHY?!"

"Because of my old mentors, I guess." He paused, brushing back a strand of dark blonde hair. "I don't know, they told me to go. Should I?"

"Well..." Leia was slow in her response. "I'm just worried for you, Luke. I don't think you should go, but if Ben told you, then leave. Now. Remember Yoda?"

Luke nodded to Artoo, who was beeping uncontrollably. "No, shut up, get ready for takeoff."

"What?"

"No, no, not you. Artoo. Sorry." He rested a black-booted foot on the hull of his ship. "I just gotta get the front stabilizers in line, then I think we're going to leave."

"Take care, Luke. Watch out, for your own sake."

Luke smiled warmly at the comlink. "I will. Thanks. Say hi to Han for me."

He dropped the comlink into the cockpit by his seat, then casually turned to Artoo. "Alright Artoo." He brushed Artoo's presence with the Force, delicately tugging at his metal burden. Slowly and gently, Artoo began to rise, inch by inch, slowly reaching the top of the large X-wing. Artoo squealed with nervousness and excitement. Finally, he began to lower, and clicked down into the droid slot behind the cockpit.

Panting, Luke asked the droid if he was alright, which Artoo whistled happily back to. Then he took his helmet from where he had left it on the ground, put it on his head, and stepped into the cockpit.

Once he had lowered the hatchway, he let Artoo start the engines up. He was so tired from lifting his little friend into the droid slot that still his heart was beating and he was panting heavily. Once it was in the air, he'd take control.

Tatooine wasn't too far away. In fact, it seemed much faster than usual to Luke because Artoo had done all of his questioning before they left, leaving much more time for him to concentrate on his flying.

Luke spotted the bright yellow planet from parsecs away. It looked almost a bright and desolate as a sun. But he knew better. Or did he?

Once he reached the planet's atmosphere, there was some turbulence, which Artoo tweaked away by fixing the rear stabilizers. Luke thanked him.

They landed where Luke had programmed coordinates to be near Mos Eisley. Besides that and Anchorhead, Tatooine was just an empty sandball in the middle of nowhere. Just before he stepped out of his cockpit, he murmured, "I don't know what an old Jedi master would want me to do in a place like this."

He leapt out of his cockpit and started for Mos Eisley. Artoo beeped wildly behind him, but Luke turned and said, "No, Artoo, you can't come. Remember what happened last time? I think all of Mos Eisley has the same feelings about droids." He waved subtly, and muttered, "I'll be right back."

It was all desolate until he reached the outskirts of the crazed city. As Ben had said, "A wretched hive of scum and villainy." And he would be cautious.

His footsteps seemed to be controlled by some unknown force. He was walking, and he knew he he was technically in control, but his footsteps led him to just where he didn't want to go- the dreaded cantina. He murmured in disgust, and pushed the doors open.

He hadn't been here for years. In fact, this same cantina was the one where he had met Han and Chewie those years ago, which really changed his life altogether. And thinking of it that way, he began to like this place, dispite is repetitious loud music, threatening customers, and rude bartenders.

Speaking of bartenders-

Luke looked up at the counter and saw her. Gasping, startled, he nearly fell down the stairs. And he just stood, gaping. Because he was not looking into the same aged, angry face as he had a long time ago...

Her beautiful, raggy blonde hair, pink lips, green eyes. When she let out that laughter of hers, the whole cantina laughed with her. It was as if he'd found her, the one he'd been searching for his whole life. The whole cantina was silent when she spoke. He couldn't hear her words, but that didn't matter.

He loved her.

But how? How could he love someone he didn't know?

Luke never knew exactly how long he'd been standing there, gaping and watching her from the door of the cantina. All he'd known was that suddenly the door opened and he was shoved into a wall from behind. The blow flung him into the wall, leaving him with the air knocked out of his stomach and his head throbbing with pain. What?

But whoever had just thrown him aside - no, he could see them now, from his crumpled position on the floor - a large army of stormtroopers, surrounding one man in Imperial attire, was not looking for him. They entered the cantina, ignoring the screaming people. The music ultimately stopped. Glasses and cups were thrown off of tables, and smashed in heaps along the floor. Luke stared after them.

The small army approached the counter. It was obvious that they hadn't come here to drink. They wanted...
....her....

The stormtroopers spread apart, making the Imperial man stand vulnerable. With a group of convoys like that, this man was not just ordinary. A high admiral, Luke guessed. He didn't care about that. Now that he'd found her - he didn't even know her name - he wasn't about to let these people kill her.

He struggled to stand up, head still pounding, hand to his stomach. He staggered over around to the side of the stormtroopers. They made no offensive towards this girl. When he finally reached the edge of the counter, just feet away from her, she glanced at him. A simple glance, the first look she'd ever got at him. But her head jerked back instantly.

And then, to his utter joy came another movement- a counterglance, a splitsecond after the first. But this one was much longer. Her large green eyes finally looked at him and stayed there. Oh, that was the best moment he'd ever experienced. Neither of them blinked. Their eyes just locked, and he reached out with the Force to her thoughts. What was she thinking?

I've found... him!

Happily, he grinned, and she grinned back. It was almost uncanny. Every customer was watching this, wondering what this strange man in black pants and a black shirt with a lightsaber at his belt was doing, staring at this young, beautiful.... while stormtroopers stood alongside, menacingly.

Finally, the Imperial spoke in his raspy, deep voice. "Dilaaana, give it to me. Where's the pendant?"

Dilaaana. Music, with a slow beautiful rhythm...

Her gaze broke from him and stared coldly at the Imperial. "Hello Jlenet. So nice to meet you again. But I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about a pendant."

The Imperial stepped forward, his belt brushing against the edge of the bar counter. He reached out and clenched the collar of her gray shirt. Luke, filled with controlled anger, reached for his lightsaber. But he wouldn't use it yet. Not with half of the Imperial troopers staring at him like that.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. Give it to me. It doesn't belong to you."

"It was my father's," she snapped, pulling away from his grip. "Leave. This is harassment."

He laughed sinisterly. "You think this is harrassment. You have no idea." In a swift movement, he raised up a hand as a signal, sending a stormtrooper to leveling his blaster at Dilaaana. The rest of the stormtroopers looked to Jlenet for further instructions. "Search the place," he muttered. "And her."

The stormtroopers seperated, looked behind the counter, on tables, at customers. But one stormtrooper edged up to Dilaaana. If he touched her-

Luke ignited his lightsaber, unable to stand still any longer. He came down on the trooper and killed him in one quick stroke. The breaking of ice. It seemed the rest of the cantina customers hated these men, too, and suddenly one grabbed a chair and threw it at one man. Then more chairs were thrown. Some had blasters, and so the whole cantina was into uproar.

Jlenet turned his head for one quick surveillance of the room, creating a good enough distraction for Luke to leapt down next to Dilaaana, sweep his arm around her waist, and hurry her to the door. She didn't protest, or even try to pull away.

"Just trust me," he whispered.

Neither of them waited to see the outcome of the battle. They rushed out the door silently, and ran down the crowded streets of Mos Eisley, Dilaaana following Luke's footsteps. They knocked down several people in their mad dash- neither cared. They just simply had to get to wherever it was safe.

The X-wing lay ahead. They were running still, towards the ship in the distance...

Luke slowed as he reached the ship. His heart was beating fast. They both stopped and looked at eachother again. Now they had time.

She stepped forward and they embraced, holding eachother tight. Her head rested on his shoulder. It was as if everything were perfect. Luke ran his hand through her thin hair, and down her cheek. And then she whispered in his ear, "Who are you?"
They let go, observing one another once again. "My name is Luke Skywalker, Jedi knight." He reached out and held her hand. "And you?"

"Dilaaana."

"No last name?"

"I don't know it. I don't know who my father was. And my mother died as I was born."

"Mine, too." He squeezed her hand.

"Luke... I-I don't even know you, but..." she paused, looked around at the X-wing and ran her hand along its smooth metal. "You're just..."

Luke smiled warmly. "You too, Dilaaana. I know."

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