dxsertsuns

It was odd to feel adrift, in such a time of joy. The Emperor-- the Chancellor-- was gone. Finally. After so many years of fighting. There was still work to be done: the cleanup, the rebuilding. But after decades of hiding and surviving... finally, there was time to breathe.

Time to mourn. It had been so long, though. Her sadness had been caught up with her fear, and now both were old and she was tired. Her celebration was bittersweet, sitting in the unsettling peace after war. What was she supposed to do now? What was left for a child soldier with an embittered past? Every home she'd ever had was long gone.

And already, she was losing her place in the rebellion. She could sense it in the air. At this meeting of rebel leadership, a conference a generals and politicians, she could see a gap already forming. The military voices were quieter. It was the age of diplomats again. As it should be. But they could talk a lot, it seemed, and get very little done in the meantime.

The primary assemblage was broken into so many groups, now. There were enough problems to solve, alliances to reform, policies to discuss. Ahsoka had already reported where remaining empire forces were to the people who most needed to hear it. And now...

She'd had a question in the back of her mind since news of the first battle station's destruction had reached her. A talented pilot from Tatooine. A Skywalker.

Ahsoka drifted further from the center of discussion, following a pull from the Force that she had been ignoring until now. She suspected she knew where it was taking her. She had a lot of suspicions. There was only one way to see them confirmed.

And when she saw him, she had to pause, heart in her throat. She could see them in him. Both of them.

His father was dead. Luke knew he shouldn't feel that loss as keenly as he did. He'd barely known the man, and the parts he had known were monstrous. He'd hunted his friends like animals, he'd cut off Luke's hand, he'd killed Ben Kenobi. And yet Luke mourned.

He stared out of the viewport, counting the stars as they drifted by, when he felt the Force tugging at the corners of his awareness. It wanted him to notice something. He turned away from the space port, putting on a mask of serenity, just what everyone expected to see in a Jedi, and nearly collided with a Togruta woman.

"Do I know you?"

“This is the only place to get decent Corellian whiskey,” he shrugged, biting back a grin. “At least when you’re not on Corellia. Didn’t expect to see a guy like you in a place like this, though.” 

Gorse was hardly a vacationer’s spot: dark all year ‘round with only its sister moon for light, it was definitely one of the surlier places in the Inner Rim to squat, especially for… the rebellious crowd.

“My girl’s doing business,” he added, hoping Luke understood. Jasmine and Leia, as princesses, knew each other distantly through the Senate, and now that both were in exile it seemed to Aladdin that they spoke somewhat frequently — but really, what did he know? 

“What about you? Crew finally get sick of you or what?”

"Nah, I'm-" he paused, what was he doing? Running definitely. Hiding, maybe. "Taking a vacation from the rebellion." He saluted with his new hand, leather-gloved, pretty obviously a prosthetic.

My dad cut off my arm Al, he didn't say. Also my dad's alive.

Kriff, he wanted to though. He'd only told Leia out of a fever-fueled bout of conversation, and he'd promised not to tell anyone else. The secret was burning a hole in his chest though. My father is Darth Vader, you know, the monster.

"Nah, I'm-" he paused, what was he doing? Running definitely. Hiding, maybe. "Taking a vacation from the rebellion." He saluted with his new hand, leather-gloved, pretty obviously a prosthetic.

My dad cut off my arm Al, he didn't say. Also my dad's alive.

Kriff, he wanted to though. He'd only told Leia out of a fever-fueled bout of conversation, and he'd promised not to tell anyone else. The secret was burning a hole in his chest though. My father is Darth Vader, you know, the monster.

He took the offered hand, his own was much softer, the work he did was hard but it required words not labor. "Luke Organa, I'm in the junior senate, and I can get anyone to believe anything." He smiled his sunniest smile, the kind that got even the staunchist Imperial supporters to bend a little.

He took the offered hand, his own was much softer, the work he did was hard but it required words not labor. "Luke Organa, I'm in the junior senate, and I can get anyone to believe anything." He smiled his sunniest smile, the kind that got even the staunchist Imperial supporters to bend a little.

As far as Din knew, there was always something happening on the planet - someone being shot in a cantina or having their arm ripped off in the street. Maybe the place would clean up some with Boba handling things, but as far as Outer Rim planets went, Tatooine was rough with something criminal always going on.

Then again, maybe Skywalker just didn’t have any idea of what danger was since he had a planet side bolt hole that he was offering up, so he had to have spent some time there.

“I have a duty to a friend to finish, but after the dust settles.” Boba would likely be willing to give him a day or two to lay low in his ‘palace’, but depending on the farm, that may be better. But first he needed to find Boba again, make sure he was still alive and that the spice runners were gone.

He adjusted Grogu on his hip, deflecting the last of the blaster bolts. He didn't like this faction war. He knew that Jabba's death would cause a power vaccumn but he hadn't expected it to go on so long. He'd been expecting a local water baron to grab control quickly.

(And then promptly lose it once Luke came back to free the slaves.)

The fact that it hadn't...Luke didn't know what that meant. But it made him uneasy. Someone was in control enough to make the other water barons and slave lords uncomfortable. That could be good, but it meant a lot of lives lost and that twisted Luke's stomach.

He adjusted Grogu on his hip, deflecting the last of the blaster bolts. He didn't like this faction war. He knew that Jabba's death would cause a power vaccumn but he hadn't expected it to go on so long. He'd been expecting a local water baron to grab control quickly.

(And then promptly lose it once Luke came back to free the slaves.)

The fact that it hadn't...Luke didn't know what that meant. But it made him uneasy. Someone was in control enough to make the other water barons and slave lords uncomfortable. That could be good, but it meant a lot of lives lost and that twisted Luke's stomach.

"You know I think I still have a recipe from my aunt for homemade play-doh," he offered Din. "It's really just regular bread dough without a couple of things and with food dye. If the little man here really wants to eat it, it'd be safe and probably taste far better."

Aunt Beru had been into making homemade alternatives to the toys and games Luke begged for. Now he knew it was due to money, play-doh had been too expensive, but making a little extra bread dough and setting it aside? Easy. Plus then Luke got to be involved.

"You know I think I still have a recipe from my aunt for homemade play-doh," he offered Din. "It's really just regular bread dough without a couple of things and with food dye. If the little man here really wants to eat it, it'd be safe and probably taste far better."

Aunt Beru had been into making homemade alternatives to the toys and games Luke begged for. Now he knew it was due to money, play-doh had been too expensive, but making a little extra bread dough and setting it aside? Easy. Plus then Luke got to be involved.

A  blaster  bolt  hit  stone  a  centimeter  from  his  arm  and  Din  had  to  give  the  gang  of  spice  runners  this  much  -  they  had  better  aim  than  the  Imps.  Not  as  good  as  Fennec  (and  wasn't  that  a  relief),  but  still  good  enough  to  be  a  problem.  At  least  the  citizens  of  Tatooine  seemed  familiar  enough  with  fights  breaking  out  in  the  streets  that  they  all  had  the  good  sense  to  get  out  of  the  way,  innocent  casualties  and  human  shields  not  an  issue  as  Din  fired  back.

Beskar  could  deflect  a  hit,  but  there  were  still  exposed  places  on  his  body  that  would  be  easy  to  wound  if  the  aim  was  right  and  with  as  many  of  them  as  there  were,  it  wouldn't  be  long  before  someone  scored  a  hit.

A  blaster  bolt  shot  wide,  at  least  one  bad  marksman  in  the  lot,  and  Din  didn't  think  anything  of  it  until  he  saw  a  blaster  bolt  come  flying  from  behind  him.

Instantly  alert  and  on  edge  at  the  idea  of  more  shooters  having  crept  up  behind  him,  Din  spun  around  with  his  blaster  raised  only  to  be  confronted  with  the  sight  of  the  Jedi,  green  laser  sword  lit,  and  -

“Grogu?”

Honestly, he'd just wanted to show Grogu his home. The child's mind was a mess of fear and adventure and the blazing fire of whatever trauma had happened to him in his past, he'd thought the sands of Tatooine might be able to calm that as it had for Luke so many times.

Besides, he'd owed his Aunt and Uncle a visit, he hadn't been back to clean their graves in too long.

"That was just bad luck." Though maybe it wasn't. Grogu's father was here and Luke could just make out the threads of the Force weaving them together, though in what shape he didn't know. The blaster fire ceased and Luke shut off his saber, kneeling down to check Grogu for injuries.

❝ Where…are we? ❞

❝ I-I think we’re lost! ❞

❝ Did you hear that? ❞

❝ Maybe I can help, I mean, you are lost, right? ❞

❝ What, in the world, is going on? ❞

❝ What are you doing here? Explain yourself! ❞

❝ You’re more lost than you realize. ❞

❝ Is there a beast out there? ❞

❝ Did you know that if you soak a raisin in grape juice, it turns into a grape? ❞

❝ You have beautiful eyes! ❞

❝ I want to steal. ❞

❝ Ain’t that just the way. ❞

❝ I’ll never give up. ❞

❝ I’m trying to help you! ❞

❝ I’ve got my own problems to take care of. ❞

❝ Well then…perhaps we better make a deal.❞

❝ Oh you wonderful mistake of nature! ❞

❝ You find this place as creepy as I do, right? ❞

❝ You’ll die some day, and I’ll laugh! ❞

❝ What if it’s not a ghost and I’m just…on the brink of madness? ❞

❝ What’s the matter? You seem tense. ❞

❝ You better be wise and don’t believe his lies. ❞

❝ It won’t open! Well…guess we gotta spend some quality time together. ❞

❝ It’s my fault we ended up here. Everything’s been my fault. ❞

❝ You can do anything if you set your mind to it! ❞

❝ Are you ready to see true darkness? ❞

❝ Hold your tongue or I’ll remove it from your mouth! ❞

❝ I really, really wanna see a ghost, really bad. ❞

❝ I’m not just gonna wander around the woods for the rest of my life. ❞

❝ If dreams can’t come true, then why not pretend? ❞

❝ We are just wayward leaves, scattered to the air by an indifferent wind. ❞

𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄. it contains everything from her most recent haul that she’s hoping to pawn off, from various robotic parts to intricate jewelry to handwoven garments, all from her travels. something to provide enough compensation for food and shelter for the traveler. she’s having difficulty finding her usual dealer amongst the bustle of the space hub, wide eyes scanning over the crowd, not paying much attention to what’s in front of her until - bam, someone bumps right into her.

pink fingers only hold her belongings tighter as she briefly stumbles back, the hood from her cloak falling down over her shoulders and no longer keeping her covered. despite his smile, she’s tense.

“Know me?” For all he laughs at being recognized, he’s never sure how to deal with it. Part of him wants to bask in it like he’d bask in the suns of Tatooine, another part wants to hide, and yet another part lists all the ways Jedi are supposed to react to all of this. 

“I’m Luke Skywalker,” he offers sheepishly. “I fought for the rebellion?” 

“Know me?” For all he laughs at being recognized, he’s never sure how to deal with it. Part of him wants to bask in it like he’d bask in the suns of Tatooine, another part wants to hide, and yet another part lists all the ways Jedi are supposed to react to all of this. 

“I’m Luke Skywalker,” he offers sheepishly. “I fought for the rebellion?”