---

�Jimmy, have you ever thought about all the places that are out there?�

Luke and Jimmy had finished eating what they considered a feast, and were now basking like the full-bellied children they were atop the dirt piles that the wind had deposited (with just a little help from the boys) around Jimmy�s house. The sun was setting, the twin moons of Tatooine were making their slow ascent above the horizon, and the stars were once again peeking their twinkling faces through the veil of remaining light. There seemed no better time to wonder about the worlds that orbited those stars or the people that lived on them.

Jimmy tilted his head in an inquisitive way and followed Luke�s skyward gaze. �Not really. There�s always too much to be done here to be wishing I was somewhere else.� A silence fell between the two friends for a while. Luke did not think that Jimmy could understand exactly what he meant. Sometimes Luke felt out of place here, on Tatooine, but he would never admit that to Jimmy. It almost seemed like there was something bigger out there�just waiting for him.

�Do you believe in fate?� Luke finally asked his friend, even though Jimmy himself seemed to be miles away in his thoughts. �Jimmy?� Luke repeated.

Jimmy still had a distant look in his eyes, but he answered Luke nonetheless, �Fate? Maybe. Sometimes it seems as though things are happening that are out of our control, like we are part of a bigger picture. If that is what you mean by fate, then yeah, I guess it could be real.�

Luke nodded, but did not speak, for a chill suddenly ran down his spine, causing him to break out into goose-bumps. Yet the night air was warm, and when Luke glanced over at Jimmy, he seemed unaffected. Something seemed to be gnawing at the back of his mind, but he had no idea what it was�

Jimmy�s voice was a welcome interruption of the strange�presence that Luke felt lurking in the back of his mind, and thankfully his mood had returned to playful. �C�mon Luke. Fate is only going to let us hang out a little while longer�unless by some luck our parents talk for another hour or something. Let�s go take over the basement. Fighter attack! Tsew tsew!�

�No fighter can beat my Zeron fighter!� Luke exclaimed, eager to return to a lighter frame of mind, one that was oblivious to the feeling that fate had something special in store.

�Last person to reach the house has a crummy fighter!� Jimmy yelled back to Luke as he sprinted toward his house.

�Hey!� Luke protested, and took off after him.

---

�Begin recording. Our friend is here on Tatooine, as was the plan. Close enough to home to seem genuine, and genuine enough to pacify any nagging suspicion, or so I hope. It is crucial that the plan is not uncovered, otherwise the consequences could be grave. But both the younger one and the messenger are under my surveillance, to which they are both blissfully unaware, and if all else fails, I am prepared to relocate the child if there is no other choice. However, the ignorance of the young one is also a key factor, for if he begins to ask questions, then he will reveal himself quickly. The empire has too many eyes and ears around for anyone to relax�rest assured for now that our two subjects are safe, but make no rash moves yourself. I take to hills once again. End recording.�

---

�We accept your offer.�

After a half an hour of speaking to the Tuskens, a bribe finally settled the debate. Vader was reeking disgust toward the creatures he could call nothing less than vermons, but it seemed as though the Tuskens were withholding some sort of information about Vader�s son. When D�Tall had asked their spokesperson, one of the few Tuskens that could speak Basic, if they had noticed a boy with sandy-colored hair of about nine years of age, the lead Tusken had been shady in his reply. Vader wished he could cut the arguing and speculation and simply attain the information he desired by probing the vermon�s mind, but the Tuskens were either empty minded or not at all affected by the force because Vader could not even sense their minds or their thoughts. Vader was limited to simply observing the Tuskens� actions and hoping that D�Tall knew what she was doing. Which was little hope, but all Vader had for the moment. However, now that the Twi-Lek�s large offer of money had been �accepted� by the Basic-speaking Tusken, the Tuskens seemed much more open to negotiation�D�Tall�s previous words, �It�s all about the money� were ringing true.

�Good. Now, I need all the information you can give me on the whereabouts of the boy we have described,� D�Tall�s face was unreadable, which was unnerving to Vader as well. He could neither probe the mind of the Tuskens nor D�Tall, and it was frustrating to feel this powerless. Vader reassured himself by placing his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. He had not wielded it since his last display because he did not want its effectiveness to wear out. Emperor Palpatine had also made it clear that he did not want Vader to stir up any trouble; Vader was to remain low-key in order to keep the mission to himself. �This is not public affair, Vader. Keep it that way,� had been the Emperor�s exact words.

The Tuskens exchanged murmurs amongst themselves, and their spokesperson finally responded in his fragmented version of Basic, �We need half payment now. The rest after we give you information.�

�Fine,� D�Tall said, and dropped a bag of coins in front of the lead Tusken. He opened the bag and counted the coins, and once he seemed satisfied, he raised his head towards D�Tall and Vader. Then the Tusken began to speak, �The boy with sandy-colored hair and loose clothing passed through this valley early sunrise time. He was alone halfway. Halfway after, man with brown hair, a beard, and a brown tunic reaching to his feet met the boy. We could not see them after they were walking around that cliff,� the Tusken gestured towards the nearest cliff (Vader recalled flying over it in his pod-racer in order to cut off Sebulba who was down below), �and shortly afterward, we heard sound like ship�s engine. A small ship rose above these cliffs and into the sky and then was gone.�

Vader�s mind was spinning. �This man with the brown hair and long tunic. Do you happen to know his name?� Vader inquired, lacing his voice with malice so that the Tusken might be prompted to reveal the information if he knew it.

�He lives in the cliffs. I do not know his name,� the Tusken answered.

Vader looked at D�Tall. She gave him a questioning glance. Even though Vader realized that he may be jumping to conclusions, he also still held the exact account of all the jedi he had killed, and this one had not been among them. �Obi-Wan,� Vader seethed.

---

�Jimmy, your house is kind of like a secret hiding place, have you ever thought about that?� Luke questioned his friend who was stretched out on the floor, exhausted from their game of �fighter pilot.� Jimmy�s parents had decided that since it was so late, Luke and his family could stay the night at their house; they had lent the guest bedroom to Luke�s aunt and uncle, and Luke would sleep in Jimmy�s room.

�A secret hiding place? Nah, my house isn�t that much fun,� Jimmy replied. �But it�s pretty cool that you get to spend the night at my house. Once my parents are asleep, then we can really have some fun!� Luke doubted that much; Jimmy followed this statement by a big yawn, signalling that the �fun� was more likely to be �sleep�.

�Think about it, though, Jimmy. Your house can hardly be seen from a distance, and it is mostly underground except for when we had the cook-out for dinner. Sometimes we get lost because we can�t find your house! I think it�s a lot more like a hide-out then my house,� Luke insisted.

�I dunno. I never thought about it that��yawn��way,� Jimmy replied, his eyes already beginning to droop.

�Oh,� Luke replied, his mind drifting off as well. Luke lay down on Jimmy�s bed, took a deep breath, and fell asleep.

Sounds, pictures, memories�a baby wailing in the background. A distant hum rose over the wailing and colors flashed by�blue, green, a touch of brown. Suddenly, Luke was sitting high atop a cliff, overlooking sand dunes that stretched for miles and miles. There was not much light, only the stars nestled in their familiar abodes allowed for some visibility, but the night air was cool, refreshing, peaceful. Luke had always loved the night sky because it was his only way to look upon other worlds, and heights had never fazed him either. Even though he had no idea what he was doing on top of a cliff in the middle of the night, Luke did not mind his new surroundings. For a while, Luke just star-gazed, but a tingling sensation on the back of his neck led Luke to believe that perhaps he was being watched as well. He could almost feel another person�s presence�

�Luke,� a man�s voice confirmed his suspicion, and while Luke did not feel threatened, he was still a bit wary and tried frantically to locate the source of this voice.

�Do not be alarmed, Luke. I am a friend, though you would not remember me. But I have been watching over you since you were very young,� the voice continued, even though Luke could not locate its origin.

Luke felt that he should trust this man, though he had no idea why anyone would need to watch over him�or how anyone could be doing so without his knowledge. �How�why?� Was all Luke managed, but the man�s voice cut him off. �Things that you have not even imagined await you in the future, Luke; many changes are to come. Now, however, is not the time to reveal such things. I have brought you here to warn you.

�Warn me about what?� Luke inquired, still trying to understand what the man had meant about the future.

�You must keep as close to home as possible. Do not wander off unexpectedly, and stay close to your aunt and uncle. Do you understand?�

Luke nodded, then questioned whether or not the man would be able to see this gesture, and then answered, �Yes,� even though he really wanted to ask more questions. Something told him to remain silent, however.

�Good. Don�t forget, Luke. Luke. LUKE!� Someone was shaking Luke, and all of a sudden Luke opened his eyes and saw Jimmy standing over him, shaking him awake.

�Geez. I never thought you were going to get up. The sun�s already been up a while. You�re lucky that you got to sleep in. My mom woke me up early to do some chores, but you got to sleep cuz you�re the guest,� Jimmy said the last bit in a whiny tone. But Luke wasn�t paying much attention anyway. He had been dreaming, so it would be silly of him to follow advice given to him in his sleep, right? Yet the dream had seemed so real, and the man�s voice had been so urgent and serious. Why would he be in danger anyway? Luke hadn�t ever hurt anyone, so why would anyone want to hurt him? And what had the man meant when he had explained that things awaited Luke in the future? All these questions remained in Luke�s mind, be he decided that he had better not tell anyone else, and for the moment he would just be cautious and try to do what the man in the dream had told him.

---

Vader had secured a ship, and soon afterward Vader and D�Tall were in hurried pursuit of a any sign of the �bearded man� or the �boy with sand-colored hair.�

�Vader, there must be some sort of trail from the after-burners of that ship. If we can just locate it�� D�Tall began, but Vader cut her off, �I am aware of this, D�Tall. I am running the scanners right now.� As Vader calibrated the sensors to search for such a trail, he began to wonder what would happen once he found his son. His son would be brought before the emperor, there was no avioding that, but what if his Masters influence would turn his son into a cold-hearted killer? While Vader held no respect for the naivity of his younger years, some dull feeling still left within his mostly machine body reminded Vader of the joys he had experienced as a child that he would never have wanted to trade for any amount of knowledge. Perhaps Vader would only be digging a grave for his son. Was Vader proud of who he had become? Vader knew that in that small corner of his mind, Anakin was not, but there was no choice now, even if he did not want his son to become like him. The power, the deaths, the anger that had become Vader�s fuel had truly made him a slave to the dark side, so he had to follow the orders he had been given. Vader liked to think he still had that asset called �choice�, but it had long since been taken away from him. His son would be made in the image of the emperor. And Vader was only helping in bringing about this fate.

Vader shifted his attention on the calibration of the sensors. Focusing on fixing things, or playing with such mechanical gadgets had always helped Vader distract himself from any unpleasant thoughts before, and it would now. The emperor wanted Vader to bring Luke to him, so Vader would carry out the emperor�s orders. No time to debate morals.

D�Tall suddenly interuppted Vader�s thoughts, �There seems to be no doubt in your mind that the people that the Tuskens described are those whom you seek, Vader. I would not be as well-known of a bounty hunter if I did not second-guess all of the information I obtain for its realiability. And yet despite your animosity towards the Tusken Raiders, you do not seem to be doing the same.�

D�Tall had seemed a bit taken aback when Vader had ordered a ship as soon as the lead Tusken had revealed the information about the man and the boy to them, and even Vader himself continued to feel as though something were amiss. But he had felt a tremor in the force the night before, when they had decided to make camp for one night while the Tusken Raiders searched for an available ship, and Vader was almost sure that this was because the �bearded man� that the lead Tusken had described was truly Obi-Wan. This made Vader feel very certain that the Tuskens were not creating a story; there was no profit for them in doing so, only punishment. Vader was sure that the tales of his wrath had reached the ears of the Tuskens, so they would risk being victims of it.

�There is no need for seconding-guessing, D�Tall. Once we find this ship, we will find the boy. Once we have the boy, we will finish off the jedi. You will be one rich bounty hunter indeed if we come home with the boy and the eliminaton of the last jedi. I will make sure of that.�

D�Tall did not respond, which was largely unusual for her, but a welcome silence to Vader (a break from the sarcasm of the brazen female), and Vader directed his energy to continue searching for the ship. His earlier doubts were quickly forgotten at the prospect of destroying the jedi he had wanted to eliminate the most. Obi-Wan was the incentive for Vader finding his son at this point.

A sudden beeping sound signalled Vader and D�Tall that an enegry reading had been found, and from its placement, it most like had come from a ship leaving Tatooine. �We are on their trail now,� Vader commented, feeling that sick sort of excitement welling within him. A slight smile crept across the Twi-Lek�s face. �Yes. It would seem as though we are.�