---

The Tatooine winds were howling and attacking the mounds of sand as one lone Tusken Raider made his way across the desert.  His eyes were bright with the prospect of payment; he was sure, judging from Vader�s sense of urgency, that if he found this sandy-haired boy, the amount of money Vader would pay to obtain him would well exceed what the Twi-Lek had paid him to lie.  Besides, unlike the other Tusken Raiders, who had eagerly accepted the bribe and then returned to their normal business�those Tuskens that rarely wandered across the desert because they were so occupied with the dealings around the ships�Chann�u�ni (this particular Tusken) had done a great deal of wandering and even more observing, and he had seen this boy before.  He even had a vague idea as to where his whereabouts might be.

Chann�u�ni saw what the other Tusken Raiders did not see: despite their satisfaction in their payment, secrecy, and upper hand on the Hutts, the Tusken Raiders were still becoming pawns�to the Emperor.  They were so smug in their accomplishments and the money they made that they did not see that their intelligence was being drained as the Emperor manipulated them with the promise of more profit.  Anyone that the Emperor saw as a potential threat or even outsider in his empire, he brought under his arm by appealing to their weaknesses�slowly and surely drawing them in.  It made Chann�u�ni sick.

The Tusken Raiders had once been weary and suspicious nomads, wandering the deserts of planets like Tatooine and Mos Espa.  Their suspicions and what may have seemed like brutal treatment of outsiders protected them from the greedy exploits of any other species.  The Tuskens were very observant and very self-reliant, which allowed them to interact with others and successfully exploit these others before the others could exploit them.  The things the Tuskens learned simply from carefully tracking the movement and patterns of other species were extremely useful; they could discover a species� weaknesses and characteristics, and appeal to the weaknesses to get what they needed.  This method of living worked perfectly well for the Tuskens�this is until they ironically fell prey to the same trap that they had used on so many others before.

Chann�u�ni had to have some degree of respect for this Emperor; he was clearly a brilliant man�as observant and conniving as the Tuskens had once been. However, it disgusted him to see his people fall prey to this Emperor�s tricks�to become sucked into another system than their own, which had been successful for many centuries.  The Tuskens had always valued their independence above all else, and now, though they did not see it, it had been taken away from them.  The Emperor had the Tuskens right where he wanted them�as servants of the empire.  But Chann�u�ni had a feeling that this boy would be the leverage he needed to get an upper hand�perhaps even on the Emperor himself.  So despite the sting of the sand being lashed against him by an angry wind, Chann�u�ni continued forward.

---

Luke had gone through a million possibilities in his mind.  These possibilities had first arisen when he remembered his comment to Jimmy that his house was like a hiding place.  The man in Luke�s dream had wanted Luke to stay hidden, and so Luke could think of no better place to be.  However, if his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen decided to go home, then there would be a long journey during which Luke would be out in the open, despite the fact that he would be on a speeder.  He now had a strong feeling that there was danger out there in sunny world, and Luke did not want to put himself in it.

He ran through the possibilities again.  He could say that he had to get his things together and then hide his toy fighter, whereupon he could insist that he had lost it and could not leave without it.  This could hold his aunt and uncle up a little longer.  But the problem with that was that after an hour of waiting, Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen would become fed up and leave anyway, whether Luke had his toy or not.  So this plan was a �no�.  Next Luke had considered acting like he was too ill to make the trip home, but then he remembered that Jimmy had already talked to him, and Luke had been acting fine.  Jimmy would probably blow his cover on this plan. Another �no�.  There had been the possibility of simply just asking to stay another night at Jimmy�s, but Luke knew that his aunt and uncle would remind him of the work load that was waiting at home and then lecture him on how life was not all play and no work.  So Luke was kind of stuck, and even a tinge of panic arose when he heard his Aunt Beru call, "Luke! It�s time we get going, honey!" Luke�s mind raced, hoping that some option he had not considered would present itself, but nothing new came to his mind.  "Aunt Beru"�Luke began to protest, as protesting looked like the best thing to do at the moment, but a sudden stroke of luck interrupted Luke�s protest, in the form of Aunt Beru�s next words�

"Oh, my! Look at that wind out there! It looks like a storm is brewing.  Owen, I don�t think we�re going to be able to get home today after all."

Luke instantly felt as if a great deal of weight had been removed from his shoulders.  Now he would not have to try to employ one of his half-baked ideas, for Mother Nature herself had decided to do him a little favor.  Jimmy perceived Luke�s relief and gave him the thumbs up sign, clearly believing that Luke�s joy stemmed from another day spent with his friend.  Luke smiled back weakly, wondering what would have happened if he hadn�t been able to find an excuse to stay at Jimmy�s house.  Maybe nothing at all, Luke reminded himself to ease his tension, because after all, he had only been warned in a dream, no matter how real it had seemed.  Only, Luke had never had a dream like that before, and something inside of him kept telling him that he should believe what the dream-man told him even though he had never seen him before.

"Jimmy?" Luke found himself once again seeking out the guidance of his friend.

"Hold on, I�ve gotta figure out if this speeder would look better in red or black�" Jimmy replied, completed concentrated on the matter.

Luke looked at Jimmy for a long time, his face marked by a slight frown.  The speeder was no more than four inches high�it was a toy speeder, yet Luke watched as Jimmy visibly debate which color looked better next to the speeder as if the color would affect the efficiency of the speeder a great deal.  At red he pursed his lips and shook his from side to side, signaling contentment, and at black a slow grin crept up his cheek and he nodded.  "Hmmm�maybe black is better�" Jimmy muttered to himself, and then eventually pried his eyes off the speeder and back to Luke.  "What is it you were going to say, Luke?"

Luke looked from the speeder, up to Jimmy�s face, and back to the speeder.  Jimmy may have asked Luke what he was going to say, but Luke could feel the boy�s distraction; he wanted to return to the speeder.

Things that you have not even imagined await you in the future, Luke.

"Never mind, Jimmy." Luke said finally, and he crossed over to the kitchen to make himself a snack because he felt his stomach growl.  "Never mind."

---

"Begin recording.  Our friend has taken to skies, in convinced pursuit of the target.  The plan seems to unfolding well in every aspect.  The younger one has been warned and I believe will heed the warning.  I can no longer directly protect our sky-bound friend as I am still on land, but I am still aware of this friend�s presence via the Force.  I know you dread the outcome, but as we have discussed, it is for the benefit of the entire system of planets, so console yourself in that thought. And the young one will be safe, console yourself with that as well.  As much as you hate to sit and wait, that is what I continue to advise you to do.  He is not your husband anymore and hasn�t been since you-know-when.  Do not reply to this recording.  End recording."

---

"Vader!" D�Tall exclaimed, a bit of panic creeping into her voice, "You�re not following the energy readings!"

Vader continued with the present course without so much of a thought.  "Relax, Twi�Lek. I have a better idea on how to find the boy.  You will get your payment, don�t worry about that." Vader finally assured D�Tall, who�s face remained somewhat nervous.

"I would prefer you call me by my name," D�Tall shot back, but this time her sarcasm was not at all convincing as it was marred by an uncertain tremor in her voice.

Vader suddenly felt better than he had ever since he had met the Twi�Lek, because he once again felt in control.  Things were going his way now.

�D�Tall is finally realizing that her payment relies entirely on my generosity,� Vader thought smugly. �It is about time.�

"What exactly are you doing?" D�Tall finally ventured to ask, breaking the silence that had loomed over the two while Vader had been lost in his thoughts.

"I�m going to outsmart Obi-Wan at his own little game," Vader mused aloud.  "You see, this energy reading is fluctuating a little too rapidly to be emitted directly from the ship itself.  Obi-Wan is trying to throw us off course.  So I am plotting a new course according to where I think the ship actually is judging by the distance between the speed of the fluxes and the projected flight course."

"Of course!" The Twi-Lek�s face lit up.  "I�ve had a nagging feeling that something was eluding us the entire voyage!" Vader turned towards D�Tall, willing to listen if the bounty hunter finally had something bounty-hunter-ish to say.  "There is a function in the make of ships like this one that allows a false energy stream to be emitted at a particular degree to the right of its original source.  If I could just access this ship�s information panel, as it is the same type of ship as we are supposing that Obi-Wan and the boy are in, then I could locate the exact position of the actual energy stream, which is probably masked by the false one.  If you�ll please give me control of the helm?"

Vader relinquished his position although he was still a bit skeptical of D�Tall�s sudden eureka.  But because her �nagging feeling� somewhat resembled what he himself had been feeling, Vader reassured his doubts with the fact that D�Tall had been very efficient at leading him in the right direction so far, as she knew that her pay was in Vader�s hands.

D�Tall Kah, still caught up in her moment of insight, excitedly keyed some information into the ship�s computer, asking it for the exact coordinates of the ship�s whereabouts.  Then she pressed a few extra buttons that Vader was not familiar with.

"What did you just do?" Vader demanded, his suspicions rising once again.

"Relax Vader.  If finding the whereabouts of the ship was as easily done as typing in a sequence, then you could have done it.  But I am familiar with this type of ship and I know the codes necessary to activate the sequences.  Now the computer will be able to clearly process the information that I requested, and its scanners will overlook the false energy readings and search for a lower resolution output, which will most likely be the real ship�s trail."

Vader was not completely pacified by the Twi-Lek�s answer, but he accepted it nevertheless, for he had to begrudgingly admit that she did know more about this type of ship than him.  The reason for Vader�s ignorance was that fact that until this mission, he had avoided Tatooine at all costs, so he was not accustomed to new forms of transportation that were used on the planet now.  These new forms of transportation included ships whose features and controls were certainly not like the ones he had used as a boy.  �Stop thinking about the past or you will begin to feel compassion for your son�� Vader quickly scolded himself.

Suddenly, Vader jumped out of his seat and pounded his fist against the nearest desktop.  Luckily, it was not one of the ship�s control panels, so no machinery suffered any damage.  Still, D�Tall Kah raised an eyebrow at Vader�s unexpected outburst and gave him a curious look that seemed to be a mix between shock and worry�as if she knew something that he did not know�and this something was bothering her.  Vader, enraged at having lost control of his actions, and even further frustrated by the Twi-Lek�s look, stormed into one of the cramped ready-rooms built into the ship.

"Continue the search," he yelled back gruffly to D�Tall as he entered the nearest room, which was only large enough to accommodate a bed and tiny nightstand.  However, the objects within the room were of little matter to Vader, because all that he needed was to be alone for a moment.

Vader�s large frame hovering over the tiny bed would have, in an alternate circumstances, been almost laughable, but Vader was too upset at the moment for allow anything to be taken lightly.  Not that his presence ever allowed for any humor in the first place.

Vader paced (as well as one can pace in tiny quarters) around the room while gazing vacantly upwards for a long few minutes, and then angrily threw himself upon the bed and dropped his head (or helmet) into his hands (gloves).  Had the small part of Anakin left within Vader�s mind conjured the image that Vader had suddenly seen on the ship�s bridge, or had it been real? Vader�s thoughts plunged into a fit of confusion, playing and replaying every single time that Emperor Palpatine had uttered, "I am afraid she is dead, my friend. Let go of the past."

For you see, Vader had seen�in that split second before he pounded against the ship�s interior in frustration�the image of his wife as she would appear this very day, and he could not find the strength to face anyone, not even D�Tall or himself for that matter, while her face haunted him.  Her face brought back memories, emotions, flashbacks�things that washed over Vader like a great typhoon�but most of all her face brought back the feeling that Vader hated most of all: guilt.  Because along with Amidala�s face came the question �what would she think of me now?� and deep down inside�or perhaps in that corner of Vader�s mind where Anakin lived�Vader knew the answer.

If Vader had had the ability to cry at that moment, he would have.  But he did not even have tear ducts left in his cold, machine-like body.

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