Chapter 01

Luke Skywalker opened his eyes, expecting one of the sandpeople to be preparing to finish him off, but there was nothing there. He blinked, and sat up, then blinked again as he found himself looking up at the wall of a building. Frowning, and wondering if the Tusken had hit him harder than he'd thought, he looked around to find himself in an alley in what seemed to be one of Tatooine's larger cities. He didn't recognize it but knew immediately it wasn't Anchorhead. Mos Eisley maybe. But, how had he gotten here?

He pulled his mind away from that when he saw a familiar gold droid lying against a nearby building. Threepio was missing an arm and appeared to have put suffered damage to its legs. After a few moments he also heard a faint beep from next to the gold droid, and as he pushed himself up onto unsteady legs he saw R2-D2 extending a tool to work on Threepio's damaged legs.

Luke steadied himself against the building in front of him, and walked toward the droids. As he got closer Threepio spotted him and said, "Master Luke."

R2 turned its dome toward him and beeped for a moment before returning its attention to the other droid.

"Where are we?" Luke asked, assuming the droids had been conscious when the trio had arrived.

R2 beeped in confusion, and Threepio answered, "We don't know sir. After the creatures attacked we seem to have lost some time, and only became aware again here."

Luke frowned. "Maybe someone found us and brought us back here." That didn't make sense to him, but it was the closest he had to a solution. "We need to get back home," he said finally.

Threepio tried to stand but couldn't. Luke looked over the droid more carefully and found there was more damage than he'd initially thought. The droid's circuits had been heavily damaged, and were going to need specialized tools he didn't have with him to fix. Which, he realized, meant he was going to have to carry the droid until they found transportation. There was no way he was leaving his uncle's new droid lying in an alley in some unknown city.

Carefully Luke pulled Threepio to stand, and started to half carry, half pull the droid forward. He got all of five ten feet when he had to set it down to rest. The reality was this droid was far too heavy for him to make it even as far as a local landspeeder rental, which he realized now he didn't have the money for anyway. As he sat and tried to think of a way out of this he heard a boy ask, "Are you okay mister?"

Almost immediately R2 began beeping at the top of its voice, and Luke had to turn to the droid and ask it be be quiet before he could answer. The little droid sullenly fell silent, and Luke turned to where the voice had come from to find himself looking into what was almost a mirror of himself as a child. He smiled at the coincidence and said, "Not really. I'm stuck here with these two droids, and one of them can't walk."

The boy looked at Threepio and said, "That's a protocol droid right?" Not waiting for Luke to answer the boy continued, "I've been working on one at home to help mom. I might be able to fix him."

Luke smiled, "I can fix him," he assured the boy, "I just need some tools and a spot to work away from," he fell silent and just gestured around him.

The boy grinned in response and said, "Here, I don't live far away."

True to his word the boy lived only a few buildings away, but even with the two of them dragging Threepio it took the better part of ten minutes to get the droid into the building. As they walked the boy introduced himself as Anakin, which Luke noted with amusement was his father's name. The house was small, far smaller than Luke was used to, but it seemed relatively comfortable compared to some of the homes Luke had seen at Anchorhead. Anakin led him to a room where a half-finished protocol droid was lying deactivated. Just from glancing at it Luke could tell the droid would probably function but doing so was dangerous with the wires and circuits exposed.

R2, who had been quiet since his last outburst suddenly began beeping again, even more in earnest. This time Luke asked Threepio, "what is he so excited about?"

Threepio listened to the beeps for a moment, then finally answered, "He isn't making any sense." He paused as R2 stopped his constant stream of beeps and then made a short series. "He wants to know what year it is." Threepio said finally. "Really Master Luke, I don't know what has gotten into him. Do you think the weather has affected his circuits?"

"Don't know," Luke answered. He finally said, "But the year is 19. Why?"

R2 responded with another series of beeps, and Threepio said after a moment's hesitation, "he wants Anakin to tell him what year it is."

"I'm not sure," Anakin answered. "I don't really pay attention." He leaned out of his door and called, "Mom, what year is it?"

From somewhere deeper in the house a woman called back, "978." Luke frowned at that, he'd never heard of the year being that high, but there were several calendars, and really the month had always been more important for his uncle.

R2 beeped faster, this time sounding even more excited. As the little droid settled down Threepio said, "he wants to know if you have met the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn." He turned his head back to Luke and said, "I really don't know why he is acting like this."

Anakin however said, "yes. He's coming back later today to help me sell my podracer."

"A podracer?" Luke asked in surprise. The sport was fairly well-known on Tatooine, but so far as he knew no human had ever raced in it, their reflexes just weren't good enough.

"That's right," Anakin said. "I built it myself." He suddenly looked abashed and whispered, "Don't tell anyone. Watto thinks it was Qui-Gon's pod, I'm not supposed to have built it."

Luke smiled, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." He thought for a moment about something the boy had said before asking, "who's Watto?"

Anakin looked down and after a moment said, "He's my master, and mom's. He bought us from Gardulla the Hut a few years ago. Technically the pod is his, but if he doesn't know about it and if we can sell it without him knowing…" He trailed off, the hope evident in his voice.

Luke's blood turned cold at that knowledge however. Slavery. He hated slavery. His uncle had told him stories of slavers, and the man's own step-mother had been a slave before Luke's grandfather had bought and freed her. Uncle Owen had never been a particularly political man. The man had had no particular political views, beyond a general disregard for the Empire, but he had instilled a deep distaste for slavery in his nephew.

Something in Luke's thoughts must have shown through because Anakin hurriedly said, "I built it out of spare parts Watto was throwing away. It wasn't really stealing."

"Don't worry," Luke said, fighting down his anger at the situation. "I won't tell him."

Before the pair could talk more a middle-aged woman walked into the room, and Luke froze when he saw her. The woman looked exactly like the few pictures of his stepmother that he had seen in his uncle's house. He shook himself out of that however, simply thinking it was yet another odd coincidence in what had, so far, been the strangest day of his life.

The woman smiled when she saw him and asked, "Are you bringing more visitors into the house Ani?"

"Mom…" the boy said. "He just needed some help with his droid." He gestured to Threepio, who's circuits were nearly repaired.

"Its okay," the woman said. She sat down next to the two boys and kindly asked, "What is your name?"

"Luke," Luke answered. "Luke Skywalker."

The woman chuckled, "What a coincidence. My name is Schmi Skywalker, I didn't know we might have family on this planet."

"My aunt and uncle live near Anchorhead," Luke said, guessing he'd found the reason behind the resemblance. "Maybe I can introduce you."

"Anchorhead?" The woman asked. "You are a long way from home Luke."

"Really?" Luke asked, "I'm not entirely certain where I am. I was unconscious for most of the trip."

"You are in Mos Espa," the woman said.

Luke frowned at that. He had apparently traveled four hundred kilometers since he had last stopped. "I need to call my uncle," he said after a moment. "He'll need to arrange transport back."

"We don't have a communicator," the woman said apologetically.

"Maybe Qui-Gon can help." Anakin piped up from where he was soldering something in Threepio's leg. "I'm sure their ship has a communicator."

"I'll ask him when he comes," Luke agreed.

Luke spent another hour in the Skywalker home, getting to know the family before Qui-Gon Jinn arrived. He got up to introduce himself when R2 went into another round of excited beeps.

"I was sure you were back on the ship," Luke heard Qui-Gon comment as he saw the little droid.

Luke started to speak when R2 suddenly projected a hologram similar to the one of Princess Leia Luke had seen yesterday. It was clearly of Qui-Gon Jinn saying, "I can only protect you, I can't fight a war for you." A moment later the hologram disappeared and another appeared, this one appeared to show Qui-Gon burning on a funeral pyre. The Jedi Master stared at it for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is this?"

Luke again tried to interject, but R2 shifted scenes again, showing a man Luke recognized from his few public appearances as the Emperor declaring peace across the galaxy, and then a speech in which he decried the Jedi as outlaws.

R2 shut the holoprojector off after a moment and went into another series of excited beeps. After a moment Threepio said, "R2 seems to have lost control of his memory circuits. He is insisting that the we seem to be 32 years in the past. Really I don't know where he comes up with these ideas."

Qui-Gon frowned, then pulled out a small communicator, flicked a switch and said, "Is the R2 unit onboard the ship?"

There was a crackle on the other end, and a younger voice answered, "Yes Master. You left it here when you went to retrieve the boy. Is there a problem?"

"Possibly," Qui-Gon answered, "but I will investigate. This should not delay our departure significantly." He put the communicator down and said to the droid, "Now, what is happening with you."

R2 began beeping again, and at Qui-Gon's look Threepio translated, "He says that you're name is Qui-Gon Jinn, that you are a Jedi Master currently training a Padawan named Obi-Wan Kenobi, and you are here to retrieve parts to fix a ship belonging to Queen Padme Amidala of Naboo. You have won the freedom of Anakin Skywalker so that he may be trained as a Jedi due to a belief that he is a prophesied Chosen One."

Qui-Gon frowned. "Where did you come from?" he mused.

Feeling that was his opening Luke said, "my uncle bought him yesterday. He's been acting up, but I'm sure its just a temporary malfuncti…"

Qui-Gonn raised his hand, "It seems to me he is predicting the future, and if his insistence on this story is true…" He trailed off, then asked, "Why did our ship land here?"

R2 beeped in response, and Threepio translated, "He says the ship was fleeing a Trade Federation blockade of the planet Naboo, and its hyperdrive was damaged."

Qui-Gon nodded. He stood and turned to Luke before asking, "What year is it?"

"19," Luke responded promptly.

"Under what calendar?" Qui-Gon prompted.

"Uh, the Imperial standard calendar." Luke answered.

"Imperial?" Qui-Gon asked. Then he asked, "What is the main power in the galaxy?"

"The Empire," Luke said, a bit hesitantly. "My uncle said the Republic voted in Emperor Palpatine nineteen years ago, and redid the calendar."

"Palpatine?" Qui-Gon said, almost to himself.

He thought for a moment, then said, "I believe this little astomech is telling the truth. Or at least a significant part of it. I will need the three of you to join me on a trip to Coruscant. And I will need to speak far more with this droid."

"I need to get home," Luke protested. "My aunt and uncle will be worried, and these droids are ours. I was supposed to get its memory wiped…"

"I will contact your aunt and uncle," Qui-Gon interrupted, "and will pay any price for that droid to keep its memory intact."

"I…I'll have to check." Luke said finally.

Qui-Gon stopped for a moment, then said "you should understand that if your droid is correct and you have ended up in the past, it's possible you don't have an aunt and uncle."

Luke dismissed that idea as ridiculous, but he needed a communicator, and agreed to go along with it.

Qui-Gon had a bit of business to take care of and Luke found himself waiting with the droids down the street. Threepio was talking about something, while R2 was oddly silent given how much he had been beeping earlier. After perhaps half an hour though Qui-Gon arrived with Anakin and the group started out of the city. As they exited Mos Espa R2 began beeping again, and Threepio said, "R2 says we are going to be attacked by a Sith when we reach the ship."

Qui-Gon frowned, but raised his commlink and said, "Obi-Wan, could you wait for us outside the ship. Bring your lightsaber."

Soon Luke saw the bright silver ship sitting outside the city, and he stared at it in excitement. He'd never seen a ship anything like this, and almost forgot about needing to go home, and thought back to his dreams of leaving this planet behind. He was distracted however as Qui-Gon ordered, "get ready to drop on my command." A few moments passed, then the Jedi said, "now."

Luke did as ordered, throwing himself forward, and next to him Anakin did the same. Qui-Gon however as on his feet almost immediately, lightsaber flashing up to his hand as he brought the blade around to slice through a speeder which had just gone over the other two. Luke glanced up to see the speeder smash into a sand dune, and then a black clad figure landed in the sand between the group and the ship. Whoever was attacking them was a species Luke had never seen, and had a lightsaber in his hand immediately.

The Sith lept toward Qui-Gon, locking blades immediately. "Get to the ship," Qui-Gon ordered as he began fighting.

Luke didn't need to be told twice, beginning to run as he did so. The droids followed behind at a slower pace, but Anakin raced ahead, and was the first one up the ramp. As they ran a second man, Luke presumed to be Obi-Wan raced past him, an unignited lightsaber in his own hand." As Luke reached the ship's ramp he glanced back to see the third combatant had ignited a blue lightsaber and had joined the duel.

He could barely follow the trio's movements, which seemed almost a dance rather than what he imagined combat would be like. As the fight continued more people from the ship joined them. The first to do so was a tall black man who carried a blaster and was prepared to fire, but the second person, a young woman stopped him. "The Jedi don't need our help," she said. "Our aid would only distract them."

The man slowly lowered his blaster, but said, "I will order the pilot to prepare for takeoff if they lose." He disappeared back up the ramp, and a woman in far more ornate make-up arrived to watch the battle.

Luke returned his attention to it as Obi-Wan sliced through the Sith's lightsaber, leaving only one side of the two-sided blade active. As he did so however he must have dropped his guard, and the Sith brought his blade around, and a moment later there was a cry of pain and Obi-Wan's lightsaber was extinguished and the man was kicked out of the fight.

It was now just Qui-Gonn and the Sith, but the it was clear the Sith's attack on Obi-Wan had distracted him at a crucial moment. With a flourish Qui-Gonn brought his blade around, and sliced through the Sith's neck. The remaining red blade was extinguished, and the man's headless body fell. As it did so the woman in make-up turned to her guards and ordered, "go check on them."

None of them acknowledged, instead running out to the two Jedi. Obi-Wan was rapidly picked up and carried into the ship. As they passed Luke saw that the man's right hand had been severed, leaving a cauterized stump behind.

Qui-Gon raised one hand and summoned part of the destroyed speeder bike. He looked over it, then returned to the ship. He bowed to the woman in make-up and said, "your majesty. I have discovered the location of the attacker's ship. I know we have already spent a significant amount of time on this planet, but I believe this attacker is related to the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo. We only have a limited time to investigate…"

He was cut off by the queen who said, "If it will unearth information to save our people, then feel free to investigate Master Qui-Gon."

Qui-Gon bowed again, "thank you, your majesty."

"I've never heard of you before in my life," a man who claimed to be Cliegg Lars snapped at Luke. "Never contact me or my family ever again." He shut down the communication and Luke sat and stared at the deactivated image.

He was still there several minutes later when Anakin found him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I…" Luke started. "I just spoke to a man I know has been dead for twenty years." He trailed off. Then said, "But…how?"

"The Force works in mysterious ways," someone behind Anakin said. Luke glanced up to see Obi-Wan. "Master Qui-Gon has returned and wishes to speak to you and your droids," the Jedi continued. Luke nodded mutely and stood and started to follow. As he did so he glanced down at Obi-Wan's hand, which naturally was still missing. Seeing his glance Obi-Wan said, "Permanent I'm afraid. The Order should be able to give me a mechanical hand but…" He sighed, "I thought I was ready, but in my battle with a Sith I immediately lose a hand and my master has to finish them." He didn't elaborate, but Luke got the feeling the man had lost a great deal of confidence from the duel.