EPILOGUE - Galen Lars

Return to Tatooine felt less strange than he had thought it would. After a week of subzero temperatures he had endured during his first mission since relocating on Tatooine, the heat of the twin suns above the Mos Eisley sky that greeted him as he stepped down the ramp of his ship felt almost welcoming. And despite he loved being back in action, he couldn't deny after five days he'd already missed home.

Home.

He smiled to himself thinking of it. He missed aunt Beru's gentle fussing, he missed uncle Owen's silent, stoic demeanour. Kriff, he even missed Luke and his childishness. He missed the absurdity of school and the band of kids that had become his friends.

Lieutenant Lekauf followed him out into the sunlight with PROXY. The man had served as his temporary pilot for half of the way. He had picked Starkiller up from the farm with a speeder and then piloted the Rogue Shadow to Scarl. A pang of nostalgia had hit the young apprentice at the sight of his old home. But as soon as he had stepped onto the what should have been a familiar platform, he'd felt like an intruder in the silence of the vast, empty ship. It was cold and unfamiliar.

It hadn't been a long stay. His new actual pilot had arrived soon after and he got a new mission to focus on. Lekauf stayed to oversee it. It filled Starkiller with nervousness to know that someone so close to Lord Vader was watching and analysing him, but it also made him strive for success even harder.

His new pilot had stayed behind at Scarl. He would never know where Starkiller lived or with who he lived. His only purpose was to fly him safely to wherever his missions required him to go. No questions asked.

Starkiller didn't care what the pilot wrote on his reports about him, but the curiosity to what Lekauf wrote was almost overwhelming. He didn't dare to ask, though. The Lieutenant had already told the files about him he'd received from Lord Vader were classified, so it was unlikely he would be allowed to know contents of these reports, either.

With the Rogue Shadow safely locked in its rented docking bay they walked a short distance to Lekauf's residence and the Lieutenant drove the apprentice and his droid companion back to the farm.

"We need to get you your own swoop", Lekauf remarked. Starkiller agreed, knowing the Lieutenant would get him one. Master Vader had paid him handsomely. His residence was small, but it was located near the most expensive area of Mos Eisley. Tatooine in general may have been poor, but the rich here lived like kings.

Only Beru was home to greet Galen. Owen had returned the north ridge little before their arrival and Luke was still at school in Anchorhead. She greeted him with a warm, affectionate hug, but immediately pulled away and amusedly ordered him to take a sonic and change his clothes. Galen blushed like he never had before, suddenly hyper aware of how sweaty and dirty he must have been. There might have even been some blood in his hair.

Once the boy was gone, Beru turned stern. She sat down with the Lieutenant, having insisted the man would stay until dinner at least if not overnight. Later she'd point out how dangerous it'd be to travel at night, so perhaps the man would agree to stay until morning. She certainly hoped so. It was nice to have a guest and she felt bad for Erv who'd stay all alone in Mos Eisley so soon after being separated from his wife and children.

"Tell me about him", Beru asked. "Tell me about what he does. I know Galen's not going out there to pet banthas, but how bad is it? How dangerous it it?"

"Very dangerous", Erv replied.

"I need to know", she insisted quietly. "If I'm to be a mother to that boy–"

"He's not a boy", Erv cut her off. It was something he had needed to remind himself of constantly until he'd seen Starkiller in action. "He's not a child. He hasn't been a child since Lord Vader took him. He's an assassin. He's a Sith apprentice."

"All the more reason for me to give him some normality", she claimed. "I don't care what Vader's made him. If he wants Galen to stay here, it'll be as a member of the family. He knows this, and he agreed to it."

"All I'm saying is that he's not like Luke. He's not like other children. He'll never be like that."

Erv looked across the yard. "What I'm about to share with you is highly confidential. You must not repeat it, especially not to Starkiller."

Beru nodded. "I understand."

"To be honest, I don't understand much about the Force or the Jedi or the Sith", Erv spoke. "Certainly more than is safe to know these days, but it's still not much. I know who Lord Vader is, who he was. Not that he'd ever told me, but working as close as I did it was an evident conclusion. I know what people used to say about him and I've seen what he's capable of. So I do have an idea what the Force can do."

Erv turned back to look at Beru. "Lord Vader sees potential in Starkiller. He'd have never kept him alive for so long if he didn't. He'd have never sent him here if he didn't. He didn't only train him to become a perfect assassin, he trained for him to become a possible successor. He's doesn't call him an apprentice, but that's what I think he is. And I think that's what Lord Vader thinks, too. Starkiller is strong in the Force, nearly as strong as Lord Vader himself."

Beru nodded, though with her limited knowledge of what Vader was capable of she had no real idea of the potential Starkiller had. And Erv didn't delude himself by thinking he understood that either.

"His parents were both rogue Jedi who left the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. His mother was apparently already dead when Lord Vader killed his father." He paused.

"Don't feel too bad about his parents", Erv said, noticing how Beru's mouth had become a thin line. "Starkiller's father was an enemy of the state. So was his mother. The Jedi turned against the Senate they'd sworn to serve."

Beru didn't reply. But she supposed she couldn't be the judge here, either. She was not well informed of the affairs of the late Galactic Republic, nor of the politics behind the Clone Wars. Even the Empire, while it had some presence here on Tatooine, was alien to her. None of it mattered much here in the Outer Rim.

"All I know is that Lord Vader saw the child's potential and decided to spare him. Decided to train him in secrecy instead of have him killed in the name of the Empire and the Emperor. Starkiller's been trained in the Sith and Jedi arts since he was three years old. His training has been brutal and cruel, and what he is now is the result of that. He may look like a child, but you must never forget that he's a trained killer. He won't think twice of killing a man."

"Are you trying to intimidate me, Lieutenant?" Beru asked with slight annoyance.

"No. I'm trying to make you see things realistically. You need to be aware of what he is. Lord Vader will make use of his talents and test him as often as possible. He will be shot at, people will very seriously do everything they can to kill him. And Starkiller will kill anyone that stands between him and his goal without mercy, with no remorse. That's what he was trained to do. It's what he lived for until he came here."

"I understand that. But that's not all he is, not anymore."

"Perhaps. But just because he now has a..." Erv looked at her in the eyes, assessing her, "...family, doesn't erase his past or his purpose."

"I'm not trying to do that", she argued. "I wouldn't. But I'm not going to treat him like a child soldier. It's not right. He's a child. He deserves to know what normal life is like."

"And I agree with you, Beru", he said. "I'm a parent, too. I'm not trying to say you shouldn't give him that. What I mean... What I'm trying to say is that he'll never be a normal child. Luke won't be, either. This isn't about him, this is about you. You can't ignore his status as Lord Vader's apprentice, you can't ignore that Luke will be taught in Sith arts. It's going to be part of their life and you must accept that."

Beru looked down at the glass of water between her hands. "I'm trying, but it's not easy", she confessed. She knew it wasn't for her to decide, but she didn't want Luke to grow up a killer. She didn't want for his sweet little boy talking about killing a man as easily as Galen did. And now that she had Galen as well she would've rather pulled him away from the violent madness of what it meant to be Vader's apprentice. What Anakin had done to the boy was cruel. It was wrong. Yet she could not change it and she should not judge him. She didn't understand the Force, so how could she think she had any right to say what the training should or shouldn't be like? She swallowed, fingers clutching tighter around the glass.

"I never asked to become Luke's guardian", she spoke quietly. "I never wanted anything to do with the Force or the Jedi or Obi-Wan. I didn't want to get pulled into this, I never wanted for Luke to get involved, either. He's like a son to me, I love him. But I never wanted any of this. We were fine, we were happy. Then Anakin showed up and turned everything upside down. I don't know if I can do this. Galen is a good boy, but he's also so...cold. I fear for Luke. Stars, I fear for both of them."

Beru's face sprang up when Erv's hands suddenly wrapped around hers. The man's brown eyes gazed into her's with firm reassurance.

"You are a remarkable woman, Mrs Lars", he stated calmly. "If anyone can handle two Force sensitive children training to become Sith it's you."

Beru looked back into the man's scarred face. She saw an honourable, dutiful man. His features were hardened by his military bearing, and he was earnest in his loyalty and admiration for Darth Vader. But behind the commitment she saw not only kindness and understanding, but sadness and loss. Here she sat and complained while this man had given up everything to do his duty to the man whose son she was raising.

"Thank you, Lieutenant", she spoke softly. They both pulled their hands away.

"I've no doubt you'll do excellent job bringing up these boys", Erv said. "But never forget what means for them to be Force sensitives, especially for Starkiller. He's Lord Vader's apprentice."

"I'll try not to", she promised with a sigh. They changed the subject. Erv told her about his living arrangements and Rogue Shadow's placement. He had a lot of questions about the local customs, history and culture, and Beru was was far happier telling him about her home planet than discussing her boys. Galen returned and joined them, equally interested in everything he could get to know of his new home. Not long after they heard a sound of a speeder, and Biggs's father greeted them above from the ground level to check it was safe for Luke to come. With a strange vehicle parked by the doorway you never knew in these parts.

Soon after Luke skipped down the stairs.

"Galen..!" he called and ran across the yard to greet him. Galen stood up, only to very nearly loose his footing when Luke jumped to hug him.

"Nice to see you, too", the older boy muttered, but couldn't help but to smile a little as well.

"Hi, Erv", Luke grinned, still hanging onto Galen.

"Hello, Luke", the Lieutenant returned the greeting with an alarmed glance at Beru. She only looked amused.

"Did you do the katas every day?" Galen asked, gently but firmly pushing Luke away to get some space between them.

"Yep."

"Every day?"

"Uh, well maybe not every day", Luke confessed uneasily. "I might have skipped them once or twice."

Galen frowned disapprovingly. "That's not good. We could go through them now. You need to practice."

Luke's face fell. "What, right now?"

"Yes right now. Come on."

Luke complained, but secretly he was quite pleased. Especially after the katas he managed to convince Galen to show off telekinesis and Luke could give it a go, too. He had improved in it a little, though it still took great amount of concentration. As night grew closer, Owen returned. The family and their guest ate together. The boys helped their aunt with the dishes while uncle Owen produced a bottle of finest ale they sold in Anchorhead, and he and Erv sat down with drinks. Luke escaped the company into the living room to watch holo dramas, leaving Galen alone with Beru for the first time since he'd returned.

Beru pulled him into a gentle embrace. "I'm glad you're back in one piece", she said. "I was worried."

Galen smiled shyly, hugging her back. "You don't need to worry about me, aunt Beru. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can", she agreed, pulling away from the hug. "But I'm not naïve. Whatever it is you're doing, wherever Vader sends you, I know it's dangerous."

"If you want, I can tell you about it", the boy offered hesitantly, but Beru shook her head.

"I'd rather you didn't."

"I know it's not something you wanna hear", Galen told, pang of disappointment in his heart. "But it's what I do. It's what I was meant to do. It's my destiny, it's the will of the Force. And I'm proud of it."

Beru smiled at him gently, but it wasn't a happy smile. "I'm sure deep down he's very proud of you, too."

Galen looked away. He wanted to agree with her, he did. But she didn't know his Master. Lord Vader wasn't like that, he just wasn't. More than anything Galen wanted to make his Master proud, but he wasn't supposed to pursue things like pride. He was to be a Sith. He didn't need someone to tell what a good job he'd done or boost his ego. Those were distractions.

And yet. "Do you think so?"

Beru's smile reached her eyes and there was an amused glint in them at his frightened, hopeful expression, but it also stung her to know how little this troubled boy had ever received genuine human affection. How he seemed to think he deserved none of it.

"Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down" she assured him, suppressing an urge to reach out to caress his hair. She didn't want to overwhelm Galen. Poor boy still looked so lost when touched gently, his reactions to them still stiff and awkward. From his downcast eyes she could tell he didn't believe her.

"We're happy you're here", she tried, but the Galen's uneasiness remained.

"Hey..." she called gently. She recalled her earlier conversation with Erv. "Darth Vader wouldn't have sent you here if he didn't believe in you. Even if he's never said it, he wouldn't have trained you if he didn't believe in you."

The boy's lips curled up in a genuine smile and to her surprise Galen pulled her into another hug. "I'm really happy to be here, too, aunt Beru."

He let go as abruptly as he had started and stepped away from her. He felt like he needed air.

"I mean it", he managed to say before mumbling something about checking on PROXY, turning around and making a hasty escape outside. Neither Owen or Erv noticed him slip through the yard and walk up the stairs. He heard them toast and laugh.

Out in the desert the setting suns cast long shadows on the ground. Galen breathed in a few deep breaths and walked to the raised ledge of the pit that was his home. The voices from the dining table where uncle Owen and Lieutenant Lekauf sat barely carried here. Far away in horizon first of the suns was already dipping into the skyline.

The binary sunset. What a magnificent sight it was. The galaxy was truly a magical place.

Galen stopped at the edge, facing the setting suns. Dry desert wind played with his short hair and the edges of his robes. The sandy, barren wasteland went on and on as far as he could see. Behind him he could hear the hum of the closest vaporators.

He looked at the view and for the first time since his arrival absolute calm filled him. The landscape before him and the homestead around him. They were his home, but only now did he truly feel so. And the people here –aunt Beru and uncle Owen. PROXY forever by his side. Lieutenant Lekauf who'd return to Mos Eisley tomorrow. And Luke. His brother Luke. This was his family.

It didn't feel like such a bad thing after all.

And so ends the the final part of this fic. But fear not, there's more. You may have noticed that Walking the Stars has now become Walking the Stars - Rivals. The first chapter of its sequel, Walking the Stars - Brothers, has been posted as well. I hope you've enjoyed the fic and I hope you'll continue enjoying it. :) Please let me know what you think if you've got a moment to spare.