Sand

Luke Skywalker was no stranger to Tatooine. Considering he had spent 19 years of his life on the planet, the double suns, heat and endless dunes of sand meant little to him. Well, it meant little other than his first home. It felt like longer, but in reality it had only been three years since he had left the planet, swearing to never return. Then again, he hadn't intended to find a friendship with the cocky smuggler that had taken him off the planet, and certainly not with the former Princess of Alderaan. He suspected they felt the same way, but he also had to face the fact that his father also happened to be the most feared man in the galaxy, if one could call him that. He was, after all, more machine than man.

But there wasn't time to think about that as Luke slowly entered the atmosphere of Tatooine, R2-D2 beeping and whistling as they approached. "Yeah, I know R2. Let's land in the canyon behind Ben's house" he instructed the droid. Even though Luke couldn't see the abode in the sand where the former Jedi Master had lived, he knew R2 was already piloting them in the proper direction. Now, all they had to worry about was being spotted by the Empire, Boba Fett or Jabba.

Slowly Tatooine grew closer. Now Luke could see the rise and fall of the sand dunes that covered the planet, and off to the right in the distance he could make out the city of Mos Eisley. Finally, a small white speck appeared on the horizon of Tatooine. Ben Kenobi's House. "There, land there" he said, pointing forward to a spot behind the home where the walls of the canyon would conceal his X-Wing from view. That was the last thing they needed, someone finding out they were here, and an X-Wing in the middle of nowhere on Tatooine was pretty obvious considering the circumstances. Not necessarily apparent to the casual visitor, but if the ship was left out, any approaching ship would have the ability to locate it. If that happened, they'd be blown to pieces faster than Luke could light his lightsaber.

Once they did finally touch down, Luke opened the top of the ship while R2-D2 shut the systems down. The heat hit him immediately. You'd think that after all those years of living here he would have gotten used to the heat, but while it didn't bother him much, the initial impact was still forceful. He attached the ladder and descended from the cockpit, landing softly on the sand below after he jumped off the final steps. Luke looked back up at R2, "You finish shutting her down and then get yourself out of there. I'm going to go check out the house and then we can unload the supplies." The droid beeped an affirmative, allowing Luke to head towards the small building.

Luke assumed the place hadn't been touched since they had left it three years ago. He remembered it well. Kenobi had told him about his father. Lied to him about his father. Told him that he had been a pilot and that he had wanted him to have the lightsaber. Funny how things worked out. That he would be back here only months after losing that same lightsaber in a battle with his real father. The father he had assumed dead.

Outside, it was obvious that between the sand and the lack of care, the walls had faded. A small pile of wood sat on one side of the hut, although it appeared to be slowly breaking apart. While wood wasn't used often on Tatooine, for some it was needed to cook food, and to keep the room warm on the cold nights. It didn't make sense for it to be cold, but it was sometimes, especially after the twin suns had set on the horizon.

Luke pushed the door open slowly, allowing it to creak and hiss as the hinges moved. The inside of the hut was untouched, surprising since the Jawas normally infiltrated a house not long after the owner let or died. That was normal on Tatooine, this was not. Then again, Ben had lived most of his life here, alone. Before Luke knew of the fact Kenobi was a jedi, he believed the same as everyone else. They all thought he was a crazy old man. Now, Luke could see why Kenobi lived the way he did because he was trying to live that way too. Simply.

Just beyond the door was the one main room of the home. Off to the immediate left sat the fresher, and Luke knew there was a small room that he figured they could later use as a bedroom as well. To the forward right was the kitchen, raised up a few steps from the remainder of the house. The rest of the hut was made up of the living area where they had talked all that time ago. It wasn't big, that was for sure, and Luke knew it would be cramped if they all stayed here. He would be fine sleeping on the couch, if that's what you wanted to call it. Really it was just more of a piece of stone with some pillows, but it would have to do. Han and Leia would need the other room. That was, if they all came out of this alive.

Luke's current question though was where Obi-Wan got his power and water. Most people had generators just outside their home, but he hadn't seen anything like that on his way in. It was possible to live without power on Tatooine, and it was quite possible that Ben had done just that, but the water had to be somewhere, and that was mysteriously missing as well. He was walking up the steps into the kitchen when he heard R2 enter the abode behind him. He whistled and whirled as he rolled through the door.

"Yeah, I know R2. You shut the ship down?" he asked, turning back to look at the little droid. R2 confirmed that he had before coming closer to his master. Luke sighed, "Do you remember it? The last time we were here?" he asked.

R2 did, in fact, recall the previous visit to the small home, since his memory hadn't been wiped for some time. He made a small sound to indicate to Luke his thoughts.

"I remember it too" he responded. "I wasn't a jedi yet, although I suppose technically I'm still not a jedi. I never finished my training. Still, I hadn't met Han or Leia, and technically I still lived here on Tatooine back then. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were still alive too." Luke continued to look through the house, his mind filled with a mixture of sorrow and determination. "But you know what. We need to figure this out. We need to save Han. If not for us and Chewie, then especially for Leia." He looked back to the droid, "any ideas where the water is? You're the one who was supposedly his droid."

R2 whistled and rolled himself toward the kitchen, his extra leg enabling him to make the step up to the higher platform.

"Where are you going?" Luke inquired, obviously curious that the droid had moved so quickly. He followed him, jumping up the step after him with ease. R2 whistled as he stopped near a rug on the floor. Luke stopped short of it, looking puzzled, "What's up with this?" Another whirl. He laughed, "You're kidding, right?"

R2 did not sound amused.

"Fine, fine, I just don't think…" he started, but stopped as he moved the rug. He hadn't expected to find the trap door that was apparent on the floor. He glanced between the door and the droid a few times before slowly opening the hatch. The hole was dark and smelled somewhat musty, despite that fact that they were on a desert planet and moisture in the basement generally wasn't a problem.

Luke jumped down, as he didn't trust the ladder that was on the side. It was made of wood and it wasn't especially far down anyways, so he just decided to forgo the risk of the ladder collapsing.

Although it was dark, he could make out the sources of both power and water, located in the small cellar, but that wasn't it. It seemed that this was like Obi-Wan's hideaway, although it obviously wasn't well hidden. It hadn't taken R2-D2 long to find it, after all. Luke's gaze fell on the items all around him, information and papers and instructions left from the age of the Jedi. Such records, he knew, had otherwise become hard to find. He had attempted to find them back before Hoth, but came up short. Now he was shocked. All this information had been here all this time, and he had never known it. Obi-Wan had never said a word.

Granted, it wasn't like the old Jedi had said much on any subject. Luke honestly was beginning to wonder if he had been truthful with him at all, or if everything had been a giant lie, a scheme of some sort. He had lied about his family, about his father, and Luke was beginning he had lied even about himself.

But that wasn't his mission right now. He knew the information, particularly the basic design plan for a lightsaber, would come in handy in the mission to find Han. That was his sole focus right now. It had to be. He couldn't think about himself, not after Han had only thought of Leia and Chewie and him. He couldn't worry about the fact that Darth Vader was his father, or the truth that came along with that. He couldn't be tempted by the darkside, or fall into the clutches of the Empire that would likely be soon outside their door.

No. Right now Luke needed to become selfless. He needed to be a Jedi.

He was so close. It was almost as if she could reach out and touch him. Like if she reached out her hand it would rest lightly on his chest. She would be able to run it up to his shoulder and wind it around his neck. She would be able to pull him towards her and capture his lips in a kiss, one that she had gone so long without.

But he was just out of reach. Always there, as if he were talking to her, but she could never touch him. They could stand right next to one another and she could look up into his eyes, but the moment she reached out a hand, it would flow right through him. That's why he was out of reach. He was there, but she couldn't touch him. She couldn't be with him. Han was still gone.

Still, this was an improvement from her previous nightmares. At least now he was there, smiling at her. He wasn't in pain, and she wasn't the cause of it. Since Chewie and Lando had returned with Mila about a week ago, Leia had decided that she was going to think of the happy times she had with Han. Slowly she had been getting better. She missed him, obviously, but it made some of the pain go away, at least for the time she had sitting and reminiscing.

On this particular morning she was laying on her bunk, her arm draped out to her side on the cold sheets. But they didn't feel cold. It was almost as if she could feel his warmth there, like he had just gotten up and gone to the fresher, or to get them breakfast like he had done on the Falcon. It made her smile, remembering a morning around 3/4ths of the way through their trip to Bespin. It had been right after she admitted to him about her torture on the Death Star, and he had stayed with her, like he did every night. But in the morning when she woke he had brought her breakfast. It was more than enough for them to share, but it was just one of those kind thoughts. Like something you saw in a holofilm and wished would happen to you, but never would because well, it was in a holofilm, afterall.

And then there were the times when he would chase her throughout the ship, trying to catch her. She always tried to hide during those games, but it would never ever work. He always found her eventually. More often than not he founder her faster than she had hidden in the first place. When he did, each time it would inevitably lead to kisses, heated or sweet, just depending on the day.

She had so many fond memories with him on the ship she now called home. It was the only place she had ever felt like it was where she belonged. Leia wanted adventure, but she also wanted normalcy, and preferred that said adventures would not kill her. And above all else, Leia wanted Han.

"What's our next step?" Wedge asked, putting his feet up on the table. Leia quickly knocked them off as she walked past, carrying mugs of caf for her and Mila. Wedge smirked back at her, but pulled his feet from the table and set them back on the floor. "Anyone?" he asked in the silence. "I mean, I know Luke's being slow about contacting us, but there must be something we can do."

[He's right. We need a plan. What are we going to do?]

"Well" Leia sighed. "I supposed we could arrange for supplies to be loaded onto the Falcon, and I should contact the medical center to see what they can tell me about what condition Han might be in when he release him from the carbonate."

Mila made a slight cough, "and what about me?" she asked. "I want to help with something."

Lando, who was sitting against the arm of the chair Mila currently occupied, looked down at her. "Well I think you should stay here. Wedge could use some help I'm sure."

Across the circle the man in question just about choked on his caf. "What? I don't need any help."

Leia smiled and let out a rare laugh, "I think it'd be good. Mila, if you're willing to, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have another contact here in the Alliance. They're not going to be happy when I leave."

Everyone paused for a moment and turned to her, but it was Chewie that spoke first, [You're leaving the Alliance?]

"Well yes" she returned as if it were the simplest idea in the galaxy, "they're not going to just let me go find Han like it's a mission. I told you I'm coming, and if I have to take a leave of absence from the Alliance, then that's what I'm going to do."

"Mothma won't be happy" Wedge pitched in.

"That's her own business. If she doesn't like me going then fine, I won't be here to hear her scream about it anyways."

"I know I haven't been here long, but she still doesn't seem like someone who likes to forgive and forget" Lando added. "Sure you could leave, but what happens when we come back? Are they just going to accept you back into the ranks?"

Leia sighed, "I don't know. But Rieekan backs me in this. I want to do this, for the Alliance, because Han could be a great help in that final battle, because of him, and the fact that he's my friend. And for me. I suppose I need to do it for me too." She breathed a sigh of relief at that, with it finally being out in the open more. The more she talked about it, the better she felt. When Leia finally looked up from her hands, which were resting in her lap, she was met with approving eyes all around, even from Mila.

"It's settled then?" Wedge asked, breaking the silence they had fallen into. "Mila and I will stay here to provide any necessary backup, and you three can travel to Tatooine as soon as everything is set."

[Sounds about right. Now we just need to wait for the transmission from Luke.]

But they didn't have to wait long.

Ok, let me just start out by saying a super giant I AM SO SORRY! Seems that college really has gotten in the way of things for me, and I've been really really busy. I have so many things to do right now that it's kind of crazy, but thank you so much to those of you who have stuck around all these months! As I promised a couple of you, here's a chapter just in time for Christmas!

At the moment I'm also working on some Once Upon a Time fanfiction, so there's that that I need to be writing too, plus my blog of course. And who knows what else I all need to do (actually I do know it's just a really long list). That being said, the next chapter will be up as soon as possible, but thanks again for being patient! =)

Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year if I don't talk to you again before then! And while I feel silly saying it, reviews are always welcome, even though I don't deserve it after making you wait all this time! Haha!