(Inspired by the EU. Written by Raymond Ek)
It was a time of fear and oppression. The Emperor was tightening his grip on countless worlds, and Darth Vader was hunting down the few remaining Jedi Knights in hiding. The rebellion against the tyranny was growing, cell by cell, as more and more citizens spread their dissatisfaction across the galaxy.
With his army of clone troopers beginning to age beyond their prime, the Emperor chartered the creation of the Imperial Naval Academy. Recruitment centres started to pop up on many of the predominantly human populated worlds throughout the Empire.
Far from the Core systems, on a burning desert world called Tatooine, a young boy named Luke Skywalker grew up under the watchful eyes of his uncle and aunt. Kept sheltered from the knowledge of his true parentage, Luke toiled endlessly on the family's moisture farm.
As the boy worked, he was unaware that wise and ageing eyes were keeping his activities closely monitored.
Those eyes belonged to a hermit named Ben, who lived out on the edge of the Dune Sea, far from civilization and unwanted attention. Ben's true name was Obi Wan Kenobi, and he was one of the last Jedi Knights left in the galaxy, though on all Tatooine, only Luke's Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were aware of his true identity.
From his secluded home, Ben bided his time, keeping a secretive watch over young Luke. His only companion, apart from the creatures of the desert, was the spirit of his old master, Qui Gon Jinn. During times of deep meditation, Ben would commune with his master, seeking advice and extra training.
Qui Gon still remained firmly convinced that Anakin Skywalker, was the one the ancient prophecy spoke of, and would bring balance back to the Force. Ever since Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, however, Ben was even more sceptical than ever, but stayed true to his promise to watch over young Luke, hopefull that he would succeed with the son where he had failed with the father.
One day, as the planet's twin suns beat down across the desert surface, Luke was given a rare time off from the nearly endless hours of maintaining the farm's many moisture vaporators. Owen and Beru were taking the family's landspeeder into Anchorhead, to purchase supplies and repair parts for the upcoming season. Luke was told that he could spend the day with his best friend, Biggs Darklighter, from the next moisture farm a few miles away. Luke was elated by the idea, because he and Biggs had planned to go hunting womp rats, the next time they had a chance.
Catching a ride with his uncle and aunt, Luke was dropped off at the edge of the Darklighter farm, and with a wave goodbye, he turned and started walking towards the homestead. As he got closer, Luke lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the bright sunlight, and squinted toward an approaching plume of dust. The growing cloud soon came into focus, and Luke recognized Biggs waving at him from the passenger seat of an old and beat up speeder, held together by a collection of mismatched parts.
The speeder came to a halt and Biggs jumped out, along with another boy. The new boy had a bulky frame and a head of sandy brown hair, a clear difference from Luke's blonde locks and Biggs' black hair. Biggs grinned as he walked over to Luke, punching him playfully in the arm. "Hey, nerf herder, I see your uncle finally let you have a day off!"
Luke laughed as he rubbed his bicep, and nodded. "Glad to see your eyes still work, dewback breath. Yeah, Uncle Owen doesn't yet trust me enough to change the dew collectors, without his supervision, so here I am." Luke then turned to the other boy, and held out a hand to him, smiling. "Hi there. I'm Luke Skywalker. Who are you?"
Biggs laughed as the other boy blushed shyly and shook Luke's hand. "I'm sorry, Luke. Where are my manners? Luke, this is Janek Sunber."
Janek shrugged his muscular shoulders. "Just call me Tank. It's nice to meet you, Luke."
Luke looked him up and down, taking in his large build, and smirked. "Tank, huh? I can see how you earned that nickname."
Biggs grinned and nodded. "Tank's family just bought the farm on the other side of us, last month. I met him over at Tosche Station, and we became friends. But that's not the best news.", he said with a wink, and waved a hand toward the speeder. "His father's been helping him build his own speeder!"
Tank smiled proudly, and nodded. "Yeah, just before we moved here from Mos Espa, Dad picked it up for a song from some old toydarian trader who was going out of business. Half the panels were missing and the engine was shot, but we managed to trade with some jawas for replacements. She may not look pretty, but she runs just fine now."
"Tank and I were just about to go take it for a spin.", Biggs said. "Come on, Luke. Maybe we can talk him into giving us each a turn at the controls."
Turning to see Tank shrug and nod, Luke's face broke into a wide grin. "Really? That would be awesome! Uncle Owen won't even let me sit in the front seat of our speeder. Where shall we go?"
Biggs smiled as the three boys walked back to the speeder, and climbed into it. "Well, Tank and I thought we'd head over toward the Jundland Wastes. Maybe see if we can nail a few womp rats, while we're there."
Tank nodded as he hopped in the front seat, then slid over to the passenger side, gesturing for Luke to take the controls. "Yep. That's the plan. Here Luke, you can take us out there. Biggs already had a turn before you arrived."
"Thanks Tank. I promise I'll be carefull, and won't go too fast." Luke grinned as he sat behind the controls, and started to familiarize himself with them.
Tank laughed and waved a hand toward the horizon. "Don't worry about that, Luke. Feel free to open her up. Let's really see what she's capable of."
Biggs reached over from his place in the back seat and ruffled Luke's hair, laughing. "Punch it, Luke!"
"All right, then. Here we go!" Smiling with delight, Luke gunned the throttle, feeling the repulsers hum as they gave the speeder some extra lift, then turned the small craft away from the farm, and headed out towards the open desert. Once past the outer ring of the Darklighter's moisture vaporators, he cranked the throttle to full power, and the speeder took off at a frightening pace. The boys all whooped with delight and excitement, as several small desert critters frantically scattered before them.
Back at Ben's humble abode, the Jedi in hiding was just coming out of one of his meditation trances, when he felt a slight tremor in the Force. Frowning with concentration, he focused on the source, and lifted an eyebrow in recognition and amusement. "So, Luke's heading this way, is he? Well, perhaps it's finally time to introduce myself.", he chuckled to himself as he stood up and reached for his dusty old robe. Slipping into it, Ben then turned his head to look toward an old chest by the far wall, first frowning in contemplation, then shaking his head. "No, not yet. It's far too soon to give him that. I think I'd better bring mine along, though. Just in case."
Ben turned away from the chest, and walked over to the doorway of his presscrete hut, reaching over to a shelf, lifting down his old lightsaber and attaching it to his belt, then covering it with a flap of his robe. He then left the hut, squinting slightly in the bright light, and started walking through the canyon trails, headed to where he felt Luke's presence.
After a wild and enjoyable ride, they boys arrived at the edge of the Jundland Wastes, stopping just short of the many canyon entrances.
As they hopped out and began gathering piles of fist-sized stones, Tank grinned over at Luke. "Wow! I never knew my speeder could go that fast, let alone turn tight corners like you were doing. You sure know how to handle those controls, Luke!"
Biggs nodded in agreement as he added rocks to his own growing pile. "Tank's right, Luke. You have the skills of a natural. Just imagine what you could do in a star fighter!"
Luke laughed and shook his head. "There's nothing to it, guys. All it takes is a little practice at the controls, which I got on the first half of the ride out here. Whatever you do, though, just don't let my aunt and uncle find out. Aunt Beru would have a bantha, and Uncle Owen would never let me leave the farm again."
All three boys laughed at Luke's colorfull description, and then set to what they'd come for. Each grabbing an armload of their rocks, they walked toward the canyons, seeking lizards and womp rats to bullseye.
As they took turns at hunting their prey, the three boys chatted about many things. From tales of the local crimelord, Jabba the Hutt, to the newest models of ships and speeders coming off the production lines these days. Eventually, their conversation turned towards the Empire's doings. All three boys were excited about the new Naval academy, and each talked about his desire to head for the new recruitment station in Mos Eisley, as soon as they came of age. All three were delighted to find that they all had dreams of being pilots, and had high hopes of one day being behind the controls of some grand Imperial starship, flying off throughout the galaxy to see new and exotic worlds.
After an hour or so, their hunting had led them a short ways into one of the narrower canyons. The boys began having fun, playing with the echoes of their shouts bouncing off the canyon walls. Suddenly, Luke heard a different sound, coming from further into the canyon, and motioned his friends for quiet. As their echoes died down, they could soon all make out a distressed honking, and being curious lads, they were eager to investigate.
After following the canyon around a couple of tight corners, they finally spotted the source of the distress. A young bantha calf, searching for some of the sparse plantlife, had gotten it's horns wedged into a narrow crevice in the canyon wall.
"Oh, that poor thing. Come on, guys. Let's try to help it out of there before the noon heat kills it." Luke gestured his friends to follow as he slowly approached the bantha. Studying the situation, he noticed that the crevice opened up into a small cave. Turning back to Biggs and Tank, he explained his plan. "I'm going to try to crawl inside there, and see if I can calm the calf and get the horns loose. When I do, you'll need to help it pull itself out."
"Sounds good, Luke.", Biggs nodded. "Just be carefull, okay? If you get hurt, your uncle will never let you hang out with me again."
Tank nodded in agreement. "And I only just met you. I don't want to lose a new friend so quickly."
Luke just smiled and waved off their concerns. "I'll be fine, guys. Just be ready to pull when I give the word."
With the plan set, Luke clambered up the canyon wall, and wedged his way into the cave, over the bantha's head, dropping back down once he was inside. Turning around, he spoke in a soft voice, trying to sooth the calf as he began to work at getting it's horns free.
From his hidden perch above the trio, on the upper lip of the canyon, Ben smiled as he watched them performing their good deed. He could feel the young calf's fear and distress, and used his control of the Force to help keep the creature calm enough for Luke and his friends to free it.
With Ben's unknown assist, it took only a couple minutes for Luke to help the bantha get it's head turned enough to slip out of the crevice. "Okay guys, try pulling now!", he called over the calf's head, and carefully began to push the head out.
With Biggs and Tank on either side of it, they gently but firmly began pulling at the calf's shoulders, and soon had it free. Once free of it's confinement, the bantha quickly turned around and ran out of the canyon, back to wherever it's herd had gotten to.
Luke squeezed himself out of the small cave, and watched the calf run off, as he dusted off his clothes. "Well, that's gratitude for you. He didn't even stick around to say thank you."
"He is grateful.", Ben called down to them, making the boys jump and look up. "He just lacks the vocal chords to convey it." He then quickly climbed down the canyon wall to smile at them. "But since he can't say it, I shall. Thank you very much for helping him. That was very selfless of you boys. You should all be proud of yourselves."
As Ben reached out to shake each boy's hand, Luke looked up at him. "Who are you, Mister, and how did you sneak up on us like that?"
Ben chuckled at Luke's suspicion, and pulled his hood back, revealing his friendly face. "My name is Ben Kenobi, and I live not far from here. But you can just call me Ben, or Old Ben if you prefer. As to how I snuck up on you, that's quite easy to do in these narrow canyons. In fact,", he gave them each a stern frown, "it's dangerous around here. With the way sounds bounce around, anything could sneak up on you, and you wouldn't know about it untill it's right on top of you. With that in mind, perhaps it would be best if you headed back out now. These wastes are not meant to be travelled lightly, unless you're more familiar with what they hold."
Despite his initial suspicion, Luke had a strange gut-feeling that this man could be trusted, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I didn't realize before, just how far into the canyons we'd come. But after hearing that calf's distress, it wouldn't have felt right to just turn back and ignore it."
As the four turned and walked back to the speeder, Ben smiled and nodded to young Luke. "As I said, a most selfless act. But in the future, I trust you will stop and think first, before trying something so foolish. I would hate to try and explain to your uncle and aunt that I found your body."
Luke's eyebrows shoot up his brow in surprise at that statement. "You know my family?"
Ben nods, but frowns. "I do, though not all that well. I don't think your uncle likes me very much."
Luke frowns in thought, as he takes in this information. "Then I guess I shouldn't tell him that I met you. I don't understand why Uncle Owen wouldn't like you, though."
Ben shrugs and attempts to brush off the topic, not wanting to reveal too much too soon. "I'm sure he has his reasons. But by all means, don't lie about meeting me, should the question come up. Whatever reasons he may have, they will multiply if he thinks that I've asked you to keep secrets from him."
Luke nods. "All right. If you think that's best."
Soon, they arrived back at the speeder. Tank quickly ran over to check it out, then grinned. "Looks like everything's how I left it. After what Ben was saying, I was starting to worry that jawas or sandpeople might have found and tampered with it."
Biggs smiled and nodded. "So was I. It's an awfully long walk back home from here. Come on, guys. Let's load up our womp rats. We can trade them at Tosche Station for power converters, to the old Twileck cook who works there. She says that they're a delicacy when she barbecues them."
Ben helped the boys load their kills, then stepped back as the three climbed into the speeder. "In that case, I shall take my leave of you now. Please do remember what I said, though. You're all nice boys, and I'd feel terrible if anything were to happen to you."
Luke smiled and reached out to shake the old man's hand once more. "We will, and thank you for your help. It was nice to meet you, Ben. I hope I get to see you again sometime. Goodbye!"
Ben waved to the boys as they start up the speeder and were soon swiftly skimming across the desert. "Oh, you will, young Luke, but hopefully not too soon."
He watched untill the dust cloud from the speeder had dwindled into nothing on the horizon, then turned and started to make his way back to his own hut. As he made his way back through the canyon trails, he could almost hear his old master's voice.
"Train him. He will bring balance."
Ben frowned and continued on. "I hope you're right, Qui Gon. I sincerely hope you're right."
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