Luke hadn’t been expecting any visitors--least of all the old hermit his uncle had told him to stay away from--but as he settled the airspeeder to a rest and pulled the power converters from the seat next to him, he noticed Ben Kenobi and his aunt and uncle making their way out of the burrow.

“Uncle Owen! I swung by the Tosche Station and got those power converters like you wanted!” Luke hefted the cells into his arms and lugged the batteries over to the group. As he got closer, he noticed the grim expression on his uncle’s face, and his aunt wiping her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked, still cradling the converters.

“Nothing,” Lars answered gruffly. “We were just showing Ben here the way out.”

“But it’s almost nightfall, isn’t it dangerous for him to go out by himself?” Luke didn’t know the hermit well but he knew he wasn’t okay with someone getting ambushed by a pack of tuskens. “Shouldn’t he stay the night?”

Lars tried to say no, but Beru cut him off.

“Luke is right, dear,” She turned to the old man and gestured back down. “Please excuse us, it seems we lost track of time. Thank goodness for Luke.”

“Thank goodness indeed.” The hermit gave Luke a slight nod before turning away. Luke watched Ben walk back in, his aunt following after. Owen stood where he was, a look of frustration and worry angling his face.

“I’m going to set these down in the garage,” Luke told his uncle, moving past him as the weight of the converters began to strain his back. He stopped as Lars placed a hand on his shoulder and turned his nephew to face him.

Owen looked into Luke’s eyes for a long time. An unmistakable tone of desperation and irritation tinted his voice, Luke hadn’t seen his uncle this upset since the tusken raid that took out one of the vaporators a few months back. “You’re a farmer, Luke. Whatever that old kook downstairs tries to feed you, don’t buy into it. Your father wanted you to be safe with us, and I’m not about to let some balding wizard spit in the face of your father’s wishes.”

Lars held his nephew there for a moment longer before letting out a sigh. “Go set down those converters, we’ll deal with ‘em in the morning...together.” With a quick pat on Luke’s back, Owen headed down the stairs, leaving Skywalker to wonder just what was going on.

----

It took Luke about ten minutes to heave the power converters down to the garage, but he gave himself a good twenty to catch his breath and let all his sweat dry up. While he dried off, Luke took a seat on the red R5 unit he and his uncle had bought a day or so ago. A restraining bolt kept it from moving and making noise, so Luke filled the silence himself.

“What had all that been about up there, do you think?” Luke asked the nonresponsive droid. “I’m not as blind as a mynock, I can tell something’s happening.” He stood up and ran his hands through his blonde hair, shaking his head in frustration.

He let out a long groan. “And what had all that stuff been about my dad? Do you think Old Ben knows something about him?” He sat down cross-legged next to the droid, his hair ruffled and matted with sweat.

Resting his head against the red astromech, Luke cooled the left side of his face on the cold metal. “I saw Biggs earlier...Biggs Darklighter, do you know him?”

No response.

“Yeah, well,” Luke answered himself. “You will soon. Wanna know why?” His voice turned to a whisper as he peaked around the room as if someone would be listening in. “He’s leaving the Academy to go to Bestine and join the Rebellion.”

A huge grin crossed Luke’s face as he said the last word. “The Rebellion! It’s crazy, right?” Unable to stay still with his sudden surge of energy, Luke stood up. “I told him that it sounded crazy and that it’ll probably be a longshot if he ever comes across them, but I know he will…”

Luke’s voice grew soft.

“If anyone can find the Rebels...it’s Biggs. He can do anything; he’s almost as good a pilot as me.” His smile dropped as he sat in front of the restrained astromech. Thinking about his childhood friend going off to fight in a war seemed bigger than anything Luke had ever imagined on Tatooine. His best friend gone amongst the stars Luke could only dream of getting to. The thought of Biggs getting shot at, or captured, or worse...

“I know you can’t hear me, but,” His voice was barely audible as he pressed his forehead against the droid and closed his eyes. “I’m gonna be right behind you, Darklighter. Don’t get yourself killed before I find you. Uncle Owen won’t keep me past this season, and when I get to the Academy...I’m going to catch up to you in no time, I prom--”

“Luke!” Aunt Beru’s call broke the farmboy’s train of thought, and he stood alert as if he had been caught trying to steal a scavenger’s ration portions. “Luke, come up for dinner!”

Realizing he hadn’t been overheard, Luke let out a long sigh. Placing his hand on the droid’s circular head, Luke gazed at his reflection on the dusty metal. “I’ll get that bolt off, Red. Don’t worry, I won’t forget about you--that’s a promise.”

With that, Luke made his way up the steps, turning off the lights in the garage. In the quiet darkness of the repair station, R5-D4 let out a low whirr of gratitude before powering down.

----

Dinner was uncomfortably silent. Luke was the only one really looking up from his food, so he was the only one who could see the furtive looks being traded between his aunt and uncle. The back and forth seemed to play like an argument, and as Aunt Beru let out a long breath, Luke could tell his uncle had won.

Aunt Beru rose, her plate almost completely untouched. “Let me clear the table.” She gathered her plate and Uncle Owen’s, making her way over to Luke’s. Just as she reached out to take Luke’s plate, Beru let out a panicked shout. She had tripped, and the two full plates of food she had been carrying fell out of her hands and towards Luke.

Skywalker flinched and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.

It never came.

Opening his eyes, Luke saw the two plates and their contents a few inches from his face...floating in midair. His mouth dropped in utter amazement, and he turned his head to see if everyone else could see what was happening. It turns out they did, and Uncle Owen looked even more furious than ever.

“I said none of your magic in my house, Jedi!” Owen shouted, he stood up and slammed his hand on the table.

“Jedi?” Luke said dimly, looking at Old Ben who had his hand outstretched towards the floating plates. With a wave of his hand, the plates moved through the air and sat on the table, their contents following suit, only a little worse for wear.

“I want you out of my home this instant!” Owen hollered. “You’re not taking Luke, so get it through that rancor-thick head of yours. You hear me?”

Ben opened his eyes and stood, his voice calm. “Forgive me, Lars, but that decision is Luke’s.”

Owen took a step towards the old man, standing in his face.

“I said he ain’t going anywhere. I’m not gonna let you get my nephew caught up in some crazy space war, so you’d best be making your way home--you’ll have about an hour before nightfall.”

Ben stood his ground, his expression not changing as his eyes went from Owen to Luke then back to Owen. “As you wish.”

The old hermit put his hood on as he moved past Lars towards the door.

“Wait!” He turned at the sound of Luke’s voice. “You’re a Jedi?”

The old man smiled, a small one. “I am.”

“Did you fight in the Clone Wars?” Luke asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Luke--” His uncle tried to growl, but Ben cut him off.

“I was a general in the war.” The old man said, lowering his hood again. “Just like your father.”

A gasp came from Beru as she covered her mouth. Lars gave the old Jedi a dark glare.

“But,” Luke was the only one who wasn’t silent. “My father wasn’t a Jedi….He was a navigator on a spice freighter…” He looked to his aunt and uncle, both of whom didn’t look him in the eye. “Right?”

“That’s right.” Owen snarled. “Your father was a navigator and he died a navigator.”

“Your father,” Ben said plainly, seemingly ignoring the animosity in Lars’ voice. “Was a Jedi Knight, Luke. One of the greatest, and my closest friend.”

“Is that true?” Luke asked incredulously. No one responded. “Is that true?” He demanded, standing up.

“Yes…” Beru choked out from behind her hand.

“Berry!” Owen snapped.

“No, Owen….He deserves to know.” She wasn’t going to give this time. Beru put a hand on Luke’s shoulder and he turned to face her. His eyes were full of disbelief.

“Luke...Your father was a Jedi, but he died fighting in the war--a war just like the one going on now. All the Jedi died, because they were reckless. We tried to keep you from that life because only pain exists for people like that. Please, you have to believe us, Luke.”

Skywalker stepped back from her, looking back and forth between his aunt and uncle. “How could you all keep that from me?” Tears formed as his voice got more and more upset. “You’ve been lying to me about my life since the beginning...and if it weren’t for Ben, you guys probably wouldn’t have even bothered telling me the truth, would you?”

Luke glared at his uncle. “And you probably would have kept me here as a farm hand for the rest of my life. No Academy or piloting for me, just,” He gestured around himself. “Vaporators and sand. Is that what you wanted?”

“We wanted to keep you safe, Luke.” Beru pleaded. “It was the only way, please--”

“Just stop!” Luke yelled. Everyone was looking at him. His breathing was heavy and his face was hot. “Stop lying.”

A hush fell over the room, as the young Skywalker caught his breath. He looked up, his gaze going directly for Ben. “My father,” Luke asked quietly. “If he was a Jedi, could I be one too?”

Owen and Beru both looked at one another as the old hermit spoke.

“You could be an even greater Jedi than your father, Luke.” Ben took a step back into the room. “But it is not a choice to be made out of anger or betrayal.” Skywalker’s eyes dropped slightly.

“Being a Jedi, Luke, is about compassion.” A warmth seemed to permeate the room as the white-haired hermit spoke. “It’s about forgiveness. The first steps will be hard, but you must face them if you ever hope of becoming a Jedi.”

Ben turned and walked up the steps leaving Skywalker with his aunt and uncle. For a while, no one said a word. The calm the Jedi had brought when he spoke had faded and all that was left was the anger and tension.

Luke went first.

“I’m going to become a Jedi like my father.” He declared, Owen didn’t look at him.

“Uncle, I...I think I understand why you’d lie to me, but I need to follow my own path. Staying on the farm my whole life? I can’t do that….All of my friends are gone, Biggs is gone. Everyone’s growing up and making something of themselves and seeing the galaxy, and I--I just don’t want to be left behind.”

“Luke,” His uncle responded, his blue eyes finally meeting Luke’s. “Not this way.” He shook his head slightly, “I promise, the end of this season, I’ll take you to the Academy--you can sign up, you can be with your friends, just…” His voice cracked, “Don’t go like this, not with him.”

They held one another in that moment for a long time, but after taking a shaky breath and wiping his eyes, Luke came to his decision.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. I love you,” He looked to his aunt. “Both of you. Thank you for everything. For taking care of me; raising me, keeping me safe, teaching me to pilot and cook and look out for myself. Thank you...but if I don’t go now,” His voice trailed off and he looked back to his uncle who was silently pleading with him. “I don’t think I ever will.”

Walking to the door, Luke placed a hand on the frame and turned back to his family.

“I’ll come back,” He managed. “I promise.”

With that, Luke Skywalker made his way out of the dining room--out of the burrow he called home--towards the old Jedi and the future that was now ahead of him.