CHAPTER TWO
Dantooine
The rising sun cast a golden glow on the green Fields of Banir. The fragrant smell of fresh plants filled the air, and the winds carried a cool breeze that was enough to make one shiver. In a tumultuous galaxy, there was perhaps no place more serene and peaceful than right here.
And yet, Toah Jarsan was sick of it all.
It wasn’t that he hated it; Dantooine was still his home and he was not ashamed to admit. But after eighteen years of living his whole life here, he was ready for something new. All of his friends had already grown up and moved on to bigger things, some even leaving to join the fledgling New Republic. They were now out there in the galaxy, exploring new worlds and meeting new people.
But he was still stuck here. His parents, for reasons he could not fathom, did not want him leaving home. They told him it was too dangerous of a galaxy out there, even with the Empire having collapsed. Dantooine itself was still technically within Imperial territory, under the governance of a new state known as the Pentastar Alignment. So far, the New Republic had yet to make any major incursions into Pentastar space; from what Toah had gathered from his spacer friends, they were primarily focused on retaking the Core Worlds from Imperial rule.
Toah wanted to be there for that. He wanted to help make a difference in the galaxy, however minute or trivial it was. Even if it meant serving as a mere technician aboard a Corellian corvette or an engineer for a Mon Calamari Cruiser. He wanted to be able to say he was there when the galaxy changed for the better.
But instead, he was stuck here, staring up at the stars as he wondered whether they still burned with life. There were so many different worlds out there… and yet he was probably never going to see a single one.
Sighing in resignation, Toah walked over to his father’s landspeeder and started it up. For the past year, he had been working at the nearby spaceport, which made a decent amount of money. His father was the main breadwinner of the family, working as a doctor and scientist which were in short supply on Dantooine given how most skilled professionals usually found a way off-planet to live a better life out there among the stars.
The sad truth of the matter was that there was nothing of interest on Dantooine. Sure, it was better living here than on some other worlds on the Outer Rim, but it was nowhere near as exciting as life on Coruscant or Corellia, if the stories of his spacer friends were anything to go by. If there was one highlight to working at a spaceport, it was being able to meet all sorts of travelers from across the galaxy and hearing whatever stories they had—and were willing—to share. Even if it did only serve to further stoke his wanderlust….
The trip from his family’s homestead to the spaceport was a relatively short and uneventful one. By the time he got there, he already found his boss there waiting for him. Gregor Dorn was a tall and burly monster of a man, with a red mane for a beard and a shirt partially unbuttoned to reveal more red hair forming a carpet on his chest. As intimidating as he was physically—and he could be quite stern—Toah found Gregor to be a decent boss, even if he did sometimes mock his dreams of leaving Dantooine for bigger aspirations. So long as Toah did his work though, Gregor didn’t give him too much trouble.
With a silent nod of acknowledgment, Gregor opened the door to let Toah into the spaceport control center. Seated in the seat next to his as always was Warat Torr, and the dark blue-skinned Twi’lek lifted his head up to smile tiredly at his co-worker.
“Mornin’, Jarsan,” Warat said sleepily, taking a sip from his mug of caf.
“Morning, Torr,” Toah responded as he took his seat next to the Twi’lek. “How was your vacation?”
“Too short,” Warat muttered. “I’d hardly consider three days a vacation….”
“I’d give you more if I could find more people to work here,” Gregor retorted from behind them. “Now shut up and watch for arrivals. I’ll be in my office.”
Toah and Warat exchanged eye-rolls as Gregor stormed into his office and slammed the door shut. They were both used to his excuses for not giving them more time off; Toah knew of at least five different people that had applied for jobs at the spaceport only to be rejected for the simple fact that Gregor did not want to pay any of them. Besides the three of them, the only other person who worked at the spaceport was some Rodian that Gregor only brought in to fill in for the three of them. Toah could never remember the Rodian’s name despite the fact that he had worked with him during Warat’s three-day vacation. He wasn’t sure if they had even exchanged a single word.
Sighing as he shook his head at the ridiculousness of it all, Toah looked out the window that gave them a view into the one and only hangar bay at the spaceport. It was large enough to fit two light freighters, with one already stationed there. The old, beat-up YT-1000 light freighter was already considered outdated when Toah had been born, and he knew its pilot—a young Nautolan spacer named Seph Kisto—was desperate for a new ship. He wasn’t even sure if it would be able to lift off again, or if Seph was just stranded here like the rest of them were.
At that moment, Seph himself came walking down the ramp of the old freighter with a disgruntled look on his face. Upon seeing Toah and Warat through the window, he motioned for them to come out into the hangar. The two exchanged a glance before getting up from their station and walking outside to join the Nautolan.
“What’s up, Seph?” Warat asked, stifling a yawn.
“She won’t start up,” Seph sighed heavily. “Don’t suppose you guys have a mechanic on duty?”
Toah shook his head. “Afraid not. I could ask Gregor if he happens to know one, but he’d probably add it onto your fee.”
Seph groaned. “I’m already strapped for credits as it is. I really don’t want to be stranded on this ball of dirt… no offense.”
“None taken,” Toah said ruefully.
Warat rubbed his chin. “I think there might be some ship dealers in Garang. You could maybe sell this ship for parts and use the credits for a new one. Maybe Gregor will even give you a job here to save up some extra money.”
“I wouldn’t count on that last part,” Toah muttered.
Seph sighed as he looked back up at the freighter. “Well, this thing would probably be a death trap anyway even if I did get it to start up. Maybe I’ll just have to….”
The Nautolan then trailed off as he held a hand to his forehead, narrowing his pupil-less black eyes as he looked further up into the sky. “Say, it looks like you have another visitor.”
Toah and Warat both looked up to see what appeared to be a starfighter descending down from the sky. Warat cursed aloud as he ran back inside in order to give the ship clearance, leaving Toah standing there with Seph as he watched the starfighter come closer and closer towards them. From where they stood, it had a distinctive T-shape from its nose to its fuselage, although it was Seph who spoke aloud its proper name.
“Isn’t that an X-wing?” the Nautolan asked. “What’s the New Republic doing all the way out here? And why did they just send one fighter?”
Toah did not have an answer for him, nor did he speak aloud the hunch he was feeling as he made out the specific markings of the X-wing fighter.
It can’t be, he said to himself. There’s no way he would come all the way out here… is there?
After the X-wing finally touched down, the cockpit lifted open and he got his answer.
* * *
“Brace yourselves, Artoo,” Luke chuckled as he rose up from his seat and removed his helmet. “Looks like we’re about to get cornered by some fans.”
R2-D2 tweeted in response as the astromech droid lowered from its socket while Luke climbed out of his fighter. After serving in the Rebellion for five years, he was pretty much used to the gawking expressions of people who recognized him and admired his feats. He always tried to brush it off and speak to them as if they were on equal footing—because they were. Not only because he had turned in his resignation, but because all were united together in the Force.
As soon as he touched down onto the ground, Luke reached into one of the pockets on his jumpsuit for his credits as looked between the Nautolan and the young man that were still staring at him in awe.
“How much is the fee here?”
The Nautolan shook his head and raised his hands as he stepped away, leaving the young man to struggle for his voice. “Uh, ninety credits for starfighters.”
Luke placed the currency in his hand. “There you go. I shouldn’t be here for too long. Are there any landspeeders nearby I can rent?”
“You’re Luke Skywalker,” the Nautolan blurted out.
Luke cracked a smile as he shook his head. “So I’m often told,” he said wryly.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… I’m a huge fan of your work. I look up to you and, uh, it’s the whole reason I left Glee Anselm in the first place. You’re a great inspiration.”
“Uh, thank you.” Luke scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m just one man, though. There are a lot of people in the Rebellion that deserve way more credit than me.”
“Oh, I know,” the Nautolan said. “But, still… you did defeat the Emperor.”
Luke held back a wince. Few knew the truth of how exactly the Emperor had been vanquished, and he was not about to divulge it to some kids he had just met. Instead, he simply nodded slowly and muttered, “Right.”
“And you defeated his three-eyed son and took on his grandson as an apprentice!”
“Oh. That.” Luke sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Among the many exploitative holo-films that had been produced claiming to depict his many endeavors, there had been a short serial known as the Jedi Prince Saga that claimed to document the campaign against the Imperial warlord known as Trioculus. While there had been some truth to the story it told, it was greatly overshadowed by the exaggerated details, ridiculous portrayals of real-life figures, and outright made-up nonsense. He had never gotten around to watching the whole thing, so it was difficult for him to correct people on the supposed facts that they regurgitated after watching the serial.
At the very least, there was one thing he could get straight….
“We never could confirm whether or not Ken was the grandson of the Emperor,” he said, referring to the young child that the Rebellion had discovered during the struggle against Trioculus. “Trioculus himself was somewhat of a madman and we found evidence that suggested that he wasn’t Palpatine’s son… nor was Ken his grandson. It’s all honestly really confusing, and I’m pretty sure those serials make things up in order to fill in the gaps or make up for classified information that they simply do not have. Look, I know they’re fun and all, but I wouldn’t take too much stock into what they say.”
“Oh. Okay.” The Nautolan shifted his feet awkwardly before then saying, “My name’s Seph, by the way. Seph Kisto.” He nudged the young man next to him with his elbow. “The guy here whose tongue’s been taken by a Loth cat is Toah Jarsan.”
Luke nodded to each of them in turn. “Nice to meet you both.” As his eyes landed on the one called Toah, he felt a shift in the Force which caught him slightly off-guard. Toah met his eyes briefly before quickly averting them and clearing his throat.
“Uh, I’d better get back to work,” Toah mumbled. “Warat’s probably mad I left him by himself.”
“Hold on,” Luke said as the young man started to leave. “Are you native to Dantooine?”
Toah stopped and slowly turned back to face him. “Uh, yeah. Why?”
“This might be a long shot, but do you happen to know of anything nearby that would be of interest to a Jedi Knight?”
Luke definitely knew it was a long shot that someone as young as Toah appeared to be would know anything about the Jedi, seeing as how the Empire had worked hard to wipe out any traces of their existence. But the Force had clearly guided him here for a reason, and he was going to use any opportunity it presented him.
Toah seemed caught off-guard by the question at first, but then he seemed to seriously consider the question. After a long moment, he said, “Well… I have heard rumors that this one building near the spaceport used to be a Jedi enclave.”
Luke’s eyes widened, wondering if his hunch had truly paid off. “Really?”
“It’s an old wives tale, though. If it was, then it hasn’t been for, like, four thousand years or something.” Toah shook his head. “I doubt there’s anything of interest left, though. It’s probably long been scavenged.”
“It’s still worth checking out,” Luke said. “Can you lead me there?”
Toah’s eyes widened in surprise. “You… you mean, as in, give you directions?”
Luke smiled. “No. I would like to have a tour guide, someone who’s familiar with the planet. So long as I’m not taking your time away from anything important.”
“Are you kidding?” Toah’s face formed into the biggest grin Luke had ever seen on a human being. “Warat and Gregor are probably going to hate me for this, but I would love to be your tour guide.”
He turned excitedly to the Nautolan. “Seph, tell them that I’m taking my break early.”
Not waiting for a response, Toah ran for the exit of the hangar. Luke glanced at R2-D2, and the astromech swiveled his dome to look at him as he let out a quiet whine.
“I wish all planets we visited had this kind of reception, too,” Luke said to his companion.
R2-D2 let out another chirp.
“Now, now, don’t start acting like Threepio. This won’t be another incident like Vrogas Vas. Trust me.”
R2-D2 expressed his doubt as another low tone as he rolled after Luke as they moved to catch up to Toah.
* * *
In a building not far from the spaceport, a man’s eyes opened into darkness.
“He’s here,” he said, his voice low and raspy.
“Who is?” inquired the only other occupant of the room.
“Skywalker. He is here on Dantooine. I can sense him.”
“You have been wrong before. Your powers are still being tested. What makes you certain that you are correct this time?”
“I can just feel it.” The man closed his eyes again in concentration. “He is close. He must be coming here.”
“Then we will need to ready our trap. You will stand by unless it fails.”
The man scowled. “But I am ready now.”
“You will be ready when I say you are,” came the sharp response. “But not to worry. Your time will come. Perhaps even sooner than later.”
The man growled in frustration but remained seated where he was, eyes closed as he focused on the Jedi he had sensed, tracking his movements.
Soon, he told himself. Soon, the son of Skywalker would be theirs.
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