Saga The Eternal Flame

Title: The eternal flame.
Author: EGKenobi
Characters: The usual suspects.
Genre: Drama, Adventure
Era: The Original Trilogy
Rating: Suitable for all.
Summary: A discovery is made on Tatooine that could have repercussions for the entire galaxy.

Author's note: This is my first fic for a number of years, and I'm a bit rusty so please bear with me. Hope you enjoy the journey

Prologue – Tatooine

The young man stood staring at the dusk sky with his macro-bincoculars watching the sight unfold before his eyes. It looked as though the smaller ship was hoping to use the planet as some sort of slingshot to escape the Star Destroyer. But it hadn’t work. He saw bright flashes as they exchanged turbo laser blasts.

He frowned as a wispy cloud obscured his view for a brief moment. There wasn’t many clouds on Tatooine as it was an arid dry planet. While the days were unbearably hot, the nights were incredibly cold. And from time to time, wispy clouds formed in the evening sky. But this evening it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the young man. Once it cleared, he noticed that the Star Destroyer remained, but the smaller ship had gone.

He adjusted the focus, wondering if they’d somehow managed to escape, or looking for a debris field. But rather he saw that it had been captured by the Star Destroyer, and it was in the process of being pulled in to the hangar.

It was then he noticed the debris burning up in the atmosphere. Some were brighter than others. One in particular caught his attention. It burned brightly, it also looked like someone was trying to fly it. It clearly wasn’t a piece of debris! It was an escape pod!

The young man tracked it through its descent through the atmosphere until it flew behind one of the massive sand dunes, the only clue that it had landed was the large plume of sand it threw up as it hit the planet surface.

He looked pensively towards where the pod hit the ground trying to work out how far away it was. He was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when a voice intruded his thoughts.

“Luke! I’m about to activate the security grid! You done out there?”

“Yeah sure Uncle Owen, I’m heading in now!” Luke responded.

As he entered the humble living quarters, he cast one last look at the sky and wondered who had upset the Empire this time?

 

Woot! The title drew me in -- mush fiend that I am. But then the premise - I like it! It's been toooooo long since there's been an OT epic.

 

Thanks, the plot bunny has been bugging me for a few weeks. It's not going to be very much mush in this, it will be quite dark in places. But I'm hoping it will be good.

Thanks for commenting.

 

Very intriguing! I like the feel of it. Great start

 

Thanks for the feedback, new chapter is on the way.

 

Looking forward to it!

 

Chapter 1

Darth Vader strode down the pristine corridors of the captured blockade runner. His respirator being the only sound echoing through the corridors as he walked. At well over two meters tall, he was easily taller than any human, however his black armour and mask inspired terror in the hearts of any being who was unfortunate enough to feel his wrath.

He walked with purpose towards the large galley in the centre of the ship, where the stormtroopers had been keeping the crew hostage. He located the captain and ordered him to come forward. He gazed at the captain for a few moments. He could sense the fear rolling off the man in waves. He could also sense him trying to blank his mind as to not give anything away. This action alone was enough to condemn the man to execution.

“Captain,” his deep baritone voice boomed from the vo-coder “we noticed you received a transmission from the Toprawa system. I would like to know what you did with the transmission you intercepted.” Vader stood there, almost daring the man to lie to him.

The captain thought for a moment. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you are talking about Lord Vader, this is a consular ship.” He responded.

Vader took a step towards the man, “Do not test me Captain. You were ordered to hold position and prepare for inspection, yet you chose to flee. Now what sort of consular ship does that?” Vader intoned.

The captain didn’t hesitate in his response. “My Lord, you must be mistaken, we’ve hear rumours of an uprising and that many corvettes were used….” Vader cut across him while picking up the man with the Force, “You think me a fool Captain?” he boomed, “We monitored all the ships in this sector and you were observed sending an acknowledgement message to the originating destination.” Now the man was at eye level with Vader. “Now for the last time, what did you do with the transmission you intercepted?”

“My Lord…” the Captain began, but didn’t get any further. Vader reached for the man’s throat and started to raise him off the ground. “Captain” his voice carried a lethal tone. “You know what I am capable of, either you tell me what I wish to know, or I shall rip it from your mind.” Vader raised the man higher and higher, carefully not gripping so much as to kill the man.

The captain struggled against the grip, and could feel the weight of Vader’s intrusion weighing on his mind. He looked Vader in the eye, and said “Go to hell” and bit down hard.

Vader sensed the man’s intentions too late, and didn’t think to check that the man didn’t have a suicide pill on his person. The man started to convulse in his grasp. He knew he had moments to try and locate the information he wanted, but he wasn’t fast enough. The captain died seconds later.

Several tense moments passed, as Vader stood there holding the captain like a ragdoll, his body limp. The captured crew looked at each other nervously, wondering what was to come. No sound was heard except for the respirator of the Sith Lord that stood in front of them.

Vader threw the man in to the middle of the crew and turned to one of his troops, “execute them commander, they are all enemies of the Empire.” He didn’t stop to watch, but he could feel each of their life forces leave their bodies as the troopers opened fire.

He stalked the corridors close to rage. How did the captain outmanoeuvre him like that? He was a Sith! He should have known that the captain would take the easy way out. That’s what cowards did wasn’t it? Vader punched a bulkhead in anger, his durasteel fist leaving a dent in the otherwise pristine wall.

He could sense the captain of the assault team come up behind him, he could sense his fear as well as his urgency. He stopped just behind the Sith Lord, and coughed politely.

“My Lord” he said, he waited until Vader addressed him directly. It wasn’t a career enhancing move to interrupt the Sith Lord when he was deep in thought. Vader paused for a moment before turning around to face the young man.

“Yes captain, you have further information?” He started to walk down the corridor motioning the captain to walk with him. “Yes my lord, during the combat a series of escape pods were fired towards the planet. There were no life signs aboard, it’s possible that either the plans were hidden in the pods, or was downloaded to a droid of some kind.” Vader was impressed at the young man’s reasoning and logic.

It was a clever idea, send as many escape pods as you can, and hide the plans in the hopes of confusing the gunners. The captain continued, “we managed to destroy all but one of the pods my lord. It made it planet side.”

Vader looked at the young man stood before him. “This is good, we shall recover the plans immediately. Prepare your men for a retrieval mission, and inform them I will be joining them.” The captain didn’t appear fazed by the request, he snapped to attention, “at once my lord.” And scurried off to carry out his duty.

Vader made it to a view port, and looked down on the planet. He knew the second he entered the system where he was. Tatooine. His home planet. Not that many in the naval crew knew that. He’d deleted the majority of his records. But now he was here, he felt the memories come flooding back. He always swore he’d never set foot on this planet again. But here he was heading down with the men to recover the plans to the Death Star. Vader thought for a moment, “What made me do that?” he wondered to himself. The Sith were not noted for nostalgia or flights of fancy. But somehow he’d decided to lead the mission to recover the plans. He mused that it must be the will of the Force somehow.

He pushed those thoughts aside as he made his way towards the hangar where the 501st were waiting to head to the surface. This would be an interesting trip one way or another.

 

Cool developments. Superb! characterization

 

Wow, you wrote Vader very well! Formidable and full of anger.Great!

 

The next chapter is almost there, but am struggling with the pacing of it. I hope to get it finished by the weekend thoughl.

Thanks for the feedback, am glad you're enjoying it.

 

I to enjoyed this thoroughly!!! Very well done bringing vader to life!! i could visualize all this in my head as i was reading it and find myself eager to read more!!! keep it up! i'm looking foward to reading more

 

There is a new post coming, just can't seem to get it right annoyingly, but not given up yet.

 

Please don't kept us waiting in suspense . I like AUs set in this time.

 

Chapter 2

Tatooine wasn’t the most forgiving of planets. Its binary star system ensured that the planet was nothing more than a vast expanse of sand in every single direction. Its arid landscape unforgiving to anybody who was under-prepared for life on the planet. And if the environment didn’t kill you, then the natives may well do. Many heard the rumours of the sand coloured Tusken Raiders, who’d attack in numbers, and leave none alive, and those were the ones you could see. Far worse were the Sarlacs that were dotted around the place. They would stay dormant for years until they were awakened as they entered adulthood. They had claimed more than their fair share of hapless victims.

It was rumoured that eons ago, Tatooine was a lush world, with plenty of forests and greenery. But something disasturous happened to the planet’s orbit, that it moved closer to the binary stars that served as its suns. But it was nothing more than a rumour.

Yet despite this, there was life here. And vibrant life at that. The planet was controlled by the Hutts, which meant that crime was rife on the planet. And it was a favourite spot for people looking for work as bounty hunters, or people on the run from the galaxy at large.

Obi-Wan Kenobi certainly fell in to that second category. Eighteen years he’d been on Tatooine now, and the years had been kind to him. His hair had retained a lot of the natural colour, but the twin suns made it more blond than ginger now. His beard was trimmed neatly as ever. He wore darker tunics these days. He didn’t think it wise to dress as a Jedi of the Republic; that was a sure ticket to questions and quite possibly death.

He turned up with the offspring of Anakin Skywalker all those years ago, and kept a careful watch on the boy. However it was a watch he had to do at distance, as the child’s guardian wanted him to have nothing to do with the boy. He also said many nastier things to him as well, however Obi-Wan allowed those words to wash over him.

He’d made his home on the other side of the Judland Wastes, which wasn’t too far from the Lars homestead. It wasn’t as nice as his accommodation at the Jedi Temple, but it served his purposes perfectly. Even now it hurt him to think of the carnage he saw at the Jedi Temple that night. And even more was the pain of knowing that Anakin had carried out the attack. The boy he trained was long since gone, and consumed by the monstrosity that was Darth Vader.

He sighed wearily. He’d been training to mediate all morning, as he sensed a disturbance in the Force, but he couldn’t pin it down as to what it was. He tried to sink deeper in to his meditation, when his eyes snapped open with realisation that the boy he was sent to protect was in great danger. He raced for the trunk for his lightsaber, and took a long look at the one that lay beside it. He felt the Force urge him to take it. He hooked both to his belt and bolted out of the door.

~-~-~-

Luke Skywalker smacked the vaparator in frustration. It was the fifth time this one had broken down. He looked around at the small pepper potted droid who was looking at the main controller element near the bottom of the vaparator.

“How are you doing little fella?” Luke asked, the droid beeped and warbled. “Sir, he says that the computer logs report that this device shut down due to an internal crash in the cooling subroutine. He says it should be fixed momentarily.” The golden droid responded. Luke nodded, “thanks Threepio”.

He’d been working with the droids for a week or so now. His uncle picked them up from a bunch of Jawas, and got a good price on them too. The smaller one mentioned something about Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke mentioned this to his uncle, who promptly told him to forget about what he’d heard. And sent Luke to the South Ridge.

Luke was considered handsome among the girls at Toshi Station. Always trusting and innocent, and believing the best in people. It’d gotten him in to trouble more than once. However his intentions had always been honourable. He had a mop of blond hair which almost never did what it was told, and calm blue eyes. And a natural ability to fly things fast, which he hoped would get him in to the Imperial Academy one of these days. If his uncle ever allowed him off this miserable rock.

Suddenly, the smaller droid warbled in an alarmed tone. “Master Luke sir” Threepio said, “R2 reports that there is a life form approaching us rapidly from the north. He is concerned that we should head back as soon as possible sir.” Luke thought for a second, and told the droids “Get in the speeder as quickly as possible.” And quickly placed the panel back where it was. There was nothing more he could do for this vapartor. He ran for the speeder and burnt off for home as quickly as he could.

Lars Homestead

Owen Lars looked out over the horizon. He could feel something was wrong. He didn’t need the Force to tell him that. His gut told him something was wrong. And he didn’t have long to wait before he had the answer he needed. He could see the dust cloud from the south where Luke was gunning for home as fast as he could.

“The Tuskens are getting bolder” he thought to himself. The only life he’d known was that of a moisture farmer, but he also knew the risks of what that entailed. He ran into the home and grabbed his rifle. Whoever was chasing Luke was in for on heck of a surprise.

Luke arrived in a cloud of dust and rapidly moved the speeder in to the small garage, and unloaded the droids. “Uncle Owen, the R2 unit spotted something coming for us, at high speed. I didn’t get a chance to finish fixing the vaparator.” Owen was a hard task master. However this was different. Owen ran over and hugged his nephew.

“I’m just glad you’re OK son.” He released Luke and pointed towards the young man’s room. “Get inside, and grab your rifle. I may need your help with this one, depending on how many of them there are.” Luke did as he was told, “R2 told us there was only one.”

This gave Owen pause, “Only one? But who? And why?” He didn’t have to wait long until he had his answer. He could hear the high pitched whine of a speeder bike coming towards them. Luke looked through his binoculars, “It’s someone wearing dark clothing, he has a red and black face uncle Owen.” Luke passed his uncle the binoculars who took a good look.

Owen paled, it couldn’t be could it? He knew he’d been killed years ago on Naboo. Kenobi himself killed him. For the first time in his life, Owen regretted the way he treated Kenobi. He turned to Luke hurriedly, “Get in to the panic room Luke, and stay there, take aunt Beru with you, and no matter what you hear, do not come out! Do I make myself clear?”

Luke began to protest, “But uncle Owen…” Owen cut across him, “Luke!!! You can’t help me, the one who’s coming is a Sith Lord, and he won’t rest until he’s killed us all. Please Luke, I need you to do this for me. Please son.” He shot a pleading look at his young nephew.

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, he realised that this could well be the last time he would see his uncle alive. “Ok uncle Owen, I’ll do as you say.” Owen nodded, and pulled Luke in to a fierce hug, “I know I’ve been harsh on you from time to time Luke, and I’m truly sorry. I want you to know that I have always loved you, and I always will. You may not be my son Luke, but you are my blood.” He could feel his eyes well up, he knew he had to stop the Sith Lord somehow, or at least delay him to get to give Luke and Beru a chance to get out of the homestead via the secret exit.

“Now go! There isn’t much time.” With that he sent Luke off to do what needed to be done, and Owen Lars bravely turned to face his destiny. He only hoped he’d be able to do enough.

The bike came to a stop in front of him. Owen could feel the hatred radiate off him. “Where is he?” The Sith asked. Owen said nothing. The Sith turned to face him, and Owen came found himself face to face with evil itself, with yellow eyes trying to burn into his soul. There was no doubt in Owen’s mind any more. Darth Maul was alive.

“I’m telling you nothing Sith Lord.” Owen said, weirdly his voice sounded brave. Maul sneered.

“I can sense your fear, you wreak of it! I know who the boy is. I know who his father is. You WILL tell me where he is.”

Owen shook his head, he could sense Maul trying to access his mind. He hurriedly started thinking of the day his father died, anything to stop him finding out where Luke was. Maul looked impressed. “You have impressive shielding for someone with no training at all, for that I give you the honour of a quick and noble death.”

Owen stood his ground, his face resolute. “I will give you nothing! I will not betray my family.” Maul snarled in anger as he leaped off the speeder bike. The snap-hiss of the lightsaber sounded loudly in his ear. He didn’t move or flinch he closed his eyes and smiled knowing that the secret would go with him to the grave. But the blow never landed.

A blue lightsaber blocked its path. Owen opened his eyes to come face to face with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi turned his head to Owen, “I suggest you run as quickly as you can Owen. Now.”

Owen didn’t need asking a second time as he took off.

 

Woot! Terrific action and amazing twists in the plot.

 

I know this chapter isn't as polished as the others, but I couldn't get it right, so firing out there so I can start writing the fun bits

Have fun y'all

Chapter 3

For a time, the only sound heard on Tatooine was the gentle breeze of the desert, and the crackling of two lightsabers. The two combatants stared in to each others eyes, one pair the purest form of blue, the other a sickly red rimmed yellow. “Kenobi...” spat the Sith, “you survived” he leered. Obi-Wan shoved back on the saber pushing Maul back a yard or two, “good to see your powers of observation are as good as ever” he quipped.

The started to circle one another warily. “I know who the boy is Kenobi!” Maul leered, “and when I take him to Palpatine, he will reward me by allowing me to take my rightful place as his apprentice!” Obi-Wan shook his head, his face resolute. “Over my dead body” he answered.

Maul stopped circling and raised his lightsaber in to position, “If that’s what it will take Kenobi, then so be it.”

The battle was ferocious, it was obvious that Obi-Wan lost a good deal of his speed since the end of the Clone Wars, but what he did have was focus. And it was this that assured him he would survive this day. He was a servant of the Force, and he knew that it wasn’t his day to die. But that didn’t detract him from the battle at hand. He fell in to his graceful Soresu form, easily deflecting the stabs and parries that rained down upon him from a younger opponent. But what Obi-Wan lacked in youthful exuberance, he more than made up for with the mastery of the Force.

Maul pressed hard, looking for any sort of an opening. He assumed that the years of living alone on the desert planet of Tatooine would have dulled the Jedi’s reflexes, but not a bit of it. He rained blows down on the Jedi before him, who serenely batted them away. Enraged he screamed at Kenobi, “FIGHT KENOBI!!! FIGHT ME!!!”

Obi-Wan ignored him, and kept his focus on the moment, just as Qui-Gon had taught him all those years ago, he wouldn’t be goaded in to making a mistake. He smiled at the Sith stood before him.

Maul knew he had to get under that shield somehow, get in to the Jedi’s mind, but how. He reached out with the Force, and bent it to his will, it answered, and as Maul heard the gentle whispers he leered at the Jedi.

“How does it feel Jedi?” he asked, “how does it feel to be the one who trained the one who wiped out the Jedi?” Obi-Wan didn’t respond. Maul pressed on, “Come one Kenobi, tell me? Are you proud of your accomplishments? You’ve done what every Sith has dreamed of! Palpatine should be rewarding you!”

He could sense a crack in Obi-Wan’s shielding, encouraged he pressed on, “I mean he killed younglings Obi-Wan, the only family you ever known! Surely you must have known he was dangerous?”

It was at that point, the memories came flooding back to the Jedi, the memory of him telling Qui-Gon that the boy was dangerous! It was all the distraction Maul needed as he leaped towards Kenobi, there was no way he could get his lightsaber up in time.

But as the blow was about to land, Maul found himself hovering in the air, the tip of his lightsaber inches from Obi-Wan’s heart. He tried to free himself, but found he was in a vice like grip.

Maul looked stunned at the Jedi in front of him, his face was serene. “Clearly you have learned nothing Maul.” His voice was eerily calm. “A Jedi is taught to take responsibility for his actions, whereas all you do is destroy, and to what end? The Sith already rule the galaxy, so why are you here?”

Maul struggled against the invisible grip that held him, but it wouldn’t budge. “What does it matter why I’m here, soon you’ll be dead, and Skywalker will be my new apprentice.” Obi-Wan seemed to ponder for a moment before raising his hands upwards, sending Maul in to the air, before bringing down his hands in a rapid motion, sending the Sith Lord hurtling towards the ground.


It was then he heard a sound he hoped he’d never hear. A respirator, and there was no mistaking who it belonged to when a voice boomed across the desert. “KENOBI!!!!”

 

Yay an update!

 

Awesome, I thought Kenobi was done for until he dispatched Maul handily enough - but then the cliffie ... An epic-style turning point confrontation is coming.

 

There goes another fic I've been reading but failed to comment on This is fantastic AU writing, you twist the elements of the original story just as much as it takes to make it an entirely new thing! Will this continue?

 

Chyntuck I can confirm that this is going to continue, just trying to figure out how to write the next bit, but it is coming. I promise

 

As promised, here's the latest update. I've had the devil's own job in writing this, and I'm still not 100% happy with it. I've read it and re-read it and can't make it exactly how I wanted, so I figured just post it so I can move on. This chapter is kind of pivotal for the rest of this story...

Chapter 4

Everything stood still for what seemed like an eternity, then only sound that could be heard was the respirator of the Sith Lord as he walked up towards the combatants. The distraction was all Maul needed to right himself and land gently on his feet with a certain elegance.

Obi-Wan felt fear well up within him, Maul he knew he could handle but an enraged Vader he wasn't so sure about. He reached out with the Force and sensed the smugness and arrogance from Maul, and the cool rage emanating from Vader. Obi-Wan watched as Vader strode with purpose, there wasn't a whisp of wind, the heat of the twin suns fell relentlessly on the surface. He took stock of his situation, he knew he'd expended a great deal of energy fighting Maul, he'd need reserves he never knew he had if had any hope of defeating Vader.

He quickly reached for the small communication device he held that provided a link to the panic room within Owen's home; Owen didn't get much of a chance to say much before Obi-Wan simply said “run, and don't stop! He's here!” Owen didn't need to guess who “he” was, he disconnected the comm and got on with preparing to run for their lives. Obi-Wan had done all he could to help Luke now, the best he could do now was to prevent Vader from getting to him!

“You took everything from me!” bellowed the Sith Lord. Vader was terrifying enough when he was fighting any other enemy, but this was Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man who'd put him in this damned suit! His heart held a special rage for this Jedi! He ignored Maul as he ignited his lightsaber and stalked towards the Jedi. “And now, that balance will be redressed!” Vader turned towards Maul, “you will leave now acolyte! This Jedi is mine!”

Maul stood his ground, “I have a greater issue with this Jedi that goes back further than your petty squabble Vader! I will have my revenge!” Vader's face was inscrutable behind the mask. Vader regarded the aged Sith before him, he could see the rage and the anger rolling off him. At one time he'd have been a threat to his position, but now he was no threat at all. “We have a common enemy it would appear, and our end goals are the same. What say you?” Maul said nothing but igniting his lightsaber, and with that they both approached the Jedi.

Obi-Wan knew he was in trouble. Maul on his own he could handle, but Vader and Maul was a different proposition. He reached out with the Force trying to find a way he could get out of this, and found none. He closed his eyes briefly knowing that his life would end this day. But he wouldn't go quietly.

Maul leaped at Obi-Wan looking to attack high as Vader swung, Obi-Wan leaped to meet Maul kicking him in the midriff sending Maul reeling in to desert sand. Obi-Wan landed cat-like and flung his lightsaber across his back blocking a strike Vader had flung at his lower back. He could sense Maul starting to get up, he pushed against Vader's blade pushing it away and delivering a spinning kick to Vader's control panel on the front of his chest plate smashing a few controls.

Vader staggered back as the environmental controls shut down on his suit. His internal display showed that the temperature regulator had gone off-line and was beyond repair and his oxygen regulator was damaged and barely functional. Curse that Jedi! He flicked a switch on the front which brought a backup oxygen supply, but he had to accept that the environmental controls were dead. He allowed the rage to fuel him and he stepped back in to the fight.

Maul got back to his feet and charged at the Jedi raining blows upon him. Obi-Wan was doing all he can to block the blows coming thick and fast. He knew that he had to take charge while Vader was slowed down he knew he had to end this quickly. But a movement behind the Sith caught his eye, he could see Owen loading Luke, Beru and the droids on to a speeder. It was all the distraction Maul needed as he swung at Obi-Wan's arm, he missed but managed to slice through Obi-Wan's lightsaber which fell to the sand useless. Maul spun as he flung a kick to Obi-Wan's chin and he lunged with his blade towards the Jedi's heart! In an instant Obi-Wan was back on Naboo watching Qui-Gon suffering the same fate. He felt that this was the end when he suddenly heard an ethereal voice. “Fall to the floor Obi-Wan.” He didn't question it, he allowed the momentum of the kick to drive him to the floor.

Maul's blade skewered nothing but thin air, but he saw what Obi-Wan had done and readjusted the stab trying to kill the Jedi, so focussed he was that he didn't see the handful of sand the Jedi had flung towards the Sith's eyes. Maul dodged the sand but it was all the time Obi-Wan needed to roll on to his feet once again.

However Maul stopped as he sensed others present, he turned and saw the small family busily loading up the speeder looking to get away. He reached out with the Force and wrenched the engine from the speeder. The engine groaned and moaned as it was pulled as it was wrenched from the speeder. The repulsors failed as the speeder fell to the floor.

Obi-Wan watched as the scene appeared to happen in slow motion in front of him, before letting out a roar of frustration. “Noooooooooo!!!” he charged at Maul and launched a vicious flying kick to Maul's skull. Maul was so focussed on stopping Owen escaping that he didn't sense Obi-Wan's attack until it was too late, and took the blow straight in the temple. He fell to the floor like a ragdoll and didn't move. Obi-Wan didn't hesitate as he called the second lightsaber to his hands and drove it in to the Sith's head. “Come back from that you schuta!” he said with almost a sigh of relief.

He turned to face Vader, but he wasn't where Obi-Wan last seen him. Obi-Wan didn't have time to duck a punch to the side of his face as he was sent flying towards the downed speeder! Vader stalked towards the Jedi twirling the lightsaber slowly, reaching out with the Force, he called Maul's lightsaber to his hand, he crossed the lightsabers at Obi-Wan's throat. “That was very impressive my old master, the years haven't dulled your skill, but your story ends here.” The lightsabers moved closer to Obi-Wan's throat, his lightsaber was out of his reach, he'd never have time to reach out for it. He closed his eyes and prepared to become one with the Force.

The blow never came. Instead Vader was staring at the young blond haired boy who was wielding a blue lightsaber.

-=-=-=-=-

Luke watched in horror as the dark man had a pair of blades crossed across Old Ben's throat. He wanted to do something but he didn't know what. He wished he could reach the lightsaber Ben had dropped when he heard a voice in his mind “reach out your hand”. Luke did what the voice told him, he dimly heard Uncle Owen shout “Luke! No!” but it was too late, the lightsaber flew in to his hand.

Luke looked amazed at the cylinder in his hands, he felt his hands move automatically towards the switch as the blade thrummed in to life with a snap hiss.

Owen watched in horror helpless to do anything as he watched the lightsaber fly towards his adopted nephew. He knew in that instant that everything was about to change.

-=-=-=-=-

Vader stared at the young boy in front of him. He looked strangely familiar, the bright blue eyes shone with determination. There was something else familiar about him also, and it hit Vader like a kick in the gut. It was HIS lightsaber. The one he lost on Mustafar all those years ago! Vader hid his shock as well as he could. He didn't know how much this boy knew.

“You are brave boy!” his deep baritone voice sounded, “and it's obvious that the Force is strong with you. You'd do well to join me.” he intoned. Luke didn't flinch, didn't speak, he stood his ground, the air was silent as the lightsabers hummed, and what looked like a staring contest taking place. “What is your name boy?” Vader asked. This was the day that everyone except for two people had feared. But they also knew there was nothing any of them could do.

Luke spoke with clarity and confidence, “My name is Luke Skywalker”

 

Brilliant Riveting edge of seatness and a terrific! final line! Woot!

 

"My name is Luke Skywalker" -- over-the-top awesome!!!!

Beyond the obvious holding-my-breath parameter, I loved all the parallels with movie scenes -- the Duel of the Fates, Endor, Dooku's death. Great job!

Okay. You can't stop here. More please )))

 

I love this! Incredible action in this story, EGKenobi. I can't wait to see what happens next.