Having blacked out from a lack of oxygen in her dead fighter, Leia didn't know how she now found herself laying on a cold steel floor.

Though the lighting was dismal at best, she still groaned and scrunched her face in pain when she opened her eyes for the first time. Her head was spinning and she felt lightheaded where the oxygen had been thin.

Summoning the energy to open her eyes fully, she lifted her head up from the floor. Taking a few seconds to adjust, Leia's eyes finally focused on a pair of mechanical feet right in front of her. Following upwards came mechanical legs, attached to a black clad chest, then finally, Maul's face came into view.

"Ah, young Skywalker, awake at last I see." His deep voice filled the room, seemingly making it colder with his very presence.

"Darth Maul," Leia growled, standing up quickly and backing away, her hands shackled, "I thought I recognized your foul stench when first I woke."

"Well now, Skywalker," Maul chuckled lowly, his yellow-red eyes boring into her, "Is that any way to treat your saviour? You were drifting in space, your fighter dead of life, oxygen depleting rapidly and your family nowhere to rescue you. I could have left you there to die but I didn't, so a little gratitude would be well received."

"If it's all the same, I'd rather take deep space."

"Ever the hothead as usual, Jedi. A trait, I'm told, that runs in the family. Your mother, Senator Padmé Skywalker, your father, Master Anakin Skywalker and your brother..." At this, he trailed off with a smirk as Leia's heart dropped.

"Luke! What have you done with him!" She snapped, fearing the worst, "Where's my brother?"

"The last I saw of young Luke Skywalker, his ship was hurtling off into the oblivion, engine failing and controls sparked out."

Leia bit her lip to try and stem the emotions mixing up inside of her. Her brother couldn't be dead, she was sure of it. She would know it, if her brother was dead, she would swear she would have felt it. But the seed of doubt was now there; she had seen Luke and Obi-Wan being shot down in front of her.

***

The first thing Luke was aware of when his eyes flew open, was the scorching sun blaring down on him, forcing him to close his eyes again from the sting. The next thing he felt was hands grabbing his shoulders, attempting to shake him awake.

"Luke, wake up," Obi-Wan said in concern, "We cannot stay here."

"Wha..." Luke mused groggily as his head still felt like it was spinning.

A few more seconds passed by as Luke regained his senses, finding himself sat at an angle in the cockpit of his fighter which was now lodged halfway in golden sand. Smoke rose from the front of the fighter where most of the damage had been inflicted.

Obi-Wan was beside him in the sand, trying to help him out. Having regained his awareness, Luke clambered out of the pilots chair, falling onto the sand beside the fighter.

"Tatooine." Obi-Wan grumbled, "Of all the backwater worlds we could have crashed on, why did it have to be Tatooine?"

"Tatooine? Dad's homeworld?" Luke mused as he stood up and surveyed the wasteland that was the desert planet of Tatooine.

"Has your father told you much about this place?"

"Not much, just a few stories about grandmother Shmi but dad doesn't like to talk about his childhood much." Luke replied, trying to recall what little information he could.

"Well I can't blame him. Slavery isn't something one would take lightly." Obi-Wan mused, "This entire system is controlled by the Huts which is very bad news for us because it means we're in enemy territory. We need to find a city and get off world as soon as possible. Jedi are less than welcome here at the best of times."

"Looks as though it's going to be dark soon," Luke pointed out as he saw the two suns rather low on the horizon, "I'd say maybe two or three hours before this entire desert turns from scorching hot to freezing cold. We need to find shelter, we can scout for ships in the morning... If we're still here, that is."

Obi-Wan checked the locator map he had in his robe pocket, "The City of Mos Eisley is just south of here, I suppose we could try to make it there for the night..."

"But like you said, Jedi aren't exactly commonplace in a city like that, especially not Jedi as recognisable as you or I. The second someone sees the lightsabers at our belts or somebody knows our faces, we're done for." Luke scoffed, kicking at the sand in frustration.

Luke was more irritable than usual, not just because he had just fallen behind enemy line son a planet which set rights back thousands of years, but because Luke had left his sister drifting in deep space. Since they had lost control of their fighters, her fate was unknown to him. She couldn't be dead, he was certain he would have felt something - a disturbance in the force.

"I suppose we could try to sneak into town and hijacked a ship..."

"I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," Obi-Wan sighed, rasing his hands to stroke at his beard as he tried to think of another solution, "You have family here, you know?"

"I do?" Luke asked in surprise, he knew his father had grown up here a slave the same as his grandmother but his father had never told him he had more family on Tatooine.

"Yes. I didn't expect your father to have told you, it's not something he has ever been able to forgive. Anakin decidedly blames his step brother for your grandmother's death, I don't think he's ever forgiven him."

"So I have an uncle here?"

"Yes, that is, if the Lars family are still here. Let's hope so since their moisture farm is much closer than Mos Eisley. We'll have to hope they're inviting people." Obi-Wan mused, sighing heavily as he started the long walk towards the Lars residences.

***

The trek through the desert was as painful as it sounds. With two suns blaring down on them and nothing but sand for miles, it was no wonder why Anakin hadn't talked much about his homeworld.

In the two hours it had taken then to get it the moisture farm, Luke had time to reflect on what had happened only a few hours ago. He hoped to whatever deity was listening, that his sister was alive and well. He couldn't bare the thought of losing her because he hadn't been fast enough to save her.

When finally they made it to the farm which they located on the map, the sun's were setting rapidly. Despite the desert being bare and void of anything but sand, he had to admit that the setting suns were beautiful.

Knowing their entire hopes of surviving the night rested on whether or not Luke's uncle would taken them in or not, they waited in anticipation as they stood at the door.

When the door finally opened, the two were stood in front of a rather shabby looking man with brown-greying hair and clothes which had definitely seen better days. Despite the fact Tatooine was run by thieves and criminals, in front of the Jedi stood a simple farmer.

"You're Owen Lars?" Luke asked, stepping forward.

"What of it?" He replied a little snappy, his eyes darting from Luke to Obi-Wan skeptically, "You don't look like the usual pirates we get around here."

"I'm Luke Skywalker," he answered, "Your step-brother Anakin's son."

Owen's eyes widened slightly at this revelation but he stills good rigid in the doorway, looking over Luke and the older Jedi next to him.

"I thought you looked familiar," Owen grumbled, turning his nose up slightly as if he had nothing but contempt for Anakin's name, "What do you want?"

"Well..." Luke started, realising this might not be the budding family reunion Obi-Wan had hoped for, "Our fighters were shot down in the desert and we hoped you'd help us out-"

"You're Jedi." Owen stated, gesturing to the lightsabers at their belts, "I want no business with Jedi, not after what happened with your father. Besides, if I harbor Jedi, the Huts will be all over my family and farm in a blink."

He turned to close the sliding door, leaving them out in the open desert for good, when Luke placed his hand in the door and forced it back open again, much to Owen's irritation.

"Please," Luke spoke up a bit in order to stop Owen's protests, "We have nowhere else to go. No one knows we're here. All we're asking is one night and we promise, we'll be gone before you even notice it."

With that, silence followed as Owen contemplated his options. The suns were nearly fully set now, the last rays of orange light peeking over the horizon and already he could tell the temperature was plummeting rapidly. If he left them out there, he knew they would likely pit up a decent fight but this far from Mo's Eisley, it was dangerous to travel without previsions. Sand storms, quick sand, krayt dragons, Tusken Raiders. All sorts of things could kill them, Jedi or no Jedi.

Owen had only met his step-brother once but that time was enough for him. Now his 'nephew' stood in front of him, a spitting image of Anakin, asking for his help. Despite his less than happy feelings towards his step-brother, Owen wasn't a bad person. If he left them out in the desert, it would be more than likely they would die.

"You can stay for tonight, and only tonight."

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