Author's Note: This is a gift for IceyGemini on ao3. :D It'll be posted weekly on Saturday or Sunday. ^-^
~ Amina Gila
"Finish cleaning those vaporators first. I'm not having you wandering off again. It's enough that you already lost one of the droids."
Luke suppresses his annoyance, focusing on the vaporator in front of him, alongside the new droid, Threepio, working a short distance away. He still can't believe Artoo took off, and Uncle Owen won't even let him go searching for the thing.
To be fair, it was probably long since scrapped by Jawas anyway, who'll probably try to sell their own droid back to them the next time they come through. He can't believe he ever agreed to taking the restraining bolt off the droid. What was he thinking?
The distant sound of an approaching engine reaches his ears suddenly, and Luke glances up, frowning. Why is he feeling so unsettled? It feels like something's wrong, and he has no idea what. People come to the farm from time to time – maybe the Jawas are back with Artoo already.
Except then, something glints brightly in the sunlight, and he spots the approaching speeders. There's several of them, except they're full of stormtroopers?!
What?
What are they doing out here? It can't be anything good, because he knows the things the Empire does, and they wouldn't be here, unless –
"There's one of the droids," one of the stormtroopers calls, and they're all jumping out of the speeders suddenly, raising their blasters.
"What are you doing here?" Luke asks, raising his hands in surrender, fear coiling inside of him. What do they want? This is... bad. He knows something very, very bad is about to happen.
"Where's the other droid?" one of them demands.
"What?"
"We don't have time for games," the man snaps.
"I bought another droid from Jawas, and it took off somewhere. Are these... yours?" Maybe the Jawas stole them. That happens a lot. And stealing an Imperial droid would not go over well.
"Search the house," the leader barks, and they storm into the house just like that, ripping through everything in their way. He can hear Uncle Owen yelling, and Aunt Beru saying something, and then he hears her scream –
Something snaps in him, and he makes a move for the house.
A blaster shot rings out.
For a moment, there's nothing. But then, a blinding, all-encompassing agony is building up in his chest, and he feels himself falling face first into the sand.
He can't move. He can't breathe. Every breath feels like it's drawing in fire, and he can't get any air in, and it hurts.
And –
He's dying. He knows it instinctually, even if it weren't already obvious, because – because that stormtrooper shot him. And he can hear shooting in the house now, and –
No, he can't be dying now. He can't –
But darkness is already clawing at his vision, as he tries to choke in something other than sand. Not that he could breathe even if he weren't face first in the sand.
He –
He's dying. He's going to die here, right now, and –
He just wants to see his father. Just once.
YOU ARE READING
Children of the Force
FanfictionKilled on Tatooine by stormtroopers, Luke encounters the Son and Daughter. He has a connection to them, especially the Son, which is allowing him to stay partly in the physical realm, at least enough to get to know his father. But soon, he realizes...
