The Remnants: A Star Wars Story

Chapter 3: Home

It felt like a long ride in the speeder from Dantoo Town to their home, especially with the sun glaring down at them. Dust being blown up in their faces, forcing them to cover up with protective headgear like cloth, goggles or Fang's old helmet. After having driven across the landscapes for 10 clicks, they finally reached their secluded home in the middle of nowhere. Over the last 7 years, their small farms had evolved, and allowed them to live off of their crops and make a slight profit from selling them in town. Their crops ranged from fruits, to vegtables to grain. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough.

Parking the speeder behind their house, Fang began to unload all he had brought home. Jacen, noticing Fang being busy, quickly runs inside the house. His room was at the end of the small hallway. He hurried through the small hallway and through the door to the right, into his room. Taking no time to breathe he quickly ran to the bed, bent down and pulled out a small wooden box. Opening it, he placed the reflective lens he bough from Dresk in the inside, beside the damaged metal hilt.

"I'll be back to fix you later" he whispered to himself before closing the box and hiding it under the bed again. 5 seconds later, he heard Fang knocking on the door.

"You in here kiddo? Is something wrong". His voice sounded concerned but also suspicious of him. Before Fang could open the door, Jacen quickly sat by his desk and pretended to polish the multitool.

Fang enters. "What are you doing?".

"Nothing, just polishing the multitool. It was a little dirty from the ride home." He tried his best to sound convincing, but could not contain the nervous laugh that made Fang even more suspicious. Fang looked him up and down, trying to determine what was going but didn't notice anything suspicious to call out other than the sweat dripping from his forhead.

"Here!" Jacen threw the multitool in Fang's direction. Fang without flinching caught it and looked at it. It was clean, and even though he wasn't convinced, he let it go for now.

"Dinner in 10 minutes. Alright?". Fang's attitude was stern, his commanding tone echoing his past during the clone wars. He didn't talk alot about it with Jacen, but didn't have to.

"Yes sir."

Dinner was quiet. They both just looked at their plates as they ate. Dinner had gotten better over the years, as they had aqquired more crops, but Fang had never been an amazing cook. It was nutritious and gave them what they needed, but the flavor was nothing to write home about. Jacen reached for his glas, but noticed that it was empty. Seeing the water jug on the other side of the table, he slowly reached his hand forward and concentrated, trying to be as subtle as possible. As he reached out to the can with the force, and it slowly began to move, Fang's hand clamped down on Jacen's.

"Stop", Fang's tone commanding and sudden.

"No one is here, i just wanted to-", he tried to explain himself before he was cut off, and recieved a hard glare from Fang.

"I don't care what you wanted, you don't do that. End of discussion".

Silence took over the room again. A slight anger was rising in Jacen, but he quickly pushed it down and collected his plate and cutlery.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he said as he quickly put his dishes in the sink and left for his room. Fang let out a sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose. His gaze followed Jacen as he left, the door to his room shutting with a muted thud. Fang stayed seated at the table, staring down at his half-eaten meal. The sun had nearly set, casting long shadows across the small, modest kitchen. He knew the boy was struggling, and it hurt to be so harsh.

In his room, Jacen sat on his bed, frustration simmering just beneath the surface. The force kept calling to him. "What was he supposed to do, ignore it?" he thought. That whispering he had heard ealier, still replayed in his mind, like an echo in an neverending cave. His thoughts then crossed the wooden box. It couldn't be a coincidence. He pulled out the box again, opening it carefully. The metal hilt was cold and heavy in his hand, the once elegant weapon now a mere shadow of its former self. Jacen traced the intricate carvings with his finger, feeling a mix of awe and sadness. All that was needed to repair it was to replace the reflective lens. He quickly put the lens and the hilt on his desk, and quickly began to work on it. If this worked, and the lightsaber could work again, he might finally have the power to stop hiding and travel the world. This lightsaber was his only chance, his only ticket out of here.

After hours of tinkering, disasembling and repairing, the lightsaber's reflective lens was resplaced. Now all that was left to do was to test it. The hilt was put on his belt, and he put on his coat. He looked out the window, the last bit of sunlight still shining through. If he left now, he could be back before Fang found out. He quickly began to suff pilllows, boxes and everything else he could find under the blanket on his bed. Satisfied with how it looked, he leaped out the window, landing softly on his feet and ran towards the nearby canyon.