Star Wars. Suns Among Stars Trilogy, Book One: A Man Among Boys

Chapter Four

A lone figure stood atop the berm that divided the untamed desert from the edge of the Lars farm. Shrouded in a brown robe with the hood up to protect his face from the glare of the double suns, he watched a young man in pale clothes as he worked on a moisture vaporator.

Ben Kenobi tilted his head as he observed the less-than enthusiastic way in which the youth went about his task, almost as though he'd lost his fire. That had been something the Jedi had always admired about Luke.

But now that was gone, and it was clear to Ben that Luke was not himself anymore. Ben had of course sensed the disturbance in the Force weeks earlier, centered on Luke, but had known that for him to intervene at that time would have been nothing short of disastrous.

So now here he was, following the direction of the Force in his efforts to help the young man he'd watched for over a decade.

Sending out a searching tendril of Force energy to make sure Owen was nowhere near the pair of them, Ben wandered over.

Luke spotted the dark figure approach and he tensed in surprise, his hand tightening about the hydrospanner already in his grasp. It wouldn't make the best weapon if this sudden visitor was here to cause trouble, but it was better than nothing. But then the person approaching lifted their hands in a friendly gesture, and Luke relaxed a little.

"Who are you?" Luke asked as the figure in brown stopped a respectful distance away.

"I believe your uncle calls me a crazy old man," was the dry response. "But my name is Ben Kenobi."

Luke relaxed fully then, recognizing the hermit from previous meetings, however brief they'd been.

He frowned. "What brings you out this far from home?"

"I wanted to see how you are doing, Luke," Ben said, lowering his hood to reveal nearly-white hair and a kind smile.

Luke lifted a brow, but shrugged and returned to his task.

"I'm okay I guess," he answered vaguely.

"Just okay?"

Luke spared Ben a glance. "Why do you care how I am?"

"You look like you could use someone to talk to, my young friend," Ben replied softly. "You do not seem like your normal, chipper self."

Luke didn't respond, instead focusing on his repair job. He bit his cheek as he worked, thinking about the other man's offer. He was right: he could use someone to talk to, and he wasn't getting that kind of support at school or at home.

So why shouldn't he tell the man? Who was he going to gossip to in return that hadn't already heard Luke's 'big news'?

Luke recalled the any snarky comments from his 'friends' at school, with Fixer's— no surprise— being the most irksome.

Ah, Skywalker... I never knew you had it in you! Our little Wormie is growing up, hey boys?

Luke gritted his teeth, remembering how he'd wanted to knock Fixer's teeth out then. But he was doing all he could to stay out of Owen's already red-lined radar, so he'd refrained from retaliating in any way; instead suffering every bit of teasing and humiliation in silence.

He now sat alone at lunch and during the minutes he spent waiting for class to begin and then to get picked up. Venussia, of course, had managed to turn everyone to her side of things, gaining favor among the collective band of kids.

She'd milked every ounce of sympathy out of the other teenagers, leaving Luke dryer than a bone in the desert.

Only Biggs Darklighter seemed sympathetic. Although, even his attention was limited due to his increasing attempts to get into the Imperial Academy.