• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Had he driven Anakin deeper into the dark side by abandoning him on Mustafar?

Could he face Anakin again?

Could he kill him this time?

From the far side of the street, he shadowed Owen and Beru as they moved from store to store, stocking up on staples. Should he warn them about Vader? Should he take Luke away from them and hide him on an even more remote world in the Outer Rim?

His fear began to mount. His and Yoda’s hopes for the future, dashed, just as the Chosen One had dashed the Jedi’s hopes of bringing balance to the Force—

Obi-Wan.

He came to an abrupt halt. It was a voice he hadn’t heard in years, speaking to him not through his ears, but directly into his thoughts.

“Qui-Gon!” he said. “Master!” Realizing that the locals were quickly going to brand him a madman if they heard him talking to himself, he ducked into the narrow alley between two stores. “Master, is Darth Vader Anakin?” he asked after a moment.

Yes. Although the Anakin you and I knew is imprisoned by the dark side.

“I was wrong to leave him on Mustafar. I should have made sure he was dead.”

The Force will determine Anakin’s future. Obi-Wan: Luke must not be told that Vader is his father until the time is right.

“Should I take further steps to hide Luke?”

The core of Anakin that resides in Vader grasps that Tatooine is the source of nearly everything that causes him pain. Vader will never set foot on Tatooine, if only out of fear of reawakening Anakin.

Obi-Wan exhaled in relief. “Then my obligation is unchanged. But from what Yoda told me, I know that I have much to learn, Master.”

You were always that way, Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon’s voice faded, and Obi-Wan’s fears began to dissipate, replaced by renewed expectation.

Returning to the dazzling light of Tatooine’s twin suns, he caught up with Owen, Beru, and Luke, and kept silent watch over them for what remained of the day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Luceno is the New York Times bestselling author of the Star Wars novels Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, Cloak of Deception, Labyrinth of Evil, as well as the New Jedi Order novels Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial and Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, The Unifying Force, and the eBook Darth Maul: Saboteur. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with his wife and youngest child.

By James Luceno

The ROBOTECH series

(as Jack McKinney, with Brian Daley)

The BLACK HOLE TRAVEL AGENCY series

(as Jack McKinney, with Brian Daley)

A Fearful Symmetry

Illegal Alien

The Big Empty

Kaduna Memories

THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES

The Mata Hari Affair

The Shadow

The Mask of Zorro

Rio Pasion

Rainchaser

Rock Bottom

Star Wars: CLOAK OF DECEPTION

Star Wars: DARTH MAUL, SABOTEUR (e-book)

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero’s Trial

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force

Star Wars: LABYRINTH OF EVIL

Star Wars: DARK LORD—the Rise of Darth Vader

Star Wars: MILLENNIUM FALCON

STAR WARS—The Expanded Universe

You saw the movies. You watched the cartoon series, or maybe played some of the video games. But did you know …

In The Empire Strikes Back, Princess Leia Organa said to Han Solo, “I love you.” Han said, “I know.” But did you know that they actually got married? And had three Jedi children: the twins, Jacen and Jaina, and a younger son, Anakin?

Luke Skywalker was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. But did you know that, years later, he went on to revive the Jedi Order and its commitment to defending the galaxy from evil and injustice?

Obi-Wan said to Luke, “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire.” Did you know that over those millennia, legendary Jedi and infamous Sith Lords were adding their names to the annals of Republic history?

Yoda explained that the dreaded Sith tend to come in twos: “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an apprentice.” But did