Rise of the Teenage Conquerors

Episode 1.27

The sense of relief that cascaded down on Lucas on knowing that Ben was alive made everything else seem insignificant. Even the fact that Vader was currently giving him the death glare couldn't ruin his mood.

At least, Lucas was ninety percent certain he was getting a death glare. It was hard to tell, what with the fact that Vader's mask didn't change expression.

"You," Vader snarled, and Lucas raised his certainty rating to one hundred percent sure.

"Annie," Lucas returned, shifting his stance. "Good to see you again."

"Be quiet," Vader demanded. "Return my lightsaber to me, you imbecile."

"What lightsaber?" Lucas asked, feigning innocence. He saw Lumina looking at him from the corner of his eye and got what she was trying to get across. But his head still hurt from heading C-3PO's head. It would be hard to escape effectively with the pain throbbing above his eyes. "You mean your Sith lightsaber? I mean, because Obi-Wan stole your blue lightsaber, so you can't be talking about that one."

Vader turned his glare to Ben for a moment. "Whatever did happen to my old lightsaber?"

"Yeah, about that," Ben said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Funny story. I gave it away, when I was spring cleaning, a couple years back. But hey, it might turn up someday!" He glanced away. "Someday soon, would be my guess."

Vader just looked at him. "Why would you give away a lightsaber? One you made a point about stealing in the first place?"

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed. "I did not steal it! You were in no shape to be using that, and you were a danger to yourself, and to others. So I took it, to, um, protect you. Besides, can you blame me? I thought you were about to die. If I had known I'd be standing, talking to you today, I would have, you know...given you a little push back into that lava."

"What happened to all that 'You were my brother!' crap?" Vader demanded.

While Ben and Vader argued, Ben seemingly in the persona of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucas' eyes fell on a bottle of aspirin, sitting on the tray of refreshments. He began to inch toward the table, his eyes on the bottle. If he could only take one, to ease the pain in his head...then, at least, whatever happened next, he would be ready.

"It was very hot on Mustafar!" Ben was yelling. "I said things I didn't mean. You once told me I was like a father to you – you clearly didn't mean that, huh? Did you, Annie?"

"Why did you get rid of my lightsaber?" Vader bellowed, changing the subject.

Lucas had reached the table and slowly, keeping his eyes on the Sith Lord and his best friend, stretched out his arm toward the bottle of aspirin. His fingers closed around the container and he drew it toward him, taking a glass of water from the tray. Vader was so engrossed in his argument that he didn't notice, and with the Imperials doing their best to imitate statues by standing so still they seemed dead, and Boba Fett rocking out to whatever was playing inside his helmet, there was no one to stop Lucas from obtaining headache relief.

"It was evidence in a massacre!" Ben hollered. "You murdered Tusken Raider men, women, and children with that lightsaber, Darth – it was incriminating evidence! The case had been revived and I was afraid of being questioned and found with it!"

"It's a lightsaber!" Vader shouted. "They can't trace it back to twenty year old murders!"

"Aha!" Ben shouted back, pointing at Vader. "So you admit that you did do it!"

Lucas glanced down at the aspirin bottle, twisting the top off. It took a little trial and error to figure out how safety caps operated in Star Wars, but finally he got it off. Hopefully space aspirin is the same dosage as earth aspirin, he reflected, popping a pill into his mouth and taking a mouthful of water to wash it down.