Episode I:Return to Tatooine

Below is the music to one of my favorite Star Wars Themes (Binary Sunset), if you'd like to listen to it while you read.

A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away...

Luke Skywalker's Home Planet of Tatooine.

"Did we really have to come back here?" Luke said with a sigh of exasperation. He had never planned on returning to this dust-ball of a planet if he could help it.

"Hey kid, I'm not thrilled about it either, but we gotta get this done," Han replied.

"I know, it's just... why Tatooine?" came Luke's reply.

This time it was Leia who spoke up. " I told you, Luke. An informant with potentially very valuable information for the Alliance is in hiding out here."

They had just arrived at Mos Eisley on a mission that would aid the Rebel Alliance. Luke, having grown up here, was leading them through the spaceport to their rendezvous point.

Luke chose not to answer her reply, instead muttering "We're here," as they reached the doorway to the cantina. They walked inside and Leia chose a booth towards the back, away from prying eyes. Luke and Han wandered over to open seats at the cantina's bar.

Shortly after a terrifying humanoid figure with fangs walked in and sat down across from Leia. After a few minutes of brief conversation between the two the humanoid got up and left, and Leia got up and wandered over to the bar to join Luke and Han.

"Well, your worshipfulness?" Han spoke as she reached them.

"Don't call me that!" Leia spat back. She sighed and then continued. "That was a messenger to verify that this wasn't some sort of trap. He gave me these coordinates to meet our informant, looks like somewhere near the Dune Sea. He wants to meet us there as soon as possible." She held out the data pad with the coordinates pulled up on a map. "Luke?"

After taking the data pad and studying it for a moment, Luke nodded and replied, "I know where that is."

Some time later...

"Watch your step," Luke called out as they made to climb a giant sand dune. "The sand here is prone to shifting out from under you."

"Great," came Han's sarcastic reply from somewhere behind him.

Luke, already near the top of the sand dune, looked over his shoulder and shot him a glare.

"We should be almost there," Leia spoke up, struggling slightly against the shifting sand.

"Just over this dune," Luke replied, stretching down a hand to help her.

The trio eventually stood on top of the dune, looking at the small compound where supposedly the informant was waiting for them.

"I'll say it," Han spoke up. "I got a bad feeling about this."

Two other humanoids escorted the trio through the compound, which was cooler than outside and much darker, their eyes not having adjusted yet to the gloom. Eventually they made it into a large audience chamber which held a curious being with many heads seated on a large throne.

The being spoke as they approached him. "Greetings, friends," he began. "I am Ravana."

"I'm Leia," the Princess replied. "Are you the one who reached out to us? You have information about the Empire?"

Ravana paused for a moment, then spoke. "Yes," he replied easily. "However, you must be exhausted from your journey. It would be my pleasure to provide some accommodations so that you may rest."

As Ravana spoke Luke felt a chill travel up his spine and realized the Force was trying to warn him. "Leia..." he began.

"Perhaps..." Ravana spoke over him, "in one of my cells? I'm sure the Empire would love to know that I have three of the Rebels' greatest heroes here, and would pay most handsomely to have them." He then suddenly slammed down on a button built into his throne and the floor opened up underneath their feet. The trio fell down into a large cell.

The trio gingerly got to their feet, the landing likely leaving large bruises. "Some friend," Han spoke bitterly.

Leia walked over to the bars of the cell, trying to figure out a way to escape. Thinking hard, she eventually turned to Luke. "Would it be possible to use the Force to open the cell?" she asked him.

"I can try." Luke calmed himself and reached into the Force, holding his hand out towards the cell door. For a while nothing happened, but as he focused suddenly the door began to shudder, and then the door was suddenly blown wide open, Luke managing to stop the door just before it slammed into the nearby wall. As they exited the cell, he noticed something else. "There's a tunnel that I think leads outside. We might be able to sneak out." Han and Leia nodded in reply, and Luke led the way out.

As they traversed the tunnel he came across a door to his right side. He felt something... like something in the room beyond was calling to him. He opened the door and stepped cautiously inside. Inside was only a singular object, a Trident known as the Trishula. It spoke to him. "Greetings, Skywalker. I am the Trishula. I have chosen you to wield me. When you have need of me, simply think of me and I will aid you." The Trishula then disappeared.

"Luke?" came Leia's voice from the other side of the door. "We need to get out of here. The Empire could already be on their way."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, sorry," Luke replied. Then he turned and left the room.

Luke led them quickly through the tunnels until they stood once again in the heat of Tatooine's suns, just beyond the fence of Ravana's compound.

"Well," Han spoke as they caught their breath, "I don't know about you all, but I don't ever want to come back to Tatooine again."

"Agreed!" Luke and Leia replied in unison.

The End

Author's Note: This is my first story about Celestial Weapons in the Star Wars universe! I didn't base my story on any story I've read so far for this class. I made the story entirely my own and inserted the Trishula, one of Shiva's weapons, into the story. I did borrow a few minor elements from canon, like the trap door from Return of the Jedi (minus a Rancor). Luke and Han also make it pretty clear in the original three movies that they don't enjoy Tatooine. I hope you enjoyed the plot twist with Ravana! I hadn't originally planned on integrating any of those characters into my story, but I got a comment on my comment wall asking if I would be integrating any of the villains from stories in the Ramayana or Mahabharata. Once I read that comment it got me thinking, as many different beings as there are in the Star Wars universe, a being like Ravana would fit right in. So he became the villain of my story. I also thought that with Tatooine being a desert planet, the weapon known as the Trishula would be an interesting choice of weapon to have in this story. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Bibliography. Wikipedia "Trishula". Web Source.