The Rise And Fall Of Darth Vader Read Online Free PDF Page A

he awoke. The Tusken lay on the sand, staring at Anakin through the opaque lenses of his goggles, then slowly raised himself to sit upright, taking care not to shift his injured leg.
    “Uh, hello,” Anakin said, hoping his voice sounded friendly.
    The Tusken did not respond.
    “Are you thirsty?”
    Again, no response.
    C-3PO leaned his one-eyed head closer to Anakin and said in a low voice, “I don’t think he likes us very much.”
    The Tusken’s head turned slightly. Anakin realized the Tusken had spotted his own blaster rifle, which Anakin had propped against some rocks beyond the Tusken’s reach. Then the Tusken returned his gaze to Anakin.
    Several minutes later, the Tusken spoke. Anakin didn’t understand the snarled words, so he turned to C-3PO. The droid translated, “He wants to know what you are going to do with him, Master Anakin.”
    Confused, Anakin looked back at the Tusken. “Tell him I’m not going to do anything with him. I’m just trying to help him get well.”
    The Tusken didn’t reply, but Anakin sensed he was afraid. Because nearly everyone believed Tusken Raiders to be fearless, Anakin was surprised. Why’s he afraid of me? It not afraid of him. Then Anakin thought with some surprise, I’m not afraid of anything.
    But as Anakin stared at the Tusken’s masked face, he saw his own reflection in the lenses of the Tusken’s gogeles and shuddered slightly. He had heard that Tuskens never took off their masks or bared their flesh, and the thought of his entire body being so completely enveloped, sealed off so that he’d be unable to feel anything - not even the touch of my mother’s hand - made Anakin suddenly realize a painful truth: Although he was never afraid for himself, he was sometimes very afraid for his mother.
    What if I were to lose her? How brave would I be then?
    Anakin continued watching the Tusken until he fell asleep.

    * * *

    Anakin Skywalker had many dreams that night. In one dream, he was no longer nine years old. He was a man. And not just any man, but a Jedi Knight with a lightsaber.
    He ran through the streets of Mos Espa, looking for the few slavers who’d escaped him. His mission was to liberate all the slaves on Tatooine. For too long, slavers in the Outer Rim had believed themselves immune from the laws of the Galactic Republic. Anakin was going to change all that. He called out, “Release the slaves now and no harm will come to you!”
    In the buildings that lined the streets of Mos Espa, some tenants leaned out of their windows and cheered for Anakin. Even though he’ d deactivated his lightsaber’s blade, most of the slavers were scared by the sight of him and his weapon, and surrendered when they saw him. Anakin gave them some credit for knowing better than to take on a Jedi.
    A shadow snaked across the curved exterior of a nearby building. By the angle of the shadow, Anakin quickly determined that it was cast by a humanoid alien from atop a neighboring building’s roof. From above and behind, Anakin heard the click of a blaster’s safety mechanism being switched off. He thought, Aha! A slaver who doesn ‘t know better!
    Anakin’s lightsaber ignited with a loud hum as he spun to look up at the roof, just in time to see the alien squeeze his blaster’s trigger. Before the fired laserbolt could reach Anakin’s chest, he swung hard with his lightsaber and smashed the bolt back at his attacker. The alien clutched at his shoulder and fell from the roof, landing with a loud thud on the sand-covered street. The dust was still settling when Anakin heard a woman’s voice calling his name.
    Anakin turned to see the woman. It was his mother, dressed in her rough work clothes. Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and said, “I came back, Mom! Like I promised! You’re free!”
    His mother smiled and opened her arms to Anakin. He ran to embrace her, but before he could reach her, she vanished. He was still clutching at the air where she’d been standing when he