Little Nathan

Mom and dad are tending to the crops right now. I get out of my bed and walk up to the surface. I see them getting dirty and smiling. I run over to them and get my bare feet all dirty. "I had another strange dream, mommy!" I turned 9 years old a month ago, ever since then I've had strange dreams of another person I called mother. I've also had dreams of war and bad things happening on Tatooine. Mom looks at dad in worry. He sighs and gets up. He walks over to me and picks me up.

He takes me back to the house and brings me to my desk. "Do some of the work we gave you, and when you're finished, we'll go hunting." I get excited and focused on doing the assignment I have. Mom and dad have been homeschooling me, and I've learned a lot. I never forget anything that I read either. I don't know why, though. I can't wait to go hunting, so I finish reading the article on the republic. I answer the questions that mom and dad made for me, and I place them on the counter in the kitchen so they will see them. Now I have to wait till they are done working. As Nathan finds a way to entertain himself, Lillis is having an important conversation with Jorand.

Nathan has been having strange things happen to him. He has dreams of things that happen and predicts events seconds or minutes before they happen. "We both know what's going on with him, Lillis. We have to ask ourselves do we inform the Jedi or not. Personally, I don't want him going anywhere. He is safest here." I look at my husband in pain. His words are true, and they are painful. Nathan has force abilities, but we don't know how strong he is. I don't want him going anywhere.

I stand up and take a breath. I look out into the hot desert and massage my back. "Let's keep him here. He isn't going to be dragged into their war. I refuse to involve him. After the attack on Coruscant, it's safe to say the Jedi can't protect him." Jorand stands up and hugs me from behind. "You better go in there and check on him. He probably has already finished and is just waiting patiently." As Jorand walks away, I hear the distinct wiring of engines. Jorand runs to the other side of the house, and we see several landspeeders approaching our farm. They are all imperial marked as well.

Jorand rushes inside and grabs Nathan, and runs back out. We watch them approach fast and exit their landspeeders. This is the first time we have encountered imperials, and I'm shaking. "In the name of the empire, you are to hand over any supplies you have. Our troops are in need." I take Nathan from Jorand, and he rushes to get the crops we have harvested. The officer who shouted out the order looks at us in his rigid posture. He stays silent and only stares. Nathan turns his head into my shoulder, and I cover the back of his head with my hand.

Jorand comes back with a hover lift carrying 3 boxes of our supplies. "This is all we have." The officer inspects the goods and nods his head in satisfaction. He orders one of his soldiers to search the place that Jorand just came from for any more that he might have hidden. The trooper comes back and shakes his head no. He looks at us one last time and waves his hand, and the troopers load up our crops. They get back in their landspeeders and take off. "I think we just got really lucky..." I smack my husband. That wasn't lucky at all.

I let Nathan go, and he heads back inside. "Do you think they'll come back for more?" Jorand nods his head, yes and I have a mini panic attack. He wraps his arms around me and calms me. As the two continue to talk, Nathan is watching a speech on the Holo-net.

That must have been the imperials the republic is at war with. This old man isn't a very good chancellor if he let this happen on his watch. He is talking about rallying together and facing the empire head-on. From what I've seen on the holo-net, the war is in a stalemate right now. The Jedi can use cool powers and have swords that cut through anything. I wonder why there are imperials on Tatooine. I don't know much about war and politics, so I shouldn't dwell on it. I hear mom and dad walk down the stairs and sit on the couch with me.

They take a spot on either side of me and watch the speech too. "Why are the empire and republic at war with each other?" I ask the biggest question on my mind, and as soon as I say that, mom turns off the holo. I look at her and see her apprehension to answer me. I look at dad, and he shakes his head no at me. Maybe they don't know either. "I finished my work, dad. Can we go hunting now?" He looks at me sadly and makes a sigh. He explains to me that now isn't a good time to go hunting with imperials around. I'm disappointed, but I understand. Those guys were scary. I don't want them coming back.

The day passes, and night comes. I make my way to my bed and lay on the soft mattress. I look up at my bland ceiling and think about what happened today. Mom and dad were really scared, and I don't like it when mom is scared. I turn on my side and close my eyes. I fall asleep fast. I dream of a room and a woman lying on the bed. I call her mom too. Then the scene changes, and I'm on a planet I visit regularly. I turn and see a woman running at me, but I disappear before she can reach me. Now I'm in our little crop field and watching mom and dad have fun working together.

Soon the night passes, and I feel my mother picking me up and carrying me to the table for breakfast. "C'mon, sweetie. You slept in an extra hour." I rub my eyes and clean out the gunk keeping them closed. I hear a plate land in front of me, and I open my eyes fully. I pick up my silverware and dig in. Mom and dad soon follow, but they have less food than I do. As I'm eating, I get a flash of something.

My mom sees my expression and grabs my shoulder. Before she can ask, I already say what I saw. "They are on their way back here..." Mom looks at dad with a panicked expression.

Dad puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me to him. "How do you know they are coming, Nathan?" I look between the worried expressions of my mom and dad and hesitate. Mom gives me a reassuring nod.

I look down, avoiding their eyes, and speak in a small voice. "I don't know... I just saw it..." I can't explain it either. That makes my dad stand up and walk over to the door and grab his rifle. He checks to make sure it's loaded just in case.

He walks over to us and hands it to mom. "If they try anything, use this, alright." She nods her head in determination, and I hear the wiring of engines. "They're here. I'll handle it. Just wait in here till I get back." I watch dad stand at the door and see the same officer from yesterday approach. Mom is keeping the rifle out of view. I watch the imperial grow angrier and angrier.

I watch him pull out a blaster and shoot my dad's knee. He yells out in pain and falls to the ground holding it. Mom is shaking right now and can't move. I look at her in fear, and she brings me closer. "Filthy Slave! You will give us whatever we need, whenever we need it! I don't care how hard it is for you! Grab the woman! He needs to learn a lesson!" Some troopers come in and head right for us. The rifle is still hidden. "Grab the little rat too!" One grips me hard and drags me out.

Mom was too scared to take the rifle out of its hiding spot. Soon we are right next to dad, and I can see the blood dripping out of his wound. "Please! I'm begging you! Don't hurt them!" I'm shaking so much as my dad pleads. I don't know what to do. I feel so helpless and weak. I watch the officer drag my mom away from us and start beating her. She is screaming in pain. Dad tries to crawl over and stop it, but he gets hit with a stun shot, and he screams in pain too.

I start to hyperventilate. I'm so scared. Both of my parents are getting tortured now. I look at the officer's bloody fists from hitting my mom, and at seeing that, I feel so much anger. A second later, a loud buzzing rings through my head, and I can't hear anything now. I don't know what's happening to me. The buzzing gets louder and louder. I kneel down, trying to hide. As this is happening to Nathan, the officer looks at the other two.

She'll live, but this shall serve as a lesson to these slaves. I stand up and look at the child. He is kneeling on the ground, covering his ears. I order my troopers to grab him, and they approach him. They lift him and bring him to me. I grab his hair and make his face look at mine. His eyes are closed, and he is shaking. I yell for him to open his eyes and see what's happening, but he doesn't listen. After yelling an inch from his face, he opens his eyes, and I can see how scared he is. This is the treatment you slaves deserve.

I ball up my fist and prepare to strike him, but I feel a hand grab my ankle. I look and see the filthy female slave try and stop me. I drop the boy and turn back over to her. As the officer looks down at Lillis, Nathan watches this play out as the buzzing rips through his head.

I watch him approach my mother and bring up his foot to kick her in the head. That's when I can't hold back whatever is happening to me. I scream out to stop and raise my hands. My own voice is muffled. I watch the man freeze in place and try to turn his head to me. I squeeze my hands together, and he bursts in an explosion of blood, flesh, and organs.

The buzzing stops, and I catch my breath. All the troopers point their weapons at me, but I throw out my hands, and they get sent flying. I don't know what I'm doing, but it feels right. I clench my hands again, and I grip all the troopers around me. I squeeze just like before, and they all pop. I fall to the ground, exhausted and faint.