Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Luke Skywalker et al in every conceivable way (except the part that Disney now owns... which is all of it, isn't it?). I'm just filling in the holes, and making no money off any of this. Poor me!
Jedi Evolution
by Linda Bindner
A/N: Thanks to yeahsureyoubetcha, Noxbait, and Noda for such wonderful writing encouragement, and to yeahsureyoubetcha for a great beta. 'Now I owe you one.'
A/N 2: This story is finished, with 11 chapters.
Chapter 1: Gravity Works!
"Commander Skywalker."
At the sound of the voice, the jumble of spare X-wing parts that had been serenely floating in midair fell back to the deck with a clang that echoed throughout Rebel Dream's reserve hangar bay.
Distracted, and wobbling now because of it, Luke let his left hand join his newly restored right one on the floor as he recaptured his teetering balance.
The voice sounded again in a much more apologetic vein. "Sir, I didn't mean to..."
Before Luke knew it, the fully equipped toolbox joined the spare parts on the currogated deck plate: thud! He heard an impatient Master Yoda's voice sound in his head as if the diminutive Jedi was right beside him: 'Control, control, you must learn control!'
So Luke instinctively fought for his lost control, tightening his muscles, gripping the deck plates with his fingers, opening his eyes wide to help him see the Force energy field surrounding everything he was currently levitating.
It was the worst thing he could have done. The harder he tried to control the Force, the more the Force seemed to vanish into thin air. A blink later, he could no longer sense the fields that he instinctively knew surrounded everything in the otherwise empty hangar bay.
Now the young male voice sounded panicked. "I thought I..."
With this third interruption, Luke's wavering control shattered completely, sending everything to the floor. The fuel hose, the old hydrospanners, the discarded wrench, and the ever-faithful R2D2 all succumbed to the pull of the ship's artificial gravity to join their fallen counterparts with one huge crash. The noise reverberated through the ship even as it continued on it's preset course through space.
The wall comm unit abruptly crackled to life. "Who's down there? The Captain didn't authorize any use of the hangar on deck seven! Explain yourself!"
This unseen person's command put an end to Luke's already patchy concentration. He was the one who fell this time, landing in an inelegant heap hardly worthy of a Jedi.
The imaginary Master Yoda instantly began a barrage of instructions, ending with the sage advice, 'Let the Force flow through you.'
I should have remembered all of this, Luke silently chastised himself. Catching his breath, he gave a wry glance to the unlucky messenger... teenager, really. The young face of an unknown Rebel soldier stared back at him in obvious horror at having caused such chaos with his innocent interruptions.
"Sir! Jedi Skywalker! My apologies! I didn't dream that I would be such a distraction!"
Luke didn't bother to correct the teen on his supposed Jedi status. He was more concerned with answering the unseen person on the other end of the open comm channel.
The wry expression still creasing his face, Luke crossed to the comm box on the hangar's wall. "This is the Deck Seven Reserve Hangar Bay, Commander Skywalker reporting as ordered. Captain Lewis gave me permission to use this hangar any time I wanted for Jedi training. Since the Rebellion isn't currently engaged, this bay is on stand down, and he assured me that I wouldn't be a bother to anybody. I assumed you were informed of the change. My apologies."
And the fealty that had dogged his every step since returning from Dagobah would start right about... now. "I must apologize, Jedi Commander, Sir! Your use of the hangar bay was unrecorded. I now have the new plan logged into the scheduling database. Again, my apologies! Command Center out."
Luke was barely conscious of his own resigned sigh that issued along with a final burst of static as the connection was severed at the Command Center's end. Previous experience told him that it did no good to remind everyone that he was just a regular guy rather than 'Jedi Skywalker' or 'Commander,' or 'Sir,' so he simply switched the communication unit to 'off' and turned back to the messenger, who was still staring at him in idolatry.
But more concerning than the hero worship was that he didn't even recognize this young Rebel. Had he been gone so long that he'd missed something as momentous as the induction of new members into the Rebel Alliance? It hadn't seemed like he'd been on Dagobah for long at all, though Luke knew that months had passed.
Dagobah. The winner of the most-disgusting-planet-in-the-galaxy award, the ideal location for Jedi training. In spite of the relative success he'd known on that planet, Luke dreaded the idea of going back there now. He'd have to face Master Yoda if he went back; he was sure that Yoda would be only too happy to gaze pointedly at his young student's new mechanical right hand and say, 'A Jedi you are not.'
Fortunately, the only being besides Yoda who knew this for a fact was hundreds of light years away, and couldn't hurt him any further. After his resounding defeat at Cloud City, Luke didn't want to contemplate meeting up with Darth Vader again, ever. If he never laid eyes on that man in his life, it would be too soon as far as he was concerned.
The thought that his most hated enemy also happened to be his father nearly made him hyperventilate right there, followed by a deep desire to throw up. Fearing that such behavior in front of this unknown Rebel would do nothing for his reputation in the Alliance, Luke fought to calm himself, automatically utilizing the Force as he did so.
While concentrating on using the deep breathing methods that Master Yoda had prescribed to clear his mind of mental clutter, Luke wondered about the very clutter he was banishing; if he refused to claim his parental relationship, was that relationship still an incontrovertible fact? He didn't know.
However, the unknown Rebel was still talking, scattering Luke's wandering thoughts. "... and I've been instructed to tell you that you have command."
Luke blinked, nausea forgotten. Command of what? "Uh..." He tried to sound intelligent. "I only got back yesterday from the rendezvous with Lando on Tatooine; how about if I talk to him first?" Maybe he knew what was going on.
"I've been instructed to tell you that you have Administrator Calrissian's full support."
So much for that. "Princess Leia then."
"Her Royal Highness is onboard her own ship, and unavailable."
"Is General Rieekan back yet? Maybe he would be a better choice for command."
"No, he's still on his mission to Coruscant, Sir."
"Chewbacca?"
There the teen paused. "I'm honestly not sure what he thinks. He growled."
Luke's brow rose in query. "Growled?"
The Rebel nodded. "I think he was in support of your command."
"Command of what?" Luke finally had to ask. The teen wasn't exactly being a font of information.
"Command of the soldiers on a rescue mission of Captain Solo." The Rebel gave a sheepish wince. "But Chewbacca might have been talking about the Falcon's repairs. It's so hard to tell."
Luke suppressed his smile; yes, Wookie barks and growls were hard to tell apart. Even with his vast experience with Chewbacca, he had long since realized that fully understanding such an alien way of communication took more time and effort than Luke had ever been willing to invest. He didn't know how Han did it.
The memory that Han didn't do anything anymore hit him with the suddenness of a slap in the face. He was amazed that he had forgotten Han's fate even for a moment. He was quite sure that Leia never forgot.
This second thought of Princess Leia brought to mind the slight rivalry between Luke and his friend for the princess' attentions. There was no doubt in his mind now who Leia had chosen. She hadn't even had to tell him. The way her Force aura practically lit up like a new star at the mere mention of Solo's name was more than enough of a hint to Luke that his two best friends had finally discovered their shared love. Han's absence now made the subsequent hole in Leia's Force aura bigger than Mos Eisley.
But the Rebel was still talking, and Luke's concentration was so poor that he hadn't heard a single word for the last several moments. It was as if Master Yoda had never told him a thing about focus. What was wrong with him!
"... which is why they think you're perfect for the job."
Perfect? Him? "I'm not perfect!"
"But, you're a Jedi," the teen argued, echoing the disembodied voice from the Command Center.
I'm not a Jedi yet!
Hadn't Vader said basically the same thing? The thought caused Luke to automatically glance at his mechanical hand, remembering how he had lost so much more than that appendage at Cloud City. Master Yoda had been right; leaving Dagobah only half trained in the ways of the Force had made things so much worse for his friends. Now not only did Yoda and Obi-Wan know about Luke's lack of Jedi status, but so did Vader.
Sudden prickles of fear erupted across his scalp; did anybody else know? What if there was someone else who was Force sensitive in the galaxy? To assume that he was the only one to have been kept hidden from Vader and the Emperor was down right arrogant. But wouldn't he feel some sort of ripple in the Force if another used it, even in a periphery way? If not a ripple, then a crinkle, something? Master Yoda hadn't mentioned another Force sensitive individual, but what if he didn't know that one existed? Would the Jedi Master be able to feel something like that, considering he was surrounded by a swamp?
Luke told himself not to be silly; the swamp didn't have anything to do with it. He felt sure that Master Yoda would have known if another Force sensitive existed, and would have said something about it. He trusted Yoda.
His mind whispered that he had trusted Ben Kenobi, too, but Ben had told him that Vader had betrayed and murdered his father, not that he was his father. Luke gave another internal cringe at the thought of his supposed family, but again managed to ignore it. He distracted himself by wondering what he would have done if he had known the truth; joined his father to become an agent of evil?
Images of Luke at his father's side then accosted him, both of them twisted and malevolent. Such thoughts made him squirm. That eventuality, so alien just a few months before, was now uncomfortably possible.
There was still so much about the Force that Luke didn't know, and now he had no one he could ask. He was constantly so full of doubt as to how well he could control the Force that he was also doubting things he had previously taken for granted. How far was the range of the Force? Were these doubts somehow the responsibility of Vader? Could a Jedi... or former Jedi... cause someone to feel doubt? Or was this all due to his own personal lack of esteem? As with so many other issues, Luke wished he had asked Yoda when he'd had the chance.
Despair engulfed Luke; rushing off to 'save' his friends at Cloud City really hadn't accomplished anything. Facing Vader the way he had, as a naive bundle of unfinished bravado, had done nothing but cause a multitude of doubts about his parentage as well as to permanently separate him from his hand. Had he failed already, as if his failure was predetermined? Would he ever be a Jedi?
Now his tangled nerves made him feel less than useless. Luke fought to control his emotions, to focus, but his doubts remained, larger than ever.
"So," the teen was saying, as if he'd been speaking for several moments, and gestured to the hangar door. "If you'll just follow me, I'll take you to meet your command."
Not knowing what else to do, Luke simply denied to himself that his doubts existed in the first place. He set R2D2 upright, then with the jaunty, relaxed steps of feigned confidence, followed the teen out of the hangar.
