Disclaimer: Hey, guess what, I don't own anything associated with Disney or Lucasfilms, big surprise.
AN: Here's another SW inspired story, small, but I thought to myself 'Why not?'. As always, AU, with plenty of liberties taken.
The Only Clear Path
Luke Skywalker sighed softly as he thought about what he was about to do, what he was about to ask. He knew it had to be done, the Force was something that could not be ignored for very long. Sure, he was a little older, but he had kept his connection to the Force, and spoken with old mentors, and even ones he had never met in his lifetime.
D'Qar was a lovely planet, and Leia and Han had decided to settle here. Well, more like Leia said they were, and Han nodded with one of those growl/chuckles from Chewbacca. He came up to their humble little home, and just as he was about to knock, the door opened, and he was tugged in for a nice, tight hug.
"It's good to see you, Leia." Luke said, getting a smile from his twin sister.
"You too, stranger." Leia said, and he huffed. Alright, so it might have been two years, and sometimes comm's just did not cut it. "Come in, Han, Ben and Chewie are at the hangar, working on the Falcon." SHe said, and he nodded and followed her in. It was a modest place, and though Leia had grown up with luxury, she didn't mind so much.
"I came here to talk to you about Ben, actually." Luke said, after taking a seat with his traveling cloak removed.
"Oh? Is he reaching out with the Force again?" Leia asked, and Luke nodded with a soft blink.
"Yes, yes he is. I assume you've felt it?" Luke asked, and she nodded, so he went on. "I want to take him, along with a few others I have seen that show promise, and train them in the ways of the Jedi." He said, confident and smiling. The Force had lead him here, along with the other system's he'd been to, and it had yet to steer him wrong.
"Would I be able to comm, or visit my boy?" Leia asked, sitting a bit straighter.
"Ah… well, from the texts and the like I have been reading, it would not be the be-" Luke started, before Leia cut in.
"Then i'll have to go as well. Ever since you told me we were siblings, I wanted to learn, but i've been so busy. With the Republic trying to come back, and Han and Ben, it got hectic." Leia said, and Luke blinked.
"I… what?" Luke said, completely off guard, and then he felt as if the Force was laughing at his confusion, but it seemed to be pleased at the notion of her coming along.
"Give me a few days, will you? I need to get everything ready." Leia said, before getting up and starting to bustle around and make plans, leaving a confused brother in her wake.
~TOCP~
"Alright, Chewie, I need you to make sure you take care of my nerf herder, ok?" Leia said, getting an affirmative growl/roar from Chewbacca, and then a hug. "Seriously, though. If you two are going to be gallivanting around the galaxy, I want to be sure you're safe. I don't want to have to come rescue him… again." She said, and Chewie chuckled the way he did, Han snorting softly.
"You get frozen in carbonite once…" Han said, before he got a hug, and a sweet kiss from his wife. Luke smiled at this, and though he sensed nervousness from Ben beside him, the fact that his mother was going to be there took a lot of that off of his shoulders.
"Alright, let's get going before I change my mind." Leia said, before the three of them got into the reappropriated old Imperial shuttle Luke got from his late father. They left with little fanfare, just some waves and goodbyes, and soon they were in hyperspace towards the destination Luke had chosen for training. He had spent a good year or so building a temple, and the grounds all around it. He was proud of himself, but he knew better than to just bask in his achievement. He was to teach the new generation of Jedi, and he would do his damndest to do so.
~TOCP~
Okay. So training Jedi wasn't the easiest thing, and Luke could understand what Yoda had meant when he had been told he was 'too old'. Then again, it was easier with Leia there, as she was another strong parental figure. He had been adamant about not letting the initiates not contacting their family, as he had been told it was the improper way to do things, but he should have realized that Leia was not going to allow that.
The families would not be there, to interfere and what have you, but every few days they would get communication from their family that were being trained. Luke would be able to say later, that yes, it did help them be better Jedi, as they were not always stressed, or fearful of not being accepted again. Leia was more of Luke's co-teacher, than initiate or padawan. She would be taught when the initiates were resting, or doing their own solo research or exercises, and in turn she would help ground them and teach them her own brand of the Force.
While Luke was strong in the Force in terms of straight power, and skill, Leia showed a willpower and finesse that was something to be seen. Her skill with a lightsaber left much to be desired, at least for her own tastes, but she could manipulate the Force in other ways, that left even Luke speechless at times. The most important part about it, though, that she did not notice for a few months at least, was her connection with Ben was strengthened.
It was a bond that the Force seemed to let flourish, and at first Luke had been wary, all of his teachers told him attachments had been the path to the Dark Side, but it helped Ben in leaps and bounds. It had helped in more ways than they could imagine, as well, especially when a malevolent force had tried to manipulate the young man. It had come seemingly out of nowhere, but it had been slowly weeding its way into Ben's mind, at least when he had not been training.
Now, though? Now it was being pushed away with the continued, positive reinforcement of the altered training, and the proximity to his mother. Through all of this, his abilities with the Force strengthened, and the darkness that was coiling around his mind, was diminished, and shoved away.
~TOCP~
"So this is the planet, then?" Leia asked, looking out of the window on the frigate of the Alliance fleet, Home One. Her eyes were focussed on the small planet, the smallest of the system.
"Yes, Leia." Luke said, his eyes also focussed. "It is where the Darkness writhes, where is sends it's tendrils as far as they can go." He said, and he heard a sound from Leia that was far from pleased. "You can sense it, can't you?" He asked, turning to her, and he saw her eyes narrow before she went over to the command console.
"Admiral Ackbar." Leia said into the comm unit.
"Yes, General?" The Admiral responded.
"I, along with Jedi Master Skywalker, have one last favor to ask of you." Leia said, getting an affirmative sound from Ackbar. "I want this planet glassed. I want it uninhabitable, for at least a decade. I want nothing left alive. Is that something that you can do for me, Admiral?" She asked, waiting with her hands behind her back.
"That depends on the reason, General. We can't waste valuable resources for just anything, especially if its going to cost lives." Ackbar said, letting her smile just a bit.
"The beginnings of a new Sith order are on that planet, Admiral. Already, whomever it is, tries to corrupt those with Force influence." Leia said, getting almost a growl from the Admiral.
"A chance to stop the Sith from rising again?" Ackbar asked rhetorically. "Consider it done, General." He said, and then the comm shut off, Leia smiling almost viciously.
"Don't say it, Luke. I'm not 'falling to the Dark side', I am preventing it from rising. Besides, it's not like I am going to go around glassing every planet with a hint of darkness on it." Leia said, looking at her brother. "This one is roiling with it, it needs to go." She said, and though eh wanted to argue, the Force agreed with her, and it was more resigned to it than anything else.
They watched, with only a small bit of satisfaction, as the planet was bombarded. Loss of life, was still loss of life, but this would prevent strife and suffering for years to come. Luke, along with the new, growing Jedi order, would do their best to stop it from ever getting this bad. It was The Only Clear Path.
AN: That's It, really. A snippet more than anything else, but it had to get out of my head, that's for sure. I hope it can be enjoyed. Read and review, please.