Chapter 1
Luke and Ben stood atop the mountain, the enemies marching nearer. "Ben, you take the right side of the camp, I'll take the left, and Dyon," Luke said, turning to the man. "Dyon, you take the center." He could feel his son's nervousness through the Force and sent him reassurance. He clapped Ben on the shoulder and gave him a nod, watching him depart. Luke turned to the Dathomiri in the camp and divided them into three groups, each with a near-even number of Force users. Each group was given a spot to defend; left, right, and center. Luke took his post at the left side of the camp, feeling around in the Force. There were three lines of enemies arranged, all moving toward the mountain in an organized manner. "These aren't Nightsisters." Luke whispered, confused. He stretched out to Ben, alerting him of the danger. He felt his son reach back, letting Luke know he noticed the same thing.
Luke felt a prickle of danger and he turned to see the night sky light up in blue flame. "Rockets!" he spat. He looked at Ben's group to the rear. All three groups were preparing themselves for the blast. Nodding in approval, Luke turned to his group and instructed them to stand firm and try to redirect the rockets with the Force. Luke watched and took hold of as many rockets and he could and felt resistance. The enemy was guiding the rockets through the Force! With the help of all other Force users atop the mountain camp, the rockets were easily guided well below the camp. A loud rumble erupted as the rockets made contact with the side of the mountain, shaking loose many large boulders. They went tumbling down the mountain and Luke pushed them with the Force toward the front line. He felt Ben also reach out and push the boulders.
"Front line down!" Ben called. Several of the Dathomiri cheered with a new confidence. The Dathomiri without the Force were using whatever weapons they had against the advancing lines. Again, the sky was lit with the bright rockets and again, the Bright Sun clan maneuvered them to below the camp on the mountainside. The camp shook at the impact and a few boulders about half a meter in diameter came loose above the campsite. Luke, with a Force push, redirected the smaller boulders from doing any damage. "Ben, watch out behind you. The quakes are shaking the boulders loose." He sent a burst of calm and confidence to his son and each of the groups.
"Second line down!" one of the Dathomiri men called. In the chaos it was impossible to tell who it was.
The third line shot their rockets and Luke and the other Force users tried to redirect them. These rockets could not be moved. Luke noticed the rockets were not aimed at the camp, but above it. "Ben! Watch out!" He pointed to where the rockets were going to hit. Another set of rockets were launched. Luke's danger sense overwhelmed him as he began to understand what the rockets were aiming for. Clearly, the enemy had noticed the mountainside above the camp and was preparing to use that against the Bright Sun and Jedi groups. The first set of rockets hit home creating an immense groundquake and shortly after, the second set of rockets hit. "Move!" Luke shouted, his voice amplified by the Force. He saw Ben's group at the far right of the large mountaintop camp. The boulders, both immensely large and small, began to roll toward the right group: Ben's group. They were doomed. "Ben! Get out of there!" He sensed that Ben had heard him, but it was too late. Several large stones were hitting the ground, exploding as they crashed.
The Force was filled with silent panic as Luke watched the right and center groups scatter, screaming. He rushed forward, trying to stop the boulders with the Force. It was hopeless. "Ben!" He watched in horror as a rock about the size of his hand struck Ben in the head, knocking him backward. Ben stumbled, already unconscious, and Luke saw him fall over the edge of the mountain. His breath caught in his chest, panic and fear gripping him. "Ben! No!" He watched his son tumble down the mountainside, his tall form pelted with small rocks. Luke stretched out and slowed his son's descent to a stop and leapt off the campsite to Ben.
Landing at his side, he examined the head injury. Ben's red hair was matted to his head, blood covering his face and neck. It was serious. He felt several presences near him; the remaining enemies. With a father's urge to protect his son, he sent a powerful blast of force energy infused with lightning at them. They were thrown off their feet, spasming uncontrollably as the lightning hit them and soon he felt no life from them.
Turning back to Ben, he gingerly touched the long gash along his scalp. Reaching out in the Force for Ben's presence, he could feel it waning. No. Ben, you're not leaving me here. You stay with me now. Several of the Dathomiri were making their way down the mountainside to inspect the situation. Dyon came down and handed Luke a comlink.
"Use it to call your sister, Master Skywalker. Is she not still on Dathomir?" Dyon asked. He moved to kneel beside Ben's unconscious and bloody form. "She'll need to come quick if he's to recover with minimal brain damage."
Numbly, Luke nodded and commed Leia. "Leia? Han? Someone, please, pick up!" He tried to keep the fear from his voice, but he doubted it had worked.
"Luke? What's wrong?" It was Han. Luke assumed he was trying to keep the fear from his voice as well, but he had sensed it.
"I need you to get here as fast as you can. Ben's hurt. He's hurt really bad." He felt his eyes burning with tears that threatened to spill.
He heard the Falcon start up. "Send us your coordinates. We're on our way. What happened?"
Luke sent the coordinates and ran his eyes over his son before replying. "There was an attack on the Bright Sun camp. They created a landslide and Ben was caught in it. He has a horrible head wound. He's unconscious, but alive . . . but I don't know how long that'll be. . ." Luke struggled to choke back a sob at the thought of losing his son.
"Luke, don't worry. He'll be okay. We're almost there. You can tell us more when we land." It was Leia's voice this time. "He's been through a lot. He'll be okay." She sent him reassurance through the Force and Luke saw the Millennium Falcon approach and land not far from the camp.
He activated his lightsaber to indicate their location and watched Han and Leia depart with a hovergurney. Han looked visibly panicked, but Leia looked controlled. That is, until she came near and saw her nephew up close. Luke heard her gasp and her hand flew up to her mouth. "Ben. . ."
"Leia, Han. . . I . . . thank you for getting here so fast. Dyon says he'll need to be cared for soon if. . ." he trailed off, looking at Dyon to continue.
The man nodded and picked up where Luke left off. "If he is to recover with minimal brain damage. His skull's cracked and. . . ." he looked at Luke, apparently not sure if Luke wanted to hear the next bit of information. Luke nodded sadly, but he wanted to know what was wrong with his son. "And there are pieces of bone physically in his brain. There's already some damage, but I can't tell the extent. He'll need much care, surgery, and a lot of bacta. I'm not a doctor, obviously, but I've had some experience with head injuries around here."
Luke, Han, and Leia all nodded, taking in the information. Several Dathomiri had lifted Ben onto the hovergurney and brought him over to Luke. He looked at his son's limp form lying on the gurney and fell to his knees, sobs escaping his control. Leia came and rested a hand on his shoulder. She sent him calm and rested a hand on Ben's knee. "Luke. . . We have to take him to Coruscant. They have the best facilities there and the best surgeons. . ." She seemed to hesitate, but she let the sentence hang there.
Luke understood and his sister was right. Coruscant was known for its medical facilities among other things. He knew Ben would be cared for there, but he was reluctant to have his son so far from him in this state. He composed himself, wiping the tears from his face, and stood. "You're right, Leia. He does need to go to Coruscant. I wish there was some way I could go planetside and be there with him." He took a deep, steadying breath and turned to Han. "Take care of him."
Han took Luke in a surprising hug. "Kid, he'll be okay. Especially on Coruscant, and I'll make sure Jaina will be there if it'll make you feel better. I know he'd feel okay with her there." Luke imagined this sensitivity from Han was from the man's own experience of losing not one but both of his sons and the sincere sense of family he had. Ben was his nephew, after all.
Luke agreed. "Yeah, he'd be okay with Jaina there." He turned and took the gurney and began to take it to the Falcon. "Can you take me back to the spaceport? I'd like to be with him as long as I can. . ."
Leia came up behind him followed closely by Han. "Of course." She turned to Dyon. "Would you mind coming with us and bringing a speeder? You and Luke can then come back after we leave." Luke watched Dyon nod and jog toward his speeder. Leia turned back to Luke and followed him up the boarding ramp of the Falcon.
Luke could sense Ben's Force presence grow a little stronger, but it faded back almost immediately. He was getting more nervous about his son's condition and wished his exile could be lifted while he looked after Ben. As he walked up the ramp, he heard C-3PO's whining servos and clanking footsteps against the bulkhead. R2-D2 was following after him whistling and tweeting wildly.
C-3PO shouted at Luke, "Oh, Master Luke! I am so sorry to hear of Master Ben's condition! I do hope he'll be all right." R2-D2 whistled behind him. "Oh, yes, Artoo, hush. I'm quite certain Master Ben will be all right. Won't he, Master Luke?" The droid's glowing visual receptors turned and stared at the bloody and battered Ben.
Luke lowered his head solemnly, fighting back tears. "Yes, Threepio. He'll be okay." Even to Luke the words sounded forced. He wished he could say them with confidence. He ushered the hovergurney into the sickbay and stopped next to it. "Ben . . . oh, Ben. . ." he whispered, clasping his son's limp, unresponsive hand. Luke felt the tears seep past his control. I can't lose you, too, Ben. He'd suffered so much the past thirty-odd years of his life, losing Ben might be the final breaking point for the old Jedi Grand Master.
Leia came and turned her brother toward her and wrapped him in a loving embrace. "Luke, we have to get going. We'll keep you updated every chance we get and he'll be okay." She kissed his forehead and handed him off to Han who took him and embraced him as well.
"Kid, Leia's right. We gotta go, but he'll be fine. Running around with you in no time." He led Luke to Dyon's speeder and walked back up the boarding ramp. He flashed his famous roguish smile as the ramp rose, sealing. Dyon pulled Luke onto the speeder.
"Ready to go?" Dyon asked. Without waiting for a formal reply from him, Dyon sped off. Luke watched the famous Millennium Falcon take off with his injured son, a few stray tears streaking off his face as he turned to face the wind ahead.