The Son of Skywalker
Ben Skywalker tossed and turned in his bed, his covers wrapped tightly around him, like wampa bindings. His subconscious was just barely remembering something, from a long, long time ago. His memories played as a dream, a horrible nightmare that chilled Ben to his bones.
A baby was crying - me, Ben somehow knew. A beautiful woman with fiery red hair and glistening emerald eyes was looking at him, tears covering her face. His memory blanked. A tall man with sandy brown hair appeared, along with a glowing green light and a distant humming noise. The green light collided with a laser bolt, then again, and again...
The images of Ben's dream changed, and the woman and man, along with many others, were fighting a group of familiar-looking non-humans. Ben was in the arms of a small alien, an alien that moved so carefully and quietly along the back of the fighting crowd that had Ben not been shrieking from terror, no one would have noticed their departure.
The woman with the red hair cried out as a laser bolt pierced through her arm. Ben, seeming to feel this pain in himself, cried harder. The man with the green sword rushed to her side, terror in his eyes. There was a lot of blood coming from the woman's arm, and the man was repeating her name, as if pleading with her to heal, to recover: "Mara, Mara, Mara...."
Ben bolted upright, covered in cold sweat. Almost instantly, the Noghri that customarily slept by Ben's bed was on his feet, soothing, "It was just a dream, relax."
Ben looked at the hooded creature. The Noghri was disguised as a Jawa, very believably disguised. For as long as Ben could remember, there had been Noghri with him. They were all he had known; his family since Ben was old enough to realize the world around him. But his dreams disturbed him, showed him that there may have been something, or someone, more."
"Kabarakh, why do you never speak to me of my parents?" Ben asked, memories of the people in his dreams still lingering in his sleepy mind. The question came out of the blue, but Ben thought that the people from his dream must be his parents. He knew few other humans.
"Hush," Kabarakh said, avoiding the question. "Your dream was not a pleasant one, but soon, sleep will return."
"Why?" Ben asked again. Kabarakh sighed.
"We do not know of your parents," the Noghri lied. "You were left to us one day, discovered in the forests of Myrkr by passing Noghri."
"But Noghri don't travel to Myrkr," Ben challenged. "They died, didn't they?" The Noghri was silent.
"I remember a battle," Ben said, shifting his thoughts once again to the dream. "And a woman with burning red hair. Was she my mother?"
The Noghri quietly mewed, "Do not think of such things as battles. There is peace, now. Sleep, for tomorrow you must travel to Mos Eisley with me, and we shall see about picking up some new power converters. "
Ben glared at the Noghri. "I want to know."
Kabarakh sighed. "Why must you know? How will the knowledge help you? What happened to your parents, to your family, is irrelevant now."
Ben considered.
"Because I think I am ready to know," he told Kabarakh. "I don't wish to make the same mistakes that they did. I should have the knowledge of what happened to my family..." Ben realized that Kabarakh may have been speaking of more than his parents. "There were others, too?"
Kabarakh winced, or at least, came as close as Noghri can to wincing.
"Your aunt and uncle," the Noghri replied, shifting his eyes.
"And cousins," Ben said. He didn't know how he knew, but more memories were beginning to stir in his mind. Ben saw his aunt standing next to his father, pain in her eyes. They were similar looking -- twins, Ben decided. Two teenagers stood beside them, looking as though they, too, were twins...
As Ben sat in his bed, Kabarakh on the ground next to him, he thought hard. He tried to remember life before this horribly hot, sandy planet. All his life, the Noghri had persuaded him that they were his family, that he had had no other home. But now, going on ten, Ben could not believe the lies any longer.
"There was a battle, as you recall," the Noghri said, giving in to Ben. After all, her had been instructed to tell the boy the truth when he turned ten. He was almost that age now, in standard years. He may as well know. "Your parents were named Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker."
Next to Kabarakh, Ben processed this information.
The Noghri continued. "There was a great force invading the galaxy, a force that had been trying to fight their way into the core worlds since a few years after your parents were married. They were called the Yuuzhan Vong."
Ben's eyes widened. The Yuuzhan Vong were the rulers of the galaxy. Ben had never known otherwise. They were spoken of in whispers, and many people prayed that they would never come in contact with a Yuuzhan Vong, because they were murderers...
"Your parents were widely known in the galaxy. Your father was the first in a long line of new Jedi that surfaced after the Rebellion defeated the Empire. He was the very pilot who exploded the first death star."
Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. As a child, the Noghri had taught him the basic history of the galaxy. But Ben never thought to ask for names or dates on these events- they were simply the past, and of no concern to him.
"But that was just one of his accomplishments. For a period of almost ten years, your father was the greatest, and very nearly only, Jedi master in the galaxy.
"During his travels of training jedi, he met your mother. She was strong in the force, and though originally they had a few...misunderstandings...he fell in love with her, and she with him. They were married shortly thereafter.
"Time passed, you were born. But it was unsafe to keep you with your parents, with the Yuuzhan Vong occupying many core worlds, killing civilians and taking hostages. Your cousin, Anakin Solo, was a casualty of this war, as was his mother, your Aunt Leia." Here, the Noghri paused sadly, suggesting that he had known Leia well, and her loss was painful to recall. The Noghri shook off the memory and continued with the story.
"Another cousin, Jacen Solo, was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong. The last report that I received from Mos Eisley was that Jacen's twin, Jaina, and her husband, Jag, traveled into the heart of the Vong ships to find her brother."
"So.." Ben said, absorbing the final words of what Kabarakh was telling him, "Where are my parents now?"
The Noghri gave Ben a look that said "Patience."
"Your parents, and aunt and uncle, belong to a secret organization called the 'Insiders.' A short time after you were taken from Coruscant, your parents and the 'Insiders' launched an attack against the Vong. In order to keep you safe, you would have to be sent into hiding until the Vong was defeated. However, the Yuuzhan Vong forces increased, and the 'Insiders' went into hiding, save Jaina and Jag who went after Jacen. That was eight years ago, during the downfall of the New Republic. The 'Insiders' have been missing ever since."
Ben was speechless. Never, in his wildest dreams, would he have guessed that something so terrible had happened to his family. And yet, in the back of his mind, he knew that every word of what Kabarakh said was true.
"Kabarakh," Ben said, a thought dawning on him. "If my parents were powerful Jedi masters, would that not mean that I have force capabilities too?"
The Noghri nodded slightly.
The son of Skywalker made a promise to himself right then. He had two things he must do now. The first was to learn the ways of the force. The second would perhaps be equally as challanging.
As the first of the twin suns appeared on the edge of the horizon, Ben was already packing his few things into a small bag. He took one last look around this small hut in the Jundland Wastes. Kabarakh, as well as two other Noghri who resided with him, watched his actions in silence. Had they wanted to stop him, they very easily could have. But instead, Kabarakh asked, "Where are you going, young Skywalker?"
Ben looked at each Noghri in turn, meeting their eyes squarely, as if challenging them to tell him no.
"To find my family."
Ben Skywalker tossed and turned in his bed, his covers wrapped tightly around him, like wampa bindings. His subconscious was just barely remembering something, from a long, long time ago. His memories played as a dream, a horrible nightmare that chilled Ben to his bones.
A baby was crying - me, Ben somehow knew. A beautiful woman with fiery red hair and glistening emerald eyes was looking at him, tears covering her face. His memory blanked. A tall man with sandy brown hair appeared, along with a glowing green light and a distant humming noise. The green light collided with a laser bolt, then again, and again...
The images of Ben's dream changed, and the woman and man, along with many others, were fighting a group of familiar-looking non-humans. Ben was in the arms of a small alien, an alien that moved so carefully and quietly along the back of the fighting crowd that had Ben not been shrieking from terror, no one would have noticed their departure.
The woman with the red hair cried out as a laser bolt pierced through her arm. Ben, seeming to feel this pain in himself, cried harder. The man with the green sword rushed to her side, terror in his eyes. There was a lot of blood coming from the woman's arm, and the man was repeating her name, as if pleading with her to heal, to recover: "Mara, Mara, Mara...."
Ben bolted upright, covered in cold sweat. Almost instantly, the Noghri that customarily slept by Ben's bed was on his feet, soothing, "It was just a dream, relax."
Ben looked at the hooded creature. The Noghri was disguised as a Jawa, very believably disguised. For as long as Ben could remember, there had been Noghri with him. They were all he had known; his family since Ben was old enough to realize the world around him. But his dreams disturbed him, showed him that there may have been something, or someone, more."
"Kabarakh, why do you never speak to me of my parents?" Ben asked, memories of the people in his dreams still lingering in his sleepy mind. The question came out of the blue, but Ben thought that the people from his dream must be his parents. He knew few other humans.
"Hush," Kabarakh said, avoiding the question. "Your dream was not a pleasant one, but soon, sleep will return."
"Why?" Ben asked again. Kabarakh sighed.
"We do not know of your parents," the Noghri lied. "You were left to us one day, discovered in the forests of Myrkr by passing Noghri."
"But Noghri don't travel to Myrkr," Ben challenged. "They died, didn't they?" The Noghri was silent.
"I remember a battle," Ben said, shifting his thoughts once again to the dream. "And a woman with burning red hair. Was she my mother?"
The Noghri quietly mewed, "Do not think of such things as battles. There is peace, now. Sleep, for tomorrow you must travel to Mos Eisley with me, and we shall see about picking up some new power converters. "
Ben glared at the Noghri. "I want to know."
Kabarakh sighed. "Why must you know? How will the knowledge help you? What happened to your parents, to your family, is irrelevant now."
Ben considered.
"Because I think I am ready to know," he told Kabarakh. "I don't wish to make the same mistakes that they did. I should have the knowledge of what happened to my family..." Ben realized that Kabarakh may have been speaking of more than his parents. "There were others, too?"
Kabarakh winced, or at least, came as close as Noghri can to wincing.
"Your aunt and uncle," the Noghri replied, shifting his eyes.
"And cousins," Ben said. He didn't know how he knew, but more memories were beginning to stir in his mind. Ben saw his aunt standing next to his father, pain in her eyes. They were similar looking -- twins, Ben decided. Two teenagers stood beside them, looking as though they, too, were twins...
As Ben sat in his bed, Kabarakh on the ground next to him, he thought hard. He tried to remember life before this horribly hot, sandy planet. All his life, the Noghri had persuaded him that they were his family, that he had had no other home. But now, going on ten, Ben could not believe the lies any longer.
"There was a battle, as you recall," the Noghri said, giving in to Ben. After all, her had been instructed to tell the boy the truth when he turned ten. He was almost that age now, in standard years. He may as well know. "Your parents were named Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker."
Next to Kabarakh, Ben processed this information.
The Noghri continued. "There was a great force invading the galaxy, a force that had been trying to fight their way into the core worlds since a few years after your parents were married. They were called the Yuuzhan Vong."
Ben's eyes widened. The Yuuzhan Vong were the rulers of the galaxy. Ben had never known otherwise. They were spoken of in whispers, and many people prayed that they would never come in contact with a Yuuzhan Vong, because they were murderers...
"Your parents were widely known in the galaxy. Your father was the first in a long line of new Jedi that surfaced after the Rebellion defeated the Empire. He was the very pilot who exploded the first death star."
Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. As a child, the Noghri had taught him the basic history of the galaxy. But Ben never thought to ask for names or dates on these events- they were simply the past, and of no concern to him.
"But that was just one of his accomplishments. For a period of almost ten years, your father was the greatest, and very nearly only, Jedi master in the galaxy.
"During his travels of training jedi, he met your mother. She was strong in the force, and though originally they had a few...misunderstandings...he fell in love with her, and she with him. They were married shortly thereafter.
"Time passed, you were born. But it was unsafe to keep you with your parents, with the Yuuzhan Vong occupying many core worlds, killing civilians and taking hostages. Your cousin, Anakin Solo, was a casualty of this war, as was his mother, your Aunt Leia." Here, the Noghri paused sadly, suggesting that he had known Leia well, and her loss was painful to recall. The Noghri shook off the memory and continued with the story.
"Another cousin, Jacen Solo, was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong. The last report that I received from Mos Eisley was that Jacen's twin, Jaina, and her husband, Jag, traveled into the heart of the Vong ships to find her brother."
"So.." Ben said, absorbing the final words of what Kabarakh was telling him, "Where are my parents now?"
The Noghri gave Ben a look that said "Patience."
"Your parents, and aunt and uncle, belong to a secret organization called the 'Insiders.' A short time after you were taken from Coruscant, your parents and the 'Insiders' launched an attack against the Vong. In order to keep you safe, you would have to be sent into hiding until the Vong was defeated. However, the Yuuzhan Vong forces increased, and the 'Insiders' went into hiding, save Jaina and Jag who went after Jacen. That was eight years ago, during the downfall of the New Republic. The 'Insiders' have been missing ever since."
Ben was speechless. Never, in his wildest dreams, would he have guessed that something so terrible had happened to his family. And yet, in the back of his mind, he knew that every word of what Kabarakh said was true.
"Kabarakh," Ben said, a thought dawning on him. "If my parents were powerful Jedi masters, would that not mean that I have force capabilities too?"
The Noghri nodded slightly.
The son of Skywalker made a promise to himself right then. He had two things he must do now. The first was to learn the ways of the force. The second would perhaps be equally as challanging.
As the first of the twin suns appeared on the edge of the horizon, Ben was already packing his few things into a small bag. He took one last look around this small hut in the Jundland Wastes. Kabarakh, as well as two other Noghri who resided with him, watched his actions in silence. Had they wanted to stop him, they very easily could have. But instead, Kabarakh asked, "Where are you going, young Skywalker?"
Ben looked at each Noghri in turn, meeting their eyes squarely, as if challenging them to tell him no.
"To find my family."