Hey guys... this is my first star wars fic, and I'm really trying to make this accurate. Okay, um, well, this is before Episode VI. This popped into my head during Algebra, and it was torture for me to have to wait until my other classes were over to write this. Read and review, and if you guys notice anything that I messed up, please tell me so I can fix it.
I do not own Star Wars, as I am not George Lucas... Or am I? Nah, I'm pretty sure he's dead. I could be his ghost, though O.o
The Amulet
Chapter One
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Luke slammed his head against the table in shame as Han whooped happily. He had just been beaten three times in a row at sabacc, which wouldn't be as bad if Han wasn't such an airhead.
"In your face kid!" Han shouted gleefully. Luke growled as he lifted his head up off of the table, glaring at the smuggler. He saw that the the man was standing up, arms in the air victoriously. This gave him an idea. When Han finally sat back down, he fell onto the floor as his chair slid out from under him at the last second. Grabbing the table, he yanked himself to his feet and narrowed his eyes at the boy, who was now smiling innocently at Han.
"What? You must have missed the chair in your gloating. See? It's right there where you left it." Luke pointed at the chair, which indeed was now in the exact position it had been in previously.
"Don't push it, kid. You might have just killed a bunch of my brain cells with that shock. At this, the Jedi-in-training smirked and shot back,
"You can't kill what doesn't exist." Han scowled at him, but remained silent. Luke grinned and continued, "Besides, you've been in far too many crashes to consider this a-" He broke off as his head spun. Everything got blurry for a second, but cleared up quickly. He lurched forward, grabbing his chair for support in order to prevent him from falling to the floor. He felt someone grab his shoulder, and Han asked,
"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" Luke grimaced and put a hand to his temples.
"A major disturbance in the force. Not as huge as when Vader used the Death Star to destroy Alderaan, but almost." Han chewed his bottom lip for a moment before asking,
"Should we go check it out, just in case? If it's Vader again, we should see what he's up to." Luke nodded thoughtfully before shaking his head.
"Yeah, we'll go check it out, but it's not Vader. It doesn't feel like a Sith..." He trailed off. "Anyways, it's pretty close. Otherwise I wouldn't have felt it." Captain Solo shook his head.
"There aren't any planets near here, and it's not a ship. The radar is picking up noting. And the Falcon is always right." Luke frowned.
"I... I don't think so. Your radar may not be picking up anything, but I can sense something through the Force. Let me pilot, I can find it." Han hesitated before nodding carefully. Luke slid forward into the cabin and grabbed the controls. He relaxed, and delved deep into the Force. The energy rushed down through his limbs and guided the ship in the right direction. He dodged easily around asteroids and was careful not to scrape the wings. After an hour and a half of speeding through hyperspace, a planet grew in the distance.
"Impossible!" Han gasped. "The Falcon isn't picking up anything!" Luke furrowed his brows in thought. Then he realized,
Of course! The Force energy that surrounds the planet must make it invisible to any radars. If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't even come close to finding it. Therefore, anyone who isn't Force-sensitive wouldn't be able to find it." Han gaped at him, obviously surprised that he hadn't realized that. As they drew nearer to the planet, Luke felt that this looked very familiar. He couldn't quite grasp why it would though. He had never seen a planet with so much vegetation, except for... Dagobah. That's what it was. This planet looked exactly like Dagobah. The Falcon was now directly above the dense treetops, and Luke searched for a clearing for them to land in. Unlike on Master Yoda's planet, he actually found one, instead of diving into the swamp. The ship rolled to a stop, and the hatch eased open. Luke jumped down onto the rich soil, and inhaled sharply as he felt a wave of... something pushing against his consciousness. It felt strange, powerful. Maybe a bit cold. However, it wasn't unpleasant, in fact, it felt rather... good. Refreshing. He sighed happily, letting down his barriers. He was completely unprepared for the sudden strength and power that washed over his entire entity. He felt different, though... Not quite like himself. He jumped as Han placed a hand on his arm.
"Hey, what's up? You look strange, and you've been looking at the same spot for three minutes." He could actually hear Han's grin as he said the last part. He bit his lip and replied,
"Yeah, I'm fine! Hey, before we start looking for... whatever it is, could I try something? There's something I would like to test."
"Sure." Grinning, Luke turned towards a tree. He flicked his finger, concentrating on the new power as he did so. He had been aiming for a slash in the bark, like it would have done with his old power, so he was shocked when the tree sliced in half. He barely noticed that the cold power expanded and grew in strength. He glanced over, and saw that Han was staring at him open-mouthed.
"Careful there, you don't want to catch flies... Or Wookies, with the size of your mouth." Han ignored the witty statement and asked him,
"When did you get that powerful? The only other person that I know of that can cut down a tree like that with a flick of his finger is Vader." Luke was about to respond about how it was probably the planet, when he realized something. Cold, dark power... His eyes widened in shock. Why hadn't he realized this earlier?
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh..." He muttered. "I just used the dark side of the Force! Why am I so stupid!" Han smirked half-heartedly.
"Was that rhetorical?" Luke glared at him angrily.
"This is so not the time for this, Solo!" He hissed at the man. Then his eyes widened in terror. "That did not just happen. No! I'm not... I'm not trying to use it, Han! This planet seems to be encased in dark energy... Let's get what we're looking for, and get out of here before this gets any worse." Han agreed,
"Um, yeah, we don't need another Vader in the galaxy." Luke nodded.
"Okay, we're pretty close, but I'm afraid to use the Force again. You go that way," He said, pointing in a random direction, "And I'll take over there." He pointed in the opposite direction. "We'll meet back here in a few hours, whether or not we actually found anything." Luke spun aroung and dashed off in the direction he had chosen for himself, and Han went his own way.
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Luke hadn't told Han, but he had chosen this direction because this was where the energy was the strongest. After only two hours of sprinting through the trees in the direction that the Force was pointing him in, he fell upon the entrance to a cave. Literally. After he had pulled himself up out of the soil, he stared down into the shadowy depths of the cave. He didn't like caves. He really didn't like caves. First, after the incident on Hoth with the beast, and then on Dagobah when he had fought in one... He shuddered, and began walking into the darkness. it may have been his imagination, but he was sure that there was a slight red glow in the tunnel up ahead. As he neared the source of it, he felt the temperature drop considerably. The darkness seemed to grip tighter to him with each step. Finally, he came to a chamber. The room itself was nothing special, but the object in the center of the room was breathtaking.
Sitting on an elegantly carved ebony pedestal in the dead center of the room was an amulet. The chain was made of a bright, shining gold, and seemed to be just long enough to wrap around his neck. The base of the amulet was the same metal, intricately carved into the shape of a sun, a round section in the center where the gem was set, and the rays were points folded and twisted so that they were zigzagging quite similarly to lightning bolts. The metal in this part rippled, and when light shone on it, it looked like it created its own light. The gem was an unknown black jewel, fitted securely in the base. It was cut expertly, the many sides reflecting the torchlight from the braziers lining the wall. It was only about an inch and a half in diameter, the perfect size for it to sit comfortably at the base of his throat. He could feel the dark energy radiating from the object, yet instead of repelling him, it seemed to only draw him closer.
He stepped forward, towards the necklace, and reached out his hand to grab it. As soon as his fingers closed around the warm metal, though, he felt something rush through him, far more powerfully than the dark side of the Force had earlier. He knew that now that he had touched it, it was a part of him. Yet, this did not scare him. Quite the opposite, it comforted him. He tightened his grip on the object, before unclasping it and wrapping it around his neck. Once he had clasped it again, he let it drop, it stopping at the hollow of his throat. Then he turned, and strode back to where he had agreed to meet Han.
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"Hey, kid. Did you find anything? You've been gone quite a while." Han greeted the boy. He saw Luke snap out of his semi-conscious state at the question.
"Hm? Oh, right. No, sorry. Did you?" Han could tell that he was lying, but didn't push it. If he didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't make him.
"Nope. Ready to go? We still have to see what it was that Yoda wanted you back for, and then we have to get back to the Base." Luke sighed in disappointment. Han decided that it would be a good idea to leave soon if Luke was wanting to stay. Luke finally nodded, and they made their way back to their ship. Luke climbed into the copilot's seat that was covered in Chewie's fur, and Han climbed into the pilot's seat. The Millennium Falcon launched into hyperspace as hey headed to Dagobah on the opposite end of the galaxy.
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Fifty-two arguments, four near-death experiences, two Imperial encounters, and twenty-three games of sabacc later, otherwise known as two days, they found themselves in Dagobah's atmosphere. Han spiralled down towards a clearing not too far from Yoda's home. As they exited the ship, Luke saw Yoda standing outside of his hut. He bounded over to his Master, eager to see him after almost a year. He did not expect to see Yoda narrow his eyes and light his lightsaber as he neared.
"...Master Yoda?" Luke asked nervously. Yoda pointed the saber at him as he responded,
"Touched by the Dark Side you are. Once begin you down that path, return you cannot." Luke held back a growl.
"I am truly sorry that I let that happen. I did not realize at the time that that was the Dark Side, but once I did, I restrained myself. The planet was heavy with the Dark Side, and it clouded my judgement. I may not be able to return, but I will not go further. " At this the Jedi Master closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them again, Luke saw distrust and disgust. The Jedi spoke.
"Restrain yourself you did not. I cannot see exactly what occurred on that planet, but see the necklace I do. If regretful you truly are, remove the amulet." Luke froze. The Master had asked of him the one thing he could not do... The amulet gave him power, it gave him... Yoda shook his head and relit his lightsaber. "See you do. Do this I must, for you are lost." He advanced on Luke, and swung his saber. Luke realized what had just happened a moment after his arm fell to the ground. Then came the agony. It rippled through him, tearing at him as he screamed out. Yoda then swung at the kneeling form, slicing off his left leg knee and down, watching emotionless as the boy writhed. Han came bursting through the trees and saw Luke limp on the ground, missing an arm and leg. He dashed forward and lifted up the limp form. Yoda simply turned around and walked off, knowing that the boy would be dead long before they made it to the Rebel Base.
Han knew this as well. He stared at the kid as he ran to the ship and fired it up, wondering what could have happened to make the peaceful Jedi Master attack him mercilessly. Then he remembered the planet, and how Luke had admitted to using the 'Dark Side of the Force'. As he shot off into hyperspace, staring at the streaked blurs of the stars they soared past, he realized something. The Executor, Vader's ship, was fairly close to here, nearly five days closer than the Base. Would Vader help his son? Han knew that he would try to turn Luke to the Dark Side. Was it worth it to save his friend's life? Yes, he decided, yes it was. He changed trajectory, now headed to the enormous Star Destroyer.
Hey. Did you like it? I did my best with Yoda. It is really hard to get him to sound right! I wrote this in about an hour, so if it sucks, don't blame me. blame my freaking tight schedule. thank you for reading this people! May the Force be with you.