What it Means to be a Parent
Luke sat on the throne of the Galactic Empire on Coruscant, as its third Emperor, his eyes closed that if opened would stare out at the window showing a small fraction of the city, and the people that lived here. Much had changed since Endor, as Luke had helped his Father kill the Emperor, joined the Dark Side of the Force, and take the throne of power to be the new Emperor of the Empire. However, such a position of power was not meant to last forever, as the injuries Darth Vader had suffered earlier on in his life had finally taken their toll on the Sith Lord, and after 5 great years of ruling the Empire...did he die from them with Luke by his side to see the man meet his end.
With his Father's passing, Luke now sat on the throne, giving his Father a proper burial worthy of an Emperor, as many Imperial Officers surprisingly attended not because they were asked to, but rather they wanted to, and even the soldiers under the late Sith Lord's command came too. They had known the Dark Lord for years, as many had been on the front lines with Vader when fighting the Rebels, and had respected the man for being there with them in the heat of battle instead of from a cozy command center.
After the mourning of Darth Vader, his son took the reigns of power, sitting on the throne for all those witnessing the event via HoloNet, and many were unsure of what direction the new Emperor would take for the Empire. However, everyone in the Galaxy, whether they be Imperial, Rebel, or just neutral on a random planet soon learned of the direction when the now Emperor Skywalker had come to blame everything that had befallen the death of his late Father on the Rebel Alliance. The years of combat fighting them all had done little to ease the agonizing pain Darth Vader endured behind the suit and all their constant harassment of the Empire prevented the Sith Lord from the reprieve needed to heal his injuries. Even more when Vader became the Emperor with Luke being his loyal second-in-command and being unable to help heal his crippled Father.
So with that in mind, Emperor Luke Skywalker had set out to crush his Father's, and now his own enemies that he ironically enough called allies if not friends at one point in his life. No. The only true loyalty a Skywalker had in life was that of his own bloodline, as anyone witnessing such a truth would tell you, and that the strength of the bond between family members was unbreakable when made.
That campaign was 10 years ago.
Now, the Rebel Alliance was nearly destroyed in all, but name, and scattered into minor annoying little cells throughout the Galaxy without anyone really taking them seriously anymore. Its heroes were all dead, captured, or missing from known space though Luke knew exactly where they were. To be killed at any time should he wish it, yet didn't need to since they were not a threat to the Empire, and saw no real reason to snuff out their so called noble cause. Of course Leia and Solo were out there. Somewhere. If they ever entered Imperial space, the standard orders fro them, and those with them fitting certain descriptions were to be detained without physical abuse before being sent to here to the Imperial Center.
Smiling slightly, Luke felt his wife Mara, former servant of the first Emperor, tending to their son they called Anakin, and saw much of the child's Grandfather in him. He took the ways of training like a fish did water, practically using it unknowingly to scare several of the nannies silly by using the cosmic power to move things around the room, and Luke found such things amusing.
"It's a shame he'll become a Sith. He would have made a great Jedi. Like you would have become if you stayed the course," said Obi-wan Kenobi appearing before Luke with the Sith Emperor opening his eyes to see the spirit of the Jedi Master, who was the source of his Father's crippled, and burned body.
"Leave me Kenobi. I don't want you near me or my family. You gave done enough when it comes to the Skywalker Family Tree," said Luke narrowing his icy blue eyes at the Jedi spirit.
"I'm so sorry Luke. I have been since I put my plan into action to protect you from your Father and the Emperor," said Kenobi seeing Sith Emperor now rippling with the Dark Side of the Force.
"My Father? You want to talk about 'protecting me' from my Father? My Father didn't even know I existed until you convince me to help in your little crusade while believing he was the man responsible for killing him. You told me my Father was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader. That was lie! And I thought Jedi didn't lie Kenobi?" said Luke seeing the Jedi Master look away slightly.
"Luke, what I told you was the truth. Anakin Skywalker was dead. Killed by the Dark Side manifestation of himself that became Darth Vader. It was the truth from my point of view that I wanted you to see," said Obi-wan seeing the Dark Side swell within Luke now.
"That's just more Jedi doublespeak coming from you Ben. Just another lie told from your perspective that only you see as the truth. Just like my Aunt and Uncle lied to me about my Father when I asked about him. Such hypocrisy. Its no wonder the Force sided with the Sith to crush the Jedi. They paid for their arrogance with the blood and lives of the Order," said Luke smiling a cruel smile at Obi-wan while the Jedi Master frowned at him.
"That's your Father's belief. Not your own," said Obi-wan seeing Luke narrow his eyes dangerously at him.
"No. It's the truth. My Father was indeed the Chosen One, but to fulfill the prophecy that was his duty, he needed to dismantle the Jedi Order, and we both know the Jedi would never let that happen. When I asked my Father if they tried to look into his future, he told me that Yoda himself had said it was clouded, and uncertain to what his life would be like in the years to come. Do you understand why they could never see his future Kenobi or do I have to spell it out for you?" said Luke calmly though there was an edge in his voice.
"Because the Dark Side would not let us," said Kenobi with Luke shaking his head.
"As always, you see things from a narrow perspective, and not the big picture. The Force would not let you see his future because he was going to destroy Jedi Order one way, or another by his own hands. If the Jedi Council at the time saw this, they would have killed him, and stopped it from happening. The Jedi chose to defy the Force when they, in their position of power, tried to control its only child, and the Force made the Jedi Order pay for such foolishness. And rightfully so," said Luke seeing Obi-wan shaking his head in denial.
"The Force would not let an entire Order perish. Not when the Jedi Order held innocent children within the temple walls. Children that your Father killed I might add," said Obi-wan seeing Luke scowl behind his robes.
"Please. You are no better old man. My Father had reoccurring dreams of his Mother in pain and suffering. Dreams you knew were visions of the present or soon to be future. Yet you told him they were just dreams of a homesick boy wishing to see his Mother one more time. It was partly your fault my Grandmother died because you were too strict in sticking to the Jedi Code of no attachments to investigate the matter," said Luke seeing Obi-wan flinch at his words.
"I only did that to make Anakin a better Jedi like all the others before him. It was for his own good," said Obi-wan while Luke just laughed a mocking laugh.
"A better Jedi? My Father is and was the greatest Jedi that your Order ever had and yet you tried to control him knowing full well he would decide its Fate when the Force was brought back into balance," said Luke seeing Obi-wan now walking away from him and headed towards the window.
"Such a powerful Force sensitive was too great a threat to us to be left alone and had to be controlled," said Obi-wan while ignoring the chuckle that Luke let out.
"That was Jedi's problem from the start. They weren't suppose to control him. They were suppose to unleash him upon the Galaxy and let him do things his own way. You along with the rest of the Jedi spent so much time wrapping him up with the chains of pathetic rules, codes, and the Jedi way of doing things that you all failed to realize that such ways to do not apply to him. The Force wanted its child to bend and break all the rules while you tried to bind him to them. Never underestimate what a parent will do for his or her child. My Father was living proof of that," said Luke seeing Obi-wan nod in agreement to the last part.
"Yes. I imagine so. Still, you cannot expect the Force to let things stay like this forever, and let the Sith rule the Galaxy," said Obi-wan seeing Luke smile grow.
"I'm not arrogant Obi-wan. I know one day the Sith Empire will fall. But not under my rule and certainly not under my son's when he become Emperor. Of that much of the future I have foreseen through the Force and you will not change it by bringing your presence here...or Master Yoda's," said Luke knowing all too well why the Jedi Master was here and sensed Yoda's spirit was near his son.
And using the power of the Dark Side had crush the spirit of his second teacher before the Jedi Master could influence his child before glaring at his first one with Sith like eyes.
"That wasn't necessary," said Obi-wan surprised that Luke could do that.
"You and Yoda may have become one with the Force after dying Obi-wan. But, I will not see you, or any other Jedi spirit from the other side try to influence my son! As I told you earlier, you have done enough in shaking the Skywalker Family Tree, and I will not see it shaken any further by Jedi hands," said Luke seeing Obi-wan looking away from him.
"I will not let the Sith Empire you created continue on Luke. I will do what I must," said Obi-wan turning to see Luke stiffen at his words.
"You once said those exact to my Father years ago. And like him I will respond with the simple fact that you can try," said Luke rising from his throne while the hatred he felt for the old Jedi Master swelling within.
"Don't do this Luke. You know I have the power to destroy you. I will," said Obi-wan seeing Luke smiling and laughing at him.
"You're wrong Obi-wan. You don't have that power. You would have used it years ago if that were true. Yet you didn't. What makes you think I'll believe you possess that kind of power now?" said Luke seeing Obi-wan scowl at him while preparing himself.
"Because your son will be the one to change the future for the better. He just has to be freed from his Father's influence," said Obi-wan generating the power needed to strike Luke down from his position.
"I think not. My son and I share special bond. Strike me down and you will unleash a Sith beyond imagination!" said Luke seeing Obi-wan unleash the power of the Force from his hands, but the energy he released never reached the Sith Emperor, and redirected itself slowly at Obi-wan.
"What's happening? How are you stopping me?" said Obi-wan trying to push his own power back, but was finding it impossible to stop, and was getting closer to his spirit like form.
"Me? I'm not doing this at all. The Force itself is doing stopping you. Did you honestly think the Force would let you strike down its own Grandchild and manipulate its Great Grandchild like a mere puppet? Like you tried to manipulate me? No. The Force has spoken and it decrees your spirit will die!" said Luke looking at Obi-wan with intense hatred.
"This...cannot be...happening!" said Obi-wan before the Force energy hit his spirit form and was destroyed by his own power.
Smiling at the sight of his former teacher of a Jedi Master destroyed on such a spiritual level brought a great deal of pleasure to Luke's heart and sat back down on his throne before the doors to the room opened. His son Anakin running in with the boy's Mother not far behind, both worried from what they sensed through the Force, and no doubt wanted to make sure he was okay.
"Father, are you okay?" said Anakin running up the steps to the throne with Luke rotating it so the boy could see his Father was indeed okay.
"I'm fine son. Everything is okay," said Luke, as he scooped his son up into his arms, and place the boy on his lap with Mara looking at him more closely to ensure that her at times sneaky husband was hiding the truth.
"What was it we felt just now? And earlier?" said Mara before Anakin explained how he thought a strange presence was near him and his Father.
"You don't have to worry about that anymore Mara. You too son. What you sensed was just some old Force ghosts that needed to be exorcised before they could harm either of us," said Luke seeing his son nod in understanding after hearing the story of the Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi becoming a Force spirit while Mara went into paternal Mother mode.
"They won't come back, right Luke?" said Mara knowing she and Anakin were the only ones on the planet capable of calling the man by his first name.
"No. I took care of it. Well...the Force did with the one ghost and I took care of the other that was going to see our son," said Luke sensing how protective she was regarding their child.
"Good," said Mara simply since she wasn't about to let some Jedi spirits mess with her son or husband without paying for it by her hands.
Mara was a parent after all and just like Luke she knew what it meant to be one.
-FIN!
(A/N: YAY! This will be the last time I'm writing until the New Year starts so enjoy this little one-shot. Until next time...PEACE!)