dee-unlm1t3d: Thanks, that reassures me somewhat.
Tonja Lehr: Thank you, I'd like that :) Would you mind contacting me via email? My addy can be found in my profile.
The first month
Chapter Two: Research
Coruscant, Jedi-Temple, Skywalker Apartment
Walking hand in hand the Masters Skywalker finally reached their apartment. Mara Jade sighed deeply, threw her dark brown cloak in the next best chair and fell onto the couch. She groaned softly.
"Why is my bed so far away?"
Luke laughed. "That tired?"
Mara struggled to sit up again. "Indeed, Skywalker. I'm going to bed and don't you dare to wake me unless it's really important!" She wavered a bit while walking into the master bedroom.
Luke grinned to himself as he walked through a different door, a cup of hot chocolate in one hand, and entered the family's private garden. The humid, hot air and the green surroundings reminded him of Yavin IV – which was the main reason why he had set up this room. Amidst pots and tendrils some mats lay on the ground on which he sat down, carefully keeping the hot liquid in the cup from spilling. After he had got rid of his heavy cloak, he closed his eyes and reached for the Force.
While the Council Meeting had been held, he had tried to find more information about the 'quiet before the storm', as Jacen had called the slight disturbance in the Force, but he did not have any more success than in the last few weeks. He knew that the disturbance existed and he was certain that it would be wrong to ignore it. Thus these days, when he meditated more than usual, were a good opportunity to start a new, more direct researching method.
/What is it/ he asked himself and sent the feeling of disturbance before he quietened his thoughts and began to listen. At first there was only silence, but then the midichlorians began to whisper. Their answer was short, clear-cut and nearly managed to break Luke's concentration.
/Sith/ he thought, utterly dumbfounded. /But they have been destroyed…/
Taking a deep breath he strengthened his connection with the Force, felt the life pulsating in him and around him, felt serenity and peace flow through him like liquid light.
/Not in this realm/ he understood /but in another plain of existance. Why do they influence us nevertheless/
The midichlorians' whispers became louder, more insistant. Luke listened carefully. Slowly discomposure spread in him.
/They are searching for me…/ he arranged the news. /They are searching for me, because I'll become dangerous to them once I leave this world. But why now? Will I become one with the Force that soon/
The answer was as loud as if the words were spoken by a person standing directly next to him.
You already are.
°°°
Last Home, Border regions
Luke understood at the same moment the midichlorians told him. Strangely enough, he already knew that it was not the way he thought it to be at the beginning. The Force whispered and confirmed his assumptions, but left open questions nevertheless – questions he needed to find answers to.
/By the time this is over, I've had it with meditation/ he thought wryly, sank down to the hard ground and took his time to study his surroundings. Not that there was much to study. Only an empty, grey plain that stretched, from time to time disturbed by rocky formations, beneath a pale blue sky towards the horizon. Luke reached for the Force, which was more present than on Coruscant, but he did not feel any immediate danger. A slight warning, yes, fractions of deep darkness in the far distance and rays of light in the other direction, but nothing that could endanger him right now.
An unknown time later – time probably was not of any importance here, anyway – the crunching sound of footsteps brought him back to a relative reality. Luke smiled inwardly.
"You took your time", he remarked, eyes still closed. The steps stopped.
"Your shields are impressive, Master. We barely found you", a familiar voice finally stated with unusual formality.
Although Luke's face stayed blank, his eyes mirrored mild disapproval when he opened them and looked at the two Jedi, who had stopped in an appropriate distance. He knew them both, although he recognised one of them only due to his Force signature for he had only met an… older version of him. Both wore short, light robes and dark brown cloaks; in the distance half a dozen additional Jedi waited, dressed the same way.
He rose and followed the Knights out of the border regions on towards Light's Last Home.
He did not really listen while his ecort told him about this realm of existence; his attention was drawn to the haze of darkness that followed them continuously and nearly unnoticed by the others. From time to time a Jedi looked around, as if he noticed something – but that was it. When he voiced his concerns, the youngest of the Knights ran his hands through his dark hair nervously.
"Some of the Council Members have made assumptions", he reported slowly. "But up to now, no Guardian has been able to feel more than just vague hunches. It seems to require great experience…"
"Not only experience", another one added when he noticed Luke's raised eyebrows.
"Indeed, Obi-Wan", Luke answered solemnly. "I'm worried by your lack of knowledge about this phenomenon. Jacen and I even feel it in our reality – where the Sith have been destroyed long ago."
He reveived surprised glances.
"Jacen has always been connected to the Force very strongly", the young one murmured wistfully. "And I'm not surprised at all that you felt something. What about Ben and… my mother?"
"I had not the opportunity to talk to them yet, Anakin", Luke responded.
"That would have been… yet?", his counterpart questioned astonishedly.
Luke smiled. "Yet", he confirmed his former Padawan.
"You… You are not…"
"No. I'm still sitting in my garden and my hot chocolate is getting cold." He frowned. "The midichlorians just told me about the Sith, shortly before they sent me here."
Obi-Wan Kenobi looked extremely worried. "The Eternal Council will be very interested in this. We should hurry up."
°°°
Light's Last Home, Temple, Council Chambers
Confused silence reigned the Council Chambers, before one of the Jedi-Masters, Eqi Utana, a member of a long dead four-legged race, looked at the Jedi-Master Yoda.
"I don't want to sound disrespectful, Master, but – you seem to be just as much at a loss as the rest of us is."
Yoda's face was expressionless while he nodded slowly. He sank deeper into the Force to find the cause of the strange disturbance that had not left them alone for days by now. Although… disturbance was not the correct term, in a way; shifting described it better and nobody was able to explain it – something like this had never happened before, the feeling was completely new. It grew stronger every hour until it filled the Force… it was like a countdown that neared an ignition – what kind of ignition it would be, nobody could tell. They only knew that it was nearly time.
Every moment could be the one.
Yoda felt as if an insivible display jumped to zero.
He flinched heavily, a movement that drew the puzzled attention of the whole Council to him. The expression of utter discomposure on his face was enough to seriously trouble the Masters.
"Master Yoda?"
The little green Jedi did not answer. His ears twitched, his eyes narrowed. Then he grabbed his omnipresent cane and hopped from his armchair, determindly leaving the Council Chambers.
"Not at a loss any longer, I am", the other Council Members could hear him saying before the doors opened in front of him and he vanished into the shady anteroom.
Behind he left dumbfounded silence.
"What is it now?", Ulic Qel-Droma suddenly asked the female Master next to him, sounding as though he feared that she might, too, disappear without an explanation.
Maleina Loriani, a Twi'lek whose skin had a breathtaking dark violet-blue colour, did not respond at once but searched for a way to express her feelings.
"I felt a Jedi entering this realm. His entrance sent a tremor through the Last Home." She paused. "Whoever it is, he leaves a lingering trace in the Force. For just a second I could feel his presence, but then he shielded himself." She looked around.
"Could this be connected to the darkness that crosses our borders from time to time?", a bird-like female Master asked with a high, melodic voice. "I think…", she added hesitantly and pranced her soft, aquamarin-coloured feathering, "that a lot of strange things happened recently in the texture of the Force. Nothing we could explain. But nevertheless a hunch tells me that there is a connection somewhere."
Ulic followed her train of thoughts. "Even though we cannot find cause and extent of the changes, we may be able to find answers through the connection between them." He obviously liked the idea, but frowned regardless. "Furthermore, I'm assuming that Master Yoda on the one hand knows about this possibilty, and on the other hand knows who this Jedi is. We should find him."
"Whom? The Jedi or Master Yoda?"
"One of them. The other one will be nearby, I'm sure."
°°°
„Hmm, heard about this, I already have. For many years, able to do this, no Jedi has been. Will of the Force, it is", Yoda mused.
Luke did not know whether to be worried or amused. Not that he knew Yoda for a very long time, but the sight of the small Master, who paced up and down the hallway, softly grumbling and hitting the ground with his cane as if to perforate the marble, seemed to be very unlike for the wise and always controlled Jedi. He decided to wait for now and savour the moment, for he had longed for his old Master's advise more than once since the days of his apprenticeship.
Yoda paused and studied his former Padawan, who had patiently listened to his pacing and his mumbled thoughts. Luke kneeled on the ground, seemingly very content with his place in the warm sunlight that lightened the arcade, and surveyed him with these eyes that still shone with the fire and the stars they had held a very long time ago, when they first met. He advanced and nudged him slightly with his cane, much gentler than he had done back then.
"My advise, you don't need any longer. Knowledge, yes, but no wisdom, Luke. Realise this, you will."
"Master…"
Yoda prodded him again and silenced him in the course before he resumed his pacing. "Told you Obi-Wan has, that problems there are, hmm? Noticed the darkness, you have."
"Yes."
"Shiftings, changes. Death has appeared. In the border regions. Two Knights, found they have been, dead. Killed in the ways of the Sith. Admitted this, their Council has not."
Someone snorted snidely behind him. "They have always admitted it. There is no reason why they shouldn't do it this time", Qel-Droma remarked and received agreeing mumbles.
Luke was surprised to see the other members of the Eternal Council here – they had obviously been searching for Yoda – and was about to rise, but before he could even stir, Yoda had laid a talon on his arm, a sign to stay where he was.
"Unusual this is. More behind this, there is. To keep a secret, they want."
Yoda noticed Luke staring into nothingness out of the corner of his eyes. Even though they had only talked for a few moments, he already knew how to interpret the blank face and pinched Luke's arm.
"What do you think?"
The former Padawan looked up.
"Were there any witnesses who can confirm that the Sith are responsible for the murders?", he asked softly and continued when Yoda shook his head: "Then there still is the possibility that they indeed aren't responsible."
"Killed in the ways of the Sith, they were. Nobody else, it could have been." Yoda leaned forward on his cane.
"It may be a hint, but not an actual proof", Luke objected decisively and ignored the glances he received for contradicting Yoda that directly. "I may remind you that I'm capable of several Sith techniques, too. And I'm not the only one." He resisted the urge to look pointedly at Qel-Droma but gazed at his old Master instead.
Yoda seemed to think about this answer and nodded gravely in the end. "More complicated, it may become this way, but right you could be." He studied him sharply. "A hunch, you have?"
Luke moved his head vacantly. "I'm not about to state that the Sith are not behind this. But even in the world of the living inconsistencies have appeared, Master… assaults… A strange disturbance in the Force", he continued, "that is caused by the Sith, according to the midichlorians."
„Hmm." A sorrowful expression came to Yoda's face. "Against you, these attacks are, aren't they? Abduction attempts, they are."
His old student nodded slightly.
"The midichlorians fancied that I would become dangerous to the Sith, should I reach this realm", he added softly and clearly uncomfortable.
The little Jedi sighed heavily and turned to the Council Members, who looked at him with blank faces. "An untimely crossing, there has been. A leap."
Someone gasped for breath.
"A leap?", another asked. "There has been no leap for…"
"… a long, long time", Yoda finished the sentence. „Yes. Yes. Willed by the Force." He glanced at Luke. "Return to the world of the living, you will, in the end."
The addressed one nodded slowly.
"Strong you are, however. Many anchors in the Last Home, you have. With you, the Force is." A deceitful grin found its way to the green face. "Hmm, think you do, that uphold the connection to the Last Home, you could? That find the way here, you could? That come here at your own will, you could?"
"That's impossible", came an immediate and confident protest from the Jedi. Yoda silenced the Masters with a glare.
Luke hesistated. He recalled the experience of being brought here by the midichlorians, questioned the Force and his feelings, his instincts.
"Yes, I think I could", he deliberately answered. "What do you hint at, Master?"
The grin broadened. "Hmm, get to know this, you will. But first, alone with the Council, I have to speak."
Luke grimaced. "Something tells me that I won't like this", he murmured, receiving a twitch and an amused chuckle from Yoda.
To be continued...
Chapter Three: Concerning surprised Jedi-Masters
Luke receives quite a surprise, but unfortunately not the answers he searched for…