It's A Broken Message
Part Two: Comprehension
Luke had a few students. It was amazing to him that he had been able to track down so many Force Sensitives. What was not amazing was the progress they had made. He didn't know exactly what he was doing wrong since they were having such trouble using the Force. He'd struggled too at first but not like this! Maybe he needed to find some more course material? What if he tracked down an old Jedi temple? Surely it'd have some suggestions at how to not entirely fail at being a Jedi master?
What was he missing? Hmm…
"Close your eyes." He commanded his students calmly. He did know Jedi were supposed to be calm. He at least had that down. "Feel the Force around you."
"Luuuuuke, we've already done this!" The youngest student whined and Luke tried not to feel so defensive.
"Feel the Force." Luke repeated. He did his best to channel old Ben Kenobi. "Can you sense it?"
The class murmured an affirmative. They'd gotten that far at least.
He put himself back in the mindset he had been in when he had first gotten his training. He'd been excited, yes. More than a little skeptical, absolutely. But, he had really wanted to succeed at being a Jedi. He'd used everything he had when he was starting out, and his class needed to learn how do do that too.
"Now focus on the rock. You have to want to move it. Use your desire, follow it. You have to really want the rock to move. Focus on it. Feel how much you'd love for it to move. Think about your moment of triumph when you finally get it right. Use that emotion."
Rocks started flying and Luke smiled. Maybe he could actually do this!
…
Leia was more than a little surprised to see Luke on the couch again. He wasn't expected to be on planet for weeks! She'd sensed a shock from him but he hadn't seemed like he was in danger.
"I'm wondering if I should even ask." Leia glanced at him casually.
"I made a mistake." Luke's usually smile of sunshine was suspiciously missing. In fact her brother looked slightly traumatized.
"Who do I need to shoot?"
"Me." Luke croaked.
"It can't be that bad."
"I taught my class the way of the Sith."
Leia's eyes widened. What.
She absently wondered if she needed to hold an intervention to drag her brother back to the light side. For the first time she was glad the Jedi were gone. She had heard about their Sith hunting habits and it'd be far easier to protect Luke from space wizards when they didn't exist.
Then she looked at him with the her limited grasp of Force and he… was still Luke. Nothing but light and goodness.
"You're a little nice to be a Sith Lord." She shot back skeptically.
"Jedi don't use emotions." Luke seemed to draw in on himself, "I knew this. I knew it! But… I thought that as long as it wasn't anger or fear or something that it would be ok. Love and happiness seemed harmless enough…"
Leia took a deep breath. This was news to her.
"I find that hard to believe. What's so dangerous about love?"
"It leads to fear, and fear leads to anger." Luke sounded like he was quoting someone. "I just forgot… I've used emotion when I've needed to and I just thought it would help my students."
"You'll fix it." Leia eventually said. She didn't know what else to really say. No love? That was really odd. Suspicious in fact.
"I learned the Jedi code." Luke said, "I was told to understand it before I restart the reign of the Sith."
"What is it?"
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force." Luke recited glumly, "Old Ben or Yoda could have told me this before."
Leia really thought about the words. She rolled them around on her tongue. She tested them with her spirit. It was clear that they weren't her words.
"That's why you're the Jedi…" She mused, a grim smile faint on her lips.
"Leia?"
She raised an eyebrow and because she felt young she cocked her hip. She'd let Luke come to it. The Jedi had obviously never lead a proper rebellion.
They did not know the emotion that drove the young men and women to lay down their lives for a chance at justice. They did not know the ignorance that the leaders suffered as they tried to make do with limited intelligence on the enemy. They somehow would not have approved of the passion that kept everyone from letting their oppressors walk over them, the passion that let them fight. Could they have survived the chaos of a civil war? Would they have argued that there wasn't death when Alderaan was destroyed?
She had always wondered why Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had trained Luke instead of her. After all, she'd grown up fighting and was all too familiar with the horrors of war when Luke had merely been a farmboy. Why choose him to be the warrior?
Now it was clear. She'd never actually been Jedi material.
She was proud of her emotion. She admitted her ignorance. No one could deny that she wasn't passionate. Leia knew chaos because there had never been peace. She fought death on a daily basis.
Luke still didn't understand but that was ok. He was the Jedi.
"Get some sleep," she ordered. "You look worse than Lazerbrain in the mornings. We'll work this out later. Love can't be all that bad. It's not like the old Order was perfect either- I don't think anything that bans love was so great anyway."
She needed some time herself. It wouldn't do for her to snark at how unrealistic the Jedi tenants were. She really didn't want to consider what she was if she couldn't be a Jedi.
…
Ben was growing frustrated with the Force. He could hear it, as always. He could feel it all around. Why was using it so difficult?
"Uncle Luke, I am trying!" The little boy huffed. His hand was outstretched as he tried to pick up the piece of candy on the ground before him. He was getting a little concerned that the sweet was going to melt in the heat of the sun before he could even pick it up.
"Do or do not, there is not try." Luke said sagely.
"That still doesn't make sense." Ben pointed a finger at his uncle in accusation. Luke shrugged and didn't argue. That was the weird thing about his uncle- Luke wasn't much for arguing. He never yelled like his parents did or debated with doublespeak like the diplomats and councils. In short, he was weird.
"Don't get mad at it." Luke advised, "Just feel the Force. Trust it."
Ben felt the Force. That didn't mean that it was doing what it was supposed to. He bit his lip and tried again. Not 'did' again, because he still maintained there was a try. He focused on the power around him, the glorious light that made his soul sing. He took a deep breath and concentrated. He loved the Force around him.
When he opened his eyes the candy was in his palm.
…
Leia was looking through the newest treaty when her son came into the room. Her office was not as clean as it usually was and he probably could have made a fort with all the clutter that had piled up. It had been a busy month and Leia had been trying to hang onto everything she had helped to build. Some new player had entered the field and Leia didn't like it one bit.
"Mother," Ben asked. Leia could tell he was thinking his serious thoughts again with the formality. She was only 'Mother' when he was trying to be all grown up. "Is there going to be a war?"
Leia frowned, wishing that everything wasn't coming apart. The Empire had left such a shadow. Did it really have to mess with her son's life? Luckily there hadn't been a proper war- skirmishes and battles yes- but not war. To be honest, even if the worst happened it still wouldn't be technically a 'war,' as that would imply at least two sovereign bodies of government. The shambles she fought weren't exactly what you would call organized.
Technicalities aside, she still needed an answer for Ben.
"I don't know." Leia went with the truth. She never lied to Ben. "I want to see if we can still negotiate peacefully but it's very possible that diplomacy is not going to work."
Ben sighed and his eyes wandered around the room. He especially looked at her desk, full of all sorts of things. Leia looked her son in his eyes.
"Why do you ask, Ben?"
"You're always talking about how we're working for peace and order. I don't understand why we fight so much. Can't we just leave everyone alone?"
Ah. Well, Leia cleared her throat, she should have expected this earlier.
"Sometimes you have to fight. Sometimes there isn't a way for peace without war."
"That's stupid." Ben huffed, rolling his eyes. Leia ruffled his hair indulgently.
"I agree, but it's just how things are, Ben. We're rather fortunate that we have power, that we can fight. There are some people out there who don't have the power to fight when other people try to kill them. It's our job to protect those people." She put it as simply as she could, "Our galaxy needs order, Ben. It's just going to take a long time to rebuild everything, and sometimes that means a battle or so."
"You mean killing people." His young voice rose in pitch.
"Sometimes," Leia allowed, "If it means they don't get the chance to do even more damage."
"What about Uncle Luke?"
"What about him?"
"Does he kill people?" Ben asked disbelievingly. Leia had to stop from smiling at his view of her brother. She understood of course. Luke could seem like the very paragon of virtue, and he certainly tried to teach it. That being said, there was a thing called 'tact.'
"I think that's something you need to ask him." Leia tried not to say it so curtly but she knew she'd made a misstep. Being sure to soften her voice this time, she added, "But I think you've heard enough of the family stories."
Ben narrowed his eyes, making his face screw up in some kind of emotion. Annoyance, perhaps? Leia shrugged it off.
…
Something that Han did not like in regards to fatherhood were Ben's tantrums. Oh, Han knew that he and Leia were not the best examples at being rational human beings, but at least they just tended to yell at each other. Ben had the bad habit of throwing things. Of he'd full on destroy things. He had certainly inherited the family temper…
Of course he'd never pull that crud on Leia. Oh no. He had to save it all for his father.
Han just didn't know how to handle it. He'd tried staying calm- well, as calm as he could be given the circumstances. He'd given in to shouting before- Ben just got louder. Han had even tried the silent treatment. To be honest, his best bet was threatening to get Leia, not that Han wanted to admit that.
However, Leia was currently off planet and not available.
Sithspit.
"I said no, Ben!"
"Mom would let me go!"
"You're grounded, Ben. You don't get to go anywhere." Han took a deep breath and brushed his hair back from his forehead. "That's what grounded means."
"You don't understand!" Ben yelled, stomping his foot. The furniture started shaking. Oh, why did his son have to have the Force? At least the living room didn't have anything too breakable… "Everyone else is going."
"Not everyone else broke the toaster last week." Han deadpanned.
"I didn't mean too. You don't get to… jail me for an accident!"
Now, Han could have pointed out that Ben had not only thrown the toaster on the ground, stomped it with his foot, and then somehow exploded it with Force. He could have asked how that possibly could have been an accident, especially since it was in the middle of yet another fight. But the toaster wasn't the point.
"Kid, I said you couldn't go. So you can't. Tough luck."
"AUUUUGH!"
Han winced as on of Leia's knickknacks went flying. Ok, he'd tried being nice and just got more property damage. Where was someone who actually knew how to handle kids when you needed them?
"You stop that right this minute, young man!"
"You don't get to tell me what to do!"
"I am your father, so yes, I do get to tell you exactly what to do. Go to your room!" Han bellowed with a glare. Ben rolled his eyes, quipped a few arguments, and then stomped off. Hopefully any further destruction would be safely contained.
Han sighed again. He tried not to feel bad. He was trying to get through to him. He really was. Han practically collapsed on their couch and dramatically smacked his head backwards. When would Leia be back again?
Seconds after a slammed door, music started vibrating the house.
'Wake me up! (Wake me up inside)'
Han shook his head and lasted about five seconds before yelling at his son to turn his music down.
…
Luke never talked much about his father to Ben. Leia wasn't exactly ever fond of the reminder that Darth Vader was her father too, and she certainly didn't want Ben labeled as Darth Vader's grandson. He had enough to live with as it was. He was General Organa's son. The legendary smuggler and war hero's son. He was the last trained Jedi's nephew. He had the Force. Luke got why Ben didn't need to deal with Anakin Skywalker as well.
Luke had told him enough- just enough so that it wasn't a secret. Even Leia didn't object to the basic facts. Ben got some of the stories, just no meat.
Yes, Ben, Uncle Luke got his hand cut off by his own father. Aren't you glad that your dad never had a lightsaber?
He tried to portray him fairly. He glossed over that good and the bad. Luke tried to avoid saying what he himself felt about his father because that was usually the stuff Leia objected too. Luke understood his sisters feelings, he really tried to respect them. Luke knew that their father wasn't a great heroic figure. He had done a lot of terrible things, especially to Leia. He wasn't sure how much of the complexity actually came through to Ben.
He'd mentioned how Ben's grandfather ultimately freed everyone from the tyranny of the Empire but didn't elaborate in detail. Perhaps when he was older Luke would tell him everything.
Luke was trying to meditate on his sister's couch again when a small hand shook him out of concentration.
"Hey, Uncle Luke?" Ben was holding a piece of flimsiplast, "You need to help me with something."
"Homework?" Luke guessed at his nephew's dark expression,
"I need to make a family tree but Mom is busy." Ben huffed, "Dad's not being cooperative either. I don't even know if he has any family."
"Yeeeah…" Luke shrugged. That was the trouble with being orphaned at a young age. "But I'll help you with mine."
"What if he's hiding something?" Ben narrowed his eyes.
"Do you really think so?"
"No…" Ben looked down, "But I wish he was so that this wasn't half empty. I'm gonna fail this."
"Let's just fill in what we can." Luke really hoped that Ben's teacher would be understanding. Why anyone would do a family tree project after so much of the last few generations being at war Luke couldn't guess. "What do you have so far?"
"Well, you and Mom are twins. Your father was Darth Vader. Who was grandma?"
"Write 'Anakin Skywalker' instead," Luke pointed to his nephew's firm print. He thought for a moment, he had actually managed to get his mother's identity from the Force ghosts. "My mother was Padmé Naberrie."
Ben dutifully wrote it down. He was a slow writer, but he tended not to make mistakes.
"What about her family?"
"I don't know." Luke admitted,
"What about Vader's family?"
"His mother was Shmi Skywalker." Luke remembered the gravestone at the farm. Uncle Owen would actually talk about Grandma Shmi, even when he wouldn't say a word about Luke's father. "She married Cliegg Lars, and his son was Uncle Owen."
"So Cliegg was Vader's father."
"No," Luke admitted, "My father… didn't have a father."
Luke could feel his nephew's irritation. Luke completely understood. Their family was weird.
"Another unknown…" Ben looked at the sparse family tree critically. It was distressingly bare. Luke shifted positions awkwardly.
"Actually, I mean he didn't have a father. It's really strange, but, I suppose the closest thing would be the Force." Luke shrunk from Ben's disbelieving look. It wasn't Luke's fault! He honestly tried to not actually think about it. He really wished that his father's ghost had never mentioned it… Luke was not prepared to explain this to his nephew. Luke hadn't even mentioned it to Leia. Why had he said anything? Now Han was probably going to find out and the bewildered teasing would never stop. "Just leave it blank." Luke cringed when Ben actually started writing 'the Force' as his great-grandfather.
"How do I add Grandpa Organa?" Ben eventually asked. Luke suddenly took a deep breath in relief.
"You know what? Why don't you just do the Organas instead? You can find their entire genealogy around somewhere. I think you're mother even has a book…?" Luke smiled awkwardly and Ben sighed.
"I guess that'd be easier." His nephew looked at the Skywalker growth he'd written down, "Grandfather Vader does sound cool though."
"Father was certainly interesting." Luke nodded, trying really hard not to say something that would annoy Leia.
"I would have liked to meet him." Suddenly, Ben's frown became an impish grin. "What if I put Dad down as the Force?"
Luke laughed. He couldn't help but picture his best friend as the Force. The Force would be a lot more sarcastic if that were true. It was also stranger then he was able to handle.
"How about you get that done and then we can try meditating together? Your focus has been getting better."
"Sure, Uncle Luke." Ben's voice became clipped with a negative amount of enthusiasm. Oh Force, when had Luke become the boring old guy?
With a snort, Luke's eyes widened as he was unable to stop the thought. Oh Grandfather, why was his family so complicated?
…
Ben's teacher was more than a little surprised to see not only a long, stretching back for generations upon generations, tree of Alderaanian royalty but also Darth Vader and the Force on a family tree. She then looked back at Ben Chewbacca Solo's name and sighed. She marked the assignment complete and moved on. After all, she had more to do with her life than think about whether or not that particular student was joking.
…
Ben learned so much growing up that Snoke barely had anymore to teach him.
A/N: Hi everyone! Some of you might realize that this and chapter one was just one chapter on Ao3. This was because this site threw a fit when I tried to get it through Doc Manager together. Idk why it couldn't handle about 6000 words together this time, but ok. It was a long chapter anyways.
And yes, Bring Me to Life exists in this universe now. Ben's angst just demanded it crack through the walls of sanity. I'm trying to do a fairly serious character piece and what happens? Luke trains Sith and Han has to put up with pre-Darth Kyle. *sigh* I'm trying here, folks.
At least I've planted the seeds I needed to. Now we get to see what Snoke does with all of this...
