Luke Skywalker watched as Darth Vader and young Ben Kenobi dueled along the dark hallways under the Jedi Temple. Luke stood in awe at watching the two in a true lightsaber duel. It really put into perspective how little he actually knew. He also realized at how much Vader had been holding back on Bespin. Luke grabbed at his wrist where his prosthetic met his real arm.
"You are beaten. Don't make me destroy you."
He could have, Luke realized. He could have destroyed me. Easily. But he hadn't. True he had hurt Luke. Maimed him. But it could have been much worse.
Suddenly the duel between the Vader and Ben had changed. There was a dark burning rage pouring off of Vader. He had renewed his strength and was now battering down on Ben with hard harsh blows. It was clear Ben was having a hard time keeping up against the onslaught. The hairs on the back of Luke's neck stood on end as he recalled the beating he had received on the gantry on Bespin.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side," Vader had said. "Only your hatred can destroy me."
Vader was winning. Ben was going to lose . . . again. Luke was going to have to watch Ben die a second time. He had to . . . He had to do something! Anything! He didn't have a lightsaber. What could he do? Ben ducked as Vader's lightsaber came close to cutting his head off. The saber cut a deep gash into the wall. A hot molten strike scarred the wall. Luke snapped his hand up and he remembered. He had used the Force like this before. With those masked guys. How had he done it?
Ben let out a short shout in pain. Vader's blade had managed to graze Ben's arm. Luke had to act now! Ben was tiring. Luke opened himself up to the Force. It was buzzing and whirling. He could feel the dark maelstrom that was Vader spinning around. He could sense the steady glow of Ben. There was also the hundreds of nearby lights and vibrations of the Jedi in the temple. The Force was still so loud and bright and busy. It was so different than the Force Luke was used to, but he pushed past that.
He could do this. He pulled the Force closed to him and just focused. It wasn't the size or the distance that mattered. He closed his eyes as he imagined the Force pooling into his outstretched hand. Then it snapped, and it sprung forward. Luke's eyes quickly opened. Though invisible, Luke could almost see the Force as it sped down the hallway. Both Vader and Ben were blown down to the ground as the powerful Force push hit both of them.
"I did it," Luke said to himself. He looked down at his hand. He wiggled his fingers. He smiled as he recalled Master Yoda's words from Dagobah. "Do or do not. There is no try."
The sound of running boots brought Luke's attention down the hall. Two of those masked Jedi were running towards him. They were carrying the dual sided yellow lightsabers and wore the white smooth avian masks. Were these the Jedi guards?
"Hands up," one shouted. Luke slowly brought his hands up. The guard approached and pulled out a pair of binders. Luke wanted to protest. The guard grabbed Luke's arm and pulled it down. Yet Luke never felt the cold metal clasp around his wrist. Searing bright red filled his vision, causing Luke to flinch back and shield his eyes.
A strong hard hand grabbed Luke and he was pulled a few steps. He bumped into something, no someone, large. An arm wrapped around him. He looked up to see Vader. Vader had attacked the guard and pulled him into a hold.
"Do not touch him," Vader growled. "He is mine."
Luke put his hands against Vader's chest to push himself around, but Vader only tightened his grip, pinning Luke down. But Vader's body shifted. There was a shake of his body and a hissing sound. Luke could feel the heat of lightsabers and hear the hum and hiss of the strikes. Was Vader attempting to duel while holding Luke? Luke pushed harder and this time Vader allowed him to go free.
"People are not possessions, Darth," young Ben said down the hall. Vader turned sharply. His Jedi robes spun with him. The bottoms brushed against Luke's legs. Out of the corner of Luke's eye, he saw Vader point his blade down the hall. Probably towards Obi-Wan.
"I will not let you take him and keep him away from me again," he snarled. Vader dashed down the hallway. Off to engage Ben again, but Luke's eyes were drawn to the smoldering corpses lying in pieces on the floor. The two Jedi guards had been hacked apart by Vader's blade. There was a hard lump in Luke's throat he couldn't swallow. The distant sound of lightsabers humming and hissing and clashing and this dark hallway . . .
"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."
No. He was falling back into his memories of Bespin. Not again. But he couldn't stop it. He saw himself igniting his lightsaber and lunging at Vader.
"You have learned much, young one," Vader had said.
Luke had replied, "You'll find I'm full of surprises." He wasn't. He wasn't! Vader was! Vader held all the cards. Even then he was going easy. Luke became faintly aware of the current fight down the hall between Vader and Ben. He saw his own fight with Vader playing out in transparent images over the real fight. It was so obvious. Vader was way out of Luke's league. He had never taken that fight on Bespin seriously. He had been toying with Luke. Seeing him fight Ben, truly fight . . .
"Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this to be true."
"No!" Luke shouted.
"No! It can't be true! That's impossible!"
"Search your feelings. You know it to be true."
He was gripping the instruments at the end of the gantry. His eyes darting down the long reactor shaft.
"Come with me. It is the only way."
It wasn't the only way. There was another. He let go and he fell.
"The only way for you to get back home, to your proper time, is with me. Now come, or I will drag you away from here."
"No," he whimpered a bit softly. He still wasn't ready. He couldn't do this. He wasn't ready! So he ran. He ran away from the clash of sabers. He ran away from the dark cold presence. He ran away from his memories. He found the turbolift and stumbled into it once the doors slid open. He paused as he looked over the buttons. He pressed one and hoped that it took him some place . . . else. Away from Vader and young Ben. Away from the memories.
The lift stopped on the floor Luke had selected. He had caught his breath but his heart was still racing. It still felt squeezed. Trapped. He walked cautiously out of the lift into the hall. At once he noticed there was a sense of peace. The hallway here was large and featured a soft plant and vine motif on the tiles of the floor. He found himself at two large open double wooden doors. They were the old fashioned kind that swung open on walked through them into a huge multi-story room.
Luke gasped. He hadn't been expecting to find a place like this. It was a huge indoor garden. There was a large open area by the door that quickly separated into several stone and dirt paths through the various trees and exotic foliage. There were was water everywhere. There was small streams bubbling under small bridges. There were gentle fountains and in the very back in the center of the room was a large roaring waterfall.
Luke picked a stone path that appeared to take him to the waterfall. He glanced at the greenery. There were so many different types of bushes, trees, flowers, and vines. Some glowed softly. Some were purple and blue. Some thorny and hard. Many were green. Benches were spaced out amongst the path. Luke saw a few Jedi sitting on them either meditating or talking quietly to another Jedi.
The path took him by a large grassy open area. Jedi youths were practicing lightsabers while a few older Jedi watched on. The youths moved through a series of katas. They all moved at the same time. Each bend of their arm and gentle swoop of the lightsabers were graceful. Far more grace than Luke had ever had with a lightsaber. His cheeks ran a bit red. His techniques were crude and mostly self taught. He hurried past them.
He was getting closer to the waterfall, but saw a secluded bench sitting at the edge of a calm pond. Water plants gently bobbed in the water. A few sported beautiful pink flowers. They brought a small smile to his face, so he walked over and sat on the bench. He hunched over and placed his arms against his legs.
What was he going to do now? He had ran . . . He had ran away from Vader. From Vader fighting Ben. He should have stayed. He should have helped. But the words were there. The memories. The truth. He thought he was ready . . . but he wasn't. Had he learned nothing of himself from Bespin? Beside who Vader really was. Vader who had said Luke would not be welcomed here. Somehow Luke could tell he hadn't been lied to. There was a weight of truth to what Vader had said. And . . . he was right. Luke was not a Jedi. Not a real one. Not like the ones here. His training didn't seem to quite match up to the image of these serene knights. All of his training was more focused on power and fighting and resisting the Dark Side.
It was focused on getting him ready to face Darth Vader. His father . . .
And they had known! Ben and Yoda had known the truth! Why hadn't they told him?
Luke groaned as he leaned his head down into his hands. He felt the warm flesh hand and the synthskin of his prosthetic. Should he go back to Vader? So they could figure out how to go back to their time? What if he didn't? What if told the Jedi the truth? Would they believe him? What if they asked about the future? What would he tell them? That all this would be destroyed in a few months time? This place would become the Imperial Palace?
Would it change the future of this past?
Vader had said their presence had already affected the past. The events of old weren't playing out as they previously had. Could Luke change the future? Was it even possible? Could he . . . save his father? Stop him from becoming Vader? Or stop the Empire from rising? Or was it too late? Vader said they should leave the planet due to the events that were coming. The final days of the Republic. The rise of the Empire.
"Come to think, a good place this is."
Luke's head snapped up. "Master Yoda," he gasped.