Chapter Seven

Iniquity it is; but pass the can.

My lad, no pair of kings our mothers bore;

Our only portion is the estate of man:

We want the moon, but we shall get no more.

If here to-day the cloud of thunder lours

To-morrow it will hie on far behests;

The flesh will grieve on other bones than ours

Soon, and the soul will mourn in other breasts.

The troubles of our proud and angry dust

Are from eternity, and shall not fail.

Bear them we can, and if we can we must.

Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.

Last Poems IX by A.E. Housman (stanzas 5-7)

Obi-Wan sidesteps as the lightsaber slashes toward his side, bring his own blade down towards his opponent's head. Luke easily deflects his counterstrike, using the disparity in their height to his advantage. Obi-Wan retreats, stepping over a row of crops growing in parallel tanks set into the floor of the hydroponic station.

They are both shirtless in the humid hydroponic station, perspiration beading on their foreheads. Obi-Wan has been training Luke to fight in a variety of different environments and navigating through the hydroponic station's obstacles is a good contrast to the clear, arid courtyard where they usually practice.

Unexpectedly, Luke leapt over the row of bristlemelons and would have struck Obi-Wan's thigh had the Force not warned him in time to dodge. He fell back again, nodding to the boy in acknowledgement of a good attack. Luke's green training saber resumed a defensive stance and Obi-Wan knows the boy is attempting to use the Force to predict his next attack, something he has become good at recently.

"What are the three pillars of the Jedi?" he asked to distract him.

The boy knows this tactic too well by now and does not fall for Obi-Wan's feint to his right.

"The three pillars of the Jedi are, Force, knowledge and self-discipline," Luke replied with the ease of something long memorized.

"Before you ask, I've already done all three today. I did my meditation this morning, beat Camie on today's test and my room is clean."

The boy finished with a quick grin and lunges, aiming for his knees. Obi-Wan swept his blade down to deflect the attack. Smiling at the frustrated look on Luke's face, he asks another question.

"Your birthday is coming up. What would you like?"

He jabbed at the boy with his saber and Luke leapt back to avoid it.

"Could I have a droid?"

Obi-Wan shakes his head in exasperation. "What would you do with a droid, youngling?"

"Take it apart!" he replied as if this is obvious while blocking another blow toward his head.

Obi-Wan sighed. Sometimes Luke is so much like his father that it hurts. Controlling his emotions, he is careful not to let his feelings flow through their bond. In retrospect, he should not have let the boy help him repair the servos on the ancient droid that they used to adjust the vaporators on the farm two weeks ago. He can only hope that Luke does not become as droid obsessed as Anakin was.

"So can I have one?"

"We will see," he said, jumping avoid the boys saber strike at his right calf.

Droids were expensive. He could not afford to replace the ones they had let alone buy a new one. With the destruction of the hydroponic station by Coolie Whitesun, Obi-Wan had been forced to default on his loan to Jabba several months ago, his income from his crops being cut by nearly a third. He cannot buy a new droid for Luke but an old one that he could fix up… the Jawas were always selling something of the sort, perhaps he can—the Force warns him just in time as Luke jumped so he can swing at his neck.

The move is reckless and he deflects it easy. He is about to chastise the boy when Obi-Wan is forced to duck. Luke has used the Force to throw a bristlemelon at his head. He then throws another and then two at once. Taking advantage of the distraction, Luke ran up and slashes at him with his saber. Obi-Wan swiveled to avoid the blade but is not quite fast enough. The green training saber left an angry red burn on his forearm.

It is the first time Luke has ever landed a blow on him in saber practice.

Luke stared, panting with effort, astonishment radiating off him. Obi-Wan laughed at the look on the boy's face and disengaged his saber, clipping it to his belt.

"I didn't think that would work!" the boy says.

"I am impressed that you were able to control two at once," he gestured at the bristlemelon on the floor.

"I've been practicing," the boy confessed. "But I can't always do it. This is the first time it's worked right."

"You did well. You should always use the terrain to your advantage. And surprise is sometimes the only way you can beat someone whom is stronger that yourself."

Obi-Wan remembered the first time he had managed to strike Qui-Gon in training when he was fourteen. His Master had taken him out for his first drink of alcohol. The glass of Corellian ale had been disgusting but he had drank it all proudly. He still had some Pallie wine put away. The boy was only eight but surely a small cup would not hurt him…

"Let's go have a drink, youngling" he said, certain his Master would approve.

He will be a better swordsman that I, someday, Obi-Wan realized, as Luke sprinted toward the door of the hydroponic station, leaping over the crop rows in his way. The thought brings him hope.